Ted Robinson’s Matchpoints

Sunday reaffirmed greatness in men’s tennis. There are three above the rest, far beyond the field and two of them, Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic, emphasized that gap in consecutive matches at Roland Garros.

Djokovic methodically dismantled top Frenchman Paul Henri Mathieu. There was terrific crowd support and huge momentum for Mathieu. But after one set, it was clear that he had no weapon with which to hurt Djokovic. Equally, Djokovic has no weakness for a foe to attack.

Check out MediaZone Tennis | E-mail Ted at MediaZone’s Mailbag | Sign up for my RSS Feed

Thus, the result was inevitable. And it is just as apparent that Djokovic will be better prepared to fight Nadal if they arrive at their anticipated semi.

Djokovic moves beautifully and is not fazed by clay. As intimidating as Rafa’s RG record can be, Djokovic has an enhanced court presence after joining the ranks of Champions in Australia.

Rafa had a bizarre match with Fernando Verdasco, dominating for a set before rain stopped play in the second game of the second set. After 45 minutes, and 10 minutes after play resumed on the other show court, Nadal sat on his chair, munching bananas and calling for the trainer. Word from courtside was that Nadal felt the footing was not suitable and was simply stalling to give the clay more time to dry.

When play finally resumed, Verdasco barely moved, bothered by a right leg injury. Verdasco’s lack of effort created a phenomenon never before seen at RG — Nadal playing before a crowd no more than 4,000.

This was Rafa, the marquee star of Paris. The undefeated champion of RG who is always scheduled in “prime time,” late afternoon into early evening, was now playing in a quiet arena against a hobbled foe.

The deathly silence carried into the third set, when Verdasco received treatment that allowed him to play with some verve.

The point is that Nadal never wavered in play despite the rain, the court, a hobbled opponent and no energy in the crowd. The man is simply a rock at Roland Garros, winning 25 straight matches losing only 7 sets. In this week’s 4 matches, his foes are holding 30 percent of their service games. That absurd number can’t continue but reflects Nadal’s utter dominance as he enters the final three matches.

What I didn’t know is that the U.S .has the No. 1 seed in the junior girls play, Melanie Oudin. More on her later in the week.

And the Bryans defeated fellow Americans John Isner and Sam Querrey to advance in the men’s doubles.

This Friday was one of mixed emotions depending on your viewpoint: for France, it was a day of joy as four men, (Paul-Henri Mathieu, Julien Benneteau, Jeramy Chardy and Florent Serra) advanced while for the U.S. it was a day of shock as the Sisters were sent packing in bookend matches to a long day of warm sunshine.

Check out MediaZone Tennis | E-mail Ted at MediaZone’s Mailbag | Sign up for my RSS Feed

Venus falling, in the fading light of a Friday night was not a surprise. After all, she has never been a serious threat here, reaching one final in a year where she played Robin to Serena’s Batman. And she hadn’t played much since taking a break from the tour in March.

Watching the Venus profile on HBO’s Real Sports emphasized several points of interest: Venus is the most likable Williams, rooted in some measure of humility, more interested in personal growth than fame (evidenced by the pride she takes in her recent design degree- she wore her class ring at RG), and more comfortable in her own skin than little Sis.

Friday’s results proved one thing that I have believed: Venus will never again be a threat at a major other than Wimbledon. She is a 1-court star: Centre Court. At 28 by the time she arrives at SW19, she is retro only when she steps onto that hallowed grass. As a four-time champ, she must hope the Club schedules her accordingly and keeps her on her “home” away from home.

Serena is baffling. She was horrid Friday. There is no other way to candidly describe her performance. It was the universal view among commentators, many of whom are champions. How she could possibly play in such a manner, so lazy afoot, so sloppy of form, could only be explained by her own admission that she “didn’t want to be here.”

If true, then she should be back in Florida, SoCal or wherever she chases the fame that is so important to her. My partner John McEnroe couldn’t hide his feeling that Katerina Srebotnik deserved her day, an honest hard-working decent player whose previous bests had been in doubles. On one sunny day in Paris, she stood tall in Paris.
 
The French didn’t try to hide their chauvinism Friday, scheduling Michael Llodra and Mathieu on the main show court while sending Serena, Nadal and Djokovic, champions all, to the second court, a good show court but still number 2 in the rank.

Neither do the French try to honor their champion. Roger Federer was granted his wish for a Monday start, thus Rafa Nadal fell victim to rain and played his first 3 matches on consecutive days.

Fed plays a Monday-Thursday-Saturday first week while Rafa went Wed-Thurs-Fri. Surviving that siege gives Nadal a tremendous edge as he must now play only 4 matches over 9 days to win a fourth RG.

The regard with which Andy Roddick and his US teammates hold Davis Cup was clear this weekend in Winston-Salem.

Check out MediaZone Tennis | E-mail Ted at MediaZone’s Mailbag | Sign up for my RSS Feed

How other great players around the world regard it was also seen in the attitude of Richard Gasquet.

Roddick clinched the tie; he is 10-0 in such matches, with a pulverizing straight set win over Paul-Henri Mathieu. The American closer, every bit as strong in that role as Mariano Rivera has been in baseball, never gave the French any hope.

His win pushed the US into the semi-finals, a road tie in Spain. And Andy addressed that tie in a post-match interview heard by the entire arena, “Even though Spain may put down a surface that is not to my strength, I guarantee one thing: I will be there.”

In contrast, we offer Gasquet. Wildly talented and equally erratic in mind, Gasquet came to North Carolina in a slump, and appeared disinterested in playing after experiencing the quick indoor court in practice.

After the Clement-Llodra doubles win Saturday, captain Guy Forget was seen in an animated conversation with Gasquet. A psychic was not needed to understand the purpose of this chat: to play or not to play, that was the question Gasquet had to answer.

Forget said he provided the answer on Friday, that Gasquet did not inspire any confidence from Forget that the player wanted the assignment.

But now France had a live Sunday with Mathieu, dispirited from his 5-set loss to James Blake, and a fatigued Llodra who would be challenged to play well on three consecutive days.

Gasquet practiced Saturday night and again Sunday morning. But it was decided that Mathieu would oppose Roddick and, if France produced an upset, that Gasquet would play the fifth match.

Roddick rendered the fifth match irrelevant. But the real point was the coercion needed to get Gasquet on the court.

It’s been a recurring theme in Gasquet’s life, and we won’t play amateur psychologist but we hope somehow a player with Gasquet’s skills can achieve some strength of mind. But Davis Cup should be an honor, not an obligation or burden.

For that, Roddick, as well as Blake, Mardy Fish and the Bryans, should be praised. They play anywhere, anytime and utter not a complaint.

Andy wrote another chapter in what is becoming his tennis legacy– his Davis Cup brilliance. Utterly confident, he smashed the No. 12 player in the world, winning his 29th Cup match, just one behind Andre Agassi for 2nd on the U.S. list.

Although they all know that clay and Rafael Nadal await them in September, this U.S. team will not need any persuasion to get them on the plane or in their clay-court shoes.

It struck me during the U.S. practice Thursday. And it was displayed in full during the pair of US Friday wins in Winston-Salem.

Andy Roddick and James Blake are in a different mode during Davis Cup. There is a calm about them, partly born, I believe, from the camaraderie they have engineered through five years as teammates.

Check out MediaZone Tennis | E-mail Ted at MediaZone’s Mailbag | Sign up for my RSS Feed

They move through this weekend with ease, joking with each other and their respective groups, engaging in pranks, celebrating wins and generally acting as masters of their domain.

And this is without arrogance, simply confidence.

No Federer or Nadal in this environment. Enthusiastic crowds that provide reinforcement. And family and friends packing the stands.

So when the tricky serves of Michael Llodra test Roddick, it is the Davis Cup belief that lifts Andy to a pair of tiebreak wins and a straight set win that could have been much tougher.

When Blake runs into a fiercely competitive Paul-Henri Mathieu, serving unconsciously in the first set, and fighting to erase his bad DCup memories, it is that belief that saves Blake.

Pushed to a fifth set, Blake lapsed into his bad body language mode after Mathieu broke for 2-0. Blake held and then, after a battle, broke back that brought the crowd, perhaps lapsing themselves near the end of a 7-hour day, roaring back to life.

Hearing that support, Blake raised his shoulders and his game, which he needed when Mathieu held 2 match points serving at 5-4. It was the moment when Mathieu’s ability to close would be tested. As well, Blake’s fight and resolve in 5-set battles, an issue reversed at last year’s US Open, would be confirmed.

Amidst growing noise, Blake survived the match points and launched one of his patented runs, winning 13 of 16 points to end Mathieu’s, and perhaps France’s, hopes.

It was Davis Cup in the United States, not sold out (did the scheduling of this on Masters weekend hurt attendance?) but nonetheless intensely supportive. And once again, Andy Roddick and James Blake seem to be at home wherever the U.S. DCup team calls home.

The court is fast. Lightning fast, more so than the speedy surface used by Team USA in Portland last December. 

And it impacted France, as designed. Richard Gasquet does not seem excited to play on the fast court and captain Guy Forget subbed Michael Llodra against Andy Roddick.

Check out MediaZone Tennis | E-mail Ted at MediaZone’s Mailbag | Sign up for my RSS Feed

Instead of the anticipated Roddick-James Blake/Gasquet-Jo-Wilfried Tsonga battles, we have Paul-Henri Mathieu-Llodra for France.

If both men bring their serves Friday, Roddick-Llodra will be decided in tiebreaks.

Tough news on Tsonga. If surgery is needed, he likely missed Roland Garros and Wimbledon.

This US team plays its 10th consecutive tie together, remarkable in that the next longest run by any US team is 3.

One of the practice players is David Martin, a lefty brought along to mimic the serve and volley style of Llodra.

Had a chance to talk with Martin after his practice with Roddick (by the way, Martin brought down the house with his Vanilla Ice impression at the official banquet).”

Martin is a 27-year-old Stanford grad who, with partner Scott Lipsky, has raised his doubles rank to a career-best 47.

He represents the earnest doubles player trying to make a living in the game they love through the one necessary means.

While the world’s best men were playing in Indian Wells and Miami for the last month, you know what David Martin has been doing?

Nothing.

The world’s 50th ranked doubles player couldn’t get in to those tournaments.

Why? The new ATP doubles policy that leads to more singles players entering, and losing quickly or withdrawing, from doubles.

Fewer spots means the cutoff is too high for Martin and Lipsky to qualify.

Play Challengers in the meantime? Possible, except the money is so low that the players would struggle to break even. And winning a Challenger would not improve their ranking. Martin said he might consider playing some singles, in the qualies, of Challengers just to get some matches.

This is the other side of the new ATP system: David Martin and his idle March. A premier double player unable to play in the 2 biggest tournaments in the US each spring.