Ted Robinson’s Matchpoints

The buzz was still about Andy Murray at Tuesday’s Wimbledon card. The BBC telecast drew a 44 share; the percentage of TV sets in the country tuned to the match, and an audience of over 10 million.

We confronted this for years with Tim Henman – how to convey the obsession in England with a Brit at Wimbledon. Anyone that covers this event wonders about the day when a Brit wins. Will the town survive? Will anyone work in the next month?

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Murray’s win over Richard Gasquet afforded a small peek at the possibilities. Longtime Wimbledon observers called it one of the best atmospheres they have seen alongside the famous 2001 Rafter-Ivanisevic final. The AELTC gambled with weather and assigned Murray-Nadal the late match Wednesday. More important the Brit gets maximum time to recover from his late night than to worry about rain. Oh, they must hope to avoid a repeat of the disastrous scheduling that cost Henman a shot at the 2001 title.

On court, the Williams Sisters relentless march to the semis continued. And their success, along with the absence of so many of the top-ranked women, has raised questions.

Tracy Austin wrote in a London paper Tuesday that this “was a thin time at the top of women’s tennis….There is a big vacuum at the top of the game that none of the current players seems able to fill.” True I say, but no fault of the Sisters. Certainly their path here has been easier with the lack of significant opponents, but their play at Wimbledon, especially Venus, requires no apology. Simply, they have the track record.

The question arose in a Tennis Channel discussion with Jon Wertheim: Would you rather have the Sisters playing part-time for more years or the Clijsters-Henin mode of full-time play and early retirement? Jon’s position was that the WTA Tour requires full commitments from top players to make the “business” of tennis viable. Agreed, but I would lean to the longer run. Allow me to watch players grow, develop, mature, peak and finally, slowly decline. Meteoric rise and fall is of no interest.

How in the name of sense can the seedings be allowed? I am told that the women at Wimbledon are seeded by the rankings with no exception, explaining the incredible scenario of Thursday. Elena Dementieva will be the higher seed against Venus….and a massive underdog!

I’m shocked by the relative restraint of the London papers today. Andy Murray is the Final Eight for the first time at Wimbledon and he got there in high style, a comeback from two sets down to take out Richard Gasquet. Centre Court was a wall of sound in the fifth set as Murray beat his foe and the fading light. Yet Tuesday dawns without an overabundance of fawning from the devoted press.

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Murray deserves credit. I left the grounds with Murray down two sets. Walking through the crowd watching on “Henman Hill”, there was a natural and palapble level of disappontment, the kind that in England is usually accompanied by a tall pint of Pimm’s. So imagine my surprise when I turned on my hotel TV to see Murray rallying in the third. And then the reports started arriving from folks still on Centre Court, phrases like “You can’t believe the atmosphere,” “The crowd is going crazy,” and “Murray is going to win this!”
 
The game that advanced Murray, that may elevate him into the ranks of the top players, was the 10th game of the third set. Gasquet had finally broken Murray for a 5-4 lead and came out to serve for the match. Murray quickly struck to 0-40 but Gasquet saved the first two break points. Then, though, the Frenchman double-faulted, Murray was still alive and the reversal had begun.
 
By the fifth set, Centre Court was engulfed in a roar, Murray was charging and Gasquet, who recall rallied in a similar manner to stun Andy Roddick last year, was asking the chair to halt play. No stay from the governor. And just past 9 in the evening, Murray ran to the court with a flex of the bicep that we hope is never to be repeated. But he gets his “muscle match” with Nadal Wednesday.
 
The Sisters were terrific Monday. On court, they both handled their assignment with relative ease. Only a brief bobble by Venus when trying to win the last game slowed her progress. Serena easily handled Bethanie Mattek. Both moved well on the grass, looked confident and appear destined for Saturday.
 
More impressive, though, was how they handled the scheduling. Six Wimbledon titles between them and they were assigned to Court 2, seating capacity 2,130. It was not a decision worthy of champions. And the expected questions were there for both Serena and Venus. With the door opened multiple times for them to criticize the AELTC, neither took the bait. All Serena admitted to was some “surprise.” I have come to expect such class from Venus; Serena’s poise in the moment is newer and quite refreshing.
 
On Tuesday, Venus draws Tamarine Tanasugarn, age 31, on Court 1 while Serena gets a Centre Court match with Aggie Radwanska, a talented 19-year-old. Different types of opponents but similar in that neither should slow the Sisters Express.
 
It’s still remarkably dry at Wimbledon; the grass has dried and the courts are browning on the edge. Some rain is predicted for early Wednesday, but it’s one day only as we march through one of the driest Wimbledons in recent history.
 
Also on Tuesday, the Bryans receive a Centre Court match, following Serena in the men’s doubles. The Sisters, after their singles wins, advanced to the quarters in doubles with an easy win over the Spanish duo of Ruano Pascual and Medina Garrigues. And, top-ranked junior Melanie Oudin, No. 1 seed here, won her first round match Monday.

PIck up a Sunday paper in London and the first 7 pages of every sports section are Andy Murray. There is a dissection of his entourage, a team of 7 that replaced the solo coaching of Brad Gilbert. There are columns from his mum and big brother, a doubles player of moderate success.

Being a prominent sporting figure in these parts is lucrative. After all, there is little competition in that arena.

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Winning Wimbledon, though, would make Andy Murray a sporting hero.

And what’s funny is that his game might allow him, and a nation, to dream.

Murray has always had the talent, now he has some sound grass -court experience, and finally, he seems to have grown into his body and out of his immaturity. His Saturday win over Tommy Haas featured high level play on grass, including the short variety that endears Murray to all who truly love the game.
 
What struck me was his body language- it was less mopy, less Gumby-shouldered, less negative. A wise person recently commented that the difference with John McEnroe was that John used anger as fuel. It was often a positive for John while Murray seemed to drag himself down through his behavior.

Now, Murray looks and acts like a man who believes he can someday become a British hero. Perhaps not now, with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in their prime, but someday soon.
 
Nadal followed form with a decisive win over Nicolas Kiefer – after a first set in which the over-30 Kiefer turned bacvk the clock. He struck serves in the mid-130’s, moved adeptly and struck the ball with significant pace. Pushed to a tiebreak, Rafa delivered the goods, then broke Kiefer’s spirit in the next two sets. A potential Nadal-Murray quarter is still a delicious thought
 
I lamented here how frustrating it is to pull for James Blake. Perhaps Richard Gasquet is that man for the French. He bails on Davis Cup, wanting no part of an indoor match with Andy Roddick. He bails on Roland Garros, the tournament where he clearly cannot handle the pressure. But at Wimbledon, he is a different player, again in the round of 16 and a legit threat to disrupt the Nadal-Murray match. Wimbledon is to Gasquet what the US Open is to Blake, their one major to shine.
 
Jelena Jankovic wanders through the first week in anonymity, although her third-round win owned a share of drama. A hyper-extended knee hampered, followed by a tape job that hampered Jankovic enough to cause her to remove it in the third set. She is always injured, always bandaged and always calling trainers on-court. Yet she is still No. 2 in the world and still a darkhorse threat in Week 2.
 
Monday is Williams day. But I hope that Bethanie Mattek seizes the moment to make people talk about her tennis rather than her wardrobe.

So much on this Thursday, but the highlight was simultaneous play from Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, the first time I can recall that at any major. Rain caused the overlap with the 2 greats occupying the show courts in the late afternoon; both had similar results, although Federer had a small glitch, dropping the first set tiebreak to scrappy Albert Montanes. Too soon to project the final weekend, but Federer is hitting his backhand well and seems healthy with his normal movement. It’s not enough to beat Nadal when Rafa is on, but it is more than enough to keep Federer #2 in the clay court world.

Disappointment for James Blake, who lost a chance to make the second week at RG. With his section wide open, Blake needed a win over a talented teen, Ernests Gulbis of Latvia. A tough draw no doubt, but Blake is still searching for the Slam where he wins a few that he’s not supposed to. James got this match to 1-1, but dropped serve late in the third and never recovered.

Mardy Fish had a chance with a hobbled Lleyton Hewitt playing at 80 percent efficiency (torn hip cartilage). But Mardy, after dropping a tight first set, couldn’t hold a break advantage in the second and went out in straight.

Bobby Reynolds fell in four to the resurgent Nico Lapentti, who made the main draw at 31.

But Robby Ginepri, late in the night, pulled off the stunner, knocking out seeded Igor Andreev in four sets. More details on that match to come tomorrow.

So there are 2 Americans in the third round, Wayne Odesnik draws Novak Djokovic late Friday (around noon ET, 9 AM PT) and today Justin Gimelstob told me of his admiration for Odesnik. This is a rare young player who seeks help, solicits advice and enjoys clay. Wayne is working with Spaniard Felix Mantilla while in Paris and has Francisco Montana, late of Robby Ginepri, at home. But he looks at the French as a challenge, not an obligation. Odds are his stay will end Friday night, but Odesnik has put his name in the mix of American tennis.

Low road comment of this Roland Garros comes from tournament doctor, Dr. Montalvan. Speaking in defense of Richard Gasquet’s withdrawal, Dr. Montalvan said it was “my personal opinion” that Andy Roddick withdrew because clay is not his favorite surface. Why a doctor sees the need to opine is a different story, but Roddick had played the last 7 French Opens and will be in Madrid for September’s Davis Cup semi against Nadal. Roddick’s record on court can be addressed but not his competitiveness.

How open is this men’s draw? One of the following four: Gulbis, Michael Llodra, Simone Bolelli or Lapentti will be a quarterfinalist.

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing: the Eurosport commentator said that Nikolay Davydenko’s win over Marat Safin was “huge” for any win over Safin is significant. Davydenko is 4 in the world, and posted a Roddick-Nadal double to win Miami. Safin is 73 in the world. That statement needed a hyperbole check.

An action-packed week for tennis: Roger Federer finally picked a coach and the selection of Jose Higueras signaled Federer’s intent on returning to form on clay (and the results were immediate, as Fed’s first title of 2008 in Estoril came in his first week of working with Higueras), the Davis Cup fallout continued with the French press hammering Richard Gasquet for ducking Andy Roddick last weekend, James Blake went to Houston and reached the final on clay albeit against a lesser field (but I see the Monte Carlo draw and Sam Querrey is the lone American) and, thanks to SI’s peerless Jon Wertheim, I learn that Alexandra Stevenson, 27 and ranked 258, qualified at Charleston and won a match before falling to Jelena Jankovic.

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But the real story of the week was in Charleston. And her name is Serena Williams.

She won the event, her second consecutive. She beat Maria Sharapova decisively which, after smacking Justine Henin in Miami, gives her wins over the top 2 women (computer be damned.)

Serena is fitter than any time since her reign atop the game ended in 2004. She is displaying the toughness that characterized her great years. Dropping a set to Vera Zvonareva in the Charleston final didn’t deter her, just as in the Miami final against Svetlana Kuznetsova or the Charleston match with Sharapova.

That match was a significant statement. Serena’s world changed when Sharapova hit her off Wimbledon Centre Court in the 2004 final. Now Serena has won the last 4 matches against Sharapova and hasn’t lost to her since 2004. Serena’s serve was emphatic as she won 16 of 18 points on her serve in the decisive third set in Charleston.

Serena is now back to 6 in the world. She heads to Europe as a threat to win again and women’s tennis needs this. The Slams will be much more fun with Serena in the mix.

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

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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.

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.

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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.

Breaking up isn’t so hard on Andy Roddick. After revealing that he parted ways with Jimmy Connors, Roddick has taken the court in Dubai and won consecutive matches against Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

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First, the Roddick-Connors pairing had quick results just as Andy achieved with Brad Gilbert. But the view here is that Connors had more impact on Andy’s mind than his tennis. Yes, Connors was able to get Andy to do what so many had suggested — hit through the backhand. But Andy never consistently played at the baseline, often drifting back into old habits 6-8 feet behind the line.

More surprisingly, stats showed that Roddick’s service return has been less effective each of the last 2 years.

Andy has had more on-court surliness, a trait not appreciated by all, and perhaps Connors’ influence shows more in that regard. Mental toughness has not been a problem for Roddick; if anything, it’s been a mental stubbornness that restricts Andy adjusting his game on the fly.

I suspect the Roddick-Connors partnership was defined last spring. Roddick lost in the first round at Roland Garros but rather than return to the States, Connors implored Roddick to stay in Europe and immediately go to the grass courts of London. So much was invested in Wimbledon that the agony had to shared by both men when Roddick lost a 2-set lead and fell to Richard Gasquet one round before a showdown with Roger Federer.

Bottom line: Connors spent 6 weeks in Europe with the Roddick gang and nobody had anything to show for the time.

Connors achieved one of his goals by raising his visibility within the game. Jimmy has a well-known reputation as someone extremely motivated by money. Meanwhile, Roddick genuinely seemed to enjoy picking the brain of a great. But players want their coaches around fulltime (see Federer/Roche) and whether it was money or simply an issue of staying home, Connors was not willing to go all in. Tennis coaching has a shelf life and Roddick appears no different from his playing peers in that regard.

The significance of these Dubai wins for Roddick can not be overstated. Andy had fallen out of the top three in both the rankings and the respect of the other players. Djokovic seemed to put a stamp on that in beating Roddick last August at the Montreal Masters.

All Dubai dispatches indicate that Roddick has his A serve and has rediscovered his A forehand. Against both standouts, Roddick used the serve to win first-set tiebreaks (12 aces against Nadal and 14 total in the Djokovic win) and then finished off his foe in the second.

What’s interesting and puzzling is that this was only the fourth tour match for Roddick and Nadal. They’ve had a strange ability to avoid each other (if Roddick could only achieve the same with Federer) although Nadal had a huge 2004 Davis Cup win over Roddick on the clay of Sevilla.

The sport would be better served with more matches between the two as with Roddick and Djokovic who have now played only twice.

In the final, Roddick will be a heavy favorite over Feliciano Lopez. Winning Dubai in the same week as splitting with Connor would rank high on the surreal meter.

Interesting to hear mixed reviews of Andy Roddick’s win in San Jose. Some feedback focused on strong play from Roddick, a sound strong backhand that he was willing to rip up the line, his potent serve (particularly in the final against Radek Stepanek) and a growing confidence as he rolled through the week (albeit against no top ranked players until the final.)

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Then there were the comments that ranged from concern to contempt for Roddick’s attitude. He derailed Japanese teen Kei Nishikori, conqueror of James Blake in the Delray final, and unloaded a verbal barrage in the process. Nishikori first claimed not to hear Roddick, then admitted an unwillingness to repeat the words publicly.

The esteemed Jon Wertheim, who shares with me a tendency to like Roddick, framed the San Jose incident in the light of recent transgressions, notably Andy’s explosion at umpire Emmanuel Joseph during his loss to Phillip Kohlschreiber in Australia, and wondered if there has been a sea change in Roddick’s demeanor. Fair question — is he being influenced by Jimmy Connors?

Here’s what I know: from an early age, Roddick understood his position as the heir to the Sampras-Agassi throne. As a sports fan, he was aware of tennis’ position in the American sports arena and went to pains to sell/promote the sport much more than himself. His triumphant media tour of New York after winning the 2003 US Open was masterful. It signaled that American tennis was set for the next 6-8 years.

Of course, we couldn’t have predicted Roger Federer. Andy could never have imagined not just Fed’s 12 Slams but also the 15-1 head-to-head dominance of Roger.

And for four years, imagine how many times Roddick has heard that line of questioning….Why is Roger so good? What can you do to stop him? Can you beat him? Is Roger the best ever? Think Roddick may tire of that?

Something else I know: Roddick has been great with young American players on tour. At Wimbledon, he has insisted on using the upper-tier of the men’s locker room, the area to which lesser players and juniors are relegated. There Andy hands with the group that has largely been his peers while the other top-ranked pros dress on the lower level. Roddick is also a thorough American sports fan, thus the concept of “talking” to an opponent may not strike him as foreign as it does many who love tennis.

Story I never forget: 2000 Davis Cup in Los Angeles. Johnny Mac, as captain, chooses 17-year-old Roddick as practice player. What Andy learned was that the role called for him to be “fresh meat,” in this case for Andre Agassi. The great Agassi punished Roddick on the court in their head-to-head practice match. And then Andre piled on a verbal assault. The cumulative effect was so fierce as to force Johnny Mac to halt the proceedings.

I have only talked briefly to Andy about that time, but I am fairly sure he has never forgotten. So when he “talks trash” to Nishikori, Andy may think it’s nothing compared to what he took from Andre. And to the treatment of umpires, well could Connors be advising Roddick that his flare-ups are nothing compared to the classics of Jimmy’s era?

The world of super models, high-stakes poker and private jets in which Roddick lives is another issue, one raised in a fair manner by Jon Wertheim. And I agree with Jon’s conclusion. If Roddick has veered in some ways, the Andy I know will return.

Lost in the news over Monica Seles’ retirement last week was the WTA announcement of an initiative to enhance player safety. Most importantly, criminal background checks will be conducted on player entourage team members and others seeking credentialed access.  It’s a terrific, if overdue, step after the litany of abusive parents (Jim Pierce, Damir Dokic and the horrid 2005 story of Evgenia Linetskaya) and coaches (Joe Giuliano.)

Rankings updates: Roddick, who took a wild card into Memphis (d. Gilles Muller (32) in first round), is still 6, a distance behind Nikolay Davydenko (5) and safely ahead of Richard Gasquet (7).

Biggest rebound is David Nalbandian, coming back from 25 last fall to his present 8.

Ivo Karlovic turns 29 this week and celebrates with a career-best rank of 21.

US rankings: Sam Querrey 63, Vince Spadea 70, John Isner 93, Mardy Fish 94, Bobby Reynolds 100, Donald Young 102 (d. Sam Warburg in 1R Memphis) and Robby Ginepri back to 108 after beating Blake to make the semis in San Jose.

What I like most about Maria Sharapova is her game face. Steely and grim, that face is one of a champion. Smiles and waves after a match, from the moments before through the end of a match, she is unwavering. That focus and mental toughness makes her great.

And it was the first thing I noticed watching her dismantle Lindsay Davenport. Sharapova later said she treated the match like a final and it was evident in her visage.

Lindsay was never in the match, not after Sharapova held to start. Davenport could never find a ground-stroking groove as Maria reduced the opportunity for long rallies. And Sharapova, not known for her mobility, was the better mover.

The post-match comment that drew my attention was Davenport’s praise of Sharapova’s serve. Maria’s shoulder issues had made her serve the story of 2007 and Lindsay reads. She was aware and ready to pounce on any weak Sharapova offerings. Those were rare and Davenport lamented her inability to reach break point.

It was a thorough win, one that featured a lack of shrieking from Sharapova, the bizarre sight of Yuri muted under a camouflage hood and the clear sign that Lindsay has work ahead to return to the top 10.

But the fact that Sharapova took this match so seriously indicates the lack of real depth in the women’s game. There are many good players but just a tiny number of champions. Larry Scott was on Tennis Channel doing his job Tuesday, spouting the company line about depth. Sadly, that is not rooted in any fact. And Sharapova’s words and actions against Davenport, the respect she paid a woman coming off childbirth, support the stance that the women’s field of champions, of which these two are members, is extremely small.

The other notable event of Day 3 was a win that Mardy Fish called “one of the best matches I’ve ever played.” He smoked Tommy Robredo in straight sets. A run to the Aussie Open quarters last year looked as if it would propel Fish into a signature year. Instead, Mardy’s rank slipped from 22 to 40 and his US Open ended with a heart-breaking five-set second round loss to… Robredo.

Revenge was sweet and Fish is now 1 match away from a fourth round against… his good friend Andy Roddick, who crushed Fish in their 2007 quarter.

Jo Wilfried Tsonga could be a surprise week 2 player in the men’s draw. He has reached the third round and his quarter is unthreatening, featuring Richard Gasquet, Igor Andreev, Mikhail Youzhny and Nikolay Davydenko.

Davydenko plows on, finding the court his solace from the cloud that hovers above. And Ivo Karlovic, who has quietly cracked the top 20 as one of the game’s terrific late bloomers, is also in the third round (Youzhny.)