Ted Robinson’s Matchpoints

Forty-eight hours later and I’m still in awe over Sunday. A 10-hour plane flight, with time to absorb nearly a dozen London newspapers along with nearly a hundred messages, many from those who would be classified as “casual” fans, has lent to the aura of this match as “the best ever.”

Now I hear today that SI will feature the match on its cover. When Pete Sampras won his record 13th Slam and 7th Wimbledon, we came home to see a muscled and tattooed Jason Giambi on the SI cover. Sampras was appalled. And now we know that tennis fell victim to the BALCO scam.

This was pure.

This was cojones grande, the only way to describe Rafa doing what he could not 12 months earlier, find a way to win the third set from Federer.

This was a champion falling in “brutal gladiatorial combat…but tumbling with valour” in the stirring words of London Daily Mail writer Paul Hayward. And how fine is that description.

In 24 hours back home, there is a talk-show buzz and coffee shop chat about this match that I have not witnessed in many years.

These two made tennis relevant. Now can it sustain what these two have created?

More from the Wimbledon cache:

* The disappointment over early exits by Andy Roddick and James Blake certainly went away. Stories always emerge; be it Andy Murray’s next step towards the top echelon, Marat Safin (up 35 places to 40), Rainer Schuettler (up 55 to 39) and Arnaud Clement (up 73 to 72) all made themselves relevant again, the two-week siege and double wins for the Sisters, Britain’s obsession over 14-year-old junior champ Laura Robson and her marvelously refreshing attitude over new fame, and the continuing presence of so many former champions at the AELTC.

* The roof can’t arrive fast enough. Sunday’s final ended about 10 minutes before a nightmare encounter would have occurred. The Club, understandably, wanted play to continue until 9:30-9:45 p.m.. They, like everyone, wanted a result. The money and disruption for Monday play, perhaps as little as two games, would have been wasteful. Yet, there was a point at which the players would have said, understandably, that a Championship, particularly from a match so superior, couldn’t be decided in darkness. Thankfully, we were spared the moment. A match for the ages had a proper ending in the dusk of Centre Court.

And traditionalists need not weep. Centre Court will still be open. Remember that grass needs light. The roof will only close once it rains, a 12-minute process. Thus, the courts will be still be covered for a short period. The benefit of the roof will be to guarantee play after a short stoppage and thus never again the drama of Sunday night.

* Major consensus in London was that the Williams Sisters success was due in part to the weakness of the WTA Tour. This is a debate for another time but the perception must be countered by the Tour.

* Start perhaps with Aggie Radwanska, the most impressive of the game’s young women. She has a Martina Hingis-like presence on the court that adds conviction to less-than-punishing shots. She simply doesn’t beat herself. Her lack of serve may hinder the hopes of a Wimbledon title, but the women’s game needs a player like Aggie to rise.

After all, this week’s rankings still feature Patty Schnyder, a career fourth-round player with one Slam semi to her credit, at 13 in the world. Lindsay Davenport won one round at Wimbledon and rose to 23. Tough to explain that to the sporting public.

* While we’re on that point, Serena passed Venus on the computer (reason 5,742 why I hate the concept). But my colleague, SI’s Jon Wertheim, poses a terrific question: has Venus’ career eclipsed Serena’s?

* Now we move to the hard courts and wonder whether Donald Young, John Isner (both of whom fell and are close to being out of the top 100) and Sam Querrey can make a move. Can Bethanie Mattek continue her momentum from the spring/summer and make a Robby Ginepri-like charge through the summer?

And can Rafa play well in the States, particularly the Open? Will his knees, the ones that Uncle Toni admits are so tender that the family wants Rafa to play LESS on the hard stuff, allow him to show New York his greatness?

And does Roger, whose performance at Wimbledon showed he is certainly not done, feel a little pressure to win Slams sooner rather than later?

SECOND SERVE, FIRST RETURN
Most agreed this was a match about the first serves of the best inthe women’s game. It turned that Venus cranked up her first return, stepping into the court and boldly whacking Serena’s first serves. Once that occurred, Serena became more cautious with the first because her second was weak. Venus took great advantage of Serena’s second serve while Venue was able to win over half the points on her own second. Venus also limited her prior problems with double faults.

BREAK POINTS
Serena had chances, none more than a point to give her a 4-1 double break lead in the first set. It was the first of more than 10 break points that Venus saved, and it may have been the most important. If Serena had charged through the first set…..

MENTAL TOUGHNESS
Venus appeared to start slowly and for a few moments it looked like another of the Slam finals where Serena simply overpowered Venus. Perhaps it was saving that huge break point at 1-3 in the first and a subsequent bounce off the soft net cord, but Venus awakened. And her mind was strong. When the two played a 26-minute group of 3 games to start the second set, Serena finally cashed in a break. Venus calmly rose after the sitdown and broke back. That moment broke Serena’s spirit.

THE MAGIC KINGDOM
That is what Centre Court remains for Venus. No one moves better on grass than Venus. She has a belief on the most hallowed court in tennis that is unshakeable. The only person who had been able to shatter that belief was Serena but….

BEATING LITTLE SIS
Venus finally seemed to conquer the notion of taking something from Serena. It seemed through the glory years of 2002-03 that Serena had an easier time with the notion of beating Venus than vice versa. Well, Venus clearly ended that notion with Saturday’s win. And she played the classy big sister afterwards in every possible way while the disappointment was etched in Serena’s face. It was high quality tennis, the best match the sisters have ever produced against each other. They should be proud to produce two champions, two finalists who on Saturday held a private party on Centre Court.

Leaving Centre Court 15 minutes after Serena completed the Sisters destiny, a Saturday Wimbledon final, and there was a throng gathered at the base of the staircase outside our NBC broadcast location.

I have never seen that kind of gathering so I paused to assess.

It was Richard Williams holding court.

My views on the man are clear: he is reprehensible in his words (racist) and deeds (the abandonment of his first family including three kids, see VENUS ENVY by Jon Wertheim for more details.)

My views on the father are also clear: he and Oracene Price raised two intelligent, talented and increasingly classy women.

He has said he is leaving Wimbledon, that he can’t watch the Sisters face each other. It doesn’t matter that he won’t be here. He has already won.

Women’s tennis is in a precarious state. Globalization doesn’t sell in America, the best emerging American player in recent years won’t acknowledge the U.S. (Maria Sharapova), the tour is losing its title sponsor and the world’s best player abruptly quit.

So enter the women who propelled the tour to new heights in the early part of this decade. They have been part-time players since with part-time success. But now, with a vacuum at the top of the sport, temporarily occupied by Ana Ivanovic while Sharapova flounders through the summer, Venus and Serena have made women’s tennis relevant again.

When they play Saturday, for the third time in a Wimbledon final at a Club they have owned (only one women’s final this decade has been without a Williams), America will watch. And that matters in tennis. The world will also watch, if nothing else but to see how time has treated the Sisters.

They will see a mature Venus who carries herself with grace and has superior grass court movement. They will see a pleasantly maturing Serena, who has finally tempered the loose tongue that has often dismissed and disrespected opponents.

Venus is never more confident than on Centre Court. It is her Magic Kingdom. Serena is healthy, playing in her eighth consecutive Slam, a personal record.

They were both pressed in the second sets of their semis, but neither was threatened with defeat. They simply serve too well.

But they have faced overmatched competition to this point, particularly Venus. No one else can challenge them thus the challenge must come from each other.

Rarely in their previous Slam finals did that happen. Five years of wisdom and maturity could well lead to a better match. As unpleasant as the assignment may be, I think the Sisters will put their lives on hold for two hours and give us a worthy final Saturday.

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.

A quiet Sunday at Wimbledon — the Club is closed to the public which makes it a favored day for those with favored status. A credentialed hack can walk the grounds, enter the show courts and canvas the practice courts with little interference. Only the spare cleaning crew is present.
 
So that affords the chance for a rare moment with the top players. On Sunday, Roger Federer visited our NBC studios just before his practice. No shock that Federer, as classy a champion as any sport has seen, annually affords us this visit, something only Andy Roddick has regularly provided.

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Is Roger rattled by the French final? No outward signs were apparent.
 
Does he concern himself with the “media writing him off?” (I find the question unfair, as the “media” in tennis in often comprised of former players whose job is to analyze. I see no dismissal of Federer, rather a lovefest for Nadal, understandable given the French results and Rafa’s  near-miss here last year.) Roger admits the talk is an irritant; he claims he forgot the French the moment he left Paris and that he is reigning champ, 5 times at Wimbledon and 4 at the Open, and should be afforded the commensurate respect. Point well taken.
 
I asked Roger about his streaks: 16 straight Slam semis (active) and 10 straight Slam finals (ended at Australia). Are these a source of pride? He said yes, especially when seeing Novak Djokovic an early KO vicitim here and Andy at the French last year. His consistency is something he cherishes, usually discussed in terms of his #1 ranking but very real in his Slam performances.
 
Hard to understand Monday’s schedule. The Club likes to give each top player a Centre Court match before the semis in order to share the experience. But how could Venus, defending and four-time champ, and Serena,  a two-time champ, be scheduled consecutively on Court 2, the third show court and one without commentary booths? It, sadly, has every look of a slap at champions.

We talk about the pressure and wonder what impact it has on elite tennis players. We question those who seem to buckle under pressure and glorify those who rise above.  It’s part of the game as they so eloquently said in the great HBO series, “The Wire.”
 

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Then comes a moment when you see the question answered. You see tears flickering from the eyes of Ana Ivanovic as the new World No. 1 was on the verge of an upset loss Friday. Word filters through the tennis world that Ivanovic came to Wimbledon in a different mood. The sunny disposition and constant smile was gone.

I saw her on Sunday morning in Paris, the day after her champnioship, walking the streets with her support group and she was beaming. No one has seen a beam in London.

Is it the pressure of living up to her newly earned status? Is it the pressure of stardom in her home country? Did Ana suffer from some burnout, perhaps mental more than physical, as did fellow Serb Novak Djokovic? Those tears that Ana flicked away during the final changeover of her loss spoke loudly.
 
Some of the best grass-court tennis of the first week was played late Friday night by Mario Ancic in his four-set win over David Ferrer. Plagued most of 2007 by a viral illness, Ancic appears to be fully healthy and playing with the confidence that has made him a past threat here (semis against Andy Roddick in 2005.) Watching Ancic last night it was easy to believe that he could be the biggest roadblock to a third straight Federer-Nadal final. (It was six years ago- but remember that Ancic was the last man to beat Federer at Wimbledon.)
 
Ivanovic’s loss further cleared the path for a Sisters final. Serena was powerful in her Friday win over Amelie Mauresmo. The 2006 champ played a classic first set, moving well and displaying her fine grass-court skills. Serena needed to serve well , nearly 80%, to win in a tiebreak. Mauresmo collapsed after that and Serena pounced. Her round of 16 is American Bethanie Mattek, a fine show and the furthest advance of her career.
 
It turns out that James Blake doesn’t feel comfortable on grass. James feels less than fully confident in his movement and that is enough, he said, to take a slight edge off his aggressive play. Words like that, even if true, only support the feeling around the world that James is a one-surface player (fast hardcourt.) I cannot think of another top American in recent years who has stated uncertainty about playing on grass.

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.

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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.

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 hype was quick, the match scheduled on less than 24 hours notice. As a result, it was played it the middle of the day without the full stands two champions deserve.

For the fifth time in a year, 15 Slams collided at a major event. (Then again, Serena Williams doesn’t and Justine Henin rarely plays unless it’s a big stage.) And Serena stopped Justine’s run that ruined 2007 for the younger Sister.

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Three straight wins for Henin is Slam quarters are not erased by a quarter in Miami.

But Serena may have sent a bigger message – that she can still summon excellent tennis. For one hour, Serena was the aggressor, pushing Justine around the court with sound groundstrokes and forcing the dominant No. 1 into an astounding 40 errors.

Is there Miami mojo for Serena? She looked like a four-time champion who was in her backyard, even with the pressure of losing her top-10 rank with a loss. This wasn’t Roland Garros where last May, Henin strutted with supreme confidence while Serena looked confused.

Throughout the second set, it was Henin who wore the look of frustration, unable to string together points, spraying backhands (she had 0 winners off that side) and fumbling with second serves.

It looked like Serena was in Justine’s head and it’s been a while since anyone has said that about Williams.

While not anywhere near totally fit, Serena looks better at this event. (Pardon the judgments, but the rare Serena sighting forces assessments.) It is unlikely that she will ever be fleet and petite, but Serena has the goods to win carrying more than others.

Her next test: perhaps Venus. And that would be a lift for tennis, struggling for notice in our land when Madness and Opening Day own the sports frontier. In that light, it would be a shame if a Thursday showdown between the Sisters would be lost in the midweek rush.

Hence the problem for tennis with the “Spring Slam.” Great events, great venues but a lousy time for tennis to be noticed. College hoops and baseball rule the month and all others are left to fend for themselves. Can the Sisters provide a boost?