It's no secret that I'm an unapologetic Lleyton Hewitt fan. I've written more about him than almost anyone else in this space and that's odd considering that he has been ranked over or near 100 since I started this blog.
The thing about it is that I used to truly dislike him. I didn't like how he yelled and ranted and I really didn't like how he antagonized so many of his opponents, seemingly just for the sake of antagonizing them.
But over the last couple of years, my feelings about Hewitt have changed completely. For starters, he seems to have cooled down as he has gotten older. That has made being a fan of his easier, to be sure, but I have also learned to appreciate him for what he is in his older age.
The scrappy, fiery demeanor that used to get under my skin when he was at the top of the sport is now what I like most about him. I also love that on occasion, for much shorter periods of time now, Hewitt will show you a flash of the brilliance that took him to number one in the world.
In his opening round match at Wimbledon, against 11th-ranked Stan Wawrinka, Hewitt was at his gutsiest and gave us more than just a flash of brilliance.
The Aussie didn't just hang with Wawrinka. For that matter, he didn't just beat him either. Hewitt routed him 6-4, 7-5, 6-3.
Against players the caliber of Wawrinka, Hewitt is nearly always going to be the underdog these days, but you have to love his attitude about it.
After his win, Hewitt said "He's a quality player, but going out there I didn't feel like a total underdog."
Shortly after, Hewitt answered critics that may have been calling for his retirement after all of his injuries and his drop in the rankings over the last few years.
"People ask when you're retiring but why would you retire with an atmosphere like that?" he said.
Those two quotes so perfectly encompass what I love about Hewitt. He never goes on court expecting to lose and he is going to continue to play the game until he physically can't anymore.
Until that day comes, I'll be firmly behind him.
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Saturday, June 22, 2013
Who is Cursing the Wimbledon Draw?
Winning in tennis, particularly in a Grand Slam tournament where you are really only dealing with the best of the best, is mostly about talent.
If you look at the players that make the quarterfinals in these tournaments, you will see the same names over and over again and there are generally all players ranked in the top 10 or 15. That's no accident.
But we can't pretend like luck doesn't play into it.
The draw, one of the few things the players can't prepare for or control, can greatly affect a player's run through the field. A tough draw, even if it doesn't knock him out, can greatly tax a player before he gets to the late stages. A soft draw can keep a player fresh before he gets into the late rounds against the tougher players.
Heading into the 2013 edition of the Wimbledon Championships, let's take a look at the players that were saddled with a tough draw.
Roger Federer
Fed's early-round matches won't strike anyone as particularly daunting. The ranked players in his 1/8th of the draw include players that aren't all that comfortable on grass in Nicolas Almagro and Fabio Fognini and a relatively unproven player in Jerzy Janowicz. The only real dangerous floater in the section is Lukas Rosol, the Czech player who upset Rafael Nadal last year.
The part that has to stick in Federer's craw is that Nadal, who is seeded fifth, ended up in his quarter. In the past, Federer has probably felt pretty confident in his ability to beat Nadal on this surface, but the rivalry between the two has been trending away from Roger for quite some time now.
At this stage of their respective careers, and with Nadal playing so well at the moment, it's just hard to imagine Federer being able to beat Nadal.
Sam Querrey
After bottoming out a couple of years ago due to nagging injuries and ailments, Sam has done a nice job of rebounding to get himself back around the top 20.
But now that he has gotten back to playing consistent tennis, he's more than due for a breakout performance in a Grand Slam. He hasn't advanced to the fourth round of a major since the 2010 US Open.
If he's going to do that here, he's going to have to escape a pretty difficult first round match against Bernard Tomic. The young Australian has had a draining few months what with the drama surrounding his father, but if he can focus and play the way he is capable of, he has the talent to make a deep run. He did make the quarterfinals at Wimbledon in 2011.
Making things tougher, if he is able to get past Tomic and the winner of Blake/DeBakker in the second round, he will likely end up opposite Richard Gasquet, who has been playing arguably the best tennis of his career over the last year or so.
Stanislas Wawrinka
Stan has become something of a tragic character. He has done a fantastic job of turning himself into a consistent top-15 player. He has even gone on to play some of the best tennis of his career over the last year or so, but he is often undone by an unfortunate draw or by a marathon where the opponent matches him shot for shot.
Looking at what he has ahead of him at Wimbledon, it could be setting up to be more of the same.
In the first round, he drew the scrappy Lleyton Hewitt. Even if Hewitt doesn't have what it takes to rise to the occasion and win this match, he's going to make Stan work. In a way, you could also look at this as a really tough draw for Hewitt, as Rusty has played well enough in some of these recent majors to advance into the second or third round, but he has also found himself up against stout opposition more often than not.
If Stan gets past Hewitt and his second round opponent, he could very well have a date with big John Isner. It remains to be seen how much Isner is going to have coming off of his tough match at the French Open with Tommy Haas, but even if he's not at his very best, that serve will still make things tough.
Fabio Fognini
Even though he's "just" seeded 30th, I think it's pretty neat that Fognini has worked his way into consistently being seeded at Grand Slam events.
It would be even better if he could turn this run of good form into a nice, extended run at a major where he has advanced past the second round just once, but that may not be in the cards.
He gets his tournament underway against a tricky player in Jurgen Melzer. The Austrian is a solid top-40 player that was ranked as high as eighth in the relatively recent past. Above all else, though, Melzer is a lefty with some real pop in his racket and those guys are few and far between on tour.
If Fognini is able to advance past Melzer, he could match up with Lukas Rosol. He is a big hitter that, as I mentioned earlier, knocked Nadal out last year.
And if Fabio is able to fight his way past those two, he will, in all likelihood, have a date with none other than Roger Federer.
Tommy Robredo
Robredo has given us one of the better comeback stories in recent memory. After falling way down the rankings in 2011 and early 2012, Robredo rebounded nicely and capped off his run back up the rankings with a quarterfinal appearance at the French Open this year. It was the first time he had made the quarters of a major since the 2009 French Open.
As a reward, Robredo has been stuck with a particularly tough path if he wants to make a run at Wimbledon, a tournament where he has had little success anyway.
He should be fine in the first round when he faces off against Alex Bogomolov, Jr., but from there, it gets difficult. His second round opponent will likely be Nicolas Mahut, a player who prefers the grass and will be coming off of his first ATP singles title after he beat Stan Wawrinka 6-3, 6-4 in The Netherlands this past week.
If he can get past Mahut, he will likely go head-to-head with Andy Murray. That's not exactly a formula for success for Tommy.
Ryan Harrison
It has become a running joke that you can take it to the bank that Ryan Harrison will end up opposite a seeded player in the first round of a major. American tennis fans are getting antsy for Harrison to make his big move up the rankings, but that's difficult to do with the type of draws he has gotten.
This time around, he finds himself paired with Jeremy Chardy. Seeded 28th, Chardy is a player that Harrison can beat, but it's not going to easy. The Frenchman has had a fantastic 2013 and he very well may be playing the best tennis of his career.
If Harrison were to pull the upset and beat Chardy, his second round match should be significantly easier, but waiting for him in the third round will probably be Novak Djokovic.
If you look at the players that make the quarterfinals in these tournaments, you will see the same names over and over again and there are generally all players ranked in the top 10 or 15. That's no accident.
But we can't pretend like luck doesn't play into it.
The draw, one of the few things the players can't prepare for or control, can greatly affect a player's run through the field. A tough draw, even if it doesn't knock him out, can greatly tax a player before he gets to the late stages. A soft draw can keep a player fresh before he gets into the late rounds against the tougher players.
Heading into the 2013 edition of the Wimbledon Championships, let's take a look at the players that were saddled with a tough draw.
Roger Federer
Fed's early-round matches won't strike anyone as particularly daunting. The ranked players in his 1/8th of the draw include players that aren't all that comfortable on grass in Nicolas Almagro and Fabio Fognini and a relatively unproven player in Jerzy Janowicz. The only real dangerous floater in the section is Lukas Rosol, the Czech player who upset Rafael Nadal last year.
The part that has to stick in Federer's craw is that Nadal, who is seeded fifth, ended up in his quarter. In the past, Federer has probably felt pretty confident in his ability to beat Nadal on this surface, but the rivalry between the two has been trending away from Roger for quite some time now.
At this stage of their respective careers, and with Nadal playing so well at the moment, it's just hard to imagine Federer being able to beat Nadal.
Sam Querrey
After bottoming out a couple of years ago due to nagging injuries and ailments, Sam has done a nice job of rebounding to get himself back around the top 20.
But now that he has gotten back to playing consistent tennis, he's more than due for a breakout performance in a Grand Slam. He hasn't advanced to the fourth round of a major since the 2010 US Open.
If he's going to do that here, he's going to have to escape a pretty difficult first round match against Bernard Tomic. The young Australian has had a draining few months what with the drama surrounding his father, but if he can focus and play the way he is capable of, he has the talent to make a deep run. He did make the quarterfinals at Wimbledon in 2011.
Making things tougher, if he is able to get past Tomic and the winner of Blake/DeBakker in the second round, he will likely end up opposite Richard Gasquet, who has been playing arguably the best tennis of his career over the last year or so.
Stanislas Wawrinka
Stan has become something of a tragic character. He has done a fantastic job of turning himself into a consistent top-15 player. He has even gone on to play some of the best tennis of his career over the last year or so, but he is often undone by an unfortunate draw or by a marathon where the opponent matches him shot for shot.
Looking at what he has ahead of him at Wimbledon, it could be setting up to be more of the same.
In the first round, he drew the scrappy Lleyton Hewitt. Even if Hewitt doesn't have what it takes to rise to the occasion and win this match, he's going to make Stan work. In a way, you could also look at this as a really tough draw for Hewitt, as Rusty has played well enough in some of these recent majors to advance into the second or third round, but he has also found himself up against stout opposition more often than not.
If Stan gets past Hewitt and his second round opponent, he could very well have a date with big John Isner. It remains to be seen how much Isner is going to have coming off of his tough match at the French Open with Tommy Haas, but even if he's not at his very best, that serve will still make things tough.
Fabio Fognini
Even though he's "just" seeded 30th, I think it's pretty neat that Fognini has worked his way into consistently being seeded at Grand Slam events.
It would be even better if he could turn this run of good form into a nice, extended run at a major where he has advanced past the second round just once, but that may not be in the cards.
He gets his tournament underway against a tricky player in Jurgen Melzer. The Austrian is a solid top-40 player that was ranked as high as eighth in the relatively recent past. Above all else, though, Melzer is a lefty with some real pop in his racket and those guys are few and far between on tour.
If Fognini is able to advance past Melzer, he could match up with Lukas Rosol. He is a big hitter that, as I mentioned earlier, knocked Nadal out last year.
And if Fabio is able to fight his way past those two, he will, in all likelihood, have a date with none other than Roger Federer.
Tommy Robredo
Robredo has given us one of the better comeback stories in recent memory. After falling way down the rankings in 2011 and early 2012, Robredo rebounded nicely and capped off his run back up the rankings with a quarterfinal appearance at the French Open this year. It was the first time he had made the quarters of a major since the 2009 French Open.
As a reward, Robredo has been stuck with a particularly tough path if he wants to make a run at Wimbledon, a tournament where he has had little success anyway.
He should be fine in the first round when he faces off against Alex Bogomolov, Jr., but from there, it gets difficult. His second round opponent will likely be Nicolas Mahut, a player who prefers the grass and will be coming off of his first ATP singles title after he beat Stan Wawrinka 6-3, 6-4 in The Netherlands this past week.
If he can get past Mahut, he will likely go head-to-head with Andy Murray. That's not exactly a formula for success for Tommy.
Ryan Harrison
It has become a running joke that you can take it to the bank that Ryan Harrison will end up opposite a seeded player in the first round of a major. American tennis fans are getting antsy for Harrison to make his big move up the rankings, but that's difficult to do with the type of draws he has gotten.
This time around, he finds himself paired with Jeremy Chardy. Seeded 28th, Chardy is a player that Harrison can beat, but it's not going to easy. The Frenchman has had a fantastic 2013 and he very well may be playing the best tennis of his career.
If Harrison were to pull the upset and beat Chardy, his second round match should be significantly easier, but waiting for him in the third round will probably be Novak Djokovic.
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Missing Andy Roddick
Shortly after Andy Roddick announced his retirement at last year's US Open, I wrote a piece for TheFanManifesto.com urging tennis fans to remember Andy fondly and truly be thankful for all that he gave us during his long career.
With the grass court season in full swing and Wimbledon just around the corner, I know that's exactly how I'm remembering him.
Andy had so many fantastic moments on the grass at the All England Club in his career that sometimes I almost forget that his one Grand Slam victory was at the US Open and not Wimbledon.
He made the finals there three times, each time losing to Roger Federer.
The most notable of those losses was the legendary 7-5, 6-7 (6), 6-7 (5), 6-3, 14-16 match in 2009. It was in that match that we saw Andy at what was likely his very best. And, as was the case all too often during his matches against Federer, it just wasn't enough.
For those of us that were fans of Roddick right down to the very end, Wimbledon also gave us hope. As the sun began to set on his career, it became more and more apparent that it was the only tournament where he was going to be able to win that elusive second major. His ability to serve on grass masked his deficiencies and gave him a puncher's chance every time out.
With him gone, the tournament will just be different.
For starters, my annual tradition of looking at the Wimbledon draw, finding Andy and trying to dream up a scenario where he could win it all is no longer something I can do.
More than anything, though, I just feel like I no longer have a dog in the fight. I root for John Isner, Sam Querrey and the rest of the Yanks, sure, but it's not the same. Andy was the player that got me into tennis and that fandom just can't be recreated with another player.
I have every intention of watching as much of the tournament as I can, but something will certainly be missing.
Despite his frustrating losses and even more frustrating outbursts, rooting for Andy was what I loved most about tennis and it won't be the same without him.
With the grass court season in full swing and Wimbledon just around the corner, I know that's exactly how I'm remembering him.
Andy had so many fantastic moments on the grass at the All England Club in his career that sometimes I almost forget that his one Grand Slam victory was at the US Open and not Wimbledon.
He made the finals there three times, each time losing to Roger Federer.
The most notable of those losses was the legendary 7-5, 6-7 (6), 6-7 (5), 6-3, 14-16 match in 2009. It was in that match that we saw Andy at what was likely his very best. And, as was the case all too often during his matches against Federer, it just wasn't enough.
For those of us that were fans of Roddick right down to the very end, Wimbledon also gave us hope. As the sun began to set on his career, it became more and more apparent that it was the only tournament where he was going to be able to win that elusive second major. His ability to serve on grass masked his deficiencies and gave him a puncher's chance every time out.
With him gone, the tournament will just be different.
For starters, my annual tradition of looking at the Wimbledon draw, finding Andy and trying to dream up a scenario where he could win it all is no longer something I can do.
More than anything, though, I just feel like I no longer have a dog in the fight. I root for John Isner, Sam Querrey and the rest of the Yanks, sure, but it's not the same. Andy was the player that got me into tennis and that fandom just can't be recreated with another player.
I have every intention of watching as much of the tournament as I can, but something will certainly be missing.
Despite his frustrating losses and even more frustrating outbursts, rooting for Andy was what I loved most about tennis and it won't be the same without him.
Monday, June 10, 2013
The Best and Worst of Times
What do we make of the 2013 French Open?
You would be hard-pressed to argue that the tournament didn't give us the types of upsets that make Grand Slam events fun and unpredictable.
After all, we saw both Tommy Haas and Tommy Robredo make appearances in the quarterfinals. Haas' success is somewhat expected as he has made a slow climb in the rankings ever since bottoming out a couple of years ago. Robredo, though, was a big surprise. He had put together a nice 2013 to date, but I don't know that anyone expected this type of run out of him.
We also saw David Ferrer make a Grand Slam final for the first time in his career. After several years of being a lock to advance to and lose in the quarters or semis, it was nice to see all of his hard work pay off.
But on the other hand, the event ended the way we always expected it to.
We knew that, barring something unforeseen, no one was going to be able to touch Rafael Nadal and that's exactly how it played out.
It's that part that makes me unsure of how to feel about this edition of the French Open.
I fully realize that the opportunity I have been given to watch the greatest clay court player of all-time ply his trade is a gift. No one has dominated clay courts like he has and I get the feeling that the French Open records that he has set will never be touched. I'm one of the lucky few that will get to say that I saw him play at the height of his powers.
I should have been excited to see him dominate. I should have been looking to set everything else aside to really immerse myself in his matches.
But I wasn't and I didn't.
It's just that his dominance was so routine. I will grant you that his semifinal against Novak Djokovic was an instant classic. But for the most part, his run through the field, including his win over Ferrer in the final, was dull, methodical and quick.
It's not fair to either competitor, but even the marathon match between Nadal and Djokovic was predictable in its own way. I think we knew going in that it was going to go five sets and I'm guessing if we were all injected with truth serum, we would have admitted that we knew there was no way Nadal was losing that match.
Maybe I'm alone, and based on a lot of the fantastic journalism I have read over the last couple of days waxing poetic about Nadal's victory it appears that I am, but I was left underwhelmed by what I saw at the French Open.
I know that's wrong of me and it bothers me to no end, but I can't lie. Hopefully you can forgive me.
You would be hard-pressed to argue that the tournament didn't give us the types of upsets that make Grand Slam events fun and unpredictable.
After all, we saw both Tommy Haas and Tommy Robredo make appearances in the quarterfinals. Haas' success is somewhat expected as he has made a slow climb in the rankings ever since bottoming out a couple of years ago. Robredo, though, was a big surprise. He had put together a nice 2013 to date, but I don't know that anyone expected this type of run out of him.
We also saw David Ferrer make a Grand Slam final for the first time in his career. After several years of being a lock to advance to and lose in the quarters or semis, it was nice to see all of his hard work pay off.
But on the other hand, the event ended the way we always expected it to.
We knew that, barring something unforeseen, no one was going to be able to touch Rafael Nadal and that's exactly how it played out.
It's that part that makes me unsure of how to feel about this edition of the French Open.
I fully realize that the opportunity I have been given to watch the greatest clay court player of all-time ply his trade is a gift. No one has dominated clay courts like he has and I get the feeling that the French Open records that he has set will never be touched. I'm one of the lucky few that will get to say that I saw him play at the height of his powers.
I should have been excited to see him dominate. I should have been looking to set everything else aside to really immerse myself in his matches.
But I wasn't and I didn't.
It's just that his dominance was so routine. I will grant you that his semifinal against Novak Djokovic was an instant classic. But for the most part, his run through the field, including his win over Ferrer in the final, was dull, methodical and quick.
It's not fair to either competitor, but even the marathon match between Nadal and Djokovic was predictable in its own way. I think we knew going in that it was going to go five sets and I'm guessing if we were all injected with truth serum, we would have admitted that we knew there was no way Nadal was losing that match.
Maybe I'm alone, and based on a lot of the fantastic journalism I have read over the last couple of days waxing poetic about Nadal's victory it appears that I am, but I was left underwhelmed by what I saw at the French Open.
I know that's wrong of me and it bothers me to no end, but I can't lie. Hopefully you can forgive me.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)