Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Halleback

Okay, I lied. I'm a bad person. One thing I didn't realise when I promised human interest stories is that you have to research them. I mean, I knew that, but I didn't realise how time consuming that would be. So, because I am in a hurry today, you just get the Musings of Jodi on Tennis She Hasn't Actually Seen. Tomorrow I have a whole day off, though... so I promise you faithfully a player profile. If there's anyone in particular you'd like me to profile, please leave a comment on my blog! I'm trying not to do Federer because I talk about him all the time... but it's always an option!
*
Speaking of Federer, he had a great win in Halle last night, taking out Michael Berrer. Berrer is hardly one of the Nadals of this world, but he's a tricky player - another southpaw - and Roger had a very dominating win by the looks of things. I read his presser from after the match, and he said he was feeling comfortable enough up 30-0, 40-0 on his serve to try stuff out - and he never got broken, so some of the stuff must have worked.
*
Every time I think I've encompassed the spectrum of Federer, he just gets that little bit better. His attitude after that crushing defeat in Roland Garros was... I don't think he could have a better attitude. Let me see if I can find the quote... it was from his pre-tournament presser in Halle... ah, here we go. “I am already over the loss in Paris. It does not matter if you lose by a big or a small margin. A loss is a loss. After all, I was in the final of the French Open, so I am happy about it.”
*
Isn't that just an incredible way to look at things? The world has endless things to learn from the way this man looks at life. Just after that awful loss on Sunday, a journalist asked him if he thought he could still win Roland Garros, and he fired back, "yes," immediately. He backs himself, he trusts himself and he doesn't let things get him down. A lot of people - and I include myself in this - have many lessons to learn from Roger Federer. I'm a member of a Facebook group called 'Roger Federer makes me better-er' and I couldn't believe that statement any more fervently. I swear.
*
Onto other guys. Rafa and the Djoker both won their matches in Queen's. Marat lost... but we know how he hates the grass, which he thinks is for cows. I know they're not particularly high ranked players, but I was very surprised at both Isner and Guccione losing in Queen's. Querrey lost the day before. I thought that enormous serve might help them out on the grass... but maybe, if the ball does come back, they don't have the footspeed to keep up with it. They are all about eleven feet tall, after all.
*
There's one last player I'd like to talk a bit about, and that's Tomas Berdych. I never to know what to think about him. In some ways, I think he's another Philipp Kohlschreiber to me (Philipp, incidentally, won yesterday.) I think he's better than he is, and so he perpetually underwhelms me. I know Soderling is crazy in form at the moment, but Berdych's game is so well suited to grass! He won Halle last year and was the runner up the year before! He's only young, but Tomas, man, wake up!
*
I really like Berdych's game - and time has allowed me to forgive him for beating Roger at the Olympics in 2004 - and so it's disappointing when he doesn't do as well as he should. I'd like to see him make a run to the semis in a slam - to be the other guy along with Roger, Rafa and the Djoker, as they basically seem to be locked into the semis of the Slams. I'd like him to be the random, the Tsonga, the Monfils, the Richou. He has the potential - actualise, Tomas, actualise!
*
I don't know if he's playing a tournament next week, but he should - Nottingham or something. A grass court tournament, obviously... still not sure what's going on with Warsaw and Barcelona and the clay. That's just weird.
*
Also, before I go, I'd just like to apologise for the horrendous pun in today's title. Not quite as bad as the Kuerten falling for Guga pun, but everyone was using variations on that. This one is all my own... ahahahaha.
*
*
Today's Results
*
Artois Championships (Queen's Club, London)
*
Rafael Nadal def. Jonas Bjorkman, 6-2 6-2
Kei Nishikori def. Olivier Patience, 7-6 (10-8) 6-3
Fernando Gonzalez def. Marat Safin, 6-3 7-6 (7-3)
Andy Roddick def. Robby Ginepri, 6-7 (6-8) 6-1 6-1
Mardy Fish def. Chris Guccione, 4-6 7-6 (7-0) 6-4
Ernests Gulbis def. Andreas Seppi, 6-3 6-7 (7-9) 6-3
Richard Gasquet def. Simone Bolelli, 6-3 6-3
Nicolas Mahut def. John Isner, 7-5 6-4
David Nalbandian def. Viktor Troicki, 6-4 7-6 (7-4)
Lleyton Hewitt def. Xavier Malisse, 6-3 6-2
Janko Tipsarevic def. Ivo Minar, 3-6 6-3 6-4
Novak Djokovic def. Roko Karanusic, 6-2 7-6 (9-7)
*
*
Gerry Weber Open (Halle)
*
Roger Federer def. Michael Berrer, 6-4 6-2
Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Tommy Haas, 7-5 5-7 7-6 (7-5)
Robin Soderling def. Tomas Berdych, 6-2 7-5
Andreas Beck def. Mischa Zverev, 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (7-5) 6-1
James Blake def. Benjamin Becker, 4-6 7-5 6-3
*
*
Warsaw Orange Open (Warsaw)
*
Nikolay Davydenko def. Jiri Vanek, 4-6 7-5 6-1
Evgeny Korolev def. Potito Starace, 7-5 4-0 retired
Marcel Granollers def. Marcos Daniel, 6-2 6-4
Juan Monaco def. Florent Serra, 7-5 6-3
*
*
DFS Classic (Birmingham)
*
Petra Cetkovska def. Marion Bartoli, 5-7 6-4 6-0
Camille Pin def. Marta Domachowska, 6-4 6-2
Kateryna Bondarenko def. Samantha Stosur, 6-3 6-2
Melinda Czink def. Olga Govortsova, 6-3 7-6 (8-6)
Alona Bondarenko def. Virginia Ruano Pascual, 7-6 (7-4) 3-6 7-5
Sunitha Rao def. Naomi Cavaday, 4-6 6-3 6-1
Yaroslava Shvedova def. Katie O'Brien, 7-5 1-6 7-5
Marina Erakovic def. Sania Mirza, 6-3 6-0
Yanina Wickmayer def. Casey Dellacqua, 6-2 3-6 6-3
Aiko Nakamura def. Sorana Cirstea, 6-4 4-6 6-4
Nicole Vaidisova def. Nathalie Dechy, 6-1 6-3
*
*
Campeanatos Internacionales de Tenis Femenino de Espana (Barcelona)
*
Nuria Llagostera Vives def. Eloisa Compostizo de Andres, 6-3 6-0
Sara Errani def. Varvara Lepchenko, 6-4 7-5
Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez def. Pauline Parmentier, 6-2 6-4
Stephani Cohen-Aloro def. Magdalena Rybarikova, 7-6 (7-3) 6-0

1 comment:

Tennis Talk, Anyone? said...

Hey Jodi, Van here. Great headline!

About Berdych: I don't know if he's ever going to come through. He should have broken through by now. To me, it seems like he just doesn't want it badly enough.