Lucky Star

And so the last, LAST event of the year has finished, with the Pro circuit event in Sorrento wrapping up. I can't say I am too familiar with the people that won - Marinko Matosevic in the men's and Olivia Rogowska in the women's. I don't have too much more to say about that, except that this Matosevic character has apparently won four Pro circuit titles this year... maybe he'll graduate to Futures or even Challengers at some stage. He is exactly four years younger than Roger Federer... I suppose you could say he was thus born under a tennis lucky star.

*

And how about Cedric Pioline? Knocking out Pete Sampras - God, I bet that felt sweet, though I'm sure he would have preferred to have done it a little earlier in his career! - then going on to beat Greg Rusedski for his first seniors tour title. I confess I don't follow the seniors tour very much, which I suppose is a shame, because it looks kind of interesting... actually, Jonas Bjorkman said when he retired that he'd played on the regular tour for so long he could go straight on the seniors tour. Ah, Jonas...

*

So what is the point of the seniors tour, exactly? Is it just a chance to set up epic grudgematches, like the Sampras/Pioline rematch? How serious is it? Is it just a group of old guys kicking around having fun or do they really get down and dirty?

*

I would like to note that I exempt John McEnroe from this question. He would get down and dirty with anyone, anywhere, anytime...

In the Tradition of Middle Earth...

I thought renaming places - even temporarily - was reserved for things like the premiere of the Lord of the Rings movies. (Remember when Wellington got renamed 'Middle Earth' for a week? I thought it was hilarious.) But no - apparently for the duration of the Australian Open next year, Federation Square is going to be called 'Tennis Square.'

*

Unimaginative name (right along the lines of Garden Square Cafe getting renamed 'Player Cafe' after A FRIGGING COMPETITION for the best name) but I like the intent. Melbourne in January is going to be the tennis capital of the universe, and I like that there's a huge effort to make tennis cool for the general public and not just the nerds like me. Here's what the Tennis Australia article says:

*

"For the duration of the Open, Channel Seven will broadcast tennis on the giant screen and an Australian Open merchandise store and NIKE outlet will be open.

*
"Top players will make special appearances, and between Thursday 22 January and Sunday 25 January 2009 Tennis Australia will conduct a variety of free interactive tennis activities, including Aviva Tennis Hot Shots and Talent Search."

*

Fun for all the family, basically. Get 'em into tennis while they're young, I say, and then they can grow up fabulous, like me.

*

Hmmm. I'm going to be in Melbourne for the first five days of the Open. (Got my tickets yesterday! Am now poor!) Maybe I should swing past this so-called Tennis Square... especially if those star appearances include a certain player whose initials are RF...

*

...or MS, for that matter...

Hotel Sorrento

Pete Sampras. Cedric Pioline. Could be epic. Here's hoping it is. I'd like to see Pioline avenge his Slam losses, but I'm backing Pistol Pete on this one. Just a feeling.

*

Anyway, we're not talking about Pete and le Ced today. No, it's back to local homegrown Aussie tennis and what is apparently the last Pro circuit event of the year, the tournie in Sorrento. Quality tournament, they say... but that doesn't mean people will have heard of most of the guys. Ah, Aussie tennis.

*

What is disturbing me is that at least half of Australia's Davis Cup team is playing this tournament - a tournament on a circuit so low I hadn't even heard of its existence until a few months ago. Top seed and hot favourite is Brydan Klein, then second seed is Sam Groth. Marinko Matosevic defeated Bernard Tomic today, who retired after what one presumes was an injury and hopes wasn't a temper tantrum... I've heard he's prone. There's our Davis Cup team, pretty much. Oh dear.

*

That said, here's hoping Brydan or Sam can win this one... though I'm liking the form of our old man Andrew Coelho, who pulled that good win the other week in Perth. Maybe he can join team Davis Cup next year when we play our (next) relegation tie?

*

...remember when we used to win Davis Cup?

*

Bernard will save us. HE MUST!

Perfect Match

So I'm checking my email today like any normal person would when I come across an email from Tennis Australia. Not unusual - I'm on their mailing list, I get emails from them all the time. But this one was a little... different.

*

'Who is your tennis perfect match?' it asked. Intrigued, I clicked, wondering if the trashy title was really some witty cover from an actual tennis story... given as this is my usual technique. But no. It was a link. To a multiple-choice quiz that enabled you to discover which tennis player was your 'perfect match.'

*

Questions included things like your reaction to getting fired, which type of guy you would approach at a party, your ideal date, how you'd like a man to dress, a man's most important quality, and your 'dream of a man.' My reaction? I hope to God that this is something someone at Tennis Australia found somewhere - that is, I hope they spent no time or money putting it together. Because they have a friggin' GRAND SLAM to organise.

*

Not that I don't appreciate the lighter side of tennis - I love the offcourt segment that Tennis Australia does each week, just like I love the offcourt goss on Down the Line! But this is beyond fun. This is trashy. It's funny, yes... but with the Aussie Open just round the corner, I hope dearly that it's a flip, 'oh, this is amusing!' thing, because if they spent money on that that they could have spent on something good I will be so annoyed. There's already an obscene amount of money being pumped into this ridiculous 'Day on the Baseline' thing. People should not need the encouragement of Gabriella Cilmi and whomever else to come to the tennis. Is not the tennis enough attraction for that? SPEND THE MONEY ON THE TENNIS, DAMN IT!

*

Yeah, yeah, I know you're all wondering who my tennis perfect match is. But need you even ask? Do you think it would seriously be anyone other than Roger?

*

...though I confess that I did take it a second time and rigged it so I would get Marat...

A Kind of Quiet Confidence

The big man R-Fed has released his schedule for next year, and what everyone's talking about is its lack of clay. 'Only two events!' they say. 'Mon dieu! How will he ever be ready in time for Paris! Ca alors!'

*

Me... well, I think back to 2006. That was arguably Roger's best showing at Paris - ie. the tightest final he gave Rafa, possibly in competition with 2007 - and he played exactly two tournaments before Roland Garros: Monte Carlo and Rome. (God, who can forget that Rome final in 2006? That was possibly the most intense tennis match I have ever seen: Roger and Rafa's greatest match up outside Wimbledon this year. And then they made Masters Series finals three sets. Yeah, that was smart. Cough cough.) This year he played a crushing clay season - four tournaments - and got crushed in the final in return. So why not return to the old ways? I think it's terribly clever. Let us not forget that Roger will be looking for his fourteenth - or, probably, his fifteenth - Slam at Roland Garros. I think he's very clever.

*

I'd be more worried about Rafa's schedule, to tell the truth. With all his knee problems, will he continue to play four clay tournaments? Kid's gotta cut back, or he'll be retiring before Roger even begins thinking about it.

*

And is anyone else thinking that this tournament in Abu Dhabi kind of looks like fun? I'm unsure why so many people have agreed to play it - Roger's pre-Australian Open schedule is looking chockas, what with that and Doha and Kooyong - but it's going to be a cracker of an exhibition tournament. Everyone who's anyone will be there - just what I like to see. Kind of like a mini Masters Cup: only this time I reckon the real Master will come out on top. I have a good feeling about Federer's 2009 - a kind of quiet confidence. Grand Slam ahoy!

Those Halcyon Days

The full lineup for the Brisbane International has been announced - hurrah! The closest thing to news we've had in days! And I still have no desire to attend! Brilliant!

*

Remember when there used to be tournaments and things to write about? Ah, those halcyon days...

*

The men's is headlined by Novak Djokovic (spit spit) but the real highlights for me will be Jo-W Tsonga, Ernests Gulbis (could this be his breakthrough tournament? Please, Ernests! You're a Grand Slam quarter-finalist!), Kei Nishikori (Star power) and Marcos Baghdatis. I'm sorry, but when did Marcos fall to #99? Surely he should have a protected ranking or some such? He was injured, yes - but if his ranking keeps sliding he's going to find himself in qualifying for the Aussie Open, and that's not a place you generally find ex-finalists... though maybe the powers that be at Tennis Australia would have mercy and give him a wildcard. He's been carded into Brisbane, after all...

*

...actually, wouldn't it be lovely to see Marcos win? It's been so long - I'd forgotten how much I really do like him. Ah, smiley happy Marcos.

*

Though there is the Ernests factor, after all. I'd love to see him win. If only there was a nice girl from Latvia he could play Hopman Cup with... instead of this stupid Brisbane tournament. What was wrong with Adelaide and the Gold Coast? I liked those tournaments, damn it! My home town lost its tournament a few years back (Ana Ivanovic's first ever tour victory was in my city!) - why are the number of tournaments just getting smaller and smaller?

*

Speaking of Ana, she's headlining the girls, with Victoria Azarenka, Li Na and Sam Stosur singing back up. I'm being patriotic and backing Sam for this one. It's about time she got a title in the bag after her brush with Lyme disease...

A Terribly Interesting Topic of Conversation

One of the top stories on the Tennis Australia website at the moment is about the weather for the Australian Open. THE WEATHER.

*

It's pretty standard when you have nothing to say to someone to talk about the weather, yeah? But if Tennis Australia is talking about the weather FOR THE END OF JANUARY on the first of December - if that is the sole tennis related thing there is to talk about - then I'm sorry, dear bloggers, but we are screwed.

*

Apparently the Australian Open will be mostly sunny, with some rain. What a huge surprise. I am astounded. That sounds totally different to all the other years. Thanks, Bureau of Meteorology. I am so shocked that you can probably feel it rolling off the page. Seriously, the weather? For January? I know that here it's really important to spread the slip slop slap wrap message and stuff, what with, you know, sun and skin cancer and suchlike, but is it really necessary to do that on the first of December.

*

Seriously, tennis world. Have we got nothing better to talk about?

*

...I clearly haven't. I'm sick of the off-season. I know the players need a holiday, but could they at least do something scandalous I could write about? If I have to write about the weather once more, then badness will ensue!