Miami: Fedal Bromance Tonight

These two goofballs finally made their 23rd appointment to play each other in the good old USA. Funny, that the only times they've ever met on American soil have been in Miami (2004, 2005 and 2010).

They first met each other in 2004.




Then they meet in 2005 again.



The rest is history.

Roger: Look, what I remember from seven years ago when I played him the first time, I came back from sun stroke in Indian Wells after beating Henman, and kind of dragged my way through the match with Davydenko. I don't know how much I had actually heard about Nadal before that match.
I remember seeing him for a bit over a year, I think, because he had a breakthrough maybe in Monaco the year before or somewhere else. I knew he was good, you know, but he, I guess, surprised me to some degree that he was so consistent, so good on hardcourts already so early.
That really showed me he was going to become a probably world No. 1, Grand Slam champion, just a really special Spaniard who could not only play on clay but other surfaces as well. He clearly lived up to all the expectations. From then on it went; the rest we know.

It's obvious that they have a lot of affection for each other.

Rafa: When I go on court against him I feel it's a really special match, especially because we play always really important matches. That makes the rivalry very, very special. I don't know if rivals in the rest of the history of tennis played a lot of the matches, as many matches as we played. I don't know how many matches McEnroe/Borg or Sampras/Agassi played, but we played a lot a lot times. So that makes the match really special always.

Then they went on play dates in each other's country.

Roger: My No. 1 rival to me it seems is Rafa. Doesn't matter how many more times I'm going to be playing all the other guys. At the moment, we have that history and nobody can take it away from us. That's why the only thing really missing from us is a US Open match, I guess, and a few other maybe tournaments.

But we've played in so many big finals against each other and were able to play over four or five tough sets and have always shown a lot respect towards each other. So, yeah, clearly those are the matches I'm really looking forward to and hoping to play my best tennis.


If you win, great; if you lose, that's okay, too, as long as you tried everything and learned something else from that match after you lost. But I am planning to win, and that's why I have to be well prepared.


I think in the beginning, early on in my career when I became the world No. 1 I didn't really have that rival, and I was very happy about it. I was just able to win, win, win, and dominate and go on and lose, you know, ten matches in two years kind of thing. That was quite incredible.

So in the beginning I guess I struggled to embrace the rivalry I had with Rafa. Only later on I was able to say this is actually quite cool. Sleeveless, pirate pants, you name it, long hair, lefty, spins, more with the flat shots and so forth and double handed against one handed, lefty against righty. I think it all kind of made sense, and I was able to embrace it then.

I think we had some good times in the past, and they have changed into what it is today. Really respectful and helping each other for good causes, foundation matches, you name it, for tsunamis. We've done so many things together. It's been a lot of fun.

May the bromance continue!

Miami: ARod Wins ...

A wedding anniversary gift for his supermodel wife, BDecks. It may not be paper, but it certainly can makes a great flower vase.



The outcome of the match was never in doubt once ARod broke serve once in each set: 7-5, 6-4. ARod admitted he had to use a different game plan against Big Berd, who hits flatter than Rafa.

Q. Do you feel you played two different matches against Nadal and Berdych?

ANDY RODDICK: Definitely.

Q. Up at the net a lot and only three times serve and volley in this match today.

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, for sure. You know, against Rafa, when you get two feet under you and you’re not being bullied from the baseline, it’s time to take some cuts.

With Tomas I can get away with my slice a little bit more. I can get away with changing paces a little bit more without the angles of the court being utilized as much. He hits the ball straight through a little bit more, so I can kind of rely on legs a little bit more without the court growing this way and becoming tougher.

So, yeah, it’s definitely a different match.

The match was never entirely characterized by the surf n turf style both guys are known for (big serves and big forehands), as they exchanged several slice and dice rallies. Kudos to both fellas for having a great tournament.

Thank God the hard court season is over!

Miami: Mum Train Cleans Up!

Not much to say as plenty have commented on this match (here, here and here). To make a long story short, Mum Train pulled out a can of whoopass on Vee, who beat herself by committing 30 unforced errors. Vee barely escaped a double breadstick 62 61.

Best comment, though, comes from her luving sista, ReeRee, who tweeted this during the match.

serenajwilliams @venuseswilliams is such a champ if I were playing I would have cracked 5 rackets by now!! Wow she's to be admired and I can learn from her!!

Enuf said!

Miami: Battle of the Belgians, Part 24

The 24th meeting between Allez Bitch and Mum Train was a scrappy mud-fight. No there were no histrionics as both women are all business out on the court. Mum Train was up 3-0 in the second, until Allez Bitch remembered that she's clay court specialist and tried to counterpunch her way back. Allez Bitch put up a good fight before fading to Mum Train who had the match on her racquet for almost two and half hours. It took Mum Train 4 match points before she finally coverted to even their head to head record of 24 meetings: 62 67(3) 76(6). I tweeted that Mum Train would fail to convert on triple MP, because Mum Train had overhit all night on pressure points.



Stats wise, MumTrain could have played a cleaner match and closed it out in two, but her errors let Allez Bitch come back.

	Henin	Clijsters
Aces	2	1
DF	8	10
1st Serve %	59	63
1st Serve % Pts Won	39/69 (57%)	47/74 (65%)
2nd Serve % Pts Won	23/47 (49%)	18/43 (42%)
Winners	19	37
Unforced Errors	44	63
Break Points Won	5/11 (45%)	7/14 (50%)
Total Service Points Won	62/116 (53%)	65/117 (56%)
Total Points Won	114/233 (49%)	119/233 (51%)

It was not JuJu's night as it was obvious that her legs weren't quite there. She netted quite a few serves and overheads because she clearly could not get enough leg lift. After one long rally won by Mum Train on a winner after pulling JuJu off court, JuJu was clearly gassed.



As a certain dork from Switzerland once said, "Thank God the hard court season is over!" Time to move on to clay!

PS Vamos Rafa! It's your Masters tournament to win. You're overdue.

Miami: Sunshine v. JuJu

Sunshine the Golden Retriever put up a good fight against JuJu the Allez Bitch for a tight rope during the day session but did not prevail: 7-6 (5), 3-6, 4-6. JuJu needed one medical timeout for her hip, which had been a problem for a few days as she admitted in her post-match presser. The difference in the match was that JuJu did a better job of breaking serve and putting pressure on Sunshine.

	Henin	Wozniacki
Aces	4	3
DF	5	4
1st Serve %	54	63
1st Serve % Pts Won	46/60 (77%)	42/65 (65%)
2nd Serve % Pts Won	25/52 (48%)	18/39 (46%)
Break Points Won	5/9 (56%)	3/8 (38%)
Total Service Points Won	71/112 (55%)	60/104 (55%)
Total Points Won	115/216 (53%)	101/216 (47%)

Sunshine has taken a lot of flak lately for her counterpunching style. While I certainly think she needs to do more than counterpunch to be a Slam contender in the long-run, I tweeted that she has more game than people give her credit for. It seems I'm in good company, as JuJu said this about her:

Q. Were you surprised how she kept points alive for so long when they seemed won by and you they were still going?

Yeah, it was incredible. She has such a good defense. First time I played against her. I watched some videos and everything, but a lot balls were coming back into the court. And like I said, she's really smart. She never hits two balls in the row with the same rhythm. She does a lot different things, especially with her backhand. So that wasn't easy for me to find a good position in the court. Sometimes I was too far; sometimes I was too much in a rush. So finally, the third set I could find the good rhythm.

As expected, JuJu never underestimated Sunshine.

[Winning this match] gives me confidence. She's the number two player in the world. It's a great test for me. It's my fourth tournament back and I can play a good level against the best players in the world. I was surprised the way she played. I don't know her at all. I knew she's from the new generation, playing very consistent but when you're facing her she has been really tough

One thing that I don't think enough people notice about Sunshine's counterpunching is that it ain't just her movement. She's very tactically smart and puts a lot of spin on the ball. The highlight reel below mainly shows JuJu dictating play, but I'll focus on Sunshine.



In the first point, after a long crosscourt long rally, Sunshine demonstrates her athleticism by making a great BH smash after recovering a drop shot, and then retrieves JuJu's inside-in FH DTL approach with a lob. Notice in the set point she converts at 1:58, she teases JuJu into an error by hitting a high looper to JuJu's vaunted BH.

While I'm a big JuJu fan, the WTA needs a young 'un like Sunshine who is mentally tough. Sunshine, you lost to a great champion, and it's part of your learning curve. Here's to hoping that you pick up a few tricks from JuJu's game.

Miami: Federer's Slump Continues

In his last tournament at Indian Wells, Fed felt he never be in a tiebreaker, as he's more comfortable winning the set outright. To be sure, against Bags, he had a 4-1 lead before he went into a breaker. Against Big Berdy (4-6 7-6 [3] 6-7 [6]), the Greatest Shanker of All Time decides to get tiebreak practice and comes out on the wrong side of tennis karma. With a close match like this, the stats indeed showed it was a crapshoot with the total points won evenly split.

	Federer	Berdych
Aces	5	6
DF	2	3
1st Serve %	55	56
1st Serve % Pts Won	42/57 (74%)	51/76 (67%)
2nd Serve % Pts Won	25/46 (54%)	32/59 (54%)
Break Points Won	2/10 (20%)	3/4 (75%)
Winners	40	26
UFEs	61	45
Total Service Points Won	67/103 (65%)	83/135 (61%)
Total Points Won	119/238 (50%)	119/238 (50%)

The most revealing stats were the failure to convert break point opportunities (a theme in Fed losses) and the ghastly number of unforced errors. Time and time again, Fed's forehand would sail past the line, or his backhand slice would clip the netcord. The errors were so horrendous, that it stunned spectators like Boom Boom.

Fed looked totally frustrated out there and I was almost expecting him to give Bozo the satisfaction of a racquet smash. In his post-match presser, Fed was acknowledged that he was in a slump.

Q. Obviously backhand was off tonight. A lot of errors. Unusual for you. What was the problem out there? He was playing well, obviously.

ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, it was a tough match. Look, it's no secret I've struggled the last, what is it, five matches I've played here in the States. It's disappointing, I think, my performance overall, if I've got to analyze right now after the match.
But I fought as much as I could under the understood circumstances with my game having issues at the moment. Definitely lack timing. I don't know where that comes from because I played so nicely in Australia. So it's disappointing to not be able to back it up.
Maybe the sickness did take it out of me more than I thought. Maybe the break was quite long. I'm kind of used to those things, and I still, you know, think I could have done much better.
I was a couple points away this week and then also in Indian Wells had my chances. It's disappointing having had a chance to move on. Maybe I had a chance to sort of turn around my game.
But, you know, we'll see how it goes forward.

Given that his timing was off, Fed knew he had to hang in there and tough it out.

Look, I never felt great the whole night. I just fought with what I had. I knew it was gonna be a tough third set, because thank God he wasn't in too many of my service games in the second set, which made it a bit easier for me to relax and concentrate on the return games.
But, look, I had tons of chances at the end. Match point was my serve, I mean, what more can I do? I tried everything I could. It's just not happening for me at the moment.

It's admirable how he stays in the moment and focuses on doing what he can to win when he's playing like crap. So to the rumor among FedKads that Fed doesn't care about Master's, that's bollocks! He's a competitor like anyone who has dragged his ass out on court. He wants to win and hates losing, especially when he has a chance to close it out.

Even when Fed plays like crap, he does hang in there by hitting one more ball to give himself a chance to win the point.



Definitely not one of his best points ever, but fun to watch how both players kept their composure.

Still it's hard not to believe that at some level Fed's mental focus at a Masters is less than at a Slam. Whatever the case may be, he's not beating himself up over this loss and using his practice time to get his game back on gear.

UPDATE: even though he didn't say so, Roger is ready to move away from the hard court season and to begin defending his Roland Garros title. He posted this picture of his practicing on the clay courts the day after his loss.

Miami: Survivors

Vee survived a tight match against Dani (1-6 7-5 6-4), raising her head to head to 0-10. Starting out, Vee's form on her forehand and serve were out of whack as she couldn't keep her head still. After Vee found her form, the coaching sessions between Killer and Dani were the stuff of opera. Killer kept telling her that she was playing great and that she needed to stick to the game plan (hit to Vee's forehand and hit it hard down the middle to take away angles). In the last coaching changeover after Dani's serve was broken in the 3rd, she looked she was about to cry.



Greatest Shanker of All Time did just enough to squeak by journeyman Serra [7-6(2) 7-6(3)], struggling to find some consistency, committing 35 UFEs, wasting 3 breaks. Still, Fed pulled out some amazing shots on defense, including a sick running forehand starting from outside the doubles tramline to place the ball right in the deuce corner. Then in this video Fed "recovers" to the middle to fake Serra into volleying into his FH corner.





Fed, I know you want to entertain your amigos, but it's alright to live less dangerously.



Allez Bitch put in a routine dispatch of Casper (6-1 6-4), who looked wobbly in a lot of points. Casper, I'm sure all the coaches you've fired told you this, but your footwork can still improve. JuJu will face everyone's favorite golden retriever, Sunshine, and I expect to see an on-court clinic demonstrating these criticisms.




In other news, Gonzo found his rhythm to roll over Pico (6-7 [4] 6-4 6-2). Vika folded to Champagne Kimmie (6-4, 6-0). Mono took out Sveta (6-3 6-0) who was struggling with shoulder problems. Lady JaJa joined the twitterati but got the throwdown from Sam (6-1, 7-6 [9]).

What's Wrong with Him?

Wow! I didn't think Muzz and Nole's chances looked good in Miami. But surely they could have lasted longer than the first match.

Muzz had an uncharacteristically large number of unforced errors, and just looked mentally out of it as Mardy Fish's serve gave him all sorts of problems. Maybe Muzz is still hurting after losing to Fed in Australia. If you add all the sniping he took for experimenting in Dubai, and skipping the Davis Cup tie, it's understandable how most human beings would be just mentally worn out.



Still, if Muzz really wants to be a Grand Slam champion, he'll probably have to stop cursing at his entourage and have to find a way to focus better when things aren't going his way.


By all accounts, the fans booed Nole for his sloppy play (62 unforced errors) as he lost to Oliver Rochus. After a few games he looked weary and his serve rarely exceeded 120mph. Clearly, Nole's serve has regressed, as he piled up 10 double faults and only converted 31% of his second serve points.



Nole admitted:

I wasn’t attacking. I was just kind of waiting for him to make the shots, and it wasn't the right approach. He was making me run a lot, so points were really long. That was exhausting.

Nole, I think you've got to improve your fitness especially in humid climates.

Then again, what do I know about how to be a professional tennis player, being a total wannabee?

Miami Preview: Foolish Prognostications.

Professional tennis now moves to Miami for the Sony Ericsson Open.

Tourney Site: here
Draw: here



As I haven't learned my lessons, I will make some foolish prognostications, because well, it's fun. At any rate, the top seeds aren't coming back from late-winter vacation, the tournament organizers are crossing their fingers that the big names will show up to earn their keep.

Women's Singles

1st Quarter: Sveta might be on a mission to prove all her haters back home in Russia wrong. With friends like these, who needs enemies? But will she turn to the dark side and let anger drive her? Or will she decide to let go and just play freely?



In other to get to the semis, she might have to deal with Whoopie, Nails and Mono. Hopefully Whoopie has learned that she needs to deal with spin-mistresses like Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, but it looks like she's facing the baseline bashing game for a clear path to the semis.

Sleepers: Dulko
Semifinalist: Whoopie

2nd Quarter: Vee, ReeRee's big sister, will carry the banner for Williams' fans.



Vee is facing relatively dangerous players in potential opponents such as Daniela, Nads, Flavs, Lisicki and Aggie. But she's a Williams, and knows how to win. The most interesting part of this draw (sadly) is this may be the last tourney that NaturAna's gets a bye until she gets her ranking back up (hopefully). Will she crash and burn early? Or can she stop thinking about her drought and just enjoy competing again?

Sleepers: Date-Krumm

Semifinalist: Vee

3rd Quarter: Vika will be looking to defend her title. She won't have to beat ReeRee who withdrew with a knee injury. Note to media: yeah the Williams make a great story and they're popular, but look at how great champions have been able to take care of themselves over the long haul so that they can play without injury.



Vika has a tough draw with potential contenders: JJ, JZ, Sam and Champagne Kimmie. If things follow form, look for those who did well at IW to fade, and those who didn't to be well-rested enough to move forward. Probably a tossup between Champagne Kimmie and Vika.

Sleepers: MJMS, Peer

Semifinalist: Vika/Champagne Kimmie


4th Quarter: Sunshine is now #2 in the world, which shows how far consistency (pushing) can get you on the women's tour. Given her sunny disposition, why hasn't she picked up surfing? What's a sweet cutie pie like her doing by taking up boxing?



Sunshine won't be able to learn to a play Plan B of attacking tennis this week but her counterpunching ways should be enough to get her to the quarters. But this quarter has the wildcard nobody wants: Allez Bitch. Allez Bitch will have to get past Craybas, Lena in the 2nd round (again!), Domi and then Kleybs. As long as she keeps keep the ball in play (and the humid conditions should help), her versatility should enchant Sunshine.

Sleepers: Allez Bitch (if that is the right term for it).

Semifinalist: Allez Bitch

Men's Singles

1st Quarter: Look for Fed to be on a mission. He will be eager to play matches after only getting to play two out in the left coast, and show everyone who is king. Then an angry Roger might revert to racquet smashing instead of hitting inside-out forehands into the corners. I like you Feddy even when you smash a racquet. You can afford it.



Fed is seeded to meet Cilic in the quarters but faces early a mostly non-descript array of counterpunchers such as Moya and Montanes. Things get interesting if he can overcome more offensive players like Berd or Nando.

Sleepers: Bags (maybe in for a letdown)

Semifinalist: Fed

2nd Quarter: Muzz is returning to his training ground(s) and looking to defend his title. Or perhaps he will be washed out to sea by a flock of brainless ball bashers?



The Muzz doesn't have an easy path to the semis as potential opponents include Feli, Gonzo, Pico, Misha, Stan the Man and Sod. One thing many of these folks possess in common is the ability to really hit the snot out of the ball. If they can keep the ball in, Muzz's chances aren't very good.

Sleepers: Nico

Semifinalist: Sod

3rd Quarter: Rafa might have been working too hard on his golf game out last week (he putted around with Fred Couples). Will he keep his forehand in court? I still want a Fedal match, but it looks like it won't be in the finals.



(Come on, Ana, you know you want him). Rafa looked great last week out in IW until he lost his head in a TB against Ljubs. Guys have figured out how to play Rafa but none of the uber-mondo hitters such as Sod are really in his quarter.

Others: Kohly, Tree, Ferrer, Dr. Ivo

Sleepers: Nalby

Semifinalist: Rafa


4th Quarter: Death, taxes and the Djoker horsing around are certainties. Has he recovered enough to win a Masters 1000? Or does he need more vacation time?



This quarter looks like a series of upsets waiting to happen. ARod's grinding might not cut it against IgorA. Ljubs might not have recovered from winning IW. Oh, and Nole might be tired of playing tennis. And LeMonf is still a head case. Got nothing to lose, might as well call for Head Samurai to make a breakthrough.

Sleepers: IgorA

Semifinalist: Head Samurai