Madrid 2010 Preview ... Opening the Magic Box

The men's and women's tour moves its center court to La Caja Magica (i.e. the Magic Box).

Tournament Site: here for the poster child of vertigo inducement

Draws: men and ladies

Men

1st Quarter: Fed played a "boutique" tourney in Estoril, making it all the way to the semis against sub top ten competition. As the defending champ, he showed a way to beat Rafa on clay last year: attack by getting to the net, mix in the drop shot, and try to hit through those heavy and high bouncers. Not an easy task at all. Other seeds in his draw include fellow countrymen Wawa, Arod and Headbanger. Gulbis is also in this section. Can he make a deep run like he did in Rome? Look for Fed to try to avenge his loss to Gulbis.

Sleepers: Gulbis




2nd Quarter: Muzz has a chance to turn around his slump on his least favorite surface. Unfortunately he's got folks who have been playing great on clay: Daveed (finals in Rome) and Head Samurai (finals in Houston and semis in Belgrade). Cilic has disappeared since playing well in Oz. I wouldn't be surprised if Head Samurai took out Muzz in the quarters.

Sleepers: IgorA, Bags



3rd Quarter: General Sod took out Rafa last year at the French Open and has shown that victory was not just a flash in the pan. He made the semis of IW and Miami and has had good clay court season making the finals of Barcelona. On the opposite side is Nando who has had a stellar season showing a "regularity" that his fans have long hoped for. Other sharks in the water are Big Berd, Bellucci, Nico, Pico and Nalby. This quarter could be filled with surprises. Given Nando's form of late, he might be the best bet.

Sleepers: Nalby, Pico, Nico





4th Quarter: The second seed is Djoker (withdrawal due to allergies) Rafa, who more than deserves this seed as he has been en fuego throughout the clay court season. The only set he's dropped has been to Gulbis in Rome. His won-loss record in games on glass is 154-35. Wouldn't it restore order to the universe if Fedal who haven't played in a year finally played this year? After getting a total beatdown this year, Daveed commented that Rafa is playing better than his peak in 2008. It's hard to see how Jo Willy, Le Monf, or Tree can really challenge him. Any sane sports fan should expect Rafa to come through in dominating form.

Sleepers: Kohli



Semis: Rafa d. Nando, Fed d. Head Samurai

Finals: Rafa d. Fed

Women

1st Quarter: ReeRee looked decent in Rome for not playing competitively for a couple months. Still you can count on her taking this less seriously than Roland Garros. She gets a bye for making the semis of Rome last week. Two Russian belles are also in her draw. Masha is back from an elbow injury but has never done great on clay. LenaD had the misfortune of running into NaturAna catching fire in Rome. Yeah, I thought LenaD would come through in Rome. Don't disappoint me again, gal.

Sleepers: Safarova, Dani




2nd Quarter: Dinara is the defending champ but no one expects much of her as she has looked quite rusty in the events she has played since coming back from a back injury. So look for others to take advantage of the vaccuum: Lady JaJa has been playing great on clay taking out both Williams sisters in Rome. She and NaturAna both have byes (because they both made the semis last week) for a second round grudge match. We all know which doll that Sneki is pushing pins into. Flavs had a terrible tournament in Rome but can never be counted out on the red stuff. Mono had a great run in Miami but hasn't had a great clay season (losing 2 and 1 to Sam and retiring due to dizziness in Charleston). Allez Bitch's clay court resume has her as the favorite for Roland Garros. Since this event is played at higher altitude where the balls will fly a bit more, she should have no problem advancing to the semis so long as she keeps her nouveau style of ball bashing under control. Oh, did I mention that JaJa has an 0-10 record against Allez Bitch?

Sleepers: JZ, Sorana



3rd Quarter: I have no idea what's going on in this quarter as it's sure to be full of surprises. The unseeded MJMS gets the hometown advantage and a bye for making the semis last week. Vee could face Bepa or Mel in the 2nd round, and is seeded to face Tranny. Sam should get past Dulkbag to face MJMS. I would hope that MJMS's "idiosyncratic" style (lefty S&V with some slice & dice) doesn't throw off Sam but this is Sam we're talking about. I'm crossing my fingers to see MaKiri face off with her mirror image, Agi. I'm picking Sam out of hope.

Sleepers: MaKiri, MJMS, Bepa



4th Quarter: Caro leads this draw but is seeded for a 4th round matchup with Nails whom she doesn't have a great record against. Sveta has an underwhelming 7-7 record for this year, and needs to get her shit together if she wants to have any hope of defending her RG crown. Unfortunately she's facing Peer in her opening match who has had a solid clay court season. Vika has been struggling with an injury but should make a decent run. Still the brainless ball basher probably won't meet her BFF as another bad pusher will take her out. Like the 3rd quarter, I really have no idea how to call this one. Nails, show the world that yellow-skin is no barrier to dirt balling!

Sleepers: Domi, Peer



Semis: Allez Bitch d. LenaD, Sam d. Nails

Final: Allez Bitch d. Sam

OMG! They Won A Match!

Miss Ajde Fistpump won her 3rd match in a row, beating my pick for Rome, LenaD.



Best comment was by Matt Cronin:

"Hi Jelena. Oh, it's you Ana, I really thought Demenetieva played badly today. Good u don't have to play Venus like I do'

I didn't catch the match but according to some who did, she's playing a higher percentage tennis with more net clearance and spin. This could be taken as anything from boring grinding to pushing. Still given her inconsistency over the last two years, this is probably what the doctor ordered. For exhibits on how far being "regular" can take you, see Rafa, Caro, ARod and Muzz. If you want to go back in history, see Rosewall, Borg, Vilas, Lendl and Wilander. At some point, she'll probably have to relearn when to go for the kill. But if I were Herr Gunhardt, let's just wait til she gets back in the top 20. She needs some Ws to climb the rankings ladder.

NaturAna faces Nads next. She has nothing to lose as she has already had a great tournament. Ana, whether or not you win or lose tomorrow, just repeat and rinse consistency next week and you'll keep your fans happy. Update: now her fans are going apeshit as she beat Nads 2 and 5 to advance to the semis to face the cunning Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez. She actually has a chance to get to the finals!

This douchbag is a lot further up the rankings ladder.



He comfortably beat the fastest man that Agassi has ever played, three and four. Phau's best chance was when he had triple break point in the 1st set when Fed was defending his service break. But as we've come to expect from Fed, he stepped up and saved all the break points to hold serve.

It isn't supposed to be a shock for him to win a match but looking at his recent losses, it is. After winning a certain hard court tourney in Oz and then getting a lung infection, he has had an uncharacteristic W-L record of 1-3. In two of those losses he failed to convert match points. In the last of those, Gulbis Inc. and the RF Charity traded service breaks at the end of the 3rd set. Perhaps he got enough of the evil eye from Mirka, a certain portion of his fans or even Bozo. Whatever. The Greatest Shanker of All Time ought to remember: "Hey, I'm Darth Federer. Winning tennis matches is just another day at the office for me." Keep it up Fed, and you won't have to mail Le Coupe des Mousquetaires to Mallorca.

Rome: AnaKADs Rejoice!

It's been awhile when we've seen a celebratory fist pump



Whatever Herr Heinz Gunthardt is doing must be working.




Happily for her, she ain't sitting on her bench like this after match.



Indeed, she served up a breadstick and then gave up three games.

Then she proceeded to win a tight one (4 and 4) over a Vika struggling with a leg injury. Perhaps hitting together last week helped her a bit.



But, wouldn't you think that if you were a pro, you wouldn't be surprised too much by anyone else's game by now?


We'll see if she's ready to turn into a WTA superhero.



After she plays this chick who I think might win the whole thing.




Props to Ana for winning two matches in a WTA Premier event! Just keep winning the next one, take a deep breath, don't think too hard about the occasion and you can start climbing back up the rankings ladder.

Ladies in Rome: Internazionali BNL d'Italia 2010

Tourney site: here

Draw: here

1st Quarter: ReeRee comes back from her Spring sabbatical recovering from a knee injury sustained in Oz. If anyone doesn't need to play a lot of tournaments to be match tough, count on ReeRee. The only question is whether she cares enough about a non-slam event like this to grind it out on her least favorite surface, red clay. On the other hand, ReeRee could have been holed up, practicing on a top-secret Florida clay court so that she can "get me some French." Other seeds in her quarter: Bepa is currently without a coach and made a good run in Charleston (Prince racquets, beware!). Sveta has had disappointing results likely but can never be counted out with her talent.

Sleepers: Kvitova, Domi




2nd Quarter: Vee is back too and is recovering from a knee injury that has visibly hobbled her most of this year. Despite this, she made the finals in Miami and won on clay in Acapulco. Still clay is not her best surface as her ball-bashing mentality means that she lacks the patience to hold off on pulling the trigger. Peer is naturally inclined to be a counterpuncher and made the semis of Stuttgart but did not grow up sliding on clay. The other seeds, Whoopie and Lady JaJa, have more dirt ball experience. Look for JaJa to make a deep run and have her chances against Vee.

Sleepers: Oudin




3rd Quarter: What a difference a year makes! A year ago Baby Hippo won this event and eventually ascended to #1, earning the wrath of tennis purists for not winning a slam. More sympathetic folks suspect that the weight of the expectations contributed to the back injury that has effectively taken her out of the tour since USO '09. This is her second tourney back. Advancing far is not her goal but testing whether her back can hold up. NaturAna fans are hoping she can beat Vesina for a possible meeting with a highly seeded Vika. Nads and Lena are the other high seeds, but Lena has a bit more experience in pressure situations.

Sleepers: Dulkbag, Errani





4th Quarter: Sunshine is recovering from an ankle injury and faces a dangerous draw. While she should have no trouble with other high seeds (Flavs, Aggie and Francesca), all the sleepers can hit through her. Look for the sleepers to make her work hard to advance far (specifically JZ and possibly Dani). Still Sunshine should eventually make it.

Sleepers: JZ, Kleybs, Dani



Semis: Lena d. Sunshine, JaJa d. ReeRee

Finals: Lena d. JaJa

Estoril, Belgrade, Munich 2010

All ATP tourneys this week are minor clay court ones, offering a grand total of 250 ranking points to the winner.

Estoril

Tourney site: here

Draw: there

A minor tournament except for the fact that both top seeds swing Wilson sticks and one is a goofball. The goofball has failed to advance to the quarterfinals in his last three tourneys. Has he really gotten a wake up call and decided to kick some butt and win ugly? Or will he get bored with advancing through rounds to face Le Monf and Ljubs, and start playing lackadasically the way he tends to practice? While much of the competition is supposed to be no challenge for Fed these days, is he just kicking back til Roland Garros? One would normally think this tourney is low hanging fruit for the Greatest Shanker of all Time to win. But outside of Slams I won't even bother with prognostications for the goofball.



Top Male Seeds: Fed, Le Monf, Ljubs, Montanes

Lurkers: Phau (love seeing him chase balls), Granola

With no gals in the top 25, this tourney has the feel of a slightly overgrown Challenger tourney. Agnes is the top seed ranked at #35 and Sorana Banana nipping at her heels. Since this is not the top tier of the WTA, one can only predict that the unpredictable will happen.



Top Female Seeds: Szavay, Cristea, Can Woz, AMG

Prominent withdrawals: Playstation, JB, Nails

Belgrade

Otherwise known as the Djoker's home tourney.

Tourney site: here

Draw: here

Seeds: Djoker, Tree, Head Samurai, Wawa

Munich

Tourney site: here

Draw: here

Seeds: Cilic, Misha, Big Berd, Bags

Stuttgart & Rome Champions 2010

It looked like it was going to be a tight one. JuJu shifted up an extra gear that Sam didn't have to win the 1st tournament of her 2nd career, bringing home a silver Porsche (6-4 2-6 6-1).

	Stosur	Henin
Aces	2	4
DF	2	4
1st Serve %	55%	65%
1st Serve % Pts Won	30/42 (71%)	37/52 (71%)
2nd Serve % Pts Won	16/34 (47%)	14/28 (50%)
Break Points Won	2/5 (40%)	4/10 (40%)
Total Service Points Won	46/76 (61%)	51/80 (64%)
Total Points Won	75/156 (48%)	81/156 (52%)

Keys to the match: Henin had a high first serve percentage and did a better job of returning her opponent's 2nd serve.



The point at 5:52 (15-0 at 1-0 on JuJu's serve) was probably the momentum decider. Sam had control of the point off a floater on her ad side. But instead of going for a DTL winner, Sam went for the safer CC shot, hoping to wrong foot JuJu, but JuJu responded with a sharp angled BH winner.

On the men's side in Rome there were one two rain delays before the Clay Monster marched over Daveed 5 and 2. Looking at the stats, it's surprising that the game score was close as it was. Daveed never really took advantage of attacking Rafa's second serve. How many more trophies will he bite?



I'm just going to suggest this because no one has thought of this already. Maybe that kid from Mallorca is the favorite to win at Roland Garros.

	Nadal	Ferrer
Aces	3	1
DF	0	5
1st Serve %	80%	72%
1st Serve % Pts Won	34/44 (77%)	36/58 (62%)
2nd Serve % Pts Won	7/11 (64%)	9/23 (39%)
Unforced Errors	17	30
Winners	24	15
Break Points Won	3/13 (23%)	0/1 (0%)
Total Service Points Won	41/55 (75%)	45/81 (56%)
Total Points Won	77/136 (57%)	59/136 (43%)

Pretty obvious from the stats, that Daveed never got into Rafa's service games and never had a chance.



Even here, Daveed made four great gets (a FH squash shot, a slice off a drop shot, a behind the back shot, and a chicken volley) but still lost the point.

You Cannot Be Serious That They Played Again ...

These two are too old to play five sets, but they met in the semis of a senior tour in Boston. It was tight one with Mac prevailing 6-4, 7-6 (7-3).

Rome: Gulby Shocks Fed

Gulby was up a break in the 3rd and could not convert his first 6 MPs against Federror with two of 'em being double faults until Federror finally broke back to even the match at 5-all. Then Gulby returned the favor to break back as Federror's 1st serve disappeared (46% in 3rd set). Finally, he served at the match at love to score an upset: 2-6 6-1 7-5. The journos now have an official new victim for their slump category: Fed, who hadn't lost before the QFs in 3 consecutive tourneys since 2002.

In his presser, Gulby admitted that his mental state was terrible on all those MPs:

I shit my pants a little bit, sorry for my language ... I couldn't put a serve in. I was shaking. I didn't know what to do. It was a terrible feeling.

	Federer	Gulbis
Aces	2	8
DF	3	2
1st Serve %	56%	74%
1st Serve % Pts Won	35/53 (66%)	46/65 (71%)
2nd Serve % Pts Won	18/41 (44%)	11/24 (46%)
Unforced Errors	38	39
Winners	20	33
Break Points Won	3/6 (50%)	4/10 (40%)
Total Service Points Won	53/94 (56%)	57/89 (64%)
Total Points Won	83/183 (46%)	98/183 (54%)

It's fairly clear from the point total that Gulby just outplayed Fed and that Fed's 1st serve percentage was not good enough to earn him enough free points. Fed knew that his poor serve form lost the match.



Here's to hoping that Fed really wakes up, buckle down by winning ugly, and then begin to kick ass like he's supposed to. And just to squash any craziness from FedKADs, this cannot be a nefarious plot by Fed to pace himself through the clay court season. It's an all too common pattern for Fed to go downhill mid-match.


At least, Fed is still playing dubs.




In other news, Muzz got past Seppi at 2 and 4.



The Djoker baked a double breadstick for Chardy




In WTA news, Nails baked also two breadsticks for soccer chic, Errani.



Fun question: what is everyone but Fed doing in this blog post?

Stuttgart: Porsche Tennis Grand Prix 2010

Tourney site: here
Draw: here

Prominent absentees: Splits, Vee & ReeRee (what do you expect?), LenaD, Masha

Top Half: Sunshine might have bad hair days, might be a pusher, may be overcoming an ankle sprain, may look terrible in StellaMcCartney, but underneath that smile, she's one tough cookie. Don't underestimate the Dane. Look for a great quarterfinal match with her best friend Vika.



Sunshine is seeded to meet Sveta who tweeted that she loves cars. She is looking earn another Porsche to race on the autobahn. Nails faces a tough opener against a real grinder in Errani but don't expect her to prevail over Sam who loves to play on clay. Expect a great quarterfinal match between Sam & Sveta.



Bottom Half: Drama Queen looks like another girl who loves cars. But the diva will have a chance to find lots of excitement as she has potential opponents in Dulkbag, and then Whoopie or Allez Bitch. Unfortunately, red clay is Allez Bitch's favorite surface and is likely to prevail.



Baby Hippo is coming back from a lingering back injury, that she has had at least since least year's USO and caused her to go off the tour in Oz. Hopefully she isn't coming back too early (i.e. don't reinjure the back), and she should be just happy to be back putting her in a "nothing to lose position", which probably suits her better than being a slamless #1. Speaking of someone who doesn't need pressure, NaturAna is in the same quarter, but given her form of late she might have a tough time overcoming Agi.



Allez Bitch is due for winning a tourney. Yeah she injured her left pinky but it won't hurt her backhand or her toss. She did well here in her first career and now the tourney is on her favorite surface.

Semi: Sam d. Sunshine, Allez Bitch d. Baby Hippo

Final: Allez Bitch d. Sam

Rome: Internazionali BNL d'Italia 2010

Formerly known as the Italian Open. This year, the pros get to slide around in a new center court.



Tourney site: here
Draw: here

Prominent withdrawals: Gonzo, Playstation, ARod, Delpo

1st Quarter: I said it last time, but this time I think there's even more reason to look for Fed to be on a mission. In the last few weeks, he has been fairly overt in his eagerness for the clay court season so that he can defend his Roland Garros crown. That said he faces dangerous opening round opponent in Gulby or Bags. Other seeds in his quarter are Head Samurai, Ljubs and Cilic.

Sleepers: Bags, Nico

Semifinalist: Fed d. Nico (unless Fed suffers from a serious lack of concentration).



Courtesy of Picket Fence, the Logo found time to open Nike Town in Rome.

2nd Quarter: It would be very tough to bet against Rafa the Clay Monster and the seeding projects a Fedal semi. Other than Pico, Rafa could face exactly the kind of opponent who troubles him: big tall flat hitters in Berd and Sod. Still, Rafa looked indestructible in Monte Carlo. I'll just say it: Rafa will defend his Rome crown.

Sleepers: Kohli, Stan the Man, Igor A

Semifinalist: Rafa d. Sod



3rd Quarter: Muzz has been in a slump lately losing his last three matches to Kohli, Fish and Sod. Things don't look so good here on his least favorite surface (despite his counterpunching style) as he faces dirt ballers like Ferrer and JCF. Jo Willy has also shown improved form on the red stuff too.

Sleepers: De Bakker

Semifinalist: Jo Willy d. Ferrer



4th Quarter: The Djoker faces the challenge of getting back his serve in the thick of the season. Nando has been playing very "regular" (as the Spanish like to say) making the finals of Monte Caro and winning Barcelona. If Headbanger can get past Rusty, he could stop Nando. Tree showed that a tall American can slide taking the Djoker to five sets in Davis Cup.

Sleepers: Belluci, Rusty

Semifinalist: Nando d. Djoker



Semis: Nando d. Jo Willy, Nadal d. Fed

Finals: Nadal d. Nando

Monte Carlo: Return of the King of Clay

King Rafa asserted his supremacy in force, baking a bagel and a breadstick for compatriot Nando. Rafa hasn't bit a trophy since Rome of last year. Despite whispers about his vulnerability the last few months, this comes as no surprise to those who have been watching his form the last few weeks.



His dominance was so utter that Nando had to thank God to win a point.



In WTA news, Sam overpower Casper with a bagel and three to become the muscled queen of HarTru for the second singles trophy of her career in Charleston. After winning 9 consecutive games, Casper had to take her frustrations out.

Paris on Fed's Mind

Fed posted this photo on his facebook page today.



He added this caption:

Back on the red clay, been practicing fitness and tennis and I am really excited
for the upcoming stretch of tournaments!

One journo tweeted:

@JamesLaRosa Federer posts on FB and in less than an hour has 10,000 likes and 1600 comments. Oh to have 3.4 million friends...

Just a bit of speculative psychology, but I would suspect that Fed was slightly bored with the hard court tennis in Indian Wells/Miami and quite eager to move on to clay. Of course FedKADs know he's been a bit of a goofball in practice and prone to try out shots that he would hardly ever use in a match.

Monte Carlo: Fried Muzzard

This was not a total surprise for this tennis fanatic as Kohly collected some Fried Muzzard 6-2 6-1, even though I didn't see the match.



Although Muzz hit 5 winners, he was uncharacteristically inconsistent with 26 unforced errors as he acknowledge

I played really, really badly. The court felt so small. I actually felt fine mentally. I felt like I had the nerves back. I was nervous before the match. I don't know, I just couldn't find the court. When it's like that, it's kind of difficult to play. I tried a few different things. But it didn't really make a whole lot of difference. I couldn't get the ball in the court.

Muzz has been on a slump since losing to Fed about 4 months ago in Oz, which is a bit of a mystery on a number of levels.

• Is it much to expect a top 10 ATP pro to get over a tough loss? Sigh! Kids these days got to man up despite what gizzards like Bozo have to say.


• Muzz moved to Spain when he was 15 to train on clay. It's not a foreign surface to him as it is for many Americans such as Blake, Querrey and Isner.


• On clay, one might have thought that Muzz's counterpunching style would suit him well

To this last point, folks over at Essential Tennis point out that successful clay courters have become more aggressive.

Murray's big problem playing clay is the lack of a good kill shot [uh, you mean a forehand and/or a consistent 1st serve]. Murray relies on change of pace to win points, confusing his opponents into unexpected errors. But he's been on the tour a while, and players begin to pick up on your patterns and learn how to address them. Murray isn't the kind of player that looks to hit big shots, and clay is one of those surfaces that increasingly, you need to look to put away the ball.

The pro game has changed even on la terre battue: consistent aggression from the baseline wins! Just ask this fella who baked a breadstick and a bagel a la Dutch to Thiemo De Bakker.

Monte Carlo Rolex Master's 2010

Tourney Site: here
Draw: here

There is not much to say about this one now that it has become an "optional" Master's. Absentees are: Fed (rest), Delpo (wrist injury), Playstation (wrist injury), ARod (hanging with BDeck), Sod (knee injury). Rafa is attempting to go for his 6th consecutive title, and it's tough to bet against him on la terre battue. Djoker got the top seed and got to the finals last year. He should be looking to dispel the buzz that he's in a slump. Muzz has the right game style for clay, but he's been slumping lately and this is his least favorite surface. Cilic had a breakout Aussie but hasn't done much since. As usual one ought to watch out for clay courters whose rankings don't reflect the advantage they get on this surface: Ferrer, JCF, Pico, Nico, Nalby, TRob and Nando.


By the way, the ladies are playing in Charleston: Sunshine, JJ, Vika, Mono, Sam and Nads. But most of the top 10 is taking time off: the Williams (whaddaya expect?), Safina (back injury), Sveta (speeding in Moscow), Lena and Agi.

Hacking the Ball: Tale of Two Backhands

This is the first in a thematic series about how a tennis nut (yours truly) tries to hack the ball instead of just being a fan. One of the interesting things about being a tennis nut (as opposed to other sports like American football) is that we're not just fans who passively enjoy the game. We play the game itself on a regular basis. As a consequence when some tennis commentators remark that a certain pro really should have zigged instead of zagged, I sigh "How little you know. Try doing it yourself." (For a brilliant comment with the same sentiments by Tigs, see here.)

I first picked up the game of tennis as thirteen year old by wanting to do what Borg and McEnroe did. After getting a wooden Wilson Jack Kramer Pro Staff, and checking out Vic Braden's Tennis for the Future from the local library for a month, I was hitting against the local backboard. Braden's instructional philosophy is fairly old school: he coaches students to model their game after Laver. Groundstrokes should be topspin with an Eastern grip, hit slice to charge the net, and pressure your opponent from the net. He was fairly progressive way back in the late 70s in his emphasis on slow motion video and scientifically studying a great stroke. So unbelievably, I learned to hack tennis from a book. I enjoyed the game but never played it regularly enough to be no better than an advanced beginner.

Like many, I took a fair bit of time off from playing tennis (15 years), before deciding to play it regularly again. Hitting balls was so much more fun than merely going to the gym. After coming back, I noticed that the game had changed significantly even at the level of tennis nuts who regularly hack at the park. It's much harder to be a netrusher, and baseline skills are at a premium. The one-handed backhand I learned as a child wasn't quite cutting it against high heavy topspin. On flat balls with tons of pace, I would meet the ball late and the ball would sail wide. So I switched to a two handed backhand. None other than Martina Navaratilova said this:

But really, if I were teaching someone to play today, I would teach the two-handed backhand and one-handed slice and one-handed volley. The two-hander is just a more secure ball.

This made a lot of sense to me (as it does to many observers of professional tennis), and I started to dabble with a two handed backhand. In the middle of one hitting session last summer where I just kept missing my one hander, I switched completely.

One thing that had changed significantly since I first picked up tennis (besides strings and the racquets) is You Tube. There are hours of video of professional players hitting balls, and an obssessive-compulsive nut like me has plenty of raw material to study. In developing my two hander, I understood that it was really a forehand with the non-dominant hand assisted by your dominant hand. Indeed when I did hit the two handed backhand, flatter shots would surprise my opponents. High balls to the backhand didn't provoke a moment of anxiety as I knew I could execute it.

But consistent execution was the problem. Too frequently my swing would be too big, and I'd hit a line drive through the fence. On approach shots I would still feel funny hitting with both hands holding the racquet. While anticipating the shot I felt like I was had to think about whether I wanted to hit a two hander, to slice it with one hand or to hit an inside-out forehand. Put me on the run, I'd revert to a slice or even my one hander. If my opponent took the net, I'd sometimes try to hit the pass or topspin lob with one hand.

At some point, it dawned on me that my footwork and my weight transfer needed much more attention. It's easy to hit the perfect stroke when the ball is hit directly into your strike zone. Notice how this man pivots off his front foot at 0:11, 0:50, 1:47 to his hip rotation to put more weight in the shot.



Watching the groundies of professional players, you'll notice the same pivot moves off of both wings, and using either foot. Out of curiosity, I wondered what a professional one hander does. Notice how the footwork and weight transfer of this fella who isn't too shabby.



At 0:10 in a neutral stance, he steps forward but with a very subtle front pivot. A very pronounced pivot in the closed position at 1:14.

After noticing the pivot, I tried it out with both backhands the next time I went to hit. Both of them became heavier shots with more pace and spin. However, I noticed with my one handed backhand that I was able to land a fairly consistent rally shot deep crosscourt, drive a flat ball in both directions when I wanted, and hit a sharp angle ball that landed in the corner of the service box. With the two handed backhand, I wondered how much I'd have to shorten my backswing. So I committed myself back to hitting the one hander.

My rally partner noticed I kept switching back and forth and asked me why I switched I was finally able to articulate my problem.

You know, for me, it isn't a physical problem. I can clearly hit both shots. It's mental. Probably in my heart of hearts, I'm a one-hander.

Besides the stroke mechanics I noticed a lot of my instincts are grooved to the one handed backhand:

• How to position the distance of my body to the ball and which stance to take (closed or neutral)


• How big of a swing to take


• Reacting quickly to a body shot


• Whether to go for a safe rally ball, hit a short sharp angle, drive cross court, or go down the line


• Whether to chip an approach or to drive the topspin approach

None of these problems are fundamentally technical. They are mental, and undoubtedly developed due to hours of my hitting against a backboard like my parent's garage door (and breaking more than a few lights in the process). For someone who really owns a shot, you don't just know the basics. You know umpteen variations on the same theme and have a feel for what it takes to execute those variations. With the two hander, I knew it would take a few years to develop that instinctive feel. With the one hander, I already had the feel. I just needed to practice.

None of this is to say my one hander has become a weapon that my fellow hackers ought to fear. I still struggle with handling pace (usually over 70 mph), and with high kickers (usually at shoulder height). I've returned to the one hander and been putting in lots of sessions against a ball machine.

Soccer: Messi the Magician

Lots of man love here, as Barcelona's Messi scored a hat track in the first half and added another with two minutes in regulation to singlehandedly outscore Arsenal 4 to 1 in the Champions League quarterfinal.

I suspect the commentators in YouTube clip are speaking in Russian. Watch the little guy in the red and blow wearing #10. His magic begins at 1:11.



I'll admit I'm a noob at soccer. Never played it competitively as a kid and messed around with it in physical education. I cannot dribble a slalom to save my life. But this 5' 5" 22 year old fella exudes pure genius that even I can see. The hype on him is real. At the end of his career he really could be the greatest footballer of all time, and he's already in the company of greats such as Maradona, Zidane and Pele.

What do I see in this maestro? He has outstanding ball control, so that he really could beat three defenders on the dribble, and then thread the needle (first goal at 1:27). Like all great sportsman, he's always at the right place at the right time (2nd goal is a backdoor cut at 2:06). Although he is small in stature, he maximizes his strength as the premier finesse footballer in the world (3rd goal is the chip lob with his weaker right foot over the keeper on the breakaway at 2:50). Like any great champion, he demonstrates poise (4th gravy goal off a rebound and between the keeper's legs at 3:45). He makes unbelievably pitch-perfect passes. He exudes so much joy and love for the game. He makes the difficult look easy. Qualities that I've seen in other players I love to watch: Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Roger Federer.

NOTE: Pardon this interruption to our regular program. Messi's feat deserved comment.

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.