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Wimbledon Rewind: Thoughts on Marion Bartoli's Magical Fortnight, and More
Published July 6, 2013 | By Chris Skelton
Six of the ten Wimbledon finalists took to Centre Court on Saturday, spearheaded by a first-time women's champion in singles.
Stage fright: Since the start of 2010, the WTA has produced several first-time major finalists. Some have dazzled in their debuts, such as Francesca Schiavone at Roland Garros 2010, Petra Kvitova at Wimbledon 2011, and Victoria Azarenka at the Australian Open 2012. Others have competed bravely despite falling short, such as Li Na at the Australian Open 2011 and Sara Errani at Roland Garros 2012. Still others have crumbled under the stress of the moment, and here Sabine Lisicki recalled Vera Zvonareva's two major finals in 2010 as well as Samantha Stosur's ill-fated Roland Garros attempt that year. In an embarrassingly one-sided final, Lisicki held her formidable serve only once until she trailed 1-5 in the second set. One hardly recognized the woman who had looked so bulletproof at key moments against world No. 1 Serena Williams and world No. 4 Agnieszka Radwanska.
Straight down the line: Pause for a moment to think about this fact: Marion Bartoli won the Wimbledon title without losing a set or playing a tiebreak in the tournament. The wackiest major in recent memory found a fittingly wacky champion in one of the WTA's most eccentric players. Detractors will note that world No. 15 Bartoli did not face a single top-16 seed en route to the title, extremely rare at a major. But she could defeat only the players placed in front of her, which she did with gusto. Bartoli lost eight total games in the semifinal and final, assuring that the words "Wimbledon champion" will stand in front of her name forever.
Greatest since Seles: Bartoli became the first French player of either gender to win a major title in singles since Amelie Mauresmo captured the Venus Rosewater Dish in 2006. More intriguingly, she became the first woman with two-handed groundstrokes on both sides to win a major since Monica Seles in 1996. One wonders whether more tennis parents and coaches will start to think seriously about encouraging young players to experiment with a double-fisted game. That might not be a bad development from the viewpoint of fans. Bartoli's double-fisted lasers intrigue with their distinctive angles, despite their unaesthetic appearance.
Walter vindicated: Earlier this spring, Bartoli served a deluge of double faults in a first-round loss to Coco Vandeweghe in Monterrey. She had attempted to part ways from her equally eccentric father, Walter, only to find that she still needed his guidance. Within a few short months of his return, Bartoli secured the defining achievement of her career. One need not like the often overbearing Walter, or his methods, but his daughter is clearly a better player with him than without him.
Greatest since Graf: Lisicki became the first German woman to reach a major final since Steffi Graf in 1999. That fact might come as a surprise, considering the quantity of tennis talent that Germany has produced since then. Andrea Petkovic and Angelique Kerber have reached the top ten, while Julia Goerges has scored some notable upsets. Yet none of them has done what Lisicki has, a tribute to the finalist's raw firepower and ability to overcome injury upon injury. One wonders whether Petkovic in particular will take heart from seeing Lisicki in the Wimbledon final as she battles her own injury woes.
The grass is greener: In her last four Wimbledon appearances, Lisicki has recorded a runner-up appearance, a semifinal, and two quarterfinals. She has not reached the quarterfinals at any other major in her career. While the grass suits her game more than any other surface, Lisicki has the talent to succeed elsewhere as well. For example, the fast court at the US Open should suit her serve. Will she remain a snake in the grass, or can she capitalize on this success to become a consistent threat?
Rankings collateral: Into the top eight with her title, Bartoli will start receiving more favorable draws in the coming months. If she avoids a post-breakthrough hangover, she will have plenty of chances to consolidate her ranking in North America, where she usually excels.
Holding all the cards: Two other finals unfolded on Centre Court today, both more competitive than the marquee match. In the first of those, Bob and Mike Bryan claimed the men's doubles title as they rallied from losing the first set to Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo. This victory not only brought the Bryans their third Wimbledon but made them the first doubles team ever to hold all of the four major titles and the Olympic gold medal simultaneously. They stand within a US Open title of the first calendar Slam in the history of men's doubles.
Tennis diplomacy: In a women's doubles draw almost as riddled with upsets as singles, eighth seeds Hsieh Su-Wei and Peng Shuai prevailed in straight sets over the Australian duo of Casey Dellacqua and the 17-year-old Ashleigh Barty. The champions did not face a seeded opponent until the final, where the joint triumph of Chinese Taipei citizen Hsieh and People's Republic citizen Peng illustrated how tennis can overcome rigid national boundaries.
Question of the day: Where does Bartoli's triumph rank among surprise title runs in the WTA? I would rate it as more surprising than Samantha Stosur at the 2011 US Open but less surprising than Francesca Schiavone at Roland Garros 2010.
Posted in Chris Skelton, Latest News, Lead Story, Live Coverage | Tagged ashleigh barty, ATP, Bob Bryan, Casey Dellacqua, Grand Slams, Hsieh Su-Wei, Ivan Dodig, Marcelo Melo, Marion Bartoli, Mike Bryan, Peng Shuai, Sabine Lisicki, Tennis, Wimbledon, WTA
Wimbledon Rewind: Thoughts on the Semifinals in Women's Singles and Men's Doubles
At the end of a chaotic fortnight, a Wimbledon women's final has emerged that almost nobody expected. Here is a look at how it took shape on Thursday, and some key facts about the matchup, plus a detour into men's doubles.
A tale of two semifinals: Notching her sixth consecutive straight-sets victory, Marion Bartoli surrendered just three games to Kirsten Flipkens en route to her second Wimbledon final. Far more drama awaited in the three-set sequel, which brought Wimbledon patrons their money's worth. Extending to 9-7 in the third set, the epic clash between Sabine Lisicki and Agnieszka Radwanska twisted through several ebbs and flows from both players. Each woman let opportunities slip away, and each extricated herself from danger more than once before Lisicki slammed the door.
A tale of two routes to the final: A rare opportunity awaits Bartoli to win a major without facing any top-16 seed, any major champion, or any former No. 1. The highest-ranked opponent to meet the world No. 15 this fortnight was No. 17 Sloane Stephens, much less experienced on these stages. For her part, No. 23 Lisicki has upset three top-15 opponents, including two members of the top four in Serena and Radwanska. All three of those victories came in three sets, exposing her to much more pressure than Bartoli has felt so far.
Back from the brink, again: For the second time this tournament, Lisicki won the first set from a top-four opponent, played a dismal second, and fell behind early in the third. For the second time, she erased that 0-3 deficit in the decider, held serve under duress late in the set, and scored the crucial break before closing out the match at the first time of asking. The key break came at 4-4 against Serena and at 7-7 against Radwanska, both of whom played well enough to win their final sets against most opponents. But not against this woman at this tournament.
Still Slamless: This loss may sting Agnieszka Radwanska for some time, considering the magnitude of the opportunity before her. Not many Slam semifinal lineups will feature her as the only woman in the top 10. The world No. 4 stood two points from a second straight Wimbledon final with Lisicki serving at 5-6 in the third set. Radwanska would have entered that final as the clear favorite on account of her 7-0 record against Bartoli. For all of her consistency, and all of her titles at lesser tournaments, that one major breakthrough continues to elude the Polish counterpuncher. Once again, she will watch from the sidelines as someone with a much less impressive resume does what she cannot.
No time like the first time: First-time major finalists have achieved some stunning results on the women's side over the last few years. Petra Kvitova and Victoria Azarenka shone on their first trips to the second Saturday, both against the more established Maria Sharapova, while few can forget what Francesca Schiavone achieved during a memorable fortnight in Paris. On the other hand, others have not risen to the occasion as well as they might have hoped in their first major final: Sara Errani, Samantha Stosur, and Li Na among them. (Stosur and Li would find redemption with their second chances, though.) Only a slight underdog, if an underdog at all, Lisicki should embrace the moment with her relaxed demeanor and fearless ball-striking. She might start slowly, but she probably will not go quietly.
The magic number 23: Both of Bartoli's finals at majors, Wimbledon in 2007 and in 2013, have come against the 23rd seed after she defeated a Belgian in the semifinals (Henin, Flipkens). Last time, the legendary Venus Williams held that seed, so the then-No. 18 Bartoli reached the final as a heavy underdog notwithstanding her ranking. The double-fister has plenty of reason to fear this No. 23 seed as well, however, having lost to Lisicki at Wimbledon two years ago.
Stat of the day: Saturday will mark just the second Wimbledon final in the 45 years of the Open era when both women seek their first major title. The adrenaline will flow, the nerves will jangle, and somebody will walk off with the Venus Rosewater Dish who never expected to hold it a few weeks ago.
Dream alive, barely: Switching to doubles for a moment, Bob and Mike Bryan stayed on course for a calendar Slam by reaching the Wimbledon final after winning the first two majors of 2013. The inseparable twins have profited from the instability besetting many other doubles teams. Nevertheless, they have won Wimbledon only twice in their career and needed five sets to escape the 14th seeds, Rohan Bopanna and Edouard Roger-Vasselin. Even if the Bryans do not win the US Open, they would hold all four of the major titles and the Olympic gold medal simultaneously with one more victory, for they won their home major last fall.
Flavor of the fortnight: Pitted against the history-seeking twins are the 12th seeds Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo, who upset Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek in a five-setter of their own. Wimbledon has featured plenty of surprise doubles champions in the last several years, such as Jonathan Marray and Frederik Nielsen, so one should not underestimate Dodig and Melo. The latter also defeated the Bryans in Davis Cup, albeit with a different partner on a different surface. And Dodig has enjoyed an outstanding Wimbledon fortnight, having reached the second week in singles as well.
Posted in Chris Skelton, Latest News, Lead Story, Live Coverage | Tagged Agnieszka Radwanska, ATP, Bob Bryan, Bryan Brothers, Grand Slams, Ivan Dodig, Kirsten Flipkens, Marcelo Melo, Marion Bartoli, Mike Bryan, Sabine Lisicki, Tennis, Wimbledon, WTA
From Canucks to Kazakhs: Previewing the Davis Cup World Group Quarterfinals
Published April 4, 2013 | By Chris Skelton
Balanced among four continents, the Davis Cup World Group quarterfinals illustrate the diversity of excellence in this sport. From Vancouver, Canada to Astana, Kazakhstan, each of the ties contains multiple storylines that we discuss in a preview.
Canada vs. Italy: Choice of surface often plays a crucial role in handing the home team a Davis Cup advantage, and such may prove the case again when a nation of fast-court players hosts a nation of clay specialists. While Andreas Seppi and Fabio Fognini excel on the prevailing surface of Europe, the edge swings to the massive serves of Milos Raonic and the similarly aggressive style of Vasek Pospisil on the indoor hard court that Canada has laid in Vancouver. Thumping Davis Cup superpower Spain in this arena to start 2013 World Group play, Raonic and his compatriots should have gained a valuable boost of confidence, albeit a little mitigated by the Canadian No. 1's recent illness. If Pospisil's youth undoes him against the more experienced Italians, doubles specialist Daniel Nestor might suffice to supplement Raonic's effort in propelling Canada through. He has accumulated more renown in that area than any of the Italians, although Pospisil may be the weakest link of the four on the court. The Canadians certainly will hope to win in three or four rubbers, for nobody wants to gamble on what Italian No. 2 Fognini can produce when inspiration strikes him.
Winner: Canada
USA vs. Serbia: With world No. 1 Novak Djokovic towering ominously above this tie, Team USA must rest its hopes on winning the three rubbers that he does not play. Or must they? Both of the American singles players, Sam Querrey and John Isner, defeated Djokovic on hard courts last season. Querrey's victory came on fast indoor courts in Paris, perhaps similar to those in Boise, while Isner's triumph came on the marquee stage of Indian Wells, illustrating his tendency to excel on home soil. Appearing to nurse an abdominal strain in Miami, Djokovic produced one of his least impressive performances on the spring hard courts in years and can fluster under the pressure of overpowering serves. Much less impressive all season are the two American giants, however, so sustaining a Djokovic-stifling level of play in a best-of-five format seems beyond their grasp. Instead, they will hope to win the doubles behind Bob and Mike Bryan and pounce on Serbian #2 Viktor Troicki. Despite a first-round setback against Brazil, the Bryans almost always deliver for Team USA. But Troicki holds a 5-2 edge over Querrey and Isner, so they will need all of the assistance that the home crowd can give them to make it 5-4.
Winner: Serbia
Argentina vs. France: Arguably the best Davis Cup team on paper, France enjoys the rare balance of star power and depth not only two top-15 singles players but an elite doubles squad in Julien Benneteau and Michael Llodra. Still, all of the Frenchmen will confront the challenge of playing on their worst surface against a team playing on its best. Hoping that home-court advantage will narrow the talent gap, Argentina welcomes them to the Parque Roca with clay specialists Juan Monaco and Carlos Berlocq. The former man has watched his ranking skid this year as he has not won a match outside Davis Cup, but he did sweep his two first-round rubbers against Germany. Playing above his usual level in that tie, Berlocq defeated French No. 2 Simon twice in three clay meetings last year, which could offer the Argentines an edge if the tie reaches a fifth rubber. To do so, and circumvent French No. 1 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, they likely would have to win the doubles match with their seasoned pair of Horacio Zeballos and David Nalbandian. Those two have played many a Davis Cup thriller before and usually rise to the occasion, but Benneteau and Llodra usually do too, so the doubles could be the highlight of the weekend.
Winner: France
Kazakhstan vs. Czech Republic: If this regularly overachieving group of Kazakhs stunned a Czech team in their native Ostrava two years ago, they must feel sanguine about their chances against the Czechs in Kazakhstan. More important than the location of the tie, moreover, is the absence of Czech #1 Tomas Berdych, which leaves a massive void in the visitors' singles lineup. Stepping into the gap, Lukas Rosol hopes to recapture the magic that he found on a single day at Wimbledon but that has eluded him since then. Neither Rosol nor the other Czech singles entrant, Jan Hajek, boasts much experience of success in Davis Cup. In contrast, this same Kazakh team has delivered surprise after surprise against favored opponents in this competition. Lurking in the doubles and perhaps in the Sunday reverse singles, Radek Stepanek must fill the leadership role for the defending champions, but the 34-year-old's energy is limited and skills fading. Without a single man in the top 150, the home team should reach the World Group semifinals for the first time. Whether this reflects poorly or well on Davis Cup is open to debate.
Winner: Kazakhstan
Posted in Chris Skelton, Latest News, Lead Story, Live Coverage | Tagged Andreas Seppi, ATP, Bob Bryan, Daniel NEstor, David Nalbandian, Davis Cup, Fabio Fognini, Gilles Simon, Horacio Zeballos, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, John Isner, Juan Monaco, Lukas Rosol, Mike Bryan, Mikhail Kukushkin, Milos Raonic, Novak Djokovic, Radek Stepanek, Sam Querrey, Team USA, Tennis, world group
Up for the Cup! First-Round Davis Cup World Group Preview
Published February 1, 2013 | By Chris Skelton
Eight first-round Davis Cup ties unfold around the world this weekend. We discuss the key players and themes that might emerge from each of them.
Canada vs. Spain: Without any of their top three men, Davis Cup Goliath Spain finds itself at a surprising disadvantage when it travels to the western coast of North America. Had either Nadal or Ferrer participated in this tie against Canada, the visitors would remain heavy favorites even against a squad spearheaded by Milos Raonic and aging doubles star Daniel Nestor. Instead, Canada now can rely on two victories from their singles #1 against the overmatched pair of Marcel Granollers and Albert Ramos, forcing Spain to sweep the remaining three matches. Among those is a doubles rubber that pits Nestor against World Tour Finals champions Granollers and Marc Lopez, who lost three of their four Davis Cup doubles rubbers last year. If the tie reaches a live fifth rubber, as seems plausible, Spanish champion Alex Corretja might consider substituting Guillermo Garcia-Lopez for Ramos against the net-rushing Frank Dancevic. Buoyed by their home crowd, though, Canada should find a way to snatch one of the three non-Raonic rubbers and send Spain to the playoff round for the first time in recent memory.
Pick: Canada
Italy vs. Croatia: This tie should hinge on home-court advantage and the choice of ground that it entails. On a fast hard court, the formidable serves of Marin Cilic and Ivan Dodig would stifle the less imposing firepower of the Italians. But Croatia faces Andreas Seppi and Fabio Fognini on the red clay of Turin, a slow surface where the superior consistency of the hosts should lead them to victory. The visitors will face the intriguing choice of whether to substitute their singles stars on Saturday for a doubles pairing almost certainly doomed to defeat. Three straight days of best-of-five matches for Cilic, Dodig, or both would leave them even more vulnerable to the Italian war of attrition, though. At any rate, the contrast of styles between the fearless first strikes of the Croats and the patient baseline rallying of the Italians should provide entertaining viewing.
Pick: Italy
Belgium vs. Serbia: One might see Djokovic's name on the schedule and automatically checking off the "Serbia" box, but a few flickers of doubt persist. First, the Australian Open champion may have arrived physically and mentally drained from his recent exploits, and he has struggled against Friday opponent Olivier Rochus throughout his career. Breaking from a long history of Davis Cup participation, Serbian #2 Janko Tipsarevic cannot step into the breach if Djokovic falters. That duty lies in the suspect hands of Viktor Troicki, who endured a miserable 2012, and in the aging hands of Nenad Zimonjic, well past his prime despite his many accomplishments. Serbia thus might find itself in real trouble if they played a team with a notable talent, like Canada. With just the 32-year-old Rochus and the volatile but unreliable David Goffin barring their path, however, they should advance even if their stars underperform.
Pick: Serbia
USA vs. Brazil: Tennis Grandstand will feature more detailed coverage of this tie over the weekend. For the moment, we will note that Team USA stands in promising position with two serving leviathans on an indoor hard court, complemented by the reigning Australian Open doubles champions. While Isner did not win a match in January as he struggled with a knee injury, and Querrey did not impress in Melbourne, both should steamroll the harmless Brazilian #2 Thiago Alves. In the best-case scenario for Brazil, which would feature two victories for their #1 Bellucci, their doubles duo of Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares still should fall short against the Bryans. All of these Americans have played some of their best tennis on home soil and in Davis Cup, including on less friendly surfaces, whereas Brazil has accomplished little of note in this competition recently.
Pick: USA
France vs. Israel: Across from one team that often proves less than the sum of its talents in Davis Cup stands a team that typically overperforms expectations at the national level. Whereas France will bring two members of the top 10 to this tie, Israel can claim no top-100 threat in singles. The fast indoor hard court should allow the offensive might of Tsonga to overwhelm Dudi Sela and Amir Weintraub, although the latter has developed into a more credible threat over the last several months. In a tantalizing doubles rubber, a battle of all-stars pits Jonathan Ehrlich and Andy Ram against Julien Benneteau and Michael Llodra. Underdogs in every singles rubber and arguably the doubles too, Israel can hope for an upset only if Gasquet crumbles under the pressure of playing for national pride on home soil as he has so infamously before. Otherwise, the talent gap simply looms too large.
Pick: France
Argentina vs. Germany: Perhaps the most tightly contested tie, this battle on outdoor red clay will unfold in the absence of Del Potro, who would have given the home squad a clear edge. While Argentina will field a squad of clay specialists, leading Germans Philipp Kohlschreiber and Florian Mayer have acquitted themselves well on the surafce and should not find themselves at a disadvantage parallel to Croatia in Italy. Much rests on the shoulders of Juan Monaco, tasked with avoiding the daunting 0-2 deficit after Kohlschreiber likely opens the tie by dismissing Carlos Berlocq. The top Argentine here enjoyed his best season to date last year but did not start 2013 especially well. Lurking in the shadows, as he so often does, is long-time Argentine Davis Cup hero David Nalbandian. Argentina will hope that Nalbandian's contribution in doubles on Saturday will combine with two Monaco victories to give them the points that they need without reaching a live fifth rubber. There, one would favor Mayer to overcome both Berlocq and the Argentine crowd.
Pick: Er, Argentina?
Kazakhstan vs. Austria: In a tie without a singles star of note, the opportunity beckons for someone to seize the spotlight in a way that he could not at a major. The most likely candidate to do so would seem Austrian #1 Jurgen Melzer, the only top-100 singles player on either side. His opponents can produce better tennis than their current rankings suggest, though, and Andrey Golubev already has started the tie in promising fashion with a straight-sets victory over Andreas Haider-Maurer. The doubles edge probably belongs to Austria with the greater expertise of Alexander Peya and Julian Knowle, specialists who will allow the 31-year-old Melzer to rest for Sunday. Excluded from the initial lineup is top-ranked Kazakh Mikhail Kukushkin, whose absence will force #211 Evgeny Korolev to win a best-of-five match for the hosts to survive.
Pick: Austria
Switzerland vs. Czech Republic: While Tomas Berdych is the highest-ranked man in this clash between nearby nations, the most intriguing role goes to opposing #1 Stanislas Wawrinka. After he came far closer than anyone to toppling Djokovic at the Australian Open, the latter may suffer a hangover in a competition where he has struggled lately. Moreover, Switzerland leans on Wawrinka to win both of his singles matches and contribute to a doubles victory on the intervening day, an enormous challenge for the sternest of competitors when the last of those matches involves Berdych. The Czech Republic will not enlist the services of Radek Stepanek, a rare absentee this weekend like Tipsarevic, but singles #2 Lukas Rosol intimidates much more than anyone that Switzerland can throw at him. In the Federer/Wawrinka era, no Swiss team ever has presented the united front that the defending champions have behind Berdych. The medium-slow hard court should not trouble the broad-shouldered world #6 unduly.
Pick: Czech Republic
Posted in Chris Skelton, Latest News, Lead Story, Live Coverage | Tagged Albert Ramos, Alexander Peya, Amir Weintraub, Andre Sa, Andreas Haider-Maurer, Andreas Seppi, Andrey Golubev, Andy Ram, ATP, Bob Bryan, Bryan Brothers, carlos berlocq, Daniel NEstor, david goffin, David Nalbandian, Davis Cup, Dudi Sela, Evgeny Korolev, Fabio Fognini, Florian Mayer, Frank Dancevic, Ivan Dodig, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, John Isner, Jonathan Ehrlich, Juan Monaco, julian knowle, Julien Benneteau, Jurgen Melzer, Lukas Rosol, marc lopez, Marcel Granollers, Marcelo Melo, Marin Cilic, Michael Llodra, Mike Bryan, Milos Raonic, Nenad Zimonjic, Novak Djokovic, Olivier Marach, Olivier Rochus, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Richard Gasquet, Sam Querrey, Stanislas Wawrinka, Tennis, Thiago Alves, Thomaz Bellucci, Tomas Berdych, Viktor Troicki
More Memories of Melbourne: Grading the Australian Open (ATP)
Published January 28, 2013 | By Chris Skelton
Having completed the recap of the WTA field at the Australian Open, we issue report cards for the ATP. As before, grading reflects not just results but expectations, quality of opposition, and other factors.
Djokovic: The master of Melbourne like none before him, the Serb became the first man in the Open era to finish on top Down Under three straight years. That record span of dominance over a tournament that famously has eluded dominance came with a satisfying serving (note the word choice) of revenge over Murray, who had defeated him in the US Open final. Consolidating his current control over what looks like the ATP's next marquee rivalry, Djokovic won his third straight match in it after losing the first set in all of them. Vital to his success was the series of 44 consecutive holds with which he ended the tournament, strangling two of the game's best returners in Ferrer and Murray. Those top-five opponents managed break points in just two of Djokovic's service games through the semifinal and final as he repeatedly won 30-30 and deuce points throughout the tournament—with one notable exception in his epic against Wawrinka. The undisputed world #1 survived and then thrived in running his winning streak over top-eight opponents to eleven. Overpowering Ferrer and outlasting Murray, Djokovic showed that he can—and will—do virtually anything to win. A+
Murray: The US Open champion came closer than many anticipated to becoming the first man to win his second major on the next opportunity after his first. Murray admittedly benefited from a puff pastry of a pre-semifinal draw, which allowed him to conserve energy for that five-setter against Federer. Threatening to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory at the end of the fourth set in that match, he showed remarkable resilience by bouncing back to claim an early lead in the fifth and close out the man who had tormented him at majors. Murray maintained a nearly impenetrable rhythm on serve throughout that match, and his forehand continued its maturation into a real weapon. He will rue the three break points that he let escape early in the second set of the final, which could have unfolded entirely differently otherwise. But Murray was right to consider the tournament an important consolidation of last year's success. A
Federer: Handed the most difficult draw of the top three, he showed just how well his game can silence players who rely heavily on their serves in ousting Tomic and then Raonic. Federer defended crisply and moved as alertly as he has in years past during the five-set quarterfinal with Tsonga that followed, which unveiled the full range of his weapons from the explosive to the delicate. But his struggles to break serve caught up with him against Murray, whom he could not crack for three and a half sets even as his own serve came under frequent pressure. Probably drained by the Tsonga epic, Federer faded in the fifth set despite mounting an impressive surge to swipe the fourth. He finished the tournament by winning all six of his tiebreaks, a sure sign that he remains one of the sport's best competitors under pressure. A
Ferrer: Never looking his best during the fortnight, he backed into the #4 ranking rather than charging into it with confidence. Ferrer probably should have lost to Almagro in the fourth round, outplayed for most of the first four sets and kept alive only by his compatriot's shocking inability to deliver the coup de grace. Thoroughly exposed by Djokovic in the semifinals, he suffered his second humiliating defeat at that stage of a major over the last twelve months as he offered little better than batting practice for the Serb's weaponry. Ferrer said consistently this fortnight that he considers himself a clear level below the Big Four, and his results against them on grand stages continue to make his point for him. B
Tsonga: The Frenchman slipped to 13 straight losses against top-eight opponents here, but the manner in which he did contained kernels of hope for the season. Not folding meekly to Federer as he had in an earlier Australian Open, Tsonga regrouped from losing the first set in a tiebreak to win the second and regrouped from losing the third set in a tiebreak to win the fourth. He even spared no effort in battling Federer down to the finish in a fifth set tenser than the scoreline showed. Also likely to please new coach Roger Rasheed was his greater efficiency in closing out overmatched opponents in the previous four rounds. Docked a notch for his Neanderthal-like comments about women's tennis. B+
Almagro: As the percipient Steve Tignor of Tennis.com noted, sometimes a player's greatest achievement can turn into his greatest catastrophe within a handful of points. Jerking Ferrer around the court for two and a half sets, Almagro astonished audiences by his newfound courage against an opponent who had won all 12 of their previous meetings. He will remember his first quarterfinal at a hard-court major for the wrong reasons, though, once he failed to serve it out three times across the third and fourth sets before succumbing to cramps as well as the crushing weight of his disappointment in the fifth. B-
Chardy: Not only did he upset Del Potro with inspired attacking tennis, but he followed up that five-set victory by grinding out a four-setter against the recently dangerous Seppi. The Frenchman came from nowhere to reach his first major quarterfinal and in the process showed considerable courage. Chardy almost pulled off an Almagro against the Tower of Tandil, gagging on triple break point midway through the third set when he had won the first two. Unlike the Spaniard, he mustered one last surge in the fifth with an unexpected fearlessness to finish what he had started. A-
Berdych: Drawn against the top seed in a quarterfinal for the second straight major, he could not find the same thunderbolts that he had hurled at the US Open. Or perhaps Berdych simply matches up more effectively to Federer than to Djokovic, who has won all eleven of their hard-court meetings. Before that relatively tame four-set loss, however, he recorded four straight-sets victories that bode well for his consistency, always the main question for him. He leaves the Australian Open as the man outside the Big Four most likely to win a major this year, although he will need some help to do so. B+
Del Potro: Through the first two rounds, the Tower of Tandil looked not only sturdy but downright terrifying. Just when people began to take him seriously as a dark horse title threat, Del Potro turned into the Leaning Tower of Pisa when he tottered to the exit in a strangely enervated effort. That five-set loss to Chardy at the end of the first week marked a setback in a surge that started with his bronze-medal victory at the Olympics, departing from his recent steadiness against opponents outside the top ten. F
Tipsarevic: He looked every inch a top-eight seed in dismantling sentimental favorite Hewitt before his home crowd on Rod Laver Arena, where the Aussie had wrought so many miracles before. Striking winners down both lines with abandon, Tipsarevic appeared to make an imposing statement. Then he wobbled through two five-setters and retired against Almagro, not a surprising result for a man who has completed a career Golden Slam of retirements. C
ATP young guns: Heralded with enthusiasm when the tournament began, none of these prodigies left a meaningful impact on the tournament. Brisbane finalist Dimitrov became the first man to exit Melbourne, failing to win a set in his opener, and Raonic succumbed to Federer much more routinely than he had in their three meetings last year. Tomic produced a stronger effort against the Swiss star than he did last year but still lost in straight sets after struggling mightily with a qualifier in the previous round. And American fans need not have watched Harrison's ignominious loss to Djokovic for long to realize how far this alleged future star must improve before mounting a credible threat. Last but not least, Paris finalist Jerzy Janowicz narrowly avoided a second-round implosion over a dubious line call and rallied to win after losing the first two sets—sets that he should not have lost in the first place. Janowicz did at least progress as far as his seed projected, and many of these young men received difficult draws, but the breakthrough of young stars that many expected here happened almost entirely on the women's side. C+
Bryan brothers: At their most productive major, they closed within four major titles of Federer by comfortably winning the final after some close scrapes earlier in the fortnight. The Bryans have earned some of their most consistent success in Australia, where they have reached nine finals and five consecutively. Djokovic still has some work to do before he can approach the numbers of these twins whose talents never seem to fade. A
Djokovic vs. Wawrinka: Undoubtedly the match of the tournament, it represented the high point of Wawrinka's career to date. The Swiss #2 basked in the spotlight while cracking his exquisite one-handed backhands to all corners of the court and taking control of rallies with his penetrating cross-court forehand. Wawrinka even served at Federer-like heights for much of the match, outside a predictable stumble when he approached a two-set lead. Stunned by the brio of his opponent, Djokovic needed a set and a half to settle into the match. The underdog then needed about a set and a half to regroup from the favorite's charge, at which point the fourth and fifth sets featured spellbinding tennis all the more remarkable for the ability of both men to sustain their quality. Fittingly, the match ended only after Wawrinka had saved two match points with breathtaking shot-making and only with a rally that forced both men to pull out nearly every weapon in their arsenals. A+
Simon vs. Monfils: Not much shorter than Djokovic vs. Wawrinka in terms of time, it felt considerably longer to watch. This mindless war of attrition featured rally after rally of the sort that one more commonly finds on practice courts, including a 71-shot meander to nowhere that contributed to the inevitable cramping suffered by both men late in the match. If the previous epic offered an argument to keep the best-of-five format, this match argued just as eloquently for its abandonment. Simon, the winner, had no chance of recovering in time for his next match, nor would Monfils if he had won. C-
Men's final: Not a classic by any means, it compared poorly both to the women's melodrama on the previous night and to the marathon of the 2012 men's final. The 2013 edition illustrated some troubling reasons why the Djokovic-Murray rivalry never may capture the imagination to the extent of Federer-Nadal, Federer-Djokovic, and Djokovic-Nadal. Presenting no contrast in styles, these two men played essentially the same games in a match of mirror images that came down to execution in any given situation—interesting but not exactly stimulating to watch. Moreover, they continued to bring out the passivity in each other by showing so much respect for each other's defense that many rallies featured sequence after sequence of cautious, low-risk shots designed to coax errors rather than force the issue. These tactics worked perfectly for Djokovic, just as they worked for Murray at last year's US Open, but they left fans waiting for a spark that never came in a match that trudged towards anticlimax. B-
And that is a wrap of the 2013 Australian Open! Up next is a look ahead to the first round in Davis Cup World Group action: all eight ties previewed and predicted.
Posted in Chris Skelton, Latest News, Lead Story, Live Coverage | Tagged Andy Murray, ATP, Australian Open, Bernard Tomic, Bob Bryan, Bryan Brothers, David Ferrer, Gael Monfils, Gilles Simon, Grigor Dimitrov, Janko Tipsarevic, Jeremy Chardy, Jerzy Janowicz, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Juan Martin del Potro, Mike Bryan, Milos Raonic, Nicolas Almagro, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Ryan Harrison, Stanislas Wawrinka, Tennis, Tomas Berdych
Wizards of Oz (XIII): Previewing the Australian Open Women's Final and Men's Doubles Final
On the penultimate day of the tournament, the 2013 Australian Open will crown its women's singles and men's doubles champions. Read about what to expect from those matches.
Azarenka vs. Li: Meeting in a final on Australian soil for the fourth time, these two women of similar styles have battled to a very even record. Both can hammer magnificent backhands for winners to anywhere on the court, while the forehands of each can falter under pressure despite providing plenty of firepower at times. Neither wins many free points on serve, although each has improved in that department lately, and both relish pouncing on an opponent's second serve. For these reasons, their previous meetings usually hinge on execution rather than tactics, as well as on the ability of Azarenka and Li to shoulder pressure deep in the tight sets and matches that they have played. After the Roland Garros champion dominated the early stages of their rivalry, winning four of the first five, the defending champion here has reeled off four straight victories. But two of those have reached final sets, including the Sydney title tilt last year.
The more impressive of the two in fortnight form, Li has echoed her 2011 surge in Paris by defeating two of the top four women simply to reach the final. Convincing victories over Radwanska and Sharapova, the latter of whom had troubled her lately, left her record immaculate without a single set lost. In fact, Li has won 14 of her 15 matches this year in yet another display of the brisk start with which she often opens a season. Also accustomed to starting seasons on hot streaks before her body breaks down, Azarenka has mounted a creditable albeit not overpowering effort in her title defense. She has not faced anyone ranked higher than 29th seed Sloane Stephens en route to the final, but she defeated the dangerous Kuznetsova with ease in the quarterfinals and has yielded only one set. What most may remember from her pre-final effort here, unfortunately, happened in the closing sequence of her semifinal victory. A dubious medical timeout just before Stephens served (unsuccessfully) to stay in the match incited disdain from throughout the tournament and Twitterverse, which may ripple through the response to her on Saturday.
In an ironic twist, any hostility towards Azarenka might well inspire her to produce her most motivated, relentless effort of the tournament. The world #1, who will remain there with a title, usually thrives on the negativity of others and can excel when barricading herself inside a fortress of "me against the world" attitude. For her part, Li Na will hope to show greater poise than she did in this final two years ago, letting a mid-match lead slip away to Clijsters. The coronation that followed at Roland Garros just a few months later and the steadying presence of coach Carlos Rodriguez should help the Chinese superstar channel her energies more effectively this time. Thus, one can expect a high-quality match with plenty of passion on both sides, a fitting conclusion to the many intriguing WTA narrative threads that unwound at the year's first major.
Bryan/Bryan vs. Haase/Sijsling: Finalists here for a fifth straight year, the Bryans hope to emulate women's doubles champions Errani and Vinci in atoning for their disappointing runner-up finish to an unheralded team in 2012. Equally unheralded is the duo of Dutchmen across the net, who have not lost a set since tottering on the brink of defeat in their first match. Robin Haase and Igor Sijsling needed a third-set tiebreak to elude that initial obstacle, but they have compiled an ominously impressive record in tiebreaks here, which bodes well for their chances in a match likely to feature few break points. Their relative lack of experience would seem a clear disadvantage against the Bryans, superior in chemistry to virtually every imaginable team.
All the same, the surprising Australian duo of Barty and Dellacqua posed a severe threat to women's top seeds Errani and Vinci in the corresponding final, so the Bryans cannot take this team too lightly in their quest for a record-extending 13th major title. They have earned their most consistent success in Melbourne, where they have reached nine total finals, but the twins looked slightly more vulnerable this year in losing sets to the teams of Chardy/Kubot and Bolelli/Fognini. Neither of those duos can claim anything remotely comparable to the storied accomplishments of the Americans yet still challenged them. As with those matches, this final will test the conventional belief that two capable singles player can overcome the most elite doubles squads. Both inside the top 70, Haase and Sijsling have gained their modest success almost entirely in singles, whereas the specialists across the net know the geometry of doubles as well as any team ever has. That comfort level should prove the difference in a triumph that extends the stranglehold of the Bryans on history.
Posted in Chris Skelton, Latest News, Lead Story, Live Coverage | Tagged ATP, Australian Open, Bob Bryan, Bryan Brothers, Igor Sijsling, li na, Mike Bryan, Robin Haase, rod laver arena, Tennis, Victoria Azarenka, WTA
The Necker Island Cup
Published November 22, 2012 | By James Crabtree
by James A. Crabtree
The definitive tennis getaway would be somewhere in the Caribbean, secluded on a beautiful island with perfect weather, gorgeous beaches and crystal blue water. You would want the prefect mixture of tennis, relaxation, spiritual growth and entertainment.
So where exactly do you go?
Paradise, or more accurately Necker Island for Richard Branson's inaugural Necker Island Cup.
Aside from kite boarding the Virgin boss lists tennis as a very important pastime. This is why the finest professional-amateur tournament in the world has been constructed. Yes you heard that correctly (repeat aloud), professional-amateur tournament meaning amateur players will be partnering a tennis professional! For a fee of course, but what more could one ask for? Many attend professional tennis events and enjoy the thrill of admiring the greats from afar, but the Necker Island Cup certainly makes dreams come true being able to literally serve it up with the world's tennis best.
According to Trevor Short of premiertennistravel.com, Branson is also a player to be reckoned with and advises that he is a wily competitor with a sliding serve. Only time will tell how five time grand slam champion Novak Djokovic, the headline attendee at the event, handles the serve. But what is for sure is the world's number one tennis player handles his off season in style. He will no doubt benefit from the leadership retreat and enjoy the chance to speak with environmentalists Alice Sylvia Earle and Jose Maria Figueres about global issues such as climate change and sustainable development.
Djokovic isn't the only big name to be making the most from the offseason. Bob and Mike Bryan will be partnering an amateur and will surely suffice as a viable doubles partner if their own volleys aren't up to scratch. How about some veteran guile? John McEnroe or Tommy Haas anybody? Yes please. Or a big server who looks like he enjoys a good party? Well, that could only be Mark Philippoussis. Sign me up.
The parties have been taken care of with the "End of the World" awards dinner that includes a charity auction. And for those who don't fancy roughing it up with the professionals on the court then there is also the Rosewood Little Dix Bay Legends Tennis Camp on the nearby Virgin Gorda Island led by Luke and Murphy Jensen.
With tennis the main focus of this remote, paradise island in early December it is certainly not understated in style with luxurious Balinese retreats on offer that provide more than the restful nights sleep; accommodation only seen to be believed (http://www.neckercup.com). Enough said this tournament set in paradise certainly offers more than its fair share of niceties.
Posted in Archives, Blogs, Featured Columns, James Crabtree, Lead Story | Tagged Alice Sylvia Earle, ATP, Bob Bryan, Bryans Bros, Grand Slam, John McEnroe, Jose Maria Figueres, Luke Jensen, Mark Philippoussis, Mike Bryan, Murphy Jensen, Necker Island, Novak Djokovic, Richard Branson, Tommy Haas, Virgin, Virgin Islands
The Way the Body Works: Players Recovering from Stomach Bug Expected to Play Better at the Sony Ericsson Open
Published March 21, 2012 | By Romana Cvitkovic
The top tennis players in the world converge this week for the 2012 Sony Ericsson Open in pristine Key Biscayne, Florida. As the world's premier tournament outside of the four grand slams, these next two weeks are sure to bring many storylines and possibly some surprise winners on both the ATP and WTA tours.
Last week during the BNP Paribas Open, the tournament saw several high-profile players pull out due to a sweeping 48-hour long stomach bug that effected players, coaches and fans alike. One theory not yet tested in tennis is just how successful these same players will be in the week after their bodies and immune systems have had to fight off a vicious virus. That being said, will the players affected by last week's stomach bug perform better or worse than their healthier counterparts this week in Key Biscayne? The answer: much better, and here's why.
When the body is forced to fight an infection or virus, the immune system is initially compromised. But because of immunological memory, the body becomes more alert and "remembers" the pathogen it previously killed. You may have experienced this added alertness after recovering from a cold – you are less likely to contract another cold or virus directly after your initial cold because your immune system is more alert to foreign pathogens.
As tennis players' immune systems are no different than our own, it's very likely that they will respond in the same manner: the players who pulled out last week from the BNP Paribas Open are less likely to contract any new virus this week, and thus more likely to have extra energy as their bodies should be fully recovered and their immune systems more alert.
The list of pull-outs is no short list, and includes Petra Kvitova, Francesca Schiavone, Gael Monfils, Vera Zvonareva, Vania King, Jurgen Melzer, Mike Bryan, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Andreas Seppi, Bethanie Mattek-Sands, and Magdalena Rybarikova. Meanwhile, even Roger Federer stated he felt "under the weather" at the beginning of the tournament.
As the players range anywhere from number 1 on the ATP rankings to number 86 on the WTA rankings, it will be interesting to see the players' progression through the draw. As some will undoubtedly fizzle out due to other factors, it's no certain science, but I would bet that at least a few of these players will have better than expected results during the next two weeks. I wouldn't be surprised to see Schiavone or Melzer bust through with excellent runs, and now you would know why. It's all thanks to their immune system.
Posted in Lead Story, Live Coverage, Romi Cvitkovic | Tagged Andreas Seppi, ATP, Bethanie Mattek, BNP Paribas, extra energy, Francesca Schiavone, Gael Monfils, Grand Slams, immune systems, Jurgen Melzer, Magdalena Rybarikova, Mike Bryan, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Roger Federer, Sony Ericsson Open, stomach bug, surprise winners, Tennis, tennis players, Vania King, Vera Zvonareva, WTA, wta tours
Wozniacki's Woes Continue; Davis Cup Backpedaling – The Friday Five
Published February 17, 2012 | By Tennis Grandstand
by Maud Watson
That's pretty much all a stunned Swiss team could do after a shocking loss to the United States in Davis Cup play last weekend (and if the damage control Federer was rightfully forced to do following that loss is any indication, they couldn't even explain the defeat diplomatically). There were many factors that contributed to the upset, but first and foremost was the inspired play by the United States under the cunning captaincy of Jim Courier. The American squad comprised of Fish, Isner, Harrison and Mike Bryan was a talented group, but up against a Swiss team that included Federer, playing in Switzerland, and on clay, it was to be an uphill battle for the red, white and blue. But boy did they deliver. Then there was the subpar play of Wawrinka, who appeared to struggle with the pressure. Federer was also at fault, as he seemed pressed at times. His backhand, especially on the return, proved a real liability, particularly in the doubles. Finally, there was the surface itself. Never mind that both teams found it nearly unplayable. They shouldn't have played on clay in the first place. With the possible exception of Spain, countries need to chuck out the conventional wisdom that it's best to play the U.S. on the red dirt. In this case, an indoor hard court similar to the World Tour Finals would have been best. It would have eliminated many of the high backhands Federer had to field, plus there would have been the confidence he would have felt on that surface after the way he finished 2011. That assurance likely would have rubbed off on Wawrinka, and then the whole weekend might have been different. But hindsight is 20/20. Hats off the Americans for some fine play, and it's back to the drawing board for the Swiss.
Woz Continue
Whether she is aware of it or not, Caroline Wozniacki is at a crucial point in her career. Playing in Doha in her first match since losing in the Aussie Open and the No. 1 ranking in the process, she not only suffered defeat to Safarova, she did so after holding three match points. Safarova is no slouch, and she's proven her ability to beat the game's top stars on multiple occasions. But this was still a bad loss for Wozniacki. This was a match that wasn't in her hands, and it was ultimately Safarova's willingness to take risks and control the situation that allowed her to snatch victory away from her Danish opponent. This should be a wakeup call to Wozniacki that she needs to be looking to beef up her game and add more offense. She's still No. 4, and even by women's tennis standards, she's still young. There's still time to change. But she's not going to turn it around by being obstinate and keeping only her father as coach and acting relatively indifferent to these losses. Without changes, losses like the one to Safarova are only going to pile up, and pretty soon, she may just find herself on the outside of the Top 10 looking in.
No Fluke
Last year, audiences saw a woman by the name of Angelique Kerber make a Cinderella run to reach the semifinals of the US Open, where she lost in three sets to the eventual champion, Sam Stosur. But in 2012, Kerber is playing some great tennis, showing that run to the semis of the US Open was a precursor of what was to come. She surprised Sharapova en route to the final last week in Paris, before breaking some hearts by defeating native Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli in the final. She needs to continue to work on her fitness and consistency, but with her big strokes, fighting spirit, and the unpredictable nature of the women's tour, there's definitely room for her in the upper echelons of the game.
Walking Wounded
As is par for the course, injuries continue to plague the top players. Gael Monfils has pulled out of both San Jose and Memphis citing a right knee injury. Unfortunately for Monfils, with the way he plays, these injuries are apt to only grow in number and severity as his career progresses. Andy Roddick is also nursing a hamstring injury and a freshly hurt ankle, which nearly cost him his match against qualifier Kudla in San Jose. As a player who is used to being at the top and not particularly known for his patience, this latest setback will be one more test as Roddick thinks about how much longer he wants to go through the grind and stay on tour. Spare a thought for Tommy Robredo also, who appeared to have his game back on track early last season before suffering a severe leg injury at Indian Wells. The Spaniard played only a handful of matches after that and will now be undergoing leg surgery. He hopes to be back for the spring clay court season. On the women's side, Kim Clijsters has already opted to pull out of Indian Wells, citing an ankle injury. Her case is a little suspect given the way she played on a bum ankle in Australia and the fact that Indian Wells is still a few weeks away, but the Belgian's history of injuries is well-documented. In her case, it wouldn't be shocking to see her pull the plug immediately following the Olympics, as she hobbles across the finish line of her career.
The USTA has signed a new sponsorship deal with Emirates Airlines to be the title sponsor of the US Open Series and the official airline of the US Open. Sponsorship dollars are a major plus, especially since the US Open Series has helped increase tennis viewership throughout the summer hard court season. But this is just one piece of the puzzle to helping the USTA solve the problems that have plagued them the last few years. They are going to have to look into making other changes and improvements if they wish to keep players, fans, television carriers, and all sponsors happy.
(photo © Getty Images)
Posted in Lead Story, The Friday Five | Tagged Andy Roddick, Caroline Wozniacki, Davis Cup, emirate airlines, Gael Monfils, John Isner, Kim Clijsters, Lucie Safarova, Mardy Fish, Mike Bryan, Roger Federer, Ryan Harrison, Stan Wawrinka, Tennis, tennis sponsors, Tommy Robredo, US Open Series, USTA
ATP Tidbits: Nadal's Anti-Doping, Djokovic Waxing and Winning, and Davis Cup Outtakes
Published February 11, 2012 | By Romana Cvitkovic
Rafael Nadal's drug tests, Novak Djokovic "waxing" and winning, and Davis Cup outtakes are some of the happenings this week on the ATP Tour. We'll take a look at the history of Nadal's doping tests, introduce you to Djokovic 2.0 and his beautiful girlfriend Jelena Ristic, as well as inspect some memorable Davis Cup moments featuring Roger Federer, Mardy Fish, Tommy Haas, and Bernard Tomic among others.
Just days after a French TV show aired a Rafael Nadal skit that was meant to be a joke, insinuating that Nadal takes performance-enhancing drugs, Nadal tweeted about a surprise anti-doping test he had on Saturday morning stating that "it's expected after everything … but I'm happy it's like this!"
To those not familiar with the Tennis Anti-Doping Program, any professional tennis player can get tested and "must submit upon request to testing … at any time or place." This means testing can be done during or outside of a tournament, while on vacation, or in the early-morning hours, and a player must report their whereabouts, or risk being banned from playing professional tennis. All cases are "surprise" cases to ensure honest results and players may be tested anywhere from several times per tournament to a couple of times per year. Typically, higher-ranked players are targeted but any player could be tested.
In 2009, 1972 in-competition tests (urine, blood, and EPO) and 154 out-of-competition tests were performed by the anti-doping agency — only a slight increase from the 2069 total tests done the year before. Nadal, in particular, was tested 10 times in 2009 and twice at Roland Garros, while only playing 18 total events. In 2008, he was tested 8 times during tournament play and twice more out-of-competition. In 2007, he was tested only 5 times while in 2006 he was tested 10 times. We can argue that doping is quickly becoming more prevalent among athletes as the technology needed to accurately identify a positive result is falling behind. But to insinuate that an athlete that has passed the roughly 75 or so drug tests given to him in the past decade, is just plain ludicrous and irresponsible.
Just five days after winning his third Australian Open, Novak Djokovic was awarded the "Laureus World Sportsman of the Year" beating out the likes of Dirk Nowitzki, Usain Bolt, and Lionel Messi among others. He attended the Laureus Welcome Party and the awards ceremony in London with long-time Serbian girlfriend, Jelena Ristic, in hand. If you know nothing about his beautifully genuine girlfriend, then just enjoy her British accent in the video below. I dare you not to fall in love with tennis' cutest couple.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=TfGsvcbSJPg
And speaking of the devilishy-charming Djokovic, after attending a boxing match in Jagodina, Serbia, he unveiled a "larger than life" wax sculpture of himself in the town's museum. He was greeted by some 6,000 fans and was happy to oblige for photos. Even though the wax statue is wearing Djokovic's Sergio Tacchini ensemble and holding a tennis racquet used by the man himself, I wonder how much he paid the sculptor to give him an extra few inches … and a bigger head.
In lighter news, the Davis Cup is in full swing this weekend and it has already brought in some memorable photos.
"Alexia, this is my friend Roger. He has two girls your age, Myla and Charlene. Make sure to befriend both of them and become a better champion in tennis than your daddy. Now, can you say 'Myla' and 'Charlene?'"
Not sure if this sign is a compliment for Bernard Tomic, but you can't say the Australians don't go all-out in support of their players — even if they do liken them to drooling dogs.
Tommy Haas and his German compatriots just lost the Davis Cup to Argentina, 0-3, but all Haas cares about is if his hair looks good. Yes. Yes, it does, Tommy. I whole-heartedly approve.
I'm not sure what is so funny to Mardy Fish and Mike Bryan, but I would be laughing too if I had just beaten the reigning Olympic champion Roger Federer on clay. The American men surprised the entire tennis world as they dominated the Swiss in Davis Cup action handily winning 3-0, with John Isner defeating Federer on Saturday in singles.
When are height differences not funny? The answer: never. Ivo Karlovic at 6'10" towers over Kei Nishikori who is just 5'10". Croatia currently leads Japan 2-1 and the winner will be decided on Sunday in singles' play.
Posted in Lead Story, Romi Cvitkovic | Tagged anti doping in tennis, ATP Tennis, Bernard Tomic, Davis Cup, djokovic wax statue, funny tennis photos, Ivo Karlovic, jelena ristic, Kei Nishikori, laureus sportsman of the year, Mardy Fish, Mike Bryan, nadal skit, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka, tennis anti-doping program, tennis news, Tommy Haas, wada


text:
Q: Using a subset of excel entries for calculation Assume that you have 5 cells with values:
[12, 23, 50, 89, 95]

and you are interested in finding the average of the four largest entries (that is drop 12 because it is the smallest).
I wonder how one can do that in excel?

A: You can get the average of the largest 4 from 5 with this formula
=AVERAGE(LARGE(A1:E1,{1,2,3,4}))
that will only average 4 values even if there are duplicates
Generically if you might have a variable number of values then to average without the smallest value you can use this version
=(SUM(Range)-MIN(Range))/(COUNT(Range)-1)
again that will work OK with duplicates - of course there must be at least 2 numbers in the range

A: You can use AVERAGEIF(range,condition)
So in your case, it will be AVERAGEIF(A1:E1,">"&MIN(A1:E1))
Hope this helps..

A: Use =LARGE to get the ǹ-th largest value then use =SUMIF to add if the value is larger than the n-th value!
In pseudocode something like this: =SUMIF(data >= LARGE(range, n))/n, sorry it's been a while since I used excel. `

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Falcons - Jets Preseason Week 2
Falcons cut 4, place one on IR ahead of 85-player roster deadline
The team made the first of many cuts to ultimately get to a 53-man roster on August 30.
By Matthew Chambers and Dave Choate Aug 16, 2022, 1:18pm EDT
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Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Thanks to the new preseason schedule, where teams are playing three preseason games instead of four, roster cuts start early. The Falcons were sitting at 90 players after its first preseason game against the Detroit Lions. Sadly for these players, there was only a very short time to show the team what they could do.
Today, the Falcons announced four cuts and a player placed on injured reserve, bringing them in line with the 85 man roster requirement. Per the team, the cuts are tight end Tucker Fisk, linebacker Rashad Smith, defensive back Tre Webb, and punter Seth Vernon. Cornerback Cornell Armstrong has been placed on injured reserve with an undisclosed injury the team site indicates he may have suffered in the first preseason game.
Webb was a rookie camp tryout who wound up earning a spot on the 90 man roster. Our own Evan Birchfield interviewed him earlier this summer, and the versatile defensive back was hoping to catch on as a special teamer and deep reserve. The versatility should help him land his next job.
Fisk was looking to hang on as a fullback/tight end hybrid, a role similar to the one second-year pro John Raine is pushing for, and will hope to catch the eye of a team looking for someone who can play both roles and special teams. Smith had an uphill climb to make a fairly deep linebacker group but may have better luck catching on with a team that's thinner there. Vernon appeared to be set to compete for the punter role, but the Bradley Pinion signing left him on the outside looking in. He might be the strongest bet to return to Atlanta down the line if they're looking for a practice squad punter.
Armstrong, meanwhile, played in the first preseason game and was competing for a reserve role at cornerback. With the team moving on from Webb and placing Armstrong on IR, the battle for the last couple of spots on the cornerback depth chart will come down to CFL import Dee Alford, Lafayette Pitts, rookie Matt Hankins, and versatile veterans Mike Ford and Teez Tabor.
The NFL requires all teams to get to 85-player rosters by Tuesday, August 16 at 4 pm. While being among the first cuts could mean the team is trying to sneak one or two players onto the practice squad, in practice that is rarely the case. Failing to crack the top 85 with the Falcons could mean this is the end of the line in Atlanta for a number of these players, but they'll hope to catch another team's eye shortly.
For the Falcons, this is the first of many waves of cuts. Atlanta has one week until it must cut from 85 to 80 players on Tuesday the 23rd at 4 pm. One week later the team must cut from 80 to 53 by Tuesday the 30th at 4 pm. The Falcons can start putting together its expanded, 16-player practice squad after those final cuts. That's a total of 37 players off the roster, with a maximum of 16 returning to the practice squad.
We wish all five of these players well, for Armstrong with his recovery and for the other four with finding other teams and opportunities.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Joe Brush is the Branch Manager of the Newest MLD Showroom in Boise, Idaho. After graduating from BYU with a degree in Business, Joe assisted his family by managing a growing family appliance business in Heber for 15 years prior to being selected as Branch Manager of the Boise Showroom.
As Branch Manager, Joe has a passion for getting the details right. He oversees every aspect of Sales, Warehouse Operations, Administration, and works closely with customers, designers and builders to assure that details are not forgotten. Joe is a member of the BCA, was selected as April's "Boise's Associate of the Month", a member of the Parade of Homes Awards Banquet Committee and is an active member of the Interior Designers of Idaho.


As usual, master artist and storyteller Shaun Tan shows us the strange truth of ordinary things--rules, relationships, despair, and hope--as only he can.
Shaun Tan is the author and illustrator of the award-winning, bestselling graphic novel THE ARRIVAL, and also TALES FROM OUTER SUBURBIA, a collection of illustrated short stories. Both books were named to the NEW YORK TIMES list of Best Illustrated Children's Books. He won an Oscar for his short film "The Lost Thing" based on a story in the book LOST and FOUND: THREE BY SHAUN TAN, and he is also the recipient of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. Shaun Tan lives in Melbourne, Australia.


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The Infant Program provides a loving and nurturing environment for infants up to age 12 months. Our main goal is to have parents feel safe and secure leaving their young ones each day, while helping the infants develop a sense of security and trust.
Our infant room is devoted solely to the care of the infant. It is an environment rich in sensory stimulation with a highly responsive staff. Our staff is trained to provide immediate attention to their needs. Ongoing parent contact is an essential part of the program, fostering sleeping and feeding schedules, along with any other concerns of the parents. Daily reports go home to keep communication active as well.
It is a caring, nurturing environment where your infant will receive extraordinary, loving care.


the job market. That is the name of the beast.
It lures you with its false rewards. It cajoles you with its promises of a future better than the past. It is big, it is overpowering, it is compassionless, and its out to get you.
Eventually it will eat you. It will chase you down, corner you, and open its mouth: you will crawl in willingly. You will listen to those beckoning from within its belly who only want to share their misery. "Come in" they will say. "There is comfort in here: job security, a salary." It is as the machine in the Matrix. In return for a comfortable, predicatable, safe future, you give up excitement, danger, and choice.
Well, The market, It has found you. It has you up against the wall, I know. You are terrified. It opens its mouth. You hear the voices. You begin to sweat and tremble. "Why", you ask. "Why me? This was not supposed to happen to me. I had dreams of a life full of excitement, of danger, of 'life'. I ran from you. I hid from you. how did you find me? Please....No." You plead with the beast. you beg it not to take you. You reach behind you and feel a wall. You look up and see empty blue sky. Noone is there. The loneliness is overwhelming and a horrible feeling comes over you: the worst feeling you have ever felt. You begin to feel that it is innevitable: that you have no choice: that giving in is your only option. Your knees begin to buckle and the fear begins to push you towards the gaping mouth of comfort, security and boredom.
Finally, a hand touches your arm. You are startled. you look to your side. I am there. I have been there the whole time. We are all there together. We see eachother.
"No", we say. "not today. Not us. We may go down: we may get beat, scraped, scared and trampled by the beast, but we will NOT walk in willingly."
The beast is always there, beckoning us to come: calling us to give up. We will not.
We will fight our way off this wall; we will choose our own future.


Mushrooms coated with marinade and ready to go into the refrigerator.
I would love to know what you think about Summer's Secret Marinated Mushrooms! Feel free to be honest, but please don't be rude. Hate mail and comments from spammers and buttheads will not be posted.


Join the exclusive batch of recreation centers piloting our forms manager.
You can create your own form or use one of our pre- built forms.
Instantly communicate with your team through our "reply back" feature to the form with any comments, edits, changes and feedback.
Simply, check off the check box if you want to directly email the person who submitted the form.
Your staff can instantly access the forms to fill them out on a desktop, laptop and tablet devices.
You set your permissions and decide who can access, edit and fill out your forms.
It is time to automate your facility to efficient data collection.


text:
Solve for Happy
Engineer Your Path to Joy
By: Mo Gawdat
Narrated by: Mo Gawdat
Solve for Happy is a startlingly original book about creating and maintaining happiness, written by a top Google executive with an engineer's training and fondness for thoroughly analyzing a problem. In 2004 Mo Gawdat, a remarkable thinker whose gifts had landed him top positions in half a dozen companies and who - in his spare time - had created significant wealth, realized that he was desperately unhappy. A lifelong learner, he attacked the problem as an engineer would, examining all the provable facts and scrupulously following logic.
Excellent...up until the last chapter
By Michael on 17-05-17
A life and attitude changing story.
Reviewed: 10-05-17
So grateful I found this. it's re-enforced some of my own beliefs but more importantly introduced me to new ways of thinking and dealing with a forever busy, chatty mind.
God Bless Ali and I'm sure he stood in his highest place.
By: Clare Mackintosh
Narrated by: Rachel Atkins
When Zoe Walker sees her photo in the classifieds section of a London newspaper, she is determined to find out why it's there. There's no explanation, no website - just a grainy image and a phone number. She takes it home to her family, who are convinced it's just someone who looks like Zoe. But the next day the advert shows a photo of a different woman, and another the day after that.Is it a mistake? A coincidence? Or is someone keeping track of every move they make?
I See Something Very, Very Impressive Here!
By Simon on 28-07-16
Had potential but found it very predictable
I found the first half was slow and i struggled to keep going. Second half much better but either i'm a literary genuis, which I really don't think I am, or it's a very predictable story.
The characters in the second half seemed like they'd had an IQ reduction and were overlooking some very obvious clues and acting frustratingly dumb. i did keep going but the last 30 mins was exactly as predicted.
Just my take.
12 of 13 people found this review helpful
The E-Myth Revisited
Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It
By: Michael E. Gerber
Narrated by: Michael E. Gerber
In this audio edition of the totally revised underground best seller, The E-Myth, Michael Gerber dispels the myths surrounding starting your own business and shows how commonplace assumptions can get in the way of running a business. He walks you through the steps in the life of a business, from entrepreneurial infancy, through adolescent growing pains, to the mature entrepreneurial perspective, the guiding light of all businesses that succeed.
3rd time of reading, 1st time of listening.
By Greg on 21-07-15
A brilliant book that's made my future brighter.
Loved it. simple knowledge that's been staring me in my face for years but never reached my brain. half way through it started implemented what in was learning and got immediate effect by having the stress removed, somewhat, and giving me real direction for the future of my business.


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Q: python run shell script that spawns detached child processes Updated post:
I have a python web application running on a port. It is used to monitor some other processes and one of its features is to allow users to restart his own processes. The restart is done through invoking a bash script, which will proceed to restart those processes and run them in the background.
The problem is, whenever I kill off the python web application after I have used it to restart any user's processes, those processes will take take over the port used by the python web application in a round-robin fashion, so I am unable to restart the python web application due to the port being bounded. As a result, I must kill off the processes involved in the restart until nothing occupies the port the python web application uses.
Everything is ok except for those processes occupying the port. That is really undesirable.
Processes that may be restarted:

*

*redis-server

*newrelic-admin run-program (which spawns another web application)

*a python worker process

UPDATE (6 June 2013): I have managed to solve this problem. Look at my answer below.

Original Post:
I have a python web application running on a port. This python program has a function that calls a bash script. The bash script spawns a few background processes, then exits.
The problem is, whenever I kill the python program, the background processes spawned by the bash script will take over and occupy that same port.
Specifically the subprocesses are:

*

*a redis server (with daemonize = true in the configuration file)

*newrelic-admin run-program (spawns a web application)

*a python worker process

Update 2: I've tried running these with nohup. Only the python worker process doesnt attempt to take over the port after I kill the python web application. The redis server and newrelic-admin still do.
I observed this problem when I was using subprocess.call in the python program to run the bash script. I've tried a double fork method in the python program before running the bash script, but it results in the same problem.
How can I prevent any processes spawned from the bash script from taking over the port?
Thank you.
Update: My intention is that, those processes spawned by the bash script should continue running if the python application is killed off. Currently, they do continue running after I kill off the python application. The problem is, when I kill off the python application, the processes spawned by the bash script start to take over the port in a round-robin fashion.
Update 3: Based on the output I see from 'pstree' and 'ps -axf', processes 1 and 2 (the redis server and the web app spawned by newrelic-admin run-program) are not child processes of the python web application. This makes it even weirder that they take over the port that the python web application occupies when I kill it... Anyone knows why?

A: Just some background on the methods I've tried to solve my above problem, before I go on to the answer proper:

*

*subprocess.call

*subprocess.Popen

*execve

*the double fork method along with one of the above (http://code.activestate.com/recipes/278731-creating-a-daemon-the-python-way/)

By the way, none of the above worked for me. Whenever I killed off the web application that executes the bash script (which in turns spawns some background processes we shall denote as Q now), the processes in Q will in a round-robin fashion, take over the port occupied by the web application, so I had to kill them one by one before I could restart my web application.
After many days of living with this problem and moving on to other parts of my project, I thought of some random Stack Overflow posts and other articles on the Internet and from my own experience, recalled my experience of ssh'ing into a remote and starting a detached screen session, then logging out, and logging in again some time later to discover the screen session still alive.
So I thought, hey, what the heck, nothing works so far, so I might as well try using screen to see if it can solve my problem. And to my great surprise and joy it does! So I am posting this solution hopefully to help those who are facing the same issue.
In the bash script, I simply started the processes using a named screen process. For instance, for the redis application, I might start it like this:
screen -dmS redisScreenName redis-server redis.conf

So those processes will keep running on those detached screen sessions they were started with. In this case, I did not daemonize the redis process.
To kill the screen process, I used:
screen -S redisScreenName -X quit

However, this does not kill the redis-server. So I had to kill it separately.
Now, in the python web application, I can just use subprocess.call to execute the bash script, which will spawn detached screen sessions (using 'screen -dmS')  which run the processes I want to spawn. And when I kill off the python web application, none of the spawned processes take over its port. Everything works smoothly.