Andy Murray

It was an historic day at Wimbledon Monday when the $225 million retractable roof was used for the first time, when it was closed for the conclusion of the women’s round of 16 match between No. 1 seed Dinara Safina and 2006 Wimbledon champion Amelie Mauresmo. The roof stayed closed for Andy Murray’s “roof-raising” five-set, fourth-round win over Stan Wawrinka. Because the closed roof also features lights, Murray’s win also created history at SW19 as the first “night” match at The Championships and as the latest finishing match in the history of the tournament with an official 10:39 pm finish.

As for additional Wimbledon history on June 29, the following are events that will go along with Safina and Murray’s matches, as excerpted from the book ON THIS DAY IN TENNIS HISTORY ($19.95, New Chapter Press, www.tennishistorybook.com). Excerpts from June 30 are also featured below.

June 29

1984 – Jimmy Connors wins his 65th men’s singles match at Wimbledon, breaking the men’s record set by Arthur W. Gore, defeating Marty Davis 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-4 in the third round. Says Connors, “It’s an honor to have won more matches at Wimbledon than any other male, but I play to win tournaments, not matches. Maybe if I’d won three more matches, I’d have won this tournament a lot more. For me, tennis is geared around two tournaments, the U.S. Open and Wimbledon. When I leave here, I go out preparing to win the next year.”

1991 – Twenty-nine-year-old Nick Brown of Great Britain scores a big upset at Wimbledon, beating 10th-seeded Goran Ivanisevic 4-6, 6-3, 7-6, 6-3 in the second round. Brown, ranked No. 591 and the lowest-ranked player in the men’s championship, posts the biggest upset, based on comparative rankings, since the ATP began compiling world rankings in 1973.

1994 – Martina Navratilova sets a Wimbledon record, playing her 266th career match as she passes Billie Jean King’s record of 265 when she and Manon Bollegraf beat Ingelisa Driehuis and Maja Muric 6-4, 6-2 in the quarterfinals of women’s doubles.

1988 – In a match featuring the Wimbledon men’s singles champions from the previous three years, 1985 and 1986 Wimbledon champion Boris Becker defeats defending champion Pat Cash 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 in the men’s quarterfinals. ”I watched on television and it hurt when Cash won,” Becker says of watching Cash win the 1987 title. ”My life changed after that Wimbledon. I realized I am a human being who plays tennis and that I’m beatable, and in the back of my mind, I thought that he was the one to beat to get the title back. But it is not over. This match has given me confidence but not the trophy yet.” Mats Wilander’s bid for a Grand Slam is ended as the Australian and French and Australian Open champion is defeated by Miloslav Mecir 6-3, 6-1, 6-3 in the quarterfinals. ”After the match, I was very disappointed,” Wilander says. ”I have been thinking of the Grand Slam a little bit. But I am going to get over that in a few days. I don’t think you can expect yourself to win the Slam.” Ros Fairbank nearly ends Martina Navratilova’s six-year grapple-hold on the Wimbledon women’s singles championship as she lets 4-2 leads in the second and third set slip away in a 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 loss in the quarterfinals. Says Navratilova, “Several times today. I thought I was going to lose the match. I thought, ‘What a way to go. On Court 14, to Ros Fairbank, in the quarterfinals.” Says Fairbank, ”I thought about ending Martina’s streak all the time. Maybe that was my problem.”

1977 – Thirty-one-year-old Virginia Wade stuns No. 1 seed Chris Evert 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 to become the first British woman to reach the Wimbledon women’s singles final since Ann Jones won the title in 1969. An all-British Wimbledon final, however, is dashed by Holland’s Betty Stove, 32, who defeats Britain’s Sue Barker 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 in the other women’s semifinal. Says Evert, “Virginia played more patiently than I did. I could see in her eyes how much she wanted to win. I just couldn’t reach deep down inside myself for what I need to win. I didn’t have it.”

1946 – Frank Parker wins the first 16 games of the match and defeats Rolando Vega 6-0, 6-0, 6-2 to help the United States to a 2-0 lead over Mexico in the Davis Cup second round in Orange, N.J.  Parker, a two-time U.S. singles winner, had registered one of the three “triple bagels” in U.S. Davis Cup history in the previous round, defeating Felicisimo Ampon of the Phillippines 6-0, 6-0, 6-0 on June 14.

June 30

1977 – Bjorn Borg and Vitas Gerulaitis stage one of the great Wimbledon semifinals in the history of the event, with Borg edging out his good friend and practice partner by a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 3-6, 8-6 margin. Playing as the first qualifier and youngest man in a Wimbledon semifinal, 18-year-old John McEnroe is defeated by No. 1 seed Jimmy Connors 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in McEnroe’s first major singles semifinal. Says Gerulaitis of the loss, “Maybe a couple of years ago I would have been happy just to play a match like that. But today I really wanted to win and get into the final. I didn’t let anything upset me. I had one intention and that was to win the match.”

1991 – For the first time in the 114-year history of Wimbledon, play is contested on the middle Sunday of The Championships, due to excessive rain the plagues the first week of the tournament. The tournament opens all of its seats to fans on a first come, first serve basis that creates a “People’s Sunday” as avid tennis fans, who normally do not have access to the prestigious and elite tickets, are allowed to enjoy the tennis – and do so in a carnival type atmosphere of singing, chanting, cheering and standing ovations. Derrick Rostagno and Jimmy Connors play their third round on Centre Court in front of a raucously appreciative crowd, as Rostagno follows up his second-round win over Pete Sampras by beating Connors 7-6, 6-1, 6-4, in Connors’ 101^st match at Wimbledon. The most exciting match of the day comes when No. 3 seed Ivan Lendl comes from two-sets down to defeat Mal Washington 4-6, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 in the second round.

1979 – No. 2 seed John McEnroe falls victim to Wimbledon’s infamous Graveyard Court No. 2 and No. 16 seed Tim Gullikson as the 20-year-old is defeated by Gullikson 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 in the round of 16. Says Gullikson of McEnroe, “He’s not playing nearly as well as he was. He’s not serving as well, and the whole match — just looking across the net at him all the time — he really seemed like he was unsettled. It just seemed like there were a lot of things on his mind. Maybe it’s the tremendous pressure that’s been put on him. He’s been kind of labeled as a bad boy, which he really isn’t. He’s only 20 years old, and really everybody thought he was going to win Wimbledon this year. That’s a lot of pressure on anybody, and you can’t play well all the time. There are a lot of good players out there.”

1987 – In one of the greatest comebacks in the history of the sports, Jimmy Connors trails Mikael Pernfors 6-1, 6-1, 4-1, but incredibly rallies to a 1-6, 1-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-2 round of 16 victory in 3 hours, 39 minutes.Writes Peter Alfano of the New York Times. “Connors added another page in a career that has required several volumes. The complete works of Jimmy Connors will now include what Wimbledon sages are saying was one of the more memorable matches in history, a comeback the equal of any staged here during Wimbledon’s 101 years.“ Says Connors, “I don’t think I’m surprised I won. I think I can still play. I didn’t have time to be embarrassed today. I was too busy trying to do something to win. If I didn’t want to win, I’d just lose, 6-1, 6-1, 6-1, and get off there.”

1988 – Controversy strikes the 78th meeting between Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova as Evert’s cross-court forehand clips the top of the net and apparently lands on the line, only to be called out by the linesman, giving the 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 victory to Navratilova, advancing her into the Wimbledon final. After fighting off a match point in the 10th game of the final set, Evert faces triple-match point serving at 5-6 in the final set. Evert is able to fight off the first two match points, before her controversial missed forehand on the third match point.  Says Evert, “But I was sure it was good and I was so happy that I just turned and walked back to the baseline. Then, I turned again and saw Martina with her hand out. I put two and two together and figured the ball was called out…Maybe it was a mixture of me hoping and seeing what I wanted to see. The umpire will rarely overrule on that kind of call. It was bad luck for me considering the match was so close.” Says Navratilova, “I cannot say that it was good or that it was out and there was nothing that I could do about it. It’s a shame it had to be like that because now, there will always be doubts in people’s minds. But we’ve never had a stranger ending in one of our matches than that.”

1983 – Thirty-nine-year-old Billie Jean King suffers her worst defeat in 110 Wimbledon singles matches as she is defeated 6-1, 6-1 in 56 minutes by 18-year-old Andrea Jaeger in the women’s singles semifinals. “She just cleaned my clock,” says King. In the other women’s semifinal, Martina Navratilova needs only 36 minutes to defeat Yvonne Vermaak of South Africa by the same 6-1, 6-1 score.

1982 –Thirty-eight-year-old Billie Jean King defeats Tracy Austin 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 for the first time in her career to advance to the semifinals of Wimbledon for a 13th time in her career. King’s achievement makes her the oldest Wimbledon women’s semifinalist since Dorthea Lambert Chambers reaches the last four in 1920 at 42.

1984 – Boris Becker’s first Wimbledon ends in injury as the 16-year-old upstart retires with torn ligaments in his left ankle in the fourth set of his match with Bill Scanlon. Becker returns to Wimbledon the next year and becomes the youngest men’s singles champion in the event’s history.

1987 – Thirty-five-year-old Jimmy Connors reaches the Wimbledon semifinal for an 11th time in his career with a 7-6, 7-5, 6-3 quarterfinal win over Slobodan Zivojinovic of Yugoslavia.

2003 – Mark Philippoussis fires 46 aces to defeat Andre Agassi 6-3, 2-6, 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-4 in the round of 16 of Wimbledon.

Can Anyone Beat Rafa In Paris?

For me, what makes him so good are a few things. Firstly, his ability to “compartmentalize” his thoughts. He NEVER gets ahead of himself. He only focuses on the present. He only ever talks about his next opponent, never who he might meet later in the draw and potential match-ups down the line, thereby giving respect to each guy he faces and taking nothing for granted. And on the match court, its more of the same. He rarely lets the previous point affect the next one and he has this ability to play each point like there was none before, or none to follow.
Secondly, he loves the battle more than anyone! It’s the “process” of winning that seems to consume all his effort and he constantly rewards himself with a “Vamos,” sometimes as early as the second or third game, if he’s had a tough hold. And coupled with the joy he takes out of each victory, again often early on in a tournament, is so refreshing and just goes to show how much he enjoys the “small” victories. Let’s face it, anyone can enjoy the big or classic wins!

From a physical point of view, his movement is “two days on horseback” ahead of his peers.(Must be said, Djokovic has been impressive with his challenge). I’m sure good genes help, given the athletic ability of his uncles, it obviously runs in the family. His footwork is the key to his shot-making, both in attacking and defending. It’s so easy to get a little slow with your feet when attacking because you generally got time on the ball, but Rafa never lets his intensity wane, and always makes sure he’s perfectly setup to pull the trigger!!!

Can anyone beat him in Paris? Not unless they cut off his left arm…and even then, he’s pretty damn good with the right one as we all know! The problem for the chasing pack is doing it over five sets. The semifinal against Djokovic in Madrid was an epic, but remember that was at altitude, quick clay courts and best-of-three sets and the Serb still couldn’t get the W!!! I can’t see him hanging with Rafa over five sets. I think Murray can hang with him over five sets, but he doesn’t move well enough on this stuff. Firstly, he’s gotta get far enough to meet Nadal, and secondly, I can’t see him handle the Spaniard, because Rafa will out-maneuver him over the distance. Hard court, different story, it just shows how important movement is at the highest level, and clay is unique in that regard!

What about Roger? I can’t see it happen. I don’t read much into the Madrid win for the obvious reasons already discussed. Wimby and the US Open are his best bets to bag another major, but even those are gonna be a lot tougher than previous years.

Djokovic is the main challenger, no question – the results don’t lie! Hopefully he and Nadal are in separate sections of the draw. That would be my preferred final.

Watchout for: Stan Wawrinka, Juan Monaco, Fernando Gonzalez, Fernando Verdasco and Marin Cilic

Hope you all looking foward to Rafa being challenged at Rolland Garros as much as I am.

Much better effort from the crowd today and the Bryans did not dissappoint. After cruising through the first two sets, the Swiss team took the third set and fought hard to force a tiebreaker in the fourth set. The Bryans made some unbelievable shots in the tiebreaker and really fired up the crowd.

It was good to see the southern hospitality go out the window for at least one afternoon. We are going to need the same effort tomorrow as Andy will be in for a battle against a hot Wawrinka.  Be there and be loud. Go USA!!!

March 6, 2009

Friday, March 6

Well Andy pulled out the third set to save my voice for the rest of the weekend as James Blake took a tough defeat to Stan Wawrinka.

The Netheads were on fire but unfortunately JB was not. He will look to bounce back on Sunday although hopefully we won’t need him if the Bryans and Andy win their matches first.

The crowd was decent although I think they are still disappointed that Federer pulled out. Hopefully the Netheads can rally the troops for the rest of the tie and get more energy in this crowd. Must be Southern Hospitality or something like that.

March 5, 2009

We are gearing up for the big event and making our last minute costume adjustments.  The NetHeads are pumped and ready for battle.

We have 60 NetHead members ready to go nuts and support our home squad.

The Phantom is ready to go.  I just finished doing an interview with the local paper and Birmingham will be ready for the NetHead invasion.

We will be tailgating in the parking lot at the event at the Civic Center from 11:00 am up until the matches begin so come join us if you dare.

Let’s go USA!

February 27, 2009

Hello tennis fans:

It’s The Phantom from the world famous NetHeads writing to you about the very exciting first round Davis Cup tie between the good guys (Team USA) and the bad guys (Team Switzerland) March 6-8 in Birmingham, Ala. HA!

This did look to be an even more entertaining match up given the commitment of Roger Federer along with countryman Stan “The Man” Wawrinka against our studs from the US: Andy Roddick, James Blake, and the amazing Bryan brothers.

However, Federer, who was coming off the heartbreaking (and tear jerking) Australian Open final match against Rafael Nadal, pulled out of the series with an injury. None-the-less, our American boys need encouragement against the Federer-less Swiss team.

I will be leading the charge as always in Birmingham with my fellow NetHeads.  The event is sold out and we have a great NetHead turnout as well with over 60 of our members attending. If you don’t hear me in the arena, who will hear and see me (and us) on television.

I will be contributing to my blog during the three day event and giving you my perspective of this great event.

So remember tennis fans, cheer on our boys and DARE TO BE DIFFERENT!

The Phantom

Finally the moment we’ve all been waiting for. After a brief off-season and a quick two week warm-up session it is time for the first Grand Slam of the year in Melbourne, Australia. This year’s Australian Open seems to have as much hype going in as I can ever remember. Which of the “big four” will be able to survive seven grueling rounds of tennis in the scorching heat to emerge as champion? I think it’s safe to say there will be no surprise winner this year – although the Aussie Open has always been a place that has welcomed unlikely finalists. Since 1999 seven players have reached their first and only Grand Slam final in Australia. Let’s take a closer look at how the “big four” have faired with their placement in the draw and the pros and cons each one brings with them.

For the second time in a row, Rafael Nadal enters a Slam as the number one seed. I’m still not used to hearing it, but the Spaniard certainly deserves it after the phenomenal year he had in 2008. Hard court Slam success has continued to elude him, and I see no reason that would change here in Australia. While it was likely a good idea for Rafa to ease into the season, it doesn’t appear he has shaken off the rust from the nearly two month layoff. He dropped an exhibition match to Andy Murray in Abu Dhabi and then fell to Gael Monfils in the quarterfinals of Qatar. While I applaud his decision to avoid another tournament in the week leading up to the Open, it just doesn’t appear he is in game shape.

There are numerous threats in his quarter of the draw including Gasquet, Hewitt, Gonzalez, Ancic and Gilles Simon who defeated him in the Tennis Master Cup to conclude 2008. Should he advance to the semi-finals – which I believe is unlikely – he could face Andy Murray or Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Speaking of his chances heading into the open also didn’t inspire me with confidence.

“I think I am OK,” Nadal said, “But I was for two months outside of competition, so maybe I need a little bit more matches to get the rhythm.”

At the moment, all the hype seems to be focused on Andy Murray, who has started 2009 with a bang. He won the exhibition tourney in Abu Dhabi defeating Nadal and Federer back to back, and then triumphed in Qatar by again knocking off Federer and then Roddick in the final. He has now had a week to recover and fine-tune his preparation for the first Slam he enters as perhaps the favorite. Murray has all the talent and recent results to inspire confidence for a deep run in Melbourne. How he handles the new pressure and expectations will be the determining factor. Nerves played a part in his straight set loss to Federer at the U.S. Open in August and may again cause him trouble here. It could be similar to a young Andre Agassi who had all the talent in the world but needed a few Slam final defeats before he learned to handle the pressure of those big moments. Murray also has a tough section of the draw with young Kei Nishikori, Radek Stepanek and Tsonga who defeated him early in this very tournament a year ago.

In the bottom half is where we can find defending champion Novak Djokovic. Still figuring out his new Head racquet and perhaps not as prepared physically as he should be, Djokovic is more than capable of repeating and yet doesn’t seem to be in the right state of mind to do so. He might still be adjusting to the new-found fame and success, and I feel as though his attitude has changed since his victory last January and not necessarily for the better. Early season losses to the likes of Ernests Gulbis and Jarkko Nieminen also do not bode well for him. Of the “big four” however, Djokovic has the easiest path to the quarters. I somehow don’t see Paul-Henri Mathieu or Robin Soderling taking him out early. A potential quarter-final with David Nalbandian who just won in Sydney, or Andy Roddick could produce an entertaining match.

Let’s not forget world number two, Roger Federer who is also in the bottom half of the draw. So far every preview I’ve read has mentioned the “tough” draw Federer has in front of him, but I just don’t see it. An opener against Andreas Seppi and veteran Carlos Moya in the second round doesn’t sound too bad at all if I’m Roger. Marat Safin is not the Safin of old, not does he seem to care to be. Federer also easily dispatched countryman Stan Wawrinka in the Kooyong finals, so don’t expect much resistance there if the two should meet up in the round of sixteen. His earliest challenge may come from a youngster such as Marin Cilic or Juan Martin del Potro in the quarters, but to-date neither one has managed to take a set off of him. Illness free this time around, expect Federer to give a gallant effort as he tries to match the Pete Sampras all-time Grand Slam record of 14. I’ll end off with a quote from this past week from Roger that might give his opponents something to consider.

“I always feel at the end of the day, I’m going to play well in the Slam and it’s going to take an incredible performance from somebody else to beat me. It’s exactly the same again this year.”

Here’s hoping we see several incredible performances as the first Slam begins.

The Russian women have their 3^rd, 4^th, and 6^th ranked players in the semi-final round (Safina, Dementieva, and Zvonareva respectively).  This is unprecedented since the Olympics were reinstated in 1988.

In a nod to the International Tennis Federation (ITF), who did the seeding for the doubles, it seems as though some of the best “singles” players in the world are poised to be decorated in doubles gold.  This is in stark contrast to Rennae Stubbs’ comments. The affable Aussie offered a self-serving criticism of the seeding policy (before losing to doubles “specialists” from Spain), suggesting that it is incorrect to factor in singles rankings when seeding for the doubles event.

Roger Federer has continued his quest for gold… but in the doubles.  With partner Stan Wawrinka, also ranked top 10 in the world in singles, redemption should come at the hands of surprise Swedes Tommy Johansson and Simon Aspelin during the gold medal round.  I will continue to presume that if Roger Federer actually played doubles frequently (and the same can be said for the Williams sisters in women’s tennis) that he would be atop the world ranking. This is reminiscent of Barcelona, when two great singles players (Boris Becker and Michael Stich) ran the tables to take the gold.

The top-seeded Bryan brothers take on Michael Llodra and Arnie Clement for the bronze.  The French team beat the Bryans in Davis Cup earlier this year and in the 2007 Wimbledon final.

James Blake lost a heartbreaker to Chilean Fernando Gonzalez in the semi-final.  The match was marred by an incredulous moment.  The first point of the 19^th game in the third set was decided when Blake rifled a passing shot point-blank that evidently clicked off Gonzalez’ racquet before sailing long.  Replays confirmed this.  Unfortunately, the umpire did not see or hear this.  In an act of dubious sportsmanship, the Chilean offered nothing.  Commentator Jimmy Arias, who might well be the best in the business, called it exactly what it was: Cheating.

This has been gum-chewing time for US coaches Rodney Harmon and Jay Berger.  Like tennis coaches are wont to do, Harmon and Berger have looked presciently calm on the sidelines, but their stomachs surely have been churning.

In the second men’s semi, the relentless Rafael Nadal managed to overcome Novak Djokovic.  Theirs is fast becoming the best rivalry in tennis, as Djokovic has the movement and groundstroke artillery to compete favorably against Nadal.  The final point of the match came when Rafa chased down some bombs and lofted a short lob that was sure to be smashed away.  Unfortunately nerves came into play or Djokovic simply took his eyes off the ball, but he missed the simple overhead smash.  His tearful reaction while walking off the court confirmed just how meaningful this Olympic opportunity was for him.

I have been among the naysayers about Olympic tennis, but could not have been proved more wrong.  The painful, inconsolable reactions from losing players, and the sheer tension at the end of close matches, have told a clear story.  The players love this event, and are desperate for success.  Citius, Altius, Fortius indeed!

In my column posted last week (click HERE to read), I suggested that a team competition at the Olympics consist of each singles and doubles victory earning one point for a nation in a “team competition” and the nation with the most points at the end of the competition, be awarded team gold, silver and bronze. If this was indeed the case at the Games (there is only individual medals at stake in men’s and women’s singles and doubles), then after two rounds of singles and one round of doubles play, the men’s standings would be as follows

MEN

France – 8 points

Russia – 6 points

Switzerland – 4 points

Argentina – 4 points

Spain – 4 points

Czech Republic – 3 points

USA – 3 points

Germany – 3 points

Chile – 3 points

Belgium – 3 points

Serbia – 3 points

Austria – 3 points

France is paced by its depth as three players – Gael Monfils, Gilles Simon, Paul Henri Mathieu – all reaching the round of 16, and Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra reaching the round of 16 in doubles. Russia has two players in the round of 16 of singles – Michael Youzhny and Igor Andreev – and two doubles teams – Nikolay Davydenko and Andreev and Youzhny and Dmitry Tursunov into the round of 16 of doubles. Switzerland is, of course, paced by Roger Federer, who is the round of 16 of both singles and doubles (with Stan Wawrinka). David Nalbandian is the only Argentine still remaining in the men’s field as he is into the round of 16 of singles. For men’s singles and doubles draws at the Games, click here.

In women’s play, the team point standings would be as follows;

WOMEN

Russia – 8 points

China – 6 points

USA – 6 points

Belarus – 4 points

Ukraine – 3 points

Czech Republic – 3 points

Italy – 3 points

France – 3 points

Slovakia – 3 points

Russia has three women remaining in women’s singles – Dinara Safina (the U.S. Open Series women’s winner), Vera Zvonareva (who replaced the injured Maria Sharapova in the Olympic field) and 2000 Olympic silver medalist Elena Dementieva, who are all into the round of 16. In doubles, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Safina, the No. 1 seeded team, are into the round of 16 as are Zvonareva and Elena Vesnina. The Chinese women have Jie Zheng, the Wimbledon semifinalist earlier this year, and Li Na, the first-round conqueror of No. 3 seed Kuznetsova, into the round of 16 of singles, while Zheng and Zi Yan are into the round of 16 of doubles. The United States is, of course, paced by the Williams sisters – Venus and Serena – who are into the round of 16 of singles – and vying for all-sister Olympic gold medal match – and through to the round of 16 of doubles. Lindsay Davenport and Liezel Huber are through to the round of 16 of doubles as well for the Americans. For men’s singles and doubles draws at the Games, click here.

Let’s keep close tabs on how the rest of the tournament shapes up as far as our “mythic” team competition goes.

But getting back to this evening’s match –  I’ve never seen Roger miss so many forehands, like he did in those last three games. I think, he’s just a little too impatient with it and trying to hit a big shot when perhaps it wasn’t the right moment. But when you’ve been top of the pile for so long, your self belief is immense and I’m sure he backs himself to make that shot. Unfortunately, lately, it’s letting him down.

I really enjoyed two things about him tonight – he came to the net a lot (almost 50 times), and was looking to attack the second serve – two things that everyone in the locker room believes he needs to do in order to beat Nadal….

But – and its a big BUT – he needs to approach with the backhand SLICE 95% of the time, because again tonight his topspin approach off that side cost him big time and has been doing so for a while now, and that is something that his coach, Jose Higueras, has to address more than anything else! He’s got the best slice in the game. I would love to know what he’s thinking, because I’ve commentated on so many of his matches and its glaringly obvious to me. The pictures show it too. I just can’t understand why Roger doesn’t see it…

PS: Once again, how classy is he in defeat? There’s plenty of athlete’s out there who need to take notice

A highlight today for many was the appearance of former world number one and six time Grand Slam champion Boris Becker of Germany. “Boom Boom” was in town to be inducted into the Rogers Cup Hall of Fame. Although he only competed in Canada three times during his illustrious career, he did win the title back in 1986. Becker played in an early evening exhibition match against Canada’s Daniel Nestor.
In his pre-match press conference, Becker spoke of the expectations for the match and in reference to his opponent Nestor he said, “hopefully you’ve briefed him that he’s gentle to me that I’m going to look good tonight.”

When I asked him if we should expect any diving volleys he replied, “No. I’ve done that in the 90’s. This century I haven’t done any diving volleys anymore.”

The match was a light-hearted affair that resulted in a 6-3 victory for Nestor. The Canadian doubles specialist made several rushes to the net, in an obvious attempt to fine-tune his net play for this tournament. Becker still had some pop on his first serves, but his movement was not nearly as quick as it once was and he only came to the net twice the entire set. Still, the crowd was happy to have him back and the tournament honored him with a Toronto Maple Leafs hockey jersey with the number 86 on the back to commemorate his successful title here.

In regular action there were no surprises today, with seeds Fernando Gonzalez, Richard Gasquet, Stan Wawrinka and Tommy Robredo all advancing to the second round. The highlight  match of the day for Canadian tennis fans, was the evening match between Frank Dancevic and Mario Ancic. Dancevic played near flawless tennis, and dispatched of the higher-ranked Croat in straight sets 6-4, 6-4. He displayed an all-court game and had several impressive volleys at the net. The crowd was loving it and the Rexall Centre was rocking for the first time this week. Dancevic has recorded some impressive wins over top opponents in the past year such as Andy Roddick and most recently David Nalbandian at Wimbledon. He will have his work cut out for him however tonight as he faces off against number three seed Novak Djokovic.

Doubles action provided some exciting action as well today with both Andy Roddick and Roger Federer delving into the draw  with their respective partners. You don’t often catch the top ranked singles guys playing doubles, but as this is the first hard court tournament of the year they are looking for all the preparation they can get. The fact that some of them are also entered in the doubles draw at the Olympics is adding a little incentive as well no doubt. Playing on court number one with limited seating, the bleachers were soon packed to the brim with several other fans trying their best to squeeze in around the outside of the court to catch a glimpse of the stars up close.

It was nice to see doubles receive such a favorable reaction from the spectators today. Part of the problem with doubles I believe is that many of the players are not as well known to the fans. Today clearly proved that if you get the stars of the tour involved, the fans will come watch without hesitation.

Photos by Rod Hanna!

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