Tennis. The Greatest Sport

Andy Roddick puts his money where his mouth is.

2009-02-21T14:26:00.000-08:00

Every once in a while a professional athlete does something powerful. Andy Roddick has just become a part of that elite class. It is not his world record serve or his powerful forehand but his strength of character. Andy has taken a stand.

Most everyone in the tennis world has heard about Shahar Peer's exclusion from the Dubai tournament this year. Shahar was denied a visa by the United Arab Emirates who cited security reasons. However, the unanimous sentiment in the tennis world is that she was denied because she is an Isreali.

When the news of this injustice hit the news, verbal reactions from the tennis community ranged from concern and disappointment to outrage. Sadly, it appears that it was all lip service. The WTA did not cancel the event and no major female player boycotted the tournament. In fact, Venus Williams noted that the tournament is rich in prize money and any such actions might upset sponsors. Well, we couldn't have that now could we?

In all of the tennis community, one man stood up for what is right. Andy Roddick has boycotted the 2009 Dubai Tennis Championships. Andy's stand is remarkable for several reasons. Andy has had great success at the Dubai tournament and is currently the defending champion. However, regardless of the money and the points, Andy stands on principle.

It is stunning that Andy Roddick stands alone. There are many on the tour who's ethnic histories are filled with persecution and prejudice who should relate far more to Shahar Peer than Andy. Yet, it is the white kid from Nebraska who understands the weight of this moment.

There will be a lot of teen and twenty something millionaires playing tennis in Dubai this week. All of them have made their obligatory sympathetic statements. However, among all of this lip service, Andy Roddick is the only one who put his money where his mouth is.

Nadal shows Djokivic what clay tennis is about.

2008-05-17T08:59:00.000-07:00

I just had the pleasure of not only watching tennis of the highest quality, but the essence of competition on display. It was obvious from the beginning that Djokivic felt he had bigger strokes and more game than Nadal. He came out firing hitting huge cross court shots catching Rafa off guard with his aggressive attack. However, it was not long until Nadal showed Novak the other part of the clay court tennis equation.

Time after time Djokovic would set up a well constructed point. Continually, he put Nadal under the gun. But, regardless of how much pressure Novak applied, Rafa would come back with something amazing. In a way, it was a vindication for all of Nadals victims. It was apparent to all who watched that Djokovic is pure talent. And, he was on. However, as big of a game as Novak brought he came up short.

People who follow these two warriors know that Djokivic looks better on hard court. But out there on the clay, Nadal's intangible advantage was obvious to see. Some say he has heart. Some say he is a fighter. It is more than that. Rafael Nadal is relentless to an absolute. He is driven to compete on every point with absolute belief he will find a way to win it. And, on clay, Rafa most always does.

We were all intrigued to see Nadal and Djokovic meet on clay. Everyone had their opinions about the outcome. However, in the end, the summary was written all over Djokivic's face. He had fired every weapon in his arsenal and Nadal was unfazed. In the last game the defeated Djokivic's fierce ground stroke had degraded to slice defense and desperate drop shots. He was mentally dominated. Rafael Nadal had shown Novak Djokivic what clay court tennis is all about.

Andy Roddick is two feet away from greatness.

2008-05-09T13:00:00.001-07:00

Andy Roddick’s game is truly the best it has ever been. I can remember watching him blast through one of his first championships as a teenager in Atlanta. Back then he was a walking cannon in tennis shoes.

These days he has added great variety and control to his already tremendous serve. He has added depth and dimension to his forehand. He has developed a net game that may be one of his best assets. And, his fitness and endurance is now exceptional. But, still, his backhand remains his Achilles.

Everyone noticed the difference in Andy’s backhand when Jimmy Conners became his coach. He began to hit with more depth and introduced his new backhand down the line attack shot. It was exciting to see his new dimension. It was great to see Andy back in the hunt. However, today’s match against Tommy Robredo exposed that old Achilles again.

Lots of experts have talked about Roddick’s backhand. They have given all kinds of advice regarding his technique and his strategy. However, the real problem with Andy’s backhand was glaringly obvious on the clay in Rome. It is his feet.

Time after time, I watched Roddick hit backhands while contorted and off balance. It was most obvious when trying to hit the backhand down the line. When he missed, which was most of the time, he missed by a country mile. The reality is, if he made it, it was just a lucky shot. His foot work is so bad on his down the line passing shot, he looks like he is falling off of a canoe.

With all that being said, Andy is still winning consistently. His copious supply of weapons is enough to keep him near the top. However, it is obvious to me that he will never return to the very top unless he conquers his footwork woes. So Andy Roddick remains two feet away from greatness.

Rafael looks smarter than Federer on Clay

2008-04-28T09:34:00.000-07:00

I had the great pleasure of watching the quintessential tennis rivalry of our era played out again yesterday. Once again, Rafael Nadal topped Roger Federer on Clay. And, as usual, the commentators and the vast majority of the press failed to capture the essence of the match.

The match strategy was almost identicle for both players. Rafa and Roger were after one anther's backhands. And, while both players had the same plan, Nadal's execution was consistently superior. The combination of Rafa's two handed backhand and his high topspin directed deep to Roger's one-handed backhand are what gave him the advantage.

There is one area where I agree with the legions of old school commentators. That is the need for Federer to come to net more when dueling with Rafa. Roger is not blind to this either, but he seems to be too easily discouraged by Nadal's amazing passing shots. This is totally understandable, but I will go ahead and make the debatable statement that Federer has no choice. As amazing as Roger is, Nadal has proven that his strokes, strategy and movement are just plain superior to Federer's on clay.

So, if you are willing to accept my argument, you have to accept that Federer will have to do something different to get the upper hand over Rafa and one day capture the French Open Title. The good news for Roger is that he already has a relationship with the guy who can help him do just that. Roger needs to enlist Pete Sampras to help him overcome Nadal's dominance. While Federer already has a great transition game and excellent volleys, he lacks the intricate understanding of net rush strategy. And, we all know Sampras is the master of these golden details.

As someone who's game is based on serve and volley and chip and charge strategy, I can tell you that you have to adjust to each opponent. There is no one strategy that fits all for an attacking net player. Some guys can't pass on the run and others struggle to control the ball while moving forward. Some players freeze when the ball is hit right at them while others lose control on balls coming from outside-in. Roger's mission, if he should choose to accept it, is to find out what Nadal doesn't like and give him a healthy dose of it.

Nadal already knows what Roger doesn't like and he has managed to impose it on him consistently. So, if Roger wants to win Roland Garros and the career Grand Slam, he better find a way to do unto Rafa before Rafa does unto him. Otherwise, he will find himself hoping for someone else to take out Rafa before the final. As we have seen, that is not a likely scenario.

The Tennis Channel goes positive

2008-04-26T06:24:00.000-07:00

Being a tennis fan, I subscribe to the Tennis Channel. It may be the best thing to happen to tennis since the tennis racquet. But, for all their great programming, one thing had become a real sore spot for me. Negative commentators. The Tennis Channel's microphone men were calling matches like Simon berating talentless contestants on American Idol.

In fact, listening to their arrogant and scathing criticism of the players would have you think you were watching the two biggest bums ever to set foot on the tennis court as opposed to the best and most talented players in the world. Words like: "lost", "hopeless", "pitiful" and "abysmal" were regularly used to describe some of the greatest athletes in the world. It was so painful that I sent several emails to the Tennis Channel begging them to counsel the match callers.

Well, good news. This week the Tennis Channel has exclusive coverage of the ATP Monte Carlo tournament and the commentators have been excellent and very enjoyable to listen to. What makes the turnaround more impressive is that these are the exact same commentators that were so offensive in the past. Kudos to those who brought about the change. And, extra Kudos to the two commentators who took the criticism and made the needed adjustments.

Tennis is truly the greatest sport in the world. The players are some of the most amazing thinking athletes in sports. The Tennis Channel called the ATP Monte Carlo tournament in a way that anyone who watches can see these amazingly talented athletes for what they are. The best of the best. Kudos to you Tennis Channel.

Mary Carillo goes overboard.........again.

2008-04-06T11:40:00.000-07:00

Nikolay Davydenko just completed a masterful dismantling of Rafael Nadal at the Sony Ericsson. Even with so much great tennis to write about, I feel compelled to comment on remarks made by Mary Carillo while providing color commentary on the men's final.

Mary twice emphatically stated that Nikolay Davydenko will be remembered most for the ATP betting scandal accusations that have been in the news for that last year. Mary's verdict is ridiculously overstated. Unless evidence showing that Nikolay was involved magically appears, the whole episode will be nothing more than a footnote.

Her over the top comments are not new to Carillo's commentator career. Anyone who has followed tennis closely for the last 4 or 5 years will clearly remember how obnoxiously critical and negative the fraternity of ex-player commentators became at one point. During that time, Mary Carillo was easily one of the most critical and negative. When tuning in to a TV match, one could easily believe that they were watching two low level hackers being berated rather than the best players in the world.

I won't speculate Carillo's potential motives, nor will I try to psychoanalyze her needs to make such comments. I will say this: We the fans will decide how we remember great players like Nikolay Davydenko. Ex-player commentators would do well to be a positive contribution to the sport that has provided them so many opportunities. Since Mary has landed a journalist's position on Bryant Gumbel's Real Sports, I would think she would understand the value of clear minded objectivity.

Chip N Charge
http://www.tennispinellas.com/