* !Milos by Pete Bodo*
I'll look at the Fed Cup match-ups of the coming weekend tomorrow; for today, we go Around the World in 1000 Words again, to comment on some of the newsworthy happenings around tennis.
To me, this first week after the Australian Open is the Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen week on the ATP tour. We have tournaments underway in Zagreb, Croatia; Santiago, Chile, and Johannesburg, South Africa.
What, no ATP 250 this week on the Kamchatka Peninsula?
Not only that, but Santiago is on red clay, Zagreb on indoor hard, and Jo'burg on outdoor hard. Is there a better illustration of the great diaspora that occurs after a Grand Slam event is over? All this highlights how every major tournament represents a true gathering of the tennis tribes. When the game's version of a Rocky Mountain Rendezvous is over, everyone goes off to do his trapping or prospecting in the far mountains.The situation is most conspicuous after the Australian Open, because there's no pressing need to prepare for another major (as there is after the French Open and even, to a lesser degree, after Wimbledon).
It's like the Australian ends and all the game's honchos look at each other and simultaneously ask, "Now what?" Anyway. . .
Who Needs Les Habs?
Can it be that "America's hat," the sleeping giant that lies north of the 49th parallel, is stirring to life as a tennis power? Canada's Fast Frankie Dancevic beat Feliciano Lopez at the SA Open (Jo'burg) in a first round barnburner, 7-6 (8) in the third. And not long thereafter Frankie's countryman Milos Raonic, the Australian Open sensation, took out Yen-Hsun Lu (also in the first round). That gives Raonic an indirect over Andy Roddick, right? Canada also has a few women who can play these days. Alexsandra Wozniak, while struggling and presently 38 spots out of the Top 100, has been ranked as high as No. 21, and Rebecca Marino is a respectable No. 84. Somewhere, Glenn Michibata is smiling. . .
Raonic has since suffered a (Simon) Gruel fate, but Dancevic is in with a chance—he gets a South African wild card next in Fritz Wolmarans. This is a match a guy like Dancevic simply must win if he hopes to come close to duplicating his career-best singles ranking of 65 (he's currently No. 204).
It Beats a Poke in the Eye With a Sharp Stick
One kid who was lost in all the brouhaha over the young guns (including Raonic) at the Australian Open was young American Ryan Harrison. Take heart, Harrison fans: Ryan won the Hawaii Challenger, beating Alex Kuznetsov in the final in three tough sets. He had wins over Ryan Sweeting and Michael Russell along the way.
This Honolulu event is a nice feather in a young player's cap. Because of its attractive location, it consistently draws a competitive field (Sam Querrey, Kei Nishikori, Jesse Witten, Andy Roddick and numerous other big names helped build their careers in Honolulu). Given that Harrison had a disappointing Australian Open (he lost to No. 74 Adrian Mannarino of France in the first round), this win is both balm and potentially a confidence builder. Ryan will need it, judging by the way Raonic, Bernard Tomic, and Alexandr Dolgopolov performed Down Under.
Equal Prize Money for the Men?
It appears that major Australian cities were decidedly indifferent to the fateful clash between Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray last Sunday in Melbourne. The match was down a whopping 42 percent in Aussie TV ratings from last year, when Roger Federer, instead of Djokovic, was the one spanking Murray. Of even greater interest, the three-set women's final between Kim Clijsters and Li Na outdrew the men's finale by a noteworthy 20 percent.
What does this tell us? Well, what it doesn't tell me that tennis (or at least men's tennis) is dying. It just suggests that Andy Murray can put people to sleep via the airwaves as well as live. The Aussies apparently know a dog poop final when they see one, and conversely have no trouble plopping down to watch a good one. That gives them an edge on, say, the U.S. Open crowd right off the bat.
The only stat I'd be curious about in regard to these matches is how many sets were turned to the final for the start of each match, and how many remained there. Do they/can they even measure that?
Still, this is a great set of numbers for the WTA and there's no greater comment on the state of the game today than the fact for the first time ever, the WTA Top 10 is composed of women from 10 different nations.
It Was Good While It Lasted
The ugly bickering and political in-fighting that has sometimes accompanied the Davis Cup effort in various nations is upon us again. While Novak Djokovic was busy winning the Australian Open singles title, Serbian tennis federation president Bobo Zivojinovic was occupied fending off a challenge to his position from. . . Djokovic's father, Srdjan Djokovic.
The main point of contention in the election was the Serbian federation's foot-dragging when it comes to building a National Tennis Center. Srdjan made a huge deal out of this right after (and, IMO, too soon after) Serbia's triumphant moment last December. Bobo clearly got the memo: he's promised to focus all the federation's efforts toward making the project happen.
Meanwhile, Djokovic will sit out defending Davis Cup champ Serbia's first-round tie against India. "There is no need to have a player like him on the team," Zivojinovic said. "We can do without him against India. I have no doubt this has nothing to do with Djokovic snubbing me and refusing to play for the Davis Cup team.”
Well, the Davis Cup will be in Novi Sad, Serbia (birthplace of Monica Seles), so India should pose no huge threat to the likes of Viktor Troicki or Janko Tipsarevic. But it's also not likely to generate revenue the way a tie would if Djokovic were involved. Maybe that NTC will have to wait.
!Safina It's Not About the Coach—Or is it?
Dinara Safina is through with her latest coach, Gaston Etlis. The move is hardly surprising, given how badly Safina has been playing—a theme that reached a crescendo at the Australian Open, where she was humiliated in the first round by Kim Clijsters, 6-0, 6-0.
But let's be realistic here; that was a terrible draw, and Safina doesn't react to the underdog role very well when it comes to the very top players. In 2009, when Safina was still ranked No. 1 in the world, Venus Williams crushed her in the Wimbledon semis, 6-1, 6-0.
Safina wrote on her website: "Following the Australian Open, my coach and I mutually decided to part ways. I will keep you posted when I decide on a new coach."
Eltis came aboard after Safina's puzzling, abrupt break with Zeljko Krajan, who had shepherded her to the No. 1 ranking. The energy between Safina and Krajan was something special, something that seemed out of the realm of the ordinary mentor-protege relationship. His influence was Svengali like, and let's remember that this was a player who, I'd been told by one high-profile coach, was fundamentally uncoachable.
Yet there must be a way to unlock this player's potential once again. You don't get to be No. 1 in the world with smoke and mirrors, no matter what Serena or Kim or Justine or Venus are doing with themselves. You just don't. Which raises the issue, any way Krajan might get back in the picture, and if not—why?
Safina is a human Superfund site, but even those ultimately can be reclaimed. The only question is, who's the right person to make it happen?