While I battled corporate wrongdoing in court (this time involving cell phone “insurance”), Mrs. TaiC escorted our son’s middle-school tennis team on a field trip to the Sony Ericsson Open onTuesday. This is yet another positive ripple flowing from the great tennis tournament in our midst – juniors playing on school teams from all around South Florida come out to meet the players, get autographs, soak in the upbeat tennis atmosphere, and get primed to became little JetBoys and JetGirls. It’s good for them, good for their schools - and good for the sport.
It was about 6 p.m by the time I got out to Crandon Park after a few days away, and the atmosphere was different, very different. It was prime time. The crowds were much larger, the stakes higher, and outcomes more important. As I arrived, I heard massive cheering; the fans in Stadium were watching The Mighty Fed take Canas to a third set. I called my wife, who was watching the match inside, and she remarked that it looked like Fed had the match in hand and would take the third. Sure. And Dewey was certain to beat Truman--so much for predictions.
I watched a little bit of the third set on the giant screen set outside the Stadium. The crowd was raucous, as South Americans smelling an upset cheered on the bearded one. TMF’s body language looked bad; he was, uncharacteristically, missing key shots (a high volley into the net, TMF?). Overall, he just didn’t seem very engaged in the match.
Was this a replay of Fed at Wimbledon, early on in his career? I didn’t know, but I was hungry, so I grabbed one of the great hand-tossed salads sold nearby and settled in to watch the Ivan Ljubicic vs. Jarkko Nieminen match on the Grandstand. I know I know, What was I thinking? Why didn’t I try to get into the Stadium and watch the end of the Fed match? No good reason – I figured Fed would advance, I’d see him play soon enough in this tournament, so why fight the crowds? Yep – and Dewey was sure to beat Truman.
Luby's match was unexceptional – a workmanlike performance by a workmanlike player (Oh man, now I sound like Pete!). But watching Luby, I couldn't help but think about and admire his back story - the grit, determination, and the tremendous courage it took for him to get as far as he's come. Yet I still think the guy plays without passion or excitement. Can you suck the life out of a 125 mile an hour serve down the T? Luby can.
But that's emotional. On the mental side, it was clear he had a strategy for the lefty Jarkko – work his backhand, using a variety of topspins, slices, loopers, and angles, until an opening arrived and invited Luby to hit a forehand winner. Luby followed this strategy in a disciplined fashion, and Jarkko didn’t see too many forehands; when he did, he usually won the point. As about 50 of us watched the end of the first set, it was impossible to ignore the roars and cheers rolling out of the the Stadium. Something big was happening over there; when the other scores were flashed on the scoreboard after Ljuby won the first set, the result of the Stadium match appeared. It elicited a mixture of cheers and murmurs. The tournament is now wide open.
I left the Grandstand, grabbed a Warsteiner Dark, and worked my way over to the Stadium to get ready for the Justine Henin vs. Nadia Petrova match. A great lawyer and good friend of mine got me into the box of David Boies, the legendary trial lawyer and tennis fan. Holy crap – these seats were right on the court, first row, right behind where the players sit during changeovers. Remind me to thank the tennis gods for this one.
What’s that line from Gore Vidal – “It’s not enough to succeed. Others must fail.” That’s what I thought watching Henin put Petrova through her paces. Echoes of Bob filled my head as I admired Henin’s backhand – it really is that good. But the most striking thing was her tenacity and will to win – Petrova had multiple break chances and could have served for the first set had she broke Henin at 3-4, but Petrova could never get it together, while Henin always did. Both sets went to very tight tiebreakers, and while Petrova always had the finish line in sight, Henin always crossed it first. Maybe there is something to the mental game after all.
I also stayed for the first set of the Rafael Nada vs. Juan Martin Del Potro match. I know Paranoid Android thinks these courts are playing slow, but it didn’t look that way watching this match from surface level. I’m not a huge fan of Nadal, but I have to give him credit – he has flattened his trajectories, developed his forehand kill shot, and he's serving much bigger - and with better placement than ever. He rolled over Del Potro, a promising 18-year-old who looks 28 and plays a bit like Fernando Gonzalez did a few years ago – all big shots, some of them in.
With Fed out, I think Nadal has a very good chance of winning this tournament. But what was I just saying about predictions?
--- Todd and in Charge
