I've been AWOL, I know, but we're finishing an issue of TENNIS Magazine here, and I've haven't been able to see the important women's matches thus far. But I'm sure you've been keeping up with Kamakshi at TENNIS.com and Todd over at Tennis World from Key Biscayne.
I did catch two of the up-and-coming young men (there are already guys who are newer than Murray and Djokovic), Sam Querrey and Juan Del Potro, who both seem to be getting better by the week. How do you like that racquet preparation on the forehand from Del Potro? It's downright Serena-like, but he does it with just a little flair, turning the frame backward at the peak of the swing. It's a stylistic tic we may soon see on public courts around us. Of course, Del Potro's still prone to the wacky, youthful flub, like the overhead he fluttered 10 feet past the baseline in his win over Mikhail Youzhny.
As for Querrey, I thought he acquitted himself decently against Roger Federer. On one point, he managed to track down a short ball, run around to hit a forehand, and flick a reverse short angle for a winner. The racquet-head speed necessary to do that was, well, Federer-esque.
Oh, there was one other moment worth mentioning. When the rains came for the second time last night, crack Tennis Channel announcer Doug Adler said this: "You know what Supertramp said." His British partner in the booth was confused, but finally asked, "Um, what?"
"It's raining again."
Drum-roll? Maybe? No?
I'll try to get back here with more this week. For now, here are four parting thoughts from my colleague David Rosenberg on his time in Key Biscayne
*Steve,
1. Lines, lines, and more lines. Once the skies cleared up in Miami, fans still had trouble seeing matches. Why? Ridiculous lines to get into the main outside courts. I watched as fans waited sometimes for two changeovers just to get a seat on an outside court. During one particularly long wait I heard fans groan after waiting a good 15 minutes only to hear “game set match” come from inside the court.*
If tennis wants to be more fan-friendly, fans need to be able to actually see the matches. I find it very hard to believe players wouldn’t be able to concentrate with people moving (even talking) in the stands during a match. I watched a lot of practices with people moving around the edge of the court, talking with friends, waving cameras and cellphones around, posing for pictures and acting in a generally distracting manner, and still the players managed to nail the lines without much of a problem. If they can practice their strokes, they can also practice blocking out distractions.
2. Coaching. Does it help? Every match I watched when a player called a coach they had either won or lost the first set easily. And things didn’t really change in the second set. Either let the coaches sit for the entire match or not at all. If a bully is beating you up and you call your parent for protection, the minute the parent leaves the bully is still going to kick your ass. If you really want help, you have to figure it our yourself or keep the protection for the entire time.
3. Russians continue to revolt. Dinara Safina and Vera Zvonareva are playing better, Anaa Chakvetadze has entered the top ten, and waiting in the wings is up and comers Yaroslava Shvedova. Of course Maria Sharapova, Svetlana Kuznetsova, and Nadia Petrova are all in the top ten as well. Even though the Russians haven’t fully dominated all of the events, it seems only a matter of time before they completely take over. How ill this affect the popularity of tennis in the U.S.? I don't think it will help if everyone is Russian.
4. It’s still worth it. When the weather cooperated and you could take a seat, the Sony Ericsson is well worth attending. It’s sort of a mini-US Open in a far more beautiful environment. A lot of top players play outside of the stadium court, the light is beautiful in mid-afternoon, and the warm Florida air is soothing. Even with bad traffic, it’s hard to complain about driving over a bridge and looking out at the turquoise water and Miami skyline every morning.
David