Greetings. I have a day loaded with medical appointments, so I don't know if I'll break free in time to do a red-meat post later. I do have a few in mind for the coming days as we advance toward Madrid. Speaking of . . . I like the way this Spring calendar has worked out. It's choc-a-bloc with Masters Series events, which is a tribute to the history, tradition and strength of the game in Europe, and on clay.
Under the revised schedule there's a nice pacing to this intense and densely-packed clay-court circuit. It's almost like an entire year's worth of tennis crammed into a two-month period. If there were no other tournaments or tennis events at all, the Euroclay season could still claim to be a significant sport, and the attendance and prize-money figures would confirm it.
Barcelona, Belgrade, Munich and Estoril, none of them a Masters event, really get to shine because of spacing of events—they're essentially satellites of Monte Carlo on one hand and Madrid on the other, but the gravitational tug and push of both make those events seem more interesting if not more important. The other thing that really helps these sub-Masters events is how they're now targeted by many top players as good places at which to begin their preparation for the French Open. Why leave the hard courts and immediately fling yourself into the deep end by playing the Monte Carlo Masters?
If there's a flaw in the schedule, it's that the Madrid and Rome Masters are in back-to-back weeks, because none of the players is keen on the idea of playing a Masters and then immediately going into a Grand Slam event. I'd venture to guess that Rome is going to become a very interesting tournament, given that it comes right on the heels of Madrid, and pretty far along in the clay season.
You could compare Madrid and Rome to the Indian Wells/Miami challenge, but there's one critical difference: the latter are the end of something, while Madrid/Rome are still part of the prelude to the main event, Roland Garros. They demonstrate the beauty of having a run-up to a major, but they are also a little overshadowed by its imminence. Maybe Indian Wells and Miami are, or seem, stronger or better tournaments because they are the main event.
Enjoy the tennis today.
- Pete