!Rn Like clockwork, it’s all falling apart on the ATP tour right now. Juan Martin Del Potro is getting a head start on his sophomore slump. Andy Murray and Roger Federer are AWOL, and probably happier for it. Andy Roddick, Tommy Haas, Stan Wawrinka, and Gael Monfils went on the DL for the week, some with more reason than others. Marat Safin is going out as a loose cannon (did we really think it would end well?). And, according to Roddick and Rafael Nadal, the schedule still stinks. It might even be worse than ever. We’ll find out if their complaints, which are ringing a little louder than usual, can create a full-fledged tipping point for this age-old question. Meanwhile, the show goes on, as best it can, in Shanghai. Let's see what's been worth seeing there so far this week.
Dead Flower
It’s designed to look like it’s in full bloom when the roof flies off, but the stadium is so wide open that the players appear to be contesting a Masters event on their own private island. Even when the stands are crowded they look empty, the fans reduced to blurry blobs of humanity somewhere on the horizon. But that beats what’s going on in the Grandstand; was there anyone in attendance for Nikolay Davydenko’s first-round win there the other night? I counted 14 people, coaches included, taking in Ivan Ljubicic’s upset of Fernando Verdasco. Unfortunately, the empty seats and life-sucking lack of energy only reinforce the notion that the season should be over by now. What may be more concerning is whether guys like Federer, del Potro, and Roddick, if they’re feeling a little banged up and sick of their jobs after the U.S. Open, will commit to this event in the future. I can only guess that the reason it exists and will continue to exist can be summed up by those pesky little Heineken signs that you see behind the players. If you’re a sponsor, one billion Chinese will never be wrong.
Another Minute, Another Schedule Complaint
I’m starting to think we need the season to be this long; what else would we do at this time of year if we couldn’t complain about it? My colleagues at Tennis.com, James Martin and Peter Bodo, have taken sides on this issue this week. I’ll only add that the troubles don’t just stem from the fact that the players and the tournament directors have conflicting interests. The players themselves have conflicting interests as well; the division is between the very top guys and everyone else. So far in 2009, Federer has entered 12 tournaments and played 63 matches. Tommy Robredo has entered twice as many events—Shanghai is his 24th—but has played just two more matches than Federer. Robredo has earned $950,000 in prize money for his efforts; Federer has earned more than $6 million for virtually the same amount of time on court. Some guys, those who regularly reach finals and command high fees for exhibitions, can use the rest. Other guys need to play as much as they can because they know their earning years are short.
When players complain about having to show up for mandatory events, they're also complaining about having to show up for tournaments where they're not getting appearance fees. It's not the only reason the top guys are unhappy, but it's hardly a coincidence, either. You can pack the events more tightly together—though that would create other issues regarding proper rest between tournaments—or change their locations, but the tour shouldn’t scrap the mandatory aspect of the Masters Series. It's the ATP’s only long-term success story of the last 20 years. Getting everyone together eight times a year isn’t too much to ask to make it happen.
The China Syndrome
Not being pros or tournament directors, how should a tennis fan approach the fall season? It’s a tricky and changeable question. On the one hand, my ideal would be a schedule that stopped dead in early October with the season-enders and the Davis and Fed Cups. But do I feel that way because I’ve never gone through the fall without tennis? Would I miss it? I can only analyze how I experience these late-year events myself. With the 500-level tournaments, tuning in for the final on Sunday is clearly enough. I was entertained by last week’s Djokovic-Cilic match in Beijing for the hour and a half that it was on. But at the same time it felt like pointless overkill. "It's a weekend," a sports fan might think if he stumbled on it, "so there must be a tennis match somewhere." Football and baseball were on as well, both of which made more sense in October. Tennis has no season; it's always there, like wallpaper.
I’d like to think a Masters would seem a little more essential to me, and I have gotten up early this week to watch taped matches from Shanghai. But while I’m watching, I’ve also been reading and listening to music. I wouldn't sit and stare at a match between, say, Simon and Troicki or Gonzalez and Davydenko, that’s being played in front of a dozen people, without otherwise occupying myself. But as a background to my morning routine, it’s a nice addition—next week I’ll be doing the same thing with the TV off, anyway. And there have been some compelling moments. There was the anguish on Verdasco’s face near the end of his loss to Ljubicic. There was Ljubicic’s reaction to his win: He sat down in his chair and lifted his eyebrows, as if to say, “Wow, OK, this feels pretty good.” There was the spirited battle between Blake and Nadal, and the newfound positive energy of Novak Djokovic. There were the jaw-dropping winners, hit with near-disdain, by Monfils. Were these worth staging the tournament for? Or did the dismal sight of the very same Monfils throwing in the towel after the third game today—I knew immediately that he was going to retire—negate the good stuff?
Taken together, if this is all I’m getting from Shanghai, it's an argument against fall tennis for me. Better to have the time away from the sport and come back craving the new season in January.
Of course, if Nadal and Djokovic come out firing in the final and give us Madrid II here, forget I said anything.
The Rafa Syndrome
Speaking of Nadal-Blake, two things came to mind watching those athletes gallop all over the court. One, Nadal has a knack for great matches—he's been involved in the two best of 2009. This is because, while he isn't completely defensive or reactive, he lets the other guy play his game. His opponent, as long as he's Top 20 material, generally knows he can get his swings in and maybe find his groove. This is a big part of what makes the Spaniard's style so labor intensive. He often faces the best his opponent has.
The second notable element came in the final game, with Blake serving at 4-5. The American had played superb second and third sets, staying patient, constructing rallies, moving forward at the right time, applying pressure. But here, on a crucial point, he went for a down-the-line kill shot without working Nadal out of position first and missed it wide. On the next point, Nadal got a good look at a second serve and dumped a nervous return into the net. Here in a nutshell were these two guys weaknesses, and here they were cropping up again at just the wrong moments. I thought of John McEnroe’s line about how he chokes in every match he plays; it’s just a matter of how he manages his choking. A few minutes later, Nadal won the match with a down the line forehand winner. He’d managed his choking better than Blake.
Bellucci and Me
On the other side of the mental map, we had Thomaz Bellucci. The Brazilian lost to Fernando Gonzalez in ugly fashion, throwing towels at ball girls and making his racquet head into a Pac Man replica at match point. You could see the volcano readying for eruption two games earlier. The problem was, Bellucci was still on serve in the second set when he started to lose his mind. Each miss made him angrier, and even his winners seemed to disgust him. He was fighting some invisible foe, and it was only a matter of time before he was broken. I would have chastised Bellucci for his mental weakness, and said that this was why he wasn’t Top 20 material. But his irrational reaction to pressure reminded me of someone: Myself, unfortunately.
Keeping Up with the Jones
Speaking of Blake again, he finally has a new coach, Kelly Jones, after 20 years with his buddy Brian Barker. It’s likely too late for major surgery on his game, but I do know that Jones is an iconoclast. We talked once about having him do an article for Tennis Magazine, the basic idea of which was: “Everything You’ve Been Taught is Wrong.” I liked seeing Blake rush the net more against Nadal. Maybe Jones will be the right jolt for his final couple of years on tour.
Big Questions
It's official: Del Potro is so last month. Is Cilic ready to fill his sizable shoes? I ask the question at ESPN.com.
Drinking Game for Glazed-Eyed Tennis Channel Viewers
Drink: Every time Jason Goodall says, “to the good,” “brilliant,” or “full marks.”
Chug: Every time Robbie Koenig yells “world class!”
Do a shot: Every time Koenig says “lady luck.”
If that doesn’t make Shanghai more fun, nothing will.