The world was waiting for Ana Ivanovic to have an anxiety attack, but it looked for a few minutes like she might defy us. The 19-year-old major-final rookie came out firing for the corners, broke Justine Henin, and went up 40-0 on her own serve. It was the two-time defending champion who appeared to be tight, as she rolled over a few forehands that found the middle of the net.
It was at 40-0 that I noticed something odd in Ivanovic's strokes. She had a sitter inside-out forehand that she kind of pushed into the corner, then another down the line that she rushed. It clipped the tape, Henin tracked it down, and Ivanovic couldn’t recover for a volley. No one knew it then, but the Serb had cracked and the match was over.
On the next point, Ivanovic caught an errant service toss, then hit one that she had sent wildly to her right and double-faulted. John McEnroe said the word “Dementieva” but I was thinking “Novotna.” I could see an embarrassing meltdown coming on. Ivanovic smiled and tried to shake it off, but the wild tosses continued and her nerves spread to the rest of her game.
Her backhand became almost unrecognizable as she kept catching it late and high and pushing it back with topspin rather than hitting through it. The topspin didn’t help, as the ball sailed on her anyway. Henin did what she needed to do, which wasn’t much more than keep the ball deep. The first set was about Ivanovic and the stream of routine errors that came off her racquet.
McEnroe and Carillo tried to give her some advice—“she needs to get back to basics and play solid”—but anyone who’s been in that situation knows that’s much, much easier said than done. You can’t just stop a panic attack. That’s why they’re scary. And you can’t ease your nerves by thinking tactically, because what’s been damaged is your most fundamental technique.
Ivanovic’s only hope was that once she thought the match was lost she would naturally relax and hit out again. That seemed to happen early in the second set when she nailed a backhand passing shot and gave a shout. Ivanovic didn’t appear as nervous after that. Unfortunately, she was still awful. The other problem was that she was playing Henin, a great defender who could wait for Ivanovic to eventually spray a ball.
How will this affect Ivanovic in the future? It may be hard to shake off. Does it mean she’s not a future Slam champion? Not necessarily—Venus Williams and Henin herself, to name two, lost their first major finals. But many players who went on to win muliple majors also won in their debuts—Sampras, Serena Williams, Federer, Hingis, Nadal. I remember having more of a sense that despite her loss at Wimbledon in 2001, Justine was for real (after Venus beat her in the Wimby final that year, even she had a compliment for the Belgian: “She’s going to be baaaad”—you know, as in “good”). I can’t say that for sure about Ivanovic. Maybe Mac was being prophetic when the word “Dementieva”—the last loser of a French final 6-1, 6-2—popped out of his mouth.
On the one hand, it’s embarrassing that the women can’t put together a compelling or even competitive final at the French. Each year another player succumbs to the pressure. Watching a clip of Monica Seles’ 10-8-in-the-third win over Steffi Graf, I was amazed to see that there were once great women’s finals played here. Is there a daunting intensity in the atmosphere at Roland Garros? Is it the surface, where the more relaxed player can wait for a nervous opponent to implode? Or is it that Henin, who has won three straight times, is too good and too experienced on Court Chartrier for anyone else at this point?
On the other hand, as someone who plays tennis, I felt for Ivanovic. I've often wondered how pro tennis players and golfers go out and perform their very exacting jobs without seeming to be affected by the millions of eyes on them, especially in finals—or final rounds—of major tournaments. It makes them seem almost superhuman in their confidence. Watching Ivanovic clearly be affected by the moment—the way I would most likely be—just made me think she's human. Not a choker or weak in the head, but a normal person. I hope she gets back to this stage someday soon and makes me forget that again.
As for Sunday, we’ve said all we’re going to say, so I’ll finish by predicting this: Federer will come out and surprise Nadal with his aggressiveness, his strong wide serves in the deuce court, and his overt display of resolve, and that will earn him two sets to start. Nadal will climb back in but Federer will hold for dear life in a fourth-set tiebreaker.
Federer 7-5, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (5)