by Pete Bodo
It takes a glutton for tennis (yes, I am talking to you) to fully appreciate this time of year.
Conversely, anyone who's not willing to sit staring like a zombie, remote bungee-corded to his or her wrist (lest it fall to the floor when said zombie nods off, and you know how hard it is to find those little batteries after the unit explodes!), ought not beat his chest and proclaim himself a real tennis guy. Nor should she weigh in with a voice approximating authority when friends or family members start deconstructing the Francesca Schiavone backhand.
It takes an enormous amount of stamina and determination for an ATP player to make it through the Euroclay season. But it takes even more for a fan to leave it all out there on the proverbial court during the Continental swing. An Andy Murray loses in the third round of Madrid and he can light a shuck for Rome, cool his jets for pretty near a week, whiling away a few hours on the practice court daily and spending just as much time ogling stylish Italians and gorging on pasta.
But you, my friend, are chained to your TV or computer, because you absolutely, positively must know if Thomaz Bellucci is for real, and what's going to happen in that all important Michael Llodra vs. Daniel Gimeno-Traver clash.
All kidding aside, though, this is a pretty brutal week. Maybe the most brutal of the year when it comes to having to focus and make yourself care. The novelty of the transition to red clay is pretty well worn off (it doesn't help that in recent years, Rafael Nadal has been so danged good that you don't have to be a Calvinist to buy into the theory of predestination). All you need consider is that the Italian Open, a notional highlight of the year, was already underway before they'd hit the last ball in Madrid, notionally another highlight of the year. And the French Open looms ever larger on the horizon with each passing day. Can there be such a thing as tennis overkill?
Rome is more or less shoehorned into the calendar and this year, what with that compelling Madrid final of just two days ago, it seems even less germane than usual. Whoever in Rome thought it a good idea to swap dates with Ion Tiriac either has rocks in his head or a big, fat check in his pocket. Rome is one of my favorite European cities, I've enjoyed the Italian Open the few times I attended it, the site and tournament are historic, and the event is, well. . . redundant. Except in one way: Even more than the other back-end Masters events (Miami and Cincinnati), Rome offers players a window of opportunity to salvage something out of a season gone wrong. And that's because while Rome is a combined Masters/Premier tournament, with all the prize-money and rankings points implications, it's a pretty good place to take advantage of whatever fatigue or lassitude might grip some of the best players.
So let's take a look at some of the contenders who could really benefit from going deep in Rome (the W-L record after their names is for this clay-court season only) :
ATP
No. 4 Andy Murray (4-2): It looked like Murray was busting out of the doldrums way back in Monte Carlo, where he made the semifinals and even got a set off Rafael Nadal. Murray did not play an official match again until Madrid, where he lost in the third round (but it was just his second match, thanks to the bye system) to Thomaz Bellucci. No question that Bellucci is a spectacular talent, capable of beating anyone on a given day. But the upset further complicates Murray's story, and all other things aside it certainly can't help his confidence. A good showing in Italy will at least enable Murray to sleep a little more peacefully the night before the start of Roland Garros.
No. 5 Robin Soderling (3-3): It's been a rough couple of weeks for Soderling, at all kinds of levels, including his fitness, his coaching situation (He hooked up with Claudio Pistolesi early this year and threw him overboard just a few days ago), and even his luck—he had to play Juan Martin del Potro in the quarters at Estoril. It's too early to panic, but Soderling has been to the final in Paris two years running (am I the only one who still finds that somewhat surprising?) and he needs to get his act together if he hopes to be third-time lucky. A win or final in Rome could do wonders for him.
No. 7 Tomas Berdych (3-2): Granted, Berdych made his seed in one of the two events he's played, but he hasn't been right there in the thick of the action, whether winning or losing. His two losses on clay were to Ivan Ljubicic and Thomaz Bellucci, and his wins were unremarkable (Olivier Rochus, Marcel Granollers, Juan Monaco, none of whom are in the Top 40). Berdych has a lot to defend coming up (semi in Paris and a final at Wimbledon), but right now it looks like he's just treading water.
No. 8 Jurgen Melzer (5-3): You beat Roger Federer and make the semis of the first Euroclay Masters (Monte Carlo) and you've set yourself up to make a strong move. But in Melzer's case, the travel has been downward. While he made his seed in Barcelona, he stumbled out of Madrid in the first round. If he doesn't do well in Rome, defending that semi of 2010 in Paris is going to look like a daunting task.
!AM No. 17 Fernando Verdasco (3-3): 'Nando rolled into Monte Carlo, where his surge into the Top 10 began last year, when he was ranked No. 8. His present ranking tells you all you need to know, and maybe even overstates his slump because he had so many points to defend. But that's the harsh world of computer rankings for you. The only good news for Verdasco has been that he's gotten to beat up on Milos Raonic a couple of times, and were Verdasco to look for a scapegoat in 2011, the big Canadian kid would fit the bill nicely. We'll see if Verdasco's win over Raonic in Rome the other day (his second in a couple of weeks) provides him with some much-needed inspiration. This guy needs to turn his game around and the clock is ticking.
WTA
No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki (9-3): You can come out from under the bed now, Caroline, Julia Goerges isn't playing Rome. But seriously. . . when you're the Slamless No. 1, you'd better be winning everything else in sight and beating up on everyone you run across. Those two losses to Goerges have hurt Wozniacki on the credibility front, but she could earn back some of that respect by winning in Rome.
No. 5 Francesca Schiavone (2-2): It's a little surprising that Schiavone has played only two events so far this year on clay (since the hard-court combined events, anyway), and her record suggests that she needs matches and, more important, wins, if she hopes to feel confident when the French Open rolls around. Let's remember, she's going to have to deal with what some top players have said is the only thing tougher than winning a major: defending one. What better place to smack down some rivals and work up a good, Roland Garros-worthy hate than in your own national championships?
No. 8 Sam Stosur (6-3): Slammin' Sammy's situation is comparable to that of Robin Soderling. Both were French Open finalists last year; neither seems in a good position to repeat, much less improve on, that performance. And it isn't like Stosur has been losing to the Wozniackis or Zvonarevas of this world. Her three clay-court losses have been to Elena Vesnina (Charleston, third round), Julia Goerges (Stuttgart, semis) and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Madrid, third round). That's really disappointing, no matter how you look at it.
No. 15 Andrea Petkovic (3-2): We leapfrogged over some players who could vie for this slot (including the two more famous Serbian vitches—Ana and Jelena—and Svetlana Kuznetsova) because they're so chronically up-and-down that you'd think they got paid for it. Petko is a little different; she's been a bright spot so far this year, but has now shown signs of slowing down.
Will she join the ever-swelling ranks of WTA players who have proven Top 10 talent, but lack Top 10 focus, determination, or drive? Petko did alright in Stuttgart, taking out Jankovic before losing to Wozniacki. But she really faltered in Madrid, losing to No. 70 Arantxa Parra Santonja in the second round. The challenge is great but the opportunity huge, because Petko is in the same half of the draw as the two women who appear immediately above her in this post—meaning that the lower half is wide open.