Tennis Talk 2009

[amarathe]

Federer has withdrawn from Dubai and Davis Cup. He claims that he had a back injury last fall and he needs more time to rehab it. Hmm, this is the first I've heard of any back injury, but I didn't follow tennis that much after the US Open, so maybe I missed it.

[lt]

Aww man. I remember reading that the tickets in Birmingham for USTA members were sold out ridiculously fast and that they expected the same rush when the tickets were released to the general public (I didn't keep up so I don't know if that happened). Federer not playing is going to create quite the broohaha. And not playing down the street from his home in Dubai? Yowsa.

Meanwhile, what does Roger do in the fall that he gets sick/injured? And what about Indian Wells? That tournament starts the day after Davis Cup and he has semi points to defend.

eta: so much to talk about with this article about spreading the wealth around in prize money. Good for the top players to refuse the original increase where only the last men standing got more money. Boo to Gimelstob for scapegoating the original increase on the committee before him. Boo for Fish being an absolute idiot. And huh? on ESPN interviewing Gulbis on tightening one's belt when you're not a top player. Really? Super-wealthy guy is where you want to get an answer on spending money on the tour?

[francienolan]

I'm glad that my daughter's birthday coincided with DC b/c otherwise I would have bought tickets. And though I like Wawrinka, I would be beyond disappointed.

And we're not supposed to have heard of Gulbis LT so of course he's a "struggling" player

[pokey]

At least they did acknowledge that Gulbis is wealthy and doesn't have to depend solely on tennis winnings; maybe they were just looking for someone ranked around 50 and his was the only name they recognized? I'm glad the wealth is being spread out though and it's nice to see the top players taking that stand even though it doesn't benefit them.

[Mpol]

Me thinks Roger is still trying to recover MENTALLY from the Ozzie Open final loss. Still probably licking those wounds. I hope they heal and he can come back and have a stellar year.

Just a hunch.

[lt]

Can someone explain Marseilles' scheduling for me: Monfils and Mathieu are currently playing their first round match but Lopez and Youzhny are already in the quarterfinals--and they don't even play each other in that round. Youzhny plays the winner of Llodra vs. Monfils/Mathieu. That's right, he plays the winner of a match where one of players in the match hasn't even won the match BEFORE that! Weird.

[breezybee]

Andy Ram is being allowed in to Dubai after all.

sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/news/story?id=3916469&campaign=rss&source=TENNISHeadlines

[falafaclese]

So Dubai blinked when they realized that people were actually going to make a stink about this bullshit? I'm kind of over this nonsense now. All of this uproar, and the only person who really got burned by all of this was Shahar Peer. Even though I disagree with their position, I'd almost have more respect for the officials who denied her a visa if they'd had the conviction to hold their ground and force the tours to put their money where their mouths were. This way, it just looks like incompetence and cowardice and greed on the parts of both Dubai and the tours.

[lt]

This way, it just looks like incompetence and cowardice and greed on the parts of both Dubai and the tours.

Agreed--all that bs about "security" and "safety" goes straight out the window when they give the Visa because (from the article breezybee posted):

a U.S. congressman said on Wednesday, adding that as a result he will not ask the ATP to cancel the event.

But really, is Dubai anything but greed anyway? All the crying and petulant remarks don't lessen my love for Federer--his having a home there does.

[amarathe]

Venus just killed Dementieva at Dubai. Apparently, she really likes playing in the Middle East, since she swept the field at Doha last year. I wish she had played this well at Australia.

Serena/Ivanovic have played one set so far, and the match has been high quality. This is the best I've seen Ivanovic play since the French Open last year. Still, everything Ivanovic does, Serena just does better.

[curlywhirly]

What wacky semis for Dubai. Venus vs. Serena and...Kanepi vs. Razzano?! Funny. Too bad the sisters weren't in opposite halves.

[falafaclese]

They are kind of wacky semis. I read a tennis blog that described it as a tier 1 and a tier 3 all at the same tournament. I saw most of both "tier 1" quarters, and they were very entertaining. Venus and Elena both looked good, but Venus just kept coming at her and coming at her, and Elena eventually broke down at the end. Ana and Serena also looked good. I was glad to see Ana much improved, and I hope she keeps building. I give Venus the edge over Serena in their semi, but after Venus' performance at the Aussie, who knows with her.

I give Razzano the slight edge in the other semi only because I think she's stronger mentally than Kanepi, and she seems to be hanging a little tougher in her matches than Kaia. Razzano can be dangerous, and beat Venus in one of the Asian finals at the end of 2007, although, admittedly, that was a while ago.

[Mpol]

Great Semi for Dubai. Should have been the final but hey, you can't hepl that.

GO VIRGINI!

[lt]

Dang. Feli just lost to Jo. Quite the entertaining match but Feli's game is so low percentage against someone like Tsonga.

(Meanwhile, I wish we knew where admin was. I miss her, and we appear to be getting a bit of spam.)

[breezybee]

The Feli/Jo match was entertaining even if Feli lost. The match before that with Youzhny and Llodra was really entertaining. It's not often you see someon serve and volley like Llodra. He was doing it well too.

Checked out the Memphis tournament too. Why is Stepanek dressed in purple? He looks toolier than usual. The ATP always looks for the ugliest picture of him to put on their website and he's just making it easier for them. Not that I mind.