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to see “The Perfect Player”, a video of ATP players in Hamburg talking about each other’s strengths.

Adrian

I had a dream last night and all of you were in it. It was very strange because I could see all of you but I could not see your faces. Have you ever seen the nanny in Muppet Babies? It was kind of like that. I could hear all of your (our) discussions, but I could only see someone’s legs, someone else’s back, another person’s arm waiving (it was probably Sarah expressing her disagreement with some comment by Xargon supporting Djokovic, lol).

TP was not there, though, but his presence could certainly be felt. He was like Big Brother and he was surely watching us all. And at some point I started asking myself why we were all so fired up about the whole Federer-Djokovic discussion. A few weeks ago it was all flowers, when TP told us that we all had mailboxes and we all happily exchanged messages, introducing ourselves, telling each other how much we liked this website, etc. In my dream, we were all yelling… I actually liked the discussion… it was not the mean kind of yelling… it was rather an excited discussion, a few laughs here and there.

I doubt that will ever happen — that we all meet and exchange our points of view in person. In any case, I just wanted to know that I had this dream, that I actually think it would be really cool if it does happen… AND THAT IT FREAKS ME OUT THAT YOU GUYS ARE IN MY DREAMS NOW! jajaja

p.s. I didn’t see any goats, so at least I know this wasn’t happening in TP’s basement…

Someone’s is already on Nadal’s territory. So far Nadal has decided to fight to retain his estate, instead of relinquishing it, by losing in the early rounds.

Will the fight go on till the other lion dies, or will it be swift with the loser allowed to remain alive?

Nadal’s manhood is being challenged. When you are such a high profile person in any arena, these sort of confrontations take on more than just a win / lose scenario. It’s like the whole world is watching instead of just your close friends. Like they say humiliation is worse than physical injury in most cases.

Djokovic on the other hand has already been declared the next number one by most pundits. That’s partly the reason he finds it extremely excruciating losing without winning the title. It’s humiliating in front of the entire world when you fail to live up to the expectations of not only your nation but so many others. All the praise and adulation he has received from his countrymen has made him even more resistant to losing specially to Federer and Nadal in that order.

It’s a matter of self respect now, of getting ridiculed and slandered. That was part of the reason Nadal came out with the acceptance speech of relinquishing the No. 2 spot. It took some pressure off him, and gave him some room to save face if the inevitable does happen tomorrow.

If you have ever been on top of your game (yeah, right) ever in your miserable life, you will know the feeling. The guy is coming for you. Even your close friends and family members are talking about your demise. You hate to give up the crown, but you have no choice. Your time has come. So you start to minimise the severity of the fall by BS like ‘it was great while it lasted, I’ll try to get back in there etc. etc.

While it can be depressing to face that prospect specially when you have been No. 2 for a record number of weeks AND have never gotten a sniff at the top spot all along, this can also prove to be a turning point where you bring in your reserves to defy the odds to enjoy another shot of glory and appreciation from your fans and critics alike.

These are the moments when legends are born. Most successful people will testify that the turning point in their lives came when they faced extreme adversity. That’s when they were introduced to their other self. The faculties they thought they never possessed surfaced to propel them to heights of glory, fame and money - a position they would have never attained if not for those depressing and unfortunate circumstances.

Like I have been barking about all along on this stupid site, we will go to any lengths to avoid pain more than we will go to exact pleasure. So according to this BS theory of mine, it all boils down to this: Who feels the most pain by not winning tomorrow? Whose humiliation in the media and elsewhere is most hurtful? Who has the kahunas to put it on the line for the sake of that intangible, irresistible force?

Nadal may have the game for clay, but that is compensated by the momentum Djokovic is bringing into the encounter. In most categories one’s advantage is negated by the other’s superiority in some other area creating a level playing field.

So no one really has some overwhelming edge, although if there is any, Nadal should be in possession of that being on clay. But there are so many other underlying currents that cumulatively I think make it an even battle.

Therefore, it will come down to that crap I am talking about the pain. That will decide the winner. If it is Nadal, I hope that this win ignites a spark that will force him to look at his hard court game in a way he has never considered. That’s the beauty of being in a pickle. You have to now find ingenious ways to get out and those are rarely the conventional ones.

But if it is Djokovic, not only will he march to the top spot faster than expected, it will place Nadal on the treadmill going nowhere fast. You see our hunger goes through the roof as we get closer to food. Djokovic getting to number 2 will generate that rare concoction in his system that will make his nights restless and his days painful until he gets to the No. 1 spot. You think he is hungry now? Are you freaking getting this or do I have to come down there and esssspain this?

Federer may be the biggest beneficiary of this whole drama, if he gets by that tomato can tomorrow. The likelihood of Djokovic-Nadal match draining the two jokers both emotionally and physically is pretty high. It could end just like last year’s final when Federer took out Nadal in three sets, one with a bagel. This time Nadal would have earned that distinction even after the rest he had after Rome, unlike last year when he won Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Rome back to back to back.

Federer has a great opportunity to steal his fifth Hamburg title and create some conviction in himself to bag Roland Garros. This is similar or even better than the opportunity he had at Rome with Nadal out in the opening round and all debris cleared from his path in favor of tomato cans. This is Federer’s to lose now. Everything has happened to make the journey easy for him here, so much so that the two main contenders have to battle it out and lose their everything before facing a fresh Federer in the finals. Federer has clocked the least number of minutes on the court of all the three and it’s unlikely to change giving him a huge advantage against two jokers who are known to mess up after a long match.

The only scenario, that is still possible, which might throw a wrench in Federer’s plans is this: Nadal beats Djokovic in straight sets in about an hour or Djokovic dares to retire early sensing the inevitable. Nadal is capable of doing that irrespective of who is across the net. Add the computations and combinations that are at stake here, you better believe Nadal will be ready to die there tomorrow.

As a fan, there’s not much more you can ask for. This is the match with long term implications for years to come for all the three clowns. OK, I am blowing it up. But is there any other way to get your freaking attention?

Get up early for once in your freaking miserable life and watch the freaking match instead of living up to your lazy reputation and finding out in the news hours later. Buy a alarm clock with from the 99cents store in an attempt to wake you up. Keep the receipt so you can return it on Monday to return to your regular cheap schedule. Geeeeeeeeeeezzzzzzzzz!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anand 101

History 101

Federer is 1396 weeks old i.e. almost 27 years old. How long can he continue?

Take a leaf out of Lendl’s page. At this age Lendl had been #1 for 99 weeks. Lendl went on till 270 weeks, retiring after he broke Connors’ previous record. Three year-end #1, 4 Slams and 8 Slam finals from this age on. Who was his competition? Becker, Wilander, Edberg. McEnroe had just retired.

Agassi won 5 slams after this age (out of 8 finals). He met Sampras in Slam Finals twice and Federer once, losing all three.

In the stone ages where you had people playing with wooden racquets, they would be able to keep winning until much later e.g. Rosewall won a Slam at age 37 (4 Open Slams and 7 Pro Slams after reaching Federer’s current age!). But for the much faster, more demanding modern day sport, one can only look to Lendl and Agassi for guidance on what to expect.

I like it :).

Anand 101

The Match

The last few years, around this time of the year tennis fans are buzzing with the impending showdown in RG. Will Fed finally do it this year? Or will it be Rafa who grabs Wimbledon?

This year strangely, the spotlight is on Hamburg SF Rafa-Djoker. There has been so much hype about Djoker and Rafa’s shocker loss to Ferrero last week has reset expectations hugely.

So what’s your guess? Who will be the #2 next week?

Federer clearly is feeling a lot better here. Although Verdasco had trouble physically during the match that could have resulted in this lopsided a result, it is a huge morale and confidence boosting win for Federer, nevertheless.

He appears to be gaining momentum, but based on his past performance it’s way too early to say anything definite. He rolled past early rounders at the AO, Indian Wells and Miami too. While these are good signs for him, he is yet to play a quality player here. Ferrer would have been the perfect opponent to acclimatize him for the the shock awaiting in the finals. Even Kiefer would have partly fulfilled that role, but now he has another journeyman Seppi in the semis.

So it’s been M&M, Soderling, Verdasco, Seppi and Djokovic or Nadal. That’s called a huge quantum jump. Not that it would have mattered under normal conditions. Federer has done that many times in his career. But lack of match play AND lack of match play against quality opponents leading up to the big dogs, has cost him dearly since the beginning of the season.

Evidence screaming that fact is strewn all over. As if that was not enough, four retirements against him so far has further exacerbated the problem. Add matches against clowns like Karlovic and Stepanek to disrupt the building rhythm, and it’s just preventing Federer from gaining any traction.

Although Djokovic is in the same boat with nothing but tomato cans in his lineup, that is exactly what he needs in the situation he is in. He needs the less time on court to play his natural game without being bogged down with lack of energy and the subsequent breathing/ sore problems it entails.

Nadal needs that scenario even more than Djokovic, with his entire career on the line here. Other than the opening round, Nadal is still within his range.

Other stat underlying Federer’s three straight set victories against tomato cans that appears intriguing is the break point opportunities each of three jokers were able to earn against him: Nieminen - 2, Soderling - 2, Verdasco - 3. But so has Djokovic and even Nadal.

The one stat that can help Federer overcome above and more is the fact that he has won four titles here - last year beating Nadal with a bagel. Psychologically the place and everything that comes with it looks and feels so much different if you have had that kind of record. Unfortunately it also works other way around too. Just ask Sampras, Lendl, Nadal and Federer.

xargon

Federer on Justine’s retirement.

“She was rather small, which was more and more obvious during the last years because more and more tall players came on the Tour, so her successes were even more remarkable. It’s a shame for tennis when the No.1 player announces her retirement out of the blue… I can’t imagine just saying goodbye. That wouldn’t be my thing. I feel I still have so much ahead of me and so many possibilities in tennis. I just love the sport. It would break my heart to stop.”
- Roger Federer

She’s ’small’, & then proceeds to turn the spotlight on himself The question was about Justine.

Smox

Wow! @ article and comments. It seems as if I were away for ages. Kudos Rock for fair article on my favorite player. Thanks. (look how far this topic has gotten, when I honestly feel the necessity to thank someone for fair article)

I can comment on all of the 1.2.3….’s mentioned in the article, and probably will, but on he first note a small contribution to the topic in form of following perspective:

General opinion of Fed fans toward Novak Djokovic is not equal with general opinion that tennis fans have of him. And that is a fact rock solid as Earth itself! Here on this blog, which I like very much Fed fans are galore. On other forums it is too, but probably less so now-days. Look at tennis.com comments section during AO for example - hate, hate, hate, hate, objective view, hate, hate, hate…. Why? Because Fed fans are/were looming the internet and no Novak fans around to counter. So when it comes to general view things are a bit more complicated than it appears from scouring the net.

Than there is an issue of ‘casual tennis fans’ e.g. people who actually pay in one way or the other for tennis viewing pleasure, but most certainly wont go online to express their view in a reasonable manner. They are not that much into this, they change the channel if they are bored. Fact rock solid as Mars itself!

Than the famous tennis experts. This is my favorite bunch of all. Examples - Tom Perota, official Fed fan ! The most biased ‘journo’ who ever had the chance to be payed for his work. Than MVN slugs who can not resist the temptation to blast Novak, not denying they are Fed fans. No problem, but be objective, don’t sell me false stories I can destruct into atoms using simplest of logic. Another example, the other day at tennis.com I had the ‘pleasure’ to read an opinion of some Matt Zemek, who is a college football sportswriter for Fox. He actually sought after to persuade his view based on ‘years of experience’ that Novak DJokovic is a ‘mentally small man’ who has some brain disorder, and he claims he rooted for Novak at AO finals! Can you imagine that!?!? I’ll pay this guy a visit in public when USO comes. With help from some of my friends who have expertize in psychological evaluation. And many more.

THATS CALLED BANDWAGON - EVERYONE WANTS A PIECE OF GLORY FOR HIMSELF!!!!!!

Its always been that way, in history of mankind. Its not conspiracy, its NATURE of things. !!!

Now, lets have an understanding, fellow tennis fans: I don’t deny ANYONE the right to have his own opinion, and there are things galore at Novak to ‘not like’. Some things even I dislike. But mine is a different perspective about this things in general. Things I dislike about Fed (sour grapes, white blazer, praising himself, sucking up to Gasquet and alike, bringing down those who threaten him, managing the bandwagon in general, propensity to talk without being positive on things, general character of someone who lacks identity…. ) but I don’t feel the need to jack about them non-stop because I respect the man I like to watch playing! Same case is with Novak, and Rafa, and JJ, and everyone… BEING A FAN OF TENNIS MEANS RESPECTING THOSE WHO MAKE THE GAME POSSIBLE!!! AND IT ALWAYS PREVAILS!!!!!

In that sense, this:

1. His confidence borders on the lines of arrogance..
2. He doesn’t give enough respect to Roger as he should.
3. He is the most likely to topple Roger from his throne which was unthinkable last year. People thought Roger’s God status in tennis is applied to his physical existence as well.
4. His on and off field theatrics irks even Grandmothers with visual impairment.
5. People just cannot digest the fact that he possesses a complete game as compared to his peers, that can only be fine tuned with experience which should most probably propel him to number one sooner than many expects.

….. is weighted slightly more than ZERO. Not because it is completely false, because it isn’t, but because it corresponds with Fed’s fans perspective, and not of the general perspective. Thats a small non-Federer fan contribution, that you guys have fundamental problem with. And its normal, we can see it in every sport, politics, art, culture… everywhere.

…………………………………..
…………………………………..

Now, as general perspective on Novak is concerned, I have an opinion, but I’m biased of course so my opinion is not the truth. Truth is ALWAYS in the realms of unseen, and we can only debate about it, and agree or disagree on probabilities. I’ll use Rick’s template. Here is my take:

1. His confidence borders on the lines of arrogance..

Somewhat true. Comparisons with Jimmy Connors is mentioned and I find it convenient (I’ve read about him a lot, and have seen couple of his interviews. Generally like the guy, ’cause I like maverick types of personality). I agree that most people don’t like to see someone wearing confidence on his sleeves. Natural. But Novak has done a fair share of ‘humble’ talk to negate this perspective.

2. He doesn’t give enough respect to Roger as he should.

Near completely false. Everyone with a bit of brain recognizes that this attitude of Novak is an essential ingredient in his success. What? he said ‘hes going down’?. Fantastic example of Fed fans distortion of general perspective. Thanks Rick.

3. He is the most likely to topple Roger from his throne which was unthinkable last year. People thought Roger’s God status in tennis is applied to his physical existence as well.

Again near completely false. Just wait for media hype of Novak if he gets Federer of his throne. I might argue that there will be fair share of talk about how Fed was a ‘fluke’. (just look at who Fed played against in GS finals, and their age, and Novaks age, and Feds age)

4. His on and off field theatrics irks even Grandmothers with visual impairment.

Near completely false again. Those ‘theatrics’ got him to Jay Leno and national coverage in the States in the most positive of attitudes. None of the tennis people have done that. Besides, there are many who got bored of Federer and general ’suck-up to Fed’ atmosphere around him made by Blake and such.

5. People just cannot digest the fact that he possesses a complete game as compared to his peers, that can only be fine tuned with experience which should most probably propel him to number one sooner than many expects.

Utter and complete nonsense this one Rick. You completely missed on this one. Many people want to see someone ‘blast’ the ball rather than ‘dance’ around it. But most like both (yours truly!).

To conclude… all this Novak ‘dislike’ talk is getting rather boring and stale. You guys - it is my most humblest of opinions - should get over it all ready. My view has always been that everything that we witness is God damn interesting, regardless of whose Fans we are.

Best of wishes.

Smox.

Sarah

Hamburg, 16 May 2008

Press Conference with ROGER FEDERER

Federer - Verdasco 6:3, 6:3

Q: Are you very pleased with that performance?

FEDERER: Yes. I think it was a tough match. He is a very talented player who has got the game to upset anybody on any surface. I think I did well. I had to work hard because I expected him coming out with a different tactic, instead of just trying to keep the serves and forehand in play, I thought he would go for much more aces and big forehands. But he was almost more aggressive with the backhand. So, it was quite a surprise. But I played well under the circumstances. In the end, it was unfortunate for him that his foot maybe hurt a little bit but I don’t think that had very much to do with the end.

Q: Did you get to do all the things you yourself wanted to do?

FEDERER: I had to adapt in the very beginning but other than that, I served decently well. I could have played my backhand a little better. But it took me a little time to get used to the leftie again. I tried to play aggressive but it was not easy against him. But as the match went on, I got better which was a positive sign.

Q: You might play a leftie in the final if you both get there again this week and you might again in Paris. So, was it useful practice to play a leftie today?

FEDERER: In some ways I guess you can look at it that way that it’s good to play lefties because of Rafa, but I don’t think that is the issue here. It’s just good playing lefthanders once in a while because you get to see different dimensions, and more looking ahead to Paris, you’ve played a leftie again not 5 months back but only a week back. It just helps. I practiced even with Fernando on Sunday here. So I got plenty of left-handed practice. It was just a good thing this week to play a few more lefthanders than usual.

Q: This is not a tennis question but one, that has to do with your humanitarian interests and causes. You did the Tsunami and also helped in the hurricane in America and there is a tennis centre for kids in South Africa. Will you continue to do this? Do you have time?

FEDERER: I’m not there myself a whole lot but I’ve been there a couple of years ago. I’m planning again a trip next year. So, that’s definitely on my schedule. What I’m doing is supporting kids to have a chance to have an education. Usually the kids are between 8 and 15 years old. It started with a project in South Africa. By now, we expanded and have few more projects we support, one in Mali, one in Tanzania, one in Ethiopia. We go a little bit more in South Africa maybe, but Africa as a whole because there are more poor countries up north. I’m just looking into how my plan and my trip will be next year. At the moment, I’m just trying to generate a lot of money for the kids. We’re doing a good job, we raised a few million dollars already, which is very positive. I enjoy doing it.

Q: Is that closest to your heart, doing things with kids?

FEDERER: Yes, kids are the obvious future and I think it’s always nice when you give them a chance. And Africa, there’s an obvious connection through my mum who is born in South Africa.

Q: How do you raise the money?

FEDERER: I don’t do charity events actually. I attend some of them but not a whole lot anymore. When I get guarantees from certain tournaments I make sure some part of the money goes to the foundation, I give away a lot of shirts; not very often do we get the money out of sales because it’s a goodwill to have a charity. But some charities, like in Switzerland, they want to give a way money to foundations, they chose mine for instance. But only a select few. Then you have private people, who support my foundation which are very important people. That creates a lot of money already itself.

Q: …

FEDERER: I didn’t know it would work for No. 2. Logically, this might be more important for Rafael than for me. But both have to win their match first. It looks like Novak is winning, and Rafa first has to win against Moya. But, sure, it looks as if it will happen. It’s interesting for the tennis, for sure. It’s a good story. And Rafa is surely the favourite because of all his successes on clay. He always has an incredible run on clay. So he is definitely the favourite against all, also against Djokovic. But it’s surely interesting for the media.

Q: …

FEDERER: I haven’t thought about the fact, that it might influence the seeding in Paris. But honestly, it doesn’t matter. The number 3 can be on my side or the other side. It’s not like it used to be, maybe like it still should be, that no.1 plays no. 4 and no. 2 plays no. 3. That’s being drawn now, unfortunately.

Q: It’s possible that you will play the semis against Nicolas Kiefer. What do you think about that?

FEDERER: Good, he played a great tournament up to now, no matter if he wins today or not. If he wins today it will be a even better tournament for him. I played a couple of times against him, lost a few times, but also won. So I know where his strength is. He is a very good player with a lot of talent. Unfortunately he was injured a bit. So I’m happy for him to have found his old form again. Once I had an important match against him in the semis of the Australian Open, so I know him quite well.

Q: Where do you see his strength?

FEDERER: The aggressive game, he can play drop shots, back hand, forehand, he can play them both aggressively. He is also very fit, very fast. He brings a lot of good things with him on court.

Q: Until now you always were the favourite of the audience. How will it be for you if you play the local hero?

FEDERER: I think the audience will be behind him, right? But I hope it will be fair. But I don’t have a problem, I play the local hero across the world, it wouldn’t be the first time, and it can’t get worse than playing Agassi at the US Open. So I’m confident.

Q: Would you prefer to play against Seppi or Kiefer?

FEDERER: Rather against Kiefer.

Q: How much hope is there for the audience that you will be challenged at least once? Of course you like to win, but they would probably like to watch a tight match with you.

FEDERER: There are other players for that, who play exciting matches. I don’t feel like it (laughs). I prefer to finish in 2 sets. I like it that way. But suddenly there will be a tough match and then you have to be ready. I always prepare myself for a tough match. That’s why I always take enough shirts and shoes with me in my bag that I won’t get into a situation without having enough rackets for example. I only used 3 rackets of the 7 I had today, but I would have been prepared for a long 3-set match. Maybe we will have one tomorrow, who knows.

Q: You said that Switzerland might win the Euro title. Were you serious? And why?

FEDERER: The home field advantage (laughs). You are also talking about Nicolas Kiefer being able to win here. We, Swiss are the same, no? I believe that all, who play at home have a chance, also the Austrians, but maybe we are to be favoured a bit more than the Austrians. I don’t see a reason to be pessimistic. I just hope the first matches will go well so we get through the group stage.

Q: If the Swiss team were to be European Champions you would suddenly have to share your glory.

FEDERER: No problem. I would be more than happy to. No, it would be excellent and it would be during

Anand 101

Mr. Efficiency

Djokovic has an impressive record in the big events this year:

AO: W
IW: W
Miami: 1st round
Monte Carlo: S
Rome: W
Hamburg: Now in SF

Really, his year has been Federer-like. Which is scary considering that Federer and Nadal are here right now.

So let’s take a closer look at his results under the hood: http://www.atptennis.com/3/en/players/
playerprofiles/playeractivity.asp?player=D643
Plus add Hamburg: Beat Chela (39), Karlovic (24) and Montanes (7

As of now, Djokovic is 31-5 for the year. But he has only played 7 matches against opponents in the top 20.

vs Ferrer (5): W
vs Federer (1): W (mono)
vs Davydenko (4): L (retired)
vs Roddick (6): L
vs Canas (16): W
vs Nadal (2): W
vs Murray (20): W
vs Federer (1): L

The wins against the likes of Ferrer, Canas and Nadal on hard courts and against Murray on clay were impressive, really establishing him as a big dog. He does have the loss to Roddick.

The win against Federer and the losses to Davydenko and Federer are questionable because of physical condition.

Further, his lack lustre performances outside the big events (he is 4-3) is a story in itself. He is conserving his juices for the big events, which means he is running low on energy. At age 20, that is a long uphill climb to get to where he wants to be.

Bottom line: Even though his results have been stellar this year, all we can say with surety is that Djokovic has become Mr. Efficiency against tomato cans and further is in the top 3 on hard courts (with Fed and Roddick perhaps) and clay (with Nadal and Fed). Both very useful things to have on your resume no doubt, but not quite sufficient to trumpet Djoker as the real #1. Real challenger no doubt and probably #2 very soon.

Vonnie

Poor players! There weren’t even any fire escapes!
Players Survive Hotel Fire; Schwank’s Prize Money Burns
© Rik De Voest
Thailand’s twin ATP doubles stars Sonchat and Sanchai Ratiwatana navigated a smoke-filled corridor with wet towels wrapped around their faces to avoid a dangerous hotel fire Monday in Bordeaux, France, where they are competing in an ATP Challenger event. The twins also helped the wife and son of Argentine doubles specialist Lucas Arnold Ker to escape the fire, which broke out on the third floor of the tournament hotel, the Quality Suites.

South Africa’s Rik De Voest also fled after crawling on his hands and knees. And Argentine Eduardo Schwank, whose room was destoyed in the blaze, had his Rome Challenger winner’s prizemoney burn in the fire (see story below).

Smoke filled the Ratiwatanas’ third-floor room around 9 a.m., forcing them to evacuate. ”I told my brother to grab his passport and computer and get out,” Sanchai said.

But the brothers emerged to a pitch-black corridor with no lighting and thick black smoke, which impeded their progress. Minutes before making it to safety, the Ratiwatanas had become disoriented and had walked away from the safety of a stairwell into a dead end at the other end of the corridor, where they began to have trouble breathing. With thick smoke making navigation almost impossible, the brothers retraced their steps back towards the stairwell and towards the room of Arnold Ker, who was downstairs eating breakfast unaware that his wife, Yannina, and their five-year-old son Nacho, were in danger.

Yannina opened the door when she heard the Ratiwatanas’ voices and the group began weighing their options. “Before I opened the door I was thinking of jumping out the window,” Yannina said. “But the twins said we can’t do that.”

“The Ratiwatanas (pictured left) put towels in water and gave one to me and one to my son to put over our nose and mouth. There was no map of the emergency exit but we knew that we couldn’t stay there. We decided to try to find the stairs but when we opened the door the smoke was terrible. I thought the whole hotel was on fire, when in fact it was only the room right in front of ours. We started walking up the corridor but there was no exit sign. We really couldn’t see anything until the fireman opened the door to the stairs and we could see some light.”

The twins shrugged off the label as heroes, saying that Yannina had helped them as much as they had helped her and Nacho. “We were starting to gag on the smoke when she opened her door, which allowed us to get a fresh breath. I don’t know how much further we could have made it,” Sonchat said. “It was a scary situation. There were no escape routes posted on the door, electrical wires were dangling from the ceiling, there was no emergency lighting in the hallway and we could barely see anything because of the smoke.”

Most hotel guests - including the majority of players who were at breakfast - were initially unaware of the drama unfolding around them. “All I heard at breakfast was a very light sound… I didn’t imagine it could be a fire alarm,” said Arnold Ker, himself a cancer survivor. “When I realized what had happened I was very relieved to see my family.”

De Voest (pictured left), whose room was less than two meters from the blazing room of Argentine player Eduardo Schwank, said his escape took little more than 30 seconds, but it was the longest 30 seconds of his life. “The phone rang and reception said the fire alarm was going off - I couldn’t hear it - and that I should leave the building. I got my bag with my passport just in case.

“Then I smelled smoke and started to hurry. I pulled my room key out as I opened the door, which shut off all the power to my room, and all of a sudden it was pitch black and I was surrounded by a mass of smoke. I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face. So I did what I’ve seen people do in the movies - I dropped to the ground and crawled out on my hands and knees.

“I was pretty shaken up and all my clothes and bags are covered in soot. I was surprised that there were no sprinklers in the room. I only saw one other person, a French guy, during my escape. I yelled out to him ‘Which way to the stairs?’ but he didn’t speak English.
“Thankfully the twins and Lucas’s family also made it out. It would have been impossible to jump… we were three stories up and there was only cement underneath.”

Firemen reportedly said that the fire started because an oven in Schwank’s room was left on. But Schwank reportedly said that he had not used the oven.

Schwank’s passport, equipment, clothes and laptop computer were destroyed in the fire. In a stroke of good fortune, he had earlier dropped off two racquets to be restrung and had some match clothes being laundered. His first-round match was postponed from Monday to Tuesday and he twice rallied from a break down in the third set to defeat Yuri Schukin.

The incident brought back memories of the hotel fire during Masters Series Rome in May 2004, when Andy Roddick and Marat Safin were among 30 players forced to evacuate the luxury hotel Parco dei Principe near the central Villa Borghese park in the center of Rome. Three people died in that blaze.

Schwank’s Winner’s Prize Money Burns in Fire
World No. 95 Eduardo Schwank gives his recollection of events:

“I was having breakfast in the hotel on Monday morning, which is situated in the basement, when I heard about the fire.

“For much of Monday I was in a daze, thinking about how I would get my passport, documents and laptop in order. I also lost the prize money I earned from winning my last tournament, a Challenger event in Rome. (The winner’s prizemoney in Rome was €4,300.)

“The tournament kindly moved my first round match [against Yuri Schukin] to Tuesday, but even then I found it hard to concentrate on my tennis.

“It was a national holiday in France on Monday, so I had no chance of buying any clothes. All I had was two tennis racquets, one pair of tennis shoes and two t-shirts to my name. I received a couple of polo shirts for my first match and by Tuesday afternoon new clothes had fortunately arrived from two Argentinean friends who arrived three days early for a holiday in Italy.

“Thankfully the tournament organizers have been very helpful and right now are in contact with the local police to get a statement, which highlights the fact that I lost my passport and other documents in the fire. The nearest embassy is in Paris, so next week part of my preparation for Roland Garros will be to arrange for new documentation.”

http://www.atptennis.com/1/en/2008news/fire.asp

Katie

I found this Q & A with Mats Wilander, and thought I’d pass it on. Looks like he’s trying to get back in Roger’s good graces after that tactless comment he made a while back that ticked Roger off.
French Open - Ask Mats Wilander!!

Eurosport - Thu, 15 May 17:29:00 2008

Three-time French Open champion Mats Wilander responds to our readers’ questions from Eurosport Yahoo! and our sister sites all over Europe.
TENNIS Mats Wilander - 0

Eurosoport: What did you think of the Monte Carlo final between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer?

Wilander: I think that Federer won’t have another chance to beat Nadal… I’m just kidding of course. This match gives us some indication that Federer still has some things he can try. He has all the pieces of the puzzle in front of him, but he is still facing the same question: can he put all those pieces together when faced with Nadal? In Monte Carlo, Federer played the same way he did last year and the year before. And he lost the same way. The score doesn’t matter, whenever Nadal plays with confidence the game follows the same course.

Okay, Federer is trying harder, but he hasn’t decided to try something radically different. He should experiment with something new before the French, like chip and charge every single ball. Has he tried that before? Does he know how Nadal would react if he had to play hundreds of passing shots in a game? No. So he should try this, even if it means “wasting” a match.

Nino B: Hi Mats! What do you think about Roger Federer’s new coach Jose Higueras and do you think he will help Roger to win the French Open?

Wilander: Jose Higueras used to play exactly the way Roger Federer should not play against Rafael Nadal. Still, it is true that he helped Jim Courier to win the French. And I am sure he can be a great motivator and a good advisor to Federer, and teach him to try something completely different. I don’t know him personally though.

But we always talk about what Roger Federer can achieve. We mustn’t forget that what Rafael Nadal has done is incredible. Do people realize? He went 104 games on clay with one loss in Hamburg to Federer (until suffering a second to Juan Carlos Ferrero in Rome last week). This is unbelievable. Four titles in Monte-Carlo, then in Barcelona… Three in Rome and in Paris. No one has ever dominated so much on a single surface in the whole history of tennis. This is no less outrageous than Federer’s domination of the men’s game for the last four years.

Eurosport: Could a major defeat shock Nadal and destroy his current confidence? When Bjorn Borg lost against John McEnroe twice in 1981, there was a kind of breakdown and he left the tour…

Wilander: No. What happened to Bjorn Borg in 1981 is that the ITF organized the Grand Prix Tour with eight tournaments imposed on the players. Maybe Borg didn’t know exactly which tournament he wanted to go to, and he didn’t sign. So the rules were that he had to qualify for Roland Garros, even though he had won it four times in a row (six titles in eight tournaments) and he was then number one in the ATP ranking… French Open organizers did try to make money out of his qualifying games by selling tickets on a big court at Jean Bouin. Bjorn Borg didn’t accept that and decided not to play again. Of course, he knew there were young players who could beat him, like McEnroe, but this is not the only explanation for why he quit the tour.

So to answer your question, no. Rafael Nadal would not be struck by a major defeat in Roland Garros or elsewhere because he’s at the very beginning of his career and he wants to know how far he can go. I’m sure he must sometimes think, “Wow, it’s crazy that I have already won three majors!” He’s ready to do the work necessary to improve and very ambitious. He is here to stay.

Eurosport: Have you ever talked tactics with Toni Nadal?

Wilander: No. The Nadals live in a bubble. They are very nice and charming people, but they don’t talk tactics when it’s time to play. I could never understand how Federer manages to deal with the massive crowds that surround him. In Rome, it’s amazing how many people were trying to get his attention. But yet again, he’s such a classy person. I guarantee you that we will never see such an amazingly courteous player of such skill ever again on the tour.

If I had two wishes for the rest of my tennis life, I would like first like to see Paul-Henri Mathieu win a Grand Slam, and then see Roger Federer win the French and at least 15 Grand Slam titles.

CoolVybz: Do you think we will see more guys playing serve and volley now, after Sampras proved it so effective against Federer on fast courts? With a lot of big guys on the tour, you would think that they would like to keep points short.

Wilander: I think that if you stick to your own style then you have more chances to win on any surface.

Eurosport: What do you think about Novak Djokovic?

Wilander: Novak is an enormous talent who still needs to prove a lot on the tour. He represents a major threat to both Nadal and Federer. He’s definitely going to be a world number one, and he’s learning fast. But that being said, he still has to prove that he can win a five setter on clay.

Eurosport: What did you think of his withdrawal in Monaco ?

Wilander: Ivan Lendl used to “concede” matches in a similar way before he won his first Grand Slam (French Open 1984). Djokovic is learning quickly and it’s a matter of confidence and maturity. But he will get there.

Yevgeni Semyonov: Why do you think non-Latin players seem to have struggled on clay since you left the game?

Wilander: It all depends on where you were brought up. For players who have been brought up in Europe or South America on clay, it’s not a big deal. For me it was always a pleasure to come back on clay.
Eurosport

So far we are taking the over two hours of opening round match from Nadal an aberration - cumulative result of all the frustration building up for sometime now. There’s no other way to look at it after his dominating showing against the birthday boy Murray.

With another blister popping up, this time on his left hand, it appears Nadal will have to overcome some physical hurdle for the first time at Roland Garros, apart from whatever is brewing in his mind. It is safe to assume that Nadal may be going through a host of conflicting emotions right about now. Suddenly there’s so much going on, all at the same time, pulling at his strings from all directions.

From the No. 2 rank, to Roland Garros, to his dipping point total, to the uncertainty after Roland Garros and the subsequent slide in the rankings, physical fitness, mental strain etc. it is crunch time for Nadal. He knows the possibility of him suddenly being relegated to being just a journeyman on the tour is very real. If, oops, when, Djokovic takes over the No. 2 rank, Nadal does not have enough firepower to wrest it back fighting on hard courts for the second half of the season, typically an injury ridden phase for Nadal.

With the landscape suddenly changed, days of Nadal even sustaining his point gain on clay are more than over. If nothing else, that’s what he learnt from the first four months of this season. Despite his best effort AND being perfectly healthy, he could not win a single title. And that was the start of the season. What do you think will happen in the second half?

By admitting that he is resigned to losing the No. 2 rank, mentally Nadal may have realised the pickle he is in at just 21 years of age. Federer may have been the one taking the brunt of the slide theories, but Nadal is at an even more precarious position. He may be completely wiped out of the top ten chart by year end. And if his knees decide to duplicate the dance of last two years, this could prove to be terminal for Nadal.

Translation: Nadal needs to win Hamburg and Roland Garros for basic survival this time. It’s not the icing on the cake anymore. Ironically that itself may be the reason a new Roland Garros champion may emerge this year. Hamburg should be a pretty decent gauge this time to predict who will get where at Roland Garros.

That’s why Nadal must be extremely pleased to have come out with flying colors against a dangerous opponent. Hope Nadal does not duplicate what happened at Chennai this January against Moya. Moya took him to three sets - all tie-breaks - in the semifinal, taking so much energy away that Youzhny stuffed a bagel in the finals against Nadal.

That encounter, alongwith the fact that both are friends and from the same island and at home on clay and what’s at stake should make this a very awkward encounter worse than a Federer-Wawrinka tussle. All this makes it the most intriguing match for tomorrow, over Federer vs Verdasco and Djokovic against who?

As a reward for it, Ferrer decided to clear Federer’s path, leaving it to that Mr. Verdasco Forehand to sink or swim.

Although it’s a straight set win over another similar one in the last round, the ability to deliver consistent stats is still hounding Federer. From 79 to 52 FSP in two consecutive matches, with an average of 64% this season, is not going to get it done on the big stage with hungrier appetites.

And how is it that these tomato cans are able to earn break points aganist him routinely now. Both M&M and Soderling earned two a piece. These lapses against the bigger dogs will not go unpunished. Considering his showing of late, most fans must be happy these days to see him get a win, despite the stats. But Federer has to reach a point sooner or later where these numbers begin to stabilize, for him to have realistic expectations of returning to any semblance of his real form.

Tomato cans cannot be allowed any sniffs at break points and the pendulum on the FSP cannot swing so drastically. If it does, that one match will even out the averages with a hammer, like it did at Rome against Stepanek.

It’s a miracle that Verdasco won over Ferrer. There can be no excuse for Ferrer to be making these mistakes at home and on his surface, in the middle of his best streak on the tour.

Federer’s strategy against Verdasco is called backhand. Everything should go there with an occasional crosscourt to the open court. Verdasco will be aiming for the same, but Federer has more control on his backhand to guide it with more authority and mustard than Verdasco. Should be a no contest.

I would have preferred Ferrer to tighten Federer for the finals, but that could have also opened up a possible defeat if the stat pendulum swung the wrong way from Federer. At this point, with so many points on the table and No. 1 rank being his top most priority, Federer may be happier to swap winning the title to reaching the finals, to avoid dropping a chunk load of points for Djokovic to have any added motivation to take his game up a notch.

Djokovic however has nothing to stop him here, and if Nadal falters, it’s just him and Federer. Djokovic’s point total appears headed north and in a hurry, on current draw and performance. Federer cannot add any assistance by gifting anything at this stage with Wimbledon points coming soon to a theater near him.

http://www.channelsurfing.net

Rock

5 reasons why people dislike Nole.

1. His confidence borders on the lines of arrogance..
2. He doesn’t give enough respect to Roger as he should.
3. He is the most likely to topple Roger from his throne which was unthinkable last year. People thought Roger’s God status in tennis is applied to his physical existence as well.
4. His on and off field theatrics irks even Grandmothers with visual impairment.
5. People just cannot digest the fact that he possesses a complete game as compared to his peers, that can only be fine tuned with experience which should most probably propel him to number one sooner than many expects.

If someone calls for an open debate, there would be never ending reasons cited against him so much so at his fledgling career, that if he reads should cringe him to agony.

But one reason why people like him: He openly challenged Roger “The Mighty” Federer that he wants to be the number 1 at a time when every other player in the circuit was happy to take a set off Roger and would have been privileged to wait for a positive comment or two from him over their game.

And the question. How many of you folks felt that Roger would be the number 1 and would be so consistent during his reign at the top, after he won his first Grandslam title, Wimbledon’03? You can have an excuse. We did not have so much media exposure as Nole is currently receiving.

When I first saw Roger winning the title against a power player like Mark Philippoussis, I thought who is this guy who hasn’t got a power serve but yet he won Wimbledon. Roger has a good serve but not known for his aces. It’s only oflate he is surviving on his serve at crucial points.

Change is constant, everybody knows it. But as Smox said, the more Novak wins the more people will like him. And I guess it’s pretty much the same case with Roger before they started admiring his personality and started becoming his die-hard fans.

Roger fans may not like Nole and his supporters but Nole supporters still love Roger fans. Remember that victory speech Novak delivered after winning his first Grandslam at the Australian Open? Nole said, “I know the crowd wants him (Tsonga) to win more, yeah,yeah, I know it’s ok…but I still love you guys”.

Anand 101

The New Rivals

For years *the* rivalry in tennis has been Fed-Rafa.

The last year or so, with Fed so far away in ranking points, the more competitive rivalry was between Rafa and Djoker.

And now with the #2 about to change hands, the new premier rivalry has to be Fed-Djoker. Two aspects need to be considered: their personal head-to-head, and the #1 ranking.

Unlike Rafa whose hard court accomplishments were limited giving Fed the edge, Djoker’s preferred surface is hard. He has been able to beat Fed, at Montreal last year, and then AO this year.

Going into the second calendar half of the year, Fed is about 1300 ranking points ahead of Djoker but defending 4900 points to Djoker’s 2600, as Djoker was burnt out towards the very end of last season.

Assume for the moment that Djoker merely matches his own performance in the Slams while Fed repeats his 2 Slams and 1 Final level from the last two years. Assume further, that Fed and Djoker are equally matched on the rest of the hard court events and split the points.

In this scenario, Fed will be just about 100 points ahead of Djoker. In other words, Djoker gets the #2 by winning the Hamburg SF and all but ensures the year end #1 by winning the next match.

What it comes down to is, Fed needs to reach the finals time and again, and put Djoker down in the big events. This rebellion has become a revolt.

Sarah

Press Conference with ROGER FEDERER

Federer - Soderling 6:3, 6:2

Q: Must be very satisfying to play that well?

FEDERER: Yes, I was happy with the match today. I controlled things well from the baseline. I thought I served well today when I had to. It was hard playing against him. I knew the danger. He’s got a big game and a particularly big serve when he wants. I think I returned his serve pretty well and scrambled well today which was important. All in all it was a great performance.

Q: How different are the conditions here to when you won it last year?

FEDERER: The same I would think.

Q: Not faster because it’s drier?

FEDERER: Was it raining last year? I don’t remember. The beginning was rough I remember. I played under the roof and after that conditions were pretty normal again. So, I would think the same.

Q: The most amazing hit, you hit after the match, 40 m up to a small fan club with a Swiss flag. Was it intentional?

FEDERER: Of course it was (laughs). I didn’t try to hit it out of the stadium and all of a sudden it landed in somebody’s hand. No, no, no. I wanted to hit it to the kids. I was happy too, it got there.

Q: What is it about this place that brings out your best year after year?

FEDERER: I feel comfortable with the surroundings here, the city, the centre court, the dimensions of the court, the atmosphere is always very nice here. Some people might think the structure above is disturbing, but actually it’s not at all. I don’t even think about it when I’m playing. For some reason I’ve always done well here since 2002. Before that I actually struggled and did not like the tournament so much. But once I got to spend some time here, play some more matches on centre court, I started to enjoy it really a lot. It’s been my most successful Masters Series event. Again this week, I am playing well, so it’s great.

Q: A lot of players complain about how the conditions are a lot different to Roland Garros. Are they?

FEDERER: It’s clay after all. I don’t know what is closest to Roland Garros if it’s Monaco maybe. Because in Rome it varies so much with the court you play on. Practice courts, which barely have any clay on them, whereas centre court this year was rather soft. So, centre court in Monaco is maybe most close to the French Open. But it depends again on the day. The lines are different at the French Open, they are more like chalk than real plastic lines. It is a bit different. But all in all it remains the same, you slide and hit. It’s not like on a hard court.

Q: Is the bounce lower too?

FEDERER: No, it depends. I thought the ball bounces here too pretty high. It depends on the conditions quite a lot.

Q: At what stage did you decide to continue longer with Jose Higueras?

FEDERER: First we said one week, just meet and greet. The second week I thought while he is here anyway, let’s see and get some more time together through Monaco. Towards the end of Monaco I asked him to come along to Paris as well. Then I also spoke to him that I would like it to continue for the year. Now we haven’t looked when and how. He still has to make up his mind but he seemed very positive. That’s sort of the plan. He will come to Paris and we’ll discuss everything there.

Q: When did you decide that you wanted it to go for a year?

FEDERER: Towards the end of Monaco.

Q: I read it was because you feel you communicate well. Is that the principal reason?

FEDERER: No, it was difficult at the beginning because I was only playing matches and not practice sessions. That made it hard on both of us. He would tell me some thing and the same day I had a match to play and you don’t want to try out too many things in a match. That’s why matches are also there sometimes to see whether things work. He was very careful in the beginning not to screw up my game in a way. That’s why he needed more than a week to see how does he need to work with me, how is it with me, the communication got better and better. We had some misunderstandings in the beginning because he thought one thing, I thought the other thing. So it was just important to get through a good couple of weeks. And we did. Now I am looking forward to see him back in Paris.

Q: So, it had nothing to do with wanting to win the French? It had nothing to do with having been without a coach for so long?

FEDERER: More with that maybe. It’s been almost a year without a coach. I’ve been waiting, looking around. The last thing I want to do is hurry in to a decision. So, I took my time. When I was in the States I was just thinking again. I had time where I just told myself, what’s the situation after Australia, what’s the situation after Dubai, after Wimbledon, if nothing were to happen. So I always thought again about it. I guess when I was in the States I thought about it a little bit more, looked at the possibilities and thought Jose would be a good coach for me at this stage of my career. So, now we’ll see how it will go. So far it has been good and I’m happy about the choice.

Q: You play so effortlessly. Do the matches on clay do they take their toll on you?

FEDERER: Not so much anymore to be honest. It used to be rough when I used to play almost 12 matches in 13 days sometimes, when we did not have byes and best of 5 finals. I feel very good, my body feels good, I have no aches and pains. I don’t feel, I’ve been on the road for a long time even though I have been. I’m playing a lot. I feel very fit, very match-tough again which was lacking maybe at the beginning of the year. I don’t really think it takes its toll on me at the moment. Maybe after the French Open you feel it a little bit. Now, my mind and my body wants to get through this clay court season as good as I can and then look forward to Wimbledon. And then I know I will have a rest. So, you just go forward. And honestly I don’t feel a thing, which is a good thing.

Q: …

FEDERER: I feel good here. I like the centre court and its dimensions. Some centre courts are completely different, but here there’s always a good atmosphere. I also like the town. Germany is not that different from Switzerland, so everything is very normal for me, good restaurants. It is really really nice here, so I like coming back. And all the successes help of course to keep that up.

Q: What do you get to see of Hamburg? Do you go to town?

FEDERER: Sometimes. This time I arrived here late, so I had less time. But over the past years I always got to see a little and went to town. I always try and go out a little.

Q: Don’t the people recognize and bother you?

FEDERER: They do, but so what. There are worse things.

Q: So, how do you have to look for Roger Federer, with a cap and sunglasses?

FEDERER: It depends on my daily form. I try not to do that because it stresses myself to go out in a cap and sunglasses. So I prefer going to the street like this and just mix with the crowd. That’s no problem.

Q: How much do you miss Walter Knapper? He was more like a fatherly friend for you. Probably Charlie Steeb hasn’t hugged you yet. Do you feel a difference?

FEDERER: Sure. Walter Knapper and I have had a good relationship for the past few years. So it’s a shame he’s not here this week. He ran the tournament well in the past years, but I often see him on tournaments. I saw him in Monaco and also in Indian Wells we talked. But also Charlie is tremendously happy that I am here. If I need something I know that Charlie would do everything for me, but as I’m not a difficult case I don’t make life difficult for him.

Q: …

FEDERER: Yes, a bit surprised. Before the match, I would have favoured Ferrer a bit. He has a positive record against Verdasco. I practiced with Verdasco on the first day for two hours. He played very well. I know he has the game to be dangerous and beat the best. Tomorrow I have to be careful and make a little adjustment from righty to lefty. So hopefully my first match against a lefty will help me.

Q: Why didn’t you go to the Players’ night?

FEDERER: There is a Players’ Night every week and I don’t go there anymore. Maybe it was fun at the age of 20, if I wanted to go I would go, but now I rather go and have some dinner in peace.

Q: Two matches and two hours on the court. For outsiders this might seem as if you were underchallenged?

FEDERER: I thought the match today was quite dangerous the Soderling played. But I was able to control him more or less. He has a strong serve but I returned well. However, I had to work in the defensive so the feeling is a bit different from the first round where I could play aggressively and my opponent had a weaker second serve. So I knew I always had a chance with my return. That was different today. I am happy with the way things are going and I like such matches. You can never have

xargon

Murray a ‘miserable git’, claims Henman
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/sport/tennis.html?in_article_id=566499&in_page_id=1956

1. Nadal vs Murray.

2. Djokovic vs Karlovic.

3. Federer vs Soderling.

But will the scores reflect the degree of difficulty? I mean, will Nadal’s match go to a three-setter, Djokovic’s 7-5, 7-5 and Federer’s 6-2, 6-3? If not, will that determine who will end up alive on Sunday and on June 8th? Hard to say. Didn’t Davydenko just win at Miami after surviving a match point in the opening round? Or Federer win at Estoril after a roller-coaster ride?

Federer, with his erratic display cannot be counted out based on poor play. He is not out unless he loses despite numerous match points saved. Why? Because he has that extra gear when engaged can overcome anything. Nadal, on the other hand, will suffer if he is extended here, the likelihood of that happening is pretty high. Djokovic’s record says he is good to go unless the physical stuff rears its ugly head.

Therefore, Nadal’s score here will be a better barometer of whether he is going all the way or not, than the other two clowns, don’t you think?

Click here.

Click here.