What Did We Learn from Spring Tennis?

I mean besides the fact that I’m an inconsistent blogger?

We learned the ITF had no more backbone than the WTA in geopolitical matters. The ITF runs the Davis Cup and it allowed Sweden to play Israel in Malmo Sweden to a stadium of no spectators because of political protests that were scheduled to disrupt the tie. This was ridiculous and shameful. Malmo has a strong Muslim presence. Under Swedish law they are free to protest Israel all they want – but to allow them to disrupt the Davis Cup was sick. Sweden looked into moving the tie to Stockholm but didn’t. The tie should’ve been played in Israel then.  All credit to the Israelis for going into Sweden and winning that Davis Cup tie in an empty stadium. It was a terrible winter and spring for anti-Semitism in tennis, and this bullshit contributed greatly to my lack of enthusiasm for this blog.

We learned that Roger F. has a lot on his mind. Father-to-be, newly married, Roger basically floated through spring sounding like a man who had it all under control. He also sounded very naive to me. The shift in focus from him to a new baby will be startling. Every man acknowledges that after the fact. It will be worse for Roger since he depends on Mirka to run his empire while he plays. This may give Roger incentive to finally delegate some things to other people.  But then lo and behold, on the eve of the French Open, Roger unexpectedly upends Rafa in Madrid, on clay. Roger fans will hate me for this, but I don’t think we can yet say the victory changes anything. It’s a great sign that Roger is not dead yet. But Nadal was exhausted from an intense three-setter over Novak in the semifinals. The speed of the court was different. And best two out of three is not best of five.

That said, we may be learning that Rafa is feeling a little extra pressure, no? Either that or he’s more fatigued or beat up after Australia. We worry about the physicality of Rafa’s game destroying his knees too early. Going into the French he played 20 matches in 33 days on clay. This is crazy. The same style that pulverizes his opponents into dust also grinds down his own body. As to pressure, he should be at the height of his confidence. It’s hard for me to imagine someone beating a healthy Rafa in a five-set match at the French Open, where he has still_never_lost. Moreover, he was flat-out amazing in Australia when he was clearly exhausted. But pressure is a funny thing. It can be treacherous to suddenly have everyone saying he has the permanent drop on Fed, which is what we all said after the AO… That’s a new level of pressure. In a legendary rivalry one minute, being declared possibly better than Federer and a contender for the Greatest of All Time the next.

Novak Djokovic has temporarily stopped the bleeding. Well he was never bleeding, but we certainly noticed the little issue he was having with fitness and mental toughness. He pushed Nadal and is now actively fighting Andy Murray for that #3 spot. It’s going to be a fight, and I’m not at all sure that Roger will be #2 and not #3 or 4 by year’s end. (Which is no slam on Roger – his concern should not be the ranking at this stage of his career; play less, Roger, and stay fresh)

Andy Murray is either #2 or #4, I’m not sure which. The kid looked like a world-beater all spring. There’s nothing he can’t do… in a best of three tournament. I think the whispers that Murray can’t get it done or has something big to prove in a grand slam are a bit too loud. Remember, he missed the better part of a year with injury and his rise over the last 12 months has been dramatic. In that time he hasn’t had too many chances yet. He will prove himself in the grand slams soon enough. His game is fascinating. We need to see how good his fitness level is – or isn’t – to know if he needs to work harder.

What a great time for men’s tennis, with four players with contrasting styles. Not to mention others who are determined to crash the party. Fernando Verdasco has been this year’s big mover. Ernie Gulbis, who I wrote about constantly last summer when I watched him in Cincinnati, is mired in a sophomore slump of sorts. The French should cement the former in the top 10 if he makes the semis, and could be the turning point for Babyface G if he gets to the fourth round or better.

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