Tennis Acumen

Andy Murray Enters 2011 US Open at the Pinnacle After Cincinnati Win

PETE ZIEBRON

World #4 Andy Murray         Pete Ziebron Images

Andy Murray's 2011 season to date has resulted in a few triumphs but mostly puzzling and disappointing losses.  Last Sunday, Murray defeated Novak Djokovic in Cincinnati, becoming only the second player to top Djokovic this year.  However, Murray has endured his share of difficulties en route to the win in Cincinnati.

In January, Murray lost the Australian Open Final to Djokovic in straight sets.  It was the 3rd major Final for Murray and he is now a combined 0-9 in sets played in Finals.  The loss in Melbourne would mark the beginning of a 4 match losing streak for Murray as he would drop his initial matches to Marcos Baghdatis in Rotterdam, to world #143 Donald Young in Indian Wells and to #118 Alex Bogomolov Jr. in Miami.

Murray would eventually steady his game during the spring clay court season, appearing in the semifinals in Monte Carlo, Rome and Roland Garros.  Finally, Murray would win his first title of the year, defeating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the Queen''s Club in London.  A few weeks later, Murray would duplicate his previous year's performance at Wimbledon, losing to Rafael Nadal in the semis.

The week before the Western & Southern Masters 1000 in Cincinnati, Andy Murray would once again lose in his first match of a 1000 level tournament, to Kevin Anderson in Montreal.  This early exit provided Murray with the opportunity to arrive in Cincinnati earlier than most of the field, allowing him to get used to the faster court and heavier conditions. 

In his initial test in Cincinnati, Andy Murray defeated David Nalbandian in straight sets on Court 2.  Next, Murray would have the chance to avenge his Miami defeat to Alex Bogomolov Jr. in the 3rd round.  Due to a packed schedule, Murray would play on Court 3 and Hawk-Eye technology would not be available despite the fact that it was a television court.  It seemed a bit curious that the world #4 would have to play on a smaller court, however Wimbledon Champion Petra Kvitova faced #9 seed Andrea Petkovic on the 4th largest court in Cincinnati and this arena did not feature Hawk-eye nor was the match televised.  

Following Nalbandian, Murray would go on to beat Bogomolov Jr, in straight sets and then proceed to defeat Gilles Simon in the quarterfinals.  Next up was red-hot American Mardy Fish, who came into the match having held serve 29 consecutive times.  Murray would break Fish immediately to open the match and also break Fish 3 more times on the day and I asked him to comment on this accomplishment:  "I broke him, yet he hadn't lost serve all week. I broke him four or five times, so I returned well."

Murray would continue to play inspired tennis in the Final and raced to a 6-4, 3-0 lead against world #1 Novak Djokovic before Djokovic would retire citing a fatigued shoulder.  Andy Murray won the Cincinnati Masters 1000 without dropping a set.  The victory was Murray's 18th in his career, the 2nd crown in Cincinnati and his 7th Masters 1000 title.

"The plan is to be feeling perfect going into the Grand Slams. That's really been my goal this year, and done a good job at it so far" Murray shared after his win in Cincinnati.  His Final appearance in Australia as well as Semifinal results at Roland Garros and Wimbledon prove that his game plan for the majors is indeed working.  Will the Cincinnati win be enough to propel Andy Murray to break through and win his first major in New York two weeks from today?

 

 

 

Andrea Petkovic Continues to Rise in WTA Rankings

PETE ZIEBRON in CINCINNATI

 
German #1 Andrea Petkovic in her post-match press conference following her victory over Petra Kvitova       Pete Ziebron Images
 
Last week, Andrea Petkovic became the 6th German woman to crack the WTA Top Ten and first since October 2000.  The future looks bright for Petko and she shared some insights into her tennis idols, fellow Fed Cup teammates and her Serbian heritage following her 3 victories this week in Cincinnati at the Western & Southern Open.

Yesterday I asked Petkovic about her recent success as well as the players she admired:
 
"Of course Steffi because she was always somebody who was there and was such a great role model, off the court more than on the court actually.  But I have to say one of my big idols was always Serena when I was growing up, because I felt like she revolutionized tennis somehow.  She came on court and she had this great energy and this great vibe and she just really brought rock and roll to tennis.

  I really like that, and I loved watching her play all the time.  It's a little strange now being with her at the same tournaments, so I have to control my idolizing.  It's cool.  It's a big honor for me being able to play her maybe someday again."

Petko also appreciates the fact that her Fed Cup teammates Julia Goerges and Sabine Lisicki are also enjoying recent success on the WTA Tour:

"The thing is it's not only about me.  It's about the other two girls as well who are playing so well.  That brings our tennis so much more into focus.  Because before we always had someone who was playing well, but it's normal that you have highs and lows.  There was nobody else backing it up.

  Now we have three girls who are really backing it up.  So when I have a bad phases, Julia goes there and wins Stuttgart; when she doesn't feel so well, Sabine goes there and plays semis in Wimbledon.  That makes it like it has more foundation now, and it's a good feeling for us girls in Germany."

 Despite the fact that Petkovic is seeded #9 in Cincinnati, her 3rd round match yesterday against Wimbledon Champion Petra Kvitova was played on Court 9, the 4th largest court at the Lindner Family Tennis Center.  The match was not televised and also did not feature Hawkeye technology.  The relegation to a smaller court did not phase Petko in the slightest as she topped Kvitova 6-3 6-3.  Today, Petko will play Nadia Petrova of Russia.

Andrea Petkovic in early round action in Cincinnati            Pete Ziebron Images

 Petkovic was born in Bosnia but moved to Germany when she was 6 months old.  As a result, she elaborated on her heritage:

"I always say I'm German but I have a Serbian heart.  You know, because the emotions that I live and that I go through and all my passion for the sport, I feel like it's more Serbian.  Also the negative emotions that come through sometimes that I cannot control, I feel like they are more Serbian.

But the way I live, the way I structure my life, the way I think not only in like about society, about politics, it's more German.  I feel like really I've been educated really quite German."

 So it's always a tough part.  But there is a Serbian soul in me, I guess."

Earlier this year, Petkovic won her 2nd career title in Strasbourg to go along with her maiden title in 2009 in Bad Gastein.

 

Serena Williams US Open Strategy: "Rest, Get 200% Healthy, Could Be A Dangerous Thing"

PETE ZIEBRON in CINCINNATI

 
Serena Williams announces her withdrawal at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati          Pete Ziebron Images

Serena Williams opened play at the Western & Southern Open on Tuesday against Lucie Hradeca of the Czech Republic.  The match proceed according to plan for Williams as she raced to a 6-3 5-2 lead and she fully expected to close the match with authority.  However, Hradecka had other ideas.

Serena served for the match at 5-2 and was broken convincingly as Hradecka started to connect on her shots and Williams "stood there like the house by the side of the road and watch them go by."  So many times in her career, Serena would hit laser shots that her opponents were not able to touch and now it appeared that Williams was wearing a pair of cinder blocks on her feet.

Hradecka held serve with an impressive repertoire of shots and Williams again toed the line to serve for the match at 5-4.  Once again, Hradecka hit scorching forehands that Williams was not able to reach.

Sitting court side for the match, I could tell that Serena appeared to be in a bit of pain as she grimaced and her eyes even appeared to well up at times.  Other members of the media alongside me in the photo pit were in agreement that Serena was either: slightly injured, bored, tired or generally disinterested in the match.  As a result, Hrdecka again broke Williams to stay alive in the match and then proceeded to win her service game to take a 6-5 lead in the 2nd set!

Now Serena needed to hold serve to take the set to a tiebreaker.  Serving at deuce, Williams hit a forehand that clipped the top of the net and fell safely on Hradecka's side of the court to give Williams the Advantage.  Williams won the next point and it was on to the tiebreaker which she would win 7-5.

Following the match, I asked Serena what she missed most about being away from the game for one year and also if her game was 100% where she wanted it to be at this point.  Serena answered with the following: 

 "You know, I just missed kind of winning. I love to win. I love being out there. You know, I think that kind of just motivates me.....  I just I don't know. I just always want to keep improving everything in my game. I want to get to a point where I am doing better than I was before Wimbledon 2010. If I get it that point, I think I'll be pretty happy."

Yesterday, Serena was scheduled to play Samantha Stosur, in a rematch of their Final in Toronto which Serena won last Sunday.  However, approximately 90 minutes before she was to take the court, Serena scheduled a press conference to announce that she was withdrawing from the tournament, citing a foot injury.

Following a question asking Serena if the injury was related to the foot injury she sustained in Germany last year, I asked her if she felt pain at any point in the match against Hradecka.  Serena's reply: 

"I felt it a little bit and I thought, you know, because I felt it before and I thought, Okay, this is normal   But I don't think this is a good time for me to take a big chance.  I just don't think that would be smart."

Next, I asked Williams if she would have continued to play a 3rd set if she lost the 2nd set:

"I would have continued to play, yeah.  I definitely would have continued to play.  Always."

Now Serena will have nearly a week and a half to get ready for the US Open.  Here is her game plan in her own words:

"I have more opportunity to rest up and get 200% healthy, which could be a very dangerous thing."

Radek Stepanek Rolls On in Cincinnati, Notches 300th Career Victory

PETE ZIEBRON in CINCINNATI

Czech #2 Radek Stepanek               Pete Ziebron Images

Despite being ranked #27 in the world, Radek Stepanek still needed to qualify for the main draw of the Western & Southern Open Masters 1000 in Cincinnati.  Stepanek raised his ranking from 54 to 27 by defeating world #7 Gael Monfils in the 500 level event in Washington DC earlier this month.

This week in Cincinnati, Stepanek played a couple of difficult opening sets in each of his qualifying matches, dispatching American Rhyne Williams 7-6(3) 6-1 and South African Rik De Voest 7-5 6-0.  Next up, Stepanek would face lanky American John Isner in the opening round.  The fast hard courts in Cincinnati suit Isner's powerful service game, however Stepanek would come into the encounter with 2 matches under his belt on the quick surface.

The first set was played at a rapid pace and after 41 minutes, Isner served at 5-6 to take the set to a tiebreaker.  The first point went to the American however Isner would net a forehand on the next point and appeared to sulk a bit, holding on to that point as he proceeded to drop the next 3 points, handing the first set to Stepanek, 7-5.

In the next set, it was Stepanek's turn to feel the pressure of attempting to win his 6th game of the set as he was broken at 5-5 and Isner would serve out the set, squaring the match at one all.  The first 2 sets took 94 minutes, setting the stage for the final set, which would take 70 minutes to play.

Stepanek would save all 3 break points  in the set and like so many of Isner's matches, the set went to a tiebreaker.  Stepanek would ultimately prevail in the breaker, 7-4 to win the match and advance to the 2nd round to play Andrey Golubev of Kazakhstan.

The victory was Stepanek's 300th of his career and first since his win in San Jose in February 2009.  Stepanek is coached by 1998 Australian Open Champion and former world #2 Petr Korda.

 

Willy Canas Steadies the Game of Ernests Gulbis

PETE ZIEBRON in CINCINNATI

 
Willy Canas warming up his new charge, Ernests Gulbis in Cincinnati   Pete Ziebron Images

Prior to Wimbledon this summer, Ernests Gulbis tabbed former world #8 Guillermo "Willy" Canas to be his coach.  At the time, Gulbis entered Wimbledon with a 3 match losing streak, despite achieving a career high of #21 in February.  Following the hire of Canas, Gulbis dropped his next 2 matches, a 4 set tussle against Dmitry Tursunov at Wimbledon as well as a competitive 3 set loss to James Blake in Atlanta.

Next up was Los Angeles, where Gulbis' game started to click as a result of working with Canas.  Throughout the tournament, Gulbis dropped only 2 sets, soundly defeated 2009 US Open Champion Juan Martin Del Potro and then cooled off a resurgent Mardy Fish to win his 2nd career title and improve his ranking to #55.

Due to his success in Los Angeles, Gulbis was granted a Special Exception entry into the main draw of the Masters 1000 tournament last week in Montreal.  Fully expecting to have to attempt to qualify, Gulbis took advantage of the unexpected rest and won his first 2 matches in Canada before falling to Fish in a rematch in the 3rd round in 3 sets.

Here in Cincinnati, Gulbis did need to play the qualifying round and was able to defeat Alejandro Falla and Igor Andreev to advance to the main draw.  Gulbis will play Ivan Dodig of Croatia in the 1st round.  Last week in Montreal, Dodig stormed back from several improbable deficits to stun world #2 Rafael Nadal in the 2nd round.

Willy Canas (left) and Mr. Ainars Gulbis (center) watch Ernests Gulbis in qualifying action in Cincinnati                Pete Ziebron Images

In other intriguing coaching maneuvers on the ATP Tour, Richard Gasquet brought on countryman Sebastien Grosjean for the US hardcourt season and then his coach Riccardo Piatti will join him in time for the US Open.   This arrangement is similar to one that Rafael Nadal follows each summer as Francisco Roig accompanies Nadal for the North American hard court 1000 tournaments that precede the US Open until Toni Nadal arrives for the US Open.  Toni Nadal usually remains in Spain for the North American hardcourt swing.

Finally, Gael Monfils and Roger Rasheed parted ways in early July.  Monfils will now be coached by his fitness trainer Patrick Chamagne.