The Maanga

Australian Open, this year, lived up to its wonderful tradition of producing the most boring tennis among all Grand Slams. There was hope at the beginning, with the change in surface and all, but it only forced the mugs to play more defensively with none of them able to play with a sort of conviction we have come to expect from top professional players.

Roger Federer couldn’t get away playing like a mug like he has been able to for the past two years. Gasquet showed glimpses of genius on court, before a foot injury messed with his destiny. Safin couldn’t put Baghdatis and his fans out of misery by throwing away a match he should’ve won. Nalbandian reverted to his habit of gorging on burgers between sets with a generous quantum of coke.

Having watched 10 out of 127 games on offer this year, including the ones with Tsonga that I was forced to watch recorded, I come to the conclusion that Australian Open perhaps has to be stripped off its Grand Slam status or moved to India, preferably Madras. Irrespective of the tall claims of Roger Federer about history of Australian Tennis, there isn’t enough incentive to keep a Grand Slam that is so poorly managed, that players aren’t interested in and that Novak Djokovic wins.

This guy makes an observation about Australian Open throwing up a surprise finalist every year and draws the wrong conclusions. Something in the lines of players training hard waiting to prove a point and being fresh at the start of the year of which the shining examples are Marcos Baghdatis, Fernando Gonzalez and more recently Tsonga. He obviously misses the point that nobody gives a fuck about Australian Open and the above examples are players who played with gay abandon for one tournament, turning a few heads in the process, choking in the final and fizzling out as the year went on.

A bunch of third round matches were the talking point of the entire tournament. One of the worst matches Baghdatis-Hewitt was praised as a mental battle (as if that’s an excuse for the poor quality of tennis on display), Roddick-Kohlschreiber was typical of Roddick’s matches against more than decent baseliner, yet people who don’t understand tennis get carried away by proclaiming that as the match of the tournament. Federer-Tipsy match got enough attention for the only reason that Feddie got pushed to five sets, but anyone who knows Tipsy would expect every match of his to be a battle of attrition. Grosjean choked away a 2-0 lead to lose to the ultimate mug, James Blake, in 5 sets.

In the midst of all these embarrassingly hyped matches, was a display of tennis from Juan Carlos Ferrero that many might have missed. His murder of Nalbandian with 1,2,3 was a sight to behold. The angles he found on his forehand and the way he pushed around Nalbandian was reminiscent of Federer (with a double handed backhand) in 2003-05.

The best player of the tournament should go to Joseph Sirianni, the Australian veteran who almost pulled off an upset with Tipsarevic, before the prick pulled off the popular Serbian injury faking tactic that Djokovic so judiciously uses to unsettle opponents rhythm. This is besides the fact that he is part of our cheering group for French tennis.

There was a silver lining to this tournament, besides the superb courts, and that is ceding to the demands of equal pay for women tennis on their own terms. I was almost afraid that they would force these bitches to play 5 set matches compounding tennis fans misery of having to wait an extra hour or two to watch men play.

I’ll be back home tomorrow.

p.s. A more than honourable mention for Marin Cilic, who is the most likely candidate to take over Gasquet’s position at the moment two years down the line.

Andy Murray

If anyone is interested to look at the direction the game could be taking after the Federer era, Andy Murray provides the peek. Incredible court sense, robotic precision of shots off both the wings, ability to dictate the pace of the game at will (without resorting to Nadal like cheap tactics) and generally turning tennis into chess. Not the prettiest of games around, Murray makes up for his lack of flair with lots of intelligence. Just a perfect example of his former coach Brad Gilbert’s modern version of ‘Winning Ugly’.

Andy Murray doesn’t play the game on anybody’s terms. Couple of near misses against Nadal last year showed glimpses of his brilliance and his run into the top 12 when he missed 3 months with injury was evidence that he is back in full form. I was always surprised how well Gasquet handled Murray and has never lost to him yet. Obviously the tables will be turned very soon once Murray stops admiring Gasquet’s flair and discovers his sense on the court.

Murray strength remains his strong backhand, aggressive return of serve. And his only weakness is the consistency of his serve, not the effectiveness. Coming off his injury, he has looked fitter than ever. However, it remains to be seen how his physically demanding game weathers the excruciating heat of a melbourne summer.

The hard courts of the Australian Open should help Murray, and after his recent win in Qatar he’s my candidate to make the quarters or even semis. Bad match ups for him would probably be Djokovic at his absolute best, apart from Federer and Nadal.

David Ferrer

One of the few players who caught my attention late last year. For long I have heard friends mention him among as a clay court specialist only to be bashed ruthlessly by Federer, but something about this man struck me since his run to US Open Semifinal.

He has an explosive serve, perhaps lacking in placement a bit and an aggressive return of serve second only to the great Nalbandian. He took the ball early and always placed his shots deep into the opponents court. Although he doesn’t bring a lot in terms of variety into his game, this basic strategy was enough to humiliate a listless Gasquet twice and almost everyone on tour last year. His biggest asset, though, is his speed around the court and his ability to run down balls, like Nadal.

His backhand is a little suspect because he doesn’t seem to enjoy hard and flat balls into that wing. And for that reason alone, Federer, Djoko and Nalbandian will be able to beat him. But his forehand is unreal. I haven’t seen a player since Grosjean that can hit such flat forehands with a Half Western grip. Perhaps he can teach Gasquet a thing or two about forehands, considering they are such good friends.

It is still unclear if Ferrer hit a purple patch last year or he’s among those late bloomers, but on his current form is a huge favourite to make the semifinals of this year’s open. If the draw opens up with shock early defeats for Federer, Djoko or Nalby, I would back Ferrer to win the title.

Tommy Haas

The only American in this list that successfully escaped a regressive tennis system with his brain still intact. A player with apparently no weakness and along with Federer represents the dying breed of all-court players in ATP. On current form though, Haas doesn’t deserve to be on this list and makes it entirely based on his earlier exploits in Melbourne and his undeniable talent.

Singled out as a potential multiple Grand Slam winner 6 years ago, Haas has found that tennis has moved past him since his return from a long injury layoff and is trying desperately to catch up with some of the tactics employed in the game by the younger players. Andy Murray’s crafty game drove him so crazy that he appeared to want to lose the match so he can later take revenge on a boxing ring. Slowly he has grown disillusioned about his place in the game’s elite, but still claims that he wants to win a Grand Slam atleast once.

Perhaps the only thing Haas does better than his reckless twin, Marat Safin, is to not give up a match because he is not happy with the color of his opponent’s head band. He has been more successful than Safin to nudge himself to small titles and hope that he gets in shape to face the big guns in bigger tournaments. Although his attitude towards the end of last season left a lot to be desired, his love for Rod Laver Arena should pull him through to the final stages of the open.

He has the tools to win this slam, but nobody can explain why he won’t. No, its not because he can’t defeat Federer.

p.s. I am aware that Haas was born in Hamburg.

Now that the Australian Open is due in 7 days, I shall exploit my privilege here to list the top 8 contenders for this years championships.

Gasquet - Never in doubt.

Perhaps the only player who can match Federer’s egotism when it comes to admiring his own shots. This guy is in the list because I am a fan. Otherwise his pathetic display against Tommy Robredo last year in the 4th round indicates that he shares my disgust for Melbourne.

He is mentally strong enough to win a Grand Slam (perhaps more), although Gasquet apologists will disagree, but isn’t technically equipped and motivated enough to do so yet. Despite having an explosive baseline game, great touch at the net, incredible foot speed and a reliable serve, his forehand in transition play is perhaps the ugliest&worst among top 50 players, barring Ivo Karlovic. With a semi-western grip he tries to give the ball as much a loop as Nadal does when its clearly easier to hit it flatter and harder. Considering he hits it so well when he is pushed into a corner, it shouldn’t take long for him to make that elusive switch with small adjustments to his swing.

The backhand though is from another planet. He gets incredible spin with great penetration on his cross court shot and I’ve seen only Nalbandian and, to an extent, David Ferrer handle it comfortably. Everybody else on tour avoids attacking his backhand wing.

Another thing that can hold him back is his pathetic fitness record that is second only to Djokovic (if we believe Djoke is not really faking those injuries). How far he goes into the tournament depends on his draw and his ability to adjust to the new surface. And unlike the rest of the 7 players on this list, starts as an underdog against most of the top 30 players in the world.

If the initial reactions to the new court surface in Australian Open are to be believed, it should favour Gasquet’s game. A Quarterfinal showing will justify his seeding, but it is highly unlikely to happen. I’d be happy if he makes the 4th round, although I will place a bet on him to win the open.

p.s. Since I am going to watch him play in Sydney tomorrow, I will have a better idea of how to rate his slim chances at this year’s open.