Loving the Sinner

 This post has been percolating for well over a year, but due to busyness, laziness, and a little fear of criticism, I've let these thoughts swirl exclusively in my mind and nowhere else. Until this tweet:

Happy New Year! Wishing you all health, love & joy in every moment & may you feel love & respect towards all beings on this wonderful planet.

I’ve spent fantastic quality time with loved ones over break & today I’m heading Down Under with an exemption permission. Let’s go 2022! pic.twitter.com/e688iSO2d4

— Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) January 4, 2022

"Oh boy, here we go..." was my first reaction. Naturally, all hell broke loose very shortly after.

By now, we are all aware of the international crisis that is Novak Djokovic's visa status and quasi-confinement shortly after touching down in Melbourne, putting his Australian Open campaign in grave danger and at the hands of the Australian Border Force, who seem determined to turn him away at the literal gate. Tennis Australia has mishandled completely botched the exemption process by not communicating honestly with players and attempting to skirt federal authorities, although it is becoming increasingly apparent that Novak and AO Tournament Director Craig Tiley were in cahoots. Politicians in the country see the Djokovic drama as easy pickings for cheap PR points. Australian media has used this story as ratings fodder, understandably so. It's all about Novak right now Down Under. But I will use this space to make it about ME.

I became a fan in 2007. I wasn't following tennis super closely at the time, but I thought Djokovic’s runs to the Rogers Cup title and US Open final that year were incredibly impressive. I also found him entertaining in the way buttoned-up Roger Federer and by-the-book Rafael Nadal weren't. He wears his heart on his sleeve when he plays and, juxtaposed with his technically pristine play style, I gravitated towards him, the first male tennis player I really, really enjoyed, probably ever.

As his star rose and achievements mounted, along came some unsavory... happenings. Some small and petty enough to disregard completely. Some more significant in which I either acknowledged his recklessness privately or played the role of Novak apologist on Twitter. Recently, the incidents are of such consequence that I’d wish he’d just go away for awhile and only show his face on the tennis court, wanting him to shut up and dribble in the truest sense. Should I even be cheering for him between the lines at this point?

--

Jessica Luther and Kavitha A. Davidson wrote a book that talks sports fandom, personal politics, and reconciling what it means to be caught in the middle of those two pillars. What do you do with a problematic fave or when your fave does a problematic thing? I’ve learned that it really depends on each person’s tolerance for any specific wrongdoing. Each person has their own scale and can weigh the good and the bad at their own discretion. You can apply your code of ethics how you want, with varying levels of severity, with whatever metrics you choose. You are your own judge, jury, and executioner, and it only has to make sense to you.

As far as my own fandom as it pertains to Novak, I guess it’s still evolving because I did like him. Still do. I think. It’s complicated. I like him most when he's playing or being charitable, and I like him least when he's embroiled in scandal. I definitely do not like him at the moment. I think I’ve landed in a place where I still want him to play, win, and achieve, but I have offloaded all emotional investment in his future after tennis. This is subject to change, of course. Maybe I’ll never root for him on the court again, though I don’t foresee a time where I’ll ever actively root against him.

Back when I was closer to “stan” level, I would’ve wished him the best life outside the court, kept up with his post-tennis pursuits, and hoped a statue of his liking was erected in the heart of Belgrade. It is natural for vestiges of "standom" to linger and it's probably the reason why I have yet to give him the total chop. I’ve outgrown stanning anyone not named Mariah Carey these days (it begins and ends with her!), so I won’t be too affected if and when Djokovic’s legacy is completely tarnished following this unnecessary mess.

But I’m still sad about this mess. To be clear, not sad for Novak: he is a very rich and successful person with an adoring family and following who will remain a very rich and successful person with an adoring family and following when this week is a mere speck in the rear-view window. I am sad for me, as I was looking forward to watching him go for history at his best tournament. I am sad that I just want him to leave Australia, go home, apologize, hide for a few months, and learn SOMETHING from this embarrassment (fat chance). I am sad for his other fans — some of whom I've gotten to know and most of whom are decent people — who enjoyed watching him play and likely won’t get to. And I am sad he is too brainless and hubristic to get a virtually harmless jab that would have avoided all of this.

Comparing Contrasts

Winning so much makes you wanna dance | Getty

Novak Djokovic has just capped the greatest year of his career, and one of the best single seasons ever, by winning the ATP World Tour Finals for a fourth(!!!) consecutive year and fifth time overall. Official stats are just a little ridiculous and speak very loudly for themselves. 82 match wins against 6 losses, 11 total titles, three majors, six Masters, a finalist in every event he entered bar the very first of his year (and least significant on his schedule) in Doha. The ageless Djokovic, unaffected by the effects of passing time, has evened up the head-to-head with his two weathered yet legendary contemporaries in the geriatric Roger Federer and the rapidly graying Rafael Nadal.* Novak himself called his 2015 all but perfect.

I'd rather not waste time getting into the growing-more-moot-by-the-minute argument whether it was the best season in men's tennis history, but I would like to debunk an idea that fans and pundits have (or maybe it's 'had' at this point, either way) about Serena Williams putting together a more accomplished season than Novak. Serena had history on the line until the eleventh hour by winning the first three majors of the year and coming agonizingly close to completing the calendar-year Grand Slam. She's the one who will get the public support for SI Sportsman of the Year, deservedly so. Hers is the season we will remember more out of the two, not Novak's. All very fair, it's inarguable, really. 

However, what's not fair to Novak is letting all quantifiable evidence fall by the wayside. No argument is needed here: compare Djokovic's stats above to Serena's 2015 results and there is no doubt that Novak had a more successful run from January through November, playing a full schedule, winning damn near everything, and contending in the final for everything else. At a very quick glance, Serena's results can be classified as quizzical. Only eight tournaments of which she played through in it's entirety, a far cry from her 82-match, 15-tournament 2013 (which is, for my money, the best season Serena has ever had).

While I say all of that, I can't help but wonder what it would've been like if Novak won the French Open. Would he have been able to deal with that kind of pressure? Would his run at the CYGS make Serena breathe easier coming down the stretch in Flushing Meadows? If Serena lost at Roland Garros or Wimbledon, it's almost absurd to assume she doesn't win the U.S. Open, her most successful Slam, right? And she would obviously remain motivated to go to Beijing and Singapore and reassert her dominance there, too...right? We really don't know, so it's best to not compare these two extremely different seasons against each other at all. We haven't seen a season like this in a long time, one which one man and one woman rule their respective tours simultaneously. Yet the seasons Novak and Serena each had were so far apart from the other's, both incomparable in their own ways.


*shade

Anarchy of Tennis Professionals

Well, that escalated quickly.

I've sensed this quiet disturbance in the men's tennis force earlier this year. There have been patches of the 2014 season that made you question, is this the year the ATP gives us something new? Even though 'something new' came very quickly with Stan Wawrinka bagging the Australian Open title unexpectedly, it was a common exercise to point to Rafael Nadal's untimely back injury as the reason Stan won. Still, there were little sprinklings of evidence signaling the arrival of new blood and the weakening stranglehold the Big Four had on the rest of the tour.

Tele-Kei-nesis

Funnily enough, it starts with Rafa's Australian Open campaign, where he was subtly pushed by Kei Nishikori and Grigor Dimitrov in consecutive rounds. In both of those matches, Rafa couldn't fall back on his B-game to get him through. It made me think that maybe, just maybe, the Next Generation was ready to start making some noise. Maybe the oft-overlooked B-Squad was about to come out of the shadows.

As the season moved forward, the results slowly became more conspicuous. In February, Grigor outlasted Andy in Acapulco when, in the years prior, "Grigor" and "outlast" didn't belong in the same sentence. Milos Raonic turned himself into a ubiquitous presence in the quarterfinals of Masters 1000 tournaments. Kei stunned Roger Federer in Miami and was blitzing Rafa on Madrid clay before coming up lame with a back injury that forced him to retire in the final. Roger lost what looked like sure titles in Monte Carlo and Toronto to Stan and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Even 19 year-old Nick Kyrgios got in on the action with his takedown of Nadal at Wimbledon.

The men's locker room was buzzing about Stan opening doors for them and their increased belief. The impossible was proved to be possible. This U.S. Open is an even bigger feather in the Belief Cap. With just one round to go before the 36th thrilling installment of Fedole, Marin Cilic routined Roger and Kei played the role of Iron Man, having enough willpower to stand the humidity and Novak Djokovic after beating Milos and Stan in two physically, and mentally, draining five-setters. Not since the 2005 Australian Open have we had both Slam finalists come from outside of the Big Four. Either Cilic or Nishikori will become the second first-time Slam winner on the ATP this season. The last year there were multiple first-time winners was 2003.

WHAT DOES THIS ALL MEAN? In 2003, Agassi won his last Slam in Melbourne before Juan Carlos Ferrero, Roger Federer, and Andy Roddick cleaned up the rest, beginning their own periods at the top of the game. 2003 can definitively be classified as a year of upheaval, harbinger of the Fed Era that we are still trying to wade through. Is 2014 the signal of another instantaneous shuffle at the top?

A large fact refuting this new regime is the current cream of the rankings crop compared to that of 2003. A-Rod, Fed, and JCF were the tour's Top 3 back then, a complete changing of the guard. The Top 3 now are Novak, Rafa, and Roger, and they will likely remain in their positions by season's end. The Big 3 still reign in that department. It also doesn't help that two of those three are holding Slam trophies, with the other having made a final and two additional semis.

So there is something strong in the air this year, but expect the same names to still be very relevant in the big picture of 2015 just with these new names in the mix on Sundays. The ATP is still very much the Big Four's world and they will still stand on the majority of podiums, but, as 2014 has shown, nothing lasts forever. It's about time we start to accept the idea of other champions in this sport. One will be forced upon us tonight. Nishikori in four.

What are your thoughts? Is this the first page of "The End of the Big Four" novel? Or is this a fluke? Leave a comment!

WTA Sidebar: you are ridiculous, Serena Williams. Congratulations on 18. And commiserations to Caroline. So glad to see her back near the top where she belong.

(Image from stevegtennis.com)

Uncertain Certainties

Tears will fall as fast as her ranking

Only hours before Wimbledon 2014 commences! What the heck will happen you ask? Here are five things that are certain to occur:

• Sabine Lisicki will open play on Centre on Day 2, entering the stadium in tears. Marion Bartoli will watch from the stands wearing Louboutins and a smug look on her face. When Sabine catches sight of Marion looking flawless, the memories of last year's final will overwhelm her and she will be carted off the field, going down to Julia Glushko, 1-6, 0-4 RET.
• Rafael Nadal will beat Lukas Rosol in the second round in five sets, avenging his shock loss to the Czech man in 2012. The match will finish beneath a closed Centre Court roof way four hours after curfew, culminating in a 13-11 final set scoreline. Nadal will later pull out of his third round match against Ivo Karlovic, citing over-elation.
• Sorana Cirstea will reassert herself as the Queen of Romania, upending Simona Halep in the third round. She will promptly lose in the following round to Tara Moore after being paid a handsome sum by a group of British journos.
• Agnieszka Radwanska and Victoria Azarenka will produce a dog fight of a match, rife with shrieks, glares, side-eyes, come-ons, and snubs. A tearful Aga will admonish Vika's grunt during her loser's press conference, while Vika deems the confrontation "hilarious" and that she was "laughing out loud" because of it.
• Grigor Dimitrov will face Andy Murray in a highly anticipated quarterfinal. The match will be awkward for the crowd as they will want to root for the next coming of Roger Federer. Grigor will get off to a quick start in the first set, fall back to earth in the second, and lose the third and fourth sets in romp after scanning the crowd and seeing Maria Sharapova eating gummy candies and judging him.

For things that definitely won't happen, here are my abbreviated picks:

Women's semifinals: Halep def. Sharapova; Azarenka def. Wozniacki

Women's final: Azarenka def. Halep

Men's semifinals: Djokovic def. Dimitrov; Federer def. Kyrgios (why not?)

Men's final: Federer def. Djokovic

Here's to hoping Novak proves me wrong. Happy Wimbledon, everyone!

The Grass is Greener (Than Clay)

Now that I have run out of tears to cry over the result of this past French Open (we just want one title, Rafa...), I am ready to discuss Wimbledon, the possibilities, and the major players heading into the All-England Club. Who's in need of championship run, or at least a deep showing?

1. For someone who plays only two ATP 500s per year (and no 250s), Novak Djokovic has been playing the vulture for the better part of the last 18 months. He's currently the defending champion at seven tournaments, none of them being Grand Slams. And for the only of the Big Four to be a virtual lock to make it to the latter stages of every event he enters, he hasn't won a major in his last five attempts. Maybe the stars will align this Wimbledon, but doubt has taken over hope given his current results.
2. Roger Federer made his sixth final and won his second title of the year in Halle, but his peak form from the post-Australian Open hard court swing seems to have waned a bit, not a good sign heading into the place that cemented his legend. Winning a grass court tune-up (and getting a nice draw) should boost his confidence, but we've seen Roger have sniffs at matches/titles yet come up short.
3. With a new, badass coach in his corner, Andy Murray heads into Wimbledon with a renewed purpose. How can one top breaking a 77-year drought? By doing it again, this time with a Amelie Mauresmo in tow. It'll be a tough ask, but quelling the haters is great motivation.
4. Jerzy Janowicz has been in freefall since making the semifinals at SW19 last year. He went through a winless streak that lasted from the middle of February until the beginning of the French Open, including a Davis Cup loss to Borna Coric, a young up-and-comer barely ranked within the Top 300. About half of his ranking points are attributed to his stellar run last year, so a poor showing will cause him to completely plummet, possibly outside the Top 60.
5. For a player widely considered to be unbeatable, Serena Williams has been beaten quite a bit in 2014 (based on her standards, anyway). Especially disconcerting were results at the first two majors this year, particularly in Paris, where she was dusted in barely over an hour by Garbine Muguruza. Serena's getting close to 33 now, so her invincibility of the previous two years may be wearing off, but she needs to relearn how to raise her game for the Slams like she did in Brisbane, Miami, and Rome this year.
6. Agnieszka Radwanska is #5 in the Road To Singapore and has had a decent year, but she doesn't have a title to show for it. She's a player who's game doesn't automatically scream Slam champion, but Aga has had very real opportunities, at Wimbledon last year and at the Oz in January, slip through her fingers to stealthily grab her first major. With the other top players (not counting Maria Sharapova) in a bit of flux, Aga should want to capitalize on the grass that she loves.
7. Sloane Stephens used to enjoy the label of being the youngest player in her section of the rankings. She has since ceded that position to Eugenie Bouchard, a cohort who has zoomed past her this season. The other girls in her age group are also making steady, noticeable gains, but Sloane seems to be stuck in third gear, scraping by with a ranking barely inside the Top 20. Making six straight second weeks in Slams is quite impressive, but that statistic is getting stale, especially since the last three were only fourth round forays. If she can get to the semis (not an easy task), she can reinsert herself as a dangerous player for anyone to face.

Any other players you think could use a deep run? Leave a comment! Should be a fun fortnight.

All's Indian Wells That Ends Indian Wells

World Tennis Day has come and gone, but which players can use a holiday boost in the desert? Below are a few players who could benefit from a good run at the Fifth Slam:

Novak Djokovic - While he's only played 8 matches this year, it's clear that Nole has been off to an uncharacteristic start. It's the first time since 2006 that he has come into Indian Wells title-less. He took the first set of both matches he lost (and was up a break in the fifth set against Wawrinka in Melbourne), leading to many questions regarding his mental state and lacking killer instinct. Djokovic has a nice draw to the final though, being the only one of the Big 4 in his half.

Andy Murray - It's been a slow comeback for Muzz and he's traditionally struggled in California, but the courts at Indian Wells suit his game and he SHOULD do well. If we get the quarterfinal matchup between him and Rafa, we'll really get a sense as to where Andy is at compared to his Big 4 brethren.

Milos can't pull off this look

Milos Raonic - The Canadian Missile has definitely been shunted to the side by his cohorts as of late, most notably Grigor Dimitrov, winner of Acapulco and all-around cutie pie. He's had to pull out of Davis Cup and withdraw from Zagreb due to a bum ankle, but winning a potential showdown against Jerzy Janowicz in the third round can ease a lot of the pain.

Petra Kvitova - Two years after being a few points of the No. 1 ranking, Petra suddenly has a lot to prove. This year's first round loss in Australia sounded several alarms, whether it was her continued struggles in warm playing conditions or her penchant to go completely off the rails with her groundstrokes. She needs a big result at a relevant tournament to quell the questioners. A semifinal or better run at Indian Wells (or Miami) would help Kvitova's cause.

Australian coffee is her kryptonite

Sam Stosur - Sam is in a bit of a career crossroads, but with some of the top players stumbling out of the gates this season, she has the opportunity to make something of a run in the desert. If she gets through her early rounds, Sam is a dangerous opponent for any of the WTA's upper crust. Indian Wells should be a good surface for her playstyle and hopefully she's confident in her abilities after her best result in Australia in awhile, reaching the third round of Melbourne. (That sounded rude, but it's the truth.)

Sloane Stephens - Obviously (Sloane's favorite word) she has been in a funk. Although she went 0 for the Middle East yet again, Sloane can silence a bunch of critics with a deep run, and she has a draw that could break her way if she takes care of business on the front end. A decent result here can give her ranking a bolster, too, as she isn't defending any points from 2013.

Anyone else in mind that could use Indian Wells as a springboard to 2014 success? Leave a comment and tell me who! Should be a fun tournament, as always. Please God, let men's doubles have decent TV coverage in the early rounds...

Mental Double-Edge

“I sincerely hope he can bring that mental edge because he recognizes the situations that one top player is facing, especially during the Grand Slams and the pressures and expectations. That’s what we’re hoping to work on and improve the most. And, of course, a couple of other elements of my game.”

"Mental edge." "Mental" seems to be Novak Djokovic's go-to vocabulary word of 2014. How does a player who was, until very recently, ranked No. 1 in the world, expert vanquisher of match points against him, and six-time Grand Slam champion need someone with fewer career accomplishments than he help him with the game's mental approach?

During Novak's ascendence to the very top of the tennis world, he received criticism for many different things: his cocksure attitude, his brash confidence, and his annoyingly accurate impersonations left a bad taste in the many mouths of the sport's traditionalists. (I've always loved and appreciated his early behavior.) The abundance of loathing he garnered from the lovers of the Federer-Nadal rivalry was even further augmented by his ability to thwart their battles for ATP supremacy.

The singular on-court aspect of Novak that was easy to bash, however, was his lacking mental fortitude. For someone who talked a big game and backed it up quite often, Novak was horrible when the chips were down. King of Retirements and master of double-faulting break point down, his lack of fight that his contemporaries had, specifically Nadal and Andy Murray, was his Achilles' Heel throughout his Slam-less 2009 and 2010 seasons.

But that all changed, starting with his back-from-the-brink win against Roger Federer at the 2010 U.S. Open semifinals, saving two match points. His next intermediary achievement was leading Team Serbia to their first ever Davis Cup victory. Those two shows of determination catapulted him to one of the greatest seasons in tennis history. In 2011, he took home three Slams, five Masters titles, and achieved 41 consecutive victories and never looked back. He was 6-0 against Nadal on all surfaces (and all in finals) and once again was left for dead against Federer in the U.S. Open semis before saving two more match points, one of which was eradicated on one of the most memorable service returns ever struck.

As if that wasn't enough to prove his fortitude, he played an epic 2012 Australian Open final, Novak's seventh straight meeting against Nadal at that stage, and outlasted one of the games greatest ever competitors, both physically and mentally, in a nearly six-hour slugfest. He didn't sustain this extraordinarily high level of success throughout the remainder of 2012 and 2013, but who could? He was consistently in the mix late in majors and held the top spot of the rankings for over 100 weeks, a benchmark only the legends reach.

In 2013, Novak found himself losing a little more frequently, both on big and small stages. Mental lapses became a bit more commonplace, most infamously during his Roland Garros semifinal against Rafa when, up a break in the fifth set, he ran into the net, losing the point on an easy putaway. Game, set, match, and year to Rafael Nadal. Djokovic was unable to bring it against his rivals for the remainder of the Grand Slam season.

Okay, so Novak was slightly below his ridiculously high par. No big deal. He won a ton of nail-biters over the years, those things are bound to even out in a sport with such small margins. On top of that, he managed to salvage at least some of his 2013 with a blazing fall, winning every match, including two routine victories over Nadal, to close out the season. No need to panic, right?

Which brings us to the hire of new head coach Boris Becker, tennis legend and owner of the proprietary "mental edge" that Novak believes will help him in 2014. There were jokes and laughs and doubts about Becker's ability to coach at this level, but Novak had his reasons. Novak, the most complete player in the game, likes to improve and add new tricks and he believes Becker will teach him to be more aggressive on serve and in the forecourt, all while giving him that oft-cited "mental edge."

We saw Becker's influence on Novak's game at their first tournament together, the Australian Open. Then in the quarterfinals, while involved in another five-set overtime tussle with Stanislas Wawrinka, his abilities to close failed him in a big way. He went up a quick break in the fifth set only to immediately dump serve on four careless forehand errors. He failed to convert break points in the pivotal seventh game of the set. Most egregiously, he horrendously shanked an easy forehand volley down match point. The one part of Novak's game he was supposedly improving deserted him for one crucial moment.

That being said, I am not blaming Boris Becker. He didn't hit that sitter volley for Novak. I'm not blaming the tactical choice to serve-and-volley, either. Novak has been implementing serve-and-volley throughout many matches in 2013 and the play got him the result he wanted, until it got to the "volley" portion of the strategy. I'm more concerned with what was going on in Novak's brain while it was sending signals to his right arm and hand, lungs, and legs.

All of this talk about Novak trying to find the "mental edge" over his rivals got me wondering if there is an "edge" to find. The "mental edge" is something that comes to you. But it doesn't come in your dreams at night in a 'Eureka!' fashion. It doesn't come on the practice courts with a brand name coach at your helm. It comes right at the exact moment you need it to. It comes when you blast a backhand down the line to set up an easy crosscourt backhand winner against your chief rival at a tournament he won eight times in a row. It comes to you when your opponent comes to the net on a great approach only to be felled by your brilliant passing shot. It comes to you in a single gutsy forehand while emotionally vulnerable and down match point, with the Greatest Of All Time serving on the other side of the net.

Whatever "mental edge" Novak Djokovic is looking for, he may not find it in Boris Becker. It comes and goes, flitting between the guys at the top, and it takes experience before it finds you again. Rafa regained the "mental edge" on Novak after seven consecutive heartbreaking losses. Wawrinka may have found the elusive "mental edge" last summer in Flushing Meadows. At this moment, Novak is overthinking in his search for it. He needs to let the "mental edge" come to him. Boris Becker may yet be a great addition to his team, but if Novak thinks that Becker will provide the cure to his recent Grand Slam disappointments, he may find himself hunting for the "edge" in vain.

(Link: a great live analysis of Novak Djokovic vs. Stanislas Wawrinka by @juanjosetennis of The Changeover)

Oi...

The Australian Open has just begun and I have no idea what will happen. Well, I have an idea, but it will likely mean very little come Day 14. Anyway, I can give you a 41% guarantee that the following WILL happen. Here are my picks for Champion and "Surprise Semifinalist":

• Men's Champion: Novak Djokovic - He's coming in with a head of steam. I understand that an entire offseason has happened and that new coach Boris Becker can throw a small hitch in his game, but Nole has been the king of Melbourne Park for three years running. I can't foresee anyone bringing him down, especially with Nadal's semi-shaky Doha title run (and his ridiculously tough draw) and Andy Murray's limited match play since the U.S. Open.
• Surprise Semifinalist: John Isner - Much like Novak, he's coming in with some momentum ahead of a solid title run in Auckland. He was fortunate enough to be in the quarter anchored by a rusty Murray and an erratic Federer. Big John's big serve should do a ton of damage and he should feel no pressure this year, having missed last year's Oz due to injury.
• Women's Champion: Serena Williams - I'm not gonna bother rationalizing this pick. NEXT.
• Surprise Semifinalist: Andrea Petkovic - She was drawn into the slightly unstable Sharapova quarter and she has a manageable path. She plays No. 32 seed Magdalena Rybarikova in the first round, but Magda is known to crap out in Slams. Petko could get JJ in the third round.

I'll stop myself here before I make myself look dumb. Looking forward to enjoying the Happy Slam and lots of coffee on weekday mornings. Sleep is for the weak. Or for the smart, whichever.

Less is More in 2-0-1-4

It's a new year, a new tennis season, and a new slew of things that I want to complain about! This year, less is more. Here are a few things I would like to see less of to make tennis more enjoyable in 2014:

1. Less injuries. They suck. One reason why the Australian Open was so lackluster in 2013 was Nadal's absence due to his health problems. Injuries and pull-outs are a part of tennis, but seeing less of them this year would be awesome.
2. Less chair umpire involvement in matches. Looking at you Mohamed Lahyani.
3. Less fan rowdiness. I'm all for cheering on your guy like heck, but when someone has been trying to serve for the last five minutes, just stfu. Please.
4. Less piling on. Some of the media have a tendency to hop on the bash bandwagon rather quickly, whether it's directed at Victoria Azarenka or Sloane Stephens or Bernard Tomic or Donald Young, then change tact when that player achieves something to earn praise. A little more perspective, both ways, really makes a difference.
5. Less blatantly pronouncing names wrong. Dear Greg Garber, it's Djo-ko-VITCH, not Djo-ko-VICK. Get yourself together. Sincerely, literally everyone remotely paying attention to tennis within the last six years.
6. Fewer articles about Venus/Serena skipping Indian Wells. Their decision is final, stop harping on about it.
7. Fewer complaints about grunting. Why that's stopping you from watching great tennis, I will never know.
8. Less courteousness among the players. Give me all of the drama. Andy Murray agrees.
9. Fewer television coverage issues. See ATP Miami final on CBS. Or only see up until it gets to a final-set tiebreaker, then search for a completely different means to the watch the conclusion of the match, with none of those means being related to CBS or Tennis Channel or Tennis TV. Yeah, it was THAT dumb.



Less violating the net...

10. Less surface homogenization. I just want Tsvetana Pironkova to make a Wimbledon final. Or, at the very least, fewer of the same names left standing at the end of each tournament year-round.

What do you want to see less of this season? Leave a comment and complain away. The Australian Open is just days away! Prepping myself for less sleep.

Slammed Shut

Istanbul and London are right around the corner for the Top 8 women and men, but let's take a moment to look back on four tournaments that supercede the WTA Year-End Championships and the ATP World Tour Finals.

What the heck happened in Melbourne, Paris, SW 19, and New York, you ask? Well, take a seat, grab a drink, and read this recap of the Grand Slams of 2013!

Australian Open

Defending champions pre-tournament with their 2012 trophies.
New photo shoot deemed unnecessary.

What happened: see last year's Australian Open. Actually, that's a slight on Oz 2012, which was a really exciting tournament. This year's Australian was a bit of a yawn. Djokovic won for the third straight year, defeating Andy Murray in four relatively unremarkable sets, and Azarenka defended her 2012 title against Li Na. Sharapova and Serena were cruising through the early stages of the tournament when they were abruptly stopped by Li Na and Sloane Stephens (with help from an injured ankle and back) respectively. There were no real surprise losses on the men's side. As something of an anti-Nadal fan, I definitely missed his presence late in this year's Oz, especially considering how good the final weekend of last year's tournament was with him in it.

What will be remembered: for the women, the big stories of the tournament revolved around Sloane. Her beating Serena was a story that lasted the entire season with many twists and turns throughout. She was also the victim of MTO-gate when Azarenka viciously stole the match from her grasps (lol). We will also remember the rebirth of Stan Wawrinka in that epic match with Djokovic in the 4th round where Stan just ZONED, but Novak dug in and pulled it out in the end. Lastly, although she ended up getting blasted away by Li Na in the semis 2 & 2, Maria Sharapova started the tournament by winning her first TWENTY-EIGHT GAMES. What.

French Open

What happened: exactly what you expected, but you couldn't help, but be impressed by how remarkable the achievements of Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal were. Serena finally won her first Roland Garros title since 2002, the kickstarter of her eponymous "Serena Slam." For someone who had always found the clay a pain, Serena's variety was on display throughout the tournament alongside her ever-present power and she found herself cruising through most of her matches (shoutout to you, Sveta).

This also happened. Who knew protesting same-sex
marriage could make a man look so gay?

Rafa's run was a bit more complicated. He got off to a bit of a slow start in the first three rounds and collided with Djokovic in another 5-set thriller in the semifinals, recovering from a break down in the last set and eeking it out 9-7. While the final versus David Ferrer was the most assured forgone conclusion in tennis history, it was a coronation of Nadal's comeback and his cemented status as the King of Clay with his eighth French Open title (fourth in a row), becoming the winningest player at any single Grand Slam. Sorry, Roger.

What will be remembered: three of the four semifinals will be remembered for many different reasons. The airtight three-setter between Sharapova and Azarenka was one of the best matches of the tournament, Serena's demolition of 2012 finalist Sara Errani in 46 minutes was unreal even for her, and Novak's tragic net violation while up a break in the fifth set against Rafa took the air out of the remainder of his 2013 (until his recent title runs in Beijing and Shanghai).

We will also remember the run of Gael Monfils and the many pictures he inspired, Venus's wonky match with Ula Radwanska, and Andy Murray's boredom. I think we'd all benefit from Andy skipping the French Open from now on. He's probably never going to win the thing and his tweets were such a value add for the for tournament.

I would need a seat if I had blown four match points, too.

Wimbledon

The world pouted with you, Rog :(

What happened: The real question is what DIDN'T happen? Rafa went out to Steve Darcis on the very first day, then EVERYONE AND THEIR MOTHER was eliminated on Black Wednesday including Victoria Azarenka (injury), Ana Ivanovic (suckitude), Caroline Wozniacki (suckitude aided by injury), Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (injury aided by suckitude), and Marin Cilic ("injury"). Sharapova joined the fray when she went down (literally; she slipped on the grass several times) on Court 2 to fellow gruntie Michelle Larcher de Brito. However, all of those exits paled in comparison to the ousting of Roger Federer at the hands of Sergiy Stakhovsky, Fed's first loss before the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam since Roland Garros 2004 (if I could ALL CAPS numbers, I would). A truly historic day in tennis. Serena would join the upset club soon after, blowing a third set lead to Boom-Boom Lisicki in the Round of 16 on Manic Monday. Absolute madhouse of a tournament.

Oh yeah, there were winners at this year's Championships! Sir (well, almost) Andrew Barron Murray made it rain and ended a 77-year drought for a British male singles Wimbledon champion by completely outplaying Djokovic in the final. There were cheers, there were blown calls by Mohamed Lahyani, there were Djokovic meltdowns, there were pointed celebrations at the media. The match had everything. I was even inspired to write down a few thoughts on Andy here.

On the women's side, 2007 finalist Marion Bartoli made the most of the messy draw to scrap her first Slam. With the Top 3 out of the way, Marion didn't drop a set (nor played an opponent ranked above her) culminating with the blitzing of Sabine Lisicki in the final. It would be the last match win of her career. What a way to go out!

Maria's DGAF face.

What will be remembered: other than everything, you mean? Aside from the above, we will remember Jerzy Janowicz's breakthrough to the semifinals, the decimation of the bottom half of the men's draw and the complete shitshow that became of the entire women's draw, Juan Martin Del Potro re-arrival for the second time in 2013, Laura Robson's good showing, and Murray leaving the entire country on the edge of their collective seats during his comeback win versus Verdasco. Off the court, this was also the tournament where Serena and MaSha aired out their dirty laundry about each other's love lives. Tennis drama at its finest. It was phenomenal. I'm slightly embarrassed at how much I enjoyed all of it.

U.S. Open

King of ... Cement?

What happened: competing with the Australian Open for most forgettable Slam of the season. Both finals were good theater, but the finalists were all but guaranteed and the winners were pretty much called weeks before main draw matches got underway. Serena and Rafa capped off career-best seasons by downing their primary rivals and contenders for Player of the Year in Azarenka and Djokovic. So many parallels with Serena and Rafa's season. Both win the French Open, go out early at Wimbledon, and come back with a vengeance in the summer hard court swing and add to their tally of major titles and improve their arguments in their respective G.O.A.T. debates.

What will be remembered: two one-handed backhands soared while one fell away. Stan Wawrinka played another 5-setter with Novak Djokovic in the semifinal, once again going down. He wasn't playing as well as he did in Melbourne, but props for ramming through Berdych and Murray, then taking Novak the distance. Richard Gasquet finally made the quarterfinals, then got all greedy and made the SEMIFINALS. He ended up getting killed by Nadal, but good on ya, Reesh. The same can't be said for Roger Federer, who is starting a new kind of streak. He lost in the Round of 16 to Tommy Robredo in straight sets in what was a confusing match. His forehand couldn't find the court and he quickly lost his first match to Tommy Robredo on his eleventh try, denying us our first Fedal encounter at the U.S. Open. Lame.

She was a little excited.

Serena killed her competition through the semis, but her fourth round match against Sloane featured probably the most exciting set of tennis in the tournament pre-finals. The match had an edge to begin with, with all of their off-court drama and whatnot, but what struck me as incredible was how Serena was able to win with her defense. Sloane was crushing her forehand, yet Serena was there for nearly every one of them. Sloane eventually started to go for too much in the second set, which was one-way traffic for our champion.


So what's to come for the rest of the year? Can Serena remain motivated and hungry to finish the year as strongly as she started (she already won Beijing)? Will Rafa win his first World Tour Finals title? Will Djokovic or Vika (or Maria or Andy or, dare I say, Sloane Jelena?) make any dent in the confidence of the top man and woman of their respective tours? We will see what the end of the season has in store, it could mean good things in 2014 for those who make the most of it!

Draw-ful: U.S. Open Men's Draw Preview

Yaaaawwwn.

Compared to the women's draw, the men's draw hardly has anything going on that will interest. Still, we press on and figure out who will lose when to Djokovic, Nadal, and Murray before we get to the juiciness of the later rounds.

Quarter 1

Novak Djokovic arguably has the toughest draw of the Top 4 seeds with Juan Martin Del Potro, one of the opening line favorites, looming on the other side. Even with Djokovic not at his best this summer, you have to assume that he will be fine through the Round of 16. Grigor Dimitrov, his potential third round opponent, may do a little more damage here than at Roland Garros, but Djokovic should be able to get past these mini-threats before a would-be-thrilling quarterfinal against DelPo. Only other interesting potential matchup is a third round clash between Benoit Paire and Fabio Fognini. I'm sure it will be difficult deciding which meltdown is more handsome.

Speaking of our beloved Tower of Tandil, his draw has a couple of players that can be troublesome, including a second round clash with the winner of Hewitt-Baker. Tommy Haas is the next seed in his section which features my favorite first rounder between David Goffin and Alexandr Dolgopolov. That will be an epic mess with beautiful ball striking and puzzling errors and shot selections. Can't wait.

Prediction: Novak Djokovic def. Juan Martin Del Potro

Quarter 2

Andy Murray should have a straightforward path to the quarters strictly because this is not the French Open. The other three seeds in his half (Nicolas Almagro, Andreas Seppi, Juan Monaco) are primarily clay courters and there are no floaters of note lurking. Moving on...

The bottom eighth is where it gets tricky for our defending champ. Tomas Berdych is anchoring the quarter. In my opinion, if New York were not under threat of a tornado during their semifinal clash last year, Andy Murray does not achieve his first major in 2012. Should be a very intriguing quarterfinal matchup, unless Stanislas Wawrinka has something to say about it. He hasn't been playing well as of late though.

Prediction: Tomas Berdych def. Andy Murray

Quarter 3

THIS SECTION OF THE DRAW IS WIDE OPEN. I'M LOOKING AT YOU ERNIE, JERZY, AND MILOS.

Seriously, the top seeds in this quarter are a surprisingly struggling David Ferrer and never-makes-a-quarterfinal Richard Gasquet. This is a BIG opportunity for a high-quality result for Milos Raonic, Jerzy Janowicz, or even Ernests Gulbis. Gulbis should easily make the third round where he faces Ferru. The winner will likely face Jerzy Janowicz in the Round of 16. Male JJ literally has no one in his section (and by "no one" I mean Janko Tipsarevic). Milos also has a very favorable draw to meet up with, and beat up on, Gasquet, who will be standing somewhere in Citi Field to return Milos's serves.

Just please, for the love of God, someone take advantage of this. Please. If Ferrer makes it out of this section, I will cry.

Prediction: Jerzy Janowicz def. Milos Raonic

Quarter 4

The infamous Fedal quarter. But Rafael Nadal has a solid draw. He owns Fernando Verdasco outside of blue clay and just beat John Isner in Cincinnati, so it should set him up to stomp all over Roger Federer in the quarterfinals. The Raging Bull has been en fuego all year outside of London, so I expect nothing less in New York.

Federer, who actually gave Nadal a match in Cincy, will want to start salvaging his year at his second favorite Grand Slam. He really should have no problems through the fourth round, even against Kei Nishikori who beat him in Madrid this year. Hey, who knows? Fed isn't feeling any pressure to beat Rafa anymore, maybe it'll help him settle down.

Prediction: Rafael Nadal def. Roger Federer

Semis

Prediction: Novak Djokovic def. Tomas Berdych

Novak should run away against Berdych. His name is name is branded on Tomas's backside right under the words "PROPERTY OF". Expect another adorably sad congratulatory tweet from the Birdman.

Prediction: Rafael Nadal def. Jerzy Janowicz

I expect Jerzy to give Rafa his first real test, but beating Rafa in a best-of-five format is one of the hardest things to do in tennis. Jerzy is still too erratic on serve to really corner Rafa too much.

Final

Prediction: Rafael Nadal def. Novak Djokovic

This will be a coronation on Rafa's season: owning the hard courts over Novak Djokovic. Nole has been struggling mentally in big moments as of late whereas Rafa has been thriving. This should be another epic. Bring the popcorn, and keep a second and third bag on standby. You will probably need to eat during what should be a 48-hour match.

(Note: I will be at Flushing Meadows Friday checking out the last  of qualifying. Come say hi!)

In The Baguette

Draws are out, Roger is happy, and Tatashvili may make history by being Serena's second first-round conquerer or by being blown off the court in the shortest match in history (I predict the latter)! Here are my picks for what will, yet probably won't, happen:

1. Serena Williams wins the French Open with Olympics 2012-style domination of the field. She is primed and ready to exorcise all demons from last year and should be a lock to accomplish her goal of winning a match at Roland Garros, plus an additional six more.

2. Novak Djokovic defeats Rafael Nadal in the semifinals in five grueling sets and goes on to complete his Career Slam with a win over Tomas Berdych in the finals. Nole has confidence in beating Nadal on clay once again and two surprise losses in Madrid and Rome won't break his focus for the most important tournament on his calendar this year.

3. Sloane Stephens repeats her fourth-round result. I know she is STRUGGLIN' right now, but I believe in her game and her draw is very manageable.

4. Benoit Paire pushes Nadal to his second ever five-set match at Roland Garros. Benoit is much like Gulbis with his power game. The French crowd will be behind him and should give him the push he needs to...not completely flop.

5. Stanislas Wawrinka is upset by Jerzy Janowicz in the third round. I see the stars aligning and Jerzy's game coming together to give one of the young guns a second-week breakthrough. This will be an especially impressive win given Stan's form this month.

Now that I look at it, these predictions aren't exactly groundbreaking. Oh well. I'm already anticipating an awesome third round. NADAL VS. ROSOL II.

Who do you have taking home the titles? Who do you have breaking through? Leave a comment and let me know! Enjoy Roland Garros, y'all!

Cleaning Up the Mess in Madrid

Wow, Madrid! That was the crappiest mandatory ever!

Call me an anti-traditionalist American, but clay tournaments are boring. The matches are slow. The rallies are long...and slow. The days are slow...and long. And Madrid 2013 seemed to magnify all of these issues I have with clay and put them to the forefront. Granted, this is all from my own perspective as an observer, but there were many times I was asking for the blue clay back (especially since I was watching on my iPhone at work and I can't afford to stare at the screen too long to locate the ball mid-rally when my bosses tend to swing by often).

ANYWAY, Madrid had quite a few stories, but we'll focus on the ones that were made on court.

The Stan Man Can: the Swiss #2 (but #1 in our hearts...maybe?) has joined his countryman, Roger Federer, in the Top 10 by his recent clay results, including a thorough beatdown of David Ferrer in Portugal, overpowering a red hot Dimitrov, and outlasting Tsonga and Berdych in back-to-back rounds. It's too bad he ran out of gas in today's final. I would've loved to see him give Rafa a bit more trouble, but who can blame him after playing 10 matches in 11 days over two different tournaments? I thought his crushing loss to Djokovic in Melbourne would deflate him, but it seems to have galvanized him. He's a legitimate threat to the Big Four and I look forward to seeing how he fares through the clay swing and in U.S. hard court season.

Baby Boy: speaking of Dimitrov, Madrid 2013 will be remember as the tournament where Grigor showed what he can do and how he can inspire a crowd. He broke through and took down the #1 ranked player in the world in one of the best matches I've seen in my short life. As a Nole fan, it took me a solid 24 hours to realize how great and important that match was to Grigor's growth. He has the complete offensive arsenal. We would all love to see that amount of talent sustained throughout an entire tournament.

Deja Vu: speaking of Dimitrov, his gf can't catch a break against Serena. MaSha lost, yet again, to SW in the Madrid final in straight sets in undramatic fashion. I don't think she'll ever break through against Serena. It's a nightmare matchup for MaSha and SW will never brain cramp against her like she does against other players such as Anabel Medina Garrigues (what was that bagel all about?).

Coming Up Short: speaking of Dimitrov, he and Kei Nishikori scored huge wins against the world #1 and #2 only to bow out in the very next round. Kei's loss was especially disappointing because he lost to No. 113 Pablo Andujar in a very poor display. It takes more than beating one great player to reach the top. These young guns will have to earn there places amongst the best the hard way.

Who does that?

All in all, Madrid made a few waves, but the tournament as a whole...well, sucked. Hopefully the Djokovic and Federer would have the sense to touch a racquet before their first match at Rome later this week. What are your closing thoughts on our first combined clay event of the season, not counting Oeiras? Miss the blue clay like I do? Leave a comment, or unfollow me on Twitter and delete me off BBM. Whichever you prefer.

The Count of Monte Carlo

This clay season just got real.

I must admit, as a Nole fan, I was already writing off 2013's Euro-clay season as loss. Nadal took home two titles (including a thorough beatdown of his primary whipping boy, David Ferrer) and lost just one match in his comeback tour on South American/Mexican clay, not to mention winning Indian Wells, his first hard court title since 2010. It was pretty much a given that Rafa would sweep through April and May without any sort of hiccup.

Fast forward through a very combative final and we are back in 2011 all over again. Djokovic really took it to Nadal at his "favorite tournament." Yeah, it would be my favorite, too, had I won there EIGHT TIMES IN A ROW.

Anyway, now that the road to Roland Garros is not yet a foregone conclusion, let's try to make sense of what could go down as we get closer to the season's second Grand Slam.

Barcelona: now this is a foregone conclusion. Nadal has won the trophy here the last seven times he's entered. His half of the draw contains a few threatening players like Berdych, Raonic, and Dimitrov, but they are all in Berdych's quarter. However, his confidence may be shaken after his dustup with Nole in Monaco, so maybe, possibly Ferrer has a chance to sneak one in? Yeah, I don't think so either.

Madrid: Fed is defending his title here, but we are back to red this time around. The blue clay of 2012 was much more grass-like than anything else, so I don't think he'll be as lucky this year. Both Nadal and Djokovic have major points to gain here and I'm sure Andy will have worked on his clay court abilities to be a factor. It all depends on how the draw shakes up. Nadal could meet one of the other Big 4 in the quarters.

Rome: the final tune up will be a good one. Nadal ran through Djokovic in the final here last year, but look for Nole to try to exact some revenge here. Much like Madrid, it comes down to where Nadal is placed in the draw.

SO, with all that being said, WHO YA GOT? Can Nole bring back the magic of his 2011 RG tune-ups? Will Roger or Andy make any noise these coming weeks? Most importantly (in my opinion, will Rafa get a protected ranking at Roland Garros? The French Open is closing in on us really quick and I have a rekindled excitement for it! Today, we saw an excellent preview of a potential final round matchup. Or semifinal. Or quarterfinal. Please give Nadal the fourth seed...

Bringing Down the Haus

As if this draw weren't blown open enough already to begin with, Tommy Haas unseated Novak Djokovic last night for the last quarterfinal berth at Key Biscayne. Nole wasn't anywhere close to his best, but it's not like Tommy was trying to leave the door too open for him to mount much of a comeback either, a la Dominika Cibulkova against Serena earlier in this tournament.

The resident tour veteran was lights out, especially in the first set, hitting incredible passing shots and utilizing the slice and his aesthetically appealing one-handed backhand down the line to throw Djokovic for a loop. Let's all remember that our favorite German in 34 YEARS OLD. (It's about 82 in tennis years, according to my own brand of math where I choose random numbers.)

Here are other reasons to be obsessed with Grandpa Tommy:

• He's beaten the Top 2 players in the world on their respective favorite surfaces in the last 8 months
• He's in the Top 20 ATP rankings for the first time since May 2010; the first time he reached that milestone was in February of 1999(!)
• He wears a lavender shirt with a backwards baby blue baseball cap and hot pink wristbands

Kudos for pulling off the look though.

If those three reasons (particularly the last one) weren't age-defying enough, I'll never be able to convince you of Haas' resurgence. Here's to hoping he goes all the way to win his second ever Masters title, first since 2001 in Stuttgart, now an ATP 250 event. Damn, he's old.

Leave some love for Tommy by commenting on that sweet backhand, or his shirt, or his abs, or whatever. In the meantime, be mesmerized by Haas' oscillating rankings history.

(Update: one step closer for Tommy! He pummeled Gilles Simon earlier tonight to reach the semis.)

Happy Holidays!

Good ol' Saint Novak.

A very merry World Tennis Day to all!

Although I just found out such a day existed last week and only remembered it after roaming around the web this afternoon, 'twas a joyous and exciting 24 hours to be a fan of this beautiful sport.

Kudos to all the players getting involved in those lighthearted matches to spread tennis joy around the world.

Fortunately or unfortunately, the goofing off ends here. March is upon us, which means it is U.S. hard court season! Two combined events, loaded draws, and several thousand points and dollars to be awarded. Who's gonna reap the bulk of those benefits? Let's find out by taking a quick look back at an unusually busy February.

Doha: Serena is back at #1, but Vika had the last laugh in their final round match. Serena holds a big lead in their H-to-H record, but Vika has always played her tough and seems to be making more inroads each successive faceoff. Don't be surprised if Azarenka gets back to the top spot by year's end (Serena has a TON of points to defend this summer).

Dubai: Kvitova got back on track with this Premier title. The draw was trimmed down after the Doha finalists withdrew, but hats off to getting the job done. Now that she's pulled off playing well for two matches in a row, is it no longer wishful thinking that she could do it for consecutive tournaments? We'll see, but we do know she has all the weaponry to dominate.

ATP 500s: Federer is stunned at Rotterdam and Dubai. He can't seem to hold MPs anymore. The door is open for Murray, who was absent for the entire month, to leapfrog him in the rankings. Djokovic wins Dubai, undefeated in 2013. Nole's on a serious roll, 18 straight matches to be exact. Is a repeat of 2011 in store? He seems unstoppable at the moment, especially on hard courts. Nadal blows away David Ferrer in Acapulco. The scoreline may be ho-hum, but Rafa has only just started playing tournaments and is only going to get more comfortable out on court. The only question is will he play Indian Wells and/or Miami? WE STILL DON'T KNOW. It's not like IW begins in two days or anything...

I don't know about you, but I am so excited for Indian Wells and Miami because: a) combined events are easy to follow both men and women, and b) they are both in my country's time zone. Those of you who feverishly followed the Australian Open like I did feel me...

Leave a comment to discuss the happenings of February or to look forward to March. Should be another exciting month!