I wrote this New Years Eve 2014 ( Yes I have no life ).
I have often wondered why Pro Tennis players never have to pay back what Governing Bodies 'loan' them to become rich, well not all of them, they don't all become wealthy but you know what I mean don't you ?
The following post from a few years back touches on that subject, plus a few other things that disturb me about the sport of tennis.....
I read somewhere recently that just 336 Men and 253 Women Tennis Professionals made more money than they spent playing tennis last year, interesting statistic. How many Tennis Professionals does this mean didn't make enough to survive without financial assistance from family and friends ?
However it's important to note that just because a Pro Tennis player made more than he or she spent it still doesn't mean that they made a 'living' out of it.
I have written numerous articles on what I believe is wrong with tennis and I don't just mean the coaching side of things, that's just one issue. I have often written of tennis being a 'needle in a haystack' type of sport as the chances of 'success' are like searching for that needle.
So what is 'success' ? Is it the dollar value at the end of a season for a player or is it tournament wins ?
Filip Krajinovic of Serbia will finish 2014 as the player ranked 100 and his singles prize money for the year was just under $170,000, not a bad effort. However if you take away expenses plus what the Tax Man requires then the figure is probably what a Council Worker earned. Novak Djokovic earned over 14 million this year, big difference from his lowly ranked countryman who is ranked 99 places behind him.
So where's the problem ? Easy one to answer, Sponsorship dollars. The big companies want their name and money put toward the big tournaments and they want the winner to receive something most people would not even win from a Lottery. Big egotistical stuff. The issue with this however is that the next Novak Djokovic is probably running around on court in an obscure clay court event somewhere with perhaps a few hundred dollars to his name.
So how does the sport expect him to keep going ? It doesn't. Tennis simply wants the natural 'pecking order' to do it's natural thing, weed out the good from the rest, nature will take care of itself. But what about the players who bloom late ?
What about players such as Victor Estrella Burgos from the Dominican Republic who just became competitive at age 34 ?? Now here is a player who no doubt would had to have received financial backup from somewhere other than tennis as he has been playing for 15 years and earned just over $600,000. Do the sums on that, how's that Council Worker's wage looking now over the same time frame, not too shabby ?
Big companies aren't interested in keeping guys like Victor in a 'job' in obscure little tournaments that are in fact the breeding ground of the next generation of players. But these players may just prove to be the World's best in the years to come.
So does tennis need players like Victor at age 34 playing the game ? You betcha, just look at the interest every time Tommy Haas takes the court, especially against the young players. Youth vs Experience is possibly one of the greatest contests in World Sport. So if guys like Victor have been knocking around in obscure events for the past 15 years because their ranking has been too low to make it into the tournaments that pay the big dollars then how do they survive ? Just.
Does a player who wins a Grand Slam really require a bank deposit of over two million dollars ? If a player is good enough to win a major then surely his endorsements will make up the 'shortfall' ? If a tournament such as the Australian Open cut just $200,000 from it's $30,000,000 of sponsorship and used it to pay the lesser credentialed players more it may just be the difference in them being able to afford to fly to the next tournament.
Grand Slam events can afford to offer players a prize that can almost guarantee them a few months' travel expenses especially at the qualifier level.
If a player wins four Main Draw matches he takes home $250,000, I think that's outrageous. Shave it to $150,000 and even out the rest of the prize money dispersion, it's still big dollars. Reward a Qualifier a handsome sum because he is good enough to be a professional and he may just be the player along with Estrella Burgos who may just hang around the game long enough to become a quality player.
Tennis is no longer a young man's game, at last count there were only two players under 23 years of age in the Top 100 Men's Rankings. The average age of the top ten is 28, give or take a year, hence my example of Estrella Burgos. So it is the obligation of the sport to keep players in it for as long as it is necessary for them to realize their potential.
Let's face it, if a player remains fit he or she will only get better and in particular, smarter, Tommy Haas is testimony to that. At age 35 Haas beat Djokovic in Miami in straight sets in 2013 and at age 36 he beat Wawrinka in three sets in Rome in 2014. Experience? You can't beat it.
So as much as tennis rewards the top 50 players in the World it really does nothing for the rest, how's the lyrics from the Midnight Oil song ? 'The rich get richer, the poor get the picture'.
Tennis players are maturing later so the older players still have much to offer and they may not do anything in the game other than survive until they are over age 30.
Yes I realize that Tommy Haas was a former top ten player however my point is he is basically getting better as he gets older, it's that sort of sport. Others can follow his lead, they simply need enough dollars to stay in the game.
It's a tough one, no real answers but handing out $2.5 Million to the players who defied the needle in the haystack odds may not be the best thing for the game. Cap the prize money and spread it more evenly, surely this makes more sense ?
So what of the smaller events ? That's even tougher as sponsorship is minimal but rather than the Governing Bodies boasting about their ever increasing bank accounts how about they release some funds and support the smaller events more ? And how do they get it back ? Simple, get the players to give back to the sport.
Once their prize money hits a certain figure then surely these players can afford to reimburse the game that made them rich. University students do it don't they ? How about sportsmen do the same ?
That next ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Event may not necessarily be won by a 25 year old. It may in fact be won by a 33 year old who has stopped worrying about where his next meal will come from and concentrated more on his experienced game........
******** FOOTNOTE*********
Since I wrote this in 2014 I see that the prize money for Grand Slams has in fact increased even more and I believe that $400,000 is now the prize for a spot in the last 16, crazy stuff aint it ? The winner now takes home around $3.5 Million.
The prize money needs to be dispersed a whole lot smarter. The players ranked outside the Main Draw cut off need it a whole lot more than the winners do and the smaller events need a cut from the larger events.
Pro Tennis requires a new Treasurer.........
Sunday, 7 May 2017
Thursday, 4 May 2017
'NOT SO GLAMOROUS'
The previous post on this site titled 'The Genius of Doubles' was not so much referring to the great John McEnroe, it was more a play on words. I was in fact referring to just how much of a genius you have to be to become a successful doubles player now days because of the outrageous ability a player must own to consistently win at the two on two format.
It seems that rankings are not adhered to by opposing teams. Let's look at the current two tournaments being played in both Portugal and Munich and see how the seeded teams are going.
The number 1 seeded team of Linstedt and Groth own a combined ranking of just under under 100, to be exact it is 96 and in the round of 16 they took on Harrison and Venus who's combined ranking is just under 300. Now to put this into perspective, it's actually a FIRST ROUND MATCH, only 16 teams are put into the main draw of smaller events.
Now in singles I suppose someone ranked 245 would be of no match for someone inside the top 50 yet in doubles it really doesn't seem to make a difference and it appears that the new cut throat type of format is now making doubles a ridiculously even playing field.
Harrison and Venus took the match in a third set super tie breaker.
Koolhof and Middlekoop, seeded 2, own a combined ranking of 104 in Mens Doubles and took on Jaziri and Muller who's ranking put together is 364. A ranking that low should in all seriousness not bother a team who have enjoyed some success together with three titles to their names. Jaziri and Muller have never won a doubles event yet took out the second seeds in another third set super tie breaker. Is there a pattern here ?
The number 3 seeds, Daniell and Demoiliner had on paper a first round match that could have gone either way as their combined ranking of 102 was not too much different than that of their opponents, Raja and Sharan ( 120 ). Does a first up match get any tougher than that ?
Well how about this score line, the un seeded team of Raja and Sharan took the first set 6-0, yep the bagel, work that one out, they then scraped through in a tie breaker in the second.
So there's the story line at Portugal, the top 3 teams all beaten first round, or technically, the Round of 16, same thing of course. And their prize ? $2,490 Euros between them, hardly an amount worth writing home about but maybe enough for a train ticket to the next tournament.
So to Munich, let's see if the top seeded doubles teams faired any better than those in Portugal.
Marach and Pavic were seeded 1, their combined ranking is 66 and drew possibly the toughest un seeded team imaginable as Baker and Mektic were coming off a huge win in Barcelona where they took the title as the number 4 seeds.
For some reason they didn't quite sneak into the seedings in Munich though it didn't really matter as they took the match 3 and 4, no worries. This match was in fact a SECOND ROUND MATCH, or technically, a quarter final so at least a top seeded team won a round, at last.
The number 2 seeded team in Munich was Mirnyi and Huey who together own a ranking of 71. Their first match was against Kretschmer and Satschko ( no I have never heard of them either ) and their combined ranking is a Test Cricket score, 383 to be exact. Easy first win for the second seeds ? Try again. The two local Wild Cards thrilled the home crowd with a straight sets victory, 6 and 1. Tough to get a read on all of this aint it ??
So in summary, in two events just a solitary match was in fact won by a top seeded doubles team, ONE MATCH. In Portugal the top three seeded teams did not trouble the score board and took home around $7,500 Euros in total.
In Munich the number 1 and 2 seeded teams are out by the quarters, prize money much the same though the number 1 seeds shared $ 4,260 Euros. Not big dollars though is it ?
Pro Tennis at times seems glamorous and sure at the big events it is but once again I urge you to spare a thought for the players who are simply looking for that one big break, an event where they can perhaps win enough Euros to not only take them to the next tournament but perhaps several more without taking out a Bank loan.
Tough sport tennis, not for the faint hearted and not for those who don't own a reasonable sized bank account to start with.......
It seems that rankings are not adhered to by opposing teams. Let's look at the current two tournaments being played in both Portugal and Munich and see how the seeded teams are going.
The number 1 seeded team of Linstedt and Groth own a combined ranking of just under under 100, to be exact it is 96 and in the round of 16 they took on Harrison and Venus who's combined ranking is just under 300. Now to put this into perspective, it's actually a FIRST ROUND MATCH, only 16 teams are put into the main draw of smaller events.
Now in singles I suppose someone ranked 245 would be of no match for someone inside the top 50 yet in doubles it really doesn't seem to make a difference and it appears that the new cut throat type of format is now making doubles a ridiculously even playing field.
Harrison and Venus took the match in a third set super tie breaker.
Koolhof and Middlekoop, seeded 2, own a combined ranking of 104 in Mens Doubles and took on Jaziri and Muller who's ranking put together is 364. A ranking that low should in all seriousness not bother a team who have enjoyed some success together with three titles to their names. Jaziri and Muller have never won a doubles event yet took out the second seeds in another third set super tie breaker. Is there a pattern here ?
The number 3 seeds, Daniell and Demoiliner had on paper a first round match that could have gone either way as their combined ranking of 102 was not too much different than that of their opponents, Raja and Sharan ( 120 ). Does a first up match get any tougher than that ?
Well how about this score line, the un seeded team of Raja and Sharan took the first set 6-0, yep the bagel, work that one out, they then scraped through in a tie breaker in the second.
So there's the story line at Portugal, the top 3 teams all beaten first round, or technically, the Round of 16, same thing of course. And their prize ? $2,490 Euros between them, hardly an amount worth writing home about but maybe enough for a train ticket to the next tournament.
So to Munich, let's see if the top seeded doubles teams faired any better than those in Portugal.
Marach and Pavic were seeded 1, their combined ranking is 66 and drew possibly the toughest un seeded team imaginable as Baker and Mektic were coming off a huge win in Barcelona where they took the title as the number 4 seeds.
For some reason they didn't quite sneak into the seedings in Munich though it didn't really matter as they took the match 3 and 4, no worries. This match was in fact a SECOND ROUND MATCH, or technically, a quarter final so at least a top seeded team won a round, at last.
The number 2 seeded team in Munich was Mirnyi and Huey who together own a ranking of 71. Their first match was against Kretschmer and Satschko ( no I have never heard of them either ) and their combined ranking is a Test Cricket score, 383 to be exact. Easy first win for the second seeds ? Try again. The two local Wild Cards thrilled the home crowd with a straight sets victory, 6 and 1. Tough to get a read on all of this aint it ??
So in summary, in two events just a solitary match was in fact won by a top seeded doubles team, ONE MATCH. In Portugal the top three seeded teams did not trouble the score board and took home around $7,500 Euros in total.
In Munich the number 1 and 2 seeded teams are out by the quarters, prize money much the same though the number 1 seeds shared $ 4,260 Euros. Not big dollars though is it ?
Pro Tennis at times seems glamorous and sure at the big events it is but once again I urge you to spare a thought for the players who are simply looking for that one big break, an event where they can perhaps win enough Euros to not only take them to the next tournament but perhaps several more without taking out a Bank loan.
Tough sport tennis, not for the faint hearted and not for those who don't own a reasonable sized bank account to start with.......
Monday, 1 May 2017
' THE GENIUS OF DOUBLES '
Spare a thought for those Tennis Professionals out there who are trying to make a living out of playing the two on two format. Singles is beyond a lot of those players though some try their luck in the qualifying events and may win a round or two but most doubles experts don't trouble the score board too much in singles.
Gone are the days when guys like John McEnroe entered both singles and doubles in Grand Slam events and actually came away with both trophies as Mac did at both the US Open and Wimbledon. In fact JM won the Wimbledon Mens Doubles AND Singles in '81, '83 and '84 as well as the US Open Mens Singles and Doubles in '79 and '81.
His partner for those doubles titles Peter Fleming once said that Mac could win a title with anyone as he was under no illusions as to how good a player he was himself. Fleming was no star, just a steady player who's partner was possibly the greatest doubles player of all time.
So to the current playing climate, it will never happen again, if it does it would be a miracle but the chances of a player winning the singles and doubles in a Mens Grand Slam Championship would be about as rare as rocking horse sh.. .
Why ? It's simply too tough on the body plus the guys who are playing doubles now days are nothing short of brilliant at their trade and are way too smart for singles players who play doubles for a bit of fun plus some extra pocket money. Even players who return as well as Djokovic and Nadal are no match for the players who know how to finish a point in doubles.
The amazing run of Arneodo and Nys which I wrote so fondly of on this site just recently typified how guys who know the art of the two on two format can out smart even the best doubles combinations in the World on any given day and those two owned a combined doubles ranking of over 1000. Singles players may trouble a great doubles combination but will not consistently win, it's almost impossible due to the way the brain is programmed as far as a tennis professional is concerned.
John McEnroe was such a genius that he used the same tactics in both singles and doubles and it worked but no one plays like that anymore so being a baseliner in singles will only get you so far in doubles. Being a serve and volley exponent will only get you so far in singles but it will quite possibly get you a long way in doubles. Sorry I am stating the obvious here.
Examples ? Monte Carlo; Bopanna and Cuevas won the event. Bopanna is a doubles guru, age 37 and just knows the intricacies of two on two, he is in a word, brilliant. Cuevas is a singles player proven by his dismissal of Wawrinka in the third round at Monte Carlo in two sets but he can play doubles, that's an understatement as he is ranked 25 in the World for Mens Doubles.
Next tournament, Bopanna and Cuevas get beaten first round by Peers and Kontinen and everyone knows just how good those two are at doubles but it typifies my point, it is an impossibility to consistently win at doubles.
You may have a great run and win a few titles but with the variation of combinations now days it is too hard to get a read on a pair, it's more like a raffle as to how you will go particularly with the short deuce and third set super tie breaker format in the smaller events.
Doubles also seems now to be an 'old man's' event with the combined age of 69 winning in Barcelona just recently ( Querishi and Mergea ) and a combined age of 60 winning in Hungary ( Baker and Mektic ). The older generation know their limitations so are basically just drilling in practice for doubles situations.
There is no point in them even trying to qualify for singles events, they would be classed as 'cannon fodder' yet they can still beat players ranked in the top ten for singles more often than not in doubles.
Doubles is an art form with so many angles created by an ability to take the ball early and to see things unfolding at the blink of an eye whereas singles is a grind more often than not where the fittest player wins.
Not enough emphasis is put on the genius of a World class doubles player, their matches are simply treated as a curtain raiser for a singles match but if you take the time to watch a doubles match between two teams who know their stuff it is a sight to behold.
We may never see another Jonny Mac play as long as the sport exists which is a shame because Mac was a freak show as far as talent was concerned, a genius who won 77 singles titles and 78 doubles titles.
He had that success because of his style, a style that will never be replicated to that point of perfection ever again due to the current game that nine times out of ten rewards the players who only go to the net to shake hands.
The evolution of tennis............
Gone are the days when guys like John McEnroe entered both singles and doubles in Grand Slam events and actually came away with both trophies as Mac did at both the US Open and Wimbledon. In fact JM won the Wimbledon Mens Doubles AND Singles in '81, '83 and '84 as well as the US Open Mens Singles and Doubles in '79 and '81.
His partner for those doubles titles Peter Fleming once said that Mac could win a title with anyone as he was under no illusions as to how good a player he was himself. Fleming was no star, just a steady player who's partner was possibly the greatest doubles player of all time.
So to the current playing climate, it will never happen again, if it does it would be a miracle but the chances of a player winning the singles and doubles in a Mens Grand Slam Championship would be about as rare as rocking horse sh.. .
Why ? It's simply too tough on the body plus the guys who are playing doubles now days are nothing short of brilliant at their trade and are way too smart for singles players who play doubles for a bit of fun plus some extra pocket money. Even players who return as well as Djokovic and Nadal are no match for the players who know how to finish a point in doubles.
The amazing run of Arneodo and Nys which I wrote so fondly of on this site just recently typified how guys who know the art of the two on two format can out smart even the best doubles combinations in the World on any given day and those two owned a combined doubles ranking of over 1000. Singles players may trouble a great doubles combination but will not consistently win, it's almost impossible due to the way the brain is programmed as far as a tennis professional is concerned.
John McEnroe was such a genius that he used the same tactics in both singles and doubles and it worked but no one plays like that anymore so being a baseliner in singles will only get you so far in doubles. Being a serve and volley exponent will only get you so far in singles but it will quite possibly get you a long way in doubles. Sorry I am stating the obvious here.
Examples ? Monte Carlo; Bopanna and Cuevas won the event. Bopanna is a doubles guru, age 37 and just knows the intricacies of two on two, he is in a word, brilliant. Cuevas is a singles player proven by his dismissal of Wawrinka in the third round at Monte Carlo in two sets but he can play doubles, that's an understatement as he is ranked 25 in the World for Mens Doubles.
Next tournament, Bopanna and Cuevas get beaten first round by Peers and Kontinen and everyone knows just how good those two are at doubles but it typifies my point, it is an impossibility to consistently win at doubles.
You may have a great run and win a few titles but with the variation of combinations now days it is too hard to get a read on a pair, it's more like a raffle as to how you will go particularly with the short deuce and third set super tie breaker format in the smaller events.
Doubles also seems now to be an 'old man's' event with the combined age of 69 winning in Barcelona just recently ( Querishi and Mergea ) and a combined age of 60 winning in Hungary ( Baker and Mektic ). The older generation know their limitations so are basically just drilling in practice for doubles situations.
There is no point in them even trying to qualify for singles events, they would be classed as 'cannon fodder' yet they can still beat players ranked in the top ten for singles more often than not in doubles.
Doubles is an art form with so many angles created by an ability to take the ball early and to see things unfolding at the blink of an eye whereas singles is a grind more often than not where the fittest player wins.
Not enough emphasis is put on the genius of a World class doubles player, their matches are simply treated as a curtain raiser for a singles match but if you take the time to watch a doubles match between two teams who know their stuff it is a sight to behold.
We may never see another Jonny Mac play as long as the sport exists which is a shame because Mac was a freak show as far as talent was concerned, a genius who won 77 singles titles and 78 doubles titles.
He had that success because of his style, a style that will never be replicated to that point of perfection ever again due to the current game that nine times out of ten rewards the players who only go to the net to shake hands.
The evolution of tennis............
Saturday, 29 April 2017
'WELL PLAYED KRISTINA'
Personally I am not a fan of Womens tennis. I am however now a fan of Kristina Mladenovic of France.
Over night in Stuttgart she bounced the 'cheat' out of the semi finals and maybe, just maybe she proved that Maria Sharapova is now a tennis player who cannot succeed without the substance that she relied on to take her to five Grand Slam titles.
Kristina Mladenovic has been rather vocal in her criticism of Sharapova since the Russian was banned for taking something that she apparently was told FIVE times to NOT take which Sharapova denies. Maria however does not deny that she failed to read an email sent to her by WADA ( World Anti- Doping Agency ) which in fact would have saved her from suspension.
The following is a transcript from Maria regarding the failure to read that particular email;
"In order to be aware of this warning you had to open an email with a subject line having nothing to do with anti-doping, click on a web page, enter a password, enter a username, hunt, click, hunt, click, hunt, click, scroll and read," she wrote.
Well Maria my answer to that is simple; You probably have a paid gardener, a paid chauffer, a paid chef, a paid re- stringer, a paid house cleaner and a paid pool cleaner so why not pay someone to read your emails also as that would have saved you a whole lot of embarrassment ?!
Or would that have made way too much sense ? Too busy with your modelling assignments outside of your tennis practice sessions Maria ?
Anyhow back to my new favourite tennis player Kristina Mladenovic of France. Rather than describe just what Kristina thinks of Maria, here's a quote from her regarding the banning ;
"She's been taking this drug for 10 years and it's a serious drug. She has played with the rules and thought, if it's not banned, then I can take it.
"For me that's very disappointing. I don't like the mentality to be the best by playing with the rules."
So basically Kristina is saying that Maria knew that what she was taking could quite possibly bring the sport into disrepute, yet she kept taking it. The thing I find most disturbing about this is that Maria simply had to open an email, may have taken her five minutes of her precious time but if she had then she would go down in history as one of the best in Womens tennis, now she won't.
I find that amusing to say the least.
I wrote several posts on the ridiculous situation at the Australian Open in 2013 when the Prima Donna of tennis ( yes even more of a prima donna than Maria ) Victoria Azarenka took a ten minute time out for choking.
" I almost did the choke of the year", yep that's what Victoria said.
Yet the choker was allowed to take her ten minutes in the locker room and return to break Sloane Stephens serve and cheat her way into the final which she eventually won against Li Na.
Is it just me or is there a problem at the top of Womens tennis ?
On one side of the coin you have a player who is openly taking drugs to enhance their performance and who cannot even take a few minutes to read emails sent to her by a World Anti- Doping Agency because she lacks the intelligence to do so.
On the other side of the coin you have players such as Azarenka who resort to cheating to win titles and then of course you have players such as Serena Williams who threaten lines people ;
'If I could, I would take this ******* ball and shove it down your ******* throat,' she reportedly said. That was in the semis at the US Open against Clijsters in 2009 just before she was defaulted.
I also find that amusing.
Perhaps Mens tennis is a bit on the boring side compared to Womens tennis, nothing happening at the top of the Mens game, just feel good stories such as the come backs of Rafa and Roger.
Like the saying goes 'Nothing to see here, move along'......
Back to Mladenovic. The win against Sharapova means that Maria stays outside of the top 200 which is the cut off for the French Open qualifying event which commences next month.
The Officials in Paris have a decision to make whether or not to grant Maria a Wild Card into the main draw. Hopefully they will hand it to a player who deserves it.....
Over and out.
Over night in Stuttgart she bounced the 'cheat' out of the semi finals and maybe, just maybe she proved that Maria Sharapova is now a tennis player who cannot succeed without the substance that she relied on to take her to five Grand Slam titles.
Kristina Mladenovic has been rather vocal in her criticism of Sharapova since the Russian was banned for taking something that she apparently was told FIVE times to NOT take which Sharapova denies. Maria however does not deny that she failed to read an email sent to her by WADA ( World Anti- Doping Agency ) which in fact would have saved her from suspension.
The following is a transcript from Maria regarding the failure to read that particular email;
"In order to be aware of this warning you had to open an email with a subject line having nothing to do with anti-doping, click on a web page, enter a password, enter a username, hunt, click, hunt, click, hunt, click, scroll and read," she wrote.
Well Maria my answer to that is simple; You probably have a paid gardener, a paid chauffer, a paid chef, a paid re- stringer, a paid house cleaner and a paid pool cleaner so why not pay someone to read your emails also as that would have saved you a whole lot of embarrassment ?!
Or would that have made way too much sense ? Too busy with your modelling assignments outside of your tennis practice sessions Maria ?
Anyhow back to my new favourite tennis player Kristina Mladenovic of France. Rather than describe just what Kristina thinks of Maria, here's a quote from her regarding the banning ;
"She's been taking this drug for 10 years and it's a serious drug. She has played with the rules and thought, if it's not banned, then I can take it.
"For me that's very disappointing. I don't like the mentality to be the best by playing with the rules."
So basically Kristina is saying that Maria knew that what she was taking could quite possibly bring the sport into disrepute, yet she kept taking it. The thing I find most disturbing about this is that Maria simply had to open an email, may have taken her five minutes of her precious time but if she had then she would go down in history as one of the best in Womens tennis, now she won't.
I find that amusing to say the least.
I wrote several posts on the ridiculous situation at the Australian Open in 2013 when the Prima Donna of tennis ( yes even more of a prima donna than Maria ) Victoria Azarenka took a ten minute time out for choking.
" I almost did the choke of the year", yep that's what Victoria said.
Yet the choker was allowed to take her ten minutes in the locker room and return to break Sloane Stephens serve and cheat her way into the final which she eventually won against Li Na.
Is it just me or is there a problem at the top of Womens tennis ?
On one side of the coin you have a player who is openly taking drugs to enhance their performance and who cannot even take a few minutes to read emails sent to her by a World Anti- Doping Agency because she lacks the intelligence to do so.
On the other side of the coin you have players such as Azarenka who resort to cheating to win titles and then of course you have players such as Serena Williams who threaten lines people ;
'If I could, I would take this ******* ball and shove it down your ******* throat,' she reportedly said. That was in the semis at the US Open against Clijsters in 2009 just before she was defaulted.
I also find that amusing.
Perhaps Mens tennis is a bit on the boring side compared to Womens tennis, nothing happening at the top of the Mens game, just feel good stories such as the come backs of Rafa and Roger.
Like the saying goes 'Nothing to see here, move along'......
Back to Mladenovic. The win against Sharapova means that Maria stays outside of the top 200 which is the cut off for the French Open qualifying event which commences next month.
The Officials in Paris have a decision to make whether or not to grant Maria a Wild Card into the main draw. Hopefully they will hand it to a player who deserves it.....
Over and out.
Sunday, 23 April 2017
'THE EURO KINGS'
The recent feel good story of the 'locals', Arneodo and Nys at Monte Carlo this week got better with an outrageous quarter final victory over Murray and Soares, the pair who finished at the number 1 spot at the end of 2016.
To win 10 of the last 11 points in a third set Super Tie Breaker against the combination who won last year's Australian Open and US Open titles once again fits the headline of one of my recent posts 'Defying Logic'.
When you are a pair who own a combined ranking of over 1000 and are simply playing for your livelihood against Multi Millionaires I believe it's fair to say that the terminology 'Self Belief' should have a photograph of these two in the next edition of the World Dictionary.
To beat players of the calibre that they did this week you not only have to look past your current ranking, prize money and past results but you also have to own a fair slice of heart. To not be totally overawed by guys who have won enough titles and Euros to hang up their rackets today and never have to work again is testimony to their mind set.
Romain Arneodo and Hugo Nys took home a share of just over $60,000 Euros when they eventually were beaten in straight sets in the semis by Bopanna and Cuevas which belittled their past combined earnings by a lazy $56,000.
In 1991 when I travelled around Europe in a tiny French Automobile with two West Australian buddies of mine we had a terminology for our biggest money earner Brett Patten, we called him the 'Franc King' as the French 'Franc' was the common currency back then before being replaced by the Euro.
Brett won more Francs than he went away with such was his ability to win in a foreign Country and he used to have a wallet that was so full of notes from his tournament wins that he had to continually off load the contents into different sections of his tennis bag.
So what do a pair of tennis battlers who have never really seen any success on a tennis court and who have obviously battled to live any sort of lifestyle do with $30,000 plus Euros each ?
Well I would imagine that these two are still partying at this moment, living it up in perhaps a suite at an expensive resort in Monaco and maybe even throwing a few chips around at the local Casino. Why wouldn't you ??
Remember if you are a resident of Monte Carlo you don't pay tax on your earnings so every cent you take home is yours to keep without that 'interfering fellow' pilfering part of your hard earned. Oh to be a resident of Monte Carlo.....
So Romain Arneodo and Hugo Nys can now claim a new title of 'Euro Kings' as they embark on a new lifestyle that can now see them afford to at least travel to the next tournament on the French Riviera, brim full of confidence and wallets full of notes that can now perhaps buy them a few extra luxuries along the way.
An entry fee is now 'affordable'.
Tennis prize money usually gets handed out to the players who wouldn't even know how much is in their bank account such is the ridiculous amounts that are handed to the players at the top of the World rankings. So as far as these two are concerned they owe an awful lot to the Tournament Committee who put their faith in them to at least put in a competitive performance in Round 1 because now they believe they belong in the sport.
That's the thing with tennis, many players never gain that slice of luck required to show their skills on the big stage and may never see a Centre Court of the magnificence that Monte Carlo owns. Tennis isn't all about the Dollar however if you don't own any then it's a tough sport to try and make a living out of as you have to spend a Euro to make a Euro, if that makes sense.
Rafa looks as though he will hold the trophy at Monte Carlo this year for a tenth time and pick up another million or so and the doubles finalists will play for around a quarter of a mil, something like that anyhow, loose change for all involved.
As far as the 'locals' are concerned, well they are now local heroes no matter what happens in the future, 'Euro Kings' to be precise........
To win 10 of the last 11 points in a third set Super Tie Breaker against the combination who won last year's Australian Open and US Open titles once again fits the headline of one of my recent posts 'Defying Logic'.
When you are a pair who own a combined ranking of over 1000 and are simply playing for your livelihood against Multi Millionaires I believe it's fair to say that the terminology 'Self Belief' should have a photograph of these two in the next edition of the World Dictionary.
To beat players of the calibre that they did this week you not only have to look past your current ranking, prize money and past results but you also have to own a fair slice of heart. To not be totally overawed by guys who have won enough titles and Euros to hang up their rackets today and never have to work again is testimony to their mind set.
Romain Arneodo and Hugo Nys took home a share of just over $60,000 Euros when they eventually were beaten in straight sets in the semis by Bopanna and Cuevas which belittled their past combined earnings by a lazy $56,000.
In 1991 when I travelled around Europe in a tiny French Automobile with two West Australian buddies of mine we had a terminology for our biggest money earner Brett Patten, we called him the 'Franc King' as the French 'Franc' was the common currency back then before being replaced by the Euro.
Brett won more Francs than he went away with such was his ability to win in a foreign Country and he used to have a wallet that was so full of notes from his tournament wins that he had to continually off load the contents into different sections of his tennis bag.
So what do a pair of tennis battlers who have never really seen any success on a tennis court and who have obviously battled to live any sort of lifestyle do with $30,000 plus Euros each ?
Well I would imagine that these two are still partying at this moment, living it up in perhaps a suite at an expensive resort in Monaco and maybe even throwing a few chips around at the local Casino. Why wouldn't you ??
Remember if you are a resident of Monte Carlo you don't pay tax on your earnings so every cent you take home is yours to keep without that 'interfering fellow' pilfering part of your hard earned. Oh to be a resident of Monte Carlo.....
So Romain Arneodo and Hugo Nys can now claim a new title of 'Euro Kings' as they embark on a new lifestyle that can now see them afford to at least travel to the next tournament on the French Riviera, brim full of confidence and wallets full of notes that can now perhaps buy them a few extra luxuries along the way.
An entry fee is now 'affordable'.
Tennis prize money usually gets handed out to the players who wouldn't even know how much is in their bank account such is the ridiculous amounts that are handed to the players at the top of the World rankings. So as far as these two are concerned they owe an awful lot to the Tournament Committee who put their faith in them to at least put in a competitive performance in Round 1 because now they believe they belong in the sport.
That's the thing with tennis, many players never gain that slice of luck required to show their skills on the big stage and may never see a Centre Court of the magnificence that Monte Carlo owns. Tennis isn't all about the Dollar however if you don't own any then it's a tough sport to try and make a living out of as you have to spend a Euro to make a Euro, if that makes sense.
Rafa looks as though he will hold the trophy at Monte Carlo this year for a tenth time and pick up another million or so and the doubles finalists will play for around a quarter of a mil, something like that anyhow, loose change for all involved.
As far as the 'locals' are concerned, well they are now local heroes no matter what happens in the future, 'Euro Kings' to be precise........
Thursday, 20 April 2017
'PERSEVERANCE'
You will have to excuse my recent exuberance regarding my writing however the end to my local tennis season was possibly the most educational one I have experienced in quite some time. Ok much of that is my fault. I seem to only now play competition tennis every two or three years...
I am not of the age that searches the net for tennis tournaments to go 'hunting' the youth of the game and I am rather wary of my own physical limitations at the same time but when it comes to searching for dialogue for my site, nothing beats playing the game.
I loved many aspects of the two events I played just recently, despised a lot of it, still found that many people look the other way when you walk past them and realised also that certain sections of the crowd are still the same sections from past years who love to see you miss. Such is life.
Tennis tournaments are full of people who love the argument that goes hand in hand with the sport itself as I have often described tennis as just that, an argument, one that requires the best answer to win, or many answers for that matter. Personally I hate the argument of it all as it screws with my head and I can't remember the last time I in fact enjoyed a tennis tournament yet I still play and that in itself is something that I still have trouble working out.
As a coach of tennis you are possibly just meant to be like a sergeant at a boot camp and bark out the orders but tennis is a sport that I consider to be one that rewards the hands on approach. It's a sport that requires a coach to do what he or she asks of their students, almost like a School Teacher who devises a lesson plan or who puts together an exam, knowing the answers is a necessity.
If a kid never sees a coach hit a ball under duress then is respect simply a token gesture ?
I am from the old school of tennis where my heroes of the past ( the Swedes ) used to sit out there for as long as it took to wear the opposition out and most of my theories come from waiting for your opponent to lose rather than trying to find ways to win. If you think too much in tennis it will mess with your head, just find something that agrees with your mind and your style, stick with it.
I have been playing tennis tournaments locally since I was a kid but from age 38 when I last lost a singles match I promised myself that if I lost then it would be through being beaten, not handing it on a platter to the opposition. I haven't played 'World beaters' in the last ten years but I have been tested, I usually find a tonic. Why do I do it ? It's a test, no one ever got anywhere in life without a test.
Nothing has changed since I was 38, I play kids, some with 'great records', some with big egos, most only go to the net to shake hands. I play 'robots', all programmed the same way, I hate playing them, it hurts physically, hurts mentally yet I give it a go.
I love to shake hands at the end of it all and know that I have been in a mind battle that has gone my way admittedly for a long time but even if I lost it would have been an 'educational' loss as I have often stated, you learn more from a loss than a win.
You learn that tennis is tough, at any age because even at 0-15 in the first game your mind searches for answers and it goes through panic mode more often than not, 'Shit 0-15, if I lose the next point , it's 0-30, we then have problems'. Mats Wilander spoke of this same phobia, admittedly though after his career was over. Interesting Mats, you always looked so calm on a tennis court. Much comes out after retirement.
Did I learn anything from my latest 'silly idea' to play the young blokes again ? Yep, they don't own the patience to bother either the scoreboard consistently or their opponent for that matter. It's too risky playing to hit winners, it will only bring spasmodic results, trust me. Too many kids are being taught to finish a point rather than to simply stay in it and ask questions of their opponent.
When you sign up for a tennis tournament you shouldn't be in a hurry to go anywhere else but into battle and whatever the toll it takes, well you paid your entry fee.......
If I was 16 again and playing a 48 year old 'has been' or rather a 'never was' I would simply keep the ball in play, common sense. Shouldn't teenagers be able to wear out 'Dinosaurs' ??
Do I ever grow tired of playing this game both mentally and physically ? Yes, every time I step onto a tennis court, it started to bother me when I was 38, thought I was getting a little slower but I realised way back then that my opponents still weren't getting any smarter so that's why I have persevered over the years.
Tennis rewards perseverance, go hard, give it a go, Nike had a slogan many years ago 'Just Do It', I think that had merit.......
Only 'young' once.......
Regards GT
I am not of the age that searches the net for tennis tournaments to go 'hunting' the youth of the game and I am rather wary of my own physical limitations at the same time but when it comes to searching for dialogue for my site, nothing beats playing the game.
I loved many aspects of the two events I played just recently, despised a lot of it, still found that many people look the other way when you walk past them and realised also that certain sections of the crowd are still the same sections from past years who love to see you miss. Such is life.
Tennis tournaments are full of people who love the argument that goes hand in hand with the sport itself as I have often described tennis as just that, an argument, one that requires the best answer to win, or many answers for that matter. Personally I hate the argument of it all as it screws with my head and I can't remember the last time I in fact enjoyed a tennis tournament yet I still play and that in itself is something that I still have trouble working out.
As a coach of tennis you are possibly just meant to be like a sergeant at a boot camp and bark out the orders but tennis is a sport that I consider to be one that rewards the hands on approach. It's a sport that requires a coach to do what he or she asks of their students, almost like a School Teacher who devises a lesson plan or who puts together an exam, knowing the answers is a necessity.
If a kid never sees a coach hit a ball under duress then is respect simply a token gesture ?
I am from the old school of tennis where my heroes of the past ( the Swedes ) used to sit out there for as long as it took to wear the opposition out and most of my theories come from waiting for your opponent to lose rather than trying to find ways to win. If you think too much in tennis it will mess with your head, just find something that agrees with your mind and your style, stick with it.
I have been playing tennis tournaments locally since I was a kid but from age 38 when I last lost a singles match I promised myself that if I lost then it would be through being beaten, not handing it on a platter to the opposition. I haven't played 'World beaters' in the last ten years but I have been tested, I usually find a tonic. Why do I do it ? It's a test, no one ever got anywhere in life without a test.
Nothing has changed since I was 38, I play kids, some with 'great records', some with big egos, most only go to the net to shake hands. I play 'robots', all programmed the same way, I hate playing them, it hurts physically, hurts mentally yet I give it a go.
I love to shake hands at the end of it all and know that I have been in a mind battle that has gone my way admittedly for a long time but even if I lost it would have been an 'educational' loss as I have often stated, you learn more from a loss than a win.
You learn that tennis is tough, at any age because even at 0-15 in the first game your mind searches for answers and it goes through panic mode more often than not, 'Shit 0-15, if I lose the next point , it's 0-30, we then have problems'. Mats Wilander spoke of this same phobia, admittedly though after his career was over. Interesting Mats, you always looked so calm on a tennis court. Much comes out after retirement.
Did I learn anything from my latest 'silly idea' to play the young blokes again ? Yep, they don't own the patience to bother either the scoreboard consistently or their opponent for that matter. It's too risky playing to hit winners, it will only bring spasmodic results, trust me. Too many kids are being taught to finish a point rather than to simply stay in it and ask questions of their opponent.
When you sign up for a tennis tournament you shouldn't be in a hurry to go anywhere else but into battle and whatever the toll it takes, well you paid your entry fee.......
If I was 16 again and playing a 48 year old 'has been' or rather a 'never was' I would simply keep the ball in play, common sense. Shouldn't teenagers be able to wear out 'Dinosaurs' ??
Do I ever grow tired of playing this game both mentally and physically ? Yes, every time I step onto a tennis court, it started to bother me when I was 38, thought I was getting a little slower but I realised way back then that my opponents still weren't getting any smarter so that's why I have persevered over the years.
Tennis rewards perseverance, go hard, give it a go, Nike had a slogan many years ago 'Just Do It', I think that had merit.......
Only 'young' once.......
Regards GT
Wednesday, 19 April 2017
'DEFYING LOGIC'
The Monte Carlo Rolex Masters is one of those tennis tournaments that every player in the World simply wants to compete in, it's a show piece for the sport due to the location and the esteem that surrounds anything to do with the French Riviera.
I have seen first hand the magnificence of this particular tennis club and a photo I took from high in the grandstand overlooking the centre court and the Mediterranean ocean is my most treasured memory from that trip in 1991.
Monte Carlo is everything you could imagine and obviously for the players it is a tournament that is high on the list of priorities as far as destinations are concerned, however being such a small draw ( 56 in Singles and 24 in Doubles ) it is as the tournament name suggests, one for the 'Masters' only.
So how does a team with a combined doubles ranking of 1032 'sneak' in to a tournament of this prestige ??
Romain Arneodo is from 'just down the road', Cannes to be more precise and he currently owns a ranking of 851 in the World in Mens Doubles.
Romain has won several Futures Doubles titles and in 2015 made it to the third round at Monte Carlo, once again in doubles, he appears to be a doubles exponent despite his current ranking. Romain this year has won $54. No that is not a mis print, he has won the equivalent of what a 'poor man's tennis coach' charges per hour.
Romain has teamed up this year with a player by the name of Hugo Nys who is currently ranked 181 in the World in Mens Doubles. Hugo is a resident of Monte Carlo, half his luck, Hugo has won just under 4 grand this year, much more than Romain but nothing to get too excited about.
Romain and Hugo I am sure would have felt like two school boys heading out for a kick of the soccer ball with David Beckham when they were granted a Wild Card into Monte Carlo to take on last year's US Open Mens Doubles runner up pairing of Garcia- Lopez and Carrena Busta of Spain in Round 1. Now those two can play doubles.
Now once again this is not a mis print, somehow two guys with a combined ranking of over 1000 won in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3 and in doing so secured themselves enough Euros to let the Unemployment Office in Monte Carlo know that they would be ok for a while ( $16,550 per team to be exact ).
Round two: Horia Tecau and Jean- Julian Rojer have been to at least the quarter finals of every Grand Slam event and won Wimbledon in 2015. Their combined doubles incomes over their careers works out to be just over seven million dollars and this year alone those two have won around $300,000 between them.
No Unemployment Office required for these two.
So this is what transpired in a match where I am sure the number 8 seeds would have already pencilled in as a 'certainty'.
How about a 7-5, 7-6 win to the two battlers from the French Riviera and a now guaranteed $32,010 Euros between them. What's the chances ??
Defying logic in tennis is a tough thing to do because the scale of ability at the top of the sport is outrageously high and unfortunately does not bring enough feel good stories to World Tennis on a regular basis.
When they do happen however it is something to behold because just like the story of Reda El Amrani at the Marrakech Open in Morrocco last week does, it gives the struggling players hope for the future that a break though is possible, you just have to believe.
It doesn't get any easier for Arneodo and Nys as they now take on the winner of the Murray/Soares- Haas/Huey match though their mind set now would be that they belong with the best and anything is possible.
Makes us all feel good when guys like this do well, it proves that perhaps more players should just ignore the names and play the ball, that seems to reward the ones who dare to dream.........
I have seen first hand the magnificence of this particular tennis club and a photo I took from high in the grandstand overlooking the centre court and the Mediterranean ocean is my most treasured memory from that trip in 1991.
Monte Carlo is everything you could imagine and obviously for the players it is a tournament that is high on the list of priorities as far as destinations are concerned, however being such a small draw ( 56 in Singles and 24 in Doubles ) it is as the tournament name suggests, one for the 'Masters' only.
So how does a team with a combined doubles ranking of 1032 'sneak' in to a tournament of this prestige ??
Romain Arneodo is from 'just down the road', Cannes to be more precise and he currently owns a ranking of 851 in the World in Mens Doubles.
Romain has won several Futures Doubles titles and in 2015 made it to the third round at Monte Carlo, once again in doubles, he appears to be a doubles exponent despite his current ranking. Romain this year has won $54. No that is not a mis print, he has won the equivalent of what a 'poor man's tennis coach' charges per hour.
Romain has teamed up this year with a player by the name of Hugo Nys who is currently ranked 181 in the World in Mens Doubles. Hugo is a resident of Monte Carlo, half his luck, Hugo has won just under 4 grand this year, much more than Romain but nothing to get too excited about.
Romain and Hugo I am sure would have felt like two school boys heading out for a kick of the soccer ball with David Beckham when they were granted a Wild Card into Monte Carlo to take on last year's US Open Mens Doubles runner up pairing of Garcia- Lopez and Carrena Busta of Spain in Round 1. Now those two can play doubles.
Now once again this is not a mis print, somehow two guys with a combined ranking of over 1000 won in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3 and in doing so secured themselves enough Euros to let the Unemployment Office in Monte Carlo know that they would be ok for a while ( $16,550 per team to be exact ).
Round two: Horia Tecau and Jean- Julian Rojer have been to at least the quarter finals of every Grand Slam event and won Wimbledon in 2015. Their combined doubles incomes over their careers works out to be just over seven million dollars and this year alone those two have won around $300,000 between them.
No Unemployment Office required for these two.
So this is what transpired in a match where I am sure the number 8 seeds would have already pencilled in as a 'certainty'.
How about a 7-5, 7-6 win to the two battlers from the French Riviera and a now guaranteed $32,010 Euros between them. What's the chances ??
Defying logic in tennis is a tough thing to do because the scale of ability at the top of the sport is outrageously high and unfortunately does not bring enough feel good stories to World Tennis on a regular basis.
When they do happen however it is something to behold because just like the story of Reda El Amrani at the Marrakech Open in Morrocco last week does, it gives the struggling players hope for the future that a break though is possible, you just have to believe.
It doesn't get any easier for Arneodo and Nys as they now take on the winner of the Murray/Soares- Haas/Huey match though their mind set now would be that they belong with the best and anything is possible.
Makes us all feel good when guys like this do well, it proves that perhaps more players should just ignore the names and play the ball, that seems to reward the ones who dare to dream.........
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