The Frustration of the J-Block

I love James Blake.

Have I said that?

And not in the, "Oh my God, you're so hot!" kind of way. But in the "Wow, I really admire how you've handled yourself through everything you've been through and how you've conquered all the bumps in the road and have totally come out on top! You're a role model for any athlete and people in general! Oh -- and you're really hot!" kind of way.



I don't think many people would argue that the journey Blake has had over the last several years has been nothing short of inspirational. He overcame childhood scoliosis and was just hitting his stride in the world of professional tennis when he broke his neck, was diagnosed with shingles and suffered the loss of his father. But he came back stronger than ever, proved he was a real force in tennis, claimed a slew of Tour titles and became the best tennis player in the country, even climbing ahead of former world #1 Andy Roddick.

His dedication to the sport and his magnetic presense on the court is obviously manifested in the loyalty of a group of friends and family that are front and center at every tournament, cheering him on. They can be loud, they can be distracting, but the J-Block has certainly become a staple at any of his matches.



But as one of his biggest fans -- and a J-Block'er in spirit -- even I have to admit that it can be very frustrating to watch James play.

Take for example the 2007 U.S. Open. Blake had for years battled a naggingly disheartening statistic -- he had never won a five-set match. When Frenchman Fabrice Santoro took him to that last and deciding set in the second round, all the pundits wondered if James would be able to shake the monkey off his back and reach his personal milestone. He did, in a game that ended way past midnight, eliciting ardent cheers from fans and his opponent alike.



Two rounds later, though, he lost to Tommy Haas in another five-setter, proving he hadn't quite broken the curse.

Then there was this year's Olympics. James reached an emotional career high when he took out Roger Federer in Beijing, the first time he'd ever notched a victory against the then-#1. Unfortunately he next lost to Fernando Gonzalez in a controversial match that cost him the chance to play for the gold medal.

Later in September he pulled out his fourth five-set win against compatriot Donald Young in the first round at Flushing Meadows. But in the second round I gritted my teeth as I watched him lose the first set to 62nd-ranked Steve Darcis. If the Belgian hadn't withdrawn in the third set with an injury, I fear James may not have made it through.

In the next round he lost in straight sets to Mardy Fish.

Argh.



This week, Blake gets back on the court for the first time since New York. He's playing in Madrid where Federer is making his own return after taking a three-week break. As the eleventh seed, Blake gets a bye in the first round, but will play Gilles Simon later today. While James has never lost to the Frenchman, Simon nevertheless poses a real threat -- earlier this year he notched wins over Roger in Toronto as well as Novak Djokovic in Marseille and Tommy Haas in Indianapolis.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed and of course hoping Blake not only pulls out the win, but continues deep into the draw. With everyone in the top ten playing at the same tournament, Madrid is a great opportunity to rack up some points and, while it may be a long shot, I'm hoping James earns his first title of what's been a barren 2008.

It's been almost two years since Blake reached his career high #4 ranking after making it to the finals at the Tennis Masters Cup. Since then he's more or less stayed within a stone's throw of the top ten. But every so often I, and a legion of other J-Block supporters, are left to worry that he may soon lose that tenuous grip.

It's strange, in a way -- for all intents and purposes, Blake should be a dominating force on the tennis court. He's got power, a great serve when it's working for him, and a menacing forehand. He's had epic matches against Rafael Nadal (which he won) and Andre Agassi (which he lost) and titles at several top-tier tournaments. And, of course, those fans.

Yet for some reason, he just can't pull out a major win.

But I will continue to root for you, James, whether from the makeshift J-Block I've created on my couch or from the stands when I'm lucky enough to watch you play. And I hope that some day you're able to hold that trophy high above your head with pride.

'Til then: Fire it up one time... Bam!

Sidebar -- Kremlin Cup Update

I just wanted to write a quick post to congratulate Jelena Jankovic on her win in Moscow this week. For the first time since Nicole Vaidasova did it in 2005, a woman has won three consecutive WTA Tour titles -- in Jelena's case the China Open in Beijing, the Porsche Grand Prix in Stuttgart and now the Kremlin Cup. She's obviously ready to prove that her #1 world ranking is not accidental.

Congrats, girl!

Separately, congrats to Igor Kunitsyn who earned his first title in Moscow this week, beating the much more experienced Marat Safin in three sets, two of which were forced into tiebreakers. It was Igor's first win after five previous losses to his fellow Russian, and his victory continues the more than three and a half years since Safin has won a title -- and allows me at least one more week to smile smugly and revel in Marat's defeat.

No offense, Marat -- but yay, Igor!

See y'all next time!

From Russia With Love

Russia hasn't been the source of the the most inspiring headlines recently. They started a war with the Republic of Georgia, suspended trading in their stock exchange, and offered Venezuela a big chunk of money to buy weapons and develop its military. And that's just since August.

But on the tennis courts this week, Russians were showing off their best stuff.

Men and women were both battling in Moscow's Kremlin Cup where the likes of Dinara Safina, her brother Marat Safin, and compatriots Nikolay Davydenko, Elena Dimentieva, Svetlana Kuznetsova and others took their opportunity to seize homecourt advantage.

It's already been a pretty good year for the Russian women -- and little of the good news comes from the country's most recognizable star, Maria Sharapova. They occupy half of the top ten spots, won the Fed Cup last month, and swept the Olympic medals.

Incidentally the Beijing medalists -- Elena, Dinara and Vera Zvonareva -- also took three of the four semifinal spots in Moscow. Dementieva ended up losing a hard battle to Jelena Jankovic, preventing an all-Russian final and frustrating me again, but Vera's decisive victory over Safina puts her in her sixth final of the year.



Russian men on the other hand have struggled a bit more this year. Defending Moscow champion Davydenko holds the highest ranking at #5, but the only interesting title he's earned this year was at the ATP Masters Series in Miami. Nevertheless Russians took five of the eight seeds at the Kremlin Cup, and two will meet in the finals on Sunday -- though not necessarily the two you might expect.

Those who know me know that Marat Safin is far from my favorite player -- I've never quite forgiven him for beating my all-time favorite Pete Sampras in the finals of the 2000 U.S. Open. Since then his career has been a series of ups and downs. He was ranked #1 for six non-consecutive weeks in 2000 and 2001 but fell as low as #104 in 2006. He started this year at #57, dropped to #93 and is currently #40. As further proof of his struggles, Marat hasn't won a single single's title since the '05 Australian Open -- or even played in a final since 2006.

The vindictive side of me is ecstatic that he hasn't been able to regain his former glory -- the objective side is shocked that such a talented and strong competitor hasn't had more success against the top ten players.

In the finals Marat is taking on Igor Kunitsyn, a twenty-seven year old who just broke into the top 100 in May. But he's shown his own mettle in Moscow, beating Dimitri Tursynov, Robby Ginepri and Fabrice Santoro on his way to the finals. A win here would not only be the first ATP singles title of his career, but also rocket him into the top fifty rankings.

You can guess who I'm rooting for.



Sunday's final holds important implications for all players involved. Jelena, I'm sure, is eager to win her third tournament in a row, her first while ranked at the top; a victory for Vera could vault ahead of Venus Williams in the rankings. Marat is hungry for his first championship in almost four years, and Igor for his first ever.

We'll see if two Russians will be able to walk away with trophies in their native land. But in any case this week's play has highlighted the country's drive, ability and talent.

And, love 'em or hate 'em, they sure are fun to watch!

'Til next time, serve well and play hard!

The Guns of Mallorca

The closest I've ever been to Mallorca was a three-day visit to the nearby island of Ibiza, known best for its all-night clubbing, designer shopping and celebrity getaways.

But just to the north and west of Ibiza, floats the slightly larger island of Mallorca. It's about 1,400 square miles of beaches, mountains, Gothic architecture and quaint villages.



Mallorca, part of the Balearic archipelago, may be a little more quiet than its rowdy neighbor, but it still boasts as residents celebrities like Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas, Claudia Schiffer and Annie Lennox.

It also happens to be the birthplace and home of the best tennis player in the world -- Rafael Nadal.

No one can argue that 2008 hasn't been a great year for Rafa. He won his fourth straight French Open, his first Wimbledon title, Olympic Gold and unseeded Roger Federer as the #1 men's tennis player. But his sitting atop the rankings has been a long time coming.

When Nadal stepped on the court at the French Open for the first time in 2005, few people knew who he was. He started the year ranked #51 in the world and at the time he got to Roland Garros he had never made it past the fourth round of any Grand Slam event. I remember talking with my coworker the Monday after nineteen-year-old Rafa took the crown and saying, "Where the hell did that kid with the massive guns come from?"



Thus started Rafa's meteoric ascendancy to the top of the tennis world -- he finished the year ranked second, a position he held for three very long years.

Of course all that time Rafa was playing second fiddle to the great Roger Federer, a man he had actually beaten en route to his first major victory in Paris. It must be frustrating to be ranked behind someone against whom you have such a strong record. The two have met eighteen times in their careers, on grass, clay and hard courts, with Nadal holding an impressive 12-6 lead. I'd be hard pressed to find any other player that has been so dominant against Roger.

But regardless, for three years the best Rafa could do was #2.

It wasn't until this past August, nearly four and a half years after their first meeting -- which, incidentally, Rafa won -- that Nadal finally took his place in tennis history.

I've had friends who said Nadal was only a clay court player, that he would never be able to win on another surface. We now know how wrong that assertion is -- after 2008's Wimbledon final no one can say Rafa's only a one-surface player.



But he's had across-the-board success for years -- of his 31 career titles, seven are on hard courts and two on grass. Even when he hasn't won he's certainly made his presence known, playing in the finals twice at Wimbledon before winning this year and making it to the semis both in Australia and New York.

That's not exactly the sign of a fish out of water.

It's only a matter of time, I think, before Rafa claims his first (and second) major hard court victory. In fact I'm willing to make a fairly bold statement -- I wouldn't be surprised if Rafa completed a career Grand Slam before Roger wins the French!

Don't agree? Discuss.

In any case who knows how long Rafael Nadal will stay at the top before Roger Federer makes another play for the #1 ranking -- if last week's news holds up, it may not be until next year. But I do hope that this becomes the next chapter in a book that already includes epic rivalries between the likes of Evert and Navratilova, McEnroe and Connors, Graf and Seles. That's not necessarily a bad thing, of course; great battles are the cornerstones of all sports -- who can say they're not excited for the next Rafa-Roger match-up?

And until then, serve well and play hard!

The Upsets and the Not-So-Upsets

It's easy to forget about the smaller tournaments in tennis. Outside of the Grand Slams and the Tier I matches, I have to admit that even I find it difficult to keep up with the draws at the Cachantun Cup and the Pattaya Open.

That's not to say they're any less crucial to the sport or the players. While the majors obviously offer the most points to the winners and therefore have the biggest impact on their place in the standings, the majority of the season is played in smaller venues. And rankings can just as easily be won -- and lost -- at the lesser-known tourneys.

Take, for example, the Tier II Porsche Grand Prix fought this week, not on a racetrack, but on the hard courts of Stuttgart, Germany. The draws had Serena Williams, Jelena Jankovic, Dinara Safina and Elena Dementieva as the top four seeds, but also featured qualifiers like Sandra Zahlavova and Tsvetana Pironkova (who actually won her first round match against nineteenth-ranked Alize Cornet).

And while Stuttgart only offers $100K in prize money and 300 ranking points to the winner (I know, I know, we're in a recession and that's a lot of money -- but compare it to the $1.5M and thousand points awarded to Serena after she won the U.S. Open), by just the second round we saw a sea change: China's Na Li beat world #1 Williams and paved the way for Jelena Jankovic to reclaim the top spot in the new rankings coming out on Monday, continuing the musical chairs that is women's tennis this year.



But that wasn't the only upset.

In the quarterfinals Venus Williams dropped Safina before losing in the semis to Jankovic -- who was obviously eager to prove she'd truly earned back her ranking -- and Victoria Azarenka, who'd already beaten world #10 Aggie Radwanska, went on to oust Olympic Champion Dementieva; she eventually lost in the next round to Nadia Petrova.

By the time the tournament ended on Sunday, Jelena had taken the title, her second in a row after winning in China last week.

Summary: Serena's sad, Jelena's happy, and I'm frustrated that Elena never seems to win a match I want her to.

Clear across the globe in Tokyo, the stakes were not quite as high -- the AIG Open is a Tier II tournament with just enough prize money to buy a mid-range Toyota. But for top seed Caroline Wozniacki it held the opportunity to put a cherry on top of what's already been a pretty good year.



The teenager from Denmark started the year ranked 60th in the world, but claimed her first two Tour titles with decisive wins over Svetlana Kuznetsova in Stockholm and Anna Chakvetadze in New Haven to boost herself to #16.

She took number three when she beat Kaia Kanepi this weekend.

Winning the title in Japan doesn't quite take Wozniacki into the top ten, but it certainly pushes her to her highest career ranking, and I'm willing to bet there are plenty of smiles in her circle these days.

Congratulations to all this week's winners, and to the rest, see you next time! You never know when the next upset will benefit you!

Maybe Next Year...

The 2008 season may be over for two former champions -- and I'm not talking about the Yankees or the Mets. (Sigh.)

On Tuesday Maria Sharapova said a shoulder injury which has been plaguing her since Wimbledon would prevent her from playing the rest of the year. A day later Roger Federer withdrew from next week's Stockholm Open and said he may be sit out the rest of the season due to fatigue. (Yes, that's the same pesky rationale James Blake gave for withdrawing from the Davis Cup semifinals last month.)

Both players had been ranked at #1 earlier this year -- Maria taking over after Justine Henin retired in May and Roger just falling recently, a month after his defeat in the U.K.

Initially when each lost their spot they still posed a very real threat of reclaiming it quickly. Maria had just won her third Grand Slam in Australia and Roger, well he made a very strong argument for himself at the U.S. Open.



But now it looks like more prolonged absences for both will throw the doors wide open for their chief competitors. Rafael Nadal can put miles between him and Federer in the few remaining months of 2008, and Novak Djokovic even has the chance to rise to #2. On the women's side Maria, who has already fallen to sixth, could soon drop out of the top ten for the first time since 2003.

Hopefully, though, the break is exactly what Maria and Roger need. Of course you have to take time to recover from injury, and, as a former banker, I know something about the toll exhaustion can take on a person. When they return I hope they do so stronger and better than ever. Both have unparalleled presences on the tennis court -- Roger one of intimidation and awe, Maria of power and beauty -- and they'll definitely be missed over the next few months.

So here's to 2009! I can't wait to see you both next year.

And 'til then, serve well & play hard!

A Gentleman's Sport

Tennis is known as the gentleman's sport.

There's no bum-rushing your opponent like on a football field, slamming him into the plexiglass barriers of a hockey rink, or drawing fouls like on a basketball court. Refs don't rush out to break up fights between players, competitors and coaches aren't ejected from the games, fans don't beat up others cheering for the other team.

Tennis is one of those games where players are expected to conduct themselves with certain amount of dignity and grace.

Take for example Andy Roddick, who after his win last week in Beijing announced he would donate his prize money to help those affected by the earthquake in the Sichuan Province last summer.

Now that's a gentleman.

It's not to say tennis is completely devoid of conflict. Even I'm old enough to remember John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors ranting, throwing racquets, screaming at chair umpires. That tradition hasn't ended -- Marat Safin, Serena Williams, and even Roger Federer have been known to lose their heads on the court a bit, justifiably or not. But for the most part, you hope that players respect each other, themselves and the game.

A few recent events, however, might lead you to question the civility of the sport.

In August my perennial favorite, James Blake, was stopped short (read: "robbed") of the Olympic finals in Beijing when a shot he returned glanced off Fernando Gonzalez's racquet and sailed past the baseline. The ump said there was no indication that Gonzalez had made contact with the ball and awarded him the point.

Blake raised a stink but the ump dismissed his complaints. And when James looked to his opponent to confirm what was obvious from slo-mo replays, the Chilean made no move to admit the fault. Blake went on to lose the game and the deciding third set, a grueling nine games to eleven.



Of course no one point really determines the outcome of a match, and there have always been, and will always be, bad calls. But real athletes can't possibly be proud of winning a point they didn't truly earn.

Similarly, no pro should ever step on a court unless they're going to give their all. Take for example the case of Nikolay Davydenko who last October was fined $2,000 at the St. Petersburg Open when the umpire cited him for "lack of effort".

He cried -- seriously.



It might be an amusing and innocuous story if not for the fact that the ATP was, at the same time, investigating Davydenko in connection with a gambling probe, an allegation from which he was only just cleared last month. Apparently odds that the Russian Davis Cup semifinalist would lose his match against a little-known Argentine player increased even after Davydenko, then ranked #4, won the first set. Nikolay eventually pulled out of the match in the third with a foot injury, sparking speculation that he may have thrown the match and resulting in $7 million of bets being nullified.

Now I'm not saying that Nikolay was involved in the betting scheme. Even the best athletes can lose to an underdog, injury or not -- that's what makes any sport worth watching. But the ATP has suspended eight players for their connection to gambling, and any such association, however tenuous, sullies the sport's reputation.

And of course the most obvious stain on any athlete's record comes when allegations of steroid or drug use pop up.

Martina Hingis was enjoying semi-success in her WTA comeback in 2006-07, rising as high (no pun intended) as #6 despite the fact that she hadn't won a major singles tournament since the 1999 Australian Open. (To be fair, of course, Jelena Jankovic has only played in one Slam final even though she's currently ranked second.) But since she returned to the sport, Hingis had managed to win three tournaments total -- Rome & Calcutta in 2006 and Tokyo in February of 2007.

Then in November of last year, Martina announced her re-retirement due to a persistent injury (she first took leave due to ankle trouble -- now she was having problems with her hip). At the same time she revealed that she had tested postive for cocaine use during the previous Wimbledon Championships, a violation which later resulted in a ruling that she repay nearly $130,000 in prize money.



Hingis has vehemently denied the allegation that she used cocaine, questioning whether her sample was really the one tested and claiming that the drug came from a spiked drink. Again, I'm not here to play judge and jury and I have no intent to slander anyone. Nevertheless the accusations mark a sad end to a career that started with such a bang.

So let's keep the scandal out of tennis. You can still fight for every point without making a mess of things!

And remember, gentlemen, "please" and "thank you" are always appreciated.

Carry on.