Foot Fault!

Calling all the lines of professional tennis

Category Archives: Other

Shock Of The Century; Serena “Loves” Tennis Again…

2 Comments Posted by footfaulter on January 15, 2012

Barely over a week after she already infamously announced her dislike for tennis, Serena Williams took the most unsurprising U-Turn in the history of the world, yesterday proclaiming her “love” for the sport once again;

“I just love the sport so much; I love trophies and I love hanging them up, and I love the competition. This is what I love. This is my job and you get to do something that.. you travel the world, and you don’t get to do that often so it’s pretty cool.”

The hoopla over Serena’s comments in Brisbane were beyond comical. Not only were they not even remotely bad or shocking, but after spending the last thirteen years watching Williams use press conferences as anything from venting/therapy sessions to simply letting her crazy out and having a hoard of people listen to speak absolute gibberish, you would think they would know to take most of what the champion says with a pinch of salt.

Needless to say, I’m sure Serena had quite the chuckle over this whole episode.

Australian Open, Quotable Quotes, Serena Williams

Quotable Quotes: Nadal Calls For Less Hardcourt Tournaments

2 Comments Posted by footfaulter on January 14, 2012

Right off the back of the calendar, rankings and Davis Cup drama that we spent so much time on in the fall of 2011, Rafael Nadal has opened up yet a new can of worms by suggesting that the amount of hardcourt events should be cut due to the effects the courts have on tennis players’ bodies;

“The only negative thing about tennis, if I have to say one, is that the competition is too much”

*he says after spending the last three months complaining about every aspect of professional tennis he could possibly complain about*

“The calendar makes the sport too hard; the hardcourts are too aggressive on the body. I really believe that can change. Without health, (performance) is impossible… I am not saying that we don’t have to play in this type of courts, but thinking about health, I don’t see footballers on the hard like this. I don’t see the basketballers playing on the hard like this. All the sports that have aggressive movements are playing on softer surfaces. This surface, in my opinion, is very bad for the lower back, for the knees, for all of this. It makes me scared for my body for the future.”

On one hand Nadal actually has a point; with every passing year, tennis is taking more and more of a toll on the body. At this point, it feels like the sport is screaming out for just a slight return to simpler times when the Grass season was actually a season, rather than there being just two tournaments squashed between two slams. After all, a more prominent grass season would have great benefits from an entertainment point of view as well as the good it would do to players’ bodies.

However, hardcourts are hardcourts and will always play a pivotal and the most important role on the tour. What makes them so dangerous on the body isn’t their mere existence, but rather the (selfish) decision from the tennis governing bodies to slow practically every single hard court in the world over the last decade.

The solution of speeding up the courts is an simple one, but would Nadal really ever agree to a move that – though it would benefit him physically – would likely have less favourable consequences for his game and results? Yeah… no. And so once again it appears, probably not even intentionally, that Rafa wants to have his cake and eat it too.

All that said, it has been quite refreshing to see Nadal so candid and open about his issues with the tour, rather than sitting back and hiding behind the language barrier and his whole ‘quiet and humble’ persona. Despite common sense sometimes evading him and personal bias clouding his judgement at times, he has brought up some important points and his heart is certainly in the right place.

Australian Open, Quotable Quotes, Rafael Nadal

Video Vault: No Pressure?

5 Comments Posted by footfaulter on January 13, 2012

Ahead of the start of the first slam of the year, the Australian Open has been churning out a series of promo adverts. One such promo advert is solely on their young prospect Bernard Tomic, using footage from him as a young child. To say the advert is interesting is quite the understatement:

Incredible. From the echo, to the repetition, the epic melodramatic voiceover and the eerie “All of Australia will be watching” closing sentence.

People constantly talk about the British and the pressure they place on Murray and the rest of the Brits every Wimbledon fortnight, but this arguably goes above and beyond anything that even they have done. Let’s just hope that Tomic is ready for the figurative excrement that will inevitably hit the fan in only two days.

Australian Open, Bernard Tomic, Only god is the jurge(((, Video Vault

From The Vault: THAT 2003 Australian Open Quarterfinal

Leave a Comment Posted by footfaulter on January 11, 2012

Long before the words “Isner” and “Mahut” were ever uttered in the same sentence, the tennis world looked to a different match as the marathon match of the generation; the 2003 Australian Open quarterfinal between Andy Roddick and Younes El Aynaoui.

Roddick came into the 2003 Australian Open with plenty to prove. Despite already sitting as a top ten player and a household name, the then 20 year-old had yet to fully break through and establish himself as one of the premier players. In complete contrast, El Aynaoui came into the 2003 Australian Open at 31 and in the twilight of his career, and though he peaked and enjoyed some of his greatest results in 2003, injuries and health problems were only around the corner for the Moroccan.

So many other great marathons are celebrated for the mere statistical triumphs, but what set this contest apart from the rest was the shining quality from first game to last. Both players engaged in lengthy, gruelling rallies while flitting through a whole arsenal of different strokes – slicing, net rushing, dropshots, blasting serves and groundstrokes alike. Playing at at a high level for a straight sets best-of-three match is impressive enough, but neither ever faltered.

As the stunning shotmaking raged on and the match edged slowly into a classic, it was that vast gap in age that became a focal point in the battle. Roddick, with his relative lack of big match experience, was forced to find a never-before-used resolve and mental strength against a seasoned veteran to who it came natural after so long. Meanwhile, El Aynaoui had no choice but to push his body its very it limit as he attempted to outlast a fresher and younger player in Roddick. Even more notably was the spirit the match was played in; in a sport that has seen so many rivalries and clashes between the younger upstarts and the older, established players, the clear mutual respect and admiration illustrated both during and after the match only added to its legendary status, a sentiment that was echoed by the American after the match.

“My levels of respect for him just grew and grew throughout the match and I’m pretty sure it’s vice-versa. “He’s 31-years-old, he’s out there five hours, and he’s still standing at the end. It’s very impressive. I don’t think I’ll be able to do that when I’m 31,” he said.
“This has proven that even the old guys can still play some ball.”

Roddick went on to win this match 4-6 7-6 4-6 6-4 21-19, and though he fell at the very next hurdle, it was his first outing into the final realms of a major and arguably a defining moment in his career. By the end of 2003, he was a US Open Champion and finished the year number one. This certainly wasn’t a bad start.

Andy Roddick, Australian Open, Video Vault

Quotable Quotes: Nadal Makes A Few Adjustments

1 Comment Posted by footfaulter on January 2, 2012

One Slam title, two slam finals, a masters title, a comfortable top two finish for the 7th straight year, and yet 2011 was quite a tough year to swallow for Nadal and his fans. After the countless losses to Djokovic in the first half of the season followed by injury and defeats to just about every man and his dog in the second half, he finally made the decision to switch things up and try out a new racket in the off-season.

“My preparation is not the perfect one, and I’m trying to play with a little bit heavier racket, to get a little bit more power,” Nadal said. “(With the new racket) I’m losing a little bit of control now, sometimes I don’t feel the forehand as good as before. But it’s something that I believe can help me in the future. After the Davis Cup final I had all the rackets prepared at home to change. In theory I’m supposed to practice almost a month or at least three weeks with the (new) racket, but finally I practiced only one week, and I’m here now, so probably it’s not good enough.

“You can’t think that everything will be perfect from the beginning, but you make the change thinking it’ll be better in the future. There’s no magic, but the new racket can help a little bit to improve my game. It’s a risk I’m taking at the beginning of the season.”

What I have always admired more than anything about Nadal is his ever-present willingness to make adjustments and improvements his game. While enjoying such an illustrious and legendary career as his, it must be so easy to refuse to change what, for the most part, has been a winning formular over the year.

But that’s not how Rafael Nadal’s mind works, and while Federer is still putting himself at a disadvantage by competing with his 967,532 year-old racket frame (one that the dinosaurs probably would have turned their noses up at), Nadal is forever looking to improve even the tiniest and least important mechanics of his game. We only have to look back to the 2010 US Open and at the completely reckless adjustment to his serve on the eve of the tournament. In retrospect, the likelihood is that he would still be chasing the Career Grand Slam had he not taken that risk.

As for this specific racket change, we’ll soon see whether or not it pays dividends. But one thing’s for sure, Nadal creates easily more racket head speed than just about any other player in the history. The new racket isn’t going to single-handedly catapult him out of Djokovic’s shadow again – trusting himself to hit through the ball, and to do so in the tight and important moments, will. We’ll see.

ATP, News, Quotable Quotes, Rafael Nadal

Rod Laver talks Bernard Tomic

1 Comment Posted by footfaulter on January 1, 2012

Judging by all the sleeveless t-shirts seen on him over the past month, Bernard Tomic seems determined to show every man, woman and child his shiny new muscles – the results of his off-season fitness slug. However, that didn’t stop yet another tennis great from speaking about him and gently implying that he’s a lazy sod.

“Sometimes you hear of disturbing things, his game, maybe it looks like he’s not caring enough about his game, and sometimes you’re flat, that happens,” Laver said.

“He’s got to bring himself through that level and train himself to work all the time as hard as you can.

“He’s a great player now. But he’s got to be a champion, he’s got to win tournaments.”

2012 will be a very telling year for Bernard Tomic. For what is considered his breakthrough year, last year was infinitely strange; he had one great tournament, one or two other good matches, but beyond that it was a mass of disappointing and some quite comical first round losses after being handed a slew of wildcards. We’ll soon see whether or not 2012 will follow that same inconsistent pattern.

ATP, Bernard Tomic, Brisbane

Quotable Quotes: Serena Defends Her US Open Rant

1 Comment Posted by footfaulter on January 1, 2012

Undoubtedly one of the most memorable moments of 2011, Serena was once again quizzed on her infamous rant at the US Open final ahead of her first match at the Brisbane International. The last time she spoke on this issue she was forced to issue an apology to Asderaki, but this time it was completely different.

“I honestly think I was really toned down, like I didn’t use any bad language or anything,” she said. “So I wouldn’t change it so much. I’m an emotional player and I’m an extremely emotional person, oh my goodness. It was what it was. It was great [...] I’m always going to be me. If that means I’m giving 200 per cent then that’s how I am. I love that and I think people can respect that when they see me play.”

There’s no doubt that Serena’s rant during that fateful final was a mess. A hilarious mess, yes, but it was childish and completely melodramatic.

However, she does raise a good point as the incident – if we can even call it that – has definitely been blown out of proportion. Considering this sport has spent the last twenty years worshipping every square millimetre of earth that John McEnroe has walked on because of his routine tantrums, daily verbal abuse of umpires and his blatant gamesmanship, I think it may be time for us all to move on in 2012.

I’m not that naive, though. I’m sure we’ll be hearing about this for months and years to come.

Brisbane, Quotable Quotes, Serena Williams

Quotable Quotes: Venus Opens Up About Her Illness

2 Comments Posted by footfaulter on December 30, 2011

Four months after dramatically pulling out of the US Open due to Sjogren’s syndrome, Venus Williams has finally spoken candidly about her battle with Sjrojens Syndrome. Conversing with People magazine, the seven-time Slam champion discussed her reaction and recovery after being dealt such a dramatic mental and pysical blow.

“I couldn’t raise my arm over my head, the racket felt like concrete. I had no feelings in my hands,” she told People. “They were swollen and itchy. I realised (her match against Lisicki) would be a miserable show. [...] I would go to the doctor and start crying. I couldn’t help it. I just want a chance to play on the same field as other people, I want to feel normal, but as frightening as the diagnosis was, it was also a relief. I wasn’t crazy and I wasn’t lazy; I thought, ‘is this a mental problem? Maybe I need to work harder.’”

After reading about Venus’ experience, it’s not hard to see why her comeback has and will continue to demand such a titanic effort on her part.

Even taking the whole tennis match aspect of being a professional tennis player out of the equation, this profession demands more of it’s athletes than practically any other sport; from grueling gym, fitness and on-court training reigimes, to the constant traveling and the rapid changes in climate and conditions. The idea of managing these normal requirements of a professional tennis player while keeping her illness in check seems like nothing but an unrealistic dream.

And yet, if there is anyone with the discipline, class and sheer determination to stay on top of this illness and close out the rest of her career in style, it’s ‘The Fucking Venus Williams’. There’s hope for the legend yet.

News, Quotable Quotes, Venus Williams, WTA, WTA off-court

Dear Tennis Federations, How You Should React To Departing Players

3 Comments Posted by footfaulter on December 28, 2011

The last couple of weeks of the off-season have been ripe with news of players deciding to change their nationalities ahead of the 2012 season. First came Bogomolov who changed from USA to his motherland Russia in order to compete in the Davis Cup after a breakthrough 2011. Despite publicly admitting that they had no intention of using Bogomolov in their squad, the USTA essentially threw their toys out of their pram upon hearing the news, eventually issuing Bogomolov an invoice for $75k compensation.

A few weeks later, it was the Russian Tennis Federation’s turn to throw their own tantrum following Ksenia Pervak’s decision to play under the Kazakhstan flag in order to fulfil her dream of competing in the Olympics. For most of 2011, the 21 year-old has spoken openly about the possibility of changing flags ahead of the olympics. Even so, after the decision was finalized Shamil Tarpishev immediately went on a media rampage, stating that Pervak had no right to do so, among other things.

This week it was the turn of little-known Kiwi Sacha Jones to make a move, ditching the practically non-existent Tennis NZ in favour of Australia and all of the funding and help. Steve Johns, CEO of Tennis NZ, reacted slightly differently to the aforementioned federations:

“It was totally out of the blue. We were very surprised, a bit shocked, disappointed – all those emotions. There’s been a reasonable amount of money invested in Sacha’s career, but we quickly realised that she’s a professional athlete and, yes, while we’d like New Zealand to feature in her plans, at the end of the day she’s looking after the best interests of her career. She believes – and rightly so – that she can get better assistance playing under the Australian flag. She’s a Kiwi at heart. If it doesn’t work out for her in Australia then, absolutely, we’d welcome her back with open arms. If it does work out over there and she achieves her goals and goes onto great things then, rest assured, we’ll be claiming her as a Kiwi forever and making it pretty clear that this is where she got her start.”

It’s funny, we all know that – with the omnipresent foursome of Roddick, Fish and the Bryan Bros around – Alex Bogomolov meant absolutely nothing to the USTA until he decided to change his nationality. Similarly, with Russia overflowing with big names above Pervak and young prospects rising below her, there wasn’t much hope for the middle-of-the-road Pervak to ever really be a regular fixture in Fed Cup and Olympic campaigns. Even so, members from both federations have managed to blow things completely out of proportion.

Meanwhile, New Zealand have lost a young and fairly talented player in Jones, leaving them with only one player in the entire top 700. And yet, after their initial disappointment, Tennis NZ were able to maturely accept and respect Jones’ decision, even wishing her luck as an Australian. Hmmm.

Dramz, News

The Horrific Chakvetadze Burglary; Finally Revealed

2 Comments Posted by footfaulter on December 7, 2011

It has been almost four years since Anna Chakvetadze and her family were burgled and robbed at knifepoint in her own home on new years eve. In the years that have followed, the Russian’s once glittering career has fallen into the gutter, with the oft-discussed loss of the form that took her to number four in the rankings swiftly followed by the double hammer-blow of Chakvetadze encountering serious health problems. And while it appears melodramatic to suggest that the one remote incident on the eve of 2008 played a role in all of Chakvetadze’s woes that have followed, it’s tough to overstate just how pivotal the gruesome burglary and subsequent events have been for Chakvetadze in the four years that have followed.

Most have heard about the incident that took place; about the six masked men who gained entry by knocking the houemaid out cold and gaining entry through her quarters. After battering the 24 year-old’s father, Djamal, with a pistol and putting a knife to her mother’s throat, the thieves made away with over $250k dollars and many more valuables. The attack left Djamal Chakvetadze in need of surgery on both his shoulder and hand, while Anna was left with an injured wrist.

Sadly, this hardly signaled the end of the ordeal. Afterwards, Shamil Tarpishchev used his political influence to reach out to regional governors in order to find the thiefs and put them to justice. But all that has followed is a trail of corruption, with the police bribed into picking up six innocent men off the streets and torturing them in custody until they confessed to crimes they never committed. Djamal was eventually tipped off to the fact that the men indicted for the burlary were innocent, but even with the names of the guilty and DNA evidence of the intruders, the police continue to refuse to pay him any attention.

Thus, in addition to her tennis falling apart after the incident and her health following suit throughout this year, Chakvetadze continues to live in fear with her attackers still roaming the streets without fear of rebuttal for their crimes. Her father revealed that she still struggles to sleep and regularly wakes up in shock at 3am each time – the very time the burglars stormed their property. And considering the criminals pledged to return again to the Chakvetadze household as they made their escape, it’s hard to believe that those nightmares will be stopping anytime soon.

(via Novaya Gazeta)

Anna Chakvetadze, News, Quotable Quotes, WTA off-court

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