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Category Archives: Tournaments

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

Venus Still On Track For Melbourne

Leave a Comment Posted by footfaulter on January 8, 2012

Despite having not made any confirmation of her participation at this year’s Australian Open, it appears that Venus Williams has been putting in the hard yards back in Florida. And according to French Coach Didier Lanne, who had a one-off practice session with the legend yesterday, it’s going pretty well.

Ballou had a great workout this morning with Venus Williams! And thanks to Charly (former player Charles Eduardo Maria), who is coaching the champion during her preparation for the Australian Open, they asked us to do the morning practice with them!

Under the watchful eye of Olivier Patience, who also lives with Charlie during his tour of tournaments, but also the idol of all “RV” and Harold, the dog from Venus! We spent a beautiful morning hit in sunny Florida!

Here are some pictures which the great atmosphere but also the seriousness of the training this morning.

At this point it’s impossible to tell whether or not Venus will be making the trip to Melbourne. According to the Australians, she hasn’t made any indication about whether or not she will be participating, but this tells a more reassuring story. Needless to say, she’ll have to make a decision soon.

(source: Dider Lanne)

Australian Open, Venus Williams

Marion Bartoli Double Bagels Gajdosova, Feels Bad About It

Leave a Comment Posted by footfaulter on January 3, 2012

Despite putting in a stunning performance and achieving the seemingly impossible feat of fitting 12 aces (2 per game), 25 winners and only 5 unforced errors into a 50 minute match, Marion Bartoli also had room to feel compassion and sympathy for inflicting suck humiliation to her opponent on her home turf.

“Today I played really well, Jarka, is definitely an up and rising player and is so talented and I’m sorry I beat her that way buy I was just focusing on my own game and not really looking at the scoreboard,” Bartoli said.

“She’s a lovely girl and when I saw her in tears it was really heartbreaking but I can’t really miss a shot just for (the sake of) missing a shot so it was really hard to see her like that. But I’m sure she will bounce back, she’s an extremely talented player and I’m sure she has a great future in front of her.”

Hopefully Jarmila can comfort herself in the fact that other players have already been humiliated even worse than her this week in Perth. For example;

Australian Series, Marion Bartoli

Hot Shot: Petkovic Claims First Racquet Smash Of 2012

3 Comments Posted by footfaulter on January 1, 2012

Judging by the mangled remains of Andrea Petkovic’s racquet, doubles isn’t always fun and games for top players. According to an eye-witness, quite a bit went down when the two entertainers teamed up for the first time earlier today;

Apparently (Andrea) & JJ believed that the ball they hit in a net exchange or rally just slightly touched Spears’ racquet frame, but the umpire didn’t agree. That’s how it kind of started, both got really pissed off & even Andrea went over to Abigail & asked her if her racquet touched the ball and Abigail said nothing which made both Andrea & JJ even more annoyed.

Plus both weren’t too happy with some line calls in the MTB. Crowd booed the ump & really got into it.

Both Jelena and Andrea have both had their fair share of drama over the years (*cough* understatement of the century *cough*), so I guess it’s only natural that when they come together as a team, their very first match should apparently involve cheating opponents, incompetent linespeople and a rowdy crowd to top it all off. Bless.

Andrea Petkovic, Brisbane, Dramz, Jelena Jankovic

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: Serena and Venus Williams Land in Colombia

Leave a Comment Posted by footfaulter on November 23, 2011

After arriving in Colombia for their long-awaited return to the courts in a singles exhibition match, the Williams sisters sat down to address over one hundred national and international journalists ahead of Thursday’s matchup.

Serena on getting back to number one.
“I definitely see myself as at least in the top five. Obviously with me being someone who wants to be the best and the greatest, that’s not good enough for me. I am currently ranked twelve, and I think is a good place to start and try to find again the world number one next year. We’ll see how it goes. It’s not like I’m starting at 100 so I have a good chance of getting there very soon. “I didn’t start until summer. I worked really hard to get some good results so that I would have a good year going and a good next year. So I think next year could be a good year for me to try to make some goals and see where I can end up.”

On their rivalry
“When we play, we can’t help but take it very seriously, because we have always tried to get the best from each other, try to play the best games we can play because we are very tough competitors. We always enjoyed playing tennis a lot, we knew we had to train hard and that was part of the work we had to do, but that hard work paid off. What motivated us was the fact that we really liked tennis. Our parents have been very important in it all. They have played an important role in our lives and without their support we would never have come to where we are right now,”

Venus on the oft-discussed WTA number one spot:
“Women’s tennis has experienced two situations. There used to be number ones for long periods, but now it changes a lot. I think this is positive because the tennis is unpredictable and next year the struggle for number one will be very entertaining. My opponent tomorrow night is definitely one of my biggest challenges. I hope maybe she doesn’t play as well as normal so I can have a win. (laughter.)”

After shockingly being diagnosed with Sjogrens Syndrome at the US Open and consequently dropping out of the remaining tournaments in 2011, all eyes will particularly be on the elder Williams as she looks to overcome her biggest hurdle yet after undoubtedly the toughest season of career. And for once, she’s setting a good tone with that weave.

Exhibitions, Pictures, Quotable Quotes, Serena Williams, Venus Williams

Quotable Quotes: Li Na’s interesting take on grunting

Leave a Comment Posted by footfaulter on October 28, 2011

We all know that Li Na’s brain works in strange and mysterious ways. It shows on court when she is capable of both sheer brilliance and mind-numbing stupidity simultaneously, and it’s also a similar story off-court.

Example? The question of the week in the Istanbul press room has been on grunting and whether it should be stopped. Wozniacki was controversial in her response;

“I think there are some players who do it [grunting] on purpose. They don’t do it in practice and then they come into the match and they grunt. I understand if they do it in practice and in matches, that’s different. I think they [the officials] could definitely cut it. “If you grunt really loudly, your opponent cannot hear how you hit the ball. Because you think the grunt is so loud, you think the ball is coming fast and suddenly it just goes slowly.”

On the other hand, Sam Stosur was much less controversial, noting that she’s rarely even aware of it.

“I don’t notice ‑‑ I think when you hear it every single time, it kinda ‑‑ you become unaware of it almost. But I don’t know. I guess it’s one of those things. Some players feel the need to do it and some don’t.”

And Li? Well, you be the judge.

Istanbul, Na Li

Quotable Quotes: Vika Strikes Back..

1 Comment Posted by footfaulter on October 26, 2011

You’d think that people would know by now not to get Victoria Azarenka angry, right? And yet apparently they don’t. After her 6-2 6-2 victory over Stosur the subject quickly veered into the age-old subject of grunting.

Q. I know this has come up before, but Caroline Wozniacki has said a few things about the noise that people like yourself and Maria make. She says that some players do it deliberately, and she wishes they would stop. Has the tour mentioned this to you, anyone from seniority spoken to you about this issue?

“No, and Caroline never spoke to me about that, either. It’s not — I don’t really have a comment actually about that. I’m the way that I play since I was actually eight years old, and it’s becme the part of my movement, part of my game. So I cannot change it and I’m not gonna.

This was strike one.

Q. But what if an opponent made a complaint, which they are within their rights to do? Then what would be your attitude to that?

“I would just say, mind your own business, I guess. I hope you can beat me. That’s it. (Smiling.)

Strike two.

Q. If you had to stop doing it, could you do it?
“No.”

Q. Really?
“Really. That’s what I have been trying to tell you, but you keep asking me the same question, just trying to turn it around. And you’re not going to get another answer.”

Aaand strike three.

Unsurprisingly, that last sentence closed off the presser. I wasn’t present, but I imagine half the press room was trying to suppress laughter while those ~~british journalists~~ responsible for the questions sat mortified at Azarenka’s retort, and rightly so. I highly doubt they will dare to ask her another grunting question for a long time. And if they do? Then I’m sure she’ll be bringing out the heavy artillery.

Istanbul, Victoria Azarenka

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