Foot Fault!

Calling all the lines of professional tennis

Quotable Quotes: Billie Jean Who?! Caroline fights for Tennis’ rights.

Leave a Comment Posted by on April 16, 2012

Despite losing in straight sets to Angelique Kerber the final of her own home tournament, Caroline Wozniacki still managed to leave the Kopenhagen Open with people talking about her as The Telegraph yesterday published an interesting interview on finance with the former world number one. One of her answers has caused quite the stir.

DO YOU THINK PROFESSIONAL TENNIS PLAYERS GET PAID TOO MUCH COMPARED WITH OTHER ATHLETES?
Ha ha, no. I think tennis players are actually underpaid, but I might be a little biased. I like to think we are rewarded for the hard work we put in.

From her point of view, I can actually see the logic in her answer. Certainly compared to other athletes, tennis players are certainly “underpaid”. I mean, after watching the Superbowl for the first time this year, I felt personally offended when I learnt just how much those “athletes” were paid considering how little they actually play, how aesthetically unpleasing the sport is and the fact that American “Football” is nothing but glorified throw and catch. And that’s not to mention her boyfriend being another overpaid athlete in that McIlroy dude. But still, having earnt $13m prize money and probably double that in endorsements, it’s quite a funny thing for the Pole Dane to say. So we’ll just laugh.

Karolina also took to twitter to hush the talk surrounding this quote, attempting to rubbish it with the good ol’ “I was mis-quoted” excuse. But, that only really works when the publication reporting it is an awful, trashy tabloid and not a fully transcribed interview with The Telegraph. Bless her. That said, the quote isn’t nearly as bad as many are making out.

Caroline Wozniacki, Quotable Quotes, WTA off-court

From The Vault: Jennifer Capriati’s Greatest Triumph

Leave a Comment Posted by on April 16, 2012

Last week it was announced that Jennifer Capriati will be honoured at the Tennis Hall of Fame later this year. The reaction was unanimous satisfaction at the decision to honour the former world number one and three time Grand Slam champion. And rightly so. Even by the lofty standards of those who have achieved what she had achieved, it’s difficult to think of a player who has ridden the rollercoaster of professional tennis quite as thoroughly as the American.

In her career she has enjoyed the greatest of times - bursting onto the tour as a 13 year old girl/child/infant/toddler/baby/foetus, a year later she became the youngest player in the history of tennis to reach the top 10, she defeated Steffi Graf to win the Olympic Gold in Barcelona aged 16, she embarked on quite a legendary comeback which took her from rock bottom to the pinnacle of the tennis world and brought her those numerous Slams that she was destined to win, and so on, and on, and on…

But as we have come to learn in life, sports, and never moreso than in Jen-Cap’s capricious career, the line between triumph and disaster is perilously thin. Accompanying those career-defining moments were those catastrophic times - from her infamous burnout and breakdown which culminated in her career seemingly lying in tatters as she was arrested for shoplifting and possession of marijuana, to the on-court tantrums and drama, her numerous heartbreaking losses at the semifinal stage at her home slam, her embarrassing firing from the US Fed Cup team after breaking USTA rules, the injury that ultimately ended her career and her recent struggles with drugs which left her in hospital in 2010. To say that her career has been a mixed bag would be quite the understatement.

Of all of the memorable moments of her career, what stands out most is that final against Hingis at the Australian Open in 2002. For most of the match she was simply outplayed by a more successful and better opponent, but down 4-6 0-4 and then two match points in the energy-sucking Australian heat that forced both players to sit in the shade between points, the American she dug in deeper than she ever had before, thinking through the heat to wrestle the first away with a well-thought out point finished at the net. She eventually took the match to a third set on a tiebreak after saving the second with a soul-destroying rally, before steamrolling through the final set to lift up her third Grand Slam championship in two years. Though it turned out to be the final Slam victory of Capriati’s career, it was undoubtedly her greatest. Many of her games have been popular on betting sites. Tennis betting, much like football betting, demands a deep understanding of player statistics and game dynamics. For enthusiasts accustomed to examining celtics records all time to predict football outcomes, a similar approach applies to tennis. Analyzing player performances and historical matchups can significantly increase the odds of success, paralleling strategies used in football betting.

Jennifer Capriati, Martina Hingis, Video Vault

The Kurious Kase of Karolina’s Koaching Situation…

Leave a Comment Posted by on February 1, 2012

It’s tough to believe that it has already been a full six months since we all rolled our eyes in unison upon Caroline and Piotr Wozniacki announcement of Piotr’s resignation from his coaching post. The eyes were rolling almost immediately, and every deflected ‘mystery coach’ question from the then-#1 brought more and more skepticism and criticism. But just as we had all but ceased to care about the Wozniackis and their Kardashian-esque PR stunts, they stole back attention by announcing that none other than Mr Ricardo Sanchez, Jelena Jankovic’s long time on-and-off coach. It was all about to change, right?!?1

Well, no. Not really.

I’ve never been a particularly big fan of the popular idea that Wozniacki needs to transform into a sparkling brand new aggressive player. Sure, it would be in her best interests to add slightly more aggression to her game, but so many make it sound like such an easy adjustment that can I almost understand why Wozniacki and co. have felt so pressured into her numerous recent PR fails. Almost.

The reality is that Wozniacki’s game is inherently flawed against her being more successful as a more aggressive player because she is not even close to being as great a mover or athlete as the likes of Clijsters, Jankovic, and the Williamses. Her great defence is almost solely the product of her brilliant anticipation, and it’s those notorious moonballs and her generally slow-but-heavy shots that give her the time needed to make decisions and move to wherever she needs to be on the court. Thus, her being more aggressive automatically has a detrimental effect on her ability to chase those balls down. That coupled with the gaping technical and mental flaws that also stop her from attacking, and Copenhagen, we have a problem.

All that said, the idea of Ricardo Sanchez entering the fore and (almost literally) whipping the Dane into shape was an encouraging sign. Despite forming a polarizing figure on the WTA, the Spaniard has more than proven pedigree on the tour. But evidently, they didn’t even give him a chance. I think it was clear from Wozniacki’s very first match in 2012 where this was headed. While he would scribble at least 4-6 A4 pages of notes down while borderline obnoxiously shouting and cheering Jankovic after every point, with Wozniacki he simply sat far in the background in complete, utter, irrelevant silence. And now? He’s gone for good.

I would use the rest of this post to scold Wozniacki and her team for reverting back to old ways so quickly, but from where I’m standing absolutely nothing has changed in the six months since talk of Wozniacki’s new coach was first muttered. If anything, there is ironically more pressure on the Dane now that she has dropped off the top spot than ever before. If the situation after Kvitova leapfrogged her at Wimbledon was worrying, then the rise of Azarenka - a long-term occupier of Wozniacki’s shadow - to Australian Open Champion and #1 must have put even more doubts and negativity into her head. She has now dropped from #1-#4, certainly one of the biggest falls from the top spot on either tour, and between now and the French Open she has an incredible 4000 points to defend, which could see her drop than anyone on the entire tour.

Wozniacki’s biggest weapon over the last year and a half has been her confidence, and upcoming period will test that steely confidence in every possible way. We’ll soon see how she reacts.

Caroline Wozniacki, Only god is the jurge(((, Piotr Wozniacki, Ramblin'

Hot Shots: Venus Works Up A Sweat Ahead Of Comeback

Leave a Comment Posted by on January 26, 2012

Despite withdrawing from this year’s Australian Open, Venus Williams has kept to her word and has been practicing heavily ahead of her long-awaited return to tennis in next week’s Fed Cup tie against Belarus.

Her form upon her return is truly a mystery, with the few tiny glimpses we caught of her during the handful of off-season exhibitions she participated in not being particularly encouraging. However, the American has once again been training with Monacan player Benjamin Balleret, in addition to sporadic hits with French player Charles Edouard Maria and their coach Didier Lanne. Lanne’s comments and pictures from his personal blog continue to paint an encouraging picture as the legend attempts to fight her biggest opponent yet.

Another beautiful morning spent with “Coco” Edouard Maria! (Benjamin Balleret) has again been training with Venus Williams (who is preparing for her return in February helped by his father Richard and our very own Charly!) and this under the eye of Mr. Dexter Manley !

Lanne also made reference to the personal time he has spent with the Williams family, including having the privilege to listen to one of Richard Williams’ famous stories, in addition to his coaching recipe for success.

“1. The player’s confidence
2. The coach’s patience
3. Looking for the short ball and going for it.

More (important) than everything BUT believing in god! “

So there you go; now you all can go and make some legendary WTA tennis players of your own. Sounds easy enough.

Pictures, Venus Williams

Quotable Quotes: Martina Hingis Discusses WTA Depth

Leave a Comment Posted by on January 26, 2012

Though often a critic of many of the WTA players on tour, when asked about the supposed lack of depth on the WTA during yesterday’s press conference, Martina Hingis’ reaction to the suggestion that there is no depth on the WTA in 2012 was very telling.

Are you serious? Are you kidding? I mean, now with the great matches we see, Lisicki played already against Kuznetsova. That was a great match. Now she plays Sharapova and it was a great match. I don’t know.

First rounds, come on. How about Djokovic killing everyone in the first three rounds or Federer not losing a set, more than three games in a set.

I mean, it’s just sometimes that’s the way it is. If champions are champions, they’re well‑prepared and they’re going to play well from the beginning.

I hear no lies.

Sharapova was actually asked an identical question last week, and it is hilarious that for most of the last three years, the WTA has seen such a myriad of different players of different ages, gamestyles and nationalities breaking through into the later stages of Grand Slams. And yet the one rare time that the semifinal lineup is filled with only Grand Slam Champions and top 5 players, it automatically means that the sport has no depth.

Though they attend the events and act the part, it’s tough to believe that many of the people who ask such questions truly pay much attention the sport they are paid to write on.

Australian Open, Quotable Quotes, WTA

Roger Federer and Rod Laver Share Their War Stories On ESPN

Leave a Comment Posted by on January 26, 2012

It is probably not often that Roger Federer gets starstruck and nervous from merely being in the presence of a person, but judging by the amount of nervous smiling on show from the GOAT, sitting down in the ESPN studio to chat with Rod Laver was one of those rare moments.

ATP Off Court, Australian Open, Roger Federer

How To Fend Off Anti-Grunters - By Maria Sharapova

2 Comments Posted by on January 25, 2012

After her quarterfinal loss to Victoria Azarenka yesterday, Agnieszka Radwanska took aim at Maria Sharapova, calling her grunt “annoying” and “too loud” despite having no problems with her friend Azarenka’s grunt. Needless to say, the Russian didn’t take too kindly to her comments when informed of them a day later and bit back in true Sharapovian style.


Q. A lot of players this week have made comments talking about how they think the noise that you and Azarenka in particular make is excessive.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Who?

Q. Radwanska was one player that said she thinks the noise you and Azarenka make is excessive and she’d like to see the WTA change the rules to prohibit that.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Isn’t she back in Poland already?

Q. Yes.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: When did she get a chance to say that?

Q. After she lost her quarterfinal.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: She lost the match?

Q. Yes.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: You’ve sure obviously asked me this question before. I’ve heard it a few times over my career. You’ve watched me grow up, you’ve watched me play tennis. I’ve been the same over the course of my career. No one important enough has told me to change or do something different.
I’ve answered it many times before. I’m sure I’ll answer it many more times ahead. I’m okay with that.

As always, brilliant stuff from Maria “More Effortless Shade Than A Willow Tree” Sharapova. It’s no secret that she and Radwanska aren’t particularly fond of each other, and that coupled with Radwanska’s comments a couple of days ago having more to do with her liking Azarenka and disliking Sharapova, make it even more comical. A figurative knockout uppercut from the 24 year old.

Speaking more generally, the recent obsession about grunting has been absolutely astounding to watch. Usually, the tabloids at Wimbledon are the ones who make a massive deal over the grunting for two weeks, and aside from that, nobody cares.

But this year, there are suddenly commentators openly broadcasting their disgust during matches, writers are dedicating an obscene amount of space to it, and press conferences are being bombarded and hijacked on that one subject. All of these hassles can be avoided by choosing the best sports betting provider. The main advantage of online sports betting is that it is safer and less risky compared to real gambling. To find the best betting providers, read this beste sportswettenanbieter blog and find out all kinds of bets available for your game. Meanwhile, Nadal is getting away with receiving some of the most blatant illegal coaching in the history of tennis (even Carlos Rodriguez and Justine Henin would never!), while Nadal and countless other men are bending the rules to the limit in the amount of time they spend between. Double standards and hypocrisy are fun!

Agnieszka Radwanska, Dramz, Maria Sharapova, Only god is the jurge(((, Pictures, WTA off-court

Tomas Berdych Feels The Wrath Of A Drunk Australian Crowd

8 Comments Posted by on January 22, 2012

Late in their titanic four-set battle, Tomas Berdych and Nicolas Almagro found themselves in an entertaining exchange which finished with Almagro drilling a ball so hard at his opponent that the seventh-seed ended up in a heap on the ground. The incident was not quickly forgotten by Berdych, and after clinching the match he made his thoughts on Almagro’s body-blow clear by refusing to shake the Spaniard’s hand at the net.

To say the crowd didn’t take kindly to Berdych’s actions would be the understatement of the century.

This whole incident was the epitome of overreacting. Did Almagro need to smash the ball straight at Berdych? Probably not. Should Berdych have shaken Almagro’s hand? Of course. The biggest overreaction, however, came from the clearly intoxicated crowd who put Roland Garros to shame as they booed mercilessly during Berdych’s on-court interview. Even worse still, as he attempted to carry out his Eurosport interview, a man nearby interrupted the interview, repeatedly shouting at Berdych and calling him a “prick”. An appalling overreaction for what was still a relatively minor incident.

Australian Open, Dramz, Nicolas Almagro, Tomas Berdych, Video Vault

Bernard Tomic pays tribute to Justine Henin in Melbourne

3 Comments Posted by on January 20, 2012

Only four days after happily admitting to the press that he had used gamesmanship as a main tactic to come back from two sets to love down against Fernando Verdasco, Tomic decided to take things even further while fighting for his life in a fifth set against Dolgopolov.

This time, he decided to channel Justine Henin by stopping mid-point and putting his hand up to issue out a challenge. When Ramos appeared to have not seen Tomic’s gesture and Dolgopolov hit an error after assuming that the point had been stopped, Tomic made the decision to act like nothing happened, before flat-out lying when asked on-court.

After clinching the fifth set and match, his take on the incident afterwards was very telling;

Q. What happened at the end of the first game in the fifth set.

BERNARD TOMIC: Yeah, it was a long rally, a slice rally. Four, five slices and he hit the ball long. I knew the ball was long called, but I looked to the umpire’s chair because I sort of had my head down. I knew where the shot was. So even though I liked to the ref to see what his reaction was, because I didn’t hear him, I didn’t say a thing.

I knew I got the slice back. It was on my frame. I was looking at him whether he was going to say “out,” but I continued to play. He thought I was going to challenge it. Got lucky I didn’t say anything.

Q. So in your mind you didn’t challenge?

BERNARD TOMIC: No, I didn’t challenge but I looked ‑‑ sometimes before the ref says “out” and overrules, he lifts his arm.

At that time when he didn’t say “out,” I continued to play. So I went like that. Alex thought I was challenging, and I didn’t focus on that shot.

After Henin’s ‘Hand’ incident, Serena Williams later described her actions as “lying and fabricating”. If this isn’t the very Oxford dictionary definition of lying and fabricating, I don’t know what is.

Umpire Sergio Ramos has to shoulder sine of the blame after completely missing Tomic’s gesture, but Tomic’s actions both on and off-court were abhorrent at best. The Australian came into this event as one of the most polarizing players in tennis, but at this point it is fairly clear that he is going to leave it simply as one of the most hated. And for good reason.

Alexandr Dolgopolov, Bernard Tomic, Dramz, Only god is the jurge(((, Video Vault

Marion Bartoli Discusses Her Exclusion From London Olympics

1 Comment Posted by on January 19, 2012

After spending the last couple of months appealing to the powers-that-be for a reprieve to the FFT’s ruiling that Bartoli would not be participating in the Olympics, it appears that Marion Bartoli finally all but admitted defeat while addressing the issue after yesterdays victory over Jelena Dokic.

“It’s really heartbreaking for me. Honestly I really do feel I have a chance to make a medal over there and especially at Wimbledon, on grass, where I had so much success in the past, and can’t go there just for some stupid reason [...]”

The “stupid reason” Marion is referring to, is one that requires teammates to train together as a (*gasp*) team during the week of the tie. Rather than training with the team, Bartoli has always requested for the rules to be changed in order to allow her father coach her during Fed Cup weeks.

This issue is also one that has actually been previously visited. Back in 2002, then-Fed Cup Captain Billie Jean King made the decision to exclude Jennifer Capriati - her number one player - after she was caught receiving illegal coaching from her notorious father on the evening before the first match.

Capriati learnt her lesson however, and she didn’t ever attempt to challenge the rules afterwards. On the other hand, four years after facing her first Olympic snub in Beijing, Marion is still complaining and refusing to comply with the rules. If she really wanted to represent her country at the Olympic games, then she only has herself to blame.

Dramz, London Olympics, Marion Bartoli, Quotable Quotes

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