Holiday Special!

With Christmas right around the corner, I think it's time we take a look at who had seasons that put them on the naughty and nice lists for 2013. being the eternal optimist that I am, let's start with the positives.

THE NICE LIST:

Rafael Nadal - Was there any doubt he'd be on this list? With a 75-7 record on the year, 10 titles including 2 majors and almost $15 million in prize money; I'd say he had a pretty decent return after a 7 month layoff. Rafa silenced critics by making the final of almost every tournament he played and by adding hard court championships at Indian Wells, Montreal, Cincinnati and the US Open. He also regained the #1 ranking.

Novak Djokovic - Yes he had some tough losses to Rafa this year ( French Open, US Open). But it's hard to fault a guy who finished the year 74-9 with 7 titles. He also went on a 20+ match win streak after the US Open and beat Rafa in back to back events to close the year. Novak is one of the best at stoking his competitive fire and he demonstrated that with his late season charge.

Andy Murray - First man from great Britain to win Wimbledon in 77 years. Enough said.

Serena Williams - There is simply nobody else on the WTA that opponents fear as much as an in form Serena. 78-4 on the year with 11 titles. She also collected major titles at the French and US Opens. It is a true sign of dominance when you are the tournament favorite by simply entering the draw.

Marion Bartoli - It doesn't even matter what she did before Wimbledon or that she retired immediately after. Marion Bartoli accomplished a life long goal by taking the title in London. She exhibited class in the face of tremendously unwarranted criticism after the tournament as well. Rarely a trendy pick to accomplish big things, Marion showed the world the heart of a champion.

THE NAUGHTY LIST

Roger Federer - The Swiss Maestro fell to his lowest ranking since 2003 this year. he finished the year 45-17 with just 1 title. That is actually not a bad year but it falls short of the standard expectation everyone has for Fed. He makes my list more due to the confidence issues he seemed to be experiencing. Racquet testing, coaching change and just generally being defensive all indicate a crisis of confidence in 2013. I am curious to see how he rebounds in 2014.

Bernard Tomic - This kid just continues to be a dumpster fire. He has immense talent and absolutely zero drive to maximize it. He seems perfectly content to be mediocre and live off of his tabloid exploits. He has a tremendous amount of work to do in developing the mindset it takes to be a champion. Oh and to top it off, his father/coach was banned form the tour until the middle of 2014 for after assaulting Bernard's hitting partner. The epitome of class idiocy.

Petra Kvitova - Petra is a very confusing player. She seemed poised to breakthrough after winning Wimbledon a couple years ago. But her best result in a major this year was the quarters of Wimbledon. She just seems to be on a constant roller coaster from event to event. She is a tremendous ball striker when on her game and a stack of unforced errors when she's not.

Victoria Azarenka - She makes this list solely based on the fact that I have to mute my TV every time she is playing.

Who would you put on your tennis naughty and nice lists for 2013?

Sliding Into Home

Last week it got announced that the first round Davis Cup tie for the U.S. vs. Great Britain in 2014 will be held at Petco Park in San Diego, the home field of the San Diego Padres. I immediately got excited due to the fact that I have relatives I can mooch off of I I can find my way down there. I went from excited to intrigued when I read that they chose to put an outdoor clay court down for the round. My initial reaction was a bit hesitant but the more I got to thinking about it, it makes sense. Here's why I think it could work:

1. Level Playing Field: In 2013 the team chose fast indoor hard courts to try and take advantage of the big serving of Isner, Querrey, etc. Having seen the Boise round first hand, I can tell you that the strategy appeared to backfire. In suffering a defeat to Serbia, it was the U.S. who looked tentative and not hitting out while the Serbians took full advantage of the court pace (um Ilija Bozoljac playing completely out of his mind anyone?). Nobody on the U.S. or U.K. squads has an amazing record on clay. Y,es Andy Murray has some solid results but he lacks any kind of title on the surface. After him, none of their likely guys have great results. Isner and Querrey, while not naturals on the surface, do appear to have gotten a bit more comfortable in recent years. The Bryans have already demonstrated they are capable on clay. Bare minimum, the surface should possibly play more neutral for everyone. 

2. Training Chaos: Putting a clay court down immediately after the Aussie Open could deter Murray from even making the trip over. Yes, he has said that if he is healthy he is going to play. However, he won't be that far removed from back surgery and rehab if/when he plays in Australia. A quick change of surface could be something that he won't want to do when he could potentially risk his season if he aggravates something.

3. Better Crowd Engagement: The tie is over Super Bowl weekend next year. In 2013, their first round was the same weekend in Jacksonville against Brazil. I watched that round as a nervous wreck because at that point we knew that if they won they were Boise bound. The arena was absolutely empty. The match was still in the air on Sunday and there was just nobody there. Brazil hung in the match in large part due to their small but extremely vocal fan base. For the 2014 match, the plans call for a reduced seating size (8,000 instead of 10-15k seat arenas). This means fans should be in closer proximity to the match overall and it should be more likely to draw closer to a full house. Davis Cup is a competition unlike any other in tennis when it comes to fan involvement. The U.S. team needs to capitalize on this fact and engage the crowd more than they did this past year. A revised seating plan could help them do just that.

I am excited to hopefully get down to this round in person next year and see what happens. I think it could be a big boost if the U.S. can pull together as a squad and make a run to the Davis Cup final next year. The quest will start in the outfield clay (so weird to say!) at Petco Park.    

Are You an Innie or an Outie?

Before we get into way too many personal details, let me be clear that I am referencing tennis in the title and not anybody's belly button. I got to thinking this week while on the court. It has been one of those weeks in Idaho where we are deep into October and it still hits 70 degrees outside. I went to hit on an outdoor court and found myself stunned at the lack of players on the outdoor courts. All of the indoor courts were in use but there was not a single person outside besides us. It was as if everyone was conditioned that since it was October, they must play inside. This thought inspired me to compare what I enjoy about playing inside and outside and try to come up with a favorite.

INSIDE:

1. Power bump. Everybody's shots are a bit bigger inside. I always feel like I can tee off a bit more on serves and ground strokes when I am inside.
2. No pesky wind. There have been many times in which I (less than silently) curse the windy days here. It always seems that the days are calm except for match nights and then the wind decides to pay a visit.
3. No sun. There's no strategy about who is going to serve on what side of the court when you are indoors. I don't have to worry about balancing the order of serving with the side I am on. Plus I always have personally enjoyed getting to keep my retinas.........
4. Climate. Admittedly this one is a bit of a pro and con for me. There are times where it can get insanely humid on indoor courts here. I like the challenge of seeing who is the fitter person on court as the conditions can start to take it out of you. However, I don't really like feeling like I just stepped out of the shower 10 minutes into warmup and then constantly needing to towel off.

OUTSIDE:

1. More action on the ball. Playing outside seems to allow for better action on topspin ground strokes and kick serves. It might not feel like I can hit as hard but that gets countered with a bit more movement on shots. I think Rafa Nadal would agree with me as his record is atrocious indoors and his ball never seems to have the same jump to it. Granted I am light years away from his spin but I do notice a difference in my game.
2. Conditions can be challenging. I know it sound negative (and it may be in the heat of the moment), but when I look at it objectively, I appreciate the challenge of being outside. The conditions are not always going to be favorable and you have to be able to adapt. It forces you to perhaps step outside your comfort zone and think about the adjustments you have to make. Plus this is true for every level of play. The 2012 US Open match between Murray and Berdych was completely decided on Murray's adjustment to the massive wind and Berdych's complete failure to manage it. 
3. It is just plain tough to beat a warm, calm day in Idaho. When the sun is shining, it's 70 outside and there's not a cloud in the sky, I wouldn't want to play anywhere else (ok I'd probably play outside in Fiji instead if that was an option).

As far as picking a favorite, that's pretty tough. It probably depends on the situation for me. Just out hitting or playing a friendly, I'd probably pick outside just to soak up some sun and enjoy the social aspect. In a competition setting, I'm probably partial to indoor. I like the fact that it limits the variables for everyone. What do you think? Would you rather play inside or be on an outdoor court?  

Robo Player

I just have to share a bit of personal excitement this week. The Racquet above is the new Babolat Pure Drive Play. Or as I prefer to think of it, Robo Cop's racquet of choice. This thing is the first racquet to have sensors, a gyroscope and an accelerometer built in to record data. It can pinpoint RPMs, frequency of stroke types, where on the string bed you make contact, etc. It sends this data to your smart phone or computer wirelessly or via USB. The reason I am excited about this is the fact that I got selected to play test this thing in the near future! I am very intrigued at the training potential a tool like this offers. Coaches would have access to a wealth of data at the touch of a button and could access it in real time. You could get immediate feedback on the impacts of alterations to stroke mechanics, movement patterns, etc. I'm not sure about the actual competition use (Babolat did receive an ITF waiver making it legal for all levels of play in 2014), but I do think it has tremendous training potential.

An interesting aspect that clearly hints at their intention to get this into the hands of developing juniors is Babolat's implementation of global leader boards. Just like most new video games, you will be able to see how your stats rank against everyone else in the world that is using the Pure Drive Play. Think you have amazing topspin? Let's see how you stack up globally. Just when I felt good about my game, this will get here just in time to put me in my place!  

Only time will tell if this will be a novelty or if it will truly revolutionize the way players and coaches train and analyze development. Until then, I'm just excited to combine Super Mario and tennis in a single package now.

Race to the Top

With the US Open firmly in the rear view now, both tours have moved on to the Asian swing of their schedule. This is a crucial leg for both men's and women's tours as it is the last run of opportunities for players to crack the top of rankings and punch their tickets to the season ending tour championships (my favorite of which is the men's, which boasts the shorthand title WTF). For me, the true drama to watch unfold is the battle for the number one ranking on the men's side. Novak and Rafa both have shots at it and it could very well be determined by this swing of events. Let's take a look at why each of them should have the year end #1 firmly on their to do list:

Djokovic: Could anybody other than Novak have the kind of year he has had and still have it be viewed by many as sub-par? To me, he has become the victim of high performance and expectations to some degree. He had such a massive 2011 and had a very solid 2012 as well. Now everyone expects him to continue to dominate, which just isn't realistic. Even Nadal, when asked how to beat him at the end of 2011, has said that he simply had to wait for Djokovic's playing level to drop back down to Earth a bit. That being said, Novak does have some work to do. He did not get it done in hard court Master's 1000 events this year, lost his bid for a career grand slam in a 5 set epic at the French, got rolled up in the Wimbledon final and took a 4th set beating in the U.S. Open final. Djokovic did manage to win the Aussie and snap Nadal's streak at Monte Carlo but he seemed to falter in a fair amount of the big moments this year. He just hit the 100 week mark at number 1 and keeping it would allow him to build back some confidence going into 2014. For me, I saw a little too much of the Djoker of the past this season. He had more moments of going away mentally, yelling and gesturing to his box and just pulling a "Mopey Murray" routine more so than in 2011-2012. He could use a hard court win over Nadal in one of the Asian events or at the WTF to remind himself that he completely owned Rafa in 2011 and part of 2012 and could do so again. Tennis at the pro level is a game of adjustments. Nadal seems to have made the necessary adjustments to how he plays Djokovic, so now it is Novak's move in their chess game. If he can make the right moves, he could lock up #1 again and set up for a big 2014.

Nadal: Not real sure what else Rafa getting back to #1 could be other than the exclamation point on an absolutely ridiculous season. In my mind, Nadal is an absolute lock for two awards at the end of the year. He will win Comeback Player of the Year & Player of the Year by a mile when this season is over. The guy spent 7 months out of the game and tempered expectations when he came back by just talking about being happy to back on the court. He might be happy, but everyone else not named Steve Darcis (who I will probably never have reason to mention again, ever) that has had to play him is probably pissed. All he has done is amass a 63-3 record, winning 10 titles in 12 finals appearances. He won his 8th French Open, setting the record for most titles at any single Grand Slam, blitzed the summer hard courts by winning in Montreal and Cincinnati and then capped it by taking home the title in New York. He also exorcised the demon named Djokovic by dispatching him in France, Montreal and New York. He made adjustments to how he plays Novak and changed his hard court game overall. He is playing much more offensively, using his serve as a weapon and maintaining court position better than in the last couple years on the surface. Nadal's passion for the game is always firmly evident. He flat out loves the grind and pain it takes to be great and has openly admitted it. For him, getting back to #1 this year would reinforce the work and time he has put in since his injury last year. It would send notice to the rest of the tour there is no safe space on any surface when he is in the draw. Rafa plays a style of game that is tailor made for statement making. If he gets to #1 by year end, that will be a serious statement for Novak and the rest of the gang to think about for 2014.

What do you think? Will Djokovic keep his hold on the top spot or will Nadal reclaim it?

Ps. Congrats to Novak and Jelena on their engagement! Looks like the current top player has found his own #1!  

I'd Fire the Court Designer

image by Laurent Raymond via www.atpworldtour.com

Okay, no earth shattering topic this week. Simply something that I think is just wrong. The above image is from this week's Moselle Open in France. In case you can't tell, the court at the tournament is gray on gray. This has to be one of the ugliest tennis courts I have ever seen. I watched a little bit of a match between Paire and Becker last night and trust me, this picture does not do justice to how hideous this court surface looks. I actually thought for awhile that there was something wrong with the TV and the colors had been knocked out. To my horror, I slowly realized, "Dear God, that is the actual color of the court!" Look, I am all for experimental court colors. I actually thought the blue clay in Madrid last year was cool and made it easy to locate the ball. It was too bad they couldn't figure out how to keep the surface stable once they added the color.

The Moselle court is a case where the saying "There's what is and what should never be." is an apt description. The color combo of 2 grays does nothing but make it look drab and absolutely mind numbing to watch. It's like the court is broadcast in black & white while everything else is in color. The fans must agree with me as there was nobody there whatsoever, even with a French player playing. I'd say some things are better left to the professionals but after seeing this, maybe next year Moselle should let a toddler pick the court colors.

Why I Love Final Set Tiebreaks!

After some technical difficulties, I'm back!

With the U.S. Open in full swing, I thought I'd share my thoughts on one of the aspects that makes the Open unique among the Grand Slams. The U.S. Open is the only Slam that utilizes the final set tiebreak instead of the win by 2 format of the others. In a nutshell, no 70-68 score is coming to come out of New York in the month of September.

I for one, love the tiebreak format for this event. I know it has its detractors but I think it adds a great deal to the game. For one, I think it creates a sense of urgency with the players. No offense to Isner or Mahut, but that epic Wimbledon match was largely 2+ days of neither doing anything on the other player's serve. The tiebreak rewards players willing to stay aggressive on their return games and go for shots. It limits the ability to focus on just your serve and brings a focus on balancing serve and return games. I also think it ups the ante on the end of the match being a battle of mental toughness. Knowing you are mere points away, rather than games I think really lays bare who has the mental fortitude to find a way to win and who is going to crumble under pressure. You also can't discount the crowd factor as well. A tiebreak can provide for a very exciting finish and the crowd can get fired up knowing every single point counts.

What do you think? Is the final set tiebreak a great way to keep the only American slam unique or should we let the players grind it out as in the other majors?

Ps. As a friend pointed out today, I find it very bizarre for Grand Slam mixed doubles to use no-ad scoring w/ gender specific serving (as seen in the final today). It's not local league, they are all professionals on that court!  

Candy on the Court

Ok, so the story I saw on ESPN last night was just too ridiculous for me to not write about. According to reports, Maria Sharapova is attempting to legally change her name to Maria Sugarpova in time for the U.S. Open. For those of you not in the know, Maria launched a line of candy this year called "Suagarpova" so this is a nice marketing stunt to promote her line (which by all accounts is proving to be quite popular).

I can even begin to fully describe the absurdity I find in this story. I am calling it right now. Maria Sharapova has no chance of winning the U.S. Open. Not only is this name change story floating around, but there are some other issues as well. Jimmy Connors just recently lasted all of 1 official match as her new coach. He was one and done after her loss to Sloane Stephens at the Western & Southern. I have a hard time seeing Maria as 100% mentally focused and ready to win the title in a couple weeks. It seems like she has some other interests at the forefront of her mind right now and that will make it difficult to beat someone who can be so singularly focused like Serena if they meet up.

I will say that a part of me hopes that this starts a trend of ridiculous stunt marketing in tennis. With Maria taking a page from the Chad "Ochocinco" playbook, it can only get more entertaining from here. Maybe Federer will wear that Super Mario mustache from his latest Wilson ad during the tournament. Perhaps Rafa will become Rafael Babolat? Maybe Tomas Berdych will get a giant H&M tattoo somewhere to promote his relationship with his clothing sponsor. I just hope we get to see Bob & Mike "E-surance" entered into the doubles draw.

It sounds like Maria has some legal hurdles to clear before this name change can happen. Here's hoping the U.S. Open is a "sweet" one for her.....

The Del Po Show

As we approach the start of the U.S. Open next week, I find myself reflecting on a player I have become a big fan of over the course of the last year. Juan Martin Del Potro has steadily grown from a player I saw as just another giant with a huge serve and forehand into a player I find myself actively rooting for. It all started for me during his match at last year's Open when he lost to Djokovic in the quarters. While it was a straight set victory for Novak, I was blown away by the passion, heart and determination on display from Del Potro. He genuinely fought for every ball and every point and the crowd responded by cheering him on and applauding his effort. In the time since then, he has shown time and time again that he will fight for every match and isn't afraid to put his emotions on display. He also has a deceptive game that it takes awhile to appreciate. While he still has a cannon serve and one of the biggest forehands in the game, he also has a great slice backhand and moves incredibly well for someone of his size.

Del Potro could easily have taken some events off after winning in D.C. in order to rest before the U.S. Open. Instead, he showed up at every event, made deep runs and played some of the most entertaining tennis of each event. He has grown on me so much that it hurt to hear about how after he got injured and missed all of 2010, he struggled to deal with it and ended up not doing any tennis related training in that year off. Talk about going from the mountain top (winning '09 Open) to the valley! I am happy to see him gaining ground on the big 4 again and will be glued to any of his matches at the Open that I can see. August 26th can't come soon enough! Who else is rooting for the big guy?

Disappearing Doubles

As I make the rounds at Junior tournament events this summer, I am struck by something that I consider a tennis tragedy. Not only are tournaments struggling with declining draws (a trend across the country) but the doubles events are shrinking or being removed due to a lack of participation at an alarming rate. I have been to so many events in the past few months where doubles draws have been cancelled or are round robins with 3 or so teams. Part of my job is to work to fix this going forward (at least locally). Doubles is a crucial part of the game that needs to be celebrated and encouraged. Here are a few reasons why doubles needs to be pushed at every level:

1. It's a great way to get kids to increase their comfort level at the net. Let's face it, modern tennis for juniors revolves around who can hit 1 more shot from the baseline as hard as they can. Doubles is a great way to work on volleying ability and encourages variety as well.

2. It teaches skills that go beyond the "me first" orientation of junior tennis today. You have to be able to work together to succeed in doubles. Doubles play grows communication skills, strategy and teamwork beyond what players can develop solely on the singles court.

3. It makes the event itself more enjoyable. Doubles has the capacity to be more social than a singles match. We should be encouraging the social aspect of junior events, not putting kids into their own little bubbles where they play their singles match and go home. Let's give kids some reasons to hang out, socialize and interact in ways they otherwise might not.

4. Doubles makes players more attractive as recruits. If your player wants to move on to play after high school, they better have a good handle on doubles play. There are plenty of schools with players on their team that may never crack the singles lineup, but they are great at doubles and can give the team a chance to win that crucial college doubles point.

I don't have the answer yet for how to fix these issues. However, I am committed to working on it and to getting our local events on the upswing with participation. Hopefully by next summer, we will be talking about doubles dominating the scene again!

Now That's a Big Check.....

Well the U.S. Open is about to get a major upgrade in the coming years. It was just announced yesterday that the New York City Council approved a $500 million expansion of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. This move allows the USTA to replace portions of the facility that are significantly outdated as well as make improvements and additions. In exchange for approval, the USTA committed $10 million for improvements to Flushing Meadows Corona Park. The USTA will help establish a non-profit to fund the park and will also be offering kids tennis programming as part of the agreement in addition to an annual job fair for Queens residents. That community commitment is the big standout for me. So many times, corporate entities are viewed as raiders because they annex and expand without focusing on offering anything to the communities they are impacting. Not only does this agreement allow for the continued improvement of the USTA's signature event, but it will hopefully make an impact on the number of kids who have access to tennis opportunities. I understand a large portion of this is "keeping up with the Joneses" syndrome, where the USTA has to be pro-active in order to continue to make the U.S. Open attractive for TV and attendance revenue (which let's be honest, I'm all for since that is a major portion of how we are able to operate on a local level!) However, I do feel that the USTA has shown a significant commitment to engaging local communities and putting resources into the game (as they should). You don't even have to look very far from our own Idaho backyard to see that. Part of the Davis Cup coming to Boise included a grant from the USTA that will be used to rehabilitate and add family friendly tennis facilities at Ann Morrison park.

Tennis continues to grow here locally and will hopefully continue to grow on a national level. I just hope that when the time comes for the USTA to write that $500 million check, they have local kids from their tennis programs deliver it as one of those giant novelty checks!

Rules Were Meant to be Broken (by coaches of a certain age)

Brace yourselves tennis fans, what you are about hear will most likely be world shattering for your ears to take in. In a recent Spanish interview Toni Nadal, Rafa's coach and uncle, announced that "I talk to Rafa during matches. I know that it is not allowed but I think that at my age I have nothing to hide." NO WAY!!!! I am completely stunned to find out that the two of them have conversations and exchange comments during matches. They have always been SOOOOOOOO nonchalant and secretive during play...... In other related shockers, Novak Djokovic admits to questioning his teams gameplan during matches when he is losing. Oh no wait, EVERYONE ALREADY KNOWS THESE THINGS! Maybe now that Toni has come out and said this, we can lose the elaborate methods some coaches use to circumvent the no coaching rule the ATP and Grand Slams use. I'm talking the complex hand signals that Bartoli's dad used at Wimbledon, that Toni has used before, etc. Now we all know their secrets! I know you aren't really stretching or doing yoga in the stands coaches!!

Maybe they should all take a lesson from the coach of the most recent Grand Slam champ:

    

What the Wimbledon?!

I don't even know what is happening in London right now. This has been the craziest Wimbledon that I can remember. Seeds have been dropping like flies left and right. I challenge anybody to show me that they picked Flipkens, Janowicz or Kubot in the semis and quarters before the tournament started. The tournament has been absolutely littered with upsets and injury withdrawals so far. Unlike so many people that want to blame the grass at the All England club, I think it is far more of result due to scheduling. As much as commentators like to throw out the term "grass court season," there is no such thing. A 2 week period with a couple tuneup tournaments in between the culmination of the clay season and the lone grass court major does not constitute a season. Grass is probably the most unique surface left on tour and I feel it should have more of a true season. The players have little time to adjust to the different movement grass court tennis requires. It was most evident in Nadal's match. He looked completely uncomfortable, which to me was a by product of the fact that he skipped all of the warm up tournaments.

Starting next year, the break between the French and Wimbledon will be 3 weeks but I'd like to see it expand a bit more. A little extra time could give some breathing room to players who go deep into the French while still giving them a chance to play a warm up event. I also feel like this could help minimize injury risk by increasing the time players have to get acclimatized to the surface. There are already distinct clay and hard court seasons, so let's put some more thought and attention into the grass portion of the schedule. Obviously it's tough to add tournaments to the already packed schedule but some things could be tweaked. For instance, why is there a clay court women's tournament in Europe AFTER the French? That's one more event that could be a grass court tuneup potentially. But before I continue to rant, I'll remember that I don't work for the ATP or WTA and I have my own tournament schedule to worry about. Here's to looking forward to a wacky weekend at Wimbledon! I'm calling it now: Flipkens and Kubot, 2013 Champs! ;)

Ps. If you happen to need something tennis related while online, be sure to click on the Tennis Express link on the right. I am happy to have them as a sponsor of my blog now! Help yourself, them and me out by visiting for your tennis related online purchases!

Poly for the Pint Size

The last few weeks I have been able to make the rounds to several junior tournaments in our state and section. It is amazing to me to walk around these events and hear the non stop distinct crack of polyester strings making contact with the ball. I have also been getting more and more requests to string junior player frames with polyester. These events have motivated me to try and provide some education to any junior player parents reading my blog on some key points of polyester. First let's focus on the primary benefit of the string:

People love polyester for the additional power and spin it can generate. The way it does it is by something referred to as "snap back". When you contact the ball, the mains grip it, slide down along the crosses and then quickly snap back into place as the ball leaves the stringbed. It is this snapping feature that imparts extra RPMs on the ball and increases the spin and explosiveness of the shot. Polyester is also enjoyed for it's durability. It doesn't fray apart or snap as rapidly as multi or synthetic gut.

Overall, if your child is not breaking multi-filament strings on a regular basis (8-10 hrs), then you really don't yet have a need to go to poly. That being said, everybody wants to hit like Rafa this days and poly is the hot string. Here are some basic guidelines I would recommend if your junior is going to use poly:

1. Start by trying a hybrid setup. Use a poly main and a multi cross string. This will still give you the added spin production of poly but the crosses will help soften up the string bed and impart better touch and feel. This setup will also be easier on the arm. There are lots of pre-packaged hybrid options available or you can experiment with some different combos on your own. Durability can sometimes be an issue with hybrids as the mains can eat through the crosses but it is still an excellent starting point.

2. If you are going to go to a full set of polyester, start by finding a softer option. Polyfibre TCS, Solinco Tour Bite Soft and MSV Co-Focus are all excellent options for a soft, comfortable poly. They may not have quite the same pop as a stiffer poly, but they will play more comfortably and be less taxing on your child's body.

3. Attention to tension! Polyester is a pretty stiff material by nature. As such, you can lower your tension by a few pounds typically without the loss of control associated with dropping tension on other materials. Lowering the tension can also help the strings play more comfortably.

4. Know that "snapback" doesn't last forever! While it is an inherent feature of polyester string, it is a characteristic that goes away. Over time, poly will lose its ability to snap back into place. This loss of resilience is what people are referring to when they say their poly is "dead." As it loses this ability, it plays stiffer, loses feel and increases shock to your arm.

5.Accept that you need to re-string more frequently. The biggest mistake juniors make with poly is that since they can't break it, they leave it forever. Regardless of whether or not your player is breaking the strings, you need to be prepared to cut them out and replace them. The longer you leave them in after the go dead, the more you are increasing the risk of injuries like tennis elbow, etc.

6. LISTEN TO YOUR CHILD! If your child says their arm or shoulder hurts, pay attention to that!

Polyester has definitely been a game changer for tennis since its introduction. As players develop, it can enhance their shot performance once they have developed solid mechanics. I strongly recommend that you gradually phase it in with your junior player and educate yourself with the great resources available on the subject.

Get your lawns trimmed and your strawberries and cream ready, it's almost Wimbledon time!!!!

Fed Fade

SPOILER ALERT!!!!!

I hope those of you reading this have either seen the match, or read the results so that I am not spoiling anything for you.

And just like that, Roger Federer is out of the French Open. His run was stopped courtesy of good old home town favorite Jo Willy Tsonga. Overall it was a pretty straightforward 7-5, 6-3, 6-3 win for  Muhammad Ali Tsonga. Seeing the match left me with some takeaways:

1. Roger Federer needs to play from the front: Yes he did just come back from 2 sets to 1 down in the previous round. However, that was against Gilles Simon. You could have seen that coming a mile away. I'm talking about Roger needing to get a quick jump on the top guys in order to win these matches. It's not like he's the crypt keeper out there, but let's face facts. His stamina and ability to come back from a deficit against players who are younger and just as fit if not fitter, are not what they used to be. He was up 4-2 on break in the first and when he let that slip, the rest of the match got away from him. Roger is at a point now where he really needs to play clean, strike first tennis early in matches in order to have the best chance at winning against other top players.

2. Tsonga is progressing: Seeing his play today makes me think that his decision to start working with Roger Rasheed was a very smart decision. He has slimmed down a bit and it is showing on court. There is no question that Tsonga has always been athletic, but trimming down has clearly added to his ability to stay in points and track down balls (a must when playing on the dirt). Addtionally, I thought his decision making today was a great step forward for him. He has a well known pattern of making very stupid interesting decisions when it comes to point and shot construction. Today, I felt he stayed much more within himself and looked determined to not beat himself out there. Even when he was up, he stayed in the driver's seat emotionally and played the match on his terms from start to finish.

3. The door is open: Federer being out creates a fantastic opportunity for either Tsonga or his opponent in the semis, David Ferrer. Either Tsonga gets back to his first Grand Slam final since 2008 or Ferrer reaches his first. One of these two is at least going to get a shot at taking some hardware out of the hands of the members of the big 4. Unless Haas and Wawrinka pull upsets of the century, the road to GS glory will still have to go through Nadal or Djokovic. Regardless, this is still the best look either of these guys (or anybody else for that matter) has had in a long time.

I am so excited for the final this weekend. The potential story lines could be:

• Nadal wins record setting 8th title at a single Grand Slam event
• Djokovic wins career Grand Slam and keeps bid alive for Calendar Year Slam
• 1st time Slam Winner (Haas, Wawrinka, Tsonga or Ferrer)

Buckle up folks because this is when it starts getting good!

Redefining Rivalry

With under a week to go before the start of the French Open, the to players appear to be rounding into form. Aside from a bizarre inability to close out from Novak, Rome went pretty much as expected this past weekend. Serena did what she usually does when focused and playing cleanly and Nadal took ol' Fed to the woodshed again on clay. The thing I found most interesting in both matches was the commentators discussions of rivalries involving each player. Here's my thoughts on rivalry with both of Rome's Champions:

Serena: It was comical to me when the commentators made the effort to say that Serena had current rivalries with Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka. I'm not entirely sure what dictionary they are using, but my definition of rivalry has something to do with it being a two sided affair. With Sharapova, Serena has only a nail biting 13-2 advantage in the head to head stats. The last time Maria beat Serena was in 2004! In the last 6 years, Serena has dropped a whopping 2 sets in their matches. This smells of something, but I don't think it's rivalry...... Now let's look and Serena and Vika. Serena leads their head to head 12-2. Again, what a neck and neck match up! I will note that Azarenka does have a recent win over Serena this year in Doha. However, that merely seems to have angered Serena who is now on a career long winning streak. Here's the bottom line: Is Serena beatable by either of these two? Yes. Will take a fair amount of help from Serena herself? Yes. Let's face it, when Serena loses, it has more to do with sloppy play and a lack of focus than getting outplayed. If she stays as determined as she has been, it will take a breakdown from her or a flawless performance form someone to take her out.

Nadal: Now this one is a little bit muddier when you compare him and Roger. After all Roger does have more Grand Slams and more overall titles than Rafa. Again though, let's look at the head to head. After that beat down he delivered in Rome, Nadal now has a 20-10 lead head to head. Nadal also has a massive lead in their match ups that have occurred in finals. Hard courts have definitely been more back and forth than clay (shocking I know.) I think the real question here is if Roger can really be called the GOAT when he has such a dismal record against one of his contemporaries. I'm not saying he can't but I do think there's a debate there. Nadal fans will point to the head to head stats while Fed fans will go to his better ability to win consistently on all surfaces. Overall, it's probably an issue that will be debated for long past the time when they both hang their racquets up.

How do you define rivalry? Does it have to be two sided or is it just about the frequency of match ups?

Arrested Development

Ahhh John  Tomic. You are such a classy individual. Not only have you raised a son who has been a complete embarrassment success so far in Bernard, but now we can add your recent assault arrest to your sparkling resume. For those who haven't heard, Mr. Tomic was arrested prior to the tournament in Madrid for allegedly head butting and assaulting Bernard's hitting partner Thomas Drouet. Apparently, as the story goes, the assault was in response to Thomas disagreeing with John previously striking Bernard in Monte Carlo and stepping in between them again in Madrid. Up until this point, I had been content to lump John Tomic in the group of overbearing tennis parents that includes Melanie Molitor, Stefano Capriati and Richard Williams. However, now that he has graduated to assault, he gets to join an even loftier club. John Tomic, I would like to welcome you the the Insane Tennis Parent Club (ITPC)! Fellow members include Marinko Lucic (reported in 1998 as beating daughter Mirjana to help her focus), Jim Pierce (assaulted fans, beat daughter Mary and threatened her) and Damir Dokic (called officials "Nazis", ejected for fighting over cost of a plate of fish at US Open). Congratulations John for this tremendous achievement! Not only are you apparently a man who has no boundaries, but you are also well on your way to instilling your attitude and behavior into Bernard (see his recent run of great choices.) I applaud the ATP suspending John's tournament credentials and I hope it becomes more than temporary.

Parents, there is a lesson to be learned here. Tennis has a long history (just like any sport) of parents living out their own dreams and desires vicariously through their children. The results have ranged from the burnout and loathing of the sport experienced by Jennifer Capriati and Andre Agassi as a result of their parents to the actual outbursts of violence listed above. I think it is time for these parents to truly see the ripple effect their actions have on their own kids. I  for one hope that Tennis Australia suspends their funding of Bernard if he continues to use his father as his coach after this string of incidents. These people need to be directly shown that their actions not only negatively impact themselves but their children as well. For now, I encourage parents to encourage balance in their players lives. Make sure that when your child steps onto the court, it is their dream their are living and not yours. I'd prefer to limit the Insane Tennis Parent Club to the current members only.

Happy Tuesday!      

The Seeds of Disagreement

The clay season is in full swing on both the ATP and WTA tours. Nadal and Sharapova have both defended clay titles and Djokovic played spoiler to Nadal in Monte Carlo (on a side note, it has to be nice for Djokovic to be able to win the trophy and then just take it down the street to his house and watch a movie.) With the French Open rapidly approaching, an interesting topic has come up. There have been rumblings and discussions about whether or not Nadal should be given a seed at the French that is higher than his current ranking (#5). Let's play Yay and Nay with this idea:

Yay: I think by now we all know what Nadal's record on clay and at the French is. He definitely can't be considered the #5 player in the world when it comes to playing on the dirt. He has collected multiple titles on the surface this year and has throttled all the best clay court players with the exception of Djokovic. Taking history, injury layoff and recent performance into account, he would easily be above #5 when it comes to seeding. Allowing him to be #5 creates early match ups that would otherwise be later into the tournament. He could potentially see Djokovic in the quarters. Tennis needs its big names in big matches. The quarters are simply not going to cut it in terms of getting eyeballs tuned in. If Wimbledon can do it, why shouldn't another Grand Slam be allowed to use their own formula to create their seeding?

Nay: The idea of giving Nadal a higher seed into the French is the definition of a slippery slope. There is a reason that Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam allowed to utilize their own formula for seeding. Grass is an outlier when it comes to the playing surfaces on tour these days. The Wimbledon formula take into account current ranking, plus all current grass results and the best grass result from the previous season. Clay is a much larger portion of the tour schedule and should not be considered in the same light as grass as the percentage of play on the two surfaces is vastly different. The other portion of the issue involves the concern over match ups  What exactly is everybody worked up about if Nadal is seeded #5? It is an issue for the sole reason that it makes it likely for him to play Djokovic in the quarters. Obviously, everybody wants that match up to be deeper into the tournament than that. But allowing the seeding to be changed in deference to to the match up just opens way too many doors. By altering the seeding, the ATP would create a precedent for tournaments to be able to manipulate their draws more than they should. Tournaments could then shift seeds, etc to try and create their dream final. I'm not saying that this is guaranteed to happen but i think it makes it more difficult for the ATP to block if they have allowed the French to do it. There comes a point where everybody needs to simply play the hand they are dealt. Nadal is #5 for a reason. He was off for an extended period and has also had mixed results on surfaces other than clay in the last couple years. Despite his record against some of the players in front of him (17-4 against #4 Ferrer), he should have to play his way up the ladder just like anyone else would be expected to.  

Bottom line, I disagree with any seeding modifications for the French Open. Wimbledon is the lone established exception to how the seeding format works. The age old saying "if it ain't broke, don't fix it," applies here. Nadal was broken, not the ranking system. If he should be seeded higher, then he needs to play, stay injury free and get results that warrant a rise in the rankings. Get your popcorn ready, it should be a heck of a quarterfinal round in a few weeks!!                                                                  

Davis Cup Post Mortem

I am a bit behind the times this week but I still need to get my thoughts on Davis Cup out. It was such a great event for the city of Boise and for tennis in Idaho in general. I think we were all witness to a watershed moment for the sport in our state last week. Let's cover some winners and errors in review:

WINNERS:

1. Sam Querrey can battle. Early on, it did not look good for Sam on Friday afternoon. He was struggling to find his range and was a bit flat overall. But boy did he turn it on and make a comeback. His win on Friday to even the tie at 1-1 put the US team in the position I think everyone figured and hoped to be in heading in to Saturday.

2. The crowd. While it may not have been a sellout, I thought the crowd was great. The arena, especially on Saturday and Sunday, was loud and into the match. I also thought the Serbian contingent that was able to make it to the matches was very vocal and supportive of their team. I think the crowd support and excitement was everything the USTA could have hoped for.

3. Novak Djokovic showing why he is the world number 1. Whether it was his domination on Friday or his sheer will to come through turning his ankle on Sunday, you have to be impressed by the guy. His competitive fire is second to none. For a guy who early in his career had a reputation for going "walkabout" and retiring from matches if he didn't feel exactly perfect, he has shown over the last couple of years that he has become the complete player both on court and mentally.

4. Ilija Bozoljac. How could anybody walk away from the doubles match and not be at least mentally rooting for him? He came in ranked in the 1100's in doubles and played absolutely out of his mind in a match they had to have. I now dream of being able to hit anything remotely resembling his backhand return down the alley. That thing was a display of sheer beauty and violence. Even if his win resulted in disappointment for the US squad, the trues tennis fan should be able to tip their hat and acknowledge one of the gutsiest performances in recent memory.

ERRORS:

1. U.S. team engagement. Hopefully I won't get nailed for this opinion. I thought the American team showed a real lack of engagement on the bench. Between the singles guys just up and disappearing and them texting and playing around on their phones during matches, I was severely underwhelmed with the team's enthusiasm. To me, they all just looked obligated to be there. Even when they were engaged, it was not to the level that the Serbian team was. Passion is a must for Davis Cup. It gets the crowd into it and can definitely swing the momentum. It nearly cost the U.S. in the last round against Brazil and I think it was a factor here.

2. Altitude/Court Surface. Well, this was a choice that seemed to backfire. The altitude and faster court seemed to help the Serbians more than the U.S. squad. In singles, we looked like we struggled to find our range while Djokovic and Troicki played smart, opportunistic tennis.. In doubles, the Serbians were hitting out on the ball while the Bryans looked a bit tentative.

3. Strategy. I felt like the Serbian team made the better adjustments throughout the weekend. They played to their own strengths and found weaknesses in the Americans game. On the U.S. side, some of the decisions were kind of head scratchers. I think at some point, I would have been done giving Bozoljac backhand side serves on crucial points.......

Overall, this was the most exciting weekend of tennis in Idaho ever. To have the #1 player in the world and the #1 doubles team of all time in our city playing for their countries was just an awesome sight to see. I got to meet players and coaches from both sides and all of them were 100% genuinely excited to be in Boise and had a great experience. Hats off to Serbia for pulling through and my hopes are that the U.S. will come out strong and hungry in next year's World Group. How did you feel about the Davis Cup tie in Boise?      

Show Them The Money!!!

Psst, hey journeyman players...

You're about to get a nice gift from the USTA over the next few years at the U.S. Open. This week, the USTA announced that not only are they adding an additional $4 million to the overall prize money at the 2013 Open (on top of the $4 million increase agreed to in December) but that they will increase the overall prize money to $50 million by 2017. That will essentially be double what the prize money was last year at the U.S. Open. Here's the good stuff about the agreement:

1. This will have a great impact on lower ranked players that most likely make early exits from the tournament. A good share of the money increase will probably go to increasing the early round payouts. This gives those players a better opportunity to offset their travel, coaching and training costs. You have to remember that not everybody on tour is rolling in the sponsorship cash like the big 4. Djokovic made a strong point when he said that players in the top 200 "...deserve to have a better living in the sport."

2. Could this possibly mean that the doubles players might get a pay bump?! I feel that the doubles side of the tour is greatly underrated and under compensated. It would be nice to see a pay bump come their way since we are out of the era where players made a living by playing both singles and doubles.

3. The USTA, ATP and the Player's Council are working together. After having to sit through annoyingly contentious labor disputes in the NFL, NBA and NHL, it is nice to see a professional sport that is able to have meaningful discussion and debate. They were ultimately able to reach a solution that doesn't involve strikes or ridiculous sniping over media outlets for months on end. The USTA also showed it was willing to listen when they made the decision to scrap the Super Saturday format and permanently schedule the men's semis on Friday and the final on Sunday. The players have asked for that the last couple of years and the USTA recognized the tour is a different animal now and that change was necessary.

My one area of concern with the pay bump is the USTA's acknowledgement that they will be taking a hit by increasing the prize money payout. As an employee of a USTA district, we are reliant on funding from U.S. Open revenue. I just don't want to see the resource distribution to districts get impacted in a negative way. We need all the resources we can get to grow the sport and I am positive USTA National knows that. They have said they have a plan and I look forward to hearing what that plan entails.

That's it for now. The Davis Cup countdown is now at 9 days! I'll be doing some blogging from the matches throughout next weekend. The office is going to be certifiably INSANE until it's over. But that's what happens when the biggest tennis event in Idaho history comes to town.

Ps. Captain Courier: If you need a last minute fill in for doubles, I will bring my gear and dress in the red, white and blue. You can count on me!    

Every "Hard Yard" is a Mile...

I read an article in the last few days about the most recent "scandal" involving up and comer Bernard Tomic. It had something to do with his association with some criminal/underworld types back home in Australia. Reading this got me thinking about some things. Tomic is no stranger to controversy. He can't seem to figure out how to drive a car within the limits of the law, punches friends and does various other things that could be chalked up to youthful stupidity. However, he is also widely viewed as frequently wasting the large amount of tennis talent he has. His own Davis Cup captain and advisers have labeled him as having a poor work ethic and a lack of commitment.

Tomic is not alone. When I think of him, some other names come to mind. Ernests Gulbis, Richard Gasquet and Donald Young are a few that come to mind immediately. All of these guys have large amounts of talent but seem unwilling/unable to apply the necessary steps to capitalize on it. Gulbis and Young say really stupid things publicly and Gasquet fluctuates between playing incredible tennis and incidents like the one where he had to fight a drug suspension by saying he tested positive for cocaine after kissing a girl in a club (seriously?)  They all are also widely viewed as having poor work ethics.

There was a great quote about Andy Murray's off season training this winter that talked about him putting in the "hard yards." To me, that perfectly sums up what separates the big 4 from the field and especially the aforementioned players. Each of them are consumed by a desire to be great. Federer is well known for having a tremendous competitive fire. Djokovic has transformed into a monster in the last couple years. Nadal has shared how he finds pleasure in the painful moments on court and Murray broke through last year and transformed his game's weaknesses. Each of them has a passion for tennis that goes beyond just the on court hours. Tennis is a part of who they are, not just what they do. It is these "hard yards" that result in them seeming to be miles above their competition. Tomic, Gulbis, Gasquet and Young seem to be content to be where they are (still amazing compared to any of us hackers), but don't seem to grasp what is necessary to be great. For them, tennis has office hours and an off season.

To me, the hype surrounding a lot of these up and coming players (Tomic, Raonic, etc) needs to slow down. Somebody will break through at some point. For now though, the big 4 are clearly beyond the rest of the tour when it comes to commitment and desire. Talent is nothing without the will to apply it. It will be a race to see which younger player can figure out that puzzle first.

"Champions keep playing until they get it right." -Billie Jean King

When the Sharks Start Circling

In the blink of an eye, we went from the tennis tour off season to being past 1 grand slam and in full spring swing! One of the biggest stories so far post Aussie Open has been the return of Rafa Nadal. He came back at a couple low level clay tournaments in Chile and Brazil and is currently through to the semis in Acapulco. Based on what I've seen, if I were any of the other sharks in the top 5, I'd smell blood on the clay for sure. Here's why:

1. Movement- Rafa has yet to show the same level of movement he typically has. He has looked a bit lethargic and has had a tendency to let many shots go that, in years past, he would have run down and smacked winners off of. He has even publicly acknowledged that he feels he lacks power and explosiveness in his legs.

2. Power- Just doesn't look to be hitting with the same power yet. Lots of shots landing short in the court. You might be able to get away with it at Masters 250 tournaments but Djokovic , Murray and Fed will eat those shots up and order seconds. Rafa's clay game is predicated on using his forehand to hit deep in the court and get the ball up high in order to setup winning shots. If he is unable to consistently do this, that does not bode well. He already struggles to keep his backhand deep consistently so if he is now struggling to do so on the forehand side, his weapons become limited even more.

3. Mental- You might as well spin a wheel each day if you are trying to get a read on his mental state. It is a constant stream of comments about how he is happy to play and improve, coupled with statements about how his knee still hurts and how he doesn't know day to day if he'll be up to the task. His camp has always been secretive and shifty with their comments to the point of fueling conspiracy theories. If you have been living under a tennis rock, the rampant theory is that Nadal has not been injured and has been serving a "silent ban" for doping the last few months. His last minute withdraws and vague statements this spring have done nothing to dissuade the proponents of the theory either.

4. Diminished Aura- He is just not coming off as the "King of Clay" right now. He lost in Chile to a journeyman and has dropped sets to several others. Opponents just don't look scared of him right now. Of course I'm sure he still mentally owns the rest of the Spanish Armada. If he can dismantle Almagro and Ferrer over the weekend, he might get a bit of swagger back.

I'll be surprised if Nadal plays Indian Wells and Miami. He was non-committal earlier this week and I would assume he'd prefer to stay on clay. It saddens me to think he may transition to only playing around 4 hard court tournaments a year. I could see him playing Aussie and the US Open with a warmup tourney before each. As of right now, he seems to be focused on getting ready for the French. Hopefully he knows those other guys are circling, ready to snatch Roland Garros. It's shaping up to be an intriguing spring!   

Budgets, Bottom Line and the Baseline

Need to vent about something today. I spent some time in another part of the valley yesterday and got the chance to make the rounds at a couple schools. As a lot of you know, spring tennis season is about to get underway at many schools. The middle school I visited informed me that their district has instituted a new $25 per player travel expense for their spring sports this year to offset transportation costs. To be honest this was heartbreaking to hear. Tennis already struggles at many schools and this could crush participation. I coached at the middle school level for a few years and we routinely had 110-120 kids at tryouts. Since it was No-Cut, that meant 22 kids on A team and around 70-80 on B team when it was all said and done. That's tough to coach but is fantastic for tennis! The school I was at yesterday had maybe 35 kids on their signup sheet.

I understand the need to offset the busing costs, but this could kill tennis in some of these schools. If the prevailing thought is that the kids who participate in tennis are going to be able to afford the fee for the most part, that thinking is incorrect. I had many kids who were just good athletes that needed something to do in the spring. They were not necessarily big into tennis and having to pay $25 would have been something that many were unwilling/unable to do. It shouldn't be discounted that many kids discover a love of tennis by "accident." I started playing tennis because it was the only school sport offered for 7th graders when I was in middle school. It started as something to occupy my time and became a lifelong passion. We should do everything we can make to make this possible for kids, not put more obstacles in their way! By high school, yes it probably does filter down to kids who have families that can afford it. That is not the case at the middle school level!!!

Middle school is a pipeline. Kill those programs and high school tennis will die with it. Tennis is already probably at the top of the list for "expendable" sports at schools. Instituting policies that hamper participation does nothing but ensure the steady decline and removal of tennis from the slate of offerings over time.

I encourage all of you that read this to find a way to give back. Donate to your middle school and high school booster clubs. Donate to our foundation that sponsors junior tennis participation. Donate your time. I am more motivated than ever to do everything possible to keep racquets in kids hands and provide the opportunity for as many kids as possible to find their passion!

"From what we get, we can make a living; what we give however, makes a life."
                       -Arthur Ashe

Happy Black History Month!!

My Cup Has a Name and It Is Davis

Well after a weekend spent anxiously watching the US Davis Cup opening round match with Brazil, it is official. The Davis Cup is coming to Boise in April! We knew we had a shot at getting it if they won, but after the Bryans lost and then Isner lost in 5 sets, I was sweating bullets. Props to Sam Querrey for dropping the first set, but holding his composure and closing it out when we needed it. And what is the reward for all their hard work? Why a date with the world #1 and Serbia of course! I am so excited to be a part of bringing the Davis Cup here and to build the excitement for it. This truly is a milestone and historic opportunity for tennis in Idaho. On top of all that, I have so many new friends since the news came out! I imagine that this is the tennis equivalent of what it is like when you win the lottery or become a famous musician all of a sudden. Friends you never knew you had come out and I am waiting to hear from a supposed long lost sibling or something like that. All jokes aside, I urge everybody to get excited and help spread the word. Let's turn Boise into tennis central come April!

Tennis is Why We Have the Mute Button

The Australian Open is now in the books. Congratulations to Novak Djokovic and Victoria AzaSHRIEKA Azarenka for their hard earned victories. Now that the tournament is over, I can reflect on the value of my TV remote's mute button. Eugene Polley and Robert Adler are widely credited with the first remote control to have a mute button in 1956. They must have been tennis fans and knew what was coming for the rest of us! I love watching tennis, but my ears want to remove themselves from my head and run away during most matches. The decibel level and rapid fire nature of the game's worst offenders is just too much for my delicate sensibilities. Sharapova and Azarenka are the worst in my book on the women's side. The men's tour is not off the hook either. When I watched the semis, I found myself thinking "What the hell is that noise" every time Ferrer struck a ball. Thanks to the wonders of modern technology, I am only one button push away from pure, silent, bliss. I become free to watch the drama of the point unfold without wondering which linesperson is running a dingo through a blender off court.

The mute button is doubly effective as it eliminates the drone of commentators as well. Andy Roddick made a nice point the other day as he observed that a commentator encouraged a player to "be more aggressive" then barely a few points later, chastised the player for not being "more patient." The mute button lets me add my own commentary, which is always insightful and spot on :).

On an interesting side note, one of the men credited with the remote control, Robert Adler, passed away right here in Boise, ID in 2007.

On ANOTHER interesting note, I did some research today and found a technology that will solve the WTA's current "grunting" issue. Right here right now, I am calling for Hawk Eye on every court and the new "SHUT IT BOX" on every court. Here are the details on what could change the future of tennis:

SHUT UP GUN INVENTED IN JAPAN!! 

"The difference between involvement and commitment is like ham and eggs. The chicken is involved; the pig is committed." - Martina Navratilova

Art of the One Handed Backhand Compliment

Ahh Roger Federer. You sir never cease to amaze me. Your prowess on the tennis court is second to none. The skills you possess have given rise to nicknames such as "Swiss Maestro." However you are the master of one stroke that has been sorely overlooked. I am referring to your mastery of the one handed backhand compliment (OHBC). Your ability to sound like you are praising somebody else or being self-depreciating while actually reminding all of us of your greatness is simply second to none. In case you are new to the art of the OHBC, allow me to translate some examples:

1. January 2013- Speaking about a possible 3rd round match with Bernard Tomic: "He will be making a mistake thinking about me in the third round because he also has to get there."

OHBC TRANSLATION: "It is a forgone conclusion that I will reach the 3rd round. It is simply impossible for me to lose prior to a quarterfinal. Losing early is for mortals like Tomic."

2. August 2012- On losing the Olympic gold medal match to Andy Murray: "Andy was better. And Andy also played the match of his life."

OHBC TRANSLATION: "I would have won if Andy had not played the single greatest match of his entire career. He would not have had a chance had I played the match of MY life."

3. August 2012- Again on Andy Murray's Olympic rebound after losing Wimbledon: "It was really nice to see his reaction after a crushing Wimbledon loss to come back and win the Olympic gold."

OHBC TRANSLATION: "I was happy to see that I had not entirely crushed his soul when I won Wimbledon. I am glad that people are able to continue playing after such crushing defeats at my hands."

4. Rotterdam- On his doubles participation: "I don't play doubles often, but when I do, I tend to win a lot."

OHBC TRANSLATION: "Normally I let those silly doubles players win their events. Sometimes though, Zeus must descend form Olympus to put the commoners in their place."

5. Undated- On whether or not Andy Roddick can be considered his rival: "For me I'm in the driver's seat; I'm no. 1 in the world. I've won the last couple of meetings and I've won the big tournaments lately. Whoever comes, I'll try to beat him. But it's almost up to me to decide who's my rival, isn't it?"

OHBC TRANSLATION: "Seriously? The application process to be my rival is lengthy and has to filled out in triplicate in each of the 4 languages I speak. To date, nobody has been approved by me as my rival. The only Rival I currently have is a crock pot that Mirka and I use for fondue."

Federer is undoubtedly an all time champion. I just hope we can all grow to appreciate his backhand both on the court and off.

"This is already my 10th grand slam in such a short period of time. I amazed myself."

                 -Roger Federer

The Power of Pink

Your eyes do not deceive you. That is indeed a pink tennis shoe. If you haven't seen or heard already, this is the colorway for Roger Federer's 2013 Australian Open campaign. Here is how this shakes out for me:

1. Pink is not for girls. I was ahead of the curve on pink. I wore a brown tux with pink vest and tie in my wedding. That was in 2007! You are 6 years late Nike!

2. Federer can wear whatever he wants. He could come out in a polka dot shirt, zebra stripe shorts and glitter Nike Vapors and he would still own the mental edge over virtually every opponent. He has earned respect on court no matter what he has on.

3. Tennis is becoming an increasing fashion platform. Federer is already seen as somewhat of a style icon for the men's game and this is just an extension of using him as on court fashion model. Tennis gear has increasingly become about making a statement in the last couple years. Prime examples are the custom designed Adidas Barricades and Nike Vapors now available as well as the rainbow (aka "unicorn vomit") Asics shoes this year. I doubt Federer would be caught dead in any of those, so to me the pink seems like a way to put him on the "edge" while still having him be the "elegant" player many describe him as.

4. This feels like a missed opportunity to me. How is this not tied to a breast cancer campaign? Obviously I'm being idealistic about Nike's responsibility as a corporate entity, but if there is a better product in their stable right now to use as a tie in, I don't know what it is. Also, let's be honest. Their other cancer related effort is in a little bit different light right now (Thanks doper Lance Armstrong!). Using this pink theme wouldn't have had the same reach as Livestrong but it would have been a nice addition to their platform.

All in all, it's good to see some new colors on court. I always like this season better than the Wimbledon whites. And after all, it's not like Nike is forcing him to wear this:



"I'd just as soon play tennis with the net down."
                                   -Robert Frost