Wednesday, March 27, 2013

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!    

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

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

Friday, March 1, 2013

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!