Davis Cup is back and with it the tedious debates about the competition’s format.
Should it be every second year? Played at a single location a la the football World Cup? Left the hell alone?
Who knows? And right now who even cares? For now just kick back for the weekend and enjoy the action.
I’ll probably come across as a complete curmudgeon for focussing on the negatives after such an enjoyable match, but Rafael Nadal’s four set victory over Tomas Berdych once again proved what a joke basic rule enforcement in tennis has become.
Both players regularly took over 40 seconds between points yet neither received a single warning. Continue reading
Amy Bowtell (© Tennis Ireland)
Wicklow teenager Amy Bowtell started her season in style by reaching the final of the $10k ITF event in Sutton, England.
The unseeded world number 561 faced a higher ranked opponent in every round but fought her way through to a final where she came up short against top seed Richel Hogenkamp (#303) 6-3, 6-2. Continue reading
Nine days into the Australian Open and I’ve officially succumbed to time-zone induced ADD.
Last night, five set matches were just too much for me. I delved in and out of several and by the time I found one captivating enough to watch in full I was beaten by the clock – retiring to bed at around 10am with Aleksandr Dolgopolov and Bernard Tomic poised at one set all. Continue reading
James Duckworth
Several young Australian players have generated a lot of hype in recent years but until this week, James Duckworth hasn’t been one of them.
Maybe he has and I just missed out on it but based on his performances in Melbourne he looks a real prospect. Continue reading
I think I need therapy. As a long-time Davd Nalbandian fan you’d think I’d be used to him blowing matches he has no right to lose but it doesn’t get any easier.
That disgusting officiating played such a significant part in his marathon 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 8-10 defeat John Isner makes it all the more difficult to swallow.
They say a good referee should be invisible but Kader Nouni was anything but with two horrific calls in the space of a minute at 8-8 and deuce in the fifth set. Continue reading
No slam hat-trick for Conor Niland
There wasn’t a whole lot to cheer about for the Irish contingent in week two.
At the Australian Open, Conor Niland failed to make it three slams on the bounce when he lost to Switzerland’s Stephane Bohli in the first round of qualifiers.
The Limerick man broke his opponent in the opening game of their rain-interrupted match but handed the initiative right back before eventually succumbing 6-3 in a marathon 71 minute set. Continue reading
Matteo "Lazarus" Viola
When Matteo Viola trailed Dusan Lajovic 5-0 and 40-0* in the third set of his first round qualifying match in Melbourne, a place in the main draw must have seemed light years away.
With seemingly no way back, he dug out a hold, saving a total of five match points in that game. Continue reading
Retire?
Eleven years ago, Frenchman Arnaud Clement came back from the dead to beat compatriot Sebastien Grosjean in five sets and reach his lone slam final. He was destroyed by Andre Agassi in straight sets but it remains the biggest result of his career.
Two years later, Rainer Schuettler upset Andy Roddick in the semi-finals to record what was also his only appearance in a major decider. He suffered a similar fate to Clement, getting blown away by an inspired Agassi.
The two veterans have put in a lot of miles since then but both deserve credit for sticking around this long to slum it out in the qualies. Continue reading
Chennai champ Milos Raonic
Milos was the main mover this Monday, the man from Montenegro making a major mark in magical Madras.
Raonic took the title in the city now known as Chennai (well, since 1996 but I wasn’t going to let that ruin my opener) and in doing so became the first player since Roger Federer in Halle 2008 to win a tournament without dropping his serve. Continue reading
