The Jan. 06 "Notes on Tour" article

[Segoo]

I enjoyed reading those pieces. Thanks. I especially liked the writer's take on the doubles game. I am still laughing about the Federation Cup doubles match! Wish I had been there.

Now, I disagree that Federer has dropped a notch on "this invincibility meter". Naahhhhh, Roger's a f***in' tiger in a throwback uniform! And I'm not talking about his shirts.
He exposes the hell out of the other kids' narrow games. I say he is ready for another three slam year. There is a little bit of Borg and a little bit of Nastase and a whole lot of Connors in that kid.

Well, you fellas keep up the good work.

[ajchabria]

Thanks, Segoo. I appreciate the kind words.

Like most tennis fans, I agree it will be another great year for Federer. But, don't you think the players are at least a little encouraged that Roger ended '05 with a loss? Or by the fact that he just dropped a casual match to Haas in an exo at Kooyong this week? Man, you're tough.

Oh, and about Federer having a little Jimmy in him? I can actually almost see it. He's just one haircut and one slip of Miroslava's Nice'n'Easy from looking the part.

Take care.
Looking forward to the season ahead.
Any thoughts on the Oz Open, gang?

[Alfred140mph]

Two questions. Waht about these doping offenses? Is that something that is really happening and is it widespread? Or is it dumb players taking the wrong cough medicines (or whatever)? Has anyone heard of players or coaches saying yeah I take this and my forehand is better or whatever)?

Second: the injuries! No Clijsters, Nadal or Safin in Australia. Why? Normal wear and tear or????

[crosscourt]

On the injuries, it seems to me that injuries are inevitable. The question is -- very often -- how quickly a player tries to come back. I always thought that Federer was smart about this, always taking plenty of time to recover, never risking playing when he wasn't right. But that seems to have changed. He seemed to me to be unfit in Shanghai when he lost to Nalbandian, and he moved less than well in Qatar (I watched all his matches live on TV). To me, what makes Federer so much better, at his best, than the competition is his all round game which has, as one of its bases, tremendous athleticism. So although I still see Federer, if he's fit, as the obvious winner of the Australian, it would be no surprise if an unfit Federer lost to someone in the third or fourth round. I hope that he doesn't. I hope that he's fit and well.

Did anyone else see his Qatar matches. It's not obvious to me that all the volleying he is reported to be doing with Roche is paying off. If I were to criticise his volleys as lacking stick and direction, would it be unfair? Too often they're like a little touch shot, pushed back to the oppo in the way that you would play a volley to a hitting partner in practice.

I'd like to see Berdych, Ginepri, Gasquet and Murray make an impact.

[Stefan]

Aussie Open

Did anyone watch the Hewitt/Vik match last night?

I was really impressed at how well Vik came up with some unbelievable shots! Especially some of the drop shot half volleys and angles he was coming up with! And for the most part he was handling serious pressure for having to play the hometown favorite in the first round, but I still see the pressure as the only reason he lost. And I saw Hewitt find the on switch in the fifth set, so I would say with the way he played at the end of the match, he could be a serious threat to start gaining some momentum!

I don’t know if its something that I am just noticing, but it seems to me that the drop volley is much more of a common shot than it has ever been. I remember when it used to be that it was all about disguising the drop shot. Now they are hitting them so well, half the time the opponent can know its coming and still not get there. So in reference to the previous poster, maybe Federer is taking advantage of Roche’s expertise on coaching volleys and working in more touch and angles and drop shots.

Anyone see Blake’s between the legs lob? Never saw that before!!

1-19-06
So much for Hewitts momentum!

[crosscourt]

Ok so the guys I hoped would make a run at the men's didn't make it. But at least we have some new blood in Baghdatis. And Federer's volleying is looking better -- though he doesn't seem to stick them like he might, and even ran through a couple against Davydenko.

But what is up with Federer? His uncertainty is surprising -- is it lack of mobility, or tactical uncertainty (trying to play a more all court game than in the last year) or mental tiredness? And the backhand that used to be able to sustain the pressure on the opponent seems increasingly unable to. It's never been great, and Haas, Davydenko, and no doubt Keifer and Nalbandian if he gets the chance, will go to that side as much as possible. In the past though the backhand was capable of sustaining the pressure built by the forehand, even if it wasn't a dominating shot. That doesn't seem to be the case now.

I love watching Federer at his best, and hope that his problems are just a combination of some temporary lack of mobility and tactical uncertainty as he tries to change his game. It would be sad if the Federer of 2004 was his best.

On the plus side are Baghdatis and Nalbandian. Baghdatis seems to play best in big tournaments which has to be a good sign for him. I love the way Nalbandian plays -- so clever. But he needs to serve reliably and it seems he may be sorting that out.

cc

[ladycoach]

crosscourt, well said...esp re: Marcos Baghdatis. Sort of a shorter, two handed Gustavo Kuerten who likes to play inside the court.

Injuries and doping are the talk of the town, but this tournament has been a joy.
I'm especially happy to see Hingis play well and Mauresmo win her first 'big four' title. I think tennis player.net's tour writer called it -- that Amelie would finally win one this year. Very nice. A more than deserving champ, no matter how oddly three of her matches ended.

Looking forward to the rematch later this year.

[crosscourt]

ladycoach -- I agree about Mauresmo, and am delighted for her. She has such an attractive game that I really want her to succeed, and her conditoning seems superb so she deserves to. Finally it's paid off.

You say injuries and doping are the talk of the town. I can see why injuries would be, but why doping?

Did anyone see Wilander's interview with Tony Roche? If Federer is a little unsure about how to play the game, I am not surprised. Asked to comment on what he was working on with Fed, Roche paused, and said, very slowly, second serve. He's working on getting a lot more action on the second serve. It looked as if that was going to be it. Then he said,very slowly, lobs and dropshots. There was a pause, and then he said slice. Using it more aggressively and keeping the ball lower. Oh and working the angles more. Ahh, and then there's hitting a heavier ball. Apparently Fed tries to flatten the shot out too early -- this is mainly the forehand we're talking now -- and gets into trouble when he does so. Then there was the volley. Ahh yes and being more aggressive in all round play. And those are just the ones I remember.

I don't know whether this is Australian Open specific work or whether it's for the long term. That wasn't clear. So much for Fed being the most complete player we have seen.

[Stefan]

Counting down the hours till we get to see the big match up! I think we will learn a lot about Baghdatis in this match. He seems to thrive in pressure situations, and i loved the analysis of him in his last match. When he got ripped off on the overruled baseline call that would have given him the match, he didn't bat an eye and went right back to the line to serve it up and keep his focus! I hope we get a close match and I hope that this is the start of another rivalry.

And as much as I liked seeing Mauresmo finally win a major, I still need to see a little more. She was playing great tennis at the end of last year, and you can see it roll over into this year. But the knock on her was always about tightening up during crunch time. With a default in the semis and finals, she will still have that label.

Enjoy the match!