Forza Francesca!

As the Italian anthem rang out at Roland Garros, the proud Francesca Schiavone realised what she had achieved.

The 29-year-old had not just won her first Grand Slam title but also became the first Italian woman to win a Slam after a 6-4, 7-6 victory over Sam Stosur.

In fact, Italy had not had a Grand Slam winner since Adriano Panatta won the French Open 34 years ago.

This pressure of a desperate nation did not hinder but instead inspired Schiavoni who produced tennis of the highest quality.

She came in as the underdog but she showed that she deserved to become a Grand Slam holder.

Her grace, style and attacking play was worthy of any champion, producing a magnificent display against the Australian.

The seventeenth seed use of the court was a demonstration of how to play on a clay court as she tore through her opponent with an abundance of angled shots to open up the court.

Volleying was also an aspect of her game, which surprisingly was used to much affect on the clay and showed signs that she could also be a threat on the grass.

Despite winning in Barcelona, the Italian was not expected to get anyway near the final due to her inconsistent Grand Slam record.

Even coming into the final, following victories over Elena Dementieva and Caroline Wozniaki, Stosur considered as the clear favourite.

But what Schiavoni showed during this championship was, as printed on her teams shirts, that ‘nothing is impossible’.

Her age, her ranking, her previous record had no bearing on the Italian who demonstrated tremendous fight to capture her first Slam and become the second oldest first time winner since Britain’s Ann Jones in 1969.

She said it was a ‘dream’ but now with a ranking inside the top ten and with a Grand Slam to her name, the Italian must now face the reality of a now expecting nation.

Darkness falls on the French Open

The uncertainties surrounding the second Grand Slam of the calendar year has taken a further hit by the failures of the tournaments organisers over the past week.

The unfortunate weather has not just opened Roland Garros to questions over its future but it has also not been helped by the Championships decision makers.

Despite its long history and prestige within tennis, it is clear that the Slam is lagging behind its three contemporaries.

Its limitations over expanding, has meant the venue of Roland Garros, with the famous red courts of Philippe Chatrier and Suzanne Lenglen, may come to a sad end.

The structure of both are said to not be strong enough to take the weight of a retractable roof which both the Australian Open and Wimbledon have added and there are now plans to have one placed on the Arthur Ashe stadium so the US Open can join the list.

Another problem for Roland Garros is the lack of land available as they are currently 10 aches short of Wimbledon’s 18. The inability to expand and enhance the experience for the public is why they are now seriously considering locating to other places within the capital, with Disneyland being named as a potential site.

Black out

The Championships cause has not been helped by the peculiar decisions made by the referee this year, which has caused much bemusement with the players.

The most significant incident, which highlighted this, was Wednesday’s match between French favourite Gael Monfils and Italian Fabio Fognini (pictured).

At 9.40pm with the match tied at 4-4 in the deciding set and with darkness closing in the tie looked to be ending for the night.

However with the crowd roaring on for their hero to continue and finish off the second round encounter the organisers, who looked to call it a day, were swayed and pretty much forced them to continue.

Although pleasing for the fans, the players were left to battle it out in the darkness, as they traded many uncomfortable rallies with only the only the stadium television screens as the source of light.

With an extra two games completed they finally walked off at 10:00pm, with the match level at 5-5.

This type of treatment was a disgrace and it was not the only big mistake as on many occasions players were out playing in heavy rain when they should have pulled off. The clay is known for withstanding rain but this year the organisers took this to new levels.

With all this going against the French Open, this year more than ever has demonstrated that the Parisians need to sharpen up or else they will fall even further behind.

Time to prove

Now Andy Murray has taken temporary leave from Davis Cup action it now gives the rest of Britain the opportunity to prove themselves.

The LTA announced the side that will take on Lithuania in the Europe/Africa zone group 2 on March 5-7. The squad includes Dan Evans, Jamie Baker, James Ward and the doubles pairing of Ken Skupski and Colin Fleming, with Ross Hutchins as back up.

Although the team has yet to be finalised it is likely that Ward and the young Evans will be given the chance to shine. They are both holding the British no.3 and 4 singles rankings respectively and both competed in the qualifying draw for the Australian Open last month. Baker however has had experience of winning a rubber against Agustin Calleri in 2008 but his form is not at the level it once was.

In the doubles Skupski and Fleming have developed a superb partnership in the past year and will be our biggest chance in securing a win. They have been in great form since the turn of the decade, reaching the semi-final of the Aircel Chennai Open in India before claiming their first main draw victory at a Grand Slam after defeating Yen-Hsun Lu (TPE) and Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) 6-4, 7-5 in the first round of the Australian Open.

John Lloyd AEGON GB Davis Cup Team Captain, said of the selection: “This is a real opportunity for some of our younger players to gain valuable Davis Cup experience. I’m confident that they all have the ability to perform at this level, and a passion to represent their country.”

Bottle

The question though remains is whether they have the bottle?

The fact it is not being played on home soil will actually help their cause especially being away from the media spotlight. Instead the tie will be played on the clay of Vilnius at the Vitas Gerulaitis Memorial Tennis Centre. This is a surface Ward and Evans have succeeded on in the past, most notably Ward, who last year became the first man since Tim Henman to win an ATP Challenger Tour event on the red brick.

Meanwhile, the threat of Lithuania or should I say lack of it, show little signs of causing many problems with only Ricardas Berankis, who is ranked just three places below Ward in the rankings, being the only man to strike any type of concerns.

Other than that it is the perfect opportunity for the British lads to get a positive result and banish the shadow of Murray for the meantime anyway.

SAFINISHED

As Marat Safin waved his final goodbye’s to the tennis world it left us with the conundrum of whether he could have achieved more.

The Russia no doubt had the ability to produce exceptional performances seeing him to two grand slams titles and hold the number one spot in the world in 2000. However he had more low points on the court and always seemed to be having more of battle with himself in matches as he struggled with his temperament, as was one who blew hot and cold.

In some ways though, his unpredictability has added to his character on the tour, as he was often considered as the dangerous floater many draws. But it still leaves us wondering that if he had be more focus and channelled his fieriness in a positive way then the former no.1 may well have made more of an imprint on the game.

‘Supernova’

September 11th may be a date lived long in the world history for the wrong reasons but this was also the date a year earlier when a 20 year old Safin shook the world when he clained the US Open title by defeating the legendry Pete Sampras in the three dominating sets. The 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 victory sent the message to the tennis world that a new star had arrived as he went to the top of the word rankings shortly after.

However the star was to become more of a supernova as he briefly outshines the rest of the field before imploding. This experience was what ultimately will be labelled to the temperamental Russian due to his hot and cold attitude on court that saw him produce many disappointing performances. Also injuries played a part as he struggle to stay in consistent shape over the gruelling calendar.

It was not until 2005 that the star reappeared demonstrating his precocious talents once again. Under the guidance of his new coach Peter Lundgren saw a more focussed Safin determined to capture the Australian Open title. During the tournament he demonstrated his ability to tear apart the field with his ferocious ground strokes going on to defeat Lleyton Hewitt in the final. However his best performance came in the semi final against Roger Federer defeating him in a trilling five set 5-7, 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (8-6), 9-7 in which saw him save a match point in the fourth.

‘Rock and Roller’

Inconsistency then crept back into his game plus being hampered by continual injuries. The rock and roll life style also didn’t help his game as he enjoyed the high life; having parties, spending money and going out with many glamorous women.

Speaking in 2007 he said: "But I have no family with me, I have no girlfriends, I have no boyfriends and I have no kids so I never have dinner at home. I'm always eating with my friends at a restaurant, so it's a special life and I'm enjoying it." Thus demonstrating a man that lived life to the full, celebrating every day as comes. However if this had been generated more towards his tennis he could have had more to be celebrate.

By Geoff Berkeley

Pic by Burntfilm

AEGON Championship Preview

A fresh new look and a Britain as top seed, what a year for the LTA as the newly branded Queens club looks in top shape for a stunning week of pre Wimbledon tennis.


The absence of last year’s finalists Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic has now opened the draw up for the new top seed Andy Murray who looks to make an impact on the English lawns this summer.

Britain’s number one has made huge strides on the clay and he will now want to move that form forward on to the freshly cut grass of Queens.

As number one seed there will be plenty of expectations and pressures on the Scot and faces a tricky first match against either Andreas Seppi or Robby Ginepri, who both have many years experience in the championship.

However the only real threat to a first title on the grass will be three time winner Andy Roddick who is in great form at the moment and may draw him in the final, while a possible semi final against the charismatic Frenchman Gael Monfils may also create difficulties.

The world number three will not be the only Brit in the draw as both Josh Goodall and James Ward have been handed wildcards due their prospering world rankings and recent performances. Although both facing extremely tough encounters with Josh Goodall up against US Open quarter finalist Gilles Muller while James Ward will go toe to toe with former Australian Open finalist and Wimbledon quarter finalist Marcos Bagdatis.

Without wildcards there failed to see any other Brits come through and qualify as the likes of Chris Eaton, Dan Evans and Alex Bogdanovic will now all be hoping for good performances in the qualifiers at Roehampton to have any chance of gaining a place at Wimbledon.

The lack of British contingence is bound to be a worry for the LTA which has failed to see an improvement in the men’s game since last year. The policy of not handing out wildcards to Brits bellow the world’s top 250 has been a positive move although it may take another year before we see the likes of James Ward and Dan Evans coming through and making the grade.

New Look

Commercially though the LTA have been making significant steps to acquire more money towards British tennis. The deal struck with Scottish financial service company AEGON as new umbrella sponsor is exactly what the LTA were looking for to help rebrand the pre Wimbledon tournaments while also investing £25 million into the British game.

The striking blue of the Queen’s club which had long been coated in red will take a bit of getting used to. However this is obviously a new era for the LTA and with Murray rapidly moving up the world game, a win for the Scot would truly send a message out to the British people that tennis is on the up.

By Geoff Berkeley
Pic: http://www.lta.org.uk

Rafa’s failure is to Roger’s fortune

The script is already being processed and it is now up to Roger Federer to make the final amendments.

After Rafael Nadal’s shock exit the Swiss now recognizes that this is his chance to immortalise himself within the tennis hall of fame as the all time great.

Sunday’s ‘earthquake’ has not just opened up the draw but signalled to Federer that this might well be the best and possibly only opportunity to complete an historic Grand Slam while also equalling Sampras’s 14.

Since 2005 Roger has failed to come to terms with the mesmeric Spaniard on the Parisian clay. From their first meeting onwards Nadal has been the thorn in Federer’s successful career and it is likely that without this pain Roger would have collected many French Open titles without a problem having lost the last three successive finals to him.

In many ways Soderling’s unforgettable victory makes the challenge a lot easier for Federer however the way he has being playing so far has been nothing but convincing. His performances in the earlier rounds have seen him struggle to find form it has been just pure champions grit which has pulled him through.

Nerve could also play a key factor in the former world number one converting this golden opportunity. His match against Haas demonstrated that when under pressure his forehand can seriously tighten up, as he continually made unforced errors on that wing. However it proved that when the back was against the wall at 7-6, 7-5 4-3 with a break he can still produced a high risk shot to turn the match in his favour.

Challengers

The opponents left in the quarter finals may also feel they have a great opportunity to collect a first grand slam. In fact anyone left in has a great chance, even Soderling who currently is in the form of his life and could yet spring even more surprises.

Federer still has tough opposition in his half of the draw with both Gail Monfils and Juan Martin Del Potro in fine form. However with the experience of 13 grand slam titles behind him this will for sure pay dividends when the tournament nears its end.

By Geoff Berkeley
Pic: vickihuang2001

Can Anyone Ruffle Rafa in Paris?

As the French Open looms so does the presence of Rafael Nadal as he searches out his fifth successive title in Paris.

Nadal’s relationship with Roland Garros has failed to break down as the Spaniard goes in unbeaten on the French dirt. But the question remains is there anyone who can stop the world number one from adding to his tally?

The simple answer to this is no. Who could possibly get past a player who is at the top of his game as he continually tares up the rest of the field with his ferocious shot making.

On clay Nadal is dominant and it is hard to see anyone from stopping him especially in five sets. He looked simply unbeatable in last year’s campaign making easy work of the world’s best, including a straight sets demolition of Roger Federer in the final.

In fact the only person who can stop him is himself. At the moment he is working his body to the ground and as demonstrated in his loss to Federer in Madrid last Sunday cracks are beginning to appear.

Madrid was a bitter pill for Rafa in front of a partisan crowd however it was Djokovic not Federer that took the wind out of Nadal’s sails. His near four hour clash with the world number four exhausted the Spaniard and it was pure grit in the end that pulled him through.

Djokovic is in great form at the moment and is possibly the only potential threat to Rafa’s crown and if the draw goes to plan they could meet each other in the final.

However there is no doubt that Rafael Nadal work tirelessly to regain the title once more moving him one step closer to Bjorn Borg’s record of six straight.

The king of clay begins his march against world number 96 Marcos Daniel on Monday.

By Geoff Berkeley

Pic by aldinegirl12