3. July 2008 by admin.

Nine years ago Mark Philippoussis was up a set on Pete Sampras in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, outplaying the defending champion. Serving in the 4th game of the 2nd set, he went for a volley - and his knee blew out.

Photo courtesy of ATPTennis.com

He did rebound from that injury and eventually made it to the finals at the US Open. But one has to wonder what would have happened if his knee had held up and he’d upset Sampras and gone on to win the title in ‘99. Would it have been followed by a flurry of Slam titles? Could he have broken the winless streak of Aussie men at their major? Or would it have mattered? Maybe he still would have become an embarrassment, starring on a ridiculous reality show (picked the 20-something over the Cougar - what a shock!) and spending a lot of time surfing. And that’s why I’m writing this - instead of being at Wimbledon - he’s only 31, I read that he was nearly getting killed in rough surf near his home in Adelaide.

Photo courtesy of News.com.au

Instead of taking the advice of others, Flip decided to go out and got his surfboard crushed and his hip and ego bruised.

Full story on News.com.au

Posted in adelaide, mark philippoussis, pete sampras, Wimbledon, ATP Tour, Misc. Pro Tennis | No Comments »

2. July 2008 by admin.

Despite the crazy weather - very dark and rainy followed by bright sun and big puffy clouds, they were able to finish 3 of the 4 mens’ quarterfinal matches.

First up was King Roger vs. Super Mario Ancic. But after 20 minutes he may have been downgraded from Super to Ordinary as Fed mauled him 6-1.

The serve was on for Fed - 69% of 1st serves in and 15 aces - and won 88% of 1st serve points. And he returned well enough to get 10 break chances, cashing in 4. Ancic is still waiting for a sniff of his first break chance.

 Fed even smiled once - after he almost scalped Mario with a blazing forehand passing shot. Mario got out of the way in time (see pic above) - and with all his follicles intact.

Next up on Center was Marat Safin vs. Feliciano Lopez. Lopez won the 1st set but Safin did not let it phase him. He came back with a strong serve and return game and swept the last 3 sets.

Safin has now made the semifinals or better in all four of the majors. Now we have to wait until Friday to see if he can repeat the magical performance he came up with to beat Roger in the semis at the Australian Open in 2005.

AngryBackhand knows how to take credit when it’s right on it’s predictions - but it also knows when to take the fall. And will now - it was obviously the worst thing in the universe for AngryBackhand to pick Andy Murray to upset Rafa. Rafa was on him from the start and 3, 2, and 4. And it wasn’t that close.

 Photos courtesy of Yahoo! Sports Tennis Gallery

Rafa never let Murray get comfortable, hitting his groundies hard and deep and coming up with passing shots from almost any position. And just like Fed, Rafa did have to face a break point and won 88% of his first serve points - and broke Murray 4 times in 10 tries.

Due to the rain delays and length of the Safin - Lopez match, Rainer Schuettler and Arnaud Clement did not finish and will pick it up and one set each Thursday on Court 1 while the ladies play the semis on Center. Weather permitting of course.

Posted in mario ancic, Australian Open, feliciano lopez, arnaud clement, rainer schuettler, all england club, Wimbledon, WTA Tour, ATP Tour, Women's Tennis, roger federer, andy murray, marat safin, rafael nadal, Misc. Pro Tennis | No Comments »

1. July 2008 by admin.

Here is the AngryBackhand view of the 4 quarterfinal matchups. And let’s hope they get them in - the forecast doesn’t look promising.

CNN.com Weather for London

 Some of the TV and press talking heads are making a big deal about the fact that Ancic is ‘the last man to beat Fed at Wimbledon.’ Yeah, in 2002. Fed is a slightly different player. And his trophy case is a little fuller since 2002. Ancic is certainly having a great tournament. But he hasn’t faced anyone with Roger’s grass game. Unless Roger has a really bad day this should be over in straight sets. Maybe 4 if Roger has a ‘walkabout’ (as the Aussies say) and gets careless in one set.

 Two guys who flew into Wimbledon WAY under the radar. Both have made the quarters at Wimbledon before. Safin has two major titles under his belt - but that was a long time ago. In this tournament, Safin has had the much more difficult draw. Based on that I see Marat pulling this one out - but I doubt it will be easy and won’t be surprised if it takes 4 or 5 sets.

 This is a brutal match to predict. Both have had to be some quality players to get here - Schuettler got Blake in the 2nd round and Tipsarevic in the 16’s - Clement beat two serve and volleyers in Bjorkman and Melzer, and a young up-and-comer in Cilic. You have to figure this one will go to whoever plays better on the given day - and I’ll predict (guess?) that will be Schuettler.

Photos Courtesy of ATPTennis.com

 And now for the Main Event. Rafa and the native son, Andy Murray. The Murray - Gasquet match attracted 10 million UK viewers (a 44.6% share) - who knows how high this one will go. Rafa has won all their previous matchups:

Head to head from ATPTennis.com

 The two matchups on faster courts were close. And this is a new Murray. He’s happier, healthier, and fitter than he’s ever been. Rafa’s saying all the right things about his knee, but one has to wonder given the way he was looking at it today during practice.

Photo courtesy of Yahoo! Sports Tennis Gallery

 Maybe it’s a great act. Maybe not. The damp weather won’t help it and Rafa only knows one speed - full bore. I’d expect Murray to go behind him early and often. I’m going with the upset - Murray in 4!

Posted in arnaud clement, marin cilic, jurgen melzer, all england club, rainer schuettler, janko tipsarevic, jonas bjorkman, feliciano lopez, mario ancic, roger federer, james blake, andy murray, rafael nadal, richard gasquet, marat safin, ATP Tour | No Comments »

1. July 2008 by admin.

Nike just released a new commercial featuring Roger Federer in time for the 2nd week of Wimbledon. And, as opposed to Andy Roddick’s ill-fated ‘mojo’ ad for American Express, Roger’s still around. Hats off to the team who put this one together - I laugh every time I see it.

King Roger’s New Nike Commercial 

Posted in american express, nike tennis, Wimbledon, andy roddick, roger federer | No Comments »

30. June 2008 by admin.

More great weather - and tennis - from London.

Three players who many people expected to make the quarters came through today. Of course that starts with King Roger who made short work of Lleyton Hewitt in straight sets. And Rafa Nadal never let Mikhail Youzhny think he had a chance to pull the upset, also without dropping a set. Andy Murray joined them - but took a much more dramatic route. He lost the first two sets and Gasquet was serving for the match in the 3rd. But Murray didn’t fold and zoomed back to win in 5 in the fading light, to the delight of the home crowd.

 Mario Ancic, who most probably considered possible danger in the Federer half, also earned a quarterfinals berth. He too lost the first two set, then fought back to win the next two. Then he and Fernando Verdasco slugged it out for 24 games, with Ancic finally winning 13-11 in the 5th.

Photos courtesy of Yahoo! Sports Tennis Gallery

 And if you had Marat Safin, Feliciano Lopez, Rainer Schuettler, and Arnaud Clement making the quarters in your fantasy draw, you’re probably already planning how you’re going to spend your winnings. Safin took care of Stan Wawrinka; Lopez took out 10th seed Marcos Baghdatis 8-6 in the 5th; Marin Cilic, who was the trendy upset pick before the tournament started, suffered a ‘junior moment’ (let the occasion get the best of him) and got an old school whooping from grizzled vet Arnaud Clement. Finally Rainer Schuettler, ranked 94th coming into the match, took out Janko Tipsarevic in 4.

 So Wednesday’s matchups are:

• Federer - Ancic
• Safin - Lopez
• Schuettler - Clement
• Murray - Nadal

Obviously the matches featuring the top 2 seeds will merit the most interest - can Ancic, the last man to beat the 5-time champ, repeat the feat? And can Andy Murray handle the pressure and derail Rafa’s run to the another final’s berth? But the other two matches have their own intrigue too: can Safin continue his improbably run? And which European journeyman will great a slot in the semis, Schuettler or Clement?

Posted in mikhail youzhny, stan wawrinka, mario ancic, feliciano lopez, fernando verdasco, all england club, arnaud clement, marin cilic, marcos baghdatis, Wimbledon, andy murray, roger federer, ATP Tour, rafael nadal, marat safin, lleyton hewitt, richard gasquet, Misc. Pro Tennis | No Comments »

28. June 2008 by admin.

Another great day of tennis from the All England Club in SW19 in London. #2 seed Rafa Nadal, after a tedious 1st set where he couldn’t break serve, won in 3 straight sets over Nicholas Kiefer. Kiefer doing his usual fold-job after losing the 1st set tiebreak.

Brit Andy Murray took care of business against the dangerous game of Tommy Haas. 

Murray displayed a solid all-court game and hit some evil passing shots in getting through in 4 sets.

But the best match of the day was Mikhail Youzhny getting past Radek Stepanek 6-4 in the 5th set.

Both players came to the net, played great defense, and hit unbelievable passing shots - and threw in a lot of fist pumping and a little racket abuse. Youzhny got the break in the 9th game of the last set, then won it on serve, surviving a few break points.

Shame on ESPN! After taking back the coverage from NBC, they chose to show the 3rd set of the Nadal - Kiefer match instead of showing the entire 5th set of Youzhny - Stepanek. Pathetic. Kiefer did win 3 straight games - after losing the 1st 5! - to make it a little interesting. But there’s no excuse - another example of ESPN catering to the casual fans (and overweight single women) who would rather see Rafa for a few more minutes, than switch to the exciting match between two lesser knowns. If the Tennis Channel had the coverage I’m sure they’d have gone with the better match, not the marquee name.

Other winners:

• Clement over Melzer in 4
• Cilic over Mathieu in 4
• Gasquet over Simon in 4
• Tipsarevic over Tursunov in 3
• Schuettler over Garcia-Lopez in 3

Weather permitting, Monday will be an incredible day of tennis with all the round of 16 matches on.

Posted in paul-henri mathieu, radek stepanek, nicholas kiefer, dimitri tursunov, jurgen melzer, all england club, arnaud clement, marin cilic, mikhail youzhny, tennis channel, rafael nadal, andy murray, ATP Tour, richard gasquet, espn, tommy haas, Wimbledon, Misc. Pro Tennis | No Comments »

27. June 2008 by admin.

Day 5 dealt up some great tennis and set up some very interesting matches for Monday.

First up on Center Court, King Roger continued his great play and took care of the 32 year old Frenchman Marc Gicquel 3, 3, and 1.

Next up for Roger: Lleyton Hewitt. He also got through in straight sets over Italian Simone Bolelli 1, 3, and 6. Fed owns Hewitt - but I doubt he’ll take him lightly - Hewitt has nothing to lose and can go for winners. And if Fed’s serve is off, things could get tight.

Two more guys making comebacks got through to the round of 16, both in fading light. Mario Ancic and Marat Safin both won in 4. Ancic took out 5th seed David Ferrer. Safin took care of another Italian, Andreas Seppi.  The Safin - Seppi match featured some amazing shotmaking and two tiebreaks. Seppi deserves credit for playing it out - a lot of guys would have stalled to get the match held over until Saturday.

Other winners are Stan Wawrinka, Feliciano Lopez, Marcos Baghdatis. Fernando Verdasco won the battle of underachievers over Tomas Berdych 4, 4, and 0. As usual, Berdych lost his fight and went away meekly.

A shocker here at AngryBackhand - some love for the ladies event.  Things are picking up over there too and producing some good tennis. Zheng Jie stunned the women’s #1 Ana Ivanovic 1 and 4. She hit the ball hard and deep, keeping it low and waited for Ivanovic to implode.

Photos courtesy of Yahoo! Sports Tennis Gallery

The lack of a plan B or C was evident - all Ivanovic knows is hard and harder. And her lack of mobility was exposed too - she couldn’t get to many of Jie’s angled shots - or get low enough for others. This may be the one major Ana never wins…

The other half of the draw is up tomorrow with Britain’s only real hope, Andy Murray facing Tommy Haas in the day’s best matchup.

Posted in stan wawrinka, tomas berdych, tommy haas, marcos baghdatis, feliciano lopez, simone bolelli, zheng ji, marc gicquel, fernando verdasco, andreas seppi, ana ivanovic, andy murray, roger federer, ATP Tour, david ferrer, marat safin, Wimbledon, lleyton hewitt, WTA Tour, Women's Tennis | No Comments »

26. June 2008 by admin.

Andy Roddick’s dream of another shot at Roger Federer and a Wimbledon crown got blown up - or choked out (his self-assessment) today in the 2nd round.

He failed to take advantage of 8 break point chances and lost in 4 sets to Janko Tipsarevic. 

Not to be outdone, James Blake blew a 2 sets to 1 lead and got an early trip back to the States courtesy of Rainer Schuettler.

Who thought Bobby Reynolds would be that last US man standing?

Rafa Nadal lost the first set to Ernests Gulbis but turned things around to advance in 4 sets.

Photos courtesy of Yahoo! Sports Tennis Gallery

Other winners, who might have a shot at stopping a 3rd Fed-Nadal Wimbledon final in the bottom half: Murray, Youzhny, Haas, Gasquet, Tursunov, Kiefer, Cilic, and Mathieu.

The dry weather may come to an end as it looks like showers are on the way to London. If they can play Roger Federer will take on Frenchman Marc Gicquel. Other potentially interesting matches are Mario Ancic vs. David Ferrer, and the battle of underachievers, Tomas Berdych and Fernando Verdasco.

Posted in nicholas kiefer, fernando verdasco, mikhail youzhny, tomas berdych, paul-henri mathieu, bobby reynolds, marc gicquel, marin cilic, dimitri tursunov, ernest gulbis, mario ancic, tommy haas, andy murray, roger federer, james blake, ATP Tour, david ferrer, andy roddick, Wimbledon, richard gasquet, rafael nadal, Misc. Pro Tennis | No Comments »

25. June 2008 by admin.

Coming into Wimbledon, Novak Djokovic joined the ‘Federer is vulnerable’ tin-hat club and touted his chances of upending the 5-time champ and winning his first Wimbledon title. One problem: you have to win your first 5 matches to get to that semifinal. And today, a pile of unforced errors and 10 double faults sent the Aussie Open titleholder home with his proverbial tail between his legs, going down 4, 6, and 2 to Marat Safin.

Photo courtesy of Yahoo! Sports Tennis Gallery

 Obviously Safin is a tough 2nd round opponent - when he and his game show up. And they did today. He served well, and returned even better - said he had no problem reading Djokovic’s serve. So he’ll move on and Djokovic will lose another shot at overtaking Rafa Nadal for the #2 spot in the rankings. And maybe have a few slices of humble pie and crow while he rests up for the summer hardcourt season.

 Oh, and that ‘vulnerable’ Federer guy won again in straight sets over the game but overmatched Robin Soderling of Sweden. Other winners: Lleyton Hewitt, David Ferrer, Marcos Baghdatis, Fernando Verdasco, the other Swiss player, Stan Wawrinka, Mario Ancic, and the first American into the 3rd round, journeyman Bobby Reynolds. Gonzo (Fernando) was upset. Unfortunately, Juan Carlos Ferrero had to retire with a leg injury.

Tomorrow the bottom half of the draw is up with Roddick and Andy Murray on Center, Rafa on Court 1 against Ernest Gulbis, and Mikhail Youzhny trying to avoid an upset on the graveyard Court 2.

Posted in stan wawrinka, juan carlos ferrero, mario ancic, marcos baghdatis, robin soderling, feliciano lopez, ernest gulbis, bobby reynolds, fernando verdasco, Wimbledon, lleyton hewitt, david ferrer, andy murray, roger federer, ATP Tour, andy roddick, rafael nadal, fernando gonzalez, marat safin, novak djokovic, Misc. Pro Tennis | No Comments »

24. June 2008 by admin.

And yes, the women’s tournament did start at Wimbledon (although it doesn’t REALLY start until the round of 16 next Monday). Found this very interesting picture from Maria Sharapova’s 1st round match. I swear I didn’t touch it - including the link as proof.

Link to the original picture at Yahoo! Sports Tennis Gallery

Looks like Maria has been working out with Barry Bonds. Maria ‘overpowered’ (sorry, couldn’t resist) her opponent and advanced to the 2nd round…

Posted in barry bonds, Wimbledon, maria sharapova, WTA Tour, Women's Tennis | No Comments »