Rich Benvin

The years last masters series on clay bring the tour to Hamburg, Germany this week. Many players will be looking to get some last minute preparation as the French Open is only 2 weeks away! Sadly this maybe the last year the tour holds a masters series in Hamburg, as the revamped 2009 calender looks to strip Hamburg of its masters series status, as the event is typically very cold and too close to the French Open, resulting in many player withdrawals.

One player that surely will not be happy about this down grade is Roger Federer. The Swiss virtuoso has claimed 4 masters series shields at the event, making it his most successful clay court tournament. Simply put, Hamburg is the way Federer likes it. Cold and quick, making it more like a hard court. If the last few French Open finals provided weather similar to Hamburg, then I am sure the Swiss would have 1 of not 2 French Open crowns. However the hot and slow conditions of the last few year in Paris clearly favoured Nadal and his grinding game style.

Both Federer and Nadal will be looking to impose their last stands of dominance on the tennis scene this week. Since both made the finals last year, it is very important to their rankings that a good showing is put forth this year as well. Particularly for Nadal as he lost 465 points with his injured 2nd round exit in Rome, he can not afford the same type of incident this week. Even though R-Fed is defending champ, he has a little bit more breathing room now, as Nadal is playing serious catch up.

Tour Veterans Carlos Moya and Lleyton Hewitt will look to progress deep in the event, as they both made the semi-finals last year. Moya will certainly be looking for a great week again, because if he loses early as he has been doing as of late, he will take a big hit in the rankings and being almost 32 years of age, it only gets harder to come back. Hewitt on the other hand has troubles of a different natural, the Aussie has been battling a troubled hip flexor and his is in doubt for the event. It seems as though all the years of grinding away has finally caught up with the 27 year old. Do not be surprised if Nadal follows suit and ends up like Hewitt in the coming years.

On to the draw break down and like I say for every masters series, good matches are always on the horizon. Potential clashes to look for are Federer versus David Ferrer in the quarter-finals, Nadal and Andy Murray in the 3rd round, and Djokovic and Nicolas Almagro in the quarters. The draw looks much easier for all the top guys this week as opposed to Roma last week. If Nadal is healthy and the blister on his foot has recovered then he should breeze through the draw as per usual. Federer has an easier road as well. Both Nadal and Djokovic are on the other side of the draw and R-Fed’s biggest worries of the week should be Ferrer on his road to his fifth final. Again I’m that is on paper, Roger has not been in the greatest form this year, and loses to Stepanek and Mardy Fish are becoming more and more regular. It will also be interesting to see how Djokovic does this week, as he is coming off of a long week in Roma. Historically, Novak does not play well in a tournament after he as made the final the previous week.

As always please check back regularly as we will have daily updates and comments. Please check out the link below to the official tournament site. Our to the French Open is almost here, and this week in Hamburg will prove to be another week of world class tennis.

Masters Series Hamburg: http://www.dtb-tennis.de/AmRothenbaum/

Technorati Tags: Andy Murray, Carlos Moya, David Ferrer, Lleyton Hewitt, Nicolas Almagro, Novak Djokovic, Rafeal Nadal, Roger Federer

The second masters series on clay this week provided many shocking results. Upsets were clearly the order of play. Frustrated Spaniard Rafa Nadal went out in his opening match to countrymen Juan Carlos Ferrero. The Mayorcan native looked out of sorts from the onset of the match, and a severe blister that developed last week in Barcelona hampered Rafa’s movement throughout the second round encounter. Rafa looks to be in trouble with the Hamburg masters coming up next week.

The implications of Nadals loss will be very evident on his ranking, as he will lose 465 points because he was the defending champ in Roma. As well because Roger Federer progressed deep in the tournament the point gap is even more widened. Nadal stands to drop another 555 points behind Federer in his quest for the number one ranking. Perhaps now Rafa’s main concern should be fighting off number three ranked Novak Djokovic as the Serbian in making a strong case for the number 2 spot.

No result can ever be greater than a Nadal loss on clay, but this years edition of the Roma masters also had some pleasant surprises. Americans Andy Roddick and James Blake moved through the draw in convincing fashion and progressed to the semi and quarter-finals respectively. This will surely boost the confidence level of both Blake and Roddick as they look to improve on their dismal French Open records.

The play of relatively unknown Stanislas Wawrinka has been outstanding as of late. The number two ranked Swiss has made the semi and finals of his last two events and as a result in will move into the top 10 for the first time. Its not like Switzerland does not have enough to cheer about already, as the country now looks to have two super stars to follow.

TheATPblog.com’s player for the month of May, Nicolas Almagro also had a great tournament. He progressed to the quarter-finals and improved on his already impressive clay court record. As I’ve mentioned in the past Almagro will be a rough customer to deal with at the French this year. If can seize the moment, sky is the limit for this Spaniard.

Roger Federer also had good tournament results this week. I can not say he had great week as he did not win the title. At this stage and level that R-Fed is at, every week comes with great expectations and some sort of hardware has to be taken home. Frankly, Federer losing to the aging none clay court player Radek Stepanek in the quarter-finals is a bad loss.

Great result for Djokovic as he claimed his 1st masters series title on clay. I would not put him as a favourite just yet for the French Open crown as his road to the title in Roma included 2 retirements and a pretty easy draw. I still put Federer and Nadal ahead of Djokovic in terms of French Open favorites.

On a closing note the ATP and masters series organizers need to serious look at how harmful the calender is for players. As a result of the condensed calender, Roma had retirements in 5 matches as players are starting to break down because they are forced to play back to back weeks. Having two retirements in the semi-finals was disappointing for everyone involved in the tournament and seriously needs to be looked into.

Technorati Tags: Andy Roddick, James Blake, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Nicolas Almagro, Novak Djokovic, Radek Stepanek, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Stanislas Wawrinka

Babolat Storm Limited Specs:

- Weight:11.3 ounces
- Head light balance of 305mm
- Slightly thinner than 200 g Dunlop
- Flex is 65
- Babolat leather grip, which is also called natural grip
- Colour of the racquet is: black with yellow trim

Technorati Tags: Babolat Storm Limited

I have been hesitant to pick Nicolas Almagro as the player of the month, in previous months, but with a sparkling 23-3 record on clay this year headed into this weeks Roma Masters, my job was made easy this month. Almagro is a stalky 6 foot 180 pound clay court machine. His forehand and backhand are equally as penetrating and he has one of the best kick serves in the business. He already has 2 titles to his name this year as he took home trophies in Brazil and Acapulco to go along with a finals performance in his home town of Valencia. The 23 year old Spaniard is not a house hold name yet, but come French Open time that could very well change. He is certainly in the mix when contenders for the Roland Garros title are discussed.

Almagro turned pro in 2003 and is currently coached by Antonio Gonzalez. The native of Murcia, Spain is also improving on hardcourts. Many fans will remember him for his YouTube clip with his match against Mikhail Youzney from Russia. The third round encounter in Miami proved to be a “hit” with the fans as Youzney upset with himself deep in the third set, decided to whack himself over the head, and subsequently taking a time out because he was bleeding profusely.

Almagro’s full name is Nicolas Almagro Sanchez and his Spanish colleagues call him “Nico”. Not surprisingly his favoriate surface is clay and much like the rest of the Spanish contingent he like to keep track of the Spanish soccer teams. He has 4 career titles all on clay and he is focused on changing that and using is physical presence to achieve some hard and grass court success. A key component for Nicolas to develop into a better fast court player is to work on developing a bigger 1st serve. He is usually very content with hitting a heavy kicker to start the point, put that is not good enough to get it done at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

The next month of the season will be key for Almagro to round up as many points as he possibly can. He has three big claycourt tournaments to go, starting with Roma this week and Hamburg and the French Open to follow. Nicolas is headed up the rankings quickly and I see him being between 10-12 by the end of May. Almagro is just another example of a Spanish Armada and their continued desire to produce world class tennis players and champions.

Technorati Tags: Antonio Gonzalez, Mikhail Youzney, Nicolas Almagro

The years forth masters series gets underway this week in Rome, Italy. Perhaps the best claycourt master series of the 3 offered, in terms of its similar conditions and time frame towards the French Open. The Foro Italico will once again host a fantastic week of tennis in one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Players certainly like the event as the food and shopping in Rome are second to none. Rome is also known for its art and history and what two better players to have as the top seeds, than none other best fit than the elegant Swiss number 1 artist Roger Federer, and the chiseled and statuesque world number 2 Rafael Nadal.

As defending champion, Nadal will have to wrestle through a fierce crowd of challengers with all top 20 players entered this year. Rafa will look to meet his chief rival Federer in the finals, although before either of them can even think about that possibility they will each have to take out 4 tough foes in order to make the dream match up happen.

Novak Djokovic will certainly have something to say that as he is eager to crash the 1 and 2 party, but he has not looked that great in the last few tournaments himself. His fitness is once again an issue and clay is clearly not his best surface. His semi-final withdraw to R-Fed in Monte Carlo last month was an indication that he is saving himself for the majors and summer hardcourt season. Look for Novak to progress deep in the draw but not win the title.

On to the draw break down and as I’ve said before, masters series always provide great opening round matches. Roger Federer will be challenged straight out of the blocks as he faces Guillermo Canas in the opening round. Federer also has the potential of playing Paul-Henri Mathieu in the 3rd round and David Ferrer in the quarters. If R-Fed can get through that mess then he has the daunting task of facing either David Nalbandian, Novak Djokovic or Nicolas Almagro in the semi-finals.

As mentioned Novak Djokovic will potentially face Federer in the semi-finals, although he has potential clashes with Juan Monaco, David Nalbandian or Nicolas Almagro on his way to the semi-finals. I believe Novak can make the finals because Federer might be thinking of Hamburg next week as he is the defending champion at that event. Last year in Roma, Federer lost in the second round and does not have any points to defend this week. Therefore an early Federer exit is highly likely.

Rafa’s draw looks not as rough as the Federer and Djokovic half, as he has to contend with non clay court players James Blake and Andy Roddick on his road to the finals. Honestly if fatigue is not the culprit with Nadal this week, I believe his 4th final at the Floro Italico should be a cake walk. It will be interesting to see how Nadal keeps up his fantastic form as of late, and if he enters Hamburg next week. Unfortunately for the Hamburg masters next week, I believe the event will take a hit with its player entries.

As always please check back throughout the week with updates on matches as well as comments. Please check out the link below to the official tournament site. Enjoy!

The third week of the claycourt season saw continued domination from the Kind of clay Rafa Nadal, as well as some resurgence from veteran players such as former number 1 Marat Safin as well as 36 year old Younes El Aynaoui. As many players took the week off to prepare for the Roma Masters that will be held next week, Barcelona and Munich still managed to provide scintillating tennis for its fans.

On the 1st review of the week and Barcelona, Spain. No suprises at this years Open Sabadell Atlantico as home town hero and rock star Rafeal Nadal stormed the strong competition in his native backyard. Its seems as though Nadal is poised to smash all kinds of records this year as he has won Monte Carlo and Barcelona for 4th straight year and how is now 103-1 on the his favourite surface since 2005. Nadal was not the only Spaniard to cheer for in this tourney. Nicolas Almagro, perhaps the second best player on dirt reached the quarter-finals and David Ferrer made his second final in spain this year as he progressed to the finals. Stan Warwinka spoiled the party by reaching the semi-finals along with Dennis Gremelmayr of Germany to be the only none Spaniards in the final four. The Barcelona fans were surely happy with the output from their local stars all week.

A potential interesting match in the tournament that was spoiled by Gremelmayr could have been the semi-finals between Nadal and Almagro. Do not be surprised if you see this match as a French Open semi-final in 3 weeks time. Almagro is a rough customer on clay and I put him with Nadal and Federer and the top 3 favorites for the Roland Garros title. Nicolas is the tour leader with match wins on clay this year and has an impressive 24-3 record on the surface which he will try and improve on next week in Rome.

In closing Nadal has 3 more big tournaments to play this year on clay, and I do not think he has any intention of losing in any of them. Do not be surprised if he wins next week in Roma and skips the following week at the Hamburg masters series, which he lost in the finals in last year.

On to the second tournament review of the week in Munich, Germany. The draw held up pretty well in terms of seeded players as number 1 ranked Paul-Henri Mathieu and second seed Fernando Gonzalez progressed deep into the event. Top seed Mathieu was up ended by Italian upstart Simon Bolelli, 7-6 in the third set in the semi-finals and Younes El Aynaoui rounded out the final 4. The 36 year old Morroco native last made an ATP semifinal at the ATP Masters Series Madrid in October 2003. Its quite amazing that Younes is still able to compete at the main tour level. Although his career record in Munich is 13-2, he definitely knew he had a chance of doing some damage at this event. The cold and quick conditions in Germany really do suit his game. I’m sure this will really light a fire under El Aynaoui and he will be looking forward to qualifying for the Masters Series event in Hamburg in two weeks time.

Marat Safin also made it to his 1st quarter-final of the year as he continues to search for his confidence and reclain the form that would put him in the mix with the big boys at the top. Marat is truely a class player and has no business being ranked as low as 84 in the world. I do not think he will be able to recapture the form that he had in 2005, when he won his second grand slam at the Aussie Open, but surely he could get back to top 15 status.

A great week for Bolelli, as the 58th ranked native of Bologna, Italy, played hard all week and progressed to his 1st career final. He will certainly be looking to sustain his form next week in Rome, where the Italian fans will be in full support of their new hero.

Gonzalez claims his second title of the year in Munich, to go along with his victory in Chile in early February. Fernando is still a question mark in terms of consistency as he is up and down with his motivation. As well he has a ton of points to defend next week in Rome as he made it to the finals last. Enjoy this victory Fernando, because your ranking is gonna take a hit next week.

Technorati Tags: David Ferrer, Dennis Gremelmayr, Fernando Gonzalez, Marat Safin, Nicolas Almagro, Paul-Henri Mathieu, Rafael Nadal, Sabadell Atlantico, Simon Bolelli, Stan Warwinka, Younes El Aynaoui

Every specialist has their own technique. Traits in which they master and are known for. Most specialize in methods that are so intricate that recognition is given right away. Rafael Nadal has shown over the past 3 season on clay that he embodies all of the characteristics of a world class surgeon or doctor, and his craftsmanship has already been shown this year. The 2008 claycourt season has started off with a similar feeling to the past years of dominance that he has had.

On Sunday, Nadal chalked up another masters series title on clay beating once again the best player in the world, Roger Federer for the 7th time on the dirt. Nadal was down a service break in the 1st set but clawed his way back to take it 7-5. The second set was even more of an up hill battle as R-Fed got up to a 4-0 double break lead, when Nadal decided to take out is scalpel and forceps to slice up Federer and take the set, the match and his 4th straight Monte Carlo title.

Truthfully I do not think Nadal is ever worried on clay. He is so fluid, elegant and confident that any lead by his opponent only means that he has to be on court a little longer for a victory. The young 21 year old Spaniard has won 99% of his last 100 matches on clay, and his office hours look to increase over the next few weeks as he continues to roll through the Barcelona, Rome, Hamburg and The French Open with victory on his note pad.

His office will be full of bruised and battered world class tennis players seeking attention for the pain that Rafa has inflicted on them. The abuse is perhaps more mental than physical as trying to figure out the chess game that is Nadal is quite tricky. His defense is superb, his offense is outstanding and his heart is never broken. Perhaps opponents of the Spaniard can only hope for Rafa to have an off day or week, because of the many hours of overtime that have been put in the emergency room.

There is no doubt that this claycourt genius is on the road to another dominating year on the European clay. Nadal will be packing alot of extra socks, bandanna’s and wrist bands as he does not plan on losing much this spring. His trophy case will be looking for a new shelf and his waiting area will be looking for more seats, and there will be many patients needing a cognitive analysis as to why they feel helpless at work against the bull dog that is from Mallorca, Spain.

Technorati Tags: Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer

The tour takes a breather from its hectic masters series schedule this week as it crams in two smaller level international series tournaments. With the Roma Masters coming up next week, most of the top players will be out of action this week. Barcelona in particular will have its share of great players entered as the Spaniards do never want to disappoint the home crowd. Munich, will host a smaller level draw as local talent will be looking to gear up their games as the up coming masters series in Hamburg is around the corner.

On to the 1st review of the week and Barcelona, Spain. It seems as though this is the year of 4 peats for Rafa Nadal. The defending champ of pretty much every major claycourt tournament is going for his 4th Barcelona crown and as usual it will not be easy. The Mayorcan will have to contest against fellow top ten players David Ferrer and David Nalbandian and surprise wild card entry James Blake. The event hosts 13 local heroes in the 56 draw, and I have a feeling the hometown crowd will have a Spaniard to cheer for in the final. Nadal is running with a remarkable record on clay, since July 25, 2005-present, Nadal has a 137-13 career record on clay (18 titles). In 2007 he captured five of his six season titles on clay at the AMS Monte-Carlo, Barcelona, AMS Rome, Roland Garros and Stuttgart. If anything is able to top those astounding numbers, Rafa has also won 97 of his last 98 matches on the dirt.

However, don’t be surprised if Nadal doesn’t take home the title in this years Open Sabadell Atlantico. Reasons being that he has just come off of a victory in Monte Carlo and has the Roma Masters to defend next week. Rafa has already voiced his utter displeasure for the ATP and how they have condensed 3 claycourt masters series into a 4 week span. Clearly, if Nadal can win all 3 events as well as Barcelona and Roland Garros, this will have to have been the best year by any player on clay in the history of the game.

The draw breakdown looks favourable for the top players to move through the draw. Nadal has a relatively easy draw with a potential clash with fellow Feliciano Lopez in the third round and either former number one players Juan Carlos Ferrero of Carlos Moya in the quarter-finals. With all this adversity I still like Nadal to climb his way through the draw.

Second seed David Ferrer with Fernando Verdasco and Tommy Robredo standing in his way towards the quarter final. The feisty Spaniard looks good to reach at least the semi-final, with King David Nalbandian a potentially waiting for him. Although this is not a masters series its undoubtedly the 5th biggest claycourt tournament in the world to win.

The second review of the week, takes the tour to the once mighty tennis nation of Germany. Munich will hold the BMW open this year and they were able to attract a relatively decent field. Defending champ Philipp Kohlschreiber will be joined be Paul-Henri Mathieu and Fernando Gonzalez as the top two seeds. As well the flashy Frenchmen Gael Monfils and in form Igor Indreev will be participating. The 32 man tournament does not have the fire power of the Barcelona draw but will still provide many good matches for the Munich fans to chear for. Along with the €59,100 1st prize winners check, the champion also receives a brand new 2008 BMW. Nice life!

On to the draw and not to many compelling matches early on to get excited about. This is truly a very open draw and I believe there will be a surprise winner or finalist this year. Perhaps Juan Martin Del Potro will finally make some noise as he has been off with injury as of late. Marat Safin and Tommy Haas are also entered and will try and gain a few wins as both players are on the downward side of their careers. Look for Philipp Kohlschreiber to make a deep run in hopes of a repeat performance.

Please check back throughout the week as we will have updates from the matches as well as comments. Please check out the links provide below to both tournaments.Enjoy!

Barcelona, Spain www.opensabadellatlantico.com

Munich, Germany www.bmwopen.de

Technorati Tags: Carlos Moya, David Nalbandian, Feliciano Lopez, Fernando Gonzalez, Fernando Verdasco, Gael Monfils, Igor Indreev, James Blake, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Juan Martin Del Potro, Marat Safin, Paul-Henri Mathieu, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Rafael Nadal, Tommy Haas, Tommy Robredo

Another great week of claycourt tennis. Another great week of destruction by Rafeal Nadal on the his favourite surface. The Spaniard once again solidified his great form and focus on the games toughest surface. Rafa sliced up or should I say top-spinned all his opponent’s into mercy at the beautiful Monte Carlo Country club.

Rafa looked crisp all week as he took down the likes of Mario Ancic, Juan Carlos Ferrero, David Ferrer, Nikolay Davydenko and Roger Federer all in straight sets, and took home his 4th straight Monte Carlo final. Nadal truly plays a fine brand of clay-court tennis. He never looks like hes out in a set. He was down at multiple occasion against Ferrer, Davydenko and R-Fed and come back strong in each set. Rafa has now won 99 of his last 100 matches on clay!

Nadal will look forward to continuing his dominance on clay next week in his native Barcelona. His draw looks fairly decent and if fatigue does not set in, Nadal looks to 4-peat there as well. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, if Nadal can win Barcelona, Roma, Hamburg and then Roland Garros, will have to be the single greatest year for any player on clay. Especially considering the fact the tour calender is condensed this year because of the Olympics. Good luck and vamos Rafa!

On to Mr. Federer and his great run to the finals. R-Fed looked great all week as his 9 match winning streak came to an end. All in all Roger has to be happy with his Roland Garros preparation. He already has a title in Estoril to go along with a final appearance in Monaco. It seems as though Jose Higueras will keep his job. Federer will be off next week as he arrives in Rome on Wed to start his preparation for the Roma masters which take place from May 5-11, 2008. Im sure Federer is looking forward to making the final, Im not so sure that he is eager to play Nadal again.

The claycourt season is in full swing, with 2 weeks down and 5 weeks to go. As well the top two players are starting to return towards the winning circle which is good for the game and the fans. I look forward to the coming weeks and the continuation of the Federer/Nadal saga.

Technorati Tags: David Ferrer, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Mario Ancic, Nikolay Davydenko, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer

Developing points in tennis is what makes this game so enjoyable. I came to this conclusion after watching a match between two 16 year old boys hit the ball so hard it was worth stopping to observe. The problem was that I found myself getting disinterested quickly.

How many times has one watched a point where the ball lands in the middle of the court with no thought process 20 to 30 times? To some this would be a great display of endurance. However tennis is built on the premise of tactics, height, depth, spin and much more.

In our junior academy we emphasize movement of the ball, different styles of play, and different shot making. The idea is teach our juniors rhythm and random shot making together to produce the best possible point. The points are still long lasting and any passer bye is much more inclined to watch a point where the ball travels from side to side, deep to short all ranging with different types of spin. Enjoy this pure complex game!

Conan Lorenzo
Director of Junior Tennis
La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club
2000 Spindrift Dr.
La Jolla CA, 92037

Technorati Tags: Conan Lorenzo, Tennis Coach

This weeks review saw the tour start off its claycourt season with the favorites taking center stage. All three events this week had the tournament favorites prevailing in their respective tournaments. Even though the opening week of the claycourt season does not provide relatively strong draws, for those players willing to play this week, vital ranking points can be earned, as well as valuable confidence on the clay.

Our 1st stop in this weeks review takes us to Estoril, Portugal, where top seed Roger Federer, got what he needed, and tournament title and some much needed confidence. Roger played well throughout the week as he did have trouble disposing of his opponents, en route to his 1st title of 2008. Believe it or not it was also his 1st final. Great veteran move on Federer’s behalf to enter Estoril as he is now in full swing in terms of his claycourt game and will look to continue his success in Monte Carlo next week. He will surely keep his coaching partnership with Jose Higeruas alive, as the Spaniard will prove to be an invaluable asset in Roger’s quest for a French Open crown.

The second stop in this weeks review, relives the Valencia, Spain tournament and the continued success of Spanish bull dog Nicolas Almagro. Although the Spaniard did lose the final to compatriot David Ferrer, Almagro is now 18-2 on clay this year. Nicolas has to be taken very serious as one of the top contenders for this years French Open title. At this point in the season he has to be right up there with Rafa Nadal as one of the best claycourters in the world.

Great win for Ferrer, as heart and determination once again propelled the stappy Spaniard into to his 1st title of 2008. Ferrer will look to keep his momentum going as he has a tough schedule coming up, that sees him playing 4 weeks in a row.

The last stop on this weeks review, takes to tour to Houston, Texas, and emergence of a new American hopeful. I love stories like this week, where a young 15 year old kid comes out of nowhere and makes an impact on tour. Ryan Harrison not only qualified for the Houston tournament but won his 1st match and had the pleasure of facing top seeded James Blake in the second round. Great effort for the youngster and we will surely be hearing more from the Louisiana native in the future.

The 2008 edition of the event also saw a surprise winner in Marcel Granollers-Pujol. The unseeded Spaniard beat top seed James Blake in the final 6-4, 1-6, 7-5. Again another bad loss for Blake as he is still win less in 2008 and once again loses to an unseeded player in a final. The other being earlier this year in Delray Beach to Kei Nishikori. However great effort by James to make his 1st claycourt final. Too bad for him though as this is as good a chance as any that he will ever come to winning a tournament on the foreign dirt.

Technorati Tags: David Ferrer, James Blake, Jose Higeruas, Kei Nishikori, Marcel Granollers-Pujol, Nicolas Almagro, Roger Federer, Ryan Harrison

The years third masters series kicks off this week in the lavish Monte Carlo. Known for its legendary Casino, luxury hotels, elegant nightclubs and restaurants, views of the sparkling Mediterranean are a regularity. Voted as the players favorite masters series tournament of 2007, the Monte Carlo masters always brings forth a great week of tennis action. This year promises to be no different with 3-time defending champion Rafeal Nadal set to start his 2008 claycourt campaign with a win, on his road to defending his Roland Garros title later in May. The Monte Carlo tournament is one of two venues in the world where the general public can not play as it is a private club year round. The other being the Wimbledon championships held at the All England club. A Truly beautiful setting for fans and participating players to enjoy as this unique venue is built into the side of a mountain over looking the Mediterranean.

This years edition of the tournament will see the top 3 players in the world battling against each other to obtain early bragging rights as to who is this years best claycourt player. As mentioned Rafa Nadal is the current undisputed king of clay as he as won 90 of his last 91 claycourt matches! He will look to continue his dominance as this years claycourt season is tougher than usual, with the calender being condensed and forcing players to play 3 clay court masters in a 4 week span. Rafa will be looking to roll through Monte Carlo as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Possible treats to his Monte Carlo thrown are usual suspects Roger Federer and 3rd seeded Novak Djokovic. R-Fed will be coming into Monaco this year with a slightly different outlook, as well as some claycourt wins under his belt. Roger had a good week in Estoril last week and it seems that his new partnership his coach Jose Higueras is working out well. Defeating Nadal in the finals Monaco will a tough proposition for Federer but considering his recent form and a recent coaching acquisition, this is as good a year as any for the Swiss number one to take home the title.

Well rested Novak Djokovic comes into Monte Carlo full of energy and hungry to prove that his game on clay is just as good as it is on hardcourts. Last years French Open semi-finalist has decided to take a different less hectic clay court schedule this year, hoping that quality rather than quantity will raise his game on clay. Djokovic should have a good clay court season, as he really has not played any matches for over 3 weeks. As well being only 20 years old will only help with the miles that he will put in his legs during the claycourt season.

Other notable players that should be considered for possible title winners at this years Monte Carlo Masters are: Nicolas Almagro, Juan Monaco, and David Ferrer. All three players have the determination and ability to win claycourt matches. However all three need to prove just as the top 3 players in the world have proved over the years, that they can win on the big stage. I beleive Almagro will have the best chance of progressing deep into the draw as Almagro has more fire power than Ferrer and has much more mental focus than Juan Monaco.

On to the draw and as always a masters series field never disappoints and often times carry a stronger field than a grand slam, in quality of early matches. As I’ve mentioned in last weeks tournament post, Americans usually duck out of Monte Carlo because it is too early in the claycourt season and they do not want to be in Europe that early. This year is no different with 6th ranked Andy Roddick and 8th ranked James Blake not making the trip to Monaco. Tomas Berdych the 9th ranked player in the world has also decided to skip the tournament, as he is back in the Czech Republic figuring out why he does not have the heart required to win big tournaments.

Roger Federer has a relatively easy passage through to the quarters-finals, where he could face his long time rival David Nalbandian who he shares an 8-8 win/loss record with. If R-fed can get through Nalbandian he will likely have Novak Djokovic waiting for him in the semi-finals. Djokovic has a pretty easy draw and should progress at least to the semi-finals. Rafa Nadal could see a few of his Spanish buddies on his way through the tournament as Juan Carlos Ferrero and David Ferrer are in his quarter. Nadal should have an easy week progressing to the finals.

Kudos goes out to the lone American in the tournament Sam Querrey. A valient effort by Querrey to make the trip to Europe early this year, to at least give himself a shot at improving on the clay. Maybe Sam can phone Andy, James and Mardy and ask them how gas prices are back in the States. Querrey does not have a favourable draw however, as he faces Spanish veteran and the tournament 10th seed Carlos Moya in round one.

Please check back for daily comments and scores from the event. Please check out the tournament link provided below, that will provide you with schedules of play and live scoring. Enjoy.

Monte Carlo Masters: http://montecarlo.masters-series.com/1/en/home/

Technorati Tags: Andy Roddick, Carlos Moya, David Ferrer, David Nalbandian, James Blake, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Juan Monaco, Mardy Fish, Monte Carlo, Nicolas Almagro, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Sam Querrey, Tomas Berdych

The John McEnroe effect has been unraveled by scientists who say that players really do see things differently from the line judges.

A comprehensive study of tennis matches shows precisely how much harder it is to see on which side the ball bounces, when it comes down within four inches of the line.

It turns out that in around ten per cent of cases, judges will make the wrong call, showing that McEnroe really did have a point when he said: “You cannot be serious.”

Unfortunately, however, when players do complain about a decision their protests are only valid 40 per cent of time, while the judges’ decision is right 60 per cent of the time.

The research was conducted by Prof George Mather of Sussex University, Falmer and is reported today in the Proceedings of the Royal Society, Biological Sciences.
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The study concludes the arguments could be reduced by making players, umpires and line judges take more care to see what happens to balls that bounce near the ends of the court, rather than the sides.

For years now, audiences watching tennis on television have been able to see the “MacCam” showing the precise landing of the ball to review controversial calls about whether it crossed a line.

The technology is used routinely to shed new light on line call controversies, for instance at Wimbledon and the US Open.

Now Prof Mather has analyzed the data recorded by the cameras used by the Hawk-Eye system in professional tournaments.

When a challenge is made, the umpire calls for a review of the Hawk-Eye data to determine whether the ball actually did bounce on the inside or outside of the court line. The umpire either upholds or overturns the line judge’s call accordingly.

Based on his study, Prof Mather could come up with a mathematical model to predict performance, based on limitations to how the eye and brain work together. “The model predicts that 8.2 per cent of all line calls involving balls within 100 mm (four inches) of a court line will be called incorrectly by line judges, due to inherent limitations in their perceptual system.”

In his paper, Prof Mather concludes from 1473 challenges by 246 players during 15 tournaments organised by the Association of Tennis Professionals that judgments are more difficult on certain parts of the court and he recommends that training and line judge selection should take this on board.

“Players should attempt to make full use of all the challenges available to them because some errors are inevitable, but should bear in mind that both they and the line judge are more likely to be wrong for base and service line calls than for side and center line calls.”

But he concludes that “line call accuracy is sufficiently high” that a rule of two unsuccessful challenges per set “seems reasonable”.

He found that 94 per cent of the challenges occurred for balls bouncing within 100 mm (four inches) of the line, a distance less than twice the diameter of the ball.

Both players and line judges are remarkably accurate at judging ball bounce position, with an uncertainty of less than 40 mm (1.6 inches) in its position, which is remarkable given that the ball is moving up to 50 meters per second.

In all, he says, four in 10 challenged line calls turned out to be incorrect.

By Roger Highfield, Science Editor - Telegraph.co.uk

Technorati Tags: John McEnroe, Science of Tennis, Telegraph.co.uk

With the clay court season kicking off this week, many players and fans will be looking forward to some world class tennis in the next two months. The grueling claycourt season is particularly hard this year because the calender has been condensed and players will be forced to play three claycourt masters series in the matter of 4 week span, ouch! I think fans should look for many injuries and withdraws from the top players as the inconsistent ATP has once again not found a way to keep its product in good form. Thus this up hill climb culminating at the French Open will require players to be smart and sustain an incredible amount of focus.

Players like Rafa Nadal and David Ferrer will be looking for an oxygen tank on the side lines with the amount of running that they will be doing. Nadal has already voiced his displeasure with the ATP’s calender switch this year by saying: “It’s an outrageous way to treat European and claycourt players.” “The truth is the ATP is making our lives almost impossible”.”We only have three Masters Series events and we have to play them with an important tournament like Barcelona all running together. Clearly Nadal will need to be super sharp over the next 2 months, otherwise oxygen might not be the only thing that he is misses as his number 2 ranking will take a serious hit.

One particular player, world number 1 Roger Federer will be looking to breathe easy for this years claycourt season. R-Fed will be looking to capture the one grand slam that he has not captured, the elusive French Open. Federer has been without a coach for close to a year now and it was announced this week that Jose Higueras the great Spanish coach will assist Roger throughout the claycourt season, in the hopes that he will be crowned the 2008 French Open winner.

It seems that Federer has finally realized that he does not quite know the claycourt game well enough. The spins and movement are not as natural to him. Surely he does not want to go down to 3-time defending champ Rafa Nadal for a 4th straight year. Bringing on Higueras as his coach will allow Federer the assurance that is required for claycourt tennis. Higueras is well known his coaching prowess. His coaching resume includes, taking 17 year Micheal Chang to the 1989 French Open title. He has also coached Jim Courier a 2 time winner at the French as well as Pete Sampras and Robby Ginepri. Jose is a world renowned claycourt coach and will be a valuable asset to the world number one. My guess is that Higueras’s most important piece advice to Roger will be: FIGHT HARD AND DON’T BE AFRAID TO BE OUT THERE FOR 5 HOURS. Nadal has clearly put forth that type of effect and he was been rewarded 3 times over.

The coming weeks will reveal how much of an impact the condensed claycourt season has on the sports top star. Rafa Nadal will fight his way through the next month and half and he will be looking to get in as many breathes as possible as there are no easy matches on clay and the conditions require alot of heart.

Look for perhaps a much dirtier Roger Federer this spring. Brown socks and maybe even some clay on his bandanna. Because that is truly the only way to do it on clay. You need to get out there and fight for your life. With the recent move to pick up Estoril in his clay court preparation this year as well as hiring Higuears, R-Fed can finally look forward to a French Open crown as well as doing a lot of laundry this spring.

Technorati Tags: David Ferrer, Jose Higueras, Pete Sampras, Rafael Nadal, Robby Ginepri, Roger Federer

With players putting away their hardcourt shoes for the time being the focus of the tennis world shifts to the red clay in Europe and the French Open looming at the end of May. This week sees the circuit visiting three venues in Estoril, Valencia and Houston. The Portugal and Spain tournaments will see deeper fields than the Houston tournament because most of the French Open contenders like to be in Europe as early as possible to get use to the conditions.

Estoril, Portugal is the 1st stop on this weeks review. Normally this tournament does not attract big name players because it is set the week before the Monte Carlo masters. However this year the event has the pleasure of seeing world number 1 Roger Federer grace Court Central at the Estadio Nacional. R-Fed is joined by recent Miami Champ Nikolay Davydenko and big serving Ivo Karlovic as the top 3 seeds. It will be interesting to see where Federer’s level of play is on clay. He is coming into the claycourt season in his worst form in the last 4 seasons.

Although I think if Federer is healthy he will have an extremely successful week in Portugal as well as the rest of the clay court season. R-Fed would never admit that has been saving his energy for the clay court season. In my opinion going into 2008, Roger had 4 goals in mind. The 1st being to win the French, 2nd to win Wimbledon, 3rd to win the Olympics and 4th to sustain the number 1 ranking. Clearly if he accomplishes the first 3 feats then the number 1 ranking will take care of itself. As well Federer has the luxury of not having defending champ Novak Djokovic in the field. Djokovic has opted to sit out this week and get ready for the 3 masters series that have been condensed into a 4 week span for 2008.

Federer opens his Estoril campaign against good friend and the shortest player on the circuit, Oliver Rochus. Do not be fooled though as Rochus is extremely steady off the ground and Roger will be extremely focused for this match. The last time these two players met the scoreline was 6-7(2) 7-6(9) 7-6(5) in favour of Federer. Second seed Nikolay Davydenko opens against Jergen Meltzer and should be good for a finals showing. Honestly the field here is not very strong, therefore if an R-Fed, Davydenko finals does not take place, both players should be very disappointed.

Our 2nd stop on this weeks previews takes us to the beautiful Valencia, Spain. The tournament boasts some serious clay court players, with David Ferrer as the top seed and Nicolas Almagro, the defending champion ready to take on competition. Almagro will be trying to add to his impressive 14-1 record on the clay this year. He has also won titles in Brazil and Acapulco. Other players that will be vying for the 2008 title are David Ferrer, Juan Mónaco, Juan Carlos Ferrero and Fernando Verdasco. Andy Murray was suppose to make the early trip to Spain this year as he looked to start his 2008 claycourt campaign on the right foot. However because of a virus, Murray will skip the event and begin to recover for Monte Carlo next week. Murray has recently hired Álex Corretja, who was a two time French Open runner-up. Corretja will coach Murray for the duration of the claycourt season. I see this as an excellent move as Corretja played a similar grinding style to Murray and he will be able to provide the necessary nuances that claycourt tennis involves. Provided they get along well as Murray is known for being a bit of hot head, this pairing should work out just fine.

David Ferrer, the tournament top seed seems to have an easy draw and should progress to at least the semi-finals. The bottom half of the draw is loaded with much better players as Almagro, Ferrero and Monaco will all be looking to start the clay court season with a victory. The winner of the Almagro/Monaco quarter-final should progress to the finals. The most exciting 1st round encounter to look out for is Ferrero against Marat Safin. The battle of two former number ones should be interesting as both Safin and Ferrero grew up and trained in Valencia. Safin will be some what rejuvenated with his come from behind win over Tomas Berdych in Davis Cup this weekend. Safin was down 2 sets to love in that match against a player with a big game and perhaps the same temperament as him. Look for Ferrero to squeeze through this encounter.

The last stop on this weeks preview takes place in Houston, Texas. As you guessed it the tournament will be loaded with American players and a few decent clay court players. James Blake will be happy that this tournament is held in Houston as its a short plain ride from North Carolina, where the Davis Cup was held this weekend. JB will likely skip Monte Carlo next week and get ready to join the tour in Europe when the Roma masters comes up later in May. The event also sees Indian Wells finalist Mardy Fish and German Tommy Haas participating. The best claycourter in the tournament is probably Augustin “Calleri-ed it” from Argentina. Although Augustin is relatively a better hard player he certainly knows his way around a claycourt.

I would like to see Latvian, Ernest Gublis break through in this tournament. I have talked highly of this youngster and after seeing him play and practice in Indian Wells and Miami I have become an even bigger fan. He is like a Marat Safin but seems to be more focused and mature.

The draw sees James Blake starts his Houston tournament off against the man who beat him in the finals of Delray earlier this year, Kei Nishikori from Japan. The 18 year old youngster will be looking for another surprise win over Blake and improve on his current rank of 118. Do not be surprised if Blake goes down in this match. Tommy Haas looks to have a decent passage towards at least the quarters. Tommy has been up and down this year with health, so anything is possible with the German. The field has 10 Americans entered and the hometown fans in Houston will be looking for an American to do some damage. Although I do not see an American making the finals.

Please check back for daily results and comments. As well please check out the links below the tournaments being played this week. Enjoy.

www.estorilopen.net

www.riveroaksinternational.com

www.open-comunidad-valenciana.com

Technorati Tags: Álex Corretja, David Ferrer, Fernando Verdasco, James Blake, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Juan Monaco, Kei Nishikori, Marat Safin, Mardy Rish, Nicolas Almagro, Nikolay Davydenko, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Tommy Haas