Wimbledon 2009 pre-preview

What is more exciting than grass court tennis? Tennis that showcases tradition, craftiness and mastery of the tennis game, British flags, tea time, all white, the Royal family and well...the mental toughness following those long rain delays. Wimbledon is it, the trophy all players want because it means history, it mean so much more than just another tournament or just one of the four grandslams. And this year, is no exception. There is a lot to look forward to following the French in terms of uncertain results and upsets and more history made, but one thing that is for certain, is that technology has allowed us to review our calls and move that retractable roof around so fans and players alike don't go crazy waiting out all the London rain delays.

As a pre-preview, we will review the events of the past week. For starters, #9 ranked teenager, Caroline Wozniacki won her 5th singles title in the final of Eastbourne (AEGON International) that pretty much all the big shots played. On top of that, designer Stella McCartney decided to drop Maria Kirilenko in favor of Wozniacki. McCartney's beautiful designs rarely made it past the first round on the beautiful Kirilenko and her patience came to an end in terms of promoting her brand, so Wozniacki, already sponsored by Adidas, has been relayed the special edition Adidas baton.

Another winner of the week is #42 Tamarine Tanasaguran. At 32, she is a tour veteran and two time champion of the Ordina Open. She defended her title, making it her 3rd career title by beating Safina in the semi's in two sets. A new champion this week is Slovakian Magdalena Rybarikova who won her first title at the AEGON Classic by beating Li Na, who beat Sharapova. Li Na was last year's Wimbledon semifinalist and Rybarikova got a straight entry into the main draw with this win. Jankovic and Ivanovic continue with poor results, both being ousted early in their tournaments.

And now.... to the men's side of things. Dmitry Tursunov, the tour prankster, even while recovering from a May ankle surgery, won Eastbourne defeating Frank Dancevic. "Whether it's winning Wimbledon, Eastbourne, a Challenger of Futures event, or beating your grandmother in checkers, winning is always better than losing - so it's great to get through the week like this," is a straight quote from the guy with the sense of humor. This was Tursunov's first title on grass. Benjamin Becker beat a wild card Raemon Sluiter, to win Ordina Open. His win made him the 1st qualifier to win a tournament this season.

As for Wimbledon, what can be more disappointing than Nadal withdrawing and giving up chance to defend his title. He played two exhibition matches and the pain was too much, so he made the decision to withdraw from Wimbledon. As a silly statistic on the side, he will be the first since Ivanisovich not to defend his title. "I’m here and I'm just not 100%. I'm better than what I was a couple of weeks ago but I don’t feel right," Nadal said in his press conference. "To not play Wimbledon is one of the toughest decisions of my career." Of course the media jumped on this and the Federer Nadal rivalry and asked Fed what he thought. "Well, I mean, it's a little bit similar to Paris. We played the last four years against each other in Paris. We played the last three years against each other here at Wimbledon. So we definitely won't see the same finals again. So that's disappointing for me, of course, because I'd love to play him. He's my main rival. We've had some wonderful matches over the years, and especially the one here last year was the one that obviously stands out. So that we can't potentially maybe repeat that, uhm, is obviously sad. But it gives me it just shows me how lucky I've been, you know, that I haven't been injured over all those years, you know, that I've been able to keep it up. Even though I was No. 1, the one people were going after, I was there, I was not injured very often, and I was able to keep it up. It just shows it goes so quick. So it's unfortunate. I'm sad for him, because it must have been a very difficult decision to make," is what Roger Federer gallantly told the press.

A 6th Wimbledon for Roger and Venus? Perhaps!

Coverage starts Monday June 22cnd-July 5th, but if you work and don't have DVR, there is ESPN360.com. They will be covering 9 courts through the semis, live, thats 650 hours of tennis online!!!! Yay =) WimbledonTV will be broadcasting too, but with a subscription.

CHECK OUT THE DRAWS ON THE OFFICIAL SITE

Hit the same/Mentally tougher

Tennis is such a fickle sport. You can “own” one opponent but never be able to beat half the players that opponent is able to beat. Why is that? Everyone always runs to look at the draw to try to evaluate players based on their results on paper, and say things like, “Oh well, this #125 must be good, he beat the #35 last week”, or say things like “I always beat that kid, how does he win all these matches and I don’t?” It happens in the pros too, just not as often because the best in the world are, well, the best. When the level is so high, and the players so established in their training, techniques and fitness levels from an early age, a lot of the times the outcome of the match is solely based on the mental state of being, physical preparation and those outdoor indoor conditions of the time of play. Sometimes player’s games just don’t match up well against one another, causing this great divide between being able to beat two players in the top hundred, or being in the top 10 and being able to beat everyone.


Look at this years Medibank International warm up tournament in Sydney, right before the Australian Open. We will take Serena for example, although cases might be abundant on both sides of the draw. Quarterfinals, Serena Williams vs. Caroline Wozniacki. Nobody bet on Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki to win the 09 Australian Open, many bet on Serena Williams, marking her clear favorite of that match. Of course Wozniacki is up and coming and Serena is a defending champion of many slams and a veteran of top rankings. Wozniacki could have beaten Serena, after all she had three match points to close out the match at 6-5 in the final set. Doesn’t mean Wozniacki played a lot worse, or can’t beat Serena, it just comes down to experience, nerves and those varying states of being. Serena ended up losing to Dementieva, who beat Safina to the trophy. Moving on to Australian Open. Where is Serena and where is Caroline Wozniacki? Wozniacki lost to Dokic 3^rd round and Serena is in the finals again. Perhaps the stage is bigger during Grandslams and not all the young players can compose themselves like the past champions, evidenced by the lack of underdog winners. It must be frustrating, knowing you can strike the ball no worse than today’s Slam winner, hold match points, but be unable to convert. Patience is a virtue, those who find themselves and beat their inner demons, come out on top in tennis. Because they all look good striking the ball.


So what is the punch line of this observation of juniors at the draw and close pro matches where the champions pull out the victory? More advice for kids! It is true; anything can happen in sports, so stay positive and don’t give up until the handshake. Seeing that someone can never beat a particular type of player may give away hints of what type of players they struggle against most. It’s good to be observant and strategical, it will teach you to think on the court. Playing a high seed at a big tournament probably does mean that they have a lot more match experience, but not necessarily wins. Work on your game, develop your strengths and learn how to play in all types of conditions against all types of players. No experience is a bad experience in sports as long as you learn from it. Most importantly train yourself to be mentally tough. If this observation means anything, it’s that if you hit enough balls, you will be good enough to play with the big shots. But to be a big shot, you’re going to have to be mentally tough and experienced.

Read Serena’s Interview from Australian Open on mental tennis:

http://tennisinfoblog.com/me-against-the-russians-serena-williams-australian-open-interview