OK its the end of another ATP/WTA tournament at the Italian Open in Rome and the outcomes were well... predictable. Well kind of.
Starting with the WTA tour, I was actually pleased to see Maria Sharapova come through and win against Sam Stosur in the final, although it was a fairly straightforward win in 6-2 6-4, nothing too tasking for Maria. Despite it the brevity of the match, which was in itself about only 1 hour and 22 minutes, it did have some good stuff in there, the last game of the match was particularly good, albeit a bit too short. But it was her first clay court win at Rome, and naturally she was delighted, and it will give her much confidence going into the French Open. It always struck me though about how contradictory Sharapova is in her nature on court, in between points and games, she is very calm and composed, even if she makes an unforced error or a fault she holds it together. However when she serves or returns shots she screams at the top of her lungs, or rather she starts off softly and as the match progresses she gets louder and louder! To be honest I don't mind her grunting so much, as Sharapova does grunt more out of sheer effort than anything else, but I wouldn't want to be sitting in seats close to her, because I think I wouldn't have any hearing left! In fact her grunt was once recorded at a peak volume of about 101 decibles, that's almost as bad as being at a Who concert!
However on the ATP tour side of things, there was a real upset, something amazing happened. I mean just didn't see this coming!!! Wow!!! I swear I wouldn't have thought this would have happened! Oh wait, it already has. Yes Novak Djokovic, the unstoppable machine, lived up to his recent reptutation and sealed another victory over Rafa in a rather underwhelming final, in which the Djokster defeated Nadal with a fraction more comfort than even last time in 6-4 6-4. It was obviously quite a predictable result because Djoko had beaten him the weekend before quite convincingly, so I didn't see any live text on the BBC website for it which meant they obviously knew what the outcome would be!
To be fair, congrats to Djokovic, the guy has pulled out all the stops and made this year his own so far, its the impossible dream come true. When you think of it, I think when Djokovic won his crucial rubber round match in the Davis Cup last year, you could see a look of new found confidence in him that wasn't there before then, and its then when he thought he can beat anyone, and well the rest is history. But I am getting tired of listening to him constantly roaring with joy when he wins a title, yeah well done, but he just can't resist broadcasting it!!
But I kind of am worried a bit for Rafa, the king of clay is no longer going out there like a raging lion, he's now out there more like a neutered dog. But with the French Open now only a week away, can Rafa really try and hold onto his reputation as the king of clay or will he truly let it fall by the way side. Time will tell. It does seem based on tonight's performance more likely that the mighty Serb will claim his throne in three weeks time at the final. I hope at least by then Rafa gather his might and take Djokovic at the final if they should meet. Being a grand slam it will also give him an advantage, if he does drop the first 2 sets, he can cushion himself by trying to win in the 3rd, and when it comes to a slam I don't think Rafa will give up his throne without a fight. Perhaps that's what Rafa has been doing, just biding his time, savouring his best for Roland Garros. I sincerely hope so, in the past he has always brought his best to the majors. But who knows?
I just hope when we come to the French Open it will make a for a great final and not a straight set washout. But perhaps Rafa has been doing a rope-a-dope with Djokovic in Muhammad Ali style, then at the final in Paris he will turn round and say "Is that all you've got Djkoy???". From what I've read in the news it does appear that's what Rafa might be doing for Roland Garros, biding his time, learning from his previous defeats and working out just how to beat Djokovic. Remember when it comes to the grand slams, the real pressure is on, maybe then Djokovic really might feel the heat and in that regard Nadal has had more experience of coping with that pressure. Grand slams are gruelling and far more physically demanding than any events on the ATP tour that's for certain, particularly the French Open on clay, so we will see how the Serb responds.
One man that might go far for sure in the French Open will be Andy Murray (I don't mention him much really) who not only played the match of the tournament at Rome, he also proved to be the one of only two or three men that could defeat Djokovic. He was so close, but again that's one thing with Andy, its always been a case of so near yet so far, and it could be his epitaph. But his confidence has definitely grown, and he said he feels great going into Roland Garros, so I wish him all the best, he's had a terrific start to his clay season, the best yet in fact, having taken a set each off both of the top 2 world players. This guy has real talent and class, anyone on the tour has struggled to even get near taking a set off Djokovic, and in one match Andy nearly had him beat. No one else did that except Nadal. That says an awful lot about his ability. And if he can just sort out that serve of his then Andy himself would have beaten Djokovic that night not only that he would be winning slams by now.
So for the rest of the week there are no big ATP titles for Djokovic to steal and stash in his growing trophy cabinet, its the second slam of the year up next in a week's time. For the rest of the players on the tour they might as well just consider going into any tournament that doesn't involve Djokovic!
But the French is going to be exciting and plenty of potentially great matches coming up. The men's title might be a three-way horse, but the ladies title could be anybodys, which actually helps make the ladies tour that bit more unpredictable and exciting just now. Not only that but the BBC will be doing full coverage of the French Open too so that's great! :-)
Speaking of the next WTA Premier event this week is from Brussels, which doesn't see all the top seeds in play, but does feature quite a few of the main ones including Caroline Wozniacki, Francesca Schiavone, Jelena Jankovic and Vera Zvonareva, so it will definitely make for compelling stuff. Especially as Wozniacki and Schiavone are particularly so eminently watchable. Francesca for me is possibly my favourite player on the tour ladies tour just now, I just love her shots, even her grunt is so unique, her style of play is almost like Roger Federer, and she brings so much entertainment to the game through her own flamboyance. While Caroline Wozniacki isn't so flamboyant and I must admit her game isn't as exciting, but what I do like about her game is for the most part it is rock solid, and she has the will and stamina to go deep into rallies and how much she loves her sport. I also like to see how she reacts to being put under pressure from her opponents, but she can also show vulnerability and can be beaten, like Rafa, she's not invincible but she is interesting in terms of her career pattern and where it could go.
Also its great preparation for the French Open too just before the clincher, and it will be very interesting to see how the defending champion Francesca Schiavone will perform not only in Roland Garross but at Brussels too. On the tour this year I have to say Schiavone hasn't been overly impressive, she has been in and out of form, she has had some great matches, but hasn't pushed often beyond the third or fourth round. However at the Australian Open she was incredible in her epic 4 hour and 44 minute match against Svetlana Kuznetsova, and almost as impressive in her quarter final match against Caroline Wozniacki. I don't really see however Wozniacki winning at the French, she will hopefully get to the quarter or semi finals, but I think this title could well have Sharapova's name on it.
Anyway its all in the future, waiting to be mapped out. I'll be back with a bit on the Brussels Open WTA event in the week.
Tara!!
PS The next post will have nothing to do with tennis. Promise!
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