Since its inception this website has been a big fan of Sania Mirza. We love the fact that Indian tennis finally has a good player on the woman’s tour and with the game to challenge the best players in the world. Unfortunately, Mirza has always found herself in the news for needless controversies and it looks like this time things have gone too far. Sania has just withdrawn from the Bangalore Open, a tier II event carrying a prize money of $600,000 and has subsequently decided to boycott all Indian tournaments.

Over the past three years, the list of the number of controversies Sania has found herself in has grown at a very fast rate. The controversies include

1. Criticism by Mullahs of her short skirt. (Attire contradicts Islam and is supposedly a corrupting influence on the youth)

2. Her partnership with Israeli player Shahar Peer- again kicked off a controversy cause the same old Mullah’s didn’t recognize the state of Israel.

3. Her support of a South Indian actress over the latter’s comments on pre-marital sex. (which led to two days of protests by the Rahul-Priyanka Youth Brigade)

4. The shooting of an advertisement featuring her in a mosque in Hyderabad; a commission filed a lawsuit against her and the ad agency for illegally trespassing the mosque.

And now..

The insane flag controversy:

Somehow, the above image led to some attention seeker filing a law suit against her under the ‘Prevention of Insult to National Honour Act’. Under the terms of the act, a person can be thrown into prison for three years for insulting the country. Looking at the image it is clearly obvious that her feet are some distance away from the flag!

Ironically, the “disrespect to the national flag” issue cropped up when Sania was representing India at the Hopman Cup along with Rohan Bopanna. The thought that Sania choose to play for the country rather than play at the Sydney International and gain valuable WTA points seems to have missed the idiot who has filed this lawsuit. Whats worse, the Indian media, continues to oversell the story.

Needless comments by Paes

Indian tennis legend Leander Paes stated that there is nothing above playing for one’s own country in front of home fans and that Sania should not have skipped the Bangalore event. Couldn’t Leander apply the same “reasoning” for himself and played the Chennai Open? Tennis is an individual sport and that is the way it has been. While representing one’s country is something all players in general savor, putting unnecessary expectations on them is completely unwarranted. The pressure Sania has to deal with in India is much more than even what Tim Henman had to endure in England.

While her decision to skip the tournament has surprised and shocked many, it has come at the right time. She has been subjected to enough harassment and it is high time she stops being a publicity-generating machine for activists and news channels across the country. Her withdrawal from the Bangalore Open and tournaments in India has drawn a lot of attention from the global tennis community and it certainly has not done anything constructive for Indian tennis!

The Future:

Right now, after attaining the status of Asia’s top player, Sania has to work diligently toward her goal of entering the top 20. To do that she has to compete hard against super-talented youngsters like Agnes Szavay, Agnieszka Radwanska, Victoria Azarenka, and Alona Bondarenko. Sania has the game to do it and its just a question of staying fit and being able to get consistent results over the season. Whether the media, the fans and the mullahs let her be remains to be seen.

The Australian Open 2008 will always be remembered for the fact that it was the first grandslam when the juggernaut that is Roger Federer was stopped in over three years. The talented Serbian Nole Djokovic stopped Federer in the semifinals and then went on to win the tournament defeating another youngster Jo Wilifried Tsonga in a pulsating final. The woman’s final was a young man’s dream, two dazzling beauties in Maria Sharapova and Ana Ivanovic fighting it out for the top prize. Sharapova of course took the match easily. The tournament through up a lot of surprises, great matches, controversies and of course a lot of new faces and set the tone for the rest of the year. Here are some of the talking points of the event.

Best Match (men): Roger Federer vs Janko Tipsarevic. Federer won 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (7-1) 5-7 6-1 10-8.

Before Nole Djokovic took Federer out in the semifinals, another Serb almost did just that in the third round. Tipsarevic looked class and has a good career ahead of him.

Best Match (women): Casey Dellacqua vs Amelie Mauresmo 3-6 6-4 6-4 in round 3.

Dellacqua sent the home fans into delirium by ousting the former champion. Mauresmo now faces a big fight to break back into the top 10.

Surprise of the tournament (men) : No doubt Jo Wilifried Tsonga.

Tsonga defeated the great Brit hope Andy Murray in Round 1, Chennai Open winner Mikhail Youzhny in the 4th Round and pulled off a massive upset in the semifinals when he defeated Rafael Nadal. Djokovic went on to win the tournament but the tennis world had discovered a new star (and whats more a star with a striking resemblance to Muhammed Ali!)

Surprise of the tournament (women) : Daniela Hantuchova.

At the ripe old age of twenty four Hantuchova finally overcomes her biggest the obstacle- the grand slam quarterfinal. And she might have just gone on to the final if she hadn’t blown her big lead in the semifinal against Ana Ivanovic.

The biggest disappointment: David Nalbandian

The Argentinian lost to Juan Carlos Ferrero in the third round in straight sets. A big let down considering his form in the indoor season in 2007 when he won both the Madrid and Paris masters (defeating both Federer and Nadal in the process)

Nasty Parent of the Tournament: Yuri Sharapov

There was no competition for Maria Sharapova in the woman’s side of the grand slam and her father Yuri wins this award hands down. Already one of the most hated parents on the woman’s tour, he was in the news for the wrong reasons during the tournament when cameras caught him gesturing to slit-her throat after Sharapova’s match against Henin. If he doesn’t curb his behaviour, he could just go the way of Damir Dokic (father of Jelena) and Jim Pearce (father of Mary) by getting banned from the tour.

Get a good job with good pay and you’re okay- Money, Pink Floyd

Lindsay Davenport became the highest-earning female athlete (over $21 million) during the course of the tournament. Davenport has always been a fantastic professional and has recently come back to the tour after becoming a mom. Here is hoping she has a great 2008.

The Sania Mirza Verdict:

Sania had a good run in the singles event reaching round 3 before running into multiple grand slam champion Venus Williams. The Indian put up a great fight matching Venus stroke for stroke in the first set before running out of steam. Sania also had a good run in the mixed doubles reaching the final with Mahesh Bhupathi.

Quotes of the tournament:

Stay in school, kids, or you’ll end up being an umpire,”- Andy Roddick yells at the umpire during his round 3 loss to German Philipp Kohlschreiber

“Nadal tried to hit Tsonga in the nuts with that ball but somehow he managed to get some wood on it.” - Jeff Tarango on 5 Live Sports Extra during Nadal-Tsonga at the Australian Open.

There’s a lot of resemblance to Uma Thurman, actually. Everyone who meets my mom says she looks like Uma Thurman.”– Sharapova on being asked about her low-profile mother

” I know you guys wanted him to win. Its ok. I still love you” - Nole Djokovic, after the final vs Tsonga where the crowd was pretty much behind the underdog the entire match.
A big thanks to Aja  for helping out with this list.

In a one-sided final of the 2008 Australian Open, Maria Sharapova won her third grand slam by beating the new world no.2 Ana Ivanovic from Serbia 7-5, 6-3. Masha, as she is fondly called by her fans went through the entire tournament without dropping a set. Sharapova’s victory seemed inevitable after the form she showed in beating world no. 1 Justine Henin (Sharapova won 6-4, 6-0) in the quarterfinals.

Through the final Sharapova was the aggressor controlling most of the rallies. Her court coverage, though not the best in the game, has improved tremendously and coupled with her never-say-die attitude ensured that she had no serious problems in any of her matches at Melbourne. From the beginning of the final it looked clear that Masha wanted to erase the memory of last year’s final (she was ruthlessly drubbed by Serena Williams 6-1, 6-2).

Ivanovic was leading 5-4 30-30 on Sharapova’s serve in the first set, but the Serb was unable to win the set as the Russian fifth seed held her serve confidently. From then on, Ana was left playing catch-up for the rest of the match. Through the final, it seemed as if Sharapova was against an Australian player considering the support Ivanovic received from the fans. Like Kim Clijsters before her, Ivanovic has been adopted by the fans at Melbourne and Ivanvoic’s column through the tournament i an Australian newspaper certainly helped.

Maria Sharapova now has to win the French Open to complete a career slam and if she is playing at this level she has a good chance to better her last year’s semi-final appearance at Roland Garros. This is the second time that Ivanovic has ended up bridesmaid but she has the game to win on any of the four surfaces and could just end up going all the way in one of the three remaining slams.

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The first grand slam of the year has just started to get into the business end of the event. Here is a quick update of all the action so far:

Best match of the first two rounds: 

2006 runner up Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis beat 2005 champion Marat Safin in a fabulous five setter- 6-4 6-4 2-6 3-6 6-2 in a tough five setter that could have gone either way. Baghdatis now finds himself in a very promising third round match against Lleyton Hewitt.

Biggest Upset: 

We haven’t witnessed too many upsets so far but the biggest one definitely has to be Jo-Wilfried Tsonga’s defeat of Andy Murray. Murray has come off a very difficult 2007 and the new year hasn’t started on a very promising note.

Other upsets: 11th seed Tommy Robredo lost to American Mardy Fish and Australia’s Casey Dellacqua defeated Patty Schnyder in three tough sets. (8-6 in the third!)

Some good links:

Why Todd Woodbridge believes Roger Federer is the greatest of all time! (GOAT): Here

The Australian police use pepper spray on fans after racism allegations:  Here

What is an anti-grand slam? Really interesting read and a lot of research! Here

This year’s Australian Open, could just prove to be the perfect start for a special year for Roger Federer. 2008 is the year of the Beijing Olympic Games and Federer has the best possible chance to achieve a Golden Slam (4 slams plus the Olympic gold medal). Here in Melbourne, the defending champion is not taking things easy. His biggest concern right now is his physical condition; he is recovering from a stomach infection and has arrived at Melbourne without any match practice. He missed playing at the Kooyong Classic exhibition tournament.

On the other hand, the draw has been very favorable to Federer. His first real test is a potential fourth round clash against Tomas Berdych, the thirteenth seed. The world no.1 is likely to face last year’s runner-up Fernando Gonzalez or his friend American Davis-cupper James Blake in the quarters. Both Gonzalez and Blake have not been in great form in the tune-up events. Blake lost to Santoro in Sydney International and Gonzalez didn’t fare too well in the Kooyong Classic, losing to Marcos Baghdatis

Novak Djokovic, the current world no.3 is the second favorite for the title. Nole, as he is affectionately called by his fans started the year on a positive note winning 4 matches at the Hopman Cup, in spite of playing with a back problem. He is seeded to face Federer in the semi-finals, but his path is filled with very dangerous opponents and he could face 5th seed, David Ferrer or the hottest player in the 2007 fall- David Nalbandian in the quarters. Nalbandian on his part is fighting his own battle of recovering from his back injury. Djokovic could face Tursunov in round 3 and 2006 finalist Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis or local hope Lleyton Hewitt in round 4.

Nadal heads the bottom half of the draw and would hope to better his last year’s performance, where he reached the quarterfinals. The year has started well for Nadal as the Spanish world no.2 reached the final of the Chennai Open where he was felled by Russian Mikhail Youzhny. The new Plexicushion surface - supposed to be a lot quicker than the Rebound Ace surface previously used - is right now playing slow. It is expected to become faster once sufficient matches are played on it during the first week. If that happens Nadal could have his task cut short. However, he has been presented with a fairly easy draw and his first real challenge could be Andy Roddick, the sixth seed in the quarterfinals – assuming he gets past Carlos Moya or the talented young Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu in round 4.

Fourth seed Nokolay Davydenko is seeded to face Nadal in the semis and the Russian did not have an ideal start for the year (only won a match at the Kooyong Classic) and lost in the semis of the Qatar Open to the eventual tournament winner Andy Murray, the 9^th seed here.

Predictions:

Semi-final 1: Roger Federer Vs Novak Djokovic

Semi-final 2: Andy Roddick Vs Nikolay Davydenko

Final: Federer Vs Roddick

Winner: Federer

Best Outside Chance: Andy Murray

Womens Singles:

Justine Henin arrives at the 2008 Australian Open with the best possible tune-up – she defeated world no.2 Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final of the Sydney International – thus establishing herself as the firm favorite for the first slam of the year. Her draw also appears to be easy till the quarterfinal stage, where she is expected to clash with Russian Maria Sharapova, provided the Russian gets past American Lindsay Davenport in round 2. Davenport has been in fine form since her return to tennis last year end, winning three titles- one of them this year at Auckland

Henin is seeded to face defending Champion Serena Williams in the semi-finals. Serena too is coming off a good preparation at the Hopman Cup, where she helped U.S. win the title. Serena would be looking for some serious revenge over the Belgian world no.1, to whom she has lost in the quarterfinals at the last three Grand Slams.

Venus Williams is in the bottom half of the draw and would be looking for her first Australian Open crown. She appeared in the finals once losing to sister Serena Williams in 2003. Venus is likely to face Indian Star Sania Mirza in the third round and in-form Serb Ana Ivanovic in the quarters.

Second-seed Svetlana Kuznetsova had a good 2007, where in spite of winning just one title she has managed to attain the world no.2 ranking. The highlight of her year was her appearance in the finals of the U.S. Open. She is seeded to face compatriot Anna Chakvetadze (6 seed) or 9th seed Daniela Hantuchova in the quarterfinals.

Predictions:

Semi-finals 1: Justin Henin Vs Serena Williams
Semi-finals 2: Venus Williams Vs Svetlana Kuznetsova
Final : Henin Vs Venus

Winner: Henin

Best Outside Chance: Lindsay Davenport

Wimbledon 2007 got a men’s final it didn’t deserve. After two weeks of incessant rain delays, arguments about scheduling, complaints about tradition, and a rather very one-sided woman’s final, we got to see 4 hours of glorious tennis.

And at the end of all that, Roger Federer stood Wimbledon champion and for the fifth time in a row. Now he is just 3 grand slams away from Pete Sampras’s record of 14 and chances are he might do it as early as next year. Federer edged the final in five tough sets 7-6, 4-6, 7-6, 2-6, 6-2. He did admit that luck had played a big part cause Nadal had 4 break points in the fifth set but couldn’t convert any of them.

Rafael Nadal might have ended up with the silver plate, but there is no doubt that we were seeing a future Wimbledon Champion. Now, I can’t wait for the U.S. open; to see these two to slug it on a surface other than grass or clay. Nadal still holds the edge 8-5 in the head to head. And for years we have been wondering if Federer will win the French and achieve the career Grand Slam, but now I feel there is an equally good chance that Nadal might do the same. In fact, the odds on Nadal are achieveing it are about as good.

India’s Sania Mirza and Israeli Shahar Peer’s run at Wimbledon came to a halt today as they lost to top seeds Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur in three sets. For Mirza this is another bullet point in the list of controversies she has found herself in. Be it for her T-shirts, religious fatwas or for her comments on pre-marital sex, Sania has managed to stay in the news for more reasons away from the tennis court.

But full credit to the girl for doing what she thinks is right. This partnership with Israeli Shahar Peer is particularly significant considering the two were criticized by religious groups for pairing in the Japan Open in 2005. I had hoped the two would do well and shut people up, too bad they had to run into the top seeds so early in the tournament!

I don’t care too much for what religious fundamentalists have to say but stay the hell out of sport!

Not the first controversial pairing:

However, the Mirza-Peer team is not the first controversial pairing in the world of tennis. That title should definitely go to the duo of Althea Gibson and Angela Buxton. Althea Gibson is well known for being a breaker of barriers, the first black to play both the US Open and Wimbledon, she was also the first black to win Wimbledon (however her achievements are much less known than those of Arthur Ashe) and was an inspiration to a number of players including the Williams sisters.

However, the Gibson-Buxton partnership is not very well known. Anti-Semitism kept Buxton out of a number of British clubs in the same way racism kept Gibson out of white clubs in the U.S. By the time the two met (in India of all places!), Gibson was nearing 30 and had remained in the sidelines due to restrictive polices in the U.S.

The following French Open found the two without partners (because no one would partner them) and the rest is history. Gibson and Buxton partnered in both the French Open and Wimbledon and would win both quite convincingly. Althea Gibson would go on to win 5 grand slam titles including 2 Wimbledon titles.

And if you had taken our Wimbledon quiz , you would know that in 1995 Gibson wrote a letter to Buxton saying that she was sick, poor and forgotten. Buxton immediately got the letter published (without Gibson’s knowledge) and managed to raise over a million dollars for Gibson.

Lets hope the Mirza-Peer team wins a couple of grand slams before they quit!

 

 

Tennis fans were in for a rude shock over the weekend when Asian Channel- Star Sports decided to telecast the Paes-Damn doubles match at Wimbledon over the much anticipated and eagerly awaited third round encounter between Roger Federer and Marat Safin. It’s a little tough to find any semblance of rationale in the manner in which this choice was made. The channel then telecast the Sania-Peer doubles match, without giving any importance to the Federer-Safin match.

Tennis websites across the world mentioned the Federer-Safin match as the featured match of the day as well as a prominent match for the first week of the tournament. Here are some of the reasons why I think the channel decided to telecast the doubles matches over both the Federer and Serena matches.

1. The channel thought that a match featuring an Indian was a reason good enough for telecasting it and giving it a greater importance than a match featuring the four-time defending champion.

2. So what if Sania lost in singles, a doubles match featuring her would be good enough to sky-rocket the viewership of the tournament.

3. A sudden awakening of “Star Sports’ “political consciousness” in promoting the Indo-Israel and as an after thought the Indo-Czech Republic relations.

4. Federer is anyway going to win the title, so we can directly telecast the final?

Hope the channel does not repeat these sort of choices for the coming rounds and keep in mind that tennis enthusiasts in India do want to watch players other than Paes, Bhupathi and Sania.

Roger Federer

The world no.1 and four-time defending champion would be gunning for his fifth straight Wimbledon title, thus match Bjon Borg’s record. This is his favorite tournament and he loves to come here every year and assert his supremacy. We first had a glimpse of his grass court tennis prowess back in 2001, when he took down the greatest Wimbledon Champion of all time Pete Sampras in five tough sets. He was a favorite for the title a year later, but the expectations took their toll on him and he lost in the first round to Mario Ancic in straight sets. Since then the Swiss champion has been unbeaten here. A win here might not completely dissolve the Roland Garros disappointment, but would surely be very precious for Roger.

He starts the tournament as a clear favorite, in spite of skipping the warm-up even at Halle-   the Gerry Webber Open, an event which he had won four times. So when he steps on the Centre Court at Wimbledon he would be playing his first grass court match of the year, while his rivals have played at the warm-up events. As for the draw, it could not have been tougher than last year, where he faced some very good grass-court players on his way to the title.

2. Andy Roddick

Andy Roddick, the third seed and twice-finalist at Wimbledon is the second best grass court player in the world. In the 2004 final, Roddick was up a set and was on the verge of taking set 2 when rain played havoc with his plans. Things were not the same for either players after the break as Roddick saw a slight dip in his level, while Federer started playing better. That was the closest Roddick got to the title.

This year Andy arrives at Wimbledon in fine form, having clinched his 4^th Queen’s Club title in London 2 weeks before the Championships. He had some tough matches in the tournament and in the final he saved a match point against Nicolas Mahut and clinched a thrilling victory. Last year he was beaten in the third round by the British star Andy Murray, who is seeded 8^th this year.

 

3. Novak Djokovic:

The world no.4 player’s performances have been a revelation this year, having performed well in the hard court tournaments – he won the Miami Masters beating Rafael Nadal in the finals – and reaching the French Open semifinals. Djokovic, nicknamed Nole, has an aggressive game and is often called the best all court player after Roger Federer. He is solid with both his forehand and his double-handed backhand and does not hesitate to venture to the net, a clear advantage he has over most other players on this surface.

4. Rafael Nadal

The three-time French Open Champion and last year’s losing finalist is not what one whom people would refer to as a grass-court specialist. But he shocked everyone by reaching the Wimbledon finals last year and also managed to take a set of Federer in the final. This year, Rafa is playing a more aggressive game, a factor that was the key for his victory in the Indian Wells Masters. Nadal though tired when he reached the Queen’s Club event, did manage to win a couple of matches before losing to eventual finalist Nicolas Mahut.

The player with the best outside chance:  This has to be Andy Murray. Last year, he reached the fourth round where he lost to Marcos Baghdatis and if he recovers completely from his wrist injury before the tournament starts, he could pose a problem to anyone on his day.

1.Serena Williams

Just like last year there is no clear favorite for the women’s singles title. In this new millennium, the Williams sisters have largely dominated the Championships, with Serena winning two and Venus taking the trophy thrice. This year too there is a Williams in strong contention for the title and her first name is Serena, the current Australian Open Champion. Serena has a game that’s very suitable for grass; her sharp serves and strong forehands could do a lot of damage to anyone. Seeded eighth this year, Serena would like to put aside her French Open disappointment where she was beaten in the quarters by eventual winner Justin Henin. As is her practice, Serena has skipped the warm-up tournaments, but is playing doubles at Wimbledon partnering her sister Venus.

2.Justin Henin

Wimbledon is the only Slam that Henin has not won. She came close twice, losing in the finals on both occasions. In 2001, she lost to Venus Williams, the then defending Champion in three sets and met the same fate last year at the hands of Amelie Mauresmo. Henin is playing a much more aggressive game now and is regarded as one of the best all-round players in the women’s circuit. She knows that though she herself has become a powerful striker of the ball, it’s wise to make forays to the net whenever possible to keep the rallies short, especially on grass.

3.Maria Sharapova

One of last year’s losing semi-finalists and the tournament second seed Maria Sharapova is a former Champion at Wimbledon. She triumphed in 2004, beating Serena Williams in straight sets in the finals. Maria arrived at DFS Classic, a pre-Wimbledon tournament after a semi-final appearance at the French Open on her least favorite surface – clay. She reached the final of the DFS Classic, losing to Serbian star Jelena Jankovic in a tight three-setter. Maria’s power-packed game is highly grass-friendly and she is very keen on repeating her 2004 success.

4.Amelie Mauresmo

The defending champion Amelie Mauresmo is seeded fourth this year. So far this year, Amelie has not shown signs of the form that has allowed her to win 2 slams last year. But the genial Frenchwoman would be no pushover at her favorite tournament. One of the few players on the women’s tour who can play a classis game of serve and volley, she used that style to great advantage last year when she bet Henin in three entertaining sets to clinch the title. She seems to have recovered from her Appendicitis and is hungry to bring-out her wide range of shots to win a second title here.

The player with the best outside chance : Never discount the chances of Venus Williams at Wimbledon. She was not one of the favorites at the 2004 edition of the tournament, but that did not stop her from winning the title. If she manages to keep a tab on those unforced errors and plays her game, she is one player everyone would dread to face at any stage of the tournament.Technorati Tags: Venus, Williams,, Serena, Williams,, Sharapova,, Mauresmo,, Henin,, Tennis,, Wimbledon