May 25, 2001 - The greatest tennis tournament on the planet
The US Open may be larger with more prize money. The Australian Open may be more modern with a unique surface.
Wimbledon may have the tradition and reputation, but no other tournament is more challenging and demanding than the French, you can't win it
on the basis of one super shot, a player will have to be an all around shot maker, and be physically and mentally fit to
have a chance at getting by the first round..
The following are what I think are the most interesting 1st round
match-ups for the 2001 Roland Garros.
Hyung Taik Lee
Kafelnikov
Yevgeny represents bad form, - a poster child for most 1st round losses by a top player, but he
always some how manage to make it to the second week of grand slam events.
Felix Mantilla
Bordhan Ulirach
May the struggle begin, no point will be won without a fight.
Thomas Johansson
Andre Agassi
I would not be surprised if Andre flames out very early
Patrick Rafter
Wayne Arthurs
This will not be a clay court match
Marcelo Rios
Wayne Ferreira
With jail time possibilities looming on top of bad form, former number one Rios will have a tough time winning this one
Barbara Schett
Venus Williams
I say Venus loses this one!
Jana Kandarr
Lindsay Davenport
Her best friend has cancer, she's coming off an injury, playing on her worse surface, Lindsay will thank her lucky stars for a win against this one-time promising player.
We will not be seeing many compelling women's matches until the quarterfinals.
May 24, 2001 - Women are sheep
Surface controversy is practically non-existent on the women's tour, - why because they all play the same way, they all have the same games, if the tournament was played on ice, you would see the women on the baseline trading groundstrokes until one misses by inches. Hence Natalie Tauziat is
seed 10th at the French. She was supposed to have retired already, announced it, but kept playing and is doing well.
I just don't see how and why the WTA has acquired the reputation for being "entertaining" it's not their
fundamentals, game plan, variety, tactics, athleticism, maybe it might just be their "form"
May 23, 2001 - Take it all the way!
If past results on specific surfaces are considered when seeding players at Wimbledon and the French, then current or recent form should also be analyzed.
Case in point - Marat Safin is seeded 2 this year at the French, that's the same player who has basically bombed out of every tournament this year, no matter what the surface was.
Are we to believe that he will suddenly turn things around at a grand slam?
This is where I again call for a current form entry system, where recent results are weighed more than matches played 10 months ago. Marat Safin is clearly a player in disarray and not deserving of the number 2 seed, which I believe should have gone to Juan Carlos Ferrero. (let's hope he's healthy enough to play)
Furthermore: Thomas Enqvist (14) and Jan-Michael Gambill (15) should not have been seeded. Pat Rafter (8) and Tim Henman (11) should both be at least 4 spots lower.
Unlike the so-called tennis experts, I will not pick a winner, but will follow the plights of the wildcards in the draw.
May 22, 2001 - Eliminate lines people!
Tennis does not need lines people, let the players call their own lines, the chair umpire will be there to oversee and and overrule the calls.
Out of all competitive tennis matches played daily on this planet, 99.99% of them are done with the players calling their own lines.
We know when we hit a good ball, we know where the ball hits and we know when we may have called a tight line. If there's a dispute, the umpire would sustain or overrule the protest, a player is allowed 3 bad calls a match without penalty, for exp. if player A calls a ball out and the umpire overrules and change the call to good, player A would automatically lose the point, if player A does that 3 times, on the 4th occasion he will lose 2 points, next time a game, and finally the match.
You will have very few lines problems, play will be continuous, back of the line and anything close to it will be played as in. Yes, that's the way it should be, here we are in 2001 and we still can't find an error free automatic lines calling device.
It's not easy to determine whether a fiber on the ball grazed
a spot of paint on the the back of the line.
The rule says, give the player the benefit of a doubt, with the no lines people policy, finally, benefit of a doubt will be practiced.
I know what you're thinking, it's bogus, well, it's currently being used in the NCAA's
(American college tennis) and it works.
Golf players govern themselves, tennis players can do it too, even in the pros.
May 21, 2001 - Weekend wrap-up!
Jelena Dokic had that mole removed from her face and she reaches a final and wins her first tournament. Let's hope the surgery does not backfire and she grows a mountain man beard like her father. - Congratulations Jelena, Anna
Kournikova has nothing on you!
Amelie Mauresmo gave up, she did not step up and challenge Dokic, I hope she put that match behind her and takes a positive mind to the French Open.
Albert Portas wins his first tournament, a huge one at that. He's a 27 years old journey man player, don't look for him to become a constant winner on the tour, that was his moment of glory, that's it for him, he's done, you will not be seeing him in the winners circle again!
The German Open finals showed that the macho players on the ATP tour have learned from the club pro that a good drop shot is a huge weapon that compliments big groundstrokes. If they ever learn to use the defensive lob when the success of a particular passing shot is next to nothing, the
entertainment level of the tour will rise drastically.
(c) 1stserve