Davenport Pulls From Miami; Mens Preview
Posted on March 21, 2006
ATP Miami Preview: Video Replay Gets Top SeedThe strongest men's field of the year begins Wednesday at the Masters Series-Miami, the NASDAQ-100 Open, where technology rather than the players will take center stage.
For the first time in professional tennis, the Hawk-Eye line-calling technology will be employed on the stadium court where players will receive two challenges per set (and an extra challenge in the case of a tiebreak) to overrule the chair umpire's or a lineperson's call. A correct challenge and the player retains their previous number of challenges, an incorrect challenge and they lose one. The stadium's giant video screen will show the animated replay, which tournament organizers hope will get crowds into the match.
"It's 10 years overdue," said Gene Scott, publisher of Tennis Week magazine, speaking with Fox Sports on the video replay system tennis television commentators have been using for years. "It's amazing how TV forced the game's governors to do it."
Veteran ESPN commentator and tennis icon Cliff Drysdale says not only will the Hawk-Eye technology be good for the game, but in big matches will change it.
"The scale between players is so easily tipped, that one call, one point does make a huge difference," said Drysdale speaking with Fox Sports. "And there are so many more beside those where replays would have made a huge difference. I absolutely think some big matches would have gone the other way."
Big matches will be on the mind of top seed Roger Federer, who is on a mission to pull away from No. 2 Rafael Nadal in Miami, last week winning a third consecutive Indian Wells title after claiming the first Slam of the year at the Australian Open.
Federer is no stranger to Miami this week as the defending champion, setting a seemingly untouchable pace in 2006 -- and it's only March.
Other "storylines" in Miami include the resurgence of Tommy Haas who could face Federer in the third round, the coming-out party for James Blake who is also in Club Fed's quarter, the ongoing struggles and unending IMG-supported wildcards to IMG clients Donald Young and the confidence-challenged Mark Philippoussis at the IMG-owned event, the ongoing one-man drama club that is Andy Roddick, injury-ravaged former-greats Marat Safin and Tim Henman squaring off in the first round, Guillermo Coria resurfacing with a new coach and hopefully some game after a poor 2006 start, new world No. 3 David Nalbandian trying to show he is fully recovered from an ab injury, Nadal trying to bounce back from shockingly being kept from a final last week at IW, and Americans Andre Agassi and Robby Ginepri trying to show they have the mindset to compete, with a potential early-round meeting looming.
Lots going on at the "fifth slam," the last hardcourt stop before the all-dirt run-up to the French Open.
Here's the breakdown of the four quarters of the 2006 Masters Series-Miami:
Top Quarter
Seeds: (1) Roger Federer, (8) Gaston Gaudio, (9) James Blake, (14) Juan Carlos Ferrero, (23) Jarkko Nieminen, (24) Igor Andreev, (27) Tommy Haas, (32) Juan Ignacio Chela
Floaters: Arnaud Clement, Mark Philippoussis, Greg Rusedski
A lot of land mines early on for world No. 1 Roger Federer in the top quarter at Miami, including the former No. 2 and on-task Haas, and Blake who had en early advantage over the Swiss in last Sunday's Indian Wells final.
After an opening-round bye Federer could open against the Frenchman Clement, who has beaten Nadal this year and owned the Swiss in his pre-No. 1 days, winning three of their first round encounters. Haas would be the Swiss' likely opponent in the 3rd round, and the formerly-fearsome No. 1 Ferrero or Andreev in the fourth.
With Gaudio a mess since his shoulder problem arose, tip Blake to meet Federer in the quarters if the American can bypass the upset-maker Nieminen in the 3rd round.
Philippoussis is a floater only in terms of watch him float out of this event early -- same with under-cooked wildcard "The" Donald Young, who opens against Argentine Carlos Berlocq, winner to face Blake.
Second Quarter
Seeds: (4) Andy Roddick, (7) Guillermo Coria, (11) Dave Ferrer, (13) Lleyton Hewitt, (17) Dominik Hrbaty, (19) Sebastien Grosjean, (29) Olivier Rochus, (31) Fernando Verdasco
Floaters: Andrei Pavel, "Rappin'" Vince Spadea, Paradorn "The Thai Fighter" Srichaphan, Marat Safin, Tim Henman, Max "The Beast" Mirnyi, Novak Djokovic
Turn back the clock a few years and this is one rough section -- but this is 2006, when Roddick and Hewitt are struggling, and Coria was tapped to not even play Miami after bailing from Indian Wells to bond with new coach Jose Higueras after an awful start this year.
Roddick's opener could be a Davis Cup rematch against the Romanian Pavel, who beat the American in five sets when Andy shot his lunch into a courtside bucket mid-match.
Hewitt's opener couldn't be any rougher, meeting the winner of Safin and Henman in the floater-crazy second quarter of the draw. The fast-rising Serb Djokovic meets Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu in the first round, and either could take out the confidence-challenged Coria in the next meeting.
Look for something strange to come out of the bottom half of this quarter (Grosjean? Mirnyi? O.Rochus?) to meet either Roddick, Hewitt, or Safin for a spot in the quarterfinals.
Third Quarter
Seeds: (3) David Nalbandian, (5) Nikolay Davydenko, (12) Richard Gasquet, (15) Radek Stepanek, (21) Tommy Robredo, (22) Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic, (25) Marcos Baghdatis, (26) Tomas Berdych
Floaters: Paul Goldstein, Nicolas Massu, Xavier "X-Man" Malisse
Nalbandian should have his feet under him after his return at Indian Wells from an abdominal injury, and will be tested likely first by the pesky American Goldstein, then by the whaling power of Berdych in the 3rd round.
There are few holes in Masters Series draws, and Davydenko, the second-highest seed in the quarter, also doesn't have it easy with Baghdatis in the 3rd round then either Gasquet or Ancic.
Watch the seeds here as this is the floater-weak quarter of the draw. Lots of middling players like Stepanek, who has already won a title this year at Rotterdam, and Ancic and Berdych, who have run hot and cold, make this mostly personality-less Euro-section a coin flip beginning in the third round.
Bottom Quarter
Seeds: (2) Rafael Nadal, (6) Ivan Ljubicic, (10) Andre Agassi, (16) Nicolas Kiefer, (18) Fernando Gonzalez, (20) Robby Ginepri, (28) Gael "Force" Monfils, (30) Filippo Volandri
Floaters: Fabrice "The Magician" Santoro, "Dr." Ivo Karlovic, Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka, Carlos Moya
Throw A-Rod into this section and you could call it the "Confident-less American Quarter." Agassi and Ginepri have navigation-able openers, which would result in a third-round meeting.
How about Nadal vs. his former No. 1 countryman and mentor Carlos Moya in the second round for fans looking for some straight-out-of-the-box competition? You don't see much of that at the Slams.
Other tough openers for seeds are Gonzalez vs. the Murray-Wawrinka winner (don't underestimate Stan), and Kiefer vs. The Magician-Dr. Ivo winner.
Ljubicic has the easiest draw of the lot, and will need to merely hold his standard until fighting the U.S. partisan fans and likely navigating the video replay in a fourth-round encounter with Agassi or Ginepri.
Look for Nadal to grind through the tough draw of Moya, Monfils, and Kiefer or Gonzalez to face Ljubicic or Agassi for the quarterfinals berth.
Returning champs in the field are Federer (2005), Roddick (2004), and the six-time winner Agassi (2003-01,'96-95,'90). Jonas Bjorkman and The Beast won the 2005 doubles title.
X-CORRECT
ESPN did not show either of the Indian Wells men's semifinals matches live or on tape Saturday in the U.S. on the East Coast, but one semifinal was shown on tape Saturday beginning before midnight on the West Coast.
ESPN responds: "We noted with interest your comment about the scheduling of the Pacific Life Open men's semifinals. You should know: 1) You say we did not air either men's semi...we did in fact air the Blake-Nadal match as scheduled on tape later Saturday night. 2) the tournament agreed to this schedule when they changed the women's final from Sunday to Saturday (we used to show a men's semi live). They moved the women's final for reasons relating to ticket sales. 3) the billiards show you cite was only a half-hour show before ESPN2 resumed its extensive coverage of the NCAA Women's Basketball tournament with two telecasts Saturday night. It's an especially busy time of year on our networks, even by our standards, and we do our best to serve all sports fans. Thanks, --Dave (Nagle) ESPN Communications Dept."
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TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Lindsay Davenport pulled from Miami Monday, citing her back injury that flared up in Indian Wells... U.S. Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe writing for ESPN: "(James) Blake's play is great for the United States Davis Cup team, and it's great that Andre Agassi is interested in playing again. After Blake's performance at the Pacific Life Open, three Americans are in the Top 10 for the first time since 2000 (Andy Roddick is ranked No. 4 and Agassi is No. 10). That's great for American tennis. James has brought a lot to the table in Davis Cup, and obviously what he did in Indian Wells has been a major statement. I'm excited, and we'll get Roddick on track. We're feeling pretty good about our chances this year."...Mardy Fish is experiencing how his management company "Special Effects" (SFX) has little pull at the IMG-run Masters Series-Miami this week, with the former Top 20-ranked American forced to play the qualifying. Fish won his first-round qualifying match Monday over Frenchman Julien "United Colors of" Benneteau...Lleyton Hewitt drops from the Top 10 to No. 14 after his early Indian Wells exit, and Tim Henman plunges out of the Top 50...From the ATP: "Sir Richard Branson, the world-renowned British entrepreneur behind the Virgin Brand, and Florida Marlins starting pitcher Jason Vargas, and tennis legends Billie Jean King and Jim Courier will join with tennis stars Roger Federer, Maria Sharapova, James Blake and Venus Williams at "Stars for Stars," the Official Awards Party for Professional Tennis on Tuesday at the Four Seasons Hotel Miami. The event, which sold out over the weekend, will feature sumptuous food prepared by Miami's most-renowned chefs following the presentation of the awards to honor the achievements from 2005. Nominees include Kim Clijsters, Rafael Nadal, Sania Mirza, Marcos Baghdatis, Justine Henin-Hardenne, Andy Murray, Maria Kirilenko and the Bryan Brothers among others."...From Charlie "The Blogging Brick" Bricker: "OK fan, get involved: I'm going to be on the stadium court Wednesday for the opening match of the Nasdaq-100 and I don't care who's playing because I want to be there when the first player challenge is issued and the first replay aired on the big screens above the court showing whether the ball was in or out. What would feel particularly pleasant is if the fans got into, screaming "Challenge!" down to the involved player. Do you suppose we need those NFL red flags so the offended player can reach into his back pocket and throw it on the court?"...From AndyRoddick.com: "The Nasdaq-100 has released it's draw for the 1st Round of Men's Singles. Many have been looking forward to the first round draw of the Nasdaq 100. There are many interesting matchups. As expected, Andy will be awaiting the results of the match between Andrei Pavel (ROM) and Alberto Martin (ESP)." -- Besides the see-spot-run writing style, can we ask how Andy was expecting to be waiting for the Pavel-Martin winner before the draw came out Monday? Is Andy psychic?...In Miami, what happens when some prick such as (fill in the blank) gets so pissed off during a match that he calls for a video replay for the hell of it, like when his opponent hits a passing shot that clips the tape then lands five feet in? That will be good theater, and likely elicit some good booing from the crowd...Hawk-Eye inventor Paul Hawkins speaking with The Independent demonstrating why he doesn't understand PR or marketing: "With unlimited challenges they can say 'Hey, that was close. I was wrong, but no harm in looking,' whereas if it's limited they are saying, 'I am sure you are wrong.' If it is then shown the line judge was correct, it puts the player in an uncomfortable position. Why should a player need to become involved in the officiating anyway? Why doesn't the umpire have a little screen by his chair? If he is not sure of the call, he can look at our system and decide whether to overrule or not. So the player doesn't need to challenge." -- Yes, cool clinical technology without player or fan involvement, wouldn't that be great for the game...From Tennis Week: "If it seems (Maria) Sharapova is everywhere at Crandon Park that's because the Sports Illustrated swim suit model will be showing multiple sides of herself. Actually, there will be six Sharapova's appearing around the grounds at Crandon Park as Canon, an endorsee of the 2004 Wimbledon winner, will have six Sharapova look-alikes placed throughout the tournament grounds taking photos with fans from Friday, March 24th through Tuesday March 28th."...Elena Dementieva is 1-4 vs. Russians in finals...Jason Dasey writing for ESPN: "As for Elena (Dementieva), she's more girl-next-door than pin-up girl, yet has won many admirers with her natural beauty, charm and grace. Her tennis attire is sporty rather than sexy: instead of the (Maria) Sharapova-style baby-doll nighties, Elena's outfits are geared for on-court comfort, although she still cuts a striking figure in her preferred colour of red. She also has a strong, intellectual side that comes across with her thoughtful and measured answers during media conferences and interviews." -- Stalker alert!...Martina Hingis is 2-6 vs. Top 10 opponents in 2006...Amelie Mauresmo says now that she is back on top of the WTA Rankings, there's no reason she can't finish the year No. 1: "The first time, I had the feeling it would not last whereas now, things are much more under control," she told the sports daily L'Equipe. "And if I have things under control, it means it's going to last much longer. My main target is now to still be at this place at the end of the year. I now feel I really dominate women's tennis. It makes a big difference."
Also see:
Fish Begins Upstream Swim with Help from Little Fish
http://www.tennis-x.com/story/2006-03-21/c.php
Tennis-X Searches for Next Great Tennis Blogger
http://www.tennis-x.com/story/2006-03-20/j.php