Keepin' it real

Serena was interviewed in Cincinnatti by Simon Hattenstone of London's Guardian UK. Nice piece. Her memoir, On the Line, hits bookstores on Tuesday, Sept. 1.

The tennis addiction

Can Federer win the U.S. Open again? Of course he can (and I write this as a huuuge Rafa fan). Possible surprise U.S. Open winners could be Del Potro or one of the Andys. Sadly, I don't think Rafa has returned to his stellar self yet. At least Nadal and Federer are on opposite sides of the draw (though I'm not betting they'll meet in the final). Just a hunch.

Will Serena find her A game and win another slam this year? I wouldn't put it past her.

We're five days away from the U.S. Open. I debated going to NY to see the action up close and personal, but unfortunately fiduciary common sense had to prevail. Ah, well.

Until the real action starts, allow me to take a moment or two to talk about my experience with tennis. My dad taught me how to play when I was 11 or 12 (late by today's standards). My younger sister, however, got pegged as the athletic one and competed from 12-14. I never really found a toehold, though I played tennis (poorly and with little confidence) on the high-school tennis team.

When I picked up my racquet again this spring, something had shifted. For one thing, I have greater flexibility, thanks to doing yoga regularly for the past 15 or so months. That has made a huge difference.

I have a natural two-handed backhand (thanks, Dad!) and have worked to improve the mechanics of my forehand and serve, for starters. I'm playing at the 3.0 level, by the way. I've also been playing on a team. Matches definitely get the adrenalin pumping, but they're not so terror-inducing as they were in May.

The thing is that I want to be on the court every day (I manage to play 2-3 times a week). For the first time in my life, I'm thinking of myself as an athlete. That's a pretty stunning development for a lifelong reader and spectator.

I have a decent serve, which gives me a modicum of pleasure. I'm taking lessons and going to a clinic now and again. It's a real joy. If only I could do more of it.

Fallen heroes (or revenge)

When you're a baseball fan, it's natural to have a rooting interest, the home-town team. In the case of tennis, hardcore fans have their faves (and, as I have stated here, I'm a big fan of the the man from Majorca and the the brasher of the Williams sisters). So, today was a double blow when Serena lost in the semis to Elena Dementieva, the number-four seed in Toronto and Rafa went down to Novak Djokovic in Cincinnati (also in the semis). The matches had some superficial similarities. Both Williams and Nadal had great victories the previous day. Serena handily defeated Lucie Safarova yesterday, making lots of first serves and finishing the match in 57 minutes (6-3, 6-2). And Rafa beat Thomas Berdych (a tough, 6'5" German player who's troubled him in the past) in a tight two-setter. And both Dementieva and Djokovic were narrowly defeated the last time they met their respective competition (the Russian in a Wimbledon semi against Serena in which the latter saved several match points, and the Serb in Madrid in a hotly contested match against Nadal).

Elena Dementieva is a player to be reckoned with. She's tightened up her once error-riddled serve and has incredible groundstrokes and movement. It's no accident the Russian is ranked fourth in the world. Dementieva beat Serena decisively today: 7-6(2), 6-1. Serena wasn't getting her first serve in much, and she was mis-hitting forehands. Lots of unforced errors. Just looking at her, I could tell she lacked belief. Frequently tennis commentators remark on the fact that Serena and Venus go to the wall in the majors, and lack that special fight in the masters events. It's hard to account for Serena's loss today. That's not to take anything away from Elena Dementieva, who played smart, gorgeous tennis. Often Serena is able to rally herself when she's down. Not today Serena tweeted a few hours ago: "I'm a deadbeat. And a loser."

I can not imagine Rafa Nadal, whom Serena says she models herself upon, ever uttering those words, because he always plays hard and never stops trying. That's why he's number one in my book. The event in Cincinnati is his second since returning after seven weeks off spent rehabbing his knees.

Djokovic looked sharp tonight and came out very aggressive, winning the first set decisively (6-1). Nadal struggled with each and every service game. Nadal's topspin shots landed right in Djokovic's strike zone. Also, Rafa was playing waaaay behind the baseline, giving up a lot of the court. He stood much further back to receive Djokovic's serve than he did last night with Berdych. Not a good game plan. Nadal did better in the second set (4-6) but just didn't have what it took to come back. He was wearing a piece of tape on his abdomen. His serves were slow, leading to speculation that he was not 100 percent. Nonetheless, in his press conference he said that he felt positive about how well he did in Montreal (quarters) and Cincinnati (semis). And who can fault this assessment after the weird, unfortunate turns his year has taken? After his win at the Australian Open he dominated throughout most of the clay court season. And now he's fighting to return to form. Vamos!

Surprise, surprise

If I were a betting woman, I would have bet that Juan Martin Del Potro would triumph at the Roger's 1000 Masters in Montreal and for Dinara Safina to win in Cincy at the Western and Southern Financial Group Women's Open. They were respectively facing Great Scot Andy Murray and WTA #1 Dinara Safina. Delpo or the Big Man, as the 21-year-old Argentinean is called, seems indomitable. He beat Rafa (sadly) in the quarters, and won over Andy Roddick in the semis. DP won the first set in a tiebreak, but Murray pulled out the second and won the third in 6-1! Crazy stuff. Don't get me wrong. I'm sorry for my man Rafa to have lost his #2 berth during the tendinitis hiatus. Murray, however, has grown on me, and I'm glad to see him pull through.

And then there's Dinara. Her brother, Marat Safin, is a volatile player. Very hard on himself (and that's a trait all too easy to identify with). Dinara is cut from the same cloth. I have no doubt she'll win a major one day. I didn't expect for her to lose today. Au contraire. JJ has been uneven all year, and I thought Safina would roll over her in two sets. I was astonished that wasn't the case. Jankovic ran Safina from one side of the court to the other, and looked like her old (fleetingly) #1 self. That's what makes watching the volatile WTA so weirdly exciting.

Happy returner

As refreshing as a draught of ale, Belgian former numero uno Kim Clijsters has returned to the game after a two-year hiatus from the tour in which she had her daughter (Jada, now 18 months) and dealt with the death of her father. Clijsters has made an impressive as hell entrance at Cincy at the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters. In her first match, the 26-year-old Clijsters dismissed Marion Bartoli (who had beaten Venus at the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford last month), and Patty Schnyder in the second round. Yesterday, Clijsters had more of a fight when she played Svetlana Kuznetsova who won the French Open this year.

In the first set, Kim looked sharp (6-4). She was up 3-0 in the second, but then Sveta came back and won that set (4-6). Clijsters's first serve percentage was low, well beneath 50 percent. Not helpful. But then she rallied, winning the third 6-2. Gotta say, it's great to see KC back on court doing her trademark splits when she's tracking down a ball. And her looping, powerful backhand is a thing to behold.

During an interview, Clijsters revealed she's been training for the past seven months and that she's glad to be competing now. You could tell. She didn't seem deflated after losing the second. Unflappable, she just hunkered down and pulled out the W. Maybe it's having her family right there with her (hubby and former NBAer Brian Lynch) that gives Kim just the right perspective, but she seems rock solid.

Today Clijsters faces Dinara Safina, who's ranked at the top of the WTA. With Serena and Venus out in their respective third-round losses to Sybille Bammer and Flavia Pennetta, this could be Kimmy's tournament (she has a 6-1 record against Safina).

A sight for sore eyes

Okay, Rafa looks kinda goofy in this pic, but I don't mind. It's just good to see him back at the office. Today he and Francisco Roig lost in doubles in the second round of the Montreal Masters Series against Max Mirnyi and Andy Ram. They split sets 6-4, 3-6, and then lost 8-10 in a tiebreak. Tomorrow Nadal plays singles for the first time since the French Open (save for some exhibition matches in England in which he was testing out his knees).

So, here's my idol, Rafa, and then there was me tonight. Kinda miserable. I was playing singles against an affable woman on my team who plays with little pace but lots of consistency. I've been reading Brad Gilbert's great book, Winning Ugly, which discusses strategy. I knew going in that this woman is a "retriever." I let her dictate play. She would get her serve in fairly consistently, I'd push it back short, and then she rushed the net and put it away. Thing is, I didn't change it up. I rarely pressured her. She played her game and beat me soundly, 2-6. I was quite frustrated. I'd much rather play someone who hits with more pace, but I know it's crucial at the 3.0 level to be able to deal with a player of this ilk.

The return of A Rod

Congrats to Andy Roddick for winning in the semi-finals of the Legg Mason against Ivo Karlovic (6'10", a wicked serve), 7-6(4), 7-6(5). I've long been a fan of Andy's. I'm so thrilled to see his reinvigorated game (thanks, in part, to the coaching of Larry Stefanki) and new self-belief. I'd sure love to see him win the U.S. Open.

Licking my wounds, so to speak

This week I was missing being at Stanford (blasphemy, since I work at Cal) and watching so many great WTA players. What was there to do but hit the courts again? Unfortunately, I was a bit literal minded about this when I dove for a ball during a practice doubles game with my team, the Sweet Spots (very cute, huh?). The good news is that I found the wherewithal to roll. I scraped my arm badly and both my knees. Now, 48 hours later, I'm sore (bruised right hip, sore left shoulder, tight neck). So, the dive was a bonehead move. Nonetheless, there's a part of me that's proud of my (practice) war wounds.

Rock stars of the WTA

If I were Steve Jobs, I'd commission an iPhone ad with a slideshow featuring famous people and civilians happily using their gadgets. Might I suggest a couple of women who changed the game of women's tennis?

Only daddy was smoking

Venus Williams was on fire for most of the Bank of the West Classic. She swatted down Maria Sharapova in a televised quarterfinal 6-2, 6-2. She felled Elena Dementevia in the semi-finals 6-1, 6-0. And then, wonder of wonders, she lost to Marion Bartoli, the French woman who swings two-handed on both sides (4-6, 6-0, 4-6).

V's father, Richard Williams, disappeared from the stands during the second set. I badly wanted Venus to win and found her unforced errors so painful to witness that I too banished myself from the stadium and instead paced downstairs along with Renee from the security detail. Maybe just maybe, I thought, I was bad luck. While Renee and I were searching for temporary religion, Mr. Williams was on a court in his flip flops smoking and hitting with Team Williams' practice partners (who, by the way, used a pink racquet -- now that's confidence). Sorry to cut Richard Williams off at the knees in the photo. Unfortunately, that's what Bartoli effectively did to Venus.

Here's a more nuanced view of Bartoli's success.

True Grit

What does it take to win in pro tennis? Winning a match seems to hinge on momentum and belief, and a lot of talent. Today I watched two matches that would have been labeled upsets had the tide not somehow turned. Seventeen-year-old Melanie Oudin (who got to the quarter-finals at Wimbledon) faced an injured Marion Bartoli. Bartoli last year’s BoTW runner-up (to Caroline Wozniacki), had her calves taped below the knee and was limping around, taking forever between points. Oudin berated herself for each missed first serve, went for too much on her groundstrokes, and, worst of all, tried to beat Bartoli from the back court. A losing strategy, unfortunately.

The first evening match between Sabine Lisicki, a talented German player, and former number one Jelena Jankovic (seeded fourth) also had all the makings for an upset. Lisicki took the first set decisively (6-2) but then folded in the second set. JJ pulled out the third. Like Oudin, Lisicki had lots of missed opportunities, and she double-faulted way more than a pro should.

Today’s heroes were Nadia Petrova and Bethanie Mattek-Sands (still sporting soccer socks) who pulled out a win against Alisa Kleybanova and Anastasia Rodionova. Petrova and Mattek-Sands took the first set, then made many unfortunate errors in the second. They managed to eke out the 10-point tiebreak 12-10. The match was sufficiently gripping to keep the stadium respectably full until the match ended shortly after 11 p.m. I was thrilled for the duo – especially after the many botched shots in the second set. Tennis is a mind game. The tenacious rule.