A wide-open French Open

May 23, 2015

Who will it be? The once and future king (Rafael Nadal) or the kid bro all grown up and in the driver’s seat (Novak Djokovic)? The maestro (Roger Federer) or the Murrah (Andy Murray)?

One of the new guys perhaps – the teen dream (Borna Coric) or the princes in waiting (Kei Nishikori, Nick Kyrgios, Grigor Dimitrov)? Or will one of the vets (Tomas Berdych, Marin Cilic, David Ferrer) flash the old brilliance?

This year the French Open, which starts Sunday, May 24 and ends Sunday, June 7, is both Novak Djokovic’s to lose and anybody’s guess. There are several factors at play here.

Nine-time winner Rafa is seeded only sixth, thanks to a dismal season. (He would’ve been seeded seventh but an injured Milos Raonic dropped out.)

Wimbledon seeds according to the player’s performance on the surface (grass), not based on his ranking. So last year Nole was No. 1 even though at the time he was ranked No. 2.

But Wimby is Wimby. The French Open seeds according to the rankings and, even before the draw came out, you just knew that Rafanole – as their rivalry is known – would be renewed. Sure enough, they are set up to meet potentially for the 44th time in the quarterfinals, with one of them set potentially to meet Andy in the semis.

Meanwhile, Feddy would appear to have the easier path to the final but not so fast. There are people on his side of the draw like Berdych, Gael Monfils and even countryman Stan Wawrinka who could prove nettlesome.

So there are lots of questions:

Can Andy continue his sparkling play on clay?

Can Fed continue to dazzle at age 33?

Can Rafa recapture the magic in Roland-Garros, site of nine of his 14 Slam titles? ...

Curtain comes down on tennis’ ‘comedy of errors’

November 18, 2014

What a frigging mess.

The World Tour Finals – which some clever headline writer at Tennis magazine called “WTF, Indeed” – were a disaster with pull-outs, flame-outs and shutouts from start to finish this past week.

I blame Rafa’s appendix. It all started there. Rafael Nadal had his appendix removed so he couldn’t play in the round-robin, season-ending London tournament that features the top eight players. David Ferrer, asked to be an alternate, showed up and promptly lost to Kei Nishikori. But at least he showed up. Grigor “Baby Fed” Dimitrov, also an alternate, didn’t bother to. Steve Tignor, author of the “WTF” article, explains the Dimitrov philosophy of declining invitations with a baseball analogy.

Marin Cilic might not have bothered to show up either for all the good it did him. The US Open champ looked flat, as did Tomas Berdych, as did just about everyone, except new daddy Novak Djokovic.

And then there was the battle of the Swiss, known for their peace-loving neutrality. Apparently, Roger “Feddy Bear” Federer – who was breezing through the tourney, on track to play Nole in the final smackdown of baby daddies – and Stan “the Man” Wawrinka got into it after their semifinal bruiser, exchanging heated words in a makeshift locker room (a huge tournament and it doesn’t have a locker room?) sparked by Mirka Federer’s supposed “heckling” of Stan courtside.

But wait...

A blue Monday in the sports world

September 9, 2014

Well, it was a depressing sports day, wasn’t it? Let’s start with the least offensive aspect – the US Open men’s final. I didn’t see it, but then, I work for a living like many other people, so I wasn’t home for the 5 p.m. start and wasn’t about to distract myself at the office. By the time I got home, it was all over but the shouting – Marin Čilić defeating Kei Nishikori 6-3, 6-3, 6-3. An even bigger loser than Niskikori – CBS Sports, which must’ve been kicking itself over its star-less final. (Hey, the 5 p.m. start doesn’t help the ratings either, CBS.)

Perhaps the Eye Network can blame Novak Djokovic. I can’t help but think that this was his tournament to lose.

I can see Roger Federer – who is, after all, 33 – going down to the big, hard-serving Čilić. But as good as Nishikori may be, you expect more from the No. 1-ranked player in the world. Maybe it’s just me. But no matter my mood or what’s happening personally in my life or even how I feel physically, I’ve never allowed anything to interfere with my writing or my work. I know that everyone says at the end of your life, you won’t wish you wrote one more article but rather that you spent more time with your loved ones.

But here’s the way I see it: Not everyone can be a writer. Not everyone can win Wimbledon. Obituaries aren’t written about relationships. They’re written about accomplishments.

You have to look at Nole’s opportunities at most of the Slams since 2011 and wonder if he hasn’t squandered them, because of – well, what? We’ll get into that when we explore Chris Bowers’ new book, “The Sporting Statesman: Novak Djokovic and the Rise of Serbia” in an upcoming post. ...

More Michael Sam meshugas, and the beginning of the end of the (Fab) Big Four

September 8, 2014

Is there a better sports weekend than the one we just experienced? (Well, yes, you say, what about the second weekend in June, with the Belmont and the French Open final?)

This year, though, we had not only Super Saturday and the women’s final at the US Open but Derek Jeter Day at Yankee Stadium and the Royal Salute Cup at the Greenwich Polo Club, both on Sunday, Sept. 7.

Patience, dear readers, let us pace ourselves. This week there will be in-depth posts on Jeter, Royal Salute and a fascinating new book on Nole.

But right now we must address two things. The first is more Michael Sam meshugas, with the Dallas Cowboys now saying that they weren’t pressured to put Sam on the practice squad. But AP’s Paul Newberry isn’t buying it. ...