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Does Djokovic Have a Deal With the Devil?

Joe Samuel Starnes — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:49:10 +0000

I never thought Novak Djokovic would get out of that fifth set of the Australian Open final alive. Between that and coming back from match point against Federer at last year’s U.S. Open, I now wonder if he’s made any deals more significant than a shoe and racket contract — such as selling his soul.

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Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

Joe Samuel Starnes — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 17:12:45 +0000

She’s bigger than the rackets and much more mobile than she was in last year’s picture.

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Even the Rich Battle the Shadows: Tennis at Hearst Castle

Joe Samuel Starnes — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 00:50:13 +0000

William Randolph Hearst’s home in San Simeon, California, once the site of many star-studded tennis matches, is as close as America has to a great castle. But on that court even the very rich and famous had to deal with late afternoon shadows that make the ball hard to see. Fall Line, my second novel, is out this month so I’m taking a hiatus from this blog, and thought this made for a good on vacation picture. Will be back on here in January, when the Australian Open rolls around.(Photo taken at Hearst Castle summer 2003.)

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USTA’s 10 and Under Tennis Nothing New

Joe Samuel Starnes — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 20:52:11 +0000

If you’ve watched 15 minutes of the U.S. Open by now, you’ve probably seen one of the USTA’s ads about its 10 and under tennis program. Is this concept really that new? Perhaps it is in the days of graphite rackets that can’t be sawed off like my first wooden racket (a Jack Kramer), but small rackets and lowered nets have been around a long while.

The unspoken implication in the USTA campaign is that American professional tennis is weak because the rackets, balls and courts are too big for American kids. That’s not the problem. The problem is that for whatever reason, tennis is no longer considered very cool or an important part of American culture, much like it was in the seventies when I was starting out (pictured here at age 7 in 1974 with my mother, pregnant with my brother at the time).

Spain, France, Serbia, Argentina and Russia aren’t dominating the pro ranks because they have lots of miniature courts and pint-sized equipment for kids; they are dominant because in those countries, tennis is appealing, like it was here thirty to forty years ago.

Of course, just maybe this program will work, and American kids will enjoy the game and tennis will be cool again. Encouraging kids to play is a great cause and I hope it’s wildly successful — just quit blaming the tools. What’s needed is the desire to hit the ball, not custom-made equipment. Connors, McEnroe and Sampras grew up on rackets like war clubs — there is no reason a new generation of young American players today can’t do the same.

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U.S. versus Spain: 0-9

Joe Samuel Starnes — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 19:11:55 +0000

Zero to nine. The number says it all. That is the record of American men versus Spanish men in singles during Wimbledon and the recent Davis Cup meeting.

For some well-chosen but dismal descriptions of the state of the American team, check out Jonathan Scott on Tennis.com who concludes his article “U.S. Davis Cup Team Walks the Plank” this way: “Down for the count. Dead in the water. Another sad metaphor for those matches.”

Perhaps we should have seen this coming when Patrick McEnroe decided to step down.

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Bryan Time!

Joe Samuel Starnes — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 04:44:11 +0000

Spain, meet the greatest doubles team of all time (and recent Wimbeldon doubles champs.)

U.S. Davis Cup: Roddick, Isner, Bryan & Bryan In his first official order of business, U.S. Davis Cup...
U.S. versus Spain: 0-9 Zero to nine. The number says it all. That is...

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See You in Texas — U.S. Will Try to Avenge 0-6 Wimbledon Singles Record Against Spanish in Davis Cup

Joe Samuel Starnes — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 19:13:25 +0000

With Mardy Fish’s quarterfinal loss to Rafael Nadal, the American men completed a dismal 0-6 record in singles on the grass against Spanish players over the Wimbledon fortnight (fortnight being one of those words you only hear once a year when Wimbledon rolls around). Not exactly the confidence boost captain Jim Courier wanted going into the U.S. versus Spain Davis Cup quarterfinal starting July 8. But the American team has four things going for it:

The match is indoors, on a hard, fast court where the ball takes an honest bounce. No more of this muddled European soil.

Doubles is a critical point, and we have the number one team in the world, the Bryan brothers. By they way, they are in the semis and going for the win. (Someone should point this out to ESPN’s resident airhead Chris Fowler who endlessly recites the inaccuracy that there is only “one American man left in the draw.” )

The U.S. has never lost to Spain in the states, and holds a 5-4 record dating back to 1965. Roddick’s hometown crowd will give the U.S. team a boost. Texans know how to whoop it up.

And the big one — Rafael Nadal is taking the week off. However, David Ferrer, Feliciano Lopez (who beat Roddick in the third round of Wimbledon), and Fernando Verdasco (whom Roddick beat in a Wimledon warmup) are coming and will make for tough competition. Roddick and Fish, fresh off some big wins, will make up the U.S. team with the Bryans. Lineups were announced earlier this week. It’s too bad that Nadal won’t be there, but that’s par for the course in Davis Cup, where the real superstars often sit out.

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Can Fish Turnaround the Spanish Beatdown of American Players?

Joe Samuel Starnes — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 21:08:10 +0000

The matches between Spanish players and Americans at Wimbledon have been rough for the home team: Andy Roddick lost to Feliciano Lopez in straight sets. John Isner lost to Nicholas Almalgro in four. Michael Russell and Ryan Sweeting both lost to Rafael Nadal in three. Ryan Harrison lost to David Ferrer in five sets.

Americans are 0-5 against Spanish players at Wimbledon. Times have changed with players from a red clay court country dominate the Americans on grass. If only Roddick and Isner could have had a shot in the nineties when all it took was an unreturnable serve to reach the finals (remember Krajicek and Ivanisevic?) where you lost to Pete Sampras.

This year there were only nine Americans in the draw; the only three Americans to lose to players not from the Iberian Peninsula were James Blake (remember him?), Donald Young (and him?), and Alex Bogomolov.

But there’s one match set for Wednesday that could make up for all of it. Mardy Fish, making a strong showing beating Tomas Berdych on Monday to reach the quarters, goes up against number one seed Nadal. A Fish win would be huge, not only his biggest win ever, but it would give the Americans some positive momentum heading into the July 8-10 Davis Cup matchup between the two countries in Austin, Texas.

Fish is 0-5 in his career against Nadal, but the way he’s playing, don’t count him out.

See You in Texas — U.S. Will Try to Avenge 0-6 Wimbledon Singles Record Against Spanish in Davis Cup With Mardy Fish’s quarterfinal loss to Rafael Nadal, the American...
U.S. versus Spain: 0-9 Zero to nine. The number says it all. That is...
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Isner-Mahut Wimbledon Rematch: What Were the Odds?

Joe Samuel Starnes — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 15:01:13 +0000

According to this blog post on Wimbledon.com, the odds were only one in 127. Leave it to a Cambridge math professor to sap the life out of something remarkable. But what were the odds of it happening twice? Is it two in 254? My mom is suspicious of the draw — and I agree with her — that it sounds almost a little shady, as though the Wimbledon PR people manipulated the matchups to gain a little extra news and web coverage.

Today’s match will, of course, be anticlimactic compared to last year. If you want to have a good time reliving the longest match ever in style, go back and reread this blog from The Guardian written as it happened last year where the question was asked at 62-61 in the fifth set: “what if it does actually never end? Would Wimbledon eventually have to introduce a new ruling banning all undead and just nudge Thiemo De Bakker through to the third round?”

See You in Texas — U.S. Will Try to Avenge 0-6 Wimbledon Singles Record Against Spanish in Davis Cup With Mardy Fish’s quarterfinal loss to Rafael Nadal, the American...

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Greatest Tennis Player of All Time? Roger, Of Course, Despite the Fact I’ve Beaten Him 17 Times

Joe Samuel Starnes — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 21:54:05 +0000

The GOAT discussion reached its most ludicrous point yesterday when John McEnroe’s endless search for an answer to the unanswerable and interminable question landed at Rafael Nadal’s feet after he beat Roger Federer for the 17th time, the sixth time in a Grand Slam final. (Federer has beaten Nadal only eight times, and only twice in Grand Slam finals.) McEnroe said something like, “Somewhere in your heart you must think you are the greatest of all time.” Rafa responded in his usual humble fashion. “No, it’s Roger. He is the greatest.” It must feel good to have a .680 winning record against the GOAT.

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