Monday, July 2, 2012

WIMBLEDON 2012

A Week of Wows, Woes & Whoas


Bye for now, Rafa. You'll be back!
Anyone who follows tennis knows that even the pros get an extra-special feeling when Wimbledon rolls around. Who among them hasn't dreamed of winning on Centre Court in front of the royal box? On Monday, there were 256 hopefuls in the men's and women's draws. As I write this, only 32 remain, and perhaps the biggest surprise is who is not among them -- my favorite player in the world and the catalyst for my renewed interest in the sport -- Rafael Nadal. Ugh. I know, right? (More on that in a bit.) 

I've often struggled to articulate my dreams for the future. It took a long time to realize that one of the things I'd love to do is travel with the ATP tour. What if I spent a year going from Auckland and Melbourne to Miami and Madrid, then on to Rome and Paris and London and New York? To this day I've only been to one pro match in person. It was way back when at Indian Wells and Brad Gilbert was playing (with a lot of hair!). I don't even remember who BG's opponent was (though I'm sure he does), but I get a kick out of this personal factoid when I see him commentating on ESPN. 

Speaking of ESPN, I have to give credit to the whole team of analysts. Rafa drew me in with his incredible talent and winning spirit, but it's the collective knowledge and humor of the likes of Chris Fowler, brothers John and Patrick McEnroe, Pam Shriver, Darren Cahill and the aforementioned Brad Gilbert that has elevated my love of the game to fanatic status. When you're in Southern California staying up until the wee hours to catch an amazing Australian Open match (can you say 2009 semis -- Rafa vs. fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco?), it helps to have the color commentary of any one of those pros along for the ride. I learned the phrases "Taking him to the wood shed" and "Total beatdown" from them. Priceless. 

I can't exactly offer you breaking news here. There's the whole time difference thing and the fact that I do (sometimes) have a day job. But I can certainly offer my observations of the goings-on. So here goes.

Young American Ryan Harrison 
Week 1 Wows: Big-man John Isner out in the first round. Ouch. Not nearly as long a match as his epic three-day battle with Frenchman Nicolas Mahut in 2010 (which he one 70–68 in the fifth set!), but in a way more painful. John broke into the top 10 earlier this year and expectations are high now. Among the bright spots for fans of American tennis, though (and yes, in case you're wondering, I am a fan of American tennis) was Ryan Harrison. Only 20 years old and so much talent (cute, too). And for winning his opener, Harrison's big reward (other than a ticket to round two)? Novak Djokovic. Yup, the Djoker. No. 1 seed. No. 1 in the world. Alas, our boy lost, but he played a respectable match. In other words, it was no beatdown. Keep an eye out for this kid, I'm telling ya. 

Honorable Mention: Wow, Roger Federer almost got ousted on Friday, coming within two points of losing his match to Julien Benneteau. But they don't call him the Swiss Maestro for nothing. He took control when it counted.

Week 1 Woes: The dagger to my heart -- Rafa loses to Lukas Rosol. Who? Oh, sure, you've heard of him now, but I'll bet you didn't know who the hell he was when he took the court last Thursday. Now here's my beef. The guy played like a champion. Fearless. Hard-hitting. Energetic. I'm talking about Rosol here. Truly impressive (albeit infuriating for fans of his opponent). So why did he get his ass kicked in his very next match of the tournament? If you're going to pull off an upset of epic proportions, the least you can do is win another match. 

Honorable Mention: Looked like California native Sam Querrey was headed for a W but just couldn't hang on and lost a heartbreaker to Marin Cilic in five sets (incidentally now the second-longest singles match in Wimbledon history, clocking in at 5 hours 31 minutes). 

American qualifier Brian Baker has a lot to celebrate!
Week 1 Whoas: Hello Brian Baker! My introduction to this guy came at the French Open just a few weeks ago. What a story out of Nashville, Tenn. He's been under the knife no less than five times (including surgeries on both hips and the dreaded Tommy John surgery on his right elbow), spent six years away from tennis and started the year ranked 458. Now he's in the fourth round of The Championships, folks. He'll face Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber, the dude who kicked Rosol's ass off the court on Saturday. Go, Brian, go!

Honorable Mention: Whoa, did you see that tattoo on the back of Rosol's calf? Yikes.

So much more to reflect on -- and look forward to -- but this fan's gotta get some shuteye before work tomorrow (er, today). Fingers crossed my DVR doesn't cut off any of the action from the Round of 16. I'm most intrigued by the bottom quarter of the draw, which includes battles between Britain's big hope Andy Murray and Cilic; and France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs. American Mardy Fish (another great comeback story -- and he should complain about his photo on the tournament's web page, cuz it's awful).

Tell me, who are you rooting for?