Podcast: Reviewing Federer’s third Madrid title; Rome Preview

In this week’s PodCast, Nima and Parsa are back in action with a tournament review of the Madrid Masters and a preview of the Roma Masters in Spain.

Will Roger Federer carry his form as new world No. 2 in Roma? After an early loss in Madrid, Rafael Nadal returns to the red clay in Italy in search of his sixth title. Nadal will look to fend off the likes of defending champ Djokovic, Federer and Scot Andy Murray. We also give our early predictions for French Open favorites.

As always, you can alternatively listen to the #1 tennis PodCast via iTunes and never miss another episode. It is very easy and completely free. Read More

Podcast: A Blue Way of Previewing the Madrid Masters

In this week’s PodCast, Nima and Parsa are back in action with a tournament preview of the Madrid Masters in Spain.

Will the blue clay courts be the biggest story this week? How will the ritualistic Rafael Nadal react to the change in color?

We also talk Novak, Roger and a little bit of Isner in his episode.

As always, you can alternatively listen to the #1 tennis PodCast via iTunes and never miss another episode. It is very easy and completely free. Read More

PodCast: Reviewing Rafa’s 8th Straight Monte Carlo Masters Championship

In this week’s PodCast, Nima and Parsa are back in action with a tournament review of the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters.

We look back at the form of Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal throughout the week. Was David Ferrer’s first-round upset really that surprising, and what did we make up Robin Haase and Thomaz Bellucci’s efforts in Monaco?

As always, you can alternatively listen to the #1 tennis PodCast via iTunes and never miss another episode. It is very easy and completely free.

Podcast: Monte Carlo Rolex Masters Preview

In this week’s PodCast, Nima and Parsa are back in action with a tournament preview of the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters.
Will Rafael Nadal capture his eighth straight title in Monaco, or will Novak Djokovic pick up first crown in his adopted country? We look at Nadal and Djokovic’s prospects, as well as the other contenders in Monte Carlo.
As always, you can alternatively listen to the #1 tennis PodCast via iTunes and never miss another episode. It is very easy and completely free.

The Last Man Standing: Novak Djokovic 2012 Australian Open Champion (Video Highlights too!)

Melbourne, Australia– World #1 Novak Djokovic secured his third Australian Open title in a match for the ages. Nole defeated rival and former Champion Rafael Nadal in 5 grueling sets 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 7-5 in 5 hours, 53 minutes. Initially it was Nadal who came out firing from his new found court position closer to the baseline, disrupting Djokovic’s rhythm and not allowing Nole to find his way into the match. The battle was clear: Nadal was fighting his belief in his very necessary aggressive play against Djokovic. For the last year or so Rafa has been unable to grind out Djokovic with just sheer will and determination. He’s had to add to his game, but it was clear from the beginning that he wasn’t always confident in what he was doing.

As time passed through the match, Djokovic began to establish his usual dominance in the rivalry. He was always just one shot ahead of Rafa and constantly kept pressure on almost every Nadal service game. In the fourth set it looked very much like Nadal was done, but as he did in their US Open final, Rafa dug extremely deep with the help of Aussie crowd to battle his way into a fifth set. Nadal carried the momentum to a 4-2, 30-15 lead. In that moment a costly backhand down the line error into an open court changed the entire makeup of the championship. Seemingly down and out, Djokovic was once again inspired to raise his energy by the momentary lapse from Rafa. The defending champion began to take control of many of the rallies and he brutalized Nadal with punishing groundstrokes all over the court. Eventually, the great fight had to come to an end and once again it was Novak Djokovic winning against Nadal for the seventh straight time in the finals.

Through all the twists and turns of this match there were a few consistencies in each point: energy, passion, and a great fighting spirit. These two competitors left it all out on the court making all of us in the tennis world proud of what our sport has to offer on a world stage for nearly 6 hours. The indominable heart and effort will be applauded for the rest of history as the longest championship match contested in the open era of tennis. Congratulations to both Rafa and the 2012 Australian Open Champion Novak Djokovic!

-Parsa Samii

ChiChi’s Preview & Prediction Rafael Nadal v. Novak Djokovic

Melbourne, Australia– Nole looks pretty much the same as he did last year. His forehand was his most improved stroke and I see no changes for the worse so far in this tournament. In addition, Djokovic still looks to be in the same shape as he was last year fighting off several moments of exhaustion against Murray, but always finding ways to get a second wind. Nadal has made an improvement in his court positioning and ability to flatten out his forehand when going for a winner which both add up to an overall more aggressive player.

The matchup is still the same however. Rafael still has to battle an opponent who can deal with his heavy forehand very well by being consistent against it and being able to change direction against it at will, particularly hitting an effective backhand down the line to stun or even win a point outright. This takes away Rafa’s “ace in the hole” so to speak and leaves him with “no outs”. He now has to find a way to win points against an opponent who has every answer for Nadal’s strengths. Djokovic continually hits with power and relentless consistency to hurt him on a regular basis.

Do the new changes that Rafa made go into effect today? Even if they do will they be successful? I say a lot depends on how Djokovic is feeling physically. If Rafa can dictate play enough and keep Nole moving side to side and not give him adequate time to defend or counterpunch then I think that type of  punishment will take it’s toll on Nole and Rafa will eventually emerge victorious. If Nole can take some of the hits and make Rafa believe that no matter what he does the ball is going to come back then Rafa may get discouraged and settle back to what he used to do, allowing Nole to dictate enough points to the point where it wears Rafa down.

I believe Nole should be ok for the final because it is a final. He will give everything he has and I think because in the back of his mind he knows he may not be dealing with the fullest of tanks, he may just focus even harder during to eliminate the possibility of running on empty. If he does play a great deal of this match in the “zone,” Rafa will start to feel the effects of deja vu and doubt will start to creep in and take over completely. As good a competitor as Rafa is, he is human and Nole may remind him that he is such. I like the Serb to take this in 4 sets. 62 64 16 64

-ChiChi

What You Can Learn From: Victoria Azarenka 2012 Australian Open Champion

Melbourne, Australia– Whenever you look past the surface of anything in life you find the true makeup and character of what you see. One of the greatest things about our sport is that each and every match you play is a test of your strength and character. In some cases its the very game that brings out the best AND worst in people.

For the most part, before her first Grand Slam title, Azarenka had been readily identified by her loud and long grunting when striking the ball. While wading through the many potential distractions created by tennis officials and the worldwide press due to her loud noise, Azarenka and her team continued to stay focused on what was important as they continued to develop her game. Dedication, relentlessness, and desire are the three key words that come to thought. Tirelessly, she worked and worked and worked some more and after clinching the Australian Open Championship the disbelief was evident on her face.

Through any adversity whether on the tennis court or not, you must always remember to believe in yourself and your abilities and when things seem to be at there worst is when the true test and measure of your desires become evident. For the many various fears that people have all of them have one solution and that solution is to attack any and all adversity head on. If you really work and have a honest desire to achieve than you can never fail to achieve greatness.

Congratulations to Victoria Azarenka on her Championship as well as her rise to the world’s #1 player!

-Parsa Samii

ChiChi’s Quick Recap of the Men’s Semi-Finals

Murray and Fed put on a good show, but in the end we have the hungrier players in the final. There is something missing from Fed lately in these grand slams and Murray always seems to have a mental lapse or play a sloppy point at the wrong time. These are things that neither Annacone nor Lendl can give them. Having a great coach can get you far, but when the muscle in the middle of your chest isn’t working right there’s nothing you can do.

ChiChi’s Preview & Prediction Maria Sharapova v. Victoria Azarenka

This match is too close to call, but I will side with Azarenka for this match. Both players are super hungry, striking the ball extremely well, and toughing out close matches against formidable opponents. In Sharapova’s match against Kvitova I felt that the court surface helped her control the overwhelming power coming from both the serves and groundstrokes of her Czech opponent. I think this surface will not necessarily help her against Azarenka whose combination of decent power and high level of consistency should force Sharapova into making some mistakes because of the fact that she will have to earn each and every point. I think Azarenka is mentally ready to win a title because in the past I’ve seen her start to fall apart in close matches, especially the ones where she may have had a lead and lost it. She proved to be extremely tough against Clijsters after getting whooped in the second set and held it together nicely and finished strong in the third.

The career head to head between them is 3-3 so there shouldn’t be any mental edge going into the match although Sharapova does hold a 2-0 edge in 3 setters. If it does go 3 which I believe will, Azarenka should bring with her some extra confidence knowing she pulled out the one against Clijsters. This is Azarenka’s first Grand Slam final and I’m sure there will be some dues to pay during a match against a veteran of Grand Slam finals, but in the end I think Vika will overcome her nervousness and Grand Slam final inexperience with heart and desire. Azarenka 64 46 64

ChiChi’s Preview & Prediction Roger Federer v. Rafael Nadal

This match between these 2 great champions is more intriguing to me than usual for the sheer fact that both players have made some tweaks to their game since their last meeting in London. Rafa’s adjustment has been to play from a little less further back on the baseline and to get a little more drive on the ball to take a little time away from his opponents and keep his opponents, especially the bigger and more aggressive ones, from stepping in and hurting him on a regular basis. Rafa employed that tactic against Berdych especially in the last 3 sets and came through victorious. Federer’s adjustment I believe will be a huge key to the match and I believe was made specifically to combat the likes of players like Nadal who are capable of exploiting his backhand. The adjustment is the ability to go down the line with accuracy and power on the backhand side. In the past when Fed was getting a bit of pressure on the backhand he would predictably either slice or drive a backhand crosscourt in a safe place. What I noticed this fortnight is Fed had the ability to change the direction and rip backhands down the line and stun his opponent. This is Nadal’s kryptonite as Djokovic has made a living off of beating Nadal with that very shot in 2011.

It won’t be easy for Fed to execute his backhand down the lines because of the way Nadal can spin and angle the ball to the add court but I believe he will get his share of cuts and stun Nadal enough to keep Nadal from paralyzing him and not allowing him to create his magic. The court will play rather neutral in speed and because the match will be in the evening, it will be cooler and the court will play more neutral in bounce. This should also help Fed deal with Rafa’s lethal heavy forehand.

Federer will be fresh, confident and hungry to get to a grand slam final and I believe he will have enough answers to thwart his biggest rival in 4 sets. Fed wins 75 64 46 63.

-ChiChi