Time to Move

Hi Guys. I want to thank you all for your support of my tiny tennis blog. We've grown by leaps and bounds since March. So to keep up with our expanding size, I've decided to move to a new site for the new year. I will no longer be posting updates to this particular webpage, but A Change of Ends will be updated quite frequently at our new home: www.achangeofends.com!! Please be sure to bookmark our new address because we've got some great live tennis coverage planned for 2011.

So you want to check out my May 2010 coverage of the French Open or my July coverage of Legg Mason? No worries, just navigate over to the new site. All of our old posts have migrated too!

Serbia Wins 2010 Davis Cup

I'm really happy for Serbia, I am. But at the same time, I'm absolutely devastated for France. It's really tough to choose a favorite when both sides have so much heart, and to watch it come down to the fifth rubber, whoever lost would have been heartbroken. Serbia really does deserve this. It's been the same four guys all year (Novak Djokovic, Janko Tipsarevic, Viktor Troicki, Nenad Zimonjic) and, while they wouldn't have had a chance without Djokovic, their wins weren't completely dependent on him. France doesn't have one superstar like Nole, but an amazing all star team that revolves around Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Gael Monfils, Michael Llodra, Gael Simon, Julien Benneteau, and Arnaud Clement. Each and every one of these guys can be a threat on any given day and three of them are perfect for Davis Cup because they can transition between singles and doubles, unlike Zimonjic who is strictly a doubles guy.

Novak Djokovic did exactly what his team needed him to this weekend. He tied things up on Friday, taking some of the pressure off the key doubles match on Saturday, and more importantly he kept his team alive at 2-1 on Sunday morning by beating Gael Monfils. However, the hard work would lay on the shoulders of the men chosen to play the fifth and final rubber. While I mentioned that personally I would have chosen Janko Tipsarevic to face off against Michael Llodra, clearly Victor Troicki was the right choice. He didn't let the expectations of an entire nation bother him and he was in control from the very beginning of Sunday's match. In France's defense, I truly believe Michael Llodra was the right choice. He was clutch in doubles and has carried his team through several ties this season. Plus, as much as I love Gilles Simon, he is not a pressure player and I doubt the outcome would have been different if Forget had played Simon instead of Llodra.

I've watched this video so many times and every single time, I feel the jubilation of Serbian team and I want to cry after watching the footage of the French team. While Nole and Co. celebrated, an inconsolable Llodra calmly walked off court hanging his head and proceeded to weep into a towel. It was possibly one of the most heartbreaking scenes in tennis. That's the trouble with playing the final rubber. Llodra was not to blame for the French to defeat, and even if you believe he was, Monfils was just as much at fault. Although, I have to say that Julien Benneteau trying to console his friends was quite adorable. The other guys just stood around awkwardly while Guy Forget patted Llodra on the back.

All in all, this was one of the most exciting Davis Cup ties in recent memory and Serbia truly deserved to win. It's obvious that it not only meant a lot to the Davis Cup team but to the nation as a whole. For a country like the US, a Davis Cup win would go unnoticed, but I believe they're still partying in Belgrade and that level of commitment to tennis is very exciting to see. But don't even get me started on the head shaving thing. That deserves its own post.

I've Got a Feeling: France's Road to the Davis Cup Final

Here is a series of three videos documenting France's journey to the 2010 Davis Cup final. As it stands, the French lead the tie 2-1 after some pretty heroic play by Clement/Llodra to come back from two sets to love down against Troicki/Zimonjic. Novak Djokovic and Gael Monfils will face off in the morning to see if the tie will go to a decisive fifth rubber. If the fifth is live, I'd play Tipsarevic and Llodra, but there are plenty who disagree. Anyway, this weekend's final has nothing to do with the videos below. First, I would like to note that I do not speak French, at all. So, these clips may make perfect sense if you can understand what they're saying, but I think they were only made more amusing by the fact that I couldn't understand. Feel free to watch for yourself (although I warn you they're long,) but I've also included a few of the questions that really puzzled me. If you want to cut down on watching time, I suggest watching Part 2.



I like the music during the player introductions. I feel like I'm about to watch some kooky 'band of superheroes' movie. Why are they eating a formal dinner in a locker room and why is Richard cutting Gael's meat? Gilles and Richard have to carry Bennedra's bags as the non-participating members, lol. At 9:16, please note this is the first appearance of I've Got a Feeling by the Black Eyed Peas, but by no means the last.



We kick things off again with I've Got a Feeling. Also, if you're going to watch anything from these three videos, watch the very beginning of Part 2. I want to party with the French Davis Cup team, and by that I mostly mean I want to hang with Michael Llodra because he is both crazy and awesome. Add in Gael's rockin' dance moves and Jo's flare for karaoke and we're good. I'm so tempted to make a Gasquet joke here, but I almost feel like it's in bad taste. 4:35-a) this is hilarious and b) Guy Forget can't do push ups correctly. Why do they sing so much? At 5:22, I would really like to know what possible situation occurred where Gilles had to go downstairs in jeans and no shirt. I'm not complaining, but I'm really curious. I really really wish I understood what went along with the hand motions at 6:25. Please note that I've Got a Feeling resumes at 8:15. Why isn't Feli wearing a shirt? Again, not complaining, just an observation.



Does Forget ever shut up? I know he's the captain, but I don't think anyone else has spoken for the entire 30 minutes. Also, I made up an entire monologue for this part since I don't understand it, but I somehow doubt my version is really how it went down. I'm guessing this conversation may have been Forget justifying his player choices for the semis. But I could be totally off the mark. I love the head bobbing at 6:20. It's so perfectly in sync. I also love the fact that they are playing scrabble. By now you should notice that I've Got a Feeling reemerges at 9:05. Finally, I've got nothing to describe what's going on at 9:42, but I thought I should point it out.

I promise a real post on Monday to recap all the Davis Cup action, or even tomorrow night if I get around to it. But for now, this late night rambling will have to do. If you happen to speak French and watch these videos, feel free to clue me in on anything I may have missed.

WTF Final Thoughts, Almost

What did I learn from the 2010 WTF? You can't manufacture drama. Matches between the two best players in the world always have a certain dramatic flair, particularly when the two best players have one of the most famous tennis rivalries of all time, but the media hype around this match was astounding, not to mention the fog, blaring music, and light effects provided by the O2. I'm not saying I didn't enjoy the match, it was great tennis, but there was no possibility of it rivaling the tension of Wimbledon 2008 or Australia 2009. I just don't think a best of 3 sets match could top a best of 5. In my book, more tennis is better, particularly when it comes to these two.

What I hated most about all the media attention was the general consensus that this was do or die for Roger Federer. I read numberous stories telling me a loss would make Roger totally irrelevant in the Fedal rivalry, and most likely in future Grand Slams, like this WTF match was his last chance to beat Nadal. That's absurd. On any given day one tennis player can beat another, and when that player is Roger Federer, the odds are never bad. He may not always be the favorite, but he is always a favorite.

Federer was in control of this match and yet nothing seemed to silence the critics. He went for too much, or he didn't go for enough, or Nadal gave up the match because he was fatigued from his 3 hour semifinal. Do you know how ridiculous that is? Nadal is easily the fittest guy on tour. He's played 5+ hour matches and come back to win a match the next day. Nadal didn't make any excuses for his loss, so I don't see why fans or journalists should. Roger played better and he deserved to win. I'm sure Rafa will repay the favor sometime in the future.

Now let's look ahead a little. Does this give Roger momentum heading into the Australian? Absolutely. Does that mean he will win? Not necessarily. Will Rafa ever win the WTF? Yes. He's only 24 and has plenty more chances. Plus, he made a lot of headway this year just by making it to the final.

I have one more WTF post up my sleeve, which should go up tomorrow. It's a fun one.

Image by AP.

Hilarity Ensues

So, I saw that someone posted this gem on twitter earlier this week and couldn't help but share.

What have we learned? Before we go any further, I should note that the most advanced photo editing software I own is Paint. You've been warned, so proceed with caution.

In a movie about his life, Novak Djokovic would like to be portrayed by Robert De Niro. For this to work, Robert De Niro will have to stay the same age for another like 40 years and the movie will have to be about old man Novak. Funfact: De Niro sat in Nole's box during the 2007 US Open Final, giving us a possible rationale for this joke.

Soderling would prefer Russel Crow. Yeah, I honestly can't figure out where that came from, but here's what it would look like.

ARod would of course be portrayed by Seann William Scott because they are basically identical. Ignoring the crude crop job, tell me this isn't just a regular photo of Andy Roddick.

Later, the interviewer moved on to fears. I really didn't know that many people were afraid of snakes, at least not as the first fear they could think of. Roddick, Ferrer, and Djokovic all mentioned snakes as their fear. Rafa's afraid of the dark and Andy Murray, being the upbeat guy that he is, is afraid of death. Way to be a downer Andy.

First kiss? David sounds a little nostalgic for Catalina. Rafa doesn't even have to answer questions with the goofy smile and nervous laughter. And what does comedic genius Andy Murray have to say? John.

Well, you don't really need my commentary, just watch the video. Plus, the Andy Roddick photo's starting to creep me out. So, this wraps up my coverage of the 2010 World Tour Finals, if only a few days late.

Watch out for Davis Cup this weekend.

WTF Finals

So I've managed to borrow a computer to write this and have planted myself firmly in front of the TV for today. At the moment I'm watching a repeat of yesterday's semifinals, which means some pretty great tennis. As I expected, Nadal and Federer emerged as victors and will play each other in today's final. In my last post, I mistakenly said this would be the first meeting for the two in 2010. Today's match will actually be the second meeting between Roger and Rafa this year as they played in the Madrid final. Before I get too wrapped up in the match we're about to see, I want to talk about the semifinals, or at the very least, the Murray/Nadal match. This was great tennis. For some reason Murray and Nadal always play entertaining matches against each other. I think Rafa sometimes raises Andy's game. I didn't give Murray much of a chance going into this match because of the way he played against Federer in the round robin stage. However, even after losing the first set in a tiebreak, Murray came back and broke Rafa twice to take the second set. After being broken early in the third, Murray managed to break back when Rafa was serving for the match at 5-4 to even things out, eventually forcing a tiebreak. However, we all now how it ended, as it often does, Rafa found a way to win and will face Roger Federer in the today's final. Roger Federer had a much easier road to the final yesterday, beating Novak Djokovic 6-1 6-4.

So, there are already hundreds of previews out there for this match, and every other Fedal match that has occurred. We all know the stats. Nadal leads their head to head 14-7. But, if you exclude clay and grass, they are 3-3 on hard courts. I think this is meaningless. It's not so lopsided that either player can feel completely confident that they will steamroll the other. They've played each other 21 times so I'm sure this match has become routine for them, but for us as fans, this is what we have waited for. This is a completely fitting way to end a year of great tennis.

Rafael Nadal has had a spectacular year, winning three of the four major tournaments, including his first US Open to round out a career Grand Slam. 2010 has been a different story for Roger Federer. He has had a year that any other player would be proud of, winning one Slam, making the semifinals of another, and two quarterfinals. But for Roger Federer, critics consider this the end. He loss in the quartfinals at the French Open meant an end to his amazing streak of semifinal appearances and his loss in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon was nothing less then gut wrenching. This isn't the end though. Federer is not washed up and he looks hungry. Both men would gain from a victory today. This is the lone title that eludes Rafael Nadal now that he has the career Grand Slam as well as the Olypmic gold medal, but he has never advanced past the semifinal stage at the World Tour Finals. On the other side, Federer is quite familiar with the WTF final. He will be competing for his fifth title at the WTF, which would tie the record of five WTF wins.

I'm not going to make a final prediction because I really have no idea what's going to happen. Both guys come into this match with a perfect record at this year's WTF, although Rafa has dropped two sets along the way. What I do know is that whoever wins, both guys will fight and one will win gracefully and the other will lose gracefully, because that's what they do. There is no classier rivalry in tennis. I just wish their fans treated each other with the respect that the players do.

WTF Day 6 & 7

I'm visiting home for Thanksgiving and for some reason, my computer and my parents' wifi don't get along. All week, I've had a couple of brief windows to use the internet, which has hampered both my ability to write about tennis and find spectacular shopping deals. Anyway, I wasn't able to write a preview for Day 6 at the WTF, so I'll have to do a recap instead. I don't think anyone was surprised by Friday's results. Rafael Nadal made a pretty strong case for winning this year's WTF by beating Tomas Berdych 7-6(3) 6-1 and going 3-0 in his round robin matches. However, Roger Federer topped group B, also going 3-0 in the round robin stage. In the second match of the day, Novak Djokovic sailed into the semifinals after beating Andy Roddick 6-2 6-3. Roddick worked so hard at the end of the season just to make it back to the World Tour Finals, so it's kind of a shame to see him go out without winning a single match. The same could be said for David Ferrer.

In case you are unfamiliar with the WTF format, the top two men from each group advance to the semifinals where the winner of Group A will meet the runner up of Group B and visa versa. Both undefeated thus far, Rafael Nadal won Group A and Roger Federer emerged as the winner of Group B. Nadal will face Andy Murray and Federer will play Novak Djokovic in tomorrow's semifinal matches. These are the right matches. While Andy Murray may no longer be number four, these are undeniably the best four tennis players in the world right now. Nadal and Federer are the two best players, and each won their group quite convincingly.

Rafael Nadal vs. Andy Murray - Not Before 2pm GMT

The top guys play each other a lot, over the last three years, Nadal and Murray have met 12 times. Rafa leads the head to head 8-4, but any time you hear him talk about Murray, you would think Andy had the winning record. Rafa has great respect for the danger in Andy's game, possibly too much. Murray's four wins came at the '08 US Open (we all know Rafa wasn't at his best in Sept. '08,) Rotterdam in '09, the 2010 Australian Open (Nadal retired,) and the 2010 Toronto Masters. Clearly Andy poses a threat, but Nadal's track record makes him a strong favorite going into tomorrow's match, even if he doesn't think so. Andy played great tennis against Ferrer and Soderling in the round robin matches, but had no answers when playing Roger Federer. If he had trouble with Roger, I'm going to venture a guess he'll have trouble with Rafa. Nadal in two.

Roger Federer vs. Novak Djokovic - Not Before 8pm GMT

Roger Federer has yet to drop a set in this year's World Tour Finals. He is in a quest to tie the record for the most World Tour Finals won (5) and so far his case looks just as convincing if not more than Rafael Nadal. Federer and Djokovic have played each other eighteen times over the last four years, and like Rafa/Murray, Fed has won twice the number of matches Nole has (12-6.) Most recently they played in the Basel final, which is also an indoor hard court event, where Roger Federer came out on top in three sets. Fed also won their semifinal in Shanghai this year, another indoor hard court tournament. However, who could forget their US Open battle in this year's semifinals, where Djokovic dethroned the six time finalist? I honestly think that the crowds are going to get what they want this time. Everyone was hoping for a Federer/Nadal final at the US Open and Djokovic deprived us of that, but I don't think it'll happen this time. We haven't seen a Fedal meeting all year and it's only fitting that we get one in the last tournament of the year. Federer in three.

Pic by Getty.