If he plays to form, Gasquet
should get a crack at Roddick.
FROM WIMBLEDEON – If Richard Gasquet can keep his head in the tournament,
he should get a shot at Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals. But if he does
not, he’ll remain a second tier up and comer.
Since he made a splash in Monte Carlo in 2002 as a 16-year-old, France
has been hoping that the strong-legged all-courter would break through
to the big time. There was too much hope too early, but Gasquet has physically
matured now and doesn’t tire as easily as he once did.
He’s been a Top-20 player for two years now, owns one of the
most powerful one-handed backhands on tour, can rip his forehand too,
and has a very decent if not erratic serve and more than a serviceable
volley.
On Wednesday, the 12th seed knocked off his red-hot countryman, Nicolas
Mahut 6-4, 6-3, 6-4. Given how well the charging Mahut was playing,
it was a win he could be proud of. “I feel good on grass,” said
Gasquet, who will face Juan Ignacio Chela.
Interestingly, French players seem to bring more to the table on grass
than they do on clay. That’s due to two primary factors: one, they
are taught all court games from early on; and two, they aren’t great
pressure players and tend to fade out at home. That’s why Amelie
Mauresmo won two Slams away from home, why Sebastian Grosjean has reached
two semifinals here and one in Australia (he also reached the French semis),
why Arnaud Clement reached the Aussie Open final, why Nathalie Dechy reached
the semis of the Aussie Open. There are mini-exceptions like Marion Bartoli,
who reached her first Round of 16 at Roland Garros earlier this month.
Gasquet has reached four rounds of 16s – twice at the US Open, once
in Australia and once here in 2005, when he fell to David Nalbandian.
At ’07 Roland Garros, he went down in flames to Kristof Vliegen
in the second round when he never looked more flat. He doesn’t
have to carry two thousand kilos of his country’s expectations
on his shoulders at Wimbledon, so he should be able to play more
freely. If he does, it will be simple to throw him back into the
Djokovic-Berdych-Baghdatis axis of potential threats to Federer and
Nadal. He doesn’t have
to beat Roddick to be considered a player with a serious chance to compete
for majors in the years to come, but he does have to at least get
there and push him. Champions don’t mentally implode time and
time again, especially when they have as much game as the 20-year-old
Frenchman does.
Can Ivanovic Re-Produce
magic on Grass?
There isn’t a bigger question mark on the women’s side coming
into the tournament than Ana Ivanovic, who may be powerful and can volley
more than a smidgeon, but isn’t exactly a refined player. Movement
is critical on grass and while the 19-year-Serbian has improved her
foot speed since the beginning of the year, it’s much different
to slide along on clay than to skid on grass. The French Open finalist
played a decent match in her 6 0, 7-6 win over Melinda Czink, but she
looked vulnerable at times.
What the world doesn’t know about Ivanovic yet is how quickly she’ll
recover from her blink-of-an-eye loss to Justine Henin in the Roland Garros
final. No great champion during the Open Era has been beaten so thoroughly
in her maiden Slam final debut and ended up becoming a multiple Slam champ.
The closest was Venus Williams at the 1997 US Open, who fell to Martina
Hingis 6-0, 6-4 in her debut, but Venus was in the second set. Ivanovic
was in neither set during her 6-1, 6-2 loss to Henin at 2007 RG. Ivanovic
may end up being a rule breaker, but she’s now entered a period
where she has to prove herself to be an exception to the rule.
“Obviously every expectation, it makes you a little bit more nervous
when you play,” she said. “ But it's important also not to
think about that when you're on the court, because on the end of the day
it's a matter of how I play. If I play good, I will win. I just try to
focus more on that, on my own game, try to enjoy. Obviously I feel more
pressure now. But still I'm very young. I have many, many Grand Slams
yet to come. I just want to enjoy my time now.”
There’s a lot fun to be had for an attractive woman who is winning
the world over with her smile and good cheer. On Tuesday, fellow Serbian
Novak Djokovic, who is a Top-5 player, received three questions in his
press conference. Ivanovic attracted a couple dozen reporters and fielded
a couple dozen questions at hers. Part of that has to do with the tabloid
culture in Britain, which celebrates beauty over brawn, but part of
that also has to do with her sheer magnetism.
Here's question thrown at her: “How do you feel when people say
you are the prettiest girl ever to play at Wimbledon?” Answer: “Thank
you. I'm very flattered.”
The Serbians are the story of the year to date and, after Roland Garros
where Djokovic and Jelena Jankovic reached the semis, they went back
to Belgrade and received a hero’s welcome standing on the terrace
of the parliament building.
“In the square was about maybe, I don't know, 10,000, 15,000 people
to welcome us,” Ivanovic said. : It was unbelievable feeling because
they used to do that for basketball, yeah, volleyball players when they
would win gold medals. This was one of the first time they organized for
individual athletes. That was a thrilling moment.”
What would be even more thrilling tennis-wise would be back-to-back Slams
that contained three Serbians in the semifinals, but that’s not
likely to happen here. It’s possible, but not probable. Jankovic
has a rough quarter that contains Anna Chakvetadze, who just beat her
in the Netherlands; Djokovic will likely have to get past 2002 champ
Lleyton Hewitt, and Ivanovic is in defending champ Amelie Mauresmo’s
quarter. None of them have standout grass court credentials, but they
could earn some blue ribbons with creative play.
Just because Ivanovic is a sound volleyer and isn’t afraid of charging
the net does not make her a huge threat this year, because as the world
saw in the Roland Garros final, her serve is very sporadic. She did fine
against Czinck, but there was little pressure in that contest. She’ll
also have to shorten up the stoke on her forehand return, one of her greatest
weapons. She’s didn’t’ grow up on grass, but maybe all
that work on the slick indoor swimming pool will aid her during the fortnight.
“My serve, it's working really well at the moment,” she said.
“I worked a lot on it. I'm improving volleys. But it's a different
game than on the clay. It's important for every player to adjust the
best they can. I think I can do well. Bu I just don't want to put any
pressure on myself. I have so many years yet to come. I enjoy my tennis
at the moment. I enjoy being out there and competing against these girls,
trying to win. That's all that matters for me at the moment.”
At least for now, as Billie Jean King would say, Ivanovic “gets
it.” She comes from a nation without a rich tennis history and realizes
that in order to build up her sport, she has to make herself accessible.
In the process, she’ll lose some of her privacy, but she’ll
also be able to pay her family’s bills, potentially for a lifetime.
“I think that's part of what we are doing,” she said. “The
sooner we accept that, the sooner we adjust. It's better for everyone.
On the end of the day, we are here because of [the fans], as well.”
