100 интересные моменты в теннисе 2011 года - часть 4 - Nasha Masha

In his next match at the Rome Masters, Nadal was out of it mentally, and had his unheralded opponent -- 148th-ranked wild card Paolo Lorenzi -- not succumbed to nerves, it would have been one of the biggest upsets in tournament history. Nadal, who lost a tiebreaker to a player ranked outside the top 100 for the first time in six years, shanked his forehand, erred on overheads and tumbled on court.

Lorenzi lost his chance to win when he missed a comfortable volley at 4-4, 30-all in the second set. Nadal prevailed 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-0.

"I will play better tomorrow because I cannot play any worse than today," Nadal said.

He did, but guess who stopped him in the final?

39. DY′s Twitter rant

The year ended on a high for Donald Young. He reached the fourth round at the U.S. Open, made it to his first final in Bangkok and finished in the top 40.

But Young caused a significant brouhaha with an expletive-filled tweet in April. Upset at the USTA, apparently for not giving him a direct wild card into the French Open (he had to go through a playoff instead), Young tweeted: "F--- USTA! Their full of s---! They have screwed me for the last time!"

The USTA was unimpressed, and Young later apologized.

Oh, he also shut down his Twitter account.

38. Cracking up at the U.S. Open

After men′s players revolted at the U.S. Open, unhappy at being made to play on what they felt were slick courts, organizers needed a bit of breathing room.

It never came.

Instead, Andy Roddick and David Ferrer were forced to play most of their fourth-round match on humble Court 13 because of a small crack on Louis Armstrong Stadium.

Talk about embarrassing.

"I didn′t think Court 13 was in my future," Roddick quipped.

"It was not nice playing on Court 13, but it was nice when you are a junior, no?" Ferrer added.

37. No mercy for Dinara

When the Australian Open draw was made, there was no debate about the most anticipated first-round match: Kim Clijsters, the tournament favorite, against former No. 1 Dinara Safina.

Unfortunately, Safina′s lingering back injury meant she couldn′t put up any fight, and the Belgian fed her a double-bagel that was painful to watch.

"I didn′t know how to win a point," Safina said. "There was nothing I could do to hurt her. I′m scratching my head thinking what the hell I am doing."

Later in the year, Safina said she wasn′t sure if she′d return to the tour. Get well, Dinara.

36. Nadal too much for Fed

It was quite a lopsided affair when Nadal and Roger Federer duked it out for the first of four encounters in 2011.

Nadal prevailed 6-3, 6-2 at the Miami Masters semis. Both players were displaying vastly different form than they are now.

Nadal hadn′t been traumatized by a string of defeats to Djokovic, while Federer had recently lost his Australian Open crown to the Serb, making him Slam-less in four consecutive majors. That hadn′t happened since 2002-03.

"Sure, it′s disappointing losing a [match] like tonight," Federer said. "But those are the matches I work extremely hard for in the offseason. I have many more years left."

Nothing would suggest that won′t be the case.

35. Nole′s tears

Some said it was another quit job by Djokovic in the Davis Cup. That′s harsh.

Give Djokovic credit for trying to play against Juan Martin del Potro on the final day of Serbia′s semifinal against Argentina less than a week after his grueling U.S. Open final.

Ultimately, it was too much for Djokovic, who crumpled to the court with a rib injury after hitting a forehand in the second set and subsequently retired. After a good cry in his chair, he left the court.

"I feel disappointed to end this tie this way," Djokovic said.

34. Viktor not so victorious

Viktor Troicki has been close to beating some of the top players before.

Last year at the U.S. Open, he blew a lead of two sets to one plus a break against a wilting Djokovic. A few months later in Bangkok, he couldn′t convert match points against Nadal.

But after winning the decisive fifth match against France in last December′s Davis Cup final, you thought he′d now be able to eke out those types of encounters.

Nope.

Troicki squandered a two-set advantage against a less-than-100 percent Andy Murray at the French Open, agonizingly choking when he tried to serve it out at 5-3 (and 30-0 up) in the fifth.

"I was a bit nervous and didn′t go for my shots at those points," Troicki said. "He took advantage of it."

33. Rafa′s loss of motivation

Nadal caused quite a bit of discontent for his legion of fans at the World Tour Finals. And not simply because he was knocked out in the group stage.

Nadal admitted he lost motivation after the U.S. Open, where he was beaten again by Djokovic.

Time to regroup for 2012.

"I know only one way to change the situation, is to work more, think more about tennis, do everything in the right shape, do everything good inside the court, and everything good outside the court," he said. "And that′s what I am going to try to do for the next month and for the next 12 months of 2012."

Some telling passages in that quote, no?

32. The Fed streak continues

What streak, you say? The quarterfinal one at majors, of course.

Federer′s semifinal streak might have ended last year, but he′s reached the last eight at a Grand Slam 30 straight times, extending his record. He broke Jimmy Connors′ mark of 27 at the French Open.

"Twenty-eight quarterfinals in a row, that′s great," Federer said at Roland Garros. "But that′s another opportunity for me to go one step further."

Can′t see him losing before the quarterfinals in 2012.

31. Noah turns nasty

Yannick Noah, the flamboyant former French Open champion, earned himself a few enemies last month. Spanish enemies, to be precise.

Noah accused Spanish athletes of doping, which didn′t go down well with Nadal, Uncle Toni and David Ferrer, among others. The French Tennis Federation distanced itself from Noah, too.

"What he said is completely stupid," Nadal fired back.

"If he approaches Rafa to say hello, I hope my nephew tells him, in a courteous manner, what he thinks of him," Toni Nadal told Spanish radio.

30. Henin retires, again

Unlike her fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters, Justine Henin′s comeback didn′t produce any Grand Slam titles.

This season, a nervous-looking Henin flopped in Melbourne, falling to Svetlana Kuznetsova in the third round.

Still hampered by an elbow injury sustained, ironically, against Clijsters at Wimbledon last year, Henin called it quits for the second time.

"I had hoped for a different return and dreamed of a different ending," Henin said.

Why Henin couldn′t wait until the Australian Open ended to make the announcement is beyond many.

29. Woz′s mystery man

No, not Caroline Wozniacki′s boyfriend. We knew who that was pretty early: Rory McIlroy.

Rather, Wozniacki kept everyone guessing about the identity of her new coach.

The Dane reportedly began working with the mystery person in the summer, although she wouldn′t name names. Wozniacki sent video tapes of her practice sessions to the new coach, getting help from afar.

Wozniacki managed to stay mum during the U.S. Open, too.

Earlier this month, however, a Danish newspaper reported that Spaniard Ricardo Sanchez -- who teamed with another Slam-less No. 1, Jelena Jankovic -- got the job.

28. It had to happen

What were the odds of John Isner and Nicolas Mahut meeting in the first round at Wimbledon? More than 140-1. So call it destiny when it happened.

"I joked with Nic last week, sent him a text saying, ′Just watch us play the first round,′" Isner said the day the draw was made. "He replied, ′No, that′s not cool,′ but now it′s happened."

The rematch didn′t live up to the immense, and understandable, hype.

Far from a 70-68 fifth set on Court 18, Isner eased past the slightly injured Frenchman 7-6 (4), 6-2, 7-6 (6) on the new Court Three.

27. Fed finally wins Bercy

It was one of tennis′ minor mysteries: Why hadn′t Roger Federer ever reached a Paris Masters final? He′d played at Bercy eight times.

If ever there was a time to end the slump, it was this season since he didn′t have to contend with Novak Djokovic (who bailed mid-tourney), Rafael Nadal (who skipped the event) or Andy Murray (a quarterfinal loser).

And sure enough, an inspired Federer swept to the title, not dropping a set.

"It′s a special victory," he said.

26. Not so Fab

When two clay-court specialists met in the fourth round of the French Open, it was pure drama. We shouldn′t be surprised that one was Fabio Fognini, given his late-night thriller against Gael Monfils last year.

Fognini saved five match points while essentially playing on one leg against veteran Albert Montanes, who tensed up at crunch time. But instead of Fognini being remembered as a hero, the Italian will go down as a villain for demanding -- and receiving -- a medical timeout when it appeared he was simply suffering from a cramp. Timeouts can′t be called for cramps, and the educated folks at Roland Garros knew it.

Fognini was mostly booed when the 4-hour, 22-minute marathon concluded.

Perhaps to prove he was injured, Fognini bailed from his quarterfinal against Djokovic, altering the course of history.

25. The grudge match

David Nalbandian and Lleyton Hewitt don′t particularly like each other.

There was that bump in their Australian Open quarterfinal in 2005, and on the eve of a Davis Cup semi a year later in Buenos Aires, Nalbandian said he couldn′t "wait for [Hewitt] to have a taste of Argentine hospitality."

When Hewitt drew Nalbandian in the first round of the Australian Open this January, the prematch hype predictably overflowed. Thankfully that match didn′t disappoint.

Devoid of any ill temper this time, the two hip-affected veterans battled for five sets and nearly five hours, with Nalbandian prevailing 3-6, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (1), 9-7 after going into semi-tank mode when down a break in the fourth. He saved two match points, one with an outrageous half volley.

"It was that kind of match that nobody will forget it," Nalbandian said.

24. Kangaroo court

Obviously keen to give reporters something to talk about besides her Slam-less No. 1 label, Wozniacki took things to another level in Melbourne.

Besides setting the agenda for one of her news conferences, Wozniacki claimed a scratch on her leg came courtesy of an encounter with a kangaroo in Melbourne.

A wire service ran the story, only to have Wozniacki tell reporters later that it was a concocted tale.

"I′m sorry if I caused an inconvenience," Wozniacki said.

23. Fed punishes Rafa

Federer was in a confident mood as he prepared to face Nadal at the year-end championships. And he had every right to be considering his title at the Paris Masters and the fact that Federer had never lost to the Spaniard indoors.

Things went even better for Federer than he would have imagined.

He crunched winners from all over the court and comfortably defended Nadal′s heavy crosscourt forehand.

The final score read 6-3, 6-0, Federer′s most lopsided victory in their 26 encounters.

"This win ranks high because it′s against my biggest rival, probably," Federer said. "It was a great match for me from start to finish. I′ve felt the power of Rafa in the past."

22. Slammin′ Sammy upsets Serena

When Serena Williams reaches major finals, she usually wins. Entering 2011, her record was a sterling 13-3.

And when she was pitted against Samantha Stosur in the U.S. Open finale, not many gave the Aussie a chance.

But Stosur hardly blundered.

The serve and forehand worked great, as did her backhand, Stosur′s weakest shot off the ground. She handled the occasion well, overcoming a minor blip after Williams clashed with the chair ump.

"I had one of my best days, and I′m very fortunate that I had it on this stage in New York," Stosur said.

Potential realized.

21. Kvitova storms to Istanbul title

To simplify matters: When Petra Kvitova is on her game, not many can beat her. Serena Williams is one of those few.

But with Williams and Clijsters absent from the year-end championships, no one managed to derail the Wimbledon winner in Istanbul.

This was the tournament -- not Wimbledon -- where Kvitova realized she′s one of the best players, if not the best, in the world. She felt comfortable on the big stage.

Kvitova will be on the big stage for many years to come.

ATP

WTA

100 интересные моменты в теннисе 2011 года - часть 4

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