Roger Federer and Selfie Nation

May 25, 2015

The French Open isn’t even one day old and we’ve already had our first international incident. A kid tried to take a selfie with Roger Federer after his first-round win against Alejandro Falla, and Feddy Bear – a traditionalist if there ever was one – was not amused:

“I’m not happy about it, not for one second am I happy about it….All of a sudden, he was next to me. I didn’t know who he was. He tried to take a picture and nobody’s reacting, and I realize it’s just some guy out of the crowd….It happened yesterday (Saturday) in practice, too. It was just a kid but then three or four kids came….And today on center court where you would think this is a place where nobody can come on, he just wanders on and nothing happens….

“Normally, I only speak on behalf of myself, but in this situation I think I can speak on behalf of all the players, because (the court) is where you do your job. It’s where you feel safe so clearly I’m not happy about it, but nothing happened so I’m relieved but it wasn’t a very nice situation to be in.”

Fed said that while he was appreciative of the apology he received from French Open officials, who nonetheless insisted there was nothing wrong with their security procedures, he expects them in effect to walk the walk. ...

A wide-open French Open

May 23, 2015

Who will it be? The once and future king (Rafael Nadal) or the kid bro all grown up and in the driver’s seat (Novak Djokovic)? The maestro (Roger Federer) or the Murrah (Andy Murray)?

One of the new guys perhaps – the teen dream (Borna Coric) or the princes in waiting (Kei Nishikori, Nick Kyrgios, Grigor Dimitrov)? Or will one of the vets (Tomas Berdych, Marin Cilic, David Ferrer) flash the old brilliance?

This year the French Open, which starts Sunday, May 24 and ends Sunday, June 7, is both Novak Djokovic’s to lose and anybody’s guess. There are several factors at play here.

Nine-time winner Rafa is seeded only sixth, thanks to a dismal season. (He would’ve been seeded seventh but an injured Milos Raonic dropped out.)

Wimbledon seeds according to the player’s performance on the surface (grass), not based on his ranking. So last year Nole was No. 1 even though at the time he was ranked No. 2.

But Wimby is Wimby. The French Open seeds according to the rankings and, even before the draw came out, you just knew that Rafanole – as their rivalry is known – would be renewed. Sure enough, they are set up to meet potentially for the 44th time in the quarterfinals, with one of them set potentially to meet Andy in the semis.

Meanwhile, Feddy would appear to have the easier path to the final but not so fast. There are people on his side of the draw like Berdych, Gael Monfils and even countryman Stan Wawrinka who could prove nettlesome.

So there are lots of questions:

Can Andy continue his sparkling play on clay?

Can Fed continue to dazzle at age 33?

Can Rafa recapture the magic in Roland-Garros, site of nine of his 14 Slam titles? ...

Deflategate keeps a lot of balls in the air

May 20, 2015

From the spongy balls that the gentle American Pharoah wears as earplugs to race (poor baby) to the fuzzy tennis balls of the Italian and French opens, we turn our attention back to the squishy balls of Deflategate – a subject that is a writer’s dream, because it just keeps on giving.

The latest is that New England Patriots’ owner Robert Kraft won’t appeal the $1 million fine and loss of two draft picks that resulted from the Pats’ more probably than not deflating their footballs before the A.F.C. Championship game against the Indianapolis Colts.

"Although I might disagree what is decided, I do have respect for [commissioner Roger Goodell] and believe that he's doing what he perceives to be in the best interests of [all 32 teams]," Kraft said, while speaking to the media at the NFL owners meetings. "So in that spirit, I don't want to continue the rhetoric that's gone on for the last four months.”

Translation: The NFL has got us by the squishy balls, and the jig is up. ...

American Pharoah and Novak Djokovic: Of Thoroughbreds – and Thoroughbred temperaments

May 18, 2015

And so it begins again, the quest for two of the Holy Grails of sports, as sure signs of spring as cherry blossoms and roses.

American Pharoah will attempt to become only the 12th horse – and the first since my beloved Affirmed in 1978 – to win horse racing’s Triple Crown when he competes at the Belmont Stakes June 6, D Day in more ways than one.

Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic will attempt to unseat nine-time champion Rafael Nadal for the French Open title, which will be contested at Roland-Garros in Paris May 24 through June 7. Should Nole win, he would be halfway to doing what no man – not even Roger Federer – has done since Rod Laver in 1969 and that is win the Grand Slam in a calendar year.

These are pretty big Ifs. Can AP and Nole do it? Of course. They have the talent. But what makes life a horse race is that talent is not enough. You have to have luck, fate, destiny, whatever you want to call it, on your side. And, more important, you – or, in AP’s case, his handlers as well – have got to believe not just that you can win but that you will. And that’s not easy when you’re a Thoroughbred – or have the high temperament of one. ...

Rafael Nadal’s feet of clay

May 16, 2015

These are not the best of times for us Nadalistas. Our beloved Rafa has lost five times this season on his best surface, clay, most recently in the quarterfinals against Stan Wawrinka at the Italian Open in Rome.

In the past, Rafa could count on clay to rev up the old engine when he flamed out at Wimbledon or was returning from an injury. Not anymore.

The question is, Has his intense playing style taken too much of a toll on his body and thus affected his mind, or is he having a crisis of conscience that is affecting his style of play?

It’s hard to say. With a top athlete, the mind-body connection is so complex that it may be a bit of both. ...

Andy Murray, clay-court specialist

May 15, 2015

Well, with all the talk of deflated balls and overinflated bladders and tummies, we’ve lost sight of the bigger picture – Andy Murray, married man, has become a superb clay court player.

Remember, folks: It was only a few short months ago that Murray lost to Novak Djokovic in the finals of the Australian Open and the “Whither Andy Murray?” articles began to pour in, mostly from British journalists who can’t bear the thought of any imperfection in the life of the Great Brit Hope. The trouble with that is that the pendulum tends to swing way over in the opposite direction when he wins. He won the Munich Open, his maiden clay-court title, and then at the Madrid Open, beat Rafael Nadal (shocker of shockers but then, maybe not, given Rafa’s current Hamlet-like mental state). Suddenly, it’s adios, Rafa.

Indeed, there are those who think Andy can not only make the finals in Paris but actually win. ...

In Vogue – Nick Kyrgios

May 1, 2015

Anna Wintour – lover of tennis and male tennis players, bless her heart – has anointed a new favorite, Nick Kyrgios.

The 20-year-old Aussie hotshot – who famously took down Rafa last year at Wimbledon – is of Greek-Malaysian descent. He says in the article in May Vogue that the food in his family’s house is amazing. We can only imagine. ...