After pushing Spaniard Rafael Nadal to the limit in Monte Carlo two weeks ago, Serbian Novak Djokovic, the defending champion, fancied his chances of retaining the title. But, Nadal once more proved his invincibility on clay defeating Djokovic 7-6, 6-2 in the finals of the ATP Masters Internazionali BNL d’Italia for a record setting fourth trophy at this venue.

Leading 40-15 in the first set’s opening game, Djokovic committed two forehand errors while Nadal converted a forehand up the line winner for break point. Then, Nadal capitalized on another Djokovic error in a long rally for the advantage. With mistake after mistake by Novak, Rafael sprinted to a 2-0 lead. After calming down, Djokovic finally got on the board with a forehand down the line winner. With Nadal serving at 3-2, Djokovic for the first time got to 30 all. Nadal rescued the game for a 4-2 advantage due to a net court winner. Still, there was a sense that the tides were possibly shifting. Djokovic had an easier time holding serve while inserting himself more and more into Nadal’s service games. At 5-4 with Nadal serving to close the set, he made three forehand unforced errors permitting Djokovic to level things. Untroubled by the previous game though, Rafael caused Novak to net a backhand crosscourt then produced a dipping forehand which the Serbian was unable to volley giving the Spaniard double break point which he converted for 6-5. Except, Nadal again had problems with the forehand and was broken after having set point. Thus, it was on to a tiebreaker. As a result of bad judgment by Djokovic, including dropshots which never cleared the net, Nadal bedded the first set.

Nadal started the second set prevailing in long rallies for 40-0; Djokovic countered with three consecutive forehand winners for deuce. When Nadal’s forehand up the line went out of bounce, Djokovic arrived at break point. Yet, Nadal responded with a forehand down the line winner to salvage the game. Serving at 1-2, Djokovic ran into trouble with too many errors. Nevertheless, with a couple of wide serves and backhand winners, the Serb forbade the Spaniard from doing any damage. Nadal, under fire on his own serve after a double fault, curled in a forehand up the line winner to stay ahead 3-2. In the sixth game, Djokovic avoided going down 0-30 with a reflex backhand volley winner after Nadal crushed a forehand down the line. Ahead 40-15, Djokovic misfired twice with the backhand, dumped a forehand crosscourt into the net and double faulted to gift Nadal a break for 4-2. After easily consolidating, Nadal curved a forehand pass for a winner to break Djokovic and win the match.

What a difference a year makes! Last May, Nadal was fighting off Djokovic just to retain the number two ranking. By prevailing in Rome, the Spaniard claims his 15th Masters’ shield and is now two behind the all-time leader Andre Agassi. Moreover, with his 25th clay title, at 22, Nadal is five shy of the mark set by the great Bjorn Borg. With this lost, Djokovic cedes the number three spot to Andy Murray albeit the latter exited in the second round in Rome. Despite falling to Djokovic in the semifinals, Roger Federer hangs on to the number two ranking although by his finger nails.

One of the world’s most celebrated juniors tournaments, the 62nd annual Orange Bowl, took place at the Crandon Park Tennis Center in Key Biscayne from December 7 thru 14.  For most players, it is a stepping-stone to greatness. Some of the past winners include Roger Federer, Jim Courier, Bjorn Borg, Mary Joe Fernandez, and Chris Evert. Therefore, MiamiTennisBlog.com was on the scene scouting out the game’s future champions.

In the finals of the girls’ 18 category, wildcard entrant Julia Boserup from Boca Raton defeated another wildcard participant Christina McHale from New Jersey 6-4, 2-6, 6-3.  These two competitors are pupils at the USTA Player Development Facility in Boca Raton.  Other names deserving of a few lines include junior Wimbledon Champion and second seed, Laura Robson of Great Britain who retired in the quarterfinals and Nevada resident Asia Muhammad, Andre Agassi’s protégé, a gifted player who reached the third round in singles.  Muhammad did pick up the doubles trophy along with Lauren Embree from Marco Island.

Indian Yuki Bhambri, the second seed, stopped Georgia denizen Jamere Jenkins, ranked 78th, from winning the boys’ 18 title, beating him in two sets 6-1, 6-3.  Jenkins partnered with Devin Britton from Mississippi and exacted a bit of revenge by prevailing in the doubles final over Bhambri and Chase Buchanan from Ohio.  An unseeded player ousted top seed and junior French Open champion, Tsung-Hua Yang of Taiwan, in the third round.

If I were to pen a riddle about this topic it would go something like this: what sound is a sign of severe respiratory distress in a child or preparation for speech in babies, yet is a source of annoyance to spectators viewing a tennis match? If you were to guess grunting, you would be on the ball.

One would have to be deaf not to have noticed that the courts on the WTA circuit are somewhat quieter the last few months. This is due to the conspicuous absence of Maria Sharapova. The Siberian diva and her signature ear-piercing grunt have been sidelined for the rest of the season by a shoulder injury. Although Sharapova is an extreme and expert poster child for that note, the men are not immune. Rafael Nadal seems to have taken lessons from some of the great Spanish tenors. Nowadays, grunting has become commonplace on tour. Just like voices, the sound varies in intensity and cadence. Undoubtedly, the player who opened the laryngeal gates and brought grunting into the spotlight was Serbian Monica Seles. This tone turned out to be such a distraction that at the 1992 Wimbledon finals, Seles was asked to keep the decibel down which may have thrown off her rhythm and cost her the match against Steffi Graff. Perhaps, Seles’ inability to vocalize may have dampened the weight of her shots. After all, tennis players are creatures of habit and a bit superstitious.

Facing Andre Agassi in the 1982 semifinal at the U.S Open, Czech Ivan Lendl cited that his opponent’s grunting was a mental distraction particularly considering it had never been an issue he had previously encountered. Luckily, Lendl was able to focus enough and win the match. Although athletes are famous for their powers of concentration, it is hard to fathom how a noise which can seem as loud as a subway train is not a disturbance. Therefore, it leaves one to wonder whether all this ruckus is really necessary.

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