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THE BEST NEW RACQUETS AND SHOES TENNIS ON THE CHEAP TOP JUNIORS TAKE ON COLLEGE PLAYERS
WWT S NEWTHE BEST NEWT WWRACQUETS AND SHOES QURACQUETS AND SHORACQUETS AND
PAPHE CHTENNIS ON THE CHEAPTENNIS ON THONTOTOP JU I OTOP JUNIORS TAKE ON
COLLEGE PLAYERSCOLLEGE PPLAYECOLLEGLCOLLEGE PLAYERSPCC U.S. $4.99 / CAN $4.99 DISPLAY UNTIL JULY 28, 2009
SUMMER ’09
SURVIVETOURNAMENTSEASONWIN MORE MATCHESAND HAVE MORE FUN
THE NEW GIRLS
VICTORIA AZARENKA LEADS THE YOUNG WTA PACK
FERNANDO VERDASCO: PLAYBOY TURNED PLAYER
0209_COVER_rel.indd 10209_COVER_rel.indd 1 4/23/09 11:34 AM4/23/09 11:34 AM
Compete against the best in the #1 standing tennis franchise, which includes
the offi cial Davis Cup by BNP Paribas license.
Sharpen up your skills with 12 Court Games such as
Pot Shot and Pirate Wars.
Challenge yourself in the online and offl ine World Tour Mode while customizing
your character with over 800 shop items.
© SEGA. SEGA, the SEGA logo and Virtua Tennis are either registered trademarks or trademarks of SEGA Corporation. All rights reserved. Wii and the Wii logo are trademarks of Nintendo. © 2006 Nintendo. "PlayStation" and the
"PS" Family logo are registered trademarks and "PS3" is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The PlayStation Network Logo is a service mark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox
LIVE, and the Xbox logos are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies and are used under license from Microsoft. All trademarks used herein are under license from their respective owners.
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ContentsTH
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Learn how Fernando Verdasco transformed from playboy to player on Page 18.
FEATURES14 THE NEW GIRLS Five ladies-in-waiting who are ready to take over the WTA tour. By Douglas Robson
18 FERNANDO VERDASCO How high can he climb?By Stephen Tignor
20 SUMMER TOURNAMENTS Your guide to having a great season
DEPARTMENTS03 PHOTO OPS
05 GAME ON
12 LISTEN UP Friends of the pros + John Isner’s favorite artists
13 LOCKER ROOM Stylish watches
28 IN THE ZONE Instruction you can use
30 411 College players vs. top juniors + USTA talent search
32 FINAL CALL
VOLUME FOUR NO. 2
ON THE COVERWhat happened to the WTA’s teen queens? They grew up. The Top 5 women this spring were all over 22. Our cover girl, Victoria Azarenka, is looking to change that. She came into 2009 titleless; now she owns three. Can she and the other young starlets, Alize Cornet, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Agnieszka Radwanska and Caroline Wozniacki, take over the Top 5? Find out on Page 14. Photograph by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
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Editor-in-Chief James Martin
Executive Editor Stephen Tignor
Design Director Gary Stewart
Managing Editor Sarah Unke
Associate Editor Sarah Thurmond
Contributing Editors Jon Levey, Tom Perrotta
Senior Instruction Editor Paul AnnaconeTouring Editor Brad Gilbert
Instruction Editors Dave Hagler, Ajay PantGear Advisers David Bone, Bruce Levine, Roman Prokes, Dr. David G. Sharnoff, D.P.M.
Photo Editor David RosenbergDesigner Jason Sfetko
Production Director Ray SmithPrepress Manager Kent Armstrong
Partner George MackinPublisher Chris EvertGroup Publisher Jeff Williams, [email protected]
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LIVE SCORES, NEWS, INSTRUCTION, AND GEARRight at your fi ngertips, all with the click of a mouse.
comAll Things Tennis, All the Time
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PHOTO OPsHOT SHOTS FROM THE WORLD OF TENNIS
COUGAR ALERT
Former tennis champions
Gabriela Sabatini, 39, and
Martina Navratilova, 52,
played an exhibition to
raise awareness and funds
for the neuromuscular
disorder myasthenia gravis
in Buenos Aires, Argentina,
in March. BELL RINGER
Anna Kournikova rang
the opening bell at the New
York Stock Exchange with
children from the Boys
& Girls Clubs of America
in March. The former top
doubles player was
promoting the Cartoon
Network’s “Get Animated”
health campaign.
DRIVE-IN THEATERTo kick off the Sony
Ericsson Open in Miami, Venus Williams stopped
traffic with hitting partner Andy Murray (not pictured).
Perhaps she brought him some luck, as he went on
to win the title.
WILD LIFEThe WTA tour can be like
a zoo sometimes, as
Anna-Lena Groenefeld,
Patty Schnyder, Chuang
Chia-Jung and Sania Mirza
found out during the Sony
Ericsson Open in Miami.
The fans can get pretty
mischievous.
TEE FOR TWORafael Nadal and Ana
Ivanovic showed off their
putting skills in Miami at
the Sony Ericsson Open in
March. They should have
stuck with golf: She lost in
the third round, and he went
out in the quarters.
NICE SHOT?
Justin “I’m a Mac” Long
(left) and Jonah “It just
says ‘McLovin’!” Hill were
snapped looking a little
haggard while playing at
Plummer Park in West
Hollywood, Calif., in January.
The actors co-starred in
the comedy Accepted.
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What’s the worst that could happen?abovetheinfl uence.com
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Andy Murray stands on top of London’s O2 arena, where the ATP World Tour Finals will be held in November.
THE ONE AND ONLY: Mardy Fish became the first No. 1 seed in the 17-year history of the tournament in Delray Beach to win the title. | THREE’S COMPANY: After his victory over Roger Federer in Indian Wells, Andy Murray
• THE LOS ANGELES WILD-CARD SHOOTOUT
• A PROS’ GUIDE TO ACCEPTING A TROPHY
• THE DAVIS CUP CHRONICLES
• WHO SAID IT? SIMON COWELL OR A PLAYER
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joined David Nalbandian and Rafael Nadal as the only players who have beaten Federer at least four times in a row. | WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? Venus Williams moved up to No. 5 in February, her first time in the Top 5 since
DON’T CALL AJLA Tomljanovic the new Ana Ivanovic. “I hear that a lot, and I don’t know, it doesn’t make me feel good about myself,” says the 16-year-old Croatian prodigy. “She’s not my idol, you know.” Not too many young players would eschew the comparison. While Tomljanovic (her name is pronounced eye-la tom-lyawn-o-vitch) calls her backhand her most natural shot, she has a nearly 6-foot frame and strikes her forehand and serve in a manner similar to Ivanovic.
But the teenager does have a role model. She grew up as a big fan of Justine Henin, liking the way the Belgian made up for her small size with talent and smarts. When Henin retired last year, Tomljanovic switched her affections to the top men: Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Andy Murray and compatriot Marin Cilic. “I love to watch women’s tennis but I don’t have someone that I really love,” she explains.
In some ways, this is natural: Tomljanovic is no longer an awe-struck junior but a fledging pro starting to regard the top players as competition. Born in
Zagreb, Croatia, she spent her early years in Switzerland before her family moved back to Croatia. She began training at the Evert Tennis Academy in Boca Raton, Fla., in 2007. Her dad and mom, Ratko and Emina, moved with her and her older sister, Hana, 18, who will play for the University of Virginia starting this fall.
Tomljanovic is reluctant to call herself better than her sister—“we’re both great play-ers”—but says she had more tennis ambition. “I always had that instinct, I knew what I
wanted [to go pro]. My sister wasn’t that sure so she went the other direction.”After many childhood summers spent at her aunt’s house in Charlotte, Va.,
Tomljanovic has found it fairly easy to adjust to living in the United States. “The academy is really nice and the people that are helping me and supporting me with my tennis are great. I just feel really comfortable there,” she says.
She is coached by the Evert academy’s John Evert and Rene Gomez, but her dad, a former handball player, usually serves as her coach on the road. After reaching the Top 5 in the ITF junior rankings earlier this year, Tomljanovic is now focusing on playing more women’s tournaments. “Before I was like, Wow, I wish I could get a high [ITF] ranking. And now I did, I’m like, Okay, what now?” she says. “So I just want to get a really good WTA ranking.”
At the same time, she acknowledges the importance of not getting too caught up in the grind of the circuit. “The secret is to enjoy and not to think about points and stuff,” Tomljanovic says. “If I start thinking, I don’t do well. So I just have to keep my focus about that.”—KAMAKSHI TANDON
INCOMINGAJLA TOMLJANOVIC OWNS A TOP 5 JUNIOR RANKING. NOW SHE WANTS THE SAME ON THE WTA TOUR
SMASH 15OUR TAKE ON TENNIS AND THE WORLD AROUND IT–BUT DON’T TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT
Hold that thought: Former No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero talks retirement, then wins his first tournament, Casablanca, in almost six years.
It takes time to recover from shoulder surgery, but it hasn’t slowed down the one-woman marketing machine that is Maria Sharapova.
Dinara Safina became No. 1 in April, making her and Marat Safin the only brother-sister duo ever to hold the top spots in pro tennis.
EA Sports Grand Slam Tennis for Nintendo Wii comes out June 17. If it’s true that the avatars actually play like their real-life counterparts, we look forward to the recreated John McEnroe tantrums.
We were happy to see American Taylor Dent come back from a serious back injury to make it through qualifying and reach the fourth round in Miami.
Stroke we wish we had in our arsenal: Carla Suarez Navarro’s swashbuckling one-handed backhand.
Fourteen-year-old Madison Keys wins her debut WTA match and gives American tennis hope for the future.
Sure, it’s an advertisement for Head, but the cartoon drawings “Speed Lessons by Novak Djokovic” (speedlessons.com) are pretty groovy.
Name:AJLATOMLJANOVICAge:16From:CROATIAHeight:5-FOOT-11 1/2
Roger Federer marries his longtime girlfriend, Mirka. Maybe saying “I do” will do his game some good.
The award for Best Supporting Company goes to Adidas, for adding Darren Cahill to its player-development team, which also includes Sven Groeneveld and Gil Reyes.
Rafael Nadal, a musical theater fan? The world No. 1 reveals to French paper L’Equipe that he listens to a song from Phantom of the Opera before every match.
The tennis courts at the White House are safe: President Barack Obama tells Jay Leno on The Tonight Show that he’ll shoot hoops using basketball rims he can roll onto the court.
If Kim Clijsters is returning to the WTA tour after a two-year retirement, does this mean the splits
will make a comeback as well?
The battle of the summer blockbusters begins on June 24, when Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen comes out, followed by Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince on July 15.
The hyped-up tennis match on Bravo’s reality series The Real Housewives of New York City was one giant snooze-fest.
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WILD WEST SHOOTOUTTHE ATP EVENT IN LOS ANGELES GIVES PLAYERS AN UNUSUAL CHANCE TO EARN A WILD CARD
SIGN IN AT 11:30, take the court at high noon. In roughly two and a half hours, you could earn yourself a wild card into the main draw of a $700,000 tournament. In its ninth year, the L.A. Tennis Open’s “Wild-Card Shootout” offers players just that. A draw of eight men, all wild cards themselves, battle it out in double-elimination super tiebreakers (10-point sets) the Friday before the tournament for a guaranteed spot in the main draw of the August ATP tour event.
“No tournament does this,” says the event’s director Bob Kramer, who says the shootout is an innovative and fair way to grant one of the three wild cards. “I stole the idea from the Milan Shootout [in the 1980s].”
Free to the public, the rapid-fire event offers spectators and players a tennis experience like no other. “It’s
the most intense pressure situation you can imagine,” says Zack Fleishman, who became the event’s first repeat winner in 2008, despite missing the previous six months on tour due to a shoulder injury.
The 29-year-old Fleishman made the most of out of his shootout win in
2007 when he took out top seed and then No. 6 Fernando Gonzalez en route to the quarterfinals. “It gives guys a chance to play on the big stage when we wouldn’t necessarily have a chance. It’s a lottery ticket to fast track your career.”
But being different can cause controversy, and the shootout is not without its critics. “Sometimes people question it,” Kramer says. “My answer is always, ‘It’s just extra. It’s not going to keep you from signing into the qualifying. And it’s not going
to keep you from being considered for [the remaining two] wild cards.’”
Will other tournaments follow suit? Don’t bet on it. “The other tournament directors have been asking about it,” Kramer says. “But I think in many ways they’re reluctant to give away a wild card.”
Fleishman thinks the shootout format has a place on tour. “Not only do the players love to play in it because of the opportunity it gives them, but I think the fans would love to watch one high-pressure situation after another.” And the last man left standing wins.—J.L.
After Fleishman won the 2007 shootout, he beat top seed Fernando Gonzalez.
“It’s a lottery ticket to fast track your career,” says two-time winner Zack Fleishman.
“First of all, I want to congratulate ___________________________ on a great tournament. You
should be _______________________________ for how you played, and I look forward to many more
___________________ finals in the future.
I have to thank _____________ , who has supported me all week. Thanks to
______________________________________________ for being here and for always believing in me.
To everyone watching back in ____________________ , __________________________________!
Thanks to ___________________ . Of course, many thanks to _____________________________
________________________ for putting on such a fantastic event. Thanks to ______________
____________________ , ___________________________________ , and most importantly
______________________________ .
Last, but certainly not least, thanks to all of you here. ______________________ fans are some of
the best fans in the world. Can’t wait to see you again next year.
___________________________ !”
(name of still steaming opponent)
(name of emotion they are not feeling)
MAD PROPSNeed to accept a trophy and don’t know what to say? Follow the pros, who turn it into a game of Mad Libs. Here’s how they do it.—JAMES LAROSA
(name of coach)
(overly kind adjective)
(names of members of family and entourage present)
(name of home country) (charming expression in native language)
(name of tournament)
uhhh...umm
?
....
(name of company on the big novelty
check and the other sponsors) (the poor suckers
who worked it for free) (any royal family or past champions present)
(Name of tournament city)
(“Thank you” in the local language)
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August 2003. | 3: Number of wild cards Kim Clijsters has asked for since announcing her comeback. The former No. 1 will play in Cincinnati, Toronto and the U.S. Open. | POSITIVE SIGN: Bernard Tomic became the
uhhh...umm
?
...
(name of a deity or clothing sponsor)
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8 SMASH
BY THE NUMBERS… GILLES SIMON
24 AGE155 LBS WEIGHT
TIME OF HIS 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (6) WIN OVER
RAFAEL NADAL IN THE SEMIFINALS OF THE
2008 MASTERS SERIES EVENT IN MADRID
CONSECUTIVE YEARS HE HAS WON THE TOURNAMENT IN
BUCHARESTOF HIS FIVE
CAREER SINGLES TITLES HAVE
COME ON CLAY
2008 YEAR-END RANKING. HE AND
JO-WILFRIED TSONGA WERE THE FIRST FRENCH DUO TO FINISH IN THE
TOP 10 SINCE 1986
IT’S PARTIED AT Paris nightclubs, lived under tighter security than the President, been doused in champagne and been touched by some of the greatest tennis players in history. Yes, the 109-year-old Davis Cup trophy has led a charmed life. But it’s not all fun and games. Just ask the person who has to watch over it.
Although the International Tennis Federation owns the Davis Cup, rarely is it in the possession of ITF officials. Instead, the country that wins the title gets to keep the trophy until it switches hands at the next final—
WORLD CUPTHE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE DAVIS CUP
unless, of course, a country defends the title. It’s the winning country’s governing federation that takes responsibility for the cup, making sure it arrives at big events and photo shoots in pristine condition.
Federations usually outsource the work. When the United States won the Davis Cup in 2007, the USTA hired Synergy Events, an event and sports marketing firm, to oversee the trophy’s care. Brinks, an armored vehicles company, shepherded the trophy, which requires assembly, in four huge cases. Synergy’s Tara
Murray was appointed, in her words, the “glorified trophy baby sitter.”
Murray, a freelance events coordinator and substitute teacher from New Jersey, traveled with the trophy to places like the U.S. Open and International Tennis Hall of Fame. She assembled the trophy (with help), polished the silver bowl wearing white gloves, and made sure no one touched it. For insurance purposes, she had to keep the trophy overnight in her hotel room. But she wasn’t too concerned about anyone stealing it. “Honestly, it’s 231 pounds,” she says. “Who’s going to run off with it?”
Being the trophy’s handler had it perks, too. Murray got to meet Barbara Walters and stand with the trophy on court during the ’07 Davis Cup final in Portland, Ore. Still, there was a downside. After the final, it’s customary for the winning team to drink champagne from the silver bowl, but the U.S. team also had a food fight. “It got a lot of cleaning that night,” Murray says.
When Argentina’s governing body
had the cup for the final against Spain last year, the trophy had yet another adventure: A police motorcade and helicopter escorted the trophy from the airport in Buenos Aires to the arena in Mar del Plata.
Now, it is in the hands of the Spanish federation. Murray says she felt a little nostalgic when she saw a picture of the winning teammates drinking champagne from the trophy. “I thought, I wonder who has to clean it this time.”—SARAH THURMOND
CUP RUNNETH OVER››› The Davis Cup, originally just the silver bowl, was commissioned by Harvard student Dwight Davis for $1,000. It was presented at the first tie played between the United States and the British Isles in 1900.
››› After the 1933 final between Britain and France, Fred Perry and Henri Cochet took the trophy to
nightclubs around Paris.
››› During both World Wars, the cup was kept in a bank vault in New York.
››› The trophy now includes the cup, a silver salver, and three wooden plinths covered with small plaques engraved with the names of the winners and finalists. It would cost $600,000 to replace today.
sixth 16-and-under player to win an ATP Challenger tournament (Melbourne) in the past 25 years. Four of the five other players who did it reached the Top 10. | 31: Number of Davis Cup singles victories for Andy
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1. “Simple version for me is, started bad and finished bad basically.” □ Simon Cowell□ Roger Federer
2. “If you’ve got a big mouth and you’re contro-versial, you’re going to get attention.” □ Simon Cowell□ Serena Williams
3. “If we start talking about the things that are bothering me now, we will chat for a long time.” □ Simon Cowell□ Novak Djokovic
4. “Whoever said, ‘It’s not whether you win or lose that counts,’ probably lost.”□ Simon Cowell□ Martina Navratilova
5. “You are in your own universe and if people like you, good luck.”□ Simon Cowell□ Andy Murray
6. “You know, I want to meet the parents sometimes and say to them, ‘Are you aware that your son or daughter has zero talent?’”□ Simon Cowell□ Nick Bollettieri
TENNIS ON THE CHEAPFive money-saving tips to help you keep up your tennis habit through tough economic times
1. STOCK UP In times like these, you have to learn to cut back. And while it may sound counterintuitive, for your tennis that means buying in bulk. You can save cash in the long run if you buy overgrips by the pack and strings by the reel, or a whole case of balls instead of just one can. Also, if you’re jonesing for that new version of your racquet or want to test out a new stick, try selling your old model at a consignment shop or on eBay to offset the cost.
2. INVEST LONG TERM Strings are a major drain on your pocket change, as are new balls and overgrips. You can probably get by with replacing them less often. Take it from Toni Nadal, Rafa’s coach and uncle, who says, “When you want everything in a special way you become . . . finicky.” But since you can’t get around stringing altogether, and stringing fees can really stack up, it might be time for a little DIY action. Buy a stringing machine and learn to lace up your stick yourself. It’ll save you a lot of money in the long run.
3. GO BARGAIN HUNTING If last season’s gear won’t make it another year, try not to pay full price. Search for sales on tennis-gear websites to get old favorites on clearance or some money off the latest stuff.
4. TAKE IT OUTSIDE Skip the expensive court time at indoor courts and tennis clubs and give your public courts some business. Their prices are much more pocket-change friendly.
5. GIVE AND YOU WILL RECEIVE While you may not be USPTA or PTR certified, that doesn’t mean you can’t teach the kids in your neighborhood a thing or two on a tennis court. Let your neighbors know that you’d love to hone your teaching skills and make better players out of their children. You may get a few takers who are willing to pay.—SARAH UNKE
Answers: 1 Federer; 2, 5, 6, 7, 9 Cowell; 3 Djokovic; 4 Navratilova; 8 Safin; 10 Nadal; 11 Blake; 12 Roddick
7. “There’s only so much punishment a human can take.”□ Simon Cowell□ Maria Sharapova
8. “Every year it’s getting worse, worse and worse. I don’t know where we’re going to end up like this.”□ Simon Cowell□ Marat Safin
9. “I’m like the friendly executioner.”□ Simon Cowell□ Venus Williams
10. “The truth is I feel bad for him. I felt so bad at one stage that I did not think I could continue.”□ Simon Cowell□ Rafael Nadal
11. “Whatever he wants to say is fine. Whatever is going to get him some sleep tonight, then that’s fine.”□ Simon Cowell□ James Blake
12. “It was miserable. It sucked. It was terrible. Besides that it was fine.”□ Simon Cowell□ Andy Roddick
—JAMES LAROSA
Roddick, placing him second all-time in the U.S. He’s 10 wins behind John McEnroe. | 10-10: The head-to-head record for Venus and Serena Williams. Serena got even by beating her big sister in the semifinals in Miami.
Simon Cowell knows how to run his mouth. So do the big names in tennis. Can you guess who served up the following bombs? To check your work, see the answers at the bottom
WHO SAID IT?
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IMPACTPLAYERSNEW GEAR THAT CAN MAKE A BIG IMPRESSION ON YOUR GAME. BY JON LEVEY
NIKE AIR MAX COURTBALLISTEC 1.3
WHY YOU NEED IT: You’ve probably seen this men’s shoe on the feet
of world No. 1 Rafael Nadal, arguably the best mover in tennis, so you know it
scores high in terms of stability and support. But it’s also quite comfortable
thanks to the soft dimpled leather in the upper and the fairly roomy toe box.
Max Air in the heel provides good cushioning and shock absorption, though it
does keep that part of your foot high off the court. If that doesn’t feel awkward
to you, and you don’t have issues getting the shoe on because of its tongueless
design, you’re going to like the Air Max Courtballistec. $120, nike.com
WILSON TOUR SPINWHY YOU NEED IT: If you like playing in lightweight, comfortable shoes, you won’t find many that fit the description better than the Wilson
Tour Spin, which comes in men’s and women’s models (shown here). The mostly mesh upper is incredibly soft
and breathable and feels broken-in right out of the box. It also keeps the weight down so it’s almost as if you’re not wearing shoes at all. The downside to
all that comfort and lack of restriction is you don’t get a lot of lateral support, which might bother heavy movers on hard courts. Still, if you spend most of your time playing on clay, and in hot temperatures, this shoe is definitely worth checking out. $120, wilson.com
K-SWISS DEFIERMISOUL TECHWHY YOU NEED IT: When you compete, you want a shoe that provides support but is also light on your feet. For long practice sessions, you need a shoe that’s going to give you ample cushioning. With a unique innovation, the miSoul Tech from K-Swiss offers both. The shoe, which comes in men’s and women’s models (shown here), has two interchangeable insoles: a lighter one for match days, and a heavier, more cushioned option for workouts. Switching them in and out of the shoe takes a bit of practice, but it’s not a problem once you get the hang of it. Besides the unique insoles, the shoe delivers the comfort and stability you’d expect in a high-performance model. $125, kswiss.com
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HEAD MICROGEL EXTREME
WITH TEFLON
KEY SPECS: The Extreme weighs
11.1 ounces, is 27.25 inches long, has a
100-square-inch head, and is head light.
WHY YOU NEED IT: Head has
found a practical use for chemistry
to give your shots more spin and pop.
How? When you make contact with
the ball, the strings rub up against the
grommets, causing friction. You don’t
want too much of that because it takes
power off your shot. This new Extreme
has Teflon—the non-stick coating on
pans—covering the grommets so strings
move more freely at impact. That means
the energy you put into the shot won’t
get lost before it reaches the ball. So
when you brush up on the ball, which
is easy to do with the Extreme’s wide
face and open string pattern, you’ll get
more power and topspin. There’s also a
Pro version that weighs more and is 27
inches long. $200, head.com
PRINCE EXO3 GRAPHITE
KEY SPECS: The Graphite weighs 11.5 ounces,
is 27 inches long, has a 100-square-inch head, and
is head light.
WHY YOU NEED IT: It’s been five years
since there’s been an update to this all-time great.
The latest incarnation has the new Energy Channel,
a groove within the frame that redistributes the
weight toward the outer edge of the racquet face.
It’s designed to provide better stability. Like the
Graphites before it, the EXO3 relies on the player
for power, while it supplies control and feel. There’s
plenty of both, especially at net, where you can
do real damage with this stick. It comes standard
with O Ports, which give it that deadened O3
response. If you want more traditional feedback,
you can install hole inserts (grommets). There’s
also a more demanding 93-square-inch midsize
version. $220, princesports.com
ADIDAS BARRICADE
KEY SPECS: The Barricade weighs
11.1 ounces, is 27 inches long, has a
95-square-inch head, and is slightly
head light.
WHY YOU NEED IT: Back in the
day, top players such as Ivan Lendl and
Ilie Nastase swung Adidas racquets.
It’s been almost 20 years since the
shoe giant produced frames, but they’ve
returned and the Barricade is the
model aimed at advanced players. It has
Power Structure Technology, which adds
weight to the 3 and 9 o’clock positions
of the head to increase stability and
widen the sweet spot. The frame feels
substantial, and there’s a Tour version
that’s even heavier at 12.2 ounces,
but it’s still rather easy to maneuver.
Aggressive players who like to swing out
and take the point to their opponents
shouldn’t shy away from this stick just
because it’s from a brand they’re used
to seeing on their feet. $185, adidas.com
LUXILON M2 PROWHY YOU NEED IT: Wouldn’t it be great if you could get the benefits of playing with a hybrid with just one string? That’s the thinking behind Luxilon’s M2 Pro. The string is constructed of both a multifilament, for playability, and a monofila-ment, for endurance and control. The technology is called “variable flex” and it’s designed to feel soft when you’re playing with touch, and stiffer and more controlled when you’re hitting harder. That’s a winning combination. luxilon.be
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F.O.P.sMAKE A PLAYLIST WITH MUSIC FROM THESE FRIENDS OF THE PROS. BY SARAH THURMOND
JOHN ISNER’S FAVORITE ARTISTS
1. ELTON JOHN “It’s unbelievable,” said Billie Jean King when Elton John sang “Philadelphia Freedom” to her for the first time. The friends met in 1974, two weeks before King beat Bobby Riggs in the Battle of the Sexes, and John wrote the song as a tribute to her and the Philadelphia Freedoms World TeamTennis squad. It became a No. 1 hit in 1975, and typifies the songwriter’s classic-rock sound, a blend of pop melody and driving guitar backed by John’s virtuoso piano playing. “Philadelphia Freedom” and his other early hits can be found on Rocket Man: Number Ones. And King isn’t John’s only friend in pro tennis: In April, he serenaded guests at the wedding of Andy Roddick and model Brooklyn Decker.
2. EDDIE VAN HALEN When tennis’ superbrat, John McEnroe, wanted to learn how to rock ’n’ roll, he picked the best to teach him: Eddie Van Halen. In the mid-1970s, Eddie founded the hard-rock group Van Halen with his brother, Alex, on drums, bassist Michael Anthony, and flamboyant lead singer David Lee Roth. He also created the band’s unique rough-edged sound. A classically trained musician, Eddie made his own guitars, used an original fingering style, and
incorporated noise from props like sandpaper and chain saws. “Eddie’s one of the greatest guitar players who ever lived,” said McEnroe, who took lessons from the ax maestro in the mid-’80s. Listen to the band’s self-titled debut album, and you, too, will become a fan.
3. PATTY SMYTH Here’s a fun factoid: When Van Halen’s original singer, Roth, left the band in 1985, Eddie Van Halen asked Patty Smyth, of the rock outfit Scandal, to take over vocal duties. Scan-dal, which produced two albums and the hit anthems “Goodbye to You” and “The Warrior,” had just broken up, and Smyth was eight months pregnant, so she declined the offer. She became Mrs. John McEnroe in 1997, put out a couple solo records, and recently reunited with two members of Scandal. Smyth plans to release her first single in 10 years, “Hard for You to Love Me,” this year.
4. ROD STEWART Andre Agassi has a lot of musician friends, from Barbra Streisand to The Killers. But the F.O.P. you need on your iPod is Rod Stewart. In the 1960s, Stewart, once an aspiring pro soccer player, was a front man for legendary rock acts Jeff Beck Group and
Faces. But his solo work defines his reputation as one of rock’s greatest voices (described by a Rolling Stone scribe as a “white kid with strep throat”). Download his bluesy, country-tinged LPs Gasoline Alley and Every Picture Tells a Story (featuring the hit “Maggie May”).
5. GAVIN ROSSDALE Gavin Rossdale has been friends with Roger Federer since meeting the champion at a charity fundraiser in New York a few years ago. Now his presence in the players’ box at Wimbledon is as much a tradition as his friend playing in the final. But the tennis-loving husband of Gwen Stefani is first and foremost a musician. He founded Bush, a sort of British take on grunge, in the 1990s. The group split up in 2002, and last year Rossdale released his first solo album, Wanderlust. Gentler than Bush, Rossdale’s music still revolves around his strained, emotional voice.
6. WYCLEF JEAN The Sundance Channel’s “Iconoclast” series featured an episode last season with the unlikely pairing of Venus Williams and Wyclef Jean. Why not? If anyone is a Grand Slam winner in music, it’s Jean. The Haitian-born musician and producer achieved
mainstream success with the reggae-infused hip-hop group the Fugees. Since then, he’s collaborated with Shakira (“Hips Don’t Lie”) and Carlos Santana (on the Grammy-winning album Supernatural), and put out numerous solo albums. The latest, Carnival Vol. II: Memoirs of an Immigrant, is a sequel to his first one, The Carnival. Jean again puts social and political issues (immigration, deadbeat dads) at the forefront, but manages to keep things a little more upbeat this time. Unfortunately, Venus doesn’t appear as one of the many guest artists.
7. COMMON Rumors were flying last year about rapper/actor Common and Serena Williams. They were seen holding hands, hitting hot spots, and surfing in Hawaii. So, were they dating? Common’s response on complex.com: “Nah man, I’m dating hip-hop.” The genre’s socially conscious philosopher turned into a trippy club kid on his eighth album, Universal Mind Control, which came out last December. With shallow lyrics and techno beats, it didn’t compare to his previous offering, Be, which had an easy, old-school soulfulness flowing through it, thanks to producer Kanye West. This is the version of Common we’d like to date.
3
1. ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND “IT’S A SOUTHERN BAND, AND I’M FROM THE SOUTH. IT’S ONE OF MY FAVORITE BANDS. ‘RAMBLIN’ MAN’ HAS A GREAT BEAT.”
8. THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA MARCHING BAND “THE UGA FIGHT SONG.I GOTTA SUPPORT MY SCHOOL.”
2. BOSTON “IT’S ONE OF MY FAVORITE CLASSIC-ROCK BANDS.”
3. GEORGE STRAIT “I LOVE COUNTRY AS WELL.”
4. TOBY KEITH “‘AMERICAN SOLDIER’ IS A VERY PATRIOTIC SONG.”
5. ALAN JACKSON “HE’S COUNTRY.”
7. POISON “IT’S GREAT CLASSIC ROCK.”
6. ALABAMA “ONE OF THE GREATEST COUNTRY BANDS. ‘SONG OF THE SOUTH’IS A GOOD SONG ABOUT THE SOUTH.”
WIY SARAH T
ELTON JOHNlie
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CLOCK-WATCHERTIME YOUR OPPONENTS BETWEEN POINTS WITH ONE OF THESE ON YOUR WRIST. BY SARAH UNKE
1. FOSSIL ANALOG RED DIALThis shiny silver timekeeper will brighten up your wrist with its bold red face. The watch has an interlocking metal band, a stainless steel case and silver hands. $65, fossil.com
2. SEIKO MEN’S VELATURA KINETIC DIRECT DRIVEYou’ll never have to change a battery with this Seiko. The battery is charged by movement or turning the watch’s crown, so when you swing your racquet, you’ll be powering your watch. There’s a dial to show the juice that’s remaining, and another one to show the date. $1,295, seikousa.com
3. NIKE WOMEN’S IMARA KYLO CEEThis flexible plastic cuff watch slips on your wrist and has rubber grips to keep it secure on court. The large digits make it easy to read on the run. It also has a stopwatch mode and shows the day and date at the bottom. $69, nike.com
4. SWATCH SOMETHING NEWThis simple Swatch has a matte black plastic strap and case. The white face with black numbers and hands make it easy to read, and glow-in-the-dark details on the minute and hour hands help you tell time when the sun goes down. $50, swatch.com
5. TIMEX MEN’S T SERIES RACING CHRONOGRAPHThe stainless steel case on this Timex is large yet light. It’s readable in the dark with the Indiglo night light and has a chronograph with tachymeter to measure speed. The leather band is breathable thanks to stylish cut-outs. $120, timex.com
6. NIXON VEGAIf you want a chic accessory that can tell time, this chunky bracelet watch is for you. The stretch-link band comes in lots of colors and is one size fits all. $60, nixonnow.com
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WHO WILL RULE
WOMEN’S TENNIS
AFTER VENUS AND
SERENA? FIVE HOT
SHOTS ARE VYING FOR
THE PROMOTION.
BY DOUGLAS ROBSONTHE PROMBY DOUGLAS ROBSON
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OF THE MANY adjustments needed for a life in pro tennis, Victoria Azarenka says one of the biggest is to avoid getting an inflated head. “I see too many girls from our country and other countries that come on tour thinking way too much about themselves,” says the Belarus native, who now lives in the United States. “They need to keep their feet on the ground a little bit.”
Whether the fast-rising 19-year-old was referring to her own learning curve in the egocentric tennis world is unclear. Either way, she could justifiably walk taller after a stellar start to 2009. In the first three months, the powerful and tenacious baseliner won her first two WTA tour titles, in Brisbane and Memphis, reached the fourth round at the Australian Open, where she led eventual champion Serena Williams by a set before retiring with nausea, and defeated world No. 2 Dinara Safina at Indian Wells to advance to the semifinals. In April, she took another, even more unexpected leap forward. Azarenka put herself firmly in the consciousness of tennis fans when she beat Williams in the nationally televised final of the Premier WTA event in Key Biscayne.
How did she go so far so fast? Like a lot of players, Azarenka, the world’s top-ranked junior in 2005, left her homeland as a teenager to find better training conditions. At 15, she moved to Spain, and nine months later she relocated to Scottsdale, Ariz., with sponsorship from
Nikolai Khabibulin, a 13-year NHL veteran from Russia who spent three seasons with the Phoenix Coyotes.
Azarenka says relocating isn’t for everyone. “It depends,” says the Minsk-born player, who still lives with Khabibulin and his wife, Victoria, when she isn’t on tour or training. “If you have a good coach in your country and good conditions in your country, then you don’t necessarily need that.”
A good mover who can crack the ball with pace off both wings and isn’t afraid to keep going for her shots when a match gets tight, the 5-foot-10 Azarenka calls her backhand her best shot. “Everything else, I’ve improved,” she adds, including her ranking, which hit a career-high No. 8 in April.
“Vika” to her friends, Azarenka admits to being a “shopaholic” with a particular weakness for Christian Dior shoes (she cops to owning 20 pairs). But she takes her tennis seriously, which is part of the reason she hired Maria Sharapova’s former trainer, Mark Wellington, at the end of last year. He joined her traveling team, which includes coach Antonio Van Grichen of Portugal. Azarenka knows that staying strong over the long tennis season is a key to success. “My goal is to stay healthy and do the best I can,” she says. “Hopefully I can win some more tourna-ments.” But even with more success, Azarenka will keep a level head.
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THE TENNIS CAREER of Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova seemed to be on fast-forward when she became the world’s No. 1 junior at age 15. But she hit a few speed bumps when she became a tour regular a year ago. “That hurt me a lot, because I wanted everything to happen and come fast, especially when I finished the juniors,” says Pavlyuchenkova in breathless, rapid-fire sentences.
But she’s picked the pace back up in 2009, and is now No. 28 and the youngest player in the Top 100 at age 17. Born in the industrial city of Samara, she has the makings of an impact player. At 5-foot-9, she has few glaring holes in her game, hits her ground strokes with pop and precision, and competes like a champion-in-waiting. Her killer instinct might be her best quality, and now her self-belief is kicking back in, too. That was evident at this year’s event in Indian Wells, where she knocked off No. 3 Jelena Jankovic and No. 10 Agnieszka
Radwanska on her way to the semifinals. Another fast talker, Ana Ivanovic, ended her run.
For almost two years, the Russian has trained at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy near Paris. She’s known as “Papillon,” “butterfly” in French, because of a billowy, orange dress she once donned for a tournament and the colorful nail polish she wears. She misses her home and usual teenage pursuits, but still likes the tour lifestyle. “I’m not complaining,” she says. “I mean, in a way I’ve chosen this and I like it. Nobody pushed me to do it.”
Pavlyuchenkova is no longer awed by players she admired when she was pummeling her peers in the juniors. “They were like all-stars for me, so it was a little bit hard for me to play,” says Pavlyuchenkova, who owns five ITF titles but has yet to win a WTA event. “I’m more confident now. And, well, I’m believing I can beat any player on the tour.”
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DON’T KNOCK A good education. So says Alize Cornet, who passed the rigorous French high school exam known as the baccalauréat, which most students take at 18. Cornet did it at 16. “For me, you cannot play tennis if you don’t have your baccalauréat,” says Cornet, 19, whose parents pushed her to excel in school even while she was one of the world’s best juniors. “Now that I have it and passed it, I really feel free on the court. If some-thing happened to me, if I got injured, I always have something else to do, so it’s always good to continue studies with tennis.”
Cornet won’t have to fall back on her diploma any time soon. The free-spirited Frenchwoman’s academic achievements have been surpassed by her on-court prowess. Born in the resort city of Nice, she jumped more than 40 places to finish 2008 at No. 16. In January, she reached the Australian Open fourth round to bring her ranking to a career-best No. 11.
Cornet, the 2007 French Open girls’ champion, says her transi-tion to the pros was smooth because she had started playing tour events at 15. “It was just a normal progression,” she says. Her advice for aspiring players:
“Have fun, take pleasure, try your best because you don’t regret anything when you do.”
Despite wins in 2008 over Svetlana Kuznetsova and Anna Chakvetadze, Cornet hasn’t pulled off a major upset. She suffered a devastating loss to Dinara Safina in Melbourne after holding two match points. “It’s always a bit in my mind,” she says. “Sometimes it affects me a lot. But I think I learned from this match. Maybe not now, but in a few months it will help me.”
Many French players have crumbled under the pressure at Roland Garros. Not Cornet. In her 2005 debut, she reached the second round and played boldly against French favorite Amelie Mauresmo. That good vibe has continued. “I always play good there,” says Cornet, whose variety and heavy topspin forehand are perfect for clay, her favorite surface. “I just love the atmosphere. I love to play in front of the French crowd and my family.”
Cornet’s biggest liability could be her size—with her small, 5-foot-8 frame, she gives up several inches to most opponents. No worries: If she can’t grow her body, she can always use her mind.
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IF WORLD-CLASS tennis is a mental game, Agnieszka Radwanska believes the percentages are in her favor. “Even if it’s tough or a third set, I’m really good,” the Polish player says of her mental fortitude. “I don’t have a problem with my head.”
There aren’t many problems with her strokes, either. Radwanska, 20, finished 2008 in the Top 10, winning three WTA titles and reaching two Grand Slam quarterfinals. It was a leap of success she didn’t anticipate.
“I [raised] my ranking very fast so it was surprising even to me,” says the 2005 Wimbledon and ’06 French Open junior champion. But with success come expectations, which could explain the struggles Radwanska had early this season. “Now it’s a little bit of pressure because I have to defend all my points,” she says. “It’s more difficult to stay all the time at the top.”
Born in Krakow, and known as “Aga,” the 5-foot-8 Radwanska’s push into elite territory is a family affair. Her sister, Urszula, 21 months younger, is also a pro. Having a sibling on tour has its perks and pitfalls. There’s
no need to search for a practice partner. And they can celebrate together, as they did when Agnieszka beat Maria Sharapova at the 2007 U.S. Open and used some winnings to shop for Louis Vuitton bags with her sister. Since the girls travel with their parents (their father, Robert, has been their coach since they took up the sport), their family unit stays intact on the road.
But competitive tennis can also be tough on a family. In February, the sisters were forced to square off in the first round in Dubai for the first time as pros. Urszula won the uncomfortable encounter. “You cannot feel the same like you are playing a match,” Agnieszka says. “We were upset because it was the first round and a very big draw.”
Because she travels so much on the tour, friends are now caring for Radwanska’s two pet rats, Flippy and Floppy. But she won’t leave her tennis dreams in the hands of others, even if the trip to No. 1 isn’t as rapid as her rise to the Top 10. “Everyone’s dream is to be No. 1,” she says, “but I think to stay in the Top 10 is pretty good.”
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THERE’S MORE TO Odense, Denmark, than Hans Christian Andersen. The city that spawned the renowned author of fairy tales such as The Little Mermaid and Thumbelina is also home to one of tennis’ rising stars, Caroline Wozniacki.
A breakout 2008 campaign saw the 18-year-old finish the year ranked No. 12, win her first WTA singles title, the first-ever for a Dane, at Stockholm, and add two more, at New Haven and Tokyo. Those accomplishments earned her WTA Newcomer of the Year and a growing popularity in her tiny Scandinavian homeland. Danish fans flocked to a hockey arena in Copenhagen to watch her compete in last year’s Beijing Olympics, and she can no longer walk around without being asked for autographs or photos. “Tennis has become more and more popular in Denmark,” Wozniacki says. “A lot of small girls and boys are playing. Hopefully we’re going to get more tennis players in the future.”
The present lies with Wozniacki. Blessed with jock genes—her father played professional soccer and her mother competed on the Polish national volleyball team—the
5-foot-10 blonde was a standout junior who won the Orange Bowl and Wimbledon girls’ titles. An excellent retriever with a deadly down-the-line backhand, Wozniacki likes to throw in loopy balls and drop shots, breaking ranks with today’s legion of metronomic baseliners.
“I like to mix it up a little bit and not just play the same game so the opponent can get a rhythm on me,” she says. But she can also lapse into passivity. Wozniacki has had to push herself to attack more in the pros. “In juniors, you can still run, play in the back, hit high, but here you need to play aggressive,” she says. “Every time you get a short ball, you need to step it up.”
Coming from an athletic background has helped her become an elite player quickly and handle the ups and downs on tour. “My parents have been through everything that I’m going through now,” she says. “They know what it’s all about.”
Though Wozniacki is well-versed in Andersen’s famous stories, she’s currently into a different genre: crime novels. “You never know what is going to happen,” she says. Kind of like her game—full of surprises.
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18 SMASH
I f you listen to a pro tennis player speak for more than 10 seconds, there’s one word that you’re guaranteed to hear: work. As in, “I’ve been working hard” or “I just need to
keep working” or “The hard work is paying off.”
On the one hand, to portray yourself as a hard worker is an easy way to preempt criticism from press and fans—do we really expect any player to announce that he’s been slacking off lately? On the other hand, success on tour today does require a higher level of physical conditioning and stroke proficiency than ever. Each year brings a crop of hungry newcomers ready to work harder than you.
So it came as no surprise that Fernando Verdasco, when asked Down Under to explain his sudden surge at the advanced age of 25, repeatedly cited the work he had done in Las Vegas over the winter with Andre Agassi’s old trainer, Gil Reyes. After upset-ting Andy Murray in the fourth round at the Australian Open, Verdasco, who had long been written off by tennis observers as an anxiety-ridden underachiever, a man who gained more attention for his off-court photo shoots and romances than he did for anything he accomplished between the white lines, made it plain just how dedicated he had become. “On the 24th of December, everybody was leaving Las Vegas because it was Christmastime,” he said. “[Andre] Agassi came to say hi to me. He was leaving with Steffi to enjoy Christmas. You know, he was going to ski. I love to ski. I was there in the gym working hard, so I was a little bit jealous. But I was just thinking to be ready for the season and start good this year.”
As may be evident from that quote, Verdasco, while he appears to be the strong, silent type on court, is not a man of few words off it. While his compatriot Rafael Nadal, a much more antic and emotionally transpar-ent player, speaks only when he’s figured out what he wants to say, Verdasco finds out what he thinks as he’s speaking, his words rumbling
out low and fast. No wonder he and the equally loquacious Ana Ivanovic ended their relationship earlier this year; neither of them must have been able to get a word in edgewise.
This spring Verdasco said that the turnaround began with his wins against Argentina in the Davis Cup final last November. “Those two matches changed me mentally,” he says. “People were saying, ‘Verdasco is afraid.’ I got a lot of confidence from winning there.”
The work with Reyes added a physical element to that
mental trans-formation. “Getting stronger,” Verdasco says, “I know I can play longer and be more patient in rallies. I’ve been waiting for this time, to have this confidence, for many years.”
It’s a time that most of us thought would never come. Verdasco had long lingered in the shadow of fellow lefty Nadal. What was puzzling was that, while he was a more inconsistent and insecure version of the world’s No. 1, from a technical perspective he had the more efficient game. Verdasco’s ground strokes are smoother but just as lethal as Nadal’s, and his serve is a
more natural stroke. But where Nadal is the most resourceful of competi-tors, Verdasco could be counted on to hit the wrong shot—often a shanked forehand 5 feet wide—at the wrong moment against the wrong player. Coming into 2009, his record against Top 10 opponents was 7-31.
It’s clear that, while he cites the all-purpose cliché about
“working hard,” it’s taken more than just added
stamina and muscle for Verdasco to put
his head-case reputation
behind him and crack
the
Top 10 for the
first time after eight
years on tour. His improvement has
also been a matter of inspiration, of reassur-
ance that he belongs at the top. Getting better may be a
matter of making physical or technical changes to your game, but winning is a skill that must be embedded in your personality. Verdasco always owned the killer forehand, but that didn’t mean he believed he should win tennis matches. There was a reason that fans said, “Verdasco is afraid”—it often looked like he was.
The biggest inspiration came
from the man who beat him in a now-legendary five-set semifinal in Australia, Nadal. It’s no coincidence that Verdasco’s own breakthrough, when he clinched the Davis Cup for Spain, came in the same year that Nadal broke the country’s hex at Wimbledon, a tournament no Spanish player had won in more than 40 years. Suddenly, anything was possible. “We’re not close friends,” Verdasco says of his relationship with Rafa, “but we know each other well. What’s most important for me is seeing what Rafa did last year, that he could win Wimbledon. When you see someone from your country do that, do something no one else did, it made me think of what I could do.”
While the old, anxious Verdasco reared his head at the most inop-portune moment against Nadal in Melbourne—after five hours, he
double faulted at match point—the tournament transformed his
relationship with fans. “It was the best match for me,” he
says, “and the ultimate experience on a
court.” Instead of taunting him,
the crowd chanted
his name.
“It was an unbelievable
feeling. I didn’t think that could
ever happen.” Verdasco was
inspired by Nadal and trained by Reyes, but he has
been emboldened by Agassi. “At Christmas, I spoke for two hours
with Andre,” Verdasco says. “When I got back from Australia, he hugged me and said he had been so happy watching me. Before Indian Wells, he was telling me little things I should do more or less. We were speaking about tennis all the time.”
The sport makes people jumpy, and it doesn’t take too many unforced errors to lead to an irrational loss of confidence. You can’t underesti-mate how much simple reassurance a player, even a professional, needs over the course of a match. This year, Verdasco has gotten it from the best: the tennis fans of Australia—a strong enough force to make Roger Federer cry—and Andre Agassi himself.
While he’s risen to No. 7, Verdasco will continue to fling in ill-timed double faults. He’ll lose his new, patient mind. He may hear people say he’s afraid again. But you get the sense he won’t believe them anymore.—STEPHEN TIGNOR TO
RST
EN B
LACK
WO
OD/A
FP/G
ETTY
IM
AGES
VERDASCO HE CLIM
B?
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W HIGH CAN
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SINCE 1983
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Summer Tournament Survival Guide
It’s go time for juniors all over the country. Tournament season is here and you’ve got to be ready to put yourself to the test. Don’t hit the road unprepared:
SMASH gives you five tips to help you make the most of the summer—and win more matches. ILLUSTRATIONS BY JEN SORENSEN
GET FIT Train your body for competition in the month leading up to tournament season. According to JohnMark Jenkins, strength and conditioning coach at the Evert Tennis Academy in Boca Raton, Fla., you should divide that month in two.
“The first two weeks the emphasis has to be on fitness,” Jenkins says. Limit your court time to an hour or an hour and a half a day and spend more time on conditioning with different exercises spread throughout the week. Two days, Monday and Thursday, should be devoted to tough conditioning like sprints. On Monday, do 10 200-meter sprints (rest 45–60 seconds in between) and some strength training for your legs, like squats and lunges. On Thursday, do 10 100-meter sprints and 10 50-meter sprints, followed by drills in which you mimic on-court footwork and shadow strokes with a 4–8-pound medicine ball. Schedule a couple lighter days between those difficult sessions, like strength work for the core, upper back and shoulders on Tuesday, and yoga or dynamic warm-up exercises (see SMASHTENNIS.com/dynamicwarmup) on Wednesday. On Friday, do full-body strength training. The last training day, Saturday, do a cardio interval workout, like swimming or cycling, for 30 minutes with a 1-to-3 ratio between going at a hard pace and a recovery pace.
In the last two weeks, tennis should be your focus. You should be on court upwards of two hours a day, so dial back the fitness work. The schedule will be similar to the first two weeks, but sprints and strength training should be in shorter bursts. “It’s working on explosiveness of the legs and getting into short sprints that are the length of tennis points,” Jenkins says.
Make your sprints 6–10 seconds with 20-second rests (the time allowed between points). That will help you conserve energy for when you need it: in your matches. “Especially the week before, the goal is to be very competitive, very intense on court, but never exhausted,” Jenkins says. “When you step on court for your first match, you need to be as fresh as possible.”
The
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PACK RIGHT—NOT LIGHT When you get to a tournament, your racquet bag will become your best friend. Don’t laugh. Before and between matches, this is where you’ll keep the book, magazine, iPod, PSP or whatever else it is you need to idle away your time and get you ready for your next match. Once it’s your turn to step between the lines, your bag will be your only ally. Don’t give yourself an excuse to lose by not having the right equipment in it.
You want doubles of everything you use on a tennis court—and then some.
Have multiple racquets (three is ideal), shirts, socks, hats, towels, overgrips, sunscreen, sweatbands, Band-Aids, extra sets of strings,
plastic bags (for things like ice or dirty laundry) and anything else you use regularly. The worst-case
scenario is that you take all that stuff back home when the tournament is over.
Also be sure to bring plenty of food and beverages. Don’t assume that the place where you’re playing
will have anything (many sites will just have a vending machine with junk food). Take a water jug, enough sports drinks for a day of competition, and food for before, during and after your matches (see “Fuel Up” on the next page). When it comes to packing up your bag before a tournament, you’ve got to think like a Boy Scout: Always be prepared.
FIND YOUR SPACE You’ve just won a match. You’re feeling good. You’re ready for the next one but . . . wait. Your opponent will be the winner of a match that’s just starting. There isn’t enough time to head home or to the hotel, but there is enough for you to lose your mind. Downtime is mind-numbing at best and stressful at worst. Playing the waiting game means you must contend with all sorts of distractions—your parents, friends wanting to goof around, rivals who you’d prefer not to see at all—that you must learn to tune out.
Chris Damone, head of the elite junior development program at the Four Seasons Racquet Club in Wilton, Conn., says handling downtime is part of becoming match-tough. “Depending on how much time, try to take a shower and change into fresh clothes,” Damone says. “Then kick back, put on your headphones and relax to your favorite music. Text friends. Play video games.” Whatever it takes, Damone says, to get your mind off tennis.
But that might not work for you. Noah Farrell, a nationally ranked junior in the 12-and-unders, doesn’t like the iPod strategy. “You’ll feel different when you go back on the court,” he says. “You won’t feel energized.” Instead, Farrell prefers to stay focused on tennis. If there are older age divisions at the tournament, “I’ll go and watch the 16s and learn from them.”
Whether you like to zone out or not, you should concentrate on your game about a half-hour before your match begins. “Start prepping your mind and body,” Damone says. “Maybe go for a short run or jump rope. Try to get the body warmed up. Stretch and start going over your goals for your match.”
Bottom line: It’s not just what you do between points that matters. How you play the waiting game between matches will help you win, too.
SMASH 21
PACK RIGHT—NOT LIGHTWhen you get to a tournament, your racquet bag will become your best friend. Don’t laugh. Before and between matches, this is where you’ll keep thebook, magazine, iPod, PSP or whateverelse it is you need to idle away your time and get you ready for your next match. Once it’s your turn to step between the lines, your bag will be your only ally. Don’tgive yourself an excuse to lose by not having the right equipment in it.
You want doubles of everything you use on a tennis court—and then some.
Have multiple racquets (three is ideal), shirts, socks, hats, towels,overgrips, sunscreen, sweatbands,Band-Aids, extra sets of strings,
plastic bags (for things like ice ordirty laundry) and anything else you use regularly. The worst-case
scenario is that you take all thatstuff back home when thetournament is over.
Also be sure to bring plenty of food and beverages. Don’t assume that the place where you’re playing
will havee ananythy ing (many sites will just have a vevendind ng machine with junk food).TakTake ae a wawaterte jug, enough sports drinks for a day of competition, and food forbefore, during and after your matches(see “Fuel Up” on the next page). Whenit comes to packing up your bag before a tournament, you’ve got to think like a Boy Scout: Always be prepared.
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FUEL UP Proper nutrition is essential during a tournament. It will give you energy for matches and nutrients to help your muscles recover afterward. Evert academy’s JohnMark Jenkins recommends the following fueling plan.
Before a match: About three hours prior to competition, eat complex carbs, like oatmeal or pasta; some omega-3 fats, like almonds; and low-fat protein, like chicken. Avoid greasy foods and sugar—they won’t keep you going and could cause stomach issues. And don’t forget to stay hydrated. The USTA recommends you drink 16–20 ounces of water in the two hours leading up to a match.
Once you’ve fueled up, it’s time to warm up. Jenkins recommends a 5-minute jog and dynamic stretches. Right before the match, speed up one or two of the exercises to get your muscles and mind firing faster for competition.
During a match: Drink 4–8 ounces of a sports drink on changeovers to replenish the electrolytes you lose as you sweat. If you’re hungry, take bites of fresh fruit, like a banana.
After a match: Have a smoothie or protein bar with 15–20 grams of protein and 45–60 grams of carbs right away. Chocolate milk is also a good option. After that, cool down with a jog and dynamic stretches. Then you need a meal that’s high in complex carbs, with lean protein and good fats. If you have a short time before your next match, reduce the protein in your smoothie or bar to 10–15 grams. Then eat fruit, a granola bar or half a sandwich for your meal to get yourself ready for round two.
CLOSE THE DEAL It’s the third set of a two-hour match and you’re sitting in your chair with a 5-4 lead, waiting to serve it out. You haven’t lost a service game all set, but you have this terrible feeling that you’re more likely to beat Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros than win this game.
Sound familiar? Allen Fox, Ph.D., author of The Winner’s Mind: A Competitor’s Guide to Sports and Business Success, has been there, too. Fox played college tennis at UCLA before joining the pro tour in the 1960s. He has some advice for those of you who get jittery just thinking about closing out a match.
First things first: Don’t think about winning. It’s not easy to do this, but Fox has a few pointers that can, at the very least, allow you to think about something other than victory.
“You need to crowd out those thoughts with other thoughts,” Fox says. “Think about getting into position, or any rituals that help you perform. Keep bringing your mind back to those things, and away from winning and losing.”
Fox also warns against the tendency to change your style of play in the last game. Don’t tell yourself, “All I have to do is play steady.” That’s a sure-fire way to make mistakes, even when you’re not trying to do much with the ball. “You practice your normal stroke, not a safer stroke,” Fox says. “You should use the stroke that you have worked on repeatedly.”
Finally, Fox says, don’t kick yourself too hard if you don’t close out a match on the first try. It happens to everyone, and it won’t be the last time it happens to you. “The main thing to avoid is thinking that there’s something wrong with you,” Fox says. “It’s not a good thing to choke and screw up, but it won’t kill you.”
22 SMASH
FUEL UP Proper nutrition is essential during a tournament. It will give you energy for matches and nutrients to help your muscles recoverafterward. Evert academy’s JohnMark Jenkinsrecommends the following fueling plan.
Before a match: About three hours prior to competition, eat complex carbs, like oatmeal orpasta; some omega-3 fats, like almonds; and low-fat protein, like chicken. Avoid greasy foods andsugar—they won’t keep you going and could causestomach issues. And don’t forget to stay hydrated. The USTA recommends you drink 16–20 ounces ofwater in the two hours leading up to a match.
Once you’ve fueled up, it’s time to warm up.Jenkins recommends a 5-minute jog and dynamicstretches. Right before the match, speed up oneor two of the exercises to get your muscles andmind firing faster for competition.
During a match: Drink 4–8 ounces of asports drink on changeovers to replenish the electrolytes you lose as you sweat. If you’rehungry, take bites of fresh fruit, like a banana.
After a match: Have a smoothie or proteinbar with 15–20 grams of protein and 45–60 grams of carbs right away. Chocolate milk is also a good option.After that, cool down with a jog anddynamic stretches. Then you need a meal that’s high in complex carbs, withlean protein and good fats. If you havea short time before your next match,reduce the protein in your smoothie orbar to 10–15 grams. Then eat fruit, a granola bar or half a sandwich for yourmeal to get yourself ready for round two.
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Your favorite players, up close and personal...
PHOTO CREDIT: MICHAEL BAX
Visit TENNIS.com/players
TENNIS.com now brings you the very best in pro coverage, with dynamic new Player Pages featuring all you need to know about the game’s top stars.
on more than 250 current players on the ATP and WTA tours, plus past champions
of your favorite tennis greats, on court and off, updated every 15 minutes
based on tournament draws and the latest off-court match-ups
Untitled-3 1 4/23/09 4:57 PM
PROMOTION
They have much in common. All are talented, dedicated and on the rise. They are also at least a year shy of being able to vote
and most don’t yet have a driver’s license. In a sport where young women
such as the Williams sisters and Maria Sharapova have achieved great suc-
cess, the next generation of American female stars are currently working
their way up through the junior ranks, the USTA Pro Circuit and even, in
some cases, on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour.
Here’s a look at six players to keep an eye on in the coming years:
None of the young American women has enjoyed a finer start to her professional career than Kristie Ahn. The New Jersey native, who turned 17 in June, won the very first pro-fessional tournament she entered last year at a $10,000 USTA Pro Circuit event in Landisville, Pa., and added a sec-ond title a few weeks later in Houston. In her fourth pro event, Ahn won three matches to qual-ify for the main draw at the 2008 US Open, where she pushed current world No. 1 Dinara Safina in a 6-3, 6-4 first-round defeat.
In between, she helped the U.S. to the 2008 Junior Fed Cup championship. Ahn resumed her winning ways in 2009, stepping up a level to win a $25,000 USTA Pro Circuit tourna-ment in Hammond, La.
The similarities between Vandeweghe and Sloane Stephens, 16, are striking. Stephens also comes from an athletic family—her father, John, was a running back for the New England Patriots—and she didn’t start playing tennis until age 10, when she followed her stepfather to the local tennis club. But while she started late, Stephens’s game has developed quickly. She was a member of the championship-winning Junior Fed Cup team in 2008 and continued her winning ways this year, claiming the Girls’ 18s USTA International Spring Championships. Stephens is also off to a promising start on the professional tours. She made the quarterfinals or bet-ter at her first three pro events
Seventeen-year-old CoCo Vandeweghe has bloodlines working in her favor. CoCo’s uncle, Kiki, was an NBA All-Star and her mother, Tauna, was a U.S. Olympian who took home medals in both swimming (1976) and volleyball (1984). CoCo, who did not start playing tennis until she was 11, added a prestigious trophy of her own in 2008. As an unseeded player, she won the US Open girls’ title without dropping a set to become the first American to win the girls’ title since Tara Snyder in 1995. At 6-foot-1, Vandeweghe has the height, ath-leticism and big game to be a force at the next level.
CoCo VandewegheKristie Ahn
They have much in common All are talented dedicated
Girls
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PROMOTION
By E.J Crawford
and, at the 2008 US Open, teamed with Robert Kendrick in mixed doubles to knock off the No. 1-seeded team of Chia-Jung Chuang and Daniel Nestor in the first round.
Sloane StephensThe youngest member of the up-and-coming crew is Madison Keys, the 14-year-old who defeated world No. 81 Alla Kudryavtseva, 7-5, 6-4, at the WTA event in Ponte Vedra, Fla., in April. With the win, Keys became the youngest player to win a WTA match since Martina Hingis in 1994, and the seventh-youngest in WTA Tour history. Keys has won three titles on the ITF junior circuit in the past year, including at an 18-and-under event in the Bahamas, and won the Girls’ 12s division at the Orange Bowl in 2007.
Christina McHale capped a breakout 12 months by teaming with Alja Tomljanovic to win the 2009 Australian Open girls’ dou-bles championship and rolling to the title at the recently completed Easter Bowl, defeating Ahn in the semis and top seed Lauren Embree, 6-0, 6-3, in the final. It has been a sharp rise for the recently turned 17-year-old. In 2008, she joined the elite class of American juniors by winning a
USTA Pro Circuit singles title in Wichita, Kan., going
4-0 in the Junior Fed Cup com-petition and reaching the final at the prestigious Orange Bowl. As a reward for her strong play, McHale will join Stephens and two Boca-trained boys this year to comprise the first-ever, all-junior team (New York Buzz) to compete in World TeamTennis.
MadisonKeys
Melanie Oudin, 17, is perhaps the closest to breaking through on the WTA Tour. Last year she was hailed as the women’s player to watch in Sports Illustrated and, after peak-ing at No. 2 in the world junior rankings, made the leap onto the professional scene by winning a $50,000 event on the USTA Pro Circuit. Oudin, who already owns two victories over Top 30 players, was the only player to appear in all five events—women’s and girls’ singles and doubles, and mixed doubles—at the 2008 US Open, where she reached the semifinals in girls’ singles. To top it off, Oudin played the role of hero in Fed Cup earlier this year, rallying from a
set down to defeat Argentina’s Betina Jozami, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2, in the critical match of the U.S.’s 3-2 win.
Melanie Oudin
Christina McHale
By E.J Crawford
Christina McHaleC capped a e
MclWasSiniprCwsiwplpl
Rock
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PROMOTION
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Untitled-6 1 4/22/09 11:09 AM
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Untitled-3 1 4/21/09 3:24 PM
28 SMASH
ILLU
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ATIO
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1. FOOTWORKThe more defensive your position, the more offensive your footwork should be. If someone pulls you well off the court, you have to take more steps to get to the ball and recover for the next shot. When you find yourself pulled wide, don’t freeze, quit or lunge at the ball. Stay positive: With enough aggressive steps and a good swing you can go from defense to offense.
2. VOLLEYSNet play is usually offensive, but there are many times when you’ll need good defensive skills in the forecourt. For example, you may be called upon to hit a half-volley. It’s a tricky shot, but if you stay low through the contact zone and return the ball deep, you may give yourself a chance to pounce on the next ball. There’s also the poke overhead, which comes in handy when your opponent hits a deep lob. If a ball looks like it might float past you, don’t panic and try to clobber it. Poke it deep and recover for the next point.
3. SERVEIs it defensive to take something off your first serve? Maybe, but many times it’s also a smart play. You want to keep your opponent guessing. Hit-ting your first serve at three-quarters pace, for instance, could surprise your opponent and prevent him from gearing up for an easy second-serve return.
4. ATTITUDEGood defense can force your opponent to become overly aggressive. If you play smart, hustle and use defensive shots at the right times to open up offensive possibilities, you’ll make your opponent overhit and commit errors. Those might go down as unforced errors at the end of the match, but you’ll know better.
Ajay Pant, a PTR Master Professional, is national tennis director for Midtown Tennis Clubs.
YOU PROBABLY DON’T hear many of your tennis buddies bragging about their defensive skills. If you ask, “What kind of player are you?” the answer won’t be, “A defensive player.” That, of course, is code for “I’m a pusher.”
But good defense isn’t about lobs and tentative strokes. It’s about tenacious play that can frustrate your opponent and put you on the offensive. Think Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray or Jelena Jankovic. Here are four tips that will help you play defense the right way.
DEFEND YOURSELFGOOD DEFENSE IS NOTHING TO BE DEFENSIVE ABOUT. BY AJAY PANT
DRILL FOR DEFENSEOne player stands at the baseline, the other on the opposite side of the net near the service line. The baseline player feeds a short ball into the service box. If the net player strikes a clean winner, he receives five points. If the defensive player gets a racquet on the ball but misses, he receives one point. If the defensive player returns the ball, he receives five points. Play to 20.
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SMASH 29
1. GET IN POSITIONA common mistake in preparing for an overhead is running backwards with your shoulders parallel to the net. You should move the way a football quarterback does when dropping back for a pass. If you’re right-handed, step back with your right foot and turn your upper body clockwise so your shoulders are perpendicular to the net. Stay light on your feet.
2. ARMS UPRaise both arms after you’ve dropped back and begun to track the ball. The elbow of your hitting arm should be at the same height as your shoulder and should point away from your body. Point your other hand toward the ball. Use a Continental grip, as you would to serve, but don’t go into a circular backswing—it will ruin your timing. Instead, bring your racquet straight back.
3. TAKE AIMYou want the ball to be in front of you at contact, or slightly to your side (to your right
if you’re right-handed; to your left if you’re left-handed). Contact isn’t the end of the story, though. You need to know where to aim the ball depending on its location. If your opponent lobs over your backhand shoulder (to your left if you’re right-handed), it’s easier to hit that overhead to your right. On lobs over the forehand shoulder, hit to the left.
4. REACH FOR ITTo hit a great overhead, your hitting arm must be fully extended at contact. Don’t let the ball come to you. Go after it and keep your head up. If your head drops, your shoulders and arm will slouch forward and you’ll hit the ball into the net.
5. FINISH ITIf you’ve successfully followed steps 1 through 4, don’t ruin things by stopping your swing. You need to hit overheads, not guide them. Make sure you follow through.
Dave Hagler is a USPTA Master Professional based in Los Angeles.
PERFECT SMASHGOT THE OVERHEAD BLUES? HERE’S YOUR CURE. BY DAVE HAGLER
DRILL ITIt’s no surprise that many juniors struggle with overheads, since they probably practice them less often than any other stroke. To perfect the smash, you need to hit it a lot. And it’s not enough to hit the same kind of overhead every time. Have your friends throw up lobs of different heights and depths so you can learn to recognize what kind of shot will work best in each situation.
If the ball is very high and falling straight down, it will bounce straight up. Let it bounce and then step in and strike. If the ball is deep (nearing the baseline) and toward the middle of the court, let it bounce and hit it diagonally to the left (for righties) or right (for lefties) like you would hit a slice serve. This will give you a nice angle and more height over the net. If the ball is inside the service line, hit it flatter and harder.
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UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN California freshman Steve Johnson and high school sophomore Nathan Pasha are on different rungs of the tennis development ladder. But this spring each had an opportunity to see exactly where he stands during a dual match between a team of USTA-selected juniors and the USC Trojans.
The initiative to get top U.S. juniors onto NCAA Division I courts began this winter with exhibitions against the University of Miami men’s and women’s teams. When the boys’ team, comprised of 18-and-under players training with the USTA in Boca Raton, Fla., defeated the 23rd-ranked Hurricanes, USC head coach Peter Smith suggested his team for a match.
“It was such a cool idea,” says Smith, who hosted the match at his team’s Los Angeles campus. “I was not going to pass on it.”
David Roditi, a national coach at the USTA’s training center in Carson, Calif., fielded a team of mostly 16-
and 17-year-olds, only two of whom had played against Miami. USC was ranked sixth at the time of the match but without its top two players in singles due to injury.
The D-I scoring format applied: one point for the best-of-three doubles matches and one point for each of six subsequent singles matches. The exhibition featured the usual collegiate trappings—chair umpires, live scor-ing via the university’s website and on-court coaching.
The juniors took advice not only from USTA national coaches, but also Jose Higueras, director
of coaching for elite player develop-ment, and ATP tour pro Sam Querrey, who was offered a scholarship to play for the Trojans before deciding to forego college for the pros.
But the celebrity coaching staff wasn’t enough for a win. USC domi-
nated in doubles and earned three straight-set singles wins to clinch victory, 4-3, before the juniors won the remaining three singles contests.
“I know since I’ve been in college, I’ve just gotten so much faster, stronger from where I was a year ago,” says Johnson, 19, who grew up in nearby Orange, Calif., and had played a couple of the USTA players in sectional and national tournaments. “We’re doing all the extra stuff you need to do to get better at this level.”
For Pasha, a 16-year-old from Atlanta, who earned one of the juniors’ wins, the experience is one he’d like to repeat. “It helps me grow as a player a lot, and also to see the college life, how everything’s set up.”
Roditi, a three-time all-American at Texas Christian University who was an assistant coach at the University of Texas prior to joining the USTA, agrees. “It’s a great experience for the kids. It was a lot of fun, and they know what they need to do to get better.”—C.L.
trappings chair umpires, live scoring via the university’s websiteand on-court coaching.
The juniors took advice not only from USTA nationalcoaches, but also Jose Higueras, director
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TALENT SEARCHWHAT THE USTA LOOKS FOR IN ASPIRING CHAMPIONS. BY COLETTE LEWIS
WHAT GOES INTO identifying future tennis stars? We talked to Martin Blackman, USTA senior director for talent identification and development. Blackman has had a lot of experience to go on: He won the 16-and-under division at Kalamazoo as a junior, played on two NCAA championship teams while at Stanford University, and reached No. 158 on the ATP tour in 1994. Since he left the pros, he has coached the American University men’s team and served as director of the Junior Tennis Champions Center in College Park, Md.
In his USTA gig, Blackman gets young players involved in the sport through the QuickStart initiative. He’s also instrumental in supporting elite player development by helping establish USTA Regional Training Centers throughout the country. His main goal: to identify and encourage outstanding coaches and junior players. “We recognize that there is no one magic way to produce champions,” Blackman says. “We can give American juniors the best of three worlds: train near home at a certified USTA regional training center, train at a private academy, or train at the National Training Center in Boca [Raton, Fla.] with national team coaches.”
As the USTA looks for the next generation of champions, they’re focusing on younger players. Blackman and USTA manager of coaching education Anne Pankhurst offer the following list of qualities that help identify talented 6- to 10-year-olds:
1. Love of the game: If the passion is there, the child will enjoy practice.2. Willingness to learn: Is the youngster able to
follow instructions given either visually or verbally?3. Fundamental movement and physical skills:Balance, agility, simple and complex coordination, running and jumping.4. Basic sports skills: Throwing, catching and rudimentary strokes.5. Commitment: The desire to improve.
GIRLS 01. LAURA ROBSON GBR
02. ANA BOGDAN ROU
03. TIMEA BABOS HUN
04. NOPPAWAN LERTCHEEWAKARN THA
05. AJLA TOMLJANOVIC CRO
06. SIMONA HALEP ROU
07. LAUREN EMBREE USA
08. KRISTINA MLADENOVIC FRA
09. SILVIA NJIRIC CRO
10. ELENA BOGDAN ROU
BOYS 01. YUKI BHAMBRI IND
02. GRIGOR DIMITROV BUL
03. YANG TSUNG-HUA TPE
04. HUANG LIANG-CHI TPE
05. SHUICHI SEKIGUCHI JPN
06. JULEN URIGUEN GUA
07. JULIEN OBRY FRA
08. ANDREA COLLARINI ARG
09. TENNYS SANDGREN USA
10. DAVID SOUTO VEN
ITF JUNIOR RANKINGS (AS OF APRIL 20, 2009)
SCHOLARS VS. JUNIORSFIND OUT WHO WON THE BATTLE BETWEEN COLLEGE PLAYERS AND HIGH-LEVEL JUNIORS
FACTS, STATS AND CHAT ON THE COLLEGE AND JUNIOR GAMES
30 SMASH
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