Steve Tignor wrote an interesting viewpoint piece at tennis.com with the title “Excessive civility muting the men’s game?”

Have you read it already? If not, click here. If you have, can you please explain it to me? Here’s what I’ve figured so far. . .

Tignor begins by comparing two US Open semifinal handshakes – this year’s touchy-feely one between Novak (Hug Slut) Djokovic and Roger Federer and the reluctant, chilly exchange between John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors in 1980.  Tignor says that both reflect the “code of camraderie” of their respective eras, and that he misses the competitive venom of the bad old/good old days.

I agree that psychological tension on the court makes things exciting. It’s fun when it gets personal out there. I’m not ashamed to admit that watching Nole vs. Roddick, Rafa vs. Soderling, or Serena vs. Safina is my version of tuning into NASCAR and hoping for a wreck. I think everyone should take a cue from Venus and stop apologizing for net cords. Hugs should be saved for five set epics and not routine 3rd round victories. And when a reporter asks a player to evaluate his next opponent, how about some brutal honesty every now and then? From a blogging perspective, it would make my life much easier!

But Tignor loses me when he leaves the Jerry Springer studios and veers East to Roland Garros.:

“(W)hy did I enjoy watching two guys who were never mistaken for gentlemen, Connors and McEnroe, so much, even while Federer’s victory at the French Open this spring, a triumphantly sentimental march through Roland Garros, leave me with a faint taste of sap?”

By Federer’s “triumphantly sentimental march” I’m assuming Tignor means “Federer’s Two Weeks of Hell with a Few Good Hours at the End”? As I remember, Roger Federer scraped his way out of two five setters that he should have lost, and was taken to four sets by both Paul-Henri Mathieu, a Frenchman playing in front of his home crowd, and Argentine dirtballer Jose Acasuso. He also endured the added pressure of becoming the heavy favorite as soon as Rafa lost early, with fans, media and even Parisian cabdrivers reminding him that the French Open was his to lose.

I don’t see how you can favorably compare a single handshake from 1980 to Roger Federer’s entire 2009 Roland Garros tournament, but Tignor tries:

Seeing player after player — Gael Monfils, Juan Martin del Potro, Robin Soderling — lose to Federer at Roland Garros and then embrace him with a smile, I found myself wishing for a little of the old, crude Jimbo ’tude, for a little of the gut-wrenching disappointment and even resentment that typically comes from losing a tennis match. But these young guys didn’t show any of it. They had taken camaraderie too far; it was as if they didn’t want to challenge their benign monarch or interfere with his long-awaited first French title.

Okay, I’m willing to be convinced. Is Tignor just wishing that someone had given Fed the cold fish at the net like Soderling gave Rafa after beating him in the fourth round? Or is he saying that the young guys, by being overly respectful towards Roger, didn’t compete to their utmost abilities against him? If it’s the latter, I cry foul! (Or bullsh*t! if that makes things more exciting for you.)

And here’s the final head-scratcher for me:

At a moment when professional athletes across the board are presumed to be frauds, the current generation of ATP tour players, taking their lead from Federer, has elevated tennis with stylish play and gentlemanly behavior. They apologize to each other after net cords, mishits, and even, now and then, when their opponent slips on the court; they congratulate each other with smiles and hugs; they sing each other’s praises in press conferences. At the same time, taking their lead from Rafael Nadal, the men have updated the game’s manners for a more expressive era. Theatrical chest thumps and fist pumps are no longer seen as gauche or unduly aggressive. They’re accepted as part of what it takes to play your best.

I think Tignor’s saying that the game is so dang “muted” nowadays that even excessive fist pumping can’t rile up any animosity between opponents. And you can blame Roger Federer for that because he’s brainwashed the entire ATP tour into being pleasant, chest thumping, hug sluts who can’t stand to beat him!

This is my main problem with the article – it seems less about the differences between eras and more about how Roger Federer single-handedly invented niceness and in the process made tennis boring by winning too much.

Put up your dukes, Tignor!

So Roger Federer played second fiddle today, taking the court against Tommy Robredo after Melanie Oudin’s big win over Nadia Petrova. He did his best to wow the crowd in his own way, coming back from a tight first set to dominate the Spaniard in vintage Fed style: 7-5, 6-2, 6-2.

I loved what Roger had to say about finding motivation, even against players like Robredo who he’s now beaten all nine times they’ve played (via usopen.org):

“It’s not like even trying to beat him again; it’s just about having fun out there, playing a good match, playing good tennis, enjoying the moment, playing in packed stadiums. It’s something not many people get an opportunity to do. I think everybody would love to be in my shoes. Why should I give away my spot, really, because I enjoy too much and people love to come see me play? So this is motivation alone for me. It’s plenty.”

No. 6 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova lost a nail biter to Caroline Wozniacki: 6-2, 6-7, 6-7. And she wasn’t too happy with either of their performances afterwards:

“I don’t think she (Wozniacki) did something too well, you know. I just did unforced errors all the time. And you don’t have to do much. You just have to put the ball back. I was creating the point or I was losing it. This was it.

Robin Soderling advanced to meet Roger Federer in the quarterfinals after Nikolay Davydenko retired down two sets to one.  This is the second time this tournament that a player has retired against Soderling – Marcel Granollers lasted all of two games against him in the second round.

Side note – Venus, Vera and Melanie are sporting mummy-wrapped legs, Acasuso and Simon retired in the third round and Davydenko tapped out in the Round of 16, Nadal and Almagro were both splayed out on court getting treatment on Sunday. This isn’t hard court season, this is injury season.

Fernando Verdasco, who is nursing his own abdominal injury, edged out the lone American left in the men’s draw, John Isner, in four sets. I’m so missing Andy Roddick right now.

Novak Djokovic worked the crowd after dominating Radek Stepanek 6-1, 6-3, 6-3 on Monday night. He thanked the crowd for staying, challenged Todd Martin and John McEnroe to a hit (guess who accepted) and did a Johnny Mac impression (click here for the video.) Personally, I love seeing Nole up to his old antics. And I also love knowing that he’ll probably piss off everyone again before the tournament is over.

The women’s quarterfinals are set:

Yanina Wickmayer vs. Kateryna Bondarenko (Say wha?)

Melanie Oudin vs. Caroline Wozniacki

Li Na vs. Kim Clijsters

Flavia Pennetta vs. Serena Williams

The men are still working on the Round of 16:

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs. Fernando Gonzalez

Gael Monfils vs. Rafael Nadal

del Potro vs. Ferrero in the battle of the Juans

Marin Cilic vs. Andy Murray

Novak Djokovic was in the mood for more tennis after dominating Radek Stepanek 6-1, 6-3, 6-3, in the Round of 16 at the US Open on Monday night.  After his new coach, Todd Martin, turned him down, he went for the sure thing and asked John McEnroe to come down from the ESPN broadcast booth for a hit. While McEnroe found his sneakers, Nole did his McBrat impression. (McEnroe gets his revenge later.)

Loving the new, old Nole and his determination to woo the New York crowd. I think they’re falling for it!

Some interesting video and interviews from Wednesday’s Game. Set. NYC. event in Manhattan. John McEnroe talks about Roger Federer’s possible postnatal let-down and Rafael Nadal tells the world that he may be “too fresh” to win the US Open:

Pish posh, I say! They both look good to me! And really, is John McEnroe one of the “most famous New Yorkers of all time”? I’m not saying he isn’t, I’m just curious if it’s true – feel free to chime in on that one, you lesser-known New Yorkers!

Here are some photos of Roger Federer at today’s Game, Set, NYC promotion sponsored by Nike with John McEnroe and kids from a local tennis program.

Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams were there too (in the flesh, not just in the posters) – stay tuned for more photographs.

John McEnroe said the use of injury timeouts is “absolutely an epidemic” on the tour, speaking Wednesday via an ESPN2 conference call.

The latest outbreak of timeout-itis occurred last weekend in Montreal, when Juan Martin del Potro called the trainer twice and took a bathroom break during his championship match against Andy Murray. The Argentine had treatment on a sore shoulder during a tricky moment  – he was up  6-5 in the second set and Murray was about to serve to stay in the match. Del Potro called the trainer back in the third set to rub his thigh.

Andy Murray, who won the match, was diplomatic about it afterwards: “It’s not the best time to have an injury timeout (in the second set), no question about that, but you know, if the guy is struggling or is injured, then obviously I don’t have a problem with him taking the timeout.”

John McEnroe does have a problem with it:

“The players are getting more and more athletic and doing more and more to get themselves in tip top condition. And to be someone who says, “Look I need a little rub down on my legs” (when you’re) being broken down by your opponent – mentally throwing the (other) guy off as well as physically getting something to help yourself recover – it’s against everything that sports is about, I think.”

It hasn’t always been this way. This injury time out rule is a modern-day invention – established after an incident at the 1995 US Open, when player Shuzo Matsuoka defaulted out of the first round due to severe cramping.  At the time, a player automatically forfeited the match if he requested medical treatment. Matsukoa didn’t ask for a trainer, but spent so much time writhing in agony on the court, unattended, that he was defaulted on a time violation. It was almost as painful to watch as experience, and the medical time out rule was established to avoid future grisly scenes. *Clarification – before 1995 injury timeouts were allowed but not for conditioning ailments like cramping.*

John McEnroe says the rule is being abused:

“What’s meant to be a rule to be helpful has gone to absurd levels now with people obviously stretching the rules and taking advantage. Clearly there is a big difference between a real injury and needing a breather. Or trying to throw your opponnent. . . . The bathroom breaks and injury time outs have been pretty key components in the matches, which was not meant to happen, originally.”

It’s not just John McEnroe or crusty tennis purists nattering about the continuous play of the good old days, when no one sat down during changeovers or toweled off from head to toe after every point. Both Andy Roddick and Roger Federer have complained about players abusing the system, taking lengthy time outs (sometimes up to 10 minutes when evaluation and treatment is factored in) for issues related to physical conditioning and not dire injury.

Roddick complained about the rule at this year’s Australian Open, when Novak Djokjovic was treated for cramps and soreness during their quarterfinal, before retiring from the match (via Reuters):

“I looked over (at Djokovic) and I was confused, because I thought it was one injury per timeout, and I saw a calf, a neck, and an arm but I guess cramping is one condition. There’s obviously… a little bit of grey area there. Hopefully we’ll be able to do something about it.”

Roger Federer  quipped: “I’m almost in favor of saying, you know what, if you’re not fit enough, just get out of here.“

*UPDATE* Novak Djokovic was asked about this after beating Ivan Ljubicic this week in Cincinnati:

I’m not saying that 100% of players who are using them are using them in the right way.  There are some who are just using in their favor to irritate and provoke the opponent.  But that’s not my case.  I was having a lot of timeouts in last couple of years, and I know that they were for cause there.  I don’t see any reason why some players are just irritated by the fact that somebody else has a timeout. If he doesn’t feel well, obviously it’s there.  He can ask for help.

It’s an issue on the WTA tour as well. Dinara Safina rolled her eyes at the rule while playing in Los Angeles this month: “I’m competing if I’m stepping on the court. Don’t find excuses. . . I will never call a trainer if I have a headache. This way I’m very honest. If I call for something it must be really bad.”

Both Roddick and Federer say they want the rule reviewed. John McEnroe thinks change could come soon: “There’s no doubt it needs to be addressed and changed. That conversation has been taking place in the locker rooms. . .So hopefully at the end of this year it will be dealt with.”

But how can the tours really deal with it? The rule was established because of a cramping tennis player. Yes, Matsuoka’s case was extreme – but do Djokovic and Del Potro really need to roll and moan on the court before the chair umpire lets them call a trainer? A piece in the NYTimes suggests a boxing-style corner man be assigned to each player, to rub, tape and hydrate at will during changeovers. I say we give each player one three minute time out per match, which can be used for any reason and at any time. If a player uses it to mess up their opponent’s service game, only to default after rolling his ankle in the third set tiebreaker – that’s just bad karma.

Or maybe this is much ado about nothing. . .what do you think?

For the letter of the law, click here to read the ATP Rulebook (Section VII. The Competition)

Yes, this is what it takes to get World Team Tennis on SportsCenter. (Notice at the beginning that it’s categorized as a “Tennis Incident”!) What’s next? A cage around the court? Helmets and body armor? Anna Kournikova Warrior Princess?

Seems to me that Kendrick completely overreacted to a standard doubles play and McEnroe should have stayed on his own side of the net. And what’s this about suspending the Sportimes coach? Somehow I missed that while reading all twenty sides of the story (click here.)

(”Why yes, I AM serious.” Photo by Andrew Riddle via WTT site)

Drama and tensions flared Thursday night during a World Team Tennis matchup between the Washington Kastles and the New York Sportimes, billed on the Kastles’ website as “a heated battle between the two best teams in WTT’s Eastern Conference.” Playing in D.C., the teams included: John McEnroe, Abigail Spears, Christina Fusano and Robert Kendrick for the New York Sportimes (Chuck Adams coaching) and Rennae Stubbs, Leander Paes, Scott Oudsema and Olga Puchkova for the Washington Kastles (Murphy Jensen coaching.)

The Kastles lost in a “three and a half hour slugfest that the packed stadium of rabid Kastles fans in attendance won’t soon forget.”

Speaking of slugfests: It was the inter-team altercation during the  Paes/Oudsema vs. McEnroe/Kendrick doubles that made this matchup newsworthy. Is Paes a psychopath or a wily tennis player (or same difference)? Should John McEnroe have stayed the hell out of it? Are Puchkova and Kendrick involved in a tumultuous romance?  Was the chair ump frightened by Stubb’s impressive biceps or just a weenie in general? You be the judge. . .

Here’s an “eyewitness account” via Yahoo!Sports:

Kastles player Leander Paes (a five-time Grand Slam doubles winner) came to net and hit an overhead slam that struck Kendrick in the chin. It looked to be a routine incident. But Kendrick took offense and yelled stuff like, “what, no apology?” as Paes walked away. On the very next serve, Kendrick intentionally nailed Paes. Immediately, the Sportime’s coach (Chuck Adams) rose from the bench and started saying “it’s just part of the game.” Adams and McEnroe then crossed the net to the other side of the court to exchange words with Paes. It should be noted that, of the people on the court, McEnroe seemed to be the one playing peacemaker.

During this, Kastles player Olga Puchkova (who was once engaged to Alex Ovechkin, maybe) said something in the direction of Kendrick. He replied by calling her a word that rhymes with “witch”. Puchkova got off the bench in reaction and was assessed a warning. To protest this, Puchkova’s double’s partner Rennae Stubbs tried to explain what provoked Puchkova, but as she approached the umpire, she was assessed with a point penalty for abuse of officials. That gave the Sportimes a 1-0 lead in the subsequent tiebreak. McEnroe didn’t want to take the point and offered to start at 0-0, but they kept the penalty.

Kastles coach Murphy Jensen was furious with the official, claiming that he had lost control of the match. It wasn’t said, but it seemed like he was suggesting that perhaps the official was intimidated by McEnroe’s presence.

Here’s more from the Kastles’ site:

In the eighth game of the event, with the Kastles’ Leander Paes and Scott Oudsema leading McEnroe and partner Robert Kendrick 4-3, tempers flared, bringing the nearly sold-out crowd to its feet. During this critical game with the Kastles up 12-10, Paes hit Kendrick with a volley at the net, a standard doubles occurence, but the crowd was stunned as Kendrick tagged Paes, who was not the receiver, with a first serve a few points later.McEnroe and New York coach Chuck Adams crossed the net to exchange verbal volleys with Paes, and received a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct.  The Kastles’ bench joined the fray after the Sportimes tied the set at 4-4 with Olga Puchkova and Rennae Stubbs both being issued code violations and a point penalty for abuse of officials. This was a major turning point in the match as the Kastles had a service point taken away and started 1-0 in the set tiebreaker.  The Sportimes carried the momentum to an easy tiebreakers win (5-1) and a 5-4 set win to tie the match at 12-12 going into halftime.

(Photo of pissed off Puchkova and lame-ass ump by Kevin Koski via Washington Post)

Here’s some she said/he said/he said via Dan Steinberg’s “D.C. Sports Bog” at the Washington Post:

Rennae Stubbs story via Steinberg:

She said she stood up and began a discussion after the Sportimes coach had cursed at Puchkova, at which point she was issued a warning. Then she went to the chair umpire and tried to explain what had been said, was told to sit down, and was assessed the point penalty for, essentially, not sitting down. She said another official later came to her and said that had been the most unjust point penalty he had ever seen.

Sportimes owner Claude Okin:

“Basically, it was a great match, probably one of the greatest World Team Tennis match ever played, maybe the greatest. All in all, I thought it was a great night. But the incident? Paes went at Kendrick, intentionally hit him with the ball pretty much as hard as he could, and that’s scary. You can hurt somebody that way. Our coach and players defended their teammate verbally, and then Kendrick went back at Leander with his response, and it’s what it is, but it started with Leander going at Robert. We have no idea why he did. Leander said he was gonna do that, he said ‘Somebody’s gonna get hurt out there,’ and then he hit him.

“So we went a little crazy, because we just don’t see that as being a necessary part of the game. But otherwise, by the end of the match, John spoke to Leander, Robert and Leander shook hands at the net, embraced each other, and everybody involved in both teams, from coaches to players to owners, had hugs and handshakes….Really what you saw was the intensity of the rivalry, and that’s what makes World Team Tennis great. Basically I was proud to be part of it.”

Kastles owner Mark Ein:

“It definitely was a great match. We see eye to eye that it was one of the best matches you could ever have, so we agree on that. I think it’s extremely unfortunate and was grossly unfair that we got a point penalty when our player was tagged with a serve, which in the more than 60 combined years that our team has played professional tennis, no one’s ever seen that, ever. One of the cardinal rules of tennis you learn when you’re a little kid is you never cross the net. In every other match that’s an automatic default. For that to happen, and then for us to get a point penalty, which changed the momentum dramatically to start a tiebreaker, that was really unfair and really unfortunate and was a huge mistake by the umpire and everybody else who was part of that decision. It definitely was a great tennis match, and it was a great experience for the fans, but it was unfortunate that the outcome may have been impacted by really bad decision-making.”

The Kastles are protesting the result and asking the WTT for a full investigation.

My take: World Team Tennis suddenly got INTERESTING!

Thanks to Savannah’s World for the Twitter alert!

The drama’s building at Roland Garros, with a Day 5 filled with tears, triumphs and flop sweat.

Roger Federer’s four set victory over Jose Acasuso was an epic drama in itself. Roger pulled a Houdini, admitting afterwards that “(Acasuso) should have won a few sets.” I’m pretty sure that means Jose would have won the match, but anyway – champions get lucky. Acasuso’s rolled ankle/uncontrollable choke reflex in the third got Roger back on track from 1-5 down. (As John McEnroe quipped: “There’s a challenger next week – Jose Acasuso vs. Potito Starache”) Click here to read what Roger had to say about it.

Venus Williams also had destiny on her side – fighting off a fierce challenge and match point down from Lucie “the slugger” Safarova.  This little gal has a game face:

This was yet another three setter for Venus, in a season where over 50% of her matches have gone the distance. Not that it’s a problem for the No. 3 seed – Venus has won nearly 80% of her three-set matches in 2009. Venus explained her dog-fight dominance:

“Once I get to the third set, I’m like, you know, I feel a new level coming. So it’s good for me.”

Serena Williams preferred to keep that third set attitude in the drawer, losing only 2 games against Virginia Ruano Pascual: 6-2, 6-0.

Gosh darn it, why did one of these dreamboats have to knock the other out? (Glad it was Jo, tho’, who came through in four!) From what I could tell, it was a spectacular match – too bad neither ESPN nor TC showed much of it. But enough bellyaching, let’s just enjoy this moment:

(Sometimes I wish there was an alternate tour, where guys like Monaco and Tsonga dominated. That way I wouldn’t have to worry about Roger and Rafa.)

Marion Bartoli didn’t get a chance for a third set, going out to Italian Tathiana Garbin in straights:

You’d think that photo would say it all, but Marion, who has admitted to being “stressed” at the French Open, had a lot more to say about it in her post-match press conference:

On her annoying opponent: “When I made unforced errors, her team would shout. It’s not sportslike. They’re Italians.” (When reminded that she’s of Italian descent, Bartoli corrected the interviewer: “I’m Corsican.”)

On why her opponent made her lose: “Her game was not good enough. There was no pace in her game, so I had to hit more strongly, more strongly, and this is it. I was off‑pace.” (I think I’ve made that same argument, when losing a match in my YMCA league!)

On the terre battue: “It was the slowest surface on earth. It was so cold, freezing out there. The balls were stuck on the strings of the racket.”

“There was a lot of clay under my feet. The court was really heavy. The balls were heavy. I couldn’t hit the balls correctly either.”

And the sore throat didn’t help: “I was a bit tired. A bit sick, I think, as well. So it was not easy. It was so cold out there. Really cold on the court. . .It’s like a bit of a sore throat, and my nose is running. It was very warm on Monday when I played, and then cold for two days in a row.”

On every street corner of Paris, the world’s tiniest violins are playing. . .Alize Cornet is also out in straights to Cirstea.

Some tears were more deserved than others. Australian Jelena Dokic deserves a symphony of sympathy after her match against Elena Dementieva today:

Dokic, whose father is facing prison time for making terrorist threats, was leading 4th seeded Elena Dementieva, 6-2, 3-4 when she was forced to retire with a back injury. Her back went out in the fifth game of the second set, and after a lengthy time out she came back to break the Russian. But it became clear, as tears rolled down her face, that she could not continue. This was her first French Open since 2004. Hope it’s not her last.

In other results of note, Andy “I had a blast (on court)!” Roddick, Gael Monfils, Kolya Davydenko and Juan Martin del Potro are through on the men’s side. Novak Djokovic is up two sets in a suspended match. Jankovic, Kuznetsova, Wozniacki, and Radwanska are through on the women’s side.

There are TONS of great matches on for tomorrow: Gonzalez vs. Ouanna, Nadal vs. Hewitt, Benesova vs. Ivanovic, Williams vs. Szavay, Murray vs. Tipsarevic, Almagro vs. Verdasco, Azarenka vs. Suarez Navarro, Soderling vs. Ferrer, Safina vs. Pavlyuchenkova, and the Williams sisters taking on Dulko/Szavay in doubles. Also in doubles, Tsonga/Ouanna take on Bupathi/Knowles. Oh, you lucky Direct TV subscribers!

I’ll post Thursday’s results as soon as a more together blogger than I puts them up.

Mighty mouse Lucie Safarova roars like a lion: JACQUES DEMARTHON/AFP/Getty Images via Daylife

Droooooool: photo by AFP PHOTO / LIONEL BONAVENTURE via Daylife

Bartoli blows her nose/match: photo by REUTERS/Vincent Kessler (FRANCE SPORT TENNIS) via Daylife

The Associated Press reports that John McEnroe’s offer to coach Roger Federer stills stands (click here for the news from earlier this month.)

“If he wants my input, we have people that represent us.” John McEnroe said in an interview on Tuesday,  “It’s a phone call away.”

Roger Federer is nonplussed, telling reporters in Rome: “I guess anybody would like to give me advice. So I don’t think that’s a crazy comment we should look into much.”

Here’s more from the Fox Sports article (click here to read the entire piece):

McEnroe on what Federer must do to win:

“Take the ball earlier and not get pulled off the court. . . Nadal has a lefty slice out wide. Roger is content to get into a rally, and not attack the net, which is difficult on clay because of the slipping and sliding.”

McEnroe on the coach question:

“There’s an argument that he doesn’t need a coach and an argument that he could use some help with someone, which he’s done in the past,” said McEnroe, a seven-time singles Grand Slam winner. “He won 11 majors in four years. And back in my prime, I’d laugh at them (who offered advice).”

McEnroe on Federer’s chances at the French:

“At this stage, he’d have to have a lot of things fall his way to win it. . .If Nadal is healthy, he seems virtually unbeatable on clay. In a best of five, he’s one of the fittest guys on tour.”

Sorry, John, Roger’s just not that into you - and this public coaching intervention you’re doing has probably killed your chances, entirely.

Click here for the full article, at Fox Sports.

Roger laughing with (or at?) McEnroe: REUTERS/Zainal Abd Halim via Yahoo!India