Today, POINTS ON THE BOARD has the privilege of a moment with Nenad Zimonjic** of Serbia, who is partnering Daniel Nestor of Canada to contest Wimbledon 2008’s Men’s Doubles Final. This despite the former breaking his wrist two days ago.
MC: Nenad, great to have you here today. Serbia has become tennis’ ‘It’ country and was poised to assault, if not outright dominate the fortnight here at Wimbledon. Many expected to see the reigning ladies’ French Open and men’s Australian Open champions in the finals this weekend. Yet only you remain -- the elder statesman, the last Serb standing. How do you explain this?
NZ: I don’t know... you win a Grand Slam title, get your own stamp and suddenly you are no longer hungry.
MC: If I am not mistaken, Nenad, you have won three Grand Slam titles -- in mixed doubles, including one this year -- and were also honored with a postage stamp in your home country.
NZ: True, but from the moment the stamps were issued, everything changed. You’ll notice the award of denomination is inversely proportionate to the players' depth in the tournament here.
Djokovic is put on the most expensive stamp -- worth 46 dinars (that’s about 80 cents to you) -- and he thinks he’s on level with Federer. Then he loses second round to a player ranked 75th in the world.
MC: That wasn’t just any player, though... that was Marat Saf...
Here on the lawns, she almost exits in the second match like Novak, but a lucky netcord and six less dinars last one more round.
MC: Well, let’s see... Janko Tipsarevic, at 20 dinars, is on the stamp worth the least. So according to your theory of inverse proportions, he should have gone farther than you.
NZ: Yes, but he did well beating Roddick and Tursunov to reach the fourth round. He is still striving, yet is just a baby with much to learn.... he still believes nasal strips work.
MC: I’m still not sure I believe your stamp theory. For example, I can’t imagine the men pictured on American paper money grousing over their respective printings...
NZ: Exactly why you should understand denomination! The U.S. order of value is quite good. The gentleman on your largest bill signed your Declaration of Independence, plus he was a Postmaster and well-known to the ladies of France.
MC: I don’t see why...
NZ: By the way, I do not get your nickname ‘Dead Presidents.’ No wonder you are not smarter than fifth graders.
MC: Uhh... ok then, back to your theory. The fourth round was also the end for Jelena Jankovic, who shares a stamp value with you at 30 dinars.
NZ: Yes, one step more than Ana, so she fits the model. I don’t quite understand her issue with the outer courts, though. The Woodies played on Court 18 several times this tournament, so this is legendary ground... these old men don't need helicopters.
Maybe she is too lazy to walk to the court, but on-court, she fought again through injury, so this is good. Shows she’s still hungry for a higher postal rate.
NZ: Yes, I fell and broke it on the first day of the match Thursday. This is nothing. I have stared across the net at the great Martina Navratilova and won.
MC: Ah, in Australia 2004, the first of your Mixed Doubles trophies! You have a shot today at your first men’s Grand Slam championship win, as well as your first Wimbledon title.
NZ: Twice before, I have made it to the final here; this time I will win.
MC: If so, your partner Daniel Nestor will have a career Grand Slam!
NZ: I should be shown serving! I have one of the hardest serves in the doubles!!! Why is the Canadian in front?! ... I look small; we’re the same height, you know!!... I am not even shown holding a racquet...
MC: Perhaps we should conclude this interview...
NZ: That reminds me, there’s the matter of your Latin alphabet... why is the ‘Z’ last?! This is not the way in Cyrillic...
DANIEL NESTOR AND NENAD ZIMONJIC (right,shown looking larger than the Canadian)
Note also Zimonjic's broken wrist braced to allow play in the continuation of their semi-final match against Leander Paes and Lukas Dlouhy.
*The Wimbledon 2008 Men’s Doubles Final has many compelling recommendations. It is the final Wimbledon for Jonas Bjorkman -- former world number four, one of my favorite players and one of the most-decorated in doubles -- who has announced his impending retirement.
On the opposite side of the net, Daniel Nestor has a chance for his career Grand Slam in Doubles, having already won the Australian, the US Open and the French, in that order.
**All depictions of Nenad Zimonjic’s opinions are fictional. The fact of his broken bone is truth, another reason to watch or listen to the Men’s Doubles Final & support Doubles in general.
Their final is scheduled as the second match on Center Court. This match will be bookmarked by Venus and Serena Williams contesting the Ladies' Singles, and then later pairing for the Ladies' Doubles Finals.
Asked about the Williams sisters' motivation, Zimonjic had this to say: “When a player is in the zone, we often say he or she is seeing the tennis ball ‘like a football.’ The sisters are seeing the ball like Justin Gimelstob’s head.”
First of all, I'd like to thank Marat Safin & Benjamin Becker for the three hours, twenty-six minutes of suspense early this morning. That total should edge out the two-day premiere of 24 (minus commercials), which probably won't measure up in racquet abuse either.
Monday By the Numbers
But Safin's first round win wasn't the longest match of Day One at the Australian Open. Lukas Dlouhy of Czechoslovakia and Russia's Teimuraz Gabashvili were still playing their four hour, 48-minute five-setter out on Court 10 while a capacity crowd watched the 2005 AO champ in Rod Laver Arena. Talk about extremes: Gabashvili needed only 19 minutes to win the second set. The fifth set, which is not decided by a tiebreak, went to 16-14 and lasted 122 minutes.
For his efforts, Dlouhy now faces a second round against compatriot Radek Stepanek, who was off the court in just over a quarter of that time. Stepanek was one of 11 players -- nine men and four women -- to serve up a bagel.
Andy Roddick faced two tiebreaks in his first two sets of this tournament. In the first, 38 points were played before Jo-Wilfried Tsonga won on the tenth set point. While the athletic Frenchman was ousted, his home country brought the largest contingent of 28 athletes. Twenty-two of those players remain, which matches the number of Americans left. Both countries have legitimate title contenders.
Friction between two other countries led to the ejection of 150 spectators. Croatian and Serbian fans scuffled, though no injuries were reported. Security was beefed up for today's match between Marin Cilic (CRO) and Ilia Bozoljac (SRB).
Tuesday's Proportions
Day Two provides symmetry.
The two top singles seeds, Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova, each lost exhibition matches coming into this tournament. To strong favorites on the Rebound Ace surface: Andy Roddick and Kim Clijsters. But neither of those match-ups could play out as the final in the Slam, since these pairings are seeded to meet in the semis.
Federer and Roddick are already into the second round, while Sharapova and Clijsters will be featured on center court today. Clijsters, an "adopted" Australian, has declared 2007 her last year on the pro tour. This is an ideal surface for the 2004 finalist and she proved her dedication to the year with her come-from-behind Sydney title win last week.
There's already "Tiki Talk" on the 23-year-old. Many believe she won't really retire. But she will be marrying American basketball player Brian #### this summer and she's ready to start a family. Sharapova, who also looks forward to motherhood, recently stated that she could see herself retiring at that relatively young age if she is no longer motivated to play at the top level.
The other matches on center court include a replay of a challenging Wimbledon 2006 match-up, American Robert Kendrick v Rafael Nadal. The night matches feature home crowd favorites: Alicia Molik, who plays Yung-Jan Chun; and Lleyton Hewitt, who has American Michael Russell talking some pre-match smack. Both Aussies have had recent career setbacks due to injury and are dark horses for this event.
More Next Door
Tournament organizers have an embarrassment of riches for this round. The center of entertainment today may not be center court, but Vodafone Arena. All four day matches there could be very competitive. Martina Hingis -- who has a streak of six finals here, winning three in a row -- will play another wily veteran in France's Natalie Dechy.
Top American James Blake matches up against 1997 finalist Carlos Moya, a repeat of last week's Sydney final. They played a competitive match and should again, but this one will also draw the eye candy fans. These two know how to rock the sleeveless look, and mercy... it's hot in Melbourne!
The other two contests on this show court should measure up even though a couple of the competitors don't... in one sense only. In an era where players hover near the six foot mark, American Vania King and Olivier Rochus of Belgium stand at 5'5". King faces thirteenth seed Ana Ivanovic, one of those six-footers. While Rochus' opponent, Australian Chris Guccione, is 6'7".
Rochus has already proven determination as a returner. He's had match points on Federer and has been known to frustrate (and defeat) a certain tall Russian who's as talented as the world number one. King, also a baseliner, has shown confidence that has her ranked highest of the upcoming American women.
Still, I don't think either will be a David and Goliath story. Not to slight the short, but Ivanovic and Guccione have too much firepower and momentum. Nadal says Gooch, last week's Adelaide finalist, has one of the best serves on tour. Ivanovic steamrolled Hingis in the Montreal final last year, and also beat Amelie Mauresmo on hard court. Both players are riding some confidence coming into this, but it would be folly for them to overlook their smaller opponents.
I'd say I'm more athlete than fan. I hope I can say that all my life.
After Marat Safin, is there anyone else?
Some of my other favorite athletes include: Dmitry Tursunov, Kim Clijsters, Roger Federer, Tedy Bruschi, Cory Schlesinger, Brian McBride, Lynn Hill & Dean Potter.
I truly appreciate any advice or criticism. Thank you.
