ATP Backspin Grass Court Awards

With the Newport Hall of Fame tournament over, it's finally time for a little grass court housekeeping. Of course, what grass is doing in the house is another thing. (Yes, I'm aware of how bad that was.)



*TOP GRASSCOURT PLAYERS*
1. Roger Federer
...in 2008, King Rog will get the chance to go for the REAL record-tying SIXTH straight Wimbledon title.
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2. Rafael Nadal
...Rafa could author a book entitled, "How to Go From a Surprise Wimbledon Finalist to a Future Champion in 12 Short Months."
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3. Novak Djokovic
...pity Mr. Fantastic to be around in the era when Roger and Rafa rule the courts, sort of like everyone had to feel for the female players not named Navratilova or Evert during the 1970's and 80's. (Gee, didn't I write that after the clay season, too?) Still, a little less rain and backlog of matches and it very well might have been the Serb in the SW19 final.
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4. Richard Gasquet
...the Frenchman came back from two sets down to beat Andy Roddick at Wimbledon, and then take the American's place in the SF as Federer's rented mule.
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5. Tomas Berdych
...still "on the verge," but a little closer. Maybe?
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**RISERS**
1. Novak Djokovic
2. Richard Gasquet
3. Tomas Berdych
4. Marcos Baghdatis
5. Robin Soderling
6. Paul-Henri Mathieu
7. Janko Tipsarevic
8. Ivo Karlovic
9. Dmitry Tursunov
10. Eric Butorac/Jamie Murray
HM- Jarkko Nieminen

**FRESH FACES**
1. Nicolas Mahut
2. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
3. Philip Kohlschreiber
4. Peter Wessels
5. Chris Guccione
HM- Donald Young

**SURPRISES**
1. Marcelo Melo/Andre Sa
2. Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi
3. Eric Butorac/Jamie Murray
HM- Edouard Roger-Vasellin

**VETERANS**
1. Arnaud Clement/Michael Llodra
2. Fabrice Santoro
3. Jonas Bjorkman
4. Wayne Arthurs
5. Mark Knowles/Daniel Nestor
HM- Juan Carlos Ferrero

**COMEBACK**
1. Nicolas Kiefer
2. Tim Henman (Wimbledon 1st Rd.)
3. Hall of Famer Pete Sampras (WTT)
HM- Dmitry Tursunov (after slow '07 start)

**DOWN**
1. Andy Roddick (at Wimbledon)
2. Jonas Bjorkman/Max Mirnyi
3. Fernando Gonzalez
4. Mardy Fish
5. Ivo Karlovic (at Wimbledon)
HM- Ivan Ljubicic (at Wimbledon)

TOP PERFORMANCE: Come on, is there any reason to even ask? HE has 54 consecutive grass court wins, 34 of them at Wimbledon while winning five straight titles. Bjorn Borg did the latter, but the overall grass streak is thirteen matches longer than the Swede's second longest all-time streak.

**TOP MATCH**
Wimbledon Final - Federer def. Nadal
...7-6/4-6/7-6/2-6/6-2. Again, in a battle for their own little page in the history book at the All-England Club, Federer outpaced Nadal for his eleventh career slam title (just three behind Sampras' record), though this was the first time he's had to play five sets at Wimbledon since he defeated Sampras in the Round of 16 there in 2001. Oh, by the way, this makes it TEN straight slams won by either Roger or Rafa... and 12-of-13.

**TOP MATCH (without Federer or Nadal)**
Wimbledon 1st Rd. - Henman def. Moya
...6-3/1-6/5-7/6-2/13-11. He might not be a true threat to win the title anymore, but Tim Henman still has a knack for drama. After blowing four match points in the 5th set on a Monday, he returned on Tuesday to survive and put the Spanish vet away on his seventh MP... and did it on Tony Blair's last day in office, to boot. Not to be one to break a longstanding pattern, though, Henman came back from two sets to none down in the 2nd Round against Feliciano Lopez, only to lose 6-1 in the 5th.

WHERE FORMER GRAND SLAM FINALISTS GO TO... WELL, WHO KNOWS WHAT HE'S DOING: Mark Philippoussis, out of action with an injury, has been filling his time playing the "bachelor" in the American TV reality dating show "Age of Love," in which women in their 20's (the "kittens") compete with women in their 40's (the "cougars") for the affection of the 30-year old, two-time grand slam singles RU.

THE MORE THINGS CHANGE, THE MORE THEY STAY THE SAME: Ivo Karlovic and his monster serve finally won a grass court title in Nottingham, but he still ended up losing in the 1st Round at Wimbledon.

THE MORE THINGS CHANGE, THE MORE THEY STAY THE SAME, PART 2: Ivan Ljubicic was HIS first grass court title in the Netherlands, then lost in the 3rd Round at Wimbledon (hey, it's a slam -- what did you expect?).

THE MORE THINGS STAY THE SAME, THE MORE THEY CHANGE: Andy Roddick won his fourth title at Queens Club, and seemed headed for another SF destruction at the hands of Roger Federer at the All-England Club. But then he blew a two-set lead against Richard Gasquet, and HE got the butt-kicking instead. Damn Frenchie, spoiling all Roger's fun.

THE MARATHON MAN: Novak Djokovic played back-to-back matches of 4:12 and 4:59 against Lleyton Hewitt and Marcos Baghdatis in the Round of 16 and QF, respectively. Then, the very next day, he had to face Rafael Nadal. AND HE STILL WON THE FIRST SET AGAINST THE SPANIARD! Then, of course, his injuries caught up to him and he retired in the 3rd set.

*MOST ENTERTAINING MATCH*
...the Rafael Nadal/Robin Soderling 3rd Round match at Wimbledon had it all: brilliant shotmaking, cold stares, saved match points... and mocking wedgie pulls and dead-fish-and-look-away handshakes at the net. For the record, Rafa finally won on his sixth match point.

**IF DJOKOVIC HAD BEEN PLAYING, HIS BALL BOUNCES WOULD HAVE MADE IT AN ALL-TIMER**
Wimbledon Doubles 2nd Rd. - Melo/Sa def. Hanley/Ullyett
...5-7/7-6/4-6/7-6/28-26. The 102 games were the most ever in a Wimbledon Men's Doubles match, and the 54 games in the 5th set were the most for a Men's Doubles match there, as well (two less than in a Mixed Doubles match in 1985). But the 5:58 running time was only the SECOND longest... it came up eleven minutes short of a match in 2006.

NOW THE TOUGH PART BEGINS: Donald Young ended his junior career with a Wimbledon Boys title.

DON'T FEEL BAD, IVAN... WELL, NOW THAT I THINK ABOUT IT... UMMM, JUST ACT AS IF IT NEVER HAPPENED: Earlier this year, a one-hour hit with Ivan Ljubicic was auctioned off in Monte Carlo for $20,000 for charity. Not bad... until a one-hour hit with Roger Federer sold for $600,000 during Wimbledon.

**HAVE A DRINK, PETE**

...newly-inducted Hall of Fame Pete Sampras has been playing some World Team Tennis lately. You know, he's looking in much better shape and form than a year ago. Just watering the "curious" seed that's already been planted.


All for now.

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