Welcome back to Net Talk. This is our section for tennis comment and analysis. As well as commenting on the latest issues in the game, I'll include links to things such as our regular betting tips. But I also want you to contribute. I'm happy to publish some of your comments and answer, if I can, any questions you may have about all things tennis. The email address is: tennisfeedback@sportinglife.com.
Suggestions are also welcome. The page will be regularly updated, so don't forget to check back soon.
Andy Schooler
WELCOME BACK KIM - posted March 27
Hungry for more.
Those were the words Kim Clijsters used to explain her decision to return to the WTA Tour.
That return will happen in Cincinnati in August and it will be widely anticipated by tennis fans across the world.
When Clijsters called it a day in May 2007 it would be hard to say there was a more popular player in the women's game and that is just one reason why it will be great to see the Belgian back on court.
Looking back, Clijsters made very few enemies - her smiling, positive attitude never looked anything but genuine - while barbed comments about opponents were extremely rare.
Always gracious in defeat, she was loved by the fans - Australians virtually made her one of their own after she began dating Lleyton Hewitt - while the media were always impressed by her readiness to talk. Doubtless tour officials were too.
Certainly she appears to score more highly with all those groups than some of her contemporaries.
Rightly or wrongly, the Williams sisters are far from loved by many tennis fans, while Clijsters' compatriot Justine Henin, who joined her in retirement last year, was such a steely competitor that she attracted negative press - remember her holding her hand up as Serena Williams served at the 2003 French Open and then being happy to take the point when the umpire failed to notice?
Perhaps in talking about Henin we discover the reason that Clijsters failed to get anywhere near her compatriot's achievements - it is argued in some quarters that Clijsters was too nice and lacked the true killer instinct.
For the record, Henin won seven Grand Slam titles to Clijsters' one.
That brings us to the chances of Clijsters upon her return. Can she replicate her 2005 US Open triumph? Will she be able to become world number one again?
History suggests it will be difficult, although it also predicts Clijsters is more than capable of at least challenging on the tour again.
Two famous examples of players who have returned to the tour after lengthy absences in recent years are Lindsay Davenport and Martina Hingis.
Hingis had more than three years away but when she returned she was back in the top 20 in next to no time, climbing as high as number six and reaching three Grand Slam quarter-finals.
Davenport, who like Clijsters gave birth during her time away, won her very first singles tournament back after a year out and also made it back into the top 30. However, she has not been able to challenge for a Grand Slam victory and is now pregnant again.
Personally I'd expect Clijsters to improve upon Hingis' efforts when she returns - provided she sticks it out.
It's hard to say the women's game has moved on a great deal in the past two years - with Henin now gone, the Williams sisters remain the players to beat - and Clijsters regularly got the better of the class of 2007.
She says she is "training like before again" so clearly is very serious about the comeback, or "second career" as she puts it.
I've already backed her to win on the WTA Tour before the end of 2010 at 11/8.
The one worry I have is that the return looks a good idea to her now, but won't come the autumn.
Clijsters admits she's unsure how things will go travelling the globe with daughter Jada in tow. Injuries also hit her hard durng that 'first career', those and the grind of the tour eventually sapping her enthusiasm.
For now all is good though. The return of Clijsters' famous sliding straddle and wide smile should be relished.
How do you think Clijsters will perform upon her return? And is coming back really a good idea? Email your feedback to: tennisfeedback@sportinglife.com
THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAIL - posted March 23
Rafael Nadal and Vera Zvonareva made the headlines for their trophy-winning feats in Indian Wells this week, but there was also a story behind the scenes that gained little coverage.
It involved the Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, who as you may well know have their issues with the California tournament.
They haven't played the event since 2001, the year they had been due to meet in the semi-finals only for Venus to withdraw minutes before the match had been due to start. This happened amid the now-familiar speculation about all-Williams matches. The previous day Elena Dementieva had suggested the winner would be pre-determined. The sisters have always vehemently denied this has ever been the case when they've met.
In the final a couple of days later, Venus and her father Richard were booed as they took their seats, while Serena was subjected to similar treatment throughout the match.
Understandably hurt by this, the pair have boycotted the event ever since.
However, this year the story appeared to take a new twist.
When the WTA's widely trumpeted 'Roadmap' plan was announced towards the end of last season, what was essentially a document shaping the future of the women's game made much of new measures designed to ensure the best players played the best events.
It announced that Indian Wells was now a 'mandatory' tournament for all top-10 players. Anyone missing such an event could be hit with fines and suspensions.
Tennis being the richest female sport, fines were hardly going to do the job; it was therefore the suspension threat that was focused upon.
Could top players afford to skip this big event if they knew they would then miss others and with it the chance of earning a bucketload of ranking points?
Unfortunately what was missing at the time of the Roadmap announcement was the detail.
We now know that and it makes the WTA Tour look something of a paper tiger.
As you may have noticed, Serena and Venus - ranked one and five in the world - duly failed to turn up again in 2009, but they won't be serving any suspension.
When asked the reasons why, a spokeswoman for the WTA Tour told me: "Serena and Venus withdrew from Indian Wells and each have informed the Tour they intend to fulfil the requirements set forth under the Tour rules in order to avoid suspension, including performance of promotional activities in the tournament market at a date to be determined pursuant to the Tour's suspension rule."
Essentially I was pointed in the direction of the WTA rulebook.
The rules regarding suspension, of which little has previously been made, show that players seem highly unlikely ever to be suspended.
Players missing a mandatory tournament can simply avoid a ban by performing promotional activities, either at the event - as Maria Sharapova will do in Miami this coming week - or away from it on dates designated by the WTA.
The Williamses will therefore have to travel to California at some stage for a day of promotional work - a slight inconvenience you suspect, although given they are actually from that state hardly a major problem.
If this is the 'get-out' option on offer, suspensions simply aren't going to happen and the whole 'get-tough' plan looks flimsy to say the least.
Perhaps the rule makers at the WTA decided suspensions weren't really in the tour's best interests which isn't exactly rocket science.
What's the point in antagonising Serena Williams or Maria Sharapova - players who are flag bearers for your product the world over?
And what purpose does it serve by making such a player unavailable to compete in other tournaments - if she's picking up a suspension that means she's already missed one. Why exacerbate the situation?
Just like most sports these days, the power is with the players.
Bids to wrest back some of that power need to be better thought out than the WTA's.
Let us know your thoughts on what the WTA should do to get its top players at its top events. Email your feedback to tennisfeedback@sportinglife.com
DAVIS CUP TIPS - posted March 5
The Davis Cup is almost upon us with the first round of the World Group taking place this weekend.
I've been poring over the draw in a bid to pick a winner. Find out who I've picked by checking out my betting preview.
Meanwhile, it looks like Great Britain have it all to do this weekend - having been relegated from the World Group last year they are up against Ukraine in the Euro-Africa Zone.
However, without Andy Murray they are basically playing with a bunch of unknowns in Glasgow.
I've been speaking to former British star Mark Cox, a player who was part of the last British team to reach the final of the competition, and he believes the inexperienced side Lloyd has at his disposal is still capable of pulling off a win.
Check out my interview with him here.
IN FOR THE LONG HAUL - posted March 2
Chris Eaton earned himself a place in Great Britain's Davis Cup team last week, largely due to his effort in beating James Ward in a truly epic encounter.
The little-known pair slugged it out for nearly seven hours at the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton to prove their commitment to the cause.
Had their match taken place on the main ATP Tour, it would have been the longest in its history.
Such a marathon got me thinking about some classic epics of years gone by, so here are 10 of my favourites.
Fabrice Santoro beat Arnaud Clement 6-4 6-3 6-7 (5-7) 3-6 16-14 French Open 1st rd, 2004
At six hours and 33 minutes, this remains the longest-ever match in Open era history. Two days were needed, the first day's play being halted with thescore at 5-5 in the final set. The French duo returned the following morning and managed to play for almost two more hours, Santoro saving a second match point before prevailing. Victory put him into round two. Clement had his name in the history books, but he didn't care. "Frankly I don't give a damn, what world record?" he said afterwards. "Do I get a medal? If I'm not getting anything, frankly I'm not interested."
Boris Becker beat Omar Camporese 7-6 7-6 4-6 0-6 14-12, Australian Open 3rd rd, 1991
A five-hour 11-minute contest which Becker took 14-12 in the final set. It proved crucial to Becker's career as just over a week later he would lift the trophy and become world number one for the first time. It had looked curtains for Becker when he lost the fourth set to love and saw his two-set lead evaporate. However, despite the intense Melbourne heat he managed to find another wind in a final set that lasted more than two hours. At the time, it was the longest match in tournament history.
Rafael Nadal beat Fernando Verdasco 6-7 6-4 7-6 6-7 6-4, Australian Open semi-final, 2009
A recent epic this one and it eclipsed Becker and Camporese from the Melbourne Park record books by three minutes. Two Spanish baseliners were probably always more likely to produce a record-breaker but few felt this one would go the distance. In their previous meeting, Verdasco had won just three games. However, this time he pushed the world number one all the way in a match of the highest quality. Even 95 winners from the underdog failed to bring him victory though.
Boris Becker beat Ivan Lendl 5-7 7-6 3-6 6-2 7-6, The Masters final, 1988
This is a match not best known for its longevity - still pretty long at four hours and 42 minutes - rather the fact that it was decided in the most agonising of ways. After a 37-shot rally on match point, a net cord from a Becker shot dropped dead on Lendl's side of the net to give the German victory. "Physically, it was the hardest match I've ever played," Becker declared afterwards.
Stefan Edberg beat Michael Chang 6-7 7-5 7-6 5-7 6-4, US Open semi-final, 1992
In terms of chasing balls down, Chang was the Rafael Nadal of his day and at Flushing Meadows in 1992 he showed he really was prepared to run and run. He got so much back against Edberg, it was incredible. Yet still it wasn't enough. He agonisingly lost to the defending champion in the fifth set after a remarkable five hours and 26 minutes of play. It remains the longest match in US Open history. Perhaps even more remarkable was that Edberg came back the next day and beat Pete Sampras to retain his title.
Michael Chang beat Ivan Lendl 4-6 4-6 6-3 6-3 6-3, French Open 4th rd, 1989
Chang had famously beaten Edberg to win the 1989 French Open and become the youngest ever male Grand Slam winner. However, his most famous win of that tournament was undoubtedly his quarter-final victory over Ivan Lendl. Top seed Lendl led by two sets and a break but couldn't finish off the scampering teenager who went down with cramp but still forced a decider. It was then that he produced one of the most famous images in tennis - his underarm serve. "I was trying to break his concentration. I would do anything to stay out there," the American later explained. The robot-like Lendl was rarely fazed but on this occasion he certainly was. On match point Chang stepped up almost to the service line to return. Lendl complained bitterly before finally serving - a double fault. A four-hour-and-37-minute classic was over.
Rafael Nadal beat Roger Federer 6-4 6-4 6-7 6-7 9-7, Wimbledon final, 2008
Few grasscourt matches last longer than four hours, but this one certainly did. The world's two best players were both in awesome form on the famous Centre Court and produced the longest final in Wimbledon history. It was four hours and 48 minutes of pure drama and few wanted it to end. It almost didn't - at least not on that Sunday. Nadal eventually clinched victory (and the title for the first time) in near darkness at 9.16pm after one of the sport's greatest ever matches.
Andy Roddick beat Younes El Aynaoui 4-6 7-6 4-6 6-4 21-19, Australian Open quarter-final, 2003
You wondered if this one would ever end, such was the serve dominance in the final set. Roddick, the biggest server in the game, finally edged it with almost five hours on the clock. The length of the match proved too much for Roddick, who duly lost his semi-final to Rainer Schuettler two days later. However, it probably did him the world of good in the long run. By the end of the year he was world number one. He'd shown the heart needed to become a champion and many feel his path to the top can be traced back to this match.
Boris Becker beat John McEnroe 4-6 15-13 8-10 6-2 6-2, Davis Cup World Group relegation play-off, 1987
Oh for the days before the tie-break! Well, in 1987 the Davis Cup still hadn't adopted the breaker as Becker and McEnroe found out in Hartford, Connecticut. Becker admits in his autobiography that he wasn't sure he could win the match even after levelling at one set all. He described the match as "a war". The match lasted six hours and 39 minutes, although the record books show it at six hours and 21 minutes due to a (much-needed) 18-minute break between the third and fourth sets.
Pancho Gonzales beat Charlie Pasarell beat 22-24 1-6 16-14 6-3 11-9, Wimbledon 1st rd, 1969
Of course, no 'epic matches' list would be complete without meniton of this one, arguably the most famous of marathon encounters basically due to the fact it gets dragged up every year when Wimbledon comes around. Pre-tiebreak, the match featured 112 games - a statistic which will surely never be beaten. In time terms, it was five hours and 12 minutes long, Pasarell squandering no less than seven match points in the process. Perhaps what was most remarkable was that the victor was aged 41 at the time.
Do you have any memories of an epic encounter, perhaps one we've not mentioned? Send us your feedback to tennisfeedback@sportinglife.com
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