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
WTA DIGS ITS OWN HOLE - posted October 29
Twelve months ago one of my first Net Talk columns raised the issue of a lack of interest in the WTA's season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha.
Sparse crowds plagued the event in 2008 and while things may have improved slightly so far this year, is been far from a full house during the group stages.
It's likely to be a stark contrast at London's O2 Arena next month when the equivalent ATP Tour showpiece rolls into town for the first time.
It's being suggested that full houses of nearly 20,000 will be the norm in Greenwich, a far cry form the attendances in Qatar.
Clearly the WTA took their elite championships to the Middle East for a reason, largely the financial boost which the host country is providing.
Yet there have to be worries. As well as attendance, the tournament's media profile is well down on its male counterpart.
Now there's a clear argument that while the men's game is thriving in an golden era led by Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, the women's is struggling with no clear leader and a lack of true quality in the top 10.
Yet the WTA Tour has provided what most fans would describe as the story of the 2009 tennis season.
While the men's side has produced some memorable contests - the Australian Open and Wimbledon finals immediately springing to mind - it lacked the sensational comeback of new 'mom' Kim Clijsters, who marched to US Open glory in just her third tournament in more than two years. It was one of the great sporting stories of the year.
Sadly for the WTA a lack of foresight on their part has meant Clijsters is not present in Doha this week and their tournament is suffering because of it.
The Belgian's presence would have raised its profile hugely. Instead her one and only appearance since that Flushing Meadows triumph (in Luxembourg last week) caused barely a ripple.
The reason for Clisjters' absence is she did not finish in the year's top eight - not surprising given she only played in four tournaments - and this event is for the elite octet only.
Yet had Clijsters won the men's US Open out of nowhere, she would have been eligible to play in the ATP's World Tour Finals in London.
The ATP 'reserves' up to two places for such unlikely Grand Slam winners, but such a proviso is not in the WTA rulebook.
I may come across as being something of a 'Hindsight Harry' for raising the Clijsters issue now - after all very rarely has the ATP needed its rule to get Grand Slam winners into its tournament - but surely someone at the WTA must agree with my point.
But, sadly, a repeat next year remains a possibility.
When I put the point to the tour this week, a spokesman told me: "The Tour currently does not have plans to change the qualification procedures for our year-end Sony Ericsson Championships."
That seems a real shame.
The Championships are currently making the 'news in brief' columns of the UK's national newspapers right now. The presence of Clijsters may well have changed that, not to mention the undobuted extra bums she would have put on seats.
It is something the Tour needs to consider.
Do you agree with Andy? Has the WTA missed a trick and what else can it do to raise the profile of one of its showpiece events? Email your feedback to tennisfeedback@sportinglife.com
TEN STUNNING SHOCKS - posted October 8
Dinara Safina's miserable summer hit its nadir this week with a shocking defeat to Shuai Zhang at the China Open.
The Russian's loss was statistically the worst ever by a female world number one - Shuai was ranked just 226 by the WTA and was only playing the event on a wild card.
Given the shambolic tennis Safina has been playing of late, I'm not too sure how highly that rates on the shock-o-meter but it got me thinking of some of great shocks the game has produced over the years.
Here are 10 of my favourites:
Robin Soderling beat Rafael Nadal 6-2 6-7 (2/7) 6-4 7-6 (7/2), French Open 4th rd, 2009
The bookies make this tennis' biggest ever shock, Nadal being turned over at odds of 1/100. They didn't see it coming and I've certainly not met anyone who did. Nadal entered the match as the four-time defending champion at Roland Garros and with a claycourt record second to none in the history of the game. But Soderling's defied his reputation as a man to crack under pressure, producing some superb hitting to stun the sporting world. OK, it later emerged Nadal had been struggling with a knee injury but, to his credit, little was made of it in Paris. What made this result all the more remarkable was that Nadal had won the pair's previous clash 6-1 6-0 less than a month earlier.
Peter Doohan beat Boris Becker 7-6 4-6 6-2 6-4, Wimbledon 2nd rd, 1987
When Boris Becker arrived in SW19 in 1987 aged just 19 he was already a household name across the world, having won the previous two titles at the All England Club. He was the favourite to become the first man ever to win three in a row in the Open era but it all went dreadfully wrong against little-known Doohan on the famous old Court One. The seismic nature of the defeat is summed up by how I learned of it: Children's BBC presenter Andy Crane interrupted what he was doing in 'The Broomcupboard' to tell his audience of the German's loss. The shock also sparked one of tennis' most famous quotes. Quizzed by stunned journalists seeking an explanation, Becker said: "I lost a tennis match. It was not a war. Nobody died." It was Doohan's day in the spotlight but he wouldn't get another like it. He is now coaching back in Australia.
Jelena Dokic beat Martina Hingis 6-2 6-0, Wimbledon 1st rd, 1999
Like Becker before her, Hingis became a household name with her sensational early-years progress. When she won Wimbledon in 1997 she was just 16 and in so doing became the youngest Grand Slam champion of the century. But the summer of 1999 proved the beginning of the end for the Swiss Miss, this crushing defeat following hot on the heels of her emotional meltdown in the final of the French Open. Then she had ranted at her mother and coach, among others; in SW19 Melanie was nowhere to be seen. It didn't work; Dokic's power blasting apart Hingis' court craft, something the Williams sisters would later take great relish in doing too. The top seed was off court in less than an hour, leaving the Centre Court stunned.
Richard Krajicek beat Pete Sampras 7-5 7-6 (7/3) 6-4, Wimbledon quarter-final, 1996
Given Roger Federer's recent exploits, it's often easy to forget that Sampras was even more dominant at the All England Club in his day. He won there seven out of eight years from 1993-2000 but 1996 was the one that got away. Again, few saw it coming, Dutchman Krajicek having barely been talked about in the run-up to the match. But he served incredibly and Sampras, for once, had no answers, losing in straight sets. Sampras would also suffer shock losses to Roger Federer (2001) and George Bastl (2002) but by then he was past his peak. This was the biggest upset Sampras was involved in.
Michael Chang beat Ivan Lendl 4-6 4-6 6-3 6-3 6-3, French Open 4th rd, 1989
A 17-year-old beating a world number one and three-time defending champion in a Grand Slam - now that has to make any shocks list. And it certainly does here. Not only does it register big on the shock-o-meter, but this clash also provides one of the game's most memorable moments. Cramping in the final set (he later revealed he was close to quitting), Chang served underarm to his opponent yet still won the point. It left Lendl fuming and he went on to lose the match. Chang, meanwhile, would go on to beat Stefan Edberg in another five-setter in the final. If you are too young to know of this or have just never seen it, the footage is not to be missed. Check it out on YouTube.
Marion Bartoli beat Justine Henin 1-6 7-5 6-1, Wimbledon semi-final, 2007
Henin lost just four matches in 2007 as she dominated the women's game in a manner which simply highlights the poor quality currently being served up by the class of 2009. But one of those four losses came in SW19 where Bartoli produced a stunning win. Needing the Wimbledon crown to complete the career Grand Slam, Henin appeared to have a great chance and most commentators were already looking forward to a showdown with Venus Williams the following day, even more so when she took the first set in just 22 minutes, her French foe looking totally outclassed. Henin also twice led by a break in the second set but Bartoli dug deep to somehow turn things around, her defence proving rock solid. This match spawned plenty of 'greatest shocks' sidebars in the following day's papers - and deservedly so.
Ivo Karlovic beat Lleyton Hewitt 1-6 7-6 (7/5) 6-3 6-4, Wimbledon 1st rd, 2003
Those of you who have watched Karlovic slam down the aces and Hewitt stumble around as an also-ran in recent years may not be convinced that this match should be registering on the shock list. Yet one statistic about it proves just why it's here: in losing Hewitt became the first - and still the only - defending Wimbledon champion of the Open era to lose in the firstround in SW19. At the time, Hewitt was world number two; Karlovic, playing in only his 11th match on the main tour, number 203. Enough said.
Lori McNeil beat Steffi Graf 7-5 7-6 (7/5), Wimbledon 1st rd, 1994
"It's not that big of an upset because of who I lost to," said Graf afterwards and indeed American McNeil was ranked 22nd at the time. But that is to forget just what a figure Graf was in the game at that stage. The Queen of Wimbledon arrived seeking a sixth title in SW19 but left as the first defending champion in the 108-year history of the women's singles to lose in the opening round. Perhaps distracted by several rain delays, Graf slumped to McNeil's attack-the-net game. Even as the match went into a second-set tie-break nearly all of those watching expected the German to pull through, but it was not to be.
Carlos Moya beat Boris Becker 5-7 7-6 (7/4) 3-6 6-1 6-4, Australian Open 1st rd, 1997
Moya went on to become world number one but rewind to Melbourne Park 1997 and he was little known. And what people did know wasn't good - he had just been thrashed by Tim Henman in Sydney, giving the young Briton his first ATP title. Becker was heading towards the end of his career yet such had been his resurgence in 1996 that he was being tipped by many to add another Grand Slam title to his CV. But it all went wrong in the very first round as the Melbourne heat claimed another victim. Becker led by two sets to one, but Moya stormed back to claim a win which sparked his run to the final. By winning, the Spaniard became the first man to knock out the defending champion in the opening round of a Grand Slam event in 20 years.
Gaston Gaudio beat Guillermo Coria 0-6 3-6 6-4 6-1 8-6, French Open final, 2004
This contest is probably the most amazing tennis match I've ever witnessed. Hot favourite Coria, the world's best claycourter at the time and the title jolly from the outset, was in utter command after losing just three games in establishing a two-set lead. But then the nerves kicked in. Sensing what he was about to achieve, his body failed him and he began to cramp so badly that he played the whole fourth set literally at walking pace. Yet still he managed to create two match points in the decider. Both were missed, however, and Gaudio was left to become a Grand Slam champion. He never got anywhere neat such heights again. Neither did Coria. In tears afterwards, his career never recovered from the most agonising of defeats.
My list is a selection of my most memorable shocks - not a top 10. However, if you have any upsets which aren't in my list, feel free to email them to us. Email your feedback to tennisfeedback@sportinglife.com.
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