Amelie Mauresmo: La campionessa uscente è davvero uscita.

MELBOURNE _ Dicono che un buon giornalista spesso lo si individui già dall’incipit. Altrimenti detto, per i non latinisti (ed estimatori di Lotito, presidente laziale mai avaro di citazioni) il “comincio”. Per farne uno buono _ prima regola _ dovresti sapere da dove partire, su che cosa puntare (oltre a saper scrivere bene, ovviamente). Io non sono un buon giornalista, allora, perché in questa domenica australiana, che è poi la vostra notte fra sabato e domenica, ne sono successe talmente tante che non saprei da dove cominciare.
Dalle notizie? Dalla rivoluzione nel torneo femminile di solito così rispettoso delle gerarchie? In attesa del gran match serale Federer-Djokovic, comincerei dalla Mauresmo ko con la Safarova, per proseguire con la Sharapova n.1 del mondo garantita a fine torneo, poi le russe in crisi con Dementieva, Kuznetsova e Safina sbattute fuori rispettivamente da Vaidisova, Peer e Li Na (brutta notizia per le nostre di Fed Cup le vittorie delle cinesi vero?Ma ve ne dò una buona: Schiavone e Schnyder hanno vinto contro Na Li e Shuai Peng 6-4,6-4 e affronterano al terzo turno Raymond-Stosur), cechi invece in festa _come avrebbero celebrato questa diversità di sensazioni ai tempi dell’invasione dei carri armati nel ’68 e del sacrificio di Jan Palach! _ perché oltre a Vaidisova e Safarova ha vinto anche Berdych, fidanzato da quattro anni di Lucia Safarova con la quale è cresciuto insieme in quel di Prostejov…
Parentesi: ho telefonato a papà Williams, che io so rintracciare a differenza di sua figlia Serena, proponendogli di organizzare a Miami una bella sfida di doppio misto, Safarova-Berdych vs Hingis-Stepanek. Mi ha risposto però che avrebbe più successo a Praga, dove lui non è così noto e non avrebbe problemi legali…
Altre notizie:Roddick, alla faccia delle mie previsioni estive, dacchè ha Connors al suo fianco è un altro. Jimbo è arrivato fin qui, una settimana dopo il funerale di mamma Gloria. Chi l’avrebbe mai detto? E Andy tira il rovescio come se si fosse reincarnato in Jimbo: rivedere come ha trasformato il matchpoint con un bimane lungolinea contro Ancic per credere. E gli ho visto fare anche dei gran rovesci incrociati. Detto questo Ancic, che l’ha trascinato al quinto set giocando un quarto da favola, gli ha regalato sul 2 pari un game con quattro errori (fra cui due volee abbastanza banali) che non dimenticherà facilmente.

l’accoppiata Roddick-Connors funziona sempre più

Roddick, magistralmente intervistato da un Courier mai banale sul campo, ha garantito che per aver ospitato Mardy Fish a casa sua quand’era ragazzino (e suo miglior amico) il contratto…d’affitto prevedesse la resa dello stesso Fish in ogni match contro di lui. Fish che ,tra parentesi,era stato l’unico qualche anno fa a strappare un set in Church Road a Federer re di Wimbledon …ha fatto fuori Ferrer. Sapete chi allena Fish? Todd Martin, non uno stupido qualunque. Anzi uno dei giocatori che (salvo che a Milwaukee contro Sanguinetti) è sempre stato uno dei più intelligenti del circuito (anche se non un cuor di leone, come ben ricorda Malivai Washington a Wimbledon ’96).
Ma se sono tante le notizie i commenti li faccio subito o dopo? Come viene viene. In ordine cronologico, perché no? La Mauresmo ha beccato una stesa dalla Safarova (magari chi ha letto una mia risposta ai vostri commenti nel precedente blog l’ha già visto, lì parlo anche dei fidanzatini vittoriosi all’unisono, Safarova e Berdych). Big upset, dicono qui. Amelie ha giocato di peste, la Safarova _ dimenticati i malanni che l’hanno angosciata per un anno, da Gold Coast in poi, coscia, spalla, un anno maledetto per lei il 2006, da n.26 a n.70 _ molto bene. La Mauresmo nl perdere dalle ceche è recidiva: a Parigi eracaduta davanti alla Vaidisova. Si sarà consolata Francesca Schiavone: delle prime 14 teste di serie lei era la sola ad aver perso da un’outsider. A meno che voi consideraste Serena Williams, vittoriosa su Nadia Petrova n.5 l’altro giorno (e su Jelena Jankovic poco fa) un’outsider…Adesso aver perso dalla Safarova non è più un’ignominia.
Semmai, è un peccato. Perché questa Mauresmo, e me lo sentivo, non era imbattibile e noi italiani quando ci potrebbe essere un corridoio buono sbattiamo sempre il naso in una porta precedente. L’esempio che più mi torna in mente? Volandri che si fa male alla mano e perde da Acasuso l’anno che Puerta arriva in finale a Parigi (il Puerta che Volandri aveva battuto a Montecarlo).

Maria è sicura di diventare n.1 del mondo alla fine del torneo

Sharapova n.1? Tutte giocano per lei, le russe che perdono, la Mauresmo che se la fa sotto. Colpa anche del marito, antipatico come pochi, di Justine Henin. Il divorzio ormai è ufficiale, spero che a nessun altra giocatrice verrà più dn mente di aggiungere il nome del marito al proprio (Silvia Farina e Francesco Elia mi scusino, niente di personale, capisco che uno lo fa per amore…). L’ha sempre detto Rino, ma per motivi egoistici: gli scocciava dover cambiare i nomi nei suoi libri statistici (e a volte faceva fatica a individuare le stesse giocatrici che magari avevano avuto tre mariti). Chris Evert, Chris Lloyd, Chris Mills (oggi Chris Norman…). Ora ci siamo finalmente liberati anche noi di quell’Hardenne che io peraltro mi sono sempre rifiutato di scrivere. Ma, tornando alla Sharapova, se Justine fosse venuta qui magari l’attacco di Maria sarebbe stato respinto. A questo punto spero sinceramente che Maria vinca il torneo. Non c’è niente che mi dia più fastidio di quando un giocatore diventa n.1 del mondo all’indomani di un torneo perduto. Eppure è successo tante volte…scommetto che qualche attento lettore di questo blog ci ricorderà qualche esempio. Così al volo ricordo Sampras che dominò Agassi a Wimbledon per esserne scavalcato l’indomani nel ranking Atp.
Intanto Serena ha strapazzato anche la Jankovic. Sarà anche cicciona, però che botte che tira. E le altre sembrano impaurite come un tempo. Jelena oggi era quantomeno intimidita, cinque games non sono davvero molti.
Un mio amico e collega, che di solito scommette sempre sugli underdogs (e spesso perde…) ha investito 100 dollari su Serena, ne ha presi 265 (guadagno netto 165). Non posso fare il nome, altrimenti qui (dove il rispetto delle regole è sacro) lo buttano fuori. I giornalisti non potrebbero scommettere. Era una quota pazzesca, e beato lui che se ne è accorto. Per domani ce n’è un’altra, ma non vi dico quale, sennò scommettete tutti e mi alterate le quote!
Intanto, contro le previsioni dei bookmakers e alla faccia della supposta siccità, qui ha cominciato a piovere quasi ogni giorno. Chi ha fatto la danza della pioggia? Il torneo è diventato indoor. Così il nostro junior Lopez che stava perdendo 3-2 con tal Lym non sono riuscito a vederlo e a questo punto non lo vedrò perché Gasquet ha beccato due set a zero con quel top-ten che io consideravo uno dei più deboli di sempre (Robredo…) ma se continua così mi costringerà a ricredermi (e dà ragione a Riccardo Bisti che nel suo commento al post che parla dei 4 obiettivi di Piatti sottolinea le differenze abissali nei risultati di Robredo appetto a quelle di Volandri). Gasquet ha gran talento, ma per qualche verso è immaturo…sembra sempre lì lì per esplodere e poi, flop. Ehi, ma qui non manca solo l’incipit, manca anche il finale… mica ci posso mettere Roberta Vinci e Tathiana Garbin, sono state fermate dalle cinesi di Taipei Chan/Chuang con il punteggio di 46 76(5) 62? Meno male che giochiamo contro la Cina Popolare e non quella “fuorilegge” (per la Cina Popolare) di Taiwan….
L’intervista di Amelie Mauresmo, Andy Roddick e Lucia Safarova ( e fatemi sapere se le interviste le volete o no; perchè io ve le metto se vi è comodo, altrimenti se le trovate altrove non lo faccio…ok?)
L. SAFAROVA/A. Mauresmo.

6 4, 6 3

An interview with:

AMÉLIE MAURESMO

Q. How disappointed are you now after some hours?
AMÉLIE MAURESMO: Well, the disappointment is here. I’m just, you know, trying to analyze a little bit, you know, the way I played not only today but also throughout the tournament. I didn’t really feel that I was really getting too into the tournament just the way I wish I would.
But, yeah, disappointed. What else can you say.

Q. Did her aggressiveness surprise you at all?
AMÉLIE MAURESMO: Well, you I knew that because we talked with my coach a little bit before, even though I never seen her play. He saw her play a couple times. So I knew that she has this type of game. You know, being aggressive, taking the opportunities, and she actually made a very good match with not too many unforced errors.

Q. In Sydney you spoke about some parts of your game that you weren’t really happy with, and I think one was shot selection.
AMÉLIE MAURESMO: Yeah.

Q. Was that present today and also the previous matches?
AMÉLIE MAURESMO: Yeah. Well, not only the shot selection, but also the deepness of my shots. And really I was not effective enough on every shot I was playing to that hope I would have some opportunities to get in, to hope that I would have some opportunities to really take control of the point and of the match. Even though I was up at the beginning, I really didn’t think I was playing that great.

Q. Once you lost your game, you didn’t seem able to get it back.
AMÉLIE MAURESMO: You mean

Q. Once you lost momentum and you weren’t playing confidently, it didn’t return at any stage during the rest of the match?
AMÉLIE MAURESMO: No. There was not a moment after when I could feel that it was coming back or I could feel that, you know, my shots were coming back. It was so frustrating.

Q. Was there a time in the game when you’re 4 1 up. Did you was there a danger that you were closing there or
AMÉLIE MAURESMO: No, never.

Q. Okay.
AMÉLIE MAURESMO: Because as I said, I didn’t feel in that moment that I was playing great, you know. I was being careful.

Q. What does this do your confidence? Does it knock it at all? Are you used to it after so many years an tour?
AMÉLIE MAURESMO: Yeah. I’m not completely down or whatever. I’m just disappointed. As I said, it’s always disappointing to go out of any tournament, even more in a Grand Slam. But I am going to go back on the court, go back to work, and that’s obviously what I need.

Q. Is it like kind an a Czech complex? Like you lost to another Czech girl at Roland Garros.
AMÉLIE MAURESMO: We’ll see.

Q. Is it more difficult to defend a Grand Slam title than to try to win it the first time?
AMÉLIE MAURESMO: No, I don’t think so.
aNDY rODDICK
ANDY RODDICK

THE MODERATOR: First question, please.

Q. Five set rollercoaster. How would you assess the match?
ANDY RODDICK: I thought it was a pretty high level by both of us. If you look at the stats, I think I was 52 winners and 19 errors; he was 60 winners and 33 errors or something. Both had pretty high first serve percentages. I’ve played Mario I think five times now, and that’s definitely the best he’s played against me.

Q. Talk about the fifth set. Gave a semi gift game there, but you hung tough.
ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, you know, I think the biggest thing is I didn’t get aced three times that game. I was able to at least get in the points and have a chance at him making an error. Just put the ball in the court, that helped. He missed a couple of volleys maybe he wouldn’t normally miss.
I was happy to put those returns in and at least make him work for it.

Q. You showed great patience. Even when you lost the fourth, a break back. Matter of taking those opportunities against him, given how well he was serving?
ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, yeah, for sure. I think in the first game of the fourth, I could have probably really put some pressure on him, put the clamps down, if I would have gotten a break there.
When I got broken in the fourth set to lose it, I feel like he beat me in that game. I feel like he came up with the goods. There’s only so much you can do there. I don’t know if there’s a time when I was out there that I felt like I wasn’t hitting the ball that well. It’s a little easier to take the guy playing well and winning points as opposed to kind of blowing them out there.
All in all, I thought it was a pretty good match.

Q. You and Mardy go back a long ways, but has taken you a while to play a match at this stage of a major.
ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, we haven’t played in a major, but we played in the finals of a Masters Series event, which is pretty big. You know, I think it’s always a little bit weird when we play each other just ’cause of our history. In high school, he was four steps from the door of my room, the door of his room. It’s always a little weird.
But I think we’re both professional enough to know that when we get out there, we both want to win real bad.

Q. Lendl tried to go from the baseline to the net. He was not able to do it. You seem to be making that transition pretty darn well. Am I accurate or inaccurate?
ANDY RODDICK: I mean, that’s your opinion on Lendl. He won eight Slams from the back. He was doing just fine.
I don’t know. I’m trying. I feel like I’m improving in that aspect. Today I don’t know how big a part of it was. I felt like I was hitting the ball through the court pretty good and he wasn’t giving me a whole lot of short balls to play with. It’s definitely something I feel like I can go to a little bit more if Plan A is not working.
It’s just a process of trying to improve.

Q. How much better were you today than when you played Safin?
ANDY RODDICK: I’m not sure. It’s a different sort of match. I think the Safin match was probably a little bit more physical from the standpoint of rallying. The second set I played against Marat, I probably wasn’t real happy with. But the fourth set I felt like I played some of my best tennis against Marat.
It’s tough to compare the two. I’m just happy to be through ’cause it’s not an easy third and fourth round draw.

Q. Was that as tough of a first week as you’ve had at a major?
ANDY RODDICK: No. I’ve lost in the first week of a major before (laughter).

Q. But when you’ve come through, quality of opponents. Dicey first round or two.
ANDY RODDICK: Maybe. I’m not thinking of one off the top of my head that was tougher. I was down two sets and a break to Youzhny here a couple years ago in the fourth round. That was tough, as far as just every match kind of being tough. Even the one I won in straight sets, I thought Gicquel played pretty good.

Q. How are you physically after a couple of big matches?
ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, I feel fine. I felt real good out there. Probably better than the I did the other night against Marat.

Q. Are there parts of your game improving to the point where opponents might find those parts of your game unfamiliar now?
ANDY RODDICK: I don’t know. That’s a question you’d probably have to ask them. I definitely feel a lot more comfortable with the basic strategy that was probably implemented by most players against me. Maybe isn’t as easy to execute now. So that’s a good thing.
I’m not sure. I think that’s a question for somebody else.

Q. At what stage do you give yourself the luxury of saying you’re in pretty good form so far this year, look down the tournament?
ANDY RODDICK: It’s probably not going to happen, to be honest. The first part, I’ve been in pretty good form with the lead up and now this event. But right now I’m worried about Mardy. It’s not going to get past that, unless it actually is.

Q. Mardy seemed to say he thinks what separates you two is your hunger and intensity. Can you talk about what you think has separated you two.
ANDY RODDICK: I don’t know. I’ve definitely noticed a change in Mardy since he’s come back from his injury. I think this is just kind this isn’t a knock on him, but I’ve noticed him kind of gain a sense of professionalism. He was with him in Tampa. He’s really working really hard now. I think maybe it gave him a new lease on his career, you know, having it taken away for a little while.
As a friend, I guess that’s good to see. Maybe he could forget about it for one day (laughter).

Q. Is Jimmy the sort of coach that tries to tweak stuff mid tournament? Are you working on anything in particular at the moment or does he let you go through?
ANDY RODDICK: I mean, it depends. He’s going to tell me something if he thinks I’m not doing something right. He’s not one who is going to take me out for two hours and kill me on the practice court during a Slam. If you’re already in a Slam, something needs a major overhaul, I’m afraid it’s a little bit too late.
But definitely little hints here and there during a warmup, during a day off. We’ll work on it a little bit. Or if he wants to work on something, we’ll take five minutes at the end of practice, kind of hit a couple. He’s not going to kill me after a tough four setter and five setter.

Q. Lot he had to tell you after the Safin match about mistakes you made or what?
ANDY RODDICK: I mean, I don’t know how to define “a lot.” I think it was about normal. He’s pretty concise. His isn’t really his style isn’t really like sitting down for a half hour after a match and dissecting each point. He kind of gets his point across over a two day span, kind of throw it out here and there. As you’re maybe walking to dinner or something, he’ll kind of throw something out there.
He’s not really big on kind of like the War Room type, half hour, sit down, heart to heart type thing.

Q. Not like Brad?
ANDY RODDICK: I don’t know.

Q. Can you be precise what he said after the Safin match?
ANDY RODDICK: Mostly along the lines of, Well done. Well, no. He kind of wants I wasn’t making many forehands. He wanted to know what I did to correct it, share that with each other in the future. He kind of harped on the fact that I kind of stepped it up in the third and fourth sets, but that’s the way I need to start matches. That was kind of his biggest thing.

Q. Mardy said that, like brothers, you’ve had some arguments over the years. What is it like on court when you play him? Temperatures get hot?
ANDY RODDICK: We have. It’s true. When you’re around someone that much in a competitive environment, you have two guys who are pretty outgoing, forthright, we’ve gotten in each other’s faces numerous times, especially when we were younger. But it is like that. If we do, two days later we’ll be fine. We do kind of have that sort of relationship.
I think in a match like this, I think there’s something bigger. I wouldn’t really expect anything. I think we’re both just looking forward to it.
Lucia Safarova

L. SAFAROVA/A. Mauresmo

6 4, 6 3

An interview with:

LUCIE SAFAROVA

THE MODERATOR: First question, please.

Q. What was the best part of your game today?
LUCIE SAFAROVA: Best part? Uhm, I think the end of the first set and the beginning of the second set did I really believed in myself. So I try to do I try to pushing her, make winners.

Q. Did you feel any nerves at all?
LUCIE SAFAROVA: Maybe a little bit in the beginning because I didn’t know what to expect. I never played against her. Yeah, first time in the Rod Laver Arena. So I was like little bit like not feeling so well on the court. But then it was getting better and better.

Q. What was it like when you walked out there, defending champion, Rod Laver Arena, crowd full of people?
LUCIE SAFAROVA: It was like for me amazing. Even the warmup in the morning on such a big court.
The day that I won against Yakimova, I was still like really excited about it to go. When I saw it’s Rod Laver, it’s first match, I was like, Yeah. Well, I was so looking forward. I really wanted to play there.

Q. What was your match plan before you went out?
LUCIE SAFAROVA: My plan was like really concentrate on my game and try to do best what I can there. First I was thinking that I should not so hurry on the court, that I have to look how it will go. Then when I was 1 4 down, I was thinking like I should start to like play more power tennis. It was going well, so…

Q. Was it aggression that won it for you?
LUCIE SAFAROVA: I was trying to be more aggressive, yeah. When I was playing against big player before, I was still like very hurrying too much on the court and doing so many mistakes. So I wanted to be better now.
It was going well.

Q. Was it the end of ‘05, you won in the Gold Coast?
LUCIE SAFAROVA: Yes.

Q. At that point you looked like you were going to make a big jump. Last year it didn’t really happen. What has changed?
LUCIE SAFAROVA: I was injured after Gold Coast with a leg. Then when I lost here last year first round I had problems with my shoulder. It was like really didn’t getting better any.
I had this problem through all the tournaments. It was still paining. Then I didn’t play Wimbledon. It was still like up and down. I was still injured, not injured, don’t really have a chance to practice and prepare for the tournaments.
Then I lost the confidence on the court. It wasn’t going well, the season, for me. So in the end of the season, I was like really I wasn’t playing for like one month, just rest. Then I started to do exercising, really preparation, conditionally and tennis as well.
So I was thinking that really I’m really good prepared for the new season, which gives me a little bit like support to begin it.
In the Hopman Cup, I had great chances to play there great matches. Yeah, I feel that I start really well.

Q. Did the win against Schiavone help you a lot the other day, because she’s a top player, or not?
LUCIE SAFAROVA: Yeah, of course. I think the toughest match for me, for my psyche, was the first round, because that’s the toughest match always on the Grand Slams.
When I won against Schiavone, of course she was seeded. Yeah, it helped me. Every match what you win helps you.

Q. When did you hurt your leg?
LUCIE SAFAROVA: It was against Medina in Hopman Cup. I get a little bit strain. Well, since then I’m taping it. It’s not that bad. I don’t feel any pain now. But I still want to be sure to don’t injure it again.

Q. What does beating the defending champion here at a Grand Slam tell you about your game, about where you are?
LUCIE SAFAROVA: Well, I’m exciting about it. I’m so happy to win. Still like one side I can’t believe it I did it. It’s just great, yeah.

Q. Going in, did you think it would pan out how it did? Pretty convincing in the end, how you won.
LUCIE SAFAROVA: Yeah, I know if the match will be going longer and longer, it will not be advantage for me, but for her, because she’s more experienced. So I really like tried to concentrate on each point that I could make, to win the match in two sets.
So, yeah, it goes well.

Q. Did you sense Amélie’s frustration or did you continue to focus with your own game?
LUCIE SAFAROVA: I was trying to focus just on my game. But that’s normal. If one player is up, the other one is down. I just really try to concentrate on my game, to do the thing well what I should, try to like make the points alone. Don’t wait for her mistake.

Q. Did you start to play tennis because of something or somebody in your family?
LUCIE SAFAROVA: My sister already played tennis. But she start tennis very late, like with 11 years. My father was like really excited about tennis, so he wanted me that I will be the better one. He start with me already with like three years. I was going with my sister on the tournaments.
Yeah, he helped me when I was small. Until 10 years I was practicing with him. He really wanted that I be the top player, yeah.

Q. Did you feel going in against Mauresmo if you came out aggressively you could unsettle her, you could make her mentally fragile if you came out and hit hard early on?
LUCIE SAFAROVA: I don’t understand what you mean.

Q. Was it part of your game plan to come out really hard against Mauresmo and unbalance her mentally, get her on the back foot mentally early on in the game?
LUCIE SAFAROVA: Well, yeah, I was trying to like make the points, to pushing her because if I was just playing with and don’t really hard hit the ball, I knew that she will win the point, so yeah.

Q. Your match finished in almost the same minute as Tomas. Have you caught up with him?
LUCIE SAFAROVA: Yeah, I heard about it. That’s amazing we finish in the same time. I saw him. We are both really happy. Before the Open, we was like, yeah, speak together. We was like, Okay, now together we can do it.
I was starting the matches, and he was following the next day. Now he has match tomorrow. I hope he will do well.

Q. When did you meet? How long ago?
LUCIE SAFAROVA: We grow up together in the same club in Prostejov. We practicing still there. So since small kids we know each other.

Q. How long have you been boyfriend and girlfriend?
LUCIE SAFAROVA: Four years.

Q. Any wedding plans?
LUCIE SAFAROVA: Not yet. We are still too young.

Q. Being together so long, do you have a profile in the Czech Republic as boyfriend and girlfriend?
LUCIE SAFAROVA: Yeah, I think that everybody knows.

Q. Is tennis big in your home country?
LUCIE SAFAROVA: I think the biggest sport is ice hockey or football, then it’s tennis.

Q. You two are known as tennis players?
LUCIE SAFAROVA: Yeah, I think.

Q. How do you think this will be received at home?
LUCIE SAFAROVA: I will see.

Questo articolo è stato pubblicato Domenica, 21 Gennaio 2007 alle 09:40 e classificato in Australian Open, Grand Slam, Interviste. Puoi seguire i commenti a questo articolo tramite il feed RSS 2.0. Puoi inviare un commento.