Notes from the Nasdaq
The American hard court mini-season sputtered to an anticlimactic conclusion in Miami this weekend. A pair of one-sided finals crowned Serena Williams and Andy Roddick as Nasdaq-100 Open champions. Before the players move on the next stage of the season, featuring the Davis Cup quarterfinals and the clay court season, we reflect on two of the major stories that emerged from Miami: Serena Williams?s successful comeback to tennis, and another impressive run by the surprising Vince Spadea.
Serena shines over shaky field
Many observers seemed surprised by the excellent form that Serena showed in Miami. Serena was coming back from an eight-month layoff caused by what appear to be a number of factors (knee surgery, the tragic murder of her-half sister, acting gigs?). But Williams seemed unaffected by the lengthy layoff in winning the title.
We were not too surprised. Serena has in the past shown a remarkable ability to return from periods of inactivity displaying few signs of rust. Still, winning her first tournament since last year?s Wimbledon was an impressive achievement by the former tour dominator whom many still consider the de facto number one.
By cruising to the Miami title, did Williams give, as Clive White claimed in the Daily Telegraph, ?a chilling confirmation to those who seek to replace her at the top of her sport that she remains Simply the Best?? We may have to wait another week to get a better idea.
It bears mentioning that the field in Miami -- like the draw at the Tier I event that immediately preceded it, Indian Wells -- was disappointingly weak. The top five according to the rankings were all absent, either because of injury (Kim Clijsters, Amélie Mauresmo and Anastasia Myskina) or choice (Justine Henin-Hardenne and Lindsay Davenport).
Furthermore, three players who were in Serena?s half of the draw and would figure to give Serena a tough match -- Jennifer Capriati, Vera Zvonareva and Svetlana Kuznetsova -- were early round upset victims. Williams did not have to play a top-20 player until her final against #8 Elena Dementieva, who produced a performance worthy of #800 in her 6-1, 6-1 loss to Serena.
Next week, three of the top four women (#1 Henin, #3 Mauresmo and #4 Davenport), plus Serena, are slated to play at the first important clay court event of the season, on Amelia Island in Florida. If the seedings hold up, we could see a Williams-Davenport semifinal, and a final between Williams and Mauresmo? or, the one we all want to see, Williams against Henin.
Hopefully business is finally about to pick up on the women?s tour.
A Hymn to Vince
The men?s final also lacked in drama, as a back injury suffered by Guillermo Coria in the first set led to a 6-7 (2), 6-3, 6-1, ret. triumph for Andy Roddick. With all apologies to the Miami finalists, we thought the most intriguing story of the fortnight revolved around one of the fallen semifinalists, Vince Spadea.
Spadea?s story is well known. A top-20 player in 1999, Vince set a record with 21 consecutive losses in 2000, a streak that sent his ranking plunging out of the top 200. He was forced to make the long climb back up the rankings by playing on the unglamorous Challenger circuit. Spadea?s voyage culminated in Scottsdale last month with his first ATP title, at the advanced age of 29.
Immediately after Scottsdale, Spadea competed in Indian Wells. He lost in the third round, but it took an excellent performance by the skilled French attacker Nicolas Escudé to subdue Spadea, 3-6 6-4 7-6(5). The Floridian then headed to his home state, determined not only to resume his winning ways in Miami, but also to bring his name into the forefront of candidates for the #2 singles spot in the United States Davis Cup squad.
Spadea resumed his fine play in Miami, marching to the semifinals. Four of his five wins went the three-set distance, including a 7-6(7), 6-7(4), 6-4 thriller over Australian Open runner-up Marat Safin. In the semis, Spadea?s task was to defeat another former number one, Roddick, whom he had upset in his run to the Scottsdale title. An apparently fatigued Spadea was off form and failed to deal with a determined and powerful Roddick?s bid for revenge, falling 6-1, 6-3 to the eventual champion.
Spadea?s previous Davis Cup experience had been limited to a loss to Juan Carlos Ferrero in a ?dead rubber? against Spain in 2000. But by last Monday, when captain Patrick McEnroe was scheduled to announce the team?s makeup for the upcoming quarterfinal tie against Sweden, the veteran had clearly established himself as both a logical and a sentimental choice for selection.
Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe, however, had no room for sentiment, and opted for Mardy Fish over Spadea. This, despite the fact that Fish lost his first-up match in Miami to unheralded French qualifier Julien Benneteau, 6-4, 6-4.
McEnroe, while admitting that ?Vince has had an incredible couple of weeks and made it very difficult for me,? pointed to three reasons to explain his decision to pass over the rampant Spadea. First, taking the longer view, McEnroe invoked Fish?s superior ranking. ?Mardy has had the best results of anybody by far in the past year, and particularly in the past six months.? Second, Fish boasts a 6-1 win-loss record against the members of the Swedish squad (make that now 4-0, since Joachim Johansson, who def
eated Fish in the Memphis semifinals this year, will not play because of a shoulder injury). Third, Fish?s youth. ?Younger legs are something you can?t ignore.?
Spadea masked his disappointement well, saying, "I wasn't expecting him to put me on the team so it wasn't a huge drop-off from what I was perceiving.? But he couldn?t resist a wry comment on what might be called McEnroe?s age discrimination. "If Andre (Agassi) wanted to play, I don't think he would have been emphasizing the word 'young' so much."
We hope the valiant Vince continues his fine play and, if nothing else, forces McEnroe?s hand again when the next selection comes around.