The Sport Review: “Madrid Masters 2011: Murray out as Del Potro withdraws” plus 4 more

Madrid Masters 2011: Murray out as Del Potro withdraws
Alessandro Del Piero signs one-year extension at Juventus
Alastair Cook ‘honoured’ to be named England ODI captain
What did we learn from the four-part El Clásico series?
Madrid Masters 2011: Federer resists López onslaught

Madrid Masters 2011: Murray out as Del Potro withdraws

Posted: 05 May 2011 04:38 PM PDT

andy murray

Clearly there has not been enough excitement for tennis fans in Madrid this week.

Roger Federer facing a match point in a three-hour battle of wits in his opening match was not enough.

Eight of the 16 seeds beaten before round three was insufficient. And the home nation's 12 men reduced to just four by round three was too insignificant. More shocks were required and, ahead of the quarter-finals, they arrived.

The first—and the most disappointing for the fans—was the withdrawal of Juan Martín del Potro with injury before the day had started.

It was a shock because the Argentine had sustained the hip injury in his opening match against No13 seed, Mikhail Youzhny, but after extensive on-court treatment and a lost set, he had taken the third set and the match.

His success continued with a win over Marin Cilic for the loss of just three games in one hour, and all seemed well. His next match-up with Rafael Nadal was the talk of the airwaves.

Del Potro may have lost to Nadal at Indian Wells in the early stages of the Argentine's return to form, but in their three previous meetings, including the US Open in 2009, Del Potro was the victor. But the rematch will have to wait.

If the injury is slight, a rest ahead of the French Open may be priceless. Prior to Madrid, Del Potro had played more matches than any of the top six men and won two titles, the most recent in Estoril last week.

If the injury is serious, it will be a heavy blow indeed to the gentle giant from Tandil and to a tennis tour that anticipated his re-entry to the top 10 later this year.

For Nadal, a pass through the toughest opponent in his quarter to the semis without facing a seed must be the icing on the cake to the man who is already hot favourite for the Madrid title.

There looked to be another shock for Federer, too, when a second adversary from junior days, Xavier Malisse, took over where Feliciano López had left off. Both men burst from the blocks, but Federer got off to a quick lead, 3-0, as he had done against López. But Malisse quickly found his timing and began returning the Federer serve and forehands with interest to break back in the seventh game.

Federer looked on in bewilderment at some of the bullets fired past him but he responded in kind, finding more speed, a few drops shots and another break to serve out 6-4.

Again—just as López had done—Malisse attacked still more aggressively but Federer also kept upping the pace and variety. He snatched a break opportunity in the sixth game to go 4-2, only to find Malisse attacking his serve in return. It was an illusion, but the court appeared to be playing faster with every passing minute.

It took Federer an hour and 10 minutes to finally subdue Malisse, 6-3, but it was a high quality, high pace match that belied the very even stats: 19 winners versus 20, and 12 unforced errors versus 14.

Federer now faces Robin Soderling, whose one victory over the Swiss came at Roland Garros last year: He is a dangerous opponent on fast clay. However, the shock from the Swede has come off court, with the separation from his coach of only five months, Claudio Pistolesi. Already, though, Soderling's profile is showing Fredrik Rosengren—the man who formerly handled Mario Ancic—as his new coach.

A case of musical 'coaching' chairs or did the retirement of Ancic two months back open the way for the quick change? And will Rosengen be the key to a third successive Roland Garros final for Soderling?

For less shocking headlines, the media only has to turn to Novak Djokovic, though headlines stream from him at every turn.

In his latest match against No29 Guillermo Garcia-López, Djokovic lost just three games in 51 minutes, and in the process he equalled Ivan Lendl’s milepost of 29 successive wins at the start of a season. Only Bjorn Borg (33) and John McEnroe (42) have started a year better, and Djokovic is not beaten yet.

He does, though, now face one of the toughest clay court men in the draw in David Ferrer, who played like a man possessed against Sergiy Stakhovsky.

The Spaniard did not drop a single point on serve in the opening set and, although the Ukrainian put up a sterling fight in the second, only a charging bull could have stemmed the Ferrer drive as he powered through the second set tie-break, 7-3.

And so to the biggest shock of the day, the loss of Andy Murray to Thomaz Bellucci, a tall, left-handed, big hitter but a temperamental player. However, the combination of his favourite surface and the fast conditions of Madrid combined perfectly to give extra impetus to his powerful serve and forehand.

Murray had break point chances but failed in all three attempts while Bellucci converted all three of his. The Brazilian grew in confidence as he found the legs to pick up the Murray's drop shots and to stay with Murray in rallies.

There were interesting parallels with the Federer/Malisse match. In that, the superior seed stood his ground in the face of powerful serving and ground strokes and attacked from the baseline and the front of the court.

Murray, in contrast, adopted a defensive stance in the face of a similar bombardment, and spent more and more time three metres behind the baseline. Such tactics give an attacking opponent confidence, and the normally unpredictable Bellucci stayed consistent and focused for a deserved 6-4 6-2 win.

Murray, playing in his first tournament since injuring his wrist in Monte Carlo, expressed disappointment but not great concern. Clay is not his favourite surface and he is still finding his feet on the red stuff.

So next stop Rome, and hopes for a recovery of the form he showed against Nadal in Monte Carlo—before his elbow let him down.

Alessandro Del Piero signs one-year extension at Juventus

Posted: 05 May 2011 02:08 PM PDT

alessandro del piero

Veteran Italian forward Alessandro Del Piero has signed a one-year contract extension to keep him at Juventus until 2012.

His new deal will mean the 36-year-old Bianconeri captain will take his time at the Turin club into a 19th year, having joined Juve from Padova in 1993.

A Juventus statement read: “Juventus Football Club announces it has renewed the contract of Alessandro Del Piero. The new agreement signed today by club president Andrea Agnelli and the player is valid until June 30, 2012.”

Del Piero, who has made more than 660 appearances for the club and holds the club’s all-time goalscoring record with 283 goals, has netted seven times in Serie A this season.

The striker has enjoyed immense success in Turin, having won five Serie A titles, four Italian Supercups and one Champions League crown. He also won the 2006 World Cup with Italy.

Juventus currently lie in seventh place in Serie A this season, the same disappointing position they finished in last year.

Alastair Cook ‘honoured’ to be named England ODI captain

Posted: 05 May 2011 07:44 AM PDT

alastair cook

Alastair Cook has been named England's one-day international captain after Andrew Strauss’ resignation, while Stuart Broad has succeeded Paul Collingwood as Twenty20 skipper.

Despite being omitted from the recent World Cup, 26-year-old Essex batsman Cook takes over from Strauss, who will focus on his Test duties.

“It’s a huge honour to be asked to captain England,” Cook told a news conference at Lord’s on Thursday. “I’m quite inexperienced as a captain but I think that gives me a lot of room for improvement.

“I’m excited by the challenge of taking our 50-over cricket to new heights and I believe I can play an integral role with the bat as well as captain.

“I’ve worked hard on my limited overs cricket in recent times – I’ve never seen myself as a Test batsman exclusively and I know I have a lot to offer strategically and as a top order batsman in one-day cricket.

“I’m just really excited to see how the three of us, as captains in different forms, can work together to improve England in all form of the game.”

Strauss, meanwhile, said he was proud of his side’s achievements during his reign as ODI skipper but now wants to focus on his role in the Test arena.

“I’ve enjoyed my time as England one-day captain immensely and I’m extremely proud of the strides we’ve made in limited overs cricket over the past two years,” Strauss said.

“We still have a long way to go if we’re to achieve our goal of winning ICC global events and I feel now is the right time for me to step aside and ensure someone else takes up that challenge.”

He added: “Retiring from one-day cricket will also enable me to focus solely on the Test captaincy and our ongoing development in the Test arena as we also strive to be the top-ranked team in world cricket.”

Broad, 24, could not hide his delight at being named Twenty20 skipper, but coach Andy Flower admitted Collingwood, who led England to World Twenty20 glory only last year, was “hugely disappointed” to lose the captaincy.

“He’s very disappointed, as you would expect,” said Flower. “He’s been a very successful Twenty20 captain for us, and he’s been as outstanding member of the England side for a long time.

“I don’t think any side has ever had three separate captains before, so it’s covering new ground. But it is also an exciting time for us. We don’t know if it will be the most effective or efficient system but we’ll give it a try.”

Broad, whose first game will be on 25 June against Sri Lanka, added: “I’m hugely excited. I’m very focused on taking this role and putting everything into it and doing as much as I can.

“It’s my first ever captaincy role and I’m really looking forward to the opportunity.”

What did we learn from the four-part El Clásico series?

Posted: 05 May 2011 04:20 AM PDT

jose mourinho

So after 1-1, 1-0, 0-2 and 2-1, what did we learn from this dramatic series of El Clásicos?

1) Barcelona are the best team in the world

Real approached all four matches, particularly the first leg of the Champions League semi-final, in a defensive manner. By looking to contain the attacking threat of Lionel Messi and his colleagues, José Mourinho was admitting the superiority of Madrid’s opponents.

Barcelona did what was required without producing the glittering performance which saw them dismantle Real to the tune of five goals earlier in the season at Camp Nou.

But even the staunchest Barcelona detractors would be hard-pressed to deny the Catalan club the title of the world's finest club side.

2) José Mourinho is not so special in Madrid

Taking the job at the most successful and most political club in world football could prove a challenge too far for the 48-year-old.

Mourinho may have brought silverware thanks to his side’s first Copa del Rey triumph in 18 years, but his future in the Spanish capital remains far from certain, and his recent media outbursts have done little to help his case.

3) Uefa’s RESPECT campaign is yet hit to home

This El Clásico series highlighted an alarming disregard for match officials. German official Wolfgang Stark was continually hounded by both sets of players in the first leg of the European tie.

Mourinho then continued the antics in his post-match news conference. If a manager is unwilling to respect the decisions of officials then it is highly unlikely that his players will either.

4) Lionel Messi is the undisputed king of world football

In case we didn’t already know it, the Argentine confirmed his status as the best player around. Messi single-handedly rescued what was an otherwise dour Champions League semi-final first leg and sparkled throughout the four matches.

His movement for his first goal in the Champions League first leg was outstanding. He darted to the near post to meet Ibrahim Afellay's cross ahead of Sergio Ramos and diverted the ball past Iker Casillas.

And his second was simply divine. He evaded tackles from Xabi Alonso, Lassana Diarra, Raúl Albiol, Marcelo and Ramos as he weaved his way through Real's ailing defence and slotted a perfectly-angled finish past Casillas.

5) Barcelona’s theatrics threaten to undermine their success

Guardiola’s men could well be the best club side ever, but dramatics from the likes of Sergio Busquets, Pedro Rodríguez, Javier Mascherano and Dani Alves are tarnishing their reputation.

Football purists will struggle to comprehend the need for such talented individuals to undermine their quality through diving and the feigning of injuries. And sadly, the type of theatrics seen against Real Madrid appear to be a regular occurrence for the Catalan side.

Madrid Masters 2011: Federer resists López onslaught

Posted: 05 May 2011 02:51 AM PDT

Feliciano López

There were questions aplenty as the top four seeds made their first appearances at the Madrid Masters.

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal had contested the title in the last two Madrid finals. Would they meet—for the 24th time in their rivalry—in the semi-finals?

Could Federer, or anyone else, halt Nadal's match-winning streak on clay—34 and counting?

When would Novak Djokovic's unbeaten 2011 run—standing at 27 prior to Madrid—be halted?

And what about the fitness of 2008 winner, Andy Murray, back on court after missing Barcelona with an elbow injury?

By the end of the day, however, the questions were all about another man, a Spaniard who had spent much of the last nine years hovering between 25 and 40 in the rankings, who had caused many upsets in his career but who suffered from the blight of inconsistency: Feliciano López.

The arrival of a new coach in his box in 2009 had already wrought some new confidence in López. Last year, he won the Johannesburg title and beat Nadal on the grass of Queens.

This year, he took Djokovic to three sets both in Dubai and then in the final of Belgrade a few days ago. And he had, in Madrid, taken out the remarkable new talent, Milos Raonic, in a high-quality first-round match in three sets.

But few expected the display of tennis he served up to Federer.

The conditions on the Manolo Santana court, combined with the Madrid altitude, provide the kind of fast surface that suits both men. Federer is never happier than when in offensive mode and López is that rare thing, a Spanish serve-and-volley exponent—big, strong, left-handed.

So they started with all guns blazing. In the sixth game, for example, Federer gained a break point at 40-30 but had it snatched away by three successive López aces.

Federer finally broke through in the eighth game to go 5-3 and serve for the set. A López of old would have crumpled at such a moment with an over-anxious backhand or volley, but not this time. He went on the attack, rushed the net and converted a break point with relish.

With two strong service games to follow, they headed to a nail-biting tie-break.

In turn, each faced set points and in turn each produced aces to save them: Federer notched up 11 in this set alone. And so it continued to 13 points apiece, and Federer gained the first point against serve since the opening half dozen points: The set was his.

If the gripped audience thought they could settle back into their seats, they were soon forced to the very edge again.

The quality of the tennis continued to rise, with the winners count by the midway stage of the set reaching 37 for Federer and 27 for López, greatly outnumbering the unforced error count.

The two intensely-focused 29-year-olds drew on reservoirs of experience and skill to probe and test at every turn. Aces powered down, volleys found their marks—20 out of 24 by the end of this set from Federer—and their single-handed backhands whipped from corner to corner.

Then at 4-5, Federer missed an easy overhead, hit a forehand long and suddenly had a set point against him. López went for it but missed, and the set headed to another tie-breaker. This one, though, was all López.

It was as though the Magic Box had waved its wand over his racket, as he fired winner after winner to go 5-0 up: Federer never saw a ball. The crowd could barely contain their joy as López sealed the set for the loss of just one point. López had, indeed, won 100 percent of points on his first serve throughout the set.

Federer continued to look composed as they headed into set three. Perhaps he thought López would begin to run out of steam as two hours clicked over.

For López was playing his 11th match in a fortnight, a run that comprised 24 sets, seven of them tie-breakers. He had now played two more sets, also tie-breakers. However, Federer was soon disabused. In the sixth game, he had four break point chances but López continued to deliver—10 aces in this final set.

So, inevitably, they headed to 6-6. Federer had held his serve the more securely throughout the set, yet it was López who leapt to a 5-2 lead with a sequence of audacious winners from backhand, forehand and serve.

This would surely be López's moment in a Spanish spotlight so often shone on Nadal or on López's hitting partner, Fernando Verdasco, who was living every point with his friend from the sidelines.

But one crucial point determined the result, a missed overhead by López—the ball lost in the floodlights. It would have brought up four match points, but all he could do was smile in disbelief.

Federer drew level, only to concede a match point with a backhand error. He saved it with his 25th ace of the match—the most aces he has hit on clay or in any non-Grand Slam event—and took the set, 9-7.

The stats told the story of the match and just how close it had been. Both men averaged almost 70 percent on first serves, including 48 aces: López hit just one double fault. They managed only five and six break points each and were able to convert only one apiece—in 39 games.

Yet even in this tense cauldron, there was sportsmanship to relish: marks scuffed out when a line call was wrong; hands lifted in thanks or apology; each waiting for the other at changes of end; smiles at errors and winners alike.

It was a match that made the day's other encounters pale into insignificance: Djokovic and Nadal did continue their unbroken runs; Murray did overcome Simon; Robin Soderling and Tomas Berdych did advance as their seedings demanded.

But the man of the day—with due credit to the quality and motivation of Federer—was López. He has surely never played better or with greater self-belief, and though the result will be a hard one to take, it suggests another late arrival at the top table by a man still passionate about his tennis in his 30th year.