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by Philipina A. Marcelo
So, it's that time of year... when yellow green balls bouncing on powdery red clay is a common sight. And, yeah, there's one particular personality out there who's been turning appreciative heads... and turning tennis history books to new pages.
I know I have been footie-ing a lot lately... but, of course, I'm paying attention! Why wouldn't I? Afterall, it's tennis... and "clay" involves Barcelona, Madrid... and Rome! Not to mention Monte Carlo...
oh, lo'! And then later, the City of Lights - hmmm, Paris! :) Never mind that Roger Federer could only muster getting mostly into the quarter-finals (or semi-finals on good times) of the tournaments these days (I still LOVE him!), and that Rafael Nadal - the reigning No.1 in the World - are "friendly friends" with the footie world's Ronaldo... of the Cristiano kind! Ugh, por favor, Rafa... por qué??? Never mind also that Andy Murray remains to be that talented lad that goes hot and cold on court until now. I guess it's alright, 'cause The Djoker is on a 37 unbeaten run in 2011 so far! Putting away the King of Clay himself, Rafa Nadal, in Madrid two weekends ago and in Rome last weekend! And, unlike most of those times when he gets "beaten", the King of Clay has not been "sick" or "slightly sick", injured, or "suffering from something". Oh, well... still, The Djoker is on a fine run! :)
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The Djoker: An impending legend... of the hybrid kind
While he's been around for a little bit, acting like a "little pebble" in
the then World #1 Roger Federer's tennis shoes, and a constant nuisance to the then perennial #2 in the World, Rafael Nadal, I've always liked Novak Djokovic as this happy-go-lucky talented teenager who was always fun to watch, bouncing about and poking here and there at the Federer-Nadal tennis bubble. And then, he started making waves as the "Tennis Star of Tomorrow" in many tennis fans' books along with two other talented compatriots, Elena Yankovic and Ana Ivanovic, who both reached #1 in the Women's rankings.I remember... the first time I saw Djokovic beat Roger Federer at the 2007 Rogers Cup final in Montreal, after beating Rafa Nadal in the semi-final, I was convinced then that he was the "rightful" heir to the then illustrious "RF Crown of Tennis Greatness" in the following decade. Why? First of all, he was the
first person to do what was perceived to be an impossibility, a tennis sacrilege almost, in 2007: beat Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in the same tournament! Second, while he didn't have RF's mesmerizing lyrical moves and sublime genius on court - yet - that time, he moved with grace and showed the ability and unperturbed confidence to rise to the occasion with brilliant shots when the going got tough... and the sense of humor to laugh at himself when he failed. Third, he had some of Rafa Nadal's super-athletic glides and blinding speed but used them with more subtlety and less noise... and minus the distracting over-flambouyant point celebrations, too, that sometimes made the tennis court felt like a streetfighters' arena rather than a place for gentlemen. If anything, he celebrated with a lot of spirit and a great amount of humor... which was to become his mark as he carved his name in the tennis stone as a top player in his own right.And so, some RF + some Rafa Nadal = The Djoker seemed to have been an appropriate representation of the then 20-year old Serb phenomenon. The equation seemed to work because he cancelled out both men's prowess on court in Montreal. When he played RF, he played like Rafa + some Djoker... and it resulted to a win. When he played Rafa, he played like RF + Djoker... and
it resulted to a win, too. When he played "others", he played some RF + some Rafa + a lot of Djoker. When he figured that out, surely he became a force to reckon with. Observers knew then that it would only be a matter of "fine tuning", and his shotmaking repertoire will be as lethal as no RF and no Rafa Nadal would be enough to dismantle. After the Montreal breakthrough, The Djoker then went on to challenge RF in the final of the 2007 US Open. His limited experience proved no match to RF's though, losing all his set points in the first and second sets, and eventually losing the match... but he was battling "the" Roger Federer of 2000-2007, so losing was okay. But he won over a multitude of fans by being
the "court joker", enjoying his matches and exchanging hilarious banters with John McEnroe after playing and in the press rooms, earning his "Djoker" nickname in the process. Equipped with valuable experience from the previous season, he went on to beat RF in the 2008 Australian Open semi-finals and eventually emerged as Champion, beating Jo Wilfred Tsonga who stopped Rafa Nadal in the other semi-final. It was his first Grand Slam title, at the age of 20, and effectively converting himself into a "Tennis Star Now" in many fans' book.
While the World of Tennis busied itself with the debate on who between Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal was greater, The Djoker flew under the radar as World #3 for about two years... he was falling in and out of fans' favors as well by expecting to get more attention after the 2008 Aussie Open win and not getting enough. While he let RF and Nadal juggled the #1 and #2 spots in the rankings between themselves, it was noticeable though how he was getting leaner and more compact physically, allowing him greater speed, agility and stamina on court, but less prone to injury unlike Rafa Nadal. His moves were becoming more and more "lyrical"... not as graceful as RF's, but more of a unique "athletic lyricism", which allowed him a great variety in his unique shotmaking arsenal. His greater participation in the Tour all season-long built his confidence in his shotmaking at the baseline or close to the
net, and he has matured a lot - containing his emotions better in big moments, able to calm nerves and maintaining a steel focus to winning when the going got tough. Last year, these improvements and fine tuning became very apparent. Three consecutive years of losing to RF in the final and semi-final stages in the US Open, Djoker broke out from his silent flight and finally prevailed over El Maestro in the US Open semi-final in an epic five-set superbattle last year, spoiling what might have been the final chance for the world to see a "Federer-Nadal Flushing Meadows Face-off" in the final. But the fans were in awe that The Djoker went into the final with the fans on his side. However, he was too exhausted to stop Rafa Nadal in winning the Spaniard's first ever US Open title in the final round. But, the world took notice, and they kept a tab on him eversince... and he didn't disappoint!
In the next Grand Slam, fresh from leading his Serbian National Team's Davis Cup to victory as captain, he once again stopped defending Champion Roger Federer in the 2011 Australian Open semi-final. He then went on to rattle, and in the end beat, the in-form Andy Murray in the final, who beat the injured (see what I mean?) Rafa Nadal in the other semi-final match. Djokovic then claimed his second Australian Open title - his second Grand Slam win overall. With Rafa Nadal's ascent to #1 in the previous year, The Djoker
continued to press RF and Nadal as the "perennial #3" with Andy Murray playing the emotional "hot-then-cold-and-back-again" #4, until he broke through the #2 position in the ranking in March of this year, causing the "unthinkable" - relegating RF to the third spot. These days, he has become simply "Nole" to many tennis fans - a household name now. Perhaps signaling a greater outcome soon? That isn't an impossibility either because he has been hotly pursuing the #1 spot at the heel of Rafa Nadal as the French Open - the second Grand Slam of the season - approached. Yesterday, he extended his brilliant unbeaten run to 37 matches (yes, 37-0!!) at the expense of World #1, Nadal, in Rome - winning in straight sets: 6-4, 6-4! And that was after out-witting and out-muscling Andy Murray in a fantastic semi-final duel, 6-1, 3-6, 7-6. The weekend before last, he stunned Nadal in Madrid with a straight-set win of 7-5, 6-4 after Nadal forcefully ousted Roger Federer, 5-7, 6-1, 6-3, in the semi-finals. And because he's been bulldozing everything and everyone in his way so far, it is reasonable to believe that the contest for #1 in the World spot will be decided in the following three months or so when the three Grand Slams come in quick succession.
I'll go out on a limb here and say, I think, it's going to be "2007 Rogers Cup" all over again... but this time, the equation is going to be completely different: fine tuned and nicely oiled Djoker arsenal = Numero Uno.
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CR(ubbish)7 and Real Mad(rid) talks
Why do I bother, right? I know, I wonder about it, too! *sigh*
The other day, I was reading an article where Ronaldo (the Cristiano kind) of Real Madrid (the Mourinho-managed kind) was swearing to high heavens that he was not obssessed about breaking Spanish League INDIVIDUAL records and
winning the INDIVIDUAL award for highest La Liga goal scorer, Pichichi. He said he was merely helping his team in whatever way he can. All this, after Real Madrid's 4-0 win over Getafe where CR7 contributed a hat trick and, before that, his 4-goal rampage in their 6-2 win over Sevilla, putting him 5 goals above Lionel Messi's 31 goals. And now, after effectively losing the La Liga title to Barҫa last Wednesday, a free-kick brace in their match with Villareal yesterday puts his goal tally to 38 total, which equals the present La Liga record for the highest number of goals in one season, with one more match to play. In other words, all this when the chances of Real Madrid winning the La Liga title has become close to impossibility... and later on Wednesday, an outright impossibility! And you wonder... where was all the smart, team-player, self-scarificing CR(ubbish)7 talk when winning La Liga or the UEFA Champions League semi-final against Barҫa was still doable? He was way behind Lionel Messi's goal tally when the La Liga title was still on the line. And, didn't he condone the 0-0 planned finish
at the Bernabéu in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final tie with Barҫa? That, of course, ended as 0-2, in favor of Barҫa! That was followed by a second leg 1-1 draw in Camp Nou, which effectively knocked them out of the Champions League. Did he contribute a goal in those all-important matches? A big fat NO! After that, Ronaldo (I must stress, the Cristiano kind) proceeded with his CR(ubbish)7 talk, echoing his "Special" Coach's rants of cheating and all that - whatever excuses they could find for losing. Soon, the whole of "www" was infested by all sorts of (altered) picture/video/blogs, spreading one-sided views (the Real Madrid-favored views) on the Champions League semi-final tie. Aah, money, money, money to churn press machinery!While obviously Barҫa do not see the point in honoring the Real Mad(rid) rants with a reply, and rightfully so, I do like to hurl this question to
Real Madrid (and their supporters)... hasn't it occured to you, guys, that none of these "scandals" (as Mou loves to call them) were ever in circulation before Barҫa played Real Madrid in those recent four Clásicos when Mourinho decided to play "anti-football", not even when the Catalans beat you in a reverberating 5-0 thrashing in Camp Nou last year? I have watched the two legs of the Champions League semi-final tie 6 times already. Each time, my heart pounded whenever you guys brought down an Azulgrana intentionally because you didn't have the necessary skill to legally snatch the ball from them, or they are more skilled in keeping ball possession. Three or four of the Catalans may have reacted a little bit more than necessary, but, apparently, it was 
only because you were so "skilled" in your sneaky physical tackle... you stick a foot or jab an elbow discreetly and then run away like your eyes were on something else so the referee won't take notice(Marcelo was the best in doing this - check out the second leg, especially when he stepped on Pedro Rodriguez's leg and pretended that nothing happened, or when he jumped over Pedro and proceeded running afterwards like nothing happened because the referee's attention was somewhere else; Di Maria was greatly annoying, too... and even CR7 himself, sticking a foot discreetly to trip the speeding Lionel Messi). The Catalans had to show the effect of your sneaky actions and dangerous tackles to make sure the referee would see and control the situation to avoid untoward accident eventually. Afterall, playing football is not an expression of willingness nor an open invitation to have your own neck broken on the pitch! Now, with your sneaky actions, who is the REAL (MADRID) cheater? You created the lamentable chaos with your negative tactics and behavior on the pitch. And now, you guys are still using your media machinery to discredit Barҫa. You guys are sad, really sad! *sigh* Face it, Barҫa triumphed! And, admit it, you lost! Your "anti-football" tactic backfired mightily to blow you to the pathetic land of the losers!
But, yeah, CR7, go grab your Pichichi, and let's see if that would bring the 2011 La Liga title or the 2011 UEFA Champions League title to Bernabéu! So much for your "I'm doing this for the team" magnanimous speech. You may have broken the record of the most number of goals in one season in the history of La Liga, but for what cause? Obviously, not for Bernabéu, 'cause Real Madrid have been losing the IMPORTANT titles left and right this season notwithstanding your stratospheric priced manager and players line-up! *sigh*
Just come out clean, CR7, and say, "I won, I won!" And then, we'll applaud - wholeheartedly. Okay? Okay, and don't you go bitching either! =) And, oh, oh, oh, by the way... say, how many of your 38 goals were from free kick again? Just asking. =)
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Man U... yes, U!
And they sealed their hold on the 2011 Barclays Premier League title with one more game to spare! Awesome! On to New Wembley now!
Yeah, I completely agree with most of the pundits' take on Man U's success this season. They may not be showing stellar performances on the pitch that are worthy of football fans' drool throughout the season, but, they
have been effectively and consistently getting the job done. If the EPL Title or the trip to New Wembley on the 28th is not enough indication of that, I don't know what else is. While Sir Alex Ferguson have limited number of superstars in his line-up, he extracted the most of their talents with the right combination and the appropriate tactical game to bring the matches they engaged in to a reasonable finish. Hmmm... the benefits of experience! Are you getting antsy now, Pep Guardiola? :)And so it goes... that the Kings of Spanish Football shall be locking wits with the Kings of English Football at New Wembley in London! And it sounds just about right! It should be a fantastic match!!
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Photo credits: All photos were grabbed from Zimbio - thanks.
