Australian Tennis Magazine - January 2010

JANUARY 2010

A$7.50 NZ$8.40 US$7.50

HENIN & CLIJSTERS

THE COMEBACK

QUEENS

ROGER FEDERER

THE LEGEND CONTINUES

US! BON RERO

TOP TENNIS TANTRUMS

PRINT POST APPROVED PP 349181/00187

FER ASSES SUNGL FFER RO READE

IMPROVE YOUR GAME • • • • •

BETTER STROKES MATCH PLAY TIPS STAR WORKOUTS FITNESS AND NUTRITION COACH WITH CLASS

3501 p 1 Cover.indd 1

10/12/09 1:57:27 PM

JANUARY 2010 FEATURES

16

Rafa: Last Line of Defence

Rafael Nadal faces some hungry opponents and other tough challenges in defending his Australian Open title.

VOL 35 No.1

A $7.50 (inc. GST) NZ $8.40 (inc. GST) US $7.50

22

Serena: A Little Respect

Would a fifth Australian Open title earn Serena Williams the respect she so commands?

27

Jekyll & Hyde

What makes a player mild-mannered one minute, and racquet throwing the next? We investigate the Jekyll & Hydes of the professional game.

30

The Second Coming

As Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin make their comebacks, competition intensifies on the WTA Tour.

39

The Stage is Set

A cast of well-qualified characters are set to star in the Australian summer.

48

Roger Federer: A Perfect Path

After a record breaking 2009, can season 2010 contain further glory for Roger Federer?

Australian Tennis Magazine | January 2010

3501 p 3-4 Contents.indd 3

3

15/12/09 2:29:20 PM

JANUARY 2010 REGULARS 8

Top Spin

15

Your Serve

33

Court Talk

52

Rankings

55

My Game

71

My Coach

87

Grassroots

94

Club of the Month

FROM THE EDITOR ortunity, so as the pla yers new season means new opp of the new decade, prepare for their first events a es the perfect time to launch January 2010 also becom ian Tennis Magazine. completely new-look Austral ine. Top new sections of the ma gaz We hope you will enjoy the events, your favourite pla yers and Spin carries all the news of Coach to build your own game. My while My Game will help you h Tennis ma gazine’s long history wit marks a new chapter in the coaches, it ile it’s targeted directly to Australia coaches, and wh eral reader. ant information for the gen also carries a lot of import have also been retained and Some of your old favourites the month features a regular club of enh anced. Grassroots now the deeper Talk continues to analyse and the long-running Court issues in the game. ine’s r in Australian Tennis Magaz As we enter another chapte ir historythe pla yers continuing the long history, we also look at erstars tralian summer. While sup making course over the Aus l and Serena Williams are stil Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal ng stars risi y never be matched, many amassing records that ma nes come taging them. Other storyli seem equally assured of ups events als intent on making home from the well-qualified loc certain to es assortment of possibiliti their own. It’s an intriguing outcomes. produce many fascinating you’re vide inspiration and while Those top pla yers also pro ember m the stars this summer, rem watching and learning fro ag.com.au ughts. Email editor@tennism we’d love to hear your tho

A

VIVIENNE CHRISTIE, Editor

66

EDITOR CONSULTING EDITOR ASSISTANT EDITOR ART DIRECTOR ADVERTISING MANAGER ADMINISTRATION & SUBSCRIPTIONS MANAGER MY COACH CONTENT PHOTOGRAPHS

COVER PHOTO

Vivienne Christie Alan Trengove Daniela Toleski Naomi O’Bryan Jackie Cunningham Sherryn Dove Travis Atkinson, Karen Clydesdale Getty Images, John Anthony (All photographs by Getty Images unless specified) Getty Images

Australian Tennis Magazine is published monthly by TENNIS AUSTRALIA LTD, Private Bag 6060, Richmond, Vic 3121. Ph: (03) 9914 4200 Email: editor@tennismag.com.au Distributed by Network Distribution Company Printed in Australia by Webstar The views expressed in Australian Tennis Magazine are not necessarily those held by Tennis Australia. While the utmost care is taken in compiling the information contained in this publication, Tennis Australia is not responsible for any loss or injury occurring as a result of any omissions in either the editorial or advertising appearing herein.

4

Australian Tennis Magazine | January 2010

Rafa: Last Line of Defence Rafael Nadal showcased the best of his fighting abilities to claim glory at Australian Open 2009, but there were bigger conquerors in the difficult year that followed. The Raging Bull is seriously wounded and now faces a crucial career test as he returns to defend his last big title.

By Alan Trengove

16

O

ne year ago, Rafael Nadal could still think of himself as a very fortunate young fellow. He was then the number one ranked player in a sport that had been long dominated by the great Roger Federer.

Like a Spanish conquistador of the 16th century, Nadal had put all his rivals to the sword and inexorably extended his domain. Not only was he now the King of Clay, but also the champion of Wimbledon and the first Spaniard to capture the Australian Open. At both tournaments he had cut down Federer in long, draining finals.

He was, too, the reigning Olympic gold medallist and a star of the triumphant Spanish Davis Cup team.

And he was only 22.

There were other reasons why he counted himself lucky. When not winning tennis matches and being feted around the globe, he lived on the beautiful Mediterranean island of Mallorca.

His parents were healthy and well-off, and he too was hardly ever sick. What’s more, his uncle Toni, who had taught him to play tennis when the little lad was four, still coached him. Another uncle was a former international footballer who helped him acquire a champion’s mentality.

They were all one happy family.

But good times can be followed swiftly by some not so good – some even downright bad – and this would be Nadal’s characterbuilding experience. Whereas he came to Australia last January riding a wave of success, his life in more recent times has been marked unexpectedly by a series of misfortunes. A large question mark hangs over his future.

Nadal has not won a major title since that gripping climax to Australian Open 2009.

Federer is number one again, and Nadal’s attempt to squeeze past him at the ATP World Tour Finals in November ended dismally in failure on the second day of the tournament with defeat by the once underrated Swede, Robin Soderling.

The setbacks had begun in late May at the French Open, the tournament Nadal dominated for four straight years. Strangely disoriented and out-of-form, he lost to the belligerent Soderling in the fourth-round. It was a blow to his confidence and self-esteem that perhaps wasn’t fully realised at the time.

Next, he was unable to defend his Wimbledon title and instead took a 10-week injury time-out to treat his stiff and aching knees.

Federer, who won his first French Open by beating the upstart Soderling, now took the opportunity, in Nadal’s absence, to regain his Wimbledon crown. With his sixth triumph at the All England Club came not only a return to the number one spot but the thrill of passing Pete Sampras’s record of 14 Grand Slam crowns.

For Nadal, meanwhile, the northern summer continued to be a misery. As if chronic patella tendonitis and the loss of two big titles weren’t troubling enough, he also had to bear the surprise break-up of his parents’ marriage.

The Nadals had been a closely-knit family, and the effect of the split on Rafa, a sensitive lad, is incalculable.

“For everybody there are tough moments,” he said a few weeks ago. “Unluckily for me this

Australian Tennis Magazine | January 2010

3501 p 16-18 Rafa.indd 16

10/12/09 1:19:56 PM

Australian Tennis Magazine | January 2010

3501 p 16-18 Rafa.indd 17

17

10/12/09 1:19:56 PM