With the buzz of the Australian Open behind us, we now settle in for the end of the winter season which is a grab bag of indoor and outdoor events leading up to the next Premiere/Masters event in Indian Wells. The trending story this week seems to be who is holding up physically, or not, considering we are just six weeks into the season.
In San Jose, top seed Andy Roddick (shirtless in the pic as fair play for his wife taking it almost all off for SI) is still scheduled to play his opening round match against Ryler Deheart even though Roddick planned to have his arm checked out by his doctor before committing to play. This is the same arm issue he had in his match against Marin Cilic in Melbourne. Hopefully this is just a minor ailment, but with his recent knee injury, one wonders if the normally super-fit Roddick is starting to show signs of wear and tear due to his lengthy career.
On the women’s side, it wasn’t a big surprise that Serena Williams pulled out of the Paris indoor event due to her own leg issue and, more likely, need for mental rest after her tough final against Justine Henin. The more telling news was from Dinara Safina who pulled out of next week’s event in Dubai as she continues to deal with her ongoing back problems. I get the sense that Safina’s back will need, at least, a lot of rest to heal. She should pull out of Indian Wells and maybe even Miami to save herself for the clay court season. And let’s face it. Does she really want to be the No. 1 seed in Indian Wells facing off against Henin’s “wildcard” chances?
Gael Monfils is the poster boy of tour injuries. He struggled with a leg injury in his semifinal loss to eventual champion Feliciano Lopez at the Johannesburg event. Monfils did win today in Rotterdam over Olivier Rochus, but one has to wonder if Monfils, despite all his natural gifts, is destined to be a “could have been” when all is said and done?
And yes, the word is Rafael Nadal is practicing again in time for Indian Wells. This is good news for Rafa fans as he hopes he can defend his title there. Of course Roger Federer will be there too and of all the top players, only Federer seems to be able to show up physically fresh week after week. Perhaps there is something in that Swiss air after all? Or maybe his trainer Pierre Paganini has all the answers.
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Its sad to see that some of these guys can’t make it through the year with out dealing with some ailment. I was especially sad to see Rafa retire after playing two very close and exciting sets with Murry in the AO semi. I guess these guys who suffer from these types of injuries will need to change their game up a bit so its not as hard on their bodies.
-Dustin B
That’s why Federer and his ability to stay fresh year after year is amazing in a sport where most players deal with some kind of injury. Nadal’s game is hard on his body but I doubt he would radically change it even after the expense of his knees.
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