NOVEMBER 2010A$7.50 NZ$8.40 US$7.50

PRINT POST APPROVED PP 349181/00187

NO. 1 WORK IN PROGRESS

YOUR GAME • TURN DEFENSE INTO ATTACK• SPEED SOLUTIONS• VALUABLE VOLLEY TIPS • LEARN FROM RAFAEL NADAL

ANDY RODDICK& AMERICA’S

AMBITIONS

• DJOKOVIC• MONFILS• IVANOVIC

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI

TOO MUCH TRAVEL?

SUPERSTARS STALLED

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FEATURES

NOVEMBER 2010VOL 35 No. 11A $7.50 (inc. GST) NZ $8.40 (inc. GST) US $7.50

AustrAliAn tennis MAgAzine | November 2010 3

26 The Longest Journey Long months on the road create many physical challenges for today’s top professionals.

14 A New Model for Success

The “it” crowd consists of only a single number one, and now that woman is Caroline Wozniacki.

18 The State ofThe Union

With Andy Roddick dropping outside the world’s top 10, many are searching for the next American Grand Slam Champion.

22 Why 30 is the New 20 They might possess the same talent and raw ambition as the superstars, but Grand Slam success is proving elusive for the game’s younger players.

30 A Proud Heritage Geoff Pollard hands over the Presidency of Tennis Australia with pride in key achievements and high hopes for the future.

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NOVEMBER 2010

EDITOR Vivienne Christie CONSULTING EDITOR Alan Trengove ASSISTANT EDITOR Daniela ToleskiART DIRECTOR Naomi O’BryanADVERTISING MANAGER Jackie CunninghamMY COACH CONTENT Travis Atkinson, Karen Clydesdale PHOTOGRAPHS Getty Images, John Anthony (All photographs by Getty Images unless specified)COVER PHOTO Courtesy of adidas

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 CompanyPrinted 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.

REGULARS7 Topspin

13 Your Serve

35 Court Talk

40 Rankings

42 Scoreboard

43 My Game

52 My Coach

71 Club of the month

FROM THE EDITOR

It’s something of a clichè that all good things must come to an end. But

that’s exactly what recently occurred for Serena Williams, when the

injured champion surrendered her world No. 1 ranking to the increasingly

accomplished Caroline Wozniacki.

With just a limited number of of rankings points separating the top two

women at the time of writing, it seems likely that the highly-competitive

Serena – who clearly took a cautious approach to her recovery from foot

surgery – will rise to the top again. However it’s also true that there are no

guarantees when it comes to the highly-changeable nature of tennis.

While Serena remained sidelined, Venus was also unable to build on the

momentum of her semi-final run at the US Open, the elder Williams felled

by a knee injury. Several reports suggested that Venus, who was spotted

on crutches, had undergone surgery and there were even rumours in some

circles that she was set to announce her retirement (which have so far

proved unfounded).

Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal’s surge up the “all time greats” list has been

accompanied by a parallel dip in form from Roger Federer. After suffering a

semi-final exit to Novak Djokovic in New York, the former No. 1 would have

loved nothing more than a late-season title in Shanghai. But after putting

in the hard yards to progress to the final, Federer was soundly defeated by

Andy Murray.

It was yet another sign that the game’s younger champions are itching to

take the titles the established stars have dominated for so long (for more,

see our report on aging Grand Slam titlists on page 22).

The potential changing of the guard will create some fascinating storylines

as attention turns to the Australian summer. While nobody likes to see

established champions fade into the background, there’s also something

special about watching the game’s next big things fulfil their early potential.

VIVIENNE CHRISTIE, Editor

18

4 AustrAliAn tennis MAgAzine | November 2010

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Andy Roddick moved just a single rankings spot when he fell to world No. 11, marking the first time in Open Era history without an American representative in the world’s top 10 and sounding alarm bells for a tennis community longing for Grand Slam success. But as some yearn for the glory days of Connors, McEnroe, Sampras and Agassi, others acknowledge today’s top Americans are giving their best and seeing results. SANDRA HARWITT reports from the US

The moaning and groaning about the state of American men’s tennis has been reverberating so loudly

the past several years that Australians probably have heard it clearly –

even being an ocean away. What? How is it possible that only

Andy Roddick’s been capable of

delivering a Grand Slam

title (2003 US Open) in recent times? How can America – big, bold, brash

– not produce consistent winners like there were in the glory days of Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, Pete Sampras,

Andre Agassi and Jim Courier?Well, hang on a minute. Is

American men’s tennis really in that bad a

shape?No! Not on

your life. At least not if you keep a realistic perspective.

Sure, the Yanks are no longer racking in Grand Slam titles as if they were hoarding for a famine. But if you look at the big picture, US men’s tennis is certainly not in need of the life support many believe necessary.

Once you get past the lack of Grand Slam success – although deserved kudos go to Bob and Mike Bryan for their nine Grand Slam doubles titles and record 66 overall career titles – the US boasts four players ranked in the top 25 in singles (11 October, 2010 rankings) – No. 11 Andy Roddick, No. 19 Mardy Fish, No. 20 John Isner and No. 24 Sam Querrey.

“It’s been a while since we’ve had four players in the top 20, and we’re

flirting with that right now,” Roddick recently commented.

American men have won nine ATP titles this season –

Querrey four, Fish and Roddick two

each, and Isner

picking up the first trophy of his career. That puts the US at No. 2 on the 2010 country list of titles won behind the Spanish Armada with 17 – seven of those titles belong to Rafael Nadal, who won three of the four Grand Slams. Trailing behind the US is France with four titles and Croatia with three.

Patrick McEnroe, who is the guiding force of American tennis in his position as General Manager, Player Development for the USTA, is encouraged by the 2010 inroads of the top four Americans. But

18 AustrAliAn tennis MAgAzine | November 2010

Fully fit and motivated, Andy Roddick seems certain to regain his top 10 ranking.

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AustrAliAn tennis MAgAzine | November 2010 19

that is hardly making him complacent – he believes there’s much room for improvement.

“From a large standpoint of looking at American tennis we’ve been pretty spoiled with the players we’ve had at the top,” McEnroe said. “But the days of any one country dominating is probably over. We’re obviously happy with some of the results this year. But do we think we can do a lot better? Yes.

“It is our goal to get players into the top 10 and competing for majors.”

Interestingly, Roddick, the only one of the four with ownership of a Grand Slam title is not the “it” American story of the year. It’s the other three – Fish, Isner and Querrey – who’ve been garnering headlines this year.

Starting out the season, Roddick had set his sights on winning a second career Grand Slam trophy, even abandoning his beloved role as leader of the American Davis Cup squad. A bout with glandular fever derailed his summer hopes at Wimbledon and the US Open, the very Slams where he’s most likely to succeed. In August, he dropped out of the top 10 for the fi rst time since 2002.

Currently in Asia on his fi nal swing of the year, Roddick, who won Miami and

Brisbane this season to add to his collection of 29 career titles, is banking on a few last-minute good results to ride into 2011.

“I have been training very hard physically since the US Open and I feel I can play long points,” said the 28-year-old. “I look forward to fi nishing this season on a good note. I have no points to defend from last year, so everything is a bonus for me. I am leaving Tokyo feeling much more comfortable than I did when I arrived.”

Querrey, 23, has bragging rights to some of the better stats of the year. For one achievement, the Californian won four of his six career titles this season, which places him right behind world No. 1 Rafael Nadal’s seven titles at the top of the list of 2010 tournament winners. And Querrey accomplished that feat on four different surfaces – Memphis on indoor hard courts, Belgrade on outdoor clay, Queen’s Club on grass and Los Angeles on outdoor hard courts. On top of that, he reached the round-of-16 at Wimbledon and the US Open.

“That’s pretty cool,” said Querrey, of following Nadal before getting real. “His six tournaments are a little bigger than the ones I won, but it

still feels cool to have won the second most titles on tour this year. Hopefully, next year I can possibly win four more but have them be a little bigger. I need to play a little better at the Master Series and Grand Slams and just keep working on moving forward.”

Isner, 25, who captured the Auckland title in January, became a

talking point when he took part in a record-breaking Wimbledon fi rst-round match against Nicolas Mahut, which earned the two

players an ESPY award for Best Record-Breaking Performance in Sports. Isner won the battle 6-4, 3-6, 6-7(7), 7-6(3), 70-68 which when concluded was the longest match ever, featured the longest set, had the most number of games in a set and in a match, etc. etc. etc.

As far as Isner is concerned, American tennis is fl ourishing and no one should think otherwise.

“I don’t really feel like American tennis is fading, because right now we have four players inside the top 25 of the world with Andy, myself, Sam and Mardy,” Isner said. “There’s a bunch of guys right behind us. There’s nobody in the top fi ve, obviously, but I don’t think American tennis is in bad

Slams and just keep working on moving forward.”

captured the Auckland title in January, became a

The steadily improving John Isner is determined to be known for more than his marathon Wimbledon win.

Marking his most successful season yet, Sam Querrey claimed titles on every surface in 2010.

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