DAY 9 REVIEW AND DAY 10 PICKS

by Karen

The men are jealous.  With so many wonderful epic matches by the women at this year's Australian Open, the men felt like they were the sideshow in this tournament, so what better way to focus attention on themselves but by delivering a marathon 5 set match. 

picture courtesy of National Post 

However, for the women it was Eugenie Bouchard's coming out party.  For the better part of 2 hours she played like a veteran on a big stage.  There were no histrionics.  No fist pumps.  No glaring at her box when she missed a shot. At 19 years old, she carries the poise of a player much more experienced than herself. Many will talk about the injury that Ivanovic suffered during this match.  My take, it is all a part of the game.  As much as I did not take away from Ivanovic's win against Serena Williams in the 4th round, I will not take away from Bouchard's win in the quarterfinals.  

As the tournament draws towards its conclusion and some of my sentimental favourites have been shown the door, I am thinking that I would love to see a final between Eugenie Bouchard and Simona Halep.  2 young women being rewarded for their steady workmanlike reach in the rankings. 

However, before we look ahead here are Spin's Picks for Day 10. This sees the 2 quarterfinals from the bottom half of the draw.  First up is Dominica Cibulkova against surprise quarterfinalist Simona Halep.  This is going to be either a mauling by Cibulkova or a master class in how to frustrate your opponents into making errors.  I am picking Halep in 3 tough sets. 

Next up is 2 time defending champion Victoria Azarenka going up against the No. 5 seed who has been flying way below the radar, Agnieska Radwanska.  the head to head on this one is all in favour of the defending champion and I am thinking that this will be another win for Azarenka now that she can see the finish line in sight.  

THIS AND THAT 

This blog is about women's tennis.  The writer (me) and most of the people who read this blog are fans of women's tennis. That being said there are times when we do comment on men's tennis if only because a situation calls for it.  What happened last night/early this morning with David Ferrer and the linesman should never happened. Don't know what I am on about. Let Ace tell you all about it.  

"There was a situation during the 2014 Australian Open quarterfinals between Tomas Berdych and David Ferrer. During the match and the point was finished, Ferrer angrily shoved a linesperson out of the way in order to get to his towel (Spin "because you know those ATP players need their security blanket a.k.a. towel at every single point that is played") .  At this point, Ferrer was seemingly frustrated as he was losing to Berdych. Ferrer has played 11 consecutive tennis weeks (what do you have debt or something Ferrer?) (not counting Abu Dhabi exo) and changed coaches recently saying that his departure from his previous coach was personal. I wonder if the frustration of all the events finally caught up to him". 

What has Ace concerned though is this?  

However, there has been no outburst in the media about his behavior. Now, let say that was Serena Williams and you can imagine the flack that she would receive. People would not stop talking about her ranging from her weight, color, attitude, needs to be fine, suspended and etc.. 

How do we know that Serena's name would have been dragged into something that has nothing to do with her? Because commentators did this after the incidents at the United States Open in 2009 and 2011.   In 2012 in London at the Queens tournament) David Nalbandian kicked a sign in anger and the sign hit the linesperson in the knee causing blood to flow. After a few minutes, the tournament defaulted Nalbandian for this action giving the title to Marin Cilic and Nalbandian was not allowed to receive his prize money. What punishment should Ferrer receive? Since the Slams are run by the International Tennis Federation ("ITF") , suspension from other Slams may be too much but a heavy fine is in order. If the ITF decided not to let Ferrer receive his prize money for his action, I would not be surprised. That being said, the ITF must decide Ferrer's fate on shoving the linesperson".

Well Ace, here is where I disagree with you.  This is not the first time that Ferrer has done this.  Remember the hitting the ball (via ESPN, the Buzz)  in the stands when the baby was crying, or perhaps the one where he went off on the umpire because of a bad lines call.  What I find amazing is how the commentators in the booth are at pains to let us know just what a gentle person Ferrer really is.  I am sure if I am so minded I can troll Youtube and find lots of instances where Ferrer has lost his cool.  These things do not happen in a vacuum. 

In addition, it would seem as if many journalists have chosen not to comment on Ferrer's action or indeed to even given an opinion as to what his punishment should be.  This only goes to emphasise the type of reporting that happens in tennis these days.  The men are given a pass for any type of bad behaviour, while the women are seemingly held to a different standard. 

Consider the kerfluffle last year when Azarenka took a legitimate medical timeout.  1 year later it is still the subject of conversation in the ESPN and Tennis Channel booths. 

This type of thing has to end.  If there is going to be equality let it be equality across all things, including condemning players when they step out of line. 

For the record, I think David Ferrer should be suspended for at least 1 Grand Slam and given the maximum fine that can be imposed in this situation. He should also be made to attend Anger Management Classes.