Tag: Wimbledon 2016

A Unique Culture: the Queue at Wimbledon

Note: This is the expanded (and in English) version of my post-2016-Wimbledon article published in Tenis Dunyasi magazine, one year ago.

It is common knowledge that Wimbledon values traditions and hangs on to them. After all, players are still required to wear white outfits and it was not until 1986 that they changed from white tennis balls to yellow ones, many years after the rest of the tennis arena did.

Then, there is the Queue. A singular experience at Wimbledon, a tradition that has existed for over a century. The name is self-explanatory; you get in the queue and you buy tickets. It is nevertheless unique in that Wimbledon is the only Major that still continues the practice of making tickets available for the public to purchase, on the day of competition. The more you dig down to the details of how the Queue’s mechanisms work, the more fascinating it becomes. It is not just any queue. It is a camp site. It is a social club. It is an over-night (or over-more-than-one-night) stay. It is a thrill. It is a place of joy, if you get the ticket of your choice, or of pain, if you do not. Yes, you read it right; getting in the Queue and waiting for days do not always guarantee you entry.

Here is how it works: there are 500 tickets put aside for Centre Court and Court 1. If you don’t get one of these, you have to settle for a Grounds Pass. Thus, camping out in the Queue for a day or two, before the day of your choice, pays off if you adamantly want a Centre Court or a Court 1 ticket. The Queue begins at a park adjacent to the Wimbledon grounds. You first get a “Queue Card” with a designated number. The card holders set up their tent and equipment to settle in the designated area. Depending on the number on their first card, they receive a second card (in exchange for the first one) 24 hours before the day for which they requested the ticket.

The number of the second card matters, a lot! If you want to guarantee having a Centre Court ticket, that number needs to be 500 or below. You may still get into the Centre Court if it is numbered below 500, but that depends on how many people before you request a Court no.1 ticket instead of a Centre Court one. For example if your card’s number is 650 and you want a Centre Court ticket, you need at least 150 people before you to choose Court no.1 (or other courts) over Centre Court, thus the importance of which (favorite) player is scheduled on what court. If your card is among the first 1000, you are guaranteed to enter either Centre COurt or Court no.1. You get it? If you do not, you can delve into the 26-page brochure that is distributed to the Queue’s denizens at their arrival.

After spending the night in your tent, you pick them up in the morning, leave them at the designed deposit area, and stewards (more on “stewards” little later) show you the way to the actual waiting line of the Queue. When your turn comes up, you get the entry wrist band and you enter Wimbledon grounds with your ticket. This is the moment of victory, of exhilaration, one where you reap the benefits of long hours of wait.

For all the reasons I mentioned above, and more, you can hear the most gripping tales from the people coming from all corners of the world in order to experience of the Queue culture. In fact, the four remarkable individuals with whom I talked come from different continents. Before I go into their stories, let me point out one thing; the Queue is dominated by Roger Federer fans! Before I ventured there, I was expecting plenty of Andy Murray fans, and some fans of other male and female players. Yet, outside of a few exceptions, an overwhelming majority donned Nike clothing with something about Roger on them, or a “RF” hat, or had some sort of Swiss paraphernalia.

Jen and Gloria

Jen from Brisbane, Australia, and Gloria, originally from Hong Kong (now calls Sydney her home), have also traveled to London with the intention of cheering for Federer. It is, in a way, thanks to Federer that they met two years earlier at the Brisbane ATP tournament, during a dinner organized by Tennis Australia with the Swiss in attendance, as well as Patrick Rafter and Rod Laver. During the auction part of the dinner, Gloria won the right to flip the coin on the court before Roger’s first match. Jen, for her part, got a photo op with him and the chance to watch one of his private practice sessions.

Jen and Gloria have been friends ever since that week: “You know, the thing is that Roger attracts different people from different backgrounds. We would have never met if it weren’t for our admiration of Roger” says Gloria.

Jen smiles and remembers more details: “Gloria and I were both at the dinner and seated at the same table. During the dinner, there was an auction. One of the auction items was a chance for four people to attend one of his practice sessions for an hour and a half at Brisbane International, and also for someone to do the coin toss for his first match. Gloria and another girl beat us for that auction [both laughing hard].”

“It was expensive!!” adds Gloria.

Jen agrees [more laughter]: “Yeah it went ridiculously expensive. There was another auction for a photo with him on that night. I was inspired by Gloria’s winning of the previous bid, so I bid on that one and won [laughs]. So, we became friends there with Gloria. We all attended the practice together.”

The planning for Wimbledon and the Queue began before they even departed: “I had to work all the way to Friday and I boarded the 9 PM flight on that evening. The draw came out when I was at the airport. We were texting, trying to organize when we would start the Queue. We were arguing [both laugh hard]. I was saying ‘you have got to give me some sleep, surely! 24 hours on a plane, you know?’ So finally, I arrived here around lunch time on Saturday.”

Gloria came to London before Jen: “I arrived one day earlier, on Friday, to get used to the environment. It’s my first time to come to Wimbledon and unlike Jen, I never lived in London. So I walked around to get familiar with everything. I went to see where the Queue started. On Saturday, I saw the first ones to get in the Queue around noon. It was amazing. I quickly texted Jen and said [using a scared tone] ‘Someone is already in the Queue!’”

Once both in London, their schedule – time of arrival to the park, when to enter the Queue, the type of ticket requested – revolved around the Swiss legend’s matches.

Jen continues: “When I arrived, we went out to Southfields for an early dinner, but we did not neglect to check the Queue before going. There were about 50 tents pitched, and we thought we would be okay. So, we decided to come back to our BnB. We organized with our friends that we would get up early and come back to the Queue about 4 AM early on Sunday morning. Then, we thought ‘Let’s cheat and get up earlier!’ [laughter]. So we had breakfast in the dark around 2 AM, and we arrived to the Queue at 3:30. We waited. At 8 AM, they opened up the gates and usher you in. There are two parks with a golf course in between. The actual Queue is where you come through the gate and through the field, where they put you in rows where you see all the other tents. So, we put down our tents.”

To be clear, Jen and Gloria are doing this early Sunday morning, for the right to gain entry to the grounds on Monday. I should also point out that Gloria bought her tent in London, but Jen brought hers from Australia and had to confirm it, with a giggle I might add, once she saw the shocked expression on my face: “Yes, they are the pop-up kind, really flimsy. A sleeping bag too, you name it.”

Around 3 PM in the afternoon, they receive their Queue cards and see that they are numbered within the first 500. First part mission is accomplished! The true moment of triumph will come they actually enter Wimbledon with their centre-court wristbands the next morning. Having received their Queue cards, they must for now await patiently in their tent from Sunday afternoon to Monday morning.

“Yes! In the tent, all day and all night” confirms Jen. “They wake you up about 5 AM so you can start disassembling the tents. Then, they have a left-luggage area that opens around 5:30. You leave all your camping gear there. They keep your tents, all packed up, until you come back. Once you do that, you get back in the same line where you had your tents.”

Gloria: “We wait on the pitch until about 7 AM. We form a line. Then, they start walking us out.

Jen: “They take us through the Golf Course, we pass through a garden pass. There are some sponsors as you walk along, some entertainment. At the end of that path, you go through security. Then they hand out the wrist bands for the court that you want. They open the gates at about 9:45 and we enter the food village area.”

When I ask if that is a similar feeling to a victory for them, they smile big and answer in unison “Yes!”

Yet, there is still more to this tale after they watch Roger win his first-round match: “We went straight back to the Queue for Wednesday tickets because that is when he would play his next round” says Jen.

“Yes, we want to make sure, we are in the first 500 for Wednesday!” adds Gloria.

Jen: “Roger finished late, around 9 PM on Monday. It was getting dark, we were starving, and it was raining! We were in the third row of tents. We received our Tuesday card on that evening. My number was 772 [which included people wanting to go in on Tuesday]. We put up the tents again. Essentially, when they wake everybody up on Tuesday morning, they tell you to drag your tent over to the side without dismantling it, if you choose not to move in the Queue with the Tuesday crowd.”

When the Tuesday crowd moved out and the cards for Wednesday’s entry were passed around to replace the Tuesday cards, Jen’s new card number was 80.

Gloria was in a similar situation. Mission accomplished, again! Thus continued the tale of Gloria and Jen, not without hardships, mind you? The weather was miserable for a few days and their tents leaked, so they had to buy new ones! The last time I talked to these two wonderful women, it had been 11 days since they began the daily Queue routine.

Edgard

Jen’s “neighbor” in the tent area was a young Brazilian named Edgard. Aspiring to be a lawyer, Edgard had traveled around the world and participated in charitable and humane causes. He had recently gone to Syria to better understand the Syrian refugee crisis. He also had an on-going dream; to see Federer play live. In order to truly understand what an emotional roller-coaster he went through, until Wimbledon and during his time in the Queue, to realize his dream, it is best to show you my question-and-answer session with him, unedited (and if you could have only been there and see him say it with his better-than-average English authenticated with a strong Brazilian/Portuguese accent, priceless!).

Edgard: “I was in Syria helping with the refuge crisis for weeks. After that, before I go back to Brazil, I wanted to give myself a gift. That gift was to realize my dream of watching Roger Federer play. I went directly to Madrid, he pulled out. I said ‘Come on Roger, I came here just to watch you, I don’t have anything to do in Madrid!’ Then I came to Roland Garros, just to watch Roger because I am not sure if he is coming to Olympics. I arrive to Paris, he pulls out! Again! And I was like… man… what about my gift? I was doing talks about the refuge crisis in universities. I was postponing my departure to Brazil to see if I could see Federer.

My last job ended on July 1st at a university in Portugal. So I thought ‘okay I am just two hours from here to London’ but I heard that it was impossible to watch a match at Wimbledon, especially Roger on Centre Court. This was my hugest dream ever, to watch Federer on Centre Court. Everybody in Brazil knows that I am a Federer fan, because I have a huge flag in Brazil, half Brazilian, half Swiss flag. So when I landed here, I came directly from Gatwick Airport to here. Because somebody told me ‘Go Edgard, go there, you can make it!’ I don’t have a place to stay, I didn’t book anything. I arrived here on Saturday morning and I started camping. They began to distribute the Queue card. My number was 503!! When they gave me that card, it killed all my expectations; I thought I couldn’t make it. I started to cry when I saw the number.

But people kept encouraging me saying ‘No Edgar, you can make it, just wait.’ I was sweating, waiting to see if I could make it. During those two days, there was a tournament on a mini court, and I played. People thought I had the same style as Federer, I am a huge fan of him, so they began calling me “Fedgard” and cheering me up, because I was number 503 and they could see that I was desperate. It was the worst two days of my life waiting to see if I could get in. They scheduled Federer and Murray on Centre Court for Monday and I told people that I am more nervous in this Queue than crossing the check points in Syria, seriously!

So, when the stewards began coming with the wrist bands, I asked her ‘am I in?’ She told me ‘I really don’t know.’ And I felt like a heart attack. I lost my mind. Why did I have 503?

Finally, it turned out that I made it by 10 people, I was the 490th person! 13 people chose something other than Centre Court. When the steward came again to me and gave me the good news, I just put one knee down and looked up, seriously. They even took a picture and put it on their Facebook. It’s a dream come true! It’s the biggest dream ever!!! They put me on Centre Court, and I was.. wow! When they showed me the seating to ask where I wanted to sit, they showed me two sections that were closest to the court and asked me to choose (sections 102 or 103). I looked and said ‘Wait, you are joking?’ She said ‘No, no, it’s correct, choose one.’ I said ‘Come on, it’s a mistake, wait!’ The lady said ‘No, no, but hurry, look the line is waiting.’ I was shocked! I got on my knees again. Yes! Again! It was unbelievable.. Unbelievable! I am going to watch Federer at Wimbledon? Seriously, really? I mean, Federer was 5 meters from me! Impossible! Everybody was cheering me up. It was amazing, amazing! After I received the wrist band, I really broke down, because I was exhausted, it was a huge dream. So I got to see him yesterday. I never thought I would get to watch Roger in Wimbledon, on Centre Court!”

Me: So you are going to see him again tomorrow, right? I see that you are in the Queue one more time.

“Yes, I am giving myself a second gift [laughs]. But let me tell you why I had the number 503 in the beginning. I was told to ask for the stewards’ help when I arrived to Wimbledon. You know, I have an accent when I speak English and I don’t speak very good, so when I arrived, I told someone who looked like he was working at Wimbledon for the steward. They understood it as the name “Stewart” and began asking each other who “Stewart” was. One of them used his walkie-talkie to radio others, asking who this “Stewart” was. Nobody could locate this “Stewart” of course. I didn’t realize what was happening because I don’t know the word “steward.” Finally, one of them said ‘do you mean steward? Like one of us’ and she said the last part of “steward” making a big “O” with her lips and not saying the “T.” She then showed her vest with the word “Steward” on it. So I understood where the communication went wrong. But I lost a good 10 minutes during that misunderstanding, waiting for them to find “Stewart.” That is why I got the number 503! Imagine if I didn’t get in because of that!”

Susie

So has the Queue experience always been like this? Or how was the process to enter the grounds before the Queue ever came around? For information on that, I turned to Susie, a self-described “London born and bred” woman who has “played and loved tennis” all her life. She is extremely friendly and does not mind sharing her memories at Wimbledon, and more importantly, she has some fascinating ones to share. She has been attending Wimbledon since 1972. Stan Smith’s 5-set victory over Ilie Nastase in the men’s final was the first match she had ever seen live.

“I was very, very young” she adds, laughing.

“Since then, I followed Connors for years, then Edberg, then Federer! In the 70s and 80s, we used to sleep on the street outside Gate 13. We had no tents. We had make-shift shelters, rain or shine. Remember, they used to have a standing-room only stands on the Centre Court in the front. So when they would open the gates, we would literally charge in [hands waving forward], because we wanted to get to that standing room in the front. I mean, people would lose their flip-flops and shoes. Then, they would pack you in, a bit like in some football stadiums. If you were at the front, you were kind of pressed against the barrier, but you know, I saw up close some of the great finals during those days. I saw Connors, McEnroe, Borg, doubles teams like Gottfried and Ramirez and all the great matches involving all those champions.

In the later years, obviously from a health and safety point of view, they got rid of the free standing and they structured the Queue, but the charm of those days was absolutely fantastic. Sometimes, after we got in, we would go to the old court 1. There was an alley where the court covers sat. In those days, security was not as hot and I used to sneak in with other schoolgirls. We could smile nicely to people and they would let us sit at the top of the stairs or spare seats. Now, of course, that charm is gone, and it’s more disciplined.”

I do not have much to add to what Jen, Gloria, Edgard, and Susie say, but I can comfortably say that one must see the Queue first-hand and talk to the people there to even begin to fathom what they experience. Even then, it would be impossible to truly understand the experience. I could literally sense the enthusiasm of the Queue denizens, and their excitement, when I talk to them. I used to believe that they were going through great pains just to get into Wimbledon. Now, I see it differently. It is a unique place where you meet people and make new memories about which you can talk to your family and friends when you get back home and to your children in the future. So my advice to people who are curious about the Queue and don’t mind a bit of adventure: do not hesitate to join the Queue culture, get your equipment, and begin planning your trip to your next Wimbledon.

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Federer “Finds A Way,” yet Again!

Wimbledon’s official site, in its immediate official website update following Roger Federer’s spectacular comeback win vs. Marin Cilic, 6-7 4-6 6-3 7-6 6-3, used the headline “Extraordinary. Exhausting. Exhilarating.” It was an appropriate exclamation, considering that what took place on Centre Court on Wednesday was less about the quality of Federer’s game than about the nature and circumstances of the comeback. The way a tennis legend fabricated a win that seemed so unlikely at several moments of the match was indeed breathtaking.

Prior to the match, I shared my opinion on social media on what to expect. Quite frankly, the match could go either way, in any number of sets, because both players have not yet faced any redoubtable opposition, and thus, there were still many questions unanswered. Federer got to the quarterfinals without much trouble, taking full advantage of a draw that put him against considerably weaker adversaries. His performances in Stuttgart and Halle, two of the leading grass-court tournaments before Wimbledon, were less than impressive, and from his previous matches at SW19, it was hard to tell where his game stood. Adding to the doubt, Federer was still on the comeback trail from his injury. Last but not the least, the last time Roger had to go to distance, playing five sets in a Major, dated back to the 2014 US Open (vs Gaël Monfils). Cilic, for his part, had to overcome a challenging stretch of 10 minutes in the second set of his match vs Sergiy Stakhovsky, but he had yet to face a formidable opponent. At the same time, it is well-known fact, as Roger will be the first one to say so, that on a given day Marin could dominate anyone on the ATP Tour if his game is clicking on all cylinders. For all the reasons above, I felt that the first set would be a central component of the match. If Federer came out swinging freely, he would put doubts to rest and move on to the next round without much headache. If Cilic won the first set, it would be a long duel with the pendulum slightly tilting in the Croat’s favor. Although, I turned out right for the most part – and this is rare – I still did not foresee some of what took place for 3 hours and 17 minutes on the court.

Photo: Clive Brunskill - Getty Images
Photo: Clive Brunskill – Getty Images

Both players held serve throughout the first set that went to a tiebreaker. While Federer was serving well, he was alarmingly losing most of the baseline rallies. Cilic was solid overall, but not hitting Roger out of the court like he did at the US Open two years ago. Although Cilic did face two break points at 2-2, he only lost one point on his first serve during the rest of set. He won the tiebreaker 7-4 and took the lead. Now there was no doubt. As he usually does when he plays from behind, Federer was going to have to pull all the weapons from the arsenal and find a way to turn the match around.

However, things went from bad to worse in the second set. Even Federer’s only reliable shot so far, his serve, took a hit. He served barely over 50% in the second set and in the game that he was broken at 1-1, Federer’s footwork looked dismal as he committed one uncharacteristic error after another to lose his serve. Cilic, on the other hand, seemed to remain solid, but not without glitches. He fell behind in a later game 0-30 after two double faults, but Federer was unable to take advantage as he committed a mix of forced and unforced errors during rallies. Cilic led two sets to zero and Federer still looked unsettled in the beginning of the third. Many thought his quest for an 18th Major was soon coming to an end. The quality of his tennis was just not at the point where he could contend for a Major title, or so it seemed. Even Cilic, one of the nice guys on the ATP Tour, would later say that he thought Federer was committing unlikely errors from the baseline, including the fourth-set tiebreaker.

Accordingly, it looked like Cilic was headed for the locker room with a three-set victory when the scoreboard showed 3-3 in the third set and he held three break points at 0-40 on his opponent’s serve. One pattern that kept troubling Federer was the second shot after the serve. Following Cilic’s returns, he often looked out of balance and committed mistakes (although Cilic’s returns would make them “forced errors”) on that particular shot. At 0-40, Cilic once again nailed a return right at Federer’s feet. The Swiss barely had time to take a step back and answered with an off-balance forehand that barely scraped over the net. It landed short. Cilic hit into the net what should be a routine backhand approach shot. It turned out to be one of the key points of the match. Cilic himself would later admit that this point, along with two of the three match points he had, were the points that he “regretted” the most once the match ended. Then at 30-40, Federer hit a well-placed, high-bouncing second serve that forced the Croat into an error. Federer finally held, and all of a sudden, the momentum shifted tiny bit in his favor for the first time in the match. He broke Cilic’s serve in the ensuing game and pocketed the third set 6-3.

Federer would admit later to remembering, during that set, his comeback vs. Tommy Haas in the 2009 French Open. In that match, Haas also led Federer two sets to zero, had a break point to go up, and serve for the match. Federer hit the line with his forehand for a winner and the match turned around quickly, eventually leading to Roger’s win in five sets and his only French Open crown two matches later. The only difference: he won the fourth and the fifth sets handily, whereas that would not be the case here against Cilic. Fourth set would be another battle back and forth, similar to the first set, except that Marin would have the opportunities to put the match away, while Roger would still play catch-up tennis. Cilic had his first chance to reestablish his dominance when he led 2-1, and 15-40 on Federer’s service game. Two effective second serves by the Swiss, second being much riskier than the first, got him out of trouble and he held for 2-2. At 4-5 would come a bigger opportunity for Cilic to put this encounter in the record books when he had a match point at 30-40. Federer missed his first serve on yet another crucial point. However – and yes, you may be noticing a pattern by now, more on it later – served an exceptional second serve to get out of trouble once again. A second match point would arrive at 5-6, but this time, Federer would hit an ace to save that one and bring the set to a tiebreaker.

In a thrilling 4th-set tiebreaker, Federer saved another match point and squandered four set points himself before finally winning it 11-9 on his fifth one. He especially found himself in big trouble after missing a forehand sitter on his first set point at 6-4 and losing the next two points to go down 6-7 and a third match point. His second serve once again took the leading role. He placed it wonderfully, forcing Cilic into another return error. Did I mention he also served an unreturnable second serve earlier in the tiebreaker? Well, I just did.

The fifth set was finally where Federer, for the first time in the match, did swing freely, serving better and better, and beginning to dominate Cilic on all facets of the game. One break was enough and he would find it in the eighth game of the set. In the next game, he served out the match and lifted his hands high up in the air after the ace that officially finished the match. Federer would characterize this comeback as a “big one” but not necessarily his biggest.

This was a special win, not because of the tennis that Federer played, but more because of his often-underrated competitor persona that surfaced. Tim Henman would confirm on his post-match commentary on BBC, accurately so, that Roger’s “will to win” was what got him over the hurdle. Federer said later that he was “lucky to some extent,” but he also affirmed that he would “rather be here than booking a jet.” Isn’t it the sign of a champion anyway to find some solution and fabricate a win when he/she cannot perform at the desired level? The elite athletes in our sport prove repeatedly that it is the case.

One of the most underrated shots in tennis is the second serve, yet somehow one that elite players usually lead in all categories to which it relates. As you read above, it was Federer’s second serve that got him out of trouble on the majority of critical moments during the match. Two match points and three crucial break points that almost felt like match points were all saved thanks to second serves that had faster-than-usual pace or risky placement, or both. Roger said that his serve was the one shot he felt he could always fall back on, specifically mentioning his second serve.

How much does he rely on it? Here are a few numbers to ponder. In yesterday’s five-set match, Federer committed zero double faults. Keep in mind that he was not, by any means, “playing it safe” on his second serves. In fact, he took high risks on many of them simply because he had trouble handling Cilic’s returns. On the break and match points noted above, they were placed extremely close to the lines. At Wimbledon so far, the Swiss has committed a total of 2 (“two” in writing) double faults in five matches! He won 59% of his second-serve points against Cilic, and that stat is at 63% for the overall tournament. Are these details? Maybe… But for some reason, these details are always present and relevant when the topic revolves around the top players of our game.

Federer plays Milos Raonic in the semis. The Canadian is also winning 63% of his second-serve points. Federer will need to extend to the whole match the level of tennis he put on display in the fifth set against Cilic. He will (possibly) need to do that again, in order to lift the trophy on Sunday. In short, he has to play his two best matches of 2016 in succession, in order to win his favorite Major. I neither see him defeating Raonic nor winning the tournament if he plays another match at a level no higher than the previous ones in which he was challenged throughout the grass-court season. The good news: he has improved with each match and during yesterday’s match. He reiterated the importance of the seven matches that he got to play in Stuttgart and Halle in terms of getting prepared for Wimbledon. At the end of the tournament, I am guessing that this particular one against Cilic may yet turn out to be the biggest.

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Interview with Denis Istomin “Part 2″ – Wimbledon 2nd Round

Side note: I named this “Part 2” because I previously interviewed Denis Istomin after his 5-set, first-round upset win over the 20th-seeded Kevin Anderson on Monday. I would highly recommend that you read that interview first in case you missed it (especially for background information on Istomin), by clicking here before you move on to read this one.

Yesterday, Istomin defeated Nicolas Almagro 6-4 7-6 6-2 to reach the third round at Wimbledon.

DI1

He was nice enough to take the time and talk to me about his pre-match preparation and the details of his win against the former top-10 player from Spain. Here is what he had to say.

Congratulations Denis!
Thank you very much.

You played a big hitter today. Almagro hits big from the baseline, big first serve, and has a game founded on power. Going into the match, did you want to keep the points long in the beginning and force him into mistakes early in the match, or did you perhaps plan to start aggressively yourself in order not to allow him to settle into his game?

I wanted to keep him hitting the ball. He has the kind of game where he wants to hit as hard as he can and it’s tough to play like that all the time. If you get four or five balls back, he wants to go even for more. He could start missing, so I tried to play in that way today. But at the same time, I was serving well, so I decided to be aggressive if I get a chance. I mean, I have a good record against him [6-0 now] so that also worked for me. But today, the first two sets were really tough. I was lucky that I broke him back at 5-6 in the second and won the tiebreaker. In the third set, his game went down, it was 3-0 in like five minutes.

You seemed to accelerate your forehand down-the-line a lot this match. Was that a particular part of your game plan? You usually like to hit out your forehand when you are on the run but it seemed that you paid particular attention to attempting down-the-line winners with your forehand.

Yes, but that is the style of game anyway. I feel I can hit down-the-line very good on the forehand and backhand. Many players know that I can be dangerous on the forehand. I knew that if I run so far out of the court, I will not have time to come back, so I hit my forehand full power. If not, I have to run to the other side and it’s a problem. I mean, I am not a short guy who can run fast, I need to protect the part of the court that I can cover. I don’t need to be playing a style where I run and cover the court like… I don’t know… like Djokovic or someone.

In the first set, you won your only break point, and the set at 5-4 up, with an excellent running passing shot.

Almagro can't reach Istomin's forehand, cross-court passing shot on set point.
Almagro can’t reach Istomin’s cross-court forehand passing shot on set point.

But the second set was more complicated. You had break points at 4-3, didn’t break, then you led 0-30 at 5-4 up, did not put it away. Then, you lost your serve at 5-6 but you were able to break back and win the second set. Can you elaborate on that?

Yeah, it’s tennis and it happens. If you lose such game against Isner and Karlovic it would hurt more because you know that it will be difficult to break back. But with guys who don’t serve as strong, you still have a chance so you keep playing in the same way you have until then and hope you break back. In that 5-6 game, I went up 0-40 and he still came back to deuce but I was finally able to break back. It was a very tough set. Even if I lost that set, I would have felt ok. He played good and deserved to win the set. He held his serve at 4-3 and 5-4 even though he was down in the game.

Are you physically feeling good?

Yeah, today I felt good. I had two days of rest which helped a lot. I play tomorrow again [vs David Goffin] so I am lucky I won in three sets and not 4 or 5. So I kept some energy for tomorrow [smiles].

For fans who may be curious about what players do between matches, what have you done since the end of your match vs Anderson?

After that long match, I showered, had something to eat, got a massage. I tried to sleep early that night but it was tough. It’s not easy to fall asleep after such a long match. It was around midnight when I finally fell asleep I think. The next day, I practiced 40 minutes, maybe even less, just to feel the ball and that was it. Yesterday, I did the same, preparing for the scheduled match. But then we sat all day waiting to see if we will go on the court or not, because of the rain. When it cancelled we went home. I tried to sleep earlier last night too. I did the same this morning, warming up this morning.

On Monday, when we talked you called your season “terrible.” Has that changed?

No, now it changed a little bit [laughs] but it’s still not great [laughs again].

Thank you, and again, good luck tomorrow!
Thank you!

Denis thanks the spectators after his win.
Istomin thanks the spectators after his win

Note: Denis will face the 11th-seeded David Goffin of Belgium on Friday afternoon. It’s the third match scheduled on Court 3. I hope to talk to him again following that match.

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Interview with Denis Istomin – Wimbledon 1st round

Denis Istomin, the 103rd-ranked player from Uzbekistan (highest: 33 in 2012), defeated the 20th-seed Kevin Anderson 4-6 6-7(13) 6-4 7-6(2) 6-3 in the first round of Wimbledon. It was a thrilling come back by a player who has gone through his own trials and tribulations throughout his career. He has had to deal with numerous injuries and was severely injured in a car accident on his way to a junior tournament when he was 14 years old, one that resulted in a broken leg and required 80 stitches and a three-and-a-half-month-long stay in a hospital for recovery.

He is also coached by his mother – considered an “unusual arrangement” in a world dominated by male coaches – who got him back on the court two years after his accident. I thought it would be a good idea to give this background information before showing the interview below, because I did not want Denis to have to talk about these topics again. I am sure he has had to answer hundreds of question about them, although, as you will notice, he seems “pretty cool” about it.

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Below is my chat with the soft-spoken, polite 29-year-old Istomin, following his thrilling win vs Anderson. He will face Nicolas Almagro in the second round.

You had 7 set points, yet you lost the 2nd set 15-13 in the tiebreaker to go down two sets to nothing. You were up 6-3 and the first three set points in a row, and the point at 6-4 was the longest rally of the match. Yet, you still managed to come back and win in 5 sets. I am curious, how quickly did you recover mentally after that second-set tiebreaker?

From 6-3 to 6-6 in the tiebreaker, I think he had a good serve. Then, yes, the next point was a Iong rally and I missed the down-the-line backhand a bit long. Then at 6-5, after this kind of point, you know, it’s tough to serve well because you are still tired from the last point. He also hit a good, aggressive return and got back to 6-6. After that, he served unbelievable the rest of the tiebreaker, I had no chances to put the set away although it was a long tiebreaker. When I lost that and went down 2-0 in sets, I took the points one by one, and hoped that I can make a break somewhere. I got lucky but I managed to get a break in the third set. But it changed the game completely. I started to play better, more aggressive, with the momentum. It continued and I played very well in the fourth set tiebreaker. I also think he got tired after the fourth set as well. I could see that and I just waited for my chance to break again.

I thought for a little while that he was getting tired toward the end of the second set, but he played another three sets after that.

Well, it’s a three-out-of-five-set match anyway, but he is good on this surface and he served very, very well. But I had more chances to break later for sure. For example, in the first two sets, I had maybe two or three break points, but then I started to return well and I had more and more chances. Third set, I also changed my tactic a little bit. I began hitting drop shots to make him run a little bit, maybe that had an effect on him as well.

Istomin at the moment of victory
Istomin at the moment of victory

Your peers and coaches who know you seem to admire your work ethic. Is that important to you or does it make you proud?

[smiles] Well, I mean.. I just do my job. I try to do it the best I can. It’s my life, that’s my charisma and character I would say. I try to do my best and work in the best way I can. After my car accident, I had some trouble with my body, you know, a lot of problems with my body. A lot of injuries. Every season, I had something. I try to not think about it and just work.

You have been playing Majors for a long time and have done your best at Wimbledon and US Open, reaching 4th round in both. You have had a tough season so far too. Are you perhaps looking at this Wimbledon and think that it may be a good opportunity for you to recover and find your best game again?

I have a terrible season this year…

[I interrupt briefly, smiling] I did not want to use the word “terrible” in the question…

[Laughs] No, no, it was terrible, terrible… Let’s be honest, it’s been a terrible season. I lost a lot of matches. I had crazy injuries and illnesses, losses came one after another. But ok… It happened. You are human and these things happen. You just have to work around it and it’s going to be better. I just try to keep playing, you know? This kind of match can change a season as well, so I am looking forward to playing better and better.

Does Wimbledon hold a special place for you compared to the other three Majors?

The grass, in general, is my favorite surface. And of course, Wimbledon has a nice atmosphere and I really like it here. All Slams are strong you know, and you have to be at 100%. Finally, I am at 100%.. I hope [chuckles]. In Paris, against Juan Monaco, I strained my ankle after five games [Monaco won in four sets], but in the end I finished a five-set match today so it looks good.

What is one question that you wished you never heard again in your interviews and press conferences?

[smiles] I am not really like this, questions don’t really bother me too much. If someone wants to know what happened somewhere or if I slept well, I mean, that is a question too. They [media] are doing their jobs as well so, for me, it’s ok. If you ask me hundred times, like everybody did to me before, “how’s working with your mom?” every time I like to answer and say “I’m doing really great.”

Thank you for taking the time.

Thank you, I appreciate it.

(Edit: Click here to read my next chat with Istomin three days later, after 2nd-round win.)

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“The Finest Hour” – Cagla Buyukakcay’s 2015 Campaign

(Note: This is the English version of my article that was published in the May issue of Tenis Dunyasi, the largest publication in Turkey dedicated to tennis. It was written after her Istanbul Open title and before she qualified for the main draw and won a round at the French Open.)

It is March 9th, 2015 and I am at a dinner with Cagla Buyukakcay and her coach Can Uner in Indian Wells, California. Their hearts are heavy and their expressions gloomy. Silence reigns at the table. About six hours earlier, 15th-seeded Cagla lost 6-3 6-4 to Sesil Karatantcheva in the first qualifying round of the BNP Paribas Open Championships in Indian Wells. It was the first Premier-level tournament that Cagla entered based solely on her (then-) newly acquired career-high ranking. Yet, the excitement of that accomplishment was now replaced by the gloomy reality of having lost on the first day of competition. In an effort to cheer them up, I told them to leave it behind, that there would be many other challenges ahead, and that there would be disappointments as well as victories along the way. Can did not respond. Cagla, for her part, replied with her usual honesty, yet in a sullen tone “you are right Mert, but when you lose like this, it’s hard to find it in you to feel alive again.”

I regularly spend many weeks on the tour with Can and Cagla. We are close friends and we constantly share our thoughts and knowledge on the sport that we love. I have always admired their positive approach in such a competitive business. I confess that I had never managed to remain as cheerful and as positive as they have for extended periods of time during my years as a player. This added to my sense of helplessness toward my friends at that dinner. I have never seen them in such dismal mood. It saddened me.

Cagla and Can were upbeat during the couple of days leading up to the start of competition in Indian Wells, and with good reason.

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A month earlier in Fedcup, Cagla had recorded the best wins of her career (vs. Heather Watson and Elena Svitolina) and thanks to some terrific results in the previous few months, her WTA ranking had climbed up to a career-best no. 108. However, it was obvious that, deep down, she felt that she had failed the test at a higher “stage” like Indian Wells.

Little did we all know during that dinner that she was about to enter a long period of trials and tribulations, filled with frequent disappointments. Little did we know that between March and September, she was going to only win 6 matches and lose 19, exit every important tournament (including the qualifying rounds of Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open) after the first-round, and wait until the middle of September, a $25,000 tournament in Batum, Georgia, to remember what it felt like winning two matches in a row. Last but not the least, little did we know that evening, that her ranking was going to plummet from 108 to 192 during that six-month period.

Side note: Although Cagla reached the semifinal and final rounds of two other $25,000 tournaments later in September, it would not be until Dubai in November that Cagla would finally break free of this terrible downswing (more on these later). In other words, the overall focus of this article on an eight-month period rather than a six-month one.

Throughout this period, I remained in contact with Cagla and Can by phone regularly and in-person at a few other tournaments. I can say the following without a shred of doubt: only an exceptional player-coach duo could have survived this period that severely challenged their resolve and character. Usually, in similar situations, some type of deep-crisis moment arrives, necessitating a radical change either in the makeup of a player’s team or in the direction of her game. For example, the coach or the player, or both, could lose their belief in their partnership and decide to part ways at times. At others, they could decide that their methods are wrong, and thus, remodel their practice routines, in order to pursue new/other improvements in the player’s game. Only the partnership of a player like Cagla who represents the epitome of hard work, dedication, and possesses the ability to use her high-IQ to assess her performance during and after matches, and a coach like Can who can radiate his “positive vibes” to anyone standing within 100 feet of him could have overcome the anguish of that emotionally taxing eight-month-period, and ultimately get rewarded by the 2016 season that Cagla has had so far.

Indian Wells

None of the above is to say that they circumvented moments of crisis. There were plenty of them.

One such moment occurred when Cagla lost 6-1 7-6 to Naomi Broady in the first round of Roland Garros qualifying draw. This was a disappointing loss in that Cagla had just had a solid practice week in preparation for the French Open, and therefore, felt extremely upbeat about having found her game for the first time since March. However, as soon as she fell behind early in the match, she turned “passive with her game” as Can would later say. It was not until the second set that she recovered, but that was too little too late to score a come-back victory against a rising player like Broady. High performance in practice followed by an inability to transfer that level to matches often indicates that the player lacks confidence. Cagla would also later admit that during this period filled with disappointments, confidence was precisely what she desperately needed. This defeat was only going to add to the problem.

I immediately sensed the despair in her voice when we talked after the match that day. “Mert, this is so difficult” she said. “This bad period has gone on for too long now and I can’t stand it anymore that I can’t perform well in matches. I feel awful. I don’t know what else to do to turn this around.” When I spoke to Can, he did not sound much better: “I can’t even tell you how sad I am, my morale is below zero!” Simply put, they were depressed. Cagla needed some wins, and she needed them in a hurry! Anyone who played competitive sports can confirm that winning takes care of a number of issues at once. Even the problems to which you thought there was no solution can quickly get resolved as if a magic wand had touched them.

In the meantime, Cagla and Can had decided in 2014 to revamp and modify her game. It was a decision made after years of remaining in the 100-to-200 area in the rankings. The fact that she had been unable to enter the top 100 (she turned pro in 2006 and outside of a brief period in 2011-12, she had been ranked top 200 since 2010), and had never qualified for the main draw of a Major in her career, was beginning to weigh heavy in her mind. This is why Cagla and her coach had made, back then, the decision to go ahead with major modifications to her game. She began to work extensively on adding new shots to her repertoire, as well as adjusting the existing ones to enhance the aggressive dimension of her game. For example, they focused on increasing the variety on the placement of first serves. They committed to making the drop shot and the swing-volley regular components of her game. They began to pay particular attention to punishing any short balls that came Cagla’s way, and firmly decided that if the opportunity presented itself, she would not think twice about approaching the net. They had worked on these and more for the last several months, and Cagla was successfully starting to integrate them into her “A” game in practice. In matches, however, she was still apprehensive about using them, and would often revert back to her comfort zone, which was to rally from behind the baseline, remain consistent, and count on winning on her opponents’ errors.

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Side note: I neither have the space nor the time to get into the details of this process, but suffice it to say that it is an extremely testing time when a player who has been fairly successful with a particular game plan for an extended period of time attempts to introduce riskier elements to her game that are outside of her “comfort zone.” Here is a quick summary of what awaits a player who had made such decision. In order to accomplish this progress, the player must first work on the new (or modified) shots in practice to settle the technical details. Then, she must do it repetitively to gain enough confidence to use them in points. If she succeeds in those first two steps, then will arrive the toughest part of the process: she must integrate these shots in to her game plan in competition, with the understanding that she may, for a while, not be successful with them and lose matches that she may have won with her “older” game plan. Most players engaged in this process will, after a few disappointing results, revert back to their comfort zone because they will not be able to handle the lack of success in the short-term.

Cagla, for her part, was determined to move forward: “The losses are burning me inside but there is no place or time for negativity” she emphasized in our next conversation a few days later after our previous one (see above). Her coach Can never wavered in his commitment to help Cagla get to the next level. He would relentlessly encourage Cagla, clearly let her know that he firmly believed that she was going to get over this tough period. He would reiterate his belief to me in my conversations with him and was adamant that, despite the surmounting losses, he could already notice the progress in her game. I then reminded Cagla that a world in which a competitor did not reap the benefits of her hard work did not exist, and joined Can in encouraging her to stick with their progress plan. The problem was that during this period Cagla was playing higher-level tournaments than she had previously done, and thus, was having to play better, more experienced players. While trying to settle into a new, riskier game plan, a process which tested her patience, she was also having to deal with the psychological damage of suffering frequent (or consecutive) losses. At the time, it seemed like an impossible situation. That was how the summer of 2015 went.

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In the beginning of September, Can and Cagla were approaching another moment of crisis. Desired results had not materialized and their patience was wearing thin. I must point out that, to my amazement, Cagla had still not lost her belief and was continuing to search for solutions. Following yet another disappointing 1st-round exit in the qualifying of the U.S. Open, I feared a possible crack in her patience and optimism. She surprised me yet again. I could only listen to Cagla and admire her maturity and objectivity in assessing the reality of her situation. When I told her that she should not let the losses convince her that she had not improved, she calmly replied “I agree that I have improved my game. Yet, it does not mean a thing if my improvement does not translate into wins. That is what I want now. I hope, I must, begin to win more matches. I frankly despise the fact that my ranking has gone down at a time where I think I am playing the best tennis of my career. I don’t deserve these back-to-back losses. I need to be mentally stronger, because I feel better about my tennis, and show that in the turning points of matches. With a bit more confidence it will happen. The losses have taken their toll on me. I want to be a tough player again! Once I start winning more, I will feel better, I truly believe that!” After she finished that last sentence, I will never forget, I thought to myself that it takes a special kind of player and a special kind of character to be able to see the larger, the more optimist picture this clearly, in the middle of such a terrible downswing. My fears that she may begin to think that she is in the wrong path and revert back to her older game, or try something totally anew, were dissipated after that conversation. I also knew that Can completely believed in her ability to keep pursuing the goals that they set together. I had no doubt that his enthusiasm and optimism were contagious enough to pass on to Cagla.

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Therefore, it was not a total surprise when, one week after our conversation above, she began bearing the initial fruits of her labor in a $25,000-tournament in Batumi, Georgia. She won five matches in a row to claim the title, and went on to reach the semifinals in her next two tournaments (also $25K each). Cagla was, for the first time, beginning to consistently use the new shots that she had practiced for a year, and to apply her modified game plan to matches. This was proof that she had overcome the toughest part of the process.

She was not, however, overlooking the fact that these tournaments were below the level of those during which she had suffered multiple losses, earlier in the year. It was difficult to tell if, in Cagla’s head, the so-called “difficult period” was over or not. The doubt creeped back in when her results remained below expectations in October. Despite her deep disappointment, I detected an upbeat tone in her voice and in the content of what she said when we talked on October 23rd, after her loss to Robin Anderson in Florence, South Carolina: “My disappointment is different this time. I played the kind of tennis that I aimed for. The new me was out there, so to speak. That is why I am so disappointed that I lost. For example, when I played Leykina [a month earlier], I lost because I did not dare to use my new game, I did not use the shots that I added to my game. But in this match, I did, and they worked, and I still lost! What more can I do?” Yes, there was a hint of despair in that last question, but there was also the understanding that her improvements were legitimate. More importantly, they had become part of her game enough for Cagla to now contemplate on how she can build on them. I tried to remind her that she was not alone on the court, and that there was an opponent on the other side of the net who also exercised her influence on the final score. Anderson was an athletic and an intelligent player. This defeat did not need to deter Cagla away from pursuing her long-term goals. As long as she kept improving her game, better results were inevitable at this point. When I talked to Can later, he agreed and simply stated: “We decided long ago that there would be no U-turns on this road. We will continue to move forward!”

Land 2Pre-match talk.

Then came the $75,000 Dubai tournament in November, the Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge, where everything seemed to fall into place. But this was not some magic wand arranging everything with a simple touch. That week was the product of a long period of hard work, the end of a tough several-month stretch marked by trials and tribulations. Cagla did utilize all the new shots in her arsenal, did remain committed to her revamped game plan in the important points, did keep her discipline regardless of the score. More importantly, with each point, set, and match won, what little doubt she still had slowly evaporated away. She concluded the best week of her career, winning the title. Now, she had concrete proof that her game had climbed a level or two above where she had started 2015. The year could not have had a better ending.

Let’s now fast forward to April 23rd, 2016…

Cagla was standing with the winner’s trophy at the center of the Koza World of Sports Arena, the center court of the WTA Istanbul Cup event. During her winner’s speech to the crowd, she did not refer to Can as her coach, but rather as the one “who stood by her during my worst times.” As someone who has witnessed their interactions and many of their coach-player dialogs, I can attest to the accuracy of that statement.

Yet, let’s give credit where credit is due…

Cagla has never been one to simply follow her coach’s instructions. She also evaluates his input, analyzes her own progress, accomplishes the difficult task of transferring the skills learned in practice to matches, and continuously makes the necessary tactical adjustments on her own during matches. This was her victory, her trophy. Anyone who knows Cagla closely can tell you that her work ethic, her sheer determination, and her on-court IQ have all contributed to her success more than her technique. Along with those, the added factor of confidence in 2016 propelled her to career-high ranking and that WTA title in her home country. It was a fairy-tale ending to a long, difficult journey.

There is a scene in the movie Apollo 13 in which Gene Kranz, the flight director at the mission control in Houston, played by Ed Harris, finds himself in the middle of a crisis. The mission has gone wrong and he is focused on getting Apollo 13 safely back to earth. The director of NASA, played by Joe Spano, is standing behind him with another man at his side. He turns to him and says “This could be the worst disaster NASA’s ever experienced.” Kranz hears this, turns around, and replies with conviction: “With all due respect, sir, I believe this is going to be our finest hour.”

Kranz’s quote represents the closest metaphor that I can think of when I look back at Cagla’s 2015 campaign, because I am certain that the word “disaster” has passed through everyone’s head in Cagla’s camp at some point during the 2015 season. One day in the future, after her tennis career has ended, she will likely look back at that disastrous period of eight months in the 2015 season and come to the realization that it was indeed her finest hour.

I always believed that the most fruitful periods in a player’s career are not the ones where everything is going well, his or her game is clicking on all cylinders, and positive results are coming one after another. The superior players (and coaches) are those who can turn a crisis situation to their advantage. Cagla and Can have passed that test with flying colors, in a way that should be a lesson to all other players and coaches. Of course, there will always be other challenges to overcome. However, what Cagla has proven, without a doubt, is that when a player concentrates on improving his/her game and not use results as the essential determinant of his/her success, the desired numbers also begin to eventually show up on the scoreboard.

In my talk with Cagla, two days after her Istanbul Cup victory, she was still in the euphoria of victory. It was not just that either: with that victory she also achieved her long-time goals of earning a top-100 WTA ranking, entering the main draw of a Major (due to her new ranking, she was guaranteed a spot in the upcoming Wimbledon main draw), and carved her name in stone into the record books as she became the first Turkish woman in history to win a WTA singles title. “It’s like I am in a dream Mert, how did this happen?” she said. “This morning when I woke up, I began crying in joy again as I lived the week all over again in my mind. How long I waited for this! What a wonderful feeling. I never experienced anything like this in my life, this must be what people truly refer to when they say ‘moment of bliss.’” In my mind, knowingly or unknowingly, she was trying describing her individual sense of accomplishment. It didn’t matter anyway what she was describing. It was the happiness that she was radiating that made it all worthwhile to listen to her. She became a champion and earned the right to be happy, at least for those few days.

Update on Cagla since this article appeared in Tenis Dunyasi: she had to play qualifying at the French Open and it turned out, after all, that she did not have to wait until Wimbledon to play in the main draw of a Major. She won three qualifying rounds and a round in the main draw in Paris, before losing to the 24th-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-3 4-6 6-1 in the second round. She also became the first Turkish tennis player to participate in the Olympic Games, losing to Ekaterina Makarova 3-6 6-0 7-6(6) in a terrific first-round match.

RG

She is currently ranked 77 (one below her career-high 76 last week) and has a chance at being selected to play in the upcoming Olympic Games in Rio. She is right now in London, preparing for her first-round match at Wimbledon against the 30th-seeded Caroline Garcia.

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Wimbledon 2016 to Begin Monday !

The 2016 edition of Wimbledon is here.
Will Novak Djokovic win his fifth Major in a row?
Will anyone stop Serena Williams?
Will there be a new Major winner on either side?

All these questions and more will be answered in the next two weeks on the grass courts of the most prestigious tournament in history of tennis. As usual, stay tuned to Mertov’s Tennis Desk for insightful posts.

More importantly —-> Click here to follow MT-Desk on Twitter for frequent, live updates from the grounds.

Here are a few pictures to wet your appetite. No Centre Court, the Henman Hill, or the crowds. Just calmness and beauty reigning at Wimbledon, less than two days before the mayhem begins.

Spectators who arrive by tube will walk along Wimbledon Park Road to get to the grounds.Wimbledon Park Rd

Court 2, the biggest stadium court behind Centre and No. 1Ct 2

And a few outside courts…
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Notice how green they are… for now!
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