Greetings from Idaho, where it is mud-season as I begin my preparations for the next Outback Champions Series event in Boston. The last few weeks have been quite busy for me. I was on Davis Cup duty as captain of the Swedish team where we had a great win over Argentina and then I played some exhibition matches in Madrid, which helped me get in form for Boston. I’ve also been doing some extra running and mountain biking here at home in Idaho in addition to hitting some more balls to get ready. I have a tough round robin flight in Boston with Pete Sampras and John McEnroe in my draw as well as Petr Korda. There’s going to be a lot of hype with this event being Pete’s first Outback Champions Series event and first tournament since the 2002 US Open.
I have to say that It’s very cool that Pete Sampras has decided to join our tour. It’s great for fans, the media and sponsors, but I think, overall, it’s great for tennis. Tennis is a lifetime game and it’s great to see someone like Pete continuing the play, compete and enjoy the sport. I think it is great for champion players to keep playing after they are finished playing on the ATP Tour and not just disappear into oblivion. Players should keep playing until they are 50 and play in exhibitions, tournaments, special events, etc.
Pete and I are going to play on Friday night and I’m really looking forward to it. Pete and I first played at the 1989 US Open, where he beat me in five sets in the second round. I was the defending champion and I knew he was supposed to be a great young player. I saw him practice with Ivan Lendl during the Masters at Madison Square Garden and I saw that he was a big hitter – with a huge game and a huge serve. He was a kind of sloppy off the ground and he hit a lot of unforced errors and just always went for winners. I remember thinking at the time that he really needed to be a little more steady from the baseline if he wanted to make it as a top pro, but he really changed the way game was played.
On Thursday, I’m going to play John McEnroe. I can’t believe it’s been 25 years since we played our crazy Davis Cup match in St. Louis. At the time, it was the longest men’s match ever played in six hours and 22 minutes in the fifth and decisive match of the series with John winning 8-6 in the fifth set. I was 17-years-old and had just won the French Open. John just lost to Jimmy Connors in a five-set final at Wimbledon and we played the following week. The match for me was kind of my introduction to the men’s game. Even though I won the French Open, I was still very young and frankly, at the French, a lot of the guys who I played choked a little bit. In St. Louis, there were like 12,000 fans there and McEnroe was going out of his mind. He really should have been defaulted in that match, but what I learned that day was that if I wanted to be up there and contend with McEnroe, Connors and Ivan Lendl at the top of the game, I had to treat each tennis match as if it was more important than life itself. It was not just a game. It was the single most important thing going on in your life at that time and you had to do everything you could to win every match. John is still so competitive on the Outback Champions Series. He is playing great tennis these days. He still has some the best hands in tennis and is moving great and hitting the ball great. He’s still tough to play. I hope our match in Boston doesn’t last as long as the one in St. Louis.
I’m sure when I go to Boston, there is going to be a lot of talk about the Davis Cup since we are playing the United States in the semifinals in September. We are going to play in the Scandinavium in Goteborg, which is kind of a cursed arena for US Davis Cup teams. Sweden has beaten the US that last three times we have played there when the US has been big favorites to beat us. We really feel good playing there and playing in that arena, kind of makes a statement that Swedish tennis is back since that is where a lot of our big matches are played. There is going to be a lot of attention on us and a lot of hype and excitement in Sweden about the Davis Cup the week of the tie. I know that is really going to pump our guys up. I think it is a very open match. On paper, the US is the favorite. I think the US team is the best team in the world right now, but we are going to try to prevent them from being the best team in the world for that week based on the court surface we choose. We have to announce our surface choice in the next two weeks, but we are leaning towards either slow clay or a fast carpet. We know that Andy Roddick and James Blake are not the best clay court players, although Andy has won some great clay court matches. The Bryans are certainly good on clay. We are still talking about it with the players and also with our coach Joakim Nystrom. It’s still an open discussion. Stay tuned.
Talking about clay courts, it’s an exciting time of year on the ATP Tour as the clay court season is in full swing leading into Roland Garros. I logged onto the ATP Tour website and saw the picture of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer from the post-match ceremony from the Monte Carlo Open where Nadal beat Federer in straight sets to win the title. I have to say I was a little concerned for Roger. He looked too happy. He didn’t seem upset enough that he had just lost. He was smiling and talking to Nadal. He looked as though he didn’t mind losing to the Nadal. He really has to start hating to lose to Nadal. He has to see that losing to Nadal as unacceptable and he shouldn’t just accept losing so easily. Roger should be careful because Nadal is gaining on him.
That’s all for now. See you in Boston.
October 4, 2006
This is only the 2nd time for me at the Racquet Club of Memphis and so far its 0-2. I played the ATP event here in '83 but lost 1st round which for me at the time meant that Memphis was not for me and I have not been back until this week. Well, I regret it now because its really cool to play in a stadium built into an active tennis club and I am enjoying playing the Stanford Championships. So last night I was up against Jim Courier "The Man" who together with his InsideOut Sports & Entertainment crew really run a great tour. Jim is still very tough and we have a great time on the court. I tried my best to distract him with conversation, (only joking!)but it was not enough. Yes, I actually make myself heard these days out on the court. Magnus Larsson is the rookie this week in Memphis and I'm telling everyone to watch out, 'cause in my eyes he's the favorite this week. It's got nothing to do with the fact that he's from my hometown in Sweden. He won the ATP event here in 2000. Anyway, I'm looking forward to another battle with John McEnroe on Friday night and Wayne Ferreira on Saturday who I coached a while 5 years ago.
Later,
Mats
June 11, 2006
Let's get one thing straight, Nadal and Federer are the two, but I can still imagine and fantasize about the guy who beats both of them. That player exists only through their strengths, and I can bring him to life. He has a pretty good serve, he has an okay backhand which he takes early and either loops it, cuts it or flattens it. The forehand is solid, heavy, with lots of spin and pretty deep. Good on the run. Volley is improving. The mind is really focused on not screwing up, the heart won't give up, and now feel takes over. There have been a couple of matches at this tournament that really make you wonder what tennis will look like in 2015. Keep it up players, keep it up, I'm hooked!
