When people who are passionate about tennis learn that I am a tennis journalist, the first comment that is almost always made is – I would love to have your job.
More often than not I completely agree. True, there is the pressure of coming up with an interesting story idea then doing the necessary background research in order to produce a story that captivates readers. There are other issues to confront such as the number of words required, along with deadline times. But, overall being a tennis journalist is for the most part, interesting and enjoyable.
Today, it became less so. I decide to write about Matthew Ebden, the 31-year old Australian, who is No. 80 in the rankings. He faced Radu Albot, who is 29 and hails from Moldova. He is ranked No. 41. (Interestingly, both were born in November, Albot on the 11th and Ebden on the 26th.) They had only met once before. Ebden was forced to retire to Albot because of a foot injury, when he trailed 6-0, 3-2 at this year’s Miami Open.
The Noventi Open is a 500 event being played in Halle, Germany. Here, a columnist must send an e-mail to the ATP PR & Marketing people working the championship with a request to interview a player.
I did this asking to speak with Ebden. I explained that I wanted to follow up on the Ubitennis story I wrote last year when he entered the tournament as a Special Exempt and reached the quarterfinals losing 7-6, 7-5 to Roger Federer.
The response I received was – This has to be win only. What seemed worse was that the interview, if he won, needed to be conducted in the “Mixed Zone” not an interview room. Having written about the game for fifty-years, the answer was bewildering, shocking says it better. The reason given was confusing, because it came from an individual whose job is to be a conduit so media members can have direct access to the player(s) enabling them to better tell a tournament story.
(For those not in the know, the Mixed Zone is a cramped area immediately the behind the court on which the match is played where a sweat dripping player tries to gather his thoughts while a journalist attempts to find a stable spot on a tippy round chest high table to rest his notebook and scribble comments or place a tape recorder.)
As disappointed as I was with the “win only” dictate, I was more disappointed by not being able to talk with Ebden. He is eloquent and thoughtful when he answers questions. As an aside, he enrolled in law/commerce at the University of Western Australia and would have become a lawyer had he not become a successful tennis professional.
Today, he ended up absorbing a 5-7, 6-1, 6-4 defeat in two hours and eight minutes. “Win only” eliminated the opportunity to obtain telling quotes. As a result, “ATP Matchfacts” will have to provide a grasp of what took place. Ebden, one of the few serve and volleyers on the tour, had ten aces and seven double faults. Albot, who scampers around the baseline producing daring shots, had six aces and four double faults.
Slightly more telling was the fact Albot converted five of eighteen break points while Ebden was three of five. In the match, 203 points were played, and the winner collected 105. It is often said, “a point here and point there” determines the outcome of a match. Ebden earned 98 points and a mere seven points made the difference.
Again, I must apologize to Ubitennis readers. Matthew Ebden defines being a “professional” tennis player. It is a shame that the ATP PR & Marketing people behind the scenes at the Noventi Open don’t seem to be as professional.
