Notes on the Tour: The End of 2005

Explosive in 2005, and one match from the record. What a year! Tennis seems healthy…except for the players, that is. Even though it did not begin or end predictably, the men’s tour saw the talented Mr. Federer post the most dominant season since Johnny Mac in 1984. In the end he ran out of gas just one match from equaling Mac’s incredible match record of 82-3. Different eras, different temperaments, but similar records based on graceful all court games with deceptive speed and power. Mary Pierce reached 3 big finals—the surprise of 2005. The women’s tour? Instead of the further emergence of young Russians, it was a splitting of the Slams between the two Belgians and the two Williams girls, plus few surprises from les dames francaise. Let’s start with the re-focused Mary Pierce. I’ve never been a fan per se, but watching her reach two slam finals then almost pulling off a huge win in the final of the WTA’s year-end championships, you’d think it was VH1’s I love the 90’s — tennis edition. She’s fit again, and with balance and poise she comes to the net to finish points. On the baseline, she made her opponents (including defending…