Playing on one leg is quite tricky

Jelena Jankovic, I salute you

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I have a lot of respect for someone willing to play on one leg. Yeah, I know it's stupid on one level, because you can hurt yourself more and put yourself out for ages, but I think it shows a can-do attitude. If there's even the smallest possibility you can play, you should at least give it a try.

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The best example of 'one leg playing' that I can think of is the Masters Cup final in 2005, that epic match between Nalbandian and Federer that went to five sets, even though Federer was effectively playing on one leg. A few weeks before? Crutches. And then he comes back from 4-0 down in the fifth set. He didn't win the match, but I reckon R-Fed probably won a lot of fans that day.

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Same deal with Jankovic today. No one expected her to come back out on the court after she had to retire in her singles match. But there she was in the mixed doubles, and she certainly held her own. She was fearsome at the net, and damn if she can't whack the ball hard... there was one moment when she lined up, took a shot at Clement at the other side of the net, and he fell over trying to get out of the way. So full cred to Jankovic today.

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That's one of the big differences between the sports and the arts, I find. Your body can get injured so easily. In arts, it's largely mental, and it's pretty hard to come down with something that renders you unable to think. It must be so frustrating for sportspeople. Their minds are fine. They can think up game plans till they're blue in the face, but their body lets them down. I can't imagine how utterly useless that could make you feel.

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Meanwhile, Hsieh Su-wei, blogging subject of a few days back, just won her match against Gisela Dulko, and I'm cheering!

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Today's Results

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Hopman Cup (Perth)

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Serbia def. France 2-1

Tatiana Golovin def. Jelena Jankovic, 0-1 ret.

Novak Djokovic def. Arnaud Clement, 6-3 6-3

Jankovic/Djokovic def. Golovin/Clement, 5-7 6-4 10-4 (match tie break)

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Chinese Taipei leads Argentina 1-0

Hsieh Su-wei def. Gisela Dulko, 6-3 6-7 (2-7) 7-5

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Mondial Australian Women's Hardcourts

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Nicole Vaidisova def. Tatjana Malek, 6-4 6-2

Dinara Safina def. Flavia Pennetta, 6-4 2-6 6-4

Patty Schnyder def. Francesca Schiavone, 2-6 6-3 6-4

Shahar Peer def. Julia Schruff, 6-0 ret.

Amélie Mauresmo def. Nathalie Dechy, 6-3 6-4

Li Na def. Monique Adamczak, 6-3 6-2

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ASB Classic (Auckland)

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Vera Zvonareva def. Sofia Arvidsson, 6-2 6-3

Maria Kirilenko def. Klara Zakopalova, 6-4 6-1

Katarina Srebotnik def. Yvonne Meusburger, 6-0 6-1

Lindsay Davenport def. Anabel Medina Garrigues, 6-1 4-6 6-0

Tamira Paszek def. Camille Pin, 6-2 6-3

Aravane Rezai def. Eleni Daniilidou, 7-5 6-4

Sara Errani def. Pauline Parmentier, 6-1 6-2

Marina Erakovic def. Ashley Harkleroad, 7-6 (7-5) 7-5

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Next Generation Adelaide International (Adelaide)

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Paul-Henri Mathieu def. Chris Guccione, 4-6 6-3 6-4

Benjamin Becker def. Michael Russell, 6-4 6-4

Michael Llodra def. Evgeny Korolev, 7-6 (7-3) 6-3

Joseph Sirianni def. Sam Querrey, 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 6-3

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Qatar Exxonmobil Open (Doha)

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Nikolay Davydenko def. Benedikt Dorsch, 6-3 6-0

Agustin Calleri def. Tommy Robredo, 6-4 6-4

Andy Murray def. Olivier Rochus, 6-0 6-2

Christophe Rochus def. Ivo Karlovic, 7-6 (7-2) 6-2

Dmitry Tursunov def. Albert Montanes, 6-2 7-5

Janko Tipsarevic def. Santiago Ventura, 3-6 6-3 6-4

Rainer Schuettler def. Andrei Pavel, 1-6 6-2 6-0

Stanislas Wawrinka def. Alberto Martin, 6-2 6-2

Nicholas Kiefer def. Sebastien de Chaunac, 6-4 6-3

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Chennai Open (Chennai)

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Rafael Nadal def. Mathieu Montcourt, 6-2 6-4

Robin Haase def. Marcos Baghdatis, 6-3 6-4

Carlos Moya def. Teimuraz Gabashvili, 6-4 6-1

Nicolas Mahut def. Denis Gremelmayr, 6-3 6-3

Werner Eschauer def. Bartolome Salva-Vidal, 7-6 (7-3) 5-7 6-4

Kristof Vliegen def. Marc Gicquel, 7-6 (7-5) 6-4

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez def. Alexander Peya, 6-4 6-4

Rajeev Ram def. Yuri Schukin, 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-2)

Lovro Zovko def. Thierry Ascione, 6-4 6-0

Alexandre Kudryavtsev def. Prakash Amritraj, 6-3 4-6 7-6 (10-8)

Marin Cilic def. Viktor Troicki, 3-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-1