A Week For The Newbies

This is what I said about Richard Gasquet and his chances in the Stuttgart final yesterday:

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'So I'm being cautious in my Gasquet-supporting right now. His finals opponent, Juan Martin del Potro, should be no match for him. But let's just wait and see, shall we?'

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And who won the final? In straight sets?

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That would be Juan Martin del Potro, ladies and gentlemen. The Argentine teenager has won his first ever ATP title, at the expense of Monsieur Gasquet. Now, I don't want to disparage Juan Martin, because I think he's a fabulously talented player - who knows? maybe I'll profile him as a star of the future one of these days. But really, let's look at Gasquet. If we're just going on raw talent, Gasquet has got to be up there with the best on the circuit. He's not Federer or Safin, but he's heading in that direction.

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So where has he gone this year? What has happened to Richou?

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This tournament is on clay, which earns him a tiny reprieve. He is not a claycourter, and Juan Martin is. But Richou is also #15 in the world - which even then belies his true talent, because he's been lurking around #8 or #9 - while Juan Martin is currently #65 with a career high of #44. That is a big difference. I know they always say that any guy in the top 100 can beat any other guy or any given day, ra ra ra, but really, there is a reason that the guys in the top ten are there. It's because they win. And Richard Gasquet no longer deserves to be in the top ten.

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I used to really like Richard Gasquet. His game, when he plays it, is beautiful. He's not called Baby Fed for nothing. But if he is going to continue being as mentally fragile as he is, then he is not going to have much of a career. Get thee to a sports psychologist, Richou, and sort yourself out. Hey, I know! You can do it in the time when you're busy not representing your country in the Olympics!

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That really annoys me. There are so many people who would do anything to represent their nations in the Olympics. It's one of the few times I find myself truly patriotic - in the sports other than tennis, of course, where I will always support my favourites (aka Federer, only Federer and no one but Federer.) How could you possibly give that chance up? A chance to wear Olympic gold? I know Slams are important and all, but this is the fricking Olympics! The most important sporting event in the world - so important it only happens every four years!

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If Gasquet (and Roddick) were refusing to play on human rights grounds, then I would be 100% behind them, all the way. But they're not. They're saving themselves. And I don't like it. I don't like it at all.

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Anyway, enough of the negativity. One Frenchman I am happy to support (and always have been) is the French wizard, little Fabrice Santoro, who won the Newport title. Allez Fabrice! Seriously, this guy is awesome. He's one of the cleverest tennis players on tour, I think, and he plays such a pretty little game. He's thirty five years old, and he's showing no signs of stopping. I think he's just fantastic. And he was born in Tahiti. That is also very cool. I think he's just fabulous, and it warms the cockles of the heart to see him doing well.

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Congratulations also to Victor Hanescu, who won the tournament in Gstaad. I've never really paid much attention to Hanescu. I have no great insights about him. He's one of those guys that sits there in the top hundred and is a bit of a fixture, but I confess I wouldn't know him if I fell over him in the street. Congratulations anyway, though. Maybe I'll start taking a bit more notice of you now, Victor.

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It was Robredo who came out on top in the Battle of the Underwhelmers in Bastad. Considering this is clay, it was pretty much expected that Robredo would win that one - though if I had to pick, I might say that Berdych is actually the better player of the two. I think he has more talent, anyway. But that's all well and good for me to say - talent means nothing if you don't perform. I like Tomas. I like his game. And, unlike Hanescu, I always pay attention to Berdych, mainly because he often plays Hopman Cup, which is one of my favourite tournaments to watch. I just wish he would, you know, play better. Because he can. He's totally capable of it. I think he's best on hard courts, so watch out, Tomas. I have expectations of you in the hardcourt season, and I would like you to live up to them, please.

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And finally, congratulations to another first time title winner - my favourite French girl, Alize Cornet. Allez Alize! And nice work to Sara Errani as well, who won her first title in Palermo. It's clearly a week for the newbies!

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Today's Results

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Mercedes Cup (Stuttgart)

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Juan Martin del Potro def. Richard Gasquet, 6-4 7-5

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Allianz Suisse Open (Gstaad)

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Igor Andreev def. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, 7-6 (7-2) 5-7 7-6 (7-5)

Victor Hanescu def. Igor Andreev, 6-3 6-4

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Catella Swedish Open (Bastad)

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Tommy Robredo def. Tomas Berdych, 6-4 6-1

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Campbell's Hall of Fame Tennis Championships (Newport)

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Fabrice Santoro def. Prakash Amritraj, 6-3 7-5

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Gaz de France Grand Prix (Budapest)

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Alize Cornet def. Andreja Klepac, 7-6 (7-5) 6-3

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Internazionali Femminili di Tennis di Palermo (Palermo)

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Sara Errani def . Mariya Koryttseva, 6-2 6-3

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And in today's Stars of the Past, Stars of the Future feature: Nicolas Kiefer.

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Like Marat Safin and Roger Federer, Nicolas Kiefer was a member of the New Balls generation - the young guns of 1999, 2000, 2001, the ones who were going to be great sometime in the future. Like these two, Kiefer was blessed with a ridiculous amount of talent. But unlike these two, Kiefer never seemed really to be able to make much of it.

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Kiefer has never been an especially popular player. The general attitude to him can probably be summed up by looking at the Australian Open in 2006, where Kiefer was part of two memorable moments. One was in the semi finals, where he was on the receiving end of what has been called the best second serve ever - a kicker from Roger Federer that went spinning into Row H, leaving Kiefer with nowhere to go. The other moment was from an earlier match, where Kiefer faced Sebastien Grosjean. A wonderful point left Kiefer at the net, stretching for a volley so far that he ended up throwing his racquet at the ball. Grosjean, distracted, ended up playing the next ball into the net. Kiefer did not cede the point, and was publicly condemned for poor sportsmanship. This did not gain him any fans.

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Like Safin, Kiefer too has been plagued by injury - in particular, his wrist, which has proved so troublesome and lingering that at one point he dropped right out of the ATP rankings (that is, he was no longer within the top thousand players in the world.) But he has fought his way back - and that courage has certainly gained him some fans, especially in his native country, Germany. He is now well within the top fifty and is part of a three way battle with Tommy Haas and Philipp Kohlschreiber to be the #1 German player. He has performed well in his last few tournaments, including a run to the semis at Halle, where he was stopped by Roger Federer.

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But he withdrew from the tournament in Gstaad this week, handing a quarter final berth to Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. His complaint this time is a foot injury, which one would hope is not as chronic as the wrist that spoiled his last few seasons. He says he is still enjoying his tennis and that he tries to win with all his might, but at 31, one begins to wonder whether it is not a little late for Nicolas Kiefer. His star, it seems, is largely in the past - but he is determined not to burn out just yet.