They Are Coming!

Unfortunately the boys in the junior Davis Cup squad were unable to capitalise on their lead against Russia. Oh well. They can still be very proud of themselves. I'm cheering them on!

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I was reading Australian Tennis Magazine yesterday, and it was full of articles about how Australian tennis is dying, falling away, etc, etc, and it was full of contingency plans about what we can do. People were worried we were becoming complacent in the wake of Hewitt, not looking for new stars, etc, etc. I don't know if anyone's considered the fact that maybe we just didn't have very good tennis players there for a few years. The future of Australian tennis is very bright, and it doesn't look like people have noticed. The whole magazine seemed to be devoted to wondering what Tennis Australia and the AIS and co have done wrong, and why no one was coming up through the ranks. I felt like yelling 'THEY ARE COMING!' at the magazine. Surely I can't be the only one that's noticed this brilliant Tomic-led generation coming up? And we're not weak in the girls either - Isabella Holland, Jess Moore and Sally Peers are all already on the way up. Sure, Australian tennis right now is a bit disappointing, but it has to be remembered that we are a small nation. Only 20 million people live here. We can't be producing stars left right and centre all the time, even if our general sporting prowess greatly exceeds our population.

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There endeth the rant.

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Andy Roddick made it to a final! Though he did lose a set to Bjorn Phau there. He'll be playing Dudi Sela in the final, who had a far more comfortable time against Rainer Schuettler. I would laugh SO HARD if Dudi went on and beat Roddick. So skipping the Olympics was a wise move, was it Andy? Was it wise? Feeling good? Feeling fresh? We'll see! The women's final in Beijing looks like it pretty much belongs to Jelena Jankovic - Svetlana Kuznetsova hasn't convinced me of much lately. Still, she did beat Zheng Jie, and we all know she is a bit of a party pooper.

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And major snaps to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who is in the final of Bangkok, where he will play Novak Djokovic - ominous music. I can't think of many people who would watch this match and go for Djokovic. Tsonga is just so much fun and Djokovic really hasn't made many friends with his antics at the US Open. Actually, there was an article in Australian Tennis Magazine called 'Don't Diss The Swiss' about how even mild-mannered Federer was annoyed by Djokovic's pranks - and how that Djokovic's Swiss-dissing certainly didn't earn him any friends, because everyone loves Roger so much. I laughed a little to myself.

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And huge props to Sam Stosur who absolutely ROLLED Jill Craybas in Seoul! She plays Kirilenko in the final, and I would LOVE her to win. I really like her - not just because she's an Aussie, but because she's lovely to watch, and her volleys are amazing - and she really deserves a title, after that awful bout of Lyme disease. Go Sam!
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And in gossipy news... what's this I hear about Ana Ivanovic and Fernando Verdasco? I am sure there are a few men in the ATP who wouldn't mind chatting her up at a party... so is Nando the lucky one? Maybe that's why they both lost early... Ana is not suffering a form slump at all. She just wanted to spend more time with Nando...

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Today's Results

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Thailand Open (Bangkok)

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Novak Djokovic def. Tomas Berdych, 7-5 6-1

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Gael Monfils, 6-0 6-3

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China Open (Beijing)

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Men's Draw

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Andy Roddick def. Bjorn Phau, 6-2 6-7 (4-7) 6-1

Dudi Sela def. Rainer Schuettler, 6-3 6-3

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Women's Draw

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Jelena Jankovic def. Vera Zvonareva, 6-4 2-6 6-4

Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Zheng Jie, 7-6 (7-3) 7-5

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Hansol Korea Open (Seoul)

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Maria Kirilenko def. Kaia Kanepi, 6-4 3-6 6-4

Samantha Stosur def. Jill Craybas, 6-0 6-1