Friday, September 26, 2008

Whither Ana?

So I picked Zheng to upset Ivanovic, and hey! guess what! I was right. Yet I am feeling strangely unproud of myself. Who wouldn't you pick to upset Ivanovic now?
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This was a better match from Ivanovic than we've seen of late - she even said after the match that she was pretty happy with the way she played. But she served for that first set twice, before Zheng won it in the breaker. You can talk about injuries all you like, and Ana is certainly claiming a few, but something is just not right in that girl's head. This is not the girl we saw beating Dinara Safina, the hottest player in the world, in the final of the French Open. She certainly isn't playing like a #1 player - which, to be fair, she no longer is.
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But it's just so damn sad. I used to love watching Ivanovic. She was explosive, big-hitting, but she had some really clever shots too. It's hard to believe that she made two Grand Slam finals this year. Where did she go? I want her back. She was good for the game. Men's tennis has too many #1s at the moment, women's tennis not enough. Pick up the ball, Ana. Go see a sports psychiatrist and get back on track.
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Meanwhile, anyone else seriously cheering for Jo-Wilfried Tsonga right now? He's into the semis of Bangkok, and I would love to see him win the title. It's hard to believe that the boy does not have a title to his name - indeed, I think he only has one final, and that's the big one, the Australian Open. Wouldn't it be great to see him bring that buzzsaw tennis that saw him beat Rafa Nadal and use it to chop Novak Djokovic off at the knees? I would seriously dig that. Rematch! Rematch!
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And to conclude, them Aussie boys in Mexico at the junior Davis Cup are doing us proud. Most of the matches got rained out today, but in one that did get completed, wee Maverick Banes upset Russian young gun Richard Muzaev to give the Aussie boys a 1-0 lead. And the Russians are the top seeds. Go you good thing!
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Oh, and speaking of Australian tennis, Sam Stosur is having a great run in Korea, where she is into the semis. Good on you, Sam!
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Today's Results
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Thailand Open (Seoul)
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Novak Djokovic def. Robin Soderling, 6-4 7-5
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Jurgen Melzer, 6-3 6-2
Tomas Berdych def. Nicolas Mahut, 7-6 (8-6) 6-3
Gael Monfils def. Philipp Petzschner, 7-6 (8-6) 6-4
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China Open (Beijing)
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Men's Draw
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Andy Roddick def. Juan Carlos Ferrero, 2-6 6-3 6-4
Bjorn Phau def. Fernando Gonzalez, 6-3 4-6 6-3
Dudi Sela def. Tommy Robredo, 6-4 6-1
Rainer Schuettler def. Richard Gasquet, 4-6 6-3 6-4
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Women's Draw
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Jelena Jankovic def. Daniela Hantuchova, 7-5 6-1
Zheng Jie def. Ana Ivanovic, 7-6 (7-4) 2-6 6-4
Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Dominika Cibulkova, 6-2 6-4
Vera Zvonareva def. Anabel Medina Garrigues, 6-0 6-1
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Hansol Korea Open (Seoul)
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Maria Kirilenko def. Pauline Parmentier, 6-3 6-2
Jill Craybas def. Shahar Peer, 6-2 7-5
Kaia Kanepi def. Yanina Wickmayer, 6-1 6-4
Samantha Stosur def. Ekaterina Makarova, 6-3 6-4

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