A Not-Quite-Motley Crew

Roger Federer achieved a new milestone this morning, though I'm not sure it's necessarily the one he'll be trotting out to tell his grandchildren. For the first time in 763 ATP level matches, he withdrew in the middle of a tournament.

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He's still never retired during a match at the ATP level - he gave James Blake a walkover today due to a stiff back. I suppose with Shanghai round the corner he'd rather be safe than sorry. It's still a bit sad, though, and I'm sure he's not too thrilled with himself, as it seems to mean something to him. I remember him saying that, 'Roger Federer doesn't pull out - otherwise he doesn't walk on court.' Which I suppose he held to, because he didn't walk on court. So I doubt somehow that this will be a harbinger of things to come. He's certainly not going to turn into a Djokovic!

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Someone that did retire during a match today was Rafa Nadal, after losing the first set 6-1 to Nikolay Davydenko. Add to that Djokovic's defeat early in the week and Murray's loss to Nalbandian today, and we have a crew of semi finalists who... well, not quite motley, but certainly not the four guys you'd expect, given that the four guys you'd expect would be the Big Three plus Murray (the Big Four? Can we legitimately say that yet?) But instead we have Nikolay Davydenko, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, James Blake and David Nalbandian.

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I have to say that I'm pulling for Tsonga, because he really deserves a big title and it would be nice for him to do it in front of a home crowd. Blake's been close a couple of times, Nalbandian is the defending champion and Davydenko has a Masters shield already this year. It's really open. Any one of these four guys could take it out. Much as I always want Federer to win things, it's kind of nice to have things so unpredictable. This should be a dog fight of a tournament, right down to the last point.

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Today's Results

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BNP Paribas Masters (Paris)

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James Blake def. Roger Federer, walkover

Nikolay Davydenko def. Rafael Nadal, 6-1 retired

David Nalbandian def. Andy Murray, 7-6 (7-3) 6-3

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Andy Roddick, 5-7 6-4 7-6 (7-5)

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Bell Challenge (Quebec)

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Nadia Petrova def. Melinda Czink, 6-1 6-4

Bethanie Mattek def. Melanie Oudin, 7-6 (9-7) 6-1

Angela Haynes def. Nathalie Dechy, 2-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-3

Argentinian Grudge Rematch

Wow, I'm sensing some pent-up aggression from David Nalbandian. He seems like a man who would hold a quality grudge, and, even though I have absolutely no evidence of this, I get the sense that he's feeling some resentment towards Juan Martin del Potro right now, what with the whole del Potro being the golden boy of Argentinian tennis right now. Not so fast! says Big Dave. This is the second time in two weeks Nalbandian has trounced del Potro, and I bet he's loving it on the inside. Their Davis Cup training camp must be a pleasant place to be.

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We bid farewell to the last of my Stars for the year - bye guys! Cilic lost today, but I have to admit I wasn't going for him... he was playing Federer. Much as I love my Stars, I love Roger more! He looked in fine form heading into the quarters, where he'll play James Blake, I think. Let's hope those Olympic jitters don't get to him! I think he'll be fine, somehow. His thing with Rafa aside, Roger is not prone to being a headcase.

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And Djokovic got knocked out! That was awesome. Still, I hope it doesn't mean he's feeling all rested and good heading into Shanghai. Still, it's not next week next week, is it? There's a week between Paris and Shanghai. Or at least I hope there is. Doha is next week with the girls, and then Shanghai the week after. I think. I hope.

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Back to Djokovic getting knocked out, which made me say AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I wouldn't be surprised if Djokovic never scored a victory over Tsonga again. Jo-W seems to have his number now, and I don't think he's going to let the Aussie Open final happen again. On the whole, Djokovic has not been that impressive of late. I know he made the US Open semi, but other than that, what has he won of late? He made the final in Thailand, but Jo-W got him. This was when he started winning big points last year... so is he on the slide? Or is this wishful thinking on my behalf?

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And Andy Roddick has qualified for the Masters Cup. He still should have gone to the Olympics, but well done, A-Rod!

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Today's Results

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BNP Paribas Masters (Paris)

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Roger Federer def. Marin Cilic, 6-3 6-4

Rafael Nadal def. Gael Monfils, 6-3 6-2

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Novak Djokovic, 6-4 1-6 6-3

Andy Murray def. Fernando Verdasco, 6-3 7-6 (8-6)

Nikolay Davydenko def. Tomas Berdych, 6-1 6-1

Andy Roddick def. Gilles Simon, 6-3 7-5

David Nalbandian def. Juan Martin del Potro, 6-4 6-0

James Blake def. Philipp Kohlschreiber, 6-4 6-4

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Bell Challenge (Quebec)

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Nadia Petrova def. Varvara Lepchenko, 6-2 6-4

Bethanie Mattek def. Valérie Tétreault, 7-6 (7-4) 3-6 7-6 (7-1)

Marats in Training

Argh, Marat Safin is not the only frustrating player out there right now. I have some other names to chuck into the ring: David Ferrer and Stan Wawrinka. Sure, these guys have not honed their be-frustrating skills to quite the same fever pitch that Marat has, but they are both annoying me SO MUCH right now.

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Let's start with Ferru. He was ranked #4 for a lot of this year - aka the best of the rest, behind the Big Three. Not bad at all, eh? He didn't have any massive runs at Slams, but he was consistent, you know? That's a quality I really appreciate in a tennis player. He's quick and scrappy and arguably the best returner on tour, and even though he's not the most aggressive player in the world, he was fun to watch.

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But now? Now he is getting smashed like a guitar by Philipp Kohlschreiber. He's really faded severely, especially post-US Open - and it's ridiculous, because there's no reason why his game shouldn't translate to carpet. Hell, we know he can do it - he owned his half of the Tennis Masters Cup last year, right up to playing the final with Federer. So what's up with Ferru? I hope he gets his head in the game by the Aussie Open, because I want to watch him do WELL!

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Ditto Stan Wawrinka. His loss this week was a little more understandable - he went out to Tomas Berdych, a former champion here - but he has taken a whole string of early losses in the last few weeks, which has ruled him out of the Masters Cup, which makes me sad, because I would have liked Roger to have one of his little friends there... and also, Stan is kinda fun to watch. I saw him live at the Australian Open this year, and I had a great time - he plays fun tennis. So wake up, Stan. Yes you can, Stan. Come back to the fold of awesomeness.

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Someone unfrustrating is my last Star in action for this year (counting out Juan Martin del Potro), which is Marin Cilic, who had a good win over Marcel Granollers. What a good boy he is. Watch out for him next year, mark my words: 2009 will be the Year of Cilic - hopefully the Year of Gulbis as well. And obviously the Year of Federer... but all years are the Year of Federer for me. I'd also like a Year of Safin - so please don't retire, Marat!
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Oh, David Nalbandian has to play Juan Martin del Potro again. I don't know if this can be especially healthy for Davis Cup... because there is SO obviously a rivalry!

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Today's Results

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BNP Paribas Masters (Paris)

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Roger Federer def. Robin Soderling, 6-4 7-6 (9-7)

Andy Murray def. Sam Querrey, 6-2 6-4

Rafael Nadal def. Florent Serra, 6-2 6-4

Philipp Kohlschreiber def. David Ferrer, 6-3 6-2

Nikolay Davydenko def. Ivan Ljubicic, 7-6 (7-5) 7-5

David Nalbandian def. Nicolas Kiefer, 7-6 (7-5) 6-3

Gilles Simon def. Igor Andreev, 6-3 7-5

Tomas Berdych def. Stanislas Wawrinka, 6-3 7-5

Marin Cilic def. Marcel Granollers, 6-4 7-6 (7-2)

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Radek Stepanek, 3-6 6-4 6-4

James Blake def. Simone Bolelli, 6-7 (10-12) 6-3 6-4

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Bell Challenge (Quebec)

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Melinda Czink def. Julie Ditty, 6-1 6-1

Melanie Oudin def. Olga Puchkova, 6-1 7-6 (7-3)

Rebecca Marino def. Jill Craybas, 7-6 (7-4) 6-1

Grow UP, Richou!

God, Richard Gasquet is a little whinger. I used to really like him - I still enjoy his style of play - but I have gone off him altogether. In all my berating of Andy Roddick for not going to the Olympics, I often forget to berate Richou, but he probably deserves it more, truth be told. There was the French Open stunt, the Olympic stunt, the absolutely ridiculous Davis Cup stunt and now this stupid Paris thing. Jesus, Richou, grow up. Even if you don't want to play Paris-Bercy, you don't have to kick up a huge stink about it. What kind of person comes out and says, 'I will be happy once I would be eliminated at the Paris Masters Series.'

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Methinks Richou needs to revamp his attitude and revamp it fast. He's already taken a slide down the rankings this year - no Tennis Masters Cup for him! Is it really necessary to be a complete dickhead while he's doing it?

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Meanwhile, in actual news about matches in which people have played, instead of wussing out like Gasquet, it was very sad to see Dmitry Tursunov's season end with a retirement. He toughed it out for a while but then called it quits in his match against Djokovic with a shoulder injury. See you next year, Dmitry - maybe defend your Sydney title, eh? I'll be there again, watching.

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That, of course, means Djokovic is through... but I wouldn't mind seeing Djokovic doing all right his week, as I don't want him to do well next week. Yes, I am a terrible, horrible person, wishing ill on people, but I just want Roger to win the Masters Cup. Is that so much to ask? He is, after all, the Master. I know Rafa is #1 and all now and he is good and I like him and stuff, but Roger is just special.

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Apparently Marat Safin is thinking about retirement, which is sad. He says he'll keep playing as long as he still enjoys it... and it can't be very fun losing all the time. Still, he has had his best season in a while... and Hopman Cup coming up! It will be rad to play with Dinara - though it must be oddly pressuring to have your baby sister being all awesome while you sort of suck. Still, I guess Dinara has had to live in Marat's shadow for, like, ever - it's her turn to shine. Though Marat has a standby for Hopman Cup - Igor Andreev - all planned out. Much as Andreev is good and stuff, he's not Marat. Don't retire, please!

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Oh, and the seventh Hopman Cup team has been announced. It's not as awesome as I was hoping, but it's still pretty good. It is, of course, the USA, about whom I totally forgot. Actually, it is an awesome team: James Blake and Serena Williams. I guess that sometimes the USA just feel so old hat... and incidentally, where are the Czech Republic this year? I wanted to see Berdych and Safarova make another go of it. There is still one spot remaining, but that is for the winner of the Asian Hopman Cup, so maybe they can come back in 2010...?

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Today's Results

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BNP Paribas Masters (Paris)

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Novak Djokovic def. Dmitry Tursunov, 6-2 4-3 retired

Andy Roddick def. Feliciano Lopez, 6-3 6-4

Juan Martin del Potro def. Mario Ancic, 6-0 6-4

Gael Monfils def. Juan Monaco, 6-4 6-4

Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Mikhail Youzhny, 6-1 6-4

Radek Stepanek def. Marc Gicquel, 6-4 3-6 6-4

Robin Soderling def. Josselin Ouanna, 6-3 6-4

Ivan Ljubicic def. Viktor Troicki, 6-3 6-4

Florent Serra def. Guillermo Canas, 4-6 7-5 6-3

Fernando Verdasco def. Tommy Robredo, 6-2 6-7 (6-8) 6-2

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Bell Challenge (Quebec)

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Nadia Petrova def. Maria Mokh, 6-1 6-2

Severine Brémond def. Tamarine Tanasugarn, 6-2 7-6 (7-4)

Galina Voskoboeva def. Sofia Arvidsson, 6-3 6-2

Melinda Czink def. Sabine Lisicki, 6-2 5-7 6-3

Nathalie Dechy def. Anna-Lena Groenefeld, 6-3 6-1

Varvara Lepchenko def. Rossana de los Ríos, 6-1 6-3

Carly Gullickson def. Ioana Raluca Olaru, 7-6 (8-6) 6-1

Talking Hopman

Well, Marat Safin's tennis year must be pretty much over now, with that loss in Paris. I'm a bit annoyed about that one - a player of his talent should be able to pound someone like Juan Monaco into the ground. But that's Safin for you, I guess. And if we reflect on his tennis year, it's been better than the past couple. He made a final and a couple of quarters, as well as a Slam semi on his least favourite surface. That's not so bad.

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Though who ever thought we'd be saying that about Marat Safin?

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Marin Cilic had a win, though, on a happier note - though, may I ask, where is Ernests Gulbis this tournament? He didn't appear to be on the draw when I did the bracket challenge. That sucks, as he is all awesome and stuff. Maybe next year - which is the same thing I can say for Marat Safin. Maybe next year will be the year. I am hoping that playing Hopman Cup with his sister will be awesome for Marat. Maybe he'll pick up on whatever it is that's making her so fabulous. I am absolutely dying to go - when else will I get the chance to see the Safin(a) siblings playing together? But it is in Perth... and my boss just might kill me...

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There have been six teams announced so far out of the eight for the Hopman Cup, and it looks like it'll be a great competition. We have Lleyton Hewitt and Casey Dellacqua for Australia, Marat and Dinara for Russia (made of awesome!), Dominik Hrbaty and Dominika Cibulkova for the Slovak Republic (I had a vague notion he'd retired - guess not), Flavia Pennetta and Simone Bolelli for Italy, Alize Cornet and Gilles Simon for France and Nicolas Kiefer and Sabine Lisicki for Germany. There are two more teams to go, and there are just so many possibilities! One of the teams has to be from Asia, I think - I'm pretty sure one of the spots is reserved for the winner of the Asian Hopman Cup, which was Chinese Taipei last year. I wouldn't mind seeing Japan coming through this year - how about Kei Nishikori and Ai Sugiyama for you? I'd love to see Kei in particular play Hopman.

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Who else could we have? I'd love to see Federer and Schnyder play for Switzerland because I think they'd be a rad doubles team, but I think the chances of that are less than zero. Federer's played Hopman Cup before - with Hingis and with his girlfriend Mirka Vavrinec - so I guess it's kind of 'been there, done that' for him. I'd love to see Rafa or Ferru play with Anabel Medina Garrigues or Nuria Llagostera Vives, but again, I think the chances are pretty low. There was a great Serbian team last year, Djokovic and Jankovic, but I don't think they'll be coming back... unless we get, say, Tipsarevic and Ivanovic, which could be fun. How about Andy Murray and Anne Keothavong? If only there were a nice Latvian girl or Croatian girl for Gulbis or Cilic to play with. That would be big fun. And are there any Argentinian women that play tennis? There are so many guys, but I seriously can't think of one girl.

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But there is world enough and time for Hopman Cup. This week is Paris-Bercy, so I should probably talk about that I guess... Federer's definitely playing! He's never won this one before, so I'm cheering for him bigtime!

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Today's Results

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BNP Paribas Masters (Paris)

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Marin Cilic def. Andreas Seppi, 7-6 (7-5) 6-2

Nicolas Kiefer def. Ivo Karlovic, 6-4 7-5

Mario Ancic def. Rainer Schuettler, 6-4 3-6 6-1

Sam Querrey def. Marcos Baghdatis, 7-5 6-7 (5-7) 3-2 retired

Tomas Berdych def. Robby Ginepri, 6-4 7-5

Juan Monaco def. Marat Safin, 6-0 7-6 (7-4)

Simone Bolelli def. Jarkko Nieminen, 7-5 6-4

Igor Andreev def. Paul-Henri Mathieu, 7-6 (8-6) 6-3

Feliciano Lopez def. Janko Tipsarevic, 6-3 6-4

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Bell Challenge (Quebec)

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Julie Ditty def. Urszula Radwanska, 7-6 (7-1) 6-2

Valérie Tétreault def. Mathilde Johansson, 6-1 7-5

Restoring Order

I do so love it when Roger Federer wins stuff. It seems like things are happening correctly - like proper order has been restored. In the first part of the year, when he was suffering under the mono-monster, something really was rotten in the state of Denmark. But now, with him, like, winning stuff, chaos has been averted. Order has been restored.

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One thing I really like about his play is how he improves over the course of the tournament - not that I in any way endorse his early round jitters against players like Bobby Reynolds. But he really stepped it up come semis and especially today, in the finals. David Nalbandian is no pushover - even if LameDave shows up, he still has game. He and Roger are old-time rivals and they have a pretty competitive career record: after Basel, Roger now leads 10-8. So it was great for the Fed to beat Headbandian so convincingly. Not having seen the match, I don't know if it was GoodDave or LameDave who turned up, but GoodDave has been in evidence this week, so I'm going to assume it was him. And R-Fed took care of business. All is well.

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The only tournament, men or women, this week in which the top seed did not win was Lyon, where seventh seeded Robin Soderling took out unseeded Julien Benneteau. The top seed was Andy Roddick. Well, I guess he should have gone to the Olympics. Any failings he has for the rest of his career I am going to blame on that.

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So our other winners were Andy Murray (who totally owned Andrey 'who?' Golubev, but kudos to the qualifier for making it to the final!), Elena Dementieva and - guess what!? - Ana Ivanovic. That's right, Ana is back winning stuff, and that is very exciting. It may not have been the biggest tournament in the world, but it certainly wasn't a total schlep tournament: it was Tier II. So well done Ana! Hopefully this will do wonders for her confidence and we'll see her make a good account of herself in Doha.

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And before I go, vale Federico Luzzi. This 28 year old Italian player unfortunately died of leukaemia after being diagnosed over the weekend. What a sad day for Italian tennis.

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Today's Results

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Davidoff Swiss Indoors (Basel)

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Roger Federer def. David Nalbandian, 6-3 6-4

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St Petersburg Open (St Petersburg)

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Andy Murray def. Andrey Golubev, 6-1 6-1

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Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon (Lyon)

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Robin Soderling def. Julien Benneteau, 6-3 6-7 (5-7) 6-1

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BNP Paribas Masters (Paris)

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Tommy Robredo def. Jeremy Chardy, 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-5)

Dmitry Tursunov def. Adrian Mannarino, 6-3 6-2

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Generali Ladies Linz (Linz)

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Ana Ivanovic def. Vera Zvonareva, 6-2 6-1

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FORTIS Championships Luxembourg (Luxembourg)

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Elena Dementieva def. Caroline Wozniacki, 2-6 6-4 7-6 (7-4)

GoodDave Turns Up

Seems Big Dave took umbrage at me suggesting that his time was past and this was the time of del Potro, by resoundingly beating said del Potro to reach the final of Basel. Even though del Potro is one of my Stars (though I still don't know if I can legitimately claim him - I definitely jumped late on that bandwagon) I have to say that I was pleased for Nalbandian. I'm not a huge fan of his - he seems like a pretty unpleasant kind of guy - but I am a big fan of that generation, the generation of Federer and Safin and Hewitt and those guys. So kudos to Dave - it was GoodDave, seemingly, and not LameDave, that showed up. I don't really care which Dave shows up tomorrow, as long as Federer wins. That partisanship of mine will not be changing any time soon.

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Roger and Dave aside, as they were the top two seeds in Basel and regulars in finals (well... Roger is, anyway) we have some very strange men in the finals this week. Andy Murray in St Petersburg is no great shock, but what about Andrey Golubev? I'm sorry, but who? He stomped all over Victor Hanescu in his semi-final, and I have totally never heard of him. His ATP profile tells us that he is twenty-one, ranked #150 and won a Challenger event this year. I'll have to keep an eye on him. He may yet be young enough for admission to the Stars program, but he'll have to prove himself a little more first. Look at Eduardo Schwank. He won three Challenger events this year and he's only hanging on to his spot in the program by his teeth. Because it is such a highly-sought after honour, after all.

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Then in Lyon, we have a final between Robin Soderling and Julien Benneteau, who knocked out Gilles Simon and Jo-W Tsonga between them. I bet no one was expecting that. Soderling is seeded #7, so I guess he's the favourite... it's about time he did something. He's been considered 'dangerous' for a long time, but he really needs to step up to the plate and produce good results on a week-to-week basis if he wants to move up the rankings. As for Benneteau, I can't say I know too much about him. I think he maybe knocked out Andy Roddick in the first round of the US Open one time, though I could be getting him confused with someone else. Oh, and I saw him play Stan Wawrinka at the Australian Open this year on Show Court 3. It was fun.

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And guess who else is in a final? ANA IVANOVIC! Horror of horrors, shock of shocks! And she beat a decent player to get there. I say 'beat' - she totally scraped through by the skin of her teeth against Agnieszka Radwanska. But a win is a win, and she obviously hung tough throughout the match. Please let this be the sign of good things to come. Doha is coming up so soon, and I'd love to see Ana do well.

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Speaking of Doha, the field is finalised: Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic, Venus Williams, Serena Williams, Vera Zvonareva, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Elena Dementieva and my special favourite, Dinara Safina. Dinara's been so close at so many of the Slams this year that I feel she deserves this one, to go along with the rest of her Tier I lovin'. That said, I am oddly sad that Sharapova is going to miss out with her injury. I am definitely not a Sharapova fan - we all know that - but that final between her and Henin last year was so spectacular that it's a shame she doesn't get to have another crack at it. Oh well. Next year, Shazzapov.

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Today's Results

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Davidoff Swiss Indoors (Basel)
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Roger Federer def. Feliciano Lopez, 6-3 6-2

David Nalbandian def. Juan Martin Del Potro, 6-4 6-4

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St Petersburg Open (St Petersburg)

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Andy Murray def. Fernando Verdasco, 6-0 6-3

Andrey Golubev def. Victor Hanescu (ROU) 6-3 6-0

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Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon (Lyon)

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Julien Benneteau def. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 7-6 (7-4) 7-5

Robin Soderling def. Gilles Simon, 5-7 6-3 6-3

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Generali Ladies Linz (Linz)

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Ana Ivanovic def. Agnieszka Radwanska, 6-2 3-6 7-5

Vera Zvonareva def. Marion Bartoli, 6-0 6-1

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FORTIS Championships Luxembourg (Luxembourg)

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Elena Dementieva def. Sorana Cirstea, 6-2 6-2

Caroline Wozniacki def. Li Na, 7-6 (7-1) 3-6 6-2

Argentinian Grudge Match

Anyone else get the feeling that David Nalbandian and Juan Martin del Potro don't really like each other too much?

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I have pretty much nothing on which to base this hunch, but I can't help but feel it's true. I know if I were David Nalbandian and some little upstart teenager from my country came up and started winning stuff and being the pride of Argentinian tennis I would be a bit pissed off. Sure, it's great for Davis Cup, but... let's just say I don't think you'll ever see Headbandian and Juan Martino playing doubles together. Headbandian doesn't strike me as the nicest guy anyway - he appears to have a very contrary, surly sort of disposition - and we all know Juan is not unaggressive himself, after that whole 'you and your mother' incident with Andy Murray in Rome. Like I said, I have nothing on which to base my theory that Dave and Juan are at each others' throats... but does anyone else think the same thing?

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So this semi-final in Basel is going to be pretty interesting. Headbandian is the higher seed, but I'd be banking on del Potro. The way he's playing at the moment... well, there's a reason he's probably going to qualify for the Tennis Masters Cup and Headbandian probably isn't. Meanwhile, speaking of the Masters Cup, five have qualified and the top of the remaining three is Roddick, del Potro and, randomly, Gilles Simon. I knew Simon has had a good year, but has it really been that good? I guess it must have been.

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The Fed is through in Basel is well, stomping all over Simone Bolelli, which was nice. Fourth seed Blake is out, so he'll face Feliciano Lopez, and I think he should come through that one just fine, especially as he seems to have been lifting his game throughout the week. So he'll play the winner of the Argentinian grudge match... and he will win. Because I said so.

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Oh, and Ana Ivanovic is in the semis of Linz! Can she keep it coming? I sure hope so - I want her back!

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Today's Results

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Davidoff Swiss Indoors (Basel)

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Roger Federer def. Simone Bolelli, 6-2 6-3

David Nalbandian def. Benjamin Becker, 7-6 (7-4) 6-4

Juan Martin Del Potro def. Igor Andreev, 6-4 7-5

Feliciano Lopez def. James Blake, 6-4 7-6 (9-7)

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St Petersburg Open (St Petersburg)

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Andy Murray def. Janko Tipsarevic, 7-6 (7-5) 7-5

Fernando Verdasco def. Rainer Schuettler, 7-5 6-2

Victor Hanescu def. Michail Elgin, 6-1 6-4

Andrey Golubev def. Mischa Zverev, 6-7 (3-7) 6-4 7-6 (7-4)

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Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon (Lyon)

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Robin Soderling def. Andy Roddick, 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-5)

Gilles Simon def. Josselin Ouanna, 6-3 7-5

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Juan Carlos Ferrero, 7-6 (7-5) 6-1

Julien Benneteau def. Steve Darcis, 6-3 6-2

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Generali Ladies Linz (Linz)

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Ana Ivanovic def. Flavia Pennetta, 6-4 6-4

Vera Zvonareva def. Alizé Cornet, 7-5 6-1

Agnieszka Radwanska def. Nadia Petrova, 6-3 6-2

Marion Bartoli def. Alona Bondarenko, 6-3 5-7 6-1

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FORTIS Championships Luxembourg (Luxembourg)
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Elena Dementieva def. Amélie Mauresmo, 6-4 6-0

Sorana Cirstea def. Daniela Hantuchova, 7-6 (7-2) 6-2

Caroline Wozniacki def. Anabel Medina Garrigues, 6-1 7-6 (9-7)

Li Na def. Iveta Benesova, 6-4 4-6 6-2

Damn It, Marat!

MARAT!!!!!!!

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That's all I have to say about that. Marat, what is WRONG with you? Why can you go from beating Nikolay Davydenko and owning other excellent players one week to losing to Andrey 'who' Golubev? Why can't you just be consistent? Just for once?

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Jesus Christ, man, why can't you be more like your sister?

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It's just so damn frustrating, because he's SO GOOD. Seriously, if they did a top ten of the most talented players on tour, he and the Fed would be fighting it out for the top spot. (I think Roger might get him, but it'd be a close thing.) Remember the semi final of the Australian Open in 2005, a match that has to be one of the highest quality matches played... oh, I don't know, ever? The only match I can think of to rival it is this year's epic Wimbledon final. So why can't Marat just do it any more? The talent is still there - he proved that by reaching the Wimbledon semis and the final of the Kremlin Cup. All that Marat goodness is still there - I know he has a chronic knee injury, but you can't blame everything on that. He's a headcase, plain and simple. So why can't he just... stop being a headcase?

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I want him to sit down with whoever it is that wrought this amazing change in Dinara. Because if it works for her, it has to work for him... yeah? They have the same genetic makeup and everything.

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Speaking of the Safin siblings, I am RIDICULOUSLY excited about next year's Hopman Cup. I was flicking through Australian Tennis magazine yesterday, and it was a pretty boring issue, apart from a feature on tennis siblings on the very last page, where, in its little Marat and Dinara section, it mentioned that they're going to team up for the first time ever to play Hopman Cup next year. I am so excited! Hopman Cup is probably my favourite tournament in the year, and to see Marat and Dinara play mixed doubles will be RAD! I am really tempted to go, even though it is in Perth, which is on the opposite side of the country, and my boss will probably get really annoyed if I take more time off for tennis... add to which I will have no money. But... the Safin(a) siblings! How can I resist?

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And on the subject of my favourite tennis players, my Stars Gulbis and Chardy went down today - sigh - but my beloved Federer Express got through in Basel in two tiebreaker sets against Jarkko Nieminen. Here's hoping for a fourth title this year to add to the US Open, Halle and Estoril!

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Today's Results

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Davidoff Swiss Indoors (Basel)

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Roger Federer def. Jarkko Nieminen, 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-1)

David Nalbandian def. Kristof Vliegen, 6-4 5-7 7-6 (7-4)

Juan Martin del Potro def. Stephane Bohli, 6-3 6-3

James Blake def. Oscar Hernandez, 6-7 (4-7) 6-2 6-4

Simone Bolelli def. Marcel Granollers, 6-4 6-2

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St Petersburg Open (St Petersburg)

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Andy Murray def. Ernests Gulbis, 6-4 6-2

Andrey Golubev def. Marat Safin, 6-4 6-2

Janko Tipsarevic def. Jeremy Chardy, 6-4 7-6 (7-3)

Victor Hanescu def. Mikhail Kukushkin, 6-3 7-6 (9-7)

Mischa Zverev def. Mikahil Youzhny, 7-5 6-4

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Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon (Lyon)

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Andy Roddick def. Robby Ginepri, 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-3)

Steve Darcis def. Richard Gasquet, 6-4 3-6 7-6 (7-5)

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Fabrice Santoro, 6-2 5-7 6-3

Gilles Simon def. Andreas Seppi, 7-6 (7-5) 5-7 6-4

Robin Soderling def. Christophe Rochus, 6-1 6-2

Juan Carlos Ferrero def. Paul-Henri Mathieu, 6-4 6-1

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Generali Ladies Linz (Linz)

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Ana Ivanovic def. Sybille Bammer, 6-4 6-2

Vera Zvonareva def. Nuria Llagostera Vives, 6-2 6-0

Alona Bondarenko def. Patty Schnyder, 6-2 2-6 6-1

Nadia Petrova def. Katarina Srebotnik, 6-4 7-6 (9-7)

Marion Bartoli def. Petra Kvitova, 7-6 (7-4) 1-6 6-3

Flavia Pennetta def. Dominika Cibulkova, 6-3 6-1

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FORTIS Championships Luxembourg (Luxembourg)

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Elena Dementieva def. Gisela Dulko, 6-2 6-2

Amélie Mauresmo def. Anna-Lena Groenefeld, 6-3 6-1

Anabel Medina Garrigues def. Catalina Castaño, 6-2 4-6 7-5

Where in the World is Anna Chakvetadze?

You know how I'm always whinging about Ana Ivanovic and how she never wins things any more? I think this might have led me to disregard the fall of another top ten player - not one as prominent as Ana, as she never reached #1, but still... whatever happened to Anna Chakvetadze?

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She hasn't done anything all year, pretty much. I can't say I follow her career particularly closely, but I'm hard-pressed to think of a time when she strung two matches together, certainly of late. I know this all supposedly stems back to the time she was held up and tied up and guns were involved and badness like that, but still... does it HAVE to affect her tennis game?

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Not that I was such a huge Chakvetadze fan to begin with. I never really paid her much attention, to tell the truth. But it's nice to keep it competitive at the top, and she's just one of that gang not performing as wel as they should. Silly Anna.

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In case you can't tell, Anna got ousted in Luxembourg yesterday, which is a Tier III tournament, conquered by Iveta Benesova. Benesova isn't rubbish, but she certainly isn't playing at the level Chakvetadze should be. It's a shame.

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We had a couple of upsets over with the blokes, but nothing that major. We lost Mardy Fish in Basel (I'm so sad) and Tommy Robredo in Lyon, but otherwise we're pretty solid. One seed that had a good win was Marat Safin, who beat Sergiy Stakhovsky. I know Stakhovsky isn't anyone that big, but I think I remember him winning a tournament this year, so nice one, Marat. Keep it up. He's a Russian playing in Russia, and that seemed to help him out a bit at the Kremlin Cup... so will THIS be the week?

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Today's Results

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Davidoff Swiss Indoors (Basel)

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Igor Andreev def. Philipp Kohlschreiber, 7-6 (8-6) 6-7 (0-7) 7-5

Feliciano Lopez def. Mardy Fish, 7-6 (11-9) 6-4

Benjamin Becker def. Andreas Beck, 3-6 6-3 6-4

James Blake def. Nicolas Kiefer, 3-6 6-3 6-4

Kristof Vliegen def. Philipp Petzschner, 6-2 6-3

Jarkko Nieminen def. Eduardo Schwank, 6-2 6-4

Marcel Granollers def. Marcos Baghdatis, 6-2 4-6 6-2

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St Petersburg Open (St Petersburg)

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Fernando Verdasco def. Karlis Lejnieks, 6-1 6-3

Rainer Schuettler def. Dominik Hrbaty, 6-3 6-3

Andy Murray def. Viktor Troicki, 6-3 6-3

Marat Safin def. Sergiy Stakhovsky, 6-2 6-4

Andrey Golubev def. Olivier Rochus, 6-1 6-4

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Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon (Lyon)

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Julien Benneteau def. Tommy Robredo, 6-2 6-2

Josselin Ouanna def. Nicolas Lapentti, 6-3 1-6 6-3

Gilles Simon def. Juan Monaco, 2-6 6-4 6-1

Robin Soderling def. Thierry Ascione, 6-4 6-1

Paul-Henri Mathieu def. Guillermo Canas, 6-3 6-4

Christophe Rochus def. Gilles Muller, 6-2 6-4

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Generali Ladies Linz (Linz)

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Agnieszka Radwanska def. Kaia Kanepi, 6-2 6-4

Alizé Cornet def. Maria Kirilenko, 1-6 6-2 6-1

Flavia Pennetta def. Agnes Szavay, 6-1 6-2

Sybille Bammer def. Francesca Schiavone, 7-5 6-3

Petra Kvitova def. Tamira Paszek, 6-3 6-3

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FORTIS Championships Luxembourg (Luxembourg)

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Iveta Benesova def. Anna Chakvetadze, 6-2 6-4

Daniela Hantuchova def. Sabine Lisicki, 6-0 6-2

Caroline Wozniacki def. Peng Shuai, 6-4 6-4

Li Na def. Mariya Koryttseva, 7-6 (8-6) 6-3

Sorana Cirstea def. Sara Errani, 6-4 6-2

Amélie Mauresmo def. Stephanie Gehrlein, 6-2 3-6 6-0

Anabel Medina Garrigues def. Virginia Ruano Pascual, 6-2 6-1

Anna-Lena Groenefeld def. Yanina Wickmayer, 7-5 6-4

A Win Is A Win

All the headlines this morning are about how Federer had a scare in Basel and how he barely scraped through by the skin of his teeth against Bobby Reynolds, but it didn't look like he gave too bad an account of himself to me. Sure, he could have closed it out earlier - he had a match point in the second set - and sure it went to three, but he never exactly looked like he was going to lose, did he? It's probably good for him to sort of play his way into the tournament.

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Not that I wouldn't have been happier if he had cruised his way through. But a win is a win.

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Speaking of wins, one guy that did not get one was Marin Cilic... he was upset by Mikhail Kukushkin. Still, it's exciting that he has now ranked high enough to be able to upset. You know you're getting somewhere when you're the one getting upset rather than being the upsetter. Even if a win, on the whole, would have been preferable.

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But we did have some Star victories today - Jeremy Chardy pulled an upset over seventh seed Mario Ancic, and very remarkably, Ernests Gulbis stomped all over Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. I bet Federer wouldn't have minded having a 6-0 6-2 cruise in Basel instead of a lengthy battle. Maybe this is Ernests's tournament. It has to come sooner or later, right? However, even though seeds like Cilic and Ancic were upset, we still have Davydenkos and Youzhnys and the like milling round... but Ernests can beat them. I know he can. Even if Davydenko has just qualified for the Tennis Masters Cup.

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Today's Results

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Davidoff Swiss Indoors (Basel)

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Roger Federer def. Bobby Reynolds, 6-3 6-7 (6-8) 6-3

David Nalbandian def. Albert Montanes, 6-4 6-2

Juan Martin Del Potro def. George Bastl, 6-2 6-4

Simone Bolelli def. Tomas Berdych, 6-4 7-5

Andreas Beck def. Nicolas Devilder, 6-4 6-4

Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Denis Gremelmayr, 6-4 7-6 (7-5)

Oscar Hernandez def. Lukas Dlouhy, 7-6 (8-6) 6-7 (5-7) 6-1

Stephane Bohli def. Jose Acasuso, 6-3 6-2

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St Petersburg Open (St Petersburg)

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Nikolay Davydenko def. Chris Guccione, 6-4 6-4

Fernando Verdasco def. Teimuraz Gabashvili, 1-6 6-4 6-3

Mikhail Youzhny def. Ivan Navarro, 6-2 6-1

Mikhail Kukushkin def. Marin Cilic, 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 7-6 (8-6)

Jeremy Chardy def. Mario Ancic, 6-4 3-6 6-4

Ernests Gulbis def. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, 6-0 6-2

Janko Tipsarevic def. Potito Starace, 6-3 7-6 (7-4)

Michail Elgin def. Filippo Volandri, 6-4 6-4

Karlis Lejnieks def. Alexandre Kudryavtsev, 3-6 7-6 (7-1) 6-3

Mischa Zverev def. Florent Serra, 6-4 6-2

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Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon (Lyon)

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Andy Roddick def. Nicolas Mahut, 7-6 (7-5) 6-4

Richard Gasquet def. Santiago Giraldo, 5-7 6-3 7-6 (7-3)

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Marc Gicquel, 7-5 4-6 6-3

Nicolas Lapentti def. Ivo Karlovic, 7-6 (7-4) 6-3

Fabrice Santoro def. Fabio Fognini, 6-4 6-1

Andreas Seppi def. David Guez, 6-2 7-5

Robby Ginepri def. Sebastien Grosjean, 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 6-4

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Generali Ladies Linz (Linz)

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Nadia Petrova def. Kateryna Bondarenko, 3-6 6-3 6-1

Marion Bartoli def. Ai Sugiyama, 6-4 2-6 7-6 (10-8)

Dominika Cibulkova def. Yvonne Meusburger, 6-4 6-2

Maria Kirilenko def. Olga Savchuk, 6-2 7-5

Alona Bondarenko def. Ekaterina Makarova, 6-3 6-3

Nuria Llagostera Vives def. Samantha Stosur, 2-6 6-4 6-2

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FORTIS Championships Luxembourg (Luxembourg)

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Elena Dementieva def. Tatjana Malek, 7-6 (7-5) 6-2

Caroline Wozniacki def. Timea Bacsinszky, 6-2 6-3

Sorana Cirstea def. Yuliana Fedak, 4-6 6-2 6-2

Iveta Benesova def. Laura Robson, 1-6 6-2 6-3

Gisela Dulko def. Tathiana Garbin, 6-4 6-2

Mariya Koryttseva def. Tsvetana Pironkova, 3-6 6-3 6-3

Catalina Castaño def. Marta Domachowska, 6-0 6-2

Yes You Can, Stan!

And the year had been going so well for Stan Wawrinka. He shot up the rankings into the top ten after making the final of Rome, and has stuck around, floating round that #8 to #10 slot. Then there was the gold medal in Beijing, partnering Roger Federer to doubles glory, and then...

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...not so much.

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He was the top seed in Vienna, and he lost to Philipp Petzschner, who was a qualifer. Sure, Petzschner went on to make the final, but I don't think that's really an excuse. And then today, in Basel, he had two match points and wasted them in a loss to Benjamin Becker, also a qualifier. Becker-no-relation is pretty promising - he knocked out Davydenko at one of the Slams this year, though I can't remember which one - but really, he shouldn't be beating Stan Wawrinka, especially when said Stan is playing at his home tournament in Basel.

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I sincerely hope that Stan has not suddenly contracted a case of Ana Ivanovic's disease - getting a taste of the big time and not being able to hack the pressure. Because Stan really is a great player. I love his game. I know he has suffered from nerves in the past - he really got dragged by Federer through those first few matches in Beijing - but he can do it. I know he can. I want to send out a Bob The Builder message to Stan today: Can he fix it? Yes he can!

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Meanwhile, what was the deal with the Tursunov match in St Petersburg? I know that Dominik Hrbaty is one of the three players on tour that has a winning record over Federer, but that doesn't mean he should be going round beating Dmitry Tursunov 6-1 6-1. There's something seriously whack with that.

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Today's Results

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Davidoff Swiss Indoors (Basel)

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Benjamin Becker def. Stanislas Wawrinka, 3-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-5)

Igor Andreev def. Jurgen Melzer, 7-6 (7-5) 7-5

Mardy Fish def. Agustin Calleri, 7-6 (7-5) 6-2

Feliciano Lopez def. Marco Chiudinelli, 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (9-7)

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St Petersburg Open (St Petersburg)

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Dominik Hrbaty def. Dmitry Tursunov, 6-1 6-1

Victor Hanescu def. Evgeny Korolev, 6-1 6-2

Rainer Schuettler def. Igor Kunitsyn, 6-2 6-3

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Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon (Lyon)

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Tommy Robredo def. Michael Llodra, 6-4 6-3

Juan Carlos Ferrero def. Sam Querrey, 6-3 7-5

Julien Benneteau def. Arnaud Clement, 6-3 6-2

Steve Darcis def. Radek Stepanek, 6-4 3-6 6-3

Josselin Ouanna def. Ivan Ljubicic, 6-7 (2-7) 7-6 (7-5) 6-4

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Generali Ladies Linz (Linz)

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Alizé Cornet def. Zheng Jie, 6-3 6-2

Katarina Srebotnik def. Tamarine Tanasugarn, 6-1 7-5

Kaia Kanepi def. Melanie Klaffner, 6-4 6-0

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FORTIS Championships Luxembourg (Luxembourg)

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Anna Chakvetadze def. Mathilde Johansson, 6-4 7-6 (7-4)

Daniela Hantuchova def. Pauline Parmentier, 6-2 7-5

Li Na def. Mandy Minella, 6-2 6-1

Peng Shuai def. Vera Dushevina, 6-1 6-2

Sara Errani def. Marina Erakovic, 4-6 6-2 7-5

Sabine Lisicki def. Sofia Arvidsson, 2-6 6-3 6-4

A Woman Scorned

I was going for Gilles Simon, I'll admit it, but all credit to Andy Murray for pulling off another Masters Series win - his second one straight. With that, and making the final of the US Open, he's really proved he's ready for the big time. With the game the way it is - ie. dominated by two of the best players ever - I don't know if he'll ever make it to #1, but I reckon he could certainly turn this Big Three phenomenon into the Big Four if he continues this way. He certainly has the ability to catch up to Djokovic. Hell, if you pitted them against each other now, I don't know which one I'd pick. Murray, probably, on the grounds that I like him more. Not that I'm a massive Murray fan - I think he still has some attitude lessons to learn - but I still like him more than Djokovic.

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Neither final went my way - I was really, really hoping Flavia Pennetta would take out the title in Zurich. She is a woman scorned! She deserves to win stuff! But no one can take the credit away from Venus, I suppose. It must be really tough to play a player that is technically a long way below you rankings-wise, but who beats you all the time anyway - Venus has had a bit of a problem with Pennetta of late, so kudos to her for overcoming it.

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But here's hoping Flavia's career goes into overdrive now. Because no one deserves more stuff than a woman scorned. That is my professional opinion.

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Today's Results

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Mutua Madrilena Masters Madrid (Madrid)

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Andy Murray def. Gilles Simon, 6-4 7-6 (8-6)

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Tennis.com Zurich Open (Zurich)

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Venus Williams def. Flavia Pennetta, 7-6 (7-1) 6-2

At Least...

All I want is for Roger Federer to win one Masters Series trophy this year. Just one. Is that so much to ask? He's won four of the bloody things in previous years. Why is it proving so difficult this year?

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At least he lost to Andy Murray, and not to some total schlep, and at least it was close. But still. Can't he just have one? Just one?

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And at least Rafa is out as well - just so it's a Big Three free party. Even if Rafa has clinched the year end #1. I don't want him increasing that lead, if it can be avoided. And Murray vs. Simon should be an interesting match in and of itself. Wouldn't it be great to see Simon get up and grab the trophy? That'd be a real victory for the little guy.

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Let's look at Masters Series events this year. Even though the Fed hasn't won one, it's been a parade of big names. Djokovic. Davydenko. Nadal. Djokovic. Nadal. Nadal. Murray. It'd be nice to see wee Gilles get his name on there. Though I doubt you'd bet against Murray. But I'm gunning for Gilles. That was a nailbiter he rode out against Rafa, and all credit to him.

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And I guess more rest can't hurt Roger. Sigh. And if he's going to win one, Paris might be nice, because he's never won it before, so it'd be a new trophy in his cabinet. (Whatever you need to tell yourself, Jodi.)

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Meanwhile, in Zurich, Ivanovic finally went down - but at least it was to Venus Williams. And it was tight, too. If Ivanovic loses to Williams, that's - well, not okay, because the top players beat everyone - but it's better than losing to Julie Coin. So well done on your semi, Ana. Let it be the sign of big things to come.

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I would not, however, be putting my money on Venus Williams in the final. She's playing Flavia Pennetta, who is not leading their head-to-head 3-1, but is newly single and has a lot of rage to work out. (As anyone would, stumbling on their longtime boyfriend with another woman. You love rat, Carlos, you.) I'm behind Flavia all the way. She deserves this one.

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Today's Results

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Mutua Madrilena Masters Madrid (Madrid)

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Andy Murray def. Roger Federer, 3-6 6-3 7-5

Gilles Simon def. Rafael Nadal, 3-6 7-5 7-6 (8-6)

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Tennis.com Zurich Open (Zurich)

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Venus Williams def. Ana Ivanovic, 4-6 6-3 6-4

Flavia Pennetta def. Anabel Medina Garrigues, 6-3 7-6 (8-6)

Whose Cuisine Will Reign Supreme?

Mon dieu. The shock. Ana Ivanovic managed to win ANOTHER match. Two in a row! When was the last time that happened? The French Open, perhaps? No, wait, she got to the third round of Wimbledon, but I seriously can't remember her having consecutive victories since then. Sure, she only beat Petra Kvitova, but I have two words to say to you, and they are Julie and Coin. She's in the semis of Zurich now. I'm not used to saying 'Ana Ivanovic' and 'semis' in the same sentence, unless there's some variant of 'didn't make it' in there. Is Ana better? Is she, at least, improving? What will happen?

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She plays Venus Williams next. Now that will be interesting. Both are Grand Slam champions this year, and both have taken some interesting losses (to say the least.) Who will serve up what? Whose tennis cuisine will reign supreme, as Chairman Kaga might say? That'll be an interesting one to watch.

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Meanwhile, I have to say that I like the look of R-Fed right now. Juan Martin del Potro is on a psycho-crazy hot streak right now, and Federer spanked him pretty convincingly. I mean, it wasn't a massive blowout, but there was pretty much no way del Potro was going to win that match, and everyone knew it. That rest seems to have done the Master some good. The semi against Murray will be an interesting one, as Federer's lost to Murray a couple of times in three-set matches on hard courts... but then, the US Open is still looming large in everyone's minds, and we all know how that turned out. So I wouldn't be betting against the Federer Express. I don't know of any sane person that ever would.

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I love that three of the top four seeds are through to the Madrid semis, and the one that didn't make it was Djokovic. That puts a grin on my face, let me tell you.

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Today's Results

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Mutua Madrilena Masters Madrid (Madrid)

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Roger Federer def. Juan Martin Del Potro, 6-3 6-3

Andy Murray def. Gael Monfils, 6-2 6-2

Rafael Nadal def. Feliciano Lopez, 6-4 6-4

Gilles Simon def. Ivo Karlovic, 7-6 (7-1) 4-6 7-6 (7-2)

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Tennis.com Zurich Open (Zurich)

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Ana Ivanovic def. Petra Kvitova, 6-1 6-4

Venus Williams def. Francesca Schiavone, 6-3 6-3

Flavia Pennetta def. Katarina Srebotnik, 7-5 6-2

Anabel Medina Garrigues def. Victoria Azarenka, 4-6 6-3 retired

A World Gone Topsy-Turvy

I think I might be in shock. My world has gone topsy-turvy. Jelena Jankovic lost a match...

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...AND ANA IVANOVIC WON ONE!?!?!?!

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And all it took was for Jankovic to play tennis non-stop for about a month and for Ivanovic to lose twelve hundred times in a row.

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Seriously, I cannot remember the last time Ivanovic won a match. And it wasn't a scrape-through-by-the-skin-of-her-teeth affair either: it was in two reasonably comfortable sets over Marion Bartoli. Bartoli hasn't been in anything even resembling form this year, but she's not a total schlep - so a victory over her, considering the people Ivanovic has been losing to of late, is a victory indeed.

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And so we must ask the question: can she do it again? Can she string another victory onto this one? Is this the week that Ana resurfaces? When you start asking the same questions about a player that you routinely ask about the King of Inconsistency, Marat Safin, there you know there's trouble.

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We had some interesting results in Madrid over night - we have a quality set of quarter-finalists, but not necessarily the ones you'd expect. Juan Martin del Potro aside, all my Stars are out - Marin Cilic went down to Andy Murray. Oh well. He's young. Novak Djokovic also went down - I'd just like to say AHAHAHAHAHAHA! Two tie-breaker sets to Ivo Karlovic. I know Karlovic plays the most boring tennis in the history of the universe, but a Djokovic loss is a Djokovic loss.

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And yes, I am a horrible person.

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R-Fed and the Rafinator are both through, accounting comfortably for Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Richard Gasquet respectively. I do like Rafa, but I am praying like nobody's business that he loses his next match, because if he wins, he's guaranteed the year-end #1, and I like it when Federer has that. Still, if he can get it back by winning the Australian Open or suchlike, that would be nice too.

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Defending champion David Nalbandian went out to Juan Martin del Potro, who'll now face Federer - I don't know if they've played while del Potro has been on this hot streak, so this'll be interesting. Seriously, has del Potro made Shanghai yet? Because he must be close. And Roddick went out to streaky Gael Monfils. Guess he should have played those Olympics. I am perfectly content to blame every loss he takes from now until the end of his career on his failure to do so.

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And a special shout out today to Victoria Azarenka, who served Monica Niculescu a double bagel. Not so nice for Monica, but that'll be one to tell the grandkids.

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Today's Results

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Mutua Madrilena Masters Madrid (Madrid)

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Roger Federer def. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 6-4 6-1

Gael Monfils def. Andy Roddick, 6-4 3-6 6-3

Ivo Karlovic def. Novak Djokovic, 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-5)

Andy Murray def. Marin Cilic, 7-5 7-6 (7-2)

Juan Martin Del Potro def. David Nalbandian, 6-4 6-2

Feliciano Lopez def. Stanislas Wawrinka, 6-4 6-4

Gilles Simon def. Robby Ginepri, 6-7 (6-8) 6-4 7-6 (8-6)

Rafael Nadal def. Richard Gasquet, 6-4 6-2

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Tennis.com Zurich Open (Zurich)

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Flavia Pennetta def. Jelena Jankovic, 5-7 6-3 6-3

Ana Ivanovic def. Marion Bartoli, 6-2 6-4

Anabel Medina Garrigues def. Vera Zvonareva, 6-3 3-0 retired

Katarina Srebotnik def. Agnieszka Radwanska, -26 7-6 (8-6) 6-3

Victoria Azarenka def. Monica Niculescu, 6-0 6-0

Petra Kvitova def. Sofia Arvidsson, 6-2 6-1

Down With The Worm!

There's something vaguely satisfying about seeing Radek Stepanek get beaten. Not because he's a horrible person or anything - I suppose Martina Hingis and Nicole Vaidisova must have seen something in him, because he's butt-ugly - but just because he's so kind of... creepy. You don't get the nickname 'The Worm' by being a handsome, upstanding member of the tennis community. He's just so... off-putting.

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But The Worm is no more in Madrid, being effectively put down in two sets by the Swiss Master, Roger Federer. They weren't blow-out sets, but a straight sets victory is a straight sets victory, and compared to the tussle Nadal had with Gulbis yesterday, it's pretty nice looking. So well done, Roger. And along the way - just another milestone in that amazing career of his - he surpassed Sampras's mark for as the winner of the most prize money in tennis history. Not that Federer seems like a monetarily minded guy or anything - Maria Sharapova must rake in fifty times what he makes each year from endorsments alone - but it must be a pretty nice mark. I wouldn't mind getting money out at an ATM and looking at a balance like that on the receipt. He's won in excess of forty-three million dollars. Now that is a sweet paycheck!

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He plays Jo-W Tsonga in the next round. That should be an interesting one to watch - I don't know if they've ever met. Federer remains the one member of the Big Three Tsonga hasn't taken down: and much as I like Tsonga, here's hoping it stays that way! Federer for the title!

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Djokovic also advanced, but there were two breaker sets, one of which he lost, and his opponent retired in the third. And what's with David Ferrer? He seems to have gone right off the boil, which is a bit sad for him, as he is a bit fabulous. He lost to Feliciano Lopez. Get well soon, David - or whatever it is! I'd love to see him playing at the Masters Cup this year, especially as he got to the final last year. And Davydenko went out as well - to Robby Ginepri, of all people. There's a weird loss if I ever saw one.

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Today's Results

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Mutua Madrilena Masters Madrid (Madrid)

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Roger Federer def. Radek Stepanek, 6-3 7-6 (8-6)

Novak Djokovic def. Victor Hanescu, 6-7 (8-10) 7-6 (8-6) 3-1 retired

Robby Ginepri def. Nikolay Davydenko, 4-6 6-4 6-4

Feliciano Lopez def. David Ferrer, 6-4 7-6 (7-4)

David Nalbandian def. Tomas Berdych, 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 6-1

Andy Roddick def. Tommy Robredo, 6-3 6-4

Juan Martin Del Potro def. Jarkko Nieminen, 6-2 4-2 retired

Stanislas Wawrinka def. Philipp Kohlschreiber, 3-6 7-5 7-6 (7-5)

Gael Monfils def. Fernando Gonzalez, 6-3 6-4

Ivo Karlovic def. Robin Soderling, 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (10-8)

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Marcel Granollers, 3-6 6-3 7-6 (7-5)

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Tennis.com Zurich Open (Zurich)

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Venus Williams def. Alona Bondarenko, 6-3 6-4

Francesca Schiavone def. Maria Kirilenko, 6-3 7-5

Flavia Pennetta def. Nadia Petrova, 6-1 6-1

Katarina Srebotnik def. Timea Bacsinszky, 6-3 6-3

Sofia Arvidsson def. Sybille Bammer, 0-6 7-5 6-4

Good Things To Come

Well, I suppose it was a bit much to hope that wee Ernests Gulbis could steal the match away from the Rafinator, but I have to say that the boy gave a good account of himself. That was a seriously tight match. I think Ernests's real weakness is at crunch time - I wouldn't say he crumbles, but he doesn't exactly step it up, either. Once he has that under control - when he becomes the player you can count on in a pinch - then he's going to be one of the great champions. This kid is going all the way - and even though he didn't win today, I think this match was a sign of good things to come.

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But Rafa is a champ, and so he does deserve his victories. The other champ, my beloved Mr Federer, is playing arguably the creepiest man on the tour tomorrow: Radek 'The Worm' Stepanek. Seriously, that guy is kinda freaky. I fear him. I hope R-Fed isn't rusty or anything coming into tomorrow's match - I hope all that rest works in his favour! He hasn't confirmed anything in the rest of his season yet - he says it'll all be last-minute decisions based on the health of his mind and body. If only Ana Ivanovic would adopt a similar position.

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Marin Cilic had a win, too - a good one, over fifteenth seeded Fernando Verdasco. Go them Stars! Unfortunately, Dmitry Tursunov took a weird loss. Them Russians and their consistency... Mademoiselle Safina aside, obviously. It isn't the same with the girls. But those Russian men... I despair of them.

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Meanwhile, Bernard Tomic looks like he's going to make his senior debut early next year in the new Brisbane tournament. My feelings on this tournament are mixed - it's replacing the Gold Coast and Adelaide events, with which there was nothing wrong, unless you count that flirtation with round robin that Adelaide had a couple of years back - but the field will be good, if nothing else. Djokovic, Tsonga and Baghdatis are all confirmed starters, as are Stosur and Ivanovic. Not that one expects much from Ivanovic these days. But the Tomic debut - should he get the wildcard he is expected to get - will be very exciting. I don't expect him to win or anything, but I think he'll prove an interesting handful. He'll certainly be much more interesting than Marko Djokovic, at any rate.

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Today's Results

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Mutua Madrilena Masters Madrid (Madrid)

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Rafael Nadal def. Ernests Gulbis, 7-5 3-6 6-3

Andy Murray def. Simone Bolelli, 6-0 2-1 retired

Gilles Simon def. James Blake, 3-6 6-1 6-4

Marin Cilic def. Fernando Verdasco, 6-2 6-3

Richard Gasquet def. Mardy Fish, 6-7 (3-7) 6-4 6-3

Gael Monfils def. Fabio Fognini, 6-2 6-4

Marcel Granollers def. Paul-Henri Mathieu, 6-4 6-4

Jarkko Nieminen def. Mikhail Youzhny, 7-5 3-6 6-2

Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Carlos Moya, 6-2 6-2

Robby Ginepri def. Michael Llodra, 6-4 6-4

Robin Soderling def. Florent Serra, 6-3 6-4

Victor Hanescu def. Dmitry Tursunov, 4-6 6-2 6-3

Feliciano Lopez def. Albert Montanes, 7-6 (7-4) 6-3

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Tennis.com Zurich Open (Zurich)

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Agnieszka Radwanska def. Vera Dushevina, 6-4 6-1

Petra Kvitova def. Patty Schnyder, 6-4 3-6 6-4

Monica Niculescu def. Anna Chakvetadze, 3-6 6-3 6-2

Marion Bartoli def. Agnes Szavay, 6-4 6-0

Francesca Schiavone def. Caroline Wozniacki, 7-6 (7-3) 6-2

Anabel Medina Garrigues def. Li Na, 6-2 6-4

That Strange Unfinished Feel

Very little to report on today... mostly because very little happened. Only six matches were played in Madrid, and none of the results were particularly unexpected... that said, I only picked four of them correctly in the bracket challenge. But, you know, some of them were hard picks.

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Like Simon vs. Andreev. I mean, who are you going to pick in that one? They couldn't decide who was going to win - Andreev had four match points. I had picked him to win, but Simon came through in the end. If that had been a five set match, that one could have been a thriller. I mean, as a three set match it looked like a bit of a thriller, what the nail-biting final set breaker. I hate final set breakers, I have to say - I think it is the stupidest way of deciding matches. Well, not stupid, I guess - I have no issues with breakers used in other sets - but I just feel that if the match is that close, then you are obligated to keep it going on until someone wins properly, if that makes sense. Imagine if that amazing Nadal/Federer match at Wimbledon had been decided with a fifth set breaker. That would have been tragic. Actually, remember the final at Rome in 2006, decided with a fifth set breaker. The match was five hours already, but it deserved longer. Someone wins the breaker, for sure, but the match is left with a strange unfinished feel...

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Meanwhile, Tomas Berdych is looking in good form, which is interesting, because we haven't seen that for a while. Maybe that win in Tokyo was a harbinger of good things to come. Rainer Schuettler isn't a schlep - he is, we must remember, a Wimbledon semifinalist - but Berdych totally owned him. I'd like to see Berdych do well. He's a good indoor player, I do believe - remember that year when Federer won four Masters events and Nadal won four, and then neither of them played Paris? Berdych won it. I'm not saying I necessarily want him to replicate that - we all know I want Federer to win, to take out the double, especially as he hasn't won any Masters events this year - but it'd be nice to see him do well.

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Same thing with my boy Marin Cilic, who had a good win as well, beating Olivier Rochus in straights. Rochus might not be the mightiest player on the circuit, but Cilic is being consistent and not taking any weird losses, and that's all I can ask of him. This kid is on the way up, big time.

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Someone I thought was on the way up but keeps losing early, which is disappointing, is Alize Cornet, who lost to Alona Bondarenko in Zurich. It was another final set breaker - damn those breakers - but really, come on, Alize. Let's see you making good on all that talent!

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Today's Results

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Mutua Madrilena Masters Madrid (Madrid)

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Mardy Fish def. Steve Darcis, 6-1 6-4

Simone Bolelli def. Nicolas Almagro, 7-6 (7-4) 6-1

Gilles Simon def. Igor Andreev, 4-6 6-1 7-6 (9-7)

Marin Cilic def. Olivier Rochus, 6-3 7-5

Tommy Robredo def. Andreas Seppi, 7-6 (7-5) 3-6 6-3

Tomas Berdych def. Rainer Schuettler, 6-1 6-2

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Tennis.com Zurich Open (Zurich)

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Maria Kirilenko def. Daniela Hantuchova, 7-5 6-2

Victoria Azarenka def. Amélie Mauresmo, 6-2 6-1

Alona Bondarenko def. Alizé Cornet, 1-6 6-3 7-6 (8-6)

Far Away, So Close

No joy, yet again. Marat, Marat, Marat. If only he could have won the other one of those breakers. Far away, so close. All I want is for to win a title - one little title! Is that so much to ask? But no. Even though he's beaten Igor Kunitsyn three times in recent history, not this time. Not this time, when it really, you know, matters.

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Sigh. One day, Marat will come through for me. One day. And he got to the final, and he beat some quality players on the way. I guess I'll just have to be content with that.

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Igor Kunitsyn was not the only first-time winner this weekend - how 'bout Philipp Petzschner, who pulled a Darcis in Vienna? It's always good fun when a qualifier comes up through the draw and wins it. Much as I did want Safin to win in Moscow, it's nice to see the little guys doing well - sharing the love, I guess. Not that that happened everywhere this week - Nalbandian won in Stockholm, and though Soderling took a set off him, GoodDave (for 'twas he) never really looked like losing. It will be very interesting to see how he goes in Madrid this week, defending his title - are we going to get another late surge? It would certainly shake things up in Davis Cup: and we all know how keen I am to see a Nadal/Nalbandian clash!

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And it's good to see Jelena Jankovic really deserving her position as #1 - she really owned that tournament in Moscow this week. Is she going to be the one to close it out this year? It's been such a roller coaster ride over there!

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Back to the blokes, and I am two for two so far in the bracket challenge for Madrid! The opponents for Roger and Rafa have been decided - Roger will face scary Radek Stepanek, the creepy guy, but, much more interestingly for us here at Tennis From The Backseat, Rafa's playing Ernests Gulbis, who had a good win over Nicolas Kiefer. I've picked Ernests to upset Rafa, which is probably more wishful thinking than anything else: but I can dream! Swanboy is certainly going to beat him one day - so why not this week?

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Today's Results

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Kremlin Cup (Moscow)

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Men's Draw

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Igor Kunitsyn def. Marat Safin, 7-6 (8-6) 6-7 (4-7) 6-3

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Women's Draw

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

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If Stockholm Open (Stockholm)

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David Nalbandian def. Robin Soderling, 6-2 5-7 6-3

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Bank Austria Tennis Classic (Vienna)

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Philipp Petzschner def. Gael Monfils, 6-4 6-4

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Mutua Madrilena Masters Madrid (Madrid)

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Radek Stepanek def. Juan Monaco, 6-1 6-1

Ernests Gulbis def. Nicolas Kiefer, 5-7 6-4 7-5

Praying for the Dinara Magic

Well, it's a rare tournament in which Marat Safin does better than his little sister, but he's done it this time. To be fair, he didn't have to do much - I thought he could beat Mischa Zverev as long as he didn't have a total collapse, but it turns out he didn't need to: he got handed a walkover. So it's Safin in the final - God, this must be his first final in a while - where he'll play Igor Kunitsyn. Now, he is totally capable of beating Kunitsyn. He has beaten Kunitsyn three times - and this is all in 2006 and 2007, which were definitely not Marat's best years. If he plays well, he can beat Kunitsyn with his eyes closed. Whether he does or not is another matter. We can just cross our fingers and hope some of that Dinara magic wears off.

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Not that the Dinara magic worked too well for Dinara herself this time round - she got beaten in straight sets by Vera Zvonareva. But I suppose the girl can't have all the Tier I love. She's being kind and sharing it around - and being so nervous for Marat she forgets about herself. That's my theory, anyway. I am not unduly bothered. Dinara is still my favourite female player.

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Though what a weird match the other women's semi was, Jankovic vs. Dementieva? What kind of score is 0-6 6-1 6-0? Did something happen to Dementieva - or did Jankovic just ratchet it up? If that's the case, she's got one hell of a gear shift.

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Kei Nishikori also went out today - he got pretty convincingly crushed by Robin Soderling. Oh well, can't win 'em all, I guess: and to get to the semis ain't no mean feat. It'd be nice to see Soderling actually do something and win a title, to tell the truth - he's one of those dangerous floaters in a draw, but he never actually wins anything, so he's never seeded, which is a shame, because he certainly has a lot of ability. I would like him to win the final... I certainly don't want David Nalbandian to go on one of those indoor court hot streaks again - though it would make for a very interesting Davis Cup final (now being played at Mar del Plata. Go figure.)

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And kudos also to Philipp Petzschner, the qualifer than beat top seed Stan Wawrinka in Vienna this week, and who is now in the final. He plays Gael Monfils. Personally, I'm cheering for the underdog. Go Philipp! I have never heard of you and have no idea what kind of tennis you play, but I'm cheering for you, man. Pull a Darcis!

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And big congratulations also go to the winners of the Optus under-16 Australian Championships, Elizabeth Searl and Jason Kubler. Here's hoping that we have another couple here that will make it big, when the time is right - join the Tomic revolution!

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Today's Results

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Kremlin Cup (Moscow)

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Men's Draw

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Marat Safin def. Mischa Zverev, walkover

Igor Kunitsyn def. Fabrice Santoro, 6-4 6-3

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Women's Draw

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Jelena Jankovic def. Elena Dementieva, 0-6 6-1 6-0

Vera Zvonareva def. Dinara Safina, 6-2 7-6 (7-5)

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If Stockholm Open (Stockholm)

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David Nalbandian def. Jarkko Nieminen, 6-2 6-1

Robin Soderling def. Kei Nishikori, 6-1 6-0

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Bank Austria Tennis Classic (Vienna)

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Gael Monfils def. Philipp Kohlschreiber, 6-4 5-7 7-6 (7-2)

Philipp Petzschner def. Feliciano Lopez, 3-6 6-3 6-3

A Good Day in the Safin(a) Household

Well, I bet it's a happy night tonight in the Safin(a) household. Both Marat and Dinara had great wins today, against excellent fellow Russians - Dinara took out Svetlana Kuznetsova, which is hardly surprising, considering Kuznetsova's recent headcaseness and Dinara's lack of it, but more surprisingly, the big guy took out Nikolay Davydenko, to whom he has lost, like, nine hundred times in a row. This puts Marat in the semis of an event - something we don't see often and haven't seen since (I can't believe I'm saying this) Wimbledon.

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He's playing Mischa Zverev next, which is a match you think he ought to be able to win, though you never know with Marat. I place no bets and make no claims. I merely hope. I hope sincerely that the wheels don't fall off and that this win over Davydenko wasn't all he had left in the tank. I hope that Dinara has a good talk to him about focus, because she has plenty and to spare.

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It's a pretty strange set of semi-finalists in Moscow, actually - Safin is the only seed left. In the other semi, there's Santoro (of whom I am very fond, as he plays fun tennis) and Kunitsyn. There's a shot at an all-Russian final, which I'm sure would make the organisers happy. Actually, over in the girls, an Russian final is a possibility as well - Jankovic is the odd duck out among Safina, Zvonareva and Dementieva. You'd like Jankovic to get the final - but then, you never know when she's going to injure herself and the suchlike.

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Elsewhere, I am glad that my Star Kei Nishikori got through - with the demise of Jeremy Chardy, he's the only one left - but I wish it didn't have to be this way. He got a walkover against Ancic, who's out with bronchitis and a fever. Poor Super Mario - I hope he's okay. He's a bad time of it with the illness and all - I know the glandular fever knocked Federer about, but it has messed with Ancic big time, the poor guy. The team here at Tennis From The Backseat (...ie. me...) wish him a heartfelt get well soon!

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Speaking of Federer, I'm glad he's playing Madrid next week - I want him to defend his points, and make better on them, if he can. Rafa has a good chance of extending his lead, as he rarely does well in the indoor court season and thus has little to defend and a lot to gain, and I'd rather not see that lead get too much bigger, for much as I like Rafa, Roger is my special favourite and always will be.

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Meanwhile, on the front page of today's Sydney Morning Herald is some nefarious plot from Sydney to steal the Australian Open when Melbourne's contract expires in 2016 - and apparently Shanghai, Dubai and Abu Dhabi have similar plans. I don't like this idea AT ALL. Much as having the Open in Sydney would be lightyears more convenient for me, it BELONGS in Melbourne. And if it were to move overseas... how I would ever see any tennis, ever? Yes, that's selfish, but I don't care. The Australian Open belongs in Melbourne, and that's all there is to it.

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Today's Results

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Kremlin Cup (Moscow)

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Men's Draw

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Marat Safin def. Nikolay Davydenko, 7-6 (7-5) 4-6 6-4

Fabrice Santoro def. Paul-Henri Mathieu, 6-3 2-0 retired

Mischa Zverev def. Viktor Troicki, 6-4 3-6 7-5

Igor Kunitsyn def. Jeremy Chardy, 6-4 6-2

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Women's Draw

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Jelena Jankovic def. Flavia Pennetta, 7-6 (8-6) 6-3

Dinara Safina def. Svetlana Kuznetsova, 6-4 7-5

Elena Dementieva def. Nadia Petrova, 6-4 4-6 7-6 (8-6)

Vera Zvonareva def. Dominika Cibulkova, 7-5 6-4

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If Stockholm Open (Stockholm)

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David Nalbandian def. Albert Montanes, 6-4 6-1

Kei Nishikori def. Mario Ancic, walkover

Jarkko Nieminen def. Oscar Hernandez, 6-1 6-4

Robin Soderling def. Rainer Schuettler, 6-2 7-5

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Bank Austria Tennis Classic (Vienna)

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Gael Monfils def. Fernando Gonzalez, 6-3 7-6 (7-2)

Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Fernando Verdasco, 6-2 6-3

Feliciano Lopez def. Jurgen Melzer, 4-6 6-3 6-4

Philipp Petzschner def. Carlos Moya, 6-4 6-2