Fluke?

You know who has been very disappointing this season and, I am beginning to think, very overrated? Gilles Simon.

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I remember last year, when he had that great run towards the end of the year, beating Federer, Nadal and Djokovic within a reasonably short amount of time, that it was like, 'where did you come from?' He's one of those random Frenchmen that hangs around the top thirty, but to tell the truth, I had no idea he was even in the top twenty, and when he crashed into the top ten, it took me completely by surprise.

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But the fact that's falling out of it has not taken me by surprise. He's not a bad player, certainly (as if anyone who made it into the top ten could ever be bad) but he just doesn't have the weapons that most of those guys have. He's little and zippy and he can certainly give it a good whack, but he's just not got the power and the strokes. Look at today - he lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who is seeded below him but... seriously, would you ever bet against Jo-Dub in that one? Tsonga has twice the talent and twice the weapons of Simon.

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So how did Simon get into the top ten? I am beginning to think, more and more, that it was a fluke. But it takes some pretty tremendous fluekage to do that, given the current state of men's tennis - hint, it's nothing like the disaster zone of women's tennis. So I'm throwing down a challenge to you, Gilles Simon. Prove me wrong. Prove to me that your run at the end of last year was not a fluke and show me what you're made of.

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Today's Results

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Sony Ericsson Open (Miami)

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Men's Draw

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Fernando Verdasco def. Radek Stepanek, 6-2 6-2

Novak Djokovic def. Tomas Berdych, 6-3 6-2

Andy Murray def. Viktor Troicki, 6-1 6-0

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Gilles Simon, 6-7 (4-7) 6-3 6-2

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Women's Draw

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Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Caroline Wozniacki, 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-1

Shake It Up, Shake It Down

There can be no doubt about it - the WTA is in crisis. And I'm not talking about the administrative side, though the whole Larry King debacle has been interesting in and of itself. No, no, the WTA is in crisis because there hardly seems to be a WTA any more.

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We lost Dementieva today, another member of what is supposed to be the upper echelon of the WTA. She joins Safina, Zvonareva, Ivanovic, Jankovic and a whole host of others who have crashed out of this tournament. Zvonareva, who won Indian Wells last week, perhaps has a vague sort of excuse with too much match play, but even that is hazy at best. There are very few top ten players left now in the tournament - and given that one of those few is the constantly sketchy Svetlana Kuznetsova, well...

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So what happens now? The Williams sisters are still in, solid as a rock. And the two teen queens, Wozniacki and Azarenka, have lined up ominously behind them. If anyone can exploit the crisis, it should be these two - and maybe Dominika Cibulkova as well. Because despite the fact that the women at the top (Williamses aside) are playing terribly, they're still largely maintaining their position at the top, which pretty much means that the women under them are playing worse. Though the WTA scoring system has always been, ahem, interesting.

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I want to see a reshuffle at the top. The girls there are, frankly, not good enough. There's a lot of talent in the WTA, but I'm not seeing much delivery. So step up to the plate, young up and comers, veterans, those bridesmaids to the brides of the top spots. Shake it up, shake it down. There is no way that women playing the way that the top women are should be at the top. Maybe, if we have a shakeup-shakedown, then there'll be some quality motivation.

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Today's Results

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Sony Ericsson Open (Miami)

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Men's Draw

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Rafael Nadal def. Frederico Gil, 7-5 6-3

Juan Martin del Potro def. Janko Tipsarevic, 6-4 6-1

Viktor Troicki def. Bjorn Phau, 6-4 6-3

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Women's Draw

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Caroline Wozniacki def. Elena Dementieva, 7-5 6-4

Venus Williams def. Agnieszka Radwanska, 4-6 6-1 6-4

Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Alisa Kleybanova, 6-2 6-1

Victoria Azarenka def. Agnes Szavay, 6-2 6-4

Samantha Stosur def. Amélie Mauresmo, 6-4 6-4

The Land of What Might Have Been

So, Taylor Dent, yeah. The first I remember of him is at the Aussie Open '06, when he was seeded about #27, and he was someone's semi-final pick (can't remember whose) in a pre-tournament TV show. He didn't deliver, and he hasn't delivered much of anything ever since. He's been a pretty big non-event for the last three, four years, really - I understand injury is to blame, though I confess I haven't been following the story too closely.

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And now here he is in Miami, a qualifier, beating the recently in-form Tommy Robredo. I wouldn't call this a comeback - far from it - but it must be nice for him to know that he's still got it. Still, I bet the poor guy will come away from his career with a feeling of what might have been.

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What a cheery note to start off with.

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Another cheery note - Dinara Safina continued the crisis of confidence in Miami, going down very, very meekly. She went down to Sam Stosur, so from my perspective, being Australian, it's like, go Sam - but Dinara is really my favourite on the WTA and I am not entirely happy with her right now. The determination that saw her so well through the mid-section of last year seems to have been put on the backburner, and that serve... oh, that serve. Please, Zeljko, help. Please. Please. Don't let Dinara become another inhabitant of the land of what might have been.

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(But meanwhile, go Sam!)

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Ana Ivanovic also went down, though with a bit more of a struggle - Agnes Szavay got her in three. And it was also curtains for Alize Cornet, who has not been playing anything like herself since she held those match points against Safina at the Aussie Open. It's going to be interesting to see who comes out at the best non-Williams this week - I don't think anyone would gainsay Serena in this tournament. And if Serena goes down to anyone, it'd probably be Venus. Sigh. Please, Roger and Mirka, have a little girl, and let her grow up to save the WTA. Please.

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On the subject of Roger, he had a very shiny win over Nicolas Kiefer. Nice one, Rog.

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Today's Results

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Sony Ericsson Open (Miami)

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Men's Draw

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Roger Federer def. Nicolas Kiefer, 6-4 6-1

Andy Roddick def. Dmitry Tursunov, 7-6 (11-9) 6-2

Taylor Dent def. Tommy Robredo, 7-5 6-3

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Women's Draw

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Samantha Stosur def. Dinara Safina, 6-1 6-4

Elena Dementieva def. Carla Suárez Navarro, 6-2 6-2

Agnes Szavay def. Ana Ivanovic, 6-4 4-6 6-1

Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Nicole Vaidisova, 6-1 6-4

Victoria Azarenka def. Anna Chakvetadze, 6-1 6-4

Caroline Wozniacki def. Patty Schnyder, 6-4 6-4

Zheng Jie def. Alizé Cornet, 6-4 6-0

Alisa Kleybanova def. Anastasiya Yakimova, 6-3 3-6 6-4

Jekyll and Hyde

It's not looking like a particularly happy week for my Stars, from what I can tell. Not only did Ernests Gulbis crash out early, to my great displeasure, both my girls are gone as well. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, last week's Cinderella, went out to bad-tempered teen queen Victoria Azarenka, and Sabine Lisicki went out today to Iveta Benesova. But that's why they're Stars of the Future, I guess... they aren't quite in the present yet. And Marin Cilic is still in the mix...

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It's mostly plain sailing again in both sides of the draw, though Andy Murray certainly had to work for his win over Juan Monaco. But there was one upset, and it was a nasty one - David Nalbandian got absolutely whaled on by Viktor Troicki.

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Troicki is not without ability. I've seen him play in the flesh - twice, actually, though one time (against Robredo at the year's Aussie Open) he really had his tail between his legs. He had set points against Rafa Nadal in the first round of the same tournament last year, though Rafa went on to win in straights. So he doesn't suck (I mean, as if any of the top hundred do! they're there for a reason). But he really shouldn't be a match for David Nalbandian, longtime nemesis of the great R-Fed: the big Argentine who has been to the semis of all four Slams and might be one of the most talented players on the tour never to have actually won one (largely courtesy of the Hispano-Suisse domination machine). But Troicki absolutely destroyed him - Headbandian only got four games.

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I've discussed the phenomenon of GoodDave and LameDave numerous times - he is perhaps the most Jekyll and Hyde of any player on tour. The stats tell the story - Dave only got 30% of his first serves in, and then only won 57% of the time on it. You'd want to hope that signals 'injury' not 'I am a total headcase and will never, ever recover from those five match points I had last week before I got bagelled'. I'm not a huge fan of Nalbandian personality-wise, but I think he's necessary on the tour - he fulfils a particular function, plays a particular role, the ever-dangerous veteran snake in the grass. The one who can beat anyone if he only has his day. And when he's losing to Viktor Troicki so tamely... it's not just David that suffers, but the whole dynamic of the tour. I think.

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Today's Results

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Sony Ericsson Open (Miami)

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Men's Draw

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Andy Murray def. Juan Monaco, 4-6 6-3 6-2

Fernando Verdasco def. Benjamin Becker, 6-3 6-4

David Ferrer def. John Isner, 6-3 3-6 6-2

Fernando Gonzalez def. Igor Kunitsyn, 6-4 6-4

Viktor Troicki def. David Nalbandian, 6-1 6-3

Stanislas Wawrinka def. Andreas Seppi, 7-5 7-5

Radek Stepanek def. Bobby Reynolds, 7-5 6-7 (3-7) 6-2

Igor Andreev def. Yen-hsun Lu, 7-6 (7-4) 6-3

Frederico Gil def. Ivo Karlovic, 6-4 6-4

Nicolas Massu def. Mardy Fish, 5-7 7-6 (7-4) 6-2

Janko Tipsarevic def. Jurgen Melzer, 6-4 6-3

Feliciano Lopez def. Sam Querrey, 6-7 (5-7) 7-5 6-2

Bjorn Phau def. Albert Montanes, 6-4 2-0 retired

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Women's Draw

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Serena Williams def. Alexa Glatch, 6-2 6-3

Nadia Petrova def. Michaella Krajicek, 3-6 6-4 6-2

Agnieszka Radwanska def. Tamarine Tanasugarn, 4-6 6-3 6-2

Alizé Cornet def. Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, 6-4 7-6 (7-4)

Zheng Jie def. Julia Goerges, 6-4 6-2

Anabel Medina Garrigues def. Alla Kudryavtseva, 7-6 (7-3) 6-4

Kaia Kanepi def. María José Martínez Sánchez, 4-6 6-4 7-5

Ekaterina Makarova def. Ai Sugiyama, 6-3 6-4

Iveta Benesova def. Sabine Lisicki, 6-2 6-4

Li Na def. Aleksandra Wozniak, 7-5 6-3

Anna-Lena Groenefeld def. Sara Errani, 6-4 6-3

Peng Shuai def. Mara Santangelo, 7-5 6-3

Smooth Sailing in Miami

All smooth sailing so far in Miami, it looks like. People seemed surprised at Roger Federer doing well, which surprised me - just because he lost a match to Andy Murray doesn't mean he's out of form. But that's the hysteria over Federer that's been around for years, I suppose. In any case, he had a very cruise-y win over Kevin Kim (who was part of the first ever professional tennis match I saw live - James Blake/Kevin Kim, Day 3 of the Medibank International in 2007: there's some trivia for you!) and it was all very matter-of-fact and business like. I haven't seen the match so I don't know if Roger has already done this or not, but I'd really like to see him play aggressive this week, especially when it comes to attacking the second serve. He's said himself that he has to play aggressive to beat Nadal - I'd like to see him try it out.

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Actually, I wonder if he's taken a look at David Nalbandian's match against Rafa in Indian Wells, the one where Rafa had to save five match points. Headbandian seemed to have a lot of success attacking Rafa's first serve, especially early on. This is purely judging by the stats as I didn't see the match, but it could be something to try - a sort of throwing down of the gauntlet. 'Your first serve better be pinpoint accurate, Rafa, otherwise I'm just going to smack it, and who knows what will happen then.' I'd like to see more slice instead of topspin backhands, and - but I am not a tennis coach, nor am I qualified to give this kind of advice. I place my faith in the Mighty Fed. He's reversed these massive head-to-head defecits before. He can do it again.

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When did this turn into 'how will Federer beat Nadal'? That was not my intention! Back to Miami. No major upsets in the blokes - the only seed to go down was Nicolas Almagro, the Prince of Clay, and as the name suggests, he's hardly Captain Hardcourt. A couple more seeds went down among the women, but again, no one major, unless you count Marion Bartoli. I don't like to count her out, but a lot of the time I don't really like to count her in either, if you know what I mean.

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One seed to go was Sybille Bammer, another member of the WTA mum's club that Kim Clijsters will soon be joining, and she was knocked out by Sam Stosur. It's great to see Sam playing well! She's the only Aussie hope left, since Caroline Wozniacki exacted revenge for her third round defeat at the Aussie Open at the hands of Jelena Dokic, and Gilles Simon absolutely hammered Lleyton Hewitt. I'd really like Sam to have a big run at a big tournament - quarters, maybe. The Aussie players deserve some lovin'!

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Today's Results

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Sony Ericsson Open (Miami)

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Men's Draw

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Roger Federer def. Kevin Kim, 6-3 6-2

Novak Djokovic def. Frank Dancevic, 6-3 6-2

Gael Monfils def. Michael Russell, 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 6-3

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Agustin Calleri, 6-1 6-1

James Blake def. Julien Benneteau, 6-4 6-4

Tommy Robredo def. Jan Hernych, 6-4 6-4

Taylor Dent def. Nicolas Almagro, 2-6 6-2 7-6 (9-7)

Tomas Berdych def. Mikhail Youzhny, 6-3 3-6 6-4

Marat Safin def. Oscar Hernandez, 6-4 2-6 6-1

Robert Kendrick def. Robin Soderling, 6-4 6-2

Dmitry Tursunov def. Mikhail Kukushkin, 3-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-3

Nicolas Kiefer def. Fabrice Santoro, 5-7 7-6 (7-5) 6-2

Paul-Henri Mathieu def. Marcos Baghdatis, 6-3 2-6 6-2

Gilles Simon def. Lleyton Hewitt, 6-1 6-2

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Women's Draw

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Dinara Safina def. Mathilde Johansson, 6-1 6-3

Elena Dementieva def. Anastasia Pivovarova, 6-0 3-6 6-3

Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Tamira Paszek, 2-6 7-5 6-1

Anastasiya Yakimova def. Marion Bartoli, 6-4 6-3

Caroline Wozniacki def. Jelena Dokic, 6-3 5-7 6-2

Flavia Pennetta def. Maria Kirilenko, 6-4 7-5

Patty Schnyder def. Lucie Safarova, 4-6 6-1 6-4

Amélie Mauresmo def. Magdalena Rybarikova, 6-3 1-6 6-2

Anna Chakvetadze def. Daniela Hantuchova, 6-3 6-1

Alisa Kleybanova def. Galina Voskoboeva, 6-2 6-4

Agnes Szavay def. Francesca Schiavone, 2-6 6-4 6-2

Samantha Stosur def. Sybille Bammer, 6-1 6-1

Nicole Vaidisova def. Alona Bondarenko, 6-1 6-0

Carla Suárez Navarro def. Nuria Llagostera Vives, 3-6 6-4 7-6 (7-3)

Unlucky Loser

Well, it's official - Kim Clijsters is on the comeback trail. And I think I'm excited. It'll be nice to see someone new - well, 'new' - back in the mix. But if she comes back and wins, like, twelve tournaments on the trot, we'll know for sure whether or not the WTA is in a state. And if Kimmie can't have an effect... we'll just have to hope that Roger and Mirka have a baby girl who grows up to dominate like her daddy.

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Now, to actual tennis, not the tennis of the future. It was a good day for the Australians yesterday, with a quality win for Lleyton Hewitt (after a struggle) and good wins for Sam Stosur and Jelena Dokic. Man, I would love to see Dokic do well this tournament - she has admitted herself that she screwed up her scheduling a bit after the craziness of the Aussie Open, but hopefully she's settled herself down. A couple of rounds here would do wonders for her confidence (and also her ranking!)

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There were no huge upsets on either side today, though there are a couple of players that I like the look of that lost. Not quite Stars, but players I like to keep a bit of an eye on because they're sort of interesting. Gilles Muller for Luxembourg is one - I saw him defeat Bernard Tomic in the second round of the Aussie Open at Rod Laver Arena this year, and you cannot tell from television just how booming his serve is. And he's quick, and has some serious shots. I like watching him a lot - but still he lost today, to Sam Querrey. Querrey is definitely the higher ranked player, but I would like to see Muller do well one of these days.

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And in the women's side, I've always liked the look of Marina Erakovic from New Zealand, but she has totally seemed to go off the boil lately over the past few months. She's got some great weapons, but... I don't know what's happening, whether they're misfiring or what, but she's losing where she once won, and it's a bit disappointing. It'd be nice to see her pick herself back up again - our friends across the pond have no other tennis players at all, really! Actually, therein might lie the problem...

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Today's Results

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Sony Ericsson Open (Miami)

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Men's Draw

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Martin Vassallo Arguello def. Potito Starace, 7-6 (11-9) 6-4

Nicolas Massu def. Ryan Sweeting, 6-4 7-6 (7-2)

Teimuraz Gabashvili def. Simone Bolelli, 6-4 4-6 6-4

John Isner def. Sergiy Stakhovsky, 6-4 6-4

Amer Delic def. Steve Darcis, 6-4 7-6 (7-2)

Sam Querrey def. Gilles Muller, 6-4 6-3

Benjamin Becker def. Jesse Levine, 6-4 6-3

Andreas Seppi def. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, 7-6 (8-6) 6-1

Frederico Gil def. Mischa Zverev, 7-6 (9-7) 6-2

Bobby Reynolds def. Juan Ignacio Chela, 0-6 7-5 6-4

Yen-hsun Lu def. Eduardo Schwank, 6-2 6-2

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Women's Draw

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Gisela Dulko def. Lourdes Domínguez Lino, 6-2 6-4

Li Na def. Urszula Radwanska, 6-4 5-7 6-1

María José Martínez Sánchez def. Yanina Wickmayer, 6-0 6-4

Ekaterina Makarova def. Chan Yung-Jan, 3-6 6-2 6-3

Anna-Lena Groenefeld def. Jill Craybas, 6-4 6-1

Tathiana Garbin def. Klara Zakopalova, 6-3 6-4

Barbora Zahlavova Strycova def. Karin Knapp, 7-6 (7-2) 6-3

Alla Kudryavtseva def. Mariana Duque Marino, 6-4 7-6 (8-6)

Karolina Sprem def. Marina Erakovic, 6-0 6-2

Alexa Glatch def. Timea Bacsinszky, 6-4 6-1

Ernests, Please!

Well, it's the first day of Miami, and there's one result I'm pretty sure you all know I'm going to talk about: why, oh why, Ernests Gulbis, did you go down like such a kitten to Marcos Baghdatis?

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Don't get me wrong, I am glad to see Marcos back - where has he been? What injury is it this time? If he hadn't been playing Gulbis, I probably would have been behind him all the way and this post would be all about how great it is to see him back in the game. But... for the love of God, Ernests! I know he's good and fresh and whatever, but at your level of talent, you should not be going down to anyone 6-2 6-2!

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Sigh. I know that first title is going to come for Gulbis. But I think everyone knows it, and everyone's talking. Could the pressure of being the next big thing be getting to the boy? I remember in the Aussie Open program they wrote that Djokovic, Murray, Tsonga and Gulbis had slotted menacingly into play behind Nadal and Federer. It is a lot of pressure for someone who is as yet unproved.

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But I think I can be pretty sure that Ernests doesn't this blog, so I can exhort him fruitlessly to my heart's content. Get your head in the game, Gulbis. You're such an exciting player and I want to see you go all the way sometime soon. Because you can do it - ask Niki Pilic.

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Today's Results

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Sony Ericsson Open (Miami)

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Men's Draw

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Marcos Baghdatis def. Ernests Gulbis, 6-2 6-2

Kevin Kim def. Michael Llodra, 3-6 retired

Julien Benneteau def. Florent Serra, 3-6 6-3 6-4

Jan Hernych def. Brendan Evans, 6-4 6-3

Diego Junqueira def. Yuki Bhambri, 6-4 6-3

Oscar Hernandez def. Ivan Ljubicic, 6-4 6-4

Robert Kendrick def. Arnaud Clement, 6-3 7-6 (7-5)

Frank Dancevic def. Philipp Kohlschreiber, 6-4 7-6 (7-2)

Jarkko Nieminen def. Ivan Navarro, 6-3 6-3

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Women's Draw

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Samantha Stosur def. Sofia Arvidsson, 6-1 2-0 retired

Lucie Safarova def. Anne Keothavong, 6-4 7-5

Francesca Schiavone def. Tsvetana Pironkova, 6-3 5-7 6-3

Maria Kirilenko def. Kateryna Bondarenko, 6-4 0-6 6-4

Magdalena Rybarikova def. Arantxa Rus, 3-6 6-3 7-5

Galina Voskoboeva def. Vera Dushevina, 6-4 6-4

Nuria Llagostera Vives def. Coco Vandeweghe, 6-0 6-3

Mariya Koryttseva def. Sorana Cirstea, 6-2 6-1

Anastasia Pivovarova def. Bethanie Mattek-Sands, 7-6 (7-1) 6-3

Clijsters in the Crowd

It's day #2 of not much tennis to talk about, so we're going to talk about something that's been in the news but I've thus far neglected to mention (I think) - the potential comeback of Kim Clijsters.

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The reason I haven't talked about it at all thus far is because, personally, I thought it was rubbish. Ha! thought I. She's only training for the Wimbledon exhibition with Henman and Agassi and Graf. But now it's becoming more and more likely that I'm wrong. I hear rumours of a press conference today. So... maybe Kim is coming back.

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Whether or not she is, let's assume for a moment that she is coming back. What effect would that have on the WTA? Would there be any effect?

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I think what I fear is that Clijsters will come back and shoot straight in the top #5 in a matter of months. Not that there would be anything wrong with that from a Clijsters perspective, but it would really put the nail in the coffin as far as the current WTA high rollers are concerned. I don't think Serena would be too worried - I don't know if Serena gets too worried about anyone - but if Clijsters came back and immediately started picking off your Safinas and Dementievas and even your out of form Jankovics and Ivanovics... then there's really trouble.

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This could work a couple of ways. It could depress everyone or it could encourage them to play better. I really hope it's the later. Clijsters would be a really interesting element in a currently lacklustre WTA. Hingis and Davenport both tried the comeback, with limited success. What can Kim do?

In The Wake of Indian Wells

We've got another couple of days to recover from the fallout of Indian Wells before Miami starts... which basically equals a couple of days to write about nothing, but heaven knows I've managed it before.

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Ones to watch at Miami will be Andy Murray - with his illness, how will he pull up physically after such a long week? Roger Federer will also be one to watch, particularly if he runs up against Murray or Nadal - I'd like him to beat at least one or the other! Djokovic will be watchable, to see whether or not he implodes again. Roddick, to see if he can pull out another great result - I'd say he's probably playing at about #4 in the world standard now, after Nadal, Federer and Murray. Then there's the entire Stars fold, male and female - God, it'd be nice to see Sabine Lisicki go deep after Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova's performance this week! Ana Ivanovic - can she back it up? Dinara Safina - can she straighten up and fly right? Victoria Azarenka and Caroline Wozniacki - dangerous youngsters.

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I wouldn't bother keeping an eye on Rafa Nadal - he's not going to falter. Likewise Serena Williams. And I don't know if there's any way back at the moment for Jelena Jankovic...

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Therein you have my very confused Miami preview, in the wake of Indian Wells. Not too much more I can say about that.

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Oh, and congrats to Carsten Ball, who just won a Futures title in Hamilton in New Zealand. Nice one!

Force of Nature

Once again, can I ask why Roger Federer has such a problem with Andy Murray? Because Rafael Nadal certainly doesn't have one.

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Jesus, 6-1 6-2 in the final of a major tournament, over a player who is ranked #4 (and really should be #3). Rafa is actually scary. I fear him. I maintain that Federer has the better game on the whole, but Rafa deserves to be #1 at the moment. He is an absolute machine.

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I don't know what more I can say about the Rafa/Muzza match, on account of I didn't actually see it and am judging by the stats. No aces in the whole match. Rafa served beautifully and that appears to be the difference - he didn't face any break points and won 81% of the time on his first serve. He also made huge inroads into the Murray second serve and won 61% of the total points, which is a LOT. Basically, he smashed him like a guitar.

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I think Rafa has learned a lot since Murray defeated him in the US Open final, and even since Abu Dhabi. He's like this unstoppable force of nature at the moment. The only player capable of stopping him is Federer - certainly he's the only one with the weapons - but his head is on some other planet. It'd be a fool who'd bet against Rafa in pretty much any tournament leading up to Roland Garros. He is actually frightening.

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Oh, and although my pick for the women, Ana Ivanovic, lost the final, I think just getting to the final is a satisfactory result for her at the moment. However, she just dismantled pretty effectively by Vera Zvonareva, who has less than half her weapons, so there's still work to be done. Actually, there's work to be done for the whole women's field. If Vera Zvonareva is winning tournaments - not that she isn't good, but she doesn't have the weapons that other players have - then something is rotten in the state of Denmark.

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Today's Results

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BNP Paribas Open (Indian Wells)

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Men's Draw

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Rafael Nadal def. Andy Murray, 6-1 6-2

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Women's Draw

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Vera Zvonareva def. Ana Ivanovic, 7-6 (7-5) 6-2

The Murray Monster

...what is it with Andy Murray?

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Specifically, what is it with Andy Murray and Roger Federer? If it's not a final, then you can pretty much bet the Fed's going down, especially in a best-of-three match. You've got to like Federer over five, but over three, considering the Fed/Muzza record stands the way it does, you've got to pick the Scottish boy.

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Once again, Murray has triumphed over Federer in a best-of-three semi-final. I have lost count of how many semis Murray has beaten Federer in. Always semis. And the thing is, Murray is good, yeah - but I don't understand why Federer can't seem to lift in these semis. He seems to be able to do it in finals, just not here (not even for the kid.) And I just don't understand why.

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Murray is an excellent player. Ain't denying that. But when it comes down to it, he's a glorified Lleyton Hewitt. And Roger Federer is the greatest player ever. So what's with it?

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I suppose that if you look at the Hewitt/Federer head to head, it's pretty clear to see that Hewitt dominated the early part of their career - I think Federer won something like one out of ten. And then the tables turned and Federer got the measure of the man. I keep waiting for something like this to happen with Murray - and even Rafa - but it just hasn't yet. Hmmm.

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Federer's capable of beating anyone. His tennis is the best tennis in the world, the best tennis ever. He just has to bring it, I guess. And if nothing else, I suppose this will give him a little more rest for Miami...

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And the Nadal/Murray final is going to be an interesting one for sure. After the final of Abu Dhabi, where they slugged out for a good few hours, it'll be very interesting to see who comes out on top. I wouldn't bet against Rafa... but Andy's proven he's capable of beating just about anyone. In a way, I'd like him to win, because he really deserves the #3 ranking more than Novak Djokovic right now.

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And looks like I might be right about Ana Ivanovic... she is in the final against Vera Zvonareva, whom she is certainly capable of beating. Wee Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova's run ended in the semis - but she'll be one to look at in the future!

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Today's Results

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BNP Paribas Open (Indian Wells)

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Men's Draw

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Rafael Nadal def. Andy Roddick, 6-4 7-6 (7-4)

Andy Murray def. Roger Federer, 6-3 4-6 6-1

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PS. I've actually written something vaguely tennis related on my other blog, The Black Valentine's Day Manifesto, if you'd like to read it - the address is http://blackvalentinemanifesto.wordpress.com

Bunny

Is it too early in the year that Novak Djokovic has become Andy Roddick's bunny?

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Seriously, Djokovic is supposed to be the #3 player in the world. Previous to the Aussie Open, he had a 2-1 lead over Roddick in the head-to-head and although Roddick is a good player, he really shouldn't be in Djokovic's class, considering that the guy has regularly gone toe to toe with the Hispano-Suisse domination machine. But no. Since the Australian Open, I think it is fair to say that Djokovic is A-Rod's bitch.

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Seriously, A-Rod just totally whaled on him. Djokovic only won 39% of the points in that match. For someone that's supposed to be one of the fantastic four, that's just not good enough. Sure, it is has not been Djokovic's bestest year ever, but I think this has been particularly evident in his matches against Roddick. First there was the whole retirement incident in Australia, where Djokovic got heat exhaustion or food poisoning or had a desire to sneeze or something, where Roddick really showed his class and training by not letting the conditions affect him at all. And now this. I don't know if Roddick has somehow got into Djokovic's head or whatever, but Djokovic's performance in this match was pretty rubbish, to put none too fine a point on it. It will be interesting to monitor this head-to-head over the next few months. If Djokovic starts losing to Roddick on clay, then we know that something is seriously up. Bunny. That's all I'm saying about that.

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Speaking of non-bunnies, the Federer-Verdasco match was very entertaining. Although i was obviously cheering for the R-Fed and I was glad he won with relatively little trouble, apart from that blip in the second set, Nando Verdasco continues to impress. I'd really like to see him take a biggish title this year - a Masters Series or 1000 or whatever they're called. I think he deserves to be a little higher up the rankings than he currently is - I think he's about #10 at the moment, but there are a few in there I think he's better than.

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Djokovic, for a start.

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Today's Results

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BNP Paribas Open (Indian Wells)

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Men's Draw

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Roger Federer def. Fernando Verdasco, 6-3 7-6 (7-5)

Andy Murray def. Ivan Ljubicic, 7-5 7-6 (8-6)

Andy Roddick def. Novak Djokovic, 6-3 6-2

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Women's Draw

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Vera Zvonareva def. Victoria Azarenka, 6-3 6-3

First Served

I'm going to get onto the match of yesterday, which was obviously Nadal and Nalbandian, in a minute, but I just want to gloat a bit first. Thank you, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, for making me look good and like an insightful tennis commentator instead of an uneducated rambler. She's just knocked off another big name - Agnieszka Radwanska - in the quarters and is now in the semis. How 'bout that kid, eh? Yes, Anastasia - that's all I have to say about that.

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Think of how clever I would look if she won...

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Though speaking of women's tennis... Dinara, Dinara, Dinara. She got pretty much eaten by Victoria Azarenka yesterday, and it was just not nice. Now the only big big name left in the tournament is Ana Ivanovic, and we all know her current level of reliability. That said, I have picked her to win the tournament... but who knows what'll happen with her, really? Personally, I'm pulling for young Anastasia, but it'd be good to see Ana defend her title.

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Now, Rafa and Dave. Wasn't this a good match? I didn't actually see it, but even just following it on livescores was a nailbiter. Rafa made a gargantuan effort to win the second set breaker and then roared away with a bagel in the third. Maybe that was when it clicked in his head the way to play Nalbandian? Or maybe LameDave just shows up. Who knows?

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One thing I did notice is that Nalbandian made significant inroads on the Nadal first serve, if one is to judge by the stats - that's where the difference lay. Nadal only won 63% of points on his first serve, but that's for the whole match: in the first set, the set that Nalbandian won, he was only winning 40% of points there. This obviously picked up over the course of the match, but still, intriguing...

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And Federer had a nice shiny victory over Gonzalez in three. Solid.

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Today's Results

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BNP Paribas Open (Indian Wells)

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Men's Draw

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Rafael Nadal def. David Nalbandian, 3-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-0

Roger Federer def. Fernando Gonzalez, 6-3 5-7 6-2

Novak Djokovic def. Stanislas Wawrinka, 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (8-6)

Andy Murray def. Tommy Robredo, 6-2 3-0 retired

Juan Martin del Potro def. John Isner, 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-3)

Andy Roddick def. David Ferrer, 7-6 (7-5) 3-6 6-3

Fernando Verdasco def. Philipp Kohlschreiber, 6-4 3-6 6-1

Ivan Ljubicic def. Igor Andreev, 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-4)

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Women's Draw

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Ana Ivanovic def. Sybille Bammer, walkover

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova def. Agnieszka Radwanska, 7-6 (10-8) 6-4

Goodnight Mr Tom?

The women's draw has been absolutely decimated - Safina and Ivanovic are the only two really big names left standing, and we all know what they can be like - but the men's draw is surprisingly intact. I'm certainly not surprised to see Federer and Nadal come this far - who would be? - but with Novak Djokovic's recent performances and Andy Murray's health issues, I'd sort of expected to see at least one of them go. But it's kind of nice that they're still here - could make for some interesting semi-finals!

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That said, both are facing dangerous opponents in the fourth round - Andy Murray especially, who's facing the greatly in-form Tommy Robredo. That's going to be an interesting match. And Djokovic is going to have a good match against Wawrinka, I'd warrant... depending on whether or not Wawrinka has any fatigue issues from his match yesterday. He shouldn't, I think - it was a three set nailbiter, but I'm sure he'll be fine. He showed nerves of steel in his win over Querrey yesterday - saving two match points. Nice one, Stan.

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In other Big Four matches, Federer faces Gonzalez and Nadal faces Nalbandian. Roger should be fine, I think - Gonzo has beaten him before, sure, but he's not exactly in scintillating form right now and Roger's serving well, which is good (though they're a set all at the moment - eep!)... but Nadal/Nalbandian will be very interesting! Longtime readers of this blog will remember that I've been gagging for this match for a long time. As far as I'm aware, Rafa's never beaten Headbandian... and so... yes, intriguing. You wouldn't bet against Rafa in his current scary form, and if Nalbandian brings LameDave to the party, then goodnight Mr Tom, but this one could be... yes, interesting.

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Dinara Safina is still in place in the women's draw (though her brother took a loss to John Isner I can only describe as 'stupid') but my pick - and I say this with great hesitation - is Ana Ivanovic. I'm not saying this is the start of anything for her, but... I think she has a shot.

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Though I'm obviously fully prepared to be wrong, wrong, wrong.

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Today's Results

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BNP Paribas Open (Indian Wells)

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Men's Draw

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Rafael Nadal def. Dmitry Tursunov, 6-3 6-3

Novak Djokovic def. Tommy Haas, 6-2 7-6 (7-1)

Juan Martin Del Potro def. Jurgen Melzer, 6-2 2-6 7-6 (7-2)

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

David Ferrer def. Jeremy Chardy, 3-6 6-4 6-4

David Nalbandian def. Viktor Troicki, 6-4 6-2

Stanislas Wawrinka def. Sam Querrey, 2-6 7-5 7-6 (10-8)

John Isner def. Marat Safin, 6-4 6-4

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Women's Draw

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Vera Zvonareva def. Caroline Wozniacki, 6-4 6-2

Elder Statesman

Who know who I'm really liking in this tournament? Well, Federer, obviously, and the scariness of Nadal is also good to watch, but the random that I'm liking so far in Indian Wells is the elder statesman, Ivan Ljubicic.
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It seems strange to refer to Ivan as a random, considering that it wasn't so long ago that he was #3 in the world. But a lot has happened in tennis since then. The Hispano-Suisse domination machine has rolled unstoppably on, but we've seen the rise of Djokovic and Murray and the formation of the Fabulous Four. Ivan fell out of the top ten and then down out of Grand Slam seedings without anyone really noticing.
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But the fact is that he's got some serious game. I don't know if his serve is as powerful as it used to be, but I've always enjoyed watching Ivan play. And he had a really good win over Gilles Simon yesterday - who I am not finding especially impressive at the moment. I'm not sure how he got to #6 or whatever it is in the world, but it seems like it might have been a fluke... he was certainly running hot at the end of last year, but he's cooled right off. So it'll be interesting to watch how he progresses from here - and how Ivan Ljubicic does this tournament.
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Roger Federer rolled on, making relatively easy work of Ivo Karlovic, when you consider the weapons that Karlovic has. And my bracket is shot now, because the random semi-finalist I picked - Marin Cilic - went out to Robredo. Though maybe I should have picked Robredo, given his current form - nice to see that he's been able to do it on just about any court surface he's been handed this year. I'm still picking him to be a semifinalist at Roland Garros - not backing off on that one!

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Today's Results

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BNP Paribas Open (Indian Wells)

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Men's Draw

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Roger Federer def. Ivo Karlovic, 7-6 (7-4) 6-3

Ivan Ljubicic def. Gilles Simon, 6-3 7-6 (7-3)

Fernando Verdasco def. Richard Gasquet, 6-3 6-2

Igor Andreev def. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 7-5 6-4

Fernando Gonzalez def. James Blake, 7-5 6-1

Tommy Robredo def. Marin Cilic, 7-5 7-6 (7-2)

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Women's Draw

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Vera Zvonareva def. Li Na, 6-4 6-4

Caroline Wozniacki def. Urszula Radwanska, 7-5 6-3

Yes, Anastasia

Okay, so we all know the WTA tour is in a bit of a shambles right now, yeah? The Williams sisters aside, the women at the top are flaky at best. The two Serbian girls have certainly not been showing their best - Ivanovic especially last year, and Jankovic especially this year. Dementieva started strong but seems to have cooled off. Dinara Safina had a great run at the Aussie Open but her serve has been all over the ballpark. So - short of Roger Federer and Mirka Vavrinec's baby turning out to be a girl who grows up and dominates the WTA tour like her daddy has dominated the ATP - who's going to step in?

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Well, there are a couple of girls I really like the look of. Dominika Cibulkova was one of my early flavours this year - but she succumbed to some classic WTA flakiness and bombed out early here in Indian Wells. I love what I've seen from Sabine Lisicki - she's only a teenager and I think she's going to be great when she grows up. But one that I've been watching for a while and who is absolutely owning at the moment in Indian Wells is the seventeen year old Russian, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

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You look at what she's done in junior Slams and it's hard not to like her. She could probably still be playing in juniors if she wanted, but she's been on the tour proper for a couple of years, where she hasn't done a whole lot yet... but I have a feeling about this young lady and Indian Wells. She started off by destroying Marta Domachowska, then beating Jelena Jankovic, now she's added a solid demolition of Karin Knapp in straights. She's got talent. She's got panache. She'll face either Alisa Kleybanova or Nuria Llagostera Vives in the next round, and one imagines she could beat either of them. She's only the second female inductee into my Stars of the Future fold. She's going to be awesome - and all the tennis commentators internationally are going to curse, as no one can pronounce her name.

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Speaking of people looking dangerous, the sight of Rafa at the other side of the net would make grown men quake. He is fearsome, and his demolition of Berrer yesterday... scary. And seriously, how hard can one man concentrate? I'm always vaguely worried that smoke will start coming out of his ears. He has some epic intensity going on.

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And on the subject of intense people, Marat Safin had quite a good win yesterday over Nicolas Massu. I make no comment on the subject of further rounds. Only it was a nice win, and I liked it.

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Today's Results

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BNP Paribas Open (Indian Wells)

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Men's Draw

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Andy Murray def. Paul-Henri Mathieu, 6-3 6-2

Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Nicolas Lapentti, 6-2 3-6 6-3

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Women's Draw

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Agnieszka Radwanska def. Aleksandra Wozniak, 6-1 6-4

Flavia Pennetta def. Angela Haynes, 4-6 6-4 6-1

Agnes Szavay def. Kristina Barrois, 6-3 6-4

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova def. Karin Knapp, 6-2 6-4

Chardy Over Mardy, Roger Rolls and Anastasia Attacks...

Not an especially good day for my Stars yesterday - Gulbis and Bellucci both went out, and now Cilic is the last man standing. Oh, and Jeremy Chardy! Almost forgot about him! He upset Mardy Fish today - he is looking very good. Maybe not so bad after all.

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And of course it wasn't so bad over all, because Federer won, and it's like the world has been set to rights. It is so nice to see him with a racquet in his hand again! The scoreline belies it - I think it looks tighter than it was - but he played absolutely beautifully. It's more evident in the stats, I think - only 59% of first serves in, sure, but he won 91% of the time... I think he only lost three points in the entire match on his first serve. And they were all in the first set as well. I was quite pleased.

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He comes up against Dr Ivo next round - is it just me, or do they play all the time? Anyway, Karlovic may have got him once last year, but I'm cheerfully optimistic. Roger Federer: doing it for the kid.

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And over on the women's side, you know who I'm picking to win? I'm extremely prepared to be wrong, but I really liked the look of Ana Ivanovic yesterday. I know she hasn't won a title in the last, like, ever, but the tournament here, to be fair, doesn't have that much depth because everyone is playing pretty badly right now. The one really solid player, Elena Dementieva, is already out of the tournament, and who knows what the rest of the WTA top ten can bring... Sveta Kuznetsova is out as well, and Jelena Jankovic got absolutely trounced yesterday by Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. So can Ana do it? She was looking strongest of the lot yesterday... here's see what Dinara Safina can do, because one would imagine she would be the biggest competition.

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More on Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova - if she is not in the top ten in the next two years, I will be very surprised. I am officially inducting her into the Stars program (as only the second female inductee, after Sabine Lisicki.) She came up in that same crop as Alize Cornet (also knocked out) but hasn't managed to make too much of a splash yet, despite winning just about every junior Grand Slam for a couple of years. But I think her time is coming... and beating Jelena Jankovic is a great warning sign!

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Oh, and has anyone seen head or tail of Marcos Baghdatis? Don't tell me he's injured again...

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Today's Results

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BNP Paribas Open (Indian Wells)

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Men's Draw

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David Ferrer def. Todd Widom, 6-4 7-5

Jeremy Chardy def. Mardy Fish, 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-1)

Nicolas Kiefer def. Bobby Reynolds, 6-4 6-2

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Women's Draw

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Vera Zvonareva def. Petra Kvitova, 6-3 6-1

Caroline Wozniacki def. Kaia Kanepi, 6-3 3-6 6-3

Some WTF? Moments

So, for some reason, we're seeing an unusually high number of top guys participating in doubles at Indian Wells. Which is great. Love me some doubles. We've got Rafa with his little friend Marc Lopez, with whom he won a title earlier in the year; Roger and his mate Yves Allegro, who've played together a whole lot; Andy Murray and fellow Brit Ross Hutchins, and... David Nalbandian and Juan Martin del Potro?

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Now, I may have made this up, but don't they hate each other?

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Maybe the Argentine tennis federation is making them play together so they get along better during Davis Cup or something. But it was such a WTF? moment. I'd have sooner picked Federer and Djokovic to play together than these two big Argentinians. Not that they're sucking or anything - they won their match today - but it's just a bit weird.

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Speaking of weird, the upset of the day was clearly over on the women's side - Elena Dementieva, arguably the hottest lady player whose surname is not Williams on the planet right now, went down in straights to a qualifier. I'm sorry, but WTF? Petra Cetkovska has been doing all right this year, but she should be no match for Elegant Elena. I hope this trend doesn't continue over into the men's draw. I'm raring for a showdown with at least some of the Fantastic Four still in place.

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And looks like I spoke to soon about my Stars yesterday - Ernests Gulbis went down pretty tamely to Igor Andreev. But he's not the only Star in the fold - I'm still waving pom-poms for Cilic, Chardy and especially Thomaz Bellucci, with whom I have been very impressed of late. Go boys! (Until you run into Federer...!)

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Oh, and did everyone hear about Carlos Moya - out for an 'indefinite' period of time? I was sad. I like Carlos. Even if he is a love rat who cheated on Flavia Pennetta.

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Today's Results

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BNP Paribas Open (Indian Wells)

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Men's Draw

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Andy Murray def. Albert Montanes, 7-5 6-3

Tommy Robredo def. Igor Kunitsyn, 6-1 6-4

Marin Cilic def. Steve Darcis, 6-7 (4-7) 6-2 6-1

Igor Andreev def. Ernests Gulbis, 6-4 6-4

Paul-Henri Mathieu def. Potito Starace, 6-4 6-7 (11-13) 6-4

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Women's Draw

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Petra Cetkovska def. Elena Dementieva , 7-6 (7-2) 2-6 6-1

Agnieszka Radwanska def. Samantha Stosur, 3-6 6-3 7-5

Nuria Llagostera Vives def. Dominika Cibulkova, 7-6 (8-6) 6-0

Vera Dushevina def. Zheng Jie, 6-2 6-2

Agnes Szavay def. Edina Gallovits, 6-2 6-2

Karin Knapp def. Sara Errani, 6-2 3-2 retired

Gisela Dulko def. Bethanie Mattek-Sands, 6-1 6-3

Stars in the California Sky

In all the excitement of the recent Federer news, I completely forgot what I was going to write about yesterday, which is my Stars. And I have to say, I'm glad I waited until today, because we had some very very good results yesterday!

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We'll start with the bad - we had one very disappointing Star loss, I thought, which was Kei Nishikori going down to Ivan Ljubicic. I mean, sure, Ivan Ljubicic has certainly been up there as far the game is concerned - he's been as high as #3 - but he's not exactly Wonderboy right now. Kei seems to have gone a little bit off the boil in the last little whiles - he's taken a couple of tame losses. But it happens to everyone - and I think we all know he'll be back up there in time.

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But we have had some pretty nice wins! Marin Cilic won't be action for a day or two yet, but Ernests Gulbis, Jeremy Chardy and Thomaz Bellucci have all been doing quite well. Chardy is in action as I write this, one set to love up against Victor Hanescu. Gulbis had a good win over Kevin Kim - hardly the toughest opponent ever, but it was a good solid job nonetheless. Note how I am not asking whether this is the tournament where Gulbis will finally make a good deep run. I'm convinced it jinxes him. We'll just let things unfold.

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Bellucci probably had the best win of the lot of them - I am really liking what I've seen come off his racquet in the last little while. I don't know if many people would have picked him to beat Janko Tipsarevic, but he did, in a tight three set match. It was very nice. He's going to be one to watch in coming months, particularly on clay...

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So all in all, some nice early round action. But the tournament still hasn't really begun yet, it seems to me. I think we're all waiting to see what will happen when the big boys come out to play!

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Today's Results

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BNP Paribas Open (Indian Wells)
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Men's Draw

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Todd Widom def. Ivan Navarro, 6-4 7-6 (7-4)

Michael Berrer def. Kevin Anderson, 6-3 6-3

Daniel Koellerer def. Mischa Zverev, 2-6 7-5 6-2

Ryan Sweeting def. Wayne Odesnik, 1-6 6-4 7-6 (7-5)

Sam Querrey def. Guillermo Canas, 7-6 (7-2) 6-2

Andreas Seppi def. Juan Ignacio Chela, 6-2 4-1 retired

Jeremy Chardy def. Victor Hanescu, 6-4 3-6 6-2

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Women's Draw

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Caroline Wozniacki def. Timea Bacsinszky, 6-1 6-1

Shahar Peer def. Marion Bartoli, 1-6 6-4 7-5

Amélie Mauresmo def. Anna-Lena Groenefeld, 5-7 6-3 6-4

Kaia Kanepi def. Virginie Razzano, 7-6 (7-2) 1-0 retired

Peng Shuai def. Olga Govortsova, 6-3 3-6 6-4

Alexa Glatch def. Carla Suárez Navarro, 6-3 6-1

Papa-To-Be

Well, Indian Wells might have started, but the news is all Roger Federer!

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News Item #1: Roger Federer and Darren Cahill, a week after getting together, have broken up. Apparently the most long-anticipated coaching partnership in recent memory just couldn't survive the little things - ie. Federer working out of Dubai and Cahill out of Las Vegas. And Cahill has a young family, so it's understandable that he wouldn't want to leave them too much. Something I'm sure Roger will totally understand, because;

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News Item #2: Mirka Vavrinec, Roger's long-time girlfriend, is pregnant! That's right, Mirka's up the duff and she and Roger are going to be parents! I cannot imagine a better set - that lucky kid! Of course, I'm sure it will change Roger's whole schedule, and Mirka might spend more time in Switzerland - but then she might pull a Bec and travel with it all the time. Who knows? By the time US Open rolls out, we might see Mirka and Baby Fed in the players' box. That will just be obscenely cute.

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And think of the tennis DNA that kid will have! And what will they call it? Sure, as tennis fans, people might be scowling and saying, 'oh, but how will this affect his career?' but I don't care! He's clearly over the moon and I think he and Mirka will be totally adorable parents and it's so totally lame but I am so excited for them! And getting excited for celebrities - so not my style. But they'll be beautiful.

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At Wimbledon, I imagine there'll be a heavily pregnant Mirka in the players' box... and who knows? Maybe Roger will find something a little extra special for his kid.

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Here, if you haven't already seen it, is the announcement he posted on his website:

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Dear Fans

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I arrived in Indian Wells earlier this week and I am eager to get back out on court. My back is feeling much better and I am ready to go.

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I also have some really awesome news to share with all of you: Mirka and I are excited to let you know that we will be parents this summer! Mirka is pregnant and we are so happy to be starting a family together. This is a dream come true for us. We love children and we are looking forward to being parents for the first time. Mirka is feeling great and everything is going well.

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Speak soon and thanks for all your continued support!

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Roger

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Congratulations, Roger and Mirka! And who among us can say they aren't looking forward to seeing what Fed Junior brings to the table in years to come...?

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Today's Results

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BNP Paribas Open (Indian Wells)

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Men's Draw

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Albert Montanes def. Florent Serra, 6-3 6-0

Igor Kunitsyn def. Vince Spadea, 6-3 6-4

Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Julien Benneteau, 6-3 6-2

Marc Gicquel def. Simone Bolelli, 7-5 6-3

Michael Llodra def. Feliciano Lopez, 6-4 6-3

Lleyton Hewitt def. Jan Hernych, 7-6 (7-3) 6-3

Jarkko Nieminen def. Nicolas Devilder, 7-6 (8-6) 6-1

Potito Starace def. Denis Gremelmayr, 7-6 (8-6) 6-1

Sergiy Stakhovsky def. Brendan Evans, 2-6 6-3 6-0

Ernests Gulbis def. Kevin Kim, 6-3 6-4

Steve Darcis def. Marcel Granollers, 5-0 retired

Yen-Hsun Lu def. Michael Lammer, 7-5 6-2

Nicolas Lapentti def. Santiago Giraldo, 4-6 6-1 7-5

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Women's Draw

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Samantha Stosur def. Francesca Schiavone, 6-1 6-4

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova def. Marta Domachowska, 6-1 6-3

Vera Dushevina def. Petra Martic, 6-4 6-3

Edina Gallovits def. Maria Kirilenko, 3-6 7-5 7-5

Yanina Wickmayer def. Magdalena Rybarikova, 6-3 6-2

Karin Knapp def. Vania King, 6-2 6-1

Petra Cetkovska def. Stéphanie Foretz, 6-2 7-5

Anastasiya Yakimova def. Varvara Lepchenko, 6-4 6-1

Game On?

The draw for Indian Wells is out, and any way it fell, it was going to be an interesting tournament. So let's have a look, shall we...?

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It is, to my mind, largely a two-horse race. Normally, I wouldn't count Andy Murray, but I'm unsure of where this virus has left him - a virus I think we can probably assume was genuine, unlike the 'virus' that David Nalbandian mysteriously contracted last week during Davis Cup. Murray at half-strength is still good, but he's in that half of the draw with Federer, and Roger will steamroll him given adequate opportunity - to defeat his own head, if nothing else. That said, I like Cilic to come through here - he's my dark horse semi finalist.

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And Novak Djokovic... well, he won Dubai (shame about the field) but then promptly crashed and burned in Davis Cup. We all know I don't like the guy at all, but I don't think it's unfair to say that his game's gone AWOL this year. Added to which he's in a section with the Worm... and we all know what's been going on there this year. Roddick is in that section too and is, to my mind, the one that should come through to the semi-final stage.

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But I'm not gainsaying the two big boys, Roger and Rafa, the King and the Boss. Rafa is eternally solid - he's so tough in the head you'd rarely bet against him. Roger could go two ways - come out raring to go or try and do more of the same, which did not serve him well in the Aussie Open final. Here's hoping Killer Cahill has sorted out some of the demons in our big man's head - but I think Roger's going to do just fine. He's certainly, no matter how he plays, got all the tools to get to a final against Rafa. And then, amigos - then we shall see of what stuff the man is made. Even if he does not win the final, if we see some positive play... then game ON.

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BNP Paribas Open (Indian Wells)

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Women's Draw

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Shahar Peer def. Kateryna Bondarenko, 6-2 6-1

Tsvetana Pironkova def. Marina Erakovic, 6-4 6-1

Ekaterina Makarova def. Nathalie Dechy, 3-6 6-1 6-3

Anna-Lena Groenefeld def. Monica Niculescu, 6-3 6-0

Alexa Glatch def. Stéphanie Dubois, 6-3 6-2

The Magic of Five

Well, here we are on one of those rare few days of the year that there is no tennis going on, wondering what to write about. Indian Wells doesn't start for a couple of days, and so there is not a whole lot to be saying.

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So I guess we can talk about Davis Cup some more, because there were some very interesting ties in there.

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The one that looked like it would be the most fun to watch, despite the fact that the biggest name players it featured were Thomas Johansson and Dudi Sela, was Israel vs. Sweden. I mean, come on, a tie that came down to a fifth set in the fifth rubber that went 8-6? That's some serious goodness right there. I bet the crowd were glued to that match between Andreas Vinciguerra and Harel Levy, even if they had no clue who either player was. When a match goes that long, I think you learn the quality of the man, the quality of the player. I bet the crowd won't forget that one in a hurry.

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There really is something about five-set tennis. I daresay most of the most memorable matches of all time went five sets. In my personal favourite bank I have a couple of Federer whitewashes that only went three sets (major faves!) but as far as quality goes, where you want a huge tooth and nail struggle, it's five sets all the way. Federer and Nadal at Wimbledon and again at the Aussie Open, and in Rome in '06. Nadal and Verdasco this year. Federer and Safin in '05. Roddick and Younes el Aynaoui, with the fifth set that went 21-19. Tursunov and Roddick at Davis Cup, where I think the fifth went 19-17 or something like that. They're the immortal matches that will be remembered.

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I know five set tennis is taxing and the fact that it's kept for Grand Slams and Davis Cup makes it special, but purely from a viewer's perspective, I wish there were more of it. It was so great when the finals of Masters Series events (1000 events now, I suppose) went five sets - who will ever forget that titanic struggle between the King and the Boss in Rome in 2006, where both held championship points? I've really come quite a long way off topic from Israel and Sweden, but it doesn't matter, really... my point still stands. I love five set tennis. And I wish there were more.

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But I bet the players don't! It must be sooooooo exhausting...

Czeched at the Door

Another casualty of the Davis Cup week, I have realised, was the much-lauded French side. I wrote last week about how I thought they could potentially win the whole thing, but no - they went down in a bit of a meek effort to the Czech Republic.

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You've got to hand it to the Czech Republic. It's a team with two men, and two men early - everything the Czech Republic did on the weekend can be laid at the door of Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek. They're certainly not an easy team to beat - but you think that the French team, who have two players in the top ten, could have taken them out, right?

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Wrong. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga did his bit for his country, but Gasquet and Llodra failed in the doubles (and where was Gael Monfils? I thought he was supposed to be on this squad!) And the real letdown of the weekend was Gilles Simon. He lost both his singles matches and thus effectively lost his nation the tie.

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I hate pinning blame on just one individual, but the reality is that Simon should beat both Berdych and Stepanek, if rankings hold true. Not that Berdych or Stepanek are easy players to overcome, but he should be able to beat at least one of them, yeah? Especially on this stage, where one is playing for one's country... though that is a two-way street, I suppose, and Berdych and Stepanek have their whole Czech pride behind them as well.

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I was disappointed in France. I was disappointed in Monfils for not showing up, for Simon in not playing well, and in the captain for choosing to play Simon in the crucial fourth rubber when Gasquet might have been a better choice. Jo-W pulled his weight, but the others let him down. Good on you, Czech boys, but go home and have a long hard think about yourself, Frenchies. You need it.

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Today's Results

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Monterrey Open (Monterrey)

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Marion Bartoli def. Li Na, 6-4 6-3

The Tight Thai Tie

What a thrilling, down-to-the-wire tie the Australia/Thailand tie turned out to be! I think we've played them at this stage every year for at least the past three years, and we've beaten them 5-0 every time. This time... oh no!

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If there's one person who has consistently stepped up to the plate as far as Davis Cup is concerned, it's Lleyton Hewitt. But he got beaten at his own game today by a young Thai guy who was clearly on fire. Danai Udomchoke, the current world #155, took out Lleyton Hewitt in an epic five set struggle - 2-6 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 6-1. I don't think there's anyone in the world who would have picked that result - not over Hewitt, not in Davis Cup.

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Much as I am supporting the Aussie boys, hats off to you, Danai Udomchoke. That is a monumental effort and you should be very, very proud!

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That meant one of the other three Aussie boys had to step up and get it done against another fired-up Thai opponent, or risk going home on the losing end of a huge upset. That lot fell to Chris Guccione, and though I always go on about him being a serial underachiever, he really pulled it out. His big lefty serve was lethal and he got the job done in straights, handing the Aussie boys the tie, 3-2. Well done, boys.

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But the day belonged to Danai Udomchoke. I hope the Thai people a very proud of him!

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You know who I am proud of - not that anyone would have expected anything any different? Rafael Nadal, who just handed Novak Djokovic his arse in a sling. I love it when people do that to Djokovic. I find it profoundly hilarious. Because I'm mean like that. But I am sad Switzerland lost. Maybe next year, Roger.

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Today's Results

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Davis Cup

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Argentina 5, Netherlands 0

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Martin Vassallo Arguello def. Matwe Middelkoop, 6-2 6-4

Juan Ignacio Chela def. Thiemo de Bakker, 7-5 6-2

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Czech Republic 3, France 2

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Radek Stepanek def. Gilles Simon, 7-6 (7-2) 6-3 7-6 (7-0)

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Jan Hernych, 6-2 6-7 (2-7) 7-6 (7-0)

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Russia 4, Romania 1

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Dmitry Tursunov def. Victor Hanescu, 4-6 5-7 6-3 6-4 6-2

Teimuraz Gabashvili def. Victor Crivoi, 6-4 6-2

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Germany 3, Austria 2

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Nicolas Kiefer def. Jurgen Melzer, 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 6-4

Stefan Koubek def. Christopher Kas, 6-2 6-3

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Spain 4, Serbia 1

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Rafael Nadal def. Novak Djokovic, 6-4 6-4 6-1

David Ferrer def. Victor Troicki, 6-0 6-3

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Croatia 5, Chile 0

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Roko Karanusic def. Guillermo Hormazabal, 7-5 6-3

Ivo Karlovic def. Hans Podlipnik-Castillo, 6-3 7-6 (7-4)

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Israel 3, Sweden 2

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Dudi Sela def. Thomas Johansson, 3-6 6-1 4-6 6-4 6-2

Harel Levy def. Andreas Vinciguerra, 6-4 4-6 6-4 3-6 8-6

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USA 3, Switzerland 1

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Andy Roddick def. Stanislas Wawrinka, 6-4 6-4 6-2

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Monterrey Open (Monterrey)

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Marion Bartoli def. Zheng Jie, 7-5 6-3

Li Na def. Iveta Benesova, 6-3 6-3

The Armada Sails On

Thankfully my Nando rant yesterday was ultimately pointless - he is injured. To that I say thank God, because if he hadn't been and he'd been left off the team, well...

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Not that it would really matter much, because the Spanish boys seem to be sailing along quite well. The Serbians won the doubles, but they really did not fire in the singles at all. Rafael Nadal absolutely destroyed Janko Tipsarevic, and Novak Djokovic did not really do too much better against David Ferrer... I mean, I get that Ferru is a claycourter, but Djokovic is really not playing well if he can't even take a set off the guy. Ferrer really hasn't been especially remarkable so far this year... I guess this is proof that neither is Djokovic.

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The Swiss look to be going down in Alabama as well, which is so sad... If they won the doubles I thought they'd be in with a chance, but the Bryans got them. If Federer had played, I think the tie'd be pretty much wrapped up by now, as one assumes he would win both his singles matches and with the point that Stan got, that'd be the three. But no such luck. Oh well - maybe next year (which is the mantra of the Swiss Davis Cup fan, I feel... unless Stan and Marco Chiudinelli pull off something totally remarkable on the last day, it's back to square one.)

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Only two countries have claimed wins thus far - Argentina has defeated the Netherlands and Croatia has beaten Chile. It's good that it's so close - you've got to love the tightness! Makes it all the more interesting.

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And the Aussie boys are doing well! Brydan Klein lost his singles match agaisnt Danai Udomchoke, but Hewitt won his and Ball and Guccione pulled their weight in doubles, so we look a very decent shot of winning the tie - awesome!

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Today's Results

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Argentina 3, Netherlands 0

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Lucas Arnold-Ker/Martin Vassallo Arguello def. Jesse Huta Galung/Rogier Wassen, 6-4 7-5 6-3

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Czech Republic 2, France 1

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Tomas Berdych/Radek Stepanek def. Richard Gasquet/Michael Llodra, 6-3 1-6 6-4 6-2

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USA 2, Switzerland 1

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Andy Roddick def. Marco Chiudinelli, 6-1 6-3 7-6 (7-5)

Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan def. Yves Allegro/Stanislas Wawrinka, 6-3 6-4 3-6 7-6 (7-2)

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Croatia 3, Chile 0

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Mario Ancic/Marin Cilic def. Paul Capdeville/Nicolas Massu, 6-3 6-3 3-6 6-4

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Sweden 2, Israel 1

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Simon Aspelin/Robert Lindstedt def. Amir Hadad/Andy Ram, 6-4 1-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-4

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Russia 2, Romania 1

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Marius Copil/Horia Tecau def. Marat Safin/Dmitry Tursunov, 4-6 6-7 (2-7) 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-5) 6-4

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Germany 2, Austria 1

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Nicolas Kiefer/Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Julian Knowle/Alexander Peya, 6-3 7-6 (7-6) 3-6 6-4

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Spain 2, Serbia 1

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David Ferrer def. Novak Djokovic, 6-3 6-3 7-6 (7-4)

Rafael Nadal def. Janko Tipsarevic, 6-1 6-0 6-2

Viktor Troicki/Nenad Zimonjic def. Feliciano Lopez/Tommy Robredo, 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 7-6 (9-7)

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Monterrey Open (Monterrey)

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Marion Bartoli def. Vania King, 2-6 6-2 6-3

Zheng Jie def. Gisela Dulko, 6-3 6-2

Iveta Benesova def. Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, 7-5 6-4

Li Na def. Lucie Safarova, 6-3 7-6 (7-3)

Missing Nando

I have just realised something.

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We all know that Davis Cup has just started. I think we probably all know that the first day of the Spain/Serbia tie got postponed due to high wind. But one thing I did NOT know is that Nando Verdasco is NOT on the Spanish team.

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Look, I'm sorry, but whose dumb idea was that? I know there's a great deal of depth in Spanish men's tennis at the moment, but even so, Nando is probably one of the first people you want on your team. I mean, I can understand selecting Rafa above him, because hello, Rafa is Rafa, but I would have picked Nando before Ferrer, Robredo and Lopez, any day of the week.

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Robredo is showing some great form at the moment, sure, but neither Ferrer nor Lopez have done anything especially remarkable so far this year, whereas Verdasco certainly has. That semi he played against Nadal at the Aussie Open is one of the greatest matches we have seen in recent history. And please - the man is a freaking Davis Cup hero. He basically won the thing for Team Spain on those fateful three days in Mar del Plata. When the Boss was down and out, it was not Robredo, Lopez or Ferrer that stepped up to lead for their country. It was Nando Verdasco.

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SO WHERE IS HE?

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My apologies to those responsible for the Spanish Davis Cup selection panel if Nando is injured or otherwise unavilable and I wasn't in on the memo - which is probably likely. But if he was available and you didn't pick him... shame on you. Shame.

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Today's Results

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Davis Cup

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Argentina 2, Netherlands 0

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Juan Ignacio Chela def. Jesse Huta Galung, 6-2 2-6 6-2 6-7 (4-7) 6-2

Juan Monaco def. Thiemo de Bakker, 6-1 6-2 7-6 (7-1)

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France 1, Czech Republic 1

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Tomas Berdych def. Gilles Simon, 7-6 (7-3) 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-3

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Radek Stepanek, 7-5 6-2 7-6 (7-1)

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Switzerland 1, USA 0

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Stanislas Wawrinka def. James Blake, 3-6 6-4 6-3 7-6 (7-3)

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Croatia 2, Chile 0

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Mario Ancic def. Nicolas Massu, 6-3 6-3 7-6 (7-4)

Marin Cilic def. Paul Capdeville, 6-1 6-2 6-1

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Sweden 1, Israel 1

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Thomas Johansson def. Harel Levy, 6-7 (3-7) 6-4 7-5 4-6 8-6

Dudi Sela def. Andreas Vinciguerra, 4-6 6-3 3-6 6-3 11-9

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Russia 2, Romania 0

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Marat Safin def. Victor Crivoi, 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 6-4

Mikhail Youzhny def. Victor Hanescu, 6-4 6-2 6-4

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Austria 1, Germany

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Stefan Koubek def. Rainer Schuettler, 6-4 7-5 5-7 6-2

Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Jurgen Melzer, 6-7 (4-7) 4-6 6-4 6-3 6-3