Surprise Party

I said yesterday that I wasn't especially surprised at any of the results in Rome. Today... well, today I am, and that's the truth.

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We have the usual suspects through - Nadal, Federer and Djokovic all came through in style, especially Nadal, who totally crushed Robin Soderling. I remember hearing that there is no love lost between this pair... I bet Rafa's feeling pretty sweet about that right now! It was all pretty cruise-y for this trio, all three coming through in straights, Federer and Djokovic eliminating Stepanek and Robredo respectively.

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Fernando Verdasco and Juan Martin del Potro both came through as well, though they had to work a little harder, and Fernando Gonzalez as well, none of which are really surprising, but then we do have a couple of unusual faces. I talked a little about Juan Monaco yesterday, and though I wasn't terribly surprised to see him beat Murray - everyone's got an upset in them somewhere - he then backed it up against Marin Cilic, about which I was surprised. I've never really had much time for Monaco - probably because I can't ever really recall seeing him play, to tell the truth - but he certainly seems to be on a bit of a hot streak. Quarters in a Masters. That's something.

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And then Mischa Zverev - I don't even remember him being in the draw, let alone in the quarter finals! He's certainly come through quietly but lethally. He took Gilles Simon in easy straights - and, sure, Simon is in a bit of a funk at the moment, but still, that's a big victory for a qualifier. I have seen Zverev play before - I saw him play Tommy Robredo at the Australian Open in the first round last year. He won the first two sets before Tommy came roaring back to win in five. I only saw the first two sets, so maybe my perspective of Zverev is skewed, but I've always wondered why we haven't seen more of him. He has some sweet, sweet game.

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Over to the women's, and though she may not have strictly deserved it, I think #1 is suiting Dinara Safina well. She's had some excellent wins in Stuttgart, cruising past Daniela Hantuchova today. I'd love her to start her reign with a title - and then back it up with a Slam. That would be sweet.

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Oh, and I have to throw a word out to Sabine Lisicki. She might have lost to Jelena Jankovic today, but she fought hard all the way - and honestly, isn't she just the best thing about the WTA at the moment? She's so refreshing and happy and full of potential - this is what is needed more than anything!

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Today's Results

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Internazionali BNL d'Italia (Rome)

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Rafael Nadal def. Robin Soderling, 6-1 6-0

Roger Federer def. Radek Stepanek, 6-4 6-1

Novak Djokovic def. Tommy Robredo, 6-1 6-1

Juan Martin Del Potro def. Stanislas Wawrinka, 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 6-3

Fernando Verdasco def. Richard Gasquet, 7-5 6-4

Mischa Zverev def. Gilles Simon, 6-4 6-1

Fernando Gonzalez def. Jurgem Melzer, 3-6 6-3 7-5

Juan Monaco def. Marin Cilic, 6-4 6-4

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Porsche Tennis Grand Prix (Stuttgart)

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Dinara Safina def. Daniela Hantuchova, 6-4 6-2

Elena Dementieva def. Agnes Szavay, 7-6 (7-4) 6-1

Jelena Jankovic def. Sabine Lisicki, 7-5 5-7 6-3

Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Li Na, 4-6 6-4 7-5

Flavia Pennetta def. Nadia Petrova, 6-2 6-2

Marion Bartoli def. Caroline Wozniacki, 7-6 (8-6) 6-4

Agnieszka Radwanska def. Tsvetana Pironkova, 6-3 6-3

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Grand Prix de SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem (Fes)

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Anabel Medina Garrigues def. Lourdes Domínguez Lino, 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-5)

Alisa Kleybanova def. Polona Hercog, 6-3 6-4

Ekaterina Makarova def. Marta Domachowska, 6-4 6-4

Melinda Czink def. Lucie Hradecka, 6-4 6-2

Clemency

Now, I could do another post about yet another inductee to the 2009 Club of Lost Souls (I was going to beat on Alize Cornet this time) but then that might just get monotonous. So let's talk about something else.

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The big guns are largely through in Rome - Djokovic went through yesterday, and Nadal and Federer both went through pretty comfortably today - with one notable exception: Andy Murray, who went down in a tight three-setter against Juan Monaco. Now, this might just be my imagination, but Juan Monaco seems to be popping up a bit lately. I can't pinpoint where, but I know his name's been around for doing... something. (Maybe I was beating on him for being not good enough - we all know that's my wont!) This is a good win for him - maybe the biggest one of his career.

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Now, if Nadal, Federer or even Djokovic had taken this loss, I can guarantee that it would be cause of huge concern and there would be massive press and coverage and whatever. As it is, I don't think it's going to be too much of a worry for Murray. He's already greatly exceeded expectations on clay, which is NOT his best surface, and so I think one early loss probably isn't going to be too much of a concern. If anything, it might do him good to have a week off and a bit of a rest.

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Nikolay Davydenko also went out, but considering his recent comeback and good showing in Barcelona, I'm also prepared to show clemency. And I'm even going to be nice about Ernests Gulbis, despite my ranting about his not winning enough - he had a fabulous, fabulous win in the first round against Nicolas Almagro (who is definitely AWOL this year - the Prince of Clay is not in the building) before going out in a tight three sets to Richard Gasquet. Not too bad, not too bad.

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In fact, I don't think there's a single result today which is totally, totally disappointing... in Rome, anyway. There are definitely a few choice words I could say about various people in Fes and Stuttgart. But today is a day for clemency - I'll beat on them tomorrow.

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Today's Results

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Internazionali BNL d'Italia (Rome)

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Rafael Nadal def. Andreas Seppi, 6-2 6-3

Roger Federer def. Ivo Karlovic, 6-4 6-4

Juan Monaco def. Andy Murray, 1-6 6-3 7-5

Fernando Verdasco def. Mardy Fish, 6-4 5-7 6-3

Jurgen Melzer def. Nikolay Davydenko, 7-5 7-6 (7-5)

Stanislas Wawrinka def. Mikhail Youzhny, 6-3 7-6 (7-5)

Fernando Gonzalez def. Janko Tipsarevic, 6-4 6-4

Tommy Robredo def. Philipp Kohlschreiber, 6-2 7-6 (7-5)

Marin Cilic def. Christophe Rochus, 6-0 5-7 6-2

Robin Soderling def. Victor Crivoi, 6-1 6-7 (2-7) 6-1

Mischa Zverev def. Paul-Henri Mathieu, 3-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-0

Radek Stepanek def. Feliciano Lopez, 6-2 6-1

Gilles Simon def. Fabio Fognini, 6-7 (6-8) 6-2 6-3

Richard Gasquet def. Ernests Gulbis, 6-2 1-6 6-4

Juan Martin Del Potro def. Viktor Troicki, 6-3 6-1 6-3

Richard Gasquet def. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 7-6 (7-2) 6-4

Paul-Henri Mathieu def. David Ferrer, 6-3 2-6 6-2

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Porsche Tennis Grand Prix (Stuttgart)

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Gisela Dulko def. Victoria Azarenka, 6-4 6-3

Jelena Jankovic def. Dominika Cibulkova, 6-1 6-1

Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Andrea Petkovic, 6-4 5-7 6-1

Nadia Petrova def. Zheng Jie, 6-4 5-7 6-4

Flavia Pennetta def. Anna Chakvetadze, 6-2 6-0

Daniela Hantuchova def. Alizé Cornet, 6-3 6-1

Sabine Lisicki def. Patty Schnyder, 6-4 6-3

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Grand Prix de SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem (Fes)

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Anabel Medina Garrigues def. Klara Zakopalova, 1-6 7-6 (7-1) 6-3

Alisa Kleybanova def. Jarmila Groth, 6-4 6-1

Melinda Czink def. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 7-6 (7-1) 3-6 6-3

Ekaterina Makarova def. Akiko Morigami, 6-0 6-1

Polona Hercog def. Roberta Vinci, 6-2 6-4

Lucie Hradecka def. Shahar Peer, 6-4 6-1

Lourdes Domínguez Lino def. Anne Keothavong, 4-6 7-5 6-3

Marta Domachowska def. Eva Fernández-Brugues, 6-4 6-4

Nil, Nothing

We talked about someone disappointing yesterday, and who am I to buck a trend. There's another inductee into the Club of Lost Souls for 2009 - Tomas Berdych.

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Actually, Berdych could probably be a career inductee. He and his girlfriend Lucie Safarova suffer from the same malady - too much potential, not enough delivery. Both have them have insane amounts of talent packed inside their bodies, but what has it brought them? In the long run, nothing.

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Both have had some excellent runs in Australia - I remember Lucie Safarova pulling a big upset over Mauresmo and then going on to about the quarters a few years back. Tomas Berdych came within a fingerslength of taking out eternal finalist Roger Federer this year. Both have collected the odd minor title, and Berdych won a Masters event in 2005, but beyond that... nothing.

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Tennis is the game of a young person, and while there are late bloomers - Fernando Verdasco's recent run comes to mind - time is running out for Berdych and Safarova to capitalise on the potential they both have. I've held out hope for both of them for years, but hope is slipping away as time runs out. Berdych just took a weak loss in the first round of Rome to Feliciano Lopez, and this really isn't good enough for someone with so much potential packed into a 6'5" frame. I've held out hope for the Czech pair for years... methinks it might be time to let go.

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Today's Results

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Internazionali BNL d'Italia (Rome)

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Tommy Robredo def. Marat Safin, 2-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-2

Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Simone Bolelli, 4-6 6-1 6-0

Robin Soderling def. Marcel Granollers, 6-3 6-0

Mischa Zverev def. Tomas Berdych, 4-6 6-2 7-5

Feliciano Lopez def. Thomaz Bellucci, 6-4 6-2

Jurgen Melzer def. Julien Benneteau, 3-6 6-2 6-3

Mardy Fish def. Igor Andreev, 6-3 4-6 7-6 (7-2)

Andreas Seppi def. Sam Querrey, 3-6 6-4 6-3

Janko Tipsarevic def. Jose Acasuso, 6-3 6-4

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Porsche Tennis Grand Prix (Stuttgart)

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Dinara Safina def. Sara Errani, 6-0 6-1

Elena Dementieva def. Anna-Lena Groenefeld, 6-4 3-6 6-3

Caroline Wozniacki def. Iveta Benesova, 6-3 7-5

Agnieszka Radwanska def. Aleksandra Wozniak, 7-6 (7-2) 6-0

Marion Bartoli def. Karolina Sprem, 6-3 2-6 6-1

Li Na def. Peng Shuai, 6-2 6-3

Agnes Szavay def. Ai Sugiyama, 6-3 2-6 7-6 (7-4)

Gisela Dulko def. Magdalena Rybarikova, 6-3 6-3

Tsvetana Pironkova def. Alberta Brianti, 0-6 6-4 6-4

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Grand Prix de SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem (Fes)

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Anabel Medina Garrigues def. Camille Pin, 6-1 6-1

Alisa Kleybanova def. Corinna Dentoni, 6-2 6-4

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova def. Galina Voskoboeva, 6-1 6-2

Lourdes Domínguez Lino def. Sorana Cirstea, 6-3 6-4

Roberta Vinci def. Mariana Duque Marino, 2-6 6-4 6-1

Shahar Peer def. Aravane Rezai, 6-4 2-6 6-4

Anne Keothavong def. Maret Ani, 6-2 7-6 (7-3)

Melinda Czink def. Nathalie Vierin, 3-6 6-2 6-0

Jarmila Groth def. Paula Fondevila Castro, 6-3 7-5

Lucie Hradecka def. Nadia Lalami, 6-4 6-3

Klara Zakopalova def. Urszula Radwanska, 7-5 6-2

Akiko Morigami def. Fatima Zahrae El Allami, 2-6 5-5 retired

Polona Hercog def. Vitalia Diatchenko, 6-1 6-2

Eva Fernández-Brugues def. Petra Cetkovska, 2-6 6-4 6-2

Nada, Niente

You know who has been a spectacular disappointment so far this year? James Blake.

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Seriously, I can't think of a single tournament in which he's gone deep. Of course, my memory isn't encyclopaedic, but if he'd done something noteworthy, I'm pretty sure I would have, you know, noted it. But nada. Nothing. Nil. Niente. And now he's just taken another loss in the first round of Rome, to little known Romanian qualifier Victor Crivoi.

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Sure, I mean, we're on clay, and clay has traditionally not been the best surface for Blake and for Americans in general - from memory, the furthest any American got last year was the third round, and that American was Bobby Reynolds, who is hardly one of the big leagues. But first round? To a qualifer ranked #112 in the world? That really signals a bit of a problem.

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And, of course, it's not just the clay. Blake has flown under the radar for pretty much the entire year - because he hasn't done anything noteworthy. A quick scan of his ATP profile shows that his best result this year was a semi in San Jose. Radek Stepanek won that title. Blake should be able to outclass him with relative ease. But nada. Niente.

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It's sad - I like Blake. He's good to watch play and he's a lovely guy as well. So pick up the ball, James, because there's no room for performances like this in a tour this deep.

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Today's Results

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Internazionali BNL d'Italia (Rome)

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Stanislas Wawrinka def. Igor Kunitsyn, 6-3 6-4

Victor Crivoi def. James Blake, 7-5 6-3

Marin Cilic def. Flavio Cipolla, 6-2 6-2

Christophe Rochus def. Juan Ignacio Chela, 6-1 6-2

Juan Monaco def. Nicolas Kiefer, 6-2 6-3

Viktor Troicki def. Victor Hanescu, 6-3 6-3

Ivo Karlovic def. Jan Hernych, 4-6 6-4 6-2

Albert Montanes def. Potito Starace, 7-6 (10-8) 6-4

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Porsche Tennis Grand Prix (Stuttgart)

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Victoria Azarenka def. Carla Suárez Navarro, 6-1 6-4

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Grand Prix de SAR le Princesse Lalla Meryem (Fes)

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Marta Domachowska def. Maria Kirilenko, 6-4 6-4

Ekaterina Makarova def. Ioana Raluca Olaru, 7-6 (7-5) 6-4

Heroes and Heroines

Okay, Rafael Nadal. He's not real, yeah?

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Five consecutive Monte Carlo titles. Now five consecutive Barcelona titles. All signs are pointing to five consecutive Roland Garros titles. He isn't real. He can't be real. He's a machine.

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It's going to be interesting to see how he goes at Rome this week - he's played pretty much every day for the last two weeks. Last year, he went out in the opening round to Juan Carlos Ferrero, but he was covered in blisters and could barely move. This year... I can't remember exactly who it is, but he's not facing anyone of the calibre of Ferrero in the opening round. How far can Rafa take this ride? I, for one, don't see anyone beating him soon.

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But I have been wrong before - I certainly did not see Italy beating Russia in the semis of the Fed Cup! To some extent, Russia was the victim of Shamil Tarpischev - personally, I think he could have made some better choices in who to deploy when (seriously - Chakvetadze over Petrova? WTF?) but all credit to the Italian girls, who did fabulously. Francesca Schiavone in particular is the heroine - she had that great win over Svetlana Kuznetsova on Day One, and then fought hard to take out Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (who did fight gamely).

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It's going to be an interesting final - I certainly wouldn't have picked Italy/USA! Full credit to the American girls as well, because the Czech Republic is a powerhouse in women's tennis, with Benesova, Kvitova and Safarova on their team. The word here has to go out to Alexa Glatch, who was absolutely exceptional - I'll be interested to see more of her in the future!

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And Australia, down in the World Group II playoff, had a great win over Switzerland - with Stosur and Dokic on our side, I think we have a pretty sweet chance in the future! If Pennetta and Schiavone can do it, and Glatch and Mattek-Sands... why not Sam and Jelena?

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Today's Results

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Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell (Barcelona)

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Rafael Nadal def. David Ferrer, 6-2 7-5

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Fed Cup

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Italy 4, Russia 1

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Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Flavia Pennetta, 6-0 6-3

Francesca Schiavone def. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 7-6 (9-7) 4-6 6-2

Errani/Vinci def. Petrova/Pavlyuchenkova, 1-6 6-3 6-4

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USA 3, Czech Republic 2

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Lucie Safarova def. Bethanie Mattek-Sands, 6-3 6-1

Alexa Glatch def. Petra Kvitova, 6-2 6-1

Mattek-Sands/Huber def. Peschke/Benesova, 2-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-1

The Real Loser

All Spanish final in Barcelona. Big surprise. I bet the organisers are happy. Yay Rafa, yay Ferru.

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Okay, enough of that. Now - Fed Cup!

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Well, well, well, Italy. Talk about the little Fed Cup team that could. I would never, ever have picked this one - though I believe Van, of Tennis Talk, Anyone? and VANtage Point fame did, so kudos to him! One upset match is something, but to take a 2-0 lead over a country that is undoubtedly the powerhouse of women's tennis? That is something else.

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To be fair, Russia doesn't have its top, top players - neither Safina nor Dementieva are on the squad - but I don't know what Shamil Tarpischev was thinking, playing Chakvetadze instead of Petrova or even Pavlyuchenkova, who both are on the team and have both played better than Anna has this year. It'll be interesting to see the new moves Russia pulls out today, because you'd want to hope they'd fight back with a vengeance.

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Australia's doing well in Fed Cup too - we're up 2-0 in our tie against Switzerland - but that isn't the real tennis news here right now. Tennis Australia has announced that the Australian Davis Cup team will not go to Chennai to play our tie, due to security concerns - which, given the current Indian political climate, is fair enough. TA has petitioned the ITF to get the tie moved, but this was rejected, which means that Australia forfeits the tie.

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Naturally, there is some anger - both Geoff Pollard (CEO of Tennis Australia) and John Fitzgerald (the team captain) have spoken out against the ITF's decision. I can't say I know enough about the particular circumstances to make a real comment - I studied Indian politics at university, but that about three years back now - but the appeal for the move is not without precedent: the IPL (the cricket league, for those of you unfamiliar) has moved to South Africa because of unrest in India. This was ruled irrelevant in the Davis Cup case, much to the ire of the aforementioned Pollard and Fitzgerald.

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Whether or not the tie should be moved or the team should go or whatever, you have to feel for the players here. After that nailbiter over Thailand, they really deserved the opportunity to play this tie. I love following the Davis Cup team, even though the likelihood we'll win anytime in the near future is minute. Fitzgerald said the following:

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"We have worked so hard to get back in to World Group contention, to have it snatched away like this is gut wrenching."

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Could not agree more. Whatever the political situation, the real loser here is sport.

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Today's Results

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Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell (Barcelona)

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Rafael Nadal def. Nikolay Davydenko, 6-3 6-2

David Ferrer def. Fernando Gonzalez, 2-6 6-2 7-6 (7-5)

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Fed Cup

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Italy 2, Russia 0

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Flavia Pennetta def. Anna Chakvetadze, 6-4 6-0

Francesca Schiavone def. Svetlana Kuznetsova, 1-6 6-2 6-3

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USA 1, Czech Republic 1

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Petra Kvitova def. Bethanie Mattek-Sands, 6-3 7-6 (7-2)

Alexa Glatch def. Iveta Benesova, 6-1 6-2

Toastmaster

Nothing too especially exciting went down in Barcelona overnight - in addition to Rafa, who made his way to the semis courtesy of a David Nalbandian walkover (which was a shame: that would have been an interesting rematch, considering Rafa never looks more vulnerable than when he plays Dave - if he can ever be said to look vulnerable at all!) we have David Ferrer, the resurgent Nikolay Davydenko and Fernando Gonzalez who, perhaps surprisingly, took out #2 seed Nando Verdasco.

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Now, I was hoping Nando would go all the way (to the final - I wouldn't be foolish enough to pull against the Rafinator!) so I was a little disappointed, but I think this will be an interesting lineup nonetheless. I confess, however, that I was surprised that Nando was the one of the top four seeds that got upset - I would have thought it much more likely that either Ferrer or Davydenko would be taken down. Ferru was playing Tommy Robredo, who has been playing pretty decently (though he seems to have petered off a bit of late, which is a little disappointing... still, I'm sticking with him as a potential Roland Garros semi-finalist). And Davydenko is just back on the horse, playing against the wily wily Worm, Radek Stepanek.

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Let's talk Kolya for a minute. He's only just back, and he's been playing pretty shiny good tennis for a guy who has had no match play over the past, what, three, four months? He has the personality of a piece of toast, so people pretty much forgot that he was gone, but now he's back... God, it's nice to have him. The bottom half of the top ten - that pack below the leading posse of Rafa, Roger, Novak and Andy - has been so volatile and explosive that it's nice to have a relatively calm influence in there. Kolya was the best of the rest for so long - he was solid in that position. And it was kind of nice to have someone solid and consistent in there - who proved that you could be excellent by dint of hard work, sans flair.

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Not that I don't like flair. I love flair. I'm all about flair. But you have to admire the sheer consistency of players like Kolya. He was out of the game for months, hardly anyone noticed and he still managed to stay in the top ten. That says something about his level of results.

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He'll face Rafa in the next round, so it's going to be bye bye Kolya in the semis this time. But I'd like to see him back on the horse, in the fullness of time, winning the odd tournament here and there. He deserves it.

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Today's Results

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Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell (Barcelona)
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Fernando Gonzalez def. Fernando Verdasco, 6-3 4-6 6-4

Nikolay Davydenko def. Radek Stepanek, 6-7 (4-7) 6-2 6-2

David Ferrer def. Tommy Robredo, 6-3 6-4

An Exercise in Predictability

Talk about totally predictable. In the quarter-finals in Barcelona we have the #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7 and #9 seeds. The one odd man out is Radek Stepanek, #9 seed, who knocked out the #8 seed, Stan Wawrinka, last week's Federer conqueror. How long has it been since we saw a tournament fall so cleanly?

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It's not a bad thing that we rarely see a clean fall of the draw like this - unlike the WTA, where it is a symptom of the headcaseness sweeping the top #10. In the ATP, it shows the level of depth - because there is a huge level of talent going all the way down through the top twenty... maybe even the top fifty or hundred. We usually see some of that top echelon through - you can generally bet at least two of that top four make it through, if not three or all of them - but the rest of the quarter/semi finalists? Could be anyone.

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One thing did surprise - and disappoint - me in Barcelona, though. I've talked before about clay being a leveller - you have more specialist players on this surface than on any other, who really come into their own on the red stuff. And the captain of the dirtballing crew - Rafa aside, who totally transcends the title of captain and has become something like an emperor or a god - is Nicolas Almagro, the Prince of Clay. And what has he done so far this season? Big fact nothing.

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He went out to David Nalbandian in the round of sixteen - who promptly handed his quarter final match to Rafa in a walkover with a hip injury. So, although no one can gainsay the prowess of Nalbandian, this has been Almagro's turf for quite some time now. And Dave beat him. On one leg. Something's not quite right with this picture.

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Perhaps I'm expecting too much of Almagro. I'd never make this kind of demand on him in any other part of the season. But he has brought so much in the previous couple of seasons - c'mon Nicolas, bring it back and bring it on!

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Today's Results

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Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell (Barcelona)

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Rafael Nadal def. Christophe Rochus, 6-2 6-0

Fernando Verdasco def. Tomas Berdych, 7-5 5-7 6-4

Nikolay Davydenko def. Feliciano Lopez, 7-6 (10-8) 3-6 6-4

David Ferrer def. Potito Starace, 4-6 7-5 6-2

Fernando Gonzalez def. Juan Monaco, 7-6 (8-6) 6-3

Tommy Robredo def. Igor Andreev, 4-6 6-2 6-3

David Nalbandian def. Nicolas Almagro, 6-3 6-4

Radek Stepanek def. Stanislas Wawrinka, 6-4 1-6 7-5

Deserve It!

Well, it's official - I've missed covering it for a couple of days, but it's time now: Dinara Safina is the women's world number #1.
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Anyone who reads this blog knows I am a big Dinara fan, so I thought I would be happier about this. Truth is, Dinara may be #1 in the numbers, but the best player in the world out there in the moment is Serena Williams and that's just the way it is. I know everyone knows this, so I'm not going to harp on about it.

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What I want to know is this: what kind of effect will becoming #1 have on Dinara herself, whether it's just a fluke of numbers or not? We've seen a couple of players react in different ways to assuming the top spot - one only has to think back to the incredible slide of Ana Ivanovic last year after she won the French Open, became #1 and fell into an incredible funk afterwards. That title - the notion of being the best in the world - has a tangible effect on a player. When Roger Federer was #1, he was largely invincible for a lot of that time. So what will Dinara do?

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Dinara is already is a bit of a funk. I don't think anyone would deny that. What I would really like to see is for this to pull her out of it. We're off the hardcourts and onto the clay, where her big run came last year. So Dinara, you may not be deemed worthy of the #1 spot now, so here's your challenge. Become worthy. Because you've got the game and you've got the skills and you have everything you need to deserve this spot. Do it. Deserve it.

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Someone who does deserve his #1 ranking at the moment is Rafael Nadal, who cruised through in Barcelona. Actually, nearly all the seeds in Barcelona came through - Gasquet and Soderling were the only casualties. But I think we're set up for a good tournament in Barcelona - I don't doubt that Rafa will win it, but I'm really gunning for Nando Verdasco to come through his half of the draw and continue his excellent run. Rematch of the AO semi!

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Today's Results

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Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell (Barcelona)
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Rafael Nadal def. Frederico Gil, 6-2 6-2

Fernando Verdasco def. Nicolas Lapentti, 7-5 6-3
Nikolay Davydenko def. Arnaud Clement, 7-6 (7-2) 6-2

Fernando Gonzalez def. Jose Acasuso, 6-4 6-4

Tommy Robredo def. Gaston Gaudio, 7-6 (8-6) 6-1

David Nalbandian def. Igor Kunitsyn, 7-5 6-4

Stanislas Wawrinka def. Mikhail Youzhny, 7-5 6-1

Radek Stepanek def. Janko Tipsarevic, 7-6 (7-2) 6-0

Nicolas Almagro def. Juan Ignacio Chela, 3-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-3

Christophe Rochus def. Richard Gasquet, 6-1 6-7 (2-7) 6-3

Potito Starace def. Robin Soderling, 7-6 (7-5) 2-6 6-2

Tomas Berdych def. Oscar Hernandez, 6-2 4-6 6-3

Feliciano Lopez def. Santiago Ventura, 2-6 6-4 6-3

Juan Monaco def. Daniel Gimeno-Traver, 7-5 6-4

Dropping Eduardo

I'm making it official. I'm dropping someone from my Stars of the Future club. Bye bye, Eduardo Schwank.

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Schwank shot to fame (well, "fame") last year when he won three Challengers on clay in a row and then nearly burned down a hotel and lost all his prize money. He put in the best performance of all the Argentines at Roland Garros, making it to the third round. He had a good couple of months there.

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But he hasn't delivered since then, and the time has come (the walrus said). The other kids in the Stars club have been steadily performing better and better (current concerns re Ernests Gulbis aside). So, bye, Eduardo. Been nice having you.

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Speaking of Challengers, it's always interesting to see who's been winning them, so let's have a look... am glad to see a couple of Aussie boys on the list, with Brydan Klein and Bernard Tomic winning a couple early one (but I did discuss those at the time... ad nauseam, I do believe.) No one is standing out as someone that is winning a whole pile, but Benjamin Becker is one that's popped up a few times (aka Becker-no-relation.) Andreas Beck is on the list as well. And the French wizard, Fabrice Santoro won one last week. Which is nice for him.

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Other overnight winners include the elusive Mikhail Youzhny, who seems to pop up whenever it suits him, and Gaston Gaudio, whom I have not seen around for some time. (What's up with that? I thought he was gone for good.) But we had some bad losses as well... Marat Safin, Guillermo Canas and, yes, Eduardo Schwank, I'm looking at you.

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Today's Results

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Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell (Barcelona)

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David Ferrer def. Mikahil Kukushkin, 6-3 3-6 6-1

Igor Andreev def. Alberto Martin, 6-2 6-2

Radek Stepanek def. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, 6-4 2-6 6-4

Robin Soderling def. Teimuraz Gabashvili, 6-1 6-4

Feliciano Lopez def. Jarkko Nieminen, 6-2 6-1

Daniel Gimeno-Traver def. Fabio Fognini, 6-1 6-3

Oscar Hernandez def. Eduardo Schwank, 6-2 6-4

Arnaud Clement def. Guillermo Canas, 7-6 (7-0) 6-3

Gaston Gaudio def. Diego Junqueira, 6-4 3-6 6-4

Juan Monaco def. Marat Safin, 6-4 6-1

Richard Gasquet def. Jan Hernych, 4-6 6-3 6-2

Nicolas Lapentti def. Paul-Henri Mathieu, 6-4 2-6 6-2

Mikhail Youzhny def. Viktor Troicki, 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (8-6) 6-4

Potential Again

There are two blokes I am not especially impressed with at the moment. One is Ernests Gulbis. The other Nicolas Almagro.

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One had a win yesterday, one a loss. One was seeded, one is not. But both have oodles of potential, and both are not using it.

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Let's start with Gulbis. I've flogged this horse to death - we all know how good I think he has the potential to be. But what have we seen over the past few tournaments? A big fat nothing. Nada. Niente. And here we've had it again, with him going down in three sets to Potito Starace. He did win the first set... but ugh, Ernests, would it have killed you to win one of the other two as well?

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I was talking about the pressure put on Rafa and Roger yesterday - I think pressure is something that factors into the Gulbis equation as well. I'm not the only one who thinks he is a fiery ball of potential. And that has to be a whole lot of pressure. Maybe that's making him nervous - he's supposed to be performing, and it hasn't quite happened yet, and that just intensifies with time. But... argh, Ernests, I know you can do it! Just go out and do it! Seriously, I'll settle with one match win at this stage.

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And then Nicolas Almagro... Nicolas, Nicolas, Nicolas. He has consistently proved that when he comes to clay, he is a massive force to be reckoned with it - he is the Prince of Clay. But what's happening? He took a meek loss in Monte Carlo and then he almost took another meek one today in Barcelona before Victor Hanescu retired with cramps. He is capable of so much more.

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I guess that's what it comes down to - people not doing as well as they should. But such is the nature of humanity, I suppose...

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...wow, that's philosophical.

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Today's Results

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Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell (Barcelona)

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Nicolas Almagro def. Victor Hanescu, 3-6 7-6 (9-7) 2-2 retired

Igor Andreev def. Andreas Seppi, 6-3 3-6 7-5

Tomas Berdych def. Martin Vassallo Arguello, 5-2 retired

Christophe Rochus def. Nicolas Devilder, 6-4 6-4

Janko Tipsarevic def. Albert Montanes, 6-4 7-6 (7-1)

Jose Acasuso def. Dudi Sela, 6-4 7-5

Alberto Martin def. Marc Gicquel, 6-3 6-4

Santiago Ventura def. Marcel Granollers, 7-6 (7-3) 6-3

Potito Starace def. Ernests Gulbis, 4-6 6-3 6-3

Juan Ignacio Chela def. Thomaz Bellucci, 6-2 3-6 6-4

Mikhail Kukushkin def. Pere Riba-Madrid, 6-2 7-6 (7-5)

Igor Kunitsyn def. Juan Carlos Ferrero, 7-5 7-6 (7-3)

Frederico Gil def. Yen-Hsun Lu, 6-2 6-1

Potential

Looks like I won't be eating my couch - as predicted, Rafa Nadal took out Novak Djokovic, though Djokovic gave him a tougher time than I would have expected. As usual, I didn't see the match - stupid crappy television in Australia and stupid Canberra not being a metropolitan area - but it looks like Djokovic gave Rafa a bit of a tougher time than I would have expected. Or maybe he just played out of his skin for a set. Or maybe Shmafa turned up. Who can tell these things?

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This is insane. We talk about the pressure people put on Federer (which is also insane) - but how about the pressure people put on Nadal, especially on clay? He loses one set and I'm all like, 'oh no! what happened?' and I bet I'm not the only one. Is Nadal too going to become the victim of his own successes one day, when his knees give on him or he loses a bit of an edge and he starts to come back to the field one day? People have started to talk about the unrealised potential of Federer (personally, I think thirteen Grand Slam titles and four years of domination is a pretty decent realisation, but whatever) - will we one day talk about Nadal the same way?

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I guess that one we'll only ever get the answer to in time.

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Though speaking of potential, one girl brimming with it is Sabine Lisicki, and I am claiming a big Star victory here - she is the first of my female Stars to win a title! This allows her to join Marin Cilic in the exclusive Stars-who-have-won-titles club... yeah, I know it sounds lame, but I'm proud. I picked her out when she was a wee slip of a thing (she first caught my notice when I saw her beat Dinara Safina in the first round of the Australian Open in 2008) and now she's all winning a title. She beat Caroline Wozniacki pretty comprehensively in Charleston... and that isn't just some tiny schlep tournament either. I'm not sure how the new system of tournament rankings works for the women, but I'm pretty sure it was Tier II in the old system, and that is a pretty massive victory for someone winning their first title!

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Our last weekend winner was Roberta Vinci, whom I have only seen play once and so about whom I can make little comment... other than this. She was quite flamboyant but nothing extraordinary when I saw her play. She was unseeded, her opponent in the final, Maria Kirilenko, was the #6 seed. In fact, this holds in Charleston as well - Lisicki was the #16 seed, Wozniacki the #5 seed. The top seeds are not coming through in the WTA. They're just not winning any more. And yet they're at the top of the rankings. What does it take to dislodge a member of the top ten who is not performing?

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Today's Results

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Monte Carlo Rolex Masters (Monte Carlo)

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Rafael Nadal def. Novak Djokovic, 6-3 2-6 6-1

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Family Circle Cup (Charleston)

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Sabine Lisicki def. Caroline Wozniacki, 6-2 6-4

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Barcelona Ladies Open (Barcelona)

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Roberta Vinci def. Maria Kirilenko, 6-0 6-4

As Good As It Gets... In The WTA

Well, well, well... she's my only Star still in it this week and she's kind of been flying under the radar a bit, but how 'bout that Sabine Lisicki? I am very impressed indeed!

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She just took out Marion Bartoli, the #6 seed, to reach the final in Charleston, where she'll face teen queen Caroline Wozniacki (who, incidentally, was very impressive in her takedown of top seed Elena Dementieva.) This is, unless I am very much mistaken, her first WTA-level final, and I would love, love, love for her to win it. She's got so much promise and talent and just - sass. I think that was why I originally liked her so much when I saw her at the Hopman Cup - she's got so much personality as a player. I'm pretty much over-the-moon - as much as one can be with the WTA in its current state - about her making this final.

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Actually, it's a pretty ideal set up, this final. You have Lisicki, who is a youngster brimming with promise who should make the top twenty sometime within the next year or so by my reckoning, and Wozniacki, who is one of those poised to take over now that the WTA is in its current state of demise. These two are not the type that are making the WTA so frickin' annoying at the moment. These are two of the ones that are making it worthwhile. So... yeah. Go Sabine. Go Caroline. It'll be a good one.

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We have a Rafa/Djokovic final over in Monte Carlo. Rafa took out Murray with reasonable ease (kudos to Murray, though, for making it that deep on his least favourite surface) and Djokovic had a bit more of a struggle against Stan W, but came through in the end. I'm not even going to bother tipping the final, it is so obvious who will win.

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Today's Results

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Monte Carlo Rolex Masters (Monte Carlo)

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Rafael Nadal def. Andy Murray, 6-2 7-6 (7-4)

Novak Djokovic def. Stanislas Wawrinka, 4-6 6-1 6-3

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Family Circle Cup (Charleston)

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

Sabine Lisicki def. Marion Bartoli, 6-3 6-1

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Barcelona Ladies Open (Barcelona)

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Maria Kirilenko def. Carla Suárez Navarro, 4-6 6-1 6-2

Roberta Vinci def. Francesca Schiavone, 0-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-4

Carla Suárez Navarro def. Tatjana Malek, 6-4 6-0

Maria Kirilenko def. María José Martínez Sánchez, 6-1 3-6 6-0

Not Altogether Unexpected

We're going to have an intriguing - not altogether unexpected, but certainly surprising - lineup in the semis of Monte Carlo. Rafa - well, everyone would have expected that. He made mincemeat of Nicolas Lapentti and then went on to make mincemeat of Ivan Ljubicic. If he doesn't win the tournament, then I would be prepared to eat my couch. Just putting that out there.

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We have Djokovic, who has played to his seed, if nothing else. He's been playing a bit better of late after his poor showings in the early part of the year. He's certainly not up to his standard at this time last year, but he seems to have adjusted reasonably well to the clay, despite going three sets against Fernando Verdasco. I think a lot of people underestimate the all-surface nature of the Djokovic game (I do it wilfully on account of his repellent personality, but whatever) - he actually made it to the semis of all four majors before Nadal did. I wouldn't like his chances in making it beyond his seed, but he's pretty decent on the red stuff. If I liked him more, I would say well done.

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Those two are expected - then we get into slightly more hairy territory. I don't think anyone would have picked Stan to come through his quarter - probably not even Stan. Whatever, I say - let bygones by bygones, I have forgiven him for the Federer defeat and I'm sure as hell pulling for him now. His big break was making the final of Rome against Djokovic last year and it'd be sweet to go him one further. He's totally at home on the red stuff and I want to see him make his mark.

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And then either Murray will take the fourth spot after a win over the newly-back Kolya Davydenko. He is not at home on clay and so it's going to be interesting to see how he goes this season. So far, so good, it seems - Davydenko is not just any opponent.

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But the winner? Who is going to pick against Rafa? Go on, I dare you.

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Today's Results

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Monte Carlo Rolex Masters (Monte Carlo)

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Rafael Nadal def. Ivan Ljubicic, 6-3 6-3

Novak Djokovic def. Fernando Verdasco, 6-2 4-6 6-3

Stanislas Wawrinka def. Andreas Beck, 6-2 6-4

Andy Murray def. Nikolay Davydenko, 7-6 (7-1) 6-4

Rafael Nadal def. Nicolas Lapentti, 6-3 6-0

Andy Murray def. Fabio Fognini, 7-6 (13-11) 6-4

Nikolay Davydenko def. David Nalbandian, 6-4 5-7 6-3

Ivan Ljubicic def. Simone Bolelli, 7-5 7-6 (7-2)

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Family Circle Cup (Charleston)

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Elena Dementieva def. Dominika Cibulkova, 6-4 1-0 retired

Caroline Wozniacki def. Virginie Razzano, 6-2 6-0

Sabine Lisicki def. Elena Vesnina, 6-4 6-0

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Barcelona Ladies Open (Barcelona)

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Francesca Schiavone def. Lucie Safarova, 6-3 7-5

Roberta Vinci def. Anastasiya Yakimova, 6-3 6-3

Whaaaaaaaat?

What? Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?

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This is exactly what I said this morning when I woke up and saw the results. I'm sorry - I love Stan Wawrinka - but he is not supposed to beat Roger Federer. That's not the way it goes. And he is especially not supposed to beat Roger Federer in straights. That's just not the way it's supposed to happen! Not happy, Jan!

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More time for honeymooning, I suppose. But this is not what I would like to be seeing from Roger at the moment. If he doesn't pick the basket back up and go deep in Rome, then I am going to start to be very seriously concerned. I already am very seriously concerned, but considering he's a newlywed, I'm willing to forgive this one. And I suppose Stan deserved one win. But... whaaaaaaaaaaaaat?

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I bet everyone is saying whaaaaaaaat? about Andreas Beck's results as well - probably even Andreas Beck. Now there's a quarter-final pick I bet nearly no one made. I remember seeing him play once - maybe Wimbledon last year? - and quite enjoying it, but I don't think I ever would have expected this one. He'll face Stan in the next round. This is a good chance for Stan, I suppose - it was about now that he made his big run last year that got him into the top ten. So that will be an interesting one to watch.

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But still... whaaaaaaaaaat?

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And someone else saying whaaaaaaaaaaat? will be Venus Williams, who lost to Sabine Lisicki - one of my Stars! I thought all was looking bleak on the Star front this week, but she's doing me proud!

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Today's Results

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Monte Carlo Rolex Masters (Monte Carlo)

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Stanislas Wawrinka def. Roger Federer, 6-4 7-5

Novak Djokovic def. Albert Montanes, 6-1 6-7 (4-7) 6-0

Fernando Verdasco def. David Ferrer, 6-2 6-1

Andreas Beck def. Juan Monaco, 3-6 6-2 7-5

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Family Circle Cup (Charleston)

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Elena Dementieva def. Varvara Lepchenko, 6-1 6-1

Sabine Lisicki def. Venus Williams, 6-4 7-6 (7-5)

Caroline Wozniacki def. Peng Shuai, 6-3 6-4

Marion Bartoli def. Melanie Oudin, 6-4 6-1

Dominika Cibulkova def. Anastasia Rodionova, 6-7 (6-8) 6-2 6-3

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Barcelona Ladies Open (Barcelona)

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Carla Suárez Navarro def. Emilie Loit, 6-2 7-5

Lucie Safarova def. Sara Errani, 6-3 6-3

Francesca Schiavone def. Nicole Vaidisova, 6-2 6-3

Tatjana Malek def. Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro, 5-0 retired

In the Spirit of the Day

Some much more normal results in Monte Carlo today, after the absolute seed massacre yesterday. The usual suspects - ie. Rafa and Roger - came through in style in straights, which is very nice to see! It is National Compliments Day in Australia today, so I'd like to pay a compliment to both of these fine gentlemen:

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Rafa: Dude, ain't no one can concentrate harder than you. Watching you is exhausting, but it's fabulous. You're a credit to the sport.

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Roger: You're a trooper and a gentleman, even if you smash racquets. And you can counteract bad publicity like no one else -no one's talking about your temper tantrum any more, because you went and got married. You're also a credit to the sport.

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There are many more nice things I could say about these blokes, but that will do for today, I think.

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The seeds did not come through scot-free, however - there was one major casualty in the form of fifth seed Juan Martin del Potro. He went out to Ivan Ljubicic, who has been playing very well of late and who was #3 in the world a few scant years ago. However, he really shouldn't be a match for Juan M, who's the best of the rest at the moment (the top four being almost otherworldly.) I didn't see the match so I cannot comment - did Juan M lose or did Ivan win?

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Disappointing result for Marat Safin - he really should have won that match over Nicolas Lapentti, especially after having three match points. But in good Russian, bad Russian, we have some good news - Nikolay Davydenko is back, and he's opened up with a win. Good to see you back, Kolya!

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Today's Results

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Monte Carlo Rolex Masters (Monte Carlo)

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Rafael Nadal def. Juan Ignacio Chela, 6-2 6-3

Roger Federer def. Andreas Seppi, 6-4 6-4

Ivan Ljubicic def. Juan Martin Del Potro, 4-6 6-1 6-4

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

Nikolay Davydenko def. Ivo Karlovic, 6-4 6-3

David Ferrer def. Marc Gicquel, 6-1 6-0

David Nalbandian def. Marcel Granollers, 4-6 6-3 6-1

Stanislas Wawrinka def. Martin Vassallo Arguello, 2-6 7-5 6-2

Fabio Fognini def. Marin Cilic, 6-2 6-0

Albert Montanes def. Jean-Rene Lisnard, 6-2 6-4

Simone Bolelli def. Janko Tipsarevic, 7-5 6-3

Nicolas Lapentti def. Marat Safin, 7-6 (8-6) 2-6 7-6 (8-6)

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Family Circle Cup (Charleston)

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Venus Williams def. Sania Mirza, 6-1 3-6 6-2

Elena Vesnina def. Patty Schnyder, 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 7-5

Melanie Oudin def. Aleksandra Wozniak, 7-5 6-0

Peng Shuai def. Akgul Amanmuradova, 7-5 2-6 7-5

Viktoriya Kutuzova def. Alona Bondarenko, 6-4 7-5

Anastasia Rodionova def. Bethanie Mattek-Sands, 6-2 6-4

Virginie Razzano def. Stéphanie Dubois, 6-3 7-6 (7-3)

Sabine Lisicki def. Lenka Wienerova, 6-4 6-3

Melinda Czink def. Vania King, 6-4 6-2

Varvara Lepchenko def. Shenay Perry, 6-2 6-3

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Barcelona Ladies Open (Barcelona)

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Roberta Vinci def. Flavia Pennetta, 6-1 6-2

Maria Kirilenko def. Severine Brémond, 7-5 6-2

María José Martínez Sánchez def. Masa Zec Peskiric, 7-5 5-7 6-2

Anastasiya Yakimova def. Magdalena Rybarikova, 3-6 6-3 6-0

Endangered Species

Aiyaiyai, Monte Carlo. We had some ker-RAZY results there overnight. Sure, the big boys got through all right - Djokovic and Murray came through in pretty convincing straights - but the rung below that? Yeesh. Berdych? Gone. Monfils? Gone. Simon? Gone.

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What is up with that?

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But there were even more shocking results than that - yes, even more shocking than Gilles Simon being beaten by Andreas Beck, who I recall having seen play and liked before - but still, qualifier. There were two that I would NOT have picked - whoever wins the bracket challenge this tournament is clearly psychic. Tommy Robredo, who has been playing so well and whom I have tipped to go deep at the French, lost to Juan Monaco, with whom I have not been impressed in the past. Sure, he's a claycourter, but Robredo is a pocket dynamo! This is not a good result at all.

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But even more shocking, the player who has regularly been #3 in the claycourt season over the past couple of years behind Rafa and Roger, the Prince of Clay himself, Nicolas Almagro, lost to Albert Montanes. It was a third set breaker, but THAT IS NO EXCUSE! I have high expectations of Almagro and this was just not cool. Montanes is a wily veteran, but Almagro is genuinely up there with the best in the world on the red stuff. This wasn't good enough.

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Maybe I'm expecting too much. The season has only just started and maybe the players need some time to get their eye in or whatever. But... ugh, please. Seeded players are becoming an endangered species in Monte Carlo. It's starting to look like a WTA tournament.

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Though it will be interesting to see what some of these lower-ranked guys can do... (Kudos to Marat Safin, incidentally. Always keen to see him through!)

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Today's Results

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Monte Carlo Rolex Masters (Monte Carlo)

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Novak Djokovic def. Oscar Hernandez, 6-1 6-2

Andy Murray def. Victor Hanescu, 6-3 6-2

Andreas Beck def. Gilles Simon, 7-5 6-1

Juan Monaco def. Tommy Robredo, 6-2 6-4

Janko Tipsarevic def. Gael Monfils, 6-3 6-1

David Nalbandian def. Paul-Henri Mathieu, 6-4 3-6 6-3

Albert Montanes def. Nicolas Almagro, 7-6 (8-6) 4-6 7-6 (7-5)

Fabio Fognini def. Tomas Berdych 1-6 6-3 6-3

Jean-Rene Lisnard def. Christophe Rochus, 6-2 6-2

Martin Vassallo Arguello def. Igor Andreev, 2-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-2

David Ferrer def. Feliciano Lopez, 6-2 6-3

Ivo Karlovic def. Florent Serra, 6-4 6-4

Marat Safin def. Lleyton Hewitt, 6-4 7-5

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Family Circle Cup (Charleston)

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Vera Zvonareva def. Rossana de los Ríos, 6-3 6-2

Marion Bartoli def. Anastasija Sevastova, 6-1 6-3

Dominika Cibulkova def. Tamira Paszek, 6-4 6-0

Aleksandra Wozniak def. Abigail Spears, 6-3 4-6 6-0

Bethanie Mattek-Sands def. Mariana Duque Marino, 7-6 (7-3) 7-5

Shenay Perry def. Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, 7-5 6-1

Sabine Lisicki def. Marie-Ève Pelletier, 7-5 6-4

Elena Vesnina def. Evgeniya Rodina, 6-0 6-2

Alla Kudryavtseva def. Angela Haynes, 6-4 5-7 6-0

Akgul Amanmuradova def. Alexandra Stevenson, 6-2 6-4

Sania Mirza def. Sesil Karatantcheva, 6-4 6-4

Viktoriya Kutuzova def. Mariya Koryttseva, 6-1 6-1

Stéphanie Dubois def. Katie O'Brien, 4-6 6-2 6-1

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Barcelona Ladies' Open (Barcelona)

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Masa Zec Peskiric def. Kaia Kanepi, 3-6 6-2 6-4

Carla Suárez Navarro def. Estrella Cabeza Candela, 6-2 6-0

Maria Kirilenko def. Camille Pin, 6-2 6-0

Anastasiya Yakimova def. Sorana Cirstea, 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (7-5)

Francesca Schiavone def. Lourdes Domínguez Lino, 7-6 (7-4) 6-4

María José Martínez Sánchez def. Kirsten Flipkens, 6-2 6-2

Nicole Vaidisova def. Yevgenia Savranska, 6-2 6-4

Severine Brémond def. Anna-Lena Groenefeld, 7-6 (7-4) 6-2

Tatjana Malek def. Nuria Llagostera Vives, 6-3 3-6 6-1

Emilie Loit def. Mervana Jugic-Salkic, 7-6 (7-3) 3-6 6-2

Go See Sebastien

One from three on Stars today - Marin Cilic beat Flavio Cipolla, but both Jeremy Chardy and Eduardo Schwank were first round casualties. Not too fussed about Schwank - he was, I think, only a flash in the pan, and is only hanging on to Star status by his teeth. But Chardy... I'm a bit disappointed by his performance over the last couple of weeks. He was the fourth seed in one of the tournaments last week, and I thought he had quite a good shot at winning... but last week was the week of the old guy, I suppose. Here's hoping Jeremy gets back on his feet again soon.

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Speaking of a disappointing performance, Alize, where art thou? She was the top seed in Barcelona, and got absolutely pulverised by Stephanie Cohen-Aloro. If she isn't injured... God, I hope she's injured. This performance is absolutely inexcusable otherwise. Ever since she had those match points against Safina in Australia, she has absolutely crumbled. Perhaps she should go and have a word with countryman Sebastien Grosjean. He knows a thing or two about choking.

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...though he probably couldn't give her many useful points on how to stop.

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But seriously, it is so disappointing! She is a great little player and she's great on clay especially. What's gone on here? This is something that clearly needs to be addressed. I hate to see promising young guns, who should be off conquering tennis Everests with Victoria Azarenka and Caroline Wozniacki and co, succumbing to the paralysis currently sweeping the WTA. I thought it was only the more 'senior' members of the top ten (feels strange to call players like the Serbians senior - they haven't been round that long!) but Alize's caught the disease too.

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Who is going to fix the WTA? That has got to be the biggest question in tennis right now. Where did it go wrong, and who is going to set it right?

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Today's Results

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Monte Carlo Rolex Masters (Monte Carlo)

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Marin Cilic def. Flavio Cipolla, 6-3 6-2

Nicolas Lapentti def. Radek Stepanek, 6-3 1-6 6-3

Oscar Hernandez def. Julien Benneteau, 6-4 6-4

Juan Igancio Chela def. Igor Kunitsyn, 6-4 2-6 7-5

Victor Hanescu def. Alberto Martin, 6-2 6-3

Andreas Seppi def. Jurgen Melzer, 6-2 6-0

Marcel Granollers def. Jose Acasuso, 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-2)

Juan Monaco def. Jeremy Chardy, 6-2 7-5

Marc Gicquel def. Eduardo Schwank, 3-6 6-1 7-6 (7-2)

Andreas Beck def. Nicolas Kiefer, 1-6 7-6 (7-1) 6-4

Ivan Ljubicic def. Kristof Vliegen, 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-4

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Family Circle Cup (Charleston)

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Peng Shuai def. Anastasia Pivovarova, 6-0 6-2

Alona Bondarenko def. Anne Kremer, 6-4 6-0

Virginie Razzano def. Mallory Cecil, 6-1 6-2

Vania King def. Olga Govortsova, 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (7-5) 6-3

Tamira Paszek def. Julia Schruff, 7-5 6-2

Patricia Mayr def. Yan Zi, 6-2 6-2

Rossana de los Ríos def. Carly Gullickson, 6-1 6-4

Varvara Lepchenko def. Galina Voskoboeva, 6-1 6-3

Julie Ditty def. Ayumi Morita, 6-1 6-1

Anastasia Rodionova def. Madison Brengle, 6-2 7-6 (7-4)

Lenka Wienerova def. Alexa Glatch, 6-4 7-5

Melanie Oudin def. Olga Savchuk, 6-4 6-0

Anastasija Sevastova def. Marta Domachowska, 6-1 1-6 6-4

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Barcelona Ladies Open (Barcelona)

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Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro def. Alizé Cornet, 6-0 6-3

Flavia Pennetta def. Petra Kvitova, 6-3 6-3

Sara Errani def. Mathilde Johansson, 2-6 7-5 6-3

Lucie Safarova def. Tsvetana Pironkova, 6-1 3-6 6-0

Magdalena Rybarikova def. Klara Zakopalova, 6-1 7-6 (9-7)

Roberta Vinci def. Pauline Parmentier, 6-4 7-6 (9-7)

Something Old, Something New (Something Borrowed, Something Blue)

I got my wish - Juan Carlos Ferrero and Lleyton Hewitt both won titles overnight, in Casablanca and Houston respectively. Good on you, boys! Ferrero hasn't won a title since 2003, so huge kudos to him, and Hewitt hasn't been in a final for a couple of years, so it's a huge victory for them both. It's wonderful to see that there's still some tennis in these guys yet. It is almost ten years since the rise of the New Balls generation, headed up by Federer, Hewitt and Safin - and I am glad that they're not dead yet. (Though with Federer still at the top of his game, whoever would have thought that?)
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I have to devote a little space to our latest married couple of the sport - congratulations Roger and Mirka! I wrote an article about them on my other blog, The Black Valentine's Day Manifesto, and in the rush of people searching for pictures of their wedding, my hits have gone up exponentially. (No, I have no pictures - I don't think anyone does!) I choose to believe that Roger has simply been distracted by flower arrangements and big white meringue dresses of late, and now that that's all out of the way and he and Mirka have had their grand one day honeymoon, he'll kick the marriage off with a solid performance in Monte Carlo.
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(Yes, I realise I am delusional, but it is just so lovely!)*
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Speaking of Monte Carlo, it has started and once again, I'm being disappointed by the young guns. The old guys are going great - but Ernests, Ernests! Was it really necessary to lose in such convincing fashion to Philipp Kohlschreiber? I was hoping that being on clay, where he performed so well last year, would be good. Not yet, I suppose. Good wins for Stan Wawrinka and Tommy Robredo, though - and also to Jelena Jankovic, who won the title in Andalucia, knocking out Carla Suarez Navarro, who I really thought was going to get her. I wouldn't go so far as to say she's back, but maybe there's a smidgeon of hope for Jelena yet.
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Today's Results
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Monte Carlo Rolex Masters (Monte Carlo)
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Tommy Robredo def. Rainer Schuettler, 6-1 6-4
Stanislas Wawrinka def. Viktor Troicki, 6-2 6-3
Simone Bolelli def. Robin Soderling, 6-4 1-6 6-3
Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Ernests Gulbis, 6-1 6-3
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Grand Prix Hassan II (Casablanca)
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Juan Carlos Ferrero def. Florent Serra, 6-4 7-5
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US Men's Clay Court Championships (Houston)
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Lleyton Hewitt def. Wayne Odesnik, 6-2 7-5
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Andalucia Tennis Experience (Marbella)
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Jelena Jankovic def. Carla Suárez Navarro, 6-3 3-6 6-3
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MPS Group Championships (Ponte Vedra Beach)
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Caroline Wozniacki def. Aleksandra Wozniak, 6-1 6-2

Time Capsule

One would be forgiven, looking at the results out of Houston and Casablanca this week, that the tour had gone back in time some four, five years. In each tournament we have a real veteran in the final - Lleyton Hewitt in Houston, in what has to be his first final in a couple of years, and Juan Carlos Ferrero, who is apparently considering pulling a Marat and retiring at the end of the year, in Casablanca.

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Let's start with JC, who for about six months in the earlier part of this decade had a Federesque aura of total invincibility. I would love to see him go out with a bang, if he does intend to retire this year. It was a bit sad when he wasn't able to keep up with the Joneses of the tennis world once the Hispano-Suisse domination machine started to roll, because he is really an awesome player to watch. He has a real elegance to his shots - especially on clay - and he is smart. We mustn't forget that he and Federer are the only two players to beat Rafa on clay in the last five-odd years. Sure, Rafa was injured at the time, but still - quite a feat for JC.

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So now he's in the final of Casablanca against Florent Serra (who is also not exactly a tennis spring chicken, though he hasn't reached the veteran status of JC yet). I would dearly love to see him win it. Wouldn't it be fabulous to see the man who once was so invincible have another great run in the twilight of his tennis years? (Wasn't that a convoluted rhetorical question?)

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Same goes for Lleyton Hewitt, for whom, despite all my best efforts, I have a soft spot. (Yes, even after the Lleyton/Bec/Mia matching outfit fashion disaster at the Logies. I don't know what's wrong with me.) He'll face Wayne Odesnik - who has also been around for quite some years - in the final in Houston, and I think it is safe to say that this is a final no one would have expected! I'm pulling for Lleyton, though I wouldn't be surprised if the home crowd advantage got big Wayne over the line... but it really is lovely to see the old guys (I say old - most of them aren't even in their thirties!) doing so well this week. It is so rare!

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Today's Results

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Grand Prix Hassan II (Casablanca)

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Juan Carlos Ferrero def. Igor Andreev, 7-6 (11-9) 6-3

Florent Serra def. Albert Montanes, 6-4 6-4

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US Men's Clay Court Championships (Houston)

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Wayne Odesnik def. Bjorn Phau, 6-4 6-3

Lleyton Hewitt def. Evgeny Korolev, 7-6 (7-4) 6-4

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Andalucia Tennis Experience (Marbella)

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Jelena Jankovic def. Anabel Medina Garrigues, 7-5 6-2

Carla Suárez Navarro def. Sorana Cirstea, 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 6-2

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MPS Group Championships (Ponte Vedra Beach)

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Aleksandra Wozniak def. Nadia Petrova, 6-4 4-6 6-2

Caroline Wozniacki def. Elena Vesnina, 2-6 6-3 7-6 (7-4)

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ETA: I just read that Roger Federer and Mirka Vavrinec got married over the Easter weekend - how lovely! Congratulations from Tennis From The Backseat!

Poor Form in Ponte Vedra Beach

I have to say that I'm a little disappointed. I was really hoping that Dominika Cibulkova would win this week in Ponte Vedra Beach and make me look really clever for talking about her earlier as a real contender in the Roland Garros mix. No such luck. She went out to Elena Vesnina - in three sets, but out nonetheless. I expected a little more.

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I had another one I was watching in this tournament and she also went out. I've been a little intrigued by Tamira Paszek ever since she came so close to knocking out Jelena Jankovic in the first round of the Aussie Open last year. She hasn't had great results, but she's had some good ones, and I keep waiting for her to make a breakthrough, because as soon as she has a decent run, I am fully prepared to admit her to the Stars club with Sabine Lisicki and Anastasia Pavlychenkova. But looks like it won't be this week - she went out to Aleksandra Wozniak of Canada.

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But them's the breaks, I guess.

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Not too much happening over with the blokes... though I think the point about clay being the great leveller was proved over in Houston, where all four of the top seeds have been eliminated. Though that could be a signal of the depth extant in the ATP, unlike the WTA. Who can tell these things?

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Today's Results

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Grand Prix Hassan II (Casablanca)

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Igor Andreev def. Marc Gicquel, 6-1 6-3

Albert Montanes def. Frederico Gil, 7-6 (7-5) 6-4

Juan Carlos Ferrero def. Victor Hanescu, 6-3 7-5

Florent Serra def. Teimuraz Gabashvili, 6-0 6-4

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Andalucia Tennis Experience (Marbella)

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Jelena Jankovic def. Roberta Vinci, 3-6 6-3 7-6 (8-6)

Sorana Cirstea def. Kaia Kanepi, 6-4 2-6 7-5

Anabel Medina Garrigues def. Sara Errani, 6-2 6-7 (4-7) 7-5

Carla Suárez Navarro def. Klara Zakopalova, 6-1 6-2

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MPS Group Championships (Ponte Vedra Beach)

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Nadia Petrova def. Alona Bondarenko, 4-6 6-3 7-6 (7-5)

Elena Vesnina def. Dominika Cibulkova, 7-5 6-7 (5-7) 6-3

Aleksandra Wozniak def. Tamira Paszek, 6-3 3-6 7-6 (9-7)

Accentuate the Positive

A positive sign from Roger Federer! He's accepted a wildcard into Monte Carlo, which I think is a very good move. This is for two reasons - a) if he's accepting wildcards, it means his back can't be feeling too bad; and b) he just needs some tennis, especially after that pathetic display in Miami. It'll be good for him to be on a new surface, especially a surface on which there is very little pressure.

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Because that's true, I think - this year, at least, because he's not coming into it ranked #1, there will be less pressure on the Mighty Fed. No one expects him to win Roland Garros - or indeed anything where Rafa Nadal is in the draw. That's where all the pressure will be - on the Raf. I think he's more than equal to it - the only time I have ever seen pressure really weigh on him was in that match against Nalbandian a couple of weeks ago, and even then, he overcame it splendidly.

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But we're talking Roger, not Rafa. It will be good to have a little bit of the weight of expectation off his shoulders, I think. I'm not saying he will be entirely free-swinging, but being on a new surface where he isn't expected to do as well might be a bit freeing. So it's going to get interesting. I'll be interested to see how Roger goes. I'd love to see him win one of these Masters events, especially considering he hasn't won one since Cincy in '07. I don't think you'd tip against Rafa in any of them, but... we shall see.

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Brief sidenote - I'll be interested to see how the Swiss #2, Stan Wawrinka, does on clay. He made his real charge here last year, so it'd be nice to see if he could back it up.

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And in the women's side, I think I have a new pick for Roland Garros - not to win, necessarily, but to go deep. Carla Suarez Navarro. I like her more every time I see her play.

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Today's Results

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Grand Prix Hassan II (Casablanca)

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Igor Andreev def. Nicolas Devilder, 6-7 (11-13) 7-6 (7-5) 6-4

Florent Serra def. Olivier Rochus, 6-3 6-3

Marc Gicquel def. Mischa Zverev, 6-4 7-5

Teimuraz Gabashvili def. Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo, 6-4 6-4

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US Men's Clay Court Championships (Houston)

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Evgeny Korolev def. Daniel Gimeno-Traver, 6-3 7-6 (7-4)

Bjorn Phau def. Scoville Jenkins, 6-4 7-6 (7-2)

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Andalucia Tennis Experience (Marbella)

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Jelena Jankovic def. Selima Sfar, 6-3 6-0

Kaia Kanepi def. Aranxta Rus, 7-5 6-2

Carla Suárez Navarro def. Ekaterina Ivanova, 0-6 6-3 6-0

Sara Errani def. Polona Hercog, 6-0 7-6 (9-7)

Klara Zakopalova def. Renata Vorocova, 7-6 (9-7) 5-7 6-0

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MPS Group Championships (Ponte Vedra Beach)

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Caroline Wozniacki def. Virginie Razzano, 6-3 7-5

Aleksandra Wozniak def. Sabine Lisicki, 3-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-4

Tamira Paszek def. Varvara Lepchenko, 3-6 6-3 6-4

Club Up-And-Comer

You know who I like watching? I've talked about her before, but not enough, clearly. Dominika Cibulkova. If she doesn't get into the top ten this year - especially considering the WTA is in the state it's in at the moment - I will eat an item of my own clothing.

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It seems the popular up-and-comer to tip as a Slam winner at the moment is Victoria Azarenka - and fair enough, too, because she has been pretty damn solid in a field of flakes and has been the only person to have established something vaguely resembling dominance over Serena this year. (She was winning at the Open until she came down ill, and she took her out conclusively in the Miami final.) I may have objections to Azarenka's personality, founded on an incident that took place in Brisbane where she proved herself to be, for lack of a better phrase, a nasty tempered little bitch, but I don't think anyone would deny her ability.

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But there are a couple of others sitting behind her in Club Up-And-Comer - one is Caroline Wozniacki, of whom I have not seen enough to comment, and the other has to be Dominika Cibulkova. I saw her play live at the Australian Open this year and she is amazing - and I'm not going to forget the masterclass she gave Dinara Safina in the Hopman Cup final. She's tiny, quick and can hit it hard - girl's got skills. I'd been hoping for a bit more from her in the hardcourt season, but that breakthrough might be yet to come. But the clay season... it is going to be really interesting to see which way the cookie crumbles in this season.

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I think Cibulkova's game will translate wonderfully to clay - and probably Azarenka's too. Serena's doesn't, especially... as we can see from her first round loss in Marbella to Klara Zakopalova (though that might have something to do with injury.) Now that the Henin monopoly on Roland Garros is over, it's anyone's game. I wouldn't put much money on Ana Ivanovic defending her title, and with Jankovic looking like Maria Sharapova's 'cow on ice', I wouldn't put much money on her either.

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What I would really like to see is Dinara Safina going all the way. We're nearly up to the part of the season where she began her charge last year, and I would dearly love to see her do it again. So come on, Zeljko, whip her into shape. Far be it from me to offer actual technical advice, but fix her goddamn serve. Dinara's got all the weapons... and she's made two Slam finals now. Time to claim one for her own.

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But the reality is that if Victoria Azarenka or Dominika Cibulkova win it... who would be surprised?

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Today's Results

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Grand Prix Hassan II (Casablanca)

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Albert Montanes def. Santiago Ventura, 5-7 6-3 7-5

Victor Hanescu def. Ivan Navarro, 6-1 6-0

Frederico Gil def. Ivan Ljubicic, 6-7 (2-7) 7-5 6-4

Juan Carlos Ferrero def. Potito Starace, 6-4 7-6 (7-1)

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US Men's Clay Court Championships (Houston)

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Wayne Odesnik def. Jurgen Melzer, 6-4 6-0

John Isner def. Paul Capdeville, 4-6 7-6 (7-1) 7-6 (7-5)

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Andalucia Tennis Experience (Marbella)

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Anabel Medina Garrigues def. Virginia Ruano Pascual, 6-2 6-3

Sorana Cirstea def. Andreja Klepac, 4-6 6-1 6-1

Roberta Vinci def. Nicole Vaidisova, 6-3 6-3

Klara Zakopalova def. Serena Williams, 6-4 3-6 6-1

Kaia Kanepi def. Sílvia Soler Espinosa, 6-4 6-2

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MPS Group Championships (Ponte Vedra Beach)

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Dominika Cibulkova def. Anastasia Rodionova, 6-1 6-3

Alona Bondarenko def. Kateryna Bondarenko, 4-6 6-4 6-3

Elena Vesnina def. Patricia Mayr, 1-6 6-3 6-2

A Different Animal

A few upsets in the clay tournaments we have going on this week - we lost Rainer Schuettler (#2) and Christophe Rochus (#7) in Casablanca and former champ Mardy Fish in Houston. It seems strange to be calling these players 'seeds' - they're certainly not what we would normally think of as high level players. But that's this time of the year, I guess.

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The clay season is both the most predictable and unpredictable swing of the year, in my opinion. The top players - players like Rafa Nadal and Nicolas Almagro, very rarely lose on this surface. Often with the top players you get a random upset here and there, but you very rarely see this on clay, I think. Look at Rafa's record - he's lost, what, two matches over the past four years? One was to Federer and the other one was to Juan Carlos Ferrero when he was pretty nastily injured. Other than that, he's been solid as a rock. Almagro, the Prince of Clay, is similar, though obviously on a lesser scale.

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But when you skip down a rung or two to the rest of the top ten and the guys that are supposed to be at the top... on clay, it seems like the playing field is pretty different. You get a lot more upsets here. I don't know if it's just the claycourters upsetting those who are more consistent year-round or whether it's more arbitrary, but you certainly get some random results that you probably wouldn't normally see.

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You've got to wonder whether Roland Garros should adopt a seeding system like hat of Wimbledon - based not only on current ranking but on previous performance on that surface as well. Clay is a different animal and the top ten rankings don't really reflect the real rankings. Nadal #1 and Federer #2, yes, but the rest of the top ten...? I think there'd have to be a significant reshuffle.

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Today's Results

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Grand Prix Hassan II (Casablanca)

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Igor Andreev def. Rabie Chaki, 3-6 6-3 7-5

Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo def. Rainer Schuettler, 6-4 7-6 (7-5)

Albert Montanes def. Reda El Amrani, 6-2 7-5

Marc Gicquel def. Kristof Vliegen, 7-5 6-3

Juan Carlos Ferrero def. Christophe Rochus, 6-2 6-3

Potito Starace def. Oscar Hernandez, 4-6 6-3 6-3

Olivier Rochus def. Mehdi Ziadi, 4-6 6-2 6-1

Teimuraz Gabashvili def. Fabio Fognini, 6-2 6-1

Santiago Ventura def. Oliver Marach, 6-1 6-1

Nicolas Devilder def. Daniel Koellerer, 6-3 6-4

Mischa Zverev def. Flavio Cipolla, 6-2 3-6 6-3

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US Men's Clay Court Championships (Houston)

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Bjorn Phau def. Mardy Fish, 6-3 5-7 6-3

Sergio Roitman def. Agustin Calleri, 6-3 6-3

John Isner def. Michael Russell, 4-6 6-3 6-2

Tommy Haas def. Denis Gremelmayr, 6-3 6-3

Scoville Jenkins def. Alexander Peya, 0-6 6-4 6-3

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez def. Giovanni Lapentti, 1-6 6-0 6-2

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Andalucia Tennis Experience (Marbella)

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Jelena Jankovic def. Francesca Schiavone, 6-2 6-1

Anabel Medina Garrigues def. Anastasiya Yakimova, 6-1 6-3

Carla Suárez Navarro def. Maret Ani, 7-5 7-5

Sara Errani def. Julia Schruff, 7-5 7-6 (8-6)

Virginia Ruano Pascual def. Tathiana Garbin, 6-1 2-6 6-1

Andreja Klepac def. Severine Brémond, 5-7 6-2 6-2

Renata Voracova def. Pauline Parmentier, 7-6 (10-8) 4-6 6-4

Arantxa Rus def. María-Teresa Torró-Flor, 4-6 6-2 6-0

Ekaterina Ivanova def. Masa Zec Peskiric, 6-0 6-4

Polona Hercog def. Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro, 3-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-2

Selima Sfar def. Estrella Cabeza Candela, 6-3 7-6 (7-4)

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MPS Group Championships (Ponte Vedra Beach)

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Nadia Petrova def. Olga Govortsova, 6-2 6-4

Aleksandra Wozniak def. Jill Craybas, 6-4 6-4

Elena Vesnina def. Peng Shuai, 2-6 6-1 6-3

Sabine Lisicki def. Mariya Koryttseva, 6-3 7-6 (7-3)

Tamira Paszek def. Melinda Czink, 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 6-4

Anastasia Rodionova def. Galina Voskoboeva, 6-4 6-2

Daniela Hantuchova def. Anastasija Sevastova, 2-6 6-4 7-6 (7-5)