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