One of a Kind

Well, I suppose we'd better move on from Madrid before the week is completely out and Roland Garros is upon us. There are, in fact, tournaments going on this week, so we should probably check them out.

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The one that always catches my attention is World Team Tennis in Dusseldorf. It's sort of a pity that it's in the week before Roland Garros when none of the big boys are really very keen on playing, because it's a fascinating concept. It's a good way of getting matches in, what with the round robin aspect, and you also get to play for your country as well, which is pretty rare in the individualistic world of tennis.

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The eight countries taking part this year are France, Germany, USA, Sweden, Serbia, Argentina, Russia and Italy - and you know who's been surprising? Sweden. They're being represented by Robin Soderling and Andreas Vinciguerra, and they totally beat the USA overnight, which is a bit surprising. Haven't been following it closely enough to tell you who is in what position, but that was certainly something I found unusual... Sweden isn't exactly a tennis powerhouse these days.

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It is, as far as I know, the only tournament of its type in the calendar year, and I wish it was in a more prominent place - because it's a fascinating concept. I don't know what its history is like - whether it is a survivor from that failed era of round robin or whether it's just unique - but it's a great concept. So why, Dusseldorf? Why is your tournament like this?

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Today's Results

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ARAG ATP World Team Championships (Dusseldorf)

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Rainer Schuettler def. Gilles Simon, 6-4 6-4

Robin Soderling def. Sam Querrey, 6-2 6-2

Andreas Vinciguerra def. Robby Ginepri, 7-5 6-4

Juan Martin del Potro def. Andreas Seppi, 6-3 6-4

Viktor Troicki def. Evgeny Korolev, 6-2 6-2

Janko Tipsarevic def. Stanislav Vovk, 6-2 6-4

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Interwetten Austrian Open Kitzbuhel (Kitzbuhel)

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Jurgen Melzer def. Frederico Gil, 6-3 6-0

Oscar Hernandez def. Fabrice Santoro, 6-2 6-3

Juan Ignacio Chela def. Marc Gicquel, 5-7 6-3 6-0

Julien Benneteau def. Dudi Sela, 7-5 6-1

Stefan Koubek def. Philipp Petzschner, 7-6 (10-8) 6-4

Diego Junqueira def. Paul Capdeville, 6-3 6-2

Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo def. Mario Ancic, 6-4 6-3

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Warsaw Open (Warsaw)

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Sara Errani def. Greta Arn, 6-2 1-6 7-6 (7-2)

Daniel Hantuchova def. Nuria Llagostera Vives, 3-6 6-3 6-3

Urszula Radwanska def. Mariya Koryttseva, 6-3 3-6 6-3

Jill Craybas def. Edina Gallovits, 3-6 7-5 6-3

Galina Voskoboeva def. Patrica Mayr, 6-4 6-1

Klara Zakopalova def. Melinda Czink, 3-6 6-4 6-3

Ioana Raluca Olaru def. Jelena Dokic, 6-4 6-3

Alexandra Dulgheru def. Agnes Szatmari, 6-3 6-4

Darya Kustova def. Lenka Tvaroskova, 6-4 6-1

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Internationaux de Strasbourg (Strasbourg)

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Anabel Medina Garrigues def. Yanina Wickmayer, 1-6 6-3 6-3

Viktoriya Kutuzova def. Tamarine Tanasugarn, 6-3 6-0

Julie Coin def. Elena Vesnina, 6-4 6-2

Monica Niculescu def. Anna-Lena Groenefeld, 4-6 6-2 6-2

Alla Kudryavtseva def. Nathalie Dechy, 6-0 6-7 (5-7) 6-3

Anastasiya Yakimova def. Maret Ani, 6-3 7-5

Pauline Parmentier def. Varvara Lepchenko, 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-2)

Lucie Hradecka def. Jasmin Woehr, 3-6 6-1 6-2

Stephanie Foretzdef. Kirtsen Flipkens, 6-1 2-6 6-2

Stephanie Cohen-Aloro def. Mathilde Johansson, 4-6 6-4 6-1

Yuliya Beygelzimer def. Claire Feuerstein, 0-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-3