Brain Cramp

So about this new cramping rule - which I understand to mean that players can't seek treatment for cramps until the end of a game...

I love it. But if it's just the end of the game, I don't know if that's not still too soft. I'd be thinking change of ends, personally. Isn't that when most people will get that kind of thing treated?

I mean, obviously there are exceptions, otherwise this rule wouldn't have come into play. I don't actually remember the last time I saw a player come down with cramp in the middle of a game and stop play, but evidently it's happened, and consistently enough that the need for this rule was felt. So, I think I probably need to think on it more - and find out what the rule actually is, which might help. But I think this is definitely a Good Thing.

A whole new day, a whole new slew of tournaments. The bigg'un is Moscow. I don't know if he's even playing but oh! how I would love Marat Safin to win this tournament. I know he won't, but oh! how I would love it if he did! I remember him making the final in '06, but I don't know how else he's fared there in the past - surely if there's one tournament he would love to win, this would be it.

One result out of this tournament so far I thought was interesting was on the women's side, where diminutive Dominika Cibulkova went down tamely to Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez. Where's Domi been? Has she been injured? She had top five potential written all over her at the beginning of the year, and now she's all... not there. Sigh. Get better, Domi.


Today's Results

Kremlin Cup (Moscow)

Men's Draw

Mikhail Youzhny def. Horacio Zeballos, 6-1 7-6 (7-5)
Pablo Cuevas def. Yen-hsun Lu, 6-4 6-2
Teimuraz Gabashvili def. Karol Beck, 3-6 6-4 6-4
Potito Starace def. Evgeny Donskoy, 6-3 6-3


Women's Draw

Nadia Petrova def. Yana Buchina, 6-2 6-0
Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez def. Dominika Cibulkova, 6-2 6-2
Alona Bondarenko def. Anna Chakvetadze, 6-4 603
Lucie Safarova def. Ekaterina Makarova, 6-2 602
Olga Govortsova def. Ksenia Pervak, 6-3 4-6 6-0


If Stockholm Open (Stockholm)

Juan Monaco def. Jan Hernych, 6-2 5-7 7-5
Simon Greul def. Benjamin Becker, 2-6 6-3 7-5
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez def. Alberto Martin, 6-3 6-2
Leonardo Mayer def. Albert Montanes, 6-4 6-3
Joachim Johansson def. Peter Luczak, 7-5 6-2


BGL Luxembourg Open

Anabel Medina Garrigues def. Arantxa Parra Santonja, 7-5 6-2
Sabine Lisicki def. Iveta Benesova, 6-1 6-4
Carla Suarez Navarro def. Mandy Minella, 7-5 5-7 6-3