Safina Subordinates Stubborn Sabine

Welcome to today's post, Safina Subordinates Stubborn Sabine; or, Jodi plays with alliteration and assonance.

*

I seriously didn't know who to pull for in this match. I'm a huge fan of both these girls - in fact, they're probably my top two. I love the total sense of joie de vivre that Lisicki brings to the court, and I love the grit and determination that Safina has taught herself over the past two years or so. It was confusing - I'd be cheering for Lisicki when she had break points and then praying Safina would save them. I would find myself doing a fistpump on a Safina double fault when it benefited Lisicki. It was bizarre - I've never been able to pick between two players before. I always have a sense of who I want to win - even when Federer plays Safin, because although I love Marat very much, my heart belongs to Roger.

*

But with these two, I just could not pick.

*

I think I'm glad Dinara pulled through in the end though, I think. Lisicki is an up and comer in her first Slam quarter final - and I think you'd have to be a fool to think that she won't reach any more. She has some serious, serious game. But Dinara is supposed to have well and truly arrived, and while a quarter final is a great result for Sabine, it's not so much for Dinara. She really dug her heels into this match and for that I applaud her.

*

But she must do something about the appalling amount of double faults she serves. That's just whacked out.

*

She'll face Venus, and sorry Dinara, but I think the steamroller will be roaring in your direction. Venus demolished Radwanska today - even though Radwanska put up a lot more of a fight than the scoreline suggests. I felt sorry for poor A-Rad... she has a nice game, but there ain't nothing you can do when Venus gets in demolition mode.

*

Serena also did a demolition job and I was glad of it, because we all know how I feel about Victoria Azarenka, the Novak Djokovic of women's tennis, spit spit. That girl has a serious attitude problem and I am incapable of appreciating her tennis until she does something about her behaviour. She behaves like a petulant child on court and she deserves everything Serena dished out to her, in my humble opinion. Good on you, Serena.

*

Serena will face Elena Dementieva, who has had an absolute cakewalk of a draw so far. Cake. Walk. Seriously, Francesca Schiavone in the quarters? What on earth was Schiavone doing in the quarters? The ante is about to get upped majorly for Elegant Elena, and if I foresee a steamrolling for Safina at the hands of Venus, I'm foreseeing a potential double bagel here. This one could be nassssssssty.

*

*

Today's Results

*

The Championships (Wimbledon)

*

Women's Draw

*

Dinara Safina def. Sabine Lisicki, 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 6-1

Venus Williams def. Agnieszka Radwanska, 6-1 6-2

Serena Williams def. Victoria Azarenka, 6-2 6-3

Elena Dementieva def. Francesca Schiavone, 6-2 6-2

Just Another Manic Monday

Back to writing in the light of day. This feels much more normal. Apologies for the lack of rhythm!

*

So Middle Sunday happened, followed up by possibly the most exciting day of the tournament, Manic Monday. And we had some cracking matches today - and I would just like to point out that although my strike rate for the women is pretty bad, all four of my men's semi-finalists are still in contention. Federer/Haas and a battle of the Andies. You heard it here first.

*

But all four of these dudes had to come through the fourth round today, and there were a couple of interesting matches in there.

*

Let's start with Federer/Soderling so I can get all my gushing out of the way. This was a very interesting match, and I think a good preperation for Federer's quarter final against Ivo Karlovic, because Soderling served brilliantly. There was only one break of serve in the entire match, which came in the first set - and the two tiebreaks were close affairs, the one in the third set in particular. If Soderling hadn't shot himself in the foot with that double fault at 5-all, who knows what might have happened? He played some great tennis and he was unlucky not to come up with at least a set.

*

But anything anyone can do Roger Federer can probably do better, and he stayed cool and delivered the goods. He just looks so eminently comfortable on grass it's almost scary... actually, you know what's almost scary? Federer matches usually make me really nervous. My nerves throughout this tournament have been slight to non-existent. And that makes me nervous, because I'm sure it's some kind of jinx.

*

Anyone, tough luck to the Yoker. I bet he was cursing his luck when his trajectory emerged and it was a round of sixteen clash with the big dude. And I bet he was cursing making that quip about eleven in a row in the Roland Garros presentation ceremony, because everyone remembered it.

*

Another straight sets victory was that of Tommy Haas, and how about this guy? He's got the worst tennis luck in universal history and here he is in the quarter finals - and you really feel he deserves a good run after that titanic effort he put in against Roger in Roland Garros. He plays Novak Djokovic in the quarters, and if Djokovic isn't on his game, I reckon Tommy could get him. Djokovic has been coming through pretty quietly and efficiently, however... it's going to be interesting if nothing else. I'll be cheering for the big T-Haas, though!

*

Andy Roddick looked simply lethal over Tomas Berdych. 'Nuff said. He'll face Lleyton Hewitt, who came back from two sets to love down against Stepanek, because he just doesn't know how to give up. You never want to count Lleyton out, but I'm smelling a quarter final crushing. Sorry Lleyton.

*

And then in the match of the day, Andy Murray just edged out Stan Wawrinka in a five set epic. He's getting known for these Wimbledon R16 epics - remember the one against Gasquet last year? He was never quite as behind in this one as he was in that, but it was a near run thing. Great match from Stan Wawrinka - I was pulling for him, I have to admit, and I'm sad he couldn't pull it off. His backhand is totally divine. I loved it.

*

Andy will now face Juan Carlos Ferrero, and you have to like him to win that one... it's going to be interesting!

*

Over in the ladies' tennis... my heart breaks for Ana Ivanovic, poor girl. Injuries galore, and she was all crying, and it was sad, and... well, Venus was going to beat her anyway, but it's sad it had to happen like that. Serena also came through, taking approximately four seconds to win her match in order to get off the frankly insulting Court 2 - I don't know why they put her out there, but that is seriously whack. Safina through after a struggle. Dementieva through, in a sudden burst of form. A few others, and...

*

...and my special favourite, Sabine Lisicki. I love love LOVE this girl. She just looks so happy and ebullient playing tennis, and she's damn good too. Her quarter final match against Safina is going to be a hard one for me - I like them both!

*

*

Today's Results

*

The Championships (Wimbledon)

*

Men's Draw

*

Roger Federer def. Robin Soderling, 6-4 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-5)

Andy Murray def. Stanislas Wawrinka, 2-6 6-3 6-3 5-7 6-3

Andy Roddick def. Tomas Berdych, 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 6-3

Ivo Karlovic def. Fernando Verdasco, 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (4-7) 6-3 7-6 (11-9)

Lleyton Hewitt def. Radek Stepanek, 4-6 2-6 6-1 6-2 6-2

Juan Carlos Ferrero def. Gilles Simon, 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 6-2

Novak Djokovic def. Dudi Sela, 6-2 6-4 6-1

Tommy Haas def. Igor Andreev, 7-6 (10-8) 6-4 6-4

*

*

Women's Draw

*

Venus Williams def. Ana Ivanovic, 6-1 0-1 retired

Dinara Safina def. Amelie Mauresmo, 4-6 6-3 6-4

Elena Dementieva def. Elena Vesnina, 6-1 6-3

Serena Williams def. Daniela Hantuchova, 6-3 6-1

Victoria Azarenka def. Nadia Petrova, 7-6 (7-5) 2-6 6-3

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

Agnieszka Radwanska def. Melanie Oudin, 6-4 7-5

Francesca Schiavone def. Virginie Razzano, 6-2 7-6 (7-1)

Humility and Respect (or lack thereof)

I am totally out of my writing rhythm. I need to start writing in the mornings again instead of the evening. This is totally weird.

*

Another good win for Lleyton Hewitt last night - thought I'd put this out there now before I forget to talk about it, because he's not my main topic of conversation today. He took out Philipp Petzschner in three pretty decent sets - it was an entertaining match. Most entertaining match award of the day has to go to the end of Haas/Cilic, which finished 10-8 in the fifth - you have to feel for Cilic but if this hasn't tired Haas out I can totally see him making the semis. He has such a good shot.

*

Also impressive in five was Radek Stepanek, who beat David Ferrer despite suffering some bizarre injury. If it actually is a badness, then Lleyton Hewitt is NOT the player he wants to be facing in the next round, considering the amount of balls the little guy gets back. This'll be an interesting one to see, that's for sure.

*

But on the subject of injury, this brings to me to my main subject today - Jelena Jankovic, who had approximately fourteen thousand injuries in her match today, and who always seems to carrying a few. I don't have an issue with that - players get injured and some get injured more than others. This happens, I'm all right with that.

*

But what I am NOT cool with is what she said about her opponent.

*

JJ, when you lose, there ain't no one can take the blame but you. YOU lost. There might be extenuating circumstances, but at the end of the day, YOU LOST. Deal with it. You DO NOT come out and say that your opponent 'has no weapons' and 'can't really hurt you'. That is absolutely not cool. That is totally disrespectful of Melanie Oudin, and if she holds a grudge against you for the rest of eternity, I totally do not blame her. She beat you, JJ. You lost. Deal with it.

*

I know that JJ isn't exactly enamoured of my man Roger Federer due to some comments he made about the WTA rankings when she was #1 (I think we all agree that the rankings are totally f*cked), but she needs to take a lesson from him. When was the last time you heard him go 'yeah, my opponent had nothing and I was sick'? The man kept glange secret for months! Sure, that's a bit extreme, but you must ALWAYS give credit to an opponent. To do otherwise demonstrates a total lack of sportsmanship.

*

So JJ is in my bad books. And if she doesn't improve her attitude, she's staying there. I'm glad Oudin beat her. I hope Oudin beats her again. JJ needs to learn that humility and respect is one of the most important parts of sport. And I hope Oudin makes her eat her words.

*

Two lovely girls that played off against each other were Kuznetsova and Lisicki, and much as I like Sveta, I'm glad Lisicki won that one. I'd be happy to see her go deep in this tournament. She is such an ebullient, lovely sportswoman - and Sveta gave her fair credit. That is the way to do things.

*

Shape up or ship out, JJ.

*

*

Today's Results

*

The Championships (Wimbledon)

*

Men's Draw

*

Andy Roddick def. Jurgen Melzer, 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (7-2) 4-6 6-3

Andy Murray def. Viktor Troicki, 6-2 6-3 6-4

Tomas Berdych def. Nikolay Davydenko, 6-2 6-3 6-2

Juan Carlos Ferrero def. Fernando Gonzalez, 4-6 7-5 6-4 4-6 6-4

Tommy Haas def. Marin Cilic, 7-5 7-5 1-6 6-7 (3-7) 10-8

Lleyton Hewitt def. Philipp Petzschner, 7-5 7-6 (7-3) 6-3

Igor Andreev def. Andreas Seppi, 6-1 7-6 (7-5) 4-6 7-6 (7-5)

Gilles Simon def. Victor Hanescu, 6-2 7-5 6-2

Stanislas Wawrinka def. Jesse Levine, 5-7 7-5 6-3 6-3

Radek Stepanek def. David Ferrer, 7-5 7-5 3-6 4-6 6-4

*

*
Women's Draw

*

Venus Williams def. Carla Suarez Navarro, 6-0 6-4

Sabine Lisicki def. Svetlana Kuznetsova, 6-2 7-5

Dinara Safina def. Kirsten Flipkens, 7-5 6-1

Ana Ivanovic def. Samantha Stosur, 7-5 6-2

Amelie Mauresmo def. Flavia Pennetta, 7-5 6-3

Melanie Oudin def. Jelena Jankovic, 6-7 (8-10) 7-5 6-2

Caroline Wozniacki def. Anabel Medina Garrigues, 6-2 6-2

Agnieszka Radwanska def. Na Li, 6-4 7-5

Settle, Gretel

I feel like I want to take the world by the throat and tell it to settle down. Has anyone else noticed the pervasive OH MY GOD ROGER FEDERER LOST A SET WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIIIIIIIIIIE mentality that's suddenly appeared post the Kohlschreiber match? I can't be the only one, surely - it's everywhere!

*

Well, world, here is me grabbing you by the throat and telling you to settle, Gretel.

*

One set. One set and there's a global freakout. Maybe the world was on edge what with all the various celebrity tragedies, but it was pretty ridiculous.

*

Sure, that third set against Kohlschreiber was not the bestest set ever played by Roger ever, and he really should have won it after being up a break, but he lost in a close breaker, and I think the world can agree that instead of putting the hammer down when he was ahead, he started an experimental period of attempted linepainting which didn't go so well. And then he got irritated at the indignity of it that he had to go and win 6-1 in the fourth.

*

Not to take anything away from Kohlschreiber, because he didn't play a bad match. You can't, if you want to take a set off the man, even if he's gone into playgroup mode. But there seems to be an awful lot of hysteria over one set. Federer lost a whole bunch of sets over in France - one is nothing.

*

My two cents, anyway.

*

I was surprised at how easily Djokovic came through Mardy Fish - he's playing better than I thought he was going to, which is good for him (even though he still has a repellent personality). But the match of the day has to be one which isn't even finished yet - the throwdown showdown between Tommy Haas and Marin Cilic. I'm pretty sure that's the Djokovic quarter, yes? I initially picked Haas to make the semis, but if Cilic comes through this one (they're currently locked at 6-6 in the fifth) I wouldn't be surprised either. And if the five setter doesn't take too much out of the tank, then I think whomever wins the match will win the quarter. And it's not like they'll have to play straight up - ah, middle Sunday.

*

I'm going to be interested to see how Hewitt plays tonight - switched over to a bit of preview action now, sorry for the abrupt change. I can totally foresee him falling in a heap against Petzschner after his big win against del Potro. Conversely, I can see him making the quarters, so I don't know. Same for Stosur, really - she's got bad Wimbledon hoodoo from the past, so can she shake it off?

*

*

Today's Results

*

The Championships (Wimbledon)

*

Men's Draw

*

Roger Federer def. Philipp Kohlschreiber, 6-3 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 6-1

Novak Djokovic def. Mardy Fish, 6-4 6-4 6-4

Ivo Karlovic def. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (5-7) 7-5 7-6 (7-5)

Fernando Verdasco def. Albert Montanes, 4-6 6-1 6-4 7-6 (7-2)

Dudi Sela def. Tommy Robredo, 7-6 (10-8) 7-5 2-6 7-5

Robin Soderling def. Nicolas Almagro, 7-6 (9-7) 6-4 6-4

*

*

Women's Draw

*

Victoria Azarenka def. Sorana Cirstea, 7-6 (7-2) 6-3

Elena Dementieva def. Regina Kulikova, 6-1 6-2

Serena Williams def. Roberta Vinci, 6-3 6-4

Nadia Petrova def. Gisela Dulko, 3-6 6-3 6-4

Francesca Schiavone def. Marion Bartoli, 7-6 (7-5) 6-0

Elena Vesnina def. Dominika Cibulkova, 7-5 4-6 6-4

Daniela Hantuchova def. Ai Sugiyama, 6-4 6-3

Virginie Razzano def. Vera Zvonareva, walkover

Tenacious L

I feel exactly the same about Hewitt as I do about Sharapova. Off court, he's so fricking annoying. On court, I can't help but love the little bugger.

*

There's something about his tenacity - his 'fighting spirit' as commentators love to call it. The man just doesn't know when to give up - and on the tennis court, it's a good thing. He has a massive sense of self-belief - it maybe isn't warranted, considering he's not exactly in the top ten these days, but it has got him where he's been and occasionally it lets him pull out things like this win.

*

Juan Martin del Potro. Not exactly a grass court wizard, but he just about made the French final (would have done it had been playing anyone but Federer) and seriously, dude can play. He didn't play great last night, but you don't get to be best of the rest if you can't win a match when you're not playing well. But Hewitt pretty much ate him for breakfast.

*

It'll be interesting to see how Hewitt progresses in this tournament. I'd like to see him make a good run - if he'd lived in another era, I think he'd have won a few more Slams, but the Federer factor has damaged a lot more players than Lleyton. I think he's in danger of getting too big for his boots and taking a bad loss now that he's had this good win, but if he doesn't, I'd be really interested to see him play one of the Andies - Murray or Roddick. If either of them has an off day, Lleyton really has a shot.

*

Not that I think he's going to make the final or anything, because I don't. But semis? If he's very lucky. Quarters? It's possible, definitely. Fourth round? If he doesn't get there, that's a badness.

*

So, Lleyton, to quote yourself, c'mon. Let's see how much petrol is left in the tank.

*

*

Today's Results
*

The Championships (Wimbledon)

*

Men's Draw

*

Lleyton Hewitt def. Juan Martin del Potro, 6-3 7-5 7-5

Andy Murray def. Ernests Gulbis, 6-2 7-5 6-3

Andy Roddick def. Igor Kunitsyn, 6-4 6-2 3-6 6-2

Fernando Gonzalez def. Leonardo Mayer, 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 6-4 6-4

Tomas Berdych def. Paul-Henri Mathieu, 6-2 6-4 6-4

Juan Carlos Ferrero def. Fabrice Santoro, 6-7 (1-7) 6-3 6-4 6-3

Stanislas Wawrinka def. Martin Vassallo Arguello, 6-3 6-2 6-2

Gilles Simon def. Thiago Alves, 5-7 6-3 6-4 6-4

Jurgen Melzer def. Benjamin Becker, 7-6 (8-6) 6-3 7-6 (7-1)

Victor Hanescu def. Nicolas Devilder, 6-2 6-3 6-1

Jesse Levine def. Pablo Cuevas, 6-2 6-1 4-6 4-6 6-3

Philipp Petzschner def. Mischa Zverev, 4-6 7-6 (15-13) 3-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-0

Radek Stepanek def. Potito Starace, 6-4 4-6 6-2 4-6 6-3

Nikolay Davydenko def. Victor Crivoi, 6-4 6-4 6-2

Viktor Troicki def. Daniel Gimeno-Traver, 6-7 (5-7) 6-0 1-6 6-3 7-5

Andreas Seppi def. Marc Gicquel, 7-5 6-4 6-7 (3-7) 5-7 6-4

David Ferrer def. Fabio Fognini, 6-2 6-2 6-3

*

*

Women's Draw

*

Caroline Wozniacki def. Maria Kirilenko, 6-0 6-4

Venus Williams def. Kateryna Bondarenko, 6-3 6-2

Dinara Safina def. Rossana de los Rios, 6-3 7-5

Jelena Jankovic def. Iveta Benesova, 6-2 6-4

Amelie Mauresmo def. Kristina Kucova, 6-3 6-3

Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Pauline Parmentier, 6-1 6-3

Kirsten Flipkens def. Elena Baltacha, 7-5 6-1

Melanie Oudin def. Yaroslava Shvedova, 3-6 6-2 6-4

Anabel Medina Garrigues def. Tathiana Garbin, 7-6 (7-5) 6-3

Carla Suarez Navarro def. Ekaterina Makarova, 7-5 4-6 6-1

Na Li def. Olga Govortsova, 6-4 6-2

Sabine Lisicki def. Patricia Mayr, 6-2 6-4

Agnieszka Radwanska def. Shuai Peng, 6-2 6-7 (6-8) 9-7

Flavia Pennetta def. Vania King, 6-2 6-2

Samantha Stosur def. Tatjana Malek, 4-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-4

Ana Ivanovic def. Sara Errani, 7-5 6-1

How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?

I can't help it. I've tried, and I can't help it. I really, really like Maria Sharapova.

*

Off court, I think she's a bit of an idiot. I'm not a fan of her personality or her bandying of herself about on the endorsement circus - sex sells, said Michael Stich (spit spit), and Sharapova is up there as one of the biggest glamazons of the tennis tour.

*

But I can't help it. When I see her on court, I often can't help but go for her.

*

It's the same thing as I get with Lleyton Hewitt. It's the grit, the determination, the fighting spirit - I can't stand either of them off court, but on court, when they're grinding it out, you can't help but cheer for them most of the time. They don't give up. They believe. They fight.

*

Sure, it doesn't always work. Sharapova lost yesterday to Dulko. But you can't help but think that she believed in her chances right up to the very last point.

*

People have been talking about how she's on the way out after coming back and, you know, not immediately winning everything she's played. Personally, I think the media is insane. Sharapova's results since that layoff have been great. The abbreviated service motion might be compromising her a bit, but mostly I think that once she plays herself back into the tour she's going to be as big a force as she's ever been.

*

And it's not because she's talented, because she is - but so are a lot of people, a lot of journeymen and journeywomen that have never made it to the top. What makes Maria Maria is her grit and her determination. She could be ranked nine millionth in the world and still believe in herself - sure, she gets beaten sometimes, but I think for the majority of players, they're still going to be asking themselves how to solve a problem like Maria for quite some time.

*

I cannot finish up today without some words for my man the Maestro, who was absolutely supreme today against Guillermo Garcia-Lopez: and I have to share some humorous words of a friend of mine. 'Roger's chest hair is not a carpet,' said she, 'it is a rich tapestry.'

*

Yeah, I had to share that.

*

But his game was absolutely sublime. The wizard, Monsieur le Fed, is gliding here. He is a thing of beauty to watch, and I feel privileged to watch him. And his clothes. And his rich tapestry, occasionally emerging on changeovers.

*

*
Today's Results

*

The Championships (Wimbledon)

*

Men's Draw

*

Roger Federer def. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, 6-2 6-2 6-4

Marin Cilic def. Sam Querrey, 4-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 6-7 (4-7) 6-4

Tommy Haas def. Michael Llodra, 4-3 retired

Novak Djokovic def. Simon Greul, 7-5 6-1 6-4

Mardy Fish def. Janko Tipsarevic, 6-4 3-6 6-1 6-4

Robin Soderling def. Marcel Granollers, 4-6 7-6 (9-7) 6-4 7-5

Fernando Verdasco def. Kristof Vliegen, 7-6 (7-3) 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (7-4) 6-4

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Simone Bolelli, walkover

Tommy Robredo def. Stefan Koubek, 3-6 4-6 6-4 7-6 (7-5) 6-1

Ivo Karlovic def. Steve Darcis, 7-5 6-3 6-4

Daniel Gimeno-Traver def. Taylor Dent, 7-5 7-6 (8-6) 4-6 6-7 (3-7) 6-4

Dudi Sela def. Rainer Schuettler, 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 6-2

Nicolas Almagro def. Karol Beck, 6-4 7-6 (7-2) 3-6 3-6 7-5

Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Ivo Minar, 6-4 3-6 4-6 6-2 8-6

Igor Andreev def. Vince Spadea, 6-3 7-5 6-2

Albert Montanes def. Guillermo Canas, 6-4 6-3 4-6 6-3

*

*

Women's Singles

*

Gisela Dulko def. Maria Sharapova, 6-2 3-6 6-4

Serena Williams def. Jarmila Groth, 6-2 6-1

Elena Dementieva def. Aravane Rezai, 6-1 6-3

Victoria Azarenka def. Ioana Raluca Olaru, 6-0 6-0

Marion Bartoli def. Timea Bacsinszky, 7-5 6-1

Daniela Hantuchova def. Jie Zheng, 6-3 7-5

Roberta Vinci def. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 6-4 7-6 (8-6)

Virginie Razzano def. Jill Craybas, 6-3 6-0

Dominika Cibulkova def. Urszul Radwanska, 6-2 6-4

Regina Kulikova def. Alisa Kleybanova, 0-6 6-4 6-1

Francesca Schiavone def. Michelle Larcher de Brito, 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (7-4)

Sorana Cirstea def. Sania Mirza, 6-4 6-4

Elena Vesnina def. Vera Dushevina, 6-3 6-4

Nadia Petrova def. Shahar Peer, 6-3 6-2

Vera Zvonareva def. Mathilde Johansson, 6-1 6-3

Ai Sugiyama def. Arantxa Parra Santonja, 7-6 (7-5) 6-3

A Ton Of Brits

I confess that I'm not sure what to write today - I actually fell asleep during the Wimbledon coverage last night (shame on me) and as always, Channel 9 only saw fit to show the Aussies, so I caught some Stosur and Hewitt and not much else.

*

Let's talk Stosur and Hewitt for a minute. I really like Stosur's game, and while she probably could have performed better in her match against Bethanie Mattek-Sands and closed it out in two, her game is great on grass and I'm liking what I'm seeing just now. I think she should come through her second round match - she plays the qualifier who took out a not-herself Dokic - and she really has the ability to go deep here, just like she did at Roland Garros. Though she does have Venus in her section, who would be very, very difficult to upset.

*

And Hewitt! I'm liking what I'm seeing off the little guy's racquet. The Channel 9 commentators said that if he comes through del Potro he could go all the way to the semis, and while I think this is a tad unrealistic, if he does come through del Potro he could go deep. It's del Potro who's the question, and he really was quite impressive, I understand - I listened to some of his match on Radio Wimbledon, and he seemed in fine form and fettle. Still, if Hewitt can get a lot of balls back and make the big guy get low low low to his shots, he's in for a real shot. That will be a really interesting match.

*

But the story of the day is obviously Andy Murray, who is destined to be the story of every day he plays while he is still in the tournament, being, you know, British and all. The Muzz - I saw a few points of his match in a foggy sleepy haze - did drop a set, but I don't know how much it is to worry about... dropping a set is fine, as long as it wasn't the pressure getting to him. The British are really making it as hard as possible for their guys - if the Australian press put pressure on the Aussies, it is nothing to what the Brits do to their own. They crush you, like bricks. (Like Brits. Hahahaha).

*

Just look at Anne Keothavong. Someone asked her a question which opened something like, 'this isn't meant to be an accusation, but...' I'm sorry, but excuse me? That is not cool. How are these players supposed to function under that amount of pressure? I think the rest of that question was, '...do you feel like you've disappointed a lot of people?' What kind of question is that? I would have bitchslapped that journalist silly. Anne started crying and they had to pause the press conference. And you can't blame her, because the pressure is obscene.

*

The Muzz has always seemed pretty thick-skinned, but is he immune to this kind of pressure? It's totally immense. He's definitely got the game to reach the final - but if he can bear the weight of this much expectation, then he really has got something HUGE to be proud of. Not that reaching the final in and of itself isn't massive - but to reach it in such a pressurised circumstance is incredible. It's kind of like what Federer did making the finals of Roland Garros after Nadal lost - he basically had to play four finals because of the expectation. Now all of Britain is staring at Andy Murray - can he hack it?

*

*

Today's Results

*

The Championships (Wimbledon)

*

Men's Draw

*

Andy Roddick def. Jeremy Chardy, 6-3 7-6 (7-3) 4-6 6-3

Andy Murray def. Robert Kendrick, 7-5 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 6-4

Juan Martin del Potro def. Arnaud Clement, 6-3 6-1 6-2

Juan Carlos Ferrero def. Mikhail Youzhny, 6-3 7-6 (7-3) 6-3

Tomas Berdych def. Alex Bogdanovic, 6-3 6-4 6-4

Gilles Simon def. Bobby Reynolds, 6-4 6-3 6-3

Michael Llodra def. Joshua Goodall, 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 3-6 6-4

Lleyton Hewitt def. Robby Ginepri, 6-4 6-1 6-1

Fabrice Santoro def. Nicolas Kiefer, 6-4 6-2 6-2

Tommy Haas def. Alexander Peya, 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (7-0) 6-3 6-4

Radek Stepanek def. Alejandro Falla, 6-4 6-4 6-1

Nikolay Davydenko def. Daniel Evans, 6-2 6-3 6-3

Victor Hanescu def. Ivan Navarro, 6-3 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 12-10

Igor Kunitsyn def. Grigor Dimitrov, 3-6 6-0 4-0 retired

Ernests Gulbis def. Riccardo Ghedin, 6-2 6-4 6-4

Fabio Fognini def. Denis Istomin, 1-6 6-7 (3-7) 6-4 3-1 retired

Viktor Troicki def. Brian Dabul, 6-4 6-4 6-3

Benjamin Becker def. Roko Karanusic, 6-4 6-4 6-1

Thiago Alves def. Andrei Pavel, 6-3 2-6 6-1 2-6 6-1

Pablo Cuevas def. Christophe Rochus, 3-6 4-6 6-4 6-1 11-9

Leonardo Mayer def. Oscar Hernandez, 6-0 6-0 6-3

David Ferrer def. Kevin Kim, 7-5 6-3 4-6 6-2

Stanislas Wawrinka def. Eduardo Schwank, 7-5 6-4 6-1

Potito Starace def. Jose Acasuso, 7-6 (7-0) 6-3 retired

Jurgen Melzer def. Wayne Odesnik, 6-1 6-4 6-2

Paul-Henri Mathieu def. Frederico Gil, 6-1 2-6 6-4 6-2

Martin Vassallo Arguello def. Pablo Andujar, 4-6 6-3 6-2 6-2

Philipp Petzschner def. Rajeev Ram, 2-6 6-1 7-6 (7-3)

Victor Crivoi def. Bjorn Phau, 4-6 6-1 7-6 (7-3) 2-6 6-3

Jesse Levine def. Marat Safin, 6-2 3-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-4

Fernando Gonzalez def. Teimuraz Gabashvili, 7-5 7-5 6-3

Mischa Zverev def. Dmitry Tursunov, 6-4 6-2 3-0 retired

Nicolas Devilder def. Nicolas Lapentti, 3-6 6-4 6-3 4-6 7-5

*

*

Women's Draw

*

Venus Williams def. Stefanie Voegele, 6-3 6-2

Dinara Safina def. Lourdes Dominguez Lino, 7-5 6-3

Elena Baltacha def. Alona Bondarenko, 3-6 6-3 6-4

Caroline Wozniacki def. Kimiko Date Krumm, 5-7 6-3 6-1

Amelie Mauresmo def. Melinda Czink, 6-1 4-6 6-2

Jelena Jankovic def. Julia Goerges, 6-4 7-6 (7-0)

Patricia Mayr def. Anne Keothavong, 7-5 6-2

Ana Ivanovic def. Lucie Hradecka, 5-7 6-2 8-6

Anabel Medina Garrigues def. Marta Domachowska, 3-6 6-3 6-4

Kristina Kucova def. Aiko Nakamura, 2-6 6-3 6-3

Shuai Peng def. Alexa Glatch, 6-4 2-6 6-4

Na Li def. Galina Voskoboeva, 7-6 (7-5) 6-0

Flavia Pennetta def. Nuria Llagostera Vives, 3-6 6-1 6-0

Tatjana Malek def. Jelena Dokic, 3-6 7-5 6-2

Agnieszka Radwanska def. Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, 7-5 6-1

Ekaterina Makarova def. Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, 7-5 2-6 6-3

Olga Govortsova def. Tatiana Perebiynis, 4-6 6-3 6-4

Yaroslava Shvedova def. Monica Niculescu, 6-1 6-0

Pauline Parmentier def. Akgul Amanmuradova, 6-4 1-6 6-3

Kateryna Bondarenko def. Anastasija Sevastova, 6-3 7-6 (7-5)

Carla Suarez Navarro def. Kaia Kanepi, 4-6 6-3 6-3

Rossana de los Rios def. Nicola Vaidisova, 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-4

Vania King def. Mariya Koryttseva, 6-4 6-2

Kirsten Flipkens def. Agnes Szavay, 7-5 6-4

Samantha Stosur def. Bethanie Mattek-Sands, 6-4 6-7 (6-8) 6-2

Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Akiko Morigami, 6-3 7-6 (7-1)

Iveta Benesova def. Katie O'Brien, 6-2 5-7 6-4

Vera Dushevina def. Alize Cornet, 3-6 6-0 6-4

Maria Kirilenko def. Petra Kvitova, 6-4 6-4

Sara Errani def. Stephanie Dubois, 7-5 6-2

Melanie Oudin def. Sybille Bammer, 4-6 6-4 6-2

Sabine Lisicki def. Anna Chakvetadze, 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-2

Vera Zvonareva def. Georgie Stoop, 7-6 (7-0) 4-6 6-4

Tathiana Garbin def. Alberta Brianti, 6-4 6-3

The Wizard

There is something truly magical about watching Roger Federer play on grass that I think we lost last year when he was grinding through mono, and watching him play Rendy Lu yesterday, it was wonderful to see that he's back. David Foster Wallace described it as a religious experience, and I can see why - he practically floats on the grass. I swear he walks about two feet above it and flies.

*

Hell, even when he took that fall, it was graceful.

*

And how about that shot round the netpost, hmmm? That has to be one of the shots, if not the shot of the year. It was amazing.

*

And because it cannot be ignored... I love the outfit. Maybe not the bag, but I dig the jacket and I love the waistcoat. I know it's not so popular, but I love it. I know Dootsiez over at All I Need Is A Picket Fence wants to see a monogrammed cape and undies worn outside shorts next year - personally, I'm gunning for a cloak. A looooooong one. Possibly lined with faux ermine. With a hood. And a wizard hat. Or possibly a crown.

*

A word has to go to the man unlucky enough to face King Roger - I really like Lu Yen-hsun ("Rendy") and I'm sad he got this draw, because I mean, hello, as if I'm pulling against Roger. I really would see to like him go a few rounds at a Slam this year, because he really has a beautiful game - and he generally played calm in the big moments, which is so important. His clutch serving was great and he hit some great winners. He refused to let Federer steamroll him, and you have to give him kudos for that. Well done, Rendy.

*

Someone who did get steamrolled is James Blake. Seriously, what is wrong with him? Is he injured or just a basket case? He has done nothing this year. He is not only a member of the Club of Lost Souls, he's the current president. I have no clue what the dealio is with him, and I don't think I have much patience with it, either. Spank your inner moppet and get over it, whatever it is, James.

*

Over to the women, and the story of the day from my perspective had to be Jarmila Groth, who had a great win over Lucie Safarova - one of one Aussie through to the second round so far, which is good! Latest inductee to the Club of Lost Souls, however (though not up to Blake standards) is Patty Schnyder. Don't know what's up there.

*

Day 2 has now started - catch you on the flip side!

*

*

Today's Results

*

The Championships (Wimbledon)

*

Men's Draw

*

Roger Federer def. Yen-hsun Lu, 7-5 6-3 6-2

Novak Djokovic def. Julien Benneteau, 6-7 (8-10) 7-6 (7-1) 6-2 6-4

Fernando Verdasco def. James Ward, 6-1 6-3 6-4

Robin Soderling def. Gilles Muller, 6-7 (4-7) 7-5 6-1 6-2

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Andrey Golubev, 6-3 5-7 7-5 (7-4) 7-6 (7-5)

Andreas Seppi def. James Blake, 7-5 6-4 7-6 (7-5)

Kristof Vliegen def. Nicolas Mahut, 6-3 7-6 (8-6) 5-7 5-7 6-4

Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Florent Serra, 7-6 (7-3) 6-1 6-4

Igor Andreev def. Evgeny Korolev, 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 7-6 (7-4)

Dudi Sela def. Santiago Gonzalez, 6-4 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-3

Vince Spadea def. Paul Capdeville, 6-0 6-4 7-5

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez def. Agustin Calleri, 6-2 6-3 6-2

Marin Cilic def. Alberto Martin, 6-3 6-4 6-4

Janko Tipsarevicdef. Jan Hernych, 6-4 6-4 7-6 (7-4)

Stefan Koubek def. Edouard Roger-Vasselin, 7-5 6-3 4-6 3-6 6-3

Sam Querrey def. Danai Udomchoke, 6-3 6-4 6-4

Simon Greul def. Michael Yani, 6-4 6-2 7-5

Marcel Granollers def. Andreas Beck, 6-2 6-4 6-7 (4-7) 6-2

Steve Darcis def. Frank Dancevic, 6-4 7-6 (7-4) 6-3

Albert Montanes def. Grga Zemlja,6-4 6-4 6-4

Ivo Minar def. Maximo Gonzalez, 6-4 3-6 7-5 6-0

Nicolas Almagro def. Juan Monaco, 6-7 (3-7) 6-7 (7-9) 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 8-6

Tommy Robredo def. Luka Gregorc, 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 5-7 7-6 (7-3)

Mardy Fish def. Sergio Roitman, 6-3 6-2 4-1 retired

Simone Bolelli def. Daniel Koellerer, 6-7 (3-7) 2-6 7-5 6-4 6-4

Marc Gicquel def. Adrian Mannarino, 6-2 6-2 6-4

Ivo Karlovic def. Lukas Lacko, 6-3 7-6 (7-4) 6-3

Rainer Schuettler def. Xavier Malisse, 6-7 (9-11) 6-4 7-6 (7-3) 6-1

Karol Beck def. Feliciano Lopez, 1-6 7-5 6-3 4-6 10-8

Guillermo Canas def. Diego Junquiera, 6-1 6-2 6-2

*

*

Women's Draw

*

Serena Williams def. Neuza Silva, 6-1 7-5

Mathilde Johansson def. Melanie South, 7-5 7-6 (7-5)

Maria Sharapova def. Viktoriya Kutuzova, 7-5 6-4

Elena Dementieva def. Alla Kudryavtseva, 6-4 6-1

Daniela Hantuchova def. Laura Robson, 3-6 6-4 6-2

Francesca Schiavone def. Aleksandra Wozniak, 4-6 6-4 6-4

Victoria Azarenka def. Severine Bremond Beltrame, 6-2 retired

Shahar Peer def. Maria Elena Camerin, 6-2 7-6 (7-3)

Arantxa Parra Santonja def. Tamarine Tanasugarn, 6-4 6-4

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova def. Petra Cetkovska, 6-2 6-2

Elena Vesnina def. Yanina Wickmayer, 6-1 6-1

Ioana Raluca Olaru def. Nathalie Dechy, 1-6 7-6 (7-0) 6-2

Virginie Razzano def. Tamira Paszek, 6-0 3-1 retired

Jie Zheng def. Kristina Barrois, 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (7-4)

Regina Kulikova def. Karolina Sprem, 4-6 7-5 6-3

Roberta Vinci def. Magdalena Rybarikova, 6-3 6-2

Gisela Dulko def. Stephanie Foretz, 6-3 7-5

Timea Bacsinszky def. Vesna Manasieva, 6-1 4-6 8-6

Jarmila Groth def. Lucie Safarova, 6-3 3-6 6-3

Aravane Rezai def. Ayumi Morita, 6-2 6-2

Nadia Petrova def. Anastasiya Yakimova, 6-1 6-1

Ai Sugiyama def. Patty Schnyder, 6-4 6-4

Sania Mirza def. Anna-Lena Groenefeld, 6-2 2-6 6-2

Jill Craybas def. Tsvetana Pironkova, 6-4 7-5

Sorana Cirstea def. Edina Gallovits, 7-5 6-1

Michelle Larcher de Brito def. Klara Zakopalova, 6-2 7-5

Dominika Cibulkova def. Julie Coin, 6-4 3-6 6-3

Marion Bartoli def. Yung-Jan Chan, 6-0 6-0

Urszula Radwanska def. Masa Zec Peskiric, 6-3 6-3

Alisa Kleybanova def. Sesil Karatantcheva, 6-2 7-5

The Holy Grail

The first matches are being played at Wimbledon as we speak - Roger Federer has just walked out onto the court. It is somehow right that he is playing first on Centre Court, even though last year was Rafa's. Wimbledon is his ground.

*

Lu Yen-hsun (Rendy) is a tough match-up, but I'm excited for this match. I don't have much to say yet - I'm going to have to do this blog at night instead of in the morning just for the sake of my sanity, otherwise I will have no sleep and will turn into a zombie, so I might be posting at some pretty weird times, so I apologise.

*

What I really want to reflect on is what Wimbledon means. All four Slams are very important, but Wimbledon is somehow special. I don't know what it is about this tournament, given that it is played on possibly the least significant surface in tennis - sure, three of the Slams used to be on grass, but it's played on so little these days it's almost ludicrous. But still the grass of Wimbledon remains sacred.

*

Wimbledon has a poet in residence. What other tournament could possibly do that?

*

There is a weight of tradition at Wimbledon that you don't get anywhere else. The Aussie Open is fun and sunny, Paris down and dirty, the US Open like a rock concert. But Wimbledon is the tennis they played of old. Maybe it is because grass is such an antiquated surface. Would Roger Federer whip out a blazer/cardy/waistcoat at any other tournament?

*
It's special.

This ramble isn't very coherent. I apologise. But it's something I'd like to keep reflecting on over the course of this tournament. What is it that makes this tournament so different? Why is Wimbledon the Holy Grail?

Wimbledictions (For The Ladies)

Wimbledon starts tomorrow! How quickly it has crept up on us! And I, for one, am totally excited - this media saturation it's got going on is totally infectious! So without further ado: we've done our Wimbledictions for the menfolks, let's do it for the ladies:

*

The top quarter is the Safina quarter, and I get the feeling she would rather not have been seeded first. The seeding committee was extraordinarily kind to both her and her brother, but I think she'd rather have been seeded a little lower and tried to fly under the radar a bit, after the pressure cooker that was Paris. She could run into Szavay in the third round and that could be a tough one for her if she's feeling under pressure - here's hoping that she's settled a bit.

*

She lost in the semis of s'Hertogenbosch, and what was most remarkable about that tournament was that the omnipresent Zeljko was away for a lot of it as his daughter was sick (I think) so she was flying blind. To me, this might have been the best possible thing for her. To not have his face in her box must have been hard, but after those stares that she was delivering during the Roland Garros final I think it's good for her not to have him around sometimes. Here's hoping she delivers at the big W.

*

But I'm going to pick teen queen Caro Wozniacki to come through this side. She was impressive in Eastbourne and I see no reason why she can't back it up. All the way to the semis with her, I think - though I'll be cheering for Dinara. I can't help myself.

*

The second quarter belongs to Venus. Sure, she's performed pretty rubbish in both Australia and France, but she's a different creature on the grass. I would have made her the top seed and I know I'm not the only one. There is very little doubt in my mind that she will win this quarter, provided she is fully fit. She has both the Serbian girls in here but I don't see either of them pulling a threat - strangely enough, because I never find myself saying this, I think her biggest threats are the Aussie girls. Stosur and Dokic are both in this quarter and they've both performed on the big stage this year. I wouldn't be surprised to see one of them go deep at all. But I don't see anyone coming through Venus.

*

The third quarter is probably the most open, and I'm having real trouble picking a semi finalist here. I'm tempted to go with Dominika Cibulkova, because I'm not seeing Dementieva or Zvonareva having a big impact, unless Zvonareva has really come back off injury firing on all cylinders. This is really anyone's quarter.

*

So I'm going to go with someone random. I'm going to pick Yanina Wickmayer, who made the final in s'Hertogenbosch, where she went down to tiny Tammy Tanasugarn. She's proven she can play on grass and she's in form, which is more than anyone else has done. But I would like to point out that I am not confident here, and that anyone of the 32 players in this quarter is a potential winner.

*

Last quarter = Serena. I don't have any doubts there. Azarenka, Sharapova and Pavlyuchenkova are possible challengers - this is definitely the strongest quarter, in my opinion, but if Serena's firing, I don't see anyone coming through her. End of story.

*

So that makes:

*

Semis: Venus Williams vs. Caroline Wozniacki, Serena Williams vs. Yanina Wickmayer

Final: Venus Williams vs. Serena Williams

Winner: Miss Williams

*

Yeah, I can't pick which Williams I think will win. I'm leaning towards Venus, but you'd be a fool to ever count Serena out...

*

Until tomorrow! Until WIMBLEDON!

What Rafa Deserves

Guess I'm going to have to do some revising of my blokes' Wimbledictions, which I kind of expected I would have. All I can say is this - get well soon, Rafa.

*

You've got to feel for the guy, you really do. This must be utterly devastating, not being able to defend a crown like Wimbledon, which is basically the biggest crown in tennis. And to have such a lot of bad press and people saying he was bunging it on to get some sympathy as a sort of excuse for losing to Soderling in his backyard in Paris... it's pretty insulting, really. Poor guy. Poor, poor guy.

*

I read somewhere that Rafa's loss to Soderling was like the first time in his career that he got punched in the teeth, and the writer was up on their high horse for Rafa immediately crying knee problems. I mean, sure, admittedly it might look a bit suss, but let's just say it was Federer (heaven forbid he should get injured!) who did that. I think we'd be a lot quicker to believe him than we have to believe Rafa.

*

My point being that I think Rafa deserves our trust. If nothing else, this Wimbledon withdrawal means that if Rafa says he's injured, then he's really, really f*cking injured.

*

Poor guy.

*

We all know that I'm a Roger lass, but Rafa deserves so much respect, and he deserves so much more than this - than being scorned by the media and not being able to defend his Wimbledon crown. Here's hoping he has a lovely time in Mallorca chillin' with his girlfriend Xisca and his family and getting better, because he's too nice a guy and too good a player for us to lose from the tour.

*

Get well soon, Rafa - we want you back.

*

*

Today's Results

*

Ordina Open (s'Hertogenbosch)

*

Men's Draw

*

Benjamin Becker def. Raemon Sluiter, 7-5 6-3

*

*

Women's Draw

*

Tamarine Tanasugarn def. Yanina Wickmayer, 6-3 7-5

*

*

AEGON International (Eastbourne)

*

Men's Draw

*

Dmitry Tursunov def. Frank Dancevic, 6-3 7-6 (7-5)

*

*

Women's Draw

*

Caroline Wozniacki def. Virginie Razzano, 7-6 (7-5) 7-5

Wimbledictions (For The Blokes)

Wimbledon is coming upon us. Somehow, with the technological media being saturated by it - the tournament suddenly being all over Facebook and Twitter - it seems bigger than it ever did before. The draws have just come out, and while I'm tempted to start with the women, given that anything I say about the men's draw is under the Nadal caveat, it's pretty obvious that this is where my heart is. So, my Wimbledon predictions (Wimbledictions?) for the men!

*

So, let's start at the top, with the Nadal quarter - should he play, given the whole KneeGate crisis currently. Everyone seems to have been excusing him of bunging it on this week, but I think it's becoming increasingly obvious that this is a real problem. Rafa Nadal does not lose in straight sets to Lleyton Hewitt, not even in an exo. And Uncle Toni does not come out and say that he thinks Rafa should go straight back to Mallorca if there is not something seriously, seriously wrong.

*

...and should Rafa play, guess who he'd get second round, provided he got through Arnaud Clement in the first round (and Arnaud was a quarterfinalist here last year). Lleyton Hewitt. And if his knees are as bad as they seem, I would not be above picking an upset here. Hewitt is going to run for everything, which means the points would be looooooong. And that is not something Rafa would really want, unless he can basically stand still on the baseline and dictate.

*

Tursunov, Stepanek and Ferrer are all lurking in this section, but I actually wouldn't be surprised to see Hewitt come through and do well - he is a grass boy, and if Rafa doesn't get him, then I think he might go quite a way. But the winner of this quarter, for me, has to be Andy Roddick. In fact, I think he's going to make the final. A fully fit Rafa would eat him for breakfast, but we don't have that, and Andy is in fine form and fettle right now. He's got a tough first round against Jeremy Chardy, but I think he can get past Berdych and Davydenko, the big names in his section, to take out this quarter.

*

The second quarter is the Murray quarter, and if Andy Roddick isn't in the final, Andy Murray will be - unless this really has been a KneeGate saga and Rafa is suddenly fine, which I doubt. He could face a tough one in the second round, if Gulbis suddenly remembers how to play tennis again, but I don't see Wawrinka or Gonzalez stopping him, and Safin would really have to pull a rabbit out of the hat to make a semi final reprise. I think we're going to see a semi final battle of the Andies. I'm picking Roddick, but Murray is definitely a possibility.

*

Then we have the Djokovic quarter, and while a lot of people have been picking an early exit for him, I think he actually has a pretty good route. However, I'm going to go out on a limb and pick a real upset for this section - especially if Juan Martin del Potro gets moved in the draw up to take Rafa's spot. I think our semi finalist here will be Tommy Haas. He's got the game at the moment and I reckon he could sneak into the semis much like Schuettler did last year. It could be very, very interesting, this quarter... it's not that hard a quarter, but that could just mean bigger upsets.

*

And then we come to the Federer quarter - which I think is the hardest of the lot. There are some big grass court names in there - Lopez and Karlovic leap out, and, after his run in Paris, so does Kohlschreiber. Yen-hsun Lu is not an easy first round draw for the Swiss Mister either. However, all this said, I think Roger's going to come through just fine. All the way to the final. And the title. Oh yeah.

*

So just a reminder of the predictions I made:

*

Semis: Andy Roddick vs. Andy Murray, Tommy Haas vs. Roger Federer

Final: Andy Roddick vs. Roger Federer

Winner: Roger Federer

*

So let's see how I go!

*

*

Today's Results

*

AEGON International (Eastbourne)

*

Men's Draw

*

Dmitry Tursunov def. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, 6-2 6-2

Frank Dancevic def. Fabrice Santoro, 6-4 6-4

*

*

Women's Draw

*

Virginie Razzano def. Marion Bartoli, 6-4 1-0 retired

Caroline Wozniacki def. Aleksandra Wozniak, 3-6 6-4 6-4

*

*

Ordina Open (s'Hertogenbosch)

*

Men's Draw

*

Raemon Sluiter def. Ivan Navarro, 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 6-3

Benjamin Becker def. Rainer Schuettler, 3-6 7-5 6-1

*

*

Women's Draw

*

Yanina Wickmayer def. Francesca Schiavone, 7-6 (7-3) 2-6 6-3

Tamarine Tanasugarn def. Dinara Safina, 7-5 7-5

Seed Massacre

Okay, what is with this seed massacre going on in s'Hertogenbosch and Eastbourne this week? It's crazy! It's covering both the men's and women's tournaments, and it seems that no one is immune. Is it grass? Or is it just that we're having a ker-razy week?

*

The only draw which seems even a little immune is the men's draw at Eastbourne, we have the #2, #4 and #8 seeds in the semis - but still, they're hardly the four seeds you'd expect! That's Tursunov, Santoro and Garcia-Lopez... and a qualifier, Frank Dancevic. What's the bet that Dancevic goes on to win the title? From memory, he's already knocked out the top seed (which was Andreev, I think). It looks like we're having a bit of a misrule hangover from Roland Garros.

*

In the women at Eastbourne, the only seed left standing is #6, which is Caroline Wozniacki. (Odd, isn't it, that the women's draw seems to have attracted a lot more high-end players than the men - Dementieva as a top seed has a lot more pulling power as a name than Andreev). I really would like see Caro go on to win the tournament, and considering the rest of her opposition consists of Razzano, Bartoli and Wozniak, she should be able to do it... though Bartoli is a former Wimbledon finalist, I suppose, and has game on grass. Still, if Caroline can't pull this one off you practically have to write the tournament off as a moment of WTA insanity.

*

...which is mirrored over in s'Hertogenbosch, where only top seed Dinara Safina remains standing - and only after a real battle against Daniela Hantuchova. It would be great for her to win this title to get her confidence back up after the Chernobyl incident in the Roland Garros final, and like Wozniacki, she should be able to do it: her opposition is Tanasugarn, Wickmayer and Schiavone, all players she should theoretically be able to beat with one hand tied behind her back. So here's hoping she does.

*

And our last bastion of normalcy in the men's s'Hertogenbosch draw is fourth seed Rainer Schuettler - and even though he's the seed, I don't think there's any way in hell I'd pick him to win. Even if he did make the Wimbledon semis last year. Up against him is Becker, Navarro (who put an absolute pounding on defending champ Ferrer) and Sluiter. I think this one might be Becker's. It'd be nice to see him come up through qualies like that - and he really does have a great game.

*

So, in conclusion, there's general madness, and I think the only thing you can really attribute it to is the miniscule amount of play that happens on this surface. And why is that? Wimbledon is probably the most important event of the year! Why does Roland Garros get two or three months of lead up clay tournaments when Wimbledon only gets two weeks?

*

*

Today's Results

*

Ordina Open (s'Hertogenbosch)

*

Men's Draw

*

Benjamin Becker def. Michael Llodra, 7-6 (8-6) 7-5

Rainer Schuettler def. Jeremy Chardy, 7-6 (9-7) 3-6 7-6 (13-11)

Ivan Navarro def. David Ferrer, 6-4 6-2

Raemon Sluiter def. Dudi Sela, 4-6 6-4 6-4

*

*

Women's Draw

*

Dinara Safina def. Daniela Hantuchova, 1-6 6-4 6-3

Tamarine Tanasugarn def. Flavia Pennetta, 2-6 6-3 6-3

Yanina Wickmayer def. Kristina Barroi, 6-1 6-1

Francesca Schiavone def. Olga Govortsova, 6-1 6-3

*

*

AEGON International (Eastbourne)

*

Men's Draw

*

Frank Dancevic def. Leonardo Mayer, 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 7-5

Fabrice Santoro def. Ivan Ljubicic, 3-6 4-2 retired

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez def. Janko Tipsarevic, 6-4 3-6 6-3

Dmitry Tursunov def. Denis Istomin, 7-6 (8-) 6-4

*

*

Women's Draw

*

Virginie Razzano def. Agnieszka Radwanska, 7-6 (7-5) 7-5

Marion Bartoli def. Anabel Medina Garrigues, 6-1 6-4

Caroline Wozniacki def. Ekaterina Makarova, 6-3 6-2

Aleksandra Wozniak def. Vera Dushevina, 6-1 6-0

A Girl Who Has Lost Her Way

There I go saying all that nice stuff about Marcos Baghdatis yesterday and how nice it is to see him playing on the tour, and then he goes and retires in his match against Raemon Sluiter. I guess these mysterious injuries that have been plaguing him are still... well, plaguing him. Get well soon, Marcos.

*

In other news, I think we have a few new contenders for entry into the Club of Lost Souls. Tempting as it is to enter the entire women's top ten and leave it at that, we have to be a little more selective. Ana Ivanovic is definitely in there, after losing to Petrova the other day - which wasn't even technically an upset, given that Petrova was seeded and Ivanovic was not. Jankovic is scrabbling at the door, after an embarrassing loss yesterday - whatever happened to JJ, anyway? But today's contender for Girl Who Has Lost Her Way is Elena Dementieva.

*

And the year started off so well.

*

I don't know how you reconcile the beginning of her year, where she won two straight tournaments and then made the Australian Open semis, with the big fat nothing that's happened since. She did get a bit of a hammering in the Australian Open, I suppose -Serena saw to that - but Safina got a worse one, and she still managed to dominate the claycourt season and reach the Roland Garros final. You see Dementieva sort of hanging about in draws now, maybe going a couple of rounds here and there, but the last time I can remember her winning is January.

*

What's remarkable is how unremarkable this is. I don't think I've actually seen her play a single match since the Australian Open, though she obviously had. Her loss of way has been completely under the radar. I could offer no commentary on what she needs to fix in her game, what she needs to get back on track - well, I probably couldn't anyway being totally uneducated, but whatever - but she needs to do something. She's just taken another early round loss, and for a player with her capability, that should not be happening.

*

So get back on the path, Elena. The Club of Lost Souls is so full with your WTA compatriots that you couldn't swing a cat in there at the moment. Prove me wrong.

*

*

Today's Results

*

Ordina Open (s'Hertogenbosch)

*

Men's Draw

*

Rainer Schuettler def. Thiemmo de Bakker, 6-3 7-6 (7-3)

Jeremy Chardy def. Dick Norman, 3-6 6-3 6-3

David Ferrer def. Oscar Hernandez, 6-4 6-3

Raemon Sluiter def. Marcos Baghdatis, 4-3 retired

*

*

Women's Draw

*

Dinara Safina def. Yaroslava Shvedova, 6-3 6-3

Daniela Hantuchova def. Kateryna Bondarenko, 2-6 6-2 6-2

Francesca Schiavone def. Alona Bondarenko, 4-6 7-5 6-3

Olga Govortsova def. Nathalie Dechy, 6-1 6-3

*

*

AEGON International (Eastbourne)

*

Men's Draw

*

Frank Dancevic def. James Ward, 7-6 (8-6) 6-4

Leonardo Mayer def. Julien Benneteau, 6-4 6-4

Denis Istomin def. Sam Querrey, 3-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-4

Dmitry Tursunov def. Alex Bogdanovic, 6-7 (2-7) 6-4 7-6 (7-5)

*

*

Women's Draw

*

Virginie Razzano def. Elena Dementieva, 6-0 3-6 7-6 (7-4)

Agnieszka Radwanska def. Li Na, 3-1 retired

Marion Bartoli def. Anna Chakvetadze, 7-5 6-3

Anabel Medina Garrigues def. Sybille Bammer, 6-1 7-5

Caroline Wozniacki def. Samantha Stosur, 6-1 5-7 6-1

Ekaterina Makarova def. Amelie Mauresmo, 7-6 (10-8) 7-6 (15-13)

Vera Dushevina def. Nadia Petrova, 5-7 1-0 retired

Aleksandra Wozniak def. Jie Zheng, 7-6 (7-3) 6-3

Nice Guys Finishing First

You know who I've missed - and who I think the tennis world has missed? Marcos Baghdatis.

*

I assume he's been having injury troubles, because I haven't seen him around for a while. This is a crying shame, because not only is he a nice player to watch, he just brings so much extra flair to the court. Maybe I'm a little biased, being Australian and thus privy to the massive Greek crowds that support him so vocally at the Aussie Open, but he really brings a lot of personality to the table, with his big cheeky smile and effervescent attitude. The world needs more players like Marcos.

*

I say all this on account of Marcos suddenly turning up again in s'Hertogenbosch and winning a match - a good one too, knocking out second seed Tommy Robredo. I mean, sure, Tommy Robredo is Spanish, not Rafa and thus probably allergic to grass (even if David Ferrer won the title here last year) and Marcos is a former Wimbledon semi-finalist, but whatever. Marcos has been away for a while (I think he was in the first round of Roland Garros, but I don't really remember) and it's nice to see him win one.

*

The same thing is true, to a lesser degree, of Ivan Ljubicic. He's played some excellent tennis this year after a big slump, and it is totally great to see him playing well. He's an excellent statesman of the game and probably one of the most eloquent tennis players I've ever seen, and I like it when nice people do well. It makes the world seem a little bit fairer.

*

*

Today's Results

*

Ordina Open (s'Hertogenbosch)

*

Men's Draw

*

Marcos Baghdatis def. Tommy Robredo, 7-5 6-2

Benjamin Becker def. Fernando Verdasco, 7-5 7-6 (7-4)

Michael Llodra def. Kristof Vliegen, 6-2 6-3

Dudi Sela def. Igor Kunitsyn, 6-4 6-3

*

*

Women's Draw

*

Dinara Safina def. Anna-Lena Groenefeld, 6-0 6-3

Alona Bondarenko def. Stefanie Foretz, 6-4 6-7 (1-7) 6-3

Nathalie Dechy def. Dominika Cibulkova, 6-3 3-6 6-3

Flavia Pennetta def. Ksenia Pervak, 6-1 6-1

Tamarine Tanasugarn def. Iveta Benesova, 6-3 6-1

Yanina Wickmayer def. Sorana Cirstea, 6-4 6-3

*

*

AEGON International (Eastbourne)

*

Men's Draw

*

Frank Dancevic def. Igor Andreev, 7-6 (8-6) 6-2

Julien Benneteau def. Mikhail Youzhny, 4-6 6-5 6-4

Fabrice Santoro def. Robby Ginepri, 4-6 6-4 6-1

Ivan Ljubicic def. Joshua Goodall, 6-3 7-5

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez def. Yen-hsun Lu, 6-4 6-7 (0-7) 7-6 (7-3)

Janko Tipsarevic def. Brydan Klein, 7-6 (7-5) 6-1

*

*

Women's Draw

*

Li Na def. Elena Baltacha, 6-2 7-5

Agnieszka Radwanska def. Urszula Radwanska, 6-1 6-1

Anna Chakvetadze def. Jelena Jankovic, 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 6-2

Marion Bartoli def. Gisela Dulko, 6-3 6-1

Sybille Bammer def. Anne Keothavong, 6-3 6-2

Anabel Medina Garrigues def. Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, 6-3 6-7 (4-7) 6-1

Caroline Wozniacki def. Alisa Kleybanova, 6-3 6-2

Ekaterina Makarova def. Jarmila Groth, 7-6 (9-7) 6-1

Amelie Mauresmo def. Vera Zvonareva, 6-3 1-6 6-3

Vera Dushevina def. Ai Sugiyama, 6-7 (6-8) 7-5 6-4

Aleksandra Wozniak def. Svetlana Kuznetsova, 6-0 6-3

Home Court Advantage

In all that talk of grunting yesterday, I don't think I really stopped to give our weekend winners much of a talking about - which is a mighty shame, because there were some interesting results. So here goes!

*

First of all, the British media went absolutely psycho over Andy Murray winning Queen's - and with good reason. Sure, he was the top seed and sort of expected to win, but he's the first Brit to win a grasscourt title since about 1066, so you can understand why. And I've got to say... while, internationally, Murray goes into Wimbledon a tiny bit under the radar - who wouldn't be eclipsed by that final we had last year with Rafa and Roger? - I think there is good reason to think that he'll go deep. I don't know if he's at finals level yet - actually, I think it depends which half of the draw he ends up in. I don't really like anyone's chances against Federer right now, still riding the happy wave from Roland Garros and looking to pull a Borg, but if Murray ends up in the Nadal half of the draw, and Nadal's knees are a badness, and Murray's got that whole crowd behind him... it could be very, very interesting.

*

I'm going to tip him to at least play out his seeding and make it to the semis. Further tippage will ensue once we have the draw. This much is certain - I think Tim Henman will be a little annoyed if Andy manages to steal his thunder!

*

Over to Halle, and here's looking at you, Tommy Haas. The big German with the shoulder held together by sticky tape is in some fine form at the moment. He beat both Tsonga and Djokovic en route to the title, and that is no mean feat - though one really has to put a giant question mark over Djokovic at the moment. He says he's still mentally exhausted from that match against Nadal in Madrid, where he had the match points... Novak, please. That was a thousand years ago now. Suck it up and get over it. The way he's playing, I wouldn't be surprised to see another early round exit, particularly if he gets one of those tricky players early on, like he did at Wimbledon last year, when he went out to Safin in the second round.

*

But enough of Djokovic. Back to Haas. He did a fine, fine job in securing that title - just like Murray, in his home country, as well. Not too shabby at all. I don't think I'm quite up to tipping him to making a surprise finals showing, but depending on what area of the draw he's in, he could easily make it to the round of sixteen or even the quarters. We'll wait and see, I suppose!

*

And Magdalena Rybarikova won her first title in Birmingham. I don't know much about Rybarikova - the only time I've ever seen her play was live, when she got bagelled by Vera Zvonareva at the Aussie Open. She seems to have bounced back from that all right, so snaps to you, Magdalena!

*

*

Today's Results

*

Ordina Open (s'Hertogenbosch)

*

Men's Draw

*

David Ferrer def. Jesse Huta Galung, 6-2 7-5

Rainer Schuettler def. Nicolas Devilder, 6-4 7-6 (8-6)

Marc Gicquel def. Steve Darcis, 6-2 6-3

Jeremy Chardy def. Philipp Petzschner, 6-1 6-3

Michael Llodra def. Mischa Zverev, 4-1 retired

Oscar Hernandez def. Daniel Koellerer, 6-3 6-2

Benjamin Becker def. Florent Serra, 6-3 6-4

Dick Norman def. Daniel Berta, 6-3 6-3

Kristof Vliegen def. Jan Hernych, 2-6 7-5 6-2

*

*

Women's Draw

*

Yaroslava Shvedova def. Patricia Mayr, 6-2 6-0

Kateryna Bondarenko def. Kirsten Flipkens, 6-4 3-6 6-4

Daniela Hantuchova def. Roberta Vinci, 7-6 (7-2) 6-4

Flavia Pennetta def. Yung-Jan Chan, 6-4 6-2

Ksenia Pervak def. Petra Cetkovska, 7-5 7-6 (8-6)

Tamarine Tanasugarn def. Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, 6-1 6-3

Michaella Krajicek def. Sara Errani, 6-4 6-2

Yanina Wickmayer def. Maria Elena Camerin, 6-1 6-3

Francesca Schiavone def. Julie Coin, 6-2 6-2

Olga Govortsova def. Severine Bremond, 6-2 6-1

*

*

AEGON International (Eastbourne)

*

Men's Draw

*

Dmitry Tursunov def. Fabio Fognini, 6-3 4-6 6-4

Fabrice Santoro def. Robert Kendrick, 6-3 6-2

Sam Querrey def. Paul Capdeville, 6-2 7-5

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez def. Evgeny Korolev, 6-2 6-7 (3-7) 6-2

Leonardo Mayer def. Eduardo Schwank, 6-4 6-2

Yen-hsun Lu def. Colin Fleming, 7-6 (7-2) 1-6 6-3

James Ward def. Victor Crivoi, 6-1 6-3

Joshua Goodall def. Tatsuma Ito, 6-4 6-1

Alex Bogdanovic def. Ivo Minar, 6-4 7-6 (7-3)

Brydan Klein def. Teimuraz Gabashvili, 6-3 5-7 6-1

*

*

Women's Draw

*

Elena Dementieva def. Maria Kirilenko, 6-2 6-2

Virginie Razzano def. Alize Cornet, 7-6 (7-3) 6-2

Samantha Stosur def. Sabine Lisicki, 6-2 6-1

Nadia Petrova def. Ana Ivanovic, 6-1 4-6 6-4

Jie Zheng def. Carla Suarez Navarro, 6-2 6-2

Grunt Work

I bet Aravane Rezai is reeeeeeeeally popular in the locker room right now. I have this mental image of Maria Sharapova, Victoria Azarenka, Serena Williams and Michelle Larcher de Brito shoving her into a locker. Why? Because the ITF - finally - is thinking about doing something about grunting.

*

I read this statistic that said that Sharapova's grunt was nearly the same decibel level as a lion's roar. Larcher de Brito's grunt wasn't on the list of decibels, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was louder. Everyone has noticed this - viewers round the world have been muting their TV sets on Sharapova and co. for years. But since the Rezai incident at the French Open, where she basically pointed out the elephant in the room, the ITF has been forced into action.

*

At the most extreme, the way I understand it, a player can be defaulted for grunting, and this to me seems a bit extreme. Sure, grunting is a pain, but I am pretty sure it's relatively involuntary. I wonder if there's a sort of yardstick they're going to use. The criterion is whether or not it distracts the opponent, but you can imagine that some gamesmanship might go on there, exploiting that rule. And if you've been a grunter for life, can you break yourself of the habit?

*

I don't really have a formed opinion on this subject. I'll have to ponder it more. But I'll be very interested to see what rules come in.

*

Over to the actual tennis. The winners of Queen's and Halle last year turned out to be the Wimbledon finalists, but I will be quite surprised if that turns out to be the case this year. Kudos to Murray and major kudos to Haas, who really deserved a victory (especially one where he defeated a top four player) after he came so close in Roland Garros. Nice work, boys!

*

*

Today's Results

*

Gerry Weber Open (Halle)

*

Tommy Haas def. Novak Djokovic, 6-3 6-7 (4-7) 6-1

*

*

AEGON Championships (Queen's)

*

Andy Murray def. James Blake, 7-5 6-4

*

*

AEGON International (Eastbourne)

*

Janko Tipsarevic def. Paul-Henri Mathieu, 6-4 6-2

Ivan Ljubicic def. Andreas Seppi, 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-5)

Robby Ginepri def. Andrey Golubev, 6-3 6-4

Denis Istomin def. Kevin Kim, 7-6 (7-5) 7-5

*

*

Ordina Open (s'Hertogenbosch)

*

Men's Draw

*

Fernando Verdasco def. Pablo Andujar, 6-3 7-5

Igor Kunitsyn def. Arnaud Clement, 6-2 6-3

Dudi Sela def. Christophe Rochus, 6-2 6-4

Raemon Sluiter def. Daniel Gimeno-Traver, 6-2 7-5

Ivan Navarro def. Gilles Muller, 7-5 7-5

*

*

Women's Draw

*

Sorana Cirstea def. Monica Niculescu, 5-7 6-3 6-3

Iveta Benesova def. Mara Santangelo, 6-2 6-3

Kristina Barrois def. Elena Vesnina, 6-4 6-4

*

*

AEGON Classic (Birmingham)

*

Magdalena Rybarikova def. Li Na, 6-0 7-6 (7-2)

The Sharapova Showing

You know what? I was prepared to be spectacularly unimpressed by Maria Sharapova's comeback. I was prepared to see a whole big string of early round losses and the few wins that she did manage to eke out, I thought she'd eke out by willpower alone, nothing to do with game.

*

Well, I wasn't entirely wrong - Maria's biggest weapon has seemed to be, indeed, her willpower - but I have actually been really pleasantly surprised by the Sharapova showing. After a pretty early exit in Warsaw, she got through to the quarters of what is arguably the most physically testing Slam of them all - which was better, I might point out, than her showing there last year, when she went in ranked #1 and went out in a fourth round nailbiter to Dinara Safina.

*

And now she's just gone down in a reasonably tight semi to Li Na in Birmingham - not bad, considering Li Na can prove troublesome for the best of players on the best of days. It will be interesting to see how she fares at the Big W - how her body holds up after playing so much tennis after that layoff. On the whole, though, I have to say that this is one of the best comebacks I've seen. It's early days yet, of course, but I'd say Maria's well on track.

*

Someone about whom I am concerned, on the other hand, is Andy Roddick, who sustained an ankle injury in his semi final in Queen's against James Blake and had to retire. I hope that he's better for Wimbledon - I love seeing A-Rod on the grass! Those two finals he played against Federer are some of my favourite matches... one-sidedness and all.

*

*

Today's Results

*

Gerry Weber Open (Halle)

*

Novak Djokovic def. Olivier Rochus, 7-6 (9-7) 6-4

Tommy Haas def. Philipp Kohlschreiber, 2-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-3)

*

*

AEGON Championships (Queen's Club)

*

Andy Murray def. Juan Carlos Ferrero, 6-2 6-4

James Blake def. Andy Roddick, 4-4 retired

*

*

AEGON Classic (Birmingham)

*

Magdalena Rybarikova def. Sania Mirza, 3-6 6-0 6-3

Li Na def. Maria Sharapova, 6-4 6-4

No Muss, No Fuss

Following in the footsteps of Jonas Bjorkman not so long ago, Thomas Johansson has just announced his retirement from tennis, with immediate effect. After fifteen years travelling round the world, he's now decided it's time to hang up his racquet.

*

I kind of understand why he's decided to go so quickly, no muss, no fuss. His wife had a baby a few weeks ago (their second child) and understandably, when you're on the decline and you're dogged by injury anyway, you want to go and spend some time with your family. All the best to you, Thomas - even if I wished you'd saved it a few weeks and played one last Wimbledon.

*

The other reason why it's sort of OK for him to go so quickly - I doubt it had anything to do with his decision, but it seems sort of symbolic to me - is that Swedish tennis is in good hands now. When Bjorkman retired, Johansson sort of became the new elder, I suppose - and with his Grand Slam title, he deserves that kind of status. Swedish tennis has been looking pretty barren for a long time now - there was that spurt of hope when Joachim Johansson was looking so dangerous, but then he went and got injured, and retired, and came back, and got injured and all kinds of craziness. But Swedish tennis has got a new guy playing with the big boys now. Thomas Johansson can retire knowing that Robin Soderling... he got it. He's grown up enough now to be the figurehead.

*

Like I said, probably had little to do with his decision, but nice nonetheless.

*

Speaking of people announcing their retirement, one guy rumoured to maybe be throwing in the towel at the end of the year is Juan Carlos Ferrero, but with the run of form he's on I don't know if he'd want to. Semis at Queen's for the unseeded Spaniard, after a victory over Steve Darcis. I know Queen's is hardly... well, Wimbledon... but for a non-Rafa Spaniard on grass, that is a damn good result. Nice work, JC!

*

*

Today's Results

*

Gerry Weber Open (Halle)

*

Novak Djokovic def. Jurgen Melzer, 6-1 6-4

Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Andreas Beck, 3-6 6-3 6-3

Olivier Rochus def. Benjamin Becker, 6-7 (4-7) 6-3 6-3

Tommy Haas def. Mischa Zverev, 7-6 (7-5) 6-2*

*

*

AEGON Championships (Queen's Club)

*

Andy Murray def. Mardy Fish, 7-5 6-3

Andy Roddick def. Ivo Karlovic, 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-5)

James Blake def. Mikhail Youzhny, 7-6 (7-5) 6-3

Juan Carlos Ferrero def. Steve Darcis, 4-6 6-3 6-4

*

*

AEGON Classic (Birmingham)

*

Magdalena Rybarikova def. Urszula Radwanska, 6-3 6-3

Sania Mirza def. Melinda Czink, 6-1 7-6 (7-4)

Na Li def. Stefanie Voegele, 6-3 7-6 (7-3)

Maria Sharapova def. Yanina Wickmayer, 6-1 2-6 6-3

Big Fish

So Novak Djokovic is having to save five match points againt Florent Serra these days, eh? He better hope he played himself into form in that saving, because that would have been a bad loss - worse than to Kohlschreiber at Roland Garros, I think. At least Kohlschreiber is a genuine underachiever who coulda bin somebody. Serra is pretty much a journeyman. That would have been a big, big badness for Novak.

*

Not that I would have minded that much, obviously, but it might impact on the competition for Wimbledon, and I love tennis. So yeah, you better hope, Novak. You better hope.

*

The other member of the Fantastic Four in action today was Andy Murray, and it looks like he had a whale of a time beating Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. Remember how he was pretty much a standard top ten player until he had that big win over Gasquet at Wimbledon last year and suddenly found himself in the upper echelons? It'll be interesting to see how he does at the Big W this year, mark my words.

*

Someone it will not be interesting to watch is Gilles Simon. Seriously, how is he still in the top ten? He has done big fat nothing this year, and that big fat nothing is continuing. It was a fluke, yeah? him having that great run last year? I'm sure he's a nice guy and all, but he just seems out of his depth with the fish he's swimming with at the moment...

*

...but on a gladder note, glasses should be raised to Andreas Beck - great work Andreas, coming through the Halle draw very nicely right now - and Juan Carlos Ferrero. JC seems to be having his best year in ages so far, what with winning that title and now doing pretty well at Queen's - nice one!

*

*

Today's Results

*

Gerry Weber Open (Halle)

*

Novak Djokovic def. Florent Serra, 5-7 7-5 6-1

Jurgen Melzer def. Nicolas Kiefer, 6-1 retired

Andreas Beck def. Lukas Lacko, 7-5 7-6 (7-5)

Olivier Rochus def. Philipp Petzschner, 5-7 7-5 6-2

*

*

AEGON Championships (Queen's Club)

*

Andy Murray def. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, 6-4 6-4

Andy Roddick def. Lleyton Hewitt, 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (7-4)

Mikhail Youzhny def. Gilles Simon, 6-1 2-6 6-2

James Blake def. Sam Querrey, 6-4 4-6 6-3

Mardy Fish def. Feliciano Lopez, 6-1 6-4

Ivo Karlovic def. Nicolas Mahut, 6-3 6-4

Juan Carlos Ferrero def. Xavier Malisse, 6-4 7-6 (7-4)

*

*

AEGON Classic (Birmingham)

*

Maria Sharapova def. Alexa Glatch, 6-3 6-4

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova def. Elena Baltacha, 6-7 (1-7) 6-3 7-6 (7-3)

Francesca Schiavone def. Mariya Koryttseva, 6-1 6-1

Yanina Wickmayer def. Michaella Krajicek, 6-2 6-4

Li Na def. Jarmila Groth, 6-4 2-6 6-1

Roberta Vinci def. Lilia Osterloh, 6-4 6-2

Zheng Jie def. Melanie South, 6-3 6-1

Melinda Czink def. Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, 6-2 6-3

Ursula Radwanska def. Petra Cetkovska, 6-3 7-5

Julia Goerges def. Sara Errani, 6-4 5-7 7-5

Magdalena Rybarikova def. Chanelle Scheepers, 6-7 (8-10) 6-1 6-3

Aravane Rezai def. Alla Kudryavtseva, 7-6 (14-12) 3-6 6-2

Stefanie Voegele def. Naomi Cavaday, 6-4 6-2

Yanina Wickmayer def. Roberta Vinci, 6-1 6-4

Maria Sharapova def. Francesca Schiavone, 6-1 6-3

Sania Mirza def. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 7-6 (7-3) 3-6 6-2

Urszula Radwanska def. Julia Goerges, 7-6 (7-3) 6-3

Melinda Czink def. Aleksandra Wozniak, 6-7 (7-9) 7-5 7-5

Li Na def. Aravane Rezai, 7-5 6-4

Magdalena Rybarikova def. Zheng Jie, 7-6 (12-10) 6-4

Second Year Blues

So I was messing round on the ATP website, minding my own business, when I came across this piece of alarming ranking information under the 'big movers this week' section. Ernests Gulbis - down 29 places.

*

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

*
I thought about it and it made sense - Gulbis reached the quarters of Roland Garros last year and did not much of anything this year - and then I thought about it some more and I got mad. Ernests, what gives, dude? What's going on?

*

His year started with a bang - beating Djokovic in his first outing of the year in Brisbane - but since then he hasn't been able to string two wins together. It's been an embarrassing string of first and second round defeats for the guy who's supposed to be one of the future big guns of our game. I mean, sure, I understand about second year blues - last year was the year that Ernests announced, 'here I am, I have talent, fear me, fear me!' and sometimes it's hard to follow it up, but this is just ridiculous. He lost to Alberto Martin yesterday. On grass.

*

That's right. Alberto Martin. On grass.

*

Ernests. Pull yourself together. Spank your inner moppet, whatever. Just win two matches in a row. That's all I'm asking. Two in a row. If you want to go on and make it three or four or whatever, that's fine, but let's walk before we can run, eh?

*

*

Today's Results

*

Gerry Weber Open (Halle)

*

Mischa Zverev def. Tomas Berdych, 3-6 6-2 7-6 (10-8)

Benjamin Becker def. Rainer Schuettler, 6-4 2-6 6-4

Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Dmitry Tursunov, 6-4 7-6 (8-6)

Tommy Haas def. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 6-3 7-6 (7-3)

Lukas Lacko def. Harel Levy, 7-6 (8-6) 6-2

*

*

AEGON Championships (Queen's Club)

*

Andy Murray def. Andreas Seppi, 6-1 6-4

Gilles Simon def. Grigor Dimitrov, 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (7-5)

Nicolas Mahut def. Marin Cilic, 7-6 (7-1) 7-6 (7-4)

Ivo Karlovic def. Julien Benneteau, 7-6 (9-7) 6-7 (4-7) 6-2

Juan Carlos Ferrero def. Paul-Henri Mathieu, 6-4 6-4

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez def. Gilles Muller, 7-6 (7-3) 6-3

Mikhail Youzhny def. Marcos Baghdatis, 64 76(3)

Lleyton Hewitt def. Frederico Gil, 3-6 6-2 6-2

Steve Darcis def. Alberto Martin, 6-2 6-4

Xavier Malisse def. Rik De Voest, 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (7-5)

*

*

AEGON Classic (Birmingham)

*

Aleksandra Wozniak def. Olga Govortsova, 6-4 6-4

Sania Mirza def. Anne Keothavong, 6-1 7-6 (7-5)

Stefanie Voegele def. Ekaterina Makarova, 6-3 3-6 6-2

Naomi Cavaday def. Tamarine Tanasugarn, 7-6 (7-5) 2-6 6-4

Remembering Rafa

So nothing's certain yet, but Rafa Nadal still hopes to be fit for Wimbledon. 'Hoping' is a different thing from being 'hopeful', but you have to give the boy credit for trying.

*

I feel really sorry for Rafa. It can't be an easy lot being #1 when you have a universal champion like Roger Federer playing in your era. Sure, Rafa has got his time in the sunlight after playing second fiddle for years, but look at how quickly the tide turned this week when he got knocked out of the French Open. All the focus was suddenly on Federer. It wasn't that Nadal was forgotten, it was more a sort of, 'wow, is this a real victory if Federer doesn't have to beat the monkey on his back who happens to be called Nadal?' sort of thing.

*

Let's say Federer had been the one knocked out in the fourth round (heaven forbid) and Nadal had been the one to win the tournament. Do you think Federer would have been practically required to come out and make a statement? I don't think so. But with the positions switched, if Nadal didn't say something, it would have looked like sour grapes or bad grace or something. And with this knee condition that might still take him out of Wimbledon, I think people have been, to some degree, scoffing and thinking Rafa used it as a reason to excuse his match against Soderling. Rafa himself had a much more sane attitude - 'it's just a tennis match, nobody died', he said (I might have paraphrased that a bit, but the intent is there).

*

Roger Federer can't help being Roger Federer, and nor would anyone want him to change - not one iota, not one jot. He's the greatest champion our sport has ever had, the greatest player of all time, and a wonderful man. But you have to feel for Rafa. Federer has set the bar so high it's nearly impossible to live up to. And with this supernova of a champion shining so bright in the midst of the tour, it's easy to forget that Nadal is himself a champion and a great sportsman. I don't think he's really managed to capture the public imagination like Federer has - his game is not as beautiful, he is not so classical a personality, nor is he a polyglot - but we forget that Rafa's achievements are not small either. Sometimes we almost forget about him except in context of his rivalry with Federer. And while Federer is indisputably the greatest tennis player of all time and the ultimate statesman - we all know how much I am on the Roger Federer bandwagon! - we do need to remember that Rafa has achieved a hell of a lot as well. Federer is unbelievably special - but that doesn't make Rafa's achievements any less.

**

Get well soon, Rafa.

*

*

Today's Results

*

Gerry Weber Open (Halle)

*

Novak Djokovic def. Simone Bolelli, 7-5 6-2

Philipp Petzschner def. Fernando Verdasco, 3-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-4

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Fabrice Santoro, 7-5 6-2

Jurgen Melzer def. Arnaud Clement, 1-6 6-3 6-2

Mischa Zverev def. Joseph Sirianni, 6-2 6-4

Olivier Rochus def. Fernando Vicente, 6-0 6-0

Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Bjorn Phau, 6-4 6-2

Nicolas Kiefer def. Viktor Troicki, 6-2 6-1

Andreas Beck def. Christophe Rochus, 6-3 6-1

*

*

AEGON Championships (Queen's Club)

*

Andy Roddick def. Kristof Vliegen, 6-1 6-4

James Blake def. Ivan Ljubicic, 6-2 7-6 (7-4)

Mardy Fish def. Michael Llodra, 5-7 7-6 (7-5) 6-3

Gael Monfils def. Andrey Golubev, 6-3 3-6 7-6 (7-5)

Feliciano Lopez def. Denis Istomin, 7-6 (7-3) 4-6 7-6 (7-5)

Sam Querrey def. Kevin Anderson, 7-5 6-3

Ivo Karlovic def. Teimuraz Gabashvili, 6-3 7-6 (13-11)

Alberto Martin def. Ernests Gulbis, 7-6 (11-9) 6-4

Juan Carlos Ferrero def. Sebastien Grosjean, 6-2 2-1 retired

Steve Darcis def. Paul Capdeville, 3-6 6-3 6-4

Julien Benneteau def. Daniel Koellerer, 6-3 6-4

*

*

AEGON Classic (Birmingham)

*

Petra Cetkovska def. Stephanie Foretz, 7-6 (7-5) 6-3

Julia Goerges def. Anastasia Rodionova, 6-4 6-2

Barbora Zahlavova Strycova def. Ayumi Morita, 7-5 3-6 6-3

Melinda Czink def. Arantxa Parra Santonja, 6-4 6-3

Anne Keothavong def. Sofia Arvidsson, 6-2 6-2

Sania Mirza def. Tatiana Poutchek, 6-1 6-2

Stefanie Voegele def. Carly Gullickson, 3-6 6-4 7-5

Mariya Koryttseva def. Yulia Fedossova, 4-6 6-4 6-2

Roland Garros Roundup

And all of a sudden, the tennis courts are green again, they're playing fast, and the big event ahead of us is not Roland Garros, but Wimbledon. Even someone being crowned as the greatest player of all time does not stop the machinery of the tour, which ticks over day to day inexorably. Grass is here, and it's here to stay... for four weeks, until the extremely long season ends.

*

Still, I think there's a few words yet to be said about Roland Garros. One cannot gloss over such history quite so quickly.

*

Upset of the Tournament: No surprises here. Anyone who didn't write Soderling vs. Nadal in this field obviously hasn't been around tennis very long. I think the tennis world is still sort of reeling from Nadal being unseated in his garden. Honourable mentions go here to Djokovic vs. Kohlschreiber and Szavay vs. Venus, but really, it was all about Rafa.

*

Almost-Upset of the Tournament: Federer vs. Haas. The great man was only five points away from defeat here, and he clawed it back. The achievements of both men here are admirable - Haas for getting to a winning position, and Federer to pulling a Houdini, and then going on to pull another rabbit out of the hat in an honourable mention match, Federer vs. Del Potro. Props also go to Safarova vs. Venus - that was a thriller.

*

Best Match of the Tournament: As far as pure tennis value goes, I'd have to go with Kuznetsova vs. Serena. This was an awesome battle between two great champions, and it teetered on a seesaw right until the very end. It was impossible to tell who was going to win until the last ball was out of play. Kudos to Sveta for coming out of it, and kudos to Serena for the tennis she played (cold comfort though it may be). Honourable mentions go to both men's semi-finals, which were great matches.

*

Surprise of the Tournament: Robin Soderling again - tied for me with Sam Stosur. Both had huge, unexpected runs, and both capitalised on the talent the world both knew they had. I'll be watching them both at Wimbledon to see how they do... I'm keen to see how that kick serve of Sam's goes on grass, and how Soderling goes with those flat groundies when he has less time to set up for them.

*

Guy/Girl Who Served Notice of Arrival: Juan Martin del Potro. If he keeps improving at this rate, he'll win a Slam. No doubt about it. Props also to Dominika Cibulkova and Sorana Cirstea.

*

Disappointment of the Tournament: Novak Djokovic losing in the third round. And also a large majority of the women's top ten, especially Jankovic, Ivanovic, Dementieva and Venus. And also Safina, for her spectacular choke in the final.

*

Saddest Moment of the Tournament: Jelena Dokic having to retire when she had Dementieva dead in the water. Tragic.

*

Most Popular Player: Roger Federer, crowd darling. Ain't no one can deny that.

*

Most Popular Offcourt Personality: Mirka Federer. In her own way, nearly as big a star as her husband.

*

Most Unpopular Player: Victoria Azarenka. I think she may have made an enemy of the Parisian crowd for the next 8,000 years.

*

Most Unsportsmanlike Gesture: Fernando Gonzalez wiping out a mark... with his arse.

*

Stupidest Spectator: The dickhead streaker in the final.

*

Best New Word (Rafael Nadal Memorial Award, no?): 'Yoking' from Robin Soderling.

*

Greatest Player of All Time: Roger Federer (but that one was a gimme).

*

Looking Forward To: Wimbledon, and seeing the great man go for fifteen.

*

*

Today's Results

*

Gerry Weber Open (Halle)

*

Tomas Berdych def. Jan Hernych, 6-4 7-5

Dmitry Tursunov def. Igor Kunitsyn, 7-5 6-4

Rainer Schuettler def. Marc Gicquel, 6-3 6-4

Benjamin Becker def. Victor Hanescu, 6-4 6-4

Florent Serra def. Dudi Sela, 1-6 6-4 6-2

Tommy Haas def. Stefan Koubek, 6-2 6-2

*

*

AEGON Championships (Queen's Club)

*

Feliciano Lopez def. Robert Kendrick, 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-3)

Paul-Henri Mathieu def. Andrei Pavel, 6-4 7-6 (8-6)

Sam Querrey def. Jeremy Chardy, 7-6 (12-10) 6-4

Mikhail Youzhny def. Oscar Hernandez, 6-4 6-2

Lleyton Hewitt def. Eduardo Schwan, 6-1 6-0

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez def. Yen-hsun Lu, 6-1 6-1

Gilles Muller def. Joshua Goodall, 6-3 7-6 (9-7)

Andreas Seppi def. Robby Ginepri, 5-7 7-6 (7-4) 6-3

Kristof Vliegen def. Leonardo Mayer, 7-6 (7-3) 6-4

Michael Llodra def. Evgeny Korolev, 6-3 6-4

Denis Istomin def. Ivo Minar, 3-6 6-1 6-2

Ivan Ljubicic def. Sergiy Stakhovsky, 4-6 6-4 6-4

Marcos Baghdatis def. James Ward, 6-2 6-3

Kevin Anderson def. Fabio Fognini, 6-3 7-6 (7-3)

Frederico Gil def. Daniel Gimeno-Traver, 6-1 6-3

Nicolas Mahut def. Janko Tipsarevic, 6-0 6-4

Xavier Malisse def. Pablo Andujar, 5-0 retired

Grigor Dimitrov def. Ivan Navarro, 6-4 4-6 6-3

Andrey Golubev def. Bobby Reynolds, 6-2 4-6 7-6 (7-3)

*

*

AEGON Classic (Birmingham)

*

Melanie South def. Katoe O'Brien, 6-4 1-6 7-6 (7-5)

Magdalena Rybarikova def. Akgul Amanmuradova, 6-4 6-4

Urszula Radwanska def. Maria Kirilenko, 6-3 6-3

Olga Govortsova def. Yung-Jan Chan, 7-6 (9-7) 6-2

Elena Baltacha def. Georgie Stoop, 6-3 6-4

Naomi Cavaday def. Julie Ditty, 6-2 7-6 (7-2)

Tamarine Tanasugarn def. Julie Coin, 7-6 (7-1) 6-1

Jarmila Groth def. Vania King, 6-4 6-4

Maria Sharapova def. Stephanie Dubois, 6-4 6-2

Alexa Glatch def. Bethanie Mattek-Sands, 7-6 (7-2) 6-3

Roberta Vinci def. Severine Bremond, 6-3 6-2

Yanina Wickmayer def. Anastasija Sevastova, 6-4 6-3

Greatest Of All Time

"The big moments are gonna come. You can't help that. It's what you do afterwards that counts. That's when you find out who you are."

*

That quote isn't strictly tennis related - yeah, okay, it's from Buffy - but my God, does it apply here one hundred percent, especially considering the theme of monster-slaying we've been considering as regards my man Roger Federer. The big moment came, and he fought to get there. I can't remember a tournament when he's fought harder - and of course it should be hard. This is a Grand Slam, and this is history. He made it to the moment. The moment came. And the world found out exactly who Roger Federer is.

*

The greatest tennis player of all time.

*

This cannot be disputed now. He has now won fourteen Grand Slams, putting him in equal first place with Pete Sampras - but unlike Sampras, he has won them on all four surfaces. He has made twenty consecutive semi finals. In addition to three runner up finishes at Roland Garros, one at Wimbledon and one at the Australian Open, Roger Federer owns five Wimbledon titles, five US Opens, three Australian Opens and one Roland Garros title.

*

It was the title they said he could never win. The gaping hole on his resume that was to put a question mark over his greatness. Three times he made the final, and three times he lost, including an absolute drubbing against Rafael Nadal last year. But not this year. Not this year.

*

With one monster left between him and history, Roger Federer did not falter. We did not see him waiver, not for one instant. From the moment that he won the first point I think the world knew, in their hearts, that it was time. This moment has been coming - for too long, some thought, writing off this great man. But Roger was patient, and he fought, and he got there. And when the moment came, he stood tall. He looked history in the face and seized it with both hands.

*

This is his time. This is his moment. And this, my friends, is history.

*

It is often the case, I find, that people who are not otherwise into tennis at all have a special place in their hearts for Roger Federer. As great as other players like Nadal and even Sampras and Agassi are, no one has ever captured the heart of the masses like this man. He has walked with kings and kept the common touch. He has personified every 'if' Rudyard Kipling could possibly throw at him. He is the greatest champion our sport has ever had, but, perhaps, more importantly, he has been our sport's greatest sportsman. He has personified everything that sport should be - fair and honest and beautiful.

*

He is the greatest of all time.

*

I have waited so long to say these words. I believed them already, I think, long ago - his case for greatness has been convincing for some years now - but if people doubt him now, then they are completely deluded. The moment has come, the time has arrived when we can fete our hero as we ought to - for he is our hero. He is the hero of the masses, of the people, in a way that no one else has ever been. He has been the sentimental darling of our hearts for many years now, this gentle, beautiful, brilliant man - and now we have arrived at the moment where this man has made history, where he has transcended everyone, where he has achieved total tennis immortality.

*

I saw him play once. I can tell my children, and their children, that I once saw the greatest tennis player of all time in the flesh - and the man who was the personification of everything that should be great in sport. He is a hero to so many, an inspiration, and I don't know if people have ever willed anyone to succeed more. But in the end, take away all the fans, everyone in the arena, everything but the tennis and the moment. Take away all that. There was Roger. There was Soderling, his opponent. And there was the moment when greatness was within his grasp.

*

He was tried and he was tested, and he was not found wanting. And now history has been made.

*

We live in the age of Roger Federer - the greatest tennis player of all time. And what an honour and a privilege it is.

*

*

Today's Results

*

French Open (Roland Garros)

*

Men's Draw

*

Roger Federer def. Robin Soderling, 6-1 7-6 (7-1) 6-4

Meltdown

Oh, Dinara.

*

I think it was sort of the story of the match the way that Dinara lost - on a double fault. For the third Slam final in a row, she just didn't turn up to play. I feel so sorry for her, but... oh, honestly, Dinara. Dinara, Dinara, Dinara.

*

You know what she needs to do? Play a few of the lesser tournaments around where on-court coaching is around and about without using it. When she comes to the Slams, she has to play sans Zeljko, who helps her so much outside these tournaments. She needs to stop relying on him. She needs to let go. I'm not suggesting she fire him as her coach or anything, because they're an excellent partnership, but she needs to stop relying on him so much. She was looking up at him so much during the match. And there was nothing he could do. This one was all on Dinara. This meltdown belonged to her alone.

*

Actually, I'll tell you what Zeljko can do - work on Dinara's goddamn serve. That ball toss is just cumbersome, and it's doing her no favours at all. But where was Dinara's determination? It wasn't there today. Poor girl. This must hurt.

*

But the day belongs to the victor, and Svetlana Kuznetsova played a wonderful match. I was pulling for Dinara, but I cannot pretend to be sad Sveta won. She's a great player and a great champion and she deserved this to no end. You've sort of had the sense that another major was coming for Sveta ever since that maiden Slam in '04 at the US Open - she's too good to be a one Slam wonder. And she just played wonderfully today. She has an all court game which is lovely to watch, and she kept her head together marvellously today.

*

Well done, Svetlana. You deserve this one.

*

And Dinara? Wimbledon, sister. I know you can do it. Let's make it happen.

*

*

Today's Results

*

French Open (Roland Garros)

*

Women's Draw

*

Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Dinara Safina, 6-4 6-2

Monsters

There is no question about it. Juan Martin del Potro is a monster.

*

He's approximately twelve feet tall, has a screaming forehand and a two handed backhand that can only be described as monstrous. He can dominate from the baseline and while he isn't exactly a dab hand at netplay, he moves well up and down. Even his hair is monstrous, and he seems to have turned up at this year's tournament dressed as a jaundiced zebra. Which is scary. The man is a monster.

*

Robin Soderling? Monster. Not only is he the player pretty much unanimously voted as 'player most other players wish to stuff in locker', he has the ugliest goddamn forehand in the history of tennis - effective, but dudes, that thing is fugly. And if anyone can knock out Rafa Nadal on clay, they've been dabbling in something inhuman.

*

And Fernando Gonzalez. Lovely guy, but with a shade of the monster about him. That forehand is a monster of a thing. You don't say that he 'hits' forehands. He crushes them, destroys them, murders them and burns down a few villages on his way through. You see him on the other side of a net, and even when his forehand is missing, you don't want to get in the way. Yep, monster.

*

And then today we had two pretty monstrous matches. The first one - Nadal-slayer vs. one-time-Slam-finalist - was dubbed the battle of the forehand versus the ugly forehand (can't remember who wrote that, but kudos to whomever did: best description ever). And that match was a war of mythological monsters - Gonzalez the dragon, breathing fire with his draconic fiery forehand, smoking them here and there across the court, and with a serve that could kill a small elephant; playing against Soderling the swamp monster, who plays hideous tennis, but which seems to have become suddenly effective. And, in five tough, tortuous sets, the swamp monster came out on top, even though the dragon seemed to have it all down pat at 4-1 in the fifth.

*

Actually, maybe Soderling isn't a swamp monster. Maybe he's more like the creature from Alien that bursts out of people's stomachs. He certainly burst out of the collective stomach of the ATP like some parasitic horror this tournament, and longtime Roland Garros heroes Ferrer, Davydenko and Gonzalez have fallen to him, not to mention the indisputed King of Clay Rafa Nadal (who may be injured, as he has pulled out of Queen's and I just found an article saying he might be in doubt for Wimbledon, but still). You have to be some kind of mean green mother from outer space to wreak the kind of havoc he has. This isn't like when Baghdatis made his run to the AO final in '06. This is some kind of otherworldly horror.

*

What one needs to defeat such a monster is obviously an Ellen Ripley, and the man who will be stepping up to the plate is Roger Federer. If Soderling is the alien and Gonzalez is a dragon, Federer's opponent del Potro is some kind of ogre, or possibly an abominable snowman. That dude is scary. His play in the first and third sets was lethal, and if Federer hadn't totally owned that second set breaker, I shudder to think what might have happened. Del Potro is deceptively fast for a big man, and he dug out a lot of balls I never would have expected him to get back. This wasn't the guy who got eaten for breakfast in the quarters in Australia. That was a baby ogre, just stumbling into the light. This ogre's all grown up now, and he's ready for some pain.

*

I have no doubt in my mind that if Juan Martin del Potro plays like he did in the early part of the match today, he's going to win a Grand Slam. His game on clay is exceptional and we all know he can move on the hard stuff as well - though it will be interesting to see how he goes on grass. I would give him a huge chance of going deep in the US Open - because if the ogre's all grown up now and he continues to improve at this rate, he's going to be a big daddy ogre in no time. Novak Djokovic better watch himself at #4 - JMDP is a-coming!

*

But the thing about monsters, in the end, is that, by nature, they are vulnerable to one thing - heroes. And that's what Roger Federer was today, and what he has been to the tennis community for many, many years now. I don't ever recall a tennis tournament when Roger has had to fight so hard. Four sets against Acasuso. Four against Mathieu. Five against Haas, a tight three against Monfils, and now an absolute five set EPIC against del Potro. In nearly all those matches, there has been a moment when it looks like the misrule that has struck down Nadal, Murray and Djokovic will get him too - that this dream is not to be for him. Often that moment has gone on for quite a long time... several sets, in fact.

*

But a hero, when all seems lost, fights back.

*

And that is what we have seen Roger Federer do this week. This tournament, which might be his most testing to date, has taken the measure of the man and has not found him wanting. The world wants him to do this. He is the white knight riding into this Roland Garros final, and he is wearing the favours of just about every tennis fan in the world on his sleeve. To quote a favourite kids' movie of mine, Labyrinth: 'Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, he has fought his way here to the castle beyond the goblin city.' He has struggled, for it has not been easy. And why should it be easy? This is the pinnacle of our sport, and he is going for history. But he has succeeded where others have failed. He has slain the monsters.

*

And now just one monster stands between Roger Federer and the Coupe de Mousquetaires: Robin Soderling, the parasitic alien swamp monster who has lured so many into his pit of despair under the guidance of Magnus Norman. If he could win this, I think it might well be one of the weirdest, most unexpected results in the history of tennis - and I shudder to think about the psychic that won the bracket challenge if that happened.

*

But watch out, Robin. There are some things that are scarier than monsters, that make monsters want to hide under the bed. And one of those things is Roger Federer.

*

*

Today's Results

*

French Open (Roland Garros)

*

Men's Draw

*

Roger Federer def. Juan Martin del Potro, 3-6 7-6 (7-2) 2-6 6-1 6-4

Robin Soderling def. Fernando Gonzalez, 6-3 7-5 5-7 4-6 6-4

Russian Derby

One hundred and twenty six women have been knocked out of the tournament and we're left with only two - and I think that they are the two that really deserve to be there. The final on Saturday is going to be an all-Russian derby - Dinara Safina against Svetlana Kuznetsova.

*

I was obviously pulling for Sam Stosur in her match against Kuznetsova, and she did herself proud by taking Sveta to three sets, but I think it's probably appropriate to have the two girls that we do in the final. They have been the two who have been the strongest in the whole claycourt season - they made back to back finals in Stutthart and Rome, with Sveta triumphing the first time, Dinara six days later. So who will do it this time?

*

Sveta clearly had the harder match - Stosur is ranked lower than Cibulkova, but she really took it to Sveta. Her serve and forehand were not quite as sharp as they had been in previous matches, which definitely hurt her, but she really dug into that match and refused to let go. Samantha Stosur has a hell of a lot to be proud of here - what a good year this has been for women's tennis in Australia, Slam-wise! First we had Jelena Dokic in the quarters of Australia, now Sam in the semis of Roland Garros... it is now clear that Jarmila Groth will make the final of Wimbledon and Casey Dellacqua will win the US Open. Keep the trend going, you know!

*

Back to Russian girls, and you have to admire the nerve of Sveta. She was clearly in a great deal of pain with her ankle, especially having played three hours the day before against Serena - I bet another epic was really not what she was hoping for! But she eked it out in the end, despite Stosur staging several mini-comebacks. A really excellent match between two excellent women - and, in my opinion, a very deserving finalist.

*

Dinara Safina had a slightly easier time of it against Dominika Cibulkova, but to call it easy would be a lie. Technically, Safina has a 2-0 record over Cibulkova, but Cibulkova did beat her in the final of the Hopman Cup this year, so she's clearly not invulnerable. And little Dominika got off to a flying start, breaking Safina and then holding for a 2-0 lead.

*

And what did Dinara do?

*

She picked herself up, dusted herself off and won five straight games. There were clearly some nerves at the beginning, but then that iron determination we've seen in her over the last year came into play. If anyone could will themselves to the title this year, it'll be Dinara.

*

Both girls would be deserving winners of the French Open - but in my heart, I'm pulling for Dinara. Everyone's been talking about how she's not a proper #1 because she hasn't won a Slam. Make them eat their words, Dinara. It'll be Sveta's ankle against Dinara's nerve - and while either girl would be good, Dinara feels right to me. And she's also following the Ivanovic pattern - beaten finalist one year, winner the next. Hopefully if Dinara wins she won't then transform into a total headcase, but I don't see that happening, somehow... not while Zeljko Krajan is around!

*

*

Today's Results

*

French Open (Roland Garros)

*

Women's Draw

*

Dinara Safina def. Dominika Cibulkova, 6-3 6-3

Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Samantha Stosur, 6-4 6-7 (5-7 6-3

Monfalls

One of the things that makes a champion a champion is how they rise to the occasion. Another is how they always seem to be exceeding your expectations.

*

In hindsight it is safe to say it - I had grave concerns over the welfare of my beloved Roger Federer heading into the match against Monfils. He hasn't been playing especially brilliantly - he eked out his match against Acasuso, scratched it out against Mathieu and clawed his way back against Haas by pure force of will. Understandably, with the level that Monfils brought to the court against Roddick and even Melzer, and with the French crowd behind him, I was a bit worried about Roger.

*

But I needn't have been.

*

Ivan Lendl reached ten Slam semis in a row, and set a record. (I think it was Lendl, anyway... certainly someone did it!) By beating Monfils and making the semis at this year's Roland Garros, Roger Federer has now made twenty consecutive semis. How's that for breaking a record?

*

Let's talk about Monfils for a minute. He certainly was the victim of his own mind in the second set, where Federer's level rose and he just totally whaled on him, but on the whole, he didn't play a bad match. That first set was very competitive - I think any set that goes to a breaker is, really, especially one in which both players have set points. The third set was pretty tight as well, till the Mighty Fed nutted out that crucial break that won the match. Monfils looks like he's made of rubber and was sliding round the court in a manner which suggests this might be true. But Federer... worked him out. You can almost see the moment in Federer's head when he works a player out, and I think it might have happened with Gael Monfils a while back. Sure, Monfils has improved under the guidance of Roger Rasheed over the past year, but Federer's still got a key to the door, if you know what I mean. And that was the key - Federer was hitting the lines, sure, but he pretty much outsmarted Monfils. And that's another thing a champion does - use his mind.

*

He'll now face Juan Martin del Potro in the semi final, and to say that Federer has JMDP figured out is an understatement. Not that he'll underestimate him or anything, but seriously, after the quarter final of Australia where Federer smoked him so bad it was almost embarrassing? I don't want to jinx Federer here, because of course he'll take this match seriously, but it all seems to be lining up pretty well here for him. Clay is a different animal, of course, but if Federer plays at the same level he brought to the court against Monfils, then I think he'll be into the final in less than two hours. No discredit to JMDP, who basically whipped Tommy Robredo today, but... Roger Federer will be Roger Federer!

*

Over to the ladies, and how about you, Slammin' Sam Stosur? Who would have ever thought that an Aussie girl would be in the quarters of Roland Garros - and then win through to the semis? Sure, her opponent, Sorana Cirstea, was unseeded and pretty untried on the big match stage, but, whatever! Sam Stosur owned her today and she's into the semis. And given that the semis are tomorrow and the other match went for three hours...

*

...not doubting the fitness of Svetlana Kuznetsova - who seriously deserved her win over Serena Williams. That was the match of the day without a doubt, with true grit shown on both sides. But maybe Sam has a window, an opening, through which the final is visible. An Aussie in a Slam final. It's a possibility. And when was the last time we could say that?

*

*

Today's Results

*

French Open (Roland Garros)

*

Men's Draw

*

Roger Federer def. Gael Monfils, 7-6 (8-6) 6-2 6-4

Juan Martin del Potro def. Tommy Robredo, 6-3 6-4 6-2

*

*

Women's Draw

*

Samantha Stosur def. Sorana Cirstea, 6-1 6-3

Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Serena Williams, 7-6 (7-3) 5-7 7-5

Captain Spanner

Whoa, whoa, whoa. I know I am not the only one who would have put good money on Robin Soderling absolutely collapsing into a heap after his monstrous win over Rafael Nadal. What is he about, going and demolishing Nikolay Davydenko in such a manner? I was all geared up for an awesome Kolya/Gonzo semi, and now Soderling has gone and chucked a spanner in the works. Hell, he is the spanner. The captain of spanners. This is epic craziness.

*

Nonetheless, this is going to be a very, very interesting semi. If there's one player in the world that Soderling's not going to be able to overpower, I reckon it's Fernando Gonzalez. This could go two ways. Either a) Gonzalez becomes the next feather in Soderling's little Swedish cap, after falling victim to his big flat strokes, or b) Gonzalez smashes Soderling off the court. Prior to the Kolya quarter, I would have put a lot of money on b). Now I am SO not sure.

*

Let's talk Gonzo for a moment, because this is clearly his best performance since the Aussie Open '07, when he was just supremely dominant - until he ran into the man who invented dominance in the final. I don't want to say he had similar wins to Soderling here, because it just isn't possible to pull a bigger upset than Rafa on clay, but he also knocked out Rafa and a number of pretty highly seeded players. Murray had no chance against him today - Gonzo pretty much blasted him off the court. But then, Murray is just not a claycourter - not at this stage of his career, at any rate. For him, getting to the quarter finals is a superlative achievement. He made it further than Rafa in Paris, and that is saying something.

*

So, Soderling/Gonzalez. Not the semi anyone would have picked at the outset of this tournament. I wonder if anyone is going to be winning the bracket challenge this year.

*

Over to the women, and after that first set, I was sure Dinara Safina was going to crumble and collapse. Azarenka, immature whinging little brat as she is, played an excellent first set and she had some fight going in the second as well. The Dinara Safina bakery was certainly closed for business today (though she did manage to rustle up Azarenka a croissant in the third set). Nice as it was for her to be cruising along in Supreme Dominance Land, I think it was probably good for her to have to really grit a match out - particularly in the absence of oncourt coaching, which has helped her through a lot of her tournaments so far. I think this experience will stand her in good stead.

*

She'll face Dominika Cibulkova in the semi final. Now, I quite like diminutive Dominika, and, as we all remember, Dominika did beat Dinara in the final of the Hopman Cup. That said, I think this one is Dinara's to win or lose. I don't think Cibulkova is going to be quite as big a test as Azarenka was - and Dinara also has experience here as well. This is Cibulkova's biggest result at a Slam so far. I heard someone say that she might have to lose a semi before she can win one, and I think that's pretty sound.

*

That said, she was awesome in her demolition of Sharapova. It's going to be a good match...

*
*

Today's Results

*

French Open (Roland Garros)

*

Men's Draw

*

Fernando Gonzalez def. Andy Murray, 6-3 3-6 6-0 6-4

Robin Soderling def. Nikolay Davydenko, 6-1 6-3 6-1

*

*
Women's Draw

*

Dinara Safina def. Victoria Azarenka, 1-6 6-4 6-2

Dominika Cibulkova def. Maria Sharapova, 6-0 6-2

By the Skin of His Teeth

Roger Federer, if I get a stomach ulcer, I am blaming you.

*

Sometimes it is so damn hard to be a Roger Federer fangirl. I'm deliberately not talking about the assumption that Federer 'must' win now Nadal is out for fear of jinxing it, but if he had lost this match... God, I would have been so damn disappointed. The first set... he should have won. He didn't lose a point on serve till the breaker, where he fell apart. The second set, if he'd hung onto that break, it could have totally been the other way round. But there we were. Tommy Haas, up two sets to love on Roger Federer.

*

And then it's break point. It's 4-3 to Haas, Federer serving, and Haas has a break point. Federer hits the gutsiest damn forehand I have ever seen. Paints the line. And then the match turns. Federer takes that set, 6-4. Then 6-0 in about four seconds. Haas struggles gamely in the beginning of the fifth, gets it to 2-all... but then Federer just screams away. That point, that break point... if he had lost that, Tommy Haas would have been serving for the match. But he made it. He made it.

*

God, that man is a champion.

*

He really, really is. I can't deny it. This was an almost exact replica of that Berdych match in Australia, which nearly slayed me. I nearly turned the match off, unable to watch the end, unable to face it. But I owe Roger that much, and I remembered that match, and so I kept on, and I watched and listened and I prayed to the great gods of tennis. (Considering Roger Federer is my tennis god, it might have been a tad redundant, but sort of poetic in the same way). And I believed. And... and my Roger did not let me down.

*

I was sad when Rafa lost. But if Roger had lost, I think I would have been just about catatonic. Thank you, Roger. Thank you. You might have given me an ulcer, but thank you.

*

And I don't know if my troubles will go away, because he's facing Monfils in the next round, who looked very good in his victory over Roddick today. Not that Roddick is the king of clay or anything, but this is certainly his best result here by a long shot, and Monfils pretty much nailed him to the wall. The Federer/Monfils semi last year was a close one, and Roger will have to do a little better than scraping through by the skin of his teeth, I think. I'm just hoping that he's suffered the same malaise as both Nadal and Djokovic seemed to have - but instead of falling victim, he managed to fight on. I have my fingers crossed for that.

*

Making up our other quarter final we have Juan Martin del Potro, who had a very good win over Jo-W Tsonga - though Jo was, in my opinion, largely walkabout for large sections of the match - and Tommy Robredo, who had a nice win over Kohlschreiber. I do not wish to sound, you know, psychic or anything, but did I or did I not predict that Tommy Robredo would make the semis? And are we not just one win away from that?

*

Quick women's watch, and Serena is beginning to look ominous. Maybe we are going to see the Safina/Serena amazing rhyming final after all. However, she'll face Svetlana Kuznetsova, who has been coming through the draw quietly but likewise ominously... and that could be a cracker. And how about the other quarter? Isn't that a surprise? Sam Stosur, who demolished Virginie Razzano, over Romanian prodigy Sorana Cirstea, who has really come into her own with two big victories over her BFF Wozniacki and now Jankovic in an epic third set. Now this could be a good one - and although I think Cirstea is great, I am pulling for Sam in this one 110%!

*

*

Today's Results

*

Men's Draw

*

Roger Federer def. Tommy Haas, 6-7 (4-7) 5-7 6-4 6-0 6-2

Gael Monfils def. Andy Roddick, 6-4 6-2 6-3

Tommy Robredo def. Philipp Kohlschreiber, 6-4 5-7 7-6 (7-4) 6-2

Juan Martin del Potro def. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 6-1 6-7 (5-7) 6-1 6-4

*

*

Women's Draw

*

Serena Williams def. Aleksandra Wozniak, 6-1 6-2

Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Agnieszka Radwanska, 6-4 1-6 6-1

Samantha Stosur def. Virginie Razzano, 6-1 6-2

Sorana Cirstea def. Jelena Jankovic, 3-6 6-0 9-7