No Brouhaha In Doha

What an anti-climactic day in Doha. I was all set for a massive Serena/Elena showdown, with the winner to get to the semis - and because Doha is, like, an important tournament and stuff, you'd think people'd be raring to get into the semis.

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But no. Serena is all like, 'oh, I'm injured,' so Dementieva got through to the semis just like that. JUST LIKE THAT. Grrrr. Of course, she still played a match, which she won - it was tight, but I bet Nadia Petrova was glad to get some court time after coming all that way to be an alternate. It just irritates me so much. This season-ending championship has not been the big event I was hoping for. There has been no brouhaha in Doha. It is not a scream, but a whimper - and that's really, really depressing. Here's hoping the men manage a bit more in Shanghai next week - though what's with the final only being three sets now? That is LAMETASTIC.

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The real story has been Vera Zvonareva. She totally looked like the weak link of the eight, but she's gone 3-0, beating Kuznetsova, Ivanovic and now Jankovic. (Speaking of Ivanovic, she is also in my bad books - retiring because of 'illness?' She looked fine when she was eating birthday cake the other day. Maybe she and Nando Verdasco are too busy for something as trivial as the year-ending championships. Grrr.) If Vera goes on to win the championship, I think that would be fabulous. Actually, I'm going for her now. She's the underdog, and as an Australian, I think I am programmed to go for them. It's practically part of our constitution.

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In fact, let's talk Australian tennis - specifically, Bernard Tomic and Brydan Klein. There's an article on the Tennis Australia website which says that they've both added the Mildura Grand Tennis International (a pro tour event) to their calendars, which is pretty cool for Mildura folks, I guess. What really caught me about the article is that they call Tomic the 'best sixteen-year old tennis player in the world.' And still people say that Australian tennis is looking bleak. Added to that, Brydan Klein won the junior Aussie Open in 2007, so he's not exactly a slouch either, and some of the Aussie junior girls won the 2007 World Junior Championships. So I don't get the no-hopers. Australian tennis is going to have a renaissance - just not this second.

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Today's Results

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Sony Ericsson Championships 2008 (Doha)

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White Group

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Vera Zvonareva def. Jelena Jankovic, 2-6 6-3 6-4

Agnieszka Radwanska def. Svetlana Kuznetsova, 6-2 7-5

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Maroon Group

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Elena Dementieva def. Nadia Petrova, 6-4 4-6 6-4

Where is the Respect?

I don't know what I was expecting from Doha, but it wasn't Dinara Safina going 0-3. Oh well. Here's hoping his sister's poor performance here convinces Marat that yes, he can keep up and he doesn't have to retire, and that Dinara comes back bigger and better next year. I am hanging out for that Hopman Cup. Actually, didn't Marat say he'd give Paul McNamee a decision re Hopman Cup by the first week of November... which is now? I'll just go and check...

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...okay, so there's nothing that says he's confirmed anything, but they've just released the schedule, and Marat and Dinara (listed by name) are scheduled to play the Italians on Tennis West Family Day (whenever that may be.) So that's a good sign, yeah? I am determined to find a way to attend the Hopman Cup - it is totally my favourite tournament in the whole year. And it's so disappointing that it gets totally shafted. Davis Cup has all this prestige, and Fed Cup has a bit too (though not nearly as much as it should have) but everyone totally forgets about Hopman Cup. It's not even counted as part of the Australian Open series. I mean, I understand why you don't accrue points from playing it, just like you don't accrue points from playing Davis and Fed Cups, but it's so awesome! It's one of the few tournaments where players can play for their country as well as themselves (and isn't that a big thing for a lot of athletes) and the only one where mixed doubles - which is totally fabulous - is as important as singles. It's so rare that men and women get to play together, and it's such a shame. I mean, Marat and Dinara have never, ever, ever, EVER played together before. Can you even begin to imagine how fabulous it's going to be?

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Maybe Hopman Cup will be Marat's tournament! I know he's won Davis Cup since the slump, but Hopman Cup is a bit different. It's individual as well as a team thing... and it's just so great! Where is the respect? WHERE?

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Oh yeah. Doha. Which is happening now. Dinara is presumably out after losing to Dementieva, Venus is presumably through after beating Serena (who'd have thought Venus'd go 3-0? ...actually, I guess it's not that surprising) and Serena and Elena will fight it out for the remaining berth in the maroon group. I don't think they've played yet, so that'll be the deciding match. (Or have they played? I can't remember.)

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In the white group, I'm guessing it's going to be Jelena Jankovic and Vera Zvonareva, because they both have two wins now. And my tip for the eventual winner... hmmm, Jankovic. She really deserves one of the big titles, and if you can't have a Slam, I guess Doha is the one you'd want.

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Today's Results

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Sony Ericsson Championships 2008 (Doha)

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White Group

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Jelena Jankovic def. Svetlana Kuznetsova, 7-6 (8-6) 6-4

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Maroon Group

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Venus Williams def. Serena Williams, 5-7 6-1 6-0

Elena Dementieva def. Dinara Safina, 6-2 6-4

The Safin Side?

It looks my Dinara Safina tip might be... well, wrong. Maybe she's trying to make Marat feel better by losing a bit? I would like to think it's that, rather than the Safin side coming out. That said, she has been beaten by the Williams sisters - this is hardly a Julie Coin incident. She can still make it out of round robin, but Serena will have to lose her next two matches and Dinara will have to beat Dementieva for this to happen. Venus looks pretty certain of going through with her two wins - and I thought she might be the weak link in this group. Guess you can never call anyone weak at this level.

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Someone else who looks pretty certain of going through is Vera Zvonareva - who would have guessed? She's easily the lowest profile of the eight, but she's had good wins over both Svetlana Kuznetsova and Ana Ivanovic now. I can't see her beating Jelena, but it's looking like Jelena and Vera will go through. It is early days yet, but that is my bold prediction.

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Meanwhile, the groups have just been announced for the Shanghai Masters Cup, and I have to say, once more, one group is harder than the other. I actually did a bit of a double take when I looked at it and was all like, 'what? How can Federer and Murray be in the same group?' then I realised that Murray is in fact the third seed. If it were based on recent performance, Murray would definitely be seeded higher than Djokovic. Other members of the red group are Andy Roddick and Gilles Simon, and in the gold group we have Novak Djokovic, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Juan Martin del Potro and Nikolay Davydenko.

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I don't think it's difficult to predict that Federer and Murray will be the players that go through from the red group - I don't know how many people would bet against them! In the gold group, the seeds are Djokovic and Davydenko, but I'm going to be bold and say that Tsonga and del Potro will go through. They are just so much hotter right now, when it comes down to it.

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And to conclude, can I just say how jealous I am of Roger Federer's new real estate acquisition? He just bought a ski chalet in Valbella near St Moritz. Why can't I have a ski chalet?

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Today's Results

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Sony Ericsson Championships 2008 (Doha)

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White Group

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Vera Zvonareva def. Ana Ivanovic, 6-3 6-7 (5-7) 6-4

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Maroon Group

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Venus Williams def. Elena Dementieva, 6-4 4-6 6-3

Serena Williams def. Dinara Safina, 6-4 6-1

Ana and I Size 'Em Up

And so the year-ending championships have begun - the female variety thereof. Three matches have been played so far in Doha, and two of the three results have been quite surprising to me. I would have picked Jelena Jankovic over Ana Ivanovic any day of the week, but I didn't pick Vera Zvonareva over Svetlana Kuznetsova, or (sob) Venus Williams over Dinara Safina. We all know Dinara is my special favourite, and Venus is, by the looks of things, probably the easiest of the opponents in that group - not that any of them are easy, but still. I was kind of counting on Dinara to pull that one out. Oh well. Two to go! And if she beats Serena, that US Open revenge will be sa-weeeeeeeeeeet!

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Ana Ivanovic went on record a day or two ago assessing each of the women in the Doha field - for fun today, I thought I'd see where my opinions and Ana's opinions matched up.

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Jelena Jankovic

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Ana says: I think Jelena, she's really good on the court and she's a great fighter and a great competitor. She's very consistent.

Jodi says: I think Ana's on the money here. Jelena's greatest asset is her consistency and her defensive play. Also her athleticism. I don't think we've seen anyone play quite like Jelena since Kim Clijsters. High injury rate, but good when she's on song.

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Dinara Safina

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Ana says: With Dinara, she never gives up. She's a very, very tough opponent, and so many times in this year she came with match points down, so that proves that.

Jodi says: Word, Ana. Dinara's extraordinarily talented, but she's won matches in the mind this year. You pretty much have to break her legs to break her spirit. Who can forget that epic against Sharapova at Roland Garros? When her mind hasn't been in a match (ie versus Serena in the US Open semis) she hasn't been half so good. Who'd ever think we'd be lauding a Safin for mental strength?

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Serena and Venus Williams

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Ana says: With Serena, she has an unbelievable powerful game. With Venus it's the same case. They are so powerful and they have a different game style than the other girls on tour.

Jodi says: I love that the Williams sisters are always grouped together as a unit. Normally I'd be up in arms about that, but their styles of play are so similar it's just easier to write about them together. Power is their main asset - of the two, I'd have to say Serena has a little more variety and game.

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Svetlana Kuznetsova

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Ana says: With Kuznetsova, she can be very dangerous, because she's very aggressive. She likes to dominate as well.

Jodi says: True, but Sveta's also got that monkey on her back re finals. All the aggression in the world isn't going to help her till she gets her head in the game. One of her greatest strengths used to be her consistency, but we haven't seen much of that this year.

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Vera Zvonareva

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Ana says: With Vera, she's also consistent. She likes to run, and she likes to take the speed of other opponents.

Jodi says: I think Ana's dead right - Vera's biggest asset is her speed. Because she's so little, she doesn't generate a whole lot of power (though it is surprising for her size!) but she's so fast and such a good returner she takes a lot of court away from her opponents.

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Elena Dementieva

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Ana says: Elena, she is very, very aggressive. She likes to dominate. She likes when the balls are coming, her hitting it. She's very good and very consistent.

Jodi says: Elegant Elena has to have game, because her serve is a joke. It's better than it was, but still a joke - she gets virtually no free points of it. If she had more of a serve, I could see her winning a lot more stuff than she does. Nonetheless, Ana is dead on about her game.

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Ana Ivanovic

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Ana says: And about myself - what can I say about myself? Maybe you can ask them. No, I think I'm a great fighter. I never give up. I just try until the last moment.

Jodi says: Ana knows herself best, I guess, but I can't say I've seen too much evidence of this... not this year at least. Ana's biggest weapon is the power she generates in her groundies and her placement: I would definitely not say her chief strength is in her mind!

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Anyone else care to add their opinions to mine and Ana's? It's interesting to see what players think of each other... much as it could get extraordinarily bitchy, it'd be nice to see everyone in Doha do it! From a journalistic perspective, anyway!

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Today's Results

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Sony Ericsson Championships 2008 (Doha)

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White Group

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Vera Zvonareva def. Svetlana Kuznetsova, 6-2 6-3

Jelena Jankovic def. Ana Ivanovic, 6-3 6-4

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Maroon Group

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Venus Williams def. Dinara Safina, 7-5 6-3

Hasta La Vista, Rafa

Although there is no tennis today, there is still big news - bad news, in fact. Rafael Nadal, current #1, has withdrawn from Shanghai. This is what he said in his statement:

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"I have decided not to compete on the Masters Cup in Shanghai... This is one of the most difficult decisions in my career due to the importance of the event and above all, due to the fact of not making possible my will to be with the fans in China and the tournament organizers that always treated me in such special way.

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"I am deeply saddened and disappointed for my fans around the world that expected to see me in Shanghai fighting in every match. I do expect to be there again in October '09 for the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in Shanghai."

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His reason for withdrawing is that injury he sustained to his right knee in Paris in his match against Davydenko. His playing style is so hard on his knees... it's almost painful to watch sometimes, the way he grinds his body into the court. One day it's just going to give up on him and it's not going to be pretty. So we have seen the last of Rafa for this year... the last time he pulled out of the Masters Cup - in 2005 - he also pulled out of the Australian Open the year after, which was the year Federer beat Baghdatis in the final. Here's hoping, for Rafa's sake, and for the sake of the Australian public, the same thing doesn't happen this time. Much as I always pull for Federer and Nadal is his greatest competitor, I am also a major fan of competition... and I'm going to be at the Australian Open for a week, and I want to see both Roger and Rafa, thank you very much.

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The major beneficiary of the Nadal withdrawal is Gilles Simon, who has been promoted into the elite eight. I think the fact that he is up so high in the rankings is proof of the fact that it's been a pretty even year this year... he's won three titles (Casablanca, Indianapolis and Bucharest) which is a great season, but he doesn't seem like someone you'd generally find at the elite level. We've had a lot of first time winners this season - and I think that's just swell. Much as I love seeing Federer dominating and winning everything, it's nice to share the love a bit!

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So now our elite eight are Federer, Djokovic, Murray, Davydenko, Roddick, Tsonga, del Potro and Simon. Still no Ferrer and no Nalbandian. I'm picking a Federer/Murray final, I think... Djokovic has been inconsistent of late, and we all remember how he went 0-3 last year. Tsonga is also a big possibility - he's hot right now! But I'd never, ever rule out the Rog - and never, ever stop pulling for him!

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No results today!

Jo Goes!

Well done, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga! I think we can safely say that the Tsonga ship is in the harbour. This kid could well be the next big thing - and if he keeps playing the way he is, then that's a certainty. He is oozing with talent: and, better yet, he's smart. That is maybe one of the most important qualities a tennis player can have.

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He has a great attitude too. This is what he said after the match:

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"At the end of the match I felt a lot better. I played exactly like I had to. I didn't do extraordinary things. Like in Australia I played volleys that were coming from nowhere, whereas today I played just right. I believe this is the way you win. It's not when you do lucky shots that you win. It's when you think about your shots."

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He's made a Slam final and won two titles, including a Masters series, and he is still learning. Andy Murray might well be the hottest player on tour right now, but Jo-W is hot on his tail, and if he and Djokovic aren't careful, I could see Tsonga potentially leapfrogging them next year. He has all that part of the year where he wasn't playing because of injury - imagine how many points he can gain there!

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Actually, that's incredible. Tsonga has made the Masters Cup after being out for half the season injured. How incredible is that? In points, he actually leapfrogged Juan Martin del Potro, and we all know how hot Juan M has been this season. So Jo has qualified in seventh place. I really hope he's in Rafa's group - have they played since Jo carved him up at the Aussie Open? Because that is a rematch I would really like to see.

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So we have our qualifiers for Shanghai - Nadal, Federer, Djokovic, Murray, Davydenko, Roddick, Tsonga and del Potro. Some of them are old regulars, but it is good to see some new blood there. It is the first time round for Murray, Tsonga and del Potro - good on them. I am, however, really disappointed that David Ferrer isn't there. Last year Fernando Gonzalez and Richard Gasquet also made appearances, but neither of them - especially Gasquet - really deserve to be here this year. I'm also a bit sad James Blake didn't make it, but what can you do, I guess? It's important to have new blood, and we have some top-notch new blood here.

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You just wait till London next year, when Cilic and Gulbis are the new blood. You just wait.

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The groups for Doha have just been decided: in the white group, we have Svetlana Kuznetsova, Vera Zvonareva, Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic, while in the maroon group we have Dinara Safina, Elena Dementieva, Venus Williams and Serena Williams. (Why white and maroon I have no idea.) Is it just me, or is the maroon group a lot more competitive than the white? If Jelena Jankovic doesn't come through the white group in top spot, I will eat an item of my clothing. The maroon group could be a four-way dogfight, unless one or more of them has a total collapse. I'm going with Dinara to come out on top, but Serena could give her a run for her money...

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Today's Results

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BNP Paribas Masters

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Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. David Nalbandian, 6-3 4-6 6-4

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Bell Challenge (Quebec)

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Nadia Petrova def. Bethanie Mattek, 4-6 6-4 6-1

Go Jo!

Okay, so I SO want Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to win in Paris. Can you think of anyone who deserves it more? His year started out so well, but I was really worried he'd be a one-hit wonder after he was out for so long with injury. But not so, it seems. Winning Paris-Bercy would really cap off a stellar breakout year for him, I feel. He's got the talent and the game to be in the top ten - hell, he's got the ability to knock Djokovic and Murray off their perches and form a whole new Big Three. He had a fabulous win over James Blake in his semi-final. The Australian Open was a spectacular preview - winning in Paris would be a sure-fire way of saying, 'hello, tennis, Jo-W is in the house!'

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Not that Nalbandian doesn't deserve to win - and we all know he has the ability to, as he won he last year as part of that big late year surge. It would certainly be good in the lead up to Davis Cup to have Nalbandian on a hot streak: to have a Nalbandian at the height of his powers plus the undeniably hot Juan Martin del Potro would certainly make for an awesome final. Rafa's ability can never be in doubt, but he seems to have a wee bit of an injury, and also he's never beaten Nalbandian, and it's on Nalbandian's favourite surface... add to which the other Spanish singles player will probably be David Ferrer, who has been Maratishly sketchy of late, and you have a tie and a half.

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Back to Paris, and this should be a very intriguing final. There are definitely pros for either guy winning - Jo-W to cap off his breakout year and Headbandian for Davis Cup purposes - but I have to say that my heart is with Jo-W, purely because of his personality. He's so vibrant and exciting to watch and is so clearly into his tennis in a big way... and Headbandian is so dour and monosyllabic. He's fun to watch, but when it comes to the post-match interview he leaves much to be desired. Maybe that's part of why Federer is so good - he is wonderful on and off court. You'd never catch him being all sour like LameDave or stupidly provocative like Djokovic. Even when he hates something - like HawkEye - he hates it diplomatically and maturely.

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And that's what part of being a true champion is, I think - being a statesman. Rafa is in this mode as well, on the whole: excellent player, excellent statesman. So when my prediction comes true and Tsonga knocks off Djokovic to become the latest member of the Big Three (God, that makes it sound like a boy band!) he too will have to learn this skill if he wants to be one of those real champions, who is great on and off court.

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I'm not exactly sure how this preview of an exciting final turned into musings on how to be a champion... sorry about that philosophical digression. To sum up: good work Jo-W and Headbandian, for taking out Blake and Davydenko. And tomorrow... go Jo!

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Today's Results

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BNP Paribas Masters (Paris)

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David Nalbandian def. Nikolay Davydenko, 6-1 5-7 6-4

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. James Blake, 6-4 6-3

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Bell Challenge (Quebec)

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Nadia Petrova def. Angela Haynes, 6-1 6-3

Bethanie Mattek def. Aleksandra Wozniak, 7-6 (7-4) 6-3