Little Guys in the Big Time

All this talk of the Fed Cup and Aussie women's tennis has made me forget to write about one of the staples of this blog - my Stars! And two of them in particular have done very well this week, so - a little tribute.

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Let's start in Johannesburg, with my Frenchman, Jeremy Chardy. Not one of the more active of my Stars, it is fair to say - he hasn't been burning quite as brightly as some of the others. Nonetheless, whenever I forget about him, he comes out and proves that, yes, he does belong in my Stars program, and this week he did it by reaching the final in Johannesburg, where he did lose, yes - but it was to fellow Frenchie Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and even though he's a Star, Jo-Dub is a bit spesh right now. He was seeded fifth in this tournament, which shows you how he's sneaking up the rankings - so well done, Jeremy. Hope to see more of you.

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And not only did we have a finalist in South Africa, we had a winner in Zagreb. I think it's fair to say that second seed Marin Cilic, who cruised home over fellow Croat Mario Ancic, has well and truly made it. I think he's the first of my Stars that I can legitimately say I picked when he was way down in the rankings and has since made the big time. Seriously, how good is this boy? Two titles this year already, and it's only February. I think we can expect big things from Marin this year - big things. He might even be this year's surprise Juan Martin del Potro, the random young guy who suddenly becomes a gun and makes it to the season-ending championships. Though I do hold out hopes that Gulbis will give him a run for his money...

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And meanwhile, back to Fed Cup - I expected Russia to sweep China, even though neither Safina nor Sharapova were playing the tie, but Italy sweeping France? I never would have picked that one. On one side, you have Schiavone and Pennetta, the other, Cornet and Mauresmo. A sane person would pick the French girls to win every time, yeah? How bizarre. But good work to the Italians, nonetheless.

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Today's Results

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SA Tennis Open (Johannesburg)

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Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Jeremy Chardy, 6-4 7-6 (7-5)

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Movistar Open (Vina del Mar)

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Fernando Gonzalez def. Pablo Cuevas, 6-3 6-2

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PBZ Zagreb Indoors (Zagreb)

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Marin Cilic def. Mario Ancic, 6-3 6-4