This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things

I'd like to register my complete lack of surprise at Kim Clijsters losing to Li Na in the Sydney final. I saw Li play when I was there on Monday, and after that display against Kleybanova from Kim, well...

...I don't think it will damage her Australian Open chances at all. Indeed, I think she will go in the favourite, and she merits that. This loss might actually be good for her in a way - the way she was being talked about was as a favourite so overwhelming any misstep would have brough enormous pressure down on her head.

She has an interesting first round opponent at the Open - one Dinara Safina. Remember her? I hear she used to be #1 in the world... once upon a time. This is an awful draw for Dinara, who is trying to make her comeback... and the sad truth of the matter is that if I were Kim, I wouldn't really be worried at all. That's not a good thing to say about a former #1 in the world - but it's also a true thing.

Now, the draw has just been done, and I could spend some time looking at it and breaking it down like I often do before Slams. But a) everyone else has already done this and b) I couldn't be bothered, as I am writing this on a train, so what I will do instead is this:

Things I Find Interesting About The Draw
- Federer has a nasty second round match, whether he gets Gilles Simon or Yen-hsun Lu... not to mention his first round match, against Lukas 'I fed Rafa a bagel' Lacko.
- Hewitt/Nalbandian should be an absolute cracker... but will probably be disappointing.
- Tsonga/Petzschner is the Thinking Tennis Fan's favourite first round match up.
- There is no way in hell Caroline Wozniacki is winning the Australian Open, and I don't even particularly like her chances of getting past the first round.
- Poor Dinara.
- Will the real #4 please stand up? I love that Muzz and Sod are in the same quarter. I love it a lot.

Okay, that's done. Now onto the far more interesting bitching about the draw ceremony.

Seriously, WHO KEEPS LETTING BRUCE MCAVANEY OUT OF HIS BOX? This is why we can't have nice things. Not only is he not one of great tennis minds of our time, he is FREAKING ANNOYING. I'm sure Jeremy Chardy and Anna Chakvetadze really enjoyed being trask talked by this nasty little man. And I'm sure all the people in the room who were genuinely interested in tennis all wanted to punch him.

Because, let's face it, Ivan Lendl certainly did. I now love Ivan Lendl.

I know the draw is not the Oscars and I was not expecting it to be anything of the ilk. But please, ye powers that be, get rid of McAvaney. You have actual tennis players floating around - tons of them. USE THEM.

Maybe now #wildcardformahut has wound up (though #supportmahut still lives) I should start #firebruce...

Keeping On Keeping On

I haven't been paying too much attention to women's tennis lately - naughty me - so I think it's time I rectified that a little. I haven't even really been checking the scores, so I was really very pleasantly surprised to see a new favourite of mine winning her second round match in Portoroz.

That new favourite is Stefanie Voegele of Switzerland and I really think she's going to grow up awesome. And no, I don't just like her because she's Swiss. She played Serena tight and fierce in the first round of Roland Garros this year and she seriously had some game going on - both in her game and in her head. Seriously, the girl's got a serious tennis brain on her shoulders.

I haven't seen too much of her play besides that one match, but if she continues to play like she did in that one match, she is going to be something. And she had a good solid win over the very talented (albeit underachieving) Tamira Paszek. Here's hoping she keeps on keeping on!

Anna Chakvetadze also had a very convincing win over Sara Errani, who was seeded #4. Chakvetadze is a headcase on an Ivanovician (though not quite a Vaidisovan) level. I'm not going to be all 'comeback' or anything, but I guess it's a reminder that headcases stay in the game by pure talent, and sometimes this can happen. There you go.

And another new favourite of mine, Anastasija Sevastova, had a win in Bad Gastein over promising youngster Simona Halep. I really want to see her play Anastasia Pivovarova, who is also still in the draw over there. Can't imagine how the commentators would handle that one...

The Real Loser

All Spanish final in Barcelona. Big surprise. I bet the organisers are happy. Yay Rafa, yay Ferru.

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Okay, enough of that. Now - Fed Cup!

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Well, well, well, Italy. Talk about the little Fed Cup team that could. I would never, ever have picked this one - though I believe Van, of Tennis Talk, Anyone? and VANtage Point fame did, so kudos to him! One upset match is something, but to take a 2-0 lead over a country that is undoubtedly the powerhouse of women's tennis? That is something else.

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To be fair, Russia doesn't have its top, top players - neither Safina nor Dementieva are on the squad - but I don't know what Shamil Tarpischev was thinking, playing Chakvetadze instead of Petrova or even Pavlyuchenkova, who both are on the team and have both played better than Anna has this year. It'll be interesting to see the new moves Russia pulls out today, because you'd want to hope they'd fight back with a vengeance.

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Australia's doing well in Fed Cup too - we're up 2-0 in our tie against Switzerland - but that isn't the real tennis news here right now. Tennis Australia has announced that the Australian Davis Cup team will not go to Chennai to play our tie, due to security concerns - which, given the current Indian political climate, is fair enough. TA has petitioned the ITF to get the tie moved, but this was rejected, which means that Australia forfeits the tie.

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Naturally, there is some anger - both Geoff Pollard (CEO of Tennis Australia) and John Fitzgerald (the team captain) have spoken out against the ITF's decision. I can't say I know enough about the particular circumstances to make a real comment - I studied Indian politics at university, but that about three years back now - but the appeal for the move is not without precedent: the IPL (the cricket league, for those of you unfamiliar) has moved to South Africa because of unrest in India. This was ruled irrelevant in the Davis Cup case, much to the ire of the aforementioned Pollard and Fitzgerald.

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Whether or not the tie should be moved or the team should go or whatever, you have to feel for the players here. After that nailbiter over Thailand, they really deserved the opportunity to play this tie. I love following the Davis Cup team, even though the likelihood we'll win anytime in the near future is minute. Fitzgerald said the following:

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"We have worked so hard to get back in to World Group contention, to have it snatched away like this is gut wrenching."

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Could not agree more. Whatever the political situation, the real loser here is sport.

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Today's Results

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Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell (Barcelona)

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Rafael Nadal def. Nikolay Davydenko, 6-3 6-2

David Ferrer def. Fernando Gonzalez, 2-6 6-2 7-6 (7-5)

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Fed Cup

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Italy 2, Russia 0

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Flavia Pennetta def. Anna Chakvetadze, 6-4 6-0

Francesca Schiavone def. Svetlana Kuznetsova, 1-6 6-2 6-3

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USA 1, Czech Republic 1

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Petra Kvitova def. Bethanie Mattek-Sands, 6-3 7-6 (7-2)

Alexa Glatch def. Iveta Benesova, 6-1 6-2

Where in the World is Anna Chakvetadze?

You know how I'm always whinging about Ana Ivanovic and how she never wins things any more? I think this might have led me to disregard the fall of another top ten player - not one as prominent as Ana, as she never reached #1, but still... whatever happened to Anna Chakvetadze?

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She hasn't done anything all year, pretty much. I can't say I follow her career particularly closely, but I'm hard-pressed to think of a time when she strung two matches together, certainly of late. I know this all supposedly stems back to the time she was held up and tied up and guns were involved and badness like that, but still... does it HAVE to affect her tennis game?

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Not that I was such a huge Chakvetadze fan to begin with. I never really paid her much attention, to tell the truth. But it's nice to keep it competitive at the top, and she's just one of that gang not performing as wel as they should. Silly Anna.

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In case you can't tell, Anna got ousted in Luxembourg yesterday, which is a Tier III tournament, conquered by Iveta Benesova. Benesova isn't rubbish, but she certainly isn't playing at the level Chakvetadze should be. It's a shame.

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We had a couple of upsets over with the blokes, but nothing that major. We lost Mardy Fish in Basel (I'm so sad) and Tommy Robredo in Lyon, but otherwise we're pretty solid. One seed that had a good win was Marat Safin, who beat Sergiy Stakhovsky. I know Stakhovsky isn't anyone that big, but I think I remember him winning a tournament this year, so nice one, Marat. Keep it up. He's a Russian playing in Russia, and that seemed to help him out a bit at the Kremlin Cup... so will THIS be the week?

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Today's Results

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Davidoff Swiss Indoors (Basel)

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Igor Andreev def. Philipp Kohlschreiber, 7-6 (8-6) 6-7 (0-7) 7-5

Feliciano Lopez def. Mardy Fish, 7-6 (11-9) 6-4

Benjamin Becker def. Andreas Beck, 3-6 6-3 6-4

James Blake def. Nicolas Kiefer, 3-6 6-3 6-4

Kristof Vliegen def. Philipp Petzschner, 6-2 6-3

Jarkko Nieminen def. Eduardo Schwank, 6-2 6-4

Marcel Granollers def. Marcos Baghdatis, 6-2 4-6 6-2

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St Petersburg Open (St Petersburg)

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Fernando Verdasco def. Karlis Lejnieks, 6-1 6-3

Rainer Schuettler def. Dominik Hrbaty, 6-3 6-3

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

Marat Safin def. Sergiy Stakhovsky, 6-2 6-4

Andrey Golubev def. Olivier Rochus, 6-1 6-4

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Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon (Lyon)

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Julien Benneteau def. Tommy Robredo, 6-2 6-2

Josselin Ouanna def. Nicolas Lapentti, 6-3 1-6 6-3

Gilles Simon def. Juan Monaco, 2-6 6-4 6-1

Robin Soderling def. Thierry Ascione, 6-4 6-1

Paul-Henri Mathieu def. Guillermo Canas, 6-3 6-4

Christophe Rochus def. Gilles Muller, 6-2 6-4

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Generali Ladies Linz (Linz)

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Agnieszka Radwanska def. Kaia Kanepi, 6-2 6-4

Alizé Cornet def. Maria Kirilenko, 1-6 6-2 6-1

Flavia Pennetta def. Agnes Szavay, 6-1 6-2

Sybille Bammer def. Francesca Schiavone, 7-5 6-3

Petra Kvitova def. Tamira Paszek, 6-3 6-3

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FORTIS Championships Luxembourg (Luxembourg)

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Iveta Benesova def. Anna Chakvetadze, 6-2 6-4

Daniela Hantuchova def. Sabine Lisicki, 6-0 6-2

Caroline Wozniacki def. Peng Shuai, 6-4 6-4

Li Na def. Mariya Koryttseva, 7-6 (8-6) 6-3

Sorana Cirstea def. Sara Errani, 6-4 6-2

Amélie Mauresmo def. Stephanie Gehrlein, 6-2 3-6 6-0

Anabel Medina Garrigues def. Virginia Ruano Pascual, 6-2 6-1

Anna-Lena Groenefeld def. Yanina Wickmayer, 7-5 6-4

Ka-Phau

How about Bjorn Phau? He's what, five hundred years old in tennis terms, a real journeyman, and though the score might not quite reflect it, he gave Rafa a bit of a run for his money. I bet that Rafa wasn't really very pleased about spending three hours on court in the first round, not with the amount of tennis he's played of late. If Rafa's going to win this tournament, he really is going to have to get the job done quicker than that, or he's just going to burn out. I know he's, like, the God of Fitness, but no one can play that much tennis and not feel it. He said he was tired going into Beijing, which is why he dropped that set to Potito Starace - so even though he's had a week off, imagine how he must feel now. Poor guy must be buggered.

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That's the price of being good, I guess. You win lots of tournaments in a row = you play many, many matches. You can't win by not playing. If Rafa insists on going on these hots streaks, he'll just have to pay the price.

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Both Rafa and Roger have come out and talked about the sheer insanity of the schedule. I mean, they have no control over the Olympics and that schedule, but really, it's pretty tough to have a one week turn around from such a huge tournament. It's worse than the turnaround between Roland Garros and Wimbledon, and that's pretty crazy too. Both Roger and Rafa played a hell of a lot of matches in the Olympic week, what with both going deep in singles and doubles, so I hope it isn't too hectic for them. Roger will be all right, I think - never thought I'd count those early losses in the Masters Series events as a sort of blessing! - but Rafa has played pretty much non stop since April. So, moral of the story is, Rafa, get the job done fast as you can. I know you did it in straights, but it still took you three hours, and that is just a bit crazy.

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But all credit to Bjorn Phau. Rafa was making uncharacteristic errors, sure, but Phau exploited them. He got in there and had a go. He didn't get intimidated by the situation or the opponent, and he gave it his all - and damn can he hit hard! 'Phau' (Pow) is right. (And I apologise, once again, for the terrible tennis pun which is the title of today's blog. I am helpless in the face of puns.)

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There were no major upsets - at least, not yet. The day isn't quite finished yet! Rafa won, Murray won, so did Ferru and Stan and Headbandian. The only male seed to lose was Juan Monaco, who lost to fast-rising Nishikori from Japan. I've never been particularly impressed with Monaco, so I wasn't especially surprised. Oh, and Lopez lost as well, which was a bit sad... but Wimbledon is his place for success, I think.

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In the women, we did have one that was sort of big - Anna Chakvetadze lost to Ekaterina Makarova, one of the other Russians. The only other seed to fall was Shahar Peer, who went out to Li Na. Li seems to win all the time - how is she not seeded? One of those mysteries of the women's game that I will never understand. Oh, and Kirilenko went out to Paszek. Otherwise, everything seems to be going to plan - Jankovic is on court right now putting the beatdown on Coco Vanderweghe, and sentimental favourite Davenport won as well.

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So no major upset stories so far... which is not necessarily a bad thing! But an intriguing beginning nonetheless.

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Today's Results

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US Open (Flushing Meadows)

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Men's Draw

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Rafael Nadal def. Bjorn Phau, 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 7-6 (7-4)

David Ferrer def. Martin Vassallo Arguello, 7-6 (7-1) 6-2 6-2

Andy Murray def. Sergio Roitman, 6-3 6-4 6-0

Gael Monfils def. Pablo Cuevas, 6-4 6-4 6-1

Andreas Beck def. John Isner, 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 7-6 (7-3)

Stanislas Wawrinka def. Simone Bolelli, 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 6-3

Jiri Vanek def. Stephane Bohli, 3-6 6-3 6-2 7-5

Ryler de Heart def. Olivier Rochus, 7-6 (7-4) 5-7 6-4 3-6 6-4

Roko Karanusic def. Ryan Sweeting, 7-5 7-5 3-6 6-2

Wayne Odesnik def. Fabio Fognini, 2-6 6-0 4-6 6-3 6-4

Jurgen Melzer def. Feliciano Lopez, 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 2-6 6-4

Evgeny Korolev def. Robin Soderling, 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 7-6 (11-9)

Michael Llodra def. Teimuraz Gabashvili, 6-3 5-7 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-4)

Andrey Golubev def. Brendan Evans, 6-4 6-3 6-2

Gilles Simon def. Marcel Granollers, 6-4 6-3 5-7 6-2

Viktor Troicki def. Carsten Ball, 7-6 (7-3) 6-0 6-1

David Nalbandian def. Marcos Daniel, 6-1 6-2 6-4

Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Luis Horna, 6-2 6-3 6-2

Kei Nishikori def. Juan Monaco, 6-2 6-2 5-7 6-2

Jose Acasuso def. Michael Berrer, 6-4 6-2 6-2

Juan Martin del Potro def. Guillermo Canas, 4-6 7-6 (7-0) 6-4 6-1

Thomaz Bellucci def. Oscar Hernandez, 6-3 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 7-5

James Blake def. Donald Young, 6-1 3-6 6-1 4-6 6-4

Steve Darcis def. Denis Gremelmayr, 6-1 6-7 (6-8) 7-6 (7-4) 6-4

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Women's Draw

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Elena Dementieva def. Akgul Amanmuradova, 6-4 7-5

Lindsay Davenport def. Aleksandra Wozniak, 6-4 6-2

Jelena Jankovic def. Coco Vandeweghe, 6-3 6-1

Ekaterina Makarova def. Anna Chakvetadze, 1-6 6-2 6-3

Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Shuai Zhang, 6-4 6-2

Li Na def. Shahar Peer, 2-6 6-0 6-1

Caroline Wozniacki def. Ahsha Rolle, 6-2 6-1

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova def. Vania King, 6-2 4-6 6-2

Virginia Ruano Pascula def. Petra Kvitova, 6-7 (3-7) 6-4 6-2

Francesca Schiavone def. Nuria Llagostera Vives, 7-5 7-5

Yvonne Meusburger def. Lourdes Dominguez Lino, 6-1 6-2

Maria Elena Camerin def. Emilie Loit, 6-0 6-2

Katarina Srebotnik def. Yanina Wickmayer, 3-6 6-0 6-3

Patty Schnyder def. Anastasia Pivovarova, 6-3 3-6 6-3

Jie Zheng def. Shenay Perry, 6-2 6-3

Tatiana Perebiynis def. Mariya Koryttseva, 6-1 6-4

Victoria Azarenka def. Klara Zakopalova, 6-2 6-1

Iveta Benesova def. Karin Knapp, 6-0 6-3

Sofia Arvidsson def. Yan Zi, 6-2 6-4

Pauline Parmentier def. Marina Erakovic, 6-3 7-6 (7-2)

Sara Errani def. Jelena Kostanic Tosic, 6-4 6-2

Magdalena Rybarikova def. Gisela Dulko, 6-4 6-0

Anne Keothavong def. Alexa Glatch, 6-2 6-2

Tamira Paszek def. Maria Kirilenko, 6-3 3-6 6-4

Aravane Rezai def. Asia Muhammad, 6-2 6-4

Marion Bartoli def. Galina Voskoboeva, 6-2 6-3

Anabel Medina Garrigues def. Tsvetana Pironkova, 6-4 7-5

Vera Zvonareva def. Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, 6-4 6-3

Sybille Bammer def. Aiko Nakamura, 6-4 6-2

Ekaterina Bychkova def. Anastastia Rodionova, 6-1 6-3

Sorana Cirstea def. Lucie Safarova, 6-4 4-6 6-2

Alisa Kleybanova def. Carla Suarez Navarro, 6-2 7-5

Weaving A Tangled Web

It occurs to me that I never once mentioned that major controversy that happened a couple of days before the end of the tennis event in the Olympics. I got so caught up in the Swiss doubles victory that I forgot about it entirely. So let's talk about it today.

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The story: Fernando Gonzalez and James Blake are facing off in a match. The winner of the match is guaranteed a medal, the loser will have to play off for the bronze. It's getting tight. Third set, the drama, the drama. Blake hits a shot that goes out. Gonzalez is at the net, shies away. The ball goes out. Blake swears it ricocheted off Gonzalez's racquet, Gonzalez said it didn't. The match continues. Blake, unsettled, loses. The drama, the drama.

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Now, I haven't seen the replays or anything, so I have no opinion on whether or not Gonzalez touched the ball. In fact, I might have even described the situation wrong, but it's roughly correct at least. So what do you do in a situation like this?

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Let's put ourselves in Blake's shoes. You want this match, yeah, you want it bad, and you could swear it came off the other guy's racquet. I wouldn't even consider the option that Blake lied - that would just be terrible sportsmanship, and I don't think James Blake is that kind of guy. Could your eyes deceive you? Possibly. But does it happen too quick for you to able to tell? Probably.

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But you might hear it, you might see the ball change direction. I have no idea what level of perception tennis players have out there. How much do they listen, how much do they rely on their eyes? What feasible chance does Blake have to be sure?

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Now, let's consider Fernando Gonzalez. He definitely doesn't want the ball to have hit his racquet. Again, I doubt he would have lied - though his post match comments were certainly a bit dodgier than Blake's, if that makes sense. He said something along the lines of not being 100% sure of what had happened. Now, I'm sure it would be hard to see or hear the ball, with the speed and maybe the crowd and stuff, but surely you'd be able to feel it? Those guys hit the balls like a rocket. How can you be not sure?

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But I'm not fully acquainted with the circumstances, and if Gonzalez says he's not sure, then I'm sure he's not sure. There aren't many players - or any, really - on the circuit that I would ever think capable of full-out lying. I wonder if the fact it was Gonzalez on the other side of the net influenced Blake at all...? I'm not aware of any dislike or anything between them, but imagine if this had happened when Blake had been playing Federer. Blake has come out and talked about his respect for Federer on numerous times. If Roger said he didn't hit the ball, I'm pretty sure Blake would believe that Roger didn't hit the ball. But it was Gonzalez. So was this an influence?

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The upshot of all this is that I have no idea, and in fact, no opinion about what happened. I'd be prepared to take both guys at their word, and I would severely doubt that either one is deliberately lying. But it's interesting. I'm generally impressed with the high level of sportsmanship and lack of gamesmanship on the ATP tour, but they can't all be perfect. Could you live with yourself if you won something under false pretences? A lot of people would go a long way for an Olympic medal. Maybe I'm idealistic, but I just can't believe that either of these guys would deliberately lie about this.

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There is today's tangled moral issue. I am taking my position firmly on the fence. What does everyone else think?

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It's one of those dull weeks of tennis before a major tournament again. The US Open starts next week, which will be big fun and very interesting and stuff, but this week is pretty dull. The only real tournament is New Haven (men and women), and due to the Olympics, none of the big guns is playing. The top seed is Nando Verdasco, and while he's a good player, he's not a world-changer. For the women, it's Anna Chakvetadze (is she not ranked higher than Zvonareva? Why wasn't she at the Olympics? Or did she genuinely not qualify?) So this might be one of those uninspired blog weeks, unless we have some more interesting issues. I suppose I could always talk about McEnroe's exclusion at some point... putting me about a week behind the news!

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Juan Martin del Potro is not playing, although he was originally scheduled to... but I think that's a smart move. You don't want to come into a Slam having played two solid weeks of tennis - because if he was here, he would stand a great chance of winning. And if you had a streak like that, you'd want to take it in to the US Open. If he's in the right part of the draw, he stands a good chance of being the random semi finalist. Actually, I'd like him to be in Djokovic's quarter, so he can pull a Safin. He's currently at #17, so he could potentially meet one of the big guns in the third round... wouldn't that be interesting?

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It occurs to me that del Potro is only twenty, and is totally only at the beginning of his career, though he seems to have been round for a while. I am now officially adopting him into the Tennis From The Backseat Stars of the Future program. Currently, he's my star performer - so Ernests and Marin might need to move over! Or, alternatively, they need to do some serious shining!

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Today's Results

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Pilot Pen Tennis (New Haven)

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Men's Draw

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Fernando Verdasco def. Dudi Sela, 6-4 6-4

Potito Starace def. Jiri Vanek, 6-2 7-6 (9-7)

Denis Gremelmayr def. Marcos Daniel, 3-6 6-3 6-3

Olivier Rochus def. Evgeny Korolev, 6-4 6-4

Steve Darcis def. Vince Spadea, 7-5 5-0 retired

Fabio Fognini def. Nicolas Lapentti, 6-4 4-4 retired

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez def. Chris Guccione, 7-5 6-3

John Isner def. Igor Kunitsyn, 6-4 6-4

Wayne Odesnik def. Sebastien Grosjean, 7-5 6-4

Luka Gregorc def. Ramon Delgado, 6-2 3-6 6-0

Robby Ginepri def. Luis Horna, 7-6 (7-4) 6-2

Arnaud Clement def. Thomaz Bellucci, 6-4 6-4

Viktor Troicki def. Alex Bogomolov Jr., 7-5 2-6 6-1

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Women's Draw

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Patty Schnyder def. Jill Craybas, 6-4 7-6 (7-2)

Alizé Cornet def. Nicole Vaidisova, 6-3 7-6 (10-8)

Caroline Wozniacki def. Dominika Cibulkova, 7-6 (9-7) retired

Katarina Srebotnik def. María José Martínez Sánchez, 6-7 (4-7) 6-3 6-2

Casey Dellacqua def. Virginie Razzano, 6-3 6-1

Sorana Cirstea def. Alla Kudryavtseva, 4-6 6-3 7-5

Sara Errani def. Mallory Cecil, 6-2 4-6 7-6 (7-1)