The Man in the Mask

So, tennis world, I feel like I've missed the memo. Is Gilles Simon awesome again? Did someone forget to tell me?

Seriously, you can't turn around these days without going, 'oh, Simon beat that vaguely competent guy? is he back or something?' Today, the vaguely competent guy is Michael Berrer, but there have been many much more competent dudes that Simon has got the W over lately.

I never had a lot of time for Gilles Simon when he was awesome. Part of this was me being a bitter Federfan - I cannot lie - but then there was that whole deal wherein, you know, he doesn't actually have any weapons. The best demonstration of this I ever saw was when Rafa hammered him at the AO in 2009. I feel like he's really good at pretending to be a good player but sometimes he gets exposed. And that's exactly what happened when he got de-awesomed.

But now he's all winning stuff, so the mask is back. But he did only beat Berrer in a third set breaker, so read into that what you will.

Oh, and Tursunov beat Gasquet. I'm a bit of a Tursunov fan, so yay, but seriously, Richou? Did that seriously just happen?

Lukewarm

So Marin didn't exactly roll over, but I think we saw in the final in Beijing exactly what's holding him back - he can't back up a hot performance like the one against Nadal with an equally hot one. So unless his hot performance comes in the final, he's sort of on his own.

I don't know. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe he just had a better game plan against Rafa or was able to impose his game better - because that's certainly what happened there: Cilic totally imposed his game on Rafa and Rafa was unable to respond. I guess Novak was just not so vulnerable...

...and one cannot get around the fact that Cilic just didn't play as well.

He didn't play badly - I mean, he got that second set to a breaker after a very limp first set - but he needs to step it up if he wants to mix it with the big guys.

Speaking of the big guys, Novak Djokovic is now back at #3 in the world. I can't remember a year where we saw this much shuffling among the top echelons - in the best of the rest spots, sure, but among the big guys? Not so much. For ages, it was just Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, bam, done - now the introduction of Murray has really shaken things around. He's fallen from #2 to #4 in the last few weeks, and I can't imagine he'll be too happy about that... but with that wrist injury, how well is he going to be able to respond?

Shout outs also go to our other weekend winners, Tsonga and Kuznetsova. I might write more on these guys later, but for now - congrats.


Today's Results

China Open (Beijing)

Men's Draw

Novak Djokovic def. Marin Cilic, 6-2 7-6 (7-4)


Women's Draw

Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Agnieszka Radwanska, 6-2 6-4


Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships (Tokyo)

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Mikhail Youzhny, 6-3 6-3

Mighty Marin Strikes Again

Marin Cilic, you are mighty.

I didn't see the match, so I don't know if Rafa was injured or if Shmafa turned up or what happened, but for someone to beat him so comprehensively, they have to be playing pretty damn well. Mighty Marin Cilic, that was some win.

I've been on the Mighty Marin bandwagon for a long time now, and so it makes me very happy to see him doing well and knocking out quality opponents - though I still love you, Rafa, fear not. As we saw in the US Open, when he totally smashed Andy Murray like a guitar, he is capable of tennis that truly rocks the kasbah. He's got talent in huge lashings and when it's on display, he is absolutely fearsome. Top ten for sure.

However, the one problem Marin has is that this talent doesn't always come to play. He gets nervous - I note that this happened in the third set last night, where he was on the path to beating Rafa breadstick and breadstick but suffered from some tightness. This is, I think, the last major hurdle he has to overcome. If he can bring his talent, or at least some measure of it, to play on every occasion he steps on the court, he is going to skyrocket up the rankings. Nalbandian-esque streakiness won't do him any favours in the long run.

So it will be interesting to see what he delivers when he steps on court against Novak Djokovic tomorrow. I'm going to go out on a limb and pick Cilic to win - but if, and only if, he shows up with talent in tow.


Today's Results

China Open (Bejing)

Men's Draw

Marin Cilic def. Rafael Nadal, 6-1 6-3
Novak Djokovic def. Robin Soderling, 6-3 6-3


Women's Draw

Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Nadia Petrova, 6-1 6-3
Agnieszka Radwanska def. Marion Bartoli, 6-4 6-3


Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships (Tokyo)

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Gael Monfils, 6-3 6-3
Mikhail Youzhny def. Lleyton Hewitt, 6-2 5-7 7-5

All Good Things...

Well, it couldn't last forever. Both Marat and Ernests went out today to opponents who are higher ranked, and, frankly, better than they are right now. No shame in that.

I don't know if there was ever much point hoping for Marat to beat Rafa - though a Marat who played to his potential, a la Marat AO '05, would certainly be capable of it. Rafa showed why he held the #1 spot for a year and why he's been at the top end of the game for so long. I'm pulling for him to win this title now - he deserves it, after a drought of about five months.

But I'm not here to make an ode to Rafa. I thought Marat did pretty well this week and though I'm not hoping for anything major from him in his last few tournaments, it'd be nice if he'd play like this week, win a few matches and fall to worthy opponents, instead of being like his sister and losing to people ranked in the #200s. Cool with you, Maratski?

Now, over to Ernie.

He lost, but I'm definitely seeing signs of life from the Latvian kid. He's working with Hernan Gumy now, I believe, and it's made a different. For the second week in a row, he played Jo-Wilfried tight in three. I think he has a bit of a problem with fading at the ends of matches which he needs to address, but things are looking up for Ernie. It used to be the height of trendiness to be an Ernie fan and now it seems to be the opposite. But I'm still siding with you, Ernie - now go out there, end the year with a few more consecutive wins and show me that my faith in you is not misguided!


Today's Results

China Open (Beijing)

Men's Draw

Rafael Nadal def. Marat Safin, 6-3 6-1
Novak Djokovic def. Fernando Verdasco, 6-3 1-6 6-1
Marin Cilic def. Nikolay Davydenko, 6-4 6-4
Robin Soderling def. Ivan Ljubicic, 7-6 (7-3) 6-4


Women's Draw

Marion Bartoli def. Vera Zvonareva, 3-6 7-5 6-2
Agnieszka Radwanska def. Elena Dementieva, 7-5 6-3
Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 6-3 6-3
Nadia Petrova def. Shuai Peng, 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 6-2


Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships (Tokyo)

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Ernests Gulbis, 4-6 6-4 6-3
Gael Monfils def. Stanislas Wawrinka, 2-6 6-3 6-4
Mikhail Youzhny def. Tomas Berdych, 6-2 7-6 (8-6)
Lleyton Hewitt def. Edouard Roger-Vasselin, 6-4 6-0

Awesome Times Two

He did it! Oh frabjous day, calloo, callay, etc etc! Joy and celebration and a ticker tape parade!

Ernests Gulbis won two matches in a row.

It was pretty much the crappest way to win ever - on a retirement - but still, I am refusing to be downhearted. He played very well to beat Juan Monaco - even an injured Juan Monaco - and backed up his upset of Stepanek nicely. I am very, very happy.

This was after coming up through qualies, and I'm inclined to think playing the qualies was a good thing for him. It meant he had to string a couple of wins together before the tournament even started, which, sure, weren't over the bestest players EVAH, but it gave him a bit of momentum. This is obviously not something he's going to be able to rely on forever, but for now, I think it served him well. And now he's finally in reasonably deep at a tournament! Hurrah!

You know what would reeeeeeeeeeeally make my day, Ernie? If you won the next round as well. Prove it's not a fluke and you're making a late charge. Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease?!

And in other news, Marat Safin is totally in the third round in Beijing after opening a can of whoop-ass on seventh seed Fernando Gonzalez. I know his heart isn't in the game any more, ra ra ra, but I would dearly love to see him do well in these last few tournaments of his. End it with a bang, Marat. Do it for me.


Today's Results

China Open (Beijing)

Men's Draw

Rafael Nadal def. James Blake, 7-5 6-7 (4-7) 6-3
Robin Soderling def. Tommy Robredo, 6-3 6-3
Marat Safin def. Fernando Gonzalez, 6-3 6-4
Ivan Ljubicic def. Lukasz Kubot, 7-6 (8-6) 4-6 6-4


Women's Draw

Nadia Petrova def. Serena Williams, 6-4 3-6 7-6 (7-5)
Vera Zvonareva def. Flavia Pennetta, 6-3 5-7 7-5
Agnieszka Radwanska def. Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, 4-6 6-4 6-2
Marion Bartoli def. Zhang Shuai, 6-1 6-4


Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships (Tokyo)

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Richard Gasquet, 4-6 6-2 6-2
Mikhail Youzhny def. Gilles Simon, 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (5-7) 6-4
Tomas Berdych def. Andreas Beck, 6-4 6-1
Lleyton Hewitt def. Fabrice Santoro, 3-6 6-3 6-1
Edouard Roger-Vasselin def. Jurgen Melzer, 4-6 6-2 6-3
Ernests Gulbis def. Juan Monaco, 6-3 4-1 retired

#1 Story

It is, I believe, official, or as good as - Dinara Safina is no longer going to be the world #1. Instead, that title will pass to the much-belaguered-of-late Serena Williams. This is, in my opinion, a Good Thing for Dinara. A very Good Thing indeed - and I'm sure I'm not the only person who thinks this way. The last thing Dinara needs at the moment is that kind of pressure. Maybe this will inspire her to better play. Who knows?

At any rate, I'm not giving up on Dinara just yet. I may be the last person clinging to the bandwagon, and I may only be clinging to it by a fingernail, but I'm going to keep the faith. She's never been someone that wins pretty, and she's never lost prettily either. The rest of this year has to be a write-off from her perspective - I wouldn't blame her if she skipped the end of year championships and just went off and worked with Zeljko for a while on that serve of hers. I think it would do her the world of good. And then maybe next year we can see her winning ugly again instead of losing hideously.

Speaking of #1 seeds losing, I bet Juan Martin del Potro's filthy with himself. Talk about coming back from a massive title without a bang. He went down in straights in the first round of Tokyo to qualifier Edouard Roger-Vasselin - not the kind of match he wants to be losing. I mean, I'm sure we can forgive him a stupid loss or two - he did prove himself in rather spectacular fashion by winning in the US - but I've got my eye on you, Juan. Don't keep this up.

The top seed in Beijing is one Rafael Nadal, and he did not lose today - onya, Rafa. However, he did go to three, and the man that stole the set was Marcos Baghdatis. I've missed smiley happy Marcos, and to see him back on court and pinching sets from the top blokes is very nice indeed. Keep it up, amigo!


Today's Results

China Open (Beijing)

Men's Draw

Rafael Nadal def. Marcos Baghdatis, 6-4 3-6 6-4
Lukasz Kubot def. Andy Roddick, 6-2 6-4
Nikolay Davydenko def. Igor Kunitsyn, 6-1 6-7 (6-8) 6-2
Fernando Verdasco def. Robby Ginepri, 6-7 (7-9) 6-1 6-2
Robin Soderling def. Jeremy Chardy, 6-3 4-6 6-2
Fernando Gonzalez def. David Ferrer, 7-5 6-4
Marat Safin def. Jose Acasuso, 6-4 6-2
James Blake def. Florian Mayer, 6-3 3-6 6-3
Ivan Ljubicic def. Paul-Henri Mathieu, 7-6 (10-8) 4-6 6-1
Viktor Troicki def. Fabio Fognini, 7-6 (7-5) 7-5


Women's Draw

Marion Bartoli def. Alisa Kleybanova, 6-2 6-3
Flavia Pennetta def. Kateryna Bondarenko, 3-6 7-5 6-3
Vera Zvonareva def. Francesca Schiavone, 6-3 6-0
Elena Dementieva def. Melinda Czink, 6-4 6-3
Agnieszka Radwanska def. Patty Schnyder, 6-4 6-1
Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez def. Vania King, 6-4 6-4
Shuai Peng def. Jelena Jankovic, 4-6 7-5 6-2
Maria Sharapova def. Victoria Azarenka, 6-3 6-7 (5-7) 7-5
Nadia Petrova def. Daniela Hantuchova, 6-1 2-6 7-5
Serena Williams def. Ekaterina Makarova, 6-3 6-2


Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships (Tokyo)

Edouard Roger-Vasselin def. Juan Martin del Potro, 6-4 6-4
Gilles Simon def. Takao Suzuki, 6-3 6-4
Tomas Berdych def. Go Soeda, 6-2 6-4
Lleyton Hewitt def. Tatsuma Ito, 6-1 7-5
Jurgen Melzer def. Leonardo Mayer, 7-6 (7-4) 6-3
Fabrice Santoro def. Andrey Golubev, 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (7-2) 6-2

Not Good Enough

I think I might hate the WTA. Seriously. This is not good enough. This is nowhere in the vicinity of good enough. This is so far away from good enough that people have forgotten what good enough looks like, and it's become some mythical holy grail that people go in quest of.

Last week, we saw all the top six seeds fall in the first round. We're not quite there yet, but we're not far off. Venus Williams lost to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova - again. I love Pavs, so I'm not complaining, but really, Venus? Really?! What's that?

And then Dinara Safina lost to Zhang Shuai. Not Peng Shuai. Zhang Shuai. I'm sure I'm not the only one going 'huh?' right now.

I wrote about a month ago in defence of Dinara. I'm still not quite ready to give up on her, but I'm certainly not far off either. I'm allowing her the off-season to prove herself, to fix her serve and to come back with determination. I don't want to enter into this whole 'real #1' debate, but she's not showing herself worthy of the ranking at the moment. Problem is, no one's showing themselves worthy of it, and so she's clinging onto it by default at the moment.

But this has got to stop. This WTA nonsense has got to halt right now. I understand the off season is approaching and they're probably all tired. Well, guess what? That's not an excuse. It's simply not good enough. If the top blokes can keep it up, then so can the women. If they're too tired to play, they should do what Ana Ivanovic did and gracefully call it an end to the season so they can go away and regroup. Because this top ten debacle has got to stop.


Today's Results

China Open (Beijing)

Men's Draw

Novak Djokovic def. Victor Hanescu, 6-3 7-5
Marin Cilic def. Igor Andreev, 6-4 6-4
Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Ivo Karlovic, 7-6 (8-6) 4-6 6-1
Juan Carlos Ferrero def. Nicolas Almagro, 7-5 7-6 (7-3)
Tommy Robredo def. Benjamin Becker, 6-2 6-1
Julien Benneteau def. Marcos Daniel, 6-3 6-4


Women's Draw

Zhang Shuai def. Dinara Safina, 7-5 7-6 (7-5)
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova def. Venus Williams, 3-6 6-1 6-4
Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Anabel Medina Garrigues, 6-2 6-1
Li Na def. Lucie Safarova, 4-6 6-0 6-4
Aleksandra Wozniak def. Alize Cornet, 7-6 (7-0) 6-4
Alona Bondarenko def. Sara Errani, 6-3 6-3
Nadia Petrova def. Alla Kudryavtseva, 6-1 5-7 6-2
Daniela Hantuchova def. Carla Suarez Navarro, 7-5 6-2
Francesca Schiavone def. Sabine Lisicki, 6-0 1-0 retired
Alisa Kleybanova def. Yanina Wickmayer, 5-7 6-3 6-3
Vania King def. Galina Voskoboeva, 6-4 6-3


Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships (Tokyo)

Gael Monfils def. Marsel Ilhan, 6-2 6-4
Stanislas Wawrinka def. John Isner, 6-4 6-4
Marco Chiudinelli def. Dudi Sela, 4-6 6-1 6-4
Simon Greul def. Martin Vassallo Arguello, 4-6 6-4 6-2

Yes You Can, Stan!

And the year had been going so well for Stan Wawrinka. He shot up the rankings into the top ten after making the final of Rome, and has stuck around, floating round that #8 to #10 slot. Then there was the gold medal in Beijing, partnering Roger Federer to doubles glory, and then...

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...not so much.

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He was the top seed in Vienna, and he lost to Philipp Petzschner, who was a qualifer. Sure, Petzschner went on to make the final, but I don't think that's really an excuse. And then today, in Basel, he had two match points and wasted them in a loss to Benjamin Becker, also a qualifier. Becker-no-relation is pretty promising - he knocked out Davydenko at one of the Slams this year, though I can't remember which one - but really, he shouldn't be beating Stan Wawrinka, especially when said Stan is playing at his home tournament in Basel.

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I sincerely hope that Stan has not suddenly contracted a case of Ana Ivanovic's disease - getting a taste of the big time and not being able to hack the pressure. Because Stan really is a great player. I love his game. I know he has suffered from nerves in the past - he really got dragged by Federer through those first few matches in Beijing - but he can do it. I know he can. I want to send out a Bob The Builder message to Stan today: Can he fix it? Yes he can!

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Meanwhile, what was the deal with the Tursunov match in St Petersburg? I know that Dominik Hrbaty is one of the three players on tour that has a winning record over Federer, but that doesn't mean he should be going round beating Dmitry Tursunov 6-1 6-1. There's something seriously whack with that.

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Today's Results

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Davidoff Swiss Indoors (Basel)

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Benjamin Becker def. Stanislas Wawrinka, 3-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-5)

Igor Andreev def. Jurgen Melzer, 7-6 (7-5) 7-5

Mardy Fish def. Agustin Calleri, 7-6 (7-5) 6-2

Feliciano Lopez def. Marco Chiudinelli, 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (9-7)

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St Petersburg Open (St Petersburg)

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Dominik Hrbaty def. Dmitry Tursunov, 6-1 6-1

Victor Hanescu def. Evgeny Korolev, 6-1 6-2

Rainer Schuettler def. Igor Kunitsyn, 6-2 6-3

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Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon (Lyon)

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Tommy Robredo def. Michael Llodra, 6-4 6-3

Juan Carlos Ferrero def. Sam Querrey, 6-3 7-5

Julien Benneteau def. Arnaud Clement, 6-3 6-2

Steve Darcis def. Radek Stepanek, 6-4 3-6 6-3

Josselin Ouanna def. Ivan Ljubicic, 6-7 (2-7) 7-6 (7-5) 6-4

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Generali Ladies Linz (Linz)

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Alizé Cornet def. Zheng Jie, 6-3 6-2

Katarina Srebotnik def. Tamarine Tanasugarn, 6-1 7-5

Kaia Kanepi def. Melanie Klaffner, 6-4 6-0

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FORTIS Championships Luxembourg (Luxembourg)

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Anna Chakvetadze def. Mathilde Johansson, 6-4 7-6 (7-4)

Daniela Hantuchova def. Pauline Parmentier, 6-2 7-5

Li Na def. Mandy Minella, 6-2 6-1

Peng Shuai def. Vera Dushevina, 6-1 6-2

Sara Errani def. Marina Erakovic, 4-6 6-2 7-5

Sabine Lisicki def. Sofia Arvidsson, 2-6 6-3 6-4

Argentina Changes It Up

For the first time ever, Argentina is not playing a home Davis Cup tie on clay. Which is very, very smart, though you don't need to be a genius to work that out. They've proposed the indoor stadium at Cordoba, with their alternate offering being another indoor stadium. It's certainly the best way to give themselves a fighting chance.

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Rafa, in past years, has kind of disappeared after Wimbledon, and by the indoor season he's pretty much gone altogether. He certainly didn't disappear after this year's Wimbledon, what with that Olympic gold medal and suchlike, so it will be interesting to see how he handles the indoor season - the season that was absolutely owned by David Nalbandian last year. That is how Headbandian is still in the top ten, yesno - those carryover points from Paris and Madrid last year?

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Nadal has never beaten Nalbandian (I think) and so it will be veeeeeery interesting to see how this tie plays out, on Nalbandian's preferred surface. You still wouldn't bet against Nadal - the guy beat Federer on grass, so you'd think he can do just about anything - but this is a pretty big challenge, at any rate. I suppose it'll be contingent on which Nalbandian shows up. GoodDave usually appears at Davis Cup, but you never know when LameDave will rear his ugly head...

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We have several tournaments going on this week - the ATP is in Metz, the WTA in Stuttgart and Tashkent, and there's a joint tournament in Tokyo. One of my Stars is active in Metz, and he's making a very good account of himself - that would be Ernests Gulbis, who took out Mario Ancic, the eighth seed. All portents of good things - well, maybe not for Ancic, but for Gulbis certainly. Ancic is not necessarily in the best shape ever right now, but a victory is a victory and it's nothing to sneeze at! I would dearly love to see Gulbis make an assault on the title here. Marin Cilic has won his first title - it's Ernests's turn!

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Meanwhile, how rude was it of Andy Roddick not to go to Mardy Fish's wedding? I mean, sure he's a tennis player and he has to play and stuff, but didn't they, like, grow up together? I hope Mardy Fish refuses to attend Roddick's wedding. I would. What I found particularly ironic is that the tournament Roddick played which caused him to miss the wedding was in Beijing. Should have gone to China when everyone else was there for the Olympics, Andy!

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And finally, does anyone know what's going on with Marina Erakovic? She was sailing beautifully for a while there, and now she's losing all the time. What's going on?

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Today's Results

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Open de Moselle (Metz)

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Ernests Gulbis def. Mario Ancic, 7-6 (7-3) 6-4

Jose Acasuso def. Guillermo Canas, 6-3 2-6 6-3

Janko Tipsarevic def. Jeremy Chardy, 7-6 (7-5) 7-5

Carlos Moya def. Albert Montanes, 6-1 4-6 6-4

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AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships (Tokyo)

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Men's Draw

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Ivo Minar def. Mischa Zverev, 7-6 (11-9) 2-6 6-2

Amer Delic def. Go Soeda, 6-4 6-2

Hyung-taik Lee def. Satoshi Iwabuchi, 6-1 6-4

Takao Suzuki def. Yuichi Sugita, 6-3 7-6 (8-6)

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Women's Draw

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Kaia Kanepi def. Lucie Safarova, 4-6 6-3 6-4

Marta Domachowska def. Aiko Nakamura, 6-4 7-5

Ayumi Morita def. Marina Erakovic, 6-1 6-4

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Porsche Tennis Grand Prix (Stuttgart)

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Sybille Bammer def. Tatjana Malek, 4-6 6-2 7-5

Li Na def. Nicole Vaidisova, 6-1 6-2

Alona Bondarenko def. Eleni Daniilidou, 7-6 (7-5) 6-1

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Tashkent Open (Tashkent)

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Sabine Lisicki def. Dilyara Saidkhodjaeva, 6-0 6-1

Magdalena Rybarikova def. Kathrin Woerle, 6-4 6-4

Sofia Shapatava def. Kinnie Laisne, 6-3 4-6 6-4

Horse-Flogging... In The Metaphorical Sense

The Aussie boys finished sixth in junior Davis Cup, beating Hungary but losing to Sweden. Still, this whole week has been nothing to sneeze at. Maverick Banes, James Duckworth and Jarryd Chaplin can all be justifiably proud of what they have achieved. You wait. I don't know if any of them is a future #1, but they're going to grow up great. I'm not exactly sure when I started flogging this horse, but I seem to have started at some point, and so I'm going to stick with it. Australian tennis is going to great... in a while. Just not now.

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Though one thing that I did find troubling is that we either didn't send a team to junior Fed Cup or we didn't qualify. The boys are doing all right - what about the girls? We do have a few good juniors - Jess Moore won her first match in a senior Grand Slam this year - but none under sixteen, apparently. Where are the girls? Though it is well within the realms of possibility that there simply are none - we are a small country, after all. And look at today's generation. We aren't exactly a powerhouse of Australian tennis.

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That said, Sam Stosur was just in a final. Unfortunately, she went down to Maria Kirilenko, but it's a pretty decent achievement anyhow. She's never won a WTA singles title - Stosur, that is - but she's shown she's got the capability. Here's hoping she can go one further sometime in the near future - and get a few more doubles Slams under her belt as well!

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And speaking of winners, how about that Jo-W? Vengeance is sweet! Take that one, Novak! I was praying for someone to beat him this week after that whole Marko incident, and Jo-W did me proud. It was his first ATP title, and I think it's great that he beat Djokovic to do it. Monsieur Tsonga is serving notice. He's back - and he's back bigtime. I would love to see him make a good run at the Aussie Open next year - though obviously, with my proclivities, I want Federer to win it. Jo-W is just such an exciting player to watch. He's explosive, and he's fun, and he's not a complete dickhead, like certain Djokovics I could mention. Here's hoping that the rest of his year is shiny!

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(On the Djokovic subject, how long do you think it'll be before Novak gets his other little brother a wildcard? Spew.)

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Roddick and Jankovic round out our winners this week, taking titles in Japan. I confess I was hoping for Sela to come through with the goods, but Roddick did give a whole stack of his prize money to charity, which earned him extra brownie points. Still, he should have played the Olympics. There is another horse I'm going to flog for as long as it has legs to stand. (How 'bout that metaphor, eh?)

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Today's Results

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Thailand Open (Bangkok)

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Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Novak Djokovic, 7-6 (7-4) 6-4

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China Open (Beijing)

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Men's Draw

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Andy Roddick def. Dudi Sela, 6-4 6-7 (6-8) 6-3

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Women's Draw

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Jelena Jankovic def. Svetlana Kuznetsova, 6-3 6-2

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Hansol Korea Open (Seoul)

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Maria Kirilenko def. Samantha Stosur, 2-6 6-1 6-4

They Are Coming!

Unfortunately the boys in the junior Davis Cup squad were unable to capitalise on their lead against Russia. Oh well. They can still be very proud of themselves. I'm cheering them on!

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I was reading Australian Tennis Magazine yesterday, and it was full of articles about how Australian tennis is dying, falling away, etc, etc, and it was full of contingency plans about what we can do. People were worried we were becoming complacent in the wake of Hewitt, not looking for new stars, etc, etc. I don't know if anyone's considered the fact that maybe we just didn't have very good tennis players there for a few years. The future of Australian tennis is very bright, and it doesn't look like people have noticed. The whole magazine seemed to be devoted to wondering what Tennis Australia and the AIS and co have done wrong, and why no one was coming up through the ranks. I felt like yelling 'THEY ARE COMING!' at the magazine. Surely I can't be the only one that's noticed this brilliant Tomic-led generation coming up? And we're not weak in the girls either - Isabella Holland, Jess Moore and Sally Peers are all already on the way up. Sure, Australian tennis right now is a bit disappointing, but it has to be remembered that we are a small nation. Only 20 million people live here. We can't be producing stars left right and centre all the time, even if our general sporting prowess greatly exceeds our population.

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There endeth the rant.

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Andy Roddick made it to a final! Though he did lose a set to Bjorn Phau there. He'll be playing Dudi Sela in the final, who had a far more comfortable time against Rainer Schuettler. I would laugh SO HARD if Dudi went on and beat Roddick. So skipping the Olympics was a wise move, was it Andy? Was it wise? Feeling good? Feeling fresh? We'll see! The women's final in Beijing looks like it pretty much belongs to Jelena Jankovic - Svetlana Kuznetsova hasn't convinced me of much lately. Still, she did beat Zheng Jie, and we all know she is a bit of a party pooper.

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And major snaps to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who is in the final of Bangkok, where he will play Novak Djokovic - ominous music. I can't think of many people who would watch this match and go for Djokovic. Tsonga is just so much fun and Djokovic really hasn't made many friends with his antics at the US Open. Actually, there was an article in Australian Tennis Magazine called 'Don't Diss The Swiss' about how even mild-mannered Federer was annoyed by Djokovic's pranks - and how that Djokovic's Swiss-dissing certainly didn't earn him any friends, because everyone loves Roger so much. I laughed a little to myself.

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And huge props to Sam Stosur who absolutely ROLLED Jill Craybas in Seoul! She plays Kirilenko in the final, and I would LOVE her to win. I really like her - not just because she's an Aussie, but because she's lovely to watch, and her volleys are amazing - and she really deserves a title, after that awful bout of Lyme disease. Go Sam!
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And in gossipy news... what's this I hear about Ana Ivanovic and Fernando Verdasco? I am sure there are a few men in the ATP who wouldn't mind chatting her up at a party... so is Nando the lucky one? Maybe that's why they both lost early... Ana is not suffering a form slump at all. She just wanted to spend more time with Nando...

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Today's Results

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Thailand Open (Bangkok)

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Novak Djokovic def. Tomas Berdych, 7-5 6-1

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Gael Monfils, 6-0 6-3

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China Open (Beijing)

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Men's Draw

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Andy Roddick def. Bjorn Phau, 6-2 6-7 (4-7) 6-1

Dudi Sela def. Rainer Schuettler, 6-3 6-3

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Women's Draw

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

Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Zheng Jie, 7-6 (7-3) 7-5

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Hansol Korea Open (Seoul)

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Maria Kirilenko def. Kaia Kanepi, 6-4 3-6 6-4

Samantha Stosur def. Jill Craybas, 6-0 6-1

Whither Ana?

So I picked Zheng to upset Ivanovic, and hey! guess what! I was right. Yet I am feeling strangely unproud of myself. Who wouldn't you pick to upset Ivanovic now?

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This was a better match from Ivanovic than we've seen of late - she even said after the match that she was pretty happy with the way she played. But she served for that first set twice, before Zheng won it in the breaker. You can talk about injuries all you like, and Ana is certainly claiming a few, but something is just not right in that girl's head. This is not the girl we saw beating Dinara Safina, the hottest player in the world, in the final of the French Open. She certainly isn't playing like a #1 player - which, to be fair, she no longer is.

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But it's just so damn sad. I used to love watching Ivanovic. She was explosive, big-hitting, but she had some really clever shots too. It's hard to believe that she made two Grand Slam finals this year. Where did she go? I want her back. She was good for the game. Men's tennis has too many #1s at the moment, women's tennis not enough. Pick up the ball, Ana. Go see a sports psychiatrist and get back on track.

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Meanwhile, anyone else seriously cheering for Jo-Wilfried Tsonga right now? He's into the semis of Bangkok, and I would love to see him win the title. It's hard to believe that the boy does not have a title to his name - indeed, I think he only has one final, and that's the big one, the Australian Open. Wouldn't it be great to see him bring that buzzsaw tennis that saw him beat Rafa Nadal and use it to chop Novak Djokovic off at the knees? I would seriously dig that. Rematch! Rematch!

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And to conclude, them Aussie boys in Mexico at the junior Davis Cup are doing us proud. Most of the matches got rained out today, but in one that did get completed, wee Maverick Banes upset Russian young gun Richard Muzaev to give the Aussie boys a 1-0 lead. And the Russians are the top seeds. Go you good thing!

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Oh, and speaking of Australian tennis, Sam Stosur is having a great run in Korea, where she is into the semis. Good on you, Sam!

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Today's Results

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Thailand Open (Seoul)

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Novak Djokovic def. Robin Soderling, 6-4 7-5

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Jurgen Melzer, 6-3 6-2

Tomas Berdych def. Nicolas Mahut, 7-6 (8-6) 6-3

Gael Monfils def. Philipp Petzschner, 7-6 (8-6) 6-4

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China Open (Beijing)

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Men's Draw

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Andy Roddick def. Juan Carlos Ferrero, 2-6 6-3 6-4

Bjorn Phau def. Fernando Gonzalez, 6-3 4-6 6-3

Dudi Sela def. Tommy Robredo, 6-4 6-1

Rainer Schuettler def. Richard Gasquet, 4-6 6-3 6-4

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Women's Draw

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Jelena Jankovic def. Daniela Hantuchova, 7-5 6-1

Zheng Jie def. Ana Ivanovic, 7-6 (7-4) 2-6 6-4

Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Dominika Cibulkova, 6-2 6-4

Vera Zvonareva def. Anabel Medina Garrigues, 6-0 6-1

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Hansol Korea Open (Seoul)

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Maria Kirilenko def. Pauline Parmentier, 6-3 6-2

Jill Craybas def. Shahar Peer, 6-2 7-5

Kaia Kanepi def. Yanina Wickmayer, 6-1 6-4

Samantha Stosur def. Ekaterina Makarova, 6-3 6-4

Tenacious JC

I am still steaming under the hat after the Djokovic saga of yesterday, but will attempt to put my rage behind me. The older Djokovic won. Spit spit. I was hoping he would crash out in the earliest possible round to vindicate me, but alas, 'twas not to be. But there is still time for him to lose to a player ranked a long way below him! A LONG TIME!

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Let's talk about the junior Davis Cup instead. I don't have much to say, except c'mon Aussie! The boys (being James Duckworth, Maverick Banes and Jarryd Chaplin) slaughtered Peru in their second rubber and will now face top seeds Russia tomorrow. And they can so win. I've said it once, I'll say it again - Australian tennis sucks right now, but when these boys grow up, it's going to rock the socks of the tennis world.

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Onto another sporting nation of greatness, being Spain. They have had some interesting mixed fortunes in Beijing. David Ferrer was the top seed, but he's been knocked out by Dudi Sela - le drama! Ferrer really has gone away a bit towards the end of this season. He had some good results earlier but he's gone off the boil... which is sad, because I find his game interesting. He has to be one of the best returners on the circuit, which means the proportion of rallies in his games is high, and that makes for interesting tennis, even if he does play largely defensively, which can be dull.

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But on the flip side for Spain, Juan Carlos Ferrero scored an upset victory! Sure, it was over Fernando Verdasco, another Spaniard, but still. JC is a funny one. He's a former #1 and he had a bit of mystique for a while there, but it's like no one really takes him seriously any more. It's not like with Safin, where everyone still fears him because they know the potential for his explosive game is still there. No one fears JC any more... and, to be fair, he hasn't really given them reason to. He's certainly capable of excellent play - we must remember that it was he who beat Rafa in Rome, which is no mean feat, even if Rafa did have blisters the size of dinner plates. But he just doesn't bring it much any more. The mighty have fallen. But he's clinging on, JC, clinging on tenaciously.

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Meanwhile, anyone else looking forward to the Ana Ivanovic/Zheng Jie Wimbledon rematch? Put it this way - I would not be betting on Ana...

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Today's Results

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Thailand Open (Bangkok)

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Novak Djokovic def. Simon Stadler, 6-1 6-3

Tomas Berdych def. Simone Bolelli, 7-5 6-1

Nicolas Mahut def. Jarkko Nieminen, 6-4 3-6 6-3

Robin Soderling def. Teimuraz Gabashvili, 6-1 6-3

Jurgen Melzer def. Viktor Troicki, 6-4 7-6 (7-4)

Philipp Petzschner def. Mischa Zverev, 7-6 (7-3) 3-6 6-1

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China Open (Beijing)

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Men's Draw

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Dudi Sela def. David Ferrer, 6-3 6-3

Andy Roddick def. Brendan Evans, 6-4 6-3

Fernando Gonzalez def. Go Soeda, 3-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-1

Richard Gasquet def. Yen-hsun Lu, 7-5 6-1

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

Tommy Robredo def. Ivo Minar, 6-2 6-3

Rainer Schuettler def. Jean-Claude Scherrer, 6-1 6-4

Bjorn Phau def. Sam Querrey, 5-7 6-3 6-4

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Women's Draw

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Ana Ivanovic def. Alizé Cornet, 6-1 7-6 (7-1)

Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Alla Kudryavtseva, 6-2 6-3

Vera Zvonareva def. Francesca Schiavone, 7-6 (7-5) 6-2

Dominika Cibulkova def. Anna Chakvetadze, 6-3 6-2

Anabel Medina Garrigues def. Agnes Szavay, 6-2 6-2

Zheng Jie def. Ai Sugiyama, 6-1 6-2

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Hansol Korea Open (Seoul)

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Maria Kirilenko def. Lucie Safarova, 6-3 6-3

Kaia Kanepi def. Anastasia Pivovarova, 6-1 6-1

Pauline Parmentier def. Stéphanie Dubois, 6-3 6-2

Yanina Wickmayer def. Chan Yung-Jan, 6-3 7-6 (7-2) 

Tennis En Pointe

Well, Juan Martin del Potro beat Mardy Fish. Whoop-di-doo. Andy Roddick will probably beat Denis Gremelmayr. And there is my LA roundup.

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But the Olympic tennis starts today, which ensures I'll have some interesting stuff to talk about from here on in! I couldn't tell you exactly who's playing today, as I'm having some issues finding an order of play, but I know Federer and Tursunov are first off the rank - and I think Nadal might be playing first in the doubles. Actually, I think Roger has to play twice today - the Olympic debut of the 'Fedrinka' team is later on this evening. And don't we just know how those will work out. I'd be very happy with a singles gold, but I'd love to see him do a Massu and pull double gold out of the bag!

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Speaking of gold, in a vaguely related segue, I was looking around on the Olympic site trying to find an order of play, and I came across this summary for tennis:

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'Today's Olympic tennis players include some of the highest-profile athletes in the world. Accustomed to five-star hotels and high-stakes prize money, at the Olympic Games they will bunk in the Olympic Village and compete for nothing but a gold medal.'

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I think that's awesome. Really, really awesome. Federer has come out and said that a gold medal would mean as much to him as a Wimbledon victory - and when you consider that that's without a pay cheque, that's something else. I mean, it's not like Roger needs the money, but it's great that the gold medal is the prize, and nothing more - and it's still considered such a prize.

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That's the power of the Olympics, I guess. If I were to call up the top sixty four players and say, 'hey guys, come play in my awesome Tournament de Jodi, where I will pay you nothing but you will get my undying love and admiration' I have a feeling that I wouldn't get a lot of takers. But if it were the OLYMPIC Tournament de Jodi...

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...but then, I suppose I don't have a state of art tennis facility at my command. Or a gold medal. If you got desperate for cash, I suppose you could always pawn it.

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(That was a joke.)

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Apparently, according to the Beijing website, the first ever gold medallist in tennis was an Irish guy called John Boland, who originally went as a spectator. That was in Athens in 1896. Somehow, I can't see a spectator jumping in and winning gold now, but it's still a fun story. I wish it elaborated on exactly how he went from spectator to Olympic athlete to winner. That could totally be an awesome movie.

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Oh, I found a reference! So he was a student of mythology and went for kicks because of that, but his buddy Thrasyvoloas Manaos, who was the secretary on the organisational committee, randomly entered him into the tennis. One can imagine Boland probably said something along the lines of, 'WTF, mate?' but he went ahead and played - and obviously won! - despite wearing leather-soled shoes with heels.

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Leather-soled shoes. Can you imagine any player - maybe even Federer - coming out in leather clogs and still winning? Go Boland! He later went on to be an MP and championed the Irish language. He sounds really cool. I reiterate my 'there should be a movie' sentiment.

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Hey, maybe I should write it! Tennis From The Backseat could totally transition to the screen!

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Today's Results

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Countrywide Classic (Los Angeles)

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Juan Martin del Potro def. Mardy Fish, 6-2 6-1

Andy Roddick def. Denis Gremelmayr, 6-2 6-2