Roger, Rafa and Friends Rally For Relief

If there is one thing I think I have really learned in the past week, it is the capacity of the tennis community to pull together. I saw it on Twitter this week, when one little late night hashtag turned into a Twitter love fest for Nicolas Mahut. (#wildcardformahut is now #supportmahut, in case anyone missed it!)

And now, on a much larger and more important scale, we have the Federer-originated Rally For Relief.

We saw Hit For Haiti last year. We saw how the tennis stars of the world, as well as the tennis fans, pulled together to raise a huge amount of money to go towards the Haiti earthquakes. This year, the need is much closer for the host country.

In case anyone has been living under a rock and missed it, there have been massive and incredibly destructive floods in Queensland. An inland tsunami has swamped Toowomba, rivers have peaked at depths of 22 metres in some area, large parts of Brisbane are underwater and sharks have been seen in what were once streets in Ipswich. The death toll is rising and a large number of people are still unaccounted for. The area underwater is equivalent to more than six of the United Kingdom. It is huge and destructive. There are no proper words to describe it.

But there are ways to help, and the tennis community, as it did with the Haitian tragedy last year, has pulled together to do it. Roger Federer, as he did last year, has organised a charity exhibition to be played on Rod Laver Arena at 2pm on Sunday afternoon. Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Lleyton Hewitt, Kim Clijsters, Samantha Stosur and Pat Rafter - whose arena in Brisbane is now underwater - will all be playing. Like Hit for Haiti last year, it should be a whole pile of fun for a very serious cause. And the tennis community will rise to this challenge.

So, if you are in Melbourne, get along to the Rally for Relief! I will be there along with a whole bunch of other tennis folk, including Dootsiez from All I Need Is A Picket Fence, and hopefully the whole arena will be sold out. Tickets are $20 a head - a small contribution you can make to the flood appeal (and getting a whole lot of awesome tennis into the bargain!)

You can buy tickets here. And if you can, PLEASE donate to the Queensland Flood Appeal, which you can do here.

Soderling Makes A Different Sound

Given as the draw for Australian Open qualies is released on Tuesday, I'm betting the final discretionary wildcards for announced on Monday (conveniently when I am at the Medibank International and electronically incommunicado - annoying). Let us keep hoping for a wildcard for Nicolas Mahut (and tweeting vociferously to that effect)!

Now, over to some finals. We had two yesterday, in Chennai and Brisbane, and they were both very good results for those involved.

Newly-family-leaving Stan Wawrinka (if he wanted to make his image different to Federer's, I'd say he's succeeded now) won in Chennai, which is a great result for him, even if Chennai is a bit of a Mickey Mouse tournament. He beat super-talented but super-sketchy Xavier Malisse in three sets. And... I didn't see the match, so that is all I have to say about that.

I did, however, see the Brisbane final, and Robin Soderling is looking DANGEROUS. Capslock merited. He fully merits gaining the #4 ranking. He has been untroubled on serve all week, and he totally dominated Andy Roddick with his flat forehand - and he ripped a few awesome backhand winners too. And it's hard to conceive of just how HARD he hits the ball - I swear it makes a different noise to when other players hit it. I wouldn't be surprised if he managed to burst one one day.

Roddick did not play badly - it certainly wasn't his bestest performance ever, but he didn't suck or anything - but Soderling left him dead in the water. If he continues to play like this in Australia, there are going to be precious few people who are able to stop him. I would actually love to see Murray drawn in his quarter - we could have a battle for the REAL #4. Now that would be something. (Basically, I hope he doesn't draw a be-wildcarded Mahut first round. That would make me sad.) Suffice to say, Soderling is going to do better in Australia than last year... where he lost in the first round.

And speaking of Kim Clijsters, she is also looking VERY dangerous. But after her showing against Petrova last year, I'm not putting any money down.

#wildcardformahut and Other Animals

WILDCARD FOR MAHUT WILDCARD FOR MAHUT WILDCARD FOR MAHUT GIVE HIM A WILDCARD NOW WILDCARD FOR MAHUT. #wildcardformahut

...wow, sorry about that. I've been typing #wildcardformahut and various permutations so often for the past couple of days that it has become second nature. It takes a bit of dedication to captain a Twitter campaign to (hopefully) victory. But if anyone with the wildcarding power happens to read this - make my day! make the day of everyone else who wants a wildcard for Mahut! and, most of all, make the day of Nicolas Mahut! WILDCARD FOR MAHUT 2011. It's a thing.

Now, other business.

The Hopman Cup has finished up, with the USA very deserving winners. The John Isner/Ruben Bemelmans match was a bit of a non-event - which is not surprising, given the ranking difference - and it certainly wasn't the best mixed doubles match ever, but the match between Justine Henin and Bethanie Mattek-Sands was as good as I've ever seen.

I kind of love Bethanie Mattek-Sands. I never expected to, and I've laughed my arse off at her crazy fashion over the years, but I've discovered this week I sort of love her. I love her totally aggressive game, and her determination, and I especially love her backhand down the line. She seems pretty chilled out and yet totally focused on tennis all at the same time, and she was a really great addition to this year's Hopman Cup. If she can play in Melbourne like she did in Perth, then she can definitely get to at least the fourth round. It all depends on draw, of course, but there's no reason why she can't put up a great show.

And it was a great performance from Isner as well. He came back well from his shellacking by Murray to play very well against Bemelmans. Good stuff. Well done, USA - this was a very well-deserved win. And well done Belgium, on a well played final. And well done Hopman Cup, for bringing Nicolas Mahut into the spotlight for a week... #wildcardformahut.

Ahem. Back on track.

Petra Kvitova won in Brisbane, which was a great result for her, and she did it in style - she played an absolutely great match. Like Mattek-Sands, if she keeps her head in the game, there is no reason she can't make a tilt at a second week appearance in the Open. She totally dominated Petkovic and if she continues to play like this, well... with the state of the WTA, there is no reason why she couldn't be top ten rather quickly.

And then there was Doha. F^&* YEAH ROGER FEDERER.

It was a good win for Davydenko to beat Nadal - even an ailing Nadal - but Federer showed here today why he really is a worldbeater. He played very aggressive - and accurate - off the return, and it made a huge difference. That banana paddlepop outfit he's rocking is clearly giving him good mojo - and whatever Paul Annacone has been telling him, it's been good. I don't think there's going to be anywhere near the same amount of buzz this year about Davydenko as there was last year - which is a bit sad, in a way, because he is constantly over looked - but that doesn't mean that this wasn't an awesome win over a tough opponent for Federer. I loved every second of it. He played wonderfully. Even if he could do with upping his break point conversion rate.

And you know what else would be wonderful? AN AUSTRALIAN OPEN WILDCARD FOR MAHUT. DO IT. #wildcardformahut 2011! It's a thing.

The First Awesome Thing To Happen in Australian Sport This Year

I've been focusing on Hopman Cup all week, but let's talk a little about Brisbane. In particular, let's yell out F%^& YEAH MATT EBDEN YOU ARE AWESOME.

Ebden is ranked at about #172, and he took out Denis Istomin, ranked over 130 places higher, at the Brisbane International. He did this by simply playing awesome tennis. Sure, he had a double break in each set and could have won by even more than he did, but at the end of the day, HE WON, and that is an absolutely outstanding achievement.

Ebden is probably my favourite of the young Australians we have hanging around. I really enjoy his game, and although at 23 he might be classified as a late bloomer, it is very obvious that he has talent. If he continues to play like he did against Istomin, then I see no reason why he can't break into the top hundred this year.

He has absolutely nothing to lose against Robin Soderling in his match, so I hope he comes out swinging. I don't think he's quite up to beating-a-member-of-the-top-five level, but I'd really like to see him make a good account of himself. He certainly has the ability to do so!

Over at the Hopman Cup, the Ivanovic/Henin match is one of the best women's matches I have seen in a long time. The commentators have been talking like Ivanovic is 'back' - I think she still has a ways to go before we can say that, but playing in a match like this certainly didn't hurt. But this isn't the Ivanovic story, even though she did play a good match which must be hope-inspiring for her.

It's all about Henin. And if she keeps playing like this... hello, leading contender for the Australian Open.

There is absolutely no reason why Henin cannot win the Open, particularly in the absence of Serena. I know she's been fairly pessimistic about her chances what with coming back after such a long lay off, but if she continues as she has begun at the Hopman Cup, then she has every chance in the world. She wasn't misfiring off any wing, and while her backhand is often lauded as a thing of art, I was in awe of her volleys. Seriously, she has MAD SKILLZ at the net.

Belgium are out of the Hopman Cup after Bemelmans lost to Djokovic (AO organisers, if you find another wildcard under your sofa after you give one to Nicolas Mahut, you could do worse than give it to Ruben Bemelmans), but Henin went undefeated all week and played - well, I can't overstate how impressed I was. Watch out for JuJu in Australia. She could do something incredible.

ATP Afterthought

It was always going to be a tough act to follow for the men in Brissie. There was no way A-Rod and the Worm were ever going to be able to live up to Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin, simply because they are A-Rod and the Worm, and not, say, Sampras and Agassi, back from beyond the tennis grave.

But they did their level best. Some of the drama in the match was so improbable it seemed manufactured, but at least there was drama and it wasn't a one-sided blowout, a la Stepanek's previous victory over Gael Monfils. I watched this one from the comfort of my couch in Canberra rather than from the lofty heights of the upper tier in Pat Rafter Arena, and I'm almost glad I did. Clijsters/Henin was a great way to end Part 1 of the my Australian tennis tour. This match would have been an unnecessary epilogue.

But back to the match. Roddick started serving strongly and Stepanek started reading it well and playing all court tennis, and it was very tight in the first set. The set really could have gone either way, but it had a Roddick-esque flavour to it... even though I felt like Stepanek really hadn't finished opening up his box of tricks yet. However, I was wrong about the box of tricks, because Stepanek absolutely collapsed in the first set breaker and for the first half of the second, during which time Roddick spanked him like a red-headed stepchild.

So Roddick's up 4-1 with a double break. So, coincidentally, was Clijsters yesterday. Maybe that set some kind of precedent, because Stepanek paused, steeled himself, and woke up again. I don't want to make any kind of comparison to Clijsters/Henin here, but it was odd how the second sets of both finals featured this kind of epic comeback. This is what I meant about some of the drama seeming manufactured - it seemed so unlikely that both finals could have risen-from-the-dead second sets.

Except they didn't, really. Stepanek lost the tiebreaker (after being down 6-1, saving five match points, then eventually losing 8-6). So this was a straight sets affair, and it was a fun enough match to watch. But after Clijsters/Henin, it just felt... bah.

Now how often do people compare an ATP and a WTA match and say that? Slightly left of never, I would say.

For some reason, these Australian tournaments attract big name women and not so big name men. I am not sure why this is. Like Sydney - Alisa Kleybanova, at #29ish, was the last direct acceptance to the draw and something like nine of the top ten women are there. The men... not so much. They seemingly only play in the Middle East and if they play anything, they play Kooyong. (Though not Roger this year... he's withdrawn from the big K.) I wonder why the blokes and the ladies feel the need to prepare so differently...

Other weekend winners include Nikolay Davydenko (in imperious fashion), Marin Cilic and Yanina Wickmayer. Good news for Belgium!

Jodi's Epic Tennis Adventure 1.4 - Belgian Delight

And then there was Brisbane.

It would be easy for me to just go on and on and on about Clijsters and Henin, but I'm going to make a real effort to start at the beginning, because that wasn't the only tennis I saw. I arrived at Pat Rafter Arena on Saturday morning just before eleven after having spent the entire night on a plane and then navigating the tortuous route from the middle of Brisbane to the tennis. (It's easy enough to catch the train from Brisbane Central to Yeerongpilly, but did they have to put the Queensland Tennis Centre quite so far away from Yeerongpilly station? Seriously, it could be a marathon). Having spent the night in transit, I was understandably tired, but hoping to exist on caffeine and adrenaline.

The first match of the day made me entirely dependent on the caffeine. To say Stepanek vs Monfils was not competitive would be an understatement, and to say it was an understatement is another understatement. It was a total blowout. Gael couldn't keep a ball in the court and when he did, Radek was merrily hitting winners everywhere. The most interesting part of this match was arguing with the woman next to me about who Stepanek was dating. She insisted it was Martina Hingis and that they were married, because there was a woman with dark hair who vaguely resembled Hingis (as far as one could tell) in the players' box. Some people are so far behind the eight ball.

Anyway, Monfils/Stepanek = v boring. I nearly fell asleep, but kept myself with sheer force of will (and more coffee). Thankfully, the next men's semi was a beauty. There was a group of crazy Czech fans in the crowd supporting Tomas Berdych (quite why they'd kept quiet during Stepanek's match is beyond me, but they did) and there was general crowd sentiment for Andy Roddick, and it was just a good match, all in all.

Berdych came out firing. I've never seen him play live before and it was pretty good. I had him earmarked as a lifetime underachiever... and yeah, I still do, but he's got talent. He ate Roddick up in the first set. He smacked that serve back and everything he did came off and it visibly put Roddick in a bad mood. He smacked a ball into the ceiling at one point - oh my God, the arena! Short digression - Pat Rafter Arena is beautiful. It's somehow magically temperature controlled and exists in a strange hybrid space between indoors and outdoors, and no matter where you're sitting, the rake is such that you can see the court perfectly. Seriously, I love, love, love the arena. Small enough to be reasonably intimate, big enough to be atmospheric - I cannot speak highly enough of it.

Anyway, back to Berdych/Roddick. I got the sense that Roddick and Berdych aren't each others' biggest fans - in particular, that Roddick really wasn't a Berdych fan. This is based on the fact that Roddick was almost aggressively sportsmanlike to Berdych, including ceding a point to him that I really don't think he earned. Berdych was stoically silent - I didn't hear him say a single word the whole time. Roddick chatted to himself a lot in typical Roddick fashion, and seemed bad-tempered the whole time, even when the tables turned.

Despite the bad temper, it was an enjoyable match. It got very tense in the third set especially, and the Czech fans really were very amusing. And then there were some doubles afterwards which were pretty fun - I really dig Jeremy Chardy. Which I have said in the past, but will reaffirm any time I am asked.

But it was all about the women's final.

I distinctly remember it being 4-1 in the second, Clijsters up a double break, where I was disappointed. There had been some fantastic tennis, and I was on Team Kim (though, yes, the occasional 'allez' passed my lips), but I wanted more. And then I thought 'hang on, if anyone's going to go on a tear, it will be JuJu...'

And what did she do? She went on a tear.

I've been to more than few tennis matches in my time, and I've never been to one where the crowd was so evenly divided - and even then, no one was really disappointed. This match was all about the tennis for the crowd and less about the competition. And for Justine to get such a good crowd reception playing Clijsters, whom the nation refers to as Aussie Kim (because she dated Lleyton Hewitt once upon a time) is really something.

On the whole, it was 'Go Belgium'. And 'go comebacks'. (And 'go Kim Clijsters' speech'. Seriously, she is the best speechmaker in the WTA.)

And this match put the rest of the tour to shame. The only match last year I can think of that came close to this in quality was Elena Dementieva vs Serena Williams at Wimbledon, and you know what? I think this one is better. The rallies were crazy long, and split pretty evenly. There were some serving yips, but nothing like the chronic doubles you get with the rest of the WTA. And it was a match played in fierce competition but in good spirit. It was a match for the ages.

And I was there. And I desperately, desperately want a rematch in the final of the Australian Open - and I want JuJu to beat Serena along the way. And I don't care who wins this proposed AO final. It's about the tennis. Because make no mistake - these comeback queens are the best things to happen to the WTA in a very long time.

And I was there when they played each other for the first time in their second careers.

My New Homeboy

Matt Ebden is my homeboy.

I didn't know anything about him until he beat Bernard Tomic at the December Showdown this year. Then I got the inkling that he could be a bit of all right, because Tomic is a bit good. And then I followed him through qualies in Brisbane, where, among others, he beat Marinko Matosevic, one of the higher-ranked Aussie players. And I thought he was pretty good.

And then he beat Jurgen Melzer today, ranked several hundred ranking places above him. And that was made of awesome.


He served stupidly awesomely. And to pull a Chris Eaton and win a match like this is pretty awesome. Please, Australian Open, card him in. Give him that last wildcard. If nothing else, let him into qualies. Because he's a total dude.


Speaking of Australian tennis, Stosur and Hewitt managed to win their tie in the Hopman Cup today, even though they let the doubles get away from them in a bad way. It's pretty hard for them to make the final now, and frankly, they don't deserve to. If Spain don't make it, I will be very surprised indeed - they are, as I write this, one rubber up over Romania, with Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez beating Sorana Cirstea in the women's singles.


Carsten Ball is also through to the second round of Brisbane, but Nick Lindahl, Bernard Tomic and Alicia Molik are all out. Molik got absolutely crushed by Kim Clijsters - Kimmie is looking like she is in absolutely dangerous form. Here's hoping she makes the women's final...


...because guess what! I will be there!


Due to this tennis trip, posting here may be a bit scattered over the next few days, but I promise I'll update with all my news when I get back. I'm doing two days at the Hopman Cup and then the men's semis and women's final in Brisbane, and it's going to be MADE OF AWESOME. Catch you on the flip side!




Today's Results

Hopman Cup (Perth)

Australia 2, USA 1

Samantha Stosur def. Melanie Oudin, 6-2 6-4
Lleyton Hewitt def. John Isner, 6-1 7-5
Oudin/Isner def. Stosur/Hewitt, 2-6 6-1 10-4 (match tie break)



Spain 3, Romania 0


Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez def. Sorana Cirstea, 6-4 6-4
Tommy Robredo def. Victor Hanescu, 6-3 retired
Martinez Sanchez/Robredo def. Cirstea/Hanescu, walkover



Brisbane International (Brisbane)


Men's Draw


Gael Monfils def. Taylor Dent, 7-6 (7-1) 6-7 (5-7) 6-2
Carsten Ball def. Mischa Zverev, 7-5 6-1
Matthew Ebden def. Jurgen Melzer, 7-5 6-1
Tomas Berdych def. Nick Lindahl, 6-2 6-4
Marcos Baghdatis def. Mardy Fish, 7-5 7-5
James Blake def. Sam Querrey, 4-6 6-3 6-4
Florent Serra def. Julian Reister, 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (7-5) 7-5
Oleksandr Dolgopolov Jr def. Bernard Tomic, 6-4 6-4



Women's Draw


Kim Clijsters def. Alicia Molik, 6-0 6-3
Andrea Petkovic def. Vania King, 4-6 6-2 6-1
Melinda Czink def. Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, 6-3 2-6 6-1
Ana Ivanovic def. Timea Bacsinszky, 6-2 2-6 6-4



Qatar ExxonMobil Open (Doha)

Roger Federer def. Christophe Rochus, 6-1 6-2
Andreas Seppi def. OScar Hernandez, 6-4 7-5
Nikolay Davydenko def. Mikhail Kukushkin, 6-2 6-0
Lukasz Kubot def. Karim Maamoun, 6-0 6-2
Steve Darcis def. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, 6-4 6-1
Younes El Aynaoui def. Ryler DeHeart, 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-4)
Rafael Nadal def. Simone Bolelli, 6-3 6-3


Chennai Open (Chennai)

Robby Ginepri def. Robin Soderling, 6-4 7-5
Lukas Lacko def. Yen-hsun Lu, 6-4 6-3
Kevin Kim def. Daniel Brands, 6-2 6-2
Dudi Sela def. Denis Istomin, 6-1 6-2
Stanislas Wawrinka def. Rohan Bopanna, 6-1 6-4
Michael Russell def. Prakash Amritraj, 6-3 6-1
Stephane Robert def. Louk Sorenson, 6-2 6-1
Michael Berrer def. Santiago Ventura, 6-3 6-2
Robin Haase def. Tsung-hua Yang, 6-4 6-3
Somdev Devvarman def. Rainer Schuettler, 7-5 6-2
Marcel Granollers def. James Ward, 5-7 6-2 6-2


ASB Classic (Auckland)


Carla Suarez Navarro def. Edina Gallovits, 6-4 7-5
Francesca Schiavone def. Stephanie Cohen-Aloro, 6-2 6-3
Sania Mirza def. Stefanie Voegele, 5-7 6-1 7-5
Alize Cornet def. Marina Erakovic, 6-4 6-3
Elena Vesnina def. Alberta Brianti, 6-1 6-4
Virginie Razzano def. Monica Niculescu, 7-5 6-4
Ioana Raluca Olaru def. Elena Baltacha, 6-2 6-2
Shahar Peer def. Polona Hercog, 7-5 6-3
Maria Kirilenko def. Tatjana Malek, 6-2 6-3
Kaia Kanepi def. Na Li, 6-1 6-3

Queen Justine, Where Have You Been?

I never used to think of myself as an Henin fan. I liked her game, sure, but I think it had something to do with the day she retired in the final of the Aussie Open against Mauresmo. Henin the player was great, but I was never a fan of Henin the sportswoman.

This extended to me not believing she was going to come back right up until the day before her press conference, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Why? I just didn't think she had it in her.

So you can imagine that I watched her comeback with some trepidation - mixed in with excitement, because, hello, the women's game needs whatever it can get right now. I was at work, so I didn't see the first part of the match. I arrived home midway through the first set. I had groceries with me, including ice cream, but they would have to wait until a convenient change of ends. I needed to see how this would play out.

I turned on the TV. And there was a different Justine Henin waiting there.

Sure, at this point it was even stevens with Nadia Petrova - Justine didn't pull out the big break until the end of the set. But her game was there, not especially rusty. The backhand was back, and the speed, and some new serve I'm not too sure about but which I'm sure will work itself out.

But something else was back too. For the first time in a long time, it looked like Justine was enjoying herself on the court. Finally, after years and years and years, I found myself able to like Justine the sportswoman.

Apparently in Belgium they're already talking about the possibility of an all Belgian final for Brisbane. I am certainly right behind that in wishing, if not in believing, being as I will be there, and I can think of few things I would like better than to see the two Belgian comeback queens battle it out. This could be a reignition of the Clijsters/Henin rivalry - and heaven knows women's tennis needs it!

In other news, big props go out to John Millman and Peter Luczak, who put up fighting efforts against their higher ranked opponents in Brisbane last night. Luczak looked better than I've seen him for a LONG time, and Millman just seems like a really cool dude with a pretty solid game which I would like to see more of. Yay for these two.

Yay also for my favourite WTA player, Sabine Lisicki, for a fantastic win over Elena Dementieva at the Hopman Cup. Russia went on to win the tie, but this win is an individual serving-of-notice from Sabine. This girl is going to be huge.


Today's Results

Hopman Cup (Perth)

Russia 2, Germany 1

Sabine Lisicki def. Elena Dementieva, 6-4 6-1
Igor Andreev def. Philipp Kohlschreiber, 3-6 6-7 (3-7) 6-3
Dementieva/Andreev def. Lisicki/Kohlschreiber, 6-4 7-6 (9-7)


Great Britain 2, Kazakhstan 1

Yaroslava Shvedova def. Laura Robson, 4-6 6-3 6-0
Andy Murray def. Andrey Golubev, 6-2 6-2
Robson/Murray def. Shvedova/Golubev, 6-3 5-7 12-10 (match tie break)


Brisbane International (Brisbane)

Men's Draw

Andy Roddick def. Peter Luczak, 7-6 (7-5) 6-2
Richard Gasquet def. Jarkko Nieminen, 6-3 4-6 6-3
Harel Levy def. Michael Llodra, 6-2 6-0
Thomaz Bellucci def. Juan Ignacio Chela, 6-3 3-6 6-1
Marc Gicquel def. Philipp Petzschner, 6-3 6-1
Alejandro Falla def. Jeremy Chardy, 6-4 6-4
Wayne Odesnik def. Arnaud Clement, 6-4 7-6 (7-2)
Radek Stepanek def. John Millman, 6-4 6-0


Women's Draw

Lucie Safarova def. Anna-Lena Groenefeld, 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 6-1
Aleksandra Wozniak def. Galina Voskoboeva, 6-2 6-2
Daniela Hantuchova def. Ekaterina Ivanova, 6-1 6-7 (5-7) 6-1
Agnes Szavay def. Shuai Peng, 5-7 6-4 6-2
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova def. Alisa Kleybanova, 6-4 2-6 6-2
Roberta Vinci def. Sara Errani, 6-4 2-6 6-2
Timea Bacsinszky def. Alla Kudryavtseva, 6-4 7-6 (7-3)
Ana Ivanovic def. Jelena Dokic, 7-5 1-6 6-3
Sesil Karantcheva def. Casey Dellacqua, 6-2 0-6 7-6 (7-1)
Justine Henin def. Nadia Petrova, 7-5 7-5


Qatar ExxonMobil Open (Doha)

Ernests Gulbis def. Albert Montanes, 6-2 7-5
Marco Chiudineilli def. Paolo Lorenzi, 7-5 6-3
Ivo Karlovic def. Fabio Fognini, 6-4 6-4
Viktor Troicki def. Daniel Gimeno-Traver, 6-1 7-5
Oliver Rochus def. Abdulla Hajji, 6-1 6-0
Sergiy Stakhovsky def. Mikhail Youzhny, 7-6 (13-11) 6-2
Potito Starace def. Frederico Gil, 6-2 6-0


Chennai Open (Chennai)

Thiemo de Bakker def. Rajeev Ram, 6-1 6-1
Janko Tipsarevic def. Carlos Moya, 6-3 7-6 (7-2)
Jan Hajek def. Simon Greul, 3-6 6-2 6-4
Santiago Giraldo def. Bjorn Phau, 6-4 6-7 (6-8) 6-3
Marin Cilic def. Igor Kunitsyn, 6-2 6-4


ASB Auckland Classic (Auckland)

Flavia Pennetta def. Jill Craybas, 6-2 6-4
Dominika Cibulkova def. Alexandra Dulgheru, 6-0 6-3
Kimiko Date Krumm def. Anna Chakvetadze, 6-1 6-2
Yanina Wickmayer def. Julia Goerges, 6-3 7-5
Magdalena Rybarikova def. Anabel Medina Garrigues, 6-2 6-3

Kind of Loving Tommy

Tommy Robredo is one of those players that I have, without meaning to, somehow conspired to see play a lot. He's not up there on my favourites list or anything, but somehow I always manage to catch a bunch of his matches. And I kind of love him now - a love born of familiarity more than anything else, because I doubt he'd stand out to me otherwise. He's not spectacularly interesting or anything.

But. Yes, I have just been all like, 'I love you, Tommy, but hot damn you are boring,' but when I saw him play John Isner at the Hopman Cup yesterday, I realised there was a reason I kind of loved him, and it's his speed. The way he can run down balls is pretty awesome to watch. They actually did a bit of stats thing on the TV where they showed how often Isner was hitting the ball to Robredo's backhand - something like 71% of the time. However, despite the speed of the Isner groundies, Robredo was running round most of them to hit forehands. Because he could.

And his passing shots! Oh, his passing shots! There is something in the Spanish air which predisposes the Spaniards to hitting beautiful passing shots, and Robredo is no exception. The best tribute I can pay them is silence.

The Isner/Robredo match was a seriously good match. It went 7-6 in the third, with Robredo coming out on top, but it was a titanic struggle - and it looked like it was going to be all Isner until one moment midway through the second set. Robredo had struggled mightily to get it to 30-all on Isner's serve, and then he hit an absolutely inspired forehand to bring up break point. He went on to break Isner - the only break of serve in the match - and run off with the set. And even though the third set went deep, you kind of had the feeling Robredo was going to win.

Spain won the tie 3-0, cleaning up in the women's singles and the mixed as well, and they surely must be favourites to win the group now. Another failed year at Hopman Cup for Australia.

Over in Brisbane, there were quality wins for Alicia Molik and Matt Ebden, which surely must turn Tennis Australia's collective frown upside down. Good stuff.


Today's Results

Hopman Cup (Perth)

Spain 3, USA 0

Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez def. Melanie Oudin, 6-4 6-4
Tommy Robredo def. John Isner, 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 7-6 (7-4)
Martinez Sanchez/Robredo def. Oudin/Isner, 6-4 7-5


Brisbane International (Brisbane)

Women's Draw

Kim Clijsters def. Tathiana Garbin, 6-2 6-1
Alicia Molik def. Ekaterina Makarova, 6-4 1-6 6-4
Vania King def. Sybille Bammer, 6-4 6-1
Andrea Petkovic def. Iveta Benesova, 6-7 (6-8) 6-2 6-1
Melinda Czink def. Lucie Hradecka, 6-4 3-6 6-3
Barbora Zahlavova Strycova def. Olga Govortsova, 6-4 6-1

Sydney Also Gets Wild

More wildcard news - from Sydney this time, where Casey Dellacqua has been given a wildcard into the Medibank International. She's the second card recipient to be announced after Justine Henin, and it's not exactly surprising - much as I would wish that some of the younger kids would be given opportunities, their time will come. This is a good leg up for Casey on her comeback - and I guess she's lucky coming back around the Australian swing, because she'd find it tough to get this wealth of cards otherwise.

You just wait. You can bet your bottom dollar that the other women's card for Sydney will go to Alicia Molik, the second she expresses any desire to play the event... though she's playing Hobart, now that I think of it, so we'll see someone a little different. You've got to think it will be Olivia Rogowska - though she might get pipped at the post by Yanina Wickmayer, if the tournament director in Sydney is a big softie. Though if I were Rogowska and that was the case, I'd be pissed off. Rogowska definitely deserves a card somewhere, and with Justine Henin sucking up all these wildcards, a lot of her opportunities have disappeared.

But now that I think of it, Rogowska might have been carded into Hobart as well, which means she's out of Sydney, being as they are on the same week. That opens the door for someone like Monika Wejnert or Shannon Golds. That could be fun.

It's the last day before tennis starts - it's New Year's Day here, though not quite in Abu Dhabi yet, where things will kick off with the annual cashcow exo. Bring it on! I am totally sick of the off season.

Getting Wild In Brisvegas

Some more wildcard action - though it's for the Brisbane International this time. It's enough to make me wish I was going to that tournament earlier in the week rather than for the men's semis and the women's final... I love watching young dudes in action.

And Tennis Australia really should be commended for the emphasis they put on youth in their wildcards. Well done - seriously, well done. The Aussie young guns need to be blooded on the big stages, and these cards are definitely the way to do it.

Wildcards in Brisbane have been issued to Carsten Ball, Bernard Tomic and John Millman in the blokes' event, and Casey Dellacqua, Alicia Molik and Justine Henin in the ladies'. You couldn't not give a card to Henin - I mean, really - and with Dellacqua and Molik on the comeback it makes sense, though I really would have liked to see Olivia Rogowska and Monika Wejnert carded into this event.

But total win with the boys - particularly with Millman. He's good enough to play a match or two on the main tour, and I hold out hope that some other Aussie boys can come up through qualies. Ball has been to an ATP final before and is a bit passe, but I'm actively excited to see what Bernard Tomic can bring to the court this year. He's won a round at tour level before and I reckon this year might be the year when he starts to make a wave or two. And why shouldn't that wave start in Brisbane?

Holidaze

It's official. It's all booked and paid for and the tickets are sitting next to me as I write this. Tennis From The Backseat will be coming to you from four different cities and four different tournaments this January!

(This also means I may now have to live in a cardboard box, given the amount of money it's costing me, but it'll be worth it).

I'll be kicking off my nationwide tour in Perth on January 7, where I will be spending two days at the Hopman Cup (which is also my favourite tournament of the year!) And yes, I will be seeing an Andy Murray tie... though that doesn't excite me as much as simply going to Perth. I've never been to Western Australia, so it will be an adventure. Not that I'll get much of a chance to do much sightseeing, but hey! Perth! I will have been!

I'll be catching the red eye on Friday night and will cross back to the east of the nation to arrive bright and early on Saturday morning in Brisbane, where I will be spending a day at the Brisbane International, hopefully trying not to fall asleep because of the time difference between there and Perth. I've got tickets for the men's semis and the women's final, so that should be pretty excellent.

Then I come back to Canberra the next day and spend a week at work, of which I am sure I will enjoy every second, before jetting off the next Friday night to Sydney for the women's final of the Medibank International. I'll also take in the men's final the next night before setting off to Melbourne the next day for six! count 'em, six! glorious days at the Australian Open.

Now there is a holiday.

I'm aware I've outlined my travel plans before, but I'm so excited I had to do it again. I don't know if I'll do an Aussie summer this big again - it is, as noted, costing me a bundle - so I'm determined to love every second of it. Even where it involves flying clear across the country twice in three days.

How far have you travelled for a tournament?

Time Off, Time Out, Time to Change

So Dinara Safina is out of Brisbane and in doubt for Melbourne. She's got an injured back which she obviously needs to rehabilitate. This is sad.

This is also bad, as she has finalist points to defend at the Aussie and will thus go tumbling down the rankings. The season will start and go on without her, and who knows when she'll get back in?

But you know what? Even though it will obviously be an epic fail for her to miss the beginning of the season and lose all those points, effectively meaning she'll have to start from scratch-ish (not quite Square One, but a few squares lower), I think it might be good for her to take some time out. This whole being on tour thing is obviously doing her head in, and it can't help any when you've got a bunch of people dancing around a bonfire going 'Dinara Safina is the worst #1 eveeeeeeeer!'

This will give her more time to recuperate physically and prepare herself mentally for another assault on the upper echelons of women's tennis. She knows what to expect now. She knows how tough it is, and how people talk and judge and whatnot. A little time away from that eye could be very good for Dinara. I just hope Zeljko isn't shouting at her too much in the meantime...

And you know what? Maybe this back injury will force her to do what people have been telling to do all year and fix her serve. Or even if the back injury doesn't come into play in this arena, this will give her more time to work on it with Zeljko. Because if she is going to make another assault along the lines of the one she made in mid-2008, the serve is where it has to start.

So rest up, Dinara. Rest, recuperate and get better. I may be the last person in the world clinging to your bandwagon, but I'm still clinging to it. And I'm sure that, when you come back, you will be in a position to give us great things.

What I Will Do On My Holiday

In the absence, once more, of Real Tennis (how on earth am I going to manage in December?) I thought I'd use a schoolyard staple - what I did on my holiday - and turn it around a bit. Here it is - what I plan to do on my tennis junket in January.

Well, I plan to go to pretty much every tennis tournament in Australia. Except Hobart. Because Hobart is lame.

If I have my way, I'll spend two days in Perth for the Hopman Cup, where I'll hopefully get to see the interesting pairing of Andy Murray and Laura Robson play, and then fly on to Brisbane, to catch the men's semis and both finals. And then, after returning back to my dull dull life for a few days, I'll go on up to Sydney, catch the finals of both the men and women, and then down to Melbourne, for five glorious days at the Aussie Open.

I've booked the Sydney/Melbourne leg of my trip - and consequently have no money, but am very excited nonetheless. Whether the Perth/Brisbane leg ever eventuates will remain to be seen, but it's going to be awesome, even if I don't get to go. It's going to be sweltering and I suspect I'll end up with one of those tans that looks like leather, but such is the price we pay in the pursuit of our love.

The US Open series is often called the greatest roadtrip in sport, but I think my tennis junket here just might rival it... especially if I do make it clear across the country to Perth (a six hour flight, on a good day). It also means I'm completely mad (as many people have told me), to use a great chunk of my holiday leave on tennis, but there it is: I love tennis. And I've never been to either Brisbane or Perth, so that will be big fun also.

Apologies for the incoherent rambling - excitement (and heat) is what I'll chalk it up to. Have you got a tennis junket story - a tennis roadtrip (or plane, or whatever) that you've done/plan to do? Tell me about it!

Leave It In Brisvegas

Let us not begin today's blog with sour things. Let us instead begin with happy news - congratulations to Dominik Hrbaty and his girlfriend, now fiancee, on their engagement! Apparently he proposed right after he and Dominika Cibulkova won the Hopman Cup, which is really cute. So big congratulations!

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Right, more sour things. I have discovered the source of Radek Stepanek's power, to which Fernando Verdasco fell victim yesterday, joining a first-set-winning-but-match-losing club with Robin Soderling and Richard Gasquet. It is his shirt. Has anyone ever seen tennis wear more ugly or more mesmerising? I don't know why he thought it would be a good idea to wear a shirt made out of a picnic blanket, but it seems to have worked for him - all three of these players have become hypnotised by it. Or perhaps the horror of it just overcame them. Who can tell?

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Shirt aside, the match between Verdasco and Stepanek was really a good one, especially the third set, when Stepanek got two breaks up and then Verdasco pulled one and nearly both back. There was some absolutely insane shotmaking from both players (I still blame the shirt) and it was just really good fun to watch. Tennis matches can be good that way, when you aren't especially invested in them (though I was, anyone can tell, pulling for Nando!) You can really appreciate the tennis in and of itself.

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That said, I hope Stepanek's sudden run of good form doesn't translate to him being this year's surprise finalist. I don't think I would like that. Le's leave it at Brisvegas.

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And how about Mr Marin Cilic, winning his second title - though it was a struggle against Somdev Devvarman, the wildcard playing out of his skin. But nice one, Marin, flying the Star flag!

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Today's Results

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Brisbane International (Brisbane)

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Radek Stepanek def. Fernando Verdasco, 3-6 6-3 6-4

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Chennai Open (Chennai)
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Marin Cilic def. Somdev Devvarman, 6-4 7-6 (7-3)

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Medibank International (Sydney)

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Serena Williams def. Samantha Stosur, 6-3 6-7 (4-7) 7-5

Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Peng Shuai, 3-6 6-1 6-3

Agnieszka Radwanska def. Sybille Bammer, 6-4 6-3

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Moorilla Hobart International (Hobart)
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Tsvetana Pironkova def. Patty Schnyder, 6-2 6-4

Alona Bondarenko def. Monica Niculescu, 6-4 2-6 6-2

Iveta Benesova def. Tamarine Tanasugarn, 7-5 7-5

Petra Kvitova def. Sally Peers, 6-0 6-0

Magdalena Rybarikova def. Kateryna Bondarenko, 4-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-1

Close Encounters of the Female Kind

The day of close matches. Seriously, how many nailbiters were there today? Largely, these were on the women's side, and it's a rare day that I prefer women's tennis over men's, but oh! there were some exciting matches today! Dinara Safina and Hsieh Su-Wei was a gun of a match - I'm so glad Dinara pulled that one out, otherwise Russia would have lost the tie! Ana Ivanovic and Roberta Vinci was enthralling - Vinci had match points, but Ivanovic had other ideas... But the real cracker for me was Amelie Mauresmo against Julie Coin. That tiebreaker... I wasn't going for either of them, and I was still biting my nails.

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So maybe Julie Coin isn't just a onetime Ivanovic-beating fluke after all, eh? She may not have triumphed against Mauresmo, but she damn near did - and she has some awesome skills. I was much more impressed with her than I was with, say, Ivanovic. I wasn't keen on Ana at all last night. Looks? Check. Massive groundstrokes? Check. Netplay? Check. Serve? Check, except... seriously, she has the worst balltoss in the entire world. The commentators were discussing it, but I think I should reiterate - BADNESS. It'd go to the right, to the left, over her head... anywhere except where it was meant to go.

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Back to Hopman Cup, and Marat backed it up! I was impressed. Dinara needs to snap back into it - she could so easily have lost her match - but onya, Marat. Unfortunately, they still bite at doubles, but I guess you can't have everything...

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And Ernests couldn't back it up. Which is sad. But he still beat Djokovic - who has pinched some other well-deserving player's wildcard into Sydney. But the flag is still flying for the Stars - Kei Nishikori upset Tomas Berdych. I would love Kei to go deep!

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And Kolya is out of the Australian Open. It's horrible, but I doubt anyone will notice he's gone...

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Today's Results

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Harry Hopman Cup (Perth)

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Germany 2, USA 1

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Sabine Lisicki def. Meghann Shaughnessy, 4-6 6-0 6-4

James Blake def. Nicolas Kiefer, 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (9-7) 4-6

Lisicki/Kiefer def. Shaughnessy/Blake, 6-3 3-6 10-7 (match tiebreaker)

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Russia 2, Chinese Taipei 1

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Dinara Safina def. Hsieh Su-Wei, 4-6 6-2 7-5

Marat Safin def. Lu Yen-Hsun, 7-6 (8-6) 7-5

Hsieh/Lu def. Safina/Safin, 4-6 6-3 10-8 (match tiebreaker)

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Brisbane International (Brisbane)

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Men's Draw

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Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Jarkko Nieminen, 0-6 7-6 (7-1) 7-6 (7-5)

Fernando Verdasco def. Mario Ancic, 6-2 6-3

Kei Nishikori def. Tomas Berdych, 7-6 (9-7) 6-3

Radek Stepanek def. Michael Llodra, 7-6 (7-2) 6-3

Paul-Henri Mathieu def. Ernests Gulbis, 6-3 6-4

Florent Serra def. Jurgen Melzer, 6-4 6-3

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Women's Draw

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Ana Ivanovic def. Roberta Vinci, 6-7 (4-7) 7-5 6-1

Amélie Mauresmo def. Julie Coin, 5-7 6-2 7-6 (13-11)

Sara Errani def. Tsvetana Pironkova, 6-7 (3-7) 7-5 6-3

Olga Govortsova def. Sesil Karatantcheva, 6-0 5-7 7-5

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Chennai Open (Chennai)

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Lukas Dlouhy def. Nikolay Davydenko, walkover

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Qatar Exxonmobil Open (Doha)

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Rafael Nadal def. Karol Beck, 6-1 6-2

Roger Federer def. Andreas Seppi, 6-3 6-3

Andy Murray def. Philipp Petzschner, 6-2 6-4

Andy Roddick def. Arnaud Clement, 6-3 7-5

Gael Monfils def. Nicolas Devilder, 7-5 7-6 (7-4)

Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Kristof Vliegen, 6-4 6-7 (4-7) 6-4

Victor Hanescu def. Mikhail Youzhny, 6-2 6-4

Sergiy Stakhovsky def. Alexander Peya, 7-5 6-3

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ASB Classic (Auckland)

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Elena Dementieva def. Marina Erakovic, 6-2 6-3

Caroline Wozniacki def. Jill Craybas, 6-4 7-5

Edina Gallovits def. Anabel Medina Garrigues, 6-3 6-3

Ayumi Morita def. Aleksandra Wozniak, 7-5 6-2

Shahar Peer def. Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, 6-3 4-6 6-2

Elena Vesnina def. Nicole Vaidisova, 6-4 6-3

Aravane Rezai def. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 6-2 6-3

Anne Keothavong def. Carla Suárez Navarro, 6-2 6-4

I Told You So!

I told you Ernests Gulbis was going to be good. I told you so. And what a time and a way to prove it. That's really a way of serving notice to the tennis world - knocking off Novak Djokovic in the first match of the season.

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While the organisers of Brisbane are probably sobbing quietly into their drinks, I am laughing. He really is a wonderful player to watch. All the weapons are there - all that he needs is a little maturity and consistency to be a real threat. As it is, he is enormously dangerous - as Novak Djokovic will attest to! His forehand is insanely good, as is his serve. His backhand needs a little work, but you wouldn't want to get in the way of it if he has time to get set - he's just a gorgeous player.

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And he beat Novak Djokovic. Excuse me while I say AHAHAHAHAHAHA!

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Added to which Roger Federer won, cruising past Potito Starace, which means the #2 ranking is safe, and we can ready the ship to launch back at the #1 spot. A la la la la la.

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But yesterday's tennis did have a black spot - and no, it wasn't the fact that Australia got beaten in the Hopman Cup by a Slovak team who really have been playing outside their skin. No, I refer to the disgraceful behaviour of Victoria Azarenka in her match against Jarmila Gajdosova. It was seriously disgusting. Not only did she throw a couple of tantrums that a toddler would be proud of, but then she accused the umpire of nepotism, because he was Australian and Gajdosova, though nominally Slovakian, is Australian. That is just childish and disgusting and Azarenka is going down there with Djokovic on my list of objectionable tennis players.

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But Gulbis won! Djokovic lost! Victory for the Stars!

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Today's Results

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Harry Hopman Cup (Perth)

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Italy 2, France 1

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Alize Cornet def. Flavia Pennetta, 7-5 6-2

Simone Bolelli def. Gilles Simon, 6-3 6-3

Pennetta/Bolelli def. Cornet/Simon, 6-4 7-6 (7-2)

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Slovak Republic 2, Australia 1

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Dominika Cibulkova def. Casey Dellacqua, 7-5 6-2

Lleyton Hewitt def. Dominik Hrbaty, 7-6 (7-4) 6-7 (1-7) 6-4

Cibulkova/Hrbaty def. Dellacqua/Hewitt, 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 10-4 (match tiebreaker)

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Brisbane International (Brisbane)

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Men's Draw

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Robin Soderling def. Julien Benneteau, 6-3 6-3

Richard Gasquet def. Taylor Dent, 7-5 6-4

Ernests Gulbis def. Novak Djokovic, 6-4 6-4

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Agustin Calleri, 6-2 7-5

Tomas Berdych def. Brydan Klein, 6-0 6-4

Florent Serra def. Juan Carlos Ferrero, 6-3 7-6 (7-3)

Mario Ancic def. Amer Delic, 7-6 (7-2) 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (8-6)

Kei Nishikori def. Bobby Reynolds, 6-3 6-2

Paul-Henri Mathieu def. Teimuraz Gabashvili (RUS) 63 63

Michael Llodra def. Joseph Sirianni, 5-7 7-6 (7-3) 6-2

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Women's Draw

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Victoria Azarenka def. Jarmila Gajdosova, 7-6 (7-4) 7-5

Marion Bartoli def. Melinda Czink, 5-7 6-3 6-1

Tathiana Garbin def. Alisa Kleybanova, 4-6 6-4 6-2

Lucie Safarova def. Samantha Stosur, 6-4 6-4

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Chennai Open (Chennai)

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

Flavio Cipolla def. Stanislas Wawrinka, 6-4 6-1

Ivo Karlovic def. Rajeev Ram, 6-4 6-3

Carlos Moya def. Danai Udomchoke, 6-3 7-6 (7-4)

Janko Tipsarevic def. Pablo Andujar, 6-3 6-2

Andreas Beck def. Roko Karanusic, 6-1 6-0

Denis Istomin def. Rohan Bopanna, 6-4 7-6 (7-3)

Ivo Minar def. Wayne Odesnik, 6-3 6-0

Somdev Devvarman def. Kevin Kim, 6-3 6-3

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Qatar Exxonmobil Open (Doha)

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Rafael Nadal def. Fabrice Santoro, 6-0 6-1

Roger Federer def. Potito Starace, 6-2 6-2

Andy Murray def. Albert Montanes, 6-2 6-4

Mikhail Youzhny def. Igor Andreev, 4-6 6-3 6-4

Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Marco Chiudinelli, 6-4 6-3

Alexander Peya def. Dmitry Tursunov 2-6 6-3 6-4

Arnaud Clement def. Diego Junqueira, 6-1 6-2

Kristof Vliegen def. Oscar Hernandez, 6-1 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-5)

Karol Beck def. Michal Przysiezny, 4-6 6-4 7-5

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ASB Classic (Auckland)

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Elena Dementieva def. Chan Yung-Jan, 7-5 6-3

Caroline Wozniacki def. Alberta Brianti, 6-1 6-0

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova def. Kristina Barrois, 6-3 6-1

Carla Suárez Navarro def. Nathalie Dechy, 6-4 6-0

Anne Keothavong def. Mirjana Lucic, 6-4 6-2

Marina Erakovic def. Nuria Llagostera Vives, 7-5 6-4

Elena Vesnina def. Aiko Nakamura, 6-1 6-0

Ayumi Morita def. Marta Domachowska, 6-4 4-6 6-4

Bella and Miss Monica Make The Cut

I think the organisers of Brisbane have made a very wise decision in allocating their last two wildcards for the women's draw. I am quite excited about it, actually - the wildcards are going to Monica Wejnert and Isabella Holland.

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Neither girls have played a WTA senior event before, but I think they could really go well. Sure, they're both only sixteen, but they've both been so impressive lately. Isabella Holland has been impressive for a while, but Monica Wejnert has really been a standout over the last month. That semi-final of the wildcard playoff when Wejnert defeated Holland could have easily been the final. Sure, Dokic eventually ended up winning the wildcard, but for me, Wejnert/Holland was the real final.

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So do these girls have a chance? In future years, I would not be surprised at all if we were talking a whole lot about Wejnert and Holland. But this year... I would be shocked and awed if they won, but not shocked if they made it a round or two. Both of them are eminently capable of pulling an upset or a couple. I would actually love to see one of them play Ivanovic in the first round. Not only would that give them an idea of where they stand currently against one of the top women in the game, but I think one of them might actually be able to win. Julie Coin, anyone?

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One thing that would be a bit sad is if Wejnert and Holland had to play each other in the first round, but I will be very, very, very happy if one of them makes it to the second round. They may only be sixteen now, but I will not be a bit surprised if these girls are very, very good in the future.

Always Channel-Surfing

The 2009 tennis season is really sneaking up on us. Seriously, the 2008 season ended about four seconds ago, and I thought the off-season was going to seem really long, what with trying to blog through it about effectively nothing - though the December Showdown was big fun - but it's flown by.

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If I were a tennis player, I would want to just lie around for about a year after I retired and not move a muscle. Perhaps this is why I am not a top athlete. But these guys keep coming back. Sure, it's lucrative, but really, if you've been a top tennis player, you're not exactly in the gutter. So I am left to conclude that tennis players really love the sport.

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I wasn't exactly intending to go on a ramble there about the love of tennis... I guess these things happen. What I was going to talk about was the Brisbane International, a tournament which I am opposed to in principle, because there was nothing wrong with the old Gold Coast and Adelaide tournaments, and the tennis love should be spread throughout the states, but which I am a little intrigued by.

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It's going to have an interesting field, if nothing else. I am very much looking forward to seeing how Bernard Tomic fares in the men's main draw - correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this is his first ATP level tournament. Only a few months after Marko Djokovic too, despite Tomic being ranked about a thousand places ahead of him. Such a shame that Bernard doesn't have a big brother to buy him into tournaments, like Novak's bought Marko into the one in Thailand and now in Brisbane (though at least Marko's only making a showing in the doubles. But still.) I would dearly love for Bernard Tomic to win a few rounds... so someone keep his dad away from the court, lest we have another scandal. I don't want Bernard to be Jelena Dokic II.

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But one thing that is going to be very intriguing is how much television coverage Brisbane will get. Traditionally, the semis and finals of Gold Coast and Adelaide, but there are heaps more big names in Brisbane... Djokovic (spit spit) and Ivanovic (Anando will be there) among them. So will Channel 7 pull out their collective finger and give me... I mean, Australia, the tennis we deserve?

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Not that I could possibly watch anything except the night sessions, because my loyalty belongs to the Hopman Cup. But there's always channel-surfing.

Those Halcyon Days

The full lineup for the Brisbane International has been announced - hurrah! The closest thing to news we've had in days! And I still have no desire to attend! Brilliant!

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Remember when there used to be tournaments and things to write about? Ah, those halcyon days...

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The men's is headlined by Novak Djokovic (spit spit) but the real highlights for me will be Jo-W Tsonga, Ernests Gulbis (could this be his breakthrough tournament? Please, Ernests! You're a Grand Slam quarter-finalist!), Kei Nishikori (Star power) and Marcos Baghdatis. I'm sorry, but when did Marcos fall to #99? Surely he should have a protected ranking or some such? He was injured, yes - but if his ranking keeps sliding he's going to find himself in qualifying for the Aussie Open, and that's not a place you generally find ex-finalists... though maybe the powers that be at Tennis Australia would have mercy and give him a wildcard. He's been carded into Brisbane, after all...

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...actually, wouldn't it be lovely to see Marcos win? It's been so long - I'd forgotten how much I really do like him. Ah, smiley happy Marcos.

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Though there is the Ernests factor, after all. I'd love to see him win. If only there was a nice girl from Latvia he could play Hopman Cup with... instead of this stupid Brisbane tournament. What was wrong with Adelaide and the Gold Coast? I liked those tournaments, damn it! My home town lost its tournament a few years back (Ana Ivanovic's first ever tour victory was in my city!) - why are the number of tournaments just getting smaller and smaller?

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Speaking of Ana, she's headlining the girls, with Victoria Azarenka, Li Na and Sam Stosur singing back up. I'm being patriotic and backing Sam for this one. It's about time she got a title in the bag after her brush with Lyme disease...