Sleepless in Melbourne

Sleepless is the best way to put it. It's 1:30am as I write this, back in my hotel room, after just having returned from the exhilarating Nalbandian/Hewitt five set match. I've been at Melbourne Park since 10 in the morning. That's a very long day of tennis - and I'm going to do it all again tomorrow!

I started my day with a leisurely wander around the practice courts (harder than it might sound, as there are eight, four on each side of the site, and it takes about ten minutes to bash your way through Grand Slam Oval to get there) before settling down for a bit to watch Kai-Chen Chang and Bojana Jovanovski. Yes, I went to a WTA match. I upheld my word. I caught the first set, which Chang totally let slip out of her grasp after being a break up. But Jovanovski... well, she is one to watch.

I then intended to catch some of Youzhny and Ilhan, but it was crazy full there with shouting Turkish fans, so I opted for the slightly tamer (in crowd size, not in tennis) Kavcic/Anderson, where I saw Anderson take the first set. I then thought he was destined to win the thing, but I was wrong. Oh, how I was wrong. As I will elaborate later.

It was back to the back courts after that - yes, I was trying to stalk players in their practice sessions; no, it didn't entirely work - where I caught about a set and a half of the all Brazilian battle between Thomaz Bellucci and Ricardo Mello. This might have been my favourite back court match of the day, because this match had it all - extreme tension and big hitting and some real flair that you don't often see outside of the Frenchies. Bellucci was on top when I was watching, but looking at the score, Mello came back and took a couple of sets before Bellucci closed it out. I'm not surprised. He was playing very well. These are seriously two very watchable players.

...but I stopped watching them after a bit, because, you know, trying to catch some matches and practices and suchlike. I caught a bit of Schwank and Mayer, but the all-Argentinian battle didn't have anything on the all-Brazilian one, so off did I take myself, intending to go and see Falla/Lopez, but ending up...

...back at Kavcic/Anderson, where ALL HAD CHANGED. Seriously, Blaz Kavcic. Watch out for this guy. He has tons of game - like, tons. I understand why he was #1 seeded qualifier! He has mad skillz. Anderson serves out of a tree - as seen in the first set - but by the fourth set, which was what I saw, by which time Kavcic was up two sets to one, Kavcic had almost totally neutralised it. He worked it out, and he played an outstanding fourth set tie breaker after coming back from a break down. He is going to be awesome soon.

Then away! for Federer was practicing. Not much to say here, except that I nearly got crushed in a Federiot. Seriously, it was crazy. People who want autographs are deadly.

I tried all day to find Mahut practicing, but it didn't work, so I gave it up after a while and decided just to watch some bits of matches instead... except for one small thing. Every match I walked into seemed to immediately end. I caught the last couple of games of Isner's match, the same with Gilles Muller's... then I caught a whole set of Alisa Kleybanova's, which would have been awesome if the set hadn't been 6-0. I betook myself round to Clement/Seppi after that, which was only just starting, but lo! no sooner had I done that than it was time to head into Rod Laver Arena.

There's not much to say about the Safina/Clijsters match. Kim played great. Dinara really didn't. It was a bit embarrassing. (Though considering what was coming next I'm glad it was short, or I'd still be there!) I will say this, though - while Safina's ball toss is still ridiculously high, it is not as high. Nor as wonky. Progress has been made. Though Clijsters is clearly not the one to try it out on!

And then... the match.

Hewitt and Nalbandian were always going to go five sets. Everyone knew this. It was always going to be an epic. It had the potentially to be Isnutically long, though thankfully it wasn't. But what I wasn't expecting was the real, incredible quality of this match. Seriously, it was OUTSTANDING.

This wasn't a good draw for either guy in the first round. Hewitt deserved better than this, with the way he was playing - put him against another one of the players seeded in the 20-odds and I think the result might have been different. But I suppose there's always going to be that history between Nalbandian and Hewitt, that old tension, and I really think that is what pushed Nalbandian over the line in the end - the desire not to lose to someone he doesn't like.

But their history aside, this match was outstanding. It was literally impossible to pick the winner - Hewitt had two match points on which he did not capitalise - and it see-sawed dramatically. The crowd were behind Hewitt, of course, but it didn't seem to bother Bandy at all - if anything, he fed on it. The length of the rallies was astounding and the shotmaking, well...

...suffice to say it totally made up for the not-so-good night session the night before!

Win of the day: Nalbandian. That had to be sweet. Though I'd like to put my hand up for Bellucci as well.
Loss of the day: Ivanovic. Didn't see it, but this is not a good thing to happen for Miss Muffet.
Players in dangerous form: Both Nalbandian and Hewitt, not that Hewitt will get a chance to show it. Also Nadal.
Players to watch in the future: Kavcic. Bellucci. Mello. Jovanovski.
Things for Jodi to do tomorrow: Watch more WTA instead of just a token match. And also FIND MAHUT PRACTICING.

This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mildly Interesting Factoids

Today we are going to talk about two relatively little things that I find mildly interesting. (Wow, this sounds like a very engaging blog post! You are such an interesting writer, Jodi!)

1) When asked what his most heartbreaking loss this year was, Roger Federer answered with 'losing the Halle final to Lleyton Hewitt.' Wow, dude, you, like, really love Halle. Possibly more than Wimbledon? I know Halle is your tournament and you've said that you'll play there for ever and ever and ever, and yes, I did get a bit angry at you when you lost...

...but more heartbreaking than the F^&* THE WOOOOOOOOOORLD!!!!!!1! moment we all went through with the Berdych match at Wimbledon? Or even the Soderling match at Roland Garros? Or Djokovic at the US Open, with the match points? I do not think so.

2) Dinara Safina is playing Hobart next year. Now, we all know that Hobart is the Mickey Mousiest of the all the Mickey Mouse tournaments, but I don't think this is necessarily a bad move for Dinara. If she can get some wins in here, she might get a bit of confidence back. And certainly match play.

If she loses early, however... the inverse will be true. Times a thousand.

Consistency Isn't Everything

People are falling all over themselves to make Caro Wozniacki's ascension to #1 okay. I can't count the amount of 'oh, but she's so consistent' etc I have read overnight. And sure, points wise, she is #1. Points don't lie.

But come on. Seriously.

You thought Jankovic and Safina were weak #1s? Safina made three Slam finals! Jankovic made one too! I know Woz has made one, but it doesn't count towards her current points count. She's only won one Tier 1 event, for heavens' sakes.

I'm not saying that Serena deserves to be #1. While she is clearly the best player in the world, if you haven't played - not her fault, obviously, but still - your name's not in the game. You have to be in it to win it, etc. But look at players like Zvonareva. Look at Clijsters. They're achieving real grown up results without playing week after week after week. Sure, they have taken a couple of weak losses, but they've followed them up with some big results.

There is a lot to say for consistency. But consistency in lower level tournaments? Consistency born of simply playing a lot? I know Caro works hard - no one is going to deny that - and consistency is something lacking on the WTA tour. But there's something seriously whack when this kind of consistency gives you a #1 ranking. Bring back Dinara.

Haikus for a Dull Week

Romania

Starace is out
Montanes is the top seed
How did that happen?


Metz

Since Australia
Cilic hasn't been red hot
Just kind of tepid


Seoul

Safina is out
Sadly, so is Date Krumm
Seoul is dead to me


Tashkent

Alla beat Masha
At Wimbledon that one time
...that is all I've got.

On The Same Side Of The Net

So, um, there's still tennis going on. And stuff. In this not-that-exciting time of the year.

But at the end of the day, I don't have that much to say except 'yay, Dinara Safina won a match', so we're going to flash back to the US Open a week ago. And we're going to do something I don't often do on this blog - talk doubles.

Yes, I am aware that everyone and their dog have covered this story, but really, is there a better news story around than Bopanna and Qureshi?

We can talk about the Bryans till the cows come home - and probably we should, because what they have achieved is awesome. But the whole Bopanna/Qureshi thing is one of the biggest feelgood stories in tennis this year. An Indian and a Pakistani playing together... wow.

I studied a lot of Indian politics and history at uni, and one of the things I remember noting is the role of sport as a healer. Politically, India and Pakistan are at loggerheads, and this can translate to the sporting world as well - particularly cricket, where the rivalry is fierce. But then something will happen, like one nation touring the other, playing friendly matches. It makes everyone feel all nice. And things are good for a little while. It makes sport not only awesome and fun, but politically worthwhile, a goodwill gesture.

Bopanna and Qureshi have taken that one step further. They're not playing each other, participating in feelgood friendly partisanship. No, they're playing together. They're united. They're one. And they are taking on the world. The only way their story could be better is if they won, but at the end of the day, even that doesn't matter. Their trip to the final won them huge visibility, but the fact that they played together at all is magnificently wonderful.

I really hope these two guys stay together for a long time. There is no way to underestimate the amount of good they can do by standing up together on the same side of a net. No way at all.

Bloodless Coup

Well, we all know where my heart lies - it's firmly going yay yay YAY at such an awesome showing by Roger Federer over Brian Dabul.

I know Dabul is a nobody. I know Federer's break point conversion rate was crap. But seriously, the signs were nothing but good. And that tweener... swoon.

Okay. Pulling self together now.

It was a mixed day for the Australians - good for the women, with only Ferguson falling, though Stosur looked shaky, but poor for the dudes. Carsten Ball might be through, but that was a big fat fail from Lleyton Hewitt. If you're not going to pull the actual comeback, dude, lose in three. Have mercy. You can't come all the way back and stumble at the last hurdle. It's just not cool.

But back to the good news story. Most rocking player of the day as far as the ladies go has to go to Sally Peers - what an awesome victory! After coming through qualies! I don't know a lot about Peers, but I am 100% impressed - here is hoping she can keep up this standard!

There were no major upsets today, but we have to talk about Robin Soderling. I have never heard of this Andreas Haider-Maurer fellow - what is the go there? I saw none of the match, but it seems to me like he almost did what he did in Australia: play an awesome two sets and then lose in five. Thankfully for him he got it together in the fifth, but that is dangerous for the Yoker. (Though considering the quarter of the draw he is in, if he wants to sit this one out, well...)

Gael Monfils also needed five, but Hewitt was the only male seed to fall today, and we lost no seeds in the ladies - this must be the least bloody opening day in quite some time (especially considering Hewitt was the #32 seed!) I don't expect it to stay that way in the rest of the first round, but the normalcy (especially for the ladies) is almost refreshing.

A word, though, for Dinara Safina. She just could not make anything happen against Hantuchova today. Take the rest of the year off, Dinara. Come back next year. Just chill for a bit. Stop trying so hard.

Dark Horse Dinara

So... yeah... um... I don't have a lot to talk about today. It's too late for Cincy discussions, too early for US Open breakdowns, and there's not that much happening on the women's side. (Except for CazWoz being the #1 seed. What's up with that?)

Oh, I know! Here's one I heard today - Dinara Safina, dark horse for the US Open.

Now hang on just a minute. Much as I would like this to be true - no matter how wonky she plays, I just can't quit the Dinara bandwagon - calling her a dark horse for the US Open is just ridiculous. Two years ago, maybe, this would have been an excellent call. Right now...? Not so much.

That's not too say that the women's draw isn't ridiculously open, because it is. I mean, hello, Wozniacki is the top seed. Caroline Couldn't-Hit-A-Winner-If-She-Tried Wozniacki. This really is anyone's game. But suggesting that that anyone might be Safina is so far out of left field it's almost on another planet.

Fact: Dinara has been playing better of late. Fact: playing without the pressure of expectation will probably do her the world of good. Fact: she doesn't have to listen to Zeljko shouting at her any more. And if Dinara can show me some good results towards the end of the year then we might start talking about SERIOUSLY dark horse standing for the Australian Open. But right now? I'd be calling her a dark horse for the third round. A semi-dangerous floater. And not much more.

But then, of course, Kim Clijsters won the US Open last year in only her third tournament back, so what do I know?

The Determination of Dinara Safina

Taking some time off and falling down the rankings is the best thing that has happened to Dinara Safina in a long time.

She's not a US Open contender. I'm not even going to begin to claim that. But now, in her post-Zeljko days, in the slow comeback crawl, I'm getting the feeling that Dinara is starting to put a few pieces together. It's only one match, but do you think the Dinara of three months ago would have been able to tough out Nadia Petrova 6-4 in the third set? No, I didn't think so either.

I don't want to make mountains out of molehills, but you kind of have to when it comes to Dinara. What I really want to see make a comeback, because it's what got her to #1 in the first place, is that you-have-to-shoot-me-to-win mentality. That's the mentality that got her past Sharapova and Dementieva at the French Open in 2008 and shot her into the final. It was what she had in the early days with Zeljko - fire and vim and determination - and what she hasn't had in a while now.

I was sad when she and Zeljko broke up. But now, in the aftermath of that destructive, apocalyptic relationship, I can definitely see that it was best. Dinara's finding herself again. She's finding the good. Or at least she did in this one match. She dug in her heels and didn't give in and toughed it out and from where I stand, that is nothing but a positive sign from her. Determination is key.

Small Signs of Life

Ana Ivanovic won a match today.

I can barely remember a time when saying that was not out of the ordinary - a time when Ana Ivanovic was a regular feature in the second week of Slams, when she was in the final, hell, when she won freaking Slams. We talk a lot about people not actualising their potential and never winning a Slam when they totally have the potential too... perhaps we should be applauding Ana for getting there at all. When I can go on for this long about Ana winning a single match, well...

To be fair to her, she did beat Victoria Azarenka, which makes this victory a whole lot bigger. I thought Vika was playing a lot better of late - she made a final recently, did she not? - but maybe not. Or maybe she was tired, but I don't know if that really washes too well. I think it's very telling that Ivanovic not only beat Azarenka, she beat her after losing the first set. I'm not going to mention words like 'resurgence' - because it's still only one match - but that is nothing but a positive sign for Ivanovic.

Now. Back it up.

And Dinara Safina won a match today as well. In straights. She beat Roberta Vinci, who isn't exactly top ten but who definitely does not suck, so that is a really positive result. I'm just really hoping she didn't come back too soon, what with all her back problems. I'd be really sad if she screwed herself up again.

Oh, and quick follow up from yesterday - Jelena Dokic's epic fifteen match streak has come a little too late to catapult her into the main draw at the US Open, which is a real shame. However, I know Australia has a reciprocal wildcard arrangement with the USTA, and please please PLEASE Jelena deserves that wildcard. I know she's had a bunch of chances but PLEASE she deserves it. And just to prove it's fate, do you know what she's ranked now? #82. Exactly what Yen-hsun Lu and Tsvetana Pironkova were ranked when they made their runs at Wimbledon - and, I believe, what Andrey Golubev was ranked when he won his title and jumped into the top fifty. IT'S A SIGN.

Lessons

Okay, kiddies. Roland Garros and the claycourt season are over for the year (well, apart from that weird post-Wimbledon fake-claycourt season, but no one who is anyone really plays that.) We're off the red and onto the green - off the dirt and onto the lawn. But before we depart Paris altogether, let us take a moment and think of what we have learned.

1. Rafa Nadal is the greatest clay court player. Ever. I don't think this is particularly contentious - however, when you consider all the hoops that Federer had to jump through to prove he was the greatest of all time, I think this bears some thinking about. Rafa has long since beaten that streak of most consecutive clay court wins (I think Vilas had it before, and I think Rafa's streak ended up at 81 or something crazy, which beat the record by about 30.) However, the one stat Rafa has yet to chase is the Bjorn Borg feat of six Roland Garroses.

Let's be fair on the kid. He is 24. I think he has more than one title in Paris left in him yet. And if you put today's Rafa up against Borg in his prime, my money is on Rafa. So I'm handing over the greatest claycourter ever crown... now. Actually, I handed it over about three years ago, but let's make it official here.

2. Some streaks can only be appreciated when they're broken. 23 Slam semis. That's about five years of being in the semis in every Slam. Well done, Roger Federer. It may have ended, but I think we can safely that this is one stat that is safe for a while. For five years, at least.

And you still have your quarter final streak. 24 and counting. Is that a record?

3. You don't have to be a baby to make massive career strides. Much as I was being all nationalistic and pulling for Stosur, Francesca Schiavone's win was massive, and she's nearly 30. This was a huge achievement for her, and I think it really is the icing on the cake for this story in women's tennis. When you've got players who are not young in tennis years achieving greatness, I think that is special. This is a win for the Kimiko Date Krumms of the world. But most of all, it's a win for a lovely player who deserves it.

And on that note...

4. Francesca Schiavone has one of the best smiles in tennis. She and Marcos Baghdatis. Gotta give it to them.

Any arguments?

5. Robin Soderling was not a one final wonder. I don't know if anyone expected Soderling to come close to replicating what he did last year. He may not have played the best final ever, but let us not denigrate his journey to the final. He played some truly excellent tennis. And considering he was the one that a) beat Nadal here last year and b) broke the Federer Slam semi streak... can you deny that the Yoker seriously has something, particularly here in Paris?

Now, what else have you got in your bag of tricks, Soddy my friend?

6. Sam Stosur is a force to be reckoned with. Like Soderling, she did not exactly play the final to end all finals. But you can't fluke beating Henin, Serena and Jankovic in a row. Sam Stosur is going places. She is this year's Soderling (well, Soderling is this year's Soderling, but she's the other one.) She backed up and bettered her performance of last year despite being in the most obscenely difficult quarter I have ever seen. This can only give her confidence and things are only looking up.

7. Don't trust the Russians. Sveta. Dinara. I am looking at YOU.

Much as I don't like it when I don't get my Fed-in-the-final fix, I thoroughly enjoyed this year's Roland Garros - and, unusually, I enjoyed the women's side more than the men's. Maybe it's because I am, at this stage of my life, more emotionally invested in men's tennis, but I really enjoyed the openness of the women's draw. It was a real anybody-can-win thing, and hell, anybody did. I would be upset about this with the boys (I like Fedal on top) but in the women, I dig it.

Wimbledon, over to you.

Dinara Gets Krummed

I don't think there's a whole lot more that can be said about Day 3 other than Dinara, Dinara, Dinara. What a compellingly disappointing performance. I don't know whether the break up with Zeljko has been a good thing or not, but Gaston Etlis needs to get Dinara to a sports psych, stat. I've seen a lot of tennis matches in my time - I've seen your Grosjeans and your Gasquets - and that is one of the single chokiest performances I have ever seen.


The winners: Well, Kimiko Date Krumm, obviously. When you're just about forty and playing on one leg and you beat a former world #1, you've got a little sumthin' sumthin' going on.


Other women that I thought were major winners were Maria Sharapova, who has continued her good form from Strasbourg; Justine (obviously); Anastasia Rodionova, who won her first ever Slam match, and Jarmila Groth ('cause she's Australian). However, I thought the winniest winner among the women yesterday was probably Yanina Wickmayer. She's in that year-after-the-breakthrough phase, but I think people ought to watch out for Yanina. She's got quite a nice draw and she could potentially go a long way.


Over in the boys, I thought David Ferrer and Lleyton Hewitt were probably the best performers over all. (Note: I am judging Rafa by a completely different standard. He was obviously the best player yesterday, but by his own admission, it was not his bestest match ever, even though he won comfortably.)


The losers: Dinara Safina. Obviously. She's going to plummet down the rankings Ivanovic-style here, and it's not going to be pretty. A change is clearly what she needs and she has that in the form of Gaston Etlis - I just hope it begins to pay dividends for her. And that she can fix that mess of a serve. It's crazy.


For the dudes, though we lost players like Juan Monaco and Eduardo Schwank, who are good dirtballers, disappointment of the day was clearly Sam Querrey. He really shouldn't be losing to Ginepri, and he knows it - he left Paris in a fit of pique, leaving his doubles partner in the lurch. And he quit Twitter. Not really impressed with Samurai right now.


The disappointments: I think Rafa was a little disappointed in himself, but it would be totally unfair to place him in this category, so I won't.


I do have to put Carla Suarez Navarro here, because I had hoped for a lot from her. I know she's injured so it isn't her fault, but it is disappointing. She's a lovely clay player with a beautiful backhand. Now she and Martinez Sanchez are both out, I think only Medina Garrigues is flying the flag for the Spanish ladies.


Eduardo Schwank was also disappointing. He's got some moves on clay and he went out to a dude I have never heard of (Blaz Kavcic), retiring in the fourth set when down two sets to one. Didn't see the match so I couldn't even tell you what his injury was, but this is a disappointing result for him.


The-scraped-in-by-skin-of-teeth: Why, hello, Andy Roddick. He looked very nonchalant in his five set win over Jarkko Nieminen and he came perilously close to being bundled out. He hasn't played a match on red clay all season so I'm not surprised he's rusty - and let's face it, Roland Garros is not the tournament closest to his heart. That one is coming up in a few weeks.


Horacio Zeballos, also. He only just made it through 8-6 in the fifth over some dude I have never heard of.


One to watch: Gianni Mina. He may have been routed by the raging bull yesterday, but Mina's going to grow up into something a bit cool. I would not be surprised if he surpasses his doppelganger Gael Monfils...

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly and The Still-In-It-Just

Roland Garros is here! Day one is over and gone and we have some stories and some winners and some losers and all kinds of things. Tennis, tennis, tennis - I love tennis! I love Roland Garros! (Yes, I have had a couple of glasses of wine...)

The winners: Robin Soderling. Big time. He smashed Laurent Recourderc like a guitar and looked very, very dangerous. I thought this was the best performance of the day by a long way - for the boys at any rate.

Over in the women, you have to go with Gisela Dulko, because that was quite some win she had over Vika Azarenka. See notes re smashing like a guitar. But another person that did some serious smashing was Aravane Rezai. That gold dress has given her superpowers, even though it's totally fug.

The losers: You can't go past Victoria Azarenka on this one, because this was one of the most disappointing performances I have seen in a long time. I thought this was going to be an upset win, but I didn't think it was going to be an upset shut out. Dulko absolutely destroyed Azarenka, but Azarenka destroyed herself as well.

There have been 'Azarenka is the next Vaidisova' opinions voiced. I think this is a bit OTT - Azarenka had a leg injury which she didn't take time off to heal, which was totally stupid, but not the end of the world. She really needs to take time off now, and this exit gives that, at least.

And also - Janko Tipsarevic. What kind of performance was that?

The disappointments: It's got to be Gulbis. This was a great win by Julien Benneteau, but obviously not the way that Gulbis wanted to conclude his clay tournament, especially when he's done so well at this tournament in the past. And the retirement... oh, Ernie. Not happy with you, chappie.

The scraped-in-by-the-skin-of-teeth: Jo-W Tsonga. He really, really shouldn't have gone five sets. I picked him to win his quarter and I will be mighty pissed off if he screws up my bracket. Obviously he hasn't been in le form d'awesome or anything, but his quarter is so eminently winnable...

That's all from Day One... oh, except for Dinara Safina breaking up with Zeljko Krajan! That made me actually very sad - I loved those crazy kids, with all their shouting... I kind of hope they get back together. I love them.

The Sad Story of Ana Ivanovic

Is that a W I see before me, right next to Ana Ivanovic's name?

Surely not.

Remember when Ana Ivanovic was ranked #1 in the world and was beating Dinara Safina in the Roland Garros final and stuff? I mean, sure, Dinara's not exactly the bestest player ever at the moment, but she's still ranked #3. And Ana's, what, #58?

We are at the point with Ana where it is a big freaking deal when she beats anyone. Gone are the days when she was a serious threat - when seeing yourself drawn against Ivanovic would give you pause and make you scared. Now you might as well just count yourself through the next round.

You know how many match wins Ana has had this year? I wouldn't quote me on this figure, but I think it's six. Newsflash: this is not a lot. And now she has one win, and the media is calling it a turning point.

One win is not a turning point. Not for normal people, anyway. However, for Ana, I kind of get where they're coming from. We're at the point where any win is a good sign. Even if it's 'just' Elena Vesnina, a solid but unspectacular player.

Time was I'd bet Ana barely knew who Vesnina was. Now beating her is a bust-out-the-champagne cause for celebration.

I was never a huge Ana fan, but you know what this makes me? Sad. Because the whole situation is just so pathetic - someone who was once great is now celebrating the smallest of wins. Mighty. Fallen.

A Post of Very Little Content

So is it just me or is there big fat nothing going on in the tennis world this week?

Seriously, as far as I can tell, three tour level matches were played yesterday - three women's matches in Monterrey. None of them was very interesting and so I have thus nothing to say about them. Except that Daniela Hantuchova seems to be making a mini resurgence this season. Good for her.

Really, the biggest news is about who is or isn't playing next week, and even that isn't that exciting. Serena and Venus never play Indian Wells... which is so old hat that I don't think anyone's ever bothered writing about it this year. Dinara Safina is out with a back injury. (Is it terrible of me to hope that the back injury forces her to somehow change her service motion?)

And then, of course, Roger Federer is being all coy. Will he or won't he? I guess we'll see next week.

It's a sad world when there's no news and you manage to write a whole blog post about this lack of news...

Godzilla Is A Forehand

Oh, Dinara. Whenever I think you're getting back to something halfway decent, you go and get injured. It's great for MariKiri to get through to the quarters and all, but it's sad that Safina's finals defence had to end with her limping off the court.

Take care of her, Zeljko.

Match of the day yesterday surely has to go to Roddick and Gonzalez, though Henin and Wickmayer come in a close second. Let's talk Belgians, before I get off the subject of women's tennis altogether. I'm very glad Henin won this match, but Wickmayer is swiftly rising up the ranks of the players I like. She's got serious game, but I think her biggest asset is her intensity. She may have dropped off a touch in the third set, but that was coupled with a lift from Henin so obvious it must have been very discouraging indeed. She's made the US semis and now a fourth round here. I wouldn't be surprised to see her go even deeper at Roland Garros. I think her aggressive game would suit clay very well.

The queen of Roland Garros, Justine, was incredibly impressive. I don't know what's in the water in Belgium, but how do they produce these incredible comebacks from women that have been out of the game for such substantial periods of time? JuJu surely has to be one of the favourites to take the title now - but to get the final eight in itself is absolutely massive!

...though I'm sure she'll be measuring herself against the Clijsters yardstick, which is very demanding.

Also through to the quarters is Petrova, who is looking very, very dangerous - she'll face Henin next in a rematch of their Brisbane first round encounter. Petrova will be wanting to turn it around and she'll have the advantage of having played Henin recently, so I think that match is going to be a blockbuster to watch! The other quarter will be MariKiri vs Zheng Jie... so no matter what happens there, we're getting an unseeded surprise semi finalist!

Over to the boys, and we've set up a blockbuster quarter final with Nadal and Murray - though Roddick and Cilic has the potential to be epic as well. I forgot about del Potro/Cilic when I dubbed Roddick/Gonzalez match of the day before, because Delpo/MMC could definitely claim that title. Both these matches went to five sets and both totally could have gone either way - I was convinced that Gonzalez was going to beat Roddick in four, because he was completely zoning throughout the second, third, and most of the fourth sets. But then Roddick lifted his game right where it mattered, deep in the fourth, and after a handful of set points, managed to clinch it. Gonzo was never the same afterwards - he folded pretty badly in the fifth.

It was an interesting match, watching Larry Stefanki's two most recent prodigies going at each other. Roddick's serve frustrating Gonzo, but not as much as Gonzo's forehand bothered A-Rod. Seriously, that thing is Godzilla. It's terrifying. It could destroy Tokyo with one well placed swipe. And it really is the reason that Gonzo's been around so long, because pre-Stefanki, it was really all he had. Stefanki has certainly developed him into a more complete player - he's five times the player he was before - but the destructive power of the forehand... whoa.

But it's to be seen no more this tournament, with Roddick the victor. I actually think he has a real shot at making the final, even though his draw appears sort of nightmarish - at least he doesn't have to make it through JMDP now. Though, to tell the truth, JMDP, injured as he is, might have been an easier task than Marin Cilic, for whom this quarter final has definitely come at the right time in his career. He's shown a real maturity in his game this tournament, wearing down both Bernard 'whinger' Tomic and JMDP in five, and it'll be interesting to see how he plays Roddick now.

Whichever of these dudes win, I reckon they have a shot against the winner of Nadal/Murray. Nadal, by his own admission, is not feeling especially confident, and if Roddick or Cilic zone, I think they are very capable of wearing down Murray, especially if Rafa's been running him around the court for hours. But whatever happens, Rafa/Muzz should be an epic match - and I think it's the last time we'll see them play in the quarters for a loooooooooooong time...

Jodi's Epic Tennis Adventure 2.8 - Why Tennis Needs Gossip Girl

Well, it is the final day of my epic tennis adventure... something which I would like to forget, because I have loved every second of it. If only I could be a professional tennis writer instead of a public servant. I would give anything for that to be a reality. So if any professional tennis writers need an apprentice... call me.

I write this from my hotel room, watching Rafa Nadal take out a ballboy on TV in his not-so-secret desire to be a soccer player. I tried to get tickets to this match but, alas, failed... oh well. I have seen both Rafa and Kohli live before and I suppose it is someone else's turn now! Though on this match - this is sort of live-blogging, I guess - Philipp Kohlschreiber would be awesome if he could only convert break points. And Rafa needs to stop doing those Gael Monfils splits. I've never seen him do them before this tournament - noticed it when I saw him play Luczak on Monday - and it seriously cannot be good for him. I mean, he must know how often Gael gets injured. And it's not like his legs have been stunningly healthy of late either.

But enough of what I am watching on TV (that way I can pretend that Clijsters' loss to Petrova NEVER HAPPENED). More on what I did today.

I opened the day watching Caroline Wozniacki practice for a bit, before settling in with some lunch and a glass of wine to catch a bit of Safina on the big screen - who, despite playing on the big arenas, is flying totally under the radar, and I think it is doing her the world of good. Sure, she hasn't faced any major tests yet... but remember the US Open. She got taken all the way by Olivia Rogowska and then lost to Petra Kvitova. She's into the round of sixteen without dropping a set, and that is very respectable. I still wouldn't pick her to win the tournament or anything, but I don't think she's going to embarass herself. Which is new and exciting for her, much as I hate to admit it.

I saw some of her practice yesterday, and she and Zeljko are as in each others' faces as they ever have been. There was a shaking of the racquet under Zeljko's nose and a whole lot of shouting. It is relationships like these that make it clear to me just how badly tennis needs a Gossip Girl style blog. 'Spotted: D and Z, passion on court, passion off court'.

Yes, I have this pet theory that Dinara and Zeljko are having an affair. Yes, I am very aware I am miles off base.

And tennis totally needs an insider to start this blog IMMEDIATELY. A player would be ideal, but a coach, a physio... actually, you know who would be great? A masseuse. They must hear about the woes of all the players. 'Rumour has it that Marcos is Karolina's new Sprem'. 'Is MariKiri angling for a proposal from Bigor?'

This needs to happen. If only someone would pay for me to travel on the tour around the world, I'd be completely happy to do it myself...

But back to tales of What I Did Today. After catching some Dinara and then some Justine, I headed off to Court 16 for Roger's 1pm practice sesh. I am now the owner of not one but two signed caps, one RF cap, one RG cap. RG was courtesy of Tuesday, RF today, and yes, in case you're wondering, Roger is very pretty close up. ('Spotted: swooning fans at Roger practice session, Mirka somehow completely unthreatened'... okay, maybe that's not newsworthy.)

After I had finished hyperventilating, I headed to Margaret Court Arena for a couple of afternoon matches. I caught the last set and a half of Wickmayer/Errani, and despite it being a WTA match and thus error-strewn, it was very entertaining. Both these players are aggressive wheeler-dealers, and that is always good to watch. There were some absolutely exquisite winners from both ladies, and I enjoyed it a lot. Wickmayer won in the end - she'll face Justine Henin in the next round - and she is looking very good. This will be a very interesting battle of the Belgians, mark my words.

After this match, I sat through all four sets of Isner/Monfils. I confess, I kind of understand what the big deal is about Monfils and why people like him, but he leaves me cold. Maybe it's because his coach, Roger Rasheed, is such an enormous douchecanoe. Maybe it's because he's always injured and I forget about him a lot. But I am just not in Camp Gael.

And then John Isner played at Hopman Cup, and that generally endears me to players a lot. As I discussed with Dootsiez afterwards, big servers usually = totally boring, but Isner has some real game to match his serve, especially in the volley area. This was a totally great match... albeit bittersweet, because it was the last match of my Australian Open adventure.

Every year my tennis tour gets longer and longer. I took in four major cities this year - Perth, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. Will I do it all again next year? You bet your bottom dollar. Will it be even bigger and better? YES YES YES... if I can afford it!

One Step Away From The Worst

How, I ask you, how, is it possible to stage an epic comeback from 5-0 down when you are playing as badly as Dinara Safina was today?

I've made no secret of the fact that I just can't quit my Dinara fanhood. But she deserved to lose that match today with the way she was playing, especially in the first set. If you're 5-0 down then you pretty much deserve to lose a set. This is not troll logic.

I guess it only happens if your opponent suddenly starts playing worse than you do. Which Agnieszka Radwanska did.

Honestly, it was completely embarrassing for the WTA - especially coming a day after the match where Li Na beat Caroline Wozniacki, #4 in the world, by hitting 70-odd errors. She shouldn't be allowed to make that many errors. She should be beaten before she's had the opportunity. Just like Dinara really should have been beaten today - though Aggie Rad obviously deserved the loss more. It's one thing to come back from 5-0 down, it's entirely another to be serving for a bagel and end up losing a set 7-5.

I think everything I don't like about the WTA has been crystallised in Sydney this week, especially coming on the heels of that amazing Clijsters/Henin match (I WAS THERE! I WAS THERE!) It shouldn't be possible to win matches playing that badly. Half of the seeds should not be out of the tournament within the first three days. (Seriously, we've only got Serena, Dinara, Elena and Vika left now - and only Serena has looked anything like convincing). The Belgians would never have tolerated this in their former heyday and I sure as hell hope they don't tolerate it now.

I can't imagine what the ATP would look like if its top ten were all such headcases. Berdych, Grosjean and Gasquet would probably be the top three. (Who else is a notorious tennis headcase? I'm sure I've left out a few). The strength of the ATP also shows up the poor form of the WTA - we're definitely in a Golden Age in the men, but there's only assorted Belgians and Williamses saving us from the official Worst Era Ever in the women.

Sigh.

On a happier note, how great was Peter Luczak's win tonight? He really turned the screws on Jose Acasuso, who's ranked a good twenty places above him. Mr Milkshake has a career high ranking right now and I reckon he can get higher, if he keeps playing like this...

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.

Wishing Dinara Well

Oh, Dinara.

I want to say 'this hasn't been your year', but you know what? It has been her year. She's reached two Slam finals and become world number #1, which is, really, when you think about it, not too shabby. But the pressure and her own temperament have worked against her, and... perhaps it's better this way. Perhaps it's better that she's injured and doesn't take part rather than suffering more humiliating defeats.

Go away, Dinara. Rest. Recuperate. Heal. Work on your serve. Enjoy your time away from the public eye. Because I want you to defend those damn points you earned in Australia, and I want you to do even better. Because I know you can. Get better, Dina.

In other matches, we won't be seeing any defending champion action, as Serena put paid to Venus's hopes, giving big sister V two losses. Oh well. Serena's got to be the favourite to win this tournament, even with the whole US Open drama still hanging over her head... and she's delivered thus far, with two solid wins.

But the match of the day was the battle of the teen queens, Azarenka and Wozniacki, who duked it out over three epic sets. Though I have to say Azarenka's style of play appeals to me more and I like her grit, I'm glad Wozniacki won, because even though she plays pretty vanilla tennis, I've never seen her throw a tantrum on court like Vika. And I'm not big on tantrums. (Have I harped enough on my dislike for Azarenka?)

I wouldn't be surprised to see these two teen queens be the semi final qualifiers from this group, so it'll be interesting to see what happens if they meet again in this tournament. This rivalry is going to be a very interesting one down the years...

(Oh, and in the men - remember them? - not only did Marat win, but my homeboy Ernests Gulbis upset fourth seed Jeremy Chardy. I'm even more convinced that we're coming to the light at the end of the tunnel there...!)


Today's Results

Sony Ericsson Championships (Doha)

Jelena Jankovic def. Dinara Safina, 1-1 retired
Serena Williams def. Venus Williams, 5-7 6-4 7-6 (7-4)
Caroline Wozniacki def. Victoria Azarenka, 1-6 6-4 7-5


St Petersburg Open (St Petersburg)

Marat Safin def. Richard Gasquet, 7-6 (7-5) 6-4
Mikhail Youzhny def. Andrey Golubev, 6-3 6-2
Igor Kunitsyn def. Pablo Cuevas, 6-4 6-3
Horacio Zeballos def. Oleksandr Dolgopolov Jr, 6-3 6-1
Victor Hanescu def. Illya Marchenko, 6-3 6-4
Ernests Gulbis def. Jeremy Chardy, 7-6 (9-7) 6-3
Bjorn Phau def. Andreas Beck, 6-4 2-1 retired


Bank Austria Tennis Trophy (Vienna)

Daniel Koellerer def. Jarkko Nieminen, 6-1 6-2
Gael Monfils def. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, 7-5 6-4
Janko Tipsarevic def. John Isner, 7-6 (7-4) 6-4
Dominik Hrbaty def. Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo, 6-3 6-4
Radek Stepanek def. Frederico Gil, 6-2 6-3
Nicolas Almagro def. Wayne Odesnik, 6-4 6-4
Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Victor Crivoi, 6-2 6-0


Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon (Lyon)

Gilles Simon def. Simone Bolelli, 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-5)
Nicolas Kiefer def. Sebastien Grosjean, 4-6 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (7-2)
Olivier Rochus def. Vincent Millot, 6-3 602
Paul-Henri Mathieu def. Leonardo Mayer, 7-6 (7-5) 6-2
Julien Benneteau def. Kevin Anderson, 7-5 6-2