Farewelling Fabrice

If he's going to go out, he's going to do it with drama. I think everyone in the tennis world would have killed Thierry Ascione if he had managed to squeak out that match against Marat Safin. The world wants as much Marat as possible before we have to let him go.

Three match points. Three match points Marat saved in this match. Three match points between him and the end of his career. I wonder if he was tempted to choke on any of them...? I'm very glad he didn't. It means I can still believe he loves tennis, still believe that maybe there will be a Clijsters/Henin style comeback for him. I know there won't be, but a girl can dream, n'est pas?

However, Marat is not the only person we're farewelling (though not yet! NOT! YET!) Fabrice Santoro has played his last ATP level match and I think it's only fitting it was in Paris, his home country, in front of an adoring crowd. 'Twas James Blake that did the deed... seriously, it's, like, the first match he's won all year, and it has to be ending the career of someone as superb as Santoro.

Santoro never was, I think, one of the greats. He never won a Slam, or any of those major, major titles that put you in contention for Halls of Fame and general tennis immortality. He was, however, special. I don't think there's any player who was quite as unusual as him, with such a quick, quirky style of play, with such soft hands and such creativity. Every time I watched him play - he might not always have won, but still - he came up with some stuff which was really unexpected. He was a constant surprise. And he was different, and we like different here at this blog.

But now it's time to say goodbye to the little wizard. Marat Safin once said that being told he had to play Santoro was like being told he was going to die - such was Santoro's ingenuity and originality on the tennis court. Here's hoping a few kids see some tapes of Santoro and try to factor some of that quirky brilliance into their play - because the tennis world needs some magicians like Fabrice Santoro.


Today's Results

BNP Paribas Masters (Paris)

Andreas Seppi def. Philipp Kohlschreiber, 6-3 6-3
Ivo Karlovic def. Pablo Cuevas, 7-6 (7-3) 6-4
Tomas Berdych def. Vincent Millot, 6-3 7-6 (7-4)
Lukasz Kubot def. Andreas Beck, 6-4 3-6 6-4
Viktor Troicki def. Paul-Henri Mathieu, 7-6 (7-4) 3-0 retired
Albert Montanes def. Victor Hanescu, 3-6 6-3 7-6 (7-3)
John Isner def. Alejandro Falla, 4-6 7-6 (12-10) 7-5
Marat Safin def. Thierry Ascione, 6-4 4-6 7-6(7-3)


Fed Cup

Italy def. USA, 4-0

Flavia Pennetta def. Alexa Glatch, 6-3 6-1
Francesca Schiavone def. Melanie Oudin, 7-6 (7-2) 6-2
Flavia Pennetta def. Melanie Oudin, 7-5 6-2
Errani/Vinci def. Huber/King, 4-6 6-3 11-9 (match tiebreak)

End of an Era

Today we saw the end of an era. Two of the great players, the great characters of the game today have played their final Grand Slam match.

The first is Fabrice Santoro, the French magician, who played in his 69th and final Slam today, going down in the first round to Juan Carlos Ferrero. He has got to be one of the most unique, dynamic players to watch and I think the game will miss him tremendously. He brings a great verve and vigour to everything he does - he isn't a big guy, but his presence is huge.

Actually, one of the most memorable tennis shots I ever saw was from Santoro. It was Australian Open '06, I think - he was playing quarters against David Nalbandian. Nalbandian ended up crushing him in straights, but there was this beautiful shot Santoro played... a drop shot that landed just over the net but which had so much spin on it that it dropped back onto Santoro's side before Nalbandian could come anywhere near it. It was beautiful.

Santoro plays with his mind rather than with brawn, and I really appreciate it. There is an art to his tennis which is simply stunning. I wonder if there are any French juniors coming up who have chosen to emulate Santoro. If there are, I would love to see them play.

Marat Safin once said that being told he had to play Santoro was like being told he was going to die, and indeed these two have had an interesting head to head over the years... even at the height of Marat's powers, he was still frustrated by the little French wizard. It is fitting, perhaps, that their Slam careers end on the same day - and that, for Marat, it ends at the US Open, the place where, in a way, it all began for him. It was nearly ten years ago that he scored that phenomenal win over Sampras in the final... he may have left in the first round this year, but the US Open will never forget this one of their favourite sons. Indeed, tennis will never forget Marat Safin. There have been wild players, tempestuous players, players with tempers and fits of rage and lots of girls - but I don't think there has ever been anyone quite like Marat Safin.

If Fabrice was responsible for one of my favourite shots, Marat was responsible for one of my favourite matches - the only match Roger Federer has lost I can say I genuinely enjoyed. The semi final of the Australian Open 2005. Two greats, both talented beyond belief, going toe to toe for five sets on Rod Laver Arena. Marat came out on top but tennis was the winner that night. People talk about the final of Wimbledon '08 as the greatest match of all time but I personally think this one was better. Federer and Safin, whatever their respective results might have been, are certainly the most talented players of their generation. And the game will miss Marat, miss it sorely.

However, I think Marat is a little over the game. It is time for them to part ways, at least for a little while. But I hope he rediscovers his love for it sometime. Not as a player, necessarily - but as long as tennis endures, there will always be a place within in it for Marat Safin.

So farewell from the Slams and the Slam fans, Marat, Fabrice. You will be missed - and you will be remembered.


Today's Results

US Open (Flushing Meadows)

Men's Draw

Rafael Nadal def. Richard Gasquet, 6-2 6-2 6-3
Gael Monfils def. Jeremy Chardy, 6-1 6-4 6-3
Juan Carlos Ferrero def. Fabrice Santoro, 6-4 6-3 6-3
Nicolas Almagro def. Steve Darcis, 6-2 6-4 2-6 7-6 (10-8)
Jurgen Melzer def. Marat Safin, 1-6 6-4 6-3 6-4
Andreas Beck def. Evgeny Korolev, 6-3 6-4 2-6 2-6 6-4
Nicolas Kiefer def. Michael Llodra, 6-3 6-4 6-4
Pablo Cuevas def. Chris Guccione, 6-4 7-6 (7-4) 6-0
Thomaz Bellucci def. Yen-hsun Lu, 6-4 6-2 6-3
Jose Acasuso def. Marcos Daniel, 6-2 6-4 6-3
Daniel Koellerer def. Rui Machado, 6-2 6-4 2-6 6-2


Women's Draw

Venus Williams def. Bethanie Mattek-Sands, 6-4 6-2
Vera Zvonareva def. Anna Chakvetadze, 3-6 6-1 6-1
Victoria Azarenka def. Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, 6-2 6-1
Flavia Pennetta def. Sania Mirza, 6-0 6-0
Maria Kirilenko def. Agnieszka Radwanska, 6-4 2-6 6-4
Kim Clijsters def. Marion Bartoli, 5-7 6-1 6-2
Vania King def. Samantha Stosur, 7-5 6-4
Aleksandra Wozniak def. Amelie Mauresmo, 6-4 6-0
Li Na def. Michelle Larcher de Brito, 6-1 6-3
Kirsten Flipkens def. Anabel Medina Garrigues, 6-1 6-3
Francesca Schiavone def. Stefanie Voegele, 6-4 6-4
Elena Vesnina def. Jill Craybas, 7-6 (8-6) 6-1
Maria Jose Martinez Sanches def. Angelique Kerber, 7-5 6-3
Magdalena Rybarikova def. Chang Kai-Chen, 4-6 6-2 6-2

If You Hear Us, Clap Your Hands!

Okay, I admit it. I was SUCH a tennis patriot last night. I cheered my lungs out for the Aussies - hell, you probably heard me if you were watching! The atmosphere in Rod Laver Arena was electric! But more on that later. Let us start at the beginning.

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I got there just before play began, and got myself a pretty decent seat on Show Court 2 to watch a bit of Cilic and Tipsarevic. One thing I had not considered in choosing this match to begin my day's viewing is that Cilic is Croatian and Tipsarevic is Serbian, and both groups of fans are very, very vocal in Australia, so there was a whoooole lot of shouting! I didn't understand most of it, not understanding either Croatian or Serbian, but it made the whole thing feel like a footy match, and it put the crowd into the match from the start - it really created a great atmosphere! Seriously, it was akin to the endless chants of 'MAR-COS - BAGH-DA-TIS!' that floated out of that same court in the afternoon. And it was a good match as well - I only watched the first set, which Cilic won, but there were some great shots made and good fun for everyone.

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I had a bit of a wander round the back courts to see if anyone interesting was practicing, but I had determined not to spend my whole day waiting for Fedot again, so when I determined that no one especially interesting was, I went back to Margaret Court Arena and settled in for a good couple of hours - and it was lucky I went when I did, because the whole place got packed out very, very quickly! As it was, being alone, I got a pretty decent seat - right at the top, with an excellent view of the whole court. I watched the second set of Petrova/Mirza, which was good fun, but I was really there for the next match - Safin/Garcia-Lopez.

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And when the big man came out, let me tell you, the cheers were massive. There were about three lonely Spanish fans chanting 'G - G - L! G -G - L!' and everyone else was roaring for Safin. (There were a lot of women in the audience... go figure. The queues to get into the stadium were over an hour long at one point, and the match was only an hour and a half - Marat has a whooole lot of fans in Australia! And I don't know whether the crowd lifted him or if he was just having a good day, but he played beautifully - very clean tennis, by his often erratic standards. I watched the whole match and I enjoyed every second. I'm so sad he comes up against Federer next - and sad that I don't have arena tickets for Friday night, because I'm pretty sure it's going to be then...

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When Safin finished I went for another wander round the back... just to check if anyone was out. (Not that Federer would have been out - he was about to play. But someone else might have been there.) I caught a bit of Nieminen hitting up then sat down at Court 19 and watched a bit of Tommy Robredo pummelling Viktor Troicki into the ground. That one was almost painful to watch because Troicki was so upset with himself and playing so badly, so I left and went back round the front - just to discover that the Roger match in Rod Laver Arena was about to begin!

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I had a lovely hour-and-a-half, sitting on the grass in Garden Square, watching the match on the big screen. Federer played beautifully and you could hear the cheers wafting out from the stadium. Also, I was in some Channel 7 footage of Garden Square. That made me glad. It wasn't as hot yesterday (probably only 32 or 33 degrees compared to the 37ish 38ish the days before) and so it was very pleasant - almost like a picnic, sans food and company. (Otherwise exactly the same.)

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I went offsite to eat, then came back at about 6, to find a huge crowd glued to the big screen watching Lu/Nalbandian, with not a seat to spare, so I wandered round and caught the last two games of Bolelli/Fish and the second set of Santoro/Kohlschreiber, which was a totally excellent match which I would have watched more of, but the main event was starting in the arena!

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I didn't know how the crowd was going to react to Jelena Dokic, and I don't think she did either, but they got behind her 110%. There were some folks holding up a 'Welcome Back Jelena!' banner and I think that pretty much says it all. The crowd were cheering and chanting like anything - me included. The amount of times that the 'AUSSIE FANS IN THE STANDS, IF YOU HEAR US, CLAP YOUR HANDS!' cheer went round was obscene - and it was such a great match as well. When Jelena finally pulled it out deep in the third, the whole crowd rose as one and just screamed and screamed and screamed. She started crying - and I confess I shed a tear as well. It was such a great moment.

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And then when Tomic came out, the crowd didn't lose any momentum! There were innumerable 'AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE, OI OI OI!' chants as well as a whole host of others... it was like being at the cricket, seriously. And what a match Tomic played - especially that first set. He may not have won the match, but he sure won the hearts of the crowd. He served notice, I think - the a-Tomic bomb is here to stay!

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Today's Results

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Australian Open

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Men's Draw

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Roger Federer def. Evgeny Korolev, 6-2 6-2 6-1

Novak Djokovic def. Jeremy Chardy, 7-5 6-1 6-3

Gilles Muller def. Bernard Tomic, 3-6 6-1 6-4 6-2

Andy Roddick def. Xavier Malisse, 4-6 6-2 7-6 (7-1) 6-2

Yen-Hsun Lu def. David Nalbandian, 6-4 5-7 4-6 6-4 6-2

Juan Martin del Potro def. Florian Mayer, 6-1 7-5 6-2

Marat Safin def. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, 7-5 6-2 6-2

Marcos Baghdatis def. Robin Soderling, 3-6 7-5 6-3 6-3

Marin Cilic def. Janko Tipsarevic, 6-2 6-3 406 6-3

David Ferrer def. Dominik Hrbaty, 6-2 6-2 6-1

Stanislas Wawrinka def. Brydan Klein, 6-3 6-4 6-4

Fabrice Santoro def. Philipp Kohlschreiber, 5-7 7-5 3-6 7-5 6-3

Mardy Fish def. Simone Bolelli, 6-4 6-1 7-5

Tomas Berdych def. Brian Dabul, 6-1 6-1 6-3

Amer Delic def. Paul-Henri Mathieu, 1-6 3-6 6-3 7-6 (7-3) 9-7

Tommy Robredo def. Viktor Troicki, 6-1 6-3 6-0

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Women's Draw

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Jelena Jankovic def. Kirsten Flipkens, 6-4 7-5

Dinara Safina def. Ekaterina Makarova, 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 6-0

Ana Ivanovic def. Alberta Brianti, 6-3 6-2

Vera Zvonareva def. Edina Gallovits, 6-0 6-0

Nadia Petrova def. Sania Mirza, 6-3 6-2

Caroline Wozniacki def. Virginia Ruano Pascual, 6-3 6-3

Alizé Cornet def. Andrea Petkovic, 6-1 6-0

Marion Bartoli def. Tsvetana Pironkova, 7-5 6-2

Jelena Dokic def. Anna Chakvetadze, 6-4 6-7 (4-7) 6-3

Daniela Hantuchova def. Mathilde Johansson, 6-3 4-6 6-3

Kaia Kanepi def. Patricia Mayr, 6-3 6-1

Ai Sugiyama def. Nathalie Dechy, 1-6 6-1 6-3

Alisa Kleybanova def. Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro, 6-1 3-6 6-2

Sara Errani def. Monica Niculescu, 6-2 6-3

Lucie Safarova def. Marina Erakovic, 6-1 3-6 9-7

Galina Voskoboeva def. Karin Knapp, 6-4 6-1

Starlight, Starbright

I must admit, I was very disappointed that Fabrice Santoro couldn't do a bit more in the beating-Andy-Roddick sort of way. I like watching him play (the Harry Potter of men's tennis) and we all know how disenchanted I am with A-Rod right now. But I suppose we can't have it all our own way. If I had my druthers, Clement would have taken out Djokovic as well. But it was not to be. I will have to be satisfied with that crushing Roger victory from yesterday - which was AMAZINGLY satisfactory!

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I caught absolutely no tennis today, so I don't have that much to discuss that doesn't come directly from the scores. One thing I was very satisfied with was the performance of Ernests Gulbis, who took out ever-wily Olympic silver medallist and former Slam champion Thomas Johansson. What really surprised me was that the match was played on Armstrong - surely neither player is high-profile enough for that? I wonder why it was put there - on whose recognisance, I mean. I know Gulbis is good, and he's going to be great, but surely he doesn't have that kind of pulling power yet - and surely Johansson is no longer that high-profile? Nevertheless, it is a match I would have loved to watch, and maybe it's good that the US Open organisers put them there, so more people can start waving little Latvian flags and joining Team Gulbis.

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And another star performer was Mr. Marin Cilic - even though, unlike Ernests, it took him five sets to get past his opponent, one Julien Benneteau. Great as it was to see Marin win that tournament this week, I hope it hasn't worn him out too terribly - five tough sets can hardly be helping! Here's hoping he gets a little time to recover, because I really would like to see him do well. Gulbis has made it to the quarters before - and perhaps can do so again. I'd like to see Marin match him. Indeed, wasn't Ernests vs. Marin one of my quarter final picks? Wouldn't that be a fabulous match to see?! I'd willingly walk dozens of kilometres on the treadmill at the gym if it meant I could watch that one!

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Eduardo Schwank, on the other hand, lost. I'm afraid he might be one of those Stars who only does well on clay. It does occur to me that he is probably the oldest Star in my fold - not that he's past it or anything, but if one of my Stars does make the bigtime, it probably won't be him. Nevertheless, he didn't seem to leave much in the locker room against Tursunov - four tight sets. So nice try, Eduardo. Better luck next time... aka better draw!

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It was a bit sad to see Tipsarevic retire, but nonetheless I found myself breathing a guilty sigh of relief... I would prefer he didn't meet Roger in Slam tennis for a little while, not after what happened in Australia! And speaking of the ol' homeland, there was a good win for Chris Guccione. I completely forgot he was in the draw and thought Jessica Moore was our last hope... not that either of them are great chances of making it to the third round, but still, it's nice to have one or two still there, even if the second week is completely unheard of for Australians these days.

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Oh, and good work to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga for winning his first match back. And Kolya Davydenko also won, but I can't say that brought me much pleasure. Stupid Kolya.

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Over in the women's, Jelena Jankovic is not looking so hot. I know she's been #1 and is seeded #2 and all, but I really don't like her chances of making it to her first Slam final. Same goes for her countrywoman Ana Ivanovic, actually. At least one, and maybe both of them is at some point going to run into the chainsaw that is Dinara Safina, and they'll be decimated. Even if everyone else wasn't playing rubbish, I'd still be backing Dinara, and everyone really sort of is. The Serbian girls are shaky. Kuznetsova is a bit unsteady too. Sharapova isn't even there. Dementieva is doing all right, but do you think Dinara's going to let her beat her twice in a row? No, no, I love Dinara's chances - and if she's not the odds on favourite, she should be.

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Oh, and before I go, one match people should keep an eye on tomorrow, if they possibly can - Juan Martin del Potro against Thomaz Bellucci. That would be two of my Stars, and though you'd probably pick del Potro to win it what with his current record, I wouldn't be surprised if Bellucci gave him a little trouble...

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Today's Results

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US Open (Flushing Meadows)

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Men's Draw

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Andy Roddick def. Fabrice Santoro, 6-2 6-2 6-2

Novak Djokovic def. Arnaud Clement, 6-3 6-3 6-4

Ernests Gulbis def. Thomas Johansson, 7-5 6-1 7-6 (7-3)

Robby Ginepri def. Amer Delic, 6-1 6-2 7-6 (7-5)

Nikolay Davydenko def. Dudi Sela, 6-3 6-3 6-3

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Santiago Ventura, 6-7 (3-7) 6-4 6-2 6-3

Robert Kendrick def. Nicolas Mahut, 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 5-7 7-5

Marin Cilic def. Julien Benneteau, 4-6 7-5 6-3 6-7 (7-9) 6-2

Agustin Calleri def. Austin Krajicek, 6-2 6-2 6-1

Nicolas Almagro def. Frank Dancevic, 5-3 6-4 7-5

Carlos Moya def. Aisam Ul-Haq Qureshi, 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (7-2) 6-2

Victor Hanescu def. Albert Montanes, 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 2-6 6-3

Radek Stepanek def. Potito Starace, 7-5 6-3 6-1

Sam Warburg def. Janko Tipsarevic, 6-2 1-0 retired

Chris Guccione def. Jesse Levine, 6-3 3-6 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (8-6)

Dmitry Tursunov def. Eduardo Schwank, 7-5 4-6 7-5 7-6 (7-5)

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Women's Draw

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Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Sorana Cirstea, 7-6 (7-3) 6-1

Lindsay Davenport def. Alisa Kleybanova, 7-5 6-3

Jelena Jankovic def. Sofia Arvidsson, 6-3 6-7 (5-7) 7-5

Elena Dementieva def. Pauline Parmentier, 6-2 6-1

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

Caroline Wozniacki def. Maria Elena Camerin, 6-1 6-2

Katarina Srebotnik def. Yvonne Meusburger, 6-1 6-3

Victoria Azarenka def. Iveta Benesova, 6-2 6-3

Anne Keothavong def. Francesca Schiavone, 6-2 306 6-4

Magdalena Rybarikova def. Tamira Paszek, 6-1 6-2

Ekaterina Makarova def. Ekaterina Bychkova, 3-6 7-5 6-3

Tatiana Perrebiynis def. Vera Zvonareva, 6-3 6-3

Jie Zheng def. Anabel Medina Garrigues, 6-1 6-4

Li Na def. Sara Errani, 4-6 6-2 6-0

Sybille Bammer def. Aravane Rezai, 6-1 7-5

Marion Bartoli def. Virginia Ruano Pascual, 6-4 6-2

Throwing Mud

The ATP headlines from Umag are about Guillermo Canas's 'marathon' win over Boris Pashanski. I don't know if you can call a three set match of any description a marathon, but that's a different matter. I'm going to talk about Canas today. Because I can.

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I'm under the impression that Canas is not a very popular player, and I have to say that I am not really a fan. I think that whenever a drugs scandal clouds someone's career, they're going to lose a lot of fans, fast, even if they turn out to be innocent. Canas did his time and came back - and kudos to him for having the guts to come back - but when you throw mud, it sticks, and Canas is never going to get rid of that. Ever.

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I'm not going to weigh in on the issue of whether or not he did the drugs, because I don't know and I don't follow him closely enough to care. But the thing is, it is his defining characteristic. I couldn't tell you a single thing about him and his career other than he served out a drug suspension, and came back to beat Federer twice in two weeks at Indian Wells and Miami last year. So what makes Willy tick? I have absolutely no idea.

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In retrospect, that fact considered, it didn't make a lot of sense to try to write a blog post about him. I'm kind of out of things to say.

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Sadly, Ivan Ljubicic - about whom I am quite capable of writing a post! - had to retire before his match began, handing Roko Karanusic a free pass into the next round. He said he felt sharp pains in his back at dinner, and although he tried to get himself ready to play, it was just about impossible. You've got to wonder what kind of injury that is - a back injury that shows himself at dinner. How bizarre. But poor Ivan.

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Kitzbuhel got basically rained out again. That will learn them for having a clay tournament this week. Because clay and rain are clearly connected.

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I'd really love to write more about Indianapolis, but as I write this, the matches of the day are still continuing there. Which is sort of a pain. The one tournament I give my blessing to, and they have to carry on at such unsuitable hours.

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You may be able to tell that I don't have very much to say today. I'll stop now and end the misery!

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Today's Results

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Austrian Open (Kitzbuhel)

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Jurgen Melzer def. Leonardo Mayer, 6-4 6-2

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Dutch Open Tennis (Amersfoort)

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Jose Acasuso def. Edouard Roger-Vasselin, 6-3 6-4

Marcel Granollers def. Ivan Navarro, 6-4 6-4

Albert Montanes def. Pablo Cuevas, 6-4 6-4

Oscar Hernandez def. Jesse Huta Galung, 6-3 6-2

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Studena Croatia Open (Umag)

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Roko Karanusic def. Ivan Ljubicic, walkover

Guillermo Canas def. Boris Pashanski, 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 7-5

Maximo Gonzalez def. I Karlovic, 3-6 6-3 6-4

Igor Andreev def. Daniel Gimeno-Traver, 6-2 7-6 (7-3)

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Indianapolis Tennis Championships (Indianapolis)

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Bobby Reynolds def. Alejandro Falla, 6-1 6-1

Yen-Hsun Lu def. Rajeev Ram, 6-1 7-6 (7-1)

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Bank of the West Classic (Stanford)

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Aleksandra Wozniak def. Sybille Bammer, 6-4 7-5

Patty Schnyder def. Alisa Kleybanova, 7-6 (10-8) 6-4

Serena Williams def. Michelle Larcher de Brito, 4-6 6-3 6-2

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Gastein Ladies (Bad Gastein)

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Patricia Mayr def. Rossana de los Ríos, 6-3 6-3

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And today in Stars of the Past, Stars of the Future: Fabrice Santoro.

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Marat Safin, at the height of his dominance, said that being told he had to play Santoro was like being told he had to die. He was not the only player who felt like that. The little Frenchman was never going to hit anyone off the court, but the wizard of the men's game was capable of some shots that were nothing short of amazing. A recent article for DEUCE magazine called him the Harry Potter of men's tennis. He plays with cunning and cleverness, not with power.

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Santoro is one of the oldest men on the tour, but he is still going strong. This is because his game is not as hard on his body as that of the power players. He is almost Federesque in the way he glides round the court - and while he has never attained the heights that the current #1 has, he is by no means the poor man's Federer. Santoro has his own brand of magic. His racquet is his wand, and with it he creates spins and angles to bamboozle the best in the world.

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For example, in his quarter final match against David Nalbandian at the 2006 Australian Open, Santoro hit a drop shot of such exquisite precision and with such incredible spin, that by the time Nalbandian had reached it, it had bounced back onto Santoro's side of the net. Santoro did not win that match - the second two sets were 6-0 6-0 in Nalbandian's favour - but it is points like that that people remember. That is what Fabrice Santoro brings to tennis - his Gallic charm, his big grin and a little bit of magic.

A Week For The Newbies

This is what I said about Richard Gasquet and his chances in the Stuttgart final yesterday:

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'So I'm being cautious in my Gasquet-supporting right now. His finals opponent, Juan Martin del Potro, should be no match for him. But let's just wait and see, shall we?'

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And who won the final? In straight sets?

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That would be Juan Martin del Potro, ladies and gentlemen. The Argentine teenager has won his first ever ATP title, at the expense of Monsieur Gasquet. Now, I don't want to disparage Juan Martin, because I think he's a fabulously talented player - who knows? maybe I'll profile him as a star of the future one of these days. But really, let's look at Gasquet. If we're just going on raw talent, Gasquet has got to be up there with the best on the circuit. He's not Federer or Safin, but he's heading in that direction.

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So where has he gone this year? What has happened to Richou?

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This tournament is on clay, which earns him a tiny reprieve. He is not a claycourter, and Juan Martin is. But Richou is also #15 in the world - which even then belies his true talent, because he's been lurking around #8 or #9 - while Juan Martin is currently #65 with a career high of #44. That is a big difference. I know they always say that any guy in the top 100 can beat any other guy or any given day, ra ra ra, but really, there is a reason that the guys in the top ten are there. It's because they win. And Richard Gasquet no longer deserves to be in the top ten.

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I used to really like Richard Gasquet. His game, when he plays it, is beautiful. He's not called Baby Fed for nothing. But if he is going to continue being as mentally fragile as he is, then he is not going to have much of a career. Get thee to a sports psychologist, Richou, and sort yourself out. Hey, I know! You can do it in the time when you're busy not representing your country in the Olympics!

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That really annoys me. There are so many people who would do anything to represent their nations in the Olympics. It's one of the few times I find myself truly patriotic - in the sports other than tennis, of course, where I will always support my favourites (aka Federer, only Federer and no one but Federer.) How could you possibly give that chance up? A chance to wear Olympic gold? I know Slams are important and all, but this is the fricking Olympics! The most important sporting event in the world - so important it only happens every four years!

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If Gasquet (and Roddick) were refusing to play on human rights grounds, then I would be 100% behind them, all the way. But they're not. They're saving themselves. And I don't like it. I don't like it at all.

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Anyway, enough of the negativity. One Frenchman I am happy to support (and always have been) is the French wizard, little Fabrice Santoro, who won the Newport title. Allez Fabrice! Seriously, this guy is awesome. He's one of the cleverest tennis players on tour, I think, and he plays such a pretty little game. He's thirty five years old, and he's showing no signs of stopping. I think he's just fantastic. And he was born in Tahiti. That is also very cool. I think he's just fabulous, and it warms the cockles of the heart to see him doing well.

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Congratulations also to Victor Hanescu, who won the tournament in Gstaad. I've never really paid much attention to Hanescu. I have no great insights about him. He's one of those guys that sits there in the top hundred and is a bit of a fixture, but I confess I wouldn't know him if I fell over him in the street. Congratulations anyway, though. Maybe I'll start taking a bit more notice of you now, Victor.

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It was Robredo who came out on top in the Battle of the Underwhelmers in Bastad. Considering this is clay, it was pretty much expected that Robredo would win that one - though if I had to pick, I might say that Berdych is actually the better player of the two. I think he has more talent, anyway. But that's all well and good for me to say - talent means nothing if you don't perform. I like Tomas. I like his game. And, unlike Hanescu, I always pay attention to Berdych, mainly because he often plays Hopman Cup, which is one of my favourite tournaments to watch. I just wish he would, you know, play better. Because he can. He's totally capable of it. I think he's best on hard courts, so watch out, Tomas. I have expectations of you in the hardcourt season, and I would like you to live up to them, please.

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And finally, congratulations to another first time title winner - my favourite French girl, Alize Cornet. Allez Alize! And nice work to Sara Errani as well, who won her first title in Palermo. It's clearly a week for the newbies!

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Today's Results

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Mercedes Cup (Stuttgart)

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Juan Martin del Potro def. Richard Gasquet, 6-4 7-5

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Allianz Suisse Open (Gstaad)

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Igor Andreev def. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, 7-6 (7-2) 5-7 7-6 (7-5)

Victor Hanescu def. Igor Andreev, 6-3 6-4

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Catella Swedish Open (Bastad)

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Tommy Robredo def. Tomas Berdych, 6-4 6-1

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Campbell's Hall of Fame Tennis Championships (Newport)

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Fabrice Santoro def. Prakash Amritraj, 6-3 7-5

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Gaz de France Grand Prix (Budapest)

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Alize Cornet def. Andreja Klepac, 7-6 (7-5) 6-3

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Internazionali Femminili di Tennis di Palermo (Palermo)

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Sara Errani def . Mariya Koryttseva, 6-2 6-3

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And in today's Stars of the Past, Stars of the Future feature: Nicolas Kiefer.

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Like Marat Safin and Roger Federer, Nicolas Kiefer was a member of the New Balls generation - the young guns of 1999, 2000, 2001, the ones who were going to be great sometime in the future. Like these two, Kiefer was blessed with a ridiculous amount of talent. But unlike these two, Kiefer never seemed really to be able to make much of it.

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Kiefer has never been an especially popular player. The general attitude to him can probably be summed up by looking at the Australian Open in 2006, where Kiefer was part of two memorable moments. One was in the semi finals, where he was on the receiving end of what has been called the best second serve ever - a kicker from Roger Federer that went spinning into Row H, leaving Kiefer with nowhere to go. The other moment was from an earlier match, where Kiefer faced Sebastien Grosjean. A wonderful point left Kiefer at the net, stretching for a volley so far that he ended up throwing his racquet at the ball. Grosjean, distracted, ended up playing the next ball into the net. Kiefer did not cede the point, and was publicly condemned for poor sportsmanship. This did not gain him any fans.

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Like Safin, Kiefer too has been plagued by injury - in particular, his wrist, which has proved so troublesome and lingering that at one point he dropped right out of the ATP rankings (that is, he was no longer within the top thousand players in the world.) But he has fought his way back - and that courage has certainly gained him some fans, especially in his native country, Germany. He is now well within the top fifty and is part of a three way battle with Tommy Haas and Philipp Kohlschreiber to be the #1 German player. He has performed well in his last few tournaments, including a run to the semis at Halle, where he was stopped by Roger Federer.

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But he withdrew from the tournament in Gstaad this week, handing a quarter final berth to Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. His complaint this time is a foot injury, which one would hope is not as chronic as the wrist that spoiled his last few seasons. He says he is still enjoying his tennis and that he tries to win with all his might, but at 31, one begins to wonder whether it is not a little late for Nicolas Kiefer. His star, it seems, is largely in the past - but he is determined not to burn out just yet.

Underwhelmers

The tournament in Bastad this week seemed to be the only one playing out the way it should - that is, the seeded players were beating the unseeded, no major upsets, all four top seeds through to the semis. So, following on from this, you'd expect the #1 and #2 seeds (Ferrer and Verdasco) to make it through. But the opposite happened.

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Is this complacency? A sort of 'oh, look it's all been going to plan, we'll make it to the final' sort of mentality? Or is it just that men's tennis is really deep?

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I'm going with the deep. I can't see many top players being complacent. So that was a bit of a pointless debate.

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Nonetheless, it was the #3 and #4 seeds that made it through to the Bastad final - Robredo took out Ferrer and Berdych took out Verdasco. Both these players have been solidly underwhelming this year - unlike Ferrer and Verdasco, who have both had wonderful seasons. Remember when Berdych used to be all good, one of the big rising stars? In 2005, when Federer won four Masters Series events and Nadal won four, it was Berdych who won the remaining one. He was the player that ended Federer's dreams at the 2004 Olympics. And yet what has he done? Pretty much nothing - this year at least. I mean, all you have to do is look at the ATP website. Berdych made the semis at Miami, where he lost to Nadal, and the quarters in Sydney, where he lost to Guccione. I'm sorry, but when one of your year-to-day highlights is a loss to Chris Guccione then there's a problem.

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Robredo has done a little better - his season began incredibly poorly, but since then he's reached a final (Warsaw), a semi (Valencia) and two quarters (Barcelona and Rome.) No titles though - and this is a man that, like Berdych, has held up a Masters Series trophy (Hamburg 2006.)

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Am I expecting too much of these two? Maybe a little. Maybe actually winning a title is a little bit too much to ask. But surely - for Berdych especially - they should be pulling in more consistent results? The wait is over for one of them, as one will walk home with the Bastad trophy. But where have you been this season, guys? The Tomas and the Tommy that we've seen in previous season don't play like this. Both guys have been top ten - and there's a reason they're not any more.

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Look at me, being hard on them when they've just managed to stop the rot and turn it around. But one of the hard truths of tennis, I suppose, is that the more you win the more people are going to notice you - and blog about you.

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Another underwhelmer this season who is now through to a final is Richard Gasquet. I used to be very fond of Richou, but I must say I haven't been particularly impressed with his behaviour of late - not only was there that Davis Cup stunt, but he declined to play the Olympics, which I think is pretty poor form. (Are you listening, Andy Roddick?) Add to that his ridiculous mental fragility and you have a problem. I very much enjoyed his match against Murray at Wimbledon, but let's face it - that was a match Richou never should have lost. And he did. After being two sets and a break up, and serving for it. So I'm being cautious in my Gasquet-supporting right now. His finals opponent, Juan Martin del Potro, should be no match for him. But let's just wait and see, shall we?

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Meanwhile, I am actively excited about the final in Newport. I would be happy whoever won it. On one hand, we have Santoro, who won here last year, bidding to become the oldest winner in the tournament's history, surpassing his own record. I love Fabrice Santoro and his tricksy game and I would love to see him win it. He seems like such a nice man. But on the other hand, we have Prakash Amritraj. Who? I hear you ask. Well, he's an Indian wildcard in his first ever ATP final - go him! - and he's also the son of Vijay Amritraj. He's a second generation player - and I always think that's a bit cool. So yay for both of them.

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Not so in Gstaad, where my man Stan Wawrinka went out to Victor Hanescu. It seemed like such a good chance for Stan to add to his trophy cabinet, so that's a bit sad - but judging by his scores this week, Stan hasn't exactly been playing the best tennis of his career. (Cue rant about the stupidity of this mini claycourt season.) I'm now backing Andreev for the title, provided he wins the last set of his semi against Garcia-Lopez, which got rained out. I like Andreev's game. It always amazes me that he isn't higher in the rankings. He's a Kohlschreiber for me - I think I might think he's better than he actually is.

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Today's Results

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Mercedes Cup (Stuttgart)

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Richard Gasquet def. Agustin Calleri, 6-7 (3-7) 6-2 6-3

Juan Martin del Potro def. Eduardo Schwank, 6-2 6-4

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Allianz Suisse Open (Gstaad)

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Victor Hanescu def. Stanislas Wawrinka, 6-3 3-6 6-4

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Catella Swedish Open (Bastad)

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Tommy Robredo def. David Ferrer, 2-6 6-1 6-2

Tomas Berdych def. Fernando Verdasco, 2-6 6-3 6-2

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Campbell's Hall of Fame Tennis Championships (Newport)

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Fabrice Santoro, def. Vince Spadea, 7-6 (7-4) 6-1

Prakash Amritraj def. Frank Dancevic, 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 6-3

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Gaz de France Grand Prix (Budapest)

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Alizé Cornet def. Greta Arn, 6-1 6-1

Andreja Klepac def. Karolina Sprem, 6-2 4-6 6-4

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Internazionali Femminili di Tennis di Palermo (Palermo)

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Sara Errani def. Flavia Pennetta, 7-5 6-3

Mariya Koryttseva def. Anabel Medina Garrigues, 6-2 6-2

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And today's player in today's Stars of the Past, Stars of the Future feature is Frenchman Jeremy Chardy.

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If Safin was a non entity when he won the US Open, then Jeremy Chardy was less than nothing coming into this year's French Open. He was ranked inside the top two hundred - most of the time - but even within his home country of France, not many people had heard of him. He was to France what Joe Sirianni is to Australia - unheard of, till he did something big.

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But Sirianni was 32 when he made it to the semis of the Next Generation Adelaide International this year and drew Australia's attention to himself. Chardy was only nineteen when he not only made it to the second round of Roland Garros, but then went on to win. No one had expected him to. No one had given him the tiniest chance of winning his second round match. His opponent? David Nalbandian, one of only four men currently active on the circuit to reach the semi finals of all four Slams. (The other members of this exclusive club are Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and newly added Marat Safin.) And Jeremy Chardy, the almost totally unknown Frenchman, took him out.

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But this could happen to anyone. A bad day here or there, and anyone can take out anyone. Kevin Anderson could take out Djokovic. Mardy Fish could take out Federer. Both of these have happened this year. The biggest test for the Chardies of this world is whether or not they can back it up - and Jeremy did. Although his next opponent, Dmitry Tursunov, isn't quite in the same class as Nalbandian, he is still well within the top fifty and thus light years away from Chardy. And Jeremy was triumphant once more, through to a fourth round where finally, inevitably, he fell.

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The fourth round might not seem like much to Federer or Nadal or Djokovic - or even Nalbandian. But for someone who had never got into the main draw of an ATP tournament on his own recognisance, the round of sixteen was everything in the world. Jeremy Chardy is rising and rising - and now he has belief. After his win against Dominik Meffert at this week's Allianz Suisse Open in Gstaad, Chardy said that he was not surprised to have done well. This, it seems, is an attitude that will take him far.

Brilliance and Tragedy

I don't know if there'll ever be a second round match as brilliant or as devastating as the match between Marat Safin and Marcos Baghdatis. Five sets. Impossible to pick a winner, right to the end. An awesome match, between two awesome competitors. A tragic match, because one of them had to lose.

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I am very fond of both Marat and Marcos... perhaps a little more partial to Marat, but I didn't want to see Marcos lose either! What a tragedy that they had to face each other in the second round - but what an incredible, incredible match!

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It seems amazing to me that two men that are so different physically and emotionally can play such similar tennis. Marat Safin is big, strong, fiery and moody. Marcos Baghdatis is small, quick, happy and smiley. And yet their tennis games are so similar! It was almost painful to watch at time - they both hit so flat that you think every shot is going to hit the net. They hardly ever approached the net - neither is a particularly confident volleyer - but slogged it out from the baseline. Marcos did his best to absorb Marat's sheer power, and Marat did his best to match Marcos's speed. Their games were almost perfectly matched. It was great to watch.

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I miss the old Marat - the pre-injury Marat, who was a giant but so fleet around the court, getting down to every ball. We may never get that Marat again - he's said a couple of times it's unlikely he'll be able to play without some pain in his knee - but for the third and fourth sets last night, he was almost there. When Marat is switched on, he is awesome. Federer once said that when Marat is playing well, he can't just beat a player, he can kill them. Well, Marat killed Marcos in those two sets. It's just a shame that he couldn't keep it up in the fifth.

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Lots of aspersions have been cast against the fitness of both men - Marcos in particular - but I don't think it's in doubt that they both went the distance physically. Marat lost concentration and hence lost the match. If he had kept his game up, with Baghdatis playing like he did in the fifth, it's difficult to say who would have won! It would have been a marathon - probably something like 27-25 in the fifth! But tennis is not a game of what-ifs, I suppose... and all credit to Marcos. He played beautifully - and oh! how I will be gunning for him against Lleyton Hewitt! Go Marcos!

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One thing I did notice is that Marat wanted to smash his racquet several times, but restrained himself... until he finally gave out in the fifth set, and totally destroyed it. I wonder if this is a new mental regime...? Maybe he's sick of being fined, who knows? Maybe he's trying to be more Federesque... though somehow I think that's not the case. Marat likes who he is, and he's happy being a hippo! But my interest was piqued...

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Speaking of Federer, he was awesome yesterday against Santoro... and all cred to Santoro for being such a good sport about it! I love watching the master at work... and it seems to me that he, Nadal and Djokovic are having some sort of unspoken competition over who can give up the least games. Federer's winning! Six games in two matches... Djokovic is second with thirteen. And oh, how I am cheering for Roger!

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...how unusual...

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Australian Open Results - Day Four

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Men's Draw

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Roger Federer def. Fabrice Santoro, 6-1 6-2 6-0

Marcos Baghdatis def. Marat Safin, 6-4 6-4 2-6 3-6 6-2

Lleyton Hewitt def. Denis Istomin, 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 5-7 6-1

Novak Djokovic def. Simone Bolelli, 6-1 6-2 6-2

David Nalbandian def. Peter Luczak, 4-6 7-5 6-4 6-1

James Blake def. Michael Russell, 6-3 6-2 6-2

Juan Carlos Ferrero def. Alun Jones, 6-4 6-4 6-2

David Ferrer def. Juan Martin del Potro, 6-4 6-3 ret.

Janko Tipsarevic def. Fernando Verdasco, 7-5 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-3)

Fernando Gonzalez def. Hyung-taik Lee, 4-6 6-3 6-2 6-4

Tomas Berdych def. Oscar Hernandez, 6-1 6-2 6-3

Sam Querrey def. Dmitry Tursunov, 7-6 (7-5) 4-6 6-4 6-2

Sebastien Grosjean def. Robin Haase, 4-6 6-4 6-0 6-7 (4-7) 6-4

Vince Spadea def. Denis Gremelmayr, 4-6 6-2 6-3 2-6 9-7

Juan Monaco def. Amer Delic, 6-3 7-6 (8-6) 5-7 6-7 (8-10) 8-6

Marin Cilic def. Jurgen Melzer, 6-4 6-3 6-4

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Women's Draw

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Ana Ivanovic def. Tathiana Garbin, 6-0 6-3

Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Tsvetana Pironkova, 7-6 (7-0) 6-2

Venus Williams def. Camille Pin, 7-5 6-4

Daniela Hantuchova def. Alize Cornet, 6-2 7-5

Anna Chakvetadze def. Alisa Kleybanova, 6-3 6-4

Nadia Petrova def. Anne Kremer, 7-5 7-5

Sania Mirza def. Timea Bacsinszky, 6-1 4-6 7-5

Li Na def. Maria Elena Camerin, 6-4 6-3

Katarina Srebotnik def. Anastasia Rodionova, 6-4 6-1

Maria Kirilenko def. Akiko Morigami, 6-1 6-1

Agnieszka Radwanska def. Pauline Parmentier, 7-5 6-4

Marta Domachowska def. Sofia Arvidsson, 7-5 1-6 6-1

Virginia Ruano Pascual def. Catalina Castano, 6-2 6-4

Ekaterina Makarova def. Yvonne Meusberger, 6-3 6-1

Sabine Lisicki def. Mariya Koryttseva, 6-1 7-5

Caroline Wozniacki def. Alona Bondarenko, 7-6 (7-4) 6-1

Bagel, Breadstick

Gainful employment - it gets in the way. It always happens: in the only month tennis is really televised in Australia, I work more than any other month.

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It also means I can fund my tennis junket in a couple of days' time. A double-edged sword, alas.

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Due to said gainful employment, I didn't get to actually see any tennis, but I didn't need to see the match to know that Mikhail Youzhny's victory over Rafael Nadal in Chennai was a complete whitewash. What kind of result is that for the Number 2 tennis player in the world? Rafa is supposedly the heir-apparent to the Federer throne (though I think Novak Djokovic might have a few things to say about that!) When was the last time you saw Federer (or Djokovic, for that matter) beaten 6-0 6-1?

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I appreciate that Rafa had played a long match against Carlos Moya less than 24 hours before hand - apparently it was one of the longest three set matches ever played, going for about four hours, I think. Sure, he was tired, and it's the beginning of the season and he isn't really all there yet. But 6-0 6-1? A week before the beginning of the Australian Open? Even I can see that that's really not good enough.

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Tennis is an endurance sport. Tennis players are among the fittest people in the world. Five set matches can easily break the five-hour mark, and frequently go longer. It's almost a foreign thought to think of a tennis player getting tired.

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Look at Federer. When was the last time fatigue played a real role in his game? To be fair, Federer rarely goes to five sets because he demolishes his opponents a little earlier than that, but when he does - the marathon final of Rome 2006 comes to mind, where Nadal beat Federer in a fifth set tie break - it doesn't really look like (to me, anyway) that fatigue effects him much. Federer didn't lose that match because he was tired. That one rested entirely on that breaker, and he got outplayed by the best clay court player in the world. No shame there.

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I'm not questioning Nadal's fitness - obviously, to be as good as Nadal is, you have to be extraordinarily fit. But to lose 6-0 6-1? Mikhail Youzhny is a great player, and I think he can beat just about anyone in the top 20, including Rafa, but I wouldn't think he'd be able to beat them like that - bagel, breadstick.

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(On a brief aside, I love that bakery tennis terminology. 6-0, a bagel. 6-1, a breadstick. I heard someone talk about 6-2 being a croissant once, and I like that one as well!)

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In other news, what a win for the French wizard yesterday! I love watching Fabrice Santoro play, and even though I like James Blake, it was great to see Santoro win - even though I didn't get to actually SEE it, per se. Santoro is actually responsible for one of my favourite tennis strokes of all time - when he played against David Nalbandian in the quarters of the Australian Open in 2006, he sent this drop shot just over the net, and before Nalbandian could get to it, it bounced back to Santoro's side, such was the crazy spin! James Blake was the champion here last year, so he'll lose a lot of points... and it'll be interesting to see who gets up and wins it!

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I'd like it to be Dmitry Tursunov. Or Carlos Moya. I think.

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Today's Results

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Chennai Open (Chennai)

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Mikhail Youzhny def. Rafael Nadal, 6-0 6-1

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Medibank International (Sydney)

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Men's Draw

Richard Gasquet def. Igor Andreev, 6-3 7-6 (8-6)

Fabrice Santoro def. James Blake, 7-6 (7-4) 6-2

Tomas Berdych def. Filippo Volandri, 6-1 6-3

Fernando Verdasco def. Feliciano Lopez, 6-3 4-6 6-2

Agustin Calleri def. Greg Jones, 6-3 6-2

Sebastien Grosjean def. Peter Luczak, 6-4 4-6 6-0

Gilles Simon def. Mardy Fish, 7-6 (8-6) 6-1

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Women's Draw

Katarina Srebotnik def. Anna Chakvetadze, 7-5 6-1

Daniela Hantuchova def. Dinara Safina, 5-7 6-4 6-4

Marion Bartoli def. Karin Knapp, 6-1 6-0

Sofia Arvidsson def. Elena Dementieva, 6-1 7-5

Nicole Vaidisova def. Camille Pin, 6-1 2-6 6-2

Tatiana Golovin def. Tzipora Obziler, 6-2 6-3

Shahar Peer def. Yuliana Fedak, 6-3 6-2

Francesca Schiavone def. Jill Craybas, 6-4 6-4

Kaia Kanepi def. Dominika Cibulkova, 3-6 6-1 7-6 (8-6)

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Heineken Open (Auckland)

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Juan Ignacio Chela def. Daniel King-Turner, 5-7 6-2 7-5

Nicolas Almagro def. Jose Acasuso, 6-3 6-4

Albert Montanes def. Jose Statham, 6-4 6-4

Jurgen Melzer def. Werner Eschauer, 6-4 1-6 6-3

Julien Benneteau def. Dudi Sela, 6-4 7-6 (7-3)

Florian Mayer def. Sam Querrey, 7-5 6-3

Olivier Rochus def. Michael Berrer, 6-7 (8-10) 6-2 6-4

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Moorilla Hobart International (Hobart)

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Alona Bondarenko def. Jessica Moore, 7-5 6-2

Vera Zvonareva def. Olga Poutchkova, 6-3 6-0

Flavia Pennetta def. Agnieszka Radwanska, 6-4 1-6 6-2

Olga Govortsova def. Victoria Azarenka, 1-3 ret.

Sania Mirza def. Lourdes Domínguez Lino, 6-4 6-0

Nuria Llagostera Vives def. Gisela Dulko, 6-3 2-1 ret.

Meilen Tu def. Emilie Loit, 4-6 6-1 6-4

Ioana Raluca Olaru def. Peng Shuai, 3-6 6-4 7-5

Anna Lapushchenkova def. Kateryna Bondarenko, 6-3 6-4

Ashley Harkleroad def. Yaroslava Shvedova, 6-4 6-3

Edina Gallovits def. Alberta Brianti, 6-2 6-3

Jelena Dokic def. Martina Müller, 6-4 0-6 6-2

Alla Kudryavtseva def. Monique Adamczak, 6-3 6-2