Who Needs Steffi?

Today marks the third day in a row that I've talked about women's tennis here. IS THIS THE REAL LIFE? IS THIS JUST FANTASY?

I wouldn't expect it to become a regular thing (unless the WTA suddenly becomes extraordinarily interesting), but the WTA really is a little more happening than dudeworld this week. Except for Juan Carlos Ferrero, who is rocking the kasbah. Welcome back, mosquito.

But yes. Ladies.

By my calculations, we have four German ladies in the quarters of Stuttgart. Sure, it may be a home tournament and the home ground advantage may be in play, but that is one hell of a result. And also one hell of a Fed Cup team. Where have Germany been? Seriously, it's all 'Steffi Graf, we miss her, if she came back she'd be in the top five BOOM like that', but Germany are doing pretty well all on their lonesome.

We've got Petkovic. Goerges. Lisicki. Barrois. And she's not in this tournament as far as I can tell, but there's also Groenefeld. That is not a line up to be sneezing at. And the fact that these four are in the quarters of Stuttgart is not sneezeworthy either, because although it's not exactly the fifth Slam, this is not a Mickey Mouse field. The other four people in the quarters are Zvonareva, Stosur, Radwanska... oh yeah, the world #1 Wozniacki. Germany is holding its own. (It's also worth noting that between them, these four German ladies beat Jankovic, Bartoli, Azarenka and Li. If this is not quality, then I do not know what is.)

It doesn't really matter whether or not one of these German ladies wins Stuttgart - although if my beloved Sabine Lisicki were to do it, I would be super happy. Whatever happens from here - whether all four of them make the semis or none of them do - this is a fantastic result. Germany has suddenly, seemingly from nowhere, become the dark horse powerhouse of women's tennis. Russia aside, it's hard to pick out who has a stronger ensemble act - and a better choice of ladies to pick from for Hopman Cup.

They may not be in the finals this year, but look out for this German squad in years to come. If they can all stay uninjured and keep playing this way... well, who needs Steffi?

The Other Fed

So. Fed Cup.

I suspect a lot of us would rather not talk about it, especially those of us who are Australian or American. It was not a good time, shall we say. I mean, there were moments, moments where things were great, people who played their hearts out. But in the end... oh dear. Oh dear, dear, dear.

Australia were playing Ukraine, and we managed to embarrass ourselves a lot less than the Americans, so go us. We had match point in the doubles...! We could have taken it...! And Anastasia Rodionova could totally have won that singles match...! And... if wishes were horses, etc.

The Australian press (what little of it there is that covers Fed Cup, anyway) has been pretty mean to Anastasia Rodionova about the whole "losing three rubbers" business... and it certainly is a weekend to forget for her. Not her finest hour. But in reality, she wouldn't normally be the lady that takes the court anyway, so well done to her for stepping up. And a super well done to Jarka Groth, who won both her singles rubbers and was generally awesome all weekend.

But no, on the whole, Australia suffered from a case of Fed Cup malaise. Fed Cup is just not that important to people, in the long run. Ukraine had the same thing - they were sans Bondarenkos. We had no Stosur, no Dokic, and Groth and Rodionova were essentially left as a two woman team. Kudos to them that they did as well as they did...

...and didn't, oh, lose 5-0, like a certain American team I could name.

You have to feel sorry for them. People believe, I think, that the American Fed Cup team is a lot better than it actually is, on account of there have been some Williamses on it before. But to throw McHale, Oudin, King and Huber up against Lisicki, Petkovic, Goerges and Groenefeld? Ouch.

The Germans have an awesome Fed Cup team and I will not be surprised if they win the whole thing in coming years. What they did to the American girls is only the beginning, I think. Let's hope somebody actually notices how awesome these girls are... because if you thought people didn't care about Davis Cup, it's ten times worse for Fed Cup.

Indian Summer

I suppose I should talk about Davis Cup today. But in another installment of my mindblowing Cherbourg coverage, can I get a F%^& YEAH NICOLAS MAHUT? He is in the final there, where he will meet top seed Grigor Dimitrov. Nico won this tournament last year, so for points purposes, I would really like him to win it again, but I am very happy that he's a finalist full stop. My man Nico is on fire, and don't you forget it.

Right. Davis Cup.

The most interesting tie - to my mind, anyway - is this one between Serbia and India. From the outset, you might think that this is the most boring of all the ties - I know I certainly did. But even though the Serbs are pretty much on top now, the Indian dudes have BROUGHT IT like whoa. And without Bhupathi and Paes, which is a massive handicap.

Let's recap. Day One singles, first rubber. Viktor 'vile' Troicki lines up against Rohan Bopanna, whom he is expected to beat easily. Troicki is not exactly the captain of the consistency bandwagon, but this looks like an easy one for him. Right?

WRONG.

Bopanna takes him to five. It all seems smooth sailing for the first two sets, but the worm, oh, how it turns! This match so, SO easily could have gone Bopanna's way. And we all know how I feel about Troicki, so I wish it did.

Oh well. It's only natural for a team to get the yips a little, n'est-ce pas? And Serbia came away with the point anyway, so surely we are headed right down 5-0 blowout lane from here. Right?

WRONG.

Janko Tipsarevic walks out on court against Somdev Devvarman. And walks off three sets later a defeated man.

Would that be 1-all? Why YES, it would be. And it so, so easily could have been 2-0 India. A few points Bopanna's way, and...

The Serbs pulled out the doubles on Saturday, but it was a tight, tight thing - 12-10 in the fourth set tiebreaker. And you really, really have to wonder what would have happened if Bhupathi and Paes had been there...

This is basically an object lesson in don't underestimate the underdog. I think the Serbians have been that underdog for so long that adjusting to being the top dudes might have messed with them again. And much as they love the home crowd, probably playing in Serbia - after what happened the last time they played in Serbia - was intense, intense pressure. Last time it was glory, and now the populace expects no less.

But let's be realistic. This one wasn't all on the Serbian racquet. The Indian dudes have played OUT OF THEIR FREAKING MINDS awesome. Bopanna and Devvarman have a lot to be proud of here. And you know what? It's not over yet. And I, for one, will be cheering for Team India all the way.

The other really intriguing tie going on is Croatia vs Germany, where Marin Cilic pulled out an absolute heartbreaker against Florian Mayer only to have Germany take the next two points. But Croatia, with their singles team of Cilic and Dodig, are more than capable of getting two points on the morrow by taking out Kohlschreiber and Mayer respectively... we shall see, we shall see. Oh, and Karlovic beat that fast serve record of Andy Roddick's. Well done, Dr Ivo.

Disappointment of the Davis Cup week is obviously Russia. What an awful performance. Kudos to him for pulling out the win, but no one should really be losing to Joachim Johansson right now. (Out of interest, why didn't Sweden field Nick Lindahl? I thought that was, like, the whole reason he defected.)

Oh, and before I go - MASSIVE shoutout to Jelena Dokic, who is in the final of Kuala Lumpur, where she will take on Lucie Safarova. This is a crazy-excellent result and I hope she is SUPER proud!

Davis Cup Ditties

Okay, so I know there's proper Davis Cup going on at the moment, but let's just talk playoffs at the moment. It's all going swimmingly for Australia - we've won our tie 3-0 going into the final day. Whether or not the final day will be played is moot, given the massive floods in Melbourne at the moment, so it's good we came through in three Bam.

We'll play Japan in the next playoff, and that's another intensely winnable tie. Australia might even end up in the actual Davis Cup next year. Mon dieu. Sacre bleu.

Back to normal Davis Cup, and it all seems very close. There's been a few ties won outright - France, Croatia and the Czech Republic are all through - but the rest are still tight. But I want to talk France now. They're 3-0 up on Germany - and, for once, that is exactly where they should be.

France has got so many excellent players - like, seriously, so many. SO MANY. And yet, in the last few years of Davis Cup, they have been ridiculously disappointing. They should be a guaranteed semi finalist every year with the number of top hundred players they have. I mean, come on, Tsonga, Monfils, Gasquet, Simon, Llodra, Clement, Benneteau... and on and on and on. And yet year after year that enormous streak of mental inconsistency that runs through French tennis gets them.

To be fair, Germany isn't exactly in its bestest tennis place ever at the mo, and they're playing without Tommy Haas. Their lynchpin at the mo is Kohlschreiber, and there's only so much he can do. But they're certainly not a sucky team, so this is a great result for France.

And I also want to shout out to the Czech Republic. They're effectively a two man team, but they brought it solidly at Davis Cup all last year and it looks like they're not going to stop this year. They smashed Belgium like a guitar. Berdych and Stepanek - whatever their flaws in ATP play, they get it done at Davis Cup.

Underrated

What an interesting collection of countries we have in the Davis Cup semi finals - really quite an eclectic group. Israel was the biggest surprise, as we discussed yesterday, but Croatia? And the Czech Republic? Not to mention the upset that Germany nearly pulled? Quite remarkable.

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Let's start with Israel again. Russia managed to get one point on the board in this tie, but it was only because Dudi Sela retired in his match against Andreev, so I don't think poor Igor gets to save any face there. Dudi's retirement also puts the mantle of tie hero quite firmly on the shoulders of Harel Levy - what a weekend for him! First he beats Andreev to make it 2-0, and then he has an absolutely cracking win over Kunitsyn in the dead rubber. I think it would be underestimating things to say he's found his mojo...

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Hero for Croatia probably goes to Marin Cilic, who won both his singles rubbers against the USA, beating Fish and Blake. Fish, I thought, played well, but it looks like James Blake's tenure as president of the Club of Lost Souls is going to continue a little longer. He choked right at the end of his match with Karlovic, and I was really hoping (for his sake) he could do a little more against Cilic. But it was not to be. Oddity of this tie? Bob Bryan winning a singles rubber. Don't see that very often!

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Then we go to the Czech Republic and Argentina, and like I said... I told them it would be smart to play Stepanek in the singles. I understand he has a knee injury but he managed to play through it fine in Wimbledon in his match against David Ferrer and so it was today. And it was a deciding rubber, as well - Juan Martin del Potro tried valiantly to keep Argentina's hopes alive by winning both his matches, but it was nice to see the Czechs come through, I do admit. There will be no final in Mar del Plata this year. And Berdych plus Stepanek... that is a seriously underrated team.

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And then, finally, to what I thought was the most exciting tie, Spain against Germany. I bet you anything that Fernando Verdasco is going to be filthy with himself for letting that match with Kohlschreiber slip between his fingers. It must be very difficult for him to let someone else wear the mantle of hero for Spain when it's belonged to him for quite some time now. But I think we have to say that the hero was an oldie but a goodie, Juan Carlos Ferrero. He was thrown in at the last minute to replace Tommy Robredo in the singles, and he played a lovely match to beat the talented Andreas Beck in straights. Though what would have been really interesting is if Germany had played Kiefer... or if Haas was playing this tie. I'd venture to say that if Haas had played, Spain would have gone down.

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So the semis are set. Davis Cup pick for this year? I'm going to go with the Czechs. Underrated and unappreciated, I reckon they have what it takes...

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Today's Results

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Davis Cup

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Czech Republic 3, Argentina 2

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Juan Martin del Potro def. Tomas Berdych, 6-4 6-4 6-4

Radek Stepanek def. Juan Monaco, 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 6-2

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Croatia 3, USA 2

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Marin Cilic def. James Blake, 6-3 6-3 4-6 6-2

Bob Bryan def. Roko Karanusic, 5-7 6-3 7-6 (7-4)

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Israel 4, Russia 1

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Igor Andreev def. Dudi Sela, 4-3 retired

Harel Levy def. Igor Kunitsyn, 6-4 4-6 7-6 (7-2)

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Spain 3, Germany 2

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Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Fernando Verdasco, 6-4 6-2 1-6 2-6 8-6

Juan Carlos Ferrero def. Andreas Beck, 6-4 6-4 6-4

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Campbell's Hall of Fame Tennis Championships (Newport)

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Rajeev Ram def. Sam Querrey, 6-7 (3-7) 7-5 6-3

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GDF SUEZ Grand Prix (Budapest)

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Agnes Szavay def. Patty Schnyder, 2-6 6-4 6-2

Out of the Frying Pan...

I'm not sure whose idea it was to put Davis Cup the week after Wimbledon - which is, effectively, the week after the most intense six week period of the year - but it seems to have worked out okay for them. The only person this intense scheduling seems to have really affected is Andy Roddick, who picked up a wee bit of an injury in the Wimbledon final (and who really deserves a rest anyway after that effort). So they got away with it, but it doesn't necessarily mean it was smart...

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The story so far of the tie has to be Israel. What do they think they're doing, taking a 2-0 lead over Russia? That was certainly not in the script. When your team consists of Harel Levy and Dudi Sela, you pretty much expect to get beaten in the first round... maybe you'll win a round courtesy of Dudi and the doubles dudes if you get a good draw, but a whole tie...? Never.

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And that's the way it looks like it's going. I mean, sure, Tarpischev definitely doesn't have the bestest Russian team ever out there, but Youzhny and Andreev, who played the singles matches yesterday, should be able to subordinate the Israelies any day of the week. Now a lot rests on the doubles, and the Israelis have a world-class doubles team in Erlich and Ram. So if Safin and Kunitsyn can't subdue them... we are heading for the biggest Davis Cup upset this year.

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Germany are holding their own against Spain, as well - Andreas Beck very nearly almost took out Nando Verdasco to make it 2-0, but Nando is an iron man in Davis Cup, as we all know. Still, this will be a very interesting tie to follow. There's only so much heroics one man can pull, and I get the feeling that Spain is relying very much on Verdasco right now...

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And over to Argentina and the Czechs... is something up with Radek Stepanek? Because dude, he should be playing singles. He's still listed as playing doubles... is he injured? Because I can't see any other reason the Czechs would have sent Ivo Minar out in singles. That is not very smart. Not that Stepanek would have stood a huge chance over del Potro either, but he would have had A chance. Minar had none.

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Today's Results

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Davis Cup

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Argentina 1, Czech Republic 1

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Tomas Berdych def. Juan Monaco, 6-4 2-6 2-6 6-3 6-2

Juan Martin del Potro def. Ivo Minar, 6-1 6-3 6-3

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Croatia 1, USA 0

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Ivo Karlovic def. James Blake, 6-7 (5-7) 4-6 6-3 7-6 (7-3) 7-5

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Israel 2, Russia 0

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Harel Levy def. Igor Andreev, 6-4 6-2 4-6 6-2

Dudi Sela def. Mikhail Youzhny, 3-6 6-1 6-0 7-5

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Spain 1, Germany 1

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Fernando Verdasco def. Andreas Beck, 6-0 3-6 6-7 (4-7) 6-2 6-1

Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Tommy Robredo, 6-3 6-4 6-4

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Campbell's Hall of Fame Tennis Championships (Newport)

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Sam Querrey def. Kevin Kim, 6-3 6-4

Sam Querrey def. Prakash Amritraj, 6-7 (7-9) 6-3 6-2

Fabrice Santoro def. Taylor Dent, 7-6 (7-5) 6-4

Nicolas Mahut def. Fabrice Santoro, 4-6 4-6

Jesse Levine def. Philipp Petzschner, 7-6 (7-3) 6-2

Rajeev Ram def. Jesse Levine, 5-7 6-2 7-6 (7-3)

Brendan Evans def. Robby Ginepri, 6-3 6-4

Olivier Rochus def. Brendan Evans, 6-4 6-4

Rajeev Ram def. Sam Groth, 6-4 6-2

Olivier Rochus def. Sergiy Stakhovsky, 5-7 7-6 (7-2) 6-4

Kevin Kim def. Daniel Brands, 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-4

Nicolas Mahut def. Alex Bogomolov jr., 6-2 6-2

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Bastad Swedish Open Women (Bastad)

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Caroline Wozniacki def. Flavia Pennetta, 6-3 4-6 6-2

Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez def. Gisela Dulko, 7-5 6-4

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GDF Suez Grand Prix (Budapest)

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Agnes Szavay def. Timea Bacsinszky, 6-2 6-3

Alona Bondarenko def. Shahar Peer, 7-5 6-1

Edina Gallovits def. Petra Martic, 6-3 7-6 (8-6)