A Few Moments Too Late

So it finally happened, and not a moment too soon - Wayne Odesnik has been suspended for two years for drugs.

I say 'not a moment too soon' - in reality, it was several moments too late. More than several. A LOT. The minute Odesnik picked up his racquet in Houston, it was too late. I know there's innocent till proven guilty and all that, but the fact is that he had pleaded guilty already in front of a Brisbane court to possession of eight vials of human growth hormone. Use your brain.

With this debacle and then the whole thing with Yanina Wickmayer and Xavier Malisse last year, which would have put serious dents in both their careers when they effectively did nothing, I think the drug rules of our sport might need to be looked at. I'm not sure how much is ITF specific and how much of it comes through WADA, but when Yanina Wickmayer can get suspended for a dodgy password and someone in possession of vast amounts of a banned substance can still play, there is something going on.

But let us just be satisfied now that things are as they should be. Odesnik should not be allowed to play and now he is not. Drugs in sport are an abomination and punishment should be strict (but not, as in the case of the Belgians, stupid).

JI's Last Hurrah

Well, thank God Wayne Odesnik didn't make it to the Houston final, that's all I can say. Good on Sam Querrey for winning that one.

But I feel like he might have expended a little too much righteous energy in that match, because Juan Ignacio Chela is not really someone he should be losing to. Querrey is, what, 37 in the world? And sure, I realise and respect that he is not a dirtballer and Chela is (at least, more so) but Querrey really should be making mincemeat of JI. Because, let's face it, everyone else is.

I was very surprised to see Chela on the winner's podium here, not just because he beat Querrey, but because he beat, well, everyone else. I think everyone's attention has been focused squarely on Odesnik here, so his run to the final - and, indeed, the title - hasn't been the focus of much of anything. But I'd written Chela off as a huge has been. He's done nothing of note for at least two or three years.

But now, a title. Huh.

I think this is a fluke rather than some kind of epic return to form from Chela - I still think he's going to be remembered as that dude that had that spat with Lleyton Hewitt that time moreso than as JI the fantastic player. This is a huge result for him, make no mistake. But whether or not it means anything in the greater scheme of things? I don't think it's anything more than a last hurrah.

Still A Dope

So if Wayne Odesnik wins in Houston, it's going to be the most awkward trophy ceremony ever.

Actually, you know what? If he does win, I don't think they should even have a trophy ceremony. They shouldn't give him a trophy and they shouldn't give him prize money, because it's all going to be taken away anyway. Because the dude f*cking cheated and if he thinks anything different is going to be proven he has got another think coming.

You know that things are bad for a sportsman when sportsmen from the same country are actively baying for their blood. Sport is quite parochial, traditionally - even tennis, which is hardly a team sport. But Andy Roddick and Sam Querrey, to name a couple, want Odesnik gone. Roddick thinks he should be gone from tennis, bam. Querrey refuses to lose to him.

And fair enough, Sam. You shouldn't even have to play this dude. And even the current doping rules are allowing him to play, and the ITF hasn't slammed down the banhammer like happened in the infamous Belgian case a while back, Odesnik should not be playing. He admitted to possessing HGH and that, by itself, is going to be a two year ban. And no one deserves to have to play - and, as has happened so far in Houston - lose to a cheater.

I bet one Jerzy Janowicz is quite pissed off right now... and I bet he, and pretty much everyone in the sport of tennis at the moment, is identifying as one of Sam Querrey's Samurai for the next match.

Dope

So, doping rules. What's up with them? Because sure as hell am not understanding them.

How is it than when Richard Gasquet was caught having cocaine in his blood - a drug that probably would not enhance his performance at all, however illegal it might be - he was tossed out of the sport until his name had been cleared... but when Wayne Odesnik gets caught with eight vials of human growth hormone, which is definitely a performance enhancing drug, he... plays Houston?

I'm guessing it has something to do with possession vs it actually being in your bloodstream, but come on. Look at the great debacle of Yanina Wickmayer and Xavier Malisse, who were out in the cold for ages. The way I see it, the offenses of Wickmayer, Malisse and Gasquet combined - and, you know what, throw Hingis in there for good measure - are nothing compared to what Odesnik is guilty of here. What Odesnik has done is a serious, serious offence in a clean sport.

So how is it that he's not suspended? If Wickmayer and co are guilty until proven innocent, what's up with the Odesnik ruling?

I have no doubt that if/when Odesnik gets convicted or sentenced or whatever they call it, he will be out on his arse. Andy Roddick said he should be thrown out of tennis and I agree wholeheartedly - and I think a whole lot of the tennis world does too. I don't understand why he is allowed to play at the moment, but the fact stands that he should not be playing. And that's something he should have realised himself. Just because you can play doesn't mean you should.

I bet things are real chilly in the locker room for Odesnik right now...

Something Old, Something New (Something Borrowed, Something Blue)

I got my wish - Juan Carlos Ferrero and Lleyton Hewitt both won titles overnight, in Casablanca and Houston respectively. Good on you, boys! Ferrero hasn't won a title since 2003, so huge kudos to him, and Hewitt hasn't been in a final for a couple of years, so it's a huge victory for them both. It's wonderful to see that there's still some tennis in these guys yet. It is almost ten years since the rise of the New Balls generation, headed up by Federer, Hewitt and Safin - and I am glad that they're not dead yet. (Though with Federer still at the top of his game, whoever would have thought that?)
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I have to devote a little space to our latest married couple of the sport - congratulations Roger and Mirka! I wrote an article about them on my other blog, The Black Valentine's Day Manifesto, and in the rush of people searching for pictures of their wedding, my hits have gone up exponentially. (No, I have no pictures - I don't think anyone does!) I choose to believe that Roger has simply been distracted by flower arrangements and big white meringue dresses of late, and now that that's all out of the way and he and Mirka have had their grand one day honeymoon, he'll kick the marriage off with a solid performance in Monte Carlo.
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(Yes, I realise I am delusional, but it is just so lovely!)*
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Speaking of Monte Carlo, it has started and once again, I'm being disappointed by the young guns. The old guys are going great - but Ernests, Ernests! Was it really necessary to lose in such convincing fashion to Philipp Kohlschreiber? I was hoping that being on clay, where he performed so well last year, would be good. Not yet, I suppose. Good wins for Stan Wawrinka and Tommy Robredo, though - and also to Jelena Jankovic, who won the title in Andalucia, knocking out Carla Suarez Navarro, who I really thought was going to get her. I wouldn't go so far as to say she's back, but maybe there's a smidgeon of hope for Jelena yet.
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Today's Results
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Monte Carlo Rolex Masters (Monte Carlo)
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Tommy Robredo def. Rainer Schuettler, 6-1 6-4
Stanislas Wawrinka def. Viktor Troicki, 6-2 6-3
Simone Bolelli def. Robin Soderling, 6-4 1-6 6-3
Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Ernests Gulbis, 6-1 6-3
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Grand Prix Hassan II (Casablanca)
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Juan Carlos Ferrero def. Florent Serra, 6-4 7-5
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US Men's Clay Court Championships (Houston)
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Lleyton Hewitt def. Wayne Odesnik, 6-2 7-5
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Andalucia Tennis Experience (Marbella)
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Jelena Jankovic def. Carla Suárez Navarro, 6-3 3-6 6-3
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MPS Group Championships (Ponte Vedra Beach)
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Caroline Wozniacki def. Aleksandra Wozniak, 6-1 6-2

Time Capsule

One would be forgiven, looking at the results out of Houston and Casablanca this week, that the tour had gone back in time some four, five years. In each tournament we have a real veteran in the final - Lleyton Hewitt in Houston, in what has to be his first final in a couple of years, and Juan Carlos Ferrero, who is apparently considering pulling a Marat and retiring at the end of the year, in Casablanca.

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Let's start with JC, who for about six months in the earlier part of this decade had a Federesque aura of total invincibility. I would love to see him go out with a bang, if he does intend to retire this year. It was a bit sad when he wasn't able to keep up with the Joneses of the tennis world once the Hispano-Suisse domination machine started to roll, because he is really an awesome player to watch. He has a real elegance to his shots - especially on clay - and he is smart. We mustn't forget that he and Federer are the only two players to beat Rafa on clay in the last five-odd years. Sure, Rafa was injured at the time, but still - quite a feat for JC.

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So now he's in the final of Casablanca against Florent Serra (who is also not exactly a tennis spring chicken, though he hasn't reached the veteran status of JC yet). I would dearly love to see him win it. Wouldn't it be fabulous to see the man who once was so invincible have another great run in the twilight of his tennis years? (Wasn't that a convoluted rhetorical question?)

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Same goes for Lleyton Hewitt, for whom, despite all my best efforts, I have a soft spot. (Yes, even after the Lleyton/Bec/Mia matching outfit fashion disaster at the Logies. I don't know what's wrong with me.) He'll face Wayne Odesnik - who has also been around for quite some years - in the final in Houston, and I think it is safe to say that this is a final no one would have expected! I'm pulling for Lleyton, though I wouldn't be surprised if the home crowd advantage got big Wayne over the line... but it really is lovely to see the old guys (I say old - most of them aren't even in their thirties!) doing so well this week. It is so rare!

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Today's Results

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Grand Prix Hassan II (Casablanca)

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Juan Carlos Ferrero def. Igor Andreev, 7-6 (11-9) 6-3

Florent Serra def. Albert Montanes, 6-4 6-4

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US Men's Clay Court Championships (Houston)

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Wayne Odesnik def. Bjorn Phau, 6-4 6-3

Lleyton Hewitt def. Evgeny Korolev, 7-6 (7-4) 6-4

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Andalucia Tennis Experience (Marbella)

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Jelena Jankovic def. Anabel Medina Garrigues, 7-5 6-2

Carla Suárez Navarro def. Sorana Cirstea, 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 6-2

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MPS Group Championships (Ponte Vedra Beach)

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Aleksandra Wozniak def. Nadia Petrova, 6-4 4-6 6-2

Caroline Wozniacki def. Elena Vesnina, 2-6 6-3 7-6 (7-4)

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ETA: I just read that Roger Federer and Mirka Vavrinec got married over the Easter weekend - how lovely! Congratulations from Tennis From The Backseat!