His Name Is Rogelio

We're doing something a bit different here beyond the baseline today. Instead of writing about tennis, we're going to do a dramatic re-enactment instead. (If anyone is foolish enough to want to make this film, you know, call me.)

This is called 'His Name Is Rogelio' and it goes out to the Federbitches.




SCENE 1 [INT]: INDIAN WELLS LOCKER ROOM

RAFA sits on a bench, looking sad and lonely. He has a towel, which he is twisting between his hands. He is very sweaty - he has just come off court after playing a long, gruelling match.

Enter IVO. He doesn't look at RAFA. He is too busy tweeting about how he just lost. He exits. RAFA sighs. He is alone. Until...

Enter ROGER, who crosses to his locker.

ROGER: Hi, Rafa.

RAFA's face breaks into a huge smile.

RAFA: Hola, Rogelio! How are you? What is going on? What are you doing here? I just played a match! When do you play a match? Where have you been?

ROGER: How did your match go?

RAFA: I won. Just. Is impossible to win easy, no?

ROGER: That's great!

A silence. ROGER and RAFA look at each other, and then giggle like little schoolboys for approximately fifteen minutes. Eventually...

RAFA: What are you doing here? hee hee hee.

ROGER: Oh, you know how I'm playing doubles with My Friend Stanley?

RAFA's face darkens.

RAFA: Yes. Hey, remember how we played doubles at the Rally for Relief? We should do that in a tournament sometime!

ROGER: Maybe. I like playing with My Friend Stanley. Are you crying?

RAFA (sniffing): No.

ROGER: Well, I have a yellow shirt and he has a blue shirt. He wore a yellow shirt yesterday, so I think it's my turn to match him. I asked Nike to send me a blue shirt.

RAFA: I have a green shirt. You would look so nice in green.

ROGER: Thanks, Rafa. You are a nice boy. How's your doubles going?

RAFA: It's fine. Hey Roger, want to play -

ROGER: Anyway, I just came to see if my new blue shirt - you know, so I can match My Friend Stanley - has arrived.

ROGER opens his locker. 45 blue shirts fall out.

ROGER: Wow! I guess Nike really like me.

RAFA: Nike really like me too! We are Nike bros!

ROGER: Yes, Rafa, we are totally Nike bros.

More giggling.

ROGER: Anyway, I should take my shirts and go. I'm off to dinner.

RAFA: Where are you going?

ROGER: Oh, I don't know. I'll let Mirka decide. It'll be nice. A real family dinner. Me, Mirka, the kids... and My Friend Stanley. Bye, Rafa!

Exit ROGER

RAFA sniffs. He is near tears.

RAFA: Is impossible for him to like My Friend Stanley as much as likes me, no?

Enter OTHER LOPEZ

OTHER LOPEZ: Hey Rafa, want to come to late late Spanish dinner when you've done your press and stuff?

RAFA: Not this time, Other Lopez.

OTHER LOPEZ: What do you mean, no? I'm your doubles partner! I'm your bro! I'm Bropez!

RAFA: I am tired after my match. Tired and sad.

OTHER LOPEZ: Why can't we be BFFs like Roger and My Friend Stanley?

RAFA: ROGER IS NOT BEST FRIENDS WITH MY FRIEND STANLEY HE IS BEST FRIENDS WITH MEEEEEEEEE!

OTHER LOPEZ: Whoa. Chill. Later, dudelio.

Exit OTHER LOPEZ.

RAFA stares into the middle distance, trying not to cry. After a moment, enter NOLE

NOLE: Hey Rafa, want to play an awesomely badly timed and inconveniently located exho with me in Bogota the day after the final?

RAFA: Whatever.

NOLE: Awesome!

Exit NOLE

RAFA: What? No! That was a NO-WHATEVER, not a YES-WHATEVER, Nole!

Exit RAFA after NOLE, running.




SCENE 2 [EXT] - CENTRE COURT, INDIAN WELLS

Enter RAFA and OTHER LOPEZ. OTHER LOPEZ is dressed identically to RAFA, except for his shoes.

OTHER LOPEZ: Are you excited, Rafa? I'm excited! Remember how we won here last year?

RAFA: Is impossible for me to remember, no? I have won so many things.

OTHER LOPEZ: Well, it was awesome! We're awesome! We're the best team ever! Rafa and Bropez RULE, man!

RAFA: Whatever.

A pause.

RAFA: That was a yes-whatever. We, um, rule.

OTHER LOPEZ: VAMOS! Let's play tennis! Let's beat those Swiss cheeses!

AX #1: Whitney Houston, I Will Always Love You

Enter ROGER, in slow motion. The wind machine starts up and blows his chocolate curls back. In slow motion. RAFA stares at him, lovestruck.

ROGER: Hi Rafa! Like my new blue shirt?

RAFA: You look... beautiful.

OTHER LOPEZ: Rafa, why have you fallen to your knees? Is that why you injure them all the time?

MY FRIEND STANLEY: Yeah Rafa, why?

MY FRIEND STANLEY emerges from behind RAFA.

MY FRIEND STANLEY: Don't Roger and I look great, Rafa? Don't we look like... best friends?

RAFA: I'm ranked #1 in the world.

ROGER: Dude.

RAFA: Sorry, Roger! I did not mean to offend you! For me you are the greatest player, you know -

ROGER: What, were you saying something before? I just meant, dude, get up, we have to start the match.

MY FRIEND STANLEY: Yeah, me and Roger are going to kick your arse.

RAFA: I won't let you, My Friend Stanley. You can't intimidate me.

MY FRIEND STANLEY: Roger likes me more than you.

RAFA: Prove it.

MY FRIEND STANLEY: Hey Roge, who am I?

ROGER: You're My Friend Stanley! Come on, let's play!

MY FRIEND STANLEY: That's right. I'm his friend Stanley. And who are you...?

MY FRIEND STANLEY and ROGER walk to their side of the net. RAFA stares after them, a tear in his eye.

OTHER LOPEZ: Rafa, come on! We have to start the match!

RAFA: His name is ROGELIO.




SCENE #3 [EXT] - CENTRE COURT, INDIAN WELLS

A tennis montage. ROGER hits some awesome shots, mostly in slow motion, chocolate curls flying artistically. RAFA hits a few monstrous forehands, a few right at MY FRIEND STANLEY. MY FRIEND STANLEY reciprocates with some backhand winners. OTHER LOPEZ tries to get RAFA to notice him.

End of the first set. RAFA is serving. It is deuce, deciding point. If RAFA wins this point, the set goes to a tiebreaker. If he loses, ROGER and MY FRIEND STANLEY will win the set.

RAFA throws the ball in the air for his first serve... and suddenly we are in his mind.




SCENE #4 [INT] - RAFA's mind

MY FRIEND STANLEY: Roger likes me more than you!

ROGER and MY FRIEND STANLEY sit next to a campfire, warming their hands. Gradually, slowly, ROGER moves his hands so he is warming them on MY FRIEND STANLEY.

ROGER: My Friend Stanley...

MY FRIEND STANLEY: Yes, Roge?

ROGER: Can I call you... My Best Friend Stanley?

RAFA: Nooooooooooooo!




SCENE #5 [EXT] - CENTRE COURT, INDIAN WELLS

RAFA serves.

LINESMAN: Fault!

MY FRIEND STANLEY grins evilly at RAFA, who grits his teeth.

RAFA: No. I will not let him defeat me.

OTHER LOPEZ: Come on, bro! You can do it!

RAFA: Who are you again?

OTHER LOPEZ: Dude, I'm BROPEZ!

RAFA: Oh.

RAFA throws the ball in the air to serve again, and... he looks into ROGER's eyes.




SCENE #6 [INT] - RAFA'S MIND

RAFA: And what are you going to give me? for the present?

ROGER: I'll give you the first set.

RAFA and ROGER giggle like little schoolboys.

RAFA: We are bros, no? BEST bros?

ROGER: Totally. And bros give each other presents, don't they?




SCENE #7 [EXT] - CENTRE COURT, INDIAN WELLS

RAFA serves.

LINESMAN: Fault!

UMPIRE: Game, first set, Federer and Wawrinka, seven games to five!

MY FRIEND STANLEY: Woo! Yeah! Hopp Suisse! We are the Swiss! The mighty mighty Swiss! See you soon! On the moon! We are the best, aren't we, Roger!

ROGER: We rock, My Friend Stanley!

OTHER LOPEZ: Dude, what were you doing?

RAFA: For you, Rogelio. The first set, it was for you. My gift.




SCENE #8 [EXT] - INDIAN WELLS, CENTRE COURT

Another montage. ROGER and MY FRIEND STANLEY clearly have the upper hand. OTHER LOPEZ is alternately flabbergasted and trying to make RAFA remember he's there. RAFA is distracted by the slow motion wind machine glory going on near ROGER.

Eventually, MY FRIEND STANLEY is serving for the match. RAFA hits a huge forehand which MY FRIEND STANLEY cannot get to. RAFA does a double fistpump.

UMPIRE: Forty thirty.

MY FRIEND STANLEY serves to OTHER LOPEZ, who loses the point.

UMPIRE: Game, set, match, Federer and Wawrinka, two sets to love. Seven five, six three.

OTHER LOPEZ: Dude, I am SO SAD we lost. Rafa and Bropez are out of the tournament. What are we going to do?

RAFA: Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever.

OTHER LOPEZ: Which whatever was that?

MY FRIEND STANLEY: Hey Roge, do you think I was on fire? Want to warm your hands on me?

ROGER: Not today, My Friend Stanley. I'm a bit tired.

MY FRIEND STANLEY is crestfallen. Slowly, a huge smile spreads over RAFA's face.

ROGER: Good match, Rafa.

RAFA: Thanks, Rogelio. Good luck for the final.

ROGER: Thanks.

ROGER and RAFA shake hands. They hold hands for a moment longer than is strictly appropriate. They stare into each others' eyes, sympatico on every level.




SCENE #9 [INT] - INDIAN WELLS LOCKER ROOM

ROGER, MY FRIEND STANLEY, RAFA and OTHER LOPEZ are all towelling down and doing that kind of thing after the match.

MY FRIEND STANLEY: Hey, there's a note in my locker! It landed right on top of Homer Simpson's head!

OTHER LOPEZ: Rafa, you never leave notes in my locker.

MY FRIEND STANLEY: This is so sweet, Roge.

ROGER (doing his hair): Mmm? It's not from me. I was too busy reading The Elegant Universe to write notes.

OTHER LOPEZ: What does it say?

MY FRIEND STANLEY (unfolding the note): 'Dear My ENEMY Stanley, is impossible for Roger to like you more than me. Has he ever played exhibitions for charity with you? NO. Did you play doubles and ping pong tennis with him in Australia? NO. Do you have the GOAT bromance? Do you have a gigglefits video? Did you hug him and nearly make out with him when you beat him in Australia in 2009? NO. You may be His Friend Stanley, but I am HIS BROTHER, no?'

A silence. Everyone looks at RAFA.

RAFA: I didn't write that. Doesn't even sound like me, no?

MY FRIEND STANLEY: Of course it was you! Who else could it be?

RAFA: All right, it was me - because I am the ONLY ONE he does those things with. ROGELIO LIKES ME THE BEST.

MY FRIEND STANLEY: Um, NO, bitch. Has ROGE ever let you take a picture of him with Homer Simpson sitting on his cap brim? NO.

RAFA: Well, I don't play with dolls, LOSER. And anyway, Fedal sounds WAY cooler than Fedrinka. What is that? It sounds like something you use to fix your sink!

MY FRIEND STANLEY: Yeah, well, Fedal sounds like something you would eat for dinner! With rice!

OTHER LOPEZ: Why don't you ever fight over ME, Rafa?

Exit OTHER LOPEZ.

MY FRIEND STANLEY: Um, who is that guy again?

RAFA: Other Lopez. Bropez. Something. I can't remember.

MY FRIEND STANLEY: Anyway, fighting again. How many gold medals have you won, bitch?

RAFA: Um, ONE.

MY FRIEND STANLEY: How many have you won WITH ROGE?

RAFA: His name is ROGELIO!

RAFA and MY FRIEND STANLEY grab each other and throw down on the floor of the locker room.

ROGER (giggling): Oh boys, don't fight over little old me!

Enter MIRKA.

MIRKA: FEDERBITCHES!

RAFA and MY FRIEND STANLEY stop fighting.

ROGER: Hello, Mirka.

ROGER kisses MIRKA's cheek.

MIRKA: What is going on here?

RAFA and MY FRIEND STANLEY stop fighting and look sheepish.

MIRKA: On your feet, both of you.

RAFA and MY FRIEND STANLEY stand up.

MIRKA: Were you two fighting over who Roger loves the most again?

ROGER: Guys, you know I love you both.

MY FRIEND STANLEY: But I'm Your Friend Stanley! You love ME!

RAFA: But we have a fine bromance!

MIRKA: Ahem.

RAFA and MY FRIEND STANLEY: Sorry, Mirka.

MIRKA: We've had this conversation before. No more fighting over Roger. He worries that you'll get hurt and it musses up his hair.

RAFA: Nothing could muss up your hair, Roger. That's why I got my hair cut just like you.

MY FRIEND STANLEY: Loser.

RAFA: Ewok.

MIRKA: Boys.

RAFA and MY FRIEND STANLEY: Sorry, Mirka.

MIRKA: We've talked about this, remember? Roger is very good friends with both of you.

ROGER: Yeah, love you guys!

MIRKA: But when it comes to who he loves most, the answer is...

AX #2: Drumroll.

RAFA: Please choose me, Rogelio.

MY FRIEND STANLEY: I love you so much, Roge.

MIRKA: ...me. Guys, haven't you figured that out yet?

RAFA and MY FRIEND STANLEY both look crestfallen.

MIRKA: Come on, Roger. Charlene and Myla have woken up and I need another pair of hands to change nappies.

Exit MIRKA.

ROGER: Isn't she the best? See you guys.

Exit ROGER.

RAFA and MY FRIEND STANLEY stare after him mournfully.

MY FRIEND STANLEY: Well, if Mirka's #1, then I'm #2.

RAFA: No, I'm #2, no?

MY FRIEND STANLEY: I'm #2!

RAFA: I'd be a better #2!

Enter NOLE

NOLE: I thought I was the one fighting to be #2.

RAFA and MY FRIEND STANLEY: SHUT UP!

A Piece Of Cake...?

I've been writing about cake a lot this week. In case you hadn't noticed. This is probably due to two things: firstly, Rafa's half of the draw has been a big ol' cupcake, and secondly, cake is delicious.

Given the subject of this blog - you know, like, tennis and stuff - I'm going to write about the former again today. But cake IS delicious. That is my endorsed position.

So. Cake. Rafa's draw. I want to say that I've been unfair, that I branded this side as cupcake-y out of some malicious impulse deep in my soul or something. But I don't think it's true. On paper, this side of the draw is as cupcake-y as you get. Let's look at Rafa's draw so far. De Voest. Sweeting. Devvarman. Karlovic. Of them, Devvarman is the only one even ranked in the top hundred.

Cake. Rafa's having it, Rafa's eating it... someone said 'let Rafa eat cake!' and Rafa took that cake and - oh. Wait.

In the first two rounds, Rafa was jamming cake down like he was never going to eat a cake again. But then he played Devvarman. And Devvarman played him good, yo. You can see yesterday's blog post for my round up of just how well Devvarman played. I think I called him a cupcake with teeth. Which is actually a little unfair, because even though on paper, this looks like a cake-y match up, Somdev didn't play like cake AT ALL.

But you want an object lesson in a cupcake who didn't play like a cupcake? What's the weather like up there, Dr Ivo?

Ivo Karlovic is a problematic player. Right now, he's ranked way down in the #200s or something, which - you know, CAKE. But even when he was inside the top hundred, it always seemed strangely irrelevant to put a number ranking on Dr Ivo. If you could win the tiebreaks, then you would win the match. Because eight or nine times out of ten, Dr Ivo would take you to the tiebreak. He's the first word in one-dimensional games - not necessarily because the rest of his game is noticeably crap (it's so beige I can't remember how he plays, really) but because his serve is so good that it eclipses everything.

But he's coming back off injury and Rafa is #1, so... piece of cake, yeah?

How about NO. How about Dr Ivo played Rafa so hard - 23 aces! - that there was every possibility that Rafa would go down, that even this cupcake-y draw could defeat the world #1, pull him down like quiksand into a giant morass of cake?

Wow. I took that metaphor a little far. That is a disturbing mental image.

Rafa was extremely lucky to win this match. That was what I was trying to say. It basically hinged on one point - if Karlovic had got the minibreak in the third set breaker, then he would have won, end of story. Rankings are irrelevant for Karlovic because he can beat anyone if they can't deal with his serve. And although Rafa did reasonably well, it still almost wasn't enough.

And yet, on paper, Karlovic should have been yet another cupcake on Rafa's plate. Tennis can always, always surprise you.

Missing Ivan Dodig

Here is a list of facts I know about Ivan Dodig:

1) He is from Croatia.
2) His first name is Ivan.
3) His surname is... wait for it, drumroll please... Dodig.
4) He is humanoid. (Probably. I assume.)
5) He plays tennis.
6) He is pretty good at playing tennis. (I think.)

Seriously, had anyone heard of Ivan Dodig before this year? I have totally never heard of him. The first time he popped into my frame of vision was at the Australian Open this year when he played that epic late night match against Karlovic. I could have stopped by and seen a little bit - I was in Rod Laver Arena that night - the night that Djokovic beat Granollers - and that session finished before this outside court epic.

But I didn't stop by. Me and Ivan Dodig missed each other again.

Dodig lost in the second round of the Australian Open (there is another fact I can add to my list!) which seems pretty unremarkable, until you consider who he lost to. You might have heard of him. His name is Novak Djokovic and he's been doing pretty okay recently.

So okay, in fact, that he only dropped one set in the whole tournament. He played a bunch of awesome guys - Federer, Murray, Berdych. But that one set he lost to was to some guy named Ivan Dodig. Of whom I had never heard.

I didn't see the match. I missed Ivan Dodig. Of course.

But clearly his set-winning was a sign, because Ivan Dodig, of whom I have never heard, just went and won himself a title at Zagreb. He's also got a pretty good 2011 record - he's won seven matches and lost twice, or so the ATP website tells me. And those two losses came to Djokovic at the Australian Open and Berdych in Chennai, so he's not exactly losing to Mickey Mouse opponents here. Ivan Dodig - whoever he is - has very suddenly made the big time.

Zagreb had a couple of local hopes in there who were real chances at the title. Marin Cilic was one. Ivan Ljubicic was another. If either of these dudes had taken out the title, then it wouldn't have been surprising. But this Dodig guy? He's the homegrown hero that no one expected. Because as far as I can tell, he just popped into existence this year.

I wish I could say something more meaningful about him, but you've seen all I know about him in my awesome List of Ivan Dodig Facts. (To which I can add this, courtesy of the ATP website - he is coached by a dude called Martin Stepanek. Any relation, do you think?) What it really proves - once again - is the depth of the field. I think I'm pretty knowledgeable when it comes to, you know, knowing tennis players exist and stuff. Put me in front of a Challenger draw and I'll recognise a bunch of the names. But before this year, Ivan Dodig wouldn't have been one of them. And now he's gone and won not a Challenger title, but a full tour title.

That is a major-ass achievement. There is a whole ton of tennis players out there - very successful ones - who have never won a title. Never come close. Look at Janko Tipsarevic, for example. We all know who he is, but he's never won a title. Same with Potito Starace. Rendy Lu. But this Dodig dude has. He's smashed through the wall that these dudes never have.

And all I can tell you about him is that he is humanoid (probably). Tennis can always surprise you.

Changed Man

Oh yes he did.

OH YES HE DID.

I am disproportionately excited about Ernests Gulbis' maiden tournament win in Delray Beach. I know it's only one tournament. I know it's not a huge tournament. I know he might go on to do a fat lot of nothing...

...but this is so, so much better than anything else I have experienced while clinging to this Gulbis bandwagon by my fingernails.

I don't think we can underestimate the significance of this win for Gulbis. Something has clearly clicked in his brain, because things are going right again. There was an interesting stat in the ATP write up of this final - Gulbis did not win his tenth tour level match last year until Wimbledon, but this year, he's already at 10-4. He started off with the quarters in Doha, where he (understandably) lost to Federer, a couple of first round losses, including the AO, which was disappointing, but then semis in Memphis and now the title in Delray Beach. Excuse me for making assumptions, but this to me smells changed man.

He beat Karlovic in the final and he beat him good. When you're Ivo Karlovic, basically your job is to get the other dude to the breaker. There were no breakers today - Ernie beat him comprehensively in straights, two and three. When you're breaking a serve like Dr Ivo's, you've got some serious returning mojo going on. And he's tidied up those errors, and...

...look at me, gushing like Federer won another Slam. But this one is a real victory for me. Damn it, I knew Ernie could do it! Good on you, Ernie! Good on you!

O-Kei

So here is a truth-fact I did not know - Ernests Gulbis reached his first ATP level semi final at St Petersburg in 2006, and, while 2008 can legitimately be considered his breakout year, what with his run to the quarters of Roland Garros, he did not reach another semi until last week.

Last week.

And where is he this week? Why, monsieur, that would be - wait for it - the semis.

Now there is something to make we few lonely passengers on the Ernie bandwagon very excited indeed. Semis in back-to-back weeks? That is a solid result for just about anyone, but for Ernie, with his struggle to string two matches together last year, this is not just solid, but solid gold. Now if only he can take that one step further...

I would love for Ernie to win the title. I really would. But I think I would be satisfied with a run to the final. If he makes the final, he'll play either Ivo Karlovic or Mardy Fish, who are neither of them slouches, though I believe Ernie is capable of beating them both. But if he could just go that one step further, make that final...

Not that the semis isn't already a very satisfactory result. It totally is. But I really think Ernie has a great shot at beating Jarkko Nieminen, who really hasn't been that impressive for a long time now. Ernie was really quite impressive in his victory over Leonardo Mayer... and I can't help but remember how Kei Nishikori won this tournament out of nowhere a few years back.

Please let Ernie be this year's Kei, okay? O-Kei! Fear my punnage.

Third Day Blues

Roger Federer is pretty much the man, and he totally deserves his time off. That's all I have to say about that.

He revealed in his post-match press conference that he's suffering from fatigue-related injuries in his arm and leg and he 'needs to do some baby-sitting' so he's sitting out until at least October 5 - though truth be told, I'd be very surprised indeed if he showed up in Tokyo. You've just got to applaud the fact that he took to the court in this rubber against Italy when you have to think that if he didn't, Switzerland would face relegation - Wawrinka probably would have scored another rubber, but I don't know where the magical #3 would have come from. You da man, Roger. That's all I've got to say.

Both Israel and Croatia managed to score a consolation rubber, with Harel Levy scoring a win over Feliciano Lopez (a very decent win in and of itself) and Lovro Zovko managed to save some Croat pride by beating Lukas Dlouhy. I expected this whitewashing from Israel - Spain is swimming in excellent players, even with Nadal and Verdasco sidelined - but I really thought the Croats were going to, if not pull this out, make a better showing than this. They won the Davis Cup a few years' back basically on the back on Ivan Ljubicic, with Mario Ancic singing back-up. I thought the Cilic/Karlovic dynamic was even stronger, but apparently not. Not that this tie wasn't full of drama, especially in that first day, but it felt a little anti-climactic in the end.

All credit to the Czechs, though, who seriously stepped it up.

Other winners include Sweden, Serbia, Belgium (who knew they had blokes who played ball?), France and India. Other heroes include Robin Soderling, Steve Darcis, Somdev Devvarman and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. I always get into Davis Cup whenever it comes around, but it is so terribly shafted. I wish it was better organised. I wish it was better publicised. I wish... I wish...

Oh well. Pout.


Today's Results

Davis Cup (semi finals)

Czech Republic 4, Croatia 1

Jan Hajek def. Roko Karanusic, 7-6 (7-4) 6-4
Lovro Zovko def. Lukas Dlouhy, 6-3 6-4


Spain 4, Israel 1

David Ferrer def. Andy Ram, 6-3 6-1
Harel Levy def. Feliciano Lopez, 7-5 6-2


China GDD Guangzhou International Women's Open (Guangzhou)

Shahar Peer def. Alberta Brianti, 6-3 6-4


Bell Challenge (Quebec City)

Melinda Czink def. Lucie Safarova, 4-6 6-3 7-5

Stepping Up Everest

Well, I have completely underestimated the Czech Republic. There you go.

I gave Stepanek a good chance against Karlovic, but that somehow pales beside what actually happened. Five epic sets. A world-breaking 78 aces from Karlovic - which, to the best of my knowledge, breaks the previous record by about 20. And Stepanek still won.

Wow.

I'm not a Stepanek fan really, mostly on the grounds that I find him totally creepy. But you cannot deny that the man can play ball. To withstand that kind of intense pressure and come out on top - particularly when you're facing someone who is pretty much unbreakable in a to-the-death five set... that is some serious grit. And guile. And some other stuff starting with g. You've got to applaud the man's mental toughness - facing Karlovic in that kind of fifth set is kind of like a tennis Everest. You can't count on a breaker to get you through. So kudos to you, Radek Stepanek.

And then the other match went five sets as well, though it didn't have anything like the same level of drama. Berdych triumphed over Cilic, which I personally found very surprising. Berdych has been pretty much a non-entity this year, whereas Cilic has been very much an entity. Hell, he made the quarters of the US Open, like, two seconds ago. Where has Berdych been? But Berdych is terribly talented and sometimes that will out. Still, I'm not counting Croatia out of this tie yet. We've got a lot of tennis left yet.

In the other semi, Goliath is currently whaling on David, with Ferrer and Ferrero scoring easy victories over Sela and Levy. I'd look for an inspired Israeli performance in the fourth rubber if they win the doubles... but I still don't really rate them a chance of winning a singles match. At this point, I don't know how high I rate their chances of winning a set.

And just a quick throw to the playoffs - Federer and Wawrinka are a totally mad team. They both demolished their respective Italians. And it's not something you hear often, but when Federer plays on clay, he looks just gorgeous. The way he was sliding into those shots... it was positively balletic. He played a great match and the US Open is clearly behind him. Watch out, indoor season!


Today's Results

Davis Cup (semi finals)

Czech Republic 2, Croatia 0

Tomas Berdych def. Marin Cilic, 6-3 6-3 3-6 4-6 6-3
Radek Stepanek def. Ivo Karlovic, 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (8-6) 6-7 (2-7) 16-14


Spain 2, Israel 0

David Ferrer def. Harel Levy, 6-1 6-4 6-3
Juan Carlos Ferrero def. Dudi Sela, 6-4 6-2 6-0


Bell Challenge (Quebec City)

Melinda Czink def. Nadia Petrova, 7-6 (7-4) retired
Aleksandra Wozniak def. Alla Kudryavtseva, 6-1 6-1
Lucie Safarova def. Bethanie Mattek-Sands, 6-3 6-4
Julia Goerges def. Lilia Osterloh, 6-2 6-4


China GDD Guangzhou International Women's Open (Guangzhou)

Peng Shuai def. Alexandra Panova, 6-2 6-3
Shahar Peer def. Chang Yung-Jan, 6-3 6-1
Ayumi Morita def. Olga Savchuk, 6-3 604
Alberta Brianti def. Anastasija Sevastova, 6-4 6-2

Davis Cup Daze

So, in the complete absence of anything better to talk about today, due to us beign in that lull period after a Slam before tennis gets interesting again, I thought I might do a bit of a Davis Cup preview. That should keep me out of trouble/off the streets, etc etc.

So, semi final #1 - Croatia vs. Czech Republic. This is a team basically consisting of Cilic and Karlovic against Berdych and Stepanek.

This is an interesting matchup. I'm leaning towards the Czechs in the doubles, purely because they have Lukas Dlouhy, but doubles is not my area of expertise so I'm just going to talk about the singles. There are some very interesting match ups, because all four of these players are capable of beating just about anyone if they run hot.

Cilic is the most recent to demonstrate this, beating Andy Murray in straight sets at the US Open and then getting off to a flier against eventual champ JMDP before crumbling in a heap. If he can, you know, not crumble, I think he'll win both his singles matches. I think Stepanek will give him more trouble than Berdych, because Berdych has done pretty much fat nothing this year, whereas Stepanek has done some, like, good stuff and whatnot, but I think Cilic is the most talented of the four players out there and, meltdown aside, I think he'll bring home the bacon for Croatia.

I'm unsure whether Karlovic will be a great second banana or whether he'll be a liability. He's a strange way, Dr Ivo - that huge serve can beat just about anyone, but if they find a way around that, he's pretty much screwed. I can see Stepanek figuring him out pretty early on... Berdych maybe not so much. He might do the figuring, but I can't see him delivering.

So in summation, I think Croatia will come away 3-1 in the singles, their one loss being Karlovic to Stepanek. This will put them back in the final, where they will face...

...the winner of semi final #2, Spain vs Israel. And look, I know Israel are the underdogs and people like supporting the underdogs, but if Spain lose this tie, I will eat my sofa. They are missing their best Davis Cup dudes, Nadal and Verdasco, but the depth that Spain presents is so ridiculous I can't see them losing. Then again, I didn't see Russia losing to Israel either, but I doubt the Spaniards will be quite as fragile.

I give Israel a very decent shot in the doubles. Erlich and Ram are a first rate team. But I really can't see either Dudi Sela or Harel Levy coming through the Mosquito, Juan Carlos Ferrero, who has been playing pretty damn good of late. The other singles player, David Ferrer, has occasionally proved to be a bit shaky, but I'd be a bit surprised if he took any major losses here. And even if he did, Feliciano Lopez and Tommy Robredo are both excellent players - actually, I wouldn't be surprised to see Robredo playing singles at all. Spain have options. I don't think Israel really have that luxury.

I think Spain's going to go 4-0 on singles here, whoever plays. Israel might win the doubles, but if Spain lose this tie, I will be very surprised.

So let the games begin. And let me be proven wrong.

Oh, and hopp Suisse!


Today's Results

Bell Challenge (Quebec City)

Lilia Osterloh def. Amra Sadikovic, 6-3 2-6 6-2
Bethanie Mattek-Sands def. Vania King, 6-3 6-3


China GDD Guangzhou International Women's Open (Guangzhou)

Anastasija Sevastova def. Anabel Medina Garrigues, 3-6 6-3 6-1
Peng Shuai def. Chanelle Scheepers, 6-3 6-2
Chang Yung-Jan def. Maria Elena Camerin, 6-3 3-6 7-6 (7-2)
Olga Savchuk def. Hsieh Su-Wei, 6-4 6-4

Breaking The Giant's Back

I don't know if I have ever, EVER, in my all days of watching tennis, seen three more Ultimate God Mode returns than the three key returns Roger Federer played off Ivo Karlovic's mammoth first serve.

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Two were in the first break of serve, one in the second. (The only two breaks, coincidentally, that Karlovic has suffered in this tournament and in the entire grass court season.) One was forehand, two were backhand. Absolute reflex shots off serves coming down the court at a pace that would make the speed of light feel slow. And they came back pretty much faster than they went down, right in the corner, thank you very much.

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There are no words I can use to describe them. Viewing is necessary. But oh my lordy, they nearly killed me with their insane beauty. I didn't even think that was possible. I don't think Ivo Karlovic thought it was possible. Crazy.

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Federer played a wonderful match today, given his opponent - when he could get the ball back against the Karlovic serve (and when he wasn't hitting returns which are actually physically impossible) he kept it down low at the big guy's shoelaces and Karlovic really had to work to scoop them out. He played a smart match and put on an absolute clinic of serving. He faced no break points, went to deuce only once and served his way out of it immediately. When there were baseline rallies, I would venture to say that he won at least 90% of the time. He actually made more service winners than Karlovic - Dr Ivo had no idea what was going on with the Federer serve by the end of the match and couldn't get the return in more than one time out of every ten - and he made an incredible seven unforced errors for the match. Not for a single set. For the match.

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Crazy.

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Added to which he's through to his twenty freaking first Slam semi in a row, and that is just unheard of. Roger Federer was in god mode today and I am in gush mode. That was crazy. Absolutely insane. Impossible, and amazing.

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And who was it that correctly predicted all four men's semifinalists? Oh yeah, that would be me. We're getting a battle of the Andies in the top half - though Lleyton Hewitt came much closer to knocking out the Andy of the Roddick variety than I expected - and Federer/Haas in the other one. That was a great win Haas had over Djokovic - I'm very glad to see him in the semis! When was the last time he made it this far without a piano falling from the sky and landing on his head or some similar freak accident? Slightly left of never, I would be thinking.

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Today's Results

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The Championships (Wimbledon)

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Men's Draw

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Roger Federer def. Ivo Karlovic, 6-3 7-5 7-6 (7-3)

Tommy Haas def. Novak Djokovic, 7-5 7-6 (8-6) 4-6 6-3

Andy Murray def. Juan Carlos Ferrero, 7-5 6-3 6-2

Andy Roddick def. Lleyton Hewitt, 6-3 6-7 (10-12) 7-6 (7-1) 4-6 6-4

Bulldog

Well, well, play has begun in gay Paris, and already we are not without our share of upsets, almost-upsets and stories in general. I love Grand Slam tennis!

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The match which I was probably following more closely than the rest was Karlovic against Hewitt, which was a damn exciting match, even if it did involve Karlovic, arguably one of the most boring players on tour. I bet Dr Ivo is not going to be too happy about being taken out first round - though I suppose it's better to be taken out by Hewitt, who is still a name in the tennis world, than some total random.

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Karlovic did not necessarily play a bad match - he did very well in the breakers and until the fade set in in the fourth, could have won the match pretty much at any moment. But you have to give credit to Hewitt. Even though his tennis sure ain't what it used to be, he is so damn dogged. You can see shades of it in Nadal - that grit and determination never, ever to give up, to make each point a war. Hewitt totally sunk his teeth in after being two points from the brink of defeat - I think he can be pretty proud.

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Marat Safin also pulled off a reasonable win, though his opponent was no one to speak of - but I don't think we're going to be seeing too much more of Gilles Simon this tournament, somehow. Five sets in the first round against Wayne Odesnik? Shudder.

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Ernests Gulbis also had a nice win - please please please break your slump at Roland Garros, Ernests! - and Marin Cilic gave Jan Hernych an absolute clinic, so we're looking good from a Stars perspective... though potential Star Frederico Gil did go out to David Ferrer, but that wasn't wholly unexpected.

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Over to the ladies, and if Ana Ivanovic makes it to the quarters to meet Dinara Safina, I will eat an item of my own clothing. She played pathetically and if Errani had been able to push it just that little bit further, Ivanovic could have been going home. Someone who did actually go home was Amelie Mauresmo, which was terribly sad - once again, not her year in Paris. But the Stars kept shining - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova had a nice win.

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Bring on Day 2!

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Today's Results

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French Open (Roland Garros)

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Men's Draw

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Marat Safin def. Alexandre Sidorenko, 6-4 6-4 6-4

Gilles Simon def. Wayne Odesnik, 3-6 7-5 6-2 4-6 6-3

Andy Murray def. Juan Ignacio Chela, 6-2 6-2 6-1

Lleyton Hewitt def. Ivo Karlovic, 6-7 (1-7) 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 6-3

Fernando Verdasco def. Florent Serra, 6-2 6-1 6-4

Radek Stepanek def. Gaston Gaudio, 6-3 6-4 6-1

Ernests Gulbis def. Sam Querrey, 7-6 (7-1) 6-1 3-6 6-1

Josselin Ouanna def. Marcel Granollers, 7-5 2-6 3-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-1

David Ferrer def. Frederico Gil, 6-2 6-4 6-4

Nicolas Almagro def. Agustin Calleri, 6-4 6-1 6-3

Andrey Golubev def. Denis Gremelmayr, 6-3 6-3 6-2

Marin Cilic def. Jan Hernych, 6-0 6-4 6-3

Mathieu Montcourt def. Yen-hsun Lu, 6-2 retired

Robert Kendrick def. Daniel Brands, 6-7 (7-9) 7-5 7-6 (13-11) 4-6 6-1

Philipp Petzschner def. Peter Polansky, 5-7 6-2 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 6-3

Dudi Sela def. Jean-Rene Lisnard, 4-6 3-6 6-4 6-3

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Women's Draw

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Ana Ivanovic def. Sara Errani, 7-6 (7-3) 6-3

Anna-Lene Groenefeld def. Amelie Mauresmo, 6-4 6-3

Vitalia Diatchenko def. Mathilde Johansson, 2-6 6-2 10-8

Nadia Petrova def. Lauren Embree, 6-1 6-2

Victoria Azarenka def. Roberta Vinci, 6-4 6-2

Elena Vesnina def. Severine Bremond Beltrame, 6-3 6-3

Arantxa Rus def. Olivia Sanchez, 6-1 6-1

Timea Bacsinszky def. Emilie Loit, 4-6 6-4 6-1

Julie Coin def. Nuria Llagostera Vives, 7-5 6-2

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova def. Ioana Raluca Olaru, 6-3 6-2

Alla Kudryavsteva def. Varvara Lepchenko, 6-3 6-3

Kristina Barrois def. Maria-Emilia Salerni, 3-6 6-1 6-2

Yaroslava Shvedova def. Kaia Kanepi, 7-6 (7-2) 3-6 6-2

Iveta Benesova def. Julia Goerges, 7-5 4-1 retired

Li Na def. Marta Domachowska, 6-4 6-2

Gisela Dulko def. Tamira Paszek, 6-1 6-3

Elder Statesman

Who know who I'm really liking in this tournament? Well, Federer, obviously, and the scariness of Nadal is also good to watch, but the random that I'm liking so far in Indian Wells is the elder statesman, Ivan Ljubicic.
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It seems strange to refer to Ivan as a random, considering that it wasn't so long ago that he was #3 in the world. But a lot has happened in tennis since then. The Hispano-Suisse domination machine has rolled unstoppably on, but we've seen the rise of Djokovic and Murray and the formation of the Fabulous Four. Ivan fell out of the top ten and then down out of Grand Slam seedings without anyone really noticing.
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But the fact is that he's got some serious game. I don't know if his serve is as powerful as it used to be, but I've always enjoyed watching Ivan play. And he had a really good win over Gilles Simon yesterday - who I am not finding especially impressive at the moment. I'm not sure how he got to #6 or whatever it is in the world, but it seems like it might have been a fluke... he was certainly running hot at the end of last year, but he's cooled right off. So it'll be interesting to watch how he progresses from here - and how Ivan Ljubicic does this tournament.
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Roger Federer rolled on, making relatively easy work of Ivo Karlovic, when you consider the weapons that Karlovic has. And my bracket is shot now, because the random semi-finalist I picked - Marin Cilic - went out to Robredo. Though maybe I should have picked Robredo, given his current form - nice to see that he's been able to do it on just about any court surface he's been handed this year. I'm still picking him to be a semifinalist at Roland Garros - not backing off on that one!

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Today's Results

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BNP Paribas Open (Indian Wells)

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Men's Draw

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Roger Federer def. Ivo Karlovic, 7-6 (7-4) 6-3

Ivan Ljubicic def. Gilles Simon, 6-3 7-6 (7-3)

Fernando Verdasco def. Richard Gasquet, 6-3 6-2

Igor Andreev def. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 7-5 6-4

Fernando Gonzalez def. James Blake, 7-5 6-1

Tommy Robredo def. Marin Cilic, 7-5 7-6 (7-2)

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Women's Draw

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Vera Zvonareva def. Li Na, 6-4 6-4

Caroline Wozniacki def. Urszula Radwanska, 7-5 6-3

Tennis and Bushfires

Can I just say THANK YOU to Andy Roddick for winning in Memphis, taking out the Worm. I was beginning to think that Radek had magical powers, and I wasn't so keen on the notion. So thank you, A-Rod.

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Not a lot of play today, except in Dubai, where a very bare looking draw started today. No Federer, no Nadal, no Roddick (the only one of the three who pulled out for specifically political reasons... but I wonder...). The draw is now headlined by Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic - and we've already lost our first seed, Ivo Karlovic, who went down to qualifier Marco Chiudinelli. So I think we might see a pretty anti-climactic Dubai this year...

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But today I mostly want to talk about the Tennis Australia bushfire appeal, which I think is totally wonderful and a very admirable initiative. According to the website, some contributions thus far are:

• A commitment from Tennis Australia and Tennis Victoria to work with government and local communities to ensure all facilities are rebuilt, restocked with equipment and restaffed with coaching and administrative help
• Long term plans for tennis days, coaching days, competitions and clinics to help the morale of the communities and further engage community spirit through the sport
• Dozens of Victorian coaches donating their time and resources to run clinics throughout the year in schools and clubs
• Thousands of dollars of donations of cash, equipment and services at club and community level from players, coaches, fans, officials and staff from everywhere from Kooyong to the Gold Coast.
• Offers of signed paraphernalia for auction from players throughout the world, co-ordinated by the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour and the ATP World Tour officials.
• Donations and offers of help from current players like Bernard Tomic, past players like Geoff Masters, Wayne Arthurs, Alicia Molik, Todd Woodbridge and others
• Lleyton and Bec Hewitt investigating with Tennis Australia the possibility of a fund raising day which will involve past and present players

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It may seem cheesy, but I think it's wonderful to see everyone pulling together to help out after such a tragedy. Hats off, Tennis Australia.

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Today's Results

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Regions Morgan Keenan Championships (Memphis)

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Andy Roddick def. Radek Stepanek, 7-5 7-5

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Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships (Dubai)

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Andy Murray def. Sergiy Stakhovsky, 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 5-3 retired

David Ferrer def. Ivan Ljubicic, 3-6 6-2 6-1

Marin Cilic def. Janko Tipsarevic, 2-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-4

Marco Chiudinelli def. Ivo Karlovic, 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 7-6 (9-7)

Teimuraz Gabashvili def. Laurent Recouderc, 5-7 7-6 (7-4) 6-3

Fabrice Santoro def. Victor Hanescu, 6-4 6-2

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Delray Beach International Tennis Championships (Delray Beach)

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Guillermo Garcia-Lopez def. Steve Darcis, 6-3 6-3

A World Gone Topsy-Turvy

I think I might be in shock. My world has gone topsy-turvy. Jelena Jankovic lost a match...

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...AND ANA IVANOVIC WON ONE!?!?!?!

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And all it took was for Jankovic to play tennis non-stop for about a month and for Ivanovic to lose twelve hundred times in a row.

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Seriously, I cannot remember the last time Ivanovic won a match. And it wasn't a scrape-through-by-the-skin-of-her-teeth affair either: it was in two reasonably comfortable sets over Marion Bartoli. Bartoli hasn't been in anything even resembling form this year, but she's not a total schlep - so a victory over her, considering the people Ivanovic has been losing to of late, is a victory indeed.

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And so we must ask the question: can she do it again? Can she string another victory onto this one? Is this the week that Ana resurfaces? When you start asking the same questions about a player that you routinely ask about the King of Inconsistency, Marat Safin, there you know there's trouble.

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We had some interesting results in Madrid over night - we have a quality set of quarter-finalists, but not necessarily the ones you'd expect. Juan Martin del Potro aside, all my Stars are out - Marin Cilic went down to Andy Murray. Oh well. He's young. Novak Djokovic also went down - I'd just like to say AHAHAHAHAHAHA! Two tie-breaker sets to Ivo Karlovic. I know Karlovic plays the most boring tennis in the history of the universe, but a Djokovic loss is a Djokovic loss.

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And yes, I am a horrible person.

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R-Fed and the Rafinator are both through, accounting comfortably for Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Richard Gasquet respectively. I do like Rafa, but I am praying like nobody's business that he loses his next match, because if he wins, he's guaranteed the year-end #1, and I like it when Federer has that. Still, if he can get it back by winning the Australian Open or suchlike, that would be nice too.

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Defending champion David Nalbandian went out to Juan Martin del Potro, who'll now face Federer - I don't know if they've played while del Potro has been on this hot streak, so this'll be interesting. Seriously, has del Potro made Shanghai yet? Because he must be close. And Roddick went out to streaky Gael Monfils. Guess he should have played those Olympics. I am perfectly content to blame every loss he takes from now until the end of his career on his failure to do so.

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And a special shout out today to Victoria Azarenka, who served Monica Niculescu a double bagel. Not so nice for Monica, but that'll be one to tell the grandkids.

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Today's Results

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Mutua Madrilena Masters Madrid (Madrid)

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Roger Federer def. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 6-4 6-1

Gael Monfils def. Andy Roddick, 6-4 3-6 6-3

Ivo Karlovic def. Novak Djokovic, 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-5)

Andy Murray def. Marin Cilic, 7-5 7-6 (7-2)

Juan Martin Del Potro def. David Nalbandian, 6-4 6-2

Feliciano Lopez def. Stanislas Wawrinka, 6-4 6-4

Gilles Simon def. Robby Ginepri, 6-7 (6-8) 6-4 7-6 (8-6)

Rafael Nadal def. Richard Gasquet, 6-4 6-2

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Tennis.com Zurich Open (Zurich)

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Flavia Pennetta def. Jelena Jankovic, 5-7 6-3 6-3

Ana Ivanovic def. Marion Bartoli, 6-2 6-4

Anabel Medina Garrigues def. Vera Zvonareva, 6-3 3-0 retired

Katarina Srebotnik def. Agnieszka Radwanska, -26 7-6 (8-6) 6-3

Victoria Azarenka def. Monica Niculescu, 6-0 6-0

Petra Kvitova def. Sofia Arvidsson, 6-2 6-1

Head Case Moments

Well, it's all happening in the women's tournaments this week. How about Serena Williams's total collapse against Li Na? She had that match as wrapped up as you could get - 6-0 in the first set - and then she just imploded. It was very un-Serena - she's usually so tough in the head. That's one of the things I really respect about her game - and then it totally went away! I feel harsh for saying this, but if she's going to become a head case, then she doesn't deserve to be #1. That was not a performance worthy of a #1 player. I mean, I suppose all the players have their head case moments and take their early losses - but when was the last time you saw Roger Federer lose early because his head wasn't in it? Or Rafael Nadal? Aspects of their game might break down, but I don't think I've ever seen either player suffer a real mental collapse - not even in the final of the French Open where Rafa absolutely hammered Roger. I thought Serena was one of those players too... but obviously not.

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Wow. That was harsh. It wasn't intended to come out quite like that, but I think I stand by it. If a part of a player's game breaks down, they can compensate, but if the head isn't it, then you can kiss the match goodbye.

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Another very interesting match was the Schnyder/Kuznetsova match. Normally you'd pick Sveta every time, but Patty came out and took it to her, and came away with the match. It wasn't because Sveta had a head case moment - Patty just comprehensively outplayed her. Schnyder isn't a player that often 'outplays' anyone - that word kind of has the connotation of 'outhit' and you wouldn't say that Patty does that to anyone, really. She plays with guile and spin. But on this occasion, even though it was tight, I think we can safely say that Patty owned Sveta. And good on her too. I love watching both these girls play, but I have a special respect for someone that relies on strategy - on, as it were, their head.

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Over to the blokes, where there were far fewer upsets - the top twelve seeds in Tokyo all progressed safely (at the expense, I am sad to say, of Joe Sirianni - but good on him for making it to the second round!) Kei Nishikori is through, and he is, I believe, my final Star remaining this week - Gulbis lost to Tipsarevic in Metz, alas. But still, I have big hopes for Kei. He took out a seed - the sixteenth seed, sure, but a seed nonetheless - and I would love him to go all the way! He plays Gasquet tomorrow - classic head case, as we're discussing it - and I think Kei can take him.

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The major upset was in Metz, where Carlos Moya took out Ivo Karlovic. More power to him, I say. I have great respect for Carlos, and he's certainly much more interesting to watch than Dr Ivo. I know his game is effective, but it's just so damn boring. Unreturnable. Ace. Unreturnable. Percentage play. Dull, dull, dull.

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Oh, and Jarmila Gajdosova, the almost-Aussie, pulled an upset in Tokyo! She took out sixth seed Shahar Peer, the villain in the comeback of Kimiko Date Krumm. Good on you, Jarmila!

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Today's Results

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Open de Moselle (Metz)

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Carlos Moya def. Ivo Karlovic, 6-3 7-6 (7-4)

Dmitry Tursunov def. Jose Acasuso, 6-2 6-2

Janko Tipsarevic def. Ernests Gulbis, 6-4 6-4

Adrian Mannarino def. Andreas Seppi, 6-4 6-2

Radek Stepanek def. Julien Benneteau, 6-3 6-3

Rik de Voest def. Arnaud Clement, 4-6 6-2 7-5

Michael Llodra def. Feliciano Lopez, 7-6 (13-11) 6-7 (6-8) 6-3

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AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships

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Men's Draw

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David Ferrer def. Jesse Levine, 6-4 4-6 6-1

Andy Roddick def. Ivo Minar, 7-6 (13-11) 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-2)

Fernando Gonzalez def. Yen-hsun Lu, 1-6 7-5 6-3

Richard Gasquet def. Martin Slanar, 6-4 6-2

Juan Martin Del Potro def. Dudi Sela, 7-5 6-0

Tommy Robredo def. Joseph Sirianni, 6-2 6-2

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Bobby Reynolds, 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-4

Mikhail Youzhny def. Flavio Cipolla, 6-2 6-2

Tomas Berdych def. Roko Karanusic, 6-3 6-4

Jarkko Nieminen def. Cecil Mamiit, 7-6 (9-7) 6-4

Rainer Schuettler def. Hyung-taik Lee, 6-3 6-7 (3-7) 6-3

Amer Delic def. Sam Querrey, 7-6 (7-5) 6-3

Jurgen Melzer def. Simon Stadler, 6-2 6-3

Takao Suzuki def. Simone Bolelli, 7-6 (7-5) 4-6 7-6 (7-5)

Kei Nishikori def. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, 6-4 6-4

Viktor Troicki def. Wayne Odesnik, 6-2 6-1

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Women's Draw

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Kaia Kanepi def. Yanina Wickmayer, 3-6 6-1 6-0

Jarmila Gajdosova def. Shahar Peer, 5-7 6-1 7-6 (11-9)

Tamarine Tanasugarn def. Camille Pin, 6-2 6-2

Anabel Medina Garrigues def. Chan Yung-Jan, 3-6 6-3 6-3

Samantha Stosur def. Vania King, 6-2 retired

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Porsche Tennis Grand Prix (Stuttgart)

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Li Na def. Serena Williams, 0-6 6-1 6-4

Elena Dementieva def. Sybille Bammer, 6-1 6-4

Victoria Azarenka def. Agnieszka Radwanska, 6-1 7-5

Patty Schnyder def. Svetlana Kuznetsova, 6-4 4-6 7-5

Vera Zvonareva def. Daniela Hantuchova, 6-3 6-2

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Tashkent Open (Tashkent)

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Sabine Lisicki def. Alexandra Panova, 7-5 6-1

Magdalena Rybarikova def. Vesna Manasieva, 6-1 7-5

Ioana Raluca Olaru def. Ksenia Palkina, 2-6 6-3 6-2

Urszula Radwanska def. Sofia Shapatava, 7-5 6-2

Arantxa Rus def. Vlada Ekshibarova, 3-6 6-2 6-1

Everybody Hates Etienne

Etienne de Villers is retiring. I bet there's a lot of people that are really, really sad about that. Weeping, wailing, gnashing their teeth, etc, etc. Except not.

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I am right, aren't I? Everybody hates Etienne, yesno? That has certainly been the impression I've had. He seems to have changed everything round really fast, and I don't think people have liked that very much at all... especially the Hamburg tournament. I do like the fact he added an Asian swing, as I think that was lacking - but I think the players know best.

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I know there's a players council, and that Federer, Nadal and Djokovic all sit on it - does anyone know how much attention people pay to them? I would like to think it's a lot, but I wouldn't be surprised if it isn't. Important as I think it should be, something like that has token written all over it. Actually, wasn't it why the three big boys decided to run for office? To give it a higher profile? I think Ivan Ljubicic and James Blake used to sit on it, and while they're very important and lovely men, they don't quite have the clout that the Big Three do. And even though I have personal objections to certain members (well, member) of the Big Three, I think they're all good choices. Roger is the ultimate tennis statesman. Rafa is dogged. And Novak could just annoy people till they did what he wanted.

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I remember reading somewhere that a few years back, when they were planning a major overhaul of the schedule - was it 2005? Maybe 2004? - that four of the players sat down with the ATP guys in a hotel room and nutted it out. Federer was there, and Safin, and I think Rafa, but I can't remember who else. I wonder how much of that there was under the Age of Etienne? (I'm pretty sure that was pre-Etienne.) I have a feeling the council got marginalised. I know there was a lot of unrest. So kudos to the Big Three, who might well be partially responsible for the decision of de Villiers. I would like to think so, anyway.

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This means there'll be looking for a new guy, and while I don't know who they should pick this time, I know someone who would make an excellent Etienne in future. Can you go past Ivan Ljubicic?

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And another shoutout to my boy Luka Gregorc, who is in the semis in New Haven, despite coming through qualies and being ranked #434 or something in the world. He has taken out several big names this week, including Ivo Karlovic, and his next victim was Andreas Seppi, who he took out in the quarters. Wouldn't it be awesome to see him win? I love a good underdog (except when the underdog is playing Federer.) I confess I am going for Cilic, but should he lose, then Luka all the way!

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Today's Results

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Pilot Pen Tennis (New Haven)

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Men's Draw

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Fernando Verdasco def. Mischa Zverev, 6-2 7-6 (7-4)

Luka Gregorc def. Andreas Seppi, 4-6 6-4 7-5

Mardy Fish def. Jesse Levine, 6-3 7-6 (7-4)

*

*

Women's Draw

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Anna Chakvetadze def. Sorana Cirstea, 6-3 6-3

Alizé Cornet def. Daniela Hantuchova, 3-6 6-4 6-4

Caroline Wozniacki def. Marion Bartoli, 6-4 6-0

Amélie Mauresmo def. Agnes Szavay, 6-4 7-5

*

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Forest Hills Tennis Classic (Forest Hills)

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Iveta Benesova def. Ekaterina Makarova, 2-6 6-2 6-4

Carla Suárez Navarro def. Martina Müller, 6-2 6-0

Peng Shuai def. Vera Dushevina, 6-4 7-5

Lucie Safarova def. Jamea Jackson, 3-6 6-3 6-0

Aussie Aussie... Aussie...?

Well, Lleyton Hewitt is out of the US Open. I can't say I have too much sympathy. I mean, sure, it's his hip that's hurting and I don't really know anything about it, but surely he realises that when you play on it all day every day it's just not going to get better? Why on earth did he not go in for surgery earlier?

*

We all know I'm not a Hewitt fan, but he really is the only good Australian tennis player out there, so it is very sad to see him falling down the rankings. (Though I will say this for him - at least he has a relatively normal name - cough Kamakazi cough yes it's really spelled that way the moron cough.) Had he played the US Open, he would have been unseeded for the first time in about eighty million years. It means he would have been a Safin-like floater, but unlike Safin, I don't think Hewitt would have stood much of a chance of beating anyone. I remember when he reached the fourth round of Wimbledon and played Federer, and the Australian media was all over it, talking about the possibility/probability of an upset. But look, even if Federer is not in the best form of his life, he'd have to be playing on one leg to lose to Hewitt now. I don't like Lleyton, but I feel sorry for him. He's a dead horse that the Australian media just will not stop flogging until someone else comes along.

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That 'someone else' will be, one thinks, Bernard Tomic, but he's so young that I doubt he'll really burst onto the scene for a few years, if indeed he does some scene-bursting. He's definitely got the talent - he won the junior Australian Open this year, despite being only fifteen, and has been the top seed in every junior event I've seen him play - but from what I hear, he has a troublesome temperament. But that can be channelled... he's young. I would really like to see Tomic do something with his talent. Australian tennis is quiet right now.

*

Meanwhile, we are now absolutely screwed for Davis Cup. Well, we were already screwed, but now we're really screwed. We're playing Chile, I think, in a World Group playoff, and unless there is some kind of miracle, we are going to get our collective arse kick. Chile will play Gonzalez and Massu, one thinks... and Gonzalez could pretty much beat the Australian team single-handedly, even with Hewitt in. So I guess we'll play Guccione... Sirianni is the next highest ranked player, then Smeets, then Luczak, who has had a rotten year... Luczak is proven at Davis Cup, but look, we are going to lose anyway. Gooch'll get played, maybe Hanley and Kerr for the doubles, and I guess Sirianni, logically - but hell, play Tomic. Blood him on the world stage. Sure, it'll be a bitchslap for Joe and Robert and Mr Milkshake, but there's no way we're going to win, unless every person in Chile instantly breaks their legs. And maybe wee Bernard can surprise them, eh?

*

Before I go, a bit shout-out to world #434 Luka Gregorc, who knocked out Ivo Karlovic in New Haven today. Proof that the little guys can sometimes give the big guys a run for their money... yet another reason to play Tomic at Davis Cup!

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Today's Results

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Pilot Pen Tennis (New Haven)

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Men's Draw

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Fernando Verdasco def. Ivo Minar, 6-3 6-1

Luka Gregorc def. Ivo Karlovic, 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 6-2

Igor Andreev def. Victor Hanescu, 6-4 7-5

Marin Cilic def. Jurgen Melzer, 5-7 6-4 7-5

Andreas Seppi def. Fabio Fognini, 6-4 6-2

Jesse Levine def. Steve Darcis, 2-0 retired

Mischa Zverev def. Robby Ginepri, 1-6 6-3 6-1

Mardy Fish def. Wayne Odesnik, 6-1 4-6 6-1

Luka Gregorc def. Jose Acasuso, 6-4 6-4

Ivo Karlovic def. John Isner, 6-7 (4-7) 6-3 6-3

*

*

Women's Draw

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Agnes Szavay def. Sara Errani, 6-4 6-7 (3-7) 6-4

Anna Chakvetadze def. Casey Dellacqua, 6-4 6-4

Amélie Mauresmo def. Patty Schnyder, 6-4 3-6 7-6 (8-6)

Sorana Cirstea def. Flavia Pennetta, 3-6 6-4 6-3

Alizé Cornet def. Katarina Srebotnik, 7-6 (7-3) 4-6 6-2

Caroline Wozniacki def. Monica Niculescu, 6-3 6-3

*

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Forest Hills Tennis Classic (Forest Hills)

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Peng Shuai def. Pauline Parmentier, 6-3 6-2

Jamea Jackson def. Marina Erakovic, 7-6 (7-4) 7-5

Carla Suárez Navarro def. Timea Bacsinszky, 6-4 7-6 (7-5)

Lucie Safarova def. Akgul Amanmuradova, 6-7 (11-13) 6-3 6-3

Not Exactly Well-Wishing

Well, all joy has pretty much gone out of Cincy for me. I haven't checked my bracket, but I must be, oh, I don't know, last. The semi finalists are Djokovic, Murray, Karlovic and probably Rafa - he's just about to begin his match against Nicolas Lapentti, but I don't see Lapentti stopping him, somehow. The commentators at Wimbledon used 'relentless' as a buzzword when talking about Rafa, and they were damn right. If Rafa wins this one, he will not only become #1, but it will be his sixth tournament on the trot. Now that is just crazy talk.

*

Speaking of people trying to become #1, Jelena Jankovic had another chance to take the ranking this week when Ivanovic lost early in Montreal, and has screwed it up again. I don't know if it's choking or if she's injured again, but seriously, Roger Federer ain't the only one who needs to get his head in the game. She lost to Dominika Cibulkova. And that's just not right.

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Though I suppose I can hope that if one #2 doesn't overtake the #1, the same will be true for the other... but no. Am not wishing ill on Rafa Nadal. Deserving #1. Deserving #1.

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Now if it were Djokovic that were making a charge, I would totally have my voodoo doll out. But not for Rafa. He's good. And he deserves this... even though I can't help wishing he doesn't get it.

*

At least things are still looking good for me in women's tennis! Dinara Safina is still alive in Montreal, and looking sharp. Her quarter final starts in about twenty minutes, and you can bet I'll be following that instead of the Rafa match. I may not wish ill on Rafa, but it doesn't mean I can bear to watch, either.

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Today's Results

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Western and Southern Financial Group Masters (Cincinatti)

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Ivo Karlovic def. Philipp Kohlschreiber, 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-3)

Andy Murray def. Carlos Moya, 2-6 6-3 6-1

Novak Djokovic def. Ernests Gulbis, 6-3 6-4

*

*

Rogers Cup (Montreal)

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Marion Bartoli def. Ai Sugiyama, 6-2 6-3

Dominika Cibulkova def. Jelena Jankovic, 7-5 6-2

*

*

Nordea Nordic Light Open (Stockholm)

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Agnieszka Radwanska def. Camille Pin, 6-2 1-0 retired

Katarina Srebotnik def. Virginia Ruano Pascual, 6-2 6-0

Caroline Wozniacki def. Anabel Medina Garrigues, 6-1 6-3

Vera Dushevina def. Iveta Benesova, 6-3 6-3

Gear Shift

I am very, very glad that I wasn't around watching the scores when Federer played Ginepri. I think I might just have exploded. Roger Federer does NOT lose three times in a row.

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Luckily, he didn't, for anyone who might not have seen the result yet. The first two sets were tie-breakers, Ginepri winning the first, Federer the second, with a big ol' bagel in the third. So the real Roger, the awesome Roger, is clearly still there. The talent hasn't gone away, nor the ability, nor the fitness, nor the anything. He's just having a few issues with his gear shift. And I'm pretty confident he can sort that out.

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And to tell the truth, I'd be worried if he were playing Supreme Almighty God Tennis in the first round anyway. That would be a sure sign of peaking too early.

*

He's facing Karlovic in the next round, which I think should be a really good match for him. Karlovic has that huge serve, but otherwise plays reasonably predictable percentage tennis. I think it'll give R-Fed a bit of a chance to work himself out and settle down a bit - before the inevitable glorious future.

*

Meanwhile, my bracket is totally shot... as I somehow now seem to have picked Clement to reach the final, as Stan has disappeared mysteriously from the draw. I have this vague sensation that that... oh, I don't know, maybe won't happen? I'm still doing all right at the moment, but Cilic lost, and I picked him to reach the semis. I hope Stan is all right... he is important to Roger and the doubles and Switzerland and stuff! And also he is a nice boy in his own right.

*

But seriously, Clement/Cilic disaster aside, I am still doing pretty all right on this bracket thing. I have 22 points - the leaders have 26. That's not too bad. I really am getting better at it! Though I will inevitably lose 90,000 million points when Clement loses. Though it would be pretty neat if he made it to the final. I would look really smart, and it wouldn't even have anything to do with me!

*

A good win for our Mr Moya as well, taking out ever-dangerous Tipsarevic - also picked in the Jodi Bracket of Excellence, though perhaps more from wishful thinking than anything else. Still, sometimes wishful thinking does the job done. Carlos doesn't seem to have been doing that well this year, but he's still hanging about in the top thirty, so he must be doing something right. Good on him. I like Carlos. He's my poster boy for thirty-something tennis.

*

And Dmitry beat Marat, which was always going to be bittersweet. I had picked Marat, but no one can say Dima didn't deserve it. I would really like to see him make a big run for it at this year's US Open. He is so talented and so good on hard courts that it's almost surprising he hasn't gone hugely deep at the US or the Australian before. But I have a wee feeling... and we know my feelings aren't always to be trusted, as they get mixed up with wishful thinking, but sometimes they're right on the money.

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Oh, and meanwhile, I SO don't believe this. Roddick has just pulled out, to be replaced with Woong-Sun Jun. I bet that American crowd watching those two warm up is super thrilled about that. What's wrong now, Andy? Is this all about US Open preparation too?

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And on a nicer note, congrats to Chris Guccione. I didn't know he was even in the draw, but he totally won his match today. Though speaking of Australians... where's Lleyton? Is he doing that thing he does where he doesn't play any tournaments except Slams? Because I don't like that thing at all.

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Today's Results

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Western and Southern Financial Group Masters (Cincinatti)

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Roger Federer def. Robby Ginepri, 6-7 (2-7) 7-6 (7-5) 6-0

Jose Acasuso def. Paul Capdeville, 5-7 6-2 6-2

Dmitry Tursunov def. Marat Safin, 7-6 (7-5) 6-4

Gael Monfils def. Donald Young, 6-1 6-1

Carlos Moya def. Janko Tipsarevic, 7-6 (7-5)

John Isner def. Andrea Stoppini, 7-6 (7-2) 6-3

Richard Gasquet def. Michael Llodra, 3-6 6-1 1-0 retired

Gilles Simon def. Rajeev Ram, 7-6 (7-5) 6-4

Arnaud Clement def. Thomas Johansson, 7-6 (7-4) 6-7 (5-7) 6-3

Simone Bolelli def. Kevin Anderson, 6-3 7-6 (7-1)

Nicolas Lapentti def. Marin Cilic, 7-6 (7-5) 6-2

Chris Guccione def. Jesse Levine, 6-3 6-4

Fernando Verdasco def. Victor Estrella, 6-3 7-5

Florent Serra def. Benjamin Becker, 4-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-4

Ivo Karlovic def. Jose Acasuso, 6-3 7-6 (7-3)

Robin Soderling def. Tommy Robredo, 7-6 (8-6) 6-4

*

*

Rogers Cup (Montreal)

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Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Alla Kudryavtseva, 6-1 1-0 retired

Victoria Azarenka def. Jamea Jackson, 6-1 6-1

Nadia Petrova def. Marie-Ève Pelletier, 6-0 6-1

Maria Kirilenko def. Anne Keothavong, 6-1 7-5

Flavia Pennetta def. Olga Savchuk, 1-6 7-5 6-3

Ai Sugiyama def. Nicole Vaidisova, 6-3 3-6 6-2

Sybille Bammer def. Monique Adamczak, 6-7 (6-8) 6-1 6-2

Alisa Kleybanova def. Ahsha Rolle, 6-4 6-2

Jill Craybas def. Sharon Fichman, 6-4 6-3

Marta Domachowska def. Bethanie Mattek, 7-5 6-2

Melinda Czink def. Julie Ditty, 7-6 (7-4) 6-0

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Nordea Nordic Light Open (Stockholm)

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Agnieszka Radwanska def. Nathalie Dechy, 6-2 6-3

Katarina Srebotnik def. Anna Lapushchenkova, 6-2 6-1

Caroline Wozniacki def. Angelique Kerber, 6-3 6-4

Anabel Medina Garrigues def. Sandra Roma, 6-3 6-1

Maria Elena Camerin def. Marina Erakovic, 6-3 6-4

Mariya Koryttseva def. Ekaterina Makarova, 6-3 6-4

Vera Dushevina def. Lucie Safarova, 7-6 (7-4) 6-3

Virginia Ruano Pascual def. María José Martínez Sánchez, 3-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-2

Barbora Zahlavova Strycova def. Petra Cetkovska, 6-4 6-7 (2-7) 6-4

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova def. Ekaterina Bychkova, 6-4 3-6 6-1

Johanna Larsson def. Julia Goerges, 3-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-4

Ole!

Eastbourne, June 1972. Andres Gimeno of Spain wins the title. No Spaniard has won a grass court title since.

*

..until last week, when Rafa Nadal won Queen's, and now there's seemingly an avalanche of Spanish guys winning on grass.

*

I say avalanche. I mean two. We have Rafa at Queen's and now Ferru at s'Hertogenbosch. Even though I haven't actually seen the matches, I have been SO impressed with Ferru this week. He said in his post-match presser that 'of course' clay is still his favourite surface, but I wonder whether or not he should think about revising that. I love Ferrer's game on hard courts - and it's not like he hasn't been successful with it, either. He didn't have to make it to the final of the Tennis Masters Cup last year (which he did) to prove he's got game. And now that he's found his feet and has been so dominant this week on grass, I think we might just have the makings of a spectacular all-round player here.

*

I'd be watching my back, if I were Nikolay Davydenko. David's a-coming.

*

It'll be interesting to see how Ferru backs this up at Wimbledon. I don't think playing through to the final will affect him in terms of fatigue at all - look at his insane leadup to Roland Garros! The fact does remain, though, that Ferru was the top seed here this week, and it wasn't like Gicquel was really a tough match up for him. Gasquet was the real grass court danger man in the draw, and he got bumped off early... though that said, you can never underestimate Ancic on grass, and Ferru dealt with him with aplomb. But if Ferru can back this up at Wimbledon against top notch quality players, then... watch out. Vamos.

*

Let's see whose quarter he's going to be in at Wimbledon... here we are. He has a potential quarter final match up with Federer. I don't see him getting past that one - and we all know who I'd be supporting in any case - but I like his chances of making it that far. He could have maybe Andreev in the second round and Ancic in the third... and perhaps Berdych in the fourth. All difficult matches, but if Ferru plays the way he's been playing, he could take out any of those guys in straight sets.

*

I'm going to save my full draw analysis for tomorrow, which is the English tennis summer's equivalent to Australia's Boring Sunday. Think of that as a sneak preview... because my draw analyses are sought after worldwide, and stuff. Oh yeah.

*

Meanwhile, I was two from two on finals, because Dr Ivo won over Verdasco in Nottingham, saving a match point along the way. Hey, imagine if Verdasco had won! That would make it THREE Spanish titles! More on that in a minute... back to Dr Ivo. I have this image of him in my head, which I am positive is wrong, of him as this big, sort of dopey guy, all serve and nothing else. In fact, it must be wrong, because serve and serve alone will not let you win a tennis match. And I think that the notion of a dumb professional tennis player is obviously erroneous - tennis is a test of intelligence and psychology as much as anything else.

*

Is this the curse of the big server, to be pigeonholed like this? I remember it happened a bit to A-Rod when he first came on the scene. I think it happens to Guccione too. To what extent is it warranted and to what extent is it totally unfair?

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I suppose that's one of those matters that can only be settled on a case by case basis.

*

Now to Verdasco. Big kudos to him for making it to (and almost winning) the final. Honestly, these Spanish boys... they're coming from everywhere! What are we going to do with them?

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I suppose the most interesting question is why no Spanish players have been particularly good on grass historically. I guess it's as simple as the fact that these guys grow up on clay and hardly ever play on grass... but hey, so did Federer, and he plays okay on grass. Just okay. Not like, brilliant or anything. It's not like he's the best player EVER on grass or anything like that.

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So why now? Is the Nadal-Ferrer-almost-Verdasco almost trifecta a hint of things to come, or is it a fluke?

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Perhaps we will find out at Wimbledon. Remember how there were five French guys in the round of sixteen at Roland Garros? Somehow, I don't think the Brits are going to repeat the feat... so maybe the Spaniards are the ones to keep an eye on!

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Today's Results

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Ordina Open (s'Hertogenbosch)

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David Ferrer def. Marc Gicquel, 6-4 6-2

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Tamarine Tanasugarn def. Dinara Safina, 7-5 6-3

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Slazenger Open (Nottingham)

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Ivo Karlovic def. Fernando Verdasco, 7-5 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (10-8)

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International Women's Open (Eastbourne)

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Agnieszka Radwanska def. Nadia Petrova, 6-4 6-7 (11-13) 6-4

Crashing Down To Earth

Three from four on my semi final picks, which is not too bad at all, really. Not as impressive as my eight from eight in the Roland Garros quarters, but pretty good nonetheless. We have Ferrer/Gicquel in s'Hertogenbosch and Karlovic/Verdasco in Nottingham. I had picked Cilic over Verdasco, but Fernando got him good in the end. It was an easy victory. But even I can't pick them all... because I'm so qualified to be able to pick them all and stuff.

*

Long story short: I'm picking Ferru and Dr Ivo as my winners. Reasons... pretty much what I wrote yesterday.

*

Meanwhile, I totally only just realised that Dmitry Tursunov, a favourite of mine, had been playing in Nottingham... but although I didn't remember him losing, he wasn't in the finals. So I did some digging to see what had happened to him, and, lo and behold! excluded. He chucked a hissy fit during his doubles match, stormed off court, and ended up being disqualified in singles.

*

This presents me with a dilemma. I do not like this kind of behaviour. I don't condone it. If it had been Djokovic chucking the nana, I would be outraged at his reprehensible conduct. But it's Dima... a player I like, a player who is probably my second favourite after Federer. And my first instinct is to make excuses for him.

*

I don't want to do that. That's one of the things I admire about Roger so much - he never makes excuses for himself, even when he has them (glandular fever, anyone?) I don't know the full story about what went on in that doubles match with Haggard, but I don't know if it really matters. Is it ever acceptable for a player to do something like that - to storm off the court, to forcibly halt play?

*

I like Marat Safin as well, and it cannot be denied that that figures into his game sometimes. Not one of the more attractive aspects of his game, to be sure, but it's there. My new girl favourite, Dinara (who is in the final in s'Hertogenbosch!) is not adverse to stopping play every once in a while. Hell, look at the amount of time violations Rafa has accumulated in the last few years? But none of them, to my knowledge, have ever stormed off court.

*

So how do I, as a fan, reconcile this with a player I like? If it were Djokovic, I would slam him and damn him. That I can say unequivocally. Dima has behaved shockingly - even though I don't know the full situation, I think it is fair for me to make that statement. I don't want to slam him and damn him, but I cannot - will not - make excuses for him either. Dima is a funny guy with an appealing game and a blog that I think has brought a lot ot the tennis world. But how can I allow this to excuse him?

*

Dima does not get a free pass from me just because I like him. Much as I would like to justify what he did, I can't - not within my definition of sportsmanship, anyway. So what do I do? How do I, as a fan, deal with this?

*

It is tempting to say that I am spoiled as a fan of Federer, who never puts a foot wrong and who has won the annual sportsmanship award about, oh, I don't know, twenty million times or something. Dima is only human. But so is Roger. So is everyone else on the tour. I mean, sure, they're allowed to make mistakes. No one can take that right away from anyone. But this was... it was a pretty big mistake, Dima.

*

It's not like I'm going to suddenly demote Dima on my list of favourite players or anything, or suddenly throw him with Djokovic in the cesspit of tennis evil. But this raises issues beyond this case - and even beyond tennis. How do fans cope when their idol puts a foot wrong? What do you do when your hero makes a mistake? How do you reconcile the man in your mind with the evidence of his flaws?

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Of one thing I am very sure. As people should have to face up to their own bad behaviour and not hide behind excuses, so we, as fans, should not make excuses. Personal preference does not accord anyone a get out of jail free card. And so I will be keeping an eye on Dima for the next little while. If nothing else, this incident has made me cautious of who I put my faith in, because you never know when they might come crashing down to earth.

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Today's Results

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Ordina Open (s'Hertogenbosch)

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David Ferrer def. Juan Martin del Potro, 7-6 (7-4) 6-1

Marc Gicquel def. Guillermo Canas, 3-6 6-0 6-4

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Dinara Safina def. Elena Dementieva, 6-3 6-2

Tamarine Tanasugarn def. Alona Bondarenko, 6-2 6-4

*

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Slazenger Open (Nottingham)

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Ivo Karlovic def. Gael Monfils, 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-4)

Fernando Verdasco def. Marin Cilic, 6-3 6-1

*

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International Women's Open (Eastbourne)

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Nadia Petrova def. Samantha Stosur, 6-3 6-3

Agnieszka Radwanska def. Marion Bartoli, 7-5 6-3