Talking Tomas

So the big news of the day is that Maria Sharapova is engaged to her partner Sasha Vujacic.

Um... yeah. That's pretty much all I have to say about that.

In other news, I talked about the disappointment Davydenko's been this year. Let's talk about someone else who has been disappointing over the last few months - Tomas Berdych.

A big match can break you. I think we've seen this a few times this year. We've seen guys go into matches they've convinced themselves they have the goods to win, they haven't won it, and it's been goodnight Irene and disappointment has reigned. We've seen Federer do it to Andy Murray and Nikolay Davydenko, and I contend that Rafa Nadal did it to Tomas Berdych at Wimbledon.

I really think Berdych thought he could win that match. And after you've beaten Federer on grass at Wimbledon, no wonder. But I think that expectation has been the death of him, because what has he done since? Unremarkable US Open series, capped off with a disappointing first round loss in New York. And now he's been upset by Jarkko Nieminen, who is a wily veteran but hardly a tennis ninja.

I don't think the final nail has been hammered in the Berdych coffin - not by a long shot. But you know what? If he plays Federer again any time soon and loses - whether it's a blowout or a tough one - you can start playing that funeral dirge. Because what is currently very, very bent will then be completely broken.

A Speck of Nostalgia

I would like to give a shout out to my man Andrey Golubev, who won his second round match in Hamburg against Marcel Granollers in fine style. I am absolutely gagging to see this boy win a title, and if he plays the style of tennis he did at the Hopman Cup, then ain't hardly anyone gonna be able to stop him, because he is fierce (unlike whatever strange dialect I am trying to speak here). So here's hoping he can keep it together a little while longer in Hamburg.

(Mentioning Marcel Granollers, anyone remember that time he won a title, a few years back? Yeah, I hardly remember either. What happened to him? I thought he was on the up and up, but it sounds like he's just cruising along the plateau.)

Interesting match of the day, names-wise, was Jarkko Nieminen and Gilles Simon. That's a match I would sit down and watch, even though I find Simon's brand of weaponless tennis somewhere between weird and soporific. Simon is still the seed - though how he's managed to keep his rankings points up since that year he had in 2008 or whenever is beyond me - but it was Nieminen who came out on top.

Time was that would not be an early round match. But Nieminen's getting a little older, I suppose, and I don't think I would be the first to say that Simon's best year is behind him. But I kind of dig it when two veterans play each other, and this looked like a super tight match. I didn't actually see it so I can't make any, you know, informed comment (please, when do I ever?) but it makes me sort of nostalgic, I suppose...

Speaking of nostalgia, Dent vs Blake in Atlanta. Dent won. Blake is definitely on the way out. Any naysayers?

Ernie's First Final

This isn't a dream, is it? Because this is certainly crazy. It's surreal. Ernests Gulbis into a final? Surely you jest!

But no, it is true - Ernie played an admirable match today, closing out Jarkko Nieminen in two sets. Sure, Nieminen hasn't been especially impressive of late, but then again, neither has Ernie. As noted yesterday, he made his first semi in 2006, and then didn't make another one till last week. Now here he is the very next week, in the final.

Please, please let this not be a fluke.

I've seen very little of Ernie's actual matches, so I couldn't actually tell you what Ernie's changed. Maybe he hasn't changed a thing. Maybe it's just all clicked for him - because he has immense, immense talent. He was just matching that talent with totally stupid numbers of errors. I can't imagine he's winning any matches with the amount of errors I saw him hit in his match in Australia, so presumably that's where he's tightened up. The click.

The real test will be how he follows this win up. Obviously, it would be totally awesome if he would go on and win this, his very first final - but even if he doesn't, this is still a great result for him. What would suck, however, is if he followed up this fortnight of sweetness with another seventeen-odd first round losses. Two weeks of consistency is sweet, but two weeks is not a season.

So there's not much I can say but keep it up, Ernie. Make me proud. Validate me for spending all this time clinging to your bandwagon. Make me look like a not-moron. I know you can do it!

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.

Swiss Misters

Anyone who was in doubt, doubt no more. Roger Federer is here in Australia, and he means business.

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I only caught the last four games of the Kooyong final yesterday (damn gainful employment!) but that was all I needed to catch to catch the message. He played absolutely beautiful tennis against Stan Wawrinka yesterday - no quarter was asked, no quarter given - and I fail to see how anyone could doubt his ability, or call him washed up and on the way out. Has anyone ever played tennis like he has? He played some shots that were absolutely INSANE - did anyone see that hooking crosscourt forehand winner he made off a Stan serve? He put such work on the ball that it kicked up into about Row F. Stan had no hope of touching it. It was beautiful.

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I know I'm biased - I am a massive Roger fan, after all, and I'm hardly shy about admitting it! - but seriously, he's the best that ever lived. I think people realise that as well - the very fact that they call him finished after a year in which he won four titles, reached three Grand Slam finals and a semi and won Olympic gold shows that. For anyone else, that would be a career year of insane proportions. For Roger, substandard. We are already judging him against a different yardstick than we judge anyone else of the era.

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But we can't leave Stan out either - even though the scoreline belies it, he didn't play bad tennis. He's got some lovely shots, does Little Brother. I love the way he plays into the corners - he can get some real whip. He simply got outplayed yesterday. I very much look forward to seeing another match up between the two Swiss Misters in the fourth round at the Open! It's a bit sad that Stan (and Marat!) are in that section of the draw... normally, I'd be gunning for them to go real deep, but I never pull against the inexorable Federer!

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The schedule of the first day of the Open just came out. Months ago, I bought my tickets - a five day ground pass for the first five days and Rod Laver Arena tickets for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights. Guess who is on Rod Laver on Monday night? The opener is Casey Dellacqua against Daniela Hantuchova (which, with the way Casey is playing currently, should take about four seconds... sorry, Casey, but it's true!) followed by Andreas Seppi versus the Great Man. And I'll be there, cheering the Fed Express on!

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Onto another final - one about which I can probably talk more sanely, due to the lack of gushing! The Medibank final was a really good match. The last time Nalbandian and Nieminen met, Dave walked all over Jarkko (2 and 1, I think.) But this one was much tighter - the breaker in the second set was positively nailbiting! Nieminen is in the best form I have seen him in for some time. He could potentially meet Djokovic a few rounds in at the Open, and I would love to see another upset!

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And Nalbandian... look, you can what you like about his personality (though he was very effusive and quite funny in his champion's speech) but the guy is a seriously classy tennis player. You know how some tennis players are good, but not classy? (Federer probably being the epitome of class, if you want a standard to measure it against.) Nalbandian has serious class. He is very interesting to watch play, and he played some lovely balls last night... it's going to be interesting to see how he goes at the Open!

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Oh, and Juan Martin del Potro beat Sam Querrey in Auckland. Quel surprise. And both Peter Luczak and Marija Mirkovic lost in the final round of qualifying... which is actually really sad. This is the first Open Mr Milkshake has missed in seven or eight years. We'll miss you, Pete!

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Today's Results

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AAMI Classic (Kooyong)

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Roger Federer def. Stanislas Wawrinka, 6-1 6-3

Fernando Verdasco def. Fernando Gonzalez, 6-4 6-3

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Medibank International (Sydney)

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David Nalbandian def. Jarkko Nieminen, 6-3 6-7 (9-11) 6-2

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Heineken Open (Auckland)

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Juan Martin del Potro def. Sam Querrey, 6-4 6-4

Nieminenenenen

I would not be myself if I did not begin this post with a big AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, as is my wont whenever Novak Djokovic gets beaten by someone he shouldn't have. How about Jarkko Nieminen? He played a fabulous match - and this has to be the best win of his career. He's never beaten a top five player before - and in my humble opinion, he couldn't have picked a better one to beat.

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I don't think this is going to have too much bearing on the Open - Djokovic could be playing his way into form - but I would not be unconcerned, were I in the Djokovic camp. That's all I'm saying. Along with AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

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It's going to be an interesting match, this final - who would have picked a Nalbandian/Nieminen match? Certainly not me. It's going to be intriguing to see an inform Nalbandian at the Open - he has got potential to beat any of the top four. He's in the Djokovic quarter, and that would be a very interesting match indeed. I was gunning for him to be in the Nadal quarter, because that would be interesting to the nth degree, but we cannot have everything. I'm going to pick him over Jarkko, but then I picked Djokovic over Jarkko as well. Who knows what Nieminenenenen can pull out of the bag this time?!

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The women's final was a very interesting match as well. It is beyond me why Elena Dementieva can hit such powerful, penetrating groundies and then have a serve which is the equivalent of caressing her opponent with a natural yoghurt (pop culture reference - props to anyone who gets it, as you clearly have excellent taste.) Imagine her game with, say, Serena's serve. She'd be unstoppable. Hell, put Safina's serve on her, and she'd be #1 in a flash.

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Dinara herself did not play badly - I think she got outplayed, mostly. Elena's on a hot streak. What did get me was how frickin' mean her coach was to her! Seriously, oncourt coaching is a dodgy enough enterprise, without your coach coming out and launching a tirade of abuse at you. Maybe that's how Dinara operates - she needs someone to be super-hard to help her knuckle down or whatever - but it didn't even really sound like constructive criticism to me... I hate oncourt coaching. I think it's ridiculous and should be thrown out the window, baby, bathwater and all. If you even mentioned the possibility on the ATP tour, there'd be uproar. Why is it all right on the WTA tour? The girls are not stupider than the guys!

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Speaking of the ATP tour, and the Player Council President in particular, he has a final himself today at Kooyong - which I cannot watch because of work, which saddens me greatly. It's going to be an interesting tussle, Roger vs. Stan - obviously you pick Roger, but Stan obviously knows his game so well... and they're such good mates. I bet that match will be a pleasure to watch - for all the people that aren't me!

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Oh, and props to Marija Mirkovic! I lied yesterday when I said Mr Milkshake was the only Aussie, male or female, left in qualies. Here's hoping Marija can pull it out over Kimiko Date Krumm and win herself a place in the main draw!

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Today's Results

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AAMI Classic (Kooyong)

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Stanislas Wawrinka def. Fernando Gonzalez, 7-6 (7-3) 6-7 (1-7) 6-4
Marcos Baghdatis def. Marin Cilic, 6-3 6-2
Carlos Moya def. Ivan Ljubicic, 7-5 3-6 7-5

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Medibank International (Sydney)

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Men's Draw

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Jarkko Nieminen def. Novak Djokovic, 6-4 7-6 (7-3)

David Nalbandian def. Richard Gasquet, 6-4 6-3

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Women's Draw

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Elena Dementieva def. Dinara Safina, 6-3 2-6 6-1

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Heineken Open (Auckland)

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Juan Martin del Potro def. Robin Soderling, 6-4 6-3

Sam Querrey def. David Ferrer, 3-6 6-3 7-6 (7-4)

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Moorilla Hobart International (Hobart)

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Petra Kvitova def. Iveta Benesova, 7-5 6-1

Fighter

It never rains but it pours. Eleven months of the year, I'm lucky if I see two seconds of tennis on the news. At the moment? All day tennis on two channels. It's amazing.

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Let's start with the Brisbane International, where there were really some pretty cracking matches. Nieminen against Baghdatis was a bit of a heartbreaker - I really thought Marcos was going to come back and win the thing at the end there, but it was just not to be. His fitness is a bit of a worry, however - I hope he's better for the Open, because it is so special to see him playing there. But all credit to Jarkko, who hung in there beautifully after losing the first set - his consistency is excellent, and I also really, really like his backhand. It doesn't have the explosiveness of Safin's, but it's really a weapon.

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Kudos to Bernard Tomic as well, who did lose in his ATP-level debut against Fernando Verdasco in Anando Night at Pat Rafter Arena, but who did himself credit. He started wonderfully (much better than Brydan Klein, whom I am currently watching getting smashed like a guitar by Tomas Berdych) and I think he's proved he can mix it - or at least, he's going to be able to mix it. He shouldn't hurry himself too much - not everyone is a Lleyton-like prodigy - but he's going to be good. And speaking of Anando Night, Ana herself was seriously pushed by Petra Kvitova, though the scoreline might not reflect it. Kvitova is one to watch out for, for sure.

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But for me, the match of the day in Brisbane had to be Amelie Mauresmo against Jelena Dokic. Mauresmo took it in two breaker sets, but I really liked what I saw from Dokic. She struggled on big points (bad) but she was going toe to toe with Mauresmo, and it ain't just anyone can do that. She was ahead for most of the first set (had a set point at one point) and if she'd been able to close it out, I think the match might have had a whole different complexion. She's certainly intriguing to watch, Jelena Dokic - and if she keeps playing like this, she can get her ranking back up a bit for sure. Probably not to #4 in the world or whatever it was she used to be, but top fifty definitely. I really liked what I saw from her.

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Now over to my baby, the Hopman Cup. Australia went down to Germany, but it was a really, really good tie. It was a shame that Dellacqua couldn't hang on against Sabine Lisicki, but I was so impressed with what I saw from her. I saw her play a set at the Open last year when she beat Dinara Safina, and she's really a talent. She never went away mentally (then or against Dellacqua) and that was what was really different. You always here about tennis players being 'fighters' and I often think that word gets overused, but applying it to Lisicki is not a stretch. It could have been so easy for her to go away after losing the first set against Dellacqua, the hometown girl, but no. She fought the crowd and she fought Dellacqua, but she never had to fight herself - she had great concentration just about the whole way. I would not be surprised to see a lot more of her in the future.

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Speaking of fighters and people I was impressed by... I rarely say this, but even though I find his personality objectionable, I really like watching Lleyton Hewitt play. His match against Nicolas Kiefer was eminently entertaining. Lleyton may be annoying offcourt when he, like, talks and stuff, but I really admire the way he stays in a match mentally, especially after gruelling tiebreakers like the one in the first set, which he lost. Kiefer faded a bit mentally in the third set and Lleyton pounced. I like his counterpunching style of tennis - he always makes him opponent play just one more shot, and more often than not, that draws the error. It's the best I've seen him play in a number of years, and if he can hold this level, he might make a few rounds at the Open, which I'm sure he'd enjoy.

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And how 'bout the Slovak Republic? I don't think anyone predicted that they'd take out the USA 3-0. I would have picked Cibulkova over Shaughnessy any day, but who would have picked Hrbaty over Blake? That opens this group wide. Group B will be a dogfight between Russia and France, but Group A, where you have the USA, the Slovak Republic, Germany and Australia, could go any which way. Who knows? Maybe Australia might make the final. I think Paul McNamee might go into paroxysms of delight if that happened!

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Today's Results

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Harry Hopman Cup (Perth)

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Germany 2, Australia 1

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Sabine Lisicki def. Casey Dellacqua, 4-6 6-2 7-5

Lleyton Hewitt def. Nicolas Kiefer, 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 6-2

Lisicki/Kiefer def. Dellacqua/Hewitt, 6-7 (2-7) 6-3 10-5 (match tiebreaker)

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Slovak Republic 3, USA 0

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Dominika Cibulkova def. Meghann Shaughnessy, 6-2 6-2

Dominik Hrbaty def. James Blake, 6-3 4-6 7-6 (7-1)

Cibulkova/Hrbaty def. Shaughnessy/Blake, 6-4 7-6 (7-4)

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Brisbane International (Brisbane)

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Men's Draw

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Fernando Verdasco def. Bernard Tomic, 6-4 6-2

Jurgen Melzer def. Mardy Fish, 6-4 4-6 7-6 (7-4)

Radek Stepanek def. Igor Kunitsyn, 6-2 6-2

Jarkko Nieminen def. Marcos Baghdatis, 5-7 6-1 6-4

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Women's Draw

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Ana Ivanovic def. Petra Kvitova, 6-4 6-2

Sara Errani def. Daniela Hantuchova, 6-7 (1-7) 6-4 6-0

Amélie Mauresmo def. Jelena Dokic, 7-6 (11-9) 7-6 (7-5)

Olga Govortsova def. Francesca Schiavone, 7-5 6-2

Samantha Stosur def. Ai Sugiyama, 6-2 6-3

Tathiana Garbin def. Sofia Arvidsson, 6-2 6-3

Lucie Safarova def. Isabella Holland, 6-4 6-3

Roberta Vinci def. Anna-Lena Groenefeld, 0-6 6-3 6-1

Melinda Czink def. Alona Bondarenko, 7-6 (7-3) 6-1

Sesil Karatantcheva def. Iveta Benesova, 1-6 6-4 6-2

Julie Coin def. Yanina Wickmayer, 7-5 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (7-3)

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Chennai Open (Chennai)

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Marin Cilic def. Alberto Martin, 6-4 6-4

Rainer Schuettler def. Prakash Amritraj, 6-2 4-6 6-1

Marcel Granollers def. Hyung-taik Lee, 6-4 7-5

Bjorn Phau def. Santiago Ventura, 6-2 7-5

Simon Greul def. Daniel Gimeno-Traver, 6-3 6-4

Lukas Dlouhy def. Go Soeda, 3-6 6-2 6-4

Dudi Sela def. Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo, 4-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-1

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Qatar Exxonmobil Open (Doha)

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Andy Roddick def. Ivan Navarro, 6-1 6-3

Gael Monfils def. Jan Hernych, 6-2 6-2

Nicolas Devilder def. Abdulla Hajji, 6-0 6-3

Victor Hanescu def. Viktor Troicki, 6-4 6-2

Sergiy Stakhovsky def. Christophe Rochus, 2-6 6-3 7-6 (7-3)

Andreas Seppi def. Denis Gremelmayr, 6-4 6-2

Philipp Petzschner def. Jeremy Chardy, 7-6 (7-2) 6-3

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ASB Classic (Auckland)

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Caroline Wozniacki def. Alberta Brianti, 6-1 6-0

Carla Suárez Navarro def. Nathalie Dechy, 6-4 6-0

Elena Vesnina def. Aiko Nakamura, 6-1 6-0

Damn It, Marat!

MARAT!!!!!!!

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That's all I have to say about that. Marat, what is WRONG with you? Why can you go from beating Nikolay Davydenko and owning other excellent players one week to losing to Andrey 'who' Golubev? Why can't you just be consistent? Just for once?

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Jesus Christ, man, why can't you be more like your sister?

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It's just so damn frustrating, because he's SO GOOD. Seriously, if they did a top ten of the most talented players on tour, he and the Fed would be fighting it out for the top spot. (I think Roger might get him, but it'd be a close thing.) Remember the semi final of the Australian Open in 2005, a match that has to be one of the highest quality matches played... oh, I don't know, ever? The only match I can think of to rival it is this year's epic Wimbledon final. So why can't Marat just do it any more? The talent is still there - he proved that by reaching the Wimbledon semis and the final of the Kremlin Cup. All that Marat goodness is still there - I know he has a chronic knee injury, but you can't blame everything on that. He's a headcase, plain and simple. So why can't he just... stop being a headcase?

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I want him to sit down with whoever it is that wrought this amazing change in Dinara. Because if it works for her, it has to work for him... yeah? They have the same genetic makeup and everything.

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Speaking of the Safin siblings, I am RIDICULOUSLY excited about next year's Hopman Cup. I was flicking through Australian Tennis magazine yesterday, and it was a pretty boring issue, apart from a feature on tennis siblings on the very last page, where, in its little Marat and Dinara section, it mentioned that they're going to team up for the first time ever to play Hopman Cup next year. I am so excited! Hopman Cup is probably my favourite tournament in the year, and to see Marat and Dinara play mixed doubles will be RAD! I am really tempted to go, even though it is in Perth, which is on the opposite side of the country, and my boss will probably get really annoyed if I take more time off for tennis... add to which I will have no money. But... the Safin(a) siblings! How can I resist?

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And on the subject of my favourite tennis players, my Stars Gulbis and Chardy went down today - sigh - but my beloved Federer Express got through in Basel in two tiebreaker sets against Jarkko Nieminen. Here's hoping for a fourth title this year to add to the US Open, Halle and Estoril!

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Today's Results

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Davidoff Swiss Indoors (Basel)

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Roger Federer def. Jarkko Nieminen, 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-1)

David Nalbandian def. Kristof Vliegen, 6-4 5-7 7-6 (7-4)

Juan Martin del Potro def. Stephane Bohli, 6-3 6-3

James Blake def. Oscar Hernandez, 6-7 (4-7) 6-2 6-4

Simone Bolelli def. Marcel Granollers, 6-4 6-2

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St Petersburg Open (St Petersburg)

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Andy Murray def. Ernests Gulbis, 6-4 6-2

Andrey Golubev def. Marat Safin, 6-4 6-2

Janko Tipsarevic def. Jeremy Chardy, 6-4 7-6 (7-3)

Victor Hanescu def. Mikhail Kukushkin, 6-3 7-6 (9-7)

Mischa Zverev def. Mikahil Youzhny, 7-5 6-4

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Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon (Lyon)

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Andy Roddick def. Robby Ginepri, 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-3)

Steve Darcis def. Richard Gasquet, 6-4 3-6 7-6 (7-5)

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Fabrice Santoro, 6-2 5-7 6-3

Gilles Simon def. Andreas Seppi, 7-6 (7-5) 5-7 6-4

Robin Soderling def. Christophe Rochus, 6-1 6-2

Juan Carlos Ferrero def. Paul-Henri Mathieu, 6-4 6-1

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Generali Ladies Linz (Linz)

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Ana Ivanovic def. Sybille Bammer, 6-4 6-2

Vera Zvonareva def. Nuria Llagostera Vives, 6-2 6-0

Alona Bondarenko def. Patty Schnyder, 6-2 2-6 6-1

Nadia Petrova def. Katarina Srebotnik, 6-4 7-6 (9-7)

Marion Bartoli def. Petra Kvitova, 7-6 (7-4) 1-6 6-3

Flavia Pennetta def. Dominika Cibulkova, 6-3 6-1

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FORTIS Championships Luxembourg (Luxembourg)

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Elena Dementieva def. Gisela Dulko, 6-2 6-2

Amélie Mauresmo def. Anna-Lena Groenefeld, 6-3 6-1

Anabel Medina Garrigues def. Catalina Castaño, 6-2 4-6 7-5

Lose the Spanner, Ana

Remember when Ana Ivanovic used to win matches? I certainly can't remember the last time she did. When was the last time she won a match? Honestly, it isn't even an upset any more when she loses matches. Dominika Cibulkova is a good player, sure, but she's not in Ivanovic's league - at least, not in the league of the old Ivanovic, who was winning things and making it to the final of the Australian and winning the French. So whither Ana? I thought not being #1 would take the pressure off, but this clearly hasn't been the case. I mean, the old Ana would never have lost to Dominika Cibulkova, let alone Julie Coin and the ilk.

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So what is the spanner in the works? What is wrong? I hope to God it's an injury, because if it's all in her head, she is officially the biggest basket case EVER. It must be so upsetting to see Jelena Jankovic winning things all over the place while Ana can't even win a single match. She needs to take time off, even if it means missing Doha and the Australian and hell, all of next season. She needs to get better - to either rehabilitate whatever injury she has, or to move in with her sports psychologist and rehabiliate her mind. She needs to lose the spanner.

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Meanwhile, how 'bout my Stars? Ernests Gulbis lost to Fernando Gonzalez, but he had five match points - I wish he had hung on, but the game is clearly there. Thomaz Bellucci lost a tight three-setter with Jarkko Nieminen, but today's best performer was Jeremy Chardy, who upset Igor Andreev. Allez Jeremy!

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And nice work to my Russian girls, Dinara and Nadia, who both had great wins in Moscow. Davai!

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Today's Results

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Kremlin Cup (Moscow)

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Men's Draw

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Fabrice Santoro def. Denis Istomin, 6-2 6-4

Jeremy Chardy def. Igor Andreev, 3-6 7-5 6-4

Teimuraz Gabashvili def. Mikhail Youzhny, 7-5 4-6 7-6 (7-1)

Paul-Henri Mathieu def. Sergiy Stakhovsky, 6-3 6-2

Mischa Zverev def. Denis Gremelmayr, 6-3 7-6 (9-7)

Igor Kunitsyn def. Mikhail Kukushkin, 6-1 4-6 6-1

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Women's Draw

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Dinara Safina def. Amélie Mauresmo, 6-7 (2-7) 6-4 6-4

Elena Dementieva def. Katarina Srebotnik, 6-3 4-6 7-6 (7-2)

Dominika Cibulkova def. Ana Ivanovic, 3-6 6-2 7-6 (7-4)

Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Sara Errani, 7-6 (7-0) 6-1

Caroline Wozniacki def. Anna Chakvetadze, 2-6 6-1 6-4

Nadia Petrova def. Anna Lapushchenkova, 6-2 6-1

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If Stockholm Open (Stockholm)

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Rainer Schuettler def. Nicolas Lapentti, 7-6 (8-6) 6-3

Oscar Hernandez def. Jose Acasuso, 2-6 6-3 6-4

Jarkko Nieminen def. Thomaz Bellucci, 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 7-5

Robin Soderling def. Benjamin Becker, 7-5 6-3

Albert Montanes def. Thomas Johansson, 6-3 4-6 6-3

George Bastl def. Frederik Nielsen, 7-6 (8-6) 3-6 7-6 (7-4)

Arnaud Clement def. Bjorn Rehnquist, 6-2 6-1

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Bank Austria Tennis Trophy (Vienna)

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Fernando Gonzalez def. Ernests Gulbis, 4-6 7-6 (13-11) 6-1

Fernando Verdasco def. Guillermo Canas, 6-1 6-2

Philipp Petzschner def. Jan Hernych, 6-3 6-4

Carlos Moya def. Eduardo Schwank, 6-2 6-3

Juan Martin Del Potro def. Martin Fischer, 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (7-5)

Gael Monfils def. Alexander Peya, 3-6 6-1 6-3

Blood Privileges

Let's take a reality check for a moment. Do you think there is a chance in hell that Marko Djokovic would have got a wildcard into the Thailand Open if he wasn't Novak's brother?
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Marko is ranked #1734 in the world at the moment. He's made exactly three appearances on the Futures circuit, two echelons below the ATP main circuit. Let's have a look at the players ranked around him. There are a whole stack of people ranked at this number, with exactly one point. Have you ever heard of Patrick Knobloch? Ricardo Azzarita? Jesus Bandres?

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I didn't think so. And can you see any of these players getting wildcarded into a tournament? Hell, look at Bernard Tomic. He is ranked half that, at #811, which means, one would think, he would walk all over Marko Djokovic and assorted cohort. Can you imagine him getting wildcarded into the Thailand Open? The Australian Open, or the Medibank or something maybe, but that would be more on the grounds of him being Australia's most promising junior rather than being ranked #811. In fact, we have three Australians also ranked #1734 - David Bidmeade, Phillip Lang and Alan Poric. In what alternate universe would they get a wildcard into any ATP tournament, even the Australian ones? Hell, we have players ranked in the #300s - like Rameez Junaid, or Matthew Ebden - that will never see an Aussie Open wildcard, let alone one in a country not their own.

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So why should Marko Djokovic be treated any differently? Excuse while I bellow 'NEPOTISM!' at the top of my lungs.

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There are plenty of players that deserve wildcards much more than Marko Djokovic. So why should he get special treatment just because he's Novak's brother? I am not amused.

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What was amusing was that Jarkko Nieminen pounded him into the ground, 6-2 6-0. Nonetheless, there are a lot of players ranked much higher than Marko Djokovic that would kill for the opportunity to be whipped by Jarkko Nieminen. I hope they all frown at him in the locker room - on the Futures circuit. Or the Pro circuit. Or whatever is below the Pro circuit. Nick Lindahl and Monique Adamczak are winning things on the Pro circuit, and they're both ranked in the #200s. Marko Djokovic would be hard-pressed to qualify.

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In happier news, well done to the Australian Junior Davis Cup team! Maverick Banes, James Duckworth and Jarryd Chaplin accounted for Tunisia in fine form, 3-0. We're seeded #7 in the event, but we won last year (Bernard Tomic played on that team, along with Mark Verryth and Alex Sanders) and I reckon we can do it again. Australian tennis is going to be in SUCH a good place in a few years. Tomic will be the spearhead, but we have some other good kids coming up too.

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So why aren't they given wildcards into tournaments lightyears ahead of their playing range, hmmm?

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Today's Results

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Thailand Open (Bangkok)

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Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Lukas Dlouhy, 7-6 (11-9) 3-6 7-6 (7-1)

Gael Monfils def. Robert Kendrick, 6-4 7-6 (7-4)

Jarkko Nieminen def. Marko Djokovic, 6-2 6-0

Jurgen Melzer def. Donald Young, 6-3 6-3

Viktor Troicki def. Fabrice Santoro, 7-6 (7-4) 6-2

Simone Bolelli def. Thomaz Bellucci, 6-3 6-3

Mischa Zverev def. Robert Smeets, 6-4 6-4

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China Open (Beijing)

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Men's Draw

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Fernando Verdasco def. Bobby Reynolds, 6-3 6-3

Sam Querrey def. Jesse Levine, 1-6 6-2 7-6 (7-4)

Ivo Minar def. Hyung-taik Lee, 6-3 3-6 6-2

Dudi Sela def. Nicolas Devilder, 6-4 6-3

Go Soeda def. Yan Bai, 6-4 7-5

Brendan Evans def. Roko Karanusic, 7-6 (7-5) 1-6 7-6 (12-10)

Jean-Claude Scherrer def. Peng Sun, 6-4 7-6 (9-7)

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Women's Draw

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Jelena Jankovic def. Aleksandra Wozniak, 6-3 7-5

Daniela Hantuchova def. Tamarine Tanasugarn, 6-1 0-6 7-5

Zheng Jie def. Agnieszka Radwanska, 6-2 6-3

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Hansol Korea Open (Seoul)

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Shahar Peer def. Ayumi Morita, 6-4 7-5

Ekaterina Makarova def. Klara Zakopalova, 6-3 6-2

Jill Craybas def. Akgul Amanmuradova, 7-6 (7-1) 6-2

Samantha Stosur def. Sabine Lisicki, 6-4 6-7 (4-7) 6-3

Bracket Woes

My sucky run at the bracket challenge continues. I got a few more right than I did yesterday, but still nothing to write home about. I'm usually pretty decent at making predictions once we get to the quarter finals, etc, but the first round... well, stands to show it's pretty bad. No major upsets or anything. Just me picking wrong among the little guys.

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Though some of these first round matches were hardly matches of the little guys. How often have you seen Jarkko Nieminen and Tomas Berdych play in the first round of a major event? That might just be to the left side of never. There is real depth in men's tennis when these two can meet in a first round. That one was a tall order.

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Berdych was the one that walked away the victor - obviously, I picked Nieminen. I should just start picking the opposite of who I think is going to win and then maybe I'll do better. I really hope this is the beginning of a return to form for Tomas - who is this week's ATP blogger - because I really think he has an excellent game, even if he is, as discussed here at length, a perennial underwhelmer.

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Meanwhile, what has happened to Carlos Moya? To my eyes, he's had a pretty ordinary year, but he's still floating about at #28, so he can't be doing that badly. But #28 or not, looks like he got a bit pulverised by Tommy Haas. Haas has been looking quite good lately - maybe he's going to make a run for it in this tournament. Let's have a look at his draw... he's up against Davydenko next round. Sensible people would put their money on Kolya, but I could see Haas coming through it if he plays like he did today. Indeed, I have picked him to come through in my bracket... which is probably a sure sign he is going to lose. But let's say that I actually manage to get one right and he does - he would face the winner of Kiefer and Youzhny, which one would think would be Youzhny. That could be an interesting match up indeed...

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Another player impressing me of late - well, of last week - is Gilles Simon, who won in Indy and who won his first round match against Donald Young pretty handily, but I don't see him coming through the second round... he's up against the big man, R-Fed. And we all know how I'm cheering there.

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My semi final pick Soderling made it through, as did Igor Andreev. I also picked the minor upset victory of Feliciano Lopez over Radek Stepanek, which I was pleased about, because we all know Stepanek is kind of weird. One second round match which I think is going to be very intriguing is Tommy Robredo against Marin Cilic... Robredo is a good player and all, but I think I like Cilic to come through this one. He has impressed me a whole lot of late. And considering Ernests Gulbis went out in the first round, I have to have one young gun to follow, and he really is the only one left, as Thomaz Bellucci went out as well. Meanwhile, Philipp Kohlschreiber just lost to Alexandre Kudryavtsev in straight sets. First, I would like to say, who? Is he some relation to Sharapova-slaying tuxedo-hating Alla Kudryavtseva? And secondly, I really need to stop overestimating Philipp Kohlschreiber, as I invariably get disappointed.

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Not a whole lot of doubles action today - actually, they only had one match yesterday and two today. How are they planning to squeeze it all in? Two teams I had talked about as intriguing both went out - the French duo of Gasquet and Mahut to the Murray brothers, which was hardly surprising... oh, I bet Richou loved that. He must hate Andy Murray so much now after Wimbledon. And then Nieminen and Ferrer went out to Mathieu and Youzhny. Quite why Mathieu and Youzhny are playing together is beyond me, but they obviously seem to have something going for them.

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Today's Results

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Rogers Cup (Toronto)

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Feliciano Lopez def. Radek Stepanek, 4-6 6-3 6-4

Andy Roddick def. Nicolas Mahut, 6-1 6-7 (6-8) 6-3

Alexandre Kudryavtsev def. Philipp Kohlschreiber, 6-2 7-6 (9-7)

Fernando Verdasco def. Thomaz Bellucci, 1-6 6-3 6-2

Tomas Berdych def. Jarkko Nieminen, 6-3 6-1

Tommy Haas def. Carlos Moya, 6-3 6-2

Igor Andreev def. Gael Monfils, 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-3)

Gilles Simon def. Donald Young, 6-1 6-3

Marin Cilic def. Lukas Dlouhy, 6-3 4-6 6-3

Jesse Levine def. Peter Polansky, 6-2 6-4

Robin Soderling def. Guillermo Canas, 7-5 6-1

Thomas Johansson def. Andrey Golubev, 7-6 (7-4) 6-1

Jonas Bjorkman def. Arnaud Clement, 6-3 3-6 6-0

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East West Bank Classic (Los Angeles)

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Nadia Petrova def. Alina Jidkova, 6-0 6-4

Flavia Pennetta def. Aleksandra Wozniak, 6-1 6-0

Dominika Cibulkova def. Monica Niculescu, 6-4 6-3

Peng Shuai def. Julie Ditty, 6-4 6-2

Regina Kulikova def. Elena Vesnina, 6-4 4-6 6-2

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Banka Koper Slovenia Open (Portoroz)

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Maria Kirilenko def. Nika Ozegovic, 6-1 6-1

Katarina Srebotnik def. Sanda Mamic, 6-2 6-2

Camille Pin def. Marina Erakovic, 7-5 5-7 6-3

Sara Errani def. Maria Elena Camerin, 6-7 (4-7) 6-2 6-1

Roberta Vinci def. Alberta Brianti, 6-1 6-3

Julia Goerges def. Ekaterina Bychkova, 6-4 6-3

Mara Santangelo def. Yanina Wickmayer, 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-4

Karolina Sprem def. Evgeniya Rodina, 4-6 6-3 6-3

Elena Bovina def. Tatiana Perebiynis, 6-3 6-4

Double Speed

Well, I guess we all know where I'm going to start, because Federer was in action yesterday. He and Stan Wawrinka look like they're getting their groove on with the doubles - they made pretty light work of Julien Benneteau and Frederic Niemeyer. That said, Benneteau and Niemeyer aren't exactly the Bryans... but this is Roger and Stan's first team win! Obviously it is cause for bigtime celebration!

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It will be interesting to see how they go against a 'proper' doubles team - they meet Paes and Dlouhy in the next round. But I have faith in the Rog/Stan combo. They will be AWESOME!

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Oh yeah. Roddick and Fish won too. Against Clement and Llodra. I think Clement and Llodra are awesome, so I was sad.

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I don't know if you'd call Clement and Llodra a specialist doubles team, as they both have pretty successful singles careers, but they've won a Slam and they're pretty decent. And Roddick and Fish beat them in straight sets. Would the realm of doubles be a lot different if the top guys played more often? I'm not sure if singles success always translates onto the doubles court - I mean, tennis is tennis, but there are different skills involved. Like sharing. And knowing when to let something go for your partner. The really good doubles teams you see develop a sort of psychic connection. That's part of why the Bryans are so good - quite apart from being twins, they have played together so long that they know exactly what the other one is doing.

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But I like doubles, even if I don't usually give it the kudos it deserves. I saw the men's doubles final at the Medibank International in Sydney, where Richard Gasquet and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeated the Bryans - henceforth known as BryanBryan, because that is what the umpire called them.It was a great match - went the whole distance in the match tiebreak. I probably have a post about it somewhere back in January - but knowing me, I probably focused on the singles match... not least because Tursunov won. But the doubles was awesome fun. There's something about it that's not quite as serious as singles. I know I'm always like, 'yeah, tennis is great because it's so gladiatorial, ra ra ra, mental struggle, one on one, no one to blame but yourself, etc etc' but doubles isn't like that. It's a little more light hearted. I mean, sure, when it's a Slam final and you have the Bryans against Bhupathi and Knowles or something, it's serious then, but on the whole, you just get the feeling the guys are having a total blast.

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Which is why it's so much fun when the top guys play. Seven of the top ten are playing this week - one team which I thought was interesting which I didn't talk about yesterday was David Ferrer and Jarkko Nieminen. I'm not quite sure WHY they're playing together - it can't be for Olympic reasons, why with the one being Spanish and the other Finnish - but I think it will be a really fun team nonetheless. It's always interesting to see who plays together... because you'd want to play with your mates, wouldn't you? And it's interesting to see who's friends with who.

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And, oh yeah, there were some singles matches yesterday too. I picked a few... which apparently places me 9439th in the bracket challenge. So looks like I'm not going to be doing too well... again. But it might pick up. Gasquet won - I predicted he would lose, but that's a good sign for Richou. I also picked Benneteau over Gonzalez... yeah, I don't know what I was thinking either. And then Dancevic had to go and beat Ancic... I thought Super Mario would win that easy, but I suppose Dancevic has home town advantage, for what that's worth. And Ginepri beat Mathieu, and Mahut beat Tipsarevic, and Acasuso beat Gulbis... but Kiefer won! And Wawrinka! And Youzhny! I got those ones right!

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Yeah, so I suck at the bracket challenge. So sue me.

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Today's Results

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Rogers Cup (Toronto)

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Stanislas Wawrinka def. Simone Bolelli, 6-4 7-6 (7-4)

Richard Gasquet def. Michael Llodra, 6-2 4-6 6-3

Tommy Robredo def. Frederic Niemeyer, 7-6 (7-4) 6-1

Fernando Gonzalez def. Julien Benneteau, 6-2 6-1

Mikhail Youzhny def. Andreas Seppi, 7-6 (7-1) 6-2

Nicolas Kiefer def. Mardy Fish, 7-5 7-6 (7-4)

Robby Ginepri def. Paul-Henri Mathieu, 6-3 4-6 6-4

Nicolas Mahut def. Janko Tipsarevic, 6-3 6-7 (5-7) 6-2

Frank Dancevic def. Mario Ancic, 6-3 6-4

Jose Acasuso def. Ernests Gulbis, 6-7 (1-7) 6-3 7-5

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East West Bank Classic (Los Angeles)

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Sybille Bammer def. Ahsha Rolle, 6-0 6-4

Chan Yung-Jan def. Aravane Rezai, 6-1 6-4

Tamira Paszek def. Aiko Nakamura, 6-4 6-2

Olga Savchuk def. Gisela Dulko, 6-4 6-3

Jill Craybas def. Anne Keothavong, 6-3 6-2

Olga Govortsova def. Darya Kustova, 6-3 6-4

Marta Domachowska def. Coco Vandeweghe, 6-3 6-3

Petra Kvitova def. Alisa Kleybanova, 6-4 1-6 7-5

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Banka Koper Slovenia Open (Portoroz)

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Caroline Wozniacki def. Andreja Klepac, 7-5 6-0

Anabel Medina Garrigues def. Ekaterina Makarova, 6-1 6-3

Katie O'Brien def. Tsvetana Pironkova, 7-6 (8-6) 4-6 6-2

Klara Zakopalova def. Carla Suárez Navarro, 6-4 6-4

Vera Dushevina def. Virginia Ruano Pascual, 6-3 6-3

Julia Vakulenko def. Polona Hercog, 5-7 6-4 6-4

Petra Martic def. Angelique Kerber, 7-5 6-2

Bethanie Mattek def. Abigail Spears (USA) 62 64

Tennis in the Kitchen

Well, well, how about Michael Llodra at the Adelaide International? And here I (and everyone else) was thinking that Nieminen was a safe bet. He played fantastically today. I think what really won it for him was that he played very clean tennis - I think it was something like 25 winners to 13 unforced errors. That said, Nieminen played clean as well, but he didn't have the winners to match. Nieminen seemed a little inhibited today, playing cautiously, well within what he can do. Perhaps it's because he hasn't been training so much, what with being on military service for Finland...? Llodra, on the other hand, didn't miss much. He saw the ball, lined it up and wham! second career ATP title.

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Though I have to say it. I can't not. Michael Llodra, why do you have that hideous moustache?

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Now, I will be the first to admit that I am not a moustache fan. Don't like them. But this one of Llodra's is particularly hideous. It takes over his entire face, like some kind of ruthless barbarian invader. It's enormous. It's foul. Why, Michael, why? And surely it gets annoying in a sweaty game like tennis? I'm sure he never had it before (though I could be wrong - I don't really follow Llodra.) Why did he decide that the moustachio was the way to go?

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Oh well. Some things we may never know. And, fashion errors aside, for a guy that only made it into the main draw after Richard Gasquet pulled out, Michael Llodra has done pretty well for himself.

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Though there was one other thing I thought was particularly crap about today's final. Nothing to do with the tennis or the players - but the commentators! I know Roger Rasheed is a tennis guy (he used to coach Princess Lleyton, I think) but Bruce McAvaney has irritated me year in, year out. Although, ironically, it was Rasheed who came off as the bigger idiot today, in my opinion. There was one point - I think Nieminen was either trying to get back into it, or maybe he was down and out and Llodra was pressing his advantage, I can't remember - when Brainiac Rasheed comments, (from memory) 'well, that's what tennis is about. It's about getting in the other guy's kitchen, and...'

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Now, I think I understand what Rasheed was getting at - how you have to press your advantage mentally as well as physically, getting in the other guy's head, so to speak - but kitchen? KITCHEN? Where did that one come from? Since when was someone's mind their kitchen? I suppose we can just count ourselves lucky that he didn't press the metaphor. 'It's about getting in the other guy's kitchen, eating all his food, using all his pots and pans and smashing all his dishes after cooking yourself a nice curry, so when he gets home from his long day at tennis practice, his kitchen is a mess and he can't cook anything, although he is tormented by the lingering aroma of delicious curry. THAT's what tennis is all about.'

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Honestly.

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The Medibank International started in Sydney today (I'm going to the men's final, and I'm very excited!) although it doesn't really properly start till tomorrow - mainly qualifiers today, although there was a couple of interesting main draw women's matches. A tight match between Lucie Safarova and Alicia Molik that I wish I could have watched (beckoned away by gainful employment... such are my woes) and a bad loss from Nadia Petrova to Sybille Bammer. I've liked Nadia Petrova a lot since the fun of last year's Hopman Cup, so it's been sad to see her ranking slide. Here's hoping she gets it together at the Australian Open. She was the fifth seed there last year, but I don't think she'll be anything like that this year.

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I was sad to see Carlos Moya lose in a nailbiter to Rafael Nadal in the semis at Chennai (I like Rafa, but I like Carlos more!) and even sadder to see Stan Wawrinka lose in the final of Doha to Andy Murray - though I suppose Murray was always going to be the favourite for that one. Unfortunately, he also comes across as abrasive and obnoxious, and Stan seems like a lovely guy. Oh well. Personality is a big part of tennis, but I guess no one said you have to have a NICE personality.

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Though Federer does, and in the end, he's the real figurehead for men's tennis. So I guess he's all that matters in the end!

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(Unfortunately, the figurehead for women's tennis is probably Maria Sharapova, and the less said there...)

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Today's Results

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Next Generation Adelaide International (Adelaide)

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Michael Llodra def. Jarkko Nieminen, 6-3 6-4

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Qatar Exxonmobil Open (Doha)

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Andy Murray def. Stanislas Wawrinka, 6-4 4-6 6-2

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Chennai Open (Chennai)

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Rafael Nadal def. Carlos Moya, 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (10-8) 7-6 (7-1)

Mikhail Youzhny def. Marin Cilic, 6-2 6-2

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Medibank International (Sydney)

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Women's Draw

Sybille Bammer def. Nadia Petrova, 7-5 6-3

Lucie Safarova def. Alicia Molik, 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (12-10)

Virginie Razzano def. Nicole Pratt, 6-2 6-1

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Moorilla Hobart International (Hobart)

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Casey Dellacqua def. Anabel Medina Garrigues, 5-4 retired

Eleni Daniilidou def. Pauline Parmentier, 6-3 6-4

Elena Vesnina def. Akiko Morigami, 6-4 7-5

Not Quite Tursunov

It was a bit disappointing for Serbia, in the end. I really wanted to see them win it, but with Jankovic injured and Djokovic a tired space case, I guess it just wasn't going to happen. I only caught the first set of the mixed doubles - I fell asleep to tell the truth - and it just made me long for the Hopman Cup final of last year. Russia vs. Spain. Nadia Petrova beat Anabel Medina Garrigues and then Dmitry Tursunov beat Tommy Robredo in a great match, and then the mixed doubles was the most hysterical tennis match I've ever seen. None of that this year, as it was one rubber all... the Hopman Cup had some great players this year, but I think it was lacking a bit of personality. There was no one like Tursunov, certainly.

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But then, I have a very soft spot for Tursunov. (Who wouldn't?)

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I was cheering for Joe Sirianni in his match today against Llodra in Adelaide. He didn't win, but for a 32 year old journeyman with only one prior ATP level victory to his name, I think he acquitted himself swimmingly. He's certainly much more likeable than Princess Lleyton - who lost (embarrassingly) in the quarters to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga... speaking of Tsonga, he was meek as a pussycat in his match against Jarkko Nieminen today. I thought that one could have been a thriller, especially considering the awesome match with Spadea last night. But Nieminen spanked him. I mean, I know it's about ninety million degrees in Adelaide, but Nieminen is Finnish! Tsonga is French! Why should Tsonga fall over just because of some heat when Nieminen did really well?

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So the Adelaide final will be Nieminen vs. Llodra, and I think it's safe to say Nieminen is a big favourite. I've never really seen Llodra play, so I can't make an educated assessment, but the fact is that he's unseeded, with Nieminen seeded 3. So I'm going with Jarkko on this one. (I've always thought Nieminen looks a bit like a carrot. He's got a really triangular face, and all this spiky hair... probably more obvious in his ATP picture than anywhere else!)

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I didn't get to watch it, but the Li/Azarenka final at the Gold Coast looked like a tight one as well. Excellent comeback for Li - who has, if memory serves, been out six months with injury - and a good match for Azarenka as well, even though she lost. Perhaps Belarusian tennis can have a bit of a revival in Azarenka, after the pitiful year Max Mirnyi had last year! And speaking of comebacks, what a performance from Lindsay Davenport in Auckland! To be fair, her opponent wasn't someone I'd actually heard of (the seeds fell early in Auckland), but to come back, being over 30 (she is over 30, yeah?) after having a baby and to win her first tournament back... wow! Also a great win for Stan Wawrinka in Doha over defending champ Ljubicic.

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And in other news, I am going to both the Medibank International and the Australian Open. I've never seen tennis at Melbourne Park before, so I'm HUGELY excited! And I'll try not to get as sunburned in Sydney this year as I did last year...

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Today's Results

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Hopman Cup (Perth)

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Final - USA def. Serbia 2-1

Novak Djokovic def. Mardy Fish, 6-2 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-4)

Williams/Fish def. Jankovic/Djokovic, 7-6 (7-5) 6-2

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Mondial Australian Women's Hardcourts

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Li Na def. Victoria Azarenka, 4-6 6-3 6-4

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ASB Classic (Auckland)

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Lindsay Davenport def. Aravane Rezai, 6-2 6-2

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Next Generation Adelaide International (Adelaide)

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Michael Llodra def. Joseph Sirianni, 6-3 7-6 (10-8)

Jarkko Nieminen def. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 6-2 6-4

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Qatar Exxonmobil Open (Doha)

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Andy Murray def. Nikolay Davydenko, 6-4 6-3

Stanislas Wawrinka def. Ivan Ljubicic, 7-6 (7-1) 6-4

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Chennai Open (Chennai)

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Carlos Moya def. Florent Serra, 6-3 6-4

Mikhail Youzhny def. Xavier Malisse, 6-4 6-4

Marin Cilic def. Robin Haase, 4-6 6-2 6-3

Rafael Nadal def. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, 6-3 6-2