Tapping the Well in Indian Wells

Well, we've kept Nicolas Mahut (yay!) even though he has come down with some flu-y symptoms that led to him pulling out of doubles in Sarajevo. Here is hoping that he feels better, because if he's not going to play Indian Wells, I want him to win this whole damn tournament. He pulled out the win ove Roberto Batista-Agut today, and here's hoping he can do the same against Jan Hernych tomorrow.

This is especially because we've now lost the top two seeds, leaving Nico, at #3, the highest man standing. Dimitrov went out in the first round and then Kavcic followed him in the second, going down to Martin Fischer. Kavcic had a pretty big weekend of Davis Cup duty - he pretty much led Slovenia to victory - but then, Fischer wasn't exactly a slouch playing for Austria, so go figure. That is tennis. Sometimes you get weird results.

I really, really wish that Nico had gone to play Indian Wells qualies. I think he definitely would have had a great shot at qualifying. But it's all about points, points, points, and considering he dropped ten places last week, I guess I understand.

There are some familiar faces among the dudes that did qualify in Indian Wells, and three of them are Australian, which is a little bit awesome. Matt Ebden beat Izak van der Merwe to qualify, which is a good win, and he'll face Mischa Zverev in the first round, which is not the most unwinnable of matches. Ebden is 23, which seems a little late to be making a major breakthrough, but he has been playing better and better and better consistently over the last year or so. I think he can definitely break into the top hundred and results like these are good ways of getting there.

One dude who has been to the top hundred and is looking to get back is Chris Guccione, who also fought his way into the main draw. He beat a dude of whom I have never heard, but I wish I had, on account of he has an awesome name - Spain's Daniel Munoz-De La Nava (how is that not the name of a volcano or something like that? I love it.) Guccione hit 17 aces, which... wow. If he has that big lefty serve cranking, watch out world. He's drawn James Blake in the first round, which could be a very interesting match up indeed.

The last of the Aussie qualifiers, a man who has all the talent to be in the top hundred but sometimes not the consistency (but that's getting better), is Marinko Matosevic. He beat South African Raven Klaasen (another awesome name - this dude seems to be popping more and more in draws, so he must be on the improve), but has got arguably the toughest first round draw of the Aussie boys - he'll face Dr Ivo Karlovic, just a week after that record-breaking serve. If he can get a read on the serve, he has a chance, if not...

This is a great result for Australian tennis, having these three dudes go through. Also spare a thought for Greg Jones, who fell in the last round of qualies to Somdev Devvarman. None of these dudes are megastars, but they're good, quality players. Australian mens' tennis is not quite in the epic black hole everyone seems to think it is. The well is not as shallow as once it was.

Where Is The Wildcard For Awesome?

Dear Tennis Australia and all ye in charge of giving out wildcards -

I get it, OK? You want to give your discretionary wildcards to Australians. You want to support homegrown tennis and build a Davis Cup team and whatever. I totally understand.

But it doesn't mean I have to like it. And while you may have done a service to Australian tennis (such as it can be said to be), you have done a disservice to tennis overall. Because - as you have heard very loudly over the last few days - the tennis community has been pushing hard for one thing. One wildcard.

We wanted a wildcard for Nicolas Mahut.

I know he's not Australian. I know he's not exactly an up-and-comer. I know he's not going to play Davis Cup for you. But what he is is PURE 100% AWESOME. And we wanted him to have a chance.

Tennis is gladiatorial. Mahut is a gladiator. He played an eleven hour match - how many of your other wildcard contenders could claim to have the legs to do that?

Tennis is entertainment. Um, were you watching the Hopman Cup? Mahut put on a dress and walked out there and entertained his heart out. You want tennis to be watched? You want tennis to be popular? You want to encourage kids to pick up a racquet? You want to entertain them. You need a showman. In short, you need someone like Mahut.

Wildcards are for those who might do something with them. Two words: Hopman Cup. Mahut beat Potito Starace, ranked almost a hundred places higher than him, and pushed Andy Murray very, VERY hard. You want someone who might actually win a match or two? How about Mahut?

Wildcards are for those who deserve to catch a break, who deserve a shot. Look at Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin. Clijsters got a wildcard to the US Open in 2009, Henin to the Australian Open in 2010. Both players who needed a chance. And look how that turned out. Now, I'm not saying that Mahut would have gone on and won the Open if he'd been given a wildcard. But honestly, what more does he need to do? This one is on his own tennis federation as well - Rufin in the US, Paire here... why does Mahut get NO recognition?

There is a reciprocal wildcard arrangement with France and with the US. A wildcard is given to Asia, in the spirit of the Australian Open being the Grand Slam of the Asia Pacific. One is given to the winner of the Australian Open playoff. And four are discretionary. Paire. Harrison. Devvarman. Matosevic. Ebden. Luczak. And, as of yesterday, Ball and Tomic.

It would be very, very easy for me to take potshots at Ball and Tomic - Tomic in particular. But it's been done and it's been done eloquently, and so I will refrain. (Except to say that, REALLY, Tennis Australia, you thought it would be a better idea to give a wildcard to a kid who complained that his centre court match went on past his bedtime than to a man that played eleven hours without complaining?) Instead, I have an alternative proposal.

I propose that every year, one of the discretionary wildcards is set aside to be the Wildcard For Awesome.

This is the wildcard that does not care about some kind of Davis Cup developlement ideal, that's not dangled above the head of misbehaving youngsters like some kind of delicious biscuit. This is the wildcard for someone who has proved, time and time again, that they are awesome. Maybe they... I don't know, have been injured and don't qualify for protected ranking. Maybe they've had a bad season and are on their way back. Maybe they're just very entertaining and obvious fan favourites. Maybe they played a GODDAMN ELEVEN HOUR TENNIS MATCH and survived.

There is only one criterion - that the recipient of this wildcard be AWESOME.

I have very much enjoyed being the captain of the Good Ship #wildcardformahut - which has now become #supportmahut. As I write this, Mahut has just won his first qualifying match - a 6-0 6-1 win in about 45 minutes. He is well on his way to the main draw - one down, two to go. I'd much rather he didn't have to go through this qualifying rigmarole, but now that he has to, he has started off his campaign with style.

I am sad that #wildcardformahut didn't work, but one thing it did do was draw the attention of the tennis community to a player who really is genuinely 100% awesome - as a player, as an entertainer, and as an all round cool dude. Nicolas Mahut, there is a whole bunch of people out here who think you are basically the Lord of Awesome. And even though we didn't succeed in getting you a wildcard into the main draw, I hope some ripple of the #wildcardformahut campaign reaches you - because we want you to know just how awesome we think you are.

Surprise Party

Wow. WOW. I did not expect this coming - and neither, I think, did anyone ekse vaguely interested in the December Showdown for the AO Wildcard. Olivia Rogowska and Marinko Matosevic have won the wildcards, leaving their higher ranked and better known opponents to hope and pray for a discretionary one.

Let's start with Olivia. What a stellar effort. It would have had something of the fairy tale about it to see Dokic win, but can a spirited comeback like the one Rogowska pulled off be denied? She came back from a crushing in the first set and two match points down to win the second and then the third sets of this match. And she has served notice now - she will take on anyone.

I think Rogowska is best known for the time that she took on then-#1 Dinara Safina in the first round of the US Open and very nearly won. Although she's had some good results - like that one - she never seems to have really captured the imagination of the Australian public. For her sake, I hope she manages to go a few rounds at the Open, because as Casey Dellacqua and Jelena Dokic have shown us, there is no surer way to become a national darling than a win a couple of matches in Melbourne in January.

As for the defeated Dokic? She'll be okay. You'd get long odds if you bet she wouldn't get a discretionary wildcard. (Double neg for the win!)

Now. Dudes. Marinko Matosevic, how about you? Five set long haul and you came out on top, beating Peter Luczak (who is no slouch). This is a big, big win, and will see Matosevic going straight into the main draw. My hopes for him are pretty much identical to my hopes for Rogowska - win a match or two, raise your profile. Profile can almost be as important a weapon as a forehand sometimes - if you can get a crowd behind you, create a little fear in an opponent's mind... that can work wonders. Matosevic doesn't have that yet - but, as Luczak would surely know, he's well on his way to earning it.

The Jelena Smackdown

It does not take a stretch of the imagination to see that Jelena Dokic is looking dangerous.

Oh, I don't mean that she's going to make some fairy tale comeback and win the Australian Open or anything, but... well, we all remember 2009. You just never know what is possible with Jelena - she's out injured or sick or whatever so often that there is no real sense of what she can do. We just haven't seen it yet.

I don't think anyone was expecting Dokic to steamroll Molik the way she did - least of all Molik. I saw a little of this match on the livestream - not much, but enough to tell that Molik was looking seriously shellshocked. Dokic took her and smacked her down like the hand of God, and there was absolutely nothing Molik could do about it.

She'll face Olivia Rogowska, who overcame a vaguely injured seeming Sophie Ferguson, and you have to put your money on Dokic here. Sure, she might suffer a bit of a slump, but what we do know about Jelena is that she is determined like whoa. You'd have to wake up very early in the morning to out grit Ms Dokic.

Over in the dudes, Peter Luczak overcame Matt Ebden and Marinko Matosevic beat Adam Feeney, and now these two will final it up. I really like Luczak - he seems like a nice bloke - and I don't know very much about Matosevic... which is why, I think, I'm going for him. Luczak has an awesome shot at a wildcard. Matosevic could get swept under the rug pretty easily.

Hit Me With Your Best Shot

Wow! Suddenly it's the semis of the December Showdown! That happened with a speed I was not prepared for!

The blockbuster semi is, of course, Dokic vs Molik. It's a shame that they're not on opposite sides of the draw, or this could be a final, but sadly it hasn't played out that way. Nonetheless, this match should be an awesome one. I can't remember the last time these two girls played, and I think it's going to be very interesting to see which one comes out on top. I fully expect them both to get carded into the Open anyway, but that does not make this match any less interesting.

This is not to say, though, that whoever wins this match wins the wildcard. Both Dokic and Molik went three sets in their last matches, so clearly neither is in OMG DOMINATION mode right now... though those cylinders could fire up at any moment! Whichever one gets to the final will have their work cut out against Sophie Ferguson or Olivia Rogowska.

In the dudes, James Duckworth is out, which makes me sad, because he's a bit cool. He was knocked out by Marinko Matosevic, who will face Ball-conquering Adam Feeney. You'd like Matosevic to win this one - he is the second seed - but you never know. This said, Matosevic has been coming through the tournament quietly... I kind of really hope he gets the card here, actually, because he doesn't seem to have made the name for himself that some of the other players have. Peter Luczak and Matt Ebden will face off in the other semi. You can pretty much bet Luczak will get carded in, and Ebden will have a pretty good shot, but Matosevic seems to be under-the-radar man. This could be his best shot.

A Kind Of Magic

The December Showdown has begun! It seems a little strange to get so involved in what is just a playoff for one of the 128 spots on offer in the Australian Open draw... but then the showdown is wonderful fun.

The real question seems to be whether Jelena Dokic or Alicia Molik will be the one to get the wildcard. I think you can probably bet your bottom dollar that both would be carded in anyway - they are big names - so I certainly won't be unhappy if one of the many other girls in the draw pulls through. But Dokic and Molik did both have good wins yesterday and looking hot. That would be a bit of a drawcard final!

If I had to pick, I think I'd throw my cap into the Dokic corner, purely for emotional reasons. When she won the playoff a couple of years ago she went into the Open and won her way into the quarters - wasn't that a story? I don't expect we'll ever see the like of that again but it would be lovely to see the circumstances mirrored, so to speak. There might be a kind of magic in that.

Meanwhile, I'm a little surprised at the names in action in the men's draw. Peter Luczak? I suppose with his ranking he doesn't qualify for direct entry - which is an enormous shame, because he managed to get it up so high there for a while. And Marinko Matosevic and Carsten Ball as well... I suppose it's just indicative of the fact that there is only one player for whom entry is a guarantee that is Hewitt. Everyone has to throw their cards in. Everyone has to play. We've been so spoiled on the women's side with Stosur and Groth and whatnot that we forget this a bit.

Anyway, I wish I could say something about the actual tennis, but not having seen any of it, I can't. I will say this, however - fourteen year old Ashleigh Barty, I hope you play some awesome stuff out there. I always have a soft spot for the young 'uns!

Marvellous Marinko and Awesome Alicia

In all the kerfuffle of Hit for Haiti and the Sampras/Agassi war of words and all the trainwrecks - oh, speaking of trainwrecks, how about Maria Sharapova today? disaster central - I've forgotten to talk about what I think is a really nice story coming out of Indian Wells, from an Australian perspective anyway. In fact, there are two nice stories... which in this age for Aussie tennis is pretty rare.

Act One: Marinko Matosevic. He's been steadily climbing up the rankings for about a year now and making his presence known something severe, and it's finally come good for him at tour level. He played qualies here, qualified and then had the most massive win of his career when he beat Michael Llodra in the first round. Llodra is no schlep - he has some tour titles to his name, for heavens' sake! - so this was absolutely massive for Marinko.

He may have gone down to Jo Tsonga in straights today, but hello, he got the chance to play Jo Tsonga. That alone makes this potentially the biggest tournament of Marinko's career and is going to see him jump a huge number of rankings places. How 'bout that?

What I really like about Matosevic is his determination, and with this kind of impetus behind him, he's only going to get better. I'm excited about seeing where he goes from here.

And then, of course, there's Act Two: Alicia Molik. While Marinko Matosevic may have gone out today, Alicia Molik is still in there, with an absolutely crushing win over Elena Baltacha. I've made my reservations about her comeback quite clear and she is proving me totally wrong. She is playing awesome tennis in the desert and she's starting to show some real form and consistency. It's enough to make you feel all warm and fuzzy.

And... he's not Australian but we love him anyway - R-Fed had a win. Sweeeeeeeeeeeet.

The Prince of Clay

Yeah, so we have winners in Acapulco -Venus (surprise surprise) taking out Flavia Pennetta and then Nicolas Almagro beginning his annual surge with a good win over Gael Monfils. Actually, let's talk about Almagro for a sec, though I hadn't intended to. He is so impressive at this time of the year. As soon as the tour hits the clay, he becomes a contender. That said, put him on hard court and grass and he becomes basically a non-entity. However, when he hits the red stuff...

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I think we can safely say he is the Prince of Clay. Rafa is the king, and ain't no one gonna challenge that one - remember the Roland Garros quarters last year, when Rafa beat him one, one and one? However, I think that beatdown was due to the fact that Rafa took him extra seriously. So it's good to see that Almagro hasn't gone away during the non-clay part of the season and is back, ready to take on the world on the red stuff again.

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Now, onto what I really want to talk about. Bernard Tomic won his first ever Challenger title in East Bentleigh. It's only his third ever Challenger tournament, so I have to say that that is very very good - very very good indeed! He's ranked 536 - this win will catapult him into the #400s. It's still too soon to admit him into my Stars of the Future fold, but hot damn, that boy is going to be good!

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That said, Marinko Matosevic pushed him all the way. It was 5-7 6-4 6-3, so that's clearly one that could have gone either way. I still can't say I know much about it, but he's doing well round this satellite circuit, so the boy clearly has some mojo going on.

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Today's Result

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Abierto Mexicano Telcel (Acapulco)

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Men's Draw

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Nicolas Almagro def. Gael Monfils, 6-4 6-4

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Women's Draw

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Venus Williams def. Flavia Pennetta, 6-1 6-2

Sending A Message

Well, I'm sure Djokovic/Ferrer was not exactly the final that the Dubai tournament organisers were hoping for - it is definitely a poor bastard cousin of Federer/Nadal, which they seemed all set for until a few weeks ago - but it could have been a lot worse for them. And, though I might have pulling for Ferrer, at least their big guy pulled it out and won the tournament for them. But it's going to be very interesting to see what happens with Dubai next year, after the whole Shahar Peer debacle... we saw one political pull-out here this year in the form of Roddick (massive kudos) - but will we see more next year, when players have more time to consider their schedule?

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Guess those appearance fees will have to be jacked up even higher...

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But my real interest at the moment isn't in Dubai - or even Acapulco or Delray Beach. No, it's all about the Maccabi Men's Challenger in East Bentleigh, where a very interesting final has been set up, after Marinko Matosevic blew right past Colin Ebelthite and Bernard Tomic ground it out in straights over Brydan Klein.

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The latter result is probably the most interesting, considering that Davis Cup is coming up. Both Klein and Tomic were on the squad (though did not make the actual team) in Chile last year. Both made it to the second round at the Australian Open this year. But Klein got the call up ahead of Tomic. This is probably purely because he's a bit older, and also he's had some really good results in Challengers lately (remember how he just won two in a row?) but I bet Bernard is a little irritated. I would not be surprised at all if he wanted to prove something with this match, to send a message - a message something along the lines of, 'hey, yeah, remember me? Don't forget me next time, bitches.'

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So it's going to be a good final tomorrow. You've got to pick Tomic on talent - and also because I know virtually nothing about Matosevic except that he has the same birthday as Roger Federer - but you never know what's going to happen in tennis, and that's the beauty of it.

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Today's Results

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Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships (Dubai)

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Novak Djokovic def. David Ferrer, 7-5 6-3

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Abierto Mexicano Telcel (Acapulco)

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Nicolas Almagro def. Martin Vassallo Arguello, 6-4 6-4

Gael Monfils def. Jose Acasuso, 6-3 6-4

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Delray Beach International Tennis Championships (Delray Beach)

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Mardy Fish def. Florent Serra, 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (7-4)

Evgeny Korolev def. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, 6-2 6-2

Boys Light Up

There's tennis going on all over the world right now - in Dubai, in Acapulco, in Delray Beach - but there's another tournament going on that no one's really going to write about, and it's in my own country, so I think that makes it my duty.

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That, of course, would be the Maccabi Men's Challenger in East Bentleigh. It may only be a Challenger, but I think it offers some signs of hope for the future - how often do you see four Aussie blokes in the semis of a tournament, even one of the satellites? Sure, it is on home soil, but I'm not sure how much I believe in the home court advantage in tennis... it's not like cricket or football or anything like that, where you can legitimately know the way a stadium plays better than your opposition. So, good on you, Aussie boys - it's going to be an Aussie holding up the trophy for sure!

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The four we have to choose from are Colin Ebelthite (winner of the December Showdown), Marinko Matosevic (who shares a birthday with Roger Federer), Brydan Klein (newest member of the Davis Cup team) and Bernard Tomic (boy wonder). Ebelthite and Matosevic are one semi, then the blockbuster, one would imagine, would be Klein and Tomic in the other, Australian Open junior champs from '07 and '08 going head to head. That should be an absolute corker.

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Who do I want to win? Well, to tell the truth, I don't much mind. It'd be good to see Klein go well so he has a big lead-in to Davis Cup next week... Ebelthite's been round for a while and could use some love... I don't know a whole lot about Matosevic but he's definitely on the up and up... and I always pull for Tomic, as you all know. But it's just so great to see Aussie boys doing so well, even if it is 'just' a Challenger. Tennis drought my foot. We've got some good boys - and even if they aren't #1, they doesn't mean we can't still be very proud of them.

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Today's Results

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Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships (Dubai)

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Novak Djokovic def. Gilles Simon, 3-6 7-5 7-5

David Ferrer def. Richard Gasquet, 6-2 6-2

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Abierto Mexicano Telcel (Acapulco)

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Men's Draw

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Gael Monfils def. Leonardo Mayer, 6-3 6-7 (4-7) 4-1 retired

Jose Acasuso def. Tommy Robredo, 7-5 6-2

Nicolas Almagro def. Daniel Gimeno-Traver, 6-2 7-6 (7-2)

Martin Vassallo Arguello def. Daniel Koellerer, 6-3 7-6 (8-6)

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Women's Draw

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Flavia Pennetta def. Iveta Benesova, 6-3 6-3

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Delray Beach International Tennis Championships (Delray Beach)

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Jeremy Chardy def. Marcos Baghdatis, 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (7-3)

Christophe Rochus def. Stefan Koubek, 6-3 7-6 (8-6)

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PS. Another gratuitous spruik for my other blog, The Black Valentine's Day Manifesto - http://blackvalentinemanifesto.wordpress.com. It has nothing to do with tennis - it's more about ... well, being 23 and living in Canberra, I suppose. So if you've ever wondered what I do when I'm not writing Tennis From The Backseat or crying over Roger Federer matches (a question which I'm sure has kept you awake at night) please check it out!

The Marvellous Miss Monica

And so we have our finalists in the December showdown. In the men, we have Davis Cup representative Sam 'Scary' Groth against Colin Ebelthite, and in the women, we have young gun Monica Wejnert against old gun Jelena Dokic.

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Groth obviously came through a harder match today than Ebelthite - he beat Joe Sirianni, who won this event last year, and he's had victories over Robert Smeets and Carsten Ball this tournament as well. But you can't knock out Colin. He had that victory against Luczak yesterday - and the milkshake man had to be the favourite - as well as over Tomic (not to be underestimated). He 'only' beat Marinko Matosevic today, but he is totally capable of pulling this one out...

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I have to say that I'm pulling for Sam, though. He might stand a better chance of winning a round or two in the actual Open - he could scare his opponents with his eyebrows.

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And man, am I jumping on the Monica Wejnert train! Jelena Dokic is not one of Australia's better liked sporting personalities, but it's not for that reason I'm pulling against her - I just really, really like what Wejnert is bringing. She beat Isabella Holland today, and I really think Isabella has serious talent... so what will happen? Dokic winning would have the element of a fairy tale, I guess... but just how good is Miss Monica? Wejnert definitely beat the more quality opponent today - no detriment to Emelyn Starr, but she's not on the same level as Holland - and Wejnert beat Dokic earlier this week. AND she's only sixteen. I thought she was eighteen, but nope. Sixteen.

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So, Miss Monica... bring it!

Colin Cruises

Whoa! How 'bout that Colin Ebelthite? Not only is he miraculously healthy, ending Bernard Tomic's chances of a wildcard into the Aussie Open main draw, but now he's knocked out the dude that had to be the odds on favourite, good ol' Mr Milkshake.

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Now that's one that I bet Luczak didn't see coming. It'd be so easy to underestimate someone like Ebelthite - because, seriously, who is he? I hope Pete can find some other way of getting into the main draw, because he's probably a better chance in the long run than Ebelthite, but nonetheless - good job, Colin!

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The other semi-finalists in this wildcard showdown are Sam 'Scary Eyebrows' Groth, Joe Sirianni and surprise packet Marinko Matosevic, who took out Carsten Ball in a bit of a surprising one. Sirianni won the wildcard last year and you have to like his chances again, but wouldn't it be great to see Matosevic, who plays pretty much exclusively on the Pro circuit, come through and grab that card? He is the underdog - so I feel obliged to go for him. No hard feelings, Joe, Colin, Scary. But go Marinko!

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In the women, Jelena Dokic is through, as is Isabella Holland, who is going to meet Monica Wejnert - and what a cracker of a match that could be! That is well worthy of being the final, and I cannot pick it. My tip is that the winner of that match will win the tournament. I don't think Dokic will have a problem beating Emelyn Starr, who is the surprise semi-finalist, but I think she'll succumb to either Holland or Wejnert.

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That said, wouldn't it be something if young Emelyn got the wildcard...?

Lucky Star

And so the last, LAST event of the year has finished, with the Pro circuit event in Sorrento wrapping up. I can't say I am too familiar with the people that won - Marinko Matosevic in the men's and Olivia Rogowska in the women's. I don't have too much more to say about that, except that this Matosevic character has apparently won four Pro circuit titles this year... maybe he'll graduate to Futures or even Challengers at some stage. He is exactly four years younger than Roger Federer... I suppose you could say he was thus born under a tennis lucky star.

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And how about Cedric Pioline? Knocking out Pete Sampras - God, I bet that felt sweet, though I'm sure he would have preferred to have done it a little earlier in his career! - then going on to beat Greg Rusedski for his first seniors tour title. I confess I don't follow the seniors tour very much, which I suppose is a shame, because it looks kind of interesting... actually, Jonas Bjorkman said when he retired that he'd played on the regular tour for so long he could go straight on the seniors tour. Ah, Jonas...

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So what is the point of the seniors tour, exactly? Is it just a chance to set up epic grudgematches, like the Sampras/Pioline rematch? How serious is it? Is it just a group of old guys kicking around having fun or do they really get down and dirty?

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I would like to note that I exempt John McEnroe from this question. He would get down and dirty with anyone, anywhere, anytime...