Goodbye to Super Mario

Mario Ancic is living proof that not every tennis player's story is a fairy tale.

He was a world #1 junior. He made the boys' finals of the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2000, losing to Andy Roddick and the marvellous Nicolas Mahut respectively. He was Croatia's heir to Goran Ivanisevic, and like Ivanisevic, it seemed that he had a destiny.

He beat Roger Federer at Wimbledon in his first ever Grand Slam match, and I bet there's a few guys out there that will tell you that that is something which is a bit hard to do. He won a Challenger in Hamburg in 2003, which seems like a little thing... until you realise that the other finalist was some dude called Rafael Nadal. He made the Wimbledon semis in 2004. He won a bronze medal in doubles with Ivan Ljubicic at the Athens Olympics.

And that's not even his career years yet. His career high ranking was #7, and he deserved it. Mario Ancic was a fantastic player. He won titles at St Petersburg and s'Hertogenbosch (twice). He was so, so close to making the Masters Cup a couple of times. He was basically made of pure awesome and the train did not seem like it was about to stop.

But then came the monster that every tennis player fears. Injury. Illness.

Glandular fever. Broken bones. An ongoing back complaint. The mind was willing but the flesh was weak. Though weak is not the right word for it - Ancic forced his way back up to about #24 in the rankings for a while there. But he was never the same again.

Yesterday, Mario Ancic announced his retirement from professional tennis. At the age of 26, he is walking away from the sport. His body can no longer take it. The monsters won in this fairy tale. In terms of tennis, there is no happy ending here.

This does not mean that a) Ancic cannot be proud of his achievements, because he did really, really well in his time on tour, and b) that there are not bright things ahead for Ancic. From 2002-2008, Ancic was studying law as well as playing tennis, and he submitted his thesis on the legal underpinnings of the tour in 2008. He's probably one of the foremost experts in the world now on tennis and law, and I think that there is definitely a very, very excellent future for Ancic there. He might be done with playing the sport, but tennis and Ancic will continued to be linked for some time yet.

It's still really sad, though. It makes you realise that injury and illness can happen to any player out there - even the bright young things who seem to have all their career still ahead of them. We might not have seen much of him for the last few years, but we're still going to miss Mario Ancic. He was a big player with a big game and a big heart, and people like him will always, always be missed.

Body Count

I wrote a couple of days back about the sad story of Mario Ancic and how talent just wasn't enough for him, because his body just wouldn't hold out. Well, Roland Garros hasn't even started yet and we already have a substantial body count. And that makes me sad.

Firstly, Juan Martin del Potro. He is out for a long stretch of forever and won't be able to defend his US Open title. It's one thing to take an extended break from the game - it didn't seem to do Kimmie and JuJu any harm - but it's another altogether to have such a substantial injury and come back. Whether Juan M is still a Slam contender when he comes back... we'll just to have to wait and see. But this is not good news for him.

Then there's Kimmie - alas, poor Kimmie. She'll get better, but even two Slams in, I'm so used to seeing her there that it seems like a big loss being without her. I'm sure JuJu, broken finger aside, will manage to hold up the Belgian end of the deal very well (not to mention Yanina Wickmayer), but still, boo.

And now Caroline Wozniacki might be in doubt. Much as I find her brand of tennis incredibly boring, this is sad, because she is a genuine Slam contender these days. The women's draw is incredibly open this tournament and she might just have been able to take a stab at it. She might be fit, but then she might not be.

It's hard to imagine how big a toll tennis takes on someone's body when you watch it. We all saw how Rafa's body gave out on him last year - he who always seems so strong and indomitable was beaten by his knees. And even perenially uninjured I-walk-on-water Roger Federer has said he plays in pain 80% of the time. Which is, you know, a lot.

I don't know what there is to be done about this, apart from Federesque sensible scheduling. But it's always something to think about, when we watch these matches - this sport can really wear a person down.

Alas, Poor Mario

You know who really can't catch a break, poor dude? Mario Ancic.

I think he is an awesome guy and one of the saddest stories of tennis. He is a machine of pure tennis radness when he is well. Unfortunately, it seems like he hasn't been well since about 1874. Remember when he was in the top ten? It seems like it lasted for all of four seconds, when, with his talent, it should have lasted years and years and years. He is one of the most supremely talented people I've seen on court for a long time - I mean, he beat Federer at Wimbledon! - but he just never seems to get well. He just had pull out of Nice.

I suppose the Ancic story is testament to the fact that for every tennis fairy tale there's a quiet tragedy. Alas, poor Mario. I think you're super. Get well. Eventually.

Well, that was depressing. Good news! French Open qualies! John Millman winning his first round match! Yay! Unfortunately none of the other Aussies did - Guccione, Ebden, Jones, Matosevic and Lindahl are all out -but YAY JOHN.

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

Tertiary Tennis

I graduated from university today - something which has little to do with tennis. (Surprisingly, there are other things than tennis I'm interested in... Renaissance theatre, for one!) But I thought it thus appropriate to talk tennis and university - more specifically, this so-called ATP university.

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Question: does anyone actually know what the hell it is?

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There are tennis players who have earned degrees, and they are thus exceptional - Mario Ancic, for one. But this ATP university is not so much a university as... well, a seminar, really. It's a very misleading name. There was a story on the ATP website the other day about how sixteen players graduated from it. Naturally, I was intrigued, so I went and looked... and on the list of graduates was Thomaz Bellucci and another one of my Stars (can't remember which), who are both VERY young, nonwithstanding them being professional tennis players.

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Turns out all you have to do to graduate from the ATP university is attend a three day seminar about management and some other stuff (unsure of specifics) and probably not burn anything down. As someone who has slaved away earning their degrees for five years and only now comes away with the precious testamur, I think I object to the use of the term 'university...'

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In the same vein, Sania Mirza got given an honorary doctorate the other day. I hate honorary doctorates. I know she's awesome and what she's done for Indian tennis is good and everything, but a doctorate is something you work at, damn it! As someone who is intending to do a PhD, I am always really pissed off when someone gets handed something that I, who am not famous, will have to study for for years and years and years...

A Good Day in the Safin(a) Household

Well, I bet it's a happy night tonight in the Safin(a) household. Both Marat and Dinara had great wins today, against excellent fellow Russians - Dinara took out Svetlana Kuznetsova, which is hardly surprising, considering Kuznetsova's recent headcaseness and Dinara's lack of it, but more surprisingly, the big guy took out Nikolay Davydenko, to whom he has lost, like, nine hundred times in a row. This puts Marat in the semis of an event - something we don't see often and haven't seen since (I can't believe I'm saying this) Wimbledon.

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He's playing Mischa Zverev next, which is a match you think he ought to be able to win, though you never know with Marat. I place no bets and make no claims. I merely hope. I hope sincerely that the wheels don't fall off and that this win over Davydenko wasn't all he had left in the tank. I hope that Dinara has a good talk to him about focus, because she has plenty and to spare.

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It's a pretty strange set of semi-finalists in Moscow, actually - Safin is the only seed left. In the other semi, there's Santoro (of whom I am very fond, as he plays fun tennis) and Kunitsyn. There's a shot at an all-Russian final, which I'm sure would make the organisers happy. Actually, over in the girls, an Russian final is a possibility as well - Jankovic is the odd duck out among Safina, Zvonareva and Dementieva. You'd like Jankovic to get the final - but then, you never know when she's going to injure herself and the suchlike.

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Elsewhere, I am glad that my Star Kei Nishikori got through - with the demise of Jeremy Chardy, he's the only one left - but I wish it didn't have to be this way. He got a walkover against Ancic, who's out with bronchitis and a fever. Poor Super Mario - I hope he's okay. He's a bad time of it with the illness and all - I know the glandular fever knocked Federer about, but it has messed with Ancic big time, the poor guy. The team here at Tennis From The Backseat (...ie. me...) wish him a heartfelt get well soon!

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Speaking of Federer, I'm glad he's playing Madrid next week - I want him to defend his points, and make better on them, if he can. Rafa has a good chance of extending his lead, as he rarely does well in the indoor court season and thus has little to defend and a lot to gain, and I'd rather not see that lead get too much bigger, for much as I like Rafa, Roger is my special favourite and always will be.

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Meanwhile, on the front page of today's Sydney Morning Herald is some nefarious plot from Sydney to steal the Australian Open when Melbourne's contract expires in 2016 - and apparently Shanghai, Dubai and Abu Dhabi have similar plans. I don't like this idea AT ALL. Much as having the Open in Sydney would be lightyears more convenient for me, it BELONGS in Melbourne. And if it were to move overseas... how I would ever see any tennis, ever? Yes, that's selfish, but I don't care. The Australian Open belongs in Melbourne, and that's all there is to it.

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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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Marat Safin def. Nikolay Davydenko, 7-6 (7-5) 4-6 6-4

Fabrice Santoro def. Paul-Henri Mathieu, 6-3 2-0 retired

Mischa Zverev def. Viktor Troicki, 6-4 3-6 7-5

Igor Kunitsyn def. Jeremy Chardy, 6-4 6-2

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Women's Draw

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Jelena Jankovic def. Flavia Pennetta, 7-6 (8-6) 6-3

Dinara Safina def. Svetlana Kuznetsova, 6-4 7-5

Elena Dementieva def. Nadia Petrova, 6-4 4-6 7-6 (8-6)

Vera Zvonareva def. Dominika Cibulkova, 7-5 6-4

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If Stockholm Open (Stockholm)

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David Nalbandian def. Albert Montanes, 6-4 6-1

Kei Nishikori def. Mario Ancic, walkover

Jarkko Nieminen def. Oscar Hernandez, 6-1 6-4

Robin Soderling def. Rainer Schuettler, 6-2 7-5

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Bank Austria Tennis Classic (Vienna)

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Gael Monfils def. Fernando Gonzalez, 6-3 7-6 (7-2)

Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Fernando Verdasco, 6-2 6-3

Feliciano Lopez def. Jurgen Melzer, 4-6 6-3 6-4

Philipp Petzschner def. Carlos Moya, 6-4 6-2

Mirnyi Lays Down The Law

First things first: I know there's lots of proper grown up tennis going on in the world at the moment, but I have to say the result I found most exciting was in the Optus under-12 National Championships, where little Ashleigh Barty and Li Tu took out the titles. Not having seen either of them play, I can make no real comment, but the fact that such an event exists and the standard is reportedly so high is a very good sign for the future of Australian tennis. Here's hoping these kids grow up into something spectacular, so I can look back at this post when I'm thirty, thirty-five, and say, 'I told you so.'

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No major upsets in the grown up tennis world today, unless you count Juan Martin del Potro, who was technically beaten, but it was a walkover, so I don't know if that counts. The only other seeded player to be beaten was Janko Tipsarevic, who got knocked out in Moscow by Viktor Troicki. I saw Troicki play Nadal at the Australian Open this year, and though Nadal beat him in straights, he played very well and held a couple of set points, so it's nice to see that potential come through.

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Speaking of potential, Star of the Future Kei Nishikori had a good win over Dominik Hrbaty - I know Hrbaty isn't exactly the best, most in-form player on the circuit right now, but a win is a win, and I am very proud of my Kei. For he is one of mine, and that is something. And yay for Marat, who strung a second win onto his first one! He beat Julien Benneteau, despite Benneteau handing him a bagel in the second set.

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And a big shout out to Max Mirnyi, who got his degree! I find it incredible how some of these players can find time to study when you consider the rigorous life of a tennis player - I mean, I know Ancic earned his degree while he was off with glandular fever, but it takes years to earn a degree - particularly a law degree, which is what both of these guys now have. They both must have been studying like crazy. I have major kudos for both of them. I find it hard enough to study in my own life - I can't imagine what it would be like if you had to deal with being a professional athlete as well. Particularly writing a thesis, which both of them did - Mirnyi's was about the human rights of children, and Ancic's about the legal status of the ATP, or somesuch. I'm putting the finishing touches on my thesis now, and it has consumed my whole life. I can't imagine having to spend hours and hours and hours training and playing and whatnot every single day. And I don't know about Ancic, but Mirnyi has a family, as well. Max, you are a machine. I salute you.

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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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Nikolay Davydenko, def. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, 6-1 6-1

Paul-Henri Mathieu def. Dudi Sela, 6-7 (3-7) 7-5 7-6 (7-0)

Marat Safin def. Julien Benneteau, 6-4 0-6 6-2

Viktor Troicki def. Janko Tipsarevic, 6-3 6-4

Mischa Zverev def. Teimuraz Gabashvili, 6-2 2-6 6-1

Igor Kunitsyn def. Robby Ginepri, 6-4 6-3

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Women's Draw

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Jelena Jankovic def. Vera Dushevina, 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 6-2

Vera Zvonareva def. Daniela Hantuchova, 6-1 6-0

Nadia Petrova def. Caroline Wozniacki, 6-4 3-2 retired

Flavia Pennetta def. Ekaterina Makarova, 3-6 6-4 6-4

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If Stockholm Open (Stockholm)

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David Nalbandian def. Joachim Johansson, 6-3 6-2

Mario Ancic def. Steve Darcis, 7-6 (7-4) 6-4

Jarkko Nieminen def. Arnaud Clement, 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-2

Robin Soderling def. Juan Monaco, 6-3 6-3

Albert Montanes def. George Bastl, 1-6 6-3 6-2

Kei Nishikori def. Dominik Hrbaty, 6-1 1-6 7-5

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Bank Austria Tennis Trophy (Vienna)

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Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Juan Martin Del Potro, walkover

Gael Monfils def. Radek Stepanek, 6-4 6-3

Feliciano Lopez def. Santiago Giraldo, 7-6 (7-5) 6-3

Jurgen Melzer def. Juan Carlos Ferrero, 7-6 (7-4) 6-3

Argentina Changes It Up

For the first time ever, Argentina is not playing a home Davis Cup tie on clay. Which is very, very smart, though you don't need to be a genius to work that out. They've proposed the indoor stadium at Cordoba, with their alternate offering being another indoor stadium. It's certainly the best way to give themselves a fighting chance.

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Rafa, in past years, has kind of disappeared after Wimbledon, and by the indoor season he's pretty much gone altogether. He certainly didn't disappear after this year's Wimbledon, what with that Olympic gold medal and suchlike, so it will be interesting to see how he handles the indoor season - the season that was absolutely owned by David Nalbandian last year. That is how Headbandian is still in the top ten, yesno - those carryover points from Paris and Madrid last year?

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Nadal has never beaten Nalbandian (I think) and so it will be veeeeeery interesting to see how this tie plays out, on Nalbandian's preferred surface. You still wouldn't bet against Nadal - the guy beat Federer on grass, so you'd think he can do just about anything - but this is a pretty big challenge, at any rate. I suppose it'll be contingent on which Nalbandian shows up. GoodDave usually appears at Davis Cup, but you never know when LameDave will rear his ugly head...

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We have several tournaments going on this week - the ATP is in Metz, the WTA in Stuttgart and Tashkent, and there's a joint tournament in Tokyo. One of my Stars is active in Metz, and he's making a very good account of himself - that would be Ernests Gulbis, who took out Mario Ancic, the eighth seed. All portents of good things - well, maybe not for Ancic, but for Gulbis certainly. Ancic is not necessarily in the best shape ever right now, but a victory is a victory and it's nothing to sneeze at! I would dearly love to see Gulbis make an assault on the title here. Marin Cilic has won his first title - it's Ernests's turn!

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Meanwhile, how rude was it of Andy Roddick not to go to Mardy Fish's wedding? I mean, sure he's a tennis player and he has to play and stuff, but didn't they, like, grow up together? I hope Mardy Fish refuses to attend Roddick's wedding. I would. What I found particularly ironic is that the tournament Roddick played which caused him to miss the wedding was in Beijing. Should have gone to China when everyone else was there for the Olympics, Andy!

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And finally, does anyone know what's going on with Marina Erakovic? She was sailing beautifully for a while there, and now she's losing all the time. What's going on?

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Today's Results

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Open de Moselle (Metz)

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Ernests Gulbis def. Mario Ancic, 7-6 (7-3) 6-4

Jose Acasuso def. Guillermo Canas, 6-3 2-6 6-3

Janko Tipsarevic def. Jeremy Chardy, 7-6 (7-5) 7-5

Carlos Moya def. Albert Montanes, 6-1 4-6 6-4

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AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships (Tokyo)

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Men's Draw

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Ivo Minar def. Mischa Zverev, 7-6 (11-9) 2-6 6-2

Amer Delic def. Go Soeda, 6-4 6-2

Hyung-taik Lee def. Satoshi Iwabuchi, 6-1 6-4

Takao Suzuki def. Yuichi Sugita, 6-3 7-6 (8-6)

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Women's Draw

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Kaia Kanepi def. Lucie Safarova, 4-6 6-3 6-4

Marta Domachowska def. Aiko Nakamura, 6-4 7-5

Ayumi Morita def. Marina Erakovic, 6-1 6-4

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Porsche Tennis Grand Prix (Stuttgart)

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Sybille Bammer def. Tatjana Malek, 4-6 6-2 7-5

Li Na def. Nicole Vaidisova, 6-1 6-2

Alona Bondarenko def. Eleni Daniilidou, 7-6 (7-5) 6-1

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Tashkent Open (Tashkent)

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Sabine Lisicki def. Dilyara Saidkhodjaeva, 6-0 6-1

Magdalena Rybarikova def. Kathrin Woerle, 6-4 6-4

Sofia Shapatava def. Kinnie Laisne, 6-3 4-6 6-4

The Man

All three of the winners in the men's semis last night are worthy claimants to the title of 'The Man.' All three played wonderfully - though all three played differently - and all three thoroughly deserved their wins.

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And Clement and Schuettler... well, they're just going to have to play catch up.

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The winner of that Clement/Schuettler match - which was at one set all when darkness stopped play - will face today's first claimant for the title of Man, which is the hugely be-biceped Rafael Nadal. I thought it was wonderfully ironic that this was the man Murray had to play after doing that whole muscle routine after the Gasquet victory. I must admit, I was impressed by the Murray muscles - considering he looks like such a skinny weed - but ain't no one can out bicep the Raf.

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Murray did not get a single break point in the match. Not only was Rafa serving beautifully, he was dominating at the net - he won twelve of fourteen approaches. I have predicted Rafa's demise for the past two rounds. Colour me ye-of-little-faith'd. There was no sign at all of knee trouble. Repeatedly, Murray tried to spread Nadal wide across the court. He really should have figured out after he got owned the first few times that that was just not going to work.

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Actually, it wasn't the smartest tactical game ever from Murray - though even if it had been, I doubt it would have made much difference. He let Rafa draw him into his game. The points were long, grinding. To a man who had just played the Five Set Match of Doom, long points were not in his interests to begin with - and against Rafa? Rafa Nadal? Claycourt king of the universe? Long, clay style points are never, ever going to be any good.

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Rafa himself played exceptional tennis. I have never really appreciated how good his passing shot is, but he pulled off some gorgeous ones. Murray might be capable of playing MacGyver tennis, but Rafa never gave him the chance. He is such a good retriever. It was nearly impossible for Murray to hit winners because Rafa was just there all the time. Like I said, knee? What knee? A worthy claimant to the title of Man.

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Another man (or Man, as the case might be) who has had knee trouble in his time is Marat 'Tennis Player I Would Most Like To Have An Affair With' Safin. The Lopez match wasn't his best match of the tournament, but he won it, and that - winning - is what has been sorely missing from the Safin game of late. He will never exactly be Zen, but I think the rain delay was really good for him, because it gave him a bit of a chance to calm down. I know smashing stuff is part of the Marat mystique and all, but when he's playing well enough that he doesn't need to - that's when you know Marat is in the building.

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Lopez didn't play bad - except perhaps in the last few points of the match, after that weird let call that pissed him off. (I bet that linesman got a talking to... I bet he wouldn't like to meet Fidgiano in a dark alley.) But Maratski lifted his game after that first set and just comprehensively outplayed him. He played a smart game. He didn't let Fidgiano - who really does have a very unSpanish game, if one can say that - bamboozle him with his slice backhand of excellence, and imposed himself. He has really improved his game at the net, as well. He's never been especially comfortable up there, but he has learned to use his size and his wingspan, and he is really getting down to balls well there. And he isn't afraid to approach the net, either - he came in 35 times, and won 25 of them. That is really good, for someone that isn't Captain Volley under normal circumstances.

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It is so great for Marat to be achieving new milestones in his career now, when he hasn't been playing so well. He has won five matches in a row against some very high quality opponents - I cannot thank him enough for putting out Public Enemy #1 in Novak Djokovic - and he hasn't even been playing his best. He's been finding his champion's mentality again - finding a way to win. This is his first Wimbledon semi final. Maybe all it took for him to get his mojo back was for little sis Dinara to reach the French final. Perhaps Marat can't bear not being the princess... and hey, I'm not complaining. A worthy claimant to the title of Man - even if I did call him a princess in the last sentence.

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But our final claimant, and the one for me that is the winner, The Man, the king of the grass, is Roger Federer. He played gorgeous tennis today - absolutely sublime. Rafa had eight unforced errors in his match. Roger had six. Six errors to an amazing forty winners. It is considered pretty decent when you have an even ratio. This is almost a 7:1 ratio. That is INSANE. Like, crazy. Rafa has been playing insanely well. But I think Roger is playing even better.

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I feel really sorry for Mario Ancic whenever he has to play Federer on grass, because no one will ever let him forget that 2002 first round. I bet he's kicking himself for winning that match now. Well, not really, but in many ways it's been more trouble than it's worth for him. He's over it. Federer's over it. It was six years ago, for heavens' sake. And still, the media is always like, oh, Ancic is a huge threat to Federer, last person to beat him on grass, ra, ra, ra. And sure, Ancic was the last person to beat Federer on grass - but it really is all academic now.

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It took this crazy NinjaFed (tm) tennis for the commentators on Channel 9 to even begin to admit that Federer might have a tiny chance of winning the title. He is now the 'slight favourite.' Excuse me, but what crack are they smoking? Why do people persist in doubting him? I know Rafa beat him at the French and sure, it was a beatdown. But if that has any bearing on this match at all, I think it will be motivation for Federer to shut people up. So when did Rafa suddenly become the out and out favourite? Forgive me in having the tiniest little bit of faith in the man who has won sixty four grass court matches in a row, including five Wimbledon titles, and two finals victories over who? Rafa.

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This is Federer's seventeenth straight Grand Slam semi final. That is just ridiculous consistency. (Six semi finals, Novak? You will have to do much better than that.) And that is why I declare Roger Federer today's winner of the title of Man. Rafa Nadal and Marat Safin are also very excellent Men, and worthy of the title, but if you have to pick one, well...

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Roger Federer. The Man.

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Wimbledon Results - Day #9

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Men's Draw

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Roger Federer def. Mario Ancic, 6-1 7-5 6-4

Marat Safin def. Feliciano Lopez, 3-6 7-5 7-6 (7-1) 6-3

Rafael Nadal def. Andy Murray, 6-3 6-2 6-4

Andymonium

Who woulda thunk it? Two sets and a break down. You would have bet your house on Richard Gasquet winning it. And back Andy Murray comes. A five set battle. Some beautiful tennis. The crowd roaring like they were watching Man U. And a Brit into the quarter finals.

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I will be the first to admit that I am not the biggest Andy Murray fan. He seems to me sort of like a Scottish version of Lleyton Hewitt, personality wise. But that kid has got some serious game. The real litmus test of how well he is playing seems to be his first serve, and his percentage was majorly rubbish in the first two sets. But to his credit, he picked it up. He got his head in the game. And he thoroughly deserved that victory.

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Murray hasn't been as well beloved by the British public as Tim Henman was - much in the same way that while Lleyton is a tabloid star here, he isn't in people's hearts like Pat Rafter was. But poor Richou, shaking his head after the match in the presser, said that it was like playing a Davis Cup tie, and I agree with him. The crowd was insane. I was in Rod Laver Arena for one of Alicia Molik's matches at the Australian Open this year, and it was nothing like this. I saw Dmitry Tursunov beat Chris Guccione at the Medibank International, and although the crowd was totally behind Gooch, it wasn't like this. Of course, the stakes weren't quite as high as here, but I don't know if I have ever seen a crowd so absolutely electrified. Not even Gael Monfils, with his crazy eyes and weird acrobatic antics, lit up the crowd like this when he played Federer in the semis at Roland Garros.

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Henmania was a documentable phenomenon. Now we have Andymonium - and while Andy may not be beloved like Tim, that doesn't mean that the crowd at SW19 isn't getting right behind him.

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I'm not sure what I think about this, to be honest. I like Richou a lot, and I felt so sorry for him. Because if that crowd hadn't been there, pumping Murray up, would he have won?

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This is a question we cannot answer. Whatever the reason and however he did it, Murray pumped himself up and took the match back, and that is very much to his credit. And I picked him to win, so at least that vindicated me a little... yeah, my record in picking quarter finalists this time has not been quite so illustrious as it was at the French. Let's have a bit of a looksee... starting with matches I got right.

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Federer/Hewitt. I totally got that one right. As if I wasn't going to. There's this great article on the Wimbledon website today by Alix Ramsay, where she talks about a Swiss journalist coming into the bunker near the end of the first set and saying, 'Ah, the ankle-biter is playing well, yes?' That seems to me the perfect description of Lleyton Hewitt, especially now, with his injuries and his slide down the rankings. He plays annoying tennis. He gets a lot of balls back, and he runs around retrieving like a crazy person. There was another great line in the article where Ramsay described Hewitt like this:

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'A bundle of nervous energy, it looked like he would heat a bedsit for a week if you plugged him into the electricity grid.'

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Hewitt challenged, and he challenged bravely. He plays, as Ramsay described it, 'Come over here if you think you're hard enough' tennis. I like that about him. Like a terrier, he doesn't give up. But with his hip problem, his tennis was never going to be anything but annoying. He could do nothing but bite Federer's ankles.

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The first set was tight, but once Federer had that under his belt, he sailed away. He didn't bring his A-game, though he played very nicely nevertheless. What is most telling is these stats - 63% of first serves in, winning 85% of the time. He converted 3/3 break points, and defended 8/8. He shifted gears when he needed to. It was a consummately professional performance. The carpet slippers came off, but you can't really play Hewitt wearing them.

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I was right on the Safin match as well, much to my glee. He'd never beaten Wawrinka before, and I think he wanted a tiny bit of revenge. Not that Stan is a very revenge inducing guy - he's very nice. But Marat is always his angry self, inexorably. Actually, there was a great line in Kate Battersby's article about the match... she said that Wawrinka was looking unhappy, and then said this:

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'Of course, Safin also appeared outwardly unhappy, but only in that uniquely Safinesque way that actually means he is enjoying himself.'

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He played very well indeed, aside from that loose game at 5-5 all in the third when he gave the break straight back to Wawrinka, who promptly served out the set. I don't know if Marat is ever happy with himself, but I think this should go some way towards it - a little, anyway. He's not quite the Marat of years of yore, but he is the closest facsimile we're going to get, I think - and it's a pretty decent one. He stands a real chance of getting to the semis, I think, and he's never done that before. I would love for Marat to achieve a milestone now, when a lot of people have been talking like his career is over. He has won four matches in a row now, and that is something he has not done for at least a couple of years now. Can he take out Feliciano Lopez? Yes, I think he can.

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Feliciano 'Fidgiano' Lopez took out Marcos Baghdatis in a five set thriller - and I totally didn't expect that. Fidgiano has a great grass court game, but I didn't think he had anything on Marcos. Looks like I was wrong. It was a big big battle, to be sure, but it was Fidgiano who held his nerve and came out on top. Marcos must be bitterly disappointed. With Djokovic and Nalbandian out of the quarter, he must have really fancied his chances to get to the semis. After he lost to Federer at Halle, someone asked him what his expectations were for Wimbledon, and he replied, 'to win it.' He must be very sad.

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Another five set battle was the Verdasco/Ancic match - which I did predict correctly, although I certainly wasn't expecting it to be 13-11 in the fifth! Ancic got through that marathon match, and he'll face Federer. I hope it hasn't taken too much out of him, because I'd like him to play well. I think it'll be good for Federer to have a tough match - though I think he should still win in straight sets. People keep going on about how Ancic was the last man to beat Federer on grass - but what they forget was that that was in 2002, and Federer was not yet Federer then. Mario knows that, though. It won't stop him trying, however, and that's a good thing. I'd pick Federer, obviously, to get through that one relatively unscathed.

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Rafa beat Youzhny, which was pretty expected, even though I picked Youzhny to win. A bit of a scare, though, with the knee - I was really worried he was going to have to default. But no, he played on. It will be interesting to see how he shapes up after he cools down. You can bet Andy Murray will be exploiting it, if there is anything there to exploit. Rafa said he felt something crack, so I hope, for his sake, it's not too bad.

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I was thoroughly unimpressed with Youzhny, though. He didn't totally suck, but he did a pretty good impression of it, especially with his crap drop shots. Seriously, did any of them work? I think they did not.

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And then the two old guys got through! Schuettler beat Tipsarevic and Clement beat Cilic. Once again, I was totally wrong in this quarter. I want Clement to get through to be this Slam's random Frenchman, and so I'm going to pick Schuettler to win as sort of insurance.

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I didn't do too bad picking out the women, though - both my upsets came to pass! Tanasugarn took out Jankovic and Radwanska took out Kuznetsova. I was a bit sad for Sveta... I like her, and the wheels fell off her game, to an extent. Radwanska deserved that win, though - good on her! That's all top four seeds out now.

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I suppose Vaidisova's win over Chakvetadze could be considered an upset too, and I picked that one. I picked the Williams sisters to win as well - but really, who wouldn't? The match I'm really looking forward to is Dementieva/Petrova - I'm quite fond of Petrova, so I hope she does well! My semi final picks are going to be... hmmm... Vaidisova/Serena and Petrova/Venus. I wouldn't mind it if A-Rad pulled an upset over Serena, though!

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Ladies' Day tomorrow, so all those matches will come to pass... and I might get to bed at a reasonable hour, because they can go no longer than three sets! These last six weeks have put me on such a bizarre sleeping pattern... I'm going to have jetlag!

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Wimbledon Results - Day #7

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Men's Draw

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Roger Federer def. Lleyton Hewitt, 7-6 (9-7) 6-2 6-4

Rafael Nadal def. Mikhail Youzhny, 6-3 6-3 6-1

Marat Safin def. Stanislas Wawrinka, 6-4 6-3 5-7 6-1

Andy Murray def. Richard Gasquet, 5-7 3-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-2 6-4

Rainer Schuettler def. Janko Tipsarevic, 6-4 3-6 6-4 7-6 (7-4)

Mario Ancic def. Fernando Verdasco, 3-6 4-6 6-3 6-4 13-11

Arnaud Clement def. Marin Cilic, 6-3 7-5 6-2

Feliciano Lopez def. Marcos Baghdatis, 5-7 6-2 3-6 7-6 (7-4) 8-6

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Women's Draw

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Agnieszka Radwanska def. Svetlana Kuznetsova, 6-4 1-6 7-5

Nicole Vaidisova def. Anna Chakvetadze, 4-6 7-6 (7-0) 6-3

Serena Williams def. Bethanie Mattek, 6-3 6-3

Venus Williams def. Alisa Kleybanova, 6-3 6-4

Jie Zheng def. Agnes Szavay, 6-3 6-4

Nadia Petrova def. Alla Kudryavtseva, 6-1 6-4

Elena Dementieva def. Shahar Peer, 6-2 6-1

Tamarine Tanasugarn def. Jelena Jankovic, 6-3 6-2

Ole!

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

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

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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.

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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