The Roddick Gateway

We very nearly could have had exactly the same winners on the ATP tour this week as last week, if Andy Roddick had not carelessly (or probably carefully, actually) got in the way. I don't know how often this happens, but I'm going to venture 'not often'. And this week it was not to be.

Nicolas Almagro and Robin Soderling completed the first two points of the triangle - I am very glad that Soderling won in Marseille, by the way. If my beloved Nico M is going to get beaten, I would rather it was by some dude who's genuinely excellent than anyone else. And the Prince of Clay, Nicolas Almagro... well, he's making good on the nickname, and that is for sure.

Anyway. So we had Almagro (check) and Soderling (check) but Raonic, who would have made it a three-from-three, went and lost to Roddick. Three sets it took - though it easily could have been two either way, as the first two were pretty intense breakers - but Roddick it was who came out on top. Yoda I am talking like today. I am, oh yes.

I feel a bit bad about it, as I probably should be rooting for the underdog, but I'm glad Roddick came out on top today. Even though it is, as I said yesterday, like a spaceship with jet thrusters rather than a bandwagon, I'm just not on board with Milos Raonic yet. Probably the spaceship is going too fast for me to catch up on. If Raonic was to add a top ten scalp to his already growing bag of scalps - a scalp that is not the questionably mohawked scalp of Fernando Verdasco, that is - then I don't know if I could deal.

Roddick represents order in the tennis world. He's a top ten fixture. He exists in my world to place regular beatdowns on the guys ranked below him and to get shellacked by Roger Federer. He's the intermediary between the two worlds - the gateway, if you like. If you beat Roddick, then something serious is going down. It's not like beating Verdasco or one of the other top ten ne'er do wells - I'd place players like Berdych, who is (I think) ranked higher than Roddick in this category. Roddick is consistent. Roddick has been in the top ten for about a hundred years and stayed there. If you beat Roddick - especially if you start beating him regularly - well then, you could be launching an assault on the top guys. Or at least getting some wins against them.

Milos Raonic isn't there yet. The Roddick door is closed to him. And for me, maybe this is good. If he's going to get on board, I need his bandwagon to go a little slower.

You Cannot Escape Auto-Update

Having a life still occurring. But Mahut and Clement are in the semis in doubles, so pretend I wrote something about how awesome that was and continue with your day.

This Is What Happens When You Listen To Me

Hey, remember that thing called #wildcardformahut? I don't think I'll ever be letting anyone forget, so you better remember. Well, the Australian Open might have been cruel and coldhearted, but the Open 13 in Marseille was not. They gave my beloved Monsieur (Mademoiselle?) Mahut a wildcard. And it warmed the cockles of my heart to see that little W next to his name, let me tell you.

That is W both for wildcard and for win. Because that is exactly what he did.

A lot of wildcards are incredibly tokenistic, and end up with the recipient crashing out in flames in the first round. It's locals getting a go to play on the big stage, that kind of thing. And I guess Mahut was a local wildcard, being a Angevin French dude in Marseille, but he was the right kind of wildcard. The kind that really, really made good.

It's a special kind of wildcard - and, indeed, player - that can serve at 47% and still win 6-2 6-0. Welcome to the Nicolas Mahut bagel bakery.

Yes, it's one of those days. We're hosting a love-fest in the Nicolas Mahut bagel bakery today. Leave now if you don't want to gush.

I'm not a Mahuberfan because Nico wins. He's ranked #89 in the world, which sort of signals that major wins all the time are not his thing. But he is a damn stylish player, and when he's on, he's a freaking ninja. The percentage of second serve returns he won today was ridiculous. He saved all three break points he faced. He has that uniquely Gallic flair which can be disastrous when it's not his day but which is totally brilliant when it is.

And I'm glad that this victory was a little shorter than eleven hours. But you know if it had been eleven hours, he would have been able to deal with that. That's the way he rolls.

Up next is Soderling, who is a bit good. I've heard. You know. Just a bit. Rotterdam last week? I heard he won that. And he's, like, been to a couple of Roland Garros finals. And he won Bercy. Which seems to suggest he plays pretty well in France. And he sort of beat Mahut the one and only time they played. Which sort of suggests he might do it again...

...but you never count out Nico Mahut. And whatever he does, he does with style and aplomb. Sometimes in a dress. So while I don't mind if he loses, I will be cheering for him to win. Hard. Because when you give Nicolas Mahut a wildcard, he rocks that wildcard so hard.

(Please. Give Mahut a wildcard. I don't care what you're giving him a wildcard to, but give him one.)

Playing To Survive

So I was idly checking the qualifying scores in Marseille - a tournament very much in my good books at the mo on account of how they have given a wildcard to Nicolas Mahut, which obviously fills me with #wildcardformahut joy - and I was a bit struck by something. Some of the names looked very, very familiar.

'Hmmm,' quoth I, 'where have I seen these people before? Verily, I have seen their names recently!'

And then I remembered. I'd seen them in Challenger draws. Not just any Challenger draws. Draws of Challengers which are still happening.

Let's take Laurent Rochette, for example. He had a win in the first round of qualies for Marseille, a three setter. But just a couple of days ago he was in Quimper, where he made it to the third round, beating Amir Weintraub on the way. Essentially, by playing Marseille qualies, he is playing two tournaments in the same week.

Obviously, if he had gone further in Quimper, he wouldn't be playing Marseille qualies. So many decisions on the satellite tour seem to be so split second. It reminds me of that bit in Amir Weintraub's blog where he goes to Brisbane to play qualies, but then realises he has no hope of getting in, so heads straight back to the airport to head to Noumea. 'Entry lists' just don't even seem to be a thing on the satellite circuit. You just rock up somewhere and hope you have the ranking to get it. Even if that place is on the other side of the world.

And there are always more points to be made. Laurent Rochette, if he had won Quimper, would have got 80 points. He made the quarters, which garners him 15 points. But before the week is even done, he's in the hunt for more points in the Marseille qualies. It's brutal and opportunistic and crazy, but ranking points are everything.

Seriously, when do these guys sleep?

In the most recent installment of his blog (which is here, if you haven't read it), AW talks about how he's been so hungry for ranking points that he's played nine weeks on the trot and is picking up injuries like crazy. And yet, as far as I am aware, he has somehow avoided essentially playing two tournaments in a week like Laurent Rochette. People often mock Caroline Wozniacki for how much tennis she plays. The satellite tour makes her look like she spends her weeks lying about in a hammock. Seriously, they must play so much tennis.

And it can't be good for them, physically. It's nuts. But to quote AW: "All I see in front of my eyes are ranking points, points, points. I realise I no longer play to improve, but instead run and check each time which place in the world ranking some more points will take me to."

It's an uncertain life. You never know where you're going to be, week to week. The only stability - for Weintraub, anyway - is Davis Cup. Everything else is up in the air, up for grabs. Weintraub is right. The crazy points chase that dudes like Laurent Rochette is on isn't playing to improve. It's playing to survive.

100% Top 100

ALLEZ ALLEZ ALLEZ ALLEZ ALLEZ ALLEZ ALLEZ!

If you look at that string of crazy ALLEZs and assume that I am a little bit happy about something, then you would be right. My new best friend Nicolas Mahut has gone and won himself a Challenger title in Courmayeur in stunning style, and I am a little bit pleased about that. Just a little. Not a lot.

ALLEZ ALLEZ ALLEZ!

Okay, so quite pleased.

This win will put him squarely back inside the top hundred - if my calculations are correct, he will jump nearly 30 places and land at about #90. How about that?! He said at the Hopman Cup earlier this year that his goal for this year was to get back inside the top hundred. In the past month, he's jumped about 50 spots to achieve this goal. That is 100% pure awesome.

The real battle, of course, will be staying in the top hundred. Breaking in is one thing, staying in is another. Amir Weintraub could probably write a lot more eloquently about the vagaries of ranking. However, just getting in at all is hard enough - Mahut's been out of it for about two years, what with injury and whatnot. And the fact that he's jumped back in at around #90 (as opposed to #99 or something) gives him a little cushion.

There is no rest for those hungry for ranking points, of course. Mahut's been given a wildcard (it feels oddly satisfying to say those words) to this week's Challenger in Quimper, where he will be the top seed. If he can pull a good result here, he can go even higher in the rankings. And according to a French article I read (or tried to read, given as I don't speak French) it seems likely that he'll be given a wildcard to the ATP tournament in Marseille.

Honestly, all these people jumping late onto the #wildcardformahut bandwagon... I thought of that WEEKS ago. It's raining wildcards!

Also playing in Quimper this week is Amir 'Awesome Writer' Weintraub, and I'm going to try and catch one of his matches if I can. I want to see if his game is mightier than his pen. (Also, Nicolas Mahut should seriously consider giving a column a try. I think he'd have lots of amusing things to say. He seems like that kind of guy.)

The fact that I'm already talking about Quimper shows (yet again) how the satellite tour never sleeps. You win one tournament and already you have to think about the next one. There is no sleep, no rest... just an all consuming quest for rankings points. It's brutal. It is 100% hard to the core.

But for now, let's just say ALLEZ! Nicolas Mahut has gone and won himself a Challenger. And I, for one, think that is pretty awesome indeed.

The Curious Case of the Dangerous Worm

Whoa. The Worm seems to have it all going on at the moment. He may not have made such a good showing at the Aussie Open, getting crushed four, love and love by Nando Verdasco, but he's been doing well in the subsidiary tournaments. A title in Brisbane and now one in San Jose - defeating two hometown boys, Roddick in the semis and Fish in the final, along the way.

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What is it with the Worm? I've watched him play a number of times and I still can't quite figure out what makes him such a dangerous player. Because he is a dangerous player, as his results will attest - but watching him play, I cannot tell what facet of his game is the one that makes him dangerous. Does he leech off the spirits of his WTA-girlfriends, both of whom have become rubbish since they dated him? Or has he been defeating people with the power of his picnic-blanket shirt? Maybe I will never know.

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Some good results overnight for a) one of my favourite players, Dmitry Tursunov, who won his opener in Marseille (correct me if I'm wrong, but has he won this title before?) and b) an Aussie, Chris Guccione, who qualified for Memphis and then won his first round match, knocking off local Vince Spadea. I'm perpetually disappointed in Guccione so it's nice to have a bit of a change!

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Though speaking of Aussies I am not currently disappointed in, Brydan Klein has made it two from two on the satellite circuit this year - he won a Challenger event last week, and this year has walked away with a Futures title from Mildura. Useful rankings points - watch this space!

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And, because I was too busy writing about how wonderful Rafa is yesterday, I forgot to give a proper shout out to one of my Stars, who had a great week. Thomaz Bellucci lost a close match in the final of Costa do Sauipe to Tommy Robredo - a great showing. As a result, he's jumped twenty places in the rankings. Nice on, Thomaz!

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Now when is Ernests Gulbis going to reach a final, hmm? (No pressure, Ernests.)

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Oh, and nice work to Ana Ivanovic for conquering an Aussie Open demon and beating Alisa Kleybanova. Still a long way to go, but it's nice to see her taking it a step at a time.

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Today's Results

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SAP Open (San Jose)

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Radek Stepanek def. Mardy Fish, 3-6 6-4 6-2

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Regions Morgan Keenan Championships (Memphis)

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Men's Draw

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Chris Guccione def. Vince Spadea, 7-6 (7-1) 7-6 (7-5)

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Women's Draw

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Lucie Safarova def. Melanie South, 6-2 6-2

Sabine Lisicki def. Ekaterina Bychkova, 6-3 6-3

Michaella Krajicek def. Alla Kudryavtseva, 6-1 6-4

Pauline Parmentier def. Julie Coin, 7-6 (8-6) 4-6 6-1

Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro def. Alexa Glatch, 6-3 6-3

Vania King def. Alexandra Stevenson, 6-2 7-6 (7-5)

Michelle Larcher de Brito def. Sofia Arvidsson, 6-2 6-0

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Copa Telmex (Buenos Aires)

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Brian Dabul def. Nicolas Devilder, 5-7 7-5 6-4

Juan Ignacio Chela def. Alberto Martin, 6-3 6-2

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Open 13 (Marseille)

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Dmitry Tursunov def. Teimuraz Gabashvili, 3-6 6-2 6-2

Jan Hernych def. Kristof Vliegen, 6-3 3-6 6-4

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Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships (Dubai)

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Elena Vesnina def. Svetlana Kuznetsova, 6-4 3-6 6-0

Ana Ivanovic def. Alisa Kleybanova, 7-5 6-4

Urszula Radwanska def. Agnieszka Radwanska, 6-4 6-3

Alizé Cornet def. Anna-Lena Groenefeld, 6-4 6-1

Marion Bartoli def. Ai Sugiyama, 6-0 4-6 7-6 (8-6)

Dominika Cibulkova def. Sorana Cirstea, 6-4 6-2

Anabel Medina Garrigues def. Andreja Klepac, 6-3 6-1

Ayumi Morita def. Anna Chakvetadze, 7-5 6-2

Alona Bondarenko def. Olga Govortsova, 6-4 6-3

Francesca Schiavone def. Casey Dellacqua, 6-1 6-1

Daniela Hantuchova def. Stefanie Voegele, 7-5 6-2

Samantha Stosur def. Magdalena Rybarikova, 6-4 6-3

Monica Niculescu def. Peng Shuai, 3-6 7-5 6-2

Virginie Razzano def. Kateryna Bondarenko, 7-5 6-2

Camille Pin def. Agnes Szavay, 2-6 6-2 6-3

Sania Mirza def. Ekaterina Makarova, 7-5 6-2

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Copa Sony Ericsson Colsanitas (Bogota)

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Edina Gallovits def. Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, 6-2 6-2

Petra Cetkovska def. Sandra Zahlavova, 7-5 6-2