Superb Serbia

Well, I did not expect this. I would have sworn that France was going to win this one. I was convinced that Llodra would have the guns to pull through and that Monfils might get a sneaky one in over Djokovic. But I was totally, utterly wrong. Sorry about that, Serbia. And congratulations.

It's hard to pick a hero for this tie - I mean, you can safely say it wasn't Tipsarevic, but beyond that, not so much. You really do have to go with Djokovic, I think, who won those crucial two points and gave Troicki a fighting chance going into the fifth and deciding rubber. You can throw Troicki's name into the ring as well - he did, after all, win that rubber - but his serve was the yippy one in the doubles. So Novak gets the honours, I think - but it was a big team effort.

Let's talk about the two matches for a second. I think they both would have been terribly anti-climactic - especially after the epic doubles match - if it wasn't, you know, the Davis Cup final. I definitely wasn't expecting Djokovic to put the hurt on Monfils the way he did. I definitely was expecting more from Monfils than he brought. It seems like he left it all on the court against Tipsarevic... he should have saved some up for this match, because with the way Tipsarevic was playing, he didn't need to use it all then.

I think the crowd definitely drove Djokovic on, but I think it also negatively affected Monfils... which it didn't in the first match, so I found this surprising. I thought that Monfils sort of enjoyed being the antagonist then. Today... not so much. Maybe it's different because it's Djokovic. I don't know. But Gael won't be too happy with himself.

And neither will Michael Llodra, and I am really sad about this one, because I would have totally backed him against either Troicki or Tipsarevic. Unlike Obradovic, I would have played Tipsarevic here, but his choice was obviously a good one, because it paid off big time. Troicki had the match of his life out there. He was definitely spurred on by the crowd here, because he had an absolute blinder. I have never, ever seen him play that well.

...and I can't remember the last time I saw Llodra play so poorly.

This one breaks my heart, because I am in love with Llodra's game. He epitomises French tennis - the flair, the style, the everything. But today he epitomised the bad side of that - the erraticness. And it was horrible to watch.

This is the kind of match that can break a man, and I will be so, so sad if it breaks Llodra. He is so much better than this. He has so much more ahead of him. Here's hoping he can just put Davis Cup behind him and rock 2011 like the French tennis god he is.

But for now, congratulations to Serbia. Talk about a fairy tale.

Serbia Gets Slapped

Okay. Now we have some action. A fightback from two sets down? That is what I'm talking about.

I bet Obradovic is fiercely glad he didn't play Djokovic here, even though the Serbs didn't get the point, because if Djokovic had gone five sets today? No way he'd be up to it against Monfils tomorrow. That just wouldn't be happening.

Troicki and Zimonjic put up a good match here - they won the first two sets, after all - but they're both going to be bitterly disappointed. To lead two sets and then go down, in front of a home crowd? Geez. That is like a slap in the face with a fish and no mistake. And if I'm Nenad 'I love doubles' Zimonjic, I am a bit annoyed about being let down by the weak serving of my partner. Because that, at the end of the day, was the clincher. So in that sense, maybe Obradovic is regretting he didn't play Djokovic. I doubt he would have got as yippy as Troicki did.

But let's talk about the dudes that really pulled it out. Clement. Llodra. I love these dudes. They might be one of my favourite doubles teams ever. They are GOOD TIMES. I don't really have a side I'm pulling for in this tie, but in terms of this match? I was pulling for these two all the way. Forget did a really good job putting these two together - though I doubt it was a rocket science decision.

What I always admire in a comeback like the one they pulled is the ability to not panic and to not give in. It must be so easy to fold when you're two sets down - the way back seems insurmountable. But for Arnaud and Michael? Not so much. They rocked it. And I bet that Serbian crowd was NOT happy.

This leaves us in a very interesting place for tomorrow. The long and short of it is that if Djokovic loses, Serbia are screwed. But let's assume that rankings hold and Djokovic beats Monfils (even though I have a sneaky suspicion Gael might pull that one out). The fifth rubber is due to be contested by Tipsarevic and Simon. But will it actually be these two?

If I'm Forget, I'm definitely considering picking Llodra, even though he played five sets today. Simon was overwhelmingly disappointing in the first singles rubber... but then, he was playing Djokovic. Llodra has had a great time of it lately and should be high on adrenaline, if on nothing else. So despite the five sets, I'm going Llodra.

But if I'm Obradovic, I'm sort of between a rock and a hard place. Troicki was definitely the weak link in the doubles, and he's coming off five sets. But then Tipsarevic was terribly disappointing in the first singles match. Neither option is particularly attractive. Yesterday, I would have got Troicki in a second. But today, I think I'm leaning towards Tipsarevic. Maybe he can make something happen through talent alone...

A Meh Beginning

Davis Cup seems to have come around surprisingly quickly this year, yesno? I remember getting tons of mileage out of it in the offseason last year. But no matter. It hasn't been especially interesting yet, so it probably doesn't deserve the space.

So we've had the singles match - Djokovic vs Simon and Tipsarevic vs Monfils, and we're locked at 1-all after two straight sets victories. While this could lead to a very exciting finish - a live fifth rubber could be awesome! - the day was somehow not that exciting.

I'll start with the second match, which was Djokovic/Simon. I'm not sure why Guy Forget played Simon here. Maybe he thought that there was no hope of winning this match anyway so he sort of tanked it a little bit? I would have played Llodra for sure. Simon never had a chance in this match, as you would well expect. There was a little excitement when he saved match points to break back to 5-5 in the third set, but then he got broken straight back, so meh. That's a good word to sum up this match, actually: meh.

It also sums up the performance of Tipsarevic. I think that, like Obradovic, I would also have picked Tipsy over Troicki here, but he just did not bring it. Monfils has had a screamer of a summer but there definitely isn't the mismatch element going on here that there was in the Djokovic match. I probably would have picked Monfils to win (if I'd realised Davis Cup was even coming up - oops) but Tipsy should have at least got a set here, I think.

Maybe he was nervous in front of his home crowd. Maybe he is just not in form. Maybe it just wasn't his day. Whatever the reason was - or whether there is a reason at all - I expected a bit more from Tipsarevic. I expect that Troicki will be played on Sunday. Llodra, too.

Excellent performance from Monfils, though. There is every possiblity that Monfils/Djokovic could be an absolute scorcher on the weekend - and if Djokovic plays doubles and doesn't get the rest, then 'meh' could be the last word on my mind.

Weird, But Not Complaining

Wow. Roger Federer, where have you been this year? This is a weird time of the year to start playing Ultimate God Tennis. Not complaining! Please keep it up!

It's sort of simultaneously hard and easy to believe that Federer's never made the semis of Paris. Easy, because this is not the most strategically important part of the year to be playing well. Hard, because he is playing SO well right now. And you know what? It would be really nice to cap off the year with a Masters title. Even better if he could cap it off with a good showing at the WTF.

He played SO well against Melzer today. He's had to play Melzer about a billion times this year after never having met him before, and it has not been a happy head to head for Jurgen, let us just say that much. Did you know that this is the most amount of aces he has ever served in a three set match? When that serve is going well, you know Federer's feeling good. You know that he doesn't have the back pain and that ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN.

So. Yeah. I'm excited about what the fading twilight of 2010 can offer Roger. Or, rather, what he can offer us!

Andy Murray lost today, in a very interesting match against Gael Monfils. I'm in two minds about the strategic importance of this. On one side, he really didn't show much form. On the other, he now has more rest before the O2, which is bad from a Federfan point of view. But oh well. Whatever. Roger is still my favourite.

The other two semi finalists are Llodra and Soderling - Llodra is totally having an awesome tournament! That said, I don't see him beating Robin, so we might be in for a very interesting final here. I would be very interested to see a Federer-Soderling final, assuming Roger comes through Monfils. It could be a very interesting prelude to the WTF!

Elite Eight (and Mr Melzer)

The line up is set for the World Tour Finals. The lucky three to get through are Roddick, Ferrer and Berdych. I wish Melzer had made it through instead of Berdych, but as was pointed out to me yesterday by reader Yolita (thanks!), this was in fact mathematically impossible. Pretty sure the only way we get Melzer now is if one of the Elite Eight shuts down for the year, and I don't want that to happen.

This qualification happened because Monfils beat Verdasco, who I am very glad did not qualify - he really didn't deserve it. Berdych lost to Davydenko (bit sad he wasn't in contention, but then, he didn't really do anything to deserve it, apart from having a cracker start to the year) but is still through, and Melzer came through to face Federer in the quarters, but is not through. Oh, and Llodra beat Djokovic.

The way he's playing at the moment, Berdych is going to be easy pickings for the other dudes at the WTF, and - I don't want to jinx it, especially because he made the finals of Basel last week, but nonetheless - I have a sneaking suspicion we might see Djokovic go 0 and 3 as well. Unless, of course, Berdych and Djokovic are in the same group, in which case Novak's getting at least one win. Djokovic's results have actually not been that bad of late, Llodra-loss today aside, but I am just spectacularly unconvinced by his play. Maybe it's just because he's been tagged twice by Federer since the US Open and I'm biased, but he feels a little lackadaisical to me at the mo.

But he ain't got nothing on Berdych.

Also, I think we have to give a big shout out to Andy Roddick, forever the forgotten quantity of the top ten. His longevity gets overlooked because of the longevity of his peer Federer - understandable, due to their comparative success rates - but qualifying for the WTF eight times in a row? Dude, that is super. Well done, A-Rod. You keep on keeping on. And who knows? If you end up in a group with Berdych and Djokovic (or even if you don't), you might find yourself in the semis or even in the final of the WTF. I would be a little surprised if it happened, but not a lot surprised. And when your field contains the like of Nadal, Federer, Murray, Soderling and, yes, Djokovic, that is saying something.

Bloody Coup

So much for bloodless.

We have to start by talking about Andy Roddick, because this is one of the worst losses he's taken in a while - not just in opponent but in demeanour. This is probably the most bad tempered match I have ever seen Andy play. He just had nothing going on, and he was berating himself stupid for it. It was painful to watch and to experience and does not bode well into the future. Anyone can take an early loss - but the manner in which he took this loss does not make me hopeful for his future.

Congrats to Janko Tipsarevic, though - great win! This really opens up the Djokovic quarter, and because I don't see Djokovic coming through, why not Tipsarevic to be surprise semi finalist? This quarter quite literally belongs to anyone.

You know who else is going nowhere fast? Oh HI, Tomas Berdych? Am I gleefully glad that you got booted out of the tournament like a whelp? Why... YES. I am really happy about that because I am never going to forgive you for Wimbledon EVER and I really, really love what Michael Llodra is bringing and maybe you don't deserve this but I am so, SO glad you are out, out, OUT!

Okay. Ahem. Back now.

There were a couple of other scares - Sam Querrey springs to mind - but otherwise the dudes survived okay. Oh, except for Ljubicic! This is a big win for Ryan Harrison. I wouldn't go tipping him for future glory or anything, but it has to be heartening.

Now, over to the ladies. Vika, Vika, Vika. I don't even like you and I am TOTALLY worried about you. I am glad that it wasn't heat-related because that would have been seriously worrying, but could you try not to give yourself a concussion when I've picked you to make the final? That would be greatly appreciated.

But I don't think this says anything about my picking abilities. How was I supposed to anticipate a concussion?

Oh, and we have to talk about Ana Ivanovic. What is this whole winning-two-matches-in-a-row-in-a-convincing-fashion thing? This is not dreamt of in my philosophy!

Keeping Spain Real

It had to happen sometime. Spain cannot win everything in the world.

Now that I have said this, watch Lopez and Verdasco come back from two sets down and then win their final two singles rubbers to take the tie. But as I write this, Spain are perilously close to being bundled out of the Davis Cup in straight rubbers.

Now that is a shock.

I know they don't have Nadal, but with the depth they have (and the number of pre-blooded Davis Cup heroes) you'd think that that wouldn't be an issue. But it looks like France have suddenly stopped being the wouldashouldacoulda team of the Davis Cup, realised that they have incredible amounts of talent pretty much oozing out of them, and done something about it.

Gael Monfils winning over David Ferrer is not a big shock. I think La Monf is the higher ranked player at the mo and he's certainly the most talented. The Spanish tend to come alive for Davis Cup, but Ferrer has a curiously poor record, comparatively. He's always the high ranked guy that gets yanked off singles to let some lower ranked guy be the hero (cf. Verdasco, the final in Argentina a couple of years back). And La Monfa, when he's not injured, is a mighty force to be reckoned with.

But Verdasco should never have lost that match against Llodra. Llodra is solid, for sure, but Verdasco is top ten. After all his previous Davis Cup heroics, he just might be Spain's undoing this time.

They've just won Wimbledon. They're probably going to win the World Cup. I guess this Davis Cup probably-loss is just keeping Spain real. They can't win everything. Just most things.

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.

French Flair, French Fail

So I had another thought about Davis Cup. I've already covered the wondrousness of the Spanish team in general, for being wonderful individual players and for being a great team with a second string almost as strong as the first. We've covered this. Spain = good, no?

But... France has nearly the same amount of men in the top hundred - Spain has a few more, but not many. They've got some really excellent singles players, even if they don't have anyone quite as spesh as Rafa Nadal. They've got a pretty dedicated tennis federation.

So why isn't France doing anywhere near as well?

Spain is better. End of story. They're just awesome. But France really, really should be making it to the semis and finals. I mean, look at them! They've got Tsonga, Simon, Monfils, Gasquet - and then they've got tough doubles dudes (as in Slam-winning) like Llodra and Clement to add to their singles string. This shouldn't be a weak team at all. And yet they keep freaking losing.

This isn't the most coherent ramble, so I'm sorry if this next bit doesn't make any sense, but I have a notion that this might have been fostered at the talent development stage. What do we know about French players? They're full of flair, they're spectacular to watch when they're on but almost painful when they're off, due to the fact that they're largely enormous headcases and tend to implode.

Surely this isn't some kind of national trait...? You can't be born this way, surely? Somewhere along the line, the French guys are trained to be this way.

Don't get me wrong - I love French tennis. But the headcase aspect of it (and the habit they have of being easily injured) is spectacularly trainwreck-y.

So that's my thesis, I guess. France should be good at Davis Cup and isn't. Make them so.

Czeched at the Door

Another casualty of the Davis Cup week, I have realised, was the much-lauded French side. I wrote last week about how I thought they could potentially win the whole thing, but no - they went down in a bit of a meek effort to the Czech Republic.

*

You've got to hand it to the Czech Republic. It's a team with two men, and two men early - everything the Czech Republic did on the weekend can be laid at the door of Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek. They're certainly not an easy team to beat - but you think that the French team, who have two players in the top ten, could have taken them out, right?

*

Wrong. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga did his bit for his country, but Gasquet and Llodra failed in the doubles (and where was Gael Monfils? I thought he was supposed to be on this squad!) And the real letdown of the weekend was Gilles Simon. He lost both his singles matches and thus effectively lost his nation the tie.

*

I hate pinning blame on just one individual, but the reality is that Simon should beat both Berdych and Stepanek, if rankings hold true. Not that Berdych or Stepanek are easy players to overcome, but he should be able to beat at least one of them, yeah? Especially on this stage, where one is playing for one's country... though that is a two-way street, I suppose, and Berdych and Stepanek have their whole Czech pride behind them as well.

*

I was disappointed in France. I was disappointed in Monfils for not showing up, for Simon in not playing well, and in the captain for choosing to play Simon in the crucial fourth rubber when Gasquet might have been a better choice. Jo-W pulled his weight, but the others let him down. Good on you, Czech boys, but go home and have a long hard think about yourself, Frenchies. You need it.

*

*

Today's Results

*

Monterrey Open (Monterrey)

*

Marion Bartoli def. Li Na, 6-4 6-3

The French Question

And the big story of today is... nothing. It's one of those uniquely boring weeks before a big tournament, where everyone is waiting round with bated breath for it to start. The schleps are playing little schlep tournaments, but that's about it.

*

Normally, I might rabbit on about one of my Stars of the Future, but even they've been pretty quiet. Marin Cilic had a win, but it was a retirement after three games, so that's not so exciting. Eduardo Schwank lost to Ivo Minar. I've gone off Eduardo a bit, actually. He has yet to prove himself to me outside the clay arena. Though I suppose there was that tight match with Roddick the other day... if he won, then we'd be talking. But alas - match points, and couldn't convert. He's not being dropped from the fold or anything, but he's certainly not up there with my favourites right now.

*

Another player I touted as a Star of the Future was Jeremy Chardy, but I haven't seen him about at all for a few months. Is he injured? Playing Challengers? What's the story? French tennis, Clement and Llodra aside, put up a very poor account of itself at the Olympics. Gasquet whimpering under the bed somewhere, Tsonga injured - actually, is he going to be better soon? I thought I heard US Open as his likely return date. No medals, which for a country with that many great players is a bit of a shame.

*

And where were the French women? I know Golovin was injured, but why wasn't Bartoli there? Mauresmo? Did Parmentier play? Women's tennis doesn't have quite the same level of depth for the French, but surely they could have fielded a few. I don't remember seeing any. That is thoroughly disappointing.

*

A little bit like today's blog, I guess...!

*

*

Today's Results

*

Pilot Pen Tennis (New Haven)

*

Men's Draw

*

Igor Andreev def. Olivier Rochus, 6-3 6-4

Mischa Zverev def. Juan Monaco, 6-3 6-3

Marin Cilic def. Viktor Troicki, 2-1 retired

Andreas Seppi def. Potito Starace, 4-6 6-4 6-4

Marc Gicquel def. Albert Montanes, 7-5 6-3

Fabio Fognini def. Simone Bolelli, 6-2 5-7 6-4

Jurgen Melzer def. Arnaud Clement, 7-6 (7-1) 7-5

Robby Ginepri def. Agustin Calleri, 6-2 4-6 6-2

Steve Darcis def. Marcel Granollers, 6-2 6-2

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

Ivo Minar def. Eduardo Schwank, 7-5 6-3

Victor Hanescu def. Denis Gremelmayr, 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (7-3) 6-2

Jesse Levine def. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, 6-0 6-3

*

*

Women's Draw

*

Flavia Pennetta def. Gisela Dulko, 6-3 6-1

Amélie Mauresmo def. Kaia Kanepi, 6-2 6-7 (3-7) 6-2

Monica Niculescu def. Maria Kirilenko, 6-7 (7-9) 6-2 6-1

Marion Bartoli def. Tsvetana Pironkova, 2-6 6-4 7-5

*

*

Forest Hills Tennis Classic (Forest Hills)

*

Iveta Benesova def. Elena Vesnina, 6-1 6-7 (5-7) 7-5

Ekaterina Makarova def. Gail Brodsky, 7-5 6-2

Vera Dushevina def. Sofia Arvidsson, 6-2 6-2

Martina Müller def. Petra Cetkovska, 6-2 6-3

Double Speed

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

*

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

*

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

*

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

*

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

*

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

*

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

*

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

*

*

Today's Results

*

Rogers Cup (Toronto)

*

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

*

*

East West Bank Classic (Los Angeles)

*

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

*

*

Banka Koper Slovenia Open (Portoroz)

*

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bethanie Mattek def. Abigail Spears (USA) 62 64

Tennis in the Kitchen

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

_

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

_

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

_

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

_

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

_

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

_

Honestly.

_

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

_

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

_

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

_

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

_

_

Today's Results

_

Next Generation Adelaide International (Adelaide)

_

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

_

_

Qatar Exxonmobil Open (Doha)

_

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

_

_

Chennai Open (Chennai)

_

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

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

_

_

Medibank International (Sydney)

_

Women's Draw

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

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

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

_

_

Moorilla Hobart International (Hobart)

_

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

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

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