Surprise Party

I said yesterday that I wasn't especially surprised at any of the results in Rome. Today... well, today I am, and that's the truth.

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We have the usual suspects through - Nadal, Federer and Djokovic all came through in style, especially Nadal, who totally crushed Robin Soderling. I remember hearing that there is no love lost between this pair... I bet Rafa's feeling pretty sweet about that right now! It was all pretty cruise-y for this trio, all three coming through in straights, Federer and Djokovic eliminating Stepanek and Robredo respectively.

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Fernando Verdasco and Juan Martin del Potro both came through as well, though they had to work a little harder, and Fernando Gonzalez as well, none of which are really surprising, but then we do have a couple of unusual faces. I talked a little about Juan Monaco yesterday, and though I wasn't terribly surprised to see him beat Murray - everyone's got an upset in them somewhere - he then backed it up against Marin Cilic, about which I was surprised. I've never really had much time for Monaco - probably because I can't ever really recall seeing him play, to tell the truth - but he certainly seems to be on a bit of a hot streak. Quarters in a Masters. That's something.

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And then Mischa Zverev - I don't even remember him being in the draw, let alone in the quarter finals! He's certainly come through quietly but lethally. He took Gilles Simon in easy straights - and, sure, Simon is in a bit of a funk at the moment, but still, that's a big victory for a qualifier. I have seen Zverev play before - I saw him play Tommy Robredo at the Australian Open in the first round last year. He won the first two sets before Tommy came roaring back to win in five. I only saw the first two sets, so maybe my perspective of Zverev is skewed, but I've always wondered why we haven't seen more of him. He has some sweet, sweet game.

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Over to the women's, and though she may not have strictly deserved it, I think #1 is suiting Dinara Safina well. She's had some excellent wins in Stuttgart, cruising past Daniela Hantuchova today. I'd love her to start her reign with a title - and then back it up with a Slam. That would be sweet.

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Oh, and I have to throw a word out to Sabine Lisicki. She might have lost to Jelena Jankovic today, but she fought hard all the way - and honestly, isn't she just the best thing about the WTA at the moment? She's so refreshing and happy and full of potential - this is what is needed more than anything!

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Today's Results

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Internazionali BNL d'Italia (Rome)

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Rafael Nadal def. Robin Soderling, 6-1 6-0

Roger Federer def. Radek Stepanek, 6-4 6-1

Novak Djokovic def. Tommy Robredo, 6-1 6-1

Juan Martin Del Potro def. Stanislas Wawrinka, 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 6-3

Fernando Verdasco def. Richard Gasquet, 7-5 6-4

Mischa Zverev def. Gilles Simon, 6-4 6-1

Fernando Gonzalez def. Jurgem Melzer, 3-6 6-3 7-5

Juan Monaco def. Marin Cilic, 6-4 6-4

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Porsche Tennis Grand Prix (Stuttgart)

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Dinara Safina def. Daniela Hantuchova, 6-4 6-2

Elena Dementieva def. Agnes Szavay, 7-6 (7-4) 6-1

Jelena Jankovic def. Sabine Lisicki, 7-5 5-7 6-3

Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Li Na, 4-6 6-4 7-5

Flavia Pennetta def. Nadia Petrova, 6-2 6-2

Marion Bartoli def. Caroline Wozniacki, 7-6 (8-6) 6-4

Agnieszka Radwanska def. Tsvetana Pironkova, 6-3 6-3

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Grand Prix de SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem (Fes)

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Anabel Medina Garrigues def. Lourdes Domínguez Lino, 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-5)

Alisa Kleybanova def. Polona Hercog, 6-3 6-4

Ekaterina Makarova def. Marta Domachowska, 6-4 6-4

Melinda Czink def. Lucie Hradecka, 6-4 6-2

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