The Greatest Ever

It's official. I don't think there is any room for argument on this one.

Dustin Brown is the Greatest of All Time when it comes to hair in tennis.

Seriously, that dude has AWESOME HAIR.

He beat Sam Querrey in Newport today, which raised a couple of questions - 1) Who is this Dustin Brown fellow anyway and 2) What the hell is Sam Querrey doing playing in Newport?

I'm all for more grasscourt tennis, but dude, Wimbledon is over. If you're trying to set yourself up as some kind of uber tennis player, you need to learn the rules - don't play on a surface when there's no point in playing on this surface. And if you do, don't go losing to Dustin Brown - even if his hair is awesome.

This is the grass version of those clay tournaments that exist for no reason. I suppose they can't exactly whack it in the existing grass season due to the fact that no one in their right mind is going to go from Paris to Newport to London, but it just seems like a pretty pointless tournament.

And now I don't care about it at all because my man Nico Mahut is out. But what I do care about is Dustin Brown's hair. Which is rad.

Rajeev Believes

In all that talk about Davis Cup over the past few days, especially yesterday, I just about forgot to cover one of the other biggish stories of the weekend - Rajeev Ram won the title in Newport after entering the draw as a lucky loser.

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Now doesn't that warm the cockles of your heart?

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I love stories like this (provided they don't come at the expense of my beloved Roger Federer, but he is, as we all know, out on baby watch for the moment, so we don't have to worry about him for a while!) I mean, sure the competition in these little tournaments like Newport isn't massive, but a victory over players ranked a good deal higher than you is a victory. Major kudos to Rajeev Ram.

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I think what I like most about these stories is not so much the rags-to-riches nature of them, but the fact that the little guy, the qualifier or the lucky loser or whoever, believes he can do it. It's like Marcos Baghdatis at the Aussie Open a few years back. It was belief that got him where he went. And I have a lot of credit for that - for believing that no matter how insurmountable the obstacle might seem, anything is possible.

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So well done, Rajeev Ram. Keep believing.

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Today's Results

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Mercedes Cup (Stuttgart)

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Victor Hanescu def. Dominik Meffert, 6-4 7-6 (8-6)

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Catella Swedish Open (Bastad)

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Andreas Vinciguerra def. Florent Serra, 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 6-4

Victor Crivoi def. Denis Istomin, 6-0 6-4

Teimuraz Gabashvili def. Christophe Rochus, 4-6 6-1 6-0

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ECM Prague Open (Prague)

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Francesca Schiavone def. Shahar Peer, 7-5 6-3

Sybille Bammer def. Tsvetana Pironkova, 2-6 7-6 (7-2) 7-5

Carla Suarez Navarro def. Alexandra Dulgheru, 4-6 6-3 6-3

Barbora Zahlavova Strycova def. Kristina Kucova, 7-5 6-4

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Internazionali Femminili di Tennis di Palermo (Palermo)

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Alberta Brianti def. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 6-3 4-0 retired

Aravane Rezai def. Galina Voskoboeva, 6-2 6-4

Roberta Vinci def. Lourdes Dominguez Lino, 4-6 6-4 7-6 (7-3)

Olga Govortsova def. Maria Elena Camerin, 6-3 6-3

Varvara Lepchenko def. Corinna Dentoni, 6-3 6-3

A Week For The Newbies

This is what I said about Richard Gasquet and his chances in the Stuttgart final yesterday:

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'So I'm being cautious in my Gasquet-supporting right now. His finals opponent, Juan Martin del Potro, should be no match for him. But let's just wait and see, shall we?'

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And who won the final? In straight sets?

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That would be Juan Martin del Potro, ladies and gentlemen. The Argentine teenager has won his first ever ATP title, at the expense of Monsieur Gasquet. Now, I don't want to disparage Juan Martin, because I think he's a fabulously talented player - who knows? maybe I'll profile him as a star of the future one of these days. But really, let's look at Gasquet. If we're just going on raw talent, Gasquet has got to be up there with the best on the circuit. He's not Federer or Safin, but he's heading in that direction.

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So where has he gone this year? What has happened to Richou?

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This tournament is on clay, which earns him a tiny reprieve. He is not a claycourter, and Juan Martin is. But Richou is also #15 in the world - which even then belies his true talent, because he's been lurking around #8 or #9 - while Juan Martin is currently #65 with a career high of #44. That is a big difference. I know they always say that any guy in the top 100 can beat any other guy or any given day, ra ra ra, but really, there is a reason that the guys in the top ten are there. It's because they win. And Richard Gasquet no longer deserves to be in the top ten.

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I used to really like Richard Gasquet. His game, when he plays it, is beautiful. He's not called Baby Fed for nothing. But if he is going to continue being as mentally fragile as he is, then he is not going to have much of a career. Get thee to a sports psychologist, Richou, and sort yourself out. Hey, I know! You can do it in the time when you're busy not representing your country in the Olympics!

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That really annoys me. There are so many people who would do anything to represent their nations in the Olympics. It's one of the few times I find myself truly patriotic - in the sports other than tennis, of course, where I will always support my favourites (aka Federer, only Federer and no one but Federer.) How could you possibly give that chance up? A chance to wear Olympic gold? I know Slams are important and all, but this is the fricking Olympics! The most important sporting event in the world - so important it only happens every four years!

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If Gasquet (and Roddick) were refusing to play on human rights grounds, then I would be 100% behind them, all the way. But they're not. They're saving themselves. And I don't like it. I don't like it at all.

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Anyway, enough of the negativity. One Frenchman I am happy to support (and always have been) is the French wizard, little Fabrice Santoro, who won the Newport title. Allez Fabrice! Seriously, this guy is awesome. He's one of the cleverest tennis players on tour, I think, and he plays such a pretty little game. He's thirty five years old, and he's showing no signs of stopping. I think he's just fantastic. And he was born in Tahiti. That is also very cool. I think he's just fabulous, and it warms the cockles of the heart to see him doing well.

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Congratulations also to Victor Hanescu, who won the tournament in Gstaad. I've never really paid much attention to Hanescu. I have no great insights about him. He's one of those guys that sits there in the top hundred and is a bit of a fixture, but I confess I wouldn't know him if I fell over him in the street. Congratulations anyway, though. Maybe I'll start taking a bit more notice of you now, Victor.

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It was Robredo who came out on top in the Battle of the Underwhelmers in Bastad. Considering this is clay, it was pretty much expected that Robredo would win that one - though if I had to pick, I might say that Berdych is actually the better player of the two. I think he has more talent, anyway. But that's all well and good for me to say - talent means nothing if you don't perform. I like Tomas. I like his game. And, unlike Hanescu, I always pay attention to Berdych, mainly because he often plays Hopman Cup, which is one of my favourite tournaments to watch. I just wish he would, you know, play better. Because he can. He's totally capable of it. I think he's best on hard courts, so watch out, Tomas. I have expectations of you in the hardcourt season, and I would like you to live up to them, please.

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And finally, congratulations to another first time title winner - my favourite French girl, Alize Cornet. Allez Alize! And nice work to Sara Errani as well, who won her first title in Palermo. It's clearly a week for the newbies!

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Today's Results

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Mercedes Cup (Stuttgart)

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Juan Martin del Potro def. Richard Gasquet, 6-4 7-5

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Allianz Suisse Open (Gstaad)

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Igor Andreev def. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, 7-6 (7-2) 5-7 7-6 (7-5)

Victor Hanescu def. Igor Andreev, 6-3 6-4

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Catella Swedish Open (Bastad)

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Tommy Robredo def. Tomas Berdych, 6-4 6-1

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Campbell's Hall of Fame Tennis Championships (Newport)

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Fabrice Santoro def. Prakash Amritraj, 6-3 7-5

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Gaz de France Grand Prix (Budapest)

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Alize Cornet def. Andreja Klepac, 7-6 (7-5) 6-3

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Internazionali Femminili di Tennis di Palermo (Palermo)

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Sara Errani def . Mariya Koryttseva, 6-2 6-3

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And in today's Stars of the Past, Stars of the Future feature: Nicolas Kiefer.

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Like Marat Safin and Roger Federer, Nicolas Kiefer was a member of the New Balls generation - the young guns of 1999, 2000, 2001, the ones who were going to be great sometime in the future. Like these two, Kiefer was blessed with a ridiculous amount of talent. But unlike these two, Kiefer never seemed really to be able to make much of it.

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Kiefer has never been an especially popular player. The general attitude to him can probably be summed up by looking at the Australian Open in 2006, where Kiefer was part of two memorable moments. One was in the semi finals, where he was on the receiving end of what has been called the best second serve ever - a kicker from Roger Federer that went spinning into Row H, leaving Kiefer with nowhere to go. The other moment was from an earlier match, where Kiefer faced Sebastien Grosjean. A wonderful point left Kiefer at the net, stretching for a volley so far that he ended up throwing his racquet at the ball. Grosjean, distracted, ended up playing the next ball into the net. Kiefer did not cede the point, and was publicly condemned for poor sportsmanship. This did not gain him any fans.

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Like Safin, Kiefer too has been plagued by injury - in particular, his wrist, which has proved so troublesome and lingering that at one point he dropped right out of the ATP rankings (that is, he was no longer within the top thousand players in the world.) But he has fought his way back - and that courage has certainly gained him some fans, especially in his native country, Germany. He is now well within the top fifty and is part of a three way battle with Tommy Haas and Philipp Kohlschreiber to be the #1 German player. He has performed well in his last few tournaments, including a run to the semis at Halle, where he was stopped by Roger Federer.

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But he withdrew from the tournament in Gstaad this week, handing a quarter final berth to Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. His complaint this time is a foot injury, which one would hope is not as chronic as the wrist that spoiled his last few seasons. He says he is still enjoying his tennis and that he tries to win with all his might, but at 31, one begins to wonder whether it is not a little late for Nicolas Kiefer. His star, it seems, is largely in the past - but he is determined not to burn out just yet.

Underwhelmers

The tournament in Bastad this week seemed to be the only one playing out the way it should - that is, the seeded players were beating the unseeded, no major upsets, all four top seeds through to the semis. So, following on from this, you'd expect the #1 and #2 seeds (Ferrer and Verdasco) to make it through. But the opposite happened.

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Is this complacency? A sort of 'oh, look it's all been going to plan, we'll make it to the final' sort of mentality? Or is it just that men's tennis is really deep?

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I'm going with the deep. I can't see many top players being complacent. So that was a bit of a pointless debate.

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Nonetheless, it was the #3 and #4 seeds that made it through to the Bastad final - Robredo took out Ferrer and Berdych took out Verdasco. Both these players have been solidly underwhelming this year - unlike Ferrer and Verdasco, who have both had wonderful seasons. Remember when Berdych used to be all good, one of the big rising stars? In 2005, when Federer won four Masters Series events and Nadal won four, it was Berdych who won the remaining one. He was the player that ended Federer's dreams at the 2004 Olympics. And yet what has he done? Pretty much nothing - this year at least. I mean, all you have to do is look at the ATP website. Berdych made the semis at Miami, where he lost to Nadal, and the quarters in Sydney, where he lost to Guccione. I'm sorry, but when one of your year-to-day highlights is a loss to Chris Guccione then there's a problem.

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Robredo has done a little better - his season began incredibly poorly, but since then he's reached a final (Warsaw), a semi (Valencia) and two quarters (Barcelona and Rome.) No titles though - and this is a man that, like Berdych, has held up a Masters Series trophy (Hamburg 2006.)

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Am I expecting too much of these two? Maybe a little. Maybe actually winning a title is a little bit too much to ask. But surely - for Berdych especially - they should be pulling in more consistent results? The wait is over for one of them, as one will walk home with the Bastad trophy. But where have you been this season, guys? The Tomas and the Tommy that we've seen in previous season don't play like this. Both guys have been top ten - and there's a reason they're not any more.

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Look at me, being hard on them when they've just managed to stop the rot and turn it around. But one of the hard truths of tennis, I suppose, is that the more you win the more people are going to notice you - and blog about you.

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Another underwhelmer this season who is now through to a final is Richard Gasquet. I used to be very fond of Richou, but I must say I haven't been particularly impressed with his behaviour of late - not only was there that Davis Cup stunt, but he declined to play the Olympics, which I think is pretty poor form. (Are you listening, Andy Roddick?) Add to that his ridiculous mental fragility and you have a problem. I very much enjoyed his match against Murray at Wimbledon, but let's face it - that was a match Richou never should have lost. And he did. After being two sets and a break up, and serving for it. So I'm being cautious in my Gasquet-supporting right now. His finals opponent, Juan Martin del Potro, should be no match for him. But let's just wait and see, shall we?

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Meanwhile, I am actively excited about the final in Newport. I would be happy whoever won it. On one hand, we have Santoro, who won here last year, bidding to become the oldest winner in the tournament's history, surpassing his own record. I love Fabrice Santoro and his tricksy game and I would love to see him win it. He seems like such a nice man. But on the other hand, we have Prakash Amritraj. Who? I hear you ask. Well, he's an Indian wildcard in his first ever ATP final - go him! - and he's also the son of Vijay Amritraj. He's a second generation player - and I always think that's a bit cool. So yay for both of them.

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Not so in Gstaad, where my man Stan Wawrinka went out to Victor Hanescu. It seemed like such a good chance for Stan to add to his trophy cabinet, so that's a bit sad - but judging by his scores this week, Stan hasn't exactly been playing the best tennis of his career. (Cue rant about the stupidity of this mini claycourt season.) I'm now backing Andreev for the title, provided he wins the last set of his semi against Garcia-Lopez, which got rained out. I like Andreev's game. It always amazes me that he isn't higher in the rankings. He's a Kohlschreiber for me - I think I might think he's better than he actually is.

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Today's Results

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Mercedes Cup (Stuttgart)

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Richard Gasquet def. Agustin Calleri, 6-7 (3-7) 6-2 6-3

Juan Martin del Potro def. Eduardo Schwank, 6-2 6-4

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Allianz Suisse Open (Gstaad)

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Victor Hanescu def. Stanislas Wawrinka, 6-3 3-6 6-4

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Catella Swedish Open (Bastad)

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Tommy Robredo def. David Ferrer, 2-6 6-1 6-2

Tomas Berdych def. Fernando Verdasco, 2-6 6-3 6-2

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Campbell's Hall of Fame Tennis Championships (Newport)

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Fabrice Santoro, def. Vince Spadea, 7-6 (7-4) 6-1

Prakash Amritraj def. Frank Dancevic, 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 6-3

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Gaz de France Grand Prix (Budapest)

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Alizé Cornet def. Greta Arn, 6-1 6-1

Andreja Klepac def. Karolina Sprem, 6-2 4-6 6-4

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Internazionali Femminili di Tennis di Palermo (Palermo)

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Sara Errani def. Flavia Pennetta, 7-5 6-3

Mariya Koryttseva def. Anabel Medina Garrigues, 6-2 6-2

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And today's player in today's Stars of the Past, Stars of the Future feature is Frenchman Jeremy Chardy.

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If Safin was a non entity when he won the US Open, then Jeremy Chardy was less than nothing coming into this year's French Open. He was ranked inside the top two hundred - most of the time - but even within his home country of France, not many people had heard of him. He was to France what Joe Sirianni is to Australia - unheard of, till he did something big.

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But Sirianni was 32 when he made it to the semis of the Next Generation Adelaide International this year and drew Australia's attention to himself. Chardy was only nineteen when he not only made it to the second round of Roland Garros, but then went on to win. No one had expected him to. No one had given him the tiniest chance of winning his second round match. His opponent? David Nalbandian, one of only four men currently active on the circuit to reach the semi finals of all four Slams. (The other members of this exclusive club are Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and newly added Marat Safin.) And Jeremy Chardy, the almost totally unknown Frenchman, took him out.

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But this could happen to anyone. A bad day here or there, and anyone can take out anyone. Kevin Anderson could take out Djokovic. Mardy Fish could take out Federer. Both of these have happened this year. The biggest test for the Chardies of this world is whether or not they can back it up - and Jeremy did. Although his next opponent, Dmitry Tursunov, isn't quite in the same class as Nalbandian, he is still well within the top fifty and thus light years away from Chardy. And Jeremy was triumphant once more, through to a fourth round where finally, inevitably, he fell.

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The fourth round might not seem like much to Federer or Nadal or Djokovic - or even Nalbandian. But for someone who had never got into the main draw of an ATP tournament on his own recognisance, the round of sixteen was everything in the world. Jeremy Chardy is rising and rising - and now he has belief. After his win against Dominik Meffert at this week's Allianz Suisse Open in Gstaad, Chardy said that he was not surprised to have done well. This, it seems, is an attitude that will take him far.

Eye Of The Tiger

While most of me is sad that Marat Safin is out of the tournament in Bastad, a part of me is glad. Because seriously, clay? Like, what is this? I do not get it. I just do not get it at all. Focus your talents (which are considerable) on the hardcourt season, Marat. Then, perhaps, we will see the rewards reaped. Wouldn't it be awesome to see Marat in the semis or even the final of Toronto/Montreal (still haven't figured out where it is this year!) or Cincinatti? Or the US Open. That's my dream US Open final - Federer/Safin.

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Speaking of Federer - because how can we not? - he has qualified for the Masters Cup, along with Nadal and Djokovic. This was never going to not happen, but I'm glad we (in Team Federer, because I am obviously such an integral part) have got this one in the bag so early on. It still mystifies me that people think Federer is so vulnerable when he's qualified for the TMC in July. I mean, frickin' July? That's pretty sweet.

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The battle for the TMC last year was so interesting. I mean, we always had these three locked in, and Davydenko was never really in doubt, but the battle for the final places was fascinating last year. There was a point where about twenty players were battling for three spots. It wa crazy good. I mean, you'd never pick Ivo Karlovic as a TMC contender, but he was one of those twenty. It was endlessly fascinating.

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I think the ones that made it - last year, it was Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Davydenko, Ferrer, Roddick, Gonzalez and Gasquet - were all deserving, but the fact that you had players like Karlovic still in contention really shows the depth of men's tennis. There are so, so many good players in the top fifty, top hundred. And those final three spots - the ones that went to Roddick, Gonzalez and Gasquet - could have gone in so many ways. Look at the players that are not on this list. Nalbandian. Blake. Youzhny. Berdych. Baghdatis. So many excellent players. Hell, Blake was a finalist the year before and he didn't make it in 2007. How deep is men's tennis? Seriously?

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I love the end of the year championships. The TMC is one of my favourite tournaments in the year, and I wish it had more air time, most prestige. Because after the Slams, it is pretty much the most important tournament of the year, but it is so unusual! It is the only tournament which is round robin - and I like it like that. Remember when there was that weird round robin experiment last year, like in Adelaide? That was weird. But it's great at the TMC.

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I think the reason I like the TMC so much is that it's such an eye of the tiger sort of tournament. It's about consistency. It's about being last man standing, but it's an endurance test as well. You have to consistently beat these players that are the best of the best of the best of the best. And you could play anyone. Roger and Rafa have met the past two years in the semi finals, but never in a final. It's a microcosm, whole unto itself. It's... okay, I don't think I'm making sense any more. I like the TMC. Let's leave it at that.

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A few shout outs before I go. First, Stan Wawrinka. Top seed at Gstaad this week, and although he had a tough match against his countryman Stephane Bohli, he looks set to head all the way to the title. I'm down with that. Me and those Swiss guys... we get on. Cilic has also had a good victory in this tournament, taking out Paul-Henri Mathieu, the second seed. I haven't been very impressed with Paulo of late, but this Cilic kid is really on the up and up. He'll be up there with Ernests Gulbis one day, mark my words. Maybe not in the top five, but my spidersense tells me top ten. So do me proud, Marin.

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And finally, to Rohan Bopanna, the Indian qualifier who took out top seed Mardy Fish in Newport. To you, in true Australian style, I say this: go you good thing!

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Today's Results

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Mercedes Cup (Stuttgart)

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Richard Gasquet def. Lukas Rosol, 6- 7 (7-9) 6-2 6-2

Michael Berrer def. Nicolas Almagro, 7-5 retired

Agustin Calleri def. Pablo Cuevas, 5-7 7-5 6-1

Albert Montanes def. Oscar Hernandez, 7-6 (7-4) 6-4

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Allianz Suisse Open (Gstaad)

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Stanislas Wawrinka def. Stephane Bohli, 7-6 (8-6) 5-7 7-6 (7-3)

Marin Cilic def. Paul-Henri Mathieu, 6-3 6-4

Igor Andreev def. Florent Serra, 7-5 6-4

Guillermo Canas def. Kristof Vliegen, walkover

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Catella Swedish Open (Bastad)

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Fernando Verdasco def. Ervin Eleskovic, 6-0 4-2 retired

Tomas Berdych def. Thomas Johansson, 7-6 (7-2) 6-2

Bjorn Rehnquist def. Michael Ryderstedt, 6-3 7-5

Potito Starace def. Marat Safin, 7-6 (7-4) 3-6 6-4

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Campbell's Hall of Fame Tennis Championships (Newport)

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Igor Kunitsyn def. Mikhail Ledovskikh, 6-1 6-1

Frank Dancevic def. Brendan Evans, 5-7 6-4 7-6 (7-3)

Prakash Amritraj def. Jesse Levine, 7-5 6-3

Rohan Bopanna def. Mardy Fish, 7-6 (8-6) 7-5

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Gaz de France Grand Prix (Budapest)

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Andreja Klepac def. Agnes Szavay, 6-2 6-3

Alizé Cornet def. Magdalena Rybarikova, 6-2 6-2

Anna-Lena Groenefeld def. Lucie Safarova, 6-1 6-4

Karolina Sprem def. Tzipora Obziler, 6-2 6-1