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

An Unlikely Eight

Well, don't we have an unlikely set of semi-finalists in s'Hertogenbosch? And in Nottingham? Nottingham less so, but these are a bunch of guys you wouldn't expect to see, say, in the second week at Wimbledon (mostly.) So... it's interesting.

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This may be a testament more to the calibre of players playing this week more than anything else - Federer, Nadal and Djokovic all conspicuously absent, along with grasscourt heavyweights like Roddick and Hewitt. The one man who was playing this week that I would normally put money on to reach the second round of Wimbledon, Richard Gasquet, got knocked out early. But consider this: Rafa Nadal, who has reached the final of Wimbledon for the past two years, has only just won his first grasscourt title. That says something about how difficult it is to do well on grass. So it will be interesting to see which two of these eight walks away with the prize.

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Let's look at Nottingham first. In the first semi final we have Gael Monfils, recent French Open semi finalist, and Ivo Karlovic, defending champion. I'd venture to say that whoever wins this semi will win the match. It's hard for three set matches to be real throwdown affairs - there is only so long a match like that can go on for. (That is why five set matches are so preferable, in my opinion... they're gladiatorial, and they're amazing tests of endurance, both mental and physical.) Dr Ivo will have the edge with his monstrous serve - we must remember the close shave that Rafa had with him over at Queen's - but Monfils has such flairs of unpredictable brilliance. If Monfils plays like he does in the first and second sets of his semi at Roland Garros against Federer, I'd back him. Otherwise, I might have to come down on the side of Dr Ivo's dull but effective percentage tennis.

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In the other semi we have Fernando Verdasco and Marin Cilic. Verdasco is the higher seed - he's seeded #3 - but I've been quite impressed with Cilic of late. His win at the Australian Open over Gonzalez was nothing short of remarkable, and as he grows in confidence, I think he's going to be a real danger. However, Verdasco has a psychological advantage over him, I think. They played in the semis of St Petersburg last year, a match which Verdasco won. But Verdasco's quarter-final win over Simon seems much scratchier than Cilic's win over Johansson... so I think I'm going to go for the underdog in this one. So my pick for the Nottingham final is Karlovic/Cilic.

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Now, in s'Hertogenbosch, we have four players that are really not grasscourters... Gicquel, maybe, but definitely not the other three. We have Ferrer against Del Potro, and Gicquel against Canas. You've got to back Ferru for the title - especially after he had such a great victory over Ancic, who definitely is a grasscourt player. Del Potro is good, but he isn't exactly Captain Grass, and he has a long way to go before he becomes the player he has the talent to be. He's only a littl'un... not in stature, obviously, but in age, certainly. So I'm saying Ferru, and Ferru easily, because he's awesome and in form and a cool guy, and stuff. Vamos Ferru!

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The other one will be interesting. I think people often fall into the trap of categorising Willy Canas as a claycourter because he's Argentinian, but his best results have come on hard courts. That doesn't make him a grasscourter, but I think it makes him more of one than, say, Nicolas Almagro. I can't say I know a whole lot about Gicquel... I do remember that, ah, incident with him and Benjamin Becker's serve at Halle last year, wherein he ended up in a lot of pain and, although he beat Becker (and that pesky 129km serve, hehehe) he had to retire against Nieminen. I think every man that was watching that day must have winced in unison.

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Just for that, I'm gunning for Gicquel, because I feel sorry for him, and also because I don't like Willy very much. So Ferru/Gicquel for the s'Hertogenbosch final.

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But it's odd, isn't it? Karlovic is probably the closest to a grass courter we have in either of these semis. It's heavy on the Latins, and that's a bit unusual, when it comes down to it. Not that it's bad, but it's definitely weird.

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Today's Results

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Ordina Open (s'Hertogenbosch)

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David Ferrer def. Mario Ancic, 6-4 7-6 (7-4)

Juan Martin del Potro def. Arnaud Clement, 2-6 6-3 6-1

Guillermo Canas def. Viktor Troicki, 6-2 6-2

Marc Gicquel def. Jurgen Melzer, 6-3 6-4

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Elena Dementieva def. Sorana Cirstea, 6-2 6-4

Tamarine Tanasugarn def. Michaella Krajicek, 3-6 6-3 6-4

Alona Bondarenko def. Anna Chakvetadze, 6-2 3-6 6-2

Dinara Safina def. Katerina Srebotnik, walkover

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Slazenger Open (Nottingham)

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Gael Monfils def. Vince Spadea, 7-6 (7-4) 6-2

Ivo Karlovic def. Andreas Seppi, 6-3 3-6 6-4

Fernando Verdasco def. Gilles Simon, 6-3 2-6 6-3

Marin Cilic def. Thomas Johansson, 6-1 6-2

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International Women's Open (Eastbourne)

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Samantha Stosur def. Caroline Wozniacki, 7-6 (7-3) 6-4

Nadia Petrova def. Ekaterina Makarova, 6-4 6-3

Agnieszka Radwanska def. Gisela Dulko, 7-5 7-5

Marion Bartoli def. Alisa Kleybanova, 6-3 6-3

Dalek

Again, not much to report. I really am a shallow, shallow fan. Expect me to start rambling like the Queen of Rambling once Wimbledon starts, but for now, these posts probably aren't going to be too long.
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Radek Stepanek, top seed at Nottingham, pulled out of his match because of a rib injury. Somehow, I found it difficult to care. There's something about Radek Stepanek which just sort of weirds me out. I'm not sure what it is, and it's probably totally unjustified. (And yes, it does date from before he beat Federer in the quarters at Rome.) Maybe it's something to do with his string of high profile girlfriends who are much prettier than he is... Martina Hingis... Nicole Vaidisova... despite the fact that he's, well, weird looking. (Or maybe it's because his name sounds like 'dalek.')
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It's kind of weird that I don't like him, because he's a serve-and-volley player, and I love a bit of the ol' serve-and-volley. But his game is... weird. Or maybe it's just him, and that weirdness sort of contaminates his game. I don't get it.
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I know pretty much nothing about Stepanek, beside the serve-and-volley thing and the girlfriend things. So why do I get so weirded out? Maybe it's because I like Martina Hingis and I feel wronged on her behalf. (Though why she was going out with a man so weird looking is beyond me.) They got engaged in November 2006 but split up in August 2007, though they promised to remain good friends. According to Reuters, they were the 'highest profile couple in tennis.' I wonder if that's true?
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Actually, I wonder who is the highest profile couple in tennis? Is it Radek and his new girl, Nicole Vaidisova? Gael Monfils and Dominika Cibulkova? Tomas Berdych and Lucie Safarova? Carlos Moya and Flavia Pennetta? (Are they still together?) Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf, obviously, but they're retired now, so I don't know if they really count. My personal favourite is Roger Federer and Mirka Vavrinec - hey, she used to play, they're a couple! It must be a pain for ATP players and WTA players to make it work - they're hardly ever in the same part of the world. I mean, there are a few joint tournaments, but outside the Slams, there really aren't that many - Sydney, Estoril, s'Hertogenbosch, off the top of my head. But not a lot, certainly.

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To tell the truth, I'm more interested in tennis friendships than in relationships. I'd love to know who hangs out with who. I was pretty surprised when I was reading Rafa's blog from Roland Garros in 2007 to find that Rafa and David Nalbandian (Headbandian) are playstation buddies - along with Ferru, subject of yesterday's blog. I wish I knew more about who hung out with who. It would be... interesting.

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(I wonder who hangs out with Stepanek, considering he's so weird and all.)

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Today's Results

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Ordina Open (s'Hertogenbosch)

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Arnaud Clement def. Marcel Granollers, 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 6-3

Juan Martin del Potro def. Rainer Schuettler, 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-5)

Guillermo Canas def. Rohan Bopanna, 6-2 6-4

Viktor Troicki def. Ivan Ljubicic, 5-7 6-4 7-6 (7-5)

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Elena Dementieva def. Sara Errani, 6-3 7-5

Sorana Cirstea def. Mariya Koryttseva, 7-6 (7-3) 6-4

Katerina Srebotnik def. Yung-jan Chan, 6-4 6-3

Michaella Krajicek def. Sania Mirza, 6-2 6-2

Tamarine Tanasugarn def. Ashley Harkleroad, 4-6 6-4 7-5

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Slazenger Open (Nottingham)

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Gael Monfils def. Julien Benneteau, 3-6 6-4 6-2

Ivo Karlovic def. Sam Querrey, 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (16-14)

Andreas Seppi def. Eduardo Schwank, 6-1 4-6 7-6 (9-7)

Gilles Simon def. Samuel Groth, 6-7 (1-7) 6-4 6-4

Fernando Verdasco def. bobby Reynolds, 6-2 6-3

Marin Cilic def. Alex Bogdanovic, 6-4 6-4

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International Women's Open (Eastbourne)

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Caroline Wozniacki def. Svetlana Kuznetsova, 6-2 6-2

Samantha Stosur def. Amelie Mauresmo, 1-2 retired

Ekaterina Makarova def. Vera Zvonareva, 6-3 6-3

Gisela Dulko def. Olga Govortsova, 6-1 6-7 (3-7) 6-2

Alisa Kleybanova def. Aravane Rezai, 6-3 5-7 6-3

Marion Bartoli def. Sybille Bammer, 6-3 6-0

Baby Fed

I don't get it. If you're a tennis player, and you're playing Wimbledon next week, and you want to play a tournament this week... why would you go all the way to the Netherlands when you can play in Nottingham?

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I mean, I guess it would be a bit unfair to all the people in s'Hertogenbosch if no one went there and everyone went to Nottingham instead. It just seems like an odd decision. But I guess it's not that far... if Rafa can go home to Mallorca to play golf when he was already right in England, then going to the Netherlands is nothing. Being Australian, I guess I forget about how small Europe is.

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And maybe it's to do with the type of grass or something... like the way Halle is played on the same type of grass as Wimbledon but Queen's on a different type.

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Okay, so I have very, very little to write about today.

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So I'm going to write a tiny bit about Richard Gasquet. He is playing in s'Hertogenbosch, so it's totally relevant and everything! Actually, he was what got me musing about playing in s'Hertogenbosch versus Nottingham... he won Nottingham once (or was it twice?) but he's playing s'Hertogenbosch... I wonder why? At least it's not like last week with Warsaw and the clay... and I'm rambling again.

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So. Richou. I like his grass court game a lot. Actually, I like his game a lot, and he had a good win over Rochus (who, we must remember, once had six match points against Federer at Halle, so he's no slouch on grass.) He's just so intensely disappointing, because he could be so much better if he'd just get his head in the game.

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I don't think there's any doubt that Federer is the most talented player on the circuit, but Richou has got insane amounts of talent too. He needs an epiphany, like Federer had against Squillari back in the day. If he could just sort out his brain, he could be amazing. If he actualised his potential... if he just could... Richou is, when it comes down to it, more talented than Djokovic. But Djokovic has realised his potential, whereas Richou hasn't. I mean, sure, Richou has a few titles and that semi final at Wimbledon last year, but if he lived up to what he was capable of, he could bump off Djokovic easy. He could be challenging Rafa. But he just isn't all there in the head.

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The thing I like about Richou's game is that there is so much of it - game, I mean. He used to be called 'Baby Fed' and I can see why - he has an allcourt game that is not dissimilar to that of the Master. It's just inconsistent. I heard a piece on Radio Roland Garros with Roger Rasheed, who said that he'd like to coach Gasquet and shake him up a bit. I don't know if Rasheed is the right man for the job - we all know what I think of his commentary skills! - but Richou could use a good shake up. In my opinion.

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Richou withdrew from the French Open citing injury. This is totally uneducated, but I think it was mostly in his head. If he does the same thing at Wimbledon - I don't think he will, but if he did - I'd never forgive him. I'd really like to see him defend his semi-final points - and he is totally capable of doing it. If only he can keep his head in the game.

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Sorry about that mostly incoherent ramble... not my best ever entry! But I really would like to see Richou make his breakthrough. Not at the expense of Federer, of course, but if he's on the other side of the draw, I'd totally love him to make the final!

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Speaking of players I like, Carlos Moya is out of Wimbledon, which saddens me. I like Carlos a lot... though if there was one Grand Slam he's not going to do as well at, it's probably Wimbledon... he's not exactly the king of grass. So get well soon, Carlos, and see you on the hard courts!

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And Dinara Safina - who is definitely still in Wimbledon - won her match in s'Hertogenbosch today. Davai Dinara!

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Today's Results

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Ordina Open (s'Hertogenbosch)

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Juan Martin del Potro def. Fabrice Santoro, 6-3 6-1

Guillermo Canas def. Mischa Zverev, 5-7 6-3 6-3

Massimo Dell'acqua def. Fabio Fognini, 7-6 (7-4) 6-2

Arnaud Clement def. Benjamin Becker, 6-3 3-6 6-4

Marcel Granollers def. Kristof Vliegen, 6-0 1-0 retired

Rohan Bopanna def. Martin Verkerk, 6-7 (8-10) 7-6 (7-2) 6-4

Viktor Troicki def. Denis Gremelmayr, 6-3 7-5

Ivan Ljubicic def. Robin Haase, 6-3 7-6 (7-5)

Marc Gicquel def. Matwe Middelkoop, 6-4 6-1

Richard Gasquet def. Olivier Rochus, 6-2 7-6 (7-3)

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Sara Errani def. Anne Keothavong, 7-6 (7-5) 6-2

Dinara Safina def. Pauline Parmentier, 6-4 6-1

Sania Mirza def. Flavia Pennetta, 6-4 6-3

Michaella Krajicek def. Ai Sugiyama, 6-1 5-7 7-6 (9-7)

Marina Erakovic def. Alexis Gordon, 6-1 6-1

Angelique Kerber def. Klara Zakopalova, 6-4 3-6 6-4

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Slazenger Open (Nottingham)

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Julien Benneteau def. Simone Bolelli, 6-1 6-4

Ivo Karlovic def. Jonas Bjorkman, 6-3 6-4

Sam Querrey def. Alejandro Falla, 6-3 6-4

Bobby Reynolds def. Nicolas Mahut, 7-5 4-6 6-4

Dmitry Tursunov def. Yen-hsun Lu, 7-5 6-4

Marin Cilic def. Paul-Henri Mathieu, 1-6 6-4 6-3

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International Women's Open (Eastbourne)

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Samantha Stosur def. Katie O'Brien, 6-4 6-3

Amelie Mauresmo def. Alize Cornet, 6-1 4-6 7-5

Li Na def. Casey Dellacqua, 6-2 6-4

Nadia Petrova def. Shahar Peer, 6-2 6-2

Gisela Dulko def. Tathiana Garbin, 3-6 6-4 6-2

Aravane Rezai def. Victoria Azarenka, 6-2 retired