Lucky Thirteen

Thirteen Slam titles. Five Wimbledons, three Australian Opens and now five US Opens. Roger Federer is the man. He is, in my mind, without doubt, the greatest player of all time. He still may have one to go to match Sampras, but is there anyone alive who would bet against him? He isn't going to stop at thirteen. I heard him say so, and I believe him. I believe every word he says.

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What a beautiful final this was. It may not have had the drama and the sense of epic that Wimbledon had, and it may not have been the symbolic victory over Rafa Nadal that Federer really needs, but it just had a sense of being right. Of coming home. What kind of year would it be without Federer winning a Slam? This is where he belongs. He is a champion, in all walks of his life - and he deserves this win so much. So, so much.

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It was not, I will concede, the highest quality match of all time, especially from Andy Murray's perspective. He played a good second set, but he was really quite crippled by the sense of the occasion, I think. It certainly wasn't the match he played against Nadal. Nevertheless, he did take it to Federer on occasion, including breaking him when Federer was serving for the match. I think we're going to see Andy Murray here again next year - maybe in the US final, maybe in the Australian. I wouldn't be surprised to see him win a Slam one of these days. I don't think he's going to be a one-Slam wonder like Baghdatis. I would not be surprised, as I discussed yesterday, to see him go down the Djokovic route and really start taking it to the big guys. It will be interesting to see how he goes at the Australian Open next year. He doesn't have anything to lose there - he lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the first round this year (I was there!) I think Murray is made of stronger stuff than many - I only hope that he can improve without becoming as abrasive and awful as Djokovic.

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But today belongs to Roger Federer. He is still the one. Rafa may be on top of the rankings now, but I think Roger Federer is going to be #1 in the public psyche for a very long time. Have we ever seen such a champion? Even Sampras was not as beloved as Federer. He is the ultimate sports gentleman, a statesman, a champion. Everyone has been talking about what a dodgy year he's had that year - a year where he has made two Slam finals and a semi. And now he has a title. Dare anyone gainsay him now?

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I think this victory owes a lot to that doubles gold in Beijing, purely because Federer is obviously enjoying tennis again. There were some moments in the third set when, to go up 5-0, we saw Federer in full flight. Has any player ever played such exquisitely beautiful tennis? Rafa Nadal has the shots and his game is excellent, but I don't think anyone could really call his tennis beautiful. That is what Federer's game has - a sense of beauty, of fluidity, of elegance. His genius lies in his artistry, made possible by his amazing ability.

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And if we're comparing Federer to champions of the past, this year was very much like Sampras's 1996. He wasn't doing so well, was being criticised, and came out and beat Michael Chang in the US Open final in three sets, 6-1 6-4 7-6. What has Federer done? Won the US final in three pretty routine sets. At Wimbledon, we have seen his finals get harder every year, particularly with the evolution of Nadal. This US final was, I would contend, easier than last year's against Djokovic. Certainly Murray never had any set points, and Djokovic had what, seven? And the pressure on Federer was even more intense this year.

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And he answered.

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Sampras went on from 1996 to have a pretty great 1997. So what will Federer do in 2009? I can't tell you for sure, but I'd put a lot of money on the fact that it'll be pretty awesome!

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Today's Results

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US Open (Flushing Meadows)

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Men's Draw

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Roger Federer def. Andy Murray, 6-2 7-5 6-2

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BCR Open Romania (Bucharest)

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Potito Starace def. Marcel Granollers, 6-2 6-4

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez def. Mischa Zverev, 6-4 3-6 6-0

Florent Serra def. Nicolas Devilder, 3-6 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-4)

Denis Gremelmayr def. Jeremy Chardy, 6-1 5-7 6-4

Albert Montanes def. Hyung-taik Lee, 6-1 7-6 (7-4)

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Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic (Bali)

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Francesca Schiavone def. Sandy Gumulya, 6-2 6-0

Peng Shuai def. Ayumi Morita, 6-2 6-1

Marta Domachowska def. Lavinia Tananta, 6-2 6-3

Akgul Amanmuradova def. Ayu Fani Damayanti, 6-2 6-1

Tamira Paszek def. Anna-Lena Groenefeld, 7-5 6-4

Yuan Meng def. Yaroslava Shvedova, 5-7 6-2 7-5

Mixed Feelings

There is no denying that today belongs to Rafael Nadal. I wanted Federer to win singles gold to mark the end of his golden age (the first of them, anyway!) but perhaps it is more appropriate for Rafa to open his reign with gold. He deserved it, thoroughly. He is playing amazing tennis right now. Welcome to the top, Rafa. You belong here.

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Not that Roger isn't going to get it back. He is. I have no doubt. I think that doubles gold has kindled something in him. He was having such a blast playing with Stan, just relaxing into his game. He may not have been 'back' yet, per se, but he is coming. He will be back. Because even if Rafa is #1 now, he has a while to go before he becomes Federesque. It must be so hard for Rafa, having someone like Roger to look up to - but wonderful too. Who could be a better example?

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(Someone Djokovic should think about looking up to, methinks.)

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It was a bit disappointing to see Safina win silver in Beijing - but she's beaten Dementieva so much this year that maybe it was just Elena's turn! Silver is still a wonderful achievement, so go Dinara! An all-Russian podium - that's something else! And that's not including Sharapova or Kuznetsova. Safina is arguably playing better than anyone else this year, and she's still the #4 Russian. And look at Cincy - Petrova won there, another Russian. What does that say about Russian tennis for women? And why hasn't it quite worked for the men?

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Not that there aren't excellent male Russian players - there are! - but they seem sketchier than the girls, less steady. There is no greater head case in the men's game than Marat Safin. And look at Tursunov, and even Youzhny and Andreev. There is so much talent there, but the men don't seem to have their heads in the game. I used to use Davydenko as my example of a steady Russian male tennis player, but I can't any more - now that he's all sick of tennis and stuff (disgust!) Still, his lack of steadiness isn't due to him being a head case, just having a rubbish temperament. Le sigh.

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Going back to women's tennis, they have also had a change of #1 - it's Ivanovic that's gone back up. I don't pretend to understand - I don't follow women's tennis enough to know who's gaining and losing points at specific times. She and Jankovic have both already qualified for Doha at the end of the year - hey, that's a thought. If Sharapova is out for the US Open, etc, does that mean that she won't qualify? I mean, that's working on the assumption that she'll be better by Doha, but she stands a real chance of missing out. I know in doubles there is or has been a clause that if you win a Slam you get to go, but that certainly doesn't happen in men's singles, and so I assume it doesn't happen for women. I don't like Sharapova, but it would be a crying shame if she missed out, because she's such an excellent player. And that final last year with her and Henin was fabulous. It would be very sad if she didn't have the opportunity to defend that.

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Meanwhile, I have a new proposition for Olympic tennis in London. What do they use the tennis venue for after the tennis is done? Nada. Therefore, they should stretch the tennis over two weeks - singles one week and doubles the next. I think doubles hurt some of the singles players in Beijing - watch me carefully not mention Federer's name - and that would solve that problem. And also, they could play mixed doubles in that doubles week! If mixed doubles is in Slams, it should be in the Olympics - and tennis needs more medal opportunities. The Federers and Nadals of this world are never going to be able to equal Phelps's eight gold medal record, simply because there aren't enough medals available in tennis. I'm not suggesting changing the standard rules or format or anything so you could win eight gold medals in tennis, but surely mixed doubles is a legitimate Olympic sport. Besides, it would be rad to see men and women playing together. I personally would love to see Federer playing mixed for Switzerland with Patty Schnyder. I think they'd be a fabulous team. And how about Rafa and Anabel Medina Garrigues? Djokovic and Ivanovic, Tipsarevic and Jankovic? The Bryans brothers with the Williams sisters? I think there are some awesome possibilities. Stan and Timea? They would be really cute.

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And how about Juan Martin del Potro? Four titles and counting. That is an achievement Federer would have been proud of at the height of his glorious reign. He is going to be the serious challenger for the US Open that no one saw coming!

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Today's Results

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Games of the XXIX Olympiad (Beijing)

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Men's Draw - Singles

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Rafael Nadal def. Fernando Gonzalez, 6-3 7-6 (7-2) 6-3

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Women's Draw - Singles

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Elena Dementieva def. Dinara Safina, 3-6 7-5 6-3

Vera Zvonareva def. Li Na, 6-0 7-5

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Women's Draw - Doubles

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Williams/Williams def. Medina Garrigues/Ruano Pascual, 6-2 6-0

Yan/Zheng def. Bondarenko/Bondarenko, 6-2 6-2

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Legg Mason Tennis Classic (Washington)

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Juan Martin del Potro def. Viktor Troicki, 6-3 6-3

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Western and Southern Financial Group Women's Open (Cincinatti)

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Nadia Petrova def. Nathalie Dechy, 6-2 6-1

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Pilot Pen Tennis (New Haven)

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Men's Draw

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Mischa Zverev def. Florent Serra, 6-2 7-6 (8-6)

Ivo Minar def. Nicolas Mahut, 5-7 6-3 6-3

Albert Montanes def. Nicolas Devilder, 7-6 (7-5) 7-5

Dudi Sela def. Donald Young, 6-4 6-2

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Women's Draw

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Tsvetana Pironkova def. Bethanie Mattek, 7-6 (7-4) 0-6 6-0

Olga Govortsova def. Alisa Kleybanova, 6-0 6-2

Rafa's Time

I would be lying if I pretended I wasn't bitterly disappointed. I don't know what happened, or why it happened, but it did. The only time I ever remember Federer looking like losing to Blake was in the final of Indian Wells two years back, when he went down a double break in the first set. But even then, he got it back. He won the set. This match was gone before it even began.

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Looking at the score, it's clear that it was close. One break of serve in the first set, a breaker in the second. But that means nothing, really. Best of three tennis is so cutthroat. I don't know if Federer would have won it were best of five, but that kind of tennis certainly suits him better. But this...

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I have to congratulate James Blake, because he played an excellent match. I mean, I didn't see it, but even a sluggish Federer is still Federer, and you have to play great tennis to beat him. In a way, Federer can be like Nalbandian, but the Roger equivalent to LameDave is still one of the world's best tennis players. Sigh. I am so disappointed.

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But there's still doubles. I would have preferred Federer to get a medal in the singles, obviously, but doubles would be sweet too! And if he doesn't win a medal, that's cool too. It's Roger the man I admire, and Roger the tennis player is only a part of that. And no matter what he's ranked or what he wins, nothing can take that away. Tennis-wise, he needs to steady the ship and take a deep breath. As a person, there's not much he needs to fix.

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But even I can't deny that this is Rafa's time now. I don't how long Rafa's time will last - I'm still very confident that there will be a Second Golden Age of Federer - but he deserves to be #1 right now. He has been second banana to Roger for so long now. It is his turn to shine. (Not that he hasn't already been shining, but comparatively...) I'd like him to win the gold medal now. He deserves it. And I really don't want Djokovic to win it.

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That's my new podium. Rafa for gold. Gonzalez for silver. Djokovic for bronze. I'd like Blake to win bronze, but I think Djokovic might edge him. The Olympic tennis has lost its shine for me, I must admit, but I am a tennis fan as well as - in fact, before - I am a Federer fan. He is one man, and he is brilliant, but he once said, 'you never be bigger than the game, and I think you need to remember that.' Perhaps I need to remember that. Players come and go. Tennis is constant. The sport ain't going anywhere. And Rafa is very good for the sport. So vamos, Rafa. Vamos.

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Meanwhile, some huge upsets in the women! Both Williamses gone! Who would have picked that? Certainly not me. It looks like we might be having the Russian national championships again, providing Safina beats Jankovic, which I'm pretty sure she'll do. Along with Zvonareva, Dementieva and Li... well, suffice to say that's not exactly the semis anyone expected! But I like it. That's one thing that's good about women's tennis... because I'm not so emotionally involved, I can appreciate a good upset and go for the underdog and stuff if I'm so inclined. There is much more of a place for whimsy. Go Dinara!

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Oh, and go Team Fedrinka! Singles may have been a bust, for doubles gold is just as good!

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Today's Results

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Games of the XXIX Olympiad (Beijing)

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Men's Draw - Singles

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James Blake def. Roger Federer, 6-4 7-6 (7-2)

Rafael Nadal def. Jurgen Melzer, 6-0 6-4

Novak Djokovic def. Gael Monfils, 4-6 6-1 6-4

Fernando Gonzalez def. Paul-Henri Mathieu, 6-4 6-4

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Women's Draw - Singles

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Elena Dementieva def. Serena Williams, 3-6 6-4 6-3

Li Na def. Venus Williams, 7-5 7-5

Vera Zvonareva def. Sybille Bammer, 6-3 3-6 6-3

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Men's Draw - Doubles

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Bryan/Bryan def. Guccione/Hewitt, 6-4 6-3

Aspelin/Johansson def. Fyrstenberg/Matkowski, 7-6 (7-5) 6-4

Clement/Llodra def. Andreev/Davydenko, 6-2 6-7 (4-7) 64

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Women's Draw - Doubles

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Medina Garrigues/Ruano Pascual def. Stosur/Stubbs, 4-6 6-4 6-4

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Legg Mason Tennis Classic (Washington)

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Viktor Troicki def. Bobby Reynolds, 6-4 1-6 6-4

Juan Martin del Potro def. Dudi Sela, 6-0 5-7 6-2

Andy Roddick def. Eduardo Schwank, 4-6 6-4 7-6 (7-2)

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Western and Southern Financial Group Women's Open (Cincinatti)

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Aleksandra Wozniak def. Julia Vakulenko, 6-2 6-3

Beating Michael Phelps

Revenge is a dish best served cold. That is all I have to say. Apart from GO ROGER!

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I really, really wish I could have seen this match - though I doubt I would have any fingernails left if I had been... or, hell, fingers. The score might not reflect it, and there was certainly that one loose game at the beginning of the second set where Roger served three double faults (maybe he's under his annual average?) but when I see tennis described as 'sublime' I am very happy. I don't know if it was Supreme God Tennis, but it sounded like NinjaFed - or at least a decent facsimile - turned up. And that is good news. That is SUCH good news!

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There is a gold medal so close that I can almost smell it. Certainly, all Federer has to do is get past Blake to virtually guarantee a podium spot - though you can bet he won't be taking it for granted! One of the first Federer matches I remember was when he was a wee young boy of nineteen in Sydney, when he lost that bronze medal match to Di Pasquale and was just crushed afterwards. But not this time. I have no doubt that he can beat Blake and beat him good, and then go on to beat whoever it is he has to beat after that - and then beat Rafa/Novak FOR GOLD! GOLD! He may lose #1 at the beginning of next week, but I think a gold medal would be a perfect finish to this first Federer Golden Age of tennis... and a good precursor to the second one, which will obviously begin in the near future. He has a mark now - a record to beat. I want to see him go 235 weeks again!

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Team Fedrinka had a good win as well - the Tursunov/Youzhny team is definitely not a pushover, so that victory is really sweet... though I imagine Dmitry isn't too fond of Roger right now. Rafa's hopes of double gold were dashed - the Aussies knocked them out. Even though I'm not a Hewitt fan and I find Guccione a bit boring, I'd like them to do well. Not as well as Team Fedrinka, obviously, but well enough. I'm just hoping this doubles loss doesn't make Rafa super fresh for the singles. That would suck, especially if he plays Roger in the final... Roger is now the only man left with a shot at double gold, I think.

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But what am I saying? Roger trains in Dubai! He can deal with anything. ANYTHING!

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I'm sitting here watching that inane pre-Olympics show that Channel 7 have - 'Yum Cha' by name - and they're talking about Michael Phelps and how he's possibly the greatest sportsman of all time, across all sports. I nearly threw something at the television. One of the anchors said she thought it was between Phelps, Pele and Ali. No mention of Federer. Not even of Tiger Woods. I was outraged.

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You only have to look at the Laureus Awards, for God's sake. I don't want to take away what Phelps has done, because it's pretty outstanding. But to even begin to compare that to the achievements of Federer and Woods? That's just ridiculous. Eight gold medals - which he'll probably get - is amazing. But twelve Slams? 237 weeks at #1? Complete, utter dominance? Phelps has been around for a while, but you cannot - you just absolutely CANNOT - compare him to Federer. Not yet. Maybe not ever. I mean, I have issues with comparing sports anyway, but even so, I think Roger still comes out on top. Four times Laureus Sportsman - and that means beating out the not inconsiderable efforts of his mate Tiger. Phelps is up there, certainly, but the greatest athlete of this decade - and maybe even ever - is Roger Federer. Tiger Woods is a close second. Phelps is back a bit. He's good - excellent, outstanding - but he's not there yet. The cub is not ready to challenge those lions. Though what can you really expect from a show that has Sonia 'Tina Sparkle' Kruger as one of its primary anchors?

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(I would just like to point out that the cheer that Federer got when he entered the Olympic stadium was bigger that most countries. And people forget about him. He is such a class act. Beat that, Michael. You may be re-writing the record books at this Olympics, but Federer has been doing it for four years.)

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Right, back to tennis. The big upset on the men's side was Nalbandian, who went out to Monfils. Monfils is such an unpredictable player. If rankings were done on pure athletic ability, he would be in the top five for sure. You know how the French equivalent of the AIS (the FIS?) does all those crazy tests on their athletes, giving them scores for, oh, bendiness and strength and toughness and their ability to scull champagne and whatever else? Apparently Monfils came out on top, beating any other French athlete ever. And he certainly is a great athlete, but the way he throws himself round the court, doing Kim Clijsters splits and whatever means that he's injured all the time. When he's uninjured - for all of about four seconds a year - he's great to watch. I'm not sure where I stand on him, whether I like him or dislike him, but you can't deny he's got game and he's fun to see play tennis. And I'm not a Nalbandian fan, so I'm glad La Monf got through. I wonder if he won - a definite possibility - or if LameDave showed up? You can just never tell from scores sometimes.

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So our eight quarter-finalists are Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Monfils, Melzer, Mathieu, Gonzalez and Blake. My pick for the podium? Federer gold. Nadal silver. Djokovic bronze. I'm sure of gold, but I wouldn't be surprised if silver and bronze were switched round... much as I don't like Djokovic, he has proved recently that he has the ability to beat Nadal on hard courts. I think I'd like to see Rafa win silver, though - he deserves the higher medal, and I just want to see Federer beat him, to tell the truth. I want Roger to know he can do it. Because he can. He SO can.

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The other person that might end up on the podium is Gonzalez. He's been there before - in doubles and singles - and he absolutely destroyed Rochus yesterday. I think he'll definitely figure in the bronze medal match - he'll beat Mathieu, but lose to Federer - and he's a real danger of taking out Djokovic, if we go on the proviso that Nadal beats Djokovic in that semi. Actually, in the quarters, if Monfils plays well, he is a good chance of upsetting Djokovic. I don't see him getting through Rafa, but he's also someone that could take a bronze.

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But gold is the big one. And it has Roger written ALL OVER IT.

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Oh yeah, the women played too. My girl Dinara is still on song and playing sweetly. I was a bit disappointed to see one of my other favourites, Cornet, go out - but oh! did she give Serena a run for her money! Most of the big guns are still there - Jankovic and both the Williamses are going strong - but Dinara's got what it takes. And I'd love to see her and Sveta win gold in the doubles too. I picked Sveta for gold - it would be nice to be right, even in the wrong event!

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Today's Results

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Games of the XXIX Olympiad (Beijing)

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Men's Draw - Singles

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Roger Federer def. Tomas Berdych, 6-3 7-6 (7-4)

Rafael Nadal def. Igor Andreev, 6-4 6-2

Novak Djokovic def. Mikhail Youzhny, 7-6 (7-3) 6-3

Gael Monfils def. David Nalbandian, 6-4 6-4

James Blake def. Gilles Simon, 6-4 6-2

Fernando Gonzalez def. Olivier Rochus, 6-0 6-3

Paul-Henri Mathieu def. Nicolas Kiefer, 6-3 7-5

Jurgen Melzer def. Lu Yen-Hsun, 6-2 6-4

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Women's Draw - Singles

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Jelena Jankovic def. Dominika Cibulkova, 7-5 6-1

Serena Williams def. Alizé Cornet, 3-6 6-3 6-4

Elena Dementieva def. Caroline Wozniacki, 7-6 (7-3) 6-2

Dinara Safina def. Zheng Jie, 6-4 6-3

Venus Williams def. Victoria Azarenka, 6-3 6-2

Vera Zvonareva def. Francesca Schiavone, 7-6 (7-4) 6-4

Sybille Bammer def. Lucie Safarova, 7-5 6-4

Li Na def. Kaia Kanepi, 4-6 6-2 6-0

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Men's Draw - Doubles

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Bryan/Bryan def. Knowle/Melzer, 7-6 (7-2) 6-4

Federer/Wawrinka def. Tursunov/Youzhny, 6-4 6-3

Aspelin/Johansson def. Almagro/Ferrer, 7-6 (8-6) 6-4

Guccione/Hewitt def. Nadal/Robredo, 6-2 7-6 (7-5)

Bhupathi/Paes def. Melo/Sa, 6-4 6-2

Andreev/Davydenko def. Darcis/Rochus, 7-6 (8-6) 6-2

Fyrstenberg/Matkowski def. Damm/Vizner, 1-6 7-6 (7-3) 7-5

Clement/Llodra def. Murray/Murray, 6-1 6-3

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Women's Draw - Doubles

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Kuznetsova/Safina def. Mirza/Rao, 6-4 6-4

Pennetta/Schiavone def. Chan/Chuang, 7-6 (7-1) 1-6 8-6

Davenport/Huber def. Azarenka/Poutchek, 6-4 4-6 6-3

Bondarenko/Bondarenko def. Govortsova/Kustova, 6-1 6-3

Vesnina/Zvonareva def. Dulko/Jozami, 6-2 6-3

Yan/Zheng def. Gagliardi/Schnyder, 6-3 7-6 (7-2)

Medina Garrigues/Ruano Pascual def. Koryttseva/Perebiynis, 6-3 6-4

Morita/Sugiyama def. Arn/Szavay, 6-3 6-3

Stosur/Stubbs def. Kvitova/Safarova, 6-1 6-0

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Legg Mason Tennis Classic (Washington)

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Tommy Haas def. Nicolas Mahut, 7-6 (7-4) 6-3

Alejandro Falla def. Florent Serra, 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (13-11)

John Isner def. Donald Young, 6-4 7-6 (7-4)

Andy Roddick def. Ramon Delgado, 6-3 7-6 (7-4)

Eduardo Schwank def. Sebastien Grosjean, 6-3 4-6 6-3

Juan Martin del Potro def. Jesse Levine, 6-2 6-3

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Western and Southern Financial Group Women's Open (Cincinatti)

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Nadia Petrova def. Julie Ditty, 6-1 6-1

Maria Kirilenko def. Stéphanie Dubois, 1-6 6-2 7-5

Sabine Lisicki def. Camille Pin, 6-3 6-4

Lilia Osterloh def. Petra Cetkovska, 6-4 6-1

Mini-Rafa

The real story of the men's draw so far really has to be Yen-hsun Lu, who is now into the third round. No one would have picked that one - especially as he drew Murray in the first round! He beat Calleri in the second, who isn't exactly a Murray, but is pretty handy and is ranked a lot higher than Lu, so it was an awesome win! (Though why was Calleri even there? Why didn't they take Juan Martin del Potro? WHY?)

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Rafael Arevalo has to be a pretty good story as well! To be ranked where he is and make it to the second round of an ATP level tournament is pretty good, so well done to the boy from El Salvador. I would like to make it clear that I was in no way cheering for him, though - Roger all the way! (And yes, I confess, it was nice to see Roger beat Rafa, even it wasn't Rafa Rafa!) He seemed to look pretty good in this match, judging by reports... it obviously wasn't shown on Australian TV. Even Rafa vs. Lleyton only got about five points. Stupid swimming. But back to Roger. Mini-Rafa broke his serve in the first game of the second, but Roger broke right back and ran away with the set, so that was pretty sweet. There seems to be some minor trouble with the gear shift still - maybe Roger couldn't quite find cruise control in the beginning of that set! But he got there, and niftily too.

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He'll play Berdych in the next round. One word: vengeance! Served cold, with a side of arse-kicking.

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Rafa was utterly dominant in his match over Hewitt - surprise surprise. I wish the Australian media would get over this notion of Hewitt as their great white hope, because he really is going under, and fast. Unless he gives it time to heal, this hip injury is never going to better. And even if he goes away and comes back, it's going to be like Safin's knee - a chronic pain that flares up at the worst possible moments. (Thus saith Jodi, the highly qualified sports doctor, who knows all things.)

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We saw another couple of top ten guys get knocked out today. Paul-Henri Mathieu knocked out Davydenko, but we all know how Davydenko is whinging about motivation and how he hates the sight of his tennis racquets and stuff, which really takes the victory away from Paulo, in a respect. I am very cross with Kolya at the moment. That attitude is really, really disrespectful to his opponents.

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And, unfortunately, we lost Stan Wawrinka to Jurgen Melzer. By Stan's newly lofty standards, it was a pretty poor loss - but according to reports, he's having some problems adjusting to the humidity, poor Swiss boy that he is, used to the cold mountain air! Here's hoping this will leave him a bit fresher for the doubles - Team Fedrinka for gold!

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Djokovic and Nalbandian both had pretty good wins, though it was a bit sad to see Massu go... still, he was never, ever going to defend that gold medal. It was likewise sad to see Tipsarevic retire, as he was looking quite good, and I was personally sad to see Marin Cilic go, as he was the last one left flying my Stars of the Future flag: none of the rest of them made a splash at all. Oh well. London.

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Pretty standard day on the women's side - I suppose the major upset was Schiavone taking out Radwanska. That'll learn Radwanska for playing that Tier IV tournament when there was a Tier I tournament on! The Williams sisters had a bit of a struggle in the doubles but pulled through, as did Safina and Kuznetsova - and speaking of Safina, she is still looking veeery cruisy in the singles. Dinara and Roger for gold!

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And before I sign off, a shout out to the forgotten tournament in Washington. A great victory for Robert Kendrick, who is probably best remembered for almost but not quite beating Rafa at Wimbledon a couple of years back. He took out third seed Feliciano Lopez. Good work Robert!

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Today's Results

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Games of the XXIX Olympiad (Beijing)

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Men's Draw - Singles

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Roger Federer def. Rafael Arevalo, 6-2 6-4

Rafael Nadal def. Lleyton Hewitt, 6-1 6-2

Novak Djokovic def. Rainer Schuettler, 6-4 6-2

Paul-Henri Mathieu def. Nikolay Davydenko, 7-5 6-3

David Nalbandian def. Nicolas Massu, 7-6 (7-0) 6-1

James Blake def. Dominik Hrbaty, 7-6 (7-3) 4-6 6-3

Jurgen Melzer def. Stanislas Wawrinka, 6-4 6-0

Gilles Simon def. Guillermo Canas, 7-5 6-1

Fernando Gonzalez def. Marin Cilic, 6-4 6-2

Mikhail Youzhny def. Thomas Johansson, 7-5 6-2

Nicolas Kiefer def. Kevin Anderson, 6-4 6-7 (4-7) 6-4

Tomas Berdych def. Andreas Seppi, 6-3 7-6 (7-4)

Gael Monfils def. Victor Hanescu, 6-4 7-6 (7-5)

Lu Yen-Hsun def. Agustin Calleri, 6-4 6-4

Igor Andreev def. Michael Llodra, 6-4 3-6 6-1

Olivier Rochus def. Janko Tipsarevic, 7-6 (7-5) 2-3 retired

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Women's Draw - Singles

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Jelena Jankovic def. Alona Bondarenko, 7-5 6-1

Serena Williams def. Samantha Stosur, 6-2 6-0

Elena Dementieva def. Sofia Arvidsson, 6-3 6-4

Dinara Safina def. María José Martínez Sánchez, 7-6 (7-3) 6-1

Venus Williams def. Iveta Benesova, 6-1 6-4

Francesca Schiavone def. Agnieszka Radwanska, 6-3 7-6 (8-6)

Vera Zvonareva def. Shahar Peer, 6-3 7-6 (7-4)

Caroline Wozniacki def. Daniela Hantuchova, 6-1 6-3

Victoria Azarenka def. Casey Dellacqua, 6-2 6-2

Sybille Bammer def. Patty Schnyder, 6-4 6-4

Alizé Cornet def. Peng Shuai, 6-2 6-2

Dominika Cibulkova def. Tsvetana Pironkova, 6-2 6-2

Zheng Jie def. Nuria Llagostera Vives, 6-7 (7-9) 6-1 6-4

Li Na def. Ayumi Morita, 6-2 7-5

Kaia Kanepi def. Virginie Razzano, 6-4 7-5

Lucie Safarova def. Mariya Koryttseva, 2-6 6-1 7-5

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Men's Draw - Doubles

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Bryan/Bryan def. Knowles/Mullings, 6-2 6-1

Clement/Llodra def. Erlich/Ram, 6-4 6-4

Bhupathi/Paes def. Monfils/Simon, 6-3 6-3

Melo/Sa def. Berdych/Stepanek, 5-7 6-2 8-6

Fyrstenberg/Matkowski def. Yu/Zeng, 6-3 6-4

Knowle/Melzer def. Kiefer/Schuettler, 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 6-1

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Women's Draw - Doubles

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Kuznetsova/Safina def. Santangelo/Vinci, 6-1 3-6 7-5

Williams/Williams def. Benesova/Vaidisova, 4-6 7-5 6-1

Chan/Chuang def. Cornet/Razzano, 7-6 (7-2) 6-7 (3-7) 7-5 (7-5)

Davenport/Huber def. Jans/Rosolska, 6-2 6-1

Bondarenko/Bondarenko def. Domachowska/Radwanska, 6-3 6-2

Vesnina/Zvonareva def. Llagostera Vives/Martínez Sánchez, 2-6 6-1 6-3

Yan/Zheng def. Hantuchova/Husarova, 6-1 7-6

Govortsova/Kustova def. Peng/Sun, 7-6 (7-1) 7-6 (7-3)

Azarenka/Poutchek def. Ani/Kanepi, 6-2 6-2

Gagliardi/Schnyder def. Daniilidou/Gerasimou, 6-0 6-4

Pennetta/Schiavone def. Dellacqua/Molik, 6-4 6-4

Dulko/Jozami def. Obziler/Peer, 6-3 6-2

Mirza/Rao def. Golovin/Parmentier, walkover

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Legg Mason Tennis Classic (Washington)

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Robert Kendrick def. Feliciano Lopez, 6-3 7-5

Alejandro Falla def. Mardy Fish, 5-7 6-4 6-2

Viktor Troicki def. Denis Gremelmayr, 6-4 6-2

Igor Kunitsyn def. Mischa Zverev, 6-7 (6-8) 6-4 6-2

Fabio Fognini def. Marat Safin, 7-5 retired

Donald Young def. Luis Horna, 6-3 6-1

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Western and Southern Financial Group Women's Open (Cincinatti)

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Nadia Petrova def. Galina Voskoboeva, 6-3 6-0

Aleksandra Wozniak def. Aiko Nakamura, 6-3 6-2

Yanina Wickmayer def. Vasilisa Bardina, 7-5 3-6 6-3

Julia Vakulenko def. Monica Niculescu, 6-2 2-6 6-4

Vania King def. Tathiana Garbin, 4-6 6-3 7-5

Kicking Kolya Out Of The Kitchen

One thing I have to say about the Beijing Olympics. Their Opening Ceremony was fantastic, it all seems to be very well organised and running smoothly and all, but their tennis livescoring system is really, really bad. Like, dreadful. It's a pretty sad state of affairs when the 32-draw Legg Mason 'I'm not good enough/too wussy to go to the Olympics' Classic has a better system than the greatest sporting event on earth.

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Other than that, Beijing did a great job of squeezing something like 65 matches into a day, even if it was terribly hard to follow them. Of course, here in Australia, we saw absolutely no tennis, as Australia stands pretty much no chance of doing well and they're hardly going to show anyone else, but I kept up to date what was going on. The most important match from my perspective was, of course, Federer against Tursunov. Not seeing the match, I can't comment adequately on it, but it seems like a pretty decent win for Roger to me. I saw some reports which were all 'vintage Federer!' and others that said that he did enough to win but wasn't that impressive. Still, no matter which way you look at it, a straight sets victory over a talented big-hitter like Tursunov ain't nothing to sneeze at.

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Federer next plays Rafael Arevalo, whom no one has heard of - including Federer, by all reports, who was apparently frantically Googling him to find out some stuff. What I did find out is that Arevalo is ranked something like #447, so you'd think Federer would be a dead cert bet... but we all remember the Ruben Ramirez-Hidalgo incident. I don't think Roger will underestimate him, which would probably be the biggest pitfall.

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I'm not sure if Rafa did some underestimating or whether he's just tired, because he'd normally never drop a set to someone like Potito Starace. Still, he came through. I'm sure there'll be some reports of how the pressure of #1 is getting to him, but everyone drops a set now and again. I don't think it's really much to worry about for Team Rafa. Though Team Spain clearly has something to worry about - three of their four guys went out yesterday, which was not so good. And Rafa dropped a set... maybe they all had food poisoning! Or not. Maybe they just got beaten.

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Ferrer lost to Tipsarevic, who looks more and more dangerous every time he plays. Seppi beat Robredo and Monfils beat Almagro. Strange, isn't it, that Spain left all these awesome players behind - players like Nando Verdasco - and then most of them lose. At least you can pretty much always count on Rafa.

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Djokovic had a pretty handy win, but there were a couple of upsets - not just Ferrer, but Murray as well. Yen-hsun Lu played the match of his life there! I remembering watching him play at the Hopman Cup this year, and he really has a lovely playing style, so good word to him. As those hideous cackling commentators on Channel 7 might say, 'onya!' And on the women's side, my gold medal pick Svetlana Kuznetsova went crashing out to Li Na. That means I have to revise my gold medallist, and I'm revising it straight to Dinara Safina. Don't know why I didn't pick her in the first place. She is easily playing better than anyone else right now.

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For a limited time only - ie. the duration of the Olympics - Tennis From The Backseat will also be covering doubles... mostly because I'm really, really excited about Team Fedrinka! I think they stand a great chance! How many other teams boast two top ten players? I know that's not the only consideration for doubles, but I think they could just be fabulous. And they WILL be fabulous!

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They face a Russian team next - Tursunov and Youzhny - who knocked out Gonzalez and Massu, who won the gold medal in Athens, so that was a good win. If you want a tough team, I don't know if you can go further than those boys, so that should be a good match.

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...though speaking of Russians, did anyone else see that article about Davydenko? I was totally disgusted. I think it's on Eurosport, if anyone else wants to look: basically, he was whinging about how he has no motivation, and how he's going to play at the Olympics, but he isn't really going to try and how he doesn't expect to do well and how he just finds it so hard to pick up a racquet.

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If I were Ernests Gulbis, who was knocked out by Davydenko in the first round, I would be feeling so offended right now. What kind of attitude is that for an elite sportsman? For the first time, I think I understand - just a little - why Justine Henin retired. I don't understand WHY she had no motivation, but once she recognised that she did, she was at least respectful to her opponents and stepped aside. Sport is about giving your all. Isn't that, like, the Olympic thing? Faster, higher, stronger, or whatever the motto is? If you're not prepared to try, get out. If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen. Kolya, I hope you get destroyed in your next match - because with an attitude like that, you have absolutely no right to be here. None whatsoever.

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Today's Results

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Games of the XXIX Olympiad (Beijing)

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Men's Draw - Singles

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Roger Federer def. Dmitry Tursunov, 6-4 6-2

Rafael Nadal def. Potito Starace, 6-2 3-6 6-2

Novak Djokovic def. Robby Ginepri, 6-4 6-4

Janko Tipsarevic def. David Ferrer, 7-6 (10-8) 6-2

Lu Yen-Hsun def. Andy Murray, 7-6 (7-5) 6-4

David Nalbandian def. Zeng Shaoxuan, 6-2 6-1

Stanislas Wawrinka def. Frank Dancevic, 4-6 6-3 6-2

Gilles Simon def. Robin Soderling, 6-4 6-4

Gael Monfils def. Nicolas Almagro, 6-4 3-6 6-3

Mikhail Youzhny def. Jiri Vanek, 6-4 6-1

Nicolas Kiefer def. Max Mirnyi, 6-3 6-1

Michael Llodra def. Radek Stepanek, 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 11-9

Thomas Johansson def. Jarkko Nieminen, 4-6 6-4 6-4

Andreas Seppi def. Tommy Robredo, 6-4 4-6 8-6

Paul-Henri Mathieu def. Nicolas Lapentti, 7-6 (7-4) 6-2

Victor Hanescu def. Simone Bolelli, 7-5 3-6 6-4

Olivier Rochus def. Ivo Minar, 6-3 3-6 6-3

Igor Andreev def. Sam Querrey, 6-4 6-4

Dominik Hrbaty def. Thomaz Bellucci, 2-6 6-4 6-2

Marin Cilic def. Juan Monaco, 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-3

Agustin Calleri def. Devin Mullings, 6-1 6-1

Rainer Schuettler def. Kei Nishikori, 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-3

Lleyton Hewitt def. Jonas Bjorkman, 7-5 7-6 (7-2)

Nicolas Massu def. Steve Darcis, 6-4 7-5

Kevin Anderson def. Komlavi Loglo, 6-3 6-2

Rafael Arevalo def. Hyung-Taik Lee, 4-6 6-3 6-4

Jurgen Melzer def. Marcos Daniel, 6-7 (9-11) 6-1 8-6

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Women's Draw - Singles

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Jelena Jankovic def. Cara Black, 6-3 6-3

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

Serena Williams def. Olga Govortsova, 6-3 6-1

Elena Dementieva def. Kateryna Bondarenko, 6-1 6-4

Dinara Safina def. Mara Santangelo, 6-3 7-6 (7-1)

Venus Williams def. Timea Bacsinszky, 6-3 6-2

Agnieszka Radwanska def. Chan Yung-Jan, 6-1 7-6 (8-6)

Vera Zvonareva def. Yan Zi, 6-2 6-0

Daniela Hantuchova def. Ai Sugiyama, 6-2 7-5

Zheng Jie def. Agnes Szavay, 4-6 6-3 7-5

Victoria Azarenka def. Tatiana Perebiynis, 6-4 5-7 6-4

Patty Schnyder def. Jill Craybas, 6-3 6-2

Kaia Kanepi def. Flavia Pennetta, 6-2 7-6 (8-6)

Alizé Cornet def. Nicole Vaidisova, 4-6 6-1 6-4

Dominika Cibulkova def. Pauline Parmentier, 6-1 7-5

Shahar Peer def. Sorana Cirstea, 6-3 5-7 6-0

Virginie Razzano def. Eleni Daniilidou, 6-3 6-3

Alona Bondarenko def. Milagros Sequera, 3-6 0-1 retired

Sybille Bammer def. Anabel Medina Garrigues, 6-2 4-6 6-4

Casey Dellacqua def. Gisela Dulko, 6-3 6-4

Peng Shuai def. Carla Suárez Navarro, 7-5 7-6 (7-2)

Iveta Benesova def. Sania Mirza, 6-1 2-1 retired

Sofia Arvidsson def. Tamarine Tanasugarn, 6-2 6-1

Lucie Safarova def. Maret Ani, 6-4 6-2

María José Martínez Sánchez def. Alicia Molik, 6-1 6-1

Nuria Llagostera Vives def. Klara Zakopalova, 2-6 6-3 7-5

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Men's Draw - Doubles

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Federer/Wawrinka def. Bolelli/Seppi, 7-5 6-1

Almagro/Ferrer def. Anderson/Coetzee, 3-6 6-3 6-4

Nadal/Robredo def. Bjorkman/Soderling, 6-3 6-3

Andreev/Davydenko def. Blake/Querrey, 6-3 6-4

Aspelin/Johansson def. Hanley/Kerr, 7-6 (9-7) 6-3

Murray/Murray def. Nestor/Niemeyer, 4-6 6-3 6-4

Darcis/Rochus def. Canas/Nalbandian, 6-7 (6-8) 7-6 (7-5) 6-3

Tursunov/Youzhny def. Gonzalez/Massu, 7-6 (7-5) 6-4

Guccione/Hewitt def. Calleri/Monaco, 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 18-16

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Legg Mason Tennis Classic (Washington)

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Tommy Haas def. Rik de Voest, 6-4 4-6 6-1

Dudi Sela def. Vince Spadea, 7-6 (8-6) 6-3

Somdev Devvarman def. Taylor Dent, 7-6 (7-3) 2-6 6-1

Florent Serra def. Uladzimir Ignatik, 7-6 (7-3) 6-3

Bobby Reynolds def. Marc Gicquel, 7-6 (7-2) 3-6 6-4

John Isner def. Marcel Granollers, 6-3 6-7 (6-5) 7-6 (7-1)

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Western and Southern Financial Group Women's Open

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Katarina Srebotnik def. Amanda Fink, 6-3 6-3

Sabine Lisicki def. Anna Tatishvili, 5-7 7-5 6-0

Camille Pin def. Ekaterina Makarova, 6-2 6-0

Petra Cetkovska def. Tamira Paszek, 4-6 6-3 4-1 retired

Nathalie Dechy def. Olivia Sanchez, 6-2 6-2

Julie Ditty def. Yuan Meng, 2-6 6-1 6-4

Maria Kirilenko def. Hsieh Su-wei, 6-2 7-5

Stéphanie Dubois def. Evgeniya Rodina, 6-2 7-6 (7-3)

The Andy Murrays of the Women's Game

I was all geared up for a huge day of tennis yesterday, and then it had to go and rain. I was all nervous for Roger, and then he got rained out. So he has to wait till today for his match - third match up, after Rafa. I hope that he doesn't get too nervous! But we all know how he once said, 'under pressure, I see things very clearly.' I'm sure he - and he in his incarnation as Fedrinka - will do just fine.

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The big news is, of course, the withdrawal of Ana Ivanovic. I know she has every right to withdraw and all, but doesn't it seem just a little late? She was there marching in the Opening Ceremony! She is in Beijing - right there! Unless you injure yourself in practice - which she didn't do - surely you'd realise before you went all that way? She says she's been carrying this injury since after Wimbledon, and now it's probably going to have be immobilised. News flash, Ana - the longer you leave it, the worse it gets! I know that - and I'm not a world class athlete! Surely you should have learnt that by now! If you sprain your ankle, you don't keep playing on it till you end up breaking it or something and needing it reconstructed. Prevention = better than cure.

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It's sad, really, because I was really hoping Ana would do well. I'd like to see her take back the #1 spot from Jankovic, because she seems to deserve it more. Actually, it would be really interesting to see what Jankovic does now - you know how she's injured, like, all the time? Now that Ana is out, maybe the pressure will be off and we'll see her go too, as she can hold onto #1 longer and get in better prep for the US Open.

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With Sharapova out as well, there is such a power vacuum in women's tennis at the moment. It's not like men's tennis, where you have #1 players flying round left, right and centre. Certainly, both Federer and Nadal deserve to be #1, and, although I wouldn't, one could make a case for Djokovic as well. And then you've got some other guys, like Murray, that could be #1 if the field were not so strong - if men's tennis were in the state that women's is. Ivanovic and Jankovic are Murrays. They're good - very, very good - but I seriously doubt that either of them is going to be remembered as one of the greats of women's tennis. Their rivalry is not the rivalry of Graf and Seles, that's for sure.

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Henin was a Federer, but without the determination and drive - in her latter days, anyway. Maria Sharapova is perhaps a Djokovic - exceptional, maybe even a deserving #1, but not yet great, and with a little, indefinable something missing. The Williams sisters are sort of lazy Nadals - they could be great, like he is, if they had his relentless and will to just play tennis. They're excellent when they want to be, and either could probably be #1 if they tried a bit harder, but they lack focus when it comes to tennis. They come to Wimbledon and then drift about for the rest of the year, occasionally having a hot streak, like Serena earlier this year when she won three tournaments on the trot, but certainly not playing to the best of the ability, on the whole. And so the Murrays of the women's game are on top.

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When it comes down to it, there is one player playing like a real #1 on the women's circuit right now, and it's Dinara Safina. If you want to give her a male counterpart, I don't think you can go farther than her brother - but not her brother now. She is playing like the Marat of 2000, the Marat of back in the day, but she has something which is uniquely her own: a real determination. She doesn't give up. Perhaps she is morphing from a sketchy Marat into a Nadal or a Hewitt in his heyday - someone playing relentless, 'come and get me if you're hard enough' tennis. Like John Boland, one gets the feeling she'd play in leather clogs if she had to - and she'd damn well win, too.

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And my pick for the gold medal, Svetlana Kuznetsova? She's a Davydenko, or a Ferrer. Consistent, excellent, but generally unremarkable... but sometimes she can break the back of the big guns with sheer willpower.

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As far as the Australians go, we had a mixed day yesterday. Guccione lost to Blake, but no one really expected him to win, so that was fine. But Sam Stosur had a great win over Sara Errani, who has been on real hot streak at the moment, so good work Sam. I admit I am a little more patriotic about tennis when it comes to the Olympics... but not so patriotic that I don't still want Federer to win! Hopp Roger!

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Oh yeah, Juan Martin del Potro beat Andy Roddick. Ha ha. I have gone right off Andy since he decided not to play the Olympics. And why is Juan Martin del Potro not in Beijing? You can't tell me there isn't some Argentinian player he could replace? Juan Monaco, for one. (He is Argentinian, yesno?) Juan Martin del Potro has now won three tournaments in a row. What has Juan Monaco done this year, hmmm?

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Today's Results

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Games of the XXIX Olympiad (Beijing)

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Men's Draw - Singles

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Nikolay Davydenko def. Ernests Gulbis, 6-4 6-2

James Blake def. Chris Guccione, 6-3 7-6 (7-3)

Fernando Gonzalez def. Peng Sun, 6-4 6-4

Tomas Berdych def. Xinyuan Yu, 6-1 6-2

Guillermo Canas def. Frederic Niemeyer, 3-6 4-2 retired

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Women's Draw - Singles

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Francesca Schiavone def. Akgul Amanmuradova, 6-4 6-2

Caroline Wozniacki def. Selima Sfar, 6-4 6-1

Tsvetana Pironkova def. Marta Domachowska, 6-3 6-4

Samantha Stosur def. Sara Errani, 6-3 6-2

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Countrywide Classic (Los Angeles)

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Juan Martin del Potro def. Andy Roddick, 6-1 7-6 (7-2)

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Legg Mason Tennis Classic (Washington)

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Nicolas Mahut def. Wayne Odesnik, 4-6 6-4 6-4

Tennis En Pointe

Well, Juan Martin del Potro beat Mardy Fish. Whoop-di-doo. Andy Roddick will probably beat Denis Gremelmayr. And there is my LA roundup.

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But the Olympic tennis starts today, which ensures I'll have some interesting stuff to talk about from here on in! I couldn't tell you exactly who's playing today, as I'm having some issues finding an order of play, but I know Federer and Tursunov are first off the rank - and I think Nadal might be playing first in the doubles. Actually, I think Roger has to play twice today - the Olympic debut of the 'Fedrinka' team is later on this evening. And don't we just know how those will work out. I'd be very happy with a singles gold, but I'd love to see him do a Massu and pull double gold out of the bag!

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Speaking of gold, in a vaguely related segue, I was looking around on the Olympic site trying to find an order of play, and I came across this summary for tennis:

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'Today's Olympic tennis players include some of the highest-profile athletes in the world. Accustomed to five-star hotels and high-stakes prize money, at the Olympic Games they will bunk in the Olympic Village and compete for nothing but a gold medal.'

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I think that's awesome. Really, really awesome. Federer has come out and said that a gold medal would mean as much to him as a Wimbledon victory - and when you consider that that's without a pay cheque, that's something else. I mean, it's not like Roger needs the money, but it's great that the gold medal is the prize, and nothing more - and it's still considered such a prize.

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That's the power of the Olympics, I guess. If I were to call up the top sixty four players and say, 'hey guys, come play in my awesome Tournament de Jodi, where I will pay you nothing but you will get my undying love and admiration' I have a feeling that I wouldn't get a lot of takers. But if it were the OLYMPIC Tournament de Jodi...

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...but then, I suppose I don't have a state of art tennis facility at my command. Or a gold medal. If you got desperate for cash, I suppose you could always pawn it.

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(That was a joke.)

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Apparently, according to the Beijing website, the first ever gold medallist in tennis was an Irish guy called John Boland, who originally went as a spectator. That was in Athens in 1896. Somehow, I can't see a spectator jumping in and winning gold now, but it's still a fun story. I wish it elaborated on exactly how he went from spectator to Olympic athlete to winner. That could totally be an awesome movie.

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Oh, I found a reference! So he was a student of mythology and went for kicks because of that, but his buddy Thrasyvoloas Manaos, who was the secretary on the organisational committee, randomly entered him into the tennis. One can imagine Boland probably said something along the lines of, 'WTF, mate?' but he went ahead and played - and obviously won! - despite wearing leather-soled shoes with heels.

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Leather-soled shoes. Can you imagine any player - maybe even Federer - coming out in leather clogs and still winning? Go Boland! He later went on to be an MP and championed the Irish language. He sounds really cool. I reiterate my 'there should be a movie' sentiment.

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Hey, maybe I should write it! Tennis From The Backseat could totally transition to the screen!

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Today's Results

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Countrywide Classic (Los Angeles)

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Juan Martin del Potro def. Mardy Fish, 6-2 6-1

Andy Roddick def. Denis Gremelmayr, 6-2 6-2

The Second Golden Age

So how 'bout that Opening Ceremony? Nice to see some familiar tennis faces out and about... not that the Australian media recognised many of them, but to be fair, there were a whole lot of other sports represented too. Much as I would like it to, the Olympics do not revolve around tennis.
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We had two tennis flag bearers, which I suppose isn't a bad representation for the sport... though I thought Rafa got gypped. But Spain is a big place with many different sports, I suppose. I can't remember who carried their flag, but if I were Carlos Sastre, I'd be feeling gypped too. Actually, I was very surprised that we didn't have a tennis flag-bearer from Serbia - but how would you pick between the three of them? There's Djokovic, who (even though I don't like him) has won the Australian and done exceedingly well considering the depth of men's tennis, Ivanovic, who is #1 and won the French, and Jankovic, who'll become #1 next week. Not a lot to split them on, especially the girls.
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But there were two with the flag, in Roger Federer (happy birthday!) and Fernando Gonzalez. It'll be interesting to see how Chile does in the tennis this year, actually, after that stellar performance in Athens, where Massu won gold, Gonzalez won bronze and then they won gold in the doubles. I doubt, somehow, that they can match it, but there'll certainly be some motivation there. Because, you know, the rest of the Olympic teams will obviously be totally unmotivated.
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And we all know where I think (and hope) the gold medal will go. The birthday boy, Mr. Switzerland, Roger Federer. This must be such a bittersweet experience for him, what with the #1 slipping from his grasp. But he said something once which has always resonated with me, and I hope it's true: 'Under pressure I see things very clearly.' He can do this. He can do anything. He just needs to see clearly, to have the right mindset. And I have a good feeling about this, birthday boy. This is the end of the first Golden Age of Roger Federer, but it might well be the beginning of the second.
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Oh, and away from Beijing, Safin lost. Watch me proceed to totally ignore the LA tournament from here on in.
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Today's Results
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Countrywide Classic (Los Angeles)
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Denis Gremelmayr def. Marat Safin, 3-6 6-3 6-2
Mardy Fish def. Florent Serra, 6-4 6-4

Juan Martin del Potro def. Amer Delic, 7-6 (8-6) 6-2

Andy Roddick def. Marc Gicquel, 6-3 6-1

Brought To You By The Letter G

That man Marat is doing his thing! He won in straights over Wayne Odesnik, and convincingly too. I have a good feeling about this week for him. This could be it. This could be the tournament of Marat, the first one back since Australia '05.

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And if I can make it happen by sheer force of will...

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As usual, there is not much to talk about except my will for Safin to win a tournament. Juan Martin del Potro is doing well again. Marc Gicquel's doing okay too. Carlos Moya (hopefully) is going to win in a minute over Amer Delic... or maybe not. Ooh! Doubles! Safin and Kunitsyn are in the semis! That's cool!

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It's really all about the Olympics, when it comes down to it. It is the reason LA is not exactly the world's most captivating tournament. I mean, apart from Marat. It's all about going for gold and glory and all the other things that begin with g.

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Meanwhile, how much of a bitch of a first round draw does the Mighty Fed have? Dmitry Tursunov really isn't a match for him, but really - would you like to run into Tursunov in the first round? The Australian media - in what little attention it is paying to tennis, which is not much, as we haven't a prayer of getting a medal - is going on about how Nadal could meet Hewitt in the second round. Personally, with Hewitt in his current state of fitness, I would be very surprised to see him make it through the first round, where he plays Jonas Bjorkman. And if he does make it through to Nadal, whether or not this tiredness Rafa claims is a factor, he will be demolished. Lleyton has no chance next to Rafa. Less than none.

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Our other man, Guccione, faces Blake. So, bye bye Gooch. If we're going to get a medal in the singles, it'll probably be Dellacqua. Not that I think she will get one, but if one of the Aussies is... in doubles, Stosur might do okay - who is she playing with? My favourite sport, and I know next to nothing about what the Aussies are doing. Some patriot I am. But I have never claimed to be one, so that's all right. We all know where my tennis loyalties lie.

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I know the date on this post is the seventh, but it's the morning of the eighth here as I write it - 08/08/08. And that means two things. One, it's the Opening Ceremony. But two, and much more importantly, it is Roger Federer's 27th birthday. Happy (slightly early) birthday, Roger. You will always, always be my favourite.

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Today's Results

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Countrywide Classic (Los Angeles)

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Marat Safin def. Wayne Odesnik, 6-3 6-2

Mardy Fish def. Vince Spadea, 6-7 (5-7) 6-1 6-0

Marc Gicquel def. Donald Young, 6-3 6-3

Juan Martin del Potro def. Andrea Stoppini, 6-4 6-2

Amer Delic def. Carlos Moya, 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (7-5)

Game Over, Game On

Honestly, Rafael Nadal, I don't know what to do with you. You win when I want you to lose, and then you lose when I want you to win. I feel a bit betrayed. Of all the people to lose to, did it have to be Novak Djokovic?

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What I'm now faced with is a final between two of my most disliked players on the circuit, including the #1 on that list, and with Rafa certain to become #1 in the world. Could things really get much blacker for me?

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No, not really. And so the only way is up. The victory over Lapentti yesterday meant that Rafa will become #1 sometime in the next few weeks - I think after the Olympics, no matter how he and Roger perform there. That means that the glorious reign of Federer comes to an end after 237 weeks. Not a bad run. No one else has ever done better. And perhaps, in order to appreciate this streak, it had to come to an end.

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And it might just a herald a renaissance. This is 1996, and Federer, like Sampras, is a champion. The first Golden Age of Roger Federer is coming to an end. The second might just be about to begin.

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And how is this for a symbolic turning point? On the 8th of August, 2008, his 27th birthday, Roger Federer will carry the Swiss flag in the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Olympic. He might lose the #1 spot, but I think an Olympic gold medal would alleviate the pain of that considerably. And hey, he can always get it back. How about a US Open victory? That'd be nice. And the Masters Cup. For so long, Roger has been maintaining. Now he'll be chasing, hunting - and if that doesn't put some fire in his veins, I don't know what will.

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Watch out, Rafa. Roger's coming home, and he ain't pleased. This is not game over. This is game on.

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Today's Results

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Western and Southern Financial Group Masters (Cincinatti)

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Novak Djokovic def. Rafael Nadal, 6-1 7-5

Andy Murray def. Ivo Karlovic, 6-4 6-4

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Rogers Cup (Montreal)

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Dinara Safina def. Victoria Azarenka, 6-0 2-6 6-3

Dominika Cibulkova def. Marion Bartoli, 4-6 6-4 6-3

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PS. Go Dinara!

To Be Due

So Cilic lost. So now I have nothing left in this tournament, pretty much. My bracket is pretty much destructo. Not one of my four semi final picks made it through. I was pretty certain with Federer at least... but alas, these things happen. Think of the Olympics. Think of the Olympics.

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My picks were Federer, Youzhny, Soderling and Ferrer. Instead, we have Simon (who beat my Marin!), Kiefer, Murray and Nadal. Not the four you would have picked - and indeed, I picked none of them. I like Rafa, but I really, really wish he hadn't made it through. My heart belongs to Roger, and I do not like this threat to the #1 ranking, no, I do not.

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You've got to have your money on Rafa winning the tournament now, but both Federer and Djokovic have suffered 'odd' losses this tournament... Djokovic's potentially a little less odd, but you'd normally put your money on him over Andy Murray any day. We all know my extreme loathing for Djokovic, but did it have to be Andy Murray that beat him? I don't like Andy Murray either, and I really want to go for him in the semis because I don't want Rafa to win because of the Roger thing but I just cannot justify it to myself.

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Oh, the drama of things I am in no way involved in.

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Wouldn't it be nice, though, for some random to win the tournament? I'm still bearing some ill will against Simon for the whole Federer thing, but it wouldn't be so bad if he were to go on and win. Hell, it might even make me feel better about the whole Federer thing. Or Kiefer. I'm not a huge Kiwi fan, but he has worked so hard coming back from that injury that it might be a nice reward. Or, sigh, Murray. He really deserves a big tournament win - he's not had one yet, not a BIG tournament.

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Ironically, of these four, I like Rafa the best. But I desperately, desperately want him not to win. Because I will always like Roger more. (Not to be confused with Roger Moore... oh, what an awful pun.)

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But Djokovic lost. And oh, that made my day.

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Today's Results

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Rogers Masters (Toronto)

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Richard Gasquet def. David Ferrer, 6-3 6-3

Nicolas Kiefer def. James Blake, 6-1 6-2

Gilles Simon def. Marin Cilic, 3-6 6-2 6-3

Andy Murray def. Novak Djokovic, 6-3 7-6 (7-3)

Rafael Nadal def. Richard Gasquet, 6-7 (10-12) 6-2 6-1

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East West Bank Classic (Los Angeles)

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Jelena Jankovic def. Nadia Petrova, 7-5 6-4

Dinara Safina def. Victoria Azarenka, 6-3 6-1

Flavia Pennetta def. Sybille Bammer, 7-6 (7-3) 3-6 6-1

Bethanie Mattek def. Yuan Meng, 6-2 7-5

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Banka Koper Slovenia Open (Portoroz)

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Sara Errani def. Maria Kirilenko, 6-1 7-5

Caroline Wozniacki def. Vera Dushevina, 6-0 6-1

Anabel Medina Garrigues def. Elena Bovina, 6-3 6-2

Julia Goerges def. Petra Martic, 6-3 4-6 6-4

Think of the Olympics

I don't want to talk about the Federer loss. I don't even want to think about it. So well done, Gilles Simon. I hate you a lot right now, but well done. And now Roger's out of the doubles too. Oh well... All the more time to prepare for Cincy and the Olympics, I suppose. Sigh.

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And Marat's out too, and Dmitry. And Stan. All my boys are gone. Not a good week for me... my bracket bites now. I'm going for whoever beats Djokovic. Oh, and also praying Rafa doesn't win the tournament. I'm carefully ignoring anything to do with points and the race for #1, but I know that this isn't really very good.

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Actually, I'm going for Cilic. He's done me proud this tournament, upsetting Roddick like that. He's a good kid. Star of the Future, I say! Star of the Future! I've always been harping on and on about Gulbis as the biggest possible Star of the Future, but I am liking Marin Cilic more and more. I want him to win the tournament. Wouldn't that be something else! Actually, Djokovic and Nadal are in the same half, so with Federer out - sob - we're going to have at least one random finalist. How about Cilic, eh? He faces Simon in the next round - that bastard - and I will be cheering for Marin all the way. If I can't have a Federer victory, I'll settle for a new guy breaking through.

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Sigh. Stupid tennis. Stupid Simon. I'm just going to think of the Olympics and how fresh Roger will be. Think of the Olympics. Oh yeah.

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Given as I refuse to write about Federer as I'll upset myself, I don't actually have a whole lot to say today. Go Marin. Go you good thing.

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Today's Reuslts

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Rogers Masters (Toronto)

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Gilles Simon def. Roger Federer, 2-6 7-5 6-4

Jose Acasuso def. Fernando Gonzalez, 6-3 3-6 6-3

Nikolay Davydenko def. Tommy Haas, 6-3 7-6 (8-6)

Nicolas Kiefer def. Mikhail Youzhny, 7-6 (7-4) 7-5

James Blake def. Jonas Bjorkman, 1-6 6-1 6-2

Stanislas Wawrinka def. Marat Safin, 6-3 6-4

Rafael Nadal def. Igor Andreev, 6-2 7-6 (7-1)

Novak Djokovic def. Robin Soderling, 6-4 6-4

Nicolas Kiefer def. Nikolay Davydenko, 4-6 6-4 6-4

Marin Cilic def. Andy Roddick, 6-4 4-6 6-4

James Blake def. Dmitry Tursunov, 4-6 6-1 6-4

Andy Murray def. Stainslas Wawrinka, 6-2 0-6 6-4

Gilles Simon def. Jose Acasuso, 6-3 6-4

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East West Bank Classis (Los Angeles)

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Sybille Bammer def. Anna Chakvetadze, 6-4 5-7 6-2

Nadia Petrova def. Vera Zvonareva, 6-4 7-5

Victoria Azarenka def. Samantha Stosur, 6-4 7-6 (7-4)

Flavia Pennetta def. Ai Sugiyama, 7-6 (7-5) 6-3

Yuan Meng def. Melanie South, 6-2 6-3

Jelena Jankovic def. Melinda Czink, 6-3 6-2

Bethanie Mattek def. Olga Govortsova, 7-5 6-2

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Banka Koper Slovenia Open (Portoroz)

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Maria Kirilenko def. Roberta Vinci, 6-1 6-2

Julia Goerges def. Katarina Srebotnik, 6-4 6-2

Sara Errani def. Mara Santangelo, 6-2 6-4

Elena Bovina def. Camille Pin, 6-3 5-7 7-6 (8-6)

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.