WTA WTF (again)

I kind of wish I hadn't used the headline 'WTA WTF' yesterday, because I want to use it again today. Serena, really?

Come on, Serena. I haven't always been your biggest fan and that you don't peak till the Slams, but I thought I could count of you to keep some semblance of normalcy in this wacky tournament, particularly as pretty much everyone who might be considered competition is out already.

But no. Not to be.

And so we're left with Venus... Jankovic... a few other randoms... and one Sam Stosur.

At this point, I think I might be picking Jankovic to win the tournament, but what a shot for Sam Stosur. She made relatively quick work of Patty Schnyder at the moment and is looking fierce. She's been one of the form players this season - even though 'form' basically constitutes 'losing last' for the WTA these days (though Sam has been playing genuinely well) and a win here in Madrid would not only be HUGE for her career, it would catapult her with a whole ton of momentum into Roland Garros and, I believe, the top five.

Now there is a bit of something.

Ladies' Hot or Not in Miami

So we're in that interesting stage before the seeds turn up to play and we get a whole lot of first round tennis. It's a big melting pot at this level of the rankings, but some people are definitely way more awesome than others. So today, we're doing a hot or not of the women's draw.

Hot: Justine Henin. Yes, she may have been outclubbed by A-Kley in Indian Wells, but she's only just outside the seeds here and I think she's rad. I don't expect her to win the tournament, but let's just say I don't expect her to lose in the next round.

Not: Alize Cornet. I do expect her to lose in the next round. In fact, I'm pretty well flabbergasted she won the first one.

Hot: Carla Suarez Navarro. Not the most consistent player ever, but she plays crushworthy tennis. Her single handed backhand is the only one in the women's game fit to be mentioned in the same paragraph as JuJu's.

Not: Patty Schnyder. She's on the way down, and I don't think she's going to come back up again.

Hot: Elena Baltacha. Where has this girl come from? She's been burning it up - Anne Keothavong better not sit too pretty in that #1 British girl spot and Laura Robson better not start thinking British women's tennis is all about her...

Not: Tamira Paszek. I used to be a huge fan, but she hasn't really done anything to warrant this huge fandom. Come back to me when you've done something slightly more awesome, Tammy P.

Hot: Kimiko Date Krumm. Enough said. She's, what, 40, and still rolling strong? Love and respect.

Not: Melanie Oudin. People rave about her. I don't get it. Get off the stage.

Agreements? Disagreements? Happy to take all views into consideration...

The Wizard

There is something truly magical about watching Roger Federer play on grass that I think we lost last year when he was grinding through mono, and watching him play Rendy Lu yesterday, it was wonderful to see that he's back. David Foster Wallace described it as a religious experience, and I can see why - he practically floats on the grass. I swear he walks about two feet above it and flies.

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Hell, even when he took that fall, it was graceful.

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And how about that shot round the netpost, hmmm? That has to be one of the shots, if not the shot of the year. It was amazing.

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And because it cannot be ignored... I love the outfit. Maybe not the bag, but I dig the jacket and I love the waistcoat. I know it's not so popular, but I love it. I know Dootsiez over at All I Need Is A Picket Fence wants to see a monogrammed cape and undies worn outside shorts next year - personally, I'm gunning for a cloak. A looooooong one. Possibly lined with faux ermine. With a hood. And a wizard hat. Or possibly a crown.

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A word has to go to the man unlucky enough to face King Roger - I really like Lu Yen-hsun ("Rendy") and I'm sad he got this draw, because I mean, hello, as if I'm pulling against Roger. I really would see to like him go a few rounds at a Slam this year, because he really has a beautiful game - and he generally played calm in the big moments, which is so important. His clutch serving was great and he hit some great winners. He refused to let Federer steamroll him, and you have to give him kudos for that. Well done, Rendy.

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Someone who did get steamrolled is James Blake. Seriously, what is wrong with him? Is he injured or just a basket case? He has done nothing this year. He is not only a member of the Club of Lost Souls, he's the current president. I have no clue what the dealio is with him, and I don't think I have much patience with it, either. Spank your inner moppet and get over it, whatever it is, James.

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Over to the women, and the story of the day from my perspective had to be Jarmila Groth, who had a great win over Lucie Safarova - one of one Aussie through to the second round so far, which is good! Latest inductee to the Club of Lost Souls, however (though not up to Blake standards) is Patty Schnyder. Don't know what's up there.

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Day 2 has now started - catch you on the flip side!

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Today's Results

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The Championships (Wimbledon)

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Men's Draw

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Roger Federer def. Yen-hsun Lu, 7-5 6-3 6-2

Novak Djokovic def. Julien Benneteau, 6-7 (8-10) 7-6 (7-1) 6-2 6-4

Fernando Verdasco def. James Ward, 6-1 6-3 6-4

Robin Soderling def. Gilles Muller, 6-7 (4-7) 7-5 6-1 6-2

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Andrey Golubev, 6-3 5-7 7-5 (7-4) 7-6 (7-5)

Andreas Seppi def. James Blake, 7-5 6-4 7-6 (7-5)

Kristof Vliegen def. Nicolas Mahut, 6-3 7-6 (8-6) 5-7 5-7 6-4

Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Florent Serra, 7-6 (7-3) 6-1 6-4

Igor Andreev def. Evgeny Korolev, 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 7-6 (7-4)

Dudi Sela def. Santiago Gonzalez, 6-4 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-3

Vince Spadea def. Paul Capdeville, 6-0 6-4 7-5

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez def. Agustin Calleri, 6-2 6-3 6-2

Marin Cilic def. Alberto Martin, 6-3 6-4 6-4

Janko Tipsarevicdef. Jan Hernych, 6-4 6-4 7-6 (7-4)

Stefan Koubek def. Edouard Roger-Vasselin, 7-5 6-3 4-6 3-6 6-3

Sam Querrey def. Danai Udomchoke, 6-3 6-4 6-4

Simon Greul def. Michael Yani, 6-4 6-2 7-5

Marcel Granollers def. Andreas Beck, 6-2 6-4 6-7 (4-7) 6-2

Steve Darcis def. Frank Dancevic, 6-4 7-6 (7-4) 6-3

Albert Montanes def. Grga Zemlja,6-4 6-4 6-4

Ivo Minar def. Maximo Gonzalez, 6-4 3-6 7-5 6-0

Nicolas Almagro def. Juan Monaco, 6-7 (3-7) 6-7 (7-9) 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 8-6

Tommy Robredo def. Luka Gregorc, 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 5-7 7-6 (7-3)

Mardy Fish def. Sergio Roitman, 6-3 6-2 4-1 retired

Simone Bolelli def. Daniel Koellerer, 6-7 (3-7) 2-6 7-5 6-4 6-4

Marc Gicquel def. Adrian Mannarino, 6-2 6-2 6-4

Ivo Karlovic def. Lukas Lacko, 6-3 7-6 (7-4) 6-3

Rainer Schuettler def. Xavier Malisse, 6-7 (9-11) 6-4 7-6 (7-3) 6-1

Karol Beck def. Feliciano Lopez, 1-6 7-5 6-3 4-6 10-8

Guillermo Canas def. Diego Junquiera, 6-1 6-2 6-2

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Women's Draw

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Serena Williams def. Neuza Silva, 6-1 7-5

Mathilde Johansson def. Melanie South, 7-5 7-6 (7-5)

Maria Sharapova def. Viktoriya Kutuzova, 7-5 6-4

Elena Dementieva def. Alla Kudryavtseva, 6-4 6-1

Daniela Hantuchova def. Laura Robson, 3-6 6-4 6-2

Francesca Schiavone def. Aleksandra Wozniak, 4-6 6-4 6-4

Victoria Azarenka def. Severine Bremond Beltrame, 6-2 retired

Shahar Peer def. Maria Elena Camerin, 6-2 7-6 (7-3)

Arantxa Parra Santonja def. Tamarine Tanasugarn, 6-4 6-4

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova def. Petra Cetkovska, 6-2 6-2

Elena Vesnina def. Yanina Wickmayer, 6-1 6-1

Ioana Raluca Olaru def. Nathalie Dechy, 1-6 7-6 (7-0) 6-2

Virginie Razzano def. Tamira Paszek, 6-0 3-1 retired

Jie Zheng def. Kristina Barrois, 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (7-4)

Regina Kulikova def. Karolina Sprem, 4-6 7-5 6-3

Roberta Vinci def. Magdalena Rybarikova, 6-3 6-2

Gisela Dulko def. Stephanie Foretz, 6-3 7-5

Timea Bacsinszky def. Vesna Manasieva, 6-1 4-6 8-6

Jarmila Groth def. Lucie Safarova, 6-3 3-6 6-3

Aravane Rezai def. Ayumi Morita, 6-2 6-2

Nadia Petrova def. Anastasiya Yakimova, 6-1 6-1

Ai Sugiyama def. Patty Schnyder, 6-4 6-4

Sania Mirza def. Anna-Lena Groenefeld, 6-2 2-6 6-2

Jill Craybas def. Tsvetana Pironkova, 6-4 7-5

Sorana Cirstea def. Edina Gallovits, 7-5 6-1

Michelle Larcher de Brito def. Klara Zakopalova, 6-2 7-5

Dominika Cibulkova def. Julie Coin, 6-4 3-6 6-3

Marion Bartoli def. Yung-Jan Chan, 6-0 6-0

Urszula Radwanska def. Masa Zec Peskiric, 6-3 6-3

Alisa Kleybanova def. Sesil Karatantcheva, 6-2 7-5

Dangerwoman

So, um, Dinara. I bet Anne Keothavong is not so keen on you right now. This isn't a bakery. You don't need to go round hanging out bagels to everyone.
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...though it was very nice that you did.

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Seriously, here's looking at you, kid. If anyone doubted Dinara Safina - including me, because I had some serious reservations about her without the oncourt coaching facility in play - I think she just delivered the smackdown. Unfortunately poor ol' Anne Keothavong got in the way. This is dangerous looking form. The only worry I have for her now is that she's peaked too soon. If she keeps on this way... I can't see anyone beating her.

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Speaking of dangerous, Rafa Nadal looked quite nice in his first round match - though his shirt is dreadful. Fuschia, Rafa? What were you thinking? But the real story of the match for me was his opponent - you have to applaud the effort that Marcos Daniel put in. He broke Rafa a couple of times. That's a small victory in and of itself.

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But we all know where my focus was today, and it was firmly on the Federer match. I was listening to it via Radio Roland Garros, where one of the commentators said that Martin made the perfect first round opponent for Federer, and I have to degree. He's little and scrappy and got a lot of balls back... which Federer duly hit for winners. This is what I like to see and although the match didn't exactly start off to my taste, with the Mighty Fed losing his opening service game, he pulled the lead back quickly and set about the business of winning pretty methodically. Nice one, Roger man!

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We saw no major upsets on the male side - though Stan Wawrinka came close! He was in a huge hole there against Nicolas Devilder, being two sets and a double break down in the fourth. Luckily he seemed to pull himself together, but that Houdini act isn't going to work against the big guys, so he should have a stern talking to himself. Tomas Berdych did go out to wily Italian Simone Bolelli, making he and Karlovic the biggest seeds to fall.

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On the women's side, though, my semi final pick Schnyder crashed out to Bondarenko, so I'm what's colloquially known as 'wrong' there - and my finals pick Wozniacki is at one set apiece with play suspended, so I could be on my way there as well. At least Dinara's looking good...

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...and how about Alexa Glatch putting an absolute beatdown on Flavia Pennetta? I certainly didn't see that one coming. Bet Flavia didn't either! But my favourite women's result of today was Olivia Rogowska beating Maria Kirilenko. That is some excellent Aussie action right there! And Jarmila Groth won as well - so excellent work, girls!

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Today's Results

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Men's Draw

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Rafael Nadal def. Marcos Daniel, 7-5 6-4 6-4

Roger Federer def. Alberto Martin, 6-4 6-3 6-2

Andy Roddicl def. Romain Jouan, 6-2 6-4 6-2
Nikolay Davydenko def. Stefan Koubek, 6-2 6-1 6-4

Stanislas Wawrinka def. Nicolas Devilder, 6-3 5-7 2-6 6-4 6-4
Guillaume Rufin def. Eduardo Schwank, 6-1 6-3 6-3
Jeremy Chardy def. Thiago Alves, 6-2 7-6 (12-10) 6-3

Igor Andreev def. Fabio Fognini, 1-6 6-3 6-1 3-6 7-5
Feliciano Lopez def. Franco Ferreiro, 6-7 (3-7) 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 7-5 6-2

Potito Starace def. Mischa Zverev, 6-7 (5-7) 7-5 1-0 retired

Fernando Gonzalez def. Jiri Vanek, 6-3 6-2 6-3
Nicolas Massu def. Daniel Koellerer, 6-3 6-4 1-6 2-6 6-3
Janko Tipsarevic def. Albert Montanes, 3-6 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-5) 6-4
Robin Soderling def. Kevin Kim, 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-4) 6-2

Rui Machado def. Kristof Vliegen, 6-2 6-4 4-6 2-6 6-3
Mikhail Youzhny def. Gilles Muller, 7-6 (7-2) 6-1 6-4

Pablo Andujar def. Robby Ginepri, 6-4 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (7-3)
Nicolas Kiefer def. Ilia Bozoljac, 7-6 (7-4) 3-6 7-5 6-4

Simone Bolelli def. Tomas Berdych, 6-4 6-4 5-7 4-6 6-2
Victor Hanescu def. Steve Darcis, 7-6 (10-8) 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-3)

Diego Junqueira def. Paul Capdeville, 3-6 7-5 6-1 6-3
Denis Istomin def. Santiago Giraldo, 6-3 6-7 (2-7) 6-3 7-6 (7-4)

Ivo Minar def. Oscar Hernandez, 6-3 7-6 (7-4) 6-3
Paul-Henri Mathieu def. Laurent Recourderc, 6-4 6-4 6-1

Teimuraz Gabashvili def. Igor Kunitsyn, 6-7 (6-8) 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 6-1

Martin Vassallo Arguello def. Thomaz Bellucci, 6-4 6-7 (4-7) 5-5 retired

Jose Acasuso def. Santiago Ventura, 3-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-0 6-3

Jurgen Melzer def. Sergio Roitman

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Women's Draw

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Dinara Safina def. Anne Keothavong, 6-0 6-0

Venus Williams def. Bethanie Mattek-Sands, 6-1 4-6 6-2
Marion Bartoli def. Pauline Parmentier, 3-6 6-1 6-3
Aravane Rezai def. Ai Sugiyama, 6-3 6-2

Lucie Safarova def. Sabine Lisicki, 6-2 1-6 6-1

Maria Sharapova def. Anastasiya Yakimova, 3-6 6-1 6-2

Kateryna Bondarenko def. Patty Schnyder, 6-4 6-3
Jie Zheng def. Stephanie Cohen-Aloro, 6-1 6-3

Alexa Glatch def. Flavia Pennetta, 6-1 6-1

Polona Hercog def. Alisa Kleybanova, 6-2 4-6 6-1

Lucie Hradecka def. Yvonne Meusberger, 6-1 6-2
Michelle Larcher de Brito def. Melanie South, 0-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-5
Agnieszka Radwanska def. Rossana de los Rios, 6-3 6-1
Kirsten Flipkens def. Stephanie Foretz, 6-1 4-6 6-4

Carla Suarez Navarro def. Edina Gallovits, 6-1 6-4
Jill Craybas def. Tsvetana Pironkova, 7-5 6-2
Agnes Szavay def. Corinna Dentoni, 6-3 6-4

Mariya Koryttseva def. Patricia Mayr, 6-1 6-1
Jie Zheng def. Stephanie Cohen-Aloro, 6-1 6-3

Jarmila Groth def. Kinnie Laisne, 6-4 6-3
Tamarine Tanasugarn def. Camille Pin, 6-3 5-7 7-5

Tathiana Garbin def. Ayumi Morita, 7-5 7-5

Akgul Amanmuradova def. Irena Pavlovic, 6-3 6-4

Lourdes Dominquez Lino def. Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, 6-1 4-6 8-7

Olivia Rogowska def. Maria Kirilenko, 6-4 6-4

Olga Govortsova def. Katie O'Brien, 6-1 6-1

Mariana Dugue Marino def. Anna Chakvetadze, 3-6 6-4 6-4

Dominika Cibulkova def. Alona Bondarenko, 6-4 2-6 6-4

All Dinara, All The Way

I've promised a preview of the women's draw and I intend to deliver, but first up - whoa, whoa, whoa, Alexandra Dulgheru! Where did you come from? What are you doing, going and winning titles while ranked #201 in the world? The little blurb on the WTA website said that she nearly lost in the first round of qualifying, and here she is winning the whole tournament! Good on you, girl - may your rise up the rankings be speedy!

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Now, over to the women's draw at the biggest, reddest event of the year - Roland Garros. In the top quarter of the draw we have Dinara Safina, who has to go into Roland Garros - the favourite - I don't think anone would gainsay me on that one. She's won two whatever-you-now-call-Tier-I tournaments in a row and is looking as determined as I've ever seen her: while Serena 'the real #1' Williams hasn't won a match on the red stuff all year. (More on Serena later). Dinara is both my sentimental and actual pick for Roland Garros, but let's check out her competition in this quarter.

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Ana Ivanovic is in there - she and Dinara could potentially meet in the quarters - but I wouldn't put any money on seeing a rematch of last year's final, what with Ana being injured and, you know, a headcase. Much more likely, in my opinion, is Victoria Azarenka, though she hasn't been extremely impressive on clay thus far. Or there is last year's surprise package, Carla Suarez Navarro, who also came good at the Aussie Open. Her back hand has been compared to Henin, who triumped so much and so often at Roland Garros - could Carla do the same? Maybe. But in reality, I don't think any of the girls are going past the quarters. All Dinara, all the way here, if you ask me.

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The second quarter is spear-headed by #3 seed Venus Williams who, if you ask me, stands a much better chance of winning the title than her sister does, even though she'd definitely have to go through Safina to get there. A Dinara/Venus semi could well turn out to be the match of the tournament, just like that slugfest they had a few weeks back. But Venus is not the only big name in this section - an absolute dark horse pick could be Sabine Lisicki, who has a tough opener against Lucie Safarova. Zvonareva is in there, and the eternally unlucky-in-Paris Amelie Mauresmo. Oh, and Sharapova, but I don't think we're quite at Slam-winning level yet with ol' Maria. But I've got to be conventional and pick Venus to come through this section, I think - even if it's just for the hope of seeing that throwdown semi.

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The third quarter, by my reckoning, might be the weakest - the two major seeds are Jankovic and Dementieva, and if Jankovic can't come through this quarter, then I absolutely despair of her. Sure, Elegant Elena might give her a run for it, but she's been pretty unremarkable on clay thus far. I'm not picking either of them to come through, though - this is Caroline Wozniacki's chance to make a big splash, and I reckon she's got the game to do it.

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And then we have the fourth quarter, and the problem of Serena. Any sane person would pick against her, because, hello, hasn't won a match on clay all year, lost in the third round to Katarina Srebotnik last year, yada yada yada. But it goes against the grain to pick an early exit for Serena, because... well, because she's Serena. Can you imagine anyone else claiming to be the real #1, then not winning a match while the actual #1 wins a couple of big tournaments... and still being disposed to believe her? She's a strange phenomenon.

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Kuznetsova is in this quarter as well, and Flavia Pennetta, who could be a real chance, but I'm going to go out on a limb and pick Patty Schnyder. I like what I've seen out of her lately, and she has a recent win over Serena in her hand of cards... and I think she can do it.

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My finals pick? Safina vs. Wozniacki. I'm fully prepared to be wrong on the Wozniacki front, but not on the Safina one. My girl Dinara is going all the way!

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Today's Results

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ARAG ATP World Team Championships (Dusseldorf)

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Viktor Troicki def. Rainer Schuettler, 6-4 7-6 (7-5)

Janko Tipsarevic def. Philipp Kohlschreiber, 6-2 6-4

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Interwetten Austrian Open Kitzbuhel (Kitzbuhel)

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Guillermo Garcia-Lopez def. Julien Benneteau, 3-7 7-6 (7-1) 6-3

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Warsaw Open (Warsaw)

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Alexandra Dulgheru def. Alona Bondarenko, 7-6 (7-3) 3-6 6-0

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Internationaux de Strasbourg (Strasbourg)

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Aravane Rezai def. Lucie Hradecka, 7-6 (7-2) 6-1

Merry Murray

I bet Andy Murray is really happy right now. It was his birthday yesterday, I do believe, and as a special treat, he got to play his bestest friend EVAH, Juan Martin del Potro, almost exactly a year after Juan M made some, ahem, very interesting comments about Andy's mum. And to make it even better, Andy lost. In straight sets.

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Yep. Bet he's beaming.

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That said, Andy Murray has really exceeded my expectations on the red stuff (or the almost blue stuff, in Madrid) this year. He's not a claycourt player and it's evident - he certainly doesn't look comfortable out there. But he's been winning matches on the stuff, and that is something. That is certainly something.

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I'm certainly not going to go and proclaim him the uber-favourite for Roland Garros or anything - I mean, please, everyone knows who that is! - nor am I prepared to elevate him to the arena of serious contender on claycourts just yet, but give him a little time, and... Andy's working at it. He has done much better than I thought he would - even with the whole loss to Juan Martin del Potro thing.

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This means we have the #1, #2, #3 and #5 seeds through to the semis in the men - and what have we got in the women? Well, we have #1. And... oh look, there's #9! Caro Wozniacki made it through. But our other two semi-finalists are unseeded - veterans Patty Schnyder and Amelie Mauresmo. Schnyder has been on a hot run of late, taking out Serena last week and now Jelena Jankovic, and Mauresmo has been very impressive as well. But where are the big guns there? No one is delivering except Dinara at the moment - and right now, because of that, I'm thinking she deserves to be #1.

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Today's Results

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Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open (Madrid)

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Men's Draw

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Rafael Nadal def. Fernando Verdasco, 6-4 7-5

Roger Federer def. Andy Roddick, 7-5 6-7 (5-7) 6-1

Novak Djokovic def. Ivan Ljubicic, 6-4 6-4

Juan Martin del Potro def. Andy Murray, 7-6 (7-4) 6-3

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Women's Draw

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Dinara Safina def. Alona Bondarenko, 6-4 6-3

Patty Schnyder def. Jelena Jankovic, 7-6 (8-6) 6-3

Caroline Wozniacki def. Vera Dushevina, 6-0 6-4

Amelie Mauresmo def. Agnes Szavay, 5-7 6-1 6-1

Result and a Half

First thing is first: this is the 400th post on Tennis From The Backseat! What a nice round number.

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Second thing: Jarmila Groth! How about you, girl?!

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The WTA still has her listed as playing for the Slovak Republic, but I'm pretty sure she plays for Australia now. She's been trying to get citizenship for about a thousand years now, and then she married Sam Groth, one of our Davis Cup team, a couple of months ago (she used to be called Jarmila Gajdosova). Jarmila is listed as third on the Tennis Australia list of top Australian female tennis players, so they clearly think she's Australian, and... I get away from the point.

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Jarmila Groth, our dear Australian, took out the top seed, Iveta Benesova - with whom I have certainly not been unimpressed - in Estoril. In straight sets, no less. How about that? That is a pretty good result, if I do say so myself! I haven't seen huge amounts of Jarmila playing, but she's always impressed me when I have - she put up a very good showing against Victoria Azarenka in Brisbane.

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Speaking of seeds tumbling, Ana Ivanovic went out in Rome to Agnieszka Radwanska, who clearly heard me beating on her last week and tried to do better. On you, Agnieszka. And how about Patty Schnyder taking out Serena? That's a result and a half!

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Today's Results

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Estoril Open (Estoril)

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Men's Draw

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Nikolay Davydenko def. Juan Carlos Ferrero, 7-5 6-2

Oscar Hernandez def. David Ferrer, 6-2 6-4

Mardy Fish def. Ivan Navarro, 2-6 6-1 6-4

Paul Capdeville def. Maximo Gonzalez, 2-6 6-2 6-3

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Women's Draw

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Jarmila Groth def. Iveta Benesova, 7-5 6-4

Maria Kirilenko def. María Emilia Salerni, 6-3 6-0

Sorana Cirstea def. Maret Ani, 7-5 6-2

Sabine Lisicki def. Elena Bovina, 6-4 7-5

Ekaterina Makarova def. Melinda Czink, 5-7 7-5 7-5

Shahar Peer def. Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, 6-4 6-1

Anna-Lena Groenefeld def. Kristina Barrois, 6-4 6-4

Yanina Wickmayer def. Olga Govortsova, 0-6 6-2 6-2

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BMW Open (Munich)

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Marin Cilic def. Philipp Kohlschreiber, 6-0 6-4

Mikhail Youzhny def. Nicolas Almagro, 7-6 (7-2) 6-4

Jeremy Chardy def. Nicolas Kiefer, 6-4 7-6 (10-8)

Paul-Henri Mathieu def. Denis Gremelmayr, 6-1 6-4

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Serbia Open (Belgrade)

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Novak Djokovic def. Janko Tipsarevic, 6-2 4-6 6-0

Viktor Troicki def. Marcel Granollers, 6-3 6-4

Lukasz Kubot def. Igor Andreev, 3-2 retired

Kristof Vliegen def. Christophe Rochus, 3-6 6-4 6-3

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Internazionali BNL d'Italia (Rome)

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Dinara Safina def. Zheng Jie, 5-7 6-1 7-6 (7-3)

Jelena Jankovic def. Kateryna Bondarenko, 6-1 1-0 retired

Venus Williams def. Anna Chakvetadze, 6-0 6-7 (8-10) 6-4

Agnieszka Radwanska def. Ana Ivanovic, 6-1 3-6 6-4

Victoria Azarenka def. Caroline Wozniacki, 6-2 6-2

Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Flavia Pennetta, 6-3 3-6 6-0

María José Martínez Sánchez def. Nadia Petrova, 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-4

Kaia Kanepi def. Patty Schnyder, 6-3 6-0

Head Case Moments

Well, it's all happening in the women's tournaments this week. How about Serena Williams's total collapse against Li Na? She had that match as wrapped up as you could get - 6-0 in the first set - and then she just imploded. It was very un-Serena - she's usually so tough in the head. That's one of the things I really respect about her game - and then it totally went away! I feel harsh for saying this, but if she's going to become a head case, then she doesn't deserve to be #1. That was not a performance worthy of a #1 player. I mean, I suppose all the players have their head case moments and take their early losses - but when was the last time you saw Roger Federer lose early because his head wasn't in it? Or Rafael Nadal? Aspects of their game might break down, but I don't think I've ever seen either player suffer a real mental collapse - not even in the final of the French Open where Rafa absolutely hammered Roger. I thought Serena was one of those players too... but obviously not.

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Wow. That was harsh. It wasn't intended to come out quite like that, but I think I stand by it. If a part of a player's game breaks down, they can compensate, but if the head isn't it, then you can kiss the match goodbye.

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Another very interesting match was the Schnyder/Kuznetsova match. Normally you'd pick Sveta every time, but Patty came out and took it to her, and came away with the match. It wasn't because Sveta had a head case moment - Patty just comprehensively outplayed her. Schnyder isn't a player that often 'outplays' anyone - that word kind of has the connotation of 'outhit' and you wouldn't say that Patty does that to anyone, really. She plays with guile and spin. But on this occasion, even though it was tight, I think we can safely say that Patty owned Sveta. And good on her too. I love watching both these girls play, but I have a special respect for someone that relies on strategy - on, as it were, their head.

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Over to the blokes, where there were far fewer upsets - the top twelve seeds in Tokyo all progressed safely (at the expense, I am sad to say, of Joe Sirianni - but good on him for making it to the second round!) Kei Nishikori is through, and he is, I believe, my final Star remaining this week - Gulbis lost to Tipsarevic in Metz, alas. But still, I have big hopes for Kei. He took out a seed - the sixteenth seed, sure, but a seed nonetheless - and I would love him to go all the way! He plays Gasquet tomorrow - classic head case, as we're discussing it - and I think Kei can take him.

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The major upset was in Metz, where Carlos Moya took out Ivo Karlovic. More power to him, I say. I have great respect for Carlos, and he's certainly much more interesting to watch than Dr Ivo. I know his game is effective, but it's just so damn boring. Unreturnable. Ace. Unreturnable. Percentage play. Dull, dull, dull.

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Oh, and Jarmila Gajdosova, the almost-Aussie, pulled an upset in Tokyo! She took out sixth seed Shahar Peer, the villain in the comeback of Kimiko Date Krumm. Good on you, Jarmila!

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Today's Results

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Open de Moselle (Metz)

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Carlos Moya def. Ivo Karlovic, 6-3 7-6 (7-4)

Dmitry Tursunov def. Jose Acasuso, 6-2 6-2

Janko Tipsarevic def. Ernests Gulbis, 6-4 6-4

Adrian Mannarino def. Andreas Seppi, 6-4 6-2

Radek Stepanek def. Julien Benneteau, 6-3 6-3

Rik de Voest def. Arnaud Clement, 4-6 6-2 7-5

Michael Llodra def. Feliciano Lopez, 7-6 (13-11) 6-7 (6-8) 6-3

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AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships

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Men's Draw

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David Ferrer def. Jesse Levine, 6-4 4-6 6-1

Andy Roddick def. Ivo Minar, 7-6 (13-11) 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-2)

Fernando Gonzalez def. Yen-hsun Lu, 1-6 7-5 6-3

Richard Gasquet def. Martin Slanar, 6-4 6-2

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

Tommy Robredo def. Joseph Sirianni, 6-2 6-2

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Bobby Reynolds, 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-4

Mikhail Youzhny def. Flavio Cipolla, 6-2 6-2

Tomas Berdych def. Roko Karanusic, 6-3 6-4

Jarkko Nieminen def. Cecil Mamiit, 7-6 (9-7) 6-4

Rainer Schuettler def. Hyung-taik Lee, 6-3 6-7 (3-7) 6-3

Amer Delic def. Sam Querrey, 7-6 (7-5) 6-3

Jurgen Melzer def. Simon Stadler, 6-2 6-3

Takao Suzuki def. Simone Bolelli, 7-6 (7-5) 4-6 7-6 (7-5)

Kei Nishikori def. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, 6-4 6-4

Viktor Troicki def. Wayne Odesnik, 6-2 6-1

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Women's Draw

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Kaia Kanepi def. Yanina Wickmayer, 3-6 6-1 6-0

Jarmila Gajdosova def. Shahar Peer, 5-7 6-1 7-6 (11-9)

Tamarine Tanasugarn def. Camille Pin, 6-2 6-2

Anabel Medina Garrigues def. Chan Yung-Jan, 3-6 6-3 6-3

Samantha Stosur def. Vania King, 6-2 retired

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Porsche Tennis Grand Prix (Stuttgart)

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Li Na def. Serena Williams, 0-6 6-1 6-4

Elena Dementieva def. Sybille Bammer, 6-1 6-4

Victoria Azarenka def. Agnieszka Radwanska, 6-1 7-5

Patty Schnyder def. Svetlana Kuznetsova, 6-4 4-6 7-5

Vera Zvonareva def. Daniela Hantuchova, 6-3 6-2

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Tashkent Open (Tashkent)

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Sabine Lisicki def. Alexandra Panova, 7-5 6-1

Magdalena Rybarikova def. Vesna Manasieva, 6-1 7-5

Ioana Raluca Olaru def. Ksenia Palkina, 2-6 6-3 6-2

Urszula Radwanska def. Sofia Shapatava, 7-5 6-2

Arantxa Rus def. Vlada Ekshibarova, 3-6 6-2 6-1

Corruption Monkey

Well, I guess today's big tennis news is that Nikolay Davydenko and Martin Vassallo Arguello have both cleared of allegations of corruption over that match they played in Sopot last year, where Davydenko forfeited and bets were suspended by a major gambling site because the amounts of money being bet on the match were strangely large. (I had no idea people even knew the Sopot tournament existed, let alone bet on it, but there you go.)

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So they're innocent. Good for them. But why on earth did it take the ATP this frigging long to decide that? The Sopot tournament was in June last year. That's nearly fifteen months ago. Can you imagine being a professional tennis player having that hang over your head for that long?

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I suppose it's not too bad for Martin Vassallo Arguello, as no one really knows who he is for a start, and also because he wasn't the one that supposedly threw the match. I know I've been ragging on Kolya for over two months now for being an embarrassment to professional tennis players everywhere what with his poor attitude, but you really have to feel for the guy. If he's innocent - which the ATP has finally decided he is - he's had this monkey on his back for more than a year for no reason. Can you imagine the locker room glares he must have got?

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Actually, that's an interesting issue - what did the players think? Did they assume he was guilty and do some quality shunning? Or did they stand behind him? I haven't been able to find any comments on the subject... surely someone must have asked someone about it in a presser at some stage. I don't get the feeling that Davydenko is one of the locker room's most popular guys... and with the label of 'corruption' hanging over his head, I can't imagine that won him too many new pals either.

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Tennis is supposed to be a gentlemen's game. It's very seldom that you get allegations of match-fixing and stuff like that - even cricket, the other gentlemen's game, has more scandal than tennis does. So I can't imagine Kolya was too pleased to be the one that opened the door. Is this the first match-fixing scandal in tennis? It can't be the only one, surely...

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Oh, and on a happier note, well done to the finalists this weekend! Gilles Simon takes on Carlos Moya in Bucharest, and Tamira Paszek, who upset a few biggish names on the way to the final, takes on Patty Schnyder in Bali. Should be interesting matches both!

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Today's Results

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BCR Open Romania (Bucharest)

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Carlos Moya def. Richard Gasquet, 6-2 6-4

Gilles Simon def. Jose Acasuso, 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-4

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Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic (Bali)

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Tamira Paszek def. Daniela Hantuchova, 6-2 5-7 6-4

Patty Schnyder def. Nadia Petrova, 7-5 6-1

Kei: Here to Stay

Yesterday I asked Kei Nishikori to fill out an application form for my Stars of the Future program. He did so by beating David Ferrer, in an absolute thriller. Deliberation over. Welcome to the club, Mr. Nishikori. Move over, Ernests - stop shoving, Marin! Kei is here to stay!

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I thought that, for once, the random semi-finalist might be the fourth seed. What kind of attitude is that? How ludicrous! Sorry, Ferru, but being the fourth seed dooms you to losing. There are only four contenders left for the spot of random semi-finalist - and why, indeed, could Kei Nishikori not be the next Jo-Wilfried Tsonga? Of the four players remaining, you'd have to say Nishikori is the least likely to get through - but who would have thought Jo-W could make it through Rafa Nadal to make the final of the Australian? Who would have thought Rainer Schuettler would be a Wimbledon semi-finalist at the age of 32? I think Kei has as good a chance as any. If he can beat Ferru, he can beat nearly anyone on hard courts. Hell, maybe he could even lop Rafa off at the legs like Jo-W did. I'm excited.

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Actually, whichever one of these four makes it to the semis, it's going to be interesting. Both fourth round matches in this quarter are absolute blockbusters. We have a match of two Stars - our newest inductee Nishikori against man of the moment Juan Martin del Potro. You'd have to favour del Potro, but Nishikori has proved is not a man to be taken lightly. This one could go the distance. And then we have two top ten guys in the other match - Murray against Wawrinka. Murray would surely start favourite, but Federer isn't the only man riding high on the aftermath of Olympic gold. Stan the Man could quite possibly get him. And any of these four players stands a chance of taking out the big man, Rafa, in the semis - if Rafa gets that far.

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That said, Rafa's roadblock Nalbandian went out today - and we all know Ferrer, who knocked him out last year, is also gone. I can't see Querrey, Fish or Monfils giving him too much difficulty - though I suppose you never know with Monfils, and it never pays to underestimate the hometown boys. But in the semis, whichever one of those four men is the random semi-finalist... ooh, watch out Rafa. They're a-coming to get ya.

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On the women's side, Dinara's route is looking nice. She had a bit of a near miss today, but she righted the ship and steadied herself, which was good for her and shows admirable mental toughness. I don't think Anna-Lena Groenefeld will be much of a match for her, and though I like what I've been seeing from Amelie Mauresmo, I think Dinara will eat her (or Pennetta, whicever gets through) in the quarters. The semi, however, could be a corker - you'd have to imagine it'd be a Williams. Aggie Rad might have something to say about it, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say it'll definitely be a Williams. That would be a blockbuster match - a Williams, in the US, against the hottest player on tour. I'd start calling the fire engines now, 'cause this one will burn down the house.

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Despite the presence of a lot of seeds, the other side of the draw is not quite so fun. But I will say this - would it not be rad to see Patty Schnyder in the semis? She always seems to hang out the round of sixteen and the quarters, but rarely the semis and never the final. I think that'd be awesome. And it might be nice to see Jankovic make it too. If she's going to be #1, she might as well deserve it.

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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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Rafael Nadal def. Viktor Troicki, 6-4 6-3 6-0

Mardy Fish def. James Blake, 6-3 6-3 7-6 (7-4)

Sam Querrey def. Ivo Karlovic, 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-5) 6-2

Gael Monfils def. David Nalbandian, 6-3 6-4 6-2

Kei Nishikori def. David Ferrer, 6-4 6-4 3-6 2-6 7-5

Juan Martin del Potro def. Gilles Simon, 6-4 6-7 (4-7) 6-1 3-6 6-3

Andy Murray def. Jurgen Melzer, 6-7 (5-7) 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-1 6-3

Stanislas Wawrinka def. Flavio Cipolla, 5-7 6-7 (4=7) 6-4 6-0 6-4

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Women's Draw

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Dinara Safina def. Timea Bansinszky, 3-6 7-5 6-2

Serena Williams def. Ai Sugiyama, 6-2 6-1

Venus Williams def. Alona Bondarenko, 6-2 6-1

Amelie Mauresmo def. Julie Coin, 6-4 6-4

Severine Bremond def. Tathiana Garbin, 7-5 3-6 6-4

Agineszka Radwanska def. Dominika Cibulkova, 6-0 6-3

Flavia Pennetta def. Nadia Petrova, 4-6 6-4 6-3

Anna-Lena Groenefeld def. Alize Cornet, 6-4 7-5