All Guns... Whimpering?

One of my favourite matches in Wimbledon this year was the third round clash between Rafa Nadal and Philipp Petzschner. (Brief tangent - Petzschner has since also become one of my favourite tweeters, if anyone is interested.) That match was a real clash. Rafa wasn't totally there - it wasn't quite Shmafa playing that match, but it wasn't RafaRafa either - and Petzschner played some of the most wonderful all guns blazing tennis I have seen in a while to grab two sets from the raging bull.

And now here we are, a couple of weeks later. Little tournament in Stuttgart. And Petzschner's going out first round.

C'mon, Petzschny! What are you trying to do to me here?

To be fair, he was playing Albert Montanes, who is seeded and thus ranked higher than him. But Montanes's real pedigree is, let's face it, on clay, and this tournament is in Petzschner's home country! And he was coming off such a good match in Wimbledon too, even if he lost... sigh.

Petzschner is the second player (apart from the usual crowd) who has really stood out to me this year, announced themselves in the tennis stadium in my mind. The first was Andrey Golubev (who actually had a win in Bastad - nice one!) after his absolute demolition of Igor Andreev at the Hopman Cup. Petzschner played that same sort of fearless tennis against Nadal, at least for a couple of sets... I mean, sure he didn't win the match, but he played some fierce stuff.

Let this not be one of those 'not with a bang but a whimper' situations. Because that would be epically disappointing. I want to see more of you, Philipp Petzschner. Don't make my Twitter-fangirling of you be for nothing!

Phil's Big W

Rafa may have won the match, but Philipp Petzschner can put another check in his fan column. He's officially won me over.

I would be lying if I said Petzschner could really win the match. I think I always knew - and I don't think I'm the only one - that Rafa would pull it out. That said, it does not mean it was not a fine, fine match indeed, and very enjoyable to watch.

Petzschner on grass is an absolute joy, and I really liked his tactics against Nadal. He came into the net a lot - which might seem foolhardy given Nadal's proclivity for the passing shot, and sure, he did get passed on more than a few occasions - but what I really liked was a) the different looks he gave Nadal when he did come in, whether he hit a traditional approach shot or served and volleyed or some cute crosscourt angled thing and b) that he drew Nadal in as well. Nadal's not the world's worst volleyer, but it's certainly not the strongest part of his game - he'd rather be passing someone at the net than being here himself. And Petzschner drew a surprising amount of errors that way.

I think the match that Petzschner played was like a bizarre cross between Soderling and Rafter, and for two sets, it really worked. He obviously couldn't keep the level up, due to the fact that in his own words, to win he had to 'play crazy', but he asked Nadal a lot of questions. And I imagine that there would be a lot of people watching this match with interest. One of them would be called Robin Soderling, going 'heyyyy... I've seen this somewhere before'. And, I hope, another one was called Roger Federer, because if he played Rafa like this, I don't know what would happen.

But these dudes aside, let's just say yay Petzschner, because even though you didn't win the match, you sure won me over. Well done, Phil.

Dudes' Hot or Not in Miami

I hot-or-notted the ladies of Miami yesterday - surprise, surprise, today it's time of the dudes. (Sidebar - I know I was all like 'Alicia Molik is crushing her opponents' the other day and today she got double bagelled. I still think she's cool).

Okay. Dudes.

Hot: Yen-hsun Lu. He's back inside the top hundred and he's going up. He's had some injury problems but when Rendy plays well, he's awesome. Love this kid.

Not: Nicolas Lapentti. I know he and his brother did that big Davis Cup thing last year, but I think it's heading towards lacy, gently wafting curtains for Nico.

Hot: Marsel Ilhan. He's a Turkish sensation and he's screaming up the rankings. What an exciting new face (and new nationality, for tennis) in the game!

Not: Juan Ignacio Chela. I'm pretty sure the defining moments of his career will be his spats with Lleyton Hewitt. He hasn't been very impressive for a while now.

Hot: Philipp Petzschner. The more I see of this guy the more I like him. He's got some real fire in his tennis and I think there are bright things ahead.

Not: Mardy Fish. I'm just not feeling it. I know he sometimes comes through as a surprise in tournaments and ends up really deep, but he just doesn't do it for me.

Hot: Peter Luczak. No secrets about how much I dig Mr Milkshake. Really excited about his future as we head into the clay season.

Not: Stephane Robert. This may seem a little unfair, but he's suddenly turned up in the top hundred and I have no idea where he's come from. Judgment reserved until I actually see him do something.

Anyone I've missed?

Yes You Can, Stan!

And the year had been going so well for Stan Wawrinka. He shot up the rankings into the top ten after making the final of Rome, and has stuck around, floating round that #8 to #10 slot. Then there was the gold medal in Beijing, partnering Roger Federer to doubles glory, and then...

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...not so much.

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He was the top seed in Vienna, and he lost to Philipp Petzschner, who was a qualifer. Sure, Petzschner went on to make the final, but I don't think that's really an excuse. And then today, in Basel, he had two match points and wasted them in a loss to Benjamin Becker, also a qualifier. Becker-no-relation is pretty promising - he knocked out Davydenko at one of the Slams this year, though I can't remember which one - but really, he shouldn't be beating Stan Wawrinka, especially when said Stan is playing at his home tournament in Basel.

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I sincerely hope that Stan has not suddenly contracted a case of Ana Ivanovic's disease - getting a taste of the big time and not being able to hack the pressure. Because Stan really is a great player. I love his game. I know he has suffered from nerves in the past - he really got dragged by Federer through those first few matches in Beijing - but he can do it. I know he can. I want to send out a Bob The Builder message to Stan today: Can he fix it? Yes he can!

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Meanwhile, what was the deal with the Tursunov match in St Petersburg? I know that Dominik Hrbaty is one of the three players on tour that has a winning record over Federer, but that doesn't mean he should be going round beating Dmitry Tursunov 6-1 6-1. There's something seriously whack with that.

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Today's Results

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Davidoff Swiss Indoors (Basel)

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Benjamin Becker def. Stanislas Wawrinka, 3-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-5)

Igor Andreev def. Jurgen Melzer, 7-6 (7-5) 7-5

Mardy Fish def. Agustin Calleri, 7-6 (7-5) 6-2

Feliciano Lopez def. Marco Chiudinelli, 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (9-7)

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St Petersburg Open (St Petersburg)

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Dominik Hrbaty def. Dmitry Tursunov, 6-1 6-1

Victor Hanescu def. Evgeny Korolev, 6-1 6-2

Rainer Schuettler def. Igor Kunitsyn, 6-2 6-3

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Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon (Lyon)

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Tommy Robredo def. Michael Llodra, 6-4 6-3

Juan Carlos Ferrero def. Sam Querrey, 6-3 7-5

Julien Benneteau def. Arnaud Clement, 6-3 6-2

Steve Darcis def. Radek Stepanek, 6-4 3-6 6-3

Josselin Ouanna def. Ivan Ljubicic, 6-7 (2-7) 7-6 (7-5) 6-4

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Generali Ladies Linz (Linz)

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Alizé Cornet def. Zheng Jie, 6-3 6-2

Katarina Srebotnik def. Tamarine Tanasugarn, 6-1 7-5

Kaia Kanepi def. Melanie Klaffner, 6-4 6-0

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FORTIS Championships Luxembourg (Luxembourg)

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Anna Chakvetadze def. Mathilde Johansson, 6-4 7-6 (7-4)

Daniela Hantuchova def. Pauline Parmentier, 6-2 7-5

Li Na def. Mandy Minella, 6-2 6-1

Peng Shuai def. Vera Dushevina, 6-1 6-2

Sara Errani def. Marina Erakovic, 4-6 6-2 7-5

Sabine Lisicki def. Sofia Arvidsson, 2-6 6-3 6-4

Far Away, So Close

No joy, yet again. Marat, Marat, Marat. If only he could have won the other one of those breakers. Far away, so close. All I want is for to win a title - one little title! Is that so much to ask? But no. Even though he's beaten Igor Kunitsyn three times in recent history, not this time. Not this time, when it really, you know, matters.

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Sigh. One day, Marat will come through for me. One day. And he got to the final, and he beat some quality players on the way. I guess I'll just have to be content with that.

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Igor Kunitsyn was not the only first-time winner this weekend - how 'bout Philipp Petzschner, who pulled a Darcis in Vienna? It's always good fun when a qualifier comes up through the draw and wins it. Much as I did want Safin to win in Moscow, it's nice to see the little guys doing well - sharing the love, I guess. Not that that happened everywhere this week - Nalbandian won in Stockholm, and though Soderling took a set off him, GoodDave (for 'twas he) never really looked like losing. It will be very interesting to see how he goes in Madrid this week, defending his title - are we going to get another late surge? It would certainly shake things up in Davis Cup: and we all know how keen I am to see a Nadal/Nalbandian clash!

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And it's good to see Jelena Jankovic really deserving her position as #1 - she really owned that tournament in Moscow this week. Is she going to be the one to close it out this year? It's been such a roller coaster ride over there!

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Back to the blokes, and I am two for two so far in the bracket challenge for Madrid! The opponents for Roger and Rafa have been decided - Roger will face scary Radek Stepanek, the creepy guy, but, much more interestingly for us here at Tennis From The Backseat, Rafa's playing Ernests Gulbis, who had a good win over Nicolas Kiefer. I've picked Ernests to upset Rafa, which is probably more wishful thinking than anything else: but I can dream! Swanboy is certainly going to beat him one day - so why not this week?

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Today's Results

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Kremlin Cup (Moscow)

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Men's Draw

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Igor Kunitsyn def. Marat Safin, 7-6 (8-6) 6-7 (4-7) 6-3

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Women's Draw

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Jelena Jankovic def. Vera Zvonareva, 6-2 6-4

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If Stockholm Open (Stockholm)

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David Nalbandian def. Robin Soderling, 6-2 5-7 6-3

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Bank Austria Tennis Classic (Vienna)

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Philipp Petzschner def. Gael Monfils, 6-4 6-4

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Mutua Madrilena Masters Madrid (Madrid)

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Radek Stepanek def. Juan Monaco, 6-1 6-1

Ernests Gulbis def. Nicolas Kiefer, 5-7 6-4 7-5

Praying for the Dinara Magic

Well, it's a rare tournament in which Marat Safin does better than his little sister, but he's done it this time. To be fair, he didn't have to do much - I thought he could beat Mischa Zverev as long as he didn't have a total collapse, but it turns out he didn't need to: he got handed a walkover. So it's Safin in the final - God, this must be his first final in a while - where he'll play Igor Kunitsyn. Now, he is totally capable of beating Kunitsyn. He has beaten Kunitsyn three times - and this is all in 2006 and 2007, which were definitely not Marat's best years. If he plays well, he can beat Kunitsyn with his eyes closed. Whether he does or not is another matter. We can just cross our fingers and hope some of that Dinara magic wears off.

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Not that the Dinara magic worked too well for Dinara herself this time round - she got beaten in straight sets by Vera Zvonareva. But I suppose the girl can't have all the Tier I love. She's being kind and sharing it around - and being so nervous for Marat she forgets about herself. That's my theory, anyway. I am not unduly bothered. Dinara is still my favourite female player.

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Though what a weird match the other women's semi was, Jankovic vs. Dementieva? What kind of score is 0-6 6-1 6-0? Did something happen to Dementieva - or did Jankovic just ratchet it up? If that's the case, she's got one hell of a gear shift.

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Kei Nishikori also went out today - he got pretty convincingly crushed by Robin Soderling. Oh well, can't win 'em all, I guess: and to get to the semis ain't no mean feat. It'd be nice to see Soderling actually do something and win a title, to tell the truth - he's one of those dangerous floaters in a draw, but he never actually wins anything, so he's never seeded, which is a shame, because he certainly has a lot of ability. I would like him to win the final... I certainly don't want David Nalbandian to go on one of those indoor court hot streaks again - though it would make for a very interesting Davis Cup final (now being played at Mar del Plata. Go figure.)

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And kudos also to Philipp Petzschner, the qualifer than beat top seed Stan Wawrinka in Vienna this week, and who is now in the final. He plays Gael Monfils. Personally, I'm cheering for the underdog. Go Philipp! I have never heard of you and have no idea what kind of tennis you play, but I'm cheering for you, man. Pull a Darcis!

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And big congratulations also go to the winners of the Optus under-16 Australian Championships, Elizabeth Searl and Jason Kubler. Here's hoping that we have another couple here that will make it big, when the time is right - join the Tomic revolution!

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Today's Results

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Kremlin Cup (Moscow)

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Men's Draw

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Marat Safin def. Mischa Zverev, walkover

Igor Kunitsyn def. Fabrice Santoro, 6-4 6-3

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Women's Draw

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Jelena Jankovic def. Elena Dementieva, 0-6 6-1 6-0

Vera Zvonareva def. Dinara Safina, 6-2 7-6 (7-5)

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If Stockholm Open (Stockholm)

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David Nalbandian def. Jarkko Nieminen, 6-2 6-1

Robin Soderling def. Kei Nishikori, 6-1 6-0

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Bank Austria Tennis Classic (Vienna)

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Gael Monfils def. Philipp Kohlschreiber, 6-4 5-7 7-6 (7-2)

Philipp Petzschner def. Feliciano Lopez, 3-6 6-3 6-3

Safin's Senior Moment

Well, it's nice to know Marat Safin pays attention to what's going on in his matches. He had his 400th career win today - nice one, Maratski! - which he won by breaking Noam Okun to take the match 6-4 in the third. However, with all that close attention he was paying to the score, he thought it was 6-5 and headed to his chair for a changeover. I bet, for a few seconds, Okun thought that was one hell of a snub. But the chair umpire eventually told Marat what was going on, he was embarassed, and it was all in good fun.

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Is this the week Safin comes close to winning the title? Wouldn't it be nice for him to do it in Moscow, his self-professed favourite place?

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I won't be holding my breath. I'm just hoping Marat can manage another win - you know, to make it two in a row. That's something we haven't seen much of since Wimbledon (who ever thought that'd be a sentence you could say of Marat Safin - that Wimbledon was his best result in a tennis year? I bet Marat himself never dreamed it.)

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Meanwhile, Stan Wawrinka, what happened there? I'm gunning for him to reach Shanghai, but if he loses in the first round of tournaments in which he is the top seed to schlep qualifiers - ie. Vienna, to Philipp 'who?' Petzschner - then he's not going to have a prayer. Sure, it was a third set breaker, but a win is a win, and a loss is a loss, and Stan, I am so not happy with you right now. Get it together and give Roger someone to hang out with at the Masters Cup, would you?

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Two people that did have wins in Vienna today were Eduardo Schwank, who is beginning to edge his way back from Star hanger-on status, and Ernests Gulbis, my special favourite. Schwank took out Gilles Simon, which is no mean feat - Simon was the seventh seed, and we must remember that he's had a hard-court win over Federer this year (outdoor, but still.) Nice one, Eduardo. Ernests took out Filippo Volandri, who is not seeded but still a good player nonetheless, and did it pretty well. Top work there, Swanboy.

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Oh, and nice one to Pim-Pim as well, who had a win. Top stuff.

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Wouldn't it just be the nicest week this week if Safin won in Moscow and Gulbis won in Vienna? I'm ambivalent on Stockholm - I was gunning for Federer, but he's pulled out, and no one has as yet piqued my interest... oh, I know! Nishikori. That's my ideal trifecta this week. Let's see how we go...

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Today's Results

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Kremlin Cup (Moscow)

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Men's Draw

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Nikolay Davydenko def. Florent Serra, 6-1 7-5

Denis Istomin def. Michael Llodra, 7-6 (7-2) 6-3

Janko Tipsarevic def. Alexandre Kudryavtsev, 4-6 6-3 7-6 (8-6)

Dudi Sela def. Victor Hanescu, 6-3 3-6 6-2

Julien Benneteau def. Harel Levy, 6-4 6-3

Viktor Troicki def. Evgeny Donskoy, 6-1 6-3

Robby Ginepri def. Jiri Vanek, 6-3 6-4

Marat Safin def. Noam Okun, 7-6 (7-5) 3-6 6-4

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Women's Draw

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

Flavia Pennetta def. Venus Williams, 6-4 2-6 6-4

Vera Zvonareva def. Maria Kirilenko, 6-4 6-4

Daniela Hantuchova def. Francesca Schiavone, 6-3 6-2

Katarina Srebotnik def. Alona Bondarenko, 6-2 6-1

Sara Errani def. Victoria Azarenka, 1-6 6-4 6-3

Ekaterina Makarova def. Elena Vesnina, 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-1)

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If Stockholm Open (Stockholm)

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David Nalbandian def. Bobby Reynolds, 6-1 6-1

Mario Ancic def. Olivier Rochus, 7-6 (8-6) 6-2

Rainer Schuettler def. Chris Guccione, 6-0 6-3

Jose Acasuso def. Matthias Bachinger, 7-6 (7-5) 3-6 7-6 (7-4)

Steve Darcis def. Christophe Rochus, 2-6 6-3 6-3

Juan Monaco def. Jonas Bjorkman, 6-2 6-4

Joachim Johansson def. Nicolas Mahut, 7-5 7-6 (7-5)

Oscar Hernandez def. Ivo Minar, 6-4 6-3

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Bank Austria Tennis Trophy (Vienna)
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Philipp Petzschner def. Stanislas Wawrinka, 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 7-6 (7-5)

Fernando Gonzalez def. Simone Bolelli, 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-2

Eduardo Schwank def. Gilles Simon, 4-6 7-5 7-6 (7-5)

Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Marc Gicquel, 6-2 6-2

Radek Stepanek def. Pavel Snobel, 6-4 6-2

Ernests Gulbis def. Filippo Volandri, 6-2 6-3

Santiago Giraldo def. Stefan Koubek, 6-1 6-2

Jurgen Melzer def. Ivan Ljubicic, 7-6 (7-3) 6-3

Stuck on 399

Marat, Marat, Marat. What am I going to do with you?

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Every time I see him entered in this little schlep tournament, I get excited. Ah-ha! think I. There is next to no competition! Maybe this will be the tournament where Marat wins again for the first time since 2005! Maybe this will get him back on track!
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...and then he goes and loses to someone like Philipp 'who?' Petzschner, and we're back to square one again.

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So, Mr. Safin, answer me this. What is going on with you? I never thought I'd hear myself say this, but why can't you be more like your sister? I don't want to accuse Marat of not trying, but the reason Dinara has been so smokin' hot this season - she's #3 in the world now! - is because you pretty much have to shoot her to get through her. The only vaguely strange loss I can think of that she's taken since Berlin was to Shahar Peer in the third round of Wimbledon, and even that went to 8-6 or something in the third.

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I'm not asking much, Marat. Just a little more commitment. Focus, perhaps. Because I want to see you winning again. You're one of my favourite players, and I don't like to see you losing to schleps in schlep tournaments when you are so much better than that. Had you won this, this would have been your 400th career win - and no one wants to see you stuck on 399.

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Meanwhile, back to my new favourite subject - Davis Cup. The first round ties for next year have come out and there are some mighty interesting draws. Switzerland vs. USA, for example. I don't know about you, but I think the USA might find themselves playing relegation rounds this time next year... let's look at this. On Team USA, you have Roddick and Blake - two solid singles players - as well as the Bryans, who are one of the best doubles teams ever. So far so good, right? But then look at Team Suisse. You have the greatest player that's ever lived in Roger Federer - and sure, he's lost to both Roddick and Blake in the past, but would you really bet against him? Then you have Stan Wawrinka, also a top ten player. Oh, and in the doubles... guess who knocked the Bryans out in the Olympics and went on to win the gold medal.

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It does seem a little like the Swiss have a two man team while the Americans have four, but when those two men are Federer and Wawrinka, do you really need more?

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The other reeeeeally intriguing tie is Spain/Serbia... I'd pay good money to see Nadal take on Djokovic in a Davis Cup match. Especially since it's presumably going to be on clay. I love it when Djokovic gets his arse kicked.

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Today's Results

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Thailand Open (Bangkok)

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Robin Soderling def. Aisam ul-Haq Qureshi, 6-2 6-4

Philipp Petzschner def, Marat Safin, 6-4 7-6 (7-4)

Teimuraz Gabashvili def. Michael Berrer, 6-4 6-3

Nicolas Mahut def. Danai Udomchoke, 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 6-2

Robert Kendrick def. George Bastl, 6-3 7-6 (7-4)

Simon Stadler def. Julien Benneteau, 7-5 6-1

Lukas Dlouhy def. Benjamin Becker, 6-4 7-6 (7-4)

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China Open (Beijing)

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Men's Draw

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Tommy Robredo def. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, 6-4 7-5

Juan Carlos Ferrero def. Alexandre Kudryavtsev, 6-4 6-3

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Women's Draw

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Anna Chakvetadze def. Iveta Benesova, 6-4 7-5

Alizé Cornet def. Zhang Shuai, 6-1 3-6 7-6 (9-7)

Francesca Schiavone def. Li Na, 6-1 7-6 (7-4)

Agnes Szavay def. Yaroslava Shvedova, 6-4 6-3

Ai Sugiyama def. Yan Zi, 6-3 6-4

Tamarine Tanasugarn def. Katarina Srebotnik, 6-4 7-5

Aleksandra Wozniak def. Virginie Razzano, 6-7 (3-7) 7-5 6-4

Alla Kudryavtseva def. Peng Shuai, 7-5 6-4

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Hansol Korea Open (Seoul)

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Maria Kirilenko def. Lenka Wienerova, 6-2 6-0

Kaia Kanepi def. Rika Fujiwara, 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 6-0

Klara Zakopalova def. Carla Suárez Navarro, 6-1 6-7 (3-7) 6-4

Samantha Stosur def. Marina Erakovic, 6-2 6-0

Chan Yung-Jan def. Mara Santangelo, 1-6 6-3 6-4

Ekaterina Makarova def. Tamira Paszek, 6-1 6-2

Jill Craybas def. Yuan Meng, 6-0 6-0

Lucie Safarova def. Melanie South, 6-1 3-0 retired

Stéphanie Dubois def. Camille Pin, 6-4 3-6 7-5

Ayumi Morita def. Arantxa Rus, 6-4 6-1

Anastasia Pivovarova def. Lee Ye-Ra, 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 5-3 retired