Sunshine and Roses

Yo kids! Two posts with actual paragraphs in a row, though this is going to be a short one, on account of I have no access to televised sport at the mo and cannot tell you what actual tennis actually looks like right now.

Though taking this proviso in mind and noting that I have no idea what is actually going on on court, I am super impressed with Ahndee Mooray right now.

For serious. I have never been a fan of Toothface, but it would take someone with a heart of stone not to look at a non claycourter dude who's made the semis at Wimbledon on one good foot and also gone on to make the Queen's final and not to admit a modicum of respect. There's also a modicum of 'dude, be real, Wimbledon is coming up and playing on your bum ankle is a moronic idea' but there's something about the idea of almost ridiculous chutzpah which is very appealing. Well done, Andy. Kudos.

And then there's James 'I'm so obscure I haven't even heard of myself' Ward and his semis run, only halted by a Rafa-beating Jo-W. The Brits are doing so well at Queen's that their national hopes are so high that they are destined to all lose first round at the main event. Even Ahndee. But for now, everything is sunshine and roses.

So yeah. Well done. I'm easing myself back into the blog world and cannot make many more insightful comments. Except Jo. Wow. That dude is playing RAD. That means he must be due for an injury...?

The C Word

What is this I am eating? Why yes, it is my words, accompanied by a large slice of humble pie. I suppose that will teach me to write off Lleyton Hewitt.

But considering he was on a fifteen match losing streak to Federer, what was I supposed to do?

I think the fans will be more worried about this loss than Federer himself, and that is something which actually worries me a little. I don't want to mention the dread word 'complacency', but I'm beginning to think it might be heading in that direction. Two of his big streaks have just been broken - the semis and then the wins at Halle. I don't think either has worried him too much and I kind of wish they worried him more.

But I cannot be greedy. The dude has sixteen Slams, after all. If that's not going to make you complacent, what is?

Big props to Lleyton Hewitt, though. I had totally written him off and he proved me wrong. I still hesitate to make him a big chance for Wimbledon, but if the draw falls right for him, he could make the semis. Best of five will be, however, harder for him, I think, with his hips. But the results this week show that there is a small degree of openness to this year's Wimbledon which maybe hasn't been there in the past.

Oh, and Querrey beat Fish. I, um, don't really care that much, but good on Sam. We ain't on clay no more.

Measure of Wimbledon

So I might have to eat humble pie re Lleyton Hewitt, given that he is in the final of Halle... but I'm still not very inclined to change my mind. I don't want to do any jinxing by saying this, but I give him exactly no chance to beat Federer, and unless he can play with the big boys on the small stage, he's not going to be able to play with them at the big stage.

Here is hoping I don't have to eat my words tomorrow. I don't think they'd be very tasty.

Meanwhile, with that top heavy field in Queen's, who thought that we'd be seeing a Fish vs Querrey final? I certainly wouldn't have picked it, that's for sure. Though this being said, this could be a real sign of things to come. We've got a very open women's game at the moment - I will be very interested to see what happens with the boys at Wimbledon.

Federer is, of course, solid, but there are big fat question marks over the rest of the fabulous four. Murray and Djokovic are not not NOT in form and I am worried about Rafa's injuries. And Queen's has showed us that it's a while down the list before anyone is making a real showing - Querrey is the seventh seed, Fish unseeded.

So are we going to have a surprise finalist at Wimbledon? Will Queen's be the measure of the tournament?

Those With Excuses and Those Without

I guess it has to happen sometimes - all the top seeds losing at once. But to say I didn't expect it to happen at Queen's would be an understatement.

Let's spare a thought for Halle, where all is progressing normally, before we talk Queen's mass exodus. I think I can safely say that I am quite happy with the results there and... actually, it's not that normal. We're in the semis and only the first and the eighth seeds are left. What's up with that?

...but at least Federer, being the still-standing top seed, has prevented the dystopia of Queen's.

Not only are we now missing Djokovic and Roddick, as mentioned yesterday, but Murray is gone and Nadal is gone. This I did not expect - not one little bit. All six of the top six seeds are now outty-5000.

I said some vaguely nice things about Andy Murray yesterday, and now I would like to take them all back. It will be a freaking miracle if he repeats his semi final run at Wimbledon. If he can't beat Mardy Fish at Queen's, I don't know how long he will stick it out at Wimbledon, carrying not only his whole demons but an entire nation on his shoulders. He is running out of time to get his head together. I know he lost in a third set tiebreak, but come on, Andy. Fish should be cake for you.

And Rafa. Oh, Rafa. I am a bit worried about you, boy. I am sensing injuries and I am sensing them badly. In one sense, losing now is one of the best possible things for his Wimbledon campaign, because even though he won't have the grass matches in, he will have some time to rest. But we know what Rafa injuries are like. If his knees are gone again, ten days with his feet up probably won't help much at all.

Though at least it looks like he'll actually, you know, make it to Wimbledon this year. Which is an improvement on last year. But don't freak me out like this, Rafa. Get better.

The Djoker Is...

Andy Roddick, I will deal with you later. Losing to Dudi Sela could be a big, big mistake. You could take a wildcard into Eastbourne, I suppose, but what if you win there? You'll have far too many matches under your belt. But if you don't, you'll have too few.

See what I mean?

But I'm not writing today to hate on A-Rod (fool that he is, with all those points to defend). No, Novak Djokovic, I am looking at YOU.

So Xavier Malisse beat you. Huh. That dude hasn't been good for about a wowzand years and though it doesn't really seem like it, you are supposed to be one of the best players in the world. I know this transition to grass is tough, but suck it up and deal with it, Nole. And for heavens' sakes, get some better allergy medication.

We've had the dominant four at the top of the game for a while - it's really been all about the Hispano-Suisse domination machine, but Djokovic and Murray have held their own. However, it's becoming painfully obvious that Roger and Rafa are streets ahead of the rest. Murray, maybe, is doing all right with the keeping up, even though he's not playing great, but I feel like Djokovic is only just hanging on. He has been thoroughly unremarkable for a while now, and I have to wonder when it's going to start being reflected in the points.

When you're not a Djokovic fan and even then you're majorly disappointed in him... something is up there. Something is rotten in the state of Denmark. And Nole needs to work out what it is before it's too late.

Grass Masters (also, welcome to #800!)

Welcome to post #800 on Tennis From The Backseat. Yes, I have been writing (reading: gabbing madly at you) for that long. Thank you for reading as I flail madly around the crazy world of tennis.

So, today's discussion topic is this: a Masters 1000 event on grass. Yea or nay?

I don't know if I have a definitive opinion on this issue. It seems to me like there are pros and cons to both sides of the argument. So let's examine, starting with the pros.

There are three Masters series events on clay, yet none on grass. And yet Wimbledon, the grass court Slam, is pretty much the most important tournament (at least symbolically) of the year. So why no love for grass? Give us a Masters event, clay court hogs.

I definitely see the point of this one. If the grass court season for longer, I think we would definitely see more players like Nicolas Mahut - i.e. grass court specialists. Why is it that when Wimbledon has such epic significance, the grass court season is basically a cursory event? And when you consider that three of the four Slams used to be on grass... what happened there?

It really doesn't seem fair to grass court tennis. Sometimes I feel like there are effectively two tours going on - the normal tour and the clay tour, and grass is just this little month of homage to tennis history thrown in there. It privileges dirtballers and denigrates ...grassballers. Except there aren't really any specialist grassballers. Except Nicolas Mahut.

However...

There is no time between Roland Garros and Wimbledon for a Masters series event.

I hear you. I mean, if you are going to have a Masters event, you've got to have at least one more week between these Slams, yeah? Most players do play one week in this two week fortnight gap, but to make it compulsory is a big ask. And if you do try and add an extra week, who's going to move? I foresee a Roland Garros/Wimbledon bitchfight over this issue.

If someone's going to move, I feel like it has to be Wimbledon, otherwise you have no time at all between Madrid and Roland Garros, and that will not do at all. However, if you are going to put a Masters event on grass, are you going to take that Masters name away from a clay event or a hardcourt one? Clay has three, which seems like a lot, but hard courts have six. And North America has four of them. Why do they need so many?

And also, Wimbledon totally won't move. Not for anyone.

And then there's the thorny question of who you give the Masters crown to. Does it go to Queens or Halle? You can bet that Roger Federer would be mighty pissed off it were Queens, given as he now has a contract to play at Halle forever and a day...

So in short, I don't know. A grass court Masters event sounds awesome in theory but is very complex in practice. What are your thoughts?

(And thanks again for sticking round till post #800!)

Home Court Advantage

In all that talk of grunting yesterday, I don't think I really stopped to give our weekend winners much of a talking about - which is a mighty shame, because there were some interesting results. So here goes!

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First of all, the British media went absolutely psycho over Andy Murray winning Queen's - and with good reason. Sure, he was the top seed and sort of expected to win, but he's the first Brit to win a grasscourt title since about 1066, so you can understand why. And I've got to say... while, internationally, Murray goes into Wimbledon a tiny bit under the radar - who wouldn't be eclipsed by that final we had last year with Rafa and Roger? - I think there is good reason to think that he'll go deep. I don't know if he's at finals level yet - actually, I think it depends which half of the draw he ends up in. I don't really like anyone's chances against Federer right now, still riding the happy wave from Roland Garros and looking to pull a Borg, but if Murray ends up in the Nadal half of the draw, and Nadal's knees are a badness, and Murray's got that whole crowd behind him... it could be very, very interesting.

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I'm going to tip him to at least play out his seeding and make it to the semis. Further tippage will ensue once we have the draw. This much is certain - I think Tim Henman will be a little annoyed if Andy manages to steal his thunder!

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Over to Halle, and here's looking at you, Tommy Haas. The big German with the shoulder held together by sticky tape is in some fine form at the moment. He beat both Tsonga and Djokovic en route to the title, and that is no mean feat - though one really has to put a giant question mark over Djokovic at the moment. He says he's still mentally exhausted from that match against Nadal in Madrid, where he had the match points... Novak, please. That was a thousand years ago now. Suck it up and get over it. The way he's playing, I wouldn't be surprised to see another early round exit, particularly if he gets one of those tricky players early on, like he did at Wimbledon last year, when he went out to Safin in the second round.

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But enough of Djokovic. Back to Haas. He did a fine, fine job in securing that title - just like Murray, in his home country, as well. Not too shabby at all. I don't think I'm quite up to tipping him to making a surprise finals showing, but depending on what area of the draw he's in, he could easily make it to the round of sixteen or even the quarters. We'll wait and see, I suppose!

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And Magdalena Rybarikova won her first title in Birmingham. I don't know much about Rybarikova - the only time I've ever seen her play was live, when she got bagelled by Vera Zvonareva at the Aussie Open. She seems to have bounced back from that all right, so snaps to you, Magdalena!

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Today's Results

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Ordina Open (s'Hertogenbosch)

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Men's Draw

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David Ferrer def. Jesse Huta Galung, 6-2 7-5

Rainer Schuettler def. Nicolas Devilder, 6-4 7-6 (8-6)

Marc Gicquel def. Steve Darcis, 6-2 6-3

Jeremy Chardy def. Philipp Petzschner, 6-1 6-3

Michael Llodra def. Mischa Zverev, 4-1 retired

Oscar Hernandez def. Daniel Koellerer, 6-3 6-2

Benjamin Becker def. Florent Serra, 6-3 6-4

Dick Norman def. Daniel Berta, 6-3 6-3

Kristof Vliegen def. Jan Hernych, 2-6 7-5 6-2

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Women's Draw

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Yaroslava Shvedova def. Patricia Mayr, 6-2 6-0

Kateryna Bondarenko def. Kirsten Flipkens, 6-4 3-6 6-4

Daniela Hantuchova def. Roberta Vinci, 7-6 (7-2) 6-4

Flavia Pennetta def. Yung-Jan Chan, 6-4 6-2

Ksenia Pervak def. Petra Cetkovska, 7-5 7-6 (8-6)

Tamarine Tanasugarn def. Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, 6-1 6-3

Michaella Krajicek def. Sara Errani, 6-4 6-2

Yanina Wickmayer def. Maria Elena Camerin, 6-1 6-3

Francesca Schiavone def. Julie Coin, 6-2 6-2

Olga Govortsova def. Severine Bremond, 6-2 6-1

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AEGON International (Eastbourne)

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Men's Draw

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Dmitry Tursunov def. Fabio Fognini, 6-3 4-6 6-4

Fabrice Santoro def. Robert Kendrick, 6-3 6-2

Sam Querrey def. Paul Capdeville, 6-2 7-5

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez def. Evgeny Korolev, 6-2 6-7 (3-7) 6-2

Leonardo Mayer def. Eduardo Schwank, 6-4 6-2

Yen-hsun Lu def. Colin Fleming, 7-6 (7-2) 1-6 6-3

James Ward def. Victor Crivoi, 6-1 6-3

Joshua Goodall def. Tatsuma Ito, 6-4 6-1

Alex Bogdanovic def. Ivo Minar, 6-4 7-6 (7-3)

Brydan Klein def. Teimuraz Gabashvili, 6-3 5-7 6-1

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Women's Draw

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Elena Dementieva def. Maria Kirilenko, 6-2 6-2

Virginie Razzano def. Alize Cornet, 7-6 (7-3) 6-2

Samantha Stosur def. Sabine Lisicki, 6-2 6-1

Nadia Petrova def. Ana Ivanovic, 6-1 4-6 6-4

Jie Zheng def. Carla Suarez Navarro, 6-2 6-2

Big Fish

So Novak Djokovic is having to save five match points againt Florent Serra these days, eh? He better hope he played himself into form in that saving, because that would have been a bad loss - worse than to Kohlschreiber at Roland Garros, I think. At least Kohlschreiber is a genuine underachiever who coulda bin somebody. Serra is pretty much a journeyman. That would have been a big, big badness for Novak.

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Not that I would have minded that much, obviously, but it might impact on the competition for Wimbledon, and I love tennis. So yeah, you better hope, Novak. You better hope.

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The other member of the Fantastic Four in action today was Andy Murray, and it looks like he had a whale of a time beating Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. Remember how he was pretty much a standard top ten player until he had that big win over Gasquet at Wimbledon last year and suddenly found himself in the upper echelons? It'll be interesting to see how he does at the Big W this year, mark my words.

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Someone it will not be interesting to watch is Gilles Simon. Seriously, how is he still in the top ten? He has done big fat nothing this year, and that big fat nothing is continuing. It was a fluke, yeah? him having that great run last year? I'm sure he's a nice guy and all, but he just seems out of his depth with the fish he's swimming with at the moment...

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...but on a gladder note, glasses should be raised to Andreas Beck - great work Andreas, coming through the Halle draw very nicely right now - and Juan Carlos Ferrero. JC seems to be having his best year in ages so far, what with winning that title and now doing pretty well at Queen's - nice one!

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Today's Results

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Gerry Weber Open (Halle)

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Novak Djokovic def. Florent Serra, 5-7 7-5 6-1

Jurgen Melzer def. Nicolas Kiefer, 6-1 retired

Andreas Beck def. Lukas Lacko, 7-5 7-6 (7-5)

Olivier Rochus def. Philipp Petzschner, 5-7 7-5 6-2

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AEGON Championships (Queen's Club)

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Andy Murray def. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, 6-4 6-4

Andy Roddick def. Lleyton Hewitt, 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (7-4)

Mikhail Youzhny def. Gilles Simon, 6-1 2-6 6-2

James Blake def. Sam Querrey, 6-4 4-6 6-3

Mardy Fish def. Feliciano Lopez, 6-1 6-4

Ivo Karlovic def. Nicolas Mahut, 6-3 6-4

Juan Carlos Ferrero def. Xavier Malisse, 6-4 7-6 (7-4)

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AEGON Classic (Birmingham)

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Maria Sharapova def. Alexa Glatch, 6-3 6-4

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova def. Elena Baltacha, 6-7 (1-7) 6-3 7-6 (7-3)

Francesca Schiavone def. Mariya Koryttseva, 6-1 6-1

Yanina Wickmayer def. Michaella Krajicek, 6-2 6-4

Li Na def. Jarmila Groth, 6-4 2-6 6-1

Roberta Vinci def. Lilia Osterloh, 6-4 6-2

Zheng Jie def. Melanie South, 6-3 6-1

Melinda Czink def. Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, 6-2 6-3

Ursula Radwanska def. Petra Cetkovska, 6-3 7-5

Julia Goerges def. Sara Errani, 6-4 5-7 7-5

Magdalena Rybarikova def. Chanelle Scheepers, 6-7 (8-10) 6-1 6-3

Aravane Rezai def. Alla Kudryavtseva, 7-6 (14-12) 3-6 6-2

Stefanie Voegele def. Naomi Cavaday, 6-4 6-2

Yanina Wickmayer def. Roberta Vinci, 6-1 6-4

Maria Sharapova def. Francesca Schiavone, 6-1 6-3

Sania Mirza def. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 7-6 (7-3) 3-6 6-2

Urszula Radwanska def. Julia Goerges, 7-6 (7-3) 6-3

Melinda Czink def. Aleksandra Wozniak, 6-7 (7-9) 7-5 7-5

Li Na def. Aravane Rezai, 7-5 6-4

Magdalena Rybarikova def. Zheng Jie, 7-6 (12-10) 6-4

Second Year Blues

So I was messing round on the ATP website, minding my own business, when I came across this piece of alarming ranking information under the 'big movers this week' section. Ernests Gulbis - down 29 places.

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Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

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I thought about it and it made sense - Gulbis reached the quarters of Roland Garros last year and did not much of anything this year - and then I thought about it some more and I got mad. Ernests, what gives, dude? What's going on?

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His year started with a bang - beating Djokovic in his first outing of the year in Brisbane - but since then he hasn't been able to string two wins together. It's been an embarrassing string of first and second round defeats for the guy who's supposed to be one of the future big guns of our game. I mean, sure, I understand about second year blues - last year was the year that Ernests announced, 'here I am, I have talent, fear me, fear me!' and sometimes it's hard to follow it up, but this is just ridiculous. He lost to Alberto Martin yesterday. On grass.

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That's right. Alberto Martin. On grass.

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Ernests. Pull yourself together. Spank your inner moppet, whatever. Just win two matches in a row. That's all I'm asking. Two in a row. If you want to go on and make it three or four or whatever, that's fine, but let's walk before we can run, eh?

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Today's Results

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Gerry Weber Open (Halle)

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Mischa Zverev def. Tomas Berdych, 3-6 6-2 7-6 (10-8)

Benjamin Becker def. Rainer Schuettler, 6-4 2-6 6-4

Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Dmitry Tursunov, 6-4 7-6 (8-6)

Tommy Haas def. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 6-3 7-6 (7-3)

Lukas Lacko def. Harel Levy, 7-6 (8-6) 6-2

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AEGON Championships (Queen's Club)

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Andy Murray def. Andreas Seppi, 6-1 6-4

Gilles Simon def. Grigor Dimitrov, 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (7-5)

Nicolas Mahut def. Marin Cilic, 7-6 (7-1) 7-6 (7-4)

Ivo Karlovic def. Julien Benneteau, 7-6 (9-7) 6-7 (4-7) 6-2

Juan Carlos Ferrero def. Paul-Henri Mathieu, 6-4 6-4

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez def. Gilles Muller, 7-6 (7-3) 6-3

Mikhail Youzhny def. Marcos Baghdatis, 64 76(3)

Lleyton Hewitt def. Frederico Gil, 3-6 6-2 6-2

Steve Darcis def. Alberto Martin, 6-2 6-4

Xavier Malisse def. Rik De Voest, 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (7-5)

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AEGON Classic (Birmingham)

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Aleksandra Wozniak def. Olga Govortsova, 6-4 6-4

Sania Mirza def. Anne Keothavong, 6-1 7-6 (7-5)

Stefanie Voegele def. Ekaterina Makarova, 6-3 3-6 6-2

Naomi Cavaday def. Tamarine Tanasugarn, 7-6 (7-5) 2-6 6-4

Messrs Sunday

Those crazy boys are at it again. Roger and Rafa, those crazy final kings, are at it again.

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Remember 2005, when there basically wasn't a title that wasn't won by one of those two? Good times, good times. That year was the year of Rafa's ascendancy, his first French Open, when he cemented himself as #2 in the world. And he hasn't looked back.

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Let's start with Rafa, who, even though he is #2 and has won lots of stuff (including the Match We Do Not Speak Of), is still the apprentice Mr Sunday. His match was the harder of the two, obviously, being as he was playing against Novak Djokovic. (A friend and I have started referring to him as Novak, Prince of Lies... just an aside.) This one had the potential to go the distance. Obviously, it didn't, but it wasn't for lack of trying.

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Of course, I haven't actually SEEN this match, so I am going off scores and stats here. This one could have gone either way - actually, no. That's a lie. Rafa was the one who came through when it counted, therefore he deserves it. Tennis really isn't about how many points you win, it's about when you win them. It is totally possible for a player to win more points but then lose the match - think of the Dubai final in 2006! There was only one point separating Rafa and the Djoker at the end of the first set - 50 points to 49 - but it was Rafa who won that point when it counted.

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I am aware that my inner Fedfan should be horrified at the notion of Rafa winning a grass court tournament when he has, for the last two years, been Roger's biggest competition on grass. But I have the faith. There has been a lot of commentary around about how Roger's hold on Wimbledon is slipping and how he won't win it this year. Forgive me if I put my faith in the man who has won 59 straight matches on grass courts, including five Wimbledon titles, and is the greatest tennis player of all time. That doesn't sound unreasonable to me.

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And I like to see Rafa doing well. Quite apart from anything else, I want to see him pulling away from Djokovic in the points race... although not enough to will him to a Wimbledon victory (not over Federer, anyway.) And it's not like Djokovic doesn't have points to defend at Wimbledon. He made the semis last year. And grass court tennis is the most cutthroat of all the surfaces. Lose a few points at the wrong time, and the set is gone. And it only takes three sets to win a match. This is part of what makes Federer's grass court achievement so marvellous.

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Roger was never going to not win that match against Kohlschreiber last night. He was in total control the whole time. He has gone the whole week without dropping a set, and, more impressively, without dropping his serve. This is the best possible week he could have hoped for after the Match We Do Not Speak Of. If a week this brilliant will not shut critics up, then I don't know what will.

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Of course, speaking as a baby amateur critic myself, there is very little that can change you once you form an opinion... it is possible (like my changing attitude to Rafa) but not likely... I can't ever see myself changing my viewpoint on Djokovic. Not unless he like, attains world peace or something. And even then, I'll probably think he stole the idea off Federer.

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So Mr Sunday and his matador apprentice both proved why they are the best players in the world this week. Both backed it up from the Match We Do Not Speak Of, and both thoroughly deserved their wins. I have a feeling that the tennis this coming week will not be half so interesting... neither Rafa nor Roger is playing, but as we know, that has never stopped me talking about them. Bring on Wimbledon! Where, I believe, we will once more see a match between the Messrs Sunday... with the Master coming out on top this time!

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Today's Results

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Artois Championships (Queen's Club, London)

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Rafael Nadal def. Novak Djokovic, 7-6 (8-6) 7-5

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Gerry Weber Open (Halle)

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Roger Federer def. Philipp Kohlschreiber, 6-3 6-4

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Orange Warsaw Open (Warsaw)

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Nikolay Davydenko def. Tommy Robredo, 6-3 6-3

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DFS Classic (Birmingham)

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Kateryna Bondarenko def. Yanina Wickmayer, 7-6 (9-7) 3-6 7-6 (7-4)

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Campeonatos Internacionales de Tenis Femenino de Espana (Barcelona)

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Maria Kirilenko def. Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, 6-0 6-2

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Ordina Open (s'Hertogenbosch)

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David Ferrer def. Jesse Huta Galung, 6-2 6-3

Steve Darcis def. Florent Serra, 7-5 6-3

Mario Ancic def. Ivo Minar, 6-1 7-6 (7-0)

Rainer Schuettler def. Michael Berrer, 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 6-4

Igor Andreev def. Grigor Dimitrov, 6-1 6-3

Jurgen Melzer def. Victor Hanescu, 6-7 (11-13) 6-2 6-4

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Camille Pin def. Elena Vesnina, 6-2 6-3

Saturday Night's All Right For Fighting

The top three men in the world all played last night - Federer in Halle, Nadal and Djokovic in Queen's. All three won. All three did it in straight sets. I feel like I should be going somewhere with some sort of comparison between the three of them, but as I haven't seen the matches, I can't really do that, can I?

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So I wrote myself into a bit of a hole there. Let's start again.

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Halle, Germany. Federer roared past Nicolas Kiefer, 6-1 6-4. I was able to see a few points - just a few - on a highlights reel, and from those few points, I'm calling it. My boy is back in town. That forehand down the line he hit from about ninety four kilometres out of court... (the score was 4-1 Federer in the first set, Kiefer serving)... that was, to quote some commentators, a 'sick shot.' That's the kind of god tennis that got Federer where he is today - the sublime movement, the total control, the absolute knowledge of court positioning... it's incredible.

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Whenever I think of Nicolas Kiefer, there are two moments in particular that always spring to mind. One is that rally against Sebastien Grosjean in Australia where he threw his racquet during (I think) a diving volley at the net, which completely put Spaz off, which meant Kiwi won the point, even though it was horrendously unfair. I hesitate to say that Kiefer did it on purpose, but it would have been good sportsmanship to concede the point, at least. With Kiwi off the circuit for a year, I haven't seen him play enough to form a well-rounded opinion of him, but this didn't exactly canonise him in Jodi's Hall of Tennis Saints.

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My second Kiwi memory is from that same tournament - Australian Open 2006, one of my favourite tournaments ever. The semi final, Federer versus Kiefer. Federer hits a first serve, misses. He sits a second serve. It's a kick serve ace. It has so much pop on it that it skids into about Row H. It has widely been recognised as the best second serve of all time. Kiwi had this great bemused look on his face. I laughed mightily.

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Federer might not have hit the best second serve of all time in his match against Kiefer today, but he did serve well. Actually, his service has been rock solid all week - he hasn't been broken once. And that isn't for lack of opportunity. Both Baghdatis and Kiefer have had him at 0-40 down. He's fought back to deuce. Don't quote me on this, but I think both Baghdatis and Kiefer had ad in during those deuce games. Federer has saved every break point against him. And that is pretty swell.

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The French Open final is in the past. Federer has said that in his pressers, and we can see that it is totally true. Federer might not have played one of the Nadals of the world on grass yet, but this is a different player than the one that stepped out onto Philippe Chatrier on Sunday. This is Roger Federer, who has won Wimbledon five times. This is the king.

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Rafa has also been acquitting himself well over in Queen's - not as well as Roger, perhaps, but considering Rafa is the King of Clay and Roger is the King of Grass, the expectations are not quite the same. I know a lot of Federer fans have been praying for him to lose this week in Queen's, but I like to see Rafa doing well. If there is one tennis player in the world who has managed to make me totally change my opinion of him, it is Rafa. He had a very handy win against Andy Roddick. Roddick is an excellent grasscourt player, but I'm beginning to think that the day of Roddick might be beginning to pass. Either that, or that injury is still bugging him. Or he's suffering lack of match play... actually, that is a very credible explanation. He had a bye in the first round, then Fish retired against him after a set, and then Murray didn't even walk onto the court. Not the best Wimbledon preparation that Roddick could have hoped for.

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I feel a bit sorry for Andy, actually. Remember back in '03, when he was the next big thing? He and Federer were racing for the #1 spot. Juan Carlos Ferrero was hanging about then as well, and he had a bit of the mystique that Roger and Rafa have now. Federer won Wimbledon and the Masters Cup, but Roddick won the US Open, and he finished the year #1. But then on February 2, 2004, after winning the Australian Open, Roger Federer became #1, and he has held that ranking every week since.

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Who ever would have thought that that US Open would be the only Slam Roddick would ever win? He's been to the final of a couple more - Wimbledon '04 and '05, and the US Open in '06 - but he has fallen to same man in all three of those finals. Roddick made a charge to be re-recognised at the beginning of '07. He played Federer in the semis of the Australian, and everyone thought it would be this huge barnburning popcorn match. It was a popcorn match (for me!), but in a different way. Federer destroyed Roddick. He put him down like a dog.

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It isn't that Roddick has been playing badly over these last few years. He is still an excellent player, and he has held his spot in the top ten pretty solidly. It's just that everyone else is better. What kind of career might Roddick have had if he had not existed at the same time as Federer? I don't think Nadal and Djokovic as players have had particularly large impacts on his career - certainly not the way Federer has - but their results have relegated Roddick to being #4, #5, #6, #7.

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A lot of people assume I don't for some reason, but I actually quite like Andy Roddick. I think he has a great attitude. He's very funny, he respects Federer (which gets you a lot of bonus points in my book!) and he has an excellent attitude. He can take a loss like a man and doesn't become arrogant when he wins. I feel sorry, for his sake, that he had to exist in such an era as this: the Federer era, the return of a golden age of tennis.

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Looking at it from a Fedfan point of view, though, it is hard to be sorry. Federer's domination of Roddick (and, in particular, the Roddick serve) has been one of the hallmarks of his domination of the game. But I will always wonder: what would have Roddick been like without Federer?

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How on earth did I get onto Roddick? Oh, that's right, Rafa. Rafa beat Roddick last night, and now he is in the final. And oh! how I will be cheering for him to win. Because he is playing the man who bumped off Lleyton Hewitt and Andy Murray as my least favourite tennis players of all time.

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I can't remember the last time I cheered for David Nalbandian in a tennis match. I think it might be just before never. But I was cheering for him last night. We all know my feelings on Novak Djokovic.

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Unfortunately, my cheering didn't work. Djokovic crushed Nalbandian. LameDave totally showed up. But let me put this question out there: if GoodDave had shown up and had gone up 6-1 in the first set and a break in the second, would Novak have suddenly discovered an injury? An ingrown hair on his left shin, maybe? An urge to sneeze? Or perhaps he might retire because this particular match was mussing up his hair.

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Obviously, I exaggerate a little there, but my point still stands. If I asked that question about pretty much any other tennis player, it would be incredibly insulting. About Djokovic, it is perfectly valid. Think of Monte Carlo, the semi against Federer. Djokovic was fine, apart from the fact he was being beaten. So he retires.

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Let us look at his career history of retirement. His ATP career is only a couple of years old. He has retired something like nine times. I can think of at least four off the top of my head - Roland Garros '06 (against Rafa), Wimbledon '07 (against Rafa), Umag '06 (against Wawrinka) and Monte Carlo this year. Now let us look at Federer's career history. He has been around a whole lot longer than Djokovic - his career is three or four times as long. And how many times has he retired?

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Not once.

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'Roger Federer does not retire,' Federer said once (possibly slightly paraphrased.) 'Otherwise he doesn't walk out on the court.' And he has stuck to it.

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Think back to the Masters Cup in 2005 - the final, against David Nalbandian. Nalbandian won a five set thriller. Federer was basically playing on one leg, and yet he still went on, playing five hours, even staging an almost-comeback from 4-0 down in the fifth.

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Now put Djokovic in that position. I think it is safe to say that Djokovic would never have even played the tournament.

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And that is one of the things that is always going to separate these two. Even if Djokovic does become #1 in the future, he is never going to be the champion Federer is, not if he maintains this kind of attitude. To be fair, Federer's zero retirement thing is pretty unusual, and I'd have understood a few. But Djokovic is just out of hand. Guess what, Novak? You can't retire your way to #1.

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Not that Djokovic retired last night, or this discussion has anything to do with Queen's... where Djokovic, unretiring, beat LameDave Nalbandian 6-1 6-0. He will face Rafa Nadal in the final. But his retiring complex is just one of the myriad aspects of his personality that I dislike.

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I don't like Nalbandian very much either, of course... he of the monosyllabic press conferences. But I will say this for him: he provides many opportunities for amusing nicknames! Not only do we have GoodDave and LameDave, but there is also FatDave floating around. (Not that David is fat. I defy anyone to find a fat tennis player. But sometimes certain photographic angles can make him look that way.) Then there is always Dayveeeeed Nalbaaaaaaaandiaaaan... no other tennis player has a name it is so fun to stretch out! My personal favourite at the moment, courtesy of Drew Lilley's Roland Garros blog, is Headbandian... because he wears headbands.

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Well, I think it's funny.

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Two finals tonight. In Halle, Roger Federer vs Philipp Kohlschreiber... who I always find underwhelming. I am hoping tonight to find Federer overwhelming instead. And in Queen's, Rafael Nadal versus Novak Djokovic. #2 against #3.

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I don't think it will come as any surprise to hear that I will be shouting 'Vamos Rafa!' and 'Hopp Roger!' at the top of my lungs!

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Today's Results

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Artois Championships (Queen's Club, London)

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Rafael Nadal def. Andy Roddick, 7-5 6-4

Novak Djokovic def. David Nalbandian, 6-1 6-0

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Gerry Weber Open (Halle)

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Roger Federer def. Nicolas Kiefer, 6-1 6-4

Philipp Kohlschreiber def. James Blake, 6-3 7-5

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Orange Warsaw Open (Warsaw)

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Nikolay Davydenko def. Fabio Fognini, 6-2 6-3

Tommy Robredo def. Juan Monaco, 6-4 6-4

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DFS Classic (Birmingham)

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Kateryna Bondarenko def. Marina Erakovic, 6-3 6-2

Yanina Wickmayer def. Bethanie Mattek, 7-5 7-6 (7-2)

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Campeonatos Internacionales de Tenis Femenino de Espana (Barcelona)

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Maria Kirilenko def. Stephanie Cohen-Aloro, 7-5 6-3

Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez def. Nuria Llagostera Vives, 2-6 6-3 6-1

By The Numbers

...I lied again.

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Honestly, the moment I start setting myself goals with this blog is the moment it all collapses around my ears... if that four month long lapse between the end of the Australian and the beginning of the French is anything to go by. No more campaign promises. From now on, I'm just going to write about whatever I damn well please.

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Which in this case, means another round of Jodi Judges Tennis by the Stats Because She Hasn't Seen It, with a chaser of Roger Federer is the Best Thing in the World, Ever. There are worse things to write about.

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So, Roger Federer is the best thing in the world, ever, and he had a handy win over Jan Vacek last night. His serve, which was something that worried me during the French Open (especially in the Match We Do Not Speak Of), looked pretty sweet to me. For a man that averages about 65%, 76% is not sneezeworthy. I love watching him serve on grass (not that I was WATCHING him in this match, per se, but I do love his grasscourt serve) because it just seems to come so much more naturally on it. Federer is the second best claycourt player in the world for sure, but he is not a claycourter - that much is evident when he steps onto the lawn and begins gliding around and prancing about like Pan. It's beautiful to watch... and imagine, when you can't watch.

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I was a little more concerned about his return game - not his best stats ever there. Roger isn't necessarily known for his return game, but it's still generally better than everyone else's. Actually, on a tangent, there's a really good quote that describes that particular Federer phenomenon... I think it was Jim Courier that said it... actually, no, it was Andre Agassi. Here it is:

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"There's probably not a department in his game that couldn't be considered the best in that department. You watch him play Hewitt and everybody marvels at Hewitt's speed, as well as myself. And you start to realize, `Is it possible Federer even moves better?' Then you watch him play Andy [Roddick], and you go, `Andy has a big forehand. Is it possible Federer's forehand is the best in the game?' You watch him at the net, you watch him serve-volley somebody that doesn't return so well and you put him up there with the best in every department. You see him play from the ground against those that play from the ground for a living, and argue he does it better than anybody."

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That is so true. He is better than the specialists in the things they specialise at. But that wasn't what I was talking about, was it? What was I... oh, yes. His return game. His percentage wasn't at its best today - 38% - but these things happen, I guess. It's only his second match back on the grass, and Vacek is approximately the height of a three story building, so I can understand how returning would be difficult! What is important is that Roger broke through when it counted and served well himself - I don't know if he ever faced a break point. I don't think he did. If he did, it certainly wasn't very many, and he saved all of them.

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And to tell the truth, I'd be worried if Roger were blowing all his opponents away 6-0 6-0. It's the second round in a minor tournament. He doesn't need to over-exert himself, particularly after the gruelling claycourt season. This is the closest to an r'n'r tournament that you'll ever find on the circuit, methinks. Roger is doing exactly what he needs to in order to win, and no more. And that is fine. I like that he has gears.

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Rafa and the Djoker both had much tougher matches today over in Queen's. To be fair to both of them, both of their opponents were much higher ranked than Jan Vacek, but of the Big Three, it appears to me like Roger's looking the best on the green stuff. It was an all-Serbian matchup between Djokovic and Tipsarevic (who I have not forgiven for that traumatic Australian Open match!) that could have gone either way in the final set... Djokovic held his nerve, I suppose. Rafa played Kei Nishikori, who is one to watch in the future. He's ranked in the nineties somewhere, but he's only a teenager and he's got game. He won a tournament early this year - Delray Beach, I think... or was it Las Vegas? No, I think it was Delray Beach - where he took out James Blake pretty handily in the final. And by the looks of things, he gave Rafa a run for it here... but nerves will out, I suppose, and Rafa knows all about that.

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One match I wish I could have seen was Gasquet vs Ancic. That one sounded like a barnburning match up, and even though Richou won in straights, it looked pretty tight. They're both consummate grasscourters, and it would have been fun to watch. I wouldn't have minded watching Murray vs Gulbis either, but Murray seemed to spend so much of that match injuring himself that it might have been painful. How do you manage to injure yourself three times in one match? Like, how does that work? Andy Murray must have some stupendous bad luck. I really want to cough into my hand and say 'karma!' but I won't, because I am just too nice.

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And can I just say I really like the preview writeup on the Queen's website? Very intelligent assessment of how matches will progress... to my uneducated eyes, anyway! It will interesting to see how many of their picks are right...

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Today's Results

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Artois Championships (Queen's Club, London)

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Rafael Nadal def. Kei Nishikori, 6-4 3-6 6-3

Ivo Karlovic def. Fernando Gonzalez, 6-3 7-5

Andy Roddick def. Mardy Fish, 7-6 (7-5) retired

Andy Murray def. Ernests Gulbis, 5-7 6-1 6-4

Richard Gasquet def. Mario Ancic, 7-6 (7-5) 6-4

David Nalbandian def. Nicolas Mahut, 6-4 6-1

Lleyton Hewitt def. Paul-Henri Mathieu, 6-4 6-4

Novak Djokovic def. Janko Tipsarevic, 2-6 6-1 6-4

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Gerry Weber Open (Halle)

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Roger Federer def. Jan Vacek, 7-5 6-3

Marcos Baghdatis def. Fabrice Santoro, 6-4 6-3

Nicolas Kiefer def. Mikhail Youzhny, 6-2 5-7 6-3

Michael Llodra def. Steve Darcis, 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-3)

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Orange Warsaw Open (Warsaw)

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Fabio Fognini def. Christophe Rochus, 5-4 retired

Guillermo Canas def. Santiago Ventura, 6-2 1-6 6-3

Oscar Hernandez def. Albert Montanes, 6-3 6-2

Tommy Robredo def. Wayne Odesnik, 6-4 1-1 retired

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DFS Classic (Birmingham)

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Petra Cetkovska def. Camille Pin, 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-3

Kateryna Bondarenko def. Melinda Czink, 4-6 6-4 7-5

Alona Bondarenko def. Sunitha Rao, 3-6 7-5 6-1

Marina Erakovic def. Yaroslava Shvedova, 6-3 7-5

Yanina Wickmayer def. Michaella Krajicek, 6-3 6-4

Melanie South def. Aiko Nakamura, 2-6 6-4 6-4

Bethanie Mattek def. Tamarine Tanasugarn, 6-4 6-2

Nicole Vaidisova def. Ekaterina Makarova, 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 6-4

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Campeanatos Internacionales de Tenis Femenino de Espana (Barcelona)

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Lucie Safarova def. Arantxa Parra Santoja, 7-5 4-6 6-3

Ekaterina Ivanova def. Maria Kondratieva, 1-6 6-1 7-5

Edina Gallovits def. Klara Zakopalova, 6-2 6-0

Maria Kirilenko def. Carla Suarez Navarro, 6-1 4-6 6-4