Into The Green

Well, I'm back, to quote Samwise Gamgee. A little older, a little wiser, but I'm back. I don't know if I'm fully recovered from that devastating loss - I am a big enough Federer fan that it will take a while yet - but we're working on it.

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In the future, I intend to profile some players and stuff here before Wimbledon - do a bit of the ol' human interest, if you know what I mean - but for now, it's late, so I'm not going to say too much. Suffice to say that I still love Roger Federer quite a lot... and now the grass court season is here, which is his time to shine.

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The grass court season is strange for we Fedfans. It's great because, hey, our boy never loses on it - his last loss on a grass court was in 2002 in the first round of Wimbledon to Mario Ancic. He was 21- younger than I am. Younger than Rafa is now. But grass is hard as well, because there's so much added pressure. No one really expects Roger to win on clay. That's Rafa's playground. But grass... if he lost there, the fan would fall from the ceiling there'd be so much shit flung at it, if you catch my drift.

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Not that I think Roger will lose on grass, because he is the mighty mighty grass king. But I still remember the palpitations from last year's Wimbledon final. Thanks for that one, Rafa. You might have made me real sad laying that beatdown on Roger in the Roland Garros final a couple of days ago, but you damn near killed me nearly taking him out at SW19 last year.

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Roger's playing Halle this year, which I think is a good thing. He won Wimbledon last year, as he has for the last five years, but he looked less secure than when he had played Halle as a warm up (which he did not do.) Also, strange as this might sound, it gives him an opportunity to lose. I don't want him to, obviously, but if his grass court streak HAD to be broken, I'd far rather it were in Halle that at Wimbledon. It's a win-win situation, in some respects: if Roger wins Halle, he goes into Wimbledon very confident with grass court matchplay, if he loses somewhere in there, he doesn't have the pressure of that insane streak riding above his head. Although if he were to lose... not only would I cry quite a lot, but can you imagine the press? They'd be circling like vultures.

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All this Federer speak and he hasn't even played this week! We have five major tournaments this week - Queen's, Halle, Warsaw, Birmingham and Barcelona. The first three are ATP, the latter two WTA. I have no way of watching any of them, so I don't know how much actual tennis commentary I'll be doing... hence the human interest stories in the lead up to the big ol' Slam. I mentioned a lot of players I liked the look of during my Roland Garros blog - and, indeed, my Australia blog. We're talking Alize Cornet, Ernests Gulbis, Eduardo Schwank... the lot. Let's see what dirt I can dig up on them... and, obviously, expect a heavy Federer focus, because that man is what began it all for me.

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Today's Results

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Artois Championships (Queen's Club, London)

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Jonas Bjorkman def. Igor Kunitsyn, 7-6 (7-3) 4-6 6-4

Kei Nishikori def. Alejandro Falla, 2-6 6-4 6-2

Marat Safin def. James Ward, 4-6 6-1 6-4

Joseph Sirianni def. Alex Bogdanovic, 6-3 6-3

Robby Ginepri def. Vince Spadea, 6-4 7-6 (7-4)

Chris Guccione def. Yen-hsun Lu, 604 6-7 (2-7) 7-5

Ernests Gulbis def. Kristof Vliegen, 6-4 7-5

Sebastien Grosjean def. Rik de Voest, 7-6 (8-6) 6-1

Mario Ancic def. Nicolas Lapentti, 7-5 6-3

Fernando Verdasco def. Hyung-taik Lee, 5-3 retired

Viktor Troicki def. Dudi Sela, 6-4 6-4

Marin Cilic def. Jurgen Melzer, 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (7-5)

Lleyton Hewitt def. Joshua Goodall, 6-4 6-4

Janko Tipsarevic def. Ivan Navarro, 7-6 (7-2) 6-4

Roko Karanusic def. Flavio Cipolla, 6-4 6-3

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Gerry Weber Open (Halle)

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Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Julien Benneteau, 6-4 6-1

Robin Soderling def. Philipp Petzschner, 6-4 4-6 6-4

Tomas Berdych def. Thomas Johansson, 6-3 7-5

Mischa Zverev def. Jarkko Nieminen, 2-6 6-4 6-2

Andreas Beck def. Marc Gicquel, 6-7 (4-7) 7-4 (7-4) 6-3

Benjamin Becker def. Denis Gremelmayr, 6-4 6-2

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Warszawianka Sport Club (Warsaw)

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Jiri Vanek def. Carlos Berlocq, 1-6 6-2 7-6 (7-5)

Evgeny Korolev def. Victor Hanescu, 6-4 6-2

Potito Starace def. Dawid Olejniczak, 6-2 6-3

Marcos Daniel def. Filippo Volandri, 6-3 6-4

Florent Serra def. Guillermo Coria, 6-3 retired

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DFS Classic (Birmingham)

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Sunitha Rao def. Petra Kvitova, 7-6 (10-8) 6-4

Naomi Cavaday def. Jill Craybas, 6-0 6-4

Yaroslava Shvedova def. Akgul Amanmuradova, 6-3 6-1

Katie O'Brien def. Alla Kudryavtseva, 6-0 3-6 7-6 (7-2)

Tatiana Poutchek def. Ioana Raluca Olaru, 6-0 7-6 (8-6)

Yanina Wickmayer def. Youlia Fedossova, 6-1 6-4

Aiko Nakamura def. Tzipora Obziler, 7-5 6-3

Sorana Cirstea def. Ayumi Morita, 6-2 6-0

Melanie South def. Anna Fitzpatrick, 6-4 6-4

Tamarine Tanasugarn def. Monica Niculescu, 6-3 6-4

Bethanie Mattek def. Jarmila Gajdosova, 7-6 (7-1) 6-2

Aravane Rezai def. Amanda Elliott, 6-3 2-6 7-6 (10-8)

Ekaterina Makarova def. Elena Baltacha, 7-5 7-6 (7-1)

Angelique Kerber def. Olga Puchkova, 6-4 6-3

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Campeonatos Internacionales de Tenis Femenino de Espana (Barcelona)

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Eloisa Compostizode de Andres def. Emilie Loit, 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 7-6 (7-5)

Varvara Lepchenko def. Rossana de los Rios, 7-5 6-2

Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez def. Aleksandra Wozniak, 6-4 6-1

Pauline Parmentier def. Sanda Mamic, 6-2 3-6 6-2

Magdalena Rybarikova def. Maria Elena Camerin, 6-1 6-2

Klara Zakopalova def. Karolina Sprem, 6-2 6-7 (3-7) 6-2

Nuria Llagostera Vives def. Shahar Peer, 7-5 6-2

Not Just Marat's Little Sister Any More

Well, well, well. I told you, didn't I? I TOLD you. I told you Dinara Safina was going to beat Maria Sharapova. And you didn't believe me, did you? Hell, I didn't believe me with Safina 5-2 down in the second, when Sharapova had a match point. And then something turned. Something clicked. I don't know what happened - whether Safina got her second wind or was possessed by the mighty spirit of Federer or whether Sharapova had a total breakdown - but there you have it. Jodi was RIGHT.

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I might stop gloating sometime soon.

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Normally I get really, really annoyed when there's a Federer match on and something else is being covered, because I get so few chances to see Federer matches that it is very frustrating to be so close, and yet so far. And to snub a Federer match for a women's match... I don't know if there is any worse sin in the Book of Jodi. But I enjoyed every moment of this match (and, to be honest, Federer didn't seem to be playing up to his normal standard, so it was much less nerve-wracking for me to have something else to focus on!) There was a really, really distinct turnaround. Did anyone else listening on Radio Roland Garros remember the commentators (Chris Bowers and Franck Vardanega at this point, I think) talking like it was all over and saying that they'd switch over to the Federer/Benneteau match as soon as Sharapova eked out the match - which looked like being in about two points time at that point. Safina was down and out. She was almost (or maybe actually) in tears after coming back from the rain break when her game deserted her. I clearly remember one of the commentators saying that 'she couldn't even find the court.' And then... there was Dinara. And boy, did we have a match.

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Some of this must have had to do with Sharapova as well. She's #1 in the world, and you don't get to be there very easily... even when JuJu decides to randomly retire. MaSha is renowned for her mental toughness - though personally, I have a theory that she's just afraid of the scolding she'll get from Daddy Sharapov if she doesn't come through. But we must remember that MaSha and Dinara have a history at Roland Garros. Anyone else remember a few years back when Safina came back from a 1-5 deficit in the third to win the match? That was in the round of sixteen as well. The breaking point for MaSha was in the second set today, not the third - once Dinara took the second, MaSha was never back in it, really. You can't tell me that that match wasn't playing through Sharapova's mind. And now it's happened twice. Sharapova had a match point - A MATCH POINT! - and she lost. Is Safina going to become a claycourt boogeyman for MaSha? Only time will tell.

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That match must have been going through Dinara's mind as well - though I would venture in a different capacity. It must be comforting, knowing you can do it - come back from a massive deficit to pull out the victory. And there was SUCH a distinct turning point in this match - a moment when you could see Dinara go, 'right, let's go.' I'm not sure what exactly her motivation was - whether she just decided she was going to win because she knew she had it in her, or whether she figured that Sharapova was going to win anyway so she had nothing to lose in going for her shots - but in that service game, down 5-2, you could see it. Suddenly... the match changed.

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The actual quality of the match was not especially high, I would guess - though having only listened to it on radio and not actually seen it, it is hard to tell - but for me, there were shades of the match that Dinara's big brother Marat played against Federer in the semis of the Australian Open in 2005. Federer had a match point, Marat looked out of it... and Marat came out of it to win in five. Even though my beloved Federer lost, that is one of my favourite matches ever, because of the struggle that went on. (And I am a big Marat fan as well, so if Roger had to lose to anyone...) I don't know if there has been a match in this decade in which both players have been playing such high quality tennis. Safin at his best is the only person who can challenge Federer at his best. I don't think I am overstating it to say that they are the two players with the greatest amount of natural talent on the ATP tour - though Federer has obviously actualised his a bit better than Safin.

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But I digress. The Safina/Sharapova match wasn't of the same calibre as the Safin/Federer match, but I could distinctly see the likeness between Dinara and Marat. To be down... and then to steel yourself, and back yourself, and come out of it. (They seem to have similar tempers, if the racquet-throwing is anything to judge by... I wouldn't have liked to be their mother. Imagine the tantrums Marat and Dinara must thrown as kids!) Both players were down match point to the #1 player in the world. And both came out of it on top.

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So the upshot is this: massive, MASSIVE kudos to Dinara Safina. This girl has game - and she's not just Marat Safin's little sister any more.

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Although two of the matches were stopped by rain, I was correct in my other six quarter final picks. Safina did indeed make it through, and she will face Dementieva in the next round. That should be an interesting match - Dementieva is a veteran who is really mentally tough. I'm really gunning for Dinara to keep it going (and not, like her brother, blow hot and cold) but the possibility of a slump after the adrenaline high of this match is always there. Nevertheless, go Safina! Logic would say that Dementieva will win, but if you believe logic, we'd have Sharapova through to the next round. So I'm picking Safina as my semi finalist here.

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The Kvitova/Kanepi match got stopped at one set all, so I don't know whether or not I'm right there. It looks like I'm going to be wrong in my Azarenka pick over Kuznetsova, as Sveta totally whaled on her in the first set, but you never know. I'll give you my semi final pick tomorrow, once we know who the quarterfinalists are!

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And I picked all four male quarterfinalists correctly, to go with my perfect set from yesterday! (Why this talent hasn't manifested itself in the Masters Series Bracket Challenge I do not know, as I seem to totally suck at it!) Gonzalez beat Ginepri - big surprise. I think Ginepri was as surprised as I was to find himself in the fourth round. Ferrer came through against Stepanek in another five set match (does anyone else find Stepanek kind of creepy? He's a bit weird looking, but he has this string of high-profile girlfriends who are GORGEOUS - Hingis and Vaidisova, to name a few. What's going on there?) Monfils beat Ljubicic, which was sad, though one has to be a little bit glad - it would have been very depressing for the French to have five players in the round of sixteen and then to see every single one knocked out!

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And, of course, Federer beat Benneteau. Due to the Radio Roland Garros coverage of the Safina match, I can't talk in a particularly educated way about this match, but it seemed pretty clear to me that Federer was playing exactly as well as he had to to win and nothing more - because if serves that way against a Nadal instead of a Benneteau, he will get hammered. It's probably the one part of his game that isn't back to consistently firing on four cylinders after the glandular fever. It's close - he served pretty well in the first three rounds - but there have been two occasions this season where he has been a double break up on Rafa and has lost the set. So here's hoping that he can pull it together!

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But, hell, what am I saying? Federer won, and he won in straight sets. Sure, it wasn't a beatdown, but he was hardly out there for 6 hours, and the matchplay will certainly be good for him. I don't think he'll have too many issues with Gonzalez in the quarters if he serves all right, so he is my semi final pick there.

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My gut is going Ferrer for the other semi, so that is who I am going to say. But I think Monfils is in with a shot. He's got the home crowd backing and that flashy shotmaking which is fabulous when it works, and Ferrer is coming off two five setters. So... we shall see, we shall see.

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To revise my semi final picks for the bottom half - I'm seeing Jankovic/Ivanovic and Nadal/Djokovic... though I would really, really like to see Nadal/Gulbis! Surely it's time for one of the Serbian trio to fall...? I look forward, however, to a Jankovic/Ivanovic match with pleasure. That one will be really interesting - especially with the whole not liking each other aspect.

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Actually, according to Radio Roland Garros (I'm not a junkie! I promise!) Safina and Sharapova don't like each other either. As Sharapova doesn't appear to like anyone (except maybe Maria Kirilenko) I'm not surprised. I have the feeling that all the other Russians kind of huddle in the corner and glare at her. I bet there was a party in Camp Russia last night - a tame one, of course, what with Safina having to back up in a few days! - but I sure hope Dinara's big brother clapped her on the back and told her 'well done.'

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Roland Garros Results - Day #9

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Men's Draw

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Roger Federer def. Julien Benneteau, 6-4 7-5 7-5

Fernando Gonzalez def. Robby Ginepri, 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 6-1

David Ferrer def. Radek Stepanek, 4-6 6-2 1-6 6-3 6-3

Gael Monfils def. Ivan Ljubicic, 7-6 (7-1) 4-6 6-3 6-2

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Women's Draw

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Dinara Safina def. Maria Sharapova, 6-7 (6-8) 7-6 (7-5) 6-2

Elena Dementieva def. Vera Zvonareva, 6-4 1-6 6-2

The Djoker In The Pack

Seven out of eight on my predictions for quarter finals on the bottom half of the draw. Now that's not too bad, eh?

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The one result I got wrong was the match between Flavia Pennetta and Carla Suarez Navarro. I had picked Pennetta to win, on the basis of never having heard of Suarez Navarro before, but it was Suarez Navarro who came out on top. So I did a bit of background reading on her, and it turns out that she's only nineteen, is from the Canary Islands, is ranked #132 in the world and has only played seven tour-level matches. This is her first Grand Slam. Oh yeah, and she came up through qualies to get into the main draw. I can't even remember the last time a qualifier made it to the third round, let alone the quarter finals. It seems like she's a claycourt player - and doing well at Roland Garros would certainly seem to ratify this! There's no real big gun in Spanish women's tennis at the moment - correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Anabel Medina Garrigues is the Spanish #1 at the moment, and she's ranked in the high twenties somewhere. Medina Garrigues has been around for a while, so maybe Suarez Navarro can pick up the baton. One good run at Roland Garros doesn't automatically mean hey presto! career, but it'll certainly do her a world of good!

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...not to mention that before the Suarez Navarro run to the quarters, the biggest story of the tournament for Spanish women's tennis was Nuria Llagostera Vives's naked pictures. So kudos to Suarez Navarro for overriding that with actual tennis.

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Suarez Navarro aside, I was bang on with the rest of my quarter final picks - so, on the women's side, we're going to see Jankovic/Navarro and Ivanovic/Schnyder. All were straight sets victories. The one I expected to be tougher was the Srebotnik/Schnyder match, but Patty took her out reasonably easily end... not that it'll do her much good in the next round if Ivanovic keeps playing the way she is. Sure, Petra Cetkovska is not one of the Sharapovas or Kuznetsovas of the world, but Ivanovic double bagelled her. Excellent tennis there. If we see another Ivanovic/Sharapova final like at the Australian Open and Ivanovic plays like this, MaSha doesn't have a prayer.

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My one concern is that Ivanovic might have peaked a bit too early. I don't think she's going to have too much trouble in her quarter final match - Schnyder is an excellent player, but I don't think she's in quite the same class - but come the semis, she could be in for it. My semi final picks for this half are Ivanovic and Jankovic, and wouldn't that be some match! Much as I was rabbiting on about Suarez Navarro before, I think Jankovic will take her out easily - provided that her shoulder injury doesn't flare up. If Jankovic were less easily injured, I think she'd have overtaken Ivanovic in the rankings by now. Not that Ivanovic isn't an excellent player, but I'd venture to say (in my extraordinarily uneducated opinion!) that Jankovic maybe has more natural talent... but it's Ivanovic who's gone deeper at the Slams, reaching the final of the French last year and the Australian this year.

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I heard on Radio Roland Garros that Ivanovic and Jankovic don't like each other. I can't say I'm particularly surprised, to tell the truth. They seem like very different types of girls. What I'm interested to know is which side Novak Djokovic, the third member of their Serbian trio, comes down on. Is he in the corner with Jelena, whispering nasty things about Ana? Or do he and Ana exchange bitchy text messages about Jelena? Or, hell, does he play both sides?

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...or he could be totally uninterested. That is always an option too.

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Speaking of the Djoker, I was really hoping that Paul-Henri Mathieu could give him more of a run for it, but I suppose it was not to be. I haven't been very impressed with Paulo this year, to tell the truth. He used to be one of my personal Kohlschreibers - one of the players that I think they're better than they actually are. But after that match against Rafa (it was Rafa, wasn't it?) at the Australian Open this year, Paulo has had a bit of a fall from grace in my eyes. I could be wrong, but he hasn't had the greatest of years this year... though hey, round of sixteen at Roland Garros isn't bad.

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Djokovic was solid as usual - a good performance, I must concede, even though we all know how much I don't like him. One of the Radio Roland Garros commentators asked a very interesting question, though - how much further has Novak Djokovic got to improve? How much better can he get? Or is this it for Djokovic?

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Djokovic doesn't really have a major weapon - in comparison to say, Federer, who is excellent in all aspects of the game but has that magical forehand that it is totally destructive when he is on song. Djokovic is equally solid off both wings - perhaps a tiny bit more off the backhand? He has a good serve, though I suppose he could get better. (He does, however, have the ability to serve excellently on big points, which is very important.) The only area I can really see that needs work is his volleys and maybe he could improve round the net. He has remarkable touch on his dropshots and, on the whole, a top-notch all court game.

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So where is there for Djokovic to go?

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To be fair, you could say the same thing about my beloved Federer as well. Roger is brilliant at EVERYTHING. The thing is, though, I can always see Federer adding things to his game. The forehand dropshot that has come out this season, for sure. And Federer is, quite simply, a genius. Djokovic is very, very good - good enough to take Federer out a time or two, like at the Australian Open in 2008 - but I would hesitate to put Djokovic in the same category. This is not to denigrate Djokovic as a player, because even though I think he's an arrogant little tosspot, I can't deny that he's a fabulous player. But Federer is this endless well of potential. He is capable of tennis so astonishing that, as a commentator declared during the Ancic match, it should be made illegal. Djokovic has got game, sure, and he's got drive, and he's got talent, but I don't know how much better he can get.

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It's going to be interesting to see how being #3 for so long - nearly a year now - affects him mentally. He rocketed up the rankings - I remember Federer playing him in the first round of a tournament in 2006 when he had come through as a qualifer. He came up and up and up and - stopped. Because at the top of the game is Roger, and standing behind the throne is Rafa, and it will take a HELL of a player to get past those two.

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The Djoker has come close. The semi final between him and Rafa in Hamburg determined who would go into Roland Garros ranked #2. Who came out on top? Rafa. We seem set to see another Nadal/Djokovic semi here at the French, and although Djokovic is good, I don't think you can bet against Rafa, not here, not the way he's playing. Federer could challenge him. You can never, ever count Federer out. You can't count Djokovic out either, but I would be totally stunned if Novak beat Rafa here, in Rafa's playground. Rafa is #2. Djokovic is #3. And it's that way for a reason.

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If Djokovic is to overtake Rafa in the rankings, it will have to be in the second half of the year, where traditionally Rafa has played poorly. But the pressure, for once, will be on Novak. Djokovic has been #3 for nearly a year now, and so he's coming up to the point where he'll have to defend the points that got him there. How will that pressure effect him? Rafa, on the other hand, provided he defends most of his points at Wimbledon, stands to gain a lot if he plays well. And how is Djokovic going to cope with having these two players in front of him that it is so, so difficult - if not impossible - to pass? Surely that's going to have an impact on him mentally.

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I didn't really mean to digress into a rant on Djokovic there and I'm sure everyone who reads this is tired of me beating the Roger And Rafa Are Better drum over and over again! But I think we're really coming up to the make-or-break point for Novak. His second half of the season last year was excellent. That was when he really cemented himself as #3 and put distance between him and the Davydenkos and the Ferrers and the Nalbandians. But how is going to cope with defending his points? That is going to be a real test of nerve and toughness. He's totally capable of dealing with it - no one can deny that - but being capable of it and dealing with it are two different issues.

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I was totally right with my bottom half quarter final predictions for the men - we're going to see Djokovic/Gulbis and Nadal/Almagro. So I guess I do know my men's tennis after all! I don't think you can go past Nadal and Djokovic for the semi finals, but I think both matches will be interesting. Nadal will beat Almagro - I make that one 99% sure - but I think Almagro will be significantly more trouble for him than his last opponents. Almagro is an excellent claycourt player - he won Acapulco and Costa do Sauipe this year, as well as making the final in Valencia, which are all clay tournaments. And it'll also be interesting to see how Rafa adjusts to playing a right-handed player, after having played four lefties in a row! That must have been unusal for him!

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But I don't think there's any way Rafa will lose. He might lose a set, but probably not even that if he keeps playing at the level that he is. Djokovic, on the other hand, could conceivably be upset, in my book. Gulbis is an unknown quantity. He and Djokovic have never played before. And, as I wrote about a couple of days back, Ernests Gulbis has got game, big time. Give him a couple of years, and he is going to be absolutely fabulous. I would love to see him take out Djokovic. (I mean, I would love to see anybody take out Djokovic, but it would be great to see one of the guys I've earmarked as a player of the future do it, because then I'd feel really smart!) Unfortunately, I still have to put my money on Djokovic here, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Gulbis take a set off him at least. So Nadal/Djokovic is my semi final pick here, but I would love, love, LOVE to be wrong!

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But we have another day of round of sixteen matches ahead of us before we begin worrying about who is going to be playing in the semis! To revise my picks from yesterday, I think we're going to see Federer/Gonzalez and Ferrer/Monfils. The one I have the most doubt about is Gonzalez - Stepanek has been playing very well. Still, I think Gonzo'll get him. On the women's, I am (semi-controversially) Safina/Dementieva and Azarenka/Kvitova. I fully concede that I am likely to be wrong in all four of these. Safina would be pulling a huge upset, as would Azarenka. I'm considering changing my pick in the Kvitova/Kanepi match to Kanepi after learning last night (while hunting for answers for the Radio Roland Garros quiz, which I am totally winning, by the way!) that Kanepi won junior Roland Garros back in the day, but I'm going to stick to my guns and say Kvitova anyway. For no real reason.

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And so now we are officially into the second week of Roland Garros - where the going gets tough and the tough send the rest going.

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...I apologise completely for that abuse of cliche.

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Roland Garros Results - Day #8

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Men's Draw

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Rafael Nadal def. Fernando Verdasco, 6-1 6-0 6-2

Novak Djokovic def. Paul-Henri Mathieu, 6-4 6-3 6-4

Nicolas Almagro def. Jeremy Chardy, 7-6 (7-0) 7-6 (9-7) 7-5

Ernests Gulbis def. Michael Llodra, 6-4 7-6 (7-4) 6-3

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Women's Draw

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Ana Ivanovic def. Petra Cetkovska, 6-0 6-0

Jelena Jankovic def. Agnieszka Radwanska, 6-3 7-6 (7-3)

Carla Suarez Navarro def. Flavia Pennetta, 6-3 6-2

Patty Schnyder def. Katerina Srebotnik, 6-2 6-4

Ladies' Day

It's very rare that I say this, so listen carefully and note down the day, my friends: the women's tennis was more interesting than the men's today.

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You may have noticed that I follow the ATP much more closely than the WTA. Sure, I know what's going on in the WTA and who the number #1 is at any given week... which didn't used to be difficult, as it was Justine Henin, but with her gone, it might be a bit more difficult to keep track of! On the whole, though, I find the men's game much more compelling, though I couldn't put my finger on it and tell you why.

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Not with today's play, though. How about that Sharapova match? Did anyone else have flashbacks to her match against Camille Pin in the Australian Open in 2007? I certainly did. I'm not a Sharapova fan (actually, perhaps it would be more correct to say that I'm not a fan of her dad - overbearing tennis parents rub me up the wrong way!) I was cheering for Rodina, and it was very disappointing that she didn't manage to get up in the end. But it was a good match, a good contest.

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I don't think it'll do Sharapova any lasting harm. She was in the final that year when she beat Camille Pin 9-7 in the third at the Australian - although she did get pounded by Serena. If anything, it'll be a wakeup call. I think she took Rodina a bit too lightly, played a bit too arrogantly, and nearly paid the price. And can you imagine how wide open that top half of the draw would have been if she'd lost? That one would have been interesting.

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I think Sharapova unquestionably deserves to be #1 at the moment - now that JuJu's gone. Even though I don't like her as a person, I think she stands a good chance of winning the tournament. If she was knocked out, I don't know who I'd tip. Jankovic, maybe? She has a good clay game... when she can manage to stay uninjured.

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And huge congratulations to Casey Dellacqua. What a great win over Marion Bartoli! Granted, Bartoli is injured, and Dellacqua did have that rain delay to help her out, but let's face it: Bartoli is the ninth seed and is playing on home territory - on one of the major arenas, no less. For Dellacqua to come out and start another giant-killing spree outside Australia and on a surface that doesn't suit her is a real achievement. I'm not normally particularly partisan when it comes to tennis - anyone who knows me knows my feelings on Lleyton Hewitt! - but when it comes to Casey, I think I might become all nationalistic. I'm a fan.

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And finally, that Nadal/Bellucci match eventuated! It was hardly a surprise that Nadal won in straights - he is Rafa, after all, and this is Roland Garros! - but I like what I see from Bellucci. He's only young, and he's won four Challengers on clay this year. Now Guga is out of the picture, Brazilian tennis really doesn't have anyone... and I wouldn't be surprised to see Bellucci doing things in the next few years! And speaking of Challengers, Eduardo Schwank took out Marcel Granollers in the second round. He is definitely a player worth keeping an eye on.

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And, funnily enough, the match that followed Nadal/Bellucci on Chatrier, Monfils/Clement, had exactly the same scoreline. Go figure.

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I was very excited that my name got mentioned on Radio Roland Garros last night. It makes me feel like part of the greater tennis world! Roland Garros is the only Slam I really follow on radio - occasionally I'll tune into Radio Wimbledon, but Wimbledon is televised in Australia, so the only time I use it is when TV is showing a boring match (ie. Hewitt) when a more interesting one (ie. Federer) is going on. But, although radio has its limitations, I always enjoy Radio Roland Garros... especially the bits of tennis gossip that get thrown around occasionally. Who knew Igor Andreev and Maria Kirilenko were a longstanding item? Or that Nadal and Soderling don't like each other? (Though after that match at Wimbledon that went for, what, five days? I'm not surprised. Though I didn't know the grudge had lasted.) Or Nadal and Berdych? (Berdych got beaten last night. So much for his crushing of Smeets.)

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If only they published a gossip magazine for tennis... I might be one of the only readers. Although what with the Ashley Harkleroad Playboy shoot, and Nuria Llagostera Vives in some Spanish magazine... maybe the tennis profile is going to get amped up. Though I don't know if I want it to get amped up that way.

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Roland Garros Results - Day #4

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Men's Draw

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Rafael Nadal def. Thomaz Bellucci, 7-5 6-3 6-1

Gael Monfils def. Arnaud Clement, 7-5 6-3 6-1

Radek Stepanek def. Gilles Simon, 6-2 6-4 6-1

Paul-Henri Mathieu def. Oscar Hernandez, 2-6 1-6 6-4 6-3 6-2

Marat Safin def. Jean-Rene Lisnard, 6-7 (5-7) 6-1 6-3 6-2

Lleyton Hewitt def. Nicolas Mahut, 6-4 6-2 6-4

Novak Djokovic def. Miguel Angel Lopez Jaen, 6-1 6-1 6-3

Marc Gicquel def. Viktor Troicki, 6-4 6-3 4-6 7-5

Michael Llodra def. Tomas Berdych, 6-3 4-6 5-7 6-3 6-4

Julien Benneteau def. Vince Spadea, 6-4 6-4 3-6 3-6 6-3

Fabrice Santoro def. Evgeny Korolev, 7-6 (7-3) 6-1 6-4

Andy Murray def. Jose Acasuso, 6-4 6-0 6-4

Diego Jungueira def. Adrian Mannarino, 6-1 6-2 6-2

Jarkko Nieminen def. Marc Lopez, 2-6 6-3 6-4 6-3

Martin Vassallo Arguello def. Feliciano Lopez, 7-6 (6-1) 6-4 3-6 4-6 6-3

Eduardo Schwank def. Marcel Granollers, 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 6-4 6-4

Marcos Daniel def. Juan Carlos Ferrero, 7-6 (7-5) 2-2 ret.

Wayne Odesnik def. Hyung-taik Lee, 6-2 4-6 6-3 6-2

David Ferrer def. Steve Darcis, 6-3 6-4 6-3

Bobby Reynolds def. Thierry Ascione, 7-6 (7-2) 2-6 6-3 6-3

David Marrero def. Victor Crivoi, 6-3 6-3 5-7 6-4

Luis Horna def. Scoville Jenkins, 6-4 5-7 6-3 6-0

Robby Ginepri def. Donald Young, 6-2 3-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-2

Dmitry Tursunov def. Daniel Brands, 6-2 6-4 7-5

Jurgen Melzer def. Peter Luczak, 6-3 6-2 6-4

Juan Ignacio Chela def. John Isner, 2-6 3-6 7-5 6-3 6-4

Simone Bolelli def. Juan Martin Del Potro, 3-6 7-6 (7-0) 7-5 6-2

Victor Hanescu def. Dudi Sela, 4-6 6-2 4-6 6-4 6-3

Marin Cilic def. Robin Haase, 7-6 (8-6) 6-2 7-6 (7-4)

Jiri Vanek def. Jesse Huta Galung, 6-3 7-5 6-2

Nicolas Almagro def. Sebastian Decoud, 7-6 (7-2) 6-2 6-1

Alejandro Falla def. Ivo Karlovic, 3-6 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (8-6) 5-7 6-4

Albert Montanes def. Kristof Vliegen, 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (7-3)

Igor Andreev def. Potito Starace, 6-1 6-7 (3-7) 6-1 6-4

Mardy Fish def. Agustin Calleri, 6-7 (6-8) 6-4 6-2 6-4

Ivan Ljubicic def. Eric Prodon, 7-5 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-4)

Mikhail Youzhny def. Benjamin Becker, 6-1 6-3 7-6 (7-4)

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Women's Draw

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Maria Sharapova def. Evgeniya Rodina, 6-1 3-6 8-6

Casey Dellacqua def. Marion Bartoli, 6-7 (4-7) 6-3 6-2

Ana Ivanovic def. Lucie Safarova, 6-1 6-2

Elena Dementieva def. Vera Dushevina, 6-7 (6-8) 6-0 6-2

Nadia Petrova def. Aravane Rezai, 7-6 (7-4) 6-3

Stephanie Cohen-Aloro def. Ioana Raluca Olaru, 7-6 (7-4) 6-3

Olga Govortsova def. Yuliana Fedak, 7-5 2-6 6-3

Anabel Medina Garrigues def. Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, 6-3 6-2

Marina Erakovic def. Tathiana Garbin, 6-7 (9-11) 6-3 6-3

Agnieszka Radwanska def. Jelena Pandzic, 6-2 6-0

Maria Kirilenko def. Maria Elena Camerin, 6-1 6-0

Vania King def. Violette Huck, 4-6 6-2 6-1

Shuai Peng def. Anastasia Rodionova, 6-0 2-6 6-3

Anna Chakvetadze def. Nuria Llagostera Vives, 6-3 5-7 6-1

Flavia Pennetta def. Tatiana Perebiynis, 6-3 6-2

Caroline Wozniacki def. Anastasiya Yakimova, 6-0 6-4

Vera Zvonareva def. Stephanie Foretz, 6-2 6-1

Emilie Loit def. Klara Zakapalova, 6-4 6-3

Patty Schnyder def. Timea Bacsinszky, 6-4 4-6 6-1

Jie Zheng def. Mara Santangelo, 4-6 6-3 6-0

Akgul Amanmuradova def. Yanina Wickmayer, 6-2 7-5

Sanda Mamic def. Michaella Krajicek, 6-4 6-3

Marta Domachowska def. Rossana De Los Rios, 3-6 6-3 6-1

Victoria Azarenka def. Edina Gallovits, 6-1 6-3

Aleksandra Wozniak def. Sybille Bammer, 6-0 6-2

Sorana-Mihaela Cirstea def. Anne Kremer, 6-0 3-0 ret.

Bethanie Mattek def. Madison Brengle, 6-3 2-6 6-4

Alisa Kleybanova def. Tamarine Tanasugarn, 6-3 6-0

Petra Kvitova def. Akiko Morigami, 6-4 6-3

Kaia Kanepi def. Meng Yuan, 6-2 6-2

Katarina Srebotnik def. Virginia Ruano Pascual, 6-4 6-2

Magdalena Rybarikova def. Karolina Sprem, 7-6 (7-3) 3-6 8-6

Tsvetana Pironkova def. Yung-Jan Chan, 5-7 6-2 6-0

Francesca Schiavone def. Jill Craybas, 6-3 6-2

Samantha Stosur def. Shahar Peer, 6-2 3-6 6-1

Stan the Man

So, on the whole, not so much tennis happened yesterday. While the rain was great yesterday, today it bit the big one as it delayed the start to an hour unsensible for Aussies. How dare it rain in France when I don’t want it to?

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As a result, the Nadal/Belluci match I was looking forward to never eventuated. Alas. You’d think that with three days for a first round instead of two it might all get done, but no. I’m beginning to have flashbacks of Wimbledon where, due to rain and a walkover, Federer basically didn’t have to play for a week. Great for my nerves but not so much for the tournament, I suspect!

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In lieu of the promised Nadal match, I followed Wawrinka/Kohlschreiber instead. Who knew Stan the man was good enough to break the top ten? I sure didn’t, till wham! There he was, the week after Rome. I was lucky enough to see him play when I was in Australia – I saw the first set of his first round match on Show Court 3, though I can’t for the life of me remember who he played! I knew then that Roger’s #2 was a good player, but I never would have guessed this top 10 thing. But ain’t no one can say he doesn’t deserve it!

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I suppose it shows just how close the guys in the middle of the pack are. You have Federer, Nadal and (unfortunately) Djokovic at the top, then you have your Davydenko, Ferrer, Roddick and Nalbandian, and then a clump of guys who are really, really close. Wawrinka jumped fourteen places by reaching the final in Rome – from #24 to #10, no less. That’s pretty remarkable. And those guys in the middle aren’t slouches. That’s where your Berdyches and Baghdatises and Youzhnys hang out.

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So, to sum up: Go Stan! You the man!

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Philipp Kohlschreiber, on the other hand, is always someone I’m underwhelmed by. I think I might be under the impression that he’s a better player than he actually is. He certainly has great potential and a wonderful backhand – anyone remember him knocking out Roddick in the third round of the Australian Open this year? Kohlschreiber is a good player, and I’m always surprised that he’s unseeded. The 32^nd seed at this tournament is Janko Tipsarevic and the 31^st is Andreas Seppi (both of whom lost in the first round, incidentally.) If you asked me to take a gamble in a Seppi/Kohlschreiber match or a  Tipsarevic/Kohlschreiber match, I’d take Kohlschreiber in either instance. But he is the lower ranked one.

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So, with my misguided impressions of Kohlschreiber, I was expecting a tight one yesterday. I expected Stan to come out on top, but I wouldn’t have been surprised to see it go to five. Instead, it had a very similar scoreline to the Federer/Querrey match. I was cheering for Stan, so I was glad he won, but I must say I felt a bit cheated.

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Like yesterday, there was another upset of an Argentinian seed – Soderling (who played extraordinarily well in World Team Tennis in Dusseldorf last week) took out Juan Monaco. Like Stan, Monaco is another one who has snuck up the rankings with me noticing. He was seeded #13 here. I thought the days when the Argentines were all up in the top 20 was gone with the demise of Coria and Gaudio and the fall of Nalbandian from #3 to #7ish. But no… although they aren’t exactly having the greatest Roland Garros this year.

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And, on a side note, I tuned into Radio Roland Garros for a bit before the start of play to find them interviewing Roger Rasheed… the genius (ahem) who believes that ‘tennis is about getting into the other guy’s kitchen.’ I’m unsure why he felt the need to elaborate ad nauseam about how he nearly punched out Florent Serra’s coach at Roland Garros ’06, but although I like tennis gossip, I could have lived quite happily without the Rasheed monologue there.

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Though speaking of gossip… Monfils and Cibulkova! Who knew?

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And can I just say… you know how everyone was all like, ‘oh my God, they’ve put Federer on Suzanne Lenglen instead of Philippe Chatrier! Mon dieu! Le slap in face!’ the other day? Well, it’s tournament policy that no one can play all seven matches on the same court… so you can bet Rafa will be out there for one of his matches (unless he loses against Belluci, but really, as if!) But where have they put Djokovic for tomorrow, hmmm? Court #1. Not even Lenglen. And to that I say… ahahahahaha!

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Roland Garros Results – Day #3

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Men’s Draw

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Nikolay Davydenko def. Thomasa Johansson, 6-3 6-3 6-3

Robin Soderling def. Juan Monaco, 6-2 6-3 6-1

Stanislas Wawrinka def. Philipp Kohlschreiber, 6-3 6-4 6-3

Paul Capdeville def. Mischa Zverev, 6-1 6-4 6-2

Mario Ancic def. Andreas Seppi, 6-2 7-6 (7-1) 6-2

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Women’s Draw

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Amelie Mauresmo def. Olga Savchuk, 7-5 4-6 6-1

Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Aiko Nakamura, 6-2 6-3

Dinara Safina def. Kateryna Bondarenko, 6-1 6-3

Agnieszka Radwanska def. Mariya Koryttseva, 6-4 6-3

Ai Sugiyama def. Alla Kudryavtseva, 6-1 2-6 6-3

Sabine Lisicki def. Elena Vesnina, 3-6 6-4 6-0

Olivia Sanchez def. Jarmila Gajdosova, 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (10-8)

Carla Suarez Navarro def. Pauline Parmentier, 6-4 5-7 6-2

Fairweather Fan?

I have to confess that I was selfishly glad that rain stopped play yesterday, as it was about 1am in the morning here in Australia, and although I was determined to follow the Nadal/Belluci match, the likelihood of me falling asleep would have been quite high. Now it will be on at a much more sane time for we Aussies.

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It will come to no surprise for anyone who read this blog over the Australian summer that I intend to devote a large part of this post to the Federer match, as he is my hero and all and I really, really want him to win. The matches aren't televised here, but I followed his match on Radio Roland Garros (to which I am terribly addicted) and was pretty pleased, overall. I can see how people might say it was a scratchy start - he certainly wasn't in GodMode - but really, he didn't need to be. Kudos to Querrey, who isn't really a claycourter, for staying with him for a good part of the match, but there really wasn't much doubt that the Fed was going to come out on top.

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The official Roland Garros website's roundup of the match refers to Federer as 'in-form' and it's nice that he's finally getting some recognition. His first half of the season has certainly been lacklustre by his standards, but hey! what with the mononucleosis and all, who can blame him. I've seen some of his clay matches this season - that semi in Monte Carlo against Djokovic comes to mind - and I think I can honestly say that this is the best I have ever seen him play on clay. Sure, he didn't win Hamburg by beating Nadal like he did last year, but I really don't think that's the huge psychological blow people are saying it is. Actually, I think Federer might have been hiding his real game - he played very differently in that final to the way he played all week. And even then, if he had managed to hold out in that first set, then he would have won the match in straights. Rafa is the greatest dirtballer in the world, sure - maybe even ever - but Roger's pushing him, I think. And for that, I am glad.

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Speaking of Rafa, I am torn between wanting a throwdown semi between him and Djokovic and wanting Djokovic to get knocked out embarassingly early. It is no secret that Djokovic is potentially my least-liked tennis player - I never thought I'd see the day that someone who overtake Lleyton Hewitt and Andy Murray in that standing, but it has arrived. He had a scratchy start against Gremelmayr yesterday, and, even though he won Rome and reached the semis here last year, has hardly established himself as a force to be reckoned with on clay.

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No one can doubt the prowess of Djokovic as a player - he deserved his Australian Open win - but his personality leaves a lot to be desired. It is understandable that he wants to be #1 - who wouldn't? - but the lack of respect he shows for Federer is criminal. (Did anyone else get a surge of glee when Federer told Djokovic's abrasive family to 'be quiet, okay?' in that semi at Monte Carlo.) This is one reason, actually, that I'd like to see a semi between Nadal and Djokovic. Djokovic is always going on about he's going to be #1 and be better than Federer, and he totally forgets about Nadal. There is no one in the history of tennis that has been a more dominant #2 than Rafa. It was great to see Rafa lay the beatdown on him in Hamburg. It is time that Rafa taught Djokovic some respect.

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The upset of the day yesterday was obviously Willy Canas's loss to Wayne Odesnik. I can't say much about the match as I didn't see it, but I'm not sure what happened there. Willy must've just had an off day, I guess... especially in the breakers! Odesnik is hardly one of the dangerous young guns - whereas Schwank, who took out Moya yesterday, obviously is. And speaking of upsets, I thought Venus Williams was a goner for sure in her match against Obziler. She dug herself out of it, but it was tight. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think Venus has ever won the French... and I don't think she ever will. (The Roland Garros website would have you believe that Jankovic had a scare too, but that is melodramatising a bit, I think. That 12-10 final set against Paszek in Australia? That was a scare. Not a straight sets victory.) However, the US is doing better than last year, in the men's at least... anyone else remember that 0 from 9 last year?

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And speaking of nations doing poorly, how 'bout them French? I mean, the ones that are still there are doing okay - Florent Serra and Michael Llodra, for example - but Tsonga out? And Grosjean? And now Gasquet? It ain't so good. I hope the break will be good for Richou at least, of whom I am quite fond... he has semifinal points to defend at Wimbledon, so I hope he gets his head back in the game by then. And if there is going to be a Marcos at this year's Roland Garros, it's not going to be Jo-W this time... or, indeed, Marcos, who got knocked out by Simone Bolelli today. (Although considering it was his first claycourt match of the season, I'm hardly surprised.)

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And can I just say how much I love Radio Roland Garros? Infinitely preferable to the commentators we had in the Australian tennis summer (Jim Courier excepted - he's a champion.) No one has mentioned kitchens yet, and for that I am very glad! It was interesting to hear them talk about David Nalbandian, actually... they agreed that he is the most unpleasant man to interview on the ATP circuit. I always enjoy hearing the gossipy little details like that... often it reinforces my own assumptions! The commentator in Monte Carlo commentating the Federer/Djokovic match said that there was little love lost between them, to which my response was 'ha! I knew it!' I would love to know more about this... about who is friends with whom and who sits alone in the player restaurant because no one likes them. Sometimes tennis gossip is more interesting than tennis itself!

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And finally, poor Robert Smeets. It wasn't a happy day for the Aussies yesterday - Guccione went out as well - but he got pounded by Berdych. That can't have been a happy moment.

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Roland Garros Results - Day 2

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Men's Draw

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Roger Federer def. Sam Querrey, 6-4 6-4 6-3

Florent Serra def. Santiago Giraldo, 6-4 6-3 6-2

Tommy Robredo def. Guillermo Coria, 5-7 6-4 6-1 6-4

Michael Llodra def. Olivier Patience, 3-6 7-6 (7-1) 6-3 7-5

Simone Bolleli def. Marcos Baghdatis, 6-2 6-4 6-2

Nicholas Devilder def. Chris Guccione, 6-4 6-1 6-4

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez def. Sergio Roitman, 6-2 6-4 7-6 (7-5)

Tomas Berdych def. Robert Smeets, 6-1 6-0 6-0

Oscar Hernandez def. Ivo Minar, 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 7-5

Wayne Odesnik def. Guillermo Canas, 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (10-8)

Hyung-taik Lee def. Jonas Bjorkman, 6-4 6-4 6-3

Marcel Granollers def. Michael Berrer, 6-3 3-6 6-2 6-3

Pablo Andujar def. Filippo Volandri, 6-7 (6-8) 6-2 6-3 6-3

Fernando Gonzalez def. Pablo Cuevas, 6-3 6-3 6-1

Fernando Verdasco def. Santiago Ventura, 4-6 6-3 6-4 6-7 (6-8) 6-1

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Women's Draw

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Venus Williams def. Tzipora Obziler, 6-3 4-6 6-2

Jelena Jankovic def. Monica Niculescu, 7-6 (7-3) 6-2

Jelena Pandzic def. Severine Bremond, 4-6 6-3 6-2

Patty Schnyder def. Ekaterina Bychkova, 6-3 6-4

Emilie Loit def. Yan Zi, 1-6 6-4 8-6

Gisela Dulko def. Sara Errani, 6-4 4-6 7-5

Agnes Szavay def. Ayumi Morita, 6-1 4-6 6-4

Karin Knapp def. Martina Muller, 6-0 6-4

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova def. Maria-Emilia Salerni, 6-1 6-1

Timea Bacsinszky def. Tamira Paszek, 1-6 6-3 6-3

Petra Cetkovska def. Alona Bondarenko, 6-3 6-0