Mixed Feelings

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Today's Results

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Games of the XXIX Olympiad (Beijing)

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Men's Draw - Singles

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

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Women's Draw - Singles

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

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

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Women's Draw - Doubles

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

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

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Legg Mason Tennis Classic (Washington)

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

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

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

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Pilot Pen Tennis (New Haven)

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Men's Draw

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

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

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

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

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Women's Draw

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

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

Russian Roulette

I don't think there is a woman in the world who doesn't have a bit of a soft spot for Marat Safin.

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Understandably.

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I love watching Marat play, but going for him is certainly a gamble. When Marat is on, then he's on. Marat, at his best, can give Roger Federer a run for his money. They've certainly had some classic matches in the past - the Australian Open final in 2004 and the semi-final in 2005 both come to mind. But Marat when he's off... can be almost painful. Maybe because it's so painful for him. Yesterday's match against Andy Roddick at Kooyong was an example of that. Marat did not play well. And you could tell he knew it.

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I don't think I would like to meet Marat after a match like that. He was in a foul mood on the court, and I can't imagine he'd be very pleasant to be around afterwards.

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That's the difference, I think, between Marat and his Russian compatriot Dmitry Tursunov. Dmitry, like Marat, is a hot/cold player. Cheering for Dmitry is a roll of the dice, and you're never quite sure what you're going to get. But Dmitry doesn't seem to get quite so annoyed at himself about it.

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I would love to see Safin and Tursunov play doubles. They have in the past - Davis Cup for Russia comes to mind. They also played at Estoril in 2006, when Dmitry wrote his now-famous blog, much of which was devoted to paying out Marat, especially because they had to pull out in the semi-final because Marat rolled his ankle walking down the hill to get a haircut. I can imagine that their singles careers get in the way of playing doubles, but if they started training together permanently, I think they could take out the Bryans.

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(I'd certainly like to think they could take out the Bryans!)

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Unlike Marat, Dmitry is ON at the moment. He's into the semis at Sydney, where he'll play Fabrice Santoro, and I'm pretty sure he can win. I certainly hope he wins, because I've got tickets to the men's final tomorrow night, and I wouldn't miss that one for anything! The four semi-finalists are actually pretty weird - not who you would have picked. Chris Guccione plays Radek Stepanek and Tursunov plays Santoro. None of them are seeded. When you consider that the four top seeds were Gasquet, Robredo, Blake and Berdych - none of whom are slouches, and all of whom were taken out by these four players - that's a pretty good effort.

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I'm gunning for a Tursunov/Guccione final, with a Tursunov victory. Not very patriotic, I know, but if you ask me, tennis isn't about nationality. Tennis is about personality - and Dmitry Tursunov sounds like someone I wouldn't mind having a few drinks with!

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Today's Results

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Medibank International (Sydney)

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Men's Draw

Chris Guccione def. Tomas Berdych, 4-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-4

Radek Stepanek def. Agustin Calleri, 6-2 6-4

Dmitry Tursunov def. Sebastien Grosjean, 6-4 6-2

Fabrice Santoro def. Evgeny Korolev, 6-3 6-3

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Women's Draw

Justine Henin def. Ana Ivanovic, 6-2 2-6 6-4

Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Nicole Vaidisova, 7-5 7-6 (7-4)

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AAMI Classic (Kooyong)

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Andy Murray def. Ivan Ljubicic, 6-7 (7-9) 6-4 6-2

Andy Roddick def. Marat Safin, 6-3 6-3

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Heineken Open (Auckland)

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Julien Benneteau def. David Ferrer, 6-4 6-0

Juan Monaco def. Michael Llodra, 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-5)

Juan Carlos Ferrero def. Nicolas Massu, 4-6 6-3 6-4

Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Florian Mayer, 6-3 6-4

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Moorilla Hobart International (Hobart)

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Vera Zvonareva def. Ashley Harkleroad, 6-2 6-1

Eleni Daniilidou def. Flavia Pennetta, 6-4 6-3