Who Needs Steffi?

Today marks the third day in a row that I've talked about women's tennis here. IS THIS THE REAL LIFE? IS THIS JUST FANTASY?

I wouldn't expect it to become a regular thing (unless the WTA suddenly becomes extraordinarily interesting), but the WTA really is a little more happening than dudeworld this week. Except for Juan Carlos Ferrero, who is rocking the kasbah. Welcome back, mosquito.

But yes. Ladies.

By my calculations, we have four German ladies in the quarters of Stuttgart. Sure, it may be a home tournament and the home ground advantage may be in play, but that is one hell of a result. And also one hell of a Fed Cup team. Where have Germany been? Seriously, it's all 'Steffi Graf, we miss her, if she came back she'd be in the top five BOOM like that', but Germany are doing pretty well all on their lonesome.

We've got Petkovic. Goerges. Lisicki. Barrois. And she's not in this tournament as far as I can tell, but there's also Groenefeld. That is not a line up to be sneezing at. And the fact that these four are in the quarters of Stuttgart is not sneezeworthy either, because although it's not exactly the fifth Slam, this is not a Mickey Mouse field. The other four people in the quarters are Zvonareva, Stosur, Radwanska... oh yeah, the world #1 Wozniacki. Germany is holding its own. (It's also worth noting that between them, these four German ladies beat Jankovic, Bartoli, Azarenka and Li. If this is not quality, then I do not know what is.)

It doesn't really matter whether or not one of these German ladies wins Stuttgart - although if my beloved Sabine Lisicki were to do it, I would be super happy. Whatever happens from here - whether all four of them make the semis or none of them do - this is a fantastic result. Germany has suddenly, seemingly from nowhere, become the dark horse powerhouse of women's tennis. Russia aside, it's hard to pick out who has a stronger ensemble act - and a better choice of ladies to pick from for Hopman Cup.

They may not be in the finals this year, but look out for this German squad in years to come. If they can all stay uninjured and keep playing this way... well, who needs Steffi?

Fightings and Blessings

I haven't talked about the WTA on this blog since about, oh, 1875. Primarily because nothing that interesting was going on, and if there was, then, oops, I missed it.

But something interesting DID happen today, so let's WTA it away. That interesting thing? Sabine Lisicki, my favourite of all the ladies on the WTA tour. She's been out with injury, she wasn't given a wildcard into the Australian Open (even though, like Nicolas Mahut, she desperately deserved one), and she's been clawing her way back up the ladder for some months now. And today, she had a great, great victory over Dominika Cibulkova in Stuttgart.

There's obviously still a long way to go for Sabine. Beating Cibulkova is obviously not beating the world. It's not going to send you rocketing to #1. But quite apart from the fact that Cibulkova is a quality opponent - which she is - it's the way that Lisicki won this match that was so impressive. She was presented with about 678 opportunities to choke. It would have been so easy for her to lose the second set and then roll over in the third.

But she didn't.

Lisicki can be erratic and wild - she's one of those hyper-talented players who is almost too talented for their own good - but the scrappiness and fight she showed today will go a long, long way in her fight back to the top. I don't want to go and call her the Lady with the Iron Mind or anything like that right now, but if she can keep up this level of fightingness, the only way is up. I follow her on both Twitter and Facebook and what's really come through for me is her desire to win. She's emotionally involved in her tennis, and while I think this hinders some people, in her case, it's a blessing.

There is room for Sabine Lisicki in the top ten. There is a place for her there if only she can scrape together the points. And if she continues with this attitude, she is going right there. Maybe not tomorrow, but it's calling. And she'll make it.

A Little La Monf

You know who is looking a little bit good at the moment, formwise? Gael Monfils. And there's something you don't hear said a lot.

I don't think anyone would argue with the fact that Monfils is one of the most talented guys on tour. He's also probably one of the best athletes in the world (I read somewhere that France puts all its athletes through some kind of crazy tests, and Monfils broke records in all of them.) When he's on, he's on. But he's the sketchiest damn player you ever met. He is worse than David Nalbandian (at least you know he's going to turn up for Davis Cup) and maybe on a par with Marat Safin. You never which Gael will show.

He hasn't really done anything much particularly remarkable this year. Not that I've noticed anyway... until this week. First, he plays like a gun in Davis Cup to help secure a huge win for France over Spain. And now he's tearing it up in Stuttgart.

Well, I say 'tearing it up'. He lost a set to Pablo Andujar. Maybe this is a little optimistic. But there is cause for optimism whenever Monfils strings a few matches together. It will be interesting to see whether he can close out this tournament. If he does, then... maybe we will be in for a rocket of a summer.

Or maybe not. It is Monfils, after all.

All Guns... Whimpering?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Welcome to 2007

Welcome to 2007. We have JuJu winning comfortably in Stuttgart, we have Rafa bulldozing everything that even resembles an obstacle in his way and they're both obviously going to win Roland - wait, what? It's not 2007? We're not travelling back in time? Could have fooled me.

The wheel has turned and it has come back to the same place again. We had many, many years where the winners of Roland Garros were this pair, and if I'm not very much mistaken, it would not be a smart person who would bet against it happening again. The Rafa Freight Train is rolling on down the tracks. JuJu is little-sparrow-ing everyone off the court. This is... well, 2007.

Are these two going to win the big one? I have to say yes. The broken finger on JuJu might give some cause for doubt, but when you consider that it was Sam Stosur she beat - and not I-crumble-before-you Sam but Slammin' Sam - then I think she's going to be just fine. And with that injury cloud over Serena, well... if JuJu is not the favourite for this tournament, I will eat my sofa.

(Though, sidebar - Sam Stosur is totally a dark horse. She made the semis last year and I would not be at all surprised to see her go one better. She's at a career high ranking of #8 at the moment and she deserves it. Girl's on fire. Which makes JuJu's result even better).

And Rafa...? Well, what can you say about Rafa? He was a steamroller. Again. He's inexorable, unstoppable at the moment. I really hope he can get back up to #2 before Roland Garros, because I do not like the possibility of him meeting Federer in the semis ONE LITTLE BIT.

Skipping Barcelona was smart. I will be interested to see how he goes in Madrid, because he will have enough gas left in the tank this time. All I can say is this - it will be a very strong man who stops Rafa winning his fifth, and right now, I don't even think it's possible.

Consistent Chardy

We talked about weekend winner Robin Soderling yesterday - today I'd like to devote a little space to the winner of Stuttgart. He's a member of the Stars club, a French rising player - Jeremy Chardy.

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The first time I remember hearing about Chardy was Roland Garros last year, when he made that fabulous run to the fourth round, beating Tursunov and Nalbandian and a variety of bigname players. It's not unusual to see random players make deep runs - we've seen it a lot in our sport - but Chardy has maintained his run, and this, I think, is testament to his consistency.

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Consistency is really an underrated quality. We often laugh off players like Davydenko, who consistently makes it deep but rarely wins. That's how Jeremy has been playing for the last year or so - going well, but not winning. But the important thing about consistency is that it pays off, and now it has.

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This is Jeremy's first tour title, but I'm sure it won't be his last. I'm sorry this isn't a more in-depth analysis of the Chardy career, but he's so young that I don't know if analysis is fruitful. Instead, I think we need to applaud him for what he's done very well - he's been consistent - and applaud him for the fruits of that labour. Well done, Jeremy - may this be the first title of many for you!

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Today's Results

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Indianapolis Tennis Championships (Indianapolis)

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Marc Gicquel def. Ernests Gulbis, 6-2 6-3

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International Hamburg Open (Hamburg)

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Teimuraz Gabashvili def. Andreas Seppi, 6-3 6-1

Daniel Brands def. Victor Crivoi, 4-6 6-4 6-1

Pablo Cuevas def. Bjorn Phau, 7-6 (7-0) 6-4

Ivan Navarro def. Steve Darcis, 6-4 6-4

Philipp Petzschner def. Florent Serra, 7-6 (7-3) 6-2

Pere Riba def. Evgeny Korolev, 7-6 (7-3) 6-2

Potito Starace def. Maximo Gonzalez, 5-7 6-4 6-3

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez def. Christophe Rochus, 6-4 6-2

Jan Hernych def. Kevin Krawietz, 6-0 4-6 6-3

Simon Greul def. Janko Tipsarevic, 2-6 6-3 6-3

Marcel Granollers def. Martin Vassallo Arguello, 6-4 6-4

Andreas Beck def. Oscar Hernandez, 6-7 (3-7) 6-4 6-4

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Banka Koper Slovenia Open (Portoroz)

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Dinara Safina def. Tadeja Majeric, 6-0 6-4

Olga Govortsova def. Kaia Kanepi, 6-1 6-2

Lucie Safarova def. Katie O'Brien, 6-4 6-4

Rossana de los Rios def. Viktoriya Kutuzova, 5-7 6-4 7-6 (8-6)

Klara Zakopalova def. Masa Zec Peskiric, 6-2 6-4

Petra Martic def. Kristina Barrois, 6-3 6-4

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Nurnberger Gastein Ladies (Bad Gastein)

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Tatjana Malek def. Carla Suarez Navarro, 2-6 6-2 6-4

Ioana Raluca Olaru def. Marta Domachowska, 5-7 6-4 6-3

Andrea Petkovic def. Sandra Kloesel, 6-4 6-3

Hopeless

Roger, Roger, Roger. You had the chance to go up a set and a double break and then... sleepy time. I don't know quite what happened - I only saw a few games of the match, mostly ones where Federer was losing - but it was not so good.

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There was some good. His shots on clay are exquisite. He's got some serious game - and this surface suits him. People are always going on about how he can't play on clay, but he can: when he was making his shots, they were beautiful. But the unforced errors and the shanking... not so good.

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It's better than at Monte Carlo, and I suppose it's all a matter of work and practice and how you feel on the day. But I just want Federer to do well so badly. I'm a hopeless Fedophile. And he can do anything. He's the best player ever. I just want him... to, well, do it.

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All credit to Djokovic, though - he fought back from what looked like an impossible situation to win that match. But it's just so sad...

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...and he's facing the deadly, lethal Rafael Nadal. No words for this man. He is totally lethal.

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And on the subject of #1 ranked players, Dinara Safina is looking good to take the title in Stuttgart. She'll face Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final, and I would put a large sum of money on her winning. The top suits her, and it suits her well.

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Today's Results

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BNL Internazionali d'Italia (Rome)

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Rafael Nadal def. Fernando Gonzalez, 6-3 6-3

Novak Djokovic def. Roger Federer, 4-6 6-3 6-3

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Porsche Tennis Grand Prix (Stuttgart)

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Dinara Safina def. Flavia Pennetta, 3-6 7-5 6-0

Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Elena Dementieva, 6-4 6-2

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Grand Prix de SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem (Fes)

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Anabel Medina Garrigues def. Ekaterina Makarova, 6-0 6-1

Dinara! The Musical

No real surprises in Rome today - the surprise party is over. We have the three usual suspects through - Nadal, Federer and Djokovic all came through in straights again - and filling the spot left vacant by Murray is Fernando Gonzalez, who is pretty good at dirtballin', so not really surprising either. They're going to be good semis, I think - you'd bet on Rafa to come through for sure, but the other one is up in the air... but yeah. I hope it's Roger. I know it can be Roger. I think it'd be great to have a Roger/Rafa final before Roland Garros.

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That's pretty much all that can be said for Rome today... over to the girls. I said it yesterday and I'll say it again. Being #1 in the world really suits Dinara Safina. She pulverised Agnieszka Radwanska in Stuttgart today, and the war machine just looks like it'll keep on rolling. Please, please let this moment where she snaps out of her funk. That final in Australia really hurt her, I think - she played pretty well to get to that point. But we're around the same time last year that Dinara really burst onto the stage - it was so dramatic that you could probably write a musical about it: 'Dinara! The Musical!' (with supporting role of Marat Safin)... actually, that would be a fun idea. Am tempting myself now.

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Going back to Dinara's opponent, where has Agnieszka Radwanska been this year? Last year she was being touted as a future top-fiver and she made a couple of Slam quarter finals and generally showed promise - she was last year's Azarenka. But this year? She's another member of the Club of Lost Souls, with James Blake, Tomas Berdych, Lucie Safarova and Alize Cornet. I can't remember a single thing she's done this year. I mean, I suppose quarters in Stuttgart aren't bad, but she is capable of doing so much better.

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Speaking of people capable of more than the quarter finals in Stuttgart - Jelena Jankovic belongs to that club. I'm prepared to forgive this one, because she has showed some positive signs lately and Flavia Pennetta, to whom she lost, is wily and wise, especially on clay, but if this trend continues... she really should be looking at claiming her first Slam soon. And though there's been some improvement of late, I don't know if we're quite there yet.

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Today's Results

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Internazionali BNL d'Italia (Rome)

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Rafael Nadal def. Fernando Verdasco, 6-3 6-3

Roger Federer def. Mischa Zverev, 7-6 (7-3) 6-2

Novak Djokovic def. Juan Martin Del Potro, 6-3 6-4

Fernando Gonzalez def. Juan Monaco, 2-6 6-3 6-4

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Porsche Tennis Grand Prix (Stuttgart)

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Dinara Safina def. Agnieszka Radwanska, 6-4 6-2

Elena Dementieva def. Marion Bartoli, 6-2 4-6 6-3

Flavia Pennetta def. Jelena Jankovic, 2-6 6-4 6-4

Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Gisela Dulko, 6-3 6-2

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Grand Prix de SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem (Fes)

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Anabel Medina Garrigues def. Melinda Czink, 6-0 retired

Ekaterina Makarova def. Alisa Kleybanova, 6-2 6-1

Why People Should Play Hopman Cup

Well, looks like I'm eating my words. I didn't think Berdych had a prayer against del Potro, but I'm actully pleasantly surprised to see myself proven wrong. Berdych just has so much talent and ability, but he's such a head case, and it's been so sad to see him not doing that well. He has been in the top ten, but now he's #27. I think it would be fabulous to see him make a resurgence. He's played at Hopman Cup a time or too as well, which really endears him to me. Hopman Cup might be my favourite tournament, I think, and it gets no kudos. So kudos to Berdych for winning and for giving kudos to my favourite tournament.

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It's a bit strange, actually, thinking about it - remember when his girlfriend Lucie Safarova was all seeded at Grand Slams at stuff? Now I don't think she's even in the top fifty, and though I can recall her winning a title this year (Forest Hills) it was a Tier IV tournament. Their slides down the rankings have kind of coincided with each other. They didn't break up, did they? That might provide a modicum of an explanation. Or maybe it's just complete coincidence, and I am going all New Idea on them for nothing.

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And Dmitry Tursunov is back winning titles as well! I may have been wrong about Berdych, but I was totally right about Dima being able to beat Paulo. It was three sets, and kind of tight, but the big guy got there in the end. Like Berdych, Dima's Hopman Cup playage has endeared him to me greatly - especially that mixed doubles proset Russia and Spain played in the '07 final. I will remember that forever - I don't know if I've ever laughed so hard. Dmitry Tursunov, Nadia Petrova, Tommy Robredo and Anabel Medina Garrigues have had a special place in my heart ever since.

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Speaking of Nadia Petrova, she unfortunately did not win her final today, going down to Jelena Jankovic (another Hopman Cup aficianado) but how great is it to see her back in finals? I don't think anyone would have put money on her to reach the final of Stuttgart - so top work there, Nadia! She won a title the same week as the Olympics, I remember... maybe she's on the way back up? I certainly hope so. Next to Dinara Safina, she is my favourite Russian!

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I think the real lesson we can learn from Tomas Berdych, Dmitry Tursunov, Jelena Jankovic and Nadia Petrova is that people who play Hopman Cup win stuff. So more people should play Hopman Cup, as it is the best tournament ever. (I know there is no chance of it, but I would love to see Federer and Schnyder play for Switzerland. I think they would be a fabulous mixed doubles team.)

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And congratulations also to Caroline Wozniacki and Sorana Cirstea, who won titles this week, even if I have nothing intelligent to say about them.

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Today's Results

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Open de Moselle (Metz)

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Dmitry Tursunov def. Paul-Henri Mathieu, 7-6 (8-6) 1-6 6-4

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AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships (Tokyo)

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Men's Draw

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Tomas Berdych def. Juan Martin Del Potro, 6-1 6-4

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Women's Draw

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Caroline Wozniacki def. Kaia Kanepi, 6-2 3-6 6-1

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Porsche Tennis Grand Prix (Stuttgart)

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Jelena Jankovic def. Nadia Petrova, 6-4 6-3

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Tashkent Open (Tashkent)

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Sorana Cirstea def. Sabine Lisicki, 2-6 6-4 7-6 (7-4)

Head Case Moments

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Today's Results

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Open de Moselle (Metz)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships

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Men's Draw

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Women's Draw

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

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

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

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

Samantha Stosur def. Vania King, 6-2 retired

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Porsche Tennis Grand Prix (Stuttgart)

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

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

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

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

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

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Tashkent Open (Tashkent)

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

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

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

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

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

A Week For The Newbies

This is what I said about Richard Gasquet and his chances in the Stuttgart final yesterday:

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'So I'm being cautious in my Gasquet-supporting right now. His finals opponent, Juan Martin del Potro, should be no match for him. But let's just wait and see, shall we?'

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And who won the final? In straight sets?

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That would be Juan Martin del Potro, ladies and gentlemen. The Argentine teenager has won his first ever ATP title, at the expense of Monsieur Gasquet. Now, I don't want to disparage Juan Martin, because I think he's a fabulously talented player - who knows? maybe I'll profile him as a star of the future one of these days. But really, let's look at Gasquet. If we're just going on raw talent, Gasquet has got to be up there with the best on the circuit. He's not Federer or Safin, but he's heading in that direction.

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So where has he gone this year? What has happened to Richou?

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This tournament is on clay, which earns him a tiny reprieve. He is not a claycourter, and Juan Martin is. But Richou is also #15 in the world - which even then belies his true talent, because he's been lurking around #8 or #9 - while Juan Martin is currently #65 with a career high of #44. That is a big difference. I know they always say that any guy in the top 100 can beat any other guy or any given day, ra ra ra, but really, there is a reason that the guys in the top ten are there. It's because they win. And Richard Gasquet no longer deserves to be in the top ten.

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I used to really like Richard Gasquet. His game, when he plays it, is beautiful. He's not called Baby Fed for nothing. But if he is going to continue being as mentally fragile as he is, then he is not going to have much of a career. Get thee to a sports psychologist, Richou, and sort yourself out. Hey, I know! You can do it in the time when you're busy not representing your country in the Olympics!

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That really annoys me. There are so many people who would do anything to represent their nations in the Olympics. It's one of the few times I find myself truly patriotic - in the sports other than tennis, of course, where I will always support my favourites (aka Federer, only Federer and no one but Federer.) How could you possibly give that chance up? A chance to wear Olympic gold? I know Slams are important and all, but this is the fricking Olympics! The most important sporting event in the world - so important it only happens every four years!

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If Gasquet (and Roddick) were refusing to play on human rights grounds, then I would be 100% behind them, all the way. But they're not. They're saving themselves. And I don't like it. I don't like it at all.

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Anyway, enough of the negativity. One Frenchman I am happy to support (and always have been) is the French wizard, little Fabrice Santoro, who won the Newport title. Allez Fabrice! Seriously, this guy is awesome. He's one of the cleverest tennis players on tour, I think, and he plays such a pretty little game. He's thirty five years old, and he's showing no signs of stopping. I think he's just fantastic. And he was born in Tahiti. That is also very cool. I think he's just fabulous, and it warms the cockles of the heart to see him doing well.

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Congratulations also to Victor Hanescu, who won the tournament in Gstaad. I've never really paid much attention to Hanescu. I have no great insights about him. He's one of those guys that sits there in the top hundred and is a bit of a fixture, but I confess I wouldn't know him if I fell over him in the street. Congratulations anyway, though. Maybe I'll start taking a bit more notice of you now, Victor.

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It was Robredo who came out on top in the Battle of the Underwhelmers in Bastad. Considering this is clay, it was pretty much expected that Robredo would win that one - though if I had to pick, I might say that Berdych is actually the better player of the two. I think he has more talent, anyway. But that's all well and good for me to say - talent means nothing if you don't perform. I like Tomas. I like his game. And, unlike Hanescu, I always pay attention to Berdych, mainly because he often plays Hopman Cup, which is one of my favourite tournaments to watch. I just wish he would, you know, play better. Because he can. He's totally capable of it. I think he's best on hard courts, so watch out, Tomas. I have expectations of you in the hardcourt season, and I would like you to live up to them, please.

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And finally, congratulations to another first time title winner - my favourite French girl, Alize Cornet. Allez Alize! And nice work to Sara Errani as well, who won her first title in Palermo. It's clearly a week for the newbies!

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Today's Results

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Mercedes Cup (Stuttgart)

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Juan Martin del Potro def. Richard Gasquet, 6-4 7-5

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Allianz Suisse Open (Gstaad)

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Igor Andreev def. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, 7-6 (7-2) 5-7 7-6 (7-5)

Victor Hanescu def. Igor Andreev, 6-3 6-4

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Catella Swedish Open (Bastad)

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Tommy Robredo def. Tomas Berdych, 6-4 6-1

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Campbell's Hall of Fame Tennis Championships (Newport)

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Fabrice Santoro def. Prakash Amritraj, 6-3 7-5

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Gaz de France Grand Prix (Budapest)

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Alize Cornet def. Andreja Klepac, 7-6 (7-5) 6-3

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Internazionali Femminili di Tennis di Palermo (Palermo)

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Sara Errani def . Mariya Koryttseva, 6-2 6-3

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And in today's Stars of the Past, Stars of the Future feature: Nicolas Kiefer.

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Like Marat Safin and Roger Federer, Nicolas Kiefer was a member of the New Balls generation - the young guns of 1999, 2000, 2001, the ones who were going to be great sometime in the future. Like these two, Kiefer was blessed with a ridiculous amount of talent. But unlike these two, Kiefer never seemed really to be able to make much of it.

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Kiefer has never been an especially popular player. The general attitude to him can probably be summed up by looking at the Australian Open in 2006, where Kiefer was part of two memorable moments. One was in the semi finals, where he was on the receiving end of what has been called the best second serve ever - a kicker from Roger Federer that went spinning into Row H, leaving Kiefer with nowhere to go. The other moment was from an earlier match, where Kiefer faced Sebastien Grosjean. A wonderful point left Kiefer at the net, stretching for a volley so far that he ended up throwing his racquet at the ball. Grosjean, distracted, ended up playing the next ball into the net. Kiefer did not cede the point, and was publicly condemned for poor sportsmanship. This did not gain him any fans.

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Like Safin, Kiefer too has been plagued by injury - in particular, his wrist, which has proved so troublesome and lingering that at one point he dropped right out of the ATP rankings (that is, he was no longer within the top thousand players in the world.) But he has fought his way back - and that courage has certainly gained him some fans, especially in his native country, Germany. He is now well within the top fifty and is part of a three way battle with Tommy Haas and Philipp Kohlschreiber to be the #1 German player. He has performed well in his last few tournaments, including a run to the semis at Halle, where he was stopped by Roger Federer.

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But he withdrew from the tournament in Gstaad this week, handing a quarter final berth to Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. His complaint this time is a foot injury, which one would hope is not as chronic as the wrist that spoiled his last few seasons. He says he is still enjoying his tennis and that he tries to win with all his might, but at 31, one begins to wonder whether it is not a little late for Nicolas Kiefer. His star, it seems, is largely in the past - but he is determined not to burn out just yet.

Underwhelmers

The tournament in Bastad this week seemed to be the only one playing out the way it should - that is, the seeded players were beating the unseeded, no major upsets, all four top seeds through to the semis. So, following on from this, you'd expect the #1 and #2 seeds (Ferrer and Verdasco) to make it through. But the opposite happened.

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Is this complacency? A sort of 'oh, look it's all been going to plan, we'll make it to the final' sort of mentality? Or is it just that men's tennis is really deep?

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I'm going with the deep. I can't see many top players being complacent. So that was a bit of a pointless debate.

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Nonetheless, it was the #3 and #4 seeds that made it through to the Bastad final - Robredo took out Ferrer and Berdych took out Verdasco. Both these players have been solidly underwhelming this year - unlike Ferrer and Verdasco, who have both had wonderful seasons. Remember when Berdych used to be all good, one of the big rising stars? In 2005, when Federer won four Masters Series events and Nadal won four, it was Berdych who won the remaining one. He was the player that ended Federer's dreams at the 2004 Olympics. And yet what has he done? Pretty much nothing - this year at least. I mean, all you have to do is look at the ATP website. Berdych made the semis at Miami, where he lost to Nadal, and the quarters in Sydney, where he lost to Guccione. I'm sorry, but when one of your year-to-day highlights is a loss to Chris Guccione then there's a problem.

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Robredo has done a little better - his season began incredibly poorly, but since then he's reached a final (Warsaw), a semi (Valencia) and two quarters (Barcelona and Rome.) No titles though - and this is a man that, like Berdych, has held up a Masters Series trophy (Hamburg 2006.)

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Am I expecting too much of these two? Maybe a little. Maybe actually winning a title is a little bit too much to ask. But surely - for Berdych especially - they should be pulling in more consistent results? The wait is over for one of them, as one will walk home with the Bastad trophy. But where have you been this season, guys? The Tomas and the Tommy that we've seen in previous season don't play like this. Both guys have been top ten - and there's a reason they're not any more.

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Look at me, being hard on them when they've just managed to stop the rot and turn it around. But one of the hard truths of tennis, I suppose, is that the more you win the more people are going to notice you - and blog about you.

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Another underwhelmer this season who is now through to a final is Richard Gasquet. I used to be very fond of Richou, but I must say I haven't been particularly impressed with his behaviour of late - not only was there that Davis Cup stunt, but he declined to play the Olympics, which I think is pretty poor form. (Are you listening, Andy Roddick?) Add to that his ridiculous mental fragility and you have a problem. I very much enjoyed his match against Murray at Wimbledon, but let's face it - that was a match Richou never should have lost. And he did. After being two sets and a break up, and serving for it. So I'm being cautious in my Gasquet-supporting right now. His finals opponent, Juan Martin del Potro, should be no match for him. But let's just wait and see, shall we?

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Meanwhile, I am actively excited about the final in Newport. I would be happy whoever won it. On one hand, we have Santoro, who won here last year, bidding to become the oldest winner in the tournament's history, surpassing his own record. I love Fabrice Santoro and his tricksy game and I would love to see him win it. He seems like such a nice man. But on the other hand, we have Prakash Amritraj. Who? I hear you ask. Well, he's an Indian wildcard in his first ever ATP final - go him! - and he's also the son of Vijay Amritraj. He's a second generation player - and I always think that's a bit cool. So yay for both of them.

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Not so in Gstaad, where my man Stan Wawrinka went out to Victor Hanescu. It seemed like such a good chance for Stan to add to his trophy cabinet, so that's a bit sad - but judging by his scores this week, Stan hasn't exactly been playing the best tennis of his career. (Cue rant about the stupidity of this mini claycourt season.) I'm now backing Andreev for the title, provided he wins the last set of his semi against Garcia-Lopez, which got rained out. I like Andreev's game. It always amazes me that he isn't higher in the rankings. He's a Kohlschreiber for me - I think I might think he's better than he actually is.

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Today's Results

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Mercedes Cup (Stuttgart)

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Richard Gasquet def. Agustin Calleri, 6-7 (3-7) 6-2 6-3

Juan Martin del Potro def. Eduardo Schwank, 6-2 6-4

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Allianz Suisse Open (Gstaad)

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Victor Hanescu def. Stanislas Wawrinka, 6-3 3-6 6-4

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Catella Swedish Open (Bastad)

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Tommy Robredo def. David Ferrer, 2-6 6-1 6-2

Tomas Berdych def. Fernando Verdasco, 2-6 6-3 6-2

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Campbell's Hall of Fame Tennis Championships (Newport)

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Fabrice Santoro, def. Vince Spadea, 7-6 (7-4) 6-1

Prakash Amritraj def. Frank Dancevic, 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 6-3

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Gaz de France Grand Prix (Budapest)

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Alizé Cornet def. Greta Arn, 6-1 6-1

Andreja Klepac def. Karolina Sprem, 6-2 4-6 6-4

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Internazionali Femminili di Tennis di Palermo (Palermo)

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Sara Errani def. Flavia Pennetta, 7-5 6-3

Mariya Koryttseva def. Anabel Medina Garrigues, 6-2 6-2

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And today's player in today's Stars of the Past, Stars of the Future feature is Frenchman Jeremy Chardy.

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If Safin was a non entity when he won the US Open, then Jeremy Chardy was less than nothing coming into this year's French Open. He was ranked inside the top two hundred - most of the time - but even within his home country of France, not many people had heard of him. He was to France what Joe Sirianni is to Australia - unheard of, till he did something big.

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But Sirianni was 32 when he made it to the semis of the Next Generation Adelaide International this year and drew Australia's attention to himself. Chardy was only nineteen when he not only made it to the second round of Roland Garros, but then went on to win. No one had expected him to. No one had given him the tiniest chance of winning his second round match. His opponent? David Nalbandian, one of only four men currently active on the circuit to reach the semi finals of all four Slams. (The other members of this exclusive club are Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and newly added Marat Safin.) And Jeremy Chardy, the almost totally unknown Frenchman, took him out.

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But this could happen to anyone. A bad day here or there, and anyone can take out anyone. Kevin Anderson could take out Djokovic. Mardy Fish could take out Federer. Both of these have happened this year. The biggest test for the Chardies of this world is whether or not they can back it up - and Jeremy did. Although his next opponent, Dmitry Tursunov, isn't quite in the same class as Nalbandian, he is still well within the top fifty and thus light years away from Chardy. And Jeremy was triumphant once more, through to a fourth round where finally, inevitably, he fell.

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The fourth round might not seem like much to Federer or Nadal or Djokovic - or even Nalbandian. But for someone who had never got into the main draw of an ATP tournament on his own recognisance, the round of sixteen was everything in the world. Jeremy Chardy is rising and rising - and now he has belief. After his win against Dominik Meffert at this week's Allianz Suisse Open in Gstaad, Chardy said that he was not surprised to have done well. This, it seems, is an attitude that will take him far.