Things We Don't Need, Things We Do Need

NICOLAS MAHUT IS THROUGH TO THE MAIN DRAW OF THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN! TAKE YOUR WILDCARD AND F^&*ING SHOVE IT!

...yes, I am a little bit excited about it. He overcame Danish dude Frederik Nielsen in three sets. I don't mind what happens now - I'm just glad that he got to the main draw and I'll have a chance to cheer him on! (Though if you want to win a round or two that's fine with me, Nico.)

Someone I will not be cheering on, however, is Viktor Troicki. I went to the final of the Medibank International, which was won by Gilles Simon, and Troicki's behaviour was absolutely atrocious. Any respect I ever had for him... gone now.

I have no problems with fiery temperaments. I don't even have any problems with racquet smashing. I'm a SAFIN fan, for heavens' sakes - I freaking love that stuff, if it's done with Safinesque panache. But what I don't like is blatant abuse of the linespeople and other court staff, as well as constant remonstration and blaming other people for your f^&* ups.

The crowd did not warm to Troicki - there was a large Serbian contingent cheering for him, and that was about it. I think everyone else was going for Simon - not because he was especially good on his own, but because he wasn't actively abusing anyone. When Troicki got called for a foot fault late in the second set, I seriously thought he was going to pull a Serena on the lineswoman. It was... it was nasty, and that's not something we need in our sport.

What we do need is awesome people like those who are playing Rally For Relief - suppport this awesome cause if you can! You can make contributions here.

Things Get Weird For Kim

Rally For Relief at the Australian Open sold out in a matter of hours. That is about 15,000 tickets, gone like that. And one of them is mine!

I am seriously so proud of the tennis community for this. Hit For Haiti last year was absolutely extraordinary and Rally For Relief sounds like it will be exactly the same. And the support that it's receiving... well, it's a testament to the generosity of both tennis players and fans. The community has pulled together incredibly. Well done, everyone!

It feels like I've talked more about wildcards and rallies than actual tennis in the last couple of days, so probably I should do something about that. Though one brief wildcard note before I do start talking about tennis actually happening in this actual week - Sabine Lisicki is playing qualifying. WHAT. IS. UP. WITH THAT.

It's people like Sabine Lisicki and Nicolas Mahut that illustrate SO CLEARLY why we need a Wildcard For Awesome. As a tennis fan, I feel like it's a serious injustice on both of them. Here's hoping they both qualify - I will be at their matches for sure!

Now. Onto Sydney.

That match between Clijsters and Kleybanova was... well. Whenever people start talking about how excellent Kimmie's looking - including me - it always seems to me like she pulls out a match like this one. The shoulders slump, she gets dejected, and no matter how invincible she's been looking, weird things start to happen.

The classic example is, of course, that loss in Melbourne last year to Nadia Petrova, where she got totally hammered. She managed to pull out the win over Kleybanova - she did wake up enough to play an excellent tiebreaker - but it is concerning.

The only tournament where this doesn't seem to happen is the US Open, where Kim is charmed. I think Kim has a really good shot at being #1 if she makes a good run in Australia, so here's hoping that she's got her weirdnesses out in this match and brings it in Melbourne. With Serena out, the Australian Open genuinely is anyone's tournament - and why not Kim's? (Though I must confess that, in my heart, I am pulling for the other Belgian lady. Justine Henin for the win!)

The Woes Of Being Feli

WILDCARD FOR MAHUT WILDCARD FOR MAHUT WILDCARD FOR MAHUT #wildcardformahut. Yep, that's still happening. Wildcards are due to be announced Tuesday, so get aboard the bandwagon for one last push!

The bandwagon was largely pushed by other people yesterday, as I was incommunicado while taking my younger brother to the Medibank International. It was his first time at an international tennis tournament - though he is, like his sister, a big fan (and unlike his sister, an excellent player) - and the tournament did not disappoint. We were lucky enough to be treated to the entire three hours and twenty minutes of the epic clash between Juan Martin del Potro and Feliciano Lopez.

I really, really feel for Feli Lopez. You come into a tournament, you're seeded, you hope to start off easy, with a qualifier maybe, and hey - you get drawn against a guy ranked #259! Awesome! But oh... hey. You look at his name. Juan Martin del Potro.

Bugger.

And then you play really well! I'm serious, you play REALLY well. The crowd's not especially behind you or anything - there's not many of them anyway, and most of them are supporting your opponent - so this one is all you. Your opponent is directing a few wide into the tramlines - he doesn't seem to have his timing quite right yet - and you are pouncing. You are playing awesome stuff.

But he is a world class player, even if he is a bit down on his luck, and he's sticking with you. All right, you think, I'll just hang on and do it in the tie break. And you do it! You take that first set breaker and then - guess what? You keep playing awesome! But he keeps sticking with you, so you're like, fine, another breaker, I've done this before.

And you bring up match point! ...and he saves it. And you two play an absolutely electrifying tie break. And he gets it.

And then you get to the breaker AGAIN. No one can pick a winner. But he gets you. After a long, LONG time, he gets you. He gets the glory. And what do you get? Upset in the first round. A seeded player, beaten by #259 in the world.

It must suck to be Feli right now.

But seriously, this was an awesome match. You will be hard pressed to watch a better tie break than the one that was played in the second set. It was a small crowd on Ken Rosewall Arena, but I think everyone was pretty fully engaged in that match. It was exciting stuff!

My brother and I also caught the twenty seconds it took for Li Na to beat Anastasia Rodionova (seriously, that was... quick), Stosur/Wickmayer, and some of Ebden and Luczak playing doubles, and all in all, it was a fantastic day - and I was very glad there was no movement on the #wildcardformahut front while I was away! But seriously, it was worth it just for that second set tie break between Lopez and del Potro. That was some tennis right there.

Jodi's Epic Tennis Adventure 2.1 - Look At Me, I'm Lena D

It seems that I've been chasing Elena Dementieva across the country for the past two weeks, and you know what? there are worst players to chase. After a bad bad start at the Hopman Cup where she got whaled on by Sabine Lisicki ('bad bad' said, Lisicki can whale on anyone if she has her day) she played some lovely stuff - including the match I saw her play against Laura Robson - and she followed it up tonight.

I was at the Medibank International tonight watching the women's final. I only just got there in time for the 7.30 start and worried I was going to miss the beginning, but the men's semis ran long, so all was well. (Gasquet/Baghdatis will be the final in the men's draw, which I will see tomorrow. There are worse finals - and I was expecting a lot worse!) Considering Serena/Elena at Wimbledon was the women's match of the year, but both are capable of fizzling spectacularly, I wasn't really sure what to expect. I had a hunch in the Dementieva direction, but Lisicki was at the back of my mind...

It certainly wasn't an Epic Clash OMG. It was more towards the fizzle end of the spectrum, but I don't think it was true fizzle. Serena looked out of sorts, especially as the match went on - but I don't think it's because she wasn't trying. There's just something about Dementieva's game that troubles her. Sometimes she can steamroll over it (Australian Open semis last year, for example) but sometimes it just sort of gets to her.

This is, I think, why that Wimbledon semi was so epic tonight, and why Lena D won tonight. If I had to say exactly what it was that irks Serena, I think it's the fact that Dementieva is extraordinarily aggressive off the return of serve. She certainly was tonight, that's for sure - she was hitting the ball hard and flat right back at Serena a lot, and it was fast fast fast. This, coupled with Dementieva's speed, meant it was really hard for Serena to get cheap points off the serve and one-two punches... and when Serena started dumping serves into the middle of the net, you knew she wasn't exactly on the 'I Am Extraordinarily Invested In This Match And You Will Have To Shoot Me To Win' Bandwagon.

This has been a pretty confused rambling - sorry, I'll try and be more concise. Let's start with Serena. In this match, she didn't play great and Dementieva did. Because Lena D is a good player with the capacity to trouble Serena a lot and this tournament is not a Slam, Serena lost the match. When it comes to the Australian Open, I don't think this damages Serena's chances one bit. However, it's not an odd numbered year...

For Lena D... she is looking as good as I have ever seen her, is steelier than usual with few, if any, signs of the mental fragility that has been her downfall in the past. This does not mean, however, that they will not come out at the Open, but that remains to be seen. She's moving well, returning very very well and the serve... is not the creampuff it used to be. It's still not great, but she hit some service winners off it.

However. However however however.

The reason, in my opinion, that Lena folded so badly against Serena in Australia last year was that she had just played too much tennis. She'd won Auckland and Sydney and then through to the semis of Oz, which was something like fifteen matches. That is a lot lot lot, and more than I think she would have expected to play.

This year, she played Hopman Cup. No points or anything, but a good warm up. Three singles matches, three mixed doubles matches. Plus a tournament win in Sydney. Hopman Cup is low key, but she's still played a lot of tennis coming in. And then...

...she's probably going to play Justine Henin in the second round in Melbourne. And if I had to pick someone to get through that match, it would be JuJu. Sorry, Lena.

That said, I think Lena is a good investment bet for the Open - if you were the gambling type and wanted to back a dark horse that might pay out big. She's certainly capable of beating anyone, I think - like I said, she's playing as well as I've ever seen her. But will she? Time will tell. She's got all the elements in her game to win a Slam (even though that serve will never be great). But her draw is most emphatically not a cakewalk, and if she wants to lift that first Slam trophy, she's going to have to go through a pint-sized-in-reality-but-huge-in-mentality Belgian.

As to the actual experience of the tennis on this first night - Ken Rosewall Arena is a nice arena, but it's not as atmospheric as either of the venues I was in last week, I feel. It's too big to be intimate, too small to be spectacular, in a way. That said, I still had a great time and look forward to going back there for the men's final tomorrow!

Lena Under The Radar

It's the day before Jodi's Epic Tennis Trip Mk 2 starts - I'm flying off to Sydney tomorrow night for the men's and women's finals of the Medibank International before heading down to Melbourne for the first week of the Aussie Open. And boy, am I excited!

I'm even more excited now that we should have a half decent women's final for me to watch. I was a bit worried for a moment there that we'd have Aravane Rezai vs an exhausted Victoria Azarenka. Dementieva, to her credit, never gave me a moment's worry - she disposed of Azarenka quickly. But Rezai really should have won that match against Serena - and Serena should not have had to pull a Houdini to get out of it.

To Serena's credit, she did pull the Houdini, and I wouldn't be surprised to see her win the final tomorrow (though I really do have my money on Dementieva - she's definitely been the steadiest player all week). These two girls were responsible for the Best Match Evah of 2009 on the women's side (though in my humble opinion, it didn't have anything on Clijsters vs Henin in Brisbane - I WAS THERE I WAS THERE). And here's hoping they can pull out another big one tonight.

I've seen a lot of Dementieva in the last couple of weeks - I saw her play live at the Hopman Cup, and I was sitting quite close to her. There's things you can tell in real life that you can't off a telecast, and let me tell you, Dementieva is looking good. I don't want to pull the big claims and say that oh yes, Lena D will win her first Slam in Australia? but you know what? she has a pretty good shot. I think it's in her favour that Clijsters/Henin, with a side of Serena, will take the spotlight. Lena does her best work when she's under the radar, in my opinion, and I'll be interested to see how she performs.

I'll also be very interested to see how Serena performs when she runs up against a Belgian, but that will be a whole other story.

The men's final is on Saturday, and will feature either Gasquet or Benneteau against either Baghdatis or Fish. (Fish has just beaten Peter Luczak in a tight one - Lleyton Hewitt totally crashed out to Marcos Baghdatis after being up a set and a break). Personally, I'm pulling for Gasquet/Baghdatis - that could be totally entertaining, and good for both of their respective comebacks as well.

Before I go, a shout out to my boys John Millman and Matt Ebden in Melbourne, who are both through to the final round of qualies. If we can get just one of these boys through to the main draw, that will be awesome... but you know what? I reckon we can get both.

Mr Milkshake Brings All His Game To The Yard

Honestly, if any of the blokes on the ATP tour served like the girls on the WTA, they would be laughed out of the game. Honestly, how is it possible to serve at 40%ish with 97378409238 double faults and still win matches?

Urgh. But no more whinging about the WTA for today. I have done that time and time again over the past few days. (It is bad, bad, bad. Just in case you hadn't gathered my views on this by now. I am declaring myself Belgian when it comes to women's tennis).

Instead, let's talk about Peter Luczak.

I watched him fall down the rankings last year. When he fell down to #160ish, I gave up following him... and thus did not notice when he crept back up again, higher than ever. And let me tell you, I think it's going to climb higher, even if he takes a bunch of first round losses, because he's going to get into main draw tour events and get points points points. Not that I think he's going to take a bunch of first round losses. Because Mr Milkshake has GAME.

I was there in Brisbane last Saturday when Berdych absolutely pummelled Roddick for a set. I watched that match where he had his foot on Federer's neck last year. I know he's a headcase, but I also know he's extraordinarily talented and can play amazing stuff. This makes him kind of tricky to play, because if he's on fire there's not much a guy can do about it but wait it out, keep your calm and hope the storm breaks.

And that's exactly what Peter Luczak did today. I'm putting him on my official 2010 Late Bloomer list with Andrey Golubev - though in Mr Milkshake's case, it's a little later! Golubev is 22, but Luczak is 30. But seriously, Pete has never played better. He got killed in the first set because Berdych caught alight. But he didn't lose his head, steadied himself in the second and then ran off with the third.

Berdych is ranked fifty-odd places higher than Luczak, so even with the home court advantage and Berdych's headcaseness, you'd pick him to win. But Luczak's age is, I think, one of his strongest points. He is mature on court now. He plays calm tennis now, and that calmness, that serenity, that knowledge that he is at his best, has done him so much good. I wouldn't be surprised to see Mr Milkshake did what Chris Guccione did a few years back and make a surprise run to the final. If he can beat Berdych - the highest ranked player in the draw - I think he can beat anyone in the draw.

One Step Away From The Worst

How, I ask you, how, is it possible to stage an epic comeback from 5-0 down when you are playing as badly as Dinara Safina was today?

I've made no secret of the fact that I just can't quit my Dinara fanhood. But she deserved to lose that match today with the way she was playing, especially in the first set. If you're 5-0 down then you pretty much deserve to lose a set. This is not troll logic.

I guess it only happens if your opponent suddenly starts playing worse than you do. Which Agnieszka Radwanska did.

Honestly, it was completely embarrassing for the WTA - especially coming a day after the match where Li Na beat Caroline Wozniacki, #4 in the world, by hitting 70-odd errors. She shouldn't be allowed to make that many errors. She should be beaten before she's had the opportunity. Just like Dinara really should have been beaten today - though Aggie Rad obviously deserved the loss more. It's one thing to come back from 5-0 down, it's entirely another to be serving for a bagel and end up losing a set 7-5.

I think everything I don't like about the WTA has been crystallised in Sydney this week, especially coming on the heels of that amazing Clijsters/Henin match (I WAS THERE! I WAS THERE!) It shouldn't be possible to win matches playing that badly. Half of the seeds should not be out of the tournament within the first three days. (Seriously, we've only got Serena, Dinara, Elena and Vika left now - and only Serena has looked anything like convincing). The Belgians would never have tolerated this in their former heyday and I sure as hell hope they don't tolerate it now.

I can't imagine what the ATP would look like if its top ten were all such headcases. Berdych, Grosjean and Gasquet would probably be the top three. (Who else is a notorious tennis headcase? I'm sure I've left out a few). The strength of the ATP also shows up the poor form of the WTA - we're definitely in a Golden Age in the men, but there's only assorted Belgians and Williamses saving us from the official Worst Era Ever in the women.

Sigh.

On a happier note, how great was Peter Luczak's win tonight? He really turned the screws on Jose Acasuso, who's ranked a good twenty places above him. Mr Milkshake has a career high ranking right now and I reckon he can get higher, if he keeps playing like this...

Just When You Thought It Was Safe...

Just when you thought it was safe to say nice things about the WTA...

...Sydney happens.

Honestly. It's a new year, new decade, and we've just seen one of the greatest women's matches of the latest five years. You'd think that this might be enough to restore some semblance of order to the permanent misrule that is women's tennis. But no, in the first couple of days of Sydney we've lost three of the eight seeds and come so close to losing another one it's just not funny.

Sigh, WTA. No wonder players like Clijsters and Henin can come back and pummel you into submission. If JuJu had played this tournament, I would have backed her for sure.

We lost Vera Zvonareva to injury - seriously, is this girl ever going to sort her injury woes out? That makes it sound like it's her fault, which it's obviously not, but she retires hurt so often it makes one think she's coming on court hurt to begin with. The mummy bandages don't exactly belie that assumption either. Maybe she needs to sit out for a while until she's completely healed - though who knows how long that could be?

Then Jelena Jankovic lost to Agnes Szavay, a qualifier. I used to think that Szavay would be a real big thing one day. I've since changed my mind, and this match doesn't really alter that at all. Szavay played some great stuff, sure, but JJ really lost it. I'd like to blame this one on first-match-of-the-season yips, but it's too much of the same to do so. Pull yourself together, JJ.

And then Caroline Wozniacki lost a match she never should have lost to Li Na. I know Li Na is one of the girls who pulls upsets, like, every four seconds, but Wozniacki was all over her in the first set. And then... watch that tumbleweed go past. Caro needs to get herself some grit, stat. That's all I'm saying about that.

Victoria Azarenka went through, but she came OH SO VERY CLOSE to going out to Sabine Lisicki. As I'm pretty sure Lisicki will be top ten soon (if she can keep her error count down - that's her Achilles heel) this isn't quite so bad, but still... oh, and Nadia Petrova lost to Kimiko Date Krumm, making it two first round exits in two weeks (even if the first one was to JuJu). Come on, WTA. Pull yourself together.

We have Dinara Safina and Serena Williams in action today. Let's just say I won't hold my breath.

Sydney Also Gets Wild

More wildcard news - from Sydney this time, where Casey Dellacqua has been given a wildcard into the Medibank International. She's the second card recipient to be announced after Justine Henin, and it's not exactly surprising - much as I would wish that some of the younger kids would be given opportunities, their time will come. This is a good leg up for Casey on her comeback - and I guess she's lucky coming back around the Australian swing, because she'd find it tough to get this wealth of cards otherwise.

You just wait. You can bet your bottom dollar that the other women's card for Sydney will go to Alicia Molik, the second she expresses any desire to play the event... though she's playing Hobart, now that I think of it, so we'll see someone a little different. You've got to think it will be Olivia Rogowska - though she might get pipped at the post by Yanina Wickmayer, if the tournament director in Sydney is a big softie. Though if I were Rogowska and that was the case, I'd be pissed off. Rogowska definitely deserves a card somewhere, and with Justine Henin sucking up all these wildcards, a lot of her opportunities have disappeared.

But now that I think of it, Rogowska might have been carded into Hobart as well, which means she's out of Sydney, being as they are on the same week. That opens the door for someone like Monika Wejnert or Shannon Golds. That could be fun.

It's the last day before tennis starts - it's New Year's Day here, though not quite in Abu Dhabi yet, where things will kick off with the annual cashcow exo. Bring it on! I am totally sick of the off season.

Holidaze

It's official. It's all booked and paid for and the tickets are sitting next to me as I write this. Tennis From The Backseat will be coming to you from four different cities and four different tournaments this January!

(This also means I may now have to live in a cardboard box, given the amount of money it's costing me, but it'll be worth it).

I'll be kicking off my nationwide tour in Perth on January 7, where I will be spending two days at the Hopman Cup (which is also my favourite tournament of the year!) And yes, I will be seeing an Andy Murray tie... though that doesn't excite me as much as simply going to Perth. I've never been to Western Australia, so it will be an adventure. Not that I'll get much of a chance to do much sightseeing, but hey! Perth! I will have been!

I'll be catching the red eye on Friday night and will cross back to the east of the nation to arrive bright and early on Saturday morning in Brisbane, where I will be spending a day at the Brisbane International, hopefully trying not to fall asleep because of the time difference between there and Perth. I've got tickets for the men's semis and the women's final, so that should be pretty excellent.

Then I come back to Canberra the next day and spend a week at work, of which I am sure I will enjoy every second, before jetting off the next Friday night to Sydney for the women's final of the Medibank International. I'll also take in the men's final the next night before setting off to Melbourne the next day for six! count 'em, six! glorious days at the Australian Open.

Now there is a holiday.

I'm aware I've outlined my travel plans before, but I'm so excited I had to do it again. I don't know if I'll do an Aussie summer this big again - it is, as noted, costing me a bundle - so I'm determined to love every second of it. Even where it involves flying clear across the country twice in three days.

How far have you travelled for a tournament?

What I Will Do On My Holiday

In the absence, once more, of Real Tennis (how on earth am I going to manage in December?) I thought I'd use a schoolyard staple - what I did on my holiday - and turn it around a bit. Here it is - what I plan to do on my tennis junket in January.

Well, I plan to go to pretty much every tennis tournament in Australia. Except Hobart. Because Hobart is lame.

If I have my way, I'll spend two days in Perth for the Hopman Cup, where I'll hopefully get to see the interesting pairing of Andy Murray and Laura Robson play, and then fly on to Brisbane, to catch the men's semis and both finals. And then, after returning back to my dull dull life for a few days, I'll go on up to Sydney, catch the finals of both the men and women, and then down to Melbourne, for five glorious days at the Aussie Open.

I've booked the Sydney/Melbourne leg of my trip - and consequently have no money, but am very excited nonetheless. Whether the Perth/Brisbane leg ever eventuates will remain to be seen, but it's going to be awesome, even if I don't get to go. It's going to be sweltering and I suspect I'll end up with one of those tans that looks like leather, but such is the price we pay in the pursuit of our love.

The US Open series is often called the greatest roadtrip in sport, but I think my tennis junket here just might rival it... especially if I do make it clear across the country to Perth (a six hour flight, on a good day). It also means I'm completely mad (as many people have told me), to use a great chunk of my holiday leave on tennis, but there it is: I love tennis. And I've never been to either Brisbane or Perth, so that will be big fun also.

Apologies for the incoherent rambling - excitement (and heat) is what I'll chalk it up to. Have you got a tennis junket story - a tennis roadtrip (or plane, or whatever) that you've done/plan to do? Tell me about it!

Swiss Misters

Anyone who was in doubt, doubt no more. Roger Federer is here in Australia, and he means business.

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I only caught the last four games of the Kooyong final yesterday (damn gainful employment!) but that was all I needed to catch to catch the message. He played absolutely beautiful tennis against Stan Wawrinka yesterday - no quarter was asked, no quarter given - and I fail to see how anyone could doubt his ability, or call him washed up and on the way out. Has anyone ever played tennis like he has? He played some shots that were absolutely INSANE - did anyone see that hooking crosscourt forehand winner he made off a Stan serve? He put such work on the ball that it kicked up into about Row F. Stan had no hope of touching it. It was beautiful.

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I know I'm biased - I am a massive Roger fan, after all, and I'm hardly shy about admitting it! - but seriously, he's the best that ever lived. I think people realise that as well - the very fact that they call him finished after a year in which he won four titles, reached three Grand Slam finals and a semi and won Olympic gold shows that. For anyone else, that would be a career year of insane proportions. For Roger, substandard. We are already judging him against a different yardstick than we judge anyone else of the era.

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But we can't leave Stan out either - even though the scoreline belies it, he didn't play bad tennis. He's got some lovely shots, does Little Brother. I love the way he plays into the corners - he can get some real whip. He simply got outplayed yesterday. I very much look forward to seeing another match up between the two Swiss Misters in the fourth round at the Open! It's a bit sad that Stan (and Marat!) are in that section of the draw... normally, I'd be gunning for them to go real deep, but I never pull against the inexorable Federer!

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The schedule of the first day of the Open just came out. Months ago, I bought my tickets - a five day ground pass for the first five days and Rod Laver Arena tickets for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights. Guess who is on Rod Laver on Monday night? The opener is Casey Dellacqua against Daniela Hantuchova (which, with the way Casey is playing currently, should take about four seconds... sorry, Casey, but it's true!) followed by Andreas Seppi versus the Great Man. And I'll be there, cheering the Fed Express on!

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Onto another final - one about which I can probably talk more sanely, due to the lack of gushing! The Medibank final was a really good match. The last time Nalbandian and Nieminen met, Dave walked all over Jarkko (2 and 1, I think.) But this one was much tighter - the breaker in the second set was positively nailbiting! Nieminen is in the best form I have seen him in for some time. He could potentially meet Djokovic a few rounds in at the Open, and I would love to see another upset!

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And Nalbandian... look, you can what you like about his personality (though he was very effusive and quite funny in his champion's speech) but the guy is a seriously classy tennis player. You know how some tennis players are good, but not classy? (Federer probably being the epitome of class, if you want a standard to measure it against.) Nalbandian has serious class. He is very interesting to watch play, and he played some lovely balls last night... it's going to be interesting to see how he goes at the Open!

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Oh, and Juan Martin del Potro beat Sam Querrey in Auckland. Quel surprise. And both Peter Luczak and Marija Mirkovic lost in the final round of qualifying... which is actually really sad. This is the first Open Mr Milkshake has missed in seven or eight years. We'll miss you, Pete!

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Today's Results

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AAMI Classic (Kooyong)

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Roger Federer def. Stanislas Wawrinka, 6-1 6-3

Fernando Verdasco def. Fernando Gonzalez, 6-4 6-3

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Medibank International (Sydney)

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David Nalbandian def. Jarkko Nieminen, 6-3 6-7 (9-11) 6-2

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Heineken Open (Auckland)

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Juan Martin del Potro def. Sam Querrey, 6-4 6-4

Nieminenenenen

I would not be myself if I did not begin this post with a big AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, as is my wont whenever Novak Djokovic gets beaten by someone he shouldn't have. How about Jarkko Nieminen? He played a fabulous match - and this has to be the best win of his career. He's never beaten a top five player before - and in my humble opinion, he couldn't have picked a better one to beat.

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I don't think this is going to have too much bearing on the Open - Djokovic could be playing his way into form - but I would not be unconcerned, were I in the Djokovic camp. That's all I'm saying. Along with AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

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It's going to be an interesting match, this final - who would have picked a Nalbandian/Nieminen match? Certainly not me. It's going to be intriguing to see an inform Nalbandian at the Open - he has got potential to beat any of the top four. He's in the Djokovic quarter, and that would be a very interesting match indeed. I was gunning for him to be in the Nadal quarter, because that would be interesting to the nth degree, but we cannot have everything. I'm going to pick him over Jarkko, but then I picked Djokovic over Jarkko as well. Who knows what Nieminenenenen can pull out of the bag this time?!

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The women's final was a very interesting match as well. It is beyond me why Elena Dementieva can hit such powerful, penetrating groundies and then have a serve which is the equivalent of caressing her opponent with a natural yoghurt (pop culture reference - props to anyone who gets it, as you clearly have excellent taste.) Imagine her game with, say, Serena's serve. She'd be unstoppable. Hell, put Safina's serve on her, and she'd be #1 in a flash.

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Dinara herself did not play badly - I think she got outplayed, mostly. Elena's on a hot streak. What did get me was how frickin' mean her coach was to her! Seriously, oncourt coaching is a dodgy enough enterprise, without your coach coming out and launching a tirade of abuse at you. Maybe that's how Dinara operates - she needs someone to be super-hard to help her knuckle down or whatever - but it didn't even really sound like constructive criticism to me... I hate oncourt coaching. I think it's ridiculous and should be thrown out the window, baby, bathwater and all. If you even mentioned the possibility on the ATP tour, there'd be uproar. Why is it all right on the WTA tour? The girls are not stupider than the guys!

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Speaking of the ATP tour, and the Player Council President in particular, he has a final himself today at Kooyong - which I cannot watch because of work, which saddens me greatly. It's going to be an interesting tussle, Roger vs. Stan - obviously you pick Roger, but Stan obviously knows his game so well... and they're such good mates. I bet that match will be a pleasure to watch - for all the people that aren't me!

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Oh, and props to Marija Mirkovic! I lied yesterday when I said Mr Milkshake was the only Aussie, male or female, left in qualies. Here's hoping Marija can pull it out over Kimiko Date Krumm and win herself a place in the main draw!

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Today's Results

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AAMI Classic (Kooyong)

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Stanislas Wawrinka def. Fernando Gonzalez, 7-6 (7-3) 6-7 (1-7) 6-4
Marcos Baghdatis def. Marin Cilic, 6-3 6-2
Carlos Moya def. Ivan Ljubicic, 7-5 3-6 7-5

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Medibank International (Sydney)

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Men's Draw

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Jarkko Nieminen def. Novak Djokovic, 6-4 7-6 (7-3)

David Nalbandian def. Richard Gasquet, 6-4 6-3

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Women's Draw

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Elena Dementieva def. Dinara Safina, 6-3 2-6 6-1

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Heineken Open (Auckland)

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Juan Martin del Potro def. Robin Soderling, 6-4 6-3

Sam Querrey def. David Ferrer, 3-6 6-3 7-6 (7-4)

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Moorilla Hobart International (Hobart)

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Petra Kvitova def. Iveta Benesova, 7-5 6-1

Not Forgetting Richou

Wow. What a terrible day for Australia in the qualies for the Open. Only one Aussie got through (one, out of both men and women!) and that was Peter Luczak. Here's hoping Mr Milkshake can win through to the actual tournament, because otherwise that's just a bit ridiculous for Australian tennis! We have some great players in through the discretionary wildcard system, but you'd hope for at least one qualifier!

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Kooyong yesterday was an absolute nailbiter - the Federer/Verdasco match, I mean. Federer was clearly playing well within himself, experimenting, trying a few things out, etc, etc, but Nando played a great match after beign 5-0 down in the first to take it to a third set breaker. You'd have to say that Roger never looked like losing, but the scoreline belies it, and so kudos to Nando on a great match. It's going to be interesting to watch his progress at the Open... and I'd back him over whomever he faces in the playoff for third here at Kooyong, whether it's Wawrinka or Gonzo. And obviously you've got to back the Fed over either of those guys, so it's going to be an interesting final... which I probably won't be able to watch because I'll be at work. Le sigh. At least I'll see them all in the flesh next week at the Open!

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Sydney, and man did Serena lie down for Elena Dementieva! It always amazes me that Dementieva is ranked as high as she is with that serve of hers (which, granted, is improved, but is still a joke compared to most of the other serves on tour) but Serena totally failed to capitalise and Dementieva smashed her like a guitar. It's going to be interesting - Dinara Safina had a bit of trouble against the wily veteran Ai Sugiyama, but brought it in the major points. So who do you back? Elegant Elena or Dinara the freight train? They split big matches last year - Dinara had her number at the French Open, but Elena won the gold medal. I'm backing Dinara on this one, but I think it's on her racquet. If she gets in a rut like Serena did, Elena will sail away with the title. But I don't think Dinara will do that. She's a bit too determined, even if she can be scatty at times.

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And I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that Richard Gasquet is going to come away with the title this week in the men's at Sydney. Tsonga is out with injury (man, I hope he's okay for the Open!) and the three remaining out contenders are Djokovic, Nalbandian and Nieminen. I think Gasquet, if he plays the way he has been, can take all three of them, particularly with Djokovic's racquet change and ensuing discomfort. The one to watch will be Nalbandian, but even though he beat Hewitt, I wasn't especially impressed with his play... so I'm backing Richou. Even though he fell out of favour last year what with his tanties and his headcaseness, it would be nice to see him climb back up the rankings some... strange to think, isn't it, that he usedto be France's #1? Tsonga and Simon both catapulted past him last year, and everyone pretty much forgot about Richou. Maybe he's not ready to be forgotten just yet...

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Today's Results

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AAMI Classic (Kooyong)

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Marcos Baghdatis def. Ivan Ljubicic, 7-6 (7-3) 6-4

Roger Federer def. Fernando Verdasco, 6-3 3-6 7-6 (7-5)

Marin Cilic def. Carlos Moya, 6-3 7-6 (7-1)

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Medibank International (Sydney)

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Men's Draw

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Novak Djokovic def. Mario Ancic, 6-3 6-4

Jarkko Nieminen def. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, walkover

David Nalbandian def. Lleyton Hewitt, 7-6 (7-3) 7-5

Richard Gasquet def. Jeremy Chardy, 6-2 7-6 (7-4)

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Women's Draw

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Elena Dementieva def. Serena Williams, 6-3 6-1

Dinara Safina def. Ai Sugiyama, 6-4 7-6 (7-3)

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Heineken Open (Auckland)

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Juan Martin del Potro def. Viktor Troicki, 6-3 6-2

David Ferrer def. Philipp Kohlschreiber, walkover

Sam Querrey def. Nicolas Almagro, 6-3 6-2

Robin Soderling def. John Isner, 6-4 6-4

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Moorilla Hobart International (Hobart)

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Iveta Benesova def. Magdalena Rybarikova, 6-1 6-3

Petra Kvitova def. Virginie Razzano, 6-4 6-2

Hats Off To Jeremy!

We have one Star who is really shining bright this week, and it's not one I would have picked. Hats off to Jeremy Chardy! He was admitted to the fold pretty much on the strength of his performance in the French Open, but he clearly still has something, because he has beaten some quality players this week. First it was Radek Stepanek, and now it's Igor Andreev. He's in the quarters now - can Jeremy take it further?

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One of Australia's last hopes, Chris Guccione, is out, but it was a bit much to ask him to repeat his performance of last year. Lleyton Hewitt, on the other hand, is playing quite nicely - I very much enjoyed his match against Janko Tipsarevic. Even though he's objectionable when he speaks, I really do like watching him play - maybe it's because his counter-punching style seems to draw points out, and long points are good viewing. Anyway, I like watching him, and I'm sure his quarter final match against David Nalbandian will be entertaining, if nothing else.

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I very much liked the look of Caroline Wozniacki yesterday, even though she did go down to HMAS Serena. She played beautifully - especially in the first set. She's one to keep an eye on for sure - her and Dominika Cibulkova! The Dinara Safina freight train rolled on as well, steamrolling Alize Cornet for the second time in two weeks. It'd be interesting to see who came up trumps in a match between her and Serena - no quarter would be asked, and no quarter given.

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Meanwhile, another one of my favourite tournaments has begun - the AAMI Classic in Kooyong. Marcos Baghdatis was not looking good at all in his match against Stan Wawrinka, who was - how sweet is his backhand? Nando Verdasco also looked good beating my Star Marin Cilic, but the real class act was, of course, Roger Federer. He was just cruising around, looking supreme, making shots, pulling shapes, being the ultimate front man, anything you can ask. He looked so casual and yet his tennis was so beautiful... I think (and hope!) that he's been playing the B or C game all these weeks and will bring the real stuff at the Open. Especially as I might get to see him play live!

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Today's Results

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AAMI Classic (Kooyong)

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Stanislas Wawrinka def. Marcos Baghdatis, 6-2 6-2
Roger Federer def. Carlos Moya, 6-2 6-3
Fernando Verdasco def. Marin Cilic, 6-2 7-5
Fernando Gonzalez def. Ivan Ljubicic, 6-4 6-3

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Medibank International (Sydney)

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Men's Draw

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Novak Djokovic def. Paul-Henri Mathieu, 6-1 6-2

Richard Gasquet def. Gilles Simon, 6-4 6-4

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Simone Bolelli, 6-4 6-1

David Nalbandian def. Michael Llodra, 6-1 6-3

Jeremy Chardy def. Igor Andreev, 6-4 4-6 6-4

Mario Ancic def. Tommy Robredo, 6-2 6-1

Lleyton Hewitt def. Janko Tipsarevic, 7-5 6-4

Jarkko Nieminen def. Chris Guccione, 7-6 (10-8) 6-3

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Women's Draw

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Serena Williams def. Caroline Wozniacki, 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 7-6 (7-3)

Dinara Safina def. Alizé Cornet, 6-3 6-4

Elena Dementieva def. Agnieszka Radwanska, 6-2 5-7 6-4

Ai Sugiyama def. Svetlana Kuznetsova, walkover

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Moorilla Hobart International (Hobart)

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Iveta Benesova def. Gisela Dulko, 6-4 6-4

Petra Kvitova def. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 1-6 7-5 6-3

Magdalena Rybarikova def. Melinda Czink, 6-0 1-6 7-6 (9-7)

Virginie Razzano def. Tsvetana Pironkova, 6-4 6-1

No Repeat Performances

Well, we're not having a repeat of last year's final at the Medibank International. Chris Guccione is through on the strength of a really quite excellent performance against perennial underachiever Tomas Berdych, but Dmitry Tursunov is out. He didn't exactly get bundled out, but he went down in a tight two-setter to Richard Gasquet, who is looking better than I've seen him for a while. It's going to be interesting to see how that one works out for him.

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On the men's side, it was a good day for Australia - both Gooch and Hewitt are through. That Hewitt match was really good to watch - no matter what one might think of his personality, he's dynamic on court, and you have to admire his chutzpah. Julien Benneteau should be fiercely disappointed to lose that one. Another loser was Radek Stepanek, who did retire, yes, but who was being pummelled by Jeremy Chardy (a Star!) when he called it quits. He cites illness... I have my doubts. Mostly because I don't like him. Which is a fair enough reason. But good on Jeremy!

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Speaking of Stars, Ernests Gulbis is looking pretty decent over in Auckland over a good three-set win over Marcel Granollers, who is no slouch - he has a title to his name, and you don't get that by being a schlep. However, Ernests is going up against the #1 seed today, Juan Martin del Potro... can he upset two #1 seeds in consecutive tournaments? I like to think he can - here's hoping he does!

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And how dangerous is Dinara Safina looking over on the women's side? I wouldn't want to come up against her anytime soon. After pounding on Cirstea yesterday, she turned Vera Dushevina into mincemeat. (Ironically, Cirstea and Dushevina are doubles partners. They can share their woes together.)

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Meanwhile, more wildcards for the Aussie Open have been announced, and I have to say that I like their choices. Discretionary wildcards have been handed to Bernard Tomic, Sam Groth, Brydan Klein and Carsten Ball in the men's, and Monica Wejnert, Isabella Holland, Olivia Rogoswka and Jessica Moore in the women's. All young guns, all with potential. My goal is for one of these eight to win a match - actually, make it ten, we'll include Colin Ebelthite and Jelena Dokic, who won the playoffs. I have a particular feeling about Isabella Holland... she might just make good!

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Today's Results

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Medibank International (Sydney)

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Men's Draw

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Chris Guccione def. Tomas Berdych, 6-3 6-4

Janko Tipsarevic def. Mardy Fish, 6-4 3-6 6-4

Paul-Henri Mathieu def. Andreas Seppi, 6-2 2-6 6-3

Lleyton Hewitt def. Julien Benneteau, 5-7 6-2 6-4

Jeremy Chardy def. Radek Stepanek, 6-4 3-0 retired

Richard Gasquet def. Dmitry Tursunov, 7-6 (7-4) 6-4

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Women's Draw

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Serena Williams def. Sara Errani, 6-1 6-2

Dinara Safina def. Vera Dushevina, 6-3 6-0

Elena Dementieva def. Jarmila Gajdosova, 6-2 6-4

Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Kaia Kanepi, 6-2 2-6 7-6 (7-3)

Agnieszka Radwanska def. Daniela Hantuchova, 6-3 7-5

Caroline Wozniacki def. Melanie South, 6-2 6-0

Alizé Cornet def. Alisa Kleybanova, 7-6 (7-5) 6-1

Ai Sugiyama def. Anabel Medina Garrigues, 2-6 6-1 6-2

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Heineken Open (Auckland)

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Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Dominik Hrbaty, 6-1 6-2

John Isner def. Albert Montanes, 7-6 (7-4) 7-5

Juan Monaco def. Victor Hanescu, 6-3 6-4

Gilles Muller def. Florent Serra, 6-3 6-4

Yen-Hsun Lu def. Steve Darcis, 7-6 (7-5) 6-2

Ernests Gulbis def. Marcel Granollers, 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-1

Bobby Reynolds def. Oscar Hernandez, 7-6 (7-4) 5-7 6-2

Marc Gicquel def. Agustin Calleri, 3-6 6-4 6-4

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Moorilla Hobart International (Hobart)

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Magdalena Rybarikova def. Flavia Pennetta, 7-5 6-3

Gisela Dulko def. Zheng Jie, 6-3 6-3

Petra Kvitova def. Alona Bondarenko, 6-2 6-1

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova def. Carla Suárez Navarro, 6-4 6-1

Iveta Benesova def. Mara Santangelo, 6-3 6-1

Virginie Razzano def. Anne Keothavong, 4-6 6-0 7-5

Melinda Czink def. Urszula Radwanska, 4-2 retired

Tsvetana Pironkova def. Olga Govortsova, 6-1 6-2

Feeling Sorry for Sorana

Dinara Safina doesn't seem to have let that heartbreaker of a loss to Dominika Cibulkova in Perth slow her down - if anything, it seems to have given her motivation to absolutely pound on her opponents, and poor Sorana Cirstea was today's victim. Dude, I would not have liked to be in Sorana's shoes. Dinara absolutely smashed her. If she keeps playing like this (Dinara, that is, not Sorana) she is a real shot for the Aussie Open... and I bet she was chuckling when Cibulkova went down softly to Wozniacki. I was a bit sad about that, actually - much as I'm on Team Dinara, I really like Cibulkova's pocket rocket style of play, and a rematch could have been interesting... especially if Dinara went in with the mindset she seemed to have gone in with against Cirstea!

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There were no upsets of note in either Sydney or Auckland for the blokes - though Igor Andreev was looking like he was in trouble for a while there against Frank Dancevic, who may not be very highly ranked but has proved to be a little dangerous on occasion. (I believe his power lies in his bandanna, if he still wears it - he wore it when I watched him play Nieminen at last year's Aussie Open, and it was up there with Stepanek's shirt for sheer stupidity) The only really iffy one was Juan Carlos Ferrero beating Kei Nishikori, but that was by retirement... I hope Kei is all right! I want him to go far, far, far! He's a Star!

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The women's side, by contrast, was a little more up-and-down. It seems to me like pretty much anyone who's anyone is playing in Sydney for the women this week - with the exception of the two Serbian girls. Who would pick players of the calibre of Nadia Petrova (seeded #7) and Alize Cornet (unseeded) meeting in the first round? Cornet is ranked #15 - you'd normally get a pretty decent seed based on that ranking. Petrova is #11 and Wozniacki is #8 - Cornet'd be next in line, I guess. But still, in how many tournaments are you going to see two top twenty players meeting in the first round? I bet both of them were pretty filthy with that draw... especially Petrova, coming off viral meningitis last week. You want a nice easy qualifier or something to warm up against... instead, you get Alize Cornet.

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This could have been a great match if it'd happened a little later in the week and Petrova had played her way into form a bit. As it was, Cornet pretty much snapped her in half. I am loving the look of Alize at the moment - probably not a finals run yet, but I could see her in the quarters of the Australian. And on that subject, no Sharapova! I am feeling the loss so tragically. Really. Feel my pain. I mean, sure, she's the defending champ and all, and it's sad that she can't defend her title, but we've coped just fine without her for a while now - I'm sure we'll manage somehow. (Meanwhile, does anyone else think that there must be a lot of dislike between Sharapova and Ivanovic - especially from Sharapova to Ivanovic? Ana has pretty much run off with the mantle of the glamour girl of tennis... have we moved beyond Maria?)

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And what is up with Casey Dellacqua? She went down ridiculously softly to Sara Errani, which I would not have expected. She wasn't looking that good in Perth either - is the pressure of backing up what she did last year getting to her?

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Today's Results

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Medibank International (Sydney)

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Men's Draw

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Igor Andreev def. Frank Dancevic, 7-6 (7-2) 6-3

Tommy Robredo def. Jurgen Melzer, 6-3 6-4

Jarkko Nieminen def. Feliciano Lopez, 6-2 7-6 (11-9)

Mario Ancic def. Xavier Malisse, 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-3

Michael Llodra def. Denis Gremelmayr, 6-0 6-2

Simone Bolelli def. Potito Starace, 7-6 (7-1) 6-4

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Women's Draw

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Dinara Safina def. Sorana Cirstea, 6-2 6-1

Elena Dementieva def. Ekaterina Makarova, 7-5 6-1

Alizé Cornet def. Nadia Petrova, 6-2 6-4

Caroline Wozniacki def. Dominika Cibulkova, 6-1 6-2

Daniela Hantuchova def. Klara Zakopalova, 6-3 6-0

Anabel Medina Garrigues def. Anastasiya Yakimova, 6-1 3-6 6-3

Kaia Kanepi def. Angelique Kerber, 6-1 7-5

Ai Sugiyama def. Jill Craybas, 6-2 6-3

Alisa Kleybanova def. Maria Kirilenko, 6-2 6-2

Sara Errani def. Casey Dellacqua, 6-1 6-2

Vera Dushevina def. Emelyn Starr, 6-0 6-1

Melanie South def. Marion Bartoli, 1-1 retired

Jarmila Gajdosova def. Karin Knapp, 6-4 6-2

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Heineken Open (Auckland)

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Sam Querrey def. Daniel King-Turner, 6-4 7-5

Juan Carlos Ferrero def. Kei Nishikori, 5-3 retired

Viktor Troicki def. Igor Kunitsyn, 6-1 6-2

Robby Ginepri def. Jose Rubin Statham, 6-2 6-3

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Moorilla Hobart International (Hobart)

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Flavia Pennetta def. Shahar Peer, 6-2 7-6 (7-5)

Carla Suárez Navarro def. Anna Chakvetadze, 7-6 (7-5) 1-6 7-5

Zheng Jie def. Marina Erakovic, 6-1 4-6 6-1

Anne Keothavong def. Agnes Szavay, 6-3 7-5

Urszula Radwanska def. Aleksandra Wozniak, 3-6 7-6 (7-3) 7-5

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova def. Olivia Rogowska, 6-3 6-1

Olga Govortsova def. Jessica Moore, 6-0 6-3

Gisela Dulko def. Stefanie Voegele, 6-2 6-3

Virginie Razzano def. Maria Elena Camerin, 6-1 6-2

Mara Santangelo def. Nicole Vaidisova, 6-1 6-1

Melinda Czink def. Tathiana Garbin, 6-2 1-6 7-5

Wild Wild Cards

The wildcard action continues apace, with two more wildcards being awarded to Aussie girls for tournaments this summer: we have Casey Dellacqua carded into Sydney (which is hardly a surprise - actually, I'm surprised that she didn't make it in on her own recognisance. The field must be mighty.) And then we have little-known but recently-impressive Olivia Rogowska making her WTA debut in the Moorilla Hobart International.

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I've said enough about Casey over the last year for her to need no introduction, and doubtlessly I'll say more over the course of the Hopman Cup (which starts on Saturday! Finally, tennis!) but she's a beautiful little player, and I'd love to see her make a big run in Sydney. 'Nough said.

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But Olivia Rogowska... I've never seen her play, but I like the sound of her a lot. She won the very competitive Sorrento International - that was a Pro circuit tournament, yeah, but it was worth $25,000! Man, if you're good at tennis, you must make some pretty sweet dollars. Anyway, she's hardly going to win the Hobart tournament, but it's just so nice to see we have some good female players coming up. Rogowska and Jess Moore both should do well at Hobart - again, my goal is for one of them to win a match. And then with Isabella Holland and Monica Wejnert in Brisbane, I think we can be pretty proud of our girls. It'd be nice if we could have a good run in the juniors at the Aussie Open. The world better watch out for them - perhaps Monica Wejnert especially.

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And today, on Tennis From The Backseat, we are debuting a new segment. I went and played tennis with my brother Josh yesterday, who is twelve and an excellent player, and he smashed me with his topspin (his words, not mine.) He also spent a long time correcting my technique (and lack thereof) and his advice was so sound I thought it deserved a little segment of its own. So here today, I present the first of Jumping 'J-Mac' Josh's Tennis Tips:

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Josh's Tennis Tips

Focus: Forehand

Today's Tip: Gripping A Racquet

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To grip a tennis racquet you will need to create a 'V' shape with your thumb and pointer finger on the top side of the grip. You place your hand at the 'butt' (bottom of the grip) to get the most power in your shots and to reach the ball quicker. This is to prevent any injury in your wrists, forearm, biceps and triceps.

All I Want In January

Only a few days to go now till the Hopman Cup! It's starting a little later this year - it actually started in December last year, if I recall correctly - but I'm sure it's going to be worth the wait. If nothing else, it will hopefully take Australia's collective sporting mind off the current dismal situation in the cricket...
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I'm hoping that Australia's tennis summer will be bigger and better than ever before. January is the best sporting month of the year anyway, and tennis is obviously the best of it. With any luck, we'll see some of the classic matches of the year here right at the beginning - and with any luck, it's all going to come up Jodi.
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What would I like to see? I have two big requests (and a multitude of smaller ones.) #1, I want Roger Federer to regain his Australian Open crown. Let's face it, it's his. It looks weird when someone else holds up the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup. And I want him, as is tradition, to face some totally random opponent in the final. I'd love for one of my Stars to be the Marcos/Gonzo/Jo-W and make the big run. Ernests Gulbis would be ideal, or maybe Marin Cilic, or even Kei Nishikori. Of course, this is all contingent on them being in Rafa's side of the draw... of course a Rafa/Roger showdown would be nice to watch, but the Aussie Open just isn't that type of tournament for me. Rafa/Roger belongs at Roland Garros and Wimbledon. The Aussie and the US is for Roger/Random.
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My second request? That would be Marat Safin and Dinara Safina winning the Hopman Cup. They're effectively the top seeds now - the USA are officially the top seeds, but with Serena out, they're not really. Meghann Shaughnessy is hardly a top echelon replacement (not that she's substandard or anything, but she ain't no Serena.) This could be exactly what Marat needs to get himself back on track - a tournament won with his in-form sister. Australia's been good to him before - and hey, who wouldn't want a diamond encrusted tennis ball on their mantlepiece?
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A good run from Marat at the Aussie Open is another request of mine - I'm gunning for round of sixteen/quarter final. An early loss and crash and burn from Djokovic is not compulsory, but would be nice. I want Monica Wejnert and Isabella Holland to do themselves proud in Brisbane, and Jess Moore to do the same in Hobart. I want Bernard Tomic to have a good summer and take another junior crown. I'd like some classic matches - remember Federer/Safin in '05? I want my Stars to do well. I want Dinara Safina to win the Australian Open and Dmitry Tursunov to defend his Sydney crown.
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But most of all, I just want there to be good tennis - and for Australia not to be too busy watching the cricket to pay attention.

Finally, a Brouhaha in Doha!

The fields for the early tournaments next year are beginning to take shape - and the organisers of the ATP tournament in Doha must be quivering with delight. The women's season-ending championships (why, why did no one think to call it the Brouhaha in Doha? I thought that was hilarious) may have been a bit dull, but the field that's starting to take shape for the Qatar ExxonMobil Open is very exciting. It includes not only the Andies (Murray and Roddick respectively) but now the two biggest guns in tennis, R-Fed and... Rafa ('R-Nad' just doesn't work.)

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Federer's played Doha before, but not for a while - 2006, if memory serves - but I don't remember a field of this high a quality there in years. I remember Ljubicic winning it in recent memory, and possibly Gael Monfils, though maybe he was only a finalist. I can't remember. So what a boost for Doha this will be. Maybe this will be the real Brouhaha in Doha. I invented that pun, and I'm dying for someone to use it - so maybe Roger, Rafa and the Andies will give me reason.

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Sydney, on the other hand, which is close to my heart, because, hello, closest thing I have to a home tournament, is looking... all right, I guess, but not whoa, smash bang fabulous. So far, they've announced Tsonga, Simon, Berdych, Nalbandian, Hewitt, Gasquet, Robredo and most recently Fish and defending champ Tursunov. So not a bad field, but it ain't no Doha. Rafa played there the first year I attended, which was '07 - though to be fair, he only played for about a set before deciding he was injured and throwing in the towel against Chris Guccione. Still, I was there and I saw him, up close and personal (I may be exaggerating slightly there, but in the flesh, nonetheless). It'd be nice for the Sydney folks to see some of the big stars that they might have actually, you know, heard of.

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But we all know the tournament that's closest to my heart is the Hopman Cup, even if it's clear across the other side of the country. Marat Safin promised he'd give the tournament organiser a decision on whether or not he would play in the first week of November, and we're well past that and his name's still on the schedule, so I'm quietly hopeful that we might be seeing Marat on the ATP tour again next year - hurrah!