No Muss, No Fuss

Following in the footsteps of Jonas Bjorkman not so long ago, Thomas Johansson has just announced his retirement from tennis, with immediate effect. After fifteen years travelling round the world, he's now decided it's time to hang up his racquet.

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I kind of understand why he's decided to go so quickly, no muss, no fuss. His wife had a baby a few weeks ago (their second child) and understandably, when you're on the decline and you're dogged by injury anyway, you want to go and spend some time with your family. All the best to you, Thomas - even if I wished you'd saved it a few weeks and played one last Wimbledon.

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The other reason why it's sort of OK for him to go so quickly - I doubt it had anything to do with his decision, but it seems sort of symbolic to me - is that Swedish tennis is in good hands now. When Bjorkman retired, Johansson sort of became the new elder, I suppose - and with his Grand Slam title, he deserves that kind of status. Swedish tennis has been looking pretty barren for a long time now - there was that spurt of hope when Joachim Johansson was looking so dangerous, but then he went and got injured, and retired, and came back, and got injured and all kinds of craziness. But Swedish tennis has got a new guy playing with the big boys now. Thomas Johansson can retire knowing that Robin Soderling... he got it. He's grown up enough now to be the figurehead.

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Like I said, probably had little to do with his decision, but nice nonetheless.

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Speaking of people announcing their retirement, one guy rumoured to maybe be throwing in the towel at the end of the year is Juan Carlos Ferrero, but with the run of form he's on I don't know if he'd want to. Semis at Queen's for the unseeded Spaniard, after a victory over Steve Darcis. I know Queen's is hardly... well, Wimbledon... but for a non-Rafa Spaniard on grass, that is a damn good result. Nice work, JC!

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Today's Results

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Gerry Weber Open (Halle)

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Novak Djokovic def. Jurgen Melzer, 6-1 6-4

Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Andreas Beck, 3-6 6-3 6-3

Olivier Rochus def. Benjamin Becker, 6-7 (4-7) 6-3 6-3

Tommy Haas def. Mischa Zverev, 7-6 (7-5) 6-2*

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AEGON Championships (Queen's Club)

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Andy Murray def. Mardy Fish, 7-5 6-3

Andy Roddick def. Ivo Karlovic, 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-5)

James Blake def. Mikhail Youzhny, 7-6 (7-5) 6-3

Juan Carlos Ferrero def. Steve Darcis, 4-6 6-3 6-4

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AEGON Classic (Birmingham)

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Magdalena Rybarikova def. Urszula Radwanska, 6-3 6-3

Sania Mirza def. Melinda Czink, 6-1 7-6 (7-4)

Na Li def. Stefanie Voegele, 6-3 7-6 (7-3)

Maria Sharapova def. Yanina Wickmayer, 6-1 2-6 6-3

The Magic of Five

Well, here we are on one of those rare few days of the year that there is no tennis going on, wondering what to write about. Indian Wells doesn't start for a couple of days, and so there is not a whole lot to be saying.

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So I guess we can talk about Davis Cup some more, because there were some very interesting ties in there.

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The one that looked like it would be the most fun to watch, despite the fact that the biggest name players it featured were Thomas Johansson and Dudi Sela, was Israel vs. Sweden. I mean, come on, a tie that came down to a fifth set in the fifth rubber that went 8-6? That's some serious goodness right there. I bet the crowd were glued to that match between Andreas Vinciguerra and Harel Levy, even if they had no clue who either player was. When a match goes that long, I think you learn the quality of the man, the quality of the player. I bet the crowd won't forget that one in a hurry.

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There really is something about five-set tennis. I daresay most of the most memorable matches of all time went five sets. In my personal favourite bank I have a couple of Federer whitewashes that only went three sets (major faves!) but as far as quality goes, where you want a huge tooth and nail struggle, it's five sets all the way. Federer and Nadal at Wimbledon and again at the Aussie Open, and in Rome in '06. Nadal and Verdasco this year. Federer and Safin in '05. Roddick and Younes el Aynaoui, with the fifth set that went 21-19. Tursunov and Roddick at Davis Cup, where I think the fifth went 19-17 or something like that. They're the immortal matches that will be remembered.

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I know five set tennis is taxing and the fact that it's kept for Grand Slams and Davis Cup makes it special, but purely from a viewer's perspective, I wish there were more of it. It was so great when the finals of Masters Series events (1000 events now, I suppose) went five sets - who will ever forget that titanic struggle between the King and the Boss in Rome in 2006, where both held championship points? I've really come quite a long way off topic from Israel and Sweden, but it doesn't matter, really... my point still stands. I love five set tennis. And I wish there were more.

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But I bet the players don't! It must be sooooooo exhausting...

Starlight, Starbright

I must admit, I was very disappointed that Fabrice Santoro couldn't do a bit more in the beating-Andy-Roddick sort of way. I like watching him play (the Harry Potter of men's tennis) and we all know how disenchanted I am with A-Rod right now. But I suppose we can't have it all our own way. If I had my druthers, Clement would have taken out Djokovic as well. But it was not to be. I will have to be satisfied with that crushing Roger victory from yesterday - which was AMAZINGLY satisfactory!

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I caught absolutely no tennis today, so I don't have that much to discuss that doesn't come directly from the scores. One thing I was very satisfied with was the performance of Ernests Gulbis, who took out ever-wily Olympic silver medallist and former Slam champion Thomas Johansson. What really surprised me was that the match was played on Armstrong - surely neither player is high-profile enough for that? I wonder why it was put there - on whose recognisance, I mean. I know Gulbis is good, and he's going to be great, but surely he doesn't have that kind of pulling power yet - and surely Johansson is no longer that high-profile? Nevertheless, it is a match I would have loved to watch, and maybe it's good that the US Open organisers put them there, so more people can start waving little Latvian flags and joining Team Gulbis.

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And another star performer was Mr. Marin Cilic - even though, unlike Ernests, it took him five sets to get past his opponent, one Julien Benneteau. Great as it was to see Marin win that tournament this week, I hope it hasn't worn him out too terribly - five tough sets can hardly be helping! Here's hoping he gets a little time to recover, because I really would like to see him do well. Gulbis has made it to the quarters before - and perhaps can do so again. I'd like to see Marin match him. Indeed, wasn't Ernests vs. Marin one of my quarter final picks? Wouldn't that be a fabulous match to see?! I'd willingly walk dozens of kilometres on the treadmill at the gym if it meant I could watch that one!

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Eduardo Schwank, on the other hand, lost. I'm afraid he might be one of those Stars who only does well on clay. It does occur to me that he is probably the oldest Star in my fold - not that he's past it or anything, but if one of my Stars does make the bigtime, it probably won't be him. Nevertheless, he didn't seem to leave much in the locker room against Tursunov - four tight sets. So nice try, Eduardo. Better luck next time... aka better draw!

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It was a bit sad to see Tipsarevic retire, but nonetheless I found myself breathing a guilty sigh of relief... I would prefer he didn't meet Roger in Slam tennis for a little while, not after what happened in Australia! And speaking of the ol' homeland, there was a good win for Chris Guccione. I completely forgot he was in the draw and thought Jessica Moore was our last hope... not that either of them are great chances of making it to the third round, but still, it's nice to have one or two still there, even if the second week is completely unheard of for Australians these days.

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Oh, and good work to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga for winning his first match back. And Kolya Davydenko also won, but I can't say that brought me much pleasure. Stupid Kolya.

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Over in the women's, Jelena Jankovic is not looking so hot. I know she's been #1 and is seeded #2 and all, but I really don't like her chances of making it to her first Slam final. Same goes for her countrywoman Ana Ivanovic, actually. At least one, and maybe both of them is at some point going to run into the chainsaw that is Dinara Safina, and they'll be decimated. Even if everyone else wasn't playing rubbish, I'd still be backing Dinara, and everyone really sort of is. The Serbian girls are shaky. Kuznetsova is a bit unsteady too. Sharapova isn't even there. Dementieva is doing all right, but do you think Dinara's going to let her beat her twice in a row? No, no, I love Dinara's chances - and if she's not the odds on favourite, she should be.

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Oh, and before I go, one match people should keep an eye on tomorrow, if they possibly can - Juan Martin del Potro against Thomaz Bellucci. That would be two of my Stars, and though you'd probably pick del Potro to win it what with his current record, I wouldn't be surprised if Bellucci gave him a little trouble...

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Today's Results

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US Open (Flushing Meadows)

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Men's Draw

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Andy Roddick def. Fabrice Santoro, 6-2 6-2 6-2

Novak Djokovic def. Arnaud Clement, 6-3 6-3 6-4

Ernests Gulbis def. Thomas Johansson, 7-5 6-1 7-6 (7-3)

Robby Ginepri def. Amer Delic, 6-1 6-2 7-6 (7-5)

Nikolay Davydenko def. Dudi Sela, 6-3 6-3 6-3

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Santiago Ventura, 6-7 (3-7) 6-4 6-2 6-3

Robert Kendrick def. Nicolas Mahut, 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 5-7 7-5

Marin Cilic def. Julien Benneteau, 4-6 7-5 6-3 6-7 (7-9) 6-2

Agustin Calleri def. Austin Krajicek, 6-2 6-2 6-1

Nicolas Almagro def. Frank Dancevic, 5-3 6-4 7-5

Carlos Moya def. Aisam Ul-Haq Qureshi, 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (7-2) 6-2

Victor Hanescu def. Albert Montanes, 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 2-6 6-3

Radek Stepanek def. Potito Starace, 7-5 6-3 6-1

Sam Warburg def. Janko Tipsarevic, 6-2 1-0 retired

Chris Guccione def. Jesse Levine, 6-3 3-6 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (8-6)

Dmitry Tursunov def. Eduardo Schwank, 7-5 4-6 7-5 7-6 (7-5)

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Women's Draw

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Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Sorana Cirstea, 7-6 (7-3) 6-1

Lindsay Davenport def. Alisa Kleybanova, 7-5 6-3

Jelena Jankovic def. Sofia Arvidsson, 6-3 6-7 (5-7) 7-5

Elena Dementieva def. Pauline Parmentier, 6-2 6-1

Patty Schnyder def. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 6-3 6-3

Caroline Wozniacki def. Maria Elena Camerin, 6-1 6-2

Katarina Srebotnik def. Yvonne Meusburger, 6-1 6-3

Victoria Azarenka def. Iveta Benesova, 6-2 6-3

Anne Keothavong def. Francesca Schiavone, 6-2 306 6-4

Magdalena Rybarikova def. Tamira Paszek, 6-1 6-2

Ekaterina Makarova def. Ekaterina Bychkova, 3-6 7-5 6-3

Tatiana Perrebiynis def. Vera Zvonareva, 6-3 6-3

Jie Zheng def. Anabel Medina Garrigues, 6-1 6-4

Li Na def. Sara Errani, 4-6 6-2 6-0

Sybille Bammer def. Aravane Rezai, 6-1 7-5

Marion Bartoli def. Virginia Ruano Pascual, 6-4 6-2