David and David

So Roger didn't play his bestest tennis yesterday, but he won, and that made me happy. And his strawberry pink shirt also made me happy. It's so nice to see him wear something that's not blue.

Yes, I am shallow.

But happy as I was that my beloved R-Fed made it through, the match of the day went to David vs David, Nalbandian vs Ferrer, who played an absolute barnburner. It was close, but Nalbandian came out on top, and I think that's really telling. If he can keep his legs under him against an Energiser Bunny like Ferrer, then he's got a really good chance of holding his own against similar players. Like Nadal. Oh yes.

I love that Nadal/Nalbandian match up and I am gagging to see it again. We haven't seen Rafa since Wimbledon, so we don't know what's going on with him so much, but I'm presuming he's still keeping on keeping on, being Rafa and being awesome. Nalbandian in this kind of form... that could be lethal.

And hey, Nalbandian just finished his next match, and he absolutely slaughtered Tommy Robredo. There's a message to all the Spaniards out there... (okay, I haven't really looked at the draw and I don't know if Nalbandian is drawn to face Nadal any time soon, but I really want it to happen).

Nalbandian hasn't tested himself against a top ten player yet since his resurgence (I think? Unless I missed it?) and I'll be really interested to see how he does when that time come - because that time is clearly a-coming, with the way he's playing. Who knows what havoc Nalbandian can wreak? He could win this whole damn tournament, and I don't know if anyone would, at the end of the day, be surprised.

Jodi's Epic Tennis Adventure 1.2 - Eating Humble Paella

One of the problems with Australian tennis - I think, anyway - is our overweening sense of domination, even though we pretty much suck at it currently. It's been clear for a number of years that Lleyton Hewitt is not going to win another Grand Slam, and yet the question asked every time a Slam rolls around is 'what are Hewitt's chances?' No one ever seems to answer 'tiny' despite huge amounts of evidence (and precedent) in that area.

I don't mean to pay out Hewitt here - this is more a comment on the Australian perception of sport. We as a nation are used to being good at sport. Australia is one of the jocks of the world, used to beating up other countries and stuffing them in lockers on the sporting field. But I think the heart of this lies in the fact that Australia is very good at team sports. When it comes to individual sports... not so much. Not at the moment in tennis, anyway. But no one seems to realise this...

...which is why people get so damn cocky about the Hopman Cup every year, and get all disappointed when we don't win. It's 'Australia's Hopman Cup Shame', as I saw one headline read. To be fair, this year we did have a good team who had a good shot, but most years we don't have a prayer and no one seems to realise.

As a fan of tennis the sport, watching as a fan of tennis the sport and not necessarily of Australia, it is supremely uncomfortable to hear the stuff coming out of people's mouths when Australia is not doing well. I noticed this particularly during Samantha Stosur's match against Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez. I really enjoyed the match - Stosur didn't play particularly well once MJMS started to read her kicker, but MJMS had a beautiful game and I loved watching her play.

The people around me? Not so much. There was one woman behind me who was convinced that MJMS was somehow cheating and that Stosur should get three goes on serve instead of two because of it. I'm not quite sure exactly how she thought MJMS was cheating, but there you go. Amusingly, she also thought faults were called fouls, so I'm not sure her grip on the rules was too good. Another one labelled MJMS 'grunty' and would oink like a pig every time she got up to serve. (FYI, MJMS does grunt a bit, but I didn't even notice until this woman pointed it out - I think it was only noticeable because Stosur is completely silent. She's certainly no Michelle Larcher de Brito). Sport is pretty much a universal religion in Australia and it made me sad to see that appreciation of good play gave way to sledging and hyper-nationalism. Apparently it can only be good play if it is Australian play.

Look at me, sounding all miserable. I cannot tell you what a good time I had, this first day at the Burswood Dome. The majority of the crowds were not dickheads like those mentioned above and there is, quite simply, nothing quite like watching tennis live. I was viewing the court from above on a diagonal, which was not the best angle, but it was interesting watching tennis from a different perspective.

I also have a newfound respect for Tommy Robredo. This has been compounded by his victory over Andy Murray in the final of the Hopman Cup - I confess I wanted Murray to win so Robson could have her diamond ball, but this was an awesome match for Tommy. I saw him play Hewitt on this Thursday, and one thing you realise in real life that you never quite see on television is how fast he is. Robredo and Hewitt actually have quite similar games. Robredo probably hits the ball a little harder, but they both have great wheels and are dogged, chasing down anything they can find. The scoreline was relatively one-sided, but it was actually a great match, with lots of long points. Even if I wanted to turn around and smack the bogan Lleyton supporters behind me. (Not that all Lleyton supporters are bogan. But these ones, well...)

As a venue, the Burswood Dome is probably not ideal for tennis, but it's certainly unique. I love the ceiling, high and arching, and the fact that it is temperature controlled is excellent, because Perth is very, very hot! And Burswood is not out in the sticks (which, I confess, I thought it was) - it was one short train ride from the city of Perth where I was staying. I fell in love with Perth while I was there and am dying to go back one day. It has to be one of the world's most isolated cities, but it is beautiful. It seems very relaxed and laidback and chilled out... probably something to do with the fact that it is three hours behind the rest of the country and so any news that reaches it is inevitably old. But it is sunny and gorgeous and would be a lovely place to live and has an excellent public transport system and stuff.

But back to the Dome itself. It exists in this strange place between stadium and showcourt. During points, it feels like a stadium. However, when it's a sitdown and play is not in progress, you can actually walk right up to the edge of the plexicushion. There are security guards, but effectively you can be one, two metres away from the players as they have their sitdown. It has this wonderful intimacy but also this feeling that it has been haphazardly thrown together - Court 1 is separated from the central court by a big curtain. It is also really, really hard to get from one side of the stadium to the other. If you come in the wrong door (which I did on this Thursday, not knowing the venue at all) the only way you can get to your seat on the other side of the court is to go through a tunnel. However, this is also the same tunnel that the players use when walking about, so whenever they're coming, they close the tunnel off. Which means you can be stuck for up to about twenty minutes, which is kind of a pain.

The Hopman Cup is going to be at Burswood again next year, but the year after, I understand that they're moving to the new stadium they're building in Perth proper. Which, I noticed, happens to be across the road from my hotel. Perhaps I should book my accommodation now...?

Kind of Loving Tommy

Tommy Robredo is one of those players that I have, without meaning to, somehow conspired to see play a lot. He's not up there on my favourites list or anything, but somehow I always manage to catch a bunch of his matches. And I kind of love him now - a love born of familiarity more than anything else, because I doubt he'd stand out to me otherwise. He's not spectacularly interesting or anything.

But. Yes, I have just been all like, 'I love you, Tommy, but hot damn you are boring,' but when I saw him play John Isner at the Hopman Cup yesterday, I realised there was a reason I kind of loved him, and it's his speed. The way he can run down balls is pretty awesome to watch. They actually did a bit of stats thing on the TV where they showed how often Isner was hitting the ball to Robredo's backhand - something like 71% of the time. However, despite the speed of the Isner groundies, Robredo was running round most of them to hit forehands. Because he could.

And his passing shots! Oh, his passing shots! There is something in the Spanish air which predisposes the Spaniards to hitting beautiful passing shots, and Robredo is no exception. The best tribute I can pay them is silence.

The Isner/Robredo match was a seriously good match. It went 7-6 in the third, with Robredo coming out on top, but it was a titanic struggle - and it looked like it was going to be all Isner until one moment midway through the second set. Robredo had struggled mightily to get it to 30-all on Isner's serve, and then he hit an absolutely inspired forehand to bring up break point. He went on to break Isner - the only break of serve in the match - and run off with the set. And even though the third set went deep, you kind of had the feeling Robredo was going to win.

Spain won the tie 3-0, cleaning up in the women's singles and the mixed as well, and they surely must be favourites to win the group now. Another failed year at Hopman Cup for Australia.

Over in Brisbane, there were quality wins for Alicia Molik and Matt Ebden, which surely must turn Tennis Australia's collective frown upside down. Good stuff.


Today's Results

Hopman Cup (Perth)

Spain 3, USA 0

Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez def. Melanie Oudin, 6-4 6-4
Tommy Robredo def. John Isner, 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 7-6 (7-4)
Martinez Sanchez/Robredo def. Oudin/Isner, 6-4 7-5


Brisbane International (Brisbane)

Women's Draw

Kim Clijsters def. Tathiana Garbin, 6-2 6-1
Alicia Molik def. Ekaterina Makarova, 6-4 1-6 6-4
Vania King def. Sybille Bammer, 6-4 6-1
Andrea Petkovic def. Iveta Benesova, 6-7 (6-8) 6-2 6-1
Melinda Czink def. Lucie Hradecka, 6-4 3-6 6-3
Barbora Zahlavova Strycova def. Olga Govortsova, 6-4 6-1

Russian Kryptonite

All of Russia must be cursing Melanie Oudin. This is the fourth Russian in a row she's taken out - and I bet she's praying for Svetlana Kuznetsova to come up with the goods against Caroline Wozniacki to make it Russian #5. Unfortunately she can't play Russians ALL the way to the final... but she can get a good way there.

Anyway, we've talked a lot about the seeds in the women's draw falling, but we haven't talked much about the players that have got through, with a few notable exceptions, like Clijsters and Oudin - and Serena, I suppose, the only one of the top five seeds to remain in the draw. Everyone's talking about how it could be a final between two unseeded players, but two players that haven't received much attention are the two seeds who are facing off tonight - Svetlana Kuznetsova and Caroline Wozniacki. Both are ranked within the top ten and you've got to think that whichever one of them comes out on top tonight will make the final, whatever Melanie Oudin has to say about that.

It's pretty rare for two players of this calibre to get swept under the carpet, but it's happened. Caro shares the teen queen crown with Victoria Azarenka, and though she's underperformed at the Slams thus far, she's got some serious game. And Svetlana Kuznetsova won Roland Garros this year. How did we forget about these two?

I know Oudin is the fairy tale, but I'm calling it. Either Sveta or Caro will make the final, where they will play Serena. Le prediction de Jodi d'official, excuse my franglaise.

And a shout out to two other players in the quarters, one of whom will be in the semis. I don't think Yanina Wickmayer vs Kateryna Bondarenko is quite the match that the tournament organisers would have been hoping for, but big kudos to both of these girls for making it this far. Awesome work.

And speaking of awesome work - Roger Federer's into the quarters. Again. He looked brilliant beating Tommy Robredo - I'm hoping his third round match against Lleyton Hewitt was his token yippy match and it's all smooth sailing from here on in. It'd be great if he won and Clijsters won on the women's side - victories for the parental units!


Today's Results

US Open (Flushing Meadows)

Men's Draw

Roger Federer def. Tommy Robredo, 7-5 6-2 6-2
Fernando Verdasco def. John Isner, 4-6 6-4 6-4 6-4
Robin Soderling def. Nikolay Davydenko, 7-5 3-6 6-2 retired


Women's Draw

Kateryna Bondarenko def. Gisela Dulko, 6-0 6-0
Melanie Oudin def. Nadia Petrova, 1-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-3
Yanina Wickmayer def. Petra Kvitova, 4-6 6-4 7-5

Nice Guys Finishing First

You know who I've missed - and who I think the tennis world has missed? Marcos Baghdatis.

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I assume he's been having injury troubles, because I haven't seen him around for a while. This is a crying shame, because not only is he a nice player to watch, he just brings so much extra flair to the court. Maybe I'm a little biased, being Australian and thus privy to the massive Greek crowds that support him so vocally at the Aussie Open, but he really brings a lot of personality to the table, with his big cheeky smile and effervescent attitude. The world needs more players like Marcos.

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I say all this on account of Marcos suddenly turning up again in s'Hertogenbosch and winning a match - a good one too, knocking out second seed Tommy Robredo. I mean, sure, Tommy Robredo is Spanish, not Rafa and thus probably allergic to grass (even if David Ferrer won the title here last year) and Marcos is a former Wimbledon semi-finalist, but whatever. Marcos has been away for a while (I think he was in the first round of Roland Garros, but I don't really remember) and it's nice to see him win one.

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The same thing is true, to a lesser degree, of Ivan Ljubicic. He's played some excellent tennis this year after a big slump, and it is totally great to see him playing well. He's an excellent statesman of the game and probably one of the most eloquent tennis players I've ever seen, and I like it when nice people do well. It makes the world seem a little bit fairer.

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Today's Results

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Ordina Open (s'Hertogenbosch)

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Men's Draw

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Marcos Baghdatis def. Tommy Robredo, 7-5 6-2

Benjamin Becker def. Fernando Verdasco, 7-5 7-6 (7-4)

Michael Llodra def. Kristof Vliegen, 6-2 6-3

Dudi Sela def. Igor Kunitsyn, 6-4 6-3

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Women's Draw

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Dinara Safina def. Anna-Lena Groenefeld, 6-0 6-3

Alona Bondarenko def. Stefanie Foretz, 6-4 6-7 (1-7) 6-3

Nathalie Dechy def. Dominika Cibulkova, 6-3 3-6 6-3

Flavia Pennetta def. Ksenia Pervak, 6-1 6-1

Tamarine Tanasugarn def. Iveta Benesova, 6-3 6-1

Yanina Wickmayer def. Sorana Cirstea, 6-4 6-3

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AEGON International (Eastbourne)

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Men's Draw

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Frank Dancevic def. Igor Andreev, 7-6 (8-6) 6-2

Julien Benneteau def. Mikhail Youzhny, 4-6 6-5 6-4

Fabrice Santoro def. Robby Ginepri, 4-6 6-4 6-1

Ivan Ljubicic def. Joshua Goodall, 6-3 7-5

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez def. Yen-hsun Lu, 6-4 6-7 (0-7) 7-6 (7-3)

Janko Tipsarevic def. Brydan Klein, 7-6 (7-5) 6-1

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Women's Draw

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Li Na def. Elena Baltacha, 6-2 7-5

Agnieszka Radwanska def. Urszula Radwanska, 6-1 6-1

Anna Chakvetadze def. Jelena Jankovic, 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 6-2

Marion Bartoli def. Gisela Dulko, 6-3 6-1

Sybille Bammer def. Anne Keothavong, 6-3 6-2

Anabel Medina Garrigues def. Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, 6-3 6-7 (4-7) 6-1

Caroline Wozniacki def. Alisa Kleybanova, 6-3 6-2

Ekaterina Makarova def. Jarmila Groth, 7-6 (9-7) 6-1

Amelie Mauresmo def. Vera Zvonareva, 6-3 1-6 6-3

Vera Dushevina def. Ai Sugiyama, 6-7 (6-8) 7-5 6-4

Aleksandra Wozniak def. Svetlana Kuznetsova, 6-0 6-3

Monfalls

One of the things that makes a champion a champion is how they rise to the occasion. Another is how they always seem to be exceeding your expectations.

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In hindsight it is safe to say it - I had grave concerns over the welfare of my beloved Roger Federer heading into the match against Monfils. He hasn't been playing especially brilliantly - he eked out his match against Acasuso, scratched it out against Mathieu and clawed his way back against Haas by pure force of will. Understandably, with the level that Monfils brought to the court against Roddick and even Melzer, and with the French crowd behind him, I was a bit worried about Roger.

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But I needn't have been.

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Ivan Lendl reached ten Slam semis in a row, and set a record. (I think it was Lendl, anyway... certainly someone did it!) By beating Monfils and making the semis at this year's Roland Garros, Roger Federer has now made twenty consecutive semis. How's that for breaking a record?

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Let's talk about Monfils for a minute. He certainly was the victim of his own mind in the second set, where Federer's level rose and he just totally whaled on him, but on the whole, he didn't play a bad match. That first set was very competitive - I think any set that goes to a breaker is, really, especially one in which both players have set points. The third set was pretty tight as well, till the Mighty Fed nutted out that crucial break that won the match. Monfils looks like he's made of rubber and was sliding round the court in a manner which suggests this might be true. But Federer... worked him out. You can almost see the moment in Federer's head when he works a player out, and I think it might have happened with Gael Monfils a while back. Sure, Monfils has improved under the guidance of Roger Rasheed over the past year, but Federer's still got a key to the door, if you know what I mean. And that was the key - Federer was hitting the lines, sure, but he pretty much outsmarted Monfils. And that's another thing a champion does - use his mind.

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He'll now face Juan Martin del Potro in the semi final, and to say that Federer has JMDP figured out is an understatement. Not that he'll underestimate him or anything, but seriously, after the quarter final of Australia where Federer smoked him so bad it was almost embarrassing? I don't want to jinx Federer here, because of course he'll take this match seriously, but it all seems to be lining up pretty well here for him. Clay is a different animal, of course, but if Federer plays at the same level he brought to the court against Monfils, then I think he'll be into the final in less than two hours. No discredit to JMDP, who basically whipped Tommy Robredo today, but... Roger Federer will be Roger Federer!

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Over to the ladies, and how about you, Slammin' Sam Stosur? Who would have ever thought that an Aussie girl would be in the quarters of Roland Garros - and then win through to the semis? Sure, her opponent, Sorana Cirstea, was unseeded and pretty untried on the big match stage, but, whatever! Sam Stosur owned her today and she's into the semis. And given that the semis are tomorrow and the other match went for three hours...

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...not doubting the fitness of Svetlana Kuznetsova - who seriously deserved her win over Serena Williams. That was the match of the day without a doubt, with true grit shown on both sides. But maybe Sam has a window, an opening, through which the final is visible. An Aussie in a Slam final. It's a possibility. And when was the last time we could say that?

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Today's Results

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French Open (Roland Garros)

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Men's Draw

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Roger Federer def. Gael Monfils, 7-6 (8-6) 6-2 6-4

Juan Martin del Potro def. Tommy Robredo, 6-3 6-4 6-2

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Women's Draw

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Samantha Stosur def. Sorana Cirstea, 6-1 6-3

Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Serena Williams, 7-6 (7-3) 5-7 7-5

By the Skin of His Teeth

Roger Federer, if I get a stomach ulcer, I am blaming you.

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Sometimes it is so damn hard to be a Roger Federer fangirl. I'm deliberately not talking about the assumption that Federer 'must' win now Nadal is out for fear of jinxing it, but if he had lost this match... God, I would have been so damn disappointed. The first set... he should have won. He didn't lose a point on serve till the breaker, where he fell apart. The second set, if he'd hung onto that break, it could have totally been the other way round. But there we were. Tommy Haas, up two sets to love on Roger Federer.

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And then it's break point. It's 4-3 to Haas, Federer serving, and Haas has a break point. Federer hits the gutsiest damn forehand I have ever seen. Paints the line. And then the match turns. Federer takes that set, 6-4. Then 6-0 in about four seconds. Haas struggles gamely in the beginning of the fifth, gets it to 2-all... but then Federer just screams away. That point, that break point... if he had lost that, Tommy Haas would have been serving for the match. But he made it. He made it.

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God, that man is a champion.

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He really, really is. I can't deny it. This was an almost exact replica of that Berdych match in Australia, which nearly slayed me. I nearly turned the match off, unable to watch the end, unable to face it. But I owe Roger that much, and I remembered that match, and so I kept on, and I watched and listened and I prayed to the great gods of tennis. (Considering Roger Federer is my tennis god, it might have been a tad redundant, but sort of poetic in the same way). And I believed. And... and my Roger did not let me down.

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I was sad when Rafa lost. But if Roger had lost, I think I would have been just about catatonic. Thank you, Roger. Thank you. You might have given me an ulcer, but thank you.

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And I don't know if my troubles will go away, because he's facing Monfils in the next round, who looked very good in his victory over Roddick today. Not that Roddick is the king of clay or anything, but this is certainly his best result here by a long shot, and Monfils pretty much nailed him to the wall. The Federer/Monfils semi last year was a close one, and Roger will have to do a little better than scraping through by the skin of his teeth, I think. I'm just hoping that he's suffered the same malaise as both Nadal and Djokovic seemed to have - but instead of falling victim, he managed to fight on. I have my fingers crossed for that.

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Making up our other quarter final we have Juan Martin del Potro, who had a very good win over Jo-W Tsonga - though Jo was, in my opinion, largely walkabout for large sections of the match - and Tommy Robredo, who had a nice win over Kohlschreiber. I do not wish to sound, you know, psychic or anything, but did I or did I not predict that Tommy Robredo would make the semis? And are we not just one win away from that?

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Quick women's watch, and Serena is beginning to look ominous. Maybe we are going to see the Safina/Serena amazing rhyming final after all. However, she'll face Svetlana Kuznetsova, who has been coming through the draw quietly but likewise ominously... and that could be a cracker. And how about the other quarter? Isn't that a surprise? Sam Stosur, who demolished Virginie Razzano, over Romanian prodigy Sorana Cirstea, who has really come into her own with two big victories over her BFF Wozniacki and now Jankovic in an epic third set. Now this could be a good one - and although I think Cirstea is great, I am pulling for Sam in this one 110%!

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Today's Results

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Men's Draw

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Roger Federer def. Tommy Haas, 6-7 (4-7) 5-7 6-4 6-0 6-2

Gael Monfils def. Andy Roddick, 6-4 6-2 6-3

Tommy Robredo def. Philipp Kohlschreiber, 6-4 5-7 7-6 (7-4) 6-2

Juan Martin del Potro def. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 6-1 6-7 (5-7) 6-1 6-4

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Women's Draw

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Serena Williams def. Aleksandra Wozniak, 6-1 6-2

Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Agnieszka Radwanska, 6-4 1-6 6-1

Samantha Stosur def. Virginie Razzano, 6-1 6-2

Sorana Cirstea def. Jelena Jankovic, 3-6 6-0 9-7

Toastmaster

Nothing too especially exciting went down in Barcelona overnight - in addition to Rafa, who made his way to the semis courtesy of a David Nalbandian walkover (which was a shame: that would have been an interesting rematch, considering Rafa never looks more vulnerable than when he plays Dave - if he can ever be said to look vulnerable at all!) we have David Ferrer, the resurgent Nikolay Davydenko and Fernando Gonzalez who, perhaps surprisingly, took out #2 seed Nando Verdasco.

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Now, I was hoping Nando would go all the way (to the final - I wouldn't be foolish enough to pull against the Rafinator!) so I was a little disappointed, but I think this will be an interesting lineup nonetheless. I confess, however, that I was surprised that Nando was the one of the top four seeds that got upset - I would have thought it much more likely that either Ferrer or Davydenko would be taken down. Ferru was playing Tommy Robredo, who has been playing pretty decently (though he seems to have petered off a bit of late, which is a little disappointing... still, I'm sticking with him as a potential Roland Garros semi-finalist). And Davydenko is just back on the horse, playing against the wily wily Worm, Radek Stepanek.

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Let's talk Kolya for a minute. He's only just back, and he's been playing pretty shiny good tennis for a guy who has had no match play over the past, what, three, four months? He has the personality of a piece of toast, so people pretty much forgot that he was gone, but now he's back... God, it's nice to have him. The bottom half of the top ten - that pack below the leading posse of Rafa, Roger, Novak and Andy - has been so volatile and explosive that it's nice to have a relatively calm influence in there. Kolya was the best of the rest for so long - he was solid in that position. And it was kind of nice to have someone solid and consistent in there - who proved that you could be excellent by dint of hard work, sans flair.

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Not that I don't like flair. I love flair. I'm all about flair. But you have to admire the sheer consistency of players like Kolya. He was out of the game for months, hardly anyone noticed and he still managed to stay in the top ten. That says something about his level of results.

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He'll face Rafa in the next round, so it's going to be bye bye Kolya in the semis this time. But I'd like to see him back on the horse, in the fullness of time, winning the odd tournament here and there. He deserves it.

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Today's Results

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Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell (Barcelona)
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Fernando Gonzalez def. Fernando Verdasco, 6-3 4-6 6-4

Nikolay Davydenko def. Radek Stepanek, 6-7 (4-7) 6-2 6-2

David Ferrer def. Tommy Robredo, 6-3 6-4

Endangered Species

Aiyaiyai, Monte Carlo. We had some ker-RAZY results there overnight. Sure, the big boys got through all right - Djokovic and Murray came through in pretty convincing straights - but the rung below that? Yeesh. Berdych? Gone. Monfils? Gone. Simon? Gone.

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What is up with that?

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But there were even more shocking results than that - yes, even more shocking than Gilles Simon being beaten by Andreas Beck, who I recall having seen play and liked before - but still, qualifier. There were two that I would NOT have picked - whoever wins the bracket challenge this tournament is clearly psychic. Tommy Robredo, who has been playing so well and whom I have tipped to go deep at the French, lost to Juan Monaco, with whom I have not been impressed in the past. Sure, he's a claycourter, but Robredo is a pocket dynamo! This is not a good result at all.

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But even more shocking, the player who has regularly been #3 in the claycourt season over the past couple of years behind Rafa and Roger, the Prince of Clay himself, Nicolas Almagro, lost to Albert Montanes. It was a third set breaker, but THAT IS NO EXCUSE! I have high expectations of Almagro and this was just not cool. Montanes is a wily veteran, but Almagro is genuinely up there with the best in the world on the red stuff. This wasn't good enough.

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Maybe I'm expecting too much. The season has only just started and maybe the players need some time to get their eye in or whatever. But... ugh, please. Seeded players are becoming an endangered species in Monte Carlo. It's starting to look like a WTA tournament.

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Though it will be interesting to see what some of these lower-ranked guys can do... (Kudos to Marat Safin, incidentally. Always keen to see him through!)

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Today's Results

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Monte Carlo Rolex Masters (Monte Carlo)

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Novak Djokovic def. Oscar Hernandez, 6-1 6-2

Andy Murray def. Victor Hanescu, 6-3 6-2

Andreas Beck def. Gilles Simon, 7-5 6-1

Juan Monaco def. Tommy Robredo, 6-2 6-4

Janko Tipsarevic def. Gael Monfils, 6-3 6-1

David Nalbandian def. Paul-Henri Mathieu, 6-4 3-6 6-3

Albert Montanes def. Nicolas Almagro, 7-6 (8-6) 4-6 7-6 (7-5)

Fabio Fognini def. Tomas Berdych 1-6 6-3 6-3

Jean-Rene Lisnard def. Christophe Rochus, 6-2 6-2

Martin Vassallo Arguello def. Igor Andreev, 2-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-2

David Ferrer def. Feliciano Lopez, 6-2 6-3

Ivo Karlovic def. Florent Serra, 6-4 6-4

Marat Safin def. Lleyton Hewitt, 6-4 7-5

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Family Circle Cup (Charleston)

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Vera Zvonareva def. Rossana de los Ríos, 6-3 6-2

Marion Bartoli def. Anastasija Sevastova, 6-1 6-3

Dominika Cibulkova def. Tamira Paszek, 6-4 6-0

Aleksandra Wozniak def. Abigail Spears, 6-3 4-6 6-0

Bethanie Mattek-Sands def. Mariana Duque Marino, 7-6 (7-3) 7-5

Shenay Perry def. Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, 7-5 6-1

Sabine Lisicki def. Marie-Ève Pelletier, 7-5 6-4

Elena Vesnina def. Evgeniya Rodina, 6-0 6-2

Alla Kudryavtseva def. Angela Haynes, 6-4 5-7 6-0

Akgul Amanmuradova def. Alexandra Stevenson, 6-2 6-4

Sania Mirza def. Sesil Karatantcheva, 6-4 6-4

Viktoriya Kutuzova def. Mariya Koryttseva, 6-1 6-1

Stéphanie Dubois def. Katie O'Brien, 4-6 6-2 6-1

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Barcelona Ladies' Open (Barcelona)

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Masa Zec Peskiric def. Kaia Kanepi, 3-6 6-2 6-4

Carla Suárez Navarro def. Estrella Cabeza Candela, 6-2 6-0

Maria Kirilenko def. Camille Pin, 6-2 6-0

Anastasiya Yakimova def. Sorana Cirstea, 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (7-5)

Francesca Schiavone def. Lourdes Domínguez Lino, 7-6 (7-4) 6-4

María José Martínez Sánchez def. Kirsten Flipkens, 6-2 6-2

Nicole Vaidisova def. Yevgenia Savranska, 6-2 6-4

Severine Brémond def. Anna-Lena Groenefeld, 7-6 (7-4) 6-2

Tatjana Malek def. Nuria Llagostera Vives, 6-3 3-6 6-1

Emilie Loit def. Mervana Jugic-Salkic, 7-6 (7-3) 3-6 6-2

On The Red Stuff

Miami is ended and the summer is gone, and now we have embarked onto the clay swing, one of the most interesting swings of the year. I love the clay swing - the one before Roland Garros, anyway. The clay tournaments after Wimbledon seem really stupid to me - though I haven't examined the new schedule, so I don't know what they're like now...

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But I digress. Clay is here - so what can we expect? Who is going to shine and who is going to fall?

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We talked about Andy Murray yesterday - this season is going to be a huge test for him, a real measure of his claim to being in that elite top echelon. Nadal, Federer and Djokovic have all proved their abilities on all surfaces, all making semis at all four Slams - can Murray do the same and bring it on the red stuff? Though speaking of that top echelon, they'll need to maintain (or, in the cases of Federer and Djokovic, improve) their current form. I don't think anyone would ever doubt the ability of Rafa Nadal to absolutely dominate this swing. Federer has consistently shown himself to be the world #2 on clay. But who else is there to look out for?

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Tommy Robredo is one that I would definitely keep an eye on. He's been playing fiercely well over the last little while - maybe not so much at Indian Wells and Miami, but he's been pretty consistently good throughout the year. I think he's a real shot at a semi-final berth - I nominated him about a month ago for this position, and I'm sticking with. Obviously it depends which way the draw falls - I wouldn't pick him over Rafa, for example - but I like his chance to go deep.

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I'm also hoping David Ferrer can bring the form on clay, on which he is consistently good, and also Stan Wawrinka, who really earned his stripes on clay last year with that final in Rome. I'm also going to be interested to see how Andy Roddick goes on the red stuff, which is definitely not his arena - he's been playing quite well of late and it'll be interesting to see how it translates.

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And from the Stars? Gulbis - he made the quarters at Roland Garros last year. But Thomaz Bellucci will also be good to watch, and I'd keep an eye on Eduardo Schwank as well. And there's also a young Portuguese kid I'm keeping an eye on - Frederico Gil. He's not quite a Star yet, but worth watching...

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Today's Results

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Grand Prix Hassan II (Casablanca)

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Victor Hanescu def. Steve Darcis, 6-4 7-5

Florent Serra def. Thomaz Bellucci, 6-3 6-3

Ivan Ljubicic def. Arnaud Clement, 7-6 (8-6) 5-7 6-4

Frederico Gil def. Alberto Martin, 6-3 3-6 7-6 (7-4)

Ivan Navarro def. Sergiy Stakhovsky, 7-5 4-2 retired

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US Men's Clay Court Championship (Houston)

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Jurgen Melzer def. Robert Kendrick, 6-1 7-5

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Andalucia Tennis Experience (Marbella)

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Sorana Cirstea def. Ioana Raluca Olaru, 6-4 6-2

Roberta Vinci def. Tsvetana Pironkova, 6-7 (4-7) 6-2 6-4

Nicole Vaidisova def. Angelique Kerber, 3-6 6-4 6-4

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The MPS Group Championships (Ponte Vedra Beach)

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Kateryna Bondarenko def. Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, 7-6 (7-2) 6-2

Madison Keys def. Alla Kudryavtseva, 7-5 6-4

Elder Statesman

Who know who I'm really liking in this tournament? Well, Federer, obviously, and the scariness of Nadal is also good to watch, but the random that I'm liking so far in Indian Wells is the elder statesman, Ivan Ljubicic.
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It seems strange to refer to Ivan as a random, considering that it wasn't so long ago that he was #3 in the world. But a lot has happened in tennis since then. The Hispano-Suisse domination machine has rolled unstoppably on, but we've seen the rise of Djokovic and Murray and the formation of the Fabulous Four. Ivan fell out of the top ten and then down out of Grand Slam seedings without anyone really noticing.
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But the fact is that he's got some serious game. I don't know if his serve is as powerful as it used to be, but I've always enjoyed watching Ivan play. And he had a really good win over Gilles Simon yesterday - who I am not finding especially impressive at the moment. I'm not sure how he got to #6 or whatever it is in the world, but it seems like it might have been a fluke... he was certainly running hot at the end of last year, but he's cooled right off. So it'll be interesting to watch how he progresses from here - and how Ivan Ljubicic does this tournament.
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Roger Federer rolled on, making relatively easy work of Ivo Karlovic, when you consider the weapons that Karlovic has. And my bracket is shot now, because the random semi-finalist I picked - Marin Cilic - went out to Robredo. Though maybe I should have picked Robredo, given his current form - nice to see that he's been able to do it on just about any court surface he's been handed this year. I'm still picking him to be a semifinalist at Roland Garros - not backing off on that one!

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Today's Results

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BNP Paribas Open (Indian Wells)

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Men's Draw

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Roger Federer def. Ivo Karlovic, 7-6 (7-4) 6-3

Ivan Ljubicic def. Gilles Simon, 6-3 7-6 (7-3)

Fernando Verdasco def. Richard Gasquet, 6-3 6-2

Igor Andreev def. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 7-5 6-4

Fernando Gonzalez def. James Blake, 7-5 6-1

Tommy Robredo def. Marin Cilic, 7-5 7-6 (7-2)

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Women's Draw

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Vera Zvonareva def. Li Na, 6-4 6-4

Caroline Wozniacki def. Urszula Radwanska, 7-5 6-3

Missing Nando

I have just realised something.

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We all know that Davis Cup has just started. I think we probably all know that the first day of the Spain/Serbia tie got postponed due to high wind. But one thing I did NOT know is that Nando Verdasco is NOT on the Spanish team.

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Look, I'm sorry, but whose dumb idea was that? I know there's a great deal of depth in Spanish men's tennis at the moment, but even so, Nando is probably one of the first people you want on your team. I mean, I can understand selecting Rafa above him, because hello, Rafa is Rafa, but I would have picked Nando before Ferrer, Robredo and Lopez, any day of the week.

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Robredo is showing some great form at the moment, sure, but neither Ferrer nor Lopez have done anything especially remarkable so far this year, whereas Verdasco certainly has. That semi he played against Nadal at the Aussie Open is one of the greatest matches we have seen in recent history. And please - the man is a freaking Davis Cup hero. He basically won the thing for Team Spain on those fateful three days in Mar del Plata. When the Boss was down and out, it was not Robredo, Lopez or Ferrer that stepped up to lead for their country. It was Nando Verdasco.

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SO WHERE IS HE?

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My apologies to those responsible for the Spanish Davis Cup selection panel if Nando is injured or otherwise unavilable and I wasn't in on the memo - which is probably likely. But if he was available and you didn't pick him... shame on you. Shame.

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Today's Results

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Davis Cup

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Argentina 2, Netherlands 0

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Juan Ignacio Chela def. Jesse Huta Galung, 6-2 2-6 6-2 6-7 (4-7) 6-2

Juan Monaco def. Thiemo de Bakker, 6-1 6-2 7-6 (7-1)

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France 1, Czech Republic 1

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Tomas Berdych def. Gilles Simon, 7-6 (7-3) 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-3

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Radek Stepanek, 7-5 6-2 7-6 (7-1)

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Switzerland 1, USA 0

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Stanislas Wawrinka def. James Blake, 3-6 6-4 6-3 7-6 (7-3)

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Croatia 2, Chile 0

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Mario Ancic def. Nicolas Massu, 6-3 6-3 7-6 (7-4)

Marin Cilic def. Paul Capdeville, 6-1 6-2 6-1

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Sweden 1, Israel 1

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Thomas Johansson def. Harel Levy, 6-7 (3-7) 6-4 7-5 4-6 8-6

Dudi Sela def. Andreas Vinciguerra, 4-6 6-3 3-6 6-3 11-9

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Russia 2, Romania 0

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Marat Safin def. Victor Crivoi, 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 6-4

Mikhail Youzhny def. Victor Hanescu, 6-4 6-2 6-4

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Austria 1, Germany

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Stefan Koubek def. Rainer Schuettler, 6-4 7-5 5-7 6-2

Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Jurgen Melzer, 6-7 (4-7) 4-6 6-4 6-3 6-3

Lleyton Lifts

As I write this, Tommy Robredo has four match points against Juan Monaco in the final of Buenos Aires... of which he has now lost three, but even if he loses the match, then my point still stands. He's one of the guys to beat at this point in the season. Watch this space.

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Another one who's been good to watch this week has been - surprise, surprise - Lleyton Hewitt. I know I'm jumping on this bandwagon a little late, but he's seriously been playing some inspired stuff. He won more points than Roddick did in that match, and if he hadn't played such a dodgy breaker in the second...

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He has said that he wants to get back into the top ten, and while I think that one's a little out of his grasp, if he continues to play like he did in Memphis this week, he certainly has a shot of finding himself well within the top fifty again. A Grand Slam seeding is a good goal for him, I think... and with his current level of play, it should be no trouble.

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And Tommy Robredo just won in Buenos Aires. That's two tournaments on the trot. Not bad, eh? And Victoria Azarenka just won her second career title in Memphis. Are we going to see her and her bad attitude take a run at the top ten?

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Today's Results

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Regions Morgan Keenan Championships (Memphis)

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Victoria Azarenka def. Caroline Wozniacki, 6-1 6-3

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Copa Telmex (Buenos Aires)

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Tommy Robredo def. Juan Monaco, 7-5 2-6 7-6 (7-5)

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Open 13 (Marseille)

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Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Michael Llodra, 7-5 7-6 (7-3)

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Copa Sony Ericsson Colsanitas (Bogota)

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María José Martínez Sánchez def. Gisela Dulko, 6-3 6-2

Robredo Rolls In 2009

You know who has been a real surprise package for the whole of this season - a guy who is totally ominous form but whom no one is talking about? Tommy Robredo. Seriously, the guy is on a major roll at the moment, and no one has said a word.

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Let's look at the Aussie Open. Until his round of sixteen loss to the also in-form Andy Roddick, he gave up something like eleven games over only three matches. The phrase I heard someone use was 'cantering through the draw' and it was about right. I saw about a set of his second round victory against Viktor Troicki, who gave Rafa Nadal some serious trouble in the first round the year before, and Tommy absolutely went to town on him.

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Then Tommy won a difficult final in Costa do Sauipe against hometown hero and Star of the Future Thomaz Bellucci, which can't have been easy. And now he's absolutely steamrolled his way through the field in Buenos Aires. He won his semi against local boy Jose Acasuso in pretty hot-looking form, and will go on now to face another local, Juan Monaco, in the final. Monaco did take top seed David Nalbandian in his semi... but come on, it's Dave. If LameDave showed up, then blind Freddy could beat him.

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So I'd put pretty good money on Tommy winning again. Are we going to see a streak like the one big Juan Martin del Potro had last year, where he won four tournaments on the trot? I certainly think it's a distinct possibility. And if Tommy keeps up this form into Roland Garros, I certainly would not be surprised to see him go deep. I think Roger and Rafa would be a bit too much for Tommy, but if he's drawn in the Djokovic or Murray quarters, then I would not be surprised AT ALL to see him in the semis.

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In fact, that is my early prediction for the French Open. Should Robredo be drawn in the Djokovic or Murray quarters, he'll be in the semis. You heard it here first.

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Today's Results

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Regions Morgan Keenan Championships (Memphis)
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Radek Stepanek def. Dudi Sela, 6-3 6-1

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Copa Telmex (Buenos Aires)

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Juan Monaco def. David Nalbandian, 2-6 7-5 7-6 (7-2)

Tommy Robredo def. Jose Acasuso, 6-4 7-6 (7-3)

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Open 13 (Marseille)

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Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Novak Djokovic, 6-4 7-6 (7-1)

Michael Llodra def. Gilles Simon, 7-6 (7-5) 6-2

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Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships (Dubai)

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Venus Williams def. Virginie Razzano, 6-4 6-2

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Copa Sony Ericsson Colsanitas (Bogota)

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Gisela Dulko def. Edina Gallovits, 6-2 6-3

María José Martínez Sánchez def. Patricia Mayr, 7-5 7-5

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PS. I'd just like to applaud Bernard Tomic for the wonderful work he did yesterday, raising money for the victims of the Victorian bushfire tragedy. I don't know how much coverage this natural disaster has got worldwide, but it was one of the biggest disasters we've had here in a long time, with 208 people (currently) perishing in blazes all over Victoria. This was coupled with terrible floods in Queensland and northern New South Wales. So kudos, Bernard, for doing your bit.

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PPS. It has nothing to do with tennis, but if you have a spare moment, check out my other blog, The Black Valentine's Day Manifesto. I started it a week ago because of the massive response I had to a note I posted on Facebook, and it's really started ot take off! So check it out, if that's your cup of tea.

If You Hear Us, Clap Your Hands!

Okay, I admit it. I was SUCH a tennis patriot last night. I cheered my lungs out for the Aussies - hell, you probably heard me if you were watching! The atmosphere in Rod Laver Arena was electric! But more on that later. Let us start at the beginning.

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I got there just before play began, and got myself a pretty decent seat on Show Court 2 to watch a bit of Cilic and Tipsarevic. One thing I had not considered in choosing this match to begin my day's viewing is that Cilic is Croatian and Tipsarevic is Serbian, and both groups of fans are very, very vocal in Australia, so there was a whoooole lot of shouting! I didn't understand most of it, not understanding either Croatian or Serbian, but it made the whole thing feel like a footy match, and it put the crowd into the match from the start - it really created a great atmosphere! Seriously, it was akin to the endless chants of 'MAR-COS - BAGH-DA-TIS!' that floated out of that same court in the afternoon. And it was a good match as well - I only watched the first set, which Cilic won, but there were some great shots made and good fun for everyone.

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I had a bit of a wander round the back courts to see if anyone interesting was practicing, but I had determined not to spend my whole day waiting for Fedot again, so when I determined that no one especially interesting was, I went back to Margaret Court Arena and settled in for a good couple of hours - and it was lucky I went when I did, because the whole place got packed out very, very quickly! As it was, being alone, I got a pretty decent seat - right at the top, with an excellent view of the whole court. I watched the second set of Petrova/Mirza, which was good fun, but I was really there for the next match - Safin/Garcia-Lopez.

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And when the big man came out, let me tell you, the cheers were massive. There were about three lonely Spanish fans chanting 'G - G - L! G -G - L!' and everyone else was roaring for Safin. (There were a lot of women in the audience... go figure. The queues to get into the stadium were over an hour long at one point, and the match was only an hour and a half - Marat has a whooole lot of fans in Australia! And I don't know whether the crowd lifted him or if he was just having a good day, but he played beautifully - very clean tennis, by his often erratic standards. I watched the whole match and I enjoyed every second. I'm so sad he comes up against Federer next - and sad that I don't have arena tickets for Friday night, because I'm pretty sure it's going to be then...

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When Safin finished I went for another wander round the back... just to check if anyone was out. (Not that Federer would have been out - he was about to play. But someone else might have been there.) I caught a bit of Nieminen hitting up then sat down at Court 19 and watched a bit of Tommy Robredo pummelling Viktor Troicki into the ground. That one was almost painful to watch because Troicki was so upset with himself and playing so badly, so I left and went back round the front - just to discover that the Roger match in Rod Laver Arena was about to begin!

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I had a lovely hour-and-a-half, sitting on the grass in Garden Square, watching the match on the big screen. Federer played beautifully and you could hear the cheers wafting out from the stadium. Also, I was in some Channel 7 footage of Garden Square. That made me glad. It wasn't as hot yesterday (probably only 32 or 33 degrees compared to the 37ish 38ish the days before) and so it was very pleasant - almost like a picnic, sans food and company. (Otherwise exactly the same.)

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I went offsite to eat, then came back at about 6, to find a huge crowd glued to the big screen watching Lu/Nalbandian, with not a seat to spare, so I wandered round and caught the last two games of Bolelli/Fish and the second set of Santoro/Kohlschreiber, which was a totally excellent match which I would have watched more of, but the main event was starting in the arena!

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I didn't know how the crowd was going to react to Jelena Dokic, and I don't think she did either, but they got behind her 110%. There were some folks holding up a 'Welcome Back Jelena!' banner and I think that pretty much says it all. The crowd were cheering and chanting like anything - me included. The amount of times that the 'AUSSIE FANS IN THE STANDS, IF YOU HEAR US, CLAP YOUR HANDS!' cheer went round was obscene - and it was such a great match as well. When Jelena finally pulled it out deep in the third, the whole crowd rose as one and just screamed and screamed and screamed. She started crying - and I confess I shed a tear as well. It was such a great moment.

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And then when Tomic came out, the crowd didn't lose any momentum! There were innumerable 'AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE, OI OI OI!' chants as well as a whole host of others... it was like being at the cricket, seriously. And what a match Tomic played - especially that first set. He may not have won the match, but he sure won the hearts of the crowd. He served notice, I think - the a-Tomic bomb is here to stay!

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Today's Results

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Australian Open

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Men's Draw

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Roger Federer def. Evgeny Korolev, 6-2 6-2 6-1

Novak Djokovic def. Jeremy Chardy, 7-5 6-1 6-3

Gilles Muller def. Bernard Tomic, 3-6 6-1 6-4 6-2

Andy Roddick def. Xavier Malisse, 4-6 6-2 7-6 (7-1) 6-2

Yen-Hsun Lu def. David Nalbandian, 6-4 5-7 4-6 6-4 6-2

Juan Martin del Potro def. Florian Mayer, 6-1 7-5 6-2

Marat Safin def. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, 7-5 6-2 6-2

Marcos Baghdatis def. Robin Soderling, 3-6 7-5 6-3 6-3

Marin Cilic def. Janko Tipsarevic, 6-2 6-3 406 6-3

David Ferrer def. Dominik Hrbaty, 6-2 6-2 6-1

Stanislas Wawrinka def. Brydan Klein, 6-3 6-4 6-4

Fabrice Santoro def. Philipp Kohlschreiber, 5-7 7-5 3-6 7-5 6-3

Mardy Fish def. Simone Bolelli, 6-4 6-1 7-5

Tomas Berdych def. Brian Dabul, 6-1 6-1 6-3

Amer Delic def. Paul-Henri Mathieu, 1-6 3-6 6-3 7-6 (7-3) 9-7

Tommy Robredo def. Viktor Troicki, 6-1 6-3 6-0

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Women's Draw

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Jelena Jankovic def. Kirsten Flipkens, 6-4 7-5

Dinara Safina def. Ekaterina Makarova, 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 6-0

Ana Ivanovic def. Alberta Brianti, 6-3 6-2

Vera Zvonareva def. Edina Gallovits, 6-0 6-0

Nadia Petrova def. Sania Mirza, 6-3 6-2

Caroline Wozniacki def. Virginia Ruano Pascual, 6-3 6-3

Alizé Cornet def. Andrea Petkovic, 6-1 6-0

Marion Bartoli def. Tsvetana Pironkova, 7-5 6-2

Jelena Dokic def. Anna Chakvetadze, 6-4 6-7 (4-7) 6-3

Daniela Hantuchova def. Mathilde Johansson, 6-3 4-6 6-3

Kaia Kanepi def. Patricia Mayr, 6-3 6-1

Ai Sugiyama def. Nathalie Dechy, 1-6 6-1 6-3

Alisa Kleybanova def. Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro, 6-1 3-6 6-2

Sara Errani def. Monica Niculescu, 6-2 6-3

Lucie Safarova def. Marina Erakovic, 6-1 3-6 9-7

Galina Voskoboeva def. Karin Knapp, 6-4 6-1

Where in the World is Anna Chakvetadze?

You know how I'm always whinging about Ana Ivanovic and how she never wins things any more? I think this might have led me to disregard the fall of another top ten player - not one as prominent as Ana, as she never reached #1, but still... whatever happened to Anna Chakvetadze?

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She hasn't done anything all year, pretty much. I can't say I follow her career particularly closely, but I'm hard-pressed to think of a time when she strung two matches together, certainly of late. I know this all supposedly stems back to the time she was held up and tied up and guns were involved and badness like that, but still... does it HAVE to affect her tennis game?

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Not that I was such a huge Chakvetadze fan to begin with. I never really paid her much attention, to tell the truth. But it's nice to keep it competitive at the top, and she's just one of that gang not performing as wel as they should. Silly Anna.

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In case you can't tell, Anna got ousted in Luxembourg yesterday, which is a Tier III tournament, conquered by Iveta Benesova. Benesova isn't rubbish, but she certainly isn't playing at the level Chakvetadze should be. It's a shame.

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We had a couple of upsets over with the blokes, but nothing that major. We lost Mardy Fish in Basel (I'm so sad) and Tommy Robredo in Lyon, but otherwise we're pretty solid. One seed that had a good win was Marat Safin, who beat Sergiy Stakhovsky. I know Stakhovsky isn't anyone that big, but I think I remember him winning a tournament this year, so nice one, Marat. Keep it up. He's a Russian playing in Russia, and that seemed to help him out a bit at the Kremlin Cup... so will THIS be the week?

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Today's Results

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Davidoff Swiss Indoors (Basel)

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Igor Andreev def. Philipp Kohlschreiber, 7-6 (8-6) 6-7 (0-7) 7-5

Feliciano Lopez def. Mardy Fish, 7-6 (11-9) 6-4

Benjamin Becker def. Andreas Beck, 3-6 6-3 6-4

James Blake def. Nicolas Kiefer, 3-6 6-3 6-4

Kristof Vliegen def. Philipp Petzschner, 6-2 6-3

Jarkko Nieminen def. Eduardo Schwank, 6-2 6-4

Marcel Granollers def. Marcos Baghdatis, 6-2 4-6 6-2

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St Petersburg Open (St Petersburg)

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Fernando Verdasco def. Karlis Lejnieks, 6-1 6-3

Rainer Schuettler def. Dominik Hrbaty, 6-3 6-3

Andy Murray def. Viktor Troicki, 6-3 6-3

Marat Safin def. Sergiy Stakhovsky, 6-2 6-4

Andrey Golubev def. Olivier Rochus, 6-1 6-4

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Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon (Lyon)

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Julien Benneteau def. Tommy Robredo, 6-2 6-2

Josselin Ouanna def. Nicolas Lapentti, 6-3 1-6 6-3

Gilles Simon def. Juan Monaco, 2-6 6-4 6-1

Robin Soderling def. Thierry Ascione, 6-4 6-1

Paul-Henri Mathieu def. Guillermo Canas, 6-3 6-4

Christophe Rochus def. Gilles Muller, 6-2 6-4

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Generali Ladies Linz (Linz)

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Agnieszka Radwanska def. Kaia Kanepi, 6-2 6-4

Alizé Cornet def. Maria Kirilenko, 1-6 6-2 6-1

Flavia Pennetta def. Agnes Szavay, 6-1 6-2

Sybille Bammer def. Francesca Schiavone, 7-5 6-3

Petra Kvitova def. Tamira Paszek, 6-3 6-3

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FORTIS Championships Luxembourg (Luxembourg)

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Iveta Benesova def. Anna Chakvetadze, 6-2 6-4

Daniela Hantuchova def. Sabine Lisicki, 6-0 6-2

Caroline Wozniacki def. Peng Shuai, 6-4 6-4

Li Na def. Mariya Koryttseva, 7-6 (8-6) 6-3

Sorana Cirstea def. Sara Errani, 6-4 6-2

Amélie Mauresmo def. Stephanie Gehrlein, 6-2 3-6 6-0

Anabel Medina Garrigues def. Virginia Ruano Pascual, 6-2 6-1

Anna-Lena Groenefeld def. Yanina Wickmayer, 7-5 6-4

Cyclone Igor

I would love to gloat about how Novak Djokovic got taken to five by Tommy Robredo, who is definitely not one of the king of hard courts, and barely scraped out of it alive, but then, in the interests of my pretended fairness, I would have to say the same thing about Federer, and I don't want to. So I'll say this instead: both Federer and Djokovic got taken to five sets by lower-ranked but dangerous opponents, and both played well to dig themselves out of trouble and asserted themselves when it counted.

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Well, except for Djokovic.

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Let's start with the Federer match. He didn't play his best tennis EVER, but he didn't suck - it wasn't one of those times when the wheels just fall off one of the aspects of his game or anything. Everything was working, firing mostly. Andreev just played really, really well. He has a very high risk game - he rips that ball from the baseline like nobody's business and his serve has major pop on it. He's one of the closest things tennis has to a force of nature - he's Cyclone Igor. If it works, it's deadly. If it doesn't, it's painful to watch. He certainly came out hard, and credit to Federer for hanging with him, because ain't just anyone can do that. Even though Federer got the break back, Andreev really did deserve that first set, so perhaps it was sort of justice that he won it. But good on Roger for hanging tough and doing what he does best. I breathed a sigh of relief when he got that breaker and brought it to one set all.

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The third set had some vintage Fed moments, as did the fifth - the fourth was a bit of an anomaly. However, I don't think that's the fourth set Roger would have played if he were down two sets to one instead of being up. Remember the Tipsarevic match? Federer was down, and then stamped his authority all over the fourth. He eased his foot off the accelerator a bit and paid the price. Against most opponents he could probably afford to do it, but Andreev proved his quality by not being one of those guys.

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The fifth was the real thriller, with all those deuces, but from the get go it had Federer stamped all over it. That game where he got the break to go up 2-0 after was really a microcosm of the match. Andreev was close to him, really, really close, but Roger came through when it counted. Major credit as well for saving all the break points that he did - the story of a match is often told in the break point conversion rate, and Roger's percentage was not brilliant, but it was better than Igor's.

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If I hadn't been so nervous, I think I would have thoroughly enjoyed that match. I was, am and always will be going for Federer, but I like Andreev, and I was glad he could make a good account of himself. Has he ever won a tournament title? If not, he should have. He had a couple of near misses earlier - I think he lost one final to del Potro - but I don't know if he's ever actually won a title. I could go and find out, but that would just be too easy.

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Over to Djokovic, and if it was Federer looking like he is at the moment, I'd be worried. Robredo is a good player and all - he's ranked higher than Andreev is - but hard courts are not his thing, and really, he shouldn't be able to press Djokovic this much. Robredo is clearly in excellent form - Marat Safin and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga are not cakewalk matches - but Djokovic is obviously not. He managed to pull the win out of somewhere, but I would be seriously surprised to see him make it through the quarter final if he plays at this level. Matt Cronin said in his pre match analysis that Djokovic should be bouncing Robredo off the walls, and there was nothing like that happening. He's whinging about injuries and being sick, and all those things just spell two sets down and retiring to me.

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He'll meet Roddick in the next round, and disenchanted though I am with A-Rod, I think he'll beat the Djoker. He really surprised me today with his win over Gonzalez - I thought Gonzalez was going to demolish him, but instead it was the other way round. On the men's side, Roddick had by far the easiest win today. Djokovic/Roddick will be an intriguing match, and whoever wins it will provide an intriguing semifinal, which will probably be against Federer - fun and exciting as Gilles Muller's run has been (good on the boy from Luxembourg for taking out Kolya the Whinger!) I don't think it can withstand the Mighty Fed... and besides, his legs have to give out sometime. He's played so many hours of tennis that I'm amazed he can still walk.

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Meanwhile, Jelena Jankovic is looking surprisingly good. I keep waiting for her to injure herself and crash and burn, but it hasn't happened yet, and her win over Sybille Bammer today was very convincing. That said, Sybille Bammer is hardly one of the top players on tour right now, but still, a quarter final is a quarter final, and you don't get there by being a schlep. Jankovic will meet Dementieva in the semi, who took out Schnyder, and that should be a very intriguing match. I'm not sure which way to call it. I'm pretty sure Jankovic is guaranteed to be #1 if she makes the final, and I want Dinara to get it, so I might be going for Dementieva... but Dementieva's serve REALLY ANNOYS ME.

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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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Roger Federer def. Igor Andreev, 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 3-6 6-3

Novak Djokovic def. Tommy Robredo, 4-6 6-2 6-3 57 6-3

Andy Roddick def. Fernando Gonzalez, 6-2 6-4 6-1

Gilles Muller def. Nikolay Davydenko, 6-4 4-6 6-3 7-6 (12-10)

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Women's Draw

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Jelena Jankovic def. Sybille Bammer, 6-1 6-4

Elena Dementieva def. Patty Schnyder, 6-2 6-3

Hot Chilli Cilic

What a match that was between Djokovic and Cilic! It may have not gone the full, full distance - it was four sets instead of five - but damn if it wasn't tight! There wasn't much you could split them on - how good was that first set with the insane tiebreaker at the end? Even though Djokovic came out on top, which was definitely not my preferred outcome, I enjoyed every second of it. It was a FABULOUS match!

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I am so proud of Marin Cilic. He's so young, and he was clearly having problems with his knees, but he played Djokovic like an equal. He was smokin' hot for a lot of this match. This wasn't an up-and-comer playing a current superstar. This was two guys playing on basically level pegging. Djokovic might have had a little bit of experience which helped him out when the going got tough, but he had his choke moments as well, and Marin pounced. I roared myself hoarse when Djokovic was serving for the match in the fourth, 5-4, 40-15 up - and Cilic came back! Marin may not be in the top ten yet, but can anybody gainsay him? I challenge anyone to tell me that Marin Cilic will not one day be a top ten player. Croatia, you can be damn proud of this boy. Ljubicic and Ancic were and still are excellent players, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Cilic eclipse them both in the fullness of time.

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Djokovic didn't play especially badly, either - I wouldn't say it was the best match I have ever seen him play, but he didn't suck. This wasn't a match that he almost lost, it was a match that Cilic almost won. Once Djokovic got his nose in front, he stayed there, but Cilic was hot on his tail the whole time. The tiebreak in that fourth set was heartbreaking, really... Cilic had worked so hard to get that break back, and then to lose the breaker 7-0 was very sad. But still, even the match maybe ended on a bit of a downer, he has a lot he can be proud of. Considering that he lost in qualies for the US Open last year, to come into it seeded this year and play at such a high level is an awesome achievement. And you just wait till next year. Cilic in the final is not unthinkable. This kid is going to be awesome. And I spotted him when he was all young and wet behind the ears. Go me. Oh, and go him. And stuff.

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Onto other people I like a lot, how awesome was Roger's win over Stepanek? That was some sweet shot-making - and his netplay was just awesome. I love that he wasn't afraid to come in, and he played beautifully when he was there. Stepanek may be weird-looking, but he's a crafty player, coming off a win against the Fed in Rome, and Roger just crushed him dead. He did a great impression of a human backboard, and that forehand was firing on all four cylinders, which is something we haven't seen for a while. Oh yes, I was very satisfied. I am very, very happy with Roger's form right now.

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Going back to Djokovic for a minute, I noticed that he is setting himself up for a retirement in the future, if one is, ahem, necessary. There was that ankle injury in the first round - which I'm sure is genuine - and now there's reports of some stomach thing going round. I refuse to believe that anyone is sick as often as Djokovic claims he is - and if he finds himself down in the semi against Federer and does a runner, then I will be all smug and go AHAHAHAHAHA! CAUGHT YOU, NOVAK!

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Not that I am cynical when it comes to Djokovic, or anything.

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It was bit sad to see human chainsaw Jo-W Tsonga go out to Tommy Robredo, but for his first tournament back, this was a pretty good showing. He played to his seed, which is something that is not nothing, and I think the only way is up. If he can remain uninjured and doesn't contract a case of Safin Knee, then Jo-W is going to become a force again. I would love to see him do well in Australia again next year, because he is just so much fun to watch.

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Speaking of fun guys, I still haven't solved the mystery of the whereabouts of smiley happy Marcos. Anyone know where he's got to? It would be very tragic if he were badly injured.

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Meanwhile, according to Tennis Australia, there are currently five players in contention for #1 in the women, though I'm not sure who has to do what. There were six, but Sveta is obviously gone. Ivanovic can keep it, though one imagines that would be hard. Safina, Dementieva and Serena can all take it, though I would imagine they'd have to win. Jankovic has to reach the semis, but I don't know if that's dependent on how everyone else performs or what. Le mystery.

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Oh, and today's shoutout goes to the Arevalo family of El Salvador. Remember Rafael Arevalo from the Olympics, who fought bravely, considering his ranking? I noticed in the juniors that there is another player from El Salvador - a Marcelo Arevalo. Brother, perhaps? In any case, vamos!

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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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Roger Federer def. Radek Stepanek, 6-3 6-3 6-2

Novak Djokovic def. Marin Cilic, 6-7 (7-9) 7-5 6-4 7-6 (7-0)

Andy Roddick def. Andreas Seppi, 6-2 7-5 7-6 (7-4)

Fernando Gonzalez def. Jarkko Nieminen, 7-5 6-4 6-7 (3-7) 6-1

Tommy Robredo def. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 7-6 (7-2) 6-2 6-3

Nikolay Davydenko def. Dmitry Tursunov, 6-2 7-6 (7-3) 6-3

Gilles Muller def. Nicolas Almagro, 6-7 (3-7) 3-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (8-6) 7-5

Igor Andreev def. Fernando Verdasco, 6-2 6-4 6-4

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Women's Draw

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Elena Dementieva def. Li Na, 6-4 6-1

Jelena Jankovic def. Caroline Wozniacki, 3-6 6-2 6-1

Sybille Bammer def. Marion Bartoli, 7-6 (7-3) 0-6 6-4

Patty Schnyder def. Katarina Srebotnik, 4-6 6-3 6-3

Not A Week For The Defending Champions

We had two defending champions in action in finals this week - Steve Darcis in Amersfoort and Dmitry Tursunov in Indy. Neither of them won. I doubt this is indicative of any major change in tennis, but I thought it was kind of interesting.

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I remember when Darcis won Amersfoort last year, actually. He was ranked something stupid like #297, came up through qualies and won the tournament. Obviously that sent him rocketing up the rankings, and he's been hanging about ever since. He won a tournament earlier in the year, I think, so he wasn't a one tournament wonder. Good for him. I don't actually know much about him except that he's Belgian and kind of weird looking (though not as weird as Radek Stepanek... no one is that weird looking). So I know more about him than Potito Starace (for example) but not that much, really... although now I know that he lost in the final of Amersfoort this year to Albert Montanes. There's not much you can learn about someone when you're not actually watching their matches. Maybe if Mr. Darcis (or Mr. Starace, for that matter) played Hopman Cup, I would be able to make proper judgments about them. Because that's what every tennis player needs, obviously... a Judgement from Judge Jodi.

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I apologise for that awful pun.

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Our other dethroned champion was my old friend Dmitry Tursunov. I can make no comment about the match... but judging by the stats, a story was told in Tursunov's points won on second serve percentage (34%) and the fact that he converted none of his break points. Alas, Dmitry. Even after his bad behaviour in Nottingham, he's still one of my favourites... even if he has been eclipsed a little by Marat Safin for me. But I like Dmitry's attitude. Well, mostly I like his blog. I don't know indicative of his actual attitude that is. But he is one of those people I would like to have a drink with one time, just because he sounds like he'd be fun.

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But alas, Dmitry lost. The winner was Gilles Simon - actually, did you know that Simon is only the third Frenchman this year to win a title? Given the amount of Frenchmen in the top hundred, that absolutely mystifies me. Llodra has won two titles, and Santoro won Newport last week. But what about Gasquet? Tsonga? Monfils? Clement? Grosjean? Mathieu? There are so many - an insane amount, more than the Spaniards - and this is only their third player to take a title this year? That is vaguely unbelievable.

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Apart from the staple Clement/Llodra, there is an interesting French doubles team in the Toronto draw next week - Gasquet is playing with Mahut. Why oh why didn't they play together on grass? Actually, maybe they did... I don't pay much attention to doubles normally - which is bad, because I should. Doubles rules and all. But Gasquet and Mahut would be an awesome grass court team. Just a theory.

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The reason I am paying attention to the Toronto doubles is because some of the big guys are playing. I am really, really excited about the Federer/Wawrinka doubles team - I suppose they're playing together now to practice for the Olympics, but practice or not, I think this is going to be really good fun. Their first match is against Julien Benneteau and Frederic Niemeyer, which I'm pretty confident they can win... which would bring up against bye-beneficiaries Lukas Dlouhy and Leander Paes. Just below them in the draw are the also interesting pairings of Roddick/Fish and Clement/Llodra - just why aren't Clement and Llodra seeded? I am mystified.

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That first round match promises to be a corker, but even more interesting is a little higher in the draw - Nadal and Robredo against Davydenko and Andreev. That one should be a big battle. (Andreev lost his final yesterday, by the way... in a third set tiebreak! Poor Igor.) With the Olympics coming up, a lot of people are pulling double duty, and it's led to one of the most interesting doubles draws I've seen in a long time. It'll be really interesting to see who wins... I will be cheering for Roger and Stan all the way! Hopp Suisse! And that goes for the Olympics as well - I'll be gunning for the Aussies in just about every other sport, but when it comes to tennis, I think that I might well be Swiss.

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Just before I go - big kudos to Juan Martin del Potro, who won his second straight title in Kitzbuhel. This kid might just be here to stay!

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Today's Results

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Austrian Open (Kitzbuhel)

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Juan Martin del Potro def. Jurgen Melzer, 6-2 6-1

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Dutch Open Tennis (Amersfoort)

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Albert Montanes def. Steve Darcis, 1-6 7-5 6-3

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Studena Croatia Open (Umag)

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Fernando Verdasco def. Igor Andreev, 3-6 6-4 7-6 (7-4)

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Indianapolis Tennis Championships (Indianapolis)

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Gilles Simon def. Dmitry Tursunov, 6-4 6-4

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Bank of the West Classic (Stanford)

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Aleksandra Wozniak def. Marion Bartoli, 7-5 6-3

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Gastein Ladies (Bad Gastein)

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Pauline Parmentier def. Lucie Hradecka, 6-4 6-4

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.