The History Which Does Not Repeat Itself

Querrey beat Davydenko in New Haven. Okay, so maybe this is a leetle better in terms of him winning the US Open series - semis in New Haven plus that title he won earlier in I don't remember where is lots of yummy, tasty points.

Still not enough to catch up to the Murrays and Federers, though, in my humble opinion. It sounds like quantity, not quality, is the name of the game. There must be more points weighted at the 250 level than I had thought. But still, nevertheless, it's a big achievement, so well done Sam.

One question I asked at the beginning of the US season was who was going to be this year's Juan Martin del Potro - and, oh yes, I was determined there was going to be one, because how could there not? Turned out every single prediction I made was wrong, because there really wasn't one. No one guy really burned up the pre-US Open courts this summer in a noticeable way. In fact, the closest you'd probably come would be Querrey, and... um, no. If a guy can win the US Open series without me even noticing, I don't think that counts as the Incredible Hot Streak of Top Ten Makeage like Juan M's was.

So I guess all I've proved with all my theorising is that tennis is completely unpredictable. History doesn't always repeat itself and trends do not always reappear. Like this year's Australian Open - where was this year's Marcos? One of my favourite things around January is to pick the random who will reach the final... who did we get this year? Roger and Rafa.

I'm sure there's a lesson to be learned in there somewhere... but hell, as if I'm going to stop making up my little theories? What would I write about then? 'I don't understannnnnnnnd the rankings system!' 'I love Roger!' 'Novak sucks!'

...yeah, that'd get dull after a while.


Today's Results

Pilot Pen Tennis (New Haven)

Men's Tennis

Fernando Verdasco def. Jurgen Melzer, 6-3 6-1
Sam Querrey def. Nikolay Davydenko, 6-3 3-6 6-4
Igor Andreev def. Leonardo Mayer, 6-4 6-7 (4-7) 6-3


Women's Tennis

Elena Vesnina def. Anna Chakvetadze, 6-1 7-5
Flavia Pennetta def. Magdalena Rybarikova, 6-2 6-2
Caroline Wozniacki def. Virginie Razzano, 6-4 6-3

Questioning Querrey

Um, so Sam Querrey won the US Open Series.

What?

When did that happen?

I know he did well early on and won a title and what-not, but it was one measly title! What about guys like Federer and Murray, who went deep into Masters events and split them? Actually, I would have sworn it would be Murray - how, exactly, does what Querrey has done trump winning Montreal and following it with semis in Cincinatti?

This is weird. I've always remembered the US Open series winners as... well, sensible. You know, people that should be winning stuff. Nothing against Sam Querrey - he's obviously had a great summer, picking up that title and all - but he's not exactly a worldbeater. I wouldn't rank him among my big time picks for the US Open, let's put it that way. (Watch him go and pull a Marcos now I've said that. Just watch.)

Long and the short of the matter is that I don't understand how Querrey won this. I'm not exactly a rankings/maths whiz, as readers of this blog will know by my frequent 'I don't understannnnnnnnd!' rants, but this one just seems a little... weird.


Today's Results

Pilot Pen Tennis (New Haven)

Men's Draw

Sam Querrey def. Bjorn Phau, 7-5 6-3
Igor Andreev def. Frederico Gil, 6-4 6-4
Jurgen Melzer def. Victor Hanescu, 7-6 (7-5) 4-6 6-1
Leonardo Mayer def. Simone Bolelli, 6-2 6-4
Jose Acasuso def. Igor Kunitsyn, 3-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-3
Nikolay Davydenko def. Fabrice Santoro, 7-5 6-3


Women's Draw

Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Yanina Wickmayer, 6-4 5-7 7-6 (7-2)
Caroline Wozniacki def. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 6-1 6-4
Flavia Pennetta def. Iveta Benesova, 7-6 (7-1) 6-4
Virginie Razzano def. Agnieszka Radwanska, 3-6 6-4 retired
Elena Vesnina def. Samantha Stosur, 3-6 6-4 6-4

Nice Guy Finishing Last

You know who lost again in Cincinatti? James Blake. And you know who's surprised? Not me. Or anybody, I would venture.

I hate to whale on James Blake, because he really is a likeable guy, and his tennis, when he plays it, can be pretty fearsome. But I just don't know what's happened to him of late. He's been out for a bit, but even before that, he wasn't racking up the wins. So what's the go? Is he injured or what?

Blake isn't a player I expect to win allllll the time - he's solid top twenty, but he ain't no Federer or Nadal or Murray. Still, I expect him to win some of the time, and he can't even manage that at the moment. I can't remember the last time he didn't lose in the first round. It's a while. And it is such a freaking shame.

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What's wrong with James, world? Is anything wrong with James? Or has he just fallen into one of those ruts that tennis players often do that precludes them from playing well for months at a time?

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Whatever it is, I hope it's not injury. That dude's had his fair share and more of injuries. The tennis gods have not smiled on him during periods in the past - and they are clearly not smiling on him now. I'm not expecting anything from him for the rest of the season - not with this kind of lead up - but I'm hoping that we see him back next year, bigger and better than before, ready to kick some butt. Because I hate it when nice guys are down in the doldrums, and James is a nice guy.

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Today's Results

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Western and Southern Financial Group Masters (Cincinatti)

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Roger Federer def. Jose Acasuso, 6-3 7-5

Andy Murray def. Nicolas Almagro, 7-6 (7-3) 6-2

Novak Djokovic def. Ivan Ljubicic, 7-6 (7-5) 6-4

Chris Guccione def. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 7-6 (14-12) 6-2

Nikolay Davydenko def. Igor Kunitsyn, 6-2 1-6 6-3

Radek Stepanek def. Marat Safin, 4-6 6-3 6-1

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez def. Mikhail Youzhny, 7-5 6-3

Paul-Henri Mathieu def. Ivo Karlovic, 7-6 (11-9) 6-4

Julien Benneteau def. Jurgen Melzer, 6-2 3-6 6-2

Tomas Berdych def. Philipp Petzschner, 7-6 (10-8) 6-7 (7-9) 6-4

Jeremy Chardy def. John Isner, 6-7 (1-7) 6-3 4-1 retired

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Rogers Cup (Toronto)

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Aravane Rezai def. Dinara Safina, 3-6 6-2 6-4

Alisa Kleybanova def. Dominika Cibulkova, 6-1 4-6 7-6 (7-4)

Kim Clijsters def. Victoria Azarenka, 7-5 4-6 6-1

Jelena Jankovic def. Patty Schnyder, 7-5 6-4

Agnieszka Radwanska def. Agnes Szavay, 6-1 6-1

Maria Sharapova def. Sybille Bammer, 6-3 7-6 (7-5)

Vera Zvonareva def. Roberta Vinci, 6-3 6-3

Virginie Razzano def. Flavia Pennetta, 6-3 6-1

Shahar Peer def. Francesca Schiavone, 7-6 (7-2) 6-4

Elena Dementieva def. Ai Sugiyama, 6-3 6-2

Jie Zheng def. Caroline Wozniacki, 7-5 6-3

Alona Bondarenko def. Alla Kudryavtseva, 6-3 6-0

It Sneaks, It Creeps

It has only just occurred to me how soon the US Open is. You think you're in that post-Wimbledon summer holiday phase... then suddenly, ba da bing, ba da boom, everyone's rushing back from holidays, school's in session and the big exam is coming up.

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When did that happen? I swear, having Montreal/Toronto and Cincinatti this close together is totally deceptive. It feels like there's been no prep at all, and suddenly the US Open is dropped on our collective heads like a piano.

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Or maybe that's just me.

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I remember calling, a couple of weeks ago, Kolya to maybe make the final. I think I might have to revise that, on account of not really believing it, even at the time. With the way Murray's playing, I don't think you can really go past him at the moment. For the finals, that is, because you will not catch me picking against Roger Federer in New York, no sir, you will not. I would not be at all surprised to see a repeat of last year's final... with significantly more sets in it.

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Wow. I never intended to make this post about grand-sweeping US Open predictions, and there it just happened. Serena to win the women's, by the way... not betting against her any time soon. Which will mean she's won three Slams in a year. Which is pretty much crazy. I would really love for Safina to win it though - to find that backbone I know she has and bring it to the table in a Slam final! That would be awesome.

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Today's Results

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Western and Southern Financial Group Masters (Cincinatti)

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Tomas Berdych def. Fernando Gonzalez, 6-4 retired

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez def. Fernando Verdasco, 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-4)

Lleyton Hewitt def. Robin Soderling, 3-6 7-6 (10-8) 6-3

Mikhail Youzhny def. Victor Hanescu, 7-5 6-2

Jurgen Melzer def. Feliciano Lopez, 5-7 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (9-7)

Andreas Seppi def. Jan Hernych, 3-6 6-4 6-1

Chris Guccione def. Philipp Kohlschreiber, 7-5 2-6 6-3

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Rogers Cup (Toronto)

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Dominika Cibulkova def. Sara Errani, 6-4 6-2

Virginie Razzano def. Ekaterina Makarova, 6-7 (3-7) 6-0 6-2

Shahar Peer def. Monica Niculescu, 6-4 4-6 7-6 (7-4)

Jie Zheng def. Elena Vesnina, 6-3 6-2

Lucie Safarova def.Kaia Kanepi, 6-4 7-6 (7-3)

Ana Ivanovic def. Magdalena Rybarikova, 2-6 6-3 6-2

Alla Kudryavtseva def. Julie Coin, 2-6 6-1 7-6 (8-6)

Yaroslava Shvedova def. Daniela Hantuchova, 7-6 (7-1) 7-6 (7-4)

Washington Ramblings

Another how-bout-that-I-missed-it mention - how about you, Andy Roddick?

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I barely even noticed Roddick was in the draw, so smoothly did he cut through it - like a knife through butter. Sure, he had a tough one against Isner in the semis, but considering that he took a loss in the Wimbledon final that could have completely broken him, I think being in a final again is totally admirable. Good on you, Andy - epic kudos. I would really love to see him go deep at the US Open. Obviously I'd like my man R-Fed to win it, but if Andy were to make the final, I would not be devastated.

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He'll face Juan Martin del Potro, who is defending all the points he gained on this stretch last year. I don't yet have a fix on Juan's form - he's been pretty quiet since that epic semi against Federer at Roland Garros, taking an early loss at Wimbledon and then not really being seen since... but he's in the final here in Washington, so he must have a little somethin' somethin' going on...

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...and, look, there you go, he just won it! What a nailbiter of a match - it always seems unfair that these matches have to go to a breaker. I'd be all for a deciding third set where you just played on until someone won by two games, but I don't know if the players would be too keen on that.

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But - one thing I totally forgot to talk about - Isner. Personally, I think he's quite overrated as whenever I see results he always seems to be on the losing end, but where did his performance come from this week? He played some quality players very, very tight indeed. Andy Roddick is lightyears ahead of John Isner in talent and technique and experience and yet Isner hung tough with him. Like, really tough.

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I'm not saying that Isner is one to watch out for this US Open series, because I'm not going to change my mind over one good run. Still - kudos, dude.

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Today's Results

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Legg Mason Tennis Classic (Washington)

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Juan Martin Del Potro def. Andy Roddick, 3-6 7-5 7-6 (8-6)

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LA Women's Tennis Championships

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Flavia Pennetta def. Samantha Stosur, 6-4 6-3

Another Pun on 'Yoking'

Well, candidate #2, Marat Safin, has defeated candidate #1, Ernests Gulbis, in LA, after Gulbis was a set and a break up. I'm very glad for Marat, because he clearly didn't go away mentally, but I'm not especially pleased with Ernests Gulbis, who obviously did. I'm not removing Ernests from my list of candidates, but he needs to shape up, clearly.

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And Marat, you need to keep it going.

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Today's candidate is an obvious one - much more obvious than Juan Martin del Potro was last year - because this player has already started his run. I'm interested to see if he can keep it going on the hard courts after a great season on clay. I'm talking, of course, about the Yoker, Robin Soderling.

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There is no reason at all why he cannot tear up the courts this summer. His nemesis has been Roger Federer - well, Roger is everyone's nemesis, really - but with Rafa's dodgy knees, Djokovic's dodgy mind and Andy Murray... well, ain't nothing dodgy about Andy Murray, but that doesn't take away from the fact that Soderling has everything he needs to go on a big run these hardcourt season and propel himself well inside the top ten. He's got the weapons, he's got the mind, he's got the coach and now he's got the confidence. Robin ain't yoking when it comes to tennis.

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I'm not exactly sure which tournaments the Yoker is playing - del Potro's run was so pronounced last year because he played four of those little schlep tournaments in a row and won them all. So if he - or, indeed, anyone - goes on a run, it might not be quite so obvious. But a hot streak is a hot streak... and the Sod's been on one. Who's to say it cannot continue?

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Today's Results

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Allianz Suisse Open Gstaad (Gstaad)

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Thomaz Bellucci def. Stanislas Wawrinka, 6-4 6-4

Florent Serra def. Victor Hanescu, 6-4 retired

Nicolas Kiefer def. Ivan Navarro, 6-3 6-7 (3-7) 6-2

Marcos Daniel def. Julien Benneteau, 6-3 7-6 (10-8)

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ATP Studena Croatia Open (Umag)

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Nikolay Davydenko def. Alberto Martin, 6-2 6-3

Nicolas Massu def. David Ferrer, 4-6 6-2 6-4

Jurgen Melzer def. Pablo Cuevas, 6-4 6-3

Juan Carlos Ferrero def. Potito Starace, 1-6 6-3 6-2

Ivan Ljubicic def. Nicolas Almagro, 7-5 7-6 (7-2)

Andreas Seppi def. Frederico Gil, 7-5 7-6 (7-5)

Simone Bolelli def. Fabio Fognini, 6-3 6-4

Maximo Gonzalez def. Oscar Hernandez, 6-4 6-4

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LA Tennis Open (Los Angeles)
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Dudi Sela def. Robert Kendrick, 6-4 3-6 6-1

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Bank of the West Classic (Stanford)

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Serena Williams def. Melinda Czink, 6-3 7-6 (9-7)

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Istanbul Cup (Istanbul)

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Anabel Medina Garrigues def. Pemra Ozgen, 2-6 6-2 6-0

Lucie Hradecka def. Julia Goerges, 2-6 6-4 6-1

Andrea Petkovic def. Rossana de los Rios, 6-1 6-0

Urszula Radwanska def. Ekaterina Dzehalevich, 7-5 1-6 6-4

Blaze of Glory

Okay, time for candidate #2 in the race for this year's Juan (aka Jodi's adventure in wishful thinking). Time to discuss... Marat Safin.

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I know he's not an up and coming young gun looking for a hot streak to propel him into the top ten. The majority of Marat's career is behind him. But why not go out with a bang? Why not?

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What has Marat got to lose? Nothing. And it would be so, so very Marat, after a lacklustre few years, the only major spot of wow being that Wimbledon semi, to get on a roll and blaze through draws like a bushfire. He's got the ability - I don't think anyone would ever question the sheer ability and talent of the Safinator. It's a question of the mind.

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I'm hoping that that exhibition against Sampras the other day gave Marat a sense of history. His career opened with a spectacular bang in the US - maybe Marat will become motivated to make it end the same way. Though I don't know how much motivation is the question... I don't even know what the question is. But Marat can do this. He can. I want him to.

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Oh, I don't even know what I'm saying - except that I want Marat to do well, and I believe he can do it. Unfortunately, he comes up against our candidate #1, Ernests Gulbis, in the second round... but at least it means one of them will make it to the quarters!

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Today's Results

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Allianz Suisse Open Gstaad (Gstaad)

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Igor Andreev def. Jan Hernych, 6-4 6-1

Jeremy Chardy def. Mikhail Youzhny, 6-3 5-7 6-3

Victor Crivoi def. Teimuraz Gabashvili, 6-4 6-4

Andreas Beck def. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, 7-6 (7-3) 1-6 7-6 (7-3)

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ATP Studena Croatia Open (Umag)

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Nikolay Davydenko def. Daniel Gimeno-Traver, 6-2 6-2

David Ferrer def. Daniel Koellerer, 6-1 6-7 (2-7) 6-3

Maximo Gonzalez def. Viktor Troicki, 6-4 3-6 7-6 (8-6)

Nicolas Almagro def. Marcel Granollers, 6-1 6-3

Oscar Hernandez def. Sergiy Stakhovsky, 7-6 (7-3) 6-1

Ivan Ljubicic def. Filippo Volandri, 6-1 6-4

Alberto Martin def. Martin Klizan, 6-4 6-4

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LA Tennis Open (Los Angeles)

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Carsten Ball def. Dmitry Tursunov, 6-4 0-1 retired

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Bank of the West Classic (Stanford)

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Samantha Stosur def. Monica Niculescu, 6-1 7-5

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Istanbul Cup (Istanbul)

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Marta Domachowska def. Aravane Rezai, 6-3 4-6 6-4

Vera Dushevina def. Maria Elena Camerin, 6-0 6-1

Olga Govortsova def. Angelique Kerber, 6-4 6-7 (7-9) 6-4

Timea Bacsinszky def. Mariya Koryttseva, 6-2 3-6 4-1 retired

Speaking Ernestsly

So who will be this year's Juan Martin del Potro - if, indeed, we get such a figure this year? Are we going to see any young gun blossom out of nowhere and make a tear up the rankings during this US Open series? This was the question I posed yesterday, and if I don't get distracted by something shiny or by the Federer twins, this is the question I'd like to consider this week.

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Today's candidate: Ernests Gulbis.

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Yes, I know he's been playing like crap this year and he hasn't been able to string two wins together. But he says this is because he is still getting used to his increased muscle mass and that he is finding his game again. And he has such beautiful, exquisite talent...

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I know I'm biased towards Gulbis, because he is a special favourite of mine - but I genuinely believe he has the talent to make it big, and why not start now? He's coming off a doubles win with Tursunov last week, and I know doubles wins don't mean much usually, but look what it did for Roger Federer last year, winning that doubles medal? And Gulbis has had a good win in LA today over Yen-hsun Lu, whom we all know is definitely no slouch and has some serious game.

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So why should this not be Gulbis's year to be Juan Martin? He's young and talented, and if he can just get used to his new physique he's got all the tools he needs. Sure, he's unproved - but so was del Potro before his run last year, so unproved the Argentines didn't even take him to the Olympics. There is nothing in Ernests' way but himself... oh yeah, and a few other tennis players, but he has the ability to beat them. I really believe this.

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And then there's the fact that I would love love LOVE Ernests to be this year's Juan and prove me right after I've been bignoting him all this time...

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Today's Results

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Allianz Suisse Open Gstaad (Gstaad)

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Stanislas Wawrinka def. Federico Del Bonis, 6-4 7-5

Victor Hanescu def. Ivo Minar, 6-2 6-2

Jeremy Chardy def. Thierry Ascione, 6-3 6-3

Nicolas Kiefer def. Jose Acasuso, 7-6 (7-5) 6-2

Marcos Daniel def. Paul-Henri Mathieu, 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (8-6)

Ivan Navarro def. Farrukh Dustov, 7-6 (7-2) 4-6 6-2

Julien Benneteau def. Stephane Bohli, 7-6 (7-4) 7-5

Florent Serra def. Martin Vassallo Arguello, 6-3 6-2

Thomaz Bellucci def. Michael Lammer, 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (7-5) 6-4

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ATP Studena Croatia Open (Umag)

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Jurgen Melzer def. Brian Dabul, 6-3 7-5

Juan Carlos Ferrero def. Christophe Rochus, 6-2 6-3

Andreas Seppi def. Juan Igancio Chela, 6-4 2-6 6-3

Fabio Fognini def. Mischa Zverev, 2-6 6-3 6-4

Pablo Cuevas def. Ivan Dodig, 6-3 6-1

Frederico Gil def. Sergio Roitman, 7-5 6-2

Potito Starace def. Grega Zemlja, 6-1 6-3

Simone Bolelli def. Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo, 7-6 (9-7) 3-6 6-0

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LA Tennis Open (Los Angeles)

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John Isner def. Benjamin Becker, 7-6 (10-8) 7-6 (7-3)

Ernests Gulbis def. Yen-hsun Lu, 7-5 6-2

Carsten Ball def. Marc Gicquel, 6-2 7-6 (10-8)

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Bank of the West Classic (Stanford)

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Samantha Stosur def. Dominika Cibulkova, 6-4 6-3

Marion Bartoli def. Ayumi Morita, 7-6 (8-6) 6-3

Daniela Hantuchova def. Aleksandra Wozniak, 6-4 4-6 7-5

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Istanbul Cup (Istanbul)

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Mariya Koryttseva def. Vera Zvonareva, 6-2 1-6 6-4

Rossana de los Rios def. Patty Schnyder, 7-6 (7-3) 2-6 6-3

Anabel Medina Garrigues def. Anastasiya Yakimova, 6-4 6-2

Vera Dushevina def. Yuliana Fedak, 6-1 6-4

Lucie Hradecka def. Cagla Buyukakcay, 4-6 6-3 6-0

Andrea Petkovic def. Sandra Zahlavova, 6-1 6-2

Urszula Radwanska def. Stefanie Voegele, 6-2 7-6 (7-4)

Julia Goerges def. Masa Zec Peskiric, 6-2 6-3

Angelique Kerber def. Alina Jidkova, 6-2 6-3

Ekaterina Dzehalevich def. Darya Kustova, 6-4 7-6 (11-9)

Juan Singular Sensation

Slowly but surely, the post-Wimbledon tennis is going to start to get interesting again - for we are embarking on the US Open series, which, although I think it is a little overmarketed, is always an interesting time. And there's a lot of money involved, which I'm sure makes it interesting for the players as well.

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It's quite easy to write off everything in the tennis year after Wimbledon, except for perhaps the minor blips of the US Open, the Masters Cup and, for those involved, the Davis Cup final. I've been guilty of it myself - but last year, while the rest of the world was off in Beijing playing for Olympic glory and not paying attention to the little US Open series, we saw one of the most remarkable runs of form I can remember from someone not called Roger or Rafa. Juan Martin del Potro won four tournaments on the trot and blazed his way into the quarters of the US Open.

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What was most remarkable about the del Potro run was that he actually came from nowhere. He was ranked somewhere around #60-odd, had been booted out of Wimbledon early and wasn't considered good enough to take on the four man tennis squad from Argentina to the Olympics. Instead, he was left behind to play what were basically the schlep tournaments, devoid of any real talent.

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But even still, winning four of them on the trot is extreme.

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But is it a fluke? people said. No one of any real substance is there. Maybe - oh yeah, there he goes, winning through to the quarters of the US Open. Del Potro made his mark on the game and he has stayed at the top - currently in the best of the rest position at #5. And he is certainly playing well enough to do very well indeed - he has wins over all the top four except Federer, and we saw how close he came at Roland Garros. Del Potro has the ability to go even deeper at the US Open this year, I believe.

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But this didn't start off being about big Juan M. The question I wanted to pose was this - are we going to see another Juan-esque run this year? Is someone suddenly going to find their form and their feet and make a tear to the top of the game? And if so - who do you think it will be?

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Today's Results

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Allianz Suisse Open Gstaad (Gstaad)

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Victor Crivoi def. Philipp Kohlschreiber, 6-4 6-0

Igor Andreev def. Diego Junqueira, 7-5 6-4

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez def. Feliciano Lopez, 6-4 6-7 (4-7) 6-3

Teimuraz Gabashvili def. Paul Capdeville, 1-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-3

Jan Hernych def. Flavio Cipolla, 6-1 6-0

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LA Tennis Open (Los Angeles)

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Chris Guccione def. Kevin Kim, 6-1 6-4

Jesse Levine def. Bobby Reynolds, 6-2 6-3

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Bank of the West Classic (Stanford)

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Agnieszka Radwanska def. Sorana Cirstea, 6-0 6-1

Monica Niculescu def. Meghann Shaughnessy, 6-1 6-0

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Istanbul Cup (Istanbul)

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Aravane Rezai def. Viktoriya Kutuzova, 7-6 (7-3) 6-2

Olga Govortsova def. Tsvetana Pironkova, 6-2 5-7 6-4

Timea Bacsinszky def. Polona Hercog, 6-2 6-2

Maria Elena Camerin def. Ipek Senoglu, 6-0 6-2

Marta Domachowska def. Patricia Mayr, 1-6 6-2 6-0

Pemra Ozgen def. Arantxa Rus, 6-3 6-7 (2-7) 6-2

BabyFed Approaches...

The news has come, or so I hear, that the lovely Mrs Mirka Federer has checked into a hospital in Switzerland in preparation for the birth of BabyFed - and the press have started gathering to take photos of the wee bairn.

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Just for you, Mirka - do you think you could try and have it on July 23? Because that's my birthday and I wouldn't mind sharing a natal day with the spawn of the Federers, kplzthxbai. Just sayin'.

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On a serious note, though, even though this is a baby who probably won't pick up its first racquet for years, this is a major tennis event. This is something that will irrevocably shape the career of the king of our sport. This will make his life different forever.

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There's been a lot of conjecture that maybe the baby will change Federer's focus a lot and that he'll lose his tennis edge, having broken all the records. And sure, maybe he will just want to gallop off into the sunset with Mirka and MiniFed. But seriously, can you imagine Roger wanting to set 'giving up' as an example to his child? I don't think so. I can foresee some distraction, certainly, during the early months of BabyFed's life, but in the long run... I think Daddy is going to want to impress his baby. He's always said that it was Mirka's dream that their child would see him play, and I think he'll make this wish come true.

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Sorry for this incoherent ramble... is it totally obvious that I'm a little uninspired by the tennis going on this week? Bring on the US hardcourt season - let's get off this stupid clay stuff.

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Today's Results

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International German Open (Hamburg)

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Nikolay Davydenko def. Philipp Petzschner, 6-3 6-2

Jeremy Chardy def. Andreas Beck, 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (8-6)

Robin Soderling def. Fabio Fognini, 6-3 6-7 (3-7) 6-3

David Ferrer def. Florian Mayer, 6-3 6-2

Julien Benneteau def. Igor Andreev, 6-4 6-3

Nicolas Almagro def. Marcel Granollers, 4-6 6-3 6-4

Victor Hanescu def. Jan Hernych, 6-2 6-3

Juan Monaco def. Jose Acasuso, 6-1 1-1 retired

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Banka Koper Slovenia Open (Portoroz)

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Dinara Safina def. Ksenia Pervak, 6-1 6-2

Rossana de los Rios def. Roberta Vinci, 6-3 6-4

Stefanie Voegele def. Lucie Safarova, 7-5 2-3 6-3

Maria Elena Camerin def. Vera Dushevina, 4-6 7-5 6-0

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Nurnberger Gastein Ladies (Bad Gastein)

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Magdalena Rybarikova def. Pauline Parmentier, 6-3 4-6 6-4

Anna-Lena Groenefeld def. Tereza Hladikova, 6-3 6-2

Yaroslava Shvedova def. Shahar Peer, 6-2 6-1

Yvonne Meusburger def. Tatjana Malek, 6-2 2-6 6-4

Old Rant, New Thoughts

It's that time again - time for that rant I've dragged out at least a hundred times but am still not sick of...

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What is the point of playing clay court tennis after Roland Garros is over? What is the point?
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Maybe I just subscribe to a viewpoint which is too Grand Slam centric, but once Roland Garros is over, there is nothing to work towards by playing clay court tennis. Nothing. Nada. Niente. Except Roland Garros next year, and that's a long way away. I mean, I suppose by this reasoning the calendar year should end with the US Open and people should skip the entire indoor synthetic surface because there isn't a Slam on it... but come on, August to January is hard court season, dudes! What's up with the clay?

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What, in effect, this is doing is contributing to the creation of 'claycourters' as opposed to all round tennis players. In some respects, it's almost a different tour. The way it's set up now, you can go from February to about September playing claycourt tennis if you want, even though the big clay court events are in April and May. So only the claycourters play these random post-RG events, getting rankings points and, in theory, propelling them much higher up the rankings than they ought to be. And they're only playing a select group of opponents - the claycourters.

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I'm not saying that people should be banned from playing claycourt events if they want to... it just seems a bit strange, setting up a sort of alternate tour within the tour. Hardcourts aren't everyone's cup of tea, I respect that... but shouldn't people at least try to diversify their surfaces?

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Today's Results

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Catella Swedish Open (Bastad)

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Fernando Verdasco def. Daniel Koellerer, 6-7 (1-7) 6-2 7-5

Jurgen Melzer def. Daniel Gimeno-Traver, 6-2 6-2

Nicolas Almagro def. Potito Starace, 2-6 6-1 6-1

Andreas Vinciguerra def. Guillermo Canas, 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 6-4

Juan Monaco def. Victor Crivoi, 6-0 7-6 (7-1)

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Mercedes Cup (Stuttgart)

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Mischa Zverev def. Gilles Simon, 6-4 6-2

Nikolay Davydenko def. Michael Berrer, 6-3 6-3

Lukasz Kubot def. Philipp Kohlschreiber, 6-2 6-4

Fabio Fognini def. Paul-Henri Mathieu, 6-4 4-1 retired

Jeremy Chardy def. Martin Vassallo Arguello, 2-6 6-3 6-1

Nicolas Kiefer def. Simon Greul, 6-3 6-4

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ECM Prague Open (Prague)

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Iveta Benesova def. Monica Niculescu, 7-5 6-4

Zarina Diyas def. Petra Kvitova, 6-4 6-2

Kateryna Bondarenko def. Kristina Barrois, 7-5 7-5

Timea Bacsinszky def. Stefanie Voegele, 6-4 6-1

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Internazionali Femminili di Tennis di Palermo (Palermo)

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Patty Schnyder def. Nuria Llagostera Vives, 6-2 6-2

Sara Errani def. Patricia Mayr, 7-6 (8-6) 6-1

Yaroslava Shvedova def. Alberta Brianti, 6-3 6-2

Anna-Lena Groenefeld def. Arantxa Rus, 7-6 (7-5) 6-3

Feeling Better

It's been great to see that the press have been appreciating the Wimbledon final as a fantastic match, as a clash of titans, rather than the defeat of Federer. I was worried that people were going to treat this as some sort of sign of Federer's demise, and we'd get yet more of the hating-on-Roger press we got after the final of the French. But no. They have been quite fair. The brilliance of the match has transcended the result. And that's what real sport should be like, in the end. One writer described it this way:

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"It also doubled as a four-hour, 48-minute infomercial for everything right and virtuous about tennis…"

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And Yves Allegro apparently says Roger is 'feeling better.' That's what I like to hear. When Toronto/Montreal (where is it this year?) rolls around, I think we're going to see a Fed hungry for a victory. And hey, that tournament's not called the Rogers Masters for nothing.

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One thing that has been really good about the Wimbledon final is that tennis is suddenly all about Roger and Rafa again, with none of this nasty Djokovicing. I have no issue with that at all. It is a comfort to know that if someone does snatch #1 from under Roger's feet (which I don't think will happen, but one must allow for these contingencies) it will be Rafa and not Novak... because it's going to be really interesting to see how Djokovic defends all those points he stacked up last year.

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The man that knocked him out of Wimbledon, Mr Marat Safin, was in action in Bastad today, where he enjoyed a straight sets win over Marc Lopez. One thing I have to ask, though... WHAT IS WITH THE CLAY, GUYS? I don't get it. It makes no sense to me. Less than none. The claycourt season is so far over that it's practically last year. Roland Garros isn't till May, guys! And yet three tournaments this week are clay, and one is grass. Grass I sort of get, though it still seems sort of... well, Wimbledon's over. Shouldn't we be back on the hard stuff?

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I mean, I have no objection to the actual places these tournaments are being held - ain't nothing wrong with Gstaad! a lot of good people come from Switzerland! - and I guess that if you're going to play there, you play on their courts. But it just seems like a really stupid decision from the players. Is it purely a points thing? I suppose we can't all be Federers and Nadals and pick and choose our years in a sensible manner. Safin hasn't played Bastad for many a long year, so any points he gains will be to the positive here. Is that the reason he's playing it?

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Speaking of Safin and points, it's very nice to see him inside the top fifty, where he belongs. He's #40 the moment - another ten or so spots and we'll see Marat Safin, US Open seed! Now wouldn't that be something? Safin, too, has had his sunrises, and will have many more.

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Keep feeling better, Roger. Keep feeling better.

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Today's Results

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Mercedes Cup (Stuttgart)

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Eduardo Schwank def. Guillermo Coria, 0-6 6-1 6-2

Yuri Schukin def. Carlos Berlocq, 4-6 7-5 6-3

Agustin Calleri def. Jurgen Melzer, 7-6 (7-3)

Lukas Rosol def. Martin Fischer, 6-2 6-4

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Allianz Suisse Open (Gstaad)

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Stephane Bohli def. Robin Roshardt, 6-2 4-6 6-4

Victor Hanescu def. Olivier Patience, 7-6 (7-4) 6-2

Jeremy Chardy def. Luis Horna, 7-6 (7-6) 6-7 (6-8) 7-5

Dominik Meffert def. Andreas Seppi, 6-2 5-7 6-4

Nicolas Kiefer def. Gianluca Naso, 6-3 6-2

Flavio Cipolla def. Jiri Vanek, 5-7 6-4 6-4

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Catella Swedish Open (Bastad)

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Olivier Rochus def. Marc Gicquel, 6-3 6-4

Robin Soderling def. Fabio Fognini, 6-1 6-7 (4-7) 7-5

Jonas Bjorkman def. Marcel Granollers, 6-3 6-1

Steve Darcis def. Daniel Koellerer, 7-6 (7-4) 6-0

Potito Starace def. Carlos Moya, 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (8-6) 6-4

Marat Safin def. Marc Lopez, 7-6 (8-6) 7-5

Thomas Johansson def. Filip Prpic, 7-6 (7-4) 6-3

Michael Ryderstedt def. Tim Goransson, 6-1 6-2

Ervin Eleskovic def. Filippo Volandri, 6-4 6-4

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Campbell's Hall of Fame Tennis Championships (Newport)

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Prakash Amritraj def. Joseph Sirianni, 6-7 (3-7) 6-4 6-4

Jesse Levine def. John Isner, 6-3 6-1

Frank Dancevic def. Taylor Dent, 3-6 7-5 6-1

Kevin Anderson def. Gilles Muller, 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 6-3

Aisam Ul-Haq Qureshi def. Benjamin Becker, 7-5 7-6 (7-5)

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Gaz de France Grand Prix (Budapest)

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Andreja Klepac def. Natasa Zoric, 6-4 6-4

Martina Muller def. Veronika Chvojkova, 3-6 6-4 6-1

Petra Kvitova def. Sorana Cirstea, 6-2 6-4

Katalin Marosi def. Anna Lapushchenkova, 6-3 6-1

Karolina Sprem def. Pauline Parmentier, 7-5 6-2

Klara Zakopalova def. Stephanie Cohen-Aloro, 6-3 6-2

Mathilde Johansson def. Lucie Hradecka, 4-6 6-4 7-6 (7-5)

Zuzana Kucova def. Timea Bacsinszky, 6-3 6-4

Greta Arn def. Iveta Benesova, 6-4 6-4

Magdalena Rybarikova def. Viktoriya Kutuzova, 6-2 6-1