50 Thoughts on the 2011 Australian Open

The flags have come down, the stadium is empty. The people are all gone. It is quiet. Rod Laver Arena is still. The Australian Open is over for another year. The slate that was so clean a few weeks ago has been written on, rough sketches of things to come beginning to take shape.

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It’s time to reflect. Or try to forget. Or drink. Any of the above.

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I could do some in depth analysis of the tournament and what it all means and stuff, but that sounds like it would take a lot of energy and as much fun as deconstructing is, two weeks of solid tennis really takes it out of you – even if you’re only watching and not playing. So instead of actual, like, paragraphs and stuff, let’s make a list of stuff. Stuff that I noticed, stuff that I think is cool, stuff that I think is not cool. Stuff.

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1. When Li Na is done with tennis, she needs to have a stand up comedy career where she just makes fun of her husband all the time. She is COMEDY GOLD.

2. Why haven’t I noticed how cool Li Na is before?

3. It was nice that Kim Clijsters got to celebrate her victory as Kim and not as Jada’s mum. Jada is adorable and all, but Kim did this all on her lonesome.

4. Thank you, Kim Clijsters, for that takedown of Todd Woodbridge. It was awesome.

5. I can deal with Todd Woodbridge as a commentator. I’m fine with him. Love Jim Courier, surprisingly love Lleyton Hewitt. HATE BRUCE MCAVANEY. FIRE HIM AT ONCE. HE FILLS ME WITH RAGE.

6. Novak Djokovic was genuinely the best player on the men’s side this fortnight and was definitely due another title.

7. I had never, ever realised that Djokovic was such a speed demon. Or that he could do the splits.

8. Djokovic has improved over the years. He is no longer my most hated player. I’m never going to be a fan, but am glad to see he’s maturing.

9. I look at Djokovic, all I can see is Bert from Sesame Street. Or Screech from Saved By The Bell. Can’t help it.

10. There is a real chance Andy Murray might be the next Ivan Lendl.

11. There is a real chance Andy Murray might be the next Dinara Safina.

12. Dinara Safina is indeed the player I feel most sorry for all tournament.

13. Except for maybe Svetlana Kuznetsova, because NO ONE deserved to lose that match.

14. Francesca Schiavone is a FREAKING LEGEND. Seriously, how awesome is she? She rocks the kasbah.

15. Just because Caroline Wozniacki was funny in press conferences doesn’t mean I like her game any better.

16. I think Ekaterina Makarova really might be something in the next couple of years.

17. Same goes for Aleksandr Dolgopolov.

18. Actually, how freaking awesome is Sasha D? I am filled with so much Dolgopolove right now. Any man who is man enough to wear an Alice band is a man indeed.

19. I never realised how much I loved Rafa till he went down like that in the quarters.

20. Roger Federer will always be my favourite, no matter what happens in the rest of his career.

21. That said, the rest of his career is going to be pretty damn sparkly.

22. The world unfairly maligns David Ferrer. He is much more awesome than people give him credit for.

23. One good semi final does not a career make. Fernando Verdasco is the anti-Ferrer.

24. I’m not quite ready to jump on the Milos Raonic bandwagon yet. Sorry.

25. I am, however, quite ready to jump on the Anastasija Sevastova bandwagon, because I liked what I saw.

26. And then there’s that Dolgopolove bandwagon, which I have primo seating on.

27. And Richard Berankis, even if he got to the third round via Nalbandian-fail.

28. It was worth the Nalbandian fail to get to see that epic first round match against Hewitt. Best match of the tournament, second overall after Franlana.

29. Lleyton Hewitt is really a very good commentator. Never thought I would say this, but MOAR LLEYTON.

30. Did I mention how much I hate Bruce McAvaney?

31. Did I mention how much I hate Viktor Troicki? Because it is A LOT. I like fiery players. I’m a Safin fan. But he is vile.

32. Not just because he knocked out he of the anime-hair, Nicolas Mahut.

33. A great love of Nicolas Mahut seems to be the one thing all tennis fans can agree on. Fedophiles, Rafanatics... everyone loves Nico.

34. He should have got a wildcard to the Australian Open.

35. Sabine Lisicki should also have got a wildcard.

36. In fact, there should be an official Wildcard For Awesome.

37. Even though it failed, #wildcardformahut was an awesome experience. And it’s going to keep popping up every time he needs one.

38. I just generally think Mahut is the bee’s knees. In case you hadn’t noticed.

39. You know who else is awesome? Andrea Petkovic. There needs to be more people like Petkorazzi.

40. Petkorazzi has had an awesome summer and is due for a big rankings rise. Watch this space.

41. Likewise the tall left-handed space shaped like Petra Kvitova, because she is rocketing up so fast she will leave you in her dust.

42. Sandra Zahlavova’s screech is worse than Michelle Larcher de Brito’s. Yes, I’m saying it.

43. Venus Williams is a freaking WARRIOR.

44. Even if her dress did look like a pie.

45. Ernests Gulbis is not a warrior. I think I’m off the bandwagon.

46. Andrey Golubev was also disappointing, but there’s no way I’m giving up on him.

47. Marin Cilic was surprisingly un-disappointing. Good times.

48. Insert something vaguely complimentary (with conditions) about Bernard Tomic here.

49. Tobias Kamke is going to be so awesome so fast it will BLOW YOUR FREAKING MIND.

50. We are going to miss Justine Henin so, so much.

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What would you add to the list?

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I liked the result of last year’s tournament better. Any tournament with a big fat RF on it is a tournament I love. But I don’t think I’ve ever had a better time than I did at the Australian Open this year. Good tennis, good wine, Federbitching friends... these are the things that make a real Grand Slam experience. And I was lucky enough to have all three.

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And now the countdown to Roland Garros begins, and I cannot wait. Not just because I finish work the Friday before, either...

Tomic In Transit

I did not get to see much tennis yesterday due to being in transit for most of the day - there was a whole incident with a cancelled flight that left me hanging around Melbourne Airport for six hours and then having to wait for a train for another two hours (quite apart from the two hours I spent on said train)... suffice to say it was a long day, and if I'd known it would be that painful, I would have somehow contrived to stay in Melbourne another day. As a result for this twelve-odd hour transit drama, the only tennis I got to see was the second two sets of Nadal and Tomic.

And much it pains me to say it, because we all know I can't stand the kid, I was impressed by Bernard Tomic.

I was not only hoping for a triple bagel, I was vaguely expecting it. I was convinced that there was nothing in Tomic's game that could hurt Nadal - that Nadal would eat up those dinky little tap shots Tomic is so obsessed with, that Tomic didn't hit flat enough to even begin to mess with Nadal, nor did he have anywhere near enough power, that Nadal would exploit Tomic's movement and drag him around.

But it didn't happen. Nadal won - and won comfortably in the end - but Tomic genuinely did play an excellent match.

There were signs in this match of the player Tomic could be. Jim Courier was very insightful earlier this week when he said Tomic was very mentally developed for a player of his age but not physically, and I definitely think that's true. Tomic hasn't grown into his height yet - though it certainly did help him neutralise (to some degree) the high bounce on the Nadal lasso forehand. And because he is so gangly his movement - particularly up and down to the net - isn't the best that it can be. Because he is so tall, maybe it never will be world-beating.

But his tennis brain is outstanding. Simply outstanding. I read somewhere else that he has a high tennis IQ but a low social IQ, and I think that's definitely true. If he behaves in the locker room like he does to the public, he's not going to be that popular. And that could really affect him in the long term.

It pains me to say it. It really does. But Bernard Tomic really did impress me last night.

Speaking of things that are impressive, you know what would be impressive? More Nicolas Mahut in a dress. Some of Venus's dresses, in particular. Melinda Samson (aka @GrandSlamGal) and I were discussing this on Twitter, and basically we concluded that they should have their own reality show. You can read her post on Mahut, Styled By Venus here.

Life On Show Court 2

Today was my last day at the Australian Open - sadface. I finished it off with wonderful drinks with Dootsiez and PJ from All I Need Is A Picket Fence, which was the perfect way to end what has been a wonderful tournament for me. I have had the time of my life, and you can bet your bottom dollar that I will be back for 2012 - for even longer, if I can possibly afford it!

I spent a great part of my day on Show Court 2 today - first for Almagro vs Ljubicic and then for Azarenka vs Scheepers. Herein is my report.

Almagro was playing as well as I have ever seen him on a hard court. We all know that he is the Prince of Clay, but he was absolutely on fire today against Ljubicic. If you'd asked me to place a bet before the match, I would have said Ljubicic in straights. Instead, it turned out being the other way round.

I never realised Almgaro had such massive shots - he can hit the ball HARD. I think the only person I've seen hit the ball that (noticeably) hard is Soderling. And maybe Nadal. Seriously, his strokes were MASSIVE today. He has a real flair for the passing shot and the angled forehand. And he played a totally fierce second set tiebreak. That tiebreak was the real key point in the match, and it was Almagro who held tough. I was very impressed. I totally understand how he gave Tsonga such a good run for his money last year! Actually, Almagro has a pretty decent record in Australia, and I totally get why.

Ljubicic, on the other hand, was doing something weird with his shots. I don't know if I was influenced by his grunt, which made him sound extremely like he was in pain, but he seemed to be collapsing inwards on a lot of his shots - sort of curling up, which seemed to be really hampering his movement. I don't know if I've missed, like, his entire career, and he's always played like this, but I felt very much like he was playing through big pain. I was kind of glad Almagro put him out of his misery, to tell the truth.

And then it was time for the ladies. This was the first full ladies' match I have watched outside of Rod Laver Arena, and it was suitably compelling, even if the scoreline did not suggest it.

I have not been a big fan of Azarenka in the past. I don't know if I have changed my opinion, but I was pretty impressed with her today. Scheepers possesses some big shots - like, BIG. She can hit winners like nobody's business and she has a lot of power. But Vika didn't panic and deflected all that power straight back at her. It was great tennis from Vika, combined with a bit of inexperience from her opponent, which won her this match. And in a women's draw more wide open than ever, why shouldn't it be time for Vika to make a charge?

And then it was time for Federer. I didn't have Rod Laver Arena tickets, but I watched on the big screen in Grand Slam Oval. And had twenty minor heart attacks, even though Federer was in front virtually the whole time.

Federer played this whole match like he'd left the oven on - distracted and wanting to get off as soon as possible. He managed the latter, but it was a strange, nervy match. He oscillated between extreme brilliance and Federror, his evil shadow-self. And then there was his strange obsession with the drop shot...

But he'll be right. He's Federer. And that is the truth of the matter.

I'm watched the Rod Laver Arena night session as I write this. Stan Wawrinka has just put paid to an awful Gael Monfils. Seriously, could Monfils have played any worse in this match? He possibly has the worst mentality in tennis. I came to this conclusion after watching him tank the third set against Gil the other night, and it was only reinforced tonight.

We've watched Federer and Nadal. We know that tennis champions have minds of steel. Monfils demonstrated tonight that he does not have one. He fell apart, totally and completely. He might have the talent, he might even have the game, but unless he works on what he has upstairs, he's not going anywhere.

In short, it is time for Gael Monfils and Roger Rasheed to BREAK UP. Rasheed is infecting him with douchiness.

Stan, on the other hand, played wonderfully. He may be a little douchey in his personal life - I cast no stones, I said 'may' - but his backhand is a freaking work of art. That thing is gorgeous.

And then the second Rod Laver Arena match... poor Venus. That poor girl. Poor scheduling decision, considering her injured-ness, but oh my goodness. That girl was HURTING. Get well soon, Lady V!

Sam She Is

I just realised that Sveta is not in Doha. I know she didn't have a good enough year to come anywhere close to making it, but it still makes me sad.

You know who is in Doha, though? And doing awesomely? That would be one Sam Stosur, who is kicking arse and taking names. She played the only competitive match of the day yesterday when she beat Francesca Schiavone, and today she pulled a really big coup by beating Caro Wozniacki.

Caro Wozniacki may be the #1 player in the world, but she is completely vulnerable to a zoning player. Well, anyone is vulnerable to a zoning player, I suppose, but she is super-vulnerable. Her game is all based around the fact that everyone else's game is based on risk - if she can keep the ball in play, eventually the coin will comes heads instead of tails, so to speak. But when her opponent is taking the risks and the majority of them are paying off... hello, trouble.

That's what happened today. This isn't the best I've seen Stosur play, but it was pretty damn good. Nearly everything she hit went in and she hit through Caro basically at will. She had the ol' serve forehand combo working like a dream. It was great stuff. And now she has total control over the Maroon Group with only one match left to play... and when you consider that that match is against the emphatically out of form Elena Dementieva, you don't have to be a rocket scientist to see Sammy's path straight into the semis.

Vera Zvonareva is on top of the White Group for now, but Kim Clijsters is also undefeated - you'd have to think that it'll be the winner of that match who wins the group. Jankovic definitely isn't going through and I'm not so hot on Vika's chances either, so you have to think that it'll be Clijsters and Zvonareva going through here. Stosur and Wozniacki have to be the picks in the other group, unless Schiavone pulls out something a bit spesh.

I just realised something. Did Venus not qualify this year? or is she just not playing? What's the deal there? This must be the first Williams-less final in some time!

Ninja-Off

CazWoz, you seem like a nice kid. You really do. But until you start playing more interesting tennis, you will not catch me barracking for you in a million years. I was so, so glad that Vera Zvonareva knocked you out today, and I'm not going to apologise for it.

Let's talk about Bepa for a minute. She has flown pretty much completely under the radar for this entire tournament, despite the fact that she made the final in Wimbledon and has been playing like a gun. I don't think there's one single person who picked her to make the final here - including me - and it's really satisfying that she's stood up to be counted. There's a lot of things in the future of Vera Zvonareva, but the way I see it, not once again will she ever be forgotten.

In Slams, I think you have to say that Bepa has had the second best year after Serena - she's certainly the only other person who has made two major finals, and even if she loses tomorrow that's not going to change. And you know what...? She may be the underdog, but I don't think there's a cookie tray in Bepa's future tomorrow.

Why?

Because even though she's been winning, even though she's brought it good when it's counted, Kim Clijsters is playing some of the most error strewn tennis we've seen from her in a while.

Her match against Venus today... well, she so easily could have lost that one, and Venus is going to have nightmares about those two double faults in the breaker. Similarly, Kimmie played a very error-riddled match against Stosur. She's squeaked out her last two matches, but against Bepa, who is playing spectacularly and has nowhere near the pressure that Kimmie has? Well...

I think this match is on Kim's racquet - but that Bepa will really have something to say about that. Both these players are capable of redlining their game and playing like ninjas. If it comes down to a ninja-off, I think Kimmie will win... but I'm thinking the player more likely to go ninja is Bepa, if that makes sense.

So. Yes. Excellent performance from Bepa today, not so much from Kimmie. And though I'll be happy whoever wins - I think this one just might belong to Bepa.

Intrigue and Errors

We have a really intriguing women's semi final lined up - Venus vs Kimmie. A year after Kimmie lined up against Venus's sister Serena in that fateful match, we are getting the closest thing to a repeat possible. Intriguing.

Now, I think Kimmie is going to take this and take it relatively easily. But if she plays as error-strewntastically as she did today and Venus plays tight, then it could be very interesting indeed.

Let's talk about the two quarter finals for a sec. Frankie Schiavone was right when she said she lost her match more than Venus won it. Normally, I'd be all 'come on guys, this is unfair', but Frankie imploded spectacularly in this match. She is capable of so much more and this was very disappointing. Nonetheless, it's got Venus through to her first semi in about a hundred years in New York, and given the dearth of men on the dudes' side in this draw, the US should be glad.

And then there was Sammy. Oh, Sammy.

Clijsters played some error-strewn stuff today, and Sammy had her chances. She could have won the match today if she had just taken them. But her inability to hold serve... well...

But no one expected her to hang this tight to Kim. And no one really expected her to make quarters here. She played to her seed, and that is something. Well done, Sammy.

And the men. Oh the men.

Rafa got through relatively painlessly, and Youzhny with only a scrape or so, but Stan Wawrinka and Fernando Verdasco must both be totally exhausted after their respective epics. I don't want to say that we'll have Youzhny and Rafa in the semis for sure... but I kind of do, because I just don't know how these guys are going to bear up.

But awesome performances from both - Stan for toughing out that fifth set against a non-partisan crowd and FeVer for roaring back from two sets to love down. This is the best performance from both this year, and both have a lot to be pleased about. And if one of them is a surprise semi finalist... I won't complain!

Getting Down With WTT

So, world, level with me. What's the deal with World Team Tennis?

In a schedule that's already packed, I'm not quite sure why people would play World Team Tennis - though I suppose it comes with a big pay day - but I certainly think it is a lot of fun! And it's a viable alternative to the seniors tour that gives people who have retired the opportunity to keep playing professional tennis in a way that is fun and exciting.

And would anyone deny that the Venus Williams/Martina Hingis match up is the most keenly anticipated match of the week - including everything that's going down in Davis Cup?

I'm not exactly sure what the rules are - I have a notion that there is no ad scoring - and there is a crazy coloured court. It seems to be restricted pretty much to the US, but I remember a WTT exo that went on on Margaret Court Arena during the Australian Open this year which was big fun. I'd love to see it played more - maybe not so much with the current big time players, though if they want to play it, more power to them - but with some of the old stars. Hingis, Kournikova, Davenport... they all play WTT and it seems like a perfect fit. I want to see Marat Safin play it. I think it'd be rad.

In short, from what I know of WTT, I think it's awesome. It doesn't dovetail especially well with the actual tour, but it is good fun and allows tennis to be a team sport. I think it's especially good for some ex-pros... and I hope to see more of it. Unless it has some major failing of which I am not aware. But I don't think it does. So yay WTT! Let us see more!

Anything Can Happen. Literally, Anything.

So, um, if anyone picked a Zvonareva/Pironkova semi in their bracket they just made a killing. Hell, people that picked a Serena/Kvitova semi also made a killing. We've seen some weird results in the WTA lately, but this just takes the case.

You thought Stosur vs Schiavone was a weird Slam final? What, then, would you call Kvitova vs Pironkova? Because this could happen.

I was very disappointed with the performance of my title pick, Kim Clijsters. Vera Zvonareva totally got her act together in the second two sets, but Kimmie was spraying that forehand something fierce. This was not the Kimmie we saw beat JuJu. It also wasn't the Kimmie that lost to Petrova in Australia, but it was closer to her than the Kimmie we saw in the last round. Saddening.

But hey! at least this result shows that all is not lost for the Russians. Their big guns, Sharapova, Safina, Kuznetsova, Dementieva... all gone. But up pops forgotten little Vera with the big result. Never underestimate a Russian lady.

But upset of the day surely has to go to Tsvetana Pironkova. She has, I would like to note, beaten Venus before. But Venus at Wimbledon is a whole other kettle of fish. Venus is the queen of this tournament. And yes, she was looking a little out of sorts, but Tsveta absolutely schooled her in that match. It was quite remarkable. Beating Venus on grass isn't quite beating Federer on grass or Nadal on clay, but it's in the ballpark next door. This is a massive, massive result for Tsveta.

And now only Serena is left upholding what remains of WTA normalcy. You have to think that her path to the title is pretty clear now, but we know perfectly well that anything - and I mean anything - can happen. Tsvetana Pironkova, Wimbledon champion. IT COULD HAPPEN.

Wimbledon 2010 - The Ladies

It's that time again - le predictions de Jodi, Wimbledon edition. Let's start with the ladies.


Serena's quarter: This quarter isn't terrible for Serena, but it's not great either. Normally I'd expect her to come through it without any problems at all, but I'm just a little concerned about her level of injury at the moment. Still, if the girl is going to get to quarters and very-nearly-almost of Roland Garros (which is what she did last year, when she won Wimbledon...)


The biggest name lurking in this section has to be Maria Sharapova. She's not doing too badly - she made a final last week - but she could be doing better (she should have won that final.) She could meet Serena in the round of sixteen, and wouldn't that be a screamathon (even more so if Michelle Larcher de Brito got through - all of SW19 is going to be able to hear Serena's first round encounter with the young screamer.)


Winner: Serena. You'd be a fool to bet against her.
If not her, then: Maria Sharapova. No shocks there.
Dark horses: Na Li. I'm never counting this lady out. And also, randomly, Dominika Cibulkova. I heard she's working with Zeljko Krajan now, and maybe that'll give her a little sumthin' sumthin'.
First round encounters to watch: Serena/Screamer, Cibulkova/Safarova and Keothavong/Rodionova.


Caro's quarter: This is a much better draw for Sam Stosur than she had at Roland Garros, and consequently, I don't expect her to go as far. She places best as the underdog, when there's no pressure on her, and I don't think it would be unfair to call her favourite for this quarter, as Caro doesn't seem to be in much form.


One to watch out for, however, is Caro's teen queen frenemy, Vika Azarenka. She's hit a nice patch of form right at the right time - however, I'm not sure if playing a final the Saturday before Wimbledon will help or hinder her. Jury's out there. And is it a fluke? Who knows.


Oh, and miss gold lame dress herself is in this quarter (though presumably wearing a different dress.) What can she make happen here?


Winner: Vika Azarenka. I just have a feeling.
If not her, then: Sam Stosur. I don't expect it, but it'd be nice if it happened. Or maybe Pavlyuchenkova - I like her game a lot.
Dark horses: I like the look of Alexandra Dulgheru, but I'm not quite sure what she can do on grass. Oh, and maybe Rezai.
First round matches to watch: Pavlyuchenkova/Benesova, Cirstea/Kvitova and Stosur/Kanepi.


Jankovic's quarter: They might as well have just named this quarter the Belgian quarter, as all three of the big Belgian contenders (and Kirsten Flipkens) are in here. Surprise! they're all major chances in my book. I love Kimmie's game on grass - and if she can beat someone in 38 minutes (even though she lost the next round) I appreciate it. JuJu definitely has the drive. And I just really like Yanina Wickmayer.


As to JJ herself - I don't know if she's really recovered from the mental beatdown Stosur put on her at Roland Garros. But I am ready to be proved wrong.


Also watch out for Nadia Petrova. You never know what she can do.


Winner: Kim Clijsters. I like her game on grass the best of all the Belgians - oops, I mean, everyone.
If not her, then: Justine Henin. You know she wants this one.
Dark horses: Yanina Wickmayer. Belgian surprise! And also Nadia Petrova. And Jankovic - can I call her a dark horse in a quarter she's seeded to win?
First round matches to watch: Jankovic/Robson, Oudin/Flipkens and Kirikenko/Voegele.


Venus's quarter: Not only do we have Venus 'I care only about Wimbledon and nothing else' Williams in this quarter, but the recently crowned Roland Garros champ Francesca Schiavone, proof that anything can happen (and frequently does). That said, I'm not expecting lightning to strike twice for Frankie, but definitely keep an eye out for her - I think she'll play out her seeding, if nothing else.


It's hard to pick against Venus at Wimbledon, even though she's been so pathologically underwhelming for a while now. This quarter isn't too bad for her, because the major headcases of the game - Ivanovic and Safina - are in there, and should Venus meet them, I don't expect she'd have too much trouble dispensing with either one.


Do watch out, however, for Yaroslava Shvedova. She's been playing some good ball lately.


Winner: Venus. Not betting against her in her backyard. She wants revenge against Serena for last year.
If not her, then: Frankie. Don't think it'll happen, but who's going to count her out now?
Dark horses: Shvedova, as noted above. And also Marion Bartoli - we know she's gone deep here before, maybe she can do it again. And maybe even Safina, now that the pressure's off a little and no one's really talking about her.
First round matches to watch: Peer/Ivanovic, Mirza/Kerber and Safina/Groenefeld.


This leaves us with the following semi final match ups:


Serena vs Vika
Kimmie vs Venus

I bet you think I'm going to pick the Williams sisters, don't you? It's been the all-Williams show for a wowzand years now. But guess what? My finals pick is...


Vika vs Kimmie


That's right, not even one Williams in the final in the Jodi draw. Neither have been playing well enough for me to merit picking them. (That said, neither is Vika, but she is totally due a win over Serena). And I have a feeling.


And the winner is...


Kimmie.


Probably not the safest bet, but I have a really good feeling about Kim Clijsters in this tournament - a holding up the trophy feeling. And it's always a feelgood victory when Kimmie wins.


What do you think?

Pathetic Fallacy

Welcome to Weel 2 at Roland Garros, where it is all happening. The skies were stormy and pathetic fallacy abounded as some of the big names of tennis crumbled under the pressure, unable to weather the storm. Count the incidences of literary wordplay in that sentence. Oh yeah.

Some people, on the other hand, had a cruise-y ride. But we're getting down to the business end, and things are getting veeeeeeeery interesting at ol' RG.

The winners: Surprise, surprise, I'm starting with Fed. He played a little scratchier than I would have liked against Wawrinka at times, but when you can come away with a straight sets victory over a player like Stan, you're doing OK. I was very happy.

He'll face the Yoker next, who's also appearing in this column (hopefully for the last time this tournament, fingers crossed fellow Fedfans!) He absolutely pulverised Marin Cilic. See above re 'when you can come away with a straight sets victory over a player like...' It is going to be on till the break of dawn in FedSod II: Electric Boogaloo.

And Nadia Petrova - here's looking at you, kid! Venus was my pick for the final from this half of the draw, and Nadz absolutely annihilated that negligee off the court. Well, maybe annihilated is a little strong, but it was a very tidy putaway. Let's just say I would now not be at all surprised to see Nadz in the final. This side of the draw isn't the strongest evah and Nadz has a good a chance as any.

The losers: Speaking of the negligee... Venus. Big time. I really thought she had what it takes to go deep this year, but looks like my hunch is wrong, wrong, wrong. Petrova is playing really good stuff (as evidenced by her appearance in the winners column) but Venus did not play a good match here. Disappointing for V. Still... I was going to say it'll get her onto the grass earlier, but it totally won't, because she has doubles. Further disappointment, then.

And Andy Murray. No one ever expects him to do that well at Roland Garros, but surely he should at least be able to play competitively with Berdych. I actually thought that was a really favourable match for Murray - I thought he could bamboozle Tomas with some moonballage - but no. Fail. Not to denigrate Berdych's achievement here, because he did good, but this was not a great performance from Muzz.

The disappointments: Jo Tsonga. It is very, very disappointing that he had to retire, not least because I picked him for the semis and now my bracket is all wrong. And it is very disappointing for the home team that is French tennis - Bartoli and Rezai did not exactly exceed expectations, and then their last hope caved to a back injury.

Get well soon, Jo.

The scraped-in-by-the-skin-of-teeth: Ladies and gentlemen, Miss Caroline Wozniacki. I have actually been totally pleasantly surprised by Caro this tournament - I foresaw an early exit for sure. But in this weaker half of the women's draw, she actually stands a decent chance of getting through to the finals. The finalist is going to be either Caro, Nadz, Lena D or Schiavone - not all outside the realms of possibility, but not my initial picks, that's for sure.

And though it wasn't quite skin-of-teeth, I have to talk JuJu here. I thought MaSha had her when she went up that break, but JuJu staged an awesome fightback. I'm sad for MaSha - playing like she did, she deserved better than a third round. But then again, so did JuJu.

One to watch: Mikhail Youzhny. He is creeping through this draw very quietly - surprising, given his propensity for bashing his own head with his racquet. Now he's facing Berdych for a spot in the semis. This would be a big career jump for both of them - Youzhny has been to Slam semis once before, Berdych never - and it'll be interesting to see who comes out alive. I can't tell you why, but I'm like the headbanger on this one.

Roland Garros 2010 - The Ladies

So here we are. Roland Garros is upon us, and it is that time again: draw preview time! Today we focus on the ladies; tomorrow, the gents.

Without further ado, I give you Jodi's ill-educated and definitely emotionally-motivated picks for Roland Garros 2010.

Serena's Quarter: Wow. This is one tough quarter - definitely the toughest of the four, I would contend. The two big seeds in here are Serena, who you can never count out, and Sam Stosur, who is pretty much on fire at the moment. But who else is in here? Why, it is Maria 'cow on ice' Sharapova! And look - would that be four-time champion Justine Henin?

You've also got a couple of dark horses in there in Zheng Jie and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, whose first round match against Alize Cornet will be one to watch, as they were rivals for junior Slams in the same years. You also have Marion Bartoli, but I can't say that I'm expecting big things of her.

Sam Stosur in particular has a tough match up first round with rising young star Simona Halep, who recently made her first WTA final. If she comes through that match unscathed, I wouldn't be placing any bets against her until what could be a quarter final blockbuster with Justine Henin (or Sharapova).

You have to pick JuJu to win this quarter, even with everyone else in it. You just don't ignore stats like hers at this tournament. But you can't ignore Serena, ever awesome at Slams, nor can you ignore Stosur, who will want to defend her semi final points from last year.

In summary:
Winner: Justine Henin
If not her, then: Serena Williams or Sam Stosur
Possible dark horse: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
First round matches to watch: Pavlyuchenkova/Cornet and Stosur/Halep

Jankovic's quarter: Both the Serbian girls are in this quarter, and I think one of them has a much better chance than the other... and it's not the one that's won here before. If she gets that far, I don't expect Ana Ivanovic to progress beyond a second round with Alisa Kleybanova, who should club her off the court.

This is a very Australian -heavy quarter - Jarmila Groth and Anastasia Rodionova both feature, as does Alicia Molik, who plays Jelena Jankovic in the first round. I actually don't mind Alicia's chances here - I think her game matches up quite well to Jankovic's - but with the way Jelena's been playing lately, I think this is a bit of a long shot.

I have to go with Jankovic to win this quarter, on recent form alone. She is one of the ones to watch going into this tournament and is a definite title contender. But while this quarter isn't as jam-packed as Serena's, there are some names in here. Vera Zvonareva might challenge. So might Kleybanova, and hey, Dinara Safina has made the final the past two years (even though she has got a prime upset opponent first up in Kimiko Date Krumm.) But I think Jelena has one key challenger here - not the other big seed, Agnieszka Radwanska, but the young Belgian Yanina Wickmayer. She's been to a Slam semi before, she's hungry, she's fierce, and basically, I just kind of think she's awesome.

Winner: Jelena Jankovic
If not her, then: Yanina Wickmayer
Possible dark horses: Alisa Kleybanova and Carla Suarez Navarro
First round matches to watch: Jankovic/Molik and Safina/Date Krumm

Wozniacki's quarter: If we get a super massive surprise in the women's draw, this quarter seems ripe for it. This quarter looks like a cakewalk compared to the Serena quarter. You might have last year's defending champion Sveta Kuznetsova in there, but she has been a non entity of late. You might also have Caro Wozniacki in there, but she's under an injury cloud so large it might have come from a volcano.

So if not them, who?

Sorana Cirstea made the quarters of this tournament last year and she has a huge chance to topple Kuznetsova in the first round. You have Li Na in there, who is, as we saw in Australia, more than capable of making it to a Slam semi. And then you have the two Italians, Schiavone and Pennetta, who, while neither has particularly shone lately, you wouldn't like to bet against... Also lurking is Jelena Dokic, and if she gets her hand in and her head straight, she is capable of catching fire. And her first round opponent Lucie Safarova might just pull a massive, MASSIVE run.

I don't quite know who to pick in this quarter, but here goes...

Winner: Flavia Pennetta
If not her, then: Lucie Safarova or Li Na
Dark horses: Am I allowed to call Svetlana Kuznetsova a dark horse?
First round matches to watch: Kuznetsova/Cirstea and Safarova/Dokic

Venus's quarter: I'm not picking against Venus in this quarter, no way, no how. I have a feeling about V this tournament - she just might go deep deep deep.

But she's not the only contender, not by a long shot. You can't not talk about Aravane Rezai, who clubbed Venus off the court last week. Nadia Petrova is also a solid chance, and Dementieva... well... maybe.

But you cannot, cannot, cannot underestimate Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, who is super fierce on clay and has the big title to prove it. If anyone is going to take it to V in this quarter, I like MJMS (though Rezai certainly has the firepower and the confidence).

Upset alert, however - watch for Vika Azarenka to fall to Gisela Dulko in the first round. You just watch. Also keep an eye on young Anastasija Sevastova - I think she might grow up to be something a bit special. And Venus's first round match is not without difficulty, either - she has tricky leftie Patty Schnyder. I know Patty hasn't done much of late, but she is experienced at this level and very steady.

Winner: Venus Williams
If not her, then: Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez or Aravane Rezai
Possible dark horse: Nadia Petrova
First round matches to watch: Dulko/Azarenka and Oudin/Medina Garrigues

So this leaves us with the following semi final matches:

Henin vs Jankovic
Pennetta vs V Williams

I think the first semi would be an absolute blockbuster, but you won't catching me betting against JuJu at Roland Garros. The second might be a blowout if Pennetta implodes - even if she doesn't, I like Venus. That leaves us with:

Henin vs V Williams

Winner: Justine Henin

Like I said, I won't bet against her. Not here. Not at Roland Garros. But let's just say this... I wouldn't put my life on it. Venus and Jankovic are both, in my opinions, also solid bets for the title.

What did you pick?

Rezai, Randomness and Roland Garros

So in all that Fedal frazzling, I totally forgot about what I actually spent most of the week writing about - the women's draw in Madrid.

I wonder exactly how many people in the world put money on Aravane Rezai to win that tournament. And exactly what holiday island they're on now, which beach, which fruity cocktail they're sitting...

Seriously, Rezai has been on the rise this year - she first really popped into my field of vision when she very-nearly-almost beat Serena in the semis in Sydney, because I remember being very cross that she was going to be in the final, as I had tickets to it and hadn't exactly paid to see Aravane Rezai. And also she was wearing some hideous gold thing. But who would have thought she'd go all the way and win a Premier tournament?

Seriously, this year's Roland Garros is one OPEN tournament. Henin may be the favourite - and, indeed, the only big name player to have won one of the big clay titles - but just about anyone could win this one. Rezai aside, the last Premier event was won by Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez. Now that MJMS isn't awesome, but she isn't normally what you'd think of as big title material.

But anyone is big title material right now in the WTA. Including Aravane Rezai.

Marion Bartoli better watch her back, because Aravane is skyrocketing up the rankings and may soon be French #1. Her victory over Venus - arguably the best performer of the leading women on clay this season, even though she hasn't won a title recently - was absolutely superb. She's already left perennial underperformer Alize Cornet far behind and it looks like the only way is up.

You always wonder how players are going to back up big wins like this one. However, what we have to remember that because this field is so wide open, ANYONE in the WTA draw can theoretically win Roland Garros. It might not be Rezai or MJMS, but someone random could come skyrocketing through in the same manner and claim the prize. Back it up shmack it up - they'll have a Slam!

Madrid Mesdames

It is very sad that, when there are only three proper seeds left in a tournament, two of them have to play each other in the quarter finals. But such is the way of the world, I suppose.

Sam Stosur may have lost to a Venus Williams running hot today, but she still has a whole lot of momentum propelling her forward into Roland Garros. She has a lot of ranking points there to defend, but to tell the truth, I don't think she's going to have tooooo much of a problem doing it. Of course if she gets drawn against a Williams in the quarters or something that might prove a problem, but for now, I think Sam is on track to do great.

I thought the same thing about Jelena Jankovic. I haven't exactly revised my position, but let's just say I wasn't expecting her to lose to Aravane Rezai, talented as Rezai is. (I remember her pushing Serena hard in the semis in Sydney... though that might have had something to do with the strange gold lame outfit she was wearing). Rezai herself might be a bit of a dark horse to look out for - a French girl in France...

But it's Venus who's really been proving herself. She can dirtball like nobody's business - I think it's her most underrated skill. And if I were a betting woman and I wanted to make a few dollars, I might just put a little money on V to win Roland Garros. I think she has a really, REALLY good chance.

In Roland Garros news, Kim Clijsters is out. Pout.

WTA WTF (again)

I kind of wish I hadn't used the headline 'WTA WTF' yesterday, because I want to use it again today. Serena, really?

Come on, Serena. I haven't always been your biggest fan and that you don't peak till the Slams, but I thought I could count of you to keep some semblance of normalcy in this wacky tournament, particularly as pretty much everyone who might be considered competition is out already.

But no. Not to be.

And so we're left with Venus... Jankovic... a few other randoms... and one Sam Stosur.

At this point, I think I might be picking Jankovic to win the tournament, but what a shot for Sam Stosur. She made relatively quick work of Patty Schnyder at the moment and is looking fierce. She's been one of the form players this season - even though 'form' basically constitutes 'losing last' for the WTA these days (though Sam has been playing genuinely well) and a win here in Madrid would not only be HUGE for her career, it would catapult her with a whole ton of momentum into Roland Garros and, I believe, the top five.

Now there is a bit of something.

WTA WTF

Can I get a what what for Madrid and the ladies? Seriously, WTA, I know we've had our issues, but I know you can do better than this.

Let's review. I'm pretty sure the Williams sister may just well be the only seeds left standing after Wozniacki and Dementieva went tumbling out. Safina gone. Henin. Kuznetsova. Sharapova. Name a name, and they're gone.

Actually, that's not strictly true. Jankovic is still there - and much I like to watch Jankovic when she's playing well, she's not exactly the player I want to set my hopes on as a bastion of reliability. So we have the Williamses and Jankovic and...

...and unexpected SAM STOSUR IS UNEXPECTED.

It was just last month when I was reading about Stosur getting into the top ten in Australian Tennis Magazine and how this was the most massive thing ever omg she was ranked #10!!!!1!!! Well, register this. If she does super well at this tournament, she could be in the top five by the end of it. The top freaking five.

Let's compare to this the boys for a minute. This is like Marin Cilic, relatively recent top tenner (currently sitting at #11) suddenly finding himself in the top five. To get there, he'd have to leapfrog Tsonga, Verdasco, Soderling, Roddick, Davydenko and del Potro. Just have a look at those names there. There may only be two Slam titles between the lot of them, but look at those names. You just couldn't do that.

But that is what Stosur is on the verge of doing. She played superbly well to beat the excellent recent Rome winner in Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez. Truth be told, if she can beat MJMS, she can beat just about anyone. She's got one thing going that the rest of the field are lacking at the moment, which is that one thing the WTA has had problems with for a while now - consistency.

It's been a long time since I've thought an Aussie had a genuine chance at a Slam title. But you know what, Sam? Roland Garros needs to watch out for you.

The Renaissance of Jelena Jankovic

In all this writing about Ana Ivanovic - who finally lost, after a good run to the semi finals - I have completely neglected to write about the other Serbian success story of the week.

Well, there are a few, I suppose. Novak Djokovic doesn't really count as one, although Filip Krajinovic certainly does. But this week's biggest Serbian success is easily Jelena Jankovic.

I'd almost forgotten about Jankovic, to tell the truth. She never took the same Serbian slide that Ana did - she's remained solidly near the top - but she hasn't really looked like a challenger for a long time now. Until this week, really. I mean, come on - beating Venus and Serena consecutively in the same tournament? Allowing Venus - who, as I have written before, no slouch on clay - only one game? Sure, Venus was suffering under the curse of the leggings (may they never be seen on a tennis court) but that is a masterful performance by Jankovic.

I've written a lot this week about how Ivanovic hasn't been losing. She hasn't been winning per se, but she hasn't been losing, and that's a big step for her. Jankovic is pretty good at not losing - this is why she has preserved her high ranking where Ivanovic hasn't - but this week she has come and looked like a winner. Not-loser Jelena? Not here. Winner Jelena? Raising her head.

I don't want to go and call her a major contender for the French Open, because I don't want to endow her with that level of faith just yet. But let's put it this way... if she can take out Venus and Serena - crush Venus, out-tough Serena - there is no reason why she couldn't have a massive, massive run there.

Venus Ascending

So I bet Venus Williams isn't feeling too pleased with herself right now. To get absolutely smashed like she got in the final of Miami... well, no one likes that. And I imagine it's pretty hard to simply be glad you got to the final (a la Federer in Roland Garros in 2008).

We have to talk about Kimmie for a little bit, because, come on, that was seriously Kimpressive. There have been a few question marks over her since Australia and that weird loss to Nadia Petrova - was the US Open a fluke? I have to give that one a big resounding no. Kim's comeback is THE comeback against which all comebacks will be judged, even that of her Belgian compatriot and, arguably, tennis superior Justine Henin. The Kim now is better than the Kim then, and I don't think anyone will naysay that.

The Kim then probably couldn't have whaled on Venus like the Kim now did, but I think Venus has to wear a lot of today's loss. She checked out, plain and simple. She just didn't show up to the match. There are definitely two Venuses: the awesome Venus, who has been here for the majority of this week, and the not-awesome Venus. And the not-awesome Venus isn't like Rafa's evil twin Shmafa, who is still a pretty good player. The not-awesome Venus is... well, not awesome.

This said, and this hard loss taken, I think this has been a great result for Venus this week. She has been strong for a couple of months now - it's easy to forget how well she did in Australia because of that dreadful match she played in the quarters, but hello, the quarters is pretty good. And then you have her sweet results in Acapulco and whatnot... Venus has been coming hard all year, and I would argue she's looked better in the early part of this year than she has in a couple of years.

So watch out for Venus on the red stuff - because if she's coming hard now, I think she's going to come hard in the leadup to Paris. And in Wimbledon? That's Venus's turf. And if she continues wearing her awesomepants to matches (unlike today) she is going to be a serious force to be reckoned with.

Miami Nice

You know who really, really might win this tournament? Robin Soderling. He is playing like a total gun right now. This would be the victory that would totally confirm his status in the top ten, the run that started at Roland Garros last year.

But then I also want Rafa to win. And Roddick. It really looks like we might be set for another happy final like in Indian Wells. It's rare I'm satisfied with the outcome of a tournament when Federer's been knocked out relatively early, but if can get a Yoker/Rafa or a Yoker/A-Rod final, I will be very satisfied indeed. The other contender is Berdych... I can take or leave him. But the other three? Happy whoever wins.

The women's final is also an interesting sitch. I was really looking forward to the Henin/Clijsters match, but even though it went for a thousand hours, it didn't meet the highs of Brisbane. It was decided on errors more than anything else, and JuJu cracked first. Disappointing.

But Clijsters is through, where she will face Venus. This is a happy final, really - people have been talking smack about Venus for a little bit and hopefully this finals appearance will fix this. Same with Kimmie - since that weird loss to Petrova, she's been a bit funked out. Whoever wins, this is a good result. And it's people who should be in the final being in the final, not a whoever loses last.

Good times.

A Post of Very Little Content

So is it just me or is there big fat nothing going on in the tennis world this week?

Seriously, as far as I can tell, three tour level matches were played yesterday - three women's matches in Monterrey. None of them was very interesting and so I have thus nothing to say about them. Except that Daniela Hantuchova seems to be making a mini resurgence this season. Good for her.

Really, the biggest news is about who is or isn't playing next week, and even that isn't that exciting. Serena and Venus never play Indian Wells... which is so old hat that I don't think anyone's ever bothered writing about it this year. Dinara Safina is out with a back injury. (Is it terrible of me to hope that the back injury forces her to somehow change her service motion?)

And then, of course, Roger Federer is being all coy. Will he or won't he? I guess we'll see next week.

It's a sad world when there's no news and you manage to write a whole blog post about this lack of news...

Venus Rising

Welcome to post #701 on Tennis From The Backseat, for all Jodi's meandering tennis ramblings. Enjoy the ride.

Today we're talking Venus. Why? Because Venus is winning freaking everything at the moment, that's why. In fact, I would go so far to say that if you had to pick the most in form player on the women's tour at that very moment, it would be Venus. And that isn't something I say lightly, because I have really not been especially impressed with Venus over the last couple of years.

But one cannot deny the facts. Two tournament wins in two weeks - Venus can rightly be crownded eternal queen of Acapulco, in my book - as well as a win over some quality, quality opponents at the Billie Jean Cup. I mean, sure, it's an exo event, and if you had Venus vs Kimmie on a bigger stage, maybe the match would have gone a different way, but wins over Clijsters and Kuznetsova are, well, wins over Clijsters and Kuznetsova, and not something to be taken lightly.

The question is, however - how far is this run of awesomeness going to go?

We all know V isn't going to play Indian Wells, so the next time we see her in action will be in Miami. It is obviously very good for her to have a rest after these intense few weeks, but I will be interested to see how she performs in Miami. Is this just a mini hot streak - like the one she regularly goes on at Wimbledon? (It's not unfair to say that Acapulco is Venus's second Wimbledon, the amount of titles she's won there). Or is this form going to be carried across past Miami into the clay season?

In short, are we going to see a V who could do damage at Roland Garros?

I would like to think that we could, if only to shake things up a bit. Venus has never traditionally done that well on the red clay of Paris (except, as previously noted, that one time in 2002) and it would be interesting to see the dynamic if she suddenly did make a run at it. That, combined with the return of Henin... even in the WTA, we live in interesting times!