Mr Kimiko

So I'm behind the times. I didn't realise Thomas Muster was back until he actually played that first match of his against Andreas Haider-Maurer in Vienna.

I'm not quite sure why Muster decided to come back - maybe he got all inspired by players like Kimiko Date Krumm, who have broken through the 4-0 barrier and are still going strong, or maybe he just really likes tennis, or maybe there's some other reason - but I'm going to issue a sort of blanket approval for it. I like the idea of the male Date Krumm, playing with the young guys and very occasionally beating them too.

Of course, the ATP is a very different story to the WTA. The WTA is - how shall we put this delicately? - not in its strongest position ever at the moment. The ATP is ruled by the iron fist of Fedal and has about a bazillion good guys running around. It has depth. Muster will probably find it a little harder than Date Krumm. And also Date Krumm's comeback has been going on a leeeeeeetle longer than Muster's...

...but still. Muster put up a good fight against Haider-Maurer. Andreas might be ranked #157 or whatever, but we can't forget that he pushed Robin Soderling to five at the US Open, so he clearly has some game. He beat Muster in straight sets today, but one of them was a tiebreak. And Muster is going to take a while to get his head back in the game, if a full scale comeback is what he's after.

So yeah. Go Thomas. I approve. Come back. And stuff.

Safin's Senior Moment

Well, it's nice to know Marat Safin pays attention to what's going on in his matches. He had his 400th career win today - nice one, Maratski! - which he won by breaking Noam Okun to take the match 6-4 in the third. However, with all that close attention he was paying to the score, he thought it was 6-5 and headed to his chair for a changeover. I bet, for a few seconds, Okun thought that was one hell of a snub. But the chair umpire eventually told Marat what was going on, he was embarassed, and it was all in good fun.

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Is this the week Safin comes close to winning the title? Wouldn't it be nice for him to do it in Moscow, his self-professed favourite place?

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I won't be holding my breath. I'm just hoping Marat can manage another win - you know, to make it two in a row. That's something we haven't seen much of since Wimbledon (who ever thought that'd be a sentence you could say of Marat Safin - that Wimbledon was his best result in a tennis year? I bet Marat himself never dreamed it.)

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Meanwhile, Stan Wawrinka, what happened there? I'm gunning for him to reach Shanghai, but if he loses in the first round of tournaments in which he is the top seed to schlep qualifiers - ie. Vienna, to Philipp 'who?' Petzschner - then he's not going to have a prayer. Sure, it was a third set breaker, but a win is a win, and a loss is a loss, and Stan, I am so not happy with you right now. Get it together and give Roger someone to hang out with at the Masters Cup, would you?

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Two people that did have wins in Vienna today were Eduardo Schwank, who is beginning to edge his way back from Star hanger-on status, and Ernests Gulbis, my special favourite. Schwank took out Gilles Simon, which is no mean feat - Simon was the seventh seed, and we must remember that he's had a hard-court win over Federer this year (outdoor, but still.) Nice one, Eduardo. Ernests took out Filippo Volandri, who is not seeded but still a good player nonetheless, and did it pretty well. Top work there, Swanboy.

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Oh, and nice one to Pim-Pim as well, who had a win. Top stuff.

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Wouldn't it just be the nicest week this week if Safin won in Moscow and Gulbis won in Vienna? I'm ambivalent on Stockholm - I was gunning for Federer, but he's pulled out, and no one has as yet piqued my interest... oh, I know! Nishikori. That's my ideal trifecta this week. Let's see how we go...

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Today's Results

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Kremlin Cup (Moscow)

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Men's Draw

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Nikolay Davydenko def. Florent Serra, 6-1 7-5

Denis Istomin def. Michael Llodra, 7-6 (7-2) 6-3

Janko Tipsarevic def. Alexandre Kudryavtsev, 4-6 6-3 7-6 (8-6)

Dudi Sela def. Victor Hanescu, 6-3 3-6 6-2

Julien Benneteau def. Harel Levy, 6-4 6-3

Viktor Troicki def. Evgeny Donskoy, 6-1 6-3

Robby Ginepri def. Jiri Vanek, 6-3 6-4

Marat Safin def. Noam Okun, 7-6 (7-5) 3-6 6-4

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Women's Draw

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Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Li Na, 6-4 7-5

Flavia Pennetta def. Venus Williams, 6-4 2-6 6-4

Vera Zvonareva def. Maria Kirilenko, 6-4 6-4

Daniela Hantuchova def. Francesca Schiavone, 6-3 6-2

Katarina Srebotnik def. Alona Bondarenko, 6-2 6-1

Sara Errani def. Victoria Azarenka, 1-6 6-4 6-3

Ekaterina Makarova def. Elena Vesnina, 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-1)

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If Stockholm Open (Stockholm)

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David Nalbandian def. Bobby Reynolds, 6-1 6-1

Mario Ancic def. Olivier Rochus, 7-6 (8-6) 6-2

Rainer Schuettler def. Chris Guccione, 6-0 6-3

Jose Acasuso def. Matthias Bachinger, 7-6 (7-5) 3-6 7-6 (7-4)

Steve Darcis def. Christophe Rochus, 2-6 6-3 6-3

Juan Monaco def. Jonas Bjorkman, 6-2 6-4

Joachim Johansson def. Nicolas Mahut, 7-5 7-6 (7-5)

Oscar Hernandez def. Ivo Minar, 6-4 6-3

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Bank Austria Tennis Trophy (Vienna)
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Philipp Petzschner def. Stanislas Wawrinka, 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 7-6 (7-5)

Fernando Gonzalez def. Simone Bolelli, 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-2

Eduardo Schwank def. Gilles Simon, 4-6 7-5 7-6 (7-5)

Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Marc Gicquel, 6-2 6-2

Radek Stepanek def. Pavel Snobel, 6-4 6-2

Ernests Gulbis def. Filippo Volandri, 6-2 6-3

Santiago Giraldo def. Stefan Koubek, 6-1 6-2

Jurgen Melzer def. Ivan Ljubicic, 7-6 (7-3) 6-3