Soderling Makes A Different Sound

Given as the draw for Australian Open qualies is released on Tuesday, I'm betting the final discretionary wildcards for announced on Monday (conveniently when I am at the Medibank International and electronically incommunicado - annoying). Let us keep hoping for a wildcard for Nicolas Mahut (and tweeting vociferously to that effect)!

Now, over to some finals. We had two yesterday, in Chennai and Brisbane, and they were both very good results for those involved.

Newly-family-leaving Stan Wawrinka (if he wanted to make his image different to Federer's, I'd say he's succeeded now) won in Chennai, which is a great result for him, even if Chennai is a bit of a Mickey Mouse tournament. He beat super-talented but super-sketchy Xavier Malisse in three sets. And... I didn't see the match, so that is all I have to say about that.

I did, however, see the Brisbane final, and Robin Soderling is looking DANGEROUS. Capslock merited. He fully merits gaining the #4 ranking. He has been untroubled on serve all week, and he totally dominated Andy Roddick with his flat forehand - and he ripped a few awesome backhand winners too. And it's hard to conceive of just how HARD he hits the ball - I swear it makes a different noise to when other players hit it. I wouldn't be surprised if he managed to burst one one day.

Roddick did not play badly - it certainly wasn't his bestest performance ever, but he didn't suck or anything - but Soderling left him dead in the water. If he continues to play like this in Australia, there are going to be precious few people who are able to stop him. I would actually love to see Murray drawn in his quarter - we could have a battle for the REAL #4. Now that would be something. (Basically, I hope he doesn't draw a be-wildcarded Mahut first round. That would make me sad.) Suffice to say, Soderling is going to do better in Australia than last year... where he lost in the first round.

And speaking of Kim Clijsters, she is also looking VERY dangerous. But after her showing against Petrova last year, I'm not putting any money down.

Back at the Bar

The results in Washington this week are like stepping back five or more years. It's crazy. And it's also one of the greatest triumphs of talent I have ever seen.

I have talked before about how I think Tomas Berdych is crazy talented - which he is - but Xavier Malisse is, in my book, much more so, and really could have been something if he had managed to capitalise on it. Which he hasn't. Not really. He should have been solid top ten for several years and he never came close. But now, in his relative old age, he's having some success - at this tournament anyway.

Maybe it was the threat of his career ending with that whole drugs thing last year - the same thing that enveloped Yanina Wickmayer - because it really seems to have lit a fire under Malisse. He's never going to reach the top ten, but he's been moderately impressive this year by anyone's standards. And now he's beaten the top seed (Berdych) to progress to the semis in Washington. Good work, Xavier.

And then there's Marcos Baghdatis and Marin Cilic - very talented, both of them - but well, well, who is this I see? It surely couldn't be the man who has missed the last six Slams but still manages to keep it together for Davis Cup? Oh why yes, it is. David Nalbandian is playing as well as I've seen him for a long time and he played some lovely stuff in putting out Roddick-beater Simon. I really want to see him keep on this trajectory of improvement, because seriously, seeing Daveed play when he's playing well is something very special.

I'd be happy with any one of these four boys taking the title, but I really would like to see Malisse or Nalbandian do it. It's been a long time between drinks but they're finally back at the bar!

The Djoker Is...

Andy Roddick, I will deal with you later. Losing to Dudi Sela could be a big, big mistake. You could take a wildcard into Eastbourne, I suppose, but what if you win there? You'll have far too many matches under your belt. But if you don't, you'll have too few.

See what I mean?

But I'm not writing today to hate on A-Rod (fool that he is, with all those points to defend). No, Novak Djokovic, I am looking at YOU.

So Xavier Malisse beat you. Huh. That dude hasn't been good for about a wowzand years and though it doesn't really seem like it, you are supposed to be one of the best players in the world. I know this transition to grass is tough, but suck it up and deal with it, Nole. And for heavens' sakes, get some better allergy medication.

We've had the dominant four at the top of the game for a while - it's really been all about the Hispano-Suisse domination machine, but Djokovic and Murray have held their own. However, it's becoming painfully obvious that Roger and Rafa are streets ahead of the rest. Murray, maybe, is doing all right with the keeping up, even though he's not playing great, but I feel like Djokovic is only just hanging on. He has been thoroughly unremarkable for a while now, and I have to wonder when it's going to start being reflected in the points.

When you're not a Djokovic fan and even then you're majorly disappointed in him... something is up there. Something is rotten in the state of Denmark. And Nole needs to work out what it is before it's too late.

A Few Moments Too Late

So it finally happened, and not a moment too soon - Wayne Odesnik has been suspended for two years for drugs.

I say 'not a moment too soon' - in reality, it was several moments too late. More than several. A LOT. The minute Odesnik picked up his racquet in Houston, it was too late. I know there's innocent till proven guilty and all that, but the fact is that he had pleaded guilty already in front of a Brisbane court to possession of eight vials of human growth hormone. Use your brain.

With this debacle and then the whole thing with Yanina Wickmayer and Xavier Malisse last year, which would have put serious dents in both their careers when they effectively did nothing, I think the drug rules of our sport might need to be looked at. I'm not sure how much is ITF specific and how much of it comes through WADA, but when Yanina Wickmayer can get suspended for a dodgy password and someone in possession of vast amounts of a banned substance can still play, there is something going on.

But let us just be satisfied now that things are as they should be. Odesnik should not be allowed to play and now he is not. Drugs in sport are an abomination and punishment should be strict (but not, as in the case of the Belgians, stupid).

Dope

So, doping rules. What's up with them? Because sure as hell am not understanding them.

How is it than when Richard Gasquet was caught having cocaine in his blood - a drug that probably would not enhance his performance at all, however illegal it might be - he was tossed out of the sport until his name had been cleared... but when Wayne Odesnik gets caught with eight vials of human growth hormone, which is definitely a performance enhancing drug, he... plays Houston?

I'm guessing it has something to do with possession vs it actually being in your bloodstream, but come on. Look at the great debacle of Yanina Wickmayer and Xavier Malisse, who were out in the cold for ages. The way I see it, the offenses of Wickmayer, Malisse and Gasquet combined - and, you know what, throw Hingis in there for good measure - are nothing compared to what Odesnik is guilty of here. What Odesnik has done is a serious, serious offence in a clean sport.

So how is it that he's not suspended? If Wickmayer and co are guilty until proven innocent, what's up with the Odesnik ruling?

I have no doubt that if/when Odesnik gets convicted or sentenced or whatever they call it, he will be out on his arse. Andy Roddick said he should be thrown out of tennis and I agree wholeheartedly - and I think a whole lot of the tennis world does too. I don't understand why he is allowed to play at the moment, but the fact stands that he should not be playing. And that's something he should have realised himself. Just because you can play doesn't mean you should.

I bet things are real chilly in the locker room for Odesnik right now...

Computer Problems =/= Crystal Meth

Let's get the actual tennis out of the way for starters. Just about everything came up Swiss in Basel overnight - Novak Djokovic took out Stan Wawrinka, but it's smooth sailing for one Mr R Federer, who made short work of Evgeny Korolev, and for his bestie Marco Chiudinelli the Resurgent, who also made short work of Richard Gasquet. Eminently satisfactory. It looks on track to be a Federer/Djokovic final and that would be pretty fun to watch... though not as fun as watching two childhood mates battle it out! I'm sure a lot of Swiss folks would love to see Roger vs Marco.

Everything fell the way it was supposed to in Valencia, pretty much - Gilles Simon was the only one who fell that, seedtastically speaking, probably shouldn't have, but he was playing Mikhail Youzhny, who has been made of awesome of late, so that's hardly surprising. Murray, Kolya and Nando all live to fight another day. Fun times, fun times.

And Bali is still as WTF? as ever - except for one thing. Vera Dushevina has been brought in as an alternate to replace Yanina Wickmayer. Why? Because the Flemish Doping Authority has banned her for one year, effective immediately. Same with her countryman Malisse.

I confess that the Malisse ban doesn't bother me as much - not because his circumstances were any more or less dodgy or anything, but because he's getting on and the better part of his career is definitely behind him. But Yanina Wickmayer? Title-winning, US Open semifinalist teenager Yanina Wickmayer? This could derail her whole career.

And the reason for the ban? She failed to report her whereabouts for testing three times over eighteen months. She claims this is due to a dodgy password, and technology being what it is, I see no reason why she shouldn't be believed. There's not a whiff of drugs about the girl. And three times over eighteen months? I could understand her getting a warning, or a slap on the wrist, or even a fine - but a one year ban is much, much too harsh. A one month ban, maybe, if you were being really mean - it'd rule her out of Bali but she'd be back by the Aussie Open. But this is frankly ridiculous.

The case of Malisse is also ridiculous - I can't remember what his offence was, but it was something else stupidly minor - but it doesn't tug at my heartstrings the way Yanina's does. She seriously has her whole career ahead of her, and this is not going to help. One can't help but think that is the backlash to the Agassi thing (about which I still have not been able to bring myself to write) and if it is, then that is stupid, reactive and unfair. Just because Yanina Wickmayer had computer problems doesn't mean she was off doing crystal meth somewhere.

Both Wickmayer and Malisse are planning to appeal, and I seriously hope these rubbish bans get overturned. Sure, drugs in sport is a big issue. However, tennis - whatever Andre Agassi might write - is pretty clean now. The biggest scandal we've had of late has been Richard Gasquet, and his poison of choice was cocaine, which isn't exactly performance enhancing. And he got off with, in the end, a slap on the wrist. If Wickmayer and Malisse's bans get upheld when they weren't guilty of anything more than being a bit cavalier with reporting, with no evidence they were actually doing drugs at the this time, then that is absolutely stupid. Slap on the wrist, tell them they were naughty and not to do it again - but you can't destroy someone's career over a password that didn't work.


Today's Results

Valencia Open 500 (Valencia)

Andy Murray def. Albert Montanes, 6-4 6-2
Nikolay Davydenko def. Guillermo Garcia Lopez, 6-4 7-6 (7-3)
Fernando Verdasco def. Tommy Robredo, 6-3 6-2
Mikhail Youzhny def. Gilles Simon, 6-4 6-4


Davidoff Swiss Indoors Basel (Basel)

Roger Federer def. Evgeny Korolev, 6-3 6-2
Novak Djokovic def. Stanislas Wawrinka, 3-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-2
Marco Chiudinelli def. Richard Gasquet, 6-1 6-3
Radek Stepanek def. Marin Cilic, 4-6 6-3 6-3


Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions (Bali)

Marion Bartoli def. Shahar Peer, 6-3 6-2
Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez def. Samantha Stosur, 7-6 (7-4) 7-5
Vera Dushevina def. Anabel Medina Garrigues, 2-6 6-1 7-5
Sabine Lisicki def. Melinda Czink, 6-2 6-7 (1-7) 6-4