On The Same Side Of The Net

So, um, there's still tennis going on. And stuff. In this not-that-exciting time of the year.

But at the end of the day, I don't have that much to say except 'yay, Dinara Safina won a match', so we're going to flash back to the US Open a week ago. And we're going to do something I don't often do on this blog - talk doubles.

Yes, I am aware that everyone and their dog have covered this story, but really, is there a better news story around than Bopanna and Qureshi?

We can talk about the Bryans till the cows come home - and probably we should, because what they have achieved is awesome. But the whole Bopanna/Qureshi thing is one of the biggest feelgood stories in tennis this year. An Indian and a Pakistani playing together... wow.

I studied a lot of Indian politics and history at uni, and one of the things I remember noting is the role of sport as a healer. Politically, India and Pakistan are at loggerheads, and this can translate to the sporting world as well - particularly cricket, where the rivalry is fierce. But then something will happen, like one nation touring the other, playing friendly matches. It makes everyone feel all nice. And things are good for a little while. It makes sport not only awesome and fun, but politically worthwhile, a goodwill gesture.

Bopanna and Qureshi have taken that one step further. They're not playing each other, participating in feelgood friendly partisanship. No, they're playing together. They're united. They're one. And they are taking on the world. The only way their story could be better is if they won, but at the end of the day, even that doesn't matter. Their trip to the final won them huge visibility, but the fact that they played together at all is magnificently wonderful.

I really hope these two guys stay together for a long time. There is no way to underestimate the amount of good they can do by standing up together on the same side of a net. No way at all.

Chairface Triumphs

And so the long-awaited day arrived - the day when Marat Safin and Dinara Safina would step up to the plate together for the first time and represent Russia. And I have to say that, despite Marat showing up looking like someone had hit him with a chair (which, quite possibly, they had), they put on a very good show.

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Let's start with Dinara. She got herself in all sorts of trouble in her match against Flavia Pennetta - only to be expected in the first match of the season, I guess - but she showed the prowess of a real champion by getting herself out again. Take the second set, for example: she's down 3-0, which is a double break, and then steps it up and reels off six straight games to take the set. Pennetta's level did lower a bit, but I wouldn't say she let Dinara back into the match per se. She didn't giftwrap those six games for her. Dinara stepped up and took on them. She's looking like a real threat for the Australian Open, and wouldn't it be something else to see her win it?!

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Now, Marat. I wasn't expecting too much from the big guy, considering a) he stepped off a plane late last night, and b) someone has obviously hit him in the face with a chair. (Brief digression: Marat and the black eyes and the thumb and the bruised shoulder... and the talk of 'new bosses' next year. Anyone else's mind leap right to Marat Safin, Russian mobster? Because mine sure did.) However, I was very pleasantly surprised. He really is a lovely player (especially when his shots went in.) His returning was not so hot for the majority of the match, but he more than made up for it with an absolute clinic of serving. Seriously, I have never seen him serve better than that. He hit the lines very consistently, and there was just no way Simone Bolelli could even touch half of them. And then Marat hit some lovely forehand winners, and his backhand is always an explosive thing of beauty when he's not shanking it all over the shop... and how 'bout that pass on the run he picked up? He was about twelve kilometres out of court, and to send it rocketing back in like that was positively Federesque.

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And then we come to the doubles... and although Marat might be the worst doubles player in the history of the universe, he and Dinara did all right for themselves, even though they lost the match. He clearly fatigued towards the end of the match (as you would, if you had just come off a plane and had been hit in the face with a chair) but Dinara more than held her end up. One of Marat's biggest problems was, shockingly enough, being too much of a gentleman - Pennetta pounded on him something severe, and he kept on giving her easy balls. Never thought I'd ever say Marat Safin was a gentleman, but there you have it.

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The doubles loss might hurt them if it comes to a countback against France, but I don't think it'll come down to that. If Russia win against Chinese Taipei (which they probably will, if Marat holds up his end in the singles) and France win against Italy (which, again, they probably should, though Cornet/Pennetta will be very interesting) then it'll all come down to the Russia/France tie, and won't that be a cracker...?

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Oh, and a word for Monica Wejnert. She may have gone down to a much higher ranked opponent in Marion Bartoli in her first tour level match, but she certainly didn't embarrass herself. Well done, Miss Monica!

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Today's Results

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Harry Hopman Cup (Perth)

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Russia 2, Italy 1

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Dinara Safina def. Flavia Pennetta, 7-5 6-3

Marat Safin def. Simone Bolelli, 7-6 (7-5) 6-4

Pennetta/Bolelli def. Safina/Safin, 5-7 6-4 10-2 (match tiebreaker)

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Brisbane International (Brisbane)

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Men's Draw

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Richard Gasquet def. Marc Gicquel, 4-6 6-2 6-2

Robin Soderling def. Sam Querrey, 6-3 6-3

Julien Benneteau def. Robby Ginepri, 3-6 6-3 7-5

Taylor Dent def. Steve Darcis, 7-6 (0) 6-2

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Women's Draw

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Jarmila Gajdosova def. Shuai Peng, 6-4 6-2

Victoria Azarenka def. Kateryna Bondarenko, 6-0 6-2

Marion Bartoli def. Monica Wejnert, 6-1 6-2

Alisa Kleybanova def. Kaia Kanepi, 6-1 6-4

Ferru Up To Bat

Well, well, well. This certainly is an interesting turn of events. When Rafa announced he was out of the Davis Cup final, I think just about everyone wrote off Spain entirely - including, I am not ashamed to admit, me. But now, after two days of play, we find ourselves in a very interesting place. Spain are up 2-1.

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I stand by my statement that the real hero of this tie, if Spain can pull it out, will be Feliciano Lopez. His singles victory over Juan Martin del Potro was crucial - it cannot be expressed just how crucial it was. If Spain wins, I think that will be seen as the match that turned the tide. Even though del Potro is Argentina's star player this year, when it comes to Davis Cup, Nalbandian is and always has been rock solid. He proved that yesterday, with his victory over Ferrer - a victory one can only describe as solid, actually. Ol' Dave N ain't going anywhere. Del Potro may be ranked higher, but it is over his head that the question mark lies. Nine times out of ten, based on recent form, you'd pick del Potro to come out over Lopez. But Fidgiano pulled it out.

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Spain has to win one more match to win the tie - just one. If Feliciano Lopez wins that match, he will become a national hero. But who knows whether or not he will actually be the guy to play the reverse singles rubber? After that great win over del Potro and the gruelling doubles victory with Verdasco today, he might be the guy with the hot hand, but he must also be absolutely buggered.

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It is time for David Ferrer to step up to bat. He is the highest-ranked player on this team, and though he's played Spanish second banana to Rafa for, like, ever, it's time for him to do something absolutely outstanding in his own right. He's due to play the first singles rubber, nominally against del Potro, but there is a bit of an injury cloud as well as that question mark I was talking about before hovering Juan M's head. Presumably Jose Acasuso would be the replacement if del Potro cannot play. If Acasuso wins, he will be a hero, and he will leave Feliciano Lopez or Nando Verdasco or whomever Emilio Sanchez picks to save the day and become Spain's hero. Ferrer will be out in the cold, second banana once more.

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But if Ferru can step it up and win this rubber - he's not been in the best of form lately, but hello, he's David Ferrer - then maybe he can emerge, just a bit, from Rafa's shadow. Lopez will still be the hero of the tie: but at least he won't be the only hero.

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And then, hey, maybe Marcel Granollers will get a bit of court time in the dead rubber. I'm sure he'd like that.

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Today's Results

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Davis Cup (Mar del Plata)

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Spain 2, Argentina 1

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Lopez/Verdasco def. Nalbandian/Calleri, 5-7 7-5 7-6 (7-5) 6-3

Mixed Feelings

There is no denying that today belongs to Rafael Nadal. I wanted Federer to win singles gold to mark the end of his golden age (the first of them, anyway!) but perhaps it is more appropriate for Rafa to open his reign with gold. He deserved it, thoroughly. He is playing amazing tennis right now. Welcome to the top, Rafa. You belong here.

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Not that Roger isn't going to get it back. He is. I have no doubt. I think that doubles gold has kindled something in him. He was having such a blast playing with Stan, just relaxing into his game. He may not have been 'back' yet, per se, but he is coming. He will be back. Because even if Rafa is #1 now, he has a while to go before he becomes Federesque. It must be so hard for Rafa, having someone like Roger to look up to - but wonderful too. Who could be a better example?

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(Someone Djokovic should think about looking up to, methinks.)

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It was a bit disappointing to see Safina win silver in Beijing - but she's beaten Dementieva so much this year that maybe it was just Elena's turn! Silver is still a wonderful achievement, so go Dinara! An all-Russian podium - that's something else! And that's not including Sharapova or Kuznetsova. Safina is arguably playing better than anyone else this year, and she's still the #4 Russian. And look at Cincy - Petrova won there, another Russian. What does that say about Russian tennis for women? And why hasn't it quite worked for the men?

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Not that there aren't excellent male Russian players - there are! - but they seem sketchier than the girls, less steady. There is no greater head case in the men's game than Marat Safin. And look at Tursunov, and even Youzhny and Andreev. There is so much talent there, but the men don't seem to have their heads in the game. I used to use Davydenko as my example of a steady Russian male tennis player, but I can't any more - now that he's all sick of tennis and stuff (disgust!) Still, his lack of steadiness isn't due to him being a head case, just having a rubbish temperament. Le sigh.

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Going back to women's tennis, they have also had a change of #1 - it's Ivanovic that's gone back up. I don't pretend to understand - I don't follow women's tennis enough to know who's gaining and losing points at specific times. She and Jankovic have both already qualified for Doha at the end of the year - hey, that's a thought. If Sharapova is out for the US Open, etc, does that mean that she won't qualify? I mean, that's working on the assumption that she'll be better by Doha, but she stands a real chance of missing out. I know in doubles there is or has been a clause that if you win a Slam you get to go, but that certainly doesn't happen in men's singles, and so I assume it doesn't happen for women. I don't like Sharapova, but it would be a crying shame if she missed out, because she's such an excellent player. And that final last year with her and Henin was fabulous. It would be very sad if she didn't have the opportunity to defend that.

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Meanwhile, I have a new proposition for Olympic tennis in London. What do they use the tennis venue for after the tennis is done? Nada. Therefore, they should stretch the tennis over two weeks - singles one week and doubles the next. I think doubles hurt some of the singles players in Beijing - watch me carefully not mention Federer's name - and that would solve that problem. And also, they could play mixed doubles in that doubles week! If mixed doubles is in Slams, it should be in the Olympics - and tennis needs more medal opportunities. The Federers and Nadals of this world are never going to be able to equal Phelps's eight gold medal record, simply because there aren't enough medals available in tennis. I'm not suggesting changing the standard rules or format or anything so you could win eight gold medals in tennis, but surely mixed doubles is a legitimate Olympic sport. Besides, it would be rad to see men and women playing together. I personally would love to see Federer playing mixed for Switzerland with Patty Schnyder. I think they'd be a fabulous team. And how about Rafa and Anabel Medina Garrigues? Djokovic and Ivanovic, Tipsarevic and Jankovic? The Bryans brothers with the Williams sisters? I think there are some awesome possibilities. Stan and Timea? They would be really cute.

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And how about Juan Martin del Potro? Four titles and counting. That is an achievement Federer would have been proud of at the height of his glorious reign. He is going to be the serious challenger for the US Open that no one saw coming!

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Today's Results

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Games of the XXIX Olympiad (Beijing)

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Men's Draw - Singles

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Rafael Nadal def. Fernando Gonzalez, 6-3 7-6 (7-2) 6-3

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Women's Draw - Singles

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Elena Dementieva def. Dinara Safina, 3-6 7-5 6-3

Vera Zvonareva def. Li Na, 6-0 7-5

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Women's Draw - Doubles

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Williams/Williams def. Medina Garrigues/Ruano Pascual, 6-2 6-0

Yan/Zheng def. Bondarenko/Bondarenko, 6-2 6-2

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Legg Mason Tennis Classic (Washington)

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Juan Martin del Potro def. Viktor Troicki, 6-3 6-3

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Western and Southern Financial Group Women's Open (Cincinatti)

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Nadia Petrova def. Nathalie Dechy, 6-2 6-1

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Pilot Pen Tennis (New Haven)

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Men's Draw

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Mischa Zverev def. Florent Serra, 6-2 7-6 (8-6)

Ivo Minar def. Nicolas Mahut, 5-7 6-3 6-3

Albert Montanes def. Nicolas Devilder, 7-6 (7-5) 7-5

Dudi Sela def. Donald Young, 6-4 6-2

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Women's Draw

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Tsvetana Pironkova def. Bethanie Mattek, 7-6 (7-4) 0-6 6-0

Olga Govortsova def. Alisa Kleybanova, 6-0 6-2

A Spandau Ballet Moment

Let's face it. This has not been Roger Federer's bestest year ever. 2008 is not going to be the one he looks back on (tennis-wise, anyway) and go 'man... that was sweet.'

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Except for this one moment. (And hopefully the final of the US Open!)

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Roger Federer is now an Olympic gold medallist. If nothing else happens this year, if he suffers disappointment at the US Open, if he doesn't get the year-end #1, it doesn't matter - because he has this. He is an Olympic gold medallist, and that is something else. Like Spandau Ballet says, he is GOLD!

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I don't expect that Roger and Stan will go on and play a huge doubles schedule or anything, but it'd be nice to see them play a few more tournaments here and there. They've obviously got a little something-something going on - did I mention they were Olympic gold medallists? I bet the Bryans have a real sour taste in their mouth right now. They were favourites, and rightfully so. They are a brilliant doubles team. And then these two singles players come in and steal their glory. I mean, a bronze medal is still very special - and believe me, I feel SO sorry for Clement and Llodra, because they deserve to be somewhere on that podium too - but it's not gold. For those who don't expect a medal, bronze is, like, awesome, but when you're the favourite, bronze must seem like such a bitchslap.

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Because gold, this time, is all Roger, all Stan. Team Fedrinka are the MEN! Actually, one thing I thought was really funny was that Roger was all clean-shaven and pretty-looking, whereas Stan looked like he'd overslept and barely made it to the courts on time, hair all rumpled and with a morning-after shadow. I wonder if that's a testament to the kind of men they are? I like Stan. He's a fun guy - and he and Roger are clearly such good mates. I visited Stan's website the other day -stanwawrinka.com - and while I didn't understand any of it as it was all in French, I thought the little intro was cute. 'Stan Wawrinka - the power and the passion.' Cliche, perhaps, but cute. Maybe that's what made Team Fedrinka such a force. They've got the power and the passion. And the mad tennis skills - sorry, skillz.

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I suppose we should talk about the singles, even if it is devoid in Swiss boys. My prediction for the gold medal match has not changed - Rafa over Gonzo. The bronze medal match was played just before the Doubles Match of Awesomeness, and Djokovic beat Blake. We all know I don't like Djokovic, but it really would have been a bit sad for him if he hadn't won it. I feel terrible for saying this, but with Federer out, Nadal/Djokovic was really the real final. All credit to Fernando Gonzalez, because he's fab, but the big three really are in a league of their own. They are at the top, and even if I may take issue with the personality of one of them, you don't get there without deserving it. You can say a lot of things about the tennis ranking system, but when it comes down to it, if you put in the hard yards and grind out the matches, you are rewarded.

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Oh! Girl tennis! Go Dinara! She is in the final, and even though Dementieva is seeded above her, I think you have to say she's the favourite. She is playing like the #1 at the moment, and this one belongs to her. I think it will be another silver in the cabinet for Elegant Elena and her fairy floss serve. I'd like to see Zvonareva win the bronze, because it's such an achievement for her to get here at all - she was Sharapova's last minute replacement, yesno? - but I think Li will edge her out. And maybe that's the way it should be... but honestly, do China really need any more medals?

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I read that Safina's victory over Jankovic means that Jankovic will no longer be #1 next week. I have no problems with this - Jankovic is a good player, but she doesn't really deserve to be #1 - but does that mean Ivanovic gets it back? Who is #1 now? I know Sveta could have taken it, but she lost in the first round, so it's obviously not her, and I doubt very much it's Sharapova. It must be Ana - but I have no idea how that works. Women's tennis is CONFUSING. Or did that article lie? Did I imagine it? Will it still be Jelena next week? Any answers welcome!

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Oh, and a shout out to Juan Martin del Potro, who is playing insanely well in Washington! If Federer doesn't win the US Open, I'm going for Safin - but if Safin doesn't win, then man, I'm going for del Potro! And also kudos to Viktor Troicki, who I saw play Nadal in the first round of the Australian Open this year in Rod Laver Arena, for knocking out Andy Roddick! No kudos to Andy Roddick. He should be at the Olympics.

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Today's Results

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Games of the XXIX Olympiad (Beijing)

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Men's Draw - Singles

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Novak Djokovic def. James Blake, 6-3 7-6 (7-4)

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Women's Draw - Singles

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Elena Dementieva def. Vera Zvonareva, 6-3 7-6 (7-3)

Dinara Safina def. Li Na, 7-6 (7-3) 7-5

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Men's Draw - Doubles

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Federer/Wawrinka def. Aspelin/Johansson, 6-3 6-4 6-7 (4-7) 6-3

Bryan/Bryan def. Clement/Llodra, 3-6 6-3 6-4

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Women's Draw - Doubles

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Williams/Williams def. Bondarenko/Bondarenko, 4-6 6-4 6-1

Medina Garrigues/Ruano Pascual def. Yan/Zheng, 6-4 7-6 (7-5)

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Legg Mason Tennis Classic (Washington)

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Juan Martin del Potro def. Tommy Haas, 6-2 6-1

Viktor Troicki def. Igor Kunitsyn, 6-4 6-2

Viktor Troicki def. Andy Roddick, 0-6 6-2 6-4

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Western and Southern Financial Group Women's Open (Cincinatti)

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Nathalie Dechy def. Amélie Mauresmo, 6-4 3-6 6-2

Doubles Rules!

Singles shmingles. Doubles rules!

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So Rafa Nadal and Fernando Gonzalez are facing off for an Olympic gold medal. Good for them - but so what? The doubles action is where it's AT!

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Not that I am in any way prejudiced by who is in the doubles final, or anything.

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I know I said yesterday that it's more important to be a fan of the game than the player, etc, etc, et al, op cit, but seriously, is there anyone that deserves an Olympic medal more than Roger Federer? He may be the outgoing #1, but he's going to be #1 in the public mind for quite some mind, and though Rafa is a lovely boy and excellent for the sport and stuff, I don't think he's going to be quite the tennis statesman that Federer was and is. One of the real reasons for this - and it is totally not Rafa's fault, it's just a fact of life - is that Federer speaks better English. With the USA at the centre of the world's sporting press, Federer's English has made him more marketable. Simple as that.

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Though I do love Rafa's English... the gems he comes up with can be awesome. I love reading his press conferences. Not in a mocking way - because though I love Roger more, I really am quite fond of Rafa - but there are some awesome ones. Then there is the 'famous ass' quote... yeah, I don't know if Rafa's ever going to live that one down.

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I suppose we should talk about Rafa some, because he's going to be on that dais for sure - and to tell the truth, I'd like to see him win the gold medal now that Federer is out of the singles. If Roger had been in the final and Rafa had beaten him, I think that might have been a bit of a disaster, but because Roger didn't lose to Rafa, then I have no problems with Rafa winning. I would love to see him win. Of all the players this year - and I include Roger in this - Rafa really deserves it most. He's been playing like someone worthy of a gold medal. This is his career year -it's going to be really, really hard for him to improve on this! So Rafa for gold. Fernando silver. And though I think Djokovic is probably going to beat it, I'd like to see Blake win bronze. It's going to be interesting to see who is the Di Pasquale-esque spoiler there.

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But - doubles! How awesome is Team Fedrinka? I would love to see them team up at a few other events, because though singles will always be my true love, doubles is just so much fun! And not only did they take out the newly reconciled Indian pair, Bhupathi and Paes, who have multiple doubles Slam titles between them, they took out the Bryans - the fricking Bryans - in straights! Now that is something else. I've seen the Bryans play live, and they totally have this kind of psychic radar - they just know where the other is going to be. I don't whether this is a twin thing or because they play together all the time and never switch partners, but it's quite incredible. You just don't appreciate it when you see it on TV.

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That said, in that match, BryanBryan lost to Gasquet and Tsonga in a total thriller, so they are beatable. But who would have thought Team Fedrinka, who had won all of one match coming into the Olympics, could take them out? I know they're both excellent singles players, but that doesn't necessarily translate into good team player - in fact, it rarely does. I had, I admit, resigned myself to a bronze medal match for Roger and Stan - so I am absolutely over the moon! I would love to see them win gold - because after all that Roger has done over the years, as well as all that Martina Hingis did before him, Switzerland deserves a tennis gold medal! - but just knowing they'll be on the dais is awesome. A silver medal is no mean feat. Finally, Roger can add that elusive medal to his trophy cabinet - and I hope it's gold!

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Oh yeah, and that other doubles match? The Swedes against the French, that went to 19-17 in the third? AWESOME MATCH! DOUBLES RULES!

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And over to the girls for a second - DAVAI DINARA! I told you she could and would take out Jelena Jankovic! She may be out in the doubles - sorry Sveta - but she totally owns this gold medal now. Safina, Zvonareva, Dementieva and Li. Anyone else smelling a very Russian podium?

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Today's Results

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Games of the XXIX Olympiad (Beijing)

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Men's Draw - Singles

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Rafael Nadal def. Novak Djokovic, 6-4 1-6 6-4

Fernando Gonzalez def. James Blake, 4-6 7-5 11-9

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Women's Draw

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Dinara Safina def. Jelena Jankovic, 6-2 5-7 6-3

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Men's Draw - Doubles

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Federer/Wawrinka def. Bryan/Bryan, 7-6 (8-6) 6-4

Aspelin/Johansson def. Clement/Llodra, 7-6 (8-6) 1-6 19-17

Federer/Wawrinka def. Bhupathi/Paes, 6-2 6-4

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Women's Draw - Doubles

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Yan/Zheng def. Kuznetsova/Safina, 6-3 5-7 10-8

Williams/Williams def. Vesnina/Zvonareva, 6-4 6-0

Medina Garrigues/Ruano Pascual def. Davenport/Huber, 5-7 7-6 (8-6) 8 6

Bondarenko/Bondarenko def. Pennetta/Schiavone, 6-1 3-6 7-5

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Legg Mason Tennis Classic (Washington)

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Juan Martin del Potro def. John Isner, 6-4 6-4

Tommy Haas def. Alejandro Falla, 7-5 6-1

Somdev Devvarman def. Robert Kendrick, 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 7-5

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Western and Southern Financial Group Women's Open (Cincinatti)

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Nadia Petrova def. Lilia Osterloh, 6-2 6-3

Maria Kirilenko def. Sabine Lisicki, 6-2 1-6 6-1

Nathalie Dechy def. Aleksandra Wozniak, 7-6 (7-4) 7-5

Beating Michael Phelps

Revenge is a dish best served cold. That is all I have to say. Apart from GO ROGER!

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I really, really wish I could have seen this match - though I doubt I would have any fingernails left if I had been... or, hell, fingers. The score might not reflect it, and there was certainly that one loose game at the beginning of the second set where Roger served three double faults (maybe he's under his annual average?) but when I see tennis described as 'sublime' I am very happy. I don't know if it was Supreme God Tennis, but it sounded like NinjaFed - or at least a decent facsimile - turned up. And that is good news. That is SUCH good news!

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There is a gold medal so close that I can almost smell it. Certainly, all Federer has to do is get past Blake to virtually guarantee a podium spot - though you can bet he won't be taking it for granted! One of the first Federer matches I remember was when he was a wee young boy of nineteen in Sydney, when he lost that bronze medal match to Di Pasquale and was just crushed afterwards. But not this time. I have no doubt that he can beat Blake and beat him good, and then go on to beat whoever it is he has to beat after that - and then beat Rafa/Novak FOR GOLD! GOLD! He may lose #1 at the beginning of next week, but I think a gold medal would be a perfect finish to this first Federer Golden Age of tennis... and a good precursor to the second one, which will obviously begin in the near future. He has a mark now - a record to beat. I want to see him go 235 weeks again!

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Team Fedrinka had a good win as well - the Tursunov/Youzhny team is definitely not a pushover, so that victory is really sweet... though I imagine Dmitry isn't too fond of Roger right now. Rafa's hopes of double gold were dashed - the Aussies knocked them out. Even though I'm not a Hewitt fan and I find Guccione a bit boring, I'd like them to do well. Not as well as Team Fedrinka, obviously, but well enough. I'm just hoping this doubles loss doesn't make Rafa super fresh for the singles. That would suck, especially if he plays Roger in the final... Roger is now the only man left with a shot at double gold, I think.

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But what am I saying? Roger trains in Dubai! He can deal with anything. ANYTHING!

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I'm sitting here watching that inane pre-Olympics show that Channel 7 have - 'Yum Cha' by name - and they're talking about Michael Phelps and how he's possibly the greatest sportsman of all time, across all sports. I nearly threw something at the television. One of the anchors said she thought it was between Phelps, Pele and Ali. No mention of Federer. Not even of Tiger Woods. I was outraged.

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You only have to look at the Laureus Awards, for God's sake. I don't want to take away what Phelps has done, because it's pretty outstanding. But to even begin to compare that to the achievements of Federer and Woods? That's just ridiculous. Eight gold medals - which he'll probably get - is amazing. But twelve Slams? 237 weeks at #1? Complete, utter dominance? Phelps has been around for a while, but you cannot - you just absolutely CANNOT - compare him to Federer. Not yet. Maybe not ever. I mean, I have issues with comparing sports anyway, but even so, I think Roger still comes out on top. Four times Laureus Sportsman - and that means beating out the not inconsiderable efforts of his mate Tiger. Phelps is up there, certainly, but the greatest athlete of this decade - and maybe even ever - is Roger Federer. Tiger Woods is a close second. Phelps is back a bit. He's good - excellent, outstanding - but he's not there yet. The cub is not ready to challenge those lions. Though what can you really expect from a show that has Sonia 'Tina Sparkle' Kruger as one of its primary anchors?

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(I would just like to point out that the cheer that Federer got when he entered the Olympic stadium was bigger that most countries. And people forget about him. He is such a class act. Beat that, Michael. You may be re-writing the record books at this Olympics, but Federer has been doing it for four years.)

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Right, back to tennis. The big upset on the men's side was Nalbandian, who went out to Monfils. Monfils is such an unpredictable player. If rankings were done on pure athletic ability, he would be in the top five for sure. You know how the French equivalent of the AIS (the FIS?) does all those crazy tests on their athletes, giving them scores for, oh, bendiness and strength and toughness and their ability to scull champagne and whatever else? Apparently Monfils came out on top, beating any other French athlete ever. And he certainly is a great athlete, but the way he throws himself round the court, doing Kim Clijsters splits and whatever means that he's injured all the time. When he's uninjured - for all of about four seconds a year - he's great to watch. I'm not sure where I stand on him, whether I like him or dislike him, but you can't deny he's got game and he's fun to see play tennis. And I'm not a Nalbandian fan, so I'm glad La Monf got through. I wonder if he won - a definite possibility - or if LameDave showed up? You can just never tell from scores sometimes.

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So our eight quarter-finalists are Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Monfils, Melzer, Mathieu, Gonzalez and Blake. My pick for the podium? Federer gold. Nadal silver. Djokovic bronze. I'm sure of gold, but I wouldn't be surprised if silver and bronze were switched round... much as I don't like Djokovic, he has proved recently that he has the ability to beat Nadal on hard courts. I think I'd like to see Rafa win silver, though - he deserves the higher medal, and I just want to see Federer beat him, to tell the truth. I want Roger to know he can do it. Because he can. He SO can.

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The other person that might end up on the podium is Gonzalez. He's been there before - in doubles and singles - and he absolutely destroyed Rochus yesterday. I think he'll definitely figure in the bronze medal match - he'll beat Mathieu, but lose to Federer - and he's a real danger of taking out Djokovic, if we go on the proviso that Nadal beats Djokovic in that semi. Actually, in the quarters, if Monfils plays well, he is a good chance of upsetting Djokovic. I don't see him getting through Rafa, but he's also someone that could take a bronze.

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But gold is the big one. And it has Roger written ALL OVER IT.

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Oh yeah, the women played too. My girl Dinara is still on song and playing sweetly. I was a bit disappointed to see one of my other favourites, Cornet, go out - but oh! did she give Serena a run for her money! Most of the big guns are still there - Jankovic and both the Williamses are going strong - but Dinara's got what it takes. And I'd love to see her and Sveta win gold in the doubles too. I picked Sveta for gold - it would be nice to be right, even in the wrong event!

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Today's Results

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Games of the XXIX Olympiad (Beijing)

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Men's Draw - Singles

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Roger Federer def. Tomas Berdych, 6-3 7-6 (7-4)

Rafael Nadal def. Igor Andreev, 6-4 6-2

Novak Djokovic def. Mikhail Youzhny, 7-6 (7-3) 6-3

Gael Monfils def. David Nalbandian, 6-4 6-4

James Blake def. Gilles Simon, 6-4 6-2

Fernando Gonzalez def. Olivier Rochus, 6-0 6-3

Paul-Henri Mathieu def. Nicolas Kiefer, 6-3 7-5

Jurgen Melzer def. Lu Yen-Hsun, 6-2 6-4

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Women's Draw - Singles

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Jelena Jankovic def. Dominika Cibulkova, 7-5 6-1

Serena Williams def. Alizé Cornet, 3-6 6-3 6-4

Elena Dementieva def. Caroline Wozniacki, 7-6 (7-3) 6-2

Dinara Safina def. Zheng Jie, 6-4 6-3

Venus Williams def. Victoria Azarenka, 6-3 6-2

Vera Zvonareva def. Francesca Schiavone, 7-6 (7-4) 6-4

Sybille Bammer def. Lucie Safarova, 7-5 6-4

Li Na def. Kaia Kanepi, 4-6 6-2 6-0

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Men's Draw - Doubles

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Bryan/Bryan def. Knowle/Melzer, 7-6 (7-2) 6-4

Federer/Wawrinka def. Tursunov/Youzhny, 6-4 6-3

Aspelin/Johansson def. Almagro/Ferrer, 7-6 (8-6) 6-4

Guccione/Hewitt def. Nadal/Robredo, 6-2 7-6 (7-5)

Bhupathi/Paes def. Melo/Sa, 6-4 6-2

Andreev/Davydenko def. Darcis/Rochus, 7-6 (8-6) 6-2

Fyrstenberg/Matkowski def. Damm/Vizner, 1-6 7-6 (7-3) 7-5

Clement/Llodra def. Murray/Murray, 6-1 6-3

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Women's Draw - Doubles

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Kuznetsova/Safina def. Mirza/Rao, 6-4 6-4

Pennetta/Schiavone def. Chan/Chuang, 7-6 (7-1) 1-6 8-6

Davenport/Huber def. Azarenka/Poutchek, 6-4 4-6 6-3

Bondarenko/Bondarenko def. Govortsova/Kustova, 6-1 6-3

Vesnina/Zvonareva def. Dulko/Jozami, 6-2 6-3

Yan/Zheng def. Gagliardi/Schnyder, 6-3 7-6 (7-2)

Medina Garrigues/Ruano Pascual def. Koryttseva/Perebiynis, 6-3 6-4

Morita/Sugiyama def. Arn/Szavay, 6-3 6-3

Stosur/Stubbs def. Kvitova/Safarova, 6-1 6-0

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Legg Mason Tennis Classic (Washington)

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Tommy Haas def. Nicolas Mahut, 7-6 (7-4) 6-3

Alejandro Falla def. Florent Serra, 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (13-11)

John Isner def. Donald Young, 6-4 7-6 (7-4)

Andy Roddick def. Ramon Delgado, 6-3 7-6 (7-4)

Eduardo Schwank def. Sebastien Grosjean, 6-3 4-6 6-3

Juan Martin del Potro def. Jesse Levine, 6-2 6-3

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Western and Southern Financial Group Women's Open (Cincinatti)

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Nadia Petrova def. Julie Ditty, 6-1 6-1

Maria Kirilenko def. Stéphanie Dubois, 1-6 6-2 7-5

Sabine Lisicki def. Camille Pin, 6-3 6-4

Lilia Osterloh def. Petra Cetkovska, 6-4 6-1

Kicking Kolya Out Of The Kitchen

One thing I have to say about the Beijing Olympics. Their Opening Ceremony was fantastic, it all seems to be very well organised and running smoothly and all, but their tennis livescoring system is really, really bad. Like, dreadful. It's a pretty sad state of affairs when the 32-draw Legg Mason 'I'm not good enough/too wussy to go to the Olympics' Classic has a better system than the greatest sporting event on earth.

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Other than that, Beijing did a great job of squeezing something like 65 matches into a day, even if it was terribly hard to follow them. Of course, here in Australia, we saw absolutely no tennis, as Australia stands pretty much no chance of doing well and they're hardly going to show anyone else, but I kept up to date what was going on. The most important match from my perspective was, of course, Federer against Tursunov. Not seeing the match, I can't comment adequately on it, but it seems like a pretty decent win for Roger to me. I saw some reports which were all 'vintage Federer!' and others that said that he did enough to win but wasn't that impressive. Still, no matter which way you look at it, a straight sets victory over a talented big-hitter like Tursunov ain't nothing to sneeze at.

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Federer next plays Rafael Arevalo, whom no one has heard of - including Federer, by all reports, who was apparently frantically Googling him to find out some stuff. What I did find out is that Arevalo is ranked something like #447, so you'd think Federer would be a dead cert bet... but we all remember the Ruben Ramirez-Hidalgo incident. I don't think Roger will underestimate him, which would probably be the biggest pitfall.

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I'm not sure if Rafa did some underestimating or whether he's just tired, because he'd normally never drop a set to someone like Potito Starace. Still, he came through. I'm sure there'll be some reports of how the pressure of #1 is getting to him, but everyone drops a set now and again. I don't think it's really much to worry about for Team Rafa. Though Team Spain clearly has something to worry about - three of their four guys went out yesterday, which was not so good. And Rafa dropped a set... maybe they all had food poisoning! Or not. Maybe they just got beaten.

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Ferrer lost to Tipsarevic, who looks more and more dangerous every time he plays. Seppi beat Robredo and Monfils beat Almagro. Strange, isn't it, that Spain left all these awesome players behind - players like Nando Verdasco - and then most of them lose. At least you can pretty much always count on Rafa.

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Djokovic had a pretty handy win, but there were a couple of upsets - not just Ferrer, but Murray as well. Yen-hsun Lu played the match of his life there! I remembering watching him play at the Hopman Cup this year, and he really has a lovely playing style, so good word to him. As those hideous cackling commentators on Channel 7 might say, 'onya!' And on the women's side, my gold medal pick Svetlana Kuznetsova went crashing out to Li Na. That means I have to revise my gold medallist, and I'm revising it straight to Dinara Safina. Don't know why I didn't pick her in the first place. She is easily playing better than anyone else right now.

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For a limited time only - ie. the duration of the Olympics - Tennis From The Backseat will also be covering doubles... mostly because I'm really, really excited about Team Fedrinka! I think they stand a great chance! How many other teams boast two top ten players? I know that's not the only consideration for doubles, but I think they could just be fabulous. And they WILL be fabulous!

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They face a Russian team next - Tursunov and Youzhny - who knocked out Gonzalez and Massu, who won the gold medal in Athens, so that was a good win. If you want a tough team, I don't know if you can go further than those boys, so that should be a good match.

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...though speaking of Russians, did anyone else see that article about Davydenko? I was totally disgusted. I think it's on Eurosport, if anyone else wants to look: basically, he was whinging about how he has no motivation, and how he's going to play at the Olympics, but he isn't really going to try and how he doesn't expect to do well and how he just finds it so hard to pick up a racquet.

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If I were Ernests Gulbis, who was knocked out by Davydenko in the first round, I would be feeling so offended right now. What kind of attitude is that for an elite sportsman? For the first time, I think I understand - just a little - why Justine Henin retired. I don't understand WHY she had no motivation, but once she recognised that she did, she was at least respectful to her opponents and stepped aside. Sport is about giving your all. Isn't that, like, the Olympic thing? Faster, higher, stronger, or whatever the motto is? If you're not prepared to try, get out. If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen. Kolya, I hope you get destroyed in your next match - because with an attitude like that, you have absolutely no right to be here. None whatsoever.

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Today's Results

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Games of the XXIX Olympiad (Beijing)

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Men's Draw - Singles

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Roger Federer def. Dmitry Tursunov, 6-4 6-2

Rafael Nadal def. Potito Starace, 6-2 3-6 6-2

Novak Djokovic def. Robby Ginepri, 6-4 6-4

Janko Tipsarevic def. David Ferrer, 7-6 (10-8) 6-2

Lu Yen-Hsun def. Andy Murray, 7-6 (7-5) 6-4

David Nalbandian def. Zeng Shaoxuan, 6-2 6-1

Stanislas Wawrinka def. Frank Dancevic, 4-6 6-3 6-2

Gilles Simon def. Robin Soderling, 6-4 6-4

Gael Monfils def. Nicolas Almagro, 6-4 3-6 6-3

Mikhail Youzhny def. Jiri Vanek, 6-4 6-1

Nicolas Kiefer def. Max Mirnyi, 6-3 6-1

Michael Llodra def. Radek Stepanek, 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 11-9

Thomas Johansson def. Jarkko Nieminen, 4-6 6-4 6-4

Andreas Seppi def. Tommy Robredo, 6-4 4-6 8-6

Paul-Henri Mathieu def. Nicolas Lapentti, 7-6 (7-4) 6-2

Victor Hanescu def. Simone Bolelli, 7-5 3-6 6-4

Olivier Rochus def. Ivo Minar, 6-3 3-6 6-3

Igor Andreev def. Sam Querrey, 6-4 6-4

Dominik Hrbaty def. Thomaz Bellucci, 2-6 6-4 6-2

Marin Cilic def. Juan Monaco, 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-3

Agustin Calleri def. Devin Mullings, 6-1 6-1

Rainer Schuettler def. Kei Nishikori, 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-3

Lleyton Hewitt def. Jonas Bjorkman, 7-5 7-6 (7-2)

Nicolas Massu def. Steve Darcis, 6-4 7-5

Kevin Anderson def. Komlavi Loglo, 6-3 6-2

Rafael Arevalo def. Hyung-Taik Lee, 4-6 6-3 6-4

Jurgen Melzer def. Marcos Daniel, 6-7 (9-11) 6-1 8-6

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Women's Draw - Singles

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Jelena Jankovic def. Cara Black, 6-3 6-3

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

Serena Williams def. Olga Govortsova, 6-3 6-1

Elena Dementieva def. Kateryna Bondarenko, 6-1 6-4

Dinara Safina def. Mara Santangelo, 6-3 7-6 (7-1)

Venus Williams def. Timea Bacsinszky, 6-3 6-2

Agnieszka Radwanska def. Chan Yung-Jan, 6-1 7-6 (8-6)

Vera Zvonareva def. Yan Zi, 6-2 6-0

Daniela Hantuchova def. Ai Sugiyama, 6-2 7-5

Zheng Jie def. Agnes Szavay, 4-6 6-3 7-5

Victoria Azarenka def. Tatiana Perebiynis, 6-4 5-7 6-4

Patty Schnyder def. Jill Craybas, 6-3 6-2

Kaia Kanepi def. Flavia Pennetta, 6-2 7-6 (8-6)

Alizé Cornet def. Nicole Vaidisova, 4-6 6-1 6-4

Dominika Cibulkova def. Pauline Parmentier, 6-1 7-5

Shahar Peer def. Sorana Cirstea, 6-3 5-7 6-0

Virginie Razzano def. Eleni Daniilidou, 6-3 6-3

Alona Bondarenko def. Milagros Sequera, 3-6 0-1 retired

Sybille Bammer def. Anabel Medina Garrigues, 6-2 4-6 6-4

Casey Dellacqua def. Gisela Dulko, 6-3 6-4

Peng Shuai def. Carla Suárez Navarro, 7-5 7-6 (7-2)

Iveta Benesova def. Sania Mirza, 6-1 2-1 retired

Sofia Arvidsson def. Tamarine Tanasugarn, 6-2 6-1

Lucie Safarova def. Maret Ani, 6-4 6-2

María José Martínez Sánchez def. Alicia Molik, 6-1 6-1

Nuria Llagostera Vives def. Klara Zakopalova, 2-6 6-3 7-5

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Men's Draw - Doubles

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Federer/Wawrinka def. Bolelli/Seppi, 7-5 6-1

Almagro/Ferrer def. Anderson/Coetzee, 3-6 6-3 6-4

Nadal/Robredo def. Bjorkman/Soderling, 6-3 6-3

Andreev/Davydenko def. Blake/Querrey, 6-3 6-4

Aspelin/Johansson def. Hanley/Kerr, 7-6 (9-7) 6-3

Murray/Murray def. Nestor/Niemeyer, 4-6 6-3 6-4

Darcis/Rochus def. Canas/Nalbandian, 6-7 (6-8) 7-6 (7-5) 6-3

Tursunov/Youzhny def. Gonzalez/Massu, 7-6 (7-5) 6-4

Guccione/Hewitt def. Calleri/Monaco, 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 18-16

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Legg Mason Tennis Classic (Washington)

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Tommy Haas def. Rik de Voest, 6-4 4-6 6-1

Dudi Sela def. Vince Spadea, 7-6 (8-6) 6-3

Somdev Devvarman def. Taylor Dent, 7-6 (7-3) 2-6 6-1

Florent Serra def. Uladzimir Ignatik, 7-6 (7-3) 6-3

Bobby Reynolds def. Marc Gicquel, 7-6 (7-2) 3-6 6-4

John Isner def. Marcel Granollers, 6-3 6-7 (6-5) 7-6 (7-1)

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Western and Southern Financial Group Women's Open

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Katarina Srebotnik def. Amanda Fink, 6-3 6-3

Sabine Lisicki def. Anna Tatishvili, 5-7 7-5 6-0

Camille Pin def. Ekaterina Makarova, 6-2 6-0

Petra Cetkovska def. Tamira Paszek, 4-6 6-3 4-1 retired

Nathalie Dechy def. Olivia Sanchez, 6-2 6-2

Julie Ditty def. Yuan Meng, 2-6 6-1 6-4

Maria Kirilenko def. Hsieh Su-wei, 6-2 7-5

Stéphanie Dubois def. Evgeniya Rodina, 6-2 7-6 (7-3)

Double Speed

Well, I guess we all know where I'm going to start, because Federer was in action yesterday. He and Stan Wawrinka look like they're getting their groove on with the doubles - they made pretty light work of Julien Benneteau and Frederic Niemeyer. That said, Benneteau and Niemeyer aren't exactly the Bryans... but this is Roger and Stan's first team win! Obviously it is cause for bigtime celebration!

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It will be interesting to see how they go against a 'proper' doubles team - they meet Paes and Dlouhy in the next round. But I have faith in the Rog/Stan combo. They will be AWESOME!

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Oh yeah. Roddick and Fish won too. Against Clement and Llodra. I think Clement and Llodra are awesome, so I was sad.

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I don't know if you'd call Clement and Llodra a specialist doubles team, as they both have pretty successful singles careers, but they've won a Slam and they're pretty decent. And Roddick and Fish beat them in straight sets. Would the realm of doubles be a lot different if the top guys played more often? I'm not sure if singles success always translates onto the doubles court - I mean, tennis is tennis, but there are different skills involved. Like sharing. And knowing when to let something go for your partner. The really good doubles teams you see develop a sort of psychic connection. That's part of why the Bryans are so good - quite apart from being twins, they have played together so long that they know exactly what the other one is doing.

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But I like doubles, even if I don't usually give it the kudos it deserves. I saw the men's doubles final at the Medibank International in Sydney, where Richard Gasquet and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeated the Bryans - henceforth known as BryanBryan, because that is what the umpire called them.It was a great match - went the whole distance in the match tiebreak. I probably have a post about it somewhere back in January - but knowing me, I probably focused on the singles match... not least because Tursunov won. But the doubles was awesome fun. There's something about it that's not quite as serious as singles. I know I'm always like, 'yeah, tennis is great because it's so gladiatorial, ra ra ra, mental struggle, one on one, no one to blame but yourself, etc etc' but doubles isn't like that. It's a little more light hearted. I mean, sure, when it's a Slam final and you have the Bryans against Bhupathi and Knowles or something, it's serious then, but on the whole, you just get the feeling the guys are having a total blast.

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Which is why it's so much fun when the top guys play. Seven of the top ten are playing this week - one team which I thought was interesting which I didn't talk about yesterday was David Ferrer and Jarkko Nieminen. I'm not quite sure WHY they're playing together - it can't be for Olympic reasons, why with the one being Spanish and the other Finnish - but I think it will be a really fun team nonetheless. It's always interesting to see who plays together... because you'd want to play with your mates, wouldn't you? And it's interesting to see who's friends with who.

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And, oh yeah, there were some singles matches yesterday too. I picked a few... which apparently places me 9439th in the bracket challenge. So looks like I'm not going to be doing too well... again. But it might pick up. Gasquet won - I predicted he would lose, but that's a good sign for Richou. I also picked Benneteau over Gonzalez... yeah, I don't know what I was thinking either. And then Dancevic had to go and beat Ancic... I thought Super Mario would win that easy, but I suppose Dancevic has home town advantage, for what that's worth. And Ginepri beat Mathieu, and Mahut beat Tipsarevic, and Acasuso beat Gulbis... but Kiefer won! And Wawrinka! And Youzhny! I got those ones right!

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Yeah, so I suck at the bracket challenge. So sue me.

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Today's Results

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Rogers Cup (Toronto)

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Stanislas Wawrinka def. Simone Bolelli, 6-4 7-6 (7-4)

Richard Gasquet def. Michael Llodra, 6-2 4-6 6-3

Tommy Robredo def. Frederic Niemeyer, 7-6 (7-4) 6-1

Fernando Gonzalez def. Julien Benneteau, 6-2 6-1

Mikhail Youzhny def. Andreas Seppi, 7-6 (7-1) 6-2

Nicolas Kiefer def. Mardy Fish, 7-5 7-6 (7-4)

Robby Ginepri def. Paul-Henri Mathieu, 6-3 4-6 6-4

Nicolas Mahut def. Janko Tipsarevic, 6-3 6-7 (5-7) 6-2

Frank Dancevic def. Mario Ancic, 6-3 6-4

Jose Acasuso def. Ernests Gulbis, 6-7 (1-7) 6-3 7-5

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East West Bank Classic (Los Angeles)

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Sybille Bammer def. Ahsha Rolle, 6-0 6-4

Chan Yung-Jan def. Aravane Rezai, 6-1 6-4

Tamira Paszek def. Aiko Nakamura, 6-4 6-2

Olga Savchuk def. Gisela Dulko, 6-4 6-3

Jill Craybas def. Anne Keothavong, 6-3 6-2

Olga Govortsova def. Darya Kustova, 6-3 6-4

Marta Domachowska def. Coco Vandeweghe, 6-3 6-3

Petra Kvitova def. Alisa Kleybanova, 6-4 1-6 7-5

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Banka Koper Slovenia Open (Portoroz)

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Caroline Wozniacki def. Andreja Klepac, 7-5 6-0

Anabel Medina Garrigues def. Ekaterina Makarova, 6-1 6-3

Katie O'Brien def. Tsvetana Pironkova, 7-6 (8-6) 4-6 6-2

Klara Zakopalova def. Carla Suárez Navarro, 6-4 6-4

Vera Dushevina def. Virginia Ruano Pascual, 6-3 6-3

Julia Vakulenko def. Polona Hercog, 5-7 6-4 6-4

Petra Martic def. Angelique Kerber, 7-5 6-2

Bethanie Mattek def. Abigail Spears (USA) 62 64

Not A Week For The Defending Champions

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

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

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I apologise for that awful pun.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Today's Results

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Austrian Open (Kitzbuhel)

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

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Dutch Open Tennis (Amersfoort)

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

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Studena Croatia Open (Umag)

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

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Indianapolis Tennis Championships (Indianapolis)

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

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Bank of the West Classic (Stanford)

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

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Gastein Ladies (Bad Gastein)

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

Reconciliation, Double Time

Now, forgive me if I'm wrong, but I was under the impression that Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi hated each others' guts. But now they're suddenly playing doubles together in Indy. What's with that?

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Maybe India made them reconcile so they can play doubles at the Olympics. But that's naive - you can't just MAKE people reconcile... unless they haven't, and they're just doing this because they've been made to. I would love to know what's gone on behind the scenes there. Are there secret police in the mens' locker room, forcing them to shake hands and talk tennis strategy? Not that I'm suggesting India has secret police. Not that I'm suggesting they don't have them, either.

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Thing is, India has another really good doubles player in Rohan Bopanna. I've never seen him play men's doubles, but I saw him play mixed with Sania Mirza at the Hopman Cup this year, and they were pretty extraordinary. I don't know whether that was just with Sania or whether he's just a good doubles player, but I'm going with the latter. So if the Indian Sporting Federation (or whatever they're called) wants a doubles team for the Olympics, they could partner either Paes or Bhupathi with Bopanna - whichever they preferred. But I suppose that Bopanna probably has a better singles career at the moment than either Bhupathi or Paes, so I guess it wouldn't be fair to cut out either one...

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In which case, the Bhupathi/Paes reconciliation might actually be genuine. Maybe they're both trying to ensure that they get to play in the Olympics - which is a pretty decent motivation. (Cough Roddick cough Gasquet cough.) But surely, if they hated each other as much as I was under the impression that they did, they would be trying to backstab each other and stuff to ensure they got the one spot on offer. Who knows?

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You've got to feel sorry for Rohan Bopanna. No matter what's going on, it's got to be hard for him.

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You never really think of India as a powerhouse of tennis, but they have a few good players coming through now. In the women's game, you obviously have Sania Mirza, but Sunitha Rao is coming up, and she's not half bad. In the men, there are Bhupathi, Paes and Bopanna, and now Prakash Amritraj, who made the Newport final. So on the whole, they're not doing too bad.

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Although, when you consider that approximately one seventh of the earth's population comes from India, you would expect a much higher proportion of good players. I don't think there's any racial disposition that lends itself especially to tennis. So why are there so few Indian tennis players - and Chinese players? I mean, there are a few, but not as many as you would expect.

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The answer, I suppose, is to do with poverty and the lack of opportunity for people in these countries. And it makes you wonder - how much talent is there in the world that goes unrealised, how much potential untapped? Maybe somewhere in the slums of Varanasi or the suburbs of Shanghai, there is someone with talent that could rival Federer - but we will never know, because they have not had the opportunities. Imagine if Roger Federer had somehow never been introduced to the game of tennis. All that talent, all that potential gone to waste. What a tragedy that would have been - except no one would ever, ever know. Not even Roger.

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Kind of makes you question your own life, hey. What box are we not thinking outside of? Maybe you or I or anyone has an amazing talent that we just don't know about. Maybe I could have been, oh, I don't know, the world's best bridge player or aerial skiier, but I'll never know, because I've never tried either. The lesson is, I suppose, to try everything, because you never know what you might be good at.

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Wow. That was deep.

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Today's Results

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Austrian Open (Kitzbuhel)

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Potito Starace def. Daniel Koellerer, 6-4 6-3

Eduardo Schwank def. Daniel Brands, 6-1 6-4

Victor Hanescu def. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, 6-2 6-1

Brian Dabul def. Ivo Minar, 6-4 6-3

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Dutch Open Tennis (Amersfoort)

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Marc Gicquel def. Thiemo de Bakker, 7-6 (8-6) 6-3

Steve Darcis def. Alberto Martin, 6-1 7-6 (7-5)

Teimuraz Gabashvili def. Martin Vassallo Arguello, 6-4 6-0

Christophe Rochus def. Philipp Petzschner, 6-3 6-4

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Studena Croatia Open (Umag)

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Fernando Verdasco def. Mathieu Montcourt, 7-6 (7-5) 6-1

Carlos Moya def. Viktor Troicki, 3-6 7-6 (7-2) 7-5

Fabio Fognini def. Filippo Volandri, 6-4 6-4

Mischa Zverev def. Marcos Daniel, 6-4 6-2

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Indianapolis Tennis Championships (Indianapolis)

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Sam Querrey def. Go Soeda, 6-4 6-4

James Blake def. Dudi Sela, 7-6 (7-2) 6-2

Vince Spadea def. Donald Young, 6-2 6-4

Gilles Simon def. Benjamin Becker, 7-5 3-6 6-0

Dmitry Tursunov def. Wayne Odesnik, walkover

Tommy Haas def. John Isner, 6-3 6-4

Paul Capdeville def. Joseph Sirianni, 6-3 6-4

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Bank of the West Classic (Stanford)

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Anna Chakvetadze def. Shahar Peer, 6-3 6-4

Ai Sugiyama def. Daniela Hantuchova, 6-3 6-1

Dominika Cibulkova def. Kateryna Bondarenko, 6-2 6-3

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Gastein Ladies (Bad Gastein)

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Agnes Szavay def. Viktoriya Kutuzova, 6-4 6-2

Rossana de los Ríos def. Alizé Cornet, 2-6 6-2 3-2 retired

Caroline Wozniacki def. Hsieh Su-Wei, 6-1 6-1

Timea Bacsinszky def. Liana Ungur, 6-3 3-6 6-3

Karolina Sprem def. Vera Dushevina, 6-3 6-4

Mariya Koryttseva def. Tzipora Obziler, 6-2 6-1

Yvonne Meusburger def. Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro, 7-5 6-2

Lucie Hradecka def. Zhang Shuai, 6-3 6-0

Tereza Hladikova def. Nuria Llagostera Vives, 3-6 7-6 (8-6) 7-5

Anna-Lena Groenefeld def. Julia Vakulenko, 6-1 6-1

Patricia Mayr def. Martina Müller, 6-3 6-3

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And today in Stars of the Past, Stars of the Future: Eduardo Schwank.

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Eduardo Schwank won three Challengers on clay in a row coming into Roland Garros, where he defeated Carlos Moya and was the last Argentinean left standing. However, he is perhaps best known for accidentally starting a fire in a hotel in Paris, which saw other players (including the Ratiawana twins and Rik de Voest) fleeing for their lives, and sent Schwank's winnings from the Rome Challenger up in smoke. It was his own fault, one might argue, but one can't help feeling a bit sorry for him. For a player on the satellite circuit, those winnings can be lifeblood.

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But Schwank appears to have left the satellite circuits behind him. His third round finish at the French Open gave him automatic entry into Wimbledon, and although he lost in the first round, it looks like Eduardo Schwank is here to stay. He is seeded this week at the ATP tournament in Kitzbuhel - a far cry from the Challengers. He is back on clay, his favourite surface. He was the Challenger circuit's Rafael Nadal this season, and it will be interesting to see how he will perform on clay next year, when he won't be playing those satellites, one assumes. No, Schwank is playing with the big boys now - and one gets the feeling that he likes it.

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The real test for Schwank will be the upcoming US hard court season. He is virtually untested on hard courts in the main ATP draw, and his performance here could determine whether or not he falls back to playing those Challengers, or whether he continues his rise towards the upper echelons of tennis. Perhaps it will be a test of Eduardo's character rather than his game - getting to the ATP level is one thing. Staying there is quite another.

Russian Roulette

I don't think there is a woman in the world who doesn't have a bit of a soft spot for Marat Safin.

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Understandably.

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I love watching Marat play, but going for him is certainly a gamble. When Marat is on, then he's on. Marat, at his best, can give Roger Federer a run for his money. They've certainly had some classic matches in the past - the Australian Open final in 2004 and the semi-final in 2005 both come to mind. But Marat when he's off... can be almost painful. Maybe because it's so painful for him. Yesterday's match against Andy Roddick at Kooyong was an example of that. Marat did not play well. And you could tell he knew it.

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I don't think I would like to meet Marat after a match like that. He was in a foul mood on the court, and I can't imagine he'd be very pleasant to be around afterwards.

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That's the difference, I think, between Marat and his Russian compatriot Dmitry Tursunov. Dmitry, like Marat, is a hot/cold player. Cheering for Dmitry is a roll of the dice, and you're never quite sure what you're going to get. But Dmitry doesn't seem to get quite so annoyed at himself about it.

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I would love to see Safin and Tursunov play doubles. They have in the past - Davis Cup for Russia comes to mind. They also played at Estoril in 2006, when Dmitry wrote his now-famous blog, much of which was devoted to paying out Marat, especially because they had to pull out in the semi-final because Marat rolled his ankle walking down the hill to get a haircut. I can imagine that their singles careers get in the way of playing doubles, but if they started training together permanently, I think they could take out the Bryans.

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(I'd certainly like to think they could take out the Bryans!)

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Unlike Marat, Dmitry is ON at the moment. He's into the semis at Sydney, where he'll play Fabrice Santoro, and I'm pretty sure he can win. I certainly hope he wins, because I've got tickets to the men's final tomorrow night, and I wouldn't miss that one for anything! The four semi-finalists are actually pretty weird - not who you would have picked. Chris Guccione plays Radek Stepanek and Tursunov plays Santoro. None of them are seeded. When you consider that the four top seeds were Gasquet, Robredo, Blake and Berdych - none of whom are slouches, and all of whom were taken out by these four players - that's a pretty good effort.

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I'm gunning for a Tursunov/Guccione final, with a Tursunov victory. Not very patriotic, I know, but if you ask me, tennis isn't about nationality. Tennis is about personality - and Dmitry Tursunov sounds like someone I wouldn't mind having a few drinks with!

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Today's Results

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Medibank International (Sydney)

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Men's Draw

Chris Guccione def. Tomas Berdych, 4-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-4

Radek Stepanek def. Agustin Calleri, 6-2 6-4

Dmitry Tursunov def. Sebastien Grosjean, 6-4 6-2

Fabrice Santoro def. Evgeny Korolev, 6-3 6-3

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Women's Draw

Justine Henin def. Ana Ivanovic, 6-2 2-6 6-4

Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Nicole Vaidisova, 7-5 7-6 (7-4)

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AAMI Classic (Kooyong)

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Andy Murray def. Ivan Ljubicic, 6-7 (7-9) 6-4 6-2

Andy Roddick def. Marat Safin, 6-3 6-3

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Heineken Open (Auckland)

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Julien Benneteau def. David Ferrer, 6-4 6-0

Juan Monaco def. Michael Llodra, 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-5)

Juan Carlos Ferrero def. Nicolas Massu, 4-6 6-3 6-4

Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Florian Mayer, 6-3 6-4

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Moorilla Hobart International (Hobart)

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Vera Zvonareva def. Ashley Harkleroad, 6-2 6-1

Eleni Daniilidou def. Flavia Pennetta, 6-4 6-3

Mr. Milkshake

When Australia played its first tie this week against the Czech Republic, one of my brothers misheard Peter Luczak's name and thought his name was Peter Milkshake. Overnight, Mr. Milkshake, by virtue of his humorous name, became a star in our household - and not undeservedly.

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Luczak is Australia's No. 2 male tennis player (after Lleyton Hewitt), and yet no one's heard of him. I find this a little strange. Is the star of Hewitt so all-encompassing that it blots out all others? (Apart from, of course, Mark Philippoussis, drama queen.) Because Mr. Milkshake's got more than a few things going for him.

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I'd heard of Luczak before today, and even seen him play a couple of times (Davis Cup vs. Switzerland in 2006 comes to mind, where he played some great tennis) but I'd never really been particularly impressed by him before today. He's got a beautiful game - and I think it really came to the fore inthe mixed doubles today. (He was also very impressive in the mixed doubles against the Czech Republic a couple of days back.) Australia ended up losing the tie in the end - 13-11 in a nailbiting match tiebreaker - but considering they were down a break in the second set it was a great comeback. Molik was great, yes, but it looked to me as if Mr. Milkshake was the one that really amped it up. You could see it in his body language. He was bouncing around like he was on springs once he realised they were in with a shot, and he hit some beautiful winners - particularly at the net. I haven't watched either of his singles matches very closely, but it'd be interesting to see how often he comes to the net there. I wonder if he plays serve and volley at all...? His instincts at the net are fabulous.

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So, even though Australia lost the tie in the end, good work, Mr. Milkshake. I think your star just might be rising.

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On another note, I am really not a fan of the match tie break as a way of deciding doubles matches. Not just because Australia lost - I'm not particularly partisan when it comes to tennis - but because it seems to denigrate doubles a bit. If the International Tennis Federation changed the rules of singles to a match tie break format, I don't think many people would be very happy. It's a fair way of deciding matches, I guess, but it seems a bit sudden death for my liking. A set tie break means that the players were pretty much neck and neck in a set. You lose a set, you can still win a match. It's not disastrous. But in doubles, if you lose the breaker, you lose the match. I'm not sure, but I'm under the impression that these rules were introduced so players would be able to devote more energy to their singles... but isn't that a bit unfair to doubles tennis?

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Today's Results

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Hopman Cup (Perth)

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India def. Australia 2-1

Sania Mirza def. Alicia Molik, 6-2 2-6 6-4

Peter Luczak def. Rohan Bopanna, 7-6 6-3

Mirza/Bopanna def. Molik/Luczak, 6-2 4-6 13-11 (match tiebreak)

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Mondial Australian Women's Hardcourts (Gold Coast)

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Victoria Azarenka def. Yuliana Fedak, 6-4 6-2

Nicole Vaidisova def. Casey Dellacqua, 5-7 7-5 6-0

Li Na def. Sybille Bammer, 6-4 4-6 6-4

Flavia Pennetta def. Timea Bacsinszky, 6-4 6-1

Dominika Cibulkova def. Virginie Razzano, 6-2 6-2

Tatjana Malek def. Aiko Nakamura, 7-5 6-3

Julia Schruff def. Lourdes Domínguez Lino, 6-2 6-1

Monique Adamczak def. Elena Vesnina, 7-6 (7-4) 3-6 7-5

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ASB Classic (Auckland)

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Vera Zvonareva def. Sacha Jones, 6-0 6-1

Maria Kirilenko def. Kaia Kanepi, 6-2 2-6 6-3

Sara Errani def. Michaella Krajicek, 7-5 6-7 (4-7) 6-2

Eleni Daniilidou def. Elena Baltacha, 6-1 6-2

Pauline Parmentier def. Vesna Manasieva, 6-0 7-5

Aravane Rezai def. Zhang Shuai, 6-3 6-3

Camille Pin def. Martina Müller, 6-3 6-1

Sofia Arvidsson def. Ahsha Rolle, 6-4 7-5

Marina Erakovic def. Ellen Barry, 6-1 6-1

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Next Generation Adelaide International (Adelaide)

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Lleyton Hewitt def. Dudi Sela, 6-2 6-2

Paul-Henri Mathieu def. Julien Benneteau, 7-6 (7-2) 7-5

Jarkko Nieminen def. Ivo Klec, 6-2 6-4

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Victor Hanescu, 6-3 4-6 7-5

Vince Spadea def. Sebastien Grosjean, 4-6 6-1 6-3

Jose Acasuso def. Alejandro Falla, 6-3 7-6 (7-3)

Evgeny Korolev def. Allun Jones, 6-2 7-6 (9-7)

Frank Dancevic def. Simone Bolelli, 6-2 7-6 (7-3)

Ernests Gulbis def. Andrey Golubev, 6-7 (9-11) 6-4 6-2

Chris Guccione def. Wayne Odesnik, 7-5 7-6 (7-5)

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Qatar Exxonmobil Open (Doha)

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Ivan Ljubicic def. Stefan Koubek, 6-4 6-4

Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Oscar Hernandez, 6-3 6-1

Thomas Johansson def. Igor Andreev, 6-1 6-0

Filippo Volandri def. Diego Hartfield, 4-6 6-3 7-6 (7-3)

Michael Berrer def. Abdulla Haji, 6-1 6-1

Fabrice Santoro def. Andreas Seppi, 6-4 1-6 6-2

Hyung-taik Lee def. Max Mirnyi, 6-3 6-2

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Chennai Open (Chennai)

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Xavier Malisse def. Gilles Muller, 6-4 6-3

Mikhail Youzhny def. Jiri Vanek, 6-3 6-2

Alexandre Kudryavtsev def. Igor Kunitsyn, 6-4 6-4

Rajeev Ram def. Harel Levy, 7-6 (7-4) 6-1

Jurgen Melzer def. Paul Capdeville, 6-2 6-4

Edouard Roger-Vasselin def. Vishnu Vardhan, 6-1 6-2

Florent Serra def. Ivan Navarro, def. 6-4 7-6 (8-6)

Alexander Peya def. Stefano Galvani, 4-6 6-3 6-4

Lovro Zovko def. Kristian Pless, 3-6 6-1 6-2