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

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