Bagel, Breadstick

Gainful employment - it gets in the way. It always happens: in the only month tennis is really televised in Australia, I work more than any other month.

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It also means I can fund my tennis junket in a couple of days' time. A double-edged sword, alas.

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Due to said gainful employment, I didn't get to actually see any tennis, but I didn't need to see the match to know that Mikhail Youzhny's victory over Rafael Nadal in Chennai was a complete whitewash. What kind of result is that for the Number 2 tennis player in the world? Rafa is supposedly the heir-apparent to the Federer throne (though I think Novak Djokovic might have a few things to say about that!) When was the last time you saw Federer (or Djokovic, for that matter) beaten 6-0 6-1?

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I appreciate that Rafa had played a long match against Carlos Moya less than 24 hours before hand - apparently it was one of the longest three set matches ever played, going for about four hours, I think. Sure, he was tired, and it's the beginning of the season and he isn't really all there yet. But 6-0 6-1? A week before the beginning of the Australian Open? Even I can see that that's really not good enough.

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Tennis is an endurance sport. Tennis players are among the fittest people in the world. Five set matches can easily break the five-hour mark, and frequently go longer. It's almost a foreign thought to think of a tennis player getting tired.

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Look at Federer. When was the last time fatigue played a real role in his game? To be fair, Federer rarely goes to five sets because he demolishes his opponents a little earlier than that, but when he does - the marathon final of Rome 2006 comes to mind, where Nadal beat Federer in a fifth set tie break - it doesn't really look like (to me, anyway) that fatigue effects him much. Federer didn't lose that match because he was tired. That one rested entirely on that breaker, and he got outplayed by the best clay court player in the world. No shame there.

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I'm not questioning Nadal's fitness - obviously, to be as good as Nadal is, you have to be extraordinarily fit. But to lose 6-0 6-1? Mikhail Youzhny is a great player, and I think he can beat just about anyone in the top 20, including Rafa, but I wouldn't think he'd be able to beat them like that - bagel, breadstick.

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(On a brief aside, I love that bakery tennis terminology. 6-0, a bagel. 6-1, a breadstick. I heard someone talk about 6-2 being a croissant once, and I like that one as well!)

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In other news, what a win for the French wizard yesterday! I love watching Fabrice Santoro play, and even though I like James Blake, it was great to see Santoro win - even though I didn't get to actually SEE it, per se. Santoro is actually responsible for one of my favourite tennis strokes of all time - when he played against David Nalbandian in the quarters of the Australian Open in 2006, he sent this drop shot just over the net, and before Nalbandian could get to it, it bounced back to Santoro's side, such was the crazy spin! James Blake was the champion here last year, so he'll lose a lot of points... and it'll be interesting to see who gets up and wins it!

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I'd like it to be Dmitry Tursunov. Or Carlos Moya. I think.

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Today's Results

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Chennai Open (Chennai)

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Mikhail Youzhny def. Rafael Nadal, 6-0 6-1

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Medibank International (Sydney)

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Men's Draw

Richard Gasquet def. Igor Andreev, 6-3 7-6 (8-6)

Fabrice Santoro def. James Blake, 7-6 (7-4) 6-2

Tomas Berdych def. Filippo Volandri, 6-1 6-3

Fernando Verdasco def. Feliciano Lopez, 6-3 4-6 6-2

Agustin Calleri def. Greg Jones, 6-3 6-2

Sebastien Grosjean def. Peter Luczak, 6-4 4-6 6-0

Gilles Simon def. Mardy Fish, 7-6 (8-6) 6-1

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Women's Draw

Katarina Srebotnik def. Anna Chakvetadze, 7-5 6-1

Daniela Hantuchova def. Dinara Safina, 5-7 6-4 6-4

Marion Bartoli def. Karin Knapp, 6-1 6-0

Sofia Arvidsson def. Elena Dementieva, 6-1 7-5

Nicole Vaidisova def. Camille Pin, 6-1 2-6 6-2

Tatiana Golovin def. Tzipora Obziler, 6-2 6-3

Shahar Peer def. Yuliana Fedak, 6-3 6-2

Francesca Schiavone def. Jill Craybas, 6-4 6-4

Kaia Kanepi def. Dominika Cibulkova, 3-6 6-1 7-6 (8-6)

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Heineken Open (Auckland)

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Juan Ignacio Chela def. Daniel King-Turner, 5-7 6-2 7-5

Nicolas Almagro def. Jose Acasuso, 6-3 6-4

Albert Montanes def. Jose Statham, 6-4 6-4

Jurgen Melzer def. Werner Eschauer, 6-4 1-6 6-3

Julien Benneteau def. Dudi Sela, 6-4 7-6 (7-3)

Florian Mayer def. Sam Querrey, 7-5 6-3

Olivier Rochus def. Michael Berrer, 6-7 (8-10) 6-2 6-4

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Moorilla Hobart International (Hobart)

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Alona Bondarenko def. Jessica Moore, 7-5 6-2

Vera Zvonareva def. Olga Poutchkova, 6-3 6-0

Flavia Pennetta def. Agnieszka Radwanska, 6-4 1-6 6-2

Olga Govortsova def. Victoria Azarenka, 1-3 ret.

Sania Mirza def. Lourdes Domínguez Lino, 6-4 6-0

Nuria Llagostera Vives def. Gisela Dulko, 6-3 2-1 ret.

Meilen Tu def. Emilie Loit, 4-6 6-1 6-4

Ioana Raluca Olaru def. Peng Shuai, 3-6 6-4 7-5

Anna Lapushchenkova def. Kateryna Bondarenko, 6-3 6-4

Ashley Harkleroad def. Yaroslava Shvedova, 6-4 6-3

Edina Gallovits def. Alberta Brianti, 6-2 6-3

Jelena Dokic def. Martina Müller, 6-4 0-6 6-2

Alla Kudryavtseva def. Monique Adamczak, 6-3 6-2

Tennis in the Kitchen

Well, well, how about Michael Llodra at the Adelaide International? And here I (and everyone else) was thinking that Nieminen was a safe bet. He played fantastically today. I think what really won it for him was that he played very clean tennis - I think it was something like 25 winners to 13 unforced errors. That said, Nieminen played clean as well, but he didn't have the winners to match. Nieminen seemed a little inhibited today, playing cautiously, well within what he can do. Perhaps it's because he hasn't been training so much, what with being on military service for Finland...? Llodra, on the other hand, didn't miss much. He saw the ball, lined it up and wham! second career ATP title.

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Though I have to say it. I can't not. Michael Llodra, why do you have that hideous moustache?

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Now, I will be the first to admit that I am not a moustache fan. Don't like them. But this one of Llodra's is particularly hideous. It takes over his entire face, like some kind of ruthless barbarian invader. It's enormous. It's foul. Why, Michael, why? And surely it gets annoying in a sweaty game like tennis? I'm sure he never had it before (though I could be wrong - I don't really follow Llodra.) Why did he decide that the moustachio was the way to go?

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Oh well. Some things we may never know. And, fashion errors aside, for a guy that only made it into the main draw after Richard Gasquet pulled out, Michael Llodra has done pretty well for himself.

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Though there was one other thing I thought was particularly crap about today's final. Nothing to do with the tennis or the players - but the commentators! I know Roger Rasheed is a tennis guy (he used to coach Princess Lleyton, I think) but Bruce McAvaney has irritated me year in, year out. Although, ironically, it was Rasheed who came off as the bigger idiot today, in my opinion. There was one point - I think Nieminen was either trying to get back into it, or maybe he was down and out and Llodra was pressing his advantage, I can't remember - when Brainiac Rasheed comments, (from memory) 'well, that's what tennis is about. It's about getting in the other guy's kitchen, and...'

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Now, I think I understand what Rasheed was getting at - how you have to press your advantage mentally as well as physically, getting in the other guy's head, so to speak - but kitchen? KITCHEN? Where did that one come from? Since when was someone's mind their kitchen? I suppose we can just count ourselves lucky that he didn't press the metaphor. 'It's about getting in the other guy's kitchen, eating all his food, using all his pots and pans and smashing all his dishes after cooking yourself a nice curry, so when he gets home from his long day at tennis practice, his kitchen is a mess and he can't cook anything, although he is tormented by the lingering aroma of delicious curry. THAT's what tennis is all about.'

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Honestly.

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The Medibank International started in Sydney today (I'm going to the men's final, and I'm very excited!) although it doesn't really properly start till tomorrow - mainly qualifiers today, although there was a couple of interesting main draw women's matches. A tight match between Lucie Safarova and Alicia Molik that I wish I could have watched (beckoned away by gainful employment... such are my woes) and a bad loss from Nadia Petrova to Sybille Bammer. I've liked Nadia Petrova a lot since the fun of last year's Hopman Cup, so it's been sad to see her ranking slide. Here's hoping she gets it together at the Australian Open. She was the fifth seed there last year, but I don't think she'll be anything like that this year.

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I was sad to see Carlos Moya lose in a nailbiter to Rafael Nadal in the semis at Chennai (I like Rafa, but I like Carlos more!) and even sadder to see Stan Wawrinka lose in the final of Doha to Andy Murray - though I suppose Murray was always going to be the favourite for that one. Unfortunately, he also comes across as abrasive and obnoxious, and Stan seems like a lovely guy. Oh well. Personality is a big part of tennis, but I guess no one said you have to have a NICE personality.

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Though Federer does, and in the end, he's the real figurehead for men's tennis. So I guess he's all that matters in the end!

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(Unfortunately, the figurehead for women's tennis is probably Maria Sharapova, and the less said there...)

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Today's Results

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Next Generation Adelaide International (Adelaide)

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Michael Llodra def. Jarkko Nieminen, 6-3 6-4

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Qatar Exxonmobil Open (Doha)

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Andy Murray def. Stanislas Wawrinka, 6-4 4-6 6-2

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Chennai Open (Chennai)

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Rafael Nadal def. Carlos Moya, 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (10-8) 7-6 (7-1)

Mikhail Youzhny def. Marin Cilic, 6-2 6-2

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Medibank International (Sydney)

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Women's Draw

Sybille Bammer def. Nadia Petrova, 7-5 6-3

Lucie Safarova def. Alicia Molik, 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (12-10)

Virginie Razzano def. Nicole Pratt, 6-2 6-1

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Moorilla Hobart International (Hobart)

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Casey Dellacqua def. Anabel Medina Garrigues, 5-4 retired

Eleni Daniilidou def. Pauline Parmentier, 6-3 6-4

Elena Vesnina def. Akiko Morigami, 6-4 7-5

Not Quite Tursunov

It was a bit disappointing for Serbia, in the end. I really wanted to see them win it, but with Jankovic injured and Djokovic a tired space case, I guess it just wasn't going to happen. I only caught the first set of the mixed doubles - I fell asleep to tell the truth - and it just made me long for the Hopman Cup final of last year. Russia vs. Spain. Nadia Petrova beat Anabel Medina Garrigues and then Dmitry Tursunov beat Tommy Robredo in a great match, and then the mixed doubles was the most hysterical tennis match I've ever seen. None of that this year, as it was one rubber all... the Hopman Cup had some great players this year, but I think it was lacking a bit of personality. There was no one like Tursunov, certainly.

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But then, I have a very soft spot for Tursunov. (Who wouldn't?)

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I was cheering for Joe Sirianni in his match today against Llodra in Adelaide. He didn't win, but for a 32 year old journeyman with only one prior ATP level victory to his name, I think he acquitted himself swimmingly. He's certainly much more likeable than Princess Lleyton - who lost (embarrassingly) in the quarters to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga... speaking of Tsonga, he was meek as a pussycat in his match against Jarkko Nieminen today. I thought that one could have been a thriller, especially considering the awesome match with Spadea last night. But Nieminen spanked him. I mean, I know it's about ninety million degrees in Adelaide, but Nieminen is Finnish! Tsonga is French! Why should Tsonga fall over just because of some heat when Nieminen did really well?

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So the Adelaide final will be Nieminen vs. Llodra, and I think it's safe to say Nieminen is a big favourite. I've never really seen Llodra play, so I can't make an educated assessment, but the fact is that he's unseeded, with Nieminen seeded 3. So I'm going with Jarkko on this one. (I've always thought Nieminen looks a bit like a carrot. He's got a really triangular face, and all this spiky hair... probably more obvious in his ATP picture than anywhere else!)

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I didn't get to watch it, but the Li/Azarenka final at the Gold Coast looked like a tight one as well. Excellent comeback for Li - who has, if memory serves, been out six months with injury - and a good match for Azarenka as well, even though she lost. Perhaps Belarusian tennis can have a bit of a revival in Azarenka, after the pitiful year Max Mirnyi had last year! And speaking of comebacks, what a performance from Lindsay Davenport in Auckland! To be fair, her opponent wasn't someone I'd actually heard of (the seeds fell early in Auckland), but to come back, being over 30 (she is over 30, yeah?) after having a baby and to win her first tournament back... wow! Also a great win for Stan Wawrinka in Doha over defending champ Ljubicic.

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And in other news, I am going to both the Medibank International and the Australian Open. I've never seen tennis at Melbourne Park before, so I'm HUGELY excited! And I'll try not to get as sunburned in Sydney this year as I did last year...

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Today's Results

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Hopman Cup (Perth)

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Final - USA def. Serbia 2-1

Novak Djokovic def. Mardy Fish, 6-2 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-4)

Williams/Fish def. Jankovic/Djokovic, 7-6 (7-5) 6-2

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Mondial Australian Women's Hardcourts

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Li Na def. Victoria Azarenka, 4-6 6-3 6-4

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ASB Classic (Auckland)

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Lindsay Davenport def. Aravane Rezai, 6-2 6-2

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Next Generation Adelaide International (Adelaide)

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Michael Llodra def. Joseph Sirianni, 6-3 7-6 (10-8)

Jarkko Nieminen def. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 6-2 6-4

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Qatar Exxonmobil Open (Doha)

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Andy Murray def. Nikolay Davydenko, 6-4 6-3

Stanislas Wawrinka def. Ivan Ljubicic, 7-6 (7-1) 6-4

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Chennai Open (Chennai)

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Carlos Moya def. Florent Serra, 6-3 6-4

Mikhail Youzhny def. Xavier Malisse, 6-4 6-4

Marin Cilic def. Robin Haase, 4-6 6-2 6-3

Rafael Nadal def. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, 6-3 6-2

Something Fishy

Why oh why oh why does Mardy Fish play from so far behind the baseline?

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I'm watching the men's singles rubber of the Hopman Cup final at the mo, and it's crippling him. Djokovic is killing him with the drop shot. In fact, Djokovic could even use the drop shot more. I appreciate that Fish is a baseline slogger, but surely this should be a case of horses for courses. Stand in a little, Mardy. Please.

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Though Fish is holding his own a whole lot better in the second set. Though, to tell the truth, I can't tell if it's a case of Djokovic playing badly or Fish playing well. Djokovic has certainly fatigued in the second set - not physically, I think, but mentally. This is something I think he might have a tendency of doing - the US Open final against Federer comes to mind, where he had set points in the first two sets (five in the first set, I think) and yet Federer took the sets in tie breakers. He's down 4-0 in the second set breaker as I write this. No one can doubt Djokovic's technical prowess as a player. In the first set of this rubber (where he spanked Fish 6-2) he was brilliant. His eye was in, and he has such an unreadable technique - you can't tell if he's hitting crosscourt or down the line until the ball leaves his racquet. More than that, you could see he was determined. He wanted to win. Now... he looks too tired to care. I appreciate that he's doing about 80% of the work for the Serb team at the mo, with Jankovic injured - if he loses this rubber, then Serbia loses the cup - but honestly. He's the Number 3 player in the world. Shouldn't he be able to keep his head in the game just a little better?

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I've never really warmed to Djokovic, to tell the truth, though I'm going for him in this match - more for the sake of Jankovic (and for the detriment of Serena Williams) than anything else. I find him a little arrogant - particularly galling when his mind goes like that. I remember when he played Federer in the fourth round of the Australian Open last year, and he was making all this noise about how he was going to take Federer out. There was an interview I remember really clearly with him that they showed before the match where he said (possibly slightly misquoted), 'I have just three words. He is going down. Oops, that's four.' I think that kind of sums up Djokovic, in a way. He's got all this determination... and then there's something he missed, or he didn't think about.

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(Federer caned him in the match, incidentally. It was beautiful to watch - almost as great as the semi-final where I think he nearly made Andy Roddick cry!)

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Djokovic has just lost the second set, and so we're heading to a third. The trainer is on court, but I somehow find it hard to believe Djokovic is seriously injured. A bit sore, sure, but totally incapacitated...? From watching, I get the feeling that Djokovic plays at hypochondria to give himself time. He does it serving as well - he'll bounce the ball fifteen, twenty, twenty-five times before he throws it up. Dirty tactic, but he's not the only one that pulls stunts like that. Nadal comes to mind, and I can certainly recall an occasion last year when Safin tried to delay! (Third round at the Australian Open against Roddick, if memory serves.) I know that 'everyone' does it, but I wish they wouldn't. It doesn't really seem like sportsmanlike conduct.

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But then, tennis is an individual sport, and I guess that means self-serving to some degree!

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Hopman Cup final wrap tomorrow!

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(Meanwhile, this ongoing match at the Adelaide International between Jarkko Nieminen and Vince Spadea looks like a potboiler. I wish I could see it! They've split two tiebreak sets and it's on serve in the third... will be interesting to see who pulls that one out of the hat!)

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Today's Results

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Hopman Cup (Perth)

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Final

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Serena Williams def. Jelena Jankovic, walkover

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Round Robin

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Serbia def. Argentina, 2-1

Jankovic/Djokovic def. Dulko/Chela, 6-1 3-6 10-4 (match tie break)

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France def. Chinese Taipei, 3-0

Arnaud Clement def. Lu Yen-hsun, 7-6 (7-2) 6-4

Golovin/Clement def. Hsieh/Lu, 6-4 4-6 10-6 (match tie break)

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Mondial Australian Women's Hardcourts (Gold Coast)

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Li Na def. Patty Schnyder, 3-6 6-3 7-5

Victoria Azarenka def. Shahar Peer, 6-4 6-2

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ASB Classic (Auckland)

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Lindsay Davenport def. Tamira Paszek, 6-4 6-3

Aravane Rezai def. Marina Erakovic, 6-3 7-5

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Next Generation Adelaide International (Adelaide)

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Michael Llodra def. Benjamin Becker, 7-6 (7-5) 6-4

Joseph Sirianni def. Paul-Henri Mathieu, 1-6 6-1 7-6 (8-6)

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Lleyton Hewitt, 6-4 6-2

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Qatar Exxonmobil Open (Doha)

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Nikolay Davydenko def. Dmitry Tursunov, 7-5 6-3

Andy Murray def. Thomas Johansson, 7-6 (7-4) 6-0

Ivan Ljubicic def. Philipp Kohlschreiber, 6-3 6-7 (4-7) 6-3

Stanislas Wawrinka def. Agustin Calleri, 6-3 6-0

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Chennai Open (Chennai)

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Rafael Nadal def. Rajeev Ram, 6-2 6-1

Marin Cilic def. Nicolas Mahut, 6-2 6-4

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez def. Werner Eschauer, 4-6 7-5 7-6 (7-3)

Robin Haase def. Lovro Zovko, 6-1 7-5

Mummy's Girl

Tennis is a whole lot about personality, if you ask me. It's very indicative of what kind of person someone is. I mean, it's not like you can determine whether or not someone likes brussel sprouts from the quality of their forehand volley, but you can get sort of a general overview. And, as in real life, sometimes you don't like them. And that's what has happened with me and the Williams sisters - Serena in particular.

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She might be a lovely person in real life. My opinion is, as always, totally uneducated. But the way she bellows during her matches... the way she continually looks to her mother... the way she bounces her racquet off the court... I don't like it. There was one point in her match today with Alicia Molik (a match Williams was, I might add, winning quite comfortably) where Molik hit a bunt backhand that Serena couldn't get to. What did Serena do? Dropped to her knees and said, 'it's not fair.'

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Well, grow up, Serena. It is fair.

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I think it might be the continual looks to her mother that get me the most. There was one point today where she was looking towards her mother a lot and one of the commentators commented that it obviously meant she wasn't happy about something. What kind of attitude is that? 'Oh dear, it's not going all my way, what should I do, Mummy?' I detest this kind of - well, I don't want to call it coaching, but it is, in a way. Rafael Nadal does it well, constantly looking up at his coach Uncle Toni. In fact, he's done it so much so in the past that Federer, who has won the annual ATP award for sportsmanship about five hundred times in a row, complained that Nadal was being coached. I could be wrong, but I didn't see Molik look towards Nicole Bradtke for advice once today. Why is Williams conducting herself this way?

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On top of it all, she was WINNING. Easily. She punished Molik. So why the whinging?

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On a happier note, Chinese Taipei came through and beat Argentina 3-0 last night, which is awesome! And well done to Peter Luczak (aka. Mr. Milkshake) in his match against Mardy Fish today, where he played some great tennis, even though he lost.

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Today's Results

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Hopman Cup (Perth)

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Chinese Taipei def. Argentina 3-0

Lu Hen-tsun def. Juan Ignacio Chela, 6-3 6-4

Hsieh/Lu def. Chela/Dulko, 3-6 6-4 10-4 (match tie break)

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USA def. Australia 3-0

Serena Williams def. Alicia Molik, 6-2 7-6 (9-7)

Mardy Fish def. Peter Luczak, 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (12-10)

Williams/Fish def. Molik/Luczak, 6-2 6-3

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Czech Republic def. India, 2-1

Lucie Safarova def. Sania Mirza, 6-2 4-6 6-3

Tomas Berdych def. Rohan Bopanna, 6-4 6-0

Mirza/Bopanna def. Safarova/Berdych, 6-3 6-2

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Argentina vs. Serbia 1-1

Gisela Dulko def. Jelena Jankovic, 6-7 2-0 ret.

Novak Djokovic def. Juan Ignacio Chela, 6-2 6-3

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France lead Chinese Taipei, 1-0

Tatiana Golovin def. Hsieh Su-wei, 6-1 6-1

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Mondial Australian Women's Hardcourts (Gold Coast)

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Li Na def. Nicole Vaidisova, 6-3 6-3

Shahar Peer def. Dinara Safina, 4-6 6-1 7-6 (10-8)

Patty Schnyder def. Amélie Mauresmo, 6-4 6-4

Victoria Azarenka def. Dominika Cibulkova, 6-1 3-6 6-3

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ASB Classic (Auckland)

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Marina Erakovic def. Vera Zvonareva, 6-3 2-6 7-6 (7-5)

Tamira Paszek def. Maria Kirilenko, 6-1 6-3

Aravane Rezai def. Katarina Srebotnik, 6-1 6-3

Lindsay Davenport def. Sara Errani, 6-3 6-3

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Next Generation Adelaide International (Adelaide)

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Lleyton Hewitt def. Jose Acasuso, 6-2 6-2

Jarkko Nieminen def. Frank Dancevic, 6-4 6-1

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Ernests Gulbis, 6-3 6-2

Vince Spadea def. Mischa Zverev, 6-3 7-5

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Qatar Exxonmobil Open (Doha)

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Nikolay Davydenko def. Fabrice Santoro, 6-3 6-3

Andy Murray def. Rainer Schuettler, 1-6 6-0 6-1

Ivan Ljubicic def. Janko Tipsarevic, walkover

Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Filippo Volandri, 6-4 6-1

Dmitry Tursunov def. Nicholas Kiefer, walkover

Thomas Johansson def. Michael Berrer, 6-3 7-5

Stanislas Wawrinka def. Christophe Rochus, 6-2 7-5

Agustin Calleri def. Hyung-taik Lee, 6-3 6-1

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Chennai Open (Chennai)

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Mikhail Youzhny def. Edouard Roger-Vasselin, 75 16 62

Xavier Malisse def. Jurgen Melzer, 76(3) 62

Florent Serra def. Kristof Vliegen, 75 46 76(3)

Carlos Moya def. Alexandre Kudryavtsev, 63 67(4) 62

Playing on one leg is quite tricky

Jelena Jankovic, I salute you

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I have a lot of respect for someone willing to play on one leg. Yeah, I know it's stupid on one level, because you can hurt yourself more and put yourself out for ages, but I think it shows a can-do attitude. If there's even the smallest possibility you can play, you should at least give it a try.

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The best example of 'one leg playing' that I can think of is the Masters Cup final in 2005, that epic match between Nalbandian and Federer that went to five sets, even though Federer was effectively playing on one leg. A few weeks before? Crutches. And then he comes back from 4-0 down in the fifth set. He didn't win the match, but I reckon R-Fed probably won a lot of fans that day.

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Same deal with Jankovic today. No one expected her to come back out on the court after she had to retire in her singles match. But there she was in the mixed doubles, and she certainly held her own. She was fearsome at the net, and damn if she can't whack the ball hard... there was one moment when she lined up, took a shot at Clement at the other side of the net, and he fell over trying to get out of the way. So full cred to Jankovic today.

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That's one of the big differences between the sports and the arts, I find. Your body can get injured so easily. In arts, it's largely mental, and it's pretty hard to come down with something that renders you unable to think. It must be so frustrating for sportspeople. Their minds are fine. They can think up game plans till they're blue in the face, but their body lets them down. I can't imagine how utterly useless that could make you feel.

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Meanwhile, Hsieh Su-wei, blogging subject of a few days back, just won her match against Gisela Dulko, and I'm cheering!

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Today's Results

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Hopman Cup (Perth)

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Serbia def. France 2-1

Tatiana Golovin def. Jelena Jankovic, 0-1 ret.

Novak Djokovic def. Arnaud Clement, 6-3 6-3

Jankovic/Djokovic def. Golovin/Clement, 5-7 6-4 10-4 (match tie break)

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Chinese Taipei leads Argentina 1-0

Hsieh Su-wei def. Gisela Dulko, 6-3 6-7 (2-7) 7-5

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Mondial Australian Women's Hardcourts

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Nicole Vaidisova def. Tatjana Malek, 6-4 6-2

Dinara Safina def. Flavia Pennetta, 6-4 2-6 6-4

Patty Schnyder def. Francesca Schiavone, 2-6 6-3 6-4

Shahar Peer def. Julia Schruff, 6-0 ret.

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

Li Na def. Monique Adamczak, 6-3 6-2

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ASB Classic (Auckland)

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Vera Zvonareva def. Sofia Arvidsson, 6-2 6-3

Maria Kirilenko def. Klara Zakopalova, 6-4 6-1

Katarina Srebotnik def. Yvonne Meusburger, 6-0 6-1

Lindsay Davenport def. Anabel Medina Garrigues, 6-1 4-6 6-0

Tamira Paszek def. Camille Pin, 6-2 6-3

Aravane Rezai def. Eleni Daniilidou, 7-5 6-4

Sara Errani def. Pauline Parmentier, 6-1 6-2

Marina Erakovic def. Ashley Harkleroad, 7-6 (7-5) 7-5

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Next Generation Adelaide International (Adelaide)

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Paul-Henri Mathieu def. Chris Guccione, 4-6 6-3 6-4

Benjamin Becker def. Michael Russell, 6-4 6-4

Michael Llodra def. Evgeny Korolev, 7-6 (7-3) 6-3

Joseph Sirianni def. Sam Querrey, 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 6-3

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Qatar Exxonmobil Open (Doha)

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Nikolay Davydenko def. Benedikt Dorsch, 6-3 6-0

Agustin Calleri def. Tommy Robredo, 6-4 6-4

Andy Murray def. Olivier Rochus, 6-0 6-2

Christophe Rochus def. Ivo Karlovic, 7-6 (7-2) 6-2

Dmitry Tursunov def. Albert Montanes, 6-2 7-5

Janko Tipsarevic def. Santiago Ventura, 3-6 6-3 6-4

Rainer Schuettler def. Andrei Pavel, 1-6 6-2 6-0

Stanislas Wawrinka def. Alberto Martin, 6-2 6-2

Nicholas Kiefer def. Sebastien de Chaunac, 6-4 6-3

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Chennai Open (Chennai)

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Rafael Nadal def. Mathieu Montcourt, 6-2 6-4

Robin Haase def. Marcos Baghdatis, 6-3 6-4

Carlos Moya def. Teimuraz Gabashvili, 6-4 6-1

Nicolas Mahut def. Denis Gremelmayr, 6-3 6-3

Werner Eschauer def. Bartolome Salva-Vidal, 7-6 (7-3) 5-7 6-4

Kristof Vliegen def. Marc Gicquel, 7-6 (7-5) 6-4

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez def. Alexander Peya, 6-4 6-4

Rajeev Ram def. Yuri Schukin, 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-2)

Lovro Zovko def. Thierry Ascione, 6-4 6-0

Alexandre Kudryavtsev def. Prakash Amritraj, 6-3 4-6 7-6 (10-8)

Marin Cilic def. Viktor Troicki, 3-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-1

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