Cilic Serves Fish

I'm following the live scores as I write this, and right now my boy Marin Cilic is up 5-2 in the third set against Mardy Fish and is serving for it. I'm very proud. Boy, do I know how to pick 'em!

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I was doing a bit of hunting through the Challenger archives for this year, and I found out what Jeremy Chardy has been up to - well, for a week, anyway. He won a Challenger in Graz in late July, so maybe I'm being a bit unfair when I say he's the worst performer of my little Stars fold. He hasn't been splashing about on the ATP circuit like my boy Marin, maybe, but he's working hard. Good boy, Jeremy. (Condescending, me?)

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Speaking of Marin, he just won! One day, I'm going to be able to say that I picked him out before he was famous. I don't know if he's ever going to be #1, but top ten for sure, I think - and he's one of mine. I don't think I can really claim that I jumped on the del Potro bandwagon before he became all good and stuff, but I sure picked Marin early. Go me. And go Marin! Now all I need is for Ernests Gulbis to win a tour title and I'll be extraordinarily pleased with myself.

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Going back to the Challengers, another star performer was Thomaz Bellucci, who has won four of the things this year. I'd love to see him make a splash on the ATP circuit - but we might have to wait till next year, as I think he's a bit of a claycourter. Still, claycourters can sometimes do other stuff... look at Rafa.

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I promised a US Open preview, I do believe, but I might save that for tomorrow, when I will have nothing at all to talk about, as there will be no tennis. It's the US Open's version of Boring Sunday - but I suppose two weeks of awesome tennis after that might make up for it!

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Oh, and today's shout out goes to Lucie Safarova (aka Madame Berdych.) After a stellar run a while back - I remember her beating Mauresmo (I think) at the Australian and really doing well - she lost form, so much so as to be unseeded at a Tier IV tournament. I think she's ranked about #80 or something now. Anyway, she won that selfsame Tier IV tournament in Forest Hills pretty handily. She's really a lovely player - very watchable - so I'm quite pleased. Nice one, Lucie!

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Oh, and I apologise for the title of today's post. Really, I do.

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Today's Results

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Pilot Pen Tennis (New Haven)

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Men's Draw

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Marin Cilic def. Mardy Fish, 6-4 4-6 6-2

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Women's Draw

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Caroline Wozniacki def. Anna Chakvetadze, 3-6 6-4 6-1

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Forest Hills Tennis Classic (Forest Hills)

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Lucie Safarova def. Peng Shuai, 6-4 6-2

Stars, In Your Multitudes

I do believe I said yesterday that one day in the future Ivan Ljubicic would make a fine ATP chairman. Lo and behold! he's been elected to the ATP board as the official representative of Europe. I like to think this is proof that the ATP listen to what I say. Next thing you know, they'll be knocking on my door, asking me to be the next Etienne. You just wait.

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Meanwhile, I really should preview the US Open draw, but I'm going to save that for tomorrow. I have to save up my topics of conversation and ration them out carefully before the US Open, when things get all interesting. I think that today I am going to gloat some more about how good the kids in my Stars of the Future fold are. Especially Marin Cilic.

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When I first added Cilic to my Stars fold, I wasn't expecting him to be quite so spectacular. I thought he'd be one of my secondary stars. But he has had a real career year this year, and I am just counting down the seconds until he's in the top ten. He's seeded at the US Open, which makes him one of my best-performing Stars so far. Go Marin! And he has just made his first career final in New Haven, where he will play Mardy Fish for the title. Can Cilic take Fish? I think that he can - hook, line and sinker.

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I apologise profoundly for that pun. But if your last name is Fish, then I'm sure you'd be used to it. Go Marin!

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I think I better clarify who is actually in my Stars of the Future fold, because otherwise I'm going to end up adopting every stray young 'un that comes along and claiming the glory. Currently, the fold includes the following: Juan Martin del Potro (recent addition - very quickly becoming a Star of the Present!), Marin Cilic, Ernests Gulbis (my favourite!), Eduardo Schwank, Jeremy Chardy and Thomaz Bellucci. And I'm sure there's another one, but I can't remember who right now. But they're my picks. They're the ones that are going to make it big. Except maybe Chardy. I'm not so sold on him any more.

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My special favourite is, of course, Ernests Gulbis, who is one of the most insanely talented young players we have seen in a very long time. I don't know if he's quite at Federer/Safin talent level, but he's pretty damn good. He is officially the only person I have ever seen blow Rafa off the court. (Rafa still came back and won the match, but Swanboy got a set off him. Which is something.) A bit of experience, and he's going to be wonderful. Just give him a while. I think last time I talked about him, I said to give him a year. I might extend that to two, but he is going to be up there, mark my words.

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But my boy Marin... he's the star of his class right now, nonwithstanding new kid Juan Martin del Potro. He is the first of my original stars to reach a final, and I am very proud. Yay Marin!

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Today's Results

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Pilot Pen Tennis (New Haven)

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Men's Draw

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Marin Cilic def. Luka Gregorc, 6-3 6-3

Mardy Fish def. Fernando Verdasco, 6-0 1-6 6-3

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Women's Draw

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Anna Chakvetadze def. Amélie Mauresmo, 6-3 3-6 6-1

Caroline Wozniacki def. Alizé Cornet, 7-5 6-4

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Forest Hills Tennis Classic (Forest Hills)

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Lucie Safarova def. Iveta Benesova, 6-2 6-4

Peng Shuai def. Carla Suárez Navarro, 6-1 6-2

Everybody Hates Etienne

Etienne de Villers is retiring. I bet there's a lot of people that are really, really sad about that. Weeping, wailing, gnashing their teeth, etc, etc. Except not.

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I am right, aren't I? Everybody hates Etienne, yesno? That has certainly been the impression I've had. He seems to have changed everything round really fast, and I don't think people have liked that very much at all... especially the Hamburg tournament. I do like the fact he added an Asian swing, as I think that was lacking - but I think the players know best.

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I know there's a players council, and that Federer, Nadal and Djokovic all sit on it - does anyone know how much attention people pay to them? I would like to think it's a lot, but I wouldn't be surprised if it isn't. Important as I think it should be, something like that has token written all over it. Actually, wasn't it why the three big boys decided to run for office? To give it a higher profile? I think Ivan Ljubicic and James Blake used to sit on it, and while they're very important and lovely men, they don't quite have the clout that the Big Three do. And even though I have personal objections to certain members (well, member) of the Big Three, I think they're all good choices. Roger is the ultimate tennis statesman. Rafa is dogged. And Novak could just annoy people till they did what he wanted.

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I remember reading somewhere that a few years back, when they were planning a major overhaul of the schedule - was it 2005? Maybe 2004? - that four of the players sat down with the ATP guys in a hotel room and nutted it out. Federer was there, and Safin, and I think Rafa, but I can't remember who else. I wonder how much of that there was under the Age of Etienne? (I'm pretty sure that was pre-Etienne.) I have a feeling the council got marginalised. I know there was a lot of unrest. So kudos to the Big Three, who might well be partially responsible for the decision of de Villiers. I would like to think so, anyway.

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This means there'll be looking for a new guy, and while I don't know who they should pick this time, I know someone who would make an excellent Etienne in future. Can you go past Ivan Ljubicic?

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And another shoutout to my boy Luka Gregorc, who is in the semis in New Haven, despite coming through qualies and being ranked #434 or something in the world. He has taken out several big names this week, including Ivo Karlovic, and his next victim was Andreas Seppi, who he took out in the quarters. Wouldn't it be awesome to see him win? I love a good underdog (except when the underdog is playing Federer.) I confess I am going for Cilic, but should he lose, then Luka all the way!

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Today's Results

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Pilot Pen Tennis (New Haven)

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Men's Draw

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Fernando Verdasco def. Mischa Zverev, 6-2 7-6 (7-4)

Luka Gregorc def. Andreas Seppi, 4-6 6-4 7-5

Mardy Fish def. Jesse Levine, 6-3 7-6 (7-4)

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Women's Draw

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Anna Chakvetadze def. Sorana Cirstea, 6-3 6-3

Alizé Cornet def. Daniela Hantuchova, 3-6 6-4 6-4

Caroline Wozniacki def. Marion Bartoli, 6-4 6-0

Amélie Mauresmo def. Agnes Szavay, 6-4 7-5

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Forest Hills Tennis Classic (Forest Hills)

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Iveta Benesova def. Ekaterina Makarova, 2-6 6-2 6-4

Carla Suárez Navarro def. Martina Müller, 6-2 6-0

Peng Shuai def. Vera Dushevina, 6-4 7-5

Lucie Safarova def. Jamea Jackson, 3-6 6-3 6-0

Aussie Aussie... Aussie...?

Well, Lleyton Hewitt is out of the US Open. I can't say I have too much sympathy. I mean, sure, it's his hip that's hurting and I don't really know anything about it, but surely he realises that when you play on it all day every day it's just not going to get better? Why on earth did he not go in for surgery earlier?

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We all know I'm not a Hewitt fan, but he really is the only good Australian tennis player out there, so it is very sad to see him falling down the rankings. (Though I will say this for him - at least he has a relatively normal name - cough Kamakazi cough yes it's really spelled that way the moron cough.) Had he played the US Open, he would have been unseeded for the first time in about eighty million years. It means he would have been a Safin-like floater, but unlike Safin, I don't think Hewitt would have stood much of a chance of beating anyone. I remember when he reached the fourth round of Wimbledon and played Federer, and the Australian media was all over it, talking about the possibility/probability of an upset. But look, even if Federer is not in the best form of his life, he'd have to be playing on one leg to lose to Hewitt now. I don't like Lleyton, but I feel sorry for him. He's a dead horse that the Australian media just will not stop flogging until someone else comes along.

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That 'someone else' will be, one thinks, Bernard Tomic, but he's so young that I doubt he'll really burst onto the scene for a few years, if indeed he does some scene-bursting. He's definitely got the talent - he won the junior Australian Open this year, despite being only fifteen, and has been the top seed in every junior event I've seen him play - but from what I hear, he has a troublesome temperament. But that can be channelled... he's young. I would really like to see Tomic do something with his talent. Australian tennis is quiet right now.

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Meanwhile, we are now absolutely screwed for Davis Cup. Well, we were already screwed, but now we're really screwed. We're playing Chile, I think, in a World Group playoff, and unless there is some kind of miracle, we are going to get our collective arse kick. Chile will play Gonzalez and Massu, one thinks... and Gonzalez could pretty much beat the Australian team single-handedly, even with Hewitt in. So I guess we'll play Guccione... Sirianni is the next highest ranked player, then Smeets, then Luczak, who has had a rotten year... Luczak is proven at Davis Cup, but look, we are going to lose anyway. Gooch'll get played, maybe Hanley and Kerr for the doubles, and I guess Sirianni, logically - but hell, play Tomic. Blood him on the world stage. Sure, it'll be a bitchslap for Joe and Robert and Mr Milkshake, but there's no way we're going to win, unless every person in Chile instantly breaks their legs. And maybe wee Bernard can surprise them, eh?

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Before I go, a bit shout-out to world #434 Luka Gregorc, who knocked out Ivo Karlovic in New Haven today. Proof that the little guys can sometimes give the big guys a run for their money... yet another reason to play Tomic at Davis Cup!

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Today's Results

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Pilot Pen Tennis (New Haven)

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Men's Draw

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Fernando Verdasco def. Ivo Minar, 6-3 6-1

Luka Gregorc def. Ivo Karlovic, 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 6-2

Igor Andreev def. Victor Hanescu, 6-4 7-5

Marin Cilic def. Jurgen Melzer, 5-7 6-4 7-5

Andreas Seppi def. Fabio Fognini, 6-4 6-2

Jesse Levine def. Steve Darcis, 2-0 retired

Mischa Zverev def. Robby Ginepri, 1-6 6-3 6-1

Mardy Fish def. Wayne Odesnik, 6-1 4-6 6-1

Luka Gregorc def. Jose Acasuso, 6-4 6-4

Ivo Karlovic def. John Isner, 6-7 (4-7) 6-3 6-3

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Women's Draw

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Agnes Szavay def. Sara Errani, 6-4 6-7 (3-7) 6-4

Anna Chakvetadze def. Casey Dellacqua, 6-4 6-4

Amélie Mauresmo def. Patty Schnyder, 6-4 3-6 7-6 (8-6)

Sorana Cirstea def. Flavia Pennetta, 3-6 6-4 6-3

Alizé Cornet def. Katarina Srebotnik, 7-6 (7-3) 4-6 6-2

Caroline Wozniacki def. Monica Niculescu, 6-3 6-3

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Forest Hills Tennis Classic (Forest Hills)

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Peng Shuai def. Pauline Parmentier, 6-3 6-2

Jamea Jackson def. Marina Erakovic, 7-6 (7-4) 7-5

Carla Suárez Navarro def. Timea Bacsinszky, 6-4 7-6 (7-5)

Lucie Safarova def. Akgul Amanmuradova, 6-7 (11-13) 6-3 6-3

The French Question

And the big story of today is... nothing. It's one of those uniquely boring weeks before a big tournament, where everyone is waiting round with bated breath for it to start. The schleps are playing little schlep tournaments, but that's about it.

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Normally, I might rabbit on about one of my Stars of the Future, but even they've been pretty quiet. Marin Cilic had a win, but it was a retirement after three games, so that's not so exciting. Eduardo Schwank lost to Ivo Minar. I've gone off Eduardo a bit, actually. He has yet to prove himself to me outside the clay arena. Though I suppose there was that tight match with Roddick the other day... if he won, then we'd be talking. But alas - match points, and couldn't convert. He's not being dropped from the fold or anything, but he's certainly not up there with my favourites right now.

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Another player I touted as a Star of the Future was Jeremy Chardy, but I haven't seen him about at all for a few months. Is he injured? Playing Challengers? What's the story? French tennis, Clement and Llodra aside, put up a very poor account of itself at the Olympics. Gasquet whimpering under the bed somewhere, Tsonga injured - actually, is he going to be better soon? I thought I heard US Open as his likely return date. No medals, which for a country with that many great players is a bit of a shame.

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And where were the French women? I know Golovin was injured, but why wasn't Bartoli there? Mauresmo? Did Parmentier play? Women's tennis doesn't have quite the same level of depth for the French, but surely they could have fielded a few. I don't remember seeing any. That is thoroughly disappointing.

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A little bit like today's blog, I guess...!

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Today's Results

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Pilot Pen Tennis (New Haven)

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Men's Draw

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Igor Andreev def. Olivier Rochus, 6-3 6-4

Mischa Zverev def. Juan Monaco, 6-3 6-3

Marin Cilic def. Viktor Troicki, 2-1 retired

Andreas Seppi def. Potito Starace, 4-6 6-4 6-4

Marc Gicquel def. Albert Montanes, 7-5 6-3

Fabio Fognini def. Simone Bolelli, 6-2 5-7 6-4

Jurgen Melzer def. Arnaud Clement, 7-6 (7-1) 7-5

Robby Ginepri def. Agustin Calleri, 6-2 4-6 6-2

Steve Darcis def. Marcel Granollers, 6-2 6-2

Luka Gregorc def. Jose Acasuso, 6-4 6-4

Ivo Minar def. Eduardo Schwank, 7-5 6-3

Victor Hanescu def. Denis Gremelmayr, 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (7-3) 6-2

Jesse Levine def. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, 6-0 6-3

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Women's Draw

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Flavia Pennetta def. Gisela Dulko, 6-3 6-1

Amélie Mauresmo def. Kaia Kanepi, 6-2 6-7 (3-7) 6-2

Monica Niculescu def. Maria Kirilenko, 6-7 (7-9) 6-2 6-1

Marion Bartoli def. Tsvetana Pironkova, 2-6 6-4 7-5

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Forest Hills Tennis Classic (Forest Hills)

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Iveta Benesova def. Elena Vesnina, 6-1 6-7 (5-7) 7-5

Ekaterina Makarova def. Gail Brodsky, 7-5 6-2

Vera Dushevina def. Sofia Arvidsson, 6-2 6-2

Martina Müller def. Petra Cetkovska, 6-2 6-3

Weaving A Tangled Web

It occurs to me that I never once mentioned that major controversy that happened a couple of days before the end of the tennis event in the Olympics. I got so caught up in the Swiss doubles victory that I forgot about it entirely. So let's talk about it today.

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The story: Fernando Gonzalez and James Blake are facing off in a match. The winner of the match is guaranteed a medal, the loser will have to play off for the bronze. It's getting tight. Third set, the drama, the drama. Blake hits a shot that goes out. Gonzalez is at the net, shies away. The ball goes out. Blake swears it ricocheted off Gonzalez's racquet, Gonzalez said it didn't. The match continues. Blake, unsettled, loses. The drama, the drama.

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Now, I haven't seen the replays or anything, so I have no opinion on whether or not Gonzalez touched the ball. In fact, I might have even described the situation wrong, but it's roughly correct at least. So what do you do in a situation like this?

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Let's put ourselves in Blake's shoes. You want this match, yeah, you want it bad, and you could swear it came off the other guy's racquet. I wouldn't even consider the option that Blake lied - that would just be terrible sportsmanship, and I don't think James Blake is that kind of guy. Could your eyes deceive you? Possibly. But does it happen too quick for you to able to tell? Probably.

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But you might hear it, you might see the ball change direction. I have no idea what level of perception tennis players have out there. How much do they listen, how much do they rely on their eyes? What feasible chance does Blake have to be sure?

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Now, let's consider Fernando Gonzalez. He definitely doesn't want the ball to have hit his racquet. Again, I doubt he would have lied - though his post match comments were certainly a bit dodgier than Blake's, if that makes sense. He said something along the lines of not being 100% sure of what had happened. Now, I'm sure it would be hard to see or hear the ball, with the speed and maybe the crowd and stuff, but surely you'd be able to feel it? Those guys hit the balls like a rocket. How can you be not sure?

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But I'm not fully acquainted with the circumstances, and if Gonzalez says he's not sure, then I'm sure he's not sure. There aren't many players - or any, really - on the circuit that I would ever think capable of full-out lying. I wonder if the fact it was Gonzalez on the other side of the net influenced Blake at all...? I'm not aware of any dislike or anything between them, but imagine if this had happened when Blake had been playing Federer. Blake has come out and talked about his respect for Federer on numerous times. If Roger said he didn't hit the ball, I'm pretty sure Blake would believe that Roger didn't hit the ball. But it was Gonzalez. So was this an influence?

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The upshot of all this is that I have no idea, and in fact, no opinion about what happened. I'd be prepared to take both guys at their word, and I would severely doubt that either one is deliberately lying. But it's interesting. I'm generally impressed with the high level of sportsmanship and lack of gamesmanship on the ATP tour, but they can't all be perfect. Could you live with yourself if you won something under false pretences? A lot of people would go a long way for an Olympic medal. Maybe I'm idealistic, but I just can't believe that either of these guys would deliberately lie about this.

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There is today's tangled moral issue. I am taking my position firmly on the fence. What does everyone else think?

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It's one of those dull weeks of tennis before a major tournament again. The US Open starts next week, which will be big fun and very interesting and stuff, but this week is pretty dull. The only real tournament is New Haven (men and women), and due to the Olympics, none of the big guns is playing. The top seed is Nando Verdasco, and while he's a good player, he's not a world-changer. For the women, it's Anna Chakvetadze (is she not ranked higher than Zvonareva? Why wasn't she at the Olympics? Or did she genuinely not qualify?) So this might be one of those uninspired blog weeks, unless we have some more interesting issues. I suppose I could always talk about McEnroe's exclusion at some point... putting me about a week behind the news!

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Juan Martin del Potro is not playing, although he was originally scheduled to... but I think that's a smart move. You don't want to come into a Slam having played two solid weeks of tennis - because if he was here, he would stand a great chance of winning. And if you had a streak like that, you'd want to take it in to the US Open. If he's in the right part of the draw, he stands a good chance of being the random semi finalist. Actually, I'd like him to be in Djokovic's quarter, so he can pull a Safin. He's currently at #17, so he could potentially meet one of the big guns in the third round... wouldn't that be interesting?

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It occurs to me that del Potro is only twenty, and is totally only at the beginning of his career, though he seems to have been round for a while. I am now officially adopting him into the Tennis From The Backseat Stars of the Future program. Currently, he's my star performer - so Ernests and Marin might need to move over! Or, alternatively, they need to do some serious shining!

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Today's Results

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Pilot Pen Tennis (New Haven)

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Men's Draw

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Fernando Verdasco def. Dudi Sela, 6-4 6-4

Potito Starace def. Jiri Vanek, 6-2 7-6 (9-7)

Denis Gremelmayr def. Marcos Daniel, 3-6 6-3 6-3

Olivier Rochus def. Evgeny Korolev, 6-4 6-4

Steve Darcis def. Vince Spadea, 7-5 5-0 retired

Fabio Fognini def. Nicolas Lapentti, 6-4 4-4 retired

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez def. Chris Guccione, 7-5 6-3

John Isner def. Igor Kunitsyn, 6-4 6-4

Wayne Odesnik def. Sebastien Grosjean, 7-5 6-4

Luka Gregorc def. Ramon Delgado, 6-2 3-6 6-0

Robby Ginepri def. Luis Horna, 7-6 (7-4) 6-2

Arnaud Clement def. Thomaz Bellucci, 6-4 6-4

Viktor Troicki def. Alex Bogomolov Jr., 7-5 2-6 6-1

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Women's Draw

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Patty Schnyder def. Jill Craybas, 6-4 7-6 (7-2)

Alizé Cornet def. Nicole Vaidisova, 6-3 7-6 (10-8)

Caroline Wozniacki def. Dominika Cibulkova, 7-6 (9-7) retired

Katarina Srebotnik def. María José Martínez Sánchez, 6-7 (4-7) 6-3 6-2

Casey Dellacqua def. Virginie Razzano, 6-3 6-1

Sorana Cirstea def. Alla Kudryavtseva, 4-6 6-3 7-5

Sara Errani def. Mallory Cecil, 6-2 4-6 7-6 (7-1)

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