'Competitive Spice'

Fed Cup is over and done for another year - gee, I am SO SURPRISED that Russia won. Nobody saw that one coming. I discussed the incredible depth of Russian women's tennis the other day, but I think I just need to reiterate it. Their top three players were out, and they still won easily, one hundred percent absolutely no contest. Spain mounted a bit of a challenge in Anabel Medina Garrigue's charge in the singles, but even then, she only got a set off Sveta Kuznetsova. Russia were never going to lose this one.

*

Imagine having six players in the top twenty. That's just insane. In the men's, France has something like fifteen players in the top hundred, and I thought that was pretty good - but I doubt more than three of them are in the top twenty. Actually, let's check... they have three, and none of them are in the top ten currently - Gasquet, Simon (who just won Bucharest) and Tsonga. Actually, I hadn't realised how remarkable Spain were - I knew they had a lot in the top hundred, but five of those are in the top twenty. There's Nadal at #1, of course, then Ferrer, Verdasco, Robredo and Almagro. Let's compare that with Australia. We have two players in the top hundred, Hewitt at #59 and Guccione at #80. Then in the next hundred there's Smeets, Sirianni, Luczak and Ball, then down another hundred is Ebelthite (who?), Groth, Klein, Jones (isn't he retired?), Armstrong (again, who?) and Lindahl. Bernard Tomic is at #816. Oh yes. What a strong tennis nation we are right now.

*

Speaking of Australian tennis, Robert Smeets has just been added to the Davis Cup team, so that's seven guys we're sending to Chile now. He's not really adding to the age of the team much either - he's twenty-two. So I guess that makes him old, actually, compared to most of the rest of them. Tennis Australia says that:

*

"The 147th ranked Smeets will add even more competitive spice to a young squad which will battle it out on the practice courts for a spot in the four man team to take on the highly-fancied Chileans in the World Group Play-off of Davis Cup by BNP Paribas from September 19-21."

*

Competitive spice, huh? Because our chances are SO huge. Not that I'm ragging on John Fitzgerald or anything - I think he's awesome that he's trying so hard and that he's pulling out the stops. But I do wish journalists would be a little more realistic about our chances... so if we win, it really will be a huge surprise!

*

*

Today's Results

*

BCR Open Romania (Bucharest)

*

Gilles Simon def. Carlos Moya, 6-3 6-4

*

*

Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic (Bali)

*

Patty Schnyder def. Tamira Paszek, 6-3 6-0

Corruption Monkey

Well, I guess today's big tennis news is that Nikolay Davydenko and Martin Vassallo Arguello have both cleared of allegations of corruption over that match they played in Sopot last year, where Davydenko forfeited and bets were suspended by a major gambling site because the amounts of money being bet on the match were strangely large. (I had no idea people even knew the Sopot tournament existed, let alone bet on it, but there you go.)

*

So they're innocent. Good for them. But why on earth did it take the ATP this frigging long to decide that? The Sopot tournament was in June last year. That's nearly fifteen months ago. Can you imagine being a professional tennis player having that hang over your head for that long?

*

I suppose it's not too bad for Martin Vassallo Arguello, as no one really knows who he is for a start, and also because he wasn't the one that supposedly threw the match. I know I've been ragging on Kolya for over two months now for being an embarrassment to professional tennis players everywhere what with his poor attitude, but you really have to feel for the guy. If he's innocent - which the ATP has finally decided he is - he's had this monkey on his back for more than a year for no reason. Can you imagine the locker room glares he must have got?

*

Actually, that's an interesting issue - what did the players think? Did they assume he was guilty and do some quality shunning? Or did they stand behind him? I haven't been able to find any comments on the subject... surely someone must have asked someone about it in a presser at some stage. I don't get the feeling that Davydenko is one of the locker room's most popular guys... and with the label of 'corruption' hanging over his head, I can't imagine that won him too many new pals either.

*

Tennis is supposed to be a gentlemen's game. It's very seldom that you get allegations of match-fixing and stuff like that - even cricket, the other gentlemen's game, has more scandal than tennis does. So I can't imagine Kolya was too pleased to be the one that opened the door. Is this the first match-fixing scandal in tennis? It can't be the only one, surely...

*

Oh, and on a happier note, well done to the finalists this weekend! Gilles Simon takes on Carlos Moya in Bucharest, and Tamira Paszek, who upset a few biggish names on the way to the final, takes on Patty Schnyder in Bali. Should be interesting matches both!

*

*

Today's Results

*

BCR Open Romania (Bucharest)

*

Carlos Moya def. Richard Gasquet, 6-2 6-4

Gilles Simon def. Jose Acasuso, 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-4

*

*

Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic (Bali)

*

Tamira Paszek def. Daniela Hantuchova, 6-2 5-7 6-4

Patty Schnyder def. Nadia Petrova, 7-5 6-1

Matters of National Importance

We talked a bit about Davis Cup the other day - so let's talk about Fed Cup. Isn't it incredible that a country can have its top three players be unavailable and STILL be the favourites to win? I'm talking Russia against Spain. Sharapova's out injured, Safina and Dementieva are absolutely exhausted, and still the Russians have got a great team. Svetlana Kuznetsova is their big gun, and they're also playing Vera Zvonareva, Elena Vesnina and Ekaterina Makarova. And there's even more depth if they wanted it: Nadia Petrova, Anna Chakvetadze, Alisa Kleybanova, Alla Kudryavtseva, and even the rookie Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who has a couple of junior Slams under her belt. Isn't that incredible, how one country can have so many options?

*

I wonder what would happen if our top three women dropped out for Fed Cup. At the moment, that's Casey Dellacqua, Sam Stosur and Alicia Molik - now she's retired, that'd bump up the next player, which would be Jessica Moore. So even if Jess Moore played, that means our Fed Cup team would consist of her, Jelena Dokic, Monique Adamczak and Sophie Ferguson. Next player down is Christina Wheeler. I'd play the young guns instead - Isabella Holland and Sally Peers and co. Somehow, I think we would get our collective arse kicked, but at least we'd be doing something different.

*

Pretty much like in Davis Cup, actually.

*

There was a nice article on the Tennis Australia website the other day about Sam Groth, who is one of those rookies playing on the Davis Cup team I'd never heard of. Apparently he had his first ever ATP win in July in Nottingham over Jamie Baker. Slightly more impressive, I thought, was the fact that he beat Janko Tipsarevic in qualifying. So he is capable of playing above his rank, it seems... not that it looks like it'll help much. I'd guess the only chance he'll get to play singles is in a dead rubber. John Fitzgerald would be a fool not to play Guccione and Luczak in the first rubbers. I'm guessing Chile will play Gonzalez and Massu... Luczak is a good claycourter and he did beat Stan Wawrinka that time in Davis Cup and Guccione has that monster serve, so there's some small possibility we might win a rubber or two... but I wouldn't bet on much.

*

Look at me. I pretend to be all unconcerned about nationality in tennis, and here I am agonising over Davis Cup and Fed Cup. Oh well. I suppose they are a bit special.

*

*

Today's Results

*

BCR Open Romania (Bucharest)

*

Richard Gasquet def. Teimuraz Gabashvili, 6-7 (6-8) 6-1 6-1

Gilles Simon def. Florent Serra, 6-2 6-3

Carlos Moya def. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, 5-7 6-3 6-4

Jose Acasuso def. Ivan Navarro, 6-4 6-4

*

*

Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic (Bali)

*

Daniela Hantuchova def. Chan Yung-Jan, 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 6-2

Patty Schnyder def. Marta Domachowska, 6-2 6-2

Tamira Paszek def. Flavia Pennetta, 4-6 6-0 6-2

Nadia Petrova def. Francesca Schiavone, 6-4 6-3

Dancing Into Retirement

One thing I meant to write about last week and didn't because of the excitement of the US Open was the retirement of Alicia Molik, one-time world number #8 and one of Australia's best ever women's singles players. She announced it last week, and I kind of forgot about it, which is very careless of me. But never mind, I'll write about her now.

*

This has obviously been coming for a long time - when you take an amount of time off so large that you can appear on 'Dancing With The Stars' then there's something pretty seriously wrong. It was so sad for Alicia when she contracted that strange middle-ear thing or whatever it was that meant she could barely walk because her balance was so bad... actually, speaking of 'Dancing With The Stars,' I remember when she on it she said that she was fine as long as she could hold onto her partner, because he kept her upright. I also remembering wondering if doing 'Dancing With The Stars' was necessarily the smartest choice, if that was the case. She commentated at the Australian Open that year as well - I think it was 2006 - and you could just tell she was so sad she wasn't out there.

*

That was the beginning of the end for Alicia - but I remember the beginning of the beginning as well. It was around the same time that Jelena Dokic was playing for Australia. All the media attention was focused on her (and her dad, Damir... overbearing sports dads like Yuri Sharapov are often still referred to as Damirs in the vernacular, which I find very amusing!) So Molik came up quietly in the Dokic maelstrom. No one really knew she was there. She was very much the second banana for a long time. Then Dokic self-imploded and Alicia and Lleyton won the Hopman Cup and suddenly everyone was all about Alicia. She was an alternative to the chaos of the Dokic issue. She was simple and level-headed and uncomplicated and I think Australia as a whole really appreciated that.

*

If you asked me which of the two players had more talent, Dokic or Molik, I'd probably say Dokic. I wasn't exactly watching tennis critically when she was active - it was in my twelves to fourteens, I think - but she was explosive on the court, when her head was in it. Molik was never like that. As a tennis player, she was remarkably sane compared to Jelena. She was the tortoise to Dokic's hare, and it never really did her any harm. Both girls became top ten players - Molik reached #8, Dokic #4 - but Molik is the one who stuck around. And Molik is the one who is going to stick around in Australia's memory in the long term. Dokic is remembered - when she is remembered at all - for her dad and all the drama she used to go through there. Molik will be remembered as a good tennis player and as someone who seemed like a nice person.

*

Oh yeah, and someone who was once on 'Dancing With The Stars.'

*

I'm actually glad to see Alicia retire now, because if she kept playing, I think it might just get embarassing for her. She hasn't been the same player since she got sick, and although she's recorded some good victories here and there - I saw her beat Kaia Kanepi very convincingly at the Australian Open this year - she's also recorded some terrible losses, like that one at the Olympics to Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez. It is very sad to see her go, but now she can retire with dignity. She is no longer the flagship for women's tennis in Australia - I think that baton was well and truly passed to Casey Dellacqua at the Australian Open - and so perhaps now is the right time. Vale, nonetheless. Alicia Molik may not have been one of tennis's renowned worldbeaters, but she was excellent for women's tennis in Australia, and she can be very proud of what she has done.

*

*

Today's Results

*

BCR Open Romania (Bucharest)

*

Richard Gasquet def. Victor Crivoi, 6-3 6-2

Jose Acasuso def. Martin Vassallo Arguello, 6-4 7-5

Ivan Navarro def. Denis Gremelmayr, 6-3 1-0 retired

Teimuraz Gabashvili def. Adrian Cruciat, 6-1 6-2

*

*

Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic (Bali)

*

Flavia Pennetta def. Anastasia Rodionova, 6-3 7-5

Nadia Petrova def. Tathiana Garbin, 6-1 6-1

Tamira Paszek def. Sara Errani, 6-0 7-6 (7-2)

Chan Yung-Jan def. Peng Shuai, 6-1 7-5

Invisible Men

Well, here we are again. Another Slam is over, and we've entered the monotony of one of those weeks where no one especially important is playing... when the big story of the day is that Nicolas Almagro and Paul-Henri Mathieu got beaten, you know it's a schlep tournament week. Not that schlep tournaments can't have their moments - every Star of the Future starts off playing them - but they are exceptionally dull after the big excitement of a Slam, especially one won by Federer.

*

And besides, Ernests Gulbis has already lost, so what am I supposed to talk about?

*

But there is one thing that saves us from the boredom, and that is Davis Cup. I've read a lot about the strange selection by the American team, but I'm going to be patriotic for once and talk about the Australian team. I believed I advised them a while ago to play Bernard Tomic, as we're going to lose anyway and it'd be good to blood him on the world stage... and they almost listened. He's part of a six-man squad going to Chile, but he's one of the alternates, along with Brydan Klein. The team proper consists of Chris Guccione, Peter Luczak, Sam Groth and Carsten Ball.

*

Now, I don't know about anyone else, but I'd never heard of Carsten Ball before the US Open, where he had a wildcard, and I've never heard of Sam Groth. Not to say that they're not good players, but I have absolutely no idea who they are. Where did they pop up from? Obviously I know about Tomic, because he's Australia's best junior, and I've heard of Brydan Klein as well - I think he made the junior final of the Australian Open last year or the year before - but never these other two. And they're the ones on the team proper. Go figure. Not that I'm saying I know better than John Fitzgerald, because I don't. It's just a bit bizarre, I guess... here's me thinking I knew nearly everything there was to know about Australian tennis! Nice to be proved wrong, I guess... nice to think we have more depth than I thought!

*

This is a really young team, which I think is really exciting... and will probably also play to our advantage, because the Chileans probably won't have heard of them either. That said, the Chileans will still eat them alive, especially because they're playing at home on clay, which is definitely not Australia's best surface... but I suppose we did once beat Switzerland on clay at home (Federer wasn't playing, obviously.) Still, Fernando Gonzalez is spearheading their team, and he could probably beat the entire Australian team at once. I suppose Gooch and Mr. Milkshake will be our singles players... though if it gets to dead rubbers, which is highly likely, I'd like to see Fitzy play some young guys.

*

Like I said, the youngness of the team is exciting... but you have to spare a thought for players like Joe Sirianni and Robert Smeets. They must be feeling really snubbed right about now. Poor dudes.

*

*

Today's Results

*

BCR Open Romania (Bucharest)

*

Gilles Simon def. Albert Montanes, 6-3 6-4

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez def. Nicolas Almagro, 6-4 7-5

Carlos Moya def. Pablo Andujar, 6-3 7-6 (8-6)

Florent Serra def. Potito Starace, 7-5 0-6 6-4

Ivan Navarro def. Paul-Henri Mathieu, 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-3

*

*

Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic (Bali)

*

Daniela Hantuchova def. Olga Savchuk, 6-1 7-5

Patty Schnyder def. Yuan Meng, 6-2 7-5

Francesca Schiavone def. Akgul Amanmuradova, 6-3 6-2

Marta Domachowska def. Jill Craybas, 6-3 6-7 (5-7) 6-4

King of Queens

Well, it's the morning after what was the morning before, and that US Open victory is still very sweet. I confess that the thought that maybe I had jinxed Federer had crossed my mind... as soon as I started blogging in December last year, he came down with glandular fever! But he's proved me wrong - and for that I am very glad.

*

It just had a sense of rightness about it, seeing Federer lift that trophy. I remember watching him holding the runner up plate at Wimbledon, and it just looked ALL WRONG. This was, at the risk of sounding even cheesier than normal, a homecoming. The world of tennis was slightly askew, but one feels it's back on the rails now. This isn't all dependent on Federer - we must remember that his so-called 'bad' year happened at a time that Rafa Nadal had an especially good on - but it just seems like it's back on track now.

*

The rest of the year is going to be very interesting - especially if we see some more Roger/Rafa rematches. I confess that I would much rather see them play in one of the little tournaments than one of the big ones, at least till I can be sure that Rafa isn't Roger's head. But even though he didn't play Rafa at the US Open, I think the victory here will go a long way to increasing Roger's confidence. If Roger plays his Ultimate Ninja Tennis, there is nobody in the world that can even come close to touching him. He said in his post-match presser that at times he is starting to feel invincible again, and that is good! I remember well one match where he said he was feeling invincible - the semi of the Australian Open in 2007, where he absolutely decimated Andy Roddick. When he is in full flight, opening up on his shots, when he is in the zone, playing his tennis... you could put six guys on the other side of thet net at once and he'd still win.

*

Strange, isn't it, how a guy can reach three Slam finals and a semi and be thought to be having a bad year? This title will help with that a bit, but it won't totally erase all the flak Roger copped in the rest of the year. Honestly, how much do we want from this man? I'm guilty of it as well - I may not be saying that Federer's past it, but I do get very disappointed. And now the media has done this whole about-face, and is all 'actually, we love Roger, we're so glad to see you doing well, we knew you could do it, ra ra ra.' Insert wry smile here. I ALWAYS knew he could do it. Smug smug.

*

It's going to be a really interesting rest of the year - and I would love to see Federer taking on the indoor season in style. Somehow, I have a sneaking suspicion that David Nalbandian won't defend his two titles in Madrid and Paris... though, to be fair, who would have thought he'd win them last year? Does anyone else know how he's still in the top ten? Because he has done NOTHING this year. I suppose it must be the hangover points from those selfsame two titles. Matt Cronin wrote an article yesterday that said he was the most disappointing man at the Slams, and I agree with that wholeheartedly. He's had two draws where he could have possibly met Rafa in the quarters, which would be really interesting, because Rafa's never beaten him, and he's crashed out to absolute nobodies.

*

So the upshot of that is, I don't think he'll be defending those titles, so who is going to step up to the plate? I would have to make Federer the frontrunner. The pressure's off, to an extent - he's won his Slam, and so now he can chill, but also fight to regain that #1 ranking. There's a good 1000 points between him and Rafa now, but he can certainly pick up a few. Stockholm will be good for that, one thinks, because he didn't play it last year, and I think he crashed out early in Paris, so he can pick up a few there... he has a final to defend in Madrid, but it's not like he usually has much of a problem defending those.

*

Of course, Rafa could also put his foot on the accelerator, but he must be so tired right now, physically and mentally. Will he be recovered in time for Madrid? That starts on October 12, so he has about a month, which should give him ample time physically at least, but he will lose the momentum he's been riding, and there will be the pressure of #1... but look at me, trying to twist the facts so Federer looks better. Of course Rafa has a shot. Why would anyone doubt him after what he's done this year?

*

Then there's Djokovic, and coming up behind him is Murray, and they both have a chance of having good indoor seasons, though I have to give the edge of Murray (mostly because I don't like Djokovic, and also because he hasn't managed to fully defend one of the things he did last summer... he's come close, but no cigar, Novak.) And then you can never count out Ferrer or Roddick. Kolya might get his mojo back. Safin might pull out a big one again (you never know!) And I think Stan Wawrinka might have a real shot. He's got a lovely game for the indoors, in my opinion.

*

But enough about the future. Let's just revel in the now. I know there's other tennis going on today, but it's still really all about the US Open right now. It's about Roger Federer, thirteen time Grand Slam champion, the King of Queens.

*

*

Today's Results

*

BCR Open Romania (Bucharest)

*

Richard Gasquet def. Oscar Hernandez, 3-6 6-4 6-4

Gilles Simon def. Evgeny Korolev, 6-1 6-2

Nicolas Almagro def. Somdev Devvarman, 6-7 (6-8) 6-2 7-5

Teimuraz Gabashvili def. Ernests Gulbis, 6-2 2-6 6-4

Carlos Moya def. Alberto Martin, 6-4 6-7 (4-7) 6-4

Jose Acasuso def. Diego Junqueira, 6-2 6-4

Pablo Andujar def. Brian Dabul, 4-6 6-2 6-4

Victor Crivoi def. Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo, 3-6 6-3 6-4

Martin Vassallo Arguello def. Victor Hanescu, 4-6 7-5 6-4

Adrian Cruciat def. Filippo Volandri, 7-5 4-0 retired

*

*

Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic (Bali)

*

Flavia Pennetta def. Vania King, 7-6 (9-7) 6-1

Nadia Petrova def. Aiko Nakamura, 6-3 6-1

Sara Errani def. Natalie Grandin, 6-2 6-1

Jill Craybas def. Aleksandra Wozniak, 3-6 6-3 6-2

Tathiana Garbin def. Melinda Czink, 6-2 7-6 (7-3)

Chan Yung-Jan def. Vasilisa Bardina, 6-2 6-1

Anastasia Rodionova def. Julia Vakulenko, 6-2 3-0 retired

Olga Savchuk def. Alla Kudryavtseva, 7-5 6-2

Lucky Thirteen

Thirteen Slam titles. Five Wimbledons, three Australian Opens and now five US Opens. Roger Federer is the man. He is, in my mind, without doubt, the greatest player of all time. He still may have one to go to match Sampras, but is there anyone alive who would bet against him? He isn't going to stop at thirteen. I heard him say so, and I believe him. I believe every word he says.

*

What a beautiful final this was. It may not have had the drama and the sense of epic that Wimbledon had, and it may not have been the symbolic victory over Rafa Nadal that Federer really needs, but it just had a sense of being right. Of coming home. What kind of year would it be without Federer winning a Slam? This is where he belongs. He is a champion, in all walks of his life - and he deserves this win so much. So, so much.

*

It was not, I will concede, the highest quality match of all time, especially from Andy Murray's perspective. He played a good second set, but he was really quite crippled by the sense of the occasion, I think. It certainly wasn't the match he played against Nadal. Nevertheless, he did take it to Federer on occasion, including breaking him when Federer was serving for the match. I think we're going to see Andy Murray here again next year - maybe in the US final, maybe in the Australian. I wouldn't be surprised to see him win a Slam one of these days. I don't think he's going to be a one-Slam wonder like Baghdatis. I would not be surprised, as I discussed yesterday, to see him go down the Djokovic route and really start taking it to the big guys. It will be interesting to see how he goes at the Australian Open next year. He doesn't have anything to lose there - he lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the first round this year (I was there!) I think Murray is made of stronger stuff than many - I only hope that he can improve without becoming as abrasive and awful as Djokovic.

*

But today belongs to Roger Federer. He is still the one. Rafa may be on top of the rankings now, but I think Roger Federer is going to be #1 in the public psyche for a very long time. Have we ever seen such a champion? Even Sampras was not as beloved as Federer. He is the ultimate sports gentleman, a statesman, a champion. Everyone has been talking about what a dodgy year he's had that year - a year where he has made two Slam finals and a semi. And now he has a title. Dare anyone gainsay him now?

*

I think this victory owes a lot to that doubles gold in Beijing, purely because Federer is obviously enjoying tennis again. There were some moments in the third set when, to go up 5-0, we saw Federer in full flight. Has any player ever played such exquisitely beautiful tennis? Rafa Nadal has the shots and his game is excellent, but I don't think anyone could really call his tennis beautiful. That is what Federer's game has - a sense of beauty, of fluidity, of elegance. His genius lies in his artistry, made possible by his amazing ability.

*

And if we're comparing Federer to champions of the past, this year was very much like Sampras's 1996. He wasn't doing so well, was being criticised, and came out and beat Michael Chang in the US Open final in three sets, 6-1 6-4 7-6. What has Federer done? Won the US final in three pretty routine sets. At Wimbledon, we have seen his finals get harder every year, particularly with the evolution of Nadal. This US final was, I would contend, easier than last year's against Djokovic. Certainly Murray never had any set points, and Djokovic had what, seven? And the pressure on Federer was even more intense this year.

*

And he answered.

*

Sampras went on from 1996 to have a pretty great 1997. So what will Federer do in 2009? I can't tell you for sure, but I'd put a lot of money on the fact that it'll be pretty awesome!

*

*

Today's Results

*

US Open (Flushing Meadows)

*

Men's Draw

*

Roger Federer def. Andy Murray, 6-2 7-5 6-2

*

*

BCR Open Romania (Bucharest)

*

Potito Starace def. Marcel Granollers, 6-2 6-4

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez def. Mischa Zverev, 6-4 3-6 6-0

Florent Serra def. Nicolas Devilder, 3-6 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-4)

Denis Gremelmayr def. Jeremy Chardy, 6-1 5-7 6-4

Albert Montanes def. Hyung-taik Lee, 6-1 7-6 (7-4)

*

*

Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic (Bali)

*

Francesca Schiavone def. Sandy Gumulya, 6-2 6-0

Peng Shuai def. Ayumi Morita, 6-2 6-1

Marta Domachowska def. Lavinia Tananta, 6-2 6-3

Akgul Amanmuradova def. Ayu Fani Damayanti, 6-2 6-1

Tamira Paszek def. Anna-Lena Groenefeld, 7-5 6-4

Yuan Meng def. Yaroslava Shvedova, 5-7 6-2 7-5