Close Encounters of the Female Kind

The day of close matches. Seriously, how many nailbiters were there today? Largely, these were on the women's side, and it's a rare day that I prefer women's tennis over men's, but oh! there were some exciting matches today! Dinara Safina and Hsieh Su-Wei was a gun of a match - I'm so glad Dinara pulled that one out, otherwise Russia would have lost the tie! Ana Ivanovic and Roberta Vinci was enthralling - Vinci had match points, but Ivanovic had other ideas... But the real cracker for me was Amelie Mauresmo against Julie Coin. That tiebreaker... I wasn't going for either of them, and I was still biting my nails.

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So maybe Julie Coin isn't just a onetime Ivanovic-beating fluke after all, eh? She may not have triumphed against Mauresmo, but she damn near did - and she has some awesome skills. I was much more impressed with her than I was with, say, Ivanovic. I wasn't keen on Ana at all last night. Looks? Check. Massive groundstrokes? Check. Netplay? Check. Serve? Check, except... seriously, she has the worst balltoss in the entire world. The commentators were discussing it, but I think I should reiterate - BADNESS. It'd go to the right, to the left, over her head... anywhere except where it was meant to go.

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Back to Hopman Cup, and Marat backed it up! I was impressed. Dinara needs to snap back into it - she could so easily have lost her match - but onya, Marat. Unfortunately, they still bite at doubles, but I guess you can't have everything...

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And Ernests couldn't back it up. Which is sad. But he still beat Djokovic - who has pinched some other well-deserving player's wildcard into Sydney. But the flag is still flying for the Stars - Kei Nishikori upset Tomas Berdych. I would love Kei to go deep!

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And Kolya is out of the Australian Open. It's horrible, but I doubt anyone will notice he's gone...

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Today's Results

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Harry Hopman Cup (Perth)

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Germany 2, USA 1

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Sabine Lisicki def. Meghann Shaughnessy, 4-6 6-0 6-4

James Blake def. Nicolas Kiefer, 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (9-7) 4-6

Lisicki/Kiefer def. Shaughnessy/Blake, 6-3 3-6 10-7 (match tiebreaker)

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Russia 2, Chinese Taipei 1

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Dinara Safina def. Hsieh Su-Wei, 4-6 6-2 7-5

Marat Safin def. Lu Yen-Hsun, 7-6 (8-6) 7-5

Hsieh/Lu def. Safina/Safin, 4-6 6-3 10-8 (match tiebreaker)

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Brisbane International (Brisbane)

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Men's Draw

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Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Jarkko Nieminen, 0-6 7-6 (7-1) 7-6 (7-5)

Fernando Verdasco def. Mario Ancic, 6-2 6-3

Kei Nishikori def. Tomas Berdych, 7-6 (9-7) 6-3

Radek Stepanek def. Michael Llodra, 7-6 (7-2) 6-3

Paul-Henri Mathieu def. Ernests Gulbis, 6-3 6-4

Florent Serra def. Jurgen Melzer, 6-4 6-3

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Women's Draw

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Ana Ivanovic def. Roberta Vinci, 6-7 (4-7) 7-5 6-1

Amélie Mauresmo def. Julie Coin, 5-7 6-2 7-6 (13-11)

Sara Errani def. Tsvetana Pironkova, 6-7 (3-7) 7-5 6-3

Olga Govortsova def. Sesil Karatantcheva, 6-0 5-7 7-5

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Chennai Open (Chennai)

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Lukas Dlouhy def. Nikolay Davydenko, walkover

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Qatar Exxonmobil Open (Doha)

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Rafael Nadal def. Karol Beck, 6-1 6-2

Roger Federer def. Andreas Seppi, 6-3 6-3

Andy Murray def. Philipp Petzschner, 6-2 6-4

Andy Roddick def. Arnaud Clement, 6-3 7-5

Gael Monfils def. Nicolas Devilder, 7-5 7-6 (7-4)

Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Kristof Vliegen, 6-4 6-7 (4-7) 6-4

Victor Hanescu def. Mikhail Youzhny, 6-2 6-4

Sergiy Stakhovsky def. Alexander Peya, 7-5 6-3

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ASB Classic (Auckland)

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Elena Dementieva def. Marina Erakovic, 6-2 6-3

Caroline Wozniacki def. Jill Craybas, 6-4 7-5

Edina Gallovits def. Anabel Medina Garrigues, 6-3 6-3

Ayumi Morita def. Aleksandra Wozniak, 7-5 6-2

Shahar Peer def. Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, 6-3 4-6 6-2

Elena Vesnina def. Nicole Vaidisova, 6-4 6-3

Aravane Rezai def. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 6-2 6-3

Anne Keothavong def. Carla Suárez Navarro, 6-2 6-4

I Told You So!

I told you Ernests Gulbis was going to be good. I told you so. And what a time and a way to prove it. That's really a way of serving notice to the tennis world - knocking off Novak Djokovic in the first match of the season.

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While the organisers of Brisbane are probably sobbing quietly into their drinks, I am laughing. He really is a wonderful player to watch. All the weapons are there - all that he needs is a little maturity and consistency to be a real threat. As it is, he is enormously dangerous - as Novak Djokovic will attest to! His forehand is insanely good, as is his serve. His backhand needs a little work, but you wouldn't want to get in the way of it if he has time to get set - he's just a gorgeous player.

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And he beat Novak Djokovic. Excuse me while I say AHAHAHAHAHAHA!

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Added to which Roger Federer won, cruising past Potito Starace, which means the #2 ranking is safe, and we can ready the ship to launch back at the #1 spot. A la la la la la.

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But yesterday's tennis did have a black spot - and no, it wasn't the fact that Australia got beaten in the Hopman Cup by a Slovak team who really have been playing outside their skin. No, I refer to the disgraceful behaviour of Victoria Azarenka in her match against Jarmila Gajdosova. It was seriously disgusting. Not only did she throw a couple of tantrums that a toddler would be proud of, but then she accused the umpire of nepotism, because he was Australian and Gajdosova, though nominally Slovakian, is Australian. That is just childish and disgusting and Azarenka is going down there with Djokovic on my list of objectionable tennis players.

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But Gulbis won! Djokovic lost! Victory for the Stars!

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Today's Results

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Harry Hopman Cup (Perth)

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Italy 2, France 1

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Alize Cornet def. Flavia Pennetta, 7-5 6-2

Simone Bolelli def. Gilles Simon, 6-3 6-3

Pennetta/Bolelli def. Cornet/Simon, 6-4 7-6 (7-2)

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Slovak Republic 2, Australia 1

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Dominika Cibulkova def. Casey Dellacqua, 7-5 6-2

Lleyton Hewitt def. Dominik Hrbaty, 7-6 (7-4) 6-7 (1-7) 6-4

Cibulkova/Hrbaty def. Dellacqua/Hewitt, 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 10-4 (match tiebreaker)

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Brisbane International (Brisbane)

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Men's Draw

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Robin Soderling def. Julien Benneteau, 6-3 6-3

Richard Gasquet def. Taylor Dent, 7-5 6-4

Ernests Gulbis def. Novak Djokovic, 6-4 6-4

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Agustin Calleri, 6-2 7-5

Tomas Berdych def. Brydan Klein, 6-0 6-4

Florent Serra def. Juan Carlos Ferrero, 6-3 7-6 (7-3)

Mario Ancic def. Amer Delic, 7-6 (7-2) 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (8-6)

Kei Nishikori def. Bobby Reynolds, 6-3 6-2

Paul-Henri Mathieu def. Teimuraz Gabashvili (RUS) 63 63

Michael Llodra def. Joseph Sirianni, 5-7 7-6 (7-3) 6-2

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Women's Draw

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Victoria Azarenka def. Jarmila Gajdosova, 7-6 (7-4) 7-5

Marion Bartoli def. Melinda Czink, 5-7 6-3 6-1

Tathiana Garbin def. Alisa Kleybanova, 4-6 6-4 6-2

Lucie Safarova def. Samantha Stosur, 6-4 6-4

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Chennai Open (Chennai)

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Nikolay Davydenko def. Daniel Koellerer, 6-2 6-3

Flavio Cipolla def. Stanislas Wawrinka, 6-4 6-1

Ivo Karlovic def. Rajeev Ram, 6-4 6-3

Carlos Moya def. Danai Udomchoke, 6-3 7-6 (7-4)

Janko Tipsarevic def. Pablo Andujar, 6-3 6-2

Andreas Beck def. Roko Karanusic, 6-1 6-0

Denis Istomin def. Rohan Bopanna, 6-4 7-6 (7-3)

Ivo Minar def. Wayne Odesnik, 6-3 6-0

Somdev Devvarman def. Kevin Kim, 6-3 6-3

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Qatar Exxonmobil Open (Doha)

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Rafael Nadal def. Fabrice Santoro, 6-0 6-1

Roger Federer def. Potito Starace, 6-2 6-2

Andy Murray def. Albert Montanes, 6-2 6-4

Mikhail Youzhny def. Igor Andreev, 4-6 6-3 6-4

Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Marco Chiudinelli, 6-4 6-3

Alexander Peya def. Dmitry Tursunov 2-6 6-3 6-4

Arnaud Clement def. Diego Junqueira, 6-1 6-2

Kristof Vliegen def. Oscar Hernandez, 6-1 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-5)

Karol Beck def. Michal Przysiezny, 4-6 6-4 7-5

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ASB Classic (Auckland)

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Elena Dementieva def. Chan Yung-Jan, 7-5 6-3

Caroline Wozniacki def. Alberta Brianti, 6-1 6-0

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova def. Kristina Barrois, 6-3 6-1

Carla Suárez Navarro def. Nathalie Dechy, 6-4 6-0

Anne Keothavong def. Mirjana Lucic, 6-4 6-2

Marina Erakovic def. Nuria Llagostera Vives, 7-5 6-4

Elena Vesnina def. Aiko Nakamura, 6-1 6-0

Ayumi Morita def. Marta Domachowska, 6-4 4-6 6-4

Fighter

It never rains but it pours. Eleven months of the year, I'm lucky if I see two seconds of tennis on the news. At the moment? All day tennis on two channels. It's amazing.

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Let's start with the Brisbane International, where there were really some pretty cracking matches. Nieminen against Baghdatis was a bit of a heartbreaker - I really thought Marcos was going to come back and win the thing at the end there, but it was just not to be. His fitness is a bit of a worry, however - I hope he's better for the Open, because it is so special to see him playing there. But all credit to Jarkko, who hung in there beautifully after losing the first set - his consistency is excellent, and I also really, really like his backhand. It doesn't have the explosiveness of Safin's, but it's really a weapon.

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Kudos to Bernard Tomic as well, who did lose in his ATP-level debut against Fernando Verdasco in Anando Night at Pat Rafter Arena, but who did himself credit. He started wonderfully (much better than Brydan Klein, whom I am currently watching getting smashed like a guitar by Tomas Berdych) and I think he's proved he can mix it - or at least, he's going to be able to mix it. He shouldn't hurry himself too much - not everyone is a Lleyton-like prodigy - but he's going to be good. And speaking of Anando Night, Ana herself was seriously pushed by Petra Kvitova, though the scoreline might not reflect it. Kvitova is one to watch out for, for sure.

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But for me, the match of the day in Brisbane had to be Amelie Mauresmo against Jelena Dokic. Mauresmo took it in two breaker sets, but I really liked what I saw from Dokic. She struggled on big points (bad) but she was going toe to toe with Mauresmo, and it ain't just anyone can do that. She was ahead for most of the first set (had a set point at one point) and if she'd been able to close it out, I think the match might have had a whole different complexion. She's certainly intriguing to watch, Jelena Dokic - and if she keeps playing like this, she can get her ranking back up a bit for sure. Probably not to #4 in the world or whatever it was she used to be, but top fifty definitely. I really liked what I saw from her.

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Now over to my baby, the Hopman Cup. Australia went down to Germany, but it was a really, really good tie. It was a shame that Dellacqua couldn't hang on against Sabine Lisicki, but I was so impressed with what I saw from her. I saw her play a set at the Open last year when she beat Dinara Safina, and she's really a talent. She never went away mentally (then or against Dellacqua) and that was what was really different. You always here about tennis players being 'fighters' and I often think that word gets overused, but applying it to Lisicki is not a stretch. It could have been so easy for her to go away after losing the first set against Dellacqua, the hometown girl, but no. She fought the crowd and she fought Dellacqua, but she never had to fight herself - she had great concentration just about the whole way. I would not be surprised to see a lot more of her in the future.

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Speaking of fighters and people I was impressed by... I rarely say this, but even though I find his personality objectionable, I really like watching Lleyton Hewitt play. His match against Nicolas Kiefer was eminently entertaining. Lleyton may be annoying offcourt when he, like, talks and stuff, but I really admire the way he stays in a match mentally, especially after gruelling tiebreakers like the one in the first set, which he lost. Kiefer faded a bit mentally in the third set and Lleyton pounced. I like his counterpunching style of tennis - he always makes him opponent play just one more shot, and more often than not, that draws the error. It's the best I've seen him play in a number of years, and if he can hold this level, he might make a few rounds at the Open, which I'm sure he'd enjoy.

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And how 'bout the Slovak Republic? I don't think anyone predicted that they'd take out the USA 3-0. I would have picked Cibulkova over Shaughnessy any day, but who would have picked Hrbaty over Blake? That opens this group wide. Group B will be a dogfight between Russia and France, but Group A, where you have the USA, the Slovak Republic, Germany and Australia, could go any which way. Who knows? Maybe Australia might make the final. I think Paul McNamee might go into paroxysms of delight if that happened!

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Today's Results

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Harry Hopman Cup (Perth)

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Germany 2, Australia 1

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Sabine Lisicki def. Casey Dellacqua, 4-6 6-2 7-5

Lleyton Hewitt def. Nicolas Kiefer, 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 6-2

Lisicki/Kiefer def. Dellacqua/Hewitt, 6-7 (2-7) 6-3 10-5 (match tiebreaker)

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Slovak Republic 3, USA 0

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Dominika Cibulkova def. Meghann Shaughnessy, 6-2 6-2

Dominik Hrbaty def. James Blake, 6-3 4-6 7-6 (7-1)

Cibulkova/Hrbaty def. Shaughnessy/Blake, 6-4 7-6 (7-4)

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Brisbane International (Brisbane)

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Men's Draw

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Fernando Verdasco def. Bernard Tomic, 6-4 6-2

Jurgen Melzer def. Mardy Fish, 6-4 4-6 7-6 (7-4)

Radek Stepanek def. Igor Kunitsyn, 6-2 6-2

Jarkko Nieminen def. Marcos Baghdatis, 5-7 6-1 6-4

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Women's Draw

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Ana Ivanovic def. Petra Kvitova, 6-4 6-2

Sara Errani def. Daniela Hantuchova, 6-7 (1-7) 6-4 6-0

Amélie Mauresmo def. Jelena Dokic, 7-6 (11-9) 7-6 (7-5)

Olga Govortsova def. Francesca Schiavone, 7-5 6-2

Samantha Stosur def. Ai Sugiyama, 6-2 6-3

Tathiana Garbin def. Sofia Arvidsson, 6-2 6-3

Lucie Safarova def. Isabella Holland, 6-4 6-3

Roberta Vinci def. Anna-Lena Groenefeld, 0-6 6-3 6-1

Melinda Czink def. Alona Bondarenko, 7-6 (7-3) 6-1

Sesil Karatantcheva def. Iveta Benesova, 1-6 6-4 6-2

Julie Coin def. Yanina Wickmayer, 7-5 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (7-3)

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Chennai Open (Chennai)

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Marin Cilic def. Alberto Martin, 6-4 6-4

Rainer Schuettler def. Prakash Amritraj, 6-2 4-6 6-1

Marcel Granollers def. Hyung-taik Lee, 6-4 7-5

Bjorn Phau def. Santiago Ventura, 6-2 7-5

Simon Greul def. Daniel Gimeno-Traver, 6-3 6-4

Lukas Dlouhy def. Go Soeda, 3-6 6-2 6-4

Dudi Sela def. Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo, 4-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-1

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Qatar Exxonmobil Open (Doha)

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Andy Roddick def. Ivan Navarro, 6-1 6-3

Gael Monfils def. Jan Hernych, 6-2 6-2

Nicolas Devilder def. Abdulla Hajji, 6-0 6-3

Victor Hanescu def. Viktor Troicki, 6-4 6-2

Sergiy Stakhovsky def. Christophe Rochus, 2-6 6-3 7-6 (7-3)

Andreas Seppi def. Denis Gremelmayr, 6-4 6-2

Philipp Petzschner def. Jeremy Chardy, 7-6 (7-2) 6-3

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ASB Classic (Auckland)

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Caroline Wozniacki def. Alberta Brianti, 6-1 6-0

Carla Suárez Navarro def. Nathalie Dechy, 6-4 6-0

Elena Vesnina def. Aiko Nakamura, 6-1 6-0

Chairface Triumphs

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Today's Results

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Harry Hopman Cup (Perth)

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Russia 2, Italy 1

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

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

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

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Brisbane International (Brisbane)

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Men's Draw

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

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

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

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

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Women's Draw

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

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

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

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

The Hopman Privilege

It is so, so good to have tennis back on television - it almost makes you forget how much you love the sport when you don't see it for so long. And for the tennis viewing year to start off with such a tournament as the Hopman Cup... it is truly a privilege, not a chore, to be a blogger then.

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Yesterday we had the first tie of the tournament, France versus Chinese Taipei. France, as one might expect, won the tie - it was a 3-0 whitewash - but Chinese Taipei did not shame themselves. It was the same team as they had last year, and, like last year, I found both of their players very intriguing.

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Let's start with Hsieh Su-Wei, their female player. She is seriously one of the most unusual players to watch, because she plays with two hands off both sides. Seriously, who has a two-handed forehand? I can't think of anyone apart from Seles, and that's going back a while. But that's not to say that Hsieh's game is somehow stunted. Her serve isn't exactly going to rock anyone's world, but one thing I really like is the way she plays at net - she has reactions of steel. She copped a few massive bodyshots from Gilles Simon during the mixed doubles yesterday, and she gave as good as she got. I also really like the way she can just chuck a dropshot into a rally at any given moment... she may not have beaten Alize Cornet yesterday, but she sure made her run - poor Alize, straight off the plane from France, had some thinking to do!

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And Lu Yen-Hsun really gave an excellent account of himself to Gilles Simon, especially in the second set - he is just a lovely player to watch. He had a victory over Andy Murray last year and you can see why: kid's got some serious flair. Simon was just a bit too much for him yesterday, but I think we're definitely going to see Lu come up the rankings a bit more this year. I'm calling top fifty - anyone going to gainsay me?

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But all credit must go to the French team - especially in the mixed doubles, where it was pretty clear they had no idea what they were doing at the beginning, especially Gilles Simon, but they picked it up quick smart. I've always enjoyed watching Alize Cornet play, but despite Simon cracking the top ten, I can't remember ever seeing him play before, and it was a joy. You can see why he posted victories over the three big boys last year - he has a really stylish game. He is really, really quick round the court - he got to some fabulous droppers from Lu Yen-Hsun - and he can crack that ball as well as anyone. I look forward to seeing him play again this week - it was really a pleasure.

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And how 'bout that Andy Murray taking out Rafa in Abu Dhabi? I had my doubts about the whole Big Four thing, but I am seriously coming round. Actually, I'm going to stick to Big Three - I reckon Murray could take Djokovic's spot, and I think the Australian Open is thus going to be very interesting, because Murray has everything to gain (he lost first round last year) whereas Djokovic has everything to lose...

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Today's Results

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Capitala World Tennis Championships (Abu Dhabi)

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Andy Murray def. Rafael Nadal, 6-4 5-7 6-3

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Harry Hopman Cup (Perth)

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France 3, Chinese Taipei 0

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Alize Cornet def. Hsieh Su-Wei, 6-4 6-4

Gilles Simon def. Lu Yen-Hsun, 6-3 7-6 (8-6)

Cornet/Simon def. Hsieh/Lu, 6-4 7-6 (11-9)

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Josh's Tennis Tips

Focus: Forehand

Today's Tip: Following Through and Angling

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When you hit a shot do you hit it as quick as you can? or do follow through and take it slow and calm? Well, you should take it calm and slow: step into the shot, and make the most of it.

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When you hit a shot, you should you angle your shot so you can hit just over the net but not too high. If you are hitting it high and lobbing the ball all the time, you're probably angling your racquet too much. Or you may be coming under the ball too much. To lift the ball, you should follow through as straight as possible.

Abu Dhabi Derby

Not exactly the start to the year I was hoping from in Abu Dhabi, but at least it's only an exo. And if you are going to lose to someone in three sets, I guess a third set breaker isn't a bad way to go about it - particularly one that finishes up 8-6. I didn't see the match, but if you're playing against Andy Murray and it's that tight, your form can't suck that badly.

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That's what I'll keep telling myself, anyway. And besides, it means he'll be fresher for Doha, a proper tournament, where POINTS WILL BE GAINED, because he didn't play it last year. And I'm not especially keen to see that gap from him to Novak, which is currently ten points, get any smaller. I will remember Kooyong '07, where Federer pretty much let Roddick beat him in the final, and then went on and pounded him into the ground in the semis. My favourite match ever.

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What is with this thing with Murray and three sets, though? I don't think I remember a best-of-three match against Andy that Roger's won. Best-of-five, Roger's all over that. But over three, Murray is becoming a bit of a bugabear.

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Nonetheless, this should make for a very interesting final. Rafa took out Kolya no worries, so we have a Murray/Nadal final. Considering what went down in the finals of the US Open, I think a rematch will be pretty intriguing... while Roger is in Doha, getting ready to bring the brouhaha!

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Today's Results

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Capitala World Tennis Championship (Abu Dhabi)

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Andy Murray def. Roger Federer, 4-6 6-2 7-6 (8-6)

Rafael Nadal def. Nikolay Davydenko, 6-2 6-3

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Josh's Tennis Tips

Focus: Forehand

Today's Tip: Slowing Down Your Shots

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When you play a shot do you rush to the ball and hit it as quickly as possible to get your shot over and done with? Well, maybe that is your problem. To create the best chance of getting your shot where you want it to go you need to slow it down and make the most of every opportunity to get it where you want.

All's Not Quiet On New Year's Day

And so actual tennis is underway in Abu Dhabi! The usual suspects are doing the usual things - a very strong start to the year from Andy Murray and Nikolay Davydenko. I expected it from Murray - I think he has a lot to prove this summer, after crashing out of the Aussie Open in the first round last year (to Jo-W Tsonga, but nevertheless.) Murray took out James Blake, who is clearly still in that rut of mediocre form he's been in for a while now. (Whither James Blake? He hasn't made a very good showing for a while now.) I wouldn't have expected Blake to beat Murray, as Murray is now a big gun (tm), but I was expecting it to be a little more competitive than it was. Ah well.

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Kolya took out Andy Roddick. This one could, I thought, have gone either way, but it looks like the consistency of Kolya won out. Roddick seemed very sluggish indeed - he had only one break point the entire match, which he failed to convert. Kolya wasn't stellar, but he was much too good for Roddick on this occasion... Andy seems a bit blase about the whole thing, but if I were the other half of Team Roddinki, I think I'd be a little concerned. It may only be the first match of the year for Roddick, but hey, it's the first match for Kolya, too.

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The winners of these two matches will go on to face the big guns, R-Fed and the Rafinator. I think Rafa definitely has the easier one here - he faces Kolya, while Roger takes on Murray. We know Roger can definitely beat Andy when he puts his mind to it (hello, US Open!) but something about Murray in a best-of-three is a bit troubling for him... or has been in the past, anyway, but who knows what might have happened in that training camp in Dubai? Last year Roger came out of it at about three-quarter strength what with the glange and everything. Here's hoping that this year we get our KING OF TENNIS back where he belongs at #1...

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...though healthy competition from Rafa (a lovely boy) is also good. I think a Roger/Rafa final in Abu Dhabi could be just what we need to start off the year - especially if Roger comes out on top!

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Today's Results

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Capitala World Tennis Championship (Abu Dhabi)

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Andy Murray def. James Blake, 6-2 6-2

Nikolay Davydenko def. Andy Roddick, 6-4 6-4

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Josh's Tennis Tips

Focus: Forehand

Today's Tip: Your Body

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When playing tennis, you have to turn your body sideways to the ball. This is to get the ball straighter. (So for left-handers you should turn your body to the left for forehands and to the right for backhands, and vice versa for right-handers.)