The Armada Sails On

Thankfully my Nando rant yesterday was ultimately pointless - he is injured. To that I say thank God, because if he hadn't been and he'd been left off the team, well...

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Not that it would really matter much, because the Spanish boys seem to be sailing along quite well. The Serbians won the doubles, but they really did not fire in the singles at all. Rafael Nadal absolutely destroyed Janko Tipsarevic, and Novak Djokovic did not really do too much better against David Ferrer... I mean, I get that Ferru is a claycourter, but Djokovic is really not playing well if he can't even take a set off the guy. Ferrer really hasn't been especially remarkable so far this year... I guess this is proof that neither is Djokovic.

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The Swiss look to be going down in Alabama as well, which is so sad... If they won the doubles I thought they'd be in with a chance, but the Bryans got them. If Federer had played, I think the tie'd be pretty much wrapped up by now, as one assumes he would win both his singles matches and with the point that Stan got, that'd be the three. But no such luck. Oh well - maybe next year (which is the mantra of the Swiss Davis Cup fan, I feel... unless Stan and Marco Chiudinelli pull off something totally remarkable on the last day, it's back to square one.)

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Only two countries have claimed wins thus far - Argentina has defeated the Netherlands and Croatia has beaten Chile. It's good that it's so close - you've got to love the tightness! Makes it all the more interesting.

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And the Aussie boys are doing well! Brydan Klein lost his singles match agaisnt Danai Udomchoke, but Hewitt won his and Ball and Guccione pulled their weight in doubles, so we look a very decent shot of winning the tie - awesome!

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Today's Results

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Argentina 3, Netherlands 0

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Lucas Arnold-Ker/Martin Vassallo Arguello def. Jesse Huta Galung/Rogier Wassen, 6-4 7-5 6-3

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Czech Republic 2, France 1

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Tomas Berdych/Radek Stepanek def. Richard Gasquet/Michael Llodra, 6-3 1-6 6-4 6-2

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USA 2, Switzerland 1

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Andy Roddick def. Marco Chiudinelli, 6-1 6-3 7-6 (7-5)

Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan def. Yves Allegro/Stanislas Wawrinka, 6-3 6-4 3-6 7-6 (7-2)

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Croatia 3, Chile 0

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Mario Ancic/Marin Cilic def. Paul Capdeville/Nicolas Massu, 6-3 6-3 3-6 6-4

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Sweden 2, Israel 1

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Simon Aspelin/Robert Lindstedt def. Amir Hadad/Andy Ram, 6-4 1-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-4

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Russia 2, Romania 1

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Marius Copil/Horia Tecau def. Marat Safin/Dmitry Tursunov, 4-6 6-7 (2-7) 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-5) 6-4

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Germany 2, Austria 1

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Nicolas Kiefer/Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Julian Knowle/Alexander Peya, 6-3 7-6 (7-6) 3-6 6-4

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Spain 2, Serbia 1

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David Ferrer def. Novak Djokovic, 6-3 6-3 7-6 (7-4)

Rafael Nadal def. Janko Tipsarevic, 6-1 6-0 6-2

Viktor Troicki/Nenad Zimonjic def. Feliciano Lopez/Tommy Robredo, 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 7-6 (9-7)

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Monterrey Open (Monterrey)

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Marion Bartoli def. Vania King, 2-6 6-2 6-3

Zheng Jie def. Gisela Dulko, 6-3 6-2

Iveta Benesova def. Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, 7-5 6-4

Li Na def. Lucie Safarova, 6-3 7-6 (7-3)

Missing Nando

I have just realised something.

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We all know that Davis Cup has just started. I think we probably all know that the first day of the Spain/Serbia tie got postponed due to high wind. But one thing I did NOT know is that Nando Verdasco is NOT on the Spanish team.

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Look, I'm sorry, but whose dumb idea was that? I know there's a great deal of depth in Spanish men's tennis at the moment, but even so, Nando is probably one of the first people you want on your team. I mean, I can understand selecting Rafa above him, because hello, Rafa is Rafa, but I would have picked Nando before Ferrer, Robredo and Lopez, any day of the week.

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Robredo is showing some great form at the moment, sure, but neither Ferrer nor Lopez have done anything especially remarkable so far this year, whereas Verdasco certainly has. That semi he played against Nadal at the Aussie Open is one of the greatest matches we have seen in recent history. And please - the man is a freaking Davis Cup hero. He basically won the thing for Team Spain on those fateful three days in Mar del Plata. When the Boss was down and out, it was not Robredo, Lopez or Ferrer that stepped up to lead for their country. It was Nando Verdasco.

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SO WHERE IS HE?

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My apologies to those responsible for the Spanish Davis Cup selection panel if Nando is injured or otherwise unavilable and I wasn't in on the memo - which is probably likely. But if he was available and you didn't pick him... shame on you. Shame.

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Today's Results

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Davis Cup

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Argentina 2, Netherlands 0

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Juan Ignacio Chela def. Jesse Huta Galung, 6-2 2-6 6-2 6-7 (4-7) 6-2

Juan Monaco def. Thiemo de Bakker, 6-1 6-2 7-6 (7-1)

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France 1, Czech Republic 1

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Tomas Berdych def. Gilles Simon, 7-6 (7-3) 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-3

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Radek Stepanek, 7-5 6-2 7-6 (7-1)

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Switzerland 1, USA 0

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Stanislas Wawrinka def. James Blake, 3-6 6-4 6-3 7-6 (7-3)

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Croatia 2, Chile 0

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Mario Ancic def. Nicolas Massu, 6-3 6-3 7-6 (7-4)

Marin Cilic def. Paul Capdeville, 6-1 6-2 6-1

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Sweden 1, Israel 1

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Thomas Johansson def. Harel Levy, 6-7 (3-7) 6-4 7-5 4-6 8-6

Dudi Sela def. Andreas Vinciguerra, 4-6 6-3 3-6 6-3 11-9

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Russia 2, Romania 0

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Marat Safin def. Victor Crivoi, 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 6-4

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

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Austria 1, Germany

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Stefan Koubek def. Rainer Schuettler, 6-4 7-5 5-7 6-2

Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Jurgen Melzer, 6-7 (4-7) 4-6 6-4 6-3 6-3

Making The Best

Australia doesn't have the world's best Davis Cup team. No arguments there. There's a reason we're not in the World Group at the moment - we just aren't competing at the right level yet. But my God, I think we make the best of what we've got.

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Team Captain John 'Fitzy' Fitzgerald has just named the lineup for our tie against Thailand - Lleyton Hewitt is going to open up the singles, with Brydan Klein to follow, then Chris Guccione and Carsten Ball are going to play in the doubles. I'm not an expert, but this seems like the best possible decision he could have made, if you ask me - the best possible deployment of resources.

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Guccione is the higher ranked singles player, sure, but he is a long-term underachiever, so I think Fitzy has definitely made the right choice putting Klein in. Not only is Klein pretty hot right now - he's won two Challengers and got to a semi - I think this will be pretty big for his confidence in the future. He opens up against Danai Udomchoke, the current Thai #1, and I think Klein will have his number. There is something to be said about playing and winning for one's country - look at Nando Verdasco! If Klein performs well here, I think it could be a great springboard into the rest of his career.

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Normally Lleyton Hewitt would have to double up and play doubles (Fitzy hailed him as the greatest Davis Cup servant of his generation, and though we all know that I don't really bat for the Lleyton team, I'm hardpressed to prove him wrong), but Guccione and Ball have had a lot of success as a pairing, including that memorable five-set win over the Chileans. Added to which, they'll be fresh. So often, only two or three players on a Davis Cup team actually play. I'm liking the four way deployment of the Aussie boys here. Nice one, Fitzy!

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Today's Results

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Monterrey Open (Monterrey)

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Zheng Jie def. Melinda Czink, 6-3 6-4

Gisela Dulko def. Mariya Koryttseva, 6-2 6-4

Lucie Safarova def. Maria Kirilenko, 6-4 4-1 retired

Li Na def. Petra Cetkovska, 6-3 6-4

A Fine Bromance

I was having a discussion about tennis with someone yesterday, and they told me that the last time we had talked tennis, I had used the word ‘bromance’ in respect to Roger and Rafa and that they couldn’t get it out of their head.
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While the first thought into my mind was clearly, ‘wow, I am an linguistic genius!’ that got me thinking a bit about Roger and Rafa, the King and the Boss, the two dudes we have at the top of our game today. How rare is it – how incredibly rare!? – that the two men that are dominating our sport actually like each other?
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I’m not saying respect – even though it is clear that there are oceans of respect between these two. I’m saying genuine friendship. Sure, they may not hang out every night and they may not have braided each other friendship bracelets or anything like, and I’m sure there is, to a degree, a language barrier – but I get the feeling that there is a bond between these two that doesn’t exist, say, between Nadal and Djokovic, or Federer and Murray. Who can forget the vision at the end of the Australian Open final, when Federer was in tears and Nadal comforted him? Sure, there are vast amounts of competition and both will fight tooth and nail for that #1 ranking – but off the court, they are gentlemen. They like each other.
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We are so lucky to have these two. It would be so easy for them to seriously dislike each other, for the game to get in the way. But with Roger and Rafa we have – forgive the pun – a fine bromance.
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Today’s Results
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Monterrey Open (Monterrey)
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Marion Bartoli def. Michaella Krajicek, 6-2 6-4

Flavia Pennetta def. Jill Craybas, 6-1 6-0

Agnes Szavay def. Pauline Parmentier, 6-2 6-2

Iveta Benesova def. Shahar Peer, 6-4 6-2

Barbora Zahlavova Strycova def. Anna-Lena Groenefeld, 6-3 2-6 7-6 (7-4)

Roberta Vinci def. Arantxa Rus, 6-4 2-6 6-2

Petra Cetkovska def. Jarmila Groth, 6-3 6-2

Melinda Czink def. Alla Kudryavtseva, 7-5 6-1

Mariya Koryttseva def. Lenka Wienerova, 6-4 6-1

Vania King def. Klara Zakopalova, 6-1 6-4

Magdalena Rybarikova def. Edina Gallovits, 6-4 3-6 6-3

Allez...?

I'm going to start my giving a huge shout out to the tennis stars who have donated to the Victorian bushfire appeal. These are not only Australian stars, but international as well - Ana Ivanovic and Serena Williams are among those who have given generously. The Black Saturday fires have been one of the biggest tragedies in recent history here, and it is lovely to see the tennis world contributing so heavily to the rebuilding. Tennis Australia have got an excellent program for the rebuilding of the game in the affected areas, and it is so wonderful to see the tennis community pulling together.
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Now, onto some actual tennis... or the potential thereof, later in the week. I've been thinking about Davis Cup, and you know what? I think there is one team in there which is SO dangerous and yet no one is talking about - and I can't figure out why.

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That's France. With Richard Gasquet, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Gilles Simon and Gael Monfils, who are all in the top twenty, you cannot forget about any of these players. They have to be such a shot at the title this year. I mean, I don't want to take anything away from Spain who have to be a huge chance to defend - with Rafa, Ferru, Fidgiano and obviously Nando making up an absolutely massive side - but I really like the chances of the French team.

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I think they can beat just about anyone - if they play to their abilities. They are all, to a man, their own worst enemies. Jo-W is, I think, pretty solid... and Gilles Simon (the little bird) is not too much of a headcase - but if scatty scatty La Monf turns up and Richou runs and hides under the bed... yeah, don't want to think about that.

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It'll be interesting to see who they play in which rubbers - you've got to give Tsonga a guernsey in the singles surely, and rankings would dictate that Simon would be the other one... but I wouldn't be surprised to see La Monf out there on Day One. Just sayin'.

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Today's Results

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Monterrey Open (Monterrey)

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Agnes Szavay def. Pauline Parmentier, 6-2 6-2

Edina Gallovits def. Magdalena Rybarikova, 6-4 3-6 6-3

Melinda Czink def. Alla Kudryavtseva, 7-5 6-1

Mariya Koryttseva def. Lenka Wienerova, 6-4 6-1

Vania King def. Klara Zakopalova, 6-1 6-4

Not Pictured

I saw something on Sunrise (Australian breakfast TV, for those of you not in the know) this morning that really demonstrated how much Australia cares about tennis. On the newsbar down the bottom, the following story flashed up: 'Lleyton Hewitt, Chris Guccione, Carsten Ball and Bryan Klein arrive in Bangkok for Davis Cup.'

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I'm sorry, but I've never heard of an Australian tennis player called 'Bryan' Klein.

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You see, this is indicative of how little awareness the average Aussie has of tennis. I bet hardly anyone even noticed. If they'd spelled a cricket player's name wrong, even a relatively minor one - Phil Jaques, for example - you can bet EVERYONE would notice, and I'm sure there'd be admonishing emails to the channel. But how many people do you think have noticed that Brydan Klein has been misnamed? The show's been on for about two hours now and no one seems to have picked it up...

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Sigh. I guess it is a little bit of a dream, hoping that tennis suddenly becomes huge in Australia. Playing it is big, but because we have no top players right now, there is very little knowledge of what's going on on a larger scale, except when the Aussie Open is on. I have a dream wherein the French Open is on free-to-air television. Unfortunately, this isn't looking likely.

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Today's Results

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Delray Beach International Tennis Championships (Delray Beach)

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Mardy Fish def. Evgeny Korolev, 7-5 6-3

The Prince of Clay

Yeah, so we have winners in Acapulco -Venus (surprise surprise) taking out Flavia Pennetta and then Nicolas Almagro beginning his annual surge with a good win over Gael Monfils. Actually, let's talk about Almagro for a sec, though I hadn't intended to. He is so impressive at this time of the year. As soon as the tour hits the clay, he becomes a contender. That said, put him on hard court and grass and he becomes basically a non-entity. However, when he hits the red stuff...

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I think we can safely say he is the Prince of Clay. Rafa is the king, and ain't no one gonna challenge that one - remember the Roland Garros quarters last year, when Rafa beat him one, one and one? However, I think that beatdown was due to the fact that Rafa took him extra seriously. So it's good to see that Almagro hasn't gone away during the non-clay part of the season and is back, ready to take on the world on the red stuff again.

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Now, onto what I really want to talk about. Bernard Tomic won his first ever Challenger title in East Bentleigh. It's only his third ever Challenger tournament, so I have to say that that is very very good - very very good indeed! He's ranked 536 - this win will catapult him into the #400s. It's still too soon to admit him into my Stars of the Future fold, but hot damn, that boy is going to be good!

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That said, Marinko Matosevic pushed him all the way. It was 5-7 6-4 6-3, so that's clearly one that could have gone either way. I still can't say I know much about it, but he's doing well round this satellite circuit, so the boy clearly has some mojo going on.

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Today's Result

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Abierto Mexicano Telcel (Acapulco)

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Men's Draw

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Nicolas Almagro def. Gael Monfils, 6-4 6-4

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Women's Draw

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Venus Williams def. Flavia Pennetta, 6-1 6-2