Some WTF? Moments

So, for some reason, we're seeing an unusually high number of top guys participating in doubles at Indian Wells. Which is great. Love me some doubles. We've got Rafa with his little friend Marc Lopez, with whom he won a title earlier in the year; Roger and his mate Yves Allegro, who've played together a whole lot; Andy Murray and fellow Brit Ross Hutchins, and... David Nalbandian and Juan Martin del Potro?

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Now, I may have made this up, but don't they hate each other?

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Maybe the Argentine tennis federation is making them play together so they get along better during Davis Cup or something. But it was such a WTF? moment. I'd have sooner picked Federer and Djokovic to play together than these two big Argentinians. Not that they're sucking or anything - they won their match today - but it's just a bit weird.

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Speaking of weird, the upset of the day was clearly over on the women's side - Elena Dementieva, arguably the hottest lady player whose surname is not Williams on the planet right now, went down in straights to a qualifier. I'm sorry, but WTF? Petra Cetkovska has been doing all right this year, but she should be no match for Elegant Elena. I hope this trend doesn't continue over into the men's draw. I'm raring for a showdown with at least some of the Fantastic Four still in place.

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And looks like I spoke to soon about my Stars yesterday - Ernests Gulbis went down pretty tamely to Igor Andreev. But he's not the only Star in the fold - I'm still waving pom-poms for Cilic, Chardy and especially Thomaz Bellucci, with whom I have been very impressed of late. Go boys! (Until you run into Federer...!)

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Oh, and did everyone hear about Carlos Moya - out for an 'indefinite' period of time? I was sad. I like Carlos. Even if he is a love rat who cheated on Flavia Pennetta.

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Today's Results

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BNP Paribas Open (Indian Wells)

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Men's Draw

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Andy Murray def. Albert Montanes, 7-5 6-3

Tommy Robredo def. Igor Kunitsyn, 6-1 6-4

Marin Cilic def. Steve Darcis, 6-7 (4-7) 6-2 6-1

Igor Andreev def. Ernests Gulbis, 6-4 6-4

Paul-Henri Mathieu def. Potito Starace, 6-4 6-7 (11-13) 6-4

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Women's Draw

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Petra Cetkovska def. Elena Dementieva , 7-6 (7-2) 2-6 6-1

Agnieszka Radwanska def. Samantha Stosur, 3-6 6-3 7-5

Nuria Llagostera Vives def. Dominika Cibulkova, 7-6 (8-6) 6-0

Vera Dushevina def. Zheng Jie, 6-2 6-2

Agnes Szavay def. Edina Gallovits, 6-2 6-2

Karin Knapp def. Sara Errani, 6-2 3-2 retired

Gisela Dulko def. Bethanie Mattek-Sands, 6-1 6-3

Stars in the California Sky

In all the excitement of the recent Federer news, I completely forgot what I was going to write about yesterday, which is my Stars. And I have to say, I'm glad I waited until today, because we had some very very good results yesterday!

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We'll start with the bad - we had one very disappointing Star loss, I thought, which was Kei Nishikori going down to Ivan Ljubicic. I mean, sure, Ivan Ljubicic has certainly been up there as far the game is concerned - he's been as high as #3 - but he's not exactly Wonderboy right now. Kei seems to have gone a little bit off the boil in the last little whiles - he's taken a couple of tame losses. But it happens to everyone - and I think we all know he'll be back up there in time.

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But we have had some pretty nice wins! Marin Cilic won't be action for a day or two yet, but Ernests Gulbis, Jeremy Chardy and Thomaz Bellucci have all been doing quite well. Chardy is in action as I write this, one set to love up against Victor Hanescu. Gulbis had a good win over Kevin Kim - hardly the toughest opponent ever, but it was a good solid job nonetheless. Note how I am not asking whether this is the tournament where Gulbis will finally make a good deep run. I'm convinced it jinxes him. We'll just let things unfold.

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Bellucci probably had the best win of the lot of them - I am really liking what I've seen come off his racquet in the last little while. I don't know if many people would have picked him to beat Janko Tipsarevic, but he did, in a tight three set match. It was very nice. He's going to be one to watch in coming months, particularly on clay...

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So all in all, some nice early round action. But the tournament still hasn't really begun yet, it seems to me. I think we're all waiting to see what will happen when the big boys come out to play!

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Today's Results

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BNP Paribas Open (Indian Wells)
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Men's Draw

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Todd Widom def. Ivan Navarro, 6-4 7-6 (7-4)

Michael Berrer def. Kevin Anderson, 6-3 6-3

Daniel Koellerer def. Mischa Zverev, 2-6 7-5 6-2

Ryan Sweeting def. Wayne Odesnik, 1-6 6-4 7-6 (7-5)

Sam Querrey def. Guillermo Canas, 7-6 (7-2) 6-2

Andreas Seppi def. Juan Ignacio Chela, 6-2 4-1 retired

Jeremy Chardy def. Victor Hanescu, 6-4 3-6 6-2

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Women's Draw

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Caroline Wozniacki def. Timea Bacsinszky, 6-1 6-1

Shahar Peer def. Marion Bartoli, 1-6 6-4 7-5

Amélie Mauresmo def. Anna-Lena Groenefeld, 5-7 6-3 6-4

Kaia Kanepi def. Virginie Razzano, 7-6 (7-2) 1-0 retired

Peng Shuai def. Olga Govortsova, 6-3 3-6 6-4

Alexa Glatch def. Carla Suárez Navarro, 6-3 6-1

Papa-To-Be

Well, Indian Wells might have started, but the news is all Roger Federer!

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News Item #1: Roger Federer and Darren Cahill, a week after getting together, have broken up. Apparently the most long-anticipated coaching partnership in recent memory just couldn't survive the little things - ie. Federer working out of Dubai and Cahill out of Las Vegas. And Cahill has a young family, so it's understandable that he wouldn't want to leave them too much. Something I'm sure Roger will totally understand, because;

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News Item #2: Mirka Vavrinec, Roger's long-time girlfriend, is pregnant! That's right, Mirka's up the duff and she and Roger are going to be parents! I cannot imagine a better set - that lucky kid! Of course, I'm sure it will change Roger's whole schedule, and Mirka might spend more time in Switzerland - but then she might pull a Bec and travel with it all the time. Who knows? By the time US Open rolls out, we might see Mirka and Baby Fed in the players' box. That will just be obscenely cute.

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And think of the tennis DNA that kid will have! And what will they call it? Sure, as tennis fans, people might be scowling and saying, 'oh, but how will this affect his career?' but I don't care! He's clearly over the moon and I think he and Mirka will be totally adorable parents and it's so totally lame but I am so excited for them! And getting excited for celebrities - so not my style. But they'll be beautiful.

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At Wimbledon, I imagine there'll be a heavily pregnant Mirka in the players' box... and who knows? Maybe Roger will find something a little extra special for his kid.

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Here, if you haven't already seen it, is the announcement he posted on his website:

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Dear Fans

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I arrived in Indian Wells earlier this week and I am eager to get back out on court. My back is feeling much better and I am ready to go.

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I also have some really awesome news to share with all of you: Mirka and I are excited to let you know that we will be parents this summer! Mirka is pregnant and we are so happy to be starting a family together. This is a dream come true for us. We love children and we are looking forward to being parents for the first time. Mirka is feeling great and everything is going well.

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Speak soon and thanks for all your continued support!

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Roger

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Congratulations, Roger and Mirka! And who among us can say they aren't looking forward to seeing what Fed Junior brings to the table in years to come...?

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Today's Results

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BNP Paribas Open (Indian Wells)

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Men's Draw

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Albert Montanes def. Florent Serra, 6-3 6-0

Igor Kunitsyn def. Vince Spadea, 6-3 6-4

Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Julien Benneteau, 6-3 6-2

Marc Gicquel def. Simone Bolelli, 7-5 6-3

Michael Llodra def. Feliciano Lopez, 6-4 6-3

Lleyton Hewitt def. Jan Hernych, 7-6 (7-3) 6-3

Jarkko Nieminen def. Nicolas Devilder, 7-6 (8-6) 6-1

Potito Starace def. Denis Gremelmayr, 7-6 (8-6) 6-1

Sergiy Stakhovsky def. Brendan Evans, 2-6 6-3 6-0

Ernests Gulbis def. Kevin Kim, 6-3 6-4

Steve Darcis def. Marcel Granollers, 5-0 retired

Yen-Hsun Lu def. Michael Lammer, 7-5 6-2

Nicolas Lapentti def. Santiago Giraldo, 4-6 6-1 7-5

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Women's Draw

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Samantha Stosur def. Francesca Schiavone, 6-1 6-4

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova def. Marta Domachowska, 6-1 6-3

Vera Dushevina def. Petra Martic, 6-4 6-3

Edina Gallovits def. Maria Kirilenko, 3-6 7-5 7-5

Yanina Wickmayer def. Magdalena Rybarikova, 6-3 6-2

Karin Knapp def. Vania King, 6-2 6-1

Petra Cetkovska def. Stéphanie Foretz, 6-2 7-5

Anastasiya Yakimova def. Varvara Lepchenko, 6-4 6-1

Game On?

The draw for Indian Wells is out, and any way it fell, it was going to be an interesting tournament. So let's have a look, shall we...?

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It is, to my mind, largely a two-horse race. Normally, I wouldn't count Andy Murray, but I'm unsure of where this virus has left him - a virus I think we can probably assume was genuine, unlike the 'virus' that David Nalbandian mysteriously contracted last week during Davis Cup. Murray at half-strength is still good, but he's in that half of the draw with Federer, and Roger will steamroll him given adequate opportunity - to defeat his own head, if nothing else. That said, I like Cilic to come through here - he's my dark horse semi finalist.

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And Novak Djokovic... well, he won Dubai (shame about the field) but then promptly crashed and burned in Davis Cup. We all know I don't like the guy at all, but I don't think it's unfair to say that his game's gone AWOL this year. Added to which he's in a section with the Worm... and we all know what's been going on there this year. Roddick is in that section too and is, to my mind, the one that should come through to the semi-final stage.

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But I'm not gainsaying the two big boys, Roger and Rafa, the King and the Boss. Rafa is eternally solid - he's so tough in the head you'd rarely bet against him. Roger could go two ways - come out raring to go or try and do more of the same, which did not serve him well in the Aussie Open final. Here's hoping Killer Cahill has sorted out some of the demons in our big man's head - but I think Roger's going to do just fine. He's certainly, no matter how he plays, got all the tools to get to a final against Rafa. And then, amigos - then we shall see of what stuff the man is made. Even if he does not win the final, if we see some positive play... then game ON.

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BNP Paribas Open (Indian Wells)

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Women's Draw

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Shahar Peer def. Kateryna Bondarenko, 6-2 6-1

Tsvetana Pironkova def. Marina Erakovic, 6-4 6-1

Ekaterina Makarova def. Nathalie Dechy, 3-6 6-1 6-3

Anna-Lena Groenefeld def. Monica Niculescu, 6-3 6-0

Alexa Glatch def. Stéphanie Dubois, 6-3 6-2

The Magic of Five

Well, here we are on one of those rare few days of the year that there is no tennis going on, wondering what to write about. Indian Wells doesn't start for a couple of days, and so there is not a whole lot to be saying.

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So I guess we can talk about Davis Cup some more, because there were some very interesting ties in there.

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The one that looked like it would be the most fun to watch, despite the fact that the biggest name players it featured were Thomas Johansson and Dudi Sela, was Israel vs. Sweden. I mean, come on, a tie that came down to a fifth set in the fifth rubber that went 8-6? That's some serious goodness right there. I bet the crowd were glued to that match between Andreas Vinciguerra and Harel Levy, even if they had no clue who either player was. When a match goes that long, I think you learn the quality of the man, the quality of the player. I bet the crowd won't forget that one in a hurry.

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There really is something about five-set tennis. I daresay most of the most memorable matches of all time went five sets. In my personal favourite bank I have a couple of Federer whitewashes that only went three sets (major faves!) but as far as quality goes, where you want a huge tooth and nail struggle, it's five sets all the way. Federer and Nadal at Wimbledon and again at the Aussie Open, and in Rome in '06. Nadal and Verdasco this year. Federer and Safin in '05. Roddick and Younes el Aynaoui, with the fifth set that went 21-19. Tursunov and Roddick at Davis Cup, where I think the fifth went 19-17 or something like that. They're the immortal matches that will be remembered.

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I know five set tennis is taxing and the fact that it's kept for Grand Slams and Davis Cup makes it special, but purely from a viewer's perspective, I wish there were more of it. It was so great when the finals of Masters Series events (1000 events now, I suppose) went five sets - who will ever forget that titanic struggle between the King and the Boss in Rome in 2006, where both held championship points? I've really come quite a long way off topic from Israel and Sweden, but it doesn't matter, really... my point still stands. I love five set tennis. And I wish there were more.

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But I bet the players don't! It must be sooooooo exhausting...

Czeched at the Door

Another casualty of the Davis Cup week, I have realised, was the much-lauded French side. I wrote last week about how I thought they could potentially win the whole thing, but no - they went down in a bit of a meek effort to the Czech Republic.

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You've got to hand it to the Czech Republic. It's a team with two men, and two men early - everything the Czech Republic did on the weekend can be laid at the door of Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek. They're certainly not an easy team to beat - but you think that the French team, who have two players in the top ten, could have taken them out, right?

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Wrong. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga did his bit for his country, but Gasquet and Llodra failed in the doubles (and where was Gael Monfils? I thought he was supposed to be on this squad!) And the real letdown of the weekend was Gilles Simon. He lost both his singles matches and thus effectively lost his nation the tie.

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I hate pinning blame on just one individual, but the reality is that Simon should beat both Berdych and Stepanek, if rankings hold true. Not that Berdych or Stepanek are easy players to overcome, but he should be able to beat at least one of them, yeah? Especially on this stage, where one is playing for one's country... though that is a two-way street, I suppose, and Berdych and Stepanek have their whole Czech pride behind them as well.

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I was disappointed in France. I was disappointed in Monfils for not showing up, for Simon in not playing well, and in the captain for choosing to play Simon in the crucial fourth rubber when Gasquet might have been a better choice. Jo-W pulled his weight, but the others let him down. Good on you, Czech boys, but go home and have a long hard think about yourself, Frenchies. You need it.

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Today's Results

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Monterrey Open (Monterrey)

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Marion Bartoli def. Li Na, 6-4 6-3

The Tight Thai Tie

What a thrilling, down-to-the-wire tie the Australia/Thailand tie turned out to be! I think we've played them at this stage every year for at least the past three years, and we've beaten them 5-0 every time. This time... oh no!

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If there's one person who has consistently stepped up to the plate as far as Davis Cup is concerned, it's Lleyton Hewitt. But he got beaten at his own game today by a young Thai guy who was clearly on fire. Danai Udomchoke, the current world #155, took out Lleyton Hewitt in an epic five set struggle - 2-6 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 6-1. I don't think there's anyone in the world who would have picked that result - not over Hewitt, not in Davis Cup.

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Much as I am supporting the Aussie boys, hats off to you, Danai Udomchoke. That is a monumental effort and you should be very, very proud!

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That meant one of the other three Aussie boys had to step up and get it done against another fired-up Thai opponent, or risk going home on the losing end of a huge upset. That lot fell to Chris Guccione, and though I always go on about him being a serial underachiever, he really pulled it out. His big lefty serve was lethal and he got the job done in straights, handing the Aussie boys the tie, 3-2. Well done, boys.

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But the day belonged to Danai Udomchoke. I hope the Thai people a very proud of him!

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You know who I am proud of - not that anyone would have expected anything any different? Rafael Nadal, who just handed Novak Djokovic his arse in a sling. I love it when people do that to Djokovic. I find it profoundly hilarious. Because I'm mean like that. But I am sad Switzerland lost. Maybe next year, Roger.

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Today's Results

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Davis Cup

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Argentina 5, Netherlands 0

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Martin Vassallo Arguello def. Matwe Middelkoop, 6-2 6-4

Juan Ignacio Chela def. Thiemo de Bakker, 7-5 6-2

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Czech Republic 3, France 2

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Radek Stepanek def. Gilles Simon, 7-6 (7-2) 6-3 7-6 (7-0)

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Jan Hernych, 6-2 6-7 (2-7) 7-6 (7-0)

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Russia 4, Romania 1

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Dmitry Tursunov def. Victor Hanescu, 4-6 5-7 6-3 6-4 6-2

Teimuraz Gabashvili def. Victor Crivoi, 6-4 6-2

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Germany 3, Austria 2

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Nicolas Kiefer def. Jurgen Melzer, 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 6-4

Stefan Koubek def. Christopher Kas, 6-2 6-3

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Spain 4, Serbia 1

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Rafael Nadal def. Novak Djokovic, 6-4 6-4 6-1

David Ferrer def. Victor Troicki, 6-0 6-3

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Croatia 5, Chile 0

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Roko Karanusic def. Guillermo Hormazabal, 7-5 6-3

Ivo Karlovic def. Hans Podlipnik-Castillo, 6-3 7-6 (7-4)

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Israel 3, Sweden 2

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Dudi Sela def. Thomas Johansson, 3-6 6-1 4-6 6-4 6-2

Harel Levy def. Andreas Vinciguerra, 6-4 4-6 6-4 3-6 8-6

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USA 3, Switzerland 1

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

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Monterrey Open (Monterrey)

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Marion Bartoli def. Zheng Jie, 7-5 6-3

Li Na def. Iveta Benesova, 6-3 6-3