Endangered Species

Aiyaiyai, Monte Carlo. We had some ker-RAZY results there overnight. Sure, the big boys got through all right - Djokovic and Murray came through in pretty convincing straights - but the rung below that? Yeesh. Berdych? Gone. Monfils? Gone. Simon? Gone.

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What is up with that?

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But there were even more shocking results than that - yes, even more shocking than Gilles Simon being beaten by Andreas Beck, who I recall having seen play and liked before - but still, qualifier. There were two that I would NOT have picked - whoever wins the bracket challenge this tournament is clearly psychic. Tommy Robredo, who has been playing so well and whom I have tipped to go deep at the French, lost to Juan Monaco, with whom I have not been impressed in the past. Sure, he's a claycourter, but Robredo is a pocket dynamo! This is not a good result at all.

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But even more shocking, the player who has regularly been #3 in the claycourt season over the past couple of years behind Rafa and Roger, the Prince of Clay himself, Nicolas Almagro, lost to Albert Montanes. It was a third set breaker, but THAT IS NO EXCUSE! I have high expectations of Almagro and this was just not cool. Montanes is a wily veteran, but Almagro is genuinely up there with the best in the world on the red stuff. This wasn't good enough.

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Maybe I'm expecting too much. The season has only just started and maybe the players need some time to get their eye in or whatever. But... ugh, please. Seeded players are becoming an endangered species in Monte Carlo. It's starting to look like a WTA tournament.

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Though it will be interesting to see what some of these lower-ranked guys can do... (Kudos to Marat Safin, incidentally. Always keen to see him through!)

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Today's Results

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Monte Carlo Rolex Masters (Monte Carlo)

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Novak Djokovic def. Oscar Hernandez, 6-1 6-2

Andy Murray def. Victor Hanescu, 6-3 6-2

Andreas Beck def. Gilles Simon, 7-5 6-1

Juan Monaco def. Tommy Robredo, 6-2 6-4

Janko Tipsarevic def. Gael Monfils, 6-3 6-1

David Nalbandian def. Paul-Henri Mathieu, 6-4 3-6 6-3

Albert Montanes def. Nicolas Almagro, 7-6 (8-6) 4-6 7-6 (7-5)

Fabio Fognini def. Tomas Berdych 1-6 6-3 6-3

Jean-Rene Lisnard def. Christophe Rochus, 6-2 6-2

Martin Vassallo Arguello def. Igor Andreev, 2-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-2

David Ferrer def. Feliciano Lopez, 6-2 6-3

Ivo Karlovic def. Florent Serra, 6-4 6-4

Marat Safin def. Lleyton Hewitt, 6-4 7-5

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Family Circle Cup (Charleston)

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Vera Zvonareva def. Rossana de los Ríos, 6-3 6-2

Marion Bartoli def. Anastasija Sevastova, 6-1 6-3

Dominika Cibulkova def. Tamira Paszek, 6-4 6-0

Aleksandra Wozniak def. Abigail Spears, 6-3 4-6 6-0

Bethanie Mattek-Sands def. Mariana Duque Marino, 7-6 (7-3) 7-5

Shenay Perry def. Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, 7-5 6-1

Sabine Lisicki def. Marie-Ève Pelletier, 7-5 6-4

Elena Vesnina def. Evgeniya Rodina, 6-0 6-2

Alla Kudryavtseva def. Angela Haynes, 6-4 5-7 6-0

Akgul Amanmuradova def. Alexandra Stevenson, 6-2 6-4

Sania Mirza def. Sesil Karatantcheva, 6-4 6-4

Viktoriya Kutuzova def. Mariya Koryttseva, 6-1 6-1

Stéphanie Dubois def. Katie O'Brien, 4-6 6-2 6-1

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Barcelona Ladies' Open (Barcelona)

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Masa Zec Peskiric def. Kaia Kanepi, 3-6 6-2 6-4

Carla Suárez Navarro def. Estrella Cabeza Candela, 6-2 6-0

Maria Kirilenko def. Camille Pin, 6-2 6-0

Anastasiya Yakimova def. Sorana Cirstea, 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (7-5)

Francesca Schiavone def. Lourdes Domínguez Lino, 7-6 (7-4) 6-4

María José Martínez Sánchez def. Kirsten Flipkens, 6-2 6-2

Nicole Vaidisova def. Yevgenia Savranska, 6-2 6-4

Severine Brémond def. Anna-Lena Groenefeld, 7-6 (7-4) 6-2

Tatjana Malek def. Nuria Llagostera Vives, 6-3 3-6 6-1

Emilie Loit def. Mervana Jugic-Salkic, 7-6 (7-3) 3-6 6-2

Go See Sebastien

One from three on Stars today - Marin Cilic beat Flavio Cipolla, but both Jeremy Chardy and Eduardo Schwank were first round casualties. Not too fussed about Schwank - he was, I think, only a flash in the pan, and is only hanging on to Star status by his teeth. But Chardy... I'm a bit disappointed by his performance over the last couple of weeks. He was the fourth seed in one of the tournaments last week, and I thought he had quite a good shot at winning... but last week was the week of the old guy, I suppose. Here's hoping Jeremy gets back on his feet again soon.

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Speaking of a disappointing performance, Alize, where art thou? She was the top seed in Barcelona, and got absolutely pulverised by Stephanie Cohen-Aloro. If she isn't injured... God, I hope she's injured. This performance is absolutely inexcusable otherwise. Ever since she had those match points against Safina in Australia, she has absolutely crumbled. Perhaps she should go and have a word with countryman Sebastien Grosjean. He knows a thing or two about choking.

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...though he probably couldn't give her many useful points on how to stop.

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But seriously, it is so disappointing! She is a great little player and she's great on clay especially. What's gone on here? This is something that clearly needs to be addressed. I hate to see promising young guns, who should be off conquering tennis Everests with Victoria Azarenka and Caroline Wozniacki and co, succumbing to the paralysis currently sweeping the WTA. I thought it was only the more 'senior' members of the top ten (feels strange to call players like the Serbians senior - they haven't been round that long!) but Alize's caught the disease too.

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Who is going to fix the WTA? That has got to be the biggest question in tennis right now. Where did it go wrong, and who is going to set it right?

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Today's Results

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Monte Carlo Rolex Masters (Monte Carlo)

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Marin Cilic def. Flavio Cipolla, 6-3 6-2

Nicolas Lapentti def. Radek Stepanek, 6-3 1-6 6-3

Oscar Hernandez def. Julien Benneteau, 6-4 6-4

Juan Igancio Chela def. Igor Kunitsyn, 6-4 2-6 7-5

Victor Hanescu def. Alberto Martin, 6-2 6-3

Andreas Seppi def. Jurgen Melzer, 6-2 6-0

Marcel Granollers def. Jose Acasuso, 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-2)

Juan Monaco def. Jeremy Chardy, 6-2 7-5

Marc Gicquel def. Eduardo Schwank, 3-6 6-1 7-6 (7-2)

Andreas Beck def. Nicolas Kiefer, 1-6 7-6 (7-1) 6-4

Ivan Ljubicic def. Kristof Vliegen, 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-4

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Family Circle Cup (Charleston)

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Peng Shuai def. Anastasia Pivovarova, 6-0 6-2

Alona Bondarenko def. Anne Kremer, 6-4 6-0

Virginie Razzano def. Mallory Cecil, 6-1 6-2

Vania King def. Olga Govortsova, 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (7-5) 6-3

Tamira Paszek def. Julia Schruff, 7-5 6-2

Patricia Mayr def. Yan Zi, 6-2 6-2

Rossana de los Ríos def. Carly Gullickson, 6-1 6-4

Varvara Lepchenko def. Galina Voskoboeva, 6-1 6-3

Julie Ditty def. Ayumi Morita, 6-1 6-1

Anastasia Rodionova def. Madison Brengle, 6-2 7-6 (7-4)

Lenka Wienerova def. Alexa Glatch, 6-4 7-5

Melanie Oudin def. Olga Savchuk, 6-4 6-0

Anastasija Sevastova def. Marta Domachowska, 6-1 1-6 6-4

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Barcelona Ladies Open (Barcelona)

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Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro def. Alizé Cornet, 6-0 6-3

Flavia Pennetta def. Petra Kvitova, 6-3 6-3

Sara Errani def. Mathilde Johansson, 2-6 7-5 6-3

Lucie Safarova def. Tsvetana Pironkova, 6-1 3-6 6-0

Magdalena Rybarikova def. Klara Zakopalova, 6-1 7-6 (9-7)

Roberta Vinci def. Pauline Parmentier, 6-4 7-6 (9-7)

Something Old, Something New (Something Borrowed, Something Blue)

I got my wish - Juan Carlos Ferrero and Lleyton Hewitt both won titles overnight, in Casablanca and Houston respectively. Good on you, boys! Ferrero hasn't won a title since 2003, so huge kudos to him, and Hewitt hasn't been in a final for a couple of years, so it's a huge victory for them both. It's wonderful to see that there's still some tennis in these guys yet. It is almost ten years since the rise of the New Balls generation, headed up by Federer, Hewitt and Safin - and I am glad that they're not dead yet. (Though with Federer still at the top of his game, whoever would have thought that?)
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I have to devote a little space to our latest married couple of the sport - congratulations Roger and Mirka! I wrote an article about them on my other blog, The Black Valentine's Day Manifesto, and in the rush of people searching for pictures of their wedding, my hits have gone up exponentially. (No, I have no pictures - I don't think anyone does!) I choose to believe that Roger has simply been distracted by flower arrangements and big white meringue dresses of late, and now that that's all out of the way and he and Mirka have had their grand one day honeymoon, he'll kick the marriage off with a solid performance in Monte Carlo.
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(Yes, I realise I am delusional, but it is just so lovely!)*
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Speaking of Monte Carlo, it has started and once again, I'm being disappointed by the young guns. The old guys are going great - but Ernests, Ernests! Was it really necessary to lose in such convincing fashion to Philipp Kohlschreiber? I was hoping that being on clay, where he performed so well last year, would be good. Not yet, I suppose. Good wins for Stan Wawrinka and Tommy Robredo, though - and also to Jelena Jankovic, who won the title in Andalucia, knocking out Carla Suarez Navarro, who I really thought was going to get her. I wouldn't go so far as to say she's back, but maybe there's a smidgeon of hope for Jelena yet.
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Today's Results
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Monte Carlo Rolex Masters (Monte Carlo)
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Tommy Robredo def. Rainer Schuettler, 6-1 6-4
Stanislas Wawrinka def. Viktor Troicki, 6-2 6-3
Simone Bolelli def. Robin Soderling, 6-4 1-6 6-3
Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Ernests Gulbis, 6-1 6-3
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Grand Prix Hassan II (Casablanca)
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Juan Carlos Ferrero def. Florent Serra, 6-4 7-5
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US Men's Clay Court Championships (Houston)
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Lleyton Hewitt def. Wayne Odesnik, 6-2 7-5
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Andalucia Tennis Experience (Marbella)
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Jelena Jankovic def. Carla Suárez Navarro, 6-3 3-6 6-3
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MPS Group Championships (Ponte Vedra Beach)
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Caroline Wozniacki def. Aleksandra Wozniak, 6-1 6-2

Time Capsule

One would be forgiven, looking at the results out of Houston and Casablanca this week, that the tour had gone back in time some four, five years. In each tournament we have a real veteran in the final - Lleyton Hewitt in Houston, in what has to be his first final in a couple of years, and Juan Carlos Ferrero, who is apparently considering pulling a Marat and retiring at the end of the year, in Casablanca.

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Let's start with JC, who for about six months in the earlier part of this decade had a Federesque aura of total invincibility. I would love to see him go out with a bang, if he does intend to retire this year. It was a bit sad when he wasn't able to keep up with the Joneses of the tennis world once the Hispano-Suisse domination machine started to roll, because he is really an awesome player to watch. He has a real elegance to his shots - especially on clay - and he is smart. We mustn't forget that he and Federer are the only two players to beat Rafa on clay in the last five-odd years. Sure, Rafa was injured at the time, but still - quite a feat for JC.

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So now he's in the final of Casablanca against Florent Serra (who is also not exactly a tennis spring chicken, though he hasn't reached the veteran status of JC yet). I would dearly love to see him win it. Wouldn't it be fabulous to see the man who once was so invincible have another great run in the twilight of his tennis years? (Wasn't that a convoluted rhetorical question?)

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Same goes for Lleyton Hewitt, for whom, despite all my best efforts, I have a soft spot. (Yes, even after the Lleyton/Bec/Mia matching outfit fashion disaster at the Logies. I don't know what's wrong with me.) He'll face Wayne Odesnik - who has also been around for quite some years - in the final in Houston, and I think it is safe to say that this is a final no one would have expected! I'm pulling for Lleyton, though I wouldn't be surprised if the home crowd advantage got big Wayne over the line... but it really is lovely to see the old guys (I say old - most of them aren't even in their thirties!) doing so well this week. It is so rare!

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Today's Results

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Grand Prix Hassan II (Casablanca)

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Juan Carlos Ferrero def. Igor Andreev, 7-6 (11-9) 6-3

Florent Serra def. Albert Montanes, 6-4 6-4

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US Men's Clay Court Championships (Houston)

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Wayne Odesnik def. Bjorn Phau, 6-4 6-3

Lleyton Hewitt def. Evgeny Korolev, 7-6 (7-4) 6-4

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Andalucia Tennis Experience (Marbella)

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Jelena Jankovic def. Anabel Medina Garrigues, 7-5 6-2

Carla Suárez Navarro def. Sorana Cirstea, 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 6-2

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MPS Group Championships (Ponte Vedra Beach)

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Aleksandra Wozniak def. Nadia Petrova, 6-4 4-6 6-2

Caroline Wozniacki def. Elena Vesnina, 2-6 6-3 7-6 (7-4)

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ETA: I just read that Roger Federer and Mirka Vavrinec got married over the Easter weekend - how lovely! Congratulations from Tennis From The Backseat!

Poor Form in Ponte Vedra Beach

I have to say that I'm a little disappointed. I was really hoping that Dominika Cibulkova would win this week in Ponte Vedra Beach and make me look really clever for talking about her earlier as a real contender in the Roland Garros mix. No such luck. She went out to Elena Vesnina - in three sets, but out nonetheless. I expected a little more.

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I had another one I was watching in this tournament and she also went out. I've been a little intrigued by Tamira Paszek ever since she came so close to knocking out Jelena Jankovic in the first round of the Aussie Open last year. She hasn't had great results, but she's had some good ones, and I keep waiting for her to make a breakthrough, because as soon as she has a decent run, I am fully prepared to admit her to the Stars club with Sabine Lisicki and Anastasia Pavlychenkova. But looks like it won't be this week - she went out to Aleksandra Wozniak of Canada.

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But them's the breaks, I guess.

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Not too much happening over with the blokes... though I think the point about clay being the great leveller was proved over in Houston, where all four of the top seeds have been eliminated. Though that could be a signal of the depth extant in the ATP, unlike the WTA. Who can tell these things?

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Today's Results

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Grand Prix Hassan II (Casablanca)

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Igor Andreev def. Marc Gicquel, 6-1 6-3

Albert Montanes def. Frederico Gil, 7-6 (7-5) 6-4

Juan Carlos Ferrero def. Victor Hanescu, 6-3 7-5

Florent Serra def. Teimuraz Gabashvili, 6-0 6-4

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Andalucia Tennis Experience (Marbella)

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Jelena Jankovic def. Roberta Vinci, 3-6 6-3 7-6 (8-6)

Sorana Cirstea def. Kaia Kanepi, 6-4 2-6 7-5

Anabel Medina Garrigues def. Sara Errani, 6-2 6-7 (4-7) 7-5

Carla Suárez Navarro def. Klara Zakopalova, 6-1 6-2

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MPS Group Championships (Ponte Vedra Beach)

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Nadia Petrova def. Alona Bondarenko, 4-6 6-3 7-6 (7-5)

Elena Vesnina def. Dominika Cibulkova, 7-5 6-7 (5-7) 6-3

Aleksandra Wozniak def. Tamira Paszek, 6-3 3-6 7-6 (9-7)

Accentuate the Positive

A positive sign from Roger Federer! He's accepted a wildcard into Monte Carlo, which I think is a very good move. This is for two reasons - a) if he's accepting wildcards, it means his back can't be feeling too bad; and b) he just needs some tennis, especially after that pathetic display in Miami. It'll be good for him to be on a new surface, especially a surface on which there is very little pressure.

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Because that's true, I think - this year, at least, because he's not coming into it ranked #1, there will be less pressure on the Mighty Fed. No one expects him to win Roland Garros - or indeed anything where Rafa Nadal is in the draw. That's where all the pressure will be - on the Raf. I think he's more than equal to it - the only time I have ever seen pressure really weigh on him was in that match against Nalbandian a couple of weeks ago, and even then, he overcame it splendidly.

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But we're talking Roger, not Rafa. It will be good to have a little bit of the weight of expectation off his shoulders, I think. I'm not saying he will be entirely free-swinging, but being on a new surface where he isn't expected to do as well might be a bit freeing. So it's going to get interesting. I'll be interested to see how Roger goes. I'd love to see him win one of these Masters events, especially considering he hasn't won one since Cincy in '07. I don't think you'd tip against Rafa in any of them, but... we shall see.

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Brief sidenote - I'll be interested to see how the Swiss #2, Stan Wawrinka, does on clay. He made his real charge here last year, so it'd be nice to see if he could back it up.

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And in the women's side, I think I have a new pick for Roland Garros - not to win, necessarily, but to go deep. Carla Suarez Navarro. I like her more every time I see her play.

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Today's Results

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Grand Prix Hassan II (Casablanca)

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Igor Andreev def. Nicolas Devilder, 6-7 (11-13) 7-6 (7-5) 6-4

Florent Serra def. Olivier Rochus, 6-3 6-3

Marc Gicquel def. Mischa Zverev, 6-4 7-5

Teimuraz Gabashvili def. Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo, 6-4 6-4

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US Men's Clay Court Championships (Houston)

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Evgeny Korolev def. Daniel Gimeno-Traver, 6-3 7-6 (7-4)

Bjorn Phau def. Scoville Jenkins, 6-4 7-6 (7-2)

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Andalucia Tennis Experience (Marbella)

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Jelena Jankovic def. Selima Sfar, 6-3 6-0

Kaia Kanepi def. Aranxta Rus, 7-5 6-2

Carla Suárez Navarro def. Ekaterina Ivanova, 0-6 6-3 6-0

Sara Errani def. Polona Hercog, 6-0 7-6 (9-7)

Klara Zakopalova def. Renata Vorocova, 7-6 (9-7) 5-7 6-0

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MPS Group Championships (Ponte Vedra Beach)

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Caroline Wozniacki def. Virginie Razzano, 6-3 7-5

Aleksandra Wozniak def. Sabine Lisicki, 3-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-4

Tamira Paszek def. Varvara Lepchenko, 3-6 6-3 6-4

Club Up-And-Comer

You know who I like watching? I've talked about her before, but not enough, clearly. Dominika Cibulkova. If she doesn't get into the top ten this year - especially considering the WTA is in the state it's in at the moment - I will eat an item of my own clothing.

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It seems the popular up-and-comer to tip as a Slam winner at the moment is Victoria Azarenka - and fair enough, too, because she has been pretty damn solid in a field of flakes and has been the only person to have established something vaguely resembling dominance over Serena this year. (She was winning at the Open until she came down ill, and she took her out conclusively in the Miami final.) I may have objections to Azarenka's personality, founded on an incident that took place in Brisbane where she proved herself to be, for lack of a better phrase, a nasty tempered little bitch, but I don't think anyone would deny her ability.

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But there are a couple of others sitting behind her in Club Up-And-Comer - one is Caroline Wozniacki, of whom I have not seen enough to comment, and the other has to be Dominika Cibulkova. I saw her play live at the Australian Open this year and she is amazing - and I'm not going to forget the masterclass she gave Dinara Safina in the Hopman Cup final. She's tiny, quick and can hit it hard - girl's got skills. I'd been hoping for a bit more from her in the hardcourt season, but that breakthrough might be yet to come. But the clay season... it is going to be really interesting to see which way the cookie crumbles in this season.

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I think Cibulkova's game will translate wonderfully to clay - and probably Azarenka's too. Serena's doesn't, especially... as we can see from her first round loss in Marbella to Klara Zakopalova (though that might have something to do with injury.) Now that the Henin monopoly on Roland Garros is over, it's anyone's game. I wouldn't put much money on Ana Ivanovic defending her title, and with Jankovic looking like Maria Sharapova's 'cow on ice', I wouldn't put much money on her either.

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What I would really like to see is Dinara Safina going all the way. We're nearly up to the part of the season where she began her charge last year, and I would dearly love to see her do it again. So come on, Zeljko, whip her into shape. Far be it from me to offer actual technical advice, but fix her goddamn serve. Dinara's got all the weapons... and she's made two Slam finals now. Time to claim one for her own.

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But the reality is that if Victoria Azarenka or Dominika Cibulkova win it... who would be surprised?

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Today's Results

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Grand Prix Hassan II (Casablanca)

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Albert Montanes def. Santiago Ventura, 5-7 6-3 7-5

Victor Hanescu def. Ivan Navarro, 6-1 6-0

Frederico Gil def. Ivan Ljubicic, 6-7 (2-7) 7-5 6-4

Juan Carlos Ferrero def. Potito Starace, 6-4 7-6 (7-1)

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US Men's Clay Court Championships (Houston)

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Wayne Odesnik def. Jurgen Melzer, 6-4 6-0

John Isner def. Paul Capdeville, 4-6 7-6 (7-1) 7-6 (7-5)

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Andalucia Tennis Experience (Marbella)

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Anabel Medina Garrigues def. Virginia Ruano Pascual, 6-2 6-3

Sorana Cirstea def. Andreja Klepac, 4-6 6-1 6-1

Roberta Vinci def. Nicole Vaidisova, 6-3 6-3

Klara Zakopalova def. Serena Williams, 6-4 3-6 6-1

Kaia Kanepi def. Sílvia Soler Espinosa, 6-4 6-2

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MPS Group Championships (Ponte Vedra Beach)

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Dominika Cibulkova def. Anastasia Rodionova, 6-1 6-3

Alona Bondarenko def. Kateryna Bondarenko, 4-6 6-4 6-3

Elena Vesnina def. Patricia Mayr, 1-6 6-3 6-2