Jelena's Time

It's horrible. No matter where Jelena Dokic goes or what she does, she cannot escape the shadow of her father.

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Damir Dokic is the horror-father of tennis. It takes a lot for Australia to turn against its sporting heroes - sport is basically our national religion - but the nation sure as hell turned against Jelena when Damir was holding the reins. Jelena was only sixteen when her career on the circuit really began - she was only a little girl, really - and he totally controlled her career. All kinds of horror stories filtered through, all kinds of bombs were dropped, but everything came to a head when Damir forced Jelena to play for a different country. Then Australia really turned its back on Jelena Dokic.

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She was gone for years from the tour. Actually, 'forgotten' is probably a better word, because Jelena wasn't gone. She is one of the great fairy tale stories of sport. It is rare that a daughter estranging herself from her father is a fairy tale, but in Jelena's case it sure was. She broke with Damir and under the guidance of the Bikic brothes - coach Borna and boyfriend Tin - she brought herself back. I was there at her first match on Rod Laver Arena this year: her second round match, where she upset Anna Chakvetadze. It sounds trite and cliche to say this of a sporting event, but no one who was there will ever forget it.

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And now Damir does this. Jelena did an interview for a magazine where she said that Damir physically abused her - which I don't think anyone doubted, tyrant that he was. And in - vengeance? I don't know what - he threatened to blow up in the Australian embassy in Serbia with a rocket launcher. Understandably, he got arrested and is now facing prison time.

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Thing is, even now, when Jelena is 'ours' again, Damir can't quite get that it's not about him any more. I remember him saying that if Jelena made the final of the Open, he'd come to the final. But this is Jelena's time. If he really loved his daughter, he'd step aside now.

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Maybe this is a blessing in disguise. Maybe in prison he'll actually shut up for a while. And Jelena - upset that she will be about her estranged father's actions - can get on with the rest of her life. Because it's going to be great.

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Today's Results

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Estoril Open (Estoril)

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Men's Draw

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Gilles Simon def. Fabio Fognini, 6-0 7-5

James Blake def. Marc Gicquel, 7-6 (8-6) 6-2

Albert Montanes def. Simon Greul, 6-2 6-2

Florent Serra def. Juan Monaco, 6-3 1-6 6-3

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Women's Draw

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Ekaterina Makarova def. Maria Kirilenko, 5-7 6-2 6-2

Yanina Wickmayer def. Sorana Cirstea, 6-4 1-6 6-4

Anna-Lena Groenefeld def. Sabine Lisicki, 6-2 retired

Shahar Peer def. Jarmila Groth, 6-2 0-6 6-3

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BMW Open (Munich)

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Tomas Berdych def. Andreas Beck, 1-6 6-4 7-6 (7-4)

Potito Starace def. Simone Bolelli, 6-4 7-6 (7-5)

Daniel Brands def. Julien Benneteau, 6-4 3-6 7-6 (8-6)

Lleyton Hewitt def. Thiemo de Bakker, 6-3 6-4

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Serbia Open (Belgrade)

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Ivo Karlovic def. Brian Dabul, 6-4 7-6 (7-5)

Andreas Seppi def. Leonardo Mayer, 6-4 6-1

Marcos Daniel def. Ivan Ljubicic, 6-4 6-3

Flavio Cipolla def. Arnaud Clement, 1-6 6-4 6-2

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Internazionali BNL d'Italia (Rome)

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Dinara Safina def. María José Martínez Sánchez, 4-6 6-3 6-0

Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Jelena Jankovic, 6-1 7-6 (7-3)

Venus Williams def. Agnieszka Radwanska, 6-1 6-2

Victoria Azarenka def. Kaia Kanepi, 7-6 (7-5) 6-3

Result and a Half

First thing is first: this is the 400th post on Tennis From The Backseat! What a nice round number.

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Second thing: Jarmila Groth! How about you, girl?!

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The WTA still has her listed as playing for the Slovak Republic, but I'm pretty sure she plays for Australia now. She's been trying to get citizenship for about a thousand years now, and then she married Sam Groth, one of our Davis Cup team, a couple of months ago (she used to be called Jarmila Gajdosova). Jarmila is listed as third on the Tennis Australia list of top Australian female tennis players, so they clearly think she's Australian, and... I get away from the point.

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Jarmila Groth, our dear Australian, took out the top seed, Iveta Benesova - with whom I have certainly not been unimpressed - in Estoril. In straight sets, no less. How about that? That is a pretty good result, if I do say so myself! I haven't seen huge amounts of Jarmila playing, but she's always impressed me when I have - she put up a very good showing against Victoria Azarenka in Brisbane.

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Speaking of seeds tumbling, Ana Ivanovic went out in Rome to Agnieszka Radwanska, who clearly heard me beating on her last week and tried to do better. On you, Agnieszka. And how about Patty Schnyder taking out Serena? That's a result and a half!

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Today's Results

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Estoril Open (Estoril)

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Men's Draw

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Nikolay Davydenko def. Juan Carlos Ferrero, 7-5 6-2

Oscar Hernandez def. David Ferrer, 6-2 6-4

Mardy Fish def. Ivan Navarro, 2-6 6-1 6-4

Paul Capdeville def. Maximo Gonzalez, 2-6 6-2 6-3

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Women's Draw

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Jarmila Groth def. Iveta Benesova, 7-5 6-4

Maria Kirilenko def. María Emilia Salerni, 6-3 6-0

Sorana Cirstea def. Maret Ani, 7-5 6-2

Sabine Lisicki def. Elena Bovina, 6-4 7-5

Ekaterina Makarova def. Melinda Czink, 5-7 7-5 7-5

Shahar Peer def. Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, 6-4 6-1

Anna-Lena Groenefeld def. Kristina Barrois, 6-4 6-4

Yanina Wickmayer def. Olga Govortsova, 0-6 6-2 6-2

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BMW Open (Munich)

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Marin Cilic def. Philipp Kohlschreiber, 6-0 6-4

Mikhail Youzhny def. Nicolas Almagro, 7-6 (7-2) 6-4

Jeremy Chardy def. Nicolas Kiefer, 6-4 7-6 (10-8)

Paul-Henri Mathieu def. Denis Gremelmayr, 6-1 6-4

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Serbia Open (Belgrade)

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Novak Djokovic def. Janko Tipsarevic, 6-2 4-6 6-0

Viktor Troicki def. Marcel Granollers, 6-3 6-4

Lukasz Kubot def. Igor Andreev, 3-2 retired

Kristof Vliegen def. Christophe Rochus, 3-6 6-4 6-3

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Internazionali BNL d'Italia (Rome)

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Dinara Safina def. Zheng Jie, 5-7 6-1 7-6 (7-3)

Jelena Jankovic def. Kateryna Bondarenko, 6-1 1-0 retired

Venus Williams def. Anna Chakvetadze, 6-0 6-7 (8-10) 6-4

Agnieszka Radwanska def. Ana Ivanovic, 6-1 3-6 6-4

Victoria Azarenka def. Caroline Wozniacki, 6-2 6-2

Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Flavia Pennetta, 6-3 3-6 6-0

María José Martínez Sánchez def. Nadia Petrova, 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-4

Kaia Kanepi def. Patty Schnyder, 6-3 6-0

Not Even Close

I spoke too soon. I knew using the words 'run of form' when it was only one win was asking for trouble. Guess who was one of only two seeded players to go out in Rome - which is pretty rare, given the current precarious state of the top players in the WTA. That's right, it was Alize Cornet.

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I can't stop myself liking Cornet's game - any fool that saw her play at the Hopman Cup and even at the Australian Open this year knows she's got style - but honestly, honestly. One round? One measly round? Is that all she can do at a tournament where she is seeded? She went out to Kateryna Bondarenko, who isn't exactly a schlep, but you'd doubt that she'll ever break into the top ten. However, if it were just this lone loss to Bondarenko, it would be fine. But she is losing to players ranked squillions of places below her on an almost everyday basis.

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This has got to stop. Alize, something needs to happen. Your coach needs to smack you silly for performances of this calibre. It is just not good enough. Not even close.

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Speaking of people who are good enough, Bernard Tomic and Olivia Rogowska were good enough to be given wildcards into the main draw of the French Open - good on you, kids! It was always going to be Tomic from the men - who else were they going to pick, really? I suppose there's Brydan Klein, maybe, but I think Tomic is a good choice. Then from the girls you've Isabella Holland and Monika Wejnert and a couple of others, but I think Rogowska is a good choice. Do us proud, guys!

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Today's Results

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Estoril Open (Estoril)

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Men's Draw

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Nikolay Davydenko def. Andrey Golubev, 6-1 7-6 (7-4)

David Ferrer def. Daniel Gimeno-Traver, 6-4 6-1

Albert Montanes def. Ryan Sweeting, 6-1 7-6 (7-4)

Florent Serra def. Diego Junqueira, 6-4 2-6 6-3

Simon Greul def. Ricardo Hocevar, 6-1 6-4

Ivan Navarro def. Alberto Martin, 7-5 6-4

Juan Carlos Ferrero def. Mikhail Kukushkin, 7-6 (7-4) 6-3

Juan Monaco def. Pablo Cuevas, 6-2 6-4

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Women's Draw

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Maria Kirilenko def. Sharon Fichman, 6-7 (8-10) 6-4 6-3

Sorana Cirstea def. Kimiko Date Krumm, 6-2 1-6 6-2

Sabine Lisicki def. Kirsten Flipkens, 6-2 6-2

Yanina Wickmayer def. Petra Kvitova, 6-2 6-4

Ekaterina Makarova def. Petra Cetkovska, 6-4 6-3

Shahar Peer def. Michelle Larcher de Brito, 4-6 6-0 6-0

Melinda Czink def. Eva Fernández-Brugues, 7-5 7-5

Olga Govortsova def. Ekaterina Ivanova, 6-1 6-2

Barbora Zahlavova Strycova def. Sílvia Soler Espinosa, 7-5 6-4

Maret Ani def. Frederica Piedade, 6-0 7-6 (7-4)

María Emilia Salerni def. Julie Coin, 6-4 6-4

Elena Bovina def. Alla Kudryavtseva, 6-1 6-3

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BMW Open (Munich)

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Marin Cilic def. Dieter Kindlmann, 6-3 6-2

Tomas Berdych def. Sascha Kloer, 7-6 (7-0) 6-4

Thiemo de Bakker def. Rainer Schuettler, 6-3 6-3

Paul-Henri Mathieu def. Lamine Ouahab, 6-3 6-2

Potito Starace def. Igor Kunitsyn, 7-5 5-7 6-3

Denis Gremelmayr def. Martin Vassallo Arguello, 5-1 retired

Daniel Brands def. Stefan Koubek, 6-3 7-6 (7-2)

Julien Benneteau def. Alexander Peya, 2-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-5

Simone Bolelli def. Stephane Bohli, 3-6 6-2 6-3

Lleyton Hewitt def. Philipp Petzschner, 6-2 6-7 (2-7) 7-6 (10-8)

Andreas Beck def. Mischa Zverev, 6-3 6-4

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Serbia Open (Belgrade)
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Viktor Troicki def. Sam Querrey, 4-6 6-4 6-3

Ivan Ljubicic def. Victor Crivoi, 7-6 (7-2) 3-6 6-4

Arnaud Clement def. Steve Darcis, 6-1 6-4

Christophe Rochus def. Nicolas Devilder, 6-3 6-7 (7-9) 7-5

Marcel Granollers def. Filip Krajinovic, 6-0 2-6 6-2

Marcos Daniel def. Guillermo Canas, 3-6 6-1 6-4

Kristof Vliegen def. Dominik Hrbaty, 2-6 6-2 6-2

Lukasz Kubot def. Arsenije Zlatanovic, 6-3 7-5

Janko Tipsarevic def. Sergio Roitman, 7-5 6-2

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Internazionali BNL d'Italia (Rome)

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Dinara Safina def. Virginie Razzano, 7-6 (7-1) 6-1

Jelena Jankovic def. Gisela Dulko, 6-3 7-6 (8-6)

Ana Ivanovic def. Francesca Schiavone, 6-3 6-4

Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Daniela Hantuchova, 6-3 6-3

Nadia Petrova def. Carla Suárez Navarro, 6-2 3-6 6-3

Caroline Wozniacki def. Bethanie Mattek-Sands, 6-1 7-5

Agnieszka Radwanska def. Aravane Rezai, 4-6 6-2 7-6 (9-7)

María José Martínez Sánchez def. Marion Bartoli, 6-1 7-5

Flavia Pennetta def. Yaroslava Shvedova, 6-3 6-7 (5-7) 6-1

Kateryna Bondarenko def. Alizé Cornet, 6-4 6-1

Zheng Jie def. Elena Vesnina, 6-2 6-7 (3-7) 6-2

Kaia Kanepi def. Sybille Bammer, 7-5 6-3

Anna Chakvetadze def. Aleksandra Wozniak, 5-7 7-6 (7-2) 6-3

A Little Melodrama

I am all astonishment. I am faint and stumbling and weak and clutching at my heart with shock. Don't tell me that... Alize Cornet won a match?! ...and in STRAIGHT SETS?!

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Okay, so maybe that's a little bit over the top, but she has been in a total slump of late - ever since she nearly beat Dinara Safina in Australia and wasted about seventy-five match points. But she has had a good win over Ai Sugiyama (whom commentators seem to refer to almost exclusively Ai-Sugiyama-the-wily-veteran) and hopefully will continue this run of form. Well, 'this run of form' is a total melodramatisation as well, but it's a one-match streak, and that's better than she's done of late.

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One of the major upsets today was clearly David Nalbandian, who went out to random Chilean Paul Capdeville. I didn't see any of the match but it seems like a fair assumption to guess that LameDave turned up. He can be so underwhelming, Dave, with his Jekyll and Hyde personality. I want him to be good so badly sometimes - he's always gold and excellent to watch when GoodDave takes the court.

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And once again Ernests Gulbis made a first round exit. Sigh. I suppose he was playing a seeded player (Kiefer) and he did make a very good start, but... argh! Argh, Ernests! WIN SOMETHING!

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...please?

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Today's Results

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Estoril Open (Estoril)

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Men's Draw

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Gilles Simon def. Robert Kendrick, 6-3 7-6 (9-7)

Oscar Hernandez def. Rui Rachado, 7-5 1-6 7-5

Paul Capdeville def. David Nalbandian, 6-2 6-2

Marc Gicquel def. Pablo Andujar, 7-6 (8-6) 6-4

Mardy Fish def. Teimuraz Gabashvili, 6-3 6-4

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Women's Draw

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Iveta Benesova def. Neuza Silva, 6-4 5-7 6-4

Anna-Lena Groenefeld def. Pauline Parmentier, 1-6 6-3 7-6 (7-1)

Jarmila Groth def. Mathilde Johansson, 1-6 6-1 6-1

Kristina Barrois def. Maria Joao Koehler, 7-6 (7-4) 6-0

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BMW Open (Munich)

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Mikhail Youzhny def. Ivo Minar, 6-3 7-6 (7-5)

Nicolas Kiefer def. Ernests Gulbis, 2-6 6-3 6-2

Jeremy Chardy def. Evgeny Korolev, 6-3 6-3

Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Bjorn Phau, 6-2 2-1 retired

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Internazionali BNL d'Italia (Rome)

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Venus Williams def. Lucie Safarova, 6-2 4-6 6-2

Victoria Azarenka def. Ayumi Morita, 6-0 retired

Caroline Wozniacki def. Agnes Szavay, 6-3 6-2

Agnieszka Radwanska def. Alona Bondarenko, 6-0 6-1

Flavia Pennetta def. Tsvetana Pironkova, 6-7 (2-7) 6-4 6-1

Alizé Cornet def. Ai Sugiyama, 6-3 7-5

Zheng Jie def. Nathalie Dechy, 6-1 7-6 (7-4)

Anna Chakvetadze def. Anabel Medina Garrigues, 6-2 6-3

Aleksandra Wozniak def. Sara Errani, 6-1 3-6 6-4

Virginie Razzano def. Magdalena Rybarikova, 6-0 6-7 (8-10) 6-4

Gisela Dulko def. Karin Knapp, 6-2 6-3

Bethanie Mattek-Sands def. Tathiana Garbin, 3-6 6-3 6-1

Elena Vesnina def. Jill Craybas, 1-6 6-3 6-2

Kateryna Bondarenko def. Roberta Vinci, 6-3 7-6 (7-4)

Aravane Rezai def. Alisa Kleybanova, 6-3 6-3

Too Good For His Own Good?

I am seeing a conundrum looming for Rafael Nadal.

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He is too good for his own good.

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He's just won three tournaments in three weeks. Even in the heyday of the golden years of the Federer empire, this wasn't exactly normal. And though he's got a week off now, he's got another one coming up. Which he'll probably win. And then the French Open, where you would feel safe betting your house on him playing seven matches.

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So, if you were Rafa Nadal, what would you do? In 2007 we saw him win three tournaments (these same three) and then get beaten in the final of Hamburg (by Roger Federer, but still) because he was just so damn exhausted. We know he is capable of fighting through a LOT of exhaustion - hello, backing up the Aussie Open semi against Verdasco with the final against Federer - but how much can any man take?

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Though Rafa is, of course, a machine.

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I think a lot of players in his position would skip Madrid - but it's in Spain, his homeland, and also it's right up close to the French Open, making it a good lead up tournament. Would Rafa come into the French Open cold if he just said, 'okay, I've proved my excellence on clay now, I don't need to play Madrid - let someone else have one of the damn Masters trophies'?

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Probably not. It's Rafa. He's a machine. He has proved, far and away, that when it comes to the red stuff, he is the best of all time. The only question mark over him now is this - is he too good for his own good? Will he wear himself out before the big one with all this winning?

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Today's Results

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Internazionali BNL d'Italia (Rome)

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Men's Draw

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Rafael Nadal def. Novak Djokovic, 7-6 (7-2) 6-2

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Women's Draw

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Marion Bartoli def. Peng Shuai, 6-0 7-6 (7-3)

Kaia Kanepi def. Vania King, 6-4 6-3

Patty Schnyder def. Mariana Duque Marino, 7-6 (7-1) 6-3

Carla Suárez Navarro def. Anne Keothavong, 7-6 (7-5) 6-4

Sybille Bammer def. Li Na, 7-6 (7-3) 4-6 6-3

Daniela Hantuchova def. Vera Dushevina, 6-4 6-1

Francesca Schiavone def. Alberta Brianti, 6-3 6-4

María José Martínez Sánchez def. Amélie Mauresmo, 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-2

Lucie Safarova def. Mariya Koryttseva, 7-6 (7-5) 6-2

Yaroslava Shvedova def. Samantha Stosur, 6-4 6-2

Ayumi Morita def. Monica Niculescu, 6-1 6-3

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Estoril Open (Estoril)

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Maximo Gonzalez def. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, 6-4 6-3

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BMW Open (Munich)

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Nicolas Almagro def. Jan Hernych, 6-3 6-4

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Porsche Tennis Grand Prix (Stuttgart)

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Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Dinara Safina, 6-4 6-3

Hopeless

Roger, Roger, Roger. You had the chance to go up a set and a double break and then... sleepy time. I don't know quite what happened - I only saw a few games of the match, mostly ones where Federer was losing - but it was not so good.

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There was some good. His shots on clay are exquisite. He's got some serious game - and this surface suits him. People are always going on about how he can't play on clay, but he can: when he was making his shots, they were beautiful. But the unforced errors and the shanking... not so good.

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It's better than at Monte Carlo, and I suppose it's all a matter of work and practice and how you feel on the day. But I just want Federer to do well so badly. I'm a hopeless Fedophile. And he can do anything. He's the best player ever. I just want him... to, well, do it.

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All credit to Djokovic, though - he fought back from what looked like an impossible situation to win that match. But it's just so sad...

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...and he's facing the deadly, lethal Rafael Nadal. No words for this man. He is totally lethal.

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And on the subject of #1 ranked players, Dinara Safina is looking good to take the title in Stuttgart. She'll face Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final, and I would put a large sum of money on her winning. The top suits her, and it suits her well.

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Today's Results

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BNL Internazionali d'Italia (Rome)

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Rafael Nadal def. Fernando Gonzalez, 6-3 6-3

Novak Djokovic def. Roger Federer, 4-6 6-3 6-3

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Porsche Tennis Grand Prix (Stuttgart)

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Dinara Safina def. Flavia Pennetta, 3-6 7-5 6-0

Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Elena Dementieva, 6-4 6-2

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Grand Prix de SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem (Fes)

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Anabel Medina Garrigues def. Ekaterina Makarova, 6-0 6-1

Dinara! The Musical

No real surprises in Rome today - the surprise party is over. We have the three usual suspects through - Nadal, Federer and Djokovic all came through in straights again - and filling the spot left vacant by Murray is Fernando Gonzalez, who is pretty good at dirtballin', so not really surprising either. They're going to be good semis, I think - you'd bet on Rafa to come through for sure, but the other one is up in the air... but yeah. I hope it's Roger. I know it can be Roger. I think it'd be great to have a Roger/Rafa final before Roland Garros.

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That's pretty much all that can be said for Rome today... over to the girls. I said it yesterday and I'll say it again. Being #1 in the world really suits Dinara Safina. She pulverised Agnieszka Radwanska in Stuttgart today, and the war machine just looks like it'll keep on rolling. Please, please let this moment where she snaps out of her funk. That final in Australia really hurt her, I think - she played pretty well to get to that point. But we're around the same time last year that Dinara really burst onto the stage - it was so dramatic that you could probably write a musical about it: 'Dinara! The Musical!' (with supporting role of Marat Safin)... actually, that would be a fun idea. Am tempting myself now.

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Going back to Dinara's opponent, where has Agnieszka Radwanska been this year? Last year she was being touted as a future top-fiver and she made a couple of Slam quarter finals and generally showed promise - she was last year's Azarenka. But this year? She's another member of the Club of Lost Souls, with James Blake, Tomas Berdych, Lucie Safarova and Alize Cornet. I can't remember a single thing she's done this year. I mean, I suppose quarters in Stuttgart aren't bad, but she is capable of doing so much better.

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Speaking of people capable of more than the quarter finals in Stuttgart - Jelena Jankovic belongs to that club. I'm prepared to forgive this one, because she has showed some positive signs lately and Flavia Pennetta, to whom she lost, is wily and wise, especially on clay, but if this trend continues... she really should be looking at claiming her first Slam soon. And though there's been some improvement of late, I don't know if we're quite there yet.

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Today's Results

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Internazionali BNL d'Italia (Rome)

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Rafael Nadal def. Fernando Verdasco, 6-3 6-3

Roger Federer def. Mischa Zverev, 7-6 (7-3) 6-2

Novak Djokovic def. Juan Martin Del Potro, 6-3 6-4

Fernando Gonzalez def. Juan Monaco, 2-6 6-3 6-4

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Porsche Tennis Grand Prix (Stuttgart)

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Dinara Safina def. Agnieszka Radwanska, 6-4 6-2

Elena Dementieva def. Marion Bartoli, 6-2 4-6 6-3

Flavia Pennetta def. Jelena Jankovic, 2-6 6-4 6-4

Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Gisela Dulko, 6-3 6-2

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Grand Prix de SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem (Fes)

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Anabel Medina Garrigues def. Melinda Czink, 6-0 retired

Ekaterina Makarova def. Alisa Kleybanova, 6-2 6-1