The I-Don't-Want-To-Say-Renaissance of Ana Ivanovic

One tournament does not a comeback make. One string of wins does not equal a Renaissance.

But when you've been winning as few matches as Ana Ivanovic - when those wins have come so few and far between - then a tournament like Rome can herald the beginning of a whole new player. Of course, it can also be an enormous fluke, so here's hoping that's not the case - for Ana's sake.

But I like the way she's playing. I know Vesnina was, well, Vesnina, and Azarenka was injured, and Dementieva didn't turn up, and now Petrova went all shank-happy, but still Ana hasn't cracked. I wouldn't be prepared to say that she's been undoubtedly 'winning' her matches, but she hasn't been handed them on a silver platter, and, most importantly, she hasn't lost them. The WTA can be, and has often been of late, a game not of who wins but of who loses first. And Ana - well, Ana is great at losing first.

But this week? Not so much.

I don't really like her chances of coming through Maria Jose Martinez Sanches, but I wouldn't rule it out, either, and a week ago, I would have ruled it out for sure. So this is a good thing. This is progress. And progress is good. Progress is how you get to a Renaissance.

It's been a merry day for the Serbs, with Djokovic progressing in Belgrade and Jankovic going absolutely mental on Venus, hammering her into the ground. This is the best she's played in a long, long time. But I want to reserve my final praise today for another Serb - young Filip Krajinovic. He's had his first ATP wins this week and he deserves it roundly - he has some excellent, excellent game going on!

The Almost Positively Merry Story of Ana Ivanovic

Well, well, well. I am all astonishment. Not one, not two, but three wins in a row? Two consecutive wins over top ten players?

Admittedly, these top ten players have not been playing so well - this was hardly the Elena Dementieva that got beaten by Justine Henin in the second round in Australia - but still, Ana Ivanovic, I am feeling almost positive about you! And that is something I have not felt in a long time.

When was the last time Ana won a title? Actually, I have a vague recollection of her winning one last year, but it was a lone bastion of hope in a battlefield of despair. Here's hoping Rome - which must be counted as a personal victory, if not a tournament victory - does not turn out the same way. If Ana is rising, I want her to stay risen. Like a souffle.

Fear my simile.

In other news, Juan Martin del Potro is out for three to six months - I can practically hear him sliding down the rankings. I doubt many people will be backing him to repeat in New York. And speaking of people who have had some success in New York, some dude called Roger had his first clay court victory of the season. I am trying very hard not to care.

The Slightly More Cheerful Story of Ana Ivanovic

Whoa, whoa, whoa. I feel like I want to write exactly the same post as I did yesterday, only even more so.

So now not only has Ana Ivanovic had a win, she's had a win over a top ten player...?

Surely not.

I am, of course, hesitant to place any faith in this win because a) only a tennis moron would put any money on Ana to do anything, and I like to think I am not one of those, and b) Vika is obviously injured. But injured or not, it cannot be overstated what a massive win this is for Ana.

The reason why a win, any win, is good for Ana is not because she's been losing a lot - which she has - but because her opponents haven't been beating her. She hasn't given them the chance - she's been too busy beating herself. If she can stand on the other side of a net from Victoria Azarenka and not self-destruct, this is a massive, massive moment.

Like I said, not placing any faith in Ana nor expecting this to be the start of something. But this win will have to do wonders for her self-confidence. Maybe she's going to go on and take a bunch more losses. But if that happens, I hope she actually gets beaten rather than losing. That would be a positive step.

The Sad Story of Ana Ivanovic

Is that a W I see before me, right next to Ana Ivanovic's name?

Surely not.

Remember when Ana Ivanovic was ranked #1 in the world and was beating Dinara Safina in the Roland Garros final and stuff? I mean, sure, Dinara's not exactly the bestest player ever at the moment, but she's still ranked #3. And Ana's, what, #58?

We are at the point with Ana where it is a big freaking deal when she beats anyone. Gone are the days when she was a serious threat - when seeing yourself drawn against Ivanovic would give you pause and make you scared. Now you might as well just count yourself through the next round.

You know how many match wins Ana has had this year? I wouldn't quote me on this figure, but I think it's six. Newsflash: this is not a lot. And now she has one win, and the media is calling it a turning point.

One win is not a turning point. Not for normal people, anyway. However, for Ana, I kind of get where they're coming from. We're at the point where any win is a good sign. Even if it's 'just' Elena Vesnina, a solid but unspectacular player.

Time was I'd bet Ana barely knew who Vesnina was. Now beating her is a bust-out-the-champagne cause for celebration.

I was never a huge Ana fan, but you know what this makes me? Sad. Because the whole situation is just so pathetic - someone who was once great is now celebrating the smallest of wins. Mighty. Fallen.

Welcome to 2007

Welcome to 2007. We have JuJu winning comfortably in Stuttgart, we have Rafa bulldozing everything that even resembles an obstacle in his way and they're both obviously going to win Roland - wait, what? It's not 2007? We're not travelling back in time? Could have fooled me.

The wheel has turned and it has come back to the same place again. We had many, many years where the winners of Roland Garros were this pair, and if I'm not very much mistaken, it would not be a smart person who would bet against it happening again. The Rafa Freight Train is rolling on down the tracks. JuJu is little-sparrow-ing everyone off the court. This is... well, 2007.

Are these two going to win the big one? I have to say yes. The broken finger on JuJu might give some cause for doubt, but when you consider that it was Sam Stosur she beat - and not I-crumble-before-you Sam but Slammin' Sam - then I think she's going to be just fine. And with that injury cloud over Serena, well... if JuJu is not the favourite for this tournament, I will eat my sofa.

(Though, sidebar - Sam Stosur is totally a dark horse. She made the semis last year and I would not be at all surprised to see her go one better. She's at a career high ranking of #8 at the moment and she deserves it. Girl's on fire. Which makes JuJu's result even better).

And Rafa...? Well, what can you say about Rafa? He was a steamroller. Again. He's inexorable, unstoppable at the moment. I really hope he can get back up to #2 before Roland Garros, because I do not like the possibility of him meeting Federer in the semis ONE LITTLE BIT.

Skipping Barcelona was smart. I will be interested to see how he goes in Madrid, because he will have enough gas left in the tank this time. All I can say is this - it will be a very strong man who stops Rafa winning his fifth, and right now, I don't even think it's possible.

Red Carpet

I feel like ever since Ernie won Delray Beach I've been going, 'okay, I don't want to say this is it, but he's close, he's closer, he's getting better, he's almost there.'

Well, guess what, amigos? I'm finally ready to make that sweeping claim.

Roll out the welcome mat. Here comes Ernie.

I said a couple of weeks ago that I didn't think anyone would take a set off Rafa this clay season - at least not until Roland Garros. Well, guess who proved me wrong? That would be one E Gulbis, who played an absolutely spectacular match to take Nadal to three today. The final breakdown was 103 points to Rafa, 101 to Ernie. That is the difference of a hair. Like, literally, a hair. And against just about any other player, what Ernie did today would have catapulted him into that final.

Although he lost today, this has got to go down as the biggest tournament of his career. To beat Federer and go pretty damn close with the Claycourt Freight Train... that is something else. Though I was obviously pulling for Federer, I'm very happy with the way Ernie has progressed in this tournament.

Roland Garros awaits. The future beckons. And Ernie - at last, at long last - is striding down the red carpet to meet it.

Funky Town

So the mantle of #2 claycourter this year is definitely not going to Novak Djokovic. Despite his, you know, not winning the French Open or anything, I think it's fair to argue that that's what he was last year. But this year - no frigging way.

Novak is in a funk. With his ranking, he really should be beating Fernando Verdasco (who is, arguably, currently #2 claycourter). But no. And it's not just the admittedly in-form FeVer he's losing to - he's taken some stupid exits for quite some time now. I wouldn't go so far as to say 'worst #2 ever' or anything like that, but when you look at the dude who is #3, then you can say that something is rotten in the state of ranking system.

(BTW, I kind of love that Rafa is #3 despite the fact he didn't play Wimbledon last year. That is rad... and I really hope he gets back up to #2 before the Roland Garros seedings are done).

But there's someone in a worse funk than Nole, and that's Andy Murray. I didn't even notice when he lost, and that's saying something. I know clay is not his best surface, but he is just not bringing anything to play at the moment. His head is not in it.

So in our top four, we have an unfocused #1 (yes, Roger, I'm looking at you), a #2 having a crisis and a #4 having a breakdown. This all says one thing to me, and it's this: RAFA'S GONNA HURT YOU. HE WILL HURT YOU IN THE FACE.