Madrid Mesdames

It is very sad that, when there are only three proper seeds left in a tournament, two of them have to play each other in the quarter finals. But such is the way of the world, I suppose.

Sam Stosur may have lost to a Venus Williams running hot today, but she still has a whole lot of momentum propelling her forward into Roland Garros. She has a lot of ranking points there to defend, but to tell the truth, I don't think she's going to have tooooo much of a problem doing it. Of course if she gets drawn against a Williams in the quarters or something that might prove a problem, but for now, I think Sam is on track to do great.

I thought the same thing about Jelena Jankovic. I haven't exactly revised my position, but let's just say I wasn't expecting her to lose to Aravane Rezai, talented as Rezai is. (I remember her pushing Serena hard in the semis in Sydney... though that might have had something to do with the strange gold lame outfit she was wearing). Rezai herself might be a bit of a dark horse to look out for - a French girl in France...

But it's Venus who's really been proving herself. She can dirtball like nobody's business - I think it's her most underrated skill. And if I were a betting woman and I wanted to make a few dollars, I might just put a little money on V to win Roland Garros. I think she has a really, REALLY good chance.

In Roland Garros news, Kim Clijsters is out. Pout.

WTA WTF (again)

I kind of wish I hadn't used the headline 'WTA WTF' yesterday, because I want to use it again today. Serena, really?

Come on, Serena. I haven't always been your biggest fan and that you don't peak till the Slams, but I thought I could count of you to keep some semblance of normalcy in this wacky tournament, particularly as pretty much everyone who might be considered competition is out already.

But no. Not to be.

And so we're left with Venus... Jankovic... a few other randoms... and one Sam Stosur.

At this point, I think I might be picking Jankovic to win the tournament, but what a shot for Sam Stosur. She made relatively quick work of Patty Schnyder at the moment and is looking fierce. She's been one of the form players this season - even though 'form' basically constitutes 'losing last' for the WTA these days (though Sam has been playing genuinely well) and a win here in Madrid would not only be HUGE for her career, it would catapult her with a whole ton of momentum into Roland Garros and, I believe, the top five.

Now there is a bit of something.

WTA WTF

Can I get a what what for Madrid and the ladies? Seriously, WTA, I know we've had our issues, but I know you can do better than this.

Let's review. I'm pretty sure the Williams sister may just well be the only seeds left standing after Wozniacki and Dementieva went tumbling out. Safina gone. Henin. Kuznetsova. Sharapova. Name a name, and they're gone.

Actually, that's not strictly true. Jankovic is still there - and much I like to watch Jankovic when she's playing well, she's not exactly the player I want to set my hopes on as a bastion of reliability. So we have the Williamses and Jankovic and...

...and unexpected SAM STOSUR IS UNEXPECTED.

It was just last month when I was reading about Stosur getting into the top ten in Australian Tennis Magazine and how this was the most massive thing ever omg she was ranked #10!!!!1!!! Well, register this. If she does super well at this tournament, she could be in the top five by the end of it. The top freaking five.

Let's compare to this the boys for a minute. This is like Marin Cilic, relatively recent top tenner (currently sitting at #11) suddenly finding himself in the top five. To get there, he'd have to leapfrog Tsonga, Verdasco, Soderling, Roddick, Davydenko and del Potro. Just have a look at those names there. There may only be two Slam titles between the lot of them, but look at those names. You just couldn't do that.

But that is what Stosur is on the verge of doing. She played superbly well to beat the excellent recent Rome winner in Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez. Truth be told, if she can beat MJMS, she can beat just about anyone. She's got one thing going that the rest of the field are lacking at the moment, which is that one thing the WTA has had problems with for a while now - consistency.

It's been a long time since I've thought an Aussie had a genuine chance at a Slam title. But you know what, Sam? Roland Garros needs to watch out for you.

Unexpected Madrid is Unexpected!

There is something about the claycourt season that never gives you a chance to catch your breath. One second you're bemoaning a certain semi final in Estoril and then suddenly the next tournament has started and half the women in it have lost before you even thought about it.

(Seriously, WTA? Henin? Sharapova? Kuznetsova? Safina? Serena taking three and a half hours? WTF?)

But Madrid is here, and cover it we must.

I don't think anyone realised at the time last year what a key tournament Madrid would turn out to be, especially for the men. It was quite unusual. Going into it, no one would have ever suspected that we would see what was probably one of the greatest three set matches ever, that it would make one man and break two others.

Because that was precisely what it did. It was Federer's win in Madrid that catapulted him forward, momentum-filled, into Roland Garros - and it was nothing but momentum and sheer willpower that got him out the scrapes he got into Acasuso and Haas and del Potro. Madrid made that man, claycourt wise.

And it was Madrid that broke Novak Djokovic, snapped him in two after that epic semi with Nadal. And Madrid broke Nadal as well, the straw that broke the raging bull's back, that finally fatigued the unfatigueable, and set him up to go into that fateful round of sixteen clash with Robin Soderling.

So will Madrid be fateful again this year? Only time will tell.

Better Than Great Britain

Let's do a tennis feelgood story. Specifically, let's talk about the Australian Davis Cup team. I'm not normally extraordinarily nationalistic when it comes to tennis, but watching the progress of both our national teams this year has made me happy.

Sure, we may only be second tier, but the Australian Davis Cup team has not lost a rubber this year. Sure, we've been facing Chinese Taipei and Japan respectively, who are not exactly known to be tennis powerhouses, but not one single rubber. That seems to me to be pretty impressive. We have had the added advantage of playing at home, but nonetheless. Not one. That's awesome.

And it's not as if we've been a one man show, either. We've had Lleyton Hewitt do some heroics, we've had some from Carsten Ball, Peter Luczak, Bernard Tomic... for the first time in a long time, the Davis Cup team is beginning to attain something that almost looks like depth. And with players like Greg Jones and Nick Lindahl waiting in the wings and players like Jason Kubler and Luke Saville on the rise... the future is looking bright.

Not that I expect the Aussies to win Davis Cup anytime soon or anything. We have a ways to go before we're even in contention - if we get an unfriendly draw, then we'll have zero hopes of being the grown up group next year. But we're edging our way towards something a bit good - and certainly we're doing very respectably.

We're not going the way of Great Britain, that's for sure. Well done, boys, on a fabulous tie over the weekend. And if the world group playoff is in Australia, you can bet I will be there with bells on.

How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?

I decree this week the Week We Do Not Speak of Estoril. This tournament will be like the last rugby world cup - never, ever to be spoken of again. Roger, I am choosing to forget this ever happened. I hope the rest of the world will be as kind. Montanes? Really?

But I'm not talking about that.

Instead, let's talk about Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, who came through the whole of the shenanigans in Rome with the Serbians and the Williamses and took the whole thing. As late bloomers go, she is a late bloomer - a late bloomer even among late bloomers. But the flower that blooms last blooms brightest (or something). Anyway, Maria J rocks my socks. Serve and volley? Love it stupid.

I was fortunate enough to see Maria play live this year - sure, I was cheering against her, because it was Hopman Cup and she was playing Stosur - but I think I may just have been lucky enough to witness something very special. Her excellent run of form this year really began at the Hopman Cup, where she teamed up with Tommy Robredo to win the whole thing. The series of wins she had there, over players like Stosur - well, they have really set her up with a whole lot of confidence. (She also lost to Laura Robson, but... well, Estoril.)

She's been on a roll ever since. I said yesterday that Jelena Jankovic could be a genuine Roland Garros contender. If Maria Jose can take her down, well... that's not just special, that elevates her to the role of genuine contender. I can't say I see Maria winning Roland Garros - I think I'm more cautious in my predictions - but she could certainly be a massive mover and shaker if she keeps playing like this.

...she'll be a problem for the other players, that's for sure. And how do you solve a problem like Maria?

(Yes, I went there. Yes, I know I did it poorly and inelegantly. Deal.)

The Renaissance of Jelena Jankovic

In all this writing about Ana Ivanovic - who finally lost, after a good run to the semi finals - I have completely neglected to write about the other Serbian success story of the week.

Well, there are a few, I suppose. Novak Djokovic doesn't really count as one, although Filip Krajinovic certainly does. But this week's biggest Serbian success is easily Jelena Jankovic.

I'd almost forgotten about Jankovic, to tell the truth. She never took the same Serbian slide that Ana did - she's remained solidly near the top - but she hasn't really looked like a challenger for a long time now. Until this week, really. I mean, come on - beating Venus and Serena consecutively in the same tournament? Allowing Venus - who, as I have written before, no slouch on clay - only one game? Sure, Venus was suffering under the curse of the leggings (may they never be seen on a tennis court) but that is a masterful performance by Jankovic.

I've written a lot this week about how Ivanovic hasn't been losing. She hasn't been winning per se, but she hasn't been losing, and that's a big step for her. Jankovic is pretty good at not losing - this is why she has preserved her high ranking where Ivanovic hasn't - but this week she has come and looked like a winner. Not-loser Jelena? Not here. Winner Jelena? Raising her head.

I don't want to go and call her a major contender for the French Open, because I don't want to endow her with that level of faith just yet. But let's put it this way... if she can take out Venus and Serena - crush Venus, out-tough Serena - there is no reason why she couldn't have a massive, massive run there.