Why I Love Tennis

It's the one day of the Australian tennis season I hate most - boring Sunday. The day between the end of the prelim tournaments and the beginning of the first grand slam of the season. No tennis is played. Nothing happens. Channel 7 has their usual crappy programming. In fact, I think that they might deliberately make it crapper than normal on Boring Sunday, just to irritate people.

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But the thing is, as a blogger, Boring Sunday actually provides me with a great opportunity - especially in the type of blog I hope I'm writing. There are no matches to distract me, so here goes. The big discussion. Why I love tennis.

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There are a number of reasons, many of which I've discussed at length, but really, when it all comes down to it, it's one name, one man.

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Roger Federer.

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I've been following Roger for a long time. My earliest memory of him is when he played the bronze medal match at the Sydney Olympics, and he lost. I've never seen anyone look so crushed. That kid - because he was a kid then, only nineteen years old - that kid wanted to win.

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The next Federer match I remember seeing was that epic in the fourth round of Wimbledon in 2001. Federer vs. Sampras. The only time they ever met on the ATP circuit. Five sets.

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Federer won.

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That match, though no one realised it at the time, was emblematic. That was the changing of the guard. That is, if you ask me, the beginning of when Roger Federer became great.

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I watched Roger for many years - watched him at that awful Davis Cup match against Hewitt, where he had match points but Hewitt ended up winning, watched him win his first Grand Slam at Wimbledon in 2003, watched as his temperament changed from Safin-esque fury to implacable, unflappable. I watched him become great, but I didn't realise what I was watching - and, to my shame, I didn't care enough.

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And then the Australian Open happened in 2006, and because of Roger, I fell head over heels in love with tennis.

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That is one of the most compelling Grand Slam tournaments I have ever seen. Roger played some awesome tennis - the third round against Max Mirnyi comes to mind, where he only made 10 unforced errors in the match - and then it was like the wheels fell off. Five sets against Tommy Haas. Another tight match against Nikolay Davydenko in the quarters. I clearly remember the commentators saying that this was the game of a man who was well out of form. He was coming back from the Masters Cup '05, where he basically played on one leg. He didn't play especially well at Kooyong. Roger Federer was not all there.

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And he still found a way to win.

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I remember, very clearly, watching that fourth round match against Haas. I can't remember ever being so nervous during a tennis match. I was sitting in my little room on the third floor of my college, and when the fifth set rolled around, I just couldn't take it any more. It was a hot, sticky night, and I was sweating with nerves. I couldn't watch it. I couldn't watch this man, whom I had been watching and admiring for years, lose.

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So I left. I walked around the college - not far, it probably only took me ten or fifteen minutes - and then came back. It was two all, I think. It was tight, it was close, and I was digging my fingernails into my palms. I remember telling myself to calm down, that my life would be totally unaltered if Roger lost here. This was a man I had never met, whom I probably never would meet.

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But the facts remained the same. I cared - so much.

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And then, when Roger reeled off a double break to win the match, I felt like he had won that match for me.

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That year was the year of the rise and rise of Marcos Baghdatis, and Australia as a whole was much more occupied with him to notice the best player in the world grinding through his matches. I watched Marcos too. I was going for him in those matches he won against Roddick and Ljubicic and Nalbandian. I like an underdog as much as the next person. But for me, Australian Open 2006 was all about Roger.

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He beat Haas. He beat Davydenko - God, I was nervous in that match as well! He beat Kiefer. And then it was time for Baghdatis.

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Marcos, to his credit, played phenomenally in the first two sets. He won the first and was up a break in the second. And then it was like someone hit the Roger Federer on-switch. Errors became winners. Everything was fluid. This was the game that he had been missing. He's implacable on the court, but I still thought I could see it in his eyes. He didn't have to grind any more. The King was back in town.

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The final score was 5-7 7-5 6-0 6-2. That third set is one of the most beautiful displays of tennis I have ever seen. But what was more beautiful was afterwards.

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He cried.

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Roger Federer, undisputed king of tennis, was so proud and relieved to have come through, even though he wasn't all there, even though he wasn't playing his best - Roger Federer, the best player in the world, wept, because he was overwhelmed by victory.

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I am not ashamed to say that I cried too.

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That, for me, is one of the greatest sporting moments of all time. I had always liked tennis, liked Roger before that point, but that is when I fell in love with them both.

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It is incredible to me that a man in Roger's position - the best player in the world and genuine celebrity - can maintain such humility. Because that's one of the things that's best about Roger. He's modest. He's humble. He never makes excuses for himself. He never takes anything away from the other guy. In fact, I think I read about him saying something like that once, after he lost a match: 'you should never take anything away from the other guy, because I was trying my best.'

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This man, this amazingly gifted, talented man, could be forgiven for being an arrogant arse. He's undoubtedly one of the greatest, if not the greatest, tennis player ever to play the game.

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But he's still humble.

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I still get nervous for Roger. Whenever I watch him play, my heart is in my mouth. It's a double-edged sword, really - I love to watch him play, but I get so nervous that it's sometimes hard to appreciate the beauty of his game. But often, he puts that to rest. That semi-final at the Australian Open last year comes to mind. He was playing Roddick, who was in the great form. Roddick had actually beaten Federer at the final of Kooyong the week before. Everyone was talking about how this could be the match where Roddick dethroned the master. 'When you're talking about Federer and Nadal,' I remember Jimmy Connors saying, 'you can't leave out Roddick.'

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Federer won, 6-4 6-0 6-2. It is the best tennis match I have ever seen. A lot of people - including me - like tennis because of the tussle, the struggle of personality. But this match was different. This was a total display of dominance from a man who plays the best tennis ever.

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One shot in particular sticks out in my mind. Roddick was serving, Federer returned, then Roddick slammed the ball down the middle of the court, right on the baseline. A winner, surely. Federer had been pushed out into the corner by the serve. If he could even touch it, there was no way it'd go in.

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Federer played a running volley off his toes. The ball bounced in the right-hand baseline corner on Roddick's side. A clean winner.

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The expression on Roddick's face was priceless. If I wasn't so wrapped up in Federer's amazing game, I would have felt sorry for him. That moment, I think, is where Federer broke his spirit.

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I've been worried about Roger this week. He's had stomach flu, which put him out of Kooyong and disrupted his practice. Channel 7 - those wise gods of tennis - have been talking about there being a question mark over his health. The newspapers have been all over the fact that his side of the draw is incredibly hard. I've been getting nervous for him - and he hasn't even started playing yet!

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But then I read his press conference from this afternoon. Someone asked him if he was one hundred percent. Roger said he was happy with his form, that physically he was fine. Yeah, he said, he was a hundred percent.

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And I believe him.

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If Roger says he's fine, then I am not going to doubt him. I'm getting excited again about the Open (where I'm going tomorrow and Tuesday!) and not just nervous for him.

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But you know what? Even if Roger doesn't win - if he never gets the French, never gets Sampras's record - then it doesn't matter. I don't doubt for a second that he can and will achieve these things, but if he doesn't, then it doesn't matter. Because this man is a lovely, honest, humble man. This man has kept his head while those around were losing theirs. This man is man enough to cry. This man is the model of what a celebrity - or, indeed, a person - should be. This man is an exceptional human being. And whether he's ranked #1 for the next fifty years or whether he gives tennis up tomorrow, I will always follow his career, and I will always, always be thankful to him, because this man, Roger Federer - this man is why I fell in love with tennis.

Crowded House

If there is one thing I took away from my experience at the Medibank International, it is that Australian crowds cheering for an Australian are very, very cruel.

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I would have hated to be Dmitry Tursunov coming out on court last night. Any other opponent, and I wouldn't have been surprised if the crowd's support was with him - he's a funny, likeable guy. But no, Guccione was Australian, and so poor Dmitry got just about nothing. When they started warming up, one guy yelled out, 'He looks worried, Chris!' Later on - I think it might have been in the first set breaker - someone else yelled out, 'Don't choke, Dmitry!'

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No one was exactly rude, I suppose - no one booed or anything like that - but it must have been hard. Every time Dmitry won a point, there was a few smatterings of applause. When Gooch won a point, just about everyone in the stadium cheered their heads off. It was quite a strange match - there were no break points. Probably the closest there came to being a break point was on Tursunov's serve at 30-30 about halfway through the second set. The poor guy's standing there, trying to serve, and the crowd is still cheering maniacally for Guccione.

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I can't imagine anything harder - to be standing in front of eight thousand people, when nearly all of them are willing you to fail.

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But I wasn't!

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It was very intimidating being in the crowd, actually. I was quite vocal about my support of Dmitry - if you watched it on TV and heard the occasional, 'Go Dmitry!' or 'Go Dima!' that was probably me! - and I think some of the people around me might have wanted to kill me. I certainly heard mutterings of, 'but she's Australian...!' I think the only other Dima supporters in the whole arena were three little girls with a Russian flag sitting over the other side of the stadium - occasionally they started up a 'DiMA, DiMA, DiMA!' chant, only to be drowned out instantly by seven thousand other people bellowing, 'GooCHIE, GooCHIE, GooCHIE!'

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I guess Australia doesn't agree with me on the point that tennis is about personality, not nationality. But I wonder how many of those Guccione fans there knew anything about tennis...?

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Like I can talk, I suppose. But I would like to think that my personality-over-nationality mentality makes me a little bit discerning. You can't exactly help your nationality. You can help your personality.

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Guccione played good tennis last night, it can't be denied. But when it comes down to it... he's a bit boring, really. His game relies so heavily on his serve that he rarely gets into proper points. He did pull off some lovely serve-and-volley manoeuvres, but on the whole, it was all about his serve. Nine times out of ten, when they did get into a rally, Tursunov won. His forehand really is beautiful - one of the best I've seen. He spread Guccione all over the court with it.

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But Dmitry's forehand - great as it is - isn't the reason I follow him. It's the fact that he doesn't take himself too seriously. He's a tennis player, but it looks to me like he still finds tennis fun.

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So well done, Dima. I was gunning for you.

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Today's Results

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Medibank International (Sydney)

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Dmitry Tursunov def. Chris Guccione, 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-4)

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AAMI Classic (Kooyong)

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Andy Roddick def. Marcos Baghdatis, 7-5 6-3

Marat Safin def. Fernando Gonzalez, 6-3 6-3

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Heineken Open (Auckland)

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Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Juan Carlos Ferrero, 7-6 (7-4) 7-5

Un-Australianism

My wish (and prediction) has come true. It's a Tursunov vs. Guccione final. And I'm going.

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And I'm going for Tursunov.

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'Un-Australianism' is a very prevalent concept in Australia. It gets thrown round jokingly all the time - 'it's un-Australian not to eat Vegemite,' 'it's un-Australian not to like John Williamson,' 'it's un-Australian not to throw another shrimp on the barbie, mate.' It's certainly un-Australian not to follow the Australian cricket team - and it's probably un-Australian not to support other Australian teams and sportsmen as well.

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So, by that reckoning, I suppose I'm being un-Australian - but for me, tennis has nothing to do with nationality. It's all about personality.

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That isn't to deprecate Guccione's personality. He seems like a really nice guy. I've been gunning for him in all his matches this week - especially in his match against Lleyton Hewitt - and he's lovely. He's just a genuinely nice bloke. And I think that, as he plays more and more tennis on the ATP circuit, he has the potential to be a real force to be reckoned with. At the moment, his game is a bit one-sided - it relies very heavily on his massive first serve - but it's working for him. He's shown shades of brilliance as a serve-and-volley player - he knows how to use his wingspan at the net, though he could probably try and make himself a bit more intimidating! But, on the whole, I like the Gooch, and I think he has a great future ahead of him in tennis.

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But the thing is... he just ain't Dmitry.

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Dmitry Tursunov, if you ask me, is one of the great personalities of the modern game. On top of that, he's probably one of the best players people have never heard of. He's very underrated - and he's just so damn funny!

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It seems to happen every year at the Australian Open - the Australian public picks a player to adopt and cheer for. The most obvious example of this was a few years ago, when Marcos Baghdatis made his run to the Australian Open final. (Great win for him yesterday at Kooyong incidentally - though I'm not sure exactly what game Fernando Gonzalez thought he was playing, because it sure wasn't tennis.) All of Australia loved him! I cheered for him myself - until he got to the final, where my affections obviously lay with the amazing Roger F. But it got so out of hand that I think the premier of Victoria offered Baghdatis Australian citizenship at one point.

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If he plays well enough, I think Dmitry has the potential to be this year's Marcos. He already made a bit of a mark in Australia at Hopman Cup last year - the mixed doubles, oh, the mixed doubles! - and he's just such a funny guy. Who wouldn't love him?

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Though I am a bit torn, I have to say - because he's in the same half of the draw as Roger Federer. Dmitry's amazing run is only going to be permitted to last until he runs into my Number One. He can make it to the semi, but no further. But there's still a number of great victories he could have on the way! He's playing Xavier Malisse in the first round - which could be a tricky match up, but I have no doubt he can win - then either Querrey or the little Rochus in the second, with a potential Djokovic in the third. Oh, wouldn't I love Dmitry to take out Djokovic...

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But first thing's first. First, there's Guccione tonight.

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I will be there.

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Today's Results

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Medibank International (Sydney)

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Men's Draw

Dmitry Tursunov def. Fabrice Santoro, 6-3 7-6 (7-4)

Chris Guccione def. Radek Stepanek, 7-6 (7-5) 3-6 6-4

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Women's Draw

Justine Henin def. Svetlana Kuznetsova, 4-6 6-2 6-4

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AAMI Classic (Kooyong)

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Marcos Baghdatis def. Fernando Gonzalez, 6-2 7-5

Andy Murray def. Brydan Klein, 6-2 7-6 (7-4_

Nikolay Davydenko def. Ivan Ljubicic, 6-0 7-6 (7-1)

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Heineken Open (Auckland)

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Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Juan Monaco, 6-2 6-1

Juan Carlos Ferrero def. Julien Benneteau, 6-3 6-4

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Moorilla Hobart International ( Hobart)

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Eleni Daniilidou def. Vera Zvonareva, walkover

Russian Roulette

I don't think there is a woman in the world who doesn't have a bit of a soft spot for Marat Safin.

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Understandably.

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I love watching Marat play, but going for him is certainly a gamble. When Marat is on, then he's on. Marat, at his best, can give Roger Federer a run for his money. They've certainly had some classic matches in the past - the Australian Open final in 2004 and the semi-final in 2005 both come to mind. But Marat when he's off... can be almost painful. Maybe because it's so painful for him. Yesterday's match against Andy Roddick at Kooyong was an example of that. Marat did not play well. And you could tell he knew it.

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I don't think I would like to meet Marat after a match like that. He was in a foul mood on the court, and I can't imagine he'd be very pleasant to be around afterwards.

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That's the difference, I think, between Marat and his Russian compatriot Dmitry Tursunov. Dmitry, like Marat, is a hot/cold player. Cheering for Dmitry is a roll of the dice, and you're never quite sure what you're going to get. But Dmitry doesn't seem to get quite so annoyed at himself about it.

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I would love to see Safin and Tursunov play doubles. They have in the past - Davis Cup for Russia comes to mind. They also played at Estoril in 2006, when Dmitry wrote his now-famous blog, much of which was devoted to paying out Marat, especially because they had to pull out in the semi-final because Marat rolled his ankle walking down the hill to get a haircut. I can imagine that their singles careers get in the way of playing doubles, but if they started training together permanently, I think they could take out the Bryans.

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(I'd certainly like to think they could take out the Bryans!)

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Unlike Marat, Dmitry is ON at the moment. He's into the semis at Sydney, where he'll play Fabrice Santoro, and I'm pretty sure he can win. I certainly hope he wins, because I've got tickets to the men's final tomorrow night, and I wouldn't miss that one for anything! The four semi-finalists are actually pretty weird - not who you would have picked. Chris Guccione plays Radek Stepanek and Tursunov plays Santoro. None of them are seeded. When you consider that the four top seeds were Gasquet, Robredo, Blake and Berdych - none of whom are slouches, and all of whom were taken out by these four players - that's a pretty good effort.

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I'm gunning for a Tursunov/Guccione final, with a Tursunov victory. Not very patriotic, I know, but if you ask me, tennis isn't about nationality. Tennis is about personality - and Dmitry Tursunov sounds like someone I wouldn't mind having a few drinks with!

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Today's Results

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Medibank International (Sydney)

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Men's Draw

Chris Guccione def. Tomas Berdych, 4-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-4

Radek Stepanek def. Agustin Calleri, 6-2 6-4

Dmitry Tursunov def. Sebastien Grosjean, 6-4 6-2

Fabrice Santoro def. Evgeny Korolev, 6-3 6-3

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Women's Draw

Justine Henin def. Ana Ivanovic, 6-2 2-6 6-4

Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Nicole Vaidisova, 7-5 7-6 (7-4)

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AAMI Classic (Kooyong)

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Andy Murray def. Ivan Ljubicic, 6-7 (7-9) 6-4 6-2

Andy Roddick def. Marat Safin, 6-3 6-3

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Heineken Open (Auckland)

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Julien Benneteau def. David Ferrer, 6-4 6-0

Juan Monaco def. Michael Llodra, 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-5)

Juan Carlos Ferrero def. Nicolas Massu, 4-6 6-3 6-4

Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Florian Mayer, 6-3 6-4

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Moorilla Hobart International (Hobart)

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Vera Zvonareva def. Ashley Harkleroad, 6-2 6-1

Eleni Daniilidou def. Flavia Pennetta, 6-4 6-3

Just Not Cricket

What was I thinking, saying anything even vaguely nice about Lleyton Hewitt yesterday? He might have a all right top spin lob, but his behavior in and after his match against Chris Guccione was terrible.

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What a princess! Going on and on about how he could sympathise with the Australian cricket team because of 'ordinary' umpiring! To launch a tirade of abuse like that at the umpire in the second set breaker - well, THAT just wasn't cricket, Lleyton. But what's worse, I think, is that he came out and said after the match that he was the better player, even though he lost.

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How dare he say something like that?! Chris Guccione played a fine match. Sure, his game is a little one-sided - it depends very heavily on his massive serve - but he got the job done. Guccione won, fair and square. Sure, some of the calls might have been a little bit dubious, but I don't think the whole match swung on them or anything like that. There was one call - I think it was at 3-2 in the second set breaker - where Hewitt thought the ball had bounced twice before Guccione got to it, and proceeded to abuse the umpire at length on the point.

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Guccione, on the other hand, thinks he did get to the ball. And wouldn't he be in a position to know?

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Just because you clearly have a problem with sportsmanship, Lleyton, doesn't mean that you should question everyone else's. If Guccione says he got to it, then I think you should believe he got to it.

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Meanwhile, what a win for Dmitry Tursunov! I couldn't watch it, because of gainful employment, but I was watching the scores the whole time, and oh! was I cheering (on the inside.) Tursunov ranks No. 2 on my list of favourite tennis players (after, of course, the wonderful Mr. Federer) and I was so pleased! I'm going to the men's final on Saturday, and I can't think of anything better than to see Dmitry play! The top three seeds are out of the tournament - the highest (and only, I think) remaining seed is Tomas Berdych at No. 4 - and so I *

think Dmitry has a real chance.

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(And if anyone wants to read a tennis blog that's actually amusing, Tursunov's ATP blog is hysterical!)

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Today's Results

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Medibank International (Sydney)

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Men's Draw

Dmitry Tursunov def. Richard Gasquet, 3-6 6-3 6-4

Tomas Berdych def. Gilles Simon, 7-6 (7-3) 6-2

Agustin Calleri def. Carlos Moya, 6-3 6-4

Chris Guccione def. Lleyton Hewitt, 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-2)

Sebastien Grosjean def. Fernando Verdasco, 6-3 6-4

Evgeny Korolev def. Ivo Minar, 6-2 6-3

Radek Stepanek def. Andreas Seppi, 7-5 2-6 6-4

Fabrice Santoro def. Steve Darcis, 6-1 6-3

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Women's Draw

Justine Henin def. Kaia Kanepi, 6-2 6-0

Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Francesca Schiavone, 6-4 6-0

Nicole Vaidisova def. Jelena Jankovic, 6-4 4-6 6-4

Ana Ivanovic def. Katarina Srebotnik , 6-3 3-6 6-2

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AAMI Classic (Kooyong)

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Marcos Baghdatis def. Nikolay Davydenko, 6-4 4-6 6-1

Andy Roddick def. Ivan Ljubicic, 6-3 6-0

Marat Safin def. Andy Murray, 6-1 6-4

Fernando Gonzalez def. Brydan Klein, 7-6 (7-3) 6-4

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Heineken Open (Auckland)

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First Round

David Ferrer def. Oscar Hernandez, 6-1 6-2

Juan Monaco def. Thomas Johansson, 6-3 6-4

Juan Carlos Ferrero def. Jesse Levine, 6-4 6-1

Xavier Malisse def. Jarkko Nieminen, 7-6 (7-3) 6-3

Michael Llodra def. Hyung-taik Lee, 6-1 6-4

Marin Cilic def. Tomas Cakl, 6-4 6-3

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Second Round

David Ferrer def. Sergio Roitman, 6-1 -7-6 (7-2)

Florian Mayer def. Juan Ignacio Chela, 6-3 7-6 (9-7)

Juan Monaco def. Olivier Rochus, 6-3 6-3

Juan Carlos Ferrero def. Jurgen Melzer, 6-3 7-6 (8-6)

Julien Benneteau def. Nicolas Almagro, 6-4 2-6 6-2

Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Marin Cilic, 6-3 6-7 (5-7) 6-4

Michael Llodra def. Albert Montanes, 6-3 6-4

Nicolas Massu def. Xavier Malisse, 6-4 6-4

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Moorilla Hobart International (Hobart)

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Vera Zvonareva def. Elena Vesnina, 6-3 6-3

Flavia Pennetta def. Sania Mirza, 7-5 1-6 6-3

Ashley Harkleroad def. Edina Gallovits, 6-4 6-4

Eleni Daniilidou def. Casey Dellacqua, 6-4 7-5

Lleyton and the Lob

I'll be the first to admit I don't like Lleyton Hewitt. I'm not sure anyone actually does like Lleyton Hewitt. I'd venture to say that the majority of Australians who barrack for him don't actually particularly like him. And I've always found it amusing that he is apparently Argentina's Most Hated International Sportsman. (After the Chela thing, it's unsurprising, I guess!) I don't like him, but I have to admit - he played some fine tennis today.

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I think what was most impressive about his game today was the way he used the defensive topspin lob. He almost overused it. Shot after shot, he sent those things spiralling over Mahut's head - and damn, it was a successful tactic. I've never really paid much attention to the technical aspects of his game before, being too consumed in disliking his personality, but that's something I'm going to keep an eye out for in the future. I can't imagine it would be a very successful clay court technique, but on the faster courts, like grass, I can see how it would really work for him. Mahut's movement wasn't impaired or anything - it wasn't like he was too slow to get there - but the lobs were just too good.

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So, well done, Lleyton. I still don't like you, but you play an all right game of tennis.

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A good win for Dmitry Tursunov today - though sadly it came at the expense of Stan Wawrinka. Tursunov is a favourite of mine (as you might have already been able to tell!) but I like Wawrinka as well, and he had a great run to the Doha final last week. A terrible loss for Tommy Robredo - I have no idea what was going on there! Radek Stepanek is no slouch, but he isn't really in Robredo's league, and so that was a bad loss. Likewise, Ana Ivanovic almost totally lost it there against Virginie Razzano. She ended up winning 7-5 in the third, but Razzano was leading that set 5-2 at one point... she seemed to go on a mental vacation.

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Speaking of that, it was pretty clear that what picked Ivanovic back up again was her coach talking to her. When did that particular innovation begin? I've never even heard of it before. Both Ivanovic and Razzano had their coaches courtside at various points. Now, tell me I'm wrong, but I thought that being coached during a match was very-bad-extremely-banned-if-you-do-it-you-are-cheating? So when did this friendly coach talk start? Because I don't like it. A tennis match is between two individuals. Doesn't everyone say that tennis is this huge mental battle? Because it seems to me that calling your coach down for a pick-me-up and positive affirmation runs kind of counter to that notion? If tennis is a kitchen, picking up Roger Rasheed's extremely intelligent metaphor of a few days ago, Razzano was in Ivanovic's kitchen making a huge mess... which Ivanovic's coach proceeded to neaten up a bit. I mean, Ivanovic still had to do the big tidy, but the coach started it off for her.

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I know they can both call the coach, so it's not unfair, but it seems sort of... not in the spirit of tennis.

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In other news, very sad that Federer and Haas both had to pull out of the AAMI Classic in Kooyong... especially Federer. That makes me very gloomy indeed. I was looking forward to watching him play this week... though I might get to see him in the flesh next week (hopefully healthier!)

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Today's Results

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Medibank International (Sydney)

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Men's Draw

Radek Stepanek def. Tommy Robredo, 6-4 6-2

Carlos Moya def. Stefan Koubek, 1-6 6-4 6-2

Lleyton Hewitt def. Nicolas Mahut, 6-3 6-4

Evgeny Korolev def. Paul-Henri Mathieu, 6-1 ret.

Dmitry Tursunov def. Stanislas Wawrinka, 6-3 6-3

Andreas Seppi def. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 3-6 6-3 6-2

Steve Darcis def. Joseph Sirianni, 6-1 7-6 (7-4)

Chris Guccione def. Alberto Martin, 7-6 (8-6) 6-4

Ivo Minar def. Alun Jones, 6-2 7-5

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Women's Draw

Justine Henin def. Lucie Safarova, walkover

Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Shahar Peer, 6-3 6-4

Ana Ivanovic def. Virginie Razzano, 6-1 2-6 7-5

Nicole Vaidisova def. Daniela Hantuchova, 6-4 6-2

Francesca Schiavone def. Marion Bartoli, 2-6 6-3 6-2

Katarina Srebotnik def. Sybille Bammer, 4-6 6-1 6-2

Kaia Kanepi def. Sofia Arvidsson, 3-6 6-3 6-3

Jelena Jankovic def. Tatiana Golovin, 6-1 2-6 6-3

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Heineken Open (Auckland)

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Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Michael Russell, 7-5 6-2

Sergio Roitman def. Lukas Rosol, 6-2 7-5

Nicolas Massu def. Greg Jones, 6-4 6-2

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Moorilla Hobart International

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Eleni Daniilidou def. Alona Bondarenko, 6-3 6-3

Vera Zvonareva def. Ioana Raluca Olaru, 6-3 6-2

Sania Mirza def. Alla Kudryavtseva, 6-3 6-4

Elena Vesnina def. Nuria Llagostera Vives, 6-3 6-2

Ashley Harkleroad def. Meilen Tu, 7-6 (11-9) 2-6 6-1

Edina Gallovits def. Olga Govortsova, 6-3 6-2

Casey Dellacqua def. Anna Lapushchenkova, 6-4 4-6 6-1

Bagel, Breadstick

Gainful employment - it gets in the way. It always happens: in the only month tennis is really televised in Australia, I work more than any other month.

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It also means I can fund my tennis junket in a couple of days' time. A double-edged sword, alas.

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Due to said gainful employment, I didn't get to actually see any tennis, but I didn't need to see the match to know that Mikhail Youzhny's victory over Rafael Nadal in Chennai was a complete whitewash. What kind of result is that for the Number 2 tennis player in the world? Rafa is supposedly the heir-apparent to the Federer throne (though I think Novak Djokovic might have a few things to say about that!) When was the last time you saw Federer (or Djokovic, for that matter) beaten 6-0 6-1?

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I appreciate that Rafa had played a long match against Carlos Moya less than 24 hours before hand - apparently it was one of the longest three set matches ever played, going for about four hours, I think. Sure, he was tired, and it's the beginning of the season and he isn't really all there yet. But 6-0 6-1? A week before the beginning of the Australian Open? Even I can see that that's really not good enough.

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Tennis is an endurance sport. Tennis players are among the fittest people in the world. Five set matches can easily break the five-hour mark, and frequently go longer. It's almost a foreign thought to think of a tennis player getting tired.

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Look at Federer. When was the last time fatigue played a real role in his game? To be fair, Federer rarely goes to five sets because he demolishes his opponents a little earlier than that, but when he does - the marathon final of Rome 2006 comes to mind, where Nadal beat Federer in a fifth set tie break - it doesn't really look like (to me, anyway) that fatigue effects him much. Federer didn't lose that match because he was tired. That one rested entirely on that breaker, and he got outplayed by the best clay court player in the world. No shame there.

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I'm not questioning Nadal's fitness - obviously, to be as good as Nadal is, you have to be extraordinarily fit. But to lose 6-0 6-1? Mikhail Youzhny is a great player, and I think he can beat just about anyone in the top 20, including Rafa, but I wouldn't think he'd be able to beat them like that - bagel, breadstick.

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(On a brief aside, I love that bakery tennis terminology. 6-0, a bagel. 6-1, a breadstick. I heard someone talk about 6-2 being a croissant once, and I like that one as well!)

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In other news, what a win for the French wizard yesterday! I love watching Fabrice Santoro play, and even though I like James Blake, it was great to see Santoro win - even though I didn't get to actually SEE it, per se. Santoro is actually responsible for one of my favourite tennis strokes of all time - when he played against David Nalbandian in the quarters of the Australian Open in 2006, he sent this drop shot just over the net, and before Nalbandian could get to it, it bounced back to Santoro's side, such was the crazy spin! James Blake was the champion here last year, so he'll lose a lot of points... and it'll be interesting to see who gets up and wins it!

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I'd like it to be Dmitry Tursunov. Or Carlos Moya. I think.

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Today's Results

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Chennai Open (Chennai)

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Mikhail Youzhny def. Rafael Nadal, 6-0 6-1

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Medibank International (Sydney)

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Men's Draw

Richard Gasquet def. Igor Andreev, 6-3 7-6 (8-6)

Fabrice Santoro def. James Blake, 7-6 (7-4) 6-2

Tomas Berdych def. Filippo Volandri, 6-1 6-3

Fernando Verdasco def. Feliciano Lopez, 6-3 4-6 6-2

Agustin Calleri def. Greg Jones, 6-3 6-2

Sebastien Grosjean def. Peter Luczak, 6-4 4-6 6-0

Gilles Simon def. Mardy Fish, 7-6 (8-6) 6-1

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Women's Draw

Katarina Srebotnik def. Anna Chakvetadze, 7-5 6-1

Daniela Hantuchova def. Dinara Safina, 5-7 6-4 6-4

Marion Bartoli def. Karin Knapp, 6-1 6-0

Sofia Arvidsson def. Elena Dementieva, 6-1 7-5

Nicole Vaidisova def. Camille Pin, 6-1 2-6 6-2

Tatiana Golovin def. Tzipora Obziler, 6-2 6-3

Shahar Peer def. Yuliana Fedak, 6-3 6-2

Francesca Schiavone def. Jill Craybas, 6-4 6-4

Kaia Kanepi def. Dominika Cibulkova, 3-6 6-1 7-6 (8-6)

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Heineken Open (Auckland)

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Juan Ignacio Chela def. Daniel King-Turner, 5-7 6-2 7-5

Nicolas Almagro def. Jose Acasuso, 6-3 6-4

Albert Montanes def. Jose Statham, 6-4 6-4

Jurgen Melzer def. Werner Eschauer, 6-4 1-6 6-3

Julien Benneteau def. Dudi Sela, 6-4 7-6 (7-3)

Florian Mayer def. Sam Querrey, 7-5 6-3

Olivier Rochus def. Michael Berrer, 6-7 (8-10) 6-2 6-4

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Moorilla Hobart International (Hobart)

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Alona Bondarenko def. Jessica Moore, 7-5 6-2

Vera Zvonareva def. Olga Poutchkova, 6-3 6-0

Flavia Pennetta def. Agnieszka Radwanska, 6-4 1-6 6-2

Olga Govortsova def. Victoria Azarenka, 1-3 ret.

Sania Mirza def. Lourdes Domínguez Lino, 6-4 6-0

Nuria Llagostera Vives def. Gisela Dulko, 6-3 2-1 ret.

Meilen Tu def. Emilie Loit, 4-6 6-1 6-4

Ioana Raluca Olaru def. Peng Shuai, 3-6 6-4 7-5

Anna Lapushchenkova def. Kateryna Bondarenko, 6-3 6-4

Ashley Harkleroad def. Yaroslava Shvedova, 6-4 6-3

Edina Gallovits def. Alberta Brianti, 6-2 6-3

Jelena Dokic def. Martina Müller, 6-4 0-6 6-2

Alla Kudryavtseva def. Monique Adamczak, 6-3 6-2