A Spandau Ballet Moment

Let's face it. This has not been Roger Federer's bestest year ever. 2008 is not going to be the one he looks back on (tennis-wise, anyway) and go 'man... that was sweet.'

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Except for this one moment. (And hopefully the final of the US Open!)

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Roger Federer is now an Olympic gold medallist. If nothing else happens this year, if he suffers disappointment at the US Open, if he doesn't get the year-end #1, it doesn't matter - because he has this. He is an Olympic gold medallist, and that is something else. Like Spandau Ballet says, he is GOLD!

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I don't expect that Roger and Stan will go on and play a huge doubles schedule or anything, but it'd be nice to see them play a few more tournaments here and there. They've obviously got a little something-something going on - did I mention they were Olympic gold medallists? I bet the Bryans have a real sour taste in their mouth right now. They were favourites, and rightfully so. They are a brilliant doubles team. And then these two singles players come in and steal their glory. I mean, a bronze medal is still very special - and believe me, I feel SO sorry for Clement and Llodra, because they deserve to be somewhere on that podium too - but it's not gold. For those who don't expect a medal, bronze is, like, awesome, but when you're the favourite, bronze must seem like such a bitchslap.

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Because gold, this time, is all Roger, all Stan. Team Fedrinka are the MEN! Actually, one thing I thought was really funny was that Roger was all clean-shaven and pretty-looking, whereas Stan looked like he'd overslept and barely made it to the courts on time, hair all rumpled and with a morning-after shadow. I wonder if that's a testament to the kind of men they are? I like Stan. He's a fun guy - and he and Roger are clearly such good mates. I visited Stan's website the other day -stanwawrinka.com - and while I didn't understand any of it as it was all in French, I thought the little intro was cute. 'Stan Wawrinka - the power and the passion.' Cliche, perhaps, but cute. Maybe that's what made Team Fedrinka such a force. They've got the power and the passion. And the mad tennis skills - sorry, skillz.

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I suppose we should talk about the singles, even if it is devoid in Swiss boys. My prediction for the gold medal match has not changed - Rafa over Gonzo. The bronze medal match was played just before the Doubles Match of Awesomeness, and Djokovic beat Blake. We all know I don't like Djokovic, but it really would have been a bit sad for him if he hadn't won it. I feel terrible for saying this, but with Federer out, Nadal/Djokovic was really the real final. All credit to Fernando Gonzalez, because he's fab, but the big three really are in a league of their own. They are at the top, and even if I may take issue with the personality of one of them, you don't get there without deserving it. You can say a lot of things about the tennis ranking system, but when it comes down to it, if you put in the hard yards and grind out the matches, you are rewarded.

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Oh! Girl tennis! Go Dinara! She is in the final, and even though Dementieva is seeded above her, I think you have to say she's the favourite. She is playing like the #1 at the moment, and this one belongs to her. I think it will be another silver in the cabinet for Elegant Elena and her fairy floss serve. I'd like to see Zvonareva win the bronze, because it's such an achievement for her to get here at all - she was Sharapova's last minute replacement, yesno? - but I think Li will edge her out. And maybe that's the way it should be... but honestly, do China really need any more medals?

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I read that Safina's victory over Jankovic means that Jankovic will no longer be #1 next week. I have no problems with this - Jankovic is a good player, but she doesn't really deserve to be #1 - but does that mean Ivanovic gets it back? Who is #1 now? I know Sveta could have taken it, but she lost in the first round, so it's obviously not her, and I doubt very much it's Sharapova. It must be Ana - but I have no idea how that works. Women's tennis is CONFUSING. Or did that article lie? Did I imagine it? Will it still be Jelena next week? Any answers welcome!

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Oh, and a shout out to Juan Martin del Potro, who is playing insanely well in Washington! If Federer doesn't win the US Open, I'm going for Safin - but if Safin doesn't win, then man, I'm going for del Potro! And also kudos to Viktor Troicki, who I saw play Nadal in the first round of the Australian Open this year in Rod Laver Arena, for knocking out Andy Roddick! No kudos to Andy Roddick. He should be at the Olympics.

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Today's Results

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Games of the XXIX Olympiad (Beijing)

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Men's Draw - Singles

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Novak Djokovic def. James Blake, 6-3 7-6 (7-4)

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Women's Draw - Singles

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Elena Dementieva def. Vera Zvonareva, 6-3 7-6 (7-3)

Dinara Safina def. Li Na, 7-6 (7-3) 7-5

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Men's Draw - Doubles

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Federer/Wawrinka def. Aspelin/Johansson, 6-3 6-4 6-7 (4-7) 6-3

Bryan/Bryan def. Clement/Llodra, 3-6 6-3 6-4

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Women's Draw - Doubles

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Williams/Williams def. Bondarenko/Bondarenko, 4-6 6-4 6-1

Medina Garrigues/Ruano Pascual def. Yan/Zheng, 6-4 7-6 (7-5)

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Legg Mason Tennis Classic (Washington)

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Juan Martin del Potro def. Tommy Haas, 6-2 6-1

Viktor Troicki def. Igor Kunitsyn, 6-4 6-2

Viktor Troicki def. Andy Roddick, 0-6 6-2 6-4

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Western and Southern Financial Group Women's Open (Cincinatti)

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Nathalie Dechy def. Amélie Mauresmo, 6-4 3-6 6-2

Doubles Rules!

Singles shmingles. Doubles rules!

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So Rafa Nadal and Fernando Gonzalez are facing off for an Olympic gold medal. Good for them - but so what? The doubles action is where it's AT!

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Not that I am in any way prejudiced by who is in the doubles final, or anything.

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I know I said yesterday that it's more important to be a fan of the game than the player, etc, etc, et al, op cit, but seriously, is there anyone that deserves an Olympic medal more than Roger Federer? He may be the outgoing #1, but he's going to be #1 in the public mind for quite some mind, and though Rafa is a lovely boy and excellent for the sport and stuff, I don't think he's going to be quite the tennis statesman that Federer was and is. One of the real reasons for this - and it is totally not Rafa's fault, it's just a fact of life - is that Federer speaks better English. With the USA at the centre of the world's sporting press, Federer's English has made him more marketable. Simple as that.

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Though I do love Rafa's English... the gems he comes up with can be awesome. I love reading his press conferences. Not in a mocking way - because though I love Roger more, I really am quite fond of Rafa - but there are some awesome ones. Then there is the 'famous ass' quote... yeah, I don't know if Rafa's ever going to live that one down.

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I suppose we should talk about Rafa some, because he's going to be on that dais for sure - and to tell the truth, I'd like to see him win the gold medal now that Federer is out of the singles. If Roger had been in the final and Rafa had beaten him, I think that might have been a bit of a disaster, but because Roger didn't lose to Rafa, then I have no problems with Rafa winning. I would love to see him win. Of all the players this year - and I include Roger in this - Rafa really deserves it most. He's been playing like someone worthy of a gold medal. This is his career year -it's going to be really, really hard for him to improve on this! So Rafa for gold. Fernando silver. And though I think Djokovic is probably going to beat it, I'd like to see Blake win bronze. It's going to be interesting to see who is the Di Pasquale-esque spoiler there.

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But - doubles! How awesome is Team Fedrinka? I would love to see them team up at a few other events, because though singles will always be my true love, doubles is just so much fun! And not only did they take out the newly reconciled Indian pair, Bhupathi and Paes, who have multiple doubles Slam titles between them, they took out the Bryans - the fricking Bryans - in straights! Now that is something else. I've seen the Bryans play live, and they totally have this kind of psychic radar - they just know where the other is going to be. I don't whether this is a twin thing or because they play together all the time and never switch partners, but it's quite incredible. You just don't appreciate it when you see it on TV.

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That said, in that match, BryanBryan lost to Gasquet and Tsonga in a total thriller, so they are beatable. But who would have thought Team Fedrinka, who had won all of one match coming into the Olympics, could take them out? I know they're both excellent singles players, but that doesn't necessarily translate into good team player - in fact, it rarely does. I had, I admit, resigned myself to a bronze medal match for Roger and Stan - so I am absolutely over the moon! I would love to see them win gold - because after all that Roger has done over the years, as well as all that Martina Hingis did before him, Switzerland deserves a tennis gold medal! - but just knowing they'll be on the dais is awesome. A silver medal is no mean feat. Finally, Roger can add that elusive medal to his trophy cabinet - and I hope it's gold!

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Oh yeah, and that other doubles match? The Swedes against the French, that went to 19-17 in the third? AWESOME MATCH! DOUBLES RULES!

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And over to the girls for a second - DAVAI DINARA! I told you she could and would take out Jelena Jankovic! She may be out in the doubles - sorry Sveta - but she totally owns this gold medal now. Safina, Zvonareva, Dementieva and Li. Anyone else smelling a very Russian podium?

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Today's Results

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Games of the XXIX Olympiad (Beijing)

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Men's Draw - Singles

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Rafael Nadal def. Novak Djokovic, 6-4 1-6 6-4

Fernando Gonzalez def. James Blake, 4-6 7-5 11-9

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Women's Draw

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Dinara Safina def. Jelena Jankovic, 6-2 5-7 6-3

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Men's Draw - Doubles

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Federer/Wawrinka def. Bryan/Bryan, 7-6 (8-6) 6-4

Aspelin/Johansson def. Clement/Llodra, 7-6 (8-6) 1-6 19-17

Federer/Wawrinka def. Bhupathi/Paes, 6-2 6-4

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Women's Draw - Doubles

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Yan/Zheng def. Kuznetsova/Safina, 6-3 5-7 10-8

Williams/Williams def. Vesnina/Zvonareva, 6-4 6-0

Medina Garrigues/Ruano Pascual def. Davenport/Huber, 5-7 7-6 (8-6) 8 6

Bondarenko/Bondarenko def. Pennetta/Schiavone, 6-1 3-6 7-5

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Legg Mason Tennis Classic (Washington)

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Juan Martin del Potro def. John Isner, 6-4 6-4

Tommy Haas def. Alejandro Falla, 7-5 6-1

Somdev Devvarman def. Robert Kendrick, 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 7-5

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Western and Southern Financial Group Women's Open (Cincinatti)

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Nadia Petrova def. Lilia Osterloh, 6-2 6-3

Maria Kirilenko def. Sabine Lisicki, 6-2 1-6 6-1

Nathalie Dechy def. Aleksandra Wozniak, 7-6 (7-4) 7-5

Rafa's Time

I would be lying if I pretended I wasn't bitterly disappointed. I don't know what happened, or why it happened, but it did. The only time I ever remember Federer looking like losing to Blake was in the final of Indian Wells two years back, when he went down a double break in the first set. But even then, he got it back. He won the set. This match was gone before it even began.

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Looking at the score, it's clear that it was close. One break of serve in the first set, a breaker in the second. But that means nothing, really. Best of three tennis is so cutthroat. I don't know if Federer would have won it were best of five, but that kind of tennis certainly suits him better. But this...

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I have to congratulate James Blake, because he played an excellent match. I mean, I didn't see it, but even a sluggish Federer is still Federer, and you have to play great tennis to beat him. In a way, Federer can be like Nalbandian, but the Roger equivalent to LameDave is still one of the world's best tennis players. Sigh. I am so disappointed.

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But there's still doubles. I would have preferred Federer to get a medal in the singles, obviously, but doubles would be sweet too! And if he doesn't win a medal, that's cool too. It's Roger the man I admire, and Roger the tennis player is only a part of that. And no matter what he's ranked or what he wins, nothing can take that away. Tennis-wise, he needs to steady the ship and take a deep breath. As a person, there's not much he needs to fix.

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But even I can't deny that this is Rafa's time now. I don't how long Rafa's time will last - I'm still very confident that there will be a Second Golden Age of Federer - but he deserves to be #1 right now. He has been second banana to Roger for so long now. It is his turn to shine. (Not that he hasn't already been shining, but comparatively...) I'd like him to win the gold medal now. He deserves it. And I really don't want Djokovic to win it.

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That's my new podium. Rafa for gold. Gonzalez for silver. Djokovic for bronze. I'd like Blake to win bronze, but I think Djokovic might edge him. The Olympic tennis has lost its shine for me, I must admit, but I am a tennis fan as well as - in fact, before - I am a Federer fan. He is one man, and he is brilliant, but he once said, 'you never be bigger than the game, and I think you need to remember that.' Perhaps I need to remember that. Players come and go. Tennis is constant. The sport ain't going anywhere. And Rafa is very good for the sport. So vamos, Rafa. Vamos.

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Meanwhile, some huge upsets in the women! Both Williamses gone! Who would have picked that? Certainly not me. It looks like we might be having the Russian national championships again, providing Safina beats Jankovic, which I'm pretty sure she'll do. Along with Zvonareva, Dementieva and Li... well, suffice to say that's not exactly the semis anyone expected! But I like it. That's one thing that's good about women's tennis... because I'm not so emotionally involved, I can appreciate a good upset and go for the underdog and stuff if I'm so inclined. There is much more of a place for whimsy. Go Dinara!

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Oh, and go Team Fedrinka! Singles may have been a bust, for doubles gold is just as good!

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Today's Results

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Games of the XXIX Olympiad (Beijing)

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Men's Draw - Singles

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James Blake def. Roger Federer, 6-4 7-6 (7-2)

Rafael Nadal def. Jurgen Melzer, 6-0 6-4

Novak Djokovic def. Gael Monfils, 4-6 6-1 6-4

Fernando Gonzalez def. Paul-Henri Mathieu, 6-4 6-4

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Women's Draw - Singles

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Elena Dementieva def. Serena Williams, 3-6 6-4 6-3

Li Na def. Venus Williams, 7-5 7-5

Vera Zvonareva def. Sybille Bammer, 6-3 3-6 6-3

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Men's Draw - Doubles

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Bryan/Bryan def. Guccione/Hewitt, 6-4 6-3

Aspelin/Johansson def. Fyrstenberg/Matkowski, 7-6 (7-5) 6-4

Clement/Llodra def. Andreev/Davydenko, 6-2 6-7 (4-7) 64

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Women's Draw - Doubles

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Medina Garrigues/Ruano Pascual def. Stosur/Stubbs, 4-6 6-4 6-4

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Legg Mason Tennis Classic (Washington)

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Viktor Troicki def. Bobby Reynolds, 6-4 1-6 6-4

Juan Martin del Potro def. Dudi Sela, 6-0 5-7 6-2

Andy Roddick def. Eduardo Schwank, 4-6 6-4 7-6 (7-2)

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Western and Southern Financial Group Women's Open (Cincinatti)

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Aleksandra Wozniak def. Julia Vakulenko, 6-2 6-3

Beating Michael Phelps

Revenge is a dish best served cold. That is all I have to say. Apart from GO ROGER!

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I really, really wish I could have seen this match - though I doubt I would have any fingernails left if I had been... or, hell, fingers. The score might not reflect it, and there was certainly that one loose game at the beginning of the second set where Roger served three double faults (maybe he's under his annual average?) but when I see tennis described as 'sublime' I am very happy. I don't know if it was Supreme God Tennis, but it sounded like NinjaFed - or at least a decent facsimile - turned up. And that is good news. That is SUCH good news!

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There is a gold medal so close that I can almost smell it. Certainly, all Federer has to do is get past Blake to virtually guarantee a podium spot - though you can bet he won't be taking it for granted! One of the first Federer matches I remember was when he was a wee young boy of nineteen in Sydney, when he lost that bronze medal match to Di Pasquale and was just crushed afterwards. But not this time. I have no doubt that he can beat Blake and beat him good, and then go on to beat whoever it is he has to beat after that - and then beat Rafa/Novak FOR GOLD! GOLD! He may lose #1 at the beginning of next week, but I think a gold medal would be a perfect finish to this first Federer Golden Age of tennis... and a good precursor to the second one, which will obviously begin in the near future. He has a mark now - a record to beat. I want to see him go 235 weeks again!

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Team Fedrinka had a good win as well - the Tursunov/Youzhny team is definitely not a pushover, so that victory is really sweet... though I imagine Dmitry isn't too fond of Roger right now. Rafa's hopes of double gold were dashed - the Aussies knocked them out. Even though I'm not a Hewitt fan and I find Guccione a bit boring, I'd like them to do well. Not as well as Team Fedrinka, obviously, but well enough. I'm just hoping this doubles loss doesn't make Rafa super fresh for the singles. That would suck, especially if he plays Roger in the final... Roger is now the only man left with a shot at double gold, I think.

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But what am I saying? Roger trains in Dubai! He can deal with anything. ANYTHING!

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I'm sitting here watching that inane pre-Olympics show that Channel 7 have - 'Yum Cha' by name - and they're talking about Michael Phelps and how he's possibly the greatest sportsman of all time, across all sports. I nearly threw something at the television. One of the anchors said she thought it was between Phelps, Pele and Ali. No mention of Federer. Not even of Tiger Woods. I was outraged.

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You only have to look at the Laureus Awards, for God's sake. I don't want to take away what Phelps has done, because it's pretty outstanding. But to even begin to compare that to the achievements of Federer and Woods? That's just ridiculous. Eight gold medals - which he'll probably get - is amazing. But twelve Slams? 237 weeks at #1? Complete, utter dominance? Phelps has been around for a while, but you cannot - you just absolutely CANNOT - compare him to Federer. Not yet. Maybe not ever. I mean, I have issues with comparing sports anyway, but even so, I think Roger still comes out on top. Four times Laureus Sportsman - and that means beating out the not inconsiderable efforts of his mate Tiger. Phelps is up there, certainly, but the greatest athlete of this decade - and maybe even ever - is Roger Federer. Tiger Woods is a close second. Phelps is back a bit. He's good - excellent, outstanding - but he's not there yet. The cub is not ready to challenge those lions. Though what can you really expect from a show that has Sonia 'Tina Sparkle' Kruger as one of its primary anchors?

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(I would just like to point out that the cheer that Federer got when he entered the Olympic stadium was bigger that most countries. And people forget about him. He is such a class act. Beat that, Michael. You may be re-writing the record books at this Olympics, but Federer has been doing it for four years.)

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Right, back to tennis. The big upset on the men's side was Nalbandian, who went out to Monfils. Monfils is such an unpredictable player. If rankings were done on pure athletic ability, he would be in the top five for sure. You know how the French equivalent of the AIS (the FIS?) does all those crazy tests on their athletes, giving them scores for, oh, bendiness and strength and toughness and their ability to scull champagne and whatever else? Apparently Monfils came out on top, beating any other French athlete ever. And he certainly is a great athlete, but the way he throws himself round the court, doing Kim Clijsters splits and whatever means that he's injured all the time. When he's uninjured - for all of about four seconds a year - he's great to watch. I'm not sure where I stand on him, whether I like him or dislike him, but you can't deny he's got game and he's fun to see play tennis. And I'm not a Nalbandian fan, so I'm glad La Monf got through. I wonder if he won - a definite possibility - or if LameDave showed up? You can just never tell from scores sometimes.

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So our eight quarter-finalists are Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Monfils, Melzer, Mathieu, Gonzalez and Blake. My pick for the podium? Federer gold. Nadal silver. Djokovic bronze. I'm sure of gold, but I wouldn't be surprised if silver and bronze were switched round... much as I don't like Djokovic, he has proved recently that he has the ability to beat Nadal on hard courts. I think I'd like to see Rafa win silver, though - he deserves the higher medal, and I just want to see Federer beat him, to tell the truth. I want Roger to know he can do it. Because he can. He SO can.

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The other person that might end up on the podium is Gonzalez. He's been there before - in doubles and singles - and he absolutely destroyed Rochus yesterday. I think he'll definitely figure in the bronze medal match - he'll beat Mathieu, but lose to Federer - and he's a real danger of taking out Djokovic, if we go on the proviso that Nadal beats Djokovic in that semi. Actually, in the quarters, if Monfils plays well, he is a good chance of upsetting Djokovic. I don't see him getting through Rafa, but he's also someone that could take a bronze.

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But gold is the big one. And it has Roger written ALL OVER IT.

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Oh yeah, the women played too. My girl Dinara is still on song and playing sweetly. I was a bit disappointed to see one of my other favourites, Cornet, go out - but oh! did she give Serena a run for her money! Most of the big guns are still there - Jankovic and both the Williamses are going strong - but Dinara's got what it takes. And I'd love to see her and Sveta win gold in the doubles too. I picked Sveta for gold - it would be nice to be right, even in the wrong event!

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Today's Results

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Games of the XXIX Olympiad (Beijing)

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Men's Draw - Singles

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Roger Federer def. Tomas Berdych, 6-3 7-6 (7-4)

Rafael Nadal def. Igor Andreev, 6-4 6-2

Novak Djokovic def. Mikhail Youzhny, 7-6 (7-3) 6-3

Gael Monfils def. David Nalbandian, 6-4 6-4

James Blake def. Gilles Simon, 6-4 6-2

Fernando Gonzalez def. Olivier Rochus, 6-0 6-3

Paul-Henri Mathieu def. Nicolas Kiefer, 6-3 7-5

Jurgen Melzer def. Lu Yen-Hsun, 6-2 6-4

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Women's Draw - Singles

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Jelena Jankovic def. Dominika Cibulkova, 7-5 6-1

Serena Williams def. Alizé Cornet, 3-6 6-3 6-4

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

Dinara Safina def. Zheng Jie, 6-4 6-3

Venus Williams def. Victoria Azarenka, 6-3 6-2

Vera Zvonareva def. Francesca Schiavone, 7-6 (7-4) 6-4

Sybille Bammer def. Lucie Safarova, 7-5 6-4

Li Na def. Kaia Kanepi, 4-6 6-2 6-0

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Men's Draw - Doubles

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Bryan/Bryan def. Knowle/Melzer, 7-6 (7-2) 6-4

Federer/Wawrinka def. Tursunov/Youzhny, 6-4 6-3

Aspelin/Johansson def. Almagro/Ferrer, 7-6 (8-6) 6-4

Guccione/Hewitt def. Nadal/Robredo, 6-2 7-6 (7-5)

Bhupathi/Paes def. Melo/Sa, 6-4 6-2

Andreev/Davydenko def. Darcis/Rochus, 7-6 (8-6) 6-2

Fyrstenberg/Matkowski def. Damm/Vizner, 1-6 7-6 (7-3) 7-5

Clement/Llodra def. Murray/Murray, 6-1 6-3

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Women's Draw - Doubles

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Kuznetsova/Safina def. Mirza/Rao, 6-4 6-4

Pennetta/Schiavone def. Chan/Chuang, 7-6 (7-1) 1-6 8-6

Davenport/Huber def. Azarenka/Poutchek, 6-4 4-6 6-3

Bondarenko/Bondarenko def. Govortsova/Kustova, 6-1 6-3

Vesnina/Zvonareva def. Dulko/Jozami, 6-2 6-3

Yan/Zheng def. Gagliardi/Schnyder, 6-3 7-6 (7-2)

Medina Garrigues/Ruano Pascual def. Koryttseva/Perebiynis, 6-3 6-4

Morita/Sugiyama def. Arn/Szavay, 6-3 6-3

Stosur/Stubbs def. Kvitova/Safarova, 6-1 6-0

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Legg Mason Tennis Classic (Washington)

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Tommy Haas def. Nicolas Mahut, 7-6 (7-4) 6-3

Alejandro Falla def. Florent Serra, 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (13-11)

John Isner def. Donald Young, 6-4 7-6 (7-4)

Andy Roddick def. Ramon Delgado, 6-3 7-6 (7-4)

Eduardo Schwank def. Sebastien Grosjean, 6-3 4-6 6-3

Juan Martin del Potro def. Jesse Levine, 6-2 6-3

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Western and Southern Financial Group Women's Open (Cincinatti)

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Nadia Petrova def. Julie Ditty, 6-1 6-1

Maria Kirilenko def. Stéphanie Dubois, 1-6 6-2 7-5

Sabine Lisicki def. Camille Pin, 6-3 6-4

Lilia Osterloh def. Petra Cetkovska, 6-4 6-1

Mini-Rafa

The real story of the men's draw so far really has to be Yen-hsun Lu, who is now into the third round. No one would have picked that one - especially as he drew Murray in the first round! He beat Calleri in the second, who isn't exactly a Murray, but is pretty handy and is ranked a lot higher than Lu, so it was an awesome win! (Though why was Calleri even there? Why didn't they take Juan Martin del Potro? WHY?)

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Rafael Arevalo has to be a pretty good story as well! To be ranked where he is and make it to the second round of an ATP level tournament is pretty good, so well done to the boy from El Salvador. I would like to make it clear that I was in no way cheering for him, though - Roger all the way! (And yes, I confess, it was nice to see Roger beat Rafa, even it wasn't Rafa Rafa!) He seemed to look pretty good in this match, judging by reports... it obviously wasn't shown on Australian TV. Even Rafa vs. Lleyton only got about five points. Stupid swimming. But back to Roger. Mini-Rafa broke his serve in the first game of the second, but Roger broke right back and ran away with the set, so that was pretty sweet. There seems to be some minor trouble with the gear shift still - maybe Roger couldn't quite find cruise control in the beginning of that set! But he got there, and niftily too.

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He'll play Berdych in the next round. One word: vengeance! Served cold, with a side of arse-kicking.

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Rafa was utterly dominant in his match over Hewitt - surprise surprise. I wish the Australian media would get over this notion of Hewitt as their great white hope, because he really is going under, and fast. Unless he gives it time to heal, this hip injury is never going to better. And even if he goes away and comes back, it's going to be like Safin's knee - a chronic pain that flares up at the worst possible moments. (Thus saith Jodi, the highly qualified sports doctor, who knows all things.)

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We saw another couple of top ten guys get knocked out today. Paul-Henri Mathieu knocked out Davydenko, but we all know how Davydenko is whinging about motivation and how he hates the sight of his tennis racquets and stuff, which really takes the victory away from Paulo, in a respect. I am very cross with Kolya at the moment. That attitude is really, really disrespectful to his opponents.

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And, unfortunately, we lost Stan Wawrinka to Jurgen Melzer. By Stan's newly lofty standards, it was a pretty poor loss - but according to reports, he's having some problems adjusting to the humidity, poor Swiss boy that he is, used to the cold mountain air! Here's hoping this will leave him a bit fresher for the doubles - Team Fedrinka for gold!

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Djokovic and Nalbandian both had pretty good wins, though it was a bit sad to see Massu go... still, he was never, ever going to defend that gold medal. It was likewise sad to see Tipsarevic retire, as he was looking quite good, and I was personally sad to see Marin Cilic go, as he was the last one left flying my Stars of the Future flag: none of the rest of them made a splash at all. Oh well. London.

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Pretty standard day on the women's side - I suppose the major upset was Schiavone taking out Radwanska. That'll learn Radwanska for playing that Tier IV tournament when there was a Tier I tournament on! The Williams sisters had a bit of a struggle in the doubles but pulled through, as did Safina and Kuznetsova - and speaking of Safina, she is still looking veeery cruisy in the singles. Dinara and Roger for gold!

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And before I sign off, a shout out to the forgotten tournament in Washington. A great victory for Robert Kendrick, who is probably best remembered for almost but not quite beating Rafa at Wimbledon a couple of years back. He took out third seed Feliciano Lopez. Good work Robert!

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Today's Results

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Games of the XXIX Olympiad (Beijing)

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Men's Draw - Singles

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Roger Federer def. Rafael Arevalo, 6-2 6-4

Rafael Nadal def. Lleyton Hewitt, 6-1 6-2

Novak Djokovic def. Rainer Schuettler, 6-4 6-2

Paul-Henri Mathieu def. Nikolay Davydenko, 7-5 6-3

David Nalbandian def. Nicolas Massu, 7-6 (7-0) 6-1

James Blake def. Dominik Hrbaty, 7-6 (7-3) 4-6 6-3

Jurgen Melzer def. Stanislas Wawrinka, 6-4 6-0

Gilles Simon def. Guillermo Canas, 7-5 6-1

Fernando Gonzalez def. Marin Cilic, 6-4 6-2

Mikhail Youzhny def. Thomas Johansson, 7-5 6-2

Nicolas Kiefer def. Kevin Anderson, 6-4 6-7 (4-7) 6-4

Tomas Berdych def. Andreas Seppi, 6-3 7-6 (7-4)

Gael Monfils def. Victor Hanescu, 6-4 7-6 (7-5)

Lu Yen-Hsun def. Agustin Calleri, 6-4 6-4

Igor Andreev def. Michael Llodra, 6-4 3-6 6-1

Olivier Rochus def. Janko Tipsarevic, 7-6 (7-5) 2-3 retired

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Women's Draw - Singles

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Jelena Jankovic def. Alona Bondarenko, 7-5 6-1

Serena Williams def. Samantha Stosur, 6-2 6-0

Elena Dementieva def. Sofia Arvidsson, 6-3 6-4

Dinara Safina def. María José Martínez Sánchez, 7-6 (7-3) 6-1

Venus Williams def. Iveta Benesova, 6-1 6-4

Francesca Schiavone def. Agnieszka Radwanska, 6-3 7-6 (8-6)

Vera Zvonareva def. Shahar Peer, 6-3 7-6 (7-4)

Caroline Wozniacki def. Daniela Hantuchova, 6-1 6-3

Victoria Azarenka def. Casey Dellacqua, 6-2 6-2

Sybille Bammer def. Patty Schnyder, 6-4 6-4

Alizé Cornet def. Peng Shuai, 6-2 6-2

Dominika Cibulkova def. Tsvetana Pironkova, 6-2 6-2

Zheng Jie def. Nuria Llagostera Vives, 6-7 (7-9) 6-1 6-4

Li Na def. Ayumi Morita, 6-2 7-5

Kaia Kanepi def. Virginie Razzano, 6-4 7-5

Lucie Safarova def. Mariya Koryttseva, 2-6 6-1 7-5

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Men's Draw - Doubles

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Bryan/Bryan def. Knowles/Mullings, 6-2 6-1

Clement/Llodra def. Erlich/Ram, 6-4 6-4

Bhupathi/Paes def. Monfils/Simon, 6-3 6-3

Melo/Sa def. Berdych/Stepanek, 5-7 6-2 8-6

Fyrstenberg/Matkowski def. Yu/Zeng, 6-3 6-4

Knowle/Melzer def. Kiefer/Schuettler, 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 6-1

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Women's Draw - Doubles

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Kuznetsova/Safina def. Santangelo/Vinci, 6-1 3-6 7-5

Williams/Williams def. Benesova/Vaidisova, 4-6 7-5 6-1

Chan/Chuang def. Cornet/Razzano, 7-6 (7-2) 6-7 (3-7) 7-5 (7-5)

Davenport/Huber def. Jans/Rosolska, 6-2 6-1

Bondarenko/Bondarenko def. Domachowska/Radwanska, 6-3 6-2

Vesnina/Zvonareva def. Llagostera Vives/Martínez Sánchez, 2-6 6-1 6-3

Yan/Zheng def. Hantuchova/Husarova, 6-1 7-6

Govortsova/Kustova def. Peng/Sun, 7-6 (7-1) 7-6 (7-3)

Azarenka/Poutchek def. Ani/Kanepi, 6-2 6-2

Gagliardi/Schnyder def. Daniilidou/Gerasimou, 6-0 6-4

Pennetta/Schiavone def. Dellacqua/Molik, 6-4 6-4

Dulko/Jozami def. Obziler/Peer, 6-3 6-2

Mirza/Rao def. Golovin/Parmentier, walkover

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Legg Mason Tennis Classic (Washington)

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Robert Kendrick def. Feliciano Lopez, 6-3 7-5

Alejandro Falla def. Mardy Fish, 5-7 6-4 6-2

Viktor Troicki def. Denis Gremelmayr, 6-4 6-2

Igor Kunitsyn def. Mischa Zverev, 6-7 (6-8) 6-4 6-2

Fabio Fognini def. Marat Safin, 7-5 retired

Donald Young def. Luis Horna, 6-3 6-1

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Western and Southern Financial Group Women's Open (Cincinatti)

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Nadia Petrova def. Galina Voskoboeva, 6-3 6-0

Aleksandra Wozniak def. Aiko Nakamura, 6-3 6-2

Yanina Wickmayer def. Vasilisa Bardina, 7-5 3-6 6-3

Julia Vakulenko def. Monica Niculescu, 6-2 2-6 6-4

Vania King def. Tathiana Garbin, 4-6 6-3 7-5

Kicking Kolya Out Of The Kitchen

One thing I have to say about the Beijing Olympics. Their Opening Ceremony was fantastic, it all seems to be very well organised and running smoothly and all, but their tennis livescoring system is really, really bad. Like, dreadful. It's a pretty sad state of affairs when the 32-draw Legg Mason 'I'm not good enough/too wussy to go to the Olympics' Classic has a better system than the greatest sporting event on earth.

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Other than that, Beijing did a great job of squeezing something like 65 matches into a day, even if it was terribly hard to follow them. Of course, here in Australia, we saw absolutely no tennis, as Australia stands pretty much no chance of doing well and they're hardly going to show anyone else, but I kept up to date what was going on. The most important match from my perspective was, of course, Federer against Tursunov. Not seeing the match, I can't comment adequately on it, but it seems like a pretty decent win for Roger to me. I saw some reports which were all 'vintage Federer!' and others that said that he did enough to win but wasn't that impressive. Still, no matter which way you look at it, a straight sets victory over a talented big-hitter like Tursunov ain't nothing to sneeze at.

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Federer next plays Rafael Arevalo, whom no one has heard of - including Federer, by all reports, who was apparently frantically Googling him to find out some stuff. What I did find out is that Arevalo is ranked something like #447, so you'd think Federer would be a dead cert bet... but we all remember the Ruben Ramirez-Hidalgo incident. I don't think Roger will underestimate him, which would probably be the biggest pitfall.

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I'm not sure if Rafa did some underestimating or whether he's just tired, because he'd normally never drop a set to someone like Potito Starace. Still, he came through. I'm sure there'll be some reports of how the pressure of #1 is getting to him, but everyone drops a set now and again. I don't think it's really much to worry about for Team Rafa. Though Team Spain clearly has something to worry about - three of their four guys went out yesterday, which was not so good. And Rafa dropped a set... maybe they all had food poisoning! Or not. Maybe they just got beaten.

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Ferrer lost to Tipsarevic, who looks more and more dangerous every time he plays. Seppi beat Robredo and Monfils beat Almagro. Strange, isn't it, that Spain left all these awesome players behind - players like Nando Verdasco - and then most of them lose. At least you can pretty much always count on Rafa.

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Djokovic had a pretty handy win, but there were a couple of upsets - not just Ferrer, but Murray as well. Yen-hsun Lu played the match of his life there! I remembering watching him play at the Hopman Cup this year, and he really has a lovely playing style, so good word to him. As those hideous cackling commentators on Channel 7 might say, 'onya!' And on the women's side, my gold medal pick Svetlana Kuznetsova went crashing out to Li Na. That means I have to revise my gold medallist, and I'm revising it straight to Dinara Safina. Don't know why I didn't pick her in the first place. She is easily playing better than anyone else right now.

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For a limited time only - ie. the duration of the Olympics - Tennis From The Backseat will also be covering doubles... mostly because I'm really, really excited about Team Fedrinka! I think they stand a great chance! How many other teams boast two top ten players? I know that's not the only consideration for doubles, but I think they could just be fabulous. And they WILL be fabulous!

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They face a Russian team next - Tursunov and Youzhny - who knocked out Gonzalez and Massu, who won the gold medal in Athens, so that was a good win. If you want a tough team, I don't know if you can go further than those boys, so that should be a good match.

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...though speaking of Russians, did anyone else see that article about Davydenko? I was totally disgusted. I think it's on Eurosport, if anyone else wants to look: basically, he was whinging about how he has no motivation, and how he's going to play at the Olympics, but he isn't really going to try and how he doesn't expect to do well and how he just finds it so hard to pick up a racquet.

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If I were Ernests Gulbis, who was knocked out by Davydenko in the first round, I would be feeling so offended right now. What kind of attitude is that for an elite sportsman? For the first time, I think I understand - just a little - why Justine Henin retired. I don't understand WHY she had no motivation, but once she recognised that she did, she was at least respectful to her opponents and stepped aside. Sport is about giving your all. Isn't that, like, the Olympic thing? Faster, higher, stronger, or whatever the motto is? If you're not prepared to try, get out. If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen. Kolya, I hope you get destroyed in your next match - because with an attitude like that, you have absolutely no right to be here. None whatsoever.

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Today's Results

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Games of the XXIX Olympiad (Beijing)

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Men's Draw - Singles

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Roger Federer def. Dmitry Tursunov, 6-4 6-2

Rafael Nadal def. Potito Starace, 6-2 3-6 6-2

Novak Djokovic def. Robby Ginepri, 6-4 6-4

Janko Tipsarevic def. David Ferrer, 7-6 (10-8) 6-2

Lu Yen-Hsun def. Andy Murray, 7-6 (7-5) 6-4

David Nalbandian def. Zeng Shaoxuan, 6-2 6-1

Stanislas Wawrinka def. Frank Dancevic, 4-6 6-3 6-2

Gilles Simon def. Robin Soderling, 6-4 6-4

Gael Monfils def. Nicolas Almagro, 6-4 3-6 6-3

Mikhail Youzhny def. Jiri Vanek, 6-4 6-1

Nicolas Kiefer def. Max Mirnyi, 6-3 6-1

Michael Llodra def. Radek Stepanek, 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 11-9

Thomas Johansson def. Jarkko Nieminen, 4-6 6-4 6-4

Andreas Seppi def. Tommy Robredo, 6-4 4-6 8-6

Paul-Henri Mathieu def. Nicolas Lapentti, 7-6 (7-4) 6-2

Victor Hanescu def. Simone Bolelli, 7-5 3-6 6-4

Olivier Rochus def. Ivo Minar, 6-3 3-6 6-3

Igor Andreev def. Sam Querrey, 6-4 6-4

Dominik Hrbaty def. Thomaz Bellucci, 2-6 6-4 6-2

Marin Cilic def. Juan Monaco, 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-3

Agustin Calleri def. Devin Mullings, 6-1 6-1

Rainer Schuettler def. Kei Nishikori, 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-3

Lleyton Hewitt def. Jonas Bjorkman, 7-5 7-6 (7-2)

Nicolas Massu def. Steve Darcis, 6-4 7-5

Kevin Anderson def. Komlavi Loglo, 6-3 6-2

Rafael Arevalo def. Hyung-Taik Lee, 4-6 6-3 6-4

Jurgen Melzer def. Marcos Daniel, 6-7 (9-11) 6-1 8-6

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Women's Draw - Singles

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Jelena Jankovic def. Cara Black, 6-3 6-3

Li Na def. Svetlana Kuznetsova, 7-6 (7-5) 6-4

Serena Williams def. Olga Govortsova, 6-3 6-1

Elena Dementieva def. Kateryna Bondarenko, 6-1 6-4

Dinara Safina def. Mara Santangelo, 6-3 7-6 (7-1)

Venus Williams def. Timea Bacsinszky, 6-3 6-2

Agnieszka Radwanska def. Chan Yung-Jan, 6-1 7-6 (8-6)

Vera Zvonareva def. Yan Zi, 6-2 6-0

Daniela Hantuchova def. Ai Sugiyama, 6-2 7-5

Zheng Jie def. Agnes Szavay, 4-6 6-3 7-5

Victoria Azarenka def. Tatiana Perebiynis, 6-4 5-7 6-4

Patty Schnyder def. Jill Craybas, 6-3 6-2

Kaia Kanepi def. Flavia Pennetta, 6-2 7-6 (8-6)

Alizé Cornet def. Nicole Vaidisova, 4-6 6-1 6-4

Dominika Cibulkova def. Pauline Parmentier, 6-1 7-5

Shahar Peer def. Sorana Cirstea, 6-3 5-7 6-0

Virginie Razzano def. Eleni Daniilidou, 6-3 6-3

Alona Bondarenko def. Milagros Sequera, 3-6 0-1 retired

Sybille Bammer def. Anabel Medina Garrigues, 6-2 4-6 6-4

Casey Dellacqua def. Gisela Dulko, 6-3 6-4

Peng Shuai def. Carla Suárez Navarro, 7-5 7-6 (7-2)

Iveta Benesova def. Sania Mirza, 6-1 2-1 retired

Sofia Arvidsson def. Tamarine Tanasugarn, 6-2 6-1

Lucie Safarova def. Maret Ani, 6-4 6-2

María José Martínez Sánchez def. Alicia Molik, 6-1 6-1

Nuria Llagostera Vives def. Klara Zakopalova, 2-6 6-3 7-5

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Men's Draw - Doubles

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Federer/Wawrinka def. Bolelli/Seppi, 7-5 6-1

Almagro/Ferrer def. Anderson/Coetzee, 3-6 6-3 6-4

Nadal/Robredo def. Bjorkman/Soderling, 6-3 6-3

Andreev/Davydenko def. Blake/Querrey, 6-3 6-4

Aspelin/Johansson def. Hanley/Kerr, 7-6 (9-7) 6-3

Murray/Murray def. Nestor/Niemeyer, 4-6 6-3 6-4

Darcis/Rochus def. Canas/Nalbandian, 6-7 (6-8) 7-6 (7-5) 6-3

Tursunov/Youzhny def. Gonzalez/Massu, 7-6 (7-5) 6-4

Guccione/Hewitt def. Calleri/Monaco, 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 18-16

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Legg Mason Tennis Classic (Washington)

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Tommy Haas def. Rik de Voest, 6-4 4-6 6-1

Dudi Sela def. Vince Spadea, 7-6 (8-6) 6-3

Somdev Devvarman def. Taylor Dent, 7-6 (7-3) 2-6 6-1

Florent Serra def. Uladzimir Ignatik, 7-6 (7-3) 6-3

Bobby Reynolds def. Marc Gicquel, 7-6 (7-2) 3-6 6-4

John Isner def. Marcel Granollers, 6-3 6-7 (6-5) 7-6 (7-1)

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Western and Southern Financial Group Women's Open

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Katarina Srebotnik def. Amanda Fink, 6-3 6-3

Sabine Lisicki def. Anna Tatishvili, 5-7 7-5 6-0

Camille Pin def. Ekaterina Makarova, 6-2 6-0

Petra Cetkovska def. Tamira Paszek, 4-6 6-3 4-1 retired

Nathalie Dechy def. Olivia Sanchez, 6-2 6-2

Julie Ditty def. Yuan Meng, 2-6 6-1 6-4

Maria Kirilenko def. Hsieh Su-wei, 6-2 7-5

Stéphanie Dubois def. Evgeniya Rodina, 6-2 7-6 (7-3)

The Andy Murrays of the Women's Game

I was all geared up for a huge day of tennis yesterday, and then it had to go and rain. I was all nervous for Roger, and then he got rained out. So he has to wait till today for his match - third match up, after Rafa. I hope that he doesn't get too nervous! But we all know how he once said, 'under pressure, I see things very clearly.' I'm sure he - and he in his incarnation as Fedrinka - will do just fine.

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The big news is, of course, the withdrawal of Ana Ivanovic. I know she has every right to withdraw and all, but doesn't it seem just a little late? She was there marching in the Opening Ceremony! She is in Beijing - right there! Unless you injure yourself in practice - which she didn't do - surely you'd realise before you went all that way? She says she's been carrying this injury since after Wimbledon, and now it's probably going to have be immobilised. News flash, Ana - the longer you leave it, the worse it gets! I know that - and I'm not a world class athlete! Surely you should have learnt that by now! If you sprain your ankle, you don't keep playing on it till you end up breaking it or something and needing it reconstructed. Prevention = better than cure.

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It's sad, really, because I was really hoping Ana would do well. I'd like to see her take back the #1 spot from Jankovic, because she seems to deserve it more. Actually, it would be really interesting to see what Jankovic does now - you know how she's injured, like, all the time? Now that Ana is out, maybe the pressure will be off and we'll see her go too, as she can hold onto #1 longer and get in better prep for the US Open.

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With Sharapova out as well, there is such a power vacuum in women's tennis at the moment. It's not like men's tennis, where you have #1 players flying round left, right and centre. Certainly, both Federer and Nadal deserve to be #1, and, although I wouldn't, one could make a case for Djokovic as well. And then you've got some other guys, like Murray, that could be #1 if the field were not so strong - if men's tennis were in the state that women's is. Ivanovic and Jankovic are Murrays. They're good - very, very good - but I seriously doubt that either of them is going to be remembered as one of the greats of women's tennis. Their rivalry is not the rivalry of Graf and Seles, that's for sure.

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Henin was a Federer, but without the determination and drive - in her latter days, anyway. Maria Sharapova is perhaps a Djokovic - exceptional, maybe even a deserving #1, but not yet great, and with a little, indefinable something missing. The Williams sisters are sort of lazy Nadals - they could be great, like he is, if they had his relentless and will to just play tennis. They're excellent when they want to be, and either could probably be #1 if they tried a bit harder, but they lack focus when it comes to tennis. They come to Wimbledon and then drift about for the rest of the year, occasionally having a hot streak, like Serena earlier this year when she won three tournaments on the trot, but certainly not playing to the best of the ability, on the whole. And so the Murrays of the women's game are on top.

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When it comes down to it, there is one player playing like a real #1 on the women's circuit right now, and it's Dinara Safina. If you want to give her a male counterpart, I don't think you can go farther than her brother - but not her brother now. She is playing like the Marat of 2000, the Marat of back in the day, but she has something which is uniquely her own: a real determination. She doesn't give up. Perhaps she is morphing from a sketchy Marat into a Nadal or a Hewitt in his heyday - someone playing relentless, 'come and get me if you're hard enough' tennis. Like John Boland, one gets the feeling she'd play in leather clogs if she had to - and she'd damn well win, too.

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And my pick for the gold medal, Svetlana Kuznetsova? She's a Davydenko, or a Ferrer. Consistent, excellent, but generally unremarkable... but sometimes she can break the back of the big guns with sheer willpower.

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As far as the Australians go, we had a mixed day yesterday. Guccione lost to Blake, but no one really expected him to win, so that was fine. But Sam Stosur had a great win over Sara Errani, who has been on real hot streak at the moment, so good work Sam. I admit I am a little more patriotic about tennis when it comes to the Olympics... but not so patriotic that I don't still want Federer to win! Hopp Roger!

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Oh yeah, Juan Martin del Potro beat Andy Roddick. Ha ha. I have gone right off Andy since he decided not to play the Olympics. And why is Juan Martin del Potro not in Beijing? You can't tell me there isn't some Argentinian player he could replace? Juan Monaco, for one. (He is Argentinian, yesno?) Juan Martin del Potro has now won three tournaments in a row. What has Juan Monaco done this year, hmmm?

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Today's Results

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Games of the XXIX Olympiad (Beijing)

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Men's Draw - Singles

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Nikolay Davydenko def. Ernests Gulbis, 6-4 6-2

James Blake def. Chris Guccione, 6-3 7-6 (7-3)

Fernando Gonzalez def. Peng Sun, 6-4 6-4

Tomas Berdych def. Xinyuan Yu, 6-1 6-2

Guillermo Canas def. Frederic Niemeyer, 3-6 4-2 retired

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Women's Draw - Singles

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Francesca Schiavone def. Akgul Amanmuradova, 6-4 6-2

Caroline Wozniacki def. Selima Sfar, 6-4 6-1

Tsvetana Pironkova def. Marta Domachowska, 6-3 6-4

Samantha Stosur def. Sara Errani, 6-3 6-2

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Countrywide Classic (Los Angeles)

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Juan Martin del Potro def. Andy Roddick, 6-1 7-6 (7-2)

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Legg Mason Tennis Classic (Washington)

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Nicolas Mahut def. Wayne Odesnik, 4-6 6-4 6-4