Queen Justine, Where Have You Been?

I never used to think of myself as an Henin fan. I liked her game, sure, but I think it had something to do with the day she retired in the final of the Aussie Open against Mauresmo. Henin the player was great, but I was never a fan of Henin the sportswoman.

This extended to me not believing she was going to come back right up until the day before her press conference, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Why? I just didn't think she had it in her.

So you can imagine that I watched her comeback with some trepidation - mixed in with excitement, because, hello, the women's game needs whatever it can get right now. I was at work, so I didn't see the first part of the match. I arrived home midway through the first set. I had groceries with me, including ice cream, but they would have to wait until a convenient change of ends. I needed to see how this would play out.

I turned on the TV. And there was a different Justine Henin waiting there.

Sure, at this point it was even stevens with Nadia Petrova - Justine didn't pull out the big break until the end of the set. But her game was there, not especially rusty. The backhand was back, and the speed, and some new serve I'm not too sure about but which I'm sure will work itself out.

But something else was back too. For the first time in a long time, it looked like Justine was enjoying herself on the court. Finally, after years and years and years, I found myself able to like Justine the sportswoman.

Apparently in Belgium they're already talking about the possibility of an all Belgian final for Brisbane. I am certainly right behind that in wishing, if not in believing, being as I will be there, and I can think of few things I would like better than to see the two Belgian comeback queens battle it out. This could be a reignition of the Clijsters/Henin rivalry - and heaven knows women's tennis needs it!

In other news, big props go out to John Millman and Peter Luczak, who put up fighting efforts against their higher ranked opponents in Brisbane last night. Luczak looked better than I've seen him for a LONG time, and Millman just seems like a really cool dude with a pretty solid game which I would like to see more of. Yay for these two.

Yay also for my favourite WTA player, Sabine Lisicki, for a fantastic win over Elena Dementieva at the Hopman Cup. Russia went on to win the tie, but this win is an individual serving-of-notice from Sabine. This girl is going to be huge.


Today's Results

Hopman Cup (Perth)

Russia 2, Germany 1

Sabine Lisicki def. Elena Dementieva, 6-4 6-1
Igor Andreev def. Philipp Kohlschreiber, 3-6 6-7 (3-7) 6-3
Dementieva/Andreev def. Lisicki/Kohlschreiber, 6-4 7-6 (9-7)


Great Britain 2, Kazakhstan 1

Yaroslava Shvedova def. Laura Robson, 4-6 6-3 6-0
Andy Murray def. Andrey Golubev, 6-2 6-2
Robson/Murray def. Shvedova/Golubev, 6-3 5-7 12-10 (match tie break)


Brisbane International (Brisbane)

Men's Draw

Andy Roddick def. Peter Luczak, 7-6 (7-5) 6-2
Richard Gasquet def. Jarkko Nieminen, 6-3 4-6 6-3
Harel Levy def. Michael Llodra, 6-2 6-0
Thomaz Bellucci def. Juan Ignacio Chela, 6-3 3-6 6-1
Marc Gicquel def. Philipp Petzschner, 6-3 6-1
Alejandro Falla def. Jeremy Chardy, 6-4 6-4
Wayne Odesnik def. Arnaud Clement, 6-4 7-6 (7-2)
Radek Stepanek def. John Millman, 6-4 6-0


Women's Draw

Lucie Safarova def. Anna-Lena Groenefeld, 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 6-1
Aleksandra Wozniak def. Galina Voskoboeva, 6-2 6-2
Daniela Hantuchova def. Ekaterina Ivanova, 6-1 6-7 (5-7) 6-1
Agnes Szavay def. Shuai Peng, 5-7 6-4 6-2
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova def. Alisa Kleybanova, 6-4 2-6 6-2
Roberta Vinci def. Sara Errani, 6-4 2-6 6-2
Timea Bacsinszky def. Alla Kudryavtseva, 6-4 7-6 (7-3)
Ana Ivanovic def. Jelena Dokic, 7-5 1-6 6-3
Sesil Karantcheva def. Casey Dellacqua, 6-2 0-6 7-6 (7-1)
Justine Henin def. Nadia Petrova, 7-5 7-5


Qatar ExxonMobil Open (Doha)

Ernests Gulbis def. Albert Montanes, 6-2 7-5
Marco Chiudineilli def. Paolo Lorenzi, 7-5 6-3
Ivo Karlovic def. Fabio Fognini, 6-4 6-4
Viktor Troicki def. Daniel Gimeno-Traver, 6-1 7-5
Oliver Rochus def. Abdulla Hajji, 6-1 6-0
Sergiy Stakhovsky def. Mikhail Youzhny, 7-6 (13-11) 6-2
Potito Starace def. Frederico Gil, 6-2 6-0


Chennai Open (Chennai)

Thiemo de Bakker def. Rajeev Ram, 6-1 6-1
Janko Tipsarevic def. Carlos Moya, 6-3 7-6 (7-2)
Jan Hajek def. Simon Greul, 3-6 6-2 6-4
Santiago Giraldo def. Bjorn Phau, 6-4 6-7 (6-8) 6-3
Marin Cilic def. Igor Kunitsyn, 6-2 6-4


ASB Auckland Classic (Auckland)

Flavia Pennetta def. Jill Craybas, 6-2 6-4
Dominika Cibulkova def. Alexandra Dulgheru, 6-0 6-3
Kimiko Date Krumm def. Anna Chakvetadze, 6-1 6-2
Yanina Wickmayer def. Julia Goerges, 6-3 7-5
Magdalena Rybarikova def. Anabel Medina Garrigues, 6-2 6-3

Kind of Loving Tommy

Tommy Robredo is one of those players that I have, without meaning to, somehow conspired to see play a lot. He's not up there on my favourites list or anything, but somehow I always manage to catch a bunch of his matches. And I kind of love him now - a love born of familiarity more than anything else, because I doubt he'd stand out to me otherwise. He's not spectacularly interesting or anything.

But. Yes, I have just been all like, 'I love you, Tommy, but hot damn you are boring,' but when I saw him play John Isner at the Hopman Cup yesterday, I realised there was a reason I kind of loved him, and it's his speed. The way he can run down balls is pretty awesome to watch. They actually did a bit of stats thing on the TV where they showed how often Isner was hitting the ball to Robredo's backhand - something like 71% of the time. However, despite the speed of the Isner groundies, Robredo was running round most of them to hit forehands. Because he could.

And his passing shots! Oh, his passing shots! There is something in the Spanish air which predisposes the Spaniards to hitting beautiful passing shots, and Robredo is no exception. The best tribute I can pay them is silence.

The Isner/Robredo match was a seriously good match. It went 7-6 in the third, with Robredo coming out on top, but it was a titanic struggle - and it looked like it was going to be all Isner until one moment midway through the second set. Robredo had struggled mightily to get it to 30-all on Isner's serve, and then he hit an absolutely inspired forehand to bring up break point. He went on to break Isner - the only break of serve in the match - and run off with the set. And even though the third set went deep, you kind of had the feeling Robredo was going to win.

Spain won the tie 3-0, cleaning up in the women's singles and the mixed as well, and they surely must be favourites to win the group now. Another failed year at Hopman Cup for Australia.

Over in Brisbane, there were quality wins for Alicia Molik and Matt Ebden, which surely must turn Tennis Australia's collective frown upside down. Good stuff.


Today's Results

Hopman Cup (Perth)

Spain 3, USA 0

Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez def. Melanie Oudin, 6-4 6-4
Tommy Robredo def. John Isner, 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 7-6 (7-4)
Martinez Sanchez/Robredo def. Oudin/Isner, 6-4 7-5


Brisbane International (Brisbane)

Women's Draw

Kim Clijsters def. Tathiana Garbin, 6-2 6-1
Alicia Molik def. Ekaterina Makarova, 6-4 1-6 6-4
Vania King def. Sybille Bammer, 6-4 6-1
Andrea Petkovic def. Iveta Benesova, 6-7 (6-8) 6-2 6-1
Melinda Czink def. Lucie Hradecka, 6-4 3-6 6-3
Barbora Zahlavova Strycova def. Olga Govortsova, 6-4 6-1

Not Exactly Auspicious

So not exactly an auspicious start for the Australian Hopman Cup team. It was sort of equally their fault - Sam Stosur really should have won that singles match, and Lleyton Hewitt is potentially the worst doubles player in the entire universe. It was not a great performance, on the whole.

That said, you have to applaud the Romanians - especially Sorana Cirstea. She looked down and out after the first set against Stosur - she had no idea what was going on with the kick serve or anything, and Stosur was groundy-ing her off the court. But then... she worked it out. Once she started teeing off on those kick serves - Stosur's secret weapon - you knew it was going to be difficult for Stosur. Those huge crosscourt backhands that she brought to play were excellent, and I have never seen anyone able to pick that serve like that. It was awesome.

You know what else was awesome? The Hewitt/Hanescu match. I've never really seen Hanescu play before, but he's quite interesting to watch - a player in the mould of Juan Martin del Potro, though he's obviously not quite as good at it as Juan M is. I'm always amazed when I see those big dudes get down to volleys, but a huge percentage of them seem to be serve and volleyers, and Hanescu had good hands at the net.

But I really can't help myself liking Lleyton Hewitt when he's on the court, and he really owned this one. The third set was really tight, and he fired himself up when it counted. Sure, he might have been assisted by the fact that Hanescu looked like he was having mobility problems, but he stuck it out.

However, in the little I saw of the doubles... Hewitt was not so good, to put it mildly. Sam Stosur is one of the best doubles players in the world and he was running in front of her, behind her, pinching all her balls, trying to cover the whole court himself. I would have been very annoyed with him if I were Stosur. Not cool.

So not an auspicious start for Australia. It was, however, an auspicious start for Sorana Cirstea, who really served notice - and also for Rafa Nadal, who overcame his foe Robin Soderling in Abu Dhabi. Sure, the match means effectively nothing, but I'll bet Rafa's glad to have that victory, nonetheless.


Today's Results

Hopman Cup (Perth)

Romania 2, Australia 1

Sorana Cirstea def. Samantha Stosur, 3-6 6-4 6-3
Lleyton Hewitt def. Victor Hanescu, 3-6 6-3 7-6 (7-2)
Cirstea/Hanescu def. Stosur/Hewitt, 7-5 6-1

All Is Quiet On New Year's Day

So my beloved Roger Federer started off the year with an exo loss to Robin Soderling, but I don't think it's anything to be especially worried about it. I didn't see the match, but when Federer serves and volleys five times in a row, you know he's just experimenting and making stuff up. Besides, perhaps this will negate the whole, 'no one beats Robin Soderling [insert number here] times in a row' curse which has been hanging about since the French Open. All in all, I'm not concerned.

And it gives us the opportunity to see a match up between Soderling and Nadal, which I am sure will be extremely highly anticipated. After losing to him in Roland Garros and then again at the year ending championships, I'm sure Rafa will be raring for revenge. He defeated David Ferrer who, while he is a good player, isn't exactly the Yoker. This will be a very good match.

But the tennis event for me has to be the first round of the Hopman Cup, which starts today - and about time too! Australia is playing Romania, which means Sam Stosur will be lining up alongside Sorana Cirstea and Lleyton Hewitt will be facing Victor Hanescu.

Hewitt and Hanescu will be a good match - I like Hewitt to win, I think, but Hanescu might give him a run for his money - but I'm really looking forward to Stosur and Cirstea. I'm a big fan of Stosur, and Cirstea really is one of the players that I think is going to be huge in a year or two. There's a massive crop of youngsters coming up from Romania - they're going to be an absolute powerhouse in women's tennis in the coming decade - and Cirstea is kind of the front runner of this. She's already started actualising some of her potential - she made the Roland Garros quarters last year, where she lost to, guess who? Stosur.

So I'm looking forward to seeing her play. This could be a huge year for Cirstea - and for Stosur. And also for Sabine Lisicki, who is playing for Germany, and a whole bunch of the girls playing Hopman this year. It's going to be good.

Sydney Also Gets Wild

More wildcard news - from Sydney this time, where Casey Dellacqua has been given a wildcard into the Medibank International. She's the second card recipient to be announced after Justine Henin, and it's not exactly surprising - much as I would wish that some of the younger kids would be given opportunities, their time will come. This is a good leg up for Casey on her comeback - and I guess she's lucky coming back around the Australian swing, because she'd find it tough to get this wealth of cards otherwise.

You just wait. You can bet your bottom dollar that the other women's card for Sydney will go to Alicia Molik, the second she expresses any desire to play the event... though she's playing Hobart, now that I think of it, so we'll see someone a little different. You've got to think it will be Olivia Rogowska - though she might get pipped at the post by Yanina Wickmayer, if the tournament director in Sydney is a big softie. Though if I were Rogowska and that was the case, I'd be pissed off. Rogowska definitely deserves a card somewhere, and with Justine Henin sucking up all these wildcards, a lot of her opportunities have disappeared.

But now that I think of it, Rogowska might have been carded into Hobart as well, which means she's out of Sydney, being as they are on the same week. That opens the door for someone like Monika Wejnert or Shannon Golds. That could be fun.

It's the last day before tennis starts - it's New Year's Day here, though not quite in Abu Dhabi yet, where things will kick off with the annual cashcow exo. Bring it on! I am totally sick of the off season.

Getting Wild In Brisvegas

Some more wildcard action - though it's for the Brisbane International this time. It's enough to make me wish I was going to that tournament earlier in the week rather than for the men's semis and the women's final... I love watching young dudes in action.

And Tennis Australia really should be commended for the emphasis they put on youth in their wildcards. Well done - seriously, well done. The Aussie young guns need to be blooded on the big stages, and these cards are definitely the way to do it.

Wildcards in Brisbane have been issued to Carsten Ball, Bernard Tomic and John Millman in the blokes' event, and Casey Dellacqua, Alicia Molik and Justine Henin in the ladies'. You couldn't not give a card to Henin - I mean, really - and with Dellacqua and Molik on the comeback it makes sense, though I really would have liked to see Olivia Rogowska and Monika Wejnert carded into this event.

But total win with the boys - particularly with Millman. He's good enough to play a match or two on the main tour, and I hold out hope that some other Aussie boys can come up through qualies. Ball has been to an ATP final before and is a bit passe, but I'm actively excited to see what Bernard Tomic can bring to the court this year. He's won a round at tour level before and I reckon this year might be the year when he starts to make a wave or two. And why shouldn't that wave start in Brisbane?

Countdown to the Hopman Cup

The Hopman Cup is coming up wonderfully fast - off season be damned, I am totally ready for some goddamn tennis! - and it's my favourite tournament of the year, as I am fond of saying a lot.

So let's talk Hopman, shall we?

The reason I love it is because, I think, it is practically a team sport, and as an Australian, I am conditioned to love these. (See cricket). You've got a guy, a girl, three rubbers, and heaps and heaps of fun times. It's like Davis Cup with a side of equality, and it is big fun.

And seriously, mixed doubles? Most underplayed sport ever. I love mixed doubles. Will anyone ever forget the proset that Dmitry Tursunov and Nadia Petrova played against Tommy Robredo and Anabel Medina Garrigues? I sure won't.

And, moreover, it's a great opportunity for players to learn things from each other and for young guns to shine. It's not the most prestigious tournament ever, despite the fact it's got to be a perfect tune up for the Open (hello, at least three guaranteed matches). This means that you'll often get one big name (Andy Murray this year) and a whole bunch of fierce young things ready to take them on. I'm excited to see how Laura Robson does, and Melanie Oudin as well. But we all know my special favourite is Sabine Lisicki and I'm pulling for her to do big things.

And I'm going to be there!