Good. Ass. Match.

Reuters

For Tomas Berdych, it had been a long time between drinks. Going on six years, in fact. But last night, he got to sip another sweet victory over world No. 1 Roger Federer.

I only just saw the end of the match on Tennis Channel encore a little while ago. I watched the first set before going to bed last night and even though Raja double faulted to gift Berdych the set, I figured the Czech would find a way to collapse and lose anyway. Got so busy today, I didn't even bother to check the results. When I turned on the tele, there was Berdych up an early break in the final set.

Ah. So what. He'll still lose.

The commentators filled me in on what I missed in the second set. One of them used the word collapse. Figures. And so when Berdych dumped serve at 4-3 to gift the break right back, I almost turned off the television and went back to the greenhouse.

Thankfully, the phone rang. I was on the line just long enough to see Raja come within 2 points of victory at 5-4, only to execute his own bit of the C word.

From there on, it was enthralling stuff. Dramatic. Crowd lapped it up like panting dogs. They wanted Raja to prevail. When he arrived, finally, at match point, it was on its feet. Surely Raja would serve his trademark flat ace out wide, short in the box, a magnificent delivery.

Nope. His timid first serve finds the net.

But still. Surely Berdych -- who had the match on his racquet at 5-4 in the ultimate breaker, but lost the first point when Raja crafted a point ending in a backhand drop shot that Berdych fell chasing down leaving the court open for Raja's dink forehand, lost the second when his own forehand missed the sideline by millimeters, and now found himself staring down the barrel of match point on Raja's serve -- would falter.

Nope. He saved match point like a champion. Deep return. Forehand winner, crosscourt, so flat and hard and deep, Raja didn't even try.

Two points later, when Raja's final forehand sailed beyond the baseline, Berdych rejoiced. Looked like the guy I saw almost six years ago who I thought would go on to bigger and better things but his head got in the way. Last night, though, he dug out from under. Finally.

The crowd was a bit let down, their guy didn't pull through, after all, but it had thoroughly enjoyed a good-ass match, best one of the tournament.

::

Singles - Fourth Round
[16] T Berdych (CZE) d [1] R Federer (SUI) 64 67(3) 76(6) - saved 1 M.P.
[4] R Nadal (ESP) d [15] D Ferrer (ESP) 76(5) 64
[5] R Soderling (SWE) d [9] F Gonzalez (CHI) 60 67(3) 62
[6] A Roddick (USA) d B Becker (GER) 76(4) 63
[10] F Verdasco (ESP) d [7] M Cilic (CRO) 64 76(3)
[8] J Tsonga (FRA) d [12] J Ferrero (ESP) 62 62
[13] M Youzhny (RUS) d M Fish (USA) 61 10 ret. (back)
[33] N Almagro (ESP) d [27] T Bellucci (BRA) 64 36 76(3)

Doubles - Second Round
[2] B Bryan (USA) / M Bryan (USA) d E Butorac (USA) / R Ram (USA) 64 64
[4] M Bhupathi (IND) / M Mirnyi (BLR) d J Isner (USA) / S Querrey (USA) 63 62
[8] M Fyrstenberg (POL) / M Matkowski (POL) d I Andreev (RUS) / M Youzhny (RUS) 46 64 10-6
B Becker (GER) / M Kohlmann (GER) d M Damm (CZE) / F Polasek (SVK) 76(3) 76(5)

::

Women's Singles - Quarterfinals
(3) Venus Williams (USA) d. (6) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) 63 61
(13) Marion Bartoli (FRA) d. (12) Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) 64 75

Women's Doubles - Quarterfinals
(3) Petrova/Stosur (RUS/AUS) d. Coin/King (FRA/USA) 63 62
(4) Raymond/Stubbs (USA/AUS) d. (5) Kleybanova/Schiavone (RUS/ITA) 64 63
Dulko/Pennetta (ARG/ITA) d. Kirilenko/Radwanska (RUS/POL) 63 75

Face Of The Day

Getty

Samantha Stosur of Australia looks on against Jelena Jankovic of Serbia during day seven of the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open at Crandon Park Tennis Center on March 29, 2010 in Key Biscayne, Florida.

::

Singles - Fourth Round
(13) Marion Bartoli (FRA) d. (1) Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) 63 60
(2) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) d. (22) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) 62 62
(3) Venus Williams (USA) d. (19) Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) 16 75 64
(14) Kim Clijsters (BEL) d. (4) Victoria Azarenka (BLR) 64 60
(6) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) d. Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ) 61 64
(9) Samantha Stosur (AUS) d. (7) Jelena Jankovic (SRB) 61 76(9)
(WC) Justine Henin (BEL) d. (11) Vera Zvonareva (RUS) 61 64
(12) Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) d. Timea Bacsinszky (SUI) 60 61

I know that Svetlana Kuznetsova losing to anyone at anytime isn't really a big upset anymore. But Marion Bartoli tore through her so thoroughly, this one counts. Injured or not.

Venus struggled, Jankovic got ousted, Clijsters cruised, Henin, too. But look what the third Belgian did to that poor Swiss woman?

::

Doubles - Second Round
(4) Raymond/Stubbs (USA/AUS) d. Dekmeijere/Schnyder (LAT/SUI) 26 75 107
(8) Makarova/Peng (RUS/CHN) d. Peschke/Srebotnik (CZE/SLO) 64 63

::

Singles - Third Round
[1] R Federer (SUI) d F Serra (FRA) 76(2) 76(3)
[5] R Soderling (SWE) d P Petzschner (GER) 61 62
[7] M Cilic (CRO) d [25] M Baghdatis (CYP) 63 64
[9] F Gonzalez (CHI) d [22] J Monaco (ARG) 67(4) 64 62
[10] F Verdasco (ESP) d [23] J Melzer (AUT) 36 76(4) 61
[13] M Youzhny (RUS) d [19] S Wawrinka (SUI) 16 76(5) 75
[16] T Berdych (CZE) d H Zeballos (ARG) 64 75
M Fish (USA) d [29] F Lopez (ESP) 75 63

Raja needed two tiebreaks to dismiss Serra? He did seem listless for most of the match. Fish's run continues.

::

Doubles - Second Round
N Almagro (ESP) / T Robredo (ESP) d [1] D Nestor (CAN) / N Zimonjic (SRB) 46 62 10-5
[3] L Dlouhy (CZE) / L Paes (IND) d T Bellucci (BRA) / M Lopez (ESP) 46 63 10-8
F Lopez (ESP) / F Verdasco (ESP) d [6] S Aspelin (SWE) / P Hanley (AUS) 61 76(3)
A Clement (FRA) / J Tsonga (FRA) d [7] F Cermak (CZE) / M Mertinak (SVK) 63 60

Quote For The Day

“Thankfully [Serena and I] won't be walking into the sunset too soon. Hopefully that will give some bumper time. It's just definitely strange because of the unbelievable tradition we've had with tennis for Americans since the beginning. I think that's what makes it so odd.

"But I've got hope. There are a lot of players who are very good, but getting to that level isn't easy for anyone. So hopefully there will be someone coming along soon with the tools and the traits and who will build that in their game to get there."--Venus Williams on the state of women's tennis at home

Face Of The Day

by Craig Hickman


Getty

Rafael Nadal of Spain reacts against David Nalbandian of Argentina during day six of the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open at Crandon Park Tennis Center on March 28, 2010 in Key Biscayne, Florida.

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Singles - Third Round
[4] R Nadal (ESP) d [WC] D Nalbandian (ARG) 67(8) 62 62
[6] A Roddick (USA) d S Stakhovsky (UKR) 62 61
[8] J Tsonga (FRA) d [28] P Kohlschreiber (GER) 62 75
[12] J Ferrero (ESP) d [17] J Isner (USA) 62 36 63
[15] D Ferrer (ESP) d [24] I Karlovic (CRO) 76(5) 63
B Becker (GER) d [18] T Robredo (ESP) 16 64 76(1)
[27] T Bellucci (BRA) d O Rochus (BEL) 63 64
[33] N Almagro (ESP) d J Chardy (FRA) 62 67(9) 63

About the only tennis I saw yesterday was a set and a half of Rafa against Nalby and a bit of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga against Philip Kohlschreiber. Nalby still has it all, but needs to get his cardio back in order. Rafa simply refused to lose and wore Nalby into the cement by the middle of the third set. Tsonga still has brain farts and for all his talent, Kohlschreiber is basically a weakling.

It was good to see some tennis finally. I almost forgot what it looked like.

::

Doubles - First Round
[1] D Nestor (CAN) / N Zimonjic (SRB) d [LL] D Istomin (UZB) / F Moser (GER) 60 62
[3] L Dlouhy (CZE) / L Paes (IND) d R Hutchins (GBR) / J Kerr (AUS) 64 76(4)
[4] M Bhupathi (IND) / M Mirnyi (BLR) d S Huss (AUS) / W Moodie (RSA) 64 75
[6] S Aspelin (SWE) / P Hanley (AUS) d J Melzer (AUT) / P Petzschner (GER) 63 67(4) 14-12
[7] F Cermak (CZE) / M Mertinak (SVK) d R Lindstedt (SWE) / H Tecau (ROU) 76(1) 64
F Lopez (ESP) / F Verdasco (ESP) d M Llodra (FRA) / A Ram (ISR) 62 75
E Butorac (USA) / R Ram (USA) d [WC] R Harrison (USA) / N Lapentti (ECU) 61 75
I Andreev (RUS) / M Youzhny (RUS) d M Fish (USA) / M Knowles (BAH) 75 64

::

Women's Singles - Third Round
(2) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) d. (32) Maria Kirilenko (RUS) 16 61 64
(4) Victoria Azarenka (BLR) d. Lucie Safarova (CZE) 64 62
(7) Jelena Jankovic (SRB) d. (28) Elena Vesnina (RUS) 76(3) 63
(9) Samantha Stosur (AUS) d. Virginie Razzano (FRA) 46 75 61
(11) Vera Zvonareva (RUS) d. Sara Errani (ITA) 62 63
(14) Kim Clijsters (BEL) d. (17) Shahar Peer (ISR) 60 61
(22) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) d. (15) Francesca Schiavone (ITA) 75 63
(WC) Justine Henin (BEL) d. (26) Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) 64 64

Clijsters looks like she's on a mission. Wonder how she'll fare against Justine this time around.

::

Women's Doubles - Second Round
Dulko/Pennetta (ARG/ITA) d. (2) Llagostera Vives/Martínez Sánchez (ESP/ESP) 46 63 10-7
(3) Petrova/Stosur (RUS/AUS) d. Govortsova/Kudryavtseva (BLR/RUS) 60 75
Chan/Zheng (TPE/CHN) d. Grandin/Spears (RSA/USA) 64 46 119
Coin/King (FRA/USA) d. Jans/Uhlirova (POL/CZE) 64 62
Kirilenko/Radwanska (RUS/POL) d. (WC) Clijsters/Flipkens (BEL/BEL) 62 75

::

Quote For The Day

"There's nothing worse than that. That's just plain cheating, and they should throw him out of tennis. There's just no room for it." --Andy Roddick on Wayne Odesnik getting busted for carrying eight vials of HGH into Australia back in January

(Thanks, Savannah)

Upset Special II

by Craig Hickman



Mardy Fish of the United States reacts after defeating Andy Murray of Great Britain during day five of the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open at Crandon Park Tennis Center on March 27, 2010 in Key Biscayne, Florida.

::

Been a long time since Mardy took a big scalp at a big event. This time, he gets the defending champ's. Nice work if you can get it, and you can get it if you try....

I still haven't seen a single point of the tournament.

::

Singles - Second Round
[1] R Federer (SUI) d [LL] N Lapentti (ECU) 63 63
M Fish (USA) d [3] A Murray (GBR) 64 64
[5] R Soderling (SWE) d P Luczak (AUS) 76(5) 60
[7] M Cilic (CRO) d S Robert (FRA) 63 61
[9] F Gonzalez (CHI) d [Q] Y Lu (TPE) 64 64
[10] F Verdasco (ESP) d D Sela (ISR) 61 62
[13] M Youzhny (RUS) d [Q] S Giraldo (COL) 60 61
[16] T Berdych (CZE) d T de Bakker (NED) 63 64
[19] S Wawrinka (SUI) d [Q] K Anderson (RSA) 64 75
H Zeballos (ARG) d [20] G Simon (FRA) 62 63
[22] J Monaco (ARG) d [Q] M Ilhan (TUR) 62 75
[23] J Melzer (AUT) d A Falla (COL) 63 64
[25] M Baghdatis (CYP) d J Chela (ARG) 62 64
F Serra (FRA) d [26] A Montanes (ESP) 63 36 62
[29] F Lopez (ESP) d M Berrer (GER) 76(2) 75
P Petzschner (GER) d [31] J Tipsarevic (SRB) 64 60

Doubles - First Round
[2] B Bryan (USA) / M Bryan (USA) d [WC] R Nadal (ESP) / B Salva-Vidal (ESP) 60 63
B Becker (GER) / M Kohlmann (GER) d [5] L Kubot (POL) / O Marach (AUT) 61 76(6)
[8] M Fyrstenberg (POL) / M Matkowski (POL) d J Knowle (AUT) / P Kohlschreiber (GER) 67(4) 75 14-12
J Isner (USA) / S Querrey (USA) d J Brunstrom (SWE) / J Rojer (AHO) 46 63 10-7
A Clement (FRA) / J Tsonga (FRA) d G Garcia-Lopez (ESP) / A Montanes (ESP) 26 63 10-5
N Almagro (ESP) / T Robredo (ESP) d M Melo (BRA) / B Soares (BRA) 62 46 14-12
M Damm (CZE) / F Polasek (SVK) d I Karlovic (CRO) / D Vemic (SRB) 62 76(5)
T Bellucci (BRA) / M Lopez (ESP) d C Kas (GER) / D Norman (BEL) 36 63 10-8

::

Women's Singles - Third Round
(1) Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) d. (27) Agnes Szavay (HUN) 62 63
(3) Venus Williams (USA) d. Roberta Vinci (ITA) 61 64
(6) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) d. (25) Ana Ivanovic (SRB) 75 75
(12) Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) d. (WC) Petra Martic (CRO) 63 63
(13) Marion Bartoli (FRA) d. Gisela Dulko (ARG) 76(2) 64
(19) Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) d. (16) Nadia Petrova (RUS) 62 64
Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ) d. Andrea Petkovic (GER) 60 57 75
Timea Bacsinszky (SUI) d. Polona Hercog (SLO) 62 62

Women's Doubles - Second Round
(5) Kleybanova/Schiavone (RUS/ITA) d. Niculescu/Vesnina (ROU/RUS) 76(4) 75

Women's Doubles - First Round
Grandin/Spears (RSA/USA) d. (1) Black/Huber (ZIM/USA) 36 64 107
(4) Raymond/Stubbs (USA/AUS) d. Goerges/Pelletier (GER/CAN) 57 63 105
Kirilenko/Radwanska (RUS/POL) d. (6) Mattek-Sands/Yan (USA/CHN) 62 64
(8) Makarova/Peng (RUS/CHN) d. Senoglu/Shvedova (TUR/KAZ) 60 61
Peschke/Srebotnik (CZE/SLO) d. Garbin/Ruano Pascual (ITA/ESP) 62 60

Upset Special

by Craig Hickman


Getty

Olivier Rochus of Belgium celebrates match point against Novak Djokovic of Serbia during day four of the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open at Crandon Park Tennis Center on March 26, 2010 in Key Biscayne, Florida.

::

That's what I get for not looking at the draws. Still, I wouldn't have thought Rochus would hold it together long enough to dismiss the world No. 2 in a deciding set.

Singles - Second Round
O Rochus (BEL) d [2] N Djokovic (SRB) 62 67(7) 64
[4] R Nadal (ESP) d T Dent (USA) 64 63
[6] A Roddick (USA) d I Andreev (RUS) 64 64
[8] J Tsonga (FRA) d G Garcia-Lopez (ESP) 64 63
B Becker (GER) d [11] I Ljubicic (CRO) 46 01 ret. (back)
[12] J Ferrero (ESP) d D Koellerer (AUT) 40 ret. (right elbow)
[15] D Ferrer (ESP) d M Llodra (FRA) 62 64
[17] J Isner (USA) d M Russell (USA) 76(5) 26 76(5)
[18] T Robredo (ESP) d [Q] I Marchenko (UKR) 63 46 64
J Chardy (FRA) d [21] S Querrey (USA) 46 64 62
[24] I Karlovic (CRO) d D Gimeno-Traver (ESP) 63 67(5) 63
[27] T Bellucci (BRA) d J Blake (USA) 36 61 62
[28] P Kohlschreiber (GER) d F Mayer (GER) 66 ret. (hamstring)
[WC] D Nalbandian (ARG) d [30] V Troicki (SRB) 63 46 64
S Stakhovsky (UKR) d [32] J Benneteau (FRA) 63 76(5)
[33] N Almagro (ESP) d E Schwank (ARG) 64 75

::

Women's Singles - Second Round
(2) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) d. (Q) Tsvetana Pironkova (BUL) 36 63 64
(4) Victoria Azarenka (BLR) d. Alexandra Dulgheru (ROU) 63 62
(WC) Justine Henin (BEL) d. (5) Elena Dementieva (RUS) 63 62
(7) Jelena Jankovic (SRB) d. (Q) Mariya Koryttseva (UKR) 64 60
(9) Samantha Stosur (AUS) d. Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP) 46 75 62
(11) Vera Zvonareva (RUS) d. Melanie Oudin (USA) 61 62
(14) Kim Clijsters (BEL) d. Petra Kvitova (CZE) 61 61
(15) Francesca Schiavone (ITA) d. Alizé Cornet (FRA) 63 62
(17) Shahar Peer (ISR) d. Alla Kudryavtseva (RUS) 61 60
Virginie Razzano (FRA) d. (20) Zheng Jie (CHN) 64 62
(22) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) d. Tamira Paszek (AUT) 76(4) 46 63
Sara Errani (ITA) d. (24) Alisa Kleybanova (RUS) 64 75
(26) Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) d. (Q) Sofia Arvidsson (SWE) 60 62
(28) Elena Vesnina (RUS) d. Julia Goerges (GER) 63 64
Lucie Safarova (CZE) d. (29) María José Martínez Sánchez (ESP) 46 76(3) 62
(32) Maria Kirilenko (RUS) d. Melinda Czink (HUN) 46 62 76(4)

Women's Doubles - First Round
Dekmeijere/Schnyder (LAT/SUI) d. Dushevina/Rodionova (RUS/AUS) 63 36 105
Coin/King (FRA/USA) d. Bondarenko/Voskoboeva (UKR/KAZ) 57 64 108

Miami Open Thread

The weather is too nice. I simply can't get in from outside. I haven't a clue what's going on down in Key Biscayne, so I'll need our readers to keep our readers posted.

I should get back to tennis this weekend, but it depends on the weather.

Once again, without having peeped the draws, I'll go ahead and say that Novak Djokovic and Venus Williams will win.

What's Old Is New

Getty

The old guy beat back the youngins -- and Andy Roddick -- to take the first big title of his career. I had a feeling it was going to turn out this way. I blame oddman for writing out the jinx. Roddick, his gifted victory in Brisbane earlier this year notwithstanding, has forgotten how to win. The tortured American is now one for three in finals this year. Not the kind of percentage the third winningest active player on tour can boast. Maybe he can take inspiration from the old guy. Ivan Ljubicic hadn't won anything in so long, not only had he forgotten how to win, but there was virtually no weight on his shoulders as he approached this victory.


Getty

Jelena Jankovic is back. Consider that snark. Caroline Wozniacki became the No. 2 player in the world today. Consider that a joke.

I'm not sure Indian Wells has ever been such a bust.

Next up, Miami. With no Serena Williams.

Thank goodness I've got the farm to keep me busy.

First-Time Finalists

AP

Andy Roddick celebrates his win over Robin Söderling, of Sweden, during their match at the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells, Calif. , Saturday, March 20, 2010.

::


Getty

Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia celebrates match point against Rafael Nadal of Spain during the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open on March 19, 2010 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, California.

::

As predicted, 2010 is proving to be quite an unpredictable season. Indian Wells features four new finalists: Caroline Wozniacki, Jelena Jankovic, Andy Roddick, who has faltered in desert semifinals more times than I can count, and biggest surprise of them all, Ljubicic, celebrating his 31st birthday with arguably the biggest win of his career.

Who will win?

::

Men's Singles - Semifinals
[20] I Ljubicic (CRO) d [3] R Nadal (ESP) 36 64 76(1)
[7] A Roddick (USA) d [6] R Soderling (SWE) 64 36 63

Men's Doubles - Final
[WC] M Lopez (ESP) / R Nadal (ESP) d [1] D Nestor (CAN) / N Zimonjic (SRB) 76(8) 63

Women's Doubles - Final
K Peschke (CZE) / K Srebotnik (SLO) d [3] N Petrova (RUS) / S Stosur (AUS) 64 26 10-5

Indian Wells Semifinals Open Thread

AP

The men come down to two today. Andy Roddick takes on Robin Söderling, and big surprise Ivan Ljubicic takes on defending champ Rafael Nadal.

Last night, Caroline Wozniacki out counterpunched her good friend Agnieszka Radwanska, while Samantha Stosur couldn't subdue Jelena Jankovic in the day session.

::

Men's Singles - Quarterfinals
[6] R Soderling (SWE) d [4] A Murray (GBR) 61 76(4)
[7] A Roddick (USA) d [18] T Robredo (ESP) 63 75

Women's Singles - Semifinals
[2] C Wozniacki (DEN) d [5] A Radwanska (POL) 62 63
[6] J Jankovic (SRB) d [8] S Stosur (AUS) 62 64

Men's Doubles - Semifinals
[1] D Nestor (CAN) / N Zimonjic (SRB) d J Isner (USA) / S Querrey (USA) 64 62
[WC] M Lopez (ESP) / R Nadal (ESP) d [6] S Aspelin (SWE) / P Hanley (AUS) 64 64

Women's Doubles - Semifinals
[3] N Petrova (RUS) / S Stosur (AUS) d [6] B Mattek-Sands (USA) / Z Yan (CHN) 63 62

Indian Wells Quarterfinals Open Thread

by Craig Hickman


Reuters

Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic sticks out his tongue after losing a point against Rafael Nadal of Spain during their match at the Indian Wells ATP tennis tournament in Indian Wells, California March 18, 2010.

::

I didn't get this posted yesterday.

Long story....

I'd never have picked Ivan Ljubicic to get anywhere near the final four, so...

Have at it.

::

Men's Singles - Quarterfinals
[3] R Nadal (ESP) d [19] T Berdych (CZE) 64 76(4)
[20] I Ljubicic (CRO) d [21] J Monaco (ARG) 46 62 61

Men's Doubles - Quarterfinals
[1] D Nestor (CAN) / N Zimonjic (SRB) d [5] F Cermak (CZE) / M Mertinak (SVK) w/o (Cermak - back)

Women's Singles - Quarterfinals
(6) Jelena Jankovic (SRB) d. (23) Alisa Kleybanova (RUS) 64 64
(8) Samantha Stosur (AUS) d. (28) María José Martínez Sánchez (ESP)
63 76(7)

Women's Doubles - Semifinals
Peschke/Srebotnik (CZE/SLO) d. Chan/Zheng (TPE/CHN) 16 63 10-4

Well, I'll Be...

Reuters

Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus celebrates his victory over Roger Federer of Switzerland at the Indian Wells ATP tennis tournament in Indian Wells, California March 16, 2010.

::

Our own Karen predicted that the top 4 players on the ATP wouldn't advance to the semifinals and the first one to fall is none other than the world's top player.

I went to bed after the first set, trying to get back on my farming schedule, so I only found out a few hours ago that Marcos rallied from a set down to upset the name that had befuddled him on the tennis court through six matches.

Raja had two match points in the second set? Was up a break in the third? Had a third match point? And still lost?

What's that saying about frozen infernos?

While I thought Marcos would beat Raja in Melbourne, which never came to pass because the Cypriot lost early, I didn't give this matchup at this event a second thought.

Color me surprised. Very.

Standing O for Baghdatis.

::

Women's Singles - Fourth Round
(2) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) d. (16) Nadia Petrova (RUS) 63 36 60
(4) Elena Dementieva (RUS) d. (19) Aravane Rezai (FRA) 63 63
(5) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) d. (11) Marion Bartoli (FRA) 63 62
(6) Jelena Jankovic (SRB) d. (17) Shahar Peer (ISR) 62 62
(8) Samantha Stosur (AUS) d. (12) Vera Zvonareva (RUS) 62 75
(28) María José Martínez Sánchez (ESP) d. (13) Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) 64 64
(18) Zheng Jie (CHN) d. (WC) Alicia Molik (AUS) 63 46 76(1)
(23) Alisa Kleybanova (RUS) d. Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP) 26 76(2) 64

Petrova is probably still berating herself.

::

Women's Doubles - Quarterfinals
Chan/Zheng (TPE/CHN) d. (1) Black/Huber (ZIM/USA) 76(5) 62
Peschke/Srebotnik (CZE/SLO) d. Kirilenko/Radwanska (RUS/POL) 46 76(4) 10-5

::

Men's Singles - Third Round
[27] M Baghdatis (CYP) d [1] R Federer (SUI) 57 75 76(4) - saved 3 M.P.
[4] A Murray (GBR) d M Russell (USA) 63 75
[6] R Soderling (SWE) d [28] F Lopez (ESP) 76(3) 64
[7] A Roddick (USA) d T de Bakker (NED) 63 64
[9] J Tsonga (FRA) d [24] A Montanes (ESP) 46 63 63
[18] T Robredo (ESP) d D Sela (ISR) 63 60
[22] J Melzer (AUT) d S Greul (GER) w/o (illness)
N Almagro (ESP) d J Blake (USA) 64 36 63

Still standing.

::

Men's Doubles - Second Round
[5] F Cermak (CZE) / M Mertinak (SVK) d T Bellucci (BRA) / P Cuevas (URU) w/o (Bellucci - back)
J Isner (USA) / S Querrey (USA) d I Andreev (RUS) / E Korolev (KAZ) 75 67(5) 10-4
[WC] M Lopez (ESP) / R Nadal (ESP) d F Lopez (ESP) / F Verdasco (ESP) 64 76(4)
J Brunstrom (SWE) / J Rojer (AHO) d T Berdych (CZE) / P Kohlschreiber (GER) 63 46 10-4

Face Of The Day

by Craig Hickman


Reuters

Kim Clijsters of Belgium reacts after losing a point against Alisa Kleybanova of Russia during their match at the Indian Wells WTA tennis tournament in Indian Wells, California, March 15, 2010.

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Women's Singles - Third Round
(28) María José Martínez Sánchez (ESP) d. (3) Victoria Azarenka (BLR)
76(4) 62
(6) Jelena Jankovic (SRB) d. Sara Errani (ITA) 26 76(6) 64
(8) Samantha Stosur (AUS) d. (25) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) 63 60
(17) Shahar Peer (ISR) d. (9) Flavia Pennetta (ITA) 64 67(4) 61
(12) Vera Zvonareva (RUS) d. Anastasija Sevastova (LAT) 62 63
(13) Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) d. Roberta Vinci (ITA) 61 36 63
(23) Alisa Kleybanova (RUS) d. (14) Kim Clijsters (BEL) 64 16 76(4)
Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP) d. (27) Agnes Szavay (HUN) 64 36 61

Azarenka and Clijsters fall on the same day, the defending champ cruises, and Suárez Navarro is picking up steam?

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Women's Doubles - Second Round
(1) Black/Huber (ZIM/USA) d. Amanmuradova/Kustova (UZB/BLR) 62 62
(3) Petrova/Stosur (RUS/AUS) d. Hlavackova/Hradecka (CZE/CZE) 64 60
Peschke/Srebotnik (CZE/SLO) d. Grandin/Spears (RSA/USA) 61 62

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Men's Singles - Third Round
[2] N Djokovic (SRB) d [25] P Kohlschreiber (GER) 63 26 76(3) - Saved 3 M.P.
[3] R Nadal (ESP) d M Ancic (CRO) 62 62
[15] J Isner (USA) d [17] S Querrey (USA) 76(3) 64
[21] J Monaco (ARG) d [11] J Ferrero (ESP) 76(2) 36 63
G Garcia-Lopez (ESP) d [26] T Bellucci (BRA) 46 62 61
[19] T Berdych (CZE) d [10] F Verdasco (ESP) 60 63
[20] I Ljubicic (CRO) d [Q] B Dabul (ARG) 62 63

Djoke is becoming a real fighter, his brain farts notwithstanding. When someone stares down the barrel of match point and survives, it deserves applause. And Philip Kohlschreiber didn't exactly choke. He got tentative, and then pressed on a few shots he didn't really have to hit, but he had been doing that all match, so....

The defending champion Rafael Nadal looks like he's trying make a statement, and I'm not just talking about those horrid shorts, John Isner seems to be grasping the torch, Juan Carlos Ferrero's age is showing, and Tomas Berdych beat the crap out of Fernando Verdasco. It wasn't as close as the lopsided score would suggest.

::

Men's Doubles - Second Round
[1] D Nestor (CAN) / N Zimonjic (SRB) d J Blake (USA) / A Roddick (USA) 64 36 10-7
[6] S Aspelin (SWE) / P Hanley (AUS) d J Benneteau (FRA) / J Tsonga (FRA) 76(4) 63
I Karlovic (CRO) / D Vemic (SRB) d D Ferrer (ESP) / A Montanes (ESP) 63 46 12-10

Quote For The Day

by Craig Hickman


Getty

"She's like a ball machine. She hits a lot of balls back, hits them hard and deep.

"I mean, I'd say I should have done a much better job on her serve, because her serve is definitely one of her weaker parts of the game, but… "

--Maria Sharapova, after her loss to Zheng Jie at Indian Wells yesterday.

::

Women's Singles - Third Round
(2) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) d. (32) Maria Kirilenko (RUS) 60 63
(4) Elena Dementieva (RUS) d. Kirsten Flipkens (BEL) 64 62
(5) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) d. (31) Gisela Dulko (ARG) 61 60
(18) Zheng Jie (CHN) d. (10) Maria Sharapova (RUS) 63 26 63
(11) Marion Bartoli (FRA) d. Jill Craybas (USA) 62 60
(16) Nadia Petrova (RUS) d. Peng Shuai (CHN) 61 75
(19) Aravane Rezai (FRA) d. (15) Francesca Schiavone (ITA) 67(4) 76(2) 64
(WC) Alicia Molik (AUS) d. (Q) Elena Baltacha (GBR) 60 62

Women's Doubles - Second Round
(2) Llagostera Vives/Martínez Sánchez (ESP/ESP) d. Dulko/Pennetta (ARG/ITA) 75 76(4)
Benesova/Zahlavova Strycova (CZE/CZE) d. (5) Kleybanova/Schiavone (RUS/ITA) 57 75 10-1
(6) Mattek-Sands/Yan (USA/CHN) d. (WC) Garbin/Jankovic (ITA/SRB) 64 46 10-5

Singles - Third Round
[29] V Troicki (SRB) d [5] N Davydenko (RUS) w/o (broken left wrist)

Men's Singles - Second Round
[1] R Federer (SUI) d V Hanescu (ROU) 63 67(5) 61
[4] A Murray (GBR) d A Seppi (ITA) 64 64
[6] R Soderling (SWE) d E Korolev (KAZ) 62 64
[7] A Roddick (USA) d [Q] Y Lu (TPE) 64 64
[9] J Tsonga (FRA) d [Q] M Matosevic (AUS) 61 63
S Greul (GER) d [12] G Monfils (FRA) 16 62 63
J Blake (USA) d [13] D Ferrer (ESP) 61 64
D Sela (ISR) d [14] R Stepanek (CZE) 64 16 62
[18] T Robredo (ESP) d S Stakhovsky (UKR) 36 63 75
[22] J Melzer (AUT) d [WC] D Nalbandian (ARG) 64 61
N Almagro (ESP) d [23] I Karlovic (CRO) 75 76(5)
[24] A Montanes (ESP) d [Q] R Mello (BRA) 36 64 64
[27] M Baghdatis (CYP) d A Clement (FRA) 76(7) 61
[28] F Lopez (ESP) d P Mathieu (FRA) 36 63 64
T de Bakker (NED) d [30] J Tipsarevic (SRB) 32 ret. (abdominal strain)
M Russell (USA) d [32] I Andreev (RUS) 46 63 62

Men's Doubles - Second Round
M Llodra (FRA) / A Ram (ISR) d J Tipsarevic (SRB) / V Troicki (SRB) w/o (Tipsarevic - abdominal strain)

Men's Doubles - First Round
[1] D Nestor (CAN) / N Zimonjic (SRB) d E Butorac (USA) / R Ram (USA) 63 64
T Berdych (CZE) / P Kohlschreiber (GER) d [2] B Bryan (USA) / M Bryan (USA) 76(4) 75
[WC] M Lopez (ESP) / R Nadal (ESP) d [3] L Dlouhy (CZE) / L Paes (IND) 64 36 10-6
[6] S Aspelin (SWE) / P Hanley (AUS) d J Kerr (AUS) / F Polasek (SVK) 75 63
F Lopez (ESP) / F Verdasco (ESP) d [WC] M Ancic (CRO) / M Fish (USA) 76(9) 63

Face Of The Day

Reuters

Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia covers her face after losing a point during her loss to Carla Suárez Navarro of Spain in their match at the Indian Wells WTA tennis tournament in Indian Wells, California, March 13, 2010.

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Men's Singles - Second Round
[2] N Djokovic (SRB) d M Fish (USA) 61 06 62
[3] R Nadal (ESP) d [Q] R Schuettler (GER) 64 64
[5] N Davydenko (RUS) d E Gulbis (LAT) 64 64
G Garcia-Lopez (ESP) d [8] M Cilic (CRO) 76(1) 60
[10] F Verdasco (ESP) d [Q] R Delgado (PAR) 64 61
[11] J Ferrero (ESP) d D Koellerer (AUT) 63 60
[15] J Isner (USA) d [Q] K Anderson (RSA) 63 75
[Q] B Dabul (ARG) d [16] G Simon (FRA) 75 64
[17] S Querrey (USA) d J Chardy (FRA) 63 64
[19] T Berdych (CZE) d F Serra (FRA) 75 46 64
[20] I Ljubicic (CRO) d [WC] R Harrison (USA) 62 76(2)
[21] J Monaco (ARG) d F Fognini (ITA) 64 75
[25] P Kohlschreiber (GER) vs P Petzschner (GER)
[26] T Bellucci (BRA) d [WC] C Moya (ESP) w/o (foot)
[29] V Troicki (SRB) d P Cuevas (URU) 10 ret. (back)
M Ancic (CRO) d [31] J Benneteau (FRA) 46 76(5) 63

The Australian Open semifinalist ate a bagel?

::

Men's Doubles - First Round
*I Andreev (RUS) / E Korolev (KAZ) d [4] M Bhupathi (IND) / M Mirnyi (BLR) 64 64
[5] F Cermak (CZE) / M Mertinak (SVK) d B Becker (GER) / S Huss (AUS) 75 67(5) 10-8
I Karlovic (CRO) / D Vemic (SRB) d [7] M Fyrstenberg (POL) / M Matkowski (POL) 76(6) 76(3)
J Blake (USA) / A Roddick (USA) d R Hutchins (GBR) / A Murray (GBR) 75 76(5)
M Llodra (FRA) / A Ram (ISR) d M Damm (CZE) / R Stepanek (CZE) 57 63 10-7
J Brunstrom (SWE) / J Rojer (AHO) d J Knowle (AUT) / J Melzer (AUT) 64 46 10-5

*replaced N Almagro (ESP) / T Robredo (ESP) - Robredo (toe)

::

Women's Singles - Second Round
Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP) d. (1) Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) 64 46 61
(3) Victoria Azarenka (BLR) d. Sybille Bammer (AUT) 61 75
(6) Jelena Jankovic (SRB) d. (Q) Petra Martic (CRO) 63 76(2)
(8) Samantha Stosur (AUS) d. Julie Coin (FRA) 61 76(4)
(9) Flavia Pennetta (ITA) d. Petra Kvitova (CZE) 63 63
(12) Vera Zvonareva (RUS) d. (Q) Sloane Stephens (USA) 64 75
(13) Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) d. Julia Goerges (GER) 62 64
(14) Kim Clijsters (BEL) d. Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (CZE) 62 61
(17) Shahar Peer (ISR) d. (WC) Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA) 62 63
Roberta Vinci (ITA) d. (21) Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) 63 75
(23) Alisa Kleybanova (RUS) d. (Q) Tsvetana Pironkova (BUL) 67(5) 63 61
Anastasija Sevastova (LAT) d. (24) Ana Ivanovic (SRB) 62 64
(25) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) d. (Q) Karolina Sprem (CRO) 63 61
Sara Errani (ITA) d. (26) Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) 75 64
(27) Agnes Szavay (HUN) d. (Q) Chan Yung-Jan (TPE) 63 62
(28) María José Martínez Sánchez (ESP) d. Alexandra Dulgheru (ROU)
26 63 61

Miss Ivanovic is in deep doo-doo. And Sveta is in too deep.

::

Women's Doubles - Second Round
Kirilenko/Radwanska (RUS/POL) d. Dushevina/Rodionova (RUS/AUS) 60 63
Chan/Zheng (TPE/CHN) d. Borwell/Kops-Jones (GBR/USA) 61 62

Face Of The Day

Reuters

Martina Navratilova of the U.S. is introduced before playing an exhibition doubles match with Justine Henin of Belgium, Steffi Graf of Germany and Lindsay Davenport of the U.S. during the Hit for Haiti fund raiser event at the Indian Wells WTA and ATP tennis tournament in Indian Wells, California, March 12, 2010.

::

Men's Singles - First Round
V Hanescu (ROU) d J Chela (ARG) 63 76(4)
A Clement (FRA) d P Luczak (AUS) 46 63 62
S Stakhovsky (UKR) d W Odesnik (USA) 61 64
D Sela (ISR) d [WC] J Levine (USA) 62 62
S Greul (GER) d R Gasquet (FRA) 76(6) 76(7)
[WC] D Nalbandian (ARG) d [Q] S Koubek (AUT) 62 76(2)
T de Bakker (NED) d M Daniel (BRA) 63 63
[Q] Y Lu (TPE) d O Hernandez (ESP) 61 62
A Seppi (ITA) d [WC] R Ginepri (USA) 26 76(5) 63
M Russell (USA) d P Lorenzi (ITA) 62 75
N Almagro (ESP) d M Zverev (GER) 63 62
J Blake (USA) d D Gimeno-Traver (ESP) 63 62
[Q] M Matosevic (AUS) d M Llodra (FRA) 63 60
[Q] R Mello (BRA) d H Zeballos (ARG) 26 63 64
P Mathieu (FRA) d B Becker (GER) 63 61
E Korolev (KAZ) d F Mayer (GER) 63 62

What is Richard Gasquet doing losing to Simon Greul?

::

Men's Doubles - First Round
J Tipsarevic (SRB) / V Troicki (SRB) d [8] C Kas (GER) / D Norman (BEL) 76(5) 26 10-8
T Bellucci (BRA) / P Cuevas (URU) d M Melo (BRA) / B Soares (BRA) 62 46 10-4
J Isner (USA) / S Querrey (USA) d M Cilic (CRO) / I Ljubicic (CRO) 46 61 12-10
D Ferrer (ESP) / A Montanes (ESP) d G Monfils (FRA) / G Simon (FRA) 64 62
J Benneteau (FRA) / J Tsonga (FRA) d R Lindstedt (SWE) / R Soderling (SWE) 75 75

::

Women's Singles - Second Round
(2) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) d. Vania King (USA) 57 62 64
(4) Elena Dementieva (RUS) d. Olga Govortsova (BLR) 64 46 60
(5) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) d. Anna Chakvetadze (RUS) 62 53 ret. (left ankle injury)
(Q) Elena Baltacha (GBR) d. (7) Li Na (CHN) 76(6) 26 76(7)
(10) Maria Sharapova (RUS) d. Vera Dushevina (RUS) 46 75 62
(11) Marion Bartoli (FRA) d. Polona Hercog (SLO) 64 62
(15) Francesca Schiavone (ITA) d. Kimiko Date Krumm (JPN) 63 64
(16) Nadia Petrova (RUS) d. Patty Schnyder (SUI) 63 57 64
(18) Zheng Jie (CHN) d. Sorana Cirstea (ROU) 63 75
(19) Aravane Rezai (FRA) d. (LL) Tamarine Tanasugarn (THA) 64 75
Peng Shuai (CHN) d. (20) Alona Bondarenko (UKR) 61 64
Jill Craybas (USA) d. (22) Sabine Lisicki (GER) 46 75 20 ret. (left ankle injury)
(WC) Alicia Molik (AUS) d. (29) Anabel Medina Garrigues (ESP) 64 57 76(3)
Kirsten Flipkens (BEL) d. (30) Aleksandra Wozniak (CAN) 61 62
(31) Gisela Dulko (ARG) d. (WC) Justine Henin (BEL) 62 16 64
(32) Maria Kirilenko (RUS) d. Virginie Razzano (FRA) 75 63

Dulko is collecting quite a collection of scalps, no?

Women's Doubles - First Round
Grandin/Spears (RSA/USA) d. (8) Makarova/Peng (RUS/CHN) 60 64
Benesova/Zahlavova Strycova (CZE/CZE) d. Jans/Rosolska (POL/POL) 64 63
Amanmuradova/Kustova (UZB/BLR) d. Govortsova/Poutchek (BLR/BLR) 61 16 105

Face Of The Day

Getty

Mario Ancic of Croatia celebrates winning the second set against Bobby Reynolds of the United States during the BNP Paribas Open on March 11, 2010 in Indian Wells, California.

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Men's Singles - First Round
[WC] C Moya (ESP) d [Q] T Smyczek (USA) 76(7) 76(5)
M Fish (USA) d M Berrer (GER) 16 61 63
[WC] R Harrison (USA) d T Dent (USA) 63 64
J Chardy (FRA) d P Starace (ITA) 61 41 ret. (back)
M Ancic (CRO) d [Q] B Reynolds (USA) 46 63 64
E Gulbis (LAT) d M Chiudinelli (SUI) 36 63 63
P Cuevas (URU) d F Gil (POR) 64 75
D Koellerer (AUT) d R Ram (USA) 61 63
F Fognini (ITA) d O Rochus (BEL) 64 16 75
[Q] B Dabul (ARG) d L Mayer (ARG) 76(4) 62
P Petzschner (GER) d C Rochus (BEL) 62 75
F Serra (FRA) d A Falla (COL) 61 62
[Q] R Delgado (PAR) d A Beck (GER) 67(2) 62 64
[Q] R Schuettler (GER) d [Q] T Alves (BRA) 75 60
G Garcia-Lopez (ESP) d L Lacko (SVK) 46 64 75
[Q] K Anderson (RSA) d [Q] B Phau (GER) 63 63

Nice to see Mario Ancic back on the court and with a win, no less. He looks good and healthy. Let's hope he can say that way for a while now.

::

Women's Singles - First Round
Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP) d. Alizé Cornet (FRA) 64 16 62
Sybille Bammer (AUT) d. Katarina Srebotnik (SLO) 36 75 61
Sara Errani (ITA) d. (Q) Viktoriya Kutuzova (UKR) 75 62
Alexandra Dulgheru (ROU) d. (Q) Michelle Larcher de Brito (POR) 62 62
Roberta Vinci (ITA) d. Melanie Oudin (USA) 36 63 60
Petra Kvitova (CZE) d. Alberta Brianti (ITA) 63 64
Anastasija Sevastova (LAT) d. (Q) Nuria Llagostera Vives (ESP) 62 36 61
Julia Goerges (GER) d. Lucie Safarova (CZE) 75 36 63
Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (CZE) d. Andrea Petkovic (GER) 63 63
Julie Coin (FRA) d. (WC) Tamira Paszek (AUT) 64 63
(Q) Petra Martic (CRO) d. (WC) Ajla Tomljanovic (CRO) 76(4) 61
(Q) Karolina Sprem (CRO) d. (Q) Shenay Perry (USA) 62 46 63
(Q) Chan Yung-Jan (TPE) d. Stefanie Voegele (SUI) 60 75
(Q) Tsvetana Pironkova (BUL) d. (Q) Akgul Amanmuradova (UZB) 63 62
(Q) Sloane Stephens (USA) d. Lucie Hradecka (CZE) 76(5) 76(7)
(WC) Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA) d. Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ) 75 75

Not a good day for Miss Gonads. She ate a bagel? Mercy. At least Miss Bethanie got through.

::

Doubles - First Round
(2) Llagostera Vives/Martínez Sánchez (ESP/ESP) d. Dekmeijere/Schnyder (LAT/SUI) 62 64
(3) Petrova/Stosur (RUS/AUS) d. Coin/Pelletier (FRA/CAN) 64 62
Kirilenko/Radwanska (RUS/POL) d. (4) Raymond/Stubbs (USA/AUS) 64 46 10-3
Dulko/Pennetta (ARG/ITA) d. Uhlirova/Voracova (CZE/CZE) 16 64 105
Dushevina/Rodionova (RUS/AUS) d. Ruano Pascual/Shaughnessy (ESP/USA) 75 36 10-4
Borwell/Kops-Jones (GBR/USA) d. Medina Garrigues/Wozniacki (ESP/DEN)
76(4) 46 10-2
(WC) Garbin/Jankovic (ITA/SRB) d. (WC) Safarova/Zvonareva (CZE/RUS)
76(4) 63

Serena Williams Makes History Again

by Mad Professah


Reuters

Tennis player Serena Williams arrives at the 18th Annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Award Viewing Party in West Hollywood, California March 7, 2010.

::

Serena won her 3rd career Laureus World Sports Award in Dubai on Wednesday after she was named Laureus Sportswoman of the Year for 2009, 7 years after she won her first. In 2007, she won the Laureus Comeback Award, bringing her total to three, the most won by a female. Only Roger Federer, who has four, has won more. Federer was up for Sportsman of the Year for 2009 but lost to Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, who won his second Laureus Award. Kim Clijsters won the Laureus Comeback Award.

Serena said:

"I am just so delighted to win this Award, but very disappointed I cannot be in Abu Dhabi to say thank you in person. It's my third Laureus Award which is amazing and I would like to say thank you to all the Academy Members who voted for me and to the world's media who nominated me. Last year had its ups and downs, so to get this support is fantastic.

"As a tennis player you look at the amazing names of the Academy Members - like John McEnroe, Martina Navratilova, Boris Becker and Monica Seles - who have won so many Grand Slams and they know what it takes to do that. There is nothing better in sport than being acknowledged by the people that you looked up to when you were a young player.

"The Laureus Awards have been a constant reflection of my career, winning in 2003 and 2007, and I think I was also nominated four more times. I know only Roger Federer has more Awards, so it would be cool to catch him up.

"I've had a few injury problems over the years, so it's been great to get back to the top and be World No 1 again. It's going to be an interesting year with Justine Henin back, but I'm playing well and it was great to win in Australia, and I still want to win every tournament I play. It's going to be a very exciting 2010."

Congratulations, Serena!

Indian Wells Open Thread

Getty

Samantha Stosur of Australia speaks to Cari Champion of the Tennis Channel at the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour All Access Hour during the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on March 10, 2010 in Indian Wells, California.

::

I have been planting, planting, planting, my birth mother is visiting till Sunday, my best friend till Wednesday of next week, I've still got to do taxes, and then there's this other thing occupying my time that I need to focus on. More on that on my other blog sometime soon.

I'm going to let this blog take care of itself (mostly) until tennis comes on television this weekend.

I haven't even looked at the draws but I'll make these predictions anyway:

Roger Federer and Justine Henin will win.

See you when I see you.

Davis Cup Heroics

Reuters

John Isner took Novak Djokovic, arguably the third best clay court player in the world last year, to five sets on clay in Serbia.

I'm going to say that again:

John Isner took Novak Djokovic, arguably the third best clay court player in the world last year, to five sets on clay in Serbia.

Make of the American's game whatever you will, but that was some effort.

Apparently, Venus Williams was tweeting about her nerves. If one believes Justin Gimelstob, President Obama was watching the match.

Whatever the case, Isner spilled his blood and guts all over the place. Made a temperamental Djoke earn it.

All this after pinch hitting for Mike Bryan in doubles the day before and getting the win to give himself a chance to do it again in singles.

Who knows what would have happened had Isner been fresh for the crucial singles rubber, but what did happen was fantabulous. One of our guests who doesn't even watch tennis couldn't avert her eyes in the match's final game.

I think this new American team has a foundation upon which to build a competitive team.

::

Reuters

David Nalbandian plays Davis Cup ties like no other. Just when you thought it was safe to write him off once again....

Injured a few weeks back, he kept Argentina in the tie against Sweden in Sweden by winning the doubles rubber with Horacio Zeballos and then clinches the tie with a four-set win in the live fifth.

Most Valuable Player.

::

Complete Davis Cup results.

Face Of The Day

AP

Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova holds her trophy after defeating Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova 1-6, 6-1, 6-0 in the final tennis match of the women's singles at the Monterrey Open in Monterrey, Mexico, Sunday, March 7, 2010.

Davis Cup Open Thread

SERBIA defeats USA 3-2
Venue: Belgrade Arena, Belgrade, Serbia (clay – indoors)


Reuters


Reuters

Viktor Troicki (SRB) d John Isner (USA) 76(4) 67(5) 75 64
Novak Djokovic (SRB) d Sam Querrey (USA) 62 76(4) 26 63
Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan/John Isner (USA) d Janko Tipsarevic/Nenad Zimonjic (SRB) 76(8) 57 76(8) 63
Novak Djokovic (SRB) d. John Isner (USA) 75 36 63 67(6) 64
Sam Querrey (USA) d. Viktor Troicki (SRB) 75 62

SPAIN defeats SWITZERLAND 4-1
Venue: Plaza de Toros de la Ribera, Logrono, Spain (clay – indoors)

AP

Reuters

Reuters

Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) d Nicolas Almagro (ESP) 36 64 36 75 63
David Ferrer (ESP) d Marco Chiudinelli (SUI) 62 76(5) 61
Marcel Granollers/Tommy Robredo (ESP) d Yves Allegro/Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) 76(8) 62 46 64
David Ferrer (ESP) d. Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) 62 64 60
Nicolas Almagro (ESP) d. Marco Chiudinelli (SUI) 61 63

FRANCE defeats GERMANY 4-1
Venue: Palais des Sports, Toulon, France (hard - indoors)

Reuters

Reuters

Gael Monfils (FRA) d Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) 61 64 76(5)
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) d Benjamin Becker (GER) 63 62 67(2) 63
Julien Benneteau/Michael Llodra (FRA) d Christopher Kas/Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) 61 64 16 75
Simon Greul (GER) d. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) 46 62 1-0 ret.
Julien Benneteau (FRA) d. Benjamin Becker (GER) 62 75

RUSSIA defeats INDIA 3-2
Venue: Small Sports Arena "Luzhniki", Moscow, Russia (hard – indoors)

Reuters

Igor Kunitsyn (RUS) d Somdev Devvarman (IND) 67(6) 76(4) 63 64
Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) d Rohan Bopanna (IND) 64 62 63
Mahesh Bhupathi/Leander Paes (IND) d Teimuraz Gabashvili/Igor Kunitsyn (RUS) 63 62 62
Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) d. Somdev Devvarman (IND) 62 61 63
Rohan Bopanna (IND) d. Teimuraz Gabashvili (RUS) 76(5) 64

ARGENTINA defeats SWEDEN 3-2
Venue: Kungliga Tennishallen, Stockholm, Sweden (hard – indoors)

Reuters


Reuters

Robin Soderling (SWE) d Eduardo Schwank (ARG) 61 76(0) 75
Leonardo Mayer (ARG) d Joachim Johansson (SWE) 57 63 75 64
David Nalbandian/Horacio Zeballos (ARG) d Robert Lindstedt/Robin Soderling (SWE) 62 76(4) 76(5)
Robin Soderling (SWE) d. Leonardo Mayer (ARG) 75 76(5) 75
David Nalbandian (ARG) d. Andreas Vinciguerra (SWE) 75 63 46 64


CROATIA defeats ECUADOR 5-0
Venue: Gradska Sportska Dvorana, Varazdin, Croatia (hard – indoors)


AP

Ivo Karlovic (CRO) d Nicolas Lapentti (ECU) 62 57 67(2) 63 64
Marin Cilic (CRO) d Giovanni Lapentti (ECU) 64 63 63
Marin Cilic/Ivo Karlovic (CRO) d Giovanni Lapentti/Nicolas Lapentti (ECU) 76(3) 63 75
Antonio Veic (CRO) d. Julio-Cesar Campozano (ECU) 64 76(4)
Ivan Dodig (CRO) d. Ivan Endara (ECU) 61 63

CHILE defeats ISRAEL 4-1
Venue: Enjoy Tennis Center, Coquimbo, Chile (clay – outdoors)

Reuters

Reuters

Nicolas Massu (CHI) d Dudi Sela (ISR) 46 62 62 64
Fernando Gonzalez (CHI) d Harel Levy (ISR) 26 63 64 64
Jonathan Erlich/Andy Ram (ISR) d. Jorge Aguilar/Paul Capdeville (CHI) 67(5) 76(9) 26 61 60
Fernando Gonzalez (CHI) d Dudi Sela (ISR) 64 64 63
Nicolas Massu (CHI) d Harel Levy (ISR) 76(3) 61

CZECH REPUBLIC defeats BELGIUM 4-1
Venue: Expodroom, Bree, Belgium (clay – indoors)

Reuters

Reuters

Tomas Berdych (CZE) d Olivier Rochus (BEL) 63 60 64
Radek Stepanek (CZE) d Xavier Malisse (BEL) 62 64 76(3)
Radek Stepanek/Tomas Berdych (CZE) d Steve Darcis/Olivier Rochus (BEL) 76(0) 60 63
Steve Darcis (BEL) d. Jan Hajek (CZE) 76(6) 16 64
Lukas Dlouhy (CZE) d. Christophe Rochus (BEL) 16 76(3) 75

Sampras Lists Multimillion-Dollar Home

LOS ANGELES -- Tennis great Pete Sampras and his wife, actress Bridgette Wilson-Sampras, have listed their newly built compound in Lake Sherwood for $25 million.

The gated contemporary north of Los Angeles sits on 20 hilltop acres with 360-degree views, a north-south tennis court and a swimming pool. The more than 13,000-square-foot main house has a combined theater and game room. Including the 1,200-square-foot guesthouse and the 2,000-square-foot detached gym, the property has seven bedrooms and 11 1/2 bathrooms.

(...)

The couple offered no reason for selling, but Sampras does have an impressive real estate record, having sold a Beverly Hills mansion in 2008 for $23 million as well as other homes in Los Angeles' Benedict Canyon and Beverly Hills since 2003, according to Los Angeles Times reports.

Nice work if you can get it.

Faces Of The Day

Agustin Calleri, center, who announced his retirement from tennis after elimination from the first round of Wimbledon last June, is honored in a career celebration at the Copa Telmex in Argentina yesterday. The other tennis players in attendance are, from left to right, Juan Mónaco, José Acasuso, Mariano Zabaleta, and Juan Ignacio Chela. I'm not sure who the first two men are, but I would imagine the man on the far left is tournament director and former Top-10 player Martin Jaite.

Face Of The Day

Rafael Vélez

Agnes Szavay of Hungary strikes a backhand against Germany's Julia Goerges in the first found of the Monterrey Open, Tuesday, March 2, 2010 in Monterrey, México.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Singles - Second Round
(3) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) d. Polona Hercog (SLO) 62 63
Alizé Cornet (FRA) d. (7) Aleksandra Wozniak (CAN) 62 63
Vania King (USA) d. Julie Coin (FRA) 63 63
Klara Zakopalova (CZE) d. Patricia Mayr (AUT) 64 63

Singles - First Round
(2/WC) Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) d. (Q) Lourdes Domínguez Lino (ESP) 63 76(6)

Doubles - Quarterfinals
(2) Benesova/Zahlavova Strycova (CZE/CZE) d. Medina Garrigues/Shaughnessy (ESP/USA) 62 76(3)
Coin/Pelletier (FRA/CAN) d. Domínguez Lino/Parra Santonja (ESP/ESP) 76(0) 75

Doubles - First Round
Errani/Vinci (ITA/ITA) d. (4) Uhlirova/Voracova (CZE/CZE) 64 62

Tuesday, March, 3, 2010

Singles - First Round
Anastasija Sevastova (LAT) d. (1/WC) Jelena Jankovic (SRB) 57 64 64
(3) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) d. (Q) Anna Tatishvili (GEO) 61 62
(4/WC) Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) d. Roberta Vinci (ITA) 64 63
(5) Agnes Szavay (HUN) d. Julia Goerges (GER) 63 36 63
Sara Errani (ITA) d. Sorana Cirstea (ROU) 62 63
Iveta Benesova (CZE) d. Jill Craybas (USA) 36 62 61
Polona Hercog (SLO) d. (Q) Corinna Dentoni (ITA) 62 64
Anna-Lena Groenefeld (GER) d. Lucie Hradecka (CZE) 62 64
Alizé Cornet (FRA) d. Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (CZE) 63 61
Kaia Kanepi (EST) d. Arantxa Parra Santonja (ESP) 76(5) 64
Patricia Mayr (AUT) d. (Q) Olga Savchuk (UKR) 76(5) 60

Doubles - First Round
(1) Groenefeld/King (GER/USA) d. Gullickson/Krajicek (USA/NED) 61 62
Coin/Pelletier (FRA/CAN) d. (WC) Védy/Washington (FRA/USA) 64 64
Pavlyuchenkova/Zakopalova (RUS/CZE) d. Kondratieva/Lefèvre (RUS/FRA) 61 63
Medina Garrigues/Shaughnessy (ESP/USA) d. Bratchikova/Woerle (RUS/GER) 63 67(2) 12-10

Quote For The Day

"So the Tennis Hall of Fame, with its selections today, is trying to reorient our thinking on the matter. The days of the top singles players also regularly playing doubles are over, probably forever. But that doesn't mean doubles is without merit. It's not a coincidence or from lack of effort that the best singles players, when they do play doubles, almost never walk away with the trophy (Williams sisters excepted). You don't need the athleticism that the singles game requires, but your technical and strategic skills must be well-honed."--Douglas Perry

Gulbis Wins First Title

AP

Ivo Karlovic observed his 31st birthday yesterday, but he didn't have much to celebrate. Ernests Gulbis, all potential and inconsistency, brought out his best tennis and slayed the giant 6-2, 6-3 to win his first ATP title on his first try at the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships.

It wasn't as close as the score.

All week, Gulbis' talent was on full display. In the final, he frustrated the Croat with return winners off first serves, unreturnable bombs of his own, cannonball passing shots, and drop shots out of nowhere. Dr. Ivo faced such of barrage, he was found slicing his backhand into the court right in front of his feet more times than he cared to count.

Ever since he tore Tommy Robredo a new one at the 2007 US Open in a performance that earned him a Gonad and a whole lot of expectant fans, the inconsistent and temperamental Latvian has been on a mission of mediocrity. He had trouble winning two matches in a row for much of last year, but he comes out this week and takes his first title without dropping a set. The first man from Latvia to win an ATP title.

“Everything what I do now is first time for my country,” he said after the match. “Of course it’s great. I hope it’s positive. I hope much more players will start to practise in Latvia. It’s good for tennis in Latvia. They see that a guy from Latvia also can make it and win an ATP World Tour event.”

Maybe it's the new Afro, but Gulbis looks as though he may be ready for his close up.

Let's see what he brings to Indian Wells.