French Open: Second Round Report

The biggest news during the second round is the lost of 2nd seed Kim Clijsters who was a lot of people's pick, including mine, to win the tournament. A determined opponent, difficult conditions, possibly lingering health issues, and lots and lots of errors brought the 4-time major champion down making her the highest seed to leave the tournament. Another big upset is 8th seed Jurgen Melzer who joins fellow 2010 French Open semi-finalist Tomas Berdych in the sidelines. Other seeds to go down in the second round include Florian Mayer, Sam Querrey, Marcos Baghdatis, Alexandra Dulgheru, Nikolay Davydenko, Kevin Anderson, and Tsvetana Pironkova.

Top seed Rafael Nadal found himself once again in a tough and physical match against fellow Spaniard Pablo Andujar. Andujar was up 5-1 in the third set, but wasted eight set points giving Nadal a straight-set win. Third seed Vera Zvonareva was down and out until her opponent Sabine Lisicki injured herself. Lisicki finished the match, but had to be taken out on a stretcher. Similarly Maria Sharapova was two points away from being upset early against French phenom Caroline Garcia. She reeled off 11 straight games through, bageling her young opponent in the final set. Speaking of the French though, they continue to have a strong presence with the top men and woman still around (Marion Bartoli, Gilles Simon, Gael Monfils, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and Richard Gasquet).

As for the Americans, three are left--Vania King, Bethanie Mattek-Sands, and Mardy Fish--all of them reaching the third round of Roland Garros for the first time. Other than Nadal, most of the men frontrunners are still around and doing well (Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Robin Soderling, and David Ferrer). Djokovic is set for a blockbuster match with Juan Martin Del Potro next round. With Clijsters out, the open women's draw opened up a lot more giving players such as Caroline Wozniacki, Victoria Azarenka, Francesca Schiavone, Sam Stosur, Svetlana Kuznetsova, among others, their best chance to win. Hell, I think an injured Serena Williams or an un-retired Martina Hingis could've done a lot of damage with this draw!

Australian Open Report: Day 1

It was opening day at the first Grand Slam tournament of the year and other than a few sprinkles and 1-2 mild upsets, it was business as usual.

For the men, at least, it was either a very easy day or a very difficult one. Former Grand Slam champions Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Roddick all lost just five games each in their first round routs to move onto the second round. Top ten players Tomas Berdych and Fernando Verdasco also won on the first day with relative ease in straight sets.

Both 12th seed Gael Monfils and 16th seed Mardy Fish mounted impressive comebacks, winning three sets after losing the first two. 18th seed Sam Querrey didn't fare so fortunately as he was bounced out for a second year in a row in the first round, losing 6-8 in the fifth. The only other men's seed to lose yesterday was 23rd seed and last year's semifinalist Nikolay Davydenko who listlessly lost in four sets. Take note that he comprehensively defeated Rafael Nadal in Doha just a couple weeks ago.

Other notable winners of the day include 14th seed Nicolas Almagro, 17th seed Ivan Ljubicic, 19th seed Stan Wawrinka, 28th seed Richard Gasquet, Nicolas Mahut, Janko Tipsarevic, and Gilles Simon. The latter will take his 2-0 H2H record against defending champion Federer to a second round match everyone will be paying attention to.


Were we actually worried about Caroline Wozniacki, Venus Williams, and Maria Sharapova heading to their respective tricky matches yesterday? Because they all won pretty decisively putting to rest, at least for now, their respective forms. French Open champions Francesca Schiavone and Justine Henin had a bit more difficulty winning, the latter initially getting hammered by Sania Mirza, but they still survived.

Easy wins were also logged by 8th seed Victoria Azarenka, 9th seed Na Li, 15h seed Marion Bartoli (who dished out this year's tournament's first double bagel), 23rd seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, and 30th seed Andrea Petkovic. A couple of seeds weren't as lucky as 17th seed Aravane Rezai and 28th seed Daniela Hantuchova both lost.

A few more notable winners include 20th seed Kaia Kanepi, 21st seed Yanina Wickmayer, 29th seed Dominika Cibulkova, 32nd seed Tsvetana Pironkova, Vania King, Jelena Dokic, and Chanelle Scheepers.

Players Win First Titles of the Tennis Season

Ahead of defending his only Grand Slam title of last year at the Australian Open, world no. 2 Roger Federer got off to the best possible start by winning his first title of the year in Doha defeating defending champion Nikolay Davydenko 6-3 6-4. This was Federer's third Doha title and 67th overall. A feverish Rafael Nadal lost brutally to Davydenko in the semifinals, but valiantly played doubles with Marc Lopez resulting in a doubles title to begin the year. At the Australian Open, Nadal will look to be the first man since Rod Laver to win all four slam titles in a row.

In Chennai, another Swiss won a title over the weekend with last year's finalist Stan Wawrinka defeating Xavier Malisse 7-6 4-6 6-1 in this year's final. Wawrinka defeated Chennai Open top seed Tomas Berdych in the semifinals. Robin Soderling also began his year with a title, battling the wet weather as well as the defending champion Andy Roddick in straight sets with a score of 6-3 7-5. Petra Kvitova took the women's title in Brisbane winning against Andrea Petkovic 6-1 6-3. In Auckland, Greta Arn also had a great week by first beating top seed Maria Sharapova in the quarterfinals before winning the title against defending champion Yanina Wickmayer 6-3 6-3.

Finally, the US claimed yet another Hopman Cup title as the team of John Isner and Bethanie Mattek-Sands went up against the Belgian team of Justine Henin and Ruben Bemelmans. The Belgians were alternates when the Serbian team of Novak Djokovic and Ana Ivanovic had to withdraw due to an minor injury sustained by Ivanovic. Andy Murray, Francescha Schiavone, Lleyton Hewitt, and Nicolas Mahut also used Hopman Cup as their preparation for the Australian Open.

The first Grand Slam tournament will begin in earnest on January 17. Game on.

Wimbledon Report: Day 1

© Getty

The top half of the men's draw led by Roger Federer played on Monday and to most of the seeded men, it was the longest day of their lives.

Top seed Federer was down two sets to love to Alejandro Falla before he managed to stage a miraculous comeback saving four break points in a crucial game during the third set and then breaking Falla as the Colombian was serving for the match in the fourth set. Federer took care of business in the final set by winning six straight games, but he was only a couple of points away from exiting early. Fellow top ten players, Novak Djokovic and Nikolay Davydenko also had to come back from 2 sets to 1 down, but both managed to squeezed out a win. Djokovic and Olivier Rochus played under the roof due to bad light.

Top players that weren't so lucky include 11th seed Marin Cilic, 17th seed Ivan Ljubicic, 20th seed Stanislas Wawrinka, and 30th seed Tommy Robredo. Others such as 5th seed Andy Roddick, 12th seed Tomas Berdych, 15th seed Lleyton Hewitt, 21st seed Gael Monfils, among others, moved on much more routinely.

© AELTC

For the women, the bottom half of the draw led by Venus Williams saw a pretty uneventul Monday as most of the seeds went through.

The favorites such as Williams, 4th seed Jelena Jankovic, 8th seed Kim Clijsters, 11th seed Marion Bartoli, 12th seed Nadia Petrova, and 17th seed Justine Henin all moved on without dropping a set. Other seeded winners include 13th Shahar Peer who defeated former number one Ana Ivanovic, 33rd seed Melanie Oudin, 21st seed Vera Zvonareva, and 15th seed Yanina Wickmayer. Kirsten Flipkens join Wickmayer and their more popular Belgian counterparts into the second round.

The lone upset of the day in the woman's side was the ouster of recent French Open champion and 5th seed Francesca Schiavone, losing to Russia's Vera Dushevina. While grass is not her favored surface, this must be quite disappointing for the Italian after her results at Roland Garros and her quarterfinal showing here the year prior. Like Ivanovic, other recent former top players exited early including Patty Schnyder and Agnes Szavay.

Australian Open: Quarterfinals Report

Upsets! Injuries! Retirements! Epic 5-setters! Incredible comebacks! High drama! History made! Just your typical run-of-the-mill Grand Slam quarterfinal round.

But in all seriousness, I don't think I've witness a more volatile quarterfinal round in all the years I've been watching this sport. Every single match seems to have twists and turns and more importantly high drama and frankly I don't even know where to begin, so I'll just recap the results in the order the matches were played.

Justine Henin d. Nadia Petrova[19] 7-6(3), 7-5

Nadia Petrova defeated the current US Open champion and French Open champion to get to the quarterfinals. The serve was a bit of an issue for both and it was Justine Henin the six time Grand Slam champion who edged out a win. Unseeded here, she is two wins away from equaling fellow Belgian accomplishment at her first Grand Slam after retirement.

Jie Zheng d. Maria Kirilenko 6-1, 6-3

Maria Kirilenko beat two fellow top Russians players to set up a seemingly good quartefinal match against Chinese Jie Zheng. Zheng is the first Chinese woman to reach the semifinals at a Grand Slam when she did it back in 2008. With ease, she matched her performance there to be the first Chinese woman to reach the Australian Open semifinals. To be continued...

Marin Cilic[14] d. Andy Roddick[7] 7-6(4), 6-3, 3-6, 2-6, 6-3

Both players had to endure tough five-set matches prior to their quarterfinal meeting. When Marin Cilic had the two set lead and with Andy Roddick feeling the effects of a shoulder injury, it looked to be an easy day on court for Cilic. It was then that Roddick found his game and it was Cilic who lost focus. In the fifth set, Cilic regained his focus to reach his first Grand Slam semifinals. Is he this years surprise finalist?

Andy Murray[5] d. Rafael Nadal[2] 6-3, 7-6(2), 3-0 Ret.

The biggest injury issue of last year was Rafael Nadal's knees because since then he's been title-less and has a 1-10 against top ten players. While he has relatively cruised through the quarterfinals, playing Andy Murray would tell a lot about his progress. He played aggressive and brilliant tennis for the first two sets, but so did Andy Murray. Midway through the second game of the third set, Nadal called for a medical timeout. He was broken and Murray held serve to go up 3-0. It was all she wrote as Nadal decided to retire for fear of aggravating it some more. What does this mean for Nadal's 2010? We'll see.

Na Li[16] d. Venus Williams[6] 2-6, 7-6(4), 7-5

Not many gave Na Li a chance especially after a masterful first set from Venus Williams. Venus was two points away from winning the match in the second set before Li forced it to a tiebreak which she won. The final set was all Li as she joins her compatriot to the semifinals. This is the first time two Chinese woman are in the semifinals of a Grand Slam. Can they both do one better and make it the first all-Chinese Grand Slam final? Stay tuned.

Serena Williams[1] d. Victoria Azarenka 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-2

Coming into this match, Serena Williams was the only player in the draw to not lose her serve once. She was broken FIVE TIMES in the first two sets by Victoria Azarenka and was frankly playing like an old ripe mess. Before you knew it Serena was down a set and down 0-4 in the second. And still somehow Serena was able to lift her level while her opponent stayed at the same level and Serena went on to dominate for a win.

Roger Federer[1] d. Nikolay Davydenko[6] 2-6, 6-3, 6-0, 7-5

Nikolay Davydenko has defeated Roger Federer the last two times they have met, so this was a dangerous opponent for Federer. And it showed in the first set as Federer was blown off the court. In the second set, already down a set and a break, Federer lifted his game similar to what Serena did in her prior match and reeled off 13 straight games en route to serving Davydenko a bagel set. Davydenko staged a mini-comeback in the fourth set, but Federer held strong to break Dabydenko at 5-5 and to serve out the match at love. With this win, Federer extends his unbelievable streak of reaching the semifinals at Grand Slams to 23 and also clinches the #1 ranking after the tournament.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga d. Novak Djokovic[3] 7-6(8), 6-7(5), 1-6, 6-3, 6-1

This is a rematch of the 2008 final where Novak Djokovic was able to win his maiden Slam title. Since then, however, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has defeated Djokovic in other ATP events. Riding that wave, Tsonga was able to beat Djokovic in this roller coaster of a match that saw Djokovic call for a medical timeout due to nausea and vomiting.

Let the Tennis Season Begin!

The tennis season started out with a bang this weekend with some matches that will be talked about throughout the upcoming year.

We didn't get Federer-Nadal at Doha, but what we still got was one blockbuster of a final. After dispatching world no. 1 Roger Federer in straight sets in the semifinals, Nikolay Davydenko delivered a more impressive performance in the finals beating defending Australian Open champion Rafael Nadal 0-6, 7-6(8), 6-4 overcoming getting bageled in the first set and two match points against him in the second. What does this say about Federer and Nadal? Maybe little. Maybe a lot. But Davydenko also defeated these two a few months en route to claiming the World Tour Championship trophy. He's on fire.

Two of the "must watch" players of the WTA met each other in the final in Brisbane. Former world no. 1 Justine Henin, playing in her first competitive tournament since retirement, faced off against her Belgian compatriot and US Open champion Kim Clijsters who is playing in her first final since winning the US Open last year. This match had everything: awesome rallies, memorable winners, high drama, unbelievable comebacks, and most importantly, two champions pummeling one another. In the end Clijsters edged out Henin 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(6). I want more!

Andy Roddick claimed the men's title in Brisbane defeating Radek Stepanek 7-6(2), 7-6(7) while Marin Cilic took the Chennai Open by taking down the Swiss number two Stanislas Wawrinka 7-6(2), 7-6(3). Finally, Yanina Wickmayer took the Auckland title winning against the top seed Flavia Pennetta 6-3, 6-2.

The first Grand Slam tournament of the season begins January 18th over in Melbourne, Australia. Game on.

ATP World Tour Finals: Finale

Nikolay Davydenko is finally getting his well-deserved time in the spotlight.

Davydenko defeated US Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro 6-3 6-4 to capture his first Year-End Championship trophy. His dream week started losing a competitive rematch of last year's final with defending champion Novak Djokovic. That was his only loss as he then handled a beleaguered Australian Open champion Rafael Nadal and French Open finalist Robin Soderling to catapult himself into the semifinals.

He took his 0-12 record against 4-time YEC champion Roger Federer in the semifinals to get his first win against the world no. 1. Finally, he dismantled Del Potro to win the tournament doing so as the first Russian to do so in the tournament's history. His win also means he overtook Andy Roddick for a year-end ranking of 6.

This is by far Davydenko's biggest title in his career. Prior to this his best finish at a Grand Slam tournament was the semifinals and has only managed to win three Masters tournaments. Not to mention the fact the he did this by defeating all of this years Grand Slam champions (Nadal, Federer, and Del Potro).

And with that, the ATP tennis season is over. Sure, there's still Davis Cup, but the regular season is done. Each of the top 8 players in the world have something to celebrate about this year, but more on that in my ATP Year In Review in December.

ATP World Tour Finals: Semifinals

Semifinals
N. Davydenko d. R. Federer 6-2 4-6 7-5
J.M. Del Potro d. R. Soderling 6-7(1) 6-3 7-6(3)

Federer was two points away from the finals at 5-4 in the third set and Love-30 on Davydenko's serve, but the Russian fought back to hold, broke Federer in the next game, and held his serve to win against the world no. 1 for the very first time in 13 tries.

Last year's runner-up will go up against US Open champion Del Potro who edged out Soderling in a tightly contested match going to a tie break in the final set.

Finals Preview
J.M. Del Potro [5] v. N. Davydenko [6]

Davydenko leads their H2H 2-1 comfortably winning their last match at last year's year-end competition. Both fought three quality sets today and both compiled a 2-1 match record earlier in the week.

Both players will be contesting their first year-end trophy. If Del Potro wins, he gets his first Masters win and will end the year as #4 supplanting Brit Andy Murray.