Week 20 Semifinals and French Open Qualifying

The week before a grand slam tournament is always a bit confused, as everyone's eyes are turned towards the big events starting next week. On the other hand, there's always a few tournaments taking place, not to mention the qualifying tournament for the grand slam. It's tough to say how motivated players are in the tournaments that take place the week before a major like this. Robin Soderling probably wanted to get a bit more experience on clay before he tried to equal his run to last year's final, and he certainly didn't expect to lose to Olivier Rochus in the second round. But he probably didn't want to play all the way through Saturday, either.

Rochus, by the way, would be a top five player if it weren't for his short stature. He can play some spectacular ball, as demonstrated in his wins this year over Soderling and Djokovic - but he's also lost to Richard Gasquet in the last three tournaments he's played. Gasquet is into the semis in Nice, and looks likely to face Fernando Verdasco. They're facing Starace and Leonardo Mayer, who have already notched big wins - Starace beat Kubot and Monfils, while Mayer beat Bellucci and Baghdatis. But they've got be worn out after those wins, and Gasquet and Verdasco have enough experience to come through, in my opinion.

In Dusseldorf, I am still a bit baffled by the format - some of the teams seem to have three players, others as many as five. It's not clear to me what to expect, but the results have been surprising. The American team, composed of Sam Querrey, John Isner, the Bryan Brothers, and Robby Ginepri, are just one win away from the finals. They beat Spain, the Czech Republic, and an Australian team that fielded Lleyton Hewitt. Impressive performances from the good ol' boys. They'll face either Argentina or France in the final, which should be an interesting match-up.

In any case, looking at the French Open, the qualifying tournament is into the final round, so everyone who's still standing needs only to win a single match to make it into the main draw. Here are some interesting things to look at it in the draw. There are a surprising number of Americans still alive - Ryler DeHeart, Jesse Witten, Michael Yani, Ryan Harrison, and Alex Bogomolov Jr. That's a pretty good ratio, so far. And I think that most of them have a good chance of getting through.

Other players who I think are likely to make it through are Somdev Devvarman, of India, and Jose Acasuso of Argentina. The most interesting match-up in the final round of qualifying is Simone Bolelli against Marsel Ilhan. Should be interesting to see how that shakes out. The only really notable loss was Gaston Gaudio, former champion, who lost pretty easily to Thiago Alves. It's a shame, since he just won a challenger event recently. There are a couple players I was surprised not to see in the draw - Donald Young and Grigor Dimitrov, to name two. But there's so much that could be going on with those guys, it's tough for me to say anything - I'm just sorry that I can't watch them in action.

There should be plenty of other action to enjoy, though. I am very excited.

Champions - Week 2

John Isner made his second final yesterday at the Heineken Open in Auckland. He made his first back in 2007 in the Washington, DC Legg Mason Classic. In that tournament, he had won five consecutive third-set tiebreaks before he lost to Andy Roddick in straight sets in the final. This week, he didn't have to play a single third-set tiebreak until the final against Arnaud Clement. But he almost didn't get there.

Isner was cruising on serve, having taken the first set and serving to get into a second-set tiebreak. That was how he had beaten Albert Montanes in the semis. But Clement is a more accomplished hardcourt player than Montanes was, and his experience started to show. Leading 6-5, Clement did the impossible and broke Isner to take the match to a decisive third set.

In the third, Isner was serving again at 5-6, and he got down a break point, which happened to be a match point. It seemed like the pressure of winning his first title had gotten to him, and Clement might take his first title since 2006. (Oddly enough, Clement's last win came at the DC tournament where Isner made the final a year later) But Isner showed that he is developing and maturing as a player, and he saved the break point with a clutch serve-and-volley play followed by a decisive smash. The way he saved the break point was key, since it wasn't a Clement error or an easy ace. It gave him the confidence to run away with the tiebreak, 7-2. Congrats to the big man.

I was surprised to see that the final in Sydney was nowhere near as exciting. Gasquet could not find his form again, after he had looked flat against Benneteau in the semis. Richard had been playing amazing tennis for the first three rounds, but then he lost his edge. He still managed to beat his countryman, but it wasn't anywhere near enough to beat a fired-up Baghdatis in the final. Gasquet started the match by giving his serve away, and never managed to break Baggy in that set. The match was tighter in the second, after a rain delay, but Gasquet couldn't bring his best in the tiebreak.

This isn't a bad loss for Gasquet, since Baghdatis is a former top-ten player who looks like he's on his way back. This is Gasquet's first final since 2008, but he hasn't won a title since 2007. He needs to be able to get back to that next level, which we know he's capable of doing, in order to be back among the game's elite.

But kudos to Baghdatis, who was able to come back from his exhausting semifinal with Mardy Fish in excellent form. After quite a few years of playing sub-standard tennis, he looks like he's the real deal. I would say that the other players in his section of the draw at the Australian Open should watch out.

Finals Week 2 - Best Match of the Year So Far!

I'm not talking about the Serena Williams - Elena Dementieva final in Sydney, which actually turned out to be a bit of a dud, but the men's semifinal which preceded it. Marcos Baghdatis and Mardy Fish went on for nearly three hours and two tiebreak sets. In the end, it was decided on an error from Fish - but not a shotmaking error. In fact, he had hit a spectacular cross-court pass that probably would have forced Baghdatis to miss his shot, but Fish challenged the call on the baseline. In the end, the "in" call had been correct, and Fish lost the point.

This was at 3-all in the third set tiebreak, and Baghdatis won both of his points on serve, giving him three match points. Fish gamely defended the first two on his own deal, but lost the third. It was the 243rd point of the match, and it was a fitting end. Despite how well Fish fought, Baghdatis had been slightly better the entire day. Both players were on their games for nearly the entire match, and there was some spectacular shot-making. Baggy's backhand half-volley winner from the baseline springs to mind, as does Fish's sacrificial diving volley on break point. Great match, all around. Bother players should be encouraged going into the AO with that kind of performance.

However, I don't give Baghdatis too much of a shot against Gasquet, who had a much easier time against Julien Benneateau even though he wasn't playing very well. But Baghdatis has to be tired, and Gasquet should be relatively fresh. It could be a good final, though.

But there's a chance it will be as much of a letdown as the highly-touted women's final. Serena seemed hobbled, and Dementieva was solid, winning 6-3, 6-2. Serena still has not won a regular tour event since April 2008, and Dementieva should have some confidence going into next week's major, having beaten the world's top two players. If it were anyone but Serena, I would say this hurts her chances of defending her title in Melbourne, but I've learned that her performance outside the slams really has no impact on her performance in them.

In Auckland, the last two seeds fell, with John Isner beating Albert Montanes and Arnaud Clement beating Philipp Kohlschreiber. Isner and Clement have now each beaten three seeds and will meet in the final for the first time. Isner is more than a foot taller than Clement, but this will be tight. Clement hasn't won a title since 2006, and Isner hasn't won a title ever. This is only his second final, after he made a dream run to the Washington final in 2007 in one of his first pro tournaments. I'm picking the big man to win his first title, but Clement is such a smart player, anything could happen.

Semifinals Week 2

There was one big upset yesterday, and one almost-upset. In Auckland, John Isner avenged his defeat at the Hopman Cup by Tommy Robredo, beating the Spaniard in three tight sets. Isner hit twenty aces, but even more surprisingly, broke Robredo three times! I'd consider this a very impressive win for the big American, and while I don't put him in contention for winning the Aussie Open (that field is big enough already) I do think he can build on his win over Andy Roddick last September by upsetting another big seed.

The near-upset came at Sydney, when Serena Williams was nearly defeated by Aravane Rezai. Down a set and 5-3, Rezai served for the match, but couldn't close the door. Afterward, she said she wasn't impressed by Serena, and that she could have won. If Serena had been the one to break her while she was serving, or if she had gotten the break on a net cord winner or something, I could see her saying this. As it stands, she gave it away when she had the match in hand, so it seemed pretty classless to denigrate her opponent after choking. Still, it was an impressive performance when I had considered the match to be a mere formality.

The other semifinal was supposed to be more competitive, but turned out to be boring. Dementieva plowed through Azarenka, setting up the best final that we could have asked for. Serena and Dementieva played one of the best matches on the women's tour last year, so they could rival the Clijsters-Henin final of last week. Serena's looking to break her streak of not winning a regular tour event, while Dementieva wants everyone to know that she's in the hunt at the Aussie Open, this year. It's a big match.

Also in Sydney, the last seed on the men's side fell, when Baghditis beat Lleyton Hewitt in three tight sets. It wasn't quite as epic as their clash at last year's Aussie Open, but it was an impressive performance from both. Hewitt looked like the Hewitt of old during the first set, but then Baggy played like the guy who made the 2006 final in the next two.

Hewitt was the second-last Australian in the draw, but the last one didn't hang around much longer. Thirty-year old Peter Luczak fell to Mardy Fish in the night match, in another tight contest. In the end, Fish made a few too many shots, Luczak made a few too many errors, and he went to the drop shot well a few too many times. Still, an impressive show from the Aussie who is experiencing his greatest ever run after most players are considering retirement.

As a result, Fish plays Baghdatis in a rematch of last week's Brisbane first round. That was a tough one, with Baggy winning 7-5, 7-5, and as John Isner has just demonstrated, a player can lose one week and win the next. That should be an exciting semifinal.

The other semi could be the match that Serena-Rezia should have been, as Richard Gasquet faces Julien Benneteau. They played at this tournament, two years, and Gasquet won easily. He should do so, again. If "Baby Fed" doesn't win this match, he's going to be very disappointed with his showing.

The other most important thing to note is that Juan Martin Del Potro pulled out of his match against JW Tsonga at the AAMI Kooyong exhibition tournament, citing a wrist injury. He's been troubled by tendinitis before, so maybe he's just being careful. Then again, this could affect his chances at next week's Open. So the final at Kooyong will be Verdasco, who breezed past Djokovic (pun intended, they were playing in ridiculous winds) and Tsonga. Both players have done well at the Australian Open, but both also have a lot to prove.

Week 2 Quarterfinals

It seems like most of the tour has shut down in anticipation of the Australian Open starting next week.

In Sydney, the men's draw has just fallen apart. Two seeds withdrew, and five of the remaining lost by the third round. The only seed remaining is Lleyton Hewitt, who unfortunately has to play one of the other contenders in the quarterfinals, Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis. You may remember that Hewitt and Baghdatis played a match at the Australian Open last year that went until 4:30 in the morning. It seems unlikely that this meeting will be quite as epic, but the winner will have a good chance of winning the tournament.

The other two players who have a realistic shot at the win are Mardy Fish, who would play the winner of Hewitt-Baggy in the semis, and Richard Gasquet, who is all alone in his half of the draw. If he doesn't make the final at least, this week will be a disappointment. The other three players left in his half are Starace, Benneateau, and Mayer, fine players all but Gasquet needs to be able to beat them without too much trouble if he wants to get back to the top tier of the game.

The women's side of the draw remains a bit more competitive, with three seeds making it to the semifinals. Serena Williams blew through her opponent Vera Dushevina 2 and 2, which is not a surprise. What is a surprise is that Elena Dementieva beat Dinara Safina by almost that same margin. Now Williams plays Rezai in a formality of a match, while Dementieva plays Azarenka for the chance to face Serena in the final. It seems like Serena's victory should be a foregone conclusion, but she hasn't won a regular tour title (discounting grand slams or end-of-year championships) since April of 2008. She sure looks poised to break that streak, though.

In Auckland, there's an interesting quarterfinal match between John Isner and Tommy Robredo, which is a rematch of their tough three-setter last week in the Hopman Cup. Robredo came out on top in that contest, but he's played a lot more tennis in the interim. It could be a good match.

Finally, I've just set up a twitter account, from which I'll be posting updates to this blog as well as live commentary on some matches, in the future. Check me out at http://twitter.com/matchpointace !

Davydenko on top - Semifinals Week 1

While Soderling's loss to Ginepri may have been the first big upset of the year, the first time the world number one loses is always an upset, just by definition. Federer's loss to Davydenko may have been less surprising, since the Russian just won their most recent meeting at the World Tour Finals at the end of last season, but it is a bit unexpected since Federer had a 12-0 record against him before that.

In the first set, Nikolay put 100% of his first serves into play. Twenty-seven out of twenty-seven, which is just an unbelievable statistic. Davydenko gets Nadal in the final, who breezed past Serbian Viktor Troicki. They also played at the last event in 2009, and Davydenko came out on top. Although I've been a doubter in the past, the Russian may finally be developing the confidence to really make a run to a grand slam title. If he handles Nadal as well as he took care of Federer, it'll definitely put him in contention at the Aussie Open.

The semifinals at all four events this week were all populated by top 5 seeds. In Doha, 4th seed Youzhny was missing. In Chennai, it was top seed Soderling. But in Brisbane, all four top seeds have made it this far. Berdych had his hands full with Tomaz Bellucci, but his experience got him through in three. That said, this was one of the best matches I've seen Bellucci play, and he was just points from victory. I think he has the potential to be a top-ten player.

The other quarter in Brisbane was billed as a tougher contest, but was actually less competitive. Roddick and Gasquet both played well in a match that featured tremendous serving, clutch volleying, and and superb shot-making from the back of the court, as well. But Roddick managed a break in the first set (needing eight chances to do so) and then secured the match in the second-set tiebreak. The Frenchman is playing well, but he has yet to return to his top form. Roddick will play Berdych in the semis, and the pair has a close head-to-head record. It should be a good match.

Also in Brisbane, the women's final has been decided, and it was the match-up that everyone was hoping for. Kim Clijsters will take on her compatriot Justine Henin, back to a final in her first tournament in nearly two years. They've played a great deal in the past, with Henin coming out on top more often than not, but you have to give the edge to Clijsters based solely on recent form.

There's a third Belgian woman in a final this week, amazingly. Yanina Wickmayer will face top-seeded Flavia Pennetta in Auckland. It's good to see her shaking off the minor drug scandal that could have proved to be quite a distraction at the end of last season.

In Chennai, Janko Tipsarevic, who has been frustrated by the success of his compatriot Djokovic (or at least his own relative lack of it) beat young Dutch player Thiemo De Bakker, who has had an amazing run in his first tournament of the year. He'll playing defending champ Marin Cilic in the semis, for the privilege of playing the winner of Dudi Sela and Stan Wawrinka. It's tough to bet against a Wawrinka-Cilic final at this point, but as we've seen, upsets do happen.

First big upset of the year!

Ah, the tennis season is officially underway, now. We've had the first match with a really big and unexpected upset. Robin Soderling, the top seed in Chennai, was in such good form at the end of last season and at the exhibition at the beginning of this year, that I don't think I even mentioned his first-round match against world number 100 Robbie Ginepri. It's clear that was an oversight on my part, because Ginepri has proven in the past that he can occasionally produce the form that allows him to play with the best in the world, and it was on display when he ousted Soderling in straight sets. It's too early to call it a comeback, but it would be nice to see Ginepri put together a couple of good matches this week.

The other interesting result from Chennai was from the rematch of last year's semifinal-that-never-was. Rainer Schuettler withdrew with injury, giving Somdev Devvarman a place in the final. This year, Devvarman again received a wildcard, and again made good use of it by beating the German in straight sets. Can he make it back to the final again, this year?

Another wildcard who is doing very well for himself is Younes el Aynaoui in Doha. Now 38 years old, Aynaoui beat American Ryler DeHeart in two tiebreak sets. This made him the oldest player to win a match on tour since Jimmy Connors in 1995. That's quite a record to have. Aynaoui has a bit of luck, since his second-round opponent is another qualifier, since Steve Darcis beat eighth seed Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. If he makes it to the third round, he may face Nadal.

Speaking of the top three seeds in Doha, Nadal, Federer, and Davydenko all cruised through their matches. This was expected, of course, but it was good to see each of them playing in such fine form. Granted, their opponents may not have been the best set of opponents to demonstrate how they're feeling at the start of this season, but these wins are no doubt encouraging. Each should have a sterner test in their next round, so we can see if they're on the collision course they appear to be on.

In Brisbane, there were some excellent matches yesterday. Sam Querrey and James Blake played in what could have been a changing of the guard, but Blake refused to play along with that storyline. After getting broken in the first set, he started smacking his forehand to places where Querrey could never reach it. Granted, Sam played a little passive, possibly assuming that James would start hitting errors eventually, but Blake stuck to his guns, and ended up winning in three. But Querrey played well, and he did not seem to be too affected by his injury. Also worthy of note is that the Querrey-Blake match was 5-6, 6-4, 6-4 and took only an hour and twenty-eight minutes. This may have been the quickest 31 game match of all-time.

For reference, Mardy Fish lost a tight match to Marcos Baghdatis 7-5, 7-5, and those 24 games took an hour and forty-one minutes. Taylor Dent lost a crackerjack to Frenchman Gael Monfils 7-6(1), 6-7(5), 6-2. Hopefully, both Fish and Dent will be inspired by how close these losses were, rather than frustrated. Those were just unlucky first-round opponents, and both players should do better this season.

Australian Qualifier Matthew Ebden (who I'll admit I know nothing about) upset sixth-seeded Jurgen "Tuna" Melzer, which gives him a match-up against Richard Gasquet. The winner of that match will play the winner of Andy Roddick and Carsten Ball. Now Carsten has never had a win comparable to a player like Roddick, but Andy's knee has apparently been bothering him. I'm hoping for a Roddick-Gasquet faceoff in the third round, and I imagine the tournament organizers are, too. Despite the fact that it calls for two Australians to lose.

There were a few notable upsets in the doubles, as Jeremy Chardy made up for his disappointing loss in the first round to Alejandro Falla by teaming with Marc Gicquel to beat third seeds Knowle and Lindstedt. While that is an impressive result, it's nothing compared to Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and Albert Montanes topping top-seeded Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic in straight sets! As the second-ranked team after the Bryans, this is not the way the pair was hoping to start their 2010 campaign.

Some good tennis to be played yet, too! It's just started in Brisbane, and as the sun moves across the sky, I'll be able to follow the tennis to India and then to Qatar. If schedules hold up and I can stay awake, I may be able to watch tennis for the next sixteen hours straight. Can't beat that, huh?