Update of This Weeks Tournaments.

The Malaysian Open has reached the quarterfinal stage.  The hardcourts in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia feature these four matchups:

Elena Dementieva  vs.  Magdalena Rybarikova  - Dementieva should easily move onto the semis

Kai-Chen Chang  vs.  Sybille Bammer - I'm not familiar with Chang, so I'll go with the sixth seeded Bammer.

Anastasia Rodionova  vs.  Alisa Kleybanova - I like Rodionova in the upset.

Ayumi Morita  vs.  Chanelle Scheepers - The tournament needs an Asian semifinalist.  I pick Morita.

The Barclay's Dubai Tennis Championship has seen a lot of upsets this week.  Andy Murray, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and Nikolay Davydenko all lost in the second round.  Marin Cilic joined the group losing in the third round to Jurgen Melzer.  They have reached the semifinals in Dubai, here are the matchups:

Jurgen Melzer  vs.  Mikhail Youzhny - If Youzhny doesn't come up lame and pusses out he will win.

Marcos Baghdatis  vs.  Novak Djokovic - Djokovic will advance in 3 sets.

The Delray Beach International Tennis Championships in Delray Beach, Florida, United States is the "shit" tournament of the week.  Featuring a fairly week field filled with jobber Americans.  The quarterfinals are set:

Ernests Gulbis  vs.  Leonardo Mayer - This is about the time Gulbis fizzles out in tourneys: My pick is Mayer

Benjamin Becker  vs.  Jarkko Nieminen - Becker will get by Nieminen in a tough match.

Mardy Fish  vs.  Jeremy Chardy - Mardy Fish sucks even though hes the defending champ.  I pick Chardy.

James Blake  vs.  Ivo Karlovic - Match of the tournament right here. Blake will win 7-6, 7-6.

Both the men and women have reached the semifinals in their respective tournaments in Acapulco, Mexico.

This is what the womens semifinals look like:

Venus Williams  vs.  Edina Gallovits - Venus will advance easily.

Carla Suarez Navarro  vs.  Polona Hercog - Carla Suarez Navarro is a good clay courter and will advance.

The mens semifinals are quite a bit more intriguing, and have much better matchups than the womens side:

Juan Monaco  vs.  Juan Carlos Ferrero - Ferrero has been on a hot streak, and he continues on to the final.

David Ferrer  vs.  Fernando Gonzalez - I'm rooting for a Ferrer victory, but "Gonzo" will be too much to handle for him.

Preview of This Weeks Tournaments (Feb 22-28)

The Malaysia Open 2010 is being played in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  This is a hardcourt tournament and the winner will receive $37,000.

Top 4 seeds:

1. Elena Dementieva (#7 in the world)

2. Na Li (#10)
3. Jie Zheng (#20)
4. Alisa Kleybanova (#31)
Other notables in the field:  Melinda Czink, Sybille Bammer, and Akgul Amanmuradova.  Its pretty slim after the top 4 players.

Last week the women were in Dubai, now its the mens turn to play the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.  This tournament is a hardcourt tournament and features a pretty solid field, with the winner taking home $383,000.

Top 4 seeds:

1. Roger Federer (#1)  *** BAILED OUT OF TOURNAMENT DUE TO ILLNESS

2. Novak Djokovic (#2)

3. Andy Murray (#4)

4. Nikolay Davydenko (#6)

Other notables in the field:  Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Marin Cilic, Mikhail Youzhny, Gilles Simon, Tommy Robredo, Janko Tipsarevic, Feliciano Lopez, Marcos Baghdatis, and last weeks Marseille champion Michael Llodra.

In Delray Beach, Florida, United States the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships is taking place. The tournament is being played on hardcourt, and the winner will go home with a $75,700 check.

Top 4 seeds:

1. Tommy Haas (#18)

2. Ivo Karlovic (#33)

3. Benjamin Becker (#40)

4. Jeremy Chardy (#41)

Other notables in the field:  Evgeny Korolev, Florian Mayer, James Blake, Michael Russell,and Mardy Fish.

There is one joint tournament this week where both the men and women are playing at the same venue.  The Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC is being played in Acapulco, Mexico on red clay.

Starting with the women.  They are playing for a prize of $37,000

Top 4 seeds:

1. Venus Williams (#5)

2. Agnes Szavay (#32)

3. Gisela Dulko (#35)

4. Sorana Cirstea (#40)

Other notables in the field: Carla Suarez Navarro, Sara Errani, Alize Cornet, Roberta Vinci, and Lucie Hradecka who is playing for the 4th week in a row.  Her travels have taken her from Germany to Midland, Michigan to Memphis, Tennesse to now Acapulco, Mexico.

The men are playing for higher stakes, making it a much better field.  The winner will go home with $227,000.

Top 4 seeds:

1. Fernando Verdasco (#11)

2. Fernando Gonzalez (#12)

3. David Ferrer (#19)

4. Juan Carlos Ferrero (#22)

Other notables in the field:  John Isner, Nicolas Almagro, Juan Monaco, Albert Montanes, Lukasz Kubot, "Cha cha Chela" Juan Ignacio Chela, Igor Andreev, Carlos Moya, Richard Gasquet, and Sam Querrey.

News, Notes, Truths, Rumors, and a lot of Bullshit.

Ana Ivanovic who undeservadly received and signed a lifetime contract with Adidas has hired Steffi Graf's former coach Heinz Gunthardt to help put her "career" back together again.  Ivanovic who hasn't played well in almost 2 years seems to be more interested in doing modeling and being seen with golfer boyfriend Adam Scott, than playing tennis or doing the things to make herself better.  Since the 2008 French Open, Ivanovic has been average at best.  Getting Gunthardt on her side is a good move, but you need to have the motivation to become elite once again, and I don't think Ivanovic has the mental makeup to come all the way back to #1 again.

Roger Federer has pulled out of this weeks event in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.  Federer says he has a "lung infection", and that is the reason for him not playing this week.  Well technically he could have anything from a cold to pneumonia.  Is "the Rog" really sick, or does he not want to make the trip and play?  Its anyones guess, but Federer has a background of "weasling" out of tournaments, especially Davis Cup.  You've had a month off Roger, time to quit being a puss and play some tennis.

David Nalbandian's comeback hits another snag.  He tore a groing muscle last week during a match that forced him to retire and pull out of the entire tournament.  He will be out for a few weeks and is forced to the sidelines of the Argentina-Sweden Davis Cup matchup that takes place next week.  Nalbandian missed most of the season last year due to hip surgery.  He came back and tried to play in the Australian Open, but could not compete because he was complaining of a stomach muscle problem.  Now the groin tear is another injury added on.  Maybe Nalbandian should try to get into better shape.  A guy notorious for not living up to his potential and letting himself balloon up in weight probably should lay down the little debbies, and work on his fitness.  The more fit you are David, the less chances are you will be injured. 

The United States named its Davis Cup team that will face Serbia next week on clay in Belgrade.  Captain Patrick McEnroe named Sam Querrey, John Isner, and the Bryan Brothers to the team.  Andy Roddick chose not to play, because of a bothersome shoulder injury he is working through.  The team isn't terrible, but I don't think it is enough to beat Serbia.  Querrey by American standards is good on clay.  Isner will suck on the clay.  He lacks movement, and his serve will be neutralized by the slow surface.  The Bryan Brothers are the best doubles team in the world, so you can't go wrong there.  Still with Novak Djokovic playing in front of a home crowd, I don't see much of a shot for the U.S.A.

Corona, the Mexican beer company is now the top sponsor of the mens tour.  The beer company and the ATP agreed upon a 5 and a half year contract.

No word on if Rafa Nadal and Shakira are actually "banging" yet.  Maybe everyone should try to find a Shakira blog to see if they have any inside information.  I guess I just dont get it.  Nadal is kind of a goofy looking bastard.  Maybe Shakira should try the curse of Verdasco's weiner instead.

Results from Dubai, Marseille, Buenos Aires, Memphis, and Bogota

Venus Williams was able to benefit from a few upsets in the tournament and win the Barclays Dubay tennis championships for a second straight year.  The draw went great for Venus who had to only face one of the top seeds in the tournament, and that was in the final where she beat Victoria Azarenka 6-3, 7-5.  Shahar Peer, the Israeli player who was denied a visa into the United Arab Emirates, and basically banned from the tournament last year played well in her return to the tournament this year.  She lost to Venus in the semifinals.

At the Open 13 in Marseille, France two unlikely players met in the finals.  Michael Llodra had to upset Marcos Baghdatis and Robin Soderling in order to make his way into the final.  Julien Benneteau earned his way into the final by taking out fellow Frenchmen, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gael Monfils.  But it was Llodra who beat Benneteau in the final 6-3, 6-4.   Llodra and Benneteau later teamed up and won the doubles title together.

 

(Benneteau on left, Llodra on right)

David Ferrer once again came up short in a tournament, and Juan Carlos Ferrero won a title for the second straight week by beating Ferrer in 3 sets, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3.  This is also the second straight clay court win for Ferrero.  Looks like a French Open "darkhorse" is starting to emerge.  Ferrer once again teased his fans by making his way to the final fairly easily.  Beating all his previous opponents in straight sets, and winning the first set of the final, giving us all false hope, then falling apart and coming up short in a loss.  I guess the one positive is he didn't lose to a "no-name jobber" in the early rounds this time.  He showed improvement, and made it to a final where he lost to his BFF who is on a tremendous streak.  Hopefully he will build on this week and make more runs in the weeks ahead.

(Ferrero on left, David Ferrer on right.)

In Memphis, Maria Sharapova dismantled Sofia Arvidsson 6-2, 6-1 to claim her first match wins and first title of the 2010 season.  The win didn't come as much of a surprise.  Sharapova's talent level is heads-and-shoulders above the rest of the womens field this week in Memphis.  Maybe this is what Sharapova needed to get the bitter taste of a first round exit in the Australian Open out of her mouth, and get on track for ther rest of the year.

Two American Davis Cup teammates met in the mens final in Memphis.  Neither of them is named Andy or James either.  Instead it was the two youngsters, Sam Querrey and John Isner battling for the crown.  Querrey ended up beating Isner in 3 tough sets 6-7, 7-6, 6-3 and denied Isner his 2nd title of the year.

In Bogota, Colombia the final pitted two girls I don't know shit about, Angelique Kerber of Germany and Mariana Duque Marino of Colombia.  It was Duque Marino who came out on top and won the title in her home country 6-4, 6-3.

Sorry about the blog quality.  Its late at night, I'm tired as hell and just tryed to plow through this shit.  I promise much better stuff in the future.

Preview of This Weeks Tournaments (Feb 15-21)

The best tournament of the week is the womens premier 5 WTA event in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.  The tournament which is the equivalent of a mens masters series event will be played on hardcourt.  Also there is a field of 64.

Top 8 seeds:

1. Caroline Wozniacki (#3 in the world rankings)

2. Svetlana Kuznetsova (#4)

3. Venus Williams (#5)

4. Victoria Azarenka (#6)

5. Elena Dementieva (#7)

6. Jelena Jankovic (#8)

7. Agnieszka Radwanska (#9)

8. Na Li (#10)

Other notables in the field:  Sam Stosur, Flavia Pennetta, Marion Bartoli, Vera Zvonareva, Yanina Wickmayer, Francesca Schiavone, Nadia Petrova, Jie Zheng, and Shahar Peer.   Some of the omissions that are not playing this week are Serena Williams and Dinara Safina who both are injured.  I'm not sure why Henin or Clijsters is not playing.  Ivanovic just plain sucks and probably doesn't have the confidence to get destroyed again at a tournament.  Keep doing photo shoots Ana, that will surely help your game.

The Open 13 tournament in Marseille, France is a hardcourt tournament with a solid field.

Top 4 seeds:

1. Robin Soderling (#8)

2. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (#9)

3. Gael Monfils (#13)

4. Tommy Robredo (#15)

Other notables playing this week:  The return of Gilles Simon from injury, Mikhail Youzhny who will probably pull out with an injury, because he's a poosay., Marcos Baghdatis, and Julien Benneteau.

This week in Buenos Aires, Argentina is the Copa Telmex event, which is played on red clay.  The field is filled with clay courters and features BFF's David Ferrer, and Juan Carlos Ferrero.

Top 4 seeds:

1. David Ferrer (#18)

2. Juan Carlos Ferrero (#22)

3. Nicolas Almagro (#26)

4. Juan Monaco (#27)

Other notables playing in the event:  Albert Montanes, Igor Andreev, Victor Hanescu, and David Nalbandian returning from his hip injury.

The Regions Keegan Championships & The Cellular South Cup in Memphis, Tennessee is a joint event with both the men and women playing their tournaments at the same venue.

Top 4 mens seeds:

1. Andy Roddick (#7)

2. Fernando Verdasco (#11)

3. Radek Stepanek (#14)

4. Tommy Haas (#17)

other notables:  Tomas Berdych, John Isner, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Sam Querrey, "Dr. Ivo" Ivo Karlovic, Ernests Gulbis (probably picking up toothless prostitutes on the streets of Memphis), and James Blake who plays Roddick in the first round.  Better get a parachute James, because your free fall into obscurity continues.

Top 4 womens seeds:

1. Maria Sharapova (#16)

2. Melanie Oudin (#53)

3. Kaia Kanepi (#61)

4. Lucie Hradecka (#64)

Other notables:  Petra Kvitova, Kristina Barrois, and a host of players who played last week in Midland like last weeks champion Elena Baltacha, Nicole Vaidisova, Marta Domachowska, Vania King, Sofia Arvidsson, Lilia Osterloh, Kathrin Woerle, Arantxa Rus, Laura Granville, Madison Brengle, and Anne Keothavong among a few more.

Hopefully Sharapova is using this tournament for a confidence booster.  There is really no excuse for her not to be playing in Dubai with the other elite.  This is a glorified ITF tournament, and if she doesn't come out the champion she will have even more embarrassment to deal with, other than her early exit from Melbourne.

The Copa BBVA-Colsanitas is a womens clay court tournament in Bogota, Colombia. 

Top 4 seeds:

1. Gisela Dulko (#35)

2. Carla Suarez Navarro (#42)

3. Sara Errani (#45)

4. Polona Hercog (#63)

Other notables:  There aren't any notables in this tournament.  Just a bunch of dirt-rat chicks with long Spanish names, or long eastern european names.

Results from Rotterdam, Costa do Sauipe, San Jose, Pattaya City, Paris, and Midland

Sorry to the handful of diehards that take the .87 seconds to check this blog on a daily basis for the length between updates.

Robin Soderling got his first wins and title of the year at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, Netherlands.  Soderling defeated a surprising Mikhail Youzhny in the final 6-4, 2-0 ret.  Youzhny was a surprise finalist because of his upset of Novak Djokovic in the semifinals.  My prediction of a Davydenko over Djokovic was a disaster due to both Youzhny and Soderling taking out my picks on the semifinals.

Juan Carlos Ferrero crushed Lukasz Kubot 6-1, 6-0 in the final of the Brasil Open 2010 in Costa do Sauipe, Brazil.  Its good to see Ferrero not get injured during the tournament, his bff David Ferrer must be proud.  The Ku-BOT keeps surprising.  He had a nice run at the Aussie Open, and now a final in an ATP event should send his ranking soaring.  Once again my early week pick of a Montanes over Bellucci final wasn't even close.

(the Ku-BOT is on the left.  Ferrero on the right.)

The best result of the week came in the final of the SAP Open in San Jose, California, United States.  Fernando Verdasco battled from a 1 set-to-love deficit to defeat "asshat" Andy Roddick 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.  With that win Verdasco was able to shake his own curse and actually defeat a top 10 ranked opponent.  I picked Roddick to win this event at the beginning of the week, but this is one time where being wrong is preferred.

Russian, Vera Zvonareva beat a Thai in Thailand to win the PTT Pattaya Open in Pattaya City, Thailand.  Zvonareva was able to hold off countrywoman Tamarine Tanasugarn in the final 6-4, 6-4.  This victory makes Zvonareva the back-to-back champion of this tournament. 

Elena Dementieva defeated surprise finalist Lucie Safarova in a tough final at the 18th Open GDF Suez in Paris, France.  Dementieva lost the first set 6-7 to Safarova, but then took control winning the next two sets 6-1, 6-4.  This tournament saw young American, Melanie Oudin actually do something at a tournament.  Oudin made it to the semifinals where she lost to Dementieva.  But Oudin did manage to take a set off Dementieva.  Is this the start of a great season, or just "fools gold"?  I lean towards the latter.

At the local ITF Womens tournament in Midland, Michigan  Elena Baltacha outplayed defending champion Lucie Hradecka in the final.  Baltacha took the title in her first appearance at the Dow Corning Tennis Classic.  Hradecka was able to take the first set 7-5, but after the first set Baltacha raised her game and took the next two sets 6-2, 6-3.  Hradecka looked tired near the end and seemed to be struggling with a leg cramp which may have been a factor in her defeat. Hradecka and Laura Graville were able to win the doubles over Lillia Osterloh and Anna Tatishvili in an extremely entertaining match... Baltacha was the deserving champion.  She crushed everyone that was put in front of her.  The only set she lost all week was the first set of the final, and even after that she cruised.  The victory earned Baltacha $15,000 dollars and boosted her ranking 13 spots.  She came into the tournament number 83, but is now #70.  The loss bumped down Hradecka one ranking spot from 64 to 65.

Preview of This Weeks Tournaments (Feb. 7-14)

The PTT Pattaya Open in Pattaya City, Thailand will be played outdoors on hardcourt surface.  Vera Zvonareva won this tournament a year ago.

The Top Seeds playing this week:

1. Vera Zvonareva (#14 in world rankings)

2. Sabine Lisicki (#25)

3. Vera Dushevina (#40)

4. Yaroslava Shvedova (#48)

Other notables in field: Kimiko Date Krumm, Akgul Amanmuradova, Sania Mirza, and Sybille Bammer.

By the look of the DRAW this looks like a easy road for top seeded Vera Zvonareva.  My early prediction is Zvonareva to defend her title over Dushevina in the final.

In Paris, France the 18th Open GDF Suez will be a indoors hardcourt tournament. Last year's champion Amelie Mauresmo has since retired, and will not be defending her title.

Top Seeds playing this week:

1. Elena Dementieva (#7)

2. Flavia Pennetta (#12)

3. Yanina Wickmayer (#15)

4. Francesca Schiavone "Scheeeeeeeever" (#18)

Other notable in the field:  Aravane Rezai, Shahar Peer,  Virginie Razzano, Elena Vesnina, Agnes Szavay, Melanie Oudin, Alize Cornet, and Alisa Kleybanova.

Click HERE for the draw.  I like a Yanina Wickmayer - Flavia Pennetta final, with Wickmayer winning.

In Rotterdam, Netherlands the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament is taking place.  The tournament is being played indoors on hardcourt.  Andy Murray won this event last year, but is not in the field this year.

Top Seeds playing this week:

1. Novak Djokovic (#2)

2. Nikolay Davydenko (#6)

3. Robin Soderling (#8)

4. Gael Monfils (#13)

Other notables playing:  Tommy Robredo, Mikhail Youzhny, Ivan "L" Ljubicic, Viktor Troicki, Feliciano Lopez, James Blake, Marcos Baghdatis, Jurgen Melzer, Michael Berrer, and Janko Tipsarevic.

To look at the draw click HERE .  Nikolay Davydenko has a tough draw with Feliciano Lopez in the first round and the winner of Baghdatis-Blake in the 2nd round.  But I like how the tough Russian is playing and he'll make it to the final where he will beat Novak Djokovic.

The Brasil Open 2010 is taking place in Costa do Sauipe, Brazil this week, and is the only clay tournament this week.  Tommy Robredo is the defending champion, but he has chosen to play in Rotterdam this week.

Top Seeded players:

1. Juan Carlos Ferrero (#22)

2. Albert Montanes (#28)

3. Thomaz Bellucci (#35)

4. Igor Andreev (#42)

Other notables:  Victor Hanescu, Richard Gasquet, Lukasz Kubot, Marcel Granollers, and Juan Ignacio Chela.

Click HERE for the draw.  Thomaz Bellucci won the clay court tournament last week in Chile, and looks to continue his momentum in his home country.  It will be tough for him with Ferrero, Gasquet, and Hanescu in the top half of the draw.  But all them guys previously mentioned all have question marks with them.  Ferrero is always hurt, Gasquet hates the clay, Hanescu is wildly inconsistent.  So I'm going with Bellucci to keep rolling and go into the final where he will face Albert Montanes.  Montanes will beat a worn down Bellucci to win the title.

In San Jose, California, United States the SAP Open is being played on hardcourt.  Radek Stepanek won this tournament last year.

Top Seeded players:

1. Andy Roddick (#7)

2. Fernando Verdasco (#12)

3. Radek Stepanek (#14)

4. Tommy Haas (#17)

Other notables in the field:  Tomas Berdych, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Sam Querrey, Jeremy Chardy, Taylor Dent, Mardy Fish, and Rajeev Ram.

Click HERE for the draw.  Stepanek will not be able to defend his title when Andy Roddick beats him in the semifinals.  Roddick will then beat Tommy Haas in the final to win the championship.

Also, locally a womens ITF event is taking place in Midland, Michigan.  Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic won this event last year and is back to defend her title.  The full singles draw can be seen HERE .  Better check it now, because who knows how long it will be up.  Whoever runs their website over there is a moron.  It rarely gets up to date and clicking on the "order of play" to see who is playing on what court you get the doubles draw.

Results of Fed Cup, Johannesburg, Zagreb, and Santiago.

To my surprise the United States womens team will advance after beating France in the 1st round of the World Group.  Melanie Oudin led the way with 2 singles wins, and the doubles team of Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Liezel Huber clinched the win for the U.S.  4-1

The defending Fed Cup champions Italy had little trouble taking out the Ukraine in their first round matchup.  Italy wins 4-1 Flavia Pennetta was the star for the Italians winning both of her singles matches.

The best matchup of the weekend was the Russians and the Serbs in Belgrade, Serbia.  It came down to the final match, and the team of Svetlana Kuznetsova and Alisa Kleybanova beat the 2 Serb stars Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic.  Russia advances with a 3-2 win.  Jelena Jankovic kept the Serbs in it by going 2-0 in her singles matches.  Ana Ivanovic continued her horrible streak as she went 0-2 in singles and also lost the doubles.  The curse still runs strong with Ana.

The Czech Republic edged Germany 3-2 to advance to the next round.  Lucie Hradecka had a good Fed Cup going 1-0 in singles and also contributing in the doubles victory.  Now Lucie is off to Midland, Michigan to defend her title at the Dow Corning Tennis Classic.

In a surprising turn of events the 2 top seeds, Gael Monfils and David Ferrer lost in the semifinals which opened the door for 2 unlikely opponents to reach the finals.  Feliciano Lopez was able to handle Stephane Robert in the final 7-5, 6-1.  Who thought a model could also win a title as well.  Maybe this will be the beginning of Lopez getting back into the top 25 once again.  Has he become immune to the curse?  Him and Ana should talk.

Marin Cilic's hot streak continues on with a victory over Michael Berrer in the final of the PBZ Zagreb Indoors in Zagreb, Croatia.  It wasn't easy but Cilic was able to win the title in 3 sets. 6-4, 6-7, 6-3.  Cilic has now won 2 tournaments this year and made it to the semifinals of the Australian Open.  This looks like the making of a breakout year for the young Croatian.

Thomasz Bellucci went through the top 2 seeds at the Movistar Open in Santiago, Chile to win the title.  On Saturday evening Bellucci upset the #1 seed Fernando Gonzalez in Gonzalez's home country and earned the trip to the final where he would face the #2 seeded Argentine Juan Monaco in the final.  Before the tournament had started I picked Monaco to win this event, but after 3 sets Bellucci proved me wrong. Taking down the Argentine in a tough battle on the red clay 6-2, 0-6, 6-4.