The women are playing the Toray Pan Pacific Open 2009, a hardcourt tournament in Tokyo, Japan. This is a WTA Premier event, which is the equivalent to a mens "Masters Series" event.
Top 4 seeds and their world ranking:
1. Dinara Safina (#1)
2. Venus Williams (#3)
3. Elena Dementieva (#4)
4. Caroline Wozniacki (#5)
Other notables in the tournament: Svetlana Kuznetsova, Vera Zvonareva, Jelena Jankovic, Victoria Azarenka, Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic, Flavia Pennetta. A couple notable players not making the trip to Japan are Serena Williams and U.S. Open champion Kim Clijsters.
**** Quick note. This will be ::pirate voice:: Aiiiiiiiiiiiiii Sugiyama's final tournament. She is retiring. (maybe she'll come back in a couple of years, its the IN thing right now.)
PREDICTION: Elena Dementieva over Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final.
The men have a couple tournaments this week. Two hardcourt tournaments. One in Bangkok, Thailand, and the other in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
I'll start with the one in Bangkok first.
Top 4 seeds and world ranking:
1. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (#7)
2. Gilles Simon (#10)
3. Sam Querrey (#25)
4. Viktor Troicki (#32)
Other notables in the PTT Thailand Open: Jurgen Melzer, Fabrice Santoro, John Isner, Philipp Petzschner, Marat Safin, and Thai player Kittipong Wachiramanowong. (probably the coolest name ever.)
PREDICTION: Tsonga over Querrey in the final.
Now moving on to the Proton Malaysian Open.
Top 4 seeds and world ranking:
1. Nikolay Davydenko (#8)
2. Fernando Verdasco (#9)
3. Robin Soderling (#11)
4. Fernando Gonzalez (#12)
This tournament is pretty stacked with competition for being a smaller tour event. Other notables are: Gael Monfils, Tomas Berdych, David Ferrer, Lleyton Hewitt, Marcos Baghdatis, Richard Gasquet.
PREDICTION: Robin Soderling over Fernando Verdasco in the final.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Kimiko Date Krumm and Shahar Peer return to winners circle once again..
Kimiko Date Krumm has put herself into the talk in what is now becoming the year of the comeback in women's tennis. Date Krumm who was retired for 12 years, and surprisingly decided to play tennis again on the WTA tour last year. Her comeback is at a peak now, winning this weeks tournament in Seoul, South Korea. Date-Krumm upset Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain to claim the championship. My pick to win the tournament Alisa Kleybanova only made it to the 2nd round. She was a victim to Date-Krumm's unexpected hot streak.
Shahar Peer made it 2 tournament victories in a row, by defeating Akgul Amanmuradova in the Tashkent Open in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Peer now has won the last 2 weeks, and seems to be hitting the same form she showed a couple years ago when she was a top 15 player. The weak fields she had to face in both tournaments didn't hurt in her taking both crowns. Still it is very difficult to win on the WTA tournament, and winning 2 in a row is a great accomplishment. I had predicted a Shvedova over Peer in the final. I was a little off. Shvedova reached the semifinals but fell to Amanmuradova. Peer did make the final, so i wasn't that far off.
On the mens side there was 2 tournaments. A clay court tournament in Bucharest, Romania and a indoor carpet tournament in Metz, France.
The clay tournament in Bucharest saw 2 clay court specialists work their way to the finals. Argentine, Juan Monaco and Spaniard Albert Montanes squared off for the championship. Montanes was able to claim victory after a tough, gritty, hard-fought match. My prediction to win the tournment Nicolas Almagro fell in the 2nd round.
It took Gael Monfils 3 sets to beat Philipp Kohlschreiber and claim the tournament championship in Metz, France. Along with Monfils victory the tournament featured the comeback of Richard Gasquet off suspension of cocaine use. (allegedly) Gasquet made a nice run to the semifinals, where he lost to Monfils. My pick to win Paul-Henri Mathieu made it to the semifinals as well, but lost to Kohlschreiber.
Shahar Peer made it 2 tournament victories in a row, by defeating Akgul Amanmuradova in the Tashkent Open in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Peer now has won the last 2 weeks, and seems to be hitting the same form she showed a couple years ago when she was a top 15 player. The weak fields she had to face in both tournaments didn't hurt in her taking both crowns. Still it is very difficult to win on the WTA tournament, and winning 2 in a row is a great accomplishment. I had predicted a Shvedova over Peer in the final. I was a little off. Shvedova reached the semifinals but fell to Amanmuradova. Peer did make the final, so i wasn't that far off.
On the mens side there was 2 tournaments. A clay court tournament in Bucharest, Romania and a indoor carpet tournament in Metz, France.
The clay tournament in Bucharest saw 2 clay court specialists work their way to the finals. Argentine, Juan Monaco and Spaniard Albert Montanes squared off for the championship. Montanes was able to claim victory after a tough, gritty, hard-fought match. My prediction to win the tournment Nicolas Almagro fell in the 2nd round.
It took Gael Monfils 3 sets to beat Philipp Kohlschreiber and claim the tournament championship in Metz, France. Along with Monfils victory the tournament featured the comeback of Richard Gasquet off suspension of cocaine use. (allegedly) Gasquet made a nice run to the semifinals, where he lost to Monfils. My pick to win Paul-Henri Mathieu made it to the semifinals as well, but lost to Kohlschreiber.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
THE WILLIAMS' KILLER IS BACK!!
Former world number 1 Justine Henin made it official, by announcing she will be returning to the WTA tour by the 2010 Australian Open, Which starts in the middle of January.
This is great news. To me she is still the number one player. When she left last year right before the French Open she was without a doubt the best women's tennis player on the planet. Thats right, NOT SERENA WILLIAMS. As a matter of fact Henin made a name of basically kicking the piss out of the William's sisters on a regular basis. The only player to kick her off the top of the mountain and the #1 ranking was herself by announcing her shocking retirement, and being the first ever tennis player to quit while being ranked #1.
When she returns from her year and a half sabatical she will be 27. In the women's game 27 is almost a dinosaur. Most women's players are at their peak at between 18-23 or maybe 24. 25 is normally the age where they start to slip, but not always. Serena is still elite and she is over 25. Henin doesn't have a power game. She is more of a technical player who relies on her speed and movement, to go along with her accurate ground strokes and superb volleying skills. I'm not sure how the layoff will affect her. She may have needed the rest to heal her body, or she may have lost a step. The one thing for sure is she will have a little tournament rust. But that may not take too long to work through. Fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters is proof of that.
The WTA needed Justine Henin back. Since she left it was a bit chaotic as to who would be #1. Ana Ivanovic with her first major win at last year's French (Roland Garros) she was #1 for a while. I believe Sharapova was for a week or so as well before her injury. I'm not positive. Jankovic then was #1 for a while and had a bit of controversy because she was #1, but had never won a Grand Slam title. Now up to today Serena bitches and moans about how she has won so many Grand Slams over the past year and a half and Safina still has the top ranking. The pressure of being number one without a slam may actually be affecting Safina's confidence and mental fortitude. Trying to live up to everyone else's expectations let alone the pressures put on herself. I'm getting off track here. I'll have to give Dinara a seperate blog and give my thoughts on that another time.....basically my whole point is maybe Henin's return will clear up some of the ranking nonsense and there will be more stability in the rankings.
If anything, the return of Henin and Clijsters. Also Maria Sharapova getting better after her shoulder injury. The whole women's tour will be much more interesting next year.
This is great news. To me she is still the number one player. When she left last year right before the French Open she was without a doubt the best women's tennis player on the planet. Thats right, NOT SERENA WILLIAMS. As a matter of fact Henin made a name of basically kicking the piss out of the William's sisters on a regular basis. The only player to kick her off the top of the mountain and the #1 ranking was herself by announcing her shocking retirement, and being the first ever tennis player to quit while being ranked #1.
When she returns from her year and a half sabatical she will be 27. In the women's game 27 is almost a dinosaur. Most women's players are at their peak at between 18-23 or maybe 24. 25 is normally the age where they start to slip, but not always. Serena is still elite and she is over 25. Henin doesn't have a power game. She is more of a technical player who relies on her speed and movement, to go along with her accurate ground strokes and superb volleying skills. I'm not sure how the layoff will affect her. She may have needed the rest to heal her body, or she may have lost a step. The one thing for sure is she will have a little tournament rust. But that may not take too long to work through. Fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters is proof of that.
The WTA needed Justine Henin back. Since she left it was a bit chaotic as to who would be #1. Ana Ivanovic with her first major win at last year's French (Roland Garros) she was #1 for a while. I believe Sharapova was for a week or so as well before her injury. I'm not positive. Jankovic then was #1 for a while and had a bit of controversy because she was #1, but had never won a Grand Slam title. Now up to today Serena bitches and moans about how she has won so many Grand Slams over the past year and a half and Safina still has the top ranking. The pressure of being number one without a slam may actually be affecting Safina's confidence and mental fortitude. Trying to live up to everyone else's expectations let alone the pressures put on herself. I'm getting off track here. I'll have to give Dinara a seperate blog and give my thoughts on that another time.....basically my whole point is maybe Henin's return will clear up some of the ranking nonsense and there will be more stability in the rankings.
If anything, the return of Henin and Clijsters. Also Maria Sharapova getting better after her shoulder injury. The whole women's tour will be much more interesting next year.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Preview of This Weeks Tournaments. (Sept. 21-27)
This week there are 2 tournaments a piece for the men and women. The 2 women's tournaments are being played in Seoul, South Korea and Tashkent, Uzbekistan. While the men will be playing in Bucharest, Romania and Metz, France.
The women's hardcourt tournament in Seoul features Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia as its #1 seed. The rest of the field features notables: Sorana Cirstea, Anabel Medina Garrigues, Francesca Schiavone, Alisa Kleybanova, and the great Vera Dushevina. A pretty decent lineup for a small tournament. The winner will walk home with $37,000.
My Pick: I like Alisa Kleybanova the #5 seed to make it through the draw and earn the victory.
The other women's tournament is also being played on hardcourt, and it is being held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. This tournament also features a $37,000 prize to its winner. The field for this tournament is substantially weaker than the other womens tournament in Seoul. The number 1 seed is Yaroslava Shvedova, who put herself on the map by beating Ana Ivanovic at this years U.S. Open. Shvedova although is only #55 in the world. Shahar Peer who is coming off a tournament victory last week is in the Tashkent field and is the #2 seed. Other notables in this tournament are: Lenka Wienerova, Ekaterina Bychkova, Akgul Amanmuradova, and Sabine Sharipova of Uzbekistan. (Not to be confused with any relation to Maria Sharapova). Evgeniya Rodina a player who I saw in Midland is also in the field. (She'll get smashed).
My Pick: Shvedova over Peer in the final.
Now moving to the men. The men's tournament in Bucharest is being played on Clay with a prize of 71, 700 pounds to the winner (no clue what that is in American dollars). Victor Hanescu is the #1 seed in his home tournament. Other key notables are: Nicolas Almagro, Juan Monaco, Igor Andreev, Albert Montanes, and Oscar Hernandez. By the looks of the field its mostly filled with clay court specialists.
My Pick: Nicolas Almagro
Metz, France is the start of the European carpet season. Gael "Monchichi" Monfils is in the field and is the #1 seed. Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany is the #2 seed. Some other players appearing at this tournament are: Janko Tipsarevic, Ivan Ljubicic, Richard Gasquet, Fabrice Santoro, Paul-Henri Mathieu, and Marc Gicquel. Making for what will be an interesting week.
My Pick: Paul-Henri Mathieu.
The women's hardcourt tournament in Seoul features Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia as its #1 seed. The rest of the field features notables: Sorana Cirstea, Anabel Medina Garrigues, Francesca Schiavone, Alisa Kleybanova, and the great Vera Dushevina. A pretty decent lineup for a small tournament. The winner will walk home with $37,000.
My Pick: I like Alisa Kleybanova the #5 seed to make it through the draw and earn the victory.
The other women's tournament is also being played on hardcourt, and it is being held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. This tournament also features a $37,000 prize to its winner. The field for this tournament is substantially weaker than the other womens tournament in Seoul. The number 1 seed is Yaroslava Shvedova, who put herself on the map by beating Ana Ivanovic at this years U.S. Open. Shvedova although is only #55 in the world. Shahar Peer who is coming off a tournament victory last week is in the Tashkent field and is the #2 seed. Other notables in this tournament are: Lenka Wienerova, Ekaterina Bychkova, Akgul Amanmuradova, and Sabine Sharipova of Uzbekistan. (Not to be confused with any relation to Maria Sharapova). Evgeniya Rodina a player who I saw in Midland is also in the field. (She'll get smashed).
My Pick: Shvedova over Peer in the final.
Now moving to the men. The men's tournament in Bucharest is being played on Clay with a prize of 71, 700 pounds to the winner (no clue what that is in American dollars). Victor Hanescu is the #1 seed in his home tournament. Other key notables are: Nicolas Almagro, Juan Monaco, Igor Andreev, Albert Montanes, and Oscar Hernandez. By the looks of the field its mostly filled with clay court specialists.
My Pick: Nicolas Almagro
Metz, France is the start of the European carpet season. Gael "Monchichi" Monfils is in the field and is the #1 seed. Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany is the #2 seed. Some other players appearing at this tournament are: Janko Tipsarevic, Ivan Ljubicic, Richard Gasquet, Fabrice Santoro, Paul-Henri Mathieu, and Marc Gicquel. Making for what will be an interesting week.
My Pick: Paul-Henri Mathieu.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Davis Cup and Women's tournament results.
The Davis Cup semifinals are not complete. Like I predicted, Spain crushed Israel, and the Czech Republic beat Croatia.
Here are the match by match results of Spain and Israel.
Match 1: David Ferrer (ESP) defeated Harel Levy (ISR) 6-1, 6-4, 6-3
Match 2: Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP) defeated Dudi Sela (ISR) 6-4, 6-2, 6-0
Match 3: Feliciano Lopez/Tommy Robredo (ESP) defeated Jonathan Erlich/Andy Ram (ISR)
7-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-2
*** Spain clinches after doubles victory.
Match 4: David Ferrer (ESP) defeated Andy Ram (ISR) 6-3, 6-1
Match 5: Harel Levy (ISR) defeated Feliciano Lopez (ESP) 7-5, 6-2
The Spaniards clinched and were up 3-0 going into the last day. David Ferrer was chosen to play his 2nd singles match of the week, which was kind of a surprise. Normally if already clinched the doubles team will play out the 2 remaining singles matches. I think David was given the nod on singles, because it will probably be his last match for the Davis Cup team for this year. With Rafa and Verdasco probably being healthy for the finals the rumors are that Ferrer will be the odd man out and left off the team. I guess this was a "last hurrah" of sorts. In typical fashion Feliciano Lopez goes out and gets his ass kicked in the final match. It didn't mean anything, but for a guy who has been playing like garbage it may be a nice confidence booster to get a singles win. Looks like his downward spiral continues.
The match by match results for Czech Republic and Croatia.
Match 1: Radek Stepanek (CZE) defeated Ivo Karlovic (CRO) 6-7, 7-6, 7-6, 6-7, 16-14
Match 2: Tomas Berdych (CZE) defeated Marin Cilic (CRO) 6-3, 6-3, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3
Match 3: Tomas Berdych/Radek Stepanek (CZE) defeated Marin Cilic/Lovro Zovko (CRO)
6-1, 6-3, 6-4
****** Czech Republic clinches after doubles victory.
Match 4: Jan Hajek (CZE) defeated Roko Karanusic (CRO) 7-6, 6-4
Match 5: Lovro Zovko (CRO) defeated Lukas Dlouhy (CZE) 6-3, 6-4
Match 1 featuring Radek Stepanek and Ivo Karlovic went a grueling 5 hours and 59 minutes. "Dr." Ivo had a record total of 78 aces, and still lost the match. That match was the highlight of the the whole weekend.
Spain and Czech Republic will meet in the Davis Cup finals scheduled for December 4-6 in Spain.
There were 2 women's tournaments this week. One in Quebec City, Canada and the other in Guangzhou, China. Neither tournament featured a tremendous field, but both had some solid players playing.
The tournament in Guangzhou, China featured a final between once top 20 player Shahar Peer of Israel and Alberta Briant of Italy, who is ranked #85 in the world. Peer who was in the top 20 a year and a half ago has been fighting injury troubles, which in return have hampered her game and made her sink to #64. Her comeback has been hard and a struggle with a lot of not so impressive results, but she finally shook off the rust to take the tournament championship 6-3, 6-4.
The Quebec City tournament seemed to have the better field of the two, with #13 Nadia Petrova participating. Petrova though didn't last long losing in the 3rd round to Melinda Czink of Hungary. Czink with her upset victory over Petrova rode that wave of confidence all the way to the championship beating Lucie Safarova 4-6, 6-3, 7-5. It was kind of neat to see Czink get a victory. Melinda Czink I got to see play live in a small ITF tournament in Midland, Michigan this past February. The match I saw her play wasn't even a singles match. It was in doubles. A semifinal match where her and her partner won. So its a good story to see her come from what baseball fans would call the Triple A minor leagues to winning a tournament on the WTA tour. Congratulations Melinda, it looks like you will be a little too good to be in Midland next February.
Next week the men return to action with 2 tournaments. A hardcourt tournament in Metz, France and a clay tournament in Bucharest, Romania.
The women play 2 hardcourt tournaments. One in Seoul, South Korea and another in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Just a quick guess, but i don't think you will see the tournament in Uzbekistan feature too many of the "top" players. I just don't see Uzbekistan as a desired destination. I could be wrong, but by the looks of my picks, ITS RARE. :)
Here are the match by match results of Spain and Israel.
Match 1: David Ferrer (ESP) defeated Harel Levy (ISR) 6-1, 6-4, 6-3
Match 2: Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP) defeated Dudi Sela (ISR) 6-4, 6-2, 6-0
Match 3: Feliciano Lopez/Tommy Robredo (ESP) defeated Jonathan Erlich/Andy Ram (ISR)
7-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-2
*** Spain clinches after doubles victory.
Match 4: David Ferrer (ESP) defeated Andy Ram (ISR) 6-3, 6-1
Match 5: Harel Levy (ISR) defeated Feliciano Lopez (ESP) 7-5, 6-2
The Spaniards clinched and were up 3-0 going into the last day. David Ferrer was chosen to play his 2nd singles match of the week, which was kind of a surprise. Normally if already clinched the doubles team will play out the 2 remaining singles matches. I think David was given the nod on singles, because it will probably be his last match for the Davis Cup team for this year. With Rafa and Verdasco probably being healthy for the finals the rumors are that Ferrer will be the odd man out and left off the team. I guess this was a "last hurrah" of sorts. In typical fashion Feliciano Lopez goes out and gets his ass kicked in the final match. It didn't mean anything, but for a guy who has been playing like garbage it may be a nice confidence booster to get a singles win. Looks like his downward spiral continues.
The match by match results for Czech Republic and Croatia.
Match 1: Radek Stepanek (CZE) defeated Ivo Karlovic (CRO) 6-7, 7-6, 7-6, 6-7, 16-14
Match 2: Tomas Berdych (CZE) defeated Marin Cilic (CRO) 6-3, 6-3, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3
Match 3: Tomas Berdych/Radek Stepanek (CZE) defeated Marin Cilic/Lovro Zovko (CRO)
6-1, 6-3, 6-4
****** Czech Republic clinches after doubles victory.
Match 4: Jan Hajek (CZE) defeated Roko Karanusic (CRO) 7-6, 6-4
Match 5: Lovro Zovko (CRO) defeated Lukas Dlouhy (CZE) 6-3, 6-4
Match 1 featuring Radek Stepanek and Ivo Karlovic went a grueling 5 hours and 59 minutes. "Dr." Ivo had a record total of 78 aces, and still lost the match. That match was the highlight of the the whole weekend.
Spain and Czech Republic will meet in the Davis Cup finals scheduled for December 4-6 in Spain.
There were 2 women's tournaments this week. One in Quebec City, Canada and the other in Guangzhou, China. Neither tournament featured a tremendous field, but both had some solid players playing.
The tournament in Guangzhou, China featured a final between once top 20 player Shahar Peer of Israel and Alberta Briant of Italy, who is ranked #85 in the world. Peer who was in the top 20 a year and a half ago has been fighting injury troubles, which in return have hampered her game and made her sink to #64. Her comeback has been hard and a struggle with a lot of not so impressive results, but she finally shook off the rust to take the tournament championship 6-3, 6-4.
The Quebec City tournament seemed to have the better field of the two, with #13 Nadia Petrova participating. Petrova though didn't last long losing in the 3rd round to Melinda Czink of Hungary. Czink with her upset victory over Petrova rode that wave of confidence all the way to the championship beating Lucie Safarova 4-6, 6-3, 7-5. It was kind of neat to see Czink get a victory. Melinda Czink I got to see play live in a small ITF tournament in Midland, Michigan this past February. The match I saw her play wasn't even a singles match. It was in doubles. A semifinal match where her and her partner won. So its a good story to see her come from what baseball fans would call the Triple A minor leagues to winning a tournament on the WTA tour. Congratulations Melinda, it looks like you will be a little too good to be in Midland next February.
Next week the men return to action with 2 tournaments. A hardcourt tournament in Metz, France and a clay tournament in Bucharest, Romania.
The women play 2 hardcourt tournaments. One in Seoul, South Korea and another in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Just a quick guess, but i don't think you will see the tournament in Uzbekistan feature too many of the "top" players. I just don't see Uzbekistan as a desired destination. I could be wrong, but by the looks of my picks, ITS RARE. :)
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
This Weeks Tournaments.
There are no tournaments this week for the men due to this week being Davis Cup week. The semifinals of the Davis Cup are Friday through Sunday (September 18-20).
The first semifinal matchup is Croatia vs. Czech Republic with the matches being played on Croatian soil.
Team Croatia features singles players Marin Cilic, who is coming off a good U.S. Open run and the hard serving "Dr." Ivo Karlovic. The doubles team of Roko Karanusic and Lovro Zovko round out the team.
The Czech Republic will feature Radek Stepanek and Tomas Berdych in singles, and a doubles team of Jan Hernych and Lukas Dlouhy. Dlouhy comes into the Davis Cup matchup on a high after winning the men's doubles at the U.S. Open with his partner Leander Paes.
My Prediction: These matches I believe will be played on clay. On clay Karlovic's serve is much more negated. Look for Cilic to prove huge trouble for the Czech's, but I think both Berdych and Stepanek will beat Karlovic on clay. Also the Czech doubles team seems to be the better of the two. The Czech's should move on to the finals.
In the other semifinal, defending Davis Cup champions Spain welcome the surpise Israeli team who previously upset Russia to make it this far. The Spanish team is loaded with Rafael Nadal, Tommy Robredo, David Ferrer, and Feliciano Lopez on the team. I'm sure Rafa will be playing singles, and Lopez will be on the doubles team, but I am not sure whether Robredo or Ferrer will be the 2nd singles player or will be matched up with Lopez on the doubles team. Normally Fernando Verdasco is Lopez's doubles partner, but he has been suffering from a stomach strain and will not compete.
***** EDIT: Rafael Nadal has been scratched and replaced by Juan Carlos Ferrero. This will make no difference in my prediction. It will still be a beatdown.
Israel has the team of Dudi Sela, Harel Levy, Jonathan Erlich, and Andy Ram. I know Sela will be playing singles and Andy Ram is a doubles specialist, but I do not know who Erlich and Levy are. I have never seen them play so I do not know what they do best, or how they will be used.
My Prediction: PAIN and lots of it for the Israeli's. This will get ugly. The only possible victory I see for the Israeli's on the road in Spain may be the doubles match, and that may be a stretch. The Spaniards on clay and at home will destroy Israel 4-1 and move onto the finals against the Czech Republic.
The women do have tournaments this week. 2 smaller hardcourt tournaments, one being in Quebec City, Canada and the other is taking place in Guangzhou, China.
The top two seeds in Quebec City feature #13 ranked Nadia Petrova, and Canada's own Aleksandra Wozniak who is ranked #39. A few names of note in the tournament are American's Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Vania King.
The tournament in Guangzhou features #21 ranked Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain, and China's own Shuai Peng as their top 2 seeds. Other notables are one of my personal favorites Lenka Weinerova. Shahar Peer is also in the field.
The first semifinal matchup is Croatia vs. Czech Republic with the matches being played on Croatian soil.
Team Croatia features singles players Marin Cilic, who is coming off a good U.S. Open run and the hard serving "Dr." Ivo Karlovic. The doubles team of Roko Karanusic and Lovro Zovko round out the team.
The Czech Republic will feature Radek Stepanek and Tomas Berdych in singles, and a doubles team of Jan Hernych and Lukas Dlouhy. Dlouhy comes into the Davis Cup matchup on a high after winning the men's doubles at the U.S. Open with his partner Leander Paes.
My Prediction: These matches I believe will be played on clay. On clay Karlovic's serve is much more negated. Look for Cilic to prove huge trouble for the Czech's, but I think both Berdych and Stepanek will beat Karlovic on clay. Also the Czech doubles team seems to be the better of the two. The Czech's should move on to the finals.
In the other semifinal, defending Davis Cup champions Spain welcome the surpise Israeli team who previously upset Russia to make it this far. The Spanish team is loaded with Rafael Nadal, Tommy Robredo, David Ferrer, and Feliciano Lopez on the team. I'm sure Rafa will be playing singles, and Lopez will be on the doubles team, but I am not sure whether Robredo or Ferrer will be the 2nd singles player or will be matched up with Lopez on the doubles team. Normally Fernando Verdasco is Lopez's doubles partner, but he has been suffering from a stomach strain and will not compete.
***** EDIT: Rafael Nadal has been scratched and replaced by Juan Carlos Ferrero. This will make no difference in my prediction. It will still be a beatdown.
Israel has the team of Dudi Sela, Harel Levy, Jonathan Erlich, and Andy Ram. I know Sela will be playing singles and Andy Ram is a doubles specialist, but I do not know who Erlich and Levy are. I have never seen them play so I do not know what they do best, or how they will be used.
My Prediction: PAIN and lots of it for the Israeli's. This will get ugly. The only possible victory I see for the Israeli's on the road in Spain may be the doubles match, and that may be a stretch. The Spaniards on clay and at home will destroy Israel 4-1 and move onto the finals against the Czech Republic.
The women do have tournaments this week. 2 smaller hardcourt tournaments, one being in Quebec City, Canada and the other is taking place in Guangzhou, China.
The top two seeds in Quebec City feature #13 ranked Nadia Petrova, and Canada's own Aleksandra Wozniak who is ranked #39. A few names of note in the tournament are American's Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Vania King.
The tournament in Guangzhou features #21 ranked Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain, and China's own Shuai Peng as their top 2 seeds. Other notables are one of my personal favorites Lenka Weinerova. Shahar Peer is also in the field.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
The New Rankings Are Out.
Lets start off with my own personal power rankings for the 2009 season up through the conclusion of the U.S. Open. These rankings aren't based on career success, its strictly based on the 2009 season. With criteria where Grand Slam Events are worth more points than Masters Series Events, and Masters Series Events are worth more than regular tour stops.
My Men's Top 10:
1. Roger Federer
2. Rafael Nadal
3. Novak Djokovic
4. Andy Murray
5. Juan Martin Del Potro
6. Andy Roddick
7. Fernando Verdasco
8. Tommy Robredo (I was a little surprised to see him this high myself)
9. Fernando Gonzalez
10. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
My Women's Top 10:
1. Dinara Safina
2. Serena Williams
2. Caroline Wozniacki
4. Elena Dementieva
5. Victoria Azarenka
6. Svetlana Kuznetsova
7. Venus Williams
8. Jelena Jankovic
8. Flavia Pennetta
10. Vera Zvonareva
Here are the OFFICIAL ATP Rankings:
1. Roger Federer
2. Rafael Nadal
3. Andy Murray
4. Novak Djokovic
5. Juan Martin Del Potro
6. Andy Roddick
7. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
8. Nikolay Davydenko
9. Fernando Verdasco
10. Gilles Simon
OFFICIAL WTA Rankings:
1. Dinara Safina
2. Serena Williams
3. Venus Williams
4. Svetlana Kuznetsova
5. Elena Dementieva
6. Caroline Wozniacki
7. Vera Zvonareva
8. Jelena Jankovic
9. Victoria Azarenka
10. Flavia Pennetta
On the men's side there wasn't a lot of moving or shaking in the rankings. The two biggest of note involved 2 Americans. John Isner with his U.S. Open run moved up 16 spots to be now ranked #39 in the world. While the injured Mardy Fish took a tumble of 27 spots to fall to #53. Personal favorite David Ferrer held steady at #19 in the world.
The women's side offered a little more intrigue and surprises. Kim Clijsters with her U.S. Open Championship went from not even being in the computer to rising to the Top 20 and now being the #19 rank woman in the world. New American darling Melanie Oudin, who made a nice run to the quarterfinals moved up from #70 to #46. The "Flying" Bondarenko sister named Kateryna is now ranked ahead of her sister Alona for the first time. Kateryna is #34 and Alona is #36. One player who fell pretty hard due to a poor performance was Switzerland's Patty Schnyder. Coming into the Open Schnyder was ranked #20 but with a second round defeat came a tumble all the way to #45. Oh, and I almost forgot "cinderella" semifinalist Yanina Wickmayer who climbed 28 spots with her improbable run to now be ranked #22. Things are looking up for Belgian women's tennis. It would only get better if Justine Henin decides to return.
My Men's Top 10:
1. Roger Federer
2. Rafael Nadal
3. Novak Djokovic
4. Andy Murray
5. Juan Martin Del Potro
6. Andy Roddick
7. Fernando Verdasco
8. Tommy Robredo (I was a little surprised to see him this high myself)
9. Fernando Gonzalez
10. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
My Women's Top 10:
1. Dinara Safina
2. Serena Williams
2. Caroline Wozniacki
4. Elena Dementieva
5. Victoria Azarenka
6. Svetlana Kuznetsova
7. Venus Williams
8. Jelena Jankovic
8. Flavia Pennetta
10. Vera Zvonareva
Here are the OFFICIAL ATP Rankings:
1. Roger Federer
2. Rafael Nadal
3. Andy Murray
4. Novak Djokovic
5. Juan Martin Del Potro
6. Andy Roddick
7. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
8. Nikolay Davydenko
9. Fernando Verdasco
10. Gilles Simon
OFFICIAL WTA Rankings:
1. Dinara Safina
2. Serena Williams
3. Venus Williams
4. Svetlana Kuznetsova
5. Elena Dementieva
6. Caroline Wozniacki
7. Vera Zvonareva
8. Jelena Jankovic
9. Victoria Azarenka
10. Flavia Pennetta
On the men's side there wasn't a lot of moving or shaking in the rankings. The two biggest of note involved 2 Americans. John Isner with his U.S. Open run moved up 16 spots to be now ranked #39 in the world. While the injured Mardy Fish took a tumble of 27 spots to fall to #53. Personal favorite David Ferrer held steady at #19 in the world.
The women's side offered a little more intrigue and surprises. Kim Clijsters with her U.S. Open Championship went from not even being in the computer to rising to the Top 20 and now being the #19 rank woman in the world. New American darling Melanie Oudin, who made a nice run to the quarterfinals moved up from #70 to #46. The "Flying" Bondarenko sister named Kateryna is now ranked ahead of her sister Alona for the first time. Kateryna is #34 and Alona is #36. One player who fell pretty hard due to a poor performance was Switzerland's Patty Schnyder. Coming into the Open Schnyder was ranked #20 but with a second round defeat came a tumble all the way to #45. Oh, and I almost forgot "cinderella" semifinalist Yanina Wickmayer who climbed 28 spots with her improbable run to now be ranked #22. Things are looking up for Belgian women's tennis. It would only get better if Justine Henin decides to return.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Day 15 of the U.S. Open
In an amazing upset Juan Martin Del Potro is the 2009 men's U.S. Open champion defeating Roger Federer in 5 amazing sets.
In the pre-match interview Del Potro admitted to being nervous, and by the way he started out his play showed it. Del Po came out of the gate hesitant and making a lot of errors. These errors led to his serve being broken early in the first set. At the same time Roger Federer wasn't playing his "A" game either, but he really didn't need to. He did just enough to take control of the first set and win it fairly easily 6-3.
Roger's serve wasn't on at all. He had 6 double faults by the middle of the second set, but Del Po wasn't taking advantage of Fed's struggles. He was having bigger struggles of his own, and his out-of-sort play continued and Federer had an early break in the 2nd set to take a 2-0 early lead and it looked like Roger was going to cruise over the young, nervous, Argentine. After falling to a 2-0 deficit early in the 2nd Del Po seemed to settle and calm down a bit. He began holding serve easily, and also give Federer a battle when he was serving. But Roger did just enough and Del Po made a few easy mental errors to help Federer hold serve. Late in the 2nd set Del Po, with the help of some blistering forehands finally broke Federer's serve for the first time. It looked like a brand new Del Po. The nerves were gone, and he was coming alive. He fist pumped his way to a 2nd set tiebreaker in which he won. 2nd set to Del Po 7-6.
The nerves were gone, and Del Po seemed to find his range with his forehand. His footwork was also noticeably better as well. The momentum was now in Del Po's favor. Both players although continued to hold their own serves, but now it is Federer who is looking a little worn, and hitting lazy forehands into the net. At 3-3 in the set Del Potro breaks Federer's serve to take a 4-3 lead, but like a gay cowboy Federer "broke back" to make it 4-4. Breaking back is what Roger needed. It changed the tide and Federer ended up taking the 3rd set 6-4 and having a 2 sets to 1 lead.
The 4th set was a back and forth battle. Both players not wanting to give an inch. Del Potro continued his great play with his lethal forehand leading the way. Roger had no answer for it. He tried to continue to hit to the backhand, but that wasn't working either. Del Potro was able to get out to a 4-2 lead and up a break, but in typical Roger Federer style he came back to even the match. It just seemed like no matter what Del Po did Roger somehow had an answer. No matter how great he played, Roger was going to just strike back and pull out the victory. Its the aura her gives off. Its like no matter how bad he is playing, or how good his opponent is playing he'll end up finding a way to win. The 4th set ended up going to a tiebreaker. Now this is the time where Del Po will just wither and the great Roger Federer will stake his claim to becoming the U.S. Open champion for the 6th straight year. Seemed like everyone in the crowd could feel it, but one person. That one person is a 6'6" Argentine who was showing courage and heart that most 20 year olds could ever imagine. Most guys, even with 20 times more experience would be shitting their pants at this point. Del Potro just continued to fight and pound ground strokes. Hitting his shots and somehow taking the tiebreaker and set 7-6.
Now you think, "This is when Federer will take over." And it would make total sense to think that. Del Potro's biggest flaw is his lack of fitness. He has been working on it, and has improved his stamina greatly, but it still comes up in matches where he just gasses out and cannot play at the top level he is accustomed to. Roger will probably just run him ragged, and wear him down and take it in the 5th set.... Well the opposite happened. It was Del Potro who would take control and just dominate the final set. Feeding off the crowd, who suddenly were cheering and chanting for Del Potro, and loving how the Argentine was staying in the fight, fist pumping, motioning to the crowd to get louder. It seemed to give him the extra energy he needed to just punish the great Roger Federer and win the final set 6-2 and win his first ever Grand Slam event.
When the final point fell out of bounds, the huge Argentine fell to his back and he layed there balling his eyes out. Here is a guy a little over a year ago was off the radar. He wasn't ranked high enough to be in the olympics, but now he is a the U.S. Open champion. And he earned it by beating the greatest player of all time and a 5 time defending champion. Making an almost impossible feat possible. Roger was pure class in defeat. Shaking hands with Del Potro and giving him a friendly hug. During the awards ceremony he was gracious and smiling, giving all credit to how well Del Po had played. But Roger also made sure to let everyone know how well he played as well. Oh Roger. Del Potro with tears in his eyes thanked the crowd, his family, his coach, and all the people who have supported him. It was great to see a young face in men's tennis making his way to the top. Now there is another guy to take notice of. No longer is it just Federer and Nadal. Andy Murray has made a charge, Novak Djokovic has won a major and can beat anyone on any givin day. Andy Roddick has improved his game and can contend, but now there is a young 20 year old named Juan Martin Del Potro who is still learning the game. Still improving his craft. To be this good, and still improving and growing into his body, its just plain scary. Roger and Rafa are looking over their shoulder at another contender for their top spot.
In a previous blog I have said that Juan Martin Del Potro would win a major championship more sooner than later, but I never imagined it would be this soon.
Thank you to Federer and Del Potro for putting on a tremendous drama filled match. And congratulations to Juan Martin Del Potro for winning his first career Grand Slam title.
Day 14 of the U.S. Open
Serena Williams was dealt her punishment. A $10,500 dollar fine, with the possibilities of future punishments as harsh as suspension from future grand slam events. We all know that, that won't happen. People come out to see her play, and money talks. A slap on the wrist and the WTA will hope it all goes away. Maybe she'll just blow out both knees and her rotator cuff in her serving shoulder and karma will win in the end. Enough about that.
The first match of the day saw the giant "bumble bee" Juan Martin Del Potro school everyone's favorite Rafael Nadal. Nadal had no answers for Del Potro. Del Potro had the fire power, and Rafa just wasn't healthy. The stomach muscle strain seemed to be a problem, and it led to a 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 pounding. Even healthy I don't think Rafa would of won this match. Del Po is a beast on the hardcourt, plus he was wearing his sweet black and yellow bumble bee wardrobe. Don't piss him off, he'll swarm you. And thats what he did.
Roger Federer advances to Mondays men's final with a straight set win over Novak Djokovic. The match was as close a straight set victory could be. Just seemed that "the Rog" won all the big points and won just enough games to squeak out each set. Score was 7-6, 7-5, 7-5. Djokovic played well, but Federer is just playing out of his mind right now. Seems as if he can do no wrong. Must be them handjobs and rub downs hes getting from Gavin Rossdale.
In the women's final featuring NO Williams sister (THANK GOD) Kim Clijsters sealed her improbable comeback with a straight set win over Caroline Wozniacki. Its just amazing that a woman can quit tennis, have a kid, and come back and win a huge tournament like this. The cards seemed to fall for her. She went through and beat both Williams' sisters, which is grounds for naming a national holiday in her honor, along with becoming my new favorite women's player. But she also was unranked and needed a gift wildcard just to be in the event. Congratulations to Wozniacki as well. She is growing leaps and bounds and should be the next young "big thing" passing over the overrated Ana Ivanovic. The match itself was close, but whenever there was a big point it seemed that Wozniacki tensed up with some nerves and Clijsters just did enough to pull them out. It was kind of similar to the Federer-Djokovic match in that regard. I guess now we just have to see how far Clijsters will take this comeback. By the looks of this year as a whole Wozniacki at only 19 years old continues to improve and there is no telling how far she can go. By the time she calls it quits she'll be a multiple Grand Slam champion and a top 5 player, if not #1. Just happy to see two humble, and classy women fight it out for the championship and not some arrogant she-male.
Quick predicion on tomorrows men's final: I'm rooting for Del Potro to win, but its not going to happen. Hes too green, and does not have the experience to beat Roger Federer in Ashe Stadium. Federer is playing great tennis and seems to have found his "unbeatable" aura once again. The same aura he had just a few years ago where he would just crush people. With his confidence soaring, and Del Potro's lack of experience being in the big time, as well as Roger just being better at the moment, it won't be pretty for the Argentine. I see an anticlimatic final with Federer winning in four sets and winning his 6th straight U.S. Open title.
One more note. The coolest doubles dude Leander Paes won the mens doubles championship with his partner. I can't think of the dudes name. Lukas Dlouhy or something. It doesn't matter. Its all about Leander.
The first match of the day saw the giant "bumble bee" Juan Martin Del Potro school everyone's favorite Rafael Nadal. Nadal had no answers for Del Potro. Del Potro had the fire power, and Rafa just wasn't healthy. The stomach muscle strain seemed to be a problem, and it led to a 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 pounding. Even healthy I don't think Rafa would of won this match. Del Po is a beast on the hardcourt, plus he was wearing his sweet black and yellow bumble bee wardrobe. Don't piss him off, he'll swarm you. And thats what he did.
Roger Federer advances to Mondays men's final with a straight set win over Novak Djokovic. The match was as close a straight set victory could be. Just seemed that "the Rog" won all the big points and won just enough games to squeak out each set. Score was 7-6, 7-5, 7-5. Djokovic played well, but Federer is just playing out of his mind right now. Seems as if he can do no wrong. Must be them handjobs and rub downs hes getting from Gavin Rossdale.
In the women's final featuring NO Williams sister (THANK GOD) Kim Clijsters sealed her improbable comeback with a straight set win over Caroline Wozniacki. Its just amazing that a woman can quit tennis, have a kid, and come back and win a huge tournament like this. The cards seemed to fall for her. She went through and beat both Williams' sisters, which is grounds for naming a national holiday in her honor, along with becoming my new favorite women's player. But she also was unranked and needed a gift wildcard just to be in the event. Congratulations to Wozniacki as well. She is growing leaps and bounds and should be the next young "big thing" passing over the overrated Ana Ivanovic. The match itself was close, but whenever there was a big point it seemed that Wozniacki tensed up with some nerves and Clijsters just did enough to pull them out. It was kind of similar to the Federer-Djokovic match in that regard. I guess now we just have to see how far Clijsters will take this comeback. By the looks of this year as a whole Wozniacki at only 19 years old continues to improve and there is no telling how far she can go. By the time she calls it quits she'll be a multiple Grand Slam champion and a top 5 player, if not #1. Just happy to see two humble, and classy women fight it out for the championship and not some arrogant she-male.
Quick predicion on tomorrows men's final: I'm rooting for Del Potro to win, but its not going to happen. Hes too green, and does not have the experience to beat Roger Federer in Ashe Stadium. Federer is playing great tennis and seems to have found his "unbeatable" aura once again. The same aura he had just a few years ago where he would just crush people. With his confidence soaring, and Del Potro's lack of experience being in the big time, as well as Roger just being better at the moment, it won't be pretty for the Argentine. I see an anticlimatic final with Federer winning in four sets and winning his 6th straight U.S. Open title.
One more note. The coolest doubles dude Leander Paes won the mens doubles championship with his partner. I can't think of the dudes name. Lukas Dlouhy or something. It doesn't matter. Its all about Leander.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Day 13 of the U.S. Open
Serena Williams is an arrogant, classless piece of shit that should be flushed, once and for all. Kim Clijsters who was dishing out a ass whippin has 2 match points, one due to a foot fault that looked like it could of slid onto the line and was a correct call. Well according the the pro-Serena CBS announcers it was a travesty that this little Asian woman who was doing her job, correctly made a call. Serena blows up and 3 times makes sure to rush over and yell and intimidate this small woman. All the while CBS is showing a replay from the shittiest angle possible proclaiming it wasn't a foot fault. Dick Enberg's old ass in his depends trying to sound out players names. Mary Carillo with her dyke man suits and the "Hey, look at me I'm Johnny Mac" are pissing and moaning about the call. Serena blows up yells at this poor woman. Walks away, then proceeds to walk over and scream in her face again, then go set up to serve again just to have her one more time point and scream at her. Finally the chair umpire and tournament director had seen enough and decided to tell Serena to "fuck off". Leaving Venus and the Ann Coulter look alike shocked and appalled. I'm sure Richard Williams is already preparing his "The WTA is racist speech." Fuckface probably has Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson on speed dial. So Serena, hope you blow out both achilles' bitch. Time to flush these Williams' like the turds they are. That may be harsh to Venus, but oh well.
Anyways lost in the attention whore antics of Serena is how well Kim Clijsters was tooling her. She was quicker on the court, and was taking control of most of the points. She deserved to win and was probably on her way to winning, but now it will be overlooked by the childish antics and classless sportsmanship of a spoiled, arrogant, asshole.
Caroline Wozniacki moves into the finals matchup with Clijsters with a straigh set win over the darkhorse Yanina Wickmayer. Both sets had the same 6-3 score.
Rafael Nadal and Fernando Gonzalez finished their quarterfinal matchup. But Gonzalez decided to not show up for the match. He was physically there on the court, but didn't do a whole hell of a lot. The 2nd set tiebreaker was finished and Fernando didn't even score a point. In the 3rd set he was blasted away 6-0. It was all over in a matter of about a half hour. What a shame. The guy has huge talent, but his lack of mental fortitude keeps him from reaching the upper-echelon of players. He probably threw down a few pesos on Nadal and called it good. Him and Davydenko are partying as I type this.
Tomorrow the weather looks good as far as getting in all the scheduled matches. The 2 mens semifinals and womens finals are on tap for Sunday.
Quick predictions.
Del Potro to beat Nadal. Del Po has had a few days off and the gas tank is full. He'll outplay Nadal to advance to his first Grand Slam Final
Federer will beat Djokovic in a fairly easy match. I think Novak will win a set, but thats about it. Mirka will be happy with the result.
The women's final will be tough. I find it hard to believe that a woman will come back from a 2 year retirement and in only her third tournament and about a month being back win a grand slam event. The story seems too good to be true. So odds are it probably is. Look for Wozniacki's consistency to outlast and end Clijster's improbable, but impressive run. Plus anyone who can outlast the "curse of Verdasco's weiner" probably has super powers and is unstoppable.
Enjoy the matches, and GO LIONS.
Fire Dantoinio
Anyways lost in the attention whore antics of Serena is how well Kim Clijsters was tooling her. She was quicker on the court, and was taking control of most of the points. She deserved to win and was probably on her way to winning, but now it will be overlooked by the childish antics and classless sportsmanship of a spoiled, arrogant, asshole.
Caroline Wozniacki moves into the finals matchup with Clijsters with a straigh set win over the darkhorse Yanina Wickmayer. Both sets had the same 6-3 score.
Rafael Nadal and Fernando Gonzalez finished their quarterfinal matchup. But Gonzalez decided to not show up for the match. He was physically there on the court, but didn't do a whole hell of a lot. The 2nd set tiebreaker was finished and Fernando didn't even score a point. In the 3rd set he was blasted away 6-0. It was all over in a matter of about a half hour. What a shame. The guy has huge talent, but his lack of mental fortitude keeps him from reaching the upper-echelon of players. He probably threw down a few pesos on Nadal and called it good. Him and Davydenko are partying as I type this.
Tomorrow the weather looks good as far as getting in all the scheduled matches. The 2 mens semifinals and womens finals are on tap for Sunday.
Quick predictions.
Del Potro to beat Nadal. Del Po has had a few days off and the gas tank is full. He'll outplay Nadal to advance to his first Grand Slam Final
Federer will beat Djokovic in a fairly easy match. I think Novak will win a set, but thats about it. Mirka will be happy with the result.
The women's final will be tough. I find it hard to believe that a woman will come back from a 2 year retirement and in only her third tournament and about a month being back win a grand slam event. The story seems too good to be true. So odds are it probably is. Look for Wozniacki's consistency to outlast and end Clijster's improbable, but impressive run. Plus anyone who can outlast the "curse of Verdasco's weiner" probably has super powers and is unstoppable.
Enjoy the matches, and GO LIONS.
Fire Dantoinio
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