The second round begins at the Monte Carlo tennis masters.

The first Masters 1000 of the year has a really wide open draw. It’s so wide open that I’m ready to break my computer out of frustration while trying to pick the right bracket.

Writing this goes against everything I’ve been saying lately, but I just have to get this off my chest.

WARNING: NOT FOR DIE-HARD FED-FANATICS!

Since their first and only slam final to date, Federer reached the final at the next four slams.

Boy did Brisbane hit the jackpot in players.

Notes: Wildcard to Moroccan veteran Younes El Aynaoui; not a whole lot standing between a Federer-Nadal final; two-time defending champ Andy Murray takes a pass?; former champs in the field are Federer (2005-06) and El Aynaoui (2002).

While 2009 was an exciting year for tennis, and many players enjoyed their best seasons ever, some players did not play as well as they could have, due to injury, mental fatigue, or other, more unusual factors.

With everyone doing top 10 lists of the decade or the year, I decided to take a slightly different approach.

“All the things he would have had to cover up, just logistically — how did he manage to do it? He must constantly be changing phones to cover up his tracks.” From one playa to another — big ups! Whoot Whoot! “I experienced basically the same thing,” Becker said, “and can sympathize with him.”