Nadal, Federer, ATP, WTA Week #1 Previews; Tennis-X Notes

by Staff | January 1st, 2011, 9:32 pm
  • 91 Comments

Qatar Exxonmobile Open 2011
DOHA, Qatar
Surface: hard

Seeds: Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Nikolay Davydenko, Ernests Gulbis, Viktor Troicki, Guillermo “G-Lo” Garcia-Lopez, Philipp Kohlschreiber
ADHEREL
Floaters: Jarkko Nieminen, “Dr.” Ivo Karlovic

Notes: Roger and Rafa coming off the final at the cash-grab Abu Dhabi exo where Rafa won in two tiebreaks; organizers shelled out appearance money for world No. 1 Rafa and No. 2 Roger, but it falls off from there with No. 13 Tsonga the No. 3 seed; the Ukraine’s Sergei Bubka gets a wildcard; Federer likely to face two qualifiers in first two matches; Davydenko won the title last year, beating Roger and Rafa; returning champs in the field are Davydenko (2010) and Federer (2006-05).


Brisbane International
Brisbane, Australia
Surface: hard

Men’s Seeds: Robin Soderling, Andy Roddick, Fernando “Hot Sauce” Verdasco, Mardy Fish, Marcos Baghdatis, Feliciano “F-Lo” Lopez, Florian Mayer, Denis Istomin

Floaters: Radek Stepanek, Benjamin Becker

Notes: (Over?)-touted Aussie Bernard Tomic gets a wildcard and opens against (7) Mayer; (3) Hot Sauce starts against Becker, and (4) Fish looking at Stepanek 2nd rd.; Roddick beat Stepanek in the 2010 final; Aussie hope Carsten Ball loses in the qualies; returning champs in the field are Roddick (2010), Stepanek (2009), and Florent Serra (2006).

Women’s Seeds: Sam Stosur, Shahar Peer, Nadia Petrova, Marion Bartoli, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Flavia Pennetta, Alisa Kleybanova, Alexandra Dulgheru

Floaters: (WC) Jelena Dokic, Andrea Petkovic, Daniela HantuchOva, Anna Chakvetadze

Notes: (8) Dulgheru opens against Petkovic, and (WC) Dokic against a qualifier, and former Top 5ers Hantuchova vs. Chakvetadze; in last year’s final Kim Clijsters beat Justine Henin.

Aircel Chennai Open 2011
Chennai, India
Surface: Hard

Seeds: Tomas Berdych, Marin Cilic, Stan Wawrinka, Richard Gasquet, Jeremy Chardy, Janko Tipsarevic, Xavier “X-Man” Malisse, Robin Haase

Floaters: Frank Dancevic, Kei Nishikori

Notes: Indian comer Yuri Bramburi gets a wildcard; (2) Cilic starts against Nishikori; Berdych the lone Top 10er; Wawrinka in Chennai with a weird beard; (8) Haase starts against Dancevic; seeds Berdych, Gasquet and Chardy making Chennai debuts; Cilic is the two-time defending champion, with Malisse (2007) another returning champ.

ASB Classic
Auckland, New Zealand
Surface: hard

Seeds: Maria Sharapova, Yanina Wickmayer, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Julia “Gorgeous” Goerges, Anastasija Sevastova, Kimiko Date-Krumm, Elena Vesnina, Sofia Arvidsson

Floaters: Dinara Safina, Carla Suarez Navarro, Tamira Paszek, Anabel Medina Garrigues, Alize Cornet, Shuai Peng

Notes: Openers of interest galore in (1) Sharapova vs. Suarez Navarro, (8) Arvidsson vs. Paszek, (4) Goerges vs. Medina Garrigues, and (2) Wickmayer vs. the former No. 1 Safina; No Top 10 players, and No. 18 Sharapova the only Top 20 player; Wickmayer beat Flavia Pennetta in last year’s final, and is the lone returning former champ in the field.

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS

The retired Elena Dementieva has been named vice president of the Russian Tennis Federation…Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin are leaning towards playing doubles together at the 2010 Olympics…Chanda Rubin’s house in Louisiana was hit by lightning and burnt down this week…33-year-old German and former world No. 4 Nicolas Kiefer has announced his retirement…Uh oh, Justine Henin admits she is playing the Hopman Cup with an elbow that is not fully healed…Aussie Bernard Tomic was under scrutiny from the Australian press after he pulling from the Australian Open wildcard playoffs: “Citing illness, Tomic notified officials of his withdrawal on Sunday night, but the Herald Sun understands the 18-year-old practised for two hours in Queensland on Tuesday, confident he would be handed one of Tennis Australia’s discretionary wildcards for next month’s grand slam. Australian Open director Craig Tiley said no player had been guaranteed a discretionary wildcard, except the playoff winners. “If what you’re saying is correct, one, I’d be highly annoyed and, two, I’d have to talk to the team on what decision we would be taking,” Tiley said.”…The former No. 1 doubles team of Jacco Eltingh and Paul Haarhuis will take a wildcard into the 2011 ATP Rotterdam event. A press release said the idea for this one-off comeback came during a recent trip by the Dutchmen to Surinam to open Richard Krajicek’s Foundation’s first playground outside The Netherlands. “During the trip to Surinam we wondered about the level Jacco and I would still be able to reach,” Haarhuis said. “Where we are right now? No idea. The players of today are of course more in shape and have been playing a lot more than us over the last years. But the idea of playing them still thrills me after all these years. Thanks to the encouragement of Richard, who encouraged us to join the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament, we have decided to face this challenge.” Krajicek added, “That they both have decided to donate their prize money to a new playground for my foundation, obviously makes me very proud. If the doubles draw gives us the possibility, we want to give them the stage they deserve on Monday evening as the opening match.”…So when are Ken Flach/Robert Seguso going to take a doubles wildcard into Cincy? The Jensen brothers at the new Winston-Salem event? Rick Leach/Jim Pugh at Delray Beach? John McEnroe/Peter Fleming in Miami?…Former No. 1 Ana Ivanovic, following her parting with coach Heinz Gunthardt, has on a trial basis hired Portugal’s Antonio van Grichen as her coach. He has formerly worked with Victoria Azarenka, Vera Zvonareva and Sorana Cirstea. Since Ivanovic goes through coaches like Martina Hingis through boyfriends, “trial basis” is the key term there…Andy Roddick was unable to participate in ConAgra Foods Rock-n-Racquets exhibition at Qwest Center Omaha after hurting his back while training in Texas. Sam Querrey replaced Roddick in the exhibition, joining Pete Sampras, the Bryan brothers, Warren Buffet(?), former NBA and Nebraska star Eric Piatkowski, and top-ranked junior Jackson Withrow. Yet Roddick is reportedly “super-fit” for Australia?…Here’s Don Flow, president of Flow Motors and leader of a group that worked to bring the ATP Winston-Salem tournament to town from New Haven: “There’s 48 spots [in the main draw], so we should really expect to see a large number of the Top 50 in the world. Will No. 1 and No. 2 in the world play here? There’s no guarantee.” — or, as you’ll learn Don, no chance, unless you want to dig DEEP into your pockets…Gillette drops Tiger Woods as an endorser but hangs on to Roger FedererJie Zheng is out of the Aussie Open with a slow-healing wrist injury…OK, so American Wayne Odesnik gets a year cut off his suspension for being a nark for the anti-doping authorities, now and in the future? And he’s eligible to play all of 2011 after less than a year ago being busted for smuggling human growth hormone (HGH)? He’ll be a popular lad in the lockerrooms. Odesnik says he has never taken HGH. Mardy Fish told USA Today, “He’s a good player on enhanced substances. Let’s see if he can be a good player without them.”…Austria will host France in the first round of the 2011 Davis Cup on clay in an airplane hanger, which in itself is a valid point for keeping the current system…Maria Sharapova announced she is ending her long-standing relationship with Prince racquets, with no word yet on what she will grip and rip in 2011…Melanie Oudin has switched from adidas to Wilson apparel for 2011…Brad Gilbert will work with Kei Nishikori as his traveling coach in 2011…Former ATP Romanian player Andrei Pavel will start 2011 coaching former No. 1 Jelena JankovicRobby Ginepri (elbow) joins Serena Williams (foot) in missing the 2011 Australian Open with injury…In the ’90s, Australia had Lleyton Hewitt ranked No. 1 and Pat Rafter collecting US Open titles. Roughly 10 years later, Australia is looking at it’s fourth straight year outside the Davis Cup World Group, and Hewitt is the only Aussie in the Top 100. Talk about circling the drain…Fat Marcos Baghdatis is reportedly not as fat leading into the 2011 season…Kim Clijsters beat world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki on Saturday in an exo in Thailand.


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91 Comments for Nadal, Federer, ATP, WTA Week #1 Previews; Tennis-X Notes

dari Says:

JIMMY Buffet


Skeezerweezer Says:

Just goes to show ya ATP doesn’t take PEDs seriously. Just a year for Wayne? C’mon man!


mat4 Says:

Has Nole changed his racquet again?


dunbar Says:

“Mardy Fish told USA Today, “He’s a good player on enhanced substances. Let’s see if he can be a good player without them.” That’s seriously witty.

Brad Gilbert with Nishikori? Intriguing. Hope he’s a good all round doctor.


jane Says:

mat4, not that I know of. Nole started slow, but finished well by the sounds of it; Ivaovic won her match too, so it doesn’t matter what happens in doubles; they are through. Golubev is a solid first player to face; I am looking for him to break through even more this year. Next Nole has Hewitt as he and Ana face the Ozzies. Murray starts at Hopman versus Starace and Laura gets Schiavone.


Nina Says:

Rafa and Fed look scary. Nole not so much. I hope that will change soon, otherwise… :(


jane Says:

Nina did you watch the Hopman Cup match? I didn’t, just read the reports, which suggested Nole finished strong. What is your take?


Kimmi Says:

“Former ATP Romanian player Andrei Pavel will start 2011 coaching former No. 1 Jelena Jankovic”

Pavel coaching JJ, here is another players changing coaches like cloths, she probably needs ne coach as her game is down hill a.t.m.

So, pavel is now a coach! it was only few years ago he was on the tour..i still remember some of his matches with federer. good luck to them!


Kimmi Says:

sorry for spelling errors…


mat4 Says:

I watched the match, Jane. Nole was playing very bad in the first set: 7 DF, and short, short… so short that I had the impression that he changed his racquet (BTW, the racquet is not of the same colour, but they told me on Nole’s forum that it is definitely his old racquet). In the second and third set it was better, but not the level we were expecting. Just hope that AM will be better tomorrow.


Kimmi Says:

they come back from holiday, they are rusty. thats why they play these events to get some match play before the big one.

Nina, federer did not look scary in abu dhabi. he was just OK. hopefully his level will go up as he gets more matches.


jane Says:

Thanks for your take mat4; sure hope Nole gets up to speed soon. Would be nice to see him do well at the AO. Murray should do fine against Starace, but Robson will have trouble with Schiavone,likely.


contador Says:

hello tennis freaks!

so excited about doha and tennis 2011 starting….tennis, tennis, tennis!


contador Says:

happy new year madmax! hope your holiday season was fun too…mine was : )

now i am ready to drive friends and family mad again or bore them stupid, whichever the case…all geared up for tennis down under. you know, it means no sleeping…livestreaming all night. loving the doha draw especially. but all tourny’s look interesting.

dimitrov must still be hanging out in the challengers…?? i fear for delpo’s wrist… ect.


Kimmi Says:

hello contador. happy new year to you. so excited too. tennis in the night this time of season. love it..as i get to watch more matches than i normally do. Yay!

I have delpo finishing in the top 10 but..go delpo!

Goooooo federer ofcourse

Gooo muzza!

ready to jump into new bandwagon! c’mon young guns! dimitrov, berankis..talking about berankis, he is got one match to go to qualify in the main draw in brisbane. I think this kid has potential.


contador Says:

hey kimmi! yes a new year, a clean slate…

i posted my picks under “fognini” on that other thread….hahahaha ( such a coward.)

really? you like the all nighters? well, you are 2 hours ahead of me. not sure that helps…

all i know is: get prepared to be seriously sleep deprived.

yeah go feddy bear, of course. but i’m okay with him slipping a rank or two. or, winning another slam…could happen. depends…

bracing myself for how delpo and cilic may or may not do. and i try not to think about ernie, but you know me…

djokovic and murray, c’mon…make your moves…an assault to the atp summit…soda’s been working on his volley…i hope.

speaking of young guns how about milos raonic…and that other young canadian wta player? what’s her name?


Kimberly Says:

welcome back contador! Kaiser actually posted his top ten picks. It will probably be his only tennis-x post ever. I will set up tennis channel bracket for down under. Not that I need another reason to stay up all night. Happy Holidays all. I am sooo relieved school starts tomorrow.


dunbar Says:

thanks, madmax. I think the headline is a bit misleading – seems to me Federer, whilst sounding confident, was quite low key about his chances at the AO. I notice from the same source, Nadal said going for 4 in a row wasn’t extra pressure but extra motivation. (shades of Billy-Jean King – “pressure is a privilege”). If Nadal means this and isn’t just playing word games, then this suggests he thrives on pressure. I think that is probably true (was certainly true of Billy Jean), which is what makes Nadal so uniquely formidable.

re Dimitrov – now #106. He was supposed to be playing in Chennai (top seed Berdych, #2, Cilic), but I could find no mention of him on the website either as direct participant or as qualifier. Could he have withdrawn as a result of that umpire pushing incident?


Kimmi Says:

HA HA HA HA ! You posted as fognini! too coward contador! i saw that name and i thought “must be a fognini fan!” :)

2 hrs ahead of you is not too bad. matches starts at 7pm. that is like 11 am at the AO. (you see, i have got all figured out) hope i am not too dissapointed.

Yes, dimitrov..where is he? i was hoping he would start to play some ATP tour, his ranking should allow him for a quali draw. i hope they have not banned him because of that incident last year. he is young and did a stupid thing. i read he has apologised to the officials and he swears not to let something like that happen again. i like the kid. wish him all the best….

go milos canuck. have to look for that newby canadian girl. i dont think i know her..

kimberly, i saw kaiser picks too. I never win that prediction thingy but it was fun to play. I am hoping for my buddy la monf to assault everybody..go la monf.


Kimmi Says:

dunbar – just read your post re dimitrov. so he was supposed to play in chennai.. I have not read anywhere that they have banned him. i hope not. aaaaagh! he is learning the hard way i guess!


Kimberly Says:

I actually wagered on wawa on it. La monf is a good pick kimmi, he looked good at the end.


contador Says:

well, Kimmi…in a way, i am a fabio fognini fan (he has the best peacock strut in the atp ) and with all the bad press i get being “contador,” i was going to leave the pseudo as fognini but…didn’t feel right. not like i could keep my identity a secret anyway.

“fognini” went half realistic and half pure fantasy with the 2011 picks.

jane would remember who the young “canuck” chick is. we talked abt her i think during the us open.

hey kimberly! looking forward as usual to the atp bracket challenge: both atp and wta this time. i missed “kaiser’s” pick list. i MUST go back and look again. he can’t resist a competition, can he?
yeah…i bet you are happy school is starting!

dunbar…i missed the “pushing” ump by dimitrov.
he did something like that in the past, i think a year ago. i remember seeing it on youtube. but he did it recently? hope not.

la monf? i wish. if he can get over choking when it counts. he is so fun to watch! i don’t think i put a frenchie in the top ten. tsonga with his injuries, gasquet is too inconsistent….the only one i maybe think can make it (possibly) is simon. it he’s healthy…he’s mentally the toughest of them.


Kimmi Says:

contador – since you mentioned canuck milos, just checked the qualis draw in chennai. milos has one more match to go to qualify. he plays ROGER-VASSELIN next, which will be tough coz he is ranked higher than him. lets hope he qualify to the main draw…..go milos!!


Kimberly Says:

I need to study up on the challengers. Other than dimitriv I don’t really know any of them. Will hurt me in thenearly rounds if I don’t learn up!


contador Says:

haha…me too, kimberly….gotta pay attention to the challengers and qualies and it helps picking the early rounds but i really s****d at picking the winner, other than clay season. : )

berankis is one to watch and i was reading a latvian chatter saying zopp is doing well…..whoever zopp is lol….gotta look that one up.


contador Says:

yeah go milos!! i think he can beat old roger-vasselin.


contador Says:

http://www.grigor-dimitrov.com/

yes…..grigor lost his cool with the ump. bad news. but there may have been more to the story…at least the comments below the story say so.

i really hope this doesn’t keep him from playing AO.


Kimberly Says:

Would love to see dimitriv in the draw. Happy to see sharapova won her opener. Can’t even begin to pick the wta draw. Of course last time I almost won had zvonereva won. Unless something really changes my mind I will pick clijsters there. Wozniaki needs to convince me.


dunbar Says:

well, that’s a bizzare arrangement of typeface. Not my idea, believe me!


Kimmi Says:

Nishikori is beating cilic….three match points and he won. beats defending champion. 4-6 7-6 6-2 Cilic in trouble. lots of points to defend this early..ah cilic.

congrats to nishikori. brad gilbert must be happy.

roger-vasselin beats milos in a very tight match. oh well. was a good try.


Kimmi Says:

good news for another qualifier in brisbane. berankis! he wins his final quali match to play Arnaud Clement in his first round.


dunbar Says:

not just Gilbert, Kimmi. When Nishikori burst onto the scene with his wonderfully entertaining tennis, I instantly realised I had found my second favourite. And then – little but injury. If he ever sorts that one out and has a good, long run – we’ll be in for a treat.


Kimberly Says:

wow….cilic really needs to shape up!


Kimmi Says:

ah santiago giraldo beats gilles simon 6-2 6-3. Surprised about these results. i know that if you hit short giraldo likes to finish every shot with a winner. remember he schooled ferrero in rome last year!!

contador – your guy fognini (ha ha)is on the court with davydenko in doha.


Skeezerweezer Says:

@Kimberly

So your man is predicting a Fed fall in 2011? Interesting….or is it a Nole/Murray climb?


contador Says:

just got the stream up- fognini / davy. “my guy” is gonna lose big time ….lol…

dunbar – just breezed through the tt cmurray blog and comments. it’s true what dimitrov is alleged to have done should get the full punishment ( if it’s a true account in the one finnish paper where the incident was reported.) but i can’t help siding with the bulgarian poster “wellwishing,” who posted on tt and also posted a thoughtful comment on the finnish article itself. the score was very erratic and according to “wellwishing” bulgarians are considered inferior and have to take a lot of crap that someone from a more “respectable” country wouldn’t suffer. if that’s the case, it’s likely dimitrov lost his cool and wasn’t going to take it. also it’s unclear abt what actually happened after the match, did grigor hunt down and push or punch the ump as the finnish paper reports or what. not defending grigor if he actually is guilty of assault. but who was witness to what happened and how it is interpreted only by one source makes me wonder.

i hope this gets a fair investigation, if at all possible. and if he did really shove or push the ump in the chest he should get the full fine and whatever suspension is appropriate.

if there was exaggeration and discrimination…i hope grigor gets another chance and does not get suspended. even if the crowd was bias and yelling slurs and the ump did nothing abt it during the match, grigor has to learn to take it and tune it out.

grigor’s long time rival is finnish – kontinen. dimitrov might have a case if the ump was not doing his job during the match….considering the weird score. but shoving an ump, if true, crosses the line and grigor can’t take matters into his own hands. life is not fair. the players must be controlled…but the “mob” too. apparently grigor did apologize. but…

the thing is: none of us were there. the witnesses were all finnish…the match itself was not discussed…one finnish paper reported on the match.

maybe there is a youtube for the match…have to check …

yeah…strange result for simon. is he injured again.

bye bye foggy….looks like davy will finish him off in 2. LOL…win or lose i love watching fognini…he just drop kicked his racket.


Kimmi Says:

just heard the commentator saying muzza former coach miles maclagan now coaching Philipp Kohlschreiber


Kimmi Says:

sergei bubka ranked 321, a wild card in doha beats gimeno-travers (ranked 56) 6-0 6-3. likes bubka service motion, simple and hits his spots. could be another guy to watch in the future? hope so…


dunbar Says:

contador: I didn’t take sufficient note of the source of the link. It was THAT site – furthermore, reading more carefully, it is obvious Cheryl Murray has no more idea than anyone else as to what really happened. I looked at the comments for the first time, and I couldn’t help being amused at how it degenerated into familiar argy-bargy stuff regarding you-know-who.
The Murray woman makes much of the fact that Dimitrov has won little on the tour – but nor has anybody else at his age! Times are different – it was obviously much easier to progress as a teenager in Fed’s day and in Nadal’s day.

Whatever happens, I hope Dimitrov is dealt with justly. Not too lenient, but not too severe, either. And that he can then put all this nonsense behind him and get on with his career.


dari Says:

Tough for cilic. If he doesn’t clean up by AO, then I suppose its a good thing i forgot him on my tope ten.


Kimberly Says:

skeezer, kaiser loves fed but he always wants to win and he feels ultimately age catches up and that his reign can only last so long. He thinks Rafa will still be the best but not quite as dominant and I think he thinks Murray will be #2 in 2011 and #1 in 2012. He thinks Murray is simply better and more talented than everyone else in the field including Rafa (except on clay) but not confident enough yet.

In fact, he doesn’t know how Murray doesn’t sit back and say, I’m just better than everyone and start winning. He can’t stand Muzza (even roots for Rafa over him) but he really thinks he has the total package.


dari Says:

Kimberly, I like the way you’re speaking about andYM I hope it comes true!


Kimmi Says:

love carla suarez navarro game. if only she can control her injuries, she could be really good i think. small but great variety. love her single handed backhand. good luck to her for the rest of the season.


Skeezerweezer Says:

Kimberly,

“In fact, he doesn’t know how Murray doesn’t sit back and say, I’m just better than everyone and start winning. ”

I think when Murray starts actually believing this, he will get to #1. He has proved he is close :-). I feel the same way about Nole….

“Feeling that you can play with the best vs. believing you will win every time you play them are two totally different works of thought”


Kimmi Says:

OMG, verdasco lost the first set 1-6. not a good start to the new season. he better wake up quickly.

margot – i see heather watson playing in auckland. she is doing much better than laura robson (ranking wise), maybe because she is a couple of years older. she just won her quali matches and looks like she is winning her first round match. i think britain is ready for a WTA tour star..could it be her? she sure is showing some potential


Kimberly Says:

Kimmi-who is hot sauce playing—i wonder if the same slumpers from the end of last year will continue slumping? Verdasco, Berdych, Davydenko and Cilic.

So far looks like a big yes for Cilic.


Kimmi Says:

OK, hotsauce is trying to steady the ship! he better be! he lost to benjamin becker in Bangkok last year. tough draw!


Kimmi Says:

he is playing benjamin becker kimberly. davydenko was great against fognini today. i think he will have a good season if he stays away from injuries. the commentator jason gooddall was saying he has not seen davy played that well for a long time. so, it is a good sign.

still needs to see how berdych does. he was OK in abu dhabi but it was a tough draw there.


Kimmi Says:

becker breaks now seving for the match

verdasco breaks back. roller coaster!


contador Says:

typical verdasco: slow start. lose 1st set and maybe, just maybe win in 3.

i don’t have a stream but the scoreline looked like becker choked serving for match.

Kimberly – did kaiser post his picks under a different name? or did i just scroll that thread twice now and missed him? i saw your picks.


contador Says:

i saw the fognini – davy match this morning.

yeah davy looked good. but i think fognini helped.


jane Says:

That is becoming typical of Verdasco; I wonder why?

Djoko will have his hands full with Leyton if his serve is wishy-washy. Leyton is still a top rate returning/retriever. Nole will have to be aggressive, but not overly so.

Nishikori may have a good shot at bagging Chennai!


Kimmi Says:

hot sauce fights back. third set here we come. no stream, just following on live score.

I have safina and wickermayer on the stream.

yeah conty, fognini helped buy davy did not make crazy UE like in the past. he was very consistent, deep and aggressive.


Kimmi Says:

“That is becoming typical of Verdasco; I wonder why?”

jane – that is called lack of confidence. I am glad he is fighting back. if he can win this, it should boost his confidence a little.


contador Says:

i think hot and suave sauce will win, Kimmi.

jane- it’s rebecca marino…i posted to you on another thread abt her. big server.

dinara and yanina…who knows who wins!


Kimmi Says:

meanwhile sexy stepanek is up a break in the third :)


Kimmi Says:

aaaagh verdasco about to be broken again..c;mon fight


contador Says:

yeah…i wish i could watch those brisbane matches.

i like to watch sexy steps on a roll! kamke is fun to watch too.

oh no. hot sauce down a break already??? he’ll break back…guessing.


jane Says:

Oh now I remember contador, she is the tall girl who played Venus. Kimmi why do you think hotsauce’s confidence is shot? He did well last year,staying near the top ten, almost getting into the final 8. Sure, he lost some close ones but he did alright.


Kimmi Says:

jane – definetly something happened to hot sauce. after a great clay season (which he played himself too much) things just started going down hill. he did well at the US Open but thats it. his indoor season was awful. he was losing to guys he shouldnt, i dont think he recovered from that…that close match he had with monfils in paris did not help either.

Becker is a tough draw for him. he beat him in bangkok the last time they play. maybe he is still thinking about that match…

safina is another one with no confidence. yanina looks like she wants this match more.


Kimmi Says:

ah i now remember that canuck girl that played with venis at the USO. she needs to come out some more so that we can remember her face..


Kimmi Says:

becker is not letting go the lead. verdasco is a big trouble now. maybe he should ask for a wild card in sydney.


Kimmi Says:

becker serving for the match for the second time!


Kimmi Says:

hot sauce lost :(


dari Says:

Ok, well, ferdasco out. Whatever, never loved him, will make room for others to move up.


contador Says:

sorry abt hot sauce, kimmi :( his slump continues..i thought he’d beat benjamin becker.

and we are missing more good matches right now. clement and berankis…also fish, who will likely win but i like to see adrian mannarino.

wily old clement giving berankis a tennis lesson?


contador Says:

“ferdasco” :) good nick


steve-o Says:

@Kimmi: yes, Suarez Navarro is wonderful to watch. She really has a beautiful game, very smooth and varied.

Her opponent (Oprandi?) was surprisingly wily and refused to give up, I was thinking she wouldn’t be able to close out the match in straights but she managed. I hope she can win a title this year.


Kimmi Says:

young berankis is getting an introduction to the ATP tour.

hope “ferdasco” plays in sydney


Kimmi Says:

steve-o – yes, that second set was back and forth a lot. they both did not take the chances when they came. suarez navarro missed few match points. bad errors cost oprandi the match in that tie break. i am glad suarez navarro won.

she is still very rusty though. her backhand is more solid than the forehand. good thing the draw was shuffled after that last minute withdrawal. sharapova first round would have been tough. she plays the british girl heather watson next.


Kimmi Says:

contador – berankis is turning the match around. wish i could see that match, now serving for the set..


contador Says:

berankis is doing okay with his intro. he came back from a break down and let’s see if he can take the 1st set. serving for set.

meanwhile mardy is kicking butt. :)


steve-o Says:

Wickmayer is up a break. I don’t know if Safina has the belief to come back, and Wickmayer is determined to press her advantage.


Kimmi Says:

berankis first set in the bag. he had to save few break point too.

love to watch more tennis but getting up early tomorrow. good luck to berankis.

omg, so much grunting in this yanina/safina..have to mute. yanina winning this i think


contador Says:

he did it! he was down 30-40 , hit an ace, got to deuce and made it. pretty good i think. from what i’ve watched of berankis, he’s got some confidence.

mannarino, however might get 2 breadsticks from fish…fishsticks…


Kimmi Says:

yanina takes it!


contador Says:

yeah….watching dinara / wickmayer not doing anything for this junkie…and watching livescore is desperation…could be watching the “bachelor” lol….


Kimmi Says:

“mannarino, however might get 2 breadsticks from fish…fishsticks…”

hahahahaha i laughed sooo loud..good one conty


Kimberly Says:

Contador….kaiser putnhis picks under kaiser. Almost the last one on the thread.

I will start messing around with creating the tennis channel bracket this week since it took such drama and effort last time.

And as skeezer noted, he predictednhis boy fed to sink to four and murray ton rise to two. Beiing half croat or not enough informed, he put cilic high. Unusaul for him as he usually does not pick from the heart and goes just for the “W”


contador Says:

good for yannina. dinara…maybe a permanent slump?

i think i’m hungry…kimmi :)

time for the cocoa with whip cream from the spray can…redi whip…and go to bed. i must stream gulbis in the morning…whether he wins or loses…

probably miss federer match but not too worried abt. schrool…


dari Says:

Uh-oh, baby berankis making stuff happen!


Kimmi Says:

wont see any day tennis tomorrow. go federer!

good night all!

jane – dont even know what tournament it is but canada beats USA (hockey) 4-1..Go canucks!


contador Says:

well, i put my picks under “fognini” cos i was purely fantasizing picking from heart. have gulbis in top ten!! LOL..

delpo in there too but that’s a long-shot too. wishful thinking.

oooh break point berankis!


contador Says:

he got it! now hold…berankis

mannarino losing respectably…one “fishstick” was enough. mannarino is young…maybe climbing in the rankings in 2011?


contador Says:

hahaha…”baby berankis” …dari.

baby is winning, i think…c’mon break again!


contador Says:

livescore is riveting…deuce. no ad berankis..match point


jane Says:

Kimmi, world juniors; we play Russia now for the gold! Contador I put gulbis & Delpo in top 10, think I put cilic in there too…: /


contador Says:

yay! okay that’s it for me. berankis moves on…


contador Says:

okay, i read the top ten for kaiser… kimberly.

many of us put cilic in, jane. i have all three: cilic, delpo, and gulbis…*sigh* obviously fognini wasn’t in a serious mood. just dreaming. i can’t see changes at the top. but believing nole is ready to beat rafa after beating fed in the us open semi. djoko to win a slam. my guess is the us open.

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