The Daily Forehand

John Isner Quickly Distancing Himself From the American Pack

2010-03-16T13:00:48Z

John Isner, with his old Georgia Bulldogs hat and his new ATP Most Improved trophy. Isner has improved from #147 to #20 in the last year. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

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The scoreline, 7-6(3), 6-4, was fairly close. But the widening gap between young Americans John Isner and Sam Querrey was clear during Isner's win over his friend and compatriot in their third round match at the

Isner's rise to the upper echelon of the sport has been meteoric. He needed a wild card to get into this tournament last year and was a lowly #147 in the ATP rankings. Since that time he made the fourth rounds at both the US and Australian Opens, won his first ATP title, and was the top American on his Davis Cup debut last week. He is now ranked inside the top twenty for the first time in his career, and was deservedly named ATP Most Improved Player of 2009 this week.

Isner's rise is especially messianic since it has come at the same time that most other Americans have stalled. While American #1 Andy Roddick continues to be a consistent and formidable presence in the top ten, the rest of the top Americans have disappointed recently. James Blake has played fairly well so far this year, but he had an atrocious 2009, as his ranking fell from inside the top ten to outside the top fifty. Mardy Fish, who made the finals of Indian Wells only two years ago, has completely fallen off the radar, falling from the top twenty to outside the top 100 within the last year. Sam Querrey has been putting up some decent results and has won a couple titles, but the big wins at the big events just aren't coming the way many thought they would be by now. And peripheral American hopes like Wayne Odesnik, Rajeev Ram, and Jesse Levine haven't been terrible, but none is emerging as a potential breakout star.

The obvious discrepancy in Isner's dominance over the rest is his choking loss to Querrey in the finals of Memphis a few weeks ago, a result that really can't be explained. But even in defeat, Isner was clearly the better player throughout the match. He was two points from winning the match in straight sets, but couldn't close the deal. It would be a more alarming collapse if Isner wasn't so known for being clutch in nearly other instance that it's easy to write off this one loss as an anomaly.

I can't help but make Isner, the #15 seed at this tournament, the favorite in my mind against his next opponent. It may seem ridiculous once you realize that said opponent is none other than #3 Rafael Nadal, but I really think that everything is stacking in Isner's favor. Isner is healthier, and a hard court in the United States should help his cause as much as any surface could. The Indian Wells courts are significantly slower than the faster courts of the US Open, but I still think that Isner has the edge when he clashes with Nadal on Wednesday.

A Love Letter to Alisa Kleybanova

2010-03-16T09:34:50Z

Alisa Kleybanova, during her win over Kim Clijsters. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

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Alisa Kleybanova delivered what is, in my mind, the most impressive performance of the year so far Monday night, upsetting US Open champion Kim Clijsters 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(4) in the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.

The match appeared completely out of Kleybanova's reach several times. Clijsters sailed through the second set with considerable ease, and raced out to a 3-0 lead in the final set, making her stranglehold look fairly routine. But Kleybanova dug in and fought, as she does like few others, fighting for every point and leveling the match at 3-3.

Six tight holds later, the match headed into a deciding third set tiebreak. Clijsters raced out to a 4-0 lead in the tiebreak, with the match again looking to be completely locked up. But Kleybanova again rallied, winning an incredible seven consecutive points to stun Clijsters and seal the shocking win in 2 hours and 36 minutes (which is a little on the short side for a Kleybanova match).

The way Kleybanova shook off her second set drubbing to comeback twice against a player who is frankly her superior in most every category is incredibly impressive, and shows a self-belief and willpower that is scarce in her generation. Clijsters didn't choke the match away at all, but was simply bested by an opponent who raised her game to its highest level when it mattered most.

Kleybanova's matches are always longer than your average epic film not because of the stall tactics that slow down so many modern WTA matches, but because she plays longer rallies than any other aggressive player I've ever seen. Her relatively lumpy build makes her speed deceptive, and opponents are clearly bewildered as ball after ball comes back with interest on point after point, from the farthest flung corners of the court. Kleybanova also has a pretty respectable amount of variety to keep her opponents off balance, mixing deep flat shots with short scoops effectively.

Clijsters is by no means Kleybanova's first big scalp. She has previous wins over Ana Ivanovic (when she was better), Elena Dementieva (whom she beat for her first title last week in Kuala Lumpur) and has pushed Justine Henin and Maria Sharapova to the brink at big tournaments (the Australian Open and Toronto, respectively). Kleybanova is on the verge of the top twenty, and has a very decent shot at the top ten in the next couple years.

So good on ya, Alisa. You're the scrappiest player in the WTA today, you rarely fail to impress, you work so hard that you literally have to wring the sweat out of your ponytail, and you sort of resemble John Isner. What's not to love?

* * *

Clijsters' exit only added to the decimation of the women's field at this event. Top seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, third-seed Victoria Azarenka, Maria Sharapova, and Justine Henin were all ousted well before their expected departure dates, leaving the draw totally wide open. Fourth-seed Elena Dementieva should have this one in the bag, but defending champion Vera Zvonareva and fast-rising Yanina Wickmayer could prove to make things interesting.

Agassi and Sampras Both Come Off as Fools in Fundraising Dust-Up

2010-03-16T07:47:04Z

On the off chance you haven't seen it yet, here is the now video viral video of the squabbling between Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras Friday at Indian Wells.

What this clip really doesn't emphasize enough is that this all happened during a charity fundraiser, a "Hit for Haiti" event modeled after the wildly successful one held spontaneously before the Australian Open. On a night that was supposed to be about benevolence and generosity, Sampras and Agassi let their egos detract from their benevolence.

I personally put all of the blame for this one on Agassi. And his assertion that it was alright to bring up the fact that Sampras once tipped a valet $1 is ludicrous. Tipping, however stingily, is a personal matter, and the way that Agassi broadcast a years old faux pas in his book was tacky. To bring it up again later to Pete's face at a friendly exhibition is downright rude.

This type of stage was clearly not Pete's forte in the first place. The Obama comeback was nonsensical, and just shows how out of his element he was. Sampras was always an incredibly reserved personality on the court who wasn't going to be adroit at friendly banter, much less testy, unfriendly sniping.

As much as we might like to see more cattiness at the top of the men's game sometimes, these two just come off as clowns. Agassi already did a fair amount of damage to his reputation through his autobiography, as much with its needless personal attacks as with his admissions about drug use. This incident certainly doesn't do him any favors either. He's still done a whole lot of good off the court with his school and other charity work, but Agassi's pattern of personal attacks and put-downs (from hitting a ball at a lineswoman who had caused him to receive a profanity warning to saying he would sell a sponsor's gift watch on eBay, and mocking Karol Kucera's service toss woes) leaves a lot to be desired.

Like too many tennis players who are deprived of any sort of normal childhood or maturing process, they both probably have a lot of growing up to do.

You Know You're Big in Croatia When They Reword Lady Gaga Songs in Your Honor...

2010-03-15T04:48:32Z

You Know You're Big in Croatia When They Reword Lady Gaga Songs in Your Honor...

Because "Marin Cilic" is actually Croatian for "Paparazzi," I guess. I prefer Ivo Karlovic's work, but this too has it's place in the tennis songbook as well.

(Scroll down for the audio player).

(h/T Mariya)

With a bye in the first round, his second round opponent Pablo Cuevas retiring after one game, and...

2010-03-15T01:20:40Z

With a bye in the first round, his second round opponent Pablo Cuevas retiring after one game, and his third round opponent Nikolay Davydenko pulling out with a nasty broken wrist, Viktor Troicki has advanced to the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells having won only one game. That has to be a record.

Davis Cup Round 1 Update Heading Into Sunday

2010-03-07T12:43:22Z

A couple of the first round ties were done after three rubbers, but the majority still have live rubbers going into Sunday. Always a risk buying those Sunday Davis Cup tickets. You either get the best of the best, or totally meaningless exhibition.

SERBIA LEADS USA 2-1
Venue: Belgrade Arena, Belgrade, Serbia (Indoor Clay)

Viktor Troicki (SRB) def. John Isner (USA) 7-6(4), 6-7(5), 7-5, 6-4
Novak Djokovic (SRB) def. Sam Querrey (USA) 6-2, 7-6(4), 2-6, 6-3
Bob Bryan/John Isner (USA) def Janko Tipsarevic/Nenad Zimonjic (SRB) 7-6(8), 5-7, 7-6(8), 6-3
Novak Djokovic (SRB) v John Isner (USA)
Viktor Troicki (SRB) v Sam Querrey (USA)*

The two singles matches were both incredibly roller-coastery, with wild momentum swings several times per set. Unfortunately for the rookie American team, the Serbians wound up on the winning end of the roller coaster each time. Things really looked bad for the Americans on Saturday when Mike Bryan went down with food poisoning (because he was dumb enough to order curry in Belgrade), but John Isner stepped in admirably to keep the US hopes alive. At least until they face Djokovic again.

SPAIN LEADS SWITZERLAND 2-1
Venue: Plaza de Toros de la Ribera, Logrono, Spain (Indoor Clay)
Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) def. Nicolas Almagro (ESP) 3-6, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3
David Ferrer (ESP) def. Marco Chiudinelli (SUI) 6-2, 7-6(5), 6-1
Marcel Granollers/Tommy Robredo (ESP) def. Yves Allegro/Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI)* 7-6(8), 6-2, 4-6, 6-4
David Ferrer (ESP) v Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI)*
Nicolas Almagro (ESP) v Marco Chiudinelli (SUI)*

It's managed to be some fairly exciting stuff, even without the big names. But Marco Chiudinelli and Yves Allegro really aren't in the same league as the rest of these guys, which ultimately has (and will continue to) seal Switzerland's fate.

CZECH REPUBLIC LEADS BELGIUM 3-0

Venue: Expodroom, Bree, Belgium (clay – indoors)

Tomas Berdych (CZE) def. Olivier Rochus (BEL) 6-3, 6-0, 6-4
Radek Stepanek (CZE) def. Xavier Malisse (BEL) 6-2, 6-4, 7-6(3)
Tomas Berdych/Radek Stepanek (CZE) def. Steve Darcis/Olivier Rochus (BEL) 7-6(0), 6-0, 6-3

One of the most lopsided ties on the card has lived up to expectations, with the Czechs outclassing the Belgians at every stage. Belgium may have a decent future ahead if Steve Darcis lives up to his hype, but for now they're just not competitive at this level.

CHILE LEADS ISRAEL 2-0
Venue: Enjoy Tennis Center, Coquimbo, Chile (Outdoor Clay)

Nicolas Massu (CHI) def. Dudi Sela (ISR) 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, 6-4
Fernando Gonzalez (CHI) def. Harel Levy (ISR) 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4
Nicolas Massu/Fernando Gonzalez (CHI) vs. Jonathan Erlich/Andy Ram (ISR)
Fernando Gonzalez (CHI) vs. Dudi Sela (ISR)*
Nicolas Massu (CHI) vs. Harel Levy (ISR)*

Real good story for Chile here, playing through their country's turmoil and destruction admirably so far. If there's one team that's easy to root for no matter what this weekend, the Chiileans are certainly that team.

FRANCE LEADS GERMANY 3-0

Venue: Palais des Sports, Toulon, France (Indoor Hard)

Gael Monfils (FRA) def. Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) 6-1, 6-4, 7-6(5)
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) def. Benjamin Becker (GER) 6-3, 6-2, 6-7(2), 6-3
Julien Benneteau/Michael Llodra (FRA) v Christopher Kas/Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) 6-1, 6-4, 1-6, 7-5

Gael Monfils notched his first ever win in Davis Cup to open up this tie, and it was all France from there on. Without Tommy Haas it was always going to be tough for Germany, but I don't know that I ever expected a sweep. France is the deeper, better tennis country, so having them in the next round certainly makes sense to me.

RUSSIA LEADS INDIA 2-1

Venue: Small Sports Arena "Luzhniki", Moscow, Russia (Indoor Hard)

Igor Kunitsyn (RUS) def. Somdev Devvarman (IND) 6-7(7), 7-6(4), 6-3, 6-4
Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) def. Rohan Bopanna (IND) 6-4, 6-2, 6-3
Mahesh Bhupathi/Leander Paes (IND) def. Teimuraz Gabashvili/Igor Kunitsyn (RUS) 6-3, 6-2, 6-2
Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) v Somdev Devvarman (IND)
Igor Kunitsyn (RUS) v Rohan Bopanna (IND)*

A late substitution in the Igor slot of Kunitsyn for Andreev paid off for Russia, who looks to be firmly in control even after dropping the doubles tie as they were expected to do. Russia is a country who could use some redemption in this contest, and when they get Youzhny and Davydenko together at full strength, they should be able to get it.

ARGENTINA LEADS SWEDEN 2-1

Venue: Kungliga Tennishallen, Stockholm, Sweden (hard – indoors)

Robin Soderling (SWE) def. Eduardo Schwank (ARG) 6-1, 7-6(0), 7-5
Leonardo Mayer (ARG) def. Joachim Johansson (SWE) 5-7, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4
David Nalbandian/Horacio Zeballos (ARG) def. Robert Lindstedt/Robin Soderling (SWE) 6-2, 7-6(4), 7-6(5)
Robin Soderling (SWE) v Leonardo Mayer (ARG)
Joachim Johansson (SWE) v Eduardo Schwank (ARG)*

David Nalbandian made a surprise appearance in the doubles to help the Argentines grab the lead. Things have gone a lot better for the Argentines than I expected, both with Nalbandian's cameo and Mayer's fairly surprising win over Johansson in the second singles rubber. Expect Nalbandian to make an appearance for Schwank in the final singles as well if it comes down to that.

CROATIA LEADS ECUADOR 3-0

Venue: Gradska Sportska Dvorana, Varazdin, Croatia (Indoor Hard)

Ivo Karlovic (CRO) v Nicolas Lapentti (ECU) 6-2, 5-7, 6-7(2), 6-3, 6-4
Marin Cilic (CRO) v Giovanni Lapentti (ECU) 6-4, 6-3, 6-3
Ivo Karlovic/Marin Cilic (CRO) def, Giovanni Lapentti/Nicolas Lapentti (ECU) 7-6(3), 6-3, 7-5

This was the match-up that made Czech Republic-Belgium look competitive, but the elder Lapentti acquitted himself fairly well against Karlovic, pushing him to five sets. At least the Ecuadorians had the luck to be swept away from the majority of their fans, which should make this sting somewhat less, I suppose.

Tennis Channel will have coverage of the Americans Sunday, and a lot of the rest of the ties should be streamable at the official Davis Cup site.

Davis Cup Round 1 Preview and Open Thread: USA at Serbia Highlights Star-less Slate of Ties

2010-03-05T11:42:31Z

The 2010 Davis Cup campaign starts Friday with eight first round ties in World Group action, but unfortunately with match-ups that will make this something of a quantity-over-quality situation.Here's hoping there's a surprise or two.

Only the first two match-ups in each tie are locked in, the rest are subject to change(*).

USA @ SERBIA
Venue: Belgrade Arena, Belgrade, Serbia (Indoor Clay)

Viktor Troicki (SRB) v John Isner (USA)
Novak Djokovic (SRB) v Sam Querrey (USA)
Janko Tipsarevic/Nenad Zimonjic (SRB) v Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan (USA)*
Novak Djokovic (SRB) v John Isner (USA)*
Viktor Troicki (SRB) v Sam Querrey (USA)*

Let's cut to the chase: The Americans have no chance in either singles match against Djokovic, so they have to sweep the other three rubbers. Which is actually doable. Querrey and Isner have both been playing real well this year, each with a title to his name already, and an additional doubles title they paired to win together. The Bryans should win the doubles pretty easily, though Nenad Zimonjic is no pushover. But can they run the table on a bad surface in hostile territory? I hope so, but I think it unlikely.
Prediction: Serbia 3-2

SWITZERLAND @ SPAIN
Venue: Plaza de Toros de la Ribera, Logrono, Spain (Indoor Clay)

Nicolas Almagro (ESP) v Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI)
David Ferrer (ESP) v Marco Chiudinelli (SUI)
Marcel Granollers/Tommy Robredo (ESP) v Yves Allegro/Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI)*
David Ferrer (ESP) v Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI)*
Nicolas Almagro (ESP) v Marco Chiudinelli (SUI)*

Those flags side-by-side should get any tennis fan excited. Nadal-Federer in Davis Cup for the first time? Awesome! Sadly, neither Nadal nor Federer will be present, nor will Spanish top-tenner Fernando Verdasco nor Juan Carlos Ferrero be playing. The Spanish absences should make this somewhat more competitive, but not all that interesting I don't think. Wawrinka may beat Almagro, but that's probably the only win for the visitors.
Prediction: Spain 4-1

CZECH REPUBLIC @ BELGIUM

Venue: Expodroom, Bree, Belgium (clay – indoors)

Olivier Rochus (BEL) v Tomas Berdych (CZE)
Xavier Malisse (BEL) v Radek Stepanek (CZE)
Steve Darcis/Olivier Rochus (BEL) v Lukas Dlouhy/Jan Hajek (CZE)*
Olivier Rochus (BEL) v Radek Stepanek (CZE)*
Xavier Malisse (BEL) v Tomas Berdych (CZE)*

The Czechs were surprise finalists last year, but they will be unsurprising quarterfinalists with this draw, as the Belgians shouldn't prove to be much of a speed bump. I'm not too invested in this one, I just really hope Radek Stepanek's Czech Flag outfit makes an appearance. It's always a highlight of any Davis Cup weekend for me.
Prediction: Czech Republic 5-0

ISRAEL @ CHILE
Venue: Nokia Stadium, Tel Aviv, Israel (Indoor Hard)

Draw TBA Later Friday*

For everything Chile has been through recently, it's amazing that this tie is going to happen at all. I know everyone has understandable catastrophe philanthropy fatigue by now, but if you're on the fence about giving to Chile, watch Fernando Gonzalez's emotional video plea for help for his country. Chile might take Davis Cup more seriously than any other country (if past riots are any indication), so you can bet that this will be one emotional event.
Prediction: Chile 4-1

GERMANY @ FRANCE

Venue: Palais des Sports, Toulon, France (Indoor)

Gael Monfils (FRA) v Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER)
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) v Benjamin Becker (GER)
Julien Benneteau/Michael Llodra (FRA) v Christopher Kas/Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER)*
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) v Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER)*
Gael Monfils (FRA) v Benjamin Becker (GER)*

Monfils is a bafflingly bad Davis Cup player in my experience watching him, which is bizarre for someone who feeds so greatly off crowd energy. It's not his best surface, either. But Tsonga and vastly superior doubles should be enough for the French to fend off a German team without two of it's biggest names (Haas and Kiefer).

Prediction: France 3-2

INDIA @ RUSSIA

Venue: Small Sports Arena "Luzhniki", Moscow, Russia (Indoor Hard)

Igor Andreev (RUS) v Somdev Devvarman (IND)
Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) v Rohan Bopanna (IND)
Teimuraz Gabashvili/Igor Kunitsyn (RUS) v Mahesh Bhupathi/Leander Paes (IND)*
Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) v Somdev Devvarman (IND)*
Igor Andreev (RUS) v Rohan Bopanna (IND)*

Russia suffered a shock defeat in last year's quarterfinals against Israel, but don't expect a repeat of that against a decidedly weaker Indian team. India shouldn't have a prayer in any of the singles matches, but it's entirely possible that a boneheaded Andreev could lose to Devvarman if Andreev is as messy as he can be. India should get a point in the doubles, at least.

Prediction: Russia 4-1

ARGENTINA @ SWEDEN

Venue: Kungliga Tennishallen, Stockholm, Sweden (hard – indoors)

Robin Soderling (SWE) v Eduardo Schwank (ARG)
Joachim Johansson (SWE) v Leonardo Mayer (ARG)
Robert Lindstedt/Robin Soderling (SWE) v Leonardo Mayer/Horacio Zeballos (ARG)*
Robin Soderling (SWE) v Leonardo Mayer (ARG)*
Joachim Johansson (SWE) v Eduardo Schwank (ARG)*

This would be a pretty awesome tie if Juan Martin del Potro was healthy enough to be there. But without him, or even Juan Monaco or Jose Acasuso, the Swedes may well run the table. Sweden has been in the upper echelon of Davis Cup for almost longer than any other country, a phenomenon that is now more explicable with the emergence of Robin Soderling as an elite player.

Prediction: Sweden 4-1

ECUADOR @ CROATIA

Venue: Gradska Sportska Dvorana, Varazdin, Croatia (Indoor Hard)

Ivo Karlovic (CRO) v Nicolas Lapentti (ECU)
Marin Cilic (CRO) v Giovanni Lapentti (ECU)
Ivan Dodig/Antonio Veic (CRO) v Giovanni Lapentti/Nicolas Lapentti (ECU)*
Marin Cilic (CRO) v Nicolas Lapentti (ECU)*
Ivo Karlovic (CRO) v Giovanni Lapentti (ECU)*

Thanks to the emergence of Nicolas' younger brother, the Ecuadorians may well be the first Davis Cup team to have a lineup entirely of siblings. The Maleevas, Williamses, and Bondarenkos have achieved the feat in Fed Cup, but I can't think of a pair of brothers who were ever their country's two best at a World Group level before. That bit of trivia aside, the Brothers Lapentti will be lucky to win a match. Croatia was smart to pick hard courts this time, which is their best surface despite their inexplicable decision to pick clay against the Czechs in last year's semifinals.

Prediction: Croatia 5-0

Tennis Channel will have coverage of the Americans, and the rest of the ties should be streamable online. Here's to a good weekend of tennis to get everybody pumped for the spring American hard court swing.

Agustin Calleri, 33, Retires From Tennis in Buenos Aires

2010-03-04T10:55:03Z

Agustin Calleri, one of the Gauchos who dominated the early part of the last decade, hung up his saddle during a ceremony in Buenos Aires. Photo via i2.esmas.com

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Agustin Calleri's retirement from professional tennis was recently made official in a ceremony at the Copa Telmex in his native Buenos Aires. Calleri, 33, was honored by peers in the Argentine tennis community including Juan Monaco, Jose Acasuso, and Juan Ignacio Chela.

Calleri had not played at all in 2010, with his last match coming last year in a challenger in Bogota. Hanging up the racquet after his last season is certainly understandable, since 2009 saw his ranking fall from #83 to outside the top 400, a precipitous fall that fit his 3-15 record for the year.

Calleri is certainly not the first name to come to mind when you think of players who spent time in the top twenty, but he did reach a career high ranking of #16. He won two ATP titles, Acapulco 2003 and Kitzbuhel 2006, both of which were (unsurprisingly) on clay courts, interestingly beating an Argentinian in both finals. He never made the second week of a slam, but he did have a surprising run to the finals of the Hamburg Masters in 2003, one of the four Argentinians who made it to the semifinals that year.

Perhaps most impressively, Calleri compiled an 11-1 record on clay in his Davis Cup career playing for Argentina, a record which is just about as good as any you'll ever find.

Calleri will not be remembered as much as the other Gauchos (Guillermo Coria, Gaston Gaudio, David Nalbandian), but he deserves credit for his relative consistency. It's amazing to think that despite being the most regularly visible of the four for the last several years, Calleri is actually the oldest, and first of the Gauchos to officially retire. Coria and Gaudio have been working hard at comebacks to absolutely no avail for some time now, and Nalbandian's lack of fitness has cut short every attempt at resuming a full-time career on the tour.

Calleri certainly doesn't have the resume of any of the other three, but at least he knew when to call it a day.

Playing Catch-Up -- Part 2 (February 8-14)

2010-03-01T11:12:20Z

Here's part 2 of 3 in catching up on the month of February. At least it's a short month, right?

ATP 500 Rotterdam - ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament:

Robin Soderling beat Mikhail Youzhny 6-4, 2-0 (ret.) to take the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam after Youzhny retired early in the second set with a leg injury. The title is the biggest title of Soderling's career, his first 500 level victory after previously falling short in three other 500 level finals (and a grand slam final).

Robin Soderling long had a reputation as one of the best (and only) indoor, fast-court specialists on either tour, which is what made his breakout performance at the very outdoors and slow French Open last spring so baffling to me. By winning Rotterdam, the biggest European indoor tournament in the first half of the calendar, Soderling shows that he's still can be great at his old former strength while having added a big new strength. A win over Davydenko along the way certainly doesn't hurt his confidence, either.

Since the title (and *SPOILER!* Andy Roddick's early exit in Memphis), Soderling has risen to a career high ranking of #7. Not bad for someone who lost in the first round of the Australian Open to the likes of Marcel Granollers.

After the jump: ATP San Jose, ATP Costa do Sauipe, WTA Paris and WTA Pattaya City. Click away!

ATP 250 San Jose - SAP Open:

Second-seed Fernando Verdasco knocked off top-seeded Andy Roddick 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the finals of San Jose in the same arena the San Jose Sharks play in, the HP Pavilion.

Verdasco didn't make it look easy along the way, having to suffer through some unnecessarily tight matches on his way to the final against decidedly inferior opponents like Yen-Hsun Lu, Ricardis Berankis, and Denis Istomin. But the rankings don't reflect style points, just wins and losses, so he gets full marks for his run.

It's a pretty solid showing for Roddick as well, though many of his matches were also closer than he would have liked. Of the eight sets he won on his way to the final, five of them he needed a tiebreak to win. Impressively though, he was 5-0 in tiebreaks on the week, so maybe it wasn't such a bad strategy after all.

Aside from Roddick, it was a pretty good week on the whole for Americans, though many of the bigger American names (Isner, Fish, Blake) were not entered. Sam Querrey made the semifinal, his first since that crazy glass table accident in Thailand, Michael Russell made the quarterfinals, and Taylor Dent made the second round. Those days when American men's tennis seemed to be completely dead in the water seem like quite a while ago.

ATP 250 Costa do Sauipe - Brasil Open:

Juan Carlos Ferrero, the biggest name in Costa do Sauipe by miles, easily won the 2010 Brasil Open, not facing a seed at any point, and ending with a 6-1, 6-0 rout of Lukasz Kubot in the final.

Kubot's ranking unbelievably is inside the top fifty now, on the back of this run and his shock second week appearance at the Australian Open. For a guy who broke into the top 100 for the first time in his career as recently as November, this has been an incredibly rapid ascent for the Polish doubles specialist. I cannot remember a single other instance of a presumed doubles specialist improving this much in singles so late in his career, so good on him for defying the stereotypes.

There's not a whole lot else to say about this tournament since pretty much all of the results could be considered foregone conclusions. But in looking for nuggets of trivia to glean, the best I can come up with is to remark at the quarterfinal matchup that took place between third-seeded Thomaz Bellucci and wild card Ricardo Mello, a matchup most notable because both players are Brazilian. That had to be a big break for the organizers, to be sure. Brazil is a country that likes tennis a fair amount but isn't much into producing players since Gustavo Kuerten, so for them to have homegrown talent make good in their only ATP event is a nice break.

WTA Premier Paris - Open Gaz de France Suez

Elena Dementieva outlasted Lucie Safarova 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-4 in a thrilling final to win the Open GDF Suez in Paris. It's Dementieva's second title of 2010 in only her third tournament, adding to her Sydney title with a win the Paris Indoors, a tournament in which she finished runner-up to Amelie Mauresmo in last year's final. Her only loss (to this point) this year had been to Justine Henin in the second round of the Australian Open, which should really make you wonder how much better she could have done down under with better luck of the draw. And her mental game, once considered as big a weakness as her serve, is clearly not a problem any more, since she managed to fight back from a set down in her final three matches of this tournament.

Through American lenses, by far the story of this tournament was Melanie Oudin, who followed up her big performance against France in a nearby Fed Cup tie the week before with a run to the semifinals of this event, her first time in the semifinals of any WTA tournament. She didn't have an easy draw, either, knocking out Sorana Cirstea, Patty Schnyder and Agnes Szavay before falling in three sets to Dementieva. Here's hoping she carries that momentum through Indian Wells and Miami, and into the grand slam seed territory of the rankings before she has to defend those boatloads of points at both Wimbledon and the US Open.

Through non-American lenses, the biggest shock of the tournament has to be the run to the finals by Lucie Safarova, who is always good for a shock run every once in a while. Safarova's run through the bottom half of the draw saw her beat three seeds: Francesca Schiavone, Shahar Peer, and Flavia Pennetta, dropping only one set along the way. Safarova made the finals of this event in 2007 as well, beating Justine Henin along the way in what was one of Henin's four losses in a season which saw her compile a ridiculous 63-4 record.

In more important news, doesn't this trophy look like a relative of the famous Metz Alien Baby? I'm thinking this is the Mothership, which has finally realized it's egg is somewhere at a tennis tournament in France.

Keep looking, Mothership--you're on the right track.

WTA International Pattaya City - PTT Pattaya Open:

Vera Zvonareva defended her 2009 title in Pattaya City with relative ease, beating local girl Tamarine Tanasugarn in the finals of the small tournament by the score of 6-4, 6-4.

Zvonareva already lost the many ranking points by not defending her run to the semifinals of the 2009 Australian Open, but she's got an even bigger bunch of points hanging over her head soon in Indian Wells, where she is the defending champion. But she shouldn't be nearly as nervous about her Indian Wells points as the woman she beat in the finals last year, Ana Ivanovic, should be. Those could be two simultaneous plummets like few seen before.

Though Zvonareva and Tanasugarn walked away with the hardware here, the real story is probably the fact that Kazakhstan boasted two semifinalists in Pattaya City. Say what you will about the questionable tactics that the Kazakh Tennis Federation has employed (which I have written about before here), but the fact that they're getting bigger and bigger on the tennis landscape at an incredible pace is undeniable.

Yaroslava Shvedova was the fourth seed in the tournament, so her run to the semifinals is hardly shocking, but the final four appearance of her new compatriot Sesil Karatantcheva is entirely shocking. Karatantcheva really hasn't had any good results whatsoever since coming back from that positive steroid test which her camp blamed on an abortion in 2005, so for her to come out of nowhere to make the finals of even a tournament this small.

It surprises me to see Rafael Nadal, known for being fairly bashful, to be following in Anna...

2010-02-28T11:39:55Z

It surprises me to see Rafael Nadal, known for being fairly bashful, to be following in Anna Kournikova's footsteps as eye candy in a music video. But I guess lying next to Shakira is an activity that doesn't put undue stress on his tender knees.

Playing Catch-Up -- Part 1 (February 1-7)

2010-02-25T12:08:48Z

A combination of cataclysmic weather, internet outages, the Olympics and oversight have left this The Daily Forehand fairly stagnant for a while, for which I apologize.

I haven't been able to follow tennis nearly closely enough pretty much all of February, and while it's probably the least important month in the tennis calendar it's still something for which I should make amends.

So here is the first of a three-part series which will try to make sense of the results (and some news) from the post-Australian Open happenings in the sport with the fuzzy balls.

And if you haven't been playing super-close attention to tennis over these last few weeks either, hopefully this will serve as a nice way to get a digest of what's been going on.

ATP 250 Santiago - Movistar Open:

This marked the tournament's return to Santiago after nine years in Vina del Mar, a resort town which the players always seemed to enjoy. I always found it sort of odd that the "Movistar Open" always had such a C-List field. Not much of a red carpet. I found out when I was in Spain last year that Movistar is a huge telecommunications corporation that dominates the market just about everywhere they speak Spanish. It makes sense, then that 22 of the 32 players in the field at Vina del Mar hail from Spanish-speaking locales.

The champion, Brazil's Thomaz Bellucci, is from the minority of non-Hispanophones, defying the odds and taking out Juan Monaco in the final, by the odd scoreline of 6-2, 0-6, 6-4. It's Bellucci's second title, the first coming at Gstaad last summer at another 250 event on clay during non-clay season. So while he's not any sort of world beater, two titles already for the young Bellucci is extremely solid. A win over Fernando Gonzalez in the semifinals of his home tournament is also a nice feather in the cap. Those 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro aren't really that far away, and if the tennis there is on clay (as I suspect it will be) there's no reason Bellucci can't be in the medal running at that point on home turf.

As for Monaco, it's nice that he finally got a chance to play in the Movistar final after having to pull out of the 2008 Vina del Mar final with an injury. Not so nice that once he finally got there he lost, though at least he and Bellucci won an equal twelve games.

ATP 250 Zagreb - PBZ Zagreb Indoors:

Odd to think there are still tournaments at which Ivan Ljubicic could be a #2 seed, but he did win Lyon last year and is still a top 25 player (or at least he was during this event, having since fallen to #26). Ljubicic didn't do much with his seeding, losing to Lukas Lacko in a third set tiebreaker in the second round.

With Ljubicic out of the picture, the present and future of Croatian tennis was on display for the rest of the event, as top seed Marin Cilic cruised to a defense of his 2009 Zagreb title, not dropping a set until a surprisingly competitive final against Michael Berrer. The most important match of this run was almost certainly a straight sets victory over compatriot Ivo Karlovic in the quarterfinal, a battle between the two uber-tall Croatians seen as the biggest threats to take a title any given week.

Speaking of uber-tall Croatians, I should point out here that this was Cilic's first tournament since enlisting Goran Ivanisevic as his coach, dismissing Bob Brett. Coming off his first grand slam semifinal in Melbourne, it was decidedly odd timing for a coaching change, but presumably Cilic thought that Ivanisevic was the man to take his game to that next level. Risky move, but it paid off in the short term, at least.

And as further evidence that the world is getting smaller every day, let it be noted that while the title sponsor of the tournament is PBZ (Privredna Banka Zagreb), the trophies appear to be sponsored by O₂. And who bought O₂ in 2005? Telefónica, the same corporation which owns Movistar. Those people like their tennis. It's a good thing, then, that the ATP WTF in London is played in O₂ Arena, I suppose.

ATP 250 Johannesburg - SA Tennis Open

With defending champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga too exhausted to defend his 2009 title at this event, still only in it's second year, the field in Johannesburg was pretty wide open (though still the toughest of the week).

Feliciano Lopez took advantage, winning his first title since 2004, an incredible drought for a player who has spent pretty much that entire time in the top fifty.

Lopez beat Stephane Robert in the final, a 29-year old Frenchman who is playing by far his best tennis late in his career, reaching a career high rank of #67 with his run to the final, a rank which jumped further to #61 in the few weeks since. Robert was the only one of the 108 direct entries at the Australian Open whom I hadn't heard of, so for him to vault from relative obscurity to a final this quickly is quite an accomplishment. He was ranked #316 this time a year ago, which makes for as astronomical a climb as you'll ever see for an unknown his age.

Since the later stages of the tournament including top seed Gael Monfils, Jamaican Dustin Brown, Taiwan's Yen-Hsun Lu, India's Somdev Devvarman and America's Rajeev Ram, it's interesting to note that only three of the eight quarterfinalists in Johannesburg were white. They don't keep stats on that sort of thing, but it must have been a first. For it to happen in the only tournament on either tour to take place in sub-Saharan Africa makes it all the more significant.

WTA Fed Cup World Group Round 1

The four quarterfinals of World Group play in the 2010 Fed Cup took place the weekend after the finals of the Australian Open, scheduling that likely contributed to the absences of Maria Sharapova, Elena Dementieva, the Williams Sisters, and all the French women ranked inside the top fifty.

The most anonymous of the ties was between the USA and France, in which Melanie Oudin won her first main draw matches since her US Open run as the Americans blitzed the French 3-0, hanging on for a 4-1 win. Hopefully it's a turning point in Oudin's sophomore slump, since she'll have a huge opportunity to make some noise on friendly turf in both Indian Wells and Miami in the coming months.

There were some big names present, though, especially in the tie between Serbia and Russia. The tie, Serbia's first in the World Group, was easily the biggest women's tennis event to ever take place in the country, but sadly ended in defeat for the host Serbs. Jelena Jankovic did her part, winning both her singles matches in dramatic fashion in front of the roaring crowd. But unfortunately she doesn't have much of a teammate these days in Ana Ivanovic. Ivanovic lost both her singles matches, to Svetlana Kuznetsova and Alisa Kleybanova, winning only five games in each match. She was then predictably ineffective in the doubles, the final rubber which ultimately handed the event to the Russians by the score of 3-2.

The Russians stay on the road for their next tie, a semifinal match-up against the Americans in Birmingham, Alabama. It will be interesting to see if the Williams sisters play--last time there was a semifinal on home soil, in the unlikely locale of Stowe, Vermont, Venus did.

Italians Francesca Schiavone and Flavia Pennetta won 4-1 on the road against the all-Bondarenko Ukrainian team by the score of 4-1, setting up a semifinal against the Czech Republic, who beat Germany 3-2 on that hideous acid green indoor court in Brno they seem to love so much.

Food for thought: Andy Roddick played all three of the week's ATP title winners during the Australian Open, beating two of them (Bellucci and Lopez) and losing to the third (Cilic) in a fifth set.

However ridiculous and over the top Serena Williams' infamous outburst at that lineswoman was, it...

2010-02-25T09:35:46Z

However ridiculous and over the top Serena Williams' infamous outburst at that lineswoman was, it seems all the more absurd and cruel after reading this SI.com piece.

Kudos to Jon Wertheim for getting the interview with the lineswoman, Shino Tsurubuchi, a look into her perspective which was incredibly humanizing and incredibly overdue.

What We Learned From The Australian Open: ATP Edition

2010-02-09T01:54:16Z

Nothing we haven't seen before. (Photo: WILLIAM WEST/AFP/Getty Images)

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Sorry for the delay, folks. Weather has not been kind to my internet access here in Washington...

Here's what we learned at the Australian Open about the top eight in the ATP (using their new post-Aussie rankings), as well as a few other notables.

#1 Roger Federer (Champion - Stays at #1) -- There were some hiccups against Russians along the way, but in the end it was yet another routine, straight sets victory in a slam final for Roger Federer, winning his sweet sixteenth. He didn't look unbeatable, but he didn't get beaten. The killer instinct that was questionable in New York against del Potro was definitely there against Murray, almost certainly because he just doesn't seem to like the Scot at all. If he can muster that same disdain in the rest of his slam finals, no reason he can't reach 20. Here's a stat that I don't think anyone else has come up with yet: With this Australian Open title, his first since Melbourne Park switched over to the blue stuff in 2008, Federer becomes the first player to win slams on five different surfaces (grass, clay, Rebound Ace, DecoTurf, Plexicushion).

#2 Novak Djokovic (lost in quarterfinals to Tsonga - Was #3) -- Congrats to Djokovic on making it to a career high ranking of #2, but man, did he ever fail to get any style points in the process. After running through one of the softest slam draws in recent memory (Gimeno-Traver, Chiudinelli, Istomin, Kubot), Djokovic flamed out against the first tough opponent he faced, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. He outplayed Tsonga for the first three sets, but then physically broke down with a mess of nausea and exhaustion, losing the fourth and fifth sets in short order. While draws at major tournaments will feature a "Djokovic half" for the first time, he's hardly a lock for the finals with these questions still lingering about his conditioning when the going gets tough.

#3 Andy Murray (lost in final to Federer - Was #4) -- Definitely a strong run for Murray, but like Djokovic his bump in the rankings comes with more questions attached than answers. And while the British media does deserve just about all the flak they're getting for wondering aloud if Murray will ever win a slam, they do have a point. He may be "only" 22, but the last player to win a first career slam at an older age was Gaston Gaudio back in 2004. Djokovic, Nadal, and del Potro (and Federer and Roddick just before Gaudio) were all younger when they struck paydirt for the first time.

#4 Rafael Nadal (lost to Murray in quarterfinal - Was #2) -- Nadal's lowest ranking since 2005 is all about not being able to complete his title defense due to injury on the surface, but in reality he was never going to be competitive against Murray in his quarterfinal loss. Nadal lost bulky muscle up top in an announced attempt to keep his lower body healthier, but he's now less powerful and still perpetually injury prone. I think it's about time to stick a fork in this career, sadly. Many say he still has a shot on the clay, but from where I sit I can't imagine that long, grinding matches are the cure for what ails him.

#5 Juan Martin del Potro (lost to Cilic in fourth round - Stays at #5) -- del Potro didn't do much with having a quarter to his name for the first time at a grand slam, but he never really looked 100% with his arm, either. There was a real nice gut-check win in the second round vs. James Blake for him, but also a real bizarre bageling at the hands of Florian Mayer before he finally went down in a battle of attrition against Cilic in the fourth round. Cilic was impossible to get any rhythm against the entire tournament, so it is a pretty excusable, explicable loss as far as I'm concerned.

#6 Nikolay Davydenko (lost to Federer in quarterfinal - Stays at #6) -- Hard to really grade Davydenko's run at this tournament. He largely failed to live up to the darkhorse label that had been bestowed upon him by the fawning Mary Carillo, but he did show that he has the potential to beat the best in the world when at his best. He looked absolutely untouchable for his first three matches, losing a combined seventeen games in those three straight sets wins. But then he absolutely stunk up the joint halfway through his fourth round match against Fernando Verdasco, and then stunk up the joint again halfway through his quarterfinal vs. Federer, playing so listlessly as to not win a single game for an hour. I think the French Open still represents his best shot to make a grand slam final, as it always has, but it's clear that he's going to need to learn not to peak too early if that's going to happen.

#7 Andy Roddick (lost to Cilic in quarterfinal - Stays at #7) -- He comes away having not defended his semifinal points from a year ago, but it was a real impressive run for Roddick. That five-set win against Gonzalez is exactly the type of match he would have routinely lost from 2004-2008. His comeback effort against Cilic was also pretty valiant, but in the end the result is probably a sign that he doesn't have what it takes to beat these big, young guns on a consistent basis.

#8 Robin Soderling (lost to Granollers in the first round - Stays at #8) -- A bizarre early exit for Soderling, who looked to be cruising against the weaponless Granollers early on then totally fell apart as the match wore on, losing his two-set lead on the way to a first round exit. The surface in Melbourne is probably too slow for him to have made much noise. I'm more interested to see what he'll do in Dubai, Miami, and Wimbledon. I still don't understand how his best ever run at a major was on clay, and I refuse to believe it could happen again.

Australian Open Day 14 Open Thread: Men's Final

2010-01-31T08:41:55Z

The Norman Brookes Cup

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255 matches down, 1 to go...

Rod Laver Arena

Not Before 19:30

Roger Federer (SUI)[1] v. Andy Murray (GBR)[5]

I'm predicting Federer in 4. I think part of the reason he lost to del Potro in that final was a real lack of fight and killer instinct against an opponent in del Potro whom Federer seems to genuinely likes. Murray, on the other hand, doesn't seem to be on the receiving end of much respect from Federer. That said, this match is totally in Murray's hands (though Federer's serve does play a huge role, as Jsz pointed out).

Here's hoping for a great one. This match is our last taste of grand slam tennis for four months, so it'd better be big and delicious.

"Now I gotta win me some French Opens!"

2010-01-30T11:20:50Z

"Now I gotta win me some French Opens!"

--Serena Williams, after winning her fifth Australian Open crown. She has only one French Open title (2002).

Australian Open Day 13 Open Thread: Women's Final

2010-01-30T08:20:20Z

The Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup

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After laying dormant for almost two years, the Serena vs. Henin rivalry resumes on the grandest of stages. Hope you're not sleeping through this dream final.

Rod Laver Arena

Not Before 19:30

Serena Williams (USA)[1] v. Justine Henin (BEL)[W]

I rewrote my prediction piece for this final about twelve times before finally deciding that I really don't know. The one thing I expect is an awesome match. If it goes three, that could spell trouble for the gimpier Serena, but that's really the only thing I can say with any degree of certainty.

Federer Crushes Lackluster Tsonga in Semifinal Rout

2010-01-29T18:36:00Z

Roger Federer, executing one of the more difficult maneuvers of the evening.(THE ASSOCIATED PRESS/Andy Wong)

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The men's finals mirrored the women's ones that had preceded with them. The first was a gutty, close affair that, while not always pretty. The second was a rout in which the 2004 Australian Open champion made a fool of his/her opponent.

Roger Federer outclassed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 in 88 minutes, or in just one minute longer than the second set of Henin-Dementieva lasted.

Federer was good, but not any better than he was against Davydenko, who put up much more of a fight. Tsonga simply couldn't do anything right. He didn't serve well, he didn't move well, and he hit bad errors early in rallies. It was a sharp departure from the masterclass he delivered in his previous grand slam semifinal, where he was on the other side of a rout in beating Rafael Nadal 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 down under in 2007.

Venus and Serena Williams won their third straight grand slam doubles title, defeating top seeds...

2010-01-29T07:31:08Z

Venus and Serena Williams won their third straight grand slam doubles title, defeating top seeds Cara Black and Liezel Huber 6-4, 6-3.

Even more impressively, Serena's leg didn't fall off during the match, which certainly bodes well for her chances in the singles final.

Australian Open Day 12 Open Thread

2010-01-29T07:08:26Z

Spoiler Alert: You'll probably see one of these two things at the end of the match. Unlikely both.

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Only one match tonight, and each of the next two nights as well. And then there will be zero grand slam matches per night for about four months, so make the most of these while you can.

Rod Laver Arena

Not Before 19:30

Roger Federer (SUI)[1] v. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA)[10]

I'll go out on not much of a limb and take Federer in 3.

Not a whole lot of buzz around this matchup, really, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't wake yourself up, pack into the comments and fill them with wonderfully insightful comments.

Australian Open Day 11 Open Thread

2010-01-28T00:06:15Z

After posing for the requisite "we made it to the semifinals and we're from the same country!" photo, do Zheng Jie and Li Na have what it takes to make it an all-Chinese final? Does it count if one of them does? Photo via photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net

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Doesn't get too much more major at a grand slam than having three semifinals in one day, easily the second biggest day at any slam short only to the US Open's Super Saturday.

And it doesn't get much more sparse than having only one singles match on the slate per night, which is what we have from here on out for the rest of the tournament. So by all means, get your fill of tennis tonight.

The later start doesn't really do us many favors here in the States, with Serena-Li not getting court til 9:30 EST.

Rod Laver Arena

Not Before 13:30
2. Serena Williams (USA)[1] v. Li Na (CHN)[16]
3. Justine Henin (BEL) v. Zheng Jie (CHN)
19:30 Start Time
1. Marin Cilic (CRO) [14] v. Andy Murray (GBR) [5]

My abbreviated predictions tonight: Serena Williams in 2, Zheng Jie in 3. It'll be like Natalie Dechy almost was in 2005, or like Marion Bartoli actually was in 2008.

And for the men, let's make it three straight five set upsets for Marin Cilic.