Future Tennis Stars

Earlier tonight, Jelena Jankovic beat Serena Williams, the defending champion, in straight sets 6-3, 6-4. On paper you would think this was a stunning result but if you saw any of the match you would know that Serena was incredibly flat and served poorly. Not to take anything away from Jelena’s win, she certainly did everything she needed to keep Serena from getting into the match, breaking her almost at will including the final game to take the match.

Jelena has now reached her third Slam semifinal where she will face either Justine Henin or Maria Sharapova. You just know that Jelena would rather face Maria. Against Sharapova Jankovic is 1-3 with her only win coming on grass last year at Birmingham. Against Henin though, she is 0-9 and all four meetings in 2007 were straight set wins for Henin.

Roger Federer had a much harder time than most people thought he would. Personally I thought he looked really sluggish in the first couple of sets and was among those who thought Tipsarevic would pull the upset. Still, this is a great match and an amazing win for Federer. Like many have said, it’s rare when Federer gets into a tough situation and has to fight his way out like he did at Wimbledon against Nadal. It was a gut check for him against Tipsarevic and he came though.

Here are the last couple of games to Agnieszka Radwanska’s win over Svetlana Kuznetsova. This is the second time that Radwanska has upset a Russian seeded second in the third round of a Grand Slam. Think Chakvetadze or Dementieva would want to try their luck against her at the French Open? I doubt it.

Maria Kirilenko finall broke through at a Grand Slam with a 6-7 (6), 6-1, 6-2 win over sixth seeded Anna Chakvetadze.

While a lot of people are calling it shocking, I would say it’s more surprising than anything. This wasn’t the first time that Agnieszka Radwanska was facing a second seeded Russian in the third round of a Grand Slam on the main court. It was the second consecutive time and like her upset of Sharapova at the US Open last year, Radwanska came through with ease, upsetting Kuznetsova 6-3, 6-4.

The reason it’s not surprising is that the upset was over Kuznetsova, the one player of the top 4 seeds that no one ever talks about unless it’s a footnote with the other results. Many have said that Kuznetsova is undeserving of her No. 2 ranking and while I wouldn’t go that far, it doesn’t look like she will have that ranking for much longer.

The question remains then, with Agnes Szavay out, Victoria Azarenka gone and Tamira Paszek out in the first round, is Radwanska the best of the newcomers? She will be the favourite in her next match against either Nadia Petrova or Ekaterina Makarova and as we noted before, has pulled a big upset once before and is comfortable playing the top ranked players.

We’ll have to wait and see, she could get as far as the semifinals before having to play either Venus Williams or Ana Ivanovic.

Man, if we were tired of Maria Kirilenko always losing in the first or second round of a Grand Slam, imagine how she felt.

“Usually I’m losing like every time in the first round in a Grand Slam” said Kirilenko after her 6-7 (6), 6-1, 6-2 win over Anna Chakvetadze who trained at the same club in Moscow as Kirilenko when they were both juniors.

This has been a long time coming for Kirilenko who has had some success on the WTA Tour especially at the end of last year winning the title in India and losing a three set match to Venus Williams in Seoul.

Kirilenko will next face either Virginia Ruano Pascual or Daniela Hantuchova.

Man, I cannot stand Pam Shriver.

At every Grand Slam, ESPN tortures us with the ever annoying Pam Shriver. Why do they do this to us? Her voice is not great to listen to, of all the commentators, hers is the worst. Her biggest success was at the 1978 US Open. That’s it. Oh sure she did manage to win a bunch of Grand Slam doubles titles but who did she win them with? Martina Navratilova. That’s not saying much old Pammie. Martina could have played doubles with a lawn chair as a partner and used a rolled up newspaper as her racket and won as many Slams.

The worst thing about Shriver is that she just cannot relate to today’s game. She hasn’t played against any of these players and while not many commentators out there know what it’s like to face Sharapova’s serve, Shriver pulled out the worst comparison tonight after Fernando Gonzalez was upset. Gonzalez was the runner up last year and with his loss tonight he will now drop out of the top 20. Shriver dusted off the fact that she reached the finals of the US Open and lost to a qualifier in the first round the next year and dropped a lot of points (I can’t remember what her ranking was, I tend not to pay too much attention to her). And just what year did she reach the finals of the US Open? 1978. That’s 30 years people! Can’t they get someone who is a little more……recent?

If I can give Pam a little advice and not like she gives a crap what I think, but it’s this: talk a little less, talk a lot less about your career, don’t ever try and relate to today’s players considering they are less than half your age. Just stick to general questions and comments and we will all be better for it.

Rod Laver Arena

11:00 AM Start
Anna Chakvetadze (RUS)[6] v. Maria Kirilenko (RUS)[27]
Marin Cilic (CRO) v. Fernando Gonzalez (CHI)[7]
Roger Federer (SUI)[1] v. Janko Tipsarevic (SRB)

Rod Laver Arena

7:30 PM Start
Venus Williams (USA)[8] v. Sania Mirza (IND)[31]
Lleyton Hewitt (AUS)[19] v. Marcos Baghdatis (CYP)[15]

Vodafone Arena

11:00 AM Start
Agnieszka Radwanska (POL)[29] v. Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS)[2]
James Blake (USA)[12] v. Sebastien Grosjean (FRA)
Katarina Srebotnik (SLO)[28] v. Ana Ivanovic (SRB)[4]
Novak Djokovic (SRB)[3] v. Sam Querrey (USA)

MCA

11:00 AM Start
Juan Monaco (ARG)[21] v. Tomas Berdych (CZE)[13]
Virginia Ruano Pascual (ESP) v. Daniela Hantuchova (SVK)[9]
Jessica Moore (AUS)/Greg Jones (AUS) v. Rennae Stubbs (AUS)/Todd Perry (AUS)
Lindsay Davenport (USA)/Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) v. Gabriela Navratilova (CZE)/Klara Zakopalova (CZE)
David Nalbandian (ARG)[10] v. Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP)[22]

Show Court 2

11:00 AM Start
Vincent Spadea (USA) v. David Ferrer (ESP)[5]
Nadia Petrova (RUS)[14] v. Ekaterina Makarova (RUS)
Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS)/Amelie Mauresmo (FRA) v. Mariya Koryttseva (UKR)/Tatiana Perebiynis (UKR)
Tatiana Poutchek (BLR)/Andre Sa (BRA) v. Casey Dellacqua (AUS)/Robert Smeets (AUS)

Show Court 3

11:00 AM Start
Paul Hanley (AUS)[5]/Leander Paes (IND)[5] v. Rohan Bopanna (IND)/Rajeev Ram (USA)
Na Li (CHN)[24] v. Marta Domachowska (POL)
Sabine Lisicki (GER) v. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)
Carsten Ball (AUS)/Adam Feeney (AUS) v. Leos Friedl (CZE)[16]/David Skoch (CZE)[16]

Court 6

11:00 AM Start
Alona Bondarenko (UKR)/Kateryna Bondarenko (UKR) v. Shuai Peng (CHN)[8]/Tiantian Sun (CHN)[8]
Jeff Coetzee (RSA)/Wesley Moodie (RSA) v. Edouard Roger-Vasselin (FRA)/Gilles Simon (FRA)
Laura Granville (USA)/Vladimira Uhlirova (CZE) v. Yung-Jan Chan (TPE)[3]/Chia-Jung Chuang (TPE)[3]
Cara Black (ZIM)[1]/Paul Hanley (AUS)[1] v. Bethanie Mattek (USA)/Jordan Kerr (AUS)

Court 7

11:00 AM Start
Janette Husarova (SVK)[13]/Flavia Pennetta (ITA)[13] v. Chunmei Ji (CHN)/Shengnan Sun (CHN)
Anabel Medina Garrigues (ESP)/Martin Garcia (ARG) v. Liezel Huber (USA)/Jamie Murray (GBR)
Emmanuelle Gagliardi (SUI)/Patty Schnyder (SUI) v. Victoria Azarenka (BLR)[12]/Shahar Peer (ISR)[12]
Lucas Arnold Ker (ARG)/Feliciano Lopez (ESP) v. Sebastien Grosjean (FRA)/Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) or Martin Damm (CZE)[4]/Pavel Vizner (CZE)[4]

Court 13

11:00 AM Start
Sybille Bammer (AUT)/Oliver Marach (AUT) v. Lisa Raymond (USA)[2]/Simon Aspelin (SWE)[2]
Virginie Razzano (FRA)/Rogier Wassen (NED) v. Monique Adamczak (AUS)/Stephen Huss (AUS)
Robert Lindstedt (SWE)/Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) v. Marc Gicquel (FRA)/Fabrice Santoro (FRA)
Yves Allegro (SUI)/Kristof Vliegen (BEL) v. Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)[6]/Mark Knowles (BAH)[6]

Court 18

11:00 AM Start
Arnaud Clement (FRA)[7]/Michael Llodra (FRA)[7] v. Eric Butorac (USA)[10]/Kevin Ullyett (ZIM)[10]
Olga Govortsova (BLR)/Darya Kustova (BLR) v. Jelena Jankovic (SRB)/Bethanie Mattek (USA)
Mariusz Fyrstenberg (POL)[11]/Marcin Matkowski (POL)[11] v. Thomas Johansson (SWE)/Andrei Pavel (ROU)

Ok, I called it when the draw came out. I am sticking to it. Victoria Azarenka will upset Serena Williams. There. I know people will call me crazy. I don’t care. I am going with Azarenka because a breakthrough is coming for her, I know it. I feel it. This is how a breakthrough happens. We’ve seen it before, a fringe player we know is destined for greatness but hasn’t quite achieved it. Azarenka has been hyped for a few years, garnering praise from several players including Andre Agassi. A big upset like this always happens when it’s least expected. Williams is playing great, no reason we should be expecting an upset but that’s why it will happen. Come on Victoria, don’t prove me wrong!

Rod Laver Arena

11:00 AM Start
Justine Henin (BEL)[1] v. Francesca Schiavone (ITA)[25]
Jelena Jankovic (SRB)[3] v. Virginie Razzano (FRA)[30]
Gilles Simon (FRA)[28] v. Rafael Nadal (ESP)[2]

Rod Laver Arena

7:30 PM Start
Amelie Mauresmo (FRA)[18] v. Casey Dellacqua (AUS)
Andy Roddick (USA)[6] v. Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER)[29]

Vodafone Arena

11:00 AM Start
Marc Gicquel (FRA) v. Nikolay Davydenko (RUS)[4]
Victoria Azarenka (BLR)[26] v. Serena Williams (USA)[7]
Elena Vesnina (RUS) v. Maria Sharapova (RUS)[5]
Richard Gasquet (FRA)[8] v. Igor Andreev (RUS)[31]

MCA

11:00 AM Start
Nicole Vaidisova (CZE)[12] v. Ai Sugiyama (JPN)
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP) v. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA)
Elena Dementieva (RUS)[11] v. Shahar Peer (ISR)[17]
Nathalie Dechy (FRA)[8]/Andy Ram (ISR)[8] v. Sophie Ferguson (AUS)/Adam Feeney (AUS)
Jarkko Nieminen (FIN)[24] v. Mardy Fish (USA)

Show Court 2

11:00 AM Start
Cara Black (ZIM)[1]/Liezel Huber (USA)[1] v. Tatiana Poutchek (BLR)/Anastasia Rodionova (AUS)
Mikhail Youzhny (RUS)[14] v. Ivo Karlovic (CRO)[20]
Jurgen Melzer (AUT)/Alexander Peya (AUT) v. Daniel Nestor (CAN)[2]/Nenad Zimonjic (SRB)[2]
Monique Adamczak (AUS)/Christina Wheeler (AUS) or Serena Williams (USA)/Venus Williams (USA)  v. Katarina Srebotnik (SLO)[2]/Ai Sugiyama (JPN)[2]

Show Court 3

11:00 AM Start
Bob Bryan (USA)[1]/Mike Bryan (USA)[1] v. Nicolas Almagro (ESP)/Nicolas Massu (CHI)
Su-Wei Hsieh (TPE) v. Aravane Rezai (FRA)
Stefan Koubek (AUT) v. Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA)[23]
Jarmila Gajdosova (AUS)/Samuel Groth (AUS) v. Chia-Jung Chuang (TPE)[6]/Jonathan Erlich (ISR)[6]
Sania Mirza (IND)[6]/Alicia Molik (AUS)[6] v. Nadia Petrova (RUS)/Elena Vesnina (RUS)

Court 6

11:00 AM Start
Scott Lipsky (USA)/David Martin (USA) v. Jonathan Erlich (ISR)[8]/Andy Ram (ISR)[8]
Agnes Szavay (HUN)/Leander Paes (IND) v. Renata Voracova (CZE)/David Skoch (CZE)
Zi Yan (CHN)[7]/Jie Zheng (CHN)[7] v. Klaudia Jans (POL)/Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)
Sebastien Grosjean (FRA)/Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) v. Jordan Kerr (AUS)/Todd Perry (AUS) or Martin Damm (CZE)[4]/Pavel Vizner (CZE)[4]
Zi Yan (CHN)[3]/Mark Knowles (BAH)[3] v. Vladimira Uhlirova (CZE)/Jeff Coetzee (RSA)

Court 7

11:00 AM Start
Frantisek Cermak (CZE)[9]/Lukas Dlouhy (CZE)[9] v. Marcel Granollers-Pujol (ESP)/Santiago Ventura (ESP)
Stephanie Foretz (FRA)/Selima Sfar (TUN) v. Iveta Benesova (CZE)[16]/Galina Voskoboeva (RUS)[16]
Anabel Medina Garrigues (ESP)[10]/Virginia Ruano Pascual (ESP)[10] or Angelique Kerber (GER)/Yvonne Meusburger (AUT)  v. Aiko Nakamura (JPN)/Tamarine Tanasugarn (THA)
Michaella Krajicek (NED)/Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) or Su-Wei Hsieh (TPE)/Alla Kudryavtseva (RUS)  v. Nicole Vaidisova (CZE)/Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (CZE)

Court 13

1:00 PM Start
Janette Husarova (SVK)/Mariusz Fyrstenberg (POL) v. Tamira Paszek (AUT)/Marcelo Melo (BRA)
Christopher Kas (GER)[15]/Rogier Wassen (NED)[15] v. Hyung-Taik Lee (KOR)/Florent Serra (FRA)

Court 18

11:00 AM Start
Arnaud Clement (FRA)[7]/Michael Llodra (FRA)[7] v. Fabio Fognini (ITA)/Ivan Ljubicic (CRO)
Kveta Peschke (CZE)[4]/Rennae Stubbs (AUS)[4] v. Jelena Kostanic Tosic (CRO)/Martina Muller (GER)
Vania King (USA)[14]/Nicole Pratt (AUS)[14] or Maret Ani (EST)/Meilen Tu (USA)  v. Tathiana Garbin (ITA)/Roberta Vinci (ITA)
Rik De Voest (RSA)/Chris Haggard (RSA) v. Martin Garcia (ARG)/Oliver Marach (AUT) or Julien Benneteau (FRA)[14]/Nicolas Mahut (FRA)[14]
Victoria Azarenka (BLR)/Max Mirnyi (BLR) v. Meilen Tu (USA)/Marcin Matkowski (POL)

Everyone thought that Fabrice Santoro would give Roger Federer a hard time. If this is how Federer meets tough competition without playing a warmup event, the rest of the field will be in a tough, but very familiar situation.

Federer so completely dominated Santoro, it wasn’t even funny expect to Santoro. When Federer missed an easy overhead, Santoro ran around in circles as if he won the match. As Federer was about to win the match, Santoro pleaded for mercy, looking at the scoreboard. Federer paused, then served out the match taking the last 10 games in yet another awe-inspiring 6-1, 6-2, 6-0 romp.

So why is this such a big deal? Santoro is the oldest player in the draw and Federer is an all-time great, shouldn’t this have been expected? Sure, Federer was supposed to beat Santoro but again, this is Fabrice Santoro. Regardless of his age and the fact he’s now played in 62 Grand Slams, he can still give the best players fits and isn’t prone to upsetting the odd top 1o player every now and then. Not to mention that Federer didn’t play any warm up events, hasn’t played in a tournament since the Masters Cup and no one knew if this may be the first time he doesn’t win a Slam outside of Paris in God knows how long. Still, Federer shows that he is perfection personified and that no matter what we may think, he’s not ready to go downhill yet.