Monday Net Post

*By TW Contributing Editor, Ed McGrogan

Last Week's Tournaments*

Gerry Weber Open (ATP - Grass - Halle, Germany)

• Singles Final: Roger Federer def. Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3, 6-4.
  - Singles Semifinal: Roger Federer def. Nicolas Kiefer 6-1, 6-4.
  - Singles Semifinal: Philipp Kohlschreiber def. James Blake 6-3, 7-5.
• Singles Bracket

• Doubles Final: Mikhail Youzhny/Mischa Zverev def. Lukas Dlouhy/Leander Paes 3-6, 6-4, 10-3.
  - Doubles Semifinal: Lukas Dlouhy/Leander Paes def. Ivan Ljubicic/Robin Soderling 6-4, 0-6, 10-4.
  - Doubles Semifinal: Mikhail Youzhny/Mischa Zverev def. Christopher Kas/Philipp Petzschner 5-7, 6-4, 10-7.
• Doubles Bracket

Orange Warsaw Open (ATP - Clay - Warsaw, Poland)

• Singles Final: Nikolay Davydenko def. Tommy Robredo 6-3, 6-3.
  - Singles Semifinal: Nikolay Davydenko def. Fabio Fognini 6-2, 6-3.
  - Singles Semifinal: Tommy Robredo def. Juan Monaco 6-4, 6-4.
• Singles Bracket

• Doubles Final: Mariusz Fyrstenberg/Marcin Matkowski def. Nikolay Davydenko/Yuri Schukin 6-0, 3-6, 10-4.
  - Doubles Semifinal: Mariusz Fyrstenberg/Marcin Matkowski def. Marcel Granollers/Santiago Ventura 2-6, 6-1, 10-8.
  - Doubles Semifinal: Nikolay Davydenko/Yuri Schukin def. Oscar Hernandez/Albert Montanes 6-2, 6-1.
• Doubles Bracket

The Artois Championships (ATP - Grass - London, England)

• Singles Final: Rafael Nadal def. Novak Djokovic 7-6, 7-5.
  - Singles Semifinal: Rafael Nadal def. Andy Roddick 7-5, 6-4.
  - Singles Semifinal: Novak Djokovic def. David Nalbandian 6-1, 6-0.
• Singles Bracket

• Doubles Final: Daniel Nestor/Nenad Zimonjic def. Marcelo Melo/Andre Sa 6-4, 7-6.
  - Doubles Semifinal: Marcelo Melo/Andre Sa def. Max Mirnyi/Jamie Murray 6-3, 6-7, 10-6.
  - Doubles Semifinal: Daniel Nestor/Nenad Zimonjic def. Frantisek Cermak/Jordan Kerr 6-3, 7-6.
• Doubles Bracket

Barcelona KIA (WTA - Clay - Barcelona, Spain)

• Singles Final: Maria Kirilenko def. Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez 6-0, 6-2.
  - Singles Semifinal: Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez def. Nuria Llagostera Vives 2-6, 6-3, 6-1.
  - Singles Semifinal: Maria Kirilenko def. Stephanie Cohen-Aloro 7-5, 6-3.

• Doubles Final: Lourdes Dominguez Lino/Arantxa Parra Santonja def. Nuria Llagostera Vives/Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez 4-6, 7-5, 10-4.
  - Doubles Semifinal: Nuria Llagostera Vives/Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez def. Alina Jidkova/Lilia Osterloh 6-1, 7-5.
  - Doubles Semifinal: Lourdes Dominguez Lino/Arantxa Parra Santonja def. Andrea Hlavackova/Klaudia Jans 6-3, 6-4.

• Singles & Doubles Bracket

DFS Classic (WTA - Grass - Birmingham, England)

• Singles Final: Kateryna Bondarenko def. Yanina Wickmayer 7-6, 3-6, 7-6.
  - Singles Semifinal: Kateryna Bondarenko def. Marina Erakovic 6-3, 6-2.
  - Singles Semifinal: Yanina Wickmayer def. Bethanie Mattek 7-5, 7-6.

• Doubles Final: Cara Black/Liezel Huber def. Severine Bremond/Virginia Ruano Pascual 6-2, 6-1.
  - Doubles Semifinal: Cara Black/Liezel Huber def. Yaroslava Shvedova/Tamarine Tanasugarn 5-7, 6-4, 10-4.
  - Doubles Semifinal: Severine Bremond/Virginia Ruano Pascual def. Vania King/Alla Kudryavtseva 64, 4-6, 10-8.

• Singles & Doubles Bracket

By the Letter

T...op 10 future for Kei Nishikori?  Rafael Nadal thinks so: "I am 100 percent sure."
E...ven after her two-year ban for a positive cocaine test is over, Martina Hingis will not be returning to the pro tour.  "I re-lived it again for two years but I don't miss anything. I don't care so much about it," said Hingis.
N...ews you can use (Men): Miroslav Mecir, son of the two-time Grand Slam finalist, received a wild card into his first Challenger tournament in Kosice.  He won his first round match before losing to the No. 8 seed, Miguel Angel Lopez Jean, in the second round.
N...ews you can use (Women): Top seed Martina Muller was upset early in the $75,000 Marseille tournament.  Unseeded Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium took home the title.
I...vo Karlovic won his third round match against Fernando Gonzalez without having to win a match point - Gonzalez's persistent ball abuse led to a game penalty with Gonzo down 5-6 in the second set.
S...oothsayer Bjorn Borg thinks that Roger Federer will hold onto the No. 1 ranking this year, but that his reign will not last through 2009.  (Plus much more.)
W...imbledon's decision to not award the final two wild cards allowed Vince Spadea and Thierry Ascione direct entry into the tournament.  Maybe the LTA was still holding out hope than Pete Sampras and Tim Henman would come back.
O...ne way you can turn 54 straight losses into something positive.
R...oland Garros final between Federer and Nadal drew the lowest ratings of their three finals encounters.
L...ooking to work in tennis?  The WTA Tour has a few open spots - relocation a plus.
D...avydenko, Nikolay, was victorious in the oddly-placed Warsaw clay event for his third title of the season.

McGrogan's Heroes + Tennis Theatre

ATP – Rafael Nadal

Plenty of tennis fans are expecting Roger Federer to reach his sixth consecutive Wimbledon final in a few weeks.  But justified or not, Rafael Nadal is getting nearly the same degree of respect.  Nadal has two things going for him in that regard: His valiant effort at last year’s Championships, and his recent streak of torrid play.  That argument got a lot stronger after his victory at The Artois Championships.

Nadal got quite the warm-up for Wimbledon at Queen’s Club, facing virtually every grass court star not named Federer.  He first met veteran Jonas Bjorkman, just two years removed from a semifinal appearance at the All England Club.  It wasn’t a kind draw, but Nadal wasn’t kind in his 6-2, 6-2 beat down either.

After getting by Delray darling Kei Nishikori in three sets, Nadal then started tangling with the big boys.  And they don’t get much bigger than Ivo Karlovic.  The match went to three tiebreakers, but Nadal came out on top, winning the final two sets.

Another ace machine was next in Andy Roddick.  In a battle of two-time Wimbledon finalists, Rafa proved stronger, dispatching the American in straight sets, 7-5, 6-4.

With the big servers out of the way, Nadal’s final test came against a great shot maker in Novak Djokovic.  This match had it all, including this would be shot of the year, had it landed in:

That was about the only thing missing from Nadal’s play this week though, as he once again impressed on the court – this time, made of grass.  His win over Djokovic also marked the first time a Spaniard won on the surface in 36 years.

WTA – Kateryna Bondarenko

Kateryna Bondarenko, the younger sister of Alona, has had a nice year – she’s just needed some help along the way.  That help came from her doubles partner, the very same Alona.  Currently second in the Sony Ericsson Championships doubles race, these Ukrainian sisters have saved their best tennis for the biggest tournaments.  After opening the season with their first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, the Bondarenkos nearly got their second, but fell in the semifinals of the French Open.

Instead of resting on their laurels, the Bondarenko sisters entered the DFS Classic this week to prepare for Wimbledon.  In the doubles tournament, they were upset in the opening round.  But they each made up for it with their singles play.  Alona, with one career singles title to her name, reached the quarterfinals, but Kateryna won it all for her first career WTA Tour title.

This was an advantageous tournament to enter, as the top seed – by computer rankings – was the plummeting Marion Bartoli (this after both Maria Sharapova and Jelena Jankovic withdrew).  Bartoli, who was in Kateryna’s quarter of the draw, lost her opening match, leaving that quarter wide open.  Kateryna saw the opportunity and took it, dropping only one set in her first four matches.

Kateryna would have played her sister in the semifinals, but Marina Erakovic got in the way.  Sticking up for her big sister, Kateryna sent Erakovic packing, advancing to the final to play the rising Yanina Wickmayer.  Wickmayer, currently Belgium’s top ranked player (at 18, she’s won eight ITF titles), played Bondarenko tough, but it was 7-6, 3-6, 7-6 to Kateryna in the end.

This Week's Tournaments

• TV Schedule

Ordina Open (ATP - Grass - 's-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands)

• Singles Bracket
• Doubles Bracket
• Website

The Slazenger Open (ATP - Grass - Nottingham, England)

• Singles Bracket
• Doubles Bracket
• Website

International Women's Open (WTA - Grass - Eastbourne, England)

• Singles & Doubles Bracket
• Website

Ordina Open (WTA - Grass - 's-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands)

• Singles & Doubles Bracket
• Website

Beyond the Bracket

There’s been a lot of grumbling lately about the ATP Tour schedule, led by its top three players, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic.  I find this somewhat ironic because this top-ranked trio, by definition, has excelled under the current schedule, and this past week’s results suggest that they stand to benefit the most from the compacted calendar.  All three played deep into the second week at Roland Garros, but there was no noticeable fatigue or impact on their playing abilities.  And all of this took place, even more amazingly, on two completely different surfaces.

Federer cruised through the 32-player draw in Halle, maintaining his monopoly that he’s held there for years.  Nadal and Djokovic met in the final of Queen’s, each taking out a man who previously dominated the tournament (Andy Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt, respectively).  Speaking collectively for this trio, there’s no better way these past three week could have unfolded.

Of course, tennis isn’t played collectively.  So while this is great news for all three studs, I think its better news for Nadal and Djokovic, and less so for Federer.  After Federer showed the first chinks in his armor at the Australian Open, Pete mentioned that Wimbledon could be of critical importance to him, since Roger was unlikely to win at the French.  That scenario unfolded exactly.  It’s not just the chase for 15 Grand Slam titles that makes Wimbledon so important. If Federer were to lose – and Nadal or Djokovic to win – his number one ranking could be in a perilous position.

Things will be tougher because of what’s happened at the last two Slams.  In Melbourne, Federer was beaten in straights by Djokovic.  In Paris, he was flattened by Nadal.  These were huge confidence boosters for the winners.  Now, it’s not impossible to see Federer turning the tables on these two at Wimbledon, but I have a feeling that this is going to be an extremely tough test for Roger in a week’s time.

Djokovic and Nadal have dominated since the beginning of the year, and they looked great on grass in Queen’s.  Did you see the first set tiebreaker in their final yesterday?  The shot making reminded me of what Federer can do, with a twist.  Nadal’s serve does the job on both clay and grass – it will skid more on the slick surface.  Federer should expect to hit plenty of backhand returns once again, though he will be able to get more power and control on the shot, as it won’t kick as much.  Djokovic’s groundstrokes are quite powerful (remember that 100 mph swipe yesterday?) and precise, from both the forehand and backhand wing.  And don’t sleep on Roddick either – he’s also beat Roger this year.  I’m not sure where Roddick will be ranked, but can you imagine if Federer’s last three matches are Roddick, Djokovic, and then Nadal?

Make no mistake about it – Federer is the favorite at Wimbledon, and a big one at that.  He’s now won 59 straight on grass, and beat his closest rival, Nadal, each of the last two years at the All England Club.  That was probably in the (unknown) Tennis Channel commentator’s mind when, in between the first and second set of the Queen’s final, he said, “Eight days away from The Championships themselves.  Roger up on Centre.”  Let’s see what he does this year.

if...

Federer does not win Wimbledon, do you think he'll finish the year ranked No. 1?