Monday Net Post

Last Week's Tournaments

Rogers Cup (ATP - Hard - Montreal, Canada)

- Singles Final: Novak Djokovic def. Roger Federer 7-6, 2-6, 7-6.
- Singles Semifinal: Roger Federer def. Radek Stepanek 7-6, 6-2.
- Singles Semifinal: Novak Djokovic def. Rafael Nadal 7-5, 6-3.
- Singles Bracket

- Doubles Final: Mahesh Bhupathi/Pavel Visner def. Paul Hanley/Kevin Ullyett 6-4, 6-4.
- Doubles Semifinal: Mahesh Bhupathi/Pavel Visner def. Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan 6-2, 4-6, 12-10.
- Doubles Semifinal: Paul Hanley/Kevin Ullyett def. Jonathan Erlich/Andy Ram 6-2, 6-3.
- Doubles Bracket

East West Bank Classic (WTA - Hard - Los Angeles, United States)

- Singles Final: Ana Ivanovic def. Nadia Petrova 7-5, 6-4.
- Singles Semifinal: Nadia Petrova def. Maria Sharapova (walkover).
- Singles Semifinal: Ana Ivanovic def. Jelena Jankovic 4-6, 6-3, 7-5.

- Doubles Final: Kveta Peschke/Rennae Stubbs def. Alicia Molik/Mara Santangelo 6-0, 6-1.
- Doubles Semifinal: Alicia Molik/Mara Santangelo def. Tatiana Poutchek/Anastasia Rodionova 6-3, 6-2.
- Doubles Semifinal: Kveta Peschke/Rennae Stubbs def. Gisela Dulko/Maria Kirilenko 6-4, 6-1.

• Singles & Doubles Brackets

By the Letter

T...oronto's field strength for this week's WTA event will pale in comparison to the men's field that just finished playing in Montreal.  The Williams sisters, Martina Hingis, Amelie Mauresmo and Maria Sharapova have all pulled out of Toronto.  By contrast, all of the men's top 20 played in Montreal.
E...ngagement of Martina Hingis and Radek Stepanek has been called off, revealed Stepanek this week.
N...icole Vaidisova has withdrawn from Toronto, and could possibly miss the U.S. Open due to mononucleosis.  This is the same ailment that sidelined Mario Ancic for six months.
N...BC castoff Bud Collins has been hired by ESPN to provide tennis analysis and commentary.
I...ndicate who you think will win at the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters on this bracket, and you could win $1,000,000 - if you don't screw up once.
S...uspcisions of match-fixing were augmented by a Los Angeles Times story which reported that ATP players have received anonymous phone calls promising money in exchange for predetermined match results.  This was stated by Bob Bryan, who said that although this is true, he doesn't know of any players who have accepted such offers.
W...ant to know which woman hits the ball "the hardest"?  The WTA Tour is now introducing a "power index" that analyzes various shots hit by players and their corresponding speeds.  This index tabulates an average miles per hour rating for each player - in San Diego, Venus Williams topped the charts at 94.5 mph.
O...ne-time Grand Slam champion Thomas Johansson did not play in the Masters Series event in Montreal this week - rather, he played in a Challenger tournament in Binghamton, NY.  Johansson won 6-4, 7-6 over journeyman Dusan Vemic in the final.
R...etired French Open champion Sergi Bruguera isn't showing any signs of age on the BlackRock Tour of Champions.  Bruguera won his fourth consecutive title in Algarve this week, upping his record on the year to 16-0.
L...ingering wrist injury may force Andy Murray out of Cincinnati; as of Saturday this decision was still up in the air.  At this same tournament last year, Murray became one of the few players in the last four years to defeat Roger Federer, doing so in the second round.
D...ancevic, Frank of Niagara Falls, Ontario became the first Canadian since 1989 to reach the quarterfinals of the Canada Masters.

McGrogan's Heroes

ATP - He defeated a resurgent player who has looked impressive since his return to the tour (Nicolas Kiefer).  He took out a player with a skillful game, despite the fact that he often falters in the biggest of moments (David Nalbandian).  He beat a former Canadian Masters champion with a serve that's especially huge on fast hard courts such as those in Montreal (Andy Roddick).  And he looked extremely comfortable against the second-best player in the world, who has been readying himself for the summer swing ever since last year's "slump" (Rafael Nadal).  Novak Djokovic did this all without dropping a set.

You can forgive the Serbian star for not getting by Roger Federer in straight sets.  But can Djokovic?  Throughout Novak's short career, he has always set the bar extremely high for himself.  Most observers recall when Djokovic claimed to be "in control" of his match against Nadal in the 2006 French Open, even though he was well behind in the score when he retired from the contest.  More recently, he has indicated that he is hunting the Number One ranking in earnest. Coming from anyone else in the era of Federer and Nadal, this would sound foolhardy. But from Djokovic . . . not any longer. Not after he beat the top three seeds (Roddick, Nadal and Federer) and became the first man since Boris Becker in 1994 (Stockholm) to beat the top three in the world in the same event.

WTA - The top four seeds cleaned up in Carson, advancing to the semifinals with little difficulty.  Ana Ivanovic emerged as the winner from this foursome, winning her fourth career title.  She also won the battle of Serbia as she defeated compatriot Jelena Jankovic in the semifinals.  Ivanovic's stellar play rekindled memories of Roland Garros, where Serbian dominance was also a major theme.

The success of Serbian tennis this week is all the more impressive because it occured on a different surface that the last time  Winning matches on clay at Roland Garros is of course, very impressive.  But dominating on a completely different surface, thousands of miles away in another continent, is what has separated Ivanovic, Jankovic, and Djokovic from most of the tennis world this year.  Each of these players has captured the spotlight as a worthy ambassador for Serbian sport.  This week, Ivanovic did it best on the women's side.

Taking home Grand Slam hardware is the next logical step for either of the Serb girls  - and the upcoming U.S. Open could be theirs for the taking.  Consider:

• Justine Henin's recent meltdown at Wimbledon.
• The nagging injuries of Venus and Serena Williams.*
• The erratic play of defending U.S. Open champion Maria Sharapova.

These factors are partly why I think either Ivanovic or Jankovic will win the U.S. Open in a few short weeks.

*Not that this has stopped them from making mincemeat of Slams before.

Next Week's Tournaments

Western & Southern Financial Group Masters (ATP - Hard - Cincinnati, United States)

• Website
• Singles Bracket
• Doubles Bracket

TV:

Monday: 11:00 am - 11:00 pm (TTC)
Tuesday: 11:00 am - 9:00 pm (TTC)
Wednesday: 1:00 - 5:00 pm (ESPN2), 7:30 - 9:30 pm (ESPN2)
Thursday: 1:00 - 5:00 pm (ESPN2), 7:00 - 9:00 pm (ESPN2)
Friday: 12:00 - 2:00 pm (ESPN2), 8:00 - 10:00 pm (ESPN2)
Saturday: 1:00 - 3:00 pm (ESPN2), 8:00 - 10:00 pm (ESPN2)
Sunday: 4:00 - 6:00 pm (CBS), 8:00 - 10:00 pm (TTC)

Rogers Cup (WTA - Hard - Toronto, Canada)

• Website
• Singles & Doubles Bracket

TV:

Wednesday: 5:00 - 7:00 pm (TTC), 10:00 pm - 2:00 am (TTC)
Thursday: 10:00 pm - 2:00 am (TTC)
Friday: 2:00 - 4:00 pm (ESPN2), 11:00 pm - 1:00 am (TTC)
Saturday: 4:00 - 6:00 pm (TTC), 10:00 pm - 12:00 am (ESPN2)
Sunday: 2:00 - 4:00 pm (ESPN2)

Beyond the Bracket

On their respective tennis calendars this week, there is only one tournament each for the men and women.  The ladies (or at least those who haven’t yet withdrawn) head up north to Canada for the Rogers Cup, which was the focus of last week’s Beyond the Bracket.  So let's consider Cincinnati, where the men will play their second consecutive Masters Series tournament.

Last week’s Canadian Masters is distinguished by its longevity; it's one of the oldest tournaments on the ATP Tour.  This week’s Masters Series event in Mason, Ohio (the event is not actually played in Cincinnati) also has history on its side.  The Cincinnati suburb has hosted the event since 1899, and it is the oldest tennis tournament in the United States still held in its original city.  While the U.S. Open and San Jose have longer histories than Cincinnati, they have also relocated over the years.  The Open was originally played in Newport, Rhode Island, while San Jose was first held in Monterey, California.

Earlier this year, the Tennis Channel offered an aspiring tennis journalist the chance to win a trip to the French Open and blog onsite.  To win this trip, you had to show your tennis knowledge and writing abilities in an essay that discussed what you would do as the “commissioner of tennis”.  I tried my luck, but ended up not getting the call.  I’m thinking that a big reason for this may have been that so many people (including myself) focused their essays on a concern that is widespread amongst many tennis fans – that the Masters Series events are not sufficiently spread out.

My opinion earlier this year was that these "Super Nine", as they used to be called, were indeed too close to each other on the calendar.  However, after watching another full year of AMS tennis, I have to admit that having Indian Wells/Miami and Canada/Cincinnati tournaments back-to-back is not such a bad idea after all. The reality is that the best of the ATP simply don’t show up until these events start. In the winter/early spring, the top players go into hibernation after the Australian Open (not to be seen again until Indian Wells/Miami), and the same occurs after Wimbledon (we haven't seen Federer since then).

So the current, feast-or-famine approach might be the best, overall. You get long periods with no top players, and then a concentrated period when the top guys all play. Maybe back-to-back Masters Series tournaments is the best way to go.

- Ed McGrogan