Dusseldorf ATP 250 - Men's Final 3/WC Juan Monaco d 6 Jarkko Nieminen - 64 63 Now that's how you turn around a dismal season - you win a title. His 8th - 7 of them on clay. And 1st of 2013. Hopefully this will give him a jolt of confidence for Roland-Garros. Juan has a very tricky draw right from the start. He's got Gemino-Traver first up and is headed toward Cliic and Tsonga. And if he can get past all of them he's likely to face Federer in the Qf's. I'm exhausted just typing that! Post match: It's... Continue reading

Nice ATP 250 - Men's Final Albert Montanes d WC Gael Monfils - 60 76(3) Not bad for someone not even planning to play this event. He was a very lasy minute replacement for Berdych suffering fatique. This is Albert's 6th title and 1st in nearly 2 years. That over 30 crowd is still making noise. And it makes me goofy happy. Post match: I was not supposed to play here in the first place. I was in my home town, 200km from Barcelona, with friends when I found out I was entering the main draw last Saturday night. So... Continue reading

Defending champions Rafa & Maria helped make the draw. Maria kind of spoiled the party as she put Rafa in Nole's half. So what should be a final can only happen in a semifinal. Boo. You can check the men's draw HERE. The men's quarterfinals are seeded to look like this: Nole/Tipsy; Rafa/Gasquet; Ferrer/Berdy; Roger/Jo-W. The top 3 really got decent draws. I'm thinking they'll all be Sf-ists. Hell, I'll go as far as to say all 4 top seeds will all make it. You can check the women's draw HERE. Really? Ain't nobody beating Serena this year. Nobody. But... Continue reading

Dusseldorf ATP 250 - Men's Quarterfinal 3/WC Juan Monica d Tobias Kamke - 63 64 Pico reaches a Sf for only the second time this year. So far he hasn't been backing up his points from last season. And he's staring down 4th round points from the French Open 2012. I just hope he stears clear of his BFF's (Rafa) draw. At least until the quarters. Continue reading

Brussels WTA - Second Round Jie Zheng d 1/WC Caroline Wozniacki - 62 64 Caro has yet to win a match on European clay this season. And 3 of those 4 matches have been in straight sets. Ouch. So's who has her winning in Paris in a couple weeks? And... Who's thinking Rory is to blame? Continue reading

I walked by the Whisky a Go-Go and was moved by the touch of class on their marquee. After all it was at this club on the Sunset Strip that The Doors made lots of rock history. RIP Ray. Continue reading

This is the 1st time since 2000 that Roger heads to Paris without a title. Interestingly he's only been in one final - yesterday at Rome. And Rafa handed him his butt. He will head to Roland Garros as the 2nd seed in the draw. Tho I doubt many people are picking him to win over Rafa & Nole. Roger before the final: I am playing well and I am healthy, so I have everything to play for next week [ahead ofRoland Garros]. This week was good to get an idea about what is working. News flash to Roger: That... Continue reading

Rome Masters Series 1000 - Men's Final 5 Rafael Nadal d 2 Roger Federer - 61 63 I think we can stop calling this a comeback already. He's beyond back. In 8 tournaments this year he's gone to all 8 finals and won 6 of them. Including 3 Masters 1000's (IW, Madrid & Rome) and 2 500 events. After his Sf win he moved to #1 in points earned in 2013. This is Rafa's 7th time biting the trophy at Rome. This is his 56th ATP title and 24th at the Masters 1000 level. Of his 56 titles a whopping... Continue reading

WTA Rome - Women's Final 1 Serena Williams d 3 Victoria Azarenka - 61 63 Seriously. Over 30 and playing the best tennis of her career. Proof: Serena is riding her longest win streak at 24 matches. She twice enjoyed a 21-match streak during her Serena Slam year. She has won 4 tournaments on-a-row and her 6th on the season. Something tells me nobody will stop her from winning her next 7 matches. You know... at the French Open. Repeats? The last time Serena won at Rome she also won at the French. Post match: Last year I was feeling... Continue reading

Rome WTA - Women's Quarterfinal 3 Victoria Azarenka d 9 Samantha Stosur - 64 16 63 This is Vika's 2nd trip to the Sf's at Rome: 0-1. Remember: Vika is still on the comeback trail after an ankle injury. Post match: It's all a process - I'm just trying to improve day to day, and I feel it's happening. I will probably never be truly satisfied, but I'm on a good road. Winning matches is very important, because it gives you opportunities to play more matches. That's really what I'm looking for right now. Continue reading

Rome Masters Series 1000 - Men's Quarterfinal 5 Rafael Nadal d 4 David Ferrer - 64 46 62 That photo says one thing and one thing only: RELIEF. Rafa'll play his 8th Sf at Rome: 7-0. In fact he's only had 2 losses at Rome. If memory serves I think a commentator said Rafa's never lost a Sf on clay. Today's win moves him to #1 on the Race to London rankings. That's stunning considering he didn't play the Australian Open. Spare a thought for Ferrer - the guy has suffered 3 losses to Rafa this year. And these last... Continue reading

Rome Masters Series 1000 - Men's Quarterfinal 6 Tomas Berdych d 1 Novak Djokovic - 26 75 64 This was Tomas' 4th trip to the Qf's at Rome. And it was nearly his 4th loss - he was down 26 25 before hotted-up. In the process Tomas snapped an 11 match losing streak to Nole. Post match: One day you have to break [the run] and I am happy that it was today. It was a great game and I am happy. I was trying to stay positive from the beginning. He didn't give me a single chance. I was... Continue reading

It's like an Argentine brotherhood. DelPo: It was an incredible experience with Pope Francis, something that I'll never forget. It was a dream come true for a guy like me. It was an unforgettable moment. I was very nervous before meeting him, to be able to congratulate him and talk with him. He was nice. Everybody knows he is very humble. Today was a day that I'll remember for ever. Further: He recognised me and that surprised me. We talked for a few seconds. He told me that he knew I was playing at the tournament in Rome, he blessed... Continue reading

Rome Masters Series 1000 - Men's 2nd Round 5 Rafael Nadal d Fabio Fognini - 61 63 It's still odd to type the 5 next to Rafa's name. That will change if he takes the title as he'll move past Ferrer to #4. That would be his 7th. But that's getting WAY ahead of ourselves. He's got a tough draw to get to the final: possible Ferrer Qf & Nole Sf. With Andy & Jo-W going out today Roger is the best bet to be in the final. Round 3: Rafa will next face Q Ernests Gulbis - H2H: 5-0/Rafa.... Continue reading

Rome Masters Series 1000 - Men's 2nd Round Marcel Ganollers d 3 Andy Murray - 63 67(5) 00 Ret'd Jerzy Janowicz d 8 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga - 64 76(5) Well they arrived at Rome together they may as well leave together. I mean, they should both be heading to Paris and prep for Roland Garros. So why not keep flying together? May I suggest a different form of transport tho... They were both seeded in Roger Federer's half of the draw. I wonder if Roger put something in the Fed Force One cabin air? And really? Fed Force One? Major eye-roll... Continue reading

Rome Masters Series 1000 - Men's 2nd Round Jerzy Janowicz d 8 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga - 64 76(5) Hey Jerzy, you do realize this was just a second round match right? I mean, even Nole saves this stuff for big matches like Grand Slam wins. But thanks for the peek. Continue reading

Rome Masters Series 1000 - Men's 2nd Round 1 Novak Djokovic d Q Albert Montanes - 62 63 Looks like Nole and his pup Pierre wil be sticking around Rome for a bit. Unlike at Madrid where he suffered an odd early loss. Remember, he lost the final at Rome last year to Rafael Nadal. They are on course to meet in the Sf's this year. The two-time Rome winner ('08 & '11) had this to say post match: It was a good performance for a start, even though I know I can do better. I know my game has... Continue reading

Rome WTA - First Round Laura Robson d Venus Williams - 63 62 I hate to say it but methinks Venus is over. And Laura will suffer the revenge factor immediately... She gets Serena in the next round. Serena will want to punish her for spanking Venus. They've never played before. I think it'll be a fun one. Continue reading

Madrid ATP Masters Series 1000 - Men's Final 5 Rafael Nadal d 15 Stanislas Wawrinka - 62 64 Rafa saved his best tennis for Sunday. This is Rafa's 3rd title at Madrid, 23rd Masters 1000 and 55th overall. It also moves him to a tie for 2nd most clay titles with Muster with 40. He needs 6 more to tie Vilas at 46 - which should happen by next year. This is also the first time he's won Barcelona & Madrid in the same year. Post match: I'm very happy for everything that has happened. Forty titles on clay are... Continue reading

Madrid WTA - Women's Final 1 Serena Williams d 2 Maria Sharapova - 61 64 And Serena hands Maria her ass. Again. That makes 7 of their last 11 matches Maria was kept to 5 games or less. That's just crazy stuff. With the title defence Serena will stay at #1. She also joined 9 other women with 50 or more titles. Post match: It feels good. I don't know how many more I can win. Like I say every day, 'Who knows if I'll ever win another title?' I just want to live in the moment and the dream... Continue reading

Madrid WTA - Women's Final Preview 1 Serena Williams vs 2 Maria Sharapova - H2H: 12-2/Serena Sf milestones: Serena becomes 1st player to win 30 matches this year. And Maria joined an elite club by winning her 500th WTA match. Maria has not beaten Serena since 2004. In their last 11 matches Maria has managed only 3 sets. Also in those last 11 - in 6 of them Serena only gave up 5 games. Their last showdown was in the Miami final in March. Maria managed to make it a 3 setter but got blown out in the 3rd 6-0.... Continue reading

Madrid Masters Series 1000 - Men's Quarterfinal W/C Pablo Andujar d 14 Kei Nishikori - 63 75 Pablo's improbable run continued today. He has only won 5 matches this year and none were back-to-back. Here in Madrid he's on a 4 match winning streak! His reward? He get Rafa in the Sf's tomorrow. But Pablo is happy enough just to be there: I'm very happy. Very happy for being able to reach my first [Masters 1000] semi-finals in my career, especially here in Madrid. I think that I cannot ask for anything else. Sure you can. How about the final? Continue reading

Madrid WTA - Women's Quarterfinal 1 Serena Williams d W/C Anabel Medina Garrigues - 63 06 75 It's not everyday Serena eats a bagel. About that bagel: I wasn't really there, my feet weren't moving - I don't know what happened. To turn it around I got up earlier on the changeover and started doing high knees and just stretching and doing anything to try to get my intensity back up to where it needed to be. This second set is a good reference. I can show a lot of juniors what not to do. Continue reading

Madrid Masters Series 1000 - Men's Quarterfinal 5 Rafael Nadal d 4 David Ferrer - 46 76(3) 60 Boy this one is gonna sting Ferrer for a while. He so had this one. But Rafa just refused to lose. And once he got into the 3rd set: lights out. After the win he helped celebrate Spanish legend Manolo Santana's bday. Post match: To win matches like today is always important. For me physically these matches help me [as] these are the kind of matches that ask the most of you physically. I think I played well. I had some highs... Continue reading

With his early exit at Madrid Nole got to Rome sonner than expected. He has great memories at Rome as a 2 time champ: '08 & '11. Last year he was runner-up to Rafa in a straight set affair. Surely there will be no early round upsets this coming week. Look for Nole to be fresh and make a deep run. Possibly even a trophy lift? I'd love to see another edition of Nole/Rafa again before Roland Garros. Continue reading