Men's Fourth Round French Open Preview

By Mike Mcintyre

Half-way to the finish line and all of the main threats in the men's draw at Roland Garros appear poised to live up to their billing in Paris.

Top ranked Rafa Nadal survived his first five-set French Open match against John Isner and a third set hiccup against Pablo Andular in round two to advance with ease to the fourth round with a 6-1, 6-3. 6-0 route of Antonio Veic. Next up is unseeded veteran Ivan Ljubicic who upset Fernando Verdasco in straight sets on Saturday. While Ljubicic is a wily veteran, he stands no chance against the defending champion and will go down in three in their meeting I'm certain. While Ljubicic has defeated the Spaniard twice before, both of those meetings came on hard courts. Nadal will own him on clay to advance to the quarter-finals.

The Gilles Simon vs. Robin Soderling fourth round match should be a good baseline battle between one of three remaining French hopes and the two-time returning finalist from Sweden. Soderling leads their head-to-head 4-2 but the pair have never met on clay before. Expect a long match with Soderling likely prevailing to set-up a fantastic quarter-finals match against Nadal. Not a player Rafa is looking forward to facing.

After the finals in Australia, Andy Murray is still waiting for his "I'm Back" moment of 2011. Following the first Slam of the year he tanked in the first round of three consecutive tournaments. Back on track after a semi-final appearance in Rome where he had the chance to serve for the match against unbeaten Novak Djokovic, Murray can hold is own on clay and if his ankle holds up he should be able to dispatch Serb Viktor Troicki. Troicki is at an all-time high of 15th in the ATP World Tour rankings but I don't think he'll be able to pull-off the win against an experienced player like Murray. Murray leads 3-0 in their previous encounters although they have never met on clay and their last match was almost two years ago. Murray's health will dictate the outcome here.

 Moving along we have a surprise quarter of Alejandro Falla, ranked 127th in the world, against veteran dirt-baller Juan Ignacio Chela who has maintained a top-forty ranking even at the age of 31. At one apiece in their career against one another, this match could go either way. Ultimately unless you are from Colombia or Argentina you probably don't care one way or the other. The victor will no-doubt be taken care of by the winner of the Troicki-Murray match.

In the bottom half speedster David Ferrer will meet up with the acrobatic and unpredictable Gael Monfils of France. Should be a fantastic match that has five sets written all over it. Monfils has made the semi-finals here before while Ferrer is certainly capable himself and both have the potential to give their likely next opponent, Roger Federer, a tough go. With the year he's been having I give Ferrer the slight edge.

Federer meanwhile will feast upon his fellow countryman Stan Wawrinka in their fourth round encounter. Roger holds an intimidating 8-1 record against his former gold medal-winning doubles partner from the Beijing Olympics. Wawrinka came back from two-sets down to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to win a tough third round match and even if he was well rested I doubt he'd be able to topple Federer here at a Slam.

In another surprising fourth round match, Fabio Fognini will face Albert Montanes. While Fognini is a bit of a journeyman, Montanes is a legitimate clay court threat. Montanes is unseeded but reached a career-high ranking of 22 in the world last summer. He hasn't been lighting it up this year but won two clay court tournaments in 2010. He has played Fognini four times in his career and won the three most recent matches, all on clay.

The winner above faces the unenviable task of facing the winner between Novak Djokovic and...well, does it really matter? With a 40-0 record in 2011, Djokovic should be able to deal with Richard Gasquet in their match. Fresh off a four set send-off of Juan Martin Del Potro, Djokovic fears no one. While Gasquet took out Federer recently in Rome and definitely has a talent level that could trouble any player on tour, Djokovic is almost untouchable at the moment. It would take a Herculean effort from a Roger Federer or Rafa Nadal to have a chance at ending the Djoker's impressive streak right now.

Enjoy the fourth round and stay tuned for more analysis and updates from us here at ProTennisFan. Feel free to follow us on Twitter as well throughout the event and beyond.

Around The Corner: Indian Wells Masters

By Mike McIntyre

It's time again for some meaningful tennis. No disrespect to the ATP World Tour level 250 and 500 tournament's, but the BNP Paribas Masters in Indian Wells represents a return to top-level tennis with all the big names in attendance.

Rafael Nadal claims to be healthy again and the world number one is ready to perform. Defeated a year ago by Ivan Ljubicic in the semi-finals here, Nadal will hopefully be fit enough to play at 100%. After a first round bye he will potentially face a qualifier or Pere Riba from Spain. Either way Rafa should be off to a good start. His first major obstacle could be Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the fourth round and that could be a real special match for tennis fans. The 17th ranked Tsonga is a top-ten player when he is healthy and could give Rafa a tremendous challenge. While he is only 1-5 against Nadal, Tsonga has beaten him on hard courts before and usually gives the Spaniard a good test. With a weaker quarter of the draw, look for the winner of this match to likely advance to the semi-finals.

Still in the top-half of the draw, don't expect defending champion Ivan Ljubicic to last long. Aside from battling some injury issues, the veteran Croatian has the unenviable task of facing Juan Martin Del Potro in the second round. Ljubicic has a first round bye, while Del P will very likely take care of fading veteran Radek Stepanek in his opening match.

The 2009 U.S. Open champion, Del Potro has been playing terrific in recent weeks. Finally recovered from a wrist injury that kept him off the ATP World Tour for the better part of 2010, Del Potro has rebounded nicely in 2011 with two semi-final appearances in a row in San Jose and Memphis followed by a victory at the event in Delray Beach against Janko Tipsarevic.

Del Potro, when healthy, is a top-five player who is capable of beating just about anyone when on his game. In a tennis world where Federer and Nadal have been less than perfect lately, here is a player who can really throw his name into the mix in competing for Grand Slams. Look for him to have a tournament where he truly announces his return to the upper-echelon of the men's game.

A Del Potro vs. Dolgopolov third round would be fun to watch, as would a potential fourth round battle between Del P and Sweden's Robin Soderling. I like one of these two players to advance to the finals in fact. I still feel like Soderling has yet to reach his potential.

In the last section of the top-half of the draw we have Andy Murray. What to make of the world's fifth ranked player? He has a comfortable lead over sixth ranked David Ferrer in the rankings but what has he done for us lately? He has only played in two events through more than two months of the year and his results were total opposites. He was playing fantastically at the Australian Open before he advanced to the finals and then tanked in three sets to Novak Djokovic. Murray then proceeded to lose in the first round in Rotterdam in early February to Marcos Baghdatis in straight sets. Since then Murray has been absent from the tennis court and that in itself makes me wonder what else is going on with the talented Scot. Perhaps his third straight-sets loss in a Slam final has taken a mental toll on him? His performance here in Indian Wells and then in Miami will go a long way towards determining what direction Murray is headed.

The bottom-half of the draw meanwhile seems to have many more meaningful matches on deck. Second seeded Roger Federer could face Kei Nishikori in the second round and then rising-star Milos Raonic in the fourth round. A Federer vs. Raonic match would be an electric test of old versus the new.

Tomas Berdych has been sleep-walking through this year so far and could face Marin Cilic or Stan Wawrinka in the fourth round. Honestly, I don't see Berdych ever living up to his so-called potential despite his semi-final results at the French Open and making the finals of Wimbledon in 2010. There are several more mentally strong players on tour with just about as much physical talent as he has that I would bank on.

On the other side of the bottom-half draw we have aging American vet Andy Roddick and soon to be second ranked Novak Djokovic. Both should advance to the quarter-finals although Roddick's path is less certain. James Blake, John Isner and Richard Gasquet all stand in Roddick's way.

Djokovic meanwhile shouldn't face too much opposition with the lights-out way he has been playing. Veteran Lleyton Hewitt and fellow-Serb Viktor Troicki linger in his section but neither is anywhere near matching his level of performance.

I like a Djokovic vs. Federer semi-final in this section of the draw to go along with Nadal and Del Potro in the top half. Who emerges is anyone's guess but any way you slice it tennis fans worldwide are going to enjoy the next week and a half of tennis in California.

Around The Corner: ATP Tour Puts Down in Europe

By Mike McIntyre

Back over to Europe for three indoor hard court tournaments this week on the ATP World Tour. The big news on the circuit last week was that Roger Federer tied Pete Sampras' all-time tournament tally with his 64th career win in Stockholm. Only another 45 before he equals Jimmy Connors mark of 109!

This week we have stops in Austria, France and Russia as the season begins to draw to a close.

Bank Austria Tennis Trophy

It's gimmick time in Vienna as the event has chosen to dust off 43 year-old Thomas Muster with a wild-card into the main draw. The former world number one and French Open champion has been playing a few challenger and futures level events this fall and has a 1-6 record so far in his "comeback."

Muster opens against enigmatic Ernests Gulbis in the first round. I'm not really too sure what to make of this stunt. Muster is over ten years past being able to play at a high level - why make a return to the tour now?

Local Jurgen Melzer gets the number one seed and deservingly so. Not only is he the defending champion at this event, but he has had a terrific 2010 that has seen him reach his first career Grand Slam semi-final and also defeat Rafael Nadal for the first time. Melzer gets a first round bye and could face wild-card James Blake in the second round.

Melzer will likely have to face Philipp Kohlschreiber in his section of the draw, and could also see clay-court guru Nicolas Almagro or veteran Xavier Malisse as well.

In the bottom half, Marcos Baghdatis and second seeded Marin Cilic are lurking. Cilic could really use a strong result to close out his season as it has been one great disappointment for him since a semi-final appearance at the Australian Open back in January.

Open Sud de France

Doesn't it seem like there is an ATP event in France every couple of weeks? The French must really love their tennis and who can blame them? They have an abundance of players in the top one hundred in the world. Their players also have a variety in their game that makes them among the most enjoyable to watch in the sport.

Look over the qualifying draw and you might be surprised to see an A. Agazzi entered. That would be Andrea Agazzi from Italy...no joke.

The main draw boasts number one seed Nikolay Davydenko who appears to be on his last legs of competitiveness since returning from a wrist injury back in the spring. His long-term hold on a top-ten position has reached its end as he has been unable to put together any type of consistent tennis all season. Davydenko gets a first round bye, which will probably actually hurt his chances.

Defending champion Ivan Ljubicic is in the top-half of the draw along with Frenchman Richard Gasquet who is my pick to win the tournament.

In the bottom half we find many other talented locals such as number two seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Gilles Simon and Gael Monfils. Again, what a great time to be a tennis fan in France. David Nalbandian is also present with a wild-card.

St. Petersburg Open

Russia welcomes Mikhail Youzhny as the top seed and a slew of other lesser known players into the field. It is arguably the weakest draw of the three tournaments and does not offer any first round exemptions.

Youzhny won the event way back in 2004 which speaks to his longevity on the tour. In 2009, Sergiy Stakhovsky emerged as the champion and he is back as the second seed this time around.

Viktor Troicki who just won his first ever tour event in Moscow is in the top-half of the draw, while Jeremy Chardy, Janko Tipsarevic and P.H. Mathieu are in the bottom section.

Enjoy the tennis this week everyone.

 

 

 

 

Around The Corner: Shanghai Hosts Masters 1000 Event

By Mike McIntyre

The best men's tennis players in the world are once again assembled as the ATP World Tour showcases their talent in Shanghai. The Masters 1000 event boasts all top twenty players in the world.

In the first quarter we have world number one Rafael Nadal who recently completed his career Grand Slam at the U.S. Open. Since then Nadal has lost a semi-final match in Thailand and is currently set to play Gael Monfils in the finals in Beijing.

Nadal gets a first round bye this coming week and will play the winner of the Gilles Simon vs. Stan Wawrinka match.

While Nadal seemed to pace himself this year by playing fewer tournaments, he has been going full throttle during the Asian tennis swing and is perhaps due for an early round upset. Either of Simon or Wawrinka could trouble him. After his opening match Nadal could face the likes of Mardy Fish and Fernando Verdasco in the third and fourth rounds. I feel it is time for Nadal to come back down to earth with a humbling loss to one of the above players.

Andy Murray leads the next quarter and has had a less than successful 2010 season on tour. While he did finally grab his first tournament victory in Toronto in August, he failed to advance past the third round at the U.S. Open. Murray also bombed out early this past week in Beijing where veteran Ivan Ljubicic thrashed him 6-3, 6-2.

Murray could be challenged by the likes of Marcos Baghdatis, Sam Querrey or Mikhail Youzhny in his section. His recent results do not inspire confidence in his chances here this week.

On the other side of the draw Novak Djokovic has regained the number two position on the tour and likely will open in the second round against Ivan Ljubicic who has had a terrific week in Beijing making the semi-finals. Djokovic will have Gael Monfils and potentially Tomas Berdych to deal with in his quarter as well.

Finally, world number three Roger Federer will play in his first tournament since New York. It is hard to tell what we can expect from Federer after his month-long layoff, although he has played strongly since Wimbledon where he unexpectedly lost in the quarter finals.

Federer has the best draw of the top four and should get a couple of wins under his belt before having to face Robin Soderling in the quarter-finals.  

I expect a strong showing from Federer who will certainly be well rested. I foresee a Federer vs. Djokovic semi-final on one side with more of an upset on the other between Verdasco and Youzhny.

Any way it ends up, it's another great opportunity to see all of the best players in the world show us their skills. Tennis fans in Asia and those willing and able to watch at odd hours around the globe will enjoy this late season competition. 

Around The Corner: Gstaad, Umag and Los Angeles

By Mike McIntyre

Three ATP World Tour 250 events are on deck for this week and Andy Murray makes his first appearance since losing the semi-finals of Wimbledon. We have two clay-court stops in Europe in Gstaad, Switzerland and Umag, Croatia while the North American hard-court swing continues in Los Angeles.

Allianz Suisse Open

Russian Mikhail Youzhny has the top seed this week in Gstaad and will be playing for the first time since the Davis Cup quarter-finals two weeks ago where he went 1-1 against Argentina (beat Mayer, lost to Nalbandian). His last stop on clay-courts was at the French Open in May where he advanced to the quarters. Youzhny is currently the 14th ranked player in the world which is likely a bit higher than his talent level actually resides. He has had a solid year however, winning the title in Munich and finishing second in Dubai and Rotterdam. Without playing on clay for two months though I'm not expecting him to advance too deep in this week's draw.

Threats in the top-half of the draw include veteran Tommy Robredo - who every time I write about his weaknesses promptly goes out and wins a title, Albert Montanes - who won his opening match on Sunday 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(5) against Pere Riba of Spain, and Richard Gasquet - who won this event in 2006.

Brazil's Tomaz Bellucci is the defending champion and won his maiden ATP title here a year ago after advancing through the qualification stages. Bellucci opens against local Swiss hope Marco Chiudinelli and would face the tricky Igor Andreev in the second round.

Nicolas Almagro is seeded second and ended his 17-month title drought just over a week ago in Bastad. He followed that up by getting bounced in his opening match in Hamburg, so who knows which player we should expect this week?

I was hoping we might see Roger Federer play on home soil but such is not the case. With his recent struggles I would have thought a smaller tournament would be just what the doctor ordered for Roger to give him a much needed boost of confidence. Perhaps he doesn't want to touch the clay with some big hard-court tournaments looming on the schedule. I'm looking forward to seeing what he does in the weeks leading up to the U.S. Open.

Farmers Classic

Andy Murray is the only top-five player in action this week and begins his hard-court preparations in Los Angeles. Murray has not won a title since November and the only final he participated in was his very first tournament of 2010 at the Australian Open where he lost to Federer. LA offers Murray the perfect opportunity to reverse his futility streak this year and begin to ramp things up for Flushing Meadows. He could face Ernests Gulbis in the quarter-finals who he holds a 4-0 record against.

American Sam Querrey is the second seed and also the defending champion here while Marcos Baghdatis is in the number three position.

Mardy Fish - who has been having a stellar summer thus far - plays Benjamin Becker in the opening round, although I wonder if he might play the injury card after making back--to-back finals in Newport and Atlanta.

Meanwhile James Blake will try to reverse his recent struggles against Leonardo Mayer in the first round.

Studena Croatia Open

Croatian tennis fans will be rooting for Ivan Ljubicic to capture the title in Umag where he has never won before. Ljubicic is seeded third and opens with a bye in the first round.

Nikolay Davydenko continues to enter tournaments each week and is still looking for his game to click as he comes back from a wrist injury. Davydenko again crashed out early this past week in Hamburg but you have to figure sooner or later he is bound to rediscover his top-ten form.

Austrian Jurgen Melzer is one of the hottest players on tour right now. Having excellent results at the past two Grand Slams, Melzer made the finals in Hamburg this past week where he lost to first-time champion Andrey Golubev.

Italian veteran Filippo Volandri also makes a rare main-draw appearance this year and opens against wildcard Franco Skugar of Croatia in the first round. Volandri used to be quite the clay-court player but has been limited to mostly futures events in his home country in 2010. 

This will be the last week involving any clay-court events at the ATP level until late September. The tour focuses on Washington D.C. and the Legg Mason Classic in a week's time, followed by Masters stops in Toronto and Cincinnati. Keep checking back as ProTennisFan will be covering the Rogers Cup in Toronto with live daily reports. 

Around the Corner - Miami Masters 1000

By Mike McIntyre

Fresh off from a very intriguing tournament in Indian Wells, the ATP Tour now heads east to Miami for the next Masters 1000 event - the Sony Ericsson Open. Anyone willing to put money on another Roddick/Ljubicic final? Didn't think so.

Well for starters the two are paired in the same half of the draw, so a meeting in the finals in Miami is a physical impossibility. I somehow doubt anyone would have guessed the 31 year old Ljubicic would have had such an amazing run in a big event like Indian Wells, and yet he captured his fist Masters Series event by defeating top-level talent like Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and then Andy Roddick. A nice feather in his cap as retirement draws nearer, but not something that will be repeated.

Instead look for a big name like Murray (the defending champ) or Djokovic (winner in 2007) to capture the title in Miami.

In the top half of the draw we have world number one Roger Federer who still is shaking off the rust from a month and a half layoff after winning the Australian Open. Federer lost a match against Marcos Baghdatis in the third round at Indian Wells that he led 4-1 in the third set and had several match points as well. That can only be chalked-up to inactivity. Federer might need a bit more time to get back to his usual self out there, so don't expect a big run in Miami - but don't count him out either! Federer has a first round bye and then a pretty easy go until a potential fourth round meeting with Tomas Berdych.

Fernando Verdasco and Marin Cilic are two players who could cause Federer some trouble in his quarter of the draw and both will be looking to post a good result for the first time since the Aussie Open. Verdasco is 3-3 since winning in San Jose in February while Cilic has cooled considerably since starting the year with two titles and his first Slam semi-final.

Andy Murray heads up the other quarter in the top section of the draw and it is definitely time that he stepped up his game. After losing his second Slam final to Federer in Australia, Murray tanked in Dubai and was then beaten in straight sets last week against Robin Soderling. I'm not sure why Murray has played such a light schedule in 2010, perhaps he really does spend too much time playing video games. Either way, he is due for a title and what better place to grab one than in the exact spot he did a year ago. Murray's draw should allow him to advance to the quarters before being tested, perhaps again, by Soderling.

In the bottom half of the draw look for quarter final matches between Tsonga/Nadal and Djokovic/Roddick. Tournament organizers will certainly be hoping for those outcomes. Tsonga has been quiet since the Aussie Open but has a nice section of the draw where his toughest competition will come from Philipp Kohlschreiber and John Isner. Nadal looked fit at Indian Wells and should be able to at least make it through to the quarters here in Miami. A returning David Nalbandian is in his section but the Argentine has a long way to go in his return from injury before being considered a threat. Let's hope Rafa can stay healthy because the tour is much more interesting when he is in the mix.

Djokovic should advance in his section as should Roddick - although I wonder if the American is due for a slip-up after starting the year so strongly. A guy like Igor Andreev could trouble him in the early-goings.

Enjoy this last hard-court tournament before the clay-court season gets started next week at three European locations. The lead-up to the French Open is just around the corner.

Ljubicic Wins First Masters Series Title at Indian Wells

Ivan Ljubicic won his first Masters Series title at the age of 31 at Indian Wells on Sunday, defeating American Andy Roddick 7-6(3), 7-6(5). The Croatian veteran put on the best performance of his career en route to championship and should now vault back into the top fifteen in the ATP rankings. 

Earlier in the day, Jelena Jankovic took a big step towards re-establishing her floundering career by defeating Caroline Wozniacki 6-2, 6-4 to win the WTA title at the same tournament. It was her first victory in seven months.

Here is a closer look at the finals from the Associated Press:

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. (AP)—Ivan Ljubicic had been in big finals before and always lost. Then getting beat in the first round in five consecutive tournaments last year had him thinking about doing something else.

“I had my problems, like everybody else,” he said.

All that was forgotten Sunday when the Croatian outlasted Andy Roddick 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5) in a battle of big servers to win the BNP Paribas Open, earning his first ATP Masters 1000 title after three runner-up finishes.

Ljubicic set up his fourth match point with the last of his 20 aces, then won with a serve that Roddick couldn’t return. At 31, Ljubicic is the second-oldest winner at Indian Wells behind Jimmy Connors, who was five months older as the 1984 champion.

“It was really a mind game,” he said. “When you have two big serves, not a lot of rallies happening, it’s a very mental match. I was fortunate enough to be more relaxed by the end of the match.”

Roddick was trying to become the first American man to win at Indian Wells since 2001, but he trailed in both tiebreakers. He had beaten Ljubicic seven times in 10 meetings, winning their last match at Indian Wells in two tiebreakers in 2007.

“I felt like I was winning my fair share of the rallies once we got into them,” he said. “I just ran into a guy who served great on the big points. Unfortunately that’s probably the one thing that I don’t have control over out there.”

Jelena Jankovic had a much easier time in the women’s final, defeating Caroline Wozniacki 6-2, 6-4 for her first title in seven months.

Ranked 26th in the world, Ljubicic will rise to around 13th in Monday’s ATP Tour rankings, returning to the top 20 for the first time in more than two years.

He broke through in an ATP Masters 1000 final for the first time after losing in 2006 to Roger Federer at Miami, and in 2005 to Tomas Berdych at Paris and Rafael Nadal at Madrid. Ljubicic is the first player outside the top 20 to win a Masters 1000 title since No. 21 David Nalbandian in 2007.

“Looking at my career, I did feel like I was missing it,” he said. “It’s really a fantastic feeling to finally have it. It gives something special to your career.”

There were no service breaks in the 2-hour final. Roddick served three love games in the second set, but had nothing to show for his effort.

Ljubicic won the first three points of the first-set tiebreaker. Roddick’s forehand error left him trailing 6-3. Ljubicic set up his winning forehand with a drop shot—a tactic that repeatedly worked against Roddick.

Ljubicic raced to a 6-2 lead in the second-set tiebreaker, but he double-faulted on his first match point. He challenged the call on Roddick’s service return, but the ball was on the line, leaving the American trailing 6-4. Roddick got to 6-5 with an ace before Ljubicic closed it out.

“He served great. The last two days were an exhibition on how to serve big points,” Roddick said. “I felt like I was getting aced or he was hitting a service winner every time I’d worked my way into a game.”

Jankovic, the former top-ranked player from Serbia, dictated from the baseline throughout her 1 1/2 -hour match, hitting the lines and keeping Wozniacki on the run.

Jankovic broke Wozniacki three times in the first set and again in the first game of the second set.

“I wanted to be really aggressive, but at the same time patient, and not really go for too much or go over the limit with some balls,” Jankovic said. “I waited for my opportunities, and when I had them, I took them.”

Wozniacki brought her coach, who is her father, on court once in each set, but it didn’t help. She never found a solution to Jankovic’s pinpoint power.

“I tried to change it when I saw it was not going my way, but I just made a few too many errors at the important points,” Wozniacki said.

She held to trail 5-4 in the second set, prompting Jankovic to summon her coach. Jankovic then served out the match, setting up match point with a backhand down the line. Wozniacki’s forehand return sailed long on the final point.

“I was making a few too many errors and I didn’t have too many first serves in,” said Wozniacki, who won 19 of 30 first-serve points. “Normally, the other matches I set the points up with my service well. That didn’t happen today. Then I was on the back foot and she was deciding.”

Jankovic kissed her racket and later did the same to the crystal trophy, which was so heavy she couldn’t lift it in triumph.

“I haven’t been working out in the gym lately,” she said. “Caroline could have done a better job. She should have helped.”

Two years removed from being the world’s No. 1 player, Jankovic is projected to rise to No. 8 when the WTA Tour rankings are released Monday. She hadn’t won a title since August at Cincinnati; Indian Wells is her 12th career title.

“I’m looking forward to playing some good tennis and really doing the right things out there,” she said, “and if I’m doing that, I’ll be winning big titles and the ranking will come on its own. I’m looking to do well in the big events.

Wozniacki, last year’s U.S. Open finalist, has yet to beat Jankovic in four meetings. The 19-year-old Dane will reach a career-high No. 2.

She had her best year yet in 2009, reaching eight finals and winning three. She lost to Kim Clijsters in her first Grand Slam final at the U.S. Open.

Ljubicic and Roddick in Indian Wells Final

From the Associated Press:

INDIAN WELLS, California (AP)—Ivan Ljubicic rode his big serve to a 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (1) victory over defending champion Rafael Nadal on Saturday and a berth in the BNP Paribas Open final.

Ljubicic will play Andy Roddick in the final after the American outlasted Robin Soderling 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.

Jelena Jankovic and U.S. Open finalist Caroline Wozniacki will play for the women’s title Sunday.

Ljubicic served 17 aces—giving him 64 in the tournament—and overcame 51 unforced errors to end a five-match losing streak against the world’s third-ranked player.
 
The Croatian upset second-ranked Novak Djokovic in the round of 16 and is in position to win an ATP Masters 1000 event for the first time after three runner-up showings, the last in 2006 at Miami.

“I hope this one is going to finally be the victory,” he said.

Nadal was trying to end an 11-tournament title drought. He hasn’t won since last May in Rome after being hampered by knee injuries last summer and at the Australian Open.

Nadal appeared unbeatable in the opening set, powering forehands out of Ljubicic’s reach. But the lefty’s best stroke deserted him at times in the second set, when Ljubicic broke for a 5-4 lead on Nadal’s double-fault. The Croatian served out the set and then broke again to open the third.

“He was missing more when it was important. He overhit a couple of balls,” Ljubicic said. “I didn’t feel he was in control of the points. I felt if I can find the rhythm of the returns, I can have a match.”

Nadal broke back in the next game, but he later blew a break point to go up 5-3. Ljubicic held with an ace to tie it 4-all. Both players stayed on serve to force the tiebreak, where Nadal committed four errors to fall behind 6-1.

Ljubicic won on his first match point, sending a forehand down the line. He jumped in the air and thrust his right fist in celebration a day after his 31st birthday.

“It’s probably the best tiebreaker I ever played in my career,” he said. “Absolutely perfect.”

He could become the first 30-or-over player since Andre Agassi in 2001 to win at Indian Wells. Agassi is also the last American to win the singles at Indian Wells.

Roddick will play his first Indian Wells final after losing in the semifinals three times, including last year to Nadal.

Roddick and Soderling took turns throwing their rackets in frustration as the momentum swung back and forth. Roddick gained control when he held for 3-all in the third, then broke Soderling en route to winning three of the final four games.

“I knew I was returning real well, so I thought this might be the rare occasion where that would be the thing that won it for me,” Roddick said. “Ultimately, the fact that I put a lot of pressure on his service games ended up helping.”

Roddick, the highest-ranked American on the ATP Tour, already has won a title in Brisbane this year. He lost in the San Jose final last month.

“This is probably the only real big tournament in North America that I haven’t won,” he said. “I feel like the crowd was on my side and I would hope they’re there tomorrow. They certainly have an effect on a match.”

Australian Open Day Three Preview

By Mike McIntyre

Featured Match: Elena Dementieva vs Justine Henin

Without the luxury of a seeding here in Australia, Justine Henin knew full-well that she may get a difficult draw in her first Grand Slam since emerging from retirement. She probably didn't expect it would be this difficult however, as she must now face the 5th seeded Dementieva.

Dementieva is one of the most talented players to never have won a Grand Slam tournament and is fresh off a victory in her first tournament of the year in Sydney a week ago where she defeated Serena Williams in the final.

Henin has also looked sharp since returning this year and fell to Kim Clijsters in her first tournament back in Brisbane two weeks ago. Along the way she defeated top players like Nadia Petrova and Ana Ivanovic, although neither of them have the consistency of Dementieva.

Henin has a 9-2 career head-to-head record again Dementieva which might help her mentally in approaching this match. Both players know they are in for a struggle that will likely last three sets.

Result: Henin is a special type of player and despite her year-and-a-half layoff I'm picking her to prevail in this one in three sets.

Upset of the Day: Andrey Golubev vs Ivan Ljubicic

I don't think we can call Henin over Dementieva an upset, so instead look to Andrey Golubev to defeat veteran and 24th seed, Ivan Ljubicic.

Golubev knocked off American Mardy Fish in the first round, while Ljubicic was fortunate to draw an Australian wildcard named Jason Kubler. Golubev has therefore already faced a tough opponent while Ljubicic has not.

Ljubicic is eight years older and has never performed well in the Slams. He started 2010 by appearing in the Kooyong Classic exhibition where he lost two of his three matches, only defeating Robin Soderling who had to retire from that match with injury. 

Result: Golubev in four.

Canadian Content: Aleksandra Wozniak vs Caroline Wozniacki

Aleksandraw Wozniak is the only real Canadian threat in singles play on either the ATP or WTA tour's at the moment and at the age of 22 she has still yet to reach her potential. She has a losing record (1-5) against Wozniacki but has played well against her in their recent encounters.

Wozniacki has been mediocre since her run to the finals of the U.S. Open, so Wozniak has a shot here. 

Result: Wozniacki in three.

One ticket to Ireland please: Louk Sorensen

Sorensen is the first tennis player from Ireland to win a main-draw match in the Open era on the ATP tour. The 25 year-old came through the qualifying draw before defeating Yen-Hsun Lu in the first round. It's a nice story, but Sorensen is going to get hammered by the power of John Isner tomorrow.

"I don't know what's going on right now," said Sorensen after his match against Lu, "I've suddenly got so many friend requests on Facebook." 

Result: Isner in three.

Other Matches of Interest:

Unseeded James Blake takes on 4th seed Juan Martin Del Potro in a great second round match. Blake has won their only previous encounter but that was over two years ago and he'll find Del Potro a much better player than he was back then. Should be a fun one to watch.

Result: Del Potro in four.

Kooyong Classic Field Set

By Mike McIntyre

The eight-man field at the Kooyong Classic exhibition in Melbourne, Australia is now set with Ivan Ljubicic rounding out the draw. 

Winners from the first round advance onto the semi-finals while losers are relegated to the consolation side and are still guaranteed at least one other match. This is another reason why the unsanctioned tournament is such a drawing card for those looking for some extra preparation for the Australian Open. Players are sure of facing some top-level competition with the opportunity to work things out in their games despite the possibility of an early loss.

The opening round this year has the following battles:

Novak Djokovic vs Tommy Haas

Fernando Gonzalez vs Fernando Verdasco

Robin Soderling vs Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

Juan Martin Del Potro vs Ivan Ljubicic

The Kooyong Classic began in 1988, the year the Australian Open was moved from the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club to its current location at Melbourne Park. The move was enacted to facilitate the growing need for space at the Open.

Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi were frequent visitors in the 1990s, with Agassi making the finals for five consecutive years from 2000-2004. Interestingly enough, the years that Agassi won in Kooyong (2000, 2001, 2003) were also years he managed to win the Aussie Open. No wonder why in recent editions of the tournament we've seen players like Federer, Andy Murray and Andy Roddick show up!

Federer won the tournament a year ago over compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka, but chose not to join the field for the 2010 edition. It is still a possibility that the world number one may stop by to play a friendly match outside of the established tournament format. 

The tournament runs from January 13-16th.