McIntyre Tennis

Around the Corner: Davis Cup and the Monterrey Open

By Mike McIntyre

A mixed bag of events are around the corner this week. To kick off the month of March, the men are involved in the first round of Davis Cup competition. The women meanwhile are in Mexico for the Monterrey Open. Both tour's are inching closer to the combined event in Indian Wells that begins in two weeks.

Davis Cup:

Here are the match-ups for the first round of the World Group starting March 5th.

Spain vs. Switzerland - Logrono, Spain;

No Nadal or Federer in this match-up unfortunately. Spain is the huge favorite as this will be played on clay and can rely on David Ferrer, Juan Carlos Ferrero and Tommy Robredo.

France vs. Germany - Toulon, France;

Without veterans Tommy Haas and Nicolas Kiefer, Germany will be in tough on hard courts against a French team that includes Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gael Monfils.

Russia vs. India - Moscow, Russia;

Nikolay Davydenko and Mikhail Youzhny should own India in singles competition, but look for the Indian duo of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupati to win the doubles match.

Sweden vs. Argentina - Stockholm, Sweden;

The indoor hard-court conditions should be ideal for Sweden's Robin Soderling who should win both of his singles matches. This will be a tough match-up for Argentina as David Nalbandian is once again on the injury list.

Croatia vs. Ecuador - Varazdin, Croatia;

Marin Cilic and Ivo Karlovic are going to make life very difficult for the Lapentti brothers on the hardcourts in Varazdin.

Serbia vs. United States - Belgrade, Serbia;

This should be a very interesting match-up, with Novak Djokovic leading the way for Serbia and the Bryan brothers countering for the United States. In the end it will come down to how Sam Querrey and John Isner can respond as the lead singles players for the U.S. on the red clay in Belgrade. Serbia has the definite edge considering the chosen surface.

Chile vs. Israel - Coquimbo, Chile;

On paper, the Chilean squad led by Fernando Gonzalez should be favored on clay against Israel, but in 2009 the Israeli's put on quite a show in Davis Cup play and made it all the way to the semi-finals. They cannot be counted out in this tie in Coquimbo. The doubles duo of Andy Ram and Jonathan Elrich are quite the force.

Belgium vs. Czech Republic - Bree, Belgium

Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek lead the way for the Czechs against veterans Olivier Rochus and Xavier Malisse. The Belgians will really have to rely on using the energy from the home-court advantage to have a hope against the higher-ranked Czech's.

Monterrey Open:

A year ago, Marion Bartoli won the innaugaural Monterrey Open against Li Na 6-4, 6-3.

This year, Jelena Jankovic leads the tournament as the top seed and perhaps this event offers her the opportunity to get her game back on track. Struggling mightily for the past year, the Serbian has great talent but a mental game that is as fragile as they come.

Other names to keep an eye on in Monterrey include Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia, Aleks Wozniak from Canada and Melanie Oudin of the United States. All of these players could benefit from a strong run and without many of the tour's top players in attendance should be able to get some momentum ahead of Indian Wells.

Jelena Dokic leads the qualifying tournament as the top seed and will be looking to post her first substantial result of 2010. While Dokic had a fantastic start to 2009 by making the quarter-finals of the Australian Open, she has failed to repeat that success this year and is 1-3 in tournament play.

Charity Auction for Haiti

By Mike McIntyre

Players from both the ATP and WTA Tour's have donated their tennis racquets to Tennis Australia's charity auction for Haiti.

You can bid on the racquets of Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Kim Clijsters and Jelena Dokic. No surprise that Federer's is the current high bid at $13,300.00 right now, more than three times as much as the next bid.

Check out the following link for more details and here to view auction items.

If you are simply looking for a place to donate to this great cause, here is the link for standwithhaiti.

Women's 2010 Australian Open Preview

By Mike McIntyre

When was the last time the women's game had this much depth? I'm not knocking the WTA Tour, which in fact has had more depth in recent years than the men's Federer vs. Nadal show. When I look at the Australian Open draw though, I'm just floored with the amount of talent out there. This is a fantastic way to kick-off the 2010 Grand Slam calendar.

The Favorites:

Number one ranked Serena Williams has a pretty sweet ride to the quarter-finals from the looks of it. I don't expect her to drop a set for the first week that's for sure. There's simply nobody in her section of the draw that can keep up with her power, experience and winning-attitude. If she truly did tweak something against Elena Dementieva in Sydney, this draw gives her some time before she has to bring out her 'A' game. Williams will be the favorite to add to her existing collection of four Aussie Open titles, the most recent being a year ago.

A nice third round match-up in the top-half could include Vera Zvonareva against Ana Ivanovic. Either one of these players could use a good Grand Slam showing to correct their career progress after a disappointing 2009. Zvonareva started strong in 2009 with a semi-final showing in Australia, but after missing two months in the middle of the year with injury she never returned to top form. Ivanovic's season was a total disaster and it was hard to believe she was ever the number one ranked player in the world. One of these two should still be able to push through to the quarters.

U.S. Open finalist Caroline Wozniacki has a great path to perhaps a semi-final berth in Australia. Only Daniela Hantuchova may cause her some trouble before the quarters, although Hantuchova has not had a big win in quite some time.

Wozniacki may meet the winner of an intriguing fourth round match between Americans Venus Williams and Melanie Oudin. A Williams/Oudin match would give tennis fans a nice glimpse of the past, present and future of American tennis and perhaps that future is now. Oudin has some winnable matches early on while Venus has looked mediocre since Wimbledon and as she approaches thirty, is only a huge threat on grass.  

In the bottom-half don't get your hopes up for second-seeded Dinara Safina. The mentally fragile Russian attained the number one ranking for a period of time in 2009, but will most be remembered for tanking in two Slam finals in Australia and Paris, along with a brutal defeat in the semi's at Wimbledon. A back injury hampered the last portion of her season and was acting up again at the start of 2010 to keep her out of Brisbane. Safina does not have enough match-play under her belt to be considered a major threat here in Australia nor is her mental game ready to compete in this first Slam of the season.

There are plenty of other top-level players ready to contend for the title in the bottom section of the draw however, and the Belgians are leading the charge. 

Kim Clijsters, Justine Henin and Yanina Wickmayer are all in the same quarter of the draw, which is unfortunate because they could all have easily advanced quite far given their play of late. Clijsters has the most favorable path and should get past Svetlana Kuznetsova to make the quarter-finals. A second-consecutive Slam is a distinct possibility for her.

Henin, entered as a wild card, is not going to enjoy the same Grand Slam return that Clijsters had at the U.S. Open. After a first round match with up and coming Sorana Cirstea, Henin will most definitely face fifth seeded Elena Dementieva - the same Dementieva who just won in Sydney defeating Serena in the finals. Henin leads their head-to-head battles 9-2, but will have to fight hard to beat the in-form Russian. I think Henin can beat Dementieva, but expecting her to have a similar Cinderella-run like Clijsters did in Flushing Meadows is unlikely.

The third Belgian, and the future of tennis in that country, Yanina Wickmayer, has already fought through three qualifying matches in order to secure entry into the tournament. Wickmayer was not allowed to take the 16th seeded spot that she is due because of the timing of her return from a mishandled doping violation. She may face Italian Flavia Pennetta in the second round and either Henin or Dementieva in the fourth round. Regardless of how she fares here in Australia, the twenty year old has a bright future ahead of her.

In the very last quarter of the draw we've got the unpredictable Jelena Jankovic. Fairing no better than the fourth round of any Slam in 2009, Jankovic has much to prove this year. She has a nice section of the draw and should stay untroubled until the quarter-finals. Don't expect her to move much farther than that however, as the Serbian is not the huge threat she used to be.

Do keep an eye on Maria Sharapova to have a big Aussie Open. The talented Russian has come back admirably from shoulder surgery last year and has the power game to defeat anyone on tour. If she can keep her serve consistent and free of double-digit double faults, then she is more than capable of winning this tourney. If she does come up against Safina in the round of sixteen, I see Sharapova advancing with ease. There are more Grand Slam titles within her and this could be the next one on her list. 

Anticipated First-Round Matches:

Kimiko Date-Krumm vs Yaroslava Shvedova: The 39 year old veteran Date-Krumm has been very impressive since returning to the tour in 2008 and has worked herself back into being a dangerous player to face. Her return is even more impressive given the fact she was away from the sport for twelve years. She'll face a difficult player in Shvedova, who impressed in the late stages of 2009 with victories over Daniela Hantuchova in Toronto and Jelena Jankovic at the U.S. Open.

Caroline Wozniacki vs Aleksandra Wozniak: It amazes me how often these two near-identical names get paired together in so many tournaments. Unfortunately for the Canadian Wozniak, it rarely ends up in her favor. The fourth seeded Wozniacki has won five of their six meetings although the pair have usually produced closely contested matches. Wozniak is ranked 34th in the world right now, so this is a fairly strong first rounder.

Jelena Dokic vs Alisa Kleybanova: While it was nice to watch Dokic have her fairy-tale run to the quarter-finals in last year's edition, the same fate will be difficult to duplicate. Dokic faces hard-hitting Russian Kleybanova whom she defeated here in the fourth round last year by a tight score of 7-5, 5-7, 8-6. Kleybanova's court movement is limited due to her stature, but she can really hit the ball and was able to defeat Venus Williams, Vera Zvonareva and Jelena Jankovic (twice) in 2009.

 

 

Dokic Attacked in Croatia

Blaming Jelena Dokic for anything her father says seems the height of absurdity.

From The  Herald Sun: Jelena race attack

JELENA Dokic has been racially abused by a group of Croatian men in an ugly confrontation allegedly linked to inflammatory remarks made by her estranged father, Damir.

Former world No.4 Dokic, boyfriend Tin Bikic and coach Borna Bikic were surrounded by an angry gang in Zagreb, Croatia, after a training session.
The group allegedly jostled the Australian Olympian and made a string of anti-Serbian comments before throwing fruit juice at the former star, Croatian newspaper Jutarnji List reported yesterday.

Dokic Changing Coaches Again

I officially, once and for all, give up any hope of Jelena Dokic ever returning to tennis form.  This girl just can't stick to a plan.

From Eurosport: Dokic leaves coach again

Fallen tennis star Jelena Dokic has left her tennis academy in Munich for the second time in month, and this time she has revealed she has no intention of returning.

Instead Dokic has decided to return to her former coach Borna Bikic in Croatia, the brother of her boyfriend Tin Bikic...

Dokic's Dad Claims Jelena Kidnapped

This is so out of hand...

From Tennis Week: Jelena Dokic Disappears; Father Charges Kidnapping

Another bizarre chapter in the continuing saga of Jelena Dokic is unfolding as Dokic disappeared on a trip to Zagreb and the the former World No. 4's father, the controversial Damir Dokic, claims his daughter's former coach and ex-boyfriend may have kidnapped his daughter...

"I'm very worried for my daughter," Damir Dokic told Kurir in comments published by Eurosport. "Jelena will never admit that she was kidnapped or made to stay in Zagreb, but I think it is crystal clear that the Bikic brothers are behind all this."

Quotes: Everybody Loves Roger Federer; Arthur Ashe, Damir Dokic

Came across some quote collections on wikipedia: Everyone from Mcenroe to Lendl to Agassi waxing poetic about Roger, some lovely thoughts from Arthur Ashe, and some WTFs from Jelena Dokic's crazy father.

Dokic's Dad Really is Nuts

It's no wonder Jelena Dokic has a few issues.  I can't even imagine what it was like growing up in this atmosphere.

From The Australian: Damir haunts Jelena with mad kidnap plan

LIKE a character in a B-grade movie, Damir Dokic has returned to haunt his tennis-playing daughter just as she thought she had escaped his clutches.

In an interview with a Serbian newspaper, Mr Dokic is quoted threatening to have the "brainwashed" Jelena kidnapped by war criminals.

He muses about killing at least one Australian in revenge for his daughter having returned to play in Australia and of wiping out Sydney with a nuclear bomb because of a supposedly bad linecall in her comeback match at the Australian Open on Monday.

In a level-headed response, Jelena yesterday said it was not the first time her father had threatened her wellbeing and she would resist his attempt to again disrupt her life.

Stubbs Sympathizes with Dokic, But Has Harsh Words for Her

From the Sydney Morning Herald: Angry Stubbs depicts Dokic as abused and abusing

JELENA Dokic's return to Australia last month after a five-year estrangement was not greeted with unqualified joy. Certainly not by Rennae Stubbs, a former Fed Cup teammate who had been through more with her than most.

Stubbs says she supported Dokic to help counter her father's brutal ways, advising her to seek help to protect her money from Damir's grasping hands, and changing her schedule to partner the troubled teenager at the Canadian Open before the Sydney 2000 Olympics.

Stubbs, then the world No.1 in doubles, recalls arriving in Montreal only to be told by Damir - as a reluctant Jelena interpreted - that his daughter had been injured in her first-round singles loss and would be returning home to Florida.

Dokic Out of Canberra

Jelena Dokic would be a lot better off without that Australian Open wildcard.  She's in no kind of physical or mental shape - anyone with half a brain would bet the farm on her losing in the first round.  Australian or Serbian - she needs to hit the challenger circuit hard below the media radar for a while.

From Reuters: Dokic out of Canberra tournament

Jelena Dokic's comeback has suffered another blow with the former top 10 player pulling out of next week's Canberra International.

Organisers said Dokic had been forced to withdraw due to the recurrence of an injury to the left adductor muscle in her groin.

Tournament director Gerard Corradini said Dokic had told him the injury had been aggravated after her first round loss in Auckland earlier this week.

"When we spoke today, Jelena was clearly disappointed that she wouldn't be able to play in Canberra," Corradini said.

"With the right treatment, she is quite confident she will be right for the Australian Open, which starts in 11 days time, and is her focus."