Say Cheese! Unless You Are Gael Monfils

Yesterday during his 2nd round match at the Mutua Madrid Open against Juan Monaco, Gael Monfils took a medical timeout because he was having stomach "issues" and was feeling dizzy on the court.  He left the court to throw-up, came back and played a few games, but then retired down 2-6, 0-3.  It turns out that Gael is allergic to cheese and accidentally ate some before the match which caused his symptoms. 

I only had a little bit, not on purpose, certainly.  I ate some pasta and it was in that. But once it's in my body, I can't do anything.

Poor guy.  But his coach Roger Rasheed is already gearing up for Rome next week.

Just stay away from the cheese.

Injury Update: Ana Ivanovic, Andy Murray, Gael Monfils, and Rafael Nadal

So many people to talk about, and so little time!  There are numerous injury updates this week, so it seemed easier to lump them all together in one update.  Hope they don't mind. (Although I doubt any man would mind being in close quarters with Ana.)

Ana Ivanovic - At the beginning of the year, Ana suffered an abdominal tear during her singles match at the Hopman Cup and ever since has been struggling with her serve, resulting in 1st round loses at the Australian Open, and more recently in Dubai.   This week, she has officially withdrawn from Doha citing the same injury.   On her official site she states,

It's very frustrating, because I am so motivated to train and to get more matches under my belt.  But with this injury I am restricted, especially on the serve, so I just have to rest and then kind of restart my season. I'm sorry to be missing Doha but I'm sure I will be back there in the future.

Whether it is part mental and/or part physical, I hope she heals soon. 

In other random Ana news she is also flying solo (without a coach) for a while because she needs to find someone who understands her.  And here is a great off-court article where she talks about music on her iPod, her favorite designers, and what she does to relax.

Andy Murray - This week Andy withdrew from Dubai citing a wrist injury.  After his loss to Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open, Andy was supposed to take a prolonged break from tennis, however instead he immediately entered the Rotterdam tournament and subsequently crashed and burned in the 1st round.  Now with his "wrist injury" he can mentally/physically recoup before "March Madness." (Indian Wells and Sony Ericsson Open). 

Gael Monfils- Gael also has a bum wrist.  He had to withdraw from his semi-final match at the SAP Open last week due to a lingering wrist injury he has had since the Australian Open.  In San Jose,  he had an MRI scan and was told he needed to take off 4-6 weeks.  He has withdrawn from his next 2 tournaments as well as Davis Cup. 

And now some happier news:

Rafael Nadal is on the road to recovery after he tore his adductor longus in his right leg during his quarter-final match at the Australian Open.  He has now started training again, and has been selected to play in the Davis Cup 1st round tie against Belgium March 4th joining his fellow Spaniards, David Ferrer, Feliciano Lopez, and Fernando Verdasco.

Querrey Tries to Play Hookie and Other Updates from the SAP Open

Sam Querrey tried to play hookie from his press conference today after his first round loss to Lukas Lacko at the SAP Open in San Jose, CA where he was a semi-finalist last year.   He is now is 0-3 for 2011, so while his frustration is understandable, press conferences are mandatory for seeded players.   It was later tweeted that he was dragged back by the ATP and he did his press like a good boy.

In other SAP Open news:

Yesterday, in his first tournament since October 2010, James Blake won his first round match against Jesse Levine 6-5, 6-1.  After dealing with shoulder and knee injuries for the last 2 seasons he says he now feels healthy and has renewed desire to make a comeback. (Check out a great article about his comeback here.)  I'd love to see Blake make a run here, but he has a fairly large roadblock in the 2nd round named Milos Raonic, the Canadian rising star who took out Xavier Malisse in the 1st round.  As much as I like Milos, I'll be part of the J-Block tomorrow.

Speaking of Milos, he is writing a blog while at the SAP Open, and talked about meeting his idol Pete Sampras:

I got to meet Pete Sampras yesterday. It was really amazing. It's two different things, growing up watching so much of one guy, then meeting the person behind the game. He was really nice. He gave me some well-thought out tips. For me, it was an unbelievable experience, especially when you're coming up and getting to the point where you meet your idols. It means a lot.

And he also blogged about his upcoming match against James Blake:

Speaking of players you grow up watching, my next match is against James Blake. It's nice playing these guys you used to watch. I think I'll have an advantage - I'll know him more than he'll know me! So I'll use that as much as I can. I know he'll go for his shots. I'll just take care of my serve and hopefully I'll get a few chances on the return. I look forward to it.

And if you didn't catch it, Pete Sampras and Gael Monfils opened up the tournament with an exhibition match that produced some really entertaining tennis.  Monfils won 7-6 (4), 6-4,  but Pete showed that at age 39 he still had game, although at the end he looked like he needed some O2.  He was clearly impressed with Monfils:

I played against a lot of good movers in my day, but he was one of the best I've ever played. It was incredible.  He slides like 8-feet long. He's got a great future.

but for the future:

Next year, I hope I can play McEnroe or Agassi, someone a little more my age.

See the post-match video here:

Tonight, Fernando Verdasco and Gael Monfils will play their first round matches starting at 7pm PST.

Australian Open: Men's First Round Matches To Watch

There are some fabulous matches in the 1st round that are screaming for potential upsets.   Here are the matches I'll be watching.

Feliciano Lopez vs Alejandro Falla - 2 Spanish speaking lefties.  One from Spain and the other from Columbia.  If ranking means anything, (31 vs. 103) Lopez should win, but he has had so many first round losses that this match makes me nervous (Armada fan).

David Nalbandian vs Lleyton Hewitt - This will be a battle to the death.  They've met 5 times and Hewitt leads the head-to-head 3-2, but Nalbandian won the most recent match-up in Sydney 7-6, 7-5.  Today, Nalbandian was a finalist at the Heineken Open, and Hewitt won at the Kooyong Classic.  I expect it to be a 5 setter with Hewitt pulling it out with the help of the hometown crowd.

Jarkko Neminen vs David Ferrer - They've only met once in a challenger back in 2001, with Neminen winning 6-4, 6-0.  Ferrer just hoisted the trophy today at the Heineken Open and Neminen had to retire in the first round at Syndey due to pain in his knees.  Ferrer should be able to pull this out if he isn't weary from his run in Auckland.

Ryan Harrison vs Adrian Mannarino - The Great American Hope has probably the easiest draw of all the American Men.  He made it to the 2nd round of the US Open after qualifying, but this year he has a ticket to straight to the main event.  If he can play his best tennis, I think he'll make it at least to the 2nd round here.

Julien Benneteau vs Juan Monaco - They've never met, and both just lost their 1st round matches in Sydney and Auckland respectively.  The problem:  Although Pico was on the comeback trail in 2010, he can be unpredictable at times.  I really want to see him through to the 2nd round.  Fingers crossed.

Thiemo De Bakker vs Gael Monfils - They've met 3 times, and Monfils has the edge 2:1.  The problem:  Monfils just lost to Hewitt in the Kooyong Classic Final and sustained a back injury in the process.  If he can keep his focus on his game and not entertaining the crowd and hurting himself again, he will win.

Mardy Fish vs Victor Hanescu - Mardy had a Great 2010, reaching a career high of 16 and lifting the US Davis Cup team out of relegation. Recently he played in Brisbane but fell in the 2nd round to Stepanek.  Hanescu, currently ranked 50, has a giant serve.  He recently played in Auckland, losing in the 2nd round to Almagro.  They've never met, and Mardy should have the edge, but my gut says this match might get tricky.

Philipp Petzschner vs Jo-Wilfried Tsonga - After an injury plagued 2010 Jo-Willy says that he is hungry and determined, but because of little match play in the past several months, this could be an upset. (Sad-face)

Dudi Sela vs Juan Martin del Potro -  They've played 3 times with Delpo leading 2:1 but they haven't played since 2008.  No expectations, but would love Delpo to win this one.

Other matches that will be good, but I don't have time to write about:

Dustin Brown vs Albert Montanes

Ernests Gulbis vs Benjamin Becker

and

Michael Llodra vs Juan Ignacio Chela

Men's Australian Open Draw And Predictions

Photo:  Ben Solomon

I've broken out my reading glasses, and after analyzing the draw for about an hour, here are my predictions for the Men:

First let's look at the top half of the draw where we find Rafael Nadal, Robin Soderling, Andy Murray and David Ferrer.

1.  Rafa:  He has a fairly easy cruise to the semi-finals as long as he can make it past a potential third round match with fellow countryman Feliciano Lopez or John Isner.  He could also potentially meet Ferrer, Nalbandian or Llodra in the quarter-finals.  I anticipate that he will win all of these matches, but it will be tough, and then he will meet either Soderling or Murray in the semi-finals.

2.  Soderling:  I anticipate he will also make it to the semi-finals, but he will have to get past Tsonga in the 4th round which should be a great match, and then Murray in the quarter-finals.

3.  Murray:  Unfortunately for Murray, I think his road will end when he meets Soderling in the quarter-finals. His road up till that point should be smooth sailing.  Potential bumps:  a run-in with either Melzer or Baghdatis in the 4th round.

4.  Ferrer:  I think he will make it to the 3rd round safely were he will have his first test against the winner of the Nalbandian/Hewitt match in the 1st round. (Ouch)  In the 4th round will have to battle the winner of  Llodra/Youzhny, and then if he makes it to the quarter-finals, he will play Rafa.

My predictions:   Rafa vs Ferrer and Soderling vs Murray in the quarter-finals with Rafa and Soderling progressing and Soderling going all the wall to the finals.

Now, let's take a peek at the bottom half of the draw, where we have Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Tomas Berdych and Andy Roddick.

1.  Federer:   To get the the semi-finals he has to overcome 2 fairly large American roadblocks, Mardy Fish and Andy Roddick  He would meet Fish in the 4th round and Roddick in the quarter-finals.  I think there is definitely a potential for upset if he meets an in-form Fish, and if he makes it past Fish, then he will have a tough match against either Roddick, Monfils or Wawrinka in the quater-finals.  His potential semi-final match up would be Novak Djokovic.

2.  Djokovic:  I think he has the easiest route to the semi-finals. Road blocks? Nicolas Almagro in the 4th round, and in the quarter-finals he could meet Gasquet, Davydenko, Berdych or Verdasco.   His potential semi-final match-up would be Federer.

3.  Berdych:  I honestly have no idea how Berdych will factor in his 1/2 of the draw.  His 2nd round match-up would be with Kohlschreiber, 3rd round against Gasquet, and 4th found against Davydenko.  If he can make it past them, he will fall to Djokovic in the quarter-finals.

4. Roddick:  I really want Roddick to make a run at least to the quater-finals.  His first test will be against Juan Monaco in the 3rd round, then he will have a monster match against either Gael Monfils or Stanislas Wawrinka in the 4th round. He will then meet Federer in the quarter-finals.  I would LOVE for Roddick to beat Federer, but if history tells us anything, this is where his AO bid will fail.

My predictions:  Davydenko vs Djokovic and Roddick vs Roger in the quarter-finals, with Djokovic and Roger progressing and Djokovic making it to the finals.

So there you have it:  Novak Djokovic vs Robin Soderling in the finals with Soderling living up to his name "Giant Killer" and winning his first Slam.  What do you think?

Yawn: Soderling Defeats Monfils at Paris Final

I overslept today and missed this match, but based on the score line I clearly didn't miss much, which, I must add, is such a shame after yesterday's semi-finals.  Both semi-finals went the distance with tie-breakers in almost every set, and today Monfils almost got bageled??   Glad I didn't get up to watch.  There is one interesting twist, with this win, Soderling moves into the number 4 spot (career high) and Andy Murray drops to number 5.  Adds a little bit more drama for the World Tour Finals, heh?

P.S.  Andy, please get a coach, you're becoming a bit of a basket case.

Hair Mojo: Fernando Verdasco

To say that Fernando Verdasco has been struggling is an understatement, the current World Number 9 had only won 1 match since his quarter-final appearance at the US Open.   But that all changed yesterday after revealing a new shorter 'do at the BNP Paris Masters.  He finally scored a win, rallying back from a set and a break down to defeat hometown player Arnaud Clement.

Shorter hair, lighter step?   If it's the hair that makes the man then perhaps this new hair mojo will take him all the way to the Barclays World Tour Finals.

Up next for the Spaniard........Gael Monfils in round 3.  May the best hair win.