Davydenko Could Miss Indian Wells and Miami with Wrist Injury

Current world No. 6 Nikolay Davydenko could miss the upcoming Indian Wells and Miami events with a lingering left wrist injury.

Suffering a fall during the Rotterdam event in early February, Davydenko injured his wrist while losing to eventual champion Robin Soderling in the semifinals.

Missing both events States side last year, Davydenko would not lose any Tour points for not playing, but the opportunity to gain a substantial amount of points would be lost as well.

Davydenko was also forced to miss this weekend’s first-round Davis Cup tie in Moscow.

Davydenko won the event in Miami in 2008, while never advancing past the round of 16 at Indian Wells (2007).

Source: James Larosa.

Davydenko Joins Long List of Stars to Miss Davis Cup First-Round

The first-round of the 2010 Davis Cup World Group took another hit on Monday when Russian star Nikolay Davydenko was forced to withdraw with a left wrist injury ahead of his tie against India.

Davydenko, who sustained the injury during his semifinal loss in Rotterdam last month, retired against Michael Berrer during the second-round of the Dubai event last week.

Joining Roger Federer (scheduling conflict), Rafael Nadal (knee injury), Andy Roddick (shoulder injury), and Fernando Verdasco (back injury) on the sidelines, Davydenko will now spend his week recovering for the upcoming Indian Wells event in California.

The first-round of the Davis Cup takes place this weekend between March 5-7.

Day 3 Review: Davydenko Loses in Dubai; Almagro Continues Title Run in Acapulco; Fish Remains on Course in Delray Beach

Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships—U.A.E.

German Michael Berrer was handed the biggest win of his career in Dubai on Wednesday when No. 4 seed Nikolay Davydenko was forced to withdraw from the pair’s second-round encounter after trailing 6-3.

Davydenko, who suffered a left-wrist injury in Rotterdam earlier this month, continued to show the ill effects of his wrist ailment.

Losing his serve in the fourth game of the first set, Davydenko dumped a backhand volley into the net to trail 3-1.

Remaining occupied with his injury and not the match on court, Davydenko shook Berrer’s hand after the end of the first set.

The Russian spoke with tennistv.com on the status of his injury after his retirement.

“It’s a problem already from the tournament in Rotterdam,” said Davydenko. “For four days I can’t touch anything (after his semifinal loss in The Netherlands).”

“I hope for Davis Cup I be fit.”

To Berrer’s credit, the 29-year-old veteran has enjoyed his best year to date on Tour. Reaching the finals in Zagreb, Crotia (l. Marin Cilic), Berrer also won a Challenger level event in Germany, while making the quarterfinals in Chennai, India (l. Stanislas Wawrinka).

Improving to 10-4 on the year, Berrer picked up his first win against Davydenko after losing the previous two meetings.

The 220 lbs German told tennistv.com that he had mixed emotions after receiving the retirement win.

“This is the second top 10 guy to retire against me, and it’s a little bit disappointing because I’m playing well and I had a chance to beat a top 10 guy,” confessed Berrer.

Up until Davydenko’s retirement, Berrer was executing his game-plan to perfection. Avoiding baseline exchanges at all costs, the German used his one-handed backhand to close in on the net while finishing the points with clean struck volleys.

Berrer’s victory will lead him to a quarterfinal showdown with Marcos Baghdatis. The Cypriot defeated talented Indian Somdev Devarrman 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.

Earlier in the day at the Aviation Club, No. 2 seed Novak Djokovic dismissed countryman Viktor Troicki 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.

Capturing two breaks of serve in the first set, Troicki won 80 percent of his first serve points while striking 4 aces. By contrast, Djokovic won a mere 50 percent of his first serve points while hitting two double faults.

Continuing to play with pressure in opening stages of the second set, Djokovic increased his points won on first serves to 93 percent, while converting on his lone break of serve during the eighth game.

Evening the match at one set a piece, Djokovic comfortably rolled through the third set on the strength of two breaks of serve.

Djokovic told reporters that he was fortunate to defeat his good friend.

“I wasn’t happy with the performance overall today,” admitted Djokovic. ”But I won, that’s what matters. He was a better player for a set and a half. I think this is one of the rare tournaments that you really feel [a] big, big difference between the day match and night match. The balls go really much faster, and as soon as the shade came on the court, I felt more control over my game. So in the end, I managed to win.”

Djokovic will next face the winner of the day’s last match between No. 5 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and unseeded Croatian Ivan Ljubicic.

Elsewhere, Marin Cilic improved to 17-1 on the season after defeating 33-year-old Stefan Koubek 6-2, 7-6 (8); Mikhail Youzhny kept his momentum of yesterday’s epic win over Luckas Lacko in check by dismissing Bjorn Phau 7-6 (2), 6-4, and Jurgen Melzer sliced with way into the quarterfinals with a win over Spaniard Tommy Robredo 6-3, 7-5.

No. 3 seed Andy Murray will face Janko Tipsarevic first up during the night session.

Abierto Mexicano Telcel—Acapulco, Mexico

Wednesday’s action in Acapulco will feature the top four seeds vying for a quarterfinal spot.

After battling through Italian Fabio Fognini 2-6, 6-4, 6-0 on Tuesday, top seed Fernando Verdasco will battle Polish up-and-comer Lukasz Kubot for a spot in the final eight.

Never facing Kubot on the ATP World Tour, Verdasco could very well have a difficult time with the current world No. 48.

Kubot has enjoyed a glorious run of form in the last year, making two Tour finals, while advancing to the fourth-round of the Australian Open.

Kubot is also coming into Mexico off of three weeks of clay-court tennis—reaching the finals in Brazil, while winning a round in Santiago.

Verdasco on the other hand is participating in his first action on the red dirt this season.

Fresh off of a third-set tiebreak win over Sam Querrey on Tuesday evening, No. 2 seed Fernando Gonzalez will face Victor Hanescu for a place in the quarterfinals.

Leading Hanescu 2-0 in career head-to-head meetings, Gonzalez previously defeated the tall Romainian at Roland Garros in 2009.

Davis Cup teammates David Ferrer and Juan Carlos Ferrero will take the court on day three against Thomaz Bellucci and Igor Andreev, respectively.

Ferrer will have his hands full with recent Santiago, Chile winner Bellucci, while Ferrero, who remains the hottest player on the circuit with 11 straight wins, will face tough Russian Igor Andreev.

Ferrero is bidding to capture his third straight Tour title this week in Acapulco.

Two-time defending champ Nicolas Almagro will face talented Frenchman Richard Gasquet; Juan Ignacio Chela will be up against No. 7 seed Juan Monaco; No. 8 seed Albert Montanes takes on Pablo Cuevas, and Simon Greul battles stalky Argentine Eduardo Schwank.

Delray Beach International Tennis Championships—Florida

Defending champion Mardy Fish will take his ailing knee into a second-round contest with German Mischa Zverev on Wednesday.

Fish, who injured his right knee during the offseason, defeated Belgium Christophe Rochus on Tuesday evening after the 31-year-old retired with a back injury.

Never facing Zverev in Tour action, Fish will desperately attempt to reach in quarterfinals in order to prevent his ranking from taking a hit.

Elsewhere, No. 4 seed Jeremy Chardy will take on Santiago Giraldo; Leonardo Mayer will face No. 6 seed Florian Mayer, and Teimuraz Gabasvili will battle Ernests Gulbis.

American James Blake, who made the finals in 2008, will resume his match with countryman Taylor Dent after rain suspended the match at 5-3 Blake leading in the third set.

Blake is currently ranked No. 50 in the world, the lowest ranking he’s held since 2005.

For up to the second coverage of today’s matches from the three events, click the TennisConnected live-score link at the top menu. The Tourney Tracker will also provide you with similar information. Talk soon.

Quotes courtesy of atpworldtour.com.

Day 2 Review: Davydenko Wins in Dubai; Verdasco on Tap in Acapulco; Blake Takes the Court in Delray Beach

Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships—U.A.E.

World No. 6 Nikolay Davydenko fought past a diligent effort from Florent Serra in the first-round of the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships on Tuesday, defeating the Frenchman 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-1.

Using his off-the-rise talent in the first set, Serra moved the cagey Davydenko around the court before capturing the first set in a tiebreak. Never one to show much emotion, Davydenko was visibly worried that his stay in Dubai would be a short one.

After encountering a wrist injury in Rotterdam, Davydenko’s preparation for Dubai was minimal at best.

Tied at 4-4 in the second set, Serra held a break-point at 30-40 to serve for the match. Missing a forehand wide down-the-line, the 28-year-old Frenchman fell apart after squandering his second set opportunity.

Winning the third set with relative ease, Davydenko moved into the second-round in two hours and 10 minutes.

With the win, Davydenko will next face Michael Berrer, who defeated Sergiy Stakhovsky 6-4, 7-6 (3). The Russian also improved to 13-2 with his win on Tuesday.

Elsewhere, future Grand Slam champion Marin Cilic improved to 16-1 on the season after dismissing former Australian Open finalist Arnaud Clement 6-2, 6-4.

Striking forehand and backhand winners at an effortless rate, Cilic advanced to the second-round in 90-minutes. Winning 80 percent of his first-serve points, Cilic pounded 13 aces past his diminutive opponent.

Cilic will next face Stefan Koubek in second-round action.

Cilic spoke with a reporter during an online interview with Tennistv.com after his win.

“It’s not easy to start all over the tournament; it’s not easy to get your body going again,” said Cilic.

“I served very good in the crucial moments, especially in the second set when he had four five break points.”

Taking on the veteran Koubek in the next round, Cilic commented on his next opponent.

“Koubek is a dangerous player, he can play good against the top guys,” confessed Cilic.

“He’s lefty and it’s never easy to play against them.”

Other results on day two action included:

No. 5 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga bennefitted from an injury from countryman Michael Llodra after winning the first set 7-6 (9).

Llodra, who won his fourth career title in Marseille over the weekend, was forced to withdraw after the 55-minute opening set.

Ironically, Tsonga was considering not playing in the event due to a a stomach injury. The win will take Tsonga into a second-round tussle with former world No. 3 Ivan Ljubcic.

Tommy Robredo, who took Roger Federer’s line in the draw this week after the top seed withdrew because of a lung infection, defeated Marseille finalist Julien Benneteau 6-2, 6-1.

Serb Janko Tipsarevic will face Andy Murray in the second-round after defeating Andreas Seppi 7-6 (4), 7-5; Somdev Devvarman moved past Marco Chiudinelli 6-4, 7-5, and Bjorn Phau advanced when his opponent Mohammed Ghareeb retired after trailing 3-0 in the first set with a back injury.

Wednesday action will feature:

Novak Djokovic vs. Viktor Troicki, and Murray vs. Tipsarevic.

Abierto Mexicano Telcel—Acapulco, Mexico

A full slate of action on Tuesday in Acapulco will feature 13 fantastic clay-court matches at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel.

No. 1 seed Fernando Verdasco will begin his campaign at winning his first clay court title since 2008 in Umag, Croatia.

Facing talented Italian Fabio Fognini, Verdasco will be up against a speedy opponent, who possesses no visible weakness. Fognini does not hold a tremendous amount of power, but his clay-court upbringing will pose a significant threat to Verdasco.

The hottest player on the ATP World Tour will begin what he hopes is his third consecutive title run. Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero, who won back-to-back titles in Brazil and Argentina, will face Argentine qualifier Diego Junqueira in first-round action. Ferrero is currently riding a 10-match winning streak  and recently moved up to the No. 16 position in the ATP World Tour rankings.

Elsewhere, No 2. seed Fernando Gonzalez will face a tricky opponent in American Sam Querrey.

Querrey, who won the third title of his career last week in Memphis, entered the Acapulco draw in order to gain clay-court experience for the United States’ first-round Davis Cup tie against Serbia next week.

Playing in Mexico for the first time, Querrey will be hard-pressed to defeat his formidable opponent on the day.

Gonzalez is making his first appearance on the Tour since losing in the semifinals of his home event in Santiago, Chile to Thomaz Bellucci.

Querrey’s Davis Cup teammate No. 5 seed John Isner will take his less than favorable clay-court game in a first-round affair with Simon Greul.

Holding a career 5-3 record on clay, Isner will have to address his movement and fitness during his week in Mexico.

No. 3 seed David Ferrer will be adamant on improving on his finals result from last week in Argentina, beginning what he hopes is a run to his eighth career title.

Ferrer will battle Potito Starace in first-round action.

Defending champion Nicolas Almagro will begin his campaign for a three-peat against Dudi Sela; Juan Monaco will face Alberto Martin; Pablo Cuevas will take on Marcos Daniel; Peter Luczak will face Juan Ignacio Chela; Victor Hanescu will battle Frederico Gil; Victor Crivoi takes on Igor Andreev, and Lukasz Kubot will face Horacio Zeballos.

Delray Beach International Tennis Championships—Florida

American James Blake will attempt to recapture a prominent position in the men’s rankings this week, when he begins his Delray Beach journey on Tuesday against fellow American Taylor Dent.

Currently holding a ranking of No. 50 in the world, Blake last won a Tour title in 2007 (New Heaven). Recording a mediocre 3-4 record on the season, Blake leads Dent 3-1 in career head-to-head meetings, while not having played against each other since 2004 in Indian Wells.

Celebrating his 30th birthday in December, Blake could be at a crossroads this year if his ranking and results do not pick up.

After the departure of No. 1 seed Tommy Haas on Monday evening, No. 2 seed Ivo Karlovic remains the top seeded player left in the draw. Facing Philipp Petzschner in first-round action, Karlovic will look to improve on his impressive start to the season which has him standing at 9-4.

Haas was ousted for the third consecutive year in the first-round. The German’s fourth straight loss in Delray Beach came at the hands of Teimuraz Gabashvili 7-6 (3), 7-5.

Kei Nishikori, who won his maiden ATP World Tour title in Delray Beach in 2008, will see his first action in nearly a year when he faces No. 3 seed Benjamin Becker.

No. 8 seed Michael Russell takes on Mischa Zverev; Christophe Rochus will face defending champion Mardy Fish; Sebastien Grosjean will battle Daniel Brands, and Vince Spadea takes on Santiago Giraldo or Columbia.

Three results are already in the books on Tuesday in Delray Beach.

No. 4 seed Jeremy Chardy defeated former two-time champion Xavier Malisse 6-3, 7-6 (5); No. 6 seed Florian Mayer took out Nick Lindahl 6-1, 6-4, and Jarko Nieminen defeated Paolo Lorenzi 6-3, 6-4.

Tournament Previews and Day 1 Review for Dubai, Acapulco, and Delray Beach

The last week of February will bring with it the two ATP World Tour 500 level events as well as one 250 point tournament.

Marquee events in Dubai, Acapulco and Delray Beach have attracted five top 10 players in total. Unfortunately for the Acapulco and Delray Beach events, a majority of the world’s best players will in Dubai this week, participating in the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships.

Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who entered Dubai’s entry list at No. 10 in the world, has fallen to the No. 11 spot this week after failing to defend his Marsielle title last week.

By contrast, Spaniard Fernando Verdasco, who lost in the first-round of Memphis last week, gained one position in the rankings and leads the Acapulco field at No. 10 in the world. Verdasco entered the Mexican tournament with an entry system ranking of No. 11.

The Dubai event was hit with a major blow over the weekend when four-time champion and world No. 1 Roger Federer was forced to withdraw on the eve of the tournament with a lung infection. Federer contracted the lung infection last week and will be sidelined for the next two weeks.

Federer’s absence in the event leaves defending champion and world No. 2 Novak Djokovic as the tournament’s top seed. Djokovic will face Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in the first round. Djokovic will be joined by No. 3 seed Andy Murray, No. 4 seed Nikolay Davydenko, No. 5 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and No. 6 seed Marin Cilic.

The winner of 32-man draw will take home $383,000 and 500 ATP World Tour points.

The week’s second 500 series event will take place in the beautiful oasis of Acapulco, Mexico.

The 32-man field will be led by Spaniard Verdasco, who will be bidding for his second title of the year after capturing his first title in San Jose, California earlier this month. Verdasco is currently adjusting to a new Yonex frame, and may have a shaking result this week.

Verdasco will be joined by No. 2 seed Fernando Gonzalez, No. 3 seed David Ferrer, No. 4 seed Juan Carlos Ferrero, No. 5 seed John Isner, and No. 6 seed Nicolas Almagro. Almagro, who is the two-time defending champion of the event, could drop to the low 50’s in next week’s rankings if he is ousted early. Almagro is currently ranked No. 27 in the world.

Recent Memphis champion Querrey, and finalist Isner will use this week’s action in Acapulco to better prepare for their first-round Davis Cup tie in Serbia in early March. The tie in Serbia will be contested on clay-courts.

Other notables in the draw will include recent Santiago champion Thomaz Bellucci, and two-time winner Carlos Moya. Moya will take the court on Monday in the event’s most high-profile first-round encounter against Frenchman Richard Gasquet.

The week’s champion in Acapulco will receive $227,000.

The week’s final event will take place on American soil in Delray Beach, Florida.

Remaining a staple event on the ATP World Tour since 1993, the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships will feature a 32-man field fighting for 250 ATP World Tour points.

Former champion Tommy Haas will highlight the draw this year, followed by No. 2 seed Ivo Karlovic, No. 3 seed Benjamin Becker, and No. 4 seed Jeremy Chardy.

Defending champion Mardy Fish has been struggling with a knee injury all season, and will have a tough task in repeating. Fish faces Christophe Rochus in first-round action.

Other notables in the draw will include 2008 champion Kei Nishikori, and recent Memphis semifinalist Ernests Gulbis. Nishikori will contest his first event in 2010, while Gulbis will be adamant on continuing his fine form from Memphis. Nishikori had been sidelined from the Tour with a right elbow injury, while Gublis won three consecutive matches for the first time in Memphis, since his quarterfinal run at the Cincinnati Masters in 2008.

The first prize winner in Delray Beach will receive $75,700.

Let’s now take a look at Monday’s first-round action and upcoming matches.

Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships—U.A.E.

Monday’s first-round action in Dubai will feature the tournament’s top two seeds on center court. Highlighting the night session, defending champion Novak Djokovic will begin his attempt at defending the first tournament of his career against Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.

Leading Garcia-Lopez 2-0 in career head-to-head meetings, Djokovic has never played the Spaniard on hard-courts.

Playing in his third tournament of the season, Djokovic arrives in Dubai with a 6-2 match record on the year.

Following the Serb on center court at the Aviation Club will be current world No. 4 and tournament No. 3 seed Andy Murray.

Having never played his opponent Igor Kunitysn in Tour action, Murray will be appearing in his first tournament since losing in straight sets to Roger Federer in the finals of the Australian Open.

Opting to play a more economical schedule in order to conserve his energy for the bigger tournaments, Murray will begin an important month of tennis which will include defending finals points in Indian Wells, and champion points in Miami.

Murray remains the top seed in the top half of the draw after Roger Federer was forced to withdraw with a lung infection.

Elsewhere, Marcos Baghdatis continued his impressive year on Tour by handing No. 8 seed Gilles Simon his second straight loss on the circuit by a scoreline of 7-6 (3), 6-4.

Returning from a knee injury which he sustained at the US Open last year, Simon was far from his best during the one hour and 42 minute contest.

Losing serve on three occasions, Simon won 42 percent of his second serve points, and a mere 18 percent of the points when returning Baghdatis’ first serve.

By contrast, Baghdatis won 85 percent of his first serve points while pounding 14 aces. Marching onto his 11th win of the season, Baghdatis will next face Marco Chiudinelli or Somdev Devvarman in second-round action.

Austrian Jurgen Melzer handed Simone Bolelli his sixth-straight loss on Tour by defeating the Italian 6-1, 7-5. Hitting 11 aces, Melzer won 88 percent of his first serve points while breaking serve on five occasions.

Melzer will next face either Tommy Robredo or Julien Bennteau in second-round action. Robredo took Federer’s place in the draw.

Viktor Troicki advanced to the second-round with a convincing 6-3, 6-4 win over Rainer Schuettler; Stefan Koubek picked up an impressive and much needed win over Feliciano Lopez 7-6 (4), 6-4, and Ivan Ljubicic ousted Jan Hernych 6-2, 6-7 (3), 6-4.

Troicki will next face the winner of the Djokovic and Garcia-Lopez match in round two; Koubek will face either Arnaud Clement of Marin Cilic, and Ljubicic will battle the winner of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or Michael Llodra.

Abierto Mexicano Telcel—Acapulco, Mexico

A light day of action on Monday in Mexico will be highlighted by former two-time champion Carlos Moya vs. Richard Gasquet.

Having played on three occasions, Moya remains a perfect 3-0 against the Frenchman.

Not having played for two seasons, Moya has seen his ranking plummet due to a series of hip and foot injuries. Currently ranked No. 439 in the world, Moya will play his first 11 tournaments of this year under a protective ranking of No. 52.

Gasquet, who remains adamant on building up his game in time for Roland Garros, has opted to skip the mini hard-court swing to sharpen his skills on the clay.

Holding a 6-4 record on the season, Gasquet lost in the first-round of Argentina last week to Juan Ignacio Chela. Moya lost in the second-round of Argentina to Horacio Zeballos.

Elsewhere, Mexican favorite Santiago Gonzalez will face tough Argentine Eduardo Schwank, while Thomaz Bellucci will battle Oscar Hernandez.

Bellucci could become a factor during the clay-court season if he can remain in his current state of confidence. The 22-year-old Sao Paulo resident recently won the Santiago, Chile title for his second career title.

Delray Beach International Tennis Championships—Florida

Monday’s action in Delray Beach will also follow a light day of opening action.

Top seed and 2006 winner Tommy Haas will take a 7-3 lifetime record at Delray Beach event against Russian Teimuraz Gabashvili.

Leading Gabashvili 1-0 in career head-to-head meetings, Haas will begin his journey in what he hopes will be the 13th title of his 15-year-career.

Recently acquiring US citizenship, Haas has lived in Florida since his junior career.

Other matches that will contested on Monday will feature:

Nicolas Lapentti vs. No. 5 seed and defending finalist Evgeny Korolev, and Rajeev Ram vs. Wayne Odesnik.

Korolev lost a straight-set final to American Mardy Fish last year.

Fish is back to defend his title as an unseeded player this year.

Day 6 Review: Rotterdam, San Jose, Brazil

ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament—Rotterdam, The Netherlands

The top three seeds will highlight Saturday’s semifinal action in Rotterdam.

First up, No. 2 seed Nikolay Davydenko will battle hard-hitting Swede Robin Soderling. Trailing Soderling 6-4 in career head-to-head meetings, Davydenko currently stands at 12-1 on the season.

Soderling, who began the year 0-2, finally found his form this week in Europe by blitzing past his latest victim Julien Benneteau 6-0, 6-1 in the quarterfinals. Currently standing at the No. 8 rank in the world, Soderling remains two spots back of his semifinal opponent. Soderling will be attempting to reach his second final appearance in Rotterdam (2008), while Davydenko will aim to reach his seventh Tour level final since July (six titles).

The second match of the day will feature top seed and recent world No. 2 Novak Djokovic battling 2007 champion Mikhail Youzhny. Leading the Russian 3-2 in career head-to-head meetings, Djokovic will be adamant on upholding his recent No. 2 rank.

Youzhny, who is returning to action after being sidelined with a wrist injury, survived a near three hour encounter with Gael Monfils on Friday evening. Defeating the Frenchman 5-7, 6-2, 6-3, Youzhny improved to 5-1 on the year, and 3-0 against Monfils.

Djokovic’s run at this year’s event as been fortunate to say the least. Having to complete one match in making the semifinals, Djokovic received a retirement from his second round opponent, and a walkover from Florian Mayer in the quarterfinals. Djokovic will certainly be the fresher of the two men ahead of tonight’s night session.

SAP Open—San Jose, California

Top seed Andy Roddick and No. 2 seed Fernando Verdasco continued their dominance of the field in San Jose this year, dispatching their quarterfinal opponents in straight sets on Friday.

Roddick squeezed past physically competent but mentally fragile Thomas Berdych 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5), while Verdasco ended the historic run of Ricardas Berankis 6-3, 7-6 (5). Berankis was attempting to become the first player from Lithuania to reach the semifinal stage of an ATP World Tour event. His progression to the quarterfinals was a milestone as well.

Both Roddick and Verdasco will be forced to maintain their high of play on Saturday, when they face Sam Querrey and Denis Istomin.

Querrey eased past Michael Russell 6-4, 6-3, while Istomin reached his first career semifinal with a 6-1, 1-6, 6-3 win over No. 6 seed Philipp Kohlschreiber.

Roddick will take a 3-1 career head-to-head lead over Querrey into Saturday night’s encounter. Losing in two tiebreak sets to his younger countryman in Cincinnati last summer, Roddick will have to remain in control of his service games. Holding a relatively weak return game, Roddick will be up against the well placed serve of his 6′6″ opponent.

The day session will feature a first-time meeting between Verdasco and Istomin. Verdasco, who changed his racket to Yonex this week, appears to have finally found his grove with his new frame. Losing a set in his first-round contest, Verdasco has since breezed through the draw.

Istomin has enjoyed a breakthrough week. Defeating Tommy Haas and Kohlschreiber en route (both seeded players), Istomin, 23, will face his toughest test against Verdasco.

Ranked 85 places under Verdasco in the computer rankings, Istomin will simply have to play the match of his life if he’s to prevail. A distinct advantage goes to Verdasco to reach the finals.

Brasil Open—Costa do Saupie

Top seed Juan Carlos Ferrero remains on course to capture his second Tour level title in the past six seasons. Defeating Carlos Berlocq 6-3, 6-2 on Friday, Ferrero improved to 3-2 on the season after beginning the year 0-2. The former world No. 1 will attempt to reach the 30th final of his career on Saturday, while remaining in contention of capturing his 13th Tour level tile.

Ferrero will face Brazilian wildcard Ricardo Mello in the semifinals. Mello stunned countryman and tournament No. 3 seed Thomaz Bellucci, 6-3, 7-6 (3) in the quarterfinals. Ferrero and Mello have never met on the ATP World Tour.

The day’s first semifinal will pit No. 4 seed Igor Andreev against Tour upstart Lukasz Kubot. Andreev was merciless against his quarterfinal opponent No. 6 seed Pablo Cuevas on Friday, defeating the Uruguayan 6-1, 6-1. Reaching his first Tour semifinal of the season, Andreev recorded his first win of the season in Brazil this week after beginning the year 0-2.

Perhaps in the effort of the year thus far, Kubot was electrifying in defeating both No. 2 seed Albert Montanes, 6-2, 6-2 in the second-round, and Fabio Fognini 6-3, 6-1 in the quarterfinals, (both on Friday). Because of the heavy rain on Thursday, Kubot was forced to play and win two matches on Friday. Coupled with his singles success, Kubot also won his doubles match.

Defeating Andreev on two previous occasions, Kubot appears to be the favorite heading into the semifinal match. Holding his poise and confidence throughout the week, Kubot could be the breakthrough player of 2010.

As always, for up-to-minute live-scoring from all the day’s matches, click the TennisConnected live-score section. The Tourney Tracker on the front page will also provide you with similar information. Talk soon.

Day 4 Review: Rotterdam, San Jose, and Brazil

ABM AMRO World Tennis Tournament—Rotterdam, The Netherlands

World No. 2 Novak Djokovic breezed into the quarterfinals in Rotterdam on Thursday, defeating unseeded Swiss Marco Chiudinelli 6-4, 6-2.

Winning 86 percent of his first serve points and striking two aces, Djokovic converted on three of 14 break-point chances against his opponent. Defeating the Swiss during the Australian Open in four sets, Djokovic was cautious to not allow Chiudinelli any openings during the 91 minute contest. Holding his serve in routine fashion, Djokovic never allowed a break point chance against his delivery. Improving to 6-1 on the season, Djokovic improved to 2-0 against Chiudinelli.

The Serb received an added bonus for his efforts on Thursday, reaching Saturday’s semifinal via a walkover by his next opponent Florian Mayer. Mayer suffered a left leg injury after upsetting No. 5 seed Tommy Robredo 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 on Wednesday evening.

Elsewhere, 2007 champion and tournament No. 6 seed Mikhail Youzhny defeated Marsel Ilhan of Turkey 6-4, 6-4. Using his topspin groundstrokes and crafty net game, Youzhny struck six aces while never losing his serve during the 91 minute contest. Youzhny will next face No. 4 seed Gael Monfils, who was 6-3, 6-2 winner over Thiemo de Bakker.

Youzhny told reporters after his victory that Monfils would not be an easy opponent in the quarterfinals.

“The next match will be very tough against Monfils,” said Youzhny, who takes a 2-0 career lead into the clash. “I am still recovering after my injury, trying to get better with every match, so we will see.”

Injuring his right wrist at the Australian Open, Youzhny has seen limited court action since the year’s first Major.

The final match of the day session saw Julien Benneteau defeat recent Zagreb finaist Michael Berrer 6-4, 6-4. Benneteau will next face No. 3 seed Robin Soderling on Friday.

Thursday’s night session will be highlighted by No. 2 seed Nikolay Davydenko vs. Marcos Baghdatis, and Jurgen Melzer vs. Andreas Seppi.

SAP Open—San Jose, California

Encountering a second set scare against Ryler Deheart on Wednesday evening, top seed Andy Roddick won his first match since the Australian by disposing of his countryman 6-1, 7-6 (1).

Trailing 5-2 in the second set, Roddick displayed his experience over his Challenger level opponent. Breaking serve at 5-3 in the second set, Roddick breezed through the remainder of the set to capture his 10th win of the season.

Roddick will next face hard-hitting Argentine Leonardo Mayer during Thursday’s evening session.

No. 2 seed Fernando Verdasco, sporting a new Yonex frame, was given a scare by Yen-Hsun Lu of Chinese Taipei before dispatching his unseeded opponent 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-3.

Winning the first set comfortably, Verdasco became complacent during the second set. Lu, who had defeated the likes of Andy Murray and David Nalbandian as his career highlights, displayed his great court coverage in capturing the second set. However, Verdasco’s overall Tour experience proved to be too much for Lu in the deciding set, using his first serve to strike four aces.

Verdasco will next face Benjamin Becker in second round action.

Elsewhere, defending champ Radek Stepanek was defeated on Wednesday, losing in straight sets to Xavier Malisse 6-3, 6-4. German Tommy Haas, who recently revealed that he will marry actress Sara Foster later this summer, was also defeated 7-6 (3), 6-2 by Denis Istomin.

Thursday’s action in San Jose will feature the remaining respective players:

Taylor Dent vs. No. 7 seed Sam Querrey, and Malisse vs. Michael Russell, and Bjorn Phau vs. Ricardas Berankis.

Brazil Open—Costa do Saupie

Clay-court wizard and tournament No. 2 seed Albert Montanes will attempt to make the quarterfinals in Brazil on Thursday when he battles tough Polish opponent Lukasz Kubot.

With both players holding a 6-3 record on the season, the Brazilian fans will be treated to a dynamic blend of clay-court tennis. Montanes is currently ranked No. 30 in the world, while Kubot continues his steady climb up the men’s ladder at No. 56.

Elsewhere, No. 3 seed Thomaz Bellucci will attempt to keep his six match winning streak alive when he faces Daniel Gimeno-Traver of Spain. Winning his second career title in Chile last week, Bellucci is the talk of event this week in Costa do Saupie. Living in the shadow Brazilian great Gustavo Kuerten, Bellucci holds the best chance of any player from the South American country to capture a Major title.

Brazilian hopes will continue to be  high on Thursday when Ricardo Mello faces No. 5 seed Viktor Hanescu. Mello will be the underdog going in, and will confide in the hometown fans for continued support.

The final match of the day will feature unorthodox Spaniard Marcel Granollers against formidable clay-court specialist Fabio Fognini. Granollers is coming off a quarterfinal finish in Chile last week, while Fognini will be in search of his second win of the season, after losing his first three matches.

Granollers and Fognini have met on one occasion with the Spaniard winning in straight sets.

Wednesday’s winners in Brazil saw:

Juan Carlos Ferrero, Igor Andreev, Pablo Cuevas, and Carlos Berlocq all victorious.

As always, for all the day’s latest scores, check out the TennisConnected livescores section or the Tourney Tracker found on the home page. Talk soon.

Quotes courtesy of atpworldtour.com.

Day 3 Review: Rotterdam, San Jose, and Brazil

ABM AMRO World Tennis Tournament—Rotterdam, The Netherlands

After a disappointing end to his Australian Open campaign, in-form Russian Nikolay Davydenko picked up a fine win on Wednesday in Rotterdam, defeating recent Johannesburg champion Feliciano Lopez 6-4, 6-2 in first-round action.

Lopez, who ended a five-year title drought over the weekend, showed visible signs of fatigue and jetlag in his first-round defeat. Winning a mere 45 percent of his second serve points, Lopez was broken on three occasions during the one hour and 15 minute match. Falling to 7-3 on the season, Lopez lost his second match to Davydenko in six meetings. The Spaniard will next see action at the Dubai Open Championships.

By contrast, a well rested Davydenko displayed pinpoint accuracy throughout his victory. Improving to 10-1 on the season, Davydenko will next face James Blake or Marcos Baghdatis in second-round action.

Elsewhere, No. 4 seed Gael Monfils shook off injures concerns and illness to overcome Oliver Rochus 4-6, 6-1, 6-2. Monfils, who aggravated a knee injury against Lopez in South Africa last week, appeared back to his acrobatic self during his one hour and 43 minute victory. Pounding 19 aces and winning 74 percent of his first-serve points, Monfils improved to 9-3 on the year.

The Paris native will next face Thiemo De Bakker in second-round action.

Jurgen Melzer benefited from a right arm injury from Viktor Troicki to advance to the second-round. Trailing 6-3, 3-0, Troikci was forced to abandon the one hour and six minute affair. Melzer will next face Andreas Seppi on Thursday.

Michael Berrer continued his stellar form as of late by defeating Arnaud Clement 7-6 (16), 4-6, 6-4. Winning the longest tiebreaker of the season thus far, Berrer used his imposing serve and risking net game to dispatch his formidable French opponent. Reaching the finals in Zagreb last week (l. Marin Cilic), Berrer improved to 8-3 on the year. The stalky German will next face Julien Benneteau in second round action.

In second round action on Monday, No. 3 seed Robin Soderling continued to climb out of his recent slump by defeating Igor Sijsling 7-6 (6), 6-2. Starting the year with an 0-3 record, Soderling struck 11 aces and won 80 percent of his first-serve points during the one hour and 18 minute match.

Advancing to his first quarterfinal of the season, the Tibro native will next face Berrer or Benneteau on Friday.

The final match of the day will feature No. 5 seed Tommy Robredo vs. Florian Mayer.

SAP Open—San Jose, California

Wednesday’s action in San Jose will feature the top six seeds in action.

Battling a few nagging injuries to begin the season, top seed Andy Roddick will see his fist on-court action since losing in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open (l. Cilic).

Facing unheralded countryman Ryler Deheart, Roddick will begin his hopeful campaign at capturing his fourth title at the 120-year-old tournament. Holding a 9-1 record on the season, Roddick will be the clear favorite against his No. 226 ranked opponent.

No. 2 seed Fernando Verdasco will make his debut in San Jose on Wednesday evening when he faces Yen-Hsun Lu of Chinese Taipei. Falling out of the world’s top 10 after failing to defend his semifinal points in Australia, Verdasco decided that an aggressive attack on the North American indoor swing was required in order to regain his ranking.

Playing Lu for the first time, Verdasco will follow Roddick on center court.

Elsewhere, tricky Czech Radek Stepanek will begin the defense of his title against past-his-prime Belgium Xavier Malisse. Falling to Roddick in a close final to begin the season in Brisbane, Australia, Stepanek was ousted in the first-round of the Australian Open by Ivo Karlovic. Attempting to reach his third straight final in San Jose, Stepanek holds a 9-1 record at the event.

Second-round action will also commence on Wednesday, featuring the following matches:

No. 4 seed Tommy Haas vs. Denis Istomin, No. 5 seed Tomas Berdych vs. Jarkko Nieminen, and No. 6 seed Philipp Kohlschreiber vs. Dudi Sela.

Monday’s notable winners included Haas and Sam Querrey. Haas defeated long-time friend David Britton, while Querrey overcame Teimuraz Gabashvili 6-3, 6-2.

Brazil Open—Costa do Saupie

Increasing heat and humidity in Costa do Saupie has made the task of winning this week on Tour slightly more complicated that once expected. The 32-man field in Brazil has quickly adjusted from the cooler conditions in Chile last week.

After a heavy day of action on Tuesday—which featured 13 singles matches—Wednesday in Brazil will be highlighted by four singles matches.

Top seed Juan Carlos Ferrero, who defeated Eduardo Schwank in straight sets on Tuesday, will battle former Olympic gold medal winner Nicolas Massu. Holding a 6-2 head-to-head career record against Massu, Ferrero also leads the Chilean 2-0 when matches have been played on clay.

No. 4 seed Igor Andreev will attempt to salvage his poor start to year by advancing to his first quarterfinal of the season. The Russian will battle little known, but formidable clay-court player Rui Machado.

No. 6 seed Pablo Cuevas will battle Frederico Gil, and Juan Ignacio Chela will take on Carlos Berlocq from Argentina.

As always, for up to the second scoring of all the day’s matches, click the TennisConnected.com livescores section, or the Tourney Tracker for all the latest scores. Talk soon.

Tournament Previews and Day 1 Review: Rotterdam, San Jose, Brazil

Tournament Previews:

Week two of the ATP World Tour’s indoor North American and European swing will continue this week, alongside the second week of four weeks of South American tennis.

First up this week, the highest point value tournament will be held in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Boasting three top 10 players, ABM AMRO World Tennis Tournament will be without its defending champion and finalist from last year, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal. Murray has decided to minalize his schedule this year in order to gain greater output at the Major tournaments, while Nadal remains sidelined with a right knee injury.

In light of the notable absentees, the 32-man field in Rotterdam will feature top seed Novak Djokovic, No. 2 seed Nikolay Davydenko, and No. 3 seed Robin Soderling.

Other possible unseeded contenders for the title will include: Marcos Baghadatis, James Blake and Michael Llodra. The winner of the event will pocket € 277,000 in prize money and 500 ATP World Tour points.

The week’s second profile event will be held in San Jose, California. Top seed Andy Roddick, fresh off his quarterfinal finish in Melbourne, will attempt to capture his fourth career title at the SAP Open. Roddick will be joined by No. 2 seed Fernando Verdasco, defending champ and No. 3 seed Radek Stepanek, and recently turned American, No. 4 seed Tommy Haas.

Other notables in the field will include: No. 7 seed Sam Querrey, No. 8 seed Jeremy Chardy and No. 5 seed Thomas Berdych. The winner of the week-long event will take home 250 ATP World Tour points and $90,925 in prize money.

The final and warmest event of the week will take place in Costa do Saupie, Brazil. The second leg of the month-long South American outdoor series will provide the Tour’s clay-court players the chance to fine-tune their skills on their favorite surface. Defending champ Tommy Robredo opted to miss the event and try his luck at the bigger point total in Rotterdam. The absence of Robredo leaves former French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrer as the tournament top seed. Ferrero has yet to win a title this year, snapping a six-year title drought be claiming the title in Casablanca, Morocco last spring.

Ferrero will be joined by countryman Albert Montanes as the event’s No. 2 seed, and recent Santiago, Chile winner No. 3 seed Thomaz Bellucci. Bellucci defeated both No. 1 and No. 2 seeds Fernando Gonzalez and Juan Monaco last week in Chile.

Potential darkhorses in the event will include: No. 8 seed Richard Gasquet, No. 7 seed Horacio Zeballos, and unseeded Spaniard Marcel Granollers. The winner in Brazil will take home $75,700 in prize money, and 250 valuable ATP World Tour points.

Let’s now take a look at Monday’s first-round results.

ABM AMRO World Tennis Tournament—Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Struggling Swede Robin Soderling got off to a slow start in Rotterdam on Monday, overcoming a first-set scare to defeat Florent Serra 4-6, 6-4, 6-1.

Failing to convert on two break-point chances in the opening set, Soderling quickly found himself in danger of losing his fourth consecutive match. Winning a mere 46 percent of his second serve points in the first set became a cause for concern going forward. However, the powerful Swede amped up his efforts in the second set, converting on the lone break of serve by either player to square the contest at a set apiece.

Gaining full momentum in the third set, Soderling breezed to his first main-Tour win of the season in one hour and 46 minutes. Striking 26 aces in total, Soderling will next face Mischa Zverev or Igor Sijsling in the second-round.

Other results on day one action in The Netherlands saw Florian Mayer defeat Janko Tisparevic 6-3, 6-7 (6), 7-6 (8), and Andres Seppi dismiss Stephane Bohli 6-1, 7-5.

Mayer needed just short of three hours to defeat Tipsarevic in an epic encounter. With both men winning over 80 percent of their first serve points, Mayer’s slightly more powerful delivery prevailed deep in the third-set tiebreak. Pounding 12 aces in total, Mayer improved to 3-2 on the season. The loss dropped Tipsarevic to 4-4 on the year. Mayer will next face the winner of the day’s final match between local hero Robin Hasse and No. 5 seed Tommy Robredo.

Seppi converted on six of 17 break point chances to dismiss his No. 142 ranked opponent. Using his court-craft and cunning net-play, Seppi ousted Bohli in one hour and 27 minutes, while improving to 3-3 on the season.

Seppi will next face the winner of No. 8 seed Viktor Troicki vs. Jurgen Melzer in round two.

SAP Open—San Jose, California

West coast action from California will feature four Americans on Monday’s docket. With 13 Americans in the main draw this week, the fans in San Jose will have plenty of favorites to cheer for.

Monday’s order of play will feature:

Wayne Odesnik vs. No. 5 seed Thomas Berdych, Ryan Harrison vs. Denis Istomin, and Alex Bogmolov Jr. vs. Taylor Dent.

Odenisk will have his hands full with Berdych’s firepower, while Harrison holds a great shot against Istomin. Bogmolov Jr. and Dent should provide an entertaining affair, with Dent possessing a much bigger serve.

Other matches on day one action in San Jose will feature:

Dudi Sela vs. Santiago Giraldo, Leonardo Mayer vs. Ernests Gulbis, and Jarrko Nieminen vs. Lars Poerschke.

Top seed Andy Roddick and No. 2 seed Fernando Verdasco will see first-round action on Wednesday evening. Verdasco will take on former world No. 1 and tournament champion Pete Sampras in an exhibition event on Monday evening.

Brazil Open—Costa do Saupie

A light day of action in Brazil will feature three men’s singles matches on Monday. The hot and humid conditions in Costa do Saupie will test each of the 32-main draw participants vying for the title this week.

No. 2 seed Albert Montanes will begin his campaign for his third career title on Monday when he faces Simon Greul of Germany. Montanes has poured in stellar results in the past year, capturing two titles in 2009.

Montanes’ countryman and recently married Santiago Ventura will battle good friend Daniel Gimeno-Traver later in the day. Ventura, who is currently ranked No. 108 in the world, will be attempting to regain his ranking of No. 65 which he held in March of 2008.

The day’s final match will feature Paola Lorenzi vs. local favorite Ricardo Mello. The pair have never met on the ATP World Tour, while holding one Tour-level win between them this season.

It has also been reported that former French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten will be attending the event this week.

As always, please check the TennisConnected livescores section located at the top menu for all the day’s results. Talk soon.

AO: Day 10 Blog: Spirited Comebacks and Physical Distress

by: Nima Naderi

Australian Open—Melbourne

The debilitating effects of a two-week tournament were once again on display Wednesday in Melbourne. Both Roger Federer and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga were meant to work to reach the semifinals; both through mental and physical fortitude.

Federer’s journey to final four was complicated early on by losing the first set to Nikolay Davydenko—only to recapture his championship form after trailing by a break in the second set.

Tsonga rattled and dazzled the Australian fans with a night fight against an ailing Novak Djokovic. Trailing by two sets to one, Tsonga powered through the suspect Serb and advanced to his second Australian semifinal.

No one ever said winning a Major was easy, and that may well remain the lone commonality between Wednesday’s four quarterfinals.

With that in mind, let’s get right down to the delicious day 10 review.

Five is the Answer

A rarity of sorts took place during Wednesday’s day session in Rod Laver Arena. Accustomed to having it all, Roger Federer had something to prove. Losing to Nikolay Davydenko on two straight occasions, the current world No. 1 had the challenge of preventing his third straight loss to the Russian, while keeping alive his worldly streak of reaching 23 straight Grand Slam semifinals.

Beginning in subpar form, Federer committed 17 unforced errors to trail by a set. The Swiss’ usually lethal forehand was finding anything except his strings, while his first serve percentage remained under 50 percent. It seemed like foreign land of having to prove something was anything but comforting for Federer.

Falling behind a quick break of serve in set two, it appeared that Federer was thinking more about his losing streak against Davydenko, than how to combat his barrage of baseline shots. To his credit, Davydenko remained poised by moving Federer to the utter reaches of the court, while demonstrating his new-found volleying skills. Needless to say, Federer’s chances of advancing were slim.

But, as is usually the case with all great champions, there’s a mechanism inside that allows their next gear to be reached. If there was ever a time and place for that next gear to be found, Federer sure reached it in time. Elevating his previously meek form, Federer reeled off 13 straight games to take the second set, while rolling through the third set in just 24 minutes.

Davydenko provided relative resistance by breaking Federer back in the fourth set, only to lose his serve in the 11th game. Striking a running forehand winner on match-point, Federer’s continued his dominance of the Melbourne field.

Final score: 3-6, 6-3, 6-0, 7-5.

It got me thinking throughout the latter stages of the second set that true champions seldom falter. I’m not suggesting that the true greats never lose, or never miss that game winning shot or goal, but the difference is clear when talking about the true greats. Throughout Federer’s struggles after last year’s Australian Open—to his first round battle with Igor Andreev—Federer continued to believe. Capturing two Major titles last year, Federer continued to prove his ability of coping with adversity to defeat Andreev and Davydenko in the event.

By contrast, when reviewing Davydenko’s careful optimism throughout the past few months, he had constantly reaffirmed that he couldn’t defeat the big boys in five set matches. That outlook, though noble and non-egotistical, displayed Davydenko lack of overall belief. Saying is believing my friends, don’t you ever forget.

With the win, Federer not only dashed the concerns of Davydenko being a major factor, what he also accomplished was taking one step closer to winning his 16th Major championship.

Lucky for Federer, he’s believes he can win in five sets.

Not Well Enough

It seems that throughout the histrionics of Novak Djokovic’s career, he’s always provided too much or too little. He either wins big like he did Australia two year’s ago, or flames out in early stages of a Slam. If drama your fix, then Djokovic is your man.

In a rematch of the 2008 Australian Open final, Djokovic found himself against a familiar and dangerous foe. Playing Jo-Wilfried Tsonga for the seventh time was not necessary an favorable matchup for Djokovic, considering his losing 4-2 head-to-head record. All signs were pointing south for Djokovic coming in, but with the No. 2 ranking on the line, and coach Todd Martin in his corner, a different result was possible.

Beginning the encounter on even terms, Tsonga squeaked out the first-set by the narrowest of margins. In fact, Djokovic had ample opportunity to lead by one set, but Tsonga’s constant aggression prevailed. If the first set was any indication—and it certainly was—the Center Court crowd would be arriving late for work in the morning.

Moving along on-serve, both combatants displayed sharp tennis to force another tiebreak. This time around, however, it was Djokovic who imposed his will by using his flashy court speed to run down Tsonga’s drop-shots. The deft touch of the Frenchman would backfire at 5-4 when Djokovic hustled forward to angle off a backhand pass. If Tsonga had won that point, it could very well have been a straight set match. Nevertheless, Djokovic proved his improved mettle to force at least four sets.

Continuing his sizzling form in the third set, Djokovic picked apart a passive Tsonga. If there’s one weakness in Tsonga’s game, it’s when he doesn’t go for his shots. Retracting from his usually array of powerful strokes, a frazzled Frenchman saw his chances of advancing quickly diminish. What was once a healthy one set lead, had suddenly turned into a five-set proposition. If Tsonga was to win, he’d have to capture his second career five-set match. (Tsonga won his first career five-set match against Nicolas Almagro in the previous round).

Just when all seemed lost for Tsonga, suddenly everything began to fall apart for Djokovic. Seemingly for no apparent reason, the Serb became ill on-court and was forced to take an immediate medical time-out. Leaving the court to attend to his illness, Djokovic instantly released the strangle hold he had on the contest. Tsonga suddenly went from getting drubbed in the third set to being the fitter and fresher man.

Returning to the court in spirit, a physically distressed Djokovic was far from his best. Winning the previous set with ease, Djokovic would only win four games for the remainder of the match. Djokovic’s inability to remain fit for the duration of a Slam, whether from a physical, mental or an emotional standpoint had taken form. Another upset loss for the Serb was forth coming.

Missing a final return on match-point, Djokovic apologized to Tsonga for taking an abrupt time-out when the pair shook hands at the net. A sympathetic Frenchman embraced Djokovic by putting his hand on the back of his neck; to me that moment may encompass the rest of Djokovic’s career.

If Djokovic can not overcome his personal demons, albeit physical or emotional, then there’s really no way he’ll add to his lone Major. Trying to formulate a similar comparison to the Tsonga and Djokovic match, I vividly recalled the Guillermo Coria and Gaston Gaudio French Open final. That final, much like this quarterfinal, was marred by a man who let his emotions or physical frailty get the better of him. Leading two sets to love, Coria collapsed and sustained a phantom shoulder injury that left him in second place.

Coria was never heard from again.

Hopfully, though, that won’t happen to Djokovic.

The 23-year-old Belgrade native commented on his debilitating form on the day.

“I had a little problems with the stomach even before the match as I said, said Djokovic. “No, the big deal I started feeling after third set when I just—I couldn’t hold on.”

Saying sorry to Tsonga at the end of the match was a considerate gesture by Djokovic—he’s always been great at applauding his opponent’s winners—or trading shirts after a win or loss. Unfortunately, though, that behavior alone won’t win Majors, and if Djokovic hopes to change that formula, his actions and physical state will have to improve.

Djokovic is a great player, no question, but he’ll have to alter his histrionics if he intends on future success.

Quotes courtesy of australianopen.com.

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