bilingual | zweisprachig

Here goes the wrap-up of the second tennis week. Keep in my mind that the Australian Open will start in just a couple of hours. For the next two weeks I will be incredibly nocturnal.

Men
David Ferrer won the Heineken Open in Auckland, New Zealand. He defeated Tommy Robredo 6-4 6-2 in the final.

At the AAMI Classics in Kooyong, Australia, Andy Roddick won against Roger Federer 6-2 3-6 6-3 in the final; a bit of a surprise.

And finally, James Blake defeated Carlos Moya at the Medibank International in Sydney, Australia, 6-3 5-7 6-1, claiming his ninth career ATP singles title.

Women
Also at the Medibank, Kim Clijsters beat Jelena Jankovic 4-6 7-6(1) 6-4 in the women’s final on Saturday.

And the last title of the week was claimed by Anna Chakvetadze. She won at the Moorilla Hobart International against Vasilisa Bardina 6-3 7-6(3).

For the next two weeks not a whole lot else will be going on beside the Australian Open. So make yourselves some big pots of coffee to make it through those long nights. Lucky you if you live in a time zone where you do not have to stay up all night to watch the first year’s Grand Slam championships.

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Daily Cartoon (see yesterday’s first post)

As promised, I will shortly summarize last week’s action in professional tennis. Come to think of it, I could do this every week. This way I will keep track of it myself, too.

ATP
In Doha, Qatar, Ivan Ljubicic defeated Andy Murray 6-4 6-4 in the final and claimed his first title of the year. Unfortunately, Marcos Baghdatis got kicked out by Robin Soderling in the quarter finals.

In Adelaide, Australia, top-seeded Novak Djokovic won 6-3 6-7(6) 6-4 against Chris Guccione, who played his first ATP final, at home to boot. It was Mr. Djokovic’s third ATP title.

In Chennai, India, Xavier Malisse claimed the second ATP title in his career. He played Austrian Stefan Koubek and won in a little over an hour with 6-1 6-3. What is more surprising, though, Xavier Malisse beat Rafael Nadal in the semi final 6-4 7-6(4) but Rafa, together with Bartolome Salva-Vidal, defeated Mr. Malisse and Dick Norman in the doubles final with the help of two tie-breaks 7-6(4) 7-6(4).

WTA
The women played on the Gold Coast, Australia, where Dinara Safina defeated Martina Hingis 6-3 3-6 7-5. Ms. Safina, Marat’s little sister, also claimed the doubles title together with Katarina Srebotnik. Is there a better way to start the season?

And in Auckland, New Zealand, Jelena Jankovic won against Vera Zvonareva 7-6 5-7 6-3, thus claiming her second WTA title.

For this week, the ladies will stay down under. There are two tournaments, one in Sydney (Medibank International) and the other one in Hobart (Morrilla Hobart International).

The men also have two championships on their schedule. There is the Heineken Open in Auckland, New Zealand, and the other one is "shared" with the women at the Medibank in Sydney. Rafael Nadal, James Blake, and Marcos Baghdatis are lined up for Sydney.

This week, there is also the AAMI Classic tournament in Kooyong, Australia, just outside Melbourne. It is not an ATP event, though. Some of the top players go there to practice for the Australian Open, which will start next week. Yes, it is time again. Roger Federer is also at Kooyong, along with Andy Roddick, Marat Safin, the aforementioned Ivan Ljubicic, and others.

The new tennis season commences on the first day of the year. This week there are ATP tournaments in Doha (Qatar), Adelaide (Australia), and Chennai (India). The WTA tour starts out with two championships in Gold Coast (Australia) and Auckland (New Zealand).

Many players had their last matches in mid-November, leaving them with a recess of only about six weeks. Those guys and gals are professionals but they deserve a longer break. So do the fans. There are only a couple of dozen people on the stands in Doha right now, freezing their asses off. Is that really necessary? Anyhoo, I also understand that the players want to get in the game again before the Australian Open. So maybe there is a point in all this.