Top 2 Players are falling apart. Shanghai update, and scores.

They are beat up.
Well when is the last time that Nadal and Federer(or any world number 1 and 2) BOTH pulled out of a tournament, the same day, same round?  I don't know if it has ever happened...but that was the case today in the Paris Masters.  

Fed didn't even step on the court, and retired to Blake blaming a stiff back (a little lame, but precautionary).  This default is Fed's early Christmas present to Blake, which now boosts his chances of getting to Shanghai.  

Rafa, on the other hand, went out to play Davydenko, and after losing the first set 6-1, retired because of a right knee injury.  

Man is the tournament director pissed.  

In other news today, Nalbandian continued his dominance and beat up Murray in straight sets, ending Murray's win streak, and keeping his chances alive of qualifying.  

RIGHT NOW, WITH ONLY 2 SPOTS REMAINING, 5 PLAYERS HAVE A CHANCE.

SIMON LOST ALREADY, SO HAS NO SAY IN HIS DESTINY....HE GETS IN UNLESS BLAKE OR TSONGA REACH THE FINAL, OR NALBANDIAN WINS THE TOURNEY.

DEL POTRO ALSO LOST, BUT WILL QUALIFY UNLESS NALBANDIAN BEATS BLAKE IN THE FINAL.  IF BLAKE OR NALBANDIAN LOSE BEFORE SUNDAY, HE'S IN.

NALBANDIAN HAS  TO WIN.

BLAKE GUARANTEES WITH A WIN, BUT CAN STILL MAKE IT WITH A FINAL AND SOME HELP.

TSONGA HAS TO WIN AND GET SOME HELP.

I'm headed off to a tournament myself for college, so will try and blog later on the results of the Tsonga/Roddick match, but forgive me if I don't.  

See you soon.

Just how good is Nalbandian? Plus Poll Results, and today's scores.

Just how good is David Nalbandian?

He has tennis fans everywhere rooting for him during this late season surge.  What's funny is that he did the EXACT same thing last year.  He went on a run at the end of last season that saw him beat Fed a couple of times, and almost make Shanghai.  Can he take it a step further this year?

Signs are very good considering he pummeled Del Potro today in a statement match, a sort of "I'm not ready to pass on the banner" sort of match.  Does he still belong in the top 5?  I don't think he even knows...I mean it seems like sometimes the guy is just plain disinterested.  All I know is that the rest of the field sure hopes he doesn't make Shanghai.  

POLL RESULTS:  Rafa wins the poll on who you think is going to be 1 in the world after the Aussie Open.  Thanks for voting, a new poll should be up very shortly.  

[1] R Nadal (ESP) d [16] G Monfils 63 62(FRA) A lot of people thought this one would be competitive...not even Gael's flashy new Prince racket could hold off Rafa.  
[2] R Federer (SUI) d M Cilic (CRO) 63 64 A vintage Fed win.
[13] J Tsonga (FRA) d [3] N Djokovic (SRB) 64 16 63 Where is the guy who won the Aussie?  Novak seems miles away from him...not to mention he is slipping as bad as he did last year by the end of the season.  
[4] A Murray (GBR) d [15] F Verdasco (ESP) 63 76(6) Murray keeps rolling, how many matches straight is that?  I think 14.
[6] N Davydenko (RUS) d T Berdych (CZE) 61 61 This was a surprising blow out, although Nikolay's grind game is a bad match-up for the hit or miss Berdych.
[7] A Roddick (USA) d [10] G Simon (FRA) 63 75 Roddick qualifies for Shanghai with this win...Simon's hopes shrink...but he still has a chance.  
[8] D Nalbandian (ARG) d [9] J del Potro (ARG) 64 60 Big statement match.  
[11] J Blake (USA) d P Kohlschreiber (GER) 64 64 Good win for Blake...he gets Fed now.  

So that does it for today.  Some good matches tomorrow, a rematch of Fed Blake from the Olympics.  

Only 2 more Shanghai spots left...

Safin done? and all of today's scores.

Could the infamous Marat Safin be calling it quits?

Well that's what he said was a real possibility in a recent interview.  The gigantic Russian claims that he needs to sit back and take a look at his life to see if he wants to continue grinding it out. Chances are that this could be another one of those "Marat" speeches.  Kind of like at Wimbledon a few years ago when he said that he would never come back, or that grass tennis was a waste of time, and a terrible surface.  What happened? Well, anyone who watched Wimbledon this year saw that he changed his mind, maybe a semifinal performance had something to do with that.  

Tennis is a hard game, and being on the tour is one of the toughest things an athlete can do physically and emotionally.  Safin is also not getting any younger at 28.  My advice to Marat is a sappy, "follow your heart" sort of advice.  He has gone this far with his ups and downs, why not finish your career out?  Not to mention, numbers wise, this might be the best season Marat has had in a while.  He made it to the semis of Wimbledon, and really looked like the old Safin.  He loses one match to Juan Monaco, and all of a sudden it's over?  Juan Monaco is a tough player.  I think when Safin is laying on the beach somewhere pondering his career with 8 swimsuit models surrounding him, he might realize he's still got some tennis left in him (depending on how good looking the models are).  I think, and hope he will come back for some more, his love hate relationship with the game can't end like this.  One last thing is that I don't care what tournament or surface it is, if someone sees Safin's name in their draw...they notice it.  This is because everyone knows he can beat anyone on a given day...the only problem is that those given days are getting farther apart.  

Now for the scores of the day....

[1] R Nadal (ESP) d [LL] F Serra (FRA) 62 64 You never got the feeling Rafa was going to have any trouble with a Lucky Loser.
P Kohlschreiber (GER) d [5] D Ferrer (ESP) 63 62 There goes Ferrer's Masters Cup dreams. 
[6] N Davydenko (RUS) d [Q] I Ljubicic (CRO) 76(5) 75 Good to see Ivan play well, but still got beaten up.
[8] D Nalbandian (ARG) d N Kiefer (GER) 76(5) 63 The surge continues for David.
[10] G Simon (FRA) d I Andreev (RUS) 63 75 Solid win for Gilles.
T Berdych (CZE) d [12] S Wawrinka (SUI) 63 75 Another Masters Cup hopeful bites the dust...and also one of my upset predictions finally came true.  
M Cilic (CRO) d [Q] M Granollers (ESP) 64 76(2) Cilic could play the role of spoiler this tournament.
[13] J Tsonga (FRA) d R Stepanek (CZE) 36 64 64 This one would have been fun to watch, Tsonga digs a tough one out fighting for his Shanghai life.
[11] J Blake (USA) d [Q] S Bolelli (ITA) 67(10), 63 64 Blake can't seem to beat anyone easily anymore.  That said... Simone is a tough player.
[2] R Federer (SUI) d R Soderling (SWE) 64 76(7) Everyone got the feeling this one would be close...Rog pulls out a comfortably close win.
[4] A Murray (GBR) d S Querrey (USA) 62 64 He's got to be playing the best of anyone in the world, right?

So that's it for today's results.  

GREAT day of matches tomorrow, some awesome match ups.  

Fed plays Cilic...Tsonga plays Novak...Rafa plays Monfils, Del Potro plays Nalbandian (again) and Simon plays Roddick.  

Tomorrow is going to create a much clearer picture of who is going to Shanghai.  

UPSET PICK:  In a battle of Masters Cup hopes, I think Simon takes down Roddick in three grueling sets.  

Shanghai Update

Hey everyone...I'll blog later on all the results of today at the Masters Series, but I figured I would write one now about Shanghai.  With the Masters Cup approaching, Paris is going to decide the 3 remaining spots.  So far the usual suspects are already in (Rafa, Roger, Novak, Murray, Davydenko).  

There are 11 people who have the ability to qualify.  

I was on a few websites last night, and got a headache reading all of the scenarios.  If you want to go ahead and read them at your own risk...HERE is the link.

Here is my simplified version of the main people, and how they can control their destiny.

(The Front Runners)

Roddick is at 6 in the race right now, and qualifies by getting to the semis.  

Del Potro has to take it a step further and make it to the finals to qualify.

Simon has to grind out one last tournament and make it to the finals as well to qualify. 

Ferrer has to have some late season magic and make it to the finals.

(The Maybes)

Blake, Wawrinka, and Tsonga seal a spot by winning the title.  

Since Gonzalez pulled out, he's done(and end to a disappointing season for him)...the only guys left are

(The Long Shots)

Nalbandian, Verdasco, Monfils, and Soderling.  All of these guys have to win the title plus getting some help from others in order to qualify.  

OK...well that's my simplified version.  If you decide to go to the link and look at all of the (1,000,000) possibilities, good luck.  

See you later with scores of the day.

La Monf and Today's results.

If you haven't ever seen Gael Monfils play, you're missing something.  He catches the eye of whoever is watching with his eccentric hair styles, loud outfits, "hot dog" attitude, and the way he ice skates around the court.  Monfils makes a hard court look like its wet by sliding and making ear piercing screeches.  I've watched him play a few times, and every time he runs, I hold my breath for fear of him breaking his ankle.  I don't know how he does it, but whatever works for him seems to be just fine.  Gael can also hit a serious ball.  I expect him to have a nice tournament, maybe making a deep run.  We'll see.

Now for the results...

Singles - Second Round

[3] N Djokovic (SRB) d D Tursunov (RUS) 62 43 ret. (right shoulder) Talk about Marcos, Dmitry has had his share of injury troubles.
[7] A Roddick (USA) d F Lopez (ESP) 63 64 Oh well, I was wrong.  Good win for Andy.
[9] J del Potro (ARG) d M Ancic (CRO) 60 64 Del Potro continues to have an unreal season.
[16] G Monfils (FRA) d [Q] J Monaco (ARG) 64 64 Gael is one of the best guys to watch, and if he catches fire could beat anyone.
[15] F Verdasco (ESP) d T Robredo (ESP) 26 76(6) 62 Robredo was Mr. 4Th round a while ago, now it seems like he cant win a match.

Singles - First Round
P Kohlschreiber (GER) d M Youzhny (RUS) 61 64  Youzhny keeps slipping, the German is also a tough customer.
R Stepanek (CZE) d M Gicquel (FRA) 64 36 64 The worm....always a three setter when he plays, and usually guts out a win.
R Soderling (SWE) d [WC] J Ouanna (FRA) 63 64 Keeps rollin'
[Q] I Ljubicic (CRO) d [Q] V Troicki (SRB) 63 64 Ljubicic used to be top 5...he has slowly descended into oblivion, now can barely qualify for Masters...good to see him get a win.
[LL] F Serra (FRA) d [LL] G Canas (ARG) 46 75 63 Serra is a great guy...and can play some ball.

See you tomorrow.  Rafa and Rog in action.

Struggles continue for Baghdatis...

Who doesn't love Marcos Baghdatis?  His smile on the court whether it's 6-4,4-1, or 5 all in the fifth is contagious.  He really makes you feel like there is nowhere on earth he'd rather be than on a tennis court, and that's what draws so many fans to him.  Over the past few years he has given us the feeling that he shows up to the big events, and is going to be a threat at majors.  

Sadly, Marcos has slipped...big time.  Maybe it's the Tecnifibre curse.  Marcos switched a while ago from Fischer rackets (which he used forever) to a new Tecnifibre (probably his old Fischer painted.)  Ever since he's had a major wrist injury, and has been struggling to even finish matches.  Today in Paris he lost to Querrey.  After 2 tough sets, Marcos retired at 2-3 in the third.  Sad.  You have to feel for the guy, hopefully he can put his body back together because he is certainly a great personality to have on court.  

So now back to the results.

Today saw my dark horse semifinalist bow out in the 1st round to Feliciano Lopez...

SCORES DRAWS

M Cilic (CRO) vs A Seppi (ITA) 76(5) 62  Good win for the tough Croat.
N Kiefer (GER) d I Karlovic (CRO) 64 75 Kiefer is always tough in big tournaments...breaking Dr. Ivo twice is no joke either.
M Ancic (CRO) d R Schuettler (GER) 64 36 61  Ancic is healthy, and looking good.
S Querrey (USA) d M Baghdatis (CYP) 75 67(5) 32 ret. (back)  Man...
T Berdych (CZE) d [Q] R Ginepri (USA) 64 75 Berdych is playing well.
[Q] J Monaco (ARG) d M Safin (RUS) 60 76(4)  Safin's inconsistency continues.
[Q] S Bolelli (ITA) d J Nieminen (FIN) 75 64  Good win for the Italian over the tough lefty.

F Lopez (ESP) d J Tipsarevic (SRB) 63 64  There goes my upset pick for the semis.

That's is for today, much more to come tomorrow as some of the big names start to play.  

UPSET PICK OF THE DAY:  LOPEZ DEF RODDICK 7-6, 7-5

Fed wins, Murray Rolls.

Hey....I went 2 for 3 with predictions in the finals this weekend.  I should have went with Fed, but oh well, wanted to be interesting.  Lyon, St. Petersburg, and Basel are all now over.  Murray won his second tourny is a row with a 1 and 1 win over...well whoever he played.  Fed beat Nalbandian his (ex) nemesis 4 and 3.  Lastly, Soderling took home a title with a 3 set win over Benneteau. Nice win for Soderling, the guy is a monster indoors...he has some serious potential, he just can't seem to put it together week after week.  Murray is really starting to look like a Grand Slam threat, and Fed, well added one more credential to defend himself this year as a player who didn't burn out.  

Where to now? Paris.  First, here is the DRAW.

The AMS Paris tournament is actually already under way, along with the draw being out.  

As I will do for every big tournament, I will give you three first round matches to watch...1 Dark horse semifinalist, and 2 upset predictions.

FIRST ROUNDS TO WATCH: 

-Baghdatis/Querrey.  This is an interesting match, Marcos is struggling to win sets on the tour, and Querrey has put together a nice season.  This would be a good statement match for Baghdatis to show he's back.

-Federer/(Soderling or Ouanna).  Ok obviously I chose this assuming Soderling would win.  I'd love to see a confident Soderling take on Fed.

-Roddick/ (Tipsarevic or Lopez).  This will be a good one no matter who wins between Lopez or Tipsarevic.  Janko Tipsarevic already has some history with Roddick, and they well...plainly don't like each other.  Lopez is coming off a nice tournament and is dangerous every match.

DARK HORSE SEMIFINALIST:

-I'm going to go with Janko Tipsarevic.  He is in Roddicks draw, who he knows he can beat....and he is in Novak's section, which is his countryman, and that changes the match up completely.  I'm going with Janko to the semis.

2 Upset picks:

Well it's not surprise I think Janko is going to win and then beat Roddick, and my other upset is Berdych beating Wawrinka.  

That's all for the Paris preview.  See you tomorrow with scores and updates.  

Semis Update

Hello everyone, hope you enjoyed the day off from the blog.  Due to prior commitments (in a college tournament myself), I had to take the day off form the blog yesterday.  The biggest news I missed was probably Roddick going down to Soderling.  As I said, if Soderling gets hot, he can beat anyone.  Roddick's struggles continue, his big serve, and punishing forehand that started a new generation of player and rackets, now seems ordinary.  By no means is he "bad" now or "lost it", I think everyone else just caught up.  Part of the whole Roddick puzzle when he first burst on the scene, was that he played a little different than everyone, served a little harder.  Now, everyone has a monster serve, modern day grinders can juice it up in the 130s now.  This led to people developing a rock solid game plan against Roddick, and God bless him he's still top 10, but seems to be losing a lot lately.

Now the scores...I'm skipping the quarters, but your more than welcome to check out all the scores, as usual, right HERE.

LYON: Fed beat Lopez 3 and 2, and Nalbandian beat Del Potro 4 and 4.  

SETUP Fed/Nalbandian final.  So lets all face it, this match was up was a lot cooler when a few things were different...

-Fed was unbeatable

-Nalbandian seemed to beat Fed every time

-No one else could touch Fed.

Since then, things have changed, time has made Fed human(or somewhat), Nalbandian has a losing record against Fed (8-9)...and a little guy named Rafa has burst on the scene.

Prediction:  I have a thing for guys almost losing and then winning a tournament.  Nalbandian had his big 3 set scare, I'm picking the upset 7-5, 6-3 Nalbandian over Fed, evening the record to 9-9.

St Petersburg,

Murray beat Verdasco 0 and 3, Golubev (who?) beat Hanescu 3 and 0.

So Murray wins two tournaments in a row.  I don't see him having much trouble with the 150Th ranked Golubev.

LYON: Benneteau beat Tsonga 6 AND 5, Soderling beat Simon 3 in the third.

Firstly, it's sad Simon lost, but even sadder his streak of 3 setters ended in the quarters, Oh well, he backed it up with another one today.

Final: Benneteau/ Soderling  both guys have had unreal tournaments, I'm going to give the edge to Soderling because of the serve.  I say he wins it 4 and 6.  

That's all for today, we'll see how all these finals play out and how right (or wrong) I was on my predictions.  

All the action today...

I'd like to start the blog off today by saying that Gilles Simon has went three sets AGAIN (and won).  Now I'm not sure if this is a record kept, but if it is, he is definitely approaching the record for most three set matches played in a certain amount of time.  EVERY match the guy plays is three, luckily he must be fit, because his body has got to start breaking down soon.  He is fighting for his life in the Masters Cup, hopefully he'll have two functional legs if he manages to get there.   

Now for the scores...

So first LYON: 

[1] A Roddick (USA)d R Ginepri (USA) 76(5) 76(3)   Not a shock, maybe a bit closer than I thought.

S Darcis (BEL) d [2] R Gasquet (FRA) 64 36 76(5) His struggles continue.
[3] J Tsonga (FRA) d F Santoro (FRA) 62 57 63 Must have been fun to watch.
[4] G Simon (FRA) d A Seppi (ITA) 76(5) 57 64 I mean come on.
[7] R Soderling (SWE) d [Q] C Rochus (BEL) 61 62 Dark Horse.
J Ferrero (ESP) d [8] P Mathieu (FRA) 64 61 Solid showing.

I think that Soderling looks good right now, and all the guys left are used to big matches except Darcis (who has still won 2 ATP tournaments) 

Now St. Petersburg:

[1] A Murray (GBR) d E Gulbis (LAT) 64 62  Gulbis just can't win the big one.
[Q] A Golubev (KAZ) d [8] M Safin (RUS) 64 62 This was a shock, who is Golubev.
J Tipsarevic (SRB) d J Chardy (FRA) 64 76(3) Janko is always tough.
V Hanescu (ROU) d [Q] M Kukushkin (KAZ) 63 76(7) The big man.
[Q] M Zverev (GER) d [4] M Youzhny (RUS) 75 64  Zverev is a tough qualifier, must have played well.

This tournament has Murray all over it.

Basel:

[1] R Federer (SUI) d J Nieminen (FIN) 76(6) 76(1) Surprisingly close, considering Fed was up 3-1 serving.
[2] D Nalbandian (ARG) d [Q] K Vliegen (BEL) 64 57 76(4) Survived a tough scare.
[3] J del Potro (ARG) d [WC] S Bohli (SUI) 63 63 Del Potro rolls on.
[4] J Blake (USA) d O Hernandez (ESP) 67(4) 62 64  This was a must win for Blake, nice come back from a set down.
S Bolelli (ITA) d M Granollers (ESP) 64 62 Hard hitting Italian is tough indoors.

A lot of potential in this draw, some huge hitters in Del Potro, Blake, and Bolelli.

That's is for today's post.  Draws are getting down to business.  Too many players mentioned today, and no one that reaaally caught my eye (and partially laziness), so no pic today.  See you tomorrow.

Basel and St. Petersburg Preview and Up to date.

Hey again...So just to let everyone know, this time of year always has a few guys fighting for dear life to get into the Masters Cup.  So far this years dog fighters are, Simon, Blake, Roddick, Del Potro, and Ferrer.  Keep these guys in mind the next few weeks, it'll be interesting to see who makes it.  

Now to the tournaments.  First for a quick Lyon update, Simon went through in 3 sets to Juan Monaco (Simon never goes three, right?) Muller lost and Mathieu beat Canas.  In the most shocking match, Robredo (yes that's right my pick for the semis) got plastered by Benneteau, Julien is playing in his home country, but this is still quite a lopsided victory.  

Basel:  Basel saw Vliegen, and a few legend killers get to qualify: George "Sampras Killer" Bastl and Benjamin "Agassi's Bad Back Is No Match For Me" Becker.

The main draw showcases Roger Federer as the 1 seed, back in his home country, and with more fans than ever, due to the fact we all realized people can't win every match forever.  Blake, Del Potro, and Nalbandian are also in Basel, and still alive, showing some dangerous floaters for Fed.  I can't really see any of them beating him (yea I know Nalbandian is his kind of nemesis, and Fed did just play 3 sets with Bobby Reynolds).  I see him moving along, maybe Nalbandian can take him out, but if he will its going to be on Sunday, and we all know how Fed likes to spend his Sundays.   Blake beat him in the Olympics, but I doubt Blake has the consistency to beat anyone good two times in a row anymore.  Look for a Fed/Nalbandian final, with the Swiss crowd pleased. Oh yea, and Blake won today in three against Kiefer in a tough match.  

St. Petersburg:  This tournament has quite a bit of personality to it.  The main draw showcases, Safin, Youzhny, Davydenko(OK he has zero personality, but he's still good), Cilic, Tursunov, Verdasco, Ancic, Tipsarevic, and Murray.  It should be a real entertaining week, with some good ones already coming up in round 2.  Murray plays Gulbis, maybe this will be when Gulbis finally wins a big match instead of always making it a war.  Schuettler/ Hrbaty should be a nice match up of has-beens, and every match Safin plays is fun to watch.  I'm going to predict a Safin/ Murray final with the Brit or whatever he wants to be getting through.  

So we're all caught up to date with this week, now we'll sit back and see how it all develops.  Next blog I'll give you scores and good match ups for all 3 tournaments at once, now that we're getting down to the business of them.  Until then , take care.

As always...SCORES and DRAWS

Lyon Preview-Catch up.

Hey everyone...there's nothing too big going on this week, we've got three fairly good tournaments(Lyon, Basel, St. Petersburg).  We do have Fed in action in his hometown tournament, which will probably take up the majority of the tennis buzz.

First off, here are all draws and scores that you want HERE.  (that's all three tournaments)

It's too repetitive and tedious to give you everything from all three tournaments going on all at once, so I'll do Lyon today, and then Basel and St. Petersburg tomorrow.  When the draws get smaller(right around the quarters) I'll do them all at once.  Fed won in three sets to Bobby Reynolds...that's the only interesting fact in the other two tournaments anyway so far.  OK so thats out of the way...

LYON:  Lets start here...so the only people worth mentioning that qualified are the thick Frenchmen, Thierry Ascione, and the tiny warrior, Christophe Rochus (yes that is the slightly taller, worse one.)  So now let's get to the main draw...

The top half showcases A-Rod and my new favorite player, Simon.  Roddick opened up today with a nice 6 and 4 win over the tricky Nicolas Mahut...and Ginepri fought off Grosjean in three sets, setting up a second round clash between Americans.  They gave Simon the day off thank God, so he hasn't played yet, and Dr. Ivo Karlovic went down swinging in the first round to former top tenner, Nico Lapentti.  That's pretty much it for the top draw, I don't see anyone who is going to stop a Roddick/Simon Semi. (mayyyybe Gilles Muller)  

The bottom half is an all out war.  The talent filled French are everywhere you look in this half.  You have Mathieu, Canas, Querry, Tsonga, Robredo, Benneteau, Stepanek, Gicquel, and Gasquet.  I could see any of those guys making it to the final.  Oh no wait, some of them lost already.  

So with Querrey out, and Gasquet beating a qualifier in a third set breaker, I'm going to go with Tommy"How is he ranked that high for this long" Robredo.  I wouldn't be shocked if Tsonga or Mathieu caught fire.  Maybe the 30-something year old worm(not an insult, its just the dance he does) Radek Stepanek can make some noise.  I'm going to go with a Robredo/Tsonga Semi. 

Well that's pretty much it for Lyon, check that link up above for scores, and we'll see how the draw develops.  Tomorrow I'll preview, and get you up to date on the other two tournaments going on.   

Tip of the Week #1

This is the first in the series of "Tip of the Week"

I'll try and do these every week if I can...they will be about anything from playing styles, gear, sometimes racket reviews, or your own game.

So here it goes...

#1 WARM UP

I thought a good place to start would be warming up. Anyone who has seen me play knows that I am borderline obsessed with warming up. With the seasons about the change, and it starting to get cold (wherever it gets cold), more and more people are pulling and straining muscles on the court because of a lack of warm up.

Warming up is key to success on the court. You wouldn't just wake up from a sleep and throw a football as far as you could, right (I hope not)? I'm not saying you need to be on the ground for a half an hour before your match, a solid 7-10 minutes should be fine.

There are enough annoying injuries you can get from tennis that you can't really do all that much to prevent (ankle sprains, overuse injuries), so why not warm up and prevent the preventable?

Static stretching used to be thought of as the best way to warm up, and maybe even still by your outdated gym teachers, or anyone else whose not truly all there on fitness info. Now, it is almost unanimous that a dynamic warm up is the way to go. The difference between dynamic and static, is basically what it says. Dynamic is warming up through movement, and static is, well, being static(motionless) and holding stretches.

Since I don't have a PhD in exercise science, and no real credentials in fitness, here is a link to a site for a great dynamic warm up. HERE!

Lightly jog for about 3 minutes, then go into some of those dynamic movements, and you should be good to go.

Next time you see the token weekend warrior out on the court, with his Babolat Pure Drive, touching his toes three times, bouncing up and down while then proceeding to bomb a serve with the wrong grip, while only bombing out his rotator cuff, maybe you can show him some of these stretches.

That's it for tip 1....stay tuned soon for updates from Lyon, Basel, and St. Petersburg

Murray wins Madrid

Hello again everyone....

Andy Murray has won the Madrid Masters, beating the pesky Gilles Simon, 6-4, 7-6(6).  

Murray took control of the match early, serving amazing, as he did against Fed.  He took the first set 6-4, but Simon seemed to calm himself down in the second set, and both players held pretty comfortably until the tiebreak.  Simon fought to a 6-4 lead in the breaker for 2 set points, but getting a bit of his own medicine, lost those huge opportunities.  I mean, come on, he can't win EVERY big point in a tournament.  Murray now sealed his position in the Shanghai Masters Cup, and proved to everyone that he is a serious threat to the top of the rankings.  

Next up for the boys are some tournaments in Lyon, Basel, and St. Petersburg.  

So maybe this result will boost Murray's number of votes on the Blog poll, or maybe (probably) not.  

That's all for this post, congrats Andy....Oh, and stay tuned tomorrow (Monday) for the start of Tip of the Week.

Another monthly section on the blog will be called The Tennis Psychic, where I make 3 bold predictions for the coming month of tennis.  The first of those will be Nov. 1st.  

I have posted a link to Murray's Bio HERE , you can check out his record this year, prize money and see just how close he is to breaking into the top 3.    See you soon.

Getting all caught up, and Madrid Semis.

So let's get right to it then.  Unfortunately, because this blog is brand new, I haven't had a chance to comment on what an insane year of tennis this has been on the ATP.  A new number one, the decline(or maybe not) of possibly the greatest ever, and a lot of new young guns on the scene.  

This week in tennis was the Madrid Masters Series event...it was played on what looked like a pretty fast hard court.  As expected Fed and Rafa moved along, as a bratty looking Djokovic surprisingly bowed out early to the always tough Ivo Karlovic.  Murray continued his streak of brilliant tennis these past few months, and the "seemingly lacking in talent" Gilles Simon started an unbelievable run.  

So now that were up to date, I'll start with the Madrid semis that took place earlier today.  The first match of the day was a rematch of the Us Open final, Murray v.s. Fed.  A confident an aggressive Fed got off to a routine 6-3 first set victory, but as Murray's serve picked up, and he started imposing his game a little bit more than usual, Fed started to look more like the man we all had finished before the Open.  Murray then ran off to a sneaky 6-3, 7-5 victory in the next two sets, sealing the minor upset.  Fed played well this tournament, but still remains nothing even close to as dominant as he had been the past few years.

The other semi was a bit more exciting, as the marathon man Gilles Simon (coming into the match played 4 straight 3 setters, saving match points in two of those matches) took on world number one, Rafa.  Rafa is going to grind this guy down mentally and physically, as those long matches had to have taken a toll on the slim body of Simon, right?  That's sure what I thought, but was wrong.  Simon looked tired for the first hour of the match going down a set, but fought back to win the second 7-5, and made it a real dog fight.  You have to get the feeling someone was on Simon's side considering his run so far, and he kept the dream alive by digging out a 7-6 (8-6) in the 3rd victory over Rafa.  This was Simon's 5th 3 setter in a row, and his fourth match that went to 7-6 in the third set this tournament.  Unreal run, but I'm still not convinced, I am going to predict a clean 4, and 3 victory for Murray tomorrow in the final, sealing him as being a real threat to Djokovic's number 3 spot.   

First Post

Hey everyone, this is Tiebreak's first post.  This blog is dedicated to give its readers up to date scores, news, and discussion on the world of tennis.  Let's all face it, ESPN does a dull job covering the sport, and the Tennis Channel is great...for the three hours that it is actually showing live tennis between repeats, but there are such a few number of actual good sites to get tennis news.  I'll also update my poll on the site as much as I can, and try and give all of you some interesting insight into some aspects of tennis not often covered such as college and the challenger level.  Comments are always welcome and hopefully you guys like it and subscribe.  Talk to you soon.