Czech Coach Jaroslav Navratil activated double trouble to play doubles today. Lukas Dlouhy and Jan Hajek were slated to play for the Czech Republic, but it looks like the Czechs went with what was tried and true.

Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek were back to crushing dreams this afternoon in Belgium. They had an impressive victory over Steve Darcis and Olivier Rochus and beat the Belgians 6-3 6-0 6-4. The win allows the Czechs to advance into the Davis Cup quarterfinals. The Czech Republic now awaits the winner of the Chile-Israel match.

Saturday’s Results
R3 – T. Berdych (CZE)/R. Stepanek (CZE) def. S. Darcis (BEL)/O. Rochus (BEL) 7-6(0) 6-0 6-3

(Image: AP)

Czech double trouble was back to doing what they do best -- kicking other Davis Cup teams to the curb. Last year’s Davis Cup finalists put themselves in the driver's seat today against Belgium. Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek jumped out into a 2-0 lead after just 4 hours and 37 minutes and six-consecutive sets.

Usually Berdych and Stepanek pull double duty, but Lukas Dlouhy and Jan Hajek are slated to play doubles tomorrow against Steve Darcis and Olivier Rochus. Even if the Czechs lose tomorrow, double trouble should be able to wrap it up on Sunday.

Czech Republic vs. Belgium
Friday’s Results
R1 – Tomas Berdych (CZE) def. Oliver Rochus (BEL) 6-3 6-0 6-4
R2 – Radek Stepanek (CZE) def. Xavier Malisse (BEL) 6-2 6-4 7-6(3)

Saturday’s Match
R3 – L. Dlouhy (CZE)/J. Hajek (CZE) vs. S. Darcis (BEL)/O. Rochus (BEL)

(Images: AP)

Ernests Gulbis took out third-seed Radek Stepanek 7-6(5) 7-5 in their second-round matchup. The Latvian secures a spot in the quarterfinals against the winner of the Russell-Berdych match. The 21 year old has yet to make it to the semifinals in an ATP event so far in his career.

The Latvian showed promise a few years ago when he was at a career-high of 38, but there has not been a lot to write about the Latvian ON the tennis court in the last year. Off the court, he was embroiled in the case of the mystery tennis player busted for solicitation of a prostitute in Sweden last year. Oops.

The Latvian started off this year with a good run in Doha where he lost to Roger Federer in the quarterfinals. He then lost in the opening rounds of the Australian Open and San Jose. This week, the current world no. 99 is off to a good start with two-straight wins.

In the other upset of the day, Xavier Malisse upset fourth-seed Tommy Haas 6-4 3-6 6-4 in the German-American’s Memphis debut. The Belgian now has a large task of dealing with Ivo Karlovic and his big serve in the second round.

Malisse missed most of his 2007 year with a wrist injury. Since the time off the Belgian has struggled on the main tour and played mostly on the Challenger tour for much of 2008. Last week, he sent home Radek Stepanek, the defending champion in San Jose, in the first round but then lost in the following round. This week his victim is Tommy Haas. Now, all the Belgian has to do is follow up his upset with some more wins.

Preview:
City: Memphis, TN, USA
Surface: Indoor Hard

Championship Points: 500
2009 Singles Champion: Andy Roddick
2009 Doubles Champion: Mardy Fish and Mark Knowles
Draws: Singles | Doubles

Wednesday’s Results
Singles First Round
1 Andy Roddick (USA) def. James Blake (USA) 6-3 4-6 7-6(3)
Xavier Malisse (BEL) def. 4 Tommy Haas (GER) 6-4 3-6 6-4
8 Sam Querrey (USA) def. Rajeev Ram (USA) 6-2 6-3
Leonardo Mayer (ARG) def. Mardy Fish (USA) 6-4 6-0

Doubles First Round
WC S. Lipsky (USA)/D. Martin (USA) def. B. Becker (GER)/J. Chardy (FRA) 7-5 6-2

Singles Second Round
Ernests Gulbis (LAT) def. 3 Radek Stepanek (CZE) 7-6(5) 7-5
6 John Isner (USA) def. Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) 6-7(3) 6-4 6-4
Philipp Petzschner (GER) def. Evgeny Korolev (KAZ) 7-6(5) 7-6(5)

Thursday’s Order of Play

(Image:[Irina])

On Monday, Ivo “Dr. Ivo or MC Ivo” Karlovic took out 13-seed Radek Stepanek. The Czech became the first casualty of the Australian Open. The opening day was a rather harmless when compared to day two of the tournament.


Tuesday was a fragile day for seeded players. Twenty-third-seed Juan Carlos Ferrero and 25-seed Sam Querrey lost their Aussie debuts. A big stunner was 16-seed Tommy Robredo’s exit. The Spaniard is usually so consistent. Perhaps the biggest stunner of them all was eighth-seed Robin Soderling.

Columbian Santiago Giraldo (pic. left) took out Tommy Robredo. The world no. 114 did not qualify at last year’s US Open, but he was able to surpass handily the Spaniard on 6-4 6-2 6-2. Giraldo now advances Pole Lukaz Kubot in second round.

Robin Soderling lost to world no. 113 Marcel Granollers (pic. right) of Spain. The Spaniard rallied to eventually kneecap Soderling 5-7 2-6 6-4 6-4 6-2. The 23 year old will meet Columbian Alejandro Fallo in the next round.

Soderling’s departure now opens his quarter of the draw and gives Spaniard Nicolas Almagro a good shot at the round of 16. The 26 seed has never made it to the round of 16 in a grand slam on hardcourt. He did make it to the quarterfinals at Roland Garros in 2008, which is his best grand slam result to date.

Tuesday’s Results

Wednesday’s Order of Play

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(Images: AP/Andrew Brownbill, AP/Shuji Kajiyama)

The Spanish Davis Cup team posed with Spanish PM Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero after recapturing the title this past weekend.

Spanish camaraderie won in the end. Plus, there are details of Ferrer’s bathroom break right after he lost the first-two sets to Radek Stepanek (NYT)

Tignor takes a harsh look at the Davis Cup final participants. He is really hard on Tomas Berdych and kind of hard on Radek Stepanek. It is a little too severe considering the fact that, on paper, the Czechs should have never made it that far, but they did. Other teams allowed the Czechs to get past them when they should have won. Spain just did what it was supposed to do (Tennis.com)

Freep this poll! Ronaldo vs. Nadal (TMZ)

Viktor Troicki beats Novak Djokovic in a Serbian exhibition 7-6. Djokovic does some impressions and talks tennis (Blic)

Andy Murray commits audio terrorism against the world. You have been now warned (The Pop Cop)

Guga will be honored by Brazil's President Lula. I will now be holding my own parade to honor the honors (ATP)

Pat Rafter wins AEGON Masters title (BL's Tennis News)

Roddick rehabs knee after injury (TSN)

The Austrian Open is dropped from the ATP calendar, and the ATP transferred the rights to Nice, France (TSN)

Roger Federer finishes the year No. 1 in singles, and the Bryan brothers finish no. 1 in doubles (ESPN)

(Image: Pedro Armestre/AFP/Getty Images)

Spain successfully defended their title and captured their fourth Davis Cup title of the decade. The last team to successfully defend their title was Sweden in 1998. The Spaniards won the most titles of this decade -- the US came in second with two titles. The title also moves Spain into the sixth place on the number of Davis Cup titles won: USA 32, Australia 28, France 9, Great Britain 9 and Sweden 7. Not bad for a country that won its first Davis Cup title in 2000.

The win this weekend was impressive. Each player carried his own weight. No one flaked out and relied on Rafael Nadal to carry the team. Nadal played wonderfully yesterday, and David Ferrer showed a lot of heart by rallying from two sets down to win when he was not playing particularly well yesterday.

Today, Fernando Verdasco and Feliciano Lopez stepped up to the plate and effectively shutdown Radek Stepanek and Tomas Berdych. A weak point for the Spanish duo is Verdasco’s volleying and Lopez’s serve. These issues were not a factor at all today. In fact, they both played really well and kept their errors to a minimum. Plus, Verdasco hit a lot of winners from all over the court.

Most importantly, there were no mental hiccups. In the tiebreak, the Spaniards served for the first set at 6-3. They allowed the Czechs to go on a 4-point run. As a consequence, the Czechs turned the tables and had a set point at 7-6. It looked like the Czech team would take advantage of the situation. Verdasco and Lopez instead took care of business and won the next two points. The next time they saw set point, they converted.

In the second set, the Spanish team played solidly. They did not make any major mistakes and again had no mental letdowns. They stayed with the Czechs and actually broke in game 11. Lopez then held serve for the second set.

From there, the wheels came of the Czech bus. The Spaniards broke in the first and fifth games of the third set. Stepanek and Berdych were completely despondent by game four. The second break effectively closed the door on the Czechs, who had successfully taken advantage of a lot of teams this year. Verdasco and Lopez ultimately won in dominant fashion 7-6(7) 7-5 6-2 after two hours and 46 minutes of play.

Spain wins it in three to cap a dominant performance this year. Congrats to the Czech runners-up, who went on the road and upset France, Argentina and Croatia. They definitely deserved to be in the final but ultimately ran into a team that was all business this year.

(Images: Denis Doyle/Getty Images, LLuis Gene/AFP/Getty Images)

Since Rafael Nadal’s return to the tour in Montreal this year, the Spaniard’s play has been inconsistent. He is still trying to return to that top form that has brought him six grand slam titles. Over the last four months, Nadal has looked good at times and has looked flat at times.

Today, he looked great. His movement was good, and his defense-to-offense was on point. After a tight first set, he steamrolled Berdych in the next two sets and was back to playing target practice with his opponent. The Majorcan eventually topped the Czech 7-5 6-0 6-2 after 2 hours and 28 minutes.

With Spain jumping out to a 1-0 lead and Nadal in good form, this took some pressure off of David Ferrer. Ferrer has really struggled over the last eighteen months. Plus, there was the drama from last year’s Davis Cup final against Argentina.

Ferrer had the more difficult task of playing Radek Stepanek, who has a good all-around game and is known for his head games. Stepanek played well in the first-two sets, and Ferrer looked out of sorts. It looked like it was going to be a replay of last years’ Davis Cup final for the Spaniard.

This time, Ferrer was able to turn the match around and take Stepanek to the distance for a 1-6 2-6 6-4 6-4 8-6 win after 4 hours and 17 minutes of play. At the end of the match, you could tell the win meant a lot to him. It was definitely a good win for Ferrer, his confidence and his critics.

Ferrer’s win now gives Spain some cushion. If he lost, it could have put Spain in a precarious predicament. Spain is now in a good position for another title, but they are still not out of the woods yet.

If any team can rebound from a 2-0 deficit, it is Berdych and Stepanek. The worst kept secret is that Stepanek and Berdych will probably play doubles tomorrow instead of Lukas Dlouhy and Jan Hajek. They are currently undefeated in all three of their Davis Cup matches this year and have a good chance of taking Fernando Verdasco and Felicano Lopez tomorrow. A win tomorrow could spark a Czech run, though Nadal’s play today most likely closes the door on any Czech hopes of a title.

(Images: AP)

Awww, say cheese!

(Image: Josep Lago/AFP/Getty Images)

Today is the first day of the Davis Cup final. The Spanish team will defend their title against the Czech Republic on their home turf of Barcelona. Though the Spanish team is deep, the Czech team is anchored by Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek, who have caused a lot of heartache this year.

The Czechs has travelled on the road and upset a lot of teams along the way. This matchup could actually more of a toss-up than it appears on paper, so it should be a good times for tennis fans.

Friday’s Matches
RR1: Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs. Tomas Berdych (CZE)
RR2: David Ferrer (ESP) vs. Radek Stepanek (CZE)

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(Image: AP)

Novak Djokovic played exceptionally well today and had no trouble with Rafael Nadal. He upset the second seed 6-2 6-3 after 76 minutes of play. Djokovic is back to his form before he changed racquets last year.

The Serb played to perfection today. He simply hit, served and volleyed better than his opponent. Nadal had no answers today and seemed shocked. At one point in the match, Djokovic won seven games in a row after he broke Nadal in game six of the first set.

Nadal has had knee issues and now struggles to get back to top form. Earlier in the week, Nadal got into trouble in the second and third rounds but was able to get out of it. You were able to see where he stacks up against the other top-tier players. He still has to get back to feeling comfortable with his shots, in particular playing the lines. Hopefully, he will be able to get his feel back in the off-season.

Djokovic will play Gael Monfils. In the other semifinal, Monfils beat Radek Stepanek 6-4 5-7 6-4. Monfils can flake out at times, but he managed to close it out against the Czech. The Frenchman served for the match game 10 of the second set, but Stepanek broke back to level the match and take the second set. It looked like the Frenchman might let the match get away from him. To the contrary, Monfils was able to be patient and attack Stepanek at the opportune moments.

The French went wild when Monfils converted on match point. Though the defending champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga lost yesterday, Monfils will try to keep the title in France with a win tomorrow.

Whoever wins the title will be a first-time Masters champion this year. Federer, Nadal and Murray have had a monopoly on Masters titles this year. Nikolay Davydenko broke up their cartel first in Shanghai. Tomorrow’s winner will be the second person to breakthrough. Should he win tomorrow, Monfils will win his first Masters title of his career.

Djokovic leads their matchup 3-0. Plus, he is in top form. Monfils has a few tricks of his own and will have the crowd behind him. It should be another good match tomorrow.

Saturday’s Results
Singles Semifinals
3 Novak Djokovic (SRB) def. 2 Rafael Nadal (ESP) 6-2 6-3
15 Gael Monfils (FRA) def. 13 Radek Stepanek (CZE) 6-4 5-7 6-4

Doubles Semifinals
1 D. Nestor (CAN)/N. Zimonjic (SRB) def. 8 F. Cermak (CZE)/M. Mertinak (SVK) 6-7(2) 6-4 10-2
M. Granollers (ESP)/ T. Robredo (ESP) def. 7 M. Fyrstenberg (POL)/M. Matkowski (POL) 6-4 6-2

Championship Sunday
Singles Final
3 Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs. 15 Gael Monfils (FRA)

Doubles Final
1 D. Nestor (CAN)/N. Zimonjic (SRB) vs. M. Granollers (ESP)/ T. Robredo (ESP)

Sunday’s Order of Play

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(Images: AP)

Rafael Nadal looked a lot better today after living dangerously earlier this week. He put in a pretty solid performance against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and surpassed the defending champion 7-5 7-5 in under two hours of play. Nadal’s win not only allowed him advance into the semifinals, but it also assisted his compatriot Fernando Verdasco in qualifying for the year-end tournament while dashing Tsonga’s hopes at the same time.

Nadal advances to play a familiar foe, Novak Djokovic, who surpassed the troublesome Robin Soderling 6-4 1-6 6-3. These two players have not played each other since Cinicinnati in August where Djokovic came out on top. Nadal leads their head-to-head overall 14-5.

Djokovic has played the better in the last couple of weeks, while it looks like Nadal maybe coming into a late surge. It is hard to tell who might be tops tomorrow, but it will be a heck of a match to watch.

Gael Monfils and Radek Stepanek will play in the second semifinal matchup tomorrow. Stepanek benefited from Juan Martin del Potro’s retirement over an abdominal strain. Ay, Dios mio! Monfils overcame a one set deficit to upset Marin Cilic 3-6 6-4 6-4. La Monf leads his head-to-head with Stepanek 2-1.

Friday’s Results
Singles Quarterfinals
2 Rafael Nadal (ESP) def. 8 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) 7-5 7-5
3 Novak Djokovic (SRB) def. 9 Robin Soderling (SWE) 6-4 1-6 6-3
13 Radek Stepanek (CZE) def. 5 Juan Martin del Potro (ARG) 4-0 ret. (abdominal strain)
15 Gael Monfils (FRA) def. 12 Marin Cilic (CRO) 3-6 6-4 6-4

Doubles Quarterfinals
1 D. Nestor (CAN)/N. Zimonjic (SRB) def. C. Kas (GER)/P. Kohlschreiber (GER) 6-3 7-6(3)
7 M. Fyrstenberg (POL)/M. Matkowski (POL) def. 2 B. Bryan (USA)/M. Bryan (USA) 6-4 7-6(7)
M. Granollers (ESP)/ T. Robredo (ESP) def. S. Aspelin (SWE)/P. Hanley (AUS) 6-3 6-7(3) 10-7

Saturday’s Matches
Singles Semifinals
2 Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs. 3 Novak Djokovic (SRB) – 8 AM ET
13 Radek Stepanek (CZE) vs. 15 Gael Monfils (FRA)

Doubles Semifinals
1 D. Nestor (CAN)/N. Zimonjic (SRB) vs. 8 F. Cermak (CZE)/M. Mertinak (SVK)
7 M. Fyrstenberg (POL)/M. Matkowski (POL) vs. M. Granollers (ESP)/ T. Robredo (ESP)

Saturday’s Order of Play

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(Images: AP)

Feliciano Lopez knocked off sixteenth-seed David Ferrer in the second round, and today he took out ninth-seed Robin Soderling 7-6(4) 6-3. The Spaniard's semifinal appearance is his best showing in a Masters event or grand slam EVER. The current world no. 41 will play against his friend and top-seed Rafael Nadal in a lefty showdown tomorrow.

Lopez will have his work cut out for him, as Nadal has beaten him four-consecutive times. Anything is possible since Lopez did beat Nadal once in 2003. It should be a good match tomorrow.

On the other side of the draw, Novak Djokovic held off Gilles Simon 6-3 2-6 6-3 in probably the best match of the tournament -- the second best was Blake-Nadal. Nikolay Davydenko defeated Radek Stepanek 6-1 4-6 6-1. Djokovic and Davydenko will now face off in the other semifinal tomorrow. The Serb leads this matchup 2-1. It what should be another good match tomorrow.

(Image: Phillipe Lopez/AFP/Getty Images)

Spanish Davis Cup captain Alberto Costa has his work cut out for him. He has too many possibilities and not enough spots. The Spanish captain has the luxury to choose from Rafael Nadal, Fernando Verdasco, David Ferrer, Tommy Robredo, Juan Carlos Ferrero and Feliciano Lopez for five spots. With the exception of Lopez, all of six of his choices are in the top 21. I am sure the other captains could only wish for such a problem. In the semifinals, he had an easier time choosing because Fernando Verdasco and Rafael Nadal were injured, and he could just activate Juan Carlos Ferrero. Ferrero has been solid and now is 2-0 in Davis Cup action.

The Spaniards will meet the Czech Republic in the finals. To my chagrine, this team has taken out some of my teams this year. Unlike the Spaniards, the team does not have a deep bench and really consists of Radek Stepanek and Tomas Berdych. To get to three wins, they each play singles and doubles.

This one-two punch has sent the French, the Argentines and the Croats packing on their road to the finals. The Czech duo are 6-2 in singles and 3-0 in doubles in Davis Cup this year. They also can both play on clay. Berdych is no slouch and has won three titles on clay. In the semifinals, the Czechs had no trouble dismissing the Croats 4-1 on clay.

Most people think final match up will be a foregone conclusion for Spain, but I do not think it is going to be that easy for the Spanish with or without Rafael Nadal. If Nadal does not play, I do not think Spain will win.

Today, we had a preview of a possible Davis Cup singles match up. Radek Stapanek and Juan Carlos Ferrero went at it today in Shanghai. Stepanek made an easy work of Ferrero. He beat the Spaniard, who has played well of late, 6-3 6-0 in under an hour of play. This result looks like it could be a foreshadowing of things to come. I think I am need to sign off and take some Tums now.

(Images: Eugene Hoshiko/AP)

Spain and the Czech Republic both wrapped up their Davis Cup ties today. Both team won their doubles rubbers today and advanced to the finals in December.

The Czech two-man wrecking crew of Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek made easy work of Marin Cilic and Lovro Zovko 6-1 6-3 6-4 today after 2 hours and 16 minutes. It was an easy day for the pair after the two players played almost ten hours in their singles rubbers yesterday.

Their December rivals, Spain surprisingly wrapped up their tie today. Tommy Robredo and Feliciano Lopez had to overcome the Israeli doubles team of Andy Ram and Jonathan Ehrlich.

The Spaniards were able to hold serve in the first set and sneak off with it in the tiebreak. The Israelis then rallied to take the second set. It was at this time that professional asshat, Justin Gimmelstob decided he would pile on the Spanish team by over-emphasizing the Spaniards' volleying weaknesses.

Every player possesses weakness in his game, and that is frankly the beauty of tennis. There are also reasons why players end up doubles specialists in the first place. The Israelis' weaknesses just so happened to be the Spaniards’ strengths, which were their serves and groundstrokes.

It was in the third set that the Spanish team exposed the Israelis shortcomings. The Spaniards upped their serves and drew their opponents into groundstroke shootouts. It was at this point that Robredo and his forehand started playing target practice, and Lopez did a great job of picking off balls at the net.

After the Spaniards won four-straight games, the asshat extraordinaire became quiet for the rest of the match. The Israelis rallied back into the third set, despite Ehrlich having to call for the trainer to treat his elbow. At 4-5, the Spaniards were able to close out the third set. In the fourth set, the wheels came off the Israeli team, and the Spaniards were able to close out the set, the match and the tie 7-6(6) 6-7(7) 6-4 6-2 after 3 hours and 47 minutes of play.

The Spaniards are heavily favored to successfully defend their title, but they take the Czech team for granted at their own peril. The Czech team has let Berdych and Stepanek carry the entire load to the final. They had no problems taking out talented and deep teams -- just ask the French. If Rafael Nadal is able to play, Spain has a great chance to repeat. But if he is not around, the Czech double-trouble team could do a lot of damage.

Video highlights of the Spanish match en espanol below:



(Images: Darko Bandic/AP, Manu Fernandez/AP)

Radek Stapenek and Ivo Karlovic ended up battling it out in an 5 hour and 59 minute-marathon match. Stepanek rallied after losing the first set 6-7(5) 7-6(5) 7-6(6) 6-7(2) 16-14.

The Czech withstood 78 aces from Karlovic. Of the 78 games played, there were only three breaks of serve. His second and deciding break of the match came in game the 29th game of the final set. This single match was longer than Spain's first two matches with Israel.

Stepanek’s epic win gives the Czech Republic a 1-0 lead. A loss like this could be hard for Team Croatia to rebound, but Marin Cilic, who plays next, has been playing well of late.

(Image: Darko Bandic/AP)

After his 6-1 6-3 6-3 victory against Radek Stapenek, Novak Djokovic had a little fun by first challenging his new coach, Todd Martin to a tennis duel and then John McEnroe. The Serb then treated the crowd to his McEnroe impression, which was pretty spot on.

It was nice to see him connect with the New York audience, and they gave him some love in return. Last year, it was painful when they turned on him. Granted, some of it was his fault.

Djokovic will now play Fernando Verdasco in the quarterfinals. Both players performed well yesterday, so it should be an exciting match on Wednesday. Djokovic leads their head-to-head matchup 3-2, with the world no. 4 winning the last three meetings. He is going to have his hands full though, as Verdasco is starting to play like he did in the Australian.

Marat Safin’s retirement stop in Cincinnati ended to day with a loss to Radek Stepanek. The Russian started out well and won the first set. It looked like he had his head together today, but as a viewer, you know there is a ninety-percent chance of a trainwreck.

In grand Safin fashion, he allowed Stepanek into the game and fell completely apart in the third set. The Czech veteran rallied to win the match 4-6 6-3 6-1. On the bright side, the big man did make it to the second round, so there is a small victory for him there.

Stepanek now has the large chore of playing Andy Murray in the round of 16. Murray currently leads their head-to-head matchup 2-0.

(Image: Denise/tennisfiend)

Gilles Simon, Radek Stepanek and Fernando Verdasco were all upset today. All faced dangerous players, but ultimately they all allowed their opponents to get the better of them and ended up being sent home.

Simon was stunned by Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-6(4) 6-3 6-2. The Frenchman had been playing better lately, but he allowed the Spaniard outplay him for a berth in the quarterfinals.

Stepanek was in the drivers seat for much of his match with Lleyton Hewitt. The Czech was up two sets, but the veteran Aussie managed to turn his fortunes around. He rallied to stun Stepanek 4-6 2-6 6-1 6-2 6-2 in just under three hours of play.

Verdasco was undone by Ivo Karlovic, who has yet to be broken in the entire tournament. The Croat's serve continued its steamroll. He rained down 35 aces on Verdasco. Karlovic ended up upsetting the Spaniard 7-6(5) 6-7(4) 6-3 7-6(9).

(Images: Glyn Kirk/AFP/Getty Images, AP, AP)

Nicolas Lapentti upset fifteenth-seed Radek Stepanek 6-3 1-6 6-3. It is his first win over the Czech, who has a 3-0 record over Lapentti prior to this match.

The former world number 6, who had to qualify this weekend, is currently ranked 98th. He awaits the winner of the Hewitt-Safin match. This year, Lapentti has yet to pass the round of 32 and has a 5-6 singles record to date.

Could he be inspired by JCF this week? We shall see.

My fear came true today. Clearly, I am for Team France and have bought into the whole “New Musketeers” thing. I like the fact that France, like Spain, has a stable of young, top twenty players, and hopefully one of them wins a grand slam some day.

That being said, Tomas Berdych did indeed cause trouble for Team France. He beat Simon in four sets 7-6(3) 4-6 7-6(2) 6-3. Simon again looked irritated, frustrated and uncomfortable. Berdych took advantaged of the situation and was never really in any danger of losing.

From the start of the match, Simon was under pressure. The Frenchman managed to get broken during his first service game. While serving for the set, Berdych lost serve in game eleven but managed to pull out the tiebreak a few games later. Simon did take the second set, and it looked like he was back in the hunt. The two players traded breaks in the third set, and then Berdych snuck off with the third set in the tiebreak. The fourth set quickly went downhill for the Frenchman where Berdych broke him three times.

Luckily, Tsonga was able to beat Radek Stepanek 7-5 6-2 7-6(1). The Frenchman overpowered Stepanek and beat the Czech in straight sets to take the match and level the tie at 1-1.

With a shaky Simon, the French really need to win the doubles match tomorrow to give them some breathing room. French team captain, Guy Forget shares my concern:

“One-all is a good score. I knew that we would not win 3-0. Let’s hope that we win the doubles and then at 2-1 we should be able to win one of two matches on Sunday,” said French team captain Guy Forget.

Hopefully, Simon can shake off the loss today and take Stepanek in the fourth rubber on Sunday. More importantly, let’s hope Llodra and Gasquet can pull out the third rubber and put France in the lead.
(images: AFP)