Gael Monfils get Frenchie love from teammates Julien Benneteau and Richard Gasquet after his straight-sets victory against Philipp Kohlshreiber.

(Image: AP)

In a horrible case of tournament evils, Richard Gasquet and Carlos Moya faced off in a Monday night first-round matchup at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel tournament. Both players were on hiatus from the tour last year for various reasons. They returned to the tour this year and are now trying to get back to their winning ways.

Moya, who won this tournament in 2002 and 2004, won the first set. Gasquet then rallied to beat the Spanish papa-to-be 4-6 6-3 6-2. The Frenchman will play the winner of the Sela-Almagro match in the second round.

Monday's Results
Singles First Round
Q Eduardo Schwank (ARG) def. WC Santiago Gonzalez (MEX) 7-6(4) 7-6(4)
Ricard Gasquet (FRA) def. WC Carlos Moya (ESP) 4-6 6-3 6-2
Thomaz Bellucci (BRA) def. Oscar Hernandez (ESP) 6-3 6-2



Doubles First Round
1 L. Kubot (POL)/O. Marach (AUT) def. I Andreev (RUS) / D Gimeno-Traver (ESP) 6-2 6-4
2 M. Melo (BRA)/B. Soares (BRA) def. J. Erlich (ISR)/A. Ram (ISR) 6-2 6-4
3 M. Damm (CZE)/F. Polasek (SVK) def. S. Huss (AUS)/J. Levinsky (CZE) 6-3 6-2
P. Cuevas (URU)/F. Gonzalez (CHI) def. V. Hanescu (ROU)/D. Sela (ISR) 7-6(3) 6-2

Tuesday’s Order of Play

(Image: Mextenis)

Marin Cilic could be problematic for Andy Murray (Times Online)

Tennis great Alastair Martin dies (UPI)

Australian up-and-comer Bernard Tomic draws fire for criticizing the scheduling at the Australian Open (Reuters)

Tomic is also in the market for a new coach. He is looking at Brad Gilbert and Darren Cahill. If there is a god, he will pick Gilbert. Gilbert has been terrorizing American television audiences for years with his crack “analysis.” I have been praying for someone to hire him for years (Tennis)

Richard Gasquet has a new coach (Tennis)

In more Tomic news, Lleyton Hewitt is not on board for his rival's bid on the Australian Davis Cup team. The rivalry continues (The Australian)

Rafael Nadal answers some rather frisky questions from his fans (Herald Sun)

It looks like Laura Robson has moved on from Marat Safin (Daily Online)

Speaking of Safin, there is a rumor of a Safin love child (Open Court)

Though the season is already a couple of weeks in, I decided to take some extra time this year, as I overdosed on tennis last year. With some rest, I am back to overindulging on tennis this year. Last year started out great but then when to the dogs. It was hard to see Rafael Nadal go from winning the Australian Open to not being able to defend his title at Wimbledon in just four-short months later due to an extreme case of tendinitis.

Other low points last year include:

• Travis Parrott and Filip Polasek broke up
• Richard Gasquet’s suspension
• Andre Agassi’s biography. Some of the revelations revealed the subsequent ridiculousness of Gasquet’s predicament
• The tricolor charge did not live up to expectation. Let’s hope this year will be better
  

The year did improve with some things:

• Juan Martin del Potro won the US Open
• Spain repeated its Davis Cup championship
• Novak Djokovic finally got his act together and is back to living up to his potential
• Nikolay Davydenko’s rise again as force to be reckoned with
• Gasquet cleared up his troubles and can now focus on tennis
• Juan Carlos Ferrero and David Ferrer turned out the Valencia Open. It went from to some tiny tournament to a definite must-go-to stop on the tour. See for yourselves:
  

Spaniards Tommy Robredo and David Ferrer enjoyed wins over Frenchmen Michael Llodra and Richard Gasquet in singles action today in Shanghai.

After suffering from injuries this year, Michael Llodra has dropped in the rankings. He qualified for the tournament this weekend but unfortunately drew Tommy Robredo in the first round in a bad case of tournament evils. Robredo had no trouble dispatching the French qualifier 6-1 6-4 after 105 minutes of play. The Spaniard’s win draws Robredo ahead 2-1 in their head-to-head match ups.

In another case of tournament evils, Richard Gasquet met David Ferrer. Ferrer had no trouble dealing with Gasquet and bested the Frenchman 6-4 6-3 after just 85 minutes of play. Ferrer managed to break him five times during the course of the match. It could have been a larger rout if Ferrer had not allowed Gasquet to break back twice in the first set.

Today’s victory now gives Ferrer a 5-1 lead over Gasquet in their head-to-head meetings. Though the Frenchman is still trying to get back into form, he has a long way to go. Hopefully, he will put in some long hours of training in the off-season.

Robredo will now meet German Florian Mayer in the next round, and Ferrer will encounter compatriot Feliciano Lopez in another evil match up. Robredo should enjoy his relatively easy second-round match because he could be on a collision course with Rafael Nadal in the round after that.

(Images: Andy Wong/AP, Eugene Hoshiko/AP)

You have to be a sadomasochist to want to play him [Nadal] at any time, but I’m very motivated. Rafa supported me more than anyone in the last few months and if he ever needs me to help him, I will do what I can. I’ll never forget what he’s done for me. Now I just want to get out and play.

Richard Gasquet speaks of his gratitude of the Spaniard’s support during his drug ordeal. Nadal is always the gentleman and gave the Frenchman vocal support.

Now in a bit of irony and another evil matchup of the day, Gasquet and Nadal must play each other in first-round action today. Nadal is 6-0 over the Frenchman. Both are a bit rusty, but Gasquet is really rusty. He failed to qualify last week in New Haven. Hopefully, the Frenchman and his backhand can return to form and up his ranking, so he does not have to meet someone like Nadal so early in tournaments.

(Image: lequipe.fr)

It was just a pleasure to play. I'm back so that I can forget all the blows I've suffered. It's been a sad time for me – the only sad time in my life. Stopping for those two and a half months was very tough mentally. I ask only one thing: be patient. I need time. Not many people would have recovered after going through what I've experienced.

-Richard Gasquet on his pleasure to be back on tour.

(Image: EQ)

Czech Ivo Minar tested positive for a banned substance and denies the allegation (The Guardian)

Gasquet returns to the circuit in New Haven but fails to qualify. Let's hope he gets back into form soon (BBC News)

Novak Djokovic gained confidence from his week in Cincinnati and looks forward to the US Open. (Reuters)

Dmitry Tursunov is questionable for the US Open and may need a second surgery (The Sacramento Bee)

Le baiser à la cocaine as told in grand fashion by the Brits (Times Online)

An interview with Novak Djokovic, who thinks he was born at the wrong time (Blic)

Andre Agassi will release his autobiography in November (CBS Sports)

Safin wedding rumors (Oh No They Didn’t)

How you can obtain an autograph from Rafa (Gossip Barf)

Djokovic steals the show at Montreal 2009 Preview. That boy sure loves to take his clothes off.

Adidas unveils its US Open looks (Tennisidentity)

Stephanie Myles profiles Rafa’s doubles partner at the Rogers Cup. I’m still not amused. He would have been better off playing with Uncle Toni (Open Court)

Murray will be the World No. 2 on Monday (Guardian)

The Times thinks this era of mens tennis has more depth (NYT)

ITP appealed Gasquet’s doping ruling (Seattle PI)

Djokovic is looking to change things (Blic)

Gasquet’s kiss excuse may have gotten him off the hook in the short-term but could still be a problem for the long-term. The tennis star was accused of testing positive of cocaine and then suspended by the ITF.

Gasquet then said that he tested positive because he kissed a woman who had the substance on her lips. What seemed like an outlandish excuse seemed to work with the ITF. The Frenchman was reinstated for time served during his appeal.

Now, the woman has slapped the tennis star with a defamation of character lawsuit. That lawsuit could now be problematic for Gasquet now, as the Guardian reports:

Although the test results have yet to be returned, that did not prevent the ITF from concluding that: "On the balance of probability [Gasquet was] contaminated with cocaine by Pamela."

"Pamela" has now brought a legal complaint of her own against Gasquet, claiming she has been defamed by the former world No7's description of her in the ITF hearing through which she believes she was easily identified. "My client has been dragged through the mud," said her lawyer, Yassine Bouzrou. "She has become an alibi."

"Pamela" says she did not take cocaine and adds that, when negative tests are returned from the laboratory, as she maintains they will be, she reserves the right to pursue the ITF for what she perceives as complicity in the alleged defamation.

If “Pamela’s” samples are negative and she decides to also hold the ITF accountable, Gasquet could be back in hot water.

(Image: Reuters)

Fernando Verdasco poses for Hola! Magazine. Let’s hope all the topless action helps him prepare for the US Open Series. (Socialite Life)

Karlovic is a Croatian MC and has the song to prove it. While his single is magnificent -- for all the wrong reasons -- on its own, Djokovic may team up with the tennis ace to make a hip-hop single. It could be double the magnificence (Blic)

Rafael Nadal maybe iffy for Montreal (Open Court)

Mario Ancic’s mononucleosis continues to sideline the Croat. He and Nalbandian (hip) will miss the US Open this year (Tennis)

Rafael Nadal regrets playing in the Madrid Masters Series because it led to a lack of preparation for the French Open (Rafael Nadal)

Richard Gasquet wins a spot in the 10 Best Bad Excuses. The tennis genius has now been slapped with a defamation lawsuit (Fox Sports, TimesOnline)

Marat Safin thinks tennis has become too professional (Tennistalk)

Andre Agassi will replace Novak Djokovic in an exhibition with Marat Safin on Aug 28 (WSJ)

Tipsarevic is upset over allegations about his integrity. Curious betting patterns caused scrutiny after a Tipsarevic-Hernandez match in Stuttgart on July 15 (Blic)

Rafael Nadal purchased a house in DR. From the press release, it looks more like the Spaniard lent his name to a development project (Daily Commercial News)

Nikolay Davydenko took this week's title in Hamburg (SkySports)

Robby Ginepri won the Indy title this week (Miami Herald)

Tommy Haas and Juan Carlos Ferrero are ranked 20th and 34th respectively. Some order is restored (ATP)

Roger Federer is now the father of twins (Huffington Post)

Rafael Nadal is set to return in time for Rogers Cup. Yeah! The ATP needs him desperately, as the tour is pretty dull without him (Rafael Nadal)

Richard Gasquet has been cleared of charges and will return to the tour (ESPN)

Jeremy Chardy won his first career title at the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart. Jeremy! Jeremy! (Mercedes Cup)

Rober Soderling captured the Swedish Open title. A Parrott-less, Filip Polasek recovered from the swine flu and won the Swedish doubles title with Jaroslav Levinsky. Polasek also made it to the final in this week's Hamburg doubles final (Swedish Open)

Spain, Croatia, Israel and the Czech Republic advanced into the Davis Cup semifinals (Davis Cup)

Roger Federer took the Wimbledon title, broke Pete Sampras' record and retained the ATP No. 1 ranking from an injured Rafael Nadal (Wimbledon)

(Image: Mercedes Cup)

Richard Gasquet and a delegation from the Variety Club wait to attend the General Audience of Benedict XVI in St. Peter's Square. If anyone needs religion and the pope right now, it would be him.

The Frenchman (Gasquet) maintains his innocence (Canadian Voices, Guardian)

Another account of Gasquet's night in question (Miami New Times)

A profile of Rafael Nadal's general adorableness. It describes his down-to-earth nature and outlook since losing his French Open title (Times Online)

Swede and 2002 Australian Open champion Thomas Johansson retires from tennis at the age of 34 (ABC News Australia)

Andy Murray talks of his Wimbledon chances and thinks Nadal will play (Guardian)

Maikel Scheffers covers Robredo's tournament Memorial Santi Silvas (ITF Tennis)

Nearing the end of his career, Safin has some clarity (The Independent)

Ana and Fernando are no longer friends (Blic)

Nadal's foundation will open a tennis school in India (Reuters)

Mark Philippoussis's life skids out of control (The Daily Telegraph)

A pictorial profile of some of Feliciano Lopez's hairstyles (Beautiful Hairstyle Pictures)

(Image: AFP)

Rafael Nadal may soon be shopping for a book deal (Crain's)
It’s official Andy Murray is number 3 (First Post)
American men’s tennis is experiencing a drought. Go figure (NBC Sports)
Bodo details Gasquet’s problems before his current problems (ESPN)
Gasquet receives more support from Safin (Sporting Life)
Dinara tells her brother to retire already (Reuters)

(Image via rafaelnadal.com)

Everyone makes mistakes. I feel sorry for Gasquet. When you’re at a party, at a huge table full of people having fun, it’s absurd to have to watch what glass you’re drinking from.

-Marat Safin on Richard Gasquet's drug suspension

Richard Gasquet has acknowledged that he tested positive for cocaine, a banned substance. The Frenchman maintains his innocence:

An independent laboratory has tested a sample of Gasquet’s hair and, he claims, found no traces of cocaine. “Given the complexity of the case I am gathering all the evidence of my innocence and will set a date to make a further announcement later,” he said.

If the results hold, Gasquet could face up to a two-year suspension, which would have an adverse effect on the 22-year-old’s professional career. Gasquet has already struggled with injury this year and has been criticized throughout his career for his mental fortitude on the court.

A few years ago, he was the top French player. He is now the ranked fourth after Gilles Simon, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gael Monfils. A prolonged suspension would further complicate matters for the Frenchman.

(Image: Reuters)

The weather behaved today, and the tournament was able to complete all of its singles matches. Three first-round matches had to be played in the afternoon, and the winners had to play again in the evening. The completion of matches was not good news for some of the seeded players. Five seeds were sent home, and some received scares.

Paul-Henri Mathieu defeated last week’s Barcelona Open’s finalist. This is one of the first-round matches that was not completed yesterday. Mathieu upset the eleventh-seed David Ferrer 6-3 2-6 6-2 in their first-round match.

The veteran Frenchman turned around in his second-round match and was upset by German qualifier Mischa Zverev 3-6 7-6(5) 6-0. The 21-year-old already denied Juan Carlos Ferrero in the qualifying rounds and beat Tomas Berdych in the first round. He is probably this tournament's troublemaker.

Jurgen Melzer upset seventh-seed Nikolay Davydenko. Davydenko had played well last week in Barcelona, but Melzer dismantled the Russian 7-5 7-6(5). The Austrian will now play Fernando Gonzalez, who is playing well and coasted through his match.

Richard Gasquet took out ninth-seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in his first-round match. He and Radek Stepanek were able to win their first-round matches in the afternoon and then won their second-round matches in the evening. Gasquet then beat Ernest Gulbis in his second-round match after the Latvian rallied to get back into the match.

The Frenchman now advances to play Fernando Verdasco. Gasquet leads in their head-to-head matchup 4-2. Verdasco has won their last two meetings, but Gasquet has won all of their meetings on clay. The Frenchman played solidly today but has played a lot of tennis with the two matches. He may not have enough left in the tank to withstand the Spanish onslaught.

Gilles Simon, Juan Martin del Potro and Fernando Verdasco had scares, but all got it together enough to advance into the next round. Simon beat Italian Fabio Fognini in front of his hometown crowd.

Old faithfuls Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer won their respective matches quite easily. Nadal will play Robin Soderling in the next round. The two have not played since their infamous match at Wimbledon in 2007. Federer will play the Radek Stepanek in the next round. The Swiss leads 7-2 in their head-to-head matchup. The last time Stepanek beat Federer was last year in this very tournament.

With all the upsets in Federer’s quarter, he is almost guaranteed a spot in the semifinals. Gilles Simon is his only obstacle in the quarterfinals if the Frenchman can get past the German troublemaker Zverev in the third round. Simon will have to raise his level of play to stay undefeated against the Swiss.

(Images: AP, Tiziana Fabi/AFP/Getty Images)

Last time Federico Gil and Rafael Nadal met, Gil gave Nadal trouble in the first set in Miami. Nadal eventually won in straight sets. Now on clay, Nadal had no trouble dismissing the 24-year-old from Portugal 6-2 6-2. Nadal will play Belgian Christophe Rochus, who surprisingly upset Richard Gasquet, in the round of 16.

At the end of the day all the singles seeds advanced to the round of 16, except Robin Soderling and Richard Gasquet. It was not true on the doubles side. Top-seeds the Bryan brothers were the only seeded team to advance to the next round, as well as fourth-seeds Mahesh Bhuthi and Mark Knowles. The brothers had no trouble sending Travis Parrott and Filip Polasek packing (pictured right) 6-3 6-4. They will play Lukasz Kubot and Oliver Marach in the quarterfinals.

(Images: Getty Images)

Les Mousquestaires is a docu-series that follows Gilles Simon, Richard Gasquet Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gael Monfils around on tour. This episode follows the foursome from their Davis Cup tie against the Czech Republic to the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami. Luckily, it ends before the apocalypse of Monte-Carlo.

To warn you, it is in French, but I am sure you will get the gist of it even if you do not speak French. More than anything, it is pretty funny.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

A pastry shop in Barcelona makes a life-size sculpture of Nadal out of chocolate cake in time for Easter in the video above (Rafael Nadal)
Roger Federer gets married (Roger Federer)
Tommy Robredo organizes a wheelchair tennis tournament in honor of a friend (Tommy Robredo)
Ernest Gulbis parts ways with his coach (Importance of Being Ernest)
Richard Gasquet pulls out of Monte Carlo due to a shoulder injury (Reuters)
Federer take a last-minute wildcard for Monte Carlo (CBS)
Davis Cup venues announced (ESPN)
Ivo Karlovic will make a hip-hop album (Croatian Times)
Marat Safin's sister will be the women's number one (BBC)