Monday’s Results
Singles First Round
Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) def. Albert Montanes (ESP) 6-4 7-6(1)
12 Igor Andreev (RUS) def. Andreas Seppi (ITA) 6-3 3-6 7-5
Christophe Rochus (BEL) def. Nicolas Devilder (FRA) 6-4 6-4
Q Santiago Ventura (ESP) def. Marcel Granollers (ESP) 7-6(3) 6-3
WC Alberto Martin (ESP) def. Marc Gicquel (FRA) 6-3 6-4
Jose Acasuso (ARG) def. Dudi Sela (ISR) 6-4 7-5
10 Nicolas Almagro (ESP) def. Victor Hanescu (ROU) 3-6 7-6(7) 2-2 Ret’d
Potito Starace (ITA) def. Ernests Gulbis (LAT) 4-6 6-3 6-3
Igor Kunitsyn (RUS) def. Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP) 7-5 7-6(3)
Q Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) def. Q Pere Riba-Madrid (ESP) 6-2 7-6(5)
Juan Ignacio Chela (ARG) def. Thomaz Bellucci (BRA) 6-2 3-6 6-4
16 Tomas Berdych (CZE) def. Martin Vassallo Arguello (ARG) 5-2 Ret’d
Q Frederico Gil (POR) def. Yen-Hsun Lu (TPE) 6-2 6-1

Doubles First Round
R. Stepanek (CZE)/V. Troicki (SRB) def. M. Safin (RUS)/D. Vemic (SRB) 6-3 3-6 10-6
R. Lindstedt (SWE)/R. Soderling (SWE) def. F. Lopez (ESP)/F. Verdasco (ESP) 7-6(4) 2-6 10-7

Tuesday’s Matches
Singles First Round
Oscar Hernandez (ESP) vs. Eduardo Schwank (ARG)
Q Fabio Fognini (ITA) vs. Q Daniel Gimeno-Traver (ESP)
Diego Junquiera (ARG) vs. WC Gaston Gaudio (ARG)
Guillermo Canas (ARG) vs. Arnaud Clement (FRA)
Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) vs. 16 Feliciano Lopez (ESP)
9 Radek Stepanek (CZE) vs. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP)
Q Nicolas Lapentti (ECU) vs. Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA)
Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) vs. Viktor Troicki (SRB)
Juan Monaco (ARG) vs. WC 11 Marat Safin (RUS)
Jan Hernych (CZE) vs. 13 Richard Gasquet (FRA)
14 Robin Soderling (SWE) vs. Teimuraz Gabashvili (RUS)

Singles Second Round
WC Alberto Martin (ESP) vs. 12 Igor Andreev (RUS)
Q Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) vs. 4 David Ferrer (ESP)

Doubles First Round
M. Granollers (ESP)/T. Robredo (ESP) vs. L. Kubot (POL)/O. Marach (AUT)
J. Knowle (AUT)/J. Melzer (AUT) vs. N. Davydenko (RUS)/I. Kunitsyn (RUS)
N, Almagro (ESP)/A. Montanes (ESP) vs. L. Arnold Ker (ARG)/F. Gonzalez (CHI)
T. Parrott (USA)/F. Polasek (SVK) vs. F. Cermak (CZE)/M. Mertinak (SVK)
S. Aspelin (SWE)/W. Moodie (RSA) vs. WC M. Lopez (ESP)/F. Vicente (ESP)
S. Huss (AUS)/R. Hutchins (GBR) vs. WC G. Alcaide (ESP)/A. Martin (ESP)

Tuesday’s Order of Play

(Image: AP)

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

1 Nadal, Rafael (ESP) 15390
2 Federer, Roger (SUI) 10760
3 Djokovic, Novak (SRB) 9520
4 Murray, Andy (GBR) 8950
5 Del Potro, Juan Martin (ARG) 4580
6 Roddick, Andy (USA) 4340
7 Verdasco, Fernando (ESP) 3790
8 Davydenko, Nikolay (RUS) 3675
9 Simon, Gilles (FRA) 3670
10 Monfils, Gael (FRA) 3460
11Tsonga, Jo-Wilfried (FRA) 3305
12 Wawrinka, Stanislas (SUI) 2980
13 Ferrer, David (ESP) 2865
14 Gonzalez, Fernando (CHI) 2825
15 Nalbandian, David (ARG) 2625
16 Robredo, Tommy (ESP) 2570
17 Blake, James (USA) 2460
18 Cilic, Marin (CRO) 2415
19 Stepanek, Radek (CZE) 2370
20 Safin, Marat (RUS) 2105
21 Gasquet, Richard (FRA) 1985
22 Almagro, Nicolas (ESP) 1980
23 Karlovic, Ivo (CRO) 1855
24 Soderling, Robin (SWE) 1850
25 Tursunov, Dmitry (RUS) 1820
26 Andreev, Igor (RUS) 1795
27 Fish, Mardy (USA) 1785
28 Berdych, Tomas (CZE) 1780
29 Kiefer, Nicolas (GER) 1740
30 Schuettler, Rainer (GER) 1725

Notes

• Rafael Nadal crosses 15k mark and adds another 920 points to his score.
• Federer lost 260 points. His lead over Djokovic fell to 1240, as opposed to 1990 last week.
• Djokovic opens 470 point lead over Murray, as opposed to 170 last week.
• Verdasco and Davydenko move up on one spot to seven and eight respectively.
• Simon falls two spots to nine.
• Stanislas Wawrinka moves four spots to 12 and swaps spots with Robredo.
• Safin moves up one spot to 20.
• Gasquet moves up two spots to 21.
• Andreev falls four spots to 26.
• Ivan Ljubicic jumps 15 spots to 51.
• After his Monte-Carlo performance, Andreas Beck moved up 29 spots to 60, a carreer high.
• Juan Carlos Ferrero moved up five spots to seventy.
• Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci fell nine spots to 73.
• Nicolas Lapenttii shoots up 24 spots to 74.
• Italian Fabio Fognini moved back in to the top 100 by rocketing 24 spots to 84.
• Evgeny Korolev dropped 22 spots to 94.
  

1 Bryan, B. (USA) / Bryan, M. (USA) 4115
2 Nestor, D. (CAN) / Zimonjic, N. (SRB) 1890
3 Mirnyi, M. (BLR) / Ram, A. (ISR) 1735
4 Bhupathi, M. (IND) / Knowles, M. (BAH) 1695
5 Dlouhy, L. (CZE) / Paes, L. (IND) 1560
6 Kubot, L. (POL) / Marach, O. (AUT) 1450
7 Damm, M. (CZE) / Lindstedt, R. (SWE) 1025
8 Cermak, F. (CZE) / Mertinak, M. (SVK) 1010
9 Fish, M. (USA) / Roddick, A. (USA) 1000
10 Parrott, T. (USA) / Polasek, F. (SVK) 840

Notes

• Bryans are really far ahead.
• Nestor and Zimonjic move up seven spots to 2.
• Mirnyi/Ram and Bhupahi/Knowles each move down one spot.
  

Novak Djokovic's Head commercial

After Federer last week, Andy Roddick gets married (People)
Tsonga pulls out of Barcelona Open with knee injury (AFP)
An article about famous sporting siblings, featuring the Safins (NY Times)
Possible challengers to the Nadal-Federer monopoly (Fox Sports)



A very special Federer commercial with Derek Jeter and Tiger Woods

Nicolas Lapentti (ECU) def. Marc Lopez (ESP) 7-5 6-2 6-1
Frederico Gil (POR) def. Daniel Munoz-De La Nava (ESP) 6-3 2-6 6-1
Santiago Ventura (ESP) def. Mischa Zverev (GER) 6-4 6-7(3) 6-3
Daniel Gimeno-Traver (ESP) def. Albert Ramos-Vinolas (ESP) 3-6 7-6(3) 7-5
Pere Riba-Madrid (ESP) def. Flavio Cipolla (ITA) 6-2 7-6(5)
Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) def. Pablo Anujar (ESP) 6-4 4-6 6-2
Fabio Fognini (ITA) def. Kristof Vliegen (BEL) 2-6 6-3 6-4

City: Barcelona, Spain
Surface: Outdoor Clay
Championship Points: 500
2008 Singles Champion: Rafael Nadal
2008 Doubles Champions: Mike Bryan/Bob Bryan

Rafael Nadal is the four-time defending champion and the one to beat this week. David Nalbandian could be standing in his way in the quarterfinals since he is the only person on the tour with a winning record against Nadal at 2-1.

The bottom half of Nadal’s side of the draw has Stanislas Wawrinka anchoring it. The Swiss had a good tournament in Monte-Carlo by making it to the semifinals. Nikolay Davydenko and Guillermo Canas are also in his quarter of the draw.

The other half of the draw has the other top Spaniards: Tommy Robredo, David Ferrer and Fernando Verdasco. They are playing for the opportunity to play Rafael Nadal in the final. Robredo, the 2004 champion, has to get passed Ferrer, last year’s finalist, in the quarterfinals. Verdasco’s possible quarterfinal could be difficult because he could have to contend with Fernando Gonzalez or Juan Monaco.

Veterans Juan Carlos Ferrero and Gaston Gaudio were given wildcards and will put in an appearance this week.

Tournament Draw
Singles / Doubles

Tournament Malfeasance
Juan Monaco vs. Marat Safin

Monday’s Order of Play

(Images: Barcelona Open)

Rafael Nadal has done it again, again, again, again and now again. The Spaniard successfully defended his Monte-Carlo title for the fifth time, a tournament record. He beat Novak Djokovic 6-3 2-6 6-1 to win his fifth-consecutive title after 2 hours and 43 minutes of play. The Serb did something that no one has done since Roger Federer in 2006, which is to take a set from the clay-court king in the tournament.

In the first set, Djokovic jumped out to a 3-1 lead. Nadal then went on a five-game streak to take the set. After Djokovic called the trainer in game seven at 3-4 and then lost three-consecutive games, it looked like it was going to be another dominant performance by the Spaniard. Djokovic stepped up his game and had the Spaniard on his heels. The Serb secured a double break from the Spaniard and then cruised to take the set.

Nadal went back to business in the final set and wore down the Serb. He won the first-two games which were hard fought. Djokovic then broke Nadal in game three to get onto serve, but Nadal buttoned down the hatches and won the next five games to secure his fifth title in Monte-Carlo.

Though he lost, Djokovic should be proud of his game because this is his best performance since his win in Rome last year. It’s good to see him back in the mix. This was also the Serb's second-consecutive Masters final.

In doubles, the second-seeds Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic upset the top-seeded Bryan brothers 6-4 6-1 after 47 minutes of play.

Championship Sunday Singles Final
1 Rafael Nadal (ESP) def. 3 Novak Djokovic (SRB) 6-3 2-6 6-1

Doubles Final
1 B. Bryan (USA)/M. Bryan (USA) vs. 2 D. Nestor (CAN)/N. Zimonjic (SRB) 6-4 6-1

(Image: AP)

If you picked Nadal, then you were correct. The poll results are as follows:

50% Nadal - Champion
20% Robredo – Second round exit
10% Simon – Second round exit
10% Federer – Round of 16 exit
10% Almagro – First Round exit

The majority rules and was correct. The majority has picked the correct winner 66% of the time. Its only incorrect pick was Miami where Murray won. The Rome Masters poll will be up next.

Second-seeds Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic ended Novak Djokovic and Viktor Troicki’s run in Monte-Carlo. They will play top-seeds the Bryan Brothers for the championship.



Saturday’s Results
Singles Semifinals
1 Rafael Nadal (ESP) def. 4 Andy Murray (GBR) 6-2 7-6(4)
3 Novak Djokovic (SRB) def. 13 Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) 4-6 6-1 6-3

Doubles Semifinals
1 B. Bryan (USA)/M. Bryan (USA) def. 3 L. Dlouhy (CZE)/L. Paes (IND) 6-7(3) 6-3 14-12
2 D. Nestor (CAN)/N. Zimonjic (SRB) def. N. Djokovic (SRB)/V. Troicki (SRB) 3-6 6-1 10-5

Championship Sunday
Singles Final
1 Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs. 3 Novak Djokovic (SRB)

Doubles Final
1 B. Bryan (USA)/M. Bryan (USA) vs. 2 D. Nestor (CAN)/N. Zimonjic (SRB)

Sunday’s Order of Play

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Rafael Nadal beat Andy Murray in the second semifinal of the day. He held off the Scotsmen 6-2 7-6(4). Nadal struck first in the second game of the match, but Murray broke back. The Spaniard then struck again. This time he held for 4-1. He cruised to take the first set easily 6-2.

In the second set, Nadal struck first in game four and jumped out to a 5-2 lead before you knew it. Serving for the match, Nadal was broken by Murray to stay in the match. Murray then won another two games to level the set at 5-5. Murray continued to hold on and sent the set to a tiebreak where the Spaniard held off the Scotsman to take the match.

Nadal will now play Novak Djokovic in the final. Nadal leads their matchup 11-4. Djokovic has never beaten Nadal on clay. There is always a first time for everything, but I doubt it will be tomorrow.

Djokovic win and Murray’s loss today allows Murray to chip away another 50 points against the Serb's number-three ranking. If the Serb wins tomorrow, he will buy him some more time to hold onto his position.

Finally, I would like to discuss my current pet peeve in men’s tennis that really has nothing to do with the players. I usually turn the sound off because most of the sportscasters are terrible. American sportscasters are the worst. Actually, Chris Evert is really good, but I guess she has better things to do.

Usually, the Brits and Aussies are mildly tolerable except when it comes to Andy Murray, who is probably the most oversold player that I have ever seen on the men’s side. They had to calm the ridiculousness down when they were overhyping Murray and making ridiculous proclamations at the Australian Open. He lost in the quarterfinals to Fernando Verdasco and then they finally toned it down. Now Murray has won some titles and has really improved on clay, so their ridiculousness went into overdrive today.

We were treated to British sportscasters, Jason Goodall and some other guy, who were completely delusional about reality and making excuses for the impending Murray loss, from his blister to the ball falling out of his pocket (clue, he should take the ball out his pocket, which he did). They kept going on about Murray’s “successes” against Nadal. For the record, Nadal is 6-2 against Murray before the match. A twenty-five percent winning percentage is not success. Murray is a good player and is improving, but Nadal is the best player right now so let him have his time in the sun.

They finally shut up and came back to reality after Nadal went up 4-1 in the first set. While Murray was making his second-set run, they then tried to act like it was the 2008 Wimbledon final. He is the second best player on tour this year, and he SHOULD not be blown off the court. He also SHOULD be trying to take a set from Nadal. There were other gems, but you probably get the point.

I actually like Andy Murray as a player, but this tomFOOLery just turns me off. He would probably have more fans if the Anglo sportscasters would tone it down. Moral to the story, turn off the sound during Andy Murray matches.

(Image: AP/Claude Paris)

Novak Djokovic bested Stanislas Wawrinka 4-6 6-1 6-3. In the opening set, the two went toe-to-toe from the baseline, and the Swiss got the better of the two players. After four break points, Wawrinka broke Djokovic after the Serb double faulted in game nine. Wawrinka then held serve to take the set.

In the second set, Djokovic tightened up his serve and groundstrokes. He also started coming into the net, and the changes paid off. Djokovic broke early in the second game and then jumped out to a 5-0 lead. He then cruised to take the set easily.

Now tied with a set apiece, Wawrinka struck first in the second game of the final set. After a long rally, Djokovic broke back and held to level the set at two. Djokovic would win another two games in a row and go on a four-game winning streak. Wawrinka stopped the Serb’s run by holding serve. In the ninth game, the Swiss had a sloppy game and allowed Djokovic to break him for the match.

Djokovic now awaits the winner of the Nadal-Murray match. This will be his first Monte-Carlo final.

(Image: AP/Claude Paris)

After the rain caused havoc yesterday, the tournament got back on track. Rafael Nadal’s half of the draw had to play twice because they did not finish their matches yesterday. At the end the day, all of the qualifiers and wildcards were knocked out of the draw while the usual suspects, minus Roger Federer and plus Stanislas Wawrinka, advanced to the semifinals.

Rafael Nadal finished off Nicolas Lapentti 6-3 6-0 in the morning and beat Ivan Ljubicic 6-3 6-3 in the afternoon to advance. He will meet Andy Murray, who beat Fabio Fognini and Nikolay Davydenko today, in the semifinals. It will be a rematch of the Indian Wells final, except on clay. Alex Corretja has done a good job with Murray for the clay season, and this is Murray’s best result on clay to date.

Novak Djokovic resisted a challenge from Fernando Verdasco and beat the Spaniard in straight sets. The Serb is starting to get back to form and is playing with a lot more confidence than at the beginning of the year. Djokovic will meet Stanislas Wawrinka in the next round where he leads the Swiss 5-2. He has won their last four meetings.

At the end of the day, it was good to see veteran players like Ivan Ljubicic and Nicolas Lapentti make a run in the tournament. Nikolay Davydenko and Juan Monaco returned from injury and played well this week. Hopefully, the young qualifiers, Andreas Beck and Fabio Fognini will be in the mix in the future.

Friday’s Results
Singles Quarterfinals
1 Rafael Nadal (ESP) def. WC Ivan Ljubicic (CRO) 6-3 6-3
3 Novak Djokovic (SRB) def. 7 Fernando Verdasco (ESP) 6-2 4-6 6-3
4 A. Murray (GBR) def. 8 N. Davydenko (RUS) 7-6(1) 6-4
13 Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) def. Q Andreas Beck (GER) 6-2 6-4

Singles Round of 16
1 Rafael Nadal (ESP) def. Q Nicolas Lapentti (ECU) 6-3 6-0
4 Andy Murray (GBR) def. Q Fabio Fognini (ITA) 7-6(11) 6-4
8 Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) def. 12 David Nalbandian (ARG) 6-4 5-7 6-3
WC Ivan Ljubicic (CRO) def. Simone Bolelli (ITA) 7-5 7-6(2)

Doubles Quarterfinals
1 B. Bryan (USA)/M. Bryan (USA) def. 6 M. Fyrstenberg (POL)/M. Matkowski (POL) 4-6 6-2 10-4
2 D. Nestor (CAN)/N. Zimonjic (SRB) def. M. Cilic (CRO)/N. Kiefer (GER) 6-7(3) 6-4 10-8
3 L. Dlouhy (CZE)/L. Paes (IND) def. 7 J. Knowle (AUT)/A. Ram (ISR) 7-6(3) 6-3
N Djokovic (SRB) / V Troicki (SRB) def. 4 M. Bhupathi (IND)/M. Knowles (BAH) 6-4 4-6 12-10

Doubles Round of 16
4 M. Bhupathi (IND)/M. Knowles (BAH) def. F. Lopez (ESP)/F. Verdasco (ESP) 6-4 6-4

Saturday’s Matches
Singles Semifinals
1 Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs. 4 Andy Murray (GBR)
3 Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs. 13 Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI)

Doubles Semifinals
1 B. Bryan (USA)/M. Bryan (USA) vs. 3 L. Dlouhy (CZE)/L. Paes (IND)
2 D. Nestor (CAN)/N. Zimonjic (SRB) vs. N. Djokovic (SRB)/V. Troicki (SRB)

Saturday’s Order of Play

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(images: Getty Images, AFP)

The rain caused havoc in Monte-Carlo today. It caused delays throughout the day. The tournament had to move some matches from the show courts to the outer courts, causing me to not see the Beck-Monaco match. Boo!

Fernando Verdasco halted David Ferrer, who had been cruising in the draw under the radar. Verdasco took care of his compatriot 6-2 6-1 after 62 minutes of play. He will next meet Novak Djokovic, who dismissed Spaniard Albert Montanes. Their head-to-head matchup is 2-2, with Djokovic winning the last two matches last year.

The match of the day was on the outer courts with a surging Andres Beck and a resurgent Juan Monaco. Each player split the first two sets then dug in the final set. Juan Monaco was ahead 4-2 until Beck rallied to even the set. Beck then broke Monaco, for the final time, at the end of the set to take the match, thus continuing his upset tour of Monte-Carlo. The German will meet Stanislas Wawrinka, who upset Roger Federer. The two players have never met in ATP competition.

Fabio Fognini was ahead 5-3 in the first set, but Andy Murray broke him and held serve to level the match. Murray took the set when he saved three set points and outlasted the Italian in the first-set tiebreak. Rain delayed their match until tomorrow, as well as the Nadal-Lapentti, Nalbandian-Daydenko and the Bolelli-Ljubicic matches.

Tomorrow will be wacky. Verdasco may have to play three times because of doubles.

Thursday’s Results
Singles Round of 16
13 Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) def. 2 WC Roger Federer (SUI) 6-4 7-5
3 Novak Djokovic (SRB) def. Albert Montanes (ESP) 6-1 6-7(4) 6-0
7 Fernando Verdasco (ESP) def. 10 David Ferrer (ESP) 6-2 6-1
Q Andreas Beck (GER) def. Juan Monaco (ARG) 3-6 6-2 7-5
4 Andy Murray (GBR) vs. Q Fabio Fognini (ITA) 7-6(11) 1-0 To Finish
1 Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs. Q Nicolas Lapentti (ECU) 0-1 To Finish
8 Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) vs. 12 David Nalbandian (ARG) To Finish
Simone Bolelli (ITA) vs. WC Ivan Ljubicic (CRO) To Finish

Doubles Round of 16
F. Lopez (ESP)/F. Verdasco (ESP) vs. 4 M. Bhupathi (IND)/M. Knowles (BAH) To Finish

Doubles Quarterfinals
2 D. Nestor (CAN)/N. Zimonjic (SRB) vs. M. Cilic (CRO)/N. Kiefer (GER) To Finish

Friday’s Matches
Singles Round of 16
4 Andy Murray (GBR) vs. Q Fabio Fognini (ITA) 7-6(11) 1-0 To Finish
1 Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs. Q Nicolas Lapentti (ECU) 0-1 To Finish
8 Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) vs. 12 David Nalbandian (ARG) To Finish
Simone Bolelli (ITA) vs. WC Ivan Ljubicic (CRO) To Finish

Singles Quarterfinals
7 Fernando Verdasco (ESP) vs. 3 Novak Djokovic (SRB)
13 Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) vs. Q Andreas Beck (GER)
1 R. Nadal (ESP) or Q N. Lapentti (ECU) vs. S. Bolelli (ITA) or WC I. Ljubicic (CRO)
4 A. Murray (GBR) or Q F. Fognini (ITA) vs. 12 D. Nalbandian (ARG) or 8 N. Davydenko (RUS)

Doubles Round of 16
F. Lopez (ESP)/F. Verdasco (ESP) vs. 4 M. Bhupathi (IND)/M. Knowles (BAH) To Finish

Doubles Quarterfinals
2 D. Nestor (CAN)/N. Zimonjic (SRB) vs. M. Cilic (CRO)/N. Kiefer (GER) To Finish
1 B. Bryan (USA)/M. Bryan (USA) vs. 6 M. Fyrstenberg (POL)/M. Matkowski (POL)
3 L. Dlouhy (CZE)/L. Paes (IND) vs. 7 J. Knowle (AUT)/A. Ram (ISR)
N Djokovic (SRB) / V Troicki (SRB) vs. 4 M. Bhupathi (IND)/M. Knowles (BAH) or F. Lopez (ESP)/F. Verdasco (ESP)

Friday's Order of Play

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(Image: AP)

Today was more orderly than yesterday. It looked like the Grimaldi curse had struck the seeded players, but most of them advanced today without too much trouble.

Tenth-seed David Ferrer was extra efficient in his victory. He played like he had better things to do. The Spaniard beat the last Frenchman in the draw, Marc Gicquel 6-1 6-0 after just 49 minutes of play.

Juan Martin del Potro met a surprise from wildcard Ivan Ljubicic, former ATP World No. 3. After losing the first set, Ljubicic rallied to upset the fifth-seed 4-6 6-1 6-4.

Marin Cilic met an Italian surprise in the form of Fabio Fognini. The fourteenth-seed lost to the qualifier in straight sets and won only two games in the entire match. As consolation, Cilic still is in doubles contention with Nicolas Kiefer.

In doubles, the seeded teams took care of business except for the eight-seeds Jeff Coetzee and Jordan Kerr who lost to Novak Djokovic and Viktor Troiki 4-6 4-6. The Serbs advance to the quarterfinals where they await the winner of the Verdasco/Lopez-Bhupathi/Knowles match.

Wednesday’s Results
Singles Second Round
1 Rafael Nadal (ESP) def. Juan Ignacio Chela (ARG) 6-2 6-3
2 WC Roger Federer (SUI) def. Andreas Seppi (ITA) 6-4 6-4
WC Ivan Ljubicic (CRO) def. 5 Juan Martin del Potro (ARG) 4-6 6-1 6-4
7 Fernando Verdasco (ESP) def. Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) 6-3 6-4
8 Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) def. Ivo Karlovic (CRO) 6-4 6-3
10 David Ferrer (ESP) def. Marc Gicquel (FRA) 6-1 6-0
12 David Nalbandian (ARG) def. Marcel Granollers (ESP) 4-6 6-3 6-1
13 Stani Wawrinka (SUI) def. Martin Vassallo Arguello (ARG) 2-6 7-5 6-2
Q Fabio Fognini (ITA) def. 14 Marin Cilic (CRO) 6-2 6-0
Simone Bolelli (ITA) def. Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) 7-5 6-3
Q Nicolas Lapentti (ECU) def. Marat Safin (RUS) 7-6(6) 2-6 7-6(6)
Albert Montanes (ESP) def. WC Jene-Rene Lisnard (MON) 6-2

Doubles Second Round
2 D. Nestor (CAN)/N. Zimonjic (SRB) def. WC M. Gicquel (FRA)/P. Mathieu (FRA) 6-3 6-7(5) 10-4
3 L. Dlouhy (CZE)/L. Paes (IND) def. A. Montanes (ESP)/T. Robredo (ESP) 2-6 7-6(5) 10-8
6 M. Fyrstenberg (POL)/M. Matkowski (POL) def. N. Davydenko (RUS)/O. Marach (AUT) 6-3 6-4
7 J. Knowle (AUT)/A. Ram (ISR) def. S. Aspelin (SWE)/W. Moodie (RSA) 7-6(3) 6-2
N. Djokovic (SRB)/V. Troicki (SRB) def. 8 J. Coetzee (RSA)/J. Kerr (AUS) 6-4 6-4

Thursday’s Matches
Singles Round of 16
1 Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs. Q Nicolas Lapentti (ECU)
2 WC Roger Federer (SUI) vs. 13 Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI)
A Montanes (ESP) vs [3] N Djokovic (SRB)
4 Andy Murray (GBR) vs. Q Fabio Fognini (ITA)
7 Fernando Verdasco (ESP) vs. 10 David Ferrer (ESP)
8 Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) vs. [12] D Nalbandian (ARG)
Q Andreas Beck (GER) vs. Juan Monaco (ARG)
Simone Bolelli (ITA) vs. WC Ivan Ljubicic (CRO)

Doubles Round of 16
F Lopez (ESP) / F Verdasco (ESP) vs [4] M Bhupathi (IND) / M Knowles (BAH)

Doubles Quarterfinals
2 D. Nestor (CAN)/N. Zimonjic (SRB) vs. M. Cilic (CRO)/N. Kiefer (GER)

Thursday's Order of Play

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(Image: AP)

Rafael Nadal resumed his clay-court domination today. The unfortunate victim was Juan Ignacio Chela. He beat Chela 6-2 6-3. This win was his 23rd consecutive win in Monte-Carlo.

Nadal jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first set. Chela then won 11 consecutive points to cut Nadal’s lead 4-2. Nadal tightened the hatches and cruised to take the next two games and the set. A similar scenario happened in the second set, but Nadal took control again and cruised to victory.

The Spaniard will meet qualifier Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador, who dismissed Marat Safin in a 3 ½ hour epic match. Safin lost 6-7(6) 6-2 6-7(6). Safin lost the first set, but cruised to take the second set.

It look like Safin had rallied to send the ATP World No. 98 home after being up 4-0 in the final set. The Russian served for the match at 5-2, but somehow Lapentti dug in to fight off two match points. The Ecuadorian broke Safin and then rattled off another three consecutive games and saved another match point along the way.

It looked like they were headed to a tiebreak, but then Lapentti broke Safin in the eleventh game. He then served for the match and had three match points, but Safin broke the Ecuadorian to send the match to a tiebreak.

Lapentti jumped out to a 4-0 lead, and then later Safin missed a forehand for 5-1. Safin took a minibreak and held serve for 5-4. He then mishit a forehand to give Lapentti three match points.

Naturally, Safin saved two match points to tie it at 6-6. Lapentti dug in again, and it did not help that Safin double faulted to give Lapentti match point number 6. This time Lapentti converted to upset the Russian in his final Monte-Carlo appearance.

This is Lapentti’s first round of 16 appearance this year. His last round of 16 was in 2008 in Cincinnati where he eventually lost in the quarterfinal to Rafael Nadal, incidenttally. That was their last meeting. Their only other meeting was in 2003 in Bastad where Lapentti won in three sets.

(Images: AP)

Marat Safin was in good form as he beat Hewitt, who is fresh off his Houston title. He bested the Aussie 6-4 7-5 in routine fashion. Safin will play Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador in an old-school matchup. Safin currently leads their head-to-head match 1-0 after the Russian beat Lapentti in Barcelona in 2000.


Tuesday’s Matches Singles First Round
Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) def. 9 Gael Monfils (FRA) 6-3 6-1
10 David Ferrer (ESP) def. Feliciano Lopez (ESP) 6-2 6-3
12 David Nalbandian (ARG) def. Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA) 6-4 3-6 6-3
Albert Montanes (ESP) def. 16 Nicolas Almagro (ESP) 7-6(6) 4-6 7-6(5)
Q Fabio Fognini (ITA) def. Tomas Berdych (CZE) 1-6 6-3 6-3
Marat Safin (RUS) def. WC Lleyton Hewitt (AUS) 6-4 7-5
Ivo Karlovic (CRO) def. Florent Serra (FRA) 6-4 6-4
WC Jean-Rene Lisnard (MON) def. Christophe Rochus (BEL) 6-2 6-2
Martin Vassallo Arguello (ARG) def. Igor Andreev (RUS) 2-6 7-6(5) 6-2

Singles Second Round
3 Novak Djokovic (SRB) def. Q Oscar Hernandez (ESP) 6-1 6-2
4 Andy Murray (GBR) def. Victor Hanescu (ROU) 6-3 6-2
Q Andreas Beck (GER) def. 6 Gilles Simon (FRA) 7-5 6-1
Juan Monaco (ARG) def. 11 Tommy Robredo (ESP) 6-2 6-4

Doubles First Round
N. Davydenko (RUS)/O. Marach (AUT) def. J. Chardy (FRA)/G. Simon (FRA) 6-4 6-1
WC M. Gicquel (FRA)/P. Mathieu (FRA) def. L. Arnold Ker (ARG)/P. Cuevas (URU) 7-6(5) 6-3
S. Aspelin (SWE)/W. Moodie (RSA) def. R. Lindstedt (SWE)/R. Soderling (SWE) 6-2 6-4

Doubles Second Round
M. Cilic (CRO)/N. Kiefer (GER) def. 5 B. Soares (BRA)/K. Ullyett (ZIM) 6-4 1-6 10-7

Wednesday’s Matches Singles Second Round
1 Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs Juan Ignacio Chela (ARG)
2 WC Roger Federer (SUI) vs. Andreas Seppi (ITA)
5 Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG) vs. WC Ivan Ljubicic (CRO)
7 Fernando Verdasco (ESP) vs. Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER)
8 Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) vs. Ivo Karlovic (CRO)
10 David Ferrer (ESP) vs. Marc Gicquel (FRA)
12 David Nalbandian (ARG) vs. Marcel Granollers (ESP)
13 Stani Wawrinka (SUI) vs. Martin Vassallo Arguello (ARG)
14 Marin Cilic (CRO) vs. Q Fabio Fognini (ITA)
Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) vs. Simone Bolelli (ITA)
Marat Safin (RUS) vs. Q Nicolas Lapentti (ECU)
Albert Montanes (ESP) vs. WC Jene-Rene Lisnard (MON)

Doubles Second Round
2 D. Nestor (CAN)/N. Zimonjic (SRB) vs. WC M. Gicquel (FRA)/P. Mathieu (FRA)
3 L. Dlouhy (CZE)/L. Paes (IND) vs. A. Montanes (ESP)/T. Robredo (ESP)
6 M. Fyrstenberg (POL)/M. Matkowski (POL) vs. N. Davydenko (RUS)/O. Marach (AUT)
7 J. Knowle (AUT)/A. Ram (ISR) vs. S. Aspelin (SWE)/W. Moodie (RSA)
8 J. Coetzee (RSA)/J. Kerr (AUS) vs. N. Djokovic (SRB)/V. Troicki (SRB)

Wednesday's Order of Play

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Qualifier Fabio Fognini, who is currently ranked number 108, rallied to upset Tomas Berdych 1-6 6-3 6-3. The 21-year-old has not advanced passed the round of 16 this year and is 6-7 as of today. He will play Marin Cilic in the next round. The two players have never met in an ATP event.

Albert Montanes upset Nicolas Almagro 7-6(6) 6-4 7-6(5). After Nadal, Almagro is probably Spain’s second best player on clay. This victory is Montanes’ second-consectutive victory over Almagro. He will play wildcard Jean-Rene Lisnard of Monaco.

In the rematch of the Buenos Aires final, Juan Monaco exacted revenge on the eleventh-seed Tommy Robredo 6-2 6-4. He will play the German troublemaker, Andreas Beck in the round of 16. The two players have never met in ATP competition. This could be an exciting match. Both players are vying for the chance to play Roger Federer, should he make it through the next two rounds.

With all of the upsets, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, David Ferrer and David Nalbandian restored some order with their victories.

In doubles, Nikolay Davydenko teamed up with Austrian doubles-specialist Oliver to beat the French duo of Gilles Simon and Jeremy Chardy 6-4 6-1. Next up for Davydenko and Marach are sixth-seeds Frystenberg and Matkowski.

Some good news for France today, Marc Gicquel and Paul-Henri Mathieu bested the doubles specialists Arnold Ker and Cuevas from South America. They will play second-seeds Nestor and Zimonjic.

After his upset in singles yesterday, Nicolas Kiefer and partner, Marin Cilic upset fifth-seeds Brunno Soares and Kevin Ullyett.

(images: AP)

It is a bad day for the Musketeers and another bad day for France in general. Yesterday, French hopefuls Julien Benneteau and Jeremy Chardy were bounced from the tournament. Today, Argentine David Nalbandian dismissed Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-5 3-6 6-3.

Ninth-seed Gael Monfils crashed out of the tournament after 67 minutes of play. He lost to Serbian Janko Tipsaravic, ATP world number 56, 6-1 6-3. Sporting a new haircut, the Frenchman was up a break 3-1 in the first set until Tipsarevic rattled off five straight games to snatch set from the Frenchmen. The Serb then cruised to take the next set and match in front of a stunned crowd.

Qualifier Andreas Beck, the troublemaker of Monaco, already sent Nicolas Kiefer home yesterday. The ATP world number 89 upset sixth-seed Gilles Simon 7-5 6-1.

Beck broke the Frenchman early in the first set, but Simon rallied to tie the set 3-3. Simon did his usual gig of hanging out behind the baseline while Beck punished any short return and cut off points quickly. The German then broke Simon in the ninth game to serve for the set, but Simon broke back. Beck then struck again to take the Frenchman’s serve, but this time Beck held serve for the first set. In the second set, Simon won the first game and then the 23-year-old qualifier won the next six games for the set and match.

Simon continues to struggle this year. He clearly needs to step up his game and stop hanging out behind the baseline. Luckily for Simon, most of his points are at the end of the season, and he has some time to get it together before he starts really sliding in the rankings.

Monfils has had a pretty good season in the smaller tournaments, but just average in the larger tournaments. Then there is this performance where he is sent home in the first round of a Masters tournament.

If this keeps up, Musketeer Watch might become Musketeer Intervention. There seems to be less swashbuckling and more buckling of late. Luckily, Tsonga is scheduled to play in the next tournament.

(Images: AP)

Nicolas Kiefer was bounced by countryman Andreas Beck 1-6 7-6(1) 6-4. Kiefer won the first set handily and somehow lost the next to sets to the 23-year-old qualifier.

All is not lost for the German, Kiefer will play doubles tomorrow with Cilic. The pair beat the clay power-duo of Nicloas Almagro and David Ferrer. Kiefer and Clilic will play fifth-seeds Bruno Soares and Kevin Ullyett tomorrow.

Monday’s Results
Singles First Round
14 Marin Cilic (CRO) def. Q Flavio Cipolla (ITA) 6-3 6-2
Q Nicolas Lapentti (ECU) def. 15 Radek Stepanek (CZE) 6-3 1-6 6-3
Q Oscar Hernandez (ESP) def. Julien Benneteau (FRA) 6-4 6-4
Andreas Seppi (ITA) def. Jurgen Melzer (AUT) 6-2 6-0
Juan Monaco (ARG) def. Jeremy Chardy (FRA) 6-2 7-5
Juan Chela (ARG) def. Igor Kunitsyn (RUS) 6-4 2-6 7-5
Marc Gicquel (FRA) def. Edwardo Schwank (ARG) 3-6 6-1 7-6(2)
WC Ivan Ljubicic (CRO) def. Q Kristof Vliegen (BEL) 6-4 6-7(5) 6-4
Marcel Granollers (ESP) def. Jose Acasuso (ARG) 7-6(4) 7-6(2)
Q Andreas Beck (GER) def. Nicolas Kiefer (GER) 1-6 7-6(1) 6-4
Victor Hanescu (ROU) def. Q Alberto Martin (ESP) 6-2 6-3

Doubles First Round
A. Montanes (ESP)/T. Robredo (ESP) def. T. Berdych (CZE)/F. Cermak (CZE) 6-4 7-5
F. Lopez (ESP)/F. Verdasco (ESP) def. I. Andreev (RUS)/M. Safin (RUS) 7-6(3) 6-4
G. Monfils (FRA)/S. Wawrinka (SUI) def. WC G. Couillard (MON)/J. Lisnard (MON) 7-5 6-3
N. Djokovic (SRB)/V. Troicki (SRB) def. M. Melo (BRA)/A Sa (BRA) 6-1 6-4

Tuesday’s Matches
Singles First Round
9 Gael Monfils (FRA) vs. Janko Tipsarevic (SRB)
10 David Ferrer (ESP) vs. Feliciano Lopez (ESP)
12 David Nalbandian (ARG) vs. Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA)
16 Nicolas Almagro (ESP) vs. Albert Montanes (ESP)
Q Fabio Fognini (ITA) vs. Tomas Berdych (CZE)
Marat Safin (RUS) vs. WC Lleyton Hewitt (AUS)
Ivo Karlovic (CRO) vs. Florent Serra (FRA)
WC Jean-Rene Lisnard (MON) vs. Christophe Rochus (BEL)
Igor Andreev (RUS) vs. Martin Vassallo Arguello (ARG)

Singles Second Round
3 Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs. Q Oscar Hernandez (ESP)
4 Andy Murray (GBR) vs. Victor Hanescu (ROU)
6 Gilles Simon (FRA) vs. Q Andreas Beck (GER)
11 Tommy Robredo (ESP) vs. Juan Monaco (ARG)

Doubles First Round
J. Chardy (FRA)/G. Simon (FRA) vs. N. Davydenko (RUS)/O. Marach (AUT)
WC M. Gicquel (FRA)/P. Mathieu (FRA) vs. L. Arnold Ker (ARG)/P. Cuevas (URU)
R. Lindstedt (SWE)/R. Soderling (SWE) vs. S. Aspelin (SWE)/W. Moodie (RSA)

Doubles Second Round
5 B. Soares (BRA)/K. Ullyett (ZIM) vs. M. Cilic (CRO)/N. Kiefer (GER)

Tuesday's Order of Play

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(Image: 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.

Fernando Verdasco and Feliciano Lopez of Spain (pictured left) beat the Russian duo of Marat Safin and Igor Andreev (pictured right watching the Cilic match with Youznhy before their doubles match) 7-6(3) 6-4. The Spaniards will meet the fourth-seeds Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles in the next round.

Not to be outdone, the Serbian team of Novak Djokovic and Viktor Troiki took out the Brazilian doubles-specialists Marcelo Melo and Andre Sa 6-1 6-4. In the second round, the Serbs will encounter the eighth-seeds Jeff Coetzee and Jordan Kerr.

(Images: Montreal Gazette)

Juan Monaco emerged victorious over Jeremy Chardy 6-2 7-5 after 99 minutes of play. It was a pretty solid win despite the Frenchman having near home-field advantage. Monaco jumped all over Chardy’s serve and broke early thereby taking the crowd out of the equation. He then cruised to a straight-set victory in spite of a late Chardy run in the second set.

The victory marks a sort of comeback for the 25-year-old Argentine, who has suffered from a series of injuries late last year and early this year. He retired from a first-round match in Mexico and missed Indian Wells this year. The Argentine was ranked 14th last February and has slipped to his current ATP world rank of 60. He was in good form today, and hopefully he will be back in the mix this year.

Up next for Monaco is Tommy Robredo in what could be a grunge match of the Buenos Aires final. Robredo is currently playing well this year and leads their head-to-head matchup 2-1.

(image: AFP/GettyImages)

What do you know about 18-year-old Leonardo Lapentti? Is he the 3rd brother? Is he cute?
- Mrs. Polasek

Your guess is correct. To answer your first and second questions, Leonardo Lapentti is apart of the Lapentti Gomez clan of Ecuador. He is the younger brother of Nicolas and Giovanni Lapentti (pictured right). Their father is an Ecuadorian politician and former college basketball player. They are distant cousins of Andres Gomez, who is the 1990 French Open champion, on their mother's side of the family.

Nicolas Lapentti, 32, is a veteran player of the ATP tour. He stormed onto the scene when he won the junior Orange Bowl tournament in 1994 and then won the junior French Open doubles title with Gustavo Kuerten the same year. In 2000, he achieved his highest ATP ranking of world number 6. He has won five ATP titles, the last title coming in 2002 in St. Poelten. Nicolas is currently ranked 95 and just qualified for the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters tournament. In late 2000, he established the Nicolas Lapentti Foundation to help bring tennis to underprivileged children and develop future champions.

Giovanni, 26, is a fixture on the challenger tour when he is not qualifying for ATP tournaments. He is currently ranked 190. His best ranking came in 2005 when he was ranked 110. This year he helped Ecuador, with the help of Nicolas, overcome a 0-2 deficit to upset Canada in Davis Cup action.

Leonardo Lapentti hit the futures circuit following in his brothers’ footsteps. His current record is 0-5. There is not really going to be much written about him until he is around longer and/or wins something.

To answer your third question, is he cute? I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder. He is the one the left with his brother Giovanni.

The top thirty slots are the same as last week. The players, who did well last week, received a pay off this week. The movers this week are:

• Fueled by his title win yesterday, Juan Carlos Ferrero rockets 40 spots to 75. Phew!
• Evegeny Korolev jumps 11 spots to 72.
• German Bjorn Phau skips 7 spots to 70.
• Tommy Haas moves up 5 to 81.
• American Wayne Odesnik jumps 23 spots to 77.
• Lleyton Hewitt moves up 31 spots to 57 after winning Houston yesterday.
  

Sunday’s Results
Singles First Round
11 Tommy Robredo (ESP) def. Rainer Schuettler (GER) 6-1 6-4
13 Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) def. Viktor Troicki (SRB) 6-2 6-3
Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) def. Ernest Gulbis (LAT) 6-1 6-3
Simone Bolelli (ITA) def. Robin Soderling (SWE) 6-4 1-6 6-3

Doubles First Round
M. Cilic (CRO)/N. Kiefer (GER) def. N. Almagro (ESP)/D. Ferrer (ESP) 4-6 7-6(3) 10-8

Monday’s Matches
Singles First Round
14 Marin Cilic (CRO) vs. Q Flavio Cipolla (ITA)
15 Radek Stepanek (CZE) vs. Q Nicolas Lapentti (ECU)
Julien Benneteau (FRA) vs. Q Oscar Hernandez (ESP)
Andreas Seppi (ITA) vs. Jurgen Melzer (AUT)
Jeremy Chardy (FRA) vs. Juan Monaco (ARG)
Igor Kunitsyn (RUS) vs. Juan Chela (ARG)
Marc Gicquel (FRA) vs. Edwardo Schwank (ARG)
Q Kristof Vliegen (BEL) vs. WC Ivan Ljubicic (CRO)
Jose Acasuso (ARG) vs. Marcel Granollers (ESP)
Q Andreas Beck (GER) vs. Nicolas Kiefer (GER)
Victor Hanescu (ROU) vs Q Alberto Martin (ESP)

Doubles First Round
T. Berdych (CZE)/F. Cermak (CZE) vs. A. Montanes (ESP)/T. Robredo (ESP)
F. Lopez (ESP)/F. Verdasco (ESP) vs. I. Andreev (RUS)/M. Safin (RUS)
WC G. Couillard (MON)/J. Lisnard (MON) vs. G. Monfils (FRA)/S. Wawrinka (SUI)
M. Melo (BRA)/A Sa (BRA) vs. N. Djokovic (SRB)/V. Troicki (SRB)

Monday's Order of Play

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(image: AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau)

Singles Final
Lleyton Hewitt (AUS) def. Wayne Odesnik (USA) 6-2 7-5

Juan Carlos Ferrero finally won his first title since 2003 and overcame his almost six-year title drought. The win gives Ferrero his 12th ATP title and moves him into the ATP top 100. The Spaniard bested Frenchmen Florent Serra 6-4 7-5 to capture the Casablanca title. This win was also Ferrero’s first win over Serra, who had a 2-0 record over the Spaniard.

There were 10 service breaks in the entire match, so it was a race to see which player could break and hold serve consecutively. Ferrero broke Serra in the first game of the match, and Serra broke back immediately. After a series of breaks, Ferrero turned up the heat in the tenth game and held at love for the set.

In the second set, both players held serve for the first couple of games. This time Serra struck first in game four, but Ferrero broke back and held to tie the set at 3-3. Serra stepped up his attacks on Ferrero’s second serve and was aggressive to keep the counterpuncher on his heels. After another series of breaks, Ferrero turned it up again to break Serra in game 11. He then held serve to win the set, the match and the title.