http://bradgilbert.tennisweek.com Just another WordPress weblog Sat, 14 Nov 2009 02:23:39 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en It’s the semis in Paris, my favorite time of year.  I missed being there; it’s one of my all-time favorite venues as a player and as a coach.  My son Zach got his first hair cut there in the players lounge when he was 11 months old.  If you ever ... http://bradgilbert.tennisweek.com/?p=177 The WTA wraps a winning season.  The drama for the No. 1 ranking between Dinara Safina and Serena Williams went out the window with Safina pulling the rip cord in her first round-robin match.  I actually think it's a good thing for Safina to have not finished the year No. 1.  ... http://bradgilbert.tennisweek.com/?p=175 The Rodney Dangerfield of men's tennis has struck again! Nikolay Davydenko, the 5-foot-10', 154 pound middleweight mows down the field, dropping one set for the tournament, in a three-and-a-half hour + epic semi with the Djoker and then comfortably dispatched Rafa in the final, denying him of his first title since May ... http://bradgilbert.tennisweek.com/?p=173 Two absolutely step up performances on the Asian Swing for the men by Marin Cilic and  Jo Willie Tsonga today.   Tsonga rolled countryman Gael Monfils in a surprisingly easy semifinal victory in Tokyo.  He’ll now play Mikhail Youzhny in the final.  This is a huge opportunity for Tsonga to earn some much-needed points ... http://bradgilbert.tennisweek.com/?p=171 It has been an incredibly interesting month in the women’s game. The fairy tale win for Kim Clijsters at the US Open is in the books. I knew she was going to come good, but I never thought that much good would come that quick. Very admirable that she’s putting family first, ... http://bradgilbert.tennisweek.com/?p=169 For the second year in a row the weather has wreaked havoc on the final weekend. Maybe the USTA might want to think about the possibilities of joining the other slams in getting a retractable roof.  Nadal was extremely fortunate to get his match in before the rain came today. They resumed ... http://bradgilbert.tennisweek.com/?p=167 Huge props to the young Croat Marin Cilic!  He really took it to Murray, who looked extremely flat and was only able to muster nine games. Has to be one of the more disappointing losses for Andy in his career, especially coming off such a strong summer hard court season with such ... http://bradgilbert.tennisweek.com/?p=163 An absolutely amazing run for Melanie Oudin!!! The 17 year old from Marietta, Georgia — she's scrappy and feisty and kind of reminds me of a cross between Amanda Coetzer and Justine Henin. Melanie set the Open ablaze for her second straight upset, first against Elena Dementieva and today against Shaza ... http://bradgilbert.tennisweek.com/?p=160 Well the first round is in the books for the men. It always moves kind of slow in the first week here at the Open, but the top players all look in excellent form, and I'm expecting them to all move forward considering they are very well rested. Most of the ... http://bradgilbert.tennisweek.com/?p=158 T minus a day, and its that nervous anticipation for the 256 players to make a statement in the last Grand Slam event of the year. Got to hit on the Grandstand late this afternoon, and they are playing pretty quick. There is less grit on the surface of the court then ... http://bradgilbert.tennisweek.com/?p=156