Faute! ~ ATP/WTA 2011 News!

Monte Carlo Masters  :

1^st Round Results -

ü  Jarko Nieminen beat Julian Benneteau         4-6, 6-3, 7-6(3)

ü  Richard Gasquet beat Denis Istomin  5-7, 6-3, 6-4

ü  JW Tsonga beat Juan Monaco          4-6, 6-3, 6-2

ü  Ivan Ljubicic beat Jeremy Chardy     6-1, 6-2

ü  Oliver Rochus beat Juan Chela         6-4, 5-7, 7-5

ü  Radek Stepanek beat Marcos Baghdatis       3-6, 6-1, 7-6(7)

ü  Florian Mayer beat Mikhail Youzhny  6-3, 2-6, 6-3

ü  Frederico Gil beat Sergiy Stakhovsky           6-1, 6-3

ü  Daniel Gimeno-Traver beat Santiago Giraldo            7-6(4), 7-5

ü  Tommy Robredo beat Ivan Dodig      6-4, 6-2

ü  Viktor Troicki beat Jean-Ren Lisnard 7-6(4), 6-1

ü  Ernests Gulbis beat Alexandr Dolgopolov      6-1, 6-4

ü  Milos Raonic beat Michael Llodra      6-3, 0-6, 6-0

ü  Robin Haase beat Nikolay Davydenko          7-5, 4-6, 6-4

ü  Nicolas Almagro beat Marcel Granollers       6-3, 6-3

ü  Marin Cilic beat Filippo Volandri           6-2, 6-1

ü  Philipp Kohlschreiber beat Andrey Golubev   5-7, 7-6(6), 6-4

ATP Ranking :

            No change in the top 10.

WTA Ranking:

            Victoria Azarenka moves to 5^th spot having won WTA Marbella.

Matches to watch today:

·         P Kohlschreiber vs [2] R Federer

·         E Gulbis  vs M Raonic

Note:  Guys I’m playing ATP Fantasy, its fun. Do take part & let me know your picks in the comment section.

Faute! ~ Young Guns! (Part 1)

Whoever said Tennis is a "Gentleman's Game" needs to check his noggin. It's bloody brutal out there! After years of tamed-play from players like Connors,McEnroe (his mouth isn't though!) & Borg , everything is so - fast. The players are really agile, surfaces are different making the ball speed way higher than before,serves are ridiculously fast too. I think this era of players like the Fab 4 (Federer,Nadal,Djokovic & Murray), Soderling & others are really competitive & ruthless when it comes to their game play. While the 90's were dominated by the likes of Sampras & Agassi, the 2000's have so many good players.Each player has his/her unique technique or style, no more serve-volley domination. Baseliners & two-handed backhanders are doing much better now than they used to 10 years ago - bye bye sweet one-handed backhand! Despite the changes, the game has remained intact when it comes to its rules,long rallies,occassional tantrums & controversies.

I personally love watching a one-handed backhand player - the way they move their arms like that is just awesome. Apart from the Fab 4, there are a number of other players who have great potential at winning Grand Slams.

So here goes my list of 'budding talent' :-

1.Alexandr Dolgopolov- This guy has a massive serve , Gonzo-style. His forehand is like a whip & his movement is on par with Nadal. Alexandr reached the quaterfinals of Australian Open 2011 where he lost to an in-form Andy Murray (Runner-up '10,'11). He demolished 2008 Runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga & French Open finalist Robin Soderling en route to the round of 8. With hair as big as his serve, this one should be on the lookout for 2011.


2. Milos Raonic - This 6'5'' Canadian blazed through his opponents & reached the 4th Round in only his second appearance in a Grand Slam.Having failed to reach the 2nd Round in his maiden Grand Slam (USO '10), this Yugoslavian-born player shocked everyone this year with his splendid performance. He defeated 22nd seed Michael Llodra in Round 2 & then went on to win against the mercurial Russian, Mikhail Youzhny who was seeded 10 at this year's Championships.Milos has already grabbed his first ATP Title at San Jose (SAP Open) beating title defender, Fernando Verdasco. In case ace-serving Roddick quits soon, Milos could be his successor!

Part 2 coming soon..