Gael Monfils

A Trio of Tourneys

Here's a trivia question.  Who is the number 2 player in the world?  Unless you're an avid tennis fan, you probably wouldn't have picked Novak Djokovic. Unless you're an avid fan, you'll scratch your head wondering how Djokovic became number 2.  It goes something like this.  What's the last tournament Nadal won? You have to

Week of Feb 1 tournaments

It's the week after the Australian Open and more tournaments are being played.  Consider how many players get to the fourth round of a Slam.  It's 16.  With 128 players in the original draw, more than 100 players have already failed to reach the fourth round, and are therefore out in the first week of

Day 5: Australian Open

John Isner.  Gael Monfils.  The average tennis fan has probably heard of one, but not the other, and possibly neither.  Monfils, the talented and athletic Frenchman, would seem like the shoo-in favorite to beat John Isner. Yet, if you looked at their head-to-head, it's Isner who leads 2-1, and all 3 meetings have been closer. 

Day 4: Australian Open

Novak Djokovic, sporting his new Sergio Tacchini clothing (once worn by John McEnroe), had a weird match against Marco Chiudinelli, the 3rd best Swiss player and a friend and comtemporary of Roger Federer. Djokovic looked pretty lackluster, missing easy shots and seemingly distracted losing the first set.  Fortunately, Djokovic woke up taking the next two

Day 3: Australian Open

Day 3 saw most of the seeds progressing fairly easily.  Rafael Nadal took on Lukas Lacko and found himself a 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 winner.  Given his struggles in the first round, Nadal found himself striking the ball better.  Darren Cahill commented that Nadal had played around with a different forehand and serve motion in London

Paris Masters: Djokovic d. Monfils

Perhaps if the French Open were played indoors, the French would fare better.  In the battle of the two countries divided by the Pyrenees, Spain has had the decided edge over Spain boasting more top 100 players and, at one point, the number 1 player in the world.  They've also fared much better in Paris

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