An American, male tennis player has given us reason to cheer.  In the Quarterfinals of the Olympics, James Blake, winner of one set in eight previous matches against Federer, managed to beat current world number 1 (albeit for only a few more days) in straight sets to advance to the semifinals in Beijing.  He will next face Fernando Gonzalez, with the winner earning the right to play for a gold against the winner of Nadal/Djokovic.

American women, however, did not fare so well.  Both Williams sisters saw their chances at a medal go down in flames in the round of 16.  Serena lost to Dementieva in a close 3 setter, and Venus went down to hometown hero Na Li, 7-5, 7-5.  Here are some links with other news from the tennis world:

Full Day 5 Olympic Wrap Up.

Jon Wetheim mailbag.

Results from Legg Mason Tennis Classic in our Nation’s capital.

Tignor debates Olympic Tennis.

When the new Sony Ericsson WTA rankings come out this Monday, Jelena Jankovic will have replaced her Serbian compatriot, Ana Ivanovic, as the number one ranked player in the world.  Talk about backing into the top spot…Jankovic has really done nothing of note this year except her win in Rome, and yet somehow she is the best player in the world?  She has made the semifinals and round of 16 in the Grand Slams so far - solid, but not spectacular by any means.  For some more details on her “rise” to the top, read this tennis.com article.  Here are some other links for your enjoyment:

Doesn’t look like the ATP is going to fall apart anytime soon…

The USTA has agreed to purchase the Cincinnati Masters Event.

Terrific piece from Steve Tignor about the changing of the guard for the ATP, and he isn’t just referring to Nadal and Federer.

Speaking of that changing of the guard, here are some photo highlights of Federer’s amazing 237 week run as No. 1.

Safina has won two tournaments in a row.

In recognition of the Olympics, ESPN unveils the Top 10 tennis nations.

Some thoughts from WTA players on the Olympic Games.

Well, August is upon us, and things are starting to get crazy.  Manny Ramirez was traded yesterday, and in about 48 hours, Rafael Nadal could supplant Roger Federer as the ATP. No. 1 ranked tennis player in the world.  With Federer losing to Karlovic in the round of 16, if Nadal can win Cincinnati this weekend, he will end Federer’s reign of 235 weeks at No. 1.  And even if he doesn’t, it’s almost inevetiable he will at some point this summer.  The other big development this week is Maria Sharapova’s shoulder, which is going to keep her out of both the Olympics and the US Open.  Here are some other newsworthy items from this week:

Jon Wertheim’s latest mailbag & Ad In/Ad Out feature.

Greg Garber on all of the calendar issues the Olympics creates.

After losing in Montreal, Ivanovic could lose her # 1 ranking…to her Serbian compatriot, Jankovic.
Patrick Rafter interview, where he discussed the Tour of Champions and other current affairs in tennis.

He may take over the No. 1 ranking in the world on hard courts, but it doesn’t mean Nadal enjoys playing on them.

Well, Federer, Blake and Roddick are all out of Toronto before the weekend.  One of the Semi’s will be Indy champ Gilles Simon against German vet Nicolas Kiefer.  The other semi will be decided tonight, after Nadal takes on Gasquet, and Djokovic (defending champion) will play Andy Murray.  To hold you over until the exciting weekend, here are some links to enjoy:

Bodo on Federer and fatigue.

Nice feature on Mario Cilic (beat Roddick in Toronto) and a few other ‘young guns.’

Nadal’s take on Federer’s Toronto loss.

A bit dated now, but here are some great shots from the Wimbledon Final.

Some results from the WTA stop in Carson, California.

Harkleroad on Harkleroad, from Tennis Week, not Playboy.

John McEnroe, not exactly a prime example of politcal correctedness, has replaced Justin Gimelstob in the USTA ads. 

More McEnroe, who is not impressed with the way the ATP has handled the Hamburg event and the overall schedule.

Two big events going on this week, Toronto (a Masters) for the Men, and Los Angeles for the Women, so I will have more to report on these results later in the week, for now here is an assortment of random links and tennis news:

- There has been no settlement reached beteween the Hamburg Masters Event and the ATP.  Details can be read here.  Obviously, Hamburg will not be happy unless the ATP keeps it as a Masters Event.  There is no middle ground here, it will be very interesting to see how this plays out.

- Steffi Graf & Andre Agassi will no longer be major shareholders in a proposed luxury resort at Tamarack Mountain, in Idaho.  They cited litigation and market reasons, however I think they want to focus more on the future tennis careers of children Jaden Gil & Jaz Elle. Read the rest of this entry »