I do.  I  hear its a lovely country.  As everyone knows, the U.S. will be playing the Swedes next September in the Semifinals of the Davis Cup.  Earlier this week, the Swedish Tennis Association announced that the tie will be held in the city of Gothenburg (pictured on the left), at the Scandinavium Arena.  Last time the Davis Cup was played here, Sweden defeated the U.S. 5-0 in the Davis Cup Finals.  Gothenburg is located on the Southwest coast of Sweden, about five hours away from the Swedish capital, Stockholm.  Quick side note, I checked out the drive time on Google Maps, and I bet it would be one of the more scenic drives, if anyone is inclined to do so. (more…)

On a weekend when the unthinkable happened in Boston (Red Sox sweeping the Yankees), a bit of normalcy occurred in the tennis world, as Roger Federer fell to Rafael Nadal in the Monte Carlo final - 6-4, 6-4.  This extends Rafa’s record to 5-0 against Federer on clay, and 7-3 all time.  Low and behold, even after all my complaining on Friday, I ended up watching the match at a friend’s house.  Actually, I’ll be honest, I only watched the first set, it was 70 and sunny, and the mountain was still open.  Skiing in a t-shirt only happens once every couple of years; Federer vs. Nadal will happen probably twice more this spring.  (more…)

Should be some great tennis on tap.  On the Women’s side, we’ve got the aforementioned Fed Cup Quarterfinal’s, and on the Men’s side Federer and Nadal will most likely be grinding it out in the first major clay-court final of the season in Monte Carlo.  Before the final, the semifinal matches should be somewhat intriguing as well.  Nadal will take on Berdych, who was down early to Robin Soderling before steamrolling twelve games in a row off Robin Soderling.  Meanwhile, Federer will take on former world number 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero, who also had to claw back in his quarterfinal win against Gasquet.  (more…)

The Quarterfinals of World Group I are taking place around the globe this coming weekend.  I figured I would share my thoughts on what might take place.  First and foremost we have the US vs. Belgium in Delray Beach.  Sounds like it could be a finals matchup, however with both Henin and Clisters not participating, it leaves Belgium with un-household names Kristen Flipkens and Caroline Maes playing singles.  If the Williams sisters were not playing, I would be tempted to give Belgium a fighting chance, but unfortunately for the Belgians both Serena and Venus will play, and most likely give the United States a 5-0 victory.  The US will be looking to avenge its lone loss to Belgium (the US leads the alltime series 4-1) that occurred in the Semi’s last year when Clisters played, and the Williams sisters did not. (more…)

I know I know, Daisuke Matsuzaka’s first start at Fenway Park last night has absolutely nothing to do with tennis.  I’ll be honest, I have no idea how neurons fire around in my brain, but they did eventually lead me to tennis.  Somewhere in the middle innings, Dice K looked like he winced as he rotated his shoulder, needless to say, it made me a little nervous.  Here’s a pitcher that the Red Sox invested over 100 million in, and he might not make it through his second start.  Low and behold, he was fine, and will live to start another game…five days from now.  It’s that last thought that got me curious, why does he need more than half a week’s rest in between starts? (more…)