Blake destroyed 15-year old Ryan Harrison in Houston, but had some positive things to say about him.

ESPN Page 2’s Patrick Hruby had a little fun with John Isner down in Miami.

Jon Wetheim’s latest CNNSI mailbag.

Tennis Week interview with Jim Courier.

ESPN agrees with Wimbledon for television rights through 2013.

Bodo’s thoughts on the Higueras/Federer partnership.

Looking at this matchup, I’m not sure the USA women will give the Russian a run for their money, like they did last year in Stowe, Vermont.  I’ll have more on this matchup next week, as well as a full Fed Cup semifinal preview.

Also next week I’ll be posting a clay court season preview.  Yes, I do realize it’s cheating a little bit since the clay court season actually started this week, but I have a fulltime job as well.  Look out for a possible Federer/Davydenko final in Estoril, if they both win their respective semi’s (which they should), and will be the first real test Federer will have faced with Higeuras at his side.  Last thing before the weekend, Serena just took down Sharapova 6-1 in the 3rd set at the Family Circle Cup.

Well, no one is perfect - I didn’t quite get all my picks this time.  Below are the recaps from the weekend:

Russia vs. Czech Republic (Moscow, Indoor Clay) – I picked Russia to go down to the Czech Republic 3-2.  Instead, Safin set the tone with a 4 hour, come from behind win in the opening rubber against Berdych to vault the Russians to a 3-2 victory.  One thing of note here, I am a bit surprised the Czech’s put out Stepanek with Vizner for doubles instead of Dlouhy (Dlouhy and Vizner finished 5th in the world last year), and they ended up losing the crucial doubles rubber. (more…)

Quarterfinals of the Davis Cup get underway tomorrow, here is a quick preview:

Russia vs. Czech Republic (Moscow, Indoor Clay) – In a surprise move, Davydenko is not playing singles this weekend.  Maybe he was mentally and physically exhausted after capturing last week’s Sony Ericsson Open, but he is playing the best tennis of his career, and playing a couple of streaky players like Andreev and Safin seems risky.  On the other side, Berdych is also playing extremely well and has the capability of winning both his singles matches.  I like the Czech to win, 3-2 in a tight match, for two reasons – 1. Stepanek and Berdych are a more solid pair than Andreev and Safin and 2. The Czech doubles team of Dlouhy and Vizner have plenty of experience playing together (finishing 5th in the world last year). (more…)

Well, in regards to my last post, Andy Roddick did indeed “step up.”  Even though he lost to the first Russian ever to win the Sony Ericsson Open (this includes all 76 different names the tournament has been called), Nikolay Davydenko, Roddick has to come away from this tournament with a huge sense of accomplishment.  Beating Federer, while might not sound as grand as it did six months ago, is a huge weight off Roddick’s shoulders, after having lost 11 times in a row.  Now, when he sees Federer in the same part of the draw, there will no longer be the same feeling of dread he once had. (more…)

I was rooting hard for James Blake yesterday when he took on Rafael Nadal, and for awhile it looked like James might avenge his loss to him at the Pac Life just last week. However, after winning the first set and having some chances to take control, Blake wilted in the humidity to the more fit Nadal. I’m not referring to Nadal being more physically fit, but more mentally fit. Watching that match was almost like watching the Red Sox pre 2004 – I was very hopeful, but I was just waiting for the other shoe to drop. James has always been forthcoming about his mental view towards his career- that given all his injuries and hurdles, he seems just happy to be there – which is an incredibly healthy way of looking at things. However, if he wants to take that extra leap where he is a consistent threat at Masters events and Grand Slams, he may need to alter that view of thinking a bit.

Now, as for the other top American, Roddick takes on Federer in tonight’s featured match. One gets the feeling that if Roddick is ever going to beat Federer again (he is 1-15 against him all time), its got to be tonight. Obviously, I’m exaggerating a bit here. However, the point is that Federer is as vulnerable as he has been in years, and Roddick is off to his best start since 2003. Roddick will have a lively night crowd pulling for him, and really has a chance to make a statement tonight. That being said, Federer knows all of this and will be ready…I only wish all our tickets weren’t being used so I could watch it live.

For today’s full schedule, click here.