I was way off about my Shanghai predictions.  Of course when I wrote my previous post, I had no idea Federer was as hurt as he claimed to be.  However, that is really beside the point – I honestly would have ranked Djokovic about 5th odds on favorite to win (behind Federer, Murray, del Potro and Tsonga), but he definitely proved me wrong.  He had a couple of battles, including three-set wins over Davydenko and Simon, before really giving a beat down to Davydenko in the finals.  Although this win was very important for Djokovic (proved that he would continue his run at Nadal & Federer), at the same time I realized that I was wrong again in my previous post stating that it was very important for Federer not to lose.  Turns out I was wrong.  Federer losing means next to nothing, and it took me awhile to figure out why that is – and here is what I came up with- ready for it? NO ONE CARES.  No one cares that Nadal pulled out, no one cares that Federer was injured, no one cared that somehow Radek Stepanek had a chance to win the year end Championships, no one cares because the tennis season is too long!  Being in Shanghai the last three years didn’t help either, maybe the move to London will spark some interest.  Maybe people will start to care again next January, when Djokovic looks to defend his Australian Open Title.  (more…)

The Sony Ericsson Year End Championships have reached the semi-final stage, albeit in a bit of an anti-climactic environment.  Today, both Serena Williams & Ana Ivanovic pulled out of their final matches, against Kuznetsova & Dementia, respectively.  I know I would feel slighted if I were a Friday ticket holder.  There are still matches in progress, but the matchups for tomorrow’s semi’s are set – Vera Zvonareva will take on fellow Russian Elena Dementieva in the first match; and Venus Williams will take on world #1 Jelena Jankovic in the second.  In the all Russian affair, I see Zvonareva making a surprise appearance in the finals.  She dominated her group winning all three of her matches, while Dementieva was only 1-1 and was the beneficiary of Serena defaulting today.  Although Jankovic has been the most consistent performer on the WTA circuit this year, Venus seems like she is on a mission and I see her holding the Winner’s trophy on Sunday. (more…)