Now, onto the biggest surprise of the tournament, Men’s winner Davydenko (who must have had lots of money on himself to win).  All kidding aside, the man played absolutely outstanding in the latter part of the tournament.  I actually picked him to lose in the second round to young Latvian Ernestis Gulbis, and after barely surviving that match (winning 8-6 in the 3rd set breaker), Davydenko seemed to get stronger as the tournament progressed.  I went to his quarterfinal match against Tipsaravic, who I thought would give Davydenko trouble, and I was quickly proved wrong as he disposed of him 6-2, 6-1.  Then he lost a total of 14 games in his last two matches, against Roddick (who may have found it hard to rebound after a mentally and physically exhausting match against Federer the night before), and Rafael Nadal.  Davydenko deserves the limelight for a bit, and this time its for something he accomplished on the court.

On the Women’s side, Serena Williams seemingly came out of nowhere, as she tends to do, to take the Women’s title.  She took down  Jelena Jankovic in the finals, 6-3 in the third.  Not to take any credit away from Williams, but Jankovic played downright awful – committing 43 unforced errors with only 16 winners.  The better match was the Williams-Kuznetsova semifinal, another 6-3 in the third victory for Serena, but the match quality was on a different stratosphere than the final.  However, even winning the tournament probably wasn’t the highlight for her- utterly dismantling world number 1 Justine Henin (who took Serena down in almost every major tournament the second half of last year) 6-2, 6-0 was probably Serena’s favorite moment of the tournament.  Well, on second thought, the near $600,000 check she collected for winning probably topped all.

Back in a couple of days with a Davis Cup preview and links-o-plenty.

So I did ok on my final round picks for the Sony, better than my NCAA bracket ended up anyway.  I did pick Djokavic to take home the title, even though I thought he would beat Ljubicic in the finals, not Canas.  I was also 100% correct on my Women’s final, “look for Serena to take down Henin in an epic final match,” is what I wrote last week.  Wouldn’t you know it, Serena beat Henin in three sets after losing the first 6-0, and coming within a mere inch of losing the match.  Djokavic has firmly established himself as one of the players to beat after a successful first quarter of 2007, during which his ranking has climbed to an all time high of 7th.  His coming out party was really last year at the French, when he made it all the way to the Quarters, so look for him to continue his climb up the rankings during the European claycourt season.  Serena, after bottoming out last year due to injury, finds herself on the brink of the top 10 (no. 11) after her win this week.  She will struggle to win as much on clay, but if she does not finish the season in the top 5, barring any injuries, I will be shocked.

More importantly we have this weekend’s Davis Cup Tie between the USA and Spain.  Nadal has pulled out, but Spain should still be confident with two top 15 players competing in the singles (Robredo and Ferrer), as well as a formidable doubles team in Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco.  Assuming Roddick, who had to pull out in his match against Murray last week, does indeed play (which all signs are pointing to) the USA team will still be the favorite on paper.  I think we are going to have our hands full however.  Roddick is physically not 100%, and James Blake is not mentally 100%, after having two very tough tournaments in a row.  If this match were not in the US, on a fast hardcourt, I would be picking Spain to win.  When the dust has settled on Sunday afternoon though, I think the US will be victorious 3-2.  Roddick and Blake will both win one of their singles matches, and the Bryans will take home the doubles in a competitive match.  In other Davis Cup action, I am picking Russia to defeat France, Germany to defeat Belgium, and Sweden to fall to Argentina, all of which should have exciting matches.  The winner of the USA/Spain tie will take on either Argentina or Sweden in the Davis Cup Semifinals September 21st-23rd. 

One other quick note, our photo gallery has been up and running for a bit, and people are more than welcome to view it by clicking here.  Also, I implore you to register for it, so you can not only comment on our photos, but upload your own shots as well. 

Men

Fourth Round

Andy Murray (12), Britain, def. Paul-Henri Mathieu, France, 2-6, 7-5, 6-3.

Andy Roddick (3), United States, def. David Ferrer (13), Spain, 7-5, 6-3.

Guillermo Canas, Argentine, def. Roger Federer (1), Switzerland, 7-6 (2), 2-6, 7-6 (5).

Tommy Robredo (6), Spain, def. Radek Stepanek (24), Czech Republic, 7-6 (4), 5-7, 7-6 (3).

Juan Ignacio Chela (23), Argentina, def. Amer Delic, United States, 6-3, 6-2.

Ivan Ljubicic (7), Croatia, def. Jarkko Nieminen (20), Finland, 7-6(4), 6-4.

Novak Djokovic (10), Serbia, def. Feliciano Lopez, Spain, 6-0, 6-3.

Women

Third Round

Serena Williams (13), United States, def. Maria Sharapova (1), Russia, 6-1, 6-1.

Fourth Round

Anna Chakvetadze (9), Russia, def. Li Na (15), China, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2.

Doubles

Men

Second Round

Jonas Bjorkman, Sweden, and Max Mirnyi (1), Belarus, def. Frantisek Cermak, and Jaroslav Levinsky, 6-3, 7-6(4)

Martin Damm, Czech Republic, and Leander Paes (6), India, def. Julien Knowle and Jurgen Melzer, Austria, 6-4, 6-7(1), 10-6.

Fabrice Santoro, France, and Nenad Zimonjic (5), Serbia, def. David Skoch, Czech Republic, and Jim Thomas, United States, 7-6(7), 7-6(6).

Bob and Mike Bryan (2), United States, def. Tomas Berdych, Czech Republic, and Ivan Ljubicic, Croatia, 6-2, 6-2.

Women

Second Round

Chan Yung-jan and Chuang Chia-jung (8), Taiwan, def. Michaella Krajicek, Netherlands, and Galina Voskoboeva, Russia, 6-3, 4-6, 10-5.

Mara Santangelo, Italy, and Bryanne Stewart, Australia, def. Kveta Peschke, Czech Republic, and Rennae Stubbs (4), Australia, 7-6(3), 6-2.

Lisa Raymond, United States, and Samantha Stosur (1), Australia, def. Tathiana Garbin, Italy, and Alicia Molik, Australia, 6-3, 7-5.

Quarterfinals are on tap for today- on the Women’s side we have Shahar Peer vs. Tathiana Garbin and Serena Williams vs. Nicole Vaidisova. For the Men its Roddick vs. Murray and Nadal vs. Djokavic. Im going out on a real limb and picking all the favorites (Peer, Williams, Roddick and Nadal). For updated results and a complete schedule, click here.

Singles

Men

Second Round

Florian Mayer, Germany, def. Fernando Verdasco (28), Spain, 7-6 (5), 6-1.

Tommy Robredo (6), Spain, def. Kevin Kim, United States, 6-2, 6-4.

Nikolay Davydenko (4), Russia, def. Simon Greul, Germany, 6-4, 6-0.

Amer Delic, United States, def. Jose Acasuso (31), Argentina, 6-0, 6-3.

Radek Stepanek (24), Czech Republic, def. Gaston Gaudio, Argentina, 6-3, 6-2.

Nicolas Almagro (29), Spain, def. Polito Starace, Italy, 7-6 (2), 6-3.

Fabrice Santoro, France, def. Carlos Moya (27), Spain, 7-6 (5), 6-2.

Third Round

Rafael Nadal (2), Spain, def. Olivier Rochus (30), Belgium, walkover.

Andy Murray (12), Britain, def. Robert Kendrick, United States, 6-3, 6-1.

Feliciano Lopez, Spain, def. Florent Serra, France, 7-6 (4), 6-3.

Novak Djokovic (10), Serbia, def. Michael Llodra, France, 6-4, 6-1.

Andy Roddick (3), United States, def. Gilles Simon (32), France, 6-4, 6-4.

David Ferrer (13), Spain, def. Simone Bolelli, Italy, 7-6 (0), 6-2.

Paul-Henri Mathieu, France, def. Fernando Gonzalez (5), Chile, 6-3, 7-6 (6).

Juan Martin Del Potro, Argentina, def. Mikhail Youzhny (16), Russia, 7-6 (2),6-4.

Women

Third Round

Agnieszka Radwanska, Poland, def. Martina Hingis (5), Switzerland, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Kim Clijsters (4), Belgium, def. Samantha Stosur (25), Australia, 6-4, 6-2.

Nadia Petrova (6), Russia, def. Ekaterina Bychkova, Russia, 6-1, 6-1.

Dinara Safina (10), Russia, def. Ai Sugiyama (22), Japan, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1.

Li Na (15), China, def. Katarina Srebotnik (20), Slovenia, 6-0, 6-1.

Anna Chakvetadze (9), Russia, def. Tatiana Golovin (17), France, 6-1, 6-3.

Justine Henin (2), Belgium, def. Virginie Razzano, France, 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (5).

Mara Santangelo (32), Italy, def. Jelena Jankovic (7), Serbia, 2-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4.

Shahar Peer (14), Israel, def. Julia Vakulenko, Ukraine, 7-6 (5), 7-5.

Vera Dushevina, Russia, def. Kaia Kanepi, Estonia, 6-1, 6-1.

Vera Zvonereva (18), Russia, def. Daniela Hantuchova (16), Slovakia, 6-2, 6-4.

Svetlana Kuznetsova (3), Russia, def. Jelena Kostanic Tosic, Croatia, 6-4, 6-2.

Tathiana Garbin (24), Italy, def. Yaroslava Shvedova, Russia, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Maria Sharapova (1), Russia, def. Venus Williams, United States, 2-6, 6-2, 7-5.

Nicole Vaidisova (8), Czech Republic, def. Victoria Azarenka, Belarus, 6-3, 6-3.

Doubles

Men

First Round

Jonas Bjorkman, Sweden and Max Mirnyi (1), Belarus, def. Eric Butorac, United States, and Jamie Murray, Britain, 7-5, 6-0.

Mark Knowles, Bahamas, and Daniel Nestor (3), Canada, def. Ashley Fisher, Australia, and Chris Haggard, South Africa, 6-3, 6-4.

David Skoch, Czech Republic, and Jim Thomas, United States, def. Robert Lindstedt, Sweden, and Jarkko Nieminen, Finland, 6-1, 6-4.

Paul Goldstein and Sam Querrey, United States, def. Martin Garcia and Sebastian Prieto, Argentina, 7-5, 6-2.

Tomas Berdych, Czech Republic, and Ivan Ljubicic, Croatia, def. Benedikt Dorsch, Germany, and Horia Tecau, Romania, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 10-5 tiebreak.

Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra, France, def. Nicolas Almagro and Fernando Verdasco, Spain, 6-1, 4-6, 10-3 tiebreak.

Jeff Coetzee, South Africa, and Dominik Hrbaty, Slovakia, def. Gustavo Kuerten, Brazil, and Kei Nishikori, Japan, 6-2, 7-6 (5).

Bob and Mike Bryan (2), United States, def. Evgeny Korolev, Russia, and Luis Fernando Manrique, Ecuador, 6-1, 6-2.

Fabrice Santoro, France, and Nenad Zimonjic (5), Serbia, def. Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski, Poland, 6-2, 6-4.

Women

First Round

Chan Yung-jan and Chuang Chia-jung (8), Tawain, def. Eleni Daniilidou, Greece, and Jasmin Woehr, Germany, 6-3, 6-0.

Lisa Raymond, United States, and Samantha Stosur (1), Australia, def. Marion Bartoli, France, and Meilen Tu, United States, 7-5, 6-1.

Michaella Krajicek, Netherlands, and Galina Voskoboeva, Russia, def. Flavia Pennetta and Roberta Vinci, Italy, 1-6, 6-4, 10-2 tiebreak.

Corina Morariu, United States, and Francesca Schiavone, Italy, def. Virginia Ruano Pascual, Spain, and Paola Suarez (6), Argentina, 6-4, 4-6, 12-10 tiebreak.

Tatiana Golovin, France, and Dinara Safina, Russia, def. Kim Clijsters and Caroline Maes, Belgium, 7-5, 7-6 (4).

Janette Husarova, Slovakia, and Meghann Shaughnessy, United States, def. Lourdes, Dominguez Lino and Anabel Medina Garrigues, Spain, 6-4, 6-4.

Yan Zi and Zheng Jie (3), China, def. Anastassia Rodionova, Russia, and Sun Tiantian, China, 6-3, 7-6 (4).

Emilie Loit, France, and Nicole Pratt, Australia, def. Ana Ivanovic, Serbia, and Maria Kirilenko, Russia, 7-6 (1), 4-6, 12-10 tiebreak.

Vania King, United States, and Shahar Peer, Israel, def. Ashley Harkleroad and Bethanie Mattek, United States, 1-6, 6-0, 10-6 tiebreak.

Cara Black, Zimbabwe, and Liezel Huber (2), South Africa, def. Alona Bondarenko, Ukraine, and Nuria Llagostera Vives, Spain, 6-4, 2-6, 10-6 tiebreak.

Kveta Peschke, Czech Republic, and Rennae Stubbs (4), Australia, def. Vera Dushevina, Russia, and Andreea Ehritt-Vanc, Romania, 6-1, 6-3.

Some great matches are on tap for today, my guess is the Richard Gasquet-Guillermo Canas matchup will be one of the highlights, along with Chela/Berdych. The Lucie Safarova/Serena Williams match is the last on the main stadium for the day session, which was supposed to be played last night. If Serena advances, she will meet Sharapova in a rematch of this year’s Australian Open final. For a full schedule and updated results, click here.

Rain halted play for about half the day yesterday, but plenty of action still occurred culminating in the Federer-Querrey match, sans the planned fireworks. Querrey fought admirably, but ultimately fell 4 and 3. The most exciting Men’s match of the day belonged to 19th seeded Juan Carlos Ferrero and Guillermo Canas (who had to qualify again this week even after beating Federer at the Pacific Life Open). Canas prevailed, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 7-5. I’ve read that players are taking bets on whether or not Canas, who is climbing his way up the rankings after his 2-year doping suspension, will be seeded at the French Open. He is currenlty ranked 52nd, so while he still has some work to do it appears he’s got a chance of gaining a seed at Roland Garros. Most of the Women expected to win did, as Venus, Serena, and Sharapova all cruised. Here are the rest of the results:

Singles

Men

Second Round

Jarkko Niemenen (20), Finland, def. Evgeny Korolev, Russia, 6-0, 6-0.

Ivan Ljubicic (7), Croatia, def. Filippo Volandri, Italy, 6-3, 6-2.

Richard Gasquet (15), France, def. Sebastien Grosjean, France, 6-4, 0-6, 6-2.

Alejandro Falla, Colombia, def. Tommy Haas (9), Germany, 6-4, 6-4.

Juan Ignacio Chela (23), Argentina, def. Janko Tipsarevic, Serbia, 6-2, 6-2.

David Nalbandian (11), Argentina, def. Vince Spadea, United States, 6-3, 6-4.

Tomas Berdych (14), Czech Republic, def. Arnaud Clement, France, 6-4, 6-1.

Roger Federer (1), Switzerland, def. Sam Querrey, United States, 6-4, 6-3.

Guillermo Canas, Argentina, def. Juan Carlos Ferrero (19), Spain, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 7-5.

Potito Starace, Italy, tied with Nicolas Almagro (29), Spain, 4-4, susp., rain.

Nikolay Davydenko (4), Russia, leads Simon Greul, Germany, 2-0, susp., rain.

Fernando Verdasco (28), Spain, tied with Florian Mayer, Germany, 3-3, susp., rain.

Women

Second Round

Agnieszka Radwanska, Poland, def. Zheng Jie (27), China, 6-3, 6-4.

Kaia Kanepi, Estonia, def. Patty Schnyder (11), Switzerland, 6-1, 6-4.

Martina Hingis (5), Switzerland, def. Iveta Benesova, Czech Republic, 6-3, 6-2.

Lucie Safarova (23), Czech Republic, def. Emilie Loit, France, 6-0, 7-5.

Vera Dushevina, Russia, def. Marion Bartoli (21), France, 7-6 (5), 2-6, 6-4.

Victoria Azarenka, Belarus, def. Anabel Medina Garrigues (26), Spain, 6-4, 7-5.

Tathiana Garbin (24), Italy, def. Ashley Harkleroad, United States, 6-3, 6-2.

Jelena Kostanic Tosic, Croatia, def. Alona Bondarenko (28), Ukraine, 6-3, 7-5.

Maria Sharapova (1), Russia, def. Chan Yung-jan, Taiwan, 6-3, 6-2.

Julia Vakulenko, Ukraine, def. Francesca Schiavone (19), Italy, 3-6, 7-6 (0), 6-4.

Nicole Vaidisova (8), Czech Republic, def. Michaella Krajicek, Netherlands, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2.

Shahar Peer (14), Israel, def. Catalina Castano, Colombia, 6-2, 6-1.

Venus Williams, United States, def. Maria Kirikenko (29), Russia, 6-3, 6-3.

Serena Williams (13), United States, def. Anastasia Rodionova, Russia, 6-3, 6-3.

Yaroslava Shvedova, Russia, def. Ana Ivanovic (12), Serbia, 7-5, 6-4.

Svetlana Kuznetsova (3), Russia, def. Kateryna Bondarenko, Ukraine, 7-6 (4), 6-7 (5), 6-3.

Doubles

Men

First Round

Julian Knowle and Jurgen Melzer, Austria, def. Benjamin Becker, Germany, and Rogier Wassen, Netherlands, 7-6 (2), 6-0.

Brendan Evans and Ryan Sweeting, United States, def. Lukas Dlouhy and Pavel Vizner, Czech Republic, 6-1, 6-3.

Simon Aspelin, Sweden, and Michael Kohlmann, Germany, def. Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram, Israel, 6-4, 6-4.

Andrei Pavel, Romania, and Alexander Waske, Germany, def. Leos Friedl and Petr Pala, Czech Republic, 6-3, 6-3.

Paul Hanley, Australia, and Kevin Ullyett (4), Zimbabwe, def. Yves Allegro, Switzerland, and Tim Henman, Britain, 6-4, 6-4.

Women

First Round

Mara Santangelo, Italy, and Bryanne Stewart, Australia, def. Maria Elena Camerin, Italy, and Gisela Dulko, Argentina, 6-1, 7-5.

Daniela Hantuchova, Slovakia, and Martina Hingis, Switzerland, def. Katarina Srebotnik, Slovakia, and Ai Sugiyama (5), Japan, 6-4, 6-2.

Lisa Raymond, United States, and Samantha Stosur (1), Australia, lead Marion Bartoli, France, and Meilen Tu, United States, 7-5, 1-0, susp., rain.

Kveta Peschke, Czech Republic, and Rennae Stubbs (4), Australia, lead Vera Dushevina, Russia, and Andreea Ehritt-Vanc, Romania, 6-1, 5-3, susp., rain.

There is an abundance of matches today, as the tournament is trying to catch up from the rain delays over the past couple days. Match of the day belongs to Sharapova/V .Williams, the last day match in the main stadium. Nadal/Olivier Rochus is the premier night match. For a complete listing of matchups and updated results, click here.

Potito Starace, Italy, def. Alex Kuznetsov, United States, 6-4, 7-6 (4).

Simon Greul, Germany, def. Danai Udomchoke, Thailand, 6-7 (2), 6-2, 6-3.

Sebastien Grosjean, France, def. Martin Verkerk, Netherlands, 6-3, 6-4.

Evgeny Korolev, Russia, def. Marc Gicquel, France, 6-4, 6-2.

Vince Spadea, United States, def. Robby Ginepri, United States, 6-1, 6-3.

Sam Querrey, United States, def. Igor Andreev, Russia, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4.

Kevin Kim, United States, def. Benjamin Becker, Germany, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.

Amer Delic, United States, def. Julien Benneteau, France, 6-4, 6-4.

Guillermo Canas, Argentina, def. Tim Henman, Britain, 3-6, 6-2, 6-1.

Women

First Round

Kaia Kanepi, Estonia, def. Tszvetana Pironkova, Bulgaria, 6-4, 6-4.

Chan Yung-jan, Taiwan, def. Nuria Llagostera Vives, Spain, 6-2, 6-3.

Michaella Krajicek, Netherlands, def. Anna Tatishvili, Georgia, 6-3, 7-6 (2).

Yaroslava Shvedova, Russia, def. Dominika Cibulkova, Slovakia, 6-3, 6-1.

Emilie Loit, France, def. Sybille Bammer, Austria, 2-6, 6-3, 6-1.

Agnieszka Radwanska, Poland, def. Shenay Perry, United States, 6-2, 6-1.

Kateryna Bondarenko, Ukraine, def. Aiko Nakamura, Japan, 6-2, 0-6, 6-1.

Jelena Kostanic Tosic, Croatia, def. Varvara Lepchenko, Uzbekistan, 6-3, 6-3.

Iveta Benesova, Czech Republic, def. Gisela Dulko, Argentina, 6-3, 6-3.

Venus Williams, United States, def. Yuliana Fedak, Ukraine, 7-5, 6-2.

Ashley Harkleroad, United States, def. Lauren Albanese, United States, 6-4, 6-2.

Anastasia Rodionova, Russia, def. Elena Likhovtseva, Russia, 7-5, 6-4.

The seeds start play today, so action should definitely pick up…the sun is finally shining as well. Blake, Nadal and Roddick all play today, as do the Belgians Clisters and Henin (not Hardenne). For a complete schedule and updated results, click here. I will be back later on with an update.

On to the tennis. The Men’s side is easy- Roger Federer. I’m pretty sure he is slightly upset at losing in the first round of the Pac Life, and will want to reassert his dominance over Men’s tennis. A couple very intriguing third round matchups to look out for – Blake/Safin and Baghdatis/Youhzny. Blake has struggled a bit lately, but he must have jumped for joy when he saw he was in the opposite half from Federer, when lately it seems Blake has been stuck in his quarter almost every tournament. The Women’s side has a couple of major stories – obviously Kim Clisters farewell tour is one of them, with Sharapova’s draw being the other. Sharapova will most likely have to play either fellow Russian Maria Kirilenko or Venus Williams in the third round, a stern test either way. If she gets by there, she will move onto Serena Williams in the Round of 16, so I don’t think Sharapova is thrilled with her draw. Ok, the line at Beach Tennis has died down, I’m heading over. More to come tomorrow.

Last year’s Pacific Life Open boasted 9 of the top 10 men in the world, and 15 of the top 25 women in the world.  The player fields at the Sony Ericsson (named the NASDAQ 100 Open last year) were more or less the same.  In addition, these two tournaments are also the most highly attended tournaments besides the four Grand Slams, with both sites totaling more than 270,000 people. 

The locations of both tournaments have plenty to offer as well.  The Sony Ericsson takes place on Key Biscayne, a ten minute drive from downtown Miami.  So there is plenty of shopping, dining and clubbing to suit anyone’s needs, not to mention South Beach.  Indian Wells, California, is a bit tougher to get to that Miami, but once you do it is definitely worth it.  Surrounded by four different mountain ranges, including the Sierra’s, there really isn’t a more picturesque backdrop to watch top tennis players, play on any of Palm Springs’ 125 golf courses, or take a jeep tour of the California Desert. 

The real beauty of these tournaments lies in the intimate settings.  Everything at these tournaments feels, and in most cases is, more accessible than at the larger Grand Slams.  Food lines (and bathroom lines!) are typically shorter, practice courts are easier to view, and the crowds are usually a bit friendlier.  So, while the Pacific Life and Sony Ericsson may not have quite the same prestige as the Grand Slams do, they will surely not disappoint, even the most die-hard tennis fan.