PHOTO OP: Yep, it was me. I did it.

"Guilty as charged."

Congrats to Jurgen Melzer for earning his first win over Roger Federer in four attempts upsetting the 16-time Grand Slammer 6-4, 6-4 in the Monte Carlo Masters quarterfinals. And he did it while dealing with a back injury which required Melz to leave the court for treatment in the first set.

The Austrian was understandably thrilled to add the Swiss to his list of elite scalps:

It [has special meaning]. I mean, I have beaten Rafa last year. I have beaten Nole [Djokovic]. So this was the one missing. I'm very happy I actually did it today.

I'm sure Fed loves being referred to as 'this...one'. Heh. Great win, Melz, and a great accomplishment to have wins over those ballers. Now you get to face that Spanish dude who can run all day, defend all night and never seems to tire. No, not Rafa silly but he other one - David Ferrer.

[Photo(s): AP]

Taking it to the limit

Jurgen Melzer is having a career year already.

The Austrian can claim a semifinal appearance at Roland Garros and fourth rounders at Wimbledon and the US Open as proof. He also reached a career-high No. 12 in the ATP World Tour rankings on the backs of those Grand Slam efforts and put himself within striking distance of the eighth spot for the Barclays ATP World Tour Final. So no one in their right mind would blame the 29-year old for taking it easy during the fall and quietly setting off on a well-earned vacay.

But today Melz made it known that he's ready to mix it up with the big boys in London when he upset World No. 1 Rafael Nadal 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 in the third round of the Shanghai Rolex Masters, the first time this year the 9-time Grand Slammer has failed to reach the quarterfinals. The veteran was the aggressor dictating with flat, penetrating shots and keeping the Spaniard on the defense throughout. Rafa was admittedly not at his best after contesting his third consecutive tourney but the Austrian should be given full credit for closing him out especially after having lost their three previous matches in straights.

Afterward he sounded like a man on a certain mission:

To be honest, I could live with that, having busy days in London. But it's a long way there. I'm in the quarter-finals. I have a good chance to reach the semis. I'm almost 900 points off the eighth player. This is a very long way. If it somehow happens, I'll be there, I'll be happy, and I'll be hopefully performing well.

Melz isn't ready to call it a wrap just yet. And with the way he's playing, why should he?

London. So close yet, well, you know the rest.

[Photo(s): Getty]

It's a Rafa-Sod rematch at Roland Garros and the winner takes all (with Banana Bonus!)

The final four boys left at Roland Garros played their matches today and, thankfully, it wasn't a bust the way the ladies went down.

Rafael Nadal will go for his fifth title in Paris after defeating the surprise semifinalist of the group, Jurgen Melzer, 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 (8). He played what he described in his presser as his "best match" of the tourney and it showed on the stat sheet: 37 winners/24 errors; 76% on first serve winning 75% of the time; won 69% of the time on second serves; converted 5 of 8 break point chance; and made 13 of 19 net approaches. Yes, the best match by Rafa the entire tourney.

"No sweat off my back. Well, maybe a little."

He was asked to describe the difference between last year and now in his post-match presser:

Q. Is it possible just to give an impression of your game this year here at Roland Garros as opposed to your game at this time last year?

RAFAEL NADAL: Is impossible to compare, because last year I was in the swimming pool in Mallorca. Sure.

Q. Well, maybe your approach to this championship this year as opposed to your approach last year.

RAFAEL NADAL: Yeah. Well, I think probably I didn't play today I played well, but before today I didn't play my best Roland Garros if we speak in terms of what I feel on court. But I played my best clay court season before Roland Garros. That's for sure, no? Last year my feeling was I won in Monte Carlo, Barcelona, and Rome, but probably is difficult to understand. It was difficult to understand for me too how I won that tournaments because I felt I didn't play well.

So probably was because the dynamic was very positive, very positive since the beginning of the year. I arrived on clay and I won for that reason, but not for tennis, I think. And when I arrived here and I found opponent that push me to the highest level, I wasn't ready to win.

Not a surprise in the least. Rafa was expected to blow through his draw to the final and he's done just that, with out dropping a single set. But that stat could change in the Sunday's men's final when he faces...

"Bathroom break? Pretty please?"

...Robin Soderling in a rematch of their fourth round battle last year which was won by the Swede in a total shockfest and still ranks as Rafa's lone loss on the Parisian clay.

Sod edged out first time Grand Slam semifinalist Tomas Berdych 6-3, 3-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 in a battle short on rallies and long on quick points for these two towering ballers. Clearly the fifth seed's experience paid off here in the stretch as did his serving: 63% first serve, 18 aces and a 59% success on second deliveries.


Sod was asked whether his win over Rafa last year gave him an edge and how he would approach this year's final differently than last year's:

Q. (Through French translation) good afternoon, Robin. You defeated Nadal when you played him. He hasn't yet finished. Do you think that you have a psychological edge if you are to play against him in the final?

ROBIN SODERLING: Well, we played many times. He beat me a lot of times, and I beat him a few times. So it was not the last match. You know, we played one or two times after that.
But of course it's always good to have beaten a player before. I know that I can beat him. I showed it. But, again, you know, every match is a new match, and every match is different.

Q. Just going back to last year's experience again, what would you hope to do a little better? Perhaps start better in the final than you did last year? The nerves, you got used to the nerves now, what it's gonna be like now in the locker room beforehand.

ROBIN SODERLING: Yeah, of course, I didn't get off to a great start last year, which was really tough for me. But, you know, it's gonna be a long match. It's best of five sets. You can always work your way into any matches in a Grand Slam. Yeah, it's not gonna be easy whoever I play, but I feel pretty confident. I'm playing really good tennis right now, and I will enjoy it for sure.

Oooh, this final is gonna be good for a few reasons:

1) Rafa's not playing Roger Federer, who he owns espesh on clay, but someone who has, and can, beat him here

2) It's revenge, whether the Majorcan Matador wants to admit it or not. I mean, who wouldn't want to get the baller back who gave you the only loss at your fave major in your career so far?

3) The weather. If it's warm and sunny, then advantage Rafa and his topspin balls. If it's cool and heavy, advantage Sod and his power plays.

Game on. Oh wait - here's the BANANA BONUS:


He may have sick skills on the tennis court but I could show Rafa a thing or three about working a banana. Silly boy.

[Photo(s): Getty Images]

Stosur stuns Serena, Melzer makes good against Djokovic at Roland Garros

And the upsets continued today at Roland Garros with Sam Stosur shocking top seed Serena Williams 6-2, 6-7 (2), 8-6 and saving a match point in the quarterfinals two days after knocking off 4-time champ Justine Henin. The Aussie served well, particularly with her kick serve out to ReRe's backhand on the ad side, and moved fluidly allowing her to drive those big forehands to all parts of the court. She hit 30 winners against 24 errors, 6 aces and won 58% of the points when she had to thrown down a second delivery.

She'll face Jelena Jankovic, who defeated Yaroslava Shvedova 7-5, 6-4, for a spot in Saturday's ladies' final.


The seventh seed was asked whether she felt it was her time to break through and win a major:

Q. Do you feel you can win the tournament here?

SAMANTHA STOSUR: Well, yeah. I mean, I think I've got as good a chance as anyone. I'm in the semis now; I played two great matches. Hopefully they're both gonna help me for tomorrow's match.

Q. You've obviously been able to fight it out not only against Justine, but now Serena. How's your belief right now?

SAMANTHA STOSUR: As good as it's ever been. Two great matches back to back for me, which is fantastic. Yeah, it's not over yet. Now I'm in the semis, and I want to definitely try and keep going. I made it to this point last year. If I can try and go another set further, then that would be great.

And what about ReRe's post-match comments? Well, in typical style she gave more credit to her supposed bad play than the Aussie's superior one. Go figure.

What a great moment for Sammie. I think the big question before the match was whether she would be able to come back after defeating Justine, who was the choice of many pundits and fans to take the whole thing, and not be emotionally spent or mentally shaky. I thought she might not be able take this match after being broken when serving for the match in the second set but she stayed calm and played within herself.

Clearly, if Sammie continues to play this brand of tennis she'll make it extremely tough for anyone to stop her.


An even bigger upset occurred when Jurgen Melzer and his wings, who never made it past the third round of any major, edged out 2-time semifinalist Novak Djokovic 3-6, 2-6, 6-2, 7-6(3), 6-4 in their quarterfinal match. The Austrian wasted two match points but made good on the third to win in 4 hours and 15 minutes. He'll face the ultimate test when he takes on Rafael Nadal, who beat compatriot Nicolas Almagro 7-6 (2), 7-6 (3), 6-4, for a spot in the men's final on Sunday.

Jurgen was typically drop shot happy but was steady balancing 59 winners against 59 errors and hitting 9 aces against 5 double faults. The same can't be said for the Serb who hit 53 winners/62 errors and 4 aces/10 double faults - a sloppy performance down the stretch for the third seed.

The pair shared a sweet MOMA moment at the net after the match:


It's exciting to see Jurgen make a real push here at the tender age of 29-years old. We've grown accustomed to seeing prodigies win the big ones in tennis but this time around the veterans like Jurgen and Francesca Schiavone are finally making waves. And it's about time.

[Photo(s): Getty Images]

SIGHTING: So Dominika's the stylish, pretty one in this relationship, huh?

Dominika Cibulkova and boyfriend Jurgen Melzer were spotted together at an award presentation in Slovakia where the diminutive baller won the Women's Tennis Player Award 2008.

I have to say Dominika looks cute enough in her silk black ruffled halter dress, but what's up with Jurgen's spread collar/choker moment and square-toe black lace ups? Ick - that's straight up cheese and I haven't even started on his hairy situation.

Sorry Domi but La Monf has much better style. Strike one.

(images via womenstennisphotos.co.cc)

PHOTO OP: Jurgen + Dominika vacation together, play water sports in the Maldives

Thanks to an anonymous DtL reader for sending these images over of Jurgen Melzer and Dominika Cibulkova already enjoying their off season together vacationing in the Maldives.

The Slovak has most definitely moved on from Frenchie Gael Monfils. Was that fast or what?

Anyway, it looks like they're pretty happy and having a grand ol' time in the water but I have to say they don't come anywhere close to Anando, the hottest couple in tennis at the moment. Nice try, though!

Davis Cup Chronicles: Murray + Melzer share war-of-words ahead of Davis Cup playoff

A mini war-of-words has begun boiling between Great Britain's Andy Murray and Austria's Jurgen Melzer ahead of their battle in the Davis Cup relegation play-off this weekend.

The pair's last meeting was in the US Open third round where the Brit baller pulled out an epic 6-7 (5), 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-1, 6-3 win after saving two match points - surely one of the highlights of the first week in New York.

During his country's Davis Cup presser Jurgen, who was admittedly devastated by the US Open loss, spoke about the pressure Andy must be feeling ahead of their meetup:

Andy isn't in an easy position because the whole country expects him to win the Davis Cup by himself. After playing such a great grand slam I imagine it would be tough to get your head clear and focus on the next one. It's a big one.

Britain want to be in the World Group so there's a lot of pressure on his shoulders. Let's see how he copes with that on the weekend.

Andy, however, was quick to counterpunch the Austrian's claims saying,

I don't think there's a lot of pressure on me. Jurgen doesn't have a particularly good Davis Cup record. I'm confident I'll be able to handle the pressure.

Ha - touché Andy! It does sound like Jurgen is still smarting from his missed opportunity in New York. But their playoff is happening at Wimbledon so the pressure will be on Andy to carry Great Britain into the World Group while the whole country watches.

Though I think he'll pull through just fine, I always appreciate a little dust up before Davis Cup!

(images via Getty)