Latest Top 10 ATP & WTA Rankings

Here's the latest Race and Standing rankings as released by the WTA and ATP Tour on Monday:

WTA Race 2008:

1. Jelena Jankovic - 4355
2. Serena Williams - 3681
3. Dinara Safina - 3628
4. Elena Dementieva - 3040
5. Ana Ivanovic - 2952
6. Maria Sharapova - 2515
7. Svetlana Kuznetsova - 2513
8. Venus Williams - 2246
9. Vera Zvonareva - 2135
10. Agnieszka Radwanska - 2096

WTA Standings 2008:

1. Jelena Jankovic - 4230
2. Serena Williams - 4017
3. Dinara Safina - 3782
4. Elena Dementieva - 3470
5. Ana Ivanovic - 3388
6. Maria Sharapova - 3041
7. Svetlana Kuznetsova - 2920
8. Venus Williams - 2311
9. Vera Zvonareva - 2182
10. Agnieszka Radwanska - 2146

ATP Race 2008:

1. Rafael Nadal - 1265
2. Roger Federer - 921
3. Novak Djokovic - 899
4. Andrew Murray - 520
5. Nikolay Davydenko - 417
6. Andy Roddick - 354
7. David Ferrer - 337
8. James Blake - 309
9. Juan Marin Del Potro - 307
10. Stanislas Wawrinka - 286

ATP Standings 2008:

1. Rafael Nadal - 7000
2. Roger Federer - 5930
3. Novak Djokovic - 4960
4. Andrew Murray - 2995
5. Nikolay Davydenko - 2400
6. David Ferrer - 2315
7. David Nalbandian - 1975
8. Andy Roddick - 1970
9. Juan Marin Del Potro - 1685
10. Stanislas Wawrinka - 1670

Latest Results - Stuttgart, Tokyo, Japan Open

Here's the latest results (finals) of the WTA tournaments in Stuttgart and Tokyo, as well as the ATP tournament in Japan:

• Jankovic - Petrova 6-4 6-3

• Caroline Wozniacki - Kaia Kanepi 6-2, 3-6, 6-1

• Tomas Berdych - Juan Martin Del Potro 6-1 6-4

Stuttgart 2008 - Semifinal Results

Here's the latest results of the WTA tournament in Stuttgart:

• Jankovic - V. Williams 6-7 7-5 6-2

• Petrova - Azarenka 6-4 6-4

Venus on Fire!!

My word!!

The way that Venus Wiliams dismantled world #3, Dinara Safina last night clearly shows her intent to not only qualify for the season ending WTA Tour Year-end Championship in Doha in November but to win it and perhaps fight for her right to sit on the throne of women's tennis held by her sister, Serena.

Safina and Venus were clearly playing the game of who hits the hardest - each player trading baseline blows like 2 heavy-weight boxers!

What stood out for me was Venus's return of serve; clearly the best in the business! Venus's return of serve position was, on average, 1.5 meters within the baseline and ALL her returns were taken well within the baseline.

Return of serve is a major part of my own game and can fully appreciate Venus's guile in attacking both the second and first serves (Tennis Tips).

Coupled with her strong, 200kph serves, Venus easily won the match 6-4 6-2.

Hopefully she can carry this form to the finals of not only this tournament but to the Doha Finals on November 4.

"Go Venus!!"

Stuttgart 2008 - Results

Here's the latest results of the WTA tournament in Stuttgart:

• Jankovic - Zvonereva 7-6 7-6

• V. Wlliams - Safina 6-4 6-2

• Petrova - Li 6-2 6-3

• Azerenka - Dementieva 7-6 3-6 6-1

Stuttgart 2008 - Results

Here's the latest results of the WTA tournament in Stuttgart:

• Jankovic - A. Bondarenko 6-2 6-0

• V. Wlliams - K. Bondarenko 6-4 6-2

• Safina - Pironkova 6-1 7-6

• Petrova - Schnyder 6-4 6-1

China Open - Roddick vs Sela

I saw a little of the final match between Roddick and Sela at the recent China Open 2008 and boy, was it a cracker! Never under-estimate a lower ranked player such as Sela!

Dudi Sela has one of the best single-handed backhands in today's men's game and it was amazing watching his variety of shots from the backhand side - down the line, cross-court passing shots, etc.

A sight to behold in modern tennis considering the lack of good single-handers in the ATP's top ranks.

Those of you who employ a single-hander should take a look at this Israel player's backhand shot. Because of his smaller stature, he reminds me of a male version of Justine Henin.

Of course, Roddick won in the end with his consistent serve and power play but it was Sela who stood out for me.

Roddick won 6-4 6-7 (6) 6-3 to capture his third ATP title of the season.

On the women's side, Jelena Jankovic beat Russian, Svetlana Kutznetsova to win in straight-sets.

Selamat Hari Raya!!

Wishing all my Muslim buyers and friends
Selamat Hari Raya and to all other Malaysian's, Happy Holidays!


Regards,
Tom "Satchman"

Jankovic in Finals, Zheng Falls

It was the usual typical frustration I experienced when watching the semi-final match between Serbian, Jelena Jankovic and Russian, Vera Zvonareva.

On the one hand, it was not surprising to see Jankovic's suspect serve and mental fragility almost cost her the match but on the other hand, it was equally frustrating seeing her Russian opponent not taking her chances to see out the match, after winning the 2nd-set comfortably, 2-6.

I can see why Zvonareva is currently in the top 10 on the WTA Tour - smooth groundstrokes, very intelligent play and not fearful to approach the net - testament to her strong doubles play.

I can also see why Jankovic, although having reached the top of women's tennis, has not won her first Slam - she lacks diversity of play (hits hard, harder or hardest with little net play) and of course, the weak serve.

If she can can improve these 2 aspects of her game, I can see her grabbing her first Slam - but not just yet...

Jankovic's close 7-6 2-6 6-4 win over Zvonareva means that she meets another Russian in the final, Svetlana Kutznetsova who overcame a hostile crowd to beat home favourite, Zheng Jie 7-6 7-5.

I think the final will be a close encounter, with each player taking a set. But I feel Jankovic will take the match in the deciding set simply because Kutznetsova is in a transition period at the moment with her change in coach and training location.

China Open 2008 - Ivanovic Out

My mistake - Astro, Malaysia's local satellite station, was showing highlights of China Open 2008 in Beijing and I managed to catch a glimps of the match between China's Zheng Jie and reining French Open winner, Ana Ivanovic and I'm happy to say, it was a cracker!

I'm always amazed at how aggressive the pint sized, 5ft 4, Zheng Jie plays, both at the baseline and at the net. The angles she seems to find is just so amazing and she's so fast around the court!

The young Serb, Ivanovic is recovering from injury and is returning to the form that brought her first Grand Slam this year on the clay courts of Roland Garros. She's just got such a fluid forehand motion and her backhand is equally formidable.

Unfortunately, her serve was letting her down at crucial moments and she succumbed to the slightly more aggressive Zheng, 7-6 2-6 6-4.

Zheng will meet Russian, Svetlana Kutznetsova, who easily overcame 19 year old, Dominika Cibulkova, 6-2 6-4.

Joining them in the China Open semi-finals are Vera Zvonareva and Jelena Jankovic.

Action continues on Astro CH814 Eurosport (GMT+7).

China Open - Beijing - 2008

Ah, the China Open in Beijing sure brings back memories!

I was lucky enough to get tickets to see the China Open back in 2006, while I was studying Mandarin there.

My best friend's girlfriend's cousin was working with one of the main sponsors there and we got to sit in the corporate box for one of the night matches. I remember it was between Venus Williams and another player, who's name escapes me at this moment. This was followed by (the then up-and-coming) Chinese doubles pair, Zheng Jie and Yan Zi.

Unfortunately, the previous Sharapova match tickets went to the sponsor's VIP client, sigh)! Anyway, the last time I watched a "live" tennis match was when Michael Chang played in Malaysia in the early 90's in Malaysia, so, I was more than happy to to catch ANY match live at that point!

The China Open is a cosy little tournament where the stadium is small enough for fans, even in the upper tiers, to get a close view of their favourite tennis stars.

The Chinese crowd are also more vocal than European crowds (much like their US counterparts) and needless to say, they were rooting for the home-grown Chinese pair and Venus!

Both sets of players won comfortably in the end and I'm sure the crowd (and myself included) attributed this to their keen support!

It's a pity that I'm not in China to watch this match live again (and it's annoying that it's NOT being shown on Astro (Asia's satellite provider) but I'll try my best to keep you updated on the news and results from the China Open 2008.

The China Open is from 20 September till 28 September 2008 and visit the Official China Open Website for more details about the tournament.

US Open 2008 Men's & Women's Draws

The men's and women's draws were announced on Thursday, ahead of the US Open which starts on Monday, 25 August.

Here's first round encounters by the top 10 men's and women's seeds in the tournament:


Top 10 Men's Seed's, First-round Matches:

1. Rafael Nadal vs. Qualifier

2. Roger Federer vs. M Gonzalez

3. Novak Djokovic vs. Arnaud Clement

4. David Ferrer vs. M Arguello

5. Nikolay Davydenko vs D Sela

6. Andy Murray vs. S Roitman

7. David Nalbandian vs. M Daniel

8. Andy Roddick vs. Fabrice Santoro

9. James Blake vs. Donald Young

10. Stanislas Wawrinka vs. S Bolleli


Top 10 Women's Seed's, First-round Matches:

1. Ana Ivanovic vs. V Dushevina

2. Jelena Jankovic vs. C Vandeweghe

3. Svetlana Kuznetsova vs. Qualifier

4. Serena Williams vs. K Bondarenko

5. Elena Dementieva vs. A Amanmuradova

6. Dinara Safina vs. Qualifier

7. Venus Williams vs. Samantha Stosur

8. Vera Zvonareva vs. B Strykova

9. Agnieszka Radwanska vs. Qualifier

10. Anna Chakvetadze vs. E Makarova


Complete draws for both the men's and women's event can be seen at (see links below):

http://tennis.com/tournaments/2008/usopen/draws.aspx

http://tennis.com/tournaments/2008/usopen/draws_women.aspx

US Open 2008 Seedings

Just a short week after Beijing 2008, the US Open 2008 is about to begin on August 25.

For the 1st time in Rafael Nadal's career, he is seeded #1, ahead of Swiss star, Roger Federer.

On the women's side, newly crowned world number 1, Ana Ivanovic is seeded #1 ahead of fellow Serb, Jelena Jankovic.

There are no noticible absentees from the men's side but the women's side is missing former champion, Maria Sharapova, who has withdrawn due to injury.

The rest of the top 10 men's and women's seeds are as follows:

Men's Seedings:

1. Rafael Nadal

2. Roger Federer

3. Novak Djokovic

4. David Ferrer

5. Nikolay Davydenko

6. Andy Murray

7. David Nalbandian

8. Andy Roddick

9. James Blake

10. Stanislas Wawrinka

Women's Seedings:

1. Ana Ivanovic

2. Jelena Jankovic

3. Svetlana Kuznetsova

4. Serena Williams

5. Elena Dementieva

6. Dinara Safina

7. Venus Williams

8. Vera Zvonareva

9. Agnieszka Radwanska

10. Anna Chakvetadze

Singles draws will be anounced on Thursday.

For more details, visit the Official US Open website at http://www.usopen.org/en_US/index.html.

Latest ATP & WTA Rankings

Here's the latest ATP / WTA Singles and Doubles rankings as per 19 August 2008:

ATP Singles:

1. Rafael Nadal (ESP), 6700

2. Roger Federer (SUI), 5930

3. Novak Djokovic (SRB), 5105

4. David Ferrer (ESP), 2865

5. Nikolay Davydenko (RUS), 2700

6. Andy Murray (GBR), 2415

7. David Nalbandian (ARG), 1975

8. Andy Roddick (USA), 1845

9. James Blake (USA), 1825

10. Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI), 1695

ATP Doubles:

1. Nestor, D. (CAN) / Zimonjic, N. (SRB), 859

2. Bryan, B. (USA) / Bryan, M. (USA), 812

3. Erlich, J. (ISR) / Ram, A. (ISR), 537

4. Bhupathi, M. (IND) / Knowles, M. (BAH), 444

5. Bjorkman, J. (SWE) / Ullyett, K. (ZIM), 371

WTA Tour Singles:

1. Ana Ivanovic (SRB), 3612

2. Jelena Jankovic (SRB), 3515

3. Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS), 3455

4. Serena Williams (USA), 3341

5. Elena Dementieva (RUS), 3194

6. Maria Sharapova (RUS), 3131

7. Dinara Safina (RUS), 3077

8. Venus Williams (USA), 2586

9. Vera Zvonareva (RUS), 2177

10. Agnieszka Radwanska (POL), 2076

WTA Tour Doubles:

1. BLACK, CARA (ZIM) / HUBER, LIEZEL (USA), 4392

2. MEDINA GARRIGUES, ANABEL (ESP) / RUANO PASCUAL, VIRGINIA (ESP), 2283

3. BONDARENKO, ALONA (UKR) / BONDARENKO, KATERYNA (UKR), 2206

4. CHUANG, CHIA-JUNG (TPE) / CHAN, YUNG-JAN (TPE), 2194

5. PESCHKE, KVETA (CZE) / STUBBS, RENNAE (AUS), 2161

Nadal, Ivanovic Top World Rankings

Rafael Nadal's childhood dream finally came through on Monday morning when he overtook Roger Federer as the world number 1 tennis player.

Nadal, who was the undisputed world number 2 for the last 4 seasons said "I was very happy being the number two. So finally I'm number one. For sure there's satisfaction, but at the same time ... I don't know. I don't have time to celebrate. I play New York in one week."

This achievement is the feather in the cap for Nadal's inspirational year - winner of 4 consecutive French Open titles, Wimbledon 2008 winner and Beijing 2008 Olympic Gold medal holder.


In the women's game, Ana Ivanovic of Serbia recaptured the world number 1 title from fellow Serb, Jelena Jankovic - the title that has been shared by the 2 players during the last couple of weeks.

She will keep the title for the next 3 weeks.

Beijing 2008 Results - Finals

Here's the final medal tally at all tennis events at Beijing 2008. What a wonderful week it has been - upsets, close encounters, wins - one of the best Olympic tennis tournaments held in a long time!

Men's Singles:

• Rafael Nadal (Spain) - Gold
• Fernando Gonzalez (Chile) - Silver
• Novak Djokovic (Serbia) - Bronze

Women's Singles:

• Elena Dementieva (Russia) - Gold
• Dinara Safina (Russia) - Silver
• Vera Zvonereva (Russia) - Bronze

Men's Doubles:

• Roger Federer / Stanislas Wawrinka (Switzerland) - Gold
• Simon Aspelin / Thomas Johansson (Sweden) - Silver
• Bob Bryan /Mike Brayan (USA) - Bronze

Women's Doubles:

• Serena Williams / Venus Williams (USA) - Gold
• Anabel Medina Garrigues / Virginia Ruano Pascual (Spain) - Silver
• Yan Zi / Zheng Jie (China) - Bronze

See you all in London 2012!

Nadal - Emperor of Beijing, King of the World!

Yes, Rafael Nadal has done it again! Not content with being the King of Clay and King of Grass, he nows adds the title of Emperor of Beijing with his Olympic Gold win over Chilean, Fernando Gonzalez, 6-3 7-6 6-3, in today's men's singles final.

To top that off, Nadal is officially crowned ATP world #1 player today, replacing the great Roger Federer who held the throne for the last 4 1/2 years!

Gonzalez was just no match for Nadal's consistency, power and sublime passing shots. According to Nadal, "I played almost the perfect match!"

Gonzalez was very happy with his own personally hat-trick of medals - adding Silver to his tally of Olympic Gold and Bronze in the men's doubles and singles in Athens 4 years ago.

The Bronze went to Serbian, Novak Djokovic, who beat American, James Blake.

No time for rest for all 3 players though as they make the trip half-way across the world to USA, where the US Open begins in a short time.

Russian Hat-trick

Russia's domination in world tennis on the WTA was summed up today when all three singles medals at stake were won by Russian's, with Elena Dementieva taking Gold, Dinara Safina, the Silver and Vera Zvonereva, Bronze.

It all began when Zvonereva, a late replacement for the injured Maria Sharapova, won comfortably against China's Li Na, 6-0 7-5 to take Bronze.

This set the stage for a hard-fought final match between Dementieva (world #7) and Safina (world #6 and sister to Marat Safin). The first set was easily won by Safina 6-3, with Dementieva having a very nervy start.

In the 2nd set, Dementieva started to play more freely and subsequently went ahead 4-1. However, Safina's powerful groundstrokes and fantastic defensive play brought it back to 4-4. Unfortunately, Safina's mental fragility started showing itself when a series of uncharacteristic double-faults cost her the set, 7-5.

The 3rd set was pretty much the same but again, it was Safina's double-faults that let her down and with Dementieva tightening up her baseline play, she prevailed 6-3 to take Olympic Gold.

Olympic Gold was ever more sweet for Dementieva who, 8 years ago at Sydney, achieved Olympic Silver at the similar event.

It was a very emotional situation for the Russian ladies, especially when standing on the winners podium, listening to the Russian National Anthem playing and watching the 3 Russian flags being raise. A very rare and spectacular moment indeed - tennis or otherwise!

Congratulations to the 3 ladies and Russia as a whole! Will Russia repeat this once in a life time feat? Tune in to London in 2012 to find out!

Predictions - Nadal vs. Gonzalez

Another fantastic encounter to cap a week of remarkable men's tennis in Beijing 2008.

Spain's Rafael Nadal will be hoping to be crowned the new King of Beijing 2008 by winning gold, just before receiving the title of Best Player in the World when the new ATP rankings come out tomorrow (Aug 18).

Extreme spin, great court coverage and amazing passing shots (especially on the bankhand side, make Nadal a tough competitor to beat.

In his way is Chilean, Fernando Gonzalez, who has brought pride to his country by bringing Chile to its second men's Olympic final. The former top 10 player (currently ranked 15th in the world) has a great serve and big forehand. His deep slice backhands also makes it tough for opponents to attack but it also his archilles heel in my opinion.

Nothing can stop Nadal at the moment from becoming the King of Clay, King of Wimbledon, Emperor of Beijing and soon to be King of the World! In fact, barring some major incident et al, I think Nadal may even be able to get the US Open in a few weeks time!

My prediction is for Nadal to win comfortably in straight sets.

Predictions - Dementieva vs. Safina

An interesting match-up for this afternoon's all-Russian encounter between Elena Dementieva and Dinara Safina.

In in blue corner, we have Dementieva, world #7, who has one of the best backhands in the women's game and some fantastic groundstrokes. Unfortunately, she's also famous for her mental fragility, as well as her weak serve.

In the red corner, we have Safina, world #6 and winner of of a few big events coming into the Olympics. She's very much in-form at the moment and her deep, penetrating groundstrokes have brought her once again to a major final event. However, match jitters have also plagued her game, resulting in some double-faults during crucial points.

One may think that Safina's power-play will be too much for Dementieva to handle but then again, Dementieva did take out world #4 Serena Williams in the quarterfinals.

My prediction is for Safina to win, simply because she's the more in-form of the two players and much better prepared mentally.

Catch the match on Astro's CH818, which starts at around 2pm Malaysian time.

Redemption for FedEx.. Just...

Roger Federer struck gold in Beijing, but not for the event he was hoping for, when he and partner Stanislas Wawrinka beat the Swedish pair Thomas Johansson and Simon Aspelin, 6-3 6-4 6-7 6-3, in the men's doubles final.

This fantastic achievement is a good consolation for Federer, who lost in the singles quarterfinals to American, James Blake.

Elsewhere, the Bryan Brother's captured bronze for America when they defeated the top French pair of Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra, 3-6 6-3 6-4.

China Out, All Russian Women's Final

It will be an all-Russian women's final when Dinara Safina took out China's, Li Na, 7-6 7-5 and Elena Dementieva beat fellow Russian, Vera Zvonereva, 6-3 7-6 in the women's tennis semifinals.

The final match-up should be an interesting one given that Safina is one of the best power players on Tour at the moment and Dementieva has the best groundstrokes when in-form.

It all depends on whether Dementieva can calm her nerves and serve well; otherwise big returner, Safina, will be all over her.

Should Zvonereva win her 3rd-place play-off match against Jelena Jankovic of Serbia, it will mark a perfect hat-trick of Gold, Silver and Bronze in the Beijing 2008 Women's Tennis!

My prediction is for Safina to win because I just can't see Dementieva having the mental capacity to counter the power play and consistency of in-form Safina.

No Djoke, Srbija Win Bronze

World #3, Novak Djokovic, brought back some pride to the Serbian camp when he beat American, James Blake, 6-3 7-6, to take home Olympic bronze in convincing fashion.

Djokovic, the reigning Australian Open champion won the first set easily but Blake, who was still angry over what he deemed as "cheating" by Fernando Gonzalez in the previous round, made him work in the second set but succumbed to the tenacious play of Djokovic.

The Serb celebrated by throwing his shirt, racquet and other accessories into the crowd while holding the Serbian flag with pride.

Serbia may be able to make it a bronze-double if Jelena Jankovic can win her 3rd-place play-off against China's Li Na, who lost to Russian, Dinara Safina, in the semifinals.

Jankovic Out, King Aces Djoker

It was a bad day at the office for Srbija (Serbia) as women's #1, Jelena Jankovic and men's world #3, Novak Djokovic lost to Russian Dinara Safina and Spanish Raphael Nadal in their respective semifinal matches.

Jankovic could not cope with the power play of Safina and wilted under pressure to succumb 2-6 7-5 3-6.

Elsewhere, Djokovic fought back from a nervy start to level the match 1-1 with some fantastic cross-court backhands but could not find an answer in the end for Nadal's consistency and incredible court-coverage.

Nadal won the match, 6-4 1-6 6-4.

Safina will now face Li Na and Nadal will face Gonzalez in their respective women's semifinal and men's final matches.

Beijing 2008 Results - Semifinals

A fantastic day of tennis, weather wise but dampened a little by some controversy in the men's game (see news section on Blake-Gonzalez match).

Here's the semifinal results of today's matches:

• Safina - Jankovic 6-2 5-7 6-3
• Nadal - Djokovic 6-4 1-6 6-4
• Gonzalez - Blake 4-6 7-5 11-9

This means that Safina will meet Dementieva in the women's finals and Nadal will meet Gonzalez in the men's final. Can't wait!

Speedy Gonzalez Breaks Blake, Controversy

In a slightly controversial match, Fernando Gonzalez of Chile came from a set down to beat giant killer James Blake of the USA, 4-6 7-5 11-9.

Gonzalez lost the first set through a large number of unforced errors and some fantastic backhand winners from Blake, who took out the number 1 seed, Roger Federer in the previous round. Gonzo kept his calm to take the match to a decider.

The 3rd set was a long drawn affair, as there was no deciding tie-breaker and at 9-8 in the 3rd, Blake struck a backhand that went wide but clipped Gonzalez's racquet in the process.

Unsportsman-like Gonzalez never admitted the fault and with Blake pleading his case to the umpire to no avail, Blake lost his nerve to give the 3rd set away, 11-9.

This is the second time Chile are in the Olympic final, where Nicholas Massu prevailed to get Olympic Gold.

Gonzalez is hoping to equal that by lifting the medal but standing in his way are either new world #1, Raphael Nadal or world #3, Novak Djokovic.

Predictions - Jankovic vs. Safina

Jelena Jankovic and Dinara Safina's quarterfinal match has been postpone to today (Friday) because it would be too much to ask them to play at 3am!

This should prove to be an interesting encounter between the new world #1, Jankovic and in-form Russian, Safina (sister of the great Marat Safin).

Jankovic is known to have match jitters and her serve is very suspect. She has something to prove though as she, unlike previous world #1 compatriot, Ana Ivanovic, has not won a Grand Slam event and she's hoping that Olympic Gold will more than make up for that.

Safina is no push-over though, having won some major events prior to Beijing 2008. She's got a fantastic return of serve and her punishing ground-strokes proved too much for China's Zheng Jie in the previous round.





My prediction is for Jankovic to win, simply because she has so much more to prove by winning Gold in Beijing - to cement her place as one of the tennis greats. I expect Safina to push her to 3 sets though.

A fantastic quarterfinal not to be missed!

Beijing 2008 Results - Quarterfinals

After a major rain delay and with matches being played after midnight (only occurs in major Grand Slam events), Day 5 saw some major upsets.

Here's the quarterfinal results at Beijing 2008:

• Nadal - Melzer 6-0 6-4
• Djokovic - Monfils 4-6 6-1 6-4
• Gonzalez - Mathieu 6-4 6-4
• Blake - Federer 6-4 7-6
• Li Na - V Williams 7-5 7-5
• Dementieva - S Williams 3-6 6-4 6-3
• Zvonareva - Bammer 6-3 3-6 6-3

Rain Pain for Federer, William Sisters

Torrential rain brought tears to some big names in men's and women's tennis.

With much of today's matches delayed due to rain, day 5's quarter-finals saw the end of Olympic glory for Fed-Ex and the William Sisters.

Roger Federer's barren year continued today when he was stunned, 4-6 6-7, by resurgent American, James Blake. Blake, who had never beaten Federer before was clearly elated by his win.

It was also not a good day at the office for the William Sisters - with Venus Williams losing 5-7 5-7 to China's lone Olympic singles medal hopeful, Li Na and Serena Williams losing out to Russian, Elena Dementieva, 6-3 4-6 3-6.

At time of writing, Nadal's match was still in progress - with the match starting a few minutes past midnight local Beijing time (same time as Malaysia).