Big Dog - Gillis Simon will be competing in the Tennis Masters Cup semi-finals match this Saturday against Novak Djokovic. Simon who jump started his year with an unprecedented victory in Indianapolis this past July, also defeated the four-time Masters Cup champ Roger Federer earlier in the week. This is Simon’s second victory over the former #1 in the world and currently #2, Federer, since winning the Indy crown. This guy is on fire!!! Good luck this weekend Gillis, everyone here at the Indianapolis Tennis Championships Presented by Lilly is pulling for you.

The lovely ladies of the WTA, fresh from passing out flowers at the airport, took a moment to pose for this photo at the Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha.

 

In related news, Serena Williams withdrew form the WTA Championships with an apparent strained stomach muscle. When a reporter suggested that she should have continued to play anyway, she had this to say:

 
"I should make you work out ... for like 22 years and make you have a severe stomach strain, and then tell you to play for the sponsors," she said. "You should try it."

The reporter responded by saying " A simple NO would have sufficed".The reporter then attempted to top her claim of working out for 22 years by promptly dropping to the ground and doing one-armed push-ups until he collapsed from exhaustion.

 
And finally, In last night's Broncos/Browns game, Brandon Marshall attempted to pull a white and black glove out of his pants and display it as a show of support for President-Elect Obama. Teammate Brandon Stokely quickly stopped him in an effort to avoid a very costly 15 yard penalty. Stokely was later seen on the bench waiving a Neiman-Marcus bag in the air as a show of support for Sarah Palin. Man, that joke took forever.

Have a great weekend and get back to work, Rae.

The Indianapolis Colts play the Green Bay Packers up at the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field about once every 8-10 years. The moment I found out that the Colts would be playing in Green Bay this year I told myself that I would make the trip. So, I did and I was not disappointed by my decision to make the 7 hour trip north.

Before the game we were lucky enough to meet up with my friend’s co-worker who had rented an RV for the trip. Surrounded by Packers fans I thought we wouldn’t last very long and if you thought that they only made cheese heads than you would be wrong. There were actually women that wore cheese bras, but that’s another story. As we began to get comfortable at our tail-gate we were soon called upon by Packer fans across the way. We hadn’t been tail-gating very long so we didn’t know what to expect. Once at the adjacent lot we were greeted by a local bar owner and his lovely waitress’ “Welcome to Lambeau!” they all shouted. Then they tossed us ice cold PBR’s and offered shrimp&stake kabobs. From that moment on I realized why just a week prior that Lambeau Field was ranked #1 on SI’s top NFL stadiums.

Big up’s to the Packer fans. The people of Green Bay know how to do things right. Funny thing about it is - they even seemed to get nicer as the game went on. Maybe it had to do with the outcome of the game, who knows? But, I believe that the Packer fans would have been just as friendly no matter what team won that day.

Gilles Simon, fresh from a run to the finals of the Madrid Masters Event, has earned himself a career-high ranking of #10 in the ATP's men's tennis rankings. Gilles is the 2008 Indianapolis Champion, where he was ranked #22 this summer.Simon also took home titles this year in Casablanca and Bucharest.

Simon lost to Andy Murray in the Madrid final, but not before defeating World #1 Rafael Nadal in the semis and notching winds over Ivo Karlovic, Robby Ginepri, James Blake, and Igor Andreev.

I've been a big fan of Simon this year and I don't see that changing anytime soon. I had the chance to speak briefly with him in July here in Indy and he was a class act. He's young and energetic, but humble and aware of his place in the game right now.The sky truly is the limit for him and I look for him to contest for a top five spot very soon.

The rest of the top ten looks like this:

1. Nadal- Duh..
2. Federer
3. Djokovic
4. A. Murray
5. Ferrer
6. Davydenko
7. Roddick
8. Nalbandian
9. Del Potro
10. Simon

Today was supposed to be one of those great sports days for me. You know the kind that I'm talking about..you favorite teams win big games over the weekend and you come to work monday with the feeling that finally, and perhaps only for a day, things are going your way. This was supposed to be my day today, but NO!!! And do you know why? Because I am a fan of the following three franchises:

Colts
Cowboys
Redsox

Man, today was going to really be a jolly affair. I was looking forward to it. Really was. The Sox overcame a 1-3 deficit to take the Rays to a seventh and deciding game in the ALCS, The Colts had a very realistic chance of leaving Green Bay with a win, and the Cowboys faced the lowly and happless St. Louis Rams.
 What happened, you ask? Well, let's start by saying that if you are asking this, did you spend your Sunday in a craft store or something?

 
First, My Dallas Cowboys were completely manhandled in St. Louis by a Rams team that has suddenly won two in a row but is still ter.ri.ble..I'll spare you the recital of statistics to support my argument. Trust me, this was ugly early. I love the excuses that are thrown around for why the Cowboys can't win all of a sudden: Adam Jones (Jerry Jones got what he deserved for that one and I REFUSE to call him "Pacman"), Tony Romo's pinky, the banged-up secondary,Felix Jones, blah blah blah. You know why they aren't winning? They have no heart. They have no killer instinct. That team is a rudderless ship, just out there turning in circles. There are 7 or 8 Pro Bowlers on that team and you'd never know it by their play. They can't protect the quarterback on offense and they can't stop the run on defense. This is one of the greatest compilations of natural talent I've ever seen
with one of the most lackluster coaching staffs in the league. Wade Phillips and his "Aw-shucks" outlook on everything, coupled with Jason Garrett's completely inept offensive game planning are more than my blood pressure can take. 
 
Jerry- Do your fans a favor. Pay Bill Cowher whatever he wants, no matter the price. Name the new stadium after him if that's what it takes. Just hire him. Then let him clean house.  

 And then the Colts took the field 3 hours later.They should have stayed on the bus.The Colts continued this season's trend of inconsistent and sloppy play, and this time it cost them big. Twelve penalties for 100 yards, 75 yards rushing, 229 yards passing, 5-for 15 on third down, and 2 interceptions returned for touchdowns. The stupid penalties for basic lack of execution were aggravating eneough, especially for this team that has been SO disciplined over the span of the Dungy regime. Green Bay had an almost identical offensive day in terms of stats (302 yards of offense, 2 offensive touchdowns), but The Packers defense stepped on the Colts' neck early and didn't let up. 

 Last week's mangling of the Ravens was heralded as The Colts triumphant return to form, but it's clear to me that it was just an average team beating a below average team. The loss drops Indy to 3-3 on the year and a full 3 games behind the Titans, who they face next week on monday night, followed by New England and Pittsburgh.This season might get a lot worse before it gets a little better.
 
  
And now for baseball...

 let's not deny the fact that Matt Garza pitched a fantastic game for the Rays last night. He dominated the Red Sox in every sense of the word after hanging that fastball up and in for Pedroia in the first inning. Jon Lester pitched well for the sox, scattering 6 hits and allowing 3 runs, which on most days for Boston is good enough for the win. Unfortunately, when a team leaves 8 men on base and the bottom third of their lineup just can't hit the ball, they lose.  The top of the batting order,minus David Ortiz, could not continue to make up for the lack of hitting from the bottom of the order. Ellsbury, Kotsay, Lowrie, Ortiz, and Varitek all struggled over the series. It's a little sad to say (at least for me), but I believe Jason Varitek has played his last game in a Red Sox uniform. But I give credit to the Rays for playing to their strengths- good pitching and great defense. The offensive explosion in the middle of the series was a nice touch,too.

 But, I'm moving on..considering the injury problems, the Manny problem, and the level of competition from a SOLID American League, coming within one game of the World Series aint so bad.I think the Red Sox nation will move on as well...to boo-hooing over the stinking Patiots!!Man, I love it!!!

 Oh yeah..and Andy Murray won the Madrid Masters Seried event yesterday, defeating 2008 Indy Champion Gilles Simon in straight sets. Murray played very well, defeating the Rog on his way to the championship. Simon knocked of Rafa Nadal on saturday to earn his spot in the final. I like this kid more and more each time I see him play. He has an enormous future ahead of him.

 See? Something good did happen this weekend!

First of all-my apologies to all the Tampa Bay Rays fans out there. The twelve of you will have to wait a little longer(maybe) for the maiden voyage to the World Series. The 34 inning batting practice finally came to an end last night as the Red Sox came back from down 7 runs to win the game in the bottom of the ninth on a J.D. Drew single. The following professionally made video montage sums it up best:



 

Cheer up, though...the odds are still in your team's favor with a 3-2 advantage going back home and with Shields going tomorrow night against the suddenly-not-so-good Josh Beckett, but if the Sox do happen to get back in this thing, you can look back at a few things last night, namely David Ortiz' 2-run homer that may have shifted momentum back Boston's way. Anyway, if things don't work out, don't feel too bad- YOU LIVE ON THE OCEAN!! Things can't be that rough, can they?
Plus, I think Wilfred Brimley is throwing out the first pitch saturday night, but most of the Tampa Residents will be in bed by then.

 

Also, since I'm talking playoffs- Hey, TBS- enough already with the promos for "Frank TV". At first, I thought "Hey,this guy could be kind of funny" but 6 months and 3000 commercials later, I pretty much would rather watch "The Hills". Over and over and over and over again.

And now for some tennis:

THIS JUST IN: Andy Murray shaves, beats Monfils in Madrid. Job well done on both.
 
 Also in Madrid- Gilles Simon rallied from down match point to defeat a determined Robby Ginepri and Ivo karlovic suprised Novak Djokovic. He was hiding around a corner waiting for Novak to walk around it and then jumped out and was like "waaarrhh!!! ha ha I really got you that time, Novak" and Djokovic was all like " aw, man...whatever, no you didn't!." Then Karlovic beat him 7-6 7-6.
 
 In other Madrid news, Roger Federer defeated Juan Martin Del Potro in the quarterfinals and will face the now clean shaven Murray in the semis. Now let's see what can be done about Nadal's underwear problem as the ATP's "Brave New World of Hygiene" continues its mission to clean up the game.

zzzzing!

All for now. It's friday-know what time it is?

Mr. Simon, what are you doing to our Americans in Madrid?

Indianapolis Tennis Championship winner, Gilles Simon, just beat one of our favorite sons, James Blake, in Madrid, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4.  Simon is 12th in the world now (I think he was about #18 when he played in Indy) and took care of the ninth seed, Blake in the second round.

Gilles now faces another Indy Champion, Robby Ginepri in the third round.  I'm certainly in a quandry over who to root for in this tennis matchup.  Both are past champions in Indianapolis and both are great guys.  If I asked either one to sign an autograph for a fan, they would do it.  If I asked either one to take a break from training and shake a sponsors hand, they would do it.  Great guys and great champions.  Men's professional tennis need more players like Simon and Ginepri.

So, I'm going to go out on a limb and not choose.  Both are playing great tennis and the best man (on Thursday) will win!

Robby Ginepri sent 5th seeded Nikolay Davydenko packing with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 win in the second round of play in Madrid last night. Davydenko ranked No. 5 in the ATP 2008 Race was stunned by the hard hitting right-hander. Ginepri is a great friend to the Indianapolis Tennis Championships Presented by Lilly. Not only is Ginepri a former Champion of the Indy tournament. The young American star has also contributed to the tournaments charity HAL (Healthy Active Lifestyles).  Good luck in round 3 Robby!

Indianapolis Tennis Championships Presented by Lilly winner Gilles Simon continues to fight through the season with another hard fought win over Igor Andreev 4-6, 6-1, 7-6, (9-7) in the ATP Masters Series Madrid. At 24 years old Simon is taking the tour on by surprise with 3 tournament wins under his belt already this season. The 5-11, 143 lbs. Frenchman also defeated another familiar face to the Indianapolis Tennis Championships Presented by Lilly 2006 Champion, James Blake in the second round at Madrid. Simon is currently ranked 12th on the ATP tour and is marching up the ladder at full speed. Best of luck in round 3, Gilles! Check below for some outstanding play by Simon while playing in Indy.

    I haven't blogged in over a week, which leaves me bitter and dissapointed in myself. I try to stay on topic of tennis most of the time, but frankly, I couldn't get motivated to talk about the long march uphill for the U.S Davis Cup squad once my US Open hangover wore off. 
     Having had a chance to reflect on the loss to Spain, I honestly don't think that this was a winneable tie anyway, but I do think, and perhaps more importantly, it was pivotal in the advancement of our Davis Cup team for the forseeable future. If Sam Querrey is the next star in the U.S. stable, which I believe he is, then it was time to get him in the fold and let him gain valuable experience. Injuries to James Blake and Bob Bryan forced the United States team out of its gameplan, but the time was now to take inventory of what we had and what we may need. 
     I'm not an expert on the Davis Cup, but as a professional tennis fan, I will say that I was extremely impressed with Sam's efforts against Nadal in the first rubber. He brought his usual composure into a match in Rafa's backyard and on his favored surface and with a rowdy crowd that was in his corner the whole way and still managed to steal a set from him in the meantime. 
     Sam can walk away from the experience with a great amount of confidence and Pat McEnroe can breathe easy knowing he has a guy that can play.That has to count for something.

 I was walking our Hall of Champions today and stopped at Patrick Rafter's picture.  Back when we were the RCA Championships, Patrick was a mainstay in our lineup. 

Patrick played in Indy three times.  In 1993, he was a semi-finalist losing to Boris Becker.  In 1995, he was a quarterfinalist.  Near the end of his career, he captured the Indy title in 2001.  He beat another crowd favorite, Gustavo Kuerten.  I have found memories of that victory.  I remember walking out of the transportation office soon after the final to find Patrick sitting on the curb.  He was still in his sweaty clothes and was on his cellphone, obviously talking about his victory.  He quickly hung up when he saw us and thanked us for a great week.  Yes, he thanked us for a great week.  So that got me to thinking - where is he now?

Patrick continues to support charitable efforts, primarily in his native Australia.  In 2006 he was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.  He continues to play World Team Tennis.

Little known fact - Patrick's last championship before retiring came right here at the RCA Championships (now the Indianapolis Tennis Championships Presented by Lilly). 

Please come out of retirement Patrick.... 

 I noticed that Carmel's own Rajeev Ram is making a tour through the ATP Challenger Series in Waco, Texas this week.  Ram, seeded eigth, lost a tough three set match to Nicholas Monroe.   

The ATP Challenger Series is set up as a great developmental opportunity for young players.  The Series is to men's professional tennis what AAA baseball is to the major leagues.  If you look through the draw in Waco, you will notice many familar faces.  I counted ten guys who have played in Indianapolis at one point, including Bobby Reynolds and John Isner. 

Ram is definitely an Indy favorite.  He first competed in the RCA Championships (now the Indianapolis Tennis Championships Presented by Lilly) in 2002.  His best results were in 2005 and 2008 when he reached the round of 16.

Not only is Ram loved by the crowds here but he is loved by the volunteers and staff.  He is a true gentleman and always willing to sign autographs, talk with sponsors and meet with the press. 

The next stop on Ram's Texas tour is probably the Lubbock Challenge.  Go Rajeev!

So who is this young American, Sam Querrey, that is set to face Rafael Nadel in the opening round of the Davis Cup today? 

Sam is 21 years old and hails from California.  He is one of the tallest players on the ATP Tour at 6'6".  Sam started playing tennis at the age of four.  He turned pro in 2006, loves playing basketball, tennis and golf.

Currently ranked 39th in the world, he has had a great run this year.  He won the Las Vegas event, was a semi-finalist in Delray Beach and here at the Indianapolis Tennis Championships.  He first played in Indy in 2006 where he reached the round of 32.  In 2007, he was a semi-finalist losing to eventual champion, Dmitry Tursunov.

Good luck today Sam!

    The reigning US Open Doubles Champs and current World #1 Doubles team will have a slightly different look two days from now as Bob Bryan will sit out this weekend's Davis Cup tie with Spain due to a shoulder injury. US Open quarterfinalist and all-around awesome guy Mardy Fish will step in in Bob's absence. Mardy was not on the original U.S. team, but has been serving as a hitting partner with the singles players.

    When reached for comment, Mike Bryan was quoted as saying " It'll be nice playing with Mardy for a change. I mean, sure, I love Bob and everything, but we're around each other like 20 hours a day or something. We live together, too."
Mardy Fish offered the following regarding the new pairing: " Yeah....which one are you again?Oh, right, Mike! Gotta remember that. Mike, Mike, Mike."

    This weekend's tilt will be a challenge for Team USA, already working Sam Querrey into the mix after James Blake withdrew from the competition. USA faces off with Spain in Madrid, on clay, and featuring a young upstart named Rafael Nadal. This weekend's contest, along with Argentina vs. Russia should provide us Racquetheads with some outstanding professional tennis matches.
    
    Complete information regarding both Davis Cup Semis available here

Over the weekend, Gilles Simon, beat Carlos Moya 6-3, 6-4 to take the BCR Open Romania title.  What is significant about Simon's victory?  Well, Gilles is the reigning Indianapolis Tennis Championships Presented by Lilly champion and has significantly boosted his chances of qualifying for the Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai event.

Simon was virtually unknown when he arrived in Indianapolis.  He was Indy's number two seed but to be honest, I even had no idea who he was.  Since his victory in Indy's men's professional tennis tournament, Simon has had an impressive run.  The 23 year old went on to defeat Roger Federer in Toronto and advanced to the semi-finals.  This has undoubtably been his best year - with three titles so far. 

Simon moved up three spots and is now number 12 in the ATP race.  Gilles has played more tournaments than the 11 players ranked ahead of him.  There are two Masters Series event left before Shanghai so let's cheer for Indy Tennis Championships' Gilles Simon! 

Now that the US Open is finished, all tennis eyes will focus on the upcoming Davis Cup matches.  The Davis Cup is to men's professional tennis what the Ryder Cup is to golf.  The only exception being that the Davis Cup goes on all year long.

Blake is physically and mentally exhausted from the summer.  He played a full schedule (including participating at the Indianapolis Tennis Championships), the Olympics and the US Open.  Blake's replacement is Sam Querrey, another Indy Tennis favorite. 

Querrey has practiced with the US Davis Cup team and has had a strong showing on clay.  He was a quarterfinalists in Monte Carlo (clay) and reached the round of 16 at the US Open.  The American's will face a strong team from Spain on outdoor clay September 16-21 in Madrid. 

Our man Sam Querrey will make his debut for the U.S. Davis Cup team against Spain next week, replacing James Blake, who had played in every Davis Cup tie for the United States since 2005 and helped the team to its first title in 12 years last December. US Davis Cup Captain, Patrick McEnroe, said James was tired and mentally exhausted from the season and needed a break, so they met his request and replaced him with Querrey.

What an awesome opportunity for Querrey, first he got to represent the US at the Olympics and now for the Davis Cup Team.

Querrey is having a breakthrough season in just his second full year as a pro.  He won his first ATP title in March and defeated then No. 9 Richard Gasquet and former French Open champion Carlos Moya on red clay en route to the quarterfinals in Monte Carlo.  This summer, Querrey made his Olympic debut in Beijing and had his best finish at a major, reaching the Round of 16 at the US Open. 

Querrey will be  the first rookie on the U.S. team since Robby Ginepri made his debut in the 2004 First Round.  Congrats Sam!

...well guess what? you were wrong.

    I'm supposed to win every slam, every year..right? Well, I didn't. Apparently there ARE other talented players out there who, on occasion, win tournaments.
Does that make me old, irrelevant..finished?

    Apparently the throngs of tennisfolk that were waiting to pen my eulogy will have to wait a little longer. I'm not done yet. And I won't be for awhile.

    Yeah, Australia was a letdown...try going to work with Mono sometime.I've had better times, but I did it anyway.

    Roland Garros was disappointing, but I was good enough to make the final. Rafa's pretty good on dirt, if you haven't noticed.

    Remember that Wimbledon final? Greatest match ever? I played in it.That could have gone either way on any given day, but that day was Rafa's....

    
    But I'm the King of New York. Have been for five straight years.Traffic stops when I cross the street and even Donald Trump asks for my autograph. It's an A-List affair anytime I step into Arthur Ashe Stadium. Quick..think of a celebrity..yeah, they've seen me play. They may not have paid for the ticket, but they weren't asked to attend either.

I'm probably not done yet this year. Madrid, Paris, Shanghai? It's on.

 

The Olympus US Open Series bus made its final stop of the year at the US Open in Fleshing Meadows, N.Y. Congratulations to Rafael Nadal for becoming the 2008 Olympus US Open Series Champion. It wasn’t long ago that the Olympus US Open Series kicked off in Indianapolis when the Olympus bus made its first official stop at the 2008 Indianapolis Tennis Championships Presented by Lilly July 14 – 20. Just a few months back Gilles Simon captured the Indy crown and went on to defeat then ranked #1 in the world Roger Federer a  week later.Hats off to all the athletes who competed in this year’s US Open Series and I look forward to catching you at the 2009 Indianapolis Tennis Championships Presented by Lilly which will take place July 18 – 26.

I know I should be writing about men's tennis and the Indianapolis Tennis Championships but I feel I should devote some space to Serena Williams.  It seems you either love her or hate her.  How can any sports fan or general fan not be able to applaud her performance at the US Open?

After five years and one month, Serena is now the number 1 ranked women's professional tennis player in the world.  She beat Jelena Jankovic 6-4, 7-5 to take the US Open crown.  What an achievement.  Not only did she win a major, the major tennis tournament in the world but she moved into the number 1 ranking.

She has gone the longest period between the top ranking by any player since the early 70s.  I don't care if you aren't a tennis fan, you have to applaud her unbelievable effort and perservance to comeback and take the US Open crown and ascend to the #1 ranking.

Go Serena!!!