Monday Wrap – Blogging Fed & Revived Petrova add to their tally

Last week’s biggest events on both the men’s and women’s side saw multi-tournament winners in 2006 take home another trophy as Federer and Petrova clinched titles in Tokyo and Stuttgart.

For the Swiss master it was his ninth championship of the season in his first appearance in Japan, but the ATP blogger faced a scare out of an unexpected corner. No, I’m not talking about sake bombers or a revengeful Mirka here, I’m referring to Japanese superstar Takao Suzuki. Okay, maybe he’s not really a superstar, but when you take Roger Federer to a third set tiebreak that can be seen as a remarkable performance, whether you’re Rafael Nadal or in this case, the number 1071 of the world.

I can hear you thinking, ‘wow, this guy must be really talented, I’d better remember his name!’ Ehh.. not sure about the talented part, seeing Suzuki has just turned 30, but hey, who knows?!

Anyway, Federer didn’t drop a set in any of his other matches en route to yet another title, but what else is new?

Well, Nadia Petrova’s comeback for one. Prior to Roland Garros the big Russian woman was the last player to beat Justine Henin-Hardenne on clay in the final of the prestigious Tier I Berlin tournament and Petrova nestled her way into the WTA’s elite. A nasty hip injury prevented the world’s #4 contending for the French Open title and kept her sidelined until after the grass season.

For the first time after her injury, everything seemed to click again for Petrova in Stuttgart last week, where she claimed the Tier II Porsche Tennis Grand Prix title after an impressive run beating consecutively Anna-Lena Groenefeld, Daniela Hantuchova, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Tatiana Golovin.

Petrova will compete in Moscow this week, where the Tier I Kremlin Cup is being held. The Russian won’t be alone in defending her country’s pride on home soil. Out of 28 participants (top 4 have a bye) 12 are Russian, or should we say 11 ½ Maria?

Switching back to the ATP, the Masters Cup is coming up so we can look forward to some exciting weeks ahead. Only King Roger and Rafa have clinched their spots thusfar so keep your eyes on Vienna, Stockholm and Moscow this week as we have seven top 10 players on court across Europe. Get ready for some qualifying action!