Davydenko, Clijsters lead early season winners

WEEK 1: The first week of the tennis season has concluded and we have some interesting results. I will be attempting to summarize a week by identifying achievements and non-achievements. Let's see if I can keep this up for the rest of the year.

LOVE:

Robin Soderling. Top seed and the only top ten player in the Chennai draw couldn't build up on the previous week's exhibition where he beat Roger Federer. He lost to American Robby Ginepri in straight sets.

Sam Stosur. Top ranked Australian lost two matches to lower ranked opponents in the 22nd staging of the Hopman Cup. The top-seeded Australian team of Stosur and Lleyton Hewitt failed to make it to the finals.

FIFTEEN:

Roger Federer. #1 player loses to world #6 Nikolay Davydenko in straight sets in the semifinals of the Doha tournament. He did get 3 match wins under his belt going into the Australian Open but one has to wonder how much damage is done to his confidence considering that he has now lost to Davydenko two times in a row.

THIRTY:

Rafael Nadal. At least he won one more match better than Federer. Still, he lost to Davydenko for the second tournament in a row. And, he did let the title slip away after holding a match point. Was Andre Agassi right in saying that we would be seeing the end of the Federer-Nadal era soon?

DEUCE:

Justine Henin. She's back and she didn't disappoint winning four matches to reach the finals. She beat veterans Ana Ivanovic and Nadia Petrova in straight sets, and was able to save a match point against seventh seeded Melinda Czink. Her fitness may be a concern though. She had to pull out from her Sydney engagement due to a sprained leg muscle.

Andy Murray. Wins first three matches in the Hopman Cup to lead the UK team into the finals. He, however, lost his final singles match against Tommy Robredo.

ADVANTAGE:

Yanina Wickmayer. Belgian #16 made the most of her wildcard in winning the Auckland tournament that featured five top 20 players. She didn't lose a single set in five matches and convincingly beat world #12 Flavia Pennetta in the final.

Marin Cilic. The second seeded Croatian and world #14 won his second straight title in Chennai beating #21 Stanislas Wawrinka in a straight set final.

Spanish Hopman Cup Team. Won 11 of 12 matches played in the 22nd edition of the Hopman Cup. Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez won three singles matches and Tommy Robredo won four singles matches that includes a win over world #4 Andy Murray. The victory allowed Spain to capture its fourth Hopman Cup title.

Andy Roddick. American #1 loses just one set in winning the Brisbane title. He beat two top20 players in #12 Radek Stepanek and #20 Tomas Berdych.

Kim Clijsters. In a battle of un-retired former #1 players with 9 Grand Slams between them, Clijsters prevailed in a third set tiebreak. It's the perfect preparation for the first major of the year. Clijsters has now won two of the five tournaments she played on since her August 2009 comeback.

GAME:

Nikolay Davydenko. Confidence must be sky-high heading into the first Grand Slam of the year. He is climbing high in most tennis fan's favorite list after becoming only the second player to beat both Federer and Nadal in two consecutive tournaments. He won his last 9 matches – 5 of those were victories against the three players to have won the last 7 grand slams.

Women's Tennis. The best five players in the past decade – the Williams sisters, the Belgians, and Maria Sharapova are all healthy and playing – several mouth watering match-ups can happen in both sides of the women's draw of the Australian Open.