The Taxman Cometh: 2010... so far

Knock, knock. Who's there? It's the Taxman, and it's time for an ATP accounting.

"Let me tell you
How it will be.
There's one for you,
Sixteen for me,

'Cause I'm the Swiss taxman.
Yeah, I'm the Swiss taxman.

Should five percent
Appear too small,
Be thankful I don't
Take it all.

'Cause I'm the Swiss taxman.
Yeah, I'm the Swiss taxman."

-- lyrics from "Taxman," written by George Harrison, recorded by the Beatles (1966)

Well, sort of

**2010 Player-of-the-Year... so far**
*TOP PLAYERS*
1. Roger Federer, SUI
...he's been a disappointment in his two post-Melbourne appearances, but the 16th career slam (and 23rd straight slam SF) in Oz more than puts him ahead of the field. Defending in Paris, though, especially if Rafael Nadal is finally healthy, might be a whole different -- and dicier -- jar of dastardly Vegemite.
2. Marin Cilic, CRO
...climbing above the rest of the NextGen of non-Roger/Rafa contenders on the ATP ladder this season, the Croat has been the most consistent young star through 2010's first three-plus months.
3. Juan Carlos Ferrero, ESP
...for a while there, it was 2002-03 again as Ferrero was routinely appearing in tour finals. Three in a row, to be precise.
4. Andy Roddick, USA
...he leads the tour in '10 finals (four), is tied for the lead in titles (two) and has an S.I. swimsuit cover model for a wife. What's next? A Sports Illustrated cover all his own? He'll have two chances to stake a claim this summer.
5. Bob & Mike Bryan, USA
...the twins won two more titles to inch closer to the Hall of Fame-bound Woodbridge & Woodforde's ATP record, AND were profiled on "60 Minutes." Not bad.
6. Nikolay Davydenko, RUS
...he defeated Federer and Nadal AGAIN in Doha, but still came up short in Melbourne when he had the chance to re-write the first line in his tennis bio.
7. Robin Soderling, SWE
...two finals and a pair of semifinal appearances in Indian Wells and Miami shows that the Swede's upward trajectory hasn't yet leveled off.
8. Andy Murray, GBR
...he thought he could win his first slam in Melbourne, but his near no-show in the Men's Final against Federer seems like it's something that he's yet to put behind him.
9. Novak Djokovic, SRB
...he won in Dubai, but he hasn't grabbed the proverbial bull by the horns and rightly justified in everyone's mind his current #2 ranking on the computer.
10. Daniel Nestor & Nenad Zimonjic, CAN/SRB
...they grabbed two titles and moved back into the #1 ranking, then immediately slipped back to #2 a week later.
HM- Ivan Ljubicic, CRO
...not done yet, the former Top 10er (2005-06) popped out of the shadows and won Indian Wells with a serve that put distance between him and both Nadal and Roddick when it mattered on the final weekend.

**RISERS**
1. Marin Cilic, CRO
2. Robin Soderling, SWE
3. Sam Querrey, USA
4. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, FRA
5. Fernando Verdasco, ESP
6. John Isner, USA
7. Thomaz Bellucci, BRA
8. Nicolas Almagro, ESP
9. Lukasz Kubot & Oliver Marach, POL/AUT
10. MIkhail Youzhny, RUS
HM- Juan Monaco, ARG

**NEW FACES**
1. Ernests Gulbis, LAT
2. Philipp Petzschner, GER
3. Jeremy Chardy, FRA
4. Thiemo De Bakker, NED
5. Lu Yen-Hsun, TPE
6. Tiago Fernandes, BRA
7. Kevin Anderson, RSA
8. Sean Berman, AUS
9. Somdev Devvarman, IND
10. Rohan Bopanna & Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi, IND/PAK
HM- Leonardo Mayer, ARG

**SURPRISES**
1. Lukasz Kubot, POL
2. Horacio Zeballos, ARG
3. Michael Berrer, GER
4. Stephane Robert, FRA
5. Lukas Lacko, SVK
6. Mischa Zverev, GER
7. Marcelo Melo, BRA
8. Dudi Sela, ISR
9. Philipp Marx & Igor Zelanay, GER/SVK
10. Ivan Dodig, CRO
HM- Wayne Odesnik, USA

**VETERANS**
1. Roger Federer, SUI
2. Juan Carlos Ferrero, ESP
3. Andy Roddick, USA
4. Nikolay Davydenko, RUS
5. Bob & Mike Bryan, USA
6. Daniel Nestor & Nenad Zimonjic, CAN/SRB
7. Ivan Ljubicic, CRO
8. Juan Ignacio Chela, ARG
9. Michael Llodra, FRA
10. David Ferrer, ESP
HM- Leander Paes, IND

**COMEBACKS**
1. Ivan Ljubicic, CRO
2. Marcos Baghdatis, CYP
3. Juan Ignacio Chela, ARG
4. Mardy Fish, USA
5. Richard Gasquet, FRA
HM- Xavier Malisse, BEL

**DOWN**
1. Andy Murray, GBR (since Australian Open SF)
2. Gilles Simon, FRA
3. Novak Djokovic, SRB
HM- Juan Martin del Potro, ARG

"Sometimes you're winning easily; sometimes you're finding a way to win. That's being a champion, I guess." - Roger Federer

**BEST PERFORMANCES**
A 16th Slam... and a Tie-Break to Remember
...Roger Federer, in his eighteenth final in the last nineteen slams, wins the Australian Open, defeating Andy Murray in straight sets. But it's the 3rd set tie-break that will endure, as the Swiss Mister wins 13-11 on his third match point after turning away five Murray set point chances. Murray hasn't been the same since.
The Storm Before the Calm
...Nikolay Davydenko wins in Doha, defeating both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal to do it (just like he did in last season's Masters Cup). Not that either helped him pull a great slam performance out of his racket bag in Melbourne soon after.
Hot Tub Time Machine, Spanish Style
...Juan Carlos Ferrero reaches back to his glory days of nearly a decade ago, dominating the tour for three weeks with fourteen straight wins and two titles. It's his best string of results since winning sixteen consecutive in 2002, the season before he rose to #1.
Mr. Brooklyn De-... err, check that. It's Mr. Roddick again.
... Andy Roddick reaches back-to-back Masters Series finals in Indian Wells and Miami, winning the latter for his first Masters crown since 2006.
The Croat Also Rises
...Ivan Ljubicic returns to prominance, winning the Indian Wells title (his first-ever Masters win) in a 7-6/7-6 final against Roddick

**TOP MATCHES**
Doha Final - Davydenko d. Nadal
...0-6/7-6/6-4. The Russian saved two match points.
Australian Open 2nd Rd - Del Potro d. Blake
...6-4/6-7/5-7/6-3/10-8. The U.S. Open champion survived an early-round scare here, but not the Croat who'd meet him a few rounds later,
Australian Open 4th Rd - Cilic d. Del Potro
...5-7/6-4/7-5/5-7/6-3. After winning in 4:40, Cilic was off and eventually on his way to his first slam SF. Meanwhile, del Potro's injured wrist has since put him out of action... giving teeth to the unintentional hex SOMEONE put on his '10 season when he was predicted to be the year-end #1.

"It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt." - Andre Agassi, during a Hit for Haiti exhibtion with Federer and Nadal, when a public, and increasingly personal, verbal sparring battle with Pete Sampras broke out in the middle of play. It began with Sampras' imitation of Agassi's pigeon-toed walk, heated up when Agassi re-iterated his autobiography's claims about Sampras' "cheapness," and reached a whole different level when Sampras "playfully (maybe)" fired a serve at Agassi's head.

**BREAKOUTS**
Marin Cilic wins Brisbane to open the '10 season, reaches the Australian Open SF, is the first player on tour this season to win two titles (after Zagreb) and climbs into the Top 10.
Latvia's Ernests Gulbis wins his first career title in Del Ray Beach

**COUGH, COUGH... CHOKE, CHOKE**
Nikolay Davydenko dominates Roger Federer for a set and a half at the Australian Open QF, then crumbles and fails to live up to his talent in a slam all over again.
Andy Murray once again fails to rise to the occasion against Roger Federer in a slam final, losing in Melbourne in straight sets after waiting until late in the 3rd set to raise his game. By then, it was too late. Ever since, he's failed to advance past the QF in any tournament (and suffered two 2nd Round upsets).

"I can cry like Roger. It's a shame I can't play like him." - Andy Murray, after wiping tears from his eyes during the Australian Open final post-match ceremony

**TWO-HEADED UPSET SPECIAL**
Indian Wells 3rd Rd - Baghdatis d. Federer 5-7/7-5/7-6
Miami 4th Rd - Berdych d. Federer 6-4/6-7/7-6
...Roger Federer blows a combined four match points in two losses in Indian Wells and Miami to Marcos Baghdatis (Federer was up 4-1 in the 3rd set) and Tomas Berdych.

=AS ANDY's WORLD TURNED=

Roddick opens season with a title in Brisbane in Week 1, his first ever in Australia
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Roddick announces that he won't play Davis Cup in 2010
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During practice, on a bet, Roddick playfully hits James Blake in the butt with his serve

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During a filmed interview, two koalas are seen having set in the background over Roddick's shoulder

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Brooklyn Decker, Roddick's wife, appears on the cover of the latest Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue

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In Miami, Roddick takes part in a game of H-O-R-S-E with Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade, who then reciprocated by attempting to return a Roddick serve

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Roddick, his lost mojo now fully intact, completes his back-to-back finals runs in Indian Wells and Miami with his first Masters Series title in four seasons
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"You're too good not to win a slam. Don't worry about it." - Roger Federer, one year after he cried on court after losing the '09 Australian Open final to Rafael Nadal, after Andy Murray did the same thing after losing to Federer in the AO final

*2010 ATP FINALS*
4...Andy Roddick (2-2)
3...Juan Carlos Ferrero (2-1)
2...Marin Cilic (2-0)
2...David Ferrer (1-1)
2...John Isner (1-1)
2...Sam Querrey (1-1)
2...Stanislas Wawrinka (1-1)
2...Mikhail Youzhny (0-2)


All for now.

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