While the landscape of women’s tennis is changing, the men’s field seems a bit more predictable. Early-line odds makers strongly favor Spanish clay court magician, Rafa Nadal while the current unranked favorite on the women’s side is Belgian Justine Henin. Too bad the odds makers and the ranking committees can’t get together. We might have more balanced events.

In Melbourne, one of the most dominant signs read Just In Time, a tribute to Justine Henin’s return to the tour. The popular 5’ 5 1/2” Belgian dynamo returned to the tour after a nearly an 18 month leave of absence and immediately stormed to the forefront. In her very first event, the unseeded Henin put away Nadia Petrova, the two seed, in the first round at Brisbane and then marched to the finals. She succumbed to Kim Clijsters, another Belgian comeback player, in the finals but clearly staked her claim to the elite level of women’s tennis.

Elena Dementieva has had to endure the label so many tennis players and golfers dread: the best player never to win a major. Spain’s Sergio Garcia is widely regarded as the male golfer who ought to have won a prestigious championship by now, but hasn’t. In men’s tennis, Andy Murray and Nikolay Davydenko are battling for that double-edged distinction, which carries with it both a compliment and a deficiency.

At the biggest tournaments in tennis, Michael Llodra is considered a lightweight. At the 2010 Open 13 event in his native country, the left-handed Frenchman lived up to his last name.
Mr. Llodra – make that, Monsieur Llodra – was simply a load over the past week at the Palais des Sports in Marseilles, France.
A man [...]