Weekend Wrap Up – “Kolya” & Naughty Koalas.

Starting a new feature for the blog called “Weekend Wrap Up”. Obviously it will take a look at weekend finals action on both the men and women’s sides and give some perspective on trends, hot and cold players and missed opportunities.

Davydenko Holding The Golden Hawk of Doha. (ATP)

The biggest buzz of the week was Nikolay Davydenko’s somewhat surprising win in Doha with wins over Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. I say somewhat in that “Kolya” has found a higher gear since his wins in Shanghai and the ATP World Tour Finals. The question remains if he can keep his form in three out of five sets in Melbourne. My guess is he can so long as his early round matches there don’t wear him out.

And yes, since the loss, there’s been more analysis of Nadal’s game and confidence than a Jungian conference. He hasn’t won an event in eight months but if anyone thinks that Rafa is done is out of their mind.

The problem Rafa faces is that the top guys on tour have figured out how to play him. The answer is simple – Rafa needs a Plan B game. The question is – can he learn one in time?

Unfairly overshadowed by the all-Belgian final in Brisbane was Yanina Wickmayer’s title win in Auckland. Having put her brief playing ban behind her, Yanina could actually be more of a darkhorse than Henin in Melbourne.

Marin Cilic defended his title in Chennai over Stanislas Wawrinka. Cilic had a breakthrough win at the U.S. Open over Andy Murray but has been quiet since then. He could be a factor in Melbourne, but somehow I see him doing bigger things at Wimbledon.

In Brisbane, the showdown between Justin Henin and Kim Clijsters certainly had enough drama but let’s not forget the high amount of unforced errors and missed opportunities by both players to close out the match. Henin’s serve is a weak point (for now) but seeing her grind her way through some good players is a sure sign she will be a factor in 2010.

And finally, much props to Andy Roddick for finally, and I do mean finally, winning his match against Radek Stepanek in the Brisbane final. Not serving it out in the second set was not good form for Roddick and he’ll need to step it up for Melbourne. But having him back in the winner’s circle is great. And he also wins the photo of the week award. Of course, this was taken before the infamous “naughty koalas” episode. And if you can believe this, those koalas were both “girls” according to the Herald Sun.