Just Thinking ...

There's been a ton of tournament action going on and all of it has gotten my old mind mind churning. Here's some of what's been running through my head about this old sport of ours called tennis:

• Marat Safin actually rallied to win a match for the first time in what seems forever over in the L.A. tournament! It's so crazy to think that if he wanted to, he could easily be a top 10 player instead of retiring.

• I know he's just a kid and has plenty of years ahead of him, but I'm just not that high on Ernests Gulbis.

• Speaking of L.A., Tommy Haas, ranked 20th, is the top seed there. Remember when L.A. used to have top 10 players galore competing there? And speaking of Haas, I wonder if he'll go down as the best player, male or female, to never make a Slam final? I have him locked in that spot so far.

• What was up with Dinara Safina playing Slovenia. She ended up winning, but wouldn't it be great if she were in California this week facing real competition?

• And while I'm taking a quick glance at last week, how about Robby Ginepri winning in Indy over Sam Querrey? By my calculations, Ginepri has now joined the ranks of active U.S. men with three titles or more, bringing that list up to five. That's a far cry from the Agassi, Sampras, etc., days!

• I'm glad Maria Sharapova is out there winning some matches. I'm not sure about the rest of this year for her, but I really think 2010 will be good for her.

• Nikolay Davydenko always surprises me. He can go the whole summer season without playing a hard-court event then make the semis at the U.S. Open. I wonder if winning Hamburg last week will set him on a roll. I guess we'll see after Umag!

• Where's Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and Juan Martin del Potro? I know Djoko made a cameo doubles appearance in Umag, but why isn't he and those other guys playing? Wimbledon was a long time ago.

• Glad to see the Williams sisters out in Cali. But why are they playing doubles? That's more time than they're usually on the court. Hope they hold steady.

• I don't know why I'm still thinking about Marat Safin, but did you know he's only won one tournament in the U.S.?

• The tall boys, John Isner and Sam Querrey, have been playing pretty well this summer season.

• The ATP's new Web site kind of confuses me!

• Nic Kiefer is over in Europe playing one of the clay-court events. I wonder why is he there instead of L.A. on a surface he's competed best on in his career.

• Speaking of guys named "Nic," I see Massu has made it to the quarters of Umag. Why did he fall off a cliff rankings-wise, I wonder?

Anyway, I could go on, but I think I'll stop there. Just wanted to share some random thoughts!