Blog

Gstaad, Switzerland

Hopefully the clay court season continues longer in doubles, we'll play the semifinal tomorrow against Moodie/Norman. Yesterday we beat Kas/Allegro 6-4, 6-2 with a great performance. We both played really well, there was not much we could have done better. Bruni did everything well and I also had a good day and was especially zoning the returns. It's always nice to play with a good friend, we have a good spirit and at least until now, we have played well together.

Gstaad, Switzerland

I started the tournament on Monday with doubles, Bruni and I beat Montanes/Gimeno-Traver 4-6, 6-3, 10-5. We were a set and break down but then we got the momentum and started to play well.

Yesterday I played singles against Thiago Alves. I had never played him before and the last time we were on the same court was 1999 when we were in the same ITF junior team. Already back then he was a nice guy and a good fighter on the court. I beat him 6-4, 4-6, 6-3. It was "winning ugly" but the main thing is that I got trough it and I have a chance to do things better in the next match, which will be against Jeremy Chardy tomorrow. Doubles is later today against Kas/Allegro.

Hamburg, Germany

We were both holding most of our serves quite easy in the last two sets, I only had one chance to break him and that was when I broke him to 5-3 in the second set. He had his only breakpoint in the third set in the matchpoint where I double faulted. I wanted to surprise him with serve and volley but rushed too much forward before hitting the ball and didn't get the needed pace so it went to the net. I surprised him a few times like that before and it worked well so I wanted to go for it again. Ferrero served accurate and his first serves came in with high percentage, but I also I didn't return that well.

There were positive things in my game through out the tournament, my serve being one of them. It was nice to get some of the few things into the matches that I have been working on lately and luckily there is still room for improvement.

Now I'm already in Gstaad where my next tournament is. Gstaad will be my last clay court tournament of the year. I'll also play doubles with Brunström. It's the first time I'm here. This tournament used to be at the same time with Båstad, which I have always played.

It's my birthday today. Now I'm 29 years old... and I'm feeling great! 29 is not a special number so it hasn't been a special birthday party either.

Hamburg, Germany

I have had a good support here. There have been Finnish people watching my matches and there has also been a little supporting group of younger Germans who always come to my matches. The tournament has the habit to have different groups of younger people who can choose the player whom they will support though out the whole tournament. Simon had also a group supporting him but I have to say that my supporting group did a better job...Vielen Dank!

Hamburg, Germany

I served well, I hit 12 aces, which is a lot for me, especially in two sets, on clay court. I think I served more aces in the match than during the whole last month. In Båstad I served bad but since that it has been totally different. It's nice to get the results of the work I've done in practice in to the matches, I try to keep it up. My next match is tomorrow against Gilles Simon.

I admire the tennis culture in Germany every time when I'm here, especially the club culture is enviable. I have played tournaments in many different clubs and they are always nice. Even in the smallest places they often have a nice and cosy tennis club. Bigger clubs have bigger restaurants, bars, cafes, swimming pools etc. People, young and old, families come there to meet each other, to eat, to have a drink, to hang around and not just to play tennis. It would be great to get a similar tennis club culture to Finland. We have some cosy clubs, but it would be nice to see more of them.

Båstad, Sweden

I really like playing in Sweden. I have been competing there since I was 10 years old so I know many players, coaches and other people there. Nowadays Sweden is probably my favorite place to play on the tour. Over all I get the best support there, even though I'm not Swedish. Usually there's also some Finns in the crowd.

This time there was also three other Finnish players in the tournament, Timo (The Bachelor), Henkka and Juho. It was a pity that none of them qualified this time but anyway it was nice to have that many Finns in the same tour event. Hopefully all of them and many more will make it to the bigger tournaments soon. Kim (Keisari) was also there coaching Janowicz so you could hear Finnish spoken all over the place.

I played my first match on Tuesday against Christian Lindell, a young Swedish player who got a wild card to the tournament. I won the match 4-6, 6-0, 6-4. He served and hit forehands well and most of all, his attitude was really good. He played solid and mature tennis for his age and for his first main draw match on the tour. I had a very difficult day against him, nothing seemed to work automatically. I was just happy to fight myself through that match. Hopefully also Lindell keeps improving, it would be nice to have more Scandinavian players on the high level.

I lost 6-4,6-4 against Almagro on the second round. He broke me once in both sets. I played better and more aggressive than in the first match, especially from the baseline where I often controlled the game. Almagro served clearly better and otherwise played solid, I never got the lead in the match.

I'll play two more weeks on clay before the hard court season which I start from Canada.

Masku, Finland

Wimbledon, United Kingdom

I didn't serve as well during the last two days (also in doubles) as during most of the match against Koubek. My serve needs more work so it will be more consistent. My serve wasn't especially bad either, but against one of the best returners, it wasn't good enough. From the baseline I felt that I could control the game when I made the right choices.

Even if I had served great it would have been difficult to beat Andy, he was that good yesterday. If he continues playing like that, he will be very hard to beat and he can go really far in the draw. My goal was to win more in this years Wimbledon but my second round opponent just played too well this time.

One thing I didn't for sure expect to happen coming to Wimbledon was that I would meet Queen Elizabeth II. We were told about 30 minutes before the match that when we walk to the court we have to stop in line with the service line, then turn to the Queen and bow to Her at the same time, also when we leave the court after the match. Then we were also told that we will meet the Queen after the match. Minutes before the match me and Andy discussed how we are going to bow.

Walking to the center court in Wimbledon is always a great moment but it's even more unique when the Queen is there. Even more special was to meet and talk with Her after the match. I'm very honored to have experienced that.

Now I'll have a few days off, then I start practicing on clay. My next tournament is in two weeks in Båstad. First I'm just going to enjoy being in Finland for a while, I have been travelling a lot lately. I'll visit our summer cottage, go to the sauna, swim, barbeque, etc.

Wimbledon, United Kingdom

Next challenge in singles will be against Murray tomorrow. It won't be easy but I'll go out there giving all I got, trying to find the way to beat him. The Queen will come to Wimbledon tomorrow, for the first time in 33 years. It's an honour to play in front of her, it's not often you have royalties watching your match.

We lost doubles later today in 5 sets, 6-4 in the fifth, not nice. There were many good and tight matches today, but one was above all, John Isner vs. Nicolas Mahut. They played four sets yesterday and continued from the fifth set today. They had to suspend the match again today because of darkness. Score is 59-59 in the fifth set, after playing over 10 hours!! That's the longest match ever by far and they just keep going tomorrow. Amazing!

Wimbledon, United Kingdom

Last Saturday was the deadline for the voting players to the Player Council. There are two rounds of voting. In the second round there's left only few players who got the most votes in the first round. The same Council works for two years period. What I know, there are about ten meetings during the year, mostly during the tournaments. There are ten players and two coaches in the Council. Players make suggestions and take issues to their player representatives on the Player Council. The Player Council reviews all matters related to players and makes policy recommendations to the ATP Board. I'm excited to be elected. It's nice that other players voted for me and I'm looking forward to represent them well.

I know all the members of the current Council quite well from playing the same tournaments with them in the past few years. I have ideas, and any thoughts other players have, I will try to bring them up at the meetings because they voted me. It will be very interesting to see the game from the different point of view and to be part of the process. It's something different and new for me. I'm looking forward to work on various issues and improve the game. Hopefully I can do some good work.

2010-2012 ATP Player Council: 1-50 singles (4): Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Fernando Gonzalez, Sam Querrey. 51-100 singles (2): Jarkko Nieminen, Peter Luczak. 1-100 doubles (2): Eric Butorac, Nenad Zimonjic. At-large (2): Yves Allegro, Ashley Fisher. Coach: Claudio Pistolesi. Alumni: Ignacio Hirigoyen.

's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands

I'll have a day off today and then I start to prepare for Wimbledon. All the Grand Slams are great but in my opinion Wimbledon is the best one. It has kept its old traditions, the atmosphere is very special and everything works extremely well.

's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands

If I win my first match, it will guarantee that one Finn is in the quarterfinal because in that case Henkka and I will play against each other in the second round. Before that there's a lot of challenge in the first round match. Benjamin and I had a very tight match last time in Delray Beach in the spring. Benjamin can play good on grass, he won this tournament last year and what I saw, he seemed to play good last week in Halle as well. If I can play like I have played during the last 10 days, I will get my chances.

Tonight I will enjoy soccer's World Cup again, it's such a great sport event. Even though Finland is not playing (hopefully next time), I still really like to follow it.

Halle, Germany

The first set felt like a 50-50 set. I had break points in two different games and Roger in one. The frustrating thing was that in the only service games I lost, I had a convenient lead and a good opportunity to hold them. In the first set 4-4, 30-0 me serving, I gave away two easy points and then Roger played two points well. In the second set, the service game I lost, I had a 30-15 lead and a put away ball.

When Roger plays well there is no room for even a single mistake. Like I already wrote, in the first set I felt I had good chances and even though there was only one break in the second set, I wasn't close to breaking him anymore as he started controlling the game more in that set. He started to serve really well with a high first serve percentage and then it obviously gets very difficult to break him. He also changed the tactics which made it hard for me to play my game.

There was room for improvement in my game but over all I was satisfied with my performance. I tried to do the right things but against the world's best player the result is just not as effective than against others. Anyway my main goal is to make the right choices to be able to improve and I'm happy about the things I did on the court. I made about four wrong choices in the match and the rest were right ones. I also served pretty well.

I have worked a lot with my serve here with Jan. My serve is the stroke where I still have the biggest potential for improvement. Serve and tactical playing will be the main areas I will work on to get the best out of me as often as possible. When I play with the right tactics I can challenge anyone from the baseline so it will be a big help when I can get a few extra points with the serve. I already had a higher first serve points winning percentage in Paris than I usually have and yesterday I served even more solid. It of course needs more time and work to be optimal but the results are promising already after two weeks of serving with the changed technic. I served my hardest serve ever yesterday, 218km/h and a couple of times over 215km/h. The speed is not the main factor but it shows that I'm on the right track. When I can serve consistent with that kind of speed, good control and variation, I can do some more damage.

I'll stay here for a couple of days before going to the next tournament in Netherlands.

Halle, Germany

Tomorrow I'll play singles. I won't have a "walk in the park" - start, because I play against Federer. I love challenges and now I'll have the ultimate one trying to find a way to beat the man I've never beat and playing him on grass, where he has his best record. We played so many times against each other but never on grass. I'm going to enjoy the moment and fight hard. I have been here for a few days now, worked on a few things and I've had great practices. I'm looking forward to going out to the stadium, trying to do the right things and execute the game.

Halle, Germany

Now I'm already in Halle and I just practised two hours on grass. I feel it's easy to come from clay to grass and also the other way round, even though it makes a big difference in the game. During the first years on the tour I wasn't that confident on grass, but then I improved my grass court game and started to get good results on that surface as well. Nowadays I love it. It's definitely not only for cows, it's a great surface to play on and a nice change for a month.

Prostejov, Czech Republic

Next I'll go for a dinner with Brunström and Rojer, then I go to the sauna. That has been my routine for the last two day's. People are nice here and I know many of them because I played the tournament here before and I have been practicing here twice. They put the sauna on only for me, I appreciate that.

Prostejov, Czech Republic

Today I'll play against Granollers. We had a tough match last time in Marrakech so I don't expect it to be easy this time either. I just try to make the right choices, stay aggressive and serve well. Hopefully the weather is better, it has been rainy and cold for two days now. Luckily I played on centre court yesterday where they have a roof which is very unusual, at least for a challenger tournament.

Paris, France

I actually felt that I controlled the game best in the fourth and the fifth set, I just used my breakchances really well in the second and third. In both sets I hit a winner return from the forehand side. I was more often closer to breaking Roddick in the fourth and fifth. I had 0-30 and 30-40 a few times in his service games but every time Roddick came up with a big first or second serve. In those situations I didn't do anything wrong, it was in the fourth set tie-break where I played a few bad points. I didn't serve well and allowed Roddick to stay aggressive. In the fifth I played over all well, Andy just served too good and used his chances.

After the match Larry, Roddick's coach said that in the last two sets Andy felt that he had to go more for the serve. He did it really well every time I was leading in his service games, he served a little bit harder and closer to the lines and I wasn't able to hit a good return in those situations. I obviously was expecting Andy to serve well as he has the best serve in the world, but still those few serves in the tight situations were amazingly accurate. There is a reason why he has been number one in the world and is constantly in the top ten.

It was a good fight and good quality tennis from me for 4 sets, it's just painful to lose. I controlled the rallies after the first set. That was what I expected if I play well, Roddick gets points with his serve and I win most of the rallies. I'm quite satisfied with how I served in the last four sets, except for the tie-break. I won 75% of the points from my first serve which is a much higher number for me than usually.

I did a little technical change in my serve and already after a few days the result was showing. It still needs more practise, some more changes and consistency but already with a little change here in Paris, I served better. Jan De Witt has helped me with it and he is going to coach me in some of the upcoming weeks. He is the coach of Troicki and Chiudinelli and he also has a training academy in Halle, Germany.

Yesterday Michael and I lost the doubles against Mayer/Zeballos 7-5, 6-3. I have to say that they did everything a little bit better than us. Because of not winning here, I will play a challenger in Prostejov next week before the grass court season. I did it once before, in 2005 and I won the tournament so I have good memories from there. Two first rounds in Paris is not what I wanted but life goes on. I take all the positive things from my match, look forward and never give up the work for improvement.

Paris, France

We most likely play the match on a big court so it was good that I practiced with Federer on the centre court, I got used to the space around the court. Roger and I played points for two hours, it was very good and fun practice again. I'm feeling good now, physically I'm fine and I'm hitting the ball clean. I've had really good quality practices here. I try to keep up the good form. The match will be on Monday or Tuesday.

Paris, France

In singles I served well in the first set and Stakhovsky missed a lot, points were short and I was controlling the game. In the second set Stakhovsky started to serve and play better, at the same time I couldn't keep the same pressure anymore and he could attack and control the game more.

I still don't feel 100% fit. Spring time seems to have been harder for me during the last years; allergies, illnesses, injuries and infections, always during spring. Maybe I should just take a couple of weeks off during spring time next year, just stay in Finland. All the junior and the first few years on the tour I was lucky to stay healthy almost all the time. That's what everyone is aiming for, a healthy season. Many things are just impossible to prevent. I saw that at least 10 players have pulled out from the French Open main draw because of different reasons. That's a lot, more than before. I guess it's difficult to stay healthy for 11 months a year when the game is getting more physical.

Anyway, my goal of the week is to get myself ready for next week. I'm hitting the ball well and yesterday after a hard practice, I recovered much better, that's very positive. I'll practice and eat well and rest enough to get my body to a good form again. It's good that I have a few days to prepare myself for the possible five set-matches in the French Open.

I took an early train from Nice to Paris today. I chose to take that instead of a flight. With a 1,5h long flight, trip to the airport, check-in and waiting for the luggage the trip would have taken only a little less than a train trip. With the train it took about 5 hours but it was very relaxing, good seats, no changes and a nice scenery. I slept over half of the trip because I left so early.

I was told in the hotel in Nice that I should be at the train station very early in case "something happens". Other people said the same. I couldn't think of anything surprising happening when I had the ticket already and the train station was close to the hotel. Usually I would have been there just a little before the train leaves. Even though it didn't make sense to me, in the end I just thought that the locals know best and I went there early. It was a small station, no chaos, nothing. I'm usually quite early in places so I'm used to waiting but this time I was REALLY early. There I was standing alone before the sunrise when the other passengers were probably still sleeping. I felt like travelling for the first time. That "something" never happened, the train came on time and the trip was nice like I wrote. When I wasn't sleeping, I listened to music and read.

I hardly ever read two similar books in a row. For example I just finished Ozzy Osbourne's biography and now I'm reading a book about the Second world war, when Finland was in war against the Soviet Union. I have read many books about that, because I've been interested in Finland's history since school.

Next I'll take the metro to the city and be a tourist in Paris for a while. Later I'll go for a long run and to the gym and also organize practice for the next few days. I'm already set with Melzer, Cuevas, Russell and Federer.

Nice, France

I'm playing singles and doubles (with Kohlmann). This tournament is a good preparation for the French Open. I'll get used to the clay again and the tournament is played with the same balls than Paris. My feet and body are getting to a better shape. Thursday was the first day I could practice normal again and yesterday I felt quite good. My goal here is to get my game to a good shape for the French Open, but of course every win here is a nice bonus.

There was 26 degrees in Finland yesterday, hopefully it means that the summer starts soon. I like the other three seasons as well but if the weather is good, there's nothing better than a nice summer day in Finland. Because of my wrist injury a year ago I got to spend a lot of time in Finland during the summer. I can't even remember when I last was able to do that. I was unlucky in the exactly same week this year with the infection in my feet but luckily I didn't need to take a long break from playing. Even though I would love to enjoy the Finnish summer, I prefer to play on the tour. I just have to go to the sauna in my hotel, close my eyes and imaging being at a summer cottage. It's better than nothing.

Pretoria, South Africa

Today Timo lost against Klaasen. Timo was actually the only one who was able to play so we had to give up the other match. Henkka's ankle is still not good, Harri has food poisoning, bad stomach and a very high fever and I have health problems. I got infections to my feet 10 days ago and I have been eating strong antibiotics since then. I couldn't take a normal step for 6 days. The antibiotics helped fast to get the infections away, but my body has been off the whole week. Today I would not have been able to play at all. My body is in such a bad shape now because of practicing and playing 2 matches without being fit. I need a few days off to get better.

It would have been a tough situation if the tie would have been 2-2 today, we would not have had a player to play the deciding match. We have had some luck and some bad luck earlier but during this Davis Cup week we were extremely unlucky. Hopefully everybody gets fit soon. Even with everyone being healthy before and during the matches, it would not have been an easy task to beat the South African team here as the whole team played well. I wish them good luck for the world group qualifications.

There's no more Davis Cup for us this year. After beating Poland, we obviously wanted to achieve more. It would have been great to try to qualify to the world group but at least we achieved our main goal for this year, which was to stay in the first division. Next year if everyone stays healthy and our young guns keep improving, team Finland will kick back stronger than ever.

Pretoria, South Africa

Pretoria, South Africa

Rome, Italy

Rome, Italy

Today he kept playing well, he just beat Ferrero 6-0, 6-3 which is a big upset. I'm the first lucky loser on the list so I have to stay here and give it a chance in case someone can't play. At least Rome isn't the worst place for hanging around.

Rome, Italy

Martin played solid and I was surprised how aggressive he hit yesterday. There were many good points in the match. I made some wrong choices in a few games, but at least I could put one more gear on in both of the tie-breaks and that's why I controlled the game in them. I won most of the points when I played more aggressive. My next match is today against Giraldo.

Rome, Italy

Yesterday I practiced two hours with Federer here in Rome. We did one hour of exercises and drills and the second hour we played points. I can't hope for a better practice than that. Roger very obviously hits great, but it's also nice to practice with him because he is so down to earth. He is super-relaxed and he jokes around, but still he practices really well at the same time. Today I supposed to practice with Dolgopolov and Berrer but the forecast promised rain, hopefully it's wrong.

The draw for the qualification will be made in the evening and the matches start on Saturday.

Barcelona, Spain

Even though the opponent played well, it's always frustrating to lose early in the week, especially when you feel that you could have won the match by playing better in just a few points. Over all I didn't play bad yesterday but the better the opponent is, the less margin there is to play bad even just for a few points.

I had a great preparation for this tournament, it just didn't help this time. Sometimes you feel like you can't hit the ball with the strings in the practice and then you end up playing the best match/tournament ever, tennis is a funny game. Anyway at some stage, the good practice will pay off. Today I practiced with Dolgopolov and Verdasco, then I did some fitness training in the gym.

I'm planning on flying to Rome on Thursday morning. Luckily the ash from Iceland's volcano is not disturbing the air traffic here anymore, the airports in Barcelona and Rome are working normal at the moment and hopefully it will stay that way. A few days ago I wrote that a lot of players have pulled out from the tournaments lately because of injuries or some kind of tiredness. The same happened here before the tournament and also after the draw had been made. It's a pity for the tournament that one of the players was Nadal, but I think it's understandable that he doesn't play. It must be difficult for him to not play in Spain, but the calendar is otherwise demanding. This is between the bigger tournaments and even for him it would be hard to play all these weeks in a row. He most likely would go far in all these clay tournaments and that wouldn't be ideal for the body, especially before the French Open.

I haven't heard that anyone in the main draw would have pulled out because of the ash in the air, somehow everyone made it to here. One guy drove a car for over 2000km, others took trains, delayed flights, random driver's lift etc.

Now I'll relax and watch soccer, Inter vs. Barcelona on TV. I saw Messi two days ago, actually a tournament driver noticed him on the street when we passed by him. Last year I got to go to watch Barcelona's game live here, that was a nice experience. I saw them the second time when they played against Basel during the tennis tournament there. I haven't had a chance to watch my home team MAPS (they are in the third division at the moment) play that often during the last years because I haven't been in Masku so often during the summer time. I have to say that even though Barcelona's stadium is a little bigger than the one in Masku, the atmosphere is also unique in the field of Taponketo. :) I used to go there to watch the games sometimes. I also have played one season in MAPS, long time ago. Where ever I'll end up living, MAPS will stay as my team.

Barcelona, Spain

Barcelona is one of my favorite cities and the tournament here is great and well organized, the club is nice and the courts are some of the best clay courts. Yesterday I had a good practice day, I hit twice and then I practiced some more in the gym after I heard that I got in to the main draw. I'll play against Bellucci which is a challenging first round.

The tournament's cut off (the ranking of the lowest ranked player in the main draw) has dropped a lot during the last few weeks. It seems that players are playing or at least entering more tournaments nowadays. I think it's because the game is becoming stronger and there's no guarantee that you will win many matches in a tournament, there are no easy matches... except maybe for Federer, Nadal and few more players. That's why you have to enter many tournaments as you never know how and when you'll succeed. Everyone obviously wants to be as high ranked as possible. The game has also become more physical and because there are so many good players now, it's also mentally more demanding. Then in the end a lot of players have to pull out from the tournaments due to injuries and mental or physical tiredness. Anyway, I'm happy that I don't have to qualify this time.

Monte-Carlo, Monaco

After the game one spectator called the match "a great street fight"... he seemed to say it in a positive way. At least the coaches and players who saw the match thought it was a good quality match and entertaining to watch. You appreciate these things more a little later, after you have calmed down from the loss. And even though in the end of the day it is about winning and losing, you can also be happy about the effort you put in to it. That's the one thing you can control, you can't control winning, that's just the outcome of your effort.

We had long rallies with great tempo all the time and almost every game was tight. The balls in the tournament were so heavy that even when we served a solid first serve, the server didn't get a big advantage out of it. For me it felt like serving medicine balls. Besides the serve and a few single points, I played the way I wanted to play. Obviously it's still frustrating to lose the match because I felt that I was able to win it as well and it would have been nice to keep going. It really came down to a few single points and this time Monaco got the ones in the end.

Anyway, I feel that my level of the game is good now and can get better when I do a few more adjustments to my game. I've got many wins and though matches on clay, my body and mind feel good so I'm really looking forward to the next weeks, even though I have competed a lot lately. It has always helped me when I can stay home, even for a short time before going back to the tour.

It's so nice to read the Finnish newspapers on the flight to Finland. The funny thing is that I've often found myself "the sport day's sheep"... because I often (I might even have a record in sheeps, I don't know because I read them only on the plain) fly home after I have lost. Only one player wins in the tennis tournaments, the rest are losers, like me the other day. When I flew back from Melbourne 2008 after having the best month of my career, playing finals in Adelaide and quarterfinals in Australian Open, I sat down on the plain, opened the newspaper and read the headline: "Jarkko lost again!" I just had my best achievement (with two other quarterfinals in Grand Slams), but like the paper wrote, I lost again. So did the other 126 players in the main draw. I changed to read the other news hoping that there's better research done behind them. I had a nice trip back to Finland and returned to the army. Just to let everybody know, I'm not Federer or Nadal and I'll never be, so most likely I won't win a Gran Slam but I keep trying hard and collect whatever animals I get.

Now I'm home in Finland but already today I'm flying to Barcelona where I start competing on Saturday.

Monte-Carlo, Monaco

Anyway the player who stayed more aggressive, was the one who won most of the points. My next match is tomorrow, I'll play against Juan Monaco in the afternoon.

Monte-Carlo, Monaco

Maybe travelling the whole day on Friday affected my body or maybe I was just physically off yesterday. My body has to be ready today because I want to play more aggressive. My second/last qualification round opponent is Oscar Hernandez.

Casablanca, Morocco

I had held my service games easy in the first, then in the second and third set I dropped my first service games both times. I had chances to come back in the second and third but I couldn't use them like I did in the first. Hanescu started to serve better and he also used his chances well.

It obviously would have been nice to continue playing matches here, but now I have to travel to Monte Carlo tomorrow. Qualifications there start on Saturday. I had some bad luck with the flights as there are no straight flights from here to Nice tomorrow so the trip will take the whole day but at least I get there tomorrow. I have copied my new cd's on to my iPod and I have a good book for the trip.

I've played many matches lately and I'm hitting the ball well so I'm confident that I'm able to play well on Saturday.

Casablanca, Morocco

Today I practiced tennis once, did some pilates, stretched and got a massage. In the afternoon I wanted to visit the third biggest mosque in the world here, just to do something else again. 25000 people can fit there so it's massive. Unfortunately, today it wasn't open for tourists late afternoon anymore.

Next I'm going to have dinner with a few players. We have been eating the buffet in the hotel every day, not the same food though. They have many different options and most of them are very good. Yesterday they had some animal brains that didn't look too tasty so I didn't try it. I seem to write about eating when I'm starving... I have to go to the supermarket now and get some snacks before I start eating tennisballs.

Casablanca, Morocco

I went to Casablanca's old town after my match, it was an interesting place to visit and it's also always nice to see something else than just the tennis courts and the hotel. I took a taxi from the hotel and first I thought the taxi was taken but found out that here if the other customer is going to the same direction, you can share the car. At least today it worked out really well.

Casablanca, Morocco

Yesterday on the way to the courts, the tournament car I was in was stopped by the police. The driver and the police both seemed to be angry. I didn't understand a word they said so I thought the driver was in trouble, even though he drove safely and well. We didn't move for a while but then in the end, just before I was starting to get stressed about being late from the warm up for the match, the police let the driver go. The driver didn't speak English but what I could understand from his explanation, the police just stopped and checked random cars. Qualifications last round is today. I'll play against Menendez-Maceiras.

Casablanca, Morocco

I would have got in to the main draw in Houston Friday afternoon but I didn't want to leave that late anymore. It would have been a long trip just for one tournament. I rather stay here and save my body a little bit.

I'm impressed that the transportation cars I've been in here, still haven't touched/crashed any other cars. They drive so close from each other and there are no lanes on the roads, you drive where there is space. I guess what makes it work is the skill to use the horn. My room is on the 25th floor and I can hear horns all the time.

Barletta, Italy

I started the match with four unforced errors, that's maybe the same amount of errors I made during the whole match the day before. I wanted to come back and play better so bad in the second set. I tried hard but the result wasn't much better, I felt like I'm just hitting my head against the wall because nothing worked. I didn't feel that tired before the match but I must have looked very tired on the court. I felt so slow and I made so many wrong decisions. Nevertheless, I guess there was not enough fuel in the tank anymore to keep playing well. A few days rest will be nice now.

Even though yesterday's match was very poor, I have to be satisfied over all with my clay court start. I got a lot of matches, just like I wanted. After a few days at home I'll go back to Morocco. I think I'll leave to Casablanca on Thursday, the qualifications start on Saturday.

One of the great things about writing a blog is that I can tell how the match went in my own words to those who follow my matches. I just have to censor some of my thoughts a little bit, especially after playing bad.

When I looked at the calendar I counted that since I started my comeback in Kolding challenger, I have had four weeks off from the last 22. Of those four weeks, I've had total rest for 1,5 weeks. That's a lot of travelling and a lot of tennis!

I've had to play a lot not to lose all the points I had left after missing half of the season. I have also felt very motivated to practice, to get my level higher again and compete a lot at the same time. The summer will be easier when I can stay in Europe most of the time. No time difference, same surface (except the Davis Cup week), less travelling and it's also easier to come home for a few days and load the batteries if there's a chance between the tournaments. Hopefully my comeback has been successful when 12 months have passed from last year's Kolding tournament. At least the last two months have shown that I'm on the right track.

I try to keep myself updated with what's happening in the world by reading news from the internet when I'm travelling. Yesterday there was a negative tennis news when they had found growth hormon from Wayne Odesnik's bags. That really annoys me. I have zero tolerance for illegal substances!

Barletta, Italy

It was a good quality match and I'm very happy with how I played, especially in the tight situations. Tomorrow I'll play against Riba in the quarterfinal. Now I'll go for a dinner with Vliegen, Darcis and his coach. South-Italy's economy is not as good as Northern-Italy's but at least the food is great in the whole country. Buffalo mozzarella... Mmmm.

Barletta, Italy

Barletta, Italy

All the first rounds in singles are tomorrow, I'll play against Alund from Argentina. He qualified here so he is used to the circumstances, that's why qualifiers are never the easiest opponents. Hopefully the weather is better tomorrow so everyone gets to play. These rainy days are always long, luckily I still haven't read all of my books.

Marrakech, Morocco

Dolgopolov is very talented and he can be a really dangerous player so in the end, the match went much easier than I thought it would. I have to say that coming here I didn't know what to expect. The first clay court tournament is always a big question mark, especially coming from indoor hard court.

I was surprised how well I felt on clay only after 4 days of practice. Because I started to feel so good so fast, I also started to expect that I could do well here. My game has felt better starting from Memphis and I haven't played a bad match since then. The surface doesn't make a big difference for me when I play well.

When I started to compete again after my break, I played very up and down for many weeks and I lost many tight matches. Lately I've played really solid and I've won many close matches. The wins come because I have a lot of match routine now, I've worked a lot physically, mentally and gamewise. I can't take it for granted that I automatically play well all the time and I have to keep working hard with everything. I try to keep my little winning streak (starting from Davis Cup in singles) up as long as I can.

I'm enjoying the winning feeling but I can't celebrate too much now, because I'm flying to Barletta today for the next tournament and the focus must be there. After Barletta I get to go home. My first round in Italy will be on Wednesday. I'll play only singles there.

Last night after dinner I had a one man's party in my room and celebrated by washing my clothes (need some clean ones for the next days) and by packing my bags. what a celebration! Anyway, it's nicer to do that and travel after winning the final instead of losing it. I'll leave Marrakech with good memories.

Marrakech, Morocco

I don't think it was good at all that I couldn't win the match in two sets after the chances I had, but I think it was a strong effort to come back and win the third set. Luckily my opponent for the final, Dolgopolov, was also a set and break up but had to fight for the match, ending up winning it 7-5 in the third set. At least we both had to work equally hard. I'm looking forward to another tough match in the final.

Marrakech, Morocco

Later today we lost the doubles 6-4, 7-6(8). We had a lot of chances but things did not go our way. Our opponents played well and fought hard, I don't want to take anything away from them. Now it's time for dinner, I'm starving again. Before I go to bed I'll read and listen to some music in the room and just load my batteries for tomorrow.

Marrakech, Morocco

There's only dinner left in today's "program". I did pilates for 45 minutes in the morning and stretched after that. Then I hit with Michael for a little bit over an hour before the lunch. Our match was very short and physically not demanding but I'm still very hungry now. We go to the Italian restaurant again. I'm looking forward to eating two main courses. I'm not the biggest guy but I can eat like a horse.

Marrakech, Morocco

I had a slow start today, I played too passive, but then from 3-3 I started to play well, smart and more aggressive. I found the right way to play and I had a very good streak until he retired. The quarterfinal on Friday will be against Ouahab.

Later today Michael and I won doubles 2-6, 6-4, 10-4. Our next match is tomorrow against an other Moroccan pair Saber and Ziadi.

Marrakech, Morocco

The game continued similar in the third set, even though I felt I had better control again. I had breakpoints in the middle of the set and then later in 4-3 I had two breakpoints to make it to 5-3. I didn't get those and then in 4-4 he broke me. I felt that when he was serving for the match in 5-4, he maybe thought that now he can actually win the match and then he stopped playing that relaxed "nothing to lose" game. At least he served many second serves and missed some balls that he hadn't missed in the whole set. At the same time I was more aggressive with my shots again, I had to. Those things put together caused that I won the next 12 points and took the set 7-5.

I think that if he would have been fit all the time, there would have been a big chance that I would have taken the match in two sets, I felt so good in the end of the first. If you let Ascione to stand and hit the first ball, you get in to trouble. That's why the injury didn't change his game so much because I let him hit his great strokes. It would have been much easier to find the gameplan back if I would have played someone who is not able to get so many points with the serve and who can't hit so many winners. He could keep the points so short and that made me have problems in getting back the game I played in the first set.

At least I can learn a lot from these kind of matches. Like I said, I'm happy with the way I played in the first and it was a good fight, a nice match to win. My strokes and movement on clay felt quite good, I just have to stick to the gameplan better, whatever happens. I'll play against Sergeyev tomorrow.

Our doubles will be later after that against Moroccan Chakl and El Amrani. Next I'll do some pilates exercises, stretching and then I go to sauna. In the evening Michael and I go to a great Italian restaurant that we found yesterday. I'm looking forward to eating some tomato and mozzarella.

Marrakech, Morocco

After practicing two days on clay I actually feel quite good, even though it's a big change from indoor hard courts. My first match will be against Ascione, I know him since juniors, he is a talented Frenchman with good strokes. I'll play doubles with Kohlmann here but the draw is not done yet. Now I'm looking forward to a dinner, because I'm starving.

Sopot, Poland

My legs are so sore today that I can hardly bend my knees. I try to avoid stairs. I played over 13 hours of tennis during 3 days. I already felt tired yesterday morning, especially my legs were really stiff. It didn't matter when I stept on to the court, I was so pumped that I didn't notice the pain in my legs. I wanted to win so badly. I had to win to keep our hopes alive and to be able to let Henkka fight for the last match. I handled that situation well and could keep good control of the match by playing aggressive enough with good marginal.

The last match was extremely tight, Henkka was down 2 sets to 1 and 4-1 in the fourth when the side of his stomach started to cramp. Somehow during the medical timeout he and the whole team still had a positive feeling and belief that the match can turn around. We were even joking during that timeout. Henkka came back strong, he played well and ended up winning the fourth set 7-6 and then the fifth 7-5. Jiihaa!

It's nervebreaking to watch these matches, even though I never lost the belief that Henkka could win the match. It's much easier for me to be on the court myself, because I'm in control of what's happening. It's hard to tell how we felt when we saw Henkka winning the last point. Beating Poland is one of the best Davis Cup achievements, at least during my time in the Finnish team. Poland has a team that could be playing in the World Group.

This win guaranteed that we at least stay in the first division so now we can aim higher. There are no easy matches in this division but I think it's also tough to beat our team. Who knows how far we can go in the future. Our next challenge is South Africa away.

I'm happy that I could help the team by getting two wins against very good players. I'm also happy with the way I played tactically. Like I have written before, now I feel that my level of the game is better, I.m more solid and very confident again.

I have to say that it was really nice to play in Poland. The atmosphere in the hall was great, people were cheering for us as well after good rallies. Also the organization was professional and everyone was really friendly and fair. Our team spirit was again, as good as team spirit can get. We get along really well, we joke around, we always stay positive, we support each other and we fight really hard on the court.

We had the smallest team possible what comes to the amount of people: 4 players, the captain and the physio. Everyone did a great job and filled their part in the team. Thanks to Keisari, "Jamii", Henkka, Harri and Kobra/The Bachelor for a memorable week! Now I finally have a week off. I will rest for a few days and then fly to Marrakech, Morocco, where I start practicing on clay and preparing for the tournament.

Sopot, Poland

Sopot, Poland

Przysiezny played really well, it was a high quality match. He served extremely well and stayed aggressive after that. I also served and played well. I felt that Przysiezny played clearly better than for example many guys in the tour events that I just played in the US. He played top-50 tennis and I'm sure he will get there if he continues to play like he did.

I just tried to play smart, concentrate well and keep fighting for every point. Przysiezny had a matchpoint in the fourth set tie-break when he was serving at 7-6. He hit a second serve and I hit a return winner. Then I won the next two points and got the set. In the fifth I took an early break and then held my serve until the end.

When I have more matches under my belt and the level of my game has gotten better again, it's much easier to step up, trust your shots to be aggressive when it's tight situation. It was such a nice match to win. sisua, sisua!!

In yesterday's second match Henkka lost against Kubot 6-4, 6-2, 7-6(5). Kubot was playing well, he also served well which is obviously very important here. Henkka managed to play his normal game only in the third set. In the first two sets his serve was far from what he is capable of.

Today we'll play doubles against Fyrstenberg and Matkowski. Another tough match, hopefully we can keep repeating our good performances in doubles.

My body feels quite good considering the almost 5 hours I spent yesterday on hard court, which can be very demanding on your body. Luckily we have a great physio, Jami in our team. His treatments help me to recover. Jami has also taken care of my fitness for the last 5 years. One of my biggest strengths, good footwork and condition allows me to be able to play such long matches. So just slight stiffness, but no pain and no injuries.

We need two more wins here and we are ready to fight for it.

Sopot, Poland

Helsinki, Finland

I lost against Gulbis 6-4, 6-4 on Saturday. He played well, especially his biggest weapon, the serve, worked really well. I didn't get too many rallies in his service games, he hit first and second serves big and I didn't get them back the way I wanted. There was only one game when he hit a few second serves in a row + a double fault and then I broke him. I also served well and I held most of my service games easy. The service games I lost, I had a game point or a good lead... frustrating to lose those.

I could have played a few points better but otherwise I didn't play bad in the match. When Gulbis is playing well, then it often really comes down to those few points which decide the match.

I did many things well during the US-trip and especially during the last two weeks I played smart tennis quite often. I felt that I played more solid and that I could win top-100 and top-50 players with a routine performance again. I haven't really felt like that since I started to play after my break. It helped when I got more matches in tour events.

Now I'm looking forward to the Davis Cup tie. It won't be an easy task to beat Poland, they have a very solid team. We need a lot of Finnish sisu!

Delray Beach, USA

It feels really good to win a few matches in a row again and I'm really looking forward to keeping up the good work in the semifinal. I'll play against Ernest Gulbis.

After singles Bobby and I lost doubles against Bryans 6-1,6-4. We got a slow start and at the same time Bryans played extremely well through the match. We didn't even have one breakpoint in the match.

I could only watch Finland's ice-hockey match for about 15 minutes before I had to start to prepare for doubles, but unfortunately I saw USA score 6 goals during that time. Hopefully the Finnish team can recover and win the bronze medal.

Delray Beach, USA

I came back to the hotel, went for a run, stretched, ordered room service and watched the Olympic games, Finland beating Czechs in ice-hockey... yeeees! Next they play against USA in the semifinal. I'll watch the game with a few American players. I'll be the only Finn but I'll make more noise (when Finland scores) than them.

Back to tennis... I beat Korolev yesterday 5-7, 6-1, 6-0. The conditions were not easy for anyone, it was cold and very windy. I knew it will be a mental battle since nobody can hit great shots all the time in that kind of wind. At the beginning I hit too flat and I tried to serve too close to the lines which doesn't work in windy conditions. I also let Korolev play his aggressive game by playing too far from the baseline.

Then from 5-7, 0-1 I started to move better and play smarter. I started to hit with a better marginal, I also served to the body to make more first serves. I changed the tempo and the pace and I didn't give Korolev a good rhythm anymore. He started missing and then he also started to serve worse. I ended up winning the next 12 games in a row, nice!

After the singles win Bobby and I beat Coetzee/Lipsky 6-3, 4-6, 10-7 in doubles. Tomorrow in quarterfinal I play against Benjamin Becker and in doubles we'll play Bryan brothers.

Delray Beach, USA

My first match was yesterday, I beat Lorenzi 6-3, 6-4. I didn't lose my serve during the match and I got the breaks I needed. It was a solid routine performance. I served smart. There are things I want and definitely have to do better in the next round, but I'm happy my routine was enough to bring quite a convenient win.

I'll play against my "gym-mate" Korolev tomorrow. Today Bobby Reynolds and I play doubles against Coetzee/Lipsky if the weather allows it. It supposed to rain the whole day. Hopefully it clears up and we get to play.

Memphis, USA

Isner used his chances well, he took the only breakpoints he had in the second and third set by playing good in those. I played my best return game in 7-6, 1-0 and I had a breakpoint to get 2-0 lead but Isner hit a bomb serve which I didn't get back. Then in 1-1, 40-40 I hit an ace with my second serve and the linesman calls a footfault for the first and the last time in the match. Isner gets a breakpoint and breaks me. That game didn't obviously decide the match, I played well also immediately after that. It just changed the momentum, from me controlling the match to it being even.

I do footfaults sometimes, usually when I toss too forward. I have worked with not doing them, because even one in the match is too many. Anyway it felt strange that the linesman called the only footfault in that situation. I don't doubt that it wasn't a footfault and it's ok if it really was the only one, but Isner's coach said that I had done it about 4 times earlier in the match. That's why it's even harder to understand why it was called only then. It should be called every single time it happens, then the player knows to fix it. Rules are rules. It's same if the ball is out, then it should be called out every time... Not only when it's a big point.

As I wrote earlier, I felt great on the court, much better than for example last week. I felt that if somebody wants to beat me today, he has to play really well. For an average server it would have been hard, I felt so good in the rallies, returns etc. I felt that somebody has to serve me off the court, get many points with the serve to be able to beat me. There is Isner and a few others who can do it.

It's always painful too loose but after a match like this I have a much better taste in my mouth. I played well and I didn't do much wrong. I can't do much more than that. This was the first time this year (in singles) that I felt that I was playing high quality tennis again, from the start to the end. So even though I HATE loosing, I don't feel that disappointed this time. It's more the way you loose which matters and like I said, I couldn't have done much differently today. It wasn't perfect but it was very good. If I can keep playing like this, the results will get better and good again.

Memphis, USA

After the doubles I heard that I got in to the main draw in Delray Beach, next week's tournament... so I can't complain about how the day went. I play against Isner tomorrow, doubles will be on Thursday, against Kerr/Hutchins.

Memphis, USA

My first match is tomorrow against Dudi Sela. Doubles will be later in the afternoon. I'll play with Kohlmann against two big servers, Karlovic and Vemic.

San Jose, USA

I think Tomas is one of the best players in the world when he is "on". I talked with Marcos Baghdatis the day after he had lost to Tomas 6-0, 6-1 in Brisbane (the week before Marcos won Sydney) about their match. Marcos said that he didn't serve well, but otherwise he felt ok, Tomas was just striking so heavy all the time without missing. I also felt ok today. The score could have been tighter, I lost some tight games that I could have won but anyway, the win was not close. I didn't even have one breakpoint in the match.

I'm satisfied with the fact that I followed my game plan all the time. I did what I could. I will keep my head up and try to practise well so I'll hit the ball even better next week. I'll fly to Memphis tomorrow. I just got informed that somebody pulled out from there and I got in to the main draw. Elvis, here I come!

San Jose, USA

Since I came here my body and game has felt good, normal again. I played my first round match yesterday against Lars Poerschke, he got a wild card to the tournament. I beat him 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. I didn't know Poersche well before, I had just seen his name in the challengers. Harri and Kobra (they played the qualifying here) just told me that he has a good serve.

Even though I lost the first set, I didn't underestimate him in the beginning. Every tennis player knows that so many players can play really well nowadays and the marginals are small. Latest examples are Berrer and Robert (they played the finals in Tour Events in Johannesburg and Zagreb last week). I just played against them in small challenger finals in the end of last year (Jersey and Salzburg).

I had quite a lot of chances to break Poerschke in the first set but I couldn't get any of them. So it could have been 6-2 or 6-3 set for me as well. I just played extremely bad in one of my own service games, two double faults and two unforced errors, that cost the first set.

I'm not satisfied with the way I played, but I'm satisfied with how I turned the match around after a very frustrating first set and then won the other sets quite easy. I will play against Berdych tomorrow. Today I'll play doubles with Chardy against Sela and Istomin.

Johannesburg, South Africa

I have played bad in many tournaments, made wrong choices on the court but that's a different thing than feeling physically horrible. I have been to some tests because I have felt the same physical tiredness before. One of the reasons the tests showed, for me to feel like this during spring, is my allergies. I have got medicine and it's better now but spring is still really tough for me. Normally if I play bad, I think what I did wrong and I try to do things to improve. If I have felt physically bad, I have tried to find out why I felt like that. This time I just have to accept that I didn't have enough days to adjust my body.

Anyway I wouldn't want to change the doubles semifinal achievement for a better preparation here. That was so special to me. It's just the price you have to pay when you play well the week before. Now I try to fly to San Jose as soon as possible and get a good preparation for the next tournament, even though I would love to go to a safari here. I guess I just have to do it next time.

Johannesburg, South Africa

We lost the semifinal 6-1 6-4 to Bryans yesterday. They played really well trough the whole match. When they are on, you should really play well and at least hold your service games at the beginning to be able to challenge them. We did it the other way around, we didn't play well at the beginning, got a nightmare start and the score was 0-5 in 15 minutes. Then we started to play better and just lost one break after that but we were not close to breaking them at any stage of the match so they got a quite convenient win.

After the match I did a doping test, both urine and blood. Then I took treatment for my ankle, which is healing well. After that I confirmed my flight booking (I had hoped to change it to Sunday),paid the stringing, etc. Then I went to the hotel, sat in the sauna for a while, packed my bags, slept for four hours and left to the airport to catch an early flight to Sydney and from there to Johannesburg. The second flight was about 14 hours. Now I just try to adjust to the time difference and to the altitude (the balls move faster through the air because of that).

Melbourne, Australia

It feels nice to be (at least) in the semifinal of a Grand Slam and to break past records. By winning today Michael got to the Last 8 club for the first time. In singles you have to reach the quarterfinal or better and in doubles it's semifinal or better. Michael has been once in quarterfinals (in doubles) in the French Open. So as a nice bonus, our win got him to the club here. I should play myself to the club in French Open, then I would have them all. We'll play semifinal against Bryan/Bryan on Thursday. I have lost against them but also beat them twice with different partners. It won't be easy to beat them, they are the number one doubles team at the moment and they have won multiple Grand Slam titles. We just go out there, enjoy the moment and compete hard.

Melbourne, Australia

It has been very nice to play with Michael. I've known him since many years but it's the first time we play together. Our quarterfinal will be against Ljubicic/Gonzalez tomorrow. It's my fifth quarterfinal in Grand Slams, second in doubles (first one was in US Open 2008).

I have gotten some positive feedback from a few players and coaches about my second round singles here. There were a few watching it live. They complimented the quality of the match and the attitude on the court. It's very nice to hear such things from players and coaches... we/they are the ones who understand tennis the best.

Another nice thing I experienced on Friday was the band Them Crooked Vultures, live here in Melbourne... it was a very good rock concert! I was lucky to get a ticket.

Today I came back to the hotel from the courts and shared a car with a coach. We talked a little bit and he asked me some questions about Finland. I feel like I'm a one man Finland promotion team when I tell people that we don't actually suffer living in Finland. It's not minus 30 degrees and dark all the time and you don't see polar bears on the streets.

It's still surprising how often people don't know anything about Finland. Obviously it's not a big country, but still. The most common things people seem to think about Finland is that it's a very cold and dark country. Then they are surprised when I tell them that we can for example play tennis outside, etc. On the other hand almost everyone who has visited Finland has told me that they had a good time and that it's a beautiful and great country. And of course, I couldn't agree more.

Melbourne, Australia

In the first match point I played aggressive. After a few good shots I attacked well and Serra just got a medium high ball back from which I hit a hard forehand drive volley to his forehand corner. He guessed right and passed me down the line. I was almost sure I would win the match when I hit the ball. That is the kind of point you normally win 99 times out of a 100. First of all Serra had to guess where to go and secondly he had to time the shot perfectly to be able to place it so accurate. And he did everything, guessed right and hit it unbelievable well. I happened to lose the one time out of a 100 in that match point. In the second match point I hit a poor return. The fifth set was very tight, Serra just hit some extremely great shots in the most important moments (like a dive-volley winner in my breakpoint at 5-5) and took the victory.

It's amazing how big of a difference in the feeling one single point can make. That is also what makes tennis so brutal and great. If I would have won the match in four sets, by playing one of the best sets of my career (first set) and by getting a good win from a difficult match I would have felt so good. I couldn't keep the level of the first set in the second but I did come back strong in the third. Instead of winning that one point in the fourth, I just had to accept that it's real that I lost it and finally the match.

It always feels extra painful to lose after having had matchpoints. I actually haven't experienced it that many times during my pro career. I have won a lot of matches after my opponents have had matchpoints. It's such a pity that I couldn't continue playing more in singles here.

After my first round, I have hit the ball better every day. Like in the doubles yesterday I think I only missed one ball. Michael and I beat Mirnyi/Bhupati 6-4, 6-4. I played great and so did my partner. It felt nice to beat the fourth seeds with a very good performance. It was also a great pain relief after the singles loss. We'll play against Fleming/Skupski tomorrow.

Another thing that helped me to get over the painful loss was that my ankle was much better yesterday than feared after my singles. I twisted my left ankle in the end of fourth set. I played with the pain in the fifth set and it didn't feel good at all, even worse after the match so I wasn't sure if I could play the doubles. I feared that I might have to take another long break from playing.

Luckily yesterday morning the ankle wasn't that swollen and I could play doubles without pain. I had my ankle taped very tight and wore ankle support which I actually always wear nowadays. It's ok for doubles and I don't do any harm to it by playing but it would have been impossible to play singles today. I'm glad it seems like I won't miss any upcoming tournaments.

Melbourne, Australia

It was quite a tricky situation to stop the match but I think I handled it well, I never thought in any stage during the break that the match was over. I just planned how I will play the first two points on my serve and to get a sharp start.

I'm over all satisfied how smart and solid I played. The conditions were not easy yesterday, cold, windy and rainy. At least they are always the same for both so you just have to try to adjust things better than the opponent. I'm also happy that I used the rain breaks well and started always strong after those.

I will play against Serra tomorrow. I have a negative record against him so it would be nice to make it better tomorrow. He doesn't give many easy points so I'm looking forward to some long rallies. Doubles will be on Thursday.

Melbourne, Australia

Today I've had an easy day, I just had one hit. I try to eat well, drink enough, just load the batteries. I play doubles with Michael Kohlmann against Bhupati/Mirnyi. First doubles matches are played on Wednesday, I don't know yet when we play.

Sydney, Australia

Sydney, Australia

Sydney, Australia

Because of missing 5 months last year, this time I have to qualify. This tournament has maybe the highest level in qualifying of the whole year (in a tournament of this size) and it seems that this year's draw is not an exception. Sydney is a much easier preparation for Melbourne than playing qualifying in Auckland which is played at the same time. Many players come here instead of qualifying in Auckland because the flight there is about 3.5 hours and there is a two hour time difference to Melbourne. So there are a lot of top 100 players and also a lot of the qualifiers of Australian Open in the qualies here.

If I win my first match tomorrow, the second round will be later in the afternoon. I don't know who I play against because the draw and the schedule for tomorrow comes out later in the evening. At least I remembered to sign in for qualification, not like one player many years ago who signed his name to a lunch list instead of the sign in-list. Then he wondered why his name was not in the draw. This happened in Wimbledon at the time when you still had to sign in for qualification there. This player just had to enjoy his lunch in England and then fly back home. Not a great trip.

Brisbane, Australia

I was a break down in the second set but then I played really well from the middle of the set and could turn it around 6-4. The next 15min were just poor, Gasquet didn't play any better, I just missed and missed and gave him a 4-0 lead. Those 15min I'm most disappointed about. Then I "woke up" and fought myself back to the game. I played better again and even had a breakpoint to 5-5 but Gasquet played well and took the third set 6-4.

My strokes and body felt good, I'm just disappointed that I started the third set bad and over all, lost the match. I did many things well and right in the match, for example I hit many aggressive backhands (which is my favourite shot and which I have practised more lately) well. It's just such a big difference in the feeling between losing and winning a match.

I went to the gym straight after the match, that's a good way to get over a tight loss. I used the aggressiveness (which comes when you are pissed off!) to get a good practise session. I stay and practise here for a few days before flying to Sydney.

Brisbane, Australia

I'll play against Gasquet tomorrow, not an easy start. I think if he stays healthy and puts all the peaces together, he could be top-10 player all the time, he can play so well on all surfaces. I have to play well tomorrow to beat him, but I'm also feeling pretty good, better and better every day.

I practised with Roddick yesterday and we talked about how weird it is that we never played each other during our pro career. We only played once in juniors (French Open '99). We have played basically same tournaments for about 9 years. Both of us have played almost against all the others who have been on the top during these years. The same players play each other very often, for example I have played many times against Nalbandian, Safin, Rochus and a few others.

Tonight I try to continue my winning streak in Monopoly-game (actually I've only played it once here). I'll play with Jürgen, his fiance and Philipp (Petschner) again.

Hong Kong

It's always nice to know that at least during the Christmas time you get to spend some time with your family and friends. Apart from missing them throughout the year I also miss the Finnish nature very much (sea, archipelago, lakes, forests, mountains, Lapland, etc...). It gives me so much energy and my mind really rests when I can be there.

Right now I'm waiting for my flight from Hong Kong to Brisbane. On Monday morning my plan was to fly to Doha on Tuesday and play the qualifying there. In the afternoon I got a phone call from the ATP saying I got in the main draw in Chennai. I booked a flight there for Wednesday but later that same afternoon I got another phone call saying that I also got in the main draw in Brisbane. Brisbane was originally my first choice so I decided to go there instead of Chennai.

I like playing in Australia and it's also better preparation for the second tournament (I'll have to qualify in Sydney unless I play semi or better in Brisbane). I'm landing in Brisbane on Thursday morning and then I'll just try to get used to the heat again. In the beginning I "hit the wall" quite fast but after a couple of days my body gets used to it and I can run for hours on the court.

A few years ago in Finland I prepared for the heat by carrying an exercise bike into the sauna and cycling there (greetings to Captain Jortikka). I think it helped me more mentally than physically but at least I felt tough after it. crazy Finn :)

Salzburg, Austria

We both hadn't lost a set on the way to the final and I felt that we really were the two best players of the week. Berrer played well and was serving great. I didn't have any breakpoints in the first and third set. In the second set, I played two poor service games where he broke me. He was leading 5-2 with two breaks when I took my only break. I had another chance to break him to get to 5-5 but he held his serve, won the second set and obviously was slightly better in the third.

I think Berrer will get higher in the ranking if he keeps playing like he played throughout the week in Salzburg. I wish all the best to him, he fights really hard on the court, has great attitude on and off the court and respects other players.

It's tough to lose a tight final like we had. Winning the whole tournament makes such a big difference in so many ways. Anyway it was a good week for me and even in the final we played high quality tennis during many stages.

Now I will rest for a few days and then I'll start practicing hard. I.m going to do a lot of fitness off the court and on the court I'll work with things that I want to improve now (this time I don't tell what those are... then I don't have to answer questions about them all the time. It's better if people just see the result on the court).

During Christmas time I'll take a few days off, then practice a few again before leaving early to prepare for the first tournament of 2010. I don't know yet where I'll start. I'm first out from the main draw in Chennai, third out from Doha and fourth out from Brisbane. Hopefully I'll get in somewhere.

When I started playing after my break, one of my goals was to get enough points to get in to the main draw in Australian Open and I'm very happy that I reached that goal. I'm also happy that I could finish the year in top 100 (88.). This is my 9th year in a row... all my years as a full time professional player.

In the statistics it says that my professional career started at 2000, but I was still a student at that time. Of course I already played many men's tournaments during 2000, but after I graduated from high school at spring 2001, I was a full time tennis player for the first time. Then I broke trough to top 100 immediately during the same year and have finished there every year since then. It feels especially good now with having 4 months off because my wrist + 1 month off because I was sick + getting injured in Australian Open and having to retire in the first match.

I missed almost all of the big tournaments this year. Also year 2004 when I broke my wrist (it took about 3,5 months to get fit again) was more demanding. Otherwise I have been able to play most of the seasons healthy. Hopefully I'll be in top 100 in many years to come and get even closer to the top 10, back to where I was as my best. I'm looking forward to year 2010!

Salzburg, Austria

Karol started to play with a higher tempo in the second but I could answer to that and I took a 5-3 lead in that set. I had one matchpoint at 5-3, but I played bad in it. Then we had a marathon game and finally by winning that I won the match.

I will play final against Michael Berrer in the afternoon. He is a great guy on and off the court, extremely professional and playing well at the moment. It won't be an easy match.

When I won Jersey a few weeks ago, I felt I was playing good tennis in every match. Even though so far I haven't lost a set here, I feel that I can still play much better. That's a good sign. I have been mentally strong and I've played smart. Now when I've got quite many matches under my belt, it's also easier to win and play more solid. I hope I can lift up my game even more in the final... the last match of the season!

Salzburg, Austria

I won the match with mental toughness. My game wasn't good at all, but I fought extremely hard and tried to play smart and concentrate, even though my feeling in the strokes was terrible. From all of my matches has a player never behaved so bad on the court than Koellerer did yesterday. He complained about everything, tried to disturb me in many different ways and behaved bad. He got a point penalty and didn't even shake my hand in the end.

I noticed already during the match that many people were supporting me, even though I played against an Austrian in Austria but after I won, the crowd really cheered for me. There were about ten people, young and old, who came on the court after the match and apologized for Koellerer behaving so bad. Few of them said that they are really sorry and that Austrians are not like him. That was a very special experience. It's nice to know that people respect the players who play fair. That's also something I respect, professionalism.

Today I have to play better again, I play semifinal against Karol Beck. We have played many times against each other and had some tough matches, I think our wins are 3-3. He has played very well this week so I expect a difficult match again.

Salzburg, Austria

I'll play against D.Koellerer later today in the quarterfinals. I try to take revenge from last time... at least it's impossible to play worse than last time I played him.

This is my 8th tournament in the row, longer tournament streak than ever. That's maybe one of the reasons(+lack of match routine in the beginning) I have played up and down during some of these weeks. I just didn't have too many options after missing 5 months of the season. I wanted to get used to play matches again and to get as many wins and points I could get. It helped that one tournament was in Helsinki and I could stay at home. I don't have the feeling that it's the end of the season now, even though it's already December. I also feel fresh at the moment because I've had two comfortable singles wins here. I'm looking forward to work hard to get few more wins before my 09-season ends.

Salzburg, Austria

Yesterday we won doubles with Aisam 6-1, 7-6(3). Today we'll play against Zovko/Allegro. I'll play singles before that against Martin Fischer, another Austrian.

I have one of my good friends here with me, Lauri. We played first time in the same tournament when I was 9 and Lauri was 10. We have been friends since then. We played indoor minigolf on Wednesday and we both beat the old course record... we were on fire!

Salzburg, Austria

On Saturday in doubles we beat Marx/Zelenay 3-6, 6-4, 10-8. We started bad but we just hanged in there and could win in the end. We played great points from 4-7 in the match tie-break. On Sunday we lost the doubles final against Bopanna/Qureshi 6-2, 7-6. They played really well throughout the whole match. We made a few unforced errors in the first set and the way they played, didn.t leave any margin for that. We played better in the second set and had one set point in the tie-break but ended up losing it and the whole match. I feel that Henkka and I make quite good results in doubles now even with a routine performance. When we play more in the future, we can really keep improving more and hopefully win in the big tournaments.

Salzburg will be the last tournament of my short season. I'll play against Haider-Maurer in singles and in doubles I'll play with Qureshi against Lang/Raditschnigg. I won't have a long rest after this week because I had a 5 month break already this year. I will have a few days off during December, but otherwise I will practice hard for the next year.

Helsinki, Finland

I will play quarterfinal today against Henkka. Hopefully the match will be as high quality as the one we had in Jersey two weeks ago. Doubles semifinal will be tomorrow against Marx/Zelenay. Today I will write a note for the foreign players for the players' locker room that after washing hands, hands should be dried with hand towel, NOT with pefletti (the thing you put under you butt when you sit in the sauna). :)

Helsinki, Finland

In singles I beat Luncanu 6-2, 6-1 yesterday. I played very solid and had a good mix of aggressiveness in all the strokes. I only made about 4 unforced errors and with my higher tempo I could force the opponent to make mistakes. I felt in total control from the beginning to the end.

I feel that since I started to feel physically normal again in Basel, for the first time after the injury and sickness break, I have felt even more relaxed on the court than before. I have never stressed much about results and I have never been very nervous during the matches, but now I feel that it's even easier to play and fight one point at a time. Easier to live in the present moment. I think sometimes long breaks can have a positive affect on these kind of things.

Today I will have a day off from matches and just practice 1,5h tennis and do a little bit of fitness. In the evening I'll take part in Finland's tennis yearly tennis gala.

Helsinki, Finland

Then later in the evening I'll play doubles with Henkka against the first seeds, Tecau and Hutchins. It's not the easiest start but I hope we can start the tournament in similar a way as we did in the first round in Jersey two weeks ago, when we played a great first round match against the first seeds, Fleming/Skupski.

My singles will be on Tuesday against Luncanu from Romania. I had some easy days after last weeks match and now my leg feels good. Nothing was broken, it was just extremely stiff. Little rest and treatment helped a lot, I don't feel the pain anymore. I'm looking forward to starting the home tournament!

Bratislava, Slovakia

In singles I played so different from last week. I felt like I was a tired shadow on the court. I didn't take control of the points and I didn't play with good tempo and as aggressive as last week. I also served and returned bad. I tried to fight and hang in there without playing good in any stages of the match. Golubev just didn't put one ball to the court in the first set, then he started to serve and return better and I lost the momentum in the match.

I hurt my right leg in the practice yesterday morning. I could play normal, it just feels extremely stiff now. When I make the decision to play the whole match, there's no excuses. If I couldn't play for the win, then I wouldn't go to the court. Now I just really have to take care of leg. I fly home today, then I'll get some treatment for it and hopefully can start a good preparation for the home tournament soon.

Bratislava, Slovakia

This is an another tournament with a few Finns. Emma, Juho, Kobra and Keisari are here. It's feels so nice but strange to be able to speak Finnish in a tournament. I'm not used to it.

I had an interview yesterday. The journalist asked me about my year so far and so on. Then he asked me about the tournament in Jersey and one question was that now when I won the final in Jersey, my record in the challenger finals are 8-1 and in the ATP-finals it's 1-8... "why?" That's such a ridiculous question. When I had won all my challenger finals earlier, the media asked me why I'm so strong in the finals. Then it took me a few ATP-finals before I won the title in Auckland and before that the questions were the other way around: "do you get nervous in the finals?", "do you think you'll ever win, because you have lost so many finals". I can say that the final has never been a "big" thing for me in a negative way and I haven't lost one ATP-final because I was nervous. When I play in the challengers, the level of my game is good enough to win most of the finals too, even if I don't play my best. In the ATP-finals, even when I have been in good form and played for example against Federer, Blake, Nalbandian or Gaudio, my game just hasn't been good enough to beat them on that day. It's that simple.

Some questions make athletes feel that the journalist underestimate them and that they have no idea about the sport. A lot of people think that they know what the athletes think, what the mental/physical/technical strengths and weaknesses are. But in fact I'm the only one who knows what I think and how I handle things on court (I think the mental side is one of my strong points). In tennis, like in other sports, only the athletes and people who have followed the top level closely like coaches etc., know what it's all about.

Jersey, Great Britain

I started the match poorly, Robert had a 3-0 lead with two breaks. Then I started to play better but I could only take one break back in the first set. Second set was probably my best set of the tournament, I kept very high tempo but still had a good variation in the game. In the third set Robert played really well from the beginning. I managed to keep my level up as well and could take a 5-3 lead. I had one matchpoint then at 30-40, but he served a good first serve in and I didn't get the return back. Then when I served for the match in 5-4, I played aggressive and well but Robert played extremely well and broke me back with some kamikaze-passing shots. I stayed calm, kept fighting and broke him again and then held my serve to win the title.

After bad luck I've had this year, this victory feels very good. Especially the way I played the whole week, gives me a lot of confidence. From last week I started to feel like there's a new man on the court when I compare that feeling to the feeling I've had past weeks. Still I played much better here than in Basel. I'm happy that I could keep the same level the whole week. I came here hoping to play good tennis and to get many wins and that's what I got.

The week would have been perfect if me and Henkka would have got the doubles title as well. Hopefully we take it in Helsinki then. I will fly to London tonight and then tomorrow to Bratislava. There I try to get used to the court and to get as much rest as I can. I have played a lot of tennis since last Wednesday but my body feels quite good at the moment. I'll play doubles with Quereshi in Bratislava and my first round opponent in singles is Golubev.

Jersey, Great Britain

We lost the doubles final later, 7-5, 3-6, 10-2. We played our only bad set of the tournament in the first set and with this scoring system (match tie-break as a third set) there's not too much margin to have bad moments. We played better in the second set, but then after that Nielsen/Sirianni were just zoning in the match tie-break and we could only watch when balls passed by... We played three good matches here before so it would have been nice to end the tournament by winning the title. Next I try to do that in singles, last challenge of the week will be against Stephane Robertia.

Jersey, Great Britain

We also continued our good doubles form by beating Goodall/Duclos 6-7, 6-1, 10-5. I hope I continue playing well and that we can keep our good form in doubles. I play against Tobias Kamke in the semifinal today and later we play doubles final against Nielsen and Sirianni.

Jersey, Great Britain

Jersey, Great Britain

I really enjoyed every moment on the court today. I know from the experience that the tennis I played, was the tennis which has taken me to close to top ten in the world. I won't expect to feel great every day from now on, but I'll work hard for it. I got a little extra confidence boost when I just saw my last week's first round opponent (Benneteau) beat Federer on TV. Small marginals, that's no news. Still it was a big upset. I will play singles (against Daniel Evans) tomorrow in the afternoon and doubles will be later after that.

Jersey, Great Britain

Jersey, Great Britain

In the evening we'll play against first seeded Skupski/Fleming. They are the hardest opponents on the paper in the doubles draw, they have just won two ATP titles, in Metz and in St.Petersburg. I think we are also a tough draw in this tournament so it will be a big first round match. My first round opponent in singles is Jan Minar, the match is tomorrow.

Basel, Switzerland

If I keep doing the right things, with the matchplay I will start playing more consistent. After the match I had to do a doping test. I have a lot of routine (I've been tested about 15 times a year) to do the tests so it didn't take a long time.

I'll fly to Copenhagen today and then later during the weekend to Jersey where I'll play next. I have been reading a lot lately, I just read Stieg Larsson's first two books in about one week. I was frustrated that I had left the last book of the trilogy to Copenhagen before flying to Vienna, but I didn't expect that I would have read so much so fast. Now I'm looking forward to starting the third book.

Basel, Switzerland

Since the first practice here in Basel, I.ve felt normal. Yesterday my body felt good again, I felt fast and strong and I played well. I'm so happy that I won. I love the feeling when my opponent has to play well to win a point against me. It's great when I'm early in a good position and have time to mix up the tempo and the pace... that's when I feel confident. I think I played my best match since I started to play again. My goal was to stay positive, move well and play smart and that's what I did. It was a big match for me; that I was able to stay strong on the court, specially after all the frustration from last week, showed me that I'm mentally strong.

Today I'll watch a little bit of my opponents play after I've practiced. It will be an interesting match: Wawrinka on home court against last week.s (Lyon) winner Ljubicic. I don't really care who wins, I focus on the quality of my game. If you stay healthy, one week can change the direction of the future, there.s about 1000 examples of that in tennis. That's why I stay positive and work hard and don't think about the ranking. It is what it is because of missing 5 months of the season. I like challenges and mine right now is to get back to the top. I'm confident as it is something I've done before.

Vienna, Austria

I haven't played great after the break I had, but at least I have hit clean shots and I have had good timing. Since the first practice session here in Vienna, my game has felt bad, strangely bad. Usually I can find the timing and work trough the difficult days with my good footwork but here I have just kept playing bad. In every practice the guys were beating me easy...that has never happened before. It's not so much about them beating me but how I played. I hit the ball all over the place and when they hit once to the corner, I was late. I prepared for this tournament as well as all the others, even the ones where I have played really well, reached finals etc. and I feel healthy. Nothing worked here.

The good news is that I can only play better and after the match I was told that I got in to the main draw in Basel. That's nice news, one more ATP main draw this year. I have played well in Basel before, so I'm looking forward to it. Finals in 2007 and two good matches last year, loosing tight 6 and 6 to Roger. I'll go there tomorrow. Today I'll take the day off from tennis. I go to the gym and then I'll do some sightseeing in the city.

Vienna, Austria

That match was the first one where my game and fitness really was tested since I've been healthy. Against Olivier, I should have served and returned better, then it would have been easier to get the control of the point. I also should have moved better forward. My strokes felt good but I made some wrong choices during the match. I'm clearly lacking match routine.

I am quite satisfied with my matches in Stockholm considering it only was my second tournament after the break. It's not so easy to perform your best when you haven't played a lot. I'm trying to remind myself of that as I usually demand so much of myself. Baghdatis is a good example of it not being so simple to come back. He didn't play well for a long time after his injuries but now he has started to put everything together on the court and he is playing well again.

I'm very hungry to work hard for a good comeback. It's nice to still get some chances to play tournaments this year, even though many of them are a little smaller. My next challenge is against Daniel Koellerer here in Vienna. He will be the crowds favorite on home court but I'll have the support of exceptionally many players behind me. It's amazing how many players have had bad experiences on the court with him. I've only heard about his behavior against his opponents during matches. Anyway, if somebody gets personal on the court with me, I just get more adrenaline and usually start to play better. Luckily most of the players are professionals and have respect for their colleagues. Our match will be on Wednesday.

Stockholm, Sweden

After having so much bad luck this year, I'm just happy to be still in the draw and be able to compete healthy. I'll play against O. Rochus today in the quarterfinal. We have played many times and we've had some great, long battles. I think the wins are 6-3 for him, but he won last 3 times... it would be nice time to change that. I expect a difficult match, he doesn't miss much and he is moving great. He has also been in good form in the first two rounds here. I must play patiently but aggressive at the same time. I'm looking forward to fight hard on the court.

Stockholm, Sweden

I'm happy that I could take more advantage of our match last week better then him. I really felt that experience beat an inexperienced junior yesterday. I love the center court here in Stockholm, it.s like a second home for me. There was also a good crowd yesterday, nice atmosphere.

I'll play against Haas or Serra (they play today) tomorrow. It will be nice to play against either of them. I try to get revenge; I have never beaten Haas and I lost against Serra two times in February. Even that I haven't played many matches, I feel quite confident like I usually feel in Stockholm. It's also nice to prepare for the next match after a good performance yesterday.

It's a pity that we won't get a big "Finnish day" tomorrow because Henkka lost a tight match yesterday. It was a good match and marginals were really small. At least Henkka showed his potential. With his talent, little bit of luck (no bad injuries) and being able to keep the hunger to improve, I'm sure he will be a top player. I know what it takes to be in the top and I think Henkka has those qualities. It's a long and hard road but very rewarding in many ways.

Stockholm, Sweden

We lost doubles late yesterday 2-6, 6-3, 10-6. The first set was our best set ever, we both played well at the same time, every single point. We gave no chances to the opponents. Then in the second set they started to serve better which made harder to break them. Then they broke us in 3-4. After that it wasn't so easy to control the game anymore. Things can change quickly in doubles against good players (like Coetzee and Huss) and with no-ad/champions tie-break rule. We had the feeling in the fist set that we can do anything on the court. We just played one bad Henkka's service game in the second set and 15 min after that we had lost the champions tie-break and the whole battle.

It felt frustrating to lose that kind the match. We knew that with the game we played in the first set, can be enough to beat anyone. That's why it would have been so fun to keep going in doubles, trying to win more. Now we try to make as many "Finnish days" as possible by winning our singles matches. More days like today would be great, two Finns on the center court!

Stockholm, Sweden

Stockholm, Sweden

Kolding, Denmark

I got some more match play in the evening's doubles. We beat Emmrich and Siljeström 6-7(1), 7-6(3), 10-4. Our opponents were playing well, especially serving big so it was tough to break them on these courts. I served so much better in doubles than singles and Henkka also varied his serve well which made us difficult to break as well. We were very pumped when it got tight and we found our best shots when it counted the most. I returned my best returns of the day when they had two match points in a row (Siljeström was serving for the match at 5-4 in the second set, 40-30 and then the no-ad-point). We both lifted up our games in the second set tie-break and champions tie-break, we were clearly better in those.

There was a lot of drama on the court, first the match points and then more serious moment when Siljeström smashed and hit Henkka hard in the throat. Henkka couldn't breath for a while and I got frightened that he might even die, it looked so bad for a while. Luckily the ball missed the most vulnerable part by a couple of centimeters and Henkka was able to continue (life!!!) playing quite fast. Thank God I didn't have to use my mouth-to-mouth skills because nothing more serious happened. We will play semifinal against Marray/Qureshi.

Kolding, Denmark

Kolding, Denmark

I'm hitting the ball well and my body feels quite good considering that I was in bed/on the sofa for two weeks. Because of being sick for so long, I have been getting tired on the court but last two days I have felt better. Luckily I don't have to run that much on these courts.

Henkka came here on Monday from Germany where he played finals in a Future. It's nice to have an other Finnish guy around. Hopefully laughing makes life longer because we have been doing that a lot. It hasn't happened too often that I can spend time, practice and play doubles with a Finnish guy during these years. It would be nice to have a Finnish gang taking over players' lounges in all big ATP tournaments. Maybe some day.

We had doubles yesterday evening with Henkka. We beat Dodig/Veic 6-2,6-2. That's a very good result on this surface, it.s almost like 0 and 0 on slower courts. We played well the whole match and had fun on the court again. I also got revenge from Henkka in table tennis so yesterday was a good day! Our next match is tomorrow.

I start singles tonight against Dimitrov, not an easy first round. He is a young and talented player. I saw him when he beat Berdych and played well after that against Nadal in Rotterdam so I won't be underestimating him. He hasn't had that big results after that so I guess because of young age he still plays very up and down. Anyway, who ever serves well here, will be hard to beat. Marginals get even smaller on these kind of courts and you really have to use your chances when you get them.

Copenhagen, Denmark

Helsinki, Finland

Today I had to pull out from Tokyo. It sucks to loose three chances to play in good, important tournaments. I would much rather write here about my matches than my injuries or sicknesses. Unfortunately I just haven't been able to play most of the season. After pulling out from Metz my goal was to get back in good form for Bangkok, then after pulling out from there, to get fit for Tokyo. Now I just want to be healthy. Nothing else matters.

Helsinki, Finland

I started the season off well with one of my best wins in Sydney, beating Djokovic, who was ranked third in the world at the time and getting into the final. Since then it's been a struggle. Even the tournaments I've been able to play have been hard as I've been "making comebacks" in most of them. During our last Davis Cup week I started feeling great on the court, hitting the ball really well and finding my confidence again. I was really looking forward to playing tournaments but now it seems like I have to start all over again.

Mentally this is taking a lot of me but I'm still just trying to stay positive and hopefully I will be ready to play in Japan next week. If I can play there, I can't expect any results as after being as sick as I am for over a week my body will be weak and my condition probably horrible. My lungs are full of slime and it will take a while before it's all out again. Running around the court is physically hard even when in best shape, after my illness it will be (mildly said) demanding.

My ranking is of course dropping during this all and even though I know it's because I haven't played much it's still hard to see it happening. It's tough because of all the bad luck during the season I don't even get a chance to play and improve it. I haven't lost my game, only my ranking points. Now I just have to get well again and then start kicking some gluteus maximus.

Helsinki, Finland

Metz, France

I think I have had enough bad luck in tennis lately. At least this makes me respect those healthy years more. I have worked so hard to get back in shape and I really don't feel like having any breaks anymore. I just need to accept this, can't control these things. Now I have to pack my bag and organize my trip back home. It would have been easier to get sick before I flew here, but on the other hand it was good that I didn't get sick during Davis Cup. Henkka got sick the day before me. We might have the same virus. That's why he couldn't go to Sweden, where he was supposed to play this week. I just hope that I won't miss more tournaments, I should play in Bangkok next week.

Metz, France

Henkka and I have such a good spirit on the court, it's always great to play with him. I hope we could play some big tournaments together in the near future. On Sunday I lost against Baghdatis in four tight sets and Henkka beat Kallias easy in straight sets in the deciding match. In the first two sets against Baghdatis I felt very similar to the first set of Saturdays double. I controlled the game but Baghdatis could hang in with good serves and then he used his break chances well. In those first two sets I felt that I didn't do much wrong. Every time I had 0-30,15-30 or breakpoints in Marcos' serve games, he came up with great first serves. The times I got the return back, I tried to mix up the game: I played slow, I played fast, I tried different things. I have played against Marcos 5 times before and this was the best he has ever served. I started to get the chances in the third set and won it 6-3. I was very confident to win the whole match after that. I also started the fourth set with a break, but then I played a few poor games. I lost the fourth set 6-4. I knew that the longer the match would be, the better it would be for me. That's why it would have been important to take at least one of the first two sets.

Anyway I felt that I played better in Davis Cup than in the Us Open, so it's one step in the right direction. I was very disappointed with the loss but not with the way I played. I felt fast, I hit the ball well! and I didn't feel nervous at any point of the match and all that even though I haven't played many matches. Who knows what the outcome would have been without my long break. At least I.m quite sure I would have gotten a few more returns back, even though Marcos served really well.

I would have loved to end the tie with my match, to get the unreachable 3-1 lead in front of the home crowd, but that didn't happen. I wasn't a happy guy when I got to the locker room! I wanted to win that match so bad. 10min in the locker room helped me to calm down enough to be able to be the calm, analytical guy in the press conference. You can always be proud of yourself if you just give the best you can every time you are on the court. And that's what I try to do every day. You can't play your best tennis every time but you should give everything you have on that day. I know I can play better tennis, but like I wrote earlier, I played already better than in USA and did many things well, so it wasn't a bad match at all. It's just that I HATE losing. But Davis Cup is a team sport and that helped me to get over my match faster. I wanted to go and support Henkka.

The most important thing for me in Davis Cup is that Finland wins! I was very confident in that Henkka would beat Kallias. Everything suited him: an opponent that can't hurt him and doesn't like fast courts. Henkka likes big matches and the surface was perfect for him. Henkka played really well and won 6-0, 7-5, 6-0 and we were back in the 1st division for the first time in 5 years. I haven't even realized that it has been so long since we were there last time. It's nice to be back there! If everyone stays healthy, Finland won't be an easy team to beat.

Salo was a great place to play a Davis Cup tie. The hall was very good in every way, people were nice and we stayed in a small, very cozy hotel. I was hoping for more crowd on Friday and Saturday but the atmosphere was good anyway. On Sunday there were more people in the hall and the atmosphere was obviously even better.

The surface was also a right choice for us. It was the best for Henkka and the worst for Kallias. For me and Marcos it didn't make that big of a difference, we were both favorites in our singles on Friday. For our match on Sunday it's really hard to say which surface would have been the best for me. I have beaten Baghdatis on slow and fast hard court, indoors and outdoors and I have lost against him on indoor hard and on clay... So you never really know.

I'm already in in Metz, I flew here early on Monday. I hit a little bit yesterday evening and then some more today. I will play against Grosjean tomorrow, he is coming back from a long injury break. Doubles will be in the evening against Llodra/Clement. I'll play with Rohan, he is also fit again. He was injured around the same time as I was. I hope I keep playing better and better, last week was definitely good for my game. Tomorrow will be a very exciting day because the draw for next years Davis Cup will be made.

Salo, Finland

Copenhagen, Denmark

In the second round of singles I lost against Tsonga 7-5, 6-3, 6-4. He got one break in every set. I had only one break chance which I didn't use and Tsonga took all of the three he had. He was basically serving too well, his first serve percentage was really high. After a good serve it was easy for him to take control of the points. My returns were quite far from the normal, I could really feel the time off in returning. I have been practicing my returns but it's still different to hit them in a match.

I played as well as I could in all four matches considering that I had 4 months off. Even playing against some of the best players in the world (Tsonga ranked 7, Nestor/Zimonic ranked 2) I was up in the right tempo and didn't feel like an outsider on the court. Every day my game felt better but as I expected, it wasn't enough to beat top 10 players yet. I'm happy with how fast I was able to adjust my game to play against the top guys, the result could have been much worse.

Now I also know that I made the right decision to start playing as soon as possible and not wait 2 more months for protected ranking (you have to be out from the tournaments for 6 months and then you can use the ranking that you had on the day you got injured for 8 tournaments). I feel I.m ready to play, I have no pain in the wrist and I.ll still get in to about the same tournaments that I would with the protected ranking. Hopefully I play well, win many matches and get my ranking up fast again. I have done it two times before and now I have to do it again. I will have to play some smaller tournaments if needed. I can't change what happened, my injury was just bad luck. Now I'm looking forward, working hard and enjoying being healthy again. It's a nice feeling to play better every day.

It was also important for me to get fit for Davis Cup against Cyprus which is played in a week and a half. The winner qualifies to the first division. Kim (the captain) will announce the team in a few days. I practiced with two potential team mates Micke (Kontinen) and Laxi (H. Laaksonen) before leaving New York, they were playing juniors there. It's a positive situation for the captain that there are a few players to choose from. The training camp starts on next Sunday in Salo. I'm looking so much forward to a fun week and great battles!

New York, USA

The first practise here in New York was the first time I felt that I could hit my backhand normal again. The problem wasn't the lack of strength in the arm, I was missing coordination and timing. All the practise on the court and the hard work I did off the court helped me to get used to the tempo and to find the timing to hit my backhand. I'm also satisfied with making so many right choises in the match yesterday as it's not an easy task after such a long break. I felt physically and mentally strong. And hopefully the more matches I get my game will just keep improving.

I found out that my partner Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi from Pakistan and I got in to doubles as Igor Andreev pulled out. That was great news! We were the first pair out from the original draw and obviously the first alternate pair to get in. We'll play against Golubev/Istomin on Thursday. The schedule is perfect because my match against Tsonga isn't until Friday. Today I'll take an easy day, I'll hit once with Aisam, do some pilates exercises, cycle, stretch and then I'll get a massage.

It will be nice to play with Aisam, I've known him since junior years. He is a great guy and I also think that there is a lot more potential in his game than his ranking has showed in singles and doubles. It's really impressive what he has accomplished in tennis considering that Pakistan isn't a traditional tennis country. These off days in Gran Slams are great. You practise a little bit, relax, eat well and watch the others playing matches. Even though it's exciting to watch matches in Gran Slams, I still try to get away from the tennis and just do things that don't take a lot of energy... Like visiting the local cd stores :)

New Haven, USA

I wanted to play in New Haven because I don't have any pain in my wrist anymore and I could use this as a preparation for the US Open. My first tournament after the operation was originally going to be the US Open but because rehab went well I wanted to start competing here. Obviously my goal was to get as many matches as possible but having lost already my main goal is to get my arm strong enough to hit full backhands in high tempo. My match went quite like I expected. From my backhand I hit only one or two winners and missed a lot. Otherwise I felt ok on the court. I need to serve better and react faster in the returns but that will get better with some matchplay. The positive in the match was that my wrist didn't hurt and that I was hitting my forehand really well, that.s the shot that has improved the most (together with my backhand slice) during the break.

I can't wait to hit my backhand well again. Hopefully that day will come very soon. A few weeks ago I was supposed to start competing from the US Open. So being able to already play here is a bonus and I will take the advantage of it. I'll stay in New Haven for a few more days and practise well. I'm going to practise once a day with the top guys to get used to the high tempo again and then once a day with some local guys. With those guys I can practise my backhand more. My plan is to hit thousands of backhands during these days and I really hope that it will be strong enough for playing in the highest level, the US Open next week. Otherwise it'll be hard to win matches and compete against the best.

Now I just have to have patience and keep working on my wrist and my game. I had a long break once before (2004 when I fell down and breaking a bone in my wrist) and I came back to the top. I know what it takes and I believe I can come back again, even stronger. It might happen fast or it might take some time, but I don't worry about that. I just love being on the court. I will work hard on and off the court, physically and mentally. Hard work has always paid off and I believe it will again, sooner or later. At least working hard is all you can do and control... results will hopefully follow.

New Haven, USA

I have no pain in my wrist and although the muscles are still weaker than before, I'm able to hit normal backhands. In a few weeks time I should have full strength back in my arm. Otherwise physically and mentally I feel great. I try to play as much against the top players as possible during the next days. I have to get used to the match rhythm again.

Playing points in the practice is never the same as in a match situation but it helps me to prepare for the tournament. On the flight on the way here I sat next to Micke Kontinen. He is going to practice a few days in the Evert academy in Florida. We actually practiced together during the last 3 days in Finland. It would be great to see the Finnish juniors, Micke and Henri (Laaksonen) play in US Open in 2,5 weeks. Juniors play during the second week of the tournament. I'll fight hard to survive to that week. It hasn't been too often that I have had a chance to be in the same Grand Slam with a few countrymen.

I'm really looking forward to playing in New York. US Open is not my favorite Grand Slam but it's still great like all the Slams are. It has a special place in my career. I played my first Grand Slam in juniors and in men's in the US Open. I also won the boy's US Open '99 and achieved my fist Grand Slam quarterfinal there '05. And of course New York is definitely one of my favorite places to visit.

Hopefully I'll stay fit and play well the rest of the season. At least I have the advantage of being "well rested". Every year after US Open I feel that many of the players are getting physically and mentally tired of the long season, travelling and playing many months in a row. That's the time to stay strong. That really can help to win some extra matches in the end of the season. I just feel this is the new beginning of the year.

I practiced twice with Frederik Nielsen yesterday. We have practiced together many times in Copenhagen. He is a good guy to practice with and also a very nice guy to hang around with. I hit clean shots and for being the first practice I think yesterday was good. I usually have no problems adjusting to different time zones and it's even easier when I travel towards the west so the only thing that takes a few days to adjust to, is the humidity here. During the first couple of days I often "hit the wall", but then suddenly my body gets used to it and then I can run for hours on the court.

It has been nice to see some of the players here. Many of them are good friends of mine on the tour. One of them is Marcos Baghdatis, he is a great guy, always happy. Yesterday we talked about the upcoming Davis Cup tie (Finland vs. Cyprus) in the city of Salo. We are both looking forward to that. Now I'm really looking forward to lunch, I'm starving. I'm eating lunch with Frederik and then I'll practice two times, first with Tipsarevic and then with Blake.

Copenhagen, Denmark

Copenhagen, Denmark

Copenhagen, Denmark

I have often heared the question "why don't you learn to serve like Roddick"? It would be the same to ask him why he doesn't hit his backhand like I do. It's not that simple. It's not only a question of will or practising the stroke. Some strokes are always more natural, even for the best ones. Backhand, over all ground strokes, have always been the most natural for me. After a longer break from playing I can always hit ground strokes, also volleys quite well, but it takes a few days to start serving well. The quality of my serve varies more than my other strokes, that's why I also have to practise that more than the other strokes.

When I was a junior, my backhand was my biggest weapon by far. Then my forehand improved a lot and nowadays I often make more points with my forehand than backhand. Even though I have had many of my best seasons after 2005, I would say that I have used my backhand less as a weapon. I got better results but I didn't play as aggressive backhands than I used to. Just before my injury I started to pay more attention to it and worked hard for it. For example my match against Canas in Tunis (the day before the wrist injury) I was really using my backhand well, great variation and power. That's where I continue when I get healthy. By the way, my backhand slice has improved a lot during this injury time. Hopefully it pays off in the long run.

Next week I'll be practising in Naantali in the Davis Cup camp. Finland will play against Monaco there 10.-12.7. I'll be the "fifth man" in our team. The official team is Timo Nieminen, Henri Kontinen, Harri Heliövaara and Henri Laaksonen. It's a talented and young team. It will be the first Davis Cup tie where I'm not playing since 1999. I would have wanted to play so bad in Naantali, it would have been special to me. It's very close to where I'm from, I have been there so many times and above all, my club (TVS-Tennis) is in charge of organisation.

The fact is it would be too risky to play an official match now. It's easy to remember in practise that I can't hit two-handed backhands but when in match situation, it would be so easy to forget and accidentaly return with two-hands... and even one that kind of a return would be too much at the moment. It's also hard to say how well I could really play with one hand in the match. I totally believe that Finland has chances to win. Hopefully a lot of people come to watch, Naantali is a great place in the summer and with a big crowd, there can be an unbelievable athmosphere. I'll be practising with and supporting the team during the whole week, I hope I can help with making the atmosphere as good as possible. I write more during next week's camp.

Copenhagen, Denmark

Copenhagen, Denmark

Helsinki, Finland

Helsinki, Finland

Helsinki, Finland

Helsinki, Finland

This coming Wednesday, May 13th, a book about my career will be published. The name of the book is "Pelaamisen Lumo", which freely translated means the "Fascination of Competing". Due to my injury I will now have better time to participate in the promotion of this book. I will be participating in several promotional happenings during the coming week.

Helsinki, Finland

Keskiviikkona julkaistaan tennisurastani kertova kirja "Pelaamisen lumo". Nyt minulla on aikaa osallistua kirjan julkistamiseen ja aionkin kiertää seuraavan viikon aikana useassa promootiotilaisuudessa.

Helsinki, Finland

Helsinki, Finland

Juuri nyt osaan arvostaa monia aikaisempia, lähes kokonaan terveitä vuosia vielä enemmän. Kokonaisuudessaan olen selvinnyt loukkaantumisista aika vähällä. Eniten mua harmittaa vamman ajoitus. Edessä olisi vuoden vilkkain kilpailujakso. Paljon isoja kisoja ja kaiken lisäksi mun peli alkoi heikon kevään jälkeen kulkea Tunisiassa tosi hyvin. Löysin Tunisiasta sitä mitä lähdin sieltä hakemaankin(ennen kun ranne hajosi), voittoja, itseluottamusta ja punaisen langan peliin. Odotin tulevia suuria kisoja ehkä enemmän kun koskaan. Nyt pahimmassa tapauksessa jää tämän vuoden kaikki Gran Slamit väliin... kun lisäksi loukkaannuin Melbournessakin. Mutta eihän näitä ajoituksia voi itse päättää. Takaisin aion tulla nälkäisenä ja hyvin treenanneena. Asioista kannattaa aina ottaa positiiviset puolet: nyt pystyn ainakin nauttimaan läheisten ja kavereiden seurasta, Suomen kesästä ja rock-konserteista enemmän kuin yleensä.

Helsinki, Finland

Tunis, Tunisia

Tunis, Tunisia

Tunis, Tunisia

Tunis, Tunisia

Barcelona

Barcelona

Barcelona

Barcelona

Monte Carlo

Monte Carlo

Monte Carlo

Monte Carlo

I'm in Monte Carlo now, preparing for the tournament here. Clay court game feels good, better and better every day. I came here yesterday morning, before that I practiced on indoor clay in Helsinki for about one week. I'm still 2 out from the main draw here and if it stays like that, I'll start playing in qualification on Saturday. I'm really looking forward for the clay court season!

San Jose

Peli ailahteli liian paljon, välillä pelasin loistavasti ja välillä pelistä katosi oikea sävel. Serra syötti aina tappioasemassa parhaat syöttönsä. Serran syötöissä oli paljon murtopalloja ja johtoasemia, joita en kuitenkaan pystynyt käyttämään. Usein en niissä tilanteissa saanut edes palautusta takaisin kun Serra paukutteli linjoille.

Voitin ottelussa enemmän pisteitä, mutta Serra vei ne tärkeät pisteet. Harmittaa tiukka tappio, varsinkin kun tuntui, että pelillisesti olisin voinut viedä kaikki erät. Lisäottelut olisi tehneet pelille hyvää, täytyy nyt pelata pelata paljon pisteistä treeneissä. Positiivista oli se, että Melbournessa tullut vamma ainakin kestää nyt otteluita, se ei vaivannut ollenkaan.

Sydney

Finaalin ensimmäisessä erässä liikkuminen oli huonompaa kuin muissa otteluissani. Nalbandian syötti erittäin hyvin läpi ottelun, ja piti peruslyönnit painavina sekä temmon kovana. En saanut ohjaksia käsiini ja Nalbandian pääsi ohjaamaan peliä.

Puolentoista erän jälkeen (toinen erä tilanteessa 3-5) jalat alkoivat liikkua paremmin ja sisulla tiukka tie-break kotiin. Kolmannen erän alussa oli murtopalloja, mutta kääntyivät harmillisesti tappioksi. En päässyt missään vaiheessa johtoon vaikka kovasti taistelin. Aloitteiden tekeminen Nalbandiania vastaan on todella vaikeaa.

Turnaus oli erittäin kovatasoinen ja silti pääsin taistelemaan voitosta maailman kärkipelaajien kanssa - oli pienestä kiinni. Valmentaja Nyström sanoi ottelun jälkeen, että tuolla pelillä olisi kaatunut kaikki muut paitsi maailman Top 5, johon Nalbandian kuuluu. Tsonga pelin jälkeen hän kommentoi, että tuollaisella pelillä 2-3 kuukautta niin olet takaisin Top 20.

Tämän vuoden kaikki pelit ovat olleet hyviä. Olo on nyt erittäin hyvä ja tuntuu siltä, että pystyn pitämään tätä tasoa yllä ja kilpailemaan tosissaan Top 10 kanssa. Nyt tuntuu hyvältä lähteä Melbourneen vaikka arpaonni olisi voinut olla parempikin, kaaviossa on sata helpompaa vastustajaa. Sunnuntaina kevyet treenit ja sitten maanantaina taistelu jatkuu.