Michael Llodra’s scary collision into the chair umpire’s stand today at Wimbledon was freakishly unfortunate. Michael had to retire from his 2nd round match against Tommy Haas, but at least the ball girl seemed okay.

Was anyone else thinking, “Wait, isn’t that the kind of thing that usually happens to Tommy Haas?” Maybe the Tennis Gods got confused with the all white.

If you, like me, are a huge fan of Michael Llodra, I invite you to click here to read my Ode.

Hi all! We’ve arrived in the land of golf visors and prime rib specials and are looking forward to a spectacular day of tennis at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Which means that we won’t be watching Federer vs. Giquel in the vertigo-inducing main stadium, but hanging out at the side courts watching the supporting players work their magic. A glance at Saturday’s order of play reveals some intriguing matchups:

Gasquet vs. Llodra in an all Frenchie flair-fest.

Gabashvili vs. Tsonga – don’t know much about the Russian, but I’d watch Tsonga play Norm Chryst if I had to.

Hewitt vs. Gonzalez – might as well catch both of these guys in action before they retire on us.

Bellucci vs. Verdasco – it’s not exactly the Aussie Open semifinals, but I want to see if Fernando’s game is still hot.

Mirza vs. Pennetta – Mirza’s been training in Las Vegas lately, and I’ll be curious to see how she stands up to the consistent Italian.

Barrois vs. Cornet – no idea who Barrois is, but I want to see Cornet hit live.

Paszek vs. Kleybanova – this should be a good contest. And I have to see Kleybanova’s funky-ass strokes up close.

Andreev vs. Gulbis - along with Hewitt vs. Gonzo, this is probably going to be the hardest fought men’s match of the day. And I should catch Gulbis now, before he becomes too “big” for the side courts.

Ljubicic vs. Ancic – heck, they’re both great players and they’re playing on a teeny-tiny court. Let’s just hope I don’t get my teeth knocked out by an errant serve.

Bethanie Mattek-Sand/Mashona Washington vs. Kuznetsova/Mauresmo – first of all, I missed Bethanie’s marriage announcement – click here to read about her new hubby (who gave her a 5.5 carat engagement ring – wonder if she’ll wear that monster on court?). Second of all, this should be a really fun doubles match.

Simon Aspelin/Jamie Murray vs. Del Potro/ Nalbandian – Good doubles players in Murray and Aspelin and an interesting pairing of the two Argentines – I thought they hated each other after last year’s Davis Cup final. Will Nalbandian “accidently” serve a ball into del Potro’s butt? Count on GTT to get the scoop on this and much more from the Indian Wells Tennis Garden!

Besides match updates and exclusive photos here at GTT, look out for my tournament review over at wonder-blog Down the Line on Monday.

Photo: REUTERS/Michael Fiala

Tennis dreams do come true! I was starting to despair, given Roger Federer’s loss in Australia, but sometimes it’s the small things – like a Tsonga vs. Llodra final – that make me believe again.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beat Novak Djokovic in the Marseille semis today: 6-4, 7-6 (1). Yes, Tsonga won that final tie break 7-1!  The Frenchman said it was the best match he played all year, oozing a champion’s confidence in his own modest way:  “I have played an extraordinary match. I have been heroic on every important point. I am proud of having played such a match.”

Tsonga now has a 4-1 head-to-head edge over Djokovic. He’s reached the quarter finals or better in all six of the tournaments he’s played this season, and won a title a couple weeks ago at the SA Open. Djokovic continues to struggle, having not yet made it to a final this year. Novak fans should take comfort in the fact that the year’s still young – he’s pacing himself!

Novak said after the match that Tsonga has the potential to reach the top five. Not a bad prediction considering that Jo-Wilfried (currently ranked 12) was ranked as high as 6 in the world last November. It’s getting tight at the top, and with mega points to defend and Andy Murray continuing his dominant form, I think Nole is starting to worry about dropping out of the top five, himself.

Ah, but on to my guy Michael Llodra! I love this man. If you don’t know why, click here to read my ode. Let’s just say that he’s a Frenchman with a sense of humor and beaucoup flair. He plays like a cute, non-Worm dancing Stepanek, with an attacking serve and volley game. Also, he’s pushing 30 and trying, fairly successfully, to save himself from the obscurity of doubles specialism. This will be his sixth career singles final.

If I had to agree to watch only one nation play tennis, I would pick the French. And tomorrow we can see what this scenario would look like – click here for free online streaming from Marseille (haven’t tried it yet, hope it works!)

Photo: AP/Claude Paris