Spoilers

Mornin'. Just thought I'd swing by to say hi and give y'all a place to post as the critical day of Fed Cup plays out - and let's not forget Barcelona, where we have a really intriguing match-up between Robin Soderling and Fernando Verdasco. Soderling is the first Swede to reach the Barcelona Open final since 1995 (Magnus Larsson) and he's gunning to be the first Swedish winner (Spaniards have won this tournament a staggering eight consecutive times) in 22 years (last Barcelona champ who wore jeans, clogs and white sock: Kent Carlsson).

The intriguing thing about the Barcelona final will be the mental game; Solderling has shown himself to be a leathery, salty competitor, while Verdasco's ability to keep his cool, especially when he's presented with big opportunities, has always been questioned. The surface certainly favors Verdasco - or does it?

For that reason, I have to go with Soderling even though the set-up is perfect for Verdasco. But the flip side of the recent history of Spain in this event and the advantage Verdasco enjoys on this surface is that he'll certainly be favored, and under pressure to win. The noun "spoiler" seems to have fallen out of vogue, but something about Soderling's personality and temperament seems to scream out for that label. Every generation of players has that certain someone who's expert at raining on the other guy's parad; the guy who brings the pin when everybody else is toting the red or yellow balloon.

In Fed Cup, Melanie Oudin acquited herself well in Birmingham, and even though Elena Dementieva (her opponent in today's reverse singles) is tough we saw at the last U.S. Open that Oudin can be rough on Russians. And how about Francesca Schiavone giving up just two games to Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic? Given that this is the semifinal round, the Italians are - again - one win from securing another final berth.

Granted, the Italians are at home, but once again we see how the squad morphs into Coliseum-grade lady gladiators in Fed Cup (Flavia Pennetta also won her singles in straights, albeit with a little more difficulty). The Italians have built a terrific Fed Cup tradition, and the support they receive from their countrymen helps explain why they consistently perform above standard in Fed Cup. Sure you can say Fed Cup doesn't matter, but be careful when you say "nobody cares." Psychologists call that projecting, and it's certainly leavened with a fair amount of I  ethno-centricity or, to put it more bluntly, myopia.

I took my shots over at ESPN for calling out the Williams sisters and the stuff they pull when it comes to Fed Cup, but that's to be expected. It would be great to see the U.S. team pull this one out, but the more intriguing result was in the World Group playoffs, where Belgium secured a 2-0 lead over Estonia. Should Belgium win, they'll be back in the World Group, and with Kim Clijsters, Justine Henin and Yanina Wickmayer on board, they ought to be as strong a squad as anything we've seen in Fed Cup since the Williamses last played in 2007.