This week is one of those rare occasions outside the Grand Slams when both the men's and tennis tours converge together in the same place in Madrid.
There can be no doubt that in recent years the men's game has stolen a march on the WTA tour with it superstar Nadal v Federer and now Nadal v Djokovic rivalries leading to salivating storylines; while the women's game has been riddled by retirements, unretirements and a steady flux of unconvincing numbers ones.
There's no harm in the WTA adopting a "if you can't beat, them join" them attitude towards things every once in awhile and this week they have a chance to share the limelight with the men.
It has been difficult to get excited about regular WTA events in recent years, but sharing the platform with the men benefits both games as it presents to the average fan a blockbuster line-up for them to enjoy.
Enjoying a day at the tennis where you can watch Sharapova, Wozniacki and Azarenka along with Federer, Djokovic and Nadal is going to excite even the most casual fan.
And while the spectators in Madrid might swarm to the venue to come and see the megastars, they might also find themselves drawn to, and impressed by, a female player they have never paid much attention to, or even heard of before - a dominating performance from Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova perhaps, or a triumphant Andrea Pekovic dance.
Tennis survives as much on its stars and characters as it does on the quality on shown on court, and the WTA tour has more of these characters than it is sometimes given credit for.
The problem is that the men's game has become so popular that the women are struggling to keep up, because nobody is really watching. Tennis fans will always stay loyal to the sport, but in a crowded sporting market, you need to appeal to the more fair-weather fan to become a true success.
Pandering to such people might make some tennis fans feel uncomfortable but it's the harsh reality of modern day sport.
Mixed tournaments like Madrid, gives the WTA Tour a chance to show that their product still has plenty to offer to a section of the public that might otherwise not have been paying attention.
Let's hope they grab the opportunity with a quality tournament that helps highlight some new stars that can attract the public imagination for years to come.
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A-BOG v A-BOG - Rest in Peace.....
It's over kids, it is over. Last week our two A-Bogs were in the same town - Sarasota, Florida. We were hoping for an epic battle between the two but we never even got close as Alex Bogdanovic failed to even qualify for the event after losing to fellow Brit Phillips Morgan in the qualifiers. What did the Alex Bogomolov then do? He only went and reached the final before losing to James Blake. There is no doubt that he is now officially in a different league to Alex Bogdanovic.
We will keep an eye on events in the future but for now it is time for us to put this feature to bed.
Alex Bogomolov Jr. we salute you. Tramlines officially declares you "A-Bog."
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Slightly disappointing marketing gimmick idea of the week
Great idea by the organising committee for Madrid to have acrobats to perform a vertical tennis match over the facade of a building to promote the upcoming Madrid Masters but was anyone else annoyed that they picked a blue court to promote a clay court event?
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Tennis player celebrating with large car of the week
Last week it was Julia Georges who was looking delighted with her new Porsche Carrera GTS, but Nikolay Davydenko looks even happier with the BMW convertible he got for his win in Munich.
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Politician looking uncool while playing tennis of the week
Step forward David Cameron during a charity tennis match with Boris Becker at Chequers - not a good look.
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Politician looking cool while playing tennis of the week
US president Barack Obama looks the part however, as he hits a ball between his legs while playing tennis at the annual Easter Egg Roll at the White House.
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Tweet of the week
Andy Roddick: "So I don't know the rules of backgammon ..The people playing it next to me keep yelling "cock" and "beaver"...... Is that normal ?" Upon further investigation there actually seems to be some truth in this which makes it all the funnier.
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Caption competition
Last week's winner for the below was gcchung for her effort: "Zum letzen Mal, Billie Jean was NOT my lover." Gcchung you have to right to write a 100 words on any tennis topic of your choice if you so wish - just mail: tramlineseurosport@yahoo.co.uk
Here is another on for you of Rafa with Raul and Cristaino Ronaldo - leave your captions below.
