Pro Player Bloggers
Many of you may be aware of
Justin Gimelstob's blog for Sports Illustrated, but other professional players have joined in the fun. This year the ATP official website started to have players writing for its blog; each player writes for one week. So far they have had
Ivan Ljubicic,
James Blake, and most recently
Jarkko Nieminen.
Smash Tennis Magazine, the
TENNIS Magazine spin-off geared toward younger players, has also recruited
Vince Spadea to write for its blog. Check these out for real insight into the life of a player on the pro tour.
Australian Open Final Words
Well, the fortnight in Melbourne has come and gone. Fantastic and appalling tennis was played (beauty is in the eye of the beholder) and new champions have been crowned. I have to say the finals of the singles events were not what I had expected going into the tournament, but in the end the players who deserved to win got the title. The doubles finals were every bit as exciting as (if not more so than) the singles as well. I have to say that after the disappointment of Justine Henin-Hardenne retiring in the women's singles final, the men's doubles final between Bob Bryan-Mike Bryan and Leander Paes-Martin Damm redeemed the night session.
I'm getting ahead of myself though. Let's first look at the women's doubles results. The women's doubles final on Friday was the first final to be played. Australia's Samantha Stosur and partner Lisa Raymond of the USA faced off against Chinese duo Zheng Jie and Yan Zi. From the
Malaysian Star:
Yan Zi and Zheng Jie, who both won singles tournaments last year and were seeded 12th in the doubles at Melbourne, came from a set down and saved two match points in a second set tie-break before going on to win 2-6, 7-6, 6-3.
"We feel very excited and very happy," Yan Zi told reporters. "Little bit nervous. Because first time in the centre court. It's so big and so many people."
Yan Zi said the match, which was broadcast in China, would help strengthen the game there, although it was too early to tell if their win would have any impact on the Beijing Olympics.
"It will be good for Chinese tennis," Yan Zi said through an interpreter.
"In the near future, we think we could be better, make progress, improve a lot, and it can stimulate (tennis)."
Australia's Stosur and American Raymond had been seeking their second successive Grand Slam title after winning the US Open in New York last year.
[...]
China has been making big strides in women’s tennis in recent years, highlighted by Li Ting and Sun Tiantian’s victory in the women’s doubles at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
They have also won three WTA singles titles in the past two seasons.
“There are so many Chinese girls now,” Raymond told a news conference.
That's what was said about the Russian girls a few years ago as well.
As Saturday dawned for the women's singles final, I found myself looking forward to a clash between two excellent one-handed backhands: Amelie Mauresmo versus Justine Henin-Hardenne. Instead, what I got was a tame first set where Henin-Hardenne was blown away by a determined Mauresmo. After a bathroom break before the start of the second set, Henin-Hardenne lost two successive games, then called the doctor. She played only one more point before approaching the net and shaking Mauresmo's hand to retire from the match.
From the
Sydney Morning Herald:
Henin-Hardenne says a severe reaction from a nagging shoulder injury caused her to pull out.
The Belgian says she was nearly forced to call a doctor at 3am this morning because she was feeling so sick.
She believes anti-inflammatory tablets she takes for her shoulder pain may be the cause of her stomach illness.
"I'm feeling very disappointed to end the tournament this way," said the eighth-seeded Henin-Hardenne.
"I was feeling so sick and I couldn't stay any longer on the court."
The match lasted just 52 minutes.
It was the first time since 1966 that an Australian Open women's singles final had failed to go the distance.
On that occasion, Australian Margaret Smith beat American Nancy Richey by walkover.
Now, I'm fully aware of the media and fan backlash that surrounded this result. People have said that Henin-Hardenne denied Mauresmo the chance for a full-blown celebration after winning match point. I agree to that, but I disagree that Henin-Hardenne retired from the match on purpose to avoid a bagel or because she was being beaten already. Anyway, a win is a win whether it be by winning a matchpoint or through an opponent's retirement, and I'd rather a player retire than tank the rest of the match. Still, it was a lackluster final, and a short one, too.
The crowd stayed on for the men's doubles match to get the most out of their ticket to Rod Laver Arena, and from what I saw on my TV they got their money's worth anyway. Bob and Mike Bryan were in the Australian Open men's doubles final for the third time in a row but had never won it. This year, they faced Leander Paes and Martin Damm. From the outset it was a competitive match, with Paes and Damm performing a celebratory chest bump after breaking the Bryan twins' serve in the first set. After losing the first set, the twins battled back to level the match at one set apiece and then went on to win the decider. The stadium remained packed until the end of the match and ensuing award ceremony. After men's doubles seemed
threatened with extinction last year, I think this match was a wake-up call to those who said doubles is boring.
From
Slam! Sports Tennis:
"It's unbelievable. I had nothing left in my body by the end of that match," said Bob Bryan. "It was so emotional. There was a lot of energy there, they were doing chest bumps, we were doing chest bumps.
"We were down break points pretty much every game in the third. It was just pure relief and happiness and excitement at the end."
There was some animosity afterward, with Mike Bryan saying the brothers were unhappy to see Paes and Damm "steal" their chest-bump celebration, and Paes responding that the Bryans were "in diapers" when he and another partner, Mahesh Bhupathi, began performing the celebration in matches.
The Bryans, who have played together for 10 years, were contesting their fifth consecutive Grand Slam tournament final.
"It feels good to get this notch, the last two years we came up short," said Mike Bryan. "There's nothing more special than to win with your brother."
Mixed doubles the next day resulted in Martina Hingis winning a Grand Slam title with partner Mahesh Bhupathi against Daniel Nestor and Elena Likhovtseva. For someone who's only been back in the pro game for a month, Ms. Hingis has definitely achieved much, making the quarterfinal of the women's singles event as well.
From the
Sydney Morning Herald:
Martina Hingis' comeback has only just begun, and already it has yielded something she never achieved in her previous nine years on the professional tennis tour - a mixed doubles title.
The former world No.1 today capped her return to grand slam tennis after more than three years by combining with Indian Mahesh Bhupathi to win the Australian Open mixed doubles final in Melbourne.
Hings and Bhupathi, wildcard entrants, beat Canadian Daniel Nestor and Russia's Elena Likhovtseva 6-3 6-3 in just 65 minutes.
While Hingis already had 40 singles titles and 36 women's doubles tournament victories to her credit - including three singles and four doubles at the Australian Open - she had never before even reached the final of any mixed doubles tournament.
It capped a great fortnight for the Swiss Miss, who admitted she had already exceeded her expectations by making the quarter-finals in the singles.
She said she had entered the mixed doubles with Bhupathi largely because she feared an early exit in the singles competition might leave her needing to fill in some time.
The Swiss definitely had a lot of celebrating to do after Sunday's finals. Roger Federer came through against Marcos Baghdatis in the men's final, as many had expected. However, no one expected the flood of tears Federer shed after being awarded the trophy by Rod Laver himself, winner of two career Grand Slams.
From
Scotsman.com:
The world No1 was a prohibitive favourite but was made to battle hard before securing a 5-7, 7-5, 6-0, 6-2 win over his 20-year-old opponent.
[...]
Federer, a model of on-court composure, clawed his way back from losing the first set and trailing 2-0 in the second. But he was unable to contain his emotions when he received the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup from Australian Rod Laver, the last player to hold all four major titles simultaneously.
"I guess it's all coming out now," said Federer, with tears streaming down his cheeks. "I've had some hard speeches but this one is really tough."
Later, Federer explained that the magnitude of his latest achievement had been overwhelming. "It was a different type of grand slam victory, and I think that's why it was so emotional for me," he said. "I felt very nervous going into the match again. I was incredibly nervous, actually."
[...]
Federer eventually proved too good for the unseeded Baghdatis, but his defeat did nothing to dampen Cypriot pride.
All over the island, traditional Cypriot coffee shops and trendy cafes were packed. Each time Baghdatis won a point, wild cheering would break the silence.
In Baghdatis' home village of Paramytha (Greek for fairytale), shots were fired in the air and, once it was all over, neighbours and well-wishers headed for the besieged Baghdatis house to pass on their commiserations.
To his compatriots Baghdatis is a rare success story for a divided island dominated by partisan politics.
"He's a real fighter. We are so proud," said Andreas Stavrou, 28.
"He gave it all he had," added Christos Panayides, 50. "Roger Federer may have won the match but Marcos has won our hearts."
Maybe you know about my predilection for fairytale endings (
I was disappointed when Andre Agassi's great run to the 2005 US Open final was ended when Federer beat him for the title), and I wanted Baghdatis to win this after beating four seeded opponents. However, the Cypriot had never before won a professional tour final and I knew that in the end Federer's experience and the lesser amount of hours spend on court through the earlier rounds would prove to be Baghdatis's master.
With this win, Federer now owns seven Grand Slam tournament titles; he's only got seven more to go if he wants to equal Pete Sampras's record. Mauresmo won her first major title, finally shrugging off the "Best Player Never to Win a Slam" title that's dogged her through the years. Martina Hingis, with the help of Mahesh Bhupathi, added her first Grand Slam mixed doubles title to her collection. Zheng Jie and Yan Zi became the first Chinese to win a Grand Slam title. Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan finally won an Australian Open doubles title.
History was made at this year's Australian Open. The players answered the tournament's challenge:
bring it on.
Going the Distance
Today's singles matches at the Australian Open were decided by which player could outlast the other, as all three matches went to a deciding set. The real highlight of today, in my opinion, was the men's semifinal featuring the last two players from the bottom half of the draw: David Nalbandian vs. Marcos Baghdatis.
Bagdatis and Nalbandian came out for their semifinal match attired in similar outfits: white shirt with orange trim, black shorts, hair in a ponytail, and a white headband. When the two players began to battle it seemed as though there was not much to separate the two of them. Both had excellent two-handed backhands and neither would willingly surrender a point. As the match progressed, there was a marked decrease in Nalbandian's serve speed, and he seemed to be using his serve merely to start the point rather than to enforce himself on the point. Still, Nalbandian won the first set. The Argentinian then wrested the second set away from the Cypriot, whose concentration while serving for the set was broken by Australia Day's fireworks in the sky above Rod Laver Arena.
While the quality of Nalbandian's serve wavered, his groundstrokes retained their sting and gave Baghdatis fits on his own serve. Still, Baghdatis managed to secure breaks on Nalbandian's serve in the third and fourth sets, pushing the match to a deciding fifth.
With both players running on fumes, Nalbandian tried to pull away from his opponent and led the set at 4-2 before Baghdatis began breaking down the Argentinian's serve again. The crowd (particularly the Greek Australians who had come out to support Baghdatis) had been cheering throughout the match, but they went wild as Baghdatis broke Nalbandian's serve at love. He was to serve for the match.
It had been a dramatic match up to that point; Baghdatis had been playing from behind during the whole match and had only just gotten his nose in front. The Australian weather decided to show its twisted sense of humor and left viewers and players in suspense: at 5-4, 15-all, it began to rain. Nobody had bothered to consider the possibility of rain after a hot and humid day, and the roof was partially open. Play was halted for twenty minutes while the roof was drawn closed and the court was dried manually with towels.
Could Nalbandian again wrest the momentum from Baghdatis with this interruption? There would be no such mistake this time, though Baghdatis had to win the match twice. At 40-30 Baghdatis played a ball deep down the line on Nalbandian's forehand side for a seeming winner, but chair umpire Andreas Egli overruled it and said it had gone long. The computer-assisted replay of the point, however, showed that the ball had hit the back of the line. Nalbandian then committed an unforced error and gave another match point to his opponent. Baghdatis closed the match out with an ace down the T and fell to his knees. The unseeded 20-year-old, a former junior number one, had beaten the #2 seed Andy Roddick, the #7 seed Ivan Ljubicic, and the #4 seed David Nalbandian. He had secured himself a place in the final.
Baghdatis, a first-time Grand Slam finalist, will play the winner of the semifinal between Roger Federer and Nicolas Kiefer. The German Kiefer will fight for a first-time berth in a Grand Slam final. Federer has never yet lost a Slam final.
***
AGAIN: In one of the other singles matches today, Maria Sharapova crashed out of the Australian Open in the semifinal for the second year in a row. This time, she was beaten by Justine Henin-Hardenne. Though Sharapova took an early lead winning the first set, she faltered and allowed Henin-Hardenne back into the match. The Belgian Henin-Hardenne prevailed over the Russian 4-6,6-1,6-4.
From the
Sydney Morning Herald:
A disappointed Sharapova also berated the media for focusing on issues such as her grunting and fashion rather than tennis.
"Take your note pads, take your pencils down, take your grunt-o-meters down, the fashion police, put everything away and just watch the match � I seriously think the quality of the match today was great."
Upon learning that the electronic "hawkeye" had revealed that two important calls had incorrectly gone against her in the final set, the Russian could not conceal her disappointment.
"That was wide? That's great, I mean, what can I say," she said of an Henin-Hardenne ball that was wrongly called in. "I thought that was a pretty important point in the match. But I mean, I'm not going to argue about that shot. I'm not going to make excuse about that."
Yuri Sharapov's behavior during the match also overshadowed the loss; the Russian's father had been making hand signals and yelling out to Sharapova throughout her past matches, and at one point a scream from his vicinity had distracted Henin-Hardenne as she was about to serve.
Henin-Hardenne will be facing Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo in the final. Mauresmo progressed to the final when her opponent Kim Clijsters retired from their match in the third set after twisting her ankle.
From
Reuters.co.uk:
For the Belgian it was a slice of cruel luck, but one which gives Mauresmo a chance to win her first grand slam.
"It's very strange," third seed Mauresmo said in a courtside interview. "We had such a great battle till she twisted the ankle.
"It's a little bit of an unfinished match. I hope she gets better and it's not too bad but that's the way it is."
[...]
Clijsters has been plagued by injuries since she lost the 2004 Australian Open final to Henin-Hardenne but thought her luck had taken a turn for the better when she won last year's U.S. Open.
But she hurt her back and hip during a warm-up event in Sydney earlier this month and failed to regain full fitness during the championship.
"I'm not the kind of player who is going to quit for nothing," Clijsters told a news conference.
"I really felt like I was ready from the first ball. I think I played a lot better, too. That's what makes this even more frustrating."
Clijsters ascended to the world #1 ranking on Monday and made the semifinal by beating Martina Hingis in their quarterfinal match. (Hingis is still at the Australian Open, having just made the semifinal of the mixed doubles event with partner Mahesh Bhupathi.)
Mauresmo has once been a finalist at the Australian Open, losing to Hingis in 1999. Henin-Hardenne won the tournament in 2004.
***
JUSTIN, YOU JINX! In what may be an extension of the Sports Illustrated cover curse, SI contributor Justin Gimelstob has noted a disturbing pattern of events linked to his blog. In
his own words:
I've been taking a lot of heat regarding my predictions, and rightfully so. Andy Roddick was the first guy in the locker room to call me out on my "Six young players to watch" debacle, as five of my picks crashed out in the first round. Then, to add further fuel to the jinx theory, Aussie native son Lleyton Hewitt was bounced in the second round by Juan Ignacio Chela after I predicted his safe passage to the later rounds of the tournament.
The icing on the cake was James Blake losing on Thursday night to Tommy Robredo. I gave James props in this column at last fall's U.S. Open. Robredo is a great player, but Blake had dominated him 3-0 head-to-head -- until Friday, when the added weight of my prognostication proved too much to contend with.
[...]
Since many of my loyal readers are well aware that I already alienated Lindsay Davenport last fall with my, uh, controversial first column, I don't have to worry about her fearing or even being aware of the jinx. That leaves only one player who remains in jeopardy: Roger Federer.
The good news for him is that certain things aren't subject to cosmic influences. Once in awhile, individuals come along in their particular profession or walk of life and have that rare combination of physical talent, emotional balance and desire to fulfill their potential. Nothing, not even the Gimel's Blog jinx, can affect that inevitable outcome.
So next weekend, when both Davenport and Federer are basking in their Grand Slam glory, the Gimel's Blog jinx will be officially extinguished. Hopefully then the ridicule with [sic] cease!
Since that blog post, the Gimel's Blog curse has struck again and again with Ivan Ljubicic, Lindsay Davenport, and most recently Kim Clijsters bouncing out of the tournament. You know who may be next.
***
BEST OUT OF FIVE: I think this Australian Open has been a study in why best-of-five matches should still be played at the Grand Slam tournaments. I don't see how some tennis journalists can even suggest (repeatedly in their weekly columns) reducing Grand Slam matches to the best-of-three format. I understand it will please television broadcasters since they can time when a match starts and ends more precisely with three-setters and set advertising rates accordingly, and people supposedly won't lose interest and tune off during shorter matches. However, tennis shouldn't be all about what can attract and keep ratings.
Five-setters showcase both players' strengths and weaknesses and allow dramatic comebacks that would not be possible in best-of-three matches. Most times a five-set match resembles theater in all its ups and downs. In my recent memory I have enjoyed five-set matches the most: both players wrestling with each other and with themselves--figuratively, of course. Five setters are like churning milk for butter: the cream rises to the top.
Swiss Bliss
Yesterday's night matches featured Switzerland's pride: Martina Hingis and Roger Federer. The two started off their matches with displays of precision and class, but the two players across the net were determined to make both of them work for the win. Samantha Stosur of Australia had the home crowd behind her as she played Hingis, while Tommy Haas of Germany had momentum and fire going into his match against Federer.
Stosur quickly succumbed to pressure from Hingis in the first set. The second set proved to be more of a dogfight, with both players breaking each other's serve back and forth. Stosur, with the crowd cheering for her, forced the set into a tiebreaker by breaking Hingis's serve as the former world no. 1 was serving for the match at 6-5.
From
Scotsman.com:
Stosur raced out to a 5-2 lead, but the experience of Hingis eventually told and she fought back to seal victory on her fourth match-point, setting up the mouthwatering clash with Clijsters.
"I played really well for the first one-and-a-half sets," added Hingis, who only made her return to competitive tennis earlier this month at the Australian hardcourt championships on the Gold Coast and is competing at Melbourne Park as a wild card.
"It took me a while until we finished that match. She's a great fighter. She started attacking more. Also, partly because I was getting tired or just loosened up a little, it was all nerves just toward the end, and after being down 5-2 in the tie-breaker I was just happy to finish it off."
Stosur said she noticed Hingis' weaknesses and tried to exploit them. "As the match went on, I kind of found what I needed to be doing a bit better," she added. "I think she started getting a little bit tired. I just started grinding it out and just fighting for every point and came within two points of getting the set."
Hingis will be facing Kim Clijsters in the quarterfinals. At Clijsters's on-court interview after winning the fourth-round match against Franchesca Schiavone, the Belgian said that she had not been training on her days off. Clijsters has been nursing a back and hip injury but so far has gone through the draw comfortably.
Sports Illustrated contributor Justin Gimelstob writes in
his latest blog entry:
Hingis has been up early practicing every morning at a private court at the same hotel where I'm staying, and has improved in every match. She has been fortunate to stay away from the big hitters so far, but she has displayed the same consistency and court management that enabled her to become the youngest holder of the No. 1 ranking in women's history.
One problem: Hingis has a date with Kim Clijsters on Wednesday, a player who is one of the biggest of those big hitters. If Clijsters is healthy -- and she looks like she is -- Hingis' biggest weakness will be exposed.
As for the featured men's match later that night featuring Federer and Haas, it seemed a foregone conclusion that the top seed would get through to the quarterfinal. The first two sets (complete with a bagel in the second) was business as usual for the Swiss, but Haas began showing his mettle. He worked hard for every point and dove for seemingly unmakeable volleys, overpowered and wrongfooted his opponent, and began showing a worthy contest for the match.
From
Telegraph.co.uk:
Federer had not lost a set all tournament until last night, and the truth was that he perhaps could have continued into the last eight in much simpler fashion. After establishing a two-set lead, he appeared to have been in a position that was as impregnable as one of his home country's famed bank vaults.
But it was then that the match acquired its complications and its drama. The increasingly effective tennis from Haas, who was swinging with abandon and diving about the service box like a dark-haired Boris Becker, had Federer making uncharacteristic errors, fretting about the mistakes, and muttering into the night.
Federer matches in the early stages of a slam are generally close to exhibition tennis, with the crowd having a fair idea of the result before the first rally but able to enjoy the racket skills and extravagant strokes all the same. Yet suddenly here was a Federer fourth-round match filled with plot. "It was a different atmosphere, with the crowd getting into the fifth set, and that's not something I'm used to," he said.
Haas didn't accomplish the upset, but he certainly stretched Federer and competed until the last moment. Federer will play Nikolay Davydenko, who was taken to five sets by Dominik Hrbaty in their fourth-round match.
Yesterday, the last of the fourth-round matches were played. The men's singles quarterfinal match-ups are: Roger Federer vs. Nikolay Davydenko, Nicolas Kiefer vs. Sebastien Grosjean, Fabrice Santoro vs. David Nalbandian, and Ivan Ljubicic vs. Marcos Baghdatis.
Most of the usual suspects on the women's side are into the quarterfinals, but there are some nice Swiss surprises with the presence of Hingis as well as Patty Schnyder. The women's singles quarterfinal match-ups are: Lindsay Davenport vs. Justine Henin-Hardenne, Maria Sharapova vs. Nadia Petrova, Patty Schnyder vs. Amelie Mauresmo, and Martina Hingis vs. Kim Clijsters.
***
HUMOR ME: Comparisons between Hingis and Federer are bound to occur at some time. Federer himself has said that he looks up to Hingis, but after Hingis's comeback people have said that Hingis is the female version of Federer. See this forum discussion at
Tennis Warehouse for some insightful comments and revealing (*cough*Photoshopped*cough*) photo comparisons.
I also ran across a joyous
ode to Hingis. If I'm glad she's back, this guy is ecstatic about it.
I figured now would be as good a time as any to alert people to the existence of a Vince Spadea fan site.
Spadea Ain't Afraid of the Top Ten takes on Vince Spadea's tennis, rapping, and writing career. Created by a fan with a sense of humor, it has some great content you won't find on the official
Vince Spadea website.
Speaking of official player websites, check out
MatsWilander.com. It contains, among other things, a blog with content by none other than the multiple Grand Slam champ Mr. Wilander himself (with occasional updates by his webmaster Chris).
Roddick Upset
I missed this morning's Australian Open matches because I was out all day, but I came home happy after finding out that Filipino boxer
Manny Pacquiao defeated Erik Morales of Mexico in their super featherweight match in Las Vegas. I had high hopes when I checked the
Australian Open website for scores, expecting that my favorite tennis player Andy Roddick had done just as well in his fourth-round Australian Open match against Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus. Unfortunately, he had not.
According to the
statistics for the match, Baghdatis hit 63 winners and only 23 unforced errors, while Roddick hit only 39 winners against 31 unforced errors. Roddick attempted to sum up what had gone wrong.
From
Reuters.co.uk:
"I just thought maybe I was a little bit spacy out there. Maybe I just wasn't totally on top of things.
"A lot of times I was in control of the point, and he came up with the goods. A couple times I was sloppy at the wrong moments."
The four-set match is a testament to the importance of capitalizing on big points; though Roddick won one more point than Baghdatis overall, the Cypriot won on his ability to convert his break points in each of the three sets that went to him.
I can't explain the feeling of having one's hopes dashed, especially after I had dismissed Roddick's disappointing first-round loss at the 2005 US Open as nothing more than a bad memory. Today, I learned you can always make new bad memories.
Roddick Watch has a wrap-up and short analysis of the match that sums up Roddick fans' reactions to the loss.
This is turning out to be a banner year for Fabrice Santoro, though. He's in the
quarterfinal of a Slam for the first time in his career, upsetting the 11th seed David Ferrer in straight sets in their fourth-round match.
Aussie Aussie Aussie! Oi Oi Oi!
The Australian Open is my favorite Grand Slam tournament to watch because it's the only Slam that's played in a timezone that won't reset my body clock. I can watch the day session turn into the night session without watching the night turn into morning here. For the past few days it's been Australian Open all day, all the time, courtesy of
Star Sports, and I've been a happy tennis fanatic glued to my television.
***
STEAMROLLER: Roger Federer has been flinging aside his opponents so far. His most recent result has him bageling Florian Mayer of Germany. However, another German could prove to be a road block for the top seed, should Federer make their fourth round match by beating Max Mirnyi later today.
The player in question is Tommy Haas, who had a stellar warm-up to the Australian Open by beating Federer in first-round action at the Kooyong Classic last week. That tournament, while an exhibition, has been the stomping ground of the world's top players seeking some match play in the week leading up to the Australian Open. Haas
made the Kooyong final where he fell to Andy Roddick in straight sets. Nevertheless, Haas seems to have carried over the momentum from beating the world number one into his first week at the AO. Sans ponytail and longtime coach Red Ayme, the unseeded Haas defeated 14th seed Richard Gasquet in the first round, bageled American Paul Goldstein in the second round, and dashed Australian hopes by defeating home wildcard Peter Luczak in four sets. Haas likes his chances, should the match-up with Federer materialize.
From
BBC Sport:
"I obviously would have liked to play Roger later in the tournament should he win tonight, but I'm unseeded and had no choice," said Haas.
"But I believe I have the variety in my game to give him some trouble. I like to think I'm playing some good tennis."
***
BACK IN THE SADDLE: Martina Hingis's first-round match had many a longtime tennis fan salivating (myself included). In the weeks prior to the Open, she
made the semifinal at the WTA Gold Coast tournament, but
crashed out to Justine Henin-Hardenne in the first round at the Sydney International tournament the following week.
Could she play at her best level in a Slam again? Would the Australian Open tournament committee get their wildcard’s worth? Rod Laver Arena at night seemed a pretty big stage for a match between wildcard and the number 30 seed, but Hingis showed her class as a multiple Slam winner. In her 6-1,6-2 defeat of Vera Zvonareva, the Swiss Miss moved the Russian to tears (literally) with her wide array of angles and strokes. The same style of play brought her through a 6-1,6-1 victory over Emma Laine. Hingis would have faced Mary Pierce in the third round, but the fifth seed Pierce had been upset by Iveta Benesova.
This morning, Benesova pushed Hingis in their first set with her leftie serve and powerful strokes, but Hingis still prevailed in straight sets and moves on to the next opponent. That will be Australia's own Samantha Stosur. The crowd may be on the Australian’s side, but
bookies have put Hingis as their second favorite behind Justine Henin-Hardenne to win the Aussie title.
***
RUSTY WAS RUSTY: Last year, Lleyton Hewitt broke his pattern of early exits from his home Slam by battling through many a five-setter and making the final. This year brought no such performance from him, though he did play a five-setter in his first round match. He
squeaked out the win against Robin Vik in the first round, losing the second and third sets before rallying back to win the last two sets. Hewitt then faced Juan Ignacio Chela in the second round, a rematch of a bad-tempered third round match from last year's Open. To refresh our failing memories, here's how last year's match went, courtesy of
The Tribune India:
A bristling Lleyton Hewitt won a bad-tempered encounter with Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela 6-2, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 to reach the fourth round.
[...]
The first three sets were of high quality but the match burst into life early in the fourth with some unsavoury scenes.
Chela appeared to get angry with Hewitt for his on-court gesticulations, fired a serve which the Australian had to jump to avoid being hit by.
After Hewitt had broken for a 2-1 lead, he seemed to mutter an obscenity towards Chela and the Argentine was then seen to spit in Hewitt’s direction.
The spat galvanised Chela and he broke back for 4-4, only to drop his own serve immediately, and Hewitt held on to reach the last 16.
There was no such hostility this year, but this time around it was Chela who won the match.
From
The Scotsman:
Hewitt has failed to make the third round of a grand slam event only once since 2002, at Wimbledon in 2003 when he was defending champion. The 24-year-old was a losing finalist here in 2005 and has been struggling to regain his best form after missing the last two months of last season with leg and foot injuries, and the birth of his first child.
He may be renowned for his doggedness, but Hewitt's loss to Chela also followed early departures in warm-up events in Adelaide and Sydney. "I was giving it everything I had out there, I just wasn't up to it," Hewitt said.
***
BREAKTHROUGH: After threatening twice last year to win a Masters Series title, Ivan Ljubicic seems poised to make a breakthrough at the Australian Open. The Croatian player had never been past the third round of a Slam before his resounding win yesterday over Feliciano Lopez put him
through to the fourth round. Ljubicic is seeded to meet second seed Andy Roddick in the quarterfinal.
Roddick, who faces Marcos Baghdatis in the fourth round, hasn’t exactly been put through the wringer in his matches. Although there was some trepidation that he could go out in the first round as he had done in the 2005 US Open, Roddick banished those memories to the past by straight-setting his last three opponents. His third-round clash with Julien Benneteau was an exercise in confidence: Roddick had it, and Benneteau didn’t. I was in a chat with fellow tennis fans when Benneteau tried a dropshot.
Adam: good drop shot!
deb: ???
Noelle: not!
Adam: benneateau hit the worst dropshot ever
Noelle: and it landed in the service box
Noelle: on his side of the court
Adam: it bounced before the net
Ljubicic won his
two meetings versus Roddick last year and has showed a steady improvement in his play over the past year. Could this late bloomer be a dark horse contender for the title? He’ll have to face 2002 Australian Open champ Thomas Johansson first.
***
WITHOUT WILLIAMS: Both Serena and Venus Williams won a Slam tournament last year, but they aren’t in contention for the Australian title anymore. Venus was the first to fall, knocked out in the first round by Bulgarian qualifier Tsvetlana Pironkova. Serena’s first round opponent Na Li and second round opponent Camille Pin didn’t have the consistency or the power to topple the defending champion, but Hantuchova took advantage of Serena’s poor fitness to win their third round match in straight sets.
From the
NYTimes:
"I think we all know how well she can really play," said Hantuchova, who had not won a set in her three previous matches with Williams. "But to her credit, I thought she kept fighting until the end. She never gave up, and at the end of the second set, it could have gone either way, so I really did feel the pressure of her really competing."
***
As the Slam is set to go into its second week in two days, there have been the standard steamrolling of opponents as well as expected and unexpected upsets. Ladies and gentlemen, it's Aussie Open time. As they say: bring it on!
Nalbandian Denies Udomchoke
David Nalbandian toughed through his first-round match at the Australian Open; after going up two sets to love, he dropped the next two sets against Thailand's Danai Udomchoke before picking up his game to win the match in the fifth set. The score was 6-2,6-2,1-6,6-7,6-1.
When I started watching this match, I wondered why Nalbandian was grinding out the match; almost all games in the first set went to deuce although he broke Udomchoke twice to win the set. I didn't watch most of the third and fourth sets (I did some errands) but the commentators noted that Nalbandian had slightly changed his game plan in the fifth set. Udomchoke was attacking the Nalbandian forehand (the weaker of the two wings) during the two sets he won, but in the fifth set Nalbandian began hitting his returns with authority, getting a few return aces in the bag, and his down-the-line backhand began to get the better of the Thai player.
I'll put up more information on this match in a little while; I just thought the phrase had to be said: Nalbandian Denies Udomchoke.
Interview with the Tennis
TENNIS: Why haven't you been writing about me lately?
NOELLE: Well, I haven't seen you around lately.
T: What are you talking about? The
Hopman Cup,
Qatar Open,
Adelaide,
Chennai... And that's only for the men's and mixed doubles events. I am
here, baby. It's the new year!
N: Well, I really don't know what to write--
T: Why haven't you said anything about
Mariano Puerta being banned for eight years after his positive test for etilefrine was confirmed?
N: I don't know. There doesn't seem to be much left to say rather than "His excuse is
muy flimsy." Other than that, I'm practically uninformed on the rest of your doings this January.
T: Hey! What kind of tennis blogger
are you?
N: A bored one. I can't seem to catch any of your matches on TV lately. I haven't played in four weeks, either.
T: Don't they say "Absence makes the heart grow fonder?"
N: They also say "Out of sight, out of mind." To think I was one of the people who thought you needed a longer offseason. Psh.
T: But I do! Or at least my players do so they can rest and recover and train and all those things. Maybe I just need to be on TV more?
N: I guess. Because last year your television coverage sucked. Aside from the Australian Open, I couldn't catch any matches live during normal hours, there were virtually no replays of the matches that came on late at night or too early in the morning--
T: The Australian Open starts next week, you know.
N: It will?
T: Although
Andre Agassi isn't playing because of that ankle injury he was suffering from during the 2005 Tennis Masters Cup.
N: And Marat Safin?
T:
In doubt.
N: Oh, that's really bad. Any other news?
T:
Rafael Nadal is also in doubt, and... Hey! What's with all the questions? You're just asking them so you can write about, uh, me!
N: Wasn't that the whole point of this conversation?
T: Uh...
N: You're such a demanding sport.
New Year
I hope everyone had a great New Year's celebration. I temporarily lost access to the internet for the past two weeks, hence the lack of any updates. I'm looking forward to writing more about tennis this year and I hope you'll join me. Thanks for stopping by. I'll write more over the course of this week.
