Interesting results today and it only looks like that Baghdatis is the guy that I want to watch, but there will be some more guys training which will be good.
There was this Italian guy Lorenzi who is baby Massu. He has the same hairstyle, the same kind of game, but not as much grunt as Nico and doesn't have the strength of Massu and he lost to this joker Bobby Reynolds, he could only be American with that name.
Nettle/Mazrakis match was very close and Nettle got some hometown calls in the 3rd set which helped him for sure and some of the local Greek community weren't very happy about that.
Garcia-Lopez won again and made it tough for himself, he might lift his game and win easily in the last match and I would like to see him in the main draw.
Ryderstedt forgot about his form in the 2nd set of yesterday, but the conditions changed rapidly as it was very windy and overcast a total contrast to yesterday and he couldn't handle it. Bracciali was good, but Ryderstedt definitely helped him along the way.
Prpic I was disappointed with him in this match, he was a bit too passive, he had a good start then and Van Gemerden lifted his game and was hitting with good length and Prpic was hitting too many short balls and got punished for it.
Marach and Seppi well Seppi was somewhere else today in the mind, except from where he needed to be. Marach was solid, but nothing special and he did well to beat Mackin the ghost who is the whitest guy I have seen in ages. Seppi is definitely better on the clay, but he was a fool and not good enough and Marach took advantage.
Koellerer and Parmar well that was an interesting math for the time that I saw it. After the 3rd game "Dani" was up to his tricks whining about the calls, screaming at the ballboys and after losing a break at 2-1 in the 1st set, he threw his racquet down. Parmar again showed his choking capabilities and was serving for the match at 5-4 in the 2nd, but as usual didn't have the bottle and "psychotic clown" fought hard and won the 2nd and I had no doubt he would win the 3rd. Tomorrow he is making my list if you know what I mean.
Baghdatis was a lot better than yesterday, he was able to be consistent and to swing through his shots more than yesterday and Sarstrand had his forehand broken down, as his backhand is a very good shot. He was clearly the better player and had plenty in reserve and hopefully he gets through to the main draw.
Lopez/Suzuki match was frustrating for sure. Lopez should have won this in straight sets he was up 4-2 and 15-40 on Suzuki's serve, but he played a silly shot and lost that opportunity. He had problems with his stomach again and it's a chronic problem as he couldn't hit kick serves at all. When he could get rallies Lopez had him on a string, but the game he lost in the 1st set to lose his advantage, he didn't get a first serve in at all. His serve isn't fast enough for that to happen.
Marc fought hard and won the 2nd, but Suzuki remained calm, chipped and charged and moved forward a lot. Lopez is quite good at the net, but he let nerves get the better of him and wouldn't move forward and when the chance to run around the backhand to use his stronger forehand he wouldn't do it.
There were a few more training today. I saw Monfils today and he was training with Sargsian and I realised that Gael is playing Ginepri, so allez Gael. He isn't arrogant at all and seemed fine after practice and I don't get negative vibes from him.
Zabaleta was there training with Acasuso. It was plenty of fun as always and there is a surprise involved here, but I am not saying what it is They weren't really trying hard and Zaba was having his groin stretched and some of the ladies would have loved that for sure.
Mantilla was training as well and he wasn't hitting them that well, but if he is prepared to run and run he could win a few matches, I hope he can do this for sure, as I don't see him playing for much longer at all.
Massu was there watching Garcia and then he trained, so his injury wasn't too serious and when I left Schalken was working on his serve.
Not a bad day tomorrow should be better.
Saturday
Well this report I am not quite sure how it will read, but here goes anyway. I saw a lot more players training on site and that was good as there were only a few qualie matches today, but these had good results.
Garcia-Lopez got through and it was easy for once as he made heavy weather of the other 2 matches. Ferrero was there supporting his friend and my impression of him hasn't changed, he is alright and I don't dislike him, but there are other players that I want to beat him.
Marach vs. Christophe "the Beard" Rochus wasn't a bad match. Marach is a very good fighter who makes the most of what he has and I was surprised he won, but happy for him. Melzer was there with his beautiful hair, though he is almost macho compared to Feli Lopez.
Baghdatis played well today and it was funny his cousin was so nervous when Marcos was leading with an early break in the 2nd he went for a walk, then one of the Greek guys texted him and then he came back and was very happy. He got in a good section of the draw and can do quite well as his elbow seems to be a lot better and he was moving very well against a guy who has been better than the last opponents.
Dickhead Dani got beaten 6-4 6-0 and he was around and his mother was there giving him a hug, it was almost a tender moment, but since it was Koellerer I could only laugh. I didn't see much or hear much whining from him. The best bit is Luzzi the guy who punched him qualified and he didn't.
This is in no order of whom I saw play and the like, but these are among the illuminaries. Gambill was playing with the Aussie Healey and JMG no matter what I think of him as a player, or whether he is gay. I can't fault with him with the fans and the flies were getting to him as they do and it seems to be worse than usual.
Nieminen was training with the Toad and was striking them fairly well and Söderling has decided to get a haircut and Peta from MTF was happy that she got a photo the day before he cut his hair.
Mariano was training with Lobo at the same time, though he might have trained again later, though I am not sure about it. He was in jovial mood as always and I have the Swedish speech ready for him when he goes back to Båstad. He will need our support since he is playing an Aussie.
Robredo was training with Hrbaty and the irony is I am taking a photo for two of my friends Ariel the Argentine and Peter the Chilean and I was almost tempted to cramp up but that would have been over the top. Hrbaty when they finished ran off and trained on another court with Sluiter.
A Schuettler sighting he was training with Ljubicic and Dirk was there smirking as usual, the guy doesn't have to say anything and he is still funny. He seemed to be in a fairly good mood and no Alfie warning as of yet.
Kiefer was there with Kohlschreiber who was hitting the ball very well and giving Kiefer a workout. Hogstedt Kiefer's coach is a funny guy, he definitely had a big night out last night and Kiefer says “what do you expect, all he eats is Chinese food".
I did hear the circumstances of the gunman incident and what exactly happened to Kiefer, the basic simple truth is this guy was getting chased through Melbourne and stole a cab, as the car was crashed on the footpath and Kiefer was getting his bags out of the car, then the gunman was doing the pose of pointing the shooter everywhere and Kiefer ducked behind the car, the instant reaction.
I saw Spadea twice and Vinny Ice was at his best and I was surprised a woman asked for his autograph, and even more so he gave it. I thought Vinny Ice would have come up with a rap and I think it would be close to see who is more unpopular among their peers Spadea, Roddick or Coria.
T.Johansson was with Pavel and Pavel is a funny guy and the Peta incident. When she went up to him and asked him for a photo and in a deadpan manner said " No" Then he was waiting and said do you want the photo with a smile on his face. He was hitting the backhands very well and that is good to see and I'll be watching his matches as usual.
Calleri and Nadal were hitting together as well. Calleri is a great guy he was there joking afterwards and Ariel was very happy to talk to him and El Gordo is one of my favourites and he is nothing off court, like he is when he is on court and that is very scary as there is an intense rage that grips him. He has a tough match against Max, maybe Max hasn't been able to sleep well with the new baby.
Chela and Acasuso were around as well, then there was Saulnier who was hitting with Spadea. There was Stepanek and Davydenko on the outer courts as well. Volandri was there as well.
Blake was there, but Costa was killing him in practice and Blake's racquet was snapped and only the head was there and the handle was in his hand when he left the court.
Massu and Mantilla were there together. Felix wasn't too bad and Massu as always was intense and Peter isn't a fan of Massu at all, he is happy he won the Gold medal, but doesn't care for him either way. It was fun anyway, but more crazy shit was about to happen.
In the evening Monaco and Andreev were hitting and Monaco was getting the better of it and we were joking, then this 200kg security guard with no sense of humour was trying to kick us out, but we argued then hid and came back around and decided to watch the rest of the practice. He wasn't there to be seen, maybe he needed his burger fix.
There were these Germans around, and because nobody was around, these guys had their racquets and decided to hit on the court. It was quite funny and you can see they weren't of tournament standard, then I went on there and proceded to hit from 5 metres behind the baseline with a Wilson and now I know why I don't use this one, it was crap, but fun to hit on the court anyway.
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