2nd Round Thursday Reports

Bottom half of Round 2

As per usual at these events, there always seems to be a balance problem of what matches to watch and this is increased especially as all the matches you want to watch tend to be on the same day and Tipsy Thursday was like this in this case.

Berdych vs. Smeets

This was a man against a boy in reality. The Berdman could break when he wanted to and had this match in control from the outset and the key wasn’t to waste too much energy in defeating Smeets as he will need to conserve for the later matches. It was a routine win, though in the 3rd set Smeets was having a crack and doing quite well and had break points on the Berdych serve, but this match was never in danger. Yes, Mrs. Berdych was there watching the match and she wears the pants in this relationship, more about that later on.

Chela vs. Nieminen

This had the potential to be a 5 setter, but Chela needed to win in 4 sets, because he isn’t known for his ability to win 5 set matches a ratio of 0-8 shows that clearly.

Surprise surprise there were many lengthy rallies in this match, with “the Shark” hitting within himself and trying to move the ball around and expose chubby Chela’s lack of movement around the court. Chela is being his solid self and not making errors and hitting very good length, which makes it difficult for the Shark to be able to implement his game plan.

Nieminen steps it up in the 2nd set and is able to take advantage of some short shots from Chela and levels at 1 set all. One surprising feature of this match is how often they went to the net.

Nieminen steps it up in the 2nd set and is able to take advantage of some short shots from Chela and levels at 1 set all. One surprising feature of this match is how often they went to the net.

Chubby Chela has to make his move here and Nieminen who had a stomach virus and had to miss Adelaide, therefore limiting his preparation for the tournament and this counts against him in the end.

The third set is a tight affair which Chela takes and both aren’t making that much impression on each others service games and these are both areas of weakness for these guys, especially Jarkko’s second serve which isn’t quick and doesn’t get a whole lot of movement on it.

They settle down for 4th set and Chela falls over and there are always worries about ankle problems cause of the surface, but the chubby one gets up and he breaks Nieminen, who then falls over as well and seems to have some problems, but he is able to complete the match, though his movement seems restricted and he isn’t someone who is an actor.

Good win for the cubby one, hope Nieminen can recover and have another solid year.

Tursunov vs. Mirnyi

There are rumours going around that the blogging sensation Tursunov has a wrist problem, but Big Max is a good match up for him gamewise. As Tursunov likes to have a target to hit passing shots and also the amount of times he has defeated Henman who volleys as well as Max and is better from the baseline holds him in good stead for this match.

Saw the last 2 sets of this match and it went to a predictable pattern with Mirnyi chipping and charging into the net and Tursunov hitting big groundies from the baseline and excellent passing shots and it seemed his wrist wasn’t giving him any bother at all.

The last set went to a tiebreaker and there was the feeling that Tursunov was always going to be the winner of this match and Mirnyi was fortunate to get through his 5 setter against Horna in the previous round and Tursunov was hitting it well and took it in straight sets.
It’s funny how everything has changed with Tursunov. In 2006 he could walk around and not be bothered and now cause of a blog and taking the piss out of Sharapova, everybody loves him and wants a piece of him. He was very good and stayed behind for about 20 minutes signing everything and taking photos with the masses time is a wonderful thing.

Clement vs. Santoro

There isn’t a lot of love between these two countrymen and that always makes things spicy within the context of a match.

They are contrasting characters for sure and the fact that Santoro when available and in form for Davis Cup was passed over for Clement hasn’t helped the situation and Clement is the poodle for Forget. Though to be fair at least Clement hates the Round Robin format and this is something positive.

First of all this match was on court 6 and the match was packed, but there was hardly any noise or atmosphere. Sammy and I appreciated the match and the talent of Santoro as he was working the ball around very well and making very few unforced errors and irritating Clement in the process which is fun.

Back to the crowd, what a bunch of dumb, insular fucks. The court was packed cause Alicia Molik was playing doubles afterwards, what an insult to these two players that these people would sit all day there to watch ladies doubles and not make any noise during this match. Hey, there is another world out there, but lets keep the blinkers on it’s a lot easier.

On a side note Clement was at his best bitching about line calls and he suffers from short person syndrome this is why he is so mean to the ballkids and orders them around badly. I mean the ushering was a disgrace and as soon as someone moved in play he would stop and waste time, too bad he got thrashed. Via said that Clement should be made to bellboy and that would be a great suggestion.

This was an excellent performance from Santoro and he had Clement running and stretching side to side and throwing his variation at him and there was some staring at each other over the net during some hard fought points and for about the 11 fans who cared it worth watching. I have a feeling this will be the last time or one of that I will be seeing Santoro in the flesh. As I said last year, he was someone I didn’t appreciate at the beginning of his career, but then I realised he was a unique player and there aren’t that many coming through now in the age of baseline ball bashing.

del Potro vs. Gonzalez

After Gonzo got past a difficult 1st rounder against Korolev, the next match wasn't going to be easier against the talented del Potro and this was proven to be the case.

The Chileans were on one side of the court with their red shirts and their "Viva Chile" chants and on the other side of the court were the Argentines. It was only Sammy, myself, an Argentine friend Rodrigo and his feisty Bulgarian girlfriend initially, but after Nalle had finished with Lapentti they were over in force.

It was the first time I have seen del Potro in the flesh as well, which is always different from TV. He seems to have a good future in the game if he can look after his body and he is still growing, so management will be the key. The thing I like most about him is his temperament, which is something to always look out for.

The match itself was very close and the first set could have gone either way as there was a break between them and it went to a TB. Gonzo wasn't as patient as he has been in the past and del Potro was serving well and had his chances to take the first set but Gonzo is too solid in the breaker.

Juan then forgets about that set and focuses on the next one and is hitting good length on his shots and serving well frustrating Gonzo who is getting pissed off with the Argentine fans and Juan seems to be handling the Chilean fans a lot better. With some steady play mixed in with attacking at the right moments del Potro takes the 2nd set 6-4.

del Potro rides the wave and continues giving it to Gonzo, who is either hitting winners or making errors and this pattern continues into the 3rd set and fired up by his fans he takes the 3rd set as well.

Even though he is leading 2 sets to 1, the feeling around is if somehow Gonzo gets the 4th set, then he will win the 5th and this was eventuated. Gonzo tightens up his play and the youngster is getting tired and Gonzo fights hard to get the 4th. At the start of the 5th del Potro starts to serve slower and the big Chilean takes advantage of this and his greater experience was the key here in that he found a way to win, not playing well.

del Potro had cramps or a side strain, but he was brave and has something to build on with this performance.


Seppi vs. Mayer

This match was a tough one to watch. It's hard seeing a guy you like in such a form slump, that not even laughing is enough.

There were numerous comedic moments in this match, though these weren't intentional at all. First one was Mayer was leading 5-0 in the 1st set and then Seppi decides to wake up and play some tennis and then peels off 7 games in a row to win it 7-5.

Well not the way to get it done, but Seppi has never done it the easy way and the 2nd set had Mayer leading 5-1 and then Seppi cuts out the errors and gets it back to 5 all and then has break points for 6-5 and doesn't take them and then gets broken on a game of errors to lose 7-5.

This does not bode well for the rest of the match and what happened was shocking. Mayer aka "The Geeky German" wasn't hitting his serves at all well and his 120km/h with no kick second serve wasn't suffering the treatment it deserved and the only people suffering were Seppi, his group and the fans as well.

The Geeky German with his huge swings and no pace and then out of nowhere Seppi will dump the ball in the middle of the net at best, it's unbelievable how bad he was playing. The Geek realised this and just hit no pace junk in the middle of the court and let the South Tyrolean make the errors and he was doing this quicker than an alcoholic on speed with keys to a brewery.

He lost the 3rd set 6-2 and then the 4th was just as miserable and these guys behind me were giving both players crap especially Seppi. Mayer in reality is the poorer German version of Santoro without the flair, though he has a funky dropshot off the backhand and when the ball was in play, he was able to get away with it time and time again.

The end was near and what a sad result, maybe going to bed at 5.30 am for Seppi on Tuesday night didn't help him as he does his best work in the late hours. He ended up with 80 unforced errors for this match and "the Geeky German Santoro" played it the right way to get the right result.

Even the umpire sexy Sandra de Jenken seemed bemused by this match and she warned these clowns behind us. This guy walks past Seppi's chair and says "You're crap and a hack" on this performance it's hard to disagree.

Seppi is going through a big slump at the moment, it seems when he is hitting the ball he isn't staying down or following through on his strokes. I just hope he can come through his difficult period.