Andrei Pavel and Johansson lost their doubles today and this maybe the end of the line for Pavel as a player in Australia, but I hope it's not this season as his last, as we all know it has to end one day.
Nieminen vs Kohlschreiber : These 2 guys definitely know each other and have played a lot in recent times, this plus the very cloudy conditions and a Slam quarter final place on the line, made this is a very tight and tense match, though the quality wasn't the best.
Kohli was the favourite here after beating Roddick in the last round and also he won the last 2 matches against the likable Finn. The German got an early break and was hitting some good backhands and using his forehand to set up the play and Nieminen was a bit heavy legged early in the match and not moving as well. It was good enough for Kohli to take the 1st set.
Nieminen starts playing better in the second set and they are hitting fairly well at this point, with the crowd getting into it. Koubek is there in a hood and hat and looks like he had a big night on the piss last night and he is talking with Riisto, he is a big legend Finn fan who wears a red coat no matter what weather and he was in the Finnish army.
Kohli gets to the first of the 6 set points for a 2 set to love lead, but Nieminen lifted his game and decided not to be passive and hit through the ball and with some good backhands and Kohli got a bit tight and wasn't able to convert any of them and lost his break, and then went to the tiebreaker.
The tiebreaker continued on the same path as the previous set, with Kohli being slightly better, but not coming through on the big points and Nieminen got stronger when he was down in the game. The Sharks's shots when he was down set points were outstanding and somehow the Finn steals the 2nd set, when Kohli had 6 set points to take a 2 sets to 0 lead.
The Finn is having problems with his 1st serve and when you have a second serve like Jakke's, then it's a real problem especially as it will get eaten up by better players. Kohli is playing some up and down tennis, some really good shots mixed in with some poor choices and this is keeping Nieminen in the match.
It goes to another tiebreaker and after Jakke won a point and did a fist pump, it seems Kohli wasn't too thrilled with it, but in reality there was nothing much in it at all. Kohli had another 4 set points that he couldn't convert and the Shark hung in there and was able to take the set.
The 4th set was very tough to watch, both guys just breaking serve, there were 5 breaks in a row, both were as nervous as fuck and couldn't hit the ball at all, especially when they were serving. Nieminen then held for 5-2 and that was a very tough thing to do in the context of the match. Kohli held and then the Shark served it out, though having 40-0 and being taken to deuce and ad a few times isn't the best way to do it.
This was like the Koubek match, where the guy who should have won the match didn't, but you got to take your chances when they are around and this time it was different mainly because I was happy that Nieminen won, but pro sport isn't always kind or fair. If it was then Medvedev would have won Roland Garros 99.
2 comments:
I actually got to see this match on TV (thanks TTC!) and it was an ugly affair, but the commentators were playing up something about how the guys were going at each other a bit, talking trash back and forth. I didn't really see anything, but I have heard that Kohlschreiber is a bit of a jerk and can get mouthy. Nieminen I've NEVER seen/heard talking back, so it was a surprise that some people said he was. Oh, well. The match was very ugly, I agree, and unfortunately Jarkko doesn't have much of a chance vs Nadal (think I'll skip that one...) but I'm so happy he's playing well and got to the QFs. I didn't think he'd beat Kohlschreiber, but he did it the same way he beat Verdasco at the USO the year he made the QFs there. I hate that 3/4 pace he plays when he's passive, but if it gets the job done...
Oh, and this is Nieminen's 3rd Slam QF (US Open, Wimbledon, and now Australian). He's made the 4R at RG, his first "best Slam result", and I've always expected him to do better there than at the other Slams, but there are just too many good clay courters getting in his way :P
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