Monday, January 30, 2012

Djokovic defends title, legally blind officials, Dolgopolov and Tomic slice the Aus Open

2012 Australian Open was memorable for a variety reasons. The final won't be forgotten more than that towards the end of the post.


Novak Djokovic defends title

Once again the Aus Open broke attendance records, the proximity of the venue makes it easy to get to for many diverse people. It will be better once the expansion of the site is complete, though with the roof going over the Margaret Court Arena the ticket prices will go up to cover it. It's good for the players as well, everything is close and centralised unlike say the US Open and not as stuffy as Wimbledon. The weather apart from the qualies and a part of the final was excellent.

Poor officiating

One aspect that was truly awful was the standard of line calling. To say it was shit, especially for a high level event would be an insult to shit. Of course there is no such thing as 100% accuracy for the most part, the chair umpires and linespeople do a good job. Sadly this event won't be remembered for that, it just got noticed more so as it happened in main draw instead of just qualies. John Millman and Antonio Veic, the former getting ripped off on a call that would have given him 0-40 on Pospisil's serve and the latter incorrect overrule on his match point which cost him.

The David Nalbandian/Kader Naouni incident was the peak of the poor standard of officiating. Perhaps Nalbandian could have challenged quicker, there was a lot of nonsense around this incident. Overrules should only be made on a clear mistake, which this wasn't and Naouni paid the penalty for his poor work. He didn't get any high profile matches after this.



Marcos Baghdatis snapping the racquets and getting less of a fine than Nalbandian, well the tennis world is confusing. Perhaps Technofibre aren't doing a good job with the racquets these days.



No brainless ball bashing

Alex Dolgopolov being in two tough matches but such a contrast with Kamke, the points were aggressive, won by winners mostly and not wasting time like 1 min between points like Nadal and Djokovic. This was one of those matches that was surprising, because while Kamke has some big shots it wasn't expected that he could sustain it for 5 sets. It showed that when it comes to ball striking ability there isn't much difference between the players, the top ones have better mental toughness and application.

His next match with Tomic was very different to the Kamke one. It was a great contrast to the ballbashing that is prevalent on the tour, perhaps they overdid the slicing stuff. For example when it was James Blake and Fernando Gonzalez playing each other it was total macho tennis my forehand is bigger than yours, so just battle of forehand bludgeoning. The Tomic/Dogs Balls match was funny, one hit the slice, the other wanted to hit more slice. Dolgopolov blew his chances in this one big time. Tomic already came back from 0-2 sets down twice. Tomic has a great tennis brain, anticipation which makes it harder to expose his movement, he is progressing at a rapid rate, he'll still be a clay bunny this season.

Berdych not making the step

Tomas Berdych showed once again he can play top quality tennis, but when it comes to the crunch he couldn't step it up against Nadal. The lack of variation on serve, some very poor volleys, when Nadal is 5m behind the baseline, commonsense says hit short volleys, at the same time Berdych isn't known as the most cerebral tennis player around.

Berdych managed to annoy the Aussie crowd with refusing to shake Nico Almagro's hand because Almagro hit the ball at him when he was at the net. Most people supported Almagro who while not being the most popular guy around the place, used a legit tactic to win the point. Hit the ball at the body of the volleyer, he's not going to get a swing at the ball.



Josh Eagle married to Babsi Schett is a commentator on Fox Sports, was one of the few to support Berdych's actions. The link below highlights it

Josh Eagle has launched an extraordinary attack on controversial slugger Nicolas Almagro.

Almagro was the victim to most when Czech Tomas Berdych refused to shake his hand on Sunday, but Eagle is adamant the Spaniard copped what he deserved.

"I wouldn't have shook his hand either. I would have belted him," a fired-up Eagle (above) said yesterday in his role as Fox Sports commentator.

"He would be in the top three fools on tour ... he treats his fellow players with a lack of respect."

Eagle said it was hard for those on the outside to understand.

Berdych was furious after Almagro smacked a forehand at him, hitting him on the arm, and Eagle had no doubt it was deliberate.

"He had the whole court to hit the ball in," he said.

"You don't get your squash grip out, try to hit it as hard as you can and try to take your opponent's head off."

Asked how his fellow players would have reacted to Berdych's "no shake' policy, Eagle said: "When he would enter that locker-room, he'd be the first person to be congratulated ... 100 per cent.''

David Ferrer another solid performance but he wasn't able to take down Djokovic who had some breathing issues. When asked about the gap to the top 4 and whether he was closing in on them. Ferrer was very honest as usual, he didn't see it happening this year.

As for whether this is good for the sport depends on whether the individual follows the ATP/ITF line. Surface homogneisation is great as it gives them predictability and easy to market the game from this perspective, in reality it’s the same style of tennis being played on all courts with the only challenge being the movement of the specific surfaces. I have explained previously how the current situation came about, the ball not being in play at all on grass or the indoor events at the end of season, so using a heavier ball and slowing down the court speeds. There needs to be some diversity, the game needs it.

Sure, I've been saying this for years but Federer agrees and stated so after he lost to Nadal in the semi final "Every surface is very similar today, otherwise we couldn't have achieved all these things on all these different surfaces so quickly". This is a factor in the final.

Semi Finals

Andy Murray with Ivan Lendl in his corner played an outstanding match against Novak Djokovic in the semi which was the best one of the tournament along with the Dolgopolov vs. Kamke one.



Andy Murray so close

Djokovic with the allergies has some remarkable recovery skills at times he looks dead and can't run. Then an hour later he is running better than before. Got to give to him for the over the top facial expressions and it still ropes in the players, no need to change the bait if the fish are still biting.

Murray has improved his fitness levels and the thick legs are still as thick as ever, but he came up short when it counted. Sure, Murray lost the match but Ivan Lendl has a lot to work with here. Best of all with this loss he came out with more respect, none of the usual tripe about him being Scottish when he loses and British when doing well.

One thing Murray didn't do much of was releasing his negative energy to the camp. Lendl wouldn't tolerate it and will make him work harder. Murray's forehand was better this event, it's the shot that needs the most work, look at what happened when Djokovic improved that side to match the other aspects of his game, not including the comedy smashes.


Ivan Lendl and Jaro Navratl

Not as easy to be positive about Federer's loss to Nadal. The difference this time wasn't necessarily Federer bringing the pink dress out as he does on clay. It was more the fact that Nadal was hitting a lot of short balls and didn't really need to use the old faithful tactic of work his backhand over with the heavy forehand. The Fed backhand will drop short, shank and then work him over. This time the forehand was off for some reason, with the best shot not working consistently and the mental scarring over time with all the losses to Nadal contributed to his defeat, after being so impressive in the previous rounds.

Djokovic/Nadal final

Well this was the longest Grand Slam final of all time, this doesn't mean it was the best. This is the problem with the instant gratification generation the need to label something so quickly and definitely as the best of all time. While this match was brutal, which is enjoyable as it's part of the sport. One aspect players can control are their fitness levels barring major injuries, do the work and suffering on the training paddock then the benefits will come competition time.

Another aspect was the time taken in between points, it was too much both guys well over 30 seconds. Pascal Maria not a personal favourite of mine as an umpire, this was the area where he should have told them to hurry up in between points. Apart from that he was outstanding in the chair, overruling when he should have, something he doesn't normally do and on his game unlike the linespeople.

While the match was brutal physically and oozed drama, the overall standard wasn't as good as their 2011 US Open match. This was due to Djokovic being slightly heavy legged from the brutal semi final with Murray, he wasn't able to step into the court initially to take on the Nadal short shots, as he was out of position. Nadal was aggressive in parts of the match, but couldn't maintain it mentally.

Surface homogenisation with the slower court and heavy balls, there was a lack of net play leading to the brutal nature of the match. Nadal and Djokovic are only doing what they can in their particular gamestyles, but there was a lack of variety.

Once Djokovic lost the 1st set, he improved his court positioning and the pattern of the match continued as all battles last year in which Djokovic won 6 in a row. Defensively he can match Nadal, but has more penetration on the groundstrokes, though on this occasion he wasn't hitting to the Nadal forehand as much to open up his backhand side to exploit it.

Nadal wasn't at his best it was just guts and determination that was getting him through this match. Nadal needs to hit that forehand down the line more than he does, but like any player they have familiar patterns they play to especially in pressure situations. With Nadal spinning serve, forehand cross court and average court positioning.

Djokovic was set to win in 4 sets, but Nadal saving break points from 15-40 did it by being aggressive and then takes the tiebreaker. Conventional wisdom says Nadal with his brilliant 5 set record Hewitt and Federer only guys to beat him in a 5th set and he looked stronger was going to win it. Thankfully conventional wisdom doesn't always work, in between the looks of near death and more spring than Javier Sotomayor.

In this particular match up it's on Djokovic's racquet and through the self belief he broke back straight away once he lost serve. Both guys were struggling physically, this is where the drama, the mental strength multiplies especially with the lactic acid build up in the legs, the burning sensation as well.

It was fitting that Djokovic who created the more break opportunities, the more attacking player was able to win the title against the very determined and resolute Nadal. It's the same thing now with Djokovic he has Nadal mentally owned, this was the scenario that was heavily favoured to Nadal and Djokovic still won.


Better luck next time Rafa

There have been times where I've mocked Nadal's claims of being injured and will continue to do so when deserved. He handled this defeat very graciously considering how tough the match was, no excuses made which is the way it should be. It was a great effort to get the match that far.


Stepanek and Paes

Before ending this novel one of the better results was the Sexy Radek Stepanek aka "Thunderlips". winning his first Grand Slam doubles title. He and Leander Paes teamed this year, they showed great chemistry, some fun shotmaking, a few theatrics thrown in as well. It's ironic that Stepanek started his career as a doubles player, then went to Petr Korda and asked him to improve his singles. Korda said "ok, but you do it my way", he did and then flew up the rankings. To prove how sexy Stepanek is when he was struggling, he had the hottest girlfriend, he went the other way usually when you play Futures and Challengers you get those women and vice versa.

Thanks for reading this piece forgot to give a shout out to Mirza, Jamaican Mike and Bognar who are top lads, always fun seeing them.


Novak Djokovic in ice bath drinking James Boags Premium

Djokovic not at his best and still wins the title. Is this the time when Nadal finally cracks but come the clay season besides Djokovic he is so far ahead. Can Murray finally win a Slam this year?

Qualies for Slams are fun, Fognini still struts like he owns the Australian Open, the linecalling was awful, the amount of female talent at the tennis was plentiful.

Now it's time for the Challengers, Zagreb and the South American clay circus.

Monday, January 23, 2012

David Ferrer kicks sand in Richard Gasquet's face

This will be my last Australian Open blog where it gets all sentimental and the like. David Ferrer's performance today is the perfect way to end this particular adventure.

There was some controversy before in the Tomas Berdych vs. Nicolas Almagro match. Berdych refused to shake hands with Almagro after the match and the crowd gave him the booooooooooooooooooooooooooooos, which was deserved in this case.

Personally I don't mind Berdych but he has form for being involved in handshake refusals in fact Safin has done the refusal to both Berdych and Almagro. Why Berdych was in the wrong, it's very simple in any form of tennis when a player is at the net the easiest way to win the point is hit at the body. Reasons are obvious very hard to get a swing at a volley when you're at the net with no room. Not shaking hands is like ban tackling from football, it would take a lot and this was a legit play.



Ferrer vs. Gasquet

David Ferrer the man smokes ( well he has claimed to give them up0, drinks lots of coffee, eats rubbish food and still one of the fittest men on tour, it's not fair.

Today the match was perfect for him, very hot weather where he could use his fitness, strength and relentless will to break down Gasquet who is a strange mix of flashiness and conservatism.

First set was fairly close but could see the pattern developing Ferrer placing his serve well and using his off forehand to get Gasquet on the defensive who decided to take the position of being 10m behind the baseline. Yes, that's the way to play one of the best defensive players on tour.

Once Ferrer took the 1st set, he went up a double break. Through a mix of a loss of concentration and Gasquet deciding to have a go he levels at 4-4. After this Ferrer decided enough of this tripe and wins 8 of the last games to win 6-4 6-4 6-1.

This was comprehensive in so many ways. Ferrer while being smaller was physically fitter, mentally stronger and was playing on the baseline at times stepping inside the court to dictate play.

Gasquet looked dead after the 2nd set. Ferrer has an excellent off forehand but Gasquet for some reason decided not to step in and drive the backhand down the line limiting Ferrer's strength. Sure, he might not have won the match but parking himself 10km behind the baseline on a hot day against Ferrer isn't exactly winning strategy.

He really looked like the kid at the beach who was being toyed with and had sand kicked in his face.

This now brings to the end of the Aus Open, which means there were a lot of people that I was happy to see again, plus the new people I met. Sadly, there were a few I missed for whatever reason, but as long as I am alive then I will be back again.

Shout out to Peta, Rosie, Andrew, my long time mate Sammy, Ariel, Dunko, Kristen, Greken, Santiago, Kavcic, Robert, Johnny, some guys called Marian and Gunther, Peter Luczak honour to follow his career and watch his last match, Miguel Simon, Daniel, Dustin, Lilly, Jack and the people who put up with this rather quirky blog.

Next stop the Burnie Challenger, yes it's not as glamorous but it has its moments. Will try and keep this thing more active during the year, well already reached the 2010 level.

Friday, January 20, 2012

Kohli, Almagro and the festival of slice steal the show Day 5 reports

As there are less singles matches going on and normally the singles guys taking the piss while playing doubles have lost, but there are enough things to keep you amused.

Kohlschreiber vs. Falla

Falla did the tennis world a favour by knocking out that clown Mardy Fish who was on his best behaviour as usual. Falla is a funny one raises his level at Grand Slams but doesn't do much on tour. The guy has the legs of those hams hanging off the hooks.

Kohli is a shotmaker with a moody temperament, when he is on it's fun to watch especially the single hand backhand which was working very well today. Falla had treatment after the 3rd game of the match, but he continued on plus he got treatment for a muscle problem couldn't have been cramps but who knows.

First two sets Kohli was working the angles moving Falla around finishing him off with a backhand winner, volley on one occasion a drive backhand volley at knee high. Falla improved his level in the 3rd set, but it wasn't enough to take the 3rd set. Kohli was in a different class today and this is one time when the rankings didn't lie.


Philipp Kohlschreiber

Funny thing about this match a whole bunch of Aussie bogans went to the court for a match of no interest, then it transpired that the Luczak/Hewitt doubles that they had been waiting for was moved to this court. Andrew and myself wanted out so we could see the other match with Almagro.

Almagro vs. Wawrinka


Nicolas Almagro

Wawrinka really looked like he wanted to be somewhere else, seemed like the shoulder was bothering him or somewhere near that region.

Almagro was playing well hitting some fine backhands and Stani miscued one like Federer at his best. Yes, he still has a better backhand than Federer. Disappointing that he couldn't really show what he is capable of today.

Dolgopolov vs. Tomic

Haha, this match had plenty of comedy with the amount of slices, it was like an episode of Iron Chef with the dicing and probing. It actually makes a change from the usual ballbashing types that are on the ATP, well luckily it's not the WTA which is even worse.

Tomic's improvement can be seen as he was able to solve the riddle previous matches. Dolgopolov at the moment has more ability to increase the power and is faster around the court whereas Tomic's anticipation is so good that it's hard to expose his lack of mobility which is improving along with other facets of the game.

This was an impressive win for Tomic, especially when Dogs Balls blew his chances in the 3rd set. Would rather see Federer and Dogs Balls, that was all Dolgopolov's fault.

Kavcic is still the man, Nalbandian ripped off, Kukushkin saves tennis and Baghdatis explodes

Two for the price of one in the coverage of the 2nd round here, plus some Fabio Fognini antics as well.

Del Potro vs. Kavcic

This was always going to be a tough match for Blaz, but he fought his heart out as usual and tactically can be proud of his performance.


Blaz Kavcic

At the same time he had some chances as well. With the early break he was *3-1 up Ad served a double fault, got broken in that game. Del Potro with the greater weight of shot wasn't really able to dominate too much as Kavcic was using the slice backhand to bring him off the baseline, not as effective off the forehand side when it's down low.

Getting broken at *5-5 40-15 up with serving 2 doubles to deuce was the true killer in the 2nd set and the missed forehand volley at deuce when del Potro tried to serve it out.

Two sets up, it was just a question of when for del Potro, it was an excellent effort from Kavcic this is all anyone can ask when they play irrespective of the result.

The reality is that Kavcic doesn't have the weapons to beat del Potro. The serve lets him down at vital moments, goes back to the point made earlier about technical weaknesses under most pressure in difficult moments. Blaz had to take nearly all the chances and del Potro to be off for him to win this match up.

Blaz had good support and his feistiness is endearing, good for the kids that he signed a lot of stuff after he lost the match. It's not easy for players to do so, usually they're pissed off when they lose so it's understandable they don't want to sign, but always better when they do.


Almagro vs. Dimitrov

Single handed backhand lovers were drooling over this match and they weren't disappointed. It's so obvious to see Dimitrov is the PMF "Poor Mans Federer", one thing he has copied and improved on is the Federer backhand.

Almagro animated as ever was hititng some booming groundies, the head is still massive but has shrunk down in size with the rest of him.

Was down in the front row and can see how well these guys hit the ball, there were some fun moments in the match, an exchange at the net. Somehow Dimitrov ended up with Almagro's racquet, the match was played in great spirit until Grigor ran out of steam in the 5th set due to cramps and El Cabezon took it 6-0.



Almagro and Dimitrov having a chat
Dimitrov was sigining stuff after he lost as well, but what is the Aus Open without Nico Almagro having a 5 setter.

Lacko vs. Young

Just wanted to see DY's antics and he truly is a mummys boy there aren't any other words to describe it.

Lets see you reach top 40 with a USTA coach from outstide the 100, then you sack the guy and hire mummy again. I think that's a good sign of a mummys boy. Young had the diamond earring happening of course with these pimp headphones, even better was one of his entourage. The guy was massive, he probably did his squat training with cows and resistence stuff by pushing down buildings.

Lacko has been the man from qualies and he was just a class above Young in this match, you'd think DY was the qualifier and not Lacko. Young wasn't able to open up the court enough and Lacko dominated from the baseline.

Got to say DY can moan very well, he missed an easy volley "stop doing that Donald", he thinks he's the Rock talking to himself in the 3rd person with less catchphrases. Mamma trying to help out Young, but he wasn't able to execute it was more Lacko losing concentration in the 3rd.

It was fun cheering for Lacko, while sitting behind the Young camp all part of the fun.

Karlovic vs Berlocq


Carlos Berlocq

Berlocq is mullet and proud, but he deserved to take a set against Karlovic. Big Ivo is never going to be Usain Bolt across the court, but he was able to keep the rallies fairly short which was to his advantage, approaching the net with the short slices on the backhand side and making it too difficult for Berlocq to pass regularly.

Funny stuff Karlo's crew were cheering fairly loudly but not in between point and Berlocq wasn't too thrilled with them, so they had some wods. All good stuff it's about crowd entertainment and they got it.

Isner vs. Nalbandian: Nalle should never have lost this match and as for the umpiring call that cost Nalbandian match. Yes, he should have challenged in a quicker time, but what classifies as in a timely manner? The fact there shouldn't be an overrule unless there is a clear mistake which this wasn't and the time at the match as well, which would have given him the break.

Normally Kader Naouni is one of the better umpires out there, but this will be a huge blight on his career.

Worst part is that Nalbandian has been fined $8000 for being right and nothing has happened to Kader.



Dolgopolov vs. Kamke:

Disappointed I didn't get to see the whole of this match initially, but was able to watch it later and was very impressed with Kamke's performance. He was hitting big throughout the whole match making it very difficult for Dolgopolov.

In the second and third sets Dogs Balls was showing all his mercurial talent and only lost 2 games, that was a brilliant level which was hard to sustain. Kamke was playing top 30 tennis in this match, it's a shame he can't quite get to that level consistently.

Chela vs. Andujar

Went to this match, some would question this choice then again sometimes it’s easier to get a seat there, plus with Chela we know the matches aren’t going to be short.

This match itself played out as to be expected. Chubby Chela playing 2 metres behind the baseline hitting the ball deep to the corners. Whereas Andujar was the more aggressive attempting to hit backhand down the line to expose Chela and move to the net to finish the points off.

Tight first set but Chela was too solid he just doesn't make mistakes and forces the opponents to hit through him which isn't easy on a slow hardcourt. Took a break went to get my free sausages and beer, came back towards the end of the 2nd set. Andujar took an early break, but Chela got tough and broke straight back.

Same in the 3rd set Andujar was pressing trying to create the play and Chela was machine like and wore Andujar down. Chela really is tougher than $2 steak.


Gil vs. Granollers

Of course I have to find out that Granollers had a blister the size of an adult thumb on his big toe after the match, it does explain a bit as to why Marcel wasn't moving so well. Though blisters are something that are part and parcel of a tennis pro and have to deal with them.

Freddy Gil stepped up his game from the 1st round against Dodig. He was able to move Granollers around the court exposing his movement which wasn't its usual self. When he had the chances to be aggressive he took them well and deserved the win, the first ever Portuguese to make the 3rd round of a Slam.

Kukushkin vs. Troicki

Great result for tennis when Troicki loses, he had the fans behind him. Kukushkin was being patient, working the points before trying to hit the winner which was good when a lot of the time he has been known to ballbash without much thought.

Fabio Fognini just not giving a crap in the doubles, the guy in the 7th game gets a code for ball abuse smacking the ball out of the court what a man he is.

To end this second round blog, we have all felt like this at one point in our lives, perhaps he doesn't like the Technofibre racquets.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Australian Open Main Draw Day 2 reports

Apologies for the late reports, could come up with some real elaborate excuses but won’t, but lack of sleep, heat and beer are part of it.

Bogomolov vs. Gimeno-Traver

It was pretty clear to see that this was Gimeno-Traver’s first match of the season, the classic signs were there. The shanks off both sides, the lack of timing even on his forehand, it didn’t help with the wind as well.

The rise of Bogomolov up into the top 40 has confounded many people, since it has came so late in his career. The potential was always there , just needed a few good results to give him some confidence. He wasn’t missing too much in this match and DGT was the perfect opener for him.

Gimeno-Traver’s backhand was awful to be honest in the 1st set, he was netting so many of them. Finally worked out what the main problems are with it, he doesn’t generate enough racquet head speed and bend the knees sufficiently. The combination of the two results in plenty of netted backhand, naturally when under pressure technical deficiencies are going to be exposed in greater detail, this goes for all players.

Bogomolov was under no threat in this match, but DGT showed some positive signs in the 3rd set. He was able to get that outstanding forehand working, the amount of work from the core and legs unleashing the ferocity of the forehand stands in such contrast to the backhand. He was even slicing the backhand which was working quite well, he didn’t have enough matches in the legs to trouble Bogomolov in this.

As for how DGT will go this season. With his game he shouldn’t be finishing out
side of the top 100, has nothing at all to defend until Madrid. The game is good enough well apart from the backhand, then again with confidence from winning matches, that will improve remarkably.

Gasquet vs. Seppi

Tough draw for the South Tyrolean manbeast here, he has had a few at the Aus Open, at the same time can only beat what’s in front of you. Seppi tends not to be the guy who gets the section of a GS draw that opens up.

First two sets were quite tight, watching Gasquet’s forehand preparation live is one of the better experiences as a tennis fan. It almost has the Florian Mayer wind up, but without the sexiness, something that can’t be taught, they didn’t bother to change it as it worked for him when he was beating up other juniors.

Seppi went down an early break in the 3rd, which was the key set in this one, he was able to get back on serve. As the set developed Gasquet stepped up the level of his play especially with the backhand and Seppi was smothering the forehand big time, once Richie got the 3rd set it was comfortable in the end.

Chela vs. Russell

Never in doubt that this would be a gruelling match and the first set was the definition of a grindfest. 38 degrees with a hot wind, it was 93 minutes of 30 shot rallies corner to corner, this is the reason the unforced error count was high because they were trying to force errors.

Russell had his chances in the 1st set had set points, but that’s the story of his career on main tour against the better opponents besides those massive quads that could smash bowling balls, the lack of a big shot hurts him. It was even more apparent when playing the human backboard Chela, this Chela after one point looks like he is tired and Russell looks like he can go for hours.

Once Russell didn’t convert his chances then Chela did what Chela does, stands 2m behind the baseline grinding to the corners and Russell was becoming more visibly frustrated with the match always looking at the racquet. Once, this is happening it’s a clear lack of focus, like the tradesman who blames the tools instead of looking at his own performance.

One thing with playing Chela the slice backhand landing inside the service line is key to exploiting his forward movement which is poor, whereas the lateral movement is acceptable. Once Chubby Chela lost serve, he just refocused and broke back. It was frustrating for Russell having the chances in the 1st set and not taking them.

Andujar vs. Kunitsyn

Excellent win for Andujar who has improved significantly on outdoor hardcourts. The backhand has progressed on this surface whereas previously it was just a liability waiting to be exploited.

Kunitsyn who is known as "Mr Kremlin Cup" for his tendency to peak at that event. Andujar was outplaying him from the back, then moving forward to put away with the volley. After the 2nd set tiebreaker that Andujar won, Kunitsyn was thinking about the ice bath.

Gil vs. Dodig

Freddy Gil is a small and animated guy who is working with a new coach, not sure what he has done but it seems to be working well at the moment.

Dodig took the 1st set comfortably, then Gil stepped it up on the forehand stepping into the court to dictate play. By being aggressive and using his excellent defensive skills he was able to turn around the match around.

Seems like Dodig was bothered with his back or shoulder, but Gil was out there loving life and the Portuguese fans were very vocal but in a good way. Even funnier after the match some lass is trying to hit on Gil as he was walking back to the locker room.

Troicki vs. Ferrero

Watching a match between two guys you don't like too much provides its own amusement, though Ferrero doesn't annoy me as much as he used to so it was easy to cheer for him. It doesn't help Troicki has the antics but without the humour and some idiotic fans.

Ferrero was excellent in the first 2 sets working Troicki around corner to corner. Troicki stepped up in the 3rd, he was serving better. The Troicki shuffle before serve is amusing but his serve is hard to read with the low ball toss and gyrations before he hits it.

Ferrero couldn't convert 2 matches, the first one saved from an excellent 2nd serve, the other Ferrero was dominant in the rally and mid court forehand which he went for and the net didn't favour him. Troicki then ran away with the 5th set, momentum is a funny thing.

Got to give it to Troicki, he moves and defends very well for a big guy, this got him back into the match.

At the same time Troicki is always bitching, he bitched to the umpire about being heckled in the 5th set, yet most of his Serbian fans were heckiling Ferrero calling him "dirt', walking in or screaming out in between points.

These people know nothing about the sport, but the security here are pretty ordinary, at least the women in the crowd aren't.

Monday, January 16, 2012

Blaž Kavčič is cool, Fabio Fognini is a fool Australian Open Main Draw Reports Day 1

Finally the main event kicked off, the weather was unlike the previous days in other words good, tomorrow there'll be more matches that I want to see.

Kavcic vs. Ward

Blaz got one of the easier qualifiers in Ward who only peaks during the grass season. His odds were very high, the biggest regret was not putting anything on this match, but we all have those.

It was tough conditions with the wind, but Kavcic always had this match in control. Once he was able to make the returns into play, moving the ball around in tough conditions. The 1st set had the classic Kavcic failing to serve out the set, but he was able to break for the set.,

Kavcic settled down didn't make too many errors in the last 2 sets, though at times he was passive on big points. In his own words once I took the 2nd set "I didn't feel he could beat me", and it played out like that. Kavcic was able to return serve easily after they got into the rallies it was Kavcic that used his superior fitness, in addition to working the angles ran out a very comfortable winner.


Falla vs. Fognini

This match was all about the Fog, he was at his peacock strutting best. Even when he was down, he managed to walk around as if he owned the event. He has no confidence issues at all.

Back to the match Falla while not as talented as the Fog when it comes to shotmaking. He was more disciplined with his game, worked the angles to break down Fognini's backhand. There was a good crowd at the match, quite a few Colombians, some supporting the Fog.

Jose Perlas man who coached Costa, Ferrero, Moya and Tipsarevic before working with the Fog, he must be shaking his head as to why he's working with him. Fognini has talent, slapped some huge forehands, but he just doesn't care at best of times. Falla was solid and broke down Fognini's resolve.

There were plenty of antics here, the Fog annoying the ballkids, having a running dialogue with the umpire. "What are you doing in the chair, do you want to go home early tonight or something", when he made an overrule. He threw his racuquet a few times once into the net, another tinme he almost hit a ball kid. He got a code violation and puffed the chest out once he got coded. Plenty of entertainment, at least he can perform at the player party.


Berlocq vs. Huta Galung

Charly Berlocq he has improved a lot on these surfaces, yes he is still average but he is all courage and the mullet rules. Huta Galung was just frustrated by the grunt of Berlocq and also how many balls he got back into court and pretty much broke him down mentally.

Berlocq was very good with the Argentine fans after the match giving them drinks from the on court firdge which was needed on such a hot day. It will be interesting to see how he handles the Karlovic serve in the next round.


Stakhovsky vs. Marchenko

Matches between countrymen can be very difficult and this was the case here. It was a good contrast of styles with Stakhovsky trying to move to the net after working the point, whereas Marchenko was prepared to stay back and dominate through his stronger backhand side. There were some excellent exchanges in this match.

Stakhy had plenty of chances to win the 2nd set tiebreaker, but Marchenko takes it, then it changed the momentum of the match through to the middle of the 4th set where Stakhovsky steps up to the level. Marchenko broke and was playing well until he started thinking about the victory instead of the match as he was up *5-3 40-15, failed to serve out the match and Stakhovsky's greater experience got him over the line.


Lacko vs. Ljubicic

First match of the year for Ljubo who doesn't really like the heat and Lacko who was the best qualifier here. Ljubo started well with the solid serving, the forehand was working well which is the key to Ljubo besides the serve because the single handed backhand is class.

He takes the first 2 sets fairly comfortably, but Lacko didn't lose belief keeps being aggressive. This is where Ljubo's lack of conditioning came into play, whereas Lacko is match tough coming through qualies, he starts getting into the rallies more being able to move Ljubicic around and not making errors. Lacko was able to change the momentum of the match and kept it going to the end, playing very well from the ground, running out a deserved winner. Lacko has drawn Federer and Nadal early in big events, so this is one where his luck has changed, so he has to take advantage.

Now Hrbaty is gone, good to see the Slovaks have another male to cheer for.


Nalbandian vs. Nieminen

This was the match I was looking forward to for the whole day and it irritated me, that it ended the way it did. The first set was good tennis, plenty of excellent ball movement with angles, changes of spin and court craft, just one poor service game cost Nieminen in the 1st set.

The 2nd set was a breakathon Nieminen struggled with serve and so was Nalbandian, but halfway through the second set Nieminen had to retire. It didn't help he qualified and won Sydney singles, then played doubles fina and arrived on Sunday afternoon, then had to front up again to play tonight. Nieminen I think it was more cumulative effect, too bad he wasn't able to get the extra day rest.

Shortish blog report today, sometimes less is more. Kavcic winning and Fognini strutting, so all good fun.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Jurgen Zopp, Freddie Nielsen make main draw and Fabio Fognini can strut like no other man

Final day of qualies is a special day, where there is so much on the line not just financially, but ranking points wise which will help the financial side of things.

Ghem vs. Bautista-Agut
It was a good standard match but frustrating at the same time as well. Bautista was solid in the 1st set and apart from one poor service game didn't make many mistakes. Ghem was playing well but too passive on the big points in return which cost him in this set. Many occasions he wasn"t aggressive on 30 all or 30-40 points. He played a poor tiebreak, whiich changed the momentum of the match and second set.

Bautista got more confidence started to play around the baseline pushing Ghem further back, using the angled forehand to expose Ghem's movement on that side which isn't as good as the backhand. Ghem was returning poorly hardly adjusting his return stance, it's not like Bautista has a huge serve. There were some well constructed points from Ghem using the angled forehand and volleying, but there weren't enough it was comfortable in the end.

Happy that Freddie Nielsen qualified, played aggressive tennis, had good support and Wozniacki was there yet she was hardly pestered at all. The forehead is a work of art and could land a plane on it.

Lukas Lacko qualified comfortably whereas Jurgen Zopp did it the hard way, yes it went 3 sets again. He was up 6-2 *5-3 but got so tight losing the next 4 games in a row. Thankfully he was able to win the match comfortably at the end, he was so tight but he prevaled.

After the match great photo with Zopp with 13 Estonian fans who travelled down, plus the Aussie contingent who followed all his matches special shout out to Rosie, and Andrew who were there for all the interesting rides. Lucky his name isn't Zop cause that means dick in Maltese.

More people training on site today. Fabio "the Fog" Fognini the man was strutting up a storm. On the backhand side he was out the singles sideline and hits a perfect drop volley with backspin, with that strut.

Andreas Seppi didn't train well at all, when he does scream he does it in Italian, though German is his first language and better for swearing. Get the shit out now and take down Gasquet.

Daniel Gimeno-Traver arrived yesterday, thankfully he doesn't play on Monday, that extra day is needed to get over the jet lag, though who knows what he will do against Bogomolov, it could be ugly.

Saw Nalbandian training with Milos Raonic, the backhand was pretty sexy. Dogs Balls was training on the next court, the coach Jack Reader is a legend of a coach. He looks like anything but a tennis coach and this works perfectly for Dolgopolov.

Haven't seen my mate Roddick yet, but I bet he is still a tool.

Friday, January 13, 2012

Antonio Veic conned by a blind umpire Aus Open qualifying Day 3

Today began with the usual rubbish weather, overcast with a few showers nothing serious, but enough to make the court wet and delay the start of play.

Nielsen vs. Luczak

There was a quite good crowd relatively speaking for this match as Luczak is one of the more likeable characters on tour,. plus this being his last singles tournament as well.

Nielsen was on fire in the 1st set, just teeing off on forehands serving well and just dominated Luczak with aggressive play to take it easily.

The second set Luczak was able to get more penetration on his forehand, improving the depth of the groundstrokes that he was able to take a 5-2* lead, but got a bit passive when serving the set out. In addition to this Nielsen was still going for it was able to get back the momentum he had in the 1st set running away with the set and match 7-5.

Today it was just the case of Luczak probably not having enough matches plus Nielsen who was very aggressive and match hardened. Luczak was just outplayed in this match, which in many ways makes it easier unlike getting a call overruled against you on match point when not a clear mistake, which will be spoken about later. Hope to get to see him play doubles next week.

Lacko vs. Bedene

Thought this would be a good match, it was everything but. Lacko played very well and showed up Bedene's weakness on this surface, he doesn't move well enough on the hardcourts yes plus he needs to get more speed endurance which will happen as he gets older and hopefully remain free from serious injuries.

It's easy to see why Lacko is suited to hardcourts, the game is a perfect fit for his aggressive play and he really should qualify, though who knows at this event.

Ghem vs. Duclos

Excellent win for Ghem who really should have won this in 2 sets. It wasn't the greatest standard of match cause both guys didn't play well at the same time, but from a festival of donkey crap. First set was close, Duclos seemed to do more damage on the forehand, but the tiebreaker was more through Ghem's lack of concentration he let it to 6-1, but wasn't running that back.

Ghem lifted his game, playing good aggressive tennis from the baseline, defending when he had to with the slice backhand but using his single hander to finish points and work the angles. He had an early break in the 2nd, but played a poor game to lose it, but still kept up the baseline play mixed in with some excellent volleys both short angles and deep punched ones, served out the set easily.

The momentum continued for Ghem who broke, had chances for a double break, then lost his serve. Duclos was hitting shorter and shorter, which Ghem playing near the baseline was able to take advantaged, got a break then served for the match. Ghem isn't usually very good at serving out matches, but at 30 all hits a good one out wide, then serves an ace. He has a big chance of making main draw for sire.

Veic vs. Viola

Veic the little Croatian warrior who is all heart had a match point against Viola, then there was a stunning overrule on a non clear mistake and Veic needless to say was pissed off. Viola escaped again at the end of the match, Veic smashed his racquet into the court 5 times just to make sure it was broken.

It's the classic thing when the players make a mistake they are punished but when officials do, then they don't normally pay the consequences for it.

Gojowczyk vs. Zemlja

Gojowczyk played quite well not so many errors, but he was not that much better than Zemlja. It was just a poor day from Zemlja, feeling flat and moving so slowly, even less foot movement than usual. Maybe he should done some interval training on the bike beforehand.

He was lethargic and got smoked in the process.

Zopp vs. Rodrigues

Jurgen Zopp what a fighter does it again, another long match and he outlasted Rodrigues this time, It's good that he has the Estonian support there, even Kanepi made an appearance for the 1st set.

Rodrigues second serve is like Nieminen and Seppi's on their worst day, but for something so slow and short Zopp had a hard time attacking it.

Seems like the no treatment for cramp rule is being abused, it was pretty obvious Rodrigues when down with cramp, but got a three minute medical timeout for it. After the timeout he tried the Hingis underarm serve, Glad Zopp won, hope he has one more good match left in him.

Kravchuk will be still crying in his pillow at *10-11 30-30 absolute sitter of a mid court forehand with nothing on it and he dumps into the net, then Bolelli takes the match. If Nielsen played like he did today then he will make salami out of Bolelli.


Awful day for Crugnola, yes Phau has massive calves that guys have been training in the gym for 15 years and will never achieve but he isn't that good.

Zampieri getting double bagelled by Huta Galung, wonders whether he had the overs/unders or an illness.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Australian Open Day 2 Qualifying

Thanks to the poor weather yesterday, there weren't too many matches today. They were the ones that were incomplete from last night or didn't get to start.

Plenty of drama today though in spite of the small quantity of matches. There was a bit of rain around early, nothing too serious but enough to stop play with the slippery lines. Best of all the organisers did the right thing and put the 2 main matches I wanted to see on courts next to each other. Got a core workout from turning the body to be able to see both matches.

De Bakker vs. Brown

This was the highlight pick of the 1st round of qualie matches and it didn't disappoint. Both of these guys had poor 2011s for different reasons.

The match played out fairly typically with Brown hitting some huge slapshot forehand winners, dropshotitis was rampant why hit the conventional when the dropshot is so much sexier. The drive forehand volleys around the knees. De Bakker was solid from the back, hitting some good dropshots of his own but more consistent and this was what got him over the line in a very hard fought match.

This match definitely had the highest per capita rate of good looking ladies that turn up to Aus Open qualies, normally there are only about one or two good ones, maybe it De Bakker's Dennis Bergkamp cat like moves that they were to see. De Bakker is in a pretty tough section, especially when there are certain sections of the draw that aren't strong at all.


Žemlja vs. Gremelmayr

Gremelmayr started off very well, using his forehand to dictate the play and working Žemlja around who wasn't too interested in moving his feet. The rain delay came at the right time for Žemlja just after the first set, cause he was getting run around big time.

In the second set Žemlja started serving better, but while he was creating a multitude of break point chances he was finding it difficult to break since Gremelmayr decided to become Goran Ivanisevic and start hitting aces break point down, he saved 7 break points with aces alone, impressive for a guy who doesn't have a massive serve. Žemlja was getting frustrated with Gremenisievic but managed to stay calm long enough to get the tiebreaker.

Žemlja had the momentum and an early break, had a few chances to get the insurance break where Gremelmayr kept up the seving exhibition. Gremelmayr besides serving huge when he was down was killing Žemlja with the dropshots, which Žemlja was always going crosscourt. Gremlin either hit the open court or lobbed him for a winner. Žemlja was able to get the final break being aggressive on the forehand and stepping in on short second serves, then served it oout comfortably.

Zopp vs. Ignatik

Hewitt = Legend saw most of this match whereas I only saw parts, so he'll give you a better and more detailed description. Ignatik early just wasn't making errors at all from the baseline and hitting some class volleys. Zopp just kept hanging in there and saved 5 match points. Ignatik took a timeout at *7-7 0-15 and was also getting coached. Great win for Zopp, he had good support there as well.

Naso vs. Reid

This was a very tight match, not exactly the best quality. Reid has a big serve for a small guy which he was using well and Naso was fighting hard. The real issue in this match was on Reid's match point after an extended rally. Naso hits a backhand down the line which was called out from the linesman, he starts walking over for the handshake. Reid is about to celebrate and then the overrule from the chair umpire on the far side. It's very hard to tell that was a clear mistake and the overrule was delayed.

Reid was about to argue didn't bother, but once Naso got the final break then it was all done served it out easily.

Jaziri vs. Smyczek

Have never been impressed with Smyczek and this hadn't changed. Jaziri was irritated with the conditions, but can see he has some ability and the game is clearly suited to the clay.

Davydenko and Kavcic were training together, there were a few people who still recognised him. He was low profile when he was top 10, will be interesting to see what court assignments he gets if not playing one of the bigger players.

Tomorrow will see Lacko/Bedene, Crugnola/Phau, Luczak/Nielsen, Žemlja and Ghem matches, then again who knows how it will end up

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Australian Open Qualifying Day 1

It's that time of the year again, where I'm at the Australian Open qualifiying rounds which besides being free, relaxed and the hardcore fans attend have a much different vibe from the main draw, which is appreciated.

Melbourne it's known as the place where it's 4 seasons in one day, but that's the nice way of saying the weather is predictable as the bowel movements of baby. It was a frustrating for players and fans alike, combination of rain, sunshine, hail and strong winds made it difficult.

Farah vs. Veic

Found out the reason Farah didn't play qualies at Chennai. He had some achilles tendonitis which flared up badly, too bad this info wasn't forthcoming before the match. The conditions made this match tough, even then the Farah forehand is a work of art. There is no forward momentum into the ball or drive from the core, it's all arm, so when he mistimes the shot which happens at regular intervals, then it's fodder. Contrast his backhand is technically solid can go both ways, slices well, some good volleys.

Veic was playing his usual game working very hard defensively, the lack of weapons is made up for determination. Farah was having problems pushing up on the serve due to the leg problem, so Veic takes 1st set easily. Farah starts playing better from the baseline, the match became more of a contest. It wasn't always high quality this was mostly due to the conditions more than anything else, the courts were never going to be fast today. Some long games in the 2nd set, where Farah took the chances.

Farah had the momentum took an early break, then Veic broke back. The ending was poor as Farah double faulted twice in the game that Veic broke. Speaking of poor, the quality of linecalling was shocking in this match, they are too tight not to have linespeople on both sides of the court. Both guys were getting pissed off with the linecalls, they were probably better off calling the lines themselves. Hope Veic makes the main draw, the battler he is and Farah is playing main draw doubles.

Hajek vs. Fischer

Jan "Prostejov King" Hajek was meant to be playing Marchenko due to late withdrawals he ends up playing Fischer. Hajek was clearly the better player taking the 1st set 6-3, and just cruising along to *5-3 attempting to serve out the match, then this when things got interesting.

Hajek hadn't been making many errors at all hitting solid and deep groundstrokes moving Fischer around easily, wrongfooting him. When he served for the match he plays a donkey of a game to lose serve, even then it still didn't look like losing. Someone kidnapped Hajek and was impersonating him, either this or someone laid some good odds. Fischer takes the 2nd set 7-5.

Then the fun began Hajek was serving half paced serves, making hilarious errors when he was down 3-0, then it was just a question whether how many times a dropshot would bounce twice before the net or how far out it would be. That was a brilliant tank, that Kim Jong Il would have been proud of.

Best part was Hajek on the mobile phone on court after the match, he must have made enough to come down to cover the trip and first round qualie loss check with extra non deductable cash.

Ghem vs. Brzezicki

Brazil vs. Argentina, both guys of Polish descent and good friends as well. It was quite an entertaining match and a good standard from guys who are much better on clay, who hadn't arrived in the country not long ago.

Naturally there were quite a few breaks of serve, with neither having great serves and Brzezicki on the 2nd serve gets no leg drive at all so it's very attackable. Brzezicki, this is the man who when asked for reason he retired from a match cited "mental", so I have a soft spot for the guy. Another thing in common both are clearly better on the backhand side, Ghem using the single hander, slicing effectively when he needed to do and Brzezicki with his double hander. Ghem was slightly more aggressive so he was able to take the 1st set.

Second set had the same pattern, once they broke, then they couldn't hold their serve to confirm the break. Ghem served for match and he has a poor record of closing out matches, this was very clear to see why. No leg drive on serve, lack of movement when hitting groundstrokes, but he was able to get to the tiebreaker and the strangest moment of the day besides Carsten "Sideshow" Ball winning match happened at 4-1 in the tiebreaker.

After an extended rally Brzezicki hit an excellent shot screaming out "Vamoooooooos" before Ghem hit the ball and was awarded the point when Ghem missed it. Ghem was pissed off with the umpire said "come on, that put me off ", it was quite loud. He told the umpire to ask Brzezicki, as they are both good friends, so Polaco told the umpire and they replayed the point, which Ghem won. Then he was able to get his first win over Brzezicki in 6 attempts.

Bedene vs. Mertl

This was a cakewalk for Bedene, who had a good support group here and no it wasn't just screaming fangirls. He was fairly impressive but really didn't need to do too much as Mertl looked like a turkey stuffed at Christmas. Bedene has a good aggressive game, his 2nd round match with Lacko will be one of the better ones, can see Lacko being able to hit through Bedene's forehand on this surface, though who knows when Carsten Ball wins a match.

Luczak vs. Meffert

Luczak started off so rusty which is natural considering his last event was Stockholm indoors which he played after coming back from the beach in Bahamas 2 days before. This is his last singles event and all he has been doing is hitting with his son and Lleyton Hewitt. Meffert got an early break, but that was more through Luczak's ring rust so to speak, there was one highlight that showed how much of a woodduck showing Meffert put in today. Luczak hit a ball down the middle, it didn't move much and he was clean bowled or took an airswing. He wasn't moving his feet at all, either a few service winners, the odd groundstroke winner and plenty of errors.

As time wore on Luczak got more into the match, he started playing a bit better but not brilliant. He got over the line and the comment was "I don't know how I won that". Meffert playing like a donkey definitely helped. He plays the likeable Dane Freddie Nielsen who took out Rajeev Rampras in straight sets. Luczak will have to improve if he is trouble Nielsen who has started the season quite well.

Cabal vs. Schwank

Gordo Schwank has lost some beef for sure, that's good but not a fan of the short hair. I expect Argentine sportsmen to have long hair or at least to the shoulders. This was a bit of a mismatch as Cabal was feeling crap, too bad this info never comes in at the right time. He had a case of the runs wasn't able to move well at all, in fact he was flatter than the chest of a female sprinter. He showed some flashes, but his energy wasn't there and Schwank wasn't losing this at all, would be good if Schwank could make it.

Pospisil vs. Millman

This was Vasek's day alright, he didn't play that well but all those breaks went his way. Millman started well, was hitting more winners than errors and Pospisil was getting frustrated with this. Millman takes the 1st set, then the 2nd set becomes a bit of a break fest, a combination of good play from both guys, some lucky shanks going in on the big points, no one takes advantage as they get into the tiebreaker which was very competitive. Beautiful shank from Pospisil hits the line gets 6-4 then closes it out.

Third set was solid until Pospisil through 2 shanks and a double fault gets the break at 2-2. He was done 0-30 and then a brilliant non call from the linesman on the baseline missing a ball that was a long way out, too the point where we were sitting the baseline, it was closer to use than the baseline, that would have given Millman 0-40. He spits it after that and says to linesman "not good enough, you really should be doing a better job, than missing calls like this". After the incident, he was deflated, Pospisil sees this and was very good in closing out the match against a visibly frustrated opponent. Pospisil really should qualify from this section.

It's an interesting situation for Millman, he has been out for 6 months with shoulder problems, but for reasons unknown he has pissed off Tennis Australia in some manner. It's strange cause he isn't a controversial guy at all, maybe the fact he is articulate, well spoken and not part of the inner sanctum.

He had to use his protected ranking to get into qualies, when they should have given him a wildcard, especially after the excellent 2010 season he had, the shoulder issues were what halted his progress in 2011, hence leading to the ranking slide. Yet, they give one to sideshow Carsten Ball who doesn't deserve one because the man has been stinking up the court, that's his own fault and not injury related. It gets worse in that Millman won't get wildcards to the Aussie challengers, because it's not the tournament directors that decided it more like Tennis Australia.

Other News

Amir Weintraub the thoughtful and introspective Israeli struggled with the conditions against Crugnola, too slow for him and his opponent was playing well. Hope he is around tomorrow as I'd like to thank him for his blogs that he has contributed about the struggles with life on the tour at the lower levels, which most fans don't know or want to know about.

Poor Lajovic leading 5-0 40-0 in the 3rd set and loses to Viola 8-6, that is a bad choke, even though he done something to his leg at 5-2 and Andreas Egli the insurance salesman lookalike called the trainer.

Tomorrow thankfully there are mens matches early in the day, so there can be some more time off, sorry for the lack of photos at the moment, technology sucks.