Choupi is in Stuttgart and the Tulips are in Amersfoort
Starting off with Amersfoort, well this 1st round has been hilarious for a lot of funny results and funny can be taken in many different ways.
The PMK is playing Serra wins the 1st easily enough and then decides to only win 2 games for the rest of the match, he knows how to peak for the big events and also making the second week at Wimbledon and playing well must have confused him and impacted on the start to the summer clay season.
Massu losing to the powerful de Bakker in 2 TB sets and the draw opens up there now with a de Bakker/Serra match for a spot in the QFs.
Mantilla comes back and qualifies with a 6-0 6-0 and then can only get 5 games against Haase, the betting markets moved a lot and there must have been something up there, would like to found what it was. Calleri comes back from injury and only wins 4 games against Devilder.
Andreev comes out and beats the Serbian philosopher Tipsarevic in 37 minutes. Maybe Janko had too many space cakes the night before and the superstar Almagro loses to Eschauer, there could be a surprise winner of this event, the way this is going.
Stuttgart
I have only seen a few matches and no need when I have a special correspondent there. It was good to see Monfils beat Boredo, yes he manages to irritate some people, while others love him, that shows that he has something that doesn’t leave people indifferent.
Berdych gave Lapentti a good arse kicking 6-1 6-1 and now plays LaLo who somehow survived against Carlos “the Prince” Berlocq who had 4 match points and managed to lose, seems Albert Costa might have done some good for LaLo.
Putting El Fashionista Koubek and Chucho on early was cruel as both of these guys enjoy getting up late. Chucho saved a lot of mps, but couldn’t get the job done.
Baby Gaston (Hartfield) won over Hajek and now he takes on Ferrero who won very easily over big Gaston. Gaston is still in a big slump, just hope he doesn’t give up and can turn it around, but the problem is he needs matches to get into form, but without winning there are no matches to get into match form, it’s a vicious circle.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
The Båstad and Gstaad Review aka The Andy Seppi Show
Båstad and Gstaad Review (The Andy Seppi show)
Finally now that horrible grass season is over and therefore my motivation is there to write again and it was good to be able to watch these events, even though the Bet and Win livestream is just above fucking small, it’s a good test for my eyesight.
I watched more tennis that week than I had for the last 7 weeks, it’s funny how when Federer and Nadal aren’t at events, they seem to be more interesting unless they are American Mickey Mouse events where Roddick is a dominant figure.
This week was about Andreas Seppi, yes he is a blogger favourite and there could be some bias in what is to follow, but who cares this blog isn’t exactly the highest level of journalism.
Seppi had a wonderful week and to think he would have made his first ATP final at the start of the week, there would have been guys wanting to put you in the straitjacket and the fact he didn’t win it, was down to his old problems of closing out important matches, they say when the pressure is at its highest, this is when the respective weaknesses of your game and character tend to be found out and this was no different.
Leading 5-3 in the 3rd set and had the chance to serve it out, the pressure was too much and Seppi was too nervous to play the kind of tennis that got him to that lead, the well placed serves, the good tactics, hitting the good shots, but with nerves it becomes harder to move and the breathing is impacted, therefore the decision making isn’t as clear and this showed that.
Fair play to Paul-Henri Mathieu who has been very consistent of late and since linking back with Thierry Champion they have worked well together and winning the last 4 games to take the match 7-5 in the 3rd from someone who has struggled on the mental side it was a big effort.
Good to see Andreev take out the showpony Gasquet, who was tired from his Wimbledon exploits, but Igor is a bad match up for him and Roitman as usual plays good tennis against the higher ranked player, but when it comes down to the big points he can’t make it through.
Vassallo Arguello won a couple of matches as well, before losing 10 games in a row to Seppi in the quarters. The tournament at the start had the wet Wimbledon syndrome, but the weather improved and the tennis wasn’t bad, just wish Gaudio’s losing streak would come to an end.
The Seppi and Koubek match was the highlight for me, both players I like, but I was cheering for Seppi as he needed the points more and is better than his ranking at the time suggested and he was rubbish in the 1st set and then it was close and entertaining and came through in 2 tiebreakers, which is something he hadn’t been successful in this year and that gave him confidence for the rest of the week, the question is now can he build on it for the rest of 2007.
Båstad
Båstad suffered a lot this year cause of the Wimbledon scheduling and players such as Berdych, Djokovic and Cañas withdrew from the event and that left a hole there for sure.
The event started off well with Lucho Horna giving Boredo a lesson 6-1 1-6 6-1. Lucho played very well in this match and this was his 9th win over a top 10 player in his career, though with Horna it’s not his tennis that is the issue, more like consistency and also niggling injury problems. He had a snooze in the 2nd set, but recovered well when Boredo was trying to hit moonballs and came to the net at the right moments.
Lucho lost to Almagro 7-5 6-4 after leading a break in the 1st set, the serving went off and then the rest of the game followed and Mucho just played it simple and let Horna make the mistakes.
The Toad played well in Sweden as he does and had a good match with Verdasco, but as well know Verdasco and mental strength don’t go together that well, but he was outgunned by Moya.
David Ferrer he was the man this week, he must have enjoyed the surroundings and apart from the 2nd round match with Massu which was 6-3 3-6 6-3, he lost a total of 10 games in 4 matches against Garcia-Lopez, Simon, Volandri and Almagro, that is an excellent achievement against these guys on clay, some would say where was that form at Roland Garros, well it was one of those dream weeks that can happen to a player now and then.
Finally now that horrible grass season is over and therefore my motivation is there to write again and it was good to be able to watch these events, even though the Bet and Win livestream is just above fucking small, it’s a good test for my eyesight.
I watched more tennis that week than I had for the last 7 weeks, it’s funny how when Federer and Nadal aren’t at events, they seem to be more interesting unless they are American Mickey Mouse events where Roddick is a dominant figure.
This week was about Andreas Seppi, yes he is a blogger favourite and there could be some bias in what is to follow, but who cares this blog isn’t exactly the highest level of journalism.
Seppi had a wonderful week and to think he would have made his first ATP final at the start of the week, there would have been guys wanting to put you in the straitjacket and the fact he didn’t win it, was down to his old problems of closing out important matches, they say when the pressure is at its highest, this is when the respective weaknesses of your game and character tend to be found out and this was no different.
Leading 5-3 in the 3rd set and had the chance to serve it out, the pressure was too much and Seppi was too nervous to play the kind of tennis that got him to that lead, the well placed serves, the good tactics, hitting the good shots, but with nerves it becomes harder to move and the breathing is impacted, therefore the decision making isn’t as clear and this showed that.
Fair play to Paul-Henri Mathieu who has been very consistent of late and since linking back with Thierry Champion they have worked well together and winning the last 4 games to take the match 7-5 in the 3rd from someone who has struggled on the mental side it was a big effort.
Good to see Andreev take out the showpony Gasquet, who was tired from his Wimbledon exploits, but Igor is a bad match up for him and Roitman as usual plays good tennis against the higher ranked player, but when it comes down to the big points he can’t make it through.
Vassallo Arguello won a couple of matches as well, before losing 10 games in a row to Seppi in the quarters. The tournament at the start had the wet Wimbledon syndrome, but the weather improved and the tennis wasn’t bad, just wish Gaudio’s losing streak would come to an end.
The Seppi and Koubek match was the highlight for me, both players I like, but I was cheering for Seppi as he needed the points more and is better than his ranking at the time suggested and he was rubbish in the 1st set and then it was close and entertaining and came through in 2 tiebreakers, which is something he hadn’t been successful in this year and that gave him confidence for the rest of the week, the question is now can he build on it for the rest of 2007.
Båstad
Båstad suffered a lot this year cause of the Wimbledon scheduling and players such as Berdych, Djokovic and Cañas withdrew from the event and that left a hole there for sure.
The event started off well with Lucho Horna giving Boredo a lesson 6-1 1-6 6-1. Lucho played very well in this match and this was his 9th win over a top 10 player in his career, though with Horna it’s not his tennis that is the issue, more like consistency and also niggling injury problems. He had a snooze in the 2nd set, but recovered well when Boredo was trying to hit moonballs and came to the net at the right moments.
Lucho lost to Almagro 7-5 6-4 after leading a break in the 1st set, the serving went off and then the rest of the game followed and Mucho just played it simple and let Horna make the mistakes.
The Toad played well in Sweden as he does and had a good match with Verdasco, but as well know Verdasco and mental strength don’t go together that well, but he was outgunned by Moya.
David Ferrer he was the man this week, he must have enjoyed the surroundings and apart from the 2nd round match with Massu which was 6-3 3-6 6-3, he lost a total of 10 games in 4 matches against Garcia-Lopez, Simon, Volandri and Almagro, that is an excellent achievement against these guys on clay, some would say where was that form at Roland Garros, well it was one of those dream weeks that can happen to a player now and then.
Monday, May 28, 2007
Raining in Roland Garros at the moment, but will someone rain on Nadal in Paris.. Fan Reports welcomed
First of all time to get some serves out of the way. Yes, call me a traditionalist, but there is something wrong with starting a Slam on a Sunday, it's almost as bad as giving the women equal prizemoney and they didn't make the mistake of putting Federer on Sunday this time. It didn't work cause of the weather and it's a battle Mother Nature will win most of the time.
Vicente was comedic against Safin in the rain, the highlight for him was serving at a 100 percent of first serves in the second set and he lost 6-1 6-3 6-1 to Safin. Safin shouldn't lose his next match to Gattuso Tipsarevic, but anything can happen with him and usually does, but enough of Marat for now.
It seems the likable American Mike Russell has pissed someone off to draw Federer in the 1st round, but the last time he was on centre court in Paris, he played a wonderful and entertaining match against Guga and had the match point, but couldn't pull it off. He will give Federer a good workout, but not much more than that sadly and big Fed likes the heavy conditions. Roger is fortunate that many of the players he likes to beat up are in his section of the draw, but strange things happen for sure.
El Fashionista plays Chris "the gimp" Rochus, the perfect match for him really and just hope he doesn't blow it and he can have one of his good matches with Ferrero in the next round and it would be great for tennis to see the Koubek in the 3rd round.
The big Greek Economidis finally qualified for a Slam and he has a big show to take out Ronald McDonald Guccione, never know Aussie TV might actually find a camera on court 33 to show the match point or something.
Nalle the talented singer and owner of a rally team is back playing and one can expect anything with him, he could lose in Round 2 or make the semis, but I expect him to have eaten many empanadas. Chela and Santoro is a match up of Mr. Consistency and a lack of flair against a player who is all flair, but Fab isn't doing as well on clay as usual, but might be able to pull the upset.
Acasuso with the heavy conditions and not being the seeded player he should take out Melzer in the first round and that would mean a meeting with Pico Monaco who has been some very good tennis as of late, just hope he can carry his form over from Austria to the one that counts.
Before I go to the bottom half there is the Canas and Gasquet match up, well Canas has gone a bit flat at the moment and that is understandable, but he has a kind draw to the 3rd round and if he plays Gasquet, when it comes down to it, Willy will be too tough as usual.
The bottom half will be spoken about and the order is in the order of the draw. Zabaleta has fought hard and made it back to the top 100 and was a Lucky Loser, but was unlucky to draw Calleri. El Gordo hasn't done well in Slams and he has a very poor 5 set record, as does Zabala, but Mariano's is better, whoever wins this should make the 3rd round.
Hartfield got the Bye, cause he plays claycourt clown Ginepri and I wish Gaudio got him instead, but Gaston drew the ball bashing smoking Gicquel, just hope he can win a match here and it would be interesting to see him play his friend Hewitt.
Berdman can do very well here, just hope he isn't focused too much on the Prostejov Challenger and we know that event means a lot to him, but to me this is the event where he needs to make a Slam QF and in his section he is very capable of that.
Onto the other players now the charismatic ones. Luczak got the WC and he is fortunate that he got Bjorkman who can only play on clay when it's doubles and then he'd player the winner out of Blake and Karlovic, good chances for Peter to make the 3rd round and just hope big Karlovic beats Blake, but Blake he either hits them on the line or he thinks he is playing baseball and missing the court.
Lucho and Massu, well Lucho can take him if he thinks to play like he did in Vina and not get pissed off with Massu's antics and the next round well Roddick the only reason he is around so long is cause of the rain and as long as Andreev stays sober, then he should win.
Seppi has a tough one against Moya, well maybe Andy can get inspiration from AC Milan's victory in the Champs League, but it might take more than that for him to get the W here. Last of all then there is the King Oscar Hernandez and we hope that someone can see this fine specimen play and Guzman is just a victim and if Kohlschreiber gets past dropshot Dlouhy, he will be running off to hide in the Bavarian Alps and get rash from the lederhosen after the beatdown he is going to get.
Well the one of this was too serious and I will be in here most of the time during the event, too many delusional clowns who have no understanding of clay tennis.
Will Nadal defend, I hope not, but somehow I don't think I will be wrong.
Vicente was comedic against Safin in the rain, the highlight for him was serving at a 100 percent of first serves in the second set and he lost 6-1 6-3 6-1 to Safin. Safin shouldn't lose his next match to Gattuso Tipsarevic, but anything can happen with him and usually does, but enough of Marat for now.
It seems the likable American Mike Russell has pissed someone off to draw Federer in the 1st round, but the last time he was on centre court in Paris, he played a wonderful and entertaining match against Guga and had the match point, but couldn't pull it off. He will give Federer a good workout, but not much more than that sadly and big Fed likes the heavy conditions. Roger is fortunate that many of the players he likes to beat up are in his section of the draw, but strange things happen for sure.
El Fashionista plays Chris "the gimp" Rochus, the perfect match for him really and just hope he doesn't blow it and he can have one of his good matches with Ferrero in the next round and it would be great for tennis to see the Koubek in the 3rd round.
The big Greek Economidis finally qualified for a Slam and he has a big show to take out Ronald McDonald Guccione, never know Aussie TV might actually find a camera on court 33 to show the match point or something.
Nalle the talented singer and owner of a rally team is back playing and one can expect anything with him, he could lose in Round 2 or make the semis, but I expect him to have eaten many empanadas. Chela and Santoro is a match up of Mr. Consistency and a lack of flair against a player who is all flair, but Fab isn't doing as well on clay as usual, but might be able to pull the upset.
Acasuso with the heavy conditions and not being the seeded player he should take out Melzer in the first round and that would mean a meeting with Pico Monaco who has been some very good tennis as of late, just hope he can carry his form over from Austria to the one that counts.
Before I go to the bottom half there is the Canas and Gasquet match up, well Canas has gone a bit flat at the moment and that is understandable, but he has a kind draw to the 3rd round and if he plays Gasquet, when it comes down to it, Willy will be too tough as usual.
The bottom half will be spoken about and the order is in the order of the draw. Zabaleta has fought hard and made it back to the top 100 and was a Lucky Loser, but was unlucky to draw Calleri. El Gordo hasn't done well in Slams and he has a very poor 5 set record, as does Zabala, but Mariano's is better, whoever wins this should make the 3rd round.
Hartfield got the Bye, cause he plays claycourt clown Ginepri and I wish Gaudio got him instead, but Gaston drew the ball bashing smoking Gicquel, just hope he can win a match here and it would be interesting to see him play his friend Hewitt.
Berdman can do very well here, just hope he isn't focused too much on the Prostejov Challenger and we know that event means a lot to him, but to me this is the event where he needs to make a Slam QF and in his section he is very capable of that.
Onto the other players now the charismatic ones. Luczak got the WC and he is fortunate that he got Bjorkman who can only play on clay when it's doubles and then he'd player the winner out of Blake and Karlovic, good chances for Peter to make the 3rd round and just hope big Karlovic beats Blake, but Blake he either hits them on the line or he thinks he is playing baseball and missing the court.
Lucho and Massu, well Lucho can take him if he thinks to play like he did in Vina and not get pissed off with Massu's antics and the next round well Roddick the only reason he is around so long is cause of the rain and as long as Andreev stays sober, then he should win.
Seppi has a tough one against Moya, well maybe Andy can get inspiration from AC Milan's victory in the Champs League, but it might take more than that for him to get the W here. Last of all then there is the King Oscar Hernandez and we hope that someone can see this fine specimen play and Guzman is just a victim and if Kohlschreiber gets past dropshot Dlouhy, he will be running off to hide in the Bavarian Alps and get rash from the lederhosen after the beatdown he is going to get.
Well the one of this was too serious and I will be in here most of the time during the event, too many delusional clowns who have no understanding of clay tennis.
Will Nadal defend, I hope not, but somehow I don't think I will be wrong.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Ronnie Leitgeb is still an arsehole and Pörtschach is a relaxing stop before Roland Garros
Pörtschach on the Wörthersee is a nice and ritzy place and one of the more scenic on the ATP tour, too bad it has the arsehole Ronnie Leitgeb as the Tournament director, can’t have it all.
It’s always a strange thing the week before a Slam and no one really knows what will happen during the event, who needs the matches and who really wants to win the event and there are some strange results that go on and more retirements than usual.
The PMK loves this event and will try and win it for the 3rd time in a row and it would be good if Lapentti could take him out in the 2nd round, it’s a great match up for Nico, but he has no matches.
Hewitt comes back after a big effort in Hamburg and still needs matches and he plays Escopeta Roitman who needs wins and the winner plays the in form Starace who defeated El Fashionista Koubek and all of Stef’s friends will be sad, but they can party at the casino.
Lucho thumped Dolgopolov 6-3 6-0 and he is a guy who needs a lot of match play to play his best tennis, it’s just the way he is and now he plays baldy Ljubicic. It was good that Seppi didn’t qualify as I would have lost one or the other in this round and also Seppi has his mind on the Champs League.
Roddick decides to turn up and realises that defeating a poor Gaudio, Peya and playing Pless in the next round who defeated Berlocq the clown is a serious preparation. If Roddick makes the 2nd week of Roland Garros they should celebrate very hard.
Good to see big Mike get a win over Vassallo Arguello and he is in a tough section of the draw in other words the section that Roddick isn’t in.
A cheerio to a friend of mine who has had some problems, but he is back working and he is at the event in Pörtschach and can’t wait to catch up again.
It’s always a strange thing the week before a Slam and no one really knows what will happen during the event, who needs the matches and who really wants to win the event and there are some strange results that go on and more retirements than usual.
The PMK loves this event and will try and win it for the 3rd time in a row and it would be good if Lapentti could take him out in the 2nd round, it’s a great match up for Nico, but he has no matches.
Hewitt comes back after a big effort in Hamburg and still needs matches and he plays Escopeta Roitman who needs wins and the winner plays the in form Starace who defeated El Fashionista Koubek and all of Stef’s friends will be sad, but they can party at the casino.
Lucho thumped Dolgopolov 6-3 6-0 and he is a guy who needs a lot of match play to play his best tennis, it’s just the way he is and now he plays baldy Ljubicic. It was good that Seppi didn’t qualify as I would have lost one or the other in this round and also Seppi has his mind on the Champs League.
Roddick decides to turn up and realises that defeating a poor Gaudio, Peya and playing Pless in the next round who defeated Berlocq the clown is a serious preparation. If Roddick makes the 2nd week of Roland Garros they should celebrate very hard.
Good to see big Mike get a win over Vassallo Arguello and he is in a tough section of the draw in other words the section that Roddick isn’t in.
A cheerio to a friend of mine who has had some problems, but he is back working and he is at the event in Pörtschach and can’t wait to catch up again.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Rest in Peace Hamburg
It’s now the 3rd and last of the clay TMS events in Hamburg and more than likely after 2008, the tournament won’t exist in the brave new world of Mr. Disney’s ATP visionary, who is blinder than Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder combined.
Hamburg suffers a lot from poor scheduling and we know the clowns at the ATP haven’t thought about that. As the 3 TMS events it’s usually the worst indicator of how a player will do at Roland Garros, this is mainly cause of the very heavy conditions and the damp weather. This presents another challenge and not surprisingly Roddick (The Duck) has ducked this event again, seems like beating an in-form Gaudio is enough clay preparation for him.
The qualie rounds have some interesting matches, in fact more interesting than many of the main draw ones and there are a few favourites there and the horrible feeling of two favourites playing each other.
Finally Lucho got a win over a big server and it was Mirnyi, this one will be big come Davis Cup time and Lucho will need to beat Max to get Peru back into the World Group and just hope he doesn’t lose to que sera Serra, who is annoying flea and has the skill of when you want him to lose, then he will win and vice versa. As long as Lucho serves well and stays patient and then can use his heavy forehand and make sure this pest doesn’t make the main draw.
Monaco and Koubek, well either way I’d be happy with the result, though El Fashionista always adds something with his wonderful clothing attire. Big Russell has a tough one against the sneaky Massu, who will pull every trick possible and others to win a match, on this slower surface Massu is a clear favourite. Russell needs to use his serve to outmanoeuvre Massu and break down that poor backhand of his.
Last qualie match between Seppi and the King, well tennis will be the winner here. Big Oscar on this surface will be hard to hit through with that huge backhand and those cat like reflexes around the net. I want Seppi to go through he needs it more than the King at the moment, but this is a good result either way.
The Bye is making an appearance and will be hard to stop. Soderling and Ginepri, this is the battle of the grand chessmasters that will make Karpov and Kasparov look like under 5s level. These two are the epitome of claycourt tennis acumen and the Germans won’t have seen such skill on a grand level.
Volandri has a chance to inflict more clay pain on Andy Murray and we know Brad Gilberto has great clay skills that he passes on to his pupils. Berdych and Verdasco anything could happen here and is likely to. Calleri should be nice and rested and getting ready to roast Hewitt. Gaudio against Gasquet, well the answer would be good luck Gaston.
Acasuso needs to defend his points here, but the qualifiers for the most part aren’t going to be duds and just hope Chucho hasn’t been shagging dodgy women of the night as can happen in Hamburg. Bring it on as they say.
Hamburg suffers a lot from poor scheduling and we know the clowns at the ATP haven’t thought about that. As the 3 TMS events it’s usually the worst indicator of how a player will do at Roland Garros, this is mainly cause of the very heavy conditions and the damp weather. This presents another challenge and not surprisingly Roddick (The Duck) has ducked this event again, seems like beating an in-form Gaudio is enough clay preparation for him.
The qualie rounds have some interesting matches, in fact more interesting than many of the main draw ones and there are a few favourites there and the horrible feeling of two favourites playing each other.
Finally Lucho got a win over a big server and it was Mirnyi, this one will be big come Davis Cup time and Lucho will need to beat Max to get Peru back into the World Group and just hope he doesn’t lose to que sera Serra, who is annoying flea and has the skill of when you want him to lose, then he will win and vice versa. As long as Lucho serves well and stays patient and then can use his heavy forehand and make sure this pest doesn’t make the main draw.
Monaco and Koubek, well either way I’d be happy with the result, though El Fashionista always adds something with his wonderful clothing attire. Big Russell has a tough one against the sneaky Massu, who will pull every trick possible and others to win a match, on this slower surface Massu is a clear favourite. Russell needs to use his serve to outmanoeuvre Massu and break down that poor backhand of his.
Last qualie match between Seppi and the King, well tennis will be the winner here. Big Oscar on this surface will be hard to hit through with that huge backhand and those cat like reflexes around the net. I want Seppi to go through he needs it more than the King at the moment, but this is a good result either way.
The Bye is making an appearance and will be hard to stop. Soderling and Ginepri, this is the battle of the grand chessmasters that will make Karpov and Kasparov look like under 5s level. These two are the epitome of claycourt tennis acumen and the Germans won’t have seen such skill on a grand level.
Volandri has a chance to inflict more clay pain on Andy Murray and we know Brad Gilberto has great clay skills that he passes on to his pupils. Berdych and Verdasco anything could happen here and is likely to. Calleri should be nice and rested and getting ready to roast Hewitt. Gaudio against Gasquet, well the answer would be good luck Gaston.
Acasuso needs to defend his points here, but the qualifiers for the most part aren’t going to be duds and just hope Chucho hasn’t been shagging dodgy women of the night as can happen in Hamburg. Bring it on as they say.
Monday, May 07, 2007
Arrivederci, Gnocchi Semonlina and the fastest clay TMS of them all in Rome
Now after the low key week of Estoril and Münich, we are now in the Eternal city of Rome, well it’s the eternal city of chaos.
The Italian Open has always been the fastest of the clay TMS events, this is mainly cause they use less clay on the top surface than the other events and the hotter the weather, the faster the court plays combined with the surface that leads to the extra speed of the court surface, and if you want proof of this, then having Sampras vs. Becker and Agassi vs. Haas in previous finals illustrates this clearly, plus Rafter did well there and Roddick the biggest clay clown out of this group has done well here.
I really could just end this preview by saying this will be a Federer/Nadal final and live with another overhyped match between these two. The funny thing with the clay matches that they have had, is that Nadal has not had to play that well to win. He played better against Berdych in the semis than he needed to against Federer. I really hope this match doesn’t happen.
Federer well he starts off with a tough match against the Bye, but he could be playing “Superstar” who could either make it very difficult for him or lose very easily, while having a hissy fit and Almagro gave Federer plenty to handle and this is the best time for “Superstar” to get him. Verdasco and Gasquet again, well here will be another exhibition in how to lose a match he should win easily by Verdasco.
Berdych vs. Nieminen – This one is an intriguing match and the Berdman has made 2 semi finals in a row after a lean period of time and Nieminen hasn’t been in the best of form either and the question here will be whether the tricks from the Shark and changes of pace will piss off the Berdman, or will Berdych have enough patience and be able to hit through Nieminen.
The winner will play Wawrinka welcome back to the tour or Montañes who defeated blogger favourite Seppi in the last round of qualies, this is a good chance for either the Berdman or the Shark to make the 3rd round.
Acasuso hasn’t been in great form, but he is lucky that he has Verkerk, who is still coming back from injury, and illness and the speed around the court here will be gazelle like and they will be representing their nations in the 100m at the next Olympics and the winner will play Ljubo. Big Ivan lost a close one to Gasquet in Monte Carlo and he spent a lot of his life in Italy, so he will feel at home for sure.
Gaudio has a potential hazard here. One he doesn’t like playing in Rome generally, two cause of his form at the moment, matches that should seem easy are a lot harder than they should be. He plays “Fisker med” Mardy Fish, for those who don’t understand it means “Fishing with Mardy Fish” who is a claycourt clown, the problem is if he loses, then Gaudio’s mentality will be even worse losing to a joker like Fish. Then if he wins he will play Roddick who isn’t good on this surface, but a level above Fish for sure.
King Oscar Hernandez plays Hewitt and this is a big chance for Oscar to shine and take advantage of the lack of match play of Hewitt. The King has been in very good form lately and he is going close to a career high ranking and that can only be good for the game.
As for the other matches, hopefully Calleri can continue his good form and get a good result here, but Starace at home and has been in good form won’t be easy, it will be good to see a good result here, though I think a slower claycourt is better for El Gordo.
I’d love to see Nadal lose, but that won’t be likely.
The Italian Open has always been the fastest of the clay TMS events, this is mainly cause they use less clay on the top surface than the other events and the hotter the weather, the faster the court plays combined with the surface that leads to the extra speed of the court surface, and if you want proof of this, then having Sampras vs. Becker and Agassi vs. Haas in previous finals illustrates this clearly, plus Rafter did well there and Roddick the biggest clay clown out of this group has done well here.
I really could just end this preview by saying this will be a Federer/Nadal final and live with another overhyped match between these two. The funny thing with the clay matches that they have had, is that Nadal has not had to play that well to win. He played better against Berdych in the semis than he needed to against Federer. I really hope this match doesn’t happen.
Federer well he starts off with a tough match against the Bye, but he could be playing “Superstar” who could either make it very difficult for him or lose very easily, while having a hissy fit and Almagro gave Federer plenty to handle and this is the best time for “Superstar” to get him. Verdasco and Gasquet again, well here will be another exhibition in how to lose a match he should win easily by Verdasco.
Berdych vs. Nieminen – This one is an intriguing match and the Berdman has made 2 semi finals in a row after a lean period of time and Nieminen hasn’t been in the best of form either and the question here will be whether the tricks from the Shark and changes of pace will piss off the Berdman, or will Berdych have enough patience and be able to hit through Nieminen.
The winner will play Wawrinka welcome back to the tour or Montañes who defeated blogger favourite Seppi in the last round of qualies, this is a good chance for either the Berdman or the Shark to make the 3rd round.
Acasuso hasn’t been in great form, but he is lucky that he has Verkerk, who is still coming back from injury, and illness and the speed around the court here will be gazelle like and they will be representing their nations in the 100m at the next Olympics and the winner will play Ljubo. Big Ivan lost a close one to Gasquet in Monte Carlo and he spent a lot of his life in Italy, so he will feel at home for sure.
Gaudio has a potential hazard here. One he doesn’t like playing in Rome generally, two cause of his form at the moment, matches that should seem easy are a lot harder than they should be. He plays “Fisker med” Mardy Fish, for those who don’t understand it means “Fishing with Mardy Fish” who is a claycourt clown, the problem is if he loses, then Gaudio’s mentality will be even worse losing to a joker like Fish. Then if he wins he will play Roddick who isn’t good on this surface, but a level above Fish for sure.
King Oscar Hernandez plays Hewitt and this is a big chance for Oscar to shine and take advantage of the lack of match play of Hewitt. The King has been in very good form lately and he is going close to a career high ranking and that can only be good for the game.
As for the other matches, hopefully Calleri can continue his good form and get a good result here, but Starace at home and has been in good form won’t be easy, it will be good to see a good result here, though I think a slower claycourt is better for El Gordo.
I’d love to see Nadal lose, but that won’t be likely.
Monday, April 30, 2007
They hate Benefica in Estoril and they love 1860 and weisswurst in Munich
This was a bit late, but a mix of preview and matches that have happened. Not the best nor the worst.
Estoril
The week of Estoril and Munich, just simmering before the stupid scheduling of Rome and Hamburg back to back and the ATP aren’t known for their brains and this is just another example of it. No Nadal this week, as he is off playing a Mickey Mouse joke of an exhibition with Federer on a half grass/half clay court. Yeah what an innovation that is, it will revolutionise the game of tennis.
Usually the courts at Estoril play very slowly and the conditions are heavy, but according to reports thanks Sylvester from MTF, the weather has been warm and dry so the courts were playing a lot faster than usual and for some reason they started the event on a Sunday.
Lucho Horna made his comeback to the tour after injury and he lost to the young American Sam Querrey 7-6 6-4 who is definitely not at his best on clay. Lucho has always struggled against the guys with big servers and he has a shocking return, he either hits them metres out or they bounce three times before they hit the net. Lucho was serving for the 1st set at 5-4, but lost it and was ahead 4-2 in the tiebreaker and failed to get it done. To be fair Querrey played well against an in form Starace and has been prepared to come over to Europe and work on his fitness and improve his overall game from playing on the clay and that can only be commended unlike some of his other countrymen who seem to hide from it except Spadea and Russell.
Calleri comes here after a big week in Barcelona and gets some more match practice. The PMK has won here before and loves his small events. Robredo is chasing another optional before he falls out of the top 10 with Hamburg coming up. Russell has a tough one here, but can make the quarters if he can get past Garcia-Lopez.
Andreev lost another tough match in a tiebreaker in very windy conditions against Djokovic. Yes, it was a tough draw, but that is life and he has to deal with that and he is someone that needs a lot of matches, it’s that old situation, losing matches and then playing more events to get the wins and then the form can get worse. Good for Djokovic to win in the tough conditions and should make the quarters here.
Münich
Baghdatinho wins his 1st match for a while against Hartfield and he is back with his childhood coach Yiannos and that can only be a good thing and hope he can enjoy his tennis again. Yiannos knows him so well and he is a very good man and has a good influence and Baghdatis could use that at the moment.
Koubek back after an injury break and lost to Youzhny in 3 sets, that’s a good sign and it’s not easy to win matches after beating out injured, but Koubek is so up and down, so it’s never easy to tell when the good form is coming or the run of about 10 1st round losses in a row.
Berdman plays the geeky German Mayer who could easily frustrate him with the 15 minute forehand swing, the 70km/h second serve and the two handed dropshots of the backhand. It will be intriguing to see whether he kills Mayer or gets the shits and lose.
Come on Hajek win a match on the main tour it’s about time.
Estoril
The week of Estoril and Munich, just simmering before the stupid scheduling of Rome and Hamburg back to back and the ATP aren’t known for their brains and this is just another example of it. No Nadal this week, as he is off playing a Mickey Mouse joke of an exhibition with Federer on a half grass/half clay court. Yeah what an innovation that is, it will revolutionise the game of tennis.
Usually the courts at Estoril play very slowly and the conditions are heavy, but according to reports thanks Sylvester from MTF, the weather has been warm and dry so the courts were playing a lot faster than usual and for some reason they started the event on a Sunday.
Lucho Horna made his comeback to the tour after injury and he lost to the young American Sam Querrey 7-6 6-4 who is definitely not at his best on clay. Lucho has always struggled against the guys with big servers and he has a shocking return, he either hits them metres out or they bounce three times before they hit the net. Lucho was serving for the 1st set at 5-4, but lost it and was ahead 4-2 in the tiebreaker and failed to get it done. To be fair Querrey played well against an in form Starace and has been prepared to come over to Europe and work on his fitness and improve his overall game from playing on the clay and that can only be commended unlike some of his other countrymen who seem to hide from it except Spadea and Russell.
Calleri comes here after a big week in Barcelona and gets some more match practice. The PMK has won here before and loves his small events. Robredo is chasing another optional before he falls out of the top 10 with Hamburg coming up. Russell has a tough one here, but can make the quarters if he can get past Garcia-Lopez.
Andreev lost another tough match in a tiebreaker in very windy conditions against Djokovic. Yes, it was a tough draw, but that is life and he has to deal with that and he is someone that needs a lot of matches, it’s that old situation, losing matches and then playing more events to get the wins and then the form can get worse. Good for Djokovic to win in the tough conditions and should make the quarters here.
Münich
Baghdatinho wins his 1st match for a while against Hartfield and he is back with his childhood coach Yiannos and that can only be a good thing and hope he can enjoy his tennis again. Yiannos knows him so well and he is a very good man and has a good influence and Baghdatis could use that at the moment.
Koubek back after an injury break and lost to Youzhny in 3 sets, that’s a good sign and it’s not easy to win matches after beating out injured, but Koubek is so up and down, so it’s never easy to tell when the good form is coming or the run of about 10 1st round losses in a row.
Berdman plays the geeky German Mayer who could easily frustrate him with the 15 minute forehand swing, the 70km/h second serve and the two handed dropshots of the backhand. It will be intriguing to see whether he kills Mayer or gets the shits and lose.
Come on Hajek win a match on the main tour it’s about time.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Lionel Messi, Camp Nou, the home of Spanish tennis and welcome back Felix Mantilla in Barcelona and Allez Younes and Chucho at Casachallenger
Barcelona / Casablanca
The week of Barcelona and Casachallenger, well I will be previewing both tournaments and for once the field in Casablanca isn’t as bad as usual, but it will still always be Casachallenger in my heart.
Nadal, will be back here playing again trying to make it a hat trick of titles, but the real story of this week is the return of the forgotten Spaniard and warrior Felix Mantilla to the main tour after having a battle with shoulder problems and skin cancer. I am so happy to see him back and I imagine the Catalans will give him the ovation he deserves. In fact I will do a separate entry on Mantilla tomorrow, because he deserves that.
The question is whether Nadal will be stopped here, it wasn’t like he had to sweat too much in winning in Monte Carlo. The fact is that he is beatable and he has to lose at some point, the question is when this day will be.
Gaudio has an interesting match with the Toad Söderling. In normal times this would be a beatdown, but these aren’t normal times for Gaudio on clay and the fact that the Toad is inconsistent on this surface and rarely has 2 good events in a row, this could help Gaudio along with the fact this is where he won his 1st title and made a final as well. It always helps returning back to places where you have had some good memories, just hope to see more of the 2nd set performance against Djokovic, than the other matches. If he is patient, then the Toad can self-destruct.
Safin and Nalbandian are both in the same section as Nadal, but the chances that either of them will go through and play Nadal are about as predictable as a baby arse. Safin, he seems to be a bit slower these days and is a big match player, but he needs to win the early matches to play the big ones. Wow! that was profound wasn’t it. Nalbandian well he has a rally to go to after this event, a few wins would be good for him, but he is more likely to be having a few empanadas instead.
Calleri and Cañas return to the tour as well, after a break with leg injuries and also tiredness in Cañas’s case. Calleri has so much potential to do well on the clay, but he just keeps getting injured and he tried to come back too soon after Acapulco. He got a good 1st rounder against the very likeable Marc Lopez, too bad Marc had to get Gordo, though one can’t be sure how fit Calleri is at the moment.
Cañas has an interesting match with big Max, they have only played on fast surfaces on the tour, though Willy schooled him in Bermuda on the green clay. I think he should be able to handle Max here, but with big Max on clay he has beaten some very good players, then he lost to Gineprick on clay.
The King Oscar Hernandez and Mucho Almagro, well along with Mantilla will provide the entertainment as well.
If Vicente loses to Goldstein, he should think of another career.
Casachallenger
Well Hrbaty is the number 1 seed, this alone says what you need to know about Casachallenger. At the same time it has some good players there, who are either out of form, coming back from injury or enjoy the Moroccaan ambience.
Chucho Acasuso is the 2nd seed here and really needs some wins to gain some confidence in what has been a disappointing start to the year for him, after such a good 2006. The draw has been kind to him for sure, playing Devilder who flew from Bermuda after making the QFs and then the winner out of Tipsarevic and Llodra. The others in his section are his best friend Vassallo Arguello and his pigeon Mathieu, just hope he can get some confidence.
Mike Russell is back in Europe as well and there were some duds in this draw, but he got Hartfield, aka baby Gaston, though not as temperamental as Gaston and this will be a tough one, but whoever wins that match, has a very good chance of making the quarters.
Roitman is playing Massu again, just hope he doesn’t break down like he did when he was beating him up so badly, but Roitman’s nickname is Escopeta. He hits the ball like a rifle, but the rifle can misfire at times as well, he needs to get some more consistency on the ATP, but there is some potential for growth there.
Too bad Casachallenger and not Barcelona is on the Betfair live stream, but we can’t have it all in life.
The week of Barcelona and Casachallenger, well I will be previewing both tournaments and for once the field in Casablanca isn’t as bad as usual, but it will still always be Casachallenger in my heart.
Nadal, will be back here playing again trying to make it a hat trick of titles, but the real story of this week is the return of the forgotten Spaniard and warrior Felix Mantilla to the main tour after having a battle with shoulder problems and skin cancer. I am so happy to see him back and I imagine the Catalans will give him the ovation he deserves. In fact I will do a separate entry on Mantilla tomorrow, because he deserves that.
The question is whether Nadal will be stopped here, it wasn’t like he had to sweat too much in winning in Monte Carlo. The fact is that he is beatable and he has to lose at some point, the question is when this day will be.
Gaudio has an interesting match with the Toad Söderling. In normal times this would be a beatdown, but these aren’t normal times for Gaudio on clay and the fact that the Toad is inconsistent on this surface and rarely has 2 good events in a row, this could help Gaudio along with the fact this is where he won his 1st title and made a final as well. It always helps returning back to places where you have had some good memories, just hope to see more of the 2nd set performance against Djokovic, than the other matches. If he is patient, then the Toad can self-destruct.
Safin and Nalbandian are both in the same section as Nadal, but the chances that either of them will go through and play Nadal are about as predictable as a baby arse. Safin, he seems to be a bit slower these days and is a big match player, but he needs to win the early matches to play the big ones. Wow! that was profound wasn’t it. Nalbandian well he has a rally to go to after this event, a few wins would be good for him, but he is more likely to be having a few empanadas instead.
Calleri and Cañas return to the tour as well, after a break with leg injuries and also tiredness in Cañas’s case. Calleri has so much potential to do well on the clay, but he just keeps getting injured and he tried to come back too soon after Acapulco. He got a good 1st rounder against the very likeable Marc Lopez, too bad Marc had to get Gordo, though one can’t be sure how fit Calleri is at the moment.
Cañas has an interesting match with big Max, they have only played on fast surfaces on the tour, though Willy schooled him in Bermuda on the green clay. I think he should be able to handle Max here, but with big Max on clay he has beaten some very good players, then he lost to Gineprick on clay.
The King Oscar Hernandez and Mucho Almagro, well along with Mantilla will provide the entertainment as well.
If Vicente loses to Goldstein, he should think of another career.
Casachallenger
Well Hrbaty is the number 1 seed, this alone says what you need to know about Casachallenger. At the same time it has some good players there, who are either out of form, coming back from injury or enjoy the Moroccaan ambience.
Chucho Acasuso is the 2nd seed here and really needs some wins to gain some confidence in what has been a disappointing start to the year for him, after such a good 2006. The draw has been kind to him for sure, playing Devilder who flew from Bermuda after making the QFs and then the winner out of Tipsarevic and Llodra. The others in his section are his best friend Vassallo Arguello and his pigeon Mathieu, just hope he can get some confidence.
Mike Russell is back in Europe as well and there were some duds in this draw, but he got Hartfield, aka baby Gaston, though not as temperamental as Gaston and this will be a tough one, but whoever wins that match, has a very good chance of making the quarters.
Roitman is playing Massu again, just hope he doesn’t break down like he did when he was beating him up so badly, but Roitman’s nickname is Escopeta. He hits the ball like a rifle, but the rifle can misfire at times as well, he needs to get some more consistency on the ATP, but there is some potential for growth there.
Too bad Casachallenger and not Barcelona is on the Betfair live stream, but we can’t have it all in life.
Monday, April 16, 2007
Monte Carlo the Tax Haven, home of ATP Europe, tacky casino, Jimmy's Bar and Fifi the Poodle and some wonderful tennis history
Monte Carlo
It’s that time of the year again where the tennis circus returns to Europe for the big clay events leading up to Roland Garros.
The lead up events well he Nico “Superstar” Almagro defending his title in Valencia and he played well at last years TMS events and in Barcelona losing to Nadal and Federer, while giving them something to think about. He is a very talented player and his nicknmane is “Mucho”, though this is for his ego as much as his talent.
Then clay god Ivo Karlovic winning his first ATP title and clay is a good surface for him as he can get even more bounce on his serve and he is fragile physically so it’s easier on his knees and he knows how to move on it.
Monte Carlo has been in the news lately as Mr. Disney is wanting to downgrade its TMS status, so he can give that event to his puppet master and mafia don Ion Tiriac in Madrid and there is a law suit more on that later.
As usual there are the American withdrawals from Monte Carlo, but lets be honest are they really missed? The answer to the question is far from it or as much as rancid meat left in the sun for about 3 weeks or as much as Gaudio, Puerta, Muster, Behrend are missed from Wimbledon.
This being said the overall depth of claycourt tennis isn’t very high at the moment (another entry there) and so time to preview the matches. Of course they are starting on a Sunday, which is as stupid as Mr. Disney reducing these finals to the best of 3 sets. It doesn’t matter James Blake you are still not winning one of these events.
There some intriguing 1st round matches like:
Moya vs. Youzhny: I think Charlie should be too strong here and he has won this event before and Youzhny doesn’t always adjust well to clay straight away and it’s on a TV court, so I could be fortunate to see some of this. Moya, I see getting some good wins , but for him to win another TMS event, he would need a few things in his favour.
Almagro vs. Berdych : This will be a match between two very likeable guys, well I don’t have a problem with Berdych except he is a tactical gnat and as for Almagro well I have spoken about him already.
There are a few variables here, it depends on how tired Almagro is from Valencia, though to be fair it looked like the Copa Empanada there, so he should be Ok. As for the Berdman it depends on which one shows up. He can play very well on clay, but like his poor loss to Roddick and losing to the Srich as well show he is just as capable as losing to anyone as well. I hope this one is on a TV court.
The other matches well Chucho Acasuso is back as well, but he always struggles first match back from a spell and hope his back is fine. Luckily for him he is playing Andreev who he hasn’t lost to in 3 matches and Igor hasn’t been winning matches since his Davis Cup heroics in Chile and Andreev needs a lot of matches before he gets into form, that’s the way he is.
Gaudio and Tursunov: Well, well, well there could be some comedy here for sure. Gaudio in such poor form, though he has Martin Jaite back in his career and he was with him when he showed his talents in 2002 when he went back to back in Barcelona and Mallorca. Tursunov is a bit of a clay clown and has wrist problems, so anything is possible here.
They have Safin/Nierminen as a 1st round match and then we have Lee in the 2nd round defeating clay giant Bjørkman and a match between Benji Becker and Thomas Johansson which will be a feast of clay court clownishness, but as we all know life isn’t always fair is it.
Blogger favourite and AC Milan fan Seppi made the main draw and while Seppi is mellow his opponent is the mad Georgian who plays for Russia and lives in Spain Gabashvili and that’s a contrast of temperament for sure. If Seppi keeps his errors down and breaks down the backhand then he can win this match and meet up with Federer.
Preview is over for now and please comment it makes me feel important and I will be talking about the matches I have seen in the comments section, it’s just easier that way and welcome back to the clay.
It’s that time of the year again where the tennis circus returns to Europe for the big clay events leading up to Roland Garros.
The lead up events well he Nico “Superstar” Almagro defending his title in Valencia and he played well at last years TMS events and in Barcelona losing to Nadal and Federer, while giving them something to think about. He is a very talented player and his nicknmane is “Mucho”, though this is for his ego as much as his talent.
Then clay god Ivo Karlovic winning his first ATP title and clay is a good surface for him as he can get even more bounce on his serve and he is fragile physically so it’s easier on his knees and he knows how to move on it.
Monte Carlo has been in the news lately as Mr. Disney is wanting to downgrade its TMS status, so he can give that event to his puppet master and mafia don Ion Tiriac in Madrid and there is a law suit more on that later.
As usual there are the American withdrawals from Monte Carlo, but lets be honest are they really missed? The answer to the question is far from it or as much as rancid meat left in the sun for about 3 weeks or as much as Gaudio, Puerta, Muster, Behrend are missed from Wimbledon.
This being said the overall depth of claycourt tennis isn’t very high at the moment (another entry there) and so time to preview the matches. Of course they are starting on a Sunday, which is as stupid as Mr. Disney reducing these finals to the best of 3 sets. It doesn’t matter James Blake you are still not winning one of these events.
There some intriguing 1st round matches like:
Moya vs. Youzhny: I think Charlie should be too strong here and he has won this event before and Youzhny doesn’t always adjust well to clay straight away and it’s on a TV court, so I could be fortunate to see some of this. Moya, I see getting some good wins , but for him to win another TMS event, he would need a few things in his favour.
Almagro vs. Berdych : This will be a match between two very likeable guys, well I don’t have a problem with Berdych except he is a tactical gnat and as for Almagro well I have spoken about him already.
There are a few variables here, it depends on how tired Almagro is from Valencia, though to be fair it looked like the Copa Empanada there, so he should be Ok. As for the Berdman it depends on which one shows up. He can play very well on clay, but like his poor loss to Roddick and losing to the Srich as well show he is just as capable as losing to anyone as well. I hope this one is on a TV court.
The other matches well Chucho Acasuso is back as well, but he always struggles first match back from a spell and hope his back is fine. Luckily for him he is playing Andreev who he hasn’t lost to in 3 matches and Igor hasn’t been winning matches since his Davis Cup heroics in Chile and Andreev needs a lot of matches before he gets into form, that’s the way he is.
Gaudio and Tursunov: Well, well, well there could be some comedy here for sure. Gaudio in such poor form, though he has Martin Jaite back in his career and he was with him when he showed his talents in 2002 when he went back to back in Barcelona and Mallorca. Tursunov is a bit of a clay clown and has wrist problems, so anything is possible here.
They have Safin/Nierminen as a 1st round match and then we have Lee in the 2nd round defeating clay giant Bjørkman and a match between Benji Becker and Thomas Johansson which will be a feast of clay court clownishness, but as we all know life isn’t always fair is it.
Blogger favourite and AC Milan fan Seppi made the main draw and while Seppi is mellow his opponent is the mad Georgian who plays for Russia and lives in Spain Gabashvili and that’s a contrast of temperament for sure. If Seppi keeps his errors down and breaks down the backhand then he can win this match and meet up with Federer.
Preview is over for now and please comment it makes me feel important and I will be talking about the matches I have seen in the comments section, it’s just easier that way and welcome back to the clay.
The Blog has Returned
Return of the blog
Yes, that’s right the blog is back and the question is will it be better than ever, though in reality as to how it good it was very subjective at worst.
Well, the hiatus was for a number of reasons. Once after the Aussie Open, my interest tends to wane in tennis and is only saved by Davis Cup, even then while I have had an active interest in these results. I had other things going on in my life and also didn’t feel like writing about it either.
Then there is the subject of the ATP chairman Etienne De Villiers, otherwise known as Mr.Disney who is intent on creating mayhem on the ATP to get himself noticed and under the illusion of actually doing something when in reality his changes are more cosmetic than a top house Milan fashion show.
I am going to do some more player profile things among the tournament reviews, and I might have a section just for Mr.Disney and his clown like adventures and the demise of Round Robin was wonderful but predictable. When I spoke to some of the players at the Aus Open, they were confident it wouldn’t last, but the way it went down was great.
Ok, if you have any requests for me to profile someone or a subject, then let me know.
Yes, that’s right the blog is back and the question is will it be better than ever, though in reality as to how it good it was very subjective at worst.
Well, the hiatus was for a number of reasons. Once after the Aussie Open, my interest tends to wane in tennis and is only saved by Davis Cup, even then while I have had an active interest in these results. I had other things going on in my life and also didn’t feel like writing about it either.
Then there is the subject of the ATP chairman Etienne De Villiers, otherwise known as Mr.Disney who is intent on creating mayhem on the ATP to get himself noticed and under the illusion of actually doing something when in reality his changes are more cosmetic than a top house Milan fashion show.
I am going to do some more player profile things among the tournament reviews, and I might have a section just for Mr.Disney and his clown like adventures and the demise of Round Robin was wonderful but predictable. When I spoke to some of the players at the Aus Open, they were confident it wouldn’t last, but the way it went down was great.
Ok, if you have any requests for me to profile someone or a subject, then let me know.
Friday, January 26, 2007
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.
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.
Day 3 in Melbourne, not as good cause Day 4 has better matches
Round 2
Yes, these updates haven’t been the quickest, but as long as they are still worth reading, then that is all that counts.
Stepanek vs. Dlouhy
The battle between the two Czechs and we all know “Thunder Lips” isn’t the most popular guy around among his countrymen, but hey there is always one like this. I mean look at Hewitt in Australia, Coria in Argentina, Söderling in Sweden, Spadea in the US, not that this is a problem in the progress of a top tennis player.
“Dropshot” Dlouhy starts well and is controlling the rallies and using some good change ups, it’s funny he can actually play quite well, but he can’t win matches on the ATP tour, but wins matches at Slams. Got to say his effort in losing to Justin Gimelclown on clay is special and having match points to boot as well, it must have scarred him.
Dlouhy with the changes of pace on the backhand mostly and his drop volleys takes the 1st set 6-4 and ol’ Thunder Lips isn’t into the match for some reason, maybe he and Martina did some shagging before the match and he is flat, and mostly missing on that dodgy forehand side of his. The pattern of the match continues with Dlouhy in all of Stepanek’s service games and putting the pressure on and holding his serve well by giving him no rhythm and Dlouhy takes it 6-4.
Dlouhy has an early break in the 3rd and there was a sense of an upset here as Thunder Lips still looks like he just got up or was doing something in his own world, then Dlouhy just like in the Gabashvili match plays a sloppy game and gets broken and after this Stepanek gets fired up and starts doing the “Thunder Lips Tango” and the skipping and then Stepanek breaks again to take the 3rd set 6-4.
Thunder Lips lifts his game now and isn’t missing as many forehands as before and he is hitting the backhands as well, whereas Dlouhy has seemed to drop his bundle for the moment and Radek takes the set 6-1. We have another 5 setter whereas Stepanek has come back from deficits before, he has lost a few from 2 sets up as well and I had the feeling his greater experience would get him through there, though I wanted Dlouhy to win this match. Stepanek started the 5th serving first and to me it’s always an advantage to serve first in the 5th set, because it’s harder for the guy to come up and serve to stay in the match at 4-5 down for example and the player serving first. Dlouhy loses serve early and unlike the Gabashvili match he can’t break back and he does seem to like the knedlicky (Czech dumplings) and beer a bit and Stepanek runs out the winner of this one.
Ancic vs. Garcia-Lopez
Have to thank my good friend Sammy for this review. Ancic was only on court in body and was somewhere else mentally and listless at best. GGL takes advantage of Ancic’s listlessness and serves well to take the 1st set 6-3 and Ancic isn’t exhaling as much as much as usual when he is hitting his groundstrokes. Perhaps Fidde Rosengren has tried to get him not to sound like Darth Vader when he is hitting the ball and he is down 4-1 in the 2nd set. Then the light switches over and he starts to play with more composure and cuts down the errors and then takes the next 6 of the next 7 games to take the set 7-5. After establishing control of the match, then the last 2 sets are easy enough, this was far from a good performance from Ancic, but the got the win.
Baghdatis vs. Monfils
The match between two showmen and Marcos was quite subdued at this event, it seems the extra pressure from the media and he had a lot of people with him this time could be having a negative influence on him. It’s funny in 2006 the crowd wanted to suck Marcos’s dick, then again what do you expect from once a year tennis fans and bandwagon jumpers. They decided to cheer overwhelmingly for Monfils (Sliderman), not that there is anything wrong with that, it’s just that it wasn’t his first time in Melbourne as a senior, but selective memory is a wonderful thing. He is the new thing for the day and Baghdatis is yesterday’s hero.
As for the match, well it wasn’t great and it will be interesting when Marcos decides to get serious with his fitness and yes I can understand the love of lamb yeeros and those desserts, but plenty of time to do that when he retires. He has to rebuild now for the season and the key for him is to remain injury free, but at the same time if he is not in the peak condition, then it becomes harder.
Monfils totally deserved the victory, though he is still a long way from solving the problem of what style of game does he want to play. He is either über-defensive and just running things down or just going for winners when he can’t be bothered running. I love it cause he had losers limp at the end of the 3rd and then he starts moving like the panther he is later on in the match.
On a side note Marcos’s brother Pedros is a dead ringer for Marcos and that’s a bit spooky once you see it for the first time.
Hrbaty vs. Spadea
Always going to be a long match and not one for the lovers of the serve/volley game and that is not necessarily a bad thing. Some of the Domo’s fans weren’t very positive about this match after the ordinary performance in defeating Vanek and Vinnay was impressive against big Andreev. Hrbaty usually lifts his game when he is playing in Melbourne, it’s all that wonderful Slovak food from the family he stays with and the ice cream that does the trick.
The 1st set was tight and was taken by Vincenzo in the breaker and then Vinnay takes a 4-1 lead in the 2nd set. Hrbaty hangs tough and wins a big game in the context of the set and later the match and gets his break back and with Hrbaty winning the 2nd set the momentum was with him and then he ground his way to victory and at last report Vinnay was off in Melbourne looking for some bitches or chicks to star in his next rap video.
Yes, these updates haven’t been the quickest, but as long as they are still worth reading, then that is all that counts.
Stepanek vs. Dlouhy
The battle between the two Czechs and we all know “Thunder Lips” isn’t the most popular guy around among his countrymen, but hey there is always one like this. I mean look at Hewitt in Australia, Coria in Argentina, Söderling in Sweden, Spadea in the US, not that this is a problem in the progress of a top tennis player.
“Dropshot” Dlouhy starts well and is controlling the rallies and using some good change ups, it’s funny he can actually play quite well, but he can’t win matches on the ATP tour, but wins matches at Slams. Got to say his effort in losing to Justin Gimelclown on clay is special and having match points to boot as well, it must have scarred him.
Dlouhy with the changes of pace on the backhand mostly and his drop volleys takes the 1st set 6-4 and ol’ Thunder Lips isn’t into the match for some reason, maybe he and Martina did some shagging before the match and he is flat, and mostly missing on that dodgy forehand side of his. The pattern of the match continues with Dlouhy in all of Stepanek’s service games and putting the pressure on and holding his serve well by giving him no rhythm and Dlouhy takes it 6-4.
Dlouhy has an early break in the 3rd and there was a sense of an upset here as Thunder Lips still looks like he just got up or was doing something in his own world, then Dlouhy just like in the Gabashvili match plays a sloppy game and gets broken and after this Stepanek gets fired up and starts doing the “Thunder Lips Tango” and the skipping and then Stepanek breaks again to take the 3rd set 6-4.
Thunder Lips lifts his game now and isn’t missing as many forehands as before and he is hitting the backhands as well, whereas Dlouhy has seemed to drop his bundle for the moment and Radek takes the set 6-1. We have another 5 setter whereas Stepanek has come back from deficits before, he has lost a few from 2 sets up as well and I had the feeling his greater experience would get him through there, though I wanted Dlouhy to win this match. Stepanek started the 5th serving first and to me it’s always an advantage to serve first in the 5th set, because it’s harder for the guy to come up and serve to stay in the match at 4-5 down for example and the player serving first. Dlouhy loses serve early and unlike the Gabashvili match he can’t break back and he does seem to like the knedlicky (Czech dumplings) and beer a bit and Stepanek runs out the winner of this one.
Ancic vs. Garcia-Lopez
Have to thank my good friend Sammy for this review. Ancic was only on court in body and was somewhere else mentally and listless at best. GGL takes advantage of Ancic’s listlessness and serves well to take the 1st set 6-3 and Ancic isn’t exhaling as much as much as usual when he is hitting his groundstrokes. Perhaps Fidde Rosengren has tried to get him not to sound like Darth Vader when he is hitting the ball and he is down 4-1 in the 2nd set. Then the light switches over and he starts to play with more composure and cuts down the errors and then takes the next 6 of the next 7 games to take the set 7-5. After establishing control of the match, then the last 2 sets are easy enough, this was far from a good performance from Ancic, but the got the win.
Baghdatis vs. Monfils
The match between two showmen and Marcos was quite subdued at this event, it seems the extra pressure from the media and he had a lot of people with him this time could be having a negative influence on him. It’s funny in 2006 the crowd wanted to suck Marcos’s dick, then again what do you expect from once a year tennis fans and bandwagon jumpers. They decided to cheer overwhelmingly for Monfils (Sliderman), not that there is anything wrong with that, it’s just that it wasn’t his first time in Melbourne as a senior, but selective memory is a wonderful thing. He is the new thing for the day and Baghdatis is yesterday’s hero.
As for the match, well it wasn’t great and it will be interesting when Marcos decides to get serious with his fitness and yes I can understand the love of lamb yeeros and those desserts, but plenty of time to do that when he retires. He has to rebuild now for the season and the key for him is to remain injury free, but at the same time if he is not in the peak condition, then it becomes harder.
Monfils totally deserved the victory, though he is still a long way from solving the problem of what style of game does he want to play. He is either über-defensive and just running things down or just going for winners when he can’t be bothered running. I love it cause he had losers limp at the end of the 3rd and then he starts moving like the panther he is later on in the match.
On a side note Marcos’s brother Pedros is a dead ringer for Marcos and that’s a bit spooky once you see it for the first time.
Hrbaty vs. Spadea
Always going to be a long match and not one for the lovers of the serve/volley game and that is not necessarily a bad thing. Some of the Domo’s fans weren’t very positive about this match after the ordinary performance in defeating Vanek and Vinnay was impressive against big Andreev. Hrbaty usually lifts his game when he is playing in Melbourne, it’s all that wonderful Slovak food from the family he stays with and the ice cream that does the trick.
The 1st set was tight and was taken by Vincenzo in the breaker and then Vinnay takes a 4-1 lead in the 2nd set. Hrbaty hangs tough and wins a big game in the context of the set and later the match and gets his break back and with Hrbaty winning the 2nd set the momentum was with him and then he ground his way to victory and at last report Vinnay was off in Melbourne looking for some bitches or chicks to star in his next rap video.
Monday, January 22, 2007
Crazy Tuesday with 4am finish
This will be a very long report and I might have to break it down into 2 parts, this is the famous Aussie Open day where play finished at 3.42am and yes I was there for the whole day. They had the heat policy rule in and I personally I think it’s a croc as pro players should be able to adjust to the conditions put in front of them.
Lets start the shenanigans.
Dlouhy vs. Gabashvili
This match didn’t start off as anything special, but that changed eventually and thankfully for that. Big dropshot Dlouhy started off very well and he is keeping the big Georgian-Russian who is based in Spain off balance with deep groundstrokes and drop shots and volleys and Lukas is an aficionado of the dropshot.
Dlouhy gets a break in the 3rd and I go for a walk thinking this match is done and dusted, then I come back and see Teimur has taken the 3rd set. As in the 3rd Dlouhy had another break, but wasn’t able to hold it and it went to a tiebreaker which Teimur took and he is hitting his forehand a lot better than the first 2 sets and is battling hard and takes it to a 5th set.
The games go on serve and are hard fought, Lukas is still playing his sneaky dinks and Teimur is fighting hard and the crowd are loving it who are watching from another court where they can see from the top of the temporary stand and there are just 2 rows of seats on this court. Dlouhy breaks at 13-12 and hands it back quickly and then he breaks at 15-14 and holds to win 16-14. This was played in great spirit and a bit of showmanship as well, there was a hot Myskina lookalike who is Russian descent and if I find a photo I might send it along.
Berdych vs. Lee
This had the potential to be a challenging match on paper, but matches aren’t won on paper and the potential challenge was snuffed out quicker than free food vouchers in a malnutrition clinic. It was an excellent performance from Berdman and in the heat as well, he operated on the theory of get out of there as quickly as possible. This was a good strategy against such a fit and competent hardcourter as Lee.
Nalbandian vs. Tipsarevic
Nalle has tendonitis in the knee, then again motivation isn’t something he is always known for outside of Davis Cup. In the 1st set Nalle had a break and served for it at 5-4, but lost the game and the next 3 to lose 7-5. Tipsa gains in confidence and Nalle looks bored, disinterested and wants to be somewhere else and Tipsa takes the second set. The 3rd continues in the same manner in the stupidly warm conditions and Tipsa leads 5-2 and has 2 chances to serve for the match and fails to do so and Nalle switches on the light and takes the 3rd and Janko runs out of legs and gives up in the 5th with heat exhaustion.
Gaudio vs. Muller
This was a match that I thought Gaston could win and he had a good draw considering that Muller has been hideously out of form as well. This match started catastrophically for Gaudio wouldn’t hit a ball in court and Muller couldn’t miss one and then it’s over 6-0.
In the second set Gaudio is able to hit more balls into court and find a better length and takes it 6-4. As I had to go to the Russell match, from the man known as Sammy he told me Gaudio looked confused on court and was trying and not tanking and Muller was going for it and it worked for him. Gaston might have to drop down to challengers soon to gain some confidence.
Gonzalez vs. Korolev
The first time I have seen Korolev in the flesh and I am impressed. He is very raw and has a lot of power on both sides. He is a bit like Gonzo in his younger years trying to murder the ball without even considering a defensive game. This will come in time with the right coaching and he should progress barring attitude problems or major injuries.
Korolev took the 1st set and once Gonzo took the second, then he was able to establish control of the match and used his greater experience. Herr Korolev will be a future MTF Bandwagon Player of the Month.
Hewitt vs. Russell
Big Mike the only American player currently I like and I have to support him after all the shit he has been through and he qualified easily and got the most difficult opponent available. All the pressure was on Hewitt and no one else in this match.
Russell started very well and has a definite gameplan to stretch Hewitt and hit behind him and keep him off balance. He is using his slice backhand as a good change up and this varied play lead him to the 1st set and is winning the long rallies and took his chances when the break points were on offer.
Russ continues with the grinding style of play and has a very low unforced error count and is mixing up his passes when Hewitt comes to the net. Hewitt is hitting shorter in the court and Russ takes advantage and has control of the match for a 2 sets to love lead.
Russell needs to be vigilant as Hewitt isn’t someone who hands out presents for nothing. The diagnosis looks good so far and he breaks early in the 3rd set, but the turning point was when Russ lost his serve just after breaking and that small sniff was enough for Hewitt to take advantage and the initiative to win the 3rd set 6-3.
The overall sense of the inevitable that Hewitt was going to win in 5 sets was in the air, though I was hoping against it. Russ is noticeably slower around the court and heavier in the legs in the 4th set and that of course is a negative impact on his game, this plus Hewitt is more aggressive on serve and hitting lines.
At the start of the 5th he is getting a massage and his massager for this thighs, trying to get blood circulation happening. He starts playing better and it's a tight set but Russ misses an easy volley into the net, which cost him the break and Hewitt was able to hold out and his greater experience got him over the line in this one.
I was very proud of Russell's efforts inspite of the result and if he remains injury free there are good signs for 2007. After the match he signed autographs for everyone and did the press and he was on court longer after the match than Hewitt. He is a class act and just hope he can win a big 5 setter before he retires.
Horna vs. Mirnyi
Seppi vs. Reynolds
Lets start the shenanigans.
Dlouhy vs. Gabashvili
This match didn’t start off as anything special, but that changed eventually and thankfully for that. Big dropshot Dlouhy started off very well and he is keeping the big Georgian-Russian who is based in Spain off balance with deep groundstrokes and drop shots and volleys and Lukas is an aficionado of the dropshot.
Dlouhy gets a break in the 3rd and I go for a walk thinking this match is done and dusted, then I come back and see Teimur has taken the 3rd set. As in the 3rd Dlouhy had another break, but wasn’t able to hold it and it went to a tiebreaker which Teimur took and he is hitting his forehand a lot better than the first 2 sets and is battling hard and takes it to a 5th set.
The games go on serve and are hard fought, Lukas is still playing his sneaky dinks and Teimur is fighting hard and the crowd are loving it who are watching from another court where they can see from the top of the temporary stand and there are just 2 rows of seats on this court. Dlouhy breaks at 13-12 and hands it back quickly and then he breaks at 15-14 and holds to win 16-14. This was played in great spirit and a bit of showmanship as well, there was a hot Myskina lookalike who is Russian descent and if I find a photo I might send it along.
Berdych vs. Lee
This had the potential to be a challenging match on paper, but matches aren’t won on paper and the potential challenge was snuffed out quicker than free food vouchers in a malnutrition clinic. It was an excellent performance from Berdman and in the heat as well, he operated on the theory of get out of there as quickly as possible. This was a good strategy against such a fit and competent hardcourter as Lee.
Nalbandian vs. Tipsarevic
Nalle has tendonitis in the knee, then again motivation isn’t something he is always known for outside of Davis Cup. In the 1st set Nalle had a break and served for it at 5-4, but lost the game and the next 3 to lose 7-5. Tipsa gains in confidence and Nalle looks bored, disinterested and wants to be somewhere else and Tipsa takes the second set. The 3rd continues in the same manner in the stupidly warm conditions and Tipsa leads 5-2 and has 2 chances to serve for the match and fails to do so and Nalle switches on the light and takes the 3rd and Janko runs out of legs and gives up in the 5th with heat exhaustion.
Gaudio vs. Muller
This was a match that I thought Gaston could win and he had a good draw considering that Muller has been hideously out of form as well. This match started catastrophically for Gaudio wouldn’t hit a ball in court and Muller couldn’t miss one and then it’s over 6-0.
In the second set Gaudio is able to hit more balls into court and find a better length and takes it 6-4. As I had to go to the Russell match, from the man known as Sammy he told me Gaudio looked confused on court and was trying and not tanking and Muller was going for it and it worked for him. Gaston might have to drop down to challengers soon to gain some confidence.
Gonzalez vs. Korolev
The first time I have seen Korolev in the flesh and I am impressed. He is very raw and has a lot of power on both sides. He is a bit like Gonzo in his younger years trying to murder the ball without even considering a defensive game. This will come in time with the right coaching and he should progress barring attitude problems or major injuries.
Korolev took the 1st set and once Gonzo took the second, then he was able to establish control of the match and used his greater experience. Herr Korolev will be a future MTF Bandwagon Player of the Month.
Hewitt vs. Russell
Big Mike the only American player currently I like and I have to support him after all the shit he has been through and he qualified easily and got the most difficult opponent available. All the pressure was on Hewitt and no one else in this match.
Russell started very well and has a definite gameplan to stretch Hewitt and hit behind him and keep him off balance. He is using his slice backhand as a good change up and this varied play lead him to the 1st set and is winning the long rallies and took his chances when the break points were on offer.
Russ continues with the grinding style of play and has a very low unforced error count and is mixing up his passes when Hewitt comes to the net. Hewitt is hitting shorter in the court and Russ takes advantage and has control of the match for a 2 sets to love lead.
Russell needs to be vigilant as Hewitt isn’t someone who hands out presents for nothing. The diagnosis looks good so far and he breaks early in the 3rd set, but the turning point was when Russ lost his serve just after breaking and that small sniff was enough for Hewitt to take advantage and the initiative to win the 3rd set 6-3.
The overall sense of the inevitable that Hewitt was going to win in 5 sets was in the air, though I was hoping against it. Russ is noticeably slower around the court and heavier in the legs in the 4th set and that of course is a negative impact on his game, this plus Hewitt is more aggressive on serve and hitting lines.
At the start of the 5th he is getting a massage and his massager for this thighs, trying to get blood circulation happening. He starts playing better and it's a tight set but Russ misses an easy volley into the net, which cost him the break and Hewitt was able to hold out and his greater experience got him over the line in this one.
I was very proud of Russell's efforts inspite of the result and if he remains injury free there are good signs for 2007. After the match he signed autographs for everyone and did the press and he was on court longer after the match than Hewitt. He is a class act and just hope he can win a big 5 setter before he retires.
Horna vs. Mirnyi
After dealing with the frustration of the good performanc of Russell though a shit result. I decided at around 1am to watch this match. Lucho just won the 3rd set to take a 2 sets to 1 lead and the contrast of styles made this interesting. Horna with the heavy topspin forehand and underrated serve against Mirnyi the chip charge merchant who comes in on everything.
There was some good quality tennis in this match. The 4th set was tight, but Max got a break and was able to hold it together and we saw Jimbo there who was still pissed off with Malisse losing to Clement.
The 5th set is tight and Lucho has chances to break, but he couldn't convert them, through a combination of not getting the 1st serve in at the right moment and Max hitting winning backhands down the line. Mirnyi hasn't hit 5 backhands down the line in his life let alone one match.
After Lucho failed to capitalise on his chances and in the 9th game, there was this pissed Yank who kept heckling Lucho. He finally got the shits after being put off as he was about to serve. It worked as he went over to the umpire and said. "Are you going to get this guy out of the court or not? If not there is going to be a mess." He played another point and lost it and the heckler was it again. "He is still here and you do nothing about it, and if you don't get him out, it will be a big mess, a big mess". Lucho loses focus and is broken and then Mirnyi serves it out 6-4.
Excellent match and Lucho's poor returns cost him badly in this match, his passing shots were working well, but not the returns.
Seppi vs. Reynolds
This was an unforgettable match starting at 11.30pm and finishes it around 3.35am. I was there from the 3rd set onwards. Seppi who has little or no confidence at the moment, he should have closed it in 4 sets, but this was not the case.
Seppi takes the 1st easily and loses the breaker in the 2nd. In the 3rd set Seppi leads 5-2, but somehow lets it get to a breaker and loses against the feisty Reynolds. I thought faen this is getting late, but I am not leaving unless I get to see the last point.
The 4th set is tight and Seppi has made inroads into Reynolds service games, but can' t quite breakthrough to break, but Seppi found himself 3 match points down and he saves them and the wins the 4th set in another tiebreaker. The 5th was very tough to watch at the best of times, especially at 2,50am and it's a combination of ego and masochism plus I like Seppi and have to watch right to the end.
Reynolds plays with a lot of topspin, but hates clay, typical Americans. The 5th set starts with both trying to move the ball around, but Seppi has better length and I can see why his game isn't there at the moment. Too upright on the ball and not staying down, but Seppi does well to break serve and hold it through to win the final set.
At the end of the 1st Tuesday 40+ degrees and watching a match finish at 3,34am. This could be explained as crazy, pissed off, ironical, unforgettable and the organisation might need to look at themselves. Starting matches at this time is crazy, but this day won't be forgotten.
Seppi vs. Reynolds
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Aus Open Day 1 Blog sorry for delays
Day 1
This is where the real action begins and all the stuff previously was just an entrée to the main dish. Though by the end of it I think I had a severe case of food poisoning caused by the shocking results that was caused by cross contamination of the shitty results. It will be memorable for the wrong reasons.
Calleri vs. Fleishman
Which ever way you look at it, this match should have been a nice comfortable opener for Calleri to ease into the second round and maybe he thought the same thing as well. All was going to plan with Calleri leading 5-2 with 2 breaks in the 1st set and then when serving for it, plays a loose game and what happened afterwards was shocking to say the least. Calleri then manages the feat of losing 8 games in a row to the legend of Fleishman, who probably hasn’t won 8 games since the Under 12s Kosher Cup and he takes the 1st set 7-5 and then lead 4-1 in the second. Calleri then wakes up and takes the next 5 games with some good backhands and dominating the rallies like he should be doing against this jabroni.
Now at 1 set all and Calleri should win in 4 sets, but big Zack has more confidence now and even that knucklehead forehand is working well and he is able to hold his serve and then Calleri throws in a game of comedic errors on serve and the Zackster got the break without having to do anything.
Then the 4th set was a combination of Fleishman playing well and Calleri mixing in a few good shots with about a 6 to 1 ratio of crap to good, missed backhands, woeful forehands and gave away another serve with 4 errors. Fleishman was good enough to take it out, but it’s disappointing to see a guy of Calleri’s talent have such a shit GS record. He allegedly had some back problems again, as he has had in the past. Even so this definitely ranks as a poor performance.
Koubek vs. Arthurs
Koubek starts well and is aggressive and easily wins the 1st set with good passing shots and Arthurs not serving to his best, but is getting beaten down. The 2nd set is closer, but Koubek is still in control of the match when the rallies were engaged and he takes the 2nd set in the tiebreaker.
The pattern continues on with Arthurs serving and volleying and Koubek hitting good passing shots and they get into the breaker and Koubek has a break as well. This in most cases would mean a routine 3 sets win for Koubek, but Arthurs starts going for more and gets the 3rd set.
With the crowd behind him, Arthurs feeds off them and Koubek is still in cautious mode in not trying to lose match instead of taking it by the balls and winning it. He is pushing the ball in court and Arthurs is taking advantage and knocking off the volleys.
Koubek then takes a break for a 2-0 lead and that should be good enough in theory against a guy who has no groundstrokes. But he became tentative again and it got to the point where Arthurs was dominating from the baseline and when it gets to that level you know something is wrong and Arthurs broke 2 times and was able to stage the comeback. Koubek has every right to be pissed off with his performance, had this match in the bag, but managed to lose it. This is classified as dickhead performance number 2.
Acasuso vs. Querrey
This was the first time I have seen Querrey live and he has the typical Yank game of flat groundies and the big first serve, movement will always be the problem for him. He seems to have a good temperament and has weapons, he will struggle on clay, but do well on the other surfaces.
Chucho is shit first up after a break and his team tried something different with the preparation by not playing Auckland, this had more to do with the Davis Cup final and the stress that caused, but hindsight is a wonderful thing. He could have played in NZ and got the crap out.
As expected there was plenty of big serving, not much finesse and the first set was very tight and Acasuso won it in a tiebreaker. The match continued in the same manner except there were longer rallies with Chucho 1km behind the baseline with the big swings and Querrey a bit closer to the baseline trying to flatten his shots and Chucho played a sloppy game at 4-5 down to lose the set 6-4.
This was the key as Chucho was moping around after losing the 2nd set and hitting aimlessly and Querrey was very controlled and executed his game plan very well and ran away with the 3rd set.
Chucho was playing better, but Querrey was able to maintain his concentration and level of play, but he failed to convert his break point opportunities and he had 5 of them in one game, well he blew 2 of them as the other 3 were saved by big serves from Samuel. Then at 4-3 in the 4th, Chucho tries to be a bit more aggressive and was dominating the rallies and had 2 easy volleys which were hideous with one of them going 3m long and that cost him his serve and then big Sam served it out to record a good win and another shit GS performance from Acasuso.
Spadea vs. Andreev
Igor needs a lot of tennis to get the best out of him and he is still a long way off from there and he will be going to South America afterwards and it will be good for his knee to play on the clay.
Spadea was just too solid and was able to hit very good length and even with Andreev in form this could have been a difficult match for him. The forehand is still heavy as, but he still won’t hit a backhand.
Ferrero vs. Hajek
Well what can one say about a 3-0 retirement in the 1st set, it seems big Jan has a stomach problem, maybe it’s a pulled muscle and he had to retire in Sydney as well. The funny thing was that Hajek was allegedly checking the internet at 10.45 which is an interesting preparation for someone with an 11 am match. Then again we all have our own way of dealing with things don’t we.
Djokovic vs.Massu
Massu has been in shit form and Nole has been playing well already and the result of this match isn’t surprising though I did think Massu would get more games. Djokovic was hitting the ball very cleanly from both sides and was breaking down that rubbish backhand of Massu. If he hit the ball as hard as he grunted then he might have got 3 games in one of the sets, but Nole was toying with Massu and it’s what is known in the industry as a raping.
The 3rd set Massu checked out and thought about his flight back to Vina del Mar and played like it. When you see El Vampiro serving and volleying then you know he has given it up for the day.
Glad to watch some tennis, but pissed off with all the shit results on this day.
This is where the real action begins and all the stuff previously was just an entrée to the main dish. Though by the end of it I think I had a severe case of food poisoning caused by the shocking results that was caused by cross contamination of the shitty results. It will be memorable for the wrong reasons.
Calleri vs. Fleishman
Which ever way you look at it, this match should have been a nice comfortable opener for Calleri to ease into the second round and maybe he thought the same thing as well. All was going to plan with Calleri leading 5-2 with 2 breaks in the 1st set and then when serving for it, plays a loose game and what happened afterwards was shocking to say the least. Calleri then manages the feat of losing 8 games in a row to the legend of Fleishman, who probably hasn’t won 8 games since the Under 12s Kosher Cup and he takes the 1st set 7-5 and then lead 4-1 in the second. Calleri then wakes up and takes the next 5 games with some good backhands and dominating the rallies like he should be doing against this jabroni.
Now at 1 set all and Calleri should win in 4 sets, but big Zack has more confidence now and even that knucklehead forehand is working well and he is able to hold his serve and then Calleri throws in a game of comedic errors on serve and the Zackster got the break without having to do anything.
Then the 4th set was a combination of Fleishman playing well and Calleri mixing in a few good shots with about a 6 to 1 ratio of crap to good, missed backhands, woeful forehands and gave away another serve with 4 errors. Fleishman was good enough to take it out, but it’s disappointing to see a guy of Calleri’s talent have such a shit GS record. He allegedly had some back problems again, as he has had in the past. Even so this definitely ranks as a poor performance.
Koubek vs. Arthurs
Koubek starts well and is aggressive and easily wins the 1st set with good passing shots and Arthurs not serving to his best, but is getting beaten down. The 2nd set is closer, but Koubek is still in control of the match when the rallies were engaged and he takes the 2nd set in the tiebreaker.
The pattern continues on with Arthurs serving and volleying and Koubek hitting good passing shots and they get into the breaker and Koubek has a break as well. This in most cases would mean a routine 3 sets win for Koubek, but Arthurs starts going for more and gets the 3rd set.
With the crowd behind him, Arthurs feeds off them and Koubek is still in cautious mode in not trying to lose match instead of taking it by the balls and winning it. He is pushing the ball in court and Arthurs is taking advantage and knocking off the volleys.
Koubek then takes a break for a 2-0 lead and that should be good enough in theory against a guy who has no groundstrokes. But he became tentative again and it got to the point where Arthurs was dominating from the baseline and when it gets to that level you know something is wrong and Arthurs broke 2 times and was able to stage the comeback. Koubek has every right to be pissed off with his performance, had this match in the bag, but managed to lose it. This is classified as dickhead performance number 2.
Acasuso vs. Querrey
This was the first time I have seen Querrey live and he has the typical Yank game of flat groundies and the big first serve, movement will always be the problem for him. He seems to have a good temperament and has weapons, he will struggle on clay, but do well on the other surfaces.
Chucho is shit first up after a break and his team tried something different with the preparation by not playing Auckland, this had more to do with the Davis Cup final and the stress that caused, but hindsight is a wonderful thing. He could have played in NZ and got the crap out.
As expected there was plenty of big serving, not much finesse and the first set was very tight and Acasuso won it in a tiebreaker. The match continued in the same manner except there were longer rallies with Chucho 1km behind the baseline with the big swings and Querrey a bit closer to the baseline trying to flatten his shots and Chucho played a sloppy game at 4-5 down to lose the set 6-4.
This was the key as Chucho was moping around after losing the 2nd set and hitting aimlessly and Querrey was very controlled and executed his game plan very well and ran away with the 3rd set.
Chucho was playing better, but Querrey was able to maintain his concentration and level of play, but he failed to convert his break point opportunities and he had 5 of them in one game, well he blew 2 of them as the other 3 were saved by big serves from Samuel. Then at 4-3 in the 4th, Chucho tries to be a bit more aggressive and was dominating the rallies and had 2 easy volleys which were hideous with one of them going 3m long and that cost him his serve and then big Sam served it out to record a good win and another shit GS performance from Acasuso.
Spadea vs. Andreev
Igor needs a lot of tennis to get the best out of him and he is still a long way off from there and he will be going to South America afterwards and it will be good for his knee to play on the clay.
Spadea was just too solid and was able to hit very good length and even with Andreev in form this could have been a difficult match for him. The forehand is still heavy as, but he still won’t hit a backhand.
Ferrero vs. Hajek
Well what can one say about a 3-0 retirement in the 1st set, it seems big Jan has a stomach problem, maybe it’s a pulled muscle and he had to retire in Sydney as well. The funny thing was that Hajek was allegedly checking the internet at 10.45 which is an interesting preparation for someone with an 11 am match. Then again we all have our own way of dealing with things don’t we.
Djokovic vs.Massu
Massu has been in shit form and Nole has been playing well already and the result of this match isn’t surprising though I did think Massu would get more games. Djokovic was hitting the ball very cleanly from both sides and was breaking down that rubbish backhand of Massu. If he hit the ball as hard as he grunted then he might have got 3 games in one of the sets, but Nole was toying with Massu and it’s what is known in the industry as a raping.
The 3rd set Massu checked out and thought about his flight back to Vina del Mar and played like it. When you see El Vampiro serving and volleying then you know he has given it up for the day.
Glad to watch some tennis, but pissed off with all the shit results on this day.
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Michael Russell qualifies for the main draw in style
Michael Russell qualifies for the main draw in style Russell vs. Mayer Thanks to the mighty Imran again for helping me with this report as there tends to be issues with me getting there on time to watch Mike’s matches and he is there to step in where I don’t make it.
Leo Mayer is a promising young Argentine player who will do well on the clay, but made an effort to come down and qualify. It was the first time I have seen him play and he has an Ok serve and a good forehand, though his backhand and movement need work.
Mayer lacks concentration and Russell breaks early on the back of unforced errors from Mayer. Then Russell fails to consolidate the break at 2-2, then Russell breaks again and they hold serve and Russell breaks again through the combination of unforced errors from Mayer and Russell working the angles well and takes the set 6-3
Russell breaks for a 2-0 lead and the pattern is set where Russell is being solid and moving the ball around and Mayer is going for more and making many errors and in this case there can only be a clear win to Russell if it goes to form. Mayer starts to lose confidence and he isn’t moving that well around the court and Russell takes advantage of this and continues jerking him around the court exposing his lack of court speed and unlike the Burgi match where he had a lapse of concentration when up a set and 4-2, in this case he runs out an easy 6-3 6-1 winner and now plays Baccanello in the final qualie round.
Russell vs. Baccanello
Only missed the first 2 games this time, though it seems it was the only time Baccanello was in the match. He came out swinging and served 3 aces in the first service game and this was not a clear indication of how the match was going to go.
Initially Baccanello was all steak, then gradually as the match wore on he was all sizzle and no meat. Russell was just too solid with a minimal unforced error count and he is playing with maximum belief and recently anytime there has been a lapse in concentration or going down a break, he has come through easily. Baccanello with his go for broke game on everything especially serve and the baseline rallies, and he was mostly off and that was down to the pressure that Russell applied on him.
The key point in this match was 6-2 2-1 and with Baccanello serving this was a very long game with Baccanello serving big to save the break points and Russell returning well to get to the break point. When Russell finally won it, then Baccanello’s spirit was crushed and his frustration of being a puppet on the string to Russell being the puppet master was clear to see.
Russell ran him coast to coast and used his superior court craft to draw the errors from the Baccanello racquet and take the match 6-2 6-1 and waltz into the main draw.
Congrats to him for qualifying after all the injury set backs and not lacking self belief in making it back. I said to him he can make it back into the top 100 if he remains injury free and some of the clowns that are there now, then good times are ahead. At the start of 2006 he was ranked around 260s and only got that high from winning the Orlando Challenger as a qualifier.
With a continuation with this form the consolidation in the top 100 is a realistic goal to achieve and as long as his health is Ok, then the results will look after themselves. Cheers to one of the most likable guys on the tennis tour.
Leo Mayer is a promising young Argentine player who will do well on the clay, but made an effort to come down and qualify. It was the first time I have seen him play and he has an Ok serve and a good forehand, though his backhand and movement need work.
Mayer lacks concentration and Russell breaks early on the back of unforced errors from Mayer. Then Russell fails to consolidate the break at 2-2, then Russell breaks again and they hold serve and Russell breaks again through the combination of unforced errors from Mayer and Russell working the angles well and takes the set 6-3
Russell breaks for a 2-0 lead and the pattern is set where Russell is being solid and moving the ball around and Mayer is going for more and making many errors and in this case there can only be a clear win to Russell if it goes to form. Mayer starts to lose confidence and he isn’t moving that well around the court and Russell takes advantage of this and continues jerking him around the court exposing his lack of court speed and unlike the Burgi match where he had a lapse of concentration when up a set and 4-2, in this case he runs out an easy 6-3 6-1 winner and now plays Baccanello in the final qualie round.
Russell vs. Baccanello
Only missed the first 2 games this time, though it seems it was the only time Baccanello was in the match. He came out swinging and served 3 aces in the first service game and this was not a clear indication of how the match was going to go.
Initially Baccanello was all steak, then gradually as the match wore on he was all sizzle and no meat. Russell was just too solid with a minimal unforced error count and he is playing with maximum belief and recently anytime there has been a lapse in concentration or going down a break, he has come through easily. Baccanello with his go for broke game on everything especially serve and the baseline rallies, and he was mostly off and that was down to the pressure that Russell applied on him.
The key point in this match was 6-2 2-1 and with Baccanello serving this was a very long game with Baccanello serving big to save the break points and Russell returning well to get to the break point. When Russell finally won it, then Baccanello’s spirit was crushed and his frustration of being a puppet on the string to Russell being the puppet master was clear to see.
Russell ran him coast to coast and used his superior court craft to draw the errors from the Baccanello racquet and take the match 6-2 6-1 and waltz into the main draw.
Congrats to him for qualifying after all the injury set backs and not lacking self belief in making it back. I said to him he can make it back into the top 100 if he remains injury free and some of the clowns that are there now, then good times are ahead. At the start of 2006 he was ranked around 260s and only got that high from winning the Orlando Challenger as a qualifier.
With a continuation with this form the consolidation in the top 100 is a realistic goal to achieve and as long as his health is Ok, then the results will look after themselves. Cheers to one of the most likable guys on the tennis tour.
Random Things
The accrediation people were very efficient and this is a surprise for sure, but a nice one.
Calleri and Luczak are loving the father roles in their lives. Luczak can't speak Swedish yet, but is getting there. Calleri won't take Sara to Australia, but the baby will be travelling everywhere else and he is still disappointed that Boca lost the Argentine championship.
Acasuso has a new physical trainer and they were doing some resistance work and I told him how proud of the DC performance in Russia I was in spite of the result. They are playing less tournaments cause of the impact DC has on Chucho and afterwards he'd be only losing in the 1st round.
Gaudio was hitting with Volandri and he got the shits and chucked his racquet against the fence and while it snapped the handle stuck out of the fence, but he was joking not long after that.
Seppi is still the quiet and down to earth guy and recognises this is his time to get his career back on track and he was hitting with Ferrero and Perlas said that he is trying to get Ferrero to stand a little further behind the baseline and not get as crowded with his body, it might work and it might not.
Djokovic and the Serbs were still drunk from celebrating Serbian New Year, but they have enough time to recover.
Koubek loves India and he appreciated the comments that the Indian commentators were saying about him, that the love was like they were his media manager at some point.
Andreev and Tursunov are still joined at the hip and Tursunov still doesn't take himself too seriously and that can only be a good thing.
PimPim looks like a Swedish tourist at best and good to see the other Swedes were there and Söderling is still a toad.
Horna and Chela were training and they were hitting the ball well unlike Massu and Behrend who could be heard in Tasmania with the grunting but the ball wasn't been hit as hard. Baby Massu is there and he is a cool kid and he won't be joining his brother on tour at all.
del Potro is very tall and he was timing the ball well and his coach needs to logout of his email accounts in future, though cause I am so kind I did that for him.
The handsome, sexy and über talented Tomas Behrend is going to be a father soon and there ias going to be a little boy, though his partner has had a lot of illness problems associated with the pregnancy.
Having some of my friends coming down tomorrow and just hope all is well with them and they turn up. I have already been let down once this trip and twice would be more than enough, but so far so good.
Calleri and Luczak are loving the father roles in their lives. Luczak can't speak Swedish yet, but is getting there. Calleri won't take Sara to Australia, but the baby will be travelling everywhere else and he is still disappointed that Boca lost the Argentine championship.
Acasuso has a new physical trainer and they were doing some resistance work and I told him how proud of the DC performance in Russia I was in spite of the result. They are playing less tournaments cause of the impact DC has on Chucho and afterwards he'd be only losing in the 1st round.
Gaudio was hitting with Volandri and he got the shits and chucked his racquet against the fence and while it snapped the handle stuck out of the fence, but he was joking not long after that.
Seppi is still the quiet and down to earth guy and recognises this is his time to get his career back on track and he was hitting with Ferrero and Perlas said that he is trying to get Ferrero to stand a little further behind the baseline and not get as crowded with his body, it might work and it might not.
Djokovic and the Serbs were still drunk from celebrating Serbian New Year, but they have enough time to recover.
Koubek loves India and he appreciated the comments that the Indian commentators were saying about him, that the love was like they were his media manager at some point.
Andreev and Tursunov are still joined at the hip and Tursunov still doesn't take himself too seriously and that can only be a good thing.
PimPim looks like a Swedish tourist at best and good to see the other Swedes were there and Söderling is still a toad.
Horna and Chela were training and they were hitting the ball well unlike Massu and Behrend who could be heard in Tasmania with the grunting but the ball wasn't been hit as hard. Baby Massu is there and he is a cool kid and he won't be joining his brother on tour at all.
del Potro is very tall and he was timing the ball well and his coach needs to logout of his email accounts in future, though cause I am so kind I did that for him.
The handsome, sexy and über talented Tomas Behrend is going to be a father soon and there ias going to be a little boy, though his partner has had a lot of illness problems associated with the pregnancy.
Having some of my friends coming down tomorrow and just hope all is well with them and they turn up. I have already been let down once this trip and twice would be more than enough, but so far so good.
2nd and 3rd round of Qualies
Economidis vs. Dupuis
The second round clash of the big Greek and the oui oui Dupuis who isn’t playing as much these days, though capable of doing some good work on this kind of surface.
The big Greek started slowly, though he has slimmed down quite a lot from his previous beefy frame. Oui oui Dupuis was hitting flat solid strokes and was more consistent and took the 1st set. There were a small Greek contingent there and in the 2nd set they started making more noise and Kostas improved his serving and was hitting better length in the rallies and at 5-4 had a multitude of set points and through a combination of tentative play and excellent serving from “oui oui” he wasn’t able to convert them.
Dupuis led 4-0 in the tiebreaker, but Kostas started going for more shots and they went in and was able to take it 7-5. Then in the 3rd set the big Greek was hitting through the ball and Dupuis become “non non” instead of ‘oui oui” and he got a breadstick for his trouble in the final set.
Koellerer vs. Bolelli
Bolelli was the seeded player in this section, but he went to 13-11 the previous day and it wasn’t surprising that he was a bit flat in this match. In spite of this, the two key factors in this match were the very low unforced errors and the excellent behaviour from Dani in this match. It was such a surprise even he admitted how shocked he was at the way he behaved in this match. Dani was using his forehand to dominate and move Bolelli around and just like most players he wants the tempo to be fast when he is dominating and he tries all the tricks when he is behind in the match or bored cause he likes a sideshow.
One funny thing he even thanked me for coming to his matches, well I am not a fan, more interested in the theatre that he brings to the game.
Silva vs. Moodie
The Brazilians were out in force for this match, Ghem, Alves, Dutra Silva and a few other fans as well and it’s good that the Brazilians do this and the Serbs are very good at supporting their own players. Silva was solid from the baseline and Moodie is a serve/volleyer and he sucks away from those two aspects of the game. Moodie wasn’t serving as well as he can and Silva was returning well and once he had Moodie pinned to the baseline, then he was able to dominate with his groundstrokes and mixing up the passing shots as well and in the 2nd set he got a late break and was able to serve it out and win in 2 sets.
Last Round of Qualies
Chiudinelli vs. Economidis
The big Greek once again was slow out of the blocks and seemed to forget the significance of the match in which he would make his first main draw of a Slam. Chiudinelli was fired up from the start and took advantage and he won the 1st set 6-0. The Greek fans were pissed off and giving Economidis some crap about being lazy, in the second set he made more of an effort and while the set was competitive, nothing was going to deny Chiudinelli a place in the main draw and his play during the 3 days deserved it.
Koellerer vs. Brian Wilson (Beach Boy)
It was a sad Saturday as the Dani show is over for another year. Once again he missed the main draw by one match and he needs to get over that psychological hurdle. Dani started well and so did Beach Boy who was serving well especially on the big points. The 1st set was an arm wrestle, Dani with the forehand and Beach Boy with his serve/volley game.
Dani was playing up as usual blaming everyone and everything. In the tiebreaker there was a funny moment, well not taking the set point wasn’t one of them. After a hard fought point and Dani hits a passing shot winner. He then screams in English “that’s a good one baby”, then Wilson says something and Dani answers “since you are the greatest volleyer ever, I have to hit it that close to the lines.
Beach Boy took the 1st set and then raced off to a double break after Dani took a timeout, he tried to come back, but the Beach Boy had too many good vibrations and was able to seal his main draw spot.
Random sightings later.
The second round clash of the big Greek and the oui oui Dupuis who isn’t playing as much these days, though capable of doing some good work on this kind of surface.
The big Greek started slowly, though he has slimmed down quite a lot from his previous beefy frame. Oui oui Dupuis was hitting flat solid strokes and was more consistent and took the 1st set. There were a small Greek contingent there and in the 2nd set they started making more noise and Kostas improved his serving and was hitting better length in the rallies and at 5-4 had a multitude of set points and through a combination of tentative play and excellent serving from “oui oui” he wasn’t able to convert them.
Dupuis led 4-0 in the tiebreaker, but Kostas started going for more shots and they went in and was able to take it 7-5. Then in the 3rd set the big Greek was hitting through the ball and Dupuis become “non non” instead of ‘oui oui” and he got a breadstick for his trouble in the final set.
Koellerer vs. Bolelli
Bolelli was the seeded player in this section, but he went to 13-11 the previous day and it wasn’t surprising that he was a bit flat in this match. In spite of this, the two key factors in this match were the very low unforced errors and the excellent behaviour from Dani in this match. It was such a surprise even he admitted how shocked he was at the way he behaved in this match. Dani was using his forehand to dominate and move Bolelli around and just like most players he wants the tempo to be fast when he is dominating and he tries all the tricks when he is behind in the match or bored cause he likes a sideshow.
One funny thing he even thanked me for coming to his matches, well I am not a fan, more interested in the theatre that he brings to the game.
Silva vs. Moodie
The Brazilians were out in force for this match, Ghem, Alves, Dutra Silva and a few other fans as well and it’s good that the Brazilians do this and the Serbs are very good at supporting their own players. Silva was solid from the baseline and Moodie is a serve/volleyer and he sucks away from those two aspects of the game. Moodie wasn’t serving as well as he can and Silva was returning well and once he had Moodie pinned to the baseline, then he was able to dominate with his groundstrokes and mixing up the passing shots as well and in the 2nd set he got a late break and was able to serve it out and win in 2 sets.
Last Round of Qualies
Chiudinelli vs. Economidis
The big Greek once again was slow out of the blocks and seemed to forget the significance of the match in which he would make his first main draw of a Slam. Chiudinelli was fired up from the start and took advantage and he won the 1st set 6-0. The Greek fans were pissed off and giving Economidis some crap about being lazy, in the second set he made more of an effort and while the set was competitive, nothing was going to deny Chiudinelli a place in the main draw and his play during the 3 days deserved it.
Koellerer vs. Brian Wilson (Beach Boy)
It was a sad Saturday as the Dani show is over for another year. Once again he missed the main draw by one match and he needs to get over that psychological hurdle. Dani started well and so did Beach Boy who was serving well especially on the big points. The 1st set was an arm wrestle, Dani with the forehand and Beach Boy with his serve/volley game.
Dani was playing up as usual blaming everyone and everything. In the tiebreaker there was a funny moment, well not taking the set point wasn’t one of them. After a hard fought point and Dani hits a passing shot winner. He then screams in English “that’s a good one baby”, then Wilson says something and Dani answers “since you are the greatest volleyer ever, I have to hit it that close to the lines.
Beach Boy took the 1st set and then raced off to a double break after Dani took a timeout, he tried to come back, but the Beach Boy had too many good vibrations and was able to seal his main draw spot.
Random sightings later.
Saturday, January 13, 2007
AO Qualies 1st round Part 2 : The Dani Show
Koellerer vs. Warburg
The Dani Koellerer show is back in Australia after a disappointing absence in 2006 and the people are happy for his return. He is like the car crash that you know you shouldn’t stop, but can’t help watching. His matches tend to be very popular in that players want to see him lose or others his antics.
In this match he was very solid from the baseline, hardly making unforced errors and was moving the taller Warburg around and exposing his lack of mobility. He wasn’t afraid to move forward and volley and played some excellent dropshots as well. He was his usual self giving shit to linespeople, ballkids and the umpire. He wants them to be involved in the Dani show.
One of the best things of the day was when he runs down a dropshot from Warburg and then hits a lob winner and then afterwards he does a running double fist pump screaming “Vamos” to a little ball kid and then a few seconds later he high 5s the kid.
Warburg pulled up with a foot problem and Dani asked him whether was Ok or not and didn’t laugh or mock him as he has done in the past. He took Warburg’s racquet and placed it by his chair and he celebrated the win, but not that much. He played some very good tennis and had the match in control and it’s a shit way to win and Peta is in love with Dani boy now.
Ghem. Vs Marray
Ghem is hilarious in every way. He is a big guy and a funny one in his own way and he is always talking to himself and funny mannerisms. It’s disappointing he couldn’t get sponsorship earlier in his career, but there is still some time for sure.
At the start of the match he couldn’t get a 1st serve in at all and that cost him a break and therefore the set. During the match he looks at me and says “What the hell is this, just running to net, this is not tennis”. While I agree with that in theory, sadly for Ghem this anti-tennis was successful.
In the second set he was serving better and was able to play more from the back and he has an excellent backhand and his forehand is quite ugly and not a fluid stroke at all. He is slow but not Behrend slow, but these two get along very well, though not sure who has the better volleys.
Have to thank Gu for telling me about Ghem and it was worth watching him, pity about the result.
Marach vs. Cilic
Marach has had an ankle problem and it’s still tender and he lacks matches and this is a guy who needs a lot of work to be at his best. This is not the ideal way to play against one of the best young players in the draw Cilic.
Big Ivo Karlovic was there and it seems they share a coach or something and yes even sitting down he is very tall. Cilic like most Croatian players has a good serve and he has very good groundstrokes and it’s clear to see why he likes the clay, but I think he will be able to adapt to most surfaces as he gains more experience.
Cilic was just a bit better overall and deserved to win in straight sets, the biggest problem for him will be how he handles the movement issue as that is going to be the key, especially for someone so tall and he is still growing. The match finished at 2230 and after the match Cilic was on court hitting for another 30 minutes.
Marach will be playing doubles and was screaming like a madman at times. He really hates night matches as he has a problem with the right eye and this also impacts on him during when the sun is going down. As for Cilic he really should make the main draw.
The Dani Koellerer show is back in Australia after a disappointing absence in 2006 and the people are happy for his return. He is like the car crash that you know you shouldn’t stop, but can’t help watching. His matches tend to be very popular in that players want to see him lose or others his antics.
In this match he was very solid from the baseline, hardly making unforced errors and was moving the taller Warburg around and exposing his lack of mobility. He wasn’t afraid to move forward and volley and played some excellent dropshots as well. He was his usual self giving shit to linespeople, ballkids and the umpire. He wants them to be involved in the Dani show.
One of the best things of the day was when he runs down a dropshot from Warburg and then hits a lob winner and then afterwards he does a running double fist pump screaming “Vamos” to a little ball kid and then a few seconds later he high 5s the kid.
Warburg pulled up with a foot problem and Dani asked him whether was Ok or not and didn’t laugh or mock him as he has done in the past. He took Warburg’s racquet and placed it by his chair and he celebrated the win, but not that much. He played some very good tennis and had the match in control and it’s a shit way to win and Peta is in love with Dani boy now.
Ghem. Vs Marray
Ghem is hilarious in every way. He is a big guy and a funny one in his own way and he is always talking to himself and funny mannerisms. It’s disappointing he couldn’t get sponsorship earlier in his career, but there is still some time for sure.
At the start of the match he couldn’t get a 1st serve in at all and that cost him a break and therefore the set. During the match he looks at me and says “What the hell is this, just running to net, this is not tennis”. While I agree with that in theory, sadly for Ghem this anti-tennis was successful.
In the second set he was serving better and was able to play more from the back and he has an excellent backhand and his forehand is quite ugly and not a fluid stroke at all. He is slow but not Behrend slow, but these two get along very well, though not sure who has the better volleys.
Have to thank Gu for telling me about Ghem and it was worth watching him, pity about the result.
Marach vs. Cilic
Marach has had an ankle problem and it’s still tender and he lacks matches and this is a guy who needs a lot of work to be at his best. This is not the ideal way to play against one of the best young players in the draw Cilic.
Big Ivo Karlovic was there and it seems they share a coach or something and yes even sitting down he is very tall. Cilic like most Croatian players has a good serve and he has very good groundstrokes and it’s clear to see why he likes the clay, but I think he will be able to adapt to most surfaces as he gains more experience.
Cilic was just a bit better overall and deserved to win in straight sets, the biggest problem for him will be how he handles the movement issue as that is going to be the key, especially for someone so tall and he is still growing. The match finished at 2230 and after the match Cilic was on court hitting for another 30 minutes.
Marach will be playing doubles and was screaming like a madman at times. He really hates night matches as he has a problem with the right eye and this also impacts on him during when the sun is going down. As for Cilic he really should make the main draw.
Friday, January 12, 2007
2007 Aus Open Ist Round Qualies Part 1
DISCLAIMER: Don’t use these reports or portions of these reports anywhere else without asking my permission to post them.
I am in report mode, so if you don't like the matches and the players I have written about, then you can either complain to me or get lost, as to what is preferable, well that depends on the individual.
Well finally the tennis has started and on today was definitely a busy one as it always is when there are that many matches around and of course that means I can’t see every point of every match, so I got some help with this report and these people who helped me will be named and appreciated for their work.
One of the few Americans I like and one of the players in form at the moment Michael Russell who won the New Caledonia Challenger for the loss of around 20 games, had a very interesting problem getting from New Caledonia to Melbourne, as they were overbooked and this meant they were stuck there and had to go to Auckland and then to Melbourne and arrived on Tuesday night.
1000 thanks to Imran for helping me with this report as he saw the 1st set as I could only get there for the 2nd set, so this will be a combination report. He was playing Larsi Burgsmuller in the 1st round and that match could have been harder than it needed to be and in this case it was a case of Russ starting slowly and being down 3-1. Then Larsi started charging the net more than he normally does and Russ was being aggressive though missing more than he has been of late. Then once Russell got the break back, then he was able to control the points and stretch Burgsmuller from side to side and was able to take the set 6-4 once he found the range and used good changes of pace.
Russell got an early break and while leading 4-2 had a lapse in concentration and then Burgi broke back to take the lead 5-4 and had 2 set points which Russell duly saved and then got back on track and showed his superiority and was running Burgi ragged and he had to take chances as Russell wasn’t missing much and had to dig in and fight hard and was able to do so.
In homage to the Brad Gilbert book “Winning Ugly”, this was not a performance of beauty, but it got the job done and that is what counts in the end. If it came down to looking pwetty (pretty) then Feliciano “LaLo” Lopez would have won a multitude of Grand Slam titles.
Pavel vs. Troicki
This was always going to be a tough one for Pavel and especially since he has had time off through injuries and Troicki does have potential to be a reasonable player. In retrospect I should have stayed away and not watched the 2nd and 3rd set of this match, as this was the one I went to after the Russell match.
It was clear to see that Pavel was lacking in match condition and Troicki broke early in the 2nd set and then Pavel broke back and took the lead, but wasn’t able to consolidate his chances and Troicki took the 2nd set.
The question was whether Pavel would be able to use his experience to be able to come through this situation or whether Troicki with the Serbian posse of Djokovic, Tipsarevic, Zimonjic watching would be able to continue on. Troicki kept the pressure on and was able to continue his aggressive play and went to a 5-1 lead before Pavel made a minor fightback and fortunately Troicki had an insurance break and was able to close the match at his second attempt. This was a combination of Pavel lacking matches and Troicki playing some good aggressive tennis.
Monroe vs. Chardy
This was on another court opposite to a match as I watching, but decided to have a look anyway. Chardy started off very well and was dominating with his forehand and took the 1st set. After this the youngster Monroe decided to change his game and incorporated the chip and charge tactics and this threw off Chardy who wasn’t able to get rhythm and since he isn’t the greatest mover his backhand or lack of was exposed and he was getting pissed off with the umpire as well and lost the last 2 sets only winning 1 game in the process.
Monroe’s dad is his coach and he seems to be a very good man and I spoke to him about racism in tennis and how it has changed over a period of time. We agreed that maybe it’s lesser than before or it’s just better hidden these days.
Snobel vs. Summerer
It’s a sad day in paradise as the Snobel permullet (image) has disappeared for the moment and maybe forever. It has now been replaced by a big mop of frizzy hair that would work in an 80s band, but not as cool as the mullet was on the Snobel. Snobel was striking the ball very clean and his main weaknesses apart from the hair are a lack of power, but he was getting some good angle on his shots. It was disappointing that he had to retire at 3-3 in the 3rd set.
Wang vs. Marc Lopez
This one had the potential to be a sleeper match of the 1st round and it was a high quality match. There was some good hitting from both guys, albeit in different ways. Wang has the typical Asian game with good stroke production with little spin and Lopez was hitting a very heavy forehand and running around his backhand to hit off-forehands.
Wang had his Taiwanese fanbase there cheering for everything and it was only myself and these 2 others that were cheering for Lopez. The main difference in this match was that Lopez played the big points better and was fighting very hard to get the extra ball back into play and it worked for him.
On a sidenote all seems to be well with Felix Mantilla these days, but Lopez doesn’t believe that his friend will make a comeback to tennis.
Alves vs. De Voest
It was the 1st time that I saw Alves play live and he isn’t a bad player and could exist in between the 80-100 section at best. This was a poor tactical match from Alves and he wasn’t originally going to play in the qualies and he only signed in as an alternate, then only played when Vinciguerra sadly withdrew with some knee trouble again.
De Voest like most South Africans has a solid serve, good volleys and is comfortable on the surface. The South Americans aren’t used to the serve/volleyers and Alves didn’t return well and it’s not like de Voest is a dangerous on serve, but Thiago couldn’t hit enough returns to get them into court. When he did he was better from the baseline and de Voest was just hitting them back and Alves didn’t use enough of the angles to open up the slower De Voest. After a close 1st set, it was not surprising that Alves checked out mentally in the 2nd set.
Silva vs. Haase
Thanks to Sammy and Joe for this one as I was only able to see bits of this match. From what I saw and was reported it was every entertaining and went down to 13-11 in the 3rd. As much as Silva does look like a monkey, the buffoon Pashanski was out of line with his racist comments, but that’s another story. There were some good rallies and some sneaky gamesmanship where Silva called for the trainer and took a time out at 30-30 late in the 3rd set and Haase thought he might as well take one while he had the chance to do so.
Haase has talent for sure, but the question for him is to see whether he will be able to step up and make the top 40 or be someone with good results but lacks consistency.
Peya vs. Behrend
Not sure why I chose to watch this. Yes, I know the reason, it was cause of the man known as Tomas Ugo Behrend and yes he is the PMA “Poor Mans Acasuso” and slower at that as well.
He had the bright blue shoes and the overgrunting was still there as usual, but the former surprise result isn’t there and it’s only a surprise when he wins in singles these days. The sad thing about this match was that Peya won 1 and 2 and wasn’t exactly playing well.
One highlight for Behrend was when he hit an excellent backhand towards the end. He screamed out “finally when I am match point down then I hit a good backhand” and that was the main thing in this match was that Behrend made too many errors.
After the match Peya and Behrend were walking off together and just talking about everything as if they have just finished a village warm up tournament. As bad as it was in the singles, the man known as Behrend will be playing doubles with Vik.
I am in report mode, so if you don't like the matches and the players I have written about, then you can either complain to me or get lost, as to what is preferable, well that depends on the individual.
Well finally the tennis has started and on today was definitely a busy one as it always is when there are that many matches around and of course that means I can’t see every point of every match, so I got some help with this report and these people who helped me will be named and appreciated for their work.
One of the few Americans I like and one of the players in form at the moment Michael Russell who won the New Caledonia Challenger for the loss of around 20 games, had a very interesting problem getting from New Caledonia to Melbourne, as they were overbooked and this meant they were stuck there and had to go to Auckland and then to Melbourne and arrived on Tuesday night.
1000 thanks to Imran for helping me with this report as he saw the 1st set as I could only get there for the 2nd set, so this will be a combination report. He was playing Larsi Burgsmuller in the 1st round and that match could have been harder than it needed to be and in this case it was a case of Russ starting slowly and being down 3-1. Then Larsi started charging the net more than he normally does and Russ was being aggressive though missing more than he has been of late. Then once Russell got the break back, then he was able to control the points and stretch Burgsmuller from side to side and was able to take the set 6-4 once he found the range and used good changes of pace.
Russell got an early break and while leading 4-2 had a lapse in concentration and then Burgi broke back to take the lead 5-4 and had 2 set points which Russell duly saved and then got back on track and showed his superiority and was running Burgi ragged and he had to take chances as Russell wasn’t missing much and had to dig in and fight hard and was able to do so.
In homage to the Brad Gilbert book “Winning Ugly”, this was not a performance of beauty, but it got the job done and that is what counts in the end. If it came down to looking pwetty (pretty) then Feliciano “LaLo” Lopez would have won a multitude of Grand Slam titles.
Pavel vs. Troicki
This was always going to be a tough one for Pavel and especially since he has had time off through injuries and Troicki does have potential to be a reasonable player. In retrospect I should have stayed away and not watched the 2nd and 3rd set of this match, as this was the one I went to after the Russell match.
It was clear to see that Pavel was lacking in match condition and Troicki broke early in the 2nd set and then Pavel broke back and took the lead, but wasn’t able to consolidate his chances and Troicki took the 2nd set.
The question was whether Pavel would be able to use his experience to be able to come through this situation or whether Troicki with the Serbian posse of Djokovic, Tipsarevic, Zimonjic watching would be able to continue on. Troicki kept the pressure on and was able to continue his aggressive play and went to a 5-1 lead before Pavel made a minor fightback and fortunately Troicki had an insurance break and was able to close the match at his second attempt. This was a combination of Pavel lacking matches and Troicki playing some good aggressive tennis.
Monroe vs. Chardy
This was on another court opposite to a match as I watching, but decided to have a look anyway. Chardy started off very well and was dominating with his forehand and took the 1st set. After this the youngster Monroe decided to change his game and incorporated the chip and charge tactics and this threw off Chardy who wasn’t able to get rhythm and since he isn’t the greatest mover his backhand or lack of was exposed and he was getting pissed off with the umpire as well and lost the last 2 sets only winning 1 game in the process.
Monroe’s dad is his coach and he seems to be a very good man and I spoke to him about racism in tennis and how it has changed over a period of time. We agreed that maybe it’s lesser than before or it’s just better hidden these days.
Snobel vs. Summerer
It’s a sad day in paradise as the Snobel permullet (image) has disappeared for the moment and maybe forever. It has now been replaced by a big mop of frizzy hair that would work in an 80s band, but not as cool as the mullet was on the Snobel. Snobel was striking the ball very clean and his main weaknesses apart from the hair are a lack of power, but he was getting some good angle on his shots. It was disappointing that he had to retire at 3-3 in the 3rd set.
Wang vs. Marc Lopez
This one had the potential to be a sleeper match of the 1st round and it was a high quality match. There was some good hitting from both guys, albeit in different ways. Wang has the typical Asian game with good stroke production with little spin and Lopez was hitting a very heavy forehand and running around his backhand to hit off-forehands.
Wang had his Taiwanese fanbase there cheering for everything and it was only myself and these 2 others that were cheering for Lopez. The main difference in this match was that Lopez played the big points better and was fighting very hard to get the extra ball back into play and it worked for him.
On a sidenote all seems to be well with Felix Mantilla these days, but Lopez doesn’t believe that his friend will make a comeback to tennis.
Alves vs. De Voest
It was the 1st time that I saw Alves play live and he isn’t a bad player and could exist in between the 80-100 section at best. This was a poor tactical match from Alves and he wasn’t originally going to play in the qualies and he only signed in as an alternate, then only played when Vinciguerra sadly withdrew with some knee trouble again.
De Voest like most South Africans has a solid serve, good volleys and is comfortable on the surface. The South Americans aren’t used to the serve/volleyers and Alves didn’t return well and it’s not like de Voest is a dangerous on serve, but Thiago couldn’t hit enough returns to get them into court. When he did he was better from the baseline and de Voest was just hitting them back and Alves didn’t use enough of the angles to open up the slower De Voest. After a close 1st set, it was not surprising that Alves checked out mentally in the 2nd set.
Silva vs. Haase
Thanks to Sammy and Joe for this one as I was only able to see bits of this match. From what I saw and was reported it was every entertaining and went down to 13-11 in the 3rd. As much as Silva does look like a monkey, the buffoon Pashanski was out of line with his racist comments, but that’s another story. There were some good rallies and some sneaky gamesmanship where Silva called for the trainer and took a time out at 30-30 late in the 3rd set and Haase thought he might as well take one while he had the chance to do so.
Haase has talent for sure, but the question for him is to see whether he will be able to step up and make the top 40 or be someone with good results but lacks consistency.
Peya vs. Behrend
Not sure why I chose to watch this. Yes, I know the reason, it was cause of the man known as Tomas Ugo Behrend and yes he is the PMA “Poor Mans Acasuso” and slower at that as well.
He had the bright blue shoes and the overgrunting was still there as usual, but the former surprise result isn’t there and it’s only a surprise when he wins in singles these days. The sad thing about this match was that Peya won 1 and 2 and wasn’t exactly playing well.
One highlight for Behrend was when he hit an excellent backhand towards the end. He screamed out “finally when I am match point down then I hit a good backhand” and that was the main thing in this match was that Behrend made too many errors.
After the match Peya and Behrend were walking off together and just talking about everything as if they have just finished a village warm up tournament. As bad as it was in the singles, the man known as Behrend will be playing doubles with Vik.
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Quarter Finals
Safin vs. Hrbaty. When I heard the roof was going to be closed for this match. One I was pissed off because they played with it open for the previous 2 matches and should have kept it open. The second reason was that the match was played indoors which would totally benefit Marat and the advantages of superior conditioning and fitness that Hrbaty has were taken away because of a decision from above.
They measure it by 36 degrees air temperature and 30 per cent humidity and if it reaches this then the roof will be closed. As the roof was closed this match wasn't really a contest as the conditions which could effect Marat's game weren't apparent and then he really went on to show why he is one of the premier players indoors.
Once he got into the groove on serve he just dominated the match and Hrbaty sadly wasn't in it at all. Dominik had flashes, but it was only small glimpses and I do think he was upset that the roof was closed and had a right to be, at the same time he had to adjust to the conditions and wasn't able to as Marat was better in every form in the game. It was an awesome performance from the big man and I am happy that he is coached by Lundgren as they seem to work together very well. Hrbaty congrats on a fine tournament and even taking out Gaudio in that manner still deserves applause.
Federer vs. Agassi. The hype around the grounds was huge for sure, but I was quite content in watching the match in the garden on the big screen as I don't care too much about Agassi. In addition to this it was next to impossible to get a ticket as the line waiting on returns and cancellations was huge and not moving, so I took the easy option.
Found a seat and then what can I say about this match is a summary really. Federer treated Baldy with contempt, he broke serve when he wanted to do and just held the advantage as he had plenty in reserve. Roger was hitting some great shots and in reality he was making Agassi look like an old guy. I have to say I found it amusing to say the least to see Roger kill him the score might have looked alright, but it's not like Roger was ever troubled and he will need to be on his game for the next matches.
Australia Day wasn't a great day for me, then again it's national day with quite a few drunken fools around and that isn't surprising.
It was cool to see Fromberg/Wilander playing doubles, though I find it hard to see how can Richard Fromberg be a legend, he only won Båstad once, then again he is Tasmania's best ever player and that's good enough. These guys were playing well and they had fun which is important and they made the oldies doubles.
I saw David practicing with Eduardo in the evening, Eduardo doesn't have a bad backhand and it was only a short session and his brother was there. I had never seen him, but the eyes were too similar then I looked at the badge and yes they are brothers. There were some pissed clowns from the top walkway screaming "you're going down Nalbandian", it's alright he didn't take any notice at all.
This match was very difficult to be a Nalbandian fan as it was national day with a bunch of Aussies and I didn't get a ticket, but the square was packed for sure. Hewitt got out early and was playing very well and Nalle seemed a bit out of sorts and was making some errors that he normally wouldn't. I just hoped that the nerves would settle down eventually and then he would be able to show some of his talents.
Hewitt settled quicker and took the 1st set easily, then Nalle had 15-40 in the 2nd set and to me he had to win this game and get some momentum, but sadly he blew it and then Hewitt was able to refocus on the job at hand and was playing solidly and won the 2nd set to 2.
Lucky the fireworks which were very good, lod and spectacular well as much as I like fireworks anyway. This helped Nalle as he tightened up and wasn't making as many errors on that backhand as he was spraying them everywhere. Then Nalle was able to move Hewitt around the court and when he is playing well I love how he uses the court with angles and his ability to manouever the opponent out of court. He is improving and finally gets a break and takes the 3rd set.
The 4th set Nalle continues on the same vein and is hitting some good winners and it seems that Hewitt has gone off to the races for a while, but if it got to a 5th I doubt that the Potato will always be around at the end sadly. I thought Nalle had the chance for a bagel and I was chanting bagel, bagel and all the Aussies were so quiet during this time of the match and then Dave takes it for 6-1.
Here comes the business end now and knowing that Hewitt doesn't give away any presents. I was worried about Nalle's serve as everyone knows what a liability it can be at times. He is serving well by his standards and the thing that really frustrated me about this match was the amount of times that he had 30 all on Hewitt's serve and didn't make the return into play either into the net or just long on the backhand, then later he came out with great winners.
I was cheering on as best as I could, but Hewitt kept holding serve and I thought the longer he couldn't break Hewitt, the closer it was to Nalle losing his serve and at 8-8 the 15-40 and the head went down and he lost serve.
Hewitt then served it out and he was too good in the vital moments. Nalle played very well at the end and it was very close and in the future he can win those matches, but I am proud of the way he played.The funny thing was the guys who were going for Nalle could see me walking away dejectedly as all the Aussies were celebrating, the thought of having to go for Hewitt was fresh in my mind and the head shaking was constant for at least 30 mins, but a good performance by both.
They measure it by 36 degrees air temperature and 30 per cent humidity and if it reaches this then the roof will be closed. As the roof was closed this match wasn't really a contest as the conditions which could effect Marat's game weren't apparent and then he really went on to show why he is one of the premier players indoors.
Once he got into the groove on serve he just dominated the match and Hrbaty sadly wasn't in it at all. Dominik had flashes, but it was only small glimpses and I do think he was upset that the roof was closed and had a right to be, at the same time he had to adjust to the conditions and wasn't able to as Marat was better in every form in the game. It was an awesome performance from the big man and I am happy that he is coached by Lundgren as they seem to work together very well. Hrbaty congrats on a fine tournament and even taking out Gaudio in that manner still deserves applause.
Federer vs. Agassi. The hype around the grounds was huge for sure, but I was quite content in watching the match in the garden on the big screen as I don't care too much about Agassi. In addition to this it was next to impossible to get a ticket as the line waiting on returns and cancellations was huge and not moving, so I took the easy option.
Found a seat and then what can I say about this match is a summary really. Federer treated Baldy with contempt, he broke serve when he wanted to do and just held the advantage as he had plenty in reserve. Roger was hitting some great shots and in reality he was making Agassi look like an old guy. I have to say I found it amusing to say the least to see Roger kill him the score might have looked alright, but it's not like Roger was ever troubled and he will need to be on his game for the next matches.
Australia Day wasn't a great day for me, then again it's national day with quite a few drunken fools around and that isn't surprising.
It was cool to see Fromberg/Wilander playing doubles, though I find it hard to see how can Richard Fromberg be a legend, he only won Båstad once, then again he is Tasmania's best ever player and that's good enough. These guys were playing well and they had fun which is important and they made the oldies doubles.
I saw David practicing with Eduardo in the evening, Eduardo doesn't have a bad backhand and it was only a short session and his brother was there. I had never seen him, but the eyes were too similar then I looked at the badge and yes they are brothers. There were some pissed clowns from the top walkway screaming "you're going down Nalbandian", it's alright he didn't take any notice at all.
This match was very difficult to be a Nalbandian fan as it was national day with a bunch of Aussies and I didn't get a ticket, but the square was packed for sure. Hewitt got out early and was playing very well and Nalle seemed a bit out of sorts and was making some errors that he normally wouldn't. I just hoped that the nerves would settle down eventually and then he would be able to show some of his talents.
Hewitt settled quicker and took the 1st set easily, then Nalle had 15-40 in the 2nd set and to me he had to win this game and get some momentum, but sadly he blew it and then Hewitt was able to refocus on the job at hand and was playing solidly and won the 2nd set to 2.
Lucky the fireworks which were very good, lod and spectacular well as much as I like fireworks anyway. This helped Nalle as he tightened up and wasn't making as many errors on that backhand as he was spraying them everywhere. Then Nalle was able to move Hewitt around the court and when he is playing well I love how he uses the court with angles and his ability to manouever the opponent out of court. He is improving and finally gets a break and takes the 3rd set.
The 4th set Nalle continues on the same vein and is hitting some good winners and it seems that Hewitt has gone off to the races for a while, but if it got to a 5th I doubt that the Potato will always be around at the end sadly. I thought Nalle had the chance for a bagel and I was chanting bagel, bagel and all the Aussies were so quiet during this time of the match and then Dave takes it for 6-1.
Here comes the business end now and knowing that Hewitt doesn't give away any presents. I was worried about Nalle's serve as everyone knows what a liability it can be at times. He is serving well by his standards and the thing that really frustrated me about this match was the amount of times that he had 30 all on Hewitt's serve and didn't make the return into play either into the net or just long on the backhand, then later he came out with great winners.
I was cheering on as best as I could, but Hewitt kept holding serve and I thought the longer he couldn't break Hewitt, the closer it was to Nalle losing his serve and at 8-8 the 15-40 and the head went down and he lost serve.
Hewitt then served it out and he was too good in the vital moments. Nalle played very well at the end and it was very close and in the future he can win those matches, but I am proud of the way he played.The funny thing was the guys who were going for Nalle could see me walking away dejectedly as all the Aussies were celebrating, the thought of having to go for Hewitt was fresh in my mind and the head shaking was constant for at least 30 mins, but a good performance by both.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)