Women's Final

Go SERENA WILLIAMS!!!!!!!

Australian Open: Rafael Nadal

By Haruka




Alright. I spent a long time thinking about Rafael Nadal's match against Fernando Gonzalez. There were several things that just struck me wrong as I watched the match and the longer I thought about it the more the several things bothered me. First off I want to say Gonzalez simply outplayed Nadal. He knew what shots to hit, when to hit them how to hit them, and when and where to crush Nadal's confidence.

Nadal and Coaching

The thing that immediately struck me as odd was the body language of Nadal. From the first point, he looked almost shocked. It was almost as if he ignored all of Gonzalez's results and instead thought he would have to play his normal brand of tennis to beat him.


What was even more shocking was Toni Nadal's reaction to the match. He seemed completely indifferent to the match. He did not seem remotely interested in how is nephew was playing or why Nadal was being completely outclassed. It was almost like he himself did not remotely have an idea on how to take out Gonzalez or whatever plan he might have had Nadal was perhaps too arrogent to take it.


Whatever the reason, Rafael Nadal lost his very good chance to win the Australian. With Roger losing to Andy Roddick in an exhibition and his streaky match play, he could have made it to the final. He has the rest of his year cut out for him and even though he gained points in the Australian Open he has a tough clay court season ahead of him and has to defend his Wimbledon points. And after all of that, he somehow has to learn to do a better job of performing at the US Open. Though he is 2000 points ahead of his closest rival, Federer's gap is only widening. And as the only real point threatening player, Nadal needs to step it up. And a nice place to start is his confidence.

Australian Open: Day 9

By Haruka


Men's Tennis

The match was boring. The expected winner won and Roddick is in the final four. He will likely play Federer next.

Women's Tennis

When Serena lost the first set many people might have sighed and rolled their eyes. Her inconsistant play bought upon unrealistic expectations for the younger William's sister. Peer should get an incredible amount of credit because of her persistant and consistant play. She faded in the second set as Serena Williams uped her level of play, the equation giving Serena earned the second set. As the third set started on, Serena ran ahead but Peer not ready to go out without a fight uped her level while she forced Serena to make mistakes. Peer fought to match point but Serena, determined not to lose, managed to close the extremely tight match and win. Peer will be back.


Serena's side of the draw is WIDe open and she has to be feeling confident. However, she is still a dangerous floater playing a dangerous opponet. She has to be prepared but things occured in her draw no one could have predicted. Hopefully she will take advantage of her situation.

Day 10's matches look interesting.

Tootles

Australian Open Day: Day Five

By Haruka

Oh before we start. What happened to day Four? There was nothing worth mentioning. So let's move on to day FIVE!!!



Of course everyone is anticipating the Roddick vs Safin match but a few things did happened before that. Let's review.



Petrova vs Williams

The first match of the day, started off with Petrova decimating Williams the first set, 6-1. It was in the second set Serena exploded, and lead three games to love. However Petrova was determined to fight and soon gained three straight games. Battling from behind and showing her skill, Petrova was serving for the match. With pure will alone Williams fought back and showing why she dominated womens tennis, took the set 7-5. The third set score does not reflect the play seen. Though Williams won the set 6-3, she had to battle for every point won. With a win against Petrova, Williams may not win the Australian but if she keeps it up, the women on the women players better watch out.

Australian Open Day: Day Three

By Haruka


Well thanks to three overtimes of the college basketball match, American viewers were not able to really see much of the Andy Roddick match. What I did manage to see, Roddick played much better than his first round match. His serve, as expected, was phenomenal. His court awareness has greatly improved and his returns are improving. Considering Roddick’s part of the draw, there is little doubt in my mind that he will make at least the fourth round if he can get past the Russian.



Though there is live tennis going on, including former world number one and Australian Open winner Marat Safin’s match, they have continued on with their “schedule” and have continued on showing Serena Williams match.


Serena Williams

From the let go, I start to wonder are they seriously going to list her disappointing stats every match she plays? It gets more than a little repetitive and hopefully after her win they will maybe cut the narrative a bit. Serena did not help her cause or mine, as she slowly and awkwardly started the first set. Her rhythm was almost non-existent, her footwork was sloppy and she seemed too timid to go for her shots like she needed to. By the time she woke up she was already in the tiebreak. In the tiebreak, Serena Williams because of her hesitance was trailing in the tiebreak but managed to pull it out and win with superior shots and her improving serve. In the second set Serena stormed through the first three games but was unable to keep her momentum going and slightly let her opponent back into the game. Kremer only managed to win two games and Serena moved ahead to the third round. On a plus side her final rally brought memories of a old Serena.

Serena’s main problems are her confidence and fitness. Her confidence can be boosted over a big win, which can possibly come from her next match. Her body, however, was/is still unaccustomed to the long rallies and she really tested the extent of her fitness. The more Serena keeps it up and plays by the French she will be ready to win her next slam.

Marat Safin

And Safin has a lot of nerve. Wow. But I guess an injured leg will do that to a person. Safin, who by a miracle of God and rain, called a stop of play as he was two points away from defeat. As he came back on court, he appeared to be another person. Starting with an ace, Safin did not look back as he continued to dominate the tie break and fifth set. Next Safin plays Roddick in what should be an amazing match. Safin better come ready to play because Roddick is looking at the final and Safin cannot always depend on the rain.

Marcos Baghdatis vs Gael Monfils

Also, in other news. Monfils scored a huge upset over Baghdatis. Because of ESPNs in abilty to show the coveerage of the match and they pretty much speak for themselves. Monfils had a higher first serve percentage, more aces, considerably less amount of unforced errors than Baghdatis, more winners, a higher percentage of break point conversions and total ammount of points won. In Bagdatis' first round match his sluggish play, lack of heart, and just tiredness, his loss in the second round is not overwhelmingly surprising.

Tootles

The Australian Open: Day Two

By Haruka


The party vibe of the Australian Open was dampened today by the lingering effects of the antics of Serbs and Croats and the security placed on Mario Ancic did not help. But tennis continued to go on in the forms of either extremely breath stopping tennis or matches that took two minutes to finish. Due to the incredibly hot weather many matches did not go on. The first matches of the day did occur on the outer courts and after that players were not allowed on court due to the extreme on court temperature.




Women's Tennis in Summary

This is Kim's last year and being the number four ranked player she is a contender to win the Australian Open. Coming out on a mission, Kim took out Russian Vasilisa Bardina in 44 minutes and did not let the Russian take a game. Another match that was over in short order was Martina Hingis verses Nathalie Dechy of France. Hingis won the first set in 19 minutes and did not let the Frenchwoman get on the board until the second set. The second set took a bit longer, 35 minutes, and though Dechy won two games, the Maneater aka Hingis won the second set and moved on to the second round.


Other winners of the day were Ana Ivanovic's routine win over American Vania King and Russia's Anastassia Rodionova defeat of Roberta Vinci from Italy. Slightly tougher wins came to Anna Chakvetadze, the number 12 seed from Russia, and her defeat over Sybille Bammer in two sets, 6-4 and 7-5. Then there was Sania Mirza's defeat of Olga Savchuk in 6-3 and 7-5. Luckily for you patriotic tennis fans out there, an American women, Laura Granville, managed to have a pretty easy win over Yulia Beygelzimer from the Ukraine.

The Big Women's Match

Maria Sharapova was first to play today. In what most figured would be a cake walk to the second round turned into a battle against the heat and a battle of wills in the third set. Sharapova took her famous bathroom breaks at the end of her surprising loss of the second set and though she led the 3rd set 5 games to 0 her opponent, Camille Pin, went all out and managed to come back from behind and push the game on. Sharapova, overcome by the the court temperature of 120 degrees and what looked like a pinch to her side, had to fight Pin's match points and had to fight to get her own match points and finally overcame Pin to take the final set 9-7 and win the match she owes to the break she took in the third set.

Men's Tennis In Summary

Despite the incredible heat there happened to be a few four four and five set matches. A few easy wins for Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador rally over Alan Mackin of Britain, Argentina's Juan Chela victory over Italy's Potito Starace, and Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic defeat of Hyung-Taik Lee.


Of the four set matches Australian Robert Smeets won against Luckas Lacko of Slovakia, Mischa Zverev defeat of Michael Berrer both coming from Germany, and Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland disappointing defeat of American Kevin Kim.


Of the five set matches There was Chile's Paul Capdeville win over Julien Benneteau, American Robby Ginepri tough win over Nicolas Almagro who comes from Spain. Argentina's David "Fat Dave" Nalbandian's just barely managed to hold on and greatly appreciated Serbia's Janko Tipsarvic who in the fifth set could not handle the Australian summer and retired. Another surprise was Olivier Rochus of Belgium win of over Chris Guccione much to the disappointment of Australian tennis fans.

The Big Men's Matches

First up was Rafael Nadal's match. This is the second year Nadal has played and the first year he has to battle with expectations. As the match started Nadal's tentativeness showed and Robert Kendrick's tenacity kept the first set even and forced the players to go to a tie break. Nadal slowly becoming more comfortable on court had to battle to get win the first set tie break but afterwards was on fire. Winning the second set 6-3 and the third set 6-2, he edged ahead of Kendrick lining up brilliant shots and his pure athleticism helped him win the match.


Currently 3:15 EST, it is the second set of the American James Blake and Mallorcan Carlos Moya's first round match. Though the first set was pretty even, James Blake despite his forehand errors, played a better tie break and won the first set. In the second set, with the confidence and game, James Blake is currently over powering the still rusty Carlos Moya to break ahead in the second set. Blake has plunged ahead and won the second set, 6-2 and is currently on his way to winning the match.

Random Commentary

Maria Sharapova obviously dresses herself or wanted to spark Lolita fantasies in men. Her hideous dress was thankfully occasionally covered by the shade she would understandably cower in at any opportunity. Patrick McEnroe's arrogant hopefulness that Kendrick would win over Nadal was not only misplaced but was also nauseating. Patrick's unprofessional one-sided commentary over Blake's match should be taken note of. Also the fact that he is still jerking off over Roddick's "great" win yesterday should be not only be noted but praised because I figured his hand would be tired by now.

Tootles

The Australian Open and Grand Slam Tennis: A Different View

The Australian Open: A Perspective

By Haruka


So what is it about the Australian Open? Yes, it is the first major tennis event of the year. Yes, it is a test of endurance, and while all events are testing, the sweltering heat of Australia (ignore the retractable roof, it is called humidity and that sky rockets once the roof is closed), the sticky surface of the court, and the lingering jet lag faced by late arrivals to Melbourne only adds to the physical challenges the players face. And no, I am not talking about the top players; they are in Australia for at least two weeks before the event. Even the lower ranked players have begun to head towards Australia at the end of December to play in some of the tournaments that precede the Australian Open Series. Many of these players do not participate in the exhibitions the top players play in during December and arrive rusty after finishing their seasons in October or November.


Because of the longevity of the tennis season, many players arrive with injuries that they got in the previous year. The Australian Open is the youngest Open and as the youngest open its exuberant personality coupled with the psychological anticipation and performance anxiety that can cripple players, anything goes and anyone can win. Marat Safin , with his injured knee won 2005 Australian Open in a high intensity match that not only was the talk of the town for the rest of the year but also sparked the hope of Marat fans for his resurgence.


A crucial factor of the Australian Open is when it takes place. The Australian Open starts towards the middle of January and finishes at the end of the month. Since the next grand slam, The French Open, is not until the end of May, Wimbledon follows that event in June and the US Open begins the end of August, this leaves the Australian Open champions five months of bragging rights. It also gives a boost to their confidence and the mental intimidation helps the player in the following tournaments. Even the final four get honorable mentions for the rest of the year.

For players like Marcos Baghdatis whose miraculous run to the final of the Australian Open catapulted him into the big kids swimming pool (though he has not quite learned how to swim in those deep waters, he is not leaving that pool any time soon) and others – think 19 year old Amelie Mauresmo, it is the gateway to the big time, the way to get your name mentioned and your career followed by tennis fans around the world. In Rafael Nadal's first break through year, he pushed Lleyton Hewitt to the max and gave him the momentum to win not only eleven single titles that included his first Grand Slam win; The French Open. It also effects the losers because they are then under pressure to produce results in the following tournaments they play in. As the Australian Open officially starts the New Year of tennis we will see what whose star continues to shine, start to shine or fade.


The Australian Open now has an Australian Open Series that is just like the U.S Open series. The Australian Open Series gives players an added incentive to get into shape and be ready to play Grand Slam tennis when the Open begins. Unlike the US Open series where many of the top players do not show up due to their various attempts to recover due to the back to back Slams, the Australian Open is successful in drawing big names because it gets players into shape after the off season. The Asian/Pacific Rim tournaments that kick start the tennis season can be nicknamed the "Rebound Ace" season. The clay court season, though the entire year has clay court events, reaches its height with Roland Garros . The United States summer hard court season has its US Open Series. Only Wimbledon at the present time has no "season" and seems to be sandwiched in after the French Open. Though there are talks about changing the Open schedule, there is no solution that anybody is willing to agree to.


Purists talk about the tradition and history of Wimbledon to justify its premier position in the world of tennis. The grass courts of Wimbledon encourage serve and volley play, a style of play which seems to be enshrined by American and British players and not by many other players in the rest of the world. It is interesting that in the Open era of the thirty nine Wimbledon Champions only three were from countries that had not at one point had British troops on their soil. The grass court style of play does not encourage tactical thinking. Hitting the ball hard and then rushing the net can hardly be considered tactical. Another reason for the decline of grass courts and grass court season is the expense it takes to maintain grass courts. While there is talk of creating a grass court season this can only be done if they change the Grand Slam schedule and find a sponsor that would not mind covering the year round cost for the upkeep of the grass courts.


Wimbledon was the first major title that tested a tennis player's skill. And as the oldest title a certain amount of honor goes to the winner. There is no tennis player alive who will complain about winning Wimbledon but a tennis players career is no longer judged solely on winning Wimbledon.





The Australian Open starts January 15, 2007 and ends January 28th 2007 .

Well

I was forced to do this.