Aussie Open quarter-final musings

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Lopsided quarters

With important seeds being booted out in Petra, Masha and Andy's draws, there were three cases of heavyweight/lightweight match-ups.The great thing about this? It allowed for some much coveted sleep time. Sleep is for the me.

How Rafa got his groove back

It took Tomas Berdych, a bad call from Carlos Bernardes and a lucky break in the second set to ignite el pasion in Rafa. He acknowledged he started nervous and that at times he stood "20m behind the baseline" and for a while it looked as though Tomas was going to pull off the upset. Tomas played excellently, he was so solid, error free and tactically sound for most of the match, I wanted to punch him in the face. But when Rafa's gets as animated as he did, it's tough to get past him.

Having been robbed of the 1st set (shhh, I'm a fan) but catching a break in the 2nd - it was like he was battling his 2011 demons in that moment and managed to break free of the mental prison that Novak threw him in last year. He then when on to play how he should for the next two sets- stepping up on the baseline; hitting flatter and harder. Credit to Tomas who by no means disappeared for the rest of the match, but listen to what Rafa said:

"The most important thing I had the calm".

You guys.

No. 1 no more

Kim (who's ankle thankfully held up enough) showed Caro how it's done. The defending champ just had too much game for Caro, who even Hingis, urged to "step forward". Caro remained optimistic afterwards though, remarking that time was on her side. Whether that was a dig at Kimmie or not, we'll never know. Caro's now Slamless and no. 1-less. Who knows, maybe the loss of her beloved no.1 will spark the necessary change in her game.

Ferrer's disbelief

Daveeed had us going there for a minute. With his unrelenting brand of tennis he was able to make Nole look human for the first 2 sets. He could and should have made Djokovic play at least 4 sets, but when it came to the crunch - i.e. 4-2 up in the second set tiebreak, he just didn't believe in himself nearly enough. Ferrer, please don't believe those who underestimate you.

Nole should take solace in how he played in the 3rd set - he can't afford to go for anything less when he plays Andy. (I should probably win an Obvious award for that statement).

(Pic: Getty)

Aussie Open 4th round blatherings

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Comeback Kim

Coming back from 4 match points down in a second set tiebreak with a rolled ankle to win a match - that's boss. Kim C managed to pull that off much to her surprise. And no doubt Li Na's as well, who was just in shear disbelief that she could throw away a match that was on her racquet. 4 times. Poor Na was unsurprisingly in hysterics in her post match presser. It's a shame - she was finally finding her form after her maiden Slam slump, only to throw such a crucial match on the stage where her career year begun. Let's hope she bounces back nicely and can once again be a force for the rest of the season. 

Kimbo will go on to play Caro and I'm praying her ankle is ok, because THIS, I want to see. I'm always up for student v master scenarios. Yes I believe compared to an "on" Kim, Caro's still a student.

Rafa report

Rafa's doing good - he's still serving B52s. He's playing Mr Baby (Berdych) next which will be a step up in terms of competition/quality but I expect him to come through nicely - provided I stay up to watch the match and only take my eyes off the screen to blink and tweet. Experience tells me that you shouldn't leave Rafa unsupervised.

Tourney faves

Andy is comfortable y'all. He said so. I mean I'd be comfy if I knew I had a spot the semi-final. Not to take anything away from Nishikori - who is a fine, fine player and has pulled off a mighty fine win (more below), but we all know he's not going to trouble comfAndy. Jo Willy on the other hand could've if he didn't decide to leave his form in Doha.

Novak is still looking great. I'm not going to say much about Hewitt as I'm bitter I missed the end of what I thought would be a routine match to take a Power Pump class at the gym (bad decisions). So read this for sentimental Hewittness. 

Am I seeing things, or does Nole look a little bit less impervious than his usual 2011 self - he's got to be feeling the pressure from the weight of expectation that last year gave birth to - and I think its manifesting in his game. Or is it just wishful thinking? (Rafa fan, remember). Only time will tell - I still have him as a firm favourite for this tournie though.

The student and the master

Roger showed Tomic how it was done. Tomic got a lesson in how to do it and hopefully has learned a lesson in humility. Nah, who are we kidding. Of Federer, Tomic stated:

"It's tough. I can't use my shots the I way I need them against him ... because he knows, he's a little bit smarter and he understands where I'm going to go." 

See I kind of feel that as time goes by this will be the case with everyone else. Yes the beauty of thing about Tomic is that you never know what you're going to get next, but did you know that the shuffle feature on your ipod actually has a formula? Once the other players figure out Tomic's formula, he'll be just like everybody else. He's welcome to prove me wrong though. (By the way I still think he's a great player and the future of men's tennis).

Giant killers

56th ranked giant killer Ekaterina Makarova has gone ahead and slayed three fire-breathers - all in straight sets - in her run to the quarters: Kanepi, Zvonareva and fiery-est of all Serena. 

Serena played in that same sluggish manner she employed at the US Open final last year. She divulged that her ankle still wasn't 100 % (said if it wasn't a Slam, she wouldn't have played; exact sentiments were: "no way"), but made no excuses for losing, acknowledging that Makarova just played better. Well done Mak, that is some feat. I'm kind of mad at you for not letting me see a Masha/Serena quarter though.

Nishikori also pulled off a stunner, beating Jo Wills in a five set thriller to make his first Slam quarter-final ever. Jo Wills was up and down, but when he was up, Kei just hit everything back. Simples. Wells done Kei. Try not to run out of steam Jo, you've been doing so well recently.

Closing remarks

I still resent Power Pump.

(Vid: tennisclipsonline on Youtube)

In the thick of it.

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16 people left in each draw. 1 for every hour I slept last week.

Ladies' match of the day: Lisicki vs Sharapova; 1st night match on Laver

Men's match of the day: Djokovic vs Hewitt; last night match on Laver

(Pic: Getty)

Aussie Open 3rd round thoughts

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Tournament faves

Andy Murray was on another level somewhere in space against his EXO against Llodra. The shotmaking from both was CRAY but literally everything Llodra, - who had to serve so many hotdogs, you'd think he had his own stand - everything Llodra hit at Muzz came back with, as Serena would say, aplomb. There were outrageous volleys, lobs, passes and even a backwards roll from Muzzard to claim the 2nd set. Guys Andy was enjoying himself out there. Uh oh.

Nole is still crushing it. Keep the line moving, nothing to see here. Ditto for all my women faves.

Rafa Report

Rafa's serve is giving me happies. 81 % first serves in, during the match against Lacko? Yes please, I'll have fries and a coke zero with mine. And he still hasn't dropped a set. All is well.

The Future of Men's Tennis

If you were ever wondering what the outcome of two of the most idiosyncratic characters on the tour playing each other was like, you got your answer in the 3rd round Dolgo/Tomic clash. And that answer was probably the most thrilling match of the tournament so far. 

I know I'm probably in the minority but I'm down with the current men's game. It's strong, it's fast, it's powerful - that's how I like my sports. I like muscle (both figuratively and physically.) Don't get me wrong variety is just as important, but are you saying Roger, Rafa, Nole, Andy Tsonga - I could go on - don't have variety in their game? Exactly. 

I do prefer Dolgo's game to Tomic's - there are more "out-of-nowhere" shots and there's a lot more creativity. Tomic on the other hand doesn't hide the fact that he plays junk tennis. It may be skilled, but it's messy, sleepy and not as pretty. Don't get me wrong - he's going to grow up to be fantastic (lest he stops the cheating), but if he's the future of men's tennis, count me out. Junk tennis belongs in the trash. 

Regardless, I'm looking forward to his showdown with Roger.

Sneakers

Nico Almagro is in the 4th round guys, and according to caropaquin80, has made it this far at the AO for the past 3 years! I know. He defeated Stan in straights, the sneaky mofo. Another character trundling along nicely is Berdych who no one seems to be talking about. They play each other next so one of them will be sneaking their way out.

Chicas in pain

Anabel Medina Garrigues after the long wait for Dolpo/Tomic retired in tears during her match against Li Na, after taking a step wrong and twisting her ankle. Eurosport of course didn't fail to replay the moment over and over - thanks guys. Kiri after a highly anticipated 3rd rounder with Kvitty also had to bow out with a groin injury. Both ladies showed courage and tried to play on for a bit but their bodies just didn't let them. Get well soon girls.

Aussie glory

Bet you didn't think there'd be two Aussie heroes flying the flag this far, or at least you didn't think one of them wouldn't be Samantha. Hewitt showed a somewhat flat Milos how it was done in 4 sets, and I'm sure is really pleased that he's making this comeback on home soil. 

Tip 

Go ahead and watch the video above if you haven't yet - oh, it's worth it. At least from 2:46 minutes in.

(Vid: WilsonRacquet on YouTube)

Onwards and upwards and all around.

Fanatic Omes:

Between Nalbandian's challenge controversy/alleged water throwing, Baghdatis' racquet demolition, Vika's line judge tantrum and Tomic's cheating, there's been so much drama at this Aussie Open, that I really didn't need to watch that episode of Revenge.

Order of play.

Ladies' match of the day: Kirilenko vs Kvitova; 1st on Laver

Men's match of the day: Raonic vs Hewit; last on Laver

(Pic: Getty)

Aussie Open 2nd Round Report

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Rafa Report

The hypercritical fan in me still wants him to hit the ball harder. I guess it's good that he's been stretched well enough early. (Taking what I can get here.)

Tournament faves

Nole and Andy and are doing really well - nothing to see here, keep moving. Kvitty had her first scare coming from a break down in the 2nd set against Suarez-Navarro but good thing is that she can win when she's playing ugly. She's gonna need that skill if she wants to play with the cool kids.

Crusing ladies

There's obviously a massive gap between the leading ladies and the rest of the field. With just 28 games lost between the lot of them after the 2nd round, Kimmie, Na, Vika, and Serena are just steamrolling ahead. This makes me very excite.

Angry men

Fish has been exhibiting some unpleasant behaviour of late and he brought along the bad attitude to the Ausso. Apparently dear Mardy was so irate at one point during his match against Alenjandro Falla (which he lost in straights) that he actually spat at fans! It's such a shame - it's like his 2011 season never happened. What's going on witchu Mardy?

We've all seen that video of Baghdatis breaking 4 racquets in a row after his 4 set loss to Stan (hey, 1 for each set!). But was it all a dig the racquet manufacturers? Probably not. But a good effort from Forbes on that story.

Then there was the whole Nalbandian challenge controversy where... oh do I really need to explain it again? Just click here to watch the video. Anywhoo it was most unfair. The call didn't lose Nalby the match though - it just robbed him of an opportunity to win it. But before we crucify Kader Nouni let's remember that he just made a mistake at work. If we had to be investigated every time we made mistakes at work... well we'd just be being investigated a lot. Yeah.

Closing remarks

Peace out.

(Vid: CardCollections on YouTube)

 

Let's keep it moving.

 

Fanatic Omes:

Competition heats up with seeds sprouting up to play each other. It's still really weird that someone is definitely going to win this thing. Sorry that didn't make much sense, I'm a wee bit sleep deprived. But you get it.

OOP.

Ladies' match of the day: Clijsters vs Hantuchova; 4th on Hisense

Men's match of the day: Dolgopolov vs Tomic; 4th on Laver

(Pic:Reuters)