Australian Open 2011

RosyLily

Happy 2011 people!
Australian Open kicks off Monday 17th January and the question on some people's lips is will Nadal win the title and hold all four Grand Slams at the same time; the last person to do that was Rod Laver in 1969.

The Men's Singles is the talk at the moment with Federer winning Doha, del Potro being back and Nadal hoping to regain the title. The draw is looking mighty interesting, with the possibility of good matches. Roddick is in Federer's quarter of the draw; Murray's in Soderling's quarter and Berdych and Djokovic could meet in the QF. The male seeds seem to have decent opening matches- shouldn't cause too much hassle. Lots of dangerous opponents in every part (Fish, Baghdatis, Gasquet, Tsonga, Davydenko).

The Women's Singles is very open this year. With Serena Williams ruled out due to injury, Caroline Wozniacki is seeded 1st; she gets a tough opener in the form of Gisela Dulko- with Justine Henin, Wickmayer and Schiavone as possible opponents. A few people have tipped Maria Sharapova to win this year. She faces Tamarine Tanasugaran in the 1st round with Venus as a potential 4th round opponent. Clijsters is drawn against former No. 1 Dinara Safina...Safina hasn't been at her best for over a year and this match could show if she's improving.

Looking at both men and women's draws there is loads of potential great matches to look forward to...I hope!

Unfortunately, this year, there's no Irish to represent. Conor Niland was knocked out of the 1st round of Qualifying. Maybe next year.

frostie500

The womens draw definitly looks to offer the potential for some upsets doesnt it! With no Serena there is the potential for anyone to come in and win. It really will be a case of whoever peaks at the right time.

Good opening set of matches tonight so should be worth watching the Sharapova, Wozniacki and Roddick games (I think these are the games Eurosport want to feature)

Not sure what the protocol is here in the Racquet Sports forums but I've a preview of the tournement online for anyone interested. It's the first tennis piece I've done so any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

RosyLily

Good preview frostie500. Interesting read.

Australian Open kicks off midnight on Eurosport. For anyone without this channel, like myself, some matches are on http://atdhe.net/index.html .....they showed some US Open matches last year anyway!

Loomis

Well, Davydenko out in the first round so any possibly upset he coulda caused the top guys won't be happening.
Federer was in brilliant form in his win but could face Simon in the second round. That could be very tough-Simon is normally a top ten player but is on his way back fron injury. He can play with no pressure and confidence knowing he's beaten Federer before.

The women's game is really boring lately. Henin in trouble at the moment against Mirza. Went a set down and struggled all through the second despite just pulling it back. She's a set all but is struggling on serve practically every time cause Mirza is absolutely crushing her returns. Haven't seen Henin be overpowered like this in a long time. Pity that Mirza can't show this form more consistently cause she definitely has the game/talent to be much higher in the rankings.

Rob2D

I'll be watching my games on BBC with the red button.

Surprised about Davydenko, especially after Doha, but thats tennis I guess. I must say it'd be nice to see Maria come back a bit this year. And its good that Justine is still in it, I could watch her all day.

Its looking like an interesting start to the year. Now I just want Tommy Haas to make his return and I'll be happy out:D

frostie500

Pretty good opening day with Federer, Djokovic, Berdech and Roddick all quite impressive. As a few other posters have said Davydenko was a bit of a shock! Seems like his pre tournie form deserted him. Good to see Sharapova back on the courts but she was pretty inconsistent and had a lot of double faults(10 or 11 I think)

Rjd2

Davydenko has been dire for a while so I don't understand why people are so shocked he went out last night.

http://www.itftennis.com/mens/players/activity.asp?player=10024044

Thats a rubbish few months really, people over reacted because he had one good week in Doha:pac::rolleyes:

frostie500

Rjd2 wrote: »

Davydenko has been dire for a while so I don't understand why people are so shocked he went out last night.

http://www.itftennis.com/mens/players/activity.asp?player=10024044

Thats a rubbish few months really, people over reacted because he had one good week in Doha:pac::rolleyes:

Being beaten by a player that has never got past the third round of a Grand Slam though makes it a bit of a shocker!

RosyLily

Ana Ivanovic got beaten by Ekaterina Makarova in 3 sets- 3-6, 6-4, 10-8. Cracker of a match. Ivanovic was looking really good at the end of last year, probably will take her a while to get back into the swing of things.
Hewitt-Nalbandian match was fantastic...you wouldn't think these guys were pushing 30. Excellent play with David winning 3-6, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6, 9-7.
Safina was absolutely blasted off the court by Clijsters!! She lost 6-0, 6-0 -the 6th person Cjisters has double-bageled at a Grand Slam. Clijsters was unbelievable during the match, nailing 17 winners and only 4 unforced errors. Safina becomes the first former Number 1 in the Open Era to suffer a double bagel defeat in a Grand Slam.
After this performance, Kim is probably many people's favourite for the title.

Up tonight: Henin (vs. Baltacha), Wozniacki, Sharapova, Roddick, Venus, Federer (vs. Simon), Djokovic and many many more.
Schedule: http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/scores/schedule/schedule8.html

frostie500

RosyLily wrote: »

Ana Ivanovic got beaten by Ekaterina Makarova in 3 sets- 3-6, 6-4, 10-8. Cracker of a match. Ivanovic was looking really good at the end of last year, probably will take her a while to get back into the swing of things.
Hewitt-Nalbandian match was fantastic...you wouldn't think these guys were pushing 30. Excellent play with David winning 3-6, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6, 9-7.
Safina was absolutely blasted off the court by Clijsters!! She lost 6-0, 6-0 -the 6th person Cjisters has double-bageled at a Grand Slam. Clijsters was unbelievable during the match, nailing 17 winners and only 4 unforced errors. Safina becomes the first former Number 1 in the Open Era to suffer a double bagel defeat in a Grand Slam.
After this performance, Kim is probably many people's favourite for the title.

Up tonight: Henin (vs. Baltacha), Wozniacki, Sharapova, Roddick, Venus, Federer (vs. Simon), Djokovic and many many more.
Schedule: http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/scores/schedule/schedule8.html

It was a great day two wasnt it! Ivanovic played well and couldn't really blame her stomach injury(it hurt her prep but she played well) ultimately Markova just kept playing aggressivly.

Nalbandian and Hewitt was a cracking match! Reminded me of their 2005 quarter final that seemed to go on and on(and on and on....)

Clijsters looked great but it's hard not to ask just how far Safina has fallen. Tonights line up looks pretty good too!

Rjd2

frostie500 wrote: »

Being beaten by a player that has never got past the third round of a Grand Slam though makes it a bit of a shocker!

A little but not that much, Mayer has always been talented and Davydenko has turned up to Slams in much better form and bombed.

The matches that catch my eye for later would be Verdasco v Tipsarvic, Tipsy can be awesome on his day and Verdasco has been even more erratic than Davydenko recently.

Berdych has a horrible second round match with Kohlschriber a player with much more ability than his modest CV would suggest.

Curious to see how Dimitrov will do tonight. He smashed Golubev in the first round which was impressive and his opponent Wawrinka is prone to an upset.


Del Potro showed signs of his old self last night against the very useful Sela, his serve and forehand at times were monstrous and he did well to stay in the tie break when his opponent had the ascendancy.

He is scheduled to meet Melzer in the third round and that's a problem, the Austrian is always dangerous and has taken some huge scalps in the last few years, he may have to much for Del Potro at this moment.

Baghdatis however needs to be conquered before Del Potro has to worry about Melzer. The Cypriot is a little past it these days but he still has his moments and this is a Slam he should never be underestimated in.

Then Murray in the last 16, if he gets past both, not a nice draw really!

RosyLily

I agree, del Potro is looking like he's getting back to his best. Looking forward to seeing how he progressing at Aussie and other tournaments. I really like his style of play- great serve with some deep groundstrokes. He could possibly win another G.S., maybe not this year but in the future. He's got a good few years left in him!
Putting a lot of pressure on Grigor by comparing his game to Federer...a LOT to live up to then! But I'll definitely keep an eye on him!

Play begins at midnight.

Rob2D

Federer V Simon was very exciting! How about that failed drop shot off the net cord at the end?! You've got to hand it to Simon, he just would not go away.

the_monkey

Surprised Federer was pushed to 5 sets in the 2nd round, will be interesting to see how he does in the next few matches.


Nadal has it sown up though - done deal.

RosyLily

the_monkey wrote: »

Surprised Federer was pushed to 5 sets in the 2nd round, will be interesting to see how he does in the next few matches.


Nadal has it sown up though - done deal.

Yeah, was surprised Federer was taken to five, although it is usually good to be challenged early and learn from mistakes made in the match.

Tonight's matches should be good. Carla Suarez Navarro v. Clijsters is up first on Rod Laver Arena. Nadal, Murray, Soderling, Stosur, Jankovic, Radwanska, Cilic and Ferrer are also in action.

Speaking of Radwanska, she lost her raquet head during her match with Kimiko Date-Krumm: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMIlavtzPII Her reaction is priceless!

del Potro v. Baghdatis should be on early morning. Looking forward to this one in particular!!:)

Rob2D

RosyLily wrote: »

Speaking of Radwanska, she lost her raquet head during her match

Babolat, they're only cowboys! Shoddy shoddy shoddy! :pac:

cfitz

the_monkey wrote: »

Surprised Federer was pushed to 5 sets in the 2nd round, will be interesting to see how he does in the next few matches.

It's not that long since Gilles Simon was in the top 10 in the world so maybe/hopefully he's coming back to his best. On one hand it seems a shame that he had to meet someone so could as Federer in the 2nd round if he is back near his best, but on the other hand maybe it took someone like Federer to draw his best tennis out of him.

the_monkey

Rob2D wrote: »

Babolat, they're only cowboys! Shoddy shoddy shoddy! :pac:

!!!

Cowboys Ted !!! there a bunch of COWBOYS!!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEcvamtIO8w

frostie500

Some pretty interesting games overnight. Nadal and Clijsters were particularly impressive once again but Jankovic's defeat is a surprise at this stage of the competition, shes not the player she used to be but throwing away a 5-2 lead in the opening set doesnt bode well for her confidence going forward.

RosyLily

Disappointed with Jankovic's progress these days. She was fantastic circa '07-'08, winning matches and challenging the top players. Even since then it seems that she has been on a slow downhill slope. Although there have been signs of a resurgence every so often. At 2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, she thrashed Venus Williams 6-0, 6-1 in the QF then went on to beat Serena in 3 sets, saving a match point in the process. She was the first player to beat the sisters at the same tournament in about 24 hours. Then she goes and loses to Martinez Sanchez in straight sets. Ah, she's so frustrating to watch sometimes!!

Was quite surprised with Bernard Tomic beating Feliciano Lopez in straight sets. Good young player who could have a bright future in tennis. He plays Nadal in the 3rd Round.

Johnmb

RosyLily wrote: »

Was quite surprised with Bernard Tomic beating Feliciano Lopez in straight sets. Good young player who could have a bright future in tennis. He plays Nadal in the 3rd Round.

So much for his bright future so

(or at least, his bright immediate future)

Rob2D

So much for Del Potro, but he did ok in fairness to him. I can see him coming back. A mate of mine is at Rod Laver arena today, I'm so very jealous!

the_monkey

Federer breezed past Malisse, you all know i dont like Nadal much , but
it would be amazing if (when) he wins it , to hold all 4 slams at once in todays unbelievably skilled game would be an INCREDIBLE achievement.


If Federer wins it , 17th slam, will be amazing record too, hard even for Nadal to catch it, how many slams has nadal now ? 9 ?

Djokovic I like so be good to see him winning it .


Murray - well better him then Henman winning a slam!

RosyLily

Venus had to retire from her 3rd round match against Andrea Petkovic. She retired after the second game- about 7 minutes in. She injured her pelvic muscle in her 2nd round match against Sandra Zahlavova.
Even when she was warming up you could see she was uncomfortable and in pain. Disappointing for her. It's the first time ever she retired from a GS singles match. Which is impressive considering her long career.
Petkovic will now play Maria Sharapova for a place in the QFs.

Some great matches scheduled for tonight. Zvonareva starts on Rod Laver against Lucie Safarova. Clijsters plays Cornet, whereas Nadal plays the Australian hope Bernard Tomic.

Really looking forward to Isner-Cilic on Margaret Court. Cilic reached the SFs last year and will be aiming high this time around. Isner is looking good this year. His game has improved and he's not just got a great serve. If Cilic can return the Isner serve and they get into a rally, it could be a great match!

Johnmb

With Williams gone, that really opens up Sharapova's half of the draw. She'd definitely fancy herself against Wozniacki or Kuznetsova, and the biggest threat to her would probably be Clijsters who is in the other half of the draw. Although, I think Zvonareva will reach the final from the bottom half, but given her track record the winner could very easily come from the top half.

cfitz

Johnmb wrote: »

With Williams gone, that really opens up Sharapova's half of the draw. She'd definitely fancy herself against Wozniacki or Kuznetsova, and the biggest threat to her would probably be Clijsters who is in the other half of the draw. Although, I think Zvonareva will reach the final from the bottom half, but given her track record the winner could very easily come from the top half.

I haven't got to watch any of the women's matches yet coz of the time difference, but based on 2010 I would predict Sharapova to be beaten by either Li Na or Azarenka if she beats Petkovic.

Johnmb

cfitz wrote: »

I haven't got to watch any of the women's matches yet coz of the time difference, but based on 2010 I would predict Sharapova to be beaten by either Li Na or Azarenka if she beats Petkovic.

I think mentally Sharapova is too strong for those two at the moment. Wozniacki is probably the only player up that half of the draw who can match her in that aspect right now, it's just a question of whether or not she could stand up to the power. Kuznetsova can handle the power, but isn't as strong mentally. I don't think Li or Azarenka can match any of those three players the way things have been going so far (so it's probably a safe bet now that one of those two will win the whole thing!). It is nice though that the thing is so open. I do think that there are five players who are slight favorites (Wozniacki, Kuznetsova, Sharapova, Clijsters, Zvonareva), but it wouldn't be a huge upset if someone else won it, and even to have five realistic contenders is a pretty big number. (And Stosur would probably consider herself one of the favorites too)

cfitz

Johnmb wrote: »

I think mentally Sharapova is too strong for those two at the moment. Wozniacki is probably the only player up that half of the draw who can match her in that aspect right now, it's just a question of whether or not she could stand up to the power. Kuznetsova can handle the power, but isn't as strong mentally. I don't think Li or Azarenka can match any of those three players the way things have been going so far (so it's probably a safe bet now that one of those two will win the whole thing!). It is nice though that the thing is so open. I do think that there are five players who are slight favorites (Wozniacki, Kuznetsova, Sharapova, Clijsters, Zvonareva), but it wouldn't be a huge upset if someone else won it, and even to have five realistic contenders is a pretty big number. (And Stosur would probably consider herself one of the favorites too)

Interesting. We'll see over the next few days! My picks for the title would be:

1. Clijsters (experience tells in the womens game)
2. Zvonareva (following on from a great 2010)

Azarenka (outside chance, has the game but lacks experience in the later stages and her temperament can be a bit volatile)
Kuznetsova (outside chance if she hits form)
Stosur (outside chance if she hits form)
Schiavone (unlikely, but has the game to do it if she put it together)
Wozniacki (lacks the mental strength to win a grand slam)
Li Na (too inexperienced in the later stages)
Sharapova (can't see it happening)

Agree that it's great it's so open. Things have got much more interesting in the last 2 years. The most frustrating thing about the womens game now is the lack of variety - of the 9 players I've listed, Schiavone is the only one that doesn't fit the into the baseline power player category (make that 11 when you add back in Venus and Serena).

frostie500

Johnmb wrote: »

I think mentally Sharapova is too strong for those two at the moment. Wozniacki is probably the only player up that half of the draw who can match her in that aspect right now, it's just a question of whether or not she could stand up to the power. Kuznetsova can handle the power, but isn't as strong mentally. I don't think Li or Azarenka can match any of those three players the way things have been going so far

I think Sharapova was mentally stronger than the other players in her draw but not any longer. She has had too many injuries to maintain that confidence and it has shown in the AO thus far. Her serving has been poor and while she looks a lot better this week than I can remember for a long time she is still not the player she was a few years ago.

Sharapova is definitely getting better but I would be surprised to see her able to match the likes of Azarenka if they were to meet. I really think this could be a huge year for Azarenka and the draw is wide open in Australia. Maybe it is the lack of Serena(actually its almost certainly the lack of Serena!) but you can look at any of the players named in the above quote and they could, on their day, beat anyone else on tour.

In relation to Kuznetsova one think I would like to point that from when she won her first major she struggled to build on her success and took four years to win another slam. Since then she has struggled again. I think that her plight is not so much mental, it could be motivation. We see it time and time again in tennis, golf and any other individual sport; players are motivated to win a major. When they win one it takes time to readjust their mentality. I think when Kuznetsova won the US Open she went through a period where she thought "I've won one...now what?" and it took her a few years before she realised that she needed to win more of them. She has proven she has the game to win majors, if she is motivated to win this one she is very dangerous.

Johnmb wrote: »

It is nice though that the thing is so open. I do think that there are five players who are slight favorites (Wozniacki, Kuznetsova, Sharapova, Clijsters, Zvonareva), but it wouldn't be a huge upset if someone else won it, and even to have five realistic contenders is a pretty big number. (And Stosur would probably consider herself one of the favorites too)

I would say that Sharapova needs to serve better if she is to contend for this title. I'd also love to see some variety in her game, she has a new coach yet still just blasts from the baseline hoping that her power will win the point.

Wozniacki-its all about how she handles the pressure. Her press conference was good because it did deflect attention from the usual questions.

Clijsters has been without question, in my view, the best player so far. She has been awesome and looks to be totally focused on court, just like she is at Flushing Meadows. She'll be very tough to beat

Personally I'd love to see Zvonareva rewarded with a major. Similar to Wozniacki she is plauged by a high ranking without a major title. She has gotten to finals though and it will be interesting to see if she freezes up during her next slam final.

RosyLily

Good match between Nadal-Tomic. Great 2nd set from the Aussie, pity he could win it though. After seeing him play I think he could be a force in the mens game in the future. He has to work on a few things first though.....not the fastest of players on the court. He looked a bit uncomfortable scampering around- needs to work on speed. Mental strength could be worked on, as well as his backhand. Bernard has got a great forehand and strong serve. Watch this space!

Another marathon match for Isner, although this one didn't go on as long as the last...and he lost this time. Cilic will now face Nadal for a place in the QFs.

Stosur is also gone from the tournament...beaten by Petra Kvitova in straight sets. A shame for her as she was many people's pick as the dark horse.

Good matches starting tonight:
Rod Laver Arena
Wozniacki v. Sevastova
Li v. Azarenka
Robredo v. Federer
Petkovic v. Sharapova
Roddick v. Wawrinka

Hisense Arena
Bryan/Bryan v. Becker/Kohlmann
Almagro v. Djokovic
Kuznetsova v. Schiavone

Margaret Court (Not Before 3.30 am GMT)
Berdych v. Verdasco

Juniors and Mixed Doubles are also beginning today!

Johnmb

RosyLily wrote: »

Good match between Nadal-Tomic. Great 2nd set from the Aussie, pity he could win it though. After seeing him play I think he could be a force in the mens game in the future. He has to work on a few things first though.....not the fastest of players on the court. He looked a bit uncomfortable scampering around- needs to work on speed. Mental strength could be worked on, as well as his backhand. Bernard has got a great forehand and strong serve. Watch this space!

Commitment could be a problem for him. He pulled out of the pre Australian Open tournament to get a wildcard, and didn't enter the qualifiers, instead relying on being handed a free wildcard by Tennis Australia. You'd have to question just how much work he is willing to do when he would make a decision like that. TA were quite annoyed with him over it, and it would not have been a huge shock if they had decided to not give him one to make an example of him and let their other players know "if you're not willing to make a bit of an effort, we're not willing to give you a free ride".