Australian Open- Page 2

[DG]

Posted: 1/21/08 at 12:25am

I don't mind if they bounce around, as long as they try to keep you in the later games of a set.

I like what P. McEnroe said about Blake playing a "mature match". It's nice to see him settling into a more solid game. He's such a great athlete, but didn't seem to be able to keep his head about him. I guess age and experience do count for something

It's obvious Roger hasn't played in awhile, but he's slowly finding his rhythm. I hope he closes this in three, and can get some rest and good practice in before the Quarter with Blake.

And I do hope Djokovic jumps all over Hewitt (sorry about the dislike for your native son, Hep - but Hewitt is my least favorite player in . . . well, a LONG time.) But I was a HUGE Rafter fan, so maybe he just suffers - a LOT - by comparrison.

Djokovic gets on my nerves just a touch with his cockiness, but he is SO entertaining to watch play. And he's very, very good.

[javero]

Posted: 1/21/08 at 1:34pm

Watch out for Nadal and Venus this year. If his knees hold up, this could be the year that he breaks through to capture a major other than his beloved French Open.

When the draw was announced I noted that Venus was in the much weaker half. If she can dispatch of the in form Ivanovic like she did at the past Wimbledon, I see Venus in that ladies final. Kutnetsova doesn't seem to come out of her deep slumber in the majors or big tourneys until later in the year so her early loss was somewhat predictable despite losing to Henin in the finals of a recent warmup event. Who could await Venus in the final round is any body's guess though because there will be much collateral damage leading up the semis on the other side of the women's draw.

I'm fond of Justine's game, except the serve, but don't see her taking out Sharapova, Serena and Venus in turn at this major. I'm predicting a breakthrough for both Nadal and Ivanovic this year. He'll claim a major in addition to the French and she'll bag her first later this year. She btw is a hottie!!!

[MotorTink]

Posted: 1/21/08 at 1:39pm

I'm a little upset I never got to see any of Andy's matches, but I kept up to date thanks to the web. But that's life. i got beautiful shirtless pictures from practice thanks to my Aussie Angel! :)

[DG]

Posted: 1/21/08 at 1:42pm

If Roger doesn't 'settle in', he'll be taken out. I'm hoping the Blake match gets him in his groove.

If it's not Roger, I'd pick Djokovic, as I think he has a more well-rounded game.

If I had to name someone on the women's side, I'd pick Serena, mostly because she seems to feel she has something to prove. But I'd still rather see Venus win

[javero]

Posted: 1/21/08 at 1:59pm

DG--Serena's serve has been incredible throughout the tourney. No other lady in the top 20 possesses that combination of power and placement of the serve. She also looks much fitter than usual this time of year. Her brand of 3-strike tennis seems to be tailor made for the new surface.

That said, I'd like to see Venus win it all too but don't want to see an all-Williams final. Their contests tend to be anti-climatic and rarely of the best quality. My dream final on the ladies side is Venus vs Sharapova. I'd like to see Venus clobber her. That shriek is beyond annoying.

[DG]

Posted: 1/21/08 at 2:02pm

Javero - I agree about the Williams' final scenarios - there are just too many emotional barriers to get over, I think.

I wouldn't mind your Venus/Maria final (and the outcome you'ld like to see!) as that means Maria would have beaten Justine, whom I detest

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 1/21/08 at 2:02pm

my choice

[javero]

Posted: 1/21/08 at 2:04pm

yeah papa!

[DG]

Posted: 1/21/08 at 2:57pm

papa - Maria's going to be very disappointed to find out you no longer want to make HER scream.

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 1/21/08 at 3:00pm

oh god, give me a maria/ana final and i'll just spray til my prostate looks like a peach pit.

[DG]

Posted: 1/21/08 at 3:10pm

papa - just make sure you clean up after yourself. The men's final is after the women's, and I would prefer not to have to deal with . . . well, that.
Updated On: 1/21/08 at 03:10 PM

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 1/21/08 at 3:13pm

they've got an overnight between them right? or they're on different courts?

*makes mental note to pick up 55 gallon drum of mr. clean and a fire hose*

[gettinhep]

Posted: 1/21/08 at 4:26pm

Yep, there's a day between them.

Oh, and don't worry about that dislike for Hewitt, DG. I must agree that he is no Gentleman Pat.

[DG]

Posted: 1/21/08 at 6:32pm

*sigh* He retired too soon. I miss him, especially when the focus is down in Oz

[cturtle]

Posted: 1/21/08 at 8:27pm

i've been missing it all. i just can't get used to tennis in january.

[smartpenguin78]

Posted: 1/22/08 at 12:05am

Oy, Ivanovic/Sharapova now that is a women's final that I would like to see, and see, and see...

We now know that it will not be Serena in any case.

On the men's side, I want it to be Nadal/Federer and I am unsure who to root for, their rivalry is good and getting better, but if Nadal wins this I think it becomes Great.

[DG]

Posted: 1/22/08 at 1:17am

Rafa's making mincemeat of the Fin - he's looking very strong.

Jelena surprised me, but she has been steadily improving - and it shows! Serena never got in it.

At least it makes it easy for me just to root for Venus.

And the men's side is never a problem

[LePetiteFromage]

Posted: 1/22/08 at 5:26am

Updated On: 2/21/09 at 05:26 AM

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 1/22/08 at 9:00am

one step closer, baby.

[smartpenguin78]

Posted: 1/22/08 at 9:50am

The Henin/Sharapova match was great, and somehow both closer and much more dominating than the 6-4, 6-0 final score indicates.

[DG]

Posted: 1/22/08 at 9:59am

I didn't watch the Maria/Justine match, but I'm surprised to read that it looked like a tight contest. Justine had some pretty bad stats: only 48% first serve? no aces? 5 double-faults? only 11 winners?!?

Those kind of figures explain the score, but not the impression that it was actually much of a match. In any event, I'm glad Maria won.

This upcoming day has some great matches for me to watch. I might have to get some rest through the evening and stay up to see them.

[javero]

Posted: 1/22/08 at 12:44pm

I stayed up late to watch the Maria/Justine match and naturally called in sick today. I'm no huge fan of Justine but really think she needs to retool her serve. She went with the abbreviated motion about 3 years back and not only does it look ugly, she seems to now only have a slice/flat combo that she can only place well down the middle. She also tries to outhit the big cats instead of using her variety to move them out of position.

Can't take anything away from Maria though. She was in the zone and methodically broke down Justine's game ala Connors from years back. I just got the impression that Maria was in control through out and that she simply had to hit through Justine the way Venus has done in the past. Justine will make the adjustments though. There will be hell to pay come clay court season.

Still hoping that Venus bludgeons Maria in the finals but have a sneaking suspicion one of the Serbs will break through. Ivanovic and Jankovic are the heirs apparent to Justine, Venus and Serena.

[DG]

Posted: 1/22/08 at 1:43pm

"Ivanovic and Jankovic are the heirs apparent to Justine, Venus and Serena."

Javero - for awhile now, the sports media has been trying to play up the 'emerging' Russian women, but it just hasn't materialized. And there's enough evidence to support the theory that their focus was based primarily on physical appearance (everyone is supposed to swoon at the long-legged, skinny blondes - Kournikova, anyone?)

But these Serbian women (and the men!) are really bringing the goods. Personally, I hope it re-invigorates the Williams - although, I don't think they'll ever completely focus on tennis again.

[smartpenguin78]

Posted: 1/22/08 at 4:32pm

The Sharapova/Henin match is hard to describe, the best way I can say it is, except on the serve itself (which was just nonsensically in favor of Sharapova and made it look sometimes like Henin would never win a point) Henin played her match, and Sharapova dominated in that as well, but the points were really long (and really fun to watch) and you felt like it could go either way.
But it inevitably went Sharapova's way.

[DG]

Posted: 1/22/08 at 4:42pm

Smarty - that makes sense. One thing the stats don't show is rally length - and the both recorded 21 unforced errors. I read the after-match interview with Maria, and she came across as having played very tightly and with conviction - and that would have made all the difference in the long run.