From IHT.com
SAO PAULO, Brazil: Three-time French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten is going to college.
Kuerten, a former top-ranked player who retired from the circuit last year, found out on Monday that he had won admission to attend a theater college in his hometown of Florianopolis in southern Brazil.
The Brazilian is scheduled to begin classes on Feb. 16, spokeswoman Clarissa Machado Santos said.
Kuerten is one of Brazil’s biggest sporting idols, and when he took the admission test last year security was needed to prevent fans from bothering him.
The 32-year-old Kuerten gave up professional tennis last year because of a chronic hip injury that required surgery in 2002 and 2004.
Today in Sports
Serena Williams is on top againFormer heavyweight champ Ingemar Johansson diesPremier League roundupHe won 20 singles titles in his 15-year career, including at Roland Garros in 1997, 2000 and 2001.
From the USTA:
NEW YORK — On the same day that the United States entered into a new era of leadership with Barack Obama officially sworn in as the 44th president, another smaller partnership was created to help grow the sport of tennis.
At Gabriel’s Bar and Restaurant in Manhattan on Tuesday, Jan. 20, the USTA and Advanta World TeamTennis Pro League, with its co-founder Billie Jean King, announced their new relationship. The USTA will become a 25-percent owner of the Advanta World TeamTennis Pro League, which just completed its 33rd season in 2008.
The new partnership will work to continue to grow and develop more tennis players, and it touches on every level of the game, from the professional ranks to player development to local communities.
“We hope that we can truly be a great partner with the USTA,” King said. “It is a special day for me in many ways, with the inauguration, also, to announce this partnership with the USTA.”
For the USTA, the partnership will help expand the Junior Team Tennis program, a recreational tennis league for children from ages six to 18 that was created in 1991. It allows children to play tennis on teams with others of the same age and skill levels, with more than 80,000 participants across the country. For children under 10, the USTA QuickStart format is used.
“I am extremely proud and pleased to announce that the USTA is investing in World TeamTennis. We will be partners going forward. It is a natural fit for us,” said Lucy S. Garvin, Chairman of the Board and President of the USTA. “We have a strong emphasis on Junior Team Tennis and team tennis overall, on the college level and throughout the organization.”
“Recently our Board made that decision, and we are just thrilled,” she added of the new partnership. “Billie is the icon and icons. It is an honor to work with her and Ilana (Kloss, World TeamTennis CEO/Commissioner).”
The Advanta World TeamTennis Pro League has 11 teams, and it is a professional co-ed league based on equality, with a level playing field for men and women. Each team has two men and two women (as well as a coach), with everyone working together to contribute to a team victory. The 2009 season will be played July 2-26, followed by the Championship Weekend.
In each of the 11 cities where the pro leagues are located, the USTA’s 17 sections and World TeamTennis will work together to expand QuickStart programs as well as Junior Team Tennis to help more children start playing the game. The children in Junior Team Tennis leagues will have opportunities to interact with the professionals and to play some of their championship matches on the same courts.
In addition, this year the Advanta World TeamTennis Pro League Championship Team and Award winners will be recognized at the 2009 US Open.
“It is really about unity and about all of us helping each other and being on the same page. There is one goal, and that is to get more people playing,” King said. “We have different ways of helping this sport. World TeamTennis has always been a big believer in equality and having a level playing field. It is a fantastic day for us, for our owners, our pro cities, for the people who play in campus (team) tennis.
“I think the USTA has really been trying to weave and really help create something that is very special, getting everyone in the tennis world together, and we are a part of that. Only a part, but hopefully we can help in many ways,” she added.
Legends, including King herself, Pete Sampras, Monica Seles, Steffi Graf, Chris Evert, Bjorn Borg, Martina Navratilova, Rod Laver, Andre Agassi, Jimmy Connors and Tracy Austin, have played World TeamTennis. Current professionals also have played, including Serena and Venus Williams, Andy Roddick, Maria Sharapova, as well as up-and-coming players – something the new partnership will aid, as well.
“We have been trying to make this happen for a long time, and we have worked closely with the USTA for many years, so to formalize the partnership and to actually be on the inside means a lot to us,” Kloss said. “The World TeamTennis format, we really believe that it is one of the building blocks to help grow tennis in America. I think World TeamTennis is one of the few entities that really has a lot of touch points, not just on the grassroots level but all the way up to professional tennis. We really are going to try to leverage the relationships in our pro league team markets and help make an impact.
“It is our goal to use the pro team franchises and the sections to engage kids and get them on teams. Community tennis has a huge push on QuickStart and Junior Team Tennis, so I think that will be a huge focus for us,” she added.
HEAD Introduces New Performance Tennis Footwear
Kennelbach - Austria - January 2009 - HEAD is stepping up its game in the tennis footwear business. In 2009 HEAD will re-launch its line of footwear with updated technology and cosmetics for today’s youthful, aggressive and stylish tennis player. The new footwear collection will be available in February 2009.
Both men’s and women’s lines’ technology will complement existing product attributes, continue to enhance and improve player performance on any court surface while adding updated cosmetic and aesthetics looks for the modern athlete.
The 2009 line incorporates three new lines of technology:
“HEAD’s line of footwear products is constructed with the highest quality materials while maintaining cutting edge design. More importantly, the shoes are made to perform. The footwear can stand up to even the most aggressive tennis player,” said Robert Marte, Executive Vice President of HEAD’s Racquet Sports Division.
These new technologies will add to the line’s four existing technologies, which include:
Here is some video of Rafa promoting tourism for the Balearic Islands in a deal we covered here back a few months ago. It is a cool ad with awesome special effects and of course the Spanish Bull himself. I think Rafa is officially in a good place. The video is in spanish.
Prince sent us this new add for their newly hired star Gael Monfils and his new EXO3 sticks. The video shows off his skills including “a la Sampras” slam dunk overhead. If only the guy could get a new mind. Anyways, cool commercial and we will always love Monfils no matter how underachieving he is!
Different Name, Better Game
As you have noticed by now, The ATP Blog has now changed their name to Tennis Connected. Along with this name we have made numerous enhancements to the site to make the site better for you our readers. We would like to thank you for the continious support throughout our first year and we will strive to bring you even more from the tennis world. Below is a summary of the changes we have made and as always, if you have any suggestions or feedback please send it to us via our contact page located here.
New logo and color scheme
This was probably (or hopefully) the first thing you noticed when seeing the site. The new color scheme was done with the help of some of our dedicated readers who volunteered and devoted their time to answering our surveys.
Now available in 34 different languages
Yes that is right. Tennis Connected is now translated (sometimes roughly) in 34 different languages! To change the language click on the appropriate flag in the sidebar when viewing a post or at the bottom of the homepage. Warning: This may cause the layout of the site to do some funny things and we are trying to get this resolved.
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Now we have made it easy for you to share some of your favorite articles on the site. At the bottom of every post, you will see a few icons like the image below. Just click on your favorite sharing site and off you go.
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Tennis Connected is now on Twitter. What is Twitter you ask?
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The ATP World tour resumes action this week, as the first major is in the books, the ATP boys will have three tournaments to choose from this week, as Chile, Croatia and Johannesburg will be host sites this week. Tennis is truly a global sport, and perhaps that could never be more exemplified this week, as South America, Europe, and South Africa will all enjoy world class tennis. Another interesting dynamic to this weeks action is that the three tournaments will be played on three different surfaces, with Chile holding a clay court event, Croatia hosting an indoor event and finally Johannesburg holding an outdoor hardcourt event. Let us know look at the preview of each tournament.
Tournament previews:
Vina Del Mar, Chile.
Fernando Gonzalez is back in his hometown, as the defending champ will attempt to win his fourth Movistar
Open. Gonzalez will be joined by countrymen Nicolas Massu, a former Olympic gold medal winner, as well Paul Capdeville as fan favorites. Gonzalez will be looking to build on his decent Aussie Open, round of sixteen finish as he lost in straight sets to Rafael Nadal after defeating Frenchmen, Richard Gasquet in a fantastic five set third round encounter.
The draw will also include Spaniards Tommy Roberdo, and Albert Montanes as well as talented clay court player Juan Monaco from Argentina. The draw size is 28, which would indicate that the top four seeds will gain first round byes. That is a pretty good deal considering that the top four seed only have to win four matches to capture the 250 entry system points as well the $82,500 first prize check. The vocal and supportive Chilean fans will undoubtedly be routing for a home grown player to take the title.
Zagreb, Croatia.
Remember Sergiy Stakhovsky? Well the Ukrainian is the defending champ this week in Zagreb as the 22-year captured his first career title at the event last year as a lucky loser. Much to the dismay of the crowd, Stakhovsky defeated hometown favorite Ivan Ljubicic in straight sets. It does not appear that good old Sergiy will be back to defend his title this year, as the PBZ Zagreb Indoors will have to look forward to a new champion in 2009.
This years addition of the tournament will include Croatians, Marin Cilic, Ivo Karloivc, Ivan Ljubicic, and Mario Ancic. As well Russian Igor Andreev will be the top seed as he is followed by Cilic, Karlovic, and Paul-Henri Mathieu as the top four seeded players. The 32 man field will also included the notable name Ernests Gulbis, will be looking forward to making a significant splash during the 2009 season. The winner of this event will receive 73,000 euro’s for his efforts.
Johannesburg, South Africa.
The ATP world tour has the pleasure of this of expanding its product to South Africa as Johannesburg, will
host its first ever ATP level event. The event which holds the strongest quality of players of the three tournaments being held this week will include the flamboyant Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the equally as entertaining Marcos Baghdatis and struggling Spaniard David Ferrer. Other notables names in the 32 man field will include hometown hopeful Kevin Anderson, as the 6′7″ youngster will surely be hoping for a strong performance in his backyard. It will be interesting to follow the progress of the top seeded players during this event, as Tsonga and Ferrer will have many points coming off due to their relatively poor Aussie Open performances, in comparison to last year and of course players like the “magician” Fabrice Santoro will not only be making his debut at the tournament, but he will also be making his last appearance as the 36-year old will be looking to call it a career in 2009. The first prize winner for this event will receive $79,000 for his efforts as well as 250 ATP world tour points.
Please check back as we will have continuing daily coverage from all three events this week from Chile, Croatia and South Africa.
Friday January 20, 2009. Day 12 review. Nadal is sensational against Verdasco in 5-set semi-final.
12:23pm E.S.T.
One for the ages.
Top seed Rafael Nadal knew that he had his work cut out for him as he prepared to take on his good friend Fernando Verdasco on Friday night, for the right to meet Roger Federer in Sunday’s championship match. However, as the first set got under way Rafa began to understand that nerves would not be part of the equation from Verdasco’s side of the net and one of the all time Aussie Open battles was about to take place. The 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(2), 6-7(1), 6-4, victory for Nadal was one of the Spaniards most hard fought wins, as he had to endure 5:14 minutes of gut wrenching tennis to do so. Verdasco was actually the more aggressive of the two throughout the match as he hit 95 scintillating winners to Rafa’s 52. However it was the Nadal’s experience that ultimately prevailed in this encounter as his consistent topspin game allowed him to obtain 20 break point chances, as he was able to capitalize on only 4 of those opportunities. Fernando did play the match that he needed to, he came out with the same type of game plan that James Blake and Tomas Berdych have employed on Rafa in the past. Stay close to the baseline, take the ball early and force Nadal to scramble and play defensively. The only issue with such a tactic is the mighty Mallorcan does not get tired and although he was fatigued at the end of this epic match, Nadal was prepared to stay out there as long as possible to advance to this first hardcourt grand slam final.
Rafa did play too passive for my taste in this match, as he will certainly need to step it up come the finals on Sunday evening. It will be interesting to see if he can recover from the five hour plus marathon with Verdasco in time to play the level of tennis that he needs to in order the capture the third leg of his four grand slam titles. It was a pity however that after such a hard fought match that Verdasco’s old habits crept back into his game as he threw in his only two double faults of the match in the game, none more hurtful than on match point. The emotion and effort on the faces of these two Spanish giants as the match ended will remain crystal clear for sometime, not only with the fan’s that were privileged enough to see this encounter live, but also the world wide tennis community that witnessed perhaps the best match ever on Rod Laver arena. As Nadal jumped the net after his victory to congratulate his good friend, Verdasco and his camp should feel as though the walk away winners as well on this great night of tennis. Fernando who may surprise a lot of people this year if he can maintain his new found confidence had this to say after his heart breaking loss.
“Really a pity,” Verdasco said. “I want him to be 100 percent to play that final. I wish him the best of luck. I hope that he will win.”
“I need to be proud for the tournament I made and the level I played today also,” said Verdasco. “I think it was unbelievable match. I [hit] 20 aces. I was serving 210, 215 a lot. So I cannot think about that I made two double-faults in one game, because tennis is like [that] sometimes.”
“It is sad to play one match like this and lose after five hours. But, you know, for the other side, I need to be proud for the tournament I made and the level I played today also. I think it was unbelievable match,” said Verdasco, who mustered enough smiles afterwards to suggest a well-developed sense of perspective. “You know, we both played unbelievable. I think Rafa, I said always, in these matches, five sets, he is the toughest player. And I was there all the time, too. So for sure I will have this match in my mind all my life.”
The 25-year Madrid, native certainly has a lot to be proud of, as 2009 could be a break through year for Verdasco.
Nadal, who whose eyes were glazed, soaked in sweat as he could barely stop shaking, had this to say after advancing to his first Aussie Open final. “I don’t know how [I'm going to] be for the final,” said Nadal. [I'm going to] try my best for sure, [to] recover my body and my physical performance. But, you know, after one match like this, the next days you feel much heavier. For sure [it] is amazing [to] play another [Grand Slam] final. Here in Australia, the first one.”
“Today was one of those matches you’re going to remember a long time,” Nadal said. “In the last game, at 0-40, I started to cry. It was too much tension. Fernando was playing, I think, at his best level. He deserved this final, too.”
“I think seems like in the fourth set he was little bit tired. But he start to serve at 212, 215 all the time, and all the serves in. I didn’t have any chance for have the break in the fourth. I was okay with my serve, I was playing well, and I didn’t have chances in the fourth. In the tiebreak, he played unbelievable, no?”
“So I think I was very good mentally all the time, believing in the victory and being very focus, because was very tough, no? In the fifth set even, I had a lot of opportunities, and he served all the time unbelievable, no?”
“So was too tough. But for sure for me is amazing be in this final, especially with one match like today, no? Fernando was playing I think his best level in his career. He continues like this, he’s gonna have chances for be in any number of the ranking, no? So for win against Stepanek, 6?4, 6?0, 6?0, against Murray and against Tsonga, he must play very well, no? He’s doing very well, yeah. Too well.”
Final Preview:
The question now will be how well can Nadal recover in time to face a fresh Roger Federer? “Roger has a bit of an advantage over me,” said Nadal, whose previous best showing at the tournament was reaching the semifinals last year. “He’s resting right now. It’s tough to sleep after something like this. “But I want to try my best. It’s very important for me to be in this final. Whatever happens on Sunday, I’ve started the season my best ever.”
As history would have it, Nadal would be slated to lose Sunday’s final regardless of the length and grueling nature of his semi-final match. Reasons being that the Spaniard has achieved one round better ever year for the past three season as he made the quarter-finals in 2007, semi-finals in 2008 and now the finals in 2009. Therefore is you base results on those facts, Nadal will have to wait one more year to become champion down under.
However, one thing to take into consideration here is that Rafa is 12-6, lifetime against Federer, as only two of those wins have come on hardcourt, the Spaniards game is tailer made to combat the clock work game of the Swiss. Undoubtedly fitness is a great factor going forward when assessing Nadal’s chances against Federer, as the last time Rafa was in a predicament like this he was destroyed in the finals of Chennai in 2008 by Mikhail Younzey. On that occasion Rafa had played another epic three set four hour match with his mentor Carlos Moya in the semi-finals. The good news for Nadal this time around is that he has one extra day to repair and condition his battered body, as Federer will be going into the men’s final at 100%.
The implications of this final are of great proportions. If Rafa wins, then he will hold three of the four major (Australia, French, Wimbledon) and clearly be the number one ranked player. If Federer wins then he will hold two of the four majors (Australia and the U.S. Open) and will arguably be on par with Rafa. As well if Roger is the victor then he will certainly take great strides towards re-capturing his number one ranking. At this point with R-Fed holding a slight 3-2 head to head when their matches are played on hardcourts, that statistic will not be overwhelmingly comforting. With the final being played at night Rafa will be in much better form than if the championships were to be decided during the day and the sweltering heat. All in all this final clearly has Federer with the edge, with Rafa never being counted out of contention, as Federer has lost to Nadal on ever surface, as well as being wise enough not to overlook his greatest rival.
Please check back as we will have a full re-cap of the Championship final, on Sunday, as the years first major has brought forth the best possible match that tennis can have.
Thursday January 29, 2009. Day 11 review. Federer reaches fourth Aussie Open final and 18th slam final overall.
11:51am E.S.T.
Federer rolls Roddick.
Second seed Roger Federer once again showed the tennis world that nothing is wrong with his game, and a record tying 14th grand slam title is on the horizon. R-Fed was simply fantastic today as he never allowed Roddick to settle into the mens semi-final as he dismissed the 7th seed 6-2, 7-5, 7-5. Federer’s dazzling array of shots were once again on display tonight as his forehand was ferocious and his serve was (dime hitting accurate) during this encounter. Roddick actually played a good match, one in which we hit 38 winners, 18 unforced errors and a mere two double faults. However, at the end of the day Roddick does not match up well with Federer, as he does not like to come into that net, and his movement and court positioning although improved under the watchful eye of Larry Stefanki, will never be anywhere near that level of Federer’s. Only some much can be done really. 
Another interesting dynamic about this match up is that even though Roddick holds a significant advantage when is comes to the mph department on the serve, he rarely holds better serving numbers when the two players square off. This time around was no different as Federer hit 16 aces, to Andy’s 8 aces as well as having R-Fed winning 83% of his first serve points to only 70% for Roddick. That demoralizing statistic is one Roddick can not get over in my opinion as his primary weapon becomes an ordinary shot against the Swiss genius.
To make matters worse for Roddick, Federer hit 51 winners broke serve four times and never allowed Andy any breaks of serve. Federer had this to say after advancing to his third straight grand slam final.“I served well in the first set and that gave me a lot of confidence,” Federer said. “I was moving well and getting a lot of balls back and making it difficult for Andy to get the upper hand from the baseline. That was kind of what I was hoping for.”
“I thought that I played really solid out there tonight,” said Federer. “I thought the level was high throughout the match. I had a couple good games where I served really well in the first set, and that gave me a lot of confidence going into the second one. I was moving well and getting a lot of balls back and making it difficult for Andy to get the upper hand from the baseline.
“I thought he played a bit more aggressive with his backhand. I think he already tried to do that against me in Miami. I really think he improved the returns. The second serves he takes more easily. I have the feeling he’s improved at the net. He’s a bit better mover. Before, he didn’t run a whole lot for drop shots.”
Federer also had this to say about his next opponent. “I don’t have to wait to see who wins, I can start preparing for a leftie tonight,” Federer said.
“I’d like to play Fernando because he’s never played a Grand Slam final before,” said Federer. “I have an edge there. Playing Rafa is obviously more exciting because of the history we have playing in so many Grand Slam finals.”
Roddick who was obviously disappointed with not being able to even capture a set, had this to say after his loss. “Let’s not kid ourselves,” Roddick said. “You’re down two sets to him and scraping, trying to survive. I hit the ball pretty well. He just came up with shots when he needed to. That’s what he does.”
“Hopefully I can build on this a little bit,” said Roddick, who created three break point opportunities in the first set, hit eight aces, 38 winners and 18 unforced errors. “If I can keep my form through the first couple weeks here and from Doha and here, [I] should have a better year than the last couple.”
As Roddick goes back to Texas, to continue to rebuild his game and confidence, Federer will look forward to relaxing and studying tonight’s match, as top seed Rafael Nadal and 14th seed Fernando Verdasco both of Spain will attempt to join R-Fed for championship Sunday.
Nadal will take a perfect 6-0 mark against his countrymen into tonight’s match, as Verdasco will hope his abundance of newly found confidence and desire to succeed, will be enough to up end his superior Spain colleague.
Please check back as we will have a full semi-final wrap up as well as a finals preview, for the years first grand slam event from Melbourne, Australia.
Wednesday January 28, 2009. Full day 10 review. Spanish day sees Nadal and Verdasco take out Simon and Tsonga in the quarter-finals.
10:42 am E.S.T.
Rafa too much for Simon.
Top seed Rafael Nadal stormed past 6th seed Gilles Simon for the second straight year at the Aussie Open with a 6-2, 7-5, 7-5 victory in 2:28 minutes. Nadal who has not lost a set thus far in the tournament, encountered his two toughest sets in the second and third sets against Simon but was still able to prevail without any complications. Nadal’s consistent and aggressive ground strokes were too much for Simon to handle as the Spaniard progressed to his second straight Aussie Open final on the strength of 73% of first serve points won, 5 aces and 7 breaks of serve. Considering that Simon does not have any serious weapons to disrupt the Nadal game, the Frenchman put on a good show as he also progressed deeper than he ever had in a grand slam tournament. R
afa had this to say after his straight set victory.
“Today was tough, because playing against Simon is always difficult,” said Nadal. “I can’t play exactly my rhythm because when I play my rhythm with the forehand trying to change directions with the forehand for him is good. I think he feels very well two metres behind the line and running all the time. I think I had to change a little bit the strategy, trying to play a little bit more slice, short balls, try to change the rhythm. Play higher, play lower. So that’s what I tried today.”
Luckily for Simon the roof was still closed for the night session match with temperatures soaring into the 130’s. In the event that roof was open Gilles would have been cooked before the match would have ended. Simon had this to say after his defeat. “Unfortunately for me, I gave him the break every time in the first game of every set,” assessed Simon. “It was hard after [that] to come back. I didn’t manage [it] in the first set. It was better in the second and third. But finally, he was far better than me. Every time I had the chance, he played better than me. He hits a winner every time. I mean, he was just too good today. I think I did what I had to do on the court. He didn’t miss anything. He didn’t give me any point during three sets. He was serving very well.”
Rafa’s dominating Aussie Open run thus far will now take the muscular Spaniard into the semi-finals, where he will meet fellow countrymen and 14th seed Fernando Verdasco who was a 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 winner over 5th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France.
Verdasco confidence and all.
With poise and focus Fernando Verdasco showed today that when you combine mind and matter great things can happen in sports. With improved fitness, and increased confidence the Madrid, native showed great nerve in progressing to his first grand slam semi-final. Aided by some wise words from Andre Agassi over the off season, advice which Verdasco has said he can not share, clearly has taken this once gifted ball striker towards the upper levels of men’s tennis. Fernando’s improved service motion which has been helped by developing a better throwing motion, was on display tonight as the Spaniard, repeatedly pounded serves at Tsonga when he encountered and sort of adversity. By no means was this a walk in the park for Verdasco as Tsonga who was feeling the heat, put forth a spirited effort filled with the emotion and explosiveness which has carried him to the number 6th spot in the world. 
Verdasco’s high level play featured 78% on his first serve, 7 aces and a perfect 4/4 on break point chances. Fernando had this to say after advancing to his first grand slam semi-final. “I think that that Davis Cup final made me much stronger mentally,” Verdasco said. “I was believing in myself because I feel so good. That’s help me so much: to go to the court and try to really win the match because sometimes you go to the court when you don’t have this big confidence. That’s so important: to believe in yourself.”
“I was feeling much better the third and the fourth [sets] than the first and second,” said Verdasco. “But I think that the first set, I was more lucky than him that in the tie-break I played better, no? I was serving better, and I got some points good in the return also. But I don’t think that it was nothing easy in this match.”
Tsonga who also had a great tournament, which was surrounded by the pressures of defending last years finals points, as well as his ailing back, had this say about his performance. “I think Fernando played better than me,” assessed Tsonga. “He was more aggressive. He served better than me and that’s it. Today everything was wrong and all the time when I got the possibility to make a break, I missed or Fernando played a good point. So I didn’t make a lot of breaks. But I had a lot of break points.”
With the win Verdasco sets up a mouth watering semi-final clash with Rafa Nadal a man that he has lost to six times in a row and who has beaten him on every surface. As well Verdasco has only managed to win one set against Rafa in six encounters. Nadal had this to say about his up and coming match against his good friend.“[It is] always good to play against another Spanish player in the semi-finals of a Grand Slam,” said Nadal. “Is very good news for us. One player is going to be in the final. But Fernando is playing at his best level. I never played against him when he’s playing at the level like right now, because I think he never played at this level before - beating Murray, beating Tsonga. Sometimes in the past he had some mistakes in important moments and he lost a little bit of concentration. But right now he’s changing these things.”
“I think he played very well in Brisbane, but right now he’s playing well. I saw his two matches against Tsonga and Murray. He was very focused all the time, knowing what he wanted to do all the time. So going to be very tough.”
Verdasco also had this to say about his semi-final test against Nadal. “Of course, anyway, I know Rafa. I was playing with him a lot of times. We know each other for many years. Also I was watching him playing against González the other day a little bit. I was watching him play against Haas.”
With Verdasco’s improved play, I would not suspect Rafa to have a walk in the park with him this time around.
Thursday’s action in Melbourne will second seed Roger Federer battle 7th seed Andy Roddick under the lights and for Roddicks sake hopefully a closed roof. Federer currently holds a 15-2 life to head to head against Roddick, however the Amercian did win the pairs last match in March of 2008 in Miami in three sets.
Please check back as we will have continuing coverage of the men’s semi-finals, as the last four continue their quest in becoming the first grand slam holder of 2009.
Tuesday January 27, 2009. Full day 9 review. Djokovic wilts against Roddick; Federer demolishes Del Potro.
10:41 am E.S.T.
Roddick defeats defending champ.
The unbearable conditions this week in Melbourne have been described as “heat from hell”, and defending champ Novak Djokovic found that out the hard way as 129 degree temperatures broke down the Serb, as he was forced to retire after trailing Andy Roddick 6-7(3) 6-4 6-2 2-1 the quarter-final round. Djokovic who played a great first set, could not sustain his fitness level and was forced to pull the plug during the early stages of set four. Roddick who could sense the fatiguing Serb, started to extend the rallies in order to further fatigue Djokovic. Novak who has never been a good heat player and who also struggles with breathing problems will now stay at number three in the world as he will look to lose in the vicinity of 500 ranking points come the Monday rankings.
Roddick who in recent times has adopted more of an Andre Agassi mentality of just breaking down his opponents physical state, played a fantastic match that included, 16 aces, 87% of first serve points won, and five breaks of serves. Roddick had this to say after advancing to his fourth Aussie Open semi-final. “It’s rewarding to come out on a day like today, when it’s pretty hot, and feel pretty good. That’s what you do the work for,” Roddick said.
Andy also gave his new coach a lot of credit for his recent success. “Getting in better shape was his [Stefanki’s] impetus,” said Roddick. “He kind of put me up to it. I think we have similar minds. We both like going to work and have a lot of same interests. We’re kind of on par as far as our energy levels. We don’t like sitting around being bored. So you can only judge it on what we’ve done so far. It’s been really good so far.”
Djokovic who was gracious in his loss had this to say after his defeat. “The main reason was cramping and soreness in the whole body,” Djokovic said, taking the defeat as well as he could. “I think the people could see that I was struggling with movement. I couldn’t serve the way I served in the first two sets.
“He saw that longer rallies are not comfortable for me at that point, so he was using it wisely. Really unfortunate way to end up my Australian Open 2009 here in this way. Really tried my best, but sometimes you can’t fight against your own body.”
Djokovic will now take some time off to regroup and get ready to rejoin the tour at the Dubai championships in late February.
Roddick will look to advance to his first Aussie Open final now will have to defeat a man who has had immense trouble with throughout the years as 2nd seed Roger Federer sent a message and then some to the tennis world as he destroyed 8th seed Juan Martin Del Potro 6-3, 6-0, 6-0.
Federer rebounds.
The on court heat was the least of Juan Martin Del Potro’s problems Tuesday evening on Rod Laver Arena, as
Roger Federer poured in one of the most dominating grand slam performances of his historic career. Federer showed that he is a true champion as he was not looking to play anything other than his best as he had more than enough drama in his last match against Tomas Berdych. Todays encounter took a mere 1:20 minutes, was a joke really considering that this is the quarter-finals of a major. Del Potro who only won a total of 36 points in three sets was at the mercy of R-Fed as the Swiss hit 12 aces, won 86% of first serve points, and broke the Del Potro serve 7 times. Del Potro on the other hand had zero break point chances and won only 33% of his second serve points. Federer had this to say after reaching the semi-finals, for the 17th straight major. “Things went much better than I expected,” an understated Federer told reporters. “No, I mean, things were great for me.“I was really happy the way I came out and played. I kind of felt good from the start.“The longer the match went the more he struggled and the better I got.”
Federer who admitted he almost felt bad for Del Potro also added: “The difference was big in the end. It was so surprising to have that kind of a score in the quarters of a Slam, especially having so many great players around at this stage of the competition.”
Del Potro who was quiet and subdued during his press conference had this to add after his embarrassing loss. “I couldn’t do anything in the match. He played like No. 1 in the world, so that’s it. I didn’t have a good day. I played badly, but he did everything very good.”
Federer will now move on to battle Andy Roddick in the semi-finals, a player who he has had great success against. Federer spoke about his rematch with a player who he is 15-2 life time against. “I’m excited playing Andy. I’m happy for him. He’s doing well here again. I’m excited to play against him and seeing him create an upset in a big tournament. That’s what’s kind of been missing for him in the big tournaments lately.”
“Playing Andy is always nice,” the 27-year-old Federer said. “We’ve had some big matches over the years and it’s always a pleasure to play against him because he brings energy to the court with his serve and his character. It’s nice to play somebody my age. Everyone’s so young now.”
R-Fed will certainly be the favourite in that encounter, although Roddick is playing at the top his game and his new coach and fitness standard will certainly give Federer something to think about.
Wednesday’s action at Melbourne Park will see top seed Rafael Nadal battle 6th seed Gilles Simon and 5th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will encounter the in form 14th seed Fernando Verdasco of Spain.
Please check back as we will have continuing daily coverage from the years first major, from Melbourne, Australia.
Monday January 26, 2009. Full day 8 review. Rafa defeats Gonzalez; Verdasco stuns Murray; Tsonga and Simon are through to the quarter-finals.
11:09 am E.S.T.
Nadal remains on course.
Top seed Rafael Nadal continued his march towards his first hardcourt grand slam title as the Spaniard defeated Fernando Gonzalez from Chile, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4. Rafa only needed 1:55 minutes to contain the powerful Gonzalez as Nadal’s “spin to win” game style was too much for the brute force of Fernando. Nadal played a great match in the sense that he did not try and over hit on his forehand, as he was more than happy on playing high percentage topspin angles that would give Gonzalez all sorts of trouble. Even after being down 0-3 in third set Nadal was not deterred as his focus and efficiently have been spot on during the fortnight. 
Nadal progressed to this third Aussie Open quarter-final on the strength of 4 aces, 78% of first serve points won and 6 breaks of serve. The Mallorcan had this to say after his victory. “I play very well … two nights ago [against Haas]. So I think I play well in all the matches. Only the second one a little bit worse. The rest I am very happy how I played,” he said. “And today I think I played well. Very solid match from the baseline. Playing very good forehands, backhands. I am improving when the tournament is [progressing] all the time.”
“I hope I continue playing like this, because all the (remaining) matches are very, very difficult. I have to be ready for everything.”
Nadal will next face Frenchmen and 6th seed Gilles Simon who was a winner over 12th seed Gael Monfils after Simon led 6-4 2-6 6-1 before Monfils had to retire with a right wrist injury. The win marks Simon’s first grand slam quarter-final as his recent charge to the top ten appears be safe for the moment. Monfils had this to say after he was forced to retire. “I mean, exactly I don’t know, but I think I twisted my wrist.” This is the first time Monfils injured his right wrist. Last season he suffered a left wrist injury. “I had a problem with my left one last year. I think it’s pretty similar, but I’m not sure a hundred percent. But it was the left one.”
The disappointing result for Monfils continues the trend for the 22-year old as much like his countrymen Richard Gasquet, something always prevents these two gifted players from going deep in majors. Monfils will now head back to France where he will evaluate his wrist before preparing for his up coming tournament schedule.
Simon who was excited to be in his first grand slam quarter-final had this to say after moving forward. “You never want to win like this,” said Simon. “It’s already strange when it’s another player, I mean. But when it’s a friend like Gaël it’s more difficult. I don’t know. I have a quarter-final to play in two days, and I just have to focus on this.”
Nadal and Simon have met 3 times with Nadal holding a 2-1 head to head lead over the Frenchmen. All of the pairs matches have been played on hardcourts. Rafa also has a win at the Aussie Open over Simon as the two played during the 2008 event, which Nadal was won in straight sets in the third round.
Murray bounced from down under.
Pre-tournament favorite 4th seeded Andy Murray was stunned today as the Scot was defeated in 5 sets by the talented and hard hitting Fernando Verdasco of Spain 2-6, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4. Murray who had come into Melbourne with high hopes and eight straight wins over the top three players in the world started off in fine form as he coasted through the first set. However, Verdasco who had been known for displaying lack of confidence in close and important matches, seems to have rid himself of that label as he held his nerve and served beautifully in the forth and five sets. His serving prowess did not allow Murray any room to capitalize on his two sets to one lead. Murray had this to say after his defeat. “I had my chances,” the Scot shrugged. “He served incredible in the fourth and fifth sets. So he deserves the credit for the win. “Sometimes you’ve just got to say ‘too good’, and he played better than me.”
Murray who came into this forth round match had a perfect 5-0 head to head record against the Spaniard and had never even lost a set. Andy will surely know now that everyday is a new day and you are only as good as your last match. Verdasco’s improved played was highlighted by 10 aces, 69% of first serve points won (that number greatly increased in the forth and five sets) and 5 breaks of serve. Murray who even won one more total point in the match was constantly seen asking himself when Verdasco’s good fortune on his serve would end.
Fernando had this to say about improved serving. “You know, I just saw in the match that I should hit more the first serve and try to get more free points with my serve. You know, with the second serve, it was tough because he get into the court so much. If you don’t make really good second serve, he take always, you know, the initiative in the point.”
Verdasco will now look forward to a match up with 5th seeded Jo-Wilfriend Tsonga, who aching back and all defeated 9 seed James Blake 6-4, 6-4, 7-6(3). The 2:24 minute affair was dominated by the Tsonga serve and forehand, as Blake who has always had power to spare, looked under constant pressure as he attempted to figure out the big Frenchman’s game.
Tsonga who is the defending Aussie Open finalist, has progressed through the event with an ailing back that he sustained in the Auckland event just prior to the start of the Aussie Open. His injury woes did not play a big part in this match however as he struck 12 aces, won 84% of his first serve points and broke the Blake serve 3 times. Blake who was looking to make his second straight Aussie Open quarter-final had this to say after his defeat. “He played great, [his] serve was probably giving me the most trouble,” said Blake. “When he was making first serves, it made it really difficult for me to get into points. He has such an aggressive style, if you block that first one back, you’re going to be running. You’re going to be in trouble. That was a big problem for me.” 
Tsonga who will be looking for a possible re-match with Rafa Nadal in the semi-finals had this to say after his commanding win. “It’s a big performance for me because James is a good player, explained Tsonga. “For me it was really important to win today, to access the quarter-final. “It’s going to be a tough match [against Verdasco], I think. Fernando played very well at the beginning of the season. He won Davis Cup last year. And I think since that he’s very confident in his game and it’s gonna be hard.”
Verdasco and Tsonga have never met on the ATP world tour or in a grand slam. Both will be looking for a chance of life time if they are able to be successful in what promises to be a highly entertaining match.
Tuesday’s matches in Melbourne will see the first of the quarter-finals as 2nd seed Roger Federer will battle 8th seed Juan Martin Del Potro, and defending champ 3rd seed Novak Djokovic will take on 7th seed Andy Roddick.
Please stay tuned for a complete wrap up from day 9 action from Melbourne, Australia and the 2009 Aussie Open.
Sunday January 25, 2009 Day 7 review, updated. Federer comes back to beat Berdych; Djokovic outlasts Marcos.
3:20 pm E.S.T.
Federer shows why he is the greatest.
Second seeded Roger Federer certainly did not anticipate a tough encounter with 20th seed Tomas Berdych in the round of sixteen at this years Aussie Open, but what Federer did learn by the end of the evening was that he still has what it takes to win grand slams. R-Fed who achieved a remarkable comeback victory, defeated the hard hitting Czech 4-6, 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 in 3:29 minutes. Berdych who started off on fire, appeared to be on course to duplicate his 2004 Olympic win over the Swiss as he stormed forward in capturing the first two sets. 
However, Federer’s defense picked up and he was able to grab the third set and continue his momentum in advancing to his 17 straight grand slam quarter-final. I do not think the recent Federer struggles should be taken to seriously as he has breezed through the tournament up until this point, and the adversity that he encountered against Berdych will have him extra sharp for the coming rounds. Roger had this to say after his fantastic comeback.
“I kind of felt after a terrible first set from my side that if I probably want to win this it’s going to go to five sets. I just felt it. I knew Tomas was dangerous, and if I played even still a great set or three great sets, it’s probably not going to happen. He would squeeze one great set in there somewhere, second, third, or fourth,” said Federer. “That’s why I kind of was prepared for five from the start. I think that’s what made me be so determined towards the end. It was nice being in a battle with him. It was fair play. It was tough, good tennis towards the end. I believed in it all the way, and I think that was key in the end.”
Federer also dismissed any thoughts that he had wasted too much energy in his battle with Berdych. “I fought as hard as I could. I enjoy these kind of fights, because they don’t come around very often, especially on the Rod Laver Arena. I hope it’s a good omen. I feel in great shape and I could have played three more sets out there if I’d needed to.”
R-Fed now moves onto the quarter-finals where he will meet 8th seed Juan Martin Del Potro. The pair have met 3 times with Federer holding a 3-0 head to head lead. Federer has also won the two hardcourt matches that have been played between the two players.
Djokovic stays up late to defeat Baghdatis.
Defending champ Novak Djokovic encountered another difficult assignment in the round of sixteen as the third seed had to overcome the shot making of Marcos Baghdatis in a 6-1, 7-6, 6-7, 6-2, 3:15 minute affair. Djokovic who has clearly not been at the top of his form thus far in Australia, finally found his forehand in the early hours of Monday morning to disrupt the clean strokes from the Cypriot. Djokovic who used every ounce of emotion that he had, won 74% of his first serve points, hit 3 aces and broke the Baghdatis serve 5 times. Djokovic had this to say after his victory. “It’s never easy to play second week of a Grand Slam, especially against a great player like Marcos,” Djokovic said. “It wasn’t easy. We had to wait (to start) for a couple of hours. But I’m happy I got through in four sets.”
The Djokovic draw does not get much easier as he will now face 7th seed Andy Roddick who was a 7-5, 6-3, 6-1 winner over 21st seed Tommy Robredo of Spain. The American who improved to 10-0 against Robredo pounded 13 aces, won 84% of his first serve points and broke the Robredo serve 5 times. A-Rod had this to say after his forth round win. “I didn’t start off great, and then I thought the second and third sets were a lot better,” Roddick said.”Which is, I guess, the direction you want to go in.”
Roddick and Djokovic have met 3 times with Djokovic holding a 2-1 head to head record. All three of the pairs matches have taken place on hardcourts.
Please check back as Monday’s action in Melbourne will include, top seed Rafael Nadal versus 13th seed Fernando Gonzalez and 4th seed Andy Murray against 14th seed Fernando Verdasco.
Sunday January 25, 2009. Day 7 review. Del Potro first to reach quarter-finals, Federer and Djokovic still to come.
12:03 am E.S.T.
Del Potro shows poise.
Lanky 6′6″ Juan Martin Del Potro, advanced to his second straight quarter-final grand slam as he dismissed 19th seed Marin Cilic 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2. Del Potro who continued his perfect 2009, as the 20-year old started the year with a win in Auckland. His nine wins and counting did not seem possible at first as Cilic captured the opening set, based on his great ground game and heavy serve. However as the second set began, Del Potro picked up his game and continued to roll through as the last three sets were won relatively easily. Del Potro advanced to the quarter-finals on the heals of 8 aces, 70% of first serve points won and 6 breaks of serve. The 2:56 minute affair allowed the Tandil, native to really push for a top 5 ranking in 2009, as hardcourts are not even his best surface.
The Argentine will next face 2nd seed Roger Federer or 20th seed Tomay Berdych. Currently Berdych is up two sets to love against the 3-time Aussie Open champ, as R-Fed looks to be in some serious trouble. Please check back as we will have full wrap up of this match.
Elsewhere 7th seed Andy Roddick will face 21st seed Tommy Robredo and 3rd seed Novak Djokovic will battle Marcos Baghdatis.
Saturday January 24, 2009. Day 6 review, updated. Rafa and Mr. Murray easily move onto the round of sixteen, Gonzalez wins epic battle over Gasquet.
10:28 am E.S.T.
Rafa Rocks.
Top seed Rafael Nadal made easy work out of former number 2, Tommy Haas today as the Mallorcan dispatched the German 6-4, 6-2, 6-2. Rafa explained his victory afterwards. “[A] perfect match doesn’t exist,” explained Nadal. “But today, especially after a few games, after the first three, four games, I started to play well. In the beginning, I was playing too short [a] little bit. I played more inside the court with the forehand. Improving a little bit more with the backhand, too. [I'm] very happy to be in fourth round for another year.”
In the fourth round the Spaniard will face 13th seed Fernando Gonzalez who was a 5-set winner over Richard Gasquet, 3-6, 3-6, 7-6(10), 6-2, 12-10 in 4:10 minutes. The epic battle was one of Gonzalez’s finest moments as a professional. Fernando had this to say after his win. He was playing like a super hero,” Gonzalez said of Gasquet. “I couldn’t do anything.”
“You have to keep fighting and wait for your chances.When we went to the fifth set I feel really good – I feel the favorite for the match.”
Murray moves forward.
Fourth seed and tournament pick, Andy Murray also moved on with comfort today as the Scot, dispatched 31st seed Jurgen Melzer 7-5, 6-0, 6-3 in 1:40 minutes. Murray is playing scary, good tennis at the moment and will look to continue his form against 14th seed Fernando Verdasco in the round of sixteen. Murray had this to say after his victory. “The conditions on the court today were very different to what they were the first match [versus Andrei Pavel] that I played,” said Murray. “I’ve been practicing during the day, as well. The ball flies a lot. It tends to be more windy, as well, during the day.
“I felt like I returned his serve much, much better than I had done in the past. The conditions were slower, which helped me, because he plays very aggressive. He likes to come into the net, take the ball early, sort of rush you. But with the heavy conditions, I wasn’t as rushed, and returned the serve better.”
Sundays action from Melbourne will see 2nd seed Roger Federer take on 20th seed Tomas Berdych and 3rd seed Novak Djokovic battle Marcos Baghadatis in the night match. Please stay tuned for further updates from down under.
Saturday January 24, 2009 Day 6 review. French day includes wins by Monfils and Simon; Tsonga and Gasquet look to join the party.
12:50 am E.S.T.
Monfils tames Almagro.
The athletic Frenchmen is starting to become a consistent force on tour, as 12th seed Gael Monfils had a routine win today as he dusted Spaniard, Nicolas Almagro in 2:10 minutes, 6-4, 6-3, 7-5. Monfils who has been known for not really having a game plan in his matches, is starting to produce a much cleaner game style which includes more touch and net attacks. Monfils who was a junior champion in Australia in 2004, now advances to the round of sixteen for the first time in his career. Gael powered through his third round match on the strength of 12 aces, 76% of his first serves and 5 breaks of serve. Monfils is one of few players on tour who can afford to play casually and still prevail. However, Monfils will have to be on his game in the fourth round as he will battle countrymen and 6th seed Gilles Simon who was a straight set winner over Mario Ancic, 7-6, 6-4, 6-2.
Simon who had a career year in 2008, advanced to just his first career round of sixteen, as the thoughtful Frenchmen, uses every ounce of his body and mind to win tennis matches. Simon’s flat strokes are tailer made for the plexi-cushion courts in Melbourne park, as he won 70% of his first serve points, hit 36 winners and broke the mighty Ancic serve 5 times. The 2:26 minute win added to the successful march by the French contingent this tournament, as Simon’s match with Monfils should be a great encounter which will include power and great court coverage.
Elsewhere, just completed 5th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has defeated Dudi Sela in four sets 6-2, 6-2, 1-6, 6-1. The third set loss by Tsonga, seemed to be of momentary loss in concern as the big Frenchmen stormed through the final set with no adversity. Tsonga’s numbers for the match included 5 aces, 70% of first serve points won and 6 breaks of serve. Tsonga’s ailing back is still an issue and one feels as though his progression in this event is numbered at this point. Jo-Wilfried will now look forward to his round of sixteen match against either 9th seed James Blake or Russian, Igor Andreev. Blake is currently up two sets to love and will look to set up an enticing match with Tsonga.
Another match that has been completed today saw 14th seed Fernando Verdasco advance to the round of sixteen with a dominating win over Brisbane champ Radek Stepanek 6-2, 6-0, 6-0. Verdasco has been in top form during the fortnight thus far, as he will now either face, 4th seed Andy Murray or 31st seed Jurgen Melzer.
Matches that are still to come on day 6 include: Top seed Rafael Nadal versus Tommy Haas and 13th seed Fernando Gonzalez against 24th seed Richard Gasquet.
Please check back for a complete wrap-up from day 6 action from Melbourne park.
Friday January 23, 2009. Day 5 review, updated. R-Fed avenges his 2005 defeat to Marat; Roddick make sure that there is no Magic show from Santoro.
11:37am E.S.T.
Roger is peRFect.
Second seed Roger Federer made sure that his latest battle with Marat Safin did not turn into the same type of affair that saw the 13-time grand slam champ go down to the Russian, 9-7 in the fifth, as he did during the 2005, Aussie Open semi-final. This time around R-Fed was poised and relentless as he defeated Safin 6-3, 6-2, 7-6. The 1:51 minute contest was highlighted by Federer’s fantastic footwook as well is his great touch. Roger who is the master of not letting his opponents get comfortable in a match, never allowed Marat to find his footing, as he hit 9 aces, won a very high 85% of his first serve points and also broke the Safin serve 3 times. Federer had this to say about his match with the former number one player.“I played well from the start. I didn’t give him a whole a lot. I don’t think I had to save break point, which I guess is great against such a good returner like Marat can be,” he said.
“I understand that I didn’t play Marat in his prime,” he said. “Still, there were moments where he did play very well like, I would say, maybe in the third set, I think he played great.
“[But] he just couldn’t keep it up for the entire three sets … For me, it was a rock-solid match. I came up with some good shots when I had to, and one them was the match point. I’m very happy about it.”
Safin who will be retiring at the end of 2009 had this to say about his farewell at his most successful grand slam.“ I don’t like this bye-bye part,” the 2005 champion said with a shrug. It’s just a sad story. It’s not for me. I prefer to leave this way, quietly, nice, with a great match. Unfortunately, I couldn’t do better than that, three sets.
“But anyway, I lost today probably to the better player, one of the greatest ones in the history of tennis. I really hope for him to be so I can tell the story to my kids that I played with him. I think it’s a nice story.
“He’s the most complete tennis player in the history of tennis, that’s for sure. With all due respects to (Andre) Agassi and (Pete) Sampras and the rest of the gang. But I never felt so uncomfortable against any of the players before.”
Safin will surely be missed as his charismatic nature is one that can not be duplicated in the sport.
With the win Federer moves onto round three where he will meet, 20th seed Tomas Berdych, who defeated Roger’s countrymen, 15th seed Stanislas Wawrinka 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4. R-Fed and Berdych have met 8 times with Federer leading the pairs head to head 7-1 with the two also playing at the exact same stage during the 2008 Aussie Open. Berdych does have his lone victory over Federer on hardcourts which23 took place during the 2004 Olympic games in Athens.
Federer has now advanced to the 4th round or better of 17 straight grand slams, as he is pushing to tie the Pete Sampras mark of 14 majors.
Roddick prevents Magic.
Andy Roddick also sent one of the games charismatic stars out of his last Aussie Open match today, as the
American defeated Frenchmen Fabrice Santoro, 6-3 6-4 6-2. Santoro who will be retiring by years end had this to say about his last match at Melbourne Park.“I have been coming here since 1991, which is a long time,” Santoro said in a televised courtside interview. “This is one of my favorite places and I have very special memories of Melbourne Park.” Santoro who also reached his lone career quarter-final during the 2006 Aussie Open will certainly always have a place in his heart, for the great Australian tournament.
Roddick however was business as usual today as he blasted 22 aces, won 85% of his first serve points, and broke the Santoro serve 4 times. Roddick had this to say after his victory, which also included the great respect he has for Fabrice.“Respect is an understatement,” Roddick said. “The longevity he has had is an accomplishment in itself.”
“I felt good,” said Roddick. “With Fabrice, a lot of it is about execution. You’re never going to feel comfortable with the shots that he’s able to hit. You kind of just got to stick to it and keep going. I thought I did that pretty well.”
With the win Roddick moves onto the round of sixteen where he will meet 21st seed Tommy Robredo.
Roddick and T-Rob have met 9 times with the American winning all of their encounters.
Elsewhere the comeback road for Marcos Baghdatis is starting took look much more promising as the Cypriot defeated his second seed in as many rounds, as 23rd seed Mardy Fish was his victim today. The easy scoreline of 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 will now send Marcos into the round of sixteen against defending champ Novak Djokovic. If Baghdatis is healthy he can certainly trouble the third seed.
Saturdays action in Melbourne will feature top seed Rafael Nadal against former number two player, Tommy Haas, 4th seed Andy Murray will face Jurgen Melzer and 13th Fernando Gonzalez will take on 24th seed Richard Gasquet from France.
Please check back as we will have continuing daily coverage from day 6 action from the 2009 Aussie Open.
Friday January 23, 2009. Day 5 review. Djokovic and Del Potro survive the third round in Melbourne; Federer and Safin still on deck.
12:50am E.S.T
Novak scrapes through Delic.
The easy days of racing through a grand slam draw are over, except perhaps if you are Rafa Nadal on clay.
Third seed and defending champ Novak Djokovic found that out the hard way today as he was barely able to get through American, Amir Delic 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6. The 3:06 minute match saw Novak lose a set for the first time in the event as Delic used his aggressive net game and potent serve to take the second set, as he also nearly captured the fourth set. Delic who entered the event when Nicolas Kiefer withdrew, certainly did make the most out of his lucky loser status. Meanwhile, Novak showed his champions mentality, as he gutted out this victory to reach the last sixteen. Djokovic withstood 16 aces from Delic as he pounded 11 aces of his own. As well Djokovic won 79% of his first serve points and broke the Delic serve 3 times. With the win the Serb advances to the final sixteen where he will meet 23rd seed Mardy Fish or Marcos Baghdatis. That match will be the last match on the court Hisense Arena later this evening.
Del Potro holding his own.
Argentine, Juan Martin Del Potro showed his metal as well as his strong ground game today as the 8th seed defeated Gilles Muller of Luxembourg 6-7(5), 7-5, 6-3, 7-5. Del Potro who was in tough today, maintained his continued confidence as he had to deal with an on slot of Muller aces. Gilles pounded 22 aces this afternoon as his serve and volley game kept Del Potro wondering if he would be the victor today. However, experience and his recent five career titles came into play as Del Potro captured the remaining three sets to advance to the round of sixteen. The 6′6″ Tandil, native also hit 12 aces, won 83% of his first serve points, and impressively broke the big Muller serve 4 times.
It will not get any easier for Del Potro to advance to the quarter-finals, as his next opponent will be 19th seed Marin Cilic who was an easy winner over 11th seed David Ferrer 7-6(5), 6-3, 6-4. Marin will be a formidable opponent for Del Potro, as he moves better than the Argentine and has a better transition game. Cilic advanced to his second Aussie Open round of sixteen on the strength of 7 aces, 68% of first serve points won and 4 breaks of serve. The Del Potro/ Cilic round of sixteen has popcorn match written all over it.
Elsewhere, Tommy Robredo continued his quiet march into the round of sixteen of a major as the 21st seed destroyed yet another opponent in Yen-Hsun Lu of Chinese Taipei 6-1, 6-3, 6-2. Lu had beaten 10th seeded David Nalbandian in the previous round, but that was of no concern to Robredo today as proceeded to the round of sixteen with style as T-Rob has won nine straight sets. Robredo now awaits the winner of 7th seed Andy Roddick and Frenchmen, Fabrice Santoro. That match can be followed on our live Aussie Open ticker.
Still to come on day 5, a pair of Swiss stars will take the court as, 2nd seed Roger Federer will take on the talented Russian, Marat Safin and 15th seed Stanislas Wawrinka will battle 20th seed Tomas Berdych.
Please check back as we will have a complete wrap-up of the remainder of today’s matches.
Thursday January 22, 2009. Day 4 review, updated. Murray and Tsonga smoke through round two.
10:24am E.S.T.
Marvelous Murray.
The fourth seeded Scot, maintained his perfect 7-0 start to 2009 as he breezed past Spaniard Marcel Granollers 6-4, 6-2, 6-2. The 1:50 minute affair, featured a cruise control Murray as he could do little wrong in advancing to round three. Andy didn’t have to go past second gear in this match as he hit four aces, won 73% of his first serve points and broke the Spaniards serve 6 times. Murray’s rock solid form looks to be right on track for a title run this year down under. The Scot discussed his favorite label at this years event and also addressed Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic’s disagreement with him being the favorite. “They say there’s a lot of pressure on them but then people aren’t saying they’re the favorites but they want to be the favorites,” Murray said. “Therefore, by saying they’re the favorites, they’re putting more pressure back on themselves. I don’t really understand the whole thing.”
“I think I’ve played well enough in the last six or seven months to be in that sort of group. Whether I’m the favorite or not, I don’t know. I said at the start of the tournament, Federer and Nadal have got the most experience and probably merit being favorites. “But there’s a reason why people think I have a chance to win here, because I played very well the last few months and won against them.”
Murray also acknowledged his next opponent, Austrian, Jurgen Melzer who is the 31st seed. “I was two points away from losing against him (Melzer) in the third round of the U.S. Open (in 2008) and ended up winning in five sets,” Murray said. “He’s a tough guy, a lefty, big server and never gives you too much rhythm, so if I want to win I’ll have to play well.”
Tsonga sizzles.
Big serving Frenchmen, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga continued his back ache march to the potentially another Aussie Open final as he dispatched defeated Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia 6-7(4), 7-6(8), 7-6(7), 6-2 in 3:46 minutes on a packed Hisense Arena. The rocket serving affair featured 18 aces by Tsonga and 17 aces by Ivan. Perhaps Tsonga’s youthful legs made this difference in the outcome of this match, as Ljubicic faded quickly come set four. Tsonga who has been playing elite level tennis since his return to the tour last fall also won 82% of his first serve points and broke the big Ljubicic serve 3 times.
However, going forward a cause for concern for the Frenchme is his ailing back which he did discuss after his victory. “Tonight my back was very stiff.” Tsonga will have a bit of break for the serving bombs in his next match as he faces Dudi Sela who was a 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 winner over Victor Hanescu of Romania. Sela who is a consistent player with not a lot of power, could give the 5th seeded Tsonga problems if the big man’s back is an issue.
Elsewhere, American and 9th seed James Blake posted another win as he defeated Sebastien de Chaunac 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 in 2:09 minutes; Blake will now face 18th seed Igor Andreev who followed his first round five set win over Peter Polansky, by another 5-set match over the up and coming Ernests Gulbis of Latvia 6-4, 6-4, 5-7, 3-6, 6-4. Former world number 7, Mario Ancic reached the third round as he defeated fellow countrymen and 25th seed Ivo Karlovic 5-7, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. In case anyone was wondering Karlovic struck 25 aces in the losing effort; and finally 22nd seed Radek Stepanek continued his fine form of 2009 as he advanced to round three with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-7, 7-5 win over Michael Berrer of Germany.
Fridays action from down under will see defending champ Novak Djokovic take on American, Amir Delic, the popcorn match of the tournament so far as 2nd seeded Roger Federer will battle former number one and 2005 Aussie Open champ Marat Safin under the lights, and finally Andy Roddick will look to get crafty as he will face the talented and ageless Fabrice Santoro of France.
Please stay tuned as we will have a full wrap up from day 5 from the 2009 Aussie Open.
Thursday January 22, 2009. Day 4 review. Rafa roars into the third round; Simon stays on course to hold his seeding.
12:01am E.S.T.
Rafa rocks Roko.
Even with 40 mph winds and 100 mph hour forehands from his opponent being blasted by him from time to time top seed Rafael Nadal was not deterred today 
from destroying flat hitting Roko Karaunsic from Croatia, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3. The 1:37 minute affair, featured Rafa’s new open stanced serve motion as well as his flatter hit forehand in what was an easy day at the office for the Mallorcan. Nadal never looked like he needed to hit this panic button during this match as he won 75% of his first serve points, hit 3 aces and broke serve 6 times. Those great statistics allowed the Spaniard to mantain his relaxed demeanor in such extreme conditions. Nadal who has cruised up until this point in the tournament as he has not dropped more than 3 games in any set, will now recieve a much tougher test as his next opponent will be former number 2 player, Tommy Hass of Germany. Haas was an easy 6-1, 6-2, 6-1 winner over Flavio Cipolla of Italy. Haas and Nadal have played with three times, with Rafa holding a 3-0 head to head lead, with all of his wins coming on hardcourts.
Simon smooth in second round.
Frenchmen, Gilles Simon played the role of a spoiler today as he dusted Australia’s last hope in the event as he dismissed Chris Guccione 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-1, 6-2. Simon who is one of the strongest mental players on tour did not struggle with the 6′7″ moster serve of Guccione as the Frenchmen surprisingly hit more aces as he finished with a 14/12 count. Simon also won 84% of his first serve points and broke the Guccione serve 5 times. Simon who is seeded 6th at this years Aussie Open, has been overlooked by many of his fellow players as his game does not provide the required “sting” that all of the top players in the world possess. However, Gilles has been efficent at getting the job done in the past year and it appears as though this year will not be any different. Simon will now await the winner between hard serving 25th seed Ivo Karlovic and Mario Ancic. That match is currently on court and can be followed on our live score board. 
Elsewhere, 24th seed Richard Gasquet advanced to round three with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 win over Denis Istomin. Gasquet will now look forward to battling 13th seed Fernando Gonzalez who was a 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 winner over the aging Guillermo Canas of Argentina. Other winners included: Dudi Sela defeating Victor Hanescu 6-3, 6-3, 6-2; 14th seed Fernando Verdasco, quietly moving forward as he defeated Arnaud Clement 6-1, 6-2, 6-2; 17th seed Nicolas Almagro defeating Fabio Fogini 6-2, 7-5, 6-0; and 31st seed Jurgen Melzer defeating Andreas Beck 5-7, 7-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Still to come on day 4 action, fourth seed Andy Murray will battle Marcel Granollers and 5th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will contest his second round match against former world number 3, Ivan Ljubicic from Croatia.
Please stay tuned for further reports on day 4 action.
Wednesday January 21, 2009. Day 3 review, updated. Roddick survives X-man challenge; Nalbandian out early in a slam once again.
11:53am E.S.T.
Roddick defeats Xavier.
On the heals of a powerful serve and improved court movement, 7th seeded Andy Roddick still had his share of difficult moments today as the American defeated Xavier Malisse of Belgium 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (1), 6-2. As Malisse won the first set, another early grand slam exit for Roddick seemed possible. However, Roddick’
s first serve percentage picked up and his second serve return become more aggressive which allowed him to set the tempo for the remainder of the match. Andy’s 19 aces, 83% of first serve points won and 5 breaks of serve allowed him to avoid a disappointing second round exit. Roddick had this to say after his victory which he credited to his new coach Larry Stefanki.“I trust his resume, what he’s been able to accomplish as a coach,” said Roddick. “I think the most appealing thing about him when I was going through the process of choosing someone was the various styles he’s worked with and the various personalities he’s been able to work with. You know, he’s on par with anybody, if not better. Whatever happens this year, I didn’t want it to be for lack of preparation or for lack of anything, any work left on the table during the off?season.”
Roddick will now battle 36-year old Fabrice Santoro of France who was a 5-7, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 winner over 32nd seed Philipp Kohlschreiber. The good news for Roddick is that he will not have to face Kohlschreiber, who knocked him out of the Aussie Open last year in the round of 32. The bad news is that although Roddick has had a good record against Santoro, there really is no preparation when playing the Frenchmen, as the crafty “magician” plays like no one else on tour. Roddick had this say in regards to his next challenger.“The oldest and probably the craftiest,he’s probably got the best set of hands,” said Roddick. “He’s capable of making any match pretty tough.” The entertaining third round clash should be Roddick’s to win, let’s just home he doesn’t knock Fabrice down with anymore first serves, as he did in New York last year.
King David is out!
Argentine, David Nalbandian made another quick exit in a grand slam event today as the 10th seed was sent packing by little known Yen-Hsun Lu 6-4, 5-7, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 in 3:55 minutes. The Chinese Taipei resident who was best known for defeating Andy Murray at last years Olympic games, dictated well throughout this encounter as he did not give David a lot of fire power to work with, which Nalbandian does not like. Lu was just a touch better in every category today as he hit 9 aces, won 71% of his first serve points and broke the Nalbandian serve 8 times. This defeat will come as a huge blow for David as he was coming in hot after capturing the Sydney tournament earlier this month and was hoping to rid himself of last falls Davis Cup disappointment.
Lu had this to say after his victory.”I just [had] nothing to lose today, because he’s [a] Top 10 player,” said Lu, who will next meet No. 21 seed Tommy Robredo of Spain in the third round. Robredo cruised past Viktor Troicki of Serbia 6-1, 6-3, 6-0 in 82 minutes. “For me, I’m 61 in the world and I have no pressure. I just [went] on the court and play[ed] my game,” Lu continued. “Today, for sure, I [produced a ] better performance than him.”
With the win the unseeded Lu advances to round three where he will meet Spaniard, Tommy Robredo who was an easy straight set winner over Viktor Troicki of Serbia.
Other winners on day three included: Gilles Muller ending the hopes of youngster Bernand Tomic under the lights on Rod Laver arena 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-2. Muller was coming into the second round on the heals of winning the longest ever Aussie Open match in round one over Spaniard Felicano “F-Lo” Lopez and Tomic was hoping to continue his fine form in the tournament after becoming just the second youngest Australian player to win a round in his home tournament after countrymen Lleyton Hewitt.
Elsewhere, 8th seed Juan Martin Del Potro continued his march as well as undefeated 2009 campaign as he dismissed qualifier Florian Mayer of Germany 6-1, 7-5, 6-2; Marcos Baghdatis started his climb towards the top of the men’s rankings as he defeated 16th seeded Swede, Robin Soderling 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-3. Baghdatis fired himself up after going down 0-4 in the second set, after he broke two rackets on the change over. American and 23rd seed Mardy Fish defeated Simone Bolleli of Italy 6-4, 6-1, 7-5;and finally 15th seed Stanislas Wawrinka defeated Bryden Klien of Australia, 6-3. 6-4, 6-4.
Thursday’s action in Melbourne will be highlighted by top seed Rafael Nadal battling Roko Karanusic and 4th seed Andy Murray against Marcel Granollers of Spain.
Please check back as he will have a full wrap-up from all the on-goings from the 2009 Australian Open. Stay tuned.
Wednesday January 21, 2009. Day 3 review. Novak and Federer move onto round three in Melbourne.
12:16 am E.S.T.
Djokovic eases to round three.
Defending champ Novak Djokovic took another step closer to defending his Aussie Open crown, as the
the 3rd seed dismissed Frenchmen, Jeremy Chardy 7-5, 6-1, 6-3. The 1:44 minute affair seemed to be headed the distance as Chardy was serving big and hanging tough in set one. However a sloppy 5-6 serving game at the end of set one allowed Novak to relax and take full advantage from that point on. Djokovic progressed on the strength of 7 aces, 75% of first serve points won as well as a perfect 6/6 on break point chances. Novak had this to say after his victory. “Today I feel really happy with the way I played,” Djokovic said. “I played very well in the second and third sets.”
Novak now moves onto round three where he will meet American, Amir Delic who was a 5-set winner over 28th seed Paul-Henri Mathieu 1-6, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6, 9-7. Delic’s impressive two sets to love come back win was highlighted by 33 aces, which takes his tournament total count to a leading 54 aces.
Federer flying.
Second seed Roger Federer also had an easy day at the office as the Swiss defeated ultra hard hitting Russian, Evgeny Koralev 6-2, 6-3, 6-1. Federer used his great footwork and defense to return the bullet forehands of his opponent, as the Russian’s transition game and backhand were not up to the task at hand. Federer who looked as calm and composed as ever advanced to round three on strength of 8 aces, 60% of first serves in and 7 breaks of serve. Federer will certainly be pleased with his second round win, but will now have a severe test in the next round as former number one and 2005 Australian Open winner Marat Safin will be up next. Safin also eased into round three as he dispatched Spaniard, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 7-5, 6-2, 6-2.
Other notable results on day 3 included: 11th seed David Ferrer enjoying an easy 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 victory over Slovakian qualifier Dominik Hrbaty. Ferrer will now have his work cut out for him as he will face 19th seed Marin Cilic who was a commanding winner over over Serbian, Janko Tipsarevic 6-2, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. Czech, Tomas Berdych also advanced as the 20th seed defeated Brain Dabul of Argentina, 6-1, 6-1, 6-3 and finally 21st seed Tommy Robredo had an impressive win over Serbian, Viktor Troicki 6-3, 6-1, 6-0.
Still to come on Day 3 action, Andy Roddick will battle Xavier Malisse and Bernand Tomic will face off against Gilles Muller in the night match. Please stay tuned for continued reports. As well our live scores section on the main page has up to the second scoring for all of today’s matches.
Tuesday January 20, 2009. Day 2 review, updated. Rafa rolls on, sleeves and all; Tsonga wins, joins Gonzalez in round two.
11:44am E.S.T.
Rafa rages.
Top seed Rafael Nadal made sure he sent a message to his competition today as the Spaniard destroyed
his Beligium opponent Christophe Rochus 6-0, 6-2, 6-2 in 1:17 minutes. Nadal advanced with 10 aces 91% of first serve points won and 7 breaks of serve. The 75th ranked Rochus was merely a spectator in this encounter as Nadal pounded forehand winner after forehand winner. The top seeded Mallorcan had this to say after his victory. “I played well, especially the serve and the forehand,” Nadal said. The Spaniard also suggested that he had to be on top of his game because “Sport is like this,” Nadal said. “If I had some mistakes … anything can happen.”
As Rafa moves onto round two, he will be confident that he has advanced and conserved energy. This will play dividends in the latter stages of the event in regards to his fragile knees. Nadal will next face Roko Karanusic, who won a 5-set affair against Florent Serra of France 6-3, 1-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.
Tsonga is back where he belongs.
It was just a year ago where a relatively unknown Frenchmen named Jo-Wilfried Tsonga came into the 2008 Aussie Open with no expections and merely a focus to do well. As the Frenchmen progressed through the draw last year, egniting the crowd with his flamboyant play, it was evident that the La Mons, native was the real deal. A short year later, Tsonga marches into the land of Oz as the 5th seed and unfortuanatly a sore back. However, the Tsonga back did not hinder him during his first round win today as he dimissed talented Argentine, Juan Monaco 6-4, 6-4, 6-0. The 1:41 minute affair featured Tsonga’s powerful serve as well as forehand, as he won 84% of his first serve points, hit 5 aces and broke the Monaco serve 5 times. Tsonga’s back woes will not feel any better in round two, as he will face tough Croatian, Ivan Ljubicic who was 5-set winner over Igor Kunitsyn of Russia 4-6, 7-6(3), 7-6(7), 5-7, 6-3.
Other notable winners on day 2 included: 13th seed Fernando Gonzalez finishing off Australian hopeful
Lleyton Hewitt in five thrilling sets 5-7, 6-2, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. Hewitt played well to force a 5-set but his lack of match showed, as a momentary lack of concentration as 2-3 Hewitt serving cost the former number one the match. Hewitt had this to say after his loss. “In hindsight, when you haven’t had the matches, haven’t played five sets for quite a while, you’re always going to be fighting it a little bit,” said Hewitt. “In terms of that I think it’s a good springboard for the rest of the year. I would have still liked to go a bit further in the tournament.”
Elsewhere, 9th seed James Blake defeated Canadian Frank Dancevic 6-4, 6-3, 7-5, another Canadian who faird far better and experienced a heart brake loss was Peter Polansky who came out on fire against 18th seed Igot Andreev, only to lose in 5-sets 5-7, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4; Chris Guccione kept Australian hopes alive as he advanced to round two with a 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 over Nicolas Devilder; 12th seed Gael Monfils defeated Martin Vassallo Arguello 6-1, 6-3, 7-5; Stefan Koubek took out the struggling Mikhail Youzhny 6-3, 6-2, 6-2; 14th seed Fernando Verdasco defeated Adrian Mannarino 6-0, 6-2, 6-2; 30th seed Radek Stepanek defeated Nicolas Lapentti 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4; 29th seed Dmitry Tursunov was upset by Flavio Cipolla 4-6, 6-2, 7-6, 7-5; and former 2003 finalist Rainer Schuettler was eliminated by Dudi Sela 1-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-4.
Wednesday’s action.
Day 3 action will see 2nd seed Roger Federer versus Evgeny Korelev; defending champ and 3rd seed Novak Djokovic will battle Jeremy Chardy of France; 7th seed Andy Roddick will contest his second round against Xavier Malisse; 10th seed David Nalbandian will face off against Yen-Hsun Lu and finally 16-year old Australian, Bernand Tomic will be under the lights on Rod Laver arena when he takes on the big serving Gilles Muller of Luxembourg, who was a 5-set winner in round one over Spaniard Felicano Lopez in what was the longest Aussie Open match in history.
Please check back as we wil have a full wrap up of day three action. As well our home page and live scores section include up to the second scores and full results from the 2009 Aussie Open. Stay tuned.
Tuesday January 20, 2009. Day 2 review. Murray advances in less than an hour; Rafa up under the lights on Rod Laver.
12:35 am E.S.T.
Murray breezes through.
Fourth seeded Andy Murray crusied into the second round of the Aussie Open today as his opponent Andrei Pavel of Romania was forced to retire in the second set after being down 6-2, 3-1. The 45 minute match ended with a back injury from Pavel, after Murray was in complete control. After Murray’s easy day at the office, the Scot had this to say about advancing to round two. “I think the hotter it is, the easier it can be to sort of restrict your opponents,” said Murray. “The natural thing to do when you’re a bit tired is to go for shots when you’re a bit out of position, try to shorten the points. Obviously that works to my advantage.”
With the win Murray moves onto round two where he will face Marcel Granollers of Spain who was a 6-4, 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-0 over hard hitting Teimuraz Gabashvili of Russia. These type of matches are crucial in conserving energy for future rounds. Murray looks to be in great shape to shake up the Aussie Open with a new champion.
Other seeded winners on day 2 included: 6th seed Gilles Simon advancing to round two with a 6-1, 6-1, 6-4 win over Pablo Andular of Spain; 24th seed Richard Gasquet defeated Diego Junqueira 6-7(5), 7-6(3), 6-3, 6-4; 17th seed Nicolas Almagro defeated Nicolas Massu 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 6-3 in an entertaining 5-set match; No. 25 seed Ivo Karlovic dismissed Daniel Gimeno-Traver 6-3, 6-4, 6-4; 31st-seed Jurgen Melzer defeated Kei Nishikori 7-5, 6-2, 6-1; Ernests Gulbis took out Albert Montanes 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 and Mario Ancic defeated Wayne Odesnik 7-5, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.
Still to come on day 2 in Melbourne, highlighted matches will include: top seed Rafael Nadal will taking on Christophe Rochus in a Rod Laver night match; 10th seed James Blake will take on Canadian Frank Dancevic and 5th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will battle the tough Juan Monaco from Argentina.
Currently Lleyton Hewitt is locked in a great 5-set battle with 13th seed Fernando Gonzalez as Rod Laver arena is rocky and rolling at the moment.
Please check back as we wil have a full wrap up of day two action. As well our home page as well as our live scores section includes up to the second scores and full results from the 2009 Aussie Open. Stay tuned.
Monday January 19, 2009. Day 1 review, updated. Federer and Djokovic advance to second round.
Federer through to round two.
11am E.S.T.
Roger Federer’s quest to tie the Pete Sampras mark of 14 grand slams began today as the Swiss was a
straight set winner of Andreas Seppi of Italy 6-1, 7-6(4), 7-5. Apart from the first set blow out the match was competitive as Seppi showed patience throughout the contest, but ultimately did not have enough firepower to up end the second seed. After Seppi lost the first set after only 24 minutes, R-Fed was made to play his best he as served 9 aces, won 76% of his first serve points, and broke the Italian’s serve 3 times. By contrast Seppi was 0-10 on his break point chances. Roger had this to say after advancing to round two. “It was a close match. I think it could have gotten easier or could have gotten tougher,” three-times former champion Federer told reporters. “I think the second set was kind of a close set, which was the key to the win.He had many chances, so it was good for me to erase those. “We had long rallies (and I) had to really battle hard… because it’s hard to find the weak spot in Seppi’s game, forehand or backhand. “I really thought he was hitting his spots really well and that kind of made it a bit more tough today.”
Federer will now take on Evgeny Korolev who was a 6-3, 6-1, 7-6(7) over former world number one Carlos Moya of Spain. Moya who lost his 5th straight first round in Melbourne, will likely retire by years end. The 1:51 minute loss to the number 118th ranked player will certainly give Moya a lot to think about.
Defending champ through.
Third seeded Novak Djokovic progressed to round two in Melbourne today as the Serb was not as sharp as he would have liked as qualifier Andreas Stopinni put on a late charge in the third set, but was still beaten 6-2, 6-3, 7-5. Djokovic who has recently changed racket companies looked to have issues with his forehand and focus throughout the Rod Laver match, although he still played at a high and workmanlike level. Novak advanced to the second round on the strength of 8 aces, 68% of first serve points won and 7 breaks of serve. Although Djokovic was able to break serve mutiple times, the fact that he had 18 break point chances and only broke 8 times is a cause for concern. Novak had this to say after his win. “Try to look at it as a positive thing. It’s a first round. Usually you try to get used to it a little bit, and hopefully the next round will be better,” the third seed said after a patchy performance.”It was a bit [of a] slow start,” said Djokovic. “I was a break down in two sets. Managed to come back, which is important. [As defending champion] there is a pressure. But it didn’t affect me today, no. I’m still trying to find the rhythm.” Djokovic will now play Jeremy Chardy from France in round two as the big serving Frenchmen defeated Marcos Daniel from Brazil 6-4, 6-4, 6-1. 
Other notible winners on day 1 included: Tenth-seeded Argentine, David Nalbandian defeating Marc Gicquel of France 6-1, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3; Marat Safin defeating Ivan Navarro of Spain 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in 1:45 minutes; Fabrice Santoro defeated former world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-3, 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-2; Gilles Muller became the winner of the longest match in Australian Open history, as the U.S. Open quarter-finalist defeated Spain’s Felicano Lopez 6-3, 7-6(5), 4-6, 4-6, 16-14 in 5:34 minutes; and finally Mullers opponent will be 16-year old Aussie hopeful, Bernad Tomic who defeated Potito Starace from Italy, 7-6(5), 1-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(6). Tomic who is the youngest player in the draw and second youngest round winner after Lleyton Hewiit, had this to say after his remarkable win. “It’s a dream come true to win a first round in my first Grand Slam,” said Tomic. “I’m just thrilled that I could pull off a win today. With the crowd behind me, it was an unbelievable experience. If the crowd wasn’t there, I wouldn’t have pulled it off in the end. It was good for them to be there. Hopefully I can have a better crowd in the next match.”
Tuesday’s action in Melbourne will be highlighted by world number one Rafael Nadal against Christophe Rochus; 4th seed Andy Murray versus Andrei Pavel and hometown favourite Llyeton Hewitt against 13th seed Fernando Gonzalez of Chile.
Please check out our live score section for up to the second updates on the matches still to come as well a further wrap-ups throughout the day.
10:56pm E.S.T.
Roddick rolls through.
Andy Roddick barely broke a sweat today as the 7th seeded American defeated Bjorn Rehnquist of Sweden 6-0, 6-2, 6-2 in the first round of the Australian Open Monday. The 1:46 minute affair consisted of A-Rod firing 9 aces, winning 76% of first serve points, and breaking the Rehnquist serve 7 times. Roddick will be looking for a positive 2009 as he is desperately looking to add to his lone career grand slam title as well as maintaining his top 10 status. With new coach Larry Stefanki on board Roddick certainly has a chance of making that happen. Roddick who was made to lose 15 pounds during the off season in order for Stefanki to work with him, made the effort to show his new found speed as his court coverage and quicker feet were evident. Roddick’s efforts will lead him to a second round showdown with qualifier Xavier Malisse who was a 7-6(8), 6-1, 6-1 winner over Frenchman Michael Llodra.
Other winners on day one included: No. 20 seed Tomas Berdych defeated Robby Ginepri 6-4, 6-4, 6-3; Argentine Brian Dabul, defeated Philipp Petzschner 6-1, 6-2, 6-4; Robin Soderling, the No. 16 seed defeated Robert Kendrick 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 and Dominik Hrbaty withstoid 39 aces from John Isner to advance 7-6(4), 2-6, 6-2, 7-5; 21st seed Tommy Robredo defeated yet another American, Bobby Reynolds 6-2, 7-5, 6-1 and finally Florian Mayer defeated Lamine Ouahab 6-2, 6-1, 6-2.
Still to come on day one action defending champ and 3rd seed Novak Djokovic will face Andrea Stoppini and three time champ Roger Federer will battle Andreas Seppi from Italy.
Please check out our live score section for up to the second updates on the matches still to come as well a further wrap-ups throughout the day.
Australian Open 2009 - Men’s Preview.
With the years first Grand Slam on deck, tennis fan’s around the world will be eager to see their favourite players on court once again. There will be many interesting dynamics in this men’s draw as Rafael Nadal comes in never winning a hardcourt grand slam, Roger Federer doesn’t want to be forgotten for his greatness, Novak Djokovic is the defending champ and wants to prove that he is no one slam wonder and finally Andy Murray comes into the Oz Open as the favourite although he has never won a grand slam. With all of these interesting scenarios on tap, let us take a look at the seeded players, the draw break down as well as the winner predictions.
Seed Report.
1. Rafael Nadal (ESP) - The Spaniard comes into Melbourne on the heels of achieving the best year of his young career and clearly wants more. However history does have a way of repeating itself and with the mega points Rafa has to defend come spring time, one wonders if his mind and legs will be in fifth gear come the latter stages on Rod Laver arena? Rafa may win in Melbourne, but it won’t be this year.
2. Roger Federer (SUI) - Ladies and gentlemen the best ball striker to have ever lived is in trouble. Federer has something to prove and in a big way. The clock work Swiss is upset that he is not considered the favorite this year in Melbourne, and it says here that he will not go back to Geneva a happy former world number one. R-Fed may go deep this year in Oz, but his time for holding up the hardware down under is all but over.
3. Novak Djokovic (SRB) - The defending champion comes into Melbourne carrying his own set of question marks. Does his new racket hold a title defense? Is his fitness on the same level as his rivals? Finally how will Nole react with all eyes on him as he attempts to win back to back titles? There will be many major titles in the Djokovic future, but number two will not be achieved in Melbourne this year.
4. Andy Murray (GBR) - With the hard time that I’ve given the previous three grand slam champs, let us
now look into what the Scot who has no majors titles to his name will have to offer at this years championships. Simply put Murray is head and shoulders above the rest of the field at the moment. His off season training, coupled with his incredible confidence, all lead to “Murray Fever” down under as Andy is poised to win his first major title. Although R-Fed won’t be happy with this result, when it’s your time nothing can stand in your way.
5. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) - The entertaining Frenchmen would have been a lock to go deep this year in Oz. However a recent reoccurring back injury may send Jo-Willy back to France before he would like to be there. He does have a tough draw to begin with, and his back troubles will not lend a helping hand as he would like to breeze through the early rounds. The magic of his 2008 performance will have to be put off for at least another year.
6. Gilles Simon (FRA) - The scrappy Simon comes into 2009 with dreams of achieving a top 4 ranking by years end. That is certainly possible considering his mental strength and competitive desire. However one wonders if his game is big enough to immortalize himself as a grand slam champion? Gilles should be good for a quarter-final showing but it would be hard to see him getting past that point.
7. Andy Roddick (USA) - A coaching change, and a continued desire to improve are truly commendable qualities that A-Rod possesses. However, his weak backhand and lack of variety will never be good enough to defeat the top four with any sort of consistency. Roddick has a favourable draw and should give Djokovic a good run in the quarter-finals. You have to give credit where it is due with Roddick, but you also have to accept that he just does not have the goods to challenge the games best.
8. Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG) - The big man comes into Melbourne hot and will be one to watch at this
years Aussie Open. He has explosive ground strokes, no question, but will his lack of transition and his surprisingly weak serve allow him to survive from the semi-final stage and onwards? His draw is decent and his quarter-final against R-Fed should be interesting, but that is where the party will be over for Juan Martin.
9. James Blake (USA) - The aging American will be a sporting a rare sleeves look courtesy of a new sponsor, as a the big hitting forehand of Blake will be looking to defend quarter-final points. The draw God’s gave Blake a break and if Jo-Willy remains injured, James should be good to return to the quarter-finals where a match up with Murray would be eminent.
10. David Nalbandian (ARG) - The shot making Argentine has everything it takes to advance deep into a major. Simply put he has been there and done that at the big events. David has also proven that he can defeat the games best on many occasions, but he has alternatively shown that he can be blown out of the first round by a relative unknown. This year watch out as Nalbandian could be dismissed by Tomaz Bellucci from Brazil in round two.
11. David Ferrer (ESP) - This just in, the grinder has left the building. David Ferrer’s “15 minutes of fame” are almost up and the Spaniards stock is just about ready to plummet in a big way. Ferrer has quarter-final points to defend but it says here that if John Isner doesn’t knock him out in round two, then certainly Marin Cilic will take care of business in round three. This year will be one full of soul searching for the once top five Spaniard.
12. Gael Monfils (FRA) - Monfils has shown great promise as of late. His athleticism has never been in question and his court coverage is second to none. The most exciting news for Monfils fan’s is that he has actually been winning matches in the past four months, therefore a decent run in Melbourne is surely possible. His recent win over Rafa Nadal in Doha won’t hurt and his potentially 4th round meeting with countrymen Simon, which could potentially have 5-sets written all over it.
13. Fernando Gonzalez (CHI) - Get ready for some fireworks right off the bat, as Gonzo gets hometown rockstar and former number one Lleyton Hewitt in his first match. Fernando has recently not shown the 2007 form that brought him to the finals in Oz, and that will be evident in this encounter as Hewitt will send Fernando out in round one.
14. Fernando Verdasco (ESP) - The other Fernando is a different story all together. The once flaky Spaniard is showing the tennis world that his brain has finally caught up with is ball striking ability. A neat and tidy beginning to the 2009 season should leave Fernando in good form, as a fourth round showing against Andy Murray will not be a cake walk for the Scot.
15. Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) - “Stan the man” is hanging tough in the top 20, for now. His explosive backhand is balanced by his calm demeanor, which in general has held him back from being a better player than he could be. Stan is scheduled to meet R-Fed in the round of sixteen but he must first hold up his end of the bargain before that can happen. I’m just not convinced that he can.
16. Robin Soderling (SWE) - The hard hitting Swede, has major league power that can trouble anyone on the planet. But the word on the street is that Robin is perfectly comfortable with reaching the 3rd or 4th round of a major and then heading home. A second round match up with Marcos Baghdatis could be entertaining, as Robin will probably end up bowing out before the end of week one.
17. Nicolas Almagro (ESP) - Nico has been ultra quiet as of late. The smooth serving Spaniard, who has historically has had sub-par hardcourt results, will not improve that statistic this year in Melbourne. Almagro will be more than be eager to get on the clay as soon as possible.
18. Igor Andreev (RUS) - Andreev has been something of a question mark for years. He works just as hard as anyone, and he also possesses a huge forehand and is superbly fit. However his confidence has always been an issue come the big events. His second round meeting against Ernests Gulbis will not allow his confidence to grow either, as Andreev will continue to search for the missing ingredient that will take him to the next level.
19. Marin Cilic (CRO) - It’s time to take one step closer towards the top ten, and this years Oz Open is
just the place for Cilic to make that happen. The big man has a relatively difficult draw but his forth round match with 8th seed Juan Martin Del Potro would be a clash of the future of tennis. Do not be surprised if Cilic blows past Del Potro in the round of sixteen and sets up a tough encounter with R-Fed in the quarter-finals.
20. Tomas Berdych (CZE) - A great game, with ability to spare, the problems with Tomas have always been his inability to show the required heart when matches draw close. This inability to dig deep is the primary reason as to why he has never won a grand slam or even reached the semi-final stage. Berdych must also be careful as Robby Ginepri would be more than happy to knock him out in round one.
21. Tommy Robredo (ESP) - Another fading Spaniard, T-Rob seems to be comfortable living the life of decent tennis professional. Never a force to be reckon with in the major events, Robredo won’t create any havoc in Oz either. His game is as solid as a rock, but lacks punch and explosiveness to ever be considered a top contender.
22. Radek Stepanek (CZE) - Just when you thought the ladies man of ATP world tour was dead, Radek the “worm” Stepanek is back as he just won another title in Brisbane. His unique serve and volley game can give anyone on tour a headache as Stepanek should be good for at least a couple of wins, and of course a couple more endearing post match celebrations.
23. Mardy Fish (USA) - Deal or no deal Fish, certainly does believe in himself. Mardy should be good for a fourth round finish this year in Australia, where defending champ Djokovic will be to much for Mardy to handle.
24. Richard Gasquet (FRA) - You heard it hear first, Gasquet will not be ranked 24 in the world come the end of the 2009 season. The ultra talented Frenchmen has a new outlook on his game and better results to back up is fabulous shot making. Richard should be good for the 4th round here where he could push Rafa as far as possible. Although Gasquet is will not win the title, he will leave his mark, as he embarks on his best year to date.
25. Ivo Karlovic (CRO) - The tallest player on the ATP will bring aces a plenty to the years first major. The problem with Dr. Ivo has always been the gap between his canon delivery and the rest of his game. He certainly has enough aces to make it the second week, but Simon will be waiting to send him home, perhaps in three tie break sets.
26. Marat Safin (RUS) - Black eyes all, the former champion and multiple finalist, returns to what has been reported as his final Aussie Open. Will Marat pull one final racket throw out of his bag as he attempts to advance deep in Oz? His potential third round match with R-Fed will have Rod Laver arena under the lights written all over it, as well as Safin’s last appearance in Australia.
27. Feliciano Lopez (ESP) - A recent Davis Cup win has seemed to spark Lopez into believing he can produce elite level tennis. However much like Roddick, all the changes in the world can not hide noticeable weaknesses such as Feliciano’s backhand. Lopez has a decent draw, but will struggle if he is put up against Del Potro in round three.
28. Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA) - The western hitting Frenchmen has never been a threat in the majors. He does not have any glaring weaknesses, but his lack of belief has always been his achilles. His first round match will also put a lot of doubt in his mind as Mathieu will be in tough against Jarrko Neiminen of Finland.
29. Dmitry Tursunov (RUS) - Pound for pound the biggest hitter on tour, Dmitry is usually good for a win or two, as his extracurricular activities seem to always get in the way of his results. Look for Tursunov to be brushed aside by round three.
30. Rainer Schuettler (GER) - The grinding German is still around and kicking at age 32. His never say die attitude took him all the way to the 2003 final in Oz, but that was truly a life time ago. However with that being said, if Tsonga is injured or not 100% then Rainer could potentially make the round or sixteen as he is in the weakest quarter of the draw.
31. Jurgen Melzer (AUT) - Melzer is a tricky player who can cause many problems for many players. He does however have a track record for clocking in multiple weak performances for no apparent reason. Jurgen also faces future top ten player Kei Nishikori in round one, which will in all likelihood spell the end for the Austrian.
32. Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) - A strong 2008 Aussie Open campaign maybe a far cry from a successful 2009 run, as Kohlschreiber was forced to withdraw from his quarter-final match Auckland with a right shoulder injury. To make matters worse for Philipp, he faces the in form Sam Querrey in round one, which under idle circumstances would be tough.
Draw breakdown.
Top half.
Rafa’s quarter:
The top seed will enter this year’s Oz Open with a very favourable draw. Rafa opens against Belgium veteran Christophe Rochus, as Tommy Hass or 29th seed Dmitry Tursunov could provide possible problems for Nadal in round three. Richard Gasquet the 24th seed is perhaps the biggest obstacle in front of the Mallorca, native as he chases the second week. The quarter-finals will potentially bring a grinding match against 6th seeded Gilles Simon with former finalist Lleyton Hewitt and 13th seeded Fernando Gonzalez also looking to be part of the conversation, come the second week. It will be interesting to monitor Rafa’s health throughout this event as the hardcourts have never been friendly to his knees, and subsequently neither have his results in Melbourne.
Murray’s quarter:
The worlds current best hardcourter will have the weight of the book makers as well as the tennis world on his shoulders when he takes the court for his first match against veteran Andrei Pavel come Monday in Melbourne. A potential 3rd round clash with Kei Nishikori would be interesting to see, as the young Japanese, native would show some flashes of brilliance with Murray ultimately proving to be too much. Going forward, the explosive and confident 14th seed Fernando Verdasco would provide some resistance for Murray, but again Murray should brush aside the left handed Spaniard. Andy’s quarter-final opponent is a toss up as 5th seeded Tsonga is a question mark at this point, with 9th seeded James Blake, or up and coming Latvian, Ernests Gulbis being potential quarter-final opponents. Mr. Murray has a great chance to save a lot of energy as his early rounds should not provide too much resistance as he pushes forward to his potential first grand slam title.
Bottom half.
Djokovic quarter:
The defending champ will not have any immediate alarm bells to worry about as he begins defense of his Aussie Open crown. Novak opens against a qualifier as 28th seed Paul-Henri Mathieu or Jarkko Neiminen would be potential 3rd round opponents. The draw does not become much more difficult for Djokovic from that point as 16th seed Robin Soderling, 23rd seeded Mardy Fish, or 2006 Aussie Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis could be potential round of sixteen foes. The quarter-finals could finally bring some serious competition for Novak as 7th seeded Andy Roddick, 10th seeded David Nalbandian, or tournament dark horse Sam Querrey could be waiting. All in all the defending champ will be delighted with the quarter that he has been given.
Federer quarter:
R-Fed heads perhaps the most difficult quarter of the draw, as he would potentially have to deal with two
former number one players before the round of sixteen. Starting his 2009 campaign, Roger will face Andreas Seppi from Italy. Seppi is a formidable opponent and will prepare Roger for what is ahead. In the second round Federer would likely meet former world number one and 1997 Aussie Open finalist Carlos Moya. Although Moya is far past his prime, he could give Federer something to think about here as in all likelihood this will be the Spaniards final year on tour, and he would like to leave Melbourne with a good effort. Round three does not get much easier for Federer as yet another former number one, as well as 2005 Aussie Open champ, Marat Safin maybe lurking. Marat much like Moya is at the end of the road, and would love nothing more than to knock off a player of Federer’s calibur in a major event. Federer’s forth round opponent could be tricky as well as either good friend and 15th seeded Stanislas Wawrinka or 20th ranked Tomas Berdych would be projected match ups. The quarter-finals would bring forth even more adversity for Roger as 8th seeded Juan Martin Del Potro, 11th seeded David Ferrer, or 19th seeded Marin Cilic would all give the 13-time grand slam champ a challenging encounter. With a lot to prove at this years Aussie Open, Federer will have his work cut out for him as he also has the toughest quarter of the top four seeds.
First round matches to watch for:
13. Fernando Gonzalez versus Lleyton Hewitt (a night match with an upset in store for Lleyton).
Nicolas Kiefer versus Guillermo Canas (Both are past their prime, but both players will give everything they have on court).
Juan Carlos Ferrero versus Fabrice Santoro (long baseline rallies that will feature some magic from Santoro).
28. Paul Henri Mathieu versus Jarkko Nieminen (first round upset in the making).
Robby Ginepri versus Tomas Berdych (see above).
Dark horses:
Sam Querrey: The San Francisco, native has been carrying himself very well this past year, and a break through in a major might just be around the corner.
Ernests Gulbis: only a matter of time before the Latvian is considered a contender for ever tournament he enters.
Lleyton Hewitt: who would have ever thought Hewitt would ever become a darkhorse selection? But with a fallen ranking of 72 this former number one and Aussie Open finalist, would love nothing more than to get back on track in his native down under.
Predictions:
Quarter-finals:
1. Rafael Nadal vs 6. Gilles Simon; 4. Andy Murray vs 9. James Blake; 7th seeded Andy Roddick vs. 3rd Novak Djokovic; 2. Roger Federer vs. 19. Marin Cilic
Semi-finals:
1. Rafael Nadal vs. 4th Andy Murray; 2. Roger Federer vs. 3rd Novak Djokovic
Finals:
4. Andy Murray vs. 2. Roger Federer
Champion:
Andy Murray
Please check back as we will have daily comprehensive coverage from the years first grand slam tournament from Melbourne, Australia. As the action heats up theATPblog.com will provide our readers with up to minute results as well as reviews and previews of daily matches. As well for all of you out there that are attending the Aussie Open and still do not have tickets our friends at www.grandslamtennistours.com/ will be more than happy to you provide you with the desired tickets that are required.
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