Tournament Updates

The 1st round of the Fed starts today.  There are a few intriguing matchups, and some of the top players have chosen to participate. 

1st round matchups and notable players:

The defending champion Italians face off against the Ukraine.  Italy has Flavia Pennetta and Francesca "Scheever" Schiavone as their top 2 players.  The "Flying Bondarenko Sisters", Kateryna and Alona are notables on the Ukraine side.  Italy should move on, but it won't be easy.

In probably the least anticipated matchup, the Germans and Czech Republic compete against eachother.  Germany's team consists of: Anna-Lena Groenefeld, Andrea Petkovic, Kristina Barrois, and Tatjana Malek.  The Czech's bring to the competition Lucie Hradecka, Petra Kvitova, Lucie Safarova, and Kveta Peschke.  Wow.  No world-beaters in this group.  The Czech Republic has the better players and should advance.

In the best matchup of the 1st round, Russia and Serbia will meet in Belgrade, Serbia.  Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic will be competing for Serbia along with unknowns Ana Jovanovic, and Bojana Jovanovski. The Russians counter with Svetlana Kuznetsova, Alisa Kleybanova, Vera Dushevina, and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.  This one is tough to call, because it will be played in Serbia.  Is Sveta and the young Russians ready for this type of atmosphere?  On paper Russia is the stronger team, but the intangibles will be a factor.  I think the Serbs will pull out a tight one.  Thats if Ana Ivanovic can pull her head out of her ass and compete at a high level.  If not,  then the Russians will roll.

And in the final matchup its the United States and France.  The United states brings a team that is an absolute joke.  Probably the worst team of the 8 teams competing in the World Group.  Mary Jo Fernandez will lead the U.S. team consisting of Melanie Oudin, Cristina McHale, Liezel Huber, and Bethany Mattek-Sands.  If i was Mary Jo, McHale wouldn't even touch the court.  Huber and Mattek-Sands are a capable doubles team, but on the singles side Oudin will get her ass kicked and so will Mattek-Sands.  I only see a doubles victory out of them in this one.  The French really aren't that strong as well.  Alize Cornet, Julie Coin, Pauline Parmentier, and Stephanie Cohen-Aloro make up the french squad.  The French at home on clay will move on.

The SA Tennis Open in Johannesburg, South Africa is into the quarterfinal round.  It looks like Gael "monchichi" Monfils and David Ferrer are on a collision course for the final.  In the weeds Feliciano Lopez is modeling...eh, i mean lurking in the weeds.

Quarterfinal Matchups:

Gael Monfils  vs.  Yen-Hsun Lu - Monfils should advance.

Feliciano Lopez  vs.  Rajeev Ram  - Ram plays a serve and volley game that could give Lopez trouble, but Lopez on hardcourts is the better player.  Lopez moves on to face Monfils.

Stephane Robert  vs.  Dustin Brown - Who are these guys?  Brown is from Jamaica.  So I pick Robert.

Somdev Devvarman  vs.  David Ferrer - This is about the time Ferrer chokes, but he keeps it together to play Robert in the semis.

There are still some solid names left at the PBZ Zagreb Indoors in Zagreb, Croatia.  My pick of a Cilic - Troicki final still looks good.

Quarterfinal Matchups:

Marin Cilic  vs.  "Dr. Ivo" Ivo Karlovic - Cilic has too much for the big guy.  Tough draw for "Dr. Ivo" because there are plenty of guys left in the tournament he can beat.  Unfortunately not this one.

Jurgen Melzer  vs.  Illya Marchenko -  Melzer is a grizzled vet, and is too experienced for the young Ukrainian.  Melzer moves on to face Cilic.

Michael Berrer  vs.  Viktor Troicki - Berrer will not be a walkover for Troicki.  Troicki will have to earn this victory in a close match.

Philipp Petzschner  vs.  Lukas Lacko - Lacko advanced by beating "L" Ljubicic in the last round, but he will fall short in the quarters.  Petzschner in 3 sets.

Fernando Gonzalez continues to make it look easy on the clay, at the Movistar Open in Santiago, Chile.  My pick to win this tournament, Juan Monaco is still in the field.

Quarterfinal Matchups:

Fernando Gonzalez  vs.  Marcel Granollers - Gonzalez in a beatdown.

Thomasz Bellucci  vs.  Eduardo Schwank - Bellucci will advance in a tough match.

Joao Souza  vs.  Alberto Martin - I don't know anything about either of these guys.  I'm going with Martin because I've actually heard of him before.

Peter Luczak  vs.  Juan Monaco - Monaco looks to have a easy road to the final.

Preview Of This Weeks Tournaments (Feb. 1-7)

The WTA is taking the week off, but there are 3 ATP tour events scheduled for this week.

In Johannesburg, South Africa the men will be playing on hardcourt for the possibility of winning  $75,700 if you are the champion of this event.  As a whole the field is the weakest of the 3 tournaments this week.  Jo-Wilfried Tsonga who won this tournament last year, will not be playing.

Here are the top seeds:

1. Gael Monfils  (#12 in the world)

2. David Ferrer (#18)

3. Feliciano Lopez (#46)

4. Marco Chudinelli (#58)

5. Rajeev Ram (#84)

6. Xavier Malisse (#93)

7. Yen-Hsun Lu (#101)

8. Stephane Robert (#104)

Barring any injury, there is no excuse for Monfils and Ferrer to not meet in the finals.  So that will by my early prediction.  Ferrer over Monfils to win the championship.

The full draw can be seen at this link- SA Tennis Open link

The PBZ Zagreb Indoors in Zagreb, Croatia features the best field of the week.  The winner of this event walks away with 68,450 Euros.  The tournament is being played on indoor carpet.  Marin Cilic is the defending champion.

Heres the seeds:

1. Marin Cilic (#14)

2. Ivan Ljubicic (#24)

3. Jurgen Melzer (#27)

4. Viktor Troicki (#30)

5. Janko Tipsarevic (#36)

6. Benjamin Becker (#38)

7. Ivo Karlovic (#39)

8. Evgeny Koroleve (#53)

The question is: Is Cilic tired from playing so much tennis already this year?  Being back home in Croatia should be the motivator to keep on playing well.  By looking at the draw this looks like a Cilic will defend his championship by beating Troicki in the final.  Draw can be seen here- Zagreb Draw

The Movistar Open is a clay court event being played in Santiago, Chile.  The winner of this tournament will receive $68,450.  The field features countryman, and defending champion Fernando Gonzalez, and a host of clay court specialists.

Seeded players:

1. Fernando Gonzalez (#11)

2. Juan Monaco (#33)

3. Thomaz Bellucci (#35)

4. Pablo Cuevas (#48)

5. Horacio Zeballos (#50)

6. Jose Acasuso (#51)

7. Simon Greul (#61)

8. Potito Starace (#63)

You never know what to expect from "Gonzo" when it comes to smaller events.  Most of the time he doesn't really show up and do his best.  It may be different now that he is basically at home.  But I wouldn't bet on it.  I like a all Argentine final, with Juan Monaco beating Jose Acasuso for the title.  Here is the full draw- Movistar Open Draw

*** Note:  The rankings in parentheses are from last week.  The tournaments always go by rankings a week prior to the event.  So that is why Cilic is listed at #14, but is now #10.

Wanna see my poll?

The Australian Open is now complete, so that means its time to update the rankings.  My rankings unlike the ATP official rankings start over at the beginning of the season.  Everyone starts at zero and accumulates points throughout the year.  How do you get points you ask. 

This is how players get points in my rankings:




GRAND SLAM EVENTS

3 points are earned for every win at a grand slam tournament up until the final.
5 points is earned by the player who wins in the final.

example: Juan Martin Del Potro won 7 matches to win the U.S. Open.
1st round defeated Juan Monaco = 3 pts
2nd round defeated Jurgen Melzer = 3 pts
3rd round defeated Daniel Koellerer = 3 pts
4th round defeated Juan Carlos Ferrero = 3pts
Quarterfinals defeated Marin Cilic = 3 pts
Semifinals defeated Rafael Nadal = 3pts
Final defeated Roger Federer = 5 pts

For a total of 23 points for winning a major.

Masters Series Events
There are about 8 Masters Series tournaments a year and they normally have a field of 64 players. Which means you must win 6 matches to be the champion.

Rounds 1st to Semifinals = 2pts each
Final = 3 pts to the winner.

For a total of 13 points for winning a Masters Series tournament.

All Other Tournaments
Most other smaller tournaments have 32 player fields, so 5 matches are needed to win.
Rounds 1-4 = 1pt
Final = 2 pts to the winner.
For a total of winning 6 points for winning any smaller tournament.

So with my system the bigger the tournament the more points there are to be earned. Kind of makes sense to me. Also the same system is used for both the men and women.


MY Womens Top 10 after the Australian Open
1. Serena Williams (USA) 31
2. Justine Henin (BEL) 22
3. Victoria Azarenka (BLR) 18
4. Na Li (CHN) 17
4. Jie Zheng (CHN) 17
6. Alona Bondarenko (UKR) 15
6. Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) 15
8. Elena Dementieva (RUS) 14
8. Maria Kirilenko (RUS) 14
10. Shahar Peer (ISR) 13
10. Dinara Safina (RUS) 13

Here are the official WTA rankings.
1. Serena Williams
2. Dinara Safina
3. Caroline Wozniacki
4. Svetlana Kuznetsova
5. Venus Williams
6. Victoria Azarenka
7. Elena Dementieva
8. Jelena Jankovic
9. Agnieszka Radwanska
10. Na Li




And now MY Mens Top 10 after the Australian Open
1. Roger Federer (SUI) 26
2. Marin Cilic (CRO) 21
3. Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) 18
3. Andy Murray (GBR) 18
3. Andy Roddick (USA) 18
6. Rafael Nadal (ESP) 16
7. John Isner (USA) 15
7. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) 15
9. Marcos Baghdatis (CYP) 13
10. Novak Djokovic (SRB) 12

Official ATP rankings.
1. Roger Federer
2. Novak Djokovic
3. Andy Murray
4. Rafael Nadal
5. Juan Martin Del Potro
6. Nikolay Davydenko
7. Andy Roddick
8. Robin Soderling
9. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
10. Marin Cilic

Day 14 of Australian Open: Federer wins #16.

Message to Andy Murray:  Do not call out anyone anymore if you are going to play like a scared little girl.  Murray "called out" Roger Federer just a few days ago saying he wanted to beat him in the final.  The only person he ended up beating was himself as he fell in straight sets to Federer 6-3, 6-4, 7-6.

From the beginning Murray looked nervous. Thats exactly how he played too.  The moment seemed to be too large for him.  Murray wasn't going for his shots, instead he was more content to sit back at the baseline and play defense.  Federer picking up on this was like a surgeon.  Precisely picking apart and confusing Murray with drop shots.  Federer looked like a cold blooded killer in the first set.  Showing no emotion as he dismantled Murray.  Federer: wins 1st set 6-3.

Federer broke early in the 2nd set to take a comfortable lead.  After falling down a 2nd set break, Murray was finally able to find some of his game, and hit some winners with confidence.  It was a little too late, Federer was able to hold on to the slim lead and take the 2nd set 6-4.

The 3rd set saw a much more aggressive Andy Murray.  Murray began the set by hitting winners and keeping Federer back on his heels, and playing defense.  Murray was able to get an early break in the set.  With the break came some emotion from Murray.  He was "fist-pumping", and waving to the crowd to "get up" and make some more noise.  Finally the Andy Murray many people wanted to see had arrived.  Murray up 5-3 in the set had a chance to serve out the set and make this a more competitive match.  But like the champion he is, Federer broke back and put the match back on serve.  (Here is an odd note:  at 5:55 a.m. Eastern Time in the U.S. the match was tied 5-5 in the 3rd set.)  The set stayed on serve, and went to a tiebreaker.

The tiebreaker was one of the best ones you'll ever see.  Murray had 5 different set points, all negated by the excellent play of Federer.  Roger had 2 championship points turned away by Murray, but was able to claim the title on his 3rd championship point, winning the tiebreaker and match 7-6 (13-11 in the tiebreaker)

Two streaks remain intact with the Federer win.  Federer keeps his streak alive of never losing a match when up 2 sets to love.  And Andy Murray must wait a little longer to break the 74 year drought since the British have claimed a Grand Slam event champion.

Murray's game came on a little too late to make the match interesting.  Federer had the experience and game to take care of business and win his 16th Grand Slam championship.  Maybe this is what Murray needed, and now he has the knowledge to better prepare himself for future grand slam finals.

*** I forgot to mention in previous blogs that Leander Paes and Cara Black won the mixed doubles.  Leander is the man.

News and Notes:

Rafael Nadal and Lleyton Hewitt will both be out for some time with injuries.  Nadal had an MRI taken on his injured knee, and a slight tear was found.  He is expected to be out of action for around 4 weeks.  Hewitt's injury is slightly more serious.  Hewitt had to have minor hip surgery on his right hip.  He said this setback will not force him to retire, but that he expects to be back by the French Open.

Day 13 of the Australian Open: Serena goes back-to-back

Serena Williams was able to defend her title against rival Justin Henin in 3 sets. 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.   This was her 5th Australian Open title, and 12th overal Grand Slam title, tying her on the all-time list with Billie Jean King. 

Even with the majority of the crowd behind her, Henin wasn't able to pull off the mild upset, and cap off what was an amazing run, beating 5 seeds on her way to the final.  This was a "rusty" Henin, can you imagine how she will be playing come May when the French Open rolls around.? 

All credit goes to Serena.  She was a little banged up, but used her desire and toughness to carry her through to another win.  I personally cannot stand how she acts, or how she carries herself most of the time, but as a tennis player I cannot help but have a small amount of respect for her.  She's good...very good.  No, I'm not changing my feelings about her.  I will still root against her every match she plays, but I cannot deny that she is definetly the best WTA player right now.

This will not be the last time you see a Henin-Williams matchup late in a Grand Slam event this year.  These 2 look like the cream of the crop and will be factors in every grand slam.

One more pic of Serena Williams.  Isn't she pretty?

Thats if you like lady-boys.

Bob and Mike Bryan won the mens double championship by beating Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic 6-1, 6-7, 6-3.

Day 14 Preview:  Mens Final

Rafael Nadal has made the call.  He has gone on record saying, Andy Murray will beat Roger Federer.  Murray after his win over Marin Cilic, basically called out Roger Federer.  Saying that he wanted to meet and beat the #1 player in the final.  Federer then went out and sent a message to Murray by "bitch-slapping"  Jo-Wilfried Tsonga around.

This is setting up for some fireworks tonight.  Murray is on top of the world confidence wise, calling out Fed.  Federer is harnessing all his great talent, and then you put on top of it hes probably pissed off and wants to crush Murray.  Nadal is saying Murray will win.  I guarantee if you asked who Tsonga would pick to win, he'd go with Roger.  He doesn't want to mess with that shit anymore.  Mirka, dirka, birka will be in the box making faces.  After Murray's mom gets done with his laundry, she should be there as well.  BG, "Killer Cahill" in the booth on ESPN.  Does it get any better than this? 

I picked Murray to win it all before the start of the tournament, and I'll stick with my pick.  (I also picked Serena to win.  So I may sweep.  Just a sidebar to toot my own horn)  But Federer is scary when pissed off.  I might be leaning towards him, but I will stick with Murray. 

I'm hoping for Murray to win, just to see the possible chance of Federer crying like a bitch, like he did last year when Nadal beat him for the Australian Open title.

Please God, no more Pam Shriver.

Day 12 of the Australian Open

Roger Federer once again showed his dominance in Grand Slam events, by laying a whipping on Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in straight sets 6-2, 6-3, 6-2.  Federer looked as if he had something to prove, or a message to be sent to his next opponent Andy Murray, and the world.  Federer was in the zone, able to make shots from all areas of the court.  After the match saying "Tonight was one of those nights where I had an extra split second to think where i was going to play the ball."  When the greatest player of all-time is focused and on his game there isn't much you can do, other than sit back and take your punishment like a man.  And that is just what Jo-Wilfried Tsonga did, he absorbed a thrashing.

Also in Womens doubles, the Williams sisters won the doubles title in straight sets over Cara Black and Liezel Huber 6-4, 6-3.

Day 13 Preview:  WOMENS FINAL

The womens final is the match of the day at Rod Laver Arena.  The ladies final will be played during the evening, featuring the #1 seed Serena Williams and Justine Henin. 

This match will be all about toughness.  Henin has struggled in a few of her previous rounds, but found a way to win.  Serena has struggled as well on occasion, but seems to find an extra something when being pushed or in trouble, and facing being eliminated.  Both women are mentally tough, probably the toughest on tour, and its no coincidence that this toughness has brought them to the finals.  Serena has been hampered by a bum leg and in her semifinal win she looked exhausted.  Henin hasn't really been showing strains physically, her strains have come from a inconsistent serve and getting some of the court rust off after almost 2 years away from the game.

Its all going to come down to who wants it more.  Both women I feel really want it, but there is something about Serena Williams, that when she is pissed off, and motivated she is scary.  Henin has owned the Williams sisters in the past, and has beaten Serena the last 3 times they faced each other in a Grand Slam event.  That streak will probably come to an end in the final.  Serena even hobbled is playing like she is on a mission, and will not be denied of defending her crown.  Couple that with Henin's unimpressive play during most of the tournament, it looks like it will be a bad night for the Belgian.  I'll be rooting for Justine, but I like Serena in straight sets. 7-6, 6-3. 

Day 11 of the Australian Open

Day 11 was a bad day for the two Chinese women.  Na Li hung with Serena Williams the whole way through, but didn't have enough to beat the defending champion.  Serena who looked fatigued from the day before was playing at about 75%, but that was still enough to win 7-6, 7-6.  Li had her chances to make a match of it and force a third set, but when it got close Serena would put out the fire and did enough to stay ahead.

In the other womens semifinal Justine Henin put on a clinic in beating Jie Zheng.  Zheng couldn't do much of anything and that led to her not being able to compete with the Belgian former #1.  Henin sat on,  and just ate up Zheng's low speed serves.  Henin was able to make shots at will, and was a force at the net, overwhelming the small Zheng.  Zheng was able to show good movement and decent groundstrokes, but unforced errors and a lack of a serve is what did her in.  It took less than an hour for Henin to throttle Zheng 6-1, 6-0

In the night match Andy Murray was able to put himself into the mens final by taking a four set victory and ending the run of Croatian, Marin Cilic 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2.   Cilic took an early lead by winning the first set, but after the first set Murray took control and won the next three to put himself into his 2nd career Grand Slam Final.  He'll face the winner of Roger Federer and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Day 12 Preview.

The only singles match of the day will be the second mens semifinal between Roger Federer and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.  The match will be a night match at Rod Laver Arena.  (How wonderful, another 3:30 am starting time.)  I really don't see how Tsonga can pull the upset on this one.  Tsonga did beat Federer the last time these two played, but it wasn't a best-of-five match at a Grand Slam.  Tsonga is dealing with the fatigue of having to go 5 sets in his last 2 matches.  Federer is on a mission and focused, which is a scary thing for someone having to play him.  Federer will win in 4 sets.  Setting up a rematch of the 2008 U.S. Open final that Federer won fairly easily.

*** be sure to vote on the poll to the right, and join the facebook page.

Day 10 of the Australian Open

Day 10 at the Australian Open started out beautifully.  Venus Williams managed to choke away a victory against Na Li.  Even in the twilight of Venus Williams' career, one thing everyone knows is that you don't let someone as powerful and talented as Venus get out to a fast start.  That is the very thing Na Li did.  Venus started the match on fire, and a combination of Li mistakes led to a easy first set in favor of Venus.  The second set started out like the first had ended.  Venus went out to an early lead and was only two points away from a routine straight set victory when Na Li found another gear in her game.  Down 3-5 and two points away from going home, Li started playing some of the best tennis of her career.  She then fought back and forced a 2nd set tiebreaker that she was lucky enough to win to even the match up at one set a piece.  Venus slowed the Li momentum by taking a quick 2-0 lead in the 3rd and final set.  Li like before came back and evened the set 2-2.  The set continued like this the rest of the way with each player struggling to hold serve.  At 5-5 Li was able to get a break of serve to put the match at 6-5, and then hold her service game for a joyous upset of Venus Williams.  2-6, 7-6, 7-5.

One Williams down, one to go...

With Venus being eliminated and the thought of Serena possibly being next to be sent home got me excited.  The way Victoria Azarenka started out against Serena Williams only added to my excitement.  Azarenka with a howling screech everytime she made contact with the ball was able to play "her" game and be on the offensive against the #1 player in the world.  Serena was forced to play defense for most of the first set, and Azarenka was able to do enough on offense to take the first set 6-4.  The start of the 2nd set was amazing, with Azarenka playing out of her mind hitting winners down each line, as Serena ran ragged at the baseline. Azarenka was up 4-0 in the 2nd set and looking at a semifinal matchup with Na Li next.  This is tremendous!!  Roddick eliminated the day before, and now both Williams' getting beat.  Can this get any better?  Then shit hit the fan.  Just as well as Azarenka was playiing, Williams matched it and then surpassed it.  Azarenka didn't choke.  Serena was just that damn good.  With her back against the wall and nothing to lose Serena was hitting every ball as hard as she could, but the thing was, they were landing in.  The onslaught was on.  Serena down 0-4 came back and blew by Azarenka, beating the Belarussian in a 2nd set tiebreaker 7-6.  Serena playing at an elite level, and Azarenka playing at a solid level was no match after that.  Serena put the match to an end with a dominating 3rd set, winning the match 4-6, 7-6, 6-2.  What a crappy day of tennis this has turned out to be.

Now it was the mens turn to take the court.  #1 seeded legend, Roger Federer and the hot Nikolay Davydenko playing for a berth into the semifinals.  In the first set Federer was "unfedereresque" in his play, making 19 unforced errors and basically giving the first set to Davydenko 6-2.  After the terrible start to the match and the loss of the first set it seemed Federer got "pissed" and flipped a switch to his game.  After that it was bad news for the Russian.  Federer took control of the rallys and dominated each of  the next two sets, winning them 6-3, 6-0.  The 4th set was a little more competitive than the previous three.  Both players holding their ground, but there is a reason Federer is probably the greatest of all time, and its for this reason.  He doesn't lose these types of matches (well rarely).  When there is an opportunity to pull the plug on an opponent and put him away he normally does it.  That is exactly what he did, winning the final set 7-5 for a final score of 2-6, 6-3, 6-0, 7-5.

In the night match Novak Djokovic and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga went head-to-head to see who would join Federer in the semifinals.  The first two sets were as close as close could be.  Each going to a tiebreaker, with each player winning one.  With the match tied going to the third set, Novak Djokovic went on the offensive and took control of the match with a easy 6-1 set in his favor.  Djokovic now with the finish line in sight was ready to put Tsonga away.  Tsonga won the first game of the set, and in the second game it looked as if Djokovic was getting ill.  Looking sluggish on the court and staring at his box, Djokovic found himself down 0-2 all of a sudden.  After that second game Djokovic motioned to the chair umpire that he had to go "throw up".  So off the court Novak went to do his business.  A few moments later Djokovic returned to find a shell of himself.  It was all Tsonga after the bout of food poisoning/lack of conditioning.  Tsonga took the 4th and 5th sets easily to win his second straight 5 set match. 7-6, 6-7, 1-6, 6-3, 6-1.

Day 11 Preview:

All matches will be played at Rod Laver Arena.

The two women semifinals are scheduled along with the mens semifinal between Andy Murray and Marin Cilic.

Serena Williams and Na Li will be the first singles match played on Day 11.  Serena will put away Li in relatively easy fashion.  Everyone get ready for a Patrick McEnroe, Pam Shriver, Mary Jo Fernandez "slurpfest".  ESPN acts as if she is "christ-like",  she can do no wrong, even when threatening line judges.  The only disagreement they have is about who gets to kiss her ass first.

The 2nd womens semifinal will be Justine Henin and Jie Zheng.  I cannot see a way how Henin loses this match.  She has the experience and the all around better game than Zheng.  This match will be closer than the previous one, but Henin will move on to face Serena in the final.

The Andy Murray - Marin Cilic semifinal will be the featured night match at Rod Laver Arena.  Cilic coming off 2 straight 5 set struggles will be no match for Murray.  Murray has not lost a set yet, and was crushing Rafael Nadal when the Spaniard retired with a bum knee.  Murray is on top of his game and will continue on to the final with a 4 set victory over Cilic.

Day 9 of the Australian Open

THANK YOU MARIN CILIC!!  I want to thank Marin Cilic for taking out "asshat" Andy Roddick in 5 sets.  The match began with Cilic and Roddick holding serve throughout the whole first set, which led to a tiebreaker that Cilic was lucky enough to win. First set to Cilic 7-6.  After the first set Roddick was showing discomfort in his right shoulder.  In between sets, Roddick had a trainer come out and give his shoulder a rub down and give Andy some pain killers for the problem.  Cilic was able to break fairly early in the 2nd set and was able to hold on to win the set 6-3.  With Roddick in serious discomfort and Cilic up 2-sets-to-none, Roddick continuing on was in question.  You could tell Andy was in some pain when after serves and big forehands he would grimace, and also just by listening to his grunts when hitting strokes.  It wasn't a true grunt it was more of a moan of pain.  To Roddick's credit he did not retire after the second set, and took the court for the start of the third set.  With Roddick's shoulder not at 100%, the American took on a different strategy for the third set.  It wasn't the hard hitting, shot making Andy.  He turned himself into more of a finesse player trying to hit his spots, and not trying to overpower Cilic.  The new style of play and the shoulder injury seemed to play with Cilic's psyche.  Before he knew it, Cilic was down a break and Roddick had won the third set 6-3.  Roddick now riding some momentum, and Cilic possibly losing a little confidence and getting tired from the warm Australia Day sun resulted in another set like the third.  Roddick improving and Cilic's game fading resulted in a 6-2 fourth set in favor of Roddick.  Cilic was now facing a 5th set for the 3rd time in this tournament, and for the second straight match.  Roddick still isn't better, but the pain meds seem to be starting to work.  It looked as if Andy Roddick was going to gut out a victory over the young, inexperienced Croatian.  But it was Cilic who showed his toughness both physically and mentally.  He had the opportunity to fold under the pressure Roddick was placing on him, but chose gut it out and take the match with a gritty 5th set win.  Cilic moves on to his first ever Grand Slam semifinal 7-6, 6-3, 3-6, 2-6, 6-3.

Its too bad that while the Australia Day fireworks went off, that the match going on at Rod Laver Arena was a dud.  The anticipated matchup between Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal wasn't the epic that many had hoped for.  Murray started the match strong and was able to get a break to cement a 6-3 first set victory.  The second set saw Nadal break early, but Murray was able to break-back on Nadal's next service game.  The rest of the set was on-serve with the set ending in a tiebreaker that Andy Murray won.  Down 2 sets to none, Nadal had a trainer come out and look at his knee.  It looks like the knee tendinitis that bothered Rafa for most of the 2009 season was starting to flare up.  This was the beginning of the end for Nadal.  Murray held, broke Nadal, and held serve again to take a commanding 3-0 lead.  Down 2 sets and 0-3 in the third, Rafa said "No Mas" and gave Murray the quarterfinal victory.  With the defending champion now eliminated, it will be a Murray-Cilic semifinal.

The first womens match of the day was a face-off between Justine Henin and #19 seeded Russian Nadia Petrova.  Henin continuing on the track of a comeback, and Petrova who was on a good run of her own. Petrova quietly took out heavyweights in Clijsters and Kuznetsova, and looking good doing so.  This time it was her chance to beat Henin and put the Russian on the map finally.  This match was ugly from the beginning.  Neither player could execute, or find their range. This had to be Henin's worst showing of her comeback thus far, and on the other side you had Petrova talking to herself and getting frustrated.  This was a match of both mental and execution errors.  In the end Henin made less errors and was mentally stronger in her straight set victory. 7-6, 7-5.  By the look of the score one might think, "wow, what a great match", well that couldn't be more farther from the truth.  Henin is lucky she was playing Petrova and not anyone else.  If it had been someone else, the Belgian would probably be booking a flight out of Melbourne right about now.

The second womens quarterfinal was Jie Zheng of China, and Russian, Maria Kirilenko.  Both players being big surprises for making it as far as the quarterfinals.  Neither players were seeded in this tournament, but you would of never guessed that by looking at Jie Zheng.  Zheng the small Chinese girl who looks like a water bug on the court with her quickness out-played her Russian opponent.  Zheng was too quick, and got to every shot Kirilenko hit, and hit it back just as hard with more accuracy.  I came away being impressed with Zheng after watching her dismantle Kirilenko 6-1, 6-3.  The only thing she really needs to work on, and it could become a problem is her serve.  Zheng rarely hits 100 m.p.h. on her serve, and may be a problem facing a veteran like Henin in the next round or a possible finals matchup with a Williams sister, who are known to sit on someones serve.  Zheng just hopes to play like she did against Kirilenko, and Henin to play like she did against Petrova.  If that happens China will have its first Grand Slam finalist.

Day 10 Preview:

The quarterfinals will wrap up, and the semifinal matchups will be set at the end of the day.  All quarterfinal matchups will be played at Rod Laver Arena.

The first match of the day will have another surprise woman from China,#16 seed Na Li against the #5 seeded American, Venus Williams.  Unfortunately for Li, she will not reach the semifinals like her countrywoman Zheng.  Although I do not see Venus just crushing Li.  Venus will have her moments where she struggles, but will find her game in time to defeat Na Li in a tough first match of the day.

Following right after her sister, Serena Williams will take the court against Victoria Azarenka.  These 2 players met last year in the 4th round of the Australian Open.  In the early goings of that match Azarenka was blistering her forehand and was manhandling Serena.  Then a bout of the flu/heat exhaustion/food poisoning took their negative effects on Azarenka leading to Azarenka being forced to retire from the match and giving Serena the first of a couple gifts (also the roof closing bullshit against Kuznetsova) that led to her winning the AO title last year.  I'm hoping this year will be different, but I don't see this match going well for Azarenka.  She will not be forced to retire like last year.  It will be Serena's play that wears down the fragile Belarussian who calls Phoenix, Arizona home now.  Serena will have too much firepower, and win the match in straight sets.

Roger Federer and Nikolay Davydenko will start off the mens quarterfinals today.  Federer who has been breezing by, and not being really tested by his opponents will face Davydenko who is coming off a long 5 set victory over Fernando Verdasco.  Davydenko may be a little wore down for this match, but will use the memory of him defeating Federer the last two times these two met up to fuel him.  Federer will also be fueled by them matches and will look to exact revenge on the Russian.  A well-rested, motivated Federer is a scary thing, and Davydenko will not have the answers today to beat Federer.  Roger will win this match in 4 sets and continue his streak of Grand Slam semifinal appearances.

The night session at Rod Laver Arena will showcase the 2nd mens quarterfinal.  Novak Djokovic and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will engage in a rematch of the 2008 Australian Open final that Djokovic won in 4 sets.  Djokovic has not had any trouble yet in this years AO.  Tsonga is coming off his first ever 5 set match, in which he edged Nicolas Almagro.  Tsonga will be a little tired, and Djokovic is playing like a champion so far in the past week and a half.  This all equals out to a repeat of 2008, and Djokovic will once again claim victory in 4 sets and earn the right to face Federer in the semifinals.

Day 8 of the Australian Open

Nikolay Davydenko had just won the first 2 sets against Fernando Verdasco, and the momentum was about to shift to Verdasco, but nobody knew about it.  While the 3rd set was about to begin, and a match also being played at Hisense Arena, ESPN chose to throw Patrick McEnroe, Pam Shriver, and "Killer" Cahill on tv and just bullshit about the happenings of the tournament.  After a little bullshitting, they chose to put Billie Jean King on and tell some stupid ass stories.  King I realize is a tennis legend, but of late she really doesn't have a lot to say that is worth listening to.  Just useless banter.  ESPN would rather air this garbage for almost a half hour rather than show live tennis.  Hey ESPN, this is the type of shit you do when there are NO matches going on.  Not when Fernando Verdasco is beginning his comeback to push the match to its very limits.  Just because its not the Williams broth..eh, sisters or "Douchebag" Roddick playing doesn't mean people want to see the matches being played.... Just another reason on how ESPN manages to fuck up tennis coverage in the United States.

Lets get to the match that ESPN chose to not show in the middle for most of the 3rd set:  Davydenko who has been on a hot streak the last few months and has managed to put himself in the discussion as one of the favorites for this tournament, was facing Fernando Verdasco who last year at this time was on his best run in a Grand Slam making it to the semifinals in the '09 Australian Open.  Verdasco came out and took an early break in the first set, but Davydenko stormed back in impressive fashion and controlled the rest of the first set taking it easily 6-2.  The two players battled, holding serve for most of the 2nd set, until Davydenko was able to break late in the set and capture the 2nd set 7-5.  The 3rd set began, and I have no clue what happened, because of ESPN's ineptness, but when they finally decided to show the match again Verdasco had raced out to a 4-1 lead.  Davydenko managed to break and get close, but Verdasco was able to hold on to win the set 6-4.  The 4th set was a battle between Verdasco double faulting, and Davydenko showing signs of fatigue.  Battling through service error after service error, Verdasco was able to win the 4th set in a tiebreaker (7-6) and force the weary Davydenko to go the distance.  At this point Davydenko is looking tired and run-down.  Verdasco not playing extremely well, has managed to make this a 5 setter and his elite conditioning was helping stay in the match.  But it was Davydenko who stood strong and capitalized on Verdasco's errors to win the match by winning the last set 6-3.

Davydenko will now have to face Roger Federer who took Lleyton Hewitt in straight sets 6-2, 6-3, 6-4.  Federer's dominance over Hewitt continues and now the #1 player in the world who should be fresh will face a wore down Davydenko in the quarterfinals... Novak Djokovic went up against Lukasz Kubot, and as predicted destroyed the Polish contender in straights 6-1, 6-2, 7-5... Next up for Djokovic will be the man he faced and beat in the 2008 final to claim his first and only Grand Slam championship, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.  Tsonga was taken to deep waters for the first time in his career.  Shockingly Tsonga had never been 5 sets until the #26 seeded Spaniard, Nicolas Almagro gave him all he could handle.  Tsonga took the first 2 sets, and just like his fellow Spaniard, Fernando Verdasco he turned it up a notch, and won the 3rd and 4th sets.  Tsonga now in his first 5th set of his career had to struggle to win 9-7 in the 5th over Almagro who would not quit.  Almagro made a good showing of himself in this tournament, and now looks to continuing this momentum throughout the year.  Match score: Tsonga 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 6-7, 9-7.

Biggest upset of the day came on the womens side of thing.  Na Li took out the #4 seeded Caroline Wozniacki.  Wozniacki was struggling with a injury and managed to hit a measley 4 winners throughout the match.  The match itself was ugly with a ton of serves being broken, but the Chinese woman Li was able to outlast Wozniacki 6-4, 6-3... Li's will have to face Venus Williams in the next round after Venus beat Francesca Schiavone in a match that saw the Italian come out strong in the first set and just crumble in the 2nd and 3rd.  Venus was able to win the 3 setter 3-6, 6-2, 6-1... Serena Williams had little trouble taking out the last Australian woman Samantha Stosur in straight sets. 6-4, 6-2... Victoria Azarenka was able to get passed Vera Zvonareva in 3 sets 4-6, 6-4, 6-0.  I did not see the match, but it looks as if once falling behind or losing the 2nd set Zvonareva just mailed it in.  She seems to be a total whack-job.  With the win Azarenka gets to exact revenge on Serena for what happened last year.  In the '09 Australian Open, Azarenka was kicking Serena's ass in the early going, until Azarenka had to retire due to a bout of heat exhaustion,flu, diarhea, or all of the above.  The gratification of watching Serena get her ass pounded was personally taken away from me.  So now hopefully Azarenka will be fit and ready to pick up where she left off last year.

Day 9 Preview:

The quarterfinals begin today for half of the women and men, with all 4 matches being played at Rod Laver Arena.

The first match of the day will be the continuation of Justin Henin's comeback, and Nadia Petrova who is on a hot streak of her own.  This will be a rematch of Justine's comeback match that happened just a couple weeks ago.  In that match Henin was able to figure out the Russian and win.  I don't see much different happening.  I like Henin in 3 sets.

The 2nd match of the day will between two unlikely opponents to reach this far.  Jie Zheng and Maria Kirilenko are both unseeded and blazed a upset trail to get to this point.  This match will see the end of the line for Jie Zheng.  Kirilenko to advance in straight sets.

Andy Roddick and Marin Cilic will take the court following the completion of the two womens quarterfinal matchups.  I will be rooting for Cilic to pull the upset and send "asshat" Andy back home, but I think the young Croatian is still a little too green and inexperienced.  Unfortunately, Roddick will advance with a 4 set victory.

The match of the day will be the first night match at Rod Laver Arena.  Andy Murray and Rafa Nadal will battle to see who advances to the semifinals.  Its tough to call a winner on this one, but I will go with Murray to eliminate the defending champion and advance in a 5 set classic.

Have I ever mentioned how bad ESPN is?