Andy Murray stands at 0 for 2 in Grand Slam Finals. Despite the fact that he has had greater all round success at Masters series events than fellow players Novak Djokovic and Juan Martin del Potro, the pressure that surronds the top five seems to sit squarely on Murray’s shoulders. He is the only member of the top five not to have won a Slam. He currently sits at three in the world, above the six time Slam champion, Rafael Nadal, and US Open 2009 Champion, del Potro. Despite Murray’s achievements at Masters levels, his finals placing in Slams, and his age of only 22, Murray currently faces swarms of criticism as people try to figure out what he can do to win one of the big ones.
The current theory behind Murray’s failure to capitilise on his two Slam opportunities is that he plays too defensively in the big matches. His fatigue and inexperience were blamed for his failure to capture the 2008 US Open, but his 2009 Australian Open runner up place is blamed on his reverting back into his shell. Critics of Andy Murray, who usually are the most desperate for him to win a Slam, say that he played brilliant aggressive tennis against Rafael Nadal in his quarter final match. If he had played like that in his final against Roger Federer, the title would be his.
This assumption is somewhat far fetched for a few reasons. The most obvious flaw in the ‘Murray attack and win plan’ is that he has played Roger Federer in both finals. There have only been two people to have beaten Federer in a Slam final before, Nadal and del Potro. Federer is no standard tennis player. In Slam finals he makes fewer errors, his mental strength is rock solid, his defense is impressive, and his attacking ability astounding. Suggesting that Murray blew his chances when he lost to Federer is not only absurd, it is insulting to both camps.
Secondly, the ‘Murray attack and win plan’ isn’t a guarenteed success against Federer. A quick look at the two people to beat him in Slam finals shows there is no apparent pattern. Nadal is a defensive player, who hits groundstrokes with huge amounts of topspin, not a lot of pace, and gets everything back. Del Potro won the US Open 2009 by hitting absolutely flying flat forehands at land speed records. The aggression del Potro showed was out of this world, much like the defense of Nadal. The key to beating Federer isn’t to play big tennis or returning everything with interest, the key to beating Federer, it seems, is to simply play better. No matter what your style.
The criticism Murray has faced over the last few days has been due to his lack of aggressive play. Thinking that the key to beat Federer is through hitting massive groundstrokes is slightly misinformed, check out his head to heads against Gonzalez and Blake. What baffles me more, however, is that the media seem to assume that Murray is capable of doing a del Potro and blasting forehands faster than an Ivo Karlovic serve. Andy Murray is not an aggressive player for a reason. He doesn’t junk ball to spite the media, he doesn’t get everything back because he thinks it is a better form of tennis. Andy Murray pushes because he is a pusher. Telling Murray to step up and take the ball early, punishing a forehand past Federer to claim his first Major, is like telling Nadal to flatten his strokes out, or Federer himself to hit with a two handed backhand to counteract those high balls. It sounds great in theroy, but in reality, the reason these players play like this is because it is their game. How many times did we hear that Nadal should flatten his shots to win on a hard court? Do the media and critics assume that Murray just hasn’t thought of the aggressive approach? Of course he has, it just isn’t his natural way to play. You cannot change your game at will. That would make everyone the ultimate player.
There is one more argument being put forward at this time. The claim that Murray beat Nadal because he changed his game and played more aggressively. The reality, and noone said it better than Murray himself in his post match interview, is that Nadal is the kind of player you can be aggressive against. I was at that match and Nadal was hitting balls that hardly bounced past the service line. Not only that, Nadal is a defensive player himself, so of course it is easier to take the initiative against him and attack. Federer on the other hand, hits a lot flatter, a lot harder, and refuses to be bullied off the baseline. The men are two completely different players, what Murray managed to do against one does not guarentee the same result against the other.
Tennis is not a sport where you can go out and change your style of play at will. Different players match up to different styles. Murray may not be the most aggressive player in the world and the media need to accept that instead of suggesting he can turn into a hard-hitter at will. Defense is Murray’s game. Just as it is Nadal’s. Nadal may have not flattened out his shots or started playing like his main rival, but he has still won six Slams. The future for Murray looks bright, he just needs to be patient and work on his game. His game.
Unlike the men, whose top ten changes only slightly week in and week out, the women seem to switch ranking places as often as they do rackets. The Australian Open was no different, with two suprise semi finalists and a top ten that looks different to it did a fortnight ago. Let’s have a look at how they performed.
1. Serena Williams: Nobody can accuse Serena of underachieving at Slams. Since the retirement of Justine Henin, Serena has dominated in Slams. Now, as if to prove it wasn’t a fluke, she beat Henin in the final of Henin’s first Slam back. Serena was pushed by Henin and Azarenka, but she proved time and time again why she is so hard to beat at Slams. Much like Federer, Serena has a whole different level at Slams and she literally never gives up. Despite being down a set and 4-0 against Azarenka, Serena came back to win the match. After dropping the second set to Henin, Serena again turned up the heat to take the title. Her ability to win often is because she keeps playing her best tennis throughout the entire match. That is something her opponents can barely ever do.
10/10
2. Dinara Safina: Safina needed to win this Slam more than anyone in the WTA or ATP. This year there was no heatbreaking final, no media headlines, and no criticism. This is because Safina retired just nine games into her match against Maria Kirilenko in the fourth round. Safina still hasn’t recovered from the back injury that cut her 2009 season short. Let’s hope it isn’t anything serious that could cut her entire career short.
5/10 (she was dominant in her earlier rounds)
3. Caroline Wozniacki: After a brilliant run at the US Open, Caroline entered the Australian Open as one of the favourites to lift the trophy. Unfortuantly, Caroline fell a little flat in her fourth round match against Li Na. She was never really in the match, made too many unforced errors for her counterpunching game, and struggled to hold serve. She looked to be in form against lesser opponents, but the sixteenth seed who was having the Slam of her career was too much for her.
6/10
4. Svetlana Kuznetsova: Kuznetsova proved she wasn’t a one Slam wonder at the French Open last year, taking advantage of the lack of dominance in the women’s game to take her second Slam. Svetlana has failed to follow it up since with any remarkable performances. The Australian Open 2010 was no different as she fell in the fourth round to her good friend and compatriot, Nadia Petrova. She didn’t play her best against an inspired opponent, and despite grabbing the second set, Kuznetsova could not get any kind of hold on the match. She never looked like winning.
4/10
5. Venus Williams: The Australian Open was a chance for Venus to prove that in the latter part of her career she isn’t just a grass court specialist. Venus didn’t completely blow the opportunity, going as far as the quarter finals. Had she lost to an opponent who was simply better on the day, Venus’s performance could be considered a great effort. However, Venus blew a host of opportunities that cost her the match against Li Na, eventually losing 6-2 6-7 5-7. With experience like Venus has, she should have taken the match and made an impressive run to the semis. Instead, her run was decent but nothing special.
6.5/10
6. Victoria Azarenka: Azarenka has the ground strokes to hang with anyone, the determination to win matches, and a grunt to rival Sharapova’s. What Vika doesn’t have is a decent serve and the ability to keep her cool when in a tough spot. Azarenka played a brilliant set and a half against Serena Williams in her quarter final match. She led by a set and 4-0 before Serena decided to come storming back. It isn’t that Vika lost the match that is disappointing, it is how she went away in the third set. As soon as Serena got the second set, everyone knew she was going to win the match. The lost opportunity clearly played on Vika’s mind as she started hitting more and more unforced errors, losing the third 6-2. The talent she displayed in the first two sets was unbelievable, but fighting spirit and mental ability certainly wasn’t. Her entire tournament was brilliant, bar that one set.
8/10
 |
7. Elena Dementieva: Elena was dealt the toughest draw of everyone: Justine Henin in the second round. It is hard to judge her tournament on one match, but that’s the way the cookie crumbled. What is unfortunate for Elena is that she was on the losing end of one of the best women’s matches of the tournament… again, (think Wimbledon 2009). Elena missed many opportunities to beat Henin, and lost the match 5-7 6-7. Her groundstrokes were there, her serve was ok, and her movement was excellent as usual. When it comes to mental strength though, Elena continues to fall short.
5/10
8. Jelena Jankovic: I didn’t even watch her play. Jankovic crashed out of the Australian Open in the third round to Bonderenko with hardly a whimper. Thoroughly beaten 2-6 3-6, Jankovic again disappointed at a Slam. I can’t comment on her performance as I didn’t see it, but I can say that the result is awful. Post tournament, Jankovic has complained of injury and stated she may be out for Fed Cup. Naturally, nobody is suprised.
2/10
9. Agnieszka Radwanska: Radwanska is another player I didn’t manage to catch and it is hard to judge much from her results this year. Radwanska lost in the third round rather easily to Schiavone, a player who is always dangerous but had a much lower seeding of seventeen. From what I can tell the scoreline of 2-6 2-6 is far too lopsided for a player who is trying to cement herself in the top ten.
4/10
10. Na Li: Na Li was one half of the Chinese senstation that rocked the Australian Open this year. Not content to fall to player seeded far higher than her seeding of sixteen, Li fought her way to the semi finals with strong, aggressive tennis and a mental strength not often seen in women’s tennis. She blasted her way past Caroline Wozniacki and came from behind to beat Venus Williams before falling to Serena in the semis. Don’t think she let the occassion get to her though, she lost to Serena in two tiebreaks. Not at all a scoreline to be ashamed of and overall a fantastic tournament. Let’s hope she can keep this up, with tennis like that, Li belongs in the top ten.
10/10
I wrote this title and then got completely confused as to which top ten I should use. The top ten as of today, or the top ten as of before the Australian Open? I have decided to go with the top ten as of today, mainly because I am in love with Cilic and want to rave about his awesome performance.
So, here we go. I will do the women over the next few days.
1. Roger Federer: It’s obvious, isn’t it? He turned in his best tennis to beat Tsonga, and close to his best to beat Murray, Davydenko, and Hewitt. His backhand was at it’s pinnacle against Murray, and his forehand was close. Sure, his serve has been better, but his overall game was pretty damn good. Plus, he won the title and his sixteenth Slam. In straight sets.
10/10
2. Novak Djokovic: Novak came into this Slam needing to do well, and it turned out to be not his game, but a stomach bug that got in his way. Until the quarter finals, Nole was playing good tennis. Not amazing tennis, probably not Slam winning tennis, but he was playing well. Unfortuantly for him, he was struck down with a stomach illness. In his match against Tsonga, Nole had to leave the court to throw up. He probably should have retired but didn’t want to increase his bad reputation for pulling the plug when down. So Novak battled, got beaten, and won hearts. It may have hurt, but he showed some fighting spirit that he hadn’t brought out before.
7.5/10
3. Andy Murray: Andy Murray didn’t win the Australian Open and save British tennis from a 150,000 year drought. He didn’t beat Roger Federer and claim the world number two ranking spot. He hasn’t silenced the critics, and he hasn’t satisfied his fans or himself. But Andy Murray deserves credit. Murray played his best tennis over the last fortnight, he ignored massive pressure from his own nation, and most importantly, Murray proved to everyone that he isn’t a monotonous sulky Scot. On the podium, Murray shed some tears. He showed some real emotion and passion for tennis. He showed that not only does he have the best backhand in tennis, and not only is he going to have many more chances to win Slams, but he wants this just as much as the next guy. That was more of a surprise than his excellent performance. Through this, I believe Murray won some non-British fans. Whether he knows it or not, this will help spur him on to win that much coveted Slam.
9/10 (It would have been a ten. He hasn’t lost a point for losing to Federer, he has lost a point for some choking in the third set.)
4. Rafael Nadal: A heartbreaker for any tennis fan, Nadal once again showed his will to continue even when his body refused. Despite his time off, Nadal is still struggling from injury, particularly those pesky knees. He’s a fighter, and he always will be, but without his movement at it’s best, Nadal reverts to playing his bog-standard tennis. Which is enough to get him to the quarters, but not enough to stand the test against Murray. The result was an average performance, a retirement, and many upset fans.
5/10 (Not his fault, obviously)
5. Juan Martin del Potro: A similar story to Nadal and Djokovic, delPo tried his hardest the past fortnight but was hampered by injury. His forearm hasn’t been right since his tremendous US Open victory and it showed. Del Potro played his average tennis to get him through to the fourth round, when he bumped into a red hot Cilic. Despite being in obvious pain and having to revert to a defensive game that is far from natural for him, del Potro fought through five tough sets. Cilic, unlike Blake earlier in the tournament, proved too much for del Potro when not at his best. However, del Potro showed his brilliant fighting spirit once again this tournament, and considering his youth and relative inexperience, this is impressive by itself.
6.5/10
6. Nikolay Davydenko: Davydenko came into the Australian Open in red hot form and known as the one to watch. He had recent wins over Federer, Nadal, and del Potro. He absolutely demolished everyone in sight until he ran into Verdasco in the fourth round. Considered by many the worst match of the tournament, both men played an uninspiring five setter. Yet people were still talking of a possible upset when he met Federer in the quarters, and for the first set and a half he silenced the crowd with brilliant shot making and defensive skills. Then, much like in the match against Verdasco, Davydenko fell short. He lost the second, got bageled in the third, and made a fight of it in the fourth but failed to capitilise on any opportunities. As a result, Davydenko turned in a performance unworthy of his recent form. Another disappointment by tennis’s classic underachiever.
4/10
7. Andy Roddick: Roddick played some brilliant tennis mid 2009 before flattening off and reverting to the Roddick of old. The Roddick of 2010 doesn’t seem as promising. He was entertaining as usual and avoided an early upset, but his five set loss to Cilic in the quarter finals was anything but high quality. He looked tired and uninspired. At no point did it seem Cilic would lose the match. Roddick needs to find that spark he had in 2009, because at the moment, he looks to be far from a serious Slam contender.
5/10
8. Robin Soderling made a massive push in 2009, famously causing one of the biggest upsets in tennis history. However, Soderling has failed to live up to expectations after his hot streak ended. The Australian Open was a massive disappointment. After being up two sets to love against little known Marcel Granollers, Soderling ended up blowing the match 7-5 6-2 4-6 4-6 2-6 in his first round match. Unless Soderling is content to go down in history as a trivia question, he might want to up the results come the next Slam.
0/10
9. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga: Tsonga made his breakout performance at the Australian Open in 2008 when he made the final, but hadn’t done a lot since. His results were good enough to keep him hovering in or around the top ten, but with talent like Tsonga has, he should have been doing a lot more. Tsonga finally turned it on at the Australian Open 2010. He played brilliant tennis to get himself all the way to the semi finals where he lost to Federer playing at his best. He played a little flat against Federer, but that was probably due to all the five setters he had to fight through to get there. Tsonga is probably one of the most liked men in the sport by casual fans, tennis could really do with a man like Tsonga performing at this level all year round.
9/10
10. Marin Cilic: A warning to all tennis fans: when people start enquiring about the really tall guy that is a future world number one and promising player, they may not mean del Potro. Marin Cilic showed tennis fans he was ready to play top tennis at the US Open last year, and at the Australian Open he announced it to the world. It was hard not to notice the expressionless man with the giant forehand, rock solid backhand, and mentality far beyond his 21 years as he battled his way through two five setters all the way to the semi finals. Here he ran into Andy Murray. After taking the first set, Cilic simply ran out of steam as Murray powered on. Clearly tired, he reverted to defensive tennis but he never stopped fighting. His mind wanted it, but his body couldn’t do it. The top seeds better watch out when body and mind work in sync. Cilic is one for the near future… and my new third fav player!
10/10
I almost feel for people who don’t like Roger Federer. I mean how much must it seriously suck? Not only does he win a shitload of Slams, does a tonload for charity, (his racket just sold for over 28 grand for Haiti on Ebay), and is generally considered the greatest player of all time, Federer shows no sign of going away. Not with twenty eight years, not with all the records, and not with twins and a wife. The man just keeps on rolling. And he keeps winning. Being a Federer fan couldn’t be a more fantastic thing.
Tonight I watched Federer again play brilliantly to grab his sixteenth Slam, and his first as a father. It never gets old. Murray didn’t play badly. He didn’t serve great, but I’m yet to see him put in a great first serving percentage anyway. His forehand proved itself again to be the worst groundstroke in the top five, and he played his normal, defensive tennis. Against a lot of people, that would have worked. There is no denying Murray did some choking in the third set, but it just proves exactly how hard it is to beat Federer. The man never goes away at important moments.
Murray’s mini breakdown after the match will earn a lot of fans. Showing that he isn’t just a cold, monotonous robot, his tears proved that he has a real love of the game. I’m never going to be a fan, but I did like seeing his softer side. And yes, I did feel a tad sorry for him. I wrote a piece after the US Open last year feeling epic sympathy for Murray and hoping he eventually wins a Slam. I still do… just not until Federer retires.
Being a Federer fan is epic. And much like Roger, my love of his winning doesn’t seem to be dying anytime soon…
Great tournament, and I loved being there. Seriously going to try and save the two grand and go to everything next year. EVERYTHING. Congrats to Fed for the title, Muzz for the tournament, and Nole for becoming the new number two. Also congrats to Cilic, who played brilliantly. I hope Rafa and delPo get better soon! On the womens side, congrats to Serena for the title, Henin on the comeback, and Li Na for a great tournament. Hope Masha gets her shit together soon though, I miss her.
Bring on the French.
Obviously the nerves are getting to me somewhat. Haven’t been able to stop thinking about it all day and had many nightmares of Murray winning last night. Federer played brilliant tennis over Tsonga, and I just hope he can bring that kind of form against Murray.
Federer’s interviews last night were classic. How anyone can find them cocky is ridiculous. He was clearly joking! Even called Muzzah a nice guy. I think the relationship between these two isn’t one of mutual dislike as many suggest. I think perhaps they get on Ok, it is just Federer has very little respect for Murray’s playing style. Which is basically the reason a lot of people dislike him. That and a monotone… anyway.
Murray needs this Slam more than Federer. But let’s look at what each have to play for.
Murray needs the AO because:
- He hasn’t won a Slam yet, he won’t win the French, and the pressure at Wimbledon will be unbearable if he comes in Slamless. Having said that, if he wins, the British press will not shut up like most people think. They’ll harp on about more things, and the pressure to win Wimbledon will never go away. Unless he wins it… but then it probably still won’t.
- Del Potro has already won one. That leaves Muzzah as the only top five player without a Slam.
- It will prove that his pushing game can win Slams, unlike other people (look at moi) suggest.
- Judy Murray will be happy.
Reasons Federer needs to win:
- He can show the world that fatherhood hasn’t slowed him down.
Yeah, that’s about it. Aside from the fact that he needs to save tennis from a whiny Scotsman who plays pushing tennis and has horrible teeth.
The Australian Open isn’t known for interesting fashion choices. Most players decide to leave their best outfits for later in the year at Wimbledon or the US Open. However, with fashion and tennis nowdays going hand in hand, you can always count on a select few to show off their style. Be it good or just plain wrong.
Roger Federer is usually one to embrace tennis fashion. Known mainly for his Wimbledon suits, he also usually mixes day and night outfits for the Australian and US Opens. I was shocked to see that Federer has not picked two outfits for this year’s Open. After seeing his somewhat bog-standard-Federer day outfit, I was excited to see how he would mix it up at night. Needless to say, the disappointment when he walked on in exactly the same outfit was immense. Let’s hope this isn’t a trend for the rest of the year. I like the fashionable Federer, not this serious tennis player stuff.
5/10 (he still looks good)
Rafael Nadal pushes the fashion borders in many ways. Much like Lady Gaga, you either seem to love or hate his colourful clothes. Unfortuantly, ever since he ditched the singlets and pirate pants, I think Nadal has looked more drag queen than snazzy tennis player. This year could be his worst yet. Not prepared to let his glitter shorts from last year go down as the worst in recent history, Nadal decked out in pink, yellow, and orange. Then, as if chosen by a primary school student, he went one more and clashed the stripey top with checked shorts. I have only one good thing to say about Nadal’s choice; he looks better in it than Bernard Tomic.
2/10 (wake up, Nike)
Novak Djokovic is another player who usually gets it completely wrong when it comes to wardrobe choices. He appeared to be making a smart move when he ditched Adidas, who constantly dressed him in vile clothing. Unfortuantly, this just left Nole to dress himself. Novak switched to Sergio Tacchini and they designed a special outfit just for Novak. The result? A white or black outfit with red flames. This in itself doesn’t sound too bad, until you see the result. The day outfit blends in with every other tennis player in white, whilst the night outfit can be doubled as Japanese silk pyjamas. Perhaps a switch to K-Swiss would have been the better option after all.
4/10 (at least he doesn’t need to get changed for bed)
Andy Murray doesn’t play the most inspiring tennis, make the most inspiring jokes, or have the most inspiring personality. Same goes with his fashion choices. After leaving Fred Perry, Muzzard signed with Adidas. The result? Average to poor. Sure, Fred Perry chose bland colours for Muzz that blent in with his skin tone, namely grey and white, but at least they didn’t mix Murray’s favourite blue with lime green. This is Murray’s day outfit, his night outfit is the same shirt in white and blue. The best part of Murray’s outfit is that he doesn’t seem to understand to wear the night outfit when matches are scheduled to be played at night. Instead, in both the night matches against Nadal and the one against Cilic, Murray started in the day outfit but changed shirts when the sun set. Brilliant.
4/10 (he’s not in grey)
Fernando Verdasco, the ATP’s pretty boy with heavily styled hair, has taken over Djokovic as Adidas’s main man. Admittedly, he wears it better than Nole. With his tanned skin and white cap, Verdasco manages to make the reasonably awful bright green with black stripes shirt look not too bad. The fact that he paired it with white shorts, as opposed to a matching green Nole-style, always helps.
6/10 (still not impressed)
Clearly the men disappointed this year. With Federer deciding to be boring, and everyone else looking like lollipops, it was up to the women to show them how fashion is done. The good news is, they mainly suceeded.
Caroline Wozniacki got much criticism for her puffball Stella McCartney outfit at the US Open. This time around, her game was not as good, but her dress was much better. Wearing a grey that compliments her skin tone and blonde hair, Wozniacki ditched the ruffles and went for a more fitting dress. The pattern on the front is understated and classic, and the dress shows off her marvelous figure nicely.
8/10 (finally, they dress Caro right)
Anyone who reads this blog knows I’m not the biggest Ana Ivanovic fan in the world. I also usually detest her taste in outfits. However, this time, Adidas and Ana have gotten in right. Sure, she may still be playing awful tennis, but at least she looks good doing it. Yellow is not an easy colour to pull off, but with a tan like Ana’s, she looks fantastic. The dress flatters her figure, and the black keeps it classy and cool.
10/10 (can’t see this happening again)
Serena Williams has gone from fashion disaster to fashion darling over her career. Her dress for the Australian Open may not be her best, but it still a fantastic choice. Much like Ivanovic, Serena can pull off bright colours that most of us shouldn’t be seen dead in. My only criticism is that orange shorts may have been a better choice, the white ones look too much like granny panties.
7/10
Venus Williams has done both good and bad things with her fashion line. This Australian Open is a little bit of a mix. Staying with a yellow which is fast becoming a Venus staple, Venus opts for an original dress that lies halfway between risque and skanky. With brown undergarments, it appears like she is wearing nothing underneath a dress that cuts low and slits high. It is hard not to raise an eyebrow at the daring choice. After much consideration, I have decided that Venus’s dress needed to have either the splits or the low cut top. Not both. Personally, I favour the top half over the bottom half.
6/10 (almost, Vee)
My final review is of a woman who gave us half of the best woman’s match, in my opinion, of the tournament. Victoria Azarenka challenged Serena in both the fashion department and on the tennis court. Unfortuantly for her, she fell slightly short on both occasions. Vika picked an absolutely adorable top and skirt but got a little carried away with accessories. With a hot pink being the theme of the outfit, she didn’t need hot pink shoelaces and a hairtie to match. Instead of looking stylish, Vika looked a little too much like a Barbie doll.
7/10 (massive points for the outfit, the accessories let her down)
That wraps up the Australian Open 2010 fashion review. The men disappointed, the women excelled. For the record, I didn’t like Maria Sharapova’s fishing net anymore than I liked her match against Kirilenko, but she didn’t last long enough for me to review. Hoping the men pick it up for the French Open… having said that, bad fashion choices are almost more interesting than the good ones.
Pre tournament, I listed both Novak Djokovic and Jo Wilfried Tsonga as two players that desperately needed to do well at the Australian Open. Novak Djokovic had been showing decent although at times patchy form coming into last night’s quarter final clash, whilst Tsonga had been very much the same. The quarter finals were already a decent result for the Frenchman, but for Djokovic they were just Ok.
The match started with promise. Both men were striking the ball cleanly, and Tsonga’s net play was exceptional. With his superior consistancy and footwork, Djokovic constantly seemed to lead by a break. His serve just wasn’t quite clicking and mentally he didn’t seem to be quite right, he constantly gifted away break leads with double faults.
Both tiebreaks were of high quality, and at the start of the third they were a set a piece. Then it all went pear shaped. Djokovic clinched the third set 6-1 off a lackluster Tsonga, and then fell to pieces at the start of the fourth. Watching live, it was obvious that Djokovic had something wrong with him. His footwork went to pieces and he looked far from energetic. We took turns guessing at what the problem was, suspecting everything from a strained stomach muscle from an overhead to a back problem. He left the court after the first two games in the fourth, but only for a short time. It wasn’t until we checked his interview when we got home that we found out he had been suffering from a stomach problem and had left the court to throw up.
Having already seen Nadal retire with injury against Murray, we thought Djokvoic was about to do the same. To our suprise, however, Djokovic continued to play. He was playing far from his best, he looked lackluster and even his lone chest thump was done without enthusiasm. Yet, he kept trying. The crowd was predominately behind Tsonga, but with Djokovic’s display of determination, I think he won a few fans last night.
Tsonga played a brilliant match and deserves to be in the semi finals. He has managed to succeed at a tournament where he needed to show he could still compete with the top players. Djokovic, on the other hand, may not have got the results he wanted, but he showed that he is a player far more mentally mature than this time last year. And as the likes of del Potro, Federer, and Nadal have shown, mental maturity is essential for Slam success.
*Written 25/01/10*
Day seven of the tennis and the vibe wasn’t happening. One of our favs, Wozniacki, had played a lackluster match to lose to Na Li in straight sets. Classic bad tennis, both players struggled to hold serve and Wozniacki hit a mere three winners, bad by even her standards. After that disappointing match, Djokovic sailed through his easy fourth rounder against Kubot. Two sets into the Tsonga vs Almagro match, and we were thinking the highlight of the day was noticing that Djokovic dedicated more time than anyone to sign autographs.
We briefly considered leaving after the second set to watch the end of the Davydenko vs. Verdasco match on TV, but live tennis is hard to resist. Thankfully, we stayed. Halfway through the third, Almagro picked up the pace like never before. Playing the match of his life, he was hitting screaming flat forehand winners, his one handed backhand had gone from a liabilty to a massive weapon, and his serve was on fire. He managed to clinche the third set 6-4.
Almagro wasn’t one for missing opportunities, keeping up his fantastic form to clinch the fourth. With Almagro hitting winners from all corners of the court, Tsonga was barely hanging in but managed to take it to a tiebreak. After a controversial challenge, where Tsonga and the crowd thought he had served an ace but Almagro challenged after quite some time to prove it was out, Tsonga hit a double to gift Almagro the set.
The fifth was by miles the best set of the match, with both players playing fantastic tennis. It was impossible to pick with Almgaro still serving hard and playing well, but Tsonga refusing to go away and starting to play more like he did at the start of the match. After fifteen nervewracking games for the Tsonga-supporting crowd, Tsonga managed to break for the 9-7 win. The look on his face was of pure joy and relief. His very vocal player’s box went even more wild, as did the crowd.
Almagro proved to fans today that he is not just a clay court player. He can also play some fantastic hard court tennis. Tsonga probably should not have let Almagro back in the match, but he eventually managed to prevail as the more mentally tough player.
Congratulations to both players on a fantastic match. Next up for Tsonga is Djokovic. He should prove more of a challenge to Nole, who really hasn’t had the hardest of draws so far. As for me, I have two days left of the tennis before I am confined to watching it on TV. So far though, this is shaping up to be a fantastic nine days.
*Had no internet while moving flats, this was written 24/01/10*
It would be too easy, as a Juan Martin del Potro fan, to have been bitterly disappointed after his fourth round encounter with Marin Cilic, which he lost in the fifth 6-3. After missing break point chances to keep his hopes alive in the fifth it would be easy to say he choked. I say to any fan disappointed with the match, think back a year a go.
One year ago del Potro got absolutely whipped by Roger Federer after losing the first set badly. The del Potro today was one that never gave up. Despite his forearm injury that forced him out of a number of tournaments late last year and Kyoong this year, and an additional ankle injury, del Potro fought his way through five. Juan Martin del Potro could have been forgiven for retiring today. With injuries hindering his tournament all the way through, I half expected him to shake Cilic’s hand prematurely. However, del Potro is a new man. Juan Martin gave the fans an amazing match, fought his hardest, and should walk away with his head held high. As a del Potro fan, I am dead proud of the way he fought today. Even of the fight he picked with the rubbish bin.
Marin Cilic has also dogfought his way through the Australian Open. Having seen his matches against Tomic and Wawrinka, and knowing del Potro’s injuries, I didn’t have high hopes for today’s match. Until today, Cilic had been playing far from his best. Then he brought it in a big way. With crushing forehands, unbelievable returns, and a backhand that barely missed, Cilic played one of the best matches of his career. He is also turning out to be a mental giant. He never got angry or too nervous. He kept his cool and won his way to a quarter final spot. His post match speech was sweet, even acknowleding del Potro’s physical condition. Marin Cilic made his country and fans proud. Marin Cilic kept me from being upset that my second favourite had been bundled out in the fourth round. That is no small feat.
Cilic and del Potro showed the world today what the future of tennis is going to be. Two gentle giants slugging it out against each other and never giving up. With this kind of quality promised for the future, people shouldn’t be to upset about the possible end of the Fedal era, (not that I think it is quite over yet). Cilic and del Potro both show passion, talent, respect, and determination. Remind you of anyone?
I have a new least favourite player, folks. Andy Muzzah and Ana Ivanovic no longer top the list of the most annoying people in tennis. Nope, the new least favourite is Australia’s own Bernard Tomic. Tomic is uglier than Murray, he pushes more than Murray (I know, it has to be seen to be believed), he is cockier than Murray, and he has worse outfits than Ivanovic. The worst part is, Tomic is only 17. Which means he is only going to get meaner, uglier, and more arrogant.
Dickface played the worst five setter I have ever seen the other night again Marin Cilic. Cilic, by the way, is cool. Cilic played the worst tennis of his short career, and Tomic got every ball back he could. For all the praise surronding Tomic, I personally do not see what the hype is about. Yes, he can push. Yes, his mentality is impressive. But he has no weapons. How Tomic is different from any other promising upstart is a mystery to me. Donald Young seemed to have more potential.
The worst thing about Tomic, of course, is his cockiness and arrogance. Seemingly already thinking he belongs in the top ten, Tomic claims he can hang with the big boys now. He can’t. With Cilic playing the worst tennis of his life, Tomic still lost. And then he complained. Tomic, number 286 in the world and a wildcard entry, complained about the scheduling. He says that because he is only 17, he should have been allowed to play a day match. Because he is only 17, he cannot possibly stay up until 2am. Because he is only 17, he should have gotten the priority of the day match. Because he is 17 and number 286 in the world, we should care.
Wrong. Tomic should have been grateful to have recieved a wildcard into a Slam. He should have been grateful for the experience on centre court. He should have been grateful that he played a five setter against the number 14 in the world. Instead, he whines. In the world of tennis, Tomic is noone. The fact that he had the arrogance to even request a scheduling time shows to me that he has no modesty, no humilty, and no courtesy.
After the officials said basically what I just did to Tomic, he still hasn’t showed any remorse.
Q. Today’s discussion has been about what you said rather than how you played, which seems a shame. Do you feel like you kind of learned a lesson as far as just being a little bit more careful in your post‑match comments?
BERNARD TOMIC: No, not really. Haven’t learned anything. What’s there to learn? I just finished the match and I said a thing that I was probably ‑‑ what was I supposed to say? It was 2:00 in the morning.
No, hopefully next schedule will be during the day when I play.
Q. When you say, What’s to learn, some of the comments have been that it’s poor sportsmanship to look for an excuse for your loss. So you used the scheduling for an excuse. Do you agree that’s poor sportsmanship?
BERNARD TOMIC: No, had I played during the day it would have been totally different. Like I said, after the match, I said what I said. I was a few points away from winning, and I got a little bit upset about that.
Seems to me like Tomic not only has the biggest pushing game in the world, he hasn’t learnt anything from the likes of Federer or Nadal on humility and respect. Tomic better STFU, or tournament organisners and non-Australians are going to avoid supporting him like the Nazi party.
For the record, if Muzz played this guy, I would be going for Muzz to make a double bagel.
Oh, and he has bad clothes. And his own website. *barf*
