Well, 2013 certainly turned out to be surprising. When I posted the thread a year ago, we didn’t know how long it would be before Nadal would return, let alone return at full strength. Hardly anyone thought he’d be back to top, top form so quickly.
Anyway, Brisbane is up first this year and I believe everyone will be there.
Here is very sappy poem recitation Federer linked to from his Twitter yesterday.
It’s going to be an interesting year for coaches! Perhaps inspired by Andy Murray’s success with Ivan Lendl, Djokovic hired Boris Becker as his coach and Federer just hired Stefan Edberg. It can’t go any worse than Maria Sharapova-Jimmy Connors.
Lleyton Hewitt just beat Federer in the Brisbane final.
I didn’t much like Lleyton Hewitt, but I am continually amazed at how he just keeps trying his guts out. I wish I had half his perseverance.
Yeah, he’s the kind of guy who is really redeeming some of his reputation by not only keeping going, but keeping going and trying to stay competitive. Some guys keep going for money and other reasons, but I think Hewitt really want to be competitive.
Oppressive Heat at the Aussie Open. Temps at or near 110 deg F.
There were 9 first round matches that were defaulted.
Del Potro out.
Two canadian men went into the tourney ranked. I don’t recall that ever happening. Both even made it to round three (with one pulling with a back injury). It’s weird to be able to cheer for a Canuck or 3.
To the players, especially the female ones. Please put some clothes on. It’s really too hot for what you are wearing.
And stop being sissies.
I have made a profit already. I bet against Serena Williams because she has been a “surprise” loser here every year since 2010. I also took the double of Djokovic and Halep at $84.
Surprisingly you could still get $70 about that double when Halep had already won 2 matches and was a set up in the third round. Makes it seem pretty silly to bet early.
I hate Serena, so I’m really glad she’s out. Ivanovic looked really sharp and focused against her. Li Na looked great, too.
I don’t know what it is about my schedule, or the tv coverage, but every time I tune in to the Aussie Open, it’s a woman’s match. Now I like watching women’s tennis just fine, but I’ve seen (and heard) enough of Sharapova and Azarenka to last me a long, long time.
It’s either sexism or ratings. The day always starts on the main courts with women’s singles at 11AM. The men get the better viewing times until the later rounds.
Foe example the first 2 matches scheduled on Rod Laver Arena tomorrow feature Sharapova and Azarenka.
The first evening match is Federer.
I don’t understand how someone could hate a person they don’t know. Fed isn’t my favorite but do I hate him? No. I’m sure if it weren’t for Rafa I’d like him a lot more, but hate…is kinda extreme.
Anyway I’m upset but not surprised by her loss. There’s a lot of pressure on her to win everything so eventually she’d crash out. Given how she played in the third round, her loss was almost expected. I would like her to defend at the French more than win the Aussie again. The women’s draw is boring without her though. I do like Li Na so I hope she gets another chance at the title.
I’m super happy Rafa has continued with his short shorts this season. I’m not above ogling (in between points of course). If Bedrych joined in that would be magnificent as well.
I think they schedule womens matches first because they are more predictable in length. They usually last from 1 hour to 2 hours. Whereas a Mens match can be 2 hours to 4.5 hours.
I remember a match at the US open night session where they put the womens match 2nd. They didn’t get on the court until Midnight.
IIRC, at one time the US Open did the Women’s Final between the Men’s Semis, and once all 3 matches went the distance.
So Sat night, I watched the Serena Williams/Ivanovic match live (it was Sun afternoon in Australia). Great match! Then when I woke up Sunday morning, and they were repeating it. I thought that maybe afterwards, they’d re-air a men’s match, but no. Then I switched to the Tennis Channel, what was being shown? Serena Williams v. Ana Ivanovic. Argh! 3 different airings of the same match! It’s a freaking Grand Slam event, and dozens of choices to air. Why repeat the same match twice?
Last night at 7pm, live coverage started up again. Who was playing? Sharapova v Cibulkova. If you live in the Eastern US, it’s like the men don’t even exist. Heard the Tsonga/Federer match was outstanding, but instead of re-airing that match, they’re now airing a supremely lackluster Radwanska match.
Sigh. I guess I’m going to have to clear out all my taped shows and start taping tennis if I ever want to watch a man’s match.
P.S. Is anyone else getting really crappy HD coverage? ESPN HD’s signal is so choppy that it’s unwatchable.
Your quarterfinal matchups:
Ana Ivanovic (14] vs. Eugenie Bouchard (30)
Na Li (4) vs. Flavia Pennetta (28)
Simona Halep (11) vs. Dominika Cibulkova (20)
Agnieszka Radwanska (5) vs. Victoria Azarenka (2)
Rafael Nadal (1) vs. Grigor Dimitrov (22)
Andy Murray (4) vs. Roger Federer (6)
Tomas Berdych (7) vs. David Ferrer (3)
Stanislas Wawrinka (8) vs. Novak Djokovic (2)
Some very interesting match ups here. You have to expect Nadal to beat Dimitrov, but at least Dimitrov finally seems to be living up to his potential- he’d never made a fourth round before and here he is in the quarterfinals. Wawrinka gave Djokovic a real test in Australia a year ago. Federer seems to be playing really well, and we’ll see if Berdych can handle Ferrer’s persistence and fitness.
That was a surprise! Nole and Stan…