Thoughts? Predictions? Reactions?
I’ll go out on a limb here.
Nikolay Davydenko has really been dominating lately. I’m predicting he wins the Australian Open this year.
You?
I’m still on the Federer bandwagon. He should be healthier than last year and he’ll want to make up for that loss to Nadal. He’s got a career slam already, but if you want to find something he hasn’t done, there’s this: if he wins this tournament again, he’ll be the only guy to win the Australian on both Rebound Ace and HardTru. That’s a bit like winning majors on five different surfaces. I’m hoping Federer has a couple of slams left to put his record further out of reach. I think his semifinal streak ends this year, though.
Davydenko has won consistently for a pretty long time and is on a hot streak, but no, I never thought he had what it takes to win a slam event. He’s a solid player who usually doesn’t perform in big moments.
The big news right now, by the way, is that Juan Martin del Potro may not be able to play.
Does anyone know any of the big stories outside of Justine Henin making her return? And the only real stuff to talk about regading her are how she made the finals of a tournament a month back and lost to Clijsters. Then how she withdrew from a subsequent tournament with a knee issue and wanted to have maximum time available for rest and healing time before this thread’s namesake.
Anything else?
Predictions of any sort?
This thread probably needs to be combined with the other 2010 Aussie Open thread.
Good working reporting it then. 
Good work me on creating a duplicate thread. :smack:
I don’t know much about Davydenko but he hasn’t ever seemed like a GS winner to me. Seems like he’s always pushed to the absolute maximum of his potential when playing against other top 10ers which obviously means to win such an event he’d have to really really push himself and I just don’t see it happening.
My big story, the one I had talked about in my duplicate thread was about Justine Henin.
Two Australian Open threads merged.
Ellen
Mod Squad
Well, Davydenko has beaten just about everyone in the last 2 1/2 months, including knocking off everyone to win the masters final last year.
I think he is due.
Well I haven’t watched him recently but if he really is kicking that much ass then I do hope to see him continue his ass kicking ways into a Grand Slam. He’s been one of the most consistent top 10 players that I’ve never really seen get a whole lot of coverage, so it might be nice to see him covered a little more.
What about this thread?
EDIT: Never mind, I’ll take it to ATMB.
Assuming you mean Har-tru, the Australian Open has never been held on Har-Tru (the green clay used in the US). It was on grass, then Rebound Ace, and now Plexicushion Prestige.
I am going with Djokovic.
Interesting that while the OP didn’t state men’s, nobody has suggested a woman yet. I will throw in a vote for Clijsters.
My mistake.
It’s hard to predict. I don’t think anybody really thought Clijsters was going to win in New York, but she did and now she’s a contender again. Serena Williams is still there and she won the year-end championship. I see she is going to play Dementieva in the finals in Sydney - I think that’s a strong possibility as a final in Melbourne. We also don’t know how Sharapova will be able to compete and whether Henin is healthy and ready to challenge at a slam. We’ll find out soon, though, because she could play Dementieva in the second round.
Dementieva beat Serena 6-3, 6-2, and Serena appeared to be injured, which doesn’t bode well for the AO. I would like to see Henin do well, but suspect it is too soon for her to be a genuine contender - wait for Roland Garros - and I don’t see her getting past Dementieva.
Let’s hope Oudin can pull out of her sophomore slump.
And congrats to Isner for his first tournament win - that should boost his confidence for the Australian.
Rain is slowing things down except for the center court, but one big result is in: Sharapova lost a very long match in three sets to Maria Kirilenko. So it looks like she hadn’t played enough matches to get her form back, if she is going to do it. Everything else has gone according to form. Dinara Safina won her match in straight sets, but I don’t know how well she or her opponent played. The statistics for both of them look okay. Since she is seeded #2 now, I hope the pressure is off and she can turn in the type of showing she is capable of.
Davydenko is on fi-yah, as is Ljubicic. We’ll see how Del Potro does after the break. Hope he wasn’t a one-hit wonder.
I think Federer and Nadal will be knocked out before the quarters. The surface doesn’t favor their game.
Roddick had a terrific start. I’ve long criticized him for his reliance on his serve to the detriment of the rest of his game, but it’s obvious that he has been training really hard to move forward and attack the net. Reminds me of my favorite tennis player, Pat Rafter.
I usually enjoy Mary Jo Fernandez’s commentary, but I thought she seemed especially grumpy during the Sharapova-Kirilenko match.
What wacky weather they’re having in Melbourne this year.
Del Potro is definitely not a one-hit wonder. He’s been deep into a few previous Slams before hasn’t he?
As for Mary Jo, I thought it was Mary Carillo that was a little pissy. I never can keep them straight.
Federer and Nadal to be knocked out before the quarters? That’s a bold and daring predictio is it not?
Quarter-final of the Australian last year, and the Semi-final of the French last year as well.
He’s a definite contender.
I’m going to predict Verdasco & Clijisters (sp)
Federer is getting a hell of a test from Igor Andreev. Andreev has been aggressive and the Federer backhand has not been very good. But the match is turning now. Andreev won the first set and had his chances in the third: he served for the set at 5-6 and had three set points, but Federer was just barely steady enough and Andreev’s nerves weren’t up to that test or to the tiebreak, which Federer took without much trouble. So Federer leads 4-6, 6-2, 7-6.
Elsewhere, Robin Soderling is having a pretty tough match, and Verdasco got a real test, too. John Isner won in five sets, and James Blake, who is unseeded these days, also won while Sam Querrey lost. Serena Williams won easily.