Live From the Australian Open
Pictures (courtesy of others since I'm not lucky enough to be there!) from the Australian Open and my accompanying commentary.
Men's Final: Novak Djokovic vs. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
photos courtesy of Chiapants226, an active user on the Talk Tennis Warehouse message board. Thanks!!!!
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DAY 8
photos courtesy of Chiapants226
James Blake firing a backhand against Marin Cilic in the fourth round. Blake won in straight sets and will next take on Roger Federer.
Blake serving.
Blake getting pumped up en route to victory.
Marin Cilic serving. He lost, but the 2008 Australian Open was a coming out for the 65'' Croat.
That's right, the Woodies are back! In the legends' doubles, of course.
Radwanska, the giant-killer. She's now taken out the 2 seed in each of the last two Grand Slams. Here it was Svetlana Kuznetsova, after which she upset Nadia Petrova.
Lleyton Hewitt, on the defensive as usual, against Novak Dokovic. Hewitt lost as expected, but he still had a solid Open, and the win over Marcos Baghdatis was memorable.
Hewitt serving.
Novak Djokovic with the first pump during his fourth-round victory over Lleyton Hewitt. He has Ferrer next in what should be an outstanding match.
Djokovic with the picture-perfect service motion.
Djokovic ripping a forehand.
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ROGER FEDERER (against Facbrice Santoro)
photos courtesy of Chiapants226
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ASSORTED PHOTOS
photos courtesy of Chiapants226.
Ana Ivanovic on the practice courts. She is rolling so far and is in a soft part of the draw, so look for the Croat to continue deep into the tournament.
More Ivanovic.
Elena Dementieva. I have to say it's nice to see her playing well again. She destroyed Shahar Peer in her last match.
Justine Henin. She hasn't been spectacular so far, but she has still been getting the job done and remains the clear-cut favorite on the women's side.
Jamie Murray on the practice courts. He and Max Mirnyi have not exactly gotten off to a flying start as a doubles pair.
Nicolas Mahut on the practice courts. He didn't fare quite as well as his fellow Frenchman, having been dealt a tough draw with Nikolay Davydenko in the second round.
Dmitry Tursunov. Another disappointing Grand Slam for the Russian, as he bowed out to American Sam Querrey in the second round.
DAY 4
photos courtesy of Chiapants226.
Fernando Verdasco slicing a backhand against Janko Tipsarevic in their second round match. I thought Verdasco would win this one but that was not at all the case. He probably didn't want any part of Federer in the third round.
Janko Tipsarevic blasting a forehand back to Fernando Verdasco. Tipsarevic won the match and will be the next sacrificial lamb for Federer in the third round. Still it was a solid tournament overall for Tipsy.
Tipsrevic with the fist pump.
Juan Martin Del Potro hits a backhand against David Ferrer in their second round match. As expected Ferrer came through. The young Argentine is not quite ready for the bigtime, but is loaded with talent and might be one or two years away from really breaking onto the scene. I saw him destroy Marcos Baghdatis in Miami last year.
David Ferrer serving to Juan Martin Del Potro. The Spaniard enjoyed a breakout 2007 campaign and it looks like he is ready for more this year. Ferrer should not have a problem with Vince Spadea in the third round, but then his draw just gets brutal.
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DAY 3
photos courtesy of Chiapants226
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga preparing to bash a serve against Sam Warburg. Tsonga has been one of the most impressive players of the whole tournament through two rounds, and he has a favorable matchup in the third with Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.
American Sam Warburg returning a forehand against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in his second-round loss to the Frenchman. Still it was a great week for Warburg, who not only won the final round of qualifying 14-12 in the third set, but also recorded his first-ever Grand Slam match win.
Kristof Vliegen fires a backhand in his second-round loss to Russian Igor Andreev. Not a big surprise here, as Vliegen would need an extremely fast surface in order to have any real chance against his Russian counterpart.
Richard Gasquet rips a forehand during his second-round demolition of Spaniard Felciano Lopez. I thought Lopez would get a set in this one, but it wasn't even close. Gasquet blasted 35 winners to just 12 unforced errors over the three sets.
Feliciano Lopez hits a serve to Richard Gasquet in the Spaniard's second-round blowout loss. A friend at the match said of Lopez that he showed the worst body language he's ever seen in a professional tennis player.
Ivo Karlovic serving as John Isner lurks at net in their first-round doubles match. The pair is a combined 13'7'', yet somehow they still managed to lose.
John Isner cracking a serve in his first-round doubles match.
Daniela Hantuchova on the practice courts.
Tomas Berdych on the practice courts. He has a huge battle with Juan Monaco coming up in the third round and the winner will get Roger Federer.
Roger Federer on the practice courts. He has looked UNBEATABLE through two rounds.
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DAY 2
photos courtesy of OrangeOne, an active user on the Talk Tennis Warehouse message board. Thanks!!!!
Rafael Nadal on the practice courts. Nadal has looked strong in two straight-set wins, especially in yesterday's second-round destruction of Florent Serra. He's in a soft section of the draw, so watch out!
Peter Luczak on the practice courts. Sweet shot of ball on strings. The Aussie scored a nice win over Mariano Zabaleta in the first round and he will next meet David Nalbandian. Nalbandian has been on fire, but with the questionable back, who knows.
Justine Henin on the practice courts.
Ana Ivanovic in the process of demolishing the ball on the practices courts. She's looking good both on and off the court at the Aussie Open so far.
Tommy Robredo. He went shirtless on the practices court, and he went lifeless on the match court. The Spaniard went down in straight set flames to Mardy Fish in the second round.
Amelie Mauresmo on the practice courts. Mauresmo has escaped two rounds so far and now gets to meet an unseeded woman in the third. She would then most likely get Jelena Jankovic in the fourth. Mauresmo would normally be a significant underdog in that one, but Jankovic was inches away from losing her first-round match (she won it 14-12 in the third set) and she is hampered by various injuries.
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DAY 1
photos courtesy of OrangeOne
Ana Ivanovic practicing on the outer courts. I think it's safe to say watching Ivanovic practice from this close is probably more worthwhile than watching any live match.
Frank Dancevic serving against Jarkko Nieminen. Dancevic is an up-and-coming Canadian and he put up a good fight against Nieminen after losing the first set before falling in five.
Novak Djokovic practicing. The third-seeded Serb is off to good start after disposing of Benjamin Becker in straight sets in the first round.
Fernando Gonzalez practicing. Gonzo made a memorable run to the final in 2007, so can he do it again? The Chilean can be unbeatable or terrible on any given day or during any given week, so it's a good sign that he got by Konstantinos Economidis in straight sets in his opening match.
Paul-Henri Mathieu hitting a forehand against Victor Hanescu in the Frenchman's straight-set victory. Mathieu could be Rafael Nadal's fist big test of the Australian Open if he can stay hot and reach the fourth round.
Maria Sharapova practicing. Sharapova has a tough matchup in the second round with veteran Lindsay Davenport. The Russian, however, should come through, as Davenport struggled physically in her opening-round win.
Classic photo. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga after his upset of ninth-seeded Andy Murray. Tsonga sprawled on the ground in exultation as the lines-person makes the final out call: a great scene from the 2008 Australian Open.
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photos courtesy of Chiapants226
Tommy Robredo against Mischa Zverev. Robredo did a nice job coming back from two sets down but he'll have to play better against Mardy Fish in the second round if he wants to advance. Fish is definitely the favorite in that matchup.
Donald Young against Michael Berrer. Young lost in four sets, a very disappointing loss in what was a very winnable match for the American.
John Isner practicing on an outer court. The 6'9'' American has a tough matchup on his hands against the wily veteran Fabrice Santoro; and the winner gets Roger Federer!
James Blake practicing on an outer court. He has a decent draw until a potential quarterfinal collision with Federer.