Posted by Dave: Sadly, I've seen but one hour of coverage from Australia. Life has gotten in the way of tennis lately. But so it goes it sometimes.
Props to Bess for blogging so frequently and eloquently the past week or so. I'll try to redeem myself by offering a few predictions for the week ahead:
1) Nishikori will surprise his half of the draw, and he'll earn the right to get housed* by Djokovic in the semis. This is not what I'd predicted in my original draw, but ... as the Black Eyed Peas would say ... I've got a feelin'. Plus, I cannot fathom the idea of Hewitt taking out Djokovic in the next round. THAT would be a bold prediction, no? But I just can't go there. Mentally. Emotionally. Or otherwise. And I trust many of you don't care to go there, either. (That said, I'm good with Lleyton and Djok having a tight match.)
2) Wozniacki will face Kvitova in the final. (Yawn.) This should surprise few, as they are seeded #1 and #2, respectively. However, I'm only reaffirming what I'd already predicted -- i.e. that Ivanovic will not pull a surprise, Serena will fade, and Sharapova will fall short. (Sorry, Bess, you know I adore Maria even more than you do.) For the record, though, I'm a little bitter that Jankovic got housed by Woz. I mean, a bagel in the first set? (Sigh.)
3) My final prediction is that I'll see no more than another hour of play, at least until the finals this coming weekend. Blame it on cross-training boot camp that starts each morning at 5:20 a.m., coupled with tennis coverage that doesn't start until nearly an hour after my bedtime. Plus, I teach college so I can't sleep through meetings or doze off at my desk like a typical American office worker. (Not implying that you do such things, Bess!) The Australian has always been my least favorite Slam for its inconvenience to those of us in the Northern hemisphere, not to mention that it's where my beloved Mary Joe Fernandez twice fell short in the finals.
But life, and the Australian, go on. Here's to the week ahead!
*Note: Thanks, NPR, for introducing me to the term housed, which is not to be confused with hosed. I had to look up (on UrbanDictionary.com no less!) what housed means.
Yes, Dave called that little Nishikori run. Well done! Yet I'm still ahead in the men's racquet bracket! :-)
ReplyDeleteYou can't be Jelena Jankovic and lose a set like that at love. She continually does herself no favors. At this point I'm not sure what it would take for me to believe in her game again.
I had not heard the term housed, either. Question, is it pronounced with a Z or an S sound? Curious.
Finally, what I really appreciate about the Australian Open TV schedule is that nothing is going on while I'm at work. It's so refreshing to be at work during a slam and not be worried that I'm missing out on some great match. And to not be worried that I'll catch a score via Twitter, Facebook, email or the Internet that I didn't want to know about until I watched the recorded coverage later. That seriously stresses me out during the other majors. So in that sense, the Australian is better... for me.