Double fault!

POSTED BY DAVE: Giving myself a double-fault. 

1. First, for missing the deadline to complete my Australian Open brackets online. 
2. And secondly, for...well, just look at this mess on the women's side. And that's only half of the draw!

And how are *your* brackets going?

I'd taken Ivanovic to the quarters, and Lisicki to the semis. And Jankovic, Pavlyuchenkova and Watson to the round of 16. All of them have already been eliminated.

(sigh)

Oh, and I've got Stosur taking out Serena in the semis. Riiiiiight.

Curious how Bess is doing.

BESS REPLIES: Yes, the women's brackets are in shambles with so many of the top seeds going out early. I'm not sure how anyone will win that bracket challenge. But someone undoubtedly will, and it won't be me. Alas. The fame, the fortune. All that will have to wait.

Seeing Dave's paper brackets makes me nostalgic for grand slams past. I like the ritual of crossing out the losers and highlighting the winners - a great visual for how I'm doing in each side of the draw. (But man, filling it out online is so much faster!)

I took a gander at my online brackets just now. Here are my biggest faults so far:

• I took Petkovic to the round of 16, but she's out.
• I took Ivanovic to the round of 16, but she's out.
• I took Kerber to the round of 16, but she's out.

I give myself an ace, however, for my men's bracket, which is currently ranked #162 out of 7,873. I'm in the top 2 percent, baby! But there's plenty of tennis yet to be played... Ample time for me to tumble to the bottom of the scoreboard, as per youzh(ny).

TENNIS FANS: Who do you think is going to win the whole thing? And by that we mean who will win the bracket competition between Bess and Dave!?

London calling

Posted by DAVE It's Wimbledon Eve. Are you ready? I'm not. This should shock none of you, particularly Bess. I have not posted to this blog she and I share since last year. Actually, I have not seen a Slam match, in its entirety, since last year, either. Pathetic, I know. Bess keeps reminding me how much of a slacker I am, and triggering my Catholic guilt. (sigh)

Moving on...

Who should you cheer for this fortnight? Murray, despite the nagging back problems that kept him away from Roland Garros, and Sharapova, despite her rather lackluster performance against Serena in the French final. (I did see about 10 minutes of that match.) Wouldn't it be awesome to see Murray win one for the Brits? And wouldn't it be fun to see Sharapova beat Serena again in a Wimbledon final, especially given their trash talk about one another the past few days? (And, yes, I realize Sharapova is, like, 0-13 since the last time she beat Serena, but whatever.)

Of course, I wouldn't mind at all if you cheer for Djokovic (always fun to watch, unless you're Bess) or Federer (always a class act). Why? Because I'll be pulling for them, too. On the women's side, I'd love to see Stephens (deserves a breakthrough) or Jankovic (deserves a return to glory) make a run at the title.

Who are your favorites this year?

On getting housed .. and other ramblings

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.

Best shots for 2012 (according to Dave)

Posted by Dave: Nothing in life is guaranteed, of course. But as the 2012 tennis season gets underway, I'm willing to bet on some predictions. Here are my best shots for the year ahead:

Wozniacki wins her first major. Yes, Wozniacki will likely lose her number one ranking in 2012, and presumably to Kvitova. But Woz has the determination and skills to win a Slam. Plus, if she loses the number one ranking, there will be fewer expectations of her. Look for Woz to shine through just as the naysayers have written her off, once and for all.


Jankovic finishes the year top-five. I know, I know. It's been four years since Jankovic made it to the US Open final, and so many strong players have emerged since then. Jankovic's not been near her glory days for some time. However, I saw patches of brilliance in the second half of 2011. Something tells me Jankovic will roar back to life in 2012.

(c) 2011 Robert Gray/Getty Images AsiaPac



Venus talks -- coyly, of course -- about retirement. Venus being Venus, she will not flat out announce in 2012 that she's retiring. Yet, I think she'll give some indications to that effect. She may simply fade away without fanfare over the next year or two or three. But I think 2012 is the beginning of the end for the elder Williams. A shame. She's matured into a graceful, and grateful, champion over the years.

Djokovic hangs on to the top spot. The man has more than 13,000 points to defend in 2012. Yikes. But, I'm as confident about Djokovic as he is about himself. He'll finish the year, once again, as world number one.

Federer wins big. It may be another Slam. It may be an Olympic gold medal. Or it may be both -- or more. Federer pulled up short at all the majors in 2011, yet his guns were blazing at the year-end tournament in London. We'll see more of that fire and intensity in 2012. He'll emerge as champion, perhaps even twice in London -- i.e. Wimbledon then the Olympics. Now, how would THAT be for a summer to remember?

Roddick gives Americans a thrill ride. Roddick surely won't win a Slam in 2012, or ever again, if we're being truly honest. However, look for Roddick to make it deep into a Slam this year, or maybe even to the medal stand at the Olympics. So many are ready to put him out to pasture. I refuse to believe he's at that point. At least not yet.

(c) 2011 Susan Mullane/US PRESSWIRE

Well, what do you think? Are these predictions inside the baseline ... or clearly out?

Goodbye, Irene. Hello, U.S. Open fans!

Posted by DAVE: Spent most of yesterday moping because Arthur Ashe Kids Day got canceled. But, Irene's gone now, and I'm thrilled that the Open is underway. Let the sleep deprivation begin!

Bess and I traded messages last night while filling out our draws. For the record, she was trying to watch the VMAs at the time. (Am I the only person who missed the Britney tribute?) And I was coming off the high of playing two hours of table tennis (the real deal, not this Wii crap) and consuming far too much Diet Coke. Maybe it was the distractions, but she and I both struggled to complete our brackets. Like Isner-Baghdatis. How do you possibly pick a winner in that one? Or how far should you take Roddick, a sentimental favorite who's headed out to pasture? And, honestly, wouldn't it be nice to see Federer pick up another crown, before his luster begins to fade, too? (Or maybe it's already fading?)

The women's draw was even worse. Why couldn't Wozniacki take it all this time? And someone like Dushevina could easily make a run, too. Of course, there's Venus and Serena. (groan) And wouldn't we all like to see Ivanovic or Jankovic pull it together for once?

In the end, I went with Djokovic and Sharapova. Bum shoulders or not, these two have shown true determination this year. Djok's results have far outpaced Maria's, obviously, but they're both great champions. Wishing the best to both of them, as well as whomever you picked to win it all. On with the Open!

First round bracketology

Let's cut right to the chase. In the bracket challenge, the first round results are:

Bess
Women: 40/64
Men: 53/64 (nice!)
Total: 93/128

Dave
Women: 37/64
Men: 43/64
Total: 80/128

So far, I am in the lead! Never fear, friends of Dave. This will likely not last long. He has a history of winning these things. All. The. Time.

In other news, I was able to get caught up on some of the matches last night, but not a lot.

Some highlights for me:

• Dave's right that Kimiko Date-Krumm was impressive and refreshing. You go, 40-year-old! Your level of fitness is enviable. And the tennis was downright entertaining. Congrats to Venus on a good win.
• I, too, was sad to see James Blake go. I didn't get to watch that match, but as I said, it was bittersweet either way as I also love Marcos Baghdatis. Hopefully he can stay alive for a few rounds and make it worth the price of Blake. Next up for Bags is Seppi and then, gulp, Novak Djokovic.
• The big news seemed to be Milos Raonic's injury just three games into his match against Gilles Muller. I'm bummed about this, because I've been hearing great things about Raonic and have yet to really see him play. And I'm not bummed about this, because had he won he would have played Nadal, so we just cleared Nadal's path a little (and he had one of the toughest draws, so it's a bit of a relief for me.) Silver lining.
• WTHIGOW Marin Cilic? He was the hot new prospect about a year and a half ago, yet he hasn't done much of late, and lost in the first round here. I sort of like him and his game, so was sad to see this result. Maybe Dave knows what's up?

On the women's side of things:

• I'm bummed that I bought into the (albeit dwindling) hype about both Sam Stosur and Jelena Jankovic. For some reason I took them both 2-3 rounds in, but both lost in the first round. Particularly deflating for me since I truly should have trusted my gut on that Jankovic pick.
• I had picked Christina McHale to make it to the second round, which she did, beating Makarova who was seeded. Nice job, young American-I-Couldn't-Pick-Out-Of-A-Line-Up! (Sidenote: She's from New Jersey!) And since Peer lost, McHale's second round just got a little easier, we'll see how far she can go.
• The other notable loss (and questionable fashion... see Dave's post below) was Bethanie Mattek-Sands. I get that it was a tough, three-set loss. But refusing to shake the chair umpire's hand? Especially when, according to the commentators, that last shot you thought was in really wasn't? That's no way to comport yourself on court. And, as Dave also noted, it makes your ridiculous outfits seem even... more ridiculous.

That's about it for my first round wrap-up. On to round two! But next, I think we should talk fashion...

I commence shaking my head

Dave's rooting for Jankovic? And Djokovic? Blurgh.
And here is where our disagreements begin.

Lest you think I have something against the Serbs, I agree with Dave about the Ivanovic/Oudin first round match. I'd be happy for either of them to get a win.

And I find Tipsarevic compelling, as well. The facial hair, the quirky glasses, the Dostoyevsky tattoos... what's not to like?

Dave's right about Hewitt, though. Off you go, mate!

It's elementary, my dear (Heather) Watson ...

... that neither Bess nor I are swept up in the hype about Serena's comeback. She didn't get a mention in either one of our initial posts to this blog. (Hooray!) I'm sure Serena will do great and all. She always does (annoying). And I suppose she could win, despite being fully Slam-ready. And, regardless, she probably won't threaten to shove a ball down a linesperson's throat at this Slam, and that will be good for everyone, especially young children interested in the sport. But I still don't care. Haven't missed her self-absorbed swagger one bit.

Now Venus' comeback? That's another story. Can't wait to see her back in action at AELTC.

And who's Heather Watson, you ask? British dark horse. Gotta love the name.

As usual, my hopes are with Sharapova. Admire her fight. And her game looked to be back on track at Roland Garros. Could she win it all? We'll see. I like to think of myself as an optimist, but I'm being more of a realist with age. So there's every chance she'll go out to Chakvetadze in the first round. Stranger things have happened at Wimbledon.

Typically, I like to root for Jankovic and King, as well, even though their results have been so erratic. The match that really tears me apart, though, is Oudin and Ivanovic, both of whom are overdue for a return to Slam glory. This time around, maybe?

And when did Patty Schnyder retire?! Totally missed that news. Oh well. [shrug]

The men? Djokovic. (Deal with it, Bess.) Federer. (All hail!) Roddick. (A guy can dream.) Haas. (Hey, why not?) And Nishikori, because his name is fun to say. And because ESPN-UK called him a "starlet." But mostly because he'd knock Hewitt out first round. And that's something Bess and I could both celebrate. You, too?