A speed round of aces and faults

POSTED BY BESS: We've been having so much fun with our rejuvenated blog, discussing magazine covers, speedboat tennis, logos and coffee drinks--all somehow related to tennis. But Dave has wisely reminded me that we need to cover some of the, you know, actual action from the Aussie Open.

So here's a quick speed round of aces and faults from the coverage I have seen so far:

Photo: Jason Lockett/Tennis Australia

Aces:

• Nadal is back! And somewhat surprisingly in fine form in his first round win. The shorts are shorter, the shirt is pinker and the accessories are day-glo-ier than ever. I've missed you, Rafa.
• Props to Christina McHale for tossing her cookies several times on court, yet managing to pull out a win deep in the third set (12-10). You've gotta love this Jersey Girl!
• Kudos to the young Aussie men, Kyrgios and Kokkinakis for winning your first round matches and, especially in the case of Kokkinakis, getting the stadium rocking into the wee hours (well, the hours were "wee" for me, at least...) And that backward somersault/neckstand thing? Pure joy. (Kokkinakis did say he'd work on his celebration for future wins.)
• Thank God they changed that Melbourne ad from last year. Remember that "I wanna know..." line that was unrelentingly drilled into our brains 24/7? Perhaps this new ad will get just as old in a few days, but I credit the Melbourne marketing team for at least trying to preserve our sanity.

Faults:

• Ivanovic's loss was disappointing and dispiriting. I just don't understand what's going on there. She must be so frustrated. (As is my bracket.)



Photo: Ben Solomon/Tennis Australia

• I was excited to hear about the special pre-night session ceremony honoring the recently retired Li Na... only to find out they weren't showing it on TV. Li Na with a microphone is never to be missed! So it's a FAULT for ESPN2 not to show it live. (But a definite ACE to Li Na who announced she and husband/comedic punching bag Dennis will become parents this summer! Sign that baby up for tennis lessons and a Twitter account, tout de suite.)

DAVE'S TAKE: Haven't seen much coverage yet; I'll blame that on a date with Benedict Cumberbatch last night. I mean, a night out to see his movie 'The Imitation Game' (which I highly recommend, btw). Regardless, here are my thoughts, thus far:

Aces:

Marcos Baghdatis,
2015 Australian Open player photo

• There have already been more than a half-dozen, five-set matches on the men's side -- including a win by Bess' former favorite, Marcos Baghdatis, 6-4 in the fifth over Teymuraz Gabashvili, of Russia. (Bess dumped Marcos for Rafa a few years ago*.) Fun to have such close matches this early on in the tournament!
• My eye is on Ivo Karlovic, of Croatia, this tournament. I am wishing now that I had taken him farther in my draw.
• Love that Genie Bouchard and Maria Sharapova sailed through their first-round matches. A good omen for both, I hope. (And pray.)
• The fact that there are/were women named Storm and Oceane playing in the opening round. Australian Storm Sanders lost, but, dang it, you gotta love her first name!

Faults:

• Too many women's seeds are already out! Ivanovic, Pavlyuchenkova, Lisicki, Kuznetsova, Suarez Navarro, Vesnina, Kerber. What? My draw is a disaster. 
• I'm an idiot for having made plans last night, on the first night of televised play.

TENNIS FANS: First-round action will be finishing soon. What's your take on the tournament so far? Which players have caught your eye? Who deserves an ace or a fault? Tell us!

* Bess clarifies: I did not dump Marcos! He just hasn't been around as much for me to obsess over. I heart you, Marcos!

Speedboat tennis - ace or fault?

POSTED BY BESS: If you haven't yet seen the video of Roger Federer and Lleyton Hewitt playing tennis on speedboats in Sydney Harbor last week, you're missing out. 

For the uninitiated:

I am of mixed feelings about this event publicity stunt (let's call a spade a spade.)

On the one hand, genius! On the eve of the Australian Open, you've got one of Australia's most well-known tennis stars and one of the universe's most well-known tennis stars (perhaps the GOAT), doing something crazy and just a tad ridiculous... framed by the gorgeous Sydney Harbor... and seemingly having a great time. 

What self-respecting tennis fan *isn't* going to watch this video?

On the other hand, so. many. questions.

• What was the longest rally? I mean, even seasoned pros must have found this difficult - the wind, the timing (the physics of it all!), the balance issues. You'll notice very few shots of actual rallies in this video - lots of each player hitting one shot that may or may not have been returnable. Color me curious.
• How long did they have to film just to get the few actual rallies they did show?
• How ticked was Lleyton that Roger got the bigger boat?
• Please explain the sudden transition to the Fast4 court on dry land. What is Fast4*? Why do we care? And since you're showing it and discussing the weird rules, uh... what *are* the rules? I don't get it. Nor do I care. Back to the boats!
• Finally, the biggest unanswered question of all... Who was up in the sky gathering all that aerial footage? Personally, I like to think it was Mirka Federer in the Federers' weekday chopper, nonchalantly watching the action while periodically gazing at her expensive wristwatch and noting that, frankly, this was taking a hell of a lot longer than she expected, and don't they know Roger has a koala bear to pose with, not to mention four kids to get ready for bed? #ilovemirka

But that's just me. Dave... what's your take?

DAVE REPLIES: Honestly, all I can think is, "Where are your life jackets?!" Former pro athlete Rob Konrad just days ago fell off his boat miles from the Florida coast -- and swam for 16 hours to save his own life. He wasn't wearing a life jacket, either.

I'm going to have to call this a fault. Sorry, guys.

But, there was a stunt -- er, event -- from earlier this month that I loved. That's when dogs served as ball kids for a practice match between Venus Williams and Svetlana Kuznetsova, during the ASB Classic in New Zealand. 

What does this have to do with tennis? Or the tournament? Or the sponsor? No clue at all. But, who cares? You will not be able to watch this video without laughing. Or at least smiling. Enjoy!

TENNIS FANS: Speedboat tennis, pro or con? Cute dogs as ball kids, pro or con? These are the pressing issues of our times. Feel free to weigh in!

* A quick Web search indicates that Fast4 tennis is also known as "disco tennis." I am suddenly more interested.

You should be watching

Posted by BESS: If you are not watching this Wozniacki/Kuznetsova match right now, you are missing OUT. That is all.