A love letter to Maria (and Alexandra)

Sharapova after a tough win.

POSTED BY DAVE: My Australian Open is complete, thanks to a gutsy second round match between Maria Sharapova and Alexandra Panova. Sharapova pulled off a victory, by coming back from way down in the third set -- and also by holding off two match points near the end. This is why I love tennis! Thank you, Maria, and thank you, as well, Alexandra.

Both of these women played such high-caliber tennis, including on crucial points. It truly is a shame, especially for Panova, that there couldn't be two winners. I have a hard time imagining that the final will be as exciting or close as this match was. However, if it is, and if Sharapova is in the mix, my money is on her. (But that should come as no surprise to Bess.)

Who else will earn aces from me in the second round? Read on.

Women

• Excited about the Keys/Dellacqua match-up! Should be high-intensity, and, I hope, high-drama.
• Excited about Wozniacki/Azarenka, too. For obvious reasons.
• Koukalova has the best shot in her quarter of the draw, now that Ivanovic has made an early exit. Expecting good things from her in 2R.
• Would love to see all of the American women move forward to 3R. I'm especially pulling for Venus, my sentimental favorite, and McHale, who I believe will ultimately make it to at least the round of 16.

Men

• Really liking the looks of Nieminen, Karlovic and Wawrinka. Something tells me all three will breeze through to 3R.
• Looking forward to Young-Raonic. Hoping for a highly athletic and extremely close match.
• My sentimental favorite is Hewitt. Wasn't his biggest fan years ago, and, to be honest, wasn't really a fan, at all. But, I've enjoyed watching him the past few years, and admire how well he is playing at this late stage in his career. I also like how he carries himself now in interviews -- mature, gracious, grateful.

BESS REPLIES: Despite a barrage of texts from Dave (barrage = seven), I slept through that third set of Sharapova/Panova. Drat! Clearly I missed a(nother) great Maria comeback. Just when all hope is lost, Maria wills it back into existence. Congrats to Maria!

A few aces and faults from me:

Aces

Dave had to complete his brackets on
(wait for it...) paper! Hence my abacus joke.
Also, please note that the purple eggplant is our
chosen emoji to signify goodness/happiness.
Not sure why.

• Baghdatis won again! In the process, he took out the 20th seed, David Goffin. Nice work, Marcos.
• An ace to Andy Murray's barber. The closer-cropped cut is a definite plus.
• At the risk of self-promotion and conceit, I'm going to give myself an ace for my 50 correct predictions in the first round of the ATP bracket challenge. Pretty sure that's one of my best first rounds ever. Feelin' pretty good... for the time being. 
• Upcoming matches I'm excited to see:
• Looking forward to seeing Rafa in action again tonight to make sure that first round performance wasn't a fluke. Yes, I'm still reining in my optimism a bit. Protective measures and whatnot.
• Tomorrow night there's a host of U.S. women in action - looking forward to seeing all of them. And while I appreciate the up-and-coming among them, I'm rooting for Venus most of all (sadly she would have to beat American Lauren Davis to advance... )
• Tomorrow's Jerzy Janowicz/Gael Monfils match could make for an entertaining highlight reel.

Faults

• Sorry to burst Dave's bubble and totally bummed to report that Christina McHale already lost her second round match. That 12-10 third set victory in the first round may have taken too much out of her.
• An XL, rosy-hued fault to that Pepto Bismal pink Nike dress worn by so. many. women. in round one. More on that in a subsequent post, but I am not a fan.
• A definite fault to me for snoozing while Maria willed herself to win her second round match. If only I could channel her sheer will and dogged determination into staying awake. As it is, I'm just channeling #tired. And it's only day three! Fault, fault, fault.

TENNIS FANS: Who are you keeping your eyes on, during 2R?

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!

Surgery count: Six

Posted by Bess: Make that six surgeries for Brian Baker. Torn lateral meniscus, it seems.  Out for about four months. You could say, "So. Not. Fair!" Or you could say, "Better plotline for the eventual biopic."

Key question: Is your glass half empty or is it rose-colored?

In other news, Ferrer and Baghdatis are through. And Tipsarevic won a tight five-setter in the wee hours of the morning.

And my new favorite is 17-year-old American Madison Keys. Not only is she from the Quad Cities (rock on, east coast of Iowa), but she's talented, fun to watch and gives an effortless interview. Oh, and she's heating up the courts with her impressive play. All while being a teenager. Good heavens. 

I can't wait to see her play again. And I'll have to look back at my bracket to see how far I took her. I hope I had faith.

I'm also predisposed to liking this Jerzy Janowicz character. If only because his name looks like it should be pronounced Jersey. (Sadly, it's not.) And without Jersey Girl Christina McHale to cheer on or Jersey Girl-by-marriage Kim Clijsters, I need someone to root for who makes me feel closer to my roots!  So, Jerzy it is. 

Although, he might be a tad, uh, argumentative for my taste. Evidently his outburst from last night is going viral.

One final note from last night's action: Brad Gilbert was completely right. Is Big Bird the presenting sponsor this year? Why all the yellow? Do the sportswear companies only have three bolts of fabric to choose from between them? I find it odd that they all manufacture the same color at the same time and so many players choose to wear it at once.

Do they not have back-ups?

It's beyond me.

Updates and whatnot

Posted by Bess: Last night offered some uncomfortable viewing at the AO. Did Mardy Fish and Marcos Baghdatis make a negativity pact? I'm not used to seeing them in such prolonged states of anger, frustration and grousing, showing such negative emotions and emitting such clear profanities (ahem, Mardy).

Those matches aren't fun to watch (especially when they're the guys you're rooting for), which is why I've never really enjoyed watching Andy Murray (although he was much less negative in his first round match, which the commentators attribute to having Ivan Lendl as his coach/in his box.)

But I'm guessing those matches are even less fun if you're one of Marcos's racquets, which took quite a beating! I believe he was down to just two racquets toward the end; the other four lying mangled, still in their plastic wraps from the stringer. They never even had a chance to fulfill their destiny.

All that negativity paid off for their opponents. Alejandro Falla and Stan Wawrinka rode it all the way to the third round.

In other news:

• Way to go, Christina McHale!


• Nadal's freak knee injury happened while he was sitting in a chair!? Okaaaay. This seems like something that happens to me now that I'm 40. Not to a professional athlete in the prime of his life! Regardless, he seemed great out there last night and won in straight sets.


• I read somewhere that Ryan Harrison admitted to faking exhaustion in the third set of his match with Verdasco, betting that Verdasco would feel he had the match in the bag and let up. Which is exactly what happened. Harrison came from two sets down to beat Verdasco.
  
  Sort of colors Harrison's win in my mind. And I'm sure Verdasco is none too pleased to hear that, as well. I mean, gamesmanship is a part of many matches, but... rarely does it seem to be so openly admitted. Odd.


• On opening day I witnessed an exchange by many of the ESPN2 commentators, killing time before the tournament began by making bold predictions for the year. I enjoyed their exchange and was hoping to find a clip online. There may be a video clip, but I was also happy to see the exchange appear in Bruce Jenkins's column.
  
  Fun stuff. We can add those to the lists of predictions Dave and I made and tally up the winners at the end of the year.

That's it for now. But we MUST discuss tonight's match up between Lleyton Hewitt and Andy Roddick. That's a four alarm match, for sure! (Meaning, of course, that I will have to set four alarms to make sure I wake up for it at whatever late hour it will be on.)

Bracket update #1

Posted by BESS: So sorry Dave is not feeling well, but he picked a good night to go to bed early. Both Wozniacki and Djokovic rolled over their opponents in very quick fashion. And that was all she wrote, as far as the evening's broadcast went.

Unsure what to do with the rest of the evening (I mean, tennis was over by 9:30! The night is still young!), I will update you on the bracketology.

Round one goes to Bess. :-)

Here are the deets:

Bess
Men: 44
Women: 47
Total: 91

Dave
Men: 43
Women: 44
Total: 87

While I bemoaned the decimation of the lower half of my women's bracket last night, I am totally rocking the top half. Hopefully I can keep it up.

And in the online bracket challenge, I have made great progress overnight.

• In the women's competition, there are 7,641 entrants. Yesterday I ranked 5,887th. Today I'm... 2,068th! Talk about leapfrogging over the competition. And if Azarenka defeats Serena, as I have predicted, my stock will soar in this competition. Come on, Victoria!
• I've also moved up in the men's competition, although not as impressively. There are 11,008 entrants. Yesterday I ranked 7,186th. Today I'm 6,013th. Positive progress. I'll take it.
  

On an unrelated note, shout out to the lower-ranked American women making a statement at the Open... Sloane Stephens, Vania King and Christina McHale are all still in it. I had predicted as much for Stephens and King. Should have had more faith in the Jersey Girl, as well.

There's always next year!

One final note. For those of you who read the blog/comments last night and heard Dave and I raving about Maria's attire, you can learn more about the inspiration behind it in this video (the night dress is featured at the 1:14 mark.) Tried to find a decent shot of her in it, but they're all too action-y. Darn tennis. Getting in the way of the glamour shots.

In the blink of an eye

Posted by BESS: I promise to stop whining. Sometime. Hopefully soon. But before I do, allow me to just complain about how... in the blink of an eye... the bottom half of my women's bracket was decimated.

DECIMATED.

Last night I was feeling pretty cocky about that half of the women's bracket. Easily my best showing so far this tournament, with 27 of 32 correct predictions. The amount of yellow highlighter (how I track my correct picks) on that page made my tennis-loving heart swell with pride. I daresay it put a little spring in my step.

And then today happened.

• Wickmayer retired in the second set of her match. I had her through to the quarters.

• Cibulkova fell to Falconi. I had Cibulkova through to the quarters, as well.

• Bartoli fell to my girl Christina McHale. I mean, good for Christina, but I had taken Bartoli to the semis!! Oy vey.
  

• And Venus withdrew from the tournament. I had only predicted one more win for her, but still.

Sharapova is just about my only hope in this half of the women's bracket. And she's up next.
Maria, no pressure, but... this all rests on your recently rehabbed shoulder(s).

Perhaps I should start a rosary.

In other humbling news, I'm in 7,186th place in the online men's bracket challenge.
One year I ended in the top 100! So this is just A+ patheticness on display.

In his luxury box up in heaven, my grandfather is preparing to quietly disown me.

My bracket

Posted by BESS: So far my bracket is fairly intact, although I haven't checked results yet today. But after evaluating the standings last night, I have to name Troicki and Kvitova as my biggest disappointments to date. I had them both through to the fourth round, but they didn't even make it to the second. Ah well.

Kvitova's clearly got the curse of winning your first major upon her. Better luck next time, Petra. As for Troicki, I was looking forward to a fourth round match against Federer (who did not look all that great in his win last night, I must say). Alas, that is not to be. Troicki gave it his all, though, losing in the fifth set and barely able to walk due to fatigue and cramping. Ouch.

I did accurately predict first round wins for my hometown girls... Christina McHale who mc-hails (sorry, I had to) from New Jersey. And Madison Keys, who's from the Quad Cities. Nice job, young Americans. Unfortunately I took the young American love too far, actually betting on Oudin to win round one (and round one alone). She couldn't even muster that, losing to a qualifier from Italy. Things are not so good for dear Melanie. A pity.

Hoping things will look up tonight, what with Nadal on Arthur Ashe to begin his defense of last year's title. The schedule includes Serena, as well. Anyone want to place bets on what her outfit will look like!? And if it will be better or worse than Venus's?

Finally, in truly WTF news, Djokovic is now not only pimping the gluten-free diet, but a $75,000, egg-shaped pressure chamber... the CVAC Pod. According to the Wall Street Journal, it "looks like a cross between a tanning bed and the giant egg Lady Gaga emerged from at the Grammys."

Supposedly it boosts athletic performance.
I may need to get one.

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...

Oh, no, she didn't!

Oh, yes, she did. Bess just had to trash Djokovic. Please note, dear readers, that I had not trashed Nadal in any of my previous posts. (Just sayin'.) Anyway, Agassi (whom Bess and I both admire) pulled a lot of crap early in his career, and his ego was out of control, too. But he grew up and grew into his own. (Check out Agassi's perspective on Djokovic.) That growth process is one of the things I love most about tennis. We get the privilege of seeing most players (except the likes of Serena) grow from self-absorbed teenagers to gracious adults. I believe Djokovic is on that path. I could be wrong, and Bess will certainly never let me forget, if that becomes the case. But, I think there's a heart underneath all of that aggressive showmanship.

Speaking of showmen, and this is random (sorry), but doesn't Ben F on ABC's "The Bachelorette" look a lot like Nadal? But I digress.

Bummed about Haas and Young going out early. And Peer and Craybas, too, for that matter. Nice seeing "old man" Schuettler pull off a win. I've got him through to the 3R, where he'd face Roddick, who's playing more and more like an old man every day. (I can cast these judgments for I am, indeed, an old man myself, at the ripe age of 42.)

As for young blood? How about Christina McHale taking out Makarova, 8-6 in the third? Nice! Too bad she got less buzz than the toga get-up Venus wore.

And so it goes. On to day two ...