Upstarts getting all upstarty

Posted by BESS: I was too tired to watch much tennis overnight, but I did see the third and final set of Federer's win over Milos Raonic.  A much more straight-forward affair than had been predicted.

Their three previous meetings had all gone five sets.  And after Tomic's strong performance against Fed last week (although he, too, lost in three sets), it seemed like Raonic would have even more hope.

Alas for them (but yay for me), Fed is in fine form again this tournament. And he's a marvel.

He barely seems to break a sweat. He rarely seems out of breath. And against these younger, taller opponents, Federer's medium-sized frame is deceivingly capable.

Post-match, Raonic revealed that he didn't know if he'd even be able to play until shortly before the match, given a metatarsal injury.  So he was likely not in top shape. Which maybe explains his lackluster performance.

Still, I was happy to see Fed teach these youngsters a thing or two about the patience involved in earning your spot in this sport.

I don't get the sense that Raonic is too obnoxiously impatient, but Tomic? Yeesh.  When the draw came out, people immediately started buzzing about the potential third-round meeting of the young Aussie rebel (Tomic) and the beloved GOAT (for the uninitiated, that's Fed.) 

After his first round win, Tomic was asked about this potential clash with Fed in the third round. Tomic said something to the effect of, "Well, he has to get there first."

Meooooooow!

Now, some commentators say that's a good tactic. Try to get in Fed's head. Try to plant some doubt.

But my, oh, my. The hubris.  You could call it refreshingly brash. I call it delusionally rude.

It's one thing to assert that you'll make it that far and could even take Fed. But to insinuate that you'll likely make it to that round and he might not? I'm thinking that's skating a little too close to the thin ice at the edge of the slippery cliff of decorum (to mix all of my metaphors at once.)

Turns out, it's a popular move among the upstarts at this tournament. After her impressive win last night, young American Sloane Stephens, into her first major quarterfinals, was asked about her potential meeting with Serena in the quarters. Her response was something to the effect of, "She has to get there first."

Oh, Sloane. Please take my previous advice to Maria and don't invite the wrath.

All that aside, Federer seems medium-sized and in charge so far. Nice to see and fun to watch. But he's got a tough road to go before he can hoist that trophy overhead at week's end. Potential match-ups include Tsonga, Murray and Djokovic. 

I mean, if they get that far.

Loving the drama Down Under

Posted by Bess: One of my favorite aspects of tennis is the narratives that emerge from match, to match, tournament to tournament, year to year and even over the course of a player's career. And, perhaps because tennis is such an individual sport, these narratives seem very personal.

You're not rooting for (or against) a team of people cloaked in matching uniforms, helmets and pads. You're rooting for the guy out there alone in a T-shirt and shorts, with only an occasional towel to hide the expressions on his face. Or the girl in the press conference, staring down a room of reporters who all want a piece of her, mere minutes after a crushing defeat.

The ultra-personal glimpse into these narratives is one of the best things about tennis. And following them is one of the most rewarding parts of being a tennis fan.

The past two nights have offered a wealth of drama. I won't be able to chronicle it all here because, truthfully, I wasn't awake to see it all. But a few of the story lines I did see play out include these:

• Two nights ago Hewitt took on Raonic. The Aussie fighter in the twilight of his career vs. the up-and-comer from Canada with his whole career seemingly ahead of him. The 5'11" Hewitt vs. the 6'5" Raonic (I swear he looked much taller on court).
  
  After Roddick gifted Hewitt with a shot at the next round, I mentioned that Hewitt/Raonic held little interest for me. However, it clearly held a lot of interest for Hewitt who rose to the occasion, toughing out a four-set win to reach the second week of the tournament for the seventh time. (Was I mistaken, or did Jim Courier say that was a record for an Aussie?)
  
  It's no secret I don't much care for Hewitt. But to see how much that win meant to him--he fell to the court as if he'd won a final, with tears in his eyes and disbelief on his face--I have to admit I appreciated his emotion. (Sorry, Deb and Whitney!)
  
  So... good on him. And good luck to him. He'll need it. Next up? Djokovic.
  

Last night offered a great dose of drama, as well.

• First, Kim Clisters vs. Li Na. The rematch of last year's final. I find them both to be immensely likable players. But for the sake of this possibly being Kim's last year playing, I was definitely rooting for her. I'll admit I had dozed off at the start of the match, but was rudely awakened to the slow-mo replay of her rolling her ankle. It seemed the injuries that plagued her all last season had come calling again.
  
  Despite scrambling up to finish the point, she quickly called for the trainer and got the ankle tightly wrapped. She lost the first set, however. And it took her winning a tiebreak in the second set... saving FOUR match points along the way... to take the match to the decisive third set which she won relatively easily.
  
  It's a moment worth cheering. What grit and determination!
  
  It's also a moment worth lamenting. One woman's magnificent win is the other's magnificent defeat.
  
  Take a gander at Li Na's press conference immediately following the event. (I'll post a clip as soon as I can find one.) You'll see the weight of squandering four match points come to bear on her. She couldn't even respond to the questions from a Chinese journalist and had to leave the room in tears.
  
  Heartbreaking! The triumph and the tragedy of one match.
  

• Finally, we have Berdych v. Almagro. I didn't see a whole lot of this match, but what I did see seemed highly competitive and entertaining. And the scoreline, Berdych winning 4-6, 7-6, 7-6, 7-6, indicates it was a great, close match. But what was so dramatic was the body-shot heard round the world.
  
  Late in the fourth set, Almagro and Berdych are both close to the net. Almagro has to decide where to aim the ball and aims it right at Berdych. It seemed a fair shot, and all the commentators I heard talk about it backed up Almagro's choice saying it was fair and not at all done with ill-intent.
  
  The shot hit Berdych's bicep and he fell to the ground. Almagro immediately stopped and walked to the net, raising his racquet in apology and checking to make sure Berdych was OK.
  
  Berdych was OK. But he was pissed! Cut to the end of the match, with Berdych the victor. They head to the net for the traditional handshake. Berdych refuses to shake Almagro's hand.
  
  It's tennis's version of the ultimate snub. Just about the rudest thing you can do to show your disdain.
  
  Well, the crowd started booing, loudly. And they kept it up. They wouldn't even let Berdych be heard during the on-court interview--they kept up with the booing throughout, especially loud during Berdych's answers.
  
  Check it all out here.
  
  Kind of loving the Aussie crowd for that one!
  
  Want the narrative to get even more interesting? Next up for Berdych is Nadal, Almagro's countryman and a stickler for proper etiquette. (Can you imagine what Uncle Toni would do to Nadal if he EVER refused to shake an opponent's hand? Yeesh.) Those Spaniards are a tight-knit bunch. I have a feeling Nadal's going to be pumped up to put Berdych in his place.
  
  And I'm instantly more excited about the next round.
  

Those are just three instances of drama. Three stories out of many written over the last two days. I'm sure I've left out other compelling narratives. Let me know what I missed!

Roddick/Hewitt

Posted by Bess: I was really looking forward to last night's Roddick/Hewitt match-up. It recalled the days of yore, when these two seemingly locked horns at every turn. Their similar on-court personalities, intensity and fight made for some compelling matches. And it didn't hurt that they seemed to (at least mildly) dislike each other.

Those matches also afforded me the rare opportunity to root 100 percent, without reservation, for Roddick.

Did I mention I'm not a Hewitt fan? I rarely root against players, but for some reason he's the exception. That doesn't mean I don't feel for what he's been through to try to extend a career long past its prime and suffering numerous injuries and surgeries in an attempt to put the pieces back together. I can't even imagine how frustrating it must be to not be able to perform to your potential for (ostensibly) no fault of your own.

But on court, I'm completely fine with him losing.

I think a lot of people were excited for this match. It was last up on Rod Laver Arena, meaning it began at about 3:45 a.m. my time. I was awake and alert. Ready for the action. It was a mildly entertaining and quick first set, which Andy won with relative ease.

At that point I started to get sleepy. Turns out I dozed through the part where Andy got injured. I woke up to hear the commentators saying Andy was off court having an injury treated. I saw him come back out, and saw Hewitt go up 2-0 in the second set. Andy seemed tentative, but not terribly affected by his injury.

Annnnd... then I fell asleep.

Imagine my surprise when I woke up to hear the commentators saying, "If you're Hewitt, you don't want to have to win a match this way." and "What a disappointment for Andy." I got to see Andy walking off the court, with the score reflecting Hewitt up, 2 sets to 1. Andy had retired.

Evidently after he lost the third set he knew he'd have to grind out two more sets in order to win the match and with the injury he just wasn't up for it.

I feel bad for Andy. Not at all the way you want to start the season. I also feel a little let down since I was hoping for a next round match-up between Roddick and Raonic. I think that could have been great! With Roddick out of that match, Raonic is the clear favorite over Hewitt in a match that suddenly holds much less interest for me.

And while I'm not exactly sure how I felt about the mixed doubles pairing of Serena and Roddick, I'm bummed we most likely won't get to witness that in Melbourne. At the very least I bet the press conferences would have been entertaining!

Godspeed, Andy. I hope you're on the mend soon.

Our very first convert

Posted by Bess: I received a heartwarming, blog-fulfilling email today from my friend Deb in Seattle. The subject line of said email reads:

What has Mixed Doubles done!? Accomplished the impossible!?

It goes on to say...

"While I still have a very long way to go to understand tennis, I do find myself listening for news of the Australian Open and some of the names you and Dave mention in the blog. I tune into CBC to see if they've got an update on Milos [Raonic] (yes, I am now admitting to a positive weak-knees response to Canadian athletes!). I even know that he's playing today at about 4 p.m. my time. Has the world suddenly changed rotations!? ... At any rate, at least I've got a favorite! And I'm reading the blog!!! Write on!!!"

Well, Deb, you made my day.

It is a pleasure to open people's eyes to the wondrous world of professional tennis. Even if it's really the Canadian youth that keeps you coming back. :-)

Read on! And thanks for doing so.

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...