The Excitement Starts Here And Now

JD Blom

Tours, draw ceremonies, and qualifying matches filled up most of the day at the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open.

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At 10:00 am, I toured the 34-acre site guided by tournament director Adam Barrett and Media and Public Relations Director Sam Henderson. Tracking down minor facilities issues ("Why is the Head Tent Closed?") while walking a small group of media around the exquisitely designed and built set of facilities, it was clear that the Sony Ericsson Open has its eye on a bigger future. Adding another television court, hardwiring expanded workrooms for faster connectivity, and including a high-end VIP restaurant which will feature four celebrity chefs over the next week, the event will remain the premiere event outside of the Grand Slams.

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At approximately 11:45, the women's draw was unveiled. Samantha Stosur chose the chips with the 32 seeded players whose names were taped on a giant draw board threatening to blow off the easel. "Right now, it's all just a bunch of names," she said of her place in the 128-line draw. The No. 4 seed and Roland Garros finalist will face the winner of Zheng Jie and Xperia Hot Shot Sorana Cirstea in the second round.

The men's draw followed with Jurgen Melzer doing the choosing. "The first thing I look at is where is Juan Martín del Potro in the draw," said the No. 10 seed. "He's in Robin Soderling's section so that's going to be a nice little section. I think everybody says you play one match at a time, but we're human so sometimes we do look ahead. If you're confident you don't care who you play, but if you're not, you want to know what's coming." What's coming for Melzer is his doubles partner Philipp Petzschner of Germany or Florent Serra of France.

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Next, I jumped around and the grounds and darted in and out of several qualifying matches.


JD Blom


JD Blom


JD Blom


JD Blom

American wildcard and birthday girl Sloane Stephens had to rally from a set down to advance to the second round of qualifying. She beat the No. 4 seed Evgeniya Rodina of Russia 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. For a place in the main draw she'll face Aussie Sophie Ferguson who upset No. 13 Alberta Brianti of Italy 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.

Read the rest...

Special Upsets

by Craig Hickman

Of course, the very day I only highlight one match to watch, Day 6 turned into a day of exciting upsets only the clairvoyant could see coming.

Upsets From The Left

Six left-handed players contested singles matches on Day 6. Ekaterina Makarova from Russia; the Czech trio of Iveta Benesova, Petra Kvitova, Lucie Safarova; the Austrian Jurgen Melzer and of course Rafael Nadal of Spain.

No. 2 seed Vera Zvonareva was able to fend off an upset from Safarova in three sets, while both lefty men, despite being pushed against the wall for at least a set, pushed through.

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Perhaps the biggest surprise was the three-set victory of Benesova over No. 16 seed Anastasia Pavyluchenkova. The 19-year-old Russian was the Brisbane runner up who'd never lost more than a few games to Benesova in their previous two meetings. But the 60th-ranked veteran destroyed her first two opponents to the loss of only five games. So when she took the first set routinely, it was clear she had come to play. Nastya fought back to take the second, but the lefty slice-served her way to a 7-5 victory.


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49th-ranked Makarova, who also dismissed No. 19 seed Ana Ivanovic 10-8 in the third in the first round, had beaten No. 13 seed Nadia Petrova the last two times they played. Her 8-6 in the third upset of the talented but mentally frail and heavily frilled Russian wasn't exactly a surprise. After the match, Makarova accused her compatriot of all kinds of gamesmanship. Must've made for an interesting locker room scene.

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Petra turned in the best and most fearless performance of the event so far on the women's side in dispatching No. 5 seed Samantha Stosur in straight sets. The 20-year-old No. 25 seed took the crowd out of the match early. With unreturnable serves, heavy ground strokes, deft touch, deceptively efficient court coverage, she went up 3-1. But her first serve deserted her and Sam made the first set a dogfight that ended in a 12-point tiebreak. Steve Tignor pointed out one of the things that makes Petra special.

Kvitova had come from behind to snag a 6-5 lead in the first-set tiebreaker. She got a second serve to her forehand in the ad court. I was sitting right down that line behind her, and I thought she would try to crack it straight ahead for an outright winner. It was tempting, it was open, and it’s what most top women players would have done. Instead, Kvitova swung her return into the middle of the court, without being tentative about it, and made the obviously quaking Stosur play. Kvitova won the point and the set.

What impresses me most about Petra is her composure under pressure. Facing three break points at 2-2 in the second set, she played three of the bravest points of the match. And she looked as though she enjoyed every moment of it. The woman who looks like a young Bette Davis with smaller eyes struck 35 winners total, 16 in the second set. Sam Stosur hit 11 winners, ZERO in the second set. Sam tried to slice, kick, spin, and shuffle, but Petra had an answer for everything. Simply stunning.

Upsets From The Youth


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I didn't get to watch most of the tussle between No. 13 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and 46th-ranked Alexandr Dolgopolov, but the 22-year-old man from the Ukraine with the androgynous face, frizzy hair, and stringy pony-tail, making his Australian Open debut, whipped the former finalist into submission taking the affair 6-1 in the fifth. Raise your hand if you saw that coming? Tsonga needs to get fit. Period.

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The story of the event belongs to 20-year-old Canadian qualifier Milos Raonic ranked No. 152 in the world. I return you to Tignor:

So it was with some surprise—and some surprise at my surprise—that I saw the spirit of Sampras rise again this afternoon in the blandest of places, Melbourne Park's Show Court 3, and in seemingly the most anonymous of players, 152nd-ranked Milos Raonic. A native of Montenegro (his uncle is the vice-president) who has lived most of his life in Canada, Raonic spent his youth poring over tapes of Sampras matches and building a game that was similarly based around a monster serve—“I’ve got a good shoulder on me,” Raonic says. You could see that his serve, which Raonic believes is already among the game’s best (he’s really not that cocky), allowed him to take a Sampras-like approach to his match with No. 10 seed Mikhail Youzhny.

“I feel like I serve like probably one of the top guys on the tour," he said. "It allows me to play more freely also on the return games, because I know most of the time I will be holding. So it allows me to take less pressure on myself, whereas I feel it also puts more pressure on the other guy.” (Confident, yes, Raonic does seem to be that—call it the civilized version of cocky.)

Even when Raonic was broken in the second and third sets, which he was more regularly than he might have expected, he played borderline-risky, opportunistic tennis on Youzhny’s serve. Raonic prefers to rip rather than rally on his forehand, and he loves to go for an outright crosscourt winner on his return from that side. He also put two backhands smack on the sideline to break Youzhny early in the third set.

But as big as he tries to hit, Raonic says he has a plan. When one reporter implied that he was enjoying the youthful freedom to crack the ball with total abandon, Raonic quietly protested. “I was trying to do what I thought was the percentage play," he said, "or if I felt I had an opportunity to try something riskier. But I wouldn’t say I was really just letting the ball fly off my racquet, not knowing where it’s going.” Indeed, Raonic doesn’t just bash to bash or rally to rally. He hits with purpose and aggression, and has to accept the errors that come with that aggression.

Read the whole piece for the whole story on the hunch-shouldered ball of dynamite from the North.

After his upset, ESPN conducted a studio interview. This young man analyzes his game and his opponents with the insight of the best commentator. He told us exactly what he'll do to beat David Ferrer in the next round. But perhaps his best weapon of all is his self-confidence. "I believe in myself," he told a drooling Patrick McEnroe and Darren Cahill.

You can have all the talent in the world but without belief, it means nothing.

Her Big Break

by Craig Hickman


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The look of a broken player.

Serving down a break at 2-4 in the second set, Petra Kvitova faced break point. She swung her huge lefty serve into her opponent's backhand, and seemed surprised the ball came back. After all, for much of the match, her opponent wasn't handling that serve well at all. The surprising return led to an exchange that I described as the point of the tournament. The Wimbledon semifinal ingenue prevailed with a stinging volley winner.

Both players were whipped. Chests heaving, both let the crowd's extended applause wash over them. The longer it lasted, the better.

Petra fired another great second serve that came back with interest. The warriors were at it again. This time, Petra tried to end the point with a backhand crosscourt acute angle winner that landed half a foot wide.

She barked.

Despite her deceptively efficient movement and excellent anticipation, she doesn't yet appear fit enough for the long haul. Still fatigued from saving that break point, she tossed in a double fault.

It took the better part of two tight sets with enthralling tennis sans melodrama for Serena Williams to finally break the will of her opponent. After the changeover, the defending champion would serve for the match.

Soon as her second serve hit the tape, Petra dropped her racquet, her shattered determination captured in the photo above.

What a match.

Best thing I heard by any commentator during it came from Lindsay Davenport.

"Serena doesn't get enough credit for her strategy," said the Wimbledon champion and former world No. 1. "She's definitely a thinking player out there."

And so when Serena stopped attempting outright winners on her service returns and started striking them high and deep, she pushed Petra back, forcing errors instead of giving away points.

An adjustment that made all the difference.

Petra had no deep-Slam experience to rely upon, but her exquisite serve, raw talent and gutsy fight are a breath of fresh air on a tour populated with serveless top-10 players who fold at the first hint of success.

Petra did no such thing. She had to rally from a set down and save match points just to get here. No. Serena had to break her will in order to win. She broke it with her tennis.

Her name alone wasn't going to be nearly enough.

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Day 4: Delays and Drama

by KarenFed

Match points saved, match points wasted, head shaking moments, cramping, bad light, raucous crowds, rain delays and to top it all off awesome press conference moments. This summed up Day 4 of the French Open at Roland Garros.

The day started off well enough with veterans Venus Williams opening up against Arantxa Parra Santonja. Venus won in a match that had little or no drama. She won in straight sets 6-2, 6-4.

The second match up on Centre Court pit the defending Champion Roger Federer against Alejandro Falla from Colombia. This match went on serve until 5-5 all in the first set. During the first 10 games, not only was Federer struggling to hold serve, but Falla was holding with ease and seemed quite relaxed and ready to take this to the defending champion. I was nervous. At 5-5 all Federer serving, Falla finally broke and led 6-5 with the opportunity to serve after the changeover. This was not to be. After holding serve comfortably during the first 10 games of the match, Falla not only opened his account by making some shaking your head plays but ended up being broken at 15 to get the first set to a tie-break. Federer got the early mini break which Falla was able to get back and they changed ends at 3-3. Falla, ,who had been serving very well, standing up on the baseline and taking time away from Federer, all of a sudden started playing as if he remembered where he was and who he was playing. Federer took the first set 7-6 (4) and then from there barring the 2 rain delays seemed to find his groove and finished off the match 6-2, 6-4.

Out on court Suzanne Lenglen, the other gentleman from last year's final, Robin Soderling took poor Taylor Dent to the woodshed. He won the first set in 17 minutes. His serve was huge, forehand even bigger and backhand was on song. Poor Dent had no idea what hit him. Luckily for Dent, Soderling took his foot off the gas somewhat and Dent was able to win 2 games. The final score in a little over 1.5 hours was 6-0, 6-1, 6-1 and it was not even that close.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga played compatriot Josselin Ouanna. Ouanna lit up my life a few years ago when I saw him play for the first time at the French Open. I thought then that his career would have been zooming and he would have been in the top 20 or 30. Now I know why he has been getting wild cards. Big Jo beat Little Jo like he stole something. It wasn't pretty. Big Jo served big, hit big and moved exceptionally well on the clay. The final score was 6-0, 6-1, and 6-4.

Aravane Rezai hits the ball hard on every single point. I think she probably hits her drop shots hard. I saw her hit one today but I think that was more due to luck than an attempted drop shot. She won in 3 today over Angelique Kerber of Germany. The French crowd are really pulling for this young woman and unlike Amélie Mauresmo she is loving the attention. I am yet to see her press conference on the Roland Garros website but from what I understand, it would seem that there is no love lost between her and Marion Bartoli, the French No. 2. The French really feel that Rezai can win the French this year and it will be interesting to see if she gets to the final against the people’s champion, for whom will they cheer loudest. Final score was 6-2, 2-6, 6-3.

Julien Benneteau who played the match of his life against Ernest Gulbis succumbs as he usually does in the very next round to Leonardo Mayer of Argentina. It was a dull, lifeless match. The final score was 6-7, 6-3, 6-4 and 6-4.

Match of the Day


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This is the match of the day not because it was good, but because of all the head scratching moments that occurred. Andrea Petkovic came to play today against Svetlana Kuznetsova who finally seemed to have found her game when facing 3 match points and seeing her ranking drop like the Titanic. Sveta started hitting hard and deep, pushing Petkovic all over the court and forcing errors. Petkovic needs to know how to hold her nerve in these pressure situations. No way do you serve for a match, have 4 match points on your own serve and lose the match. No way. I have been following Petkovic since Paris indoors and I have seen this apple stuck in my throat moment too many times from her. I thought when I saw her serving for the match and hold 3 match points on the first go round that she had conquered those demons. Clearly she has not. She lost in 3 sets to Sveta 4-6, 7-5 and 6-4. Sveta will either build on this victory or get dumped in the next round. She has not won 4 matches in succession all season so perhaps the chance to defend a title will motivate to find whatever it is that ails her.

Drama of the Day

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The most intriguing match that was called due to bad light involved drama queen Gael Monfils and Fabio Fognini. I am not sure why the officials felt the need to ask the players whether they wished to continue. It was 9:30 pm local time, the only lights that were available were the exit signs and it was clear that neither player could see where to hit the ball hence we saw quite a lot of off-pace shots in the middle of the court. This is a Major not some two-bit tournament. Either the officials install lights or they fast track plans to relocate the current venue.

Tomorrow, Day 5 has some very intriguing match ups. Cannot wait.

Day 3: Moving

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I feel for Dinara Safina. I know. I know. I'm not a fan and some have suggested I've said insensitive things about her. I disagree with the latter, but it's not nice to watch a player struggle as she has struggled in recent months. She's been haunted by a back injury and mental frailty. She can't serve. She's in the running for the most undeserved No. 1 player in the world in the Open Era and she knows it.

Today she fought like she always fights, but she couldn't hold on. Spirit willing. Flesh weak.

She collapsed.

The two-time defending runner-up was ousted in the first round. Her ranking will drop like an anchor. It was tough to watch.

Juxtaposed to the Russian tragedy, a Japanese veteran added another historical chapter to a remarkable story. Kimiko Date Krumm, 39-years-old and nursing a leg injury, hung around until Safina broke down and then fought her own way to victory.

The second oldest player to ever win a match at Roland Garros.

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The pure joy she, her husband, and her supporters displayed after the war made it appear as though she'd just won the whole Slam.

It was as moving as Safina's unraveling, just in a different direction.

This is tennis.

KarenFed brings us some highlights for the day.

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How can you tell when a major is rounding into form? Most fans start missing their alarm clocks and start pulling the covers a little tighter. It is only day 3 but already my internal body clock is telling me when to get up and when not to. However, I did get up and this is what I caught today:

First match up on Centre Court was 4-time Roland Garros champion Justine Henin going up against Tsvetana Pironkova. I caught this match in the second set. Justine won in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3 but I got the feeling that against a stronger opponent who was more forceful off the ground and who was able to hold serve and break serve, the outcome perhaps would still be the same or we would have had a 3 set match. As it was, Pironkova played well and has nothing to be ashamed of in my view.

Nicolas Mahut vs. Mischa Zverev - I have seen many discussions on message boards that talk up Mischa Zverev. I have to say that I have been quite disappointed about his performances each time that I have seen him play. Mahut, who is not known for his clay court prowess, but rather for his formidable grass court skills, served and volleyed his way to a straight set 6-1, 6-2 and 6-4 victory over Zverev.

Vania King v. Bethanie Mattek-Sands. Mattek-Sands can play on clay and Vania King was tired. Mattek-Sands won in straight sets 6-2. 6-2. Vania King is coming off a brutal clay court season which saw her reaching the semifinals in singles at Strasbourg and the finals in doubles at the same event. She has played a lot of tennis this clay court season. Mattek-Sands came into the main draw as a lucky loser. She is nursing a sore ankle but is still in the doubles.

Sam Querrey v. Robbi Ginepri. I read a recent interview by John Isner where he said that he and Sam Querrey had been talking to their fellow US colleagues about the USA’s performance during the clay court season. He said that they should really change the perception that Americans cannot play on clay. It was against this background that I was quite disappointed at Querrey’s performance during this match and even moreso by his comments afterwards. To pull out of doubles at a Grand Slam and leave your partner high and dry just because you are not feeling it is a disservice to your sport as well as to your colleagues. Querrey has been acting up lately. He has posted some really unfortunate comments on Twitter and his press conferences and on-court demeanor leaves a lot to be desired. I wish he would make up his mind whether he wants to play tennis or not. Robbi had a well earned victory in 4 sets. The final score line was 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-3, 6-2.

Yanina Wickmayer vs. Sandra Zahlovova. The thing that struck me about this match. The noise. Awful, ear splitting shrieking disgusting noise from both women as they not only attempted to hit the fuzz off the ball but also attempted to deafen the spectators both at home and on the grounds with the ear splitting grunts and groans. It was awful. Wickmayer won in straight sets, 1 and 1.

Juan Carlos Ferrero vs. Pablo Cuevas. I admit that I expected more from this match than I got. I have never seen Cuevas play and thought he would give Ferrero a nice run. No such luck. Ferrero advanced in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3 and 6-1.

Rafael Nadal v. Gianna Mina. Nadal opened his account at Roland Garros by playing his first match on Suzanne Lenglen court. As usual he played to a packed house. Before I describe the match, Nadal’s team will have to let him know that for some reason he has a love/hate relationship going with the crowds in Paris. Today, as he is wont to do, he kept the umpire and his opponent waiting while he went through his pre-match rituals. The crowd did not like it and they made him aware of it. Judging by his reaction, I think Nadal was as surprised as I was by this. On to the match. There is really nothing left to say about Nadal on a clay court. He did not play well. He had a feisty opponent and a crowd that was 100% behind him. He had his chances on 9 occasions on Nadal’s serve but could not capitalize. Nadal was dropping his forehand short and he made quite a few unforced errors. I expect as the tournament progresses and barring any unforeseen circumstances, Nadal will get better. The final score line of 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 speaks to exactly what happened.

Match of the day

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Andy Roddick did the impossible. He came back from 2 sets to 1 down against Jarrko Niemenen on Centre Court. The only thing is this Centre Court was not Wimbledon or the US Open or any other surface on which one would expect Roddick to do well. He came back from 2 sets to 1 down on Court Philippe Chartier. The final score of 6-2, 4-6, 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-3 speaks clearly to how the match went. There were ebbs and flows. There were moments of excellent play and moments when both men despaired because their ground strokes abandoned them. It was a wonderful match to watch and I really enjoyed it.

Doubles

Mlle Williams and Mlle Williams opened their account in doubles today against Tamarine Tanasugarn and Kirsten Flipkens. Their opponents won 1 game. It was brutal. Venus is playing very well. The crowd was 6 deep for this doubles match and was the only doubles match on a show court.

Rafa Andy Highlights

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Men's Singles - Semifinals
[6] A Roddick (USA) d [4] R Nadal (ESP) 46 63 63
[16] T Berdych (CZE) d [5] R Soderling (SWE) 62 62

Men's Doubles - Semifinals
[4] M Bhupathi (IND) / M Mirnyi (BLR) d [8] M Fyrstenberg (POL) / M Matkowski (POL) 76(4) 64

Women's Doubles - Semifinals
(3) Petrova/Stosur (RUS/AUS) d. Chan/Zheng (TPE/CHN) 61 75
Dulko/Pennetta (ARG/ITA) d. (4) Raymond/Stubbs (USA/AUS) 64 64

Australian Open 2010 Women's Final Open Thread

Highlights from Miami 2008, their last match.

My preview is here. Mad's preview, here. Put our predictions together, I'd say Serena Williams in straight sets or flip a coin if it goes the distance.

What say you?