Melbourne: Purple Rain.

Roddick d. Gonzalez 6-3 3-6 4-6 7-5 6-2

It’s difficult not to crow too loudly about the way A-Rod weathered the torrential storm Gonzo brewed up on court yesterday.

(Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)

Anyone other than about two or three players I can think of would have been reduced to a sickly, gibbering wreck in the aftermath of that third set – a period in which Gonzo went through a patch so purple, it was difficult to breath.

A-Rod wore almost the same WTF’ed expression he had when Sue Barker held a mic to his face on Centre Court at Wimby all those many months ago.

Was it 2007 all over again?

Evidently not.

Call him a ‘grinder’, a ‘blue-collar player’, a ‘G.I. Jo’, call him nothing more than ‘a serve and a forehand’ if you must – but let no one accuse him of rolling over.

Marin next for A-Rod, who downed Delpo in five – not quite the call I made, though not the greatest of shocks.

Monty-real Tennis, Pt 2

Any one else hit by the amount of potential first/second round corkers we seem to be having? Or how many of them have been blighted by injury?

(Photo: AP)

Nadal d. Ferrer (Ret.) 4-3

A real shame this. There were actually a number of quality exchanges in the few games they did manage to contest. Rafa looked to be swinging freely. Or as freely as is realistically possible after two months out. Mind you, a 'David-unplugged' might have been exactly the kind of court time Rafa could do without. Not often you see Ferrer, retire hurt.

Gonzales d. Haas (Ret.) 7-6

I say 'defeated' Haas, except that Haas was for me, the better player out there, weathering Gonzo's out-of-the-block intensity with some carefully crafted net play of his own. There's no knowing what might have happened had the match not been curtailed by Tommy's hand blisters. Second potential 'corker', bunged up.

Hanescu d. Kohlschreiber 6-3, 4-6, 7-5

Oh that's good. One of the few remaining credible threats in this section of the draw out. Apologies to all Romanian Tennis fans. No disrespect to Victor intended. It's just that Phillip happened to be my dark horse in this section of the draw; he also happens to be one of my faves.

With Ferrer out too, I'd say del Potro's route to the quarters is now all but clear. All but clear of Rafa that is.

del Potro d. Hanescu 3-6, 6-3, 6-4

'All but clear', you say? Almost.

Far too many scary moments from Juan for one set and a bit.

Hanescu belongs to that category of players that do just about everything well, just not any one of them spectacularly so. For a moment I thought Victor was about to pull off an even bigger upset than he did in the last round.

Fortunately, Juan pulled out some of that big-gun artillery just in time. Let's hope this is his last big wobble of the week.

Murray d. Ferrero 6-1, 6-3

No problems with big gun artillery here. Not at all surprised with the result. Serve and backhand as potent as ever. Perhaps a little surprised by how well Murray used his forehand, often a more defensive stroke, but fast developing a big-gun quality of it's own.

Djokovic d. Youznhy 6-4, 6-3

I'm not at all sure what all the fuss is about re Djoko's supposedly suspect form. He's not at the top of his game. Any Djoker could tell you that. Does he really have to be at this stage in the game? I'd be more concerned if he dropped a set, which he hasn't yet. Little sorry for Mikhail, who had some momentum going there, after many troublesome months.

Roddick d. Verdasco 7-6, 4-6, 7-6

An evenly contested match as expected. A bit too evenly contested for my liking. I switched over early on. When I switched back they were about to enter the final set tie break with Nando firing groundstrokes similar to 'that match' in Melbourne this year. This could've gone either way, but I'm kinda glad it went Andy's.

History Beckons (and demands rather a lot)...

Much as I like Gonzo, there were two very strong reasons I was backing Soderling to come through the first semi.

-- Gonzo has been to a Slam final and come unstuck against Federer before. Yes I know he was tired out in 2007, and that Federer was on specially stellar form during that period, but it's not just me that doesn't generally rate Gonzo's chances very highly against Federer - his game seems to match up too well. Given the gravity of what may be achieved at this event, we needed someone in the final that would really make Roger earn his way into the history books.

"Soderling's been playing out of his skin..."

-- Federer fans may dislike it, but if Roger wins here on Sunday, history will always remember this as being the event where Rafa went out to a guy he doesn't like very much. A guy who'd never been beyond the third round of a Slam, playing out of his skin.

And that, I'm afraid means asterisks against the name of any eventual winner, history books or no history books.

If I had it my way, Federer would have to go through Nadal to win the only Slam that eludes him. Preferably over five brutal sets in a final lasting five hours.

But sport, and life in general, has a funny habit of disappointing us like that. If I can't have a Rafa-Roger final, I want to see nothing less than Roger Federer taking on Rafa's conqueror in a best of five set match with both men playing at the peak of their powers. History demands it because history's on the line.

And a hard earnt win might just cause the GOAT cynics to make a little less of that asterisk.

It doesn't disappear of course, especially if Robin comes out on Sunday and plays a complete stinker. But I've no reason to suppose that that will happen.

Dude's played out of so many layers of skin, he may enter Chatrier on Sunday looking like a sinewy mass of skeletal muscle, usually found on the last two pages of your high school textbook on Human Biology.

***

Special mention to Del Potro who's gone from being a player I didn't like very much to being one of the shining stars of this event IMO. I've found my dislike for his style of play gradually receding ever since the clay court season began actually, with the way he took to the surface which isn't after all one he's at all comfortable on (Yes not all South Americans are born "gifted and able" on the red stuff).

You can sometimes forget that the guy has only recently turned 20, and although he strolls around very slowly between points, his concentration and focus are a class above the Andy Murray of a couple of years ago.

And today he showed us the extent of his mental development with the way he took Federer to five sets - a considerable achievement given that he'd yet to bag a set in either of their previous five meetings (The double bagel Roger inflicted on him at Melbourne this year will likely remain forever inscribed on his soul). It would have been so easy and so predictable, given that record, to roll over the way Monfils did a round earlier. The serving in particular was something special, and stands him in good stead in the upcoming grass court season.

Ladies Semi Finals and a Word on Robin...

Ok I realise Rafaelites (and most tennis fans in general it seems) won't like this, but we might soon be seeing the departure of the big swinging Swede, and I think it's time to tip my hat a little at the man responsible for giving us what's likely to remain the biggest story of this event.

Especially considering how disparaging I've been towards his forehand, a stroke which I'm unlikely to revise my opinion of. Ever.

Not that he or anyone else should care of course. It's unsightliness serves almost as a forewarning of the devastation it's capable of inflicting. Whoever said that brutality wouldn't be a necessary ingredient to bringing about the biggest upset in clay court history? And besides, it gives us a different take on 'Winning Ugly'.

"We should shoot pool or something..."

I have no idea how tomorrow's match versus Gonzalez will turn out, but if it is to be Robin's last appearance here, he can go out knowing he's pulled off what in my eyes is a greater achievement than the way Nadal unseated Federer at Wimbledon last year.

(There was always a sense that Nadal was inching ever closer towards doing that having made the final there for the previous two years, but Rafa at RG was about the safest bet in sport).

Nadal's always been vulnerable to flat hitters, but like many others, I thought he had exorcised that particular demon in the way he'd turned around his record against James Blake and MikailYouzhny.

I'm not sure what lies next for Robin. It's probably a safer bet to assume he won't follow up on this form in the immediate future. But I will say this: hitting the ball as flat and as accurately and aggressively as he does off both wings won't just cause Nadal problems.

There's probably less than a handful of players that can do that.

If you can do it for any extended period of time -- à la Safin v Federer Melbourne'05 -- it almost doesn't matter who's on the other side of the net. That just may be the other safest bet in tennis.

***

We did have some ladies semi finals action today.

Dinara came through in straights against Cibulkova in a match that deserved a third set given how intensely fought it was. I'm pretty sure I've never seen Dinara get more Marat on us. I counted two expletives ("Move your f****g feet!") amidst the usual gloriously toned episodes of Russian self berating.

It clearly matters to her.

But it didn't stop there. Dinara was in full flow today.

And Russian Drama preceded Deadpan Humour. And Irony. Look out for her 'That was a good shot', after a serve that went so horribly wrong, it hit her side of the court before ending up in the net.

I love having mics so close to players. Best media innovation ever.

I've always been a sucker for underdogs and Dominika, with the way she contests each and every point and the punch that she packs, makes the job of liking her all the more easier.

And the sight of all 5 foot 2 inches of her doing battle with the big girls, meant I was the closest I've been yet to backing one of Dinara's opponents.

She's surely one of the most consistent players on tour, but that usually indicates a distinct lack of aggression (think Jelena). No so here - if anything it looks like she's taking aim for the lines.

Yes, ultimately her lack of height does prove to be a problem where she's unable to direct anything she's forced to hit above her shoulders; but I actually think shorter players like her have a unique advantage against the taller women.

Cast your mind back to the match Ivanovic played against Jie Zheng at Wimbledon last year. For Ana, it was the onset of that great journey named 'all at sea' tennis players take once in a while. There's been reports of her vessel approaching the misty French harbours this week, but her return date remains uncertain.

Anyway, one of the things she said after the loss was how difficult she found it to reach those low bouncing balls that were practically skidding past her - the bounce no doubt made worse by the grass, but also largely down to the stature and technique of her opponent.

No need for a maths lecture here, but most short players compensate for their lack of height by hitting with bucket loads of topspin. Now consider the trajectory of a flat stroke and compare one struck by a taller player to that struck by a shorter player.

Because the taller player's shot will be begin it's journey from a slightly higher position, the corresponding bounce will also be higher. Yes, it's easier for them to execute a flatter stroke because of the height advantage, but their ball will also sit up a little more.

Conversely, a flat shot will be a lot harder to execute for a shorter player - they run the obvious risk of over shooting. But if they do manage to land the ball in, it will be that much more difficult to return as it will likely remain pretty low. That's what Ivanovic was up against rally after rally. Not surprised she emerged as flustered as she was.

It takes a pretty talented player to pull that off. But I think Jie Zheng and Dominika Cibulkova, ranked 19 and 15 in the world respectively, fit that bill perfectly.

The other semi involved Sveta and Sam Stosur - a woman that has made #1 in the world in the Doubles Rankings. I was looking forward to this one as it involved two very unique talents.

Two of the only female players capable of serving a kicker.

I feel about kicked serves the same way I do about single handed backhands. A uniquely effective but somewhat lost art, particularly on the womens tour.

I also loved the inspirational story of the big return from Lymes Disease, that sat rather well, I thought, alongside the first Aussie showing at a Grand Slam Semi in 21 years.

There was a lot resting on this one for me.

Unfortunately it failed to live up to it's billing.

Stosur was sadly missing in action, until late in the second set when a sudden surge from her secured the tie break. Sveta's form coughed and spluttered the way it usually does, periods of sheer brilliance punctuated with brain dead nonsense (Remind me again why I'm a fan? Something to do with effortless shotmaking).

Things picked up in the last set though, and featured rallies of the highest quality from both women. Rallies that convinced me that Stosur, despite it being an off day for her, is capable of pushing her ranking higher than her current position at #32.

She really does play her tennis a little differently. The serve is not the heaviest I've seen, but quite brilliant in it's placement and variation. And of course there's that kicker - not put to best use today it must be said. But what really stood out for me -- because I wasn't prepared for it like I was with the kicker -- was the forehand.

Eurosport had a great slow-mo camera profiling the best groundstrokes of both players and I couldn't help noticing how Federer-like her action is.

I'd love to see her playing at the peak of her powers - she said in an interview she was cutting back the doubles to focus on singles and 'making her mark' there. Maybe this Slam is the first of many that sees her do just that.

But I can't help feeling that with the way Sveta fudged and slurred her way through this match, and with the way Dinara mocked and caricatured her way through hers, it's Dinara that's demonstrating the greater determination.

Sveta has bags more talent but it seems to be Dinara's time.