Good start for seeds, not so good for Americans
Once again, Nick’s Picks along with Tennis Week will bring you in-depth coverage of the Australian Open. Check back everyday for insight leading up to the Open and then throughout.
It was great to see Taylor Dent back on the tennis court at the Aussie Open!
Day 1 one of the Aussie Open is in the books, and it was a record-breaking day for the crowds as there were over 46,000 people there during they day and another 15,000 at night. WOW! It was also a great start if you were a seeded player. The bottom half of the men’s draw was in action on Day 1, and that included defending champion Novak Djokovic, three-time champion Roger Federer, and American Andy Roddick. All three of those guys won their matches without dropping a set, as did every other seeded man on the bottom half except for Feliciano Lopez (he lostto Gilles Muller 16-14 in the fifth set, it was an incredible match).
I was very interested to watch the Federer match to see how he looked in his opener. First thing I have to say is that if a line judge misses three or more calls of balls that are out by 16-18 inches, you have to find out if that person needs glasses!!! Watching Federer just reminded me again how great he is. Without a doubt, he is the best all-around player on the tour. His speed and anticipation are off the wall, and he can with any shot in the book. Brad Gilbert made a comment during the match that I agree with. He said that Federer’s return of serve is not as offensive as it was a couple of years ago, this may hurt him down the line. Federer is definitely not the biggest server on tour, but he is certainly one of the smartest and can come up with the ace when needed. Also, many people don’t realize how much action and how heavy Federer’s second serve is. If Seppi could have put pressure on Federer’s second serve then this match would have been much closer. Speaking of Seppi, he is a very good player and has a possibility to become the first Italian to be ranked in the top-20 in 30 years (since Corrado Barazzutti in 1978)! Seppi had chances to get even in this match, but he couldn’t convert on his break chances because he didn’t play aggressive enough. He waited for Federer to make mistakes, and you can’t do that when you play against this guy. It was a very solid start for Federer, and I will be watching him closely throughout the rest of the tournament.
It was not a good start for the American men. There were nine in action and only three (Roddick, Fish, and Delic) won. Among the losers were two of our better young guys, Sam Querrey and John Isner. Delic faced another American, Taylor Dent, who was playing in his first Grand Slam since the 2006 Aussie Open. The match went five set, with Delic winning 6-4 in the fifth. After three back operations doctors said Dent had a 20% chance of getting back on the court, but he didn’t let that deter him. He followed his heart and didn’t let anything deter him. He truly is an inspiration and even the other guys like Roddick were happy see him back out there. “From the sounds of it, for a while, you didn’t think he was going to come back with how severe his injuries were,” Roddick said. “So it’s a testament to him wanting to get back.” Despite the loss, I am sure Dent was thrilled to be back out there and we are all rooting him on! Congrats to Taylor and we look forward to seeing him back at the Academy training soon.
A couple of other notes on the men…
- What a match between Muller and Lopez. There are two things you look for when a match goes long like this. The first is tired legs (which Lopez had) and the second is hitting low percentage shots (too many from Lopez). Those were the big deciding factors in this match. I also want to commend the umpire of this match for using his head wisely and allowing the guys to take more time between points and during breaks. Everyone was battling temperatures in the 100′s, and this can really take a toll on your body.
- Watch out for Nalbandian. He looked good and could give the top guys fits. He is one of those players that if he is hot, he is capable of anything.
- Nice to see Santoro and Xavier Malisse get wins. Santoro defeated JC Ferrero and X (after qualifying) beat Michael Llodra. Next up for Santoro is Philipp Kohlschreiber and X will take on Roddick.
- A lot of people have asked me about Andy Murray’s chances, you can read my thoughts here from The Indepedent newspaper in London and what makes him so difficult to beat is his movement and anticipation. It’s as if his opponent is playing on a much bigger court than he is, and because of this his opponent’s get impatient and over-hit. That is what makes Murray so dangerous.
On the women’s side, there were no big upsets. Both Jankovic and Ivanovic won their openers, as did Safina, Zvonareva, Petrova, Wozniacki and Cornet. I really think it is going to be difficult for Ivanovic to win this tournament if she continues to serve like she did in her opening match. Her toss is all over the place and is causing her to hit to the opponent’s forehand side almost 100% of the time. I suggest she relaxes her arm a bit, because right now it is as stiff as a board. If she gets that toss under control, her chances of winning go up dramatically. Jankovic played fantastic tennis, and it look as though the hard-work she put in during the off-season is really paying off. The one thing you notice right now about the women’s tour is that they really miss Sharapova and Henin. What’s missing is the feistyness and competitiveness of Sharapova and the variety from Henin. Neither of those girls can be replaced…
Overall it was a fantastic Day 1, and I am really looking forward to Day 2!
Any picks for DAY 2 Nick?
You can see the Day 2 picks (first round, other halves of the draws) if you scroll down on the blog. Here are the direct links: http://nickstennispicks.com/2009/01/16/2009-australian-open-nicks-picks-womens-singles-round-1/ and http://nickstennispicks.com/2009/01/16/2009-australian-open-mens-picks-round-1/
We will have some second round picks later today!
Great stuff Nick!I hope Hewitt wins …he is a true fighter!