Australian Open 2005

[Jen]

Thanks patri

Wow, am I crazy or does Marat's draw look pretty good?? This could get interesting...

[annie]

Vassily said:

Only 11am?

yep..and that's full load..! i got seven classes altogether, and each is an hour long. but we have them scheduled every other day...
like 4 on mon-wed-fri..then the 3 others and a vacant period on tue-thur-sat..

btw, what time would marat be playing first match?

[Vassily]

Jen said:

Thanks patri

Wow, am I crazy or does Marat's draw look pretty good?? This could get interesting...

I don't want to imply anything, but THE DRAW IS GRUELLING! Very hard.

Qualified... okay...
Karlovic- 3 tiebreaks, and it can go to 5 sets. But I'll pick 4 sets.
Ancic- 4 sets with 2 tie breaks. Just like against Karlovic, he can lose....
Haas- 5 sets. Guaranteed, if of course Marat doesn't lose earlier.
Moya- 5 sets. with any outcome.
Agassi/Federer-

[MariaV]

Vassily said:

I don't want to imply anything, but THE DRAW IS GRUELLING! Very hard.

Qualified... okay...
Karlovic- 3 tiebreaks, and it can go to 5 sets. But I'll pick 4 sets.
Ancic- 4 sets with 2 tie breaks. Just like against Karlovic, he can lose....
Haas- 5 sets. Guaranteed, if of course Marat doesn't lose earlier.
Moya- 5 sets. with any outcome.
Agassi/Federer-

Aww Vass, you overwhelmed by pessimism again?
Haha, we'll see how much of your prediction will come true. He might be out vs the qualifier in the 1st rd for that matter. Or maybe some Karlovic TBs, ALL going Marat's way, Ancic in 3, (but maybe Costa?, he's been good lately), and then maybe not Haas at all (he was great in Perth but may have lost his momentum w injury), maybe Kiefer or our lovely Ollie Rochus, who's also been hot lately, and caused certain pain in the a** at Wimby 2002? So he can lose to any of these guys in his quarter but all of the guys are WINNABLE if he himself is playing well and has the right attitude. Marat vs Moya in the quarters - I'd LOOOOVE to live till the day to see that but it may never happen, ya know. Moya at GSs in the last years - a headcase.
It's totally up to him until the semis vs JesusFed. And NOOOOOOO, I beg NOOOOO 5-setters in the early rounds. OK, I'm trying to stay calm anyway. And duties call.

[christina]

thanks for the draw patri;D

Vassily said:

I don't want to imply anything, but THE DRAW IS GRUELLING! Very hard.

Qualified... okay...
Karlovic- 3 tiebreaks, and it can go to 5 sets. But I'll pick 4 sets.
Ancic- 4 sets with 2 tie breaks. Just like against Karlovic, he can lose....
Haas- 5 sets. Guaranteed, if of course Marat doesn't lose earlier.
Moya- 5 sets. with any outcome.
Agassi/Federer-

god i've missed being online...
actually i agree with you vass, for the most part, and maria, all the guys up to fed are beatable, but its marat and well.... USO *cough cough*
any one want to predict what court they'll put him on and which day he'll play his 1st round?

and vass, darling, if you're this pessimistic in dubai i will clonk you round the head with a large....palm tree, or i will set my stepmums dog on you

[Damita]

First round should be okay, and he'd better win in 3 sets! But I agree with Vass that 2nd and 3rd rounds could be tricky. And i'm afraid of five-setters (Karlovic, Ancic...big serves ...lots of TBs i guess *sigh*)

okay i'm positive, i'm positive, i'm positive...

[Damita]

christina said:

and vass, darling, if you're this pessimistic in dubai i will clonk you round the head with a large....palm tree, or i will set my stepmums dog on you

nice ;D

[MariaV]

Damita said:

okay i'm positive, i'm positive, i'm positive...

Steph, I'm there with you, I'm there with you!

[tall_one]

Damita said:

First round should be okay, and he'd better win in 3 sets!

Marat never wins in 3 sets! it will go 4 if not 5
not a very good draw, of course, neither was last years and he made it though that one pretty well

[tall_one]

Safin confident of strong showing
By Simon Cambers

MELBOURNE, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Twelve months ago, Marat Safin arrived at the Australian Open with his confidence at an all-time low and his world ranking down at 86.

So his rivals were stunned when he knocked out Andy Roddick and Andre Agassi on his way to the Open final.

Now number four in the world, Safin is one of those fancied to wrest the title from world number one Roger Federer this time.

Safin endured a mid-season slump last year but fought back to end 2004 with back-to-back Masters Series titles in Madrid and Paris.

Not even defeats in his three matches at the Hopman Cup in Perth last week could dampen his enthusiasm for his return to Melbourne Park next Monday.

"It's normal, I've just started my year," Safin said of the losses. "It's not possible to play at the same level (now), as I had just finished my year.

"At the end of last year I was playing some of my best tennis (ever). I was probably in my best shape ever, but it takes time to get that back again.

The 24-year-old Safin looked understandably rusty in Perth, having arrived only on the eve of Russia's first match after staying in Moscow to accept an award from the Russian government.

Russia went out of the tournament early but, after showing brief glimpses of his best form against Tommy Haas and Guillermo Coria, Safin left happy enough, convinced that he will be a real threat in Melbourne, where he also reached the final in 2002, losing to Thomas Johansson.

"I like the surface there, it suits my game," said Safin who won the U.S. Open in 2000 when he beat Pete Sampras in straight sets.

"It's not really fast, the ball bounces high and for some reason I feel comfortable. Hopefully I'll get a (good) draw there and be able to get through the first couple of matches and do well.

"My confidence is good and I am not worried about my form."

After playing 75 matches in 2004, Safin has decided to pick and choose his events this year.

Instead of playing in Sydney, Auckland or at the eight-man exhibition event in Kooyong this week, he has been spending the time practising at Melbourne Park, including sessions with Briton Tim Henman.

"I've been working hard, so I need some time for my body to adjust to the work that I have done," he said.

"I am playing well and hitting the ball and I'll be okay for the Australian Open."

[MariaV]

"My confidence is good and I am not worried about my form."

Is this just a pep talk or is he really confident? Well, he better show some form & fighting spirit next week then.

[sirius]

Vassily said:

;D It's prettier than many other trophies, in my opinion. And it's very original.

i didn't say i didn't like it...i like that tree! i think it's cool
i just don't want marat looking like it p;)

[Vassily]

christina said:

and vass, darling, if you're this pessimistic in dubai i will clonk you round the head with a large....palm tree, or i will set my stepmums dog on you

Lol. I thought that you're comming only for the last 3 days... The field will be strong and Marat will be out by then, so ther would be no reason to have low expectations... (big triple knock on the wood>

Btw. I'm not at all pessimistic. I'm very objective that's all. The draw is not one bit easier than last year. It realy is not. And did i say that Marat is going top lose early? All i said is that the draw is very difficult. <to tell you the truth, i did not fill in my predicted draw past "marat meets Haas". I did not predict the winner of that match.>

[Vassily]

[SAFINNO1]

Thanks again for the pics.

now on to the draw it is really interesting hopefully marat will be able to survive the big servers like ancic and karlovic, personally i think marat can do it but it will all depend on when he meets federer
if he can play well then who knows
as for aggasi he is finished i would be very surprised if he done anything in 2005

BTW Marat please dont forget about the qualifier you have to beat in the 1st round.