Australian Open 2005

[Damita]

MariaV said:

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

lol, good!

tall_one said:

Marat never wins in 3 sets! it will go 4 if not 5

i mean he HAS TO win in 3 sets against a qualifier... otherwise ...ah well, i don't want to think about that
thanks for the article Nicki!

Vass>>thanks for those pics

[Rucinski]

Thanks for the pics
I like the fact that the draw isn't too easy, because he prepares himself better when he's dealing with a big name, hope he can beat the qualifier

[sirius]

OOP'S OUT!!! MARAT PLAYS ON MONDAY! 2nd match of the evning! I"LL BE HOME FROM SCHOOL BY THEN!!!! THEY BETTER SHOW IT!!!!! AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Rod Laver Arena Start Time 7.30 PM


Women's Singles - 1st Rnd.
Samantha Stosur (AUS)
vs. Amelie Mauresmo (FRA)[2]



followed by
Men's Singles - 1st Rnd.
Marat Safin (RUS)[4]
vs. Novak Djokovic (SCG)

[sirius]

looky what i found!!!

[sirius]

bit of background info on marat's opponent djokovic

Novak Djokovic (SCG)

Birthdate: 5/22/1987

Birthplace: Belgrade, SCG

Residence: Belgrade, SCG

Height: 6'3'' (190 cm)

Weight: 165 lbs (75 kg)

Plays: Right-handed

Turned Pro: 2003

[annie]

SAFINNO1 said:

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

uhuh, yeah... what's that they say? "Cross the bridge when you get there, not before"

but all the luck to Marat, i hope and pray he wins AO this year, he's been in the finals twice already...
i don't want him to be one of those who were "always the bridesmaid, never the bride", know what i mean?

[Vassily]

YES! He's playing very late in the evening! That'll be 3 PM for me...
Sorry for the Europeans...

[annie]

Edit: does anyone know why I can't delete this post?

[annie]

Edit: does anyone know why I can't delete this post?

[Vassily]

From tennisweek.com in 3 parts.

Men's Look Forward: The Australian Open

Usually at this time we spend a paragraph or two telling you just how great the week's events are, and why. (Except, of course, when we tell you how lousy they are, and why.)

This week, we aren't going to do that. You know why the Australian Open is great: It's the Australian Open. But we have an equally significant problem: We have to try to guess if somebody can beat Roger Federer.

This just might be the chance. There is, of course, no surface where Federer is bad. But his game isn't really designed for hardcourts, and he reportedly wasn't too thrilled at the news that the court surface at Melbourne has been speeded up. And while Federer's play last year was godlike, it's hard to maintain that level for more than about a year -- even if no one else catches up with you, after a while, you get complacent.

On the other hand, the question becomes, Who is going to beat him? The obvious candidate is Lleyton Hewitt, who has been the #2 player in the world in the last six months. Plus he's Australian, and he knows Rebound Ace better than anyone. But he's never done well here, and he has already played two events, so he's tired -- and Federer has been sweeping the floor with him lately.

So, too, for Andy Roddick -- and the surface is even worse for Roddick, especially since they would have to meet in the final. The courts were made faster this year, but the stadium court had enough problems that it had to be rebuilt from below the ground up. And it reportedly hasn't fully hardened, meaning that it's the slowest court in the place. Plus this is Rebound Ace, even if it's fast Rebound Ace, and we can just imagine it sticking to Roddick's shoes.

Marat Safin, in Hopman Cup, didn't just look bad, he looked awful. It's not a physical problem, as far as anyone can tell, but he's in Full Safin mode. Unless he really picks things up, he looks like a strong candidate for an early upset.

Guillermo Coria won't like the speeded-up courts, and he did hurt his back at Hopman Cup, though he recovered to play pretty well at Auckland. But Federer is not his ideal opponent anyway.

The fast courts also hurt Carlos Moya, though he at least had a decent rest after crashing at Sydney.

Andre Agassi says he's determined to play, and who can blame him? If he has another Slam title left in him, this is almost certainly the one, though he's another who probably doesn't like the fact that the courts have been sped up. But Agassi hurt his hip last week, and it seems unlikely that he'll be 100%.

Few others seem like real candidates to take the title. Tim Henman has done a fine job of expanding his game to a variety of surfaces, and he's won both Sydney and Adelaide on Rebound Ace -- but he also seems to have some sort of a block about Slam semifinals. David Nalbandian is just too injury-prone; he didn't play any warmups, which may help -- but it means he didn't play any warmups, so he's not as ready as he could be. Gaston Gaudio isn't going to win on a non-clay surface. Joachim Johansson has a bad hamstring. Guillermo Canas has never been at his best at Slams. Tommy Haas is floating around at #16, and he's a fair threat -- but he's arguably still not quite back in his best form, and he's hurt anyway. Thomas Johansson is a past champion, and he's getting his game back -- but not that far back (and he was a fluke winner anyway). That's not to say that it's impossible for someone other than Federer to win -- but it is just about impossible to guess who that someone else might be.

The wildcards, with one exception, are the usual undistinguished bunch: Todd Reid, who seems to be failing of his early promise; Paul Baccanello; Peter Luczak, who is 25 and hardly the young prospect you would expect to get a wildcard; Marc Kimmich; Chris Guccione, who has done nothing since beating Juan Carlos Ferrero last year; Nathan Healey, known (if at all) mostly for doubles; and Yeu-Tzuoo Wang, the Asian Wildcard. The one exception is the wildcard the Australians trade to the French: Gael Monfils, last year's junior champion, this year will be playing the main draw. One other Frenchman is of interest: Jerome Haehnel, who made some noise in Europe but really hates to travel, decided that direct entry into Melbourne was worth risking a plane trip; he'll be making his first Slam appearance outside continental Europe.

We will also see Scott Draper use his injury ranking to make what is probably his last Slam appearance. Don't expect much; he opens against Tommy Robredo. That match really doesn't belong in our list of...

[Vassily]

Noteworthy First Round Matches

(1) Federer vs. Santoro. Roger Federer is one of those players who is most vulnerable (relatively speaking) early on. Sometimes, of course, that may be the appearance-fee lack of commitment, and that won't apply in this case. But there is also the matter of adjusting to actual tournament play on the surface. Yes, Federer played the exhibition here last week -- but that's not the same thing. And Santoro is the one guy who can produce more astonishing shots than Federer (though they aren't as likely to be winners). Still, this is the must-see match of the first round. (Hear that, ESPN? Must-see.)

(11) Joachim Johansson vs. Schalken. Schalken is still trying to come back from his sickness of last year. Johansson is hobbling on a bad hamstring; we spent the last two days expecting him to withdraw. It's likely to be a pretty ragged match.

(21) Kiefer vs. O. Rochus. Rochus has suddenly turned into one of the world's top Rebound Ace players -- though he hasn't often played this many matches in a two week span, so he may be tired. Kiefer resurrected his career last year, but couldn't stay healthy in the second part of the season. The results of this match might tell us a lot about what lies ahead.

Ginepri vs. Monfils (WC). Ginepri has the edge in experience, Monfils in weapons, and while most of the Tour seems to have solved the American over the past year, it's not clear that the Frenchman can use others' knowledge to his benefit.

Malisse vs. (16) Haas. This is a great surface for returners, and Malisse, when he's on, is a great returner. Haas is one of our dark horses to do damage, but it could be a very tough opener.

Soderling vs. (20) Hrbaty. The Slovak has historically loved this surface, but he won't like the extra court speed, which feeds into the Swede's hands. Soderling barely missed seeding, and Hrbaty, based on his current ranking, is barely worthy of a seed; rankings-wise, it's among the closest of the first round matches.

Calleri vs. Mirnyi. Both players had a tough time last year, but Big Max is showing signs of snapping out of it. And this is a nice surface for the two to meet -- too fast for Calleri, too slow for Mirnyi.

(6) Coria vs. Berdych. Talk about a lousy draw -- for both guys.

Ferrer vs. (9) Nalbandian. He who runs last, runs longest.

(15) Youzhny vs. Haehnel. We just have to throw this in: How will Haehnel play when he's away from home and learning to deal with jet lag?

Benneteau vs. Nadal. This ought to be a blowout for Nadal, if he's healthy. But he was sick, or something, last week at Auckland.

(25) Chela vs. Arthurs. Obviously Chela is the better player on any surface except the very fastest. But Arthurs is about all Australia has, other than Lleyton Hewitt and the sundry non-prospects who had wildcards. The crowd just might have something to say about this.

Mayer vs. Blake. Mayer barely missed seeding -- indeed, we wouldn't be surprised if he gets promoted to a seed. Blake has been through a horrible year -- but this is a good surface for his game.

Clement vs. (3) Hewitt. They just played, and Hewitt blew through Clement. But if you want to see scrambling, this will supply it.

(19) Spadea vs. Stepanek. Late last year, Radek Stepanek rediscovered himself after a period of drifting. If he plays as well as he has been playing, he could give Spadea -- or anyone else -- real problems.

(14) Grosjean vs. Llodra. France's #1 takes on a countryman who finally shed the "doubles specialist" label last year. And Llodra likes Rebound Ace a lot, having won two Australian Opens in doubles, plus he made his first career final at Adelaide last year.

The Rankings

Let's get the obligatory disclaimer out of the way: Roger Federer's #1 ranking is not on the line. It won't be for months. He isn't really playing for rankings here; he's playing for the record books.

The #2 ranking, though, is very much in play. Andy Roddick still has a small lead on Lleyton Hewitt in the rankings, but Roddick has more to defend. We can treat them as effectively tied; unless they both lose very early, whoever lasts longer will be ranked #2.

There is no appreciable chance of Hewitt or Roddick ending up below #3. We have quite a battle for #4, though. Marat Safin, who holds the ranking, was last year's finalist, so Carlos Moya and Guillermo Coria, who have nothing to defend, are ahead of him in safe points, and Tim Henman isn't too far back. These four could end up in any order.

Those seven should be safe in the Top Ten. So should Gaston Gaudio, though he's hardly a prospect to move up. But #8 Andre Agassi has semifinalist points to defend, and #9 David Nalbandian has quarterfinalist points, so they're quite vulnerable. We had thought that this might well be the week that Joachim Johansson hit the Top Ten. Now, with Johansson as well as Agassi injured, that's less clear. In any case, Agassi, Nalbandian, and Johansson are very close together; the one who goes out earliest is likely to lose his Top Ten spot. Though no one else can overtake them without at least a quarterfinal and probably a semifinal.

Several players further down the rankings are of course in trouble. Juan Carlos Ferrero stands at the top of this list. Last year's semifinalist earned nearly half his points at this event last year; a first round loss would leave him around #75.

Hicham Arazi, a quarterfinalist last year, and Mark Philippoussis, who made the Round of 16, will pay for being unable to play. Arazi will fall out of the Top 100; Philippoussis is headed below #150.

Sebastien Grosjean, with quarterfinalist points to worry about, could end up below #25.

Other players who reached at least the Round of Sixteen who aren't doing so well these days are Sjeng Schalken, James Blake, Paradorn Srichaphan, and Robby Ginepri.

[Vassily]

Key Matches

The situation this week is strange. Roger Federer has no key matches. Every match is key for Lleyton Hewitt and Andy Roddick as they jockey for the #2 spot. And Marat Safin really needs to post some wins fast. Ditto Andre Agassi.

With that in mind, we'd note the following as later-round matches of particular interest or difficulty:

Second Round

Schuettler vs. (8) Agassi. A fallen guy versus a hurt guy -- but it's still a rematch of the 2003 final; there is surely at least some inherent interest.

(10) Gaudio vs. Fish. This is the only Slam, other than Roland Garros, where Gaston Gaudio has any real chance to build up points, so it's important for him. But a win for Fish makes it likely that he will return to the Top 30.

Third Round

(1) Federer vs. (27) Srichaphan. A loss for the Thai will probably take him out of the Top 30.

(21) Kiefer vs. (16) Haas. So who is going to be Germany's #1 this year? This might provide us a good hint.

(6) Coria vs. (31) Ferrero. We wouldn't bet much on this coming off, since Coria faces Berdych in the first round and Ferrero takes on Zabaleta in the second. But it's big: Coria needs to win it if he wants to get to #4, Ferrero needs it to stay in the Top 50.

Round of Sixteen

(4) Safin vs. (16) Haas. The first real test for the #4 seed, and if he loses it, he's probably #6. But for Haas, this could be the chance to make a move on the Top Ten.

(6) Coria vs. (9) Nalbandian. A win for Nalbandian will probably keep him in the Top Ten. For Coria, again, it's a win he probably needs to get to #4.

(14) Grosjean vs. (2) Roddick. For Grosjean, this match will determine whether he's Top 15. For Roddick, it might determine if he's #2. Both are one-time semifinalists here, and though the fast court might seem to favor Roddick, it's worth remembering that Grosjean's titles have all been on fast surfaces: One on grass, one on carpet, and one on indoor hardcourt.

Quarterfinal

(1) Federer vs. (8) Agassi. What can you say? It's the best player now active versus the greatest Rebound Ace player of all time.

(4) Safin vs. (5) Moya. Assuming both make it this far, the loser has no chance of being #4; the winner has a very good chance indeed. And both, recall, have made the final here, and neither has won.

(6) Coria or (9) Nalbandian vs. (3) Hewitt. The matches to this point are such that Hewitt really ought to win them (though of course he's shown an amazing ability to lose at Melbourne). This match, though, is tough, the more so since he'll be facing guys as fast as he is.

Semifinal

It's hard to expect much of Federer vs. Safin; it could be good, but only if Safin lets it be. But Roddick vs. Hewitt, if both last that long, will be played for the #2 ranking, and of course they're both hardcourt specialists.

www.tennisnews.com

[christina]

Vassily said:

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>

nope i'm there for the last FOUR days...i arrive 0830 thursday morning ;D mwhahahah...yeah but i don't expect to see marat

thanks for the pics vass.....oooooohhhh the muscles.....damn why doesnt the rowing season start til april, i need my weekly dose of muscles...grrrr

[sirius]

COOOOLLLLLLLLLLLL................. chrissiej.......don't flood the river with all that drool

[christina]

sirius said:

COOOOLLLLLLLLLLLL................. chrissiej.......don't flood the river with all that drool

its low tide, it matters not how much i drool right now

and i only just noticed this now...

Even I wouldn't bunk the school during AO. I wouldn't even skip anything during Dubai tourney....

hahaha...vass im mitchin school for dubai....and i live nowhere near dubai ;D ;D