AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2012

- Everyone is injured
- Or choking

Laura Robson beat Melanie Oudin in qualies today. She was up 6-3 5-0 40-0 and serving and somehow nearly let Oudin get back to 5-5. She needed 11 match points to crawl over the finishing line :o

lol @ the draw

razzano vs bartoli :D can not fucking wait for that bitchfest.
sharapova vs dulko lol. dulko's won 2 of her last 10 matches i believe but will probably play flawlessly for that one. and maria's an injured mess with no match practice so THAT SHOULD BE FUN.
no complaints with serena's draw tbh. or kvitova's. wish they were on opposite sides tho

yay for no djokovic/fed semi.

bring on the end times

why do i have 2 exams next week

ughhh the inconvience

Pretty balanced draws. Really anticipating potential Li/Clijsters and Williams/Kvitova matches, those could go either way. Murray/Harrison 1R should be funny. Verdasco/Tomic 1R...FeVer could and should dominate that but it's the kind of match you just know he'll chump up sulkily. Petrova was gifted with Stosur, huh.

I wonder how Fed's back is - I take that a bit more seriously than the other assorted pre-AO injuries cuz he never withdraws from tournaments.

LOL @ Bepa's nightmare section. May as well lose to Dulgheru in the 1R. SF points off and an appropriate way of beginning her decline. The window, it has shut.

Ivanovic losing to Dominguez Lino would GIVE ME SO MUCH LIFE but I don't think it's gonna happen.

Niculescu seeded at a Slam <3

Predix!

Wozniacki d. Jankovic
Clijsters d. Li
Azarenka d. Rezai
A.Radwanska d. Schiavone
Williams d. Kanepi
Sharapova d. Peer
Zheng d. Petrova
Kvitova d. Pavlyuchenkova

Clijsters d. Wozniacki
Azarenka d. A.Radwanska
Williams d. Sharapova <= DOUBLE BAGEL PLEASE
Kvitova d. Zheng

Clijsters d. Azarenka
Williams d. Kvitova

Williams d. Clijsters
-----------------------------------
Djokovic d. Raonic
Ferrer d. Gasquet
Murray d. Monfils
Tsonga d. Benneteau
Del Potro d. Kohlschreiber
Federer d. Tomic
Dimitrov d. Q
Nadal d. Lopez

Djokovic d. Ferrer
Tsonga d. Murray
Federer d. Del Potro
Nadal d. Dimitrov

Djokovic d. Tsonga
Nadal d. Federer

Djokovic d. Nadal

sky sports :( genuinely depressing

"Maria Sharapova's quiet return to form and fitness is a blessing for the sport's promoters, and she will fancy her chances, provided she comes through a likely quarter-final with Serena Williams, which frankly she should.

Serena is not the player she was - the fear factor is gone. So many players hit the ball as hard, and serve harder than the American, that she is just one more contender."

like, i genuinely don't understand the thought process of a professional who writes this.

"French Open champion Na has been in sensational form, and there is no more steely player on the tour [...] Her speed around the court and aggression are currently without parallel and if she keeps the unforced error count - her Achilles heel - down, we tip her to win it."

:(

simon reed

"For me, Murray and Djokovic have to be considered joint second favourites behind Federer"

for me, you're a fucking idiot

why is everybody who writes about tennis so dumb idgi

To seriously believe that you'd have to honestly believe that Murray and Djokovic are equally likely to get to their semi, or that Murray is less likely to but favoured to beat Djokovic if they both DO make it there (or that while Novak would win, his road to that match is harder). It's really hard to credit ANY of those three possibilities.

I mean, it's just wrong isn't it?

Also, er, who?

So many players hit the ball as hard, and serve harder than the American, that she is just one more contender."

reminds me of pat cash's classic article before australian open 07 "williams is lost cause"

in which he states that loads of players have serena's firepower now... like JANKOVIC.

maria's return to fitness

like when she retired in tokyo, withdrew from year end championships and pulled out of the australian open warmup event

somebody please kill it with fire. kill them all with fire

& my eyes have finally been opened to the obvious fact that li is the fastest player on tour :o ty sky sports

LOL reminds me of when the online Wimbledon reports referred to the "tall American" Bethanie Mattek-Sands (she is 5'4") and the "powerful" Caroline Wozniacki (lololololololol). And some commentator saying that Lucic would not be as generous with the UEs in the next round as whoever Jankovic was playing at the time. siiiiiiigh.

also I have a definite memory of some commentator praising Lucie Safarova's tactical brain, lulz.

EVEN IF Sharapova had returned to form and fitness, on what bloody basis would you ever say she "should" get past Serena? She barely wins games off her.

Barthel trashing Witchmayer in the Auckland final is a very welcome result :D

Hobart, no? I know someone he went and he reported that there were tantrums all over the place. Tho I guess with Whoopeemayer and Rodionova in attendance, plus sour Pe'er that is to be expected.

Djokovic def Petzschner
Ferrer def Tipsarevic
Murray def Monfils
Benneteau def Tsonga
Del Potro def Kohlschreiber
Federer def Dogolpolov
Berdych def Dimitrov
Nadal def Isner

Djokovic def Ferrer
Murray def Benneteau
Del Potro def Federer
Nadal def Berdych

Djokovic def Murray
Nadal def Del Potro

Djokovic def Nadal

-------------------------

Wozniacki def Jankovic
Li def Clijsters
Azarenka def Pennetta
Radwanska def Schiavone
Williams def Hradecka
Sharapova def Scheepers
Bartoli def Hlavackova
Kvitova def Ivanovic

Wozniacki def Li
Radwanska def Azarenka
Williams def Sharapova
Kvitova def Bartoli

Wozniacki def Radwanska
Williams def Kvitova

Williams def Wozniacki

notable early results: Riske def Stosur, Hradecka def Zvonareva, Hlavackova def Petrova, Makarova def Kanepi, Scheepers def Lisicki

i.e. i have no fucking clue what's going to happen

I actually think quite a few of those early shocks might happen - especially Scheepers d. Lisicki.

Makarova will not in any century be beating Kanepi in the respective forms they are in. Kanepi will do to Makarova exactly what Li did because she has a solid, very powerful backhand so Makarova's plan A will be lol useless.

Kanepi's a complete weirdo though who could snap at any moment though so meh i'll go for it. have no clue what makarova's form is

Killer Kaia's streaks (winning or losing) usually go on for multiple tournaments at a time (normally until she breaks herself in some way). And I really did think what she showed in Brisbane was significantly higher than previous Peak Kaia.

Since Makarova reached the RG last 16, her last good result, she's won 4 main draw matches. None since Cincy. Even ancient Tammy might beat her!

omg LOL @ mattek-sands! 4 set points that game! why is she soooo nervous about winning the 1st set against fucking radwanska? smh. so many hilarious errors that game. lost it on a putaway smash hit into the net.

She does this all the time, play impressively against a top player up until it matters most, when she chokes. When she was about to hit that smash I said "she's gonna blow it," and then she did. Classic American bonehead.

FIRST WORLD PROBLEMS, I know, but I bought a large TV for my bedroom so I could watch the tennis while I work, and the station carrying it is giving me really shit picture, and it seems like lots of other people are having problems with that network.

And to make things worse, the match on is Dellacqua/Jovanovski!

Jovanovski has regressed so much, she showed some signs of potential but she's just a noisy basher and Dellacqua is mashing her.

So hard to resist the urge to just post "Fuck off Azarenka" every 50 posts, so unless she wins, that's the last time I will post those three words. Lost all of one game in her first round, sigh.

oh god, mattek-sands

Tomic/Verdasco should be pretty good actually. Grudge match, too! Fernando is wearing the most fucking hideous red and yellow ensemble I have ever seen.

lollll! 12-10 for mattek-sands

Morita/Cetkovska is an early seed-falling chance I think. Just started but I think Petra the Lesser is not in prime shape.

A-Rad through in three, as you'd have expected. Tomic/Verdasco is Peak Women's Tennis. Unforced errors, bad shot selection, poor serving...

TV coverage using "Super Bass" as the backing music for a Kim Clijsters montage. Look, that's just not a good fit for her personality.

The whole of Melbourne Park has just erupted. Lol verdasco, you idiot.

Checking in.

Heard tell of but yet to see the Verdasco get-up. Must have looked like a Bondi lifesaver. Locals also mildly excited about Casey Delinquent winning, which I suppose has some novelty value. Next up is ILX fave in-up girl Victoria Azarenka.

Currently watching Rafa in cruise mode v Kuznetsov.

first Aus Open watched: tuned in to the Chardy/Dimitrov final set. All even on serve until Chardy serving at *4-5, at which point came two DFs and a missed sitter. I FEEL LIKE I HAVE SEEN THIS SORT OF THING FROM FRENCH PLAYERS BEFORE.

really NOT happy about another 1R loss for Mrs. Krumm >:(

LOL @ FeVer, that match sounds hilarious.

berdasco :(

Meanwhile, another 'bolter' finalist from yesteryear in Marcos Baghdatis is two sets and a break on Benny Becker.

noooo King Kolya lost too :( I should probably accept that his elite career isn't coming back.

keeping an eye on Paula Ormaechea - this was her first ever qualifying draw, she qualified and has now beaten Halep. Yeah I know, Halep sucks, but still...

hang on PENNETTA lost to BRATCHIKOVA??!!! *points and laughs forever*

Hanturexia losing a set to LEPCHENKO is almost as bad.

Also, 24th seed Lucie Safarova's Oz12 is over - her bags packed in two sets by American Christina McHale (insert obscure nautical reference here).

COME THE FUCK ON, Witchmayer is losing to Voskoboeva! *cheer* *cheer* *cheer*

Vague memories of Halep frightening hell out of somebody or other a year or so back, as usual it's the name that rings the bell....

She beat Li at last year's USO, though that was Li in total error mode...

The Witch has been burned! Vosko cantered in in the end, 7-5 6-2

yeesh, some of these Robson errors. Jankovic isn't even particularly on point.

Galina :D

Unknown local Ben Mitchell competitive in two and a half sets (so far) v 'King Kong' Isner.

Olivia Newton-Rodgowska wins set 1 v the Aphid, another local considered promising in Ashleigh Barteigh in her major debut 6-2 in the first but doing better so far in the second - 3-2 on serve.

This is absolutely dreadful from Robson.

Tatishvili lost to an AUS WC last week in qualifying, so you'd really expect Barty to be able to do something against her...

Three games won by Watson and Robson combined *points and laughs*

Such a hometown call there - Tatishvili serving for the match, 30-30, Barty misses a sitter FH that's called in

Another one to help Barty go up 6-5 :o

Whoever you were supporting, you've got to say well fkn amazing of both of these guys to serve that up.

My fucking god...

One of the all time great finals: best I've seen since Roger-Rafa's 2x Wim finals.

yes - so weird to remember that it started so poorly! Just got better and better as it went on.

Now: NOLESLAM at Roland Garros? Rafa the Venus to his Serena?

They are showing the world BOWLS final on BBC2 to follow this up.

I'm just noting that for the record.

Haha they can barely stand on their feet!

Instead of showing the presentation kmt kmt kmt kmt

FUCK YOU BBC

BBC cut it short? smdh

They decided to sit down now, they can't stand on their feet anymore, listening to all the sponsor thanks and stuff first

lex its on the red button

lol they've just given them chairs!!!

ah ok - i've switched to a stream anyway

This guy is just fkn going on so you've missed nothing

I'm expecting one of them to say 'I can't feel my legs!' like in Vietnam

Rafa: "Good morning" :-)

Always amazed that after such epic battles every player can still remember to be bothered about all the sponsors and brands brands brands.

I'm glad I can't see any tears. You know that if Fed was here, in either role, he'd be bawling.

At least Novak is sorry he forgot a few sponsors..

I hear it's also the longest GS final ever, beating Wilander vs Lendl at the US open

I would normally say that I can't wait for the French now but maybe I can.

I've never been so tired after watching a tennis match...xp = yeah and longest match in the Aus open history?

Yep, that too!

And the calendar year slam = certainly a possibility.

Might momentarily stop being obsessed by Murray winning a slam and get behind Djokovic. Could be once in a lifetime, this.

I would normally say that I can't wait for the French now but maybe I can.

Off to Montpellier, Zagreb and Vina del Mar for the ATP now! Berdych and Simon in the first of those. The women get Fed Cup - an Azarenka/Serena match looms...

Longest RG match would've been Clément/Santoro a few years ago, right? And the longest Wim match, we all know what that is. Both of those were over two days though, and the Wim match between big servers, so that was possibly the longest sustained baseline battle in tennis yet?

(also, I do think that match got special towards the end, and its length makes it an incredible athletic feat, but in terms of pure tennis quality, last year's USO final was quite a bit better imo)

man I can't even look at those names right now. xpost

It is sort of unreal to think that Djokovic could beat both Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer to the calendar slam (or at least the Djoker Slam) but there it is...

can't wait for Stephen Tignor's write-up on this match btw, dude has been killing it this AO.

Roll of honour -

Men's singles: Novak Djokovic
Women's singles: Victoria Azarenka
Men's doubles: Leander Paes & Radek Stepanek
Women's doubles: Svetlana Kuznetsova & Vera Zvonareva
Mixed doubles: Horia Tecau & Bethanie Mattek-Sands
Boys' singles: Luke Saville
Girls' singles: Taylor Townsend
Boys' doubles: Liam Broady & Joshua Ward-Hibbert
Girls' doubles: Gabrielle Andrews & Taylor Townsend

A disappointing junior event for fans of fun names :(

omg i slept through it ;_;

why did i go out last night ;_;

someone kill me ;_;

fuuuuuuuuuuuck

like i woke up at 5-5 in the first
and fell back asleep after the set ended
woke up intermittently throughout
woke up to see nadal, like, on the floor with joy so i assumed he'd won and fell back asleep in a huff
but yay!

WHY DOES THIS HAVE TO BE ON SO EARLY

uberweiss otm :(

new WTA ranks

1. Victoria Azarenka (3)
2. Petra Kvitova (2)
3. Maria Sharapova (4)
4. Caroline Wozniacki (1)
5. Samantha Stosur (5)
6. Agnieszka Radwanska (8)
7. Marion Bartoli (9)
8. Vera Zvonareva (7)
9. Na Li (6)
10. Andrea Petkovic (10)
11. Francesca Schiavone (11)
12. Serena Williams (12)
13. Jelena Jankovic (13)
14. Sabine Lisicki (15)
15. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (16)
16. Dominika Cibulkova (18)
17. Shuai Peng (17)
18. Ana Ivanovic (22)
19. Svetlana Kuznetsova (19)
20. Daniela Hantuchova (21)
21. Julia Goerges (23)
22. Flavia Pennetta (20)
23. Roberta Vinci (25)
24. Anabel Medina Garrigues (28)
25. Kaia Kanepi (27)
26. Maria Kirilenko (29)
27. Angelique Kerber (30)
28. Lucie Safarova (24)
29. Yanina Wickmayer (26)
30. Kim Clijsters (14)
...
34. Sara Errani (48)
35. Jie Zheng (38)
42. Ekaterina Makarova (56)
92. Nina Bratchikova (136)
133. Venus Williams (101)
162. Anastasija Sevastova (96)

Just back from Liverpool. Did I miss anything?

djokovic won the mens
womens event was cancelled

(Actually, I've never worn out the battery on my phone so early in the day before; I guess I refreshed a couple of websites a few dozen times over spotty 3G coverage...)

It's funny how I STILL see references to the Big Four despite, well, despite SIXTEEN vs TEN vs FIVE vs ZERO.

I'm trying to think of another player, historically, so consistent and so consistently second-best. I mean, five straight Slam semis but at least three sets away from winning any of them.

It's funny how I STILL see references to the Big Four despite, well, despite SIXTEEN vs TEN vs FIVE vs ZERO.

― first period don't give a fuck, second period gon get cut (lex pretend), Sunday, January 29, 2012 5:28 PM (1 hour ago)

it's perfectly fair imo, he's been consistently fourth-best in the world for so long now. maybe it'd be more accurate to refer to just the big 3 but over the past several years murray's been much better than anyone else in the world. slams aren't everything

Yes, its turned into a game of paper, scissors, rock, and Andy.

oh man watching nadal and djokovic reclining on patio chairs while a retractable roof closes overhead and lines of children mop the ground in front of them is like some 007 shit

like seriously I would have been terrified to be there live in attendance with this freaky shit going on in front of me

like some accent Egypt ritual shit

man that drysdale donnean aside ode to his god was genuinely moving

Novak and Rafa, you were both marvellous. This time last year I seem to recall writing something along the lines of 'a good tournament that needed a great final to be great'. This year we got that final - after two semi-finals that absolutely had to set up the final to be an anti-climax. But amazingly, there was still one level to go.

But let's not just look at the two finals - also compare and contrast Novak v Andy this year's model with last year's. Last year Djoko wiped the courtside signage with Murray - on Friday, having won everything that moved in the meantime, he was pushed to the absolute limit by the same man. But nay, say the nay-sayers - last year Murray made the final. This year he didn't. He has regressed. Bad Andy!! It's the haters' dilemma - having waved your opinion around like a front-bar thug with a piece of 4x2, you have to resort to ever more desperate 'reasoning' to defend it.

Also well done Bernie, and Lleyton, and Kai Nishikuri. I remain unconvinced I need GAF about Nico v T-Berd, and if you want to be the billionth person to You-tube Marcos's tantrum, you won't be fighting me for the privilege.

On the womens' side, we now have a world No 1 who has won a major. TFFT. The tennis world may have tottered on its axis while that breach of the natural order remained uncorrected, but it miraculously didn't collapse. While never finding the problem others had with Ms Wozniacki, who looked like quite a reasonable player the last couple of times I've seen her (most recently last Friday week), I sure as hell won't miss the tedium of the 'debate'.

Already focus seems to have shifted to the 'part-timers' (Silliams and Kim C mostly), at which point I'm losing the thread of the discussion completely. Woz keeps the no 1 spot by winning a whole load of 'Moose Droppings Opens'. Kim and Serena treat the Tour with contempt by refusing to appear at the Moose Droppings Open. Can't quite see how you can have your Marion Bartoli and etc etc....

Vika Azarenka's ranking wasn't all that shot up over the last two weeks - so did her public image. The crowd she thoroughly pissed off twice in week 1 were won over by her tennis AND her improved attitude in week 2. Shara's comeback from injury is ongoing so it's foolish to completely write her off, but she missed the bus on Saturday night and there's no absolute guarantee of another. Serena, I am more willing to make the call on. Petra Kvitova will come again, and Makarova is on her way, and I refuse to write Woz or Cake off at this stage, but Andy Warhol's watch may have ticked out for 'Our Sam' and Bepa, and almost definitely for Ana I.

I will be in England for Wimbledon this year, but regrettably Andy W may also have called time on ILX tennis as far as I am concerned, seeing as the tone of the threads seems to have dived southwards lately, with so much more negativity and death-riding and actor-specific 'morality'.

But over nearly 10 years these threads have been a massive part of my Wimbledon and Oz Open experience, and thanks to everybody who made it that way. Maybe, like Agassi and Serena, there can be a comeback....

I'm not saying Murray shouldn't be classed as part of the Big 4, it's just funny given the disparity in achievements. He's in the Big 4 in terms of consistently owning the rest of the tour (ESPECIALLY at Slams, he's always in the SF - how much is due to the virtuous cycle of a top 4 seeding is another matter), but not in terms of accomplishments. Delpo is of course the wildcard here - if not for injury would he have displaced Murray in the Big 4 by now?

New men's rankings -

1. Novak Djokovic (1)
2. Rafael Nadal (2)
3. Roger Federer (3)
4. Andy Murray (4)
5. David Ferrer (5)
6. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (6)
7. Tomas Berdych (7)
8. Mardy Fish (8)
9. Janko Tipsarevic (9)
10. Juan Martin Del Potro (11)
11. Nicolas Almagro (10)
12. Gilles Simon (14)
13. Gael Monfils (15)
14. Robin Soderling (12)
15. Feliciano Lopez (19)
16. Richard Gasquet (18)
17. John Isner (17)
18. Alexandr Dolgopolov (13)
19. Andy Roddick (16)
20. Kei Nishikori (26)
21. Florian Mayer (21)
22. Viktor Troicki (23)
23. Marin Cilic (20)
24. Fernando Verdasco (24)
25. Juan Ignacio Chela (29)
26. Marcel Granollers (28)
27. Stanislas Wawrinka (22)
28. Milos Raonic (25)
29. Juan Monaco (27)
30. Kevin Anderson (32)
...
34. Bernard Tomic (38)
64. Mikhail Kukushkin (92)
68. Tommy Robredo (51)
131. Lleyton Hewitt (181)

Ooh, entire men's final (plus Subarker preamble and roof break = 385min!) on BBC iPlayer. I will dip in throughout my workday.

There was a point yesterday when I was in Play Planet at Seacombe Ferry (seriously, they've totally refitted it - my KitKat dollars at work), and I glanced over at the TWO flat-screen TVs they now have in the cafe section - one showing Sarah Jane Adventures on CBBC and the other tuned into Radio 1 on Freeview (so a bloody graphic) and thought, "Would it kill them to have the tennis on?" I'd have asked but the staff had their hands full with screaming under-nines. I was in a Wetherspoon's for an hour later and it was all Sky Sports News.

Bloody provinces. I bet the public houses, soft-play areas and railway stations of London were screening it.

Still wondering whether we've ever seen such an emphatically just-out-of-the-medals male tennis player in the Open era as Andrew Murray. I guess Lendl was rather shut out of proceedings by the Borg-then-Wilander/McEnroe/Connors triumvirate 1980-83. Quite canny to hire a coach who knows what's it like to lose a majority of Slam finals. Because I think Murray will probably end his career with a similar losing record. Be good if it was 5-6 rather than 0-8.

Clijsters 2001-05 might be a good comparison?

Clijsters reached 7 Slam SF/Fs before winning the 2005 USO (and then still lost another 4 SFs before retiring for the first time lulz). Murray's now reached 8 Slam SF/Fs without winning a major...

er, 9 obv

Who beat Clij on those occasions?

With Murray it's been...
Nadal (4)
Federer (2)
Djokovic (2)
Roddick (1) - still can't believe that match

Maybe Andy needs to quit after losing the bronze playoff to Rafa in the Olympics, and come back in 2014 when Delpy and Tsonga are trading titles while the former Big Three are retired/injured/burned out.

Clijsters lost Slam SFs and Fs between 2001-05 to -

2 x Jennifer Capriati (RG 2001 F, AO 2002 SF)
1 x Serena Williams (AO 2003 SF)
3 x Justine Henin (RG 2003 F, US 2003 F, AO 2004 F)
1 x Venus Williams (Wim 2003 SF)

2006-07 she lost to Henin twice (RG and Wim 2006 SFs), Sharapova (AO 2007 SF) and Mauresmo (AO 2006 SF - a retirement)

Ah, yes, "Capriati vs Clijsters tight for two sets, but Jen walks it in set #3" was my AO semi report from a decade ago! Funny to see mentions of "Novak" on that thread and we actually meant Jiří... a semifinalist that year.