Quarterfinals Preview: Henin v. Sharapova; Federer, Nadal Headline at Australian Open

by Sean Randall | January 21st, 2008, 9:18 am
  • 40 Comments

We are down to just 16 players at the Australian Open, and since there’s no live Australian Open tennis on this morning (is it the holiday?) for the second straight day, let’s break down the quarterfinal match-ups starting with the men. ADHEREL

Roger Federer vs. James Blake
Given the way Federer nearly escaped Janko Tipsarevic and the way Tomas Berdych twice (or was it once?) choked on set points against the Swiss, it wouldn’t shock me to see James give Roger some problems here and there.

If you wanted to pick an upset in the quarterfinals this would be my pick. Do I think it will happen? No.


Roger matches up well with Blake, who’s not going to do anything much differently than he normally does, that is smash forehands and return of serves and try to overhit when he shouldn’t. Blake, however, is streaky, so a set could very well go the American’s way. But I’ll stick with Federer here in a close one.

Novak Djokovic vs. David Ferrer
Honestly, I don’t think Djokovic has been fully tested yet. Lleyton Hewitt is a tough customer, especially on his home soil, but the Lleyton Djoko played was gassed in my opinion. That won’t be the case against Ferrer, who’ll be more than happy to run all day and night, if needed, and make Djoko follow suit. That said, Ferrer hasn’t played anyone either except his good buddy Juan Carlos, so it’s somewhat of a draw in terms of preparation.

The court seems to be playing faster now, which will help Djoko, and the Spaniard has not played on Laver I don’t think. But Ferrer handled (a tired) Novak in Shanghai quite easily and since I picked Ferrer to reach the semis at the start, and I’ll keep leaning his way in this one.

Jo-Willy Tsonga vs. Mikhail Youhzny
Youhzny’s on the longest win streak of any remaining player – nine matches. Youzhny’s also been to the semifinals of a Slam before (06 US Open) and he’s got 13 straight wins over Frenchmen so I read.

JW is enjoying a hell of a run, and frankly I’m pissed about it because I picked his first round opponent, Andy Murray, to be in this very spot that’s he’s in now. But the run ens here of Ali Jr. I think Youzhny has a great return of serve, has solid groundies anchored by a terrific backhand, and enjoys the big edge in experience that should get the Russian through.

Rafael Nadal vs. Jarkko Nieminen
Nadal, like Djokovic, has yet to drop a set in four matches. In fact with the retirement from PH Mathieu Nadal’s played the least of any of the eight remaining quarterfinalists. That’s bad news for Jarkko who’s never beaten a Top 5 player, never beaten Nadal and is just 3-23 career against left handed players. All that spells trouble for the Finn so I look for Mr. Nadal to advance comfortably.

Now for the women:

Justine Henin vs. Maria Sharapova
In my mind this is the best and most intriguing matchup in the quarterfinals on either side. Both players come in super-hot. Justine as won her last 32 matches on the tennis circuit while Maria has been tearing up the opposition in Melbourne. Henin’s won six of eight meetings including their most recent, a WTA Championships thriller last November won by the Belgian in three tough sets.

This time around Maria’s playing a little bit better than Justine, who had slight issues closing out a few matches last week. But I’m still going with Justine here in a very close one.

Serena Williams vs. Jelena Jankovic
Jelena gets a ton of balls back that’s for sure. And she’ll annoy the heck out of Serena. But I think Serena will do here what Tamira Paszek failed to do in the first round: Close out Jelena. So I’ll take Serena in straight sets. She’s fitter than ever and she’s got too much firepower for the Serb.

Venus Williams vs. Ana Ivanovic
Venus has beaten Ana in all four previous meetings. Coming into this match, though, I think Ana is playing the better tennis of the two. But I’m still not convinced the Serb can pull out a huge win over a Williams sister on a big stage. Until she does it’s advantage Venus in this one.

Daniela Hantuchova vs. Agnieska Radwanska
Both these women are only alive because their round of 16 opponents choked. Hantuchova was getting hammered by Maria Kirilenko while Radwanska had packed her bags as she was down 61, 30 to Nadia Petrova. So both should be thankful to have reached this stage. Of the two, Hantuchova has the edge in experience, but in my mind it’s that very experience that’s her downfall. Daniela’s never reached a Slam semifinal in three prior quarterfinal attempts and at some point during the match she’ll come to the realization of that fact and self-destruct. To make things worse she knows she’s the favorite her.

On the other hand, Radwanska has chocked up some big wins in big matches beating Sharapova at the US Open and The Kuz Saturday in Melbourne, so I think she’ll enjoy the match more and play with less pressure. First Polish women in a Grand Slam semifinal? I don’t see why not.

So there’s my quarterfinals selections. Now walk, don’t run to the nearest betting parlor and place your wagers. Again, if you do the opposite of me – yes, I picked Andy Murray to reach the final – you’ll likely strike it rich. And if you do don’t be shy about returning the favor and sending a few bucks my way. It is the Happy Slam after all.


You Might Like:
Henin, Clijsters in Same Quarter; Williams Sisters Semifinal Looming?
Serena v Henin: 2010 Australian Open Final Preview
Henin, Sharapova Face Serbian Challenge at French Open
WTA Championships Preview
The Week That Was

Don't miss any tennis action, stay connected with Tennis-X

Get the FREE TX daily newsletter

40 Comments for Quarterfinals Preview: Henin v. Sharapova; Federer, Nadal Headline at Australian Open

andrea Says:

i’m interested to see the novak/david match – they played in the semis at the us open and despite david’s great run there, novak’s serve has way more juice than his so he ended up being out powered. david is a scrambler though so could be interesting.

federer will beat blake. every time before they play, james talks about his chances and his game etc but the end result is always the same. yawn.

despite all the whisperings of roger being vulnerable, the reality is he’s still playing at a high level at the AO. maybe not the insane level that he can display at times, but he’s still winning his matches.

you can almost predict how the press reacts these days to roger: a couple of great matches with flawless execution and he’s back to being the golden boy; one five setter and all of a sudden his chances look bleak. yawn.

i’m hoping for a federer/djokovic semi and federer/nadal final. those will be great matches. youhzny may have nadal’s number though….


jane Says:

Men’s side:

Djok v. Ferrer and Tsonga v Youzhny are the toughest to call, but I’ll go with Djok and Tsonga. I go with Djoker because he beat Ferrer in straights at the USO, because he is hungry to win here, and because I haven’t seen one Ferrer match – TSN haven’t aired any or I’ve missed them. I’m picking Tsonga because he’s an underdog and he’s riding a wave here; he’s got game too and if he comes to the net a lot he may oust Youz. Otherwise, Fed and Rafa are the obvious picks in their matches.

Women’s side:

I agree with you picks here except I am picking Sharapova to win for the reasons you already pointed out: Justine has shown weakness this weak and Sharapova has shown nothing but firepower and determination: she wants it, badly. I agree with the others mainly because Jankovic has looked weak this tournament; otherwise I could see her taking out Serena. Same for Ivanovic: in her last match she had to dig herself out of a slump in the second set and was lucky to get out in two. That won’t work against Venus. And Radwanska – because I want her to win. Hantuchova is over-rated.


jane Says:

Under “women’s side:”
Sorry: you s/b your and weak should be week.

Justine has won everything in straights but Schiavone pushed her as Poutchkova did too in the second set whereas Sharapova has mainly sailed through, and whenever she was tested a bit (for instance, the beginning again Vesnina), she quickly adjusted and hammered through. Janko’s weaknesses are more pronounced and obvious; she’s struggled since round one.


jane Says:

andrea – the cilic/blake match sure didn’t live up to its potential did it?

“you can almost predict how the press reacts these days to roger: a couple of great matches with flawless execution and he’s back to being the golden boy; one five setter and all of a sudden his chances look bleak. yawn.”

Actually, most of the press I read following the Tipsy match was not quite this predictable. Sure, they made the usual comments, “superman is human” and so forth, but pretty much all the press said things like “the great champ finds a way to win, digs deep, fights scare” etc. etc. I expected to hear a little more about the underrated Serbian brain and tennis player who pushed him to the extreme, but very few articles had much to say about Yanko, other than quips from his interview.

If they report Federer is more vulnerable than last year at this tournament, well, that’s true. What interests me is whether this is just an issue for Fed only at this tournament, due to lack of preparation, or whether it will carry forward and be an issue all year. After all, at some point, the laws of entropy will apply, even for King Roger.


andrea Says:

andrea – the cilic/blake match sure didn’t live up to its potential did it?

no. i had more hopes for cilic. oh well. hopefully he won’t turn into another mario. that guy has had a lot of setbacks in the past 18 months.

henin/sharapova will be a good match. haven’t seen much of justine’s matches to track her progress. i also missed the epic final they played at the end of year – longest ever in wta records!


JCF Says:

Your picks are sound. I’m not confident on the Djokovic vs Ferrer pick though. I think that one will be 50/50. If I had to pick a favorite, I’ll go with Nole. But only slightly.

Youznhy vs Tsonga will be interesting match. I think Tsonga is the slight favorite. Whoever wins that, will upset Nadal I think.

I’ll bet Jon Wertheim will be a little red faced right now. He picked Roddick to make the final.


JCF Says:

Has anyone noticed Radwanska looks very much like Dinara Safina?

Her expressions are quite cute too. I think she has a bright future ahead of her. She’s already in the top 30, I think she will finish the year top 15.


jane Says:

JFC,

“She’s already in the top 30, I think she will finish the year top 15.”

I agree: she’s talented and sweet; her interviews are funny because she’s such an unassuming teenager. She does have a bright future and I sensed it immediately when she toppled Maria at the USO.


Sean Randall Says:

JCF, certainly Novak is the big favorite against Ferrer and rightfully so. He’s looked really good thus far and has a better overall game than David.

Serena’s not looking good. ESPN is reporting a quad issue. A sisters final is fleeting!

Regarding Radwanksa, has anyone seen her and Dinara on the court together?


jane Says:

Jelena just took the first set and is up a break in the second – excellent for her! If she can win this second set, great, but if it goes to three, Serena will certainly fight to the death.

I am following on the computer as it’s not on TV here yet, so I don’t know about any quad issue. But I do NOT want an all Williams final; I’ve seen one or two and they’re stupid, exo-like matches, not real barn-burners – least that’s my opinion.


jane Says:

Jelena sure showed why she’s number 3 tonight, and it’s not due to playing a lot – not only anyhow. She had way more variety than Serena (I saw only the 2nd set), and wasn’t so flat. Serena gave her the cold-shoulder at the net too -not cool at all. Testament to previous “personality” discussions we’ve had about her.


Von Says:

“Serena gave her the cold-shoulder at the net too -not cool at all. Testament to previous “personality” discussions we’ve had about her.”

Oh yes. This is fun.


Von Says:

Sean Randal:

It’s now or never. After today’s results I think you will be safe. I’ll have them boil the eggs instead of scrambling them. Just think of all the protein and cholesterol to which you’ll have access.


Daryl Says:

And Marsha just fed Justine a bagel in a straight-sets demolition, way to go!


jane Says:

Sharapova is hungry for bagels – way to go Maria!

To the finals with you. (Course, you’ll have to get by the masochist first; apparently, pain keeps Jelena “focused” – who knew?)

Last year Serena called Sharapova “over-rated”. Well, surly Ms. Williams, time to check your head.

Tsonga just took the first set – maybe I’ll go 3 for 4; that’d be a small miracle. Back to the tennis…


Von Says:

Jane:

I think Tsonga is going to win. He is a better match for Nadal. I think Serena bombed out because she was afraid that Sharapova would double bagel her, and crush her. So to lose the quarters is better thzn the humiliation of losing to Sharapova. Pam Shriver says it’s a pattern, Serena never defends the previous year’s slam. Oh well, it will probably be Venus and Sharapova in the finals.

Everytime I see Jankovic she looks worse. She is so bony and her complexion is almost greyish pink. If there is something like that. No peaches and cream for sure.


jane Says:

Von – Tsonga will certainly be a challenge for Rafa. That should be a 5 setter, I would think.


Zola Says:

Sean,
I am with you on Murray! I picked him all the way up to semis with Rafa! Well, now Tsonga is there and the way he is playing I have to say I am nervous about the semis! Rafa is fresher than last year,but Tsonga ia playing very well and is serving great and is on a roll. Tough match for RAfa!

Fed-JAmes is always Fed. James talks a lot before the match and just melts dowm when he sees Fed on the other side of the court. It is almost annoying to see hin huf and puff and sigh and look up in misery and wait for the match to finish. If James can even take a set or take Fed to a tie-break , that will be a record for itself. Surely Fed had some tough times aginat Tipsy and Berdych, but he knows when to change the gear and James is not as inspired as Tipsy or as confident as Berdych.

Tournament Joker-Ferrer? Tough to say. They are both good. If Ferre can make him run, he might have a good chance.

I think Henin had a knee problem, but Sharapova just played very well. I think she will roll over Jankovic. I see a Venus-MAria final and that’s a 50-50!


Sean Randall Says:

Not really that surprised about Maria and JW winning, though I am by the scoreline, both straight sets. Didn’t see either match, so I will leave it at that.

Serena’s loss I did not see coming. Who knows what her “issues” were but credit to Jankovic for taking advantage and not self destructing herself.

As for today, looks like Daniela will take the first set and she’ll probably go up a break in the second, then the match will really start.

I think Serena’s loss might affect Venus negatively, so I’d now give Ana a better shot in that one, but I still like Venus getting through.

I still think Fed’s going to have a rough ride against Blake tonight.


chris Says:

Fed/Blake…I will continue to pick Fed over Blake until Blake can prove otherwise.

Joker/Ferrer…Hopefully this will be a long grinding, long rally type match. With Ferrer thats what you get. In the end though Joker has too much offensive skills for the spaniard even on a slower court.

Nadal/Tsonga…Nadal must be loving this new court because he has been getting a super high bounce on his forehand and causing major problems for his opponents. Its is impossible to get a rhythm against that. Thats bad news for Federer fans I’m going with Nadal here.


jane Says:

Speaking of surprising scorelines, I knew Djoker would win, but I didn’t think it’d be that lopsided.

Real drama at the end when it seemed Ferrer woke up and Djoker started gasping. But Djoker fought it out. His stamina remains a questionable issue though.

We’ll see where things go from here. They say it’s all night matches now so Djok escapes the daytime heat.


jane Says:

Nole’s scoreline against David, 6-0, 6-3, 7-5 is almost the exact opposite of Nadal’s against Neiminem, 7-5, 6-3, 6-1.


Kash Says:

There are only two things that will stop joker from winning the Oz open. Fed finding his masters cup a-rod-and-nadal thrashing form and his own breathing problem or whatever that is. It scares me how dangerous that condition might be, personally for joker. I just hope he is not as paranoid or hypochondriacal as I am.

I would say joker is a 50% fav to win this tourney, fed is 30% (which i am really considering looking at the start of this 2nd set tie-break). Nadal at 19.999999 and blake and tsonga have the remaining .000001 % divided between them in the ratio 1 : million respectively ;)

Also an interesting thing I noted is if joker and nadal meet in the final is that joker is in his 2nd hard-court GS final where as for nadal it his 1st. It will be gross injustice if nadal sneaks the title under joker’s nose after he did all the hard work of beating hewitt, ferrer, and fed!


Von Says:

Kash:

” It will be gross injustice if nadal sneaks the title under joker’s nose after he did all the hard work of beating hewitt, ferrer, and fed!>’

However unjust, who said life was fair. I feel that this is Nadal’s title for the taking. He can taste it. Everything seems to be in his favor. He had the easiest draw, added to that Mathieu was more or less a walkover. So, looking at the pluses and minuses, I think it will be Nadal.


Von Says:

jane

“Speaking of surprising scorelines, I knew Djoker would win, but I didn’t think it’d be that lopsided.”

Ferrer has an history of running himself ragged and when he gets down to the big ones, he caves in. However, Djoker is going to have a tough time with Nadal, unless Djok can find something in his bag of tricks, Nadal is going to run Djok around until he can’t breathe. Djok already showed how vulnerable he is with that problem today. Towards the last 2 games in that match in the last set he was just hiting the ball out of instinct rather than going for his shots. He was really in trouble. Had Ferrer taken one set, it would have gone to 5 and I think the lights would have gone out for Djok.


Kash Says:

Von:

I know life is not fair, but we can try to lessen the frustration by whining, right? ;)

As one of my best friends calvin, would say to his other friend hobbes ” I know life is unfair, but why is it not unfair in MY favor!”

anyways seriously speaking, i see where you are coming from regarding the title being nadal’s, and a part of me does feel that way, but a bigger part of me thinks it is going to be 1 of federer or joker winning this. I just wish they dont beat each other to death like fed and the other serb did, coz nadal will be cooling off his heels on friday wishing these two dudes just nuke each other out. I agree the nadal camp might be very tempted to start planning a party :) Nadal has no excuse if he does not win this not that he ever offers one. He is great for the game. You could say I will be fine with any of the 4 dudes winning this. I think joker, fed and nadal in that particular order are the favorites as of now. lets see if nadal will give me more reasons to buy his stock tomorrow.

Joker’s biggest problem is his fitness and he will need to have it all to beat fed and rafa in a span of 2 days in 5set matches. Nadal’s nightmare is going to be a federer who wins in 4 tight sets against joker. I can imagine nadal screaming to shut out the shanghai images if that happens. Another thing against nadal is that he will be the most nervous guy on sunday irrespective of whether joker or fed is at the other end. fed, in a long long while (maybe since french sf in 05) cannot look at anything other than novak. he will do so at his own and his fans’ peril.


Von Says:

Kash:

“Joker’s biggest problem is his fitness and he will need to have it all to beat fed and rafa in a span of 2 days in 5 set matches.”

Yes Djoker will have to feast on nutritious foods and do some breathing exercises to beat both Fed and Nadal. What a pity that he has such a problem.

“Nadal’s nightmare is going to be a federer who wins in 4 tight sets against joker.”

I don’t think this will bother Nadal too much. Considering how he beat Fed in those clay court Master Series, with taking some of those tournaments to 5 sets, I think he will be surprised if Fed did not win in 3 or 4 sets. If, hypothetically, Fed took it to 5 sets or vice versa, Djoker took it to 5 sets, I think Nadal would be practicing his trophy speech.

I am however, thinking that Tsonga could upset Nadal. Tsonga has a good ground games, plus his humongous serve, consequently, I think we should not count out this “dark horse.”

How do you do that smiley face on your keyboard? As you know I am pretty dumb about this stuff.


Kash Says:

Von:

In the 3 5-set matches fed and nadal have played, there were fitness issues in 2matches in the 5th and in both cases was nadal. In miami 05 final nadal had nothing in the tank and fed beat him 6-1 in the 5th. nadal was just 18 then though. The other time was the last wimbledon where nadal got beaten 6-2 in the 5th. The rome final went to the wire but it was not decided because of fitness. fed choked at rome though. anyway i guess nadal will be fully fit, if he makes the final. federer and joker going 5sets will definitely make it easy for nadal.

and yea, i agree tsonga has a good attacking game but at some point he will realise the other 124 players have packed their bags up. If nadal even senses a little that tsonga is nervous, it will be game over for tsonga. i will be quite surprised if tsonga keeps this level up in the semis. he is going to blink at some point and that will be good-bye for him, i feel. but yea you never know. i get most of predictions wrong, so even I dont take my own tennis analysis seriously :D

Regarding the smiley, i dont do anything…. i just type a smiley face like in an email and when i post it, i get the smiley faces, i will show you some examples. on the left hand side of the hyphen i show you the two characters you have to put together ( i will separate them by spaces, so that you can see.) on the right hand side of the hyphen, you will get the image. here we go:

: ) – :)
: P – :P
: D – :D
; ) – ;)
: ( – :(

this is all i know.i dont know what else work!


jane Says:

Kash, Von,

Interesting discussion.

I can’t decide if Djoker’s issue is fitness, breathing or nerves, or some strange combination of the 3.

He seems to be fit in that he’s gotten through in straights, so if he has to play a couple of 5 setters at the end, I think he’ll be okay.

His breathing problem, they say, strikes mainly in the daytime and the heat, and the commentators said the next matches will all be later ones, so he should be okay, if the commentators are right about when he has issues.

His nerves might be the biggest problem: he was nervous in the beginning of the Leyton match and the end of the Ferrer match, and in both cases he got into tight spots. As we all know, he also choked against Fed in those first two sets at the USO. So I think he needs to settle down, and really play within himself, like Yanko did. I think he’ll be less nervous against Rafa than Federer if he makes it to the final.

Rafa won’t be nervous; but he needs to take it to whomever he plays if he gets past Tsonga – and including Tsonga. He cannot start playing defensively, only, no matter how great his defense is. He has to charge, like the bull that he is.

I’d be happy to see either win this slam.

I’ve missed both Tsonga and Fed’s latest matches so I’ll refrain from comment there.


jane Says:

Von,

One thing about Jo-Wil – I agree that Tsonga is dangerous, not only because of his great game, but because he really has no pressure here; this is like a free ride for him. No bill at the end, only a windfall up the rankings. The other 3, by contrast, have considerable pressure being 1,2, & 3 in the rankings, and all for different reasons: maintaining dominance / chasing records; breaking through on a new surface; breaking through to win a first slam. Rafa and Djoker have already surpassed last year’s results here, but there can be little doubt they long to prove themselves. Tsonga has nothing to prove and nothing to lose, which makes him very dangerous indeed.


Daniel Says:

I kind of understand Djokos breathe problem because I had septum device and I operated it. I used to get tired really fast; nowadays I can stay in the court for 3 hours under the sun, even in Brazil, which is pretty close to the AO conditions.
The strange thing is that he operated it, so he probably needs a second surgery which is common, even though I wouldn’t recommend this surgery to none. And maybe he is afraid of having a second one to correct the problem. Just expeculation!


Sean Randall Says:

Did I really go 2-6 in my quarterfinal picks? That’s pretty hard to do. So if you did the opposite I reckon you made out.

As for the SFs, Maria is the clear pick against Jelena and Ana must be the heavy favorite against Daniela.

The men’s is much more interesting.

I give JW Tsonga a real shot against Nadal. The key will be just how well the kid keeps his composure (kid? he’s older than Nadal!) in this stage of a Slam. Nadal will play his game, he’s never lost in a Grand Slam semifinal, so we know what we’ll get. In some ways the match is in Tsonga’s hands. I would lean slightly to Nadal in this case, but I could certainly see the upset.

I don’t see the upset in Djokovic beating Federer. Based on their form coming into the match Djoko is playing much better then Fed. Add that Djoko was very much in the match in US Open and beat the Fed in Canada and you could argue that Djoko should be favored in this one.

But I’ll go against the grain, go against the numbers and go with Fed who has to be sick of hearing about Djokovic. Sure he barely beat Djoko’s countryman Tipsarevic, but he got through. Yes, James Blake broke him three times. But at this stage I expect Fed to raise his level like he did in the semifinals a year ago.


Von Says:

Jane: “One thing about Jo-Wil – I agree that Tsonga is dangerous, not only because of his great game, but because he really has no pressure here; this is like a free ride for him. No bill at the end, only a windfall up the rankings.”

Kash: “…and yea, i agree tsonga has a good attacking game but at some point he will realise the other 124 players have packed their bags up. If nadal even senses a little that tsonga is nervous,…”

That’s why I think he could pull the win off. Coupled with his great game and least amount of pressure = win. Unless, he begins to fantasize about winning and gets himself to daydreaming about holding the trophy, I feel that he is a good pick. Rafa, on the other hand, can give him some problems, the way he runs around. Jo Will does not run as fast as Rafa, so Rafa could have that as an edge. But, Tsonga’s serve could neutralize Rafa and put him in a position of not having too many balls to run down. I think Tsonga has an excellent chance.

If Tsonga does win the semis, whomever is his opponent for the finals could beat him for his lack of experience on the big stage, and as you say Kash he might “blink,” then those dreaful nerves could come into play.

I’d say in many respects I give the edge to Tsonga. Let’s split the spoils, share the wealth, you know what I mean.

Kash: Thanks for the smiley tips.)-


Kash Says:

Von:

Your appraisal of tsonga was more accurate than mine. i thought tsonga could at-best test nadal. he really thrashed him. now i have upgraded him to having 20% shot at winning this title. joker at 50 and fed at 30. i hope you saw the match and loved it. tsonga played tennis muhammad ali would be proud that a look-alike of him has played. totally sick tennis. i think he might have beaten even fed or joker with that kind of form. his form is even scarier than nalby’s at madrid and paris or joker at toronto. almost like fed at the masters cup or nadal on clay. wow! i totally loved the match. i am very sad and concerned for rafa though. he has wasted so many easy draws at aus and us open. he is still a kid, so i guess it is not panic time yet!

and the smileys you got them right in the above post. just make sure you have only : and ) together and absolutely nothing else on either side of them, without a space in between. hope to see a smiley from you in the next post :)


Kash Says:

Jane: You made the right call on lack of pressure making tsonga more dangerous. That is how I saw today’s game. He didn’t even seem to be aware of how big this moment was. That is amazing!

Sean: Great call from you too. Now frame it and throw it at people when they criticize you for always not making your predictions :) I dont mind them, coz I think your style of writing is diff from the usual always praise everybody kind of writing. you genuinely write what you think. now get ready for this. for better/worse I suck at predicting too :D


Von Says:

Kash:

These threads are becoming impossible to keep up with. I posted the following on another thread to Jane as follows:

Well, Tsonga won as we predicted. I had stated that his big serve would neutralize Rafa’s running game because he won’t have too many balls to run after. I was wrong, he annihilated Rafa’s game. He beat him at his own game. Those ridiculous drop shots and volleys = world class.

I think that Fed and Djok are going to have something to think about — how to play this guy, whoever wins their match. The dark horse is now Pegasus, flying through the air. Well, I know for sure the final is going to be action packed. Maybe, a five-setter? Would be absolutely fabulous. I can dream can’t I?

Deviating from the match, I think by now you know how I feel about ESPN. I have come to terms with the fact that they can’t get any worse. Wrong. After the last point was played and they were making their way to the net, at aprox, 5:50 a.m., dear ESPN interrupted the broadcast to do a station check,returned to the match for a second, while the commentators were doing their wrap-up, and interrupted again and reeled off about 6 minutes worth of commercials. I was livid. Is there any logic to this madness. I had to mention it so that my blood pressure would not escalate. Stay tuned for more on ESPN.

As you can our wonderful station has done it again. What dreadful timing. I am practicing my smileys, but I cant get it as yet. I’ll try here and see what happens. I told you I was hopeless, yes, very hopeless. Here goes:)
As you can see, no can do.


Von Says:

Sean Randall:

Sean you owe me one. That famous article you were going to write. I guess you saw the game.

Do you have the ear of anyone at ESPN? That station really gets my dander up. Read the above post from me to Kash and you’ll get an ideaa of what i am talking about:D-


jane Says:

Von,

Go to EPSN’s website; you can complain there.


Von Says:

Jane:

“Go to EPSN’s website; you can complain there.”

Thanks,will do.

Top story: Sinner, Medvedev Roll Into Miami Rematch; Alcaraz v Dimitrov, Women's SF Today