Tomic The Story; Federer, Nadal, Djokovic Breeze; Americans Ousted During Week One At Australian Open

I hope Tomic and Dolgopolov have a healthy rivalry in the future. Their match was a lot of fun to watch. ESPN kept flipping to Del Potro’s match and it was amazing how boring it was compared to the Tomopolov match. The control they have on their slices is amazing and the way they both hit unreasonably flat is just astounding. I love it. But Dolgopolov needs to up his first serve percentage big time. As for Tomic, his only real weakness is his movement but it’s not all that bad for a big guy and his anticipation hides it well.

I think Federer will be too much for Tomic at the moment though, especially after playing so much tennis already.

January 20th, 2012 at 5:37 pm

The Tomic/Dolgopolov match was pure fun. Ben says:”Dolgopolov needs to up his first serve percentage big time”. Just a hunch – but I suspect he can’t. It’s an incredibly eccentric action, and you just get this feeling, sometimes he gets it in, sometimes he doesn’t, and nobody knows when, least of all Dolgopolov. When it comes off, it’s damn near unplayable. Unfortunately, that comes at a heavy price. About Tomic’s movement – apparently the Aussie senior pros would all shake their heads when considering Tomic’s prospects. “The boy can’t move”, they’d murmur into their beers. But he is rectifying this, something to do with “growing into his body” as they say, for he’s only 19. There was one shot in particular I remember when Tomic contemplated smashing a Dogopolov lob, decided against, raced back, turned and went for a winner – not just a hopeful put back. he missed, but not by all that much and I thought he looked quite fast.

“Like Djokovic, he’s had a cushy draw ” -referring to Murray. He’s only had 2 matches, the first of which was against talented Harrison, who took the first set. How can you possibly say he’s had a cushy draw on this basis? And now it gets tricky.

Nadal, as always it seems, is the one who has a truly cushy draw. Three nobodies, and now Lopez who defers to him, and after that perhaps Berdych who long stopped posing a threat to Nadal – noone at all, really, till the semi. And if that’s Federer…..

Of course, you can argue that Nadal CAN’T have a difficult draw, he’s just too good. But that’s not quite true. Tomic could trouble him, as could Monfils and certainly Tsonga is far more dangerous to him than Berdych. But the real key is del Potro. If he’s really running into true form, then he is immensely dangerous – and whose quarter is he in? Not Nadal’s.

Most people seem to think a Nadal/Djokovic final is the most likely. Be interesting to see what role fitness plays in such a contest.

January 20th, 2012 at 7:01 pm

“Three nobodies” – sorry, what can I have been thinking of? Two nobodies and a has been.

January 20th, 2012 at 7:29 pm

petra is clicking today, pure demolition of kirilenko in this first set. mind you, kirilenko is not playing bad.

kirilenko game seem to give petra lots of rhythm, unlike suarez navarro who had lots of variety.

January 20th, 2012 at 7:38 pm

hmm, kirilenko retires. thigh injury but petra was superb today, even if kirilenko was 100% she would have had no chance.

congrats to petra. it will start to get tougher from here.

January 20th, 2012 at 7:52 pm

Congrats Kvitova….Hitting winners right n left

January 20th, 2012 at 8:18 pm

As for Tomic, his only real weakness is his movement but it’s not all that bad for a big guy and his anticipation hides it well.
—
Your Humble Highness feels that Mr. Tommy Boy needs to hide his arrogance. He has accomplished nothing worth mentioning in his career but he talks like The Arrogant One (I have a plan, I can beat him, etc..). In my Humble Opinion, that is not very helpful for a young man. It messes with your head, as Lady Forehand will tell you.

Be humble like Your Highness and he will do well.

January 20th, 2012 at 8:26 pm

Grendel such a pathetic fan you are!. At Wimbledon last year did not have to face Del Potro, Fish, Murray and Djokovic. At the French Open against Soderling, Murray and Federer. All these players are nobody, no. Last year it faced in the third round Tomic, Cilic in the fourth round, before his unfortunate injury against Ferrer, of course, possible quarterfinal opponent of Djokovic. What we always pathetic fans like you is Nadal’s rivals are all maimed and those of others, especially Federer, are all tough opponents, please give me a break. Karlovic was rival of Nadal two years ago. It was a match of 4 sets, as may have been the Federer match yesterday. As a blind fan from Federer, you wish Nadal will play against opponent possibly most dangerous rivals as Tsonga, Del Potro, well, are just speculations. Today the only opponent who can beat the best of 5 sets to Spaniard is the Serbian, others are possibly nobodies like you disrespectfully you call low-ranking tennis players. There are none so blind as those who will not see the obvious.

January 20th, 2012 at 8:32 pm

Kvitova’s toughest opponent in the quarter was Suarez Navarro for sure. A linear power player like Ivanovic, who’s all forehand, has nothing to hurt her with.

Theoretically Bartoli could trouble her, but except for that she’s probably going to be in the QFs.

The two players who could cause Kvitova problems are Serena and Clijsters. Clijsters, because she moves so well (and moves the ball well too), and Serena, well, because she’s Serena. She won’t have to deal with Serena until the semis, and Clijsters is in the other half.

Serena’s condition is a cipher, but she has won this tournament as an unseeded player before, so I wouldn’t count her out.

January 20th, 2012 at 8:36 pm

“The boy can’t move” nicely said and it is going to get worst with his boulky body. John McEnroe, if someone reads between the lines, was of similar opinion last night. For difference of Wally Masur and Pat Cash, he was pretty cautios about Tomic future, basically wait and we will see.
And yes, he laied at press conference about challenge and wasn’t even covincing. But he got away with that thanks to umpire not looking his way, so couldn’t see.

January 20th, 2012 at 8:43 pm

Tomic walks flat footed like a duck or a penguin with his feet pointing out at an angle. Ljubicic walks the same way. I don’t recall any fast tennis players that walk like that. It doesn’t appear very ergonomic. Would you want to drive a car with the wheels angled out? Djokovic, Nadal, Federer, and Murray all walk with their feet pointing straight forward.

January 20th, 2012 at 9:05 pm

“I know sort of a way to sort of play him in a way”
:-)))

January 20th, 2012 at 9:10 pm

It looks like girls are doing favor to Novak so he can play his match earlier, like two days ago :)
Good girls :)

January 20th, 2012 at 9:18 pm

Steve 27

This is how Rafa won the ’10 USO. Beating Verdasco then Youzny to get to the final. Before that in the draw? LMAO. Haha friggin ha. Tough enough for you?

That said, the way I see it, your seeded # 1 you should get the easier draw. You notice there is no complaining when Rafa or Fed was seeded #1 from there fans of a tough draw. If anyone should be complaining the last few years it should be Novak, his historical draws for a top guy was tough, but the #3 seed usually gets the toughest draw, for obvious reasons.

January 20th, 2012 at 9:35 pm

Nadal had a brutal draw in Wimbledon last year. And he got to the final. He had a tough draw at the French. He was seeeded number one for both those events. Yes, USO 2010 he had an easy draw. But look back at Wimbledon 2011, where he was the number one seed, he had Raonic slated for the third until he got injured, delpo in the 4th, Fish but was seeded for Berdych (the finalist of the previous year) Murray, and then the Djokovic. Murray/Djokovic/Fed didn’t have nearly as tough a draw. And the French he got Soderling in the quarters, two time finalist. Murray had Chela, which would be a great 3rd round match, Djokovic had no one, but if he had it would have been Fognini and Federer had Monfils. Hello????!!!!!!

But listen, they all get good draws and bad draws. Murray has an awful draw this time, an awful draw last year here, and many brutal draws. I remember 2010 Djokovic’s Wimbledon draw was so bad that I started laughing when i saw it, it was like from 4th round on Hewitt (who had just won Halle), Roddick (previous year finalist), Federer (6 time champ), Rafa. Then he beat Hewitt, roddick no showed and lost to lu, fed no showed and lost to Berdych, and then he lost to berdych. But my point is each of them have had a “cupcake” and each of them have had a “brutal” draw. And sometimes the draw the looks brutal suddenly opens up with no shows so you never know.

January 20th, 2012 at 10:12 pm

“But listen, they all get good draws and bad draws.”

That’s true Kimberly. :)

January 20th, 2012 at 10:28 pm

Kimberley, I bow to your knowledge. My memory was selctive – as usual!

January 20th, 2012 at 10:29 pm

djokovic is very good but his matches are becoming boring. seriously, is he so good or his opponents are so bad?

January 20th, 2012 at 10:40 pm

i don’t know kimmi, but i wish they would switch to another match or mahut would just retire and save us the next 12 or so games of waiting to watch a better match. Sorry Nole fans. I guess on the other hand if it was fed (for you) or rafa (for me) we might find it enjoyable to watch?

January 20th, 2012 at 10:49 pm

at least mahut got a game. However, I fully expect milos if he gets by hewitt to get at least 4 games per set for at least two sets. Maybe even a tiebreak. If serve works very well maybe even one set max in a tiebreak. But the party ends there. Although who knows. Maybe another bagel bagel breadstick combo.

January 20th, 2012 at 10:53 pm

Kimmi, I’d say it’s a combo of both. The Giraldo was a little more competitive, as Giraldo is younger, the same age as Nole, and he is ranked 54, a pretty decent player methinks. Meanwhile, Mahut is 30 today and he’s injured, plus Nole is serving well, etc. Even I am wandering out of the room occasionally. It’s difficult to watch a player who’s injured. I remember when Nole was beating Berloq in a lopsided match at the USO, it was still fun to watch imo because Berloq kept getting into rallies and playing some good points. But Mahut seems kaput.

January 20th, 2012 at 10:56 pm

bartoli about to go out.

January 20th, 2012 at 11:05 pm

Tsonga looked good even if weak opponent. But I’m thinking whoever beats will know he’s been in a match. He’s running into top form. One backhand of his comes to mind. Right from the corner of the lefthand court – the position was such you would have expected a defensive shot – he drove the ball with great power cross court. It wasn’t a winner, but it was demonstrative of his strength, comparable to Becker’s – the obvious difference being that whilst Becker had a one handed bh, Tsonga seems these days almost equally at home with both.

I like steve-o’s comments on Kvitova. Didn’t catch her today, but she was pretty woeful against Suarez – did stick it out, though. Sharapova was impressive, although 6-1 6-2 against Krebe didn’t tell the whole story. Up to 2-0 in the 2nd set, Sharapova was imperious. And her first serve percentage phenomenal, I think 80% at one stage, and only one double fault thru the entire match. Krebe, who had been exuding misery, bafflement and a general wish to be elsewhere, suddenly came to life at 0-2, and fought three closely contested games, two of them very long. It looked to be a match, and Sharapova started looking just a little bit iffy. First serves were still going in, but they were short. Mistakes crept in, and Krebe started to look remarkably Germanic. And then as unexpectedly as the tap had been turned on, the flow ceased and the match ended as it had begun, a bit of a display from Sharapova and not much else. On this form, Sharapova could give Serena a battle.

January 20th, 2012 at 11:05 pm

Interesting stat, over the last 4 years the player who begin the year as #1 didn’t finish as so:

– 2008 Fed – Nadal
– 2009 Nadal – Fed
– 2010 Fed – Nadal
– 2011 Nadal – Djoko
– 2012 Djoko – ????

January 20th, 2012 at 11:05 pm

“On this form, Sharapova could give Serena a battle.” grendel, this is so encouraging to hear; I hope you’re right. I’ve not been able to see any of her matches, but the scorelines have looked great.

What about Gasquet too? Is he finding form? Again, I haven’t seen him play, but it seems like he’s been slowly and steadily making his way through. In which quarter is he?

January 20th, 2012 at 11:08 pm

zheng is a tricky player. once she is in the rally she moves the ball well. somehow the two handed on both side from bartoli seem to restricting her from reaching lots of balls.

Draw opens up for petra. she has ivanovic next who could be tough.

Zvonareva is also out, though i dont think she would have given serena any trouble. she does not have a good form for some reason.

January 20th, 2012 at 11:10 pm

@Daniel:

– 2012 DJOKO – DJOKO

January 20th, 2012 at 11:11 pm

http://eurosport.yahoo.com/tennis/
Bizarre photo of Djokovic – at first glance, I thought, who is this old man?

January 20th, 2012 at 11:11 pm

Jane, Gasquet is playing Tipsy right now and he up 5 : 2 :(

January 20th, 2012 at 11:14 pm

I just don’t think sharapova will give Serena a battle. I already feel defeated on this match assuming it happens. Sorry but Maria’s had pace does nothing to bother Serena who can hit it back harder and heavier. Anything Maria can do Serena can do better and so much more variety. I don’t think Ivan bear to watch that match if it happens. Bartoli gone, zvonereva gone they said.

January 20th, 2012 at 11:14 pm

lol grende. unlike federer who looks very relaxed when hitting his BH slice. lots of other players dont really look good when hitting the ball. This photo is not too bad.

January 20th, 2012 at 11:16 pm

I hope Gasquet wins. He’s way hotter than tipsy I would rather watch him for another match or two

January 20th, 2012 at 11:20 pm

too much baking from nole today.

January 20th, 2012 at 11:21 pm

sharapova could surprise you kimberly. serena has not looked unbeatable either..

January 20th, 2012 at 11:24 pm

Happy Birthday mahut!!

January 20th, 2012 at 11:25 pm

Kimberly, the way it is going at the moment your wish might come true.

January 20th, 2012 at 11:29 pm

True, if Serena is on song, there’s not much Sharapova can do about it. But if she’s even a little bit off, she is vulnerable to people playing blinders, as we saw at the US. And I suspect Sharapova is in the right shape to play a blinder. Meanwhile, apart from the usual great ground strokes – which have on occasion certainly tested Serena – there were two wonderful instinctive shots which will linger in my memory.One was a half-volley lob, from way back, perfectly placed. The other was a whistling bh winner taken very low down. But the main thing is, the serve looked pretty safe – gutsy, really, given the history.

January 20th, 2012 at 11:30 pm

Kimmi—-Serena looked horrible in Australian open 2007, right until she met Maria in the final that barely got started before it ended, Serena has a history of looking shaky and then boom, all of a sudden she goes in that unbeatable Serena zone,

January 20th, 2012 at 11:31 pm

@K,

Well I don’t agree Rafa’s draw was “Brutal” last year, but more like “normal”. He actually had someone to play before a qtr final or semi for once that year compared to 2010.

That said, me stands by my comment that a #1 seed deserves a privileged spot in the draw, they earned it. And Rafa, when #1, duly deserved his position in the draws, just like Djoker, just like Fed.

January 20th, 2012 at 11:33 pm

Ha ha, Maria gave a great interview. I’d love to see her ironing.

January 20th, 2012 at 11:33 pm

Sharapova hit one drive volley, and they did a slow motion replay, and as she hit the ball, her eyes were closed. Is that normal?

January 20th, 2012 at 11:33 pm

I like Serena sharapova matches about the same as I like djokovic nadal matches

January 20th, 2012 at 11:34 pm

^ LOL grendel. Maybe you’re being serious, but that read hilariously.

January 20th, 2012 at 11:35 pm

so boring matches today….Missing Fedal..

January 20th, 2012 at 11:38 pm

Skeetz, Wimbledon 2010 he played soderling in the quarters, ao 2010 he had Murray in the quarters (which he lost/retired but would have lost) they all get good draws and bad draws

January 20th, 2012 at 11:38 pm

Three matches, 10 games lost. Out of 64…

Not bad.

Classy from Mahut to play till the very end and happy birthday to him, of course.

Nole, you look ominous. Stop intimidate people.

Good night all.

January 20th, 2012 at 11:38 pm

Ugly match with lisicki and kuznetsova.

January 20th, 2012 at 11:45 pm

will turn on gasquet vs tipsa match. i bet it is interesting.

January 20th, 2012 at 11:47 pm

Pay attention, when Ana serves she closes her eyes, no wonder she is missing.

January 20th, 2012 at 11:55 pm

Lisicki is making a nice comeback, that lob was fabulous.

January 20th, 2012 at 11:57 pm

Yeah just saying his draws overall in 2011 imho weren’t brutal and he did not produce,,,,,,so( well wait a sec…he did get to a heck finals )? You are right you get good ones and bad ones…and who whoever wins the title, well that is all that matters. And with that…I do not disagree. Same applies to the all others. My point in the beginning of commenting, was, well, you get #1 seed, you must have earned it, and with that comes privileges in when the draw is made. You know, you have played tourneys. that darn # 1 seed gets byes, etc, and doesn’t play anyone worth squat until much later.

BTW…I like Skeetz….tx ;). Second BTW, Heat beat LA Stinkers without Wade…..gotta feel good.

January 20th, 2012 at 11:58 pm

Set point lisicki for one a piece.

Wog boy, richardnhas blown two set leads before.

January 20th, 2012 at 11:58 pm

Rafa had a tough draw at Wimbledon and the French (which last time I checked he did win). He had an easy draw at the us open for the second year in a row but bad luck in landing in the section that had to play several consecutive days due to the rain. But in the end that benefited him against Murray as Murray had a tougher match against isner than rafa did against roddick who had a tougher match against ferrer than rafa did against mueller. So did it hurt him against novak, no none of those matches were as taxing as novaks match against federal so it all evens out in the end, this one has a tough draw, this one has too many walkovers and loses rythym, this one had a tough match…..it all evens out. And I will state fornthebrecord, in general rafas draws are not easier than anyone else’s or harder if you span the years, not cherry pick a few particular tournaments,

January 21st, 2012 at 12:09 am

Wow, Gasquet is cruising. Ferrer has a good record versus him, but you never know. They’ve not played since 09.

January 21st, 2012 at 12:16 am

K,

Ok your argument bodes well.

Darth Vader; “impressive!” ( breathing sounds before and after )

January 21st, 2012 at 12:26 am

Gasquet ferrer could go either way

January 21st, 2012 at 12:30 am

Monfils dropped the 1st set and looks very woozy. Trainer called. Not looking good for him.

January 21st, 2012 at 1:20 am

I was just coming on here to see what’s up with La Monf. Did they say why the trainer was called racquet?

January 21st, 2012 at 1:22 am

No explanation, but he had to leave court for treatment.

January 21st, 2012 at 1:29 am

One commentator just said that it’s something with his lower back. Overheard trainer saying he needs to hang on until painkillers kick in. His movement is certainly hampered.

January 21st, 2012 at 1:50 am

This match has run the gamut from Greek tradegy to French farce. The crowd are willing Monfils on with every shot. You get the feeling that he’s only continuing because he doesn’t want to let them down.

January 21st, 2012 at 2:40 am

Morning everyone :) Perfect time for Andy’s match :)
Monfils looking slow and injured? :(
Watching Nishikori too. Isn’t he a pocketful of delight :) So good at the net too :)
S Green hi! Wanted to say how much I like Suarez-Navarro also. What a beautiful backhand she has :) Bummer about all the injuries :(

January 21st, 2012 at 2:45 am

Do the clowns running the Aus Open know that their real time scoring on the website is screwed up…and has been for a few days. People don’t live in caves anymore.

January 21st, 2012 at 2:56 am

Morning. Ready for some serve/volley and brilliant passing shots?

January 21st, 2012 at 2:56 am

I have full faith in gasquet to take down djokovic =D, (not really, he’ll probably lose to ferrer in 5 after going up 2-0, but i can dream)

January 21st, 2012 at 2:58 am

Many people, here and elsewhere, take one of two polarized positions:

1: We don’t know the future so nobody can’t tell who is going to win AO.

2: You can’t live without thinking or preparing of the future so I’m 100% sure Novak will. Haven’t you seen how he is playing? Or Federer’s days of winning slams are over. Mark my words!

Is it really that hard to grasp that you can make predictions based on what you have without this crazy sense of absolute knowledge? Is it some sort of teenage-like desire to prove oneself and impress others?

This should be evident by itself without examples. But what if there is a million example in history of predictions of things much more important than tennis that were made so surely and then proven utterly wrong?!

Even in tennis examples are been twisted and ignored… and at times unexplicably sided. Steve 27 says that Agassi and Roswell are big exceptions. So why can’t Federer be one?!

Another: Tell anybody late 2010 about how dominant Djokovic would be. What?! That guy?! He should be lucky to win a slam, may be AO since he won it before. But let him meat Nadal at clay and he will be routed.

Humble Rafa gives rationale for why no slam no longer suits Federer, forgetting that these reasons were used inversely against Nadal few years ago and why he probably wouldn’t win any slam outside clay. And don’t tell me Nadal was on his way up unlike Federer now. I started watching tennis intermittently since 2008 or 2009 until I became more of a full-time fan and that’s because of Federer. Even in these couple years, if you haven’t seen Federer adapt to age and refine his style to keep competing, then you should revise yourself.

Make predictions all you want. You may be right, but just don’t be so “….” sure!

Sorry for the looong post but it had to come out.

January 21st, 2012 at 3:12 am

Corrections:
on clay
any longer.

January 21st, 2012 at 3:16 am

1st set to Murray. Playing like a dream on the whole. Monfils making one of his unlikely comebacks in the 5th.

January 21st, 2012 at 3:58 am

Really nice match. Gotta say Andy looking awesome and highly focused. Hasn’t glared at his box once, ITT highly scary, I guess.
Yes, bit of a miracle going on for Monfils..;) But K awful at finishing.

January 21st, 2012 at 4:07 am

Kukushkin scrapes past Monfils.

January 21st, 2012 at 4:25 am

Meanwhile Andy marches on 4-2 in the 2nd. Liking the his stats so far: 34 winners, 8 UFEs, 72% 1st serve, 13/15 at the net.

January 21st, 2012 at 4:28 am

Stunning rallies, including an outrageous one to win the 2nd set.

January 21st, 2012 at 4:37 am

Something wasn’t right in this match, Kukushkin and Monfils. Something is fishy, as commentator said and I agree ” we were taken for a ride in this match”. Officials should have a good look at this one.

January 21st, 2012 at 4:39 am

Murray through in 3 clinical but highly entertaining sets. Wish it had gone on a little longer.

Now let’s see how Rusty is dealing with Raonic.

January 21st, 2012 at 5:05 am

Epsilon – “Agassi and Roswell”? I didn’t know the little green men played tennis!

January 21st, 2012 at 5:28 am

Very entertaining first two sets.
Awesome from Andy, boy was he moving well. Gr9 court side interview too.
Can the Ivan effect be working already?

January 21st, 2012 at 5:28 am

i agree with kimmi and kimberly,jan 20th 10.40pm and 10.49pm,a combination of both,djokovic looks very good yeah,but the matches have been dismally one sided,yawn hope his next opponent,can give him more of a test,at least rafa,roger and andys games have been competitive,but so far djokovics games have been very dull,sorry jane and the rest of noles fans.

January 21st, 2012 at 5:29 am

margot andy looks like hes really enjoying himself out there,and yeah a great interview,and a great cometitive match,played in such great spirit,and i have to say im feeling very positive about this year for our guy,if not here somewhere this year i would put money on him winning a slam,go andy.

January 21st, 2012 at 5:37 am

^^Gr9 court side interview too

Loved the comment about getting hammered.

January 21st, 2012 at 5:42 am

alison, he looked so happy and pumped up in the court side interview,wasn’t that good to see? Such an entertaining first two sets. Lovely shots and tricks from both. Such fun!
Didn’t see Monfils match? Wog boy, what is prob?

January 21st, 2012 at 5:49 am

racquet, as he doesn’t drink, must’ve been an example of dry humour, which interviewer of course, did not get!

January 21st, 2012 at 5:50 am

Raonic can’t keep the ball in play.

January 21st, 2012 at 5:52 am

margot must be ivans influence lol, yeah great match,great fun i think we are looking at a new andy,bring it on.

January 21st, 2012 at 5:53 am

Colin:
:)
Sorry. Was reading about it a couple a days ago. Must have been lurking somewhere in my head.

Thanks!

January 21st, 2012 at 6:01 am

Margot, nothing looked genuine, to put it plainly. I wish I can tell you in Serbian, it would be much eaisier to find the words. So many wierd things happened, it looked like Monfils didn’t want to win, even his double fault to finish the match was miles away, he was sort of pumping himself up but didn’t look genuine, Russian was behaving wierd. Monfils could retire if he was injured, I had feeling he could win a match if he wanted. This is GS and deserves more respect. Anyway that is how I saw it, maybe I sm not right but commentator was harsher.

January 21st, 2012 at 6:22 am

Hewitt making me eating my words.

January 21st, 2012 at 6:59 am

Tomic is playing good but I don’t think so he has the gams as of now to defeat Federer. Federer is looking in good form and has already defeated Tomic once before in Australia. Infact if we look at their game analysis so far in AO,Federer is playing better than Tomic ( Federer vs. Tomic: Clash of Two Generations? http://bit.ly/AysC9T)

January 21st, 2012 at 7:14 am

Wog boy – Monfils had a back injury.Kukushkin should have wrapped it up earlier, but he froze. Monfils was doing little more than keeping the ball in play. As the match continued, he seemed to loosen up a bit – but, you know – backs. There’s always that fear.

For Murray fans, Frew Macmillan had this to say at the beginning of the third set, having first pointed out that Murray had 30 winners (18 on the bh), Llodra only 3: “maybe it [the huge winner toll]is a sign that Murray has rediscovered that real potency on the bh. I thought that really for much of the latter part of last year Murray’s forehand was actually the telling factor in his ground strokes, whereas his backhand always used to be considered, certainly by me, as just about the best there was”.

The 3rd set was exhibition stuff since Llodra has never come back from 2 sets down, and is not going to reverse such a record at the age of 31, against Murray of all people. His mind was already, in Frew’s mind, focused on his doubles, which he now took very seriously. Since the name of Ivan Lendl had come up – would he approve of Murray’s Santorian jinks – and Macmillan remarked that he once had to pull up Lendl in a doubles match at Queens. Macmillan, as one of the greatest ever doubles players, took doubles pretty seriously, and he took exception to Lendl pratting about. Macmillan seemed sceptical of Lendl’s repute for dry humour – he himself is a lovely exponent of it – and pointed out that what Lendl found killingly funny was hitting another player with the ball, preferably as hard as possible. Personally, I don’t think the dry and the burlesque are mutually exclusive. Necessarily.

Kimberley – you make your point again, and again with eloquence (and forebearance for those of us with slanted eyes…) Even so, I’d like to try this one out. I have no evidence, no pile of statistics to point to, only a memory programed to be selective. I’ll throw this one your way, for what it is worth. In my instinctive perception (possibly wishful thinking as one poster pointed out just before the start of this tourney) that Nadal tends to get the easy draws, I tend to discount the French and Wimbledon. That’s because, until the sudden advent of Djokovic Superstar, I tended to regard those two tourneys as Nadal’s for the taking, and so it hardly mattered what draws he got. It was the US and the AO – somehow, he seemed usually to get an easy ride. And by the way, a further thought occurs. If Murray continues to look this good, it might begin to seem that the real threat to Djokovic will be Murray and not Nadal. And yet, for once, Nadal is drawn against Federer, whom he hardly knows how to lose against in 5, and he can only play one out of Murray and Djokovic.

This is how we of the prejudiced brigade tend to think. We ignore balance, and look resolutely on the dark side.

January 21st, 2012 at 10:23 am

Grendel, lets say that commentator influenced me too much….but still….hmmmmm….i don’t know???

January 21st, 2012 at 5:46 pm

Yes, prejudiced brigade, indeed, grendel! Everyone is always harping on Fed being in Novak’s half of the draw, and now that he’s in Rafa’s that is problematic as well??? I will not deny that Rafa has sometimes gotten easy draws, but I think some people would only be satisfied if he had to beat the rest of the top 10 to win a slam!

January 21st, 2012 at 8:49 pm

Jez people your comments r so retarded.

January 22nd, 2012 at 12:02 am

“Everyone is always harping on Fed being in Novak’s half of the draw, and now that he’s in Rafa’s that is problematic as well??? ” Ah, but Lulu, they are different sets of people. The first lot are Djokovic fans who are convinced there has been an international conspiracy on the part of tennis federations all around the world (headquarters – Mars). The second lot are some prejudiced Federer fans – like me! Actually, in a way, I’m glad Federer might meet Nadal in the semi, because I think he has a better chance of beating him there than in the final.

January 22nd, 2012 at 3:39 pm