Former Champions Federer, Nadal, Sharapova Headline Day 1 At Australian Open

Dimitrov of to a good start so far winning first set 6-2.

January 18th, 2015 at 7:40 pm

Dimitrov had a clean win 6-2, 6-3, 6-2. Hope he find his best form fro a cracker against Murray.

This Slam doesn’t seems like we’ll saw upsets so the more the seeds go through the better for exciting later rounds.

January 18th, 2015 at 8:45 pm

So yuki breaks murray in the 3rd set. :)
Nice to see another Indian apart from somdev who is making a move. Winning a set( if he do) against someone like murray would be a great booster for his Carrier.

Meanwhile, Rafa is on court. Game on

January 18th, 2015 at 10:47 pm

Nadal lost first 5 points than one an excellent rally and is totally in now, 2 FH DTL winners already.

January 18th, 2015 at 10:55 pm

Hsun Lu is a tough customer to negotiate especially in your first round. He has many upsets to his credit in the past and it is going to be tricky. But Roger should come through.

The interesting match of the day is ofcourse between Nadal and Youzhny and it should give us an indication of the kind of form he is in and also his fitness levels especially in a five set match. Youzhny has beaten Rafa in the past and he has a game to trouble him like Davydenko. His back hand is breath taking and is precariously close to the expertise of Wawarinka. And so Rafa cannot take this easy even though his opponent is past by sell date.

January 18th, 2015 at 10:57 pm

A lot of FH winners by Youzhny, but Nadal seems hitting the ball way better than Doha.

January 18th, 2015 at 10:58 pm

Some scary good shot making by rafa and youzhny. Loving this encounter.
Youzhny leads rafa by 2-1. 1st set

January 18th, 2015 at 10:59 pm

Nadal converted third BP and is now serving 3-2. He is playing very good so far and seems will run away with this set.

Starting to think that he is in for this title as well. the courts not as fast as Doha and is a different game. He seems like the Nadal of old.

January 18th, 2015 at 11:10 pm

Rafa is playing amazing tennis right now.
Leads 3-2

January 18th, 2015 at 11:10 pm

Youzhny had a BP 3-40 but Nadal saved with excellent points and an ace to close the game, 4-2. His serve is way better today with a lot of variation from Nadal.

January 18th, 2015 at 11:15 pm

So here we are, Murray vs Yoki 3rd set tiebreaker.

January 18th, 2015 at 11:15 pm

Murray through in straight sets

January 18th, 2015 at 11:22 pm

Well, so much for any drama. Nadal broke again when Youzhny was 30-0 to win first set. Expect rest of the match to be deluxe practice and Nadal to sail through the draw now until Berdych match and there only if Berdych decides to have the match of his life. Apart from it, Nadal in the semis waiting Fed or Murray or Dimitrov.

January 18th, 2015 at 11:25 pm

nadal looks totally fine so far…
murray looked solid, too, from what i saw.

January 18th, 2015 at 11:26 pm

Youzhny lost 12 points in a row now, 4 to lose first set and 8 this set. Nadal to win pretty fast now.

Only concern for him is if he will be tested in a long match or not for us to evaluate his fitness level.

January 18th, 2015 at 11:34 pm

Damm, 16-0 for Nadal in last 16 points, Youzhny haven’t won a point second set so far.

January 18th, 2015 at 11:36 pm

“Would be lying if I say I feel that I am ready to win today. I don’t feel myself ready to win the tournament here today”

Never doubted FakoNadal chances here..His history here speaks for itself He has alway done well here…one of his best HC chances. Trying to downplay his chances due to this or that is all BS. If he entered, he is here to win. No more camouflage BS.
When he didn’t draw a QF the first Rd…well you had to like his chances….

January 19th, 2015 at 12:14 am

“Would be lying if I say I feel that I am ready to win today. I don’t feel myself ready to win the tournament here today”

Never doubted FakoNadal chances here..His history here speaks for itself He has alway done well here…one of his best HC chances. Trying to downplay his chances due to this or that is all BS. If he entered, he is here to win. No more camouflage BS.
When he didn’t draw a QF the first Rd…well you had to like his chances….

January 19th, 2015 at 12:14 am

Rafa is playing Scary good.
Certainly one of the favorites to win this tourney

January 19th, 2015 at 12:15 am

That ROAR by youhzny tells everything about the match and how difficult it is for him to stay with rafa.

January 19th, 2015 at 12:18 am

WOW.. What a game by youzhny. 3 huge ROARS in a row.

January 19th, 2015 at 12:22 am

This court is playing like Philip chatrier court of roland garros. Rafa is defending like he do in that court.
You can see how incredibly difficult for a player like youzhny to just win a point against him.
Lets see how much fight youzhny has left in him before he gives up.

January 19th, 2015 at 12:26 am

Rafa breaks. 4-2

January 19th, 2015 at 12:29 am

WOW
Rafa wins in style.
Its like he is saying ” Beware, I am back”.

Lets see how Roger fares in his first match. :)

January 19th, 2015 at 12:39 am

Vamos Rafa!

January 19th, 2015 at 1:28 am

One down!
Come on Andy!
Said court playing quicker than he expected.

January 19th, 2015 at 1:44 am

Rafa was great. Granted, Misha didn’t play good at all but nevertheless, Rafa really impressed me.

Andy still needs to sharpen up his game. He won in 3 but it wasn’t easy.

Eager to see Nole tomorrow. Idemo! ;)

January 19th, 2015 at 2:00 am

Danica, probable reasons: qualifiers frequently play well above their pay grade, has been ranked much higher, Andy has never played him b4.
See a couple of female seeds have fallen already- Ana being one :(

January 19th, 2015 at 2:22 am

Speaking of getting sick, Kristina McHale threw up twice and it was a lot…..but she is still playing on!!

January 19th, 2015 at 2:32 am

Fed is spreading magic all over the court. Just loving it
2 sets to up already

January 19th, 2015 at 4:16 am

Outside the net backhand winner. That was breathtaking by fed.

January 19th, 2015 at 4:18 am

Meanwhile, Sam groth is through as well.

January 19th, 2015 at 4:19 am

Federer is sparkling, nice shorts..

January 19th, 2015 at 4:26 am

Nole is playing day match, they put Hewitt / Ze Zhang in the evening, prime time..

January 19th, 2015 at 4:30 am

Pretty excited to see hewitt in action again. He is a darling of Aussie’s and rightly so. A fierce competitor and an underrated grandslam champion

January 19th, 2015 at 4:38 am

Lu is fighting hard.

January 19th, 2015 at 4:39 am

Troicki through to next round. Keep it up Viktor.

January 19th, 2015 at 4:51 am

Actually, I think Roger is a bit flat in the third.

January 19th, 2015 at 4:52 am

Fed is misfiring a lot of forehands.
Lu lead 5-4

January 19th, 2015 at 4:54 am

Fed breaks

January 19th, 2015 at 4:59 am

Solid win by Roger.
6 more to go :)

January 19th, 2015 at 5:03 am

Out of the two matches, Rafa and Roger ones, Rafa impressed me more, Rafa is the man to beat. I didn’t expect anything less from him, he is on the mission to win double career slam.

January 19th, 2015 at 5:20 am

yes well of course you are capable of stating that, since you know exactly how youznhy and Lu compaire to eachother in this point of time in their career.

But fair enough Nadal has walked the walk. He wont do the talk and is #1 favorite for title with Djoker comming out of morning sickness.

January 19th, 2015 at 5:44 am

What impressed me on the first day was Rafa’s exhilirating performance. With such a clinical execution and emphatic & authoritative display, Rafa has signalled to the Tennis World that he is back and that too with a bang. Those who have seen Youzhny play know that he is no push over and is infact a challenging opponent. But, Rafa didn’t show any cracks in his game which is bound to afflict when you have a long lay off and he managed to reproduce his error free Tennis with that monstrous forehand doing the fire works. Youzhny just had no answer to Rafa’s belligerence.

January 19th, 2015 at 5:51 am

Didn’t see Roger match but Murray eas great for 2 sets, didn’t see the third either.
What impressed me most about Nadal
Was his return game, a lot of balls back in play and some insane DTL return winners as well. He eas very agressive and indeed this courr allowed him to play his best. Rosol and Anderson advanced (but losing sets), let’s see how he will fare against big serves as Youzhny serve wasn’t bothering Rafa at all. This brings more excitment as he started with a bang.

January 19th, 2015 at 7:28 am

The two most explosive players in the tourney are out: bye bye Kyrgios and Gulbis, don’t forget to pack up your bags of talent.

Was there anyone in the world who thought Kyrgios was clever for taking so much time off the tour just at the moment he was breaking through?

January 19th, 2015 at 7:33 am

With Monfils, Tsonga, Cilic and Del Potro out before we began, and Gulbis and Kyrgios packing up today, this tournament is decidedly low on firepower.

Berdych and Milos, you better carry the Heavyweight torch!

January 19th, 2015 at 7:35 am

Who said Kyrgios is out? He is still playing and leading in the 5th set!!!

January 19th, 2015 at 7:54 am

Kyrgios is not out, he just broke Delbonis.

The real story is Kokkunakis, forget Tomic, forget Kyrgyis, new Aussie hero is Kokkinakis just 18 years of age. He did lap of honor at the end, people went crazy, it was like a football match. I couldn’t get in, it was full house with groundpasses, so ended up watching on the big screen in the park and didn’t regret. The star is born.

January 19th, 2015 at 7:56 am

Wog Boy, thanks for correcting me I must have looked at the wrong score. I hope he can get back in form. What’s Kokkanis’ game like? I’ve never heard of him. Who does he get next?

January 19th, 2015 at 8:17 am

@Wog Boy
I saw a bit of that match and I too was very impressed. Kkk has a gr8 all round game, comes forward when possible and is very fast round the court.
Mind you, Gulbis is such a head case……;)

January 19th, 2015 at 8:25 am

TV, He is playing Groth, big server. Margot said it in a few words what kind of player Kokkinakis is, pretty much agree. What I like about him, he doesn’t act like Tomic and Kyrgios, nice manners. I saw him first time two years ago when he played Nole in Perth as replacement, I forgot whose, it was just for a fun. He was 16 years old kid impressed to be in a company and play with Nole. He still has the same manners and he should keep it that way. The reason why I can’t warm up to Tomic and now Kyrgios is their personality, but that’s me. This kid, Kokkinakis is different, I hope I am not wrong.

January 19th, 2015 at 8:36 am

Nadal’s last six losses with just eight wins since the French Open came against players ranked 127, 124,21,56, 144 and 85.

What was he thinking saying that he wasn’t one of the favourites this year? The gall.

Reading between the lines regarding Nadal, it seems one or two Fedfans are getting quite concerned already. Such a faker indeed.

(mew)

January 19th, 2015 at 8:37 am

@Margot, I didn’t have a chance to meet Andy today, I’ll try tomorrow on one of practice courts, to meet him and hug him for you.

January 19th, 2015 at 8:41 am

As far as those talking up Youzhny as a challenge, he himself was on a four match losing skid since last October losing to players ranked 171, 31, 58 and 74.

January 19th, 2015 at 8:41 am

@Wog Boy
Thank you darling :)Make sure you tell him it’s from his hugest fan on tx.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

January 19th, 2015 at 8:50 am

Nadal is fine. He has the easiest draw until round of 32…then he got Gasquet…then between Murray, Nishikori, Raonic and Berdych….he got Berdych….then between Djokovic and Federer….he got Federer. He must be pleased

January 19th, 2015 at 8:54 am

Kokkinakis’ lap of honour:

http://youtu.be/vVNbh6azPG0

January 19th, 2015 at 8:58 am

that’s sweet wog boy. looks like he won a lot of hearts! i see duckworth won too; i actually predicted that win ahead of time. a home / supportive crowd can do wonders.

on another note, i saw a picture of fed’s little boys; they look a little more like mirka than the girls do.

January 19th, 2015 at 10:17 am

Nadal is now faster as he has less weight to carry around with the appendix removed. Talk about taking advantage of every rule within the rules!

January 19th, 2015 at 1:12 pm

SG1,
Lol ;)

January 19th, 2015 at 1:35 pm

SG1 That joke is pretty stale now! Lol

January 19th, 2015 at 2:08 pm

Giles…I guess I didn’t see the joke at the time it was posted. My bad.

January 19th, 2015 at 6:20 pm

SG1,
Good one, thanks for sharing it, I didn’t know that one. Good joke is good joke, old or new.

January 19th, 2015 at 6:46 pm