Australian Open: The Djoker, the Bad Bluffer and Hating Canadian Sports Teams

Hey Y'all. Galileo here.

I wanted to quickly note that the reason I don't write as much as Todd is because I don't have the time, partially. It's also because I don't have the knowledge that he does. His posts are really in depth, analytical posts referring to histories and records. I can't do that for every post, never mind every day for a two week period. I think what he does is pretty incredible and I think it deserves plenty of kudos. Also it isn't my job to write in such incredible depth. I have to keep the ATP rolling and relatively up to date. Sure, I could do more. But it would be a stretch and this is more like a side car to the motor car. Todd covers both the ATP [though lightly] and WTA. So I fulfill my role.

Djokovic does not give hints as to his late-round form early in slams. He does not give away how he will do. He was seeded fourth in the 2009 French Open and crashed out in the third round. He had seemed pretty dominant in the first two rounds. Last year he cruised before being ousted. Once can never be sure and yet I think this slam is to Djokovic what Wimbledon and the French are to Federer and Nadal. He feels comfortable here, confident here. He has only ever lost to grand slam champions at the Australian Open, Goldstein in 2006 and Tsonga in 2010 the exceptions to this rule.

=Suicide Pick=
Round 1: Venus Williams [d. Torro Flor]- W; have Jerzy Janowicz [d. Moriya]- W
Round 2: Ka.Plisková [d. Dodin]; Lleyton Hewitt [d. Becker]


ROD LAVER: DJOKOVIC d. BEDENE
...Bedene is talented. Nobody is arguing that point. He just made a final in Chennai as a qualifier. He has been on his way for a while now. He has been to around #70 in the world. He is developing his game and will soon be a solid player. But Djokovic overcame "illness" to win 6-3, 6-2, 6-4. So a serious illness before. I think Azarenka and Djokovic are more frail than other players. Logically speaking and with their histories they must be. Especially against Sloane Stephens. Actually no, let's not go there. Djokovic wasn't on court for even an hour and fifty minutes. He didn't need to be. He blasted his opponent back whence he came. Bedene served big and hit 22 aces, but hit nearly 40 errors. One cannot simply hit 40 errors against the best player in the world. It doesn't work that way. The Russian Kuznetsov is up next. I say he gets less games than Bedene.
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ROD LAVER: WAWRINKA d. ILHAN
...the Turkish number one folded like a bad bluffer in a game of poker. Wawrinka gave him a free lesson in ball striking. He made it look like an art form. He did it in 89 minutes, too, 6-1, 6-4,6-2. Really, the scoreline should tell you everything. Wawrinka is in no mood to mess about. He is here to play, he is here to seriously defend his title. Wawrinka faced two break points the whole match. Next up is qualifier Copil from Romania. I sense this will not go well.
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MARGARET COURT : NISHIKORI d. ALMAGRO
...Some matches live up to the hype -- Dolgopolov/Tomic here very recently and Nishikori vs. Wawrinka at the Open. Some matches do not -- most of the Federer Nadal matches. It is a pity that our sport is not played on paper sometimes, though of course if it was it would all be different. Nishikori taking on Almagro in the first promised a lot. It delivered not much. The match hinged upon that tiebreaker. Once Kei won it, it was over. In just over two hours, the Japanese triumphed 6-4, 7-6, 6-2. Nishikori hit 11 aces, four less than his opponent. Nishkori also went a solid 30-21 in the winners count.This was an impressive victory for the Asian man although tougher tests lie in wait. Nishikori has another tricky player up next: Dodig.
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HISENSE SELECTION: POSPISIL d. QUERREY
...As a fan of Boston sports teams [you may have noticed] I understand the North American rivalry. I hate the Canadiens and the Blue Jays. It saddens me to see the Raptors trumping my Celtics. I know that America has a serious sports and otherwise rivalry with Canada. In tennis this would probably create friendship not rivalry. The ATP tour can be a lonely place for some. I would hate to be away from my friends and family for so long. On this subject, here is a joke:

What is the difference between a Canadian and a canoe? A canoe tips.

Anyway, Popisil beat Querrey in an epic five set battle 6-3,6-7,2-6.6-4,6-4. Perhaps he was simply teasing Querrey. Perhaps he was saying to Querrey, "You think you have," the upper hand before pouncing. Despite the pair combining for 44 aces, Querrey went 51-47 in the error count, Pospisil went 59-38, which is a solid set of numbers. There were just seven service breaks in this five set match, which is a surprisingly high number. Pospisil now has Lorenzi to play, but his section has opened up. He has a serious chance to make the fourth round and beyond.
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SHOWCOURT 3: GONZALEZ d. FOGNINI
...Alejandro Gonzalez is a solid journeyman who usually does well on clay. Sometimes, though, journeymen find themselves in the right place at the right time. Taking advantage of the 77 errors produced by his opponent, he won 4-6,6-2,6-3,6-4. He went 13-37 on errors, but Fognini could only manage 41-77. 77 77 errors in a four set match is not acceptable. Fognini, of course, is redefining the boundaries of what one can and cannot do on a tennis court, and I'm not just talking about errors. Gonzalez was only broken twice and he was just too consistent for his exciting opponent. For Fognini it means another early slam exit. This was a match he should have won, should have dominated. Fognini makes Gasquet look like Bjorn Borg, mentally speaking. The American clay court swing is coming, which must be a relief to the inconsistent Italian.
Garcia-Lopez is up next for the South American and sadly I doubt he can produce another upset. It may be too much for him to defeat a player who has bested Nadal.
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OUTER COURT SELECTION: BAUTISTA-AGUT d. THIEM
...The battle on court thirteen lasted 2 hours and 59 minutes. Roberto avoided the upset, though only narrowly. It's a new experience being seeded inside the top fifteen and the Spaniard has answered the call. Bautista prevailed 4-6,6-2,6-3,7-6. You can tell a lot about a player from how they react to going a set down. Some fold, some change it up and some get fired up and motivated. The evidence suggests the Spaniard gets fired up after he goes a set down. He won 158 points to his opponent's 141 in the end, as Thiem failed to keep his momentum from the first set. In a tight breaker RBA prevailed 7-5. Who knows what might have happened had he lost that tiebreaker. Roberto clung on, however, and now goes on to face Muller, the big serving lefty.
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=Any other notes?=
* - Laver owns a 3-0 record against Ashe and only once took a set, although generally the matches were close. Two of their matches were semi-finals and the other was in Rome, in a late round.



* - Still no big shocking upsets on the men's side. The top ten looks pretty safe for now.

* - The doubles starts on Day 3. The Bryans feature, although Stosnetsova against the eighth seeds on a show court also looks rather promising.

* - I think that as of the second round, the Aussies might have the most participants left if you combine both sides of the draws. That is a seriously impressive feat. Could this be a turning point? This turning point especially applies to the ATP. Times sure have changed, but I'll always love Evonne...



* - We've only lost six seeds. What a rubbish effort. And they're the sort of players like Gulbis and Dolgopolov. It's wow one moment and ouch the next.

* - Djokovic looks very good. He has a pretty safe draw, too. That is a very deadly combination.

* - Casey Dellacqua handily defeated Meusburger 6-4, 6-0 in 62 minutes. She starts her doubles tomorrow with the indefatigable Date-Krumm. She played this event for the first time in 1990. I think there are players who have been born since then.

Thanx all and visit WTA BACKSPIN please.

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