Australian Open: The Stealth Swiss

Hey Y'all. Galileo here.

It's time for another slightly shorter post I'm afraid. My hands really are tied now. So yes, a shorter post again but it should be back to how it was before.

=Suicide Pick=
Round 1: Venus Williams [D. Torro Flor]; for the men I had Jerzy Janowicz [d. Moriya]
Round 2: Ka.Plíšková [D. Dodin]; for the men I had Lleyton Hewitt [d. Becker]
Round 3: Agnieszka Radwanska [D. Lepchenko]
Round 4: Eugenie Bouchard [D. Begu]

Don't forget, I picked Hingis in the mixed. They play today.


ROD LAVER: WAWRINKA d. NIEMINEN
...Never before has a defending champion been so quiet and yet so efficient in moving through the draw. He and Raonic could both upend Djokovic and, yet, nobody is talking about either of them. I find this strange. He's the third best player left in the draw by seeding and by form he's now in the top two. He also won here last year and beat quality opposition. Like a shadow he moves ever closer to defending his crown. Vavsy gave the Rod Laver crowd just 109 minutes of his day. He battered the Finn into submission 6-4, 6-2, 6-4. Six breaks of serve to two and 55 winners did the trick nicely. Winning 71% of serves is very good and if he can get it up to about 75-80 he will be nigh on unbeatable. He should also be winning more than just 33% of his receiving points, but winning 1 in 3 is still very good. Up next for Vavsy is GGL in his second ever slam fourth round. He is still in the top forty. He has dropped 33 games and Stan 32. GGL has dropped a set and in that same match his opponent retired. Oh, lest we forget, GGL beat Stan in the first round of the French last year. He made the fourth round of a slam for the first time then. So, revenge or a repeat?
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ROD LAVER: DJOKOVIC d. VERDASCO
...There were only two breaks in the match, but they both went to Djokovic. They were not the knockout blow. The knockout blow occurred when Djokovic took the opening set 10-8 in a breaker. Verdasco didn't crumble, but he lost a little momentum. You can lose a little momentum against the world number 100 but not the world number one.

WINNERS: Player 1 - 43, Player 2 - 38
UNFORCED ERRORS: Player 1 - 24, Player 2 - 50

Guess which player had each total. Yep, you're right. He needed to go for his shots against the Djoker, but perhaps not that much. Verdasco will stay at around thirty but Djokovic marches on. Harder tests are awaiting him. Raonic is lurking and that test will all too soon be upon him. It was a good performance but I'm still not entirely sold. He plays Muller, who upset Agut and Isner, next. The man from Luxembourg is in his first fourth round since that U.S. Open run. He has a big serve so expect a tie-breaker, but this shouldn't be going anywhere near five let alone four.
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MARGARET COURT : LOPEZ d. JANOWICZ
...America used to be a world leader in many things. They have, as have many old world powers, regressed. Not as much as the United Kingdom, very much living off old money, but they have regressed. Russia is not as powerful as it was and nor is China. But politics is very heavy. America has specialized in big servers. They didn't invent it specifically but they have really developed it as a big tactic. The vast majority of their world number ones and American number ones on both sides are or were big servers. Now, however, big servers are to be found every and any place. Janowicz and Lopez are both big servers. Lopez could have been the first man ever to survive three matches in a row where he had been match point down. Well, at least as far back as records go. Lopez won this server's match 7-6, 6-4, 7-6. Lopez only has a breaker career winning percentage of .533. Here is the rest of the data. So a solid win for Lopez and it didn't take him five hours. Things can change. Lopez has now reached the fourth round at least twice at every tournament [six at Wimbledon] except at the French. Ranked 14 in the world, his highest, he plays Raonic in another server's match. I predict tie-breakers but I don't predict a Lopez victory, though he is only just barely the underdog.
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MARGARET COURT: FERRER d. SIMON
...The polar opposites to the big servers are the grinders. The Spaniards and the South American dirtballers are particularly proficient at this. The ones who always have socks covered in red dust. Ferrer outground Simon 6-2, 7-5, 5-7, 7-6. There were 16 breaks in the match, meaning 35% of games ended in a break of service. It's like talking about the WTA. Seven aces in a contest lasting over three hours tells the story perfectly. 138 errors. 36 winners apiece and Ferrer only hit 66 errors, so I suppose he comes out on top in the stats. This was a war and Ferrer won. He won because nobody ever beats Ferrer in a war. It just doesn't happen. Ferrer plays Kei again. Is it just me or are these guys always playing each other?
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=Any other notes?=
* - Davis Cup is coming up soon. I still like Switzerland to do well again, but this time will it be Stan carrying the Swiss.

* - Kevin Anderson is the best player for his continent. Ditto for Kyrgios and Djokovic. Nishikori and Raonic are top of their continents, too. They are all still in. Mayer is not.

* - I see you there, Raonic, moving quietly through the draw. Djokovic/Raonic swiftly approaches. How good is that going to be?

* - Casey Dellacqua is playing tomorrow.

Thanx all and visit WTA BACKSPIN please.

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