Wk.1- "It wouldn't be New Year's if I didn't have regrets." ~ William Thomas

Hey Y'all. Galileo here.

So, Roger Federer aptly won match #1000 in the final in Brisbane. These statistics are for me why Federer has the edge over Rafael Nadal. Nadal has won 318 matches on clay, which is very impressive but it also illustrates how one-surfaced he is. Just this week he lost to Berrer. On clay he would have barely lost a game.

Anyway, Federer should be able to pass Ivan Lendl next year in both career matches won and matches played. I think he will not be caught, but he will not catch Jimmy Connors, either. For me, Nadal will make the all-time win list, as will Djokovic. Murray, Hewitt and Ferrer will all miss out. I don't know if Nadal or Djokovic make the all-time matches played list, but they should. Never forget Nadal is getting older.




Federer will overtake Lendl in all three categories if he plays the next two seasons in full. Connors is probably unassailable. This is the guy who still throws pizza parties for the ball kids at Basel and does this:



Federer, for me, is one of the greatest ambassadors the sport will ever have, at least on the men's side.

Also this week, Poland won the Hopman Cup, which had a final in which Serena Williams once again imploded. I don't know the details, but apparently she lost it big time and called the umpire a liar. David Ferrer, meanwhile, won an event in Doha that featured Djokovic and Nadal, which is like an episode of "The Twilight Zone."

Meanwhile, Stan Wawrinka made his 17th final and won his eighth title in Chennai. Tomas Berdych continued his consistent ways and made another final. A solid start for the Czech who has been to four quarterfinals in Melbourne since 2011, but has posted a 1-3 record in those quarterfinals. Since 2011 he has been 17-4 at the Australian Open. He has won more matches than Nadal over that period. No, really. My stat of the day, though, is that Nadal has won 99% of matches he has played at the French Open.



*WEEK 1 CHAMPIONS*
BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA
S: Roger Federer def. Milos Raonic 6-4/6-7(2)/6-4
D: J.Murray/Peers d. Dolgopolov/Nishikori
DOHA, QATAR
S: David Ferrer def. Tomas Berdych 6-4/7-5
D: Nadal/Monaco d. Knowle/Oswald
CHENNAI, INDIA
S: Stan Wawrinka def. Aljaz Bedene 6-3/6-4
D: Lu/Marray d. Klaasen/Paes
HOPMAN CUP (Perth)
F: POL (Janowicz/A.Radwanska) d. USA (Isner/S.Williams)


PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Roger Federer, SUI
...Federer won Brisbane. But there are three of his one thousand wins I'd like to talk about, but with caveats -- they must be "under the radar" and Australia-themed. I'm not including the 2002 Masters Cup in Sydney, but Fed did make the semi where he lost to Hewitt 7-5,5-7,7-5.

2008 Australian Open: Federer d. Blake 7-5, 7-6, 6-4
This was a match where Blake hit Federer off the court. Blake was on hot form but he could not find a way through a surprisingly on-form Federer. Fed had struggled through the tournament but had recovered a little and looked better than he had during an epic five set win over Tipsarevic.
There was some incredible shot making on both sides and Blake played one of the last great slam matches of his career. A career I still insist was a successful one. Blake would rise as a result of this in the rankings, but he was seemingly not quite the same after this. Federer, of course, went on to be dismissed by Djokovic.

2001 Hopman Cup: Federer d. Jan-Michael Gambill 6-4, 6-3
This is a little like Dimitrov beating someone relatively good today, like an Isner. Not a huge upset, but a decent one all the same. Federer and Hingis famously played together at that Hopman Cup. They went on to win in the final against Seles and Gambill. Federer gave the Swiss the 2-0 lead as both he and Martina won in straight sets. They lost an epic doubles encounter in a third set breaker but it didn't matter by that point.

2002 Sydney: Federer d. Rios 6-7, 7-6, 6-3
These two would play just twice, and both times in 2002, with the other being in Madrid. Federer won that easily. In this one he struggled. Rios kept Fed guessing with his soft hands and silky skills but Federer came through in the end. Hingis won the women's title then, too. After Fed edged through, he wasn't troubled again and won his second ever singles title. Yep.

I don't think Fed will win another thousand, but this #1000 sure was a special one.
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RISER: Stan Wawrinka, SUI
...Well, well, well. Wawrinka and Li Na dominated the beginning of the last year. Look at them. This picture should make everyone's day.



But then bad times ensued. Wawrinka did not make a final anywhere after winning Monte Carlo in April. Li Na retired after winning in her home city. But Wawrinka had some bright patches. He nearly made the U.S. Open semi-finals. He looked good. But then in the fall swing he looked dire. He looked unmotivated and like he needed a holiday. I personally would like a six-month holiday twice a year. I know that feeling. We all know that feeling. Sadly for ATP stars, one does not simply have a holiday in October. Wawrinka needed a boost. A great performance at the WTF was that boost. He made the semi-finals. He had match-points, and then there was "Mirkagate," which was blown so far out of proportion it was ridiculous. He had the beginning of his spark back. Federinka once again took center/centre stage at the Davis Cup. Federinka was not to be denied. Rog had given Stan his spark back and here we are. Wawrinka dismissed Coric, Muller [eighth seed], Goffin [red hot fourth seed] and Bedene for the loss of just 28 games and no sets. Call me crazy but with a good draw and some fortune why couldn't Stan defend his title?
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SURPRISE: Ivo Karlovic, CRO
...He seems to pop up every now and then. Both Rosol and Basilashvili were unable to return his serve as he beat them both 7-6, 6-3. Seeded seventh in Doha and a mere afterthought at the event, he has showed serious mettle. He has more than justified his seventh seeding and top thirty ranking. At the age of about 34ish he is proving that being experienced is no longer a bad thing and it may even be an advantage. That serve is still going strong. And that's all he needs.

He is seeded 23rd at the Australian Open. He gets too winnable matches. But that isn't the worrying thing.

1. Novak Djokovic
2. Roger Federer
3. Rafael Nadal
4. Stan Wawrinka
5. Kei Nishikori
6. Andy Murray
7. Tomáš Berdych
8. Milos Raonic
9. David Ferrer
10. Grigor Dimitrov
11. Ernests Gulbis
12. Feliciano López
13. Roberto Bautista Agut
14. Kevin Anderson
15. Tommy Robredo
16. Fabio Fognini

Look at that list. There are a whole bunch of names vulnerable to an upset, leaving a bracket wide open. With a fortunate draw, perhaps against Fognini or even Nadal, he may be able to make the fourth round. And who says a further run is out of the question. With that serve, hello.
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FRESH FACE: Aljaz Bedene, SLO
...Three quarterfinals and a semi-final before last week's run were his best ATP achievements. Two of those were at Chennai, and now he has his first final and it is at a tournament he loves. He has always been a talented player and he has finally started to fulfill his expectations, although his slam record is worrying. Bedene beat three Indians in qualifying, dropping just 14 games in those three matches and was drawn against Lacko. He dismissed him in straight sets. Next Bedene rolled past Lopez 6-4, 6-4. He needed three sets to get past Garcia-Lopez but came through 2-6, 6-3, 6-2. Another Spaniard awaited in the semi-final and Bedene came through against him 3-6, 6-3, 7-6. He won that breaker 10-8. He barely troubled Wawrinka in the final, taking only seven games, but it was a good start to the year for Bedene, one of the Slovenian trio of young guns that includes Rola and Kavcic alongside him.
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DOWN: Rafael Nadal, ESP
...Well,duh.
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UPSET: Michael Berrer, GER
...34-year old Berrer has never been ranked higher than #42. He has made the third round just once at slam level. After his big win in Doha, he lost his next match in straight sets. He made back-to-back Zagreb finals in 2010-11 and lost both. He is currently outside the Top 120 and will probably not qualify directly for the Slam of Asia Pacific. Nadal beat him 6-2, 6-1 on hard courts in 2009 and 6-0, 6-1 on clay in 2010. And then beat him 6-1 in the first. Despite all these things Berrer now has a win over Nadal. Nobody can take that away from him now.
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Five things I liked this week:
1. Serena Williams ordered a coffee on court and then proceeded to bagel Pennetta
2. Federer talking about how much he loved Brisbane in his post-semi interview
3. Radwanska finally starting to win "big matches"
4. Karlovic serving his way though the game's best returner
5. Gasquet talking about pride for his country with regards to the awful acts of terrorism happening there


1. BRISBANE Final - Federer d. Raonic 6-4, 6-7, 6-4
...Federer looked imperious for a set and a bit before Raonic just caught fire. The young Canadian hit Federer off the court, causing Federer to lose his temper on more than one occasion. Raonic was just too strong and had too much firepower [winning the breaker 7-2 after winning six points in a row], but Federer clung on and broke when Raonic served to stay in it at 4-5.
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2. DOHA QF - Karlovic d. Djokovic 6-7, 7-6, 6-4
...Karlovic lost the first breaker 7-2 but came back and won the next 8-6. From there it was a different match. Karlovic was able to break Djokovic and then from there served the Serb out of the tournament. Nobody wants Dr. Ivo in their quarter.
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3. DOHA 1st Rd. - Berrer d. Nadal 1-6, 6-3, 6-4.
...The Australian Open is just around the corner, but for me this could well be the upset of the year. Nadal smashed the German 6-1 in the first set and looked on his way. But the German struck back and took it in dramatic fashion.
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*Sydney*
=SF=
Del Potro d. Janowicz
Tomic d. [2] Goffin
=FINAL=
Tomic d. Del Potro

*Auckland*
=SF=
Robredo [5] d. [3] Bautista-Agut [3]
Gulbis [2] d. [4] Anderson
=FINAL=
Robredo [5] d. [2] Gulbis

...and finally, we finish on a lighter note with Casey study. Each week, I will be following Casey Dellacqua to see what it is like to follow a WTA star for fifty-two weeks. I wanted to pick a star somewhere from the 15 mark to the 40 mark in the rankings who also pays doubles every now and then. I also mentioned her in my WTA closing as a very improved player.



This week CD had a slow start as she lost all her matches at the Hopman cup and won just two sets. Luckily she will be back next week. She is seeded first at the Hobart International, her first top seeding. She made the second round there last year and will still be ranked 29 in the world on Monday. A seeding at the Australian Open beckons.

Thanx all and visit WTA BACKSPIN please.

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