AO Day 1: Welcome Back, Mister Roger Federer

Hey Y'all. Galileo here.

Welcome to the Australian Open!

They have a snazzy new scoreboard and a snazzy new look, which came about thanks to a very expensive facelift. You can read about it here and enjoy the awkward picture of Simona Halep. Why awkward? Because she crashed out and could only muster four games. It is now two years in a row of first round exits for the Romanian.

If you want to go and read about the peculiar Cliffs of Simona, well they know all about that on WTA BACKSPIN.

When it comes to developing and changing, Wimbledon moves ahead of the curve. It anticipates. But of the other three, Melbourne Park really needed the least development. Roland Garros is too small and Flushing Meadows is, well, flushed with problems. But it is still a bold move that will bring money back to the area. And it also gives the place a fresh look. You can really tell the difference between how it is now and how it was. But this slam is the one that really changes the most. And actually that’s a good thing.

A lot of cracking matches happened on Day One. Cilic escaped in a match that went five sets and featured 111 winners. Janowicz had a big advantage but crumbled to a 4-6, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 defeat. Cilic will have to contend with Evans. If he wins that it is likely Tomic next. The seventh seed is on the ropes.

Kyrgios came dressed in an outfit that is self-descriptive. He had big hair, loud clothes and a brazen attitude, of course. Everything about the 14th seed is shouty, exciting and new. Elias was totally overwhelmed - by the crowd, the opponent and the occasion. Kyrgios didn’t even need an hour and a half to win 6-1, 6-2, 6-2. It is a rematch with Seppi in the second round for the Australian.

Right, on with the action...

*Suicide Picks*
MS 1st Rd: Gasquet d. Mott
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WS 1st Rd: Wozniacki d. Rodionova



RLA: MURRAY D. MARCHENKO
...The Scot looked quite average throughout the 7-5, 7-6 [2], 6-2 win over Marchenko. He went 25-27 on errors throughout the nearly three hour contest. He was underwhelming. While he broke six times he also lost serve thrice. It was a nervy performance from a top seed who did not look ready to play the part. His opponent went for his shots the whole times, going 46-62 on his winners ratio. And, still, Murray could not counterpunch effectively. Rublev, a Russian qualifier, is his next opponent. That’s fine. But Querrey afterwards could cause problems. He can’t afford to lose early on. If he does he will not be world number one when this event concludes. There is much work to be done from the Scot. But surely if he's the world’s best player, he is up to it, right?
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RLA: FEDERER D. J.MELZER
...Welcome back, Mister Roger Federer. It was tough going for the old man against, well, another old man. But the Swiss was out in the cool night air for only two hours as he got past Melzer 7-5, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2. Up 4-2 in the first, the Austrian looked good. But Federer slowly began to come back and soon stamped his authority on the match. 19 aces hot from Roger’s racket, giving him a total of 46 winners overall. There are areas of improvement for the former number one, but against a tricky opponent this was a fine result. And he is quickly becoming, if he was not before, a player nobody will want to face. Perhaps most importantly, Federer was wearing a fabulous t-shirt. It is now 18 years straight for Roger making the second round. He also got his 800th career hard court victory. Young Noah Rubin, the qualifier, is up next. He has two total victories to his name. He is 20. When he was about one years old Fedex had his first ‘major’ title. He won it on the ITF junior circuit, somewhere in Italy. Prato, apparently.
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MCA: TOMIC D. BELLUCCI
...Well, this match promised so much. In reality it delivered little. How disappointing for the crowd who wanted, and expected, so much more. The Brazilian was absent from court as Tomic rolled to a 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 victory in 100 minutes. 38 winners to 22 and five breaks to none. Tomic won two thirds of the points and never looked in danger of losing. Estrella Burgos will be the next opponent. This is a soft draw for the taking. Does Bernie want it enough?
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MCA: WAWRINKA D. KLIZAN

...Watch that video first. Incredible that that should come in the final stages of an epic three and a half hour war. The Swiss outlasted his fiery opponent 4-6, 6-4, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4. He hit 60 winners to just 43 unforced errors, his opponent going 54-46. Wawrinka broke just one more time than his opponent and won five more points. This was a tight match with a lot of tremendous rallies. But when you have won a slam and you return there you always have a bit of an edge. And Klizan just lacked that little bit of extra consistency the one-hander has. No relaxing for Wawrinka in the next round. He faces Stevie Johnson. Ouch.
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HISENSE: NISHIKORI D. KUZNETSOV
...These two have a storied history. At last year’s French Open Kei won through 6-3, 6-3, 6-3. This time it was harder. It took Kei three and a half hours to take it 5-7, 6-1, 6-4, 6-7[6], 6-2. The Russian going 35-62 on the winner’s ratio is pretty abysmal. It was one of the big reasons he could not quite get over the hump in this one. Another is Kei breaking nine times to Kuznetsov’s once. How the Russian managed to stay in this for so long is quite baffling. But Kei has always struggled with fitness. Going five in the first round in this heat could come back to bite him later on in the tournament. Chardy is up next. Kei will not want to go into the Federer matchup not feeling one hundred per cent. He needs to see off the Frenchman in straights. To do that he has to make the inconsistent Frenchman play a lot of balls.
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OUTER COURT SELECTION: DE MINAUR D. G.MELZER
...Just 17 years old, the Australian hotshot leant on the crowd and rode them to an epic five set victory over lefty Melzer. He roared, he panted and he screamed. And he wanted this one bad. He wanted it more than you or I wanted a car for Christmas. Over the course of some four hours he triumphed 5-7, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6[2], 6-1. He blasted 50 winners to 44 errors while his opponent sprayed 69 balls off the court. He won just eight more points than his opponent, and they each broke seven times. Demon moves quickly, and hits hard. Australia has waited a long time for this sort of talent on both tours. The nation went 3-2 and 2-1 in the men’s and women’s draws respectively. You have to remember how young the average age is, too. They could have five players left in either draw by the third round. And when did that last happen? For Demon, it is a massive challenge next: 31st seed Querrey.
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A little late, but...

*Ladies Doubles*
=SF=
Garcia/Mladenovic [1] d. Barty/Dellacqua
Makarova/Vesnina [3] d. [7] Gorges/Pliskova
Mirza/Strycova [3] d. [8] King/Shvedova
Williams/Williams [15] d. [6] Chan/Chan
=Final=
Garcia/Mladenovic [1] d. [3] Mirza/Strycova

*Men’s Doubles*
=SF=
Herbert/Mahut [1] d. [8] Nestor/Roger-Vasselin
Kontinen/Peers [4] d. [10] Huey/Mirnyi
Dodig/Granollers [9] d. [3] Bryan/Bryan
Lopez/Lopez [5] d. [2] Murray/Soares
=Final=
Herbert/Mahut [1] d. [5] Lopez/Lopez

*MEN*
=ROUND OF 16=
MURRAY D. POUILLE
FEDERER D. NISHIKORI
KYRGIOS D. WAWRINKA
SOCK D. TOMIC
MONFILS D. ZVEREV
RAONIC D. BAUTISTA AGUT
THIEM D. GOFFIN
DJOKOVIC D. DIMITROV
=QUARTERFINALS=
MURRAY D. FEDERER
KYRGIOS D. SOCK
RAONIC D. MONFILS
DJOKOVIC D. THIEM
=SEMIFINALS=
#1 MURRAY D. KYRGIOS #14
#2 DJOKOVIC D. RAONIC #3
=FINAL=
#2 DJOKOVIC D. #1MURRAY

...It plays itself out. Kyrgios struggles against Murray and the Scot struggles against the defending champion. That result in Doha will have an affect.

*WOMEN*
=ROUND OF 16=
#1 Kerber d. #23 Kasatkina
#7 Muguruza d. #10 CSN
#4 Halep d. #13 V. Williams
#11 Svitolina d. #8 Kuznetsova
#5 Pliskova d. #22 Gavrilova
#3 Radwanska d. #18 Stosur
#9 Konta d. #6 Cibulkova
#2 Williams d. #21 Garcia
=QUARTERFINALS=
#1 Kerber d. #7 Muguruza
#11 Svitolina d. #4 Halep
#5 Pliskova d. #3 Radwanska
#2 Williams d. #9 Konta
=SEMIFINALS=
#1 Kerber d. #11 Svitolina
#5 Pliskova d. #2 Williams
=FINAL=
#5 Pliskova d. #1 Kerber

...It has to be the Czech’s big breakthrough. She is more than due a slam. The big serve will be key, as well as keeping the rallies short.


Thanks all and visit WTA BACKSPIN please.

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