Aussie Open Day 3 results

Day 3 at the Aussie Open & things (for my picks at least) are starting to heat up!  No blow outs to report from last night.  

Roger Federer after defeating Gilles Simon

Gilles Simon (left) & Roger Federer (right)

Mr. Federer as expected got pushed by Gilles Simon, but he did manage to win 6-2, 6-3, 4-6, 4-6, 6-3.  This was only the third career meeting for the two, Roger losing both times (back in 2008).  Gilles is a 'slight' guy in stature, but even still, he gave Roger all he could handle.  After having dropped the 3rd & 4th sets, Roger took control of the fifth, by using out-wide serves to get Simon off the court.  The backhand slice that Roger uses too much actually brought on some errors from Simon in the fifth.

Novak Djokovic

Ivan Dodig (left) & Novak Djokovic (right)

Novak Djokovic didn't have to go the distance against Ivan Dodig, but he did get pushed in the first set 7-5 before losing the second 7-6 (8-10 in the tiebreak).  Third set, he just starting pushing Dodig further & further behind the baseline, making him cover extra distance , before finally taking out Dodig's legs altogether.

Andy Roddick vs Igor Kunitsyn

World number 8, Andy Roddick, won in straight sets against Igor Kunitsyn, but he got pushed to a tiebreak in the first.  Roddick took it 7-6 (9-7), 6-2, 6-3.  Not a lot to say, Andy cleaned things up after the first set & then put it in cruise control.

Verdasco rolls his ankle in the 4th set

Janko Tipsarevic

Now...Fernando Verdasco Vs Janko Tipsarevic.  Janko came out as he so often does, on fire.  But like he so often does, he burned out.  For the 1st two sets, Tipsarevic absolutely took it to Verdasco, controlling the points & playing like his life depended on it.  Then comes the third, and things began to look as they should with Verdasco starting to connect with his inside-out forehand.  Verdasco saved a bunch of match points during the fourth set.  Then comes the fourth set tiebreak & away goes Tipsarevic's pride - tiebreak score 7-0. Fifth set, Tipsarevic was just ready to get his second round paycheck, losing 6-0.  He said it was because he was cramping, but I think he needs to take a lesson from Venus Williams about toughing it out.  That being said, I still think he's a hottie!

Tomáš Berdych

Philipp Kohlschreiber

Honorable mention for a match well played goes to #6 Tomáš Berdych.  He took out Philipp Kohlschreiber 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4.  Berdych without a doubt has the game to threaten the top guys in big moments, but his head gets in his way.

Rafael Nadal, Robin Soderling, Andy Murray, David Ferrer, and Juan Martin Del Potro play tonight.  They all should make it thru, however, Juan Martin will face a tough opponent in Marcos Baghdatis.  Given that Juan Martin was out for six months, it wouldn't be a shock if he goes down to the Cypriot, Baghdatis.

Remember, I'm not a tennis expert, I'm just a boy.

Nole

Nole

Day 3 hottie, is the Serbian, Novak Djokovic.  Sexy, multi-talented & funny! Here he is impersonating Federer, Nadal, ARod, Hewitt, Sharapova,Goran Ivanisevic.

Aussie Open Day 1 Results

Sunday, January 16 (Monday, January 17th Aussie time) marked the beginning of 2011 Australian Open.  Here's a brief rundown of results of the 9 guys that are my favs in the tournament.

Roger Federer

Number two, Roger Federer, won his opening match against Lukas Lacko with an absolute tennis clinic 6-1, 6-1, 6-3.  Nothing more need be said other than the fact that his game was sick.  He was much more aggressive than Roger of the past couple years, and if he keeps this type of play up, he could regain the number one ranking sooner, rather than later. Roger hit 37 winners against 18 unforced errors & his first serve percentage was 64%.  When his first serve landing in the box, he won 87% of those points, and 67% percent of his 2nd serves.  Obviously, he was happy with his performance.

Novak 'Nole' Djokovic

Novak Djokovic, world number three also came out with an impressive start, taking out Marcel Granollers 6-1, 6-3, 6-1.  Nole came to net 19 times, winning 13 of those points - good averages for a guy that's not really known for his net play.  He was plus 17 in the winners to errors ration (34 winners - 17 unforced errors).  He's won this tournament before in 2008, so let's see if he can step it up & once again hold the hardware.

Andy Roddick

America's own, Andy Roddick's serve was en fuego throughout his first round match against Jan Hajek of the Czech Republic, with his fastest of the match being 136 MPH (219 KMH).  His overall first serve percentage was 68%, winning 80% of first serves that he got in.  He mixed up the pace of his shots well, but still isn't playing aggressive enough to worry the likes of the top 3 guys (Rafa, Roger, & Nole).  A-Rod won his match 6-1, 6-2, 6-2.  If you so please, here's the link to his aftermatch interview transcript.

Fernando Verdasco

The last of the 9 favs I have for this tournament that played on day one is Fernando Verdasco (remember his Calvin Klein ad).  Señor Verdasco came up against Rainer Schüttler, winning 6-1, 6-3, 6-2.  He came into the tournament with a 'healed' ankle injury from about 2-3 weeks ago.  He's stat sheet looked good as well as the other 3 guys - overall his first serve percentage was 62%, he won 86% of them. 33 winners and 17 unforced errors also put in the plus ratio.  He was moving well & his forehand looked sharp.  I still feel he can make it deep into the tournament, but not deep enough to take it all.


Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Robin Soderling, David Ferrer, and Juan Martin Del Potro will all be playing their opening round matches Tuesday.  Looking at their opening rounds draws, it would be rather shocking if they all didn't make to round 2.

Janko Tipsarevic

Hottie for Aussie Open day one will be Serbian Janko Tipseravic, who will be Verdasco's second round opponent.












Remember, I'm not a tennis expert, I'm just a boy.