Australian Open Preview - Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi Oi Oi Redux

Well folks, it's that time of year again!  The beginning of tennis season is upon us, with less than a week before the first major, the Australian Open, begins.  This time last year everyone was expecting Rafael Nadal to complete his RafaSlam, but boy, oh boy did things change.  Novak Djokovic went on to win the '11 Aussie Open, then during the course of the year, beat Rafa is six finals - four times in masters series events [two of those on clay], and two majors' finals - going on to take the number one ranking by reaching the finals of Wimbledon, and ending 2011 with a 70-6 record.  

The top four players have distanced themselves from the rest of the field - there's 2455 points separating numbers four and five & and a staggering 8705 points between numbers one and five.  They will be the clear favorites going into the tournament, but there are also some possible spoilers running rampant in the field.  Two of the biggest spoilers could be the Frenchman, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and depending on his confidence level, the Tower from Tandil, Juan Martin Del Potro.  Tsonga opened his 2012 bid by winning the title in Doha, defeating his countryman, Gael Monfils, 7-5, 6-3 in the final.  Jo-Willy and DelPo made it to the round of 32 & the round of 64 respectively in last year's Aussie Open, but each one of these guys is in a different place now. Tsonga has moved up into the top ten, currently ranked number six in the world, seven spots higher since Aussie '11.  DelPo's '11 Aussie bid was his first tournament back after having missed almost a whole year and he was ranked 484, a far cry from his current rank of number eleven.  If DelPo's fitness is up to par, he be could be a formidable opponent for either of the top four, especially an 'injured' Nadal or Federer.

Injuries affecting Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer could hamper their bids for more Aussie hardware.  Nadal has even said that he is not sure he will be playing at his peak when the Aussie Open comes around.  Roger had to withdraw from Doha because of back spasms which have caused him some difficulty since the 2010 Wimbledon.  Andy Murray has also shown some signs early on this season that he is battling injuries, although, it seems at times that he always in a battle with himself.  Even though he hobbled during the beginning rounds of the Brisbane International, Andy was able to come away from the tournament with a title, taking down Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-1, 6-3.  Djokovic is coming off a historic year, which saw his body start to breakdown towards the end of 2011.  If he has indeed recovered from the stresses of last year, he will definitely be the player to beat.

Bernard Tomic

Milos Raonic

Then there are the possibles, one of them being Milos Raonic.  His breakout tournament was last year's Aussie Open, where he made it to the quarterfinals, being taken out the the scrappy Spaniard, David Ferrer.  He's already won a title this year, defeating Janko Tipsarevic in a tight three set final in Chennai 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4), 7-6 (4).  Also, Aussie native, Bernard Tomic has the ability to make it deep into the tournament.  I don't see either of these guys making it as far as the semi finals, but they are each capable of dealing out an upset along the way, especially if they happen to come up against a less than top shape Nadal or Federer.

The Aussie Open has always been one of the best majors to lay witness to and not just because of the tennis.  Aussies know how to throw a party!  There's always good tennis to be seen, and the beer mixed with the heat always makes for interesting sites as well, like this guy...

Aussie Streaker!

Australian Open TV schedule can be found here.  ESPN living streaming here (just click on the dates under upcoming).  And as always, live streaming for the Aussie Open (& EVERY other tournament of the year) can be seen at livescorehunter.com.

Enjoy!

UPDATE - ATP Tennis - Six players to look out for in 2011

Earlier this year, I listed six players that I thought would have a good 2011 season.  They were (in order of current ranking), Novak Djokovic 1, Andy Murray 3, Tomas Berdych 6,  Juan Martin Del Potro 10, Alexandr Dolgopolov 16, and Milos Raonic 30.  Now, I will update their progress.

Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic, now world number one, started off the year ranked number three, once again in the shadow of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.  Going into the Australian Open, all the talk was focused on Nadal, and whether or not he could complete the 'Rafa Slam'.  Hopes of that happening were ended when Rafa was beaten in the quarterfinals by fellow Spaniard, David Ferrer.  At tournament end, Nole was the last man standing, defeating Federer in the semifinals, and earning his second career major by defeating Andy Murray decisively in the final.  Little did anyone know what would happen over the course of the season.  Having gotten his health and his head in check, Nole went on a winning spree.  Up to this point in the season, he has suffered only three loses - Federer in semifinals of Roland Garros, Andy Murray in finals of Cincinnati (retiring in the 2nd set w/a shoulder injury), and to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarterfinals of of the Paris Masters (walk over).  His record vs top ten players is 20-3.  He has beaten Nadal is six finals - two majors & four masters (2 of the 4 masters on clay); Federer in two semifinals - Australian Open & US Open, and one final - Dubai.  He beat Rafa and Roger in the same tournament on three occasions this year.  He has become the first player since 2004 not named Federer or Nadal to hold the number one position in the rankings or to have won at Wimbledon.  He has won ten titles this year, including three majors & four masters series tournaments.
-Rankings jump - 2 positions.

Andy Murray

Andy Murray began the 2011 season ranked as number five, and his year looked very promising when he made the finals of the Australian Open.  He played a blistering six matches, looking like he would take the title, but then in the final, Novak Djokovic gave him a lesson in big boy tennis.  He went on a miserable slump after that losing matches to players well below his ranking & ability, two of them (Donald Young 143 & Alex Bogomolov Jr 118) were outside of the top 100.  Luckily, during this time frame in 2010 he had the same slump after losing to Federer in Australian Open, so he didn't have a lot of points to lose.  By April, he got his bearings back, and put together three semifinal runs on clay, beginning at the Monte Carlo through Roland Garros.  Going into the grass season, he won a warm up tournament at the Queen's Club, and posted a respectable semifinal run at Wimbledon, losing to Nadal.  Midsummer, he added a masters series title at Cincinnati to his trophy case, and made it to the semifinals of the US Open losing to eventual runner up, Rafael Nadal.  Since the US Open, he was on a 17 match win streak until losing to Tomas Berdych in the quarterfinals of the Paris Masters.  With a strong second half of 2011, Murray was able to overtake Roger Federer for the number three ranking position.
-Rankings jump - 2 positions.

Tomas Berdych

Not much to say about Tomas Berdych.  He started off the year ranked number six, and that's where he sits now.  He slipped as far down as number ten in the rankings, but has been able to climb back up.  He has won one title this year in Beijing this past October, defeating Marin Cilic in the final.  Berdych took out world number one, Novak Djokovic, in the quarter finals of the Paris Masters, and he has booked a spot in the ATP World tour finals. Even if he wins the tour finals, he won't have enough points to move up any positions, but he does run the risk of falling if does not do better that Jo Wilfried Tsonga, who is only five rankings points behind him.
-Rankings jump - 0 positions.

Juan Martin Del Potro

One of my favorite players is Juan Martin Del Potro .  In 2009 he found his game, and won his first major at the US Open, beating Roger Federer in the final.  After missing most of 2010 because of a wrist injury and surgery, he is starting to find his way again.   He was able to win two titles this year (Delray Beach and Estoril).  He started off 2011 ranked 485, but has since clawed his way back into the top 10, currently ranked ten in the world.  Because of his unusually low ranking, he met a lot of the top players in the early rounds of the majors & bigger tournaments that he played.  It's only a matter of time before he once again finds himself in the winner's circle at a major.
-Rankings jump - 475 positions.

Alexandr Dolgopolov

Alexandr Dolgopolov made some noise at this year's Australian Open by beating Jo Wilfried Tsonga and Robin Soderling before losing to Andy Murray in the quarterfinals.  He has a hard hitting, no fear style of play that should serve him well in the years to come.  Dolgo picked up his first career ATP singles title mid summer at the Croatian Open (clay).  Since beginning year ranked 48th in the world, he has moved into the top 20 with a current rank of 16.
-Rankings jump - 32 positions.

Milos Raonic

Lastly, there is Milos Raonic.  Milos turned some heads as well at the Australian Open by making it to the round of 16, losing to David Ferrer.  Like Dolgo, Milos won his first career ATP singles title mid summer in San Jose (hardcourt).  He also made another final this summer in Memphis, losing to Andy Roddick in three tight sets.  Starting off the year ranked number 53, he is now 30th in the world, but in early May was ranked as high as 25.  He will definitely be a contender for a major at some point doing his career.  
-Rankings jump - 23 positions.

Update - ATP Tennis - Six players to look out for in 2011

Earlier this year I wrote about six players to look out for in 2011, in this post, I'll briefly update their progress/failures up to this point in the season.  The players are Juan Martin Del Potro, Milos Raonic, Alexandr Dolgopolov, Tomas Berdych, Andy Murray, and Novak Djokovic.

Juan Martin Del Potro

Juan Martin Del Potro started the year ranked number 485 after coming off an inactive 2010 season because of a wrist injury, and consequent surgery.  Now he is back up in the top 50, currently ranked number 32.  He has won two titles since his comeback, Del Ray Beach in February, and most recently, Estoril just this past Sunday - which was also his '11 clay court debut. So far at the start of the clay season he is looking like he's regained his 2009 form.  The last time he played on the red dirt at Roland Garros was in 2009, and he lost in the semifinals to eventual champion, Roger Federer.  With a game of big hitting, big hitting, and more big hitting, he is without a doubt a dark horse contender for the crown at Roland Garros.  He's only meeting with Rafa on the clay was at the '07 French Open round of 128 - Rafa won, but was two years before DelPo 'blossomed' - the DelPo of present is much more physically fit & much better suited to handle that insane Rafa topspin.  As of 5/5/11, DelPo pulled of the Madrid Open just before his third round match against Rafa with a hip injury he suffered in the finals at Estoril.  "Hopefully I can recover quickly and it's nothing serious," said Del Potro, "I won't be in Rome and I don't know if I'll be able to play in Nice or Roland Garros."

Milos Raonic

Milos Raonic, the Canadian born & raised Croat, started to make noise in the men's field with his performance at the 2011 Aussie Open.  At the beginning of the year he was ranked number 153, and he has swiftly moved up to number 25. Raonic won his first ATP singles titles earlier this year in San Jose, defeating Fernando Verdasco in the process.  So far, he's had a respectable clay court season - he made it to the round of 16 at Monte Carlo & Barcelona, and made it to the semifinals at Estoril.  At Estoril he retired with back injuries, and obviously wasn't back to form when he got beat in the first round of the Mutua Madrid Open.

Alexandr Dolgopolov

Alexandr Dolgopolov started the year ranked number 48 and has moved up to just outside the top 20, currently sitting at the number 21 spot.  He began to impress the tennis world with his performance at the '11 Aussie Open, defeating Robin Soderling in the fourth round before losing in the quarters to finalist Andy Murray.  He made his first career final earlier this year at the Brasil Open, on clay, losing to Nicolas Almagro.  In his most recent clay court outings he lost in the first round at Barcelona, and most recently, Monte Carlo.  He's next scheduled tournament will be the Roma TMS in Italy.

Tomas Berdych

Tomas Berdych has been rather steady this year, starting 2011 ranked number 6, and falling just one spot to his current number 7 position.  He hasn't been impressive so far this year, but on the flip side of the coin, he has remained consistent - his best result this year was reaching the semifinals of Dubai, losing to Novak Djokovic.  Last year he made it to the semifinals of the French Open, but with Djokovic playing with his current level of  confidence, Del Potro coming back into his 2009 form, along with the other guys in the field starting to come into their own, his prospects at this year's Roland Garros may not prove to be as successful as his 2010 journey in the tournament.  May 5th, Berdych made it to the fourth round of the Madrid Open by defeating Juan Monaco.

Andy Murray

Since he miserable performance at the Aussie Open final against Djokovic, Andy Murray has had a miserable 2011 season.  In the three tournaments he played after the Aussie Open, he lost in his opening round to players ranked as low as 143 in the world.  He did bounce back in his most recent tournament at Monte Carlo, making it to the semifinals, losing to Rafael Nadal in three sets - an improvement over his results from last year, where he lost in the round of 32.  Traditionally, clay is not his best surface - at last year's French Open, he lost in the round of 16 - he's best French Open performance was a quarterfinal run in 2009, but maybe with his second consecutive disappointing Aussie Open final, and even more disappointing results in subsequent events, he will be even more determined to better his clay court results.  He started off the year ranked number 5, and even with his lackluster play, has actually moved up one spot to number 4.  Thursday, May 5th, Murray was beaten in the third round of the Madrid Open by Thomaz Bellucci.

Novak Djokovic

Last, but certainly not least is the man of the year, Novak Djokovic.  So far this year he is undefeated, and has recently taken over the number two spot in the rankings, pushing Roger Federer down to number three.  He beat Andy Murray in straight sets in the Aussie Open final, Federer twice this year - once in Dubai final, and again in semifinal of Indian Wells, and he has beaten Nadal in two finals - Indian Wells and Miami.   He won the Dubai championship for the third consecutive year.  In years past he was a decent clay court player, but winning (especially against the guys he has been winning against) brings confidence, lots of confidence.  He is a definite contender at this year's French Open.  May 5th, Nole made it into the fourth round of the Madrid Open by beating Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in 52 minutes.  He is currently on a 29 straight match winning streak.

BNP Paribas Open Indian Wells Masters 1000 'Preview'

Rafa

The BNP Paribas Indian Wells tournament, which started on March 7th and runs thru March 20th, is packed with some of the ATP's heavyweights.  Headlining is of course, the world's number one, Rafael Nadal.  At the Australian Open, Rafa struggled with a leg injury he sustained early in the first set of his quarterfinal match against fellow Spainard, David Ferrer.  He's been hush-hush about the injury, but played well last week in Davis Cup action.  Rafa has won at Indian Wells in 2007 and 2009.  Going up against some of the best in the business should how much he has recovered from his leg injury.

Roger Federer

Nole on beach in California

Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic , the world's numbers two & three respectively, are also in the draw.  Djokovic could take over the number two position if 1) he wins the tournament, or 2) he reaches the final and Federer loses before the title match, or 3) he reaches the semifinals and Federer loses before the quarters.  Roger currently holds a 165 point lead over Nole - 7965 points for Federer to 7800 points for Djokovic.  Nole is on a fourteen match winning streak, including two wins over Roger Federer (Australian Open semifinals and the finals of the Dubai Duty Free Championships) - both defeats in straight sets.  Roger won at Indian Wells from 2004-2006.  Nole won this tournament back in 2008.  Roger is looking to regain his form, and Nole is playing better and with more confidence that at any point during his career.  Federer and Djokovic could possibly meet in the semifinals if they each make it that far.

Robin Soderling

Andy Murray

Robin Soderling, currently ranked number four, could possibly meet the man he recently overtook for the fourth position in the rankings, Andy Murray, in the quarterfinals.  Soderling has won 3 of the 4 tournaments he has played in this year (Marseille, Rotterdam - both indoor hardcourts, and Brisbane International on an outdoor hardcourt).  He's won a total of nine titles during his career, three of them in the 1st two months of the 2011 season. The Swed is en fuego.   Andy Murray is coming off a very embarrassing disappointing Australian Open final, losing in straight sets to Novak Djokovic, and a first round loss in Rotterdam.  Up until the finals of the Aussie Open, he looked a guy on a mission, since then he's lost his mojo.  If majors were won on game alone, Mr. Murray would already have a couple trophies in his case, but unfortunately for Andy, his head gets in his way.  This isn't a major, so maybe he won't choke.

Milos Raonic

Dolgopolov

Alexandr Dolgoplov and Milos Raonic are two young players on the move, each making their presence known in 2011.  Dolgo started the year ranked number 32, and with some steady play, has moved up to his current ranking of 23.  He had a good run at the Aussie Open, making it to quarterfinals, giving Robin Soderling his only loss in the 2011 season.  He also made it to the finals of Costa Do Suipe, losing to Nicolas Almagro, and made it to the semifinals in Acapulco, losing to eventual winner, David Ferrer.  Milos Raonic started the year ranked 156 in the world and is now the number 37.  At the Aussie Open, he made it to the round of 16, and lost in the finals to Andy Roddick in Memphis.  He won his first ATP tour event at the SAP Open, defeating the Spainard, Fernando Verdasco.

Juan Martin

Juan Martin Del Potro is definitely on the comeback.  After being out the game for almost all of 2010 w/a wrist injury that required surgery, he began 2011 with a ranking of 484, he will enter Indian Wells back inside the top 100, ranked number 90.  Since his comeback, he has one title under his belt at Delray Beach defeating Janko Tipseravic is straight sets.  He's also made to semifinals since his comeback - losing in Memphis to winner Andy Roddick, and losing to Fernando Verdasco at the SAP Open in San Jose.  Juan Martin defeated Radek Stepanek in the first round of Indian Wells on Thursday 6-4, 6-4.

Of course, this isn't the whole field, and it's definitely not a post about the end all, be all in men's tennis, just some of the guys I have my eye on this year.  As always, remember I'm not a tennis expert, I'm just a boy...

Juan Martin Del Potro, Milos Raonic, Alexandr Dolgopolov

With a lot of hard work and some steady play, Juan Martin Del Potro, Milos Raonic, and Alexandr Dolgopolov are moving quickly up the ATP rankings.  

Juan Martin Del Potro

Juan Martin was once ranked as high as number 5 in the world, and the 2009 US Open champion.  He had some bad luck with a wrist injury that kept him out of the game for the better part of 2010.  Now, DelPo is back, and slowing making his presence known in the men's tennis scene.   With two semi final showings (SAP Open, losing to Fernando Verdasco 4-6 4-6 & Regions Morgan Keegan, losing to Andy Roddick 3-6 4-6) he has climbed up to 166, up from 298 this time last week.  He's beginning to look again like the guy who will break up the Top 3 dominance of Rafa, Roger & Nole - the will is there, he just needs a little more match toughness.  This guy will be a very dangerous floater to any of the top players.

Andy Roddick (left), Milos Raonic (right)

Milos Raonic has followed up on his Aussie Open success with a  championship at the SAP Open beating Fernando Verdaso 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5), and then another final at the Regions Morgan Open - losing to American, Andy Roddick 6-7 (6), 7 (11)-6, 7-5.  He moves up from 59 to 37 in the rankings.  At 20 years old, he is looking like a player who can and will do big things in tennis.

Dolgopolov (left), Almagro (right)

The hard hitting Ukrainian, Alexandr Dolgopolov has moved up a respectful six spots in the rankings to number 26 in the world.  He recently made the final of the Brasil Open, and lost to Nicolas Almagro 6-3, 7-6 (3). This happy go lucky guy a has big game, sweet ground strokes, and no fear - a perfect combination for a successful tennis career.


It's on February and these 3 guys are heating things up.  This year will be good year for them, and us the die hard tennis fans!  Until next time...

Milos Raonioc UPDATE - ATP - Six players to look out for in 2011

Milos Raonic

I blogged before about six players to look out for this year, and Milos Raonic was one of them.  Mr. Raonic is definitely on the come up, starting 2011 ranked at 156, then by the end of the Australian Open, he was in the Top 100.  He entered the SAP Open in San Jose ranked number 84, and by the time rankings came out on today, February 14th, he's ranked number 59. That's a 97 rankings jump is less than two months. 

At the SAP Open he defeated Spaniard, Fernando Verdasco, 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (7-5) in the final - becoming the first Canadian to win an ATP Tour level event since Greg Rusedski won the Seoul Open back in 1995, and the youngest player since Marin Cilic won New Haven at 19 back in 2008.

Milos Raonic right after his when at the SAP Open

Congratulations to Milos!   

Raonic with his SAP Open trophy

Which one of my six players to watch will make the next big move?

ATP Tennis - Six players to look out for in 2011

Men's tennis in the past 6 years or so has had it's usual suspects, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.  I give to you six players I think will make some noise on the scene - #484 Juan Martin Del Potro, # 84 Milos Raonic, #32 Alexandr Dolgopolov, #7 Tomas Berdych, #5 Andy Murray, and #3 Novak Djokovic.  Djokovic and Del Potro have already been in the winners circle at the majors, Berdych and Murray have the game to break through, and Raonic & Dolgopolov just need a little bit of belief.  They may not all win majors this year, but remember these names, you're going to hear a lot about each of them.

Juan Martin Del Potro

Juan Martin w/2009 US Open trophy

Juan Martin Del Potro's ranking is a little misleading.  At the 2009 US Open, he beat Roger Federer in a thrilling five set final, winning his first major.  He was the guy everyone expected to break up the Rafa/Roger dominance in the sport.  Before having to miss most of 2010 (only playing in 3 tournaments) with a wrist injury & subsuquent wrist surgery, he made it up to number 5 in the world.  He's 2-2 so far in 2011, losing in the round of 64 at the 2011 Australian Open to Marcos Baghdatis, and in the round of 16 at the Medibank International Syndey to Florian Mayer.  I believe that once he gets healthy, he can return to 2009 US Open form in a matter of six months - the rankings will come & he will remain a dangerous unseeded player in any tournament he enters.  Check out the ATP Tour Uncovered video about his comeback, also, here's a ATP Tour Uncovered video from just after the 2009 US Open & just before his wrist problems began.  


Milos Raonic

 Canadian (born in Yugoslavia) Milos Raonic jumped onto the scene with his monsterous serve, and a fourth round run in the 2011 Australian Open, before being taken out by the Energizer Bunny, David Ferrer.  Of all the new upcomers, this dude has the attitude I think will take him the farther than the others - like Australia's Bernard Tomic -  he's head just seems more into the game & less into the hype around him.  Everything about this kid's game is big, included the nerve he showed before having to exit the Aussie Open. 

Alexandr Dolgopolov

Robin Soderling

Alexandr Dolgopolov made it to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, being taken out by Andy Murray 5-7, 3-6, 7-6 (7-3), 3-6 in the quarterfinals.  He did however look impressive in defeating Robin Soderling in the fourth round 1-6, 6-3, 6-1, 4-6, 6-2.  He has a very efficient game, good stamina, effortless movement around the court & a good variety of ground strokes.  A little more match play and confidence, this kid should move up the rankings quickly. 

Tomas Berdych

The next two guys have been in the top 10 for a while, and they both have the game to defeat the top guys - they've done it, but both of them have the same problem - their heads.  First head case, Tomas Berdych.  He's been in the final of one major, 2010 Wimbledon & lost to Rafael Nadal 6-3, 7-5, 6-4.  He did however take out defending champ, Roger Federer in the quarterfinals 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 that year.  I don't believe that he'll make another final in a major this year, but he may very well upset one of the higher ranked guys deep into a major.

Andy Murray

Head case number two should be well known to most tennis fans, Andy Murray.  He's made it to three major finals, the 2008 US Open, 2010 & 2011 Australian Opens.  He lost the first 2 major finals to Roger Federer,   and the last one to Novak Djokovic - not winning a set in any of his appearances.  I think this last loss will take a while for him to get over - in his first match since the '11 Aussie Open, he lost in the first round to Marcos Baghdatis.  He has beaten Nadal, Federer, and Djokovic on more than one occasion, but when he makes to the final of a major, it's like a deer in headlights - his feet become glued to the court & he forgets everything that got him to the final.  Do I think he will make another final in a major, definitely.  Do I think he will ever win a final,  maybe at some point.

Novak Djokovic

Nole w/2011 Australian Open trophy

Next up is Novak Djokovic, a two time Australian Open champion - 2008 & 2011.  Nole has been around for a while, reaching a career high of number two in February 2010, but has been the number 3 player for a while.  Like most, he's been unable to crack that Rafa/Roger stranglehold on the number one/two positions, but he has his confidence & serve back, his health is in check, the mind is right, and if he continues on this path he has the game to break through.  With Rafa's body failing, and Roger just not being as sharp & not having the fear factor he once had over players on the tour, look for Nole to play up to the expectations.  He should definitely challange for at LEAST one more major, probably the US Open, later this year.  A really good sign is that he has said winning Wimbledon will be a priority this year. 

All in all, 2011 should be a great year for Men's tennis - lots of new names to look out for, of course the old guard to watch.