Australian Open Thread

PKBasu · Post by **PKBasu** » Fri Jan 28, 2005 12:01 pm

I'm afraid Hewitt is going to win this year (I find Hewitt's game ugly, and his gesticulations loathsome, but it does seem to work for him...). There is an inevitability about it: Virginia Wade won it for Britain in Wimbledon's centenary year and Hewitt wants to do it for Australia. The ultra-partisan crowds are helping him no end. And of course Alicia Molik's doubles win is icing on the cake for the Aussies.

Sandeep · Post by **Sandeep** » Fri Jan 28, 2005 1:40 pm

Roddick made too many unforced errors. There were lot of them. And these days i find the passion missing in roddick. Passion may not be the right word. There is something lacking. He was not the same when he came into international arena. He was more like mcenroe shouting at everything. These dasy roddic appears to be calm. May be that is good for his game. But Roddick dissapointed me with his performance. This was a match which he should have won. He is so good at tie breakers, I don't know what happened to him today. And he broke hewitt in 3rd set too. And from there he lost. He played terrible. But PKBASU, if you have seen the match hewitt didnot do much of pumping and shouting in this match. May be it is the respect he gave to roddick. Roddick missed a golden oppurtunity to win the slam.

Nate · Post by **Nate** » Fri Jan 28, 2005 7:21 pm

Roddick has crumbled before during crunch time against Hewitt and Federer. Maybe he doesn't have that inner belief/desire/hunger and gets mentally intimidated. (he is around 1-5 and 1-6 or somethings against them). The Roddick of earlier rounds goes missing when it comes to facing these two guys. If Safin says he is a changed and cooled down, his test is tomorrow. He can redeem his crashes in the last two finals with a victory tomorrow.

Sandeep · Post by **Sandeep** » Fri Jan 28, 2005 7:50 pm

I exactly don't accept that he crumbles. But i some how feel he still have to mature. His game is good, but as some one pointed out rightly he has to improve tactically too. He has one of the weakest backhands in circuit. Really bad back hand. If he doesn't improve that, I wonder if he has in him to win another grand slam. He showed lot of promise as youngster. But some thing is missing now. No doubt, that he is not as talented as his compatriots but definitely not as bad as it looked the other night. He has to really improve.

amr090 · Post by **amr090** » Fri Jan 28, 2005 8:17 pm

i think roddick has to improve tactically. allhe does right now is try to hit a serve 300 mph every time. you cant just rely on your serve to win. he needs to work on setting up points moving his opponents and then finishing them

BSharma · Post by **BSharma** » Sat Jan 29, 2005 2:28 am

Australian Open wheel chair division:

Singles semifinal:
David Hall (AUS)[1] vs. Jayant Mistry (GBR)

Doubles Qtr. finals:
Robin Ammerlaan (NED)[1]/Martin Legner (AUT)[1] vs. Peter Wikstrom (SWE)/Jayant Mistry (GBR

Kumar · Post by **Kumar** » Sat Jan 29, 2005 2:49 am

Somebody had earlier said that thereis not much difference between Roddick and Federer and Roddick played federer competitively taking him to Tie breaker..

With Roddick's serve, it is not big surprise when he takes it to tie breaker.. he hardly loses on his serve and hardly breaks anybody else. He has the worse statistics in terms of breaking the opponent serve.. his weapons are his big serve and big forehand..

Also I think Safin is going to win in 3 easy sets .. Hewitt is too tired (same as Safin last year) .. We have seen too many competitive matches in this Australian open so far.. Final will be a dampener when compared to the semis..

Sandeep · Post by **Sandeep** » Sat Jan 29, 2005 3:27 am

Davenport won first set 6-2. Man, this is amazing. Davenport at this age, great. I was surprised to see this. The thing is serena did not make many unforced errors also. Davenport I guess is playing very very well.

gvhvhg · Post by **gvhvhg** » Sat Jan 29, 2005 3:30 am

wow so many opinions here that i disagree with

While Safin may be the most naturaly gifted after federer, i do not beleive he is the best player after fedrer. It is Hewitt right now...he has proven it now over the last 6 months....he has reached the final of the last three important finals, US Open, Masters Cup and now AO....he is poised to win this one....with the type of game he has he has had to work extemley hard to reach this level and I admire him greatly for it....Hewitt dominated the game for a year or so from 01-02....when Sampras was at his end and before federer came into his own....i did not like him then....but now i like him and admire him for the way he has brought himself back to the top...i dont think he has it in him to surpass Federer....but i think he is #2 and Safin and Roddick are at the same level....there is a difference between Safin and Roddick though....Safin is at the level he is because he has failed to reach his potential where as Roddick has realized his full potential....i don't think he has the ability to play better than he he does right now...he just isnt a #1....he is in the 3-5 range....

[/quote] (I find Hewitt's game ugly, and his gesticulations loathsome why PKB why??? Whats wrong with the g ... with that

Kumar · Post by **Kumar** » Sat Jan 29, 2005 3:48 am

Hewitt had run-ins with some of his opponents which is really ruffling the feathers of his colleagues.. One of his opponent got so mad at him, that he spit at him. He also bumped into Nalbandian during the change over.. As far as his pumping action goes, I think nobody would have minded that if it was happening in a neutral country.. But since his actions incite the crowds, some sports commentators seem to disagree with that.. But I don't find it disagreeable..

Moment so much money flows into sports, gentleman spirit with which game was played once is not required.. We can applaud players who have that spirit,but that is no reason to bad mouth those without it...

Kumar · Post by **Kumar** » Sat Jan 29, 2005 3:59 am

i do not beleive he is the best player after fedrer. It is Hewitt right now...he has proven it now over the last 6 months....he has reached the final of the last three important finals, US Open, Masters Cup and now AO....

This is may be true.. And Hewitt lost to Federer at AUS open / Wimbledone last year.. making it look like if not for federer, he would have been the champion..

Though I agree with the opinion that Hewitt is the next best, the way he has been losing to Federer make me think twice... Also not sure if his body can handle the pounding he takes every time on the court.. Mark my words, barring injuries Safin will be No.2 at the end of this year

Kumar · Post by **Kumar** » Sat Jan 29, 2005 4:10 am

Serena is leading 5-0 in the third set.. and is on the verge of another grand slam..

amr090 · Post by **amr090** » Sat Jan 29, 2005 4:45 am

i love serena. honestly i think davenport is one of the worst #1s ever. what did she do last year?? the only reason she was #1 was because the real top playeres (serena, clijsters, henin-hardenne, capriati and maybe venus) were all hurt for the large part of the year.

if you look at davenports game shes got an ok game and above average groundstrokes. she can only use those groundies effectively if you strike the ball right back to her. she is a bad mover and once you get her on the run she cant do jack. serena right now is the best tennis player in the world no matter what the rankings say.

amr090 · Post by **amr090** » Sat Jan 29, 2005 4:54 am

and gvh got to agree with you about hewitt. hewitt is a great competitor and i give him full credit for his fight. but at times he is extremely irritating and unsportsmanlike.

he starts screaming "come on" and gesturing at opponenents mistakes and errors. he curses at opponents during a match. he bumped into nalbandian and cursed at chela. while hes a great competitor i think as a person hes extremely immature and out of control. he could learn a thing or two on how to behave from federer.

no one is saying he cant pump himself up when he hits a good shot, but dont degrade or demean your opponent when doing it. ive seen several times where hewitt yells come on and pumps his fists while staring at an opponent.

as far as safin being the best, i think safin is the most talented after federer but i agree right now hes not the 2nd best. however if he continues to improve as he is doing i think he soon will be. right now 2nd best is a clsose 2nd between roddick and hewitt.

i was so stunned roddick lost 2 tiebreaks yesterday. the odds of that are almost lower than winning a million dollar lottery. hewitt really escaped and roddick missed a golden opportunity.

Sandeep · Post by **Sandeep** » Sat Jan 29, 2005 5:48 am

You are right. Roddick is a tiebreak player and god knows how he lost yesterday.By the way is rod laver arena rebuilt. It looks so beautiful.