Written by Shelly C. Dimaculangan
Roger Federer struggled with the wind and heat in his finals match against defending champion Andy Roddick who got a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 victory in Kooyong Classic last Saturday.
“It was hard conditions, and against Andy I knew that if the wind was going to be blowing, that it’s going to be really hard from the baseline,” told Federer. “I was struggling to see the ball in the crowd, it was really quite bright, as soon as it went out of the red zone, so to speak.”
Roddick staggered Federer by giving off good services. The Swiss no. 1 admitted that he had a hard time returning Roddick’s serves and opted to battle near the net. “…Because I didn’t want to lose my rhythm from the baseline, I decided to go to the net.” Federer explained.
Asked about his game, Roddick was very happy about it.
“I feel good. I feel like I’m returning pretty well, which is getting me looking at some breaks. If I can do that, I can hold serve enough to put myself in a position to win some matches, hopefully,” said Roddick.
On the other hand, Roddick doesn’t want to price too highly his win against Federer.
“That being said, it’s nice — it’s nice to get some good preparation and feel like you’re playing well going into the Aussie Open. I’m going to kind of repeat myself from early this week, but that’s the reason we came here,” explained by Roddick.
Since Kooyong Classic was just an exhibition match, points and rankings of players would not change at all. Federer’s 12-1 win-loss record against Roddick remains the same.
However, Federer treated the Kooyong Classic as his way of preparing for the Australian Open which will kickoff on January 15. He’s confident to come competitive in the Australian Open despite losing for the first time in 2007.
As draws were done for the Australian Open, Federer believes that he will have interesting matches to come.
“I think it’s a fair draw. I have good players in my sections. I think Youzhny is an excellent player, Djokovic is an excellent player, and the guy I play first round, I lost to him in ’99, I’ve never beaten him,” said Federer. “We’ll see what happens.”
Federer continues to quest for his10th Grand Slam title. His opening match in the Australian Open will be against the German Bjorn Phau.
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Federer Brushes Aside Safin
Written by Jess Plopinio
Swiss world number one Roger Federer surged into the Kooyong Classic Invitational finals when he brushed aside Russian Marat Safin, 6-3,7-6(2) in one hour and five minutes.
Federer who was tested by Czech Radek Stepanek in the opening round, was no match against a rusty Safin. In the first set, Federer was very much in control of the game, with clean winners but less unforced errors, as he broke Safin’s serve in the fourth game. In the second match,Federer had some lapses while Safin, found his rythym and countered Federer, shot-for-shot. Safin was serving for the set at 5-3, hoping to extend the match to another set. But Federer broke back, and went on to level the score, pushing the set to a tiebreak which he handily won.
Federer will meet either Andy Roddick or Andy Murray in the finals. Federer holds a 12-1 win-loss record against Roddick while 1-1 against Murray.
“I didn’t know exactly what to expect today against Marat, I didn’t know how he was playing, Federer said. “I was expecting a really tough match because yesterday I was struggling with the rhythm and everything.But I came out and played really well, didn’t make many unforced errors in the wind and everything, and could hang with him from the baseline and varied my game well.So I’m really happy the way I played,” added Federer
Australian Open 2007: What We Learned – Men
Written by Jay Jarrahi
A complete overview on the Australian Open for men. Written by Jay Jarrahi , the Sportsmagician. This review includes Roger Federer, Fernando Gonzalez, Rafael Nadal and many more.
Closer To Greatness – Roger Federer won the 10th Grand Slam title of his career, and his 3rd Australian Open title. Barring injury it seems just a matter of time before he passes Pete Sampras’s record Slam haul of 14. Federer improved his Slam final record to 10-1. The talk now will be of winning all 4 Slams in the season. Once again, Federer will look to conquer the clay (a feat which has eluded him thus far), and namely the King of Clay, Rafael Nadal. Federer has redressed the balance with Nadal away from clay, but in order to win the French Open will now have to replicate that on the surface that the Spaniard is most comfortable. Last year’s clay court season was the Nadal-Federer show, as they contested the marquee finals in Monte Carlo, Rome and most importantly, Roland Garros. Surely the challenge from others will not be as non-existent this year as it was in 2006, and it’s likely that both Federer and Nadal will have more to contend with than just each other.
The World Number Two On An Island Of His Own – Rafael Nadal’s career has stalled since Wimbledon 2006. Arguably, his career has gone backwards. Having won Masters Series events on hard (Montreal) and indoor (Madrid) courts in 2005, in addition to dominating on clay, Nadal was unable to repeat his success away from clay in the latter half of 2006. That poor form has continued into the early stages of 2007. Nadal was beaten by Xavier Malisse in Chennai, struggled against Andy Murray at the Australian Open before winning in 5 sets and was then sent home after looking completely impotent against Fernando Gonzalez in the quarter-finals. All of a sudden Nadal’s eye can no longer be focused on catching Roger Federer for the number one spot, but preserving his own place at number two. With no points to gain during the European clay court season (bar Hamburg, where Nadal has withdrawn in successive years following Rome finals in 2005 & 2006 that lasted more than 5 hours), Nadal will be under pressure again to defend his King of Clay status.
A Good Coach Can Do Wonders – When Larry Stefanki began working with Fernando Gonzalez in May 2006, the Chilean claimed he was willing to sacrifice his style of car crash tennis (which has entertained many for both its excellence and insanity) in order to crack the top 10. A few months shy of a year later and Gonzalez has reached a Masters Series final (and two other tour finals), a Grand Slam final and broken into not just the top 10, but the top 5. Unfortunately for Gonzalez, in 3 of those 4 finals he ran into Roger Federer, to whom he now trails by 10-0 in their battles on court. Possibly the next challenge for Stefanki will be to find a way for Gonzalez to break his duck against Federer. Fernando Gonzalez can claim to have produced some of the most startling statistics from this year’s Australian Open. In the first two sets of his 4th round encounter with Lleyton Hewitt, the red hot Chilean hit 33 winners and just 2 unforced errors. In his semi-final with Tommy Haas, where one might expect him to have been a tad nervous, Gonzalez played quite literally, a perfect set of tennis; 17 winners and 0 unforced errors. He finished the match with 45 winners and 3 unforced errors (tut-tut-tut).
The Same Old, Same Old – James Blake and Ivan Ljubicic yet again failed to produce the goods in a Grand Slam. Both players still reside in the top 10, but their Grand Slam records are dreadful for players of such status. James Blake has now been beyond the 4th round of a Grand Slam only 2 times in 20 attempts. On both occasions he did make it to the last eight, Blake had the strong vocal support of a home crowd at the US Open behind him. Away from New York, his Slam record leaves a lot to be desired. Ivan Ljubicic’s record is even worse (hard to believe, I know). The Croat now has a truly dismal record of being beyond the 3rd round of Grand Slams on only 2 occasions in 30 attempts. Worse still, he has 15 1st round KO’s to his name.
The Same Old, Same Old II – Andy Roddick came into his semi-final against Roger Federer with reason to believe he could put up a realistic challenge despite a dreadful 1-12 record in matches between them. Having run Federer close at the 2006 Masters Cup, beaten the world number one in an exhibition in Kooyong (a confidence booster more than anything else) and having disposed in impressive fashion Marat Safin and Mario Ancic, Roddick could have been forgiven for thinking he would not just be cannon fodder for the Swiss number one. How wrong can you be? At 4-4 in the 1st set, it looked like we had a real match on our hands. Within the blink of an eye, Federer had taken 14 of the next 16 games to record a 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 win. Now 1-13 versus Federer, it’s back to the drawing board for Roddick and Connors. A futile exercise it may be, as Roddick has never been able to trouble Federer in the ways that Nadal, Nalbandian or Safin have. The American just doesn’t possess the array of shots to give Federer a lot to think about and deal with. This is never going to change.
The King Of Early Round Drama – Having been a doubt for the Australian Open due to tendonitis in the knee, David Nalbandian did himself no favours in trying to conserve early round energy. In his 1st and 3rd round matches, Nalbandian had to come from two sets down, and faced match points in both encounters. Janko Tipsarevic and Sebastien Grosjean were the latest victims to Nalbandian’s list of players he has recovered from two sets down against. Often criticised for his overall fitness, Nalbandian can claim he is as fit as anyone when you consider his record in matches of this nature. But ultimately it was to be his downfall as he hit the wall in his 4th round match with Tommy Haas, and exited the tournament after a 4 set battle. Nalbandian has now dropped out of the top 10, and he will not play again until the ATP tournament in Buenos Aires, in order to rest his aching body. That means Argentina will travel to Austria in the 1st round of their Davis Cup quest without their main man. Nalbandian will be hoping that Argentina can survive without him, until he can return to the squad in a healthier state.
Last Year’s Story – This time last year, one of the images of the Australian Open was the smile of Marcos Baghdatis and the echoes of his band of supporters. Back then he was still a relative unknown, 12 months on and the expectation and pressure was far greater. Baghdatis had made reference to such matters after his 1st round win versus Rainer Schuettler, following his next match, the pressure was off. He was out. His tournament ended by an energetic and athletic performance from Gael Monfils.
Fourth Round Barrier For The Young Guns – Aside from Baghdatis and Monfils, other young players tipped for big things in the future, Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Richard Gasquet and Tomas Berdych could not advance past the 4th round. Murray was ousted in 5 sets by Rafael Nadal, the Scot will feel it was an opportunity missed having failed to convert on numerous break point opportunities. Djokovic was hoping for a measure of revenge against Roger Federer following some none too kind words about the Serb’s propensity to pick up ‘joke’ injuries during the course of matches in order to stall and disrupt his opponent. Despite talking a good game, Djokovic failed to play one, at least to the standard required to trouble Federer, and was beaten in straight sets. Richard Gasquet continued to keep those who feel he has a very strong future waiting after a weak display versus Tommy Robredo. Gasquet has thus far failed to shine in matches against top players in Grand Slam events, and this match was no different. Gasquet offered brief resistance in the 3rd set, before predictably running out of gas at the end of the 4th. Gasquet’s conditioning has been in question for a couple of years, and continues to be so. Until this situation is addressed, his supporters will have to continue wishing on a prayer. Tomas Berdych did nothing to suggest that his biggest obstacle is being removed either; the Czech often shows a lack of steel and maturity in his game, and this was to be no different against Nikolay Davydenko. Having taken the 1st set and playing well, Berdych looked on course to make the last eight, but inexcusably disintegrated, allowing Davydenko to impose his game and will on the match, eventually coming through in a nervy 4th set tie-break. The 4th round excursions of the young talents told us that Murray’s fitness is greatly improved, that Djokovic can bark but not yet bite, that Gasquet needs to dedicate himself to being as physically strong as he can be and that Berdych’s mind shows no sign of growing up.
It Shouldn’t Have Ended That Way – Playing in his last Australian Open, Wayne Arthurs won through to the 3rd round where he was set to face Mardy Fish. Already requiring treatment for an existing hip injury, Arthurs’s body broke down on him after a bad reaction to an anaesthetic he had taken 15 minutes prior to the match. Arthurs left the Australian Open in tears having been only able to play 3 games of his 3rd round match.
It Was A Good Tournament For – Aside from Federer and Gonzalez, there were good tournaments for Tommy Haas and Mardy Fish. Haas made his 3rd Grand Slam semi-final (all at the Australian Open) and was crushed by an inspired Fernando Gonzalez. Many will have seen this opportunity as the American based German’s last chance to get to a Slam final. Mardy Fish had never been beyond the 3rd round of a Grand Slam in 17 attempts until the 2007 Australian Open. Fish knocked out 4th seed Ivan Ljubicic in the 1st round and 16th seed David Ferrer in the 4th round. As good as his run the quarter-finals was, the American would probably like to forget the way his tournament ended, winning only 6 games against compatriot and friend, Andy Roddick. Fernando Verdasco showed the compassionate side of tennis, after trailing by 2 sets and behind in the 3rd set tie-break against Paul-Henri Mathieu, the Spaniard who looked to be going out of the tournament instead got a free pass to the next round after Mathieu picked up an untimely injury that halted the match immediately. Verdasco didn’t bask in the glory of an extremely fortunate victory, instead accompanied Mathieu to the hospital.
A Tournament They’d Rather Forget – Aside from Blake, Ljubicic, Baghdatis and Nadal it was a bad tournament for Juan Carlos Ferrero. The former King of Clay, hoping to kick-start his 2007 with a good Slam showing, failed to serve out either of the 1st 2 sets in his second round match with Danai Udomchoke, and eventually lost in 4. Despite not being at 100%, Nicolas Massu, could only manage 2 games against Novak Djokovic. No excuses for Alberto Martin, he was 100%, but could only manage 1 game against Andy Murray.
Federer Brushes Aside Youzhny, Djokovic Next
Written by Jess Plopinio
Top-seeded Roger Federer cruised past 25th seed Russian Mikhail Youzhny 6-3 6-3 7-6 in their third round clash at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne,Australia.
With both players having the same number of aces at 7 a piece and double fault at one each, Federer made the difference with 40 winners compared with Youzhny’s 25.
In the first two sets, Federer lived up to his billing as the top seed by finishing off the first two sets,6-3,6-3, and never faced a challenge. But in the third set, that lasted for almost an hour, Federer let slip his 3-0 lead but went on to win the set, and the match whe he won the tiebreak, 7-5.
“He came up with some really good shots and is starting to put it together on the match courts,” said Federer who stressed further that he was expecting a tough match against Youzhny.
Next opponent will be Novak Djokovic from Serbia and Montenegro. An up-and-coming tennis player, Djokovic insists he can beat Federer. “I have nine wins in a row now, I will do everything to win. I’m going to be motivated, that’s for sure.”
“That’s easy to say. Just get out there and then hit the shots. Of course, you know, I’m the big favorite. This is maybe his big moment where he can maybe make a name for himself no doubt. But he already missed that opportunity twice. Usually when I beat a guy twice, I know how to play him. I hope I can take advantage of that,” Federer said when asked about his next opponent, Djokovic.
Federer Zips to Fourth Round; Youhzny Eliminated
Written by Shelly C. Dimaculangan
Roger Federer continues to braise tennis world as he advances to the next round of the Australian Open, defeating Russian Mikhail Youhzny 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (5) at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne. It was almost a clear sweep by the Swiss number one, nevertheless Youhzny had attempted to snatch the third set as it reached tiebreak.
“I knew he can play one great game and he’s back in it (third set). That’s kind of what happened really,” told Federer. Although Youhzny had to check his back for treatment after the first set, he seemed to have recovered quickly. During the third set, coming from a 3-0 deficit, Youhzny forced to tiebreak. But Federer took no chance for the 25th seeded Russian to take advantage of it.
“I was already happy being up two sets to love and the break. It’s just important to get out of the tiebreaker,” Federer stated.
Last year, Youhzny staggered second rank Rafael Nadal in U.S. Open semi-finals and winning it in four sets. Federer recognized Youhzny’s improvement and so he didn’t become complacent at all when he faced the Russian contender.
Pounding away from the baseline, Federer was more aggressive to the net as he won 28 out of 35 approaches as compared to Youhzny’s 6 out of 18. Despite having more unforced errors than Youhzny, he had better executions in drop shots and stung his opponent with nifty forehands.
Both players clinched identical seven service aces, one of which was amazingly won by Federer after challenging the ruling through instant replay in the first set.
Federer’s next opponent will be Novak Djokovic of Serbia who, at the same day, won against Doha Asian Games champion Danai Udomchoke of Thailand. Federer had beaten Djokovic twice last year but still, he doesn’t want to underrate the Serbian.
“[It] seems like he is playing pretty good. It’s a dangerous match for me, that’s for sure,” said Federer.
Federer humiliates Björkman at AusOpen
Australian Open 2007 Roger Federer added another victim to his bodycount. This time the victim is Swede Jonas Björkman. With his display Fedex of power he managed to shove headlines such as the riots and the immense heat to the background.
Ofcourse the extreme circumstances of Tuesday was mentioned. The organisation of the Australian Open was forced to move matches to the evening. Larry Scott, CEO of the WTA, indicated that the agreements made about playing tennis under extreme weather circumstances required adjustments.
“The health of the players is top priority. I have been worried about the risks that were taken Tuesday.”
Federer agreed and said that the heat on the courts is unbelieveable and it’s not just the sun but also the heat that comes from under the courts. According to him it feels as if your feet are on fire.
Maybe that’s why, the weather was a little clouded en therefore lesser warm. Federer kept his second round match short against doubles specialist Jonas Björkman. Björkman was unable to take a set against the unstoppable Swiss. The endscore: 6-2, 6-3,6-2.
Federer’s next match is against Russian Mikhail Youzhny who beat Yen-Hsun Lu of Taipei in three sets 7-5,6-4,6-4.
Federer Sheds First Blood in Australian Open Inaugural
Written by Shelly C. Dimaculangan
Top-seeded Roger Federer clinched his first win in the Australian Open as he toppled German Bjorn Phau in three sets (7-5, 6-0, 6-4) at Rod Laver Arena this morning.
Despite a shaky start, Federer got away from Phau’s early attack which broke three of his serves in the first set. Federer was down (5-3) in the opening set, but he sprung back by winning the next nine games.
Federer said in an interview from the Australian Open’s website that he’s happy that he managed to escape from the first set because he thought that it would result to a set loss. He added that Phau gave him a little pressure since the German gave good shots and at the start he wasn’t sturdy at all.
The second set for Federer became too easy, as he had less unforced errors and completely broke Phau’s serves. The Swiss player got the second set shortly after 20 minutes, as compared to the previous 46-minute head-to-head.
In the final set, Federer slowly got his rhythm all the way to win the match. He became more aggressive to the net and became efficient on the baseline. He had a total of 36 out of 48 net approaches and got seven service aces against Phau’s three aces for the entire match.
Federer, twice champion of the Australian Open, will either compete against Swedish Jonas Bjorkman (rank 50th) or French Oliver Patience (rank 115th) in his next match
The Australian Open, which begins today, will go on for the next two weeks.
Australian Open Men's Preview 2007
Written by Jay Jarrahi
The first Grand Slam of the season is almost upon us; the draw has been made, and has thrown up the usual dissections of the 128 man field. Here is a look at what the draw has delivered and the possibilities over the next two weeks.
Easy pickings for Federer
The first quarter of any slam draw in the past few years has seen the same man waltz through each time – world number one, Roger Federer. Between 2004 and 2006, Federer has failed to negotiate his quarter only once (Roland Garros 2004), often ending up with the trophy or a semi-final place at worst. Few would be brave enough (or indeed foolish enough) to suggest he will not continue his efficiency in disposing of his quarters. His toughest test looks likely to come in the 4th round in the form of Novak Djokovic.
Other players and matches to keep an eye on; Can Juan Carlos Ferrero break the losing streak? The former King of Clay has lost six matches on the spin dating back to last season, and will be hoping to remind himself of what victory tastes like against Jan Hajek. Before Djokovic can think of a meeting with Federer, he will first have to get past double Olympic gold medallist, Nicolas Massu. Last year’s final could be this year’s quarter-final, if Marcos Baghdatis can get that far for a re-match with Federer. Three of the ATP’s current crop of young talents have been drawn in close proximity, Baghdatis, Gael Monfils and Richard Gasquet. However, 7th seed Tommy Robredo will be looking to uphold his ranking and make the quarter-finals at the expense of these youngsters.
The quarter of aces
A quarter containing Ivan Ljubicic, Mario Ancic, Joachim Johansson, Marat Safin and Andy Roddick can be described as nothing else. Despite the excellent serving likely to be on show from these players, only one at best will be making it out of this quarter in what would be a likely showdown with Roger Federer. Undoubtedly, the most anticipated match up of the first week is a possible 3rd round encounter between Safin and Roddick.
Mario Ancic and Joachim Johansson are set for a 2nd round meeting, meaning that at least two of these four big servers will be gone by the start of the 4th round. Ivan Ljubicic will like his chances of at least equalling his Melbourne performance from 2006, where he reached the quarter-finals. Before last year’s Australian Open, Ljubicic had never been beyond the 3rd round of any Grand Slam in 25 attempts. He backed up his Australian Open effort, by making the last four at the French Open, but has since reverted back to type with 3rd and 1st round exits at Wimbledon and the US Open respectively.
Who wants it?
The highest seeds in the third quarter are Nikolay Davydenko (3) and David Nalbandian (8), not only do they share the same quarter but they also share doubts over their fitness after early season injuries. At the time of writing both players are expected to start the tournament, but whether that remains the case is to be seen, or how long their injuries will hold up if indeed they do begin the tournament at all. There is never a good time to be injured, and both players will be cursing their luck, as each of them will consider they have strong possibilities to come through this quarter.
Brotherly love may be in order in the 2nd round if the Rochus (Olivier & Christophe) brothers can win their 1st round encounters and meet in the following round. Both face tough challenges in the form of Chris Guccione (for Olivier) and Sebastian Grosjean (for Christophe).
Looking to take advantage of the doubts surrounding Davydenko and Nalbandian, will be Tomas Berdych and Tommy Haas. It is approaching the time where tennis fans want to see if Berdych can realise some of his potential in Slams, or whether he will prove to be more hype than substance. The Czech has not yet been past the 4th round of a Slam in 13 attempts, and has an especially poor record to date in Melbourne (2 wins in 3 years). Tommy Haas has been to two Australian Open semi-finals in his career and will be hoping he can take advantage of a draw that sees him avoid Roger Federer (in early 2006 Haas saw Federer block his path in a number of tournaments).
Xavier Malisse versus Arnaud Clement is the pick of the 1st round matches from this quarter.
Who wants it II?
Number two seed, Rafael Nadal, cannot be considered a hot favourite to come through the bottom quarter given his form since Wimbledon 2006. The Spaniard began the season in Chennai, but was disposed of by Malisse, and then had to withdraw in the first set of his tournament in Sydney against Guccione. The injury is not considered serious enough to put his participation in doubt, but nonetheless it is a possible factor counting against him going deep.
In the match of the 1st round, James Blake faces Carlos Moya (both players will be meeting later today in the final in Sydney). The winner of the clash in Sydney will not only pick up a title, but also a huge psychological boost going into the battle in Melbourne. The pressure is on Blake to start delivering in Slams, as of yet, he has failed to reach the quarter-finals of a Slam outside of the USA.
Lleyton Hewitt comes into the 2007 tournament with a new coach, Scott Draper, after Roger Rasheed cut his ties with the former world number one. Hewitt will be encouraged to have avoided a number of players with the potential to blow him off court, and this represents an opportunity for him to build on the quarter-finals he made in the final two Slams of 2006. His first big challenge could come in the form of Fernando Gonzalez in the 3rd round. The Chilean has the firepower to shoot Hewitt down, and it could be another explosive 3rd round match to go with Safin-Roddick.
Another player who will be hoping to go deep into the second week is Andy Murray. A possible 4th round match with Nadal awaits him should both players reach that stage.
Federer Falters at Indian Wells
Written by Jess Plopinio
Swiss top-seeded Roger Federer suffered a shocking second-round loss to unseeded Argentine Guillermo Cañas in straight sets, 7-5,6-2, at the Pacific Life Open,in Indian Wells, California, USA. Cañas ended the 41-match winning streak by Federer who was on the way to breaking Guillermo Vilas’ 46-match winning streak.
Federer, though had five aces to Cañas’ one, started rusty in the first set. He was outclassed by his Argentine foe in every aspect of the game. Playing at the baseline, Cañas never allowed the world number one to control the play. After an hour and forty-five minutes, Federer’s hope of winning his fourth Pacific Life Open title came to an end.
Federer was quick to refute that the pressure of breaking Vilas’ record caused him the match. “You think it’s pressure. It’s no pressure at all because I take it match by match. And you guys think it takes a win to break the record. I’m concerned about winning my first-round match against a lucky loser. … It just shows you how tough it is.”
Federer joins former world number ones Lleyton Hewitt and Marat Safin as big casualties in the second round.