2008 Australian Open Tennis Championships

Wow Federer survives 10-8 in the 5th set. What a match. Roger was on the ropes but showed alot of heart in winning. Mike, this definately sets up well for Rafa should he get to finals. Definately want Roger to expend alot of energy early on. Rafa's draw looks pretty good now with Andy out. I think he should make the finals, barring any injuries.
 
longest running night in grand slam history! Hewitt and Baghdatis are still on court live on ESPN2! 4:08 a.m. in the morning right now in Melbourne! 2-2 in the 5th!
 
Hewitt prevails 4-6, 7-5, 7-5, 6-7 (5), 6-3. They played until 4:30 in the morning. Crazy. Hewitt better hope he recovers quickly because he has Djokovic next.

Federer got pushed bigtime, having to win 10-8 in the 5th. Tipseravic played great tennis. Throw in Blake winning after being down 2 sets, not to mention to upsets on the women's side ... perhaps one of the best days top to bottom in any grand slam?
 
I watched Fed's 5th set live last night after I got home from the bar... That was quite possibly the best sporting event I've seen on TV short of the NC game; the announcers were going nuts. Fed was just killing him on serve, but Tips would not go away. He was down 0-15, 0-30 numerous times but kept battling back.
 
So it looks like there are two 3rd rounders that weren't completed last night because of the rain. Nalbandian (10) and Ferrero (22) need to play, and are first on the main court today, 6:00 p.m. on Tennis Channel. Ferrer (5) and Spadea are on the second court at the same time. Then the 4th round will begin with the bottom half. The 4th round looks like ...

(1) Federer
(13) Berdych
(tomorrow)

(12) James Blake
Marin Cilic
(tomorrow)

(3) Djokovic
(19) Hewitt
(tomorrow, probably night session)

(10) Nalbandian/(22) Ferrero winner
Spadea/(5)Ferrer winner
(tomorrow, probably night session)

(8) Gasquet
Tsonga
(today, morning session second match. Probably 9:00 p.m. ESPN2 coverage)

(14) Youzhny
(4) Davydenko
(today, morning session last match, probably 11:00 p.m. ESPN2 coverage)

(29) Kohlschreiber
(24) Neiminen
(today, morning session first match. 6:00 p.m. on Tennis Channel)

(23) Mathieu
(2) Nadal
(today, night session last match. probably 4:00 a.m. ESPN2 coverage)
 
Rafa with an easy win tonight as Mathieu had to retire midway through the second set. He gets Jakko Niemenan next and then winner of Tsonga/Youzhny. I know Youzhny just beat him a few weeks ago, but that was a day after that long match with Moya. I fully expect him to coast into the finals. The top half is much tougher. Roger has Berdych next, then probably Blake, and then a semi full of tough opponents. I'm starting to like Rafa's chances here Mike. Looking good for ol Rafa!
biggrin.gif
 
So the top half 4th round plays today. Here is how things look ...

(1) Federer
(13) Berdych
(today morning session, third match on. Probably around 9:00 p.m. ESPN2 telecast)

(12) Blake
Cilic
(today morning session, third match on. Probably around 9:00 p.m. ESPN2 telecast)

(3) Djokovic
(19) Hewitt
(today night session, first match. ESPN2 2:30 a.m. telecast)

(22) Ferrero
(5) Ferrer
(today morning session, last match. Probably 11:00 p.m. ESPN2 telecast)
 
El Fed was back on track beating Berdych pretty routinely. He next plays James Blake. I sure hope Blake can give Roger a match for once. He always seems to be playing well in a tourney and flops against Roger. I expect a 4 set win for Federer.
 
that Federer-Byrdich match was painful to watch. Byrdich had the 2nd set on his racket three times and choked every single shot.

Federer may find the magic touch again but right now he's vulnerable. This isn't the same player who has singlehandedly dominated men's tennis over the past 4-5 years.
 
Dog, you are absolutely right. I know this is a very bold statement, but I am going to say it ... Right now Federer is there for the taking. He is not having a good tournament, by his standards. Tipsarevic really showed something. And he was right in his press conference. You MUST believe you can win when you play him. It is amazing how many matches Roger wins just by stepping onto the court. Tipsarevic went out there and played Roger just like any other player. Federer BARELY won that match. Had it not been for serving 39 aces, damn near doubling his previous career high, Roger would have lost. A point here and there and he would have lost.

Roger really wasn't much better than Berdych. Tomas had set point after set point in the second set, and lost them all. HE lost them all. Unforced errors and into the net. He clammed up on the big points because he was too damn nervous. Couldn't believe he was about to take a set from Roger at a major. If Tomas had any sort of confidence, he would have had that second set and played tough after than, rather than just lying down like he did. When Federer sees that, he is going to go after it.

Don't get me wrong, Federer is still amazing. But like Dog said, he isn't completely blitzing his opponents off the court like he has in the past few years. I hope Blake plays loose and makes a match of it. If he hits through the ball and keeps it flat, he has a shot. Certainly Djokovic has a real shot in the semis. But Novak choked in the US Open final. I wouldn't be surprised if he did it again here.

I REALLY hope Rafa gets through Nieminen and Youzhny/Tsonga. If he does, he has a damn good shot of taking this. He is the only player on tour who is NEVER afraid to play Roger, and that is why he has a winning record against him, including wins on hard courts. If Roger and Rafa are in the final, it could be another epic showdown.
 
Men's quarterfinals ...

(1) Federer
(12) Blake
(tomorrow)

(3) Djokovic
(5) Ferrer
(tomorrow)

Tsonga
(14) Youzhny
(today night session last match. Probably ESPN2 about 4:00 a.m.-ish)

(24) Nieminen
(2) Nadal
(today morning session last match. Probably ESPN2 about 9:00 p.m.-ish)
 
Federer is not playing well. However, the longer he gets in this tournament, the tougher he is going to get. He hasn't played competitive tennis for 2 months entering this tournament. We'll see. My guess is that he beats Blake in 4 and then has a battle with Djokovic.
 
Djokovic is the favorite but don't count out Ferrer. He has the physical play that can wear on your physically and mentally. I give him a decent shot in this match. It's probably good news for Roger in the fact that if Djokovic wins, he'll probably win a long match war and be a little weary heading into the semi matchup with Roger. I really hope Blake can do the same to Roger. He always seems to get it either 5-5 in the first with a break point or a couple of set points in the tiebreaker and just can't let loose and connect. He absolutely needs to win the first set to have a shot.

I don't think Rafa will have a hard time with Niemenen but alot of the analysts are picking Youzhny in the finals based on his wins over Rafa is the past. Tsonga will be tough for him but I think he wins in 4 or 5. I sure want to see Rafa get a shot to redeem himself against Youzhny.
 
vy, I agree with your analysis on Fed/Blake and Djokovic/Ferro. Blake absolutely needs to win the first set to have the confidence that can possibly carry him further in the match. Ferro is a tough gritty player that gets back everything. I think Djokovic wins, but probably a close one. The problem the top half has is they are a day behind the bottom. The bottom will have an extra day of rest from here out.In reply to:
 
Youzhny is an underachiever IMHO. He came up at the same time as Roddick and Federer and has a great game. I thought he'd be better than he's been. He has the ability to beat anyone (including Federer) but hasn't delivered.
 
Mike,

I agree that Nadal would be a slight favorite in that match, but it's hard to ignore 0 and 1...I don't care if he was tired. On paper, they look pretty evenly matched. Would be an interesting match up.
 
For me, that match is no indication of what would happen in a possible semi between the two. The circumstances are way different. If anything, it should fire Rafa up a bit.
 
Serena isn't moving to well right now. Jankovic is up 6-2, 2-1. They are on serve with Serena serving.
 
and in classic women's tennis fashion, Jankovic breaks again to beat Serena 6-3, 6-4. Probably the biggest upset yet, considering Serena is a three-time Aussie champ and defending champ. Even though Serena was (7) and Jelena is (3), Jelena was a huge underdog. Crazy considering Jankovic was facing match points against her in the first round.

Rafa and Nieminen are up next!
 
Mike,

I don't know how you can watch womens tennis when the horns are on tv. I hope you are just monitoring the match because you are fired up for the Nadal match...
 
Rafa not playing too well early in this first set. Doesn't look like this will be the easy match for Rafa I thought. Nieminen is really surprising me so far. I didn't think he had that much power but he's ripping some returns and groundstrokes.

Vamos Rafa Vamos!!
 
phil, I have two TVs in my home office. I was watching both.

Rafa came out a bit sluggish, but he is in control now. Set point on his stuck ...
 
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