When the WTA last performed it's carve up of unforced errors, it made a clerical mistake and handed an extra helping to Australia's second ranked female player Jarmila Gajdosova. In her first match in singles at the 2012 Aus Open - aka match one on day 2 at Hisense Arena - Jarka used many of her error ration in the first game, and accordingly lost serve. The talented Russian who pushed Stosur to the limit at the US Open last year held her serve and was the quicker out of the blocks, leaving Gajdosova standing at the starting gates, and that should be the final mixed metaphor for today.
Jarmila managed to find rhythm on her next lot of service games but could not break down the Kirilenko delivery. Too many times opportunities went begging because of the Aussie's refusal to be patient and her penchant for hitting outright winners. Down a break requires thoughtful deliberation when dealing with an opponent's serve.
Maria played careful and effective tennis, keeping errors to a minimum, and this frustrated Jarka into premature 'go for glory' shots. Serving for the set at 5-4 Kirilenko tried her hardest to assist Gajdosova by double faulting as much as she could, but even this benevolence could not outweigh the inefficiency of Jarka to take toll of the situation.
Kirilenko 6-4 ahead.
The extraordinary thing about this match is that nothing extraordinary was occurring from Kirilenko - all that she did in the set was to ensure the ball remained in play, safe in the knowledge that Gajdosova would do all the attacking and fail on enough occasions to allow Maria the lead.
Set two began well enough with Jarka gaining game points quickly, only to waste them and virtually give the game away, down a set and an a break. All the attractive tennis flowed from the Aussie racquet, but all the less exciting and winning tennis was the domain of Kirilenko.
The fourth game produced several chances for Jarka, but the net was her enemy on break points as she failed to convert. This would turn out to be her last hope dashed, because the cool Russian player broke once more and served for the match at 6-4 5-2.
Jarmila won the first 3 points decisively but to be true to her form all match she wasted the three break points and Maria continued to be a problem to be solved. 6-4 6-2 but until there is an injection of proactive forcing shots into her consistent game, Kirilenko is destined to only cause nuisance value when taking on the very top players.
Tuesday, 17 January 2012
Wosniacki - it's all in the wrist
Headlines had Caroline Wozniacki about to lose her whole arm following the wrist niggle she inherited from a loss in Sydney. Seems that the top players always pick up an injury in a disappointing defeat. Never offer it as an excuse - just leave it dangling in the breeze for a branch of the media to take on board.
The injury card is normally played later in the tournament when up against a tough opponent, one who may have the game to win. So in no way did Wozniacki appear troubled or handicapped by a sore hand when faced with Anastasia Rodionova in round one. Let's be real, the 2 reasons Rodionova was to play her first and last singles match in the Aus Open this year on night one were: 1) she's Australian 2) Wozniacki is the number one ranked women in tennis and probably demanded to be seen in prime time. Rodionova simply the support act on this occasion.
A scrappy start assisted Rodionova to keep pace with the Danish delight. In the fifth game the Aussie even had the chance to break serve. The big points were won by the great Dane, and 3-2 became 4-2 when Anastasia basically presented a service break to Wozniacki. Caroline served particularly well, and her penetrating ground strokes kept immense pressure on the unhappy camper from Australia. From early in the first set, Caroline won 9 straight games, and Rodionova had no answer - not a useful one anyway.
The loudest applause for the local came when she denied Wozniacki a 6-0 bagel in set 2. That mere statistic only delayed slightly the finish of a dominant first round performance from the world number one. Caro will most likely need to win the Open or at worst make the final to have any hope of keeping her number one crown. 6-2 6-1 is a positive step in that direction.
The injury card is normally played later in the tournament when up against a tough opponent, one who may have the game to win. So in no way did Wozniacki appear troubled or handicapped by a sore hand when faced with Anastasia Rodionova in round one. Let's be real, the 2 reasons Rodionova was to play her first and last singles match in the Aus Open this year on night one were: 1) she's Australian 2) Wozniacki is the number one ranked women in tennis and probably demanded to be seen in prime time. Rodionova simply the support act on this occasion.
A scrappy start assisted Rodionova to keep pace with the Danish delight. In the fifth game the Aussie even had the chance to break serve. The big points were won by the great Dane, and 3-2 became 4-2 when Anastasia basically presented a service break to Wozniacki. Caroline served particularly well, and her penetrating ground strokes kept immense pressure on the unhappy camper from Australia. From early in the first set, Caroline won 9 straight games, and Rodionova had no answer - not a useful one anyway.
The loudest applause for the local came when she denied Wozniacki a 6-0 bagel in set 2. That mere statistic only delayed slightly the finish of a dominant first round performance from the world number one. Caro will most likely need to win the Open or at worst make the final to have any hope of keeping her number one crown. 6-2 6-1 is a positive step in that direction.
Roger in first gear - maybe second for a bit
The Seven Network - sorry Australian Open organisers - decided it might be fun to play the men's singles match first in the night session on Rod Laver Arena. Having received the all clear from Roger Federer, whose happiness is the most important asset to maintain over this fortnight, the match began, late thanks to some earlier delaying tactics designed by the Verdasco/Tomic partnership.
No one knew Roger's opponent, and even the great man himself had few clues as to what might come off the Russian racquet. Yes, we had at least gathered that the man originated from Russia. Alexander Kudryavtsev had done extremely well to win through qualifying, so what was different about this match?
One or two things made themselves apparent fairly readily.
Roger did play smoothly, accurately and patiently, but his decision to retreat to the back of the court on virtually every point seemed to fly in the face of the all court game we know the man possesses. I think in retrospect Federer needed a decent practise hit, and the only way to make this match last a decent length of time, was to rally with the Russian. Of course Roger can do this better than most, especially against a qualifier who had to ask directions to find Centre Court.
The first set lasted longer than we envisaged, and at 5-6, Alexander must have been proud of his evening's work. However, as happens on so many of Roger's outings, he ambushes his prey with a short but lethal barrage of brilliance to stun the enemy into submission and forfeiture of the set. So 7-5 launched the remainder of the enjoyment for Roger and the agony of wondering what might have been for Alexander. Well may he wonder - if Federer had shifted into second gear earlier and moved forward to cut off angles and create slice, then the match would have been written about in the past tense about as fast as Azarenka had been in shooting the fish in her barrel.
Federer pounced on another opening granted him by Kudryavtsev in the second set and that was the second and final straw for Alexander. No more games were allowed to flow in his direction as Roger successfully constructed a dam with his polished racquet work. 6-2 the second set.
Set three proceeded at a pace and style to which we had become well accustomed. Roger's party tricks baffled the Russian player and he disembarked the Fed Express after another 8 stops for games.
Roger, never under any real pressure prevailed and actually smiled at the 7-5 6-2 6-2 victory.
No one knew Roger's opponent, and even the great man himself had few clues as to what might come off the Russian racquet. Yes, we had at least gathered that the man originated from Russia. Alexander Kudryavtsev had done extremely well to win through qualifying, so what was different about this match?
One or two things made themselves apparent fairly readily.
Roger did play smoothly, accurately and patiently, but his decision to retreat to the back of the court on virtually every point seemed to fly in the face of the all court game we know the man possesses. I think in retrospect Federer needed a decent practise hit, and the only way to make this match last a decent length of time, was to rally with the Russian. Of course Roger can do this better than most, especially against a qualifier who had to ask directions to find Centre Court.
The first set lasted longer than we envisaged, and at 5-6, Alexander must have been proud of his evening's work. However, as happens on so many of Roger's outings, he ambushes his prey with a short but lethal barrage of brilliance to stun the enemy into submission and forfeiture of the set. So 7-5 launched the remainder of the enjoyment for Roger and the agony of wondering what might have been for Alexander. Well may he wonder - if Federer had shifted into second gear earlier and moved forward to cut off angles and create slice, then the match would have been written about in the past tense about as fast as Azarenka had been in shooting the fish in her barrel.
Federer pounced on another opening granted him by Kudryavtsev in the second set and that was the second and final straw for Alexander. No more games were allowed to flow in his direction as Roger successfully constructed a dam with his polished racquet work. 6-2 the second set.
Set three proceeded at a pace and style to which we had become well accustomed. Roger's party tricks baffled the Russian player and he disembarked the Fed Express after another 8 stops for games.
Roger, never under any real pressure prevailed and actually smiled at the 7-5 6-2 6-2 victory.
Monday, 16 January 2012
What shoulder injury Rafa?
Last up on Hisense Arena for day one was number 2 seed and winner of about the only thing Novak Djokovic didn't parcel up last year - the French Open. Oh yes an opponent was chosen for Rafa upon which the Spanish superstar could practice his myriad of tricks and the unlucky sap was Alex Kuznetsova representing the USA.
As per script the opening serve was an American failure, and Rafa continued the pain by holding serve and giving us a hint of some of the whipping forehands that would litter the court as the mismatch unfolded. Despite the aura of Rafa, and the non appearance of any shoulder discomfort, Alex did pretty well for the remainder of set one. The quality of his passing shots surprised me, more relevantly surprised Nadal, and the final margin came to be that single initial break of serve. 6-4 but nothing to jump over the moon about for Nadal.
The second set set the scene for mass destruction of Kuznetsov, which an angry Rafa had planned to occur much earlier. He continued to seethe when the complete domination of the set still relinquished a game to the American. I ran out of any original superlatives for Nadal in 2010, and last year I had to use them all on Novak Djokovic. It seems time right to apply them to Rafa once more.
I admit being seduced by the end of year form and results of a certain Mr Federer, and indeed pencilled him for the final this year, but to assume that Rafa would lose a semi to Roger is to flirt with any tipping form I may have pretended to possess. As Rafa continued to cruise in the third set and swiftly mark an end to the singles campaign for Alex Kuznetsov, the taking for granted of what Nadal does to tennis balls had to be set aside for a moment in order to once again appreciate the talent of the still young star.
As an opening round statement this straight sets destruction of a pretty fair player sets a high standard and Novak, Roger and anyone else who harbours thoughts of grandeur in Melboune in 2012 must take full note. Nadal 6-4 6-1 6-1
As per script the opening serve was an American failure, and Rafa continued the pain by holding serve and giving us a hint of some of the whipping forehands that would litter the court as the mismatch unfolded. Despite the aura of Rafa, and the non appearance of any shoulder discomfort, Alex did pretty well for the remainder of set one. The quality of his passing shots surprised me, more relevantly surprised Nadal, and the final margin came to be that single initial break of serve. 6-4 but nothing to jump over the moon about for Nadal.
The second set set the scene for mass destruction of Kuznetsov, which an angry Rafa had planned to occur much earlier. He continued to seethe when the complete domination of the set still relinquished a game to the American. I ran out of any original superlatives for Nadal in 2010, and last year I had to use them all on Novak Djokovic. It seems time right to apply them to Rafa once more.
I admit being seduced by the end of year form and results of a certain Mr Federer, and indeed pencilled him for the final this year, but to assume that Rafa would lose a semi to Roger is to flirt with any tipping form I may have pretended to possess. As Rafa continued to cruise in the third set and swiftly mark an end to the singles campaign for Alex Kuznetsov, the taking for granted of what Nadal does to tennis balls had to be set aside for a moment in order to once again appreciate the talent of the still young star.
As an opening round statement this straight sets destruction of a pretty fair player sets a high standard and Novak, Roger and anyone else who harbours thoughts of grandeur in Melboune in 2012 must take full note. Nadal 6-4 6-1 6-1
Schiavone skips into round 2
Round one is always going to donate a match which fails to capture the crowd, and for the most part the Francesca Schiavone serving appeared to be the smallest of appetisers to the main course of Rafa Nadal to come. The 2010 French Open champion from the outset had to many weapons in her arsenal for Spanish girl Laura Pous-Tio. 3-0 in the blink of an eye, and the shot making from the Italian player as always was a delight to watch. Possibly the most intelligent use of a set of skills is that employed by Schiavone. Structuring the points with intricate precision, and moving to position with all the guile garnered through years on the tour.
The serve was on the money in the first set, and the one handed backhand showed glimpses of its beauty and effectiveness. Laura simply overwhelmed by the presence of her opponent, made too many mistakes, and if chances arose, she could not grasp them - all this resulted in a set decided 6-1, and Francesca did not allow any niceties in the second and what would be final set.
When all the interest in this match had been redirected to how Bernard Tomic had come back against Verdasco on Rod Laver Arena, suddenly Laura's game clicked. To some degree Schiavone was guilty of playing her into the set by not pressing the advantage at 3-0 and 2 breaks. Her serve fell away enough for the Spanish player to confidently strike winners and move Francesca to parts of the court that she did not intend visiting today. Serving at 3-2, there existed even more chances to even up the set, but experience won out and Francesca held for 4-2.
The match standard improved with some of the best tennis served up in the latter stages but the horse had already bolted, and Schiavone was aboard and waving the whip in delight as they passed the post first 6-1 6-3.
The serve was on the money in the first set, and the one handed backhand showed glimpses of its beauty and effectiveness. Laura simply overwhelmed by the presence of her opponent, made too many mistakes, and if chances arose, she could not grasp them - all this resulted in a set decided 6-1, and Francesca did not allow any niceties in the second and what would be final set.
When all the interest in this match had been redirected to how Bernard Tomic had come back against Verdasco on Rod Laver Arena, suddenly Laura's game clicked. To some degree Schiavone was guilty of playing her into the set by not pressing the advantage at 3-0 and 2 breaks. Her serve fell away enough for the Spanish player to confidently strike winners and move Francesca to parts of the court that she did not intend visiting today. Serving at 3-2, there existed even more chances to even up the set, but experience won out and Francesca held for 4-2.
The match standard improved with some of the best tennis served up in the latter stages but the horse had already bolted, and Schiavone was aboard and waving the whip in delight as they passed the post first 6-1 6-3.
No nasty surprises for Li Na
The first women's singles match on Hisense Arena included the 2011 runner-up and this year's 5th seed Li Na. Coming off a good and almost great Sydney International, the first ever Chinese Grand Slam singles winner was charged with ridding the tournament of Ksenia Pervak from Kazakhstan. For the second successive match here the left hander was the underdog. However Pervak began with a purpose that matched the Roland Garros champion for the first handful of games. The tennis of a high standard comprised hard hitting ground strokes mainly from the back of the court and the court coverage by the two was particularly attractive. Although well received, the coverage did have to be removed, and so the crocheted quilt made its departure before any more balls were struck.
After five holds of service, the first twist occurred with Li Na stepping up the pace and pouring on the heat. The double barreled cliche was too much for Ksenia, and she lost her serve. Tracker dogs immediately were sent out to recover the serve, and in the meantime Li Na lost her serve as well. A second team of dogs was dispatched, and emergency teams were concerned when a third successive serve was lost, again by a careless Pervak.
At 5-3 Li Na used some of her reserves of Grand Slam winning nerve to safely serve out the set 6-3. It had been entertaining stuff with plenty of cross court passing shots and down the line winners - far more precise than the previous match.
Pervak found herself immediately in trouble in the second set, and a sprinkling of double faults only accentuated her predicament. Up a break, Li Na did what Del Potro failed to achieve and that was to keep her opponent down. A number of interesting rallies merely punctuated slightly a steam roller ride from Li Na right over the top of a gallant but ultimately flat Kazakhstani.
Li Na triumphant and not just a little impressive with her 6-3 6-1 display.
After five holds of service, the first twist occurred with Li Na stepping up the pace and pouring on the heat. The double barreled cliche was too much for Ksenia, and she lost her serve. Tracker dogs immediately were sent out to recover the serve, and in the meantime Li Na lost her serve as well. A second team of dogs was dispatched, and emergency teams were concerned when a third successive serve was lost, again by a careless Pervak.
At 5-3 Li Na used some of her reserves of Grand Slam winning nerve to safely serve out the set 6-3. It had been entertaining stuff with plenty of cross court passing shots and down the line winners - far more precise than the previous match.
Pervak found herself immediately in trouble in the second set, and a sprinkling of double faults only accentuated her predicament. Up a break, Li Na did what Del Potro failed to achieve and that was to keep her opponent down. A number of interesting rallies merely punctuated slightly a steam roller ride from Li Na right over the top of a gallant but ultimately flat Kazakhstani.
Li Na triumphant and not just a little impressive with her 6-3 6-1 display.
Shaking a lot of Argentine cobwebs
One thing that we cannot accuse Juan Martin Del Potro of is peaking too early. I don't know what game was being put on display in the first set but it was not the A game - B, C or D for that matter. Apart from the fact that successful first serves were as rare as an Australian winning the home Grand Slam title, court position was faulty and the net attracted any balls that didn't sail long, several of the latter missing by the width of the Yarra. To his credit, Mannarino graciously accepted the charity and even scored with some worthy winners off his own racquet. The drop shot was used to great effect, each time catching the South American off balance. The set went to France 6-2, and Del Potro needed to dial into this match rather soon, because right now his number was disconnected.
When the Argentine serve is on, it makes one feel safe that a victory is around the next corner, and to prove that point, Del Potro elected to rely on his first delivery into court for the greater part of set number two. The improvement in all parts of his game was in sync with the serve and the forehand began to be the weapon it usually is. Mannarino meantime had a problem - the quantity of unforced errors caught and overtook the number of winners as quick as Vettel in a Red Bull or a rat on Red Bull up that famous drain pipe. This would be the best standard of tennis we would see for the match, and Del Potro had levelled things by taking the set 6-1.
The third set saw a return to inexplicable errors from both players but it became more difficult to understand the ones contributed from Argentina. Somehow fumbling his way to 4-3 with a break, then fumbling still more to lose the next two games, one had the feeling that Del Potro had lost control of the match - points were being won or lost on the French racquet. Enough of those points were lost for the set to be gifted to the 11th seed and he took a statistically secure two sets to one advantage as the players travelled into the next phase of the clash.
In between some horrible shots that even a C grade club player wouldn't think of playing, Del Potro played sufficient winning tennis to eke out another break of serve in the fourth set. The forehand was the saviour whenever things became tight, and the tightness was most evident on the French side of the net. For all that, Del Potro could not accelerate away, and needed to serve it out at 5-4, a duty he performed purposefully if not spectacularly.
In fact the lack lustre nature of the four set victory by Juan Martin Del Potro diminishes the credit that Mannarino deserves. For the several times Del Potro threatened to overwhelm the less equipped Frenchman, he refused to buckle as traditional first round losers might, and gave the Argentine player more time on court than he would have anticipated.
Juan survives 2-6 6-1 7-5 6-4
When the Argentine serve is on, it makes one feel safe that a victory is around the next corner, and to prove that point, Del Potro elected to rely on his first delivery into court for the greater part of set number two. The improvement in all parts of his game was in sync with the serve and the forehand began to be the weapon it usually is. Mannarino meantime had a problem - the quantity of unforced errors caught and overtook the number of winners as quick as Vettel in a Red Bull or a rat on Red Bull up that famous drain pipe. This would be the best standard of tennis we would see for the match, and Del Potro had levelled things by taking the set 6-1.
The third set saw a return to inexplicable errors from both players but it became more difficult to understand the ones contributed from Argentina. Somehow fumbling his way to 4-3 with a break, then fumbling still more to lose the next two games, one had the feeling that Del Potro had lost control of the match - points were being won or lost on the French racquet. Enough of those points were lost for the set to be gifted to the 11th seed and he took a statistically secure two sets to one advantage as the players travelled into the next phase of the clash.
In between some horrible shots that even a C grade club player wouldn't think of playing, Del Potro played sufficient winning tennis to eke out another break of serve in the fourth set. The forehand was the saviour whenever things became tight, and the tightness was most evident on the French side of the net. For all that, Del Potro could not accelerate away, and needed to serve it out at 5-4, a duty he performed purposefully if not spectacularly.
In fact the lack lustre nature of the four set victory by Juan Martin Del Potro diminishes the credit that Mannarino deserves. For the several times Del Potro threatened to overwhelm the less equipped Frenchman, he refused to buckle as traditional first round losers might, and gave the Argentine player more time on court than he would have anticipated.
Juan survives 2-6 6-1 7-5 6-4
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