Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the tournament's tenth seed, and the player I have fearlessly and possibly stupidly selected to defeat both Federer and Murray en route to a semi final with Nadal, had the follow up match to Caro on Hisense Arena.
He had won the Hopman Cup with Alize Cornet, and played a match on Rod Laver Arena to commemorate Roger Federer - it must be the Fed's Diamond Jubilee or something he has been feted as much if not more than the Queen this past month.
His company today on court was somewhat less exalted, but in a part of Italy Filippo Volandri is loved. The 70th ranked player was as high as 25 in the world so theoretically his brand of tennis could stretch Tsonga but realistically not very far.
He needed to make a lot of excursions to the net and make them count to have an impact on the powerful groundstrokes of the French former Aus Open finalist. The heat today would make running back and forth to the net a rather thankless task especially with the likelihood of being passed frequently by Tsonga.
However for the first two games the two traded quality stuff, and Volandri appeared comfortable in this company.
Surprisingly the initial break came from Volandri's racquet work when he converted a break point in the third game with a sizzling backhand pass. Holding serve convincingly the Italian led 3-1 and murmurs of "we have a match" while not being heard could possibly be envisaged should this continue.
It didn't, and Jo-Wilfried restored a sense of order to the day by holding serve and then cashing in on some silly errors from Volandri.
3-3 became 6-5 to Tsonga as The French serve settled into a rhythm which Volandri could not contain. The famous Tsonga forehand was to the fore as well, it Filippo had some volleys of his own to donate to the table, and the tennis was good to watch. Unfortunately, it was a series of mistakes from Volandri that gifted the set to Tsonga in the finish 7-5
Tsonga continued in his push for impregnability on serve at the start of set 2, which perturbed Volandri no end. It became more difficult for the lower ranked player to hold his serve, because without the obvious weapons of Tsonga, he had to work that much harder, and the toil began to show.
On the scoreboard it took until the sixth game to be reflected due to Jo-Wilfried's incompetence on return of service. In the sixth game Tsonga rushed the net and caught his prey off guard - the rest of the game was mostly errors from Volandri all contributing to the break of serve required by the tenth seed.
Serves were held until the end of the set which was won by Tsonga 6-3 to lead by the two sets 7-5 6-3.
The third set saw Tsonga with chances to break early but these were wasted. The fifth game was the back breaker - errors flowed from the racquet of Volandri and at the end of the carnage Tsonga led 4-2
This became 5-2 on the back of another strong Tsonga service game and the final game was the eight game of the set.
The tenth seed won an 'at times' close encounter - his serve was solid, but his ground strokes need some further encouragement.
Tuesday, 14 January 2014
Caro revels in the heat
Danish 10th seed Caroline Wozniacki had opening duties together with Spain's Lourdes Dominguez Lino on Hisense Arena on Day 2 of Aus Open 2014. Lourdes began her professional tennis career as a 15 year old in 1996 so was not short of experience coming into the match. She lacked in performances at this level and at this event though, in comparison to Wozniacki who had made the semi final here in 2011.
Caro was recently engaged to champion golfer Rory McIlroy and the improvement in her game since that relationship blossomed could be easily seen.
On the front nine, Wozniacki was driving everything into court, her approach shots were landing on or near the lines, and she was sinking all her volleys. She started with a birdie and before long a course record for the Hisense Links was on the cards.
Unfortunately, things were not faring as well for Lourdes who already had hit a couple of balls out of bounds and was regularly coming up short or generally landing in trouble due to poor choice of club. She needed a caddy like Rory. Caro won the first six holes off Lourdes under match play rules and so took the first set 6-0.
Lourdes changed her driver for the back nine and the match evened up for awhile. Drives began to become inconsistent for Caro and better approaches left Lourdes with less to do from short range. The Spanish player won 2 of the first 3 on the back nine. A consult with Rory and a slight swing adjustment enabled Caro to once again take control of the match and she dominated the remaining holes, pressuring Lourdes into poor shot selection just to stay with the Danish former number one ranked female. (Sorry former number one ranked female tennis player)
The match was won 6-0 6-2 with the feature being Wozniacki's ability to use the whole court at most stages of the match, her volleying quite precise and effective and her backhand strong and reliable. I'd suggest keeping the three wood in the bag. It came in handy when down early in the second set.
Caro was recently engaged to champion golfer Rory McIlroy and the improvement in her game since that relationship blossomed could be easily seen.
On the front nine, Wozniacki was driving everything into court, her approach shots were landing on or near the lines, and she was sinking all her volleys. She started with a birdie and before long a course record for the Hisense Links was on the cards.
Unfortunately, things were not faring as well for Lourdes who already had hit a couple of balls out of bounds and was regularly coming up short or generally landing in trouble due to poor choice of club. She needed a caddy like Rory. Caro won the first six holes off Lourdes under match play rules and so took the first set 6-0.
Lourdes changed her driver for the back nine and the match evened up for awhile. Drives began to become inconsistent for Caro and better approaches left Lourdes with less to do from short range. The Spanish player won 2 of the first 3 on the back nine. A consult with Rory and a slight swing adjustment enabled Caro to once again take control of the match and she dominated the remaining holes, pressuring Lourdes into poor shot selection just to stay with the Danish former number one ranked female. (Sorry former number one ranked female tennis player)
The match was won 6-0 6-2 with the feature being Wozniacki's ability to use the whole court at most stages of the match, her volleying quite precise and effective and her backhand strong and reliable. I'd suggest keeping the three wood in the bag. It came in handy when down early in the second set.
Serena puts Ash to Ashes
The final match for Rod Laver Arena for the 13 January 2014 featured number one seed Serena Williams against Australian teenager Ash Barty. Already, the match had been decided in everyone's opinion - the question being asked was: what result in losing would be judged as acceptable for Barty?
The draw was harsh many were saying - "poor thing" patronised not a few, forgetting quickly that players of Barty's age in the not so distant past have performed amazing feats at this venue. She should have gone into this match with expectations of winning, and I trust that she did, ignoring the good wishes of those hoping that she might win a few games just to say she passed the test.
Barty began with authority and despite Serena's none too subtle attempts to intimidate (fairly mind you) held her nerve and serve to lead 1-0. At least she could place that fact on her resume. "Led 17 times Grand Slam title winner in 2014 Australian Open for a period of time"
Serena was a little out of sorts for about five to ten minutes before she put her skates on and rode roughshod over the top of the Australian, breaking her serve in the third game to lead 2-1 which became 3-1 soon enough once the Williams serve clicked into a higher gear (still saving the top gears and overdrive for a later time).
The pace with which Serena moves around the court and even before that with which she makes decisions - in almost all cases the correct ones - is breathtaking to witness, if not all that surprising anymore. Only one service break separated the two players, but the gulf was in reality massive and starkly so; Ash needed her pretty handy first serve to be reliable and it just let her down too often and on critical occasions, placing unwarranted pressure on her second serve which Serena took great delight in beating to a pulp.
Another break of serve and the set was over as a contest - the scoreline read 6-2 but that didn't show the scars worn by Barty from the hammering dished out by the worlds best female player.
Ash wasn't troubling Serena, only that the American would have preferred being back in her motel room right now. She also wasn't troubling the scorer for much of set number two, of which Serena took immediate ownership. Ash struggled along without anything to show for true effort until the fifth game which annoyingly for Serena, rolled the right way for the Australian, and she only trailed 1-4.
Enough of that thought the top seed who cruised through the next phase of tennis and won the match 6-2 6-1
Most pundits thought that Barty performed admirably under the circumstances but I think they cut her too much slack. She has played far better than that and her inconsistency contributed a great deal to the final result.
The draw was harsh many were saying - "poor thing" patronised not a few, forgetting quickly that players of Barty's age in the not so distant past have performed amazing feats at this venue. She should have gone into this match with expectations of winning, and I trust that she did, ignoring the good wishes of those hoping that she might win a few games just to say she passed the test.
Barty began with authority and despite Serena's none too subtle attempts to intimidate (fairly mind you) held her nerve and serve to lead 1-0. At least she could place that fact on her resume. "Led 17 times Grand Slam title winner in 2014 Australian Open for a period of time"
Serena was a little out of sorts for about five to ten minutes before she put her skates on and rode roughshod over the top of the Australian, breaking her serve in the third game to lead 2-1 which became 3-1 soon enough once the Williams serve clicked into a higher gear (still saving the top gears and overdrive for a later time).
The pace with which Serena moves around the court and even before that with which she makes decisions - in almost all cases the correct ones - is breathtaking to witness, if not all that surprising anymore. Only one service break separated the two players, but the gulf was in reality massive and starkly so; Ash needed her pretty handy first serve to be reliable and it just let her down too often and on critical occasions, placing unwarranted pressure on her second serve which Serena took great delight in beating to a pulp.
Another break of serve and the set was over as a contest - the scoreline read 6-2 but that didn't show the scars worn by Barty from the hammering dished out by the worlds best female player.
Ash wasn't troubling Serena, only that the American would have preferred being back in her motel room right now. She also wasn't troubling the scorer for much of set number two, of which Serena took immediate ownership. Ash struggled along without anything to show for true effort until the fifth game which annoyingly for Serena, rolled the right way for the Australian, and she only trailed 1-4.
Enough of that thought the top seed who cruised through the next phase of tennis and won the match 6-2 6-1
Most pundits thought that Barty performed admirably under the circumstances but I think they cut her too much slack. She has played far better than that and her inconsistency contributed a great deal to the final result.
Novak's 22nd in a row at Melbourne Park
First night session at Rod Laver Arena had as its first instalment Novak Djokovic returning from his scene of triumph a year less one fortnight ago. Not a perfect reunion since Andy Murray wasn't present - the opponent here would be Slovakia's Lukas Lacko. Also the Chair Umpire had been replaced by someone else.
Djokovic was gunning for four Aus Opens in succession, and the first round at night, whilst not exactly terrifying in prospect as part of the Serbian number two seed's plans for achieving that goal, was nevertheless compulsory to win and with that brought a unique pressure.
The first few games were scrappy, and Djokovic faced break points on his opening serve. If Lacko had converted one of them, the flow of the match will have differed - the result may not have changed but the route taken to it could have been more interesting. As it was, Djokovic, as he so often does to the mass annoyance of his opponents, saved the break points which he puts away in a collection box and gives as presents to friends and family at Christmas.
Novak revved up his Serbian engine at about what would end up being half way through set one, returning with all the precision of a vehicle built in a country other than Serbia, and defending as only Djokovic can. Proving that he is a worthy number two-wanting to return to-number one he released the Lacko shackles and broke serve once, enough to take the set 6-3.
Having been released, someone must have found Lukas wandering lost around Melbourne Park and returned him to Lost and Found. Once back on court, he resumed his position on the heels of Djokovic for the entire second set, a nagging pose to which Novak certainly took objection.
Lukas lost his serve at one point, but found it again and assisted Novak to misplace his and games went with the server until a tie break. Novak was growing tired of the Slovakian stalking him so ripped through the tiebreak for the loss of just the odd couple of points (that should read even if my memory of arithmetic is half decent)
Two sets up and Novak would be satisfied with the scoreline but not so much with his backhand which was acting like a spoilt child tonight, staying out when it was told several times to keep within the boundaries given and generally behaving erratically. Novak needed to introduce more discipline to the backhand.
Well the third set saw a return to the Djokovic that people know and love - at least a subset of people being his family, friends and fans. Holding serve with ease for the first two tries, and in between savaging the Lacko serve to achieve a 3-0 lead, the number two seed had sown another seed - and he reaped it with a third set win 6-1 to finalise proceedings 6-3 7-6 6-1.
Lukas Lacko came, he saw, and was conquered.
Djokovic was gunning for four Aus Opens in succession, and the first round at night, whilst not exactly terrifying in prospect as part of the Serbian number two seed's plans for achieving that goal, was nevertheless compulsory to win and with that brought a unique pressure.
The first few games were scrappy, and Djokovic faced break points on his opening serve. If Lacko had converted one of them, the flow of the match will have differed - the result may not have changed but the route taken to it could have been more interesting. As it was, Djokovic, as he so often does to the mass annoyance of his opponents, saved the break points which he puts away in a collection box and gives as presents to friends and family at Christmas.
Novak revved up his Serbian engine at about what would end up being half way through set one, returning with all the precision of a vehicle built in a country other than Serbia, and defending as only Djokovic can. Proving that he is a worthy number two-wanting to return to-number one he released the Lacko shackles and broke serve once, enough to take the set 6-3.
Having been released, someone must have found Lukas wandering lost around Melbourne Park and returned him to Lost and Found. Once back on court, he resumed his position on the heels of Djokovic for the entire second set, a nagging pose to which Novak certainly took objection.
Lukas lost his serve at one point, but found it again and assisted Novak to misplace his and games went with the server until a tie break. Novak was growing tired of the Slovakian stalking him so ripped through the tiebreak for the loss of just the odd couple of points (that should read even if my memory of arithmetic is half decent)
Two sets up and Novak would be satisfied with the scoreline but not so much with his backhand which was acting like a spoilt child tonight, staying out when it was told several times to keep within the boundaries given and generally behaving erratically. Novak needed to introduce more discipline to the backhand.
Well the third set saw a return to the Djokovic that people know and love - at least a subset of people being his family, friends and fans. Holding serve with ease for the first two tries, and in between savaging the Lacko serve to achieve a 3-0 lead, the number two seed had sown another seed - and he reaped it with a third set win 6-1 to finalise proceedings 6-3 7-6 6-1.
Lukas Lacko came, he saw, and was conquered.
Thompson a future prospect - not today though
Jordan Thompson was the first Australian for me to see in action at this years Open and he reached the main draw by way of winning the wild card play off in November. His task in the first round was to battle Poland's great hope and last years surprise Wimbledon semi finalist Jerzy Janowicz, seeded 20 here in 2014.
However, Jerzy had not travelled well since his dizzy heights on grass in London, not that the effects of the grass caused him discomfort. Only seven wins from 14 matches for the rest of 2013, coupled with a loss in his single 2014 outing to a player ranked outside the top 50, were not the stuff for building a solid CV.
Against youthful and inexperienced Thompson it shouldn't matter too much - this would be relatively straightforward one suspected. Which one that was is still to be determined.
The early running saw Thompson matching it with Janowicz in all parts and games went with serve until 1-2 with Jerzy to deliver. With unexpected poise and willingness to attack, Thompson pressured Janowicz into error and achieved a break of serve that not many had predicted for him.
The momentum stuck with the young Aussie as he cemented the break to lead 4-1,
Knowing that a double break could just about seal the set, Jordan set about destroying Jerzy's next attempts from the line. All over the court like a cat, Thompson harried Janowicz into poor decision making, and ultimately the serve was dropped. Thompson led 5-1 with serve to come. Despite some excellent backhands from Jerzy, it was Jordan who hung tough when it mattered and a forehand winner underscored a most impressive 6-1 first set win.
I left the match at this point to attend to other commitments but kept an eye on the scores - Thompson won the second set to lead 6-1 6-4 but experience told and Janowicz won through 1-6 4-6 6-4 6-2 6-1. An excellent debut performance from an Australian ranked in the 300s. Fighting qualities from Janowicz bode well for later in the tournament.
However, Jerzy had not travelled well since his dizzy heights on grass in London, not that the effects of the grass caused him discomfort. Only seven wins from 14 matches for the rest of 2013, coupled with a loss in his single 2014 outing to a player ranked outside the top 50, were not the stuff for building a solid CV.
Against youthful and inexperienced Thompson it shouldn't matter too much - this would be relatively straightforward one suspected. Which one that was is still to be determined.
The early running saw Thompson matching it with Janowicz in all parts and games went with serve until 1-2 with Jerzy to deliver. With unexpected poise and willingness to attack, Thompson pressured Janowicz into error and achieved a break of serve that not many had predicted for him.
The momentum stuck with the young Aussie as he cemented the break to lead 4-1,
Knowing that a double break could just about seal the set, Jordan set about destroying Jerzy's next attempts from the line. All over the court like a cat, Thompson harried Janowicz into poor decision making, and ultimately the serve was dropped. Thompson led 5-1 with serve to come. Despite some excellent backhands from Jerzy, it was Jordan who hung tough when it mattered and a forehand winner underscored a most impressive 6-1 first set win.
I left the match at this point to attend to other commitments but kept an eye on the scores - Thompson won the second set to lead 6-1 6-4 but experience told and Janowicz won through 1-6 4-6 6-4 6-2 6-1. An excellent debut performance from an Australian ranked in the 300s. Fighting qualities from Janowicz bode well for later in the tournament.
Monday, 13 January 2014
Ana - but closer than expected
The third match hopefully would provide a better contest than those so far - Ana Ivanovic, finalist here in 2008, won in Auckland just before coming here, so was extremely confident as the 14th seed. Her opponent from the Netherlands, Kiki Bertens, had been as high as 41 in the world but now sat at 94 - her preparation was qualifying in both Brisbane and Sydney where she failed to make either main draw.
Her play today belied that form. The match was even from the start with both players prepared to attack, mainly from the back of the court, but where the opportunity presented itself take the net position. Her inability to win enough points on first serve was costly in the fourth game for Kiki as she was broken to trail 3-1 and it looked as though the more experienced player at this level would take control.
Ana did hold for 4-1, but Kiki wasn't done with just yet. Her accommodation in Melbourne was for more than one night and she proceeded to play some tennis far more suited to someone in the top twenty. Hitting some clean winners that Ana would be pleased to call her own, Kiki not only held her serve, but broke Ana - not literally thank goodness - and the match was alive. More alive than many of the spectators who were beginning to wilt under the heat.
Holding serve was becoming a rarity and soon Ana was serving for the set at 5-3. Again Kiki fought back, and she gave herself the chance to level at 5-5.
Steadier under the pressure of a Grand Slam tournament, Ana broke the Dutch serve to take the entertaining first set 6-4 and earn first serving rights in the second.
If serving was meant to give one an advantage in the game of tennis then the two girls on court sure made a meal of that theory. For six straight games, it was Kiki Bertens breaking the Ana Ivanovic serve only to hand the chance of consolidation immediately back. Three times Ana had offered the chance - would she go a fourth? You bet she would. So at 4-3 and serving Kiki tried again. After trading forehand winners and untidy errors, it was 30-30. Then Kiki folded with a backhand far too long and a pointless (well for her but not for Ana) double fault to bring us to 4-4.
Ana decided against all that had happened to hit an ace and a service winner in the next game and service was held for the first time since the sixth game of the first set. Hallelujahs were exchanged everywhere but the Netherlands. Of course at 4-5 the set was officially still with serve, but Kiki was at the line and her confidence wasn't at its highest.
Having been convinced not to serve underarm (that didn't happen - her confidence wasn't completely shot really) a wonderful backhand volley by Kiki brought the game score to 30-30 and an error from Ana made it 40-30. Almost with a sense of déjà vu a double fault entered the stadium followed dutifully by a clumsy forehand and the match was over 6-4 6-4 to Serbia's and many Australians delight.
Ana was through to the second round with quite some room for improvement. Still an entertaining first round encounter.
Her play today belied that form. The match was even from the start with both players prepared to attack, mainly from the back of the court, but where the opportunity presented itself take the net position. Her inability to win enough points on first serve was costly in the fourth game for Kiki as she was broken to trail 3-1 and it looked as though the more experienced player at this level would take control.
Ana did hold for 4-1, but Kiki wasn't done with just yet. Her accommodation in Melbourne was for more than one night and she proceeded to play some tennis far more suited to someone in the top twenty. Hitting some clean winners that Ana would be pleased to call her own, Kiki not only held her serve, but broke Ana - not literally thank goodness - and the match was alive. More alive than many of the spectators who were beginning to wilt under the heat.
Holding serve was becoming a rarity and soon Ana was serving for the set at 5-3. Again Kiki fought back, and she gave herself the chance to level at 5-5.
Steadier under the pressure of a Grand Slam tournament, Ana broke the Dutch serve to take the entertaining first set 6-4 and earn first serving rights in the second.
If serving was meant to give one an advantage in the game of tennis then the two girls on court sure made a meal of that theory. For six straight games, it was Kiki Bertens breaking the Ana Ivanovic serve only to hand the chance of consolidation immediately back. Three times Ana had offered the chance - would she go a fourth? You bet she would. So at 4-3 and serving Kiki tried again. After trading forehand winners and untidy errors, it was 30-30. Then Kiki folded with a backhand far too long and a pointless (well for her but not for Ana) double fault to bring us to 4-4.
Ana decided against all that had happened to hit an ace and a service winner in the next game and service was held for the first time since the sixth game of the first set. Hallelujahs were exchanged everywhere but the Netherlands. Of course at 4-5 the set was officially still with serve, but Kiki was at the line and her confidence wasn't at its highest.
Having been convinced not to serve underarm (that didn't happen - her confidence wasn't completely shot really) a wonderful backhand volley by Kiki brought the game score to 30-30 and an error from Ana made it 40-30. Almost with a sense of déjà vu a double fault entered the stadium followed dutifully by a clumsy forehand and the match was over 6-4 6-4 to Serbia's and many Australians delight.
Ana was through to the second round with quite some room for improvement. Still an entertaining first round encounter.
A practice hit for Li Na
Li Na sensationally ended 2013 at number 3 in the world and she began that year by finishing in the final here at Melbourne Park. There is little to say she won't do something similar again, except maybe Serena Williams, but her form cannot be faulted winning her home title prior to flying in to Melbourne.
Round one is usually a standard fare straight sets win for Li Na and a qualifier from Croatia who only turned 16 last month didn't pose much of a threat to the Chinese player almost twice her age. However the credentials for the youngster were impressive. Ana Konjuh won both the junior singles and doubles titles at the 2013 Australian Open so does have a liking for these surroundings.
The less said about the first few games the better because it was just a preponderance of unforced errors. Hardly a winner hit to gain a point and the qualifier actually led 2-1. Ana was hitting the ball with power and no fear, and Li Na had yet to settle into her rhythm.
After a massive forehand to reach 30-30 on the Li Na serve, the crowd had a real interest in the capacity of the teenager to achieve, but the capacity that began to show itself was off the racquet of the third seed as Li Na worked all parts of the court, not content with trading blows from the baseline which was the clear preference of Konjuh.
Li annoyed Ana by cutting off potentially gorgeous groundstrokes with nifty forays to the net finished off with deft touch or certainty of power with the volley that had decided to join her as one of her most potent weapons.
2-2 quickly became 3-2 and not in Ana's favour thanks in large measure to a couple of double faults - Li Na had begun to place so much pressure on the first serve that the second effort was vulnerable.
The next break of serve featured three straight out winners from the Li Na racquet and the match had turned into a high school lesson for Ana who by now was wishing she had gone shopping with her friends or to the beach where she could enjoy the sun.
The rest of the match was Li Na tidying up for the loss of no more games which is what a top player does when she has her opponent down for the count. Take no prisoners, show no mercy, and smile when you shake hands at the end.
Li Na was impressive when she had to be and won this match 6-2 6-0, but enough signs were given by Ana Konjuh to suggest that a bright future in tennis awaits her.
What awaits Li Na is probably a semi final with Serena Williams. Nothing that happened here leads me to think otherwise.
Round one is usually a standard fare straight sets win for Li Na and a qualifier from Croatia who only turned 16 last month didn't pose much of a threat to the Chinese player almost twice her age. However the credentials for the youngster were impressive. Ana Konjuh won both the junior singles and doubles titles at the 2013 Australian Open so does have a liking for these surroundings.
The less said about the first few games the better because it was just a preponderance of unforced errors. Hardly a winner hit to gain a point and the qualifier actually led 2-1. Ana was hitting the ball with power and no fear, and Li Na had yet to settle into her rhythm.
After a massive forehand to reach 30-30 on the Li Na serve, the crowd had a real interest in the capacity of the teenager to achieve, but the capacity that began to show itself was off the racquet of the third seed as Li Na worked all parts of the court, not content with trading blows from the baseline which was the clear preference of Konjuh.
Li annoyed Ana by cutting off potentially gorgeous groundstrokes with nifty forays to the net finished off with deft touch or certainty of power with the volley that had decided to join her as one of her most potent weapons.
2-2 quickly became 3-2 and not in Ana's favour thanks in large measure to a couple of double faults - Li Na had begun to place so much pressure on the first serve that the second effort was vulnerable.
The next break of serve featured three straight out winners from the Li Na racquet and the match had turned into a high school lesson for Ana who by now was wishing she had gone shopping with her friends or to the beach where she could enjoy the sun.
The rest of the match was Li Na tidying up for the loss of no more games which is what a top player does when she has her opponent down for the count. Take no prisoners, show no mercy, and smile when you shake hands at the end.
Li Na was impressive when she had to be and won this match 6-2 6-0, but enough signs were given by Ana Konjuh to suggest that a bright future in tennis awaits her.
What awaits Li Na is probably a semi final with Serena Williams. Nothing that happened here leads me to think otherwise.
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