Arena The Official ATP Discussion Thread - now discussing the U.S. Open

hopefully his wife doesn't take that up.

 

Monfils has withdrawn from the Open. A shame, since he's exciting to watch in full flight.

 

Either Blake makes some noise this year, or he never will. He has the game to win Slams, but for some reason can't finish. He has the Athleticism to play with Roger and Nadal, and his serve is decent...

He commits a lot of un forced errors though, that is big when playing in a Slam.

 

That's a disapointment. Monfils is certainly a crowd pleaser, but has the tendacy to sometimes let his showmanship get in the way of selecting the most effective shot. Too many times it has cost him.

 

Blake's reason is pure mental. So many times he has been on fire, not really at the majors, and still falter in finals. Indian Wells 2006 is a perfect example, he was 4-0 against Federer in the final, and then went on to lose the next 6 games and that set purely because of his mental fragility.

He has the game, and gives Nadal serious problems, he has a 3-0 record against him, so lets see what he can do. His only real chance to win a slam is on hard court, and even then the US Open is the only place where he has had any kind of good run. But even then, reaching only two quarter finals is a serious under achievement for someone with his talent.



On another note, Nalbandian pulled out of Kooyong citing back spasms. He is guy picked by many to upset Federer at the Aussie.

Hewitt continues to make news. He has now copyrighted the "C'mon!" where he points all his fingers towards his eyes, and plans on using it every chance he can get during his matches. But his build up has suffered another let down, with a loss in Sydney.

 

copyright it?? That's weak. If I was playing him in the open I would do it early in the match after a good shot to get into his head. Take the fine who cares if you win

 

Yes, he has copyrighted it. It would be funny if someone actually did that in a match against him! LOL!!!



The wait is nearly over!!!!!!!

The Australian Open draw is just a few hours from being announced!!!! I'll be back with a full detailed reported about the draw, and what mouth watering matches could potentially be taking place in Melbourne. The first Grand Slam is around the corner, and I can't wait!!!!

 

Chris Guccione is making some noise

 

He did well, but sadly came up short in the Sydney final. I was quite disapointed with Ferrero losing is Auckland as well. Ferrero has not won a title since 2003, when he was actually the number one player in the world.

Well, this is it. The preview heading into the first Grand Slam of the year. And its all happening down under. The draw is quite interesting, and the first thing I noticed was how top heavy it was with players who have the talent and caliber to either win the event, or cause major upsets along the way.

Federer, the world number one has reassured everyone that he is fully fit and ready to go, and looks the odds on favorite to win the event. He has lacked match practice, after having to withdraw from the Kooyong exhibition event, but if there is one player who has the ability to play himself into form, its Roger. He has a pretty decent run into the quarter finals, where a potential match up with Gonzalez, a repeat of last years final could be waiting for him. Fernando of course defeated Federer fir the first time in eleven attempts in Shanghai round robin last year.

The two guys whose names have been spoken of taking the title away from the number one player, Djokovic and Nalbandian, are in the second quarter, and one of them could face Federer in the semis. But, also in the part of the draw is Safin, Ferrer, and Hewitt. Novak was still showing signs of fatigue during the Hopman Cup in Perth, despite taking his team into the final, the usual crispness in his shots was not there. He has stressed that its on because the season has begun and he is still finding his footing. Nalbandian, the king of indoor tennis, however has not had a chance to play, due to back spasms. Even now, it is unsure if he will actually compete.

The bottom half is a lot more wide open, with Murray, Gasquet and Davydenko being the top players in the third quarter. Murray is looking really solid, after winning in Doha, and could go a long way, having had the measure of Davydenko on route to the title earlier in the month. Youzhny also lurks in this section.

The final quarter is being headlined with a possible showdown between Nadal and Roddick. Roddick has just won his third consecutive Kooyong title, and looks good on the surface. Rafael?s fitness was questioned after the loss to Younzhy in Chennai, but he has confirmed he is ready to go, but another match up with Moya in the earlier rounds looks to be a real possibility.

 

I'm really looking forward to watching some good tennis tonight, hopefully. I hope they don't show a womens match first.

 

I'm going to be taping most the event, as I won't be able to get enough free time to watch it live with work and the gym. Should be catching the night matches though!

 

Day One

First day, and the already we have a big casaulty in the form of Murray, going out to the talented Tsonga. I think this guy has so much talent, he just needs to put it all together. I was impressed how he came back from the injury, and losing the third set to love, and winnning in four.

That third quarter has really opened up for Gasquet and Davydenko now.

Roddick played okay, but just a bit too passive. If he wants to make the final, he needs to get more agressive, especially with Nadal in the way.

The Nadal match turned into quite a thriller in the end. The first two sets were extremely tight, but he pulled it out in three. And Moya is out.

 

Robredo pulled himself out of a 2 set hole to advance

 

Murray was dissapointing, Roddick solid enough, but not good enough to challenge the top.

 

What have I said all along? He's yet to show up in any form!!!!!

Tsonga is a beast. I can't believe how little people have been paying attention to him before now. Good win for him, but...

Is it just me or does it seem Murray is an extreme underachiever? I'm beginning to think he'll never rise to his full potential. Until I see something amazing from him (a top 5 win perhaps), I'm not going to jump on his bandwagon.

 

Ana Ivanovic I love her.

 

If anyone was wondering if there was a possibilty that Roger Federer won't be ready for the defense of his title, his 6-0, 6-3, 6-0 would have silenced a lot of people. Wilander had earlier stated that the conditions would really favor Federer, and he did come out all guns blazing!!!

Hewitt was very impressive as well.

I was pleasantly surprised with how well Safin was playing against Gulbis, especially in the first set.

All the top guys are through, including an emphatic performance from Djokovic.

 

Nadal is starting to find some form, with his straight sets demolition of Serra. I'm not totally convinced with Roddick's game at the moment. He is set to play Nadal in the quarter final, but if he plays like he has, I see what happened at Indian Wells last March happening here again.

Fish is having the time of his life, easily beating Robredo, avenging the loss at the US Open last year. After winning the Hopman Cup, he's on a roll.

All the other top guys doing enough to get through.

 

Oh, did she recently have a sex-change?

 

Say what?

 

come on, Ivanovic does not belong to the ATP, I believe. See, since this is an ATP thread... you know!

so I was just joking. Geez!!!!

 

o, ok. I thought you were saying she was more like a man than a women.


Great match between Bagdahtis and Safin this morning, the first great match on Rod Laver so far.

 

I have a question that maybe someone can answer.

Did anyone see the Williams sisters doubles match?

Can a chair umpire overrule an out call? Because the ball that Venus was arguing over was clearly out. If a Chair umpire can do that, then Venus had a legitimate gripe. It was not that difficult of a call to make.

 

Umpire can always overrule of they are 100% confident

 

I stayed up watching the Safin/Baghdatis match all night. For a second round match, the quality was superb. Baghdatis now meets Lleyton Hewitt in the third round.