Safin and Federer are into the 5th set
Federer showing his temper, Unbelievable tennis from both, Safin all but gone in the last tie break and there is still a set to go!
How good has the tennis been so far?
All of Hewitts games been awesome to watch. Federer has been putting on a show, especially against Agassi. The semi tonight has been awesome.
On the girls side Maria against Kuznetsova, Moliks run and game against Davenport then the 2 semis today both going the distance. Hewitt vs Roddick should be a ball tearer as well.
Best major in a long time
Safin's had match point
Safin has had 3, Federer had 1 in 4th set.
5-5 now.
I'm using an IBM scoreboard on t'internet
Sounds like a great game though.
Its live on the BBC radio site
Tennis on the radio?
Cricket's bad enough that way.
Tennis on the radio is crazy.
Dunno how the commentators keep up.
Past midnight know - Federer with a break point!!!!!
Yeah just seen the time in Oz. Crazy shit. 7-6 Safin.
Ridiculous tennis now.
Safin blows 2 match points.
7-7
Im exhausted just watching.
Wanna go to bed
Will it get to a certain point where they'll call it a day and finish tomorrow? Like 1am or something?
Cricket on the radio is fine.Originally Posted by N.E.R.F.
There's a selection of shots, plus the commentators just talk bullshit analogies which is entertaining. It's not like tennis where you can barely describe what they're doing as its happening so fast and there's barely any court size to describe.
Will go all night.
2 more match points to Safin
He's done it
I do admire Federer but his hegemony was getting a bit boring. Nice to know someone can bring him down
Finalllllly Safin wins.
Both players are exhausted - Give each other a big hug at the net.
Federer was literally lying on the ground on Match point.
Terrific game
oh, bollocks. Hope Safin goes all the way after that and doesnt suffer from fatigue as he did last year in the final
Maria and Roger down in one day.
This is just awful.
Hewitt has just played the most complete match of his career, aside maybe from the US Open final he won against Sampras.
I couldn't believe he even got to some of those balls let alone hit them for winners. The 3rd set tie break was the key, I don't know what Roddick was doing serving and volleying all the time, he chose his shots pretty badly. When hewitt got the ball back into play he could pretty much continue to hit from the baseline until roddick made a mistake. 31 aces for roddick (including some ridiculously fast 2nd serve aces down the T) but he continuted to put more and more pressure on his own serve as he knew that if Hewitt got the return in he would invariably win the point. It worked for a while for Roddick but when he started serving double faults it was all over.
If Hewitt can play like he did tonight on Sunday I believe he will win in style.
Hewitt has played some immense tennis considering the amount of time he's spend on the court (approx 17hrs 30min) compared to how much Roddick had played (10hrs). I'm not sure how much federer has played but still if Hewitt wins I'd like to see the longest time for a winner at the Aussie Open (& in a Grand Slam).
For the women, it appears that the pressure is on Lindsay Davenport more than it is on Serena Williams. It seems like all is forgiven for Serena just making the final. I look for her to take out Lindsay tonight in 3 sets.
Lleyton Hewitt seems to be in just about the same position found himself in last year. Hewitt has spent an insane amount of time on the court, fighting through two four-setters, and two five-setters. Plus, Safin's playing great yesterday, and looks to be riding an emotional high (imagine that for Marat Safin!) after beating Roger Federer, who wasn't even really playing bad tennis. I think Hewitt has the game and instinct to beat Marat Safin, but I think Safin wins this one in 4 sets due to Hewitt's exhaustion, Marat actually being mentally fit, and the fact that I think Safin just has a little more raw talent.
I think the finals are matches for Safin and Williams to win or lose. They way Serena has played this Slam is as good as Kuznetsova was playing before she was eliminated and as good as Davenport was playing before exhausting all of her game on Molik and Dechy.
That being said, the finals still could go either way. I think Safin will finally win the Australian Open after two Runner-Up finishes. I also think this will be the start of what could be a great year in tennis for Safin. A lot of commentators/retired pros/fans in general are saying that Safin is the only one with enough pure raw talent to challenge Federer's, and if he were to ever smooth out the mental inconsistencies, Federer/Safin could become a great rivalry. But only time shall see, I'm certainly looking forward to it. One thing certainly helping Hewitt in this final is that he can easily agitate his opponents easily by just playing the scrapper role. This could frustrate Safin and once Safin loses focus, Hewitt shouldn;t let the opportunity to take advantage of it slip by.
As for the women, Williams has played the most complete, best tournament on the women's side and that Sharapova/Williams match was nothing short of a classic. Davenport has proven that wear and tear isn;t really an issue with her, and if she really thought it was, she should've pulled out of the doubles final. Davenport needs her first serve to be on and try to make sure Serena doesn;t move her around to much. At the same time, Davenport I don't think can overpower Serena from the baseline. I'd like to see her approach the net a bit. She has net-play experience with all of her doubles' play so she can certainly rely on it. If Serena gets Davenport moving, I donlt know how long she can last. Davenport has been moving as good as she ever has in the past four years... I don't mean to be giving the complete advantage to Serena here. I WANT Davenport to win, and I think she can, but only under the most disciplined, best game she can bring to the table.
I cant see Safin stopping Hewitt from here. Hewitt last night just dismantled Roddicks game all over the court, Hewitts game last night was simply unbelievable.
I dont care how stable Safin has been so far. A big final against an in-form Lleyton Hewitt in front of 17 thousand Australians, He is prone to crack. If Hewitt as much as gets a sniff of winning then he will run through him.
Lots of people write off Hewitt is being behind Safin and Roddick. He wins on Sunday he has 3 slams, only 1 behind Federer. People think he hasnt got the game to match these guys but he has shown he can. He outplayed him all over the court. He won moe points than Roddick did on his first serve. He made less unforced errors. He has the game to beat Safin, espicially if he plays like he did last night.
Hewitt is the 2nd best in the world behind Federer. CMONNNNNNNN
Just thought I'd point out what the rankings are shifting too.
#1 Davenport, this isn't in question anymore.
#2 Serena or Mauresmo. If Williams wins tonight, she takes it. If not Mauresmo holds.
#3 Whoever falters out of #2
#4 Sharapova
#5 Myskina, tough fall for her, she wasn't prepared for Dechy.
#6. Kuznetsova, If she'd beaten Sharapova then lost to Serena, she'd have been #4 I believe.
#7. Dementieva, she makes her best run at OZ but drops down...
#8 Venus Williams, improved last years showing by a round.
#9 Unsure if this is going to Molik or Capriati. Jen doesn't lose anything here since she didn't play in 04.
#10 Molik/Cap
Clijsters will fall to #50ish while Justine falls to 14ish
Clijsters at 50
Oh poor Serena, she's having a uh....rib disfunction.
Bull fucking shit.
She's being outplayed and outclassed.
I watched Roddick vs Hewitt last night, it was the first time I watched Tennis, it wasn't as boring as I thought it'd be. But I have to admit, I didn't understand one thing that was going on.
Serena destroyed her.
shit
Serena was miraculously healed! Praise god! After the miracle hands of the trainer rub and taped Serena's ribs after their "malfunction" she was moving at 100% mobility! Even jumping up and down!
Please. Serena, you're a hell of a fighter, but quite the antics.
I can't believe Serena won.
I got in at 3:00 this morning and watched up until she was 0-4 in the first set and went to bed. She looked awful and I assumed Davenport would win.
She deserves a lot of credit.
I hate Serena Williams, I hate that she has a big cry when thing don't go her way, I HATE HER!!!! actually I don't really but I was hoping that Davenport would win. She could have too, if she had stepped up a gear 1/2 way through the 2nd set.
Remember that time one of the Williams lost at the US (i think) open and had a big cry because everyone was going for the other bird?
yes yes, so much fun. I am surprised Venus didn't cry when Molik beat her, though I think she has grown up a bit, serena is still a little kid sometimes.
I get annoyed sometimes by the fact that whenever Serena is losing at a Slam she seems to be "carrying an injury".
Here's a list of Hewitt and Safin's past meetings. They are tied 5-5
2004 Paris AMS, Carpet, Q
France Carpet Q Safin 4 6 6 7
2004 Cincinnati AMS, Hard, Q
Ohio, USA Hard Q Hewitt 6 4 6 4
2002 Tennis Masters Cup, Hard, RR
Shanghai, China Hard RR Hewitt 6 4 2 6 6 4
2002 Paris TMS, Carpet, F
France Carpet F Safin 6 7 0 6 4 6
2002 Hamburg TMS, Clay, Q
Germany Clay Q Safin 3 6 1 6
2002 Miami TMS, Hard, Q
FL, U.S.A. Hard Q Hewitt 2 6 6 2 7 6
2001 World Team Cup, Clay, F
Dusseldorf, Germany Clay F Hewitt 6 3 6 4
2000 Tennis Masters Cup, Hard, RR
Lisbon, Portugal Hard RR Safin 4 6 4 6
1999 Stuttgart Indoor, Hard, R64
Germany Hard R64 Safin 6 7 6 3 2 6
1999 AUS v RUS SF, Grass, RR
Brisbane, Australia Grass RR Hewitt 7 6 6 2 4 6 6 3
6hrs to go
Ive got a work party later this afternoon, then watching Lleyton the brave tearing Safin a new one tonight.
Destiny baby
God I've been flip-flopping on this match for the past day and a half... I think I'm gonna settle on Safin though. You could make the destiny argument for him too - it's been 5 years since his one and only Slam, he's been a runner-up twice, and now it's 'his time.'
I root for Hewitt...it's been so long an Australian won "his" Tournament. He deserves it, although Safin deserves it too, but i go with the Local Hero this Time. C'MON LLEYTON!
Lleyton just had a go at the linesman after he foot faulted him then Lleyton won the point.
Code violation
Hewitt's doing his best to lose this third set
...and the 4th
Congrats to Safin, i don't see Hewitt making a Comeback
He did something similar against Nadal/Nalbandian (not sure which) and came back.
Safin seems to be mentally stronger than Nadal or Nalbandian
Doesn't particularly matter now.
Safin just served too good.
Hewitt serve was absoulute shit tonight. You can win win a grand slam final serving so fucking shit.
Fair play to Lleyton for holding himself together.
Great tournament - Well played Marat.
Safin's speech was mad funny
Well, on the good side for Hewitt, he IS the world's #2 now.
Is Safin still #4 though?
In even better news for Lleyton - He got engaged to this
although I wanted Hewitt to win, it left a really bad taste in my mouth after he had a go at the linesman, the guy was right and he didn't deserve that abise. I know it was a tense moment and everything, but I would have much preferred if he didn't do it, particularly as he won the point.
He went some way to making up for it with his congratulations of Safin and his post match specches but it was still unsavoury
Not a great amount of change in rankings for the men at the top after the AO.
Only things I saw were Hewitt's now 2, Roddick's now 3, Coria's now 5, and Moya's 6.
Gaudio () is #8, and Agassi's down to 10. And Davydenko surged from #26 to #15.
Biggest news this weak is Martina Hingis is playing!
:rockon:
You think Hingis will be able to get her game up in time for a slight (I wouldn't expect anything big) run at Roland Garros?
I dont think she will be able to handle it.
The russians will crush her these days.
What about the men?
Still Federer's to lose?
She got beat in the first round 1-6 6-2 6-2.
She was said to look real sluggish.
On wednesday, Shamil Tarpishchev, the Russia Fed Cup captain and the president of the Russian Tennis Federation said at a press-conference that both Anastasia Myskina and Maria Sharapova are ready to play on this year´s Fed Cup team.
"We have talked it over with Maria Sharapova's father. We solved this problem last December," said Mr. Tarpishchev. "There is no conflict between Myskina and Sharapova, Anastasia is ready to be on the same team with Maria."
So, it seems like all problems are solved and we are pretty sure that Russia will be as successful as last year.
The first Fed Cup-tie will be played 23rd - 24th April with Italy being the first round opponent.
Russia will be kicking ass now.
Hingis looked like crap on the highlights I saw. I loved the way she played, but she will never match it with the big serves and groundstrokes of the american's and russians.
where did you see highlights?
They had a little bit on it on sports tonight on Ten. Only a minute or so
In others news, Davenport will meet Kuznetsova in the semi-final of Tokyo while Sharapova battles Shinobu Asagoe (who just upset Elena D)
Davenport Vs. Sharapova in that final.
Both on the rebound.
Sharapova takes it 6-1 3-6 7-6
If Sharapova can advance farther than Serena in the Open de Gaz, she'll move into #2. One thing's for certain - the girl has the motivation for it, and it's only a matter of time before she overtakes Davenport.
In other news from last week, Martinez won her first title in something like 3 years. It's great for her, especially since her absolutely horrible 1st round loss as the Australian Open to Davenport, something like 6-1, 6-0. Though, I have a feeling this might be her last year.
As for the men, unfortunately Gaudio won the tournament he was in last week. Ugh... I thought I was the only one who was really truly bothered by the fact that he's in the Top 10, but I guess not.
I've always liked Gaudio somewhat. Certainly more than our Americans. Sharapova has to make the semi-finals this week or she won't gain any points. Thus the problem with playing all those tourneys. She and Serena are to play in the semis if they meet, so that could detemine #2
I really, really, really dislike Gaston Gaudio, but I can't help but agree that he's tearing up on clay.
The French Open looks to be really interesting, with Gaudio's streak, and the rise of Rafael Nadal and the attempt of Roger Federer to make up for losing the Australian Open.
I wouldn't be surprised to see Marcos Baghdatis make another big move either.
Not to mention Coria's going to really be gunning for it, and Ferrero needs something.
Ferrero is way out of his A-game, though. Coria's still got a little bit to go too.
I'd love to see them make a small run.
Nalbandian might make a move too, after a nice Australian Open.
Gaudio is on his way to winning another tournament. God, I hope he's nowhere near moving up to World #7 or so.
Davis Cup coming up soon.
If Aussies and Argies both win, we will play those horrible bastards in Sydney
The Argentines are LOADED.
Safina def Mauresmo 6-4 2-6 6-3 to win Paris.
Big win for Safin's little sister. Nice month for them.
Dinara is going to jump from #47 in the world to #24 with that win, so I hear.
I hope she's got a good clay game.
The Argentines are DIRTY SPITTING CHEATS.
Who's even playing for the Argentines?
Not sure.
Papers down here talked it up a bit due to Hewitt having fiery matches with Nalbandian and Chela. They dont like Lleyton, and the feeling is pretty much mutual.
With Guillermo Coria, Gaston Gaudio, David Nalbandian, and Guillermo Canas, I don't see how the Argentines can compile anything short of an awesome team.
Although Gaudio is very short of amazing off of clay.
They aint going to like grass.
Hewitt and the big cat Phillipoussis should get us through.
Mark Philly won't get anyone through.
Just needs to win 1 game against the spazzers on grass. If he serves half decent it would be enough almost.
Australia's Davis Cup plays on grass.
Oh, that DOES suck for the Argentines.
Nalbandian isn't bad on grass at all.
And I think if Mark is playing a bit off, Coria could give him some fits.
And with those players they should make something decent on doubles.
How humiliating would it be for Australia to lose to Argentina on their home grass?
Better Argentina than most.
Roger Federer's back on court this week, attempting to win in Rotterdam, which he's never won.
And Juan Carlos Ferrero is serving at 1-2 in the first set against Rainer Schuettler. I'd like to see Ferrero start doing SOMETHING.
Coria's already through to round two, against Paradorn Srichaphan.
Yeah! Ferrero wins 6-4 6-2! Vamos Ferrero!
Kim Clijsters is back this week, her first match is tomorrow.
Unless there is an upset, Juan Carlos Ferrero will be against Nalbandian. That's should be a nice challenge for Mr. Ferrero.
Clijsters wins today 6-2 6-3! YAY
And Nalbandian was in fact upset.
That's two first round exits for him isnt' it? That's too bad.
I think Juan Carlos Ferrero can beat Radek Stepanek. I looked to see who would probably be next after that, but truthfully, I forgot.
Kim Clijsters, after dropping a set to Nadia Petrova, wins the third set 6-1. Venus Williams up next.
Federer bounces back after AO. No surprise, but I love anytime he wins. He's up against a qualifier next...
Ferrero lost today. Lost the first, one second in a tiebreak, but then lost the third.
Venus vs Kim tommorow should rock!
Mauresmo def Molik 6-3 7-6
V. Williams def Myskina 6-3 3-6 6-3
It's about that time for Amelie Mauresmo to go insane and flop against Venus.
Federer.
Rafael Nadal wins Brasil Open. Nice little rankings bump to come probably. I'd like to see him make some noise in the French Open.
Mauresmo def Venus 4-6 7-5 6-4
Mauresmo fought!
Federder won 5-7 7-5 7-6.
The thought of Amelie Mauresmo being #1....
Good for Nadal, but Ferrero drops to 98 in the world...It's about that time for Amelie Mauresmo to go insane and flop against Venus.
Federer.
Rafael Nadal wins Brasil Open. Nice little rankings bump to come probably. I'd like to see him make some noise in the French Open..
Molik is now inside the top 10, as she's moved up to No. 9.
And it was nice to see Myskina put together at least some kind of run, after struggling for this first month of the year.
I still think Sharapova will get to No. 1 shortly, and I think it should be before Mauresmo gets to No. 1.
Lastly, Vaidisova (the 15 year-old Czech) had a nice run to the semis in Memphis and she's at a career-high No. 54 in the world now.
As a sidenote, who do you guys think the most talented player is right now to have not won a Slam yet, on both sides?
For women, the obvious answer would have to be Clijsters. I guess there could be some argument for Dementieva, and another name, that I couldn't quite agree with, at least not yet, would be Molik, as she needs more big-match experience, I think, before we can really gage where she's at in her career. The weakness in Dementieva is her service game, but despite that, she still managed to reach two Slam finals last year, so that speaks volumes to the rest of her game (specifically her groundstrokes).
As for the men... Coria could be an option, but his only chance is the French Open, I believe... Saying that, I'd have to go with Haas, maybe, who can compete with the rest of the big players and is on his way back from injury. Again, he does have a weakness, and that's that his performances in the Slams have left something to be desired, with only two Semi appearances even in his pre-injury time.
For the women, Mauresmo, Clijsters and Dementieva are the obvious choices. Perhaps Petrova and Zvonareva(ok she has sucked in slams, but she is talented)
For the men, Nalbandian comes to mind. Henman to an extent. And of course Coria.
Marat Safin with a bigtime letdown, losing in Dubai in the first round to Nicholas Kiefer 7-6, 6-4.
That clears the way for Federer. 2 wins in Dubai and he moves to #1 in not only the computers, but the Indesit 2005 Race too.
That's our Safin.
Loses all the in Hopman, then wins Oz, then loses first round in Dubai.
I wouldn't say it's a bigtime letdown, as that c ertainly takes away from Keifer's game... He's No. 30 in the world after a not-so-good season last year, and he's been as high as No. 4 in the world before, and he's always performed well at Dubai (with QF and RU positions, and even winning it, in previous years). Now, clearly Safin is the better player, but this could've been a competitive 4th Round match in a Slam. It was more to do with the bad luck of the draw than anything else, I think.
Marat Safin with a bigtime letdown, losing in Dubai in the first round to Nicholas Kiefer 7-6, 6-4.
And as a sidenote... 7 of the top 10 women's players are Slam winners, and 5 of the 10 are former No. 1's, and that's not even including Henin-Hardenne and Clijsters... On top of the top 10, there's dangerous 'fringe' players - Americans Shaugnessy and Frazier, much younger players that ensure the future of the game, like Vaidisova, Safina and Douchevina, as well as the Russians Bovina, Zvonereva, etc... I'm just saying it's an exciting time to be watching women's tennis and this year is probably going to be even more unpredicatable than last year.
Right now, the competition just seems better on the women's side... So on top of the proposed best player to not yet win a Slam, which tour is the more exciting to watch right now? WTA or ATP?
Last edited by Yoel; February 22nd, 2005 at 8:30 PM.
I'd say ATP just because the level is higher more than anything else.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote