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Tough times for these two former clay court wizards. Gaudio's comments in this article below make it seem like retirement is a real possibility for him. It's amazing how much confidence is a factor with these guys.
http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/news?slug=ap-vinadelmar&prov=ap&type=lgns
Time for the first clay court tournament of the year. Anyone not intending on being a serious contender at the two hard court Masters tournaments in March is welcome to show up. There is a real division on tour between those players who excel on hard courts versus those who excel on the clay courts. There are very few players who can do both. Here is a breakdown of what we can expect in this week's tournament in Chile.
Top Half:
The home town favourite and number one seed Fernando Gonzalez will be hard pressed to taste success this week. He has won here before (2002 and 2004), and reached the final in 2005. But Gonzo has been so erratic the past couple of year's that it is really hard predict when he will reach that kind of success again. He won one clay court Masters event in Rome a year ago, so the possibility does exist for some victories on the dirt. This is a good opportunity on home soil to turn around his shaky play of late and build some confidence for 2008.
My favourite to come through to the semi's with Gonzo is Jose Acasuso. He won the event in 2006 and is always a threat on clay. A wild card pick in this section of the draw would be former French Open finalist Guillermo Coria. We haven't heard his name in the news in quite some time, yet he was just a couple of years ago one of the top clay court players on tour. With only two matches under his belt in 2007 (both losses) our expectations are low for Coria. Still, it will be interesting to see if he can resurect his career. He won this very tournament himself back in 2001.
Bottom Half:
My money is on Juan Monaco to prevail in this section of the draw. Not as many serious clay court foes lurking in the bottom half. He was the winner of three clay court titles in 2007 and certainly has the confidence and experience in this type of setting to have some success. A far-fetched wild card pick in this section of the draw would be Gaston Gaudio. You would think a player of his experience would have a good chance in a weaker draw such as this, however over the past year Gaudio has proven to be a complete disaster on any surface. I expect him to go down in straight sets in the first round given his recent adventures on the challenger circuit. Still, the talent is there somewhere.
The first Grand Slam tournament of the year is over and Novak Djokovic has now joined the elite group of tennis players to call themselves a Grand Slam champion. He did so in impressive fashion, only dropping one set (in the final) the whole tournament.
His semi final win over Roger Federer in straight sets has caused everyone to at least wonder if Roger's dominance is in serious jeopardy. Is this a sign that Federer might have a little more resistance in surpassing the Grand Slam record held by Pete Sampras or could it signal something even bigger - that he may not be able to do it at all?
Is Djokovic the one who is ready to begin a torrid assault on the record books? Already the youngest male player of all time to reach the semi finals of each Grand Slam tournament, Djokovic is clearly a dangerous threat on all surfaces.While Rafa Nadal is the best clay court players out there, he has shown vulnerability on hard courts and with injuries. Perhaps Djokovic is going to be Federer's greatest rival moving forward. The biggest obstacle towards his breaking the Sampras legacy comes from Serbia at the moment.
Federer was 21 years old (almost 22) when he won his first Grand Slam at Wimbledon in 2003. Djokovic is 20 years old winning his first here at the Australian Open. Federer was 23 by the time he had reached the semi finals of all the Slams. Djokovic has accomplished this by the age of 20.
It will be interesting to see how Roger reacts to this performance. The two hard court masters tournaments in March should be a good indicator if this Australian Open signals a power struggle for Federer or a complete shift in the balance at the top of the men's game. Will Roger get a taste of his own medicine from Djokovic? Will he be able to handle playing second fiddle? If he loses to Djokovic again on hard courts and in such convincing fashion, how will he react? I personally feel that Roger stil has a very strong chance of beating the Sampras record. It certainly seems as if it may take a little longer than expected however. Adding Djokovic to the Federer/Nadal mix is going to be a real treat to watch this year. How do you think it will unfold?
Let the debate begin!
Down to the final four at the Aussie Open and here is a little preview of the matchups. Federer/Djokovic is going to be a blockbuster, and thus far Federer has a 5-1 career head-to-head versus the younger Serb. I'd give a 50/50 chance here to either player. Djokovic has looked so dominant this past week and a half without losing a set. Federer came so close to being bounced in the 3rd round, but has looked pretty strong himself since then. A five setter should would be a treat from these two.
Nadal/Tsonga is more of a mystery, simply because nobody expected Tsonga to make it this far. Nadal leads their career head-to-hear 1-0, and that lone victory came at the US Open last August. The way Tsonga has been playing it's hard to really predict the outcome of this matchup, although Nadal goes in as the favourite. Nerves may get to Tsonga, never having been this far in a major before.
I'll post again before the finals.
While everyone in the tennis world had their eyes on the Australian Open last week, there were in fact other tournaments going on as well. At the Challenger level, two players who have tasted levels of success at Roland Garros both went down in defeat.
French Open champ from 2004, Gaston Gaudio got knocked out of the first round of a green clay tournament in Miami, 6-0, 6-3 to 18 year old Kei Nishikori of Japan. Last year was absolutely dismal for Gaudio, but losing to a kid with a 3-5 lifetime record on tour must be a sign the end if near.
French Open finalist from 2005, Mariano Puerta also was beaten in the first round of a small clay court tournament in Chile last week. He went down 6-1, 6-4 to Eduardo Schwank.
It's hard to believe that two guys who were playing in the year-end Tennis Master Cup merely two years ago, can't even win the opening round of a challenger event now. Time to call it a day perhaps.
Here we are at the half way point of the season's first Grand Slam, and there have been several moments worth reflecting on. So in no particular order, here are some thoughts and observations.
Most years I find the Aussie Open to be relatively free of major upsets, with the favourites making it to the final eight. This year Andy Roddick lost in the 3rd round to Philipp Kohlschreiber in a marathon match of five sets. I don't think anyone could have seen this result coming, and it was unfortunate for Roddick as he had a nice draw going for him. Kohlschreiber had never before taken a set off Roddick, and had in fact lost to him at this very tournament three years ago. This is a tournament that is made for Roddick's aggressive hard court game. In seven attempts down under, Roddick has made three semi-finals, and one quarter final. This year I was certain he would reach the semi's and gave him a decent shot of beating Rafa Nadal to attain his first final. Look for Roddick to regroup and emerge hungry for some wins on the upcoming hard court circuit in the US.
Now to focus on a the emergence of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, a fast rising player from France. Had a decent run at his first tourney of the year in Adelaide by making the semi finals. Still I gave the edge in his first round encounter here to Andy Murray, who I was expecting a big showing from. Instead he took out Murray and has just beaten Richard Gasquet rather handily to reach his first Grand Slam quarter final. This is a major breakout for the young Frenchman, and I like his chances in the next round against Mikhail Youzhny. He could be this year's Novak Djokovic I suppose. While looking at his results from 2007, I noticed he put together a very solid run on the challenger circuit, winning three hard court titles in a row at one point. By the looks of it he could very well transfer that success to the big league!
The top half of the draw has gone more according to form. The big clash will arrive in the semi's here if Federer and Djokovic advance as predicted. Roger's big moment thus far came earlier than expected however, with his five set win against Janko Tipsarevic. That match could have easily gone the wrong way for Federer, and resulted in a big pay day for some risky gamblers out there too. What a headline that would have made! Federer prevailed in a tight fifth set, 10-8 against the upstart Serb. In his post match comments, Roger admitted that he needs some matches like that to keep him in check. Not very often this guy gets pushed to five sets, and especially so in the 3rd round of a tournament. The last time Roger was pushed in an early round of a Slam was back in Spring 2004 at Roland Garros where he lost in straight sets to Gustavo Kuerten.
Heroes:
Roger Federer - overwhelming favourite encounters some adversity and shows that he's able to battle through it.
James Blake - fights back from down two sets to one for the first time in his career.
Novak Djokovic - Breezes through first four rounds of the tourney...lookout Roger!
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga - Youngster serves notices of his arrival by beating Murray, Gasquet in early rounds.
Fabrice Santoro - Sets record with 62nd Grand Slam appearance.
Zeroes:
Ivan Ljubicic - No longer a threat on tour. Grand Slam record is brutal.
David Nalbandian - Losing to JC Ferrero 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 indicative of a lack of effort.
Andy Roddick - Not for losing a tough match, but for his lack of respect towards officials and fans.
Missed Seeing Ya:
Joachim Johansson, Guillermo Canas, Tommy Haas
It's hard to believe but the first Grand Slam of the year is already upon us. It wasn't that long ago that everyone's favourite Terracotta Warriors were battling it out in Shanghai to close out the 2007 ATP season. That tournament ended with Roger Federer putting an exlamation mark on his fantasic campaign, with a straight sets victory over David Ferrer. Federer is undoubtedly the favourite heading into Melbourne, although he has yet to test himself in battle this season due to flu-like symptoms. If the defending champ is not feeling his best, there may be an opening for someone else to come up big. Let's look at some names to watchout for.
Top Half:
In the top half of the draw there are plenty of big hard court players lurking. Federer's path to the semi's seems rather clear, but there are some other interesting potential matchups. James Blake and Ivan Ljubicic could clash in round three with the winner prehaps moving on to face Fernando Gonzalez. Gonzo started 2007 off on fire in Australia, but the rest of the season he did not look like the same player and finished with a whimper. He could be tested early by Aussie Chris Guccione in round two. Further down in the top half of the draw we have an enticing third round battle between Dmirtry Tursunov and Novak Djokovic as a possibility. The winner likely to face either Hewitt or Safin. Also in this section is David Nalbandian and David Ferrer. Which Nalbandian are we likely to see in action at this stage of the season? He finished 2007 as the hottest player on tour, but was barely noticeable for the first eight months of the year.
Bottom Half:
Not as many early round matchups of note in this section of the draw. It looks like Andy Murray should be able to move through his first few rounds to reach the quarterfinals. Tsonga may give him a tough set in the opening round however. Either Russian Mikhail Youzhny or Nikolay Davydenko should likely meet Murray in the quarters. One player I expect a very strong tourney from is American Andy Roddick. He started very well in the Kooyong Classic last week, and doesn't appear to have any true opposition en route to the quarters. Rafa Nadal should be his potential opponent at that stage, as he also has gained an easy draw.
First Round Matches of Note:
Isner/Santoro: One of the hardest servers in the game in Isner should contrast greatly with Santoro's spins and drop shots.
Tursunov/Malisse: Two solid players meeting up in early round action. A five setter would not be a surprise.
Johansson/Baghdatis: Upset written all over this matchup. The experienced Swede could prove to be too much for Baghdatis.
Nieminen/Dancevic: Gotta give props to my fellow Canadian Frank Dancevic here. Nieminen holds the advantage 4-0 in career meetings, but I like Frank's chances in a best of five hardcourt matchup.
Sleepers: Lookout for any of the following players to make an impact.
- Chris Guccione: local boy is fresh off the finals in Sydney
- Marat Safin: first round defeat as likely as a return to the finals
- Nicolas Kiefer: if healthy, a trip to the quarters would be no surprise
Final Eight:
Federer vs Blake
Djokovic vs Nalbandian
Murray vs Davydenko
Roddick vs Nadal
Final: Federer d Murray
Here's a quick recap of the second week on tour. It's hard to believe that after just a couple of short weeks we are already on the brink of the year's first Grand Slam!
Sydney:
Sydney was the recipient of the strongest field out of the two official ATP tournaments this past week and yet somehow none of the major names advanced very far. James Blake was beaten for the first time by Fabrice Santoro (aka The Magician) in the first round and Lleyton Hewitt went down to fellow Aussie Chris Guccione in round two.
Guccione, whose career record now stands at 25-31, made quite a run on home soil before falling in two close sets to Russian Dmitry Tursunov. Guccione seems to save his best for tournaments in his native Australia. It was only a year ago that he managed to make the finals in Adelaide. This week he knocked off some major names in Hewitt, Berdych and Stepanek.
Tursunov recorded some impressive victories this week himself, and after defeating Gasquet, Grosjean, and Santoro in consecutive matches, will likely not be receiving an invitation to France anytime soon. The Russian is heading into the Aussie Open with a full head of steam.
Auckland:
Not as many big names in attendance for this tournament, and the final of Kohlschreiber vs Ferrero is not likely one we'll see repeated in two weeks time. Both of these players will be happy to take the points home with them, but I don't see either one being a force on the bigger stage of Melbourne. A good week for Kohlschreiber as he takes his second career title, and first one on hard courts. I enjoyed the picture of both finalists holding mini-kegs from tournament sponsor Heineken! The only surprise in this tournament was David Ferrer falling to Julien Benneteau in the third round.
Kooyong Classic:
While not an official ATP tournament, the Kooyong Classic is an annual exhibition that occurs just before the Aussie Open. It typically has a strong field of eight players participating, and this year was no exception. Andy Roddick, Marcos Baghdatis, Ivan Ljubicic, Andy Murray, and Marat Safin were all involved in the 2008 edition. Roddick won the event for the third time in a row and did not drop a set all week. Of note was Fernando Gonzalez losing both of his final two matches handily to Baghdatis and Safin. Which Gonzo will we see in Melbourne this year? For more info on the Kooyong Classic, see the tournament website (http://www.kooyong.com.au/)
And now on to the Aussie Open!
Happy New Year everyone, we are back in action on the courts! Here is a quick recap of the tournaments that we saw in week one.
Adelaide:
Considering how the Aussie Open is fast approaching, this tournament is a good starting point in my opinion for those willing to make a serious commitment towards the first slam of the year. Get down under early and get adjusted to the heat of the Aussie summer.
A surprise final between Nieminen and Llodra is what we got this year. I was impressed with how the Frenchman completed the tournament without dropping a set. Not bad for someone not usually noticed on the singles radar screen. The match of note for me in this tourney would be Tsonga taking out Hewitt. I feel that Tsonga is ready to have an impact year, and this win could be a big confidence boost for him.
Qatar:
Andy Murray starts 2008 strong with a win in the tournament with the biggest prize money available in the first week of the ATP schedule. Starting the season healthy will be a major improvement for Murray over his previous year. I expect him to challenge for top five in the rankings if he can avoid the injury bug. Speaking of which, I'm sure I wasn't the only one dissapointed to see Nick Kiefer pull out of the 2nd round with another injury. He's had a tough go the past few years and this is certainly not a good start for him in 2008.
Chennai:
Youzhny manages to pull his career head to head with Nadal to a respectable 4-6 record with his 6-0, 6-1 thumping of the young Spaniard in the final here. I don't know if Rafa was battling an illness or simply woke up on the wrong side of the bed, but this result was not expected at all. Also of note, was another solid start to the year for Carlos Moya by reaching the semi finals. Nadal's mentor always seems to have a strong performance here in India.
On to week two!
