Australian Open 2013 Match Thread

[User 774433]

Australian Open 2013:

Information: The Australian Open is a major tennis tournament held annually over the last fortnight of January in Melbourne, Australia. First held in 1905, the tournament is chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events of the year – the other three being the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open. It features men's and women's singles; men's, women's, and mixed doubles and junior's championships; as well as wheelchair, legends and exhibition events. Since 1988 the tournament has been played on hard courts at Melbourne Park.
The Australian Open typically has very high attendance, second only to the US Open. It was also the first Grand Slam tournament to feature indoor play during wet weather or extreme heat with its two primary courts, Rod Laver Arena and Hisense Arena, equipped with retractable roofs.

Day by Day Match Reports: http://www.sportpulse.net/category/tennis

v2 Preview: https://www.606v2.com/t39437-australian-open-2013-the-contenders#1785084

Dates: January 14 - January 27

Draw: http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/scores/draws/ms/index.html

Schedule: http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/scores/schedule/index.html

AO Rankings Points Tracker: https://www.606v2.com/t39351-points-tracker-ao-2013


Ready? Play.

Amritia3ee

[Danny_1982]

Some fairly intriguing matches. Novak, Verdasco and Tipsarevic have interesting first rounds. I think Hewitt v Tipsy in particular looks like it could be a cracker.

[The Special Juan]

I think Hewitt will win 3-1 and Stosur will be dumped out in straight sets.

[CaledonianCraig]

I can't see Novak being troubled and I fancy Hewitt to win through.

[Mad for Chelsea]

http://www.lequipe.fr/Tennis/Actualites/-une-excitation-particuliere/342098

Benneteau reckons the courts are pretty quick this year, smoother. Still, I'm sure it'll take all of about ten minutes for some people to be lamenting how slow the courts are

[sportslover]

Nishikori & Querrey should be OK

Lleyton v Tipsy too close to call,but Tipsy should come through.

Bolelli v Janowicz, should be interesting after Jerzys win over Andy last year, I hope its Jerzy!

Goffin v Verdasco again could be close but fancy Fernando.

Stan the Man and Melzer should both be OK.

The only other one which could be close is Benneteau v Dimitrov but I would like to see Grigor win this one.

[CJB]

Standouts for me tonight

Goffin v Verdasco (Nando in 3)
Hewitt v Tipsy (Hewitt in a crazy 5 setter)
Benne v Dimitrov (Dimi in 4)
Cibulkova v Barty (Cibulkova in 2 after first set tie-break)
Bolelli v Janowicz (Janowicz in 3)

[newballs]

Can't see Hewitt pulling it off somehow (but then again this is the Aussie Open).

Here's hoping for good performances from the likes of Dimitrov and Goffin.

[The Special Juan]

Fun fact: This is Hewitt's 17th Aussie Open. He is only 31.

[newballs]

TSJ Hewitt has been known for (how can i put it?) being somewhat "obnoxious" in the past. Looks though like Tomic is now giving him a run for his money in that regard with some of the comments he's reported to have made in more recent times.

[The Special Juan]

I think it's the Aussie mentality. Without being stereotypical they're normally known for being big personalities and having a bit of an ego. I've never been a big fan of his either; there's something about him that bugs me. Still, he's done well in the game and deserves some sort of praise.

[User 774433]

Dimitrov gets the early break against Benneteau.

[User 774433]

But Benne takes the set 6-4

[summerblues]

Dimi looks to be on his way out He is my favorite among the youngsters too

Nishikori dropped the first set but now is a break up and serving for the second (of course, he was also two breaks up and serving for the set a few minutes ago).

[laverfan]

SB... my QF picks was Dimi after his final showing.

Sharapova's double bagel.

[laverfan]

Goffin down a break against Nando.

[summerblues]

SB... my QF picks was Dimi after his final showing.

Sharapova's double bagel.

Yeah, hugely disappointed in Dimi. Also, he was placed in such a nice quarter - I was really hoping he could do some real damage here.

Happy with Sharapova's score. Would like to see at least a bit of Nole, and the faster the ladies' matches go the easier it will be for me to stay up for his match.

[User 774433]

Tipsy Hewitt a thriller here.

[sirfredperry]

Tipsy takes a two sets to love lead

[The Special Juan]

Not a good day for the Aussies.

[time please]

Tipsarevic is playing some awesome tennis - what a way to finish the second set!

[time please]

C'mon Hewitt - what spirit!

[sirfredperry]

Hewitt bows out in straight sets. Will we see him at Melbourne again?

[CaledonianCraig]

Tipsarevic wins through in three keenly contested sets. Biggest shock of Day One has to be No.11 seed Juan Monaco exiting. Baghdatis may struggle to come through as well.

[laverfan]

Baggy-Ramos 1 set all. Vocal support from fans for Baggy is amazing.

[JuliusHMarx]

I can see the 606 thread headline now :-

Vamos Ramos Sinks Saggy Baggy

[Guest]

Hope Tipsy hasn't played all his best tennis in that match.

[The Special Juan]

With Monaco going out it's opened up that part of the draw.

[prostaff85]

With Monaco going out it's opened up that part of the draw.

I guess it had opened up even before Monaco went out

[The Special Juan]

Oh that's harsh!!

[Guest]

Nah. I have Monaco as a dirt rat too :p

[sirfredperry]

Baggy has just won a marathon match in the 5th after four hours

[Guest]

That's Baggy tanked for the rest of the tournament

[User 774433]

Murray vs Haase, potential upset there?

[The Special Juan]

No.

[Danny_1982]

Murray vs Haase, potential upset there?

Well, the courts are "10% faster than last year" according to a Federer interview I saw earlier, plus played in the midday heat which will put a few mph on those Haas serves and big groundies. He is someone who nearly knocked Murray out in the first round of a slam in 2011 so can't say it's a forgone conclusion.

But after all the steps forward Murray has made over the last 12 months I'd be amazed if he fell to Haas. Dropping a set, maybe... But surely he'll come through.

[Mad for Chelsea]

meh, Murray hits through the court much better now, as I recall Haase's movement is a bit shabby, so think the faster conds will suit Murray just as much, if not more, than Haase. Also people need to remember that though Haase gave Murray a huge scare in the Us Open (was second round BTW Danny ), it was more because Murray played utter rubbish in the first two sets (his FH was particularly awful), though Haase played some good stuff when backs to the wall in the fifth.

If Murray plays well he'll win easily.

[gboycottnut]

Looking forward to seeing how well the moonball killing expert Lukas Rosol does when he plays against a proper orthodox hitting tennis player in Jamie Baker tomorrow.

[Danny_1982]

Was it second round? My mistake.

Yeah if Murray plays reasonably well he wins in straights. Even if he plays average but has reasonable depth he'll be ok.

It's if he leaves lots of balls mid court for Hasse to hit (like he did at USO 11) that he'll be in trouble. As I said though, can't see it.

[Silver]

Disappointed to see Goffin go out, I thought he'd manage the upset today! Shame, I enjoy watching him play. I'm shocked that only one seed has fallen so far, given the number of relatively tricky openers...I thought Tipsy was particularly impressive. Very glad Nishikori came through as I've got him running all the way to the SF. I could've been feeling LF's pain right about now

I agree with Danny, think Murray will do the business tomorrow. Perhaps in four sets though, if Haase can nick the opener. Conditioning will play a big part, I'm not sure Haase has the stamina required to stick with Murray out in the heat over 5. Dolgopolov could also be in for a rollercoaster?

[User 774433]

Silver, are you interested in taking charge if a MOTD project for this years AO?
You're knowledgable about tennis, it would be a pleasure if you could.

Basically you just pick out your 'most tasty' match of the next days schedule, and post a preview for it. Inbox it to me, and I'll put it in this article (and credit you of course ).

[User 774433]

Monfils-Dolgo will be a cracker.

[The Special Juan]

Ha, has Murray joined the Top 3's club of demolishing their opponents in the opening couple of rounds in straight sets?

[Danny_1982]

Tremendously aggressive start from Murray.

[The Special Juan]

Right I'll shut up. Bye

[The Special Juan]

Huh, Florian Mayer has dropped the first set v someone.

[Danny_1982]

I'm not sure I've ever seen Murray play this aggressively. Very few slices, very few attempted drop shots, unleashing on his second shot on service games...

Great stuff.

[Mad for Chelsea]

nice and aggressive first set from Murray, playing close to the baseline, and reading the Haase serve like a book. Dropped serve once with an ordinary game, he's struggling down one end with the sun and just rolling his serves in, but striking it very nicely indeed from the back of the court.

[Mad for Chelsea]

lovely BH down the line to take the game there, so smooth, and once again, sticking to that baseline like glue...

[Mad for Chelsea]

you know, that volley Haase netted to give Murray the break might well go down as an UE and certainly he should have done better but Murray:
a) did very well indeed to get the serve back
b) read the subsequent drive volley so was in position to make a pass
c) did enough with the BH to get the ball below the net, thus making it a tricky volley rather than a simple putaway

so it was really great hustling from Murray.

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