Australian Open 2013 Match Thread

[User 774433]

First topic message reminder :

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

[CaledonianCraig]

Ferrer has this in the bag me thinks. Almagro doen't have a winners mentality I am afraid.

[invisiblecoolers]

Ferrer wins 4th after all heart ache moments, Almagro so far served 4 times for the match.

[spuranik]

Or Almagro refuses to take it?

Yes CC, there is a case for that too... he is not called El Mugro for nothing...

[invisiblecoolers]

Ferrer has this in the bag me thinks. Almagro doen't have a winners mentality I am afraid.

I would partly agree to it, I would excuse Mugro considering Ferrer's doggedness nature to fight and never give up.

[prostaff85]

I don't like Almagro, but it's sad to see that the Ferrer brand of tennis is good enough to consistently reach Slam semis these days.

[CaledonianCraig]

Oh I am not saying Ferrer isn't the most dogged battler there is but that doggedness doesn't do him any good against the very top players. There is no way that any of the top players would have served four times for the match against Ferrer and not closed the match out.

[invisiblecoolers]

I don't like Almagro, but it's sad to see that the Ferrer brand of tennis is good enough to consistently reach Slam semis these days.

I see it the other way, Ferrer proves a point that as long as you have heart of the lion you can still succeed even if you have limited talent.

Something the youngster have to learn from him.

[invisiblecoolers]

Oh I am not saying Ferrer isn't the most dogged battler there is but that doggedness doesn't do him any good against the very top players. There is no way that any of the top players would have served four times for the match against Ferrer and not closed the match out.

Agreed CC ,Well tats the differernce btw top4 and Mugro

[invisiblecoolers]

Ferrer will serve for the match 1st time.

[spuranik]

And does it in one shot..

[invisiblecoolers]

Sorry for Almagro, great spirt of sportsmanship who lost inspite of being the better player and just 2 points from winning the match countless times.

Give the best on the court and once done applaud the winner and move on.

[CAS]

combine Ferrer's mentality with Richard Gasquet's talent and you would get some player, I reckon about 17 slams and around 302 weeks at No.1, give or take....

[invisiblecoolers]

Well Made 300 dollars on David Ferrer today, I bet on him at stakes of 4 when he Mugro was serving for the 3rd set, got a stake of 6 when Mugro went a break up in 4th.

Trusted David's character and got paid off.

[invisiblecoolers]

combine Ferrer's mentality with Richard Gasquet's talent and you would get some player, I reckon about 17 slams and around 302 weeks at No.1, give or take....

Yup, that would be a deadly combination.

[invisiblecoolers]

Gnite all, great match and happy ending for me.

[The Special Juan]

Berdych is rubbish (against Djokovic).

[LuvSports!]

ye

[JuliusHMarx]

Well Made 300 dollars on David Ferrer today, I bet on him at stakes of 4 when he Mugro was serving for the 3rd set, got a stake of 6 when Mugro went a break up in 4th.

Trusted David's character and got paid off.

I have no idea what that means, but if you wire me £50 I won't ban you

[CaledonianCraig]

Berdych being ripped apart here and playing totally the wrong gameplan. A straight sets Djokovic win looks on the cards here.

[JuliusHMarx]

Maybe we should start calling Berdych 'El Mugro'

[Guest]

This is like Christmas dinner. The big bird getting stuffed!

[The Special Juan]

I can't read too much into this victory for Djokovic. It's a very impressive scoreline against someone who has a history of being a danger to the top players in majors but Novak always pummels him and apparently Berdych has won 3 sets in their last 8 meetings. If you're a defensive wall, Berdych won't beat you.

[laverfan]

Berdych's lack of movement being exposed and exploited by Djokovic. The Wawrinka match may have also provided impetus to Djokovic to step up a notch.

And as I say this, Berdych has 2 BPs.

[laverfan]

If you're a defensive wall, Berdych won't beat you.

Are you suggesting that Federer is not a good defensive wall?

[The Special Juan]

If you're a defensive wall, Berdych won't beat you.

Are you suggesting that Federer is not a good defensive wall?

He's not in Daveed's class

(I'm damned no matter what I say here)

[CaledonianCraig]

Berdych changes his tactics and gets success. He must stick to that game plan of getting to the net on anything short.

[laverfan]

If you're a defensive wall, Berdych won't beat you.

Are you suggesting that Federer is not a good defensive wall?

He's not in Daveed's class

(I'm damned no matter what I say here)

I am not trying to corner you, TSJ.

I was just extending the argument logically. Berdych can blow leads, like him losing the plot against Federer from being two sets up @AO in the past.

Glad to see Berd being tenacious, and putting up a fight. The 6-1 scoreline does not do Berdych any justice, and hope he corrects it.

[laverfan]

Down a double break would not be good for Djokovic.

[CaledonianCraig]

You just get the impression that Berdych will offer up a break back chance at the business end of the set.

[laverfan]

To echo TSJ, the wide out serve from Berdych, but instead of coming to the net and volleying (S&V) he just patiently awaits the ball, and gives Djokovic time to chase it.

[laverfan]

You just get the impression that Berdych will offer up a break back chance at the business end of the set.

at 5-4 when he is serving for the set?

[The Special Juan]

If you're a defensive wall, Berdych won't beat you.

Are you suggesting that Federer is not a good defensive wall?

He's not in Daveed's class

(I'm damned no matter what I say here)

I am not trying to corner you, TSJ.

I was just extending the argument logically. Berdych can blow leads, like him losing the plot against Federer from being two sets up @AO in the past.

Glad to see Berd being tenacious, and putting up a fight. The 6-1 scoreline does not do Berdych any justice, and hope he corrects it.

Phew!! I think, statistically, he has more of a chance against the more defensive players but that doesn't mean he won't beat a "wall" from time to time and lose a big lead against one of the less defense-orientated players (not that Federer's defense is poor by any means but his game isn't built around it). He's a bit flaky mentally so I suspect it grates on him when his big groundstrokes and serves come back.

[Guest]

You just get the impression that Berdych will offer up a break back chance at the business end of the set.

at 5-4 when he is serving for the set?

Aye that will be 'squeaky bum time'

[The Special Juan]

It's highly unlikely, but not impossible, that Berdych will go a whole set ubroken against Djokovic.

[The Special Juan]

Flakier than Cadbury's

[LuvSports!]

well i'll be damned

[The Special Juan]

Must go; annoyed to be missing this match though.

[CaledonianCraig]

Djokovic for some reason is really toiling for the second match on the bounce. Isn't it weird? When the draw was made all the talk was how easy Djokovic's half was and yet he is finding it more difficult than Federer and Murray (though his draw opened right up). Fair play to Berdych for mentally holding himself together.

[JuliusHMarx]

How many first serves did Berdych miss in that game? Still scraped through despite best efforts to throw it away.

[laverfan]

Berdych hangs on to his lead and wins the second set. Djokovic has now lost 3 sets in five matches so far. So Federer and Murray are the only ones yet to lose a set, IIRC. (Almagro took two sets of Ferrer last night/this morning).

[Guest]

Djoko gets the early break in the 3rd.

[CaledonianCraig]

Djokovic will want this done as quickly as possible now. He won't be wanting another marathon with David Ferrer waiting in the semis.

[LuvSports!]

is djoko showing any tiredness from the stan match?

[time please]

Very shaky from Berdych - it must be so difficult for a player with such a powerful and devastating one/two game to have so much returned by the most brilliant defender of them all.

[CaledonianCraig]

We are seeing why Berdych and Tsonga are unkikely to ever win a slam. They have spells in matches when they mentally go away and throw sets away because of it.

[time please]

Absolutely CC - they both have the game, but just not that X factor.

[JuliusHMarx]

I suspect it's all over bar the shirt-ripping (don't think we'll see that today though)

[time please]

I suspect so too JHM.

Would like to see Berdych cast his inhibitions to the wind and make a fight of these last few games!

[CaledonianCraig]

The Tomas Berdych team should sit him down and show him the complete video of that match. His success came when he was approaching the net (in the second set) which he won. When he adopted the strictly baseline policy in sets 1,3 and 4 he lost them two of which he lost comfortably.

[CaledonianCraig]

As for Novak he again looked vulnerable at times so it gives hope to the likes of Federer and Murray. Djokovic will look to improve to a higher consistency level. That is not to say he is still hitting impossible shots that change the course of rallies.

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