Category Archives: Grand Slams
Triumph And Disaster
Australian Open, Quarterfinals Ferrer d. Nadal, 6/4 6/2 6/3 Of the four men’s quarterfinals being contested at this year’s Australian Open, there was only one whose result was almost utterly beyond doubt. Rafael Nadal’s record against nearly everyone has been … Continue reading
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Officially On Notice
Australian Open, Fourth Round Full steam into Day 8 of the Australian Open, where a titanic whirlpool of predictability threatened to suck us down. A still-recovering Rafael Nadal would be pushed by Marin Cilic, as would Andy Murray by the … Continue reading
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Thrashing Roddick As Aesthetic Experience
Australian Open, Fourth Round Wawrinka d. Roddick, 6/3 6/4 6/4 Aficionados of tennis demolition hold the 2007 Australian Open semifinal between Roger Federer and Andy Roddick in stratospheric regard. Undoubtedly, Federer has dished out more comprehensive hidings – the 2004 … Continue reading
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A Clear Way Forward
Australian Open, Third Round Nadal d. Tomic, 6/2 7/5 6/4 Bernard Tomic was not good enough to beat an out-of-sorts Rafael Nadal tonight, but there was no shame in it. It has been years since any teenager could have, the … Continue reading
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Another Game For Milos!
Australian Open, Third Round Raonic d. Youzhny, 6/4 7/5 4/6 6/4 Now that he has defeated No.10 seed Mikhail Youzhny, Canada’s young Milos Raonic can feasibly lay claim to being the story of the first week. Including Qualifying, it was … Continue reading
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A Stuttering Stream
Australian Open, Third Round Djokovic d. Troicki, 6/2 ret. Roddick d. Haase, 2/6 7/6 6/2 6/2 It was really brought home to me today what a lottery buying tickets to the tennis is. At a shade under fifty bucks, a … Continue reading
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The Tomic Test
Australian Open, Second Round Tomic d. Lopez, 7/6 7/6 6/3 31st seed Feliciano Lopez today lost in straight sets to Bernard Tomic, who is ranked No.199 in the world. The Australian press has commemorated this result with characteristic composure. The … Continue reading
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More Hardscrabbling
Just a quick update to the continuing exploits of Israel’s No.2 tennis player Amir Weintraub, whose escapades I first covered here. The second installment of his adventures has been translated and posted in the original forum thread (it’s on page … Continue reading
Filed under Grand Slams, Players
The Jingos
Australian Open, First Round Youzhny d. Ilhan, 6/2 6/3 7/6 Armed with the day’s schedule, a map of the grounds, and some marker pens, the family beside me – I dubbed them the Jingos – were laboriously charting their course … Continue reading
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He Snap In The Head
Australian Open, First Round Monfils d. de Bakker, 6/7 2/6 7/5 6/2 6/1 I switched on the TV at a seemingly opportune moment, as the coverage cut from a yawnfest on Rod Laver Arena to an intriguing men’s match on … Continue reading
Filed under Grand Slams