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Week 4: Australian Open [Hall]

Paid The Umpire

All Time Legend
I have a feeling that "Rick Langley" might be a little late to this dance... Probably need a rest after this Challenger victory! :P
 

SirBloody Idiot

Cricketer Of The Year
Think I'd like confirmation from Jamee before playing doubles. Not sure whether debuting at a Slam is a great idea.
Jamee's gone MIA, but I've drawn you for now so you can always pull out and replaced by an alternate if you want.






The CWLand wildcard teams cop pretty tough first matches, whilst Davis and Mustard also get a hard-ish first round clash. Drake/Korpinen unlucky to get Malachenko/Yarkin who are to the best of my knowledge the highest ranked non-seeded team.
 

SirBloody Idiot

Cricketer Of The Year
Australian Open
1st Round (Monday) - Melbourne (Australia)

Men's singles (Seeds - Finals - Section 1 - Section 2 - Section 3 - Section 4 - Section 5 - Section 6 - Section 7 - Section 8)
Men's doubles (Seeds - Finals - Section 1 - Section 2 - Section 3 - Section 4)

  • 31st seed Heath Davis could have been forgiven for being overawed by the occasion on Centre Court in Melbourne, but overcame the hostile local crowd to advance in four against local Matthew Tobin. With a typically parochial Australian crowd against him, the Auckland semi finalist made the most of his form to blitz Tobin in the first set 6-0. The Aussie looked more settled in the second set, but still looked a distant second best so it was a surprise when Davis was broken with the first break point conceded late in the set. But if Tobin thought it was a sign of things to come, he was sorely mistaken as the heavy-set Kiwi powered past him comfortably with some awesome power hitting as he sent Tobin well behind the baseline and ultimately packing 6-0, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.
  • In section two seventeeth seed Randy Smeltz needed some confidence after a horror end to his preparation in Kooyong, but he didn't start well as Russia's Oleg Puder (1-3R) claimed the first set of their first round clash. Puder, who somewhat surprisingly hung around in Salinas for the doubles final on Saturday, came out of the blocks racing against a lethargic Smeltz to take a 5-2 lead. Smeltz broke back and drew to 4-5, but he could not complete the full turnaround as the Russian took the first set 6-4. Nevertheless, shakes were evident in the lower ranked player's game and he failed to set the world alight in the second. Despite this, Smeltz was given a tough workout in the first round as he was forced to take every opportunity presented to take the next two sets. The third advanced in a similar fashion as Smeltz levelled it at 3-3 after three deuces. But from there he took advantage of a weary Puder to take two service breaks and send last year's third round finisher packing 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 in two hours and fifty-four minutes. His second round clash is even harder as Ion Andueza awaits following his gutsy 6-4, 6-3, 6-7(7), 1-6, 6-4 win over Norway's Haiku Morkel (1-2R); a match that could have been much shorter had Andueza converted any one of his four third set match points.
  • In the same section, wildcard entrant Randy Banks was unable to advance on an outside court as he fell to a really disappointing loss to Ecuador's Néstor Moreno (1-1R). The world No. 109 has found it tough in recent times to take wins on the harder courts, and would have been thanking his lucky stars to draw an inexperienced player such as Banks. The first set saw him take advantage of the obvious nerves of the 18-year old who served six double faults in an awful set that ended inside half an hour. But after the first set catastrophe, Banks hit gold as Moreno sprayed a backhand wide to hand him a first break of service in the opening game of the second set. That break gave him the opening to play more attacking and attractive tennis; taking the set 6-4. But that attacking game quickly disappeared in the third as the experienced Moreno employed a slices and deep hitting to force Banks into error - in the third set alone Banks let fly with eighteen unforced errors compared to the six winners from Moreno. Content to continue to sit back, Moreno pushed his way to a rare hard court victory - the 6-1, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 probably flattering Moreno whilst serving as a good indication of what Banks need to do from here.
  • Making his fourth appearance in a Grand Slam, Spas Delev had been handed a fair first round draw against Fin Lari Färkkilä despite who likely awaited in the second. Needing to take advantage of it and win through to the second round for the just the second time in his career, Delev started strongly by taking the first set 6-2 inside forty minutes with some good clean ball-striking. But the Fin continued to plow away from the other end, and his hard work allowed him a crucial pair of breaks in the second set, and then again in the third as Delev began to struggle to match his first set intensity. However, Delev has had experience over five sets before and was going to use that to his advantage as he raced through the fourth with tennis that was reminiscent of the serve-and-volley of the first set. With a record of 1-1 over five sets (including one loss to Tu Haifeng from two sets to love up), Delev started poorly in the decider as he handed Färkkilä two break points early. Under pressure, he saved them both and managed to earn a break of his own to set up a 4-2 lead. That was maintained, and fifteen minutes later he had his second five set win 6-2, 3-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.
  • In contrast to some of the tougher games of his compatriots, 29th seed Jojo Mustard had it easy as he blitzed world No. 100 Gunther Heug (1-2R) in straight sets. In one of his most convincing Grand Slam wins yet, the world No. 28 looked like a player on the threshold as he easily disposed of the lacklustre game of Heug 6-2, 6-4, 6-2. The French Open quarter finalist started the way he finished; a break of service with a big winner as the trademark cross-court forehand caused Germany's No. 3 player all sorts of difficulties right throughout the match. With the draw opening up for him in a big way, the FR CWLand No. 2 player might have regained the confidence he lost after disappointing performances to the north; setting up a second round clash with another German in the form of Alex Peters (1-1R) who came from two-sets to love down to stun Pat Hewitt (1-3R) 6-7(2), 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 in a draining performance.
  • Section three proved successful for CWLanders as Jamee Hancianu was untroubled in a straight sets win over Finnish qualifer Matti Räihä. After narrowly missing out on a seeding, Hancianu put his disappointing exit in Auckland behind him with a quality performance. Räihä looked his best in a tense second set, but was unable to keep the pressure up against the world No. 35 who looked good on hard despite having his best results on clay. After securing a late break in the second, Hancianu looked irresistable in claiming a 6-3, 7-5, 6-1 win to advance to the second round. His opponent is a difficult one with Auckland champ Illya Altman (1-QF) waiting after he took a 7-5, 6-0, 5-7, 7-5 win over Australian prodigy Harry Thompson (1-1R).
  • In the last of the CWLand players to play on day one, qualifier Martti Korpinen was unable to capitalise on some good qualifying form as he fell in four to Belarus' Denis Isaev (1-1R). Korpinen had looked in fine touch as he qualified for his second Grand Slam, but much like in Nixonstown was unable to make it past the round of 128 as Isaev proved too good. In a tight opening set, the DR CWLand player was unable to convert any of his two set points at 5-4 on his service, but only had to wait until the tiebreaker to take it 7-6. The tight scrap continued into the second, and this time his failure to convert set points bit him badly as Isaev earned a late break of service to level the match at a set each. The blow seemed to hurt Korpinen, who was broken in all three service games in the third set as he missed a number of regulation ground strokes. After the bagel in the third, Korpinen finally got back on the board after dropping nine games in a row but it was not enough as the steeled East European secured the match with a classy crosscourt backhand and easily overhead smash to secure a 6-7(7), 7-5, 6-0, 6-4. He'll now face Pierre L'Estrange (1-4R) who caused the first upset in defeating countryman and 21st seed Patrick Pascaul (1-4R) in the first match in the Multi-Purpose Venue. The world No. 39 had much of his first season hampered by a back issue, and the win here opens up the draw for the Frenchman.
  • But the big upset of the day came in the form of World No. 4 Radivoj Daneu (1-QF) who for the second time in as many Grand Slams was stunned in a first round shocker. Drawn against talented but underperforming Swedish youngster Björn Donaldson, the Sydney finalist started strongly and looked like arrestling his first round Nixonstown exit to Oneil Stewart (admittedly an eventual finalist) as he raced through the first set 6-1. But with one seed had been dumped out on the same court already, and Donaldson overcame his early jitters to take the second set 6-4. As the Swede took the third, the crowd began to sense a massive boilover which was confirmed as he watched a raking forehand swing wide from the net to secure a stunning 1-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 win.
  • In the match of the day, Sydney International champion Dmitry Orlov (1-2R) looked in fine form as he took on world No. 7 József Boros (1-1R). Orlov had scythed through some quality opposition in Sydney, and looked like taking out another top ten player in as many matches as he took the first two sets. But the Hungarian, who sensationally fell first round last year when seeded eleventh against Domingo Gutiérrez Gómez, was exceptional as he came back against all odds in a marathon match that lasted just under five hours on the Multi Purpose Venue 5-7, 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. Talking of wasted opportunities, unseeded Spaniard Javier Villaneuva was in prime position to beat Luxembourg's Oliver Engel at two sets to one and 5-2 in the fourth. But Engel, who was in top shape after great finishes in Chennai and Auckland, roared back and the Spaniard wilted; Engel winning a 6-3, 5-7, 6-7(4), 7-5, 6-2 marathon effort.

  • Seeded players out:
    Radivoj Daneu;
    Patrick Pascaul.


For some of the bigger matches I might run a live sim. Not ball-by-ball or anything boring like that, but something like the BBC does on the odd occasion. May run a test run for Oxenstierna/Zakov.
 
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HeathDavisSpeed

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Heavy set? I'm just big boned!

Still, a decent workout and one hurdle over. Not too confident for this tourney, to be fair.
 

Johnners

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Yessssss!!!

Win and no Daneu in the 2nd round is basically the definition of awesome.
 

Simon

Request Your Custom Title Now!
Happy to get through the first round, not the best performance from Smeltz but you dont want to be peaking in round 1 or 2.
 

SirBloody Idiot

Cricketer Of The Year
Australian Open
1st Round (Tuesday) - Melbourne (Australia)

Men's singles (Seeds - Finals - Section 1 - Section 2 - Section 3 - Section 4 - Section 5 - Section 6 - Section 7 - Section 8)
Men's doubles (Seeds - Finals - Section 1 - Section 2 - Section 3 - Section 4)

  • In yet another battle between the two Grand Slam rivals, Jefferson Drake (1-1R) has produced the goods in a tough five set win over China's Li Wang (1-3R). Li came into the match as a real threat following his semi final appearance in Brisbane (including a win over world No. 6 Darcy Cowan) and had previously taken a epic five set win over Drake in the third round of the French Open as the 22nd seed (2-6,6-2, 6-3, 5-7, 8-6). Drake, however, has come a long way since May and found himself as the seeded player; quickly setting about getting the jump on his Chinese opponent again as he took the first set 6-3. But Li was not about to back down, and two games later had his own break of service as he slammed a short forehand from Drake down the line to secure a 2-0 lead. Li's serve continued to look shaky, though, and he was broken soon after by Drake but managed to again slip ahead by two games as Drake gave up service for the second time in the set as he netted a backhand from his feet. As has so often been the case, Drake operated in bursts as he came back from an unconvincing second set to blitz Li in the third 6-1. Still he was not able to keep the momentum on his side of the court, and Li would make sure the enthralling match would head to five sets as he claimed the fourth 6-4. However it only delayed the inevitable as Drake showed he'd learned a thing or two from their French Open epic; making light work of a tiring Chinese player in the decider to secure a 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, 4-6, 6-0. Drake now faces American Wayne Boyd (1-2R) in the second round after he thrashed compatriot Anothy Ficher 6-3, 6-0, 6-2.
  • It was also a five-set affair for FR CWLand's Rob Bowenburg, but this time it came with disastrous results as he gave up a two-sets to love lead against local qualifier Rod Bosnar (1-1R). Bosnar made a barely believable run to the semi finals in Brisbane a fortnight ago, but looked in a world of trouble early against Bowenburg who looked on top of his game. Bowenburg broke late in the first set to clinch it 6-3, and then found his range in the second in a dominant display of power-hitting to take it 6-1. But just when it looked like Bosnar's run in Queensland (including wins over Henry Charles and Oneil Stewart) was well in the past, the 34-year old produced a fantastic third set as he came to the net more often and managed two very important breaks of the Bowenburg service. That seemed to hurt the world No. 69 as he was broken again at 2-3 in the fourth set as the Australian began to gather some serious momentum. Bosnar went on to serve out the fourth set and roar into the decider with all the momentum and national television coverage behind him, but Bowenburg was not done with yet as he managed an early break of service. But in a dramatic fifth set, Bosnar earned a third and final break to shoot to 6-5 and have a chance to serve out the match. Whilst Bowenburg saved one match point at 40-30, he could not save the next as Bosnar wrong-footed him with a smash and forced Bowenburg to put an awkward backhand into the net to secure a remarkable 3-6, 1-6, 6-2, 6-4, 7-5 upset. After that lengthy affair, the world No. 176 moves to a grudge match with twentieth seed Oneil Stewart (1-2R) who earned a rematch of the upset in Brisbane with a 1-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 win over Swedish qualifier Henrikk Henrikkson.

  • As has been the regular for the world No. 5, Sven Oxenstierna (1-4R) has yet again been forced to overcome a sluggish start to come from a set down to beat Bulgaria's Yordan Zakov (1-2R). The fifth seed looked like he was warming up in a lacklustre first set in which Zakov surprisingly controlled proceedings with some deep backhand slices from the opposite corner of the court. It was a tactic that could not last, though, as Oxenstierna came out in the second set more convincingly to earn an early break of service. Whilst Zakov never wilted, he was unable to get a look at a lead following his surprising first set as the typically calm Oxenstierna assumed complete control of the match with his usual baseline domination. Even taking his chances at the net on a couple of occasions, Oxenstierna never looked back from the second set on as he won through 3-6, 6-3 6-4, 6-3. Earlier in the day, little known Australian qualifier Thomas Cartwright (1-1R) booked a second round spot that was filled by Oxenstierna with a tough 6-4, 2-6, 6-2, 6-0 win over Austria's Martin Reiter.
  • It was always going to be tough for DR CWLand's Matt Bre to advance past the first round in Australia, but he'd have hoped to at least take sixteenth seed Davis Kennedy (1-QF) deeper into the match than he did as he succumbed in straight sets. After earning his spot in the draw thanks to a good run in the CWLand Championships late last season, Bre looked nervous early against the calm Canadian who managed two first set breaks of service. The young easterner has thus far shown a willingness to change things up when they aren't working for him, and he did just that as he risked coming to the net twice on the Kennedy service early in the second. That worked well for him as Kennedy sent two attempted passing shots out of play to hand Bre and unlikely 2-1 lead. But the wildcard lacked the convincing service to back up his bold plays, and when nearly half did not find their way in on the first attempt it was little surprise that the Canadian managed to break back straight away. Those issues continued to plague him as he failed to hold serve once more in the set despite earning a second break of his own against the Canadian. With a mountain to climb, Bre kept with the world No. 16 but was not able to snatch a set as he was sent packing 6-3, 6-3, 6-4.

  • Briefly Jarkko Maxum might have believed he could oust Danijel Micic (1-1R) in the first round of the Australian Open, but after claiming the first set he was easily dealt with as Micic bounced back from his horror showing last season in Melbourne Park. In season I, the 23rd seed (then seeded three) was ousted in five by Hugh James (1-2R) and never really recovered his ranking from then on. But if he had any belief that his first round clash against Maxum, a player who boosted his ranking through clay court Challengers, would be a breeze he was sorely mistaken as the world No. 55 secured the opening set 7-5 with some typically rock-solid returning. But after competing well in the first set, Maxum went back into his shell as the Serb opened up and played more aggressive tennis in the second. Looking every bit the top player he is, the volatile Serbian unleashed on Maxum and conceeded just three games in the next two sets. A dispirited Maxum needed something in the fourth to stem the tide, and although he managed to bring up two break points on the Micic service he could not convert; Micic moving into the second round with a 5-7, 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 win. He now faces American Eric Henson (1-2R) who, like his brother, advanced to the second round with a win. Henson was too good for Belgium's Mark Harmel (1-2R) 7-5, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.
  • In the most convincing display of all the CWLand players, Scotland Rivers continued his quality form from Chennai as he blitzed Korean wildcard Lee Inmin (1-1R) in three sets in a match that lasted less than two hours. Rivers, the world No. 69, had a low key preparation for his first tournament in Australia but was not going to be prevented from crushing the world No. 118 in one hour and forty-six minutes. Lee brought up just two break points on the Rivers service, but converted none of them and was quickly sent packing by the aggressive FR CWLander who all but secured a Davis Cup place with a 6-2, 6-1, 6-1 demolition job that was sealed with a blistering forehand winner. He now faces a tough task against world No. 2 Daniel Páez Blanco (1-4R) in the second round after the Spaniard was untroubled by clay grafter Carlos Machado (1-2R) in a 6-0, 6-4, 6-1 win. Rivers, however, did make a great run at the CW Open last year that included a win over top ten player Illya Altman in the second round.

  • It was largely a good day for the seeded players as only 32nd seed Becker Haas (1-1R) fell in day two action. Haas also exited in the first round of the CW Open, and collapsed to world No. 82 Li Ming-Wang (1-1R). The Chinese player was awful as he dropped the first set 1-6, but became the third player to come from back from that scoreline to win in four sets 1-6, 7-6(3), 6-4, 6-3. Eighth seed Rasmus Olesen (1-SF) did, however, have a near miss as he was forced to save three fourth set points to escape with a 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(2) win over Switzerland's Pascal Schmidt (1-3R).

  • Seeded players out:
    Becker Haas.

 

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