Week 4: Australian Open [Hall]

[Mister Wright]

Excellent!

Great performance in the Doubles so far. We need to continue it though.

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Australian Open
Junior Boys' Singles - 1st Round (Monday) - Melbourne (Australia)

Boys' singles (Seeds - Finals - Section 1 - Section 2 - Section 3 - Section 4)

• Third seed and world No. 180 Marcuss Deane has made the perfect start to his Boys' campaign after producing a straight sets win over senior ranked Brazilian Nelson Nunes. Probably the most physically impressive of all the players in the draw, the 6'8" 16-year old is still growing and was far too good for Nunes as he served his way to a 6-2, 6-3 win. Many pundits inside FR CWLand have suggested that the lanky Deane is one of the most talented youngsters in the world, and already possessing a serve well above that of most players his age he has a good base to work from in the coming months.

• Compatriot Koal Kao was also impressive in his start to the week as he overcame French qualifier Andre Gadbois. Kao started the match positively and earned a break of service early as he moved well across the court to surge to a 4-1 lead. Whilst Gadbois managed to hold in his next service game, he was broken again by the eighth seed who went on to take the first set 6-2. Kao has admitted that his power is something he needs to work on, and the second set showed that deficiency as the Frenchman took the match to the FR CWLander with some ambitious shots. Kao could not keep the rallies going for long enough to take out Gadbois with angles, and dropped the set 3-6. But Gadbois could only maintain such pressure for the one set as Kao continued to draw the unforced errors from Gadbois in a lengthy 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 win.

• Five of the seeded players were casualities in the first round, but the biggest to fall was seventh seeded Bulgarian Stepan Ivanov. The talented youngster was no match for ATP ranked Kiyo Osaka who moved to the second round 6-4, 6-2 with a confident performance.

• Seeded players out:
  
  Manny García;
  
  Daniel Hermansson;
  
  Stepan Ivanov;
  
  Michael Posinović;
  
  Dominic Viens.

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Australian Open
Junior Boys' Doubles - 1st Round (Monday) - Melbourne (Australia)

Boys' doubles (Seeds - Finals - Top Half - Bottom Half)

• Third seeds Koal Kao & Marcuss Deane have overcome a poor second set to advance to the second round of the boys' doubles draw over Americans Charles Alderman & Michael McDonald. In a tight first set, the superior polish of the West CWLanders paid off in a one-sided tiebreaker that saw Deane fire down three aces and Kao looks sharp at the net to take the tiebreaker to nought. But the American pair were able to fire back immediately, and in just twenty-seven minutes had levelled the match at a set each. But the third seeds kept their cool and despite giving up a 3-0 lead to see the set go back on service, they managed to confidently claim the third 7-6(0), 2-6, 6-3. They'll now face Indian-Indonesian pair Mahesh Masih & Anid Niraj.

• Whilst all four seeded teams in the top half made it through the round of 32, three of the four in the bottom half fell. That leaves just Jack & Tommy Schaap alive following their 6-4, 6-3 win over locals Nathan Hannah & Brett Lettieri. Fourth seeds Daniel Hermansson & Marcus Lindberg were expected to win against wildcards Elijah Butts & Brett Ocean, but were stunned in a 45-minute upset; Butts and Ocean blanking them 6-0, 6-0.

• Seeded players out:
  
  Samuel Czarzewski &
  
  Tomas Volkoff;
  
  Daniel Hermansson &
  
  Marcus Lindberg;
  
  Michael Adler &
  
  Tom Eiffel.

Niraj one of the fellas Goughy signed up . Should be interesting.​

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Men's singles

​

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

An important win over the 11th seeds there. Keeping it to two sets is pretty important.

 

[ripper868]

• The lowest ranked seeds, Rob Bowenburg & Jarkko Maxum, are also through to their first Grand Slam quarter finals after a three-set win over Ashim & Seby Kumar. The Kumars had already managed a shock win over the second seeded Onwye brothers, but started poorly against the Trans-CWLand team who took the first set 6-2. But it was a dramatic turnaround in the second as they broke free from 2-2 to claim four games in a row with two service breaks to head into the decider with the momentum behind them. But in a tight set with four service breaks, Bowenburg and Maxum proved to be the slightly less nervous side as they squeaked out a 6-2, 2-6, 7-6(3) victory. They'll play in-form Italian-Moroccan duo Sandro Bachunelli & Hicham Hadir who proved too good for ninth seeds Mark Harmel & Yves Parmentier 7-5, 6-0. They've dropped just thirteen games this week.

...will be tough, pretty sure Maxum and The Lob can take it to them though.

 

[Magrat Garlick]

First real test coming up. Think Páez has more in the tank than he showed in Doha, he didn't need the money.

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Australian Open
Men's Singles - Quarter Finals (Tuesday) - Melbourne (Australia)

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

• World No. 1 Jason Hall is still on track to defend his Australian Open crown after surviving a strong start from fifteenth seed Henry Charles in their quarter final matchup. The two-time Grand Slam champion looked irresistible in his third and fourth round matches, but met a British player who had dropped just one set all week. That continued early as Charles managed to claim the first set thanks to a rare sign of weakness from Hall; the American double faulting at set point to hand it to Charles. But he managed to break back immediately to start the second set and went on to level the match at a set a piece. Charles, however, kept up with the World No. 1 and managed to bring up three break point opportunities at 4-3 in the third to have the opportunity to serve for a two sets to one lead. But he let that opportunity slip with a couple of unforced errors and a searing winner from Hall, and the American capitalised fully to claim three games on the trot to take the set. The missed chance seemed to hurt Charles, and he lost his concentration quickly and the fourth set even quicker with Hall through to a fourth Grand Slam semi final 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-1.

• He won't have it easy, though, as ninth seed Illya Altman roared to his maiden Grand Slam semi in seriously impressive style against Croatia's Miroslav Brdar. Altman had showed signs of stumbling at various times during his run, but those signs were not evident against the world No. 14 who was unable to take a set off the Ukrainian. After claiming the title in Auckland a little over a week ago, Altman produced one of the most impressive sets of the week to bagel Brdar in the second; the set lasting just twenty-eight minutes. Whilst he continued to fight, the Croat was up against it as the clean-hitting Ukrainian piled on the winners and overwhelmed him 7-5, 6-0, 6-4.

• Seeded players out:
  
  Miroslav Brdar;
  
  Henry Charles.

 

[Magrat Garlick]

but met a British player who had dropped just one set all week.

Considering it's his first match this week, this seems to be a feat only a Pom could pull off.

Altman has clearly worked on hard court proficiency over the winter, but can't see him pushing Hall.

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Australian Open
Men's Doubles - Quarter Finals (Tuesday) - Melbourne (Australia)

Men's doubles (Seeds - Finals - Section 1 - Section 2 - Section 3 - Section 4)

• The quarter finals of the men's doubles got underway on Tuesday, and there were no surprises as both seeded teams picked up expected wins. Local pair Toby Brookes & David Champion had their chances, but could not capitalise on them against fourth seeds Jefferson Drake & Martti Korpinen. The East CWLanders have never made a Grand Slam final, but continued on their quest to make one despite falling a break behind in both sets. Nevertheless, the DR CWLanders make a fantastic combination and it was thanks to some superb finishing by Korpinen at the net that they managed to earn the break back immediately on both occasions to stay alive in the match. The Aussies found it difficult to deal with the sharp angles the fourth seeds could get, whilst the big serve of the red-headed Champion was not as penetrative as usual and he was responsible for three breaks of the Australian serve. In little over an hour and twenty minutes, Drake and Korpinen advanced to the semi finals 6-4, 6-4.

• There they'll face French Open champions Hugh James & Ralph Robinson who were far too good for Eric & Rick Henson earlier in the day. Many expected the Hensons to be a real threat to the top seeded team, but they did not look switched on as James and Robinson looked the superior team both in close and in baseline rallies as they picked up a 6-2, 6-4 win.

• Seeded players out: None.

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Considering it's his first match this week, this seems to be a feat only a Pom could pull off.

Altman has clearly worked on hard court proficiency over the winter, but can't see him pushing Hall.

No comment

But yeah, expecting Hall to win.

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Australian Open
Junior Boys' Singles - 2nd Round (Tuesday) - Melbourne (Australia)

Boys' singles (Seeds - Finals - Section 1 - Section 2 - Section 3 - Section 4)

• Eighth seed Koal Kao has produced a much more convincing display than his first round match to win through to the third round of the boys' singles. Italian Antonio Razzeti looked good in his first round win over Japan's Hiroshi Motokata, but lacked that same form against the West CWLander who looked in complete control in the first set. Razzeti's performance improved in the second, but he lacked the weapons to really worry the eighth seed who eased ahead in the draw 6-2, 7-5. He will now face German's Tom Eiffel after he ousted twelfth seeded Fin Yrjö Kurri 6-2, 1-6, 6-4.

• In contrast, Marcuss Deane had a particularly difficult second round clash against unseeded Argentine Gabriel Fonseca. Fonseca professed to have little experience on the hard courts, and despite looking out of his depth against the raking Deane serve did enough to hold his end of the deal and steal a late break of serve with just his second break point opportunity. Deane struggled to really get a look at the consistent Fonseca serve as he showed weakness in some of the longer rallies. Nevertheless, he did just enough to surge ahead in the tiebreaker and send the match to a third. Finally, the third seed overwhelmed Fonseca and advanced 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-2 to a third round clash with Anid Niraj of Indonesia. Niraj was too good for Korean qualifier Kim Jae-Yoop in a 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 win.

• The big shock came in the form of the sensational ousting of top seeded junior Jesse Adams by Russia's Tomas Volkoff. Adams, ranked No. 277 in the world, expected a convincing win but did not get it as Volkoff thrashed him 6-3, 6-2 in a big performance. Elsewhere, fifth seed Tommy Schaap was beaten four and one by Yuri Shankov of Bulgaria, and Aaron Freed, the fifth seed, was upset by New Zealand's William Nye.

• Seeded players out:
  
  Jesse Adams;
  
  Aaron Freed;
  
  Yrjö Kurri;
  
  Tommy Schaap.

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Australian Open
Junior Boys' Doubles - 2nd Round (Tuesday) - Melbourne (Australia)

Boys' doubles (Seeds - Finals - Top Half - Bottom Half)

• Despite successful days in the singles, third seeds Marcuss Deane & Koal Kao were unable to advance past the second round of the doubles as they were upset by Mahesh Masih & Anid Niraj. The West CWLanders got off to a flying start to take the first set 6-1, but the Indian-Indonesian team fought back well and with a late break of the Kao service managed to send the match to a deciding third set. There, the unseeded duo kept up the pressure and staged a dramatic upset to advance 1-6, 7-5, 6-4 against all odds. Deane will have his chance of revenge against Niraj in the third round of the singles

• It was a bad day for seeds all round as inexplicable just two of the final eight were seeded. Jesse Adams completed a horrible day alongside Harry Thompson as they were stunned by Fins Pontus Heiskanen & Yrjö Kurri 6-1, 6-3. Thompson can take some solace in the fact he's dropped just three games in the singles, though.

• Seeded players out:
  
  Jesse Adams &
  
  Harry Thompson;
  
  Marcuss Deane &
  
  Koal Kao;
  
  Aaron Freed &
  
  Zoltán Timar.

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Men's singles

​

 

[Paid The Umpire]

Come on CW give us one title...

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Australian Open
Men's Singles - Quarter Finals (Wednesday) - Melbourne (Australia)

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

• Fifth seed Sven Oxenstierna has been unable to take the world No. 4 position nor continue his recent good form against Daniel Páez Blanco after the Spaniard advanced to a third Grand Slam semi final in four sets. The Ox had claimed victories in each of his last two matches against Blanco, and looked in a similar vein of form early in the match as he captured a break of service to lead 3-1. Although Blanco managed to draw back to level, he dropped serve again and showed serious signs of nerves against the confident world No. 5 who served out the first set. But the tide began to turn, and their second Grand Slam meeting became reminiscent of their first as the 29-year old controlled play from the baseline. Whilst Oxenstierna looked OK when returning, it was his serving that was really lacking as he quickly found himself down a set. Disaster struck for the West CWLander in the fourth as he was broken to allow Blanco a 4-2 lead, but he offered one last charge to draw the set to level and take it to a tiebreaker. But in a nervous tiebreaker from both men, Blanco finally prevailed in a 25-shot rally to bring up set point at 6-3. He needed just one, and advanced to the semi finals 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-6(4). Blanco's last Grand Slam semi final came in Nixonstown where he was stunned 6-3, 7-6(5), 1-6, 6-4 by Oneil Stewart of Jamaica.

• Whilst Oxenstierna couldn't produce an upset, earlier in the day Rasmus Olesen could as he made back-to-back semi finals at the expense of world No. 3 and season I finalist Radek Špidlá. The third seed had gained an element of favouritism after his awesome early season form and quality win over Rick Henson in the fourth round, but could not make it back-to-back five set wins against the Danish world No. 8. With the scores level at a set each, Olesen produced arguably the finest set of tennis - or at least half set of tennis - to lead 5-1 in the third before he was sensationally reeled in by Špidlá who broke serve three times en route to six games in a row. That would have crippled a lesser man, but Olesen managed to again go a break ahead in the fourth to lead 5-3. But Špidlá still managed to fight back, and the Czech giant managed to fight off a fourth set point and earn the break back as the set went to a tiebreaker. Olesen, however, had ideas of a five-set epic and managed to shake off his missed opportunities to control the tiebreaker and send the match to a fifth. Despite the fact he really should have taken the match already, Olesen again got a break of the weary Špidlá serve to lead 5-2 and to move to the verge of his second semi final at Melbourne Park. Špidlá had one last charge as he gave the Dane a big scare with a break back, but he could not stop the world No. 8 finally taking advantage of three match points to surge into the semis 6-4, 4-6, 5-7, 7-6(1), 6-4 in a four hour and thirty-two minute epic. Last year, Olesen met his end against Jason Hall and if he wants to win the tournament will likely have to beat the world's top three players.

• Seeded players out:
  
  Sven Oxenstierna;
  
  Radek Špidlá.

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Australian Open
Men's Doubles - Quarter Finals (Wednesday) - Melbourne (Australia)

Men's doubles (Seeds - Finals - Section 1 - Section 2 - Section 3 - Section 4)

• Whilst they aren't getting any easy wins, world No. 3 team Heath Davis & Jojo Mustard are through to the semi finals of the jam-packed doubles draw after coming from a set down to beat unseeded French pair Jean-Christophe Genghini & Pierre L'Estrange. Davis and Mustard had dropped a set in all but one of their matches this fortnight, and looked in trouble early again as the French duo earned three breaks of serve against the third seed's two to take the first set 6-4 in a see-sawing affair. Nevertheless, some clutch serving from Davis prevented the Westerners falling a break behind in the second, and it proved to be important as serve was broken just once in the second set. Sending the quarter final to a decider, it was the favourites who managed to prevail in Genghini's fifteen-minute service game to break ahead and to secure a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 berth in the semis.

• They will face fifth seeds Sandro Bachunelli & Hicham Hadir who, in contrast, have had an easy run with a fourth straight straight sets win over Rob Bowenburg & Jarkko Maxum. The sixteenth seeds hadn't yet faced another seeded team, and the Wimbledon champions proved an insurmountable obstacle for them as they cruised to a 6-4, 6-2 win. The match was close at 4-4 in the first, but a double fault at 30-30 from Maxum gave the Italian-Moroccan duo the opening they needed to take the first set. From there, they controlled the match and managed to break twice in a convincing straight sets win.

• Seeded players out:
  
  Rob Bowenburg &
  
  Jarkko Maxum.

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Australian Open
Junior Boys' Singles - 3rd Round (Wednesday) - Melbourne (Australia)

Boys' singles (Seeds - Finals - Section 1 - Section 2 - Section 3 - Section 4)

• Third seed Marcuss Deane has won through to the quarter finals of the boys' singles in Melbourne Park after getting revenge on Indonesia's Anid Niraj. Niraj and partner Mahesh Masih defeated Deane's team in the doubles yesterday, but in singles Deane looked a class above despite dropping the second set. Niraj managed to bring up just one break point on Deane's serve; converting that into a set-winning break as he framed a return that luckily lobbed over the net well out of Deane's reach. Nevertheless, he easily ran through the third to advance 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 to a quarter final matchup with Australia's John Standish.

• Unfortunately for eighth seed Koal Kao, his run came to an end in the third round at the racquet of Germany's Tom Eiffel. The unseeded German was too good in both sets as he surged to a 6-4, 6-2 upset to continue what has been a very impressive week. Kao looked lacklustre on service and Eiffel clearly looked to keep points short and to prevent Kao from bogging him down. He succeeded in doing that, too, and secured the match in little over an hour. He'll face second seed Harry Thompson whose 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 win over Daniel Lulic saw him drop his first set of the week.

• Whilst he was expected to win, Bulgaria's Yuri Shankov was unstoppable against Australian wildcard Nathan Hannah as he prevailed 6-0, 6-0. Shankov's win means he's the last player not to have dropped a set this week, and heads into his quarter final with thirteenth seed George Costea as a real chance to secure a semi final place.

• Seeded players out:
  
  Charlie Alderman;
  
  Koal Kao.

Australian Open
Junior Boys' Doubles - Quarter Finals (Wednesday) - Melbourne (Australia)

Boys' doubles (Seeds - Finals - Top Half - Bottom Half)

• Seeded players out: None.

 

[Mister Wright]

Didn't get what I wanted out of the singles component of the Australian Open, however, although it's been tough, have made it deep into the doubles draw. Hopefully there is two more wins on the cards.

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

Certainly seems that Mustard & I have done this the hard way, but we're still in the Semis and still in with a chance of snatching a 2nd grand slam. It hasn't been pretty, but to still be in with a sniff raises no complaints.