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Tsizzling Tsonga faces tough fight in final

Despite losing his first-ever major singles final, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France (Alu Power 125) was extremely happy with his performance at an Australian Open in which he defeated 4 seeded players - Andy Murray, Richard Gasquet, Mikhail Youzhny and Rafael Nadal - on his giant-killing way to the final.

“I feel very proud of myself,” he said. “I’m happy for Novak because he played unbelievable today. I don’t know if I have to be sad or happy of this final but I feel great!”

The final score of 4-6 6-4 6-3 7-6(2) shows just how close this match was. It’s quality was emphasized by both players having more winners than unforced errors - Tsonga with 44/41 and Djokovic with 46/35. Those few extra errors were the difference in the match - and hardly surprising as a result of Djokovic’ much greater experience in major events - 178 ATP events to Tsonga’s 40.

Tsonga also expressed his appreciation of the support of the fans thoughout the tournament, “The crowd was unbelievable. A lot of noise and everything. I had frisson (goosebumps)!” He has been a favorite with the crowd - not only for his power and exciting play but also because of his laid-back style and sheer exhuberance on the court.

Jo-Wilfried jumps from 38 to 18 in the world rankings as a result of his Melbourne result. He is now looking forward to the rest of the year - and a spot in the top ten!

Other finals results:

Jonathon Erlich and Andy Ram of Israel (both using Alu Power 125) won the Men’s Doubles title - beating Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra of France 7-5 7-6(4).

Alona and Kateryna Bondarenka of the Ukraine (Timo) won the Women’s Doubles final - beating Victoria Azarenka of Belarus and Shahar Peer of Israel 2-6 6-1 6-4

Final Note

We hope you have enjoyed our coverage of Luxilon players at the 2008 Australian Open.

We have tried to introduce you to as many as possible - most of whom don’t make it to your TV screens but are equally great competitors and equally great people.

Please also bear in mind that, for contractual reasons, we are only able to feature a small number of players who actually use Luxilon strings. There are many other players - and many in the top 10 in both men’s and women’s tennis - that also use Luxilon strings but have contracts with racquet or other companies that preclude their names and images being used on our site.

We would have liked to feature everyone - but time, as well as contractual, constraints make it impossible to do so.

We hope to bring you further detailed coverage from “5th Grand Slam event” - the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami in March where Luxilon is the official stringing company of the event and will be taking care of the world’s best players.

Luxilon’s first title winner in Australia

Kateryna Bondaranko of the Ukraine (Timo) became the first Luxilon player to hoist a trophy in Melbourne (see picture above) after winning the Womens’ Doubles title with sister Alona. The unseeded pair beat the seeded Shahar Peer of Israel and Victoria Azarenka of Belarus after coming back from losing the first set to win the match 2-6 6-1 6-4.

From the picture, the bears are going to be fought over just as much as the trophy…

Tsonga Tstops Nervous Nadal

The Australian Open always seems to produce an underdog story that captures the hearts and minds of the Melbourne cowd - and the world.

Who will forget the 2006 run of Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis who made his way to the final - beating 2nd seed Andy Roddick and 4th seed David Nalbandian en route - and then swapped sets with the master, Roger Federer, 5-7 7-5 before Federer recovered from the shock, upped his game, and won his first Australian final.

This year it is Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France (Alu Power 125 Rough) - unseeded in the event and ranked only 39th in the world - who has earned a giant-killer reputation on his way to a well-deserved place the final.

Tsonga first upset the experts’ - and the bookies’ - predictions by beating 9th seed Andy Murray in the first round. His win against countryman and 8th seed Richard Gasquet in the fourth round really made people sit-up and take notice of his unexpected power and talent. The straight sets win over Mikhail Youzhny - including a 6-0 2nd set - made a few even consider the possibility of a challenge to 2nd seed Rafael Nadal in the semi-final even though most still talked of a Nadal/Federer final as the inevitable finale of the event.

But no-one expected the complete domination of the match as a result of a calm and methodical display of power and accuracy that had Nadal completely worried and frustrated and quite unable to use his power and court coverage to escape his predicament. Tsonga even displayed exceptional confidence by executing a series of drop-volleys that had the crowd on their feet and Nadal reeling. The score of 6-2 6-3 6-2 reflected a difference in ability rather than any failure on the part of the world number two. Nadal played his usual high-intensity power game and Tsonga was simply better at it and was consistently more than a match for Nadal in some long, hard rallies and in both power and placement. Tsonga’s 17 aces to Nadal’s 2 and his 49 winners to Nadal’s 13 really tells the story of this extraordinary match that even had Patrick McEnroe and ‘Killer’ Cahill off their seats and full of praise for Tsonga’s exceptional performance.

This was a match that shocked the tennis world and put Jo-Wilfried center stage in anticipation of a final that promises to be every bit as good as his semifinal. He will meet the winner of Roger Federer’s semi-final match against Novak Djokovic that has still to be played.

Should Roger Federer win his semi-final I am of course, going to have a problem remaining neutral in the battle between these two Luxilon fans. But, most of all, I am looking forward to the prospect of a great match - whoever is the one to lift the trophy at its end.

Federer shows flair and finesse

Roger Federer (Alu Power 125 Rough/Wilson Natural Gut) has once again established his unique ability to raise his game above the level of his opponent. In a tough match against James Blake for a place in the semi-finals, Blake looked extremely strong and determined to win the match throughout. But the harder he tried and the harder he hit, the more Roger improved his game.

The score was 7-5 7-6(5) 6-4 but, in spite of how close it looks, Federer led in all aspects of the game: aces (13-8), double faults (0-5), unforced errors (24-33), winners (46-38), total points won (115-97). The only thing he did poorly with was the thing he seems to hate most - challenging line calls..!

It is one of the most incredible features of Roger’s game, that he seems able to always do enough to win…

He will play Novak Djokovic in the semifinal.

David Ferrer (Original 130), however, did not fare so well against Djokovic, losing his match 0-6 3-6 5-7. Perhaps if it had been the best of 7 games, the improving Ferrer - known for his fitness and speed - might just have turned it around…!

Tsolid Tsonga Tumbles Youzhny

Unseeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France (Alu Power 125 Rough) continued on his giant-killing path through the Australian Open draw by beating Mikhail Youzhny of Russia 7-6 6-0 7-6(6).

He displayed a combination of power and finesse that left his much more experienced opponent struggling to find an answer or a way to impose his own game. The Aussie crowd, always a supporter of the underdog, was ecstatic as Tsonga avoided a set point against him and won three successive points to end the match in confident style.

He tried to describe his emotions after the match. “It’s like I want to cry, I want to smile, I want everything!”

The Mohammed Ali look-alike will have the opportunity to really test his strength and ability when he plays 2nd-seed Rafael Nadal in the semi-final on Thursday. Although obviously excited at the prospect, Tsonga tried to be dispassionate. “I try to stay on this world and that’s it. I will do like every time I do before - be relaxed on the court. He has two arms and two legs like me, so we will see on the court.”

Nadal’s two arms may be unlike any on the tour but Tsonga is no skinny kid either and perhaps it’s time for the sleeves to be ripped from his shirt and a battle of the biceps to take the stage. In any event, with similar brands of power and emotion, the match between these two gladiators promises to be as exciting as it gets and I, for one, will be glued to my seat.

Jarkko Nieminen of Finland (Alu Power 125) was the unfortunate victim of Rafael Nadal’s semifinal match. Although he stayed with Rafa through the first set and showed great determination throughout the match, he lost 5-7 3-6 1-6.

Meanwhile, a confident and methodical Roger Federer (Alu Power 125 Rough and Wilson Natural Gut) ended Tomas Berdych’ hopes of a quarter-final match with a 6-4 7-6(7) 6-3 victory. After a couple of close calls for the world’s number one in previous matches - particularly the surprise close 5-setter against Janko Tipsarevic, the straight-set match took less of a toll on Roger. But he gave credit to his opponent after the match, “This was a tough match today … and he came up with some incredible shots when he needed to. Thank God he didn’t win that second set … he was the better player in that set.”

Roger will play James Blake in the quarter finals.

David Ferrer of Spain (Original 130) suffered a minor hiccup in the second set against fellow Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero but dominated the match after that to win 7-5 3-6 6-4 6-1. Ferrer, who is regarded as one of the fittest and fastest players on tour, played consistently and his nimbleness around the court was mainly responsible for his better record of winners against unforced errors than his opponent - 44-36 for Ferrer and 30-41 for Ferrero.

David is going to need all of his speed and skill to match Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals. But his superior fitness and durability could make the difference in the match.

Marta Domachowska of Poland (Alu Power 125) made the critics sit up and take notice in her match against Venus Williams. In spite of having a ranking of 146 and having to play and win three additional matches to qualify for the main draw of this event, she showed a level of skill and determination that made veteran commentator Bud Collins say from the side of the court, “Who is this woman? She’s not a qualifier. She’s much too good!”

The match was close throughout and the 8th ranked Venus only narrowly earned her 6-4 6-4 victory by more consistently keeping her shots in play while Marta seeming to go for a little too much at crucial times. Being almost equal in winners, Venus’ 16 unforced errors to Marta’s 30 was the critical feature of the match.

Emphasizing Marta’s ‘go-for-it’ attitude, she had a surprising 4 to 1 edge in aces over Venus - who is known as probably the best server in the women’s game. But Marta also had the same ratio of double faults - and they tended to come at the worst of times.

But she can hold her head high after her performance against her much higher-ranked opponent in a major event and the crowd gave her a well-deserved ovation as she left the court. She will certainly see a significant rise in her standing when the new rankings are released at the end of the tournament.

Mid-way in Melbourne

It is day 7 in Melbourne, the midpoint of the Australian Open - a little surprising when you consider that, out of 256 men and women who started playing in the main singles draw of the event last Monday, 232 have been eliminated and only 24 remain. Which creates the strange situation where, as the tournament gets more exciting and nears its climax, there are fewer and fewer opportunities for spectators to watch the action..!

But there was plenty of excitement and action in today’s matches for those lucky enough to have tickets for the ’show courts’.

Jarkko Nieminen of Finland (Alu Power 125) just had the edge against the on-form Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany (Alu Power 125) in a fourth-round match that was as close as one can be with a score of 3-6 7-6(7) 7-6(9) 6-3. The number of points won by each of the players during the match was exactly even at 162.

Kohlschreiber led Nieminen in Aces (9-4), first-serve percentage (68-63) and winners (67-42) but also had more unforced errors than his opponent (76-47). Perhaps the most significant difference between the two players was the conversion ratio of break points. Nieminen converted 7 of 14 (50%) while Kohlschreiber failed to convert a further 8 opportunities that his winners created - 7 of 22 (32%). Had he been able to match Nieminen’s ability to win these crucial points, the result of the match would have been entirely different. But he could certainly be excused for a degree of exhaustion after his tough, 5-set earlier upset of Andy Roddick.

Nieminen will face 2nd seed Rafael Nadal in what will certainly be a tough quarterfinal match.

Unseeded Marta Domachowska of Poland (Alu Power 125) - who had to win three qualifying matches to get into the main draw of the event - also had a tough match against 24-seed Na Li of China. Marta lost the first set 2-6 but then turned the match around to take the next two sets to earn a place in the 4th round with a strong 2-6 6-2 6-4 win.

Marta will face a tough opponent in the form of Venus Williams who is seeded 7 in the event. One TV commentator summed up her chances by asking, “Who is this - she’s not in the WTA book?” I believe she will surprise them..!

David Ferrer of Spain (Original 130) had no problems dispatching one of the last 2 remaining Americans in the draw - Vince Spadea - 6-3 6-2 6-2 (James Blake is the other). Ferrer dominated in all areas of the match and Spadea had no chance to make any impact in the face of the power, mobility and precision of his opponent who ended 2007 with a career-high ranking of 5. In the 4th round, David will meet Juan-Carlos Ferrero who earned his place as a result of a surprise straight-set 6-1 6-2 6-3 upset of David Nalbandian - who many thought would pose the greatest challenge to Roger Federer’s bid to win his third-straight Australian Open title.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France (Alu Power 125 Rough) had more of a battle in his match against countryman Richard Gasquet. The 6-2 6-7(5) 7-6(6) 6-3 score looks remarkably similar to the 3-6 7-6(7) 7-6(9) 6-3 score of the Nieminen/Kohlschreiber match.

But the statistics of this match told a very different story with Tsonga being the stronger of the two in every department - aces (18-5), double faults (2-4), winners to unforced errors (35-6), receiving points won (58-38), break point conversions (5-1) and total points won (154-131).

Jo-Wilfried will play 14th seed Mikhail Youzhny in the quarterfinals. Youzhny upset 4th seed Nikolay Davydenko in his fourth-round match.

But, whatever the statistics say, it was nice to see that the two players could be tough competitors on the court but still remain friends away from it… Jo-Wilfried avoided comparisons after the match. When asked to do so, he would say no more than: “I won and him, he lost…”

Roger Federer (Alu Power 125 Rough/Wilson Natural Gut) had a tough 3rd-round match that went to the wire after over 4 hours of play against Janko Tipsarevic - who is making a name for himself as another high-class Serbian competitor along with Ana Ivanivoc, Novak Djokovic and Jelena Jankovic. Roger lost the first set and was 2-1 down after 3 sets. A 6-1 win in the 4th forced a 5th set that was only decided in ‘overtime’ with the final score 6-7(5) 7-6(1) 5-7 6-1 10-8.

Roger praised his opponent in the post-match interview. “He played fantastic tennis throughout the match,” he said. “I was impressed by his game. He put a lot of pressure on me and he had the upper hand from the baseline.”

But Federer remains confident that he can win the event. “It was one of those matches where I just couldn’t win the big points tonight. For me, it’s good to play 5-setters once in a while…”

The statistics of the match show that Federer dominated in every measure of the match - except the final score… I have to wonder, not for the first time, about a scoring system that produces such one-sided statistics from a match that could easily have ended very differently with a few points going the other way in the closing games of the 5th set.

The numbers show Federer leading in aces (39-14), double faults (1-6) winners to unforced errors (32-5), receiving points won (74-40), break point conversions (5-3), and total points won (202-173).

Kohlschreiber upsets Roddick (yes, really upsets him..!)

If you looked at the statistics of a match in which Andy Roddick served a career-high record of 42 aces, lost just 6 points on his first 5 service games, had only one unforced error in the 2nd set and notched up 79 winners to just 24 unforced errors you would assume the complete domination of the match by the hard-hitting American and not have any doubt about who was the winner. But then you wouldn’t normally have to take account of his opponent playing the match of his life and responding to Roddick’s impressive stats by serving up 32 Aces of his own as well as racking up an incredible 104 winners and just 33 unforced errors.

Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany (Alu Power 125 Rough) was a player possessed with flair and inspiration in the early hours of Saturday morning in Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena and, after 4 hours of play, handed Roddick a defeat that was as deserved as it was surprising to the media pundits and on-site oddsmakers. The 5-set nail-biter ended just after 2:00 am with a score of 6-4 3-6 7-6(9) 6-7(3) 8-6.

A succession of wonderful one-handed backhand passing shots was the feature of Kohlschreiber’s game that clearly frustrated his 6th-seeded opponent. Three passing shots in the final game of the match underscored Kolschreiber’s ability to impose his game on Roddick who seemed quite unable to find a way to prevent it. This led to a little racquet smashing and verbal assaults on unfortunate chair umpire Emmanuel Joseph including, “You’re an idiot. When did you leave school? At eight? I bet you didn’t stay in school after you were ten.” He then shouted to the crowd, “Stay in school kids or you’ll end up being an umpire!” His behaviour earned him boos rather than the sympathy he seemed to expect. I thought verbal abuse was grounds for a warning unde ‘The Code’. What does a player have to do to get one?

Roddicks bad-temper carried over into the post-match interview:

Reporter: You tried a lot of ways to get into his service games. Especially the last set, seemed like you were climbing uphill the whole time trying to get the ball back in play, and then he was dictating pretty quickly.
Roddick: Is that a question or are you having like a monologue here?

He was also less than kind to his opponent:

Reporter: Where does that backhand fit in in the hierarchy of backhands in tennis?
Roddick: Hierarchy? Let’s call a spade a spade. Let’s not put him in the hierarchy of tennis yet.

In a comment made earlier in the day, Roddick seemed to dismiss Kohlschreiber as a serious challenge priot to the match. “I mean, I don’t know if I’m sitting at home looking up Kohlschreiber matches”, he said. However, I’m sure he’ll remember his name for a while to come…

Kohlschreiber faces Jarko Nieminen of Finland (Alu Power 125) on Sunday for a place in the quarterfinals.

The Finn also contributed his fair share to the woes of the remaining American players. After losing the first set, he played an increasingly dominant role in the match, beating Mardy Fish in 4 sets 3-6 7-6(4) 6-3 6-1.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France (Alu Power 125 Rough) also continued his winning ways by beating Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 6-3 6-4 6-2. He will play countryman Richard Gasquet in the 4th round.

Stefan Koubek of Austria (Alu Power 125) lost a really tough 5-setter against 23rd seed Paul-Henri Mathieu of France 6-4 6-7(4) 6-2 5-7 6-8.

Ivo Karlovic of Croatia (Alu Power 125) lost to 14-seeded Mikhail Youzhny of Russia 6-2 6-4 6-2

Federer provides spectacular display

Roger Federer has more than lived up to his reputation and ranking in the first two matches of his defence of the 2007 Australian Open title.

He lost only 3 games in his 3-set victory over Diego Hartfield of Argentina in the first round and “The Magician”, Fabrice Santoro of France , was unable to pull anything out of his bag of tricks to avoid the same fate in the second round. He lost 6-1 6-2 6-0. What was remarkable about this match was, not only Federer’s unblelievable display of skill and mobility, but that he was able to win by such a convincing margin when Santoro produced his best, giant-killing display of spin and placement and made only 4 unforced errors in the whole match..!

After such a performance, anyone who ever doubted that Roger Federer is the greatest tennis player of all time should be quickly reviewing their memory and materials - or their optometrist…

It would be crass to take credit for such performance on behalf of Luxilon. This man would be a world-beater with a piece of old fishing line in his racquet. I can only be proud that, having a choice of the world’s finest strings, the world’s finest player has chosen to use Luxilon Alu Power Rough (in a hybrid with Wilson Natural Gut).

Roger’s next match against Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia should be equally entertaining. Look out for a tatoo on Janko’s left arm which is a quote from Dostoyevsky’s ‘The Idiot’ - it reads , “Beauty will save the world”… He also has a quote from Schopenhauer tattooed elsewhere. A prize of a set of the as-yet unreleased Luxilon Spin string goes to the first person who sends me an email quoting the quote..!

No discussion about the perfect player would be complete without a reference to his also being the perfect gentleman. The smile on Fabrice’s face after the match - and such a sound beating - bears witness to the esteem in which Roger is held by his fellow players as well as all those who come into contact with him. In the world of professional sport - filled with ego, excess and arrogance - Roger’s quiet and considerate demeanor is an example to all and makes him a person who just ‘can’t be beat’ - on or off the court…

Another top-ranked player who has been quietly going about her business in Melbourne is Anna Chakvetadze of Russia (Alu Power 125), who beat Alisa Kleybanova also of Russia (Alu Power 125) 6-3 6-4 in the 2nd round. The 5′ 7″ Russian has steadily climbed the rankings over the past few years to her present 6th place and was not at all intimidated by her more powerful 6′ opponent and won with a steady display of accuracy and consistency.

Anna’s third round opponent will be a crowd-pleaser against the equally attractive Maria Kirilenko of Russia.

Amer Delic of the USA (Alu Power 125) has taken a big leaf out of Roger Federer’s book of composure and consideration. The loss of a gruelling 5-set match in which a player has struggled back from a 2-set deficit usually ends in at least one broken racquet left on the court and a hasty exit without a look to right or left. In contrast, and in spite of the exhaustion and disappointment that a 3-6 6-7(8) 7-5 7-6(8) 8-6 loss must have produced, Amer responded to the support of his many fans by tossing his raquet to them (intact) and patiently signing autographs for everyone in sight, chatting and leaving no-one disappointed.

It’s great to see a player having so much consideration for his fans (who could, incidentally, not care less that he is officially a resident of the USA and kept up a determined chant of “BosNia”, BosNia” through the match and after…) and is in stark contrast to the examples set by some other tennis ‘heroes’ (see http://www.tennis.info/TWISIAgassi2.htm).

Good job, Amer…!

Another Luxilon player who lost in the 2nd round but was not at all disgraced was Camille Pin of France (Alu Power 125). Her fearless and powerful returns of serve led her to break the William’s renowned serve no less than 7 times. Venus (ranked 8 in the world) holds the record for the fastest main-draw match serve in WTA history at 129mph. In spite of her determination and ferocious returns, the diminutive Cami, at 5′3″ and 117 lb and ranked 90 in the world could not overcome her 6′ 1″ 160 lb opponent and suffered equally on her own serve. It is difficult for someone her size to generate service pace - particularly when you have an opponent across the net known for her propensity to pound returns of serve…

Camille eventually lost the match 7-5 6-4 but provided a match full of excitement and drama and led to a standing ovation from the fans. What more can you ask of a professional tennis player?

Virginia Ruano-Pascual of Spain (Alu Power 125) had a happier time in her second-round match against Catalina Castano of Columbia and won in straight sets 6-2 6-4. She led in all aspects of her game and won a healthy 69 points to her opponent’s 51.

Vivi meets Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia in the 3rd round.

Feliciano Lopez of Spain (Alu Power 125) draws as many spectators to his shirtless practice sessions as he does to his matches - predominantly the female variety…

Waiting for the next round…

Gutsy Golovin advances to 2nd round

Tatiana Golvin of France (Alu Power 125) advanced to the 2nd round with a tough 3-set win against fellow Frenchwoman Stephanie Cohen-Aloro 6-1 4-6 6-3.

The 13th seed is enjoying her highest ranking after a 2007 season that saw her win her first pro tour event at the Bausch and Lomb Championship on Florida’s Amelia Island and a steady rise in the rankings since.

Tatiana was born in Moscow, Russia, but moved with her family to Lyon, France when she was just 8 months old. Her father, Gregori, was formerly an ice-hockey Coach. Her mother, Lioudmila (a really nice lady and not at all like some other well-known Russian tennis parents..!) has been her constant companion and mentor since she embarked on her path to a pro tennis career.

Tati has always stood out from the tennis crowd - both on and off the court - as a result of her bubbly personality and distinctive sense of style and fashion - helped, of course, by a contract with Lacoste which always seems to produce the most stylish and eye-catching clothing on the tour.

Tatiana played one of the best matches of her career against Maria Sharapova in the semi-finals of the 2006 NASDAQ-100 Open in Miami. Unfortunately, it ended badly for Tati.

Sharapova, as expected, started well, won the first set 6-3 and was ready to close out the match at 5-1 in the second set. At a time when most players would have accepted defeat, Tatiana responded with a brilliant display of power and placement and not only saved 4 match points but battled back to win the set. The third set saw some fine tennis from both players until, at 4-3, Tatiana stretched for a ball, turned her ankle very badly and lay in obvious and extreme pain. There is video of the incident at http://youtube.com/watch?v=_Ew6HQBj5No - but I warn you, the replay is NOT pretty… Following lengthy treatment and strapping she unbelievably tried to play a further point but had to retire immediately with tears streaming down her face from pain and disappointment. It was one of the finest come-backs and one of gutsiest performances I have seen on a tennis court. You can find a more detailed review of the match (and some of the more disturbing elements of it relating to her opponent..!) at http://www.geocities.com/masteroftennis779/weekly.html.

I am looking forward to Tatiana continuing to brighten the courts (and the posters) in 2008 with her unique display of style, personality and skill.

Chakvetadze wins in 3 minutes…

Anna Chakvetadze of Russia (Alu Power 125) had one of the shortest matches in history when her opponent, Andrea Petkovic of Germany, fell and injured her knee after just six points had been played in the opening game of the match. Anna, shown above consoling her opponent, was declared the winner after Andrea, although not apparently badly injured, was unable to continue the match. She will have a much longer and tougher match against Alisa Kleybanova of Russia in the second round.

In contrast to Anna, Michael Russell of the USA (Alu Power 125) was kept on court for very much longer than he would have liked by his opponent, Fabio Fognini of Italy, before being able to end the match in the 5th set. The score was 6-1 4-6 6-2 3-6 6-3. He will need to get plenty of rest in preparation of his next match against James Blake of the USA.

Anastasia Rodionova of Australia (Timo 110) also had her hands full with the challenge of Angelika Bachmann of Germany. Both sets were extremely conpetitive but Anastasia prevailed to win the match 7-6(3) 6-4. She will meet Katerina Srebotnik of Slovenia in the second round.

Simone Bolelli of Italy (Original 130) had no easier a time against Rajeev Ram of the USA (Alu Power 125). The two battled for every game in this 3-hour plus 7-6(5) 3-6 6-4 2-6 6-3 thriller in the summer heat of Melbourne. The statistics of the match show how tight it actually was with Ram having the edge in 1st serve percentage (69% - 64%), winning points on 1st serve (75% - 69%) and Aces (12 - 9). But Bolleli had a much better 2nd service winning percentage (49% - 37%) and it was this that made the difference in the match with just 6 points between the players (150 - 144). Like Michael Russell, Simone will need all his skill in the next round where he meets 3rd seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia.

Virginia Ruano Pascual of Spain (Alu Power 125) beat Roberta Vinci of Italy in straight sets 6-4 6-4. Vivi, formerly half of the longtime world number one women’s double’s team, continues to do battle in the competitive singles game even though partner Paola Suarez retired from the game last year. She will play Catalina Castano of Columbia in her next match.

Camille Pin of France (Alu Power 125), after losing a close first set 5-7 came storming back to take the next two sets 6-1 6-1 to win her match against Monica Niculescu of Romania (Original 130). As you can see, both Cami and Vivi like to spend time at the beach when not battling on the court. And in the heat of Melbourne, it is a perfect place to escape the heat of the courts and find a little breeze. Hopefully, Cami will find time for a little rest and recuperation for her tough upcoming second round match against Venus Williams. But she can take heart from her outstanding performance against Maria Sharapova in last year’s event where she forced Sharapova to 9-7 in the third set.

Andrei Pavel of Romania (Alu Power 125) lost a closely fought match to the talented and seeded Igor Andreev of Russia 5-7 6-2 7-6(4) 6-3.

Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic (Alu Power 125) spends a little extra time on the practice courts in preparation for her first round match against Catalina Castano of Columbia.

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Friday, July 16, 2010

top male and female tennis stars 2009 2010