Who's Your Daddy? - Monte Carlo Review 2007

The first Masters Series event on clay reached its conclusion yesterday, and told us a familiar tale. Here’s what we learned from the past week, much of which we knew already.

• Undisputed – Rafael Nadal. 20 years old. 5 clay Masters Series titles. 67 matches unbeaten on clay. Sets lost in Monte Carlo this year – none. King of Clay. You get the picture, don’t you?
• White-flag Roger? – During Sunday’s final, arguably for the first time in their five encounters on clay, Roger Federer looked resigned to defeat during periods of the second set. Has frustration finally boiled over for the world number one? Rafael Nadal stands between him and tennis immortality and Monte Carlo showed us that Federer is as far away from Nadal on clay as he has been to date. Federer had not looked particularly impressive throughout the week, although showed signs of improvement in his matches with David Ferrer and Juan Carlos Ferrero. That progression came to a grinding halt against Nadal, with the Spaniard yet again imposing his will on the match at the most pivotal moments and took what proved to be a crucial first set lead. Suddenly all talk of a calendar year Grand Slam has died a death, for the time being at least, as it’s hard to see past Rafael Nadal for the French Open in anyone’s book.
• Revenge is sweet – One of the most intriguing matches of the week was the semi-final between Nadal and Tomas Berdych. After a spicy affair in Madrid last year, where Berdych was victorious and literally silenced the Madrid crowd, a war of words ensued during the aftermath. A meeting on clay was the perfect way for Nadal to extract a measure of revenge, and he did just that in the first set, winning 6-0. The second set was a tighter affair, with Berdych hitting some fine winners, but ultimately crumbled at the business end, losing the match 6-0, 7-5.
• The real Juan Carlos Ferrero standing up? – Back in 2002/2003, Ferrero was the man to beat on clay. A player touted for at least three French Open titles in his career, to date, he has one and an additional final appearance. Injuries and illness (as well as the development/maturation of other players on tour) have robbed the tennis world from seeing the same Juan Carlos Ferrero subsequently that we used to see back then. Every now and then, he has shown glimpses of what he once was, and that was evident in Monte Carlo this week. Ferrero reached the semi-finals, where he blew a good chance to take a stranglehold of his match with Federer. Ferrero will be looking to continue this type of form over the coming weeks, starting in Barcelona this week where a possible early encounter with Guillermo Cañas awaits him.
• Ran out of Gas-quet – Having fought his way through energy sapping matches with Fernando Verdasco and Ivan Ljubicic, Richard Gasquet’s challenge ran out of steam against a thankful Juan Carlos Ferrero in the quarter-finals. Gasquet led by a set, 4-2, 40-15, when the week’s events took its toll on him (which included a final in doubles with Julien Benneteau). To his credit, Gasquet soldiered on and even engineered a break back point in the 3rd set, but Ferrero raised his game when he needed to against a tired opponent and prevailed.
• No-show from South America – No clay court event is complete without a number of South Americans in the latter stages (usually of the Argentine variety). That wasn’t the case in Monte Carlo. Seven South Americans began the event (5 Argentines & 2 Chileans), and by the 3rd round, all were packing their bags. The poor tournament in Monte Carlo reflects the current poor performance of the marquee players from South America. David Nalbandian has struggled for form and fitness all season, as has Jose Acasuso. Gaston Gaudio is still taking baby steps in his attempt to recover some of the form he showed on clay in 2004/2005. Bar Guillermo Cañas (who may not be able to play in Rome as his ranking was not high enough on the cut off date to make the main draw), the Argentine who can be happy with his efforts this season is Juan Ignacio Chela. Chela won a clay court title in Acapulco and made the quarter-finals of both hard court Masters events in Indian Wells and Miami. The Chilean duo of Fernando Gonzalez and Nicolas Massu are also experiencing difficulties. Massu has been devoid of form dating back to the second half of last season and although his fighting spirit still remains intact, that hasn’t been enough for him to produce consistent results thus far this season. Gonzalez, a revelation at the Australian Open this year, hasn’t come anywhere close to replicating his form of 2006, nevermind his outstanding displays in Melbourne. His current squeeze, Gisela Dulko, has been experiencing a similar vein of form, only for a lot longer.

Sports Magician will be previewing the Rome Masters, which begins on May 7.

Davis Cup Quarter-Finals Preview

This week attention turns from the individual battles on the ATP Tour to the collective battles in Davis Cup competition. The World Group is at its quarter-final stage, with one match in particular possibly holding the key to the destination of the Davis Cup in 2007. With the squads already in place, here is a preview of this week’s four quarter-finals, with the draw to follow in the coming days.

Russia v France

The 2006 champions meet France in the Davis Cup for the third successive year and the Russians will expect to continue their recent dominance over France. The most memorable of their recent meetings took place in Paris during the 2002 final; where Mikhail Youzhny recovered from two sets down to win Russia’s first Davis Cup title against Paul-Henri Mathieu, a defeat that many believe Mathieu has never truly recovered from.

Russia are a formidable outfit, boasting a squad of Nikolay Davydenko, Marat Safin, Mikhail Youzhny and Igor Andreev, and having already overcome a difficult obstacle in the form of Chile away from him, Russia will be confident of continuing their excellent home record of 12 successive victories (dating back to the Davis Cup final 2005 v USA).

The French come into the quarter-final off the back of a comfortable home success against Romania. France have made one change to their squad from that victory, with Paul-Henri Mathieu replacing Sebastien Grosjean. The rest of the squad consists of Richard Gasquet, Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra. France have a good recent away record in Davis Cup with 7 victories in the last 10 away ties, however that good run is unlikely to continue in Russia.

The Russians have chosen to play indoors on clay and have the luxury of being able to excel as a group on any surface. The French are no strangers to clay, after all the Mecca of clay court tennis resides in France (Roland Garros). Russia could make a case for any four of their players to be involved in singles action at some point over the weekend, whereas the French will be reliant on Richard Gasquet to lead their singles charge.

The edge in the doubles lies with the French; however the overwhelming strength of the Russians in the four singles battles is liable to make that a moot point. Anything other than a Russian victory will be shock despite the fact that France are no pushovers.

Belgium v Germany

In order to progress to the semi-finals, Belgium will have to achieve something in Davis Cup that they never have before, beat Germany. Seven previous encounters have proved fruitless for the Belgians and they have opted to play indoors on clay in the hope of reversing that trend. Belgium have not been to the last four of the Davis Cup since 1999 and it has been an even longer wait for Germany (1995). Both nations recorded home victories in the first round over Australia and Croatia respectively. The Belgian side is led by Olivier Rochus and backed up by Kristof Vliegen, Christophe Rochus (Olivier’s brother) and Dick Norman. German hopes lay firmly at the door of Tommy Haas who up until the recent the recent Miami Masters had been in excellent form, including the first round of Davis Cup where he recorded two crucial singles victories over Mario Ancic and Ivan Ljubicic. Haas is joined by Florian Mayer, Alexander Waske and Michael Kohlmann.

As in the first round, Germany will rely on Tommy Haas to do the bulk of the work and he holds a 2-0 record versus Olivier Rochus and a 1-0 record against Kristof Vliegen. The victory over Vliegen was on clay, whereas the two wins over Rochus were on hard court. Vliegen proved to be the Belgian hero in the first round with his 5th rubber win against Lleyton Hewitt, the scenes of joy at the conclusion of the match painted a picture of how Davis Cup can elevate the level of players who may not be used to producing such performances on the tour week to week.

Tommy Haas is likely to be the defining factor in the tie and should he be able to produce the high level of performance that he has in recent times, then Germany should find a way to move onto their first Davis Cup semi-final in 12 years.

USA v Spain

This meeting has lost some of its lustre with the withdrawal of Rafael Nadal from the Spanish squad. The timing of the withdrawal was perhaps not the best as later that same evening; Nadal produced an excellent display against one of the up and coming stars of the ATP Tour, Juan-Martin del Potro. It has led to questions about just how committed Nadal is to the Davis Cup cause at present; a competition he has always claimed is close to his heart. The reason for his absence is a precautionary one rather than a recently picked up injury, and with a busy clay court season ahead in the coming weeks, certainly there is validity in the caution. However, that may not satisfy all Spanish supporters who were hoping to see Nadal lead their Davis Cup challenge in 2007.

His absence makes further strengthens the chances of the Americans to progress, who already would have been expectant even with Nadal’s inclusion. The tie will be played indoors on hard court, the speed of which is liable to cause a great deal of trouble for the Spaniards. The USA comes into the tie with a very settled squad of Andy Roddick, James Blake and the Bryan brothers. It will be the 6th successive tie that the Americans have been able to call on the same squad line up. The Spanish come to America with David Ferrer, Tommy Robredo, Fernando Verdasco and Feliciano Lopez.

Without Nadal, Spain still boast a good squad, but as with the French in Russia it’s unlikely that they will have enough firepower to take out the Americans. The USA have not won the Davis Cup since Pete Sampras led them to victory in Russia in 1995, and their continued progress in the competition will be based largely on the outcome of the quarter-final between Sweden and Argentina.

Both Andy Roddick and James Blake hold winning head to head records over David Ferrer and Tommy Robredo, and with the doubles edge with the Americans in the form of the Bryan brothers who are 10-1 in Davis Cup doubles action, the USA are rightly seen as strong favourites to advance further in the competition.

Sweden v Argentina

The destination of this year’s Davis Cup could well be decided based on the outcome of this tie, should Argentina progress it is highly likely they will meet the USA in Argentina and also have the possibility of playing the final at home, where Argentina are unbeaten since 1998. However, before Argentina can look ahead to home draws late in the competition they will first have to overcome Sweden away on what is sure to be a very fast playing court surface.

Argentine captain, Alberto Mancini, has already commented that a good first serve on this court effectively ends the point, so don’t expect to see too many or any long rallies in Sweden this weekend. Argentina are boosted by the return of David Nalbandian, the Argentine who has carried his side for a large part of the past two years missed the first round needing time off to rest his aching limbs following a late finish the 2006 season and with no sustained preparation for the 2007 season. Argentina can also count on the services of Guillermo Cañas, fresh off an appearance in the Miami Masters final and having quickly elevated himself into the top 30 after returning from suspension last season. The squad also consists of young starlet Juan-Martin del Potro and doubles specialist Sebastian Prieto.

Sweden will be looking for a measure of revenge having suffered a 5-0 loss in Argentina last year and playing on a surface more suited to their skills they will be confident of their chances to progress further in the competition. A big loss for Sweden is their inability to call on Joachim Johansson due to injury, the big serving Swede would have caused Argentina all kinds of problems on this court. Led by Mats Wilander, the Swedish team comprises of Robin Soderling, Thomas Johansson, Jonas Bjorkman and Robert Lindstedt.

The respective head to heads lie in Argentina’s favour, with Nalbandian holding a 3-1 lead over Soderling and a 1-1 tie with Johansson. Cañas has a 2-0 lead over Johansson while having never met Soderling. However, there is a limit to how much can be read into these previous meetings as not one of them was on a surface as speedy as the carpet surface will be in Sweden. With Cañas possibly being somewhat fatigued after playing a lot of matches in the past few weeks at Indian Wells and Miami, it remains to be seen how great a part Juan-Martin del Potro will have to play in proceedings.

What We Learned From Indian Wells & Miami

The first two Masters Series events of the season have been consigned to history as the tour moves on to the European clay court season, here’s a look back at the past few weeks from both Indian Wells and Miami.

No Titles For Federer – Huh? Really? Yes, it’s true, world number one Roger Federer came away from Indian Wells and Miami without defending either of his titles. Guillermo Cañas was the man to stop Federer in both tournaments, winning in straight sets at Indian Wells before coming back from behind in the 3rd set in Miami and prevailing in the deciding set tie-breaker. The results do not bode well for Federer going into the clay court season as he looks to dethrone King of Clay, Rafael Nadal. Cañas’s defensive skills proved to be too much resistance for Federer to overcome and on that basis it’s hard to see him being able to get the better of Nadal (an even better defender than Cañas) on the naturally slower clay courts. Last year in Rome, Federer came close to beating Nadal on clay, failing to convert on two match points. He’ll be hoping to engineer such a position again and finally breaking his Nadal hoodoo on clay. Federer also comes into the clay season burdened with the pressure and endless questions about whether he can complete the calendar year Grand Slam (winning all four slams in the same season).

Confidence Boost For Nadal – Coming into these two Masters events, Rafael Nadal had been visibly low on confidence and momentum. Having not won a title since Roland Garros 2006 or been in any final since Wimbledon 2006, his triumph at Indian Wells came as a huge boost for his morale. Despite his barren run, Nadal’s career stats still read very impressively, at just 20 years old, Indian Wells provided him with his 7th Masters title. Having defeated Novak Djokovic in the final of Indian Wells, Nadal was unable to repeat the success in Miami. The Serb reversing the straight sets defeat he suffered by triumphing in Miami which included a dramatic last game where Nadal brought out the best in his defensive qualities forcing Djokovic to play at his very best to see the match out. Nadal now returns to where he is most comfortable, the clay courts. The Spaniard hasn’t lost on clay since April 2005 (losing to Igor Andreev in Valencia), spanning 62 consecutive victories. It’s stating the obvious; Nadal is the man to beat on clay until further notice.

Young Gun Making Big Strides – Novak Djokovic added his name alongside Tomas Berdych of the ‘young guns’ to win a Masters Series title. The Serb has had a fantastic few weeks, first making the Masters Series final at Indian Wells before losing to Nadal, and then backing that up with the title in Miami. Djokovic was mightily impressive in both his semi-final with Nadal and final with Cañas, winning both matches without dropping a set and dictating large parts of both encounters. Now with a career high ranking of 7, Djokovic has set his sights on being in Shanghai for the season end Masters Cup.

Justice Being Served – Guillermo Cañas isn’t just winning on the court, he’s winning off the court too. The Argentine who returned to the tour at the back end of last season has been re-establishing himself among the elite of the game ever since. Cañas produced two stunning wins over Roger Federer to further rubber stamp his return to top level tennis, but whereas at Indian Wells he was unable to back up the win versus Federer, there were no such mistakes in Miami. Cañas knocked off three top ten players (Federer, Robredo & Ljubicic) on his way to the Miami final, but ultimately it proved to be one match too many (having played nine matches in total in Miami). Cañas is now ranked 29 and will be looking for a top 20 spot by the time Roland Garros commences. Off the court, Cañas continues the battle to clear his name of the 15 month suspension he has previously received. The CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport) examined his case initially and reduced the sentence handed down by the ATP tribunal, and now the CAS will further examine Cañas’s contention that part of his case against the ATP’s decision was not fully explored.

The Past Few Weeks Have Been Good For – Andy Murray, along with Djokovic, Murray is another youngster fast moving up in the rankings and made the semi-finals of both Indian Wells and Miami (losing to Djokovic on each occasion). Juan Ignacio Chela, the Argentine more suited to hard courts than clay, made the last eight of both tournaments, losing to Nadal (Indian Wells) and Ljubicic (Miami). Chela has taken time off from the successful on tour show, TenisPro, led by compatriot and fellow professional, Mariano Zabaleta. In addition to making himself unavailable for Davis Cup duty in 2007 to concentrate fully on his singles career, Chela has picked up a title in Acapulco and with two good showings during these hard court Masters events, has upped his ranking to 23.

The Past Few Weeks Have Been Bad For – James Blake, the American was unable to make any impact in either tournament, losing early in both events to Frenchmen, Julien Benneteau and Florent Serra. David Nalbandian, the Argentine has fallen out of the top 10 having failed to defend his semi-final points from Miami in 2006. With his season yet to get off the ground, he will be hoping that a return to Davis Cup action this week might ignite the rest of his season. Nalbandian has invariably saved much of his best tennis for Davis Cup, and he will need to improve greatly on his recent performances if that is to be the case again.

Sports Magician will be previewing this week's Davis Cup Quarter Finals shortly.

ATP Masters Series - Miami

The first Masters Series event of the year was won by world number two, Rafael Nadal, now the ATP tour moves to Miami for the second Masters Series event of the season. World number one, Roger Federer, will be hoping to begin another long run of successive victories. At Indian Wells, his chances of breaking Guillermo Vilas’s win streak record were ended by another Argentine Guillermo, Cañas. Meanwhile, Nadal will be hoping to build on his confidence boosting success last week and go into the European clay court season with momentum that looked unlikely preceding Indian Wells.

Here’s a look at what the draw has in store for us over the next ten days…

Federer looking to make amends

It’s not often that the world number one loses, and when he does, the tennis world is sent into frenzy. Last week was no different as Roger Federer fell to Guillermo Cañas, the Argentine was an unusually strong opponent for Federer to meet so early in a tournament and Miami may be a similar case. Possibly facing Federer in round two will be Russian, Igor Andreev. Looking to climb the rankings again following a prolonged period out through injury last season, the Russian is top 20 calibre and has the ability to test Federer and give him a testing early round match. Many will expect that Federer will come out all guns blazing in Miami to put right what went wrong at Indian Wells, it will be interesting to see how the match with Andreev unfolds should it transpire. Standing in Andreev’s way is American hopeful Sam Querrey.

The remainder of the first quarter of the draw has delivered some interesting encounters and possible battles. Cañas meets Tim Henman in the first round and will be looking to further extend his dominance over the Brit, having won 5 of the previous 6 meetings. Waiting in round two will be former world number one and French Open champion, Juan Carlos Ferrero. The Spaniard looked anything but that in his last outing against Rafael Nadal at Indian Wells where he was brushed aside 6-1, 6-1, Ferrero will be hoping to vastly improve on that display. An all French encounter could be on show in the second round in the form of Richard Gasquet and Sebastien Grosjean.

The player most likely to meet Federer in the quarter-finals is ninth seed Tommy Haas. The German has been in fine form in the past few weeks and lost out to Federer in two tight sets in Dubai just a short time ago.

Up for grabs

The second quarter has no clearly defined favourite, with a number of the more marquee players in the section not playing their best tennis at present. Nikolay Davydenko, David Nalbandian and Ivan Ljubicic can not claim to be in the kind of form that would see either of them as a strong pick to make it through. Of the three, Nalbandian is in the worst current state, and was beaten by Ljubicic in three sets at Indian Wells. Davydenko lost to Andy Murray last week having failed to take a chance to serve out the first set. You’d expect that the semi-finalist would still come from one of these three names, but who it will be remains to be seen.

Other players who will be hoping to take advantage of this quarter are Jose Acasuso, Tomas Berdych, Jarkko Nieminen and Carlos Moya. Berdych especially is in need of a few confidence boosting wins having had a poor season so far given the capabilities he possesses.

Young gun looks to continue rise

Andy Murray has risen to number twelve in the rankings and will be hoping for another strong showing in a Masters event to further elevate his position. The young Scot, coached by Brad Gilbert, reached his first Masters Series semi-final at Indian Wells following a bruising match with Tommy Haas. The bruises were courtesy of a fall on court, leaving Murray to carry a number of aches and pains most notably to his ankle and hip. Novak Djokovic put paid to any hopes Murray had of advancing further, with a straight sets win in the semi-final, taking advantage of an opponent who was not physically at his sharpest.

Murray has a tough road to travel if he is to reach the last four in Miami, most likely having to see off Lleyton Hewitt, Fernando Gonzalez and Andy Roddick. Incidentally, Murray has recorded wins over all three players in the past 14 months so will fancy his chances of possibly doing so again. Lleyton Hewitt was unable to build on a title success in Las Vegas, falling early in Indian Wells. Fernando Gonzalez has yet to hit the heights he reached at the Australian Open in Melbourne, the Chilean has not been able to ride that crest of a wave further as yet, but will be hoping Miami reignites the form he showed in the first Grand Slam of the year.

Being outplayed late in tournaments has been the story of Andy Roddick’s season so far, having previously been on the wrong end of strong business end performances from Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Tommy Haas this season, the American got another taste of semi-final defeat last week vesus Rafael Nadal. In his four semi-final appearances this season, Roddick has yet to win a set.

Nadal and Djokovic hoping to pick up where they left off

Indian Wells provided Rafael Nadal with his first title (and seventh Masters title) since the 2006 French Open and for Novak Djokovic his first Masters Series final. Both players will be hoping to continue that good form in Miami and have been drawn in the same quarter. Two players Rafael Nadal has not had the best time with in recent times are also in his section of the draw in the form of Mikhail Youzhny and James Blake. Nadal and Youzhny could meet in the 4th round, with the Spaniard possibly meeting Blake in the quarter-finals. Both Youzhny and Blake had disappointing showing at Indian Wells and will be looking to redeem themselves in Miami. Blake could meet Marat Safin in the 3rd round, with the Russian also looking for a good tournament to get his season going. Arguably the pick of the second round matches features Marcos Baghdatis and Juan Martin del Potro, this should be a tussle well worth seeing featuring two of the more talented young players on tour at present.

Sports Magician will be reviewing both Indian Wells & Miami following the conclusion of the Miami Masters.

ATP Masters Series - Indian Wells

The first Masters Series event of the season is already underway in the Pan Pacific Life Open at Indian Wells. A field of ninety-six players means action has begun slightly earlier than most other Masters Series events which start and finish in the space of seven day. The seeds are in action today, and so we take a look at what the draw has produced and may have in store for us over the coming days.

The One Man Quarter

It may be boring, it may be predictable but there is no denying who is most likely to come through the first quarter of the draw and then the top half of the draw and be the eventual winner. You guessed it, Roger Federer. The world number one is in pursuit of another record – the longest win streak. Currently, Federer stands at 41 consecutive wins and if he defends the title will surpass the record of 46 held by Guillermo Vilas. The first opponent Federer is likely to face is Guillermo Cañas. The Argentine work horse is in the midst of another “comeback” player of the year phase, having returned to the tour late last season after his unjust suspension had been reduced. Cañas has elevated his ranking to 60 and it seems just a matter of time before he is knocking on the door of the top 20. The last meeting between the two was at the semi-final stage of Indian Wells in 2005, Federer winning in straight sets.

Further down the line, a familiar foe may face Federer in the form of Lleyton Hewitt. The current and former world number one’s have met on 18 occasions, with Federer leading the head to head, 11-7. The quarter-final from the first quarter could see a repeat of last year’s final between Federer and James Blake. The American has recently been caught up in the controversy surrounding the round-robin fiasco in Las Vegas and with Federer in his quarter will find it very difficult to defend the points he obtained in the tournament last year.

Other players who will be hoping to make some noise from this section include David Ferrer, Novak Djokovic and another player caught up in the mess in Las Vegas, Evgeny Korolev.

The “Final” Four Quarter

Given the run Federer has been on, there is not much hope that whoever comes through this quarter will be able to advance beyond the semi-final. In effect, the players in this section are playing for at best, a final four spot. Hopefully, that is not the attitude any of these players will take into a prospective semi-final, but from the outside looking in, that’s the way it looks likely to play out.

This section is loaded with some quality players and any number could find their way through. Nikolay Davydenko is a model of consistency and Marat Safin is always capable of beating any opponent, including himself. Andy Murray, under the guidance of Brad Gilbert is improving weak areas of his game (like fitness) all the time, and is also a threat to come through. Tommy Haas has been playing exceptional tennis in his past couple of tournaments in Memphis and Dubai. And then there is Fernando Gonzalez, who reached the final of the Australian Open earlier this year and will be playing his first tournament since the disappointment of being unable to carry Chile past Russia in Davis Cup action.

This should be an entertaining quarter, with possible match ups including Safin v Murray and a repeat of the Australian Open semi-final between Haas and Gonzalez. On current form such an encounter is unlikely to be as one-sided as it was in Melbourne in Gonzalez’s favour.

The Quarter of Opportunity

Thus far the season has not been a roaring success for any of Ivan Ljubicic, David Nalbandian or Andy Roddick. All three players currently reside in the top 10 and will see this as a chance to reach the semi-finals and a prospective final. Ljubicic started the season well with a tournament victory in Doha, and has reached two other tour finals in Zagreb and Rotterdam. On the face of it that’s a decent season to date, however, the Croat would have hoped that kind of form would translate into success at Grand Slam level. That was not the case in Melbourne as Ljubicic fell at the first hurdle and has had a disappointment on a team/international level with Croatia exiting the Davis Cup at the earliest opportunity.

For David Nalbandian, the season has not yet even begun three months in. The Argentine has been carrying injuries from the back end of last season into the current season and has rarely looked his best. With a fair amount of ranking points to defend over the coming months (semi-finals in Miami, Rome and Roland Garros), Nalbandian will have to be ready to perform sooner rather than later, otherwise his ranking will inevitably slip.

Whoever beats Andy Roddick should win the tournament. At least that is what we have seen so far this season, the big serving American has lost to the eventual winner in each of his three tournaments this season. At the Australian Open it was Roger Federer, in San Jose it was Andy Murray and in Memphis it was Tommy Haas. Although Roddick will be encouraged by reaching the latter stages of each of those tournaments, it can’t have done him much good to be outplayed in the manner he was by Federer and Haas specifically.

Roddick should progress to the 4th round at least where he could meet the winner of an exciting match to be played later today between Richard Gasquet and Juan-Martin del Potro. Ljubicic and Nalbandian could cross swords in the 4th round, with the Croat leading the head to head 4-2.

The Will Nadal Hug The Baseline Quarter

If Rafael Nadal can convince and program himself to play alongside the baseline rather than a few feet behind it, then he is as likely as anyone to negotiate this section of the draw. That being said, Nadal has been unable to stick to these tactics consistently and has experienced a continued dip in form and confidence ever since the 2006 Wimbledon final. Nadal plays later today against Arnaud Clement, should he be successful there are greater challenges that could lie ahead in the form of Mikhail Youzhny and Tomas Berdych. The Spaniard won’t be too unhappy to say the least if both players are removed from the tournament before he might have to face them.

Mikhail Youzhny is playing the best tennis of his career and in recent weeks has picked up a title in Rotterdam and only Roger Federer could stop him in Dubai. Youzhny could meet Nadal in the 4th round but will have to be on his toes from the off if he is not to fall to Jose Acasuso. Other players who will be hoping to come through the bottom quarter are Tommy Robredo, Marcos Baghdatis and Tomas Berdych.

Sports Magician will be previewing the Miami Masters.

Round-Robin Causes Controversy And Chaos

In the past couple of weeks, the sport of tennis has been a complete and utter mess.

Why?

The format known as Round-Robin, will be familiar to many of you from a variety of sports where the concept makes more sense. However, in tennis it does not. Part of the beauty of tennis is that there are no second chances, there is no tomorrow. You win and you live to fight another day. You lose and it’s time to check out of the hotel and go home or move on to the next tournament.

Tennis has a number of issues in and around the sport that have long needed to be resolved so that the game can progress. Innovation and ideas are needed to solve various problems, but the knock-out format was never one of them. Etienne de Villiers decided that it was, and the round-robin concept was brought in at various tournaments in 2007 as an “experiment”. The experiment is but two months old and has already proved to be far more troublesome than even the powers that be might have suspected.

Tennis is no stranger to round-robin; the format is used at the season end Masters Cup where the top eight players of the season compete in two groups of four. If it works at all, it works during that event which is designed to be a showpiece where the sport can in effect ‘show off’ its elite talent. Applying that format and concept onto the ATP tour itself was never going to work for a variety of reasons, many of which were outlined by tennis fans all over the internet on various message boards and blogs. It’s a great shame for tennis that the fans and some players could see the troubles that would lay ahead, but that those in the most prominent and decision making positions were unable to see the bigger picture.

Tournament directors want the ‘star’ or seeded players in their tournaments for obvious reasons. However, if tennis is to uphold credibility then those stars and seeded players must not be given second bites at the cherry just because it is more desirable from a television ratings or ticket sales standpoint. If this is all that matters, then tennis has or will become no better than purely manufactured entertainment rather than sport. Sport is about competition, not twisting, turning and manipulating rules in order for bigger names to progress and sideline those trying to make names for themselves.

Let’s look at some of the instances this season where round-robin has brought about the kind of problems that many claimed would occur beforehand:

· Early in the season, both Xavier Malisse and Richard Gasquet commented on how there was absolutely no motivation or need for them to extend themselves in their final round-robin matches after they had both won the set they needed to progress, regardless of whether they lost the match. This was a situation that was clear to those with their eyes open that would occur many times over the course of the season and the players in question deserve credit for calling it like it is.

· In Buenos Aires last week, Juan Carlos Ferrero had lost his opening match to Nicolas Devilder. Devilder had earlier lost to Nicolas Lapentti. This set up a match between Ferrero and Lapentti where all permutations lay open; that was until Lapentti had to withdraw prior to the encounter. The result of which meant that Devilder was the victor of the group due to his head to head victory over Ferrero. Etienne de Villiers assured tennis fans that the introduction of round-robin would produce no ‘dead’ matches and yet Ferrero had to play exactly that against Lukas Dlouhy (drafted in due to Lapentti’s withdrawal). The result of the match had no bearing whatsoever on the tournament, it was completely irrelevant. The beauty of round-robin, huh?

· This week following the debacle in Argentina, came an altogether more absurd turn of events. A group containing James Blake, Juan Martin del Potro and Evgeny Korolev in Las Vegas looked very interesting as it featured the defending champion (Blake) and two highly touted and promising youngsters (del Potro and Korolev). Del Potro beat Korolev in straight sets and Korolev then beat Blake in straight sets. It meant that in the final group match, Blake needed to win for the loss of less than six games and the young Argentine needed just six games to advance as the group winner. Del Potro was not as his best physically and Blake led 6-1, 3-1, it looked like he was going to win the match by the score he needed. Del Potro couldn’t go on any longer or at the very least it wasn't in his interest to do so as he has a whole season (and career) to think about, not just playing out a match where he is in no condition to compete at the level required.

As in Buenos Aires due to the Lapentti withdrawal, the result of the Blake/del Potro match was now of no consequence due to the retirement. The determining factor would be the Blake/Korolev head to head, and thus the Russian was the legitimate winner of the group. Case closed, right? Not quite.

Not happy with their number one seed being knocked out in such circumstances, the ATP decided to…how shall we put it, ‘modify’, their rules mid-tournament. James Blake was to be declared the winner of the group and would advance to the quarter-finals. Why? Etienne de Villiers decided over a phone line that ‘James was within just a few games of wining this match comfortably to advance’, so I guess we are to assume that the head of the ATP not only is going to “shape the future of men’s tennis” but he can literally see the future too!

The decision caused uproar amongst players and fans, with Marat Safin and Lleyton Hewitt being vocal on the subject immediately. The fans had their say too in the form of this petition that will be forwarded to the ATP to further indicate their disgust at both the round-robin format and the unwarranted intervention in Las Vegas by the head of the ATP.

The pressure got to the ATP and eventually sense prevailed and their own rules respected, Korolev was declared the winner of the group and he went on to make the semi-finals of the tournament before a hard fought loss to Jurgen Melzer. All in all it has been one big mess that tennis could well do without, so much for this format being easy to follow and ‘fan friendly’. Are instances like this really likely to encourage those who are not yet avid tennis fans to become so? And just how much ‘experimentation’ are the already dedicated tennis fans supposed to put up with before their concerns are given more respect and consideration?

It’s incredibly disingenuous for anyone to claim tennis is now more ‘exciting’, the reality is that it is more chaotic and confusing. Furthermore, it is not about tennis fans not being able to embrace new ideas and change. The reality is that some things need changing, but this was not one of them. How much more needs to happen for this to become plainly obvious to those who don’t yet see the light? Time will tell. Hopefully, tennis will not suffer as a result.

On March 22nd the issue of round-robin will be discussed at an ATP board meeting. If you wish to add your support to the petition to be done with round-robin, please sign here. And to follow the progress of the petition and see what else you can do to make your voice heard, please take a look here and here.

If You Love Tennis & Hate Round-Robin

If you agree with the sentiments I have expressed on this petition, please sign it and leave (if you wish) an appropriate comment (please keep it clean and constructive). I would like to get as many signatures as possible and send this to the relevant people before this "meeting" of the minds. Thanks for your time and hopefully support. http://www.petitiononline.com/nomorerr/petition.html

Davis Cup 2007 - The Journey Begins

The journey for the 2007 Davis Cup begins on Friday with eight first round world group matches. The opening round sees the 2006 finalists, Russia and Argentina, facing tricky away ties.

Chile v Russia

The Davis Cup holders travel to South America without their number one ranked player, Nikolay Davydenko. However, the Russians still boast a strong squad including Marat Safin, Igor Andreev and Dmitry Tursunov. Looking to knock out the holders early is a Chile team that have won their last nine home ties. Fernando Gonzalez and Nicolas Massu have proven themselves many times over when playing in international team competition. Massu won Olympic gold in singles during Athens 2004, and partnered Gonzalez in picking up another gold medal in the doubles at those same Olympics. Playing infront of what will be a vociferous home crowd, Chile goes into the tie on clay as favourites. However, Russia will be looking to feast on Massu as the Chilean has not been at his best of late. Despite making the final of Vina Del Mar, Massu looked far from unbeatable and both Safin and Andreev will be confident of securing victories against him. Fernando Gonzalez will have to carry Chile in this tie; Chile’s number one has just broken into the world’s top 5 after reaching the final of the Australian Open.

Verdict – Home advantage to squeeze Chile through.

France v Romania

France should have little trouble moving onto the quarter-finals after being drawn at home to Romania. Aside from coming into the tie with a squad not as strong as the French (Richard Gasquet, Sebastien Grosjean, Arnaud Clement, Michael Llodra), Romania will have to achieve something they have yet to do so in their history; win a world group tie away from home. That record is unlikely to be broken here. The French have chosen to play indoors on hard court, and may well win the tie before Sunday’s matches.

Verdict – France ensure Sunday’s matches are dead rubbers.

Germany v Croatia

Without the services of Nicolas Keifer due to injury, Germany will be relying on Tommy Haas against Croatia’s two man team of Ivan Ljubicic and Mario Ancic. Earlier this week the Croatian team were the subject of some controversy as Ivo Karlovic withdrew from the squad over an apparent pay dispute. Ljubicic and Ancic will be hoping to earn their money this time by winning away from home. Haas will be supported by the man who ended the career of Andre Agassi, Benjamin Becker. Haas has even head to head records with Ljubicic and Ancic, if Germany are to prevail he will need to have leading head to heads over them by the end of the weekend.

Verdict – Expect a long weekend.

Belgium v Australia

An even contest to determine which nation moves forward to the quarter-finals. Belgium has opted for clay in order to dispose of their Australian opponents. This time last year Australia also went away on clay, on that occasion the destination was Switzerland and were successful after a 5th rubber in which Chris Guccione hit an extraordinary amount of aces in a straight sets victory over George Bastl. Australia will have their star, Lleyton Hewitt, leading them into battle but without a couple of players who have often been by his side in recent years, Wayne Arthurs and Mark Philippoussis. Belgium are without the services of Xavier Malisse, who has already won two titles this season, due to an internal conflict which is not uncommon amongst some nations in Davis Cup play. Belgium will be hoping for their first world group victory since a 1999 win against Switzerland.

Verdict – Hewitt to be the difference.

Czech Republic v USA

When the draw was made this match up was seen as one of if not the tie of the round. Yet another internal dispute is the reason that the Czechs will play without the services of Radek Stepanek, recently in the news for his engagement to Martina Hingis. The relationship between Stepanek and his national federation has been unequivocally destroyed, with the Czech federation releasing a statement that surely severs ties for good; “he is completely indifferent to playing for the Czech Republic and that he despises Czech tennis, his team mates, officials, and Czech tennis fans” were their exact words. The burden of responsibility falls on Tomas Berdych, a talented young player but one who still produces performances that reek of immaturity. Berdych will need to produce the kind of mental strength and concentration that saw him defeat Rafael Nadal in last year’s Madrid Masters. The challenge facing the Czechs comes in the form of a now very settled American side. Ranking wise the American side is impressive, consisting of two top 10 players in Andy Roddick and James Blake and the number one ranked doubles team and recently crowned Australian Open champions, Bob and Mike Bryan. With the Bryans almost certain to win their doubles rubber, it means that if the Czechs are to prevail they will need more than just Tomas Berdych. Had Stepanek been available they would have been favourites, but without him the balance of power falls marginally with the Americans.

Verdict – The Czech federation to be left wishing Radek Stepanek was not so indifferent towards representing his nation.

Switzerland v Spain

Had Roger Federer committed himself to Davis Cup this year, the tie versus Spain would have produced a great deal of publicity due to an impending match up against Rafael Nadal. However, once more Federer has decided to prioritise his battle with the history books on an individual level, thus leaving the Swiss with little chance in this tie. Federer will most likely be winning Switzerland a world group playoff match later in the year, but without him, Spain should have little trouble moving on in the competition. Swiss hopes will lie with Stanislas Wawrinka, but opposition led by Rafael Nadal and backed up by David Ferrer, Fernando Verdasco and Feliciano Lopez will be far too much for a Federer-less Switzerland to contend with.

Verdict – The easiest away win of the weekend.

Belarus v Sweden

Belarus has claimed some notable scalps at home in recent years against sides such as Spain, Argentina and Russia. Once more they will hope to achieve that on what will be the fastest playing court of the weekend. The Belarus side will be led by Max Mirnyi and his doubles partner Jonas Bjorkman will this time be on the opposite side of the net to him. Mirnyi holds the key to a Belarus win but history is against him with a combined head to head record against the current Swedish squad of 3-18. However, he and Vladimir Voltchkov will be banking on gaining some early momentum and carrying it through the weekend. Sweden, captained by Mats Wilander will be able to call on Robin Soderling, Thomas Johansson, Jonas Bjorkman and Simon Aspelin. Bjorkman owns a 10-1 record versus Mirnyi and it will be interesting to see whether he is used against his doubles partner in singles action.

Verdict – The record suggests Sweden have to be favourites, but Belarus are 3-0 at home in world group ties.

Austria v Argentina

2006 finalists Argentina travel to Austria without their ace in the pack, David Nalbandian. Argentina’s strength in depth is the reason they go to Austria with at least a fighting chance despite being unable to call on Nalbandian, Agustin Calleri, Juan Ignacio Chela, Gaston Gaudio and Guillermo Coria. All of these players absent for reasons ranging from injury, personal choice and poor or no form at all. Argentina captain Alberto Mancini has called on Jose Acasuso, the returning Guillermo Canas, the next big thing of Argentine tennis Juan Martin Del Potro and veteran doubles specialist Sebastian Prieto. Acasuso is the only player in this squad who played Davis Cup in 2006. An Austrian win may be considered by some as an upset, but in truth Austria must come into the tie as slight favourites. Austria have decided to play indoor on carpet and will be hoping to expose the lack of experience (Del Potro) and/or the lack of playing time at this level (Canas and Prieto). Canas has recently returned from a suspension and has excelled on the Challenger circuit but Davis Cup will be an altogether different proposition. Prieto is expected to partner Acasuso in Saturday’s doubles and has only once played a Davis Cup match, way back in 1999. Stefan Koubek and Jurgen Melzer will lead the Austrian side and will be playing to give Austria their first world group victory since 1995.

Verdict – Argentina to extend Austria’s drought at world group level (just).

Let Sports Magician know how you see this weekend's ties developing and vote in the poll in the side bar as to who will be winning the Davis Cup this year.

Australian Open 2007: What We Learned - Men

What we learned from two weeks in Melbourne – Men

Closer To Greatness – Roger Federer won the 10th Grand Slam title of his career, and his 3rd Australian Open title. Barring injury it seems just a matter of time before he passes Pete Sampras’s record Slam haul of 14. Federer improved his Slam final record to 10-1. The talk now will be of winning all 4 Slams in the season. Once again, Federer will look to conquer the clay (a feat which has eluded him thus far), and namely the King of Clay, Rafael Nadal. Federer has redressed the balance with Nadal away from clay, but in order to win the French Open will now have to replicate that on the surface that the Spaniard is most comfortable. Last year’s clay court season was the Nadal-Federer show, as they contested the marquee finals in Monte Carlo, Rome and most importantly, Roland Garros. Surely the challenge from others will not be as non-existent this year as it was in 2006, and it’s likely that both Federer and Nadal will have more to contend with than just each other.

The World Number Two On An Island Of His Own – Rafael Nadal’s career has stalled since Wimbledon 2006. Arguably, his career has gone backwards. Having won Masters Series events on hard (Montreal) and indoor (Madrid) courts in 2005, in addition to dominating on clay, Nadal was unable to repeat his success away from clay in the latter half of 2006. That poor form has continued into the early stages of 2007. Nadal was beaten by Xavier Malisse in Chennai, struggled against Andy Murray at the Australian Open before winning in 5 sets and was then sent home after looking completely impotent against Fernando Gonzalez in the quarter-finals. All of a sudden Nadal’s eye can no longer be focused on catching Roger Federer for the number one spot, but preserving his own place at number two. With no points to gain during the European clay court season (bar Hamburg, where Nadal has withdrawn in successive years following Rome finals in 2005 & 2006 that lasted more than 5 hours), Nadal will be under pressure again to defend his King of Clay status.

A Good Coach Can Do Wonders – When Larry Stefanki began working with Fernando Gonzalez in May 2006, the Chilean claimed he was willing to sacrifice his style of car crash tennis (which has entertained many for both its excellence and insanity) in order to crack the top 10. A few months shy of a year later and Gonzalez has reached a Masters Series final (and two other tour finals), a Grand Slam final and broken into not just the top 10, but the top 5. Unfortunately for Gonzalez, in 3 of those 4 finals he ran into Roger Federer, to whom he now trails by 10-0 in their battles on court. Possibly the next challenge for Stefanki will be to find a way for Gonzalez to break his duck against Federer. Fernando Gonzalez can claim to have produced some of the most startling statistics from this year’s Australian Open. In the first two sets of his 4th round encounter with Lleyton Hewitt, the red hot Chilean hit 33 winners and just 2 unforced errors. In his semi-final with Tommy Haas, where one might expect him to have been a tad nervous, Gonzalez played quite literally, a perfect set of tennis; 17 winners and 0 unforced errors. He finished the match with 45 winners and 3 unforced errors (tut-tut-tut).

The Same Old, Same Old – James Blake and Ivan Ljubicic yet again failed to produce the goods in a Grand Slam. Both players still reside in the top 10, but their Grand Slam records are dreadful for players of such status. James Blake has now been beyond the 4th round of a Grand Slam only 2 times in 20 attempts. On both occasions he did make it to the last eight, Blake had the strong vocal support of a home crowd at the US Open behind him. Away from New York, his Slam record leaves a lot to be desired. Ivan Ljubicic’s record is even worse (hard to believe, I know). The Croat now has a truly dismal record of being beyond the 3rd round of Grand Slams on only 2 occasions in 30 attempts. Worse still, he has 15 1st round KO’s to his name.

The Same Old, Same Old II – Andy Roddick came into his semi-final against Roger Federer with reason to believe he could put up a realistic challenge despite a dreadful 1-12 record in matches between them. Having run Federer close at the 2006 Masters Cup, beaten the world number one in an exhibition in Kooyong (a confidence booster more than anything else) and having disposed in impressive fashion Marat Safin and Mario Ancic, Roddick could have been forgiven for thinking he would not just be cannon fodder for the Swiss number one. How wrong can you be? At 4-4 in the 1st set, it looked like we had a real match on our hands. Within the blink of an eye, Federer had taken 14 of the next 16 games to record a 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 win. Now 1-13 versus Federer, it’s back to the drawing board for Roddick and Connors. A futile exercise it may be, as Roddick has never been able to trouble Federer in the ways that Nadal, Nalbandian or Safin have. The American just doesn’t possess the array of shots to give Federer a lot to think about and deal with. This is never going to change.

The King Of Early Round Drama – Having been a doubt for the Australian Open due to tendonitis in the knee, David Nalbandian did himself no favours in trying to conserve early round energy. In his 1st and 3rd round matches, Nalbandian had to come from two sets down, and faced match points in both encounters. Janko Tipsarevic and Sebastien Grosjean were the latest victims to Nalbandian’s list of players he has recovered from two sets down against. Often criticised for his overall fitness, Nalbandian can claim he is as fit as anyone when you consider his record in matches of this nature. But ultimately it was to be his downfall as he hit the wall in his 4th round match with Tommy Haas, and exited the tournament after a 4 set battle. Nalbandian has now dropped out of the top 10, and he will not play again until the ATP tournament in Buenos Aires, in order to rest his aching body. That means Argentina will travel to Austria in the 1st round of their Davis Cup quest without their main man. Nalbandian will be hoping that Argentina can survive without him, until he can return to the squad in a healthier state.

Last Year’s Story – This time last year, one of the images of the Australian Open was the smile of Marcos Baghdatis and the echoes of his band of supporters. Back then he was still a relative unknown, 12 months on and the expectation and pressure was far greater. Baghdatis had made reference to such matters after his 1st round win versus Rainer Schuettler, following his next match, the pressure was off. He was out. His tournament ended by an energetic and athletic performance from Gael Monfils.

Fourth Round Barrier For The Young Guns – Aside from Baghdatis and Monfils, other young players tipped for big things in the future, Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Richard Gasquet and Tomas Berdych could not advance past the 4th round. Murray was ousted in 5 sets by Rafael Nadal, the Scot will feel it was an opportunity missed having failed to convert on numerous break point opportunities. Djokovic was hoping for a measure of revenge against Roger Federer following some none too kind words about the Serb’s propensity to pick up ‘joke’ injuries during the course of matches in order to stall and disrupt his opponent. Despite talking a good game, Djokovic failed to play one, at least to the standard required to trouble Federer, and was beaten in straight sets. Richard Gasquet continued to keep those who feel he has a very strong future waiting after a weak display versus Tommy Robredo. Gasquet has thus far failed to shine in matches against top players in Grand Slam events, and this match was no different. Gasquet offered brief resistance in the 3rd set, before predictably running out of gas at the end of the 4th. Gasquet’s conditioning has been in question for a couple of years, and continues to be so. Until this situation is addressed, his supporters will have to continue wishing on a prayer. Tomas Berdych did nothing to suggest that his biggest obstacle is being removed either; the Czech often shows a lack of steel and maturity in his game, and this was to be no different against Nikolay Davydenko. Having taken the 1st set and playing well, Berdych looked on course to make the last eight, but inexcusably disintegrated, allowing Davydenko to impose his game and will on the match, eventually coming through in a nervy 4th set tie-break. The 4th round excursions of the young talents told us that Murray’s fitness is greatly improved, that Djokovic can bark but not yet bite, that Gasquet needs to dedicate himself to being as physically strong as he can be and that Berdych’s mind shows no sign of growing up.

It Shouldn’t Have Ended That Way – Playing in his last Australian Open, Wayne Arthurs won through to the 3rd round where he was set to face Mardy Fish. Already requiring treatment for an existing hip injury, Arthurs’s body broke down on him after a bad reaction to an anaesthetic he had taken 15 minutes prior to the match. Arthurs left the Australian Open in tears having been only able to play 3 games of his 3rd round match.

It Was A Good Tournament For – Aside from Federer and Gonzalez, there were good tournaments for Tommy Haas and Mardy Fish. Haas made his 3rd Grand Slam semi-final (all at the Australian Open) and was crushed by an inspired Fernando Gonzalez. Many will have seen this opportunity as the American based German’s last chance to get to a Slam final. Mardy Fish had never been beyond the 3rd round of a Grand Slam in 17 attempts until the 2007 Australian Open. Fish knocked out 4th seed Ivan Ljubicic in the 1st round and 16th seed David Ferrer in the 4th round. As good as his run the quarter-finals was, the American would probably like to forget the way his tournament ended, winning only 6 games against compatriot and friend, Andy Roddick. Fernando Verdasco showed the compassionate side of tennis, after trailing by 2 sets and behind in the 3rd set tie-break against Paul-Henri Mathieu, the Spaniard who looked to be going out of the tournament instead got a free pass to the next round after Mathieu picked up an untimely injury that halted the match immediately. Verdasco didn’t bask in the glory of an extremely fortunate victory, instead accompanied Mathieu to the hospital.

A Tournament They’d Rather Forget – Aside from Blake, Ljubicic, Baghdatis and Nadal it was a bad tournament for Juan Carlos Ferrero. The former King of Clay, hoping to kick-start his 2007 with a good Slam showing, failed to serve out either of the 1st 2 sets in his second round match with Danai Udomchoke, and eventually lost in 4. Despite not being at 100%, Nicolas Massu, could only manage 2 games against Novak Djokovic. No excuses for Alberto Martin, he was 100%, but could only manage 1 game against Andy Murray.

Tell Sports Magician what made you smile and what made you sad over the past couple of weeks.

Australian Open 2007: What We Learned - Women

What we learned from two weeks in Melbourne – Women

Unseeded Champion – Guess whose back? Serena Williams, that’s who, coming into the Australian Open off the back of a defeat in Hobart to Sybille Bammer and only 4 tournaments played in 2006. That didn’t seem to bother the now 8 times Grand Slam champion as she claimed her 3rd Australian Open title. Williams knocked off the number 5, 10 and 11 seeds on her way to the final. In 2 matches she had to break to stay in the tournament against Nadia Petrova and Shahar Peer. Williams improved her Slam final record to 8-2. Her most impressive performance and victory came in what was expected to be a hard fought and close final, her performance ensured that it was anything but close. In winning the tournament off the back of so little match practice, Williams reminded the tennis world she is still the best player around when she is healthy. What remains to be seen is how much she will be able to play for the rest of the season, but the message is loud and clear, Serena Williams is back. And she means business.

A Shell-Shocked Number One – Maria Sharapova is the new number one. But many will say Serena Williams is the real number one, and that it’s just a question of her staying healthy and playing enough tournaments before she eventually reclaims that position. In her third Slam final, Sharapova suffered her first defeat. It was quick, but certainly not painless. The Russian was unable to contend with the power and precision of Williams’ ground strokes and could not gain any foothold in the match whatsoever. Like Williams, Sharapova also had to break to stay in the tournament in her 1st round encounter against Camille Pin, a match that was played in extreme heat. Even Sharapova’s fighting spirit and will was not enough to challenge Williams, in a very one-sided final. The ‘Siberian Siren’ will need to work on her second serve if she is to avoid similar punishment from Williams in the future.

No More ‘Aussie Kim’ – Adopted by the Australian crowd after once dating Lleyton Hewitt, Kim Clijsters bid farewell to the Rod Laver Arena in a manner she would have preferred not to. Having been talked up as a legitimate contender for the title in Melbourne, Clijsters showed none of the form expected of her when the tournament reached its business end. An astonishing 62 unforced errors against Martina Hingis in the quarter-final did not stop Clijsters progressing to the last four. How that happened, not even she knows. Her semi-final performance was not much better, having led by a break on two different occasions in the 1st set, Clijsters put up a thoughtless and feeble display against Sharapova and was dispatched in straight sets. It was a very low key end to her Slam career in Australia for the Belgian. It is impossible to see Clijsters winning one of the remaining Slams in the last year of her young career if she does not improve significantly on her quarter and semi-final performances in Australia.

No Defence Of The Defending Champion – Having won the Australian Open in 2006 thanks to retirements by the Belgian duo of Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin-Hardenne (soon to lose the Hardenne) in her semi final and final, Amelie Mauresmo put up a poor defence of her title. Mauresmo was defeated in the third round by young Czech, Lucie Safarova. Her younger opponent out thought and out hit her to complete a 6-4, 6-3 victory and send Mauresmo home earlier than many would have expected. Having won two Grand Slams in 2006, there is a big question mark over whether Mauresmo will add to that tally in 2007.

Serbian Youngsters Disappoint – Much was expected of Ana Ivanovic, but more specifically, Jelena Jankovic. Neither was able to deliver in Melbourne. Ivanovic was crushed in the 3rd round by Vera Zvonareva, 6-1, 6-2. Ivanovic looked devoid of ideas or any kind of game plan to get back on track as she was swept aside by her Russian opponent. Jelena Jankovic was set for a 4th round meeting with Serena Williams, and when it came turned out to be as anti-climactic as the eventual final. Much like Sharapova, Jankovic was unable to deal with the power and intimidation of Serena Williams and left the tournament without showing her true qualities. Jankovic is set for a very bright future, but we did not see her best in Melbourne.

The Next Big Thing Still A Work In Progress – Nicole Vaidisova is a future number one and multiple Grand Slam champion in the making. Believe it. Still only 17, Vaidisova reached the second Grand Slam semi-final of her very young career before being ousted by eventual champion, Serena Williams. Vaidisova’s serve is fast becoming the most devastating weapon in the women’s game, banging down 51 aces in her 6 matches (only Serena Williams served more). Still with room for improvement, Vaidisova is going to be a major force in the very near future, for many years to come.

Some Things Never Change – In 4 matches, Elena Dementieva served 33 double faults, her tournament was ended by Nicole Vaidisova in the 4th round. Still refusing to compromise with her all-out tactics, Sania Mirza exited the tournament in the 2nd round; totalling 58 unforced errors and only 32 winners in comparison (she may want to give Fernando Gonzalez or Larry Stefanki a call?). Tatiana Golovin, Maria Kirilenko and Gisela Dulko continue to flatter to deceive.

Making Some Noise – Anna Chakvetadze continued her good start to 2007, following a title in Hobart, with a quarter-final appearance in Melbourne, losing to Maria Sharapova 7-6, 7-5. Shahar Peer picked up 3 titles in 2006, and served for the match against Serena Williams in her quarter-final having recovered from a 4-1 3rd set deficit. The 19 year old Israeli pushed Williams to the limit, before succumbing 8-6 in the decider.

Gone But Not Forgotten – Justine Henin-Hardenne, ended 2006 as world number one, the 5 time Slam champion withdrew from the Australian Open following the announcement of her divorce. Anastasia Myskina, the former French Open champion was not in Melbourne due to injury, the same can be said of Venus Williams and Mary Pierce.

Tell Sports Magician what you thought of the women’s event and what you envisage happening during the rest of the season.

Australian Open Final Semi-Finals Preview

The Australian Open is down to four men, one former Slam winner will be in the final and one player will be experiencing his first action in a Grand Slam final, that much we know for certain.

Roger Federer (1) v Andy Roddick (6)

It was the expected semi-final, and so we have it. Roger Federer arrives at this stage of the tournament without losing a set, unsurprisingly, but unusually has been broken 12 times in his 5 matches. The statistic is not alarming, but surprising nonetheless. Federer has not been at his best thus far, but history shows he plays his best at this stage of Grand Slams and an improved performance versus Roddick is what is to be expected in comparison to his previous matches. Federer has made 11 consecutive Grand Slam semi-finals and will be looking to make his 7th consecutive Slam final.

Federer is in search of his 10th Grand Slam title and should he be victorious this week, so will follow endless talk in the media and fans alike about whether he will win all four Grand Slams this year.

Andy Roddick was given a first round scare against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, trailing by a set and a break, before turning the match around to win in 4 sets. Since then, Roddick has been in excellent form, with significant wins over Marat Safin and Mario Ancic, as well as destroying Mardy Fish in the quarter-finals in a match that was as one sided as you will ever see in the last eight of a Grand Slam. Since teaming up with Jimmy Connors, Roddick’s career has been re-ignited off the back of a poor first half of the season in 2006. The evidence of this was shown during the US Open, where Roddick reached the final before losing to Federer. The American has been broken 8 times in his 5 matches, with 7 of those breaks coming against Safin and Ancic.

Roddick reached the last four in Melbourne in 2003 and 2005, making this his 3rd appearance at the semi-final stage of the Australian Open.

The history between the two suggests only one winner. Federer dominates the head to head with a staggering 12-1 record dating back to 2001. 4 of those meetings were in Grand Slam events, with Federer victorious each time. Roddick’s sole win against Federer came in 2003 at the Montreal Masters by virtue of a deciding set tie-break. Amongst Federer’s 12 victories, Roddick has managed to win only 4 sets. Another crucial stat in Federer’s favour is the tie-break history; the world number one is 8-1 in tie-breaks against the big serving American.

Roddick came as close as you can to recording his 2nd career victory over Federer at the Masters Cup in Shanghai at the back end of 2006. Roddick was unable to convert match points in the 2nd set tie-break and went on to lose 6-4 in the 3rd. Preceding the Australian Open was the often star studded line up at Kooyong (exhibition), where Roddick secured a moral boosting victory against Federer. How much impact that result will have on the semi-final is open for debate, at the very least it was a much needed boost for Roddick. But it would be unwise to assume that Roddick is now destined to follow up that exhibition victory with another in Melbourne, based purely on that result.

Tommy Haas (12) v Fernando Gonzalez (10)

Hands up those of you who picked this semi-final?

I don’t see any hands.

Both Tommy Haas and Fernando Gonzalez are good players, but others were favoured to reach the last four in the bottom half of the draw, like Rafael Nadal, Nikolay Davydenko or David Nalbandian. Haas put paid to both Nalbandian and Davydenko, in four and five sets, respectively. Haas even saved match point versus Davydenko in the 5th set, having recovered from a 2 sets to 1 deficit. Gonzalez produced the performance of the tournament to date, by obliterating Nadal in straight sets. Gonzalez was equally as impressive against Lleyton Hewitt, but was stretched to 4 sets in that meeting. Gonzalez’s biggest test in the tournament came against highly touted Argentine youngster, Juan Martin Del Potro, in the 2nd round. The Chilean trailed by 2 sets to 1 before eventually outlasting his younger South American opponent who was forced to retire during the 5th set.

Fernando Gonzalez became one of only six active players to reach at least the quarter-finals of all 4 Grand Slams; his appearance in the last four in Melbourne is the furthest he has been in a Slam. Tommy Haas will play in his 3rd Slam semi-final; his previous two semi-finals were also in Melbourne in 1999 and 2002.

The winner will be making their first appearance in a Grand Slam final and it remains to be seen which player will be able to handle that pressure and expectation in order to produce their best tennis and move on for a chance at lifting the title.

There is little history between the two, having only met on one occasion in 2004 on clay during the World Team Championship. Gonzalez was the victor in straight sets, and following his excellent displays against Hewitt, Blake and Nadal will be the marginal favourite to progress.

Looking Towards The Final – Head To Head Records
Federer v Gonzalez – Federer leads the H2H 9-0, 22-2 in sets and 3-1 in TB’s.
Federer v Haas – Federer leads the H2H 7-2, 17-8 in sets, level at 2-2 in TB’s.
Roddick v Gonzalez – Roddick leads the H2H 6-3, 14-8 in sets, level at 3-3 in TB’s.
Roddick v Haas – Haas leads the H2H 5-3, 11-8 in sets, Roddick leads 3-0 in TB’s.

Sports Magician will be reviewing the Australian Open following the conclusion of the tournament. Let Sports Magician know who you feel will win the tournament and your thoughts on the 2007 Australian Open in general.

Australian Open Men's Quarter-Finals Preview

The Australian Open is down to the last eight, containing three Grand Slam winners in Roger Federer, Andy Roddick and Rafael Nadal. Only one unseeded player has made it to this stage, Mardy Fish, who disposed of number four seed, Ivan Ljubicic. Roger Federer is the only player remaining who has either won or been to the final of the Australian Open.

Roger Federer (1) v Tommy Robredo (7)

As the tournament has progressed, Roger Federer has moved through the gears. Presented with the fourth round challenge of Novak Djokovic, Federer dispatched the Serb in straight sets. Djokovic briefly tested Federer in the second set, but eventually his resistance was broken. Having seen the draw, Tommy Robredo most likely believed a good tournament would mean a quarter-final defeat to Federer and that is the most realistic scenario. Coming into the match with a 0-6 record versus the world number one, not even Robredo’s family and friends will be giving him much chance, if any, of causing an upset. The Spaniard overcame Richard Gasquet in four sets in the last round, and at best will be hoping to stretch Federer to four sets.

Mardy Fish v Andy Roddick (6)

An all-American encounter in the quarter-finals pits two friends against each other. Andy Roddick buoyed by the arrival of his coach, Jimmy Connors, before his third round match will be expected to move on to the last four. Roddick has notched up two notable back to back wins against Marat Safin and Mario Ancic, and anything other than another victory here will be a major surprise. Mardy Fish has had an excellent tournament and his appearance in the quarter-finals is a career best Grand Slam showing for him. Previously, Fish had never made it past the third round of a Slam in seventeen attempts. Roddick leads the head to head 4-1, Fish recorded the first win between the two but Roddick has reeled off 4 straight victories since.

Tommy Haas (12) v Nikolay Davydenko (3)

Tommy Haas and Nikolay Davydenko pick up where they left off at the last Grand Slam of 2006. At the US Open that year, both players met at the same stage of the tournament that they will do in Melbourne. Davydenko overcame a two set disadvantage to move on to the semi-finals of the US Open where he lost to eventual champion, Roger Federer. Haas comes in off the back of knocking out number eight seed, David Nalbandian. The German was in trouble a set down and facing break points, but recovered and eventually eased to victory against a visibly exhausted Nalbandian whose tank was left empty after earlier difficulties with his draw. Davydenko recorded his fifth win over Tomas Berdych, winning a nervy fourth set tie-break to complete his victory. With a 2-0 head to head advantage, the Russian will be favourite to advance to the semi-finals.

Fernando Gonzalez (10) v Rafael Nadal (2)

Fernando Gonzalez and Rafael Nadal became the 5th and 6th active players to at least reach the quarter-finals of all four Grand Slam events. Gonzalez has done so off the back of victories against talented youngsters, Evgeny Korolev and Juan Martin Del Potro, as well as home favourite, Lleyton Hewitt, and number five seed and perennial Grand Slam flop, James Blake. The Chilean was in particularly devastating form against Hewitt, and followed that up with a straight sets win over Blake. Rafael Nadal enters the last eight after what is surely the match of the tournament thus far against Andy Murray. Nadal trailed 7-6, 4-1 before scratching and clawing his way back into the match, running out an eventual winner in 5 dramatic and tension filled sets. Gonzalez leads the head to head by two victories to one, and will be hoping to replicate the hard court victory he obtained in 2004 at the Miami Masters. Nadal is an altogether different proposition now to what he was then, so the challenge facing Gonzalez is vast.

Sports Magician will be previewing the semi-finals upon completion of the quarter-finals. Tell Sports Magician who will be making the last four and going on to claim the title.

Australian Open Men's 4th Round Preview (Part Two)

David Nalbandian (8) v Tommy Haas (12)

David Nalbandian’s participation in the Australian Open was in doubt due to injury; his continued participation has been in further doubt on two occasions in his first three matches. Nalbandian has developed a reputation for being able to recover from two sets down, and not only did he do that in his matches with Janko Tipsarevic and Sebastien Grosjean, he also saved match points in both encounters. The Argentine has a very consistent record in Australia, in the past four years he has made three quarter finals and last year was a semi-finalist. His opponent in the last sixteen will be German twelfth seed, Tommy Haas. Also a former semi-finalist in Melbourne, Haas has not yet dropped a set on his way to the fourth round. Due to the poor weather, Haas’s third round match with compatriot Florian Mayer was pushed back by a day. However, by winning in straight sets, Haas should still be fresh to play tomorrow. While Nalbandian took a much needed day off. Haas leads the head to head 2-0, winning their last meeting in the Paris Masters in 2005 in straight sets.

Tomas Berdych (13) v Nikolay Davydenko (3)

Nikolay Davydenko was another injury doubt pre-tournament, but has safely made his way to the fourth round. The Russian with a career high ranking after an excellent 2006 campaign; will be hoping to at least equal his performances in 2005 and 2006 where he made the last eight in Melbourne. Wishing to minimise any further injury damage, Davydenko will have been glad to reach this stage without dropping a set. Standing in Davydenko’s way to the quarter-finals is talented Czech, Tomas Berdych. The tennis world has been waiting for Berdych to produce in a Grand Slam event, and that time may be now. Should Berdych win, he will move on to the last eight of a Grand Slam for the first time in his young career. In order to achieve that goal, Berdych will have to beat Davydenko for the first time at the fifth attempt.

James Blake (5) v Fernando Gonzalez (10)

James Blake is hoping to back up a career year in 2006, by making his first Grand Slam quarter-final outside of the US Open. The American stormed through his opening two rounds before winning a very scrappy affair with Robby Ginepri. Blake took the first two sets of the match, which could have gone the other way, before eventually wrapping up the win in straight sets. His fourth round opponent, Chilean Fernando Gonzalez, comes in off the back of ending Australian involvement in the tournament after a four set win over Lleyton Hewitt. Gonzalez played flawless tennis for the first two sets, ripping off winners and keeping unforced errors at a minimum. Blake and Gonzalez have met six times, winning three matches each. Their last battle took place in America during a Davis Cup tie on grass, Gonzalez winning 10-8 in the 5th.

Andy Murray (15) v Rafael Nadal (2)

Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal meet for the first time in their careers, with both looking to reach the last eight in Melbourne for the first time also. Murray, under the guidance of Brad Gilbert, has risen at a fast rate through the rankings since his last visit to Melbourne. As with a number of other players in the last sixteen, Murray has reached this stage without dropping a set, winning his first round match with Alberto Martin for the loss of just one game. Rafael Nadal entered the Australian Open off the back of a below par six months in comparison to the standards he has set since bursting on the scene. Having emphasised a need to improve his serve, Nadal has seemingly done just that, serving harder than he had done so in 2006 with a good first serve percentage. The Spaniard followed up a largely average performance in the second round with his most impressive display thus far in the third round against Stanislas Wawrinka. Nadal winning comfortably in straight sets and ended the match with a devastating forehand winner that was possibly the shot of the tournament so far.

Sports Magician will be previewing the quarter-finals of the men’s event.

Australian Open 4th Round Men's Preview (Part 1)

The Australian Open is down to the last sixteen, the business end of the tournament begins here. A week of good tennis in what have been some very testing conditions at times brings us these eight matches.

Roger Federer (1) v Novak Djokovic (14)

Post-draw a Federer v Djokovic encounter was always on the cards, and both players have kept their appointments. The world number one and defending champion, Roger Federer, has steadily eased through his first three rounds, triumphing over Bjorn Phau, Jonas Bjorkman and Mikhail Youzhny in straight sets as expected. Djokovic has continued his excellent start to the season, following on from his tournament victory in Adelaide. The young Serb destroyed Chile’s Nicolas Massu in round one for the loss of just two games. He followed that up with wins over Feliciano Lopez and Danai Udomchoke. Federer leads the head to head 2-0, both victories coming in 2006. There is some added spice to this match, after some disparaging comments Federer made about Djokovic and his propensity to claim injury following their Davis Cup meeting in Switzerland. Djokovic is talking a good game and hopefully he will be able to see it through, if so we could all be treated to an excellent match.

Richard Gasquet (18) v Tommy Robredo (7)

Tommy Robredo has so far lived up to his seeding and made relatively short work of his draw, with wins against Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo, Jurgen Melzer and Sam Querrey. The Spaniard has lost one set in the process, losing a tie-break to American wildcard, Sam Querrey. Twenty year old Frenchman, Richard Gasquet, came through his opening two rounds with flying colours, recording straight sets win over Filippo Volandri and Amer Delic. In the third round he was presented with the challenge of a French civil war against Gael Monfils. Gasquet was able to overcome the athletic and jack in the box nature of Monfils’s game, winning in four sets to advance to the fourth round of the Australian Open. In three previous visits to Melbourne, Gasquet had not won a match. The players have met on two previous occasions and have split meetings. Robredo won the most recent match at the Cincinnati Masters in 2006.

Mardy Fish v David Ferrer (16)

Few would have predicted this meeting in the last sixteen, seeing David Ferrer here is not too surprising. Coming into Melbourne on the back of a title in Auckland, where he defeated Fish in the semi-finals, Ferrer has continued to exhibit his ability to never admit defeat. The sixteenth seed overcame Kristian Pless and Thomas Johansson, before showing his battling qualities to the full, coming back from two sets down against Radek Stepanek. Mardy Fish took out number four seed Ivan Ljubicic in round one, and has backed up that victory by reaching the last sixteen. That victory came in four sets, and another four set win over Nicolas Mahut, set up a third round meeting with home favourite, Wayne Arthurs. The Aussie would be playing in Melbourne for the last time, and it was a great shame for him to have to retire after just three games of his match with Fish. The head to head stands at two apiece, with Ferrer’s previously mentioned victory in Auckland just last week being their most recent encounter. Ferrer will be the favourite to make the last eight.

Mario Ancic (9) v Andy Roddick (6)

A meeting of two big servers will determine who moves on to the quarter-finals. The pair have combined for 73 aces thus far in Melbourne. Ancic has reached this stage with wins over Go Soeda, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and Dominik Hrbaty. Roddick has been well tested already in his first three rounds. A set and a break down in his first round match against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the American was in danger of a first round knock out. However, he was able to turn that match around and followed that up with a victory over another French opponent, Marc Gicquel. The anticipated blockbuster between Roddick and Marat Safin materialised after the Russian was able to win two five set matches in his opening rounds. The difference in the third round battle was evident in two critical tie-breaks in the 1st and 4th sets, Roddick served with authority and stamped on Safin the moment an error was made. Off the back of a moral boosting win against Roger Federer (albeit an exhibition), Roddick looks well placed to make the last four and another possible meeting with the world number one. Ancic has failed to record a victory against Roddick in four previous meetings.

Part two of the 4th round previews will be posted upon completion of the 3rd round matches which have been held up by rain.

Australian Open Men's Preview 2007

The first Grand Slam of the season is almost upon us; the draw has been made, and has thrown up the usual dissections of the 128 man field. Here is a look at what the draw has delivered and the possibilities over the next two weeks.

Easy pickings for Federer

The first quarter of any slam draw in the past few years has seen the same man waltz through each time – world number one, Roger Federer. Between 2004 and 2006, Federer has failed to negotiate his quarter only once (Roland Garros 2004), often ending up with the trophy or a semi-final place at worst. Few would be brave enough (or indeed foolish enough) to suggest he will not continue his efficiency in disposing of his quarters. His toughest test looks likely to come in the 4th round in the form of Novak Djokovic.

Other players and matches to keep an eye on; Can Juan Carlos Ferrero break the losing streak? The former King of Clay has lost six matches on the spin dating back to last season, and will be hoping to remind himself of what victory tastes like against Jan Hajek. Before Djokovic can think of a meeting with Federer, he will first have to get past double Olympic gold medallist, Nicolas Massu. Last year’s final could be this year’s quarter-final, if Marcos Baghdatis can get that far for a re-match with Federer. Three of the ATP’s current crop of young talents have been drawn in close proximity, Baghdatis, Gael Monfils and Richard Gasquet. However, 7th seed Tommy Robredo will be looking to uphold his ranking and make the quarter-finals at the expense of these youngsters.

The quarter of aces

A quarter containing Ivan Ljubicic, Mario Ancic, Joachim Johansson, Marat Safin and Andy Roddick can be described as nothing else. Despite the excellent serving likely to be on show from these players, only one at best will be making it out of this quarter in what would be a likely showdown with Roger Federer. Undoubtedly, the most anticipated match up of the first week is a possible 3rd round encounter between Safin and Roddick.

Mario Ancic and Joachim Johansson are set for a 2nd round meeting, meaning that at least two of these four big servers will be gone by the start of the 4th round. Ivan Ljubicic will like his chances of at least equalling his Melbourne performance from 2006, where he reached the quarter-finals. Before last year’s Australian Open, Ljubicic had never been beyond the 3rd round of any Grand Slam in 25 attempts. He backed up his Australian Open effort, by making the last four at the French Open, but has since reverted back to type with 3rd and 1st round exits at Wimbledon and the US Open respectively.

Who wants it?

The highest seeds in the third quarter are Nikolay Davydenko (3) and David Nalbandian (8), not only do they share the same quarter but they also share doubts over their fitness after early season injuries. At the time of writing both players are expected to start the tournament, but whether that remains the case is to be seen, or how long their injuries will hold up if indeed they do begin the tournament at all. There is never a good time to be injured, and both players will be cursing their luck, as each of them will consider they have strong possibilities to come through this quarter.

Brotherly love may be in order in the 2nd round if the Rochus (Olivier & Christophe) brothers can win their 1st round encounters and meet in the following round. Both face tough challenges in the form of Chris Guccione (for Olivier) and Sebastian Grosjean (for Christophe).

Looking to take advantage of the doubts surrounding Davydenko and Nalbandian, will be Tomas Berdych and Tommy Haas. It is approaching the time where tennis fans want to see if Berdych can realise some of his potential in Slams, or whether he will prove to be more hype than substance. The Czech has not yet been past the 4th round of a Slam in 13 attempts, and has an especially poor record to date in Melbourne (2 wins in 3 years). Tommy Haas has been to two Australian Open semi-finals in his career and will be hoping he can take advantage of a draw that sees him avoid Roger Federer (in early 2006 Haas saw Federer block his path in a number of tournaments).

Xavier Malisse versus Arnaud Clement is the pick of the 1st round matches from this quarter.

Who wants it II?

Number two seed, Rafael Nadal, cannot be considered a hot favourite to come through the bottom quarter given his form since Wimbledon 2006. The Spaniard began the season in Chennai, but was disposed of by Malisse, and then had to withdraw in the first set of his tournament in Sydney against Guccione. The injury is not considered serious enough to put his participation in doubt, but nonetheless it is a possible factor counting against him going deep.

In the match of the 1st round, James Blake faces Carlos Moya (both players will be meeting later today in the final in Sydney). The winner of the clash in Sydney will not only pick up a title, but also a huge psychological boost going into the battle in Melbourne. The pressure is on Blake to start delivering in Slams, as of yet, he has failed to reach the quarter-finals of a Slam outside of the USA.

Lleyton Hewitt comes into the 2007 tournament with a new coach, Scott Draper, after Roger Rasheed cut his ties with the former world number one. Hewitt will be encouraged to have avoided a number of players with the potential to blow him off court, and this represents an opportunity for him to build on the quarter-finals he made in the final two Slams of 2006. His first big challenge could come in the form of Fernando Gonzalez in the 3rd round. The Chilean has the firepower to shoot Hewitt down, and it could be another explosive 3rd round match to go with Safin-Roddick.

Another player who will be hoping to go deep into the second week is Andy Murray. A possible 4th round match with Nadal awaits him should both players reach that stage.

Let Sports Magician know how you see the draw developing. Sports Magician will be commenting on the Australian Open during the course of the two weeks.