2013 Australian Open...Melbourne, Australia

[don_budge]

I am too tired to post...please someone. Help me! Mc'd out.

Projected round of 16:

Djokovic (1) vs. Wawrinka (15)
Monaco (11) vs. Berdych (5)
Ferrer (4) vs. Nishikori (16)
Tipsarevic (8) vs. Almagro (10)

Del Potro (6) vs. Cilic (12)
Murray (3) vs. Simon (14)
Tsonga (7) vs. Gasquet (9)
Federer (2) vs. Raonic (2)

[tennis_chiro]

7 out of 10 doesn't matter!

I think those seedings would hold out 7 out of 10 times, especially in 3 out of 5 sets. The only one I would question would be Federer/Murray. I think Murray wins 3 of 5 times in 2013 against Federer. If you are trying to make a bet, your best bet (considering the odds you would get at Ladbrokes) would probably be Ferrer to make the semis.

One question I have is : Where is Jerzy and how is he playing?

don

[stotty]

Meet Pancho

[ATTACH]511[/ATTACH]

I'll get there with some posts on the Aussie Open soon. Had to drive half way across England then back to collect my new dog: A pedigree Boston Terrier. I am now zonked out tired....zzzzz

Today we named him Pancho, after Pancho Gonzales. (I was going to call him Sedgman or Drobny...but the kids pulled rank on me and decided Pancho was a more fun name.)

So meet Pancho. He's adorabubble!

[don_budge]

Pancho...

[ATTACH]511[/ATTACH]

I'll get there with some posts on the Aussie Open soon. Had to drive half way across England then back to collect my new dog: A pedigree Boston Terrier. I am now zonked out tired....zzzzz

Today we named him Pancho, after Pancho Gonzales. (I was going to call him Sedgman or Drobny...but the kids pulled rank on me and decided Pancho was a more fun name.)

So meet Pancho. He's adorabubble!

Congratulations!!! Man's best friend. He's found himself a good home.

[tennis_chiro]

Jerzy goes on...and on...and on...

Just got done watching almost the whole Janowicz/Devarmann match. I was really disappointed with the way he lost his cool at the end of the first set. He recovered enough to still get set point on a forehand volley in the TB, but after he lost the TB, he went away for the second set.

He must think he is still playing futures and he has to call the lines. He should just play the ball and let the umpires call the lines. He's only got a few more matches this year and maybe next when he won't have Hawkeye on the court, but he'll still have full braces of linesmen. So just play the damn calls. If I was his coach, I would be reading him the riot act about that routine. I'd make him watch a tape of it and see how stupid he looked. AND I'd make him take flowers to that chair umpire! Ridiculous. He really needs a strong coach to give him some guidance.

But the way he played from the beginning of the third set until he got up 4-1 in the third. Don_Budge, he goes to the net without an engraved invitation. Yeah, he dropshots a little too much, but when he does, he goes forward to intercept the volley.

Have to remember how few tour level matches he has played.(He played 7 main draw tour matches prior to the 6 he played in Paris at the end of the season!) He will have to play much smarter to get past Almagro, but his good shots will work against anyone. But the passes will get closer to the lines and he will not get away with the points he threw away today. Also, too many double faults the first two sets. He is a very young 22.

Great to see someone attack the forehand corner with depth and penetration. And then follow it up!

It's a longshot, but he could beat Almagro. Nicolas struggled with Steve Johnson on Monday. He doesn't like different. And then he probably faces two players he knows from Paris: Tipsarevic who owes him one and will be very ready and doubtfully, Ferrer who beat him in the Paris final.

Now for fooling around too long today, he has blisters on his right hand, but he misses the blistering weather forecast for tomorrow. Hopefully this match will be a wakeup for him. If he gets the guidance, definitely top 10 before the end of the year. Just a little smarter and he will be just great fun to watch; it's already pretty good!

And kudos for Devarmann for making a match of it in the 5th, but he was clearly overmatched.

Curious what you guys think. To me the rest looks like it is going according to form.

don

[don_budge]

Jerzy...how many times!!!

If I was his coach, I would be reading him the riot act about that routine. I'd make him watch a tape of it and see how stupid he looked. AND I'd make him take flowers to that chair umpire! Ridiculous. He really needs a strong coach to give him some guidance.

don

Well I can certainly see the conventional wisdom in what you say tennis_chiro. Great comments as well about the rest of the “Jerzy mystique”. You don't want to waste any energy on things that will not effect the outcome or bearing in a match. Not in that Australian heat! The flowers for the umpire might be a nice touch though...romantically speaking. A kiss...a promise too! Dinner for two! I have never heard of that being done. Not in a game where love means nothing.

But on the other hand we must resist the tendency of overreacting ourselves, it seems, and I don't mean just you. Just look at how this writer chose to portray this non event. Typical of the pc-attitude today. Anyone that defies the conventional thought or approach to life is portrayed as an outcast or deviant. Obvious brainwashing. This writer is already comparing him to the likes of McEnroe and saying things like "for all the wrong reasons". Sorry...I like my heroes flawed, but brave too. A little wild even. Real men.

To say that Jerzy went "ballistic" goes right in lock step with the current debate from the Oval Office as if he may be a threat to everyone in the stands. Look out...be afraid. They are coming for your guns! I hope he mows everyone one down the same way he did Devvarman...with perhaps an outburst in every match...all of the way to the finals. I am not so sheepish.

I am not afraid that there may be kids watching. For God's sake I hope that they are and they pull their fragile programmed minds out of their stupid smart phones for just long enough to form some sense of consciousness...maybe even an opinion of their own. Don’t get me wrong, I like the old fashioned Australian ethic as well...but a little diversity in this sense is not going to hurt things one bit. It's ok to feel emotions. It's ok to express them. Hopefully it shakes some of that comfortable, fuzzy feeling that the masses of sheeple feel a bit...gets them off their fat and lazy you know whats.

Like you, though, I don't want him to take his eye off the ball. That's what I would say to him as his coach. I would tell him that I love the passion and if he wants to wear his heart on his sleeve...that's ok by me. Just be prepared to draw fire and learn how to deflect it to his advantage. Use the drama. Learn to manage the dysfunction...the chaos. As his coach I would be praising the amount of courage that it took to come from a two sets to nothing disadvantage to prevail in the end. I would be egging him on...stoking the fire.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1486941-jerzy-janowicz-video-watch-poland-stars-meltdown-at-australian-open

Watch the video and decided for yourselves. He never used an obscenity or cursed anyone. He didn't lose his mind as the writer opens with in his opening salvo. He just had a bit of a "walkabout" right out in public. He somewhat bared his soul to everyone that was watching...he cares! Thank you Jerzy. He's passionate about what he is doing and not afraid to show it. Better to watch this "meltdown" which wasn't a melt down at all in my book...than all of the rest of the robots.

Perhaps it is too early to tell...but I can tell that you also are hoping and searching for someone to replace the Swiss Maestro. Someone exciting to watch. Someone who defies the conventional wisdom...perhaps the drop shots are overdone but he just happens to think this is his signature. What's the harm? I love the tactic of drawing the "robots" to the net. It takes them out of their comfort zone to the net...where they appear awkward and ill at ease. Otherwise we are faced with the boredom of Djokovic and Murray planted on the baseline...if Nadal and Federer don't return in force.

I want to see Jerzy standing up to the big moments as well, and against the big guns. He can't afford to be shy or reticent. Jerzy...kick some butt and take names! The game certainly could use a "McEnroe type" at this point.

[stotty]

Jerzy...

Just love Cat Stevens...that voice...distinctive...out on it's own....thanks for that, don_budge.

I haven't seen much of Jerzy to date. I'll make a point of watching his next match as tennis_chiro thinks he may be the real deal.

I watched the link pasted in the previous post by don_budge of Jerzy's outburst. Well...hmm...Jerzy made a meal of that one...the first five seconds were embarrassing to watch...not good...that's not baring your soul...that's acting like a dimwit. If a player has to act like an ass to make the game more interesting and feed us some gossip, there's something wrong with the game.

I agree with don_budge that Djokovic and Murray make a dull match-up, and a poor replacement for Federer and Nadal. We need Federer to play well and make the final. It will spice things up a bit.

Even don_budge must concede the game is missing the Spaniard. He has buzz around him that is hard to replace. The slams are so dull without him...

[tennis_chiro]

Passion is one thing; Stupidity is another

I have to agree with D_B's dismantling of the verbal spanking I would give Jerzy for his outbursts in his match against Devarmann. I wouldn't want to stifle his passion. But Jerzy is exciting because of the way he plays, not because of the verbal tantrums he may or may not throw in the course of a match. He has a wonderful, terrifically dynamic game. His strokes are almost a perfect model for my students (two-handers, of course); his willingness to go forward and finish at the net is almost unparalleled among the current crop of players (last 10 years); he moves as well as any player over 6' 5" that I have ever seen. The commentators don't seem to recongnize the depth of the tools that he has. I wonder what you guys think about those substantive issues.

All that said, he nearly lost a match to Devarmann and did lose the tie-breaker and the second set, at least partly if not wholly, because he lost his cool after 6-6 in the first set tie-breaker. That is simply not acceptable. Express emotions, sure, but in the midst of a tie-breaker with a full brace of umpires, you only get 2 seconds to enjoy the winner or wallow in your misery after an error. 2 seconds, then you have other work to do for the next point. That's really important.

When is the last time you saw Federer, Djokovic or Nadal waste that amount of energy on a bad call, especially in a tie-breaker. Maybe when they were teenagers, but not for a long time. If you want to be them, there are a few lessons you have to take seriously.

But you guys have to watch this guy play. He is a big underdog tonight against Almagro, but I'm really excited to try to see that match. If he should come through it, Jerzy will probably play Tipsarevic whom he beat in Paris. Confidence will be climbing. But that won't happen if he makes the kind of mental mistake he made in the TB with Devarmann.

don

PS About flower power: It's not about romance. It's about class. No it is never done, but he owed that lady an apology. He would forever be remembered among the umpires for the flowers, instead of for the meltdown.

I was once trying to get a number one doubles player to come play with one of my sponsors and he didn't want to get on a plane to fly back cross country. Plus his wife was expecting shortly. I sent flowers to the wife asking her forgiveness for taking her husband away from her for a few days, critical days. Of course, I was offering extra money too. After the flowers were delivered I called, and Fitzi got back on the plane and came to play with my sponsor. The nature of the conversation was entirely changed because I made points with his wife. Don't underestimate the power of flowers!

[stotty]

Mr Stretchy

More Houdini stuff from Djokovic. How is it I just knew Stan wasn't going to pull that one off? The match point was great. That Novak can really move, even after 5 hours tennis. Amazing physique he showed when he ripped off his shirt. Not an inch of fat...chisselled...not bulked out like Nadal. Apparently he stretches everywhere he goes and whenever he gets free moments, at airports, hotel lobbies, and anywhere he has to wait around.

Has anymore been more flexible than Djokovic. Wilander thinks not....me neither.

[don_budge]

Endurance...and Lance Armstrong

Watching Wawrinka and Djokovic play all the way through to 12-10 in the fifth set it was rather apparent that something very strange and something very peculiar was happening. Neither player appeared to be tired even though they had actually played six sets at break neck speed. Wawrinka has that Robocop build that is becoming the norm for tennis players these days. They are starting to resemble NFL football players in their physiques. Where do they find the time to go to the gym to pack on all of that muscle? Would one of the "developmental coaches" out there please answer that question? I have never witnessed any player that I have worked with become built like a Robocop with the endurance of a wolf.

Watching Djokovic running down impossible balls and coming to the most abrupt of stops while sliding on a hard court surface it is hard to phantom what kind of stress is occurring on his joints, cartilage and tissue. Afterall, I am assuming that he is human. Although you would never know it from his outward demeanor. Even when he rips his shirt off in the end it is a gesture that is somewhat outside the bounds of human expression...I think.

Even the announcers...Wilander and the other patsy were hard pressed for an explanation and they made it a point to not dwell on the subject for too long. When they did their comments were almost embarrassed as they tried to ignore the elephant in the living room...tip toeing gingerly around the subject of human limits.

Meanwhile Lance Armstrong is appearing on Oprah Winfrey and we get to witness what it looks like when you start believing your own lies. Living a lie is one thing...believing your own lies quite another. Drugs can help in that regard. Ask any addict. Lance is a very sick man...in more ways than one. He cannot open his mouth without lying anymore. Really pathetic. But anyways...one of the Rochus brothers from Belgium came out and made some comments about the doping culture in tennis again. He mentioned Nadal and Söderling by name.

Culture is a funny thing...human culture in particular. It seems that lying is a huge part of culture. Once you get the population believing it...well then you have something. Hollywood and Washington worked a lot of overtime to cook up the American culture...it took a lot of movies and a lot of speeches. To say nothing of alcohol and drugs...and bribes. It's almost comical that Djokovic's coach wears a FitLine hat...there's a message there for all of us to see and be distracted by. Only the most gullible though.

It's hard for me to believe that those two human beings could put their bodies through that type of punishment and get out of bed the next day. If they are using substances that help them to do just that...judging from what I saw and continue to see there will be hell to pay somewhere down the road. For the players...and the believers.

But anyways...all of the questions and doubts aside...including the elephant in the living room. It was above all else...one hell of a contest. Perhaps the real contest was decided in a petri dish somewhere. It's a matter of survival almost...it seems. If what I suspect is true then this pathological behavior and culture is going to make John McEnroe look like the Kindergarden Kid. So much for your role models if they are caught doping...what will that say to your proteges?

[stotty]

Watching Wawrinka and Djokovic play all the way through to 12-10 in the fifth set it was rather apparent that something very strange and something very peculiar was happening. Neither player appeared to be tired even though they had actually played six sets at break neck speed. Wawrinka has that Robocop build that is becoming the norm for tennis players these days. They are starting to resemble NFL football players in their physiques. Where do they find the time to go to the gym to pack on all of that muscle? Would one of the "developmental coaches" out there please answer that question? I have never witnessed any player that I have worked with become built like a Robocop with the endurance of a wolf.

Watching Djokovic running down impossible balls and coming to the most abrupt of stops while sliding on a hard court surface it is hard to phantom what kind of stress is occurring on his joints, cartilage and tissue. Afterall, I am assuming that he is human. Although you would never know it from his outward demeanor. Even when he rips his shirt off in the end it is a gesture that is somewhat outside the bounds of human expression...I think.

Even the announcers...Wilander and the other patsy were hard pressed for an explanation and they made it a point to not dwell on the subject for too long. When they did their comments were almost embarrassed as they tried to ignore the elephant in the living room...tip toeing gingerly around the subject of human limits.

Meanwhile Lance Armstrong is appearing on Oprah Winfrey and we get to witness what it looks like when you start believing your own lies. Living a lie is one thing...believing your own lies quite another. Drugs can help in that regard. Ask any addict. Lance is a very sick man...in more ways than one. He cannot open his mouth without lying anymore. Really pathetic. But anyways...one of the Rochus brothers from Belgium came out and made some comments about the doping culture in tennis again. He mentioned Nadal and Söderling by name.

Culture is a funny thing...human culture in particular. It seems that lying is a huge part of culture. Once you get the population believing it...well then you have something. Hollywood and Washington worked a lot of overtime to cook up the American culture...it took a lot of movies and a lot of speeches. To say nothing of alcohol and drugs...and bribes. It's almost comical that Djokovic's coach wears a FitLine hat...there's a message there for all of us to see and be distracted by. Only the most gullible though.

It's hard for me to believe that those two human beings could put their bodies through that type of punishment and get out of bed the next day. If they are using substances that help them to do just that...judging from what I saw and continue to see there will be hell to pay somewhere down the road. For the players...and the believers.

But anyways...all of the questions and doubts aside...including the elephant in the living room. It was above all else...one hell of a contest. Perhaps the real contest was decided in a petri dish somewhere. It's a matter of survival almost...it seems. If what I suspect is true then this pathological behavior and culture is going to make John McEnroe look like the Kindergarden Kid. So much for your role models if they are caught doping...what will that say to your proteges?

Great post.

For me most pro players can get through a 5 set match without a problem. It's the double quick recovery that is unreal. As I write, Giles Simon is wearily getting thrashed by Murray because his 5 set encounter with Monfils has left him sapped...that's normal. Simon is built like me and is my weight, 68kg...so no steroids one imagines...in me or him.

Last year at the Aussie Open, Djokovic had a gruelling 5 set match with Andy Murray and then less than 24 hours later had yet another 5-set marathon ding-dong with Nadal. Now that seems impossible. Giles Simon can barely walk...Djokovic looks as fresh as a daisy whatever he goes through.

Djokovic's incredible feat last year left me skeptical for the first time that something fishy is going.

As to ripping his shirt off, that's warrior behaviour...embarrassing, yes, but these days fairly normal in many sports. In soccer they do it all the time.

[stotty]

Boring Raonic

How boring is that Raonic! Frew McMillan said Tom Okker used to call players like Raonic lumberjacks. I must say that's a great name for that breed of player. Federer nicked through easily enough in the end but even he struggles to make a game like that interesting.

Federer is a great role model for children, isn't he? Just about the best the game could ever have...

[don_budge]

The interview...

Incredible interview of Federer by Jim Courrier. More later.

[tennis_chiro]

Love to hear more

Incredible interview of Federer by Jim Courrier. More later.

I'd love to hear more about the interview. The 7PM matches go on at midnight here and I am relying on LSHunter.com to see the Aussie Open; so only live coverage.

don

[don_budge]

Federer talking after Raonic match...

It was amusing but it bordered on being somewhat bizarre. Well you know me...always reading between the lines.

First off was a little discussion about Raonic. Federer owns him 3-0 but the first two were close matches. A match on a very slick hard court and then one on some grass. Raonic had that "lumberjack" look about him that Stotty mentioned and I will say this...he was out for some time with a hip injury and it wouldn't surprise me if he may have more problems. He seems gangly and awkward.

Federer had him so off balance all of the time because he is too tall and his legs are too long to play from the backcourt with these guys. Federer had him so tied up on the deuce court serving too him because Raonic had to move over ever so slightly to defend his two hand backhand...which gave Roger just enough room to slide it out wide where it was unplayable. Then he just proceeds to abuse him from there. In my opinion...Raonic should be playing one handed and making every effort to take the net. His build dictates that it will be "healthier" for him to be moving forwards than to be lunging side to side. And that is what he was doing for the duration of this match...lunging. Federer wrong footed him at every opportunity. Raonic looked like a fish out of water.

But the interview was a bit strange. While Roger appears to be very loose this interview was so loose that he seemed to be "high". Even Courier was saying after a while..."we don't even speak the same language". Courier asked Roger about the t-shirt that he wore because it was cooler last night and Roger went into this bit about how he wore it but his opponents get scared when he takes off his warmup and they see his unusually large and muscular physique. He went on and on about how they were especially intimidated by his left arm...his other arm. Because it was so big and muscular. This conversation struck me as very peculiar.

Then they started to talk about the Djokovic and Wawrinka match and they sort of skirted the subject about how long and how physical it was which to me was very odd seeing as it was perhaps the most physical match that I have ever seen. Roger then went into some babble about he thought it would be cool to play six or seven five set matches in the course of two weeks and how long it would take to recover from such an effort...months or years he said? He discussed how recovery was part of the job and if one could just see this again...maybe youtube will post it...much of the discussion seemed to be an inside joke between he and Courier. Courier has been quoted making some rather provocative about doping in the tennis culture as well. I would dearly love to see a replay of this interview as they were the strangest remarks that I have ever heard Federer make. The bit about his over-sized left arm was particularly bizarre as he went about it for some time about it.

So who does he play next...Tsonga right? There's another of these guys with a Robocop look about him. An NFL linebacker. I think it is getting so obvious that the cat is halfway out of the bag. Federer and Courier sort of let us in on that much. Strange days...in the wake of the Lance Armstrong scandal and revelations. The tennis culture seems to be on edge. But the bodies are out there in full view for everyone. It is a good thing they don't wear the short shorts of yesteryear...the thighs are rippling like broiler chickens...which incidentally are on steroids.