2017 Australian Open...ATP 2000...Melbourne, Australia

[don_budge]

Ladies and Gentlemen (plus 1 germ): The 2017 Australian Open...ATP 2000...Melbourne, Australia

Roger Federer in the house. Period. Any Questions?

Here's the draw:

http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/scores/current/australian-open/580/draws

[klacr]

Let's get this tournament going!

I am pumped. First major of the year. I am prepping for the sleep deprivation. Melbourne time it is for the next two weeks. Sleep is for the weak.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[don_budge]

Roger Federer...the #17 seed at the 2017 Australian Open

Number seventeen? That hardly seems fair. Obviously he has been out of action for a long time. Oh well...he's going to have to toss the dice a number of times if he is going anywhere in this tournament.

He gets a break in the first couple of rounds as he has three qualifiers in his initial foursome bracket. Assuming that he can claw his way through these guys who would love to have his scalp on their belt he is looking at klacr's boy Tomas Berdych in the third round. The round of thirty-two. After that he just may be looking at Kei Nishikori. All in all it's not so bad. It could be worse being the number seventeen seed.

There are so many variables working in this delicate equation but the most important may be his age...hence his conditioning. But I would love to see him last as long as possible because once he is gone...the most interesting aspect of the tournament is gone.

I think Andy Murray as the number one seed has a pretty easy draw. Novak has an interesting start against Fernando Verdasco. Verdasco has been known to run really hot and cold. The match he had with Djokovic at Qatar he should have won, but that was a two out of three affair. He's got his hands full if he thinks he has any chance of taking out Djokovic in a three out of five format. The three out of five changes everything. That's why they call it "Slams" and not some other such thing.

[stroke]

The betting odds:

Novak and Andy +150, Stan +1100, Nadal +1200, Fed and Raonic +1600, Nishikori +2200, Kyrgios and Dimitrov +3300, Cilic and Berdych +5000, Tsonga and Tomic +6600

[don_budge]

Roger Federer in the House...

When Federer is in the draw it is a whole another story. In this case he may not make it to the finals or even the semis. He could lose next round. But he makes it all that much more interesting. All of a sudden the draw is alive with "what if's" and who plays who. In Roger's case he plays another qualifier. Noah Rubin who took five sets to be done with his compatriot.

In his first match back on the comeback trail he looked as if he was in fine form. When I left he had 16 aces on Jurgen Meltzer in a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 winning effort. He started a little shaky and Meltzer was taking full advantage of a big chance after navigating his way through the qualifying. At one point in the third set Federer hit three aces in a row. After he got the rhythm of the match it was a foregone conclusion.

Assuming Federer can get through the next round he is looking at the winner of Tomas Berdych (you know who's boy) and Ryan Harrison. Harrison has been showing signs of making a dent in some draws in the past year. He is 0-1 against Berdych. He lost to Tomas 6-4, 6-7, 6-4 on a hard court last year in Canada. So he has some additional motivation. I don't think that Berdych has stolen any of his girlfriends however. Berdych played one set in his first round and his opponent retired. Harrison took out Nikolas Mahout in straight sets. If Berdych is a little shaky who knows?

[klacr]

Round 3. Federer vs. Berdych. Bring it!!!

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[tennis_chiro]

Whatever else you want to say about him, I would love to see Nadal and Djokovic be forced to play at the pace demonstrated by Seppi and Kyrios. I only saw the second half of the last set, but despite Kyrios's problem of some kind, he didn't stall at all. 20 seconds between points. Hell, after three hours,they were barely taking 10. And that was with either of them serving. And going to the towel.

don

[stroke]

Last year AO, Tomic said he was ready for top 10, and Fed said that Tomic was not close to top 10, he needs to find "his next level, whatever that is". This year, Fed said that Kyrgios is not ready to win the AO, after there was a lot of pre tournament buzz about him being a true contender here, a buzz Nick seemed to agree with. Fed may be the best at cutting to the chase also. Nick's attitude, Fognini like when he is not happy with way things are going, is just a no.

[don_budge]

Last year AO, Tomic said he was ready for top 10, and Fed said that Tomic was not close to top 10, he needs to find "his next level, whatever that is". This year, Fed said that Kyrgios is not ready to win the AO, after there was a lot of pre tournament buzz about him being a true contender here, a buzz Nick seemed to agree with. Fed may be the best at cutting to the chase also. Nick's attitude, Fognini like when he is not happy with way things are going, is just a no.

Yep...up two sets to love and didn't close it out. One of the hallmarks of a true legitimate champion is the ability to close out an opponent when they have them on the ropes. Kyrgios let Seppi back into the match and paid the ultimate price. A disappointing 10-8 in the fifth loss in the first round. No Grand Slam titles in the future for this undisciplined character. Mats Wilander had some questions about Kyrgios in the aftermath. Andreas Seppi? He's a great journeyman professional and he picks his spots to shine in but he has never demonstrated the iron will that it takes to get the job done. Not in a big way. So the saga of Kyrgios continues. One day he may have a come to Jesus moment and realize how much time and talent he has actually wasted with his hot dogging and grandstanding. Complaining and gesturing. He will definitely have to get his attitude and mental approach to the game within three sigma of the control limits because as of now he is out of control in both departments.

[don_budge]

Round 3. Federer vs. Berdych. Bring it!!!

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

A real test for both players. Advantage to Berdych but don't count Federer out. It may help to fuel the fire for Federer if he feels that he is the underdog here. He was loose and relaxed in his interview when discussing his next round with Berdych. Roger served very well and he road his serve to the second round victory...I only saw match point by chance. He is definitely going to have to take care of business on his serve because if Berdych gets it into his mind that he can grind it out against Federer, Roger might be in for a long match and a disappointing one at that. Come on Roger!!!

[don_budge]

Whatever else you want to say about him, I would love to see Nadal and Djokovic be forced to play at the pace demonstrated by Seppi and Kyrios. I only saw the second half of the last set, but despite Kyrios's problem of some kind, he didn't stall at all. 20 seconds between points. Hell, after three hours,they were barely taking 10. And that was with either of them serving. And going to the towel.

don

Interesting point regards Djokovic and Nadal. They never cease to amaze me with their pre-serve rituals which I am going to call "antics" now because they exceed everything that I think is reasonable. Nadal's ticks are absolutely nauseating to anyone but himself but he is way too self absorbed to be concerned about that. Djokovic must be in the same self absorbed category with his bouncing of the ball sometimes exceeding 25 bounces on the first and second serve combined. What the hell is the receiver thinking standing there waiting? Why don't they start stepping out of position after the seventh or eighth bounce...make the prima donnas start the thing over or perhaps they just might realize what a show they are making and abbreviate their "antics".

[don_budge]

The Bottom Half...A Shocker


This is how the demise starts to unravel. A shocking loss to the number 117 ranked player in the world. Novak Djokovic loses to Denis Istomin in five sets. Novak looking shakier and shakier over time...over the past year. Inconsistent results. Lacking the overall invincibility and starting to show signs of attaining new lows in performance. An interesting situation now that Andy Murray has seemingly stepped up to the plate. This may open things up for Stan Wawrinka if he chooses to contend this year. What about Fafa Nadal?

[klacr]

Istomin was on a different level than he has ever been during that Djokovic match. Novak has never lost a grand slam match to a guy ranked outside top 100. Istomin won the Asian wildcard tournament to even get into Aussie Open, in which he saved 4 match points just to advance. Djokovic had no answers against him, very un-Djokovic like.

Djokovic's early loss pretty much guarantees Murray will remain #1 player until at least Wimbledon.

Berdych and Federer later tonight. For me its a win/win. Love both players but out of loyalty to my #1 I have to play the villain, contrarian and mood spoiler by cheering for Berdych.

It's 2017, Federer trying to add to his 17 major titles. Last grand slam won by a 17th seed was Pete Sampras at his final US Open.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[stroke]

Zverev vs Nadal next round. A lot of questions will be answered there. I, like McEnroe, think Sock is headed to top 10 this year and could really advance here. And of course the Raonic serve.

[klacr]

Yep...up two sets to love and didn't close it out. One of the hallmarks of a true legitimate champion is the ability to close out an opponent when they have them on the ropes. Kyrgios let Seppi back into the match and paid the ultimate price. A disappointing 10-8 in the fifth loss in the first round. No Grand Slam titles in the future for this undisciplined character. Mats Wilander had some questions about Kyrgios in the aftermath. Andreas Seppi? He's a great journeyman professional and he picks his spots to shine in but he has never demonstrated the iron will that it takes to get the job done. Not in a big way. So the saga of Kyrgios continues. One day he may have a come to Jesus moment and realize how much time and talent he has actually wasted with his hot dogging and grandstanding. Complaining and gesturing. He will definitely have to get his attitude and mental approach to the game within three sigma of the control limits because as of now he is out of control in both departments.

Kygios is that kid in high school who WANTS to brag about getting a good score without studying. He still thinks it’s cool to be seen to have unfulfilled potential. He plays up his non-dedication as much as Houston Texans football player JJ Watt plays up his dedication, and it’s both for the same ultimate reason: so that people will talk about them. Kyrgios WANTS people to gush over how talented he is, and how if he only tried a little harder he could be the greatest in the world. He’ll coast off his early victories over Federer and Nadal for the rest of his career, content to let people think that his upward trajectory in his early years necessarily guaranteed that he had the talent to keep moving upward. He wants to be able to hide behind the excuse that he ‘never loved the game’ for justification for never achieving anything over a few exciting wins. He’s an attention whore, basically.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton