22 January 2009

Australian Open

I have not watched any Australian Open matches yet. Maybe I'll catch up this weekend.

I'll be keeping a close watch on Andy Murray this year. The way he beat Nadal at the last U.S. Open was very impressive. If I were coaching a young player I would make him/her watch that match over and over. It was a textbook example of executing a game plan. Murray may look like a dorky teenager but he's one of the best thinkers out there.

Nadal and Murray are in the same side of the draw and could meet once again in the semis. That could be pretty interesting.

"This is probably the best I've felt coming into a Grand Slam," Murray was quoted in CBSsports.com. He was runner-up in the last Grand Slam so if he feels better this time, he could definitely be in position to contend.

Venus Williams already lost. Serena is still in it. Speaking of Serena, here is one artist's funny-'cause-it's-true rendering of her:


sans bling

If Federer wins, he will tie Pete's record of 14 Slams. It took Pete 14 years to do that, starting with his first U.S. Open title at age 19 and his last U.S. Open (his fifth) at the age of 31. By contrast, Federer has taken 10 years to amass his 13 Slams by age 27. If it doesn't seem that long it's because Federer turned pro in 1998 but didn't win a Slam until 2003. And we all know the story since then.

2 comments:

Allison Johnson said...

Murray definitely has the potential to do some damage this year, it's nice to see him maturing a bit. I keep on waiting for Monfils to make the same kind of breakthrough and he never does. Also looking forward to Safin v. Federer.

Anonymous said...

The only funny joke in the god-awful sports movie The Comebacks was a very similar gag.