Molik, Hewitt Hot in Night Session

Lleyton Hewitt capped off a successful night for Tennis Australia, downing American Michael Russell well after midnight following Alicia Molik's winning to return Rod Laver Arena in the night session.

Molik struggled briefly, but came through in straights, winning 6-4, 7-6(2) against Yung Jan-Chan of China. Hewitt, on the other hand, had to pull out all his cards to get through a grueling 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 win over Russell.

It was a catastrophic night for both players, who hadn't seen glory on the stadium court since the 2005 AO. Last year, Molik was out with a nasty inner-ear infection and Hewitt won his opening match (on Vodafone) before losing in round two.

The buzz around the court following both wins was certainly one of wishful thinking: can the hometown girl get back to the top where she belongs? Are Hewitt's glory days not yet over?

It's hard to say about either. Hewitt had many talking in '05 when he charged all the way through to the finals, only to fall to Safin and evaporate back into the middle of the pack later that year. Meanwhile, Molik was hit and miss for much of her comeback last year, barely able to string two wins together following her maiden voyage to a major quarterfinal in 2005.

Yet with a little Aussie encouragement and the glow of the summer night at Melbourne Park, both these mid-20s 'veterans' certainly have the chance to give it another go in week two of their home slam.

Nearly Pin-possible

Camille Pin, the 25-year-old Frenchwoman, nearly took out first-seeded Maria Sharapova in the second day of the Australian Open. The Russian teen took the 2 hour, 53 minute match 6-3, 4-6, 9-7 in stifling Melbourne heat.

Sharapova breezed through the opening set 6-3 before the diminutive Pin's retrieving game got to the US Open champ in the second, taking the set 6-4.

In the third, Sharapova jumped out to an immediate 5-0 lead and a desperate failed line call challenge by Pin seemed to be the nail in the coffin. Yet the veteran dug deep and held serve for 1-5, then reeled off the next four games, stopping match points from Sharapova twice and evening the match at 5 all.

The two would trade holds for 6-6 and when Sharapova lost her opening service point in that game, she tapped a ball over the net to Pin's side, in obvious confidence that she was in a third-set tiebreak. But at the AO, the third sets are played out, and the chair judge quickly reminded Sharapova, who promptly dropped her service game and fell behind 6-7, 15-30.

It was do-or-die for the two-slam winner at that point, and Sharapova came up with a splendid down-the-line forehand and a whizzing cross-court winner back-to-back to take a 30-40 lead. From that point on, it was all Sharapova. Pin double faulted to give the break back and Sharapova won the next two games and the match, 9-7.

It surely wasn't the start Sharapova and others had anticipated. Pin was a dismal 2-14 in grand slam matches coming into the day, and hadn't been to the second round of a major since last year's Aussie.

But the little speedster from Nice gave Sharapova all the trouble she could handle for the second two sets. Sharapova often looked exhausted, slumping her shoulders and taking refuge in the shade near the back of the court in 90-degree weather.

In the end it was the younger, more powerful Sharapova who was able to come out with the win. Hitting the big shots when she needed to and forcing her opponent to scramble meters behind the baseline. Unlike her meltdown at last year's French to Dinara Safina, in which Sharapova led 5-1 and lost 5-7 in the third, the Russian was able to dig deep and chalk up her first win of 2007.

Ah, The Wonders of the Web

Since June I've been without a television. It was mostly a choice. As a college student, you make decisions - sacrifices - about you have access to and what you don't. Living with four other people, three of which don't watch TV in the first place, it was an easy vote when the TV issue came up at our first house meeting. No cable in the house, which means no tennis for me.

But come Wimbledon it was a little too much for me. I used to savor getting up every summer morning growing up, finishing my paper route and settling in front of the tube for Breakfast at Wimbledon. Luckily with the invention of our good friend the internet, it's almost impossible to miss a beat at the year's majors.

Yesterday I watched Roddick in his epic tie-breaker. Digging himself a hole (6-7, 2-5) and climbing right back out. That was courtesy of ESPN 360. I listened to Mauresmo struggle, but get through Shenay Perry to open the day and fell asleep to the sounds of Aussie commentators chatting about Serena's over-sized earrings and surprising lack of errors.

My favorite feature of the Australian Open website is their radio section. Though the feed is delayed a minute or so, the commentators are a nice break from the dreariness of Mary Carillo and the predictability of Tracey Austin, etc. The accents are to die for and the voices remind you that this really is an Aussie event...something I think we tend to forget through our glowing boxes via ESPN.

It's incredible the accessibility I can have online. I can watch on 360, listen on RA, watch the live scoreboard from AO and look at pictures, read analyses, and low and behold...blog about all of it when I'm through. Am I a full-functioning product of the 21st century, and though sometimes that scares and disgusts me, it's what I do best.

Day two brings Stosur, Hewitt and Molik. A truly Australian day at the Aussie Open, one that I'll enjoy from the comfort of my Seattle home.

Aus-mas? Au-nnukah? Aus-giving?

This is the time of the year that I really feel like a kid at Christmas: checking websites for scores, re-checking ESPN.com for their TV schedule, calling friends to re-arrange plans to hang out, writing down when and where I'll be watching in my schdule...if only eggnog and a decorated tree were apart of my Aussie habits then it'd be a full-fledged holiday.

But that's what the Australian Open is, and always has been about - a holiday after the holidays. It's a slam that sits alone on the calendar, four months after the US Open and five months before Roland Garros. For tennis fans - especially in America - it's a mid-winter break that kind of feels like a beach front vacation. The television glows of humid green courts and fans sip their Heinekens under umbrellas while players dash across the MELBOURNE-laiden court.

Irresistable.

The Ones to Watch: Men
A few days ago I wrote in-depth about three men and three women who I think are all going to be players to watch Down Under this year. The draw is set and in a few hours the first ball will be tossed and the 2007 edition of the Australian Open will be under way. Aside from Federer, Nadal and Blake, there is a barrage of men that I am itching to watch in this first major of the New Year.

Andy Roddick's improbable run at Kooyong this past week was certainly impressive. Though his ATP media file still reads 1-12 against Fed, this mental boost really will help the always head-weary Roddick. I thought that a Connors-less Aussie would mean a week one exit, but A-Rod certainly proved this last week that he is a big boy and can play on his own. If he can get his first couple matches out of the way (including a third-round encounter with Mr. Moody himself: Safin) then I really see Roddick going far, real far. A quarterfinal clash is expected against Ljubicic, but I don't know if the Croatian can get past Mardy Fish in the opening round. Both tournament organizers and I would love to see a Roddick-Federer blockbuster semi.

Novak Djokovic isn't a player that anyone knew of a year ago. Well, very few new of him anyway. His explosion at the French Open (he made the quarters) and a solid finish to 2006 launched him into the top 20 by year end. Now the teenager from Serbia has won his opening tournament of '07 in Australia and is looming in the fourth round for Mr. Federer. Though this youngster can be streaky, he is a validated opponent for King Fed. Not only will he win a set off Federer, but perhaps even two. Beat him? Probably not. But the future of tenis always gives a good show in the mid-week of a major.

Marcos Bagdahtis was the Mr. Sensational of the 2006 AO. He shared the title of crowd favorite with Martina Hingis and rid his guile, gut and hustle to a dramatic finals with Federer. Though many thought the Cypriot would faulter following his performance in Melbourne last year, he had a respectable rest of the year and enters the tournament as the 14th seed. Lurking in the third round is a possible encounter with fellow-under 21 club member Richard Gasquet. Consistency will be the name of the game for these two. Whomever can control their cannons better (oh how I love the Gasquet backhand) will find himself in a quarterfinal match-up with the defending champ himself.

Dmitry Tursonov is in the top quarter of the bottom half of the draw, AKA the Soft Zone. Davydenko is the projected semifinalist in this quarter and Nalbandian the eighth seed. Though both those veterans make viable candidates for a final four birth, the charismatic Russian-turned-American Tursonov is a fun one to watch. He carried Russia on his shoulders to win the Davis Cup title last fall, going 4-0 in singles including his monumental 17-15 in the fifth win over Roddick in Moscow. His game is as quirky as his blog, but if he can gain some consistency through his opening two matches I see him as a threat to go deep.

Andy Murray is no longer Britain's hope for the future, he is now their present. The Scot made his debut at Wimbledon in 2005 and has followed his success there with a well-thought out schedule and execution. The acquisition of new coach Brad Gilbert means we will all be spaired of Gilbert's mostly confusing commentary on ESPN, but the move by Murray was certainly a good one. He placed third in the Kooyong exhibition, losing to Roddick but beating Safin in the consolation round. He has no points to defend in Melbourne and could be a fourth-round threat to Mr. Speed himself, Rafael Nadal. Though Murray will have to be ball striking'ly brilliant to overcome Nadal, it is certainly possible.

My predictions: Quarterfinals - Federer def. Bagdhatis(5 sets); Roddick def. Ferrer(3); Nalbandian def. Tursonov(4); Blake def. Nadal(4).
Semifinals - Roddick def. Federer(5); Blake def. Nalbandian(4).
Finals - Blake def. Roddick 6-2, 5-7, 7-6(1), 6-3.

The Ones to Watch: Women
Maria Sharapova is the top seed at a major for the first time in her life. Sharapova has always had good results in Melbourne, including her epic semifinal last year against JHH in which she got robbed (literally) on two bad line calls. Though the Capriati-Williams match will always be remembered as the moment that gave us instant replay, both calls that went against Sharapova in the third were on game points...meaning she should've been up 4-2 in the third, not Henin. Regardless, Sharapova comes into this slam a little mysterious. She didn't play an official warm up, rather opting for Hong Kong and playing decent tennis there. No one gets more emotionally motivated for the majors, however, and the reigning US Open champ will be sure to bring her "A" game.

Aravane Rezai is a French tennager who has risen from No. 497 in the world in 2004 to 40th in the rankings this week. Last year she played a bundle of satellite tournaments before quafifying for the French. She won two matches, including a three-set victory over 22nd seeded Sugiyama before losing to eventual semifinalist Vaidisova in the 3rd round. She failed to qualify for Wimbledon and went back to the challenger circuit, winning a few matches and gaining direct entry to the US where she went all the way to the fouth round. This fiesty teen has a solid baseline game and enough family trouble to motivate her to do well on the court. Wins over Sprem, Kirilenko, Krajicek and Groenfeld (twice) certainly boosted her confidence last fall as well. If she can get past the bizarre play of countrywoman Emelie Loit in the opening round, I think she can prove to be a major force through the fourth round...perhaps giving Clijsters a little trouble there.

Martina Hingis was the kid in the candy store last year at the Australian Open. She smiled almost after every point, waived to the crowds, curtsed, bowed and blew kisses. A year later Hingis is back in reality, a still legitimate top-ten player...but is she anything more? She compiled wins over most of the top names last year, won a couple titles, but was just 3-2 at the majors following the French. Another quarterfinal loss to Clijsters (Hingis' new found nemesis) will prove to be, well, disappointing.

Serena Williams. Oh, Serena Williams. She was ranked 95th to end '06, her worst year-end ranking since '97, when she was 16. Her loss her last year (as then defending champion) to Daniela Hantuchova was in an eerily familiar scenario: "I was injured, but now I'm back...and no one can touch me." But already she's been touched: Sybille Bammer knocked her out in Hobart and her draw is anything but favorable. First, 27th ranked Mara Santangelo and then potential match ups with Michaella Krajicek, Nadia Petrova and Jelena Jankovic. A repeat performance for Serena again this year? I think so.

Jelena Jankovic is the hottest player on the WTA Tour right now. Though she lost to Clijsters in the finals of Sydney (blew a championship point in the second set), the Serb beat Hingis, Mauresmo and Vaidisova on the way to the finals. She has an 8-1 record so far this season and is improving her mental game (remember the US Open semis?) with every tournament. The thing I love abou this girl is how much you can tell she is loving playing on the tour, tennis is her passion and passionate people do well in what they love. Her no-woman's-land part of the draw is certainly favorable, too.

Predictions: Quarterfinals - Sharapova def. Molik(2 sets); Clijsters def. Hingis(3); Jankovic def. Golovin(3); Mauresmo def. Vaidisova(2).
Semifinals - Clijsters def. Sharapova(3); Mauresmo def. Jankovic(3).
Final - Clijsters def. Mauresmo 6-4, 6-2.

Happy Aus-mas/Au-nnukah/Aus-giving everyone!

Just Re-Jenn-erating?

I can't resist the opportunity to blog about my favorite player of all time: Jennifer Capriati, when news of her surfaces. From the time she made her unpredictable and unprecedented comeback in 2001, I have been a huge fan of this former teen phenom. Though I was too young to remember much of her golden days, (I was four when she debuted in Miami in '90), watching old matches through YouTube and ESPNClassic I can see why Capriati captured the hearts of so many tennis enthusiasts.

Capriati has been a ghost on the WTA Tour for the last two calendar years, last competing in the fall of 2004 following her tremendous run to the US Open semifinals (including the dramatic "Wow, that ball was so far in" win over Serena Williams). Injuries have always hampered Capriati in one way or another, but a bad shoulder have kept her at bay for 27 months and rumors have circled time and again that she is thinking about anything but a return to the court.
Yet Capriati made a special appearance at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Wednesday, appearing on behalf of Sony Ericsson...a sure sign that the game's diva of divas in fact may not be finished.

In fact, she talked candidly (though non-committal) about her attempts to return to the game in an interview with Variety TV. What I have always loved about Jennifer Capriati is her ability to hint at things without really giving much information. She has always been personal with the media in a disconnected sort of way (remember the Matthew Perry debacle?)...and always ready to ask for her space.

A Capriati prediction? I just don't know. I'd love to see her back late spring to prepare for the French, but the way she hesitated to say she was only "working out" and not "practicing" means to me that she hasn't been hitting the court hard yet and might be back on the tour by summer at the earliest.

Until then, I'll continue to watch replays of my favorite Jen moments: her freaking out at the umpire in the 2002 Aussie Final (she got the linesman removed) and her "I didn't see the ball, so just keep playing, Serena!" attitude during the infamous line call at the US Open in '04. Now that's good tennis...or maybe just good tempers?

Blogging on Blogs

The award for best female website went to Maria Sharapova, and I think I'll have to award the male version of this coveted prize to Mr. Rafael Nadal. Check out his Web site for up-to-date stats, tons of pictures of Nadal and videos, blogs and special features that you can't find anywhere else.

If you're not into quality and would prefer - um - not quality, then I would recommend the website and blog of teenager Caroline Wozniacki. This girl has a solid future on the court, and has been a mainstay on the junior circuit for a couple years while getting her feet wet on the pro tour. She has just made the official leap to the pros, but that doesn't say anything of her blogging ability. Check out page 4 of her blog to hear her side of the scandal at the US Open that eventually got her defaulted.

Basically if you're in the mood for lots of:

• :)
• !
• "Hey everybody!"

Then check out Wozniacki's site.

I really like the blogs that both the WTA Tour and the ATP are putting on their sites during the season. It's great to read about the players day-to-days and really see what's going through their heads...though I could've gone without the awkward pictures that Kristof Vliegen posted from Auckland.

Coaching Matters

Justine Henin (now minus the 'Hardenne'?) won't be joining the field at the Aussie next week. She cited pesonal reasons for her withdrawal and requested that the media "respect her privacy." Yet the loner personality of Henin has brought about rumors - that Justine has not denied - that she and husband Pierre have split.

Joel Drucker's piece on what he calls Justine's "only man" is insightful and well written. Check this article out, I highly recommend it.

And while one coach may have been a catalyst of a shortened marriage another is staying half-way around the world from his pupil. Andy Roddick announced in Kooyong today that he "doubts" Jimmy Connors will join him in Australia following the death of Connors' mother yesterday. While Connors attends to family matters, can Roddick make way on his uphill battle as the Comeback Kid?

Woes of The Williamses

Ut oh. Serena Williams flamed out of Hobart today. Is three matches enough to get Serena ready for the Aussie? A little match play certainly helps Williams' chances...but historically we've seen that Williams needs to be more match-tough than fit to win titles. (See "The Serena Slam": a nine-month span that was injury-free for Williams.)

In other news, Venus says the AO is a no-go.

Is one Williams enough to carry the family flag in Melbourne?

A Weighty Issue

Serena Williams has not looked anything like her former slam-winning self this past week in Hobart. Her fitness and her play will certainly be tested at Melbourne starting Monday. Can the former Queen of the Court return to her dominance?

AO Full-Field Preview: Sunday, January 14th.

Season Oh Seven Is Upon Us

Coming out of the holiday season always means one thing for the general public: trim down and shape up. Whether it's weight we've gained through Christmas cookies or excessive eggnog, we are all hoping to shed some of our winter extras through a variety of New Year's pledges that most of the time never tend to stick around. Going to the gym today certainly put that truth on display for me. Every cardio machine was taken, and while I am never one to be impatient, I didn't feel like it was fair that I (a hard-working eliptical user) had to wait while a young woman in green dress pants chatted away on her cell phone and skimmed through the pages of Vanity Fair while I waited.

This time of year means something completely different for the touring tennis players of the WTA and ATP tours. While they don't have to stand in any such cardio lines waiting for Miss Social to finish her conversation slash "workout", the pros of the men's and women's tours should have already put in their time at the gym. Following their respective tour ending tournaments (usually in early/mid November) players take a vacation for a week or two before hitting the weights and running their sprint drills to get in top form for the year's most grueling grand slam.

The Australian Open has always been - to me - the most difficult slam for this reason alone. Coming out of the off season, players not only need to be able to shake off their early-season rust but also must be in great shape to win seven straight matches in the mid-summer heat of Melbourne. Look at what the past has proven: Agassi, Capriati, Henin-Hardenne and Federer are all players that took not only their tennis but their fitness seriously and reaped the benefits of an early-year slam victory.

So true is this statement in 2007. Global warming is no joke my friends; our friends Down Under are in for some serious heat on the court. Here's a look at my top prospects on both the men's and women's side of the draw:

Men
Roger Federer (SUI) - The three-slam sultan from 06 is back this year for the piece of history he is yet to claim: The Grand Slam. Federer conquered everything but the clay last year and barring any sort of Murray in Montreal repeats, the Fed has a legitimate shot. He won the season-ending championships with ease following his three-set match-points down win over Roddick in the round robin and consistently arrives in Australia in top condition both physically and mentally. The thing I love about Fed is how cool and calm he is: he understands that his time off is important and uses it not only to rest his batteries, but to recharge them.

Rafael Nadal (ESP) - The two-time French champ needs to start to figure his game out off the clay in order to continue what has been an impressive rivalry with Federer the past two years. Following his loss to Fed in the finals at Wimbledon, Rafa had a poor summer hardcourt season that ended with a quarterfinal loss to Youzhny at the Open. The fall didn't treat our ferocious Spaniard friend much better, he didn't reach a final in three Masters Series events and lost in straights to Fed to end an extremely average (minus Rome and Paris) year. The thing I love about Nadal is his ability to bounce back, both physically and mentally. Look for him to show up in Melbourne with biceps bulging and hungry for his first non-clay slam title.

James Blake (USA) - The sentimental favorite of 2006 could become the odds makers favorite of 2007. James Blake has consistently gotten stronger since his disastrous 2004 when he lost his father, fell ill to shingles and suffered a broken bone. 2006 saw this former Yale student stand up to the big guns with his huge forehand and beautiful backhand. His performance at the season ending championships (a round robin win over Nadal and runner-up to Federer) is one reason why I see 07 being such a good year for Blake, but it's also his commitment to his fitness and overall health. I got to see Blake up close at a movie theatre in Manhattan and you can tell this guy is a real athlete, smooth and agile. If he can stand the Australian heat, I see him going far.

Women
Amelie Mauresmo (FRA) - The most intriguing story of the women's tour in 2006 (over Martina Hingis' comeback) was Mauresmo and her defeat of the Choke Demon. Her storyline couldn't have been more ironic: the girl who always came up short, never won the big one...on the brink of slam greatness at the Australian and both her semifinal and final opponents retire before she can conquer the thing that has haunted her for so long. How much sweeter Melbourne made London in this case. Mauresmo had a stellar year, winning two slams, playing the "match of the year" against Henin in the Wimbledon final and steering through the latter part of the season with still as much courage and motivation as she did prior to her grand slam glory. Maybe she can rekindle some of her Melbourne magic from 99 and 06 to add a third title to her case.

Kim Clijsters (BEL) - I can't help but be frustrated slash angry with Kim Clijsters. Retiring? Retiring? Didn't she pay any attention to the Martina Hingis Comeback Tour? Hasn't she the brain power to figure out a schedule that will take less toll on her body but still employ her as a part-time WTA champion? I guess not. And that's why Clijsters turned down an offer from the Belgium tennis federation to represent the country in the 2008 olympics. Though Clijsters motivations remain mysterious to me (Children?!? Marriage?!?) I don't see her doing much in 2007. She had a mediocre finish to 06, but certainly was handicapped by a lack of match play at the end of the year. Will she wilt away into tennis could-have-beens? Or will Clijsters go out without the one-slam wonder tag attached to her name? I pick the former. Yet she's always fared well in Australia...

Alicia Molik (AUS) - My Martina Hingis of 2007. Alicia Molik spent much of last year on the challenger circuit, taking wild cards into main events, losing often and training hard. Though the second half of 06 was technically her comeback, I expect to see the former Australian Open quarterfinalist in full force at this year's tournament. Remember 05? The Aussie fans were loving this girl. She drilled Venus in straights in the Round of 16 inside Laver before stretching Davenport to an epic 9-7 in the third match that could've gone either way. With her ear infection (nasty thing, huh?) seemingly completely shaken, I like this wild card going far in the draw.