Oz Open highlights!
In between typing off emails to customers & apply for jobs, I have been watching a lot of Oz Open tennis recently & man, I have to say I’m very impressed with the quality of the matches. There is Santoro’s backspin net shot (listed below as my top 10 fav moments for this tournament), Hingis’s amazing array of techniques (even though she was overpowered, literally, by Clijsters in the quarters), Baghdatis’s giant killing spree (again featuring in my top 10), and finally to top it all, Federer’s unsurpassed forehand and passing shots.
I remember watching Federer play on TV at the Roland Garros and Wimbledon last year, and the first thing that struck me was how calm he was when he’s under pressure. Having a killer forehand obviously helps his cause to become world no. 1, but I’m sure he won’t be in that position if he doesn’t have that excellent composure.
This has proven to be crucial for him in the Oz Open this year. He wasn’t in his best form in the fourth round against Haas, winning the 1st 2 sets before losing concentration & subsequently losing the next two. He kept his composure in the 5th set and finally beat Haas 6-2. Same story again against Davydenko in the quarters, when he looked far off his best and was dragged through several set points before winning on tie breaks for 2 sets. This not only showed his immense desire to win, but also his coolness when his opponents were on a roll against him.
He isn’t no. 1 for nothing I guess, and even when he was playing at several levels below his best, he could still hold his ground against the world’s best. Well, now that he’s back to his best against Kiefer in the semis, it will be very interesting to watch him play the dream final against Baghdatis on Sunday, who has come through by beating many seeded players. This is probably the 1st time in the whole tournament I’m indecisive about who to back for the match, mainly because Baghdatis is a fighter in his own right (the honour of beating Nalbandian from 2 sets down is not something a lot of people can claim..). This man will definitely rise up the ranks this year because he has the character and the skill to become the top 10 player in the world. & yeah, he has his SUPER DUPER HOT FRENCH GIRLFIREND to support him too!!
Everyone please remember to tune in & watch this exciting match on Sunday 7.30 p.m. on Channel 7!!!
Top 10 Favourite Australia Open moments
10) Watching Justin Henin-Hardenne wallop her male hitting partner at the practice court (live!)
9) Watching a Russian babe (potentially the next Sharapova) hitting with her coach at the practice court (also live!)
8) Roger Federer hitting a backhand down-the-line winner Vs Max Mirnyi when he had his racket sticking closely to his thigh.
7) Realizing not all the female Russian players are hot when we watched a live doubles match @ the smaller courts which featured 4 Russians (of which none were pretty…)
6) Fabrice Santoro producing a super-spin drop shot VS David Nalbandian. The shot went over to Nalbadian’s side before spinning back to Santoro’s when Nalbandian was running forward to hit it
5) Sam Stosur’s amazing run to the 4th round (in which she was defeated by my favourite female player, Hingis!)
4) Discovering Sharapova is ambidextrous (she used to play using left hand during junior years, & she switched hands quite often when being lobbed by her opponents. Also managed to lob over Hardenne with left hand when being placed under extreme pressure)
3) Marcos Baghdatis’s surprise, but well-deserved, run to the final, beating Roddick (2nd seed), Ljubicic (7th seed) and Nalbandian (4th seed) on the way!!!
2) Martina Hingis’s glorious comeback, reaching quarterfinal after 3 years out of the WTA circuit (& beating the only surviving local (Sam Stosur) on the way!!)
AND FINALLY…… *drumroll*
1) Dream final between the 2 most popular players in the Oz Open: Federer (Fed-Ex) VS Baghdatis!!!
I remember watching Federer play on TV at the Roland Garros and Wimbledon last year, and the first thing that struck me was how calm he was when he’s under pressure. Having a killer forehand obviously helps his cause to become world no. 1, but I’m sure he won’t be in that position if he doesn’t have that excellent composure.
This has proven to be crucial for him in the Oz Open this year. He wasn’t in his best form in the fourth round against Haas, winning the 1st 2 sets before losing concentration & subsequently losing the next two. He kept his composure in the 5th set and finally beat Haas 6-2. Same story again against Davydenko in the quarters, when he looked far off his best and was dragged through several set points before winning on tie breaks for 2 sets. This not only showed his immense desire to win, but also his coolness when his opponents were on a roll against him.
He isn’t no. 1 for nothing I guess, and even when he was playing at several levels below his best, he could still hold his ground against the world’s best. Well, now that he’s back to his best against Kiefer in the semis, it will be very interesting to watch him play the dream final against Baghdatis on Sunday, who has come through by beating many seeded players. This is probably the 1st time in the whole tournament I’m indecisive about who to back for the match, mainly because Baghdatis is a fighter in his own right (the honour of beating Nalbandian from 2 sets down is not something a lot of people can claim..). This man will definitely rise up the ranks this year because he has the character and the skill to become the top 10 player in the world. & yeah, he has his SUPER DUPER HOT FRENCH GIRLFIREND to support him too!!
Everyone please remember to tune in & watch this exciting match on Sunday 7.30 p.m. on Channel 7!!!
Top 10 Favourite Australia Open moments
10) Watching Justin Henin-Hardenne wallop her male hitting partner at the practice court (live!)
9) Watching a Russian babe (potentially the next Sharapova) hitting with her coach at the practice court (also live!)
8) Roger Federer hitting a backhand down-the-line winner Vs Max Mirnyi when he had his racket sticking closely to his thigh.
7) Realizing not all the female Russian players are hot when we watched a live doubles match @ the smaller courts which featured 4 Russians (of which none were pretty…)
6) Fabrice Santoro producing a super-spin drop shot VS David Nalbandian. The shot went over to Nalbadian’s side before spinning back to Santoro’s when Nalbandian was running forward to hit it
5) Sam Stosur’s amazing run to the 4th round (in which she was defeated by my favourite female player, Hingis!)
4) Discovering Sharapova is ambidextrous (she used to play using left hand during junior years, & she switched hands quite often when being lobbed by her opponents. Also managed to lob over Hardenne with left hand when being placed under extreme pressure)
3) Marcos Baghdatis’s surprise, but well-deserved, run to the final, beating Roddick (2nd seed), Ljubicic (7th seed) and Nalbandian (4th seed) on the way!!!
2) Martina Hingis’s glorious comeback, reaching quarterfinal after 3 years out of the WTA circuit (& beating the only surviving local (Sam Stosur) on the way!!)
AND FINALLY…… *drumroll*
1) Dream final between the 2 most popular players in the Oz Open: Federer (Fed-Ex) VS Baghdatis!!!
posted by leonhart @ 11:35 PM
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