Did I say I liked watching the Aussie Open at all hours? Can I revise that statement? It’s not that I don’t like it, exactly, but it does kinda get in the way.
If you're out at dinner past 10 (which is pretty much a given in New York), you’ve missed a good three hours of banter between Martina Navratilova and Bill Macatee. Or if you need to get to work at a respectable hour, forget about taping and seeing all of Safin-Baghdatis tonight. I’m not complaining, just scrambling to find a way to fit all this tennis—as well as a good, old-fashioned mace job in the stands—into my routine.
It’s been three days and what have I learned? Let’s get to the list—think of it as a “first thing comes to mind” type post.
The blue courts: I may be alone in this, but I like them, and I’m not buying the “tennis courts should be green” argument—you wouldn’t want to tear up the red clay at Roland Garros, would you? The one problem is the odd differential in color between the surface inside the lines and the surface outside. There’s something off about that.
Novak Djokovic: He’s hard to figure. Sometimes he feels his way into a match, other times he comes out smoking and blows his opponent off the court with relentless force, the way he did to Benjamin Becker in the first round. It’s rare that the latter strategy fails to work for Nole. One problem came up in the third set: An impatience to finish. Djokovic went from being aggressive to rushing to get it over with. I wouldn’t be surprised to see this become a theme of his season when he plays lower-ranked guys.
As for the replay of his Sharapova impersonation show, my first reaction was negative: Enough, Novak. But then, watching Sharapova herself serve last night, I changed my mind! See my post at ESPN.com for more.
Daniela Hantuchova: She looked like she was hitting with more force in her first-rounder. She’s already got some of the smoothest shots around; if she can hit them harder…
Here’s hoping we get to see some of her match with the spritely French slugger Alize Cornet tonight.
Martina Navratilova: Her voice can be grating, and she rambles as if she’s in a normal conversation. But she can come up with a nugget or two, like when she described, with a hint of disapproval, Djokovic’s forehand take-back and swing as “busy.”
Serena Williams: She’s focused, but now she’ll get a decent test in Azarenka. I’ll say 7-5, 6-3 for Serena. A match with Vaidisova in the next round could be closer.
Ana Ivanovic: If she can avoid a Williams sister and keep her serve from collapsing, I could see her winning this. So far, she’s moving forward and attacking better than she did last year.
Sorana Cirstea: The 17-year-old Romanian, who lost to Ivanovic, has a beautifully timed two-hand backhand, much like fellow youngster Tamira Paszek.
Maria Sharapova: If her serve is clicking, so is her game, and her serve has been impressive so far in Oz. She's set up to face, potentially, Shahar Peer next and Henin in the quarters. She can beat anyone, except, most likely, a Williams sister.
Steve Darcis: The Belgian—yes, there are apparently Belgians named Steve—should be better than what he showed in his first-round drubbing by Hewitt. As Darren Cahill said, he’s got all the shots, but lacks a major weapon.
Marcos Baghdatis: Depending on how injured he is, I see him eventually beating Safin tonight, in the War of the Wasted Talent. It will be worth watching for the ball-striking alone.
Bags also showed off a surprisingly subtle sense of humor with Chris Fowler this week. ESPN brought up a filmmaker who has been following Baghdatis around for three years for a documentary. Fowler asked, “Does he follow you everywhere?” Baghdatis smiled and said, simply, “No.” I expect a lot of things—just about anything, in fact—from Baghdatis, but a dry sense of humor is not one of them.
Others to watch tonight:
Querrey-Tursunov: Beating O. Rochus in the first round smells like a breakthrough for Querrey. I’m not expecting another here—Tursunov has been playing well—but here’s hoping for something competitive. It seems like slow hard courts suit Querrey’s heavy feet and long swings.
Ferrer-Del Potro: Many, many—many—balls will be hit here. It’ll be a good test of the Argentine’s form in the new year, but I’ll take Ferrer in four.
Blake-Russell/Ivanovic-Garbin: May not be as one-sided as you think.
Federer-Santoro: The genius and the magician match wits one more time. Tennis may never be this fanciful again.
Music: The best late-night Aussie Open soundtrack I’ve found so far is Spoon’s driving, angular Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. It’s got a good beat; you can watch tennis to it. That's about the highest compliment I can give to any album.