I watched most of the Federer-Tomic DC singles match. It was played on soggy grass, with low and unpredictable bounce. One thing that stood out was Tomic's wingspan, particularly on returns. He gets a ton of balls into play, and we know how much federer counts on getting a couple of free points on serve in most of his service games.

Tomic, like Murray, is also happy to play 10 ball plus rallies and ask his opponent to find a way through a wall. It's not just counterpunching - it's making the opponent hit lots of shots he doesn't enjoy hitting for a long time. Tomic put it this way in his press conference after the third round match against Dolgopolov:

Q. What do you see as your greatest strength going into that match?

BERNARD TOMIC: You know, I think I can get the balls down to where Roger probably can't use his backhand enough. He has one of the best forehands in the world.

You know I think I play really smart. Hopefully my smartness can make me win me a set or two, maybe even win. I can't guarantee. It's Roger.

So we'll see. I hardly ever make predictions along the lines of "X to win in 4," but I wouldn't be surprised if this went longer than three. All forecasts come with a money back guarantee, natch.

Waltzing Wounded Memorial Sunday Order of Play

Laver at 7 PM(Saturday): Azarenka vs Benesova followed by Lopez vs Nadal ending with Clijsters vs Li
Hisense at 8:30 PM(Saturday): Goerges vs Radwanska followed by Berdych vs Almagro
Court at Midnight: Kohlschreiber vs Del Potro
Laver at 3 AM: Tomic vs Federer followed by Wozniacki vs Jankovic

“Where’s Mitt?” Newt asked to cheers from the crowd.

“Putting his taxes together,” someone shouted from the back.

“I thought he would stay and we could have a little debate,” Gingrich said.

R O F L M A O ! ! !

WTA R16 winners

Top : Jelena, Na, Victoria and Agnieszka
Bottom : Serena, Maria, Jie and Petra

@Andrew

Were you there for the DC Au v SUI? What a great setting, a real throwback for a DC match with very close matches.

Aussies have to be incredibly proud of their ATP players.... Second Week and their two best are going against the best two in the world (no apologies to nadal).

No politics chat here pls

The Sorcerer's Apprentice (while we still can)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSTWy25hRiI

"I could cast spells and make things levitate..."

Yes, please, Harry. :)

Hmmm... me thinking that first set might be close coz Fed might try to feel out Tomic since they've only played once, and also he might be a bit rusty on the ground-strokes having had 4 days off and then playing russian roulette with Karlovic, so might shank a few or try to have longer rallies just to get his rhythm on all his strokes...

By the 2nd set Fed should have grooved into gear and can read Tomic a bit better, so if all Tomic is gonna do is slice and dice then that might be curtains... As the original junk baller Murray knows too well, shanky Fred shows up in little tournies, not so likely on the big stages of a GS.

Tomic might choose to however, to channel his inner Delpo like he did last year against Rafa, perhaps he'd have a better chance in that case but then again he might miss more since he's not used to it so I dunno....

Gonna be an interesting match, whether it's a wipeout or not depends on whether Fed's back and other body parts are feeling ok after the Karlovic match me thinks.

Hello everyone

Such a wonderful win for Hewitt last night. And so great to see him being really embraced by the crowd - he deserves it. You can't say that he hasn't put his heart and soul into the green and gold. Was that a pearly tear I saw at the end - and Tony Roche jumping up and down:)

The only thing I think I'm reasonably confident of in this match is that Roger won't be affected by the crowd:) But then again.....

"You know I think I play really smart. Hopefully my smartness can make me win me a set or two, maybe even win. I can't guarantee. It's Roger." This almost sounds like 'come into my parlour, said the spider to the fly' and I hope Tomic isn't thinking he's the spider and Fed is the fly. To state the totally obvious, knowing you can play really smart is one thing, executing your really smart play against a 16-time GS champ who's still #3 in the world in the 4th round of a slam is quite another.

In what I saw of the match I thought some of Roger's reactions and improvisations (not *the* shot or the two-handed backhand) and his movement looked very sharp against Dr Ivo. I've seen Tomic very little, but jewell gave me a great description of him yesterday. Given the success that Roger has had against Santoro and Soderling / pre US Open 2009 Delpo I think I'd be more surprised if Tomic wins a set than if he doesn't ......

Fernando says Maestro will win as long as he does not have an off day and makes a lot of unforced errors when he tries to end the point. The game will be on Maestro's racquet
and also Tomic' s return game is not he best. slender gaucho will be waiting for Maestro if he gets by Tomic.

Fernando is relishing the Bull's draw to the semis. Feli, and then minion Almagro or Tinman Berdy. Cupcake with icing!! Fernando pities Maestro if he meets Rafa. We are serving with power again and this will take down Djoker also.

I am Fernando

Dolgopolov should’ve won against Tomic. It was clear that he is has all the shots Tomic has plus his movement is far superior. But his lack of brains did him in. He does not have a concept of important points. He is too casual. But he clearly revealed that Tomic had significant flaw. Federer will exploit this relative lack of mobility.

Nice article. Great writing, Mr. Bodo. I like the Sorcerer's apprentice idea; on the home page it says "The scorerer's apprentice" which I thought might have been intentional, maybe it was.

Alright, "Sir" Cotton Jack.

Pete Bodo has put in very nice set of articles since 2012. IMHO! Some nice lines..nice writing..

I am not saying that because the old dude has been have some good press lately.(of course it makes it more fun.)

I would like to see Fed win of course! From what I hear Tomic has quite the ego..beating Fed would just about make his head explode and poor Leyton Hewitt just die of disgrace thus giving Djoker a walkover.

I'm a little perplexed about the comment referring to Federer's "mental and emotional stamina (or lack thereof)." What are you insinuating, Mr. Bodo?

"The sorcerer's apprentice is not meant to beat the sorcerer at his own game, not when all other things are equal. But that's rarely the case in tennis, and Federer's age (30), fitness (he had to quit in his last tournament with that classicold-guy problem, a bad back), and mental and emotional stamina (or lack thereof) are all factors that could work in Tomic's favor."

morning guys, sorry to see kuznetsova lost and wow at hewitt winning, glad i didnt jinx monfils into a fluke win afterall

Good Morning Everyone

First I went out to dinner in the 2nd set of Lleytons match and when I got back to my hotel checked the score....congrats Llyeton cause I felt Milos would win.Commies to all Milos Fans.He has soo much talent and is still learning.

Pete well the buck stops here with Roger.As well as Tomic has gone in the AO Roger I feel will expose Tomic's lack of movement for starters.Roger is the greatest shot makker I have seen.I feel he will be too strong over all.

Roger is Tomic's favourite player.I was there at the DC play offs where Tomic did take a set off Roger on the grass.I am sure Tomic will assert himself well in this match.Roger to win.

If Fed drops a set, I will be shocked. Tomic is a poor man's version of Murray. As someone else said, Dolgo should have won. Also, Soderling was not at his best when Tomic took him out at Wimby. Additionally, as a commentator said, Tomic "bored Nole to sleep" that why he was able to take a set in SW19

Are you seriously think Rafa has any confidence left in him to beat Nole.

Nole toyed with opponents so far. Power serve of Rafa to Nole backhand is a suicidal to Rafa.

Power serve to Nole's forehand ,Nadal can not even get to the return.

but hey go ahead and dream on.

I think it's no contest; Federer will win in 3 relatively easy sets, imo. Tomic's brand of tennis can confuse at the beginning, but once he's figured out and his opponent acclimates to his junk balls/high pace shot combinations, he's relatively easy to beat, especially by top players. He has no significant weapons to hurt Federer, who's playing at a high enough level currently to win this match up with ease.

For Rafa fans

I watched Rafa in practice yesterday.I was about to take some photos and the button on my camera jarred.Ahhhhhh I ran out of Rod Laver and hopefully my camera will be fixed early next week seeing this happened on Saturday like Blah!.I am going to watch Rafa's match today.

anyhoo later, i'm off to the movies to see "sherlock holmes 2" see you guys for tonight festivities

vamos rafaaaaaaaaaaaa
allez rogerrrrrr

Nice analytical piece... I'm going to try to tune in for this one. I've only caught bits and pieces so far this tournament!

This Fed fan is crushing on the sorcerer's apprentice. However, from what I've seen of his play (didn't see his match with Dolly) thus far he will be easily exploitable at net. He does a lot of reaching rather than stepping up to balls that are short. Still it's just great to watch his mouse-trapping.

On another note, Sveta, how could you?

jujitzu - talking politics is against the rules of this site, so you know where you can file your gratuitous appellation.

Heidi

Long time no see here at TW.I hope I have the right poster by the way?

AM lucky you...and enjoy tonight in the stadium, you seeing his match live right?

CJ

Felt sorry for Mahut yesterday.I watched that match and it was soo obvious Mahut's movement was impaired but credit to him for completing the match.Even in Noles interview he knew that Mahut wasnt 100% and also gave credit to him for not retiring in the match.

I also think Pete has been in the zone with the articles this year...lol!

I think Fed will win in straights though I wish Tomic plays to the best of his ability

Eclipse Girl

Yes I will be Live for Rafa's match.So I can see for myself how his game is going.My relatives have been to all Rafa's matches soo far and told me he has improved in each match.Thats want I want to see.There is no reason in the first week to go all out.Its the 2nd week,the business week of a slam where you game has to be On.

I was impressed with Rafa in practice yesterday he has been mixing his game up.Blah about my camera though.

AM - I shouldn't bother feeling too sorry for Mahut - he's had enough chances in GSs over the years - this was only his seconnd 3rd Round appearance. He got to play in front of a big crowd against the world number one and will have solidified his place in the top 100. He and Woodforde now share the open era record for the worst result in a R32 match at the AO. Woodforde lost 6-1 6-0 6-1 to Sampras in 1997. I wonder what *his* excuse was? ;-)

Cotton Jack

What's the harm in a very brief and humorously intended political
joke? I've been much worse in that area and far less brief.

In other non-news

I can't believe Raonic lost. He finally didn't wear a white shirt
to go with his black shorts so that must be it. Yellow doesn't work
for him. He's been around for a year now and he still manages to avoid
the big boys. In other words, he still has a long, long way to go.

As for Hewitt vs Nole the term "sacrificial lamb," comes to mind.
That's gonna be uglier than ugly. 9 sets and the bastard's lost just
10 games. 10! It ain't right.

As for Tomic....good luck cat and mouseing the ultimate feline tennis
player. Like someone above said Tomic is very Murray like and we know
how that goes in Slams. The apprentice gets schooled.

Oh I pleased to see that the Sampras-Woodforde 1997 3R was 5 minutes shorter than Djokovic-Mahut....mind you that will just be down to Djokovic faffing about won't it?

"Sampras said it was his loss to Australian Mark Philippoussis last year that motivated him for his match against Woodforde.

'Playing a night match here against an Aussie, I came out prepared and ready to go," the top-seeded Sampras said. "I played a great match and everything was really clicking. You just wish you had days like this all the time. I played pretty much faultless tennis.'"

CJ

Well at least he is in good company with Mark :)

Maybe the stars werent aligned that day:)........

BP - third comment in a new thread under Red Meat post?

CJ

Okay, fair enough. He should probably wait till the second page.

And who the hell let OJ in here?

It will be interesting to see how well Tomic actually plays under this incredible home town pressure. It's not about how many games he wins but how competitive he is with the Great Fed.

So far Tomic has impressed with his maturity.

Ok, Pete, you're the expert, but I'm still very nervous about this match. We don't really know how well Roger's back is holding up, and Tomic is 11 years younger than Roger. Tomic's smooth and effective backhand remind me of Nole, although he doesn't quite have Djokovic's speed and Gumby joints. Tomic is riding a surge of a 19-year old's confidence, and will give Roger a tussle, I'm afraid.

'Williams, who won her last Australian title in 2010 and missed last year's tournament, will play seventh seed Vera Zvonareva in the fourth round. Zvonareva beat Russian Ekaterina Makarova 7-6, 6-1 yesterday.'

Clearly the Sydney Morning Herald wanted other results. Bepa should rehire her hunky coach who seemed to keep her calmer.

I think a lot of hype is being given to Federer/Tomic match. Tomic is the nation's favorite boy but if you look at the numbers, Federer is playing much better than Tomic and I don't see any reason why he should lose if he can sustain his normal level of play. Infact Federer is better than Tomic in almost all the areas of his game except first serve % (Federer vs. Tomic: Clash of Two Generations? http://bit.ly/AysC9T )

JJ

I have watched Tomic since he was a junior and even then he displayed calm and maturity on the court.

Not too many guys got sets off Novak last year - and Tomic was one of them. In the Wimbledon quarterfinals. On Centre Court. I don't expect him to be overawed by the occasion, or playing apprentice to the sorcerer. It will be a great learning experience for the kid, but I expect he'll get a set during the lesson.

"Tomic freely admits that Federer has been his idol. He said after his last match: "I'm happy to play him (Federer) again. I had the experience in Davis Cup, which is good for me. . .I know sort of a way to sort of play him in a way, but Roger can play unbelievable. He's my favorite player, so it's always good to play him.""
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This comment by Tomic explains, in a nutshell, why he hasn't got a chance against Roger. He will have a chance when he stops being a fan and starts thinking as a competitor. As long as it's "good to play him", he will do just that: sort of play him in a way, but not beat him.

Izidane

WORD! regarding Vera.I watched her match yesterday and saw her melt down on court.It is clear to me Vera has been struggling since she and her former coach parted.He indeed brought more clam to her and we all know mentally she is fragile.I was in tears by the way when I witnessed that moment from Vera.

*One thing that stood out was Tomic's wingspan, particularly on returns. He gets a ton of balls into play,*

does he, Andrew? my impression was that he generally has to concede a lot of aces/service winners, he tends to guess often on the return. maybe i didn't notice more recent improvements in that area.

*Tomic, like Murray, is also happy to play 10 ball plus rallies and ask his opponent to find a way through a wall. It's not just counterpunching - it's making the opponent hit lots of shots he doesn't enjoy hitting for a long time*

true.
but though berny has more variety than your run-of-the-mill counterpuncher he (so far) lacks one thing which is essential if you wanna beat federer - movement.

slow players lose vs federer. a lot. no matter how much power (not berny's strong suit by any stretch) or other fun stuff they bring to the table.

the ones with good records vs federer? they are fast, double-fast, doubleplus-fast movers.
berny's moves at times reminds still of a junior, needs a bit more time to work on them legs.

so... tying all that theorizing together into one neat bouquet - i have no idea how berny got a somewhat close-ish score in DC vs federer (didn't watch). he shouldn't have jajaja.
(long flight for federer? surface change? federer's heart ripped out by nole in new york? that's just tennis? answers on a postcard...)

intriguing match anyway, just to see how big a gulf there still might be between berny and the gold standard.

Marg's best ever typo

"He indeed brought more clam to her"

LOL

Fed will win in Straights. Tomic really has no big weapons to hurt him. Tomic also won't have enough left in the tank to beat Federer.

Vera looked to have a complete breakdown on the court yesterday. I really don't like seeing young women cry like that.... Hope she doesn't disappear.

AM, do you think Tomic relishes the big spotlight?

Bored Poet

I had a rough night ok.............

JJ

I find Tomic a very grounded young man.I believe he accepts playing matches against players like Roger,Rafa,Novak and Murray as a learning curve and he relishes playing great players like I have just mentioned.He takes most things in his stride.That is one thiing I have always admired about him.When he played the Orange Bowl in America he was playing up in his age group and won by the way.Sometimes on the challenger circuit he has trouble defeating players his own age.Though he rises to the challenge when he is up against a quality player eg Wimbledon 20111 where he took a set off Novak.

Marg- Must have been sad to see, she hasn't had such a meltdown in a while.

Roger wins in straights tonight. Bernie might have at least taken a set if he hadn't played back to back 5 setters. The would be sorcerer will be just plain pooped.

Does anyone recall what happened when 19 year old Federer beat Sampras at Wimbledon, and they were meeting for the first time - was there such a frenzy of speculation before the match? Of course, no one expected Federer to beat Sampras, and maybe not one heartbeat in Switzerland quickened, except for Federer's family. Mirka was at that match, on my BBC DVD. The difference is Roger and Tomic have met once, and this match is being played in Australia, which is another story.

Will check to see if anyone remembers when I return from Mass. As a Catholic, I would like to hear what prayer Novak invokes when he crosses himself after a win.

Marg

Not as rough as poor Vera.

"As a Catholic, I would like to hear what prayer Novak invokes when he crosses himself after a win."

Please, please, please don't let anyone take this as an excuse...... :-s

Bismarck,
So true what you wrote about fast, double-fast, doubleplus-fast movers and Roger. If they also posses a sound FH and keep pounding Roger's BH 90% of the time, he's in tripleplus trouble.
Let's see how Tomic responds when Roger gives him the whole range of variety shots he owns. And the slices. And those wicked serves. Of course I'm counting that all the hydraulic marvels are working. :)

BP

True.It was a sad moment in tennis quite frankly

I too am a Catholic....no I am not using that as a excuse:)

I have seen other players after they have won make the sign of the cross.

@JJ 2:36: Vera made me cry, too, that was truly painful. But she went through quite a crying stretch a couple of years back, and not only didn't disappear, she went on to have a great year once the tears dried.

For Cotton Jack

Here's Nole's prayer

"I, Novak Djokovic and not Chia Pet Man, would like to thank you
Dear Lord for making me so damn wonderful and unbeatable. Being a 3rd
wheel all these years was rough but you my saviour came through and
didn't let me, your 4th favorite son behind Jesus, Banana Peel and that
overripe melon you call Roger down. You've seen fit to elevate me above those toadies and frankly it's about time. You're forgiven my Lord!
p.s. If you could make my girl's boobs bigger that'd be great!"

Yup, that's it. That's what he says. If you don't believe me ask
Fernando. He'll back me up on this.

Biz

Thanks soo much for your comments regarding Tomic.

Feeling chagrined after getting bounced out of the SP as always by a weird upset, this time Hewitt oner Raonic. Why oh why didn't I go for the 100% certainty of Ferrer over Chela, instead of getting too smart and saving Ferrer for next time? Oh well, on toParis as my quixotic quest for a gold SP medal goes on and on. One of these days ...

Should be fun and interesting tennis with Federer and Tomic tonight. It will be great to watch Fed using all his magic box of tricks against a creative player, instead of the all-too-frequent Power Robot opponents (as in Djoker, Delpo, etc.).

Banana Peel: '....overripe melon you call Roger...'

(hee)

This looks like a case of the old lion meeting the young lion for a challenge. Except, *this* old lion still has very sharp teeth and claws. The only slicing we're going to see is 'death by a thousand cuts' to Bernard, courtesy of Roger.

I would say there is one other trend with players who play well against Fed. They all have good "left sides" (Nadal's forehand, backhands of Nole, Murray, and Berdych). This helps neutralize Roger's favorite inside-out forehand because they can go all directions with that "left-side" shot. Players who don't fit this mold, such as Roddick and Blake, have had less success. Note that in the Wimbledon 2009 final, Roddick was hitting his backhand probably the best he's ever hit it.

Great matches on today

I will also watch Kim v Li Na rematch of last years final

I was going to see Roger v Tomic live...though real life things have got in the way.I will watch Caroline v JJ back in my hotel room.

"9 sets and the bastard's lost just
10 games. 10! It ain't right."

Banana Peel,
Be nice to Djokovic as he has been the man since the WTF ended in 2010.

By the way

Isis....where are you?

xoxoxoxox

Don't forget the cream with the melon, BP. And 2x4. You win!! :)

RubyF,
Tough question. It seems centuries ago. I remember after the match headlines like "Changing of the guard" and such. I'll have to look in the archives.

About Kim, her daughter, Jada, has already told her that she wants to play tennis. Federer-Clijsters 2.0 in 15 years.

Master Ace

I was impressed with Petra yesterday even though Maria K retired

I hope we dont see anymore injuries in the AO.I think this years Waltzing Wounded Memorial is right on the mark.Sad to day.

BP: Did you know that Sorana Cirstea injured her back after winning her first set against Sara Ernani yesterday? :)

Also poor Mahut (with his leg)! But brave/valliant, happy birthday to him!

Poor Monfils (with his back) as well, but exceptional offensive tennis from Kukushikin Mihail!

Poor Raonic with some impeded movement or lack of conditioning and a tad of shaky nerves...But kudos to Hewitt for playing well and placing his serve exceptionally! Plus a few RoSes...

If Tomic cheated Dolgo on one imporant call, then shame to him though! Good luck against the Fedmaster.

My own Achilles tendon is getting healed though, so back to practice today or tomorrow.

While I would not be surprised if Tomic managed to grab a set, Bernard is FAR too in love with his slice BH to pose any challenge to Federer.

If Tomic were willing to hit through his 2hander, as he is perfectly capabale of doing (it's what got him 4-0 up on Nadal last year), then he would have a much better shot.

But he seems the stubborn type like Murray, so his slices, which tend to float and move very slowly through the court, will be CRUSHED repeatedly for numerous winners by Fed.

To win against Fed Fed either has to have a bad day, you need to be a unique specimen lefty who can break down his BH (Nadal), or you need to take time away from him (Djokovic).

Bernard has the tools to do the latter, but I doubt he will will employ them.

Btw Master Ace
Master Ace 01/21/2012 at 12:57 PM

WTA R16 winners

Top : Jelena, Na, Victoria and Agnieszka
Bottom : Serena, Maria, Jie and Petra

I still agree with all your winners except I strongly disagree with your choice of Li Na. Kim still has a very favourable record against Li and is slightly better at every facet of the game except for the serve. Goerges has a chance against Aggie too.

oops should read sad to say

BP Bite your tongue please.

I can understand the locals heaping hype on Tomic, he's a local hero afterall. But I think any objective tennis follower -or more to the point, a veteran tennis analyst like Bodo- won't buy into this hype. Federer has nothing to worry about regarding Tomic and will win in straights if he plays at least at 70%. Tomic may be tricky for the Verdascos of the tennis world (and he barely won that match even with the big advantage of being on home turf; the result would probably have been different if they were in Spain), but he won't to be for a player of Federer's calibre! I wouldn't read much into the one set he took off Federer in DC (or off Djokovic in Wimbledon), since this can be easily chalked up to either player not taking Tomic seriously enough, rustiness, off-day or a combination thereof. And I say this as a fan of neither Federer or Djokovic but of Nadal!

I had thecsame feeling, when watching Tomic vs Dolgopolov. That someone with a bit more power and confidence in his shots could get Tomic. Federe won him in th DC and Iexpect him to win tonight sa well. Fed in four.

Northernboy

I was going to watch Roger v Tomic live

Though I would have had to be sat on cause I would have gone onto the court and screamed at Tomic to

Stop The Slice.........

At least I have relatives to bail me out of jail in Melbourne :)

I am going to watch Kim v Li Na live today

I thought Guillermo Coria was also called the "magician". Is Santoro the original?

Game Lover

Sorana is quite a cutie but jeez, talk about high maintenance.
She's a handful that one. Injuries or no injuries you get
the feeling she'll find a way to sabotage herself lest things
go a bit too well. She played so well before that and at the
end of the 1st set. It's a shame but with Sharapova, Azafreaky,
Zheng and the lovely Big Old Petra still alive there's no
shortage of sex appeal out there if that's your thing and why
wouldn't it be? Those girl's are smokin' hot.

BP: Well Sorana is mercurial having a Latin origin (she's Romanian like me).

Sharputza, Aza and Lisiky they are all kinda cute :) Great legs too.

From Kvitova and Serena I just love their game (power).

Zheng is too short lol, even Bartoli seemed to have a more athletic build.

Santoro is the only magician to have been called that way, but as to be the original, there might have been more in the past (Ilie Nastase comes to mind, although that guy had all aspects of the game in his arsenal).

Northernboy,
I believe Na is in one of her "hot" patches of play especially with her in Australia.

Aussiemarg,
You picked the right match to watch live - 2011 AO final replay:) I was also impressed with Petra as she was delivering winners on a consistent basis. Can not wait until the battle b/w Petra and Ana - then again, all R16 matches as today start the 2nd week.

Ira: Isn't it amazing the great form the top 4 have shown so far?

MA: Almost the whole R16 seem to be interesting and loaded on the ladies side!
That's not the case on the men's side yet (although I wouldn't want to miss Roger, Nole and Monfil's matches). Tim can watch Rafa lol

Game Lover

Well so far the ladies I have been impressed with are Kvitova,Serena,Azarenka,Li Na,Kim and Maria Sharapova.

AM: Haven't seen Sharaputza playing yet and Li Na just briefly, but enjoy!

I love Lisicki's chances as well, she hits hard.

Master Ace

I also agree with your comments regarding Li Na.She impressed me in Sydney again and she has been playing great tennis so far at the AO.Yes she seems to relish playing in Australia.

AM: Haven't seen Sharaputza playing yet and Li Na just briefly, but enjoy!

I love Lisicki's chances as well, she hits hard.

Game Lover

Watched some of Sabine's match yesterday and by the way she deserved to win that match.I just got back to my hotel and saw the final score.Sveta????

Game Lover

You might be the first person to ever imply anything about
an "athletic build" in regards to Bartoli.

Sveta seemed a tad outplayed, slow and just the usual nerve wreck :)

Enjoy AO Madam President!

Sabine is cute too, something that BP and me kinda appreciate :)

BP: Just in comparison to Zhe :D

BP: I bet Zhe's legs barely reach my knee... :)

JJ - no, watching via live stream. The surface acted as a leveler in the DC, partly because of the variability of the bounce.

One of the ways to beat Federer is with speed and stamina, per Bismarck. But Gasquet has had a couple of wins, and I don't put that down to foot speed. Can you take away the best shots your opponent has and hit your best shots more often? Someone with 16 slams has learned a bit about that trick, which is the main theme of Pete's post. But if I were Tomic, or his coach, I'd pop in a DVD of Murrray-Federer Madrid SF 2008. Murray gave an object lesson in how to put Federer into a box, flipping high topspin DTL into the ad corner. I'll bet that Tomic has one or two patterns up his sleeve that give the no 3 seed fits.

Andrew: Don't forget that Gasquet has that fabulous 1h BH and if it goes DTL (like Hewitt did on a few occasions today) then it's lethal. Plus is Roger's own BH going to show up or not?

Interesting point JJB.

I think that the one thing that Tomic has going for him is the mental side of things. He has played Fed before and won a set so that does help a little. Also, hearing him talk (arrogant as he is) he doesn't seem to fear Fed as much as he looks up to him. In short, I think he will relish the challenge tomorrow to play against his idol in front of his home crowd, he has nothing to lose and it could be a cracking match.

Has he got enough right now to take three sets off him? I'm not sure, only if he really manages to mess up Fed's rytyhm almost entirely, which is very unlikely. My pick is Fed in a fairly comfortable four sets but Tomic will probably make him work for most of those.

'Which is one more set than clay-court deity Rafael Nadal managed to wrest from Djokovic on the red clay in back-to-back Masters Series finals in Madrid and Rome'

I'm confused as to how this has any bearing on your point about Tomic whatsoever. Nadal took a 6-1 set of Djoko in the W final. What has two masters series finals on clay between Nadal and Djoko got to do with Tomic?

Oh wait I know, you dislike Nadal because your such a big fed fan? Or is it because he doesn't share your interval season (I just want to make more money writing more articles) view of tennis? Any of these close to the mark? haha

Andrew - Lets not give Tomic, or his coach, any ideas.

my phrase was "good records", Andrew. ;)
gasquet's 2 wins were final set TBs (both times saving MPs?) and then there are those 9 losses...
and berdych had some minor measures of success vs federer too and no, foot speed was not really how he got it done either, i wouldn't say.

obviously my generalisation can't explain each and every match result of roger federer.

*Murray gave an object lesson in how to put Federer into a box, flipping high topspin DTL into the ad corner.*

but how much object lesson would have remained if muzz had been as slow as berny? that's what i'm pondering before tomic-federer.

during my nap.

I have found a couple of interesting statistics that could be a good omen for Bernard Tomic and a bad omen for Roger Federer. Roger Federer is currently 30 years old and his consecutive Quarter Final or better streak is currently at 30. Maybe Federer's consecutive Quarter Final or better streak is destined to end at 30 in the 4th Round of the 2012 Australian Open against a very talented 19 year old. I am surprised that no one has found this out before me.

Andrew - for Pete's sake, cut it out...you are making me nervous as a Fedcat on a topspin roof.

I, with a little help from gin and 'medication,' intend to snooze through the whole thing anyway, but still, now you have me very worried - as opposed to just normal 'ol Fed frazzled.

Oh, I keep forgetting...for those in the US who have TC and either don't have the Direct TV multi AO feed or are not interested in the 'day session' matches, TC is doing one of its Signature Series this evening at 9pm eastern. This one is on Rod Laver, and from the previews they have been showing it might actually be worth seeing.

In their Davis Cup match, Federer won 74 of 103 points on serve. Tomic won 70 of 122. The 71.8%-to-57.4% differential was substantially larger (14.4) than the differential Djokovic managed (12.1) over the course of the alleged greatest season in the history of the universe. Which is to say it was not a competitive affair.

Fed versus Tomic...hmmm. These youngsters have to get a scalp of one of the top 4 sometime or the other. Its only a matter of time.