Topic: AO 2005 - Men's Draw

[Tennis4you]

Safin just went 4 sets but squeezed out a relatively easy match against Ancic.  Federer takes the court next, I hope we see some devastation.  I am staying up late for this, it is 11:32 EST right now.

[gary2414]

Federer should start by midnight EST tonight which is much better than Roddick which didn't start until 1:00 AM EST and end at 3:30 AM EST which was rather quick for four sets.   Federer seems so much better than the others it seem.  He should win in straight sets and this could be over by 2:00 AM EST.  In the first two rounds the others in the top five seeds of the men has lost at least one set it seems.  Also it seems that at least all of the top three sets in the women has lost at least one set it seems.

[Tennis4you]

Federer was off tonight but was not really concerned seeing that he was chipping and charging and just coming to the net to work on his net game.  Unfortunetly his opponent retired while Federer was leading 6-3, 5-2.

Anyone see the shot Gaudio hit between his legs while coming to the net to cover a drop shot?  He his a severe angled drop shot himself, between his legs!!!

[Thomas]

Bloody hell!!! I missed it. For sure will be all over at SportsCenter.

[MC ill Logic]

Did anybody see the tie-breaker between Hewitt and Blake?  Tied at 7-7, Hewitt won a great point by volleying a lob over Blake, then he did that thing where he points at his own eyes.

On the very next point, set point for Leyton, Blake rips a backhand return up the line for a clean winner.  Then he imitated Hewitt's eye point thingee while yelling.  He seemed pissed!  Fonny sheet.

[gm3106]

Agassi through against Dent: 7-5 7-6 6-1

Up next for Agassi is Johansson who came through an epic 4 hour encounter against Lopez. Johannson serves out of a tree, so this one will be tough for Andre, but with Johannson coming out of a 4 hour battle and Andre as fresh as can be (having one all his matches in straights) Johannson may just wilt, especially if it is played in the heat of the day.

Good performance today from Andre, although maybe a little bit fortunate in the second set, saving three set points at 0-40 down at 5-6.

The Fed V Agassi quarter looks a real possibility.

[Tennis4you]

I do not think Agassi will have much problems with JJ.  I do not know why, maybe the 4 our thingy.  He seems to be cruising, he loves it here...

[MC ill Logic]

I feel like I say this about so many players, but JJ is super dangerous.  If Agassi beats him in straight sets then he's playing extremely well.

That score against Dent is pretty impressive.

[Tennis4you]

Yeah, it was very impressive.  I would say he is looking stronger than Federer right now.  I know, I know what I just said.

[gm3106]

We've talked quite a lot about the top half of the draw and its pretty obvious that the finalist will be either Federer, Safin or Agassi. Safin especially should reach the semis when you consider his potential opponents include the likes of Rochus. But who does everyone expect to come through the bottom half? I make Roddick the slight favourite over Hewitt to reach the final (can't see Hewitt having too many problems against Chela tonight, although Melzer is perfectly capable of testing Roddick). The only player in the bottom half who can pose problems too Hewitt and Roddick is probably Nalbandian  or Henman, although Henman has never beaten Hewitt and probaly never will, but plays well against Roddick.

[rhubarb]

Bottom half:  my favourite to reach the final would have to be Hewitt, given a semi between him and Roddick.   He's only lost once to Roddick, and that was on grass at Queen's last year.  He won their last match very easily, and whilst I expect it to be a closer contest, I think Andy might find it hard going when the crowd will be against him.

Having said that, I'd take Chela to give Hewitt a run for his money tonight, and also Nadal in the fourth round.  Lleyton might have problems with Ferrero if he can keep his form long enough, but I'd not want to put any money on that.  Roddick shouldn't be troubled unless he meets Henman, and I think Canas may take care of him.

Top half: as you said, Federer, Safin and Agassi look like the only candidates here.  I think we might lose Safin to Rochus (seriously).  Baghdatis could give Federer some thorny problems, but Roger will probably win that.

[gm3106]

Oh, I forgot about Nadal, he could definitely be a huge factor in the bottom half of the draw, no one would like to play him.

[Tennis4you]

Yeah, I second that...  His next match SHOULD be a given for him, I want to see him do well here.  Not win it, that is Federer's job, but Nadal could get soem nice confidence from this tournament.

[MC ill Logic]

Having said that, I'd take Chela to give Hewitt a run for his money tonight, and also Nadal in the fourth round.  Lleyton might have problems with Ferrero if he can keep his form long enough, but I'd not want to put any money on that.  Roddick shouldn't be troubled unless he meets Henman, and I think Canas may take care of him.

I don't expect Chela to give Hewitt much of a problem.  Maybe one or even two close sets, but straight sets nonetheless.  I used to be a slight fan of Chela's game but the more I see him the less I'm impressed.

I think we might lose Safin to Rochus (seriously).

I agree that an upset wouldn't be earth shattering.  Rochus is going to be GAME, and he's had some really easy matches.  He's going to be fired up and running down everything.  Of course, if Safin is in top form he's just going to hit him off the court, but if he's not playing good I think Rochus is the type of player that'll get inside of Safin's head.  

I think Safin once said Rochus has the prettiest backhand in tennis.

Baghdatis could give Federer some thorny problems, but Roger will probably win that.

Another great matchup, potential problems for the favorite.  Baghdatis by all accounts is a talented player, and if he's got any sort of net game, he should be like Suzuki and come in a lot.  Suzuki did a lot just by attacking relentlessly.  I think what Suzuki did MOST right, though, is not letting a few beautiful passes off Federer's magic wand deter him from adhering to the game plan -- attacking the net relentlessly.  If B keeps coming in, he could maybe disrupt Federer at the net, PLUS, unlike Suzuki who has no groundstrokes at this level, he could exchange with Roger from the baseline.  

He has no chance if he stays at the baseline and tries to feel out Roger early on.  If he does that Roger's going to fall into a groove quickly and once he takes a lead, Roger becomes absolutely lethal.

Attack attack attack.

[timd818]

It's pretty scary when players have to alter their games just for Federer. You don't see anyone changing their games for anyone else. Just goes to show how dominant Federer is. From what I've seen last night, Federer was working on his net game, nothing more than that.

[Tennis4you]

Yeah, but he did miss a lot more shots than I think he wanted to.  But if you are going to have an off day, the third round is a good time for it if you are the #1 seed.  In 2 more matches he will need to be 95% or better for a potential AA.

[sraj87]

Nadal is a big threat to Hewitt- I was impressed with his fight during the 4th and 5th sets against Youzhny. Make no mistake- he doesn't have a big serve, but his forehand is both powerful and has some serious "workage" on it, his backhand is solid, and he moves like a cat.

I think Roddick has to be the favorite in the bottom half, even if Hewitt was in better form during the 2nd half of last year. This surface has been good to Roddick (SF in 2003, and would've been finalist if not for fatigue/wrist injury, and close 2004 QF loss to Safin), and his high bouncing serves could give the more diminuitive Hewitt trouble. Hewitt has never played very well here, with some strange losses, and I think Roddick has a slight edge over him on the Rebound Ace surface.

As for the top half, if Safin can't make the semis now, he should basically quit tennis. Having  to beat Rochus and then Johansson/Hrbaty in the quarters (although he has lost to both Hrbaty and Johansson here before) should be a piece of cake, since he seems to be playing very well now. I know Andre looked really good against Dent, but I just do not see Roger losing to him. At the US Open, Andre had a lot going for him: The surface (Roger never played well at the Open), the crowd (obviously), and some awfully windy conditions (which Agassi has always said he likes), and Fed still prevailed.

[Tennis4you]

Henman Nikolay Davydenko 6-4 6-2 6-2.  I did nto expect that.  These courts are a little slower than his preference, but after last years FO you never know about Henman.

[Tennis4you]

Another suprise...
Guillermo Coria (6)   def.   Juan Carlos Ferrero (31)   6-3, 6-2, 6-1

I wouldn't have guessed a meeting between those two would be so lopsided.  I would of guessed a 4 or 5 setter going either way.  Nice win for Coria, even if he is the #6 seed.

[MC ill Guest]

At the US Open, Andre had a lot going for him: The surface (Roger never played well at the Open), the crowd (obviously), and some awfully windy conditions (which Agassi has always said he likes), and Fed still prevailed.

Agassi's comment aside, I would think Federer would be a much better wind player than just about anybody.  Agassi is perhaps the purest ball striker in the game, and I don't see how that type of percision would necessarily mean being good in the wind.  Federer, on the other hand, also a great ball striker, but much more variety, feel, and improvisational ability, all qualities that helps in the wind.  

With the wind at his back, I'd imagine Federer's slice backhand would be nasty, very hard to hit a passing off against the wind off that slippery thing.