ACTUALLY, WHEN YOU THINK OF IT, IT MAKES SENSE: As Fernando Gonzalez gave Andy Roddick more than he bargained for in the fourth round, Justin Gimelstob said, “He’s playing with such unpredictable consistency. That’s a contradiction, but …”
CUTTING EDGE COMMENTARY OF THE AO: Reflecting on a nervous Juan Martin Del Potro, Chris Fowler said, “I think he’s an edgy Argie.”
KEY WORDS: Lleyton Hewitt – Com’ on; Brad Gilbert – Buddy; Serena Williams – Honestly; John McEnroe – To be honest; Justine Henin – Allez; Rafa Nadal – No?; Dick Enberg – Oh my; Justin Gimelstob – You Got to be Kidding.
THE END OF DUOPOLY? The word duopoly is: 1) A word which has never been used in any tennis analysis we’ve ever seen before. 2.) Is defined as “an economic situation in which two powerful groups or organizations dominate or dominate commerce.” Of course, all this didn’t stop Jon Wertheim who — after noting that Fed and Nadal recently had won 17 of 18 majors — claimed there were still six men who could win the AO and that “we are starting to see the break up of the Federer- Nadal duopoly.”
THERE’S A KIND OF HUSH ALL OVER THE ‘RODDICKIAN’ WORLD: What’s with this (panic- free) Federerian calm that the once volatile Roddick is now displaying on court? And will it last?
THE MOST SELFISH MAN IN TENNIS?: Jim Courier told Nadal, “You hit with more topspin than anybody. Why do you need more? You’re so selfish.”
SHOUTING OUT THE OBVIOUS: After the injured Dinara Safina said she wasn’t sure whether she could fly home, Chris Fowler noted, “It will be tough to leave Australia without flying.”…While commentating on the increasingly loud Yanina Wickmayer, Leif Shiras noted, “It seems that her grunt has gotten louder as the effort has gotten greater.”
WEATHERING THE STORM: Justine Henin has been battling through a brutal quarter of the draw. But the skies have cleared and now the highest ranked player in her path to the finals is Nadia Petrova, the No. 19 seed.
IT’S NOT ONLY THE HEIGHT STUPID: These big guys – Delpo, Cilic and Isner – can really move.
WHISTLE WHILE ANDY WORKS: Along with Lleyton Hewitt, perhaps no other active player has faced more hostile crowds than Roddick. Still all those annoying staccato whistles in Rod Laver Arena finally got to the tough Texan. His patience worn, he told the ump, “all you have to do is spot one out of 15,000 [fans] and then we can do something about it … [but] you are going to ask nicely and say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ nicely.”
VIVE LA DIFFERENCE: Justin Gimelstob said that nobody “jaws” with his Friends Box in a positive way more than Roddick, and nobody jaws more with their box in a negative way than Tommy Haas.
SMASHING RACKETS, TANKING POINTS, USING OLD SCHOOL SAWDUST, CHANGING RACKETS JUST BEFORE HUGE POINTS: Fernando Gonzalez.
BALD FACED TRUTHS: In his bio, Andre Agassi revealed that he shaved his head because he was tired of all the hassles his mohawk wig was giving him. In her upcoming bio, “Living Through the Racket,” Corina Morariu, poignantly speaks of shaving her head because she had leukemia.
SPEAKING OF HAIRLINES: In our last collection of extremely profound notes, we asked whose hairline is receding more markedly, Lleyton Hewitt or Marcos Baghdatis. Silly us, we forgot to include on our list the foremost celeb of the AO, William of Windsor, the British Prince with his thinning hair.
TIMES CHANGE: Roddick said, “I used to be kind of big, now I’m kind of small.” … Before her retirement, Henin said, “I would look in the mirror and the woman I saw was so lost. I felt so empty.” Now she wants to relish the joy of the game … In Cliff Drysdale‘s day, players thought muscle mass was bad for their tennis games and would never go into what gyms there were at the time. Now Drysdale is regularly in the gym.
SAY IT ISN’T SO: After his marathon loss to Marin Cilic, Del Potro said his whole body hurt …Nadal hasn’t won a tournament since last spring…Venus Williams hasn’t won a major off of grass in nine years… As young kids, Belgians Henin and Wickmayer both lost their moms to cancer.
YES, WE HAVE NO BANANAS: Safina said, “Actually, I can make not bad asparagus.”
THAT’S THE WAY THE BALL BOUNCES: Reflecting on a marathon Roddick-Gonzalez set, Leif Shiras noted its length, adding that it “wasn’t a Rafa Nadal set [with] 10 minutes of ball bouncing.”
BACK TO BACKS: Andy Murray’s two breathtaking winners off John Isner were probably the two most spectacular back-to-back shots in Grand Slam history … Isner reached the fourth round of back-to-back Slams… Once retired Belgian icons could win back-to-back Slams…On a match point in the second round, Roddick came out on the short end of an ump’s call on whether a shot (which was reviewed by instant replay) was playable or not. Then on set point in Roddick’s fourth round against Gonzo, a critical ump’s decision on whether a replay point was playable or not went in his favor.
WHAT RULE?: Roddick said he didn’t “have a clear grasp of the rule” [on whether a ball is still in play if a player challenges the calls]. But is there a rule or is it just a judgment call?
‘JUSTINE’ CASE YOU DIDN’T NOTICE: In a land of imposing giants one little lady still prevails.
BACKWARD COMPLIMENTS: When it comes to generating power while retreating off their back foot, are Nadal and Henin the best in the game?
ACTUALLY ORACENE [PRICE] IS USUALLY A PRETTY IMPASSIVE OBSERVER: Before playing homestanding Sam Stosor, Serena made clear the obvious, saying, “I expect the crowd to root for Sam…I don’t see why they should root for me. Hopefully, my mom will cheer for me.”
SEMI-WRONG: We ain’t prudes, but Chris Fowler was a bit off when he said Roddick’s second-round post-match rant was merely “semi-profane.” The salty Yank actually used two very naughty words you don’t usually hear in Sunday School.
NARROW VICTORY: Compared with tennis’ challenge protocols, yes there is more drama and strategy involved in the NFL’s challenge system — but not much more.
DAVYDENKO 411: Russian Nikolay Davydenko is on a 12-match winning streak (which includes wins over Fed, Rafa and Delpo); he lost the fewest games of any man going into the fourth round and has imposed a bagel on each of his first three opponents.
IT’S NO DJOKOVIC: Novak Djokovic could leave Melbourne as No. 1.
PAYBACK CITY: Croat Marin Cilic, who lost to Del Potro at the U.S. Open, beat the Argentine 5-7, 6-4, 7-5, 5-7, 6-3 in a classic big-man confrontation to reach the AO quarters.
SHE AIN’T NO PATRIOT: Maria Kirilenko has AO wins over fellow Russians Maria Sharapova and Safina.
IT JUST DOESN’T HAVE THE SAME RING: “Breakfast at the Australian Open.”
QUOTEBOOK
“You got to be kidding! A curling lob on the side of the line, this guy’s a genius.” – Justin Gimelstob on Fernando Gonzalez
“I just can’t move anymore.” — Dinara Safina, after she withdrew during her fourth round match against Maria Kirilenko
“This match spoke so much the character of Andy Roddick.” – Leif Shiras on A-Rod’s win over Gonzo
