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Australian Open Day 7: My Favorite Things
By Chris Oddo Photo Credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve
Join us each day throughout the Australian Open as we reflect on the moments that made the day special in Melbourne…
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1. The Uncanny Resilience of the Bryan Brothers
Things were starting to look bleak for the Bryan Brothers yesterday. They had just been bageled in a set for the first time since 2009, and their third-round opponents, Brits Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins, were starting to look like a team of destiny. But not so fast. The Bryans haven’t built their legacy as one of the best teams to ever step on a doubles court without overcoming a bit of adversity here and there. In fact, the last time they were bageled, by Lukasz Kubot and Oliver Marach in the 2009 Cincinnati semis, they went on to win the match and the tournament.
Bob and Mike responded similarly yesterday, gutting out a shaky hold to even the third set, then producing an array of clutch shots to secure the break in the very next game. “It felt like we couldn’t win points there for a while,” said Bob Bryan. But when they did, they came in bunches. By the time ESPN had switched to coverage of the match, the five-time and defending Australian Open champs were off to the races, cruising to a 6-4, 0-6, 6-2 win.
The lesson for Hutchins and Fleming? Maybe it’s not such a good idea to bagel the Bryan Brothers.
2. The Fleet Footwork of Victoria Azarenka
After a full week in Melbourne, one name that keeps cropping up as a potential titlist is Victoria Azarenka. “What impressed me about Azarenka is the improvement in her movement,” said Mary Jo Fernandez, after Azarenka’s breezy 6-2, 6-2 victory over Czech Iveta Benesova in the round of 16. “She’s not only attacking well, but she’s defending well, and she’s being very stingy. All the big points she’s playing very high percentage tennis… I think for the first time she’s really going into a Grand Slam with the belief that she can go all the way.”
Fernandez’s sentiments are echoed by a lot of experts, and for good reason. Azarenka’s playing extremely aggressive tennis, but she’s also doing so under control, choosing the right shots for the right moments in the match. And footwork has everything to do with her success. Azarenka is remarkably quick, she’s sprightly, she’s got great balance through the point of contact, and she’s as fit as she’s ever been. Once you get past the shriek, there is a whole lot to love about Azarenka’s game. It really is a thing of beauty.
3. The Mixed Doubles Paring of Kei Nishikori and Kimiko Date Krumm
19 years separates the unlikely Japanese mixed doubles pairing of Kei Nishikori and Kimiko Date-Krumm, but today they played seamlessly, almost as if they were identical twins. Okay, I might be exaggerating a bit there, but still it was great to see Date-Krumm, one of the greatest stories on the WTA Tour ever since she came out of a prolonged retirement a few years ago, out there with the whipper-snapper Nishikori, who is nearly half her age. The pair played joyful tennis, with Nishikori walloping his signature forehand whenever he could, and Date-Krumm deploying angled volleys and flat forehands to keep their opponents, Argentine’s Eduardo Schwank and Gisela Dulko, off balance throughout the 6-4, 6-1 first-round tilt.
This was most certainly one of those matches where you wished that nobody had to lose. When Clijsters, who is probably playing her last Australian Open, saved four match points in the second set tiebreaker, we instantly knew it was one of those insta-classic moments that will be replayed from here to eternity. That’s never a bad feeling to get when watching a match.
Then, almost predictably, Li went on walkabout for the first four games of the third set (and who could blame her?) before she valiantly fought back to heighten the tension even further. Finally, it was Kim Clijsters closing it out with the roar of the Aussie crowd bellowing down in waves, 4-6, 7-6 (6), 6-4. “I knew that it was going to be – physically, mentally, everything, – to be tough, but I didn’t expect this,” said a relieved and exalted Clijsters after the match.
After Almagro pegged him with a forehand in the right arm during the fifth-set of their hotly contested match, Berdych chose to make a statement and refuse to shake the hand of Almagro at the net when the match was finished. Turns out it was not such a good PR move, as the Aussie crowd showered him with heckles and boos throughout his post-match interview. The disgust was palpable, to put it mildly. Poor Berdych. He’ll need the crowd to support him when he goes against Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals, but after this whiny incident (Darren Cahill called him a wuss on ESPN) he’s likely going to have to deal with boo birds in addition to Rafa. “The only things worse than a bad loser is a bad winner,” said an irked Chris Evert after the match.
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