[Grand Slam] Australian Open 2014

[Peplin]

A MJK defronta a Alizé Lim na 1ª ronda do qualifying.

[Klebergol]

A Alize tem estado em boa forma neste início de época.

[Peplin]

http://www.ausopen.com/en_AU/news/galleries/2014-01-08/201401081389170937300.html

 

 

Roger Federer and Friends night raises over $1 million

 

 

Certain ovations are reserved for the true legends of a sport so when Rod Laver was brought onto court to hit a few balls with Roger Federer on Tuesday night, it was enough to bring a tear to the eye of Federer’s wife Mirka.

 

The magnitude of Australian great Laver’s influence on the sport is not lost on Federer and the Swiss great was humbled to have his idol participate in the charity night celebrating 10 years of the Roger Federer Foundation.

 

Before a near packed crowd on the centre court named in Laver’s honour, a contingent of Australian influences on Federer’s career were brought onto court. First, his long-time rival Lleyton Hewitt, then former coach Tony Roche, who guided him to six of his 17 majors. Pat Rafter – a player who has the enviable honour of having never lost to Federer – followed and admitted while they only played once, it was so early on in his opponent’s career that he was “barely out of nappies.”

 

Federer’s opponent for the charity match, French world No.10 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, made his entrance but without doubt the loudest cheers came when Federer greeted Laver.

 

“Well I was nervous and then he came out and I tried to keep the ball in play. I was able to do that. It was just a dream come true to be able to play some balls with him, spend time with him, speaking to him, he’s such an inspiration and has such a big impact on the game of tennis particularly here in Australia and it’s very, very special for all of us,” Federer said.

 

For the record, Federer won the hit-out with Tsonga 6-7(5) 6-3 7-5, but the true focus was on Federer’s foundation, with the televised event and resulting donations raising more than $1 million on the night.

 

“It’s something that’s very close to my heart, (I’m) very emotionally attached to it,” Federer said. “For me to reach 10 years already is a great deal because I’m happy I was able to start it so early … My mum has been the big inspiration behind me starting the foundation from a very young age and in 10 years of the foundation we’ve reached about 86,000 kids, so far, who are poorly educated.

 

“We have an ambitious goal to reach 1 million kids by 2018 and an event like this is obviously going to help in a great way.”

 

In ausopen.com

Editado 8 Janeiro 2014 por Peplin

[Peplin]

[Peplin]

Roger and the Australian Open

 

 

Roger Federer has never lost in the first round of the Australian Open, but try and find an image of that first match at Melbourne Park and it's not an easy task.

 

Then the world No.62, the 18-year-old with the fluid strokes was considered simply another potential top 10 player who was yet to prove himself.

 

Looking back on the Swiss Superstar's first foray at Melbourne Park it comes as no surprise that he defeated Michael Chang, a Grand Slam title winner and then world No.38, no less.

 

Federer's early years in Melbourne were not remarkable but they whispered a promise of more to come. Third round appearances in 2000 and 2001 were followed by consecutive fourth-rounds in 2002 and 2003 - all of which proved to be the foundation for the legacy he would later build.

 

Roger's Melbourne breakthrough came in 2004. Already a champion the previous year at Wimbledon, Federer entered the event as the second seed, behind reigning US Open champion Andy Roddick. Victories over Lleyton Hewitt and David Nalbandian were the highlights for Federer.

 

“I've had bad records against them. To have won the tournament with beating these guys, really it adds, you know, just more - more quality - even better."

 

A straight-sets victory over burly Russian Marat Safin in the final was no fluke but a warning of things to come. That final saw Federer get better the longer the match lasted – soon to be a trademark.

 

Twelve months on and Marat would have his revenge over Federer in a classic semifinal that would only spur the world No.1 to greater heights in 2006 and 2007.

 

In 2006 the top seed had to overcome the Smiling Cypriot, Marcos Baghdatis, who had captured the collective heart of the tennis world with his fearless game and infectious smile.

 

The fairytale wasn't to be for Marcos as Federer put a stop to his run in four sets. This title set Federer up for statistically his most dominant year on the tour – a 92-5 season that created "a monster" that Federer would refer to later in his career.

 

A tearful Federer accepted the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup from his idol Rod Laver and endeared himself to fans worldwide with his sincerity in victory.

 

Australian Open 2007 was Federer at his awe-inspiring best. He didn't drop a set in seven matches and knocked out five seeded players.

 

Not even Chile's Fernando Gonzalez and his whip-like forehand could penetrate Federer's bullet-proof game.

 

By 2008 Federer was a superstar. Not just in tennis, but all sports. He had owned the top spot since 2004, his face adorned billboards in every city he played and so it came as a shock when third seed Novak Djokovic bundled him out in the semifinals in straight sets.

 

Despite not winning the event, it was still a top four finish – a great return for anyone. Anyone but Federer according to the media. The world No.1 had become so dominant that he was expected to always win and if he didn't there would be questions, many questions.

 

"Of course, I've created a monster, so I know I need to always win every tournament. But semis is still, you know, pretty good," he reflected after the loss to Djokovic.

 

What nobody knew then was that Federer was battling mononucleosis, which wasn't diagnosed until the completion of AO2008, making his semifinal finish all the more impressive.

 

The final of 2009 versus Rafael Nadal is as famous for the match as it is for the presentation. Four classic sets highlighted the best of these two modern day rivals.

 

Nadal would ultimately run away with the match in the fifth set and famously consoled Federer during the presentation, such was the mutual respect between the pair.

 

Roger's most recent triumph in Melbourne came in 2010 when he piled more Grand Slam misery on Great Scot Andy Murray in a straight-sets final.

 

The past three years have seen Federer make it deep into each event but his progress to the final has been halted by his fellow members of the Big 4 – Djokovic in 2011, Nadal in 2012 and Murray last year.

 

Tennis fans around the world hope that the Swiss Maestro can once more weave his brilliance at what will be his fiftennth Australian Open.

 

And should Federer win his opening round, just as he did in 2000 against Chang, hopefully this time around there won't be any problems finding a picture or two of that victory.

 

In ausopen.com

 

 

Women's qualifying preview

 

 

A run through qualifying and an upset over world No.22 Sorana Cistea at last week's WTA event in Auckland came a fraction too late for women’s qualifying top seed Sharon Fichman, whose new ranking of world no.69 would have granted her direct access to the Australian Open main draw.

 

Fichman is competing for one of 16 qualifying spots in the main draw of the women’s singles at Australian Open 2014 but faces a tough first-round match-up against last year’s junior world No.1 Belinda Bencic – a player who claimed both junior French and Wimbledon singles titles in 2013. The Swiss 16-year-old grew up being coached by Martina Hingis’s mother Melanie Molitor and is bidding to reach her first grand slam main draw.

 

Bencic’s junior rival, Croatian Ana Konjuh, captured the junior Australian and US Open titles last year and has already made waves in 2014, having upended world No.14 Roberta Vinci, the top seed in Auckland last week. Konjuh opens against Latvian Diana Marcinkevica.

 

Australian former world No.62 Anastasia Rodionova will have her work cut out to reach her seventh Australian Open main draw with American second seed Coco Vandeweghe her first obstacle. Vandeweghe, whose mother represented the United States in Olympic swimming and volleyball, is currently sitting at 111th in the world.

 

Rodionova won the doubles title last week in Brisbane with Russian Alla Kudryavtseva, a former top-60 player who will open her qualifying campaign against former French world No.15 Aravane Rezai. Rodionova’s sister Arina, fresh from a runner-up finish to Casey Dellacqua in last month’s Australian Open wildcard play-off, will face British seventh seed Heather Watson. The Brit came through qualifying in a stacked Brisbane field last week and is looking to return to her career-best of No.40 in the world.

 

Other Australians joining the Rodionovas in the qualifying draw are Priscilla Hon, Maddison Inglis, Naiktha Bains, Tammi Patterson and Sara Tomic, the 15-year-old sister of Bernard Tomic.

 

Tomic Jr contested qualifying in Sydney this week and faces a difficult first clash with Austrian Tamira Pazcek, a two-time former Wimbledon quarterfinalist.

 

Meanwhile, last year’s WTA Tour Comeback Player of the Year Alisa Kleybanova continues her return to the game after beating Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The Russian former top 20 player, best remembered in Australia for her marathon loss to Jelena Dokic on Rod Laver Arena four years ago, takes on ninth seed Kristina Pliskova of the Czech Republic.

 

Qualifying matches begin at 10 am at Melbourne Park, entry is free. If you can’t make it to Melbourne Park, you can follow the live scores and live video streaming on here on ausopen.com.

 

In ausopen.com

[Peplin]

Nico Almagro out.

[joao86]

MJK perdeu 6-7(1) 1-6. Depois de uma entrevista ao Público onde mostrou estar com a moral em baixo, ter estado doente na última semana e sem treinar só veio piorar. Resultado temido, mas que, tendo em conta a situação em que está, acaba por ser compreensível.

[Lleyton]

6-1 para o Rui no primeiro set!

[Lleyton]

Nadal vs Tomic na 1ª ronda :prayer:

 

João vs Q

 

Hewitt vs Seppi, podia ser pior mas também não me agrada muito

Editado 10 Janeiro 2014 por Lleyton

[Hugo Jr.]

Rui perdeu o 2º set....

[Perdigas]

O Rui vai perder isto, disse-o no fim do 1º set mas não quis agoirar aqui

[Jone Sampaoli]

epá o lado esquerdo do sorteio é simplesmente surreal :lol: Nadal, Tsonga, Federer, Murray, Del Potro

 

e o Nadal começa com o Tomic :lol: :lol: 3R leva com o Monfils e ainda tem Raonic, Dimitrov, Hewitt...

se o Nadal vence isto é um semi-Deus

Editado 10 Janeiro 2014 por Jone Queiroz

[Lleyton]

Rui perdeu o 2º set....

Por 3-6 e esteve a vencer por 3-2 e *40-15 :lol:

[Lleyton]

epá o lado esquerdo do sorteio é simplesmente surreal :lol: Nadal, Tsonga, Federer, Murray, Del Potro

 

e o Nadal começa com o Tomic :lol: :lol: 3R leva com o Monfils e ainda tem Raonic, Dimitrov, Hewitt...

se o Nadal vence isto é um semi-Deus

O azar do Nadal é só o potencial Del Potro nos quartos. Também não é agradável levar com o Tomic na 1ª ronda, mas se não o vencer também não está lá a fazer nada. Agora o resto desses nomes :laugh:

[Hugo Jr.]

6-3 no último set para o Starace...

[joao86]

Gosto bastante do quadro do Joao.

[Descartes]

Gosto bastante do quadro do Joao.

 

Também eu.

 

Rui... :(

[Peplin]

Muitos potenciais encontros interessantes logo nas primeiras rondas, gosto do quadro.

 

O João tem um boa oportunidade de ir à 2ª ronda, mais do que isso não acredito muito.

[Jone Sampaoli]

O azar do Nadal é só o potencial Del Potro nos quartos. Também não é agradável levar com o Tomic na 1ª ronda, mas se não o vencer também não está lá a fazer nada. Agora o resto desses nomes :laugh:

 

os nomes de baixo ou os de cima? :mrgreen:

o nível do lado esquerdo do quadro é surreal.

[Rōnin]

epá o lado esquerdo do sorteio é simplesmente surreal :lol: Nadal, Tsonga, Federer, Murray, Del Potro

 

e o Nadal começa com o Tomic :lol: :lol: 3R leva com o Monfils e ainda tem Raonic, Dimitrov, Hewitt...

se o Nadal vence isto é um semi-Deus

 

Estou a ver esse quadro a ser todo aberto na primeira semana do torneio :lol:

[Lleyton]

os nomes de baixo ou os de cima? :mrgreen:

o nível do lado esquerdo do quadro é surreal.

Todos. O Tsonga desde que voltou de lesão ainda não chegou ao seu nível e ainda por cima está num quarter diferente, o Murray nem devia estar aqui a jogar, em Doha não conseguia sequer servir, o Federer nem preciso de comentar, o Monfils não tem físico nem mental para 5 sets, o Raonic e o Dimitrov coitados, o Hewitt também não tem pernas para estas andanças. Só vejo mesmo o Del Potro como potencial ameaça, e se chegar lá...

[Rōnin]

Todos. O Tsonga desde que voltou de lesão ainda não chegou ao seu nível e ainda por cima está num quarter diferente, o Murray nem devia estar aqui a jogar, em Doha não conseguia sequer servir, o Federer nem preciso de comentar, o Monfils não tem físico nem mental para 5 sets, o Raonic e o Dimitrov coitados, o Hewitt também não tem pernas para estas andanças. Só vejo mesmo o Del Potro como potencial ameaça, e se chegar lá...

 

strong era

[Lleyton]

João vs Thiem no 2º encontro do court 5.

Não auguro coisa boa.

 

Ah, e diz-se que o Simon desistiu, e assim o Monfils vai para o lugar dele no quadro (ajuste de cabeças de série), e o Benneteau para o lugar do Monfils. Assim o Nadal livra-se do Gael

Editado 11 Janeiro 2014 por Lleyton

[Klebergol]

I see a little silhouetto of a hand

[Peplin]

Thiem vai ser muito complicado.