Novak Djokovic - Men's Champion
*****
Victoria Azarenka - Women's Champion
*****
The Bryan Brothers - Men's Doubles Champions
*****
Sara Errani & Roberta Vinci - Women's Doubles Champions
*****
Jarmila Gajdosova & Matthew Ebden - Mixed Doubles Champions
Australian Open - Women's Final
1 Victoria Azarenka d 6 Li Na - 46 64 63
I don't think I have ever seen a match with a player that unpopular.
I mean, crickets could be heard on some of Vika's winners.
Who knew that that injury timeout during the Sf's was gonna be so deadly.
That and Li Na is just that much loved Down Under.
Vika won her 2nd Slam title which was also her 2nd Aussie title.
The defending champ needed to win to keep her #1 ranking.
Tho it seems only a matter of very little time until Serena grabs it.
Post match: It's been a wonderful two weeks for me.
I will always keep a very special memory of this court -
it will always be in my heart. And also congratulations to Li Na -
it has been a great start of the year for you -
best of luck and I hope to see you in many more finals.
And the last thing I wanted to say is Happy Australia Day everybody!
Seems they'd have been happier with a different champion.
Ha, take that Happy Slam.
Australian Open - Men's Double Final
1 Bryan Brothers d Hasse & Sijsling - 63 64
The boys win their 84th tour-level tour and historic 13th Slam title.
Post match: It feels real good to have that record.
To be a part of history is pretty special.
We weren't thinking about it much out there, but now that we have it,
it's going to be fun to look back on our career
andsay we have the most Grand Slams.
It's a big record, so we're pretty excited about it.
Look out folks they're in it til Rio. And want to cross the 100 title mark.
Easy-peasy.
Australian Open - Women's Doubles Final
1 Sara Errani & Roberta Vinci d Barty & Dellacqua - 62 36 62
The Italian's win their 3rd Slam togther - and in less than a year.
And everyone thought this was improbably...
Cuz they had Serena & Venus in the Qf's. Yea, handled that.
Well done ladies.
Australian Open - Men's Semifinal
3 Andy Murray d 2 Roger Federer - 64 67(5) 63 67(2) 62
What a great match. Both guys dug really deep to give us this one.
At over 30 it just seemed Roger just kinda ran out of gas.
And don't get me started on the weird gamesmanship in the 4th. Ugh, Rog.
Andy improves his winning H2H over the GOAT to 11-9.
He is also closing the gap on Rog and that #2 ranking.
This is Andy's third Aussie final: in '10 he lost to Fed & '11 he lost to Nole.
Post match: I hope on Sunday I can play a good match.
...having won against Novak before in a Slam final will help mentally.
[But] he's playing extremely well.
I think Nole has the slight edge but the match could go either.
Gonna be a fun one for sure.
Australian Open - Men's Semifinal
1 Novak Djokovic d 4 David Ferrer - 62 62 61
I am a big Ferrer fan and I knew this wasn't going to be much of a match.
But props to David - he will be rewarded with the #4 ranking on Monday.
Novak reaches his 4th Aussie final - a round he's never lost: '08, '11-'12.
He is going for a rare hat-trick.
This is also his 10th Slam final: 5-4.
He'll play the winner of the Federer/Murray match being played tonight.
Either way... I picked Nole to win 2 weeks ago and I'm sticking with him.
Post match: It's going to be a great match, obviously.
They're great rivals and also the best players in the world at this moment.
They will definitely perform their best for sure in semi-finals.
I wouldn't rate anybody as a favourite.
Just considering myself, I'll be ready for whomever I play against.
Right.
Australian Open - Women's Semifinal
1 Victoria Azarenka d 29 Sloane Stephens - 61 64
The defending champ is thru to her 2nd straight Aussie Open final.
This is also her 2nd straight Slam final: she lost to Serena at the USO.
She will win many Slams but she'll have a tough one against Li Na.
Vika has a 5-4 lead and has won the last 4.
But this is a newly dedicated Li Na so it should be a great match.
Post match: I'm really hungry to defend my title, that was my first goal -
actually, not to defend, it was to win the tournament.
I've put myself in the position to give it the best shot there is,
being in the final.
She talks funny. Winning the tournie IS defending. Stop tripping.
Australian Open - Women's Semifinal
6 Li Na d 2 Maria Sharapova - 62 62
Amazing. I so wouldn't mind if she won her 2nd Slam this weekend.
I mean, it's really hard NOT to just love this woman.
And I think mama will be ready:
What should I worry about? I worked so hard in winter training,
and now everything is coming back to me. I'll come to the court,
take the racquet and enjoy the tennis.
She takes a 4-5 H2H deficit into the final with Vika.
And she already raised a trophy this season at Shenzhen.
Vika must be favored - but I'm having a feeling otherwise...
Australian Open - Men's Quarterfinals
3 Andy Murray d Jeremy Chardy - 64 61 62
This is Andy's 4th straight Aussie Sf: 2-1 and 12th Slam Sf: 5-6.
Andy has only lost 1 set this year and is looking for his 2nd title in '13.
Now that he's joined the Slam club maybe he's more relaxed?
He'll need his best when he faces Federer in the Sf's.
Post match: I feel probably a little bit calmer maybe than usual.
But I still have an understanding of how difficult it is to win these events.
With the players that are still left in the tournament,
it's going to be a very tough, tough few days if I want to do that.
So I'll just stay focused, work hard in my next couple of practice sessions,
and hope I can finish the tournament well.
Whether he wins here or not but he will not be a one Slam wonder.
Australian Open - Women's Quarterfinals
29 Sloane Stephens d 3 Serena Williams - 36 75 64
That sure felt like a momumental changing-of-the-guard moment.
Sure Serena effed up her back in the 2nd set - she seemed fine in the 3rd.
Sloane is the 1st US teen to reach a Slam Sf since Serena at USO in '01.
Post match: Last night someone asked me, 'Do you think you can win?'
I thought about it and I was like, 'Yeah, I think so,'
but I wasn't too clear about it. This morning when I got up, I was like,
'Dude, like, you can do this. Like go out and play and do your best.'
I think I was convinced I was able to do it when I lost serve in the
first game in the second set and went down 2-0. I was like,
'Hmm, this is not the way you want it to happen.
But just fight and just get every ball back, run every ball down,
and just get a lot of balls in play. I think you'll be okay.
That's right girl. You're okay.
Australian Open - Women's Quarterfinal
1 Victoria Azarenka d Svetlana Kuznetsova - 75 61
Honey, why are you continnuing to unleash Redfoo on us?
It reminds me of the 80's with Cyndi Lauper's Rock n Wrestling.
Which was also a big ol' ugh.
I'm sure he's nice and all... But a clown in your box?
Oh yea, back to tennis.
Vika has a surprise waiting for her in the Sf's: not Serena!
It would be silly to say I'm not excited, I'm not nervous.
I think the person who is never nervous is a really scary person.
I mean, that person is a robot, really.
Huh?
Australian Open - Men's Quarterfinal
1 Novak Djokovic d 5 Tomas Berdych - 61 46 61 64
This is certainly Nole's 'Happy Slam' to be sure...
This is his 4th trip to the Sf's - once there he has always won the title.
This is also Nole's 11th consecutive Slam Sf dating back to Wimby 2010.
Of course he has a long way to go to break that ol' Fed Sf record of 23.
Post match about his quick recovery time after his 5 hour 4th rounder:
In the situations where you play a Grand Slam where you have to be ready
for five-hour matches, and then of course if you go through those matches
you have to be ready to recover in just a day and a half time.
I have a great team of people around me that are doing the best they can
in their expertise to make me feel ready physically, mentally,
emotionally, every match, every challenge.
Australian Open - Men's Quarterfinal
4 David Ferrer d 10 Nicolas Almagro - 46 46 75 76(4) 62
Nico. Nico. Nico. He had three chances to serve this thing out.
Someone is going to not sleep well for a long time.
This is David's 2nd Aussie Sf and 5 at a Slam - he's never won one.
Post match: I try to fight every point, every game.
“I know all the players, in important moments, we are nervous.
I know that. Today I was close to lost, sure. But finally I come back, no?
About playing Novak Djokovic in the Sf's:
Novak, I think now he's recovery, sure, because his physic is unbelievable.
He's the best, I think. You know, every day is different:
the weather, the conditions.
I don't know what is going to be tonight with Tomas Berdych,
but I hope it will be a long match.
It's so hard not to like this cool cat.
Australian Open - Women's Quarterfinal
2 Maria Sharapova d 19 Ekaterina Makarova - 62 62
Ok seriously, girlfriend is mighty stingy losing games this fortnight.
I mean - she has lost a total of 9 games into the Sf's. That's crazy.
This is the '08 champs 6th trip to the Aussie Sf's: 3-2.
Post match: If I start the match well, I want to follow through with that
along the whole way and keep that motivation and the way I'm playing,
doing the right things and keeping that focus. That's the important thing.
It's not to give away a few games.
That's not really the mentality of a winner, I think.
Australian Open - Women's Quarterfinal
6 Li Na d Agnieszka Radwanska - 75 63
Mama like it Down Under. This is her 3rd trip to the Sf's: 1-1.
In the process she handed Aga her first loss on the year.
The '11 French Open champ about that serve she hit into the stands:
I wanted to have good communication with the fans.
I do hope she ends up commentating at some point.
I could easily see her as a roving reporter for Tennis Channel.
Australian Open - Men's Fourth Round
3 Andy Murray d 14 Gilles Simon - 63 61 63
Skunk a tired Frenchman. He'll skunk another one tomorrow.
I don't think unseeded Jeremy Chardy is going to be much of a threat.
Tho he did get Andy in their last meeting in Cincy last year.
Don't look for lightning to strike twice.
Post match on that loss: I hope it maybe motivates me more.
Eh, Andy plays too well Down Under to lose this match.
Who will he play in the Sf's? Roger or Jo-Willy?
I'm not picking one. I'm just gonna sit back and enjoy.
Australian Open - Men's Fourth Round
7 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga d 9 Richard Gasquet - 64 36 63 62
It must suck to have to play a good friend.
But if I'm being honest I like kicking my pals asses in Words With Friends.
This is Jo-W's 4th trip to the Aussie Qf's: 2-1.
Remember, he was a surprise finalist in '08 losing to Nole in 4 tight sets.
He'll get the GOAT next: 3-8 in Federer's favor.
Jo-W seems to have a renewed work ethic:
When you work hard and you're focused on what you're doing,
I mean, you are obliged to improve again.
Even if it takes time, for sure I will improve my game.
And new coach Roger Rasheed is whipping Jo into shape.
Here's the proof - a slimmed-down version of the big Frenchman:
Australian Open - Women's Fourth Round
4 Agnieszka Radwanska d 13 Ana Ivanovic - 62 64
This is Aga's 3rd straight and 4th overall Qf at the AO: 0-3.
Something tells me she's going at least 1 match further this year.
Remember she won 2 tournaments coming into the Aussie.
In fact, she has yet to drop a set in 13 matches in 2013.
Post match: What can I say?
I'm just very happy I've been able to play at this very high level.
Already 13 matches not even losing a set -
I hope I can keep going for three more.
I wouldn't be mad at that.
Australian Open - Women's Fourth Round
2 Maria Sharapova d Kristen Flipkens - 61 60
This is the fewest games lost since '88 when the draw went to 7 matches.
Post match: It's really about keeping your focus,
no matter what the score is, no matter if you're up or down.
If we're being honest Maria hasn't face a tough opponent yet.
And yes, I'm including Venus in that. V is a shadow of her once great self.
I doubt Makarova will be too tough either.
Maybe she'll get some decent opposition in the final. Where she is heading.
Novak Djokovic Wins 4th Australian Open Title
Australian Open - Men's Final
1 Novak Djokovic d 3 Andy Murray - 67(2) 76(3) 63 62
Novak wins a first-ever Open Era hat-trick and 4th title Down Under.
This also the Serb's 6th Slam and 35th ATP title.
Post match: Winning it three [times] in a row, it's incredible.
It's very thrilling. I'm full of joy right now.
It's going to give me a lot of confidence for the rest of the season,
that's for sure.
Yes, that is for sure.
And Nole has his eyes set on completing the career Slam:
I want to go all the way at [Roland Garros].
I went to the final last year and had a great match against Rafa,
but he's always the favorite on that surface
and he's the ultimate player to beat on clay.
But I think if I continue on playing well, stay healthy, I can have a chance.
Again, that is for sure.
Posted at 10:37 AM in Andy Murray, Australian Open, Commentary, Grand Slam Tennis, Mens Tennis, Novak Djokovic, Scores | Permalink | Comments (0)
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