Blog by: Chris Oddo Photo Credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve
1. Gin and Tomic – Shortly after ESPN’s Brad Gilbert christened his new nickname for Bernard Tomic, the 19-year-old Aussie turned a lot of doubters into believers when he snatched victory from the jaws of defeat against Spaniard Fernando Verdasco. The crafty, soft-balling Tomic eventually persevered in an angst-ridden four-hour and 11-minute thriller that had the crowd at Rod Laver Arena mystified. After Tomic aimlessly blew three set points in the second set, things looked bleak at best. A few hours later, with a little help from the crowd and a lot of help from Verdasco, a relieved Tomic was through to the second round. “I really don’t know how I did it,” Tomic told Jim Courier after the match. Neither do we, Bernard, but you did.
2. John Isner, Rocking Lacoste – Seeking his best Australian Open performance ever, big John Isner got off to a relatively smooth start while wearing his new French duds, defeating Australian Benjamin Mitchell, 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (1). The match itself went predictably, with Isner serving 19 aces and surrendering only one break, but seeing Isner in a collared shirt, now that was something special.
3. Top Women Holding Serve – Chaos is typically an integral part of the script in the women’s draw, and that’s all well and good. But sometimes it’s good when the big name top seeds hang around until the second week. That’s why it was so enjoyable to see Na Li, Kim Clijsters, Victoria Azarenka, and Caroline Wozniacki winning easily today. Of the three, Clijsters showed the most rust, most likely due to the recent hip muscle sprain she suffered in Brisbane. In spite of a shaky first set, the Belgian was happy to move on. “I don’t think anybody plays a Grand Slam playing seven perfect matches,” she said. “So you have to fight your way through it sometimes and find that little something extra on the most important points.”
4. The Steady Progress of Christina McHale – Not many people realize that the 19-year-old New Jersey native trails only Serena Williams when it comes to American women in the rankings. She’s No. 42 and rising, so maybe it’s time to take note of McHale, who is one Grand Slam removed from the best performance of her career at a major. Today, she pulled one of the bigger upsets of the day when she beat the No. 24-seeded Czech Lucie Safarova, 6-2, 6-4.
5. The Transcendent Footwork of Roger Federer – It wasn’t a competitive match tonight as Roger Federer scored an easy 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Russian qualifier Alexander Kudryavtsev in the first night session of the tournament – all the more reason to spend some time studying the silky stylings of one of the smoothest technicians to ever step on a tennis court. Simply put, the man walks on air. He’s balanced, explosive, intuitive, efficient, and every step he takes has purpose. If you’ve never done it before, I urge you to try it. Spend a few games watching only Federer’s feet.