Things We Learned on Day Seven of the Australian Open

In case you missed it, here is what we learned on Day One ,Day Two, Day Three, Day Four, Day Five and Day Six.

Amy:

1. I’ve learned to be emotionally detached from the vast majority of tennis matches, but Djokovic vs. Wawrinka was different. Watching Wawrinka leave the court in tears was absolutely gut-wrenching. This one will stick with me for a long time.

2. This happened on Twitter:

sharapovatwitter

3. I loved this video of Bernard Tomic talking about his loss to Roger Federer. He joked about feeling intimidated when the announcer read off all of Federer’s Grand Slam achievements before the match.

Juan José:

1. After all these years, ESPN still makes strange broadcasting decisions. At around 2:00 a.m. Eastern in the US, ESPN left the Anderson-Berdych match after the Czech wrapped up the first set. Not a surprise there. But instead of going to crunch time in the Li Na – Goerges match (which was at 6-5 in the first set), they sent it back to the studio, where four members of their crew talk about the upcoming night session at Rod Laver Arena set to start in an hour. That’s baffling. What could be worse? They went off the air after their “preview!” For an hour! To show a rerun of E:60! That’s just amazing.

2. Angelique Kerber’s Australian Open indeed got derailed by injury – just not the one I expected. In the Sydney semifinal against Cibulkova, Kerber seemed to tweak something on her right side near her hip. Against a sharp Makarova, Kerber was troubled by some back pain that started a few days ago and got progressively worse as the match wore on. A reminder that the best laid plans can be foiled by one’s own body at any given moment.

3. Agnieszka Radwanska can hit the most beautiful lob I’ve ever seen. During the second set of her straightforward win against Ana Ivanovic, the ex-Ninja (she can’t be known by that nickname anymore, since she can’t really disappear from anybody’s sight with her continued excellence) was pushed into her forehand corner. Radwanska scrambled, and skyed this incredible forehand lob that would’ve gone over the Washington Monument. What made the lob so perfect was that it landed not a foot short of the baseline. An unforgettable shot.

4. Stanislas Wawrinka is really The Man. Never again will I not capitalize that moniker.

Lindsay:

1. Well, i have a new-found appreciation for Stanislas Wawrinka. I knew he was a top ten calibre player, but I did not know he was capable of what he showed tonight. I’m absolutely gutted he lost, because he showed such guts. Take a bow, Stanley.

2. Earlier in the night — in another lifetime — the singles matches were quite dull and boring, meaning I got to watch some doubles matches. And boy, did I have fun. The Bellucci-Paire vs. Roger-Qureshi doubles match was just a blast thanks to Paire’s constant antics. I have never seen Thomaz or Paire have that much fun on a tennis court. (I’ll have a post on it later today.) Also, I spotted the Bobbsey Twins:

Dani and Fabio visors

3. Ekaterina Makarova is just a completely different player in Australia. And it’s a lot of fun to watch.

4. I’ve been somewhat joking all year here on The Changeover that this is going to be the year of Li Na, and so I’d be amiss if I didn’t mention how great she looked in her second set against Goerges. I’m really looking forward to her quarterfinal against Radwanska.

5. Seriously. Stanislas Wawrinka. Wow.

4 Responses

  1. topboy
    topboy January 20, 2013 at 10:38 am |

    I hope you learned to stop pencilling people into the finals! 🙂 I was cringing when you all were saying how Novak will get to the finals without losing a set on yesterday’s podcast. I had a feeling this was coming, thought it’d be against Berdych though.

  2. Ophelia
    Ophelia January 20, 2013 at 12:47 pm |

    I’ve learned to never, ever take for granted that a match will be a predictable rout, even if it is between the World No. 1 and a guy who hasn’t beaten him since 2009 and even if it occurs at an ungodly time during the night. So gutted that I missed watching a classic live (even if I would definitely have gotten several heart attacks during it).

  3. Fernando
    Fernando January 20, 2013 at 1:34 pm |

    Fernando says first things first- US ESPN announcer Chris Fowler must publicly apologize for once calling Stan a “Tomato Can in a previous match against Maestro.

    The physical and mental determination of the Djoker came through. Djoker refuses to lose. Iron will. He is an unbeatable superman against everyone but Rafa. The Bull is the only one who can match Djoker’s will, physicality and stamina. And the amazing thing is that this match will have no absolutely tiring effect on Djoker. He will smoke Tinman Berdych.

    I am Fernando @vivafernando

  4. Kristy
    Kristy January 20, 2013 at 2:01 pm |

    Exsqueeze me, Fernando? A chap named Andy Murray defeated Nole last summer.

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