9 Thoughts on the 3rd Round

Fresh off a five-set battle of wills with John Isner, 22-year-old Marin Cilic is exhibiting the form that landed him in the top-10 a year ago.

-- Ah, the familiar refrain, as the fuzz gets swept off the court after a highly compelling day of third round action: It was the best of times... It was the worst of times. With every splash of jubilation that we witnessed we didn't have to look very far for the sour note that inevitably accompanied it.

It is the yin and the yang of Grand Slam tennis. The sweet melody and the doleful dirge of life on the tour.

It goes without saying that Pennetta's pleasure was Peer's pain today; that Kvitova's coming of age led to Stosur feeling her age; that Cilic's fortuity marked the end of Isner's fortuity.

It is the nature of the business. They meet at the net, they battle from the baselines, and in the end they shake hands -- one hand trembling with joy, the other limp with agony.

In other words, it was one heck of a humdinger yesterday at Melbourne Park. The round of 16 begins today, but before we get the popcorn ready, let's look back at the third round that was.

1. Sam Wowed - And I don't think Sam Stosur, Australia's great hope on the women's side, was the only one that was wowed by the steely maturity of 20-year-old Czech Petra Kvitova. Once again Stosur ran into a buzzsaw, and if you're a Stosur fan (some would argue it's hard not to be) you're beginning to tire of this scenario a bit. Just like that fateful day last June when Francesca Schiavone played the most brilliant tennis of her life in the final vs. Stosur, the young lefty also brought her "A" game to Rod Laver Arena. And once again, sadly, Stosur couldn't find a way to overcome.

Is it Stosur's fault? Are there improvements she needs to make? One must consider that Stosur had leads of 3-0, 4-2, and 5-3 in the first set tiebreaker. She also had three break points at 2-2 in the second set, before Kvitova went on a tear that included 11 straight points.

This match was more about Kvitova's stellar play than Stosur's weaknesses, but one has to wonder -- when will the time come for Sam to truly wow?

2. Tsonga? Hello? - Alexandr Dolgopolov stormed to a five set victory against the enigma wrapped in a mystery, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. In the 44 minutes (the length of the final two sets) that it took for the youngster from the Ukraine to turn this match on its ear, Tsonga played as if he had a plane to catch. Or perhaps he was running from the F.B.I? Whatever the case, Tsonga managed to win only 17 out of 40 points on his serve while surrendering 5 breaks in those two sets.

Hopefully, Tsonga caught his plane.

3. Cilic is Back - Marin Cilic ripped the heart out of John Isner and saved us all a Wimbledon marathon sequel, when he broke Isner to win, 9-7 in the fifth. Could it be that the young lad has finally found himself after a turbulent back half of 2010 that saw him upset in the first round of Wimbledon and the 2nd round of the U.S. Open? And furthermore, might he have a shot against Rafa in the round of 16?

4. The Dead Zone - Play had to be stopped or delayed on two occasions for repairs to the court on Hisense Arena. For those of you who believe the ghosts of Jack Crawford and Daphne Akhurst are conspiring to wreak havoc on the modern game, you might not want to know that the reason for the dead spots was that water had worked its way below the Plexicushion, causing air pockets. Court attendants drilled holes into the surface, and presto, play was continued.

5. Chill, Roddick -- Andy Roddick moved in and blasted a short ball right at the brain of Robin Haase early in the 2nd set of their 3rd round tussle. Haase avoided the intimidating blast, which traveled to the back fence on a fly, but he didn't avoid the intimidation. After an awkward moment that saw Haase gesturing to the crowd to get behind him and Roddick acting as if he just happened to miss an easy forehand by 40 feet by accident, Haase went out with hardly a whimper in 4 sets.

6. Backhand Bliss -- It happens a few times a year, and this year it's happened early. I've fallen in love with Stan Wawrinka's backhand. He used it to perfection against Gael Monfils on Friday night in the first set, mixing flat drives down the line with topspin angles crosscourt with a certain demonic wickedness. Monfils seemed to enjoy the running, until he found himself pretty much gassed by the end of the first-set tiebreaker. I like a lot of one-handers -- Haas, Kohlschreiber, Henin, Federer, Youzhny, Gasquet -- but to me Wawrinka's is the best because he can go anywhere with it, and he can drive it for clean winners like nobody else in the game.

7. Belgian Bump in the Road -- Justine and Svetlana had a very entertaining battle that ended -- after much nerve wracking and teeth gnashing -- in a straight-set win for the Russian. Huge win for Kuznetsova, and now that she's beaten Stosur and Henin (she was 2-16 vs. Henin coming in), it's hard not to wonder if Svetlana has the necessary wind in her sails to take her all the way to Grand Slam title number three. It's certainly not out of the realm of possibilities, and the odds will significantly increase if she can get past Francesca Schiavone in round 4.

8. Azarenka-Li, must-see TV? - Vika hasn't made it past the third round in 4 of her last 5 Grand Slams, but she was a quarterfinalist in Melbourne last year. Li, by the way, was a semifinalist. Both ladies have been travelling under the radar this week -- but this tilt has the potential to be an entertaining affair. Azarenka took their last head-to-head match in Montreal, but Li won the first two.

9. Raon Man - Talk about exploding onto the scene. Milos Raonic was hardly known to anyone save for a few tennis-loving canucks and savvy tennis fans before his big, bold, game graced the courts of Melbourne Park in qualifying just over a week ago. Now he's a sensation, a revelation, and a bonafide contender for a quarterfinal spot next week. That being said, he's never played David Ferrer, and that can be another type of revelation for even the biggest and baddest of ATP servers.

Still, the 6'5" Montenegrin-born player is the youngest left in the draw, and the lowest ranked. He'll likely shoot up the ATP rankings into the top-100 even if he drops out of the next round in Australia.

Taking a Cue From Woz

Caroline Wozniacki's presser has made me imagine all the wonderful things I would ask tennis pros in an ideal world.

Awesome.

That's all I could think when I watched this. How clever of world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki to embark on a little renegade P.R. work to further her own cause, which, as far as I can tell, is to become the most sought after flaxen-haired tennis player in all the land.

With this genuine and funny and now viral video, Wozniacki has created a buzz, and hopefully she'll inspire a few journalists in Melbourne to take her advice, and loosen up a bit in the pressers.

Sure, we all want to hear Kei Nishikori answer a question about Brad Gilbert, but do we need to hear the same question after every match? Why not ask him to bust out his Ipod and crank up some of that J-pop music from Japan that he claims to like?

And sure, we're all very eager to find out if Justine Henin was tight in the 2nd set tiebreaker against Svetlana Kuznetsova yesterday, but once we get that out of the way, why not ask her what was the most glasses of Bordeaux she's ever consumed on the night before a match? Now there's something I'd really love to see her answer.

I agree that there is a time and a place for everything, and it wouldn't always be proper to ask Venus whether she thought her dog is cuter than Maria Sharapova's dog -- but at a certain point the people in the press room need to heed Wozniacki's advice.

Here are seven things that I would ask if I was in Melbourne today, and it was an ideal world (not happening, unfortunately):

1. To Andy Roddick: I heard you mention to Jim Courier that your wife made out with Adam Sandler in a scene from her latest movie. I'm just curious if you know how many takes they did to get the scene finished, and I'm wondering if you're having issues with it the way that Andre had issues when the guy from Friends licked Brooke Shields' hand?

2. To Svetlana Kuznetsova: Do you realize what kind of a punk you come off as when you don't shake someone's hand after a match, regardless of the circumstances?

3. To Gael Monfils: Have you ever considered a career in something where they aren't so picky about the score?

4. To Andy Murray: Do you ever get embarrassed when Judy is getting all rowdy in the box, or are you impervious to that sort of thing? I ask, because my mom used to embarrass the heck out of me when I was a high-school grappler. It was terrible. All the kids used to rag me for it.

5. To Richard Gasquet: How the heck is Pamela these days?

6. To Justine Henin: How come Kim is so superior to you these days? Do you think it's karma, talent, a combination of both, or is it the elbow?

7. To Feliciano Lopez: Would you ever consider coming out of the tunnel shirtless on a white horse before a match, or would that affect your pre-match routine?

Baby Steps

In a weird way, a second round loss might have been the best possible scenario for Juan Martin del Potro at the 2011 Australian Open.

Now that it's over, we can all breathe a sigh of relief.

As much as we all wanted to see delpo burst onto the scene and pick up where he left off, slashing and burning his way through the competition like a man possessed, wielding his racquet like a mighty swordsmen, and generally wreaking havoc in that way that only delpo can, we all knew that what was far more important this week was what we didn't want to see.

We didn't want to see that wrist take him off the court again.

Please, no. Not again. NEVER AGAIN.

Because if there is one thing that we've all learned about tennis during the time that Juan Martin del Potro has been on the sidelines rehabbing from wrist surgery, it is this: it's far more exhilarating to follow a tournament when the big man is in the draw.

Watching del Potro in action in Melbourne this week was like having a message in a bottle wash up on the beach as you're sitting on a blanket, watching the sun set with a margarita in your hand.

"What's that?" you think, as you head over to inspect the bottle. You pull the cork and shake the contents out, slowly unfold the ancient paper, and begin to try to decipher the message.

"Hmm, maybe it's a note from what's her name, the one I met on match.com," you think, when out jumps delpo, racquet high above his head, shoulders square to the ball. He swings, and launches a blistering cross court forehand accompanied by a grunt that is part caveman and part wild boar, and you fall back on your blanket in glee.

"Oh, delpo, where've you been all my life," you say, sipping your margarita.

But we know where he's been. He's been to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota for wrist surgery, and he's been to rehab, rehab, and more rehab, and the sad truth of the matter remains: even though he did the surgery eight months ago, he's still got some issues with the thing.

He told Pam Shriver that it was hurting him a little bit after his win over Dudi Sela, and he had the trainer out last night in his four-set loss to Marcos Baghdatis. All of this should come as no surprise -- all you have to do is look at the barbaric cuts that delpo takes at the ball to realize that his surgically repaired wrist is going to be under significant strain when he ramps up to full speed again.

So, in a strange way, it was kind of good news that del Potro lost last night. Of course, you never want to lose, especially in a Slam, but given the fact that the wrist was bugging him, it's probably better that he doesn't have to show up tomorrow night to see if he can hit Jurgen Melzer onto the next continent (Asia, right?).

It was also good to see del Potro's concern, because I think at this point he's better off taking precautions with it then coming out all gangbusters, trying to rip the cover off the ball like he did in New York in '09.

Delpo needs time on the court to get back to the top-10, but right now he also needs the wisdom to know he's got a lot of time to get back. So what if he's ranked in the 400's all year long?

There's only one battle that the Argentine needs to win this year, and that is the battle of learning to maintain a level of health that affords him the opportunity to be great for a long period of time. Everything else should be secondary right now.

So, here we are, perilously perched on a branch that hangs out over the sea.

We're waiting for a message in a bottle, but we don't know when it's coming.

16 Thoughts on the First Two Rounds

It was good to see Juan Martin del Potro in action again, but doubts about his long-term health are still a concern.

1. Juan Martin del Potro - The gentle giant from Tandil reminded us all how dynamic his game is, of how moving it can be to watch him, and of how humble he can be in victory. But right now it's hard not to wonder if his body will ever be up to the task of sustaining the sheer force of his game. Every time he unleashes one of those gloriously massive forehands I cross my fingers.

2. Vera Zvonareva - If you thought Vera was going to revert to saved, and become a headcase as soon as things got tough, all you needed to do was witness the calm, cool, and collected way she dispatched the youngster Bojana Jovanovski after losing the first set to know you were wrong.

3. Jelena Jankovic - Jelena, the sooner you realize that we don't care if you don't care, the sooner you will pick your game up and start playing like a top-ten player again. Lindsay Davenport was accurate in her assessment of Jelena's uninspired 2nd round performance today when she stated that Jelena doesn't have the type of game that can overcome laziness. Davenport feels Jankovic needs to work the points, hustle around the court, and stay patient. Pouting and going for winners from behind the baseline won't work. Of course, Shuai Peng didn't mind.

4. Bernard Tomic - Dude, cool shades. Some very crafty and creative tennis as well. I can see why the Aussies are all jacked up about this kid. Let's see if he can make a dent in Rafa's game now.

5. Lovable losers - Michael Russell lost the first ten games of the match against David Ferrer. He didn't hang his head (at least not too much) and he found a way -- in spite of chest pains -- to make the third set a very compelling set. It was a very good effort for the 32-year-old journeyman.

6. When will Rafa be tested? - Well, I don't expect Tomic to do it, but his fourth-rounder with the winner of Isner-Cilic could be a tricky one.

7. Top-5 matches of the tournament so far (very subjective) - 1. Venus Williams-Zahlavova 2. Nalbandian-Hewitt 3. Schiavone-Marino 4. Federer-Simon 5. Tsonga-Petzschner

8. Venus Williams, I love you - Venus won me over with her gritty three-set come-from-behind victory over Sandra Zahlavova in round 2. I don't know what she'll have left for Petko, but I have a feeling that she'll once again have more than we expect.

9. Oh, Canada - Two of the biggest boomers in the tournament are from Canada. Milos Raonic and Rebecca Marino are still works in progress, but if they continue to develop we could be hearing more from these two tall maple trees from north of the U.S. border.

10. Oh no, America - I am a firm believer that American tennis is on the right track with Patrick McEnroe at the helm, Jose Higueras as Director of Coaching, and Jim Courier as Davis Cup captain. That being said, apparently things will get worse before they get better. It has been a very dismal showing by the stars and stripes but Venus, A-Rod, and Iz could come through and save the day.

11. Solid Returning - Through two rounds, Gael Monfils, Roger Federer, and Viktor Troicki each have converted 15 break points. Wow. That is not a typo. Klara Zakopalova had 17 on the women's side, but sadly, her road ended at the hands of Lucie Safarova yesterday.

12. Ace Leaders - Men's: Ivo Karlovic's 48 aces in the first round got him nowhere. Milos Raonic's 48 aces over two rounds got him his first ever third-round appearance in a Slam. Raonic also has the tournaments fastest serve at 142 M.P.H. Venus leads the ladies with 16 in two matches.

13. Aggie's Opportunity - Who did Agnieszka Radwanska have to pay to get Simona Halep, Shuai Peng, and Ayumi Morita standing between her and the quarters? Not one of those three is in the top-50, and Halep and Morita aren't in the top-70.

14. 5 Women's 3rd-Rounders to die for - Henin-Kuznetsova, Wozniacki-Cibulkova, Stosur-Kvitova, Pennetta-Peer, Williams-Petkovic

15. 5 Men's 3rd-rounders to die for - Berankis-Ferrer, Dolgopolov-Tsonga, Isner-Cilic, Troicki-Djokovic, Roddick-Haase

16. Biggest disappointments - Davydenko (I thought he was coming in hot), Tipsarevic (didn't like the way he bailed in the 5th set), Date-Krumm (was up 4-1 in the third when Radwanska took her injury time).

Venus the Valiant

If you've ever doubted that seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams was a true warrior, doubt no more.

-- Last night there were two captivating matches going on at the same time at the Australian Open. On Hisense, Serb Janko Tipsarevic was so mentally distraught by his fourth set implosion against Fernando Verdasco, that he barely possessed the strength to lift his racquet in the fifth. It was sad to see, because Tipsarevic has established a reputation as a warrior and a giant killer on the ATP tour, but yesterday he just flat-out couldn't handle the humiliation he was feeling and he did what nobody should ever do on a tennis court.

Yep, that's right, Tipsarevic quit on himself, he quit on his competitor, and he quit on everyone who was watching in person and on tv when he stood and waved his racquet ineffectually at Verdasco's final ace of the match.

Meanwhile, on Rod Laver, exactly the opposite was happening. Say what you will about Venus William's fashion statements, but you can't doubt the sheer importance of the statement she made to tennis fans on the court yesterday. Janko Tipsarevic might not think fighting for a second round match is worth it when things are looking grim, but Venus Williams certainly does.

Venus got hit hard with a double-whammy at the conclusion of her first set tiebreak yesterday. Not only did Sandra Zahlavova grab the hotly contested first set, but Venus suffered a debilitating muscle pull just prior to the conclusion of the point. What was amazing, is that Venus didn't stop competing when it happened. She hit a few more balls, then grimaced as Zahlavova struck the winner that gave her the set.

What happened next was the stuff of pure legend. Venus, hobbled so badly that she could hardly walk to her chair, went off for a training time out. Venus would later call the pain "sharp and acute" and say she "just needed to calm down and get some treatment." As she gingerly hobbled through the tunnel it was pretty much a foregone conclusion that she would only return to grab her racquets and shake the victors hand.

Could we really expect her to play? This was, after all, the same Venus who has been playing on pins and needles for the last six months. She hasn't been the same, but to her credit, she hasn't complained about it.

Venus barely avoided retirement last year at the 2010 open, and the same knee problems (tendinitis in the left knee, if you really must know) kept her from getting into top shape this off-season.

But here she was, hobbled by a different and altogether more serious and disconcerting injury -- she could barely walk, let alone play -- so imagine our surprise when she calmly emerged from the locker room and unsheathed a fresh Wilson racquet from its plastic bag, and headed to take he place at the baseline.

Can she? Is she? Did she just?

Yes, yes, and yes.

Moments later, it was on. A ginger Venus taking care to not move too much, but also taking care to do what she pretty much always does in the second round of Slams: hit winners and beat her opponent down.

"I think it threw her off a little bit. Clearly I wasn't moving as well, but when I could get my racquet on the ball I tried to do a lot with it, and she gave me some errors," said Venus of the bagel she served Zahlavova in the 48-minute second set.

The third set was very competitive, and as the action rolled toward a conclusion Venus's movement improved to match the stellar play that her Czech opponent was now producing.

All the while the true grit of Venus was shining through. She could have easily packed it in and joined her sister among the walking wounded, and America could have just as easily had no women left in the singles draw. Not so fast, said Venus.

Asked by Tom Rinaldi why a seven-time Grand Slam champ would have so much to prove in the second round of the Australian Open at the age of 30, Venus replied "I guess if I got to the point where I just couldn't move at all then I guess I would have retired. But I haven't retired in a long long time (never in a Grand Slam), and I just keep going to the bitter end.

"It was pretty bitter today," she added, "But it didn't end."

This victory was yet another reason why Americans should be awed by the contributions that Venus has made to American tennis lore. Venus, like she and her sister have done for so many years, showed us the true meaning of valiant out on Rod Laver today.

And those who witnessed, should consider ourselves fortunate that we can now relish in the fact that true champions never quit.