Picked up a new hobby last week and here are my first two creations! You obviously gotta start with God's pictures.
Friday, 20 February 2015
Sunday, 1 February 2015
Slammin' down under
With the first grand slam of the year coming to an end, here's a quick recap!
So before it all began, the ATP rankings were -
1. Djokovic
2. Federer
3. Nadal
4. Wawrinka (defending champion)
5. Nishikori
6. Murray
7. Berdych
8. Raonic
9. Cilic
10. Ferrer
11. Dimitrov
12. Tsonga
13. Gulbis
.. and let's stop at 13.
All the predictions had Djokovic in the final, playing either Murray or Federer. Nadal, because of his recent injuries and appendicitis, was predicted to not reach the final four but of course he's known for crazy comebacks so you never know. Wawrinka's name was mentioned here and there but nothing too special. Bottomline - the predictions were predictable.
So let's look at some of the unpredictable events that ensued -
1. Thanasi Kokkinakis: The 19 year old kid from Australia, who got a wild card entry into the Australian open, beat Ernest Gulbis (ranked 13) in the first round. Not to take any credit away from Kokk, but Gulbis's unforced errors turned out to be the most crucial game changer that evening. As for Kokk, he instantly became the local hero and a lot of hopes were pinned on him. He got knocked out in the next round but there's potential right there, walking around in neon colored outfits!
2. Early challenge for Nadal: I was hoping for a big comeback from Nadal, and seeing him struggle in the 2nd round was pretty unpredictable. Tim Smyczek was the man that made him sweat. Even though Nadal eventually won, it was a tight 5 setter game (2-6 6-3 7-6 3-6 5-7) where Nadal had way fewer aces and winners when compared to Smyczek. Nadal was off to a good start with a lot of well placed shots in the first set that made Smyczek go all over the place. But, Smyczek totally rocked the second set with some serve and volleys that caught Nadal off guard, and some beautifully played drop shots. Over the next few sets, Nadal sort of came back on top of his game with good clean down the line shots, and just about scraped through to victory. Smyczek needs to be commended not only for the great fight that he put up, but also for being a good sportsman. When someone from the crowd yelled out during Nadal's serve, he asked for a re-serve instead of allowing it to be counted as a fault for Nadal. By doing that, he won a lot of hearts worldwide. Nadal, however had 7 double faults during the game - his service needs to get way better. Although, it is worth mentioning that Nadal was unwell and as confirmed by the doctor, he was suffering from severe dehydration and still managed to come around. That is why he is and will always be a champion.
3. Federer gone: Heartbreaker # 1. Andreas Seppi (yeah, who dat?) beat Federer in 4 sets - 6-4, 7-6, 4-6, 7-6, making history. It was just a bad day for Federer, as he mentions too. The tie breaker in the second set was very crucial for him, but having let that slip, being two sets behind is a big burden to play with. In the final set tie breaker, Seppi just about made it to barely return Federer's down the line shot, with a forehand slice that almost looked like it was going out but it didn't. Federer thought it was going out too, because he didn't make an attempt to reach for it. Heartbreaking day. But well done, Seppi. You have a new identity now.
4. Nadal gone: Heartbreaker #2. Nadal wasn't able to make it to the top 4. He lost to Tomas Berdych in the quarterfinals, in straight 3 sets. Again, a lot of double faults and not too many winners. The Nadal comeback will have to wait until the clay season since on hard courts, his heavy topspin doesn't give too much of an advantage as compared to clay.
Next, the craziest matches with the most fantastic tennis -
1. Nadal-Smyczek as I talked about earlier.
2. Murray-Dimitrov: 6-4 6-7(5-7) 6-3 7-5. In round four, Grigor Dimitrov and Andy Murray played one of the best matches of this Australian Open. Yes Dimitrov smashed his racket but that was not the highlight of this match, come on guys don't keep playing that video. We all know who the badly behaved player in this duo is. Not to mention Kim Swears! So coming to the game, Dimitrov started off like he was going to win the first set, at 3-0. His brilliant single-handed backhand shots (mostly down the line) and his ability to return volleys so effortlessly were his strengths. He gets around all over the court pretty fast too. But, Murray somehow made his way back into winning the first set. His serves were his strong point against Dimitrov; speed, precision, everything. The second set goes neck to neck with both of them reaching 6 games each and Dimitrov winning the tie breaker. Dimitrov led the fourth set too at 5-2, but lost after that. Finally, the last proof of Dimitrov's bad luck was the last shot of the game - Murray's return bounced off the net and there was nothing Dimitrov could do about it. At various stages of the game, the scores always looked favorable to Dimitrov. This was a match he could have won, and therefore the racket smashing doesn't really seem out of place. Overall, the two things against Dimitrov here were Murray's unbelievable serves and just plain bad luck. Not inability.
3. Djokovic-Wawrinka: 7-6 3-6 6-4 4-6 6-0. How the defending champ Wow-rinka became Waaa-rinka. I'm sorry. So this was one of the matches again where the losing player had more aces, more winners but also more unforced errors. Four sets of intense competition. My absolute favorite shot was played by Wawrinka in set four, it was a back hand slice as a return for Djoker's drop shot. Wawrinka's back hand is the best. Period.
4. Djokovic-Murray: 7-6 6-7 6-3 6-0. This was the first time I'd woken up at 3AM voluntarily. If you watched it, I'm sure you remember going woaahhh WTF all through the first two sets. How about in the first set, when they're one game each and there's a 25 shot rally ending with a beautiful volley played by Djokovic? Now that doesn't mean Djokovic got away with all his volleys. Very soon, in the first set, Murray makes him run back to the baseline and finishes the rally with a volley himself. At that point I was ready for a long long 5 setter game, but the intensity reduced and Djokovic beasted the rest of the match. Post match interviews called it his superior mental strength that can't be beaten. He is definitely on his way to becoming a legend.
Moving on to random things that I found interesting -
1. Nadal's first opponent was Mikhail Youzhny. That guy has a PhD in psychology and tennis attitudes. That's pretty cool init?
2. Murray's first opponent was Yuki Bhambri, an Indian guy! Yay. Speaking of which, congratulations to Leander Paes and Martina Hingis.
3. Murray never smiles.
And finally, some fashion icons that will be remembered and possibly emulated -
Well, that's all I've got. Looking forward to the French Open next, to see our Clay King back in action. Until then, adios tennios.
So before it all began, the ATP rankings were -
1. Djokovic
2. Federer
3. Nadal
4. Wawrinka (defending champion)
5. Nishikori
6. Murray
7. Berdych
8. Raonic
9. Cilic
10. Ferrer
11. Dimitrov
12. Tsonga
13. Gulbis
.. and let's stop at 13.
All the predictions had Djokovic in the final, playing either Murray or Federer. Nadal, because of his recent injuries and appendicitis, was predicted to not reach the final four but of course he's known for crazy comebacks so you never know. Wawrinka's name was mentioned here and there but nothing too special. Bottomline - the predictions were predictable.
So let's look at some of the unpredictable events that ensued -
1. Thanasi Kokkinakis: The 19 year old kid from Australia, who got a wild card entry into the Australian open, beat Ernest Gulbis (ranked 13) in the first round. Not to take any credit away from Kokk, but Gulbis's unforced errors turned out to be the most crucial game changer that evening. As for Kokk, he instantly became the local hero and a lot of hopes were pinned on him. He got knocked out in the next round but there's potential right there, walking around in neon colored outfits!
2. Early challenge for Nadal: I was hoping for a big comeback from Nadal, and seeing him struggle in the 2nd round was pretty unpredictable. Tim Smyczek was the man that made him sweat. Even though Nadal eventually won, it was a tight 5 setter game (2-6 6-3 7-6 3-6 5-7) where Nadal had way fewer aces and winners when compared to Smyczek. Nadal was off to a good start with a lot of well placed shots in the first set that made Smyczek go all over the place. But, Smyczek totally rocked the second set with some serve and volleys that caught Nadal off guard, and some beautifully played drop shots. Over the next few sets, Nadal sort of came back on top of his game with good clean down the line shots, and just about scraped through to victory. Smyczek needs to be commended not only for the great fight that he put up, but also for being a good sportsman. When someone from the crowd yelled out during Nadal's serve, he asked for a re-serve instead of allowing it to be counted as a fault for Nadal. By doing that, he won a lot of hearts worldwide. Nadal, however had 7 double faults during the game - his service needs to get way better. Although, it is worth mentioning that Nadal was unwell and as confirmed by the doctor, he was suffering from severe dehydration and still managed to come around. That is why he is and will always be a champion.
3. Federer gone: Heartbreaker # 1. Andreas Seppi (yeah, who dat?) beat Federer in 4 sets - 6-4, 7-6, 4-6, 7-6, making history. It was just a bad day for Federer, as he mentions too. The tie breaker in the second set was very crucial for him, but having let that slip, being two sets behind is a big burden to play with. In the final set tie breaker, Seppi just about made it to barely return Federer's down the line shot, with a forehand slice that almost looked like it was going out but it didn't. Federer thought it was going out too, because he didn't make an attempt to reach for it. Heartbreaking day. But well done, Seppi. You have a new identity now.
4. Nadal gone: Heartbreaker #2. Nadal wasn't able to make it to the top 4. He lost to Tomas Berdych in the quarterfinals, in straight 3 sets. Again, a lot of double faults and not too many winners. The Nadal comeback will have to wait until the clay season since on hard courts, his heavy topspin doesn't give too much of an advantage as compared to clay.
Next, the craziest matches with the most fantastic tennis -
1. Nadal-Smyczek as I talked about earlier.
2. Murray-Dimitrov: 6-4 6-7(5-7) 6-3 7-5. In round four, Grigor Dimitrov and Andy Murray played one of the best matches of this Australian Open. Yes Dimitrov smashed his racket but that was not the highlight of this match, come on guys don't keep playing that video. We all know who the badly behaved player in this duo is. Not to mention Kim Swears! So coming to the game, Dimitrov started off like he was going to win the first set, at 3-0. His brilliant single-handed backhand shots (mostly down the line) and his ability to return volleys so effortlessly were his strengths. He gets around all over the court pretty fast too. But, Murray somehow made his way back into winning the first set. His serves were his strong point against Dimitrov; speed, precision, everything. The second set goes neck to neck with both of them reaching 6 games each and Dimitrov winning the tie breaker. Dimitrov led the fourth set too at 5-2, but lost after that. Finally, the last proof of Dimitrov's bad luck was the last shot of the game - Murray's return bounced off the net and there was nothing Dimitrov could do about it. At various stages of the game, the scores always looked favorable to Dimitrov. This was a match he could have won, and therefore the racket smashing doesn't really seem out of place. Overall, the two things against Dimitrov here were Murray's unbelievable serves and just plain bad luck. Not inability.
3. Djokovic-Wawrinka: 7-6 3-6 6-4 4-6 6-0. How the defending champ Wow-rinka became Waaa-rinka. I'm sorry. So this was one of the matches again where the losing player had more aces, more winners but also more unforced errors. Four sets of intense competition. My absolute favorite shot was played by Wawrinka in set four, it was a back hand slice as a return for Djoker's drop shot. Wawrinka's back hand is the best. Period.
4. Djokovic-Murray: 7-6 6-7 6-3 6-0. This was the first time I'd woken up at 3AM voluntarily. If you watched it, I'm sure you remember going woaahhh WTF all through the first two sets. How about in the first set, when they're one game each and there's a 25 shot rally ending with a beautiful volley played by Djokovic? Now that doesn't mean Djokovic got away with all his volleys. Very soon, in the first set, Murray makes him run back to the baseline and finishes the rally with a volley himself. At that point I was ready for a long long 5 setter game, but the intensity reduced and Djokovic beasted the rest of the match. Post match interviews called it his superior mental strength that can't be beaten. He is definitely on his way to becoming a legend.
Moving on to random things that I found interesting -
1. Nadal's first opponent was Mikhail Youzhny. That guy has a PhD in psychology and tennis attitudes. That's pretty cool init?
2. Murray's first opponent was Yuki Bhambri, an Indian guy! Yay. Speaking of which, congratulations to Leander Paes and Martina Hingis.
3. Murray never smiles.
And finally, some fashion icons that will be remembered and possibly emulated -
 |
| Neon Kokk after his victory (dailymail.co.uk) |
 |
| Nadal's pink-ness (rafaelnadalfans.com) |
 |
| Dimitrov, just because he's the cutest (tennis-buzz) |
 |
| Oops. Ok I got carried away |
Well, that's all I've got. Looking forward to the French Open next, to see our Clay King back in action. Until then, adios tennios.
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