Australian Open Day 14: Chan

Curtain Call

Player: Yung-Jan Chan
Age: 21
Nation: Chinese Taipei
Current Doubles Ranking: 18
Mixed Doubles Partner: Paul Hanley (Australia)
Notable Conquest: Cara Black (Zimbabwe)/Leander Paes (India) (4th seed)
Today's Result: loss to Katarina Srebotnik (Slovenia)/Daniel Nestor (Canada) (2nd) in a super-tiebreak


Photo via French Open Tennis

The unseeded Chan and Hanley team lost in the mixed doubles final today. It was Chan's first mixed doubles final at a Slam. She is a former junior doubles champion in Melbourne, winning the title in 2004 with Sheng-Nan Sun.


My Tennis Fantasy

Current Standing: 19th
My MVP for the Week: Novak Djokovic (3rd, Serbia), defeating Andy Murray (5th, UK) in the final in straight sets for the title


Photo via Tennis Ticket News

And so, Djokovic finally racks up Slam #2 while Murray falls short once again. The first question of any Australian Open champ is can s/he run the table for the year? Djokovic certainly has the game to do it as he is strong on all surfaces. But he won't. Nadal, even as he nurses the latest injury, is still King. He'll certainly be the man to beat in Paris.

I still believe that Murray will eventually win a Slam. But when has become a serious question. A quick check on birthdays: he's six years younger than Fed, almost a full year younger than Nadal, a week older than Djokovic and a year older than Juan Martin del Potro, the only other player in the Slam title conversation for the moment. The pressure will always be greatest on Murray at Wimbledon but the hard court is his best surface. So realistically, the US Open may be his next best shot.

My Favorite Athlete: Snowplow Level 2

Our Girl finished her second session of ice skating lessons this past week. She passed Snowplow Level 2 just fine but it seems she has lost interest in further lessons. I think a few issues are at play here. First, it made for a long day for her on Wednesdays. We'd get home afterward with barely enough time to feed her some dinner and get her to bed. Secondly, while she passed the requirements for the level, I don't think she was progressing as much as she herself would have liked. She expressed frustration one day that she can't go very fast, for instance, and gets nervous when asked to skate on just one foot. Finally, as she noted on the last day, she didn't have any friends in the class this time. Last year, she made a friend. That didn't work out so well this time.

Oh well. At least she has the basics now. She can get out on the ice, move around and not fall down. There's no point in continuing with lessons if she doesn't enjoy them. As a parent, I will only insist on a few things where activities are concerned. She has to do her homework. She has to take swim lessons in the summer. When the time for school band and orchestra comes in the fifth grade, she has to TRY playing an instrument but she doesn't have to stick with it if she doesn't like it. I owe my profession that much. If she takes lessons on the instrument, she has to practice. Beyond those things, everything else is up for discussion, as far as I'm concerned.

I do believe in winter hobbies. I think they help to keep people sane in the Great White North. My Wife and I would have to get better on the ice ourselves for skating to become a family endeavor. Snowshoeing is probably a better bet. We've got plenty of snow and we're getting more as I write. Perhaps we'll get out on the trails sometime this weekend.

Australian Open Day 13: Li Returns

Curtain Call

Player: Na Li
Age: 28
Nation: China
Current Ranking: 11
Notable Conquests: Caroline Wozniacki (1st seed, Denmark) and Victoria Azarenka (8th, Belarus)
Today's Result: loss to Kim Clijsters (3rd, Belgium) in three sets


Photo via BBC SPORT

Clearly, this is Li's event of choice. Doing well in Melbourne speaks to a player's off-season work ethic and it would seem Li is no slacker. I featured her here last year as the Curtain Call for Australian Open 2010 Day 11. A first-time Chinese champion would have been exciting but Clijsters is certainly worthy, reaffirming once again her decision to come out of retirement.

Australian Open Day 12: Ferrer

Curtain Call

Player: David Ferrer
Age: 28
Nation: Spain
Current Ranking: 7
Notable Conquest: Rafael Nadal (1st seed, Spain)
Today's Result: loss to Andy Murray (5th, UK) in four sets


Photo via World Amazing Sports Players

I have to admit that I really would have loved to see Ferrer take out both Murray and Djokovic (3rd, Serbia) for the title, partly because I find it difficult to root for either of the finalists but mostly because Ferrer so richly deserves it. He's not even the third most glamorous Spaniard on the men's tour and yet he's been camped out in the sport's top tier for ages. He is one of the toughest outs in the game. Look at his overall history in the Slams and one sees that, while this is only his second time in the semis, he hasn't lost in the first round of a major since Wimbledon '05. The fittest player in the world, he can outlast anyone: a classic grinder. Nadal himself showed how much he respects the man by even showing up for their match, never mind his adamant insistence that his loss not be attributed to injury. I'm genuinely disappointed that Ferrer's tournament is over.

On to the final we go. Without Fed or Rafa, I'm not sure I'll be overly eager to crawl out of bed on Sunday morning to watch. I'm sticking with my Djokovic pick but it would be kind of nice for Murray to win if only to get everyone to shut up about the fact that he hasn't won a Slam yet. Of course, as My Wife pointed out, they'll all find something else for which to browbeat him.

Australian Open Day 11: Rojer

Curtain Call

Player: Jean-Julien Rojer
Age: 29
Nation: Netherlands Antilles
Current Doubles Ranking: 40
Doubles Partner: Eric Butorac (USA)
Notable Conquests: Lukasz Kubot (Poland)/Oliver Marach (Austria) (4th seed) and Mark Knowles (Bahamas)/Michal Mertinak (Slovakia) (12th)
Today's Result: loss to Bob and Mark Bryan (1st, USA) in straight sets


Photo via TennisBetSite

Ha! You thought it was a typo, didn't you? You assumed I meant Mr. Federer. Ha!

Rojer is a full-fledged doubles specialist, not even ranked in singles at present. His semifinal result is a significant improvement over last year's third round finish. Thanks to him and Wikipedia, I now know that Netherlands Antilles was dissolved last year. Rojer is from Curaçao, previously part of the Antilles but now a constituent country, still under the Dutch flag. Courtesy of tennis, my knowledge of world geography is now updated.

Djokovic has been my pick to win the tournament all along so it would be disingenuous for me to claim I see his win over Fed as surprising. For the first time in eight years, Roger will not be the current title holder of any of the four Slams. An era has passed. It was going to happen eventually. His story's not over yet. He's way too good to just ride off into the sunset. Nonetheless, the Djoker's comprehensive victory may be a signal of a turning point in his own career. We shall see.

Australian Open Day 10: Dolgopolov

Curtain Call

Player: Alexandr Dolgopolov
Age: 22
Nation: Ukraine
Current Ranking: 46
Notable Conquests: Robin Soderling (4th seed, Sweden) and Jo-Wilfred Tsonga (13th, France)
Today's Result: loss to Andy Murray (5th, UK) in four sets


Photo via Technorati Sports

This was a break out performance for Dolgopolov. His take down of Soderling qualified as the tournament's first big upset. This was, in fact, Dolgopolov's first Australian Open. Not bad for a rookie! We'll see him again.

Of course, the big story is Ferrer's upset of Nadal. Whenever there is discussion of leg injuries where Rafa is concerned, there will be rumblings as to whether it's the beginning of the end. The answer to the obvious question is yes, his career will be shortened by injury. The story is not over. He'll be back. He'll win plenty. But it is hard to imagine Rafa playing into his 30s. There will be a price to pay for playing with such glorious, unrelenting fury.

The lesson here is that we should enjoy him while we can. Really, is there a more gratifying athlete to watch in the world? And he is so gallant. He could have just taken a walkover today. But no, he respects his opponent too much to deny him a match. He gave his countryman full credit for the victory as well, not wanting to diminish it by playing up his own injury.

Nadal's not finished by any means but someday, he'll walk away before we're ready for it. That will be a very sad day for the sports world.

Australian Open Day 9: Those Antananarivo Nights

Curtain Call

Player: Stanislas Wawrinka
Age: 25
Nation: Switzerland
Current Ranking: 19
Notable Conquests: Andy Roddick (8th seed, USA) and Gael Monfils (12th, France)
Today's Result: loss to Roger Federer (2nd, Switzerland) in straight sets


Photo via Sporting Life

Wawrinka was clearly demoralized by Fed this evening. I hope he shakes it off quickly because he had a great run. It's my second Slam in a row featuring him here (US Open Day 11). He took out two higher seeds and his run to the quarters is his best-ever showing in Australia.

Here's an interesting question from My Wife: where would be the best time zone to watch all four Slams? The most convenient one to watch from Eastern Standard Time is, obviously, the US Open as it is in the same time zone. Wimbledon is also a really nice one for me. As a teacher, I'm home in the summer and I can watch without annoying My Wife. Aussie actually isn't bad. I'm a night person and almost always outlast her so I can generally get my fix after she goes to bed. Roland Garros is the toughest. I usually only get to watch on the weekends.

But where would be better? I looked at Hawaii and Madagascar (a far more appealing choice than Moscow, weather-wise), both temporally equidistant from New York and Melbourne. In Hawaii, Roland Garros and Wimbledon would each start in the wee hours so that's not so good. Perhaps Madagascar is better, though I think that would mean the Australian would start at an awkward time. Any thoughts out there? (By the time I finished exploring the question, I'm fairly certain she was sorry she'd asked.)

Another funny wife story. My Wife is a Chicago Bears fan - sort of. Please remember she detests football. But she loves Chicago. She insisted that I occasionally check the score of Sunday's game but had zero interest in watching. She was, in fact, resigned to the fact that they would lose, muttering something about years as a "Cubs fan." Self-fulfilling prophecy, I guess.


Catching Up with Old Friends

Jurgen Melzer (Curtain Call, Roland Garros Day 13) - 'Twas another great tournament for Melzer. His fourth round result - losing to Andy Murray (5th, UK) - improves on last year's first round exit. Plus, he teamed up with Philipp Petzschner (Germany) to reach the doubles quarters, finally losing to the Bryan brothers (USA). Just as with Kamke, this is Melzer's fourth consecutive mention here and as such, he qualifies as my second Golden Squid!


Photo via Live Tennis Guide


Photo via tenhand.com

I am not the only one honoring Melzer. He was named Austrian Sportsperson of the Year for 2010. Congratulations, sir! We shall follow your future progress with great interest.