Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Australian Open Day 3: Ireland's Number One

Curtain Call

Player: Louk Sorensen
Nation: Ireland
Age: 25
Current ranking: 284
Tour page: http://www.atpworldtour.com/Tennis/Players/So/L/Louk-Sorensen.aspx
Today's result: loss to John Isner (33rd seed, USA) in straight sets

You don't hear much about Irish tennis players. Sorensen is yet another qualifier in his first Slam. He won his first round match in the main draw as well, becoming the first Irishman to win a Grand Slam singles match in the Open era. He did have a countryman in the qualifying tournament: Conor Niland who lost in the third qualifying round.


Catching Up with Old Friends

Kai-Chen Chang (Curtain Call, US Open Day 3) - Chang lost in the first round today to Iveta Benesova (Czech Republic). However, this is the 19-year-old's first Australian Open and, thanks in large part to her success at the US Open, she did not have to go through qualifying this time. Her career is firmly on an upward trend, having cut her year-end ranking in half in each of the past three years. She also had a win over Safina in Tokyo this fall.


All Part of My Fantasy

Shahar Peer (29th, Israel) and Nadia Petrova (19th, Russia) both won, keeping me alive in the suicide pool for the women's draw.

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