Only Federer Suvives!

Four of my bets to win the Australian Open 2009 were knocked off. First in the list was Venus Williams. I really thought Venus was really hungry to win another grand slam title, considering she won the Doha Sony Ericsson WTA Championship last year. Her final match against Vera Zvonareva was purely a shining gem. She rocked the stage with above-average groundstrokes and excellent footwork. Her shocking second round ext, however, in Aussie Open proved me wrong. Unexpectedly, she was defeated by Russian's Carla Suarez Navarro.

Next in line is Ana Ivanovic. Several people speculated that this 21-year-old Serb won't last long and as expected, these people were right. Ivanovic was ousted by another Russian and the 29th seed, Alisa Kleybanova. This Roland Garros Women Champ could play tennis well but the main problem is her serves. Her forehand was powerful leaving her second round opponent, Albeta Brianti of Italy, in despair. I can't understand what happen to her in third round. She's always sent packing in third round. Last year in Wimbledon, she was upset by China's Jie Zheng. In Brisbane International this year, Amelie Mauresmo nailed her down, 6-3, 6-2 during QF. Geez, what future be in store for this gorgeous tennis icon? It's upsetting seeing her climbing down the WTA rankings.


Another shocking twist in Aussie Open is Andy Murray. Almost everyone expects him to win his first grand slam. His performances in tournaments were all superb, defeating Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in Doha earlier this year. Unluckily, the good timing was not on his side. During the fourth round, people's expectations came into ashes when Murray lost to Spain's pride and Ivanovic rumored BF, Fernando Verdasco. Despite the lost, Murray still gave the world an excellent match. He fired seven aces and his fastest serve speed was 212 KMH.


And the biggest shock of all is Novak Djokovic, the world third-seed and the defending AO champion. He booked a quarterfinal match against US-favorite Andy Roddick but was forced to retire during the fourth set due to extreme exhaustion. His fourth round match against Baghdatis on night seven lasted till two in the morning and he had no enough rest to recuperate for the quarterfinals on day nine. Just as I wanted him to be in the semi, Novak just blew up his chances like a puff.

"My mind wanted me to continue on, I could have stopped even before in the end of the second set, because I felt really bad. I continued on playing thinking that something could help me out, maybe a treatment and things like that. But it just kept coming back." Djokovic explained in an interview.



Four were ousted and what's left in my list is Roger Federer. He met Marat Safin, the 2005 Champion in same Grand Slam, during the third round and some fearless forecast claimed Safin would advance but Fedex proved them wrong. He maimed Safin in three straight sets, 6-3, 6-2, 7-6. All in great shape when he oulasted Juan Martin del Potro during the quarterfinal. Now, he is set to face Andy Roddick in the semis in Rod Laver Arena on Thursday night.

Hope Federer wins!


Perhaps, the real dark horse is Fernando Verdasco. Just as I am wrapping up this post, he won his quarterfinals encounter with Frenchman, Jo-Wilfied Tsonga (7-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2). Tsonga was a finalist last year.

Photos courtesy of australianopen.com