The Australian Open draw is out.  More than any prior year, in this imprecise game of predictions, the only certainty is the uncertainty in determining a frontrunner for the trophy on both the ladies’ and gentlemen’s side.  With no one having a conspicuous edge, with few exceptions, anyone in the top ten can be regarded as a legitimate contender.  Moreover, on the women’s side, the return of some old faces with previous success at majors means that it’s is truly anybody’s title.

In the top half of the draw, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Nikolay Davydenko and Robyn Soderling are the highest seeds respectively. Astonishingly, if the last couple of months are an accurate barometer, Davydenko is for the first time a true threat to make it all the way to the final.  After wrapping 2009 with the ATP World tour finals trophy, just  days ago, Davydenko brought down Federer and Rafael Nadal to take the title in Qatar.  However, the question remains as to whether Davydenko can translate that type of success to a best of five set tournament over two weeks. If the draw proceeds as expected, Davydenko will have a crack at Federer in the quarters and Djokovic or Soderling in the semis.

For his part, Federer has a pretty challenging road in attempting to reach the final.  In the first round, the world number one faces the ever dangerous Igor Andreev.  Subsequently, there are possible match-ups with Australian Open finalists Lleyton Hewitt and Marcos Baghdatis in the round of 16. Other than Davydenko, Fernando Verdasco, a semifinalist in ’09, is a potential in the quarters. So, Federer will need to be on his toes to advance beyond the quarters.

Third seed Djokovic should have a fairly unobstructed run to the quarters.  Still, Richard Gasquet who is getting back in the swing of the game may be a problem for Djokovic in the round of 16. Furthermore, on that side of the draw, majors’ finalists Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Soderling could clash in the round of 16.  With both Tsonga and Soderling potential quarterfinal opponents for Djokovic and with both having wins over the latter, a Djokovic/Federer semifinal is in far from a foregone conclusion.

In the bottom half of the draw, for the defending champion Nadal and Andy Murray, technically, their path to a quarterfinal showdown appears uncomplicated. Yet, Radek Stepanek, a potential round of 16 encounter for Nadal, is perhaps the sole question mark.  In Murray’s case, a healthy Gael Monfils can spell trouble in the round of 16.  But, with Monfils fighting injury, Murray will not be bothered.

Last year’s semifinalist Andy Roddick has another golden opportunity to move at least to the quarterfinal despite Fernando Gonzalez seemingly in his way.  Also, with U.S. Open champ Juan Martin Del Potro fettered by a wrist injury, his progress deep into the draw is in doubt.  Del Potro is slated to see Marin Cilic in the quarters or Roddick in the semis.

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With the Australian Open approximately one week away, in the finals of the Brisbane International Open, top seed Andy Roddick battled defending champion Radek Stepanek.  Roddick edged out Stepanek 7-6, 7-6 to capture his first 2010 title.

With Stepanek serving at 2-3 in the first set, Roddick had the chance to draw first blood when a forehand volley winner gave him break point.  However, with a good serve resulting in a return error, Stepanek got back on track.  Roddick manufactured another break point opportunity, but, with strategic volleying, Stepanek squared the set at 3 all.  The next game, as Roddick misfired on a backhand pass, Stepanek had his initial break point. Roddick dug himself out with a couple of service bombs. After Roddick failed to convert on two set points on Stepanek’s serve, the tiebreaker went into effect.  Once Stepanek double faulted to hand Roddick a 2-1mini-break advantage, his play deteriorated.  Thanks to a bunch of backhand errors from Stepanek, Roddick swiftly claimed the set.

As a result of four consecutive errors by Stepanek including two double faults, Roddick grabbed a break advantage.  After Roddick had no trouble consolidating, he crushed a backhand down the line for another break point.  With Stepanek bitten by the double fault bug again, Roddick jumped to a double break lead for 3-0. In no time, Roddick stretched his edge to 5-1.  But, with  Roddick serving for the championship at 5-2, Stepanek struck a forehand up the line pass for break point.  Then, with a stumbling Roddick unable to reach a spectacular lob, Stepanek wiped out one break.  Subsequent to an easy service game, Stepanek forced a couple of backhand errors from Roddick to level the set at 5 all.  Following an uneventful game, Stepanek took his first lead at 6-5.  Ultimately, Roddick steadied his play to push the set to a tiebreaker. In a charitable mood again, Stepanek started by donating a mini-break with a backhand crosscourt mistake.  As Stepanek’s backhand fell apart, Roddick built a 6-1 edge. Still, never one to fold, Stepanek raised his performance and expunged five championship points.  Moreover, Stepanek provoked a return error to obtain set point.  But, when Stepanek’s slice backhand sailed long, both players were knotted at 7. On his serve, Roddick arrived at another championship point with an overhead winner. When Stepanek double faulted,  Andy finally put his pesky opponent away.

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From Rafael Nadal winning his first hardcourt major in Australia, to Roger Federer completing the career grand slam, to the emergence of a new major star Juan Martin Del Potro at the U.S. Open, 2009 was a year replete with ups and downs on the men’s tour.  Here’s a flashback.

At the Australian Open final, despite a marathon semifinal match, Nadal had adequate reserves to stare down Federer in another five setter.  With that victory, Nadal seemed well positioned to achieve the calendar grand slam.  After sweeping every clay court tournament, Nadal was halted at the Madrid Masters by Federer days prior to the French Open. For many analysts, fatigue may have been deserving of an assist as Federer defeated Nadal in straight sets to capture his initial title of 2009. As such, Nadal was still considered the outright favorite for a fifth consecutive French trophy.

While everyone may have discounted Robin Soderling in the fourth round at the French Open, the Swede who played a contentious match with Nadal at Wimbledon in 2007 had visions of victory dancing in his head.  Soderling upstaged the best clay player in circulation, handing Nadal his first defeat at Roland Garros.  Soderling rode this euphoric wave all the way to his first final at a major where he was ultimately stopped by Federer. In addition, Soderling was a quarterfinalist at the U.S. Open.  At his initial ATP World Tour Finals, Soderling was a semifinalist and with that result jumped to a career best ranking of 8th after commencing 2008 at 17.

Melbourne was the site where Fernando Verdasco at last  lived up to his talent.  After surprising Andy Murray the hottest player on tour in the fourth round, Verdasco was involved in a dogfight in the semifinals with countryman Nadal.  Hands down, the best match of the tournament and one of the most scintillating of the year, the two Spaniards went toe to toe for over five hours.  Although Nadal was triumphant, Verdasco’s run in Australia galvanized him the rest of the year.  Verdasco reached the quarters at the U.S. Open and was instrumental in Davis Cup play. Verdasco participated in his first ATP World Tour Finals and ended 2009 at number 9.

After an horrendous start to the season, Federer’s year turned around after beating Nadal in Madrid in May. After avoiding a sleuth of pitfalls to get to the French Open final, Federer grabbed the elusive brass ring and tied Pete Sampras’ record of 14 majors.  With a knee injury placing Wimbledon defending champ Nadal out of action, the impossibility of a Federer-Nadal duel could have been deflating for the championships.  To the contrary, Andy Roddick stepped up to the plate and in facing Federer, the two had a final to rival last year’s epic.  Federer had to out ace Roddick, required 95 minutes and 30 games in the fifth set before coming away with the victory and a record setting 15 majors.  In July, Federer supplanted Nadal at the top of the ATP’s ranking list.  Brimming with confidence, Federer appeared unstoppable and was a shoe-in for a sixth consecutive  title in New York.

At the U.S. Open, Federer battled Del Potro in the final.  With this being the latter’s maiden major final, jitters were more likely than not to play a pivotal role.  In spite of his youth, Del Potro demonstrated that he is a quick study.  After a devastating lost to Federer in the French semifinals, down two sets to one, Del Potro carried a tiebreaker and showed up Federer in the fifth set to capture his initial major. Del Potro closed 2009 as the world’s fifth best player and is a definite threat to take over the top spot in 2010.

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It’s that time of year when we look back at what transpired on the women’s tour over the past season and view ahead at the upcoming year.  Here’s a recap of the great, the good and the down right ugly moments from 2009.

Last year, in many respects, can be characterized as bizarre. The majors commenced with a meltdown by Dinara Safina as Serena Williams thrashed her in the Australian Open final.  Months later after sensational results at lead up tournaments, Safina, newly crowned world number one, had another breakdown in the French Open final vis-à-vis Svetlana Kuznetsova.  As such, Kuznetsova grabbed the second major of her career.

At the All England Club, after Serena survived a riveting semifinal match against Elena Dementieva, she faced Venus in the finals for the second consecutive year.  However, this go around, Serena bested big sister to capture 2009’s third major.  Also a favorite to step to the finals at the U.S. Open, Serena encountered two stumbling blocks, her emotions and  Kim Clijsters.

After fulfilling her desire to procreate, Clijsters discovered that her retreat from tennis had left a void.  Thus, following a two year absence, Clijsters once again embraced the game. Subsequent to some impressive triumphs, Clijsters took on Serena in the semifinals. The weather may have been in part culpable, more likely though, it was Clijsters’ superb touch that got under Serena’s skin as a foot fault by a line judge roused Serena’s anger.  Unsavory words by Serena caused a point penalty with Clijsters having match point.  A day later, Clijsters went on to rope the U.S. Open trophy, the second major of her career.

Leading the pack of names that captivated the tour in 2009 is Dane Caroline Wozniacki.  The teenager became her country’s first competitor to reach a major final. Although downed by Clijsters, after starting the year in the top 20, Wozniacki closed 2009 at number 4.  Belarusian Victoria Azarenka continued her march in the right direction.  Azarenka demolished Serena at the Sony Ericsson Open to catch the biggest title of her career.

On the other hand, for the Serbs, it was  a year of sliding backward. Ana Ivanovic, the 2008 French Open champion and former world number one, had trouble directing her forehand and serve. With neither stroke on the money, Ivanovic did not get pass the fourth round at any of the majors. Ivanovic reached one final, Indian Wells, but failed to hoist the trophy. Fed up, Ivanovic put a punctuation to her season in October and her ranking tumbled to 21st.  Number one at the start of the year, Jelena Jankovic, fared a little better than Ivanovic by collecting two titles.  However, Jankovic was equally a disappointment at the majors with only a round of 16 appearance in Paris and Melbourne.

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With top seed Robyn Soderling’s withdrawal from the semifinals due to an elbow problem, Marcos Baghdatis was gifted a berth in the finals at the Stockholm Open.  The Cypriot now ranked 66^th took full advantage of Soderling’s generosity in holding off Belgian Olivier Rochus 6-1, 7-5 to carry his first ATP title since Zagreb in 2007.

Since reaching the Australian Open final in 2006, Baghdatis’career has hit multiple bumps. The Cypriot’s ranking plummeted to 151 in July of this year after reaching a high of 8 in 2006. Of late, Baghdatis has been dabbling on the challenger circuit where he’s won a couple of tourneys. Currently 87^th in the world, Rochus has also been longing for a title, his last was in 2006. Regardless of the adversary, for the Belgian, this was going to be a formidable task after a three set semifinal zapped a great deal of his energy.

After each player successfully held in his opening game, Rochus troubled Baghdatis by taking him to four deuces. But, with an ace and a forehand up the line winner, Marcos stayed on serve at 2-1. Perhaps a little fatigued, at 40-15, Rochus committed two double faults for deuce.  Now with a forehand winner, Baghdatis had his initial break point.  However, with a decent serve, Rochus got an error in reply for deuce.  Ultimately, with two backhand errors from Olivier, Marcos secured the break on his third try.  After easily consolidating, with a backhand down the line winner, Baghdatis had another break chance. Later on, Baghdatis capitalized stretching his lead to 5-1.  With a solid service game, Baghdatis put the set to rest.

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At the Legg Mason Tennis Classic, Fernando Gonzalez used his big forehand to harass Tommy Haas giving him a 7-5, 6-4 victory.  Now, Gonzalez is one match away from making his second final appearance at a tournament where he  made his ATP debut a decade ago.   After the match, Gonzalez sat down to answer questions and MiamiTennisNews had a few it wanted addressed.

You were so close to getting to the final of another major in Paris.   Is there any part of your game you feel you need to work on that will help you get there as you did a couple of years ago?
“I don’t think that there’s anything really I have to change about my game which was demonstrated by the fact that I was so close in Paris. For sure I have to keep improving things. I don’t know, perhaps working more on my serve and net play, but all this gives me peace of mind”.

Your most successful year was 2007, in that you reached the Australian Open final with coach Larry Stefanki, why did the two of you part ways?
“[First of all ] Larry is a great coach and I was with him many years . [However], Larry and I had a major problem, he lives in California and I in Chile….So, I am very grateful for all that he thought me and I have a great respect for him.”

Turning to the semifinals where Juan Martin Del Potro will be his opponent, the last time the two met was the 2007 Australian Open.   As far as Gonzalez is concerned, Del Potro is a “different player”. Regardless, there is a level of comfort in knowing “[one] has a winning record” against the other guy.

Commenting on the atmosphere to be expected with his being Chilean and Del Potro Argentinean, would there be any tension?  Gonzalez cited “there may be a rivalry between countries, [but not between us players].  Juan Martin and I are really good friends. It should be a good match and should be fun”.

After Wimbledon, Gonzalez took four weeks off due to tendonitis in his right knee. Gonzalez said that the lesion is not as severe as Rafael Nadal’s. With rest and treatment, he has been lucky that the knee has been responding.  Thus, he hopes his good run will continue through the remainder of season.

Concerning his forehand, Gonzalez was asked the secret to that stroke being “such a weapon”.   Gonzalez answered “I don’t have fear if I miss. If you don’t take a risk, you don’t miss.”  In other words, one has to be willing to gamble.

Over the years, politics and sports have intersected many times. Perhaps the most infamous example is the 1972 Munich Olympics, when Israeli athletes were taken hostage by Palestinian radicals and subsequently killed in a rescue attempt. With tennis becoming more internationalized, these lines were destined to meet.

At the Australian Open this year, while Serb Novak Djokovic and Bosnian-American Amer Delic applauded each other’s superb shots and cordially shook hands after the match. Their fans had a brawl outside the stadium which had to be interrupted by police and led to a couple of people requiring medical attention. Now, this past week, Shahar Peer, an Israeli female player, was prohibited entry into the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the Dubai tournament for which she automatically qualified by virtue of her ranking.

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For this month’s installment, we bring you one of the best points from the 2009 Australian Open men’s singles final. The point was played out at deuce, 2-2 in the forth set.

It’s a spectacle seldom seen, Roger Federer in tears in the face of failure. But this was the scene at the Australian Open where Federer fell to his archrival Rafael Nadal 5-7, 6-4, 6-7, 6-3, 2-6 in their first majors’ meeting on hardcourt.

The first game was reflective of the entire match. Federer made four consecutive errors including a double fault to start in a hole. Yet, the next game, Federer ripped a forehand down the line winner to get back to 1 all. Serving exclusively to the backhand side, Nadal got a ton of unforced errors from Federer. Then, in the sixth game, Federer curled a backhand winner up the line for 0-15 and with a forehand winner up the line obtained a break point. Roger converted by running around his backhand for a forehand service winner for 4-2. However, Roger’s lead was brief. With a backhand crosscourt winner, Rafa arrived at break point and capitalized when Roger donated a double fault. Serving at 5-6, Roger made two forehand unforced errors giving Nadal the break and ultimately the set.

At 1-2 in the second set, Nadal swept away a break point from Federer with his first ace and held. With two forehand misses from Federer, Nadal broke promptly. But, when Nadal overhit a forehand, the score was leveled at 3. At 4-3, with his fifth break point of the game, Federer saw Nadal dump a backhand crosscourt into the net giving him the break. This time, Roger closed out the set.

In the third set, serving at 2-3, Federer got into trouble when another backhand crosscourt found the net and gave Nadal break point. With a forehand crosscourt winner, Roger saved break point for the first time in the match and held. At 4 all, Nadal made a rare backhand crosscourt error and two forehand errors to stare at triple break point. With crosscourt winners from each wing and a Federer forehand error, Nadal was at deuce and carried the game. After an uneventful service game, Federer again cornered Nadal for double break point. Nadal escaped when Federer sent a backhand service return into the net and overcooked a forehand. The set’s proprietor was settled in a tiebreak. After a forehand error by Nadal handed Federer a minibreak, Roger returned the favor with an error of his own. Tied at 3, as Federer’s crosscourt forehand failed to clear the net, Nadal had the minibreak. Federer culminated his largesse by double faulting the set away.

After getting a 2-0 advantage with a forehand down the line winner in the fourth set, Federer lost his serve when Nadal passed him at net. Living on the edge at 2 all, Federer saved four break points in a seven deuce game to stay on serve. In the subsequent game, aided by a few unforced errors from Nadal, Federer broke and hung on to claim the set.

After a 5 hour 14 minute semifinal against countryman Fernando Verdasco on Friday, remarkably, Nadal was the one with all the answers in the decisive set while Federer withered. Serving at 1-2 and ahead 30-0, Federer overshot the forehand, double faulted and committed two backhand errors gifting Nadal the break. Then serving at 2-5 to extend the match, Federer became unhinged with the match ending on a forehand error.

For Federer, this match, just like their previous six encounters in finals, can be summed up as a case of multiple break point opportunities blown. Or to the contrary, Nadal may be the master at delivering the goods when the chips are down. Federer is to Andy Roddick as Nadal is to Federer, a slick wall impossible to climb. Today, not only did Rafa prevent Federer from matching Pete Sampras’ record of 14 majors, he also became the first Spaniard to win down under. Considering that the next major is the French, it’s unlikely that Federer will equal or surpass Pete’s mark anytime soon. So for now, Sampras can exhale.

For the second time, Serena Williams, world number two, unmercifully disposed of a Russian in the Australian Open final. On this occasion, the hapless victim of Williams’ wrath was third rank Dinara Safina. Serena required just 58 minutes to defeat Dinara 6-0, 6-3, adding a fourth Australian singles title to her majors’ trophy case for a total of ten.

Williams started the match by hitting a backhand winner up the line and holding comfortably. On the other hand, Safina’s nightmare began with her first service game. After an ace for 15 all, Dinara threw in a double fault for 15-30. After a couple of forehand winners gave her the upper hand, Safina produced a second double fault for deuce. Subsequently, Williams crushed a forehand for a crosscourt service winner to get her first break point which she converted when Safina committed her third double fault. Then, Serena consolidated the break with a love game. Williams maintained the pressure and with a forehand winner up the line had double break point; she capitalized by putting away a short ball. Up 4-0, Serena again held at love and with four consecutive unforced errors by Dinara took the set 6-0.

Serena briefly loosen her chokehold on the match in the second set. After Williams sent a backhand into the net and missed another down the line, Safina had her initial break point. With a sweet crosscourt backhand winner, Safina took the lead for the first time. The last few months, Dinara had demonstrated that she could deal with adversity. Thus, this seemed perhaps a turning point in the match. Yet, after Dinara missed the mark on two backhands, Serena arrived at double break point and leveled the set when another of her rival’s backhand sailed long. The serve was the story for Safina and it did not improve as the night progressed. Serving at 1-2, Dinara opened with a double fault. After a backhand crosscourt winner gave her game point, another found the net for deuce. Thereafter, Serena punished a crosscourt forehand return winner for break point and cashed it in when Dinara made another double fault. With a love game, Williams raced to a 4-1 lead. Frustrated, on the verge of bursting into tears and despite difficulties, Safina won her service games. Yet, this was to no avail as Serena continued to force the errors from her competitor with her brutal serves. With her fifth love game, Serena put Dinara out of her agony and claimed the title.

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