Australian Open Begins! Happy MLK Day! Training for the Challenger!

Written by: Staff on 16th January 2012

Australian Open Begins! Happy MLK Day! Training for the Challenger!

A general view of the Rod Laver Arena during a men's round one match between Roger Federer of Switzerland against Alexander Kudryavtsev of Russia on the first day of the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 16 January 2012. EPA/HOW HWEE YOUNG |

Well the Aussie Open has begun and the local fans already have much to cheer about as their highly publicized hope Bernard Tomic knocked off Fernando Verdasco in 5 sets on day 1!!! I foresaw this first round encounter as being a 50/50 depending on Verdasco and his form because I knew Tomic would come out steady and play his off-pace style. Sure enough Verdasco faded!! Dolgopolov beat his opponent Greg Jones (who I’ve seen in some future-level draws) in 5 sets! Mardy Fish wasn’t troubled as much by Muller as I had expected; the lefty wasn’t able to play big enough tennis to cause the upset. Isner also won in straight sets, I wonder how he will fair in the first week of play?? Did anyone see Sam Querrey’s match? It looked like it was played on some practice court with absolutely no viewing possibilities. He cruised however which is awesome because he’s a former 4th rounder at the Aussie! I bet that ball is bouncing and sitting up nicely for him to pound more forehands with his new Babolat racket (Aero Storm I believe, he was talking about it back in October when I had a practice with him in California).

Donald Young looked like he was going to cruise through his match but it ended up being a 5 setter. Here’s my thought on that match. You win the first two sets 6-1 and 6-2, then your opponent comes back to take the third, then rolls you in the 4th. Now it’s all-square, dead even, and you have to think there was a quarter ounce or mL of fear that creeps up your spine as you say to yourself… “Man I just won the first two sets easily and now I’m back even and the way things are going they don’t bode well for me!” At which point one’s mental strength or belief has to kick in and completely obliterate any notion of doubt or fear – Which is what DY was able to do and comfortably win the 5th set, 6-2. Great for him, I hope he goes far in this event like the US Open a few months ago!

I want to wish everyone a happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day too. It’s a holiday out here in Hawaii but I’ve already been on court for a few hours with Dennis Lajola at the Central Oahu Regional Park. Yesterday, he captured the wild card tournament and earned his spot in the main draw of next week’s Challenger. I plan to sign in and try get through qualifying. Today will not make or break my form but it’s important to always remember that if you’re training for something, make sure you’re always intense. I remember the few times I hit with Venus Williams in Los Angeles and the level of her intensity was so formidable. I could literally feel it resonating from her side of the court. Anyway, that’s why I tried to do today, despite my errant backhand shanks here and there and blown inside-out forehands (Gusty and cloudy today, so of course it’s not MY fault! haha just kidding!)

Time for a BBQ, Cya!

Shubert

Topics: Australian Open, MLK Day