Archive: rafael-nadal
Today was a long one. For the first time all tourney the heat rule came into affect and pushed tennis back in to the wee hours of the night. The day concluded with 5 setters spread all over the grounds, the upset of the tournament so far was my guy Del Po going out in the 2nd rd.
Australian Open officials were counting the cost of playing on in 42 Celsius heat, with a record--equaling nine first-round retirements recorded on sweltering Day two of the grand slam.
Men play one semifinal Thursday, 1/23 but it is a night match. The women, however, will play two semifinals on that day and the second of those will face some challenge from the heat, but nothing like they are facing today and tomorrow.
Rafel Nadal won his opening match 6-4 when Bernard Tomic was forced to retire after losing the the opening set 6-4 with a leg injury. The win in 41 minutes marked Nadal's return to Melbourne after missing 2013 as he recovered from knee problems.
The heat continues to play a big role in this years AO. While it's supposed to cool down dramatically by the weekend, some players are finding it difficult to make it to week 2. Go ahead and put Djokovic in the finals, only threat on his half of the draw is Berdych, but I don't think he can hang with Djoker in best of 5.
It's often been said of Melbourne that you can see all four seasons in the same day. Not anymore. So far all we have seen is serious summer and it's a scorcher. Hot. Hotter and consistently hot. Day and night.
Caroline Wozniacki says that her now fiancée, Rory McIlroy, got down on his knees to propose to her. . New ATP CEO Chris Kermode made his first presentation to the ATP players at their general meeting in Melbourne last weekend and he impressed them to the point where no questions were asked of him…Martina Hingis is coaching Sabine Lisicki...
Fears that Wimbledon champion Andy Murray might wither in the intense Melbourne heat after insufficient match practice in between his September 29 back surgery and the Australian Open proved ill-founded as the Scot required just 87 minutes to dispense of first round opponent Go Soeda.
The biggest debate of the Australian Open so far centers on the speed of the courts laid at Melbourne Park. World no.1 Rafael Nadal insists they are much faster and believes the change is not a good thing while defending champion Novak Djokovic maintains the change is minimal.
Today wasn't the first time and it probably won’t be the last when the excruciating Melbourne heat became a major issue at the Australian Open. Tennis Australia and tournament supremo Craig Tiley put the entire tournament’s medical staff on high alert
Opening day winners got through before this week's heat wave began to bite, with seeds taking advantage with wins into the second round of the season's first grand slam. Instead of rising into the 40s Celsius and beyond as they will do from Tuesday through at least Friday...
Rafael Nadal is absolutely not a fan of the faster courts laid down for this edition of the Australian Open, with the Spaniard complaining that they will cut the spectacle from matches. What he means is more along the lines of what the speed might do his own heavy game...
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Juan Martin del Potro blew out Bernard Tomic in the Sydney final, which is an indication that if he is actually fit enough to contest numerous three-of-five set matches that he might have chance to win another major. Perhaps that major will be the 2014 Australian Open...
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