Australian Open: The Rest of the Field; and Uneventful Chinese New Year.
written: 10:01 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 26, 2009

Best news of the Australian Open so far: Andy Murray is out of the tournament. Fernando Verdasco took him out in five sets today! See, I knew I was so right when I was laughing my ass off at all the morons who were placing bets on Murray to win the title before the tournament started.

Then again, on second thought, I think a huge reason why the hype over him was so strong was because he'd beaten my darling in their previous three official meetings. Anyone who can beat Roger so many times must attract some hype, because he is Roger Federer after all. Too bad for Murray, and all the others who are snipping at his heels, that he never enters a Grand Slam tournament with plans for an early exit - and in Roger's world, that means 'anytime before reaching the final'.

Anyway, Murray has apparently been sick for the past two days or something, but said he felt okay at his press conference. Assuming he IS sick, wow, I can't believe Roger reached the semi-final last year when stricken with mononucleosis. Even Gael Monfils retired from his match with Gilles Simon today, as did Victoria I Forgot Her Last Name from Belarus, who was seriously on the verge of upsetting Serena Williams this morning (that match completely dispelled my original impression of women's tennis as boring baseline-to-baseline play with no variety. Victoria and Serena were running ALL OVER THE COURT, up and down, left and right, diagonally. It was fantastic). Everything Roger does is just epic. <3

Glad as I am that Murray's out, I must say that I'm a little bit bummed. I was REALLY looking forward to watching him and Nadal kill each other on the court with their 'hit everything back no matter what even if there's no point in hitting back a clear winner and kill self in doing so' style of playing. The way Nadal played against Fernando Gonzalez today made me wonder how much time he must devote to his fitness training. Gonzo hit these crisp cross-court forehand that skirted the corners in these acute angles, and Nadal somehow found a way to hit nearly everything back. What the hell. I couldn't help but feel delighted at the thought of watching Murray and Nadal do that to each other - hit everything back no matter what, until one drops dead. Would have been fun!

Anyway, I'm hoping my French boyfriend Gilles Simon takes Nadal out in the quarters. I have some hopes for such a desirable outcome, considering he beat Nadal in last year's Madrid Masters. Judging by the way Nadal's playing though...well, let's just say he doesn't merely hit everything back; he does so while grunting really loudly and exerting all his energy in his shots. And he hardly makes any errors too (11 against Gonzo, 8 against Tommy Haas. Those are Federer figures back in like, 2004, 2005-ish). So - all the best to my French boyfriend! I hope he wins, failing which at least take one set from Rafa. It's disgusting that he hasn't dropped a set so far.

I had a fleeting hunch earlier on that Verdasco may be this year's Surprise Finalist. If that's the case, Roger's road to his 14th Slam would be soooo cake. The only person I'm mildly worried about out of all the men left standing is, obviously, Nadal. I haven't seen most of them play but no one is a match for Roger at a Grand Slam...except Nadal. I'm not sure if any of it is psychological at all, considering their rivalry, but well, on the bright side, Roger pwns Nadal on hard courts. Therefore, I'm only mildly worried.

But before we get that far, Roger has to beat Del Potro tomorrow. I'm sure he will. I won't predict in how many sets anymore since the last time I did so he gave me a massive heart attack, so I'll just say that I know he will win. He's 3-0 against Delpy anyway.

Andy Roddick vs. Djokovic: I'd be STOKED if Pandy takes out the defending champion. That'd be my second-happiest new news, right after Simon taking out Rafa (but I'll have to wait two days for this). I'd rather Roger plays Pandy in the semi anyway, since Roger totally, totally owns Pandy.

Actually, Roger owns everyone, period. But he especially owns Pandy. Just Google all the Grand Slam finals Pandy has made and look up who he lost to, and you'll see: Roger Federer. HAHAHAHA.

Lastly, Safina is playing Jelena Dokic before Roger's match tomorrow. I knew she'd be on at night on Rod Laver Arena precisely because she's playing the Aussie favourite. I'm sooo rooting for her to win! I love love LOVE Safina. I might actually start watching the awful WTA Tour for her!

Hmm, then again, following the men's tour is time-consuming enough. Besides, the women's tour is quite tragic sometimes. Nothing against Jelena Jankovic being #1 without having won a single Grand Slam, because I feel it's more a reflection on the other players than her. The player are so inconsistent, they make me look decisive and consistent. Ana Ivanovic reaches #1 and crashes out in the first round of the US Open. Serena Williams wins the US Open, reaches #1, and crashes out in the early rounds of some smaller tournament. The women's tour changes #1 as often as I change my clothes; it's no wonder that Jankovic was able to reach #1 without winning a Slam. The closest counterpart you can find to Roger in the women's tour is probably Serena Williams, but even she hasn't been even remotely as dominant in her sport as Roger is in his.

Still, women's tennis is quite nice break from men's sometimes. And I'm quite excited about watching Safina play. Have I mentioned I found her absolutely amazing? I can't believe she's as old as me.

***

On to other matters.

Chinese New Year today was pretty uneventful. After I had lunch, I went upstairs at my grandma's and watched tennis. Not that it was interesting anyway; I find Nadull's matches awfully dull.

Went to visit another relative after that. Same old CNY Day One routine. Nothing much to say too.

I had McDonald's for dinner. That was decidedly awful.

before sunrise // before sunset


Previously:
- - Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017
I'm moving. - Sunday, Jul. 11, 2010
In all honesty - Tuesday, Jul. 06, 2010
What I want for my birthday... - Sunday, Jul. 04, 2010
On Roger's behalf. - Friday, Jul. 02, 2010