The History of Men's Tennis (Open Era)

Two best players in the world get a milestone in their astonishing rivalry: for the first time in the Open era two guys played against each other in three straight major finals (following the championship matches in London and New York), and it happened at their 30th meeting (only five pairs before had reached this number), moreover they make the 18th pair to play in each slam. The occasion was exceptional and the match as well…

 (1)Novak Djokovic d. (2)Rafael Nadal 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7(5), 7-5       [5:53 h]

Both finalists began slowly in contrary to their previous final in New York where the pace of the match was sensational from start to finish. In the 5th game Djokovic twisted a bit his right ankle. He strengthen his 1st serve (3 out of 9 aces of the final served in that game) due to limitation of the movement, but Nadal broke him after a couple ‘deuces’. The angry Nole changed his T-shirt from white to a black one, and needed two more games to get back to his normal rhythm. He won three straight games from 2:4, but Nadal notched the same streak afterwards and took the very important 1st set (he had only lost one match of his previous 134 in Grand Slams after winning the first set). In the following two sets, Djokovic quickly raced to a 4:1* lead, the main difference – Nadal erased a break in the 2nd set, saving three set points in two games, he even had a game point to level at 5 games apiece, but Djokovic hit the line with his return then – the linesman called it “out”, the chair umpire Pasqual Maria reacted immediately, and Nadal lost the challenge and his concentration. Djokovic returned to his white T-shirt before the 3rd set.
Seemingly the crucial moment of the final appeared in the 8th game of the 4th set with Djokovic leading 4:3 (40/0) – Nadal saved a triple mini-match point in a great style: forehand winner, service winner, backhand winner, he held his service game and the rain came for the first time within the fortnight! The roof was closed, the court toweled by ball-boys, and after the interruption players continued the final without another warm-up -Djokovic won first five points, Nadal maintained his composure and the tie-break decided. The Spaniard was more passive but prevailed two long rallies at 3:5 – D’Joke missed forehand twice. Nadal delivers a service winner, Djokovic misses forehand again, Nadal celebrates on his knees (I’ve never seen such a reaction from him after winning a set) and for the first time in their 30th meeting, they enter the decisive fifth set! Djokovic begins it (and finishes) in the black T-shirt. At the beginning of the set it’s pretty clear that they’re going to break two records: the longest match in Melbourne and the longest final in Grand Slam tournaments. Just like two days before, it’s a dogfight involving the strongest players in the world, physically and mentally, a real war of attrition of two best active 5-set specialists. Djokovic looks deadly tired in the 4th game which he holds, it seems he may lose the final set quickly, his ability to recover during long matches is amazing though, Nadal’s too. They move beyond themselves with tremendous determination. Rafa leads *4:2 (30/15) when makes perhaps the easiest error of the match, trying to pass his opponent from a comfortable position. It’s the vital moment of the championships – Djokovic resurrects. At *3:4 (15/0) he wins the longest rally of the match at the time (26 strokes). At 4:4 Nadal takes a revenge winning even longer rally in the opening point (32 strokes) – Djokovc collapses on the court. He hangs in the match with an easy hold (to 15) and breaks Nadal in the 11th game after a forehand error from the Spaniard. The last game delivers big emotions and hope for another twist, Djokovic 30/0, then 30/40, saves a break point with a cross-court backhand winner – really brave shot, has an advantage, strong serve down the T, Nadal returns somehow almost diving, inside-outside forehand and Djokovic defends his title at 1:37 a.m. local time, after magnificent effort in his last two matches – 4:50 against Murray followed up by 5:53 against Nadal – no-one in the Grand Slam history spent so much time on court in the last two rounds!! They are so tired that ball-boys bring them chairs as one of officials boringly speaks. “We made history tonight and unfortunately there couldn’t be two winners,” Djokovic says during the ceremony. “Good morning, everybody,” Nadal laughs. “Congratulations to Novak and his team. They deserve it. They are doing something fantastic, so congratulations.”
Djokovic captured 29th title (five majors) in his 129th tournament at the main level, he becomes just the fifth player in the Open era beside Laver, Sampras, Federer and Nadal to win three consecutive majors, now he faces a task (like Sampras in 1994 and Federer in years 2006-07) to conquer Paris grabbing four Slams in a row. It’s very probable that he will reach the final there to play against Nadal once again! “Under the circumstances it was definitely the greatest match I’ve ever played. The match that could have gone either way. The match that almost went six hours. Adding to all that, it was a Grand Slam final and a win against the biggest rival.” stated the Serb a day after the final. Stats of the final

Doubles final:
L.Paes/R.Stepanek d. (1)B.Bryan/M.Bryan 7-6(1), 6-2

Five longest matches at the Australian Open:

5 hours, 53 min. Novak Djokovic d. Rafael Nadal 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7(5), 7-5 – Final, 2012
5 hours, 14 min. Rafael Nadal d. Fernando Verdasco 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(2), 6-7(1), 6-4 – SF, 2009
5 hours, 11 min. Boris Becker d. Omar Camporese 7-6(4), 7-6(5), 0-6, 4-6, 14-12 – 3R, 1991
4 hours, 59 min. Andy Roddick d. Younes El Aynaoui 4-6, 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-4, 21-19 – QF, 2003
4 hours, 59 min. Pete Sampras d. Tim Mayotte 7-6(6), 6-7(5), 4-6, 7-5, 12-10 – 1R, 1990

Five longest Grand Slam finals:

5 hours, 53 min. Novak Djokovic d. Rafael Nadal 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7(5), 7-5 – Australian Open, 2012
4 hours, 55 min. Mast Wilander d. Ivan Lendl 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 – US Open, 1988
4 hours, 48 min. Rafael Nadal d. Roger Federer 6-4, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-7(8), 9-7 – Wimbledon, 2008
4 hours, 47 min. Ivan Lendl d. Mats Wilander 6-7(7), 6-0, 7-6(4), 6-4 – US Open, 1987
4 hours, 47 min. Mast Wilander d. Guillermo Vilas 1-6, 7-6(6), 6-0, 6-4 – Roland Garros, 1982

5-set barometer: 15-4 Rafael Nadal, 15-5 Novak Djokovic, 12-6 Andy Murray

For the third time in the last four majors, the top four players advanced to the semifinals, however, in Paris and New York there was a different configuration than this year in Melbourne – Djokovic faced Federer with the balanced outcome whilst Nadal overcame Murray twice (thrice counting their semifinal at Wimbledon). Unfortunately – in regard of lack of variety – we can expect their another meetings in the remaining majors this year, which looking at it from a different perspective is fascinating though. There’s no doubt that these four guys have been playing for five seasons in a special league inaccessible for others, creating legendary rivarlies between themselves.

2nd semifinal:

 (1)Novak Djokovic d. (4)Andy Murray      6-3, 3-6, 6-7(4), 6-1, 7-5     [4:50 h]

The repeat of the last year’s final was announced by Andy Murray as a dogfight. And indeed, the man from Great Britain was right. As early as the second game of the match suggested Murray’s exceptional mindset, he won the game after saving a double break point and began encouraging the crowd for a bigger support, something what he does only at the crucial stages of his toughest matches. As the match progressed, Djokovic established his superiority and after taking the opening set, he led 2:0* in the 2nd set. Since the 3rd game the level of play changed distinctively, an average rally became longer and more punishing, particular games more tighter; Murray dealt better with these conditions and got the 67-minute set. The pitched battle was continued in the following set already in the 1st game which lasted 18 minutes (!), and was concluded with Djokovic’s first service held since the second game of the previous set. Murray in that game was drinking his beverage between the rallies, the Serb looked exhausted. The physical tiredness caught the Scot too, it happened in the 4th game, and the play got back on the level terms. Djokovic leading 5:4* squandered three set points – first Murray hit an ace out-wide, then a forehand winner on the line. On the third set point Murray surprised his opponent with a forehand drop-shot which forced the Serb to an extreme stretch in vain three strokes later. Murray has been playing tie-breaks for twelve months with huge confidence and confirmed it this time, prevailing 7 points to 4, producing a service winner on his second set point followed by a roar towards his box. Murray had to pay the price for his amazing effort in two very long sets. Djokovic needed less time to build a 4:0 lead than to win the first game of the previous set! I was excited before the 5th set because both guys are the biggest specialists of deciding sets beside Nadal among active players (Djokovic 13-5, Murray 12-5 prior to that moment). The Scot changed his T-shirt from red to white one. First five games went with serve, at 3:2 (0/30), Djokovic played three brilliant backhands in succession and made a break which seemed crucial. Murray is a great fighter though, at *2:5 being two points away from defeat twice, he produced two service winners and broke back in the next game to ‘love’ encouraging the crowd once again. He was challangeless at the time. At 5 all he had a double mini-match point – Djokovic made a service winner, at 30/40 won a 30-stroke rally hitting the line with risky forehand shot! Third break point for Murray flown away with his simple backhand error at the 4th stroke of the rally. Djokovic finishes the game with drive-volley, game duration – 9 minutes. 12th game delivers quickly a double match point for the Serbian warrior, he chases the net and plays a safe but winning forehand volley, the next second celebrates on his back one of the biggest wins in his career, almost 5-hour war of attrition ended thirty minutes after midnight. “Andy deserves the credit to come back from 2-5 down. He was fighting. I was fighting,” Djokovic said collecting victory No. 400. “Not many words that can describe the feeling of the match. Evidently it was a physical match… it was one of the best matches I played. Emotionally and mentally it was equally hard.”… Stats of the match
Well, this match goes to history books as one of the best in history of the tournament, and confirms – at least for the time being – Murray’s status of the eternal No. 4. I’m curious how this loss will affect his mind, he was struggling the lack of motivation a few months in the last two years after losing the Australian Open finals. His position of the No. 1 contender and the Grand Slam champion becomes much more dubious because his better match-up player (Federer) dropped to No. 3. It means Murray in each biggest event will face a potential task to play against Djokovic and Nadal in his last two matches. It might be a mountain too high to climb. Nadal had already established a mental edge over Murray before 2012, Djokovic will have it from now on. He won that important ‘the best of three’ thriller in Rome, now he adds ‘the best of five’ marathon in Mebourne to their rivalry which may be a deciding factor in the years to come.

# Top 4 seeded players in semi-finals at the Australian Open:

1988: 1 – Lendl, 2 – Edberg, 3 – Wilander, 4 – Cash
2005: 1 – Federer, 2 – Roddick, 3 – Hewitt, 4 – Safin
2012: 1 – Djokovic, 2 – Nadal, 3 – Federer, 4 – Murray

1st semifinal:

(2)Rafael Nadal d. (3)Roger Federer            6-7(5), 6-2, 7-6(5), 6-4       [3:41 h]

It was their record tying 10th meeting in Slams (Ivan Lendl vs. John McEnroe 7-3), the second one in Melbourne after a three-year break. Federer took an early initiative, led 3:0* extending a number of winning games against Rafa to ten (!, beat him 6-3, 6-0 in London last November). The Swiss afterwards led 4:1 in games and 4:1 in the tie-break, but Nadal was allowed to play a rally which could give him saving third straight set point – made a silly backhand error. At 2:2 in the 2nd set, Federer had a break point, until that moment both guys had converted two chances each, this time Federer played a sloppy forehand and the momentum shifted onto Nadal’s side.  The Spaniard got five consecutive games (made a break in the 6th game thanks to two awesome passing-shots, the first one in response to Federer’s beautiful backhand overhead) and had a double break point to get the sixth straight game at the beginning of the 3rd set.Even fireworks, which forced players to leave the court for a few minutes (Australian Day celebrated annually on 26 January) at 5:2 in the 2nd set, didn’t distract his concentration. There was an exchange of breaks in the middle of the 3rd set and tie-break determined again. Nadal raced to a 6:1 lead, Federer saved quickly four set points, but on the fifth, Nadal used his simplest and most efficient action – slice serve on backhand followed up with a heavy inside-out forehand. The Swiss faced enormously tough task to beat his biggest foe in at least 4-hour match, he kept believing though, but leading 4:3 sent his forehand wide around 10 centimetres on break point. It was a crucial moment, Nadal broke in the following game, and serving for the match saved a break point (after squandering the first match point) thanks to his extraordinary defensive skills – Federer was lobbed despite a very good approach shot which usually gives him a point directly or in the next stroke with an easy overhead… It’s the end of Federer’s fifth longest winning streak # “’Please win the point!’, that’s all,” Nadal mentioned his mindset on the vital set point in the 3rd set. “I was very, very nervous at that moment. Losing four set points in a row is tough, especially when you play the toughest in history.” Despite the painful loss, Federer stays positive: “It was a tough match physically as well. I’m disappointed, but it’s only the beginning of the season. I’m feeling all right, so it’s OK.”

# Federer’s winning streaks (at least 20 matches):

41 – lost to Guillermo Canas, Indian Wells 2007
35 – lost to David Nalbandian, Shanghai 2005
26 – lost to Marat Safin, Australian Open 2005
25 – lost to Richard Gasquet, Monte Carlo 2005
24 – lost to Rafael Nadal, Australian Open 2012
23 – lost to Dominik Hrbaty, Cincinnati 2004
21 – lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Montereal 2009

 4th quarterfinal:

(1)Novak Djokovic d. (5)David Ferrer            6-4, 7-6(4), 6-1                 [2:44 h]

Ferrer is one of the toughest match-ups for Djokovic, not in the majors though. Their overall H2H is 7-5, but in Grand Slam events the Serb won in straight sets all their three meetings, every time having some troubles only in one set, this time it was the second one in which Ferrer led 5:4* after being broken at the beginning (ribreak in the 4th game) and 4:2 in the tie-break. The defending champion had a problem in the 2nd set with his left hamstring… So, no surprises in the first Slam of the year, just like during the last French Open and US Open, the four best players in the world advanced to the semifinals. The hierarchy is clearly established, four guys far away ahead, then three others (Ferrer, Tsonga, Berdych), then a group of guys between No. 8 and 20 where each one has a decent chance to beat the other. “I played a good game,” admitted last year’s semifinalist Ferrer. “I had my chance in the second set, in the tie-break maybe at 4-5. But when I lost the second set, he played better than me. I am happy with my game.” The Spaniard lost first official match of the year after winning eight in a row.

 3rd quarterfinal:

 (4)Andy Murray d. (24)Kei Nishikori           6-3, 6-3, 6-1                        [2:12 h]

The draw has been  perfectly  working in Murray’s favor since the second round: Roger-Vasselin instead of Malisse, Llodra instead of Bogomolov, Kukushkin instead of Monfils, Nishikori instead of Tsonga – arguably each time an easier opponent to beat than would have been. After three grueling rounds in succession, Nishikori hadn’t left too much fuel in his tank for a demanding physical battle under the dazzling Sun against a similar retriever to himself. There were plenty of ‘deuce’ games, many break points had been saved by the Japanese, yet Murray controlled the match throughout. Nishikori has been in a form of his life since Autumn ’11 but needs to avoid involving in difficult matches against inferior opponents (like in the 2nd round in Melbourne last week when he was 3-6, 1-6, *3:4  vs. Ebden) to compete with the best players at the crucial stages of the biggest tournaments. Murray goes to a fifth major semifinal in a row with high hopes; easy matches have already been finished for him because only the best players in the world are still in the tournament.

2nd quarterfinal:

(2)Rafael Nadal d. (7)Tomas Berdych           6-7(5), 7-6(6), 6-4, 6-3          [4:16 h]

The first 75-minute set was stunning, especially at the end. Berdych leading 6:5* accelerated the pace which gave him a triple set point. First he missed a risky shot, then Nadal showed his exceptional defensive skills, responding a couple times on Berdych’s furious ground-strokes and finally passed the Czech with a subtle forehand. He clenched his fist in typical style for the first time and saved the third set point with a service winner. The fourth set point – Nadal’s forehand winner just after the return. It seemed that Berdych is boiled in the tie-break, Nadal led 5:3, but the Czech has been playing tie-breaks with enormous confidence in the last 12 months, and made two winners on Nadal’s serves to get the fifth set point. Nadal argued with Carlos Bernardes who refused to challenge the Berdych’s next to last stroke in the rally at 5 all. Berdych stayed cool in the meantime and fired an ace to clinch the set. The second set was even more interesting, Berdych trailed 2:5, *5:6 (30-40), set point saved with a serve-and-volley action, and 1:4 in the tie-break, but almost won the set, at set point for himself attacked the net and played two decent volleys missing the second one. He followed up with two unforced errors, Nadal broke his streak of four winning consecutive sets in tie-breaks and it was the beginning of the end for the 26-year-old man from Valašské Meziříč. In the 3rd set Nadal took control over the occurrences, initially he was 0:2* down, but broke back to “love”, established a safe 4:2 lead to catch the momentum. Berdych was trying to get back to the game in the 4th set, unfortunately for him there’s no better specialist of 4-hour matches than Nadal. The Spaniard as usual was more eager and snappy near the the 4-hour mark, in the 4th set he had break points in Berdych’s four service games, breaking him twice and sealed the 10th straight victory over the Czech on his first match point with a forehand return fifteen minutes before midnight. “The King of Clay” lost the quarterfinals in Melbourne in the last two editions, struggling physically during both defeats, this time it seems he’s fantastically prepared  to the event, and I’m looking forward to his semifinal against the arch-rival Federer.

 1st quarterfinal:

(3)Roger Federer d. (11)Juan Martin del Potro        6-4, 6-3, 6-2               [1:59 h]

The 1000th match # in Federer’s career was almost a copy of his previous major quarterfinal against Tsonga in New York. It’s tough to say that Federer’s opponents played poorly, simply the Swiss showed a sublime tennis from start to finish on both occasions. He raced to a 3:0 lead in the 1st set today which meant he extended his streak of straight winning games against Del Potro on Rod Laver Arena to 16 (!) – he beat him 6-3, 6-0, 6-0 in the quarterfinal three years ago. Del Potro managed to break back, but his hopes ended at 4 all (15-0) – since then it was all Federer. The Argentine had 67% of the 1st serve but Federer looked like a guy who could break opponent’s serve each time when he tried a little bit more. He finished a rather disappointing encounter with a backhand down the line on the first match point. The former No. 1 never reached a Grand Slam semifinal before, losing fewer games than this year! “I’m moving well. I’m serving well. I’m hitting the ball clean. Today, I thought it was a very hot day with fast conditions. From now on basically it’s only night sessions, so it’s going to change now. It’s going to be more athletic and tougher. I’m ready for that.” stated the self-confident Swiss.

# Eight players to participate in 1000 matches (singles) in the Open era:

1. Jimmy Connors – 1,519
2. Ivan Lendl – 1,310
3. Guillermo Vilas – 1,207
4. Andre Agassi – 1,144
5. Stefan Edberg – 1,076
6. John McEnroe – 1,073
7. Ilie Nastase – 1,044
8. Roger Federer – 1,000

A naturalized citizen of Kazakhstan, Mikhail Kukushkin [92] became the biggest sensation of the tournament after winning two 5-set matches over the seeded players and advancing to the last 16 (he had never passed beyond the second round in majors before). In the third round he survived a weird battle with a 5-set specialist Gael Monfils on Margaret Court Arena. The Frenchman won two opening games, then lost 10 in a row. He looked like a player who’s going to retire but battled back from 2-6, 0:4 to hold game points in the 11th game of the 2nd set. Kukushkin kept composure and was close to get a straight sets victory over the injured opponent serving at 5:4 in the 3rd set – Monfils since then won 11 out of 12 games (!) and led 2:0 in the 5th set. Kukushkin broke back and triumphed thanks to Monfils’s two double faults in the last game, 6-2, 7-5, 5-7, 1-6, 6-4. The Kazakh ran out of gas after two straight demanding meetings, he was unable to win a game on serve in the first two sets against a very fit Andy Murray and decided to retire. Murray now faces Kei Nishikori [26] who survived a lopsided five-setter with Tsonga on a very hot day, beating the Frenchman for the third time lately, despite losing the first set every time (their second encounter unofficial though, eleven days ago at Kooyong). It’s Nishikori’s initial advancement to the Grand Slam quarterfinals which gives him the Top 20 next Monday, he becomes the first Japanese to play in the last 8 of the Australian Open since Ryosuki Nunoi &  Jiro Sato (1932) – the latter, best player from Japan in the history committed suicide at the age of 26… “It was tough [to close it out] because he was still playing well in the fifth”.  said Nishikori, “I was having trouble with making returns. I started getting nervous. I was tired, too. It was tough to finish. But still I was playing aggressive on important points. I was making good serves. So that helped me to get the games.”
“Wild card” Lleyton Hewitt [181] established a record – 16th time in a row in the main draw of the Australian Open overcoming “15” of his legendary compatriots Jack Crawford and Harry Hopman, who played their 15th and final championship in 1940. Hewitt once a man who seemed destined to win the title in Melbourne, after series of injuries and drastic dropping of the ATP ranking, celebrated first week wins like wins of the second week in Grand Slam events in the past. In the third round he stunned a rising star Milos Raonic, exposing all weaknesses of the young Canadian. Hewitt’s best tournament since Wimbledon 2010 came to the end from hands of Novak Djokovic. The Australian tried his best and surprisingly took a set off Djokovic in a hopeless situation (1-6, 3-6, 0:3). The last year finalists, poker-faced Djokovic and Murray are on collision course. Their semifinal potential clash looks fascinating, Djokovic has been in scary form this year, he regained his amazing consistency from the first six months of the previous season when he was able to play every match almost without any lapse of concentration, Murray in turn, seems recently more confident than ever with an 8-time major champion Ivan Lendl in his corner.
Hewitt’s successor – Bernard Tomic won an entertaining third round match with his “mirror” opponent Dolgopolov, avenging three defeats (Tomic hasn’t played more matches against anyone) but in the last 16 he got a free lesson from the former champion Roger Federer. Tomic has had very laborious January, four matches in Brisbane, three at Kooyong, four in Melbourne… He has gathered plenty of experience which should pay off in the next few months, but his bitter defeats to Murray in Brisbane and here to Federer indicate that he still needs a lot of improvement in his game to compete with the big boys. Nevertheless I expect it’s been the last tournament in many years to come in which Tomic was an unseeded player.
Tomas Berdych was booed by the crowd on Hisense Arena after his fourth round match because he didn’t shake hands with Nicolas Almagro. It was a consequence of Almagro’s passing-shot which struck Berdych’s arm and knocked out the Czech in the crucial stage of the 4th set. The funny thing is, the ball came back on Almagro’s side – I’ve never seen such a thing in similar circumstances 🙂 Berdych fired 28 aces anyway, and won an almost 4-hour battle of flat and uncompromising shots from the baseline, winning three tie-breaks in a row #; he was *5:6 (0-30) down in the 3rd set and *5:5 (0-40) in the 4th – after being hit by Almagro’s hard forehand. Berdych has a great tie-break record in the last twelve months: 22-7 (.758). “I’m really happy to go through to make the same result as last year, and now just try to get recovered from that and to be ready for Rafa. All the past nine matches I lost to him. So it would be nice to try to change it a little bit, but I know that it’s gonna be really extremely tough.” said the Czech.
After year and a half, Juan Martin del Potro comes back to the Top 10. The Argentinian had tough draws in majors during last season, this time took advantage of a very favorable draw, he won his last two matches in impressing style destroying Lu (lost five games) and Kohlschreiber (lost seven games).

The longest match:
3 hours, 54 minutes. Berdych def. Almagro (fourth round)

Most aces: 30 – John Isner, lost to Feliciano Lopez (third round)

5-set barometer:

15-8 Feliciano Lopez; 9-4 Gael Monfils, 7-3 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 6-2 Alexandr Dolgopolov, 5-1 Kei Nishikori, 4-6 John Isner, 4-0 Mikhail Kukushkin, 3-1 Bernard Tomic

# Australian Open 4-setters with 3 tie-breaks won by one player:

1971: Marty Riessen d. John Newcombe 7-6, 1-6, 7-6, 7-6
1994: Todd Martin d. Stefan Edberg 3-6, 7-6(7), 7-6(7), 7-6(4)
2000: Max Mirnyi d. Antony Dupuis 6-7(3), 7-6(6), 7-6(5), 7-6(5)
2005: Marat Safin d. Olivier Rochus 4-6, 7-6(1), 7-6(5), 7-6(2)
2009: Bernard Tomic d. Potito Starace 7-6(5), 1-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(6)
2012: Tomas Berdych d. Nicolas Almagro 4-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(3), 7-6(2)

Before the tournament withdrew three players who would have been seeded: Florian Mayer, Marin Cilic and Robin Soderling. The last one has been suffering an injury since July 2011.
It’s been a good tournament so far for the local fans. The old legend (Lleyton Hewitt – 181) and the new big hope (eleven years younger Bernard Tomic – 38) moved through to the third round with entertaining matches on Rod Laver Arena. Especially in the first round against left-handers, Hewitt came back from a 1:5 deficit in the 4th set to beat a talented Stebe (I expect he might advance to the Top 30 this season), Tomic survived a 5-setter with an experienced Verdasco, despite two-sets-to-love down and *3:4 in the 5th set.
There wasn’t a triple bagel in the history of the Australian Open, but Novak Djokovic equaled an impressive achievement of Murray, winning 17 games in a row in Melbourne #. The defending champion and the main favorite to the title, did it in the first round after being a break down at 1:2 playing against a weak Italian player Paolo Lorenzi, who stunned through set and a half Nadal last year in Rome. “Obviously I want to get a good start of the year in my first official match in this season,” said Djokovic. “I am satisfied with the overall performance today. It took me a couple games to get into the right rhythm. It’s a bit difficult conditions. I think it was really the hottest day since I’ve arrived here, so trying to get used to that.” The Serb won also first two games of his another match with Giraldo. Astonishing 16-game winning streaks notched also Germans Philipps: Petzschner against Lukas Rosol (6-0, 6-0, 6-2) and Kohlschreiber, who bagelled Monaco in the 5th set in the opening round, and took first 10 games of his second round match with Riba when the Spaniard retired at 0-6, 0-4… “I wanted to win badly [with a] triple bagel,” said Petzschner [63] playing this season in unusual knee high socks. “Maybe it’s a lifetime opportunity. I’m not sad that I didn’t make it. I was just trying as hard as I could, and it just didn’t pay out at the end.” In the second round the flamboyant German ended Raonic’s impressive streak of 72 games held on serve (counting since his last match of the previous season in Paris) but it was enough only to get a set.
In contrary to Djokovic, his compatriots had more than three-hour opening matches. Janko Tipsarevic prevailed in 4 sets against Tursunov saving 3 set points to avoid a 0-2 deficit (14:12 in a 83-minute tie-break set, one of three longest tie-breaks this season by far) whereas Viktor Troicki surprised me a lot erasing a two-sets-to-love deficit against Juan Carlos Ferrero. In the 4th set Troicki was 5:6 (0-30) on serve, then fought off two ad-match points, and came back from a 0:1* (0-30) in the 5th set to win 4-6, 6-7, 6-2, 7-6, 6-2. This way Troicki known as one of the biggest chokers on the tour, ousted a player who never lost a match point-up ‘the best of five’ encounter during his very long career.
A couple thoughts about “baby Federer” Grigor Dimitrov [78]. The young Bulgarian played his first 5-setters in career at majors. His game-style is more pleasant to watch than other youngsters, but I’m afraid the lack of the fighting spirit and physical liability may cost him losing many important matches in the future. I expect he will be entertaining to watch at the biggest arenas but don’t expect from him gathering the biggest titles…
“At 28 years old, it’s kind of surreal. But it’s very exciting.” said Alex Bogomolov Jr. [34], who at the advanced age for a tennis player, participated in a Grand Slam event as a seeded player for the first time – in the Slam he had missed the last five editions, he also played it for the first time under the Russian flag (he changed his nationality in December last year). It didn’t help to reach the last 32 for the first time in Melbourne, however, Boggy led three times with a break in the deciding set against Llodra (the match consisted of 19 breaks of serve!).
A player with similar name – Alexandr Dolgopolov [13] became a revelation of the previous Australian Open eliminating much more higher ranked opponents (Tsonga, Soderling) after lopsided 5-setters. He has already won two another lopsided 5-setters at the Australian Open 2012, this time against much more lower ranked opponents (Greg Jones, Tobias Kamke). In the second round he fought back from a 1:3* (30 all) deficit in the 5th set on Hisense Arena. Later on, at match point down (*5:6) in a 5-stroke rally, his forehand clipped the line and a moment later caught Kamke contre pie with a backhand down the line winner. It was a funny match with enormous running on both sides because both players prefer similar style of play.
In the most entertaining meeting of the first four days, on Margaret Court Arena, John Isner [17] fired 43 aces ## to battle past David Nalbandian [87] in the second round. The Argentinian was two points away from taking the victory at 5:4* in the 4th set, in the deciding set he held 3 mini-match points at 8:8 against the slightly limping Isner. The American head off the danger twice with baseline rallies, at the third break point he hit an ace and Nalbandian began to argue with the chair umpire Kader Nouni because he didn’t allow to challenge the ball (too late decision by Nalbandian to use the hawk-eye according to the referee). “Fat Dave” called the supervisor but it only ended up with a loss of concentration. In the following game he led 30-0 but lost four consecutive points. Interestingly both players were involved in similar matches (4th set tie-break, 5th set with a two game advantage) last year, but with reversal luck (Nalbandian beat Hewitt, Isner lost to Cilic). “It was a lot of fun, first off,” said Isner after a 4-6, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6, 10-8 victory in 4 hours 41 minutes. “Very similar to my match here last year where I lost 9-7 in the fifth on that same court. I told myself I didn’t want to repeat that effort. I wanted to actually win that one. It felt really, really good to win it“. The angry Nalbandian after the match threw a bottle of water at staff member and was fined $8,000 for that misbehaviour. Bad energy was in the air…
…there was an amazing outburst on the same court in the following match. The former finalist Marcos Baghdatis [44] who is rather associated with good manners and friendly attitude, sitting on his chair during the changeovers, broke four racquets in 40 seconds (!!) being two breaks down in the 4th set against Wawrinka. The Cypriot literally devastated the first two Tecnifibre racquets, dealing with another two he didn’t even bother taking them out of the plastic wrapping 😀 The furious attack cost him a $1.250 fine. Well, he suppressed negative emotions too long…
French veterans and doubles partners, Julien Benneteau and Nicolas Mahut won their matches on day 4, grabbing second sets with five set points down in a process. Benneteau outlasted his compatriot Simon 7-5, 7-6(8), 1-6, 3-6, 6-2 on Court 6 in the last match of the second round, coming back from a *2:5 (15-30), 3:5 (set point) in the 1st set and saving another set points at *5:6 (three) and in the tie-break (two) of the 2nd set. He celebrated the victory on his back, his one month younger friend Mahut on the knees. He dig out of a big hole as he managed somehow to beat a newcomer Ito of Japan in four sets, although he was 1-6, *1:4 (deuce) down, later on saved a set point at 4:5 and a quadruple set point in the vital tie-break.

The longest match:
4 hours, 53 minutes. Andrey Golubev d. Mikhail Youzhny 7-5, 6-7, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3

5-set barometer:

23-18 Juan Carlos Ferrero, 17-12 David Nalbandian, 16-10 Mikhail Youzhny, 16-9 David Ferrer, 15-9 Fernando Verdasco, 13-9 Nikolay Davydenko, 11-5 Philipp Kohlschreiber, 10-18 Ivan Ljubicic, 9-8 Nicolas Almagro, 8-4 Yen-Hsun Lu, 7-4 Julien Benneteau, 7-5 Gilles Simon, 7-6 Danai Udomchoke, 6-1 Alexandr Dolgopolov, 6-7 Viktor Troicki, 5-7 Michael Llodra, 5-4 Sergiy Stakhovsky, 4-2 Jeremy Chardy, 4-1 Marcel Granollers & Kei Nishikori, 4-5 John Isner, 3-6 Juan Monaco, 3-4 Lukas Lacko, 3-0 Mikhail Kukushkin, 2-0 Andrey Golubev,  2-1 Bernard Tomic, Grigor Dimitrov & Donald Young, 2-2 Flavio Cipolla, 2-5 Alex Bogomolov Jr., 1-2 Tobias Kamke & Ryan Sweeting, 1-3 Jesse Levine, 1-4 Rik De Voest, 0-1 Matthew Ebden, Greg Jones & Peter Gojowczyk, 0-3 Illya Marchenko

# Almost “triple bagels” in Melbourne: Murray began his match with Alberto Martin (Aussie Open 2007) winning first  17 games, the final score 6-0, 6-0, 6-1. Four years before, Agassi had won 18 straight games against Hyung-Taik Lee after losing the first one (6-1, 6-0, 6-0).

## Five players to serve the most aces at the Australian Open:

51 – Joachim Johansson (2005 ) 4 sets, lost to Andre Agassi
48 – Ivo Karlovic (2011) 5 sets, lost to Ivan Dodig
47 – Gilles Muller (2009) 5 sets, defeated Feliciano Lopez
45 – Chris Guccione (2007) 5 sets, lost to Olivier Rochus
43 – John Isner (2012) 5 sets, defeated David Nalbandian