Wimbledon 2006 Ladies' Singles Semi-Finals

Henin-Hardenne (3) vs Clijsters (2)

It's the all-Belgian show with the second-seed Clijsters vs. the third-seed Henin-Harden. For this, I'm rooting for Henin-Hardenne because I want to see a Mauresmo-Henin-Hardenne rematch, which was aborted during this year's Australian Open.

The girls are evenly-matched, although Justine looks a bit weak and short-of-breath. For some reason, she's not using her killer backhands that much. Instead, she opts to give them some slice, which tends to slow down the ball. In any case, the won the first set, and the second one went down to a tiebreaker. Nail-bitingly tense, if you ask me (and Justine's husband).

Justine won 6-4 7-6 (7-4).


Mauresmo (1) vs. Sharapova (4)

As I've mentioned, I'm favouring Mauresmo in this match because she and Justine have some unfinished business.

This is a very exciting match to watch because both girls have the muscle power to deliver some serious shots. Sharapova, however, has the added advantage of using her grunts and shrieks to unnerve her opponents and drive up her own confidence level. She started the game a bit shaky, which gave away the first set to Mauresmo. She got her back her groove in the second set, and made some spectacular shots. In a game with Sharapova, fear is your worst enemy. At the end of the second set, Mauresmo is running scared. Sharapova's serves were so powerful, Mauresmo is reduced to blocking them, instead of returning the service full-on. Sharapova fumbled a bit, but managed to nail set point #4.

Confidence is good, but too much of it is not. Sharapova got too aggressive and made too many unforced errors during the third set. All Mauresmo had to do is stay steady, and let Sharapova do all the work. Mauresmo won 6-3 3-6 6-2.

Australian Open 2006 Men's Finals - Federer vs. Baghdatis

So now it has come to this - the unseeded upstart versus the world's number one. Personally, I think Federer will win the championship. Not because Baghdatis is ranked only 54, but because Federer can NOT lose. His game is not as perfect as it was in the earlier matches, but it's just unthinkable for him to lose. Well, 20-year old Baghdatis is a promising player, and he's got unstoppable momentum and the whole Cypriot-Greek community behind him, so he might have a chance. It'd be so romantic for the guy to win the championship.

Baghdatis clearly set the pace in the first set with his huge serves. Down a set and a break, Federer held his nerve and started fighting back. The second set could've gone to a tiebreaker, but the umpire called Baghdatis' forehand long when it was clearly in. The bad call must've affected Baghdatis somewhat. From there on, Federer had a 10-game winning steak, which took the match away from Baghdatis. Cramps in the fourth set didn't help the Cypriot either. Federer won 5-7, 7-5, 6-0, 6-2. Tears of joy and relief from the champ.

Australian Open 2006 Women's Finals - Mauresmo vs. Henin-Hardene

I was expecting fireworks in the women's finals match, but it ended with a whimper. It's just not Justine's day - her serves are not going in, and she's making too many unforced errors. Mauresmo must've sensed something was wrong because the normally aggressive French was happy to simply keep the ball in play until Justine makes a mistake. After losing the first set in just 33 minutes, Justine called for the trainer, and had some medication. Two games in the second set, she went up to the umpire to announce she's giving up the match after only 52 minutes of matchplay. So after seven long years, Mauresmo finally wins her first Grand Slam title in a most anti-climactic way. Score 6-1, 2-0.

It's a good thing I watched the match at home. I would've demanded a refund if I had been in the Rod Laver Arena.

Australian Open 2006 Men's Semi-Finals - Baghdatis vs. Nalbandian

Now this is a good match. Baghdatis got the overwhelming support of the crowd which really powered him on, and Nalbandian is out to tame the wild man. Baghdatis put up a brave fight in the 2nd set, but Nalbandian's just too good. Baghdatis ought to make more adventurous shots. I mean, being the 52nd seed, what has he got to lose anyway? The tide started turning for Baghdatis on the 3rd set, leading 4-2, then 5-2. Baghdatis made some pretty confident service returns, which turned out to be winners - overhead smashes, blistering serves.

Baghdatis is getting quite comfortable with his game in the crucial 4th set. No sign of fatigue or apprehension. Very, very confident serves and aces. Leading 4-2. Nalbandian started making lots of unforced errors and bad first serves, showing a hint of uneasiness. Baghdatis goes to 5-3 after winning a deuce. Nalbandian takes it to 5-4. Baghdatis wins the fourth set 6-4 with two sets all. Baghdatis is really on a roll.

Nalbandian gets aggressive at the start of the 5th set. Baghdatis started losing his powerful first serves and lots of unforced errors. Nalbandian broke Baghdatis' serve for 2-0. Now in control. The crowd is getting too rowdy, and the umpire had to remind them (again and again) to be silent during the service. Terrific atmosphere - the kind of game you'd want to watch live. This time Nalbandian keeps returning wide. Baghdatis broke his serve 0-40 to make it 3-4, for a chance to tie. Both players can't seem to hold serve. And he ties. Baghdatis plays defensive, and Nalbandian breaks his own serve with unforced errors. Score 5-4, suddenly in favor of Baghdatis. He now has a change to win the match. The score goes to 15-15 when it started raining. Most players would have been frustrated with the loss of momentum, but Baghdatis took it as a sign from heaven and was so happy for the break. The roof was closed, the court mopped up, and play continues.

The game goes to 40-30, matchpoint for Baghdatis. Baghdatis makes a great shot, but was declared wide by the umpire. Hawk-eye says it's in by 22cm. Games goes to deuce. Advantage Baghdatis thanks to a forehand into the net from Nalbandian. And a sizzling ace down the middle from crazy Baghdatis seals the deal. Score 3-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.

Australian Open 2006 - Roddick vs. PONG

Just love those Amex commercials featuring Roddick. Remember last year's commercial where Roddick booked two seats on his return flight: one for him and one for his (expected) Australian Open trophy? This year, the ad has him playing a match against PONG. "Watch out for this guy. He returns everything," warns his coach. True enough, the white rectangular block at the other end of the court deflects back every shot Roddick makes.

Not about to lose the match to an Atari game, Roddick puts on his thinking cap and goes, "My life is about finding a way to win." He then serves the ball short. Since PONG can only move in one dimension (horizontally), Roddick wins.

Fancy a game with PONG?

Roddick and MasterCard

Just wanted to mention this smart advertisement for MasterCard. (They're a major sponsor of the Australian Open.) It shows Roddick hand-carrying his trophy on the plane, and getting into all sorts of tight spots. He and his trophy would be obstructing the in-flight movie. His ceremonial cheque would be blocking the corridor. The person in front of him would tilt his seat all the way down, squashing him and his trophy. The stewardess would "assist" him in jamming his trophy into the overhead compartment, and later on it would come crashing down on his head.

Next scene shows Roddick making plane reservations. This time he insisted on having two seats on the return flight, paid of course with his MasterCard. Normally, the ad would should him seated comfortably with a gleaming trophy beside him. As Roddick lost to Hewitt just a few days ago, the MasterCard ad now shows Roddick shaking his head slightly, and the seat beside him empty. Then this beautiful girl walks by and asks him if the seat is taken. She proceed to seat beside him. Now I'm thinking, what if Roddick never made that second ad - would he have won against Hewitt in the semi-finals?

Safin-Hewitt Championship Match at Australian Open

Tonight, the Australian Open closes with Marat Safin winning 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 against Lleyton Hewitt in the men's single championship.

The first set went pretty bad for Safin. He was sluggish; his balls kept hitting the net, or going out of bounds. The second set is pretty much the same, but Safin managed to win that one. Don't know what happened to Hewitt because he was playing well and consistently. He was so confident we didn't get to hear his customary "C'mon" until the second set. Too bad Safin found his rhythm and dominated the rest of the match with aces and accurate groundstrokes. Hewitt missed his date with destiny and Safin was third time lucky.

Hewitt-Roddick Match at Australian Open

I had such high hopes for Andy Roddick. He is undeniably the master of serves, but it always helps to have other tricks up your sleeves. When Hewitt started catching on to his superfast serves, Roddick's in deep trouble. Hewitt just wears him down until he makes an unforced error. Roddick did make 31 aces, but he also had way too many double faults.

Hewitt won the match 3-6, 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-4), 6-1, becoming the first Australian men's singles finalist in 17 years. Now ranked number two after this win, Hewitt faces Marat Safin on Sunday night.

Safin-Federer Match at Australian Open

Knowing that it's Marat Safin's 25th birthday, I should've figured that he's gonna want this match to be a birthday gift. Instead, I've decided early on that Federer is going to win, given his ice-cool rock-solid performance, compared to Safin's unpredictable temperament. Wrong analysis.

Federer played things safe at the start of the match. Safin is keeping his temper in check pretty well, too. By the third set, cracks started appear in the Swiss armour. Federer's unforced errors are starting to pile up. Safin's returns are becoming more consistent and accurate. At one point, Federer threw down his racket in frustration. He started grimacing with every error, and cheering himself up with every point. He managed to save six matchpoints, but at the end of 4 hours and 28 minutes, Safin won 5-7, 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (8-6), 9-7, ending Federer's 26-match winning streak.

The match is so intense and evenly matched, I got a headache just watching. Happy birthday, Safin!

Hewitt-Nalbandian Match at Australian Open

I only got to see the last set of this match because I was at Darling Harbour watching the Australia Day fireworks. Apparently, another kind of fireworks is happening at Melbourne Park's Rod Laver Arena.

Judging from the scores (6-3, 6-2, 1-6, 3-6) and the playing times (41min, 35min, 30min, 38min) of the first four sets, it would seem the last set would be an easy win. It turned out to be anything but. Watching the epic battle that is the fifth set is to know what suspense means. With multiple deuces and matchpoints, there's not way of telling who will win. Today being Australia Day, Hewitt is dead set in giving the record audience something to celebrate, but David Nalbandian is a fine fighter, and won't go down that easily. The match dragged on for four hours and 5 minutes with a final score of 10-8.

Federer-Agassi Match at Australian Open

For this match, I even went all the way to Sydney Opera House to see it on the outdoor big screen. The match didn't disappoint. Agassi was playing his best, but Federer was even better. The man's a machine. He doesn't get flustered when he misses a ball, he doesn't get angry when he makes mistakes, he doesn't react when he wins a point (except for the final matchpoint).

He made 22 aces, and managed to return almost every ball that Agassi delivers. Final score is 6-3 6-4 6-4, making this Federer's 26th consecutive win.

Molik-Williams Match at Australian Open

Venus wasn't herself when she played the first set. She practically gave it away. She came back on the second set with all cylinders firing, but Molik was ready for her. Venus played aggressively, but she made too many errors. Molik hang on till the end, and won the match 7-5 7-6 (7-3). Too bad for Williams - she could've won this one easily.

No Australian Open Matches Today

Actually, what I meant was, I didn't get to see any matches today. Tough luck. Channel Seven's match coverage usually starts at 8:30pm. I dutifully tuned in at that time, but didn't see any matches going on. Turns out today's coverage is from 11am to 6pm. No Federer, no Agassi, no Sharapova. Bad.

Roger Federer def. Marcos Baghdatis 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4)
Andre Agassi def. Joachim Johansson 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-3), 6-4
Serena Williams def. Nadia Petrova 6-1, 3-6, 6-3
Maria Sharapova def. Sylvia Farina Elia 4-6, 6-1, 6-2

Instead I watched Legends of the Fall.

Hewitt-Chela Match at Australian Open

I have to say I'm not impressed with tonight's match. Seems to me the "new and improved" Hewitt needs some additional work. There's nothing spectacular in the way Lleyton Hewitt and Juan Ignacio Chela played. To Chela's credit, he did force the match to go into the fourth set. The guys were just keeping the ball in play for as long as they could, until one of them gets unlucky and makes an unforced error. And there were lots of unforced errors. Lots of standard shots that didn't cross the net. Hopefully, a different opponent for Hewitt will up the level of play.

Hewitt really has to tone done his "Come on!" shouts. Blake and Chela aren't the only ones who find them unnecessary. Sometimes he uses his trademark shout even when his opponent makes a simple mistake. I mean, it's not like he made this difficult shot and he's rewarding himself with a pat in the back.

Hewitt defeats Chela 6-2 4-6 6-1 6-4.

Agassi-Dent Match at Australian Open

Living legend Andre Agassi shows that he still got what it takes. He doesn't work himself too hard anymore, but can still chase a ball if needed to. Taylor Dent kept the match exciting with his net-rushing and serve-and-volley style of play. Worked at first, but Agassi got wise to it. He started countering with lobs and sending the balls to the back. In the end, Dent just made too many errors.

Agassi won three straight sets 7-5 7-6 6-1.

Molik-Nakamura Match at Australian Open

Tonight, it's the Molik-Nakamura show. Alicia Molik is an excellent player, but she's not consistent. She's making way too many unforced errors. It's a good thing Aiko Nakamura made even more. It's such an effort watching the girls play. It's a grunt fest for every serve and return. Nakamura is obviously overpowered by Molik. She started doing two-handed returns. There were times when she can't hold her racquet steady, and the ball fly off wide. Nakamura must be the first Japanese I've seen with so many pimples. She has great form, though. Alicia Molik wins 6-2 6-4.

Federer-Suzuki Match at Australian Open

Finished watching (on TV) the match between Federer and Suzuki at Melbourne Park, Australian Open. The match was just awesome. So entertaining, I was cheering every time a point is won (or lost). Roger Federer is the picture of precision and power, while Takao Suzuki is a worthy opponent with his 210kph serves and relentless net-rushing. There were times the guys had to smile because of the fantastic shots they were making. For example, Suzuki made a winning drop-volley. It looked hopeless, but Federer still chased it down, and returned it around the net for a service break. No wonder the guy is No. 1.

Federer won the match 6-3 6-4 6-4.