[Cally Conan-Davies]

Just finished work to hear about Jankovic!! What's happening??

And now, as I write, Federer is 2 sets down!

Chris - I loved how Tomic explained that he got 'sleepy' in the second set. Not used to staying up so late! How sweet! Time for bed, not tennis! Great experience for the little one, though!

C'mon Fed!

[John Whitworth]

The hairy-legged Scotchman will win and with the money will buy himself some dental work.

[peter richards]

Originally Posted by John Whitworth

The hairy-legged Scotchman will win and with the money will buy himself some dental work.

Nah the rot that sets in from the reaction he has to such comments, even now lurking in the gob, will undo any such reconstruction. Even though some still believe that sweaty socks is rhyming slang.

[Golias]

Sorry to hear Leo got eliminated so early. Now I suppose he will go back to his day job translating and editing TNF and his four other poetry sites.

Actually, I didn't know he was expected to win at the Australian Open. Did you go to see him lose, Janet? How about you, Henry? Mark?

G/W

[Chris Childers]

Great stuff on the men's side. I just watched Djokovic close out Baghdatis; fun match, good tennis. All the men have been playing at such a high level. I watched Fed's first set last night; he was way off. He won because he's Fed, but now he has Del Potro coming up next, who's going to make him work. Talk about playing with confidence; DP's got this big, brutal aura that will not be easy for Fed to break down. Meanwhile Nadal and Murray are just stomping on people; Nadal will run over Gonzo today, no problems there, & Verdasco isn't likely to challenge Murray. In other words, I'm not too optimistic about a Federer championship, which of course is what I'm hoping for. The good news is that Nadal & Murray are on the same side of the draw, and Djokovic is not looking unbeatable.

Jelena Dokic is making the tournament on the women's side, which is pretty thin soup otherwise. None of the top players are really playing all that well; Jankovic & Ivanovic are gone, Serena is sluggish, Dementieva as the "in form" player is looking pretty lackluster, and Safina was really working hard to lose to Cornet & just missed out at the end. It's sort of exciting when top players lose early but it makes for lame stuff later on. But man, Dokic! I might be falling in love. She has gravitas.

Chris

[Diane Dees]

He won because he's Fed

I thought he won because Berdych is Berdych. If one of the major chokers in tennis hadn't blown those three easy volleys at 3-all in the third, I'm pretty sure he would have taken the match in straight sets.

The women's side will get more interesting. Serena always plays her way into majors, using just enough energy to defeat each opponent. This method has served her well for a long time. Safina simply loves to come from behind, and is damned good at it, though I don't blame her for wanting to find another method for winning. Dementieva is playing the best tennis of her life, and remains a top contender. The only thing that will mess her up is if she has a mental slip. She used to have more mental toughness than almost anyone on the tour, but now she goes back and forth between tough and not-so.

But two players who could definitely spoil the party--Bartoli and Azarenka.

And Jelena Dokic has just stunned everyone in this tournament. I thought she would never, ever be able to get into form again, and just look at her.

Cally, here are my thoughts about JJ.

[Chris Childers]

Originally Posted by Diane Dees

I thought he won because Berdych is Berdych. If one of the major chokers in tennis hadn't blown those three easy volleys at 3-all in the third, I'm pretty sure he would have taken the match in straight sets.

There's truth to that. Federer expected to win when he was down; Berdych expected to lose when he was up. That was because each of them is who he is. After the match Federer said he had a five set feeling when he stepped on the court; it was self-fulfilling. But he didn't play well at all and will have to be better to beat Del Potro.

Chris