Who do you guys think will win the Aussie Open????

WELL......my guess is Andy Roddick and Maria Sharapova

Pity Lleyton Hewitt is out...hopefully another aussie may win...also i wouldnt mind if Martina Hingis won...she was one of my favourties a few years ago when she was in her prime she may still have a chance

I predict that I will know who will win the open at about midnight next Sunday (29/1)

;)

Seriously..my predictions are Federer and Sharapova

Quoted from BSquared

..my predictions are Federer and Sharapova

I'll go with the same.

Roddick is out :(

I hope Feddera gets in the final as well as that Cyprus guy. I want that cyprus guy to beat him.

Anna

I am happy Roger Federer is in the Finals playing against Marcos Baghdatis.
This report today....
By Richard Hinds
January 28, 2006
Page 1 of 2
for more go to:
[url]http://www.smh.com.au/news/tennis/its-terminator-v-entertainer/2006/01/27/1138319455129.html?page=2
[/url]

FOR once, the hugely entertaining and eminently likeable Roger Federer will not be the sentimental favourite.

But, more significantly, he will be the obvious selection when he takes on the game's new pin-up boy, Marcos Baghdatis, in tomorrow night's unexpected, but eagerly anticipated, Australian Open final.

On what has been an unusually bumpy ride to a seventh grand slam final, Federer has not always met the lofty aesthetic standards demanded by those who believe white smoke rose from the ATP headquarters in Ponte Vedra, Florida, the day he took the No.1 ranking. Pushed to five sets by Tommy Haas and four by Nikolay Davydenko, he had not been immaculate.

However, although Federer again dropped a set in last night's 6-3, 5-7, 6-0 6-2 semi-final victory over German Nicolas Kiefer, for significant parts of the match it was apparent why Federer is more often compared to retired tennis legends than anyone he encounters across the net.

Rod Laver, one of the select group of greats to whom Federer is now compared, watched from the front row as the Swiss wore down the 25th-ranked German with a display that included enough moments of graceful precision and controlled power to suggest he has found his game at the right time. "It was a fantastic match and I really turned it up when I had to," he said.

Federer's performance should remind the surprise packet Baghdatis of the tough task he faces tomorrow - although reports will reach the Cypriot second-hand. "No, no, no," Baghdatis replied when asked if he been observing Federer's progress. "Don't like watching tennis."

Baghdatis has some personal experience to go by, anyway. He has lost his only three matches against Federer - two of those in grand slams, last year's Australian and US Opens. "I've played him second round, third round, quarters," said Baghdatis. "Now it's the final. So every day is different. I just go into the match and play my game, just try not to make a lot of mistakes, just try to make him play. I'll try to find a solution in the match." Kiefer, who had entered last night's semi-final on a six-match losing streak against Federer, had no solution. Having already been fined $8000 here for an array of audible outbursts, he fumed over a number of close line calls and looked set to burst when Federer sent back some of his best shots with interest.

But, unlike the performances that had taken the German to his first grand slam semi-final, most of the grunt came from his mouth rather than his racquet.

I can't believe sports journalists and some fans believe Federer's route to the final was a "bumpy" one. It wasn't until the fourth round that he actually lost a set and in my opinion the matches between that brat Haas and Kiefer weren't as hard for him as people make it out to be. In both games he seemed to lose his grip when he was experimenting with drop shots and angled volleys. When he had enough endurence practice he simply shut them down in the final sets of both matches with ease.

Federer is solid as the rock of Gibraltar and much as I like the guy, I hope Baghdatis can win.

The match against keifer was a breeze but haas had him in a little trouble. Davydenko was the one who came closest to knocking him out but choked.
Im very happy mauresmo won and think fed will make marcos look average.

Shame the women's final ended like it did...bit of a hollow victory for Mauresmo (who was playing well and would have won anyway but it's horrid to win like that).

My head says Federer will win tonight but my heart says "go Baghdatis"

Yeah i actually felt quite bad for justine who i don't generally like unless she's playing sharapova or the williams sisters. but it was worth it to see mauresmo finally win a slam.

Roger Wins Final in Australian Open
By Leo Schlink
January 30, 2006

EMOTIONAL ROGER Federer last night swept to the bravest victory of his glittering career, claiming a second Australian Open title despite a swollen right ankle and the dogged resistance of Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis.
Federer forged his seventh major success with a runaway 5-7 7-5 6-0 6-2 triumph against 54th-ranked Baghdatis, who threatened to upstage the world champion with a blinding start.

But the Swiss master shrugged off a double handicap to climb higher into the constellation of tennis luminaries, moving past Boris Becker, Don Budge, Jack Crawford, Laurie Doherty and Tony Wilding, who all won six grand slams.

Unable to move with his usual freedom, Federer blew the contest apart late in the second set, winning 11 games on end to bludgeon Baghdatis into submission.

"What can I say?" he said.

"I don't know what to say.

Advertisement:

"I would like to congratulate Marcos first, well done. I hope you (Baghdatis) know how much this means to me.

"I guess it's all emotion coming out now, God. I've had some hard speeches but it's a little rough right now."

Baghdatis, 20, accepted defeat with familiar dignity.

"It's like a dream," he said.

"It's fantastic.

"It's a dream come true.

"I'm in the final, I played the final, I lost. It's just amazing."

Visions of a massive upset had drifted across Rod Laver Arena for much of the first 90 minutes until Federer clinically found a way to snuff out the ambitions of the sport's brightest new star.

Good sports ... Roger Federer and Marcos Baghdatis last night.

For all those people who say sports people should be role models (which I don't agree with) look no further than these two blokes...great skill, great heart, great sportsmanship...very satisfying all round  ;D

Did anyone see the Monfils vs Baghdatis match?   I saw highlights and the former is incredibly flexible.

Yep I watched all of it. I really hope Monfils goes all the way.... yeh and his flexibility is amazing :o

A-Rod and Sharapova in tennis love match
January 21, 2007 12:00am

ANDY Roddick dismisses talk of a blossoming relationship with Russian starlet Maria Sharapova with the same ferocity he blasts a forehand from mid-court: 15-love.

But Sharapova, the glamour girl of the women's circuit, likes to tease. At the US Open last year, as she practised alongside Roddick, she wore a none-too-subtle shirt which said "love is in the air": 15-all.

It's the tennis love affair that everyone wants to talk about off the record - even people close to Roddick - but no one will officially confirm.

US magazines reported in July that the two stars had been in a relationship for more than 12 months, pre-dating their 2006 Australian Open visit when a Melbourne newspaper chronicled Sharapova's three trips to the Crown Casino to watch Roddick play poker.

Since then there have been denials - "we are just friends" - but also a sense the two stars have been playing their own private game with the media.

Sharapova, 19, and Roddick, 24, denied at the US Open late last year that doubles had become a more attractive game than singles. Yet they were reported spending time together in Los Angeles last July at Hugh Hefner's Playboy mansion on the eve of the ESPY sports awards function. There were other nights at bars in Hollywood and Manhattan Beach.

"I don't really want to talk about my personal life," Sharapova said in New York. "When two tennis players are friends and are known around the world, people are going to talk.

"That's exactly what's happening."

Roddick said: "I keep saying it. We're not dating. I can't say enough nice things about her, but she's actually busier than I am."

But the sporting world is abuzz that tennis has a new glamour couple to follow on from Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf.

Sharapova is the most photogenic and marketable player in the world, but Roddick also transcends the sport, especially in the US. He even hosted television comedy show Saturday Night Live in 2003 after winning his first grand slam title.

Traditionally, relationships forged on the tennis court don't survive - just ask Lleyton Hewitt and Kim Clijsters - but the sporting public is hoping for a Sharapova-Roddick partnership to last.

Perhaps because of that pressure, Roddick and Sharapova are determined to keep prying eyes away from their private lives.

When it was revealed that Martina Hingis had become engaged to Czech player Radek Stepanek, Hingis sat down at a press conference the next day and placed her hand over her engagement ring. It was a reflex gesture to protect her privacy, before she decided to allow photographers to snap away at the diamond.

Before Hingis's three-year break from tennis, she was asked at a press conference why she seemed to date only tennis players.

"Who else am I going to meet - a journalist?" she replied with no little scorn.

Hingis had public relationships with Magnus Norman and Ivo Heuberger and also was linked to American Justin Gimelstob and Julian Alonso before she left the tour in 2002 with foot injuries and waning motivation.

"I know my private life is balanced and I'm happy the way things are going," world No7 Hingis, 26, said last week.

"You live your life at the courts, and it can feel as though something is missing.

"Now we both know that, ok, we go do our jobs and then the next day we can enjoy ourselves. We don't have to worry about anything else."

The Hingis-Stepanek, Roddick-Sharapova love match is nothing new.

In 1974, Jimmy Connors and Chris Evert won what was called Wimbledon's "love doubles" by taking the two singles titles that year when they were engaged.

They split two years later and Evert married - and divorced - British player John Lloyd. She is now dating Greg Norman.

The relationship between Clijsters and Hewitt was played out in the public eye before they split as amicably as they could in late 2004.

Hewitt announced his engagement to his now wife Bec, an actress, hours after his 2005 Australian Open final loss and Clijsters plans to retire from tennis at the age of 24 to marry American basketballer Brian Lynch.

Roger Federer's long-term partner Mirka Vavrinec was a former tour player who quit her career to travel with him, ultimately helping out with management matters.

The Russian starlet has already placed on record what she looks for in a boyfriend.

"Probably someone who understands the business that I'm in and respects it, but also someone with a good sense of humour," she said. Roddick seems to fit ... game, set and match.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21091571-2,00.html

P.S: Sad to see Monfils out :(

My guess is that Serena Williams and Roger Federer will win the open...

I'd love to see Tommy Haas (Germany) win.  His match against Davedenko was brilliant!  I think Federer will win though.  As for the women, I don't care much either way.  We'll need earmuffs to muffle the grunts, though.  Williams is as bad as Sharapova.  

The problem with Monfils is he has put so much strain on his joints by being so flexable his ankles especially give him trouble. He is definitely one to watch in the future as is the Scotsman. We are in for some mighty men's tennis in years to come. The other night I watched Fernando Gonzalez beat Nadal and enjoyed watching the game immensely. Watching Federer annihilate Andy Roddick was the most amazing matches I have EVER seen, if but a bit sad for Andy. Roger could not put a ball wrong. OMG I was gobsmacked. Last night Gonzalez wiped the floor with Tommy Haas with more incredible tennis and now, for the best match up in years...
Roger Federer and Fernando Gonzalez in an Australian Open Tennis Final that we will (hopefully) talk about for years). One thing that absolutely baffles me though is how Roger Federer in his match against Andy Roddick (and others for that matter) never breaks a sweat.  ??)   His hair and face look like he has just walked out onto the tennis court prior to a match when he has actually won a match and run hard for at least 80 plus minutes!

Pic of Federer from: http://www.columbian.com/news/APStories/AP01252007news96834.cfm

Pic of Gonzalez from:
[url]nuestrasconversaciones.blogia.com/.../02_ap.jpg[/url]

Serena Williams is so strong; she's like one of the Amazons.  Poor little Sharapova was beaten into submission. :(

Congratulations Serena! (clap) She was the most deserving I thought...


Can't wait for the match tonight...should be a good one.

3317305

Quoted from mycomments

3317305

Wha...?

Quoted from 10_rules

Wha...?

ditto  ??)

How can you call that boring? Brilliant tennis, wonderful athleticism by both players. Gonzalez will be one to watch in years to come. Federer proved once more he can do anything on the tennis court that is asked of him. Did you watch the game or just see the results? We are watching history in the making with Roger Federer and I for one am glad to be here to see it happen. Serena Williams is the closest thing to a man playing tennis that a female can get. I am saying that in a nice way. She is strong, proved she can move quickly and she also mixes it up which most women can't. Good on all the winners. It must of been hell somedays in that heat.

I watched the cricket... we know that Federer always wins anyway, or at least 95% of the time. At least the Aus vs NZ game was very close until the end.

Quoted from music313

Who do you guys think will win the Aussie Open????

WELL......my guess is Andy Roddick and Maria Sharapova

Pity Lleyton Hewitt is out...hopefully another aussie may win...also i wouldnt mind if Martina Hingis won...she was one of my favourties a few years ago when she was in her prime she may still have a chance

Quoted Text

I predict that I will know who will win the open at about midnight next Sunday (29/1)
Seriously..my predictions are Federer and Sharapova

had to laugh, read these two comments yesterday, and didn't realise I was reading about last years Aussie Open until much later!
Not much changes from year to year heh?!!!

I agree with SuziH tho, that final was a really good game. Gonzalez has discovered a new aspect to his game and is definately one to watch.  The only question is how to unnerve Federer?  He just seems to have an answer for anything thats thrown at him.  An Amazing Talent, and nice guy to boot!

I hope Laytton Hewitt wins the next Australian open. I also hope that he will be able to win any other major championship that he could get his hands on. I think that the press should leave the Hewitt family alone because Mrs Bec Hewitt does not need this stress when she has to look after her family.

Do you think Australian tennis player Laytton Hewitt will get the chance to win next years aus open.

2008

I have watched the 2008 Australian Open for almost 2 weeks now and am absolutely stunned by the quality of the tennis. I have been riveted to my TV.
We have seen new talent blitz the top seeds away and last night Roger Federer was beaten by a not very well known 20 year old from Serbia in the semi finals.

Today Ana Ivanovic and Maria Sharapova play their finals match and tomorrow Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Novak Djokovic play their finals after each of them became giant killers by defeating Nadal and Federer respectively.


Rafter makes a Tsonga and dance about French sensation Jo-Wilfried
January 26, 2008

PAT Rafter loves watching Jo-Wilfried Tsonga play.

The Australian former world No.1 says the gifted Frenchman is a throwback to the good old days when he played and offers something a little different to the all-out firepower that now dominates both the men's and women's games.

Tsonga has thrilled fans with his spectacular run at the Australian Open, not just by claiming a string of big-name scalps but equally the manner in which he stormed through the draw.

He has awesome firepower, but mixes it with a deft touch at the net rarely seen these days, especially for a big man who stands 188cm tall and weighs 90kg - perhaps the perfect physique for a tennis player.

"I saw him play against [Richard] Gasquet and I just loved the way he changed the pace of the ball up," Rafter said. "He did a lot of slow, sort of looping balls. I thought he could play from all court - baseline, at the net … big serve, big athlete, big kid.

"But these days, you never see anyone change the pace of the game. No one does the slice backhands or the loopy stuff any more, and he does that.

"It's just really nice. Not so much the slice backhand, but he does the loopy stuff and just throws the guys junk every now and then. I think it's really good." The two-time US Open champion also delights in seeing Tsonga take charge at the net and wishes more players were willing to challenge the game's stereotypical baseliners.

"I'd love so see that," Rafter said. "I think it's just fun to see the contrast of someone coming to the net and doing it. But I watch a little bit now and I see the way they pass. I don't know if it's the strings or what it is, but it just seems ridiculous on how they can pass you now at the net.

"I mean, I was just someone that fed a lot of people junk as well. I didn't mean to, but that's just how I played. A lot of people didn't like it. I think there's always room for that as well, to slice and dink 'em around and [hit] slow balls.

"Felix Mantilla had the best comment when I played him once. He said, 'My grandmother hits the ball harder than him'."

For Rafter's sake, and that of other tennis purists, it is to be hoped Tsonga's peers take note and follow his somewhat unconventional lead.

Meanwhile, still reeling from his semi-final pummelling at the hands of Tsonga, Rafael Nadal was further humbled when he arrived at Melbourne airport yesterday.

The Barcelona-bound Nadal could get a business-class seat only as far as Singapore and was facing the prospect of being pushed to the back of the plane for the connecting journey to Frankfurt. The triple French Open champion was placed on waiting lists for the flight out of the city state.

Nadal's travelling frustrations came less than 24 hours after he admitted he'd been powerless to stop Tsonga in a 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 semi-final shellacking in Rod Laver Arena.

The heaviest defeat of his grand slam career left Nadal shellshocked. "[Tsonga] played unbelievable," the Spaniard said.

"Some volleys, I can't believe some volleys. I have some good passing shots and then drop-shot volley. I didn't understand. [He was] running unbelievable, physically very explosive, everything. What I can say?

"I tried to play little bit slower, I tried to play a little bit faster, I tried to play more inside the court, behind the court. No chance."

AAP
[url]
http://www.smh.com.au/news/tennis/a-tsonga-and-dance/2008/01/25/1201157667049.html[/url]


No Djok anymore for Fed
Richard Hinds
January 26, 2008
'Proud of myself' … Novak Djokovic realises the magnitude of his achievement last night.

IN THE wake of an upset that some had anticipated yet most still found difficult to comprehend, it remained difficult to tell which proposition was more shocking: That Novak Djokovic or Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will win the Australian Open tomorrow night. Or that Roger Federer will not.

Even as Federer's game spluttered here after an illness-interrupted preparation and the rising Djokovic butter-knifed his way through the tournament without losing a set, the sheer weight of Federer's grand slam history - 12 titles and the last eight not played on clay - made it hard for the head to win a conversation with the heart when considering last night's semi-final.

And yet after Djokovic had completed a comprehensive 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) victory and emerged, alongside the even more surprising Tsonga, with the chance to become the first grand slam champion of the game's new era - one in which Federer and Nadal don't split the profits 75-25 - the man waving the "Federer - Is He Human?" sign had his answer.

If it really is human to err, then for once, Federer was all flesh and bones right down to the last unforced error that cost him the match. Which does not underestimate the performance of Djokovic, whose only real moment of uncertainty came early in the match. Then, for all the Serb's press-room boasting about being able to beat Federer, he did not really seem to believe it. But, as he would discover himself, the Serb's tentative play was a homage to Federer's reputation rather than a legitimate response to the mixed bag the Swiss served up.

That attitude would change emphatically as the 20-year-old Djokovic started to back his big game, thumping his heart after winning big points and feeding off the applause of his parents and two brothers. As he surged to a two sets to love lead, the major question became whether a man with a slightly fragile temperament could finish the job.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/tennis/djokovic-stuns-federer-to-reach-open-final/2008/01/25/1201157673525.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1


The two women finalists are full of talent and not just pretty faces. Anna Kournikova who used to be a 'tennis player' looked good on the court but could not play tennis to save herself. Thank goodness she gave tennis up.
In the finals I would love to see Ana Ivanovic win and in the men's finals... I don't really care either way because both of them deserve it equally IMHO.

Pictures of the finalists:
Ana http://www.tennis.com.au/pages/PhotosGallery.aspx?id=4&pageId=11500&HandlerId=2&archive=false&assetid=11&gallery=77

Maria
http://www.porsche-tennis.de/prod/pag/tennis.nsf/resources/gallery_070204/$file/gallery_07_02_04_slide.jpg

Novak
http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Australian-Open-Tennis/ss/events/sp/011508australianopen/s:/afp/20080124/sp_wl_afp/tennisopenaus;_ylt=Ait3eFHR_9uMFAwSJXm_EVRNz7QF

Jo-Wilfried
http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Australian-Open-Tennis/ss/events/sp/011508australianopen/s:/afp/20080124/sp_wl_afp/tennisopenaus;_ylt=Ait3eFHR_9uMFAwSJXm_EVRNz7QF

Sharapova and Tsonga for the win! I forget how much I like to watch tennis until The Aus Open comes around every year

Well, it's over for another year :( Best tennis I have ever watched :D
On Saturday Maria Sharapova won her finals against Ana Ivanovic and at last we saw Maria relaxed and smiling!
Last night we saw Novak (Nole) Djokovic win his finals against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. When the match first started I found myself supporting Novak so I stayed with that ;) even when his Dad left the stands and seemed to throw everything out of kilter momentarily, I kept on calling out "Novak, Novak" (yes the neighbours think I am quite mad). One of the commentators, Jim Courier I think, said that Novak and his family hope to start a Tennis academy in Serbia to help tennis players like Novak get on their feet and into the professional ranks. After hearing that I wanted Novak to win even more because what he and his family hope to do is a very noble cause. I found Jo-Wilfried's father and even his mother a tad off putting, no more than Novak's passionate father I suppose though. In the mean time Tennis Queensland is getting ready to launch it's new stadium this time next year. About time too.

Quoted Text

I found Jo-Wilfired's father and even his mother a tad off putting

Why?  I thought both sets of parents were wonderful.  It was nice to see families together. :)

Quoted Text

and at last we saw Maria relaxed and smiling

And silent for a change.  I'm sorry but I think the volume of the "grunt" is totally unnecessary.  Even the men don't scream that loud and many of them hit the ball a lot harder than she does.

I actually turn the TV to silent because of the volume and frequency of grunting some players do, my Mum even puts mute on.