It’s been a hot and active first few days at the Australian Open, with players eager to return to the court and make a statement about where their games are at for 2014.
Expectations are heavy for the “Big Four,” who retain the moniker despite no longer occupying the top four seeds. Defending Wimbledon champ Andy Murray has slipped to No. 4, while Roger Federer has landed at No. 6. Both men have had ongoing back issues and this tournament will be the first test of their respective recoveries and health.
Although Murray and Federer are the two biggest question marks right now, they’re certainly not the only players with something to prove. Novak Djokovic is going for his fourth straight Australian Open, which would be a record in the open era. Rafael Nadal is trying to further solidify his No. 1 ranking and win the tournament that has eluded him since 2009.
And outside of the usual suspects, the “big potential” players like Tomas Berdych, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Juan Martin del Potro, along with the buzzy Canadians, Milos Raonic and Vasek Pospisil, all have eager eyes watching their every moves.
So far, so good, as all mentioned have made it through to round two of what has already shaped up to be an interesting, and revealing, tournament.
What you missed
Sergiy Stakhovsky lost in his opening-round match. The world No. 82 isn’t exactly a draw, but if he’d made it to the third round, he could have been facing Roger Federer, who he shocked in the second round of last year’s Wimbledon. After proclaiming, “I kicked the butt of Roger Federer,” maybe he’s safer off the court.
Russian Vera Zvonareva made her return to tennis after injury forced her off the court for just over a year. Unfortunately, it was a blink or you missed it comeback, as she lost her opening round match 6-2, 6-2 to Australian Casey Dellacqua. Once ranked as high as No. 2 and a two-time Grand Slam finalist, Zvonareva is never boring, and her return could mean great things for women’s tennis. And yes, she still puts her towel over her head on every changeover.
What you didn’t
After a wonky 2013 that saw a ton of upsets at pretty much every tournament, the Australian Open’s been fairly steady so far. Top seeds are through, with the exception of John Isner and, to an extent, fellow American Venus Williams.
Seeded 17th, pressure seems to be off for Australian Sam Stosur, who followed up her 2011 U.S. Open title with a first-round loss in front of a home crowd in 2012, and a second-round downing in last year’s event. Stosur looks to be faring better this year after a straight sets opening round win, giving her a chance to stage upsets of her own.
Quotables
A blunt and disappointed John Isner, who was forced to retire in his first-round match, comments about his up and down couple of weeks. First, he pulled out of Hopman Cup with an injury, then went on to win the Heineken Open in Auckland before losing his opening-round match in Melbourne.
Hindsight seems to be weighing on him.
“This trip, really, kinda been swimming upstream the whole time…I didn’t come down here to win Auckland, I love that tournament, but I came down here to try to do well here.”
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Defending champion Victoria Azarenka laughed while discussing her boyfriend Redfoo, of the band LMFAO, and his ongoing presence in the stands.
“I don’t think you can miss him! It’s tough, because they have been showing him on TV more probably than they’re showing somebody else, and he’s very, very visible.”
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Federer being interviewed about new coach Stefan Edberg after his win over Australia’s James Duckworth:
AO: “How’s he hitting?”
RF: “He warmed me up.”
AO: “And?”
RF: “I won.”
