Australian Open 2010 (Concluded)

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JERRY LEE

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Time for Hewitt and Tomic to smoke the peace pipe

WILL SWANTON
January 13, 2010

Ken Rosewall is a quiet and decent man. He steers clear of controversy as easily as Roger Federer avoids first-round defeats, but one of the most respected figures in Australian tennis has dipped a toe into the murky waters of Lleyton Hewitt's feud with Bernard Tomic, calling for the warring parties to smoke the peace pipe when they arrive at Melbourne Park for the Australian Open.

Hewitt plays Italian Andreas Seppi in his first match of the Sydney International on Ken Rosewall Arena today. The former Wimbledon and US Open champion has fought all but a lone battle at the Australian Open since the departures of Pat Rafter and Mark Philippoussis. And now he's trading barbs with countryman Tomic instead of receiving support. Rosewall, renowned as a gentleman of the game who played in an era when Australia's success stemmed to a large degree from camaraderie, hoped Hewitt and Tomic could end their spat as soon as possible.

''I don't think anything like that would have happened in the past,'' Rosewall said. ''I don't really understand the whole story behind it but I think it would be for the benefit of Australian tennis if they could shake hands and everyone could get along. Of course, there's the possibility they could be opponents in Melbourne, but I think they still need to make a start at coming together.

''You'd think at some stage they might even become Davis Cup teammates so you don't want any bad feelings from people on the same side. I suppose part of being a younger player is to learn by some of the little mistakes you're always going to make along the way. I'd like to see them try to work it out.''

Hewitt had another sweat-laden workout at Homebush yesterday as he prepares for a 14th Australian Open campaign. He lost to Seppi in Sydney four years ago and will be on guard. Rosewall claimed the former world No.1 was more than capable of conjuring up a journey into the second week in Melbourne if the stars aligned and the superstars were kept at a safe distance when the draw is unfurled on Friday. A maiden Open title for Hewitt would put the icing on one of the great Australian careers.

''He has ambitions in that tournament but ambitions are not always reached,'' Rosewall said. ''Lleyton has already achieved a lot for Australian tennis and of course there are so many other good players around these days. But I still think Lleyton is a tremendous player and if he gets a good draw and a bit of luck, there's no reason why he can't go a long way into it. We're so used to Federer and Nadal reaching the big finals but they've both lost some matches in recent times.''

While Tomic got his Australian Open preparation off to a flying start with a 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 win against former world No.15 Robby Ginepri at the World Tennis Challenge in Adelaide last night, it was left to Carsten Ball and Peter Luczak to carry the flag with Hewitt in Sydney. Big-serving Ball gave American Mardy Fish more than he could handle on occasions but, as was the case with fellow Australian wildcard Nick Lindahl's loss to Marcos Baghdatis, the tap ran cold at inopportune moments in a 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) defeat.

Ball, the son of Australia's former Davis Cup player Syd, spoke with a thick American accent. He was born and bred at Newport Beach in California rather than the stretch of sand with the same name in Sydney.

Asked if he felt like an Australian, the 22-year-old said: ''I've always been around Australians, my dad and everything, so I'm not too far off. I was playing Australian Open juniors when I was, like, 17. I was staying with John Fitzgerald because he was a close friend with my dad. After I made the quarters there, they asked me if I'd like to play for Australia and be on their elite squad. I was thrilled and jumped at the chance.''

Luczak won through to the second round with a 7-6 (7-1), 6-4 win against Argentine Jose Acasuso last night.
 

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Djokovic joins growing calls for shorter season for Tennis Stars

LINDA PEARCE
January 13, 2010
Novak Djokovic is among the senior players continuing to advocate an earlier end to the men's tennis season, while admitting he will start the new grand slam year spurred on by the embarrassing circumstances of his failure to defend his Australian Open title last year.

The world No.3 retired in the fourth set of his quarter-final at Melbourne Park last year against Andy Rod****, citing heat stress, and was thus unable to finish a grand slam match for the third time. Yesterday, at Kooyong, he said he was treating the loss as a motivation during his return visit, having added American Todd Martin to an expanded coaching team in the meantime.

Djokovic, 22, conceded he was struggling with both his mind and his body 12 months ago. ''I was facing the role of defending champion of a grand slam for the first time in my life, so I was doing a lot of tough periods in the start of 2009, and I didn't feel really 100 per cent physically ready first of all for the tournament,'' Djokovic said.

Martin is working with Djokovic's coach of three years, Slovakian Marian Vajda, to bring some ''freshness'' to the team, as well as, apparently, some much-needed serenity. ''First of all he's a great person, very calm and he brings this calmness to the team, he's totally opposite to me,'' said the renowned extrovert and impressionist, whose latest role has been as assassinated Yugoslavian king Aleksandar Karadjordjevic in a 10-part series being shot for Serbian TV.

''[Martin] used to play a couple of finals in the grand slams and he was at the top of men's tennis for many years and he knows what's the deal on the court and he can help me a lot. He has a lot of experience. But, of course, on the other hand it doesn't mean that I'm going to stop with Marian. We all agreed that we're going to work partially with each other.''

Djokovic will be making his Kooyong Classic debut having followed his usual post-season path from a brief two-week holiday to 10 days of high-altitude training in the mountains of Serbia, before some hot-weather preparation in the Middle East.

A member of the ATP player council that includes Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Australia's Peter Luczak, Djokovic may have played more singles matches than any other man on the tour, but is also among those pushing for a shorter season.

''We are going towards that direction, towards that goal. It takes time; it's not something that can happen overnight,'' he said, citing commercial and other considerations. ''But the schedule is our main priority. It's just too long, and definitely having four weeks before the season ends and the start of the new season is too little. We have to have at least two months. We have some talks here in Australia and we try to work in the next couple of months and make it better.''
 

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Real deal Hewitt lobs his way into rematch with Baghdatis

WILL SWANTON
January 14, 2010

One of Peter Garrett's best lines, back when he was leading Midnight Oil rather than formulating environmental policies, was that Australians can spot a fraud a mile away.

That's why Lleyton Hewitt commands the utmost respect - because he's the real, gut-busting deal every single time he enters a tennis court. It's there for all to see, the desire is contagious, and Hewitt should realise a whole lot of people are on his side.

Thousands of his countrymen - sweat-soaked people of all vintages, kids galore - poured into the furnace at Homebush Bay to watch him play an individual of limited viewing appeal. Hewitt was the conductor warming up his orchestra, raising one fist, gritting his teeth as those in attendance either lifted their voices or backsides with him.

A few uncertainties surround Hewitt's quest to win a fifth Sydney International and a first Australian Open - the physical wellbeing, the penetration of a game that used to rule the world, the ability or lack thereof to find the extra gear needed to motor alongside Roger Federer and co - but this should be taken as read. The conductor will not be a one-man band. He feeds off the masses as much as they feed off him.

He swarmed on Italy's Andreas Seppi yesterday, 6-0, 6-2. Good signs at the right time. Conditions were difficult against an awkward opponent. Swirling winds made rhythm difficult to locate. His first ATP World Tour match of the year had to include butterflies but Hewitt looked lean and fit and, when he unfurled a few trademark fist pumps, Australia's mohawk-favouring No.1 looked positively mean. His celebrations were mostly quiet and resolute; almost ominous as if his best might be yet to come and he knows it.

Marcos Baghdatis booked a quarter-final meeting with Hewitt courtesy of a 7-5, 6-3 win over sixth-seeded Serbian Viktor Troicki. Hewitt and Baghdatis famously burned the midnight oil at the 2008 Australian Open, starting their match shortly before the witching hour in a five-set clash that finished at 4.34am, which Hewitt won.

''Yeah, that was different,'' Hewitt recalled. ''Hopefully, it never happens again to anyone. I would have wanted to wipe it out of my memory bank if I'd lost the match in five sets but obviously winning an epic match in your home grand slam, stuff like that always stays in the back of your mind. It obviously does for a lot of people, given the timing and everything else, but it was an epic clash in all respects.''

On the possibility of his next clash finishing at a similar hour, a bit of a stretch given they're the third match on Ken Rosewall Arena today, Hewitt replied: ''Over three sets, that would be a worry. Might have to rain for a while.''

The conductor appears in good spirits. He made 100 per cent of his serves in a flawless first set against an opponent who had beaten him twice before. Seppi then secured an early break in the second set before Hewitt peeled off six games in a row.

The defining point came in the sixth game of that second set, the culmination of a punishing rally, Seppi and Hewitt trading blows from their respective corners like a couple of middleweight sluggers. Seppi charged the net only for Hewitt to conjure a perfectly disguised forehand lob to leave the Italian stranded.

The attacking forehand lob is one of the shots that serves Hewitt best when he's firing on all cylinders. That's when the conductor raised his arm with the most feeling. That's when everyone went up with him.

At a 5.20am press conference after their Australian Open belter of 2008, Baghdatis claimed it was ''a pain in the arse'' to play against Hewitt in the dark with a full-voiced home crowd on his side. Baghdatis will learn today that playing Hewitt in the heat of the day is no picnic, either.

Peter Luczak, 30, joined his compatriot Hewitt in the quarter-finals after defeating world No.20 Tomas Berdych 1-6, 6-4, 6-2. He will play American Mardy Fish.
 

smarty

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as much as i hate to say this... go hewitt. lol
 

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Tomic's fitness needs improving: Rafter

DANIEL BRETTIG
January 14, 2010 - 8:04PM
AAP

Pat Rafter believes rising Australian tennis hope Bernard Tomic has the smarts to be a top player, provided he can get himself fit enough.

Former world No.1 Rafter gained a close perspective on Tomic by playing alongside him in a doubles match as part of the World Tennis Challenge in Adelaide, and reckoned the gangly 17-year-old still had much to hone before he could be a successful ATP tour player.

Tomic posted useful wins over American Robby Ginepri and Czech Radek Stepanek in his first two matches at the WTC, though he remains a diamond in the rough as opposed to the finished product, according to Rafter.

"There's a lot of things, a lot of little things (to work on), but he's a smart kid, he's one of those guys who seems to work out a situation really well," Rafter said.

"I think he'll adapt his game to suit (different situations) at the time, it's one of those things where you don't know how a kid reacts when that comes at him.

"But he hasn't stopped growing yet, he's a big kid.

"When he stops growing then he's really got to start getting up on his toes and really trying to be a good athlete because it's really important - if he's a good athlete he'll be a good player.

"He's got other great attributes I haven't seen in his game before, he's got really nice hands and that type of thing, but there's a lot he can work on."

The recent feud between Tomic and Lleyton Hewitt had not escaped Rafter's gaze, but he declined to comment on the matter, saying he did not know both sides of the argument.

However Rafter was more forthcoming on his plans to invigorate player development in Australia, as he counts down to an Australian Open meeting with Tennis Australia (TA) officials.

"We'll all sit down during the Aussie Open, I'll sit down with Tennis Australia guys and also a few of the boys (former players) and go through what we think is right for player development," he said.

"We won't know how it pans out until we go through everything, I want to hear their side of it all, it's important to hear how they're structured and then what we can do around that.

"We'll go in there, we'll get the best guys like Darren (Cahill) who knows how it works, a few of the guys like that, and a few in TA and go through it."
 

Dogz009

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i hate tomic! in the doubles match they were all playing for fun and messing around except for him, he kept trying to win the match, especially when rafter switched with the ball boy, tomic power served it at him along with other drop shots at him where as the others would hit it slowly to him. just hate him
 

Hansta

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he is so hot and cold during games. He has lost the art of going for the kill. Up and set and a break in the 2nd, yet he still loses :(

He should be putting these games away. He would be taking on Pete luczac(nfi how to spell his name) or Mardy Fish for a chance to play in the finals. But nope he choked grrr
 
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dogs_4 lyf

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lol relax man hes shown enough to prove he will go well in the aus open

its hard to stop the momentum in a best of 3 match and bagdhatis was on fire
 

bLaQDoG..

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I can never like Hewitt.

His Come ons piss me off way too much.
 

Slippery

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His "punching" the ground and not giving his opponents credit are what do it for me...
 

Hansta

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I can never like Hewitt.

His Come ons piss me off way too much.
pretty much everyone makes up their minds about him from that single action. They either love it or loath it. It's funny though, no one used to do it much before him. Now everyone is copying him and he still cops it only :p

As a tennis player, i love the bloke. Plays with so much emotion, esp during Davis Cup. I havent seen any tennis player show that positive emotion.

At times yes he goes over the top when he is frustrated, but hey the pressure you are under in those conditions aint easy. Pretty sure most of us would prob bash the ump lol
 
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dogs_4 lyf

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Tbh Slip during battle Ill never give my opponent credit until its over.
 
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dogs_4 lyf

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Nah dude, I'm talking about in post-match interviews and such.
Everyone has their ways I guess. He doesn't bag them out though. Lot of sports players out there only talk about themselves and don't give credit for opposition team or player.
 

Slippery

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Everyone has their ways I guess. He doesn't bag them out though. Lot of sports players out there only talk about themselves and don't give credit for opposition team or player.
I know there's plenty of others. I don't like them either.

It's like they can't accept defeat, and the fact that someone was better than them. Childish.
 

Berries

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Every article i read he gives props to his opponents tbh
 
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