Federer Edges Tipsarevic in a Thriller

Wow… what a match that was!! I am really loving this year’s open. Two epic matches (Roddick-Kohlschreiber  yesterday, Safin-Bhagdatis the day before) in two days and one more today.

The Melbourne rain which so disrupted play at the Australian Open could not dampen an extraordinary five-set game that saw, Roger Federer, chasing his fourth title and thirteenth Grand Slam crown, narrowly defeat 23-year-old Serbian Janko Tipsarevic.The game was decided by a brilliant final set which saw Tipsarevic, tiring visibly and beginning to grunt like Maria Sharapova, hit a succession of big serves to stay in contention. Both players displayed brilliance and tenacity, defying fatigue for sixteen nerve-shredding games until Federer finally edged in front.

Unheralded 49th seed Tipsarevic put on an incredible display. The first two sets were decided by tie-break, Tipsaravic won the first, inflicting Federer’s first opening set loss since 2006, but Federer took the second tie break with some ease.

Still Federer, who has been suffering with gastric illness, was unable to find his rhythm and made a series of unforced errors to allow the intense Dostoevsky-reading Tipsarevic to pull away, and eventually win, the third set 5-7. The sensational loss prompted Federer to call for his trainer as the game moved beyond three hours.

The strain initially told most on Tipsarevic who, still feeling the effects of a marathon first round game against Joseph Sirianni, suddenly looked leg weary. Federer took the fourth set 6-1 with commanding ease to set up a thrilling finale.

Roddick falls to Kohlschreiber in a Marathon Match

Great match and great quality of tennis. Kohlschreiber defeated Roddick in five sets,  6-4 3-6 7-6 (10-8) 6-7 (3-7) 8-6. Yesterday night’s match between Safin and Bhadatis was epic for the drama. And, tonight’s match is an epic for the quality of tennis. Both the players were solid on the serve (total 74 aces; 42 for Roddick and 32 for the German). And, only 2 breaks for the entire 5 sets. The other stats are also mind-boggling.  79 winners from Roddick and 104 winners from Kohlschreiber (WTF??).

In the next round, Kohlschreiber  will face Jarkko Nieminen. With this kind of form, Kohlschreiber should have an easy march to the quarterfinals.

Kuerten to Retire after 2008

From ESPN:

Gustavo Kuerten will play his farewell season in 2008.

The 31-year-old Brazilian plans to play only in a few tournaments before retiring, but said he wants Roland Garros to be among them. “I want to play in tournaments that are special for me,” Kuerten said in Friday editions of the Estado de S. Paulo newspaper. “I’ve been practicing and there are only a few details to finalize my schedule.” He also was expected to play in the Brasil Open and the Master Series in Miami. Last year, Kuerten said for the first time that he may retire from tennis if he fails to stay competitive in 2008. The 680th-ranked Kuerten had a 2-7 singles record last season, his first regular play on tour since hip surgery in September 2004. The Brazilian, ranked No. 1 in 2000, won the last of his 20 titles in February 2004. He won the French Open in 1997, 2000 and 2001.

Federer withdraws from Kooyong Classic

From Herald-Sun:

ROGER Federer’s Australian Open campaign has been disrupted after he was forced to pull out of the Kooyong Classic because of a virus.

Federer is battling a stomach virus and doctors have advised him to rest for a couple of days.

While the Swiss world No. 1 is not immediately in doubt for the Open, starting on Monday, he reluctantly pulled out of the eight-man AAMI Classic, which starts tomorrow.

Federer has not been able to shrug off the virus since arriving in Melbourne at the weekend.

He’s awaiting the results of medical tests conducted yesterday.

Federer’s no-risk policy left promoter Colin Stubs desperately searching for another replacement last night after earlier losing German Tommy Haas to precautions with shoulder soreness.

“He has been advised not to play until he finds out the results of the tests. To lose a bloke like Federer is always tough, but I’ve just looked at the field and we’ve still got five of the top 10,” Stubs said.

Federer, chasing a fourth Australian Open title, has always used the guaranteed three matches at Kooyong to complete preparations for Melbourne Park.

Murray, Youzny, Llorda win titles in the opening week

Andy Murray claimed the first title of the season with a battling 6-4 4-6 6-2 win over Stan-the-Man Wawrinka in the Qatar Open final. Murray is in sublime form. He played solid tennis throughout the week. I am pretty confident that this year Murray will join Nadal and Djokivic at the top to challenge Federer. He will be one of the main guys to watch out for at the Australian Open.

In Chennai final, Youzny hammered Nadal with a 6-0, 6-1 win. Although the Youzny’s win is not surprising, the scoreline is shocking. Youzny played beautiful tennis making only 4 unforced errors in the entire match. On the other hand, Nadal made several errors on the forehand side. In second set Nadal called for trainer to look at his right hip. Hope he’ll be 100% for the Australian Open.

In Adelaide, Michael Llorda took the title with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over third-seeded Jakko Nemenin.