Australian Open Day 6 Blog

(Tennis Week had some technical problems so they didn't put up my final blog, deciding it had been outdated after things got resolved. It is so obviously old news now. So here it is instead.)

Today was my last day at Melbourne Park, not a full day of action as I had to catch the plane later in the day. The weather conditions in Melbourne were quite possibly the strangest of the week, as I was sitting down in Court 2 early morning, it was cold and breezy for about 20 minutes, then hot the next 20 minutes or so. The kind of weather that I would never experience in Brisbane, where I live.

On Thursday night, I was enthralled watching the third set between Venus Williams and Carla Suarez Navarro on the big screen in Garden Square. So naturally given the options available of matches to watch, I headed out to Court 2 to watch Suarez Navarro apply her trade in person.



Suarez Navarro got off to somewhat of a slow start, merely trying to find her range of shots more than anything else while Martinez Sanchez, her opponent made her intentions clear from the outset, trying to take the first strike especially off that relatively flat and strange looking left-handed forehand. It’s not at all like some of the other left-handers I’ve watched, in that Martinez Sanchez clearly does not make use of her leftiness. It’s not like her shots are flat, and they seem to bounce up relatively high but that doesn’t look like spin to me, but merely her balls sitting up high.

Martinez Sanchez started off the match making most of the winners, and most of the errors. Dominating the match too much on her own terms, making it difficult initially to find anything in Suarez Navarro’s game. However, what was most frustrating about this match was the loud grunt that consistently came off the Martinez Sanchez end. I’m not usually one to be bothered by grunting on TV, given that the sound effects, including the sound of making contact with the ball is generally softer and not as sharp on TV. But this constant screeching sound was incredibly distracting and making it difficult to withstand for longer periods.

About three or so games into the match was when Suarez Navarro started unleashing the full range of her game. Her ability to penetrate her opponents without seemingly hitting the ball that far away from her opponent, because her shots move away from her opponent after its bounce. Her shots are especially difficult to return with the work she gets on the ball, if it lands deep and I like the way she slowly pulls her opponent wider and wider to open up the court, before finishing it off if necessary. Smooth, effective hitting while playing well within herself, at least compared to Martinez Sanchez.

I’m not sure how this kind of play would hold up against one of the top players, so from that point of view it was hard to rate that performance. It had the feeling of watching an early round match, in that Suarez Navarro looked like clearly the better player, and that it was more a matter of execution and playing aggressively enough to come out on top.

The second set was more interesting from a tactical point of view, although not necessarily more entertaining to watch. I was somewhat bemused that Martinez Sanchez decided that she should come into the net more often, and she even implemented serve-and-volley tactics at times. Her volleys technically do not look sound to me at all, and really the only kind of volleys that she seems capable of hitting are the mid-to-high volleys and she is not impressive on the stretch either, but somehow managed to make up for it with anticipation.

Maybe from the point of view, that her groundstrokes were not solid enough and that she wanted to avoid one of her bigger shots being neutralised were the reason behind this move. But what I found is that Suarez Navarro is lacking in the passing shot department. Given the greater topspin that she applies on her shots, it felt like she often hit passing shots that were either well within Martinez Sanchez’s reach or sitting up high to put up. Is she not capable of dipping it low at her opponent’s feet?

But in the end, Suarez Navarro proved herself to be the better player, the more consistent player. I was fascinated in the final game how Martinez Sanchez changed her game to play safe, solid tennis trying to take advantage of any nerves coming from Suarez Navarro. But Suarez Navarro passed the test with flying colours, playing patient tennis until given the right opportunity to strike, and finish off the point with a winner.



That match was more like an appetiser, a lead-up to the match that I was looking forward to seeing between Gilles Simon and Mario Ancic. The match that was preceding it between Flavia Pennetta and Anabel Medina Garrigues finished relatively early, at a similar time to Suarez Navarro’s match which clearly pleased me given that I was running on a tight schedule today.

I had a brief fright when I went in to walk into Margaret Court Arena to find that many of the entrances were closed off, despite the fact that both players were warming up. The entire stadium was almost at its full capacity, something that I had not yet experienced myself the entire tournament. But fortunately I was able to occupy a single seat, while other groups of people had to wait outside.

This is a match that promised much in terms of its match-up, Simon’s ability to consistently hit passing shots and counterpunch against any net play that Ancic would likely throw at him. Ancic trying to take the initiative in rallies, and finish off points by tactically playing a good match. It’s interesting to note straight away the loud noise of Ancic taking a deep breath during each shot, a sound that as a spectator you get used to after a while, but it’s still unusual.

The match started off with both players playing confidently to mix up their play, something that doesn’t necessarily happen as often as it should for both Ancic and Simon. Simon seemingly able to hit great shots out of nowhere, after merely rallying around with Ancic, with no sense of real purpose except for waiting for his opportunity to strike.

It’s like how people like to describe Andy Murray’s play at times, lulling his opponents before throwing in that unexpected attack. It’s interesting to note where Simon’s shots generally land on a normal rallying shot, high margin over the net and right down the centre of the court, limiting the options that Ancic has to attack.

Whereas Ancic’s shots are consistently closer to the lines, especially on the forehand side, and whenever he won points, it was more due to the consistent attacking of his play rather than the on-the-run or unexpected winners coming from Simon. I think Ancic’s groundstrokes look more effective and solid in real life, because I sometimes tend to think of them as being noticeably worse compared to the rest of the top players.

After an initially strong start from Simon, he started to play more within himself, mainly waiting for the shorter balls before pouncing, otherwise keeping it solid until he was on the dead run or needed to hit passing shots. I find it fascinating watching the seemingly lazy footwork on Simon’s forehand when defending, how he keeps his feet relatively close together in a relaxed stance, with one leg slightly bent. It was particularly interesting at the start seeing Ancic put in all of his efforts to hit deep, penetrating shots while Simon merely returns it back almost without any effort, as if to degrade the quality of Ancic’s shot.

It was mainly counterpunching from Simon, but that works particularly well against Ancic, who likes to come into net to take advantage of any big groundstrokes he hits. The approach shots had to be perfect. Even if Simon was on the stretch, he usually found a way to dig it down back low to set himself up for the following passing shot. From a tactical point of view, it was difficult to know just how much Ancic should be trying to come to the net.

The biggest difference in this match was how Simon seemed to be able to step up a gear in the crucial stages of the match. That even though he was playing within himself, he was able to step up his game at the important stages. It was a superb first set tie-break from him, one that featured numerous brilliant shots, and the manner in which he initially broke serve in the third set was also one of the highlights of the match. Also, Simon was the more solid player overall whereas Ancic was sometimes inconsistent off the forehand.

There was an amusing moment in midway in the second set, when Simon got a netcord in his favour for the second time in the same game. Instead of putting his racquet out apologetically, Simon looked towards the crowd and smiled, the first example of proper crowd interaction that I've seen in any match. Then he put his arms out and shrugged his shoulders at his own luck, as if to say that he has no idea why the luck is all going his way.