Good Stuff Ricky! Here's mine -

Quarterfinals
Federer over Davydenko in 4
Djokovic over Soderling in 4

Del Potro over Roddick in 4
Murray over Nadal in 5 ( or it could be the other way round too. This WILL be the match of the tournament, for sure)

Semifinals

Federer over Djokovic in 4
Del Potro over a very tired Murray/Nadal in 3

Final

DelPotro over Federer in 4

Quarterfinals
Federer over Verdasco in 3
Djokovic over Tsonga in 3

Roddick over Del Potro in 5
Nadal over Murray in 4

Semifinals
Djokovic over Federer ii 5
Nadal over Roddick in 4

Final
Anyone of Nadal or Djoker in 4 tight sets

Ricky, I think Rafa's Qtr was missed out in the first round predictions.

Ricky, sorry, I didn't realise that you did two matches on one line.

del potro is injured. i dont think he will be as big a threat as people make him out to be. and the aussie courts are slower than US courts so del pony will find it difficult to blast nadal off court. the murray vs nadal match is big, i reckon the winner of that will be in the final. roddick might be a threat as well if on form, but nood good enough to beat an in form nadal.

djokovic seems out of form and u put him in the aussie heat and he will wilt.
davy is not going past federer.

so federer will be in the finals and either nadal or murray will be the other finalist. and watch out for the typical dream run from someone because it always happens, last year it was verdasco, 08 was tsonga, 07 gonzalez, 06 baggy, etc...
this year cilic might make some noise.

if nadal gets past the first few rounds, he could be a real big favourite.

and of course how could we forget the next GOAT my man bernard tomic.

attackingtennisrulez, i believe that Novak played possum, but we'll see when the the first round starts. Fed, Nadal are always the contenders, no doubt.

Well if Tomic can get past the second round ... I'd say we'd owe you a drink ATR.

u cant just turn it on whenever u feel like it. djokovic is not federer.

if tomic gets past 2nd round i should be made a moderator in this site or given my own piece to write about.

Fourth Round
Federer over Baghdatis in 4

Davydenko over Verdasco in 5

Djokovic over Gasquet in 4

Isner over Murray in 4/5

Del Potro over Cilic in 5

Nadal over Stepanek in 3 tights set

Quarterfinals
Federer over Davydenko in 5

Djokovic over Tsonga in 4

Del Potro over Roddick in 5

Nadal over Isner in 4

Semifinals
Federer over Djokovic in 4

Nadal over Del Potro in 4

Finals
Either (lol)

If push came to shove I would say Nadal in 4/5 (But will have to wait and see how easy/hard it is for them to get through their draws )

Sports Illustrated and Jon Wertheim picked Nole too. I disagree. :D

just this...ExFed out in QF... go Davy!!!
Nole wins finale against Rafa!!!
If I am lucky...Nole can be No1 after AO
AJDE NOLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i'm terrible in predictions myself but those who disagree with Ricky should publish their picks :)

I am confident rafa will overcome murray and he has a strategy against delp ..often he was able to construct points well but due to lack of aggression he failed to finish them off ,this will not happen this time.nadal's being lefty allows him to hit a heavy slice towards delp's forehand and with an extreme grip and being a tall man delp finds it hard to hit it hard as its tough to get underneath those balls. Nadal's backhand down the line shud be cliking to xploit this play..and ATTACKINGTENNISRULEZ made a good point by saying its not the US open turf and delp will not be as effective as he was there.so the concept of blowing rafa away are mild here.

QF
nadal over murray in 4
roger over nando in 4/5
djokovic over tsonga in 4
delp over roddick in 4

SF
nadal over delp in 5
federer over djokovic in 5

Final : God knows :p

BUT LOOK FOLKS WE ALL ARE IGNNORING THE FACT THAT ITS OZ OPEN WHERE WE WITNESS SURPRISES OF THE VERY HIGHEST ORDER. so i think it might be that we donot see top dog into the last eight but which one?? dont know

-novak is much stronger physically now and he will not wilt that easily unless he plays a gruelling 5 setter,especially back to back

good predictions by all

I just want as many people as possible to join the fun, because no matter how many different sets of predictions we get, chances are NONE of them will be right!!! Thats how wide open it is.

So I hear Nando beat Tsonga 7:5 6:3 to win Kooyong, and then I see Novak lost to Mr. Famous Bernard Tomic in 3! How did it happen? I did not see the match. Was Novak sleeping again? Was he just not interested in playing these matches at all or is it some warning of his lousy early 2010 form being not as promising as we thought...well, interesting AO this will be for sure ...I also think DelPo is injured and he is not expected to go far at the AO. If Nando is to play the way he played Kooyong he is going to run over Davy and at least he will make it difficult for Fed and will wear him down. Murray is expected to easily reach quarterfinals, but beware he may have to play Isner (attacking?s favorite player) in the fourth round so that may end up to be interesting match. Remember how Isner surprised Roddick at USO. I hate to make predictions so this time I will not do it...Attacking to become the moderator of this site! Wow! That would be even more interesting than tennis news itself...

Attacker - I promise you right now that if Tomic beats Cilic, you can write an entire blog about Tomic's greatness on this website.

And I won't even set a word limit.

Tomic isn't going to beat Cilic. in fact, I'm thinking that Del Potro might not beat Cilic either.

There's nothing wrong with Delpo's wrist. His agent has confirmed that it's just a precaution and so has Del Potro. Personally, the only pitfall I see for Delpo to reach the final could be the potential QF with Andy Roddick. Roddick and Delpo have had very close matches on which Andy came on the wrong side. And If A-Rod is playing well, the match might go to the wire. I don't think Nadal or Murray would be able to stop Delpo in the SF.

the draw changed, but well before I did my picks. So the picks in this blog are for the accurate draw.

Federer over davydenko in 4
Djokovic over Tsonga in 4
Delpotro over Roddick in 5
Nadal over Murray in 5

Federer over Djokovic in 5
Delpotro over Nadal in 4

Federer over Delpotro in 5

this really is gonna be a fascinating grand slam. i can't see rafa winning it in all honesty, which is a bit disappointing, but i still intend to watch all of it :D

If Delpo is healed,
F- Delpotro bt Djoker in 4.

If Rafa is the 1st-set Rafa in Doha,
F-Rafa bt Djoker in 3.

Hey, Crustal Bolbol, that's pretty specific. If that all turns out, I'm going to be looking you out for lottery numbers! Each of your predictions is actually pretty good, but all of them together?

Oh, hurry up - somebody start the tennis!

after seeing nadal's outfit for the aussie open, especially the shorts i have my doubts on nadal. the shorts are awful. they are hideous. they are worse than the shorts he wore in shanghai last year.

lol, thx alex, you know this year's aussie open is pretty open so everything is possible but this is how i see it.

Fourth round

Federer over Baghdatis in 4
Verdasco over Davydenko in 5

Djokovic over Gasquet in 4
Tsonga over Soderling in5

Gonzalez over Roddick in 4
Del Potro over Cilic in 3

Murray over Isner in 5
Stepanek over Nadal in 4


QF

Federer over Verdasco in 3
Djokovic over Tsonga in 3

Del Potro over Gonzalez in 3
Murray over Stepanek in 4


SF

Federer over Djokovic in 4
Del Potro over Murray in 4


Final
Even God might not know...

sexy over nadal? the only way sexy beats nadal is if nadal screwes up his knees.

sorry but u got no credibility left.

sexy over nadal? the only way sexy beats nadal is if nadal screwes up his knees.

sorry but u got no credibility left.

Fourth round:

Fed over Baghdatis in 4
Verdasco over Davy in 4

Nole over Robredo in 4
Tsonga over Soderling in 5

Roddick over Gonzo in 5
Cilic over Delpo in 5

Murray over Monfils in 4
Nadal over Stepanek in 3


QuarterFinals:

Verdasco over Fed in 5
Nole over Tsonga in 4

Cilic over Roddick in 4
Nadal over Murray in 4

SemiFinal:

Verdasco over Nole in 5
Nadal over Cilic in 4

Final:

Nadal over Verdasco in 5

Awesome predictions luckystar. Loved ur imagination:-)
really have a feeling that Cilic and Verdasco will creat a lot of noice at this open.

atul 1985, I based my predictions on gut feeling actually. In fact I was hoping that Davy landed in Nole's quarter and I would then predict a Verdasco vs Davy semi and Rafa vs Cilic semi, and Rafa to meet either Davy or Verdasco for the final. Too bad Davy and Verdasco have to meet in the 4th round. Anyway gut feeling or not, Davy/Verdasco/Rafa/Cilic all have performed well so far this year, so its not too far fetch to predict their wins.

Before the draw was out, I was hoping for Rafa/Roddick/Gonzo/Robredo in one quarter; Delpo/Cilic/Murray/Stepanek in same half as Rafa; Fed/Simon/Davy/Tsonga in one quarter; and Nole/Monfils/Verdasco/Soderling in the same half of Fed. This is for the selfish reason that I wish Rafa to have a save passage to the semi, and I want him to beat Delpo or Cilic for the final place. On the other side of the draw, I hope Verdasco or Davy to get through to the final - by having Monfils /Nole to wear out each other for a possible Verdasco win, and by wishing for a healthy Simon to beat Fed, Davy to beat Tsonga and then Simon - as I like both Davy/Verdasco. I would prefer Verdasco to reach the final as he'll gain points and move ahead of Soderling; Davy will definitely gain points even with a semifinal appearance. I wish for Rafa to win against player like Delpo/Cilic/Davy or even Nole as I find that this is the best way for him to regain his confidence, by beating and chasing away the demons that bother him.

All these sounded very complicated and things definitely didn't work out the way I wished. I hope for a Rafa/Verdasco final, if not then a Rafa/Davy final or maybe Rafa/Fed final again, but not a Rafa/Nole final. I still think that a fully fit Nole is a nghtmare match-up for Rafa on a hard court, more so than Delpo is to Rafa.

i feel this one is nole's......

Final:

Tipsarevic over Petzschner

late notice but I made a Tennistalk pool at the Tennis Channel site:

I will buy anyone who beats me a beverage of their choice at an upcoming tournament, limited to Memphis, Miami, Atlanta, D.C., and the US Open.

http://tourneytopia.com/RacquetBracketAussieOpenATP/tennistal k/Default.aspx

the 'limited to' disclaimer makes me feel a bit lazy ricky.......if it were open to anywhere in the world then i would have given it a go...;)

ROUND OF 16
Federer over Baghdatis in 3
Verdasco over Davydenko in 5
Djokovic over Gasquet in 4
Tsonga over Soderling in 4
Roddick over Gonzales in 5
Del Potro over Cilic in 4
Murray over Monfils in 3
Nadal over Stepanek in 4

QF
Federer over Verdasco in 4
Djokovic over Tsonga in 4
Roddick over Del Potro in 5
Nadal over Murray in 4

SF
Federer over Djokovic in 4
Nadal over Roddick in 5

FINAL
Federer over Nadal in 4

vrael - to whom is it limited?

nice picks, Ice

as ricky said earlier..we are getting so many nice predictions but there is a chance that NONE of them wil hold true...lol...lets see whose predictions go the best ;)

I don't like several critics pick Nole as the winner, added pressure to him which we know he doesn't handle well at times. I saw the Tomic match he lost, he was definitely trying to practice his net game, without success I might add. This loss may serve him well, a distraction, to take the pressure off maybe. As for Tomic, he is good, but not that good yet. Playing a qualifier in R1 can be very difficult, we know for sure those Q are hungry to win since they done all those hard work in qualifying, plus they have the real match tough.

Back to the prediction, I never like doing that, pick the winner and likely jinx them. I'll say I expect Djoko, Murray or Del Po to win this one. As for DelPo's injury, don't think that's a big problem, he pulled out of Paris and came back very strong the next week in London last year. It's precautionary as far as I see.

upcoming tournament "limited to" Memphis, Miami, Atlanta, D.C., and the US Open.

I think you will see a few surprises. I met Andrey Golubev recently at the Hopman Cup Tennis and speaking to him, he was quietly confident of his year. I attended all his matches and he was nothing short of a demolition man against Igor Andreev and Philip Kohlshreiber. This kid is going to be big. Has a huge serve he can place, big forehand and volleys extremely well.

He has won the 1st Set against Fish 6-2 and hope he finishes the job. I got some money on him too :)

Golubev? Sorry. I've seen him. Isner absolutely throttled him in DC. Golubev is not the real deal.

murray is on fire. anderson looks like he is going to cry.

i see isner is on murray's part of the draw.

isner will be lucky to win more than 3 games per set against murray.

murray is playing unbelievable. he is in god mode

attacker, Murray is putting 30% of his first serve. a top player would eat his 2nd serve. Anderson has tools for the aggressive game (that works against Andy) but not utilizing them unfortunately.

attacking, these 1st rnds are very deceptive so dont get fooled.quite odten u see a player delivering absololute hammerings and then following it up with bad shows.like hpman cup andy had 6-1 6-0 against andreev ! then lost to tommy robredo :S .so lets wait till 3rd/4th rnd until we say somwthing abt forms on a serious note.yes murray is playing more aggressaive tennnis annd that is what is needed. btw delpotro is nt playing as sharply as u wud expect him to play!

I don't think Murray is playing aggressive tennis and he is not playing his top tennis too. However that is enough to finish off Anderson, whom I think is nervous and overwhelmed by the occasion.

attacking should be very happy that Tomic has won the first set.

Dr Ivo def Stepanek in 5( Just one tie-breaker in 5 sets)..

delp loses the 3rd set..struggling bigg time !

I don't think Delpo's wrist is 100% that's probably he seems to be below par. Murray was doing just enough because he knew Anderson couldn't beat him in a month of Sundays.

If you don't think Andrey Golubev is the real deal, why?

He plays Ljubicic next and is as good a chance to get through here. He will be an underdog - probably around 6/4.

Like I said, I seen him play and his game is not like these everyday baseliners. There is more power to his game than any other player going around and he has the net game to earn the quick points too.

congrats to golubev - the real deal today:)

He blows hot and cold but is capable of nice tennis.

slyspy666 - have you seen Golubev play? He isnt even close to the kind of player you describe....

Fourth round
Federer over Baghdatis in 3
Verdasco over Davydenko in 4
Djokovic over Robredo in 4
Soderling over Tsonga in 5

Roddick over Gonzalez in 4
Cilic over Del Potro in 5
Murray over Isner in 4
Nadal over Fish in 3



Quarterfinals
Federer over Verdasco in 5
Djokovic over Soderling in 4

Roddick def Cilic in 4
Nadal over Murray in 4



Semifinals
Federer def Djokovic (Djokovic retires during 4th set)
Nadal Def Roddick in 4


Final
Nadal def Federer in 4

Ricky, u r awesome,I like u:)U always predict 127 matches on every GS,i like that,man:) I have to join the fun:)REMEMBER,PEOPLE,LAST TIME,ON us,I PREDICT FINAL AND NUMBER OF SETS IN RIGHT WAY!!(I said Fed in 5,but it was DP),I will start from 4th:
Fed over Baghdatis in 3
Davy over Verdasco in 4
Novak over Gasquet in 3
Tsonga over Granollers(he just beat Sod,and in his part is only Almagro,Alm is out of form) in 3
Roddick over Gonzales in 3
Wawrinka(he will beat Cilic) over DP in 5(this will be surprise!!,wawrinka wil be underdog)
Murray over Monfils in 4
Nadal over Karlovic in 3
QF:
Fed over Davy in 5
Novak over Tsonga in 4
Roddick over Wawrinka in 5
Nadal over Murray in 4
SF:
Novak over Fed in 4
Nadal over Roddick in 4
F:
Novak over Nadal in 3:))) We will see:)

Ricky if you had a competition to see whose predictions were closest to the eventual outcome after each round it would be very interesting. At the end of the tournaments, no one can ever remember who predicted what.

These first round matches are really competitive, the top players are having to earn their wins. It's hard to predict the results.

Monaco has defeated Gulbis, and Schuettler has defeated Querry.

soderling lost to granollers.

just shows what a joke nadal was at last year's french open losing to that ugly swede.

lol @ ferrer nearly tripple bageling gil.

6-0 6-0 2-0............................retired!
LOL

expected!

no wonder robredo never plays in spain's davis cup unless the entire team is injured. after beating murray what a great follow up at the aussie.

hopman cup was the peak of boredo's career.

attacking, why don't you ask Fed whether Soderling is a joke or not. The Sod came close to pushing Fed to a fifth set at the USO last year; and Granollers did give the Sod all sorts of trouble during last year's Wimbledon. It is time now that Granollers score a win against the Sod. In fact I'm not surprise by Granollers win, and I do think that the Sod is not at his 100% in terms of fitness, maybe the elbow problem is not completely cured yet.

Regardless of ranking, every player has opponents that are particularly hard to beat due to their playing style, particularly apt at beating that particular player. They all have them, it's just that Fed has fewer than anybody else, then Rafa and so forth. Any good player can get on a good streak if they are lucky enough to avoid those players. The Sod's number was up, and Davydenko should be next.

Well said grafight.

well said grafight and luckystar

anything can happen in grandslams. sometimes ranking is completely irrelevant. a lower ranked opponent can just go out and hit freely with absolutely no expectation and come away with a win. every player says they have to take it one match at a time, which is totally true. federer and nando found themselves in trouble last night too

I had initially picked delp to reach the semis but I am quite confident now that delp will fall before the semis.
nadal over roddik in 4
roger over djo in 5 are the new SF predictions

luckystar, why do you keep wasting your time arguing with the joke of tt?

since no one's predicting this, here's my pick:

F: Djoker over Delpo in 4

even though im a big time rafan, I'd also love to see these 2 in the final. it seems like they never met each other at a slam.
@Ricky: do you know the H2H record between Djoker and Delpo by any chance?

@huykle
Djokovic-Del Potro 3-0..They met at USO 2007,Djokovic won 3-0..They also met at TMC in Shanghai 2008,and in Rome last yyear..DP has never taken a single set from Novak..I d also live to see these 2 in final,although I am a FEd fan,but I think that DP will not make to semis..He is injured,obviously,and not in form like he has been at the USO...

Murray seems to be having the last laugh with the draw so far.

ROUND OF 16
Federer over Ferrer in 3
Davydenko over Verdasco in 3
Djokovic over Youzhny in 4
Tipsarevic over Falla in 3
Roddick over Korolev in 3
Cilic over Del Potro in 5
Murray over Monfils in 3
Nadal over Ljubicic in 4

QF
Federer over Davydenko in 3
Djokovic over Tipsarevic in 5
Roddick over Cilic in 3
Nadal over Murray in 4 tie breaks

SF
Federer over Djokovic in 3
Nadal over Roddick in 3

FINAL
Federer over Nadal in 3

gabrielrpf ..sorry mate ,dont mind but you seem to be a biased roger fan.u tip him to win the title from here without dropping a SINGLE SET! thats not possible i think.

Fed over Nadal in 3? He can't even beat Andreev in three, mind you. Fed may have difficulties when facing Baghdatis, and I predict he'll lost at the QF stage, even if he gets pass Baghdatis.

@Marko thanks for the info :)

yep, mark has the H2H correct. Djoker dominant.

@huykle
Always:)Can anyone bet with me that Wawrinka will beat Cilic in straight sets:)?I am sure for this,and I am thinking of betting on this one first time in my life,I have never bet on tennis matches:)

Federer down in the QF?, you probably have kept on saying that for the last 22 grand slams right?... Federer all the way.

Baghdatis will loose against Ferrer dude.

Quarter Finals? He hasnt lost before semis in the last 22 grand slams. Dont dream with that. Ferrer in 5 over Baghdatis.

Err correct me if im wrong, Fed h2h against delp is 8-2 but I wouldnt say Fed is dominant over Delp at the moment. H2h gets too much credit

Finals will by Murray vs Davydenko! Murray will choke in the finals and Davy will claim his 1st grand slam.

it will take an unbelievable effort by someone to beat davydenko this tournament.
it might even take 2 or 3 of them to beat him, get him tired in each round and then someone finishing off davy. monaco, verdasco and federer will have to do a 3 on one.
otherwise he will be next to impossible to stop.

federer will have to be in jesus-fed mode to beat this davy.

If somebody is able to take him to 5 sets, then it will be interesting to check his stamina.

no reason to think that Davy can beat any top player at slam

Why so Ricky? I really think he can beat a few this year given his form.

Davy runs like kangaroo on crack.

future legend bernie tomic says late finish cost him victory against cillic.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/tennis/cilic-beats-tomic- in-five-sets/story-e6frfgao-1225821898794


i completely agree with bernie, he was robbed. he should have won that match in straight sets. disgraceful stuff by the selfish organisers putting useless womens tennis in before mens tennis.
tomic was screwed this year, in 2008 it was hewitt that was screwed.
the aussie open orgainsers should be fired, this should be headline news in australia.

Tomic is the GOAT of whining. Has his own self to blame for not taking care of Cilic, who was absolutely awful last night.

Tomic said in his presser:
"To finish at this time, it's tough. You know, look, I have no excuses, but I think if I'd have played during the day, which I requested, it could have been all changed. I think I should have won," Tomic said.

He has no excuses????????

Let's face it, the AO officials will never win the Golden Globe for scheduling, they cannot organise a brawl in a brewery, after the fiasco of the men's SF being scheduled over two days last year, and why expect players to play till the early hours of the morning.

If Tomic wants to be in the big time then he has to go all the way, this is life in the fast lane boy, get used to it as you are heading for great things.

he had cillic beat, he didnt allow cillic to play his natural game because he gave cillic no pace to work with, thats talent. thats what nadal does to federer, nadal never allows federer to play his natural game.
tomic had break points 4-4 in the 5th set and he did a mug choke.

what is whining about saying he would play better if he played during the day?
too many haters.
mark my words, tomic will be the breakthrough player this year.
atleast he isnt like donald young who has a heart of a pea.

people calling tomic a pusher are clueless, its called changing the pace, not being one dimentonal, u have to have variety and choose when to go for the big shot.
he had cillic looking utterly clueless in alot of those rallies.
even cillic said after the match that tomic changes pace beautifully and suddenly generates big power.
tomic right now is like murray about 3 years ago but tomic has way more talent.
tomic's slice is awesome, it keeps so low and his backhand is great too. might need to work on the serve though.

only agree with one thing rite now,tomic has a very good sliced bakhand :)

I'm sorry I don't even think about Fed as he is not my favourite player. His 22 semifinal streak will end one day, past results are no indication that he'll always perform the same way. He's getting older each year. Saying that he will get beaten at the QF is nothing far fetch. BTW Baghdatis has beaten Ferrer in five sets and Baghdatis certainly played very well so far this tournament. Davydenko is even more impressive, so he beating Fed at the QF is not impossible. Why feel so offended when someone says Fed will be beaten at QF? Davy may be the one doing the job and he is capable of doing so. Well all these are just predictions, and who can get predictions right all the time? Relax please!

attackingtennis, I'm not sure that Tomic is more talented than Murray. How can you jump into conclusion like that, just because Tomic can slice better? Tennis is more than slicing back the return and waiting for opponents to make mistakes. Despite having a good forehand, he chooses to slice and not making use of his forehand to score winners. He had himself to blame for taking so long and still couldn't even finish the job, despite the fact that Cilic was playing so poorly all night. Why not wait till Tomic can win a few more times before jumping into conclusion about his talent and what he'll achieve in the future.

tomic is making headlines in oz, not to worry but for all the wrong reasons. he's peers are bemused by his sulking about the time. even baggy who finished his match with hewitt at 4:34 am is laughing at him for whining and officials are agreeing with baggy. this is what comes from being cocky and thinking it is your right to win and that if you lose, it's someone else's fault or a factor out of your control (err cilic). deal with it boy. you didn't complain before the macth, why complain after? if you'd won, would you be complaining? now poor wooodbrige is being asked to pull him in line!

well, if the one who has announced to the tennis world that it's only a matter of time before he becomes no. 1 and that he'll win all four slams by the age of 18 is going to fulfill what thousands before him couldn't do by age 18, he better deal with the big moments. the sooner he gets used to it, the better for him being the GOAT in waiting!!!

when making big statements, be sure you have the balls to back it up!!

Becker won his first GS at 17 when no one had so much as heard of him. In fact he says he did not even realise what a big deal winning Wimbledon was until people started heaping superlatives on him. Tomic had better get his skates on if he wants to eclipse Becker in that department.

Tomic is ranked what, #280? At this age Rafa was #34, so yeah he has some catch up to do... Not to deny that he has talent, but as we know, success in the Junior circuit not always translates to success in the men's game.
Since this is the predictions thread, I'm going to predict that Verdasco will be the one to end Davydenko's winning streak. Despite Fernando's dismal HTH against him, he will do well here like last year and take Nikolai down in the process. Go Ferni!

luckystar -
EVERYONE is getting older each year - not just federer -.Only fed stands alone in reaching the semi final percentages that he has and the finals also, no one else and the point being made, that even though he seems to be the "only" player "aging", he is still the "only" player to have reached the last four grand slam finals, at his grand "old" age.so please, can we give the age thing a break?look at davy for goodness sake, same age as fed, and arguably "the" player to beat.of course one day fed's run is going to come to end,its nature,but can we enjoy it while he is still playing some great tennis, please.In addition, this is the most open slam for quite a while,which makes it that much more exciting.

I know this isn't until the next round matches but what if Murray and Nadal were to lose ... Isner vs Karlovic would be the most bizarre of tennis matches. Just think they could actually look each other in the eye.

that's very funny smr.

maxi which do you think is funnier? That Murray and Nadal might lose ;) or that we would have a battle of the giraffes?

Talking of giraffes, I hope 'higher things' is not going to take on a new meaning for muzz - Anderson 6 ft 8! Isner 6 ft 9!! Karlovic 6 ft 10!!!

atul - I would be delighted to see a muzz-davydenko final, but if either of them were to 'freeze' I don't reckon it will be muzz, who plays best under pressure. When muzz lost the USO final against federer it wasn't because he froze but because he was dead on his feet, only 23 hours after a gruelling 2-day encounter with rafa.

It wouldn't surprise me one bit if davydenko-verdasco turned out to be the match of the tournament - I make that one 50-50, with both on a really hot streak.

All that said, much though I would love muzz to go all the way, it's hard to see past fed again.

Go muzz!

Deuce, are you out there?

maxi please, my post was in response to gabrielrpf's post above, who is upset that I predict that Fed will only reach the QF. I won't bring out this aging thing for nothing. gabrielrpf seems to think that Fed will go on forever, which I think is not likely. Anything wrong with that? After all this is just a prediction, why get so defensive, Fed's fans?

Hi luckystar. bummer. baghdatis just retired!

You didnt say that your response was to gabriel's and as this is an open forum,anyone can respond.
what you have said about QF's applies to all players,not just federer. so if that is going to be defensive, well - Plus,you mention federer getting older, well, everyone is aging, so bring that into the game!
the other players are not going to be standing still in time, if gab wants to believe that fed will go on forever, let him. what a lovely thought! of course not likely, but then whether other players will achieve what federer has, well, remains to be seen. Federer is doing really well right now and there is no reason to believe that he wont go any further. and there is nothing wrong with what you say, but i dont like to see negative in things. i read what pat rafter said recently and posted it here for you (only short).
But dual US Open champion Pat Rafter, who won his two titles aged 26 and 27, believes Federer can cling on for a little longer.

"When you've had as much success as Roger has had, 28 is probably seen as getting old," Rafter said. "But Sampras was 30, 31 when he won the US, Goran [Ivanisevic] as well when he won Wimbledon.

"I think Roger's got two more slams left in him. I hope he does. I'd love to see him win 20."

But Rafter sees the challenge from the other players as being even tougher than the march of time. "It's going to be hard for him, bloody oath. It's not going to be easy.

Again Maxi you miss the point. The subject I'm talking about is Fed, in response to gabrielrpf's post. Of course other players also grow older, that is understood. Nobody is questioning Fed's achievement. I'm just saying his 22 semifinal streak at slams may come to an end, esp now that a dangerous player like Davy is lurking in his quarter. That does not mean that Fed will not win slams in future. Like Rafter said, there may be two more slams in Fed. I don't see predicting a QF only for Fed is anything negative, as nothing is for sure nowadays, given how good the top players are. Rafa will also have his problems in reaching the final. Even though I predicted that he will defend his title successfully, that was done before his third round match. From the way things are going, it will be difficult for Rafa, and I see my views as being objective, nothing to do with being negative or bias against any player. I hope you get what I mean.

as ive said before federer will not win a slam in 2010.

too many younger players are entering their peak and federer got very very lucky at french and wimbledon last year when he didnt even face a top 5 player and should have lost the french in 2 or 3 matches and should have lost the wimbledon.
lighting wont strike twice, i GUARANTEE federer will go slamless this year!!!
i think the way nadal is motivated this year, i think nadal will dominate mens tennis this year and might grab a bunch of slams this year.

federer is resting on his past laurels and with his kids and married life, his days at number 1 are over. he might get a couple of slams before he is done but that is in a few years time. DEFINITELY not this year.

i thought nadal was finished last year but he seems REALLY motivated to get back his number 1 ranking and win a few of these slams this year.

this year will mark the decline of the federer and nadal dominance and u will see nadal go up another level as he is reaching his peak years. if nadal is fit and healthy, nadal will dominate this sport again.
murray and djokovic will go higher in the rankings than federer as well. i think they are ready for a big year.

i love federer's game, its attacking and beautiful, but his luck of last year at the french and wimbledon will run out this year.

I THOUGHT nadal was finished last year BUT he seems REALLY motivated to get back his number 1 ranking and win a few of these slams this year.

attackingtennisrulez , 1/23/10 11:13 AM

Attacker, thought and but being the operative words in you sentence above. You are clueless about the future and who is going to do what so pack it in instead of seeking attention with your imflamatory posts.



There is only one Rafael Nadal
Vamosssssssssssssssssss!

as ive said, last year nadal was done and dusted. he was defending, and couldnt hit a ball in court and could hold serve, but not after that break he seems MOTIVATED.
to prove people wrong that his 2008 year wasnt a one hit wonder.
and i think since he is a MASSIVE fighter, i think he is ready.

federer is done though, all he is doing is resting on his past laurels with all this pandering. his motivation was last year to break the record and get the number 1 ranking back. he achieved that and now his fire is not as strong as nadal's.

There is only one Rafael Nadal
Vamossssssssssssssss!

Rafa says he needs time to get his confidence back, while Federer looks at things in a more positive way than Rafa. I mean in his interview Federer says: ?So that's what we're looking at at the moment. A few guys have already won slams. That's not an easy thing to do, because, I mean, Rafa and myself are still around and making it extremely hard for guys to take home any slams. Because over five sets in two weeks, I think we know best how it works.? It seems like Federer is more confident of Rafa?s game than Rafa himself...its funny though...

natashao,

it's called respect. the fact that federer refers to rafa before him in his own interview, and if you read L'equippe, where he defends rafa,then you will know where federer is coming from.Read it.you'll enjoy it.

'i thought nadal was finished last year but he seems REALLY motivated to get back his number 1 ranking and win a few of these slams this year'.

so you have some clarity here atr? where all players out there i suppose arent interested in winning a slam? So rafa is now motivated because you say so, atr? are you his shadow? he's always been motivated as has federer, that's what makes their rivalry so slamtastic.
you know nothing about federer's motivations. if you did, you wouldnt write such crow.
It just goes to show atr,how wrong you are about rafa and as carrie says,you think about things an awful lot. which is a good thing,but half the time you dont know what you are saying.(sorry to say,you are also quite rude I think).

carrie, could i please ask you to stop using so many 's's all the time? it hurts my eyes everytime i see it. Is it really necessary?

luckystar, i dont think i miss the point at all, but i dont want to go on about it. so if we can leave it there and just disagree with each other,it's probably best.
smr,
it was the battle of giraffes that was funny!

natashao,

this was the article was referring to, if you want to read in full, the link is here: (part of it also reported in magazine mentioned above).

Read more: http://www.gototennisblog.com/2010/01/15/roger-federer-on-unpleasant-q uestions-bullsht-and-tiger-woods/#ixzz0cscoUUH5

carrie, could i please ask you to stop using so many 's's all the time? it hurts my eyes everytime i see it. Is it really necessary?

maxi , 1/23/10 2:42 PM



OK maxi, I would hate to cause anyone any discomfort.



There is only one Rafael Nadal
Vamos!

thanks carrie. that's really great.

This is what Federer had to say about Rafa in the interview that maxi provided the link for - thanks maxi for that:

Q: Nadal has not won a tournament since Rome last year, in May. Some think he?ll never be what he once was.
RF: This is bullshit ['conneries' in French]. It reminds me what people said about me last year. I?ve seen Rafa play in Abu Dhabi and in Doha: he lacks absolutely nothing. Granted, he?s not won in a long time. But look at those who beat him: Del Potro, Murray, Davydenko, Djokovic, Soderling? They?re not bad! Think about it: had he played Wimbledon last year and not lost 2,000 points from his victory in 2008, where would he be right now? He came back from injury, so it?s normal that he lacked confidence. But to me, the really great Rafa is still to come.

____________________________

Well, what can I say? I've always thought that Federer enjoys having Rafa as his rival, he wants it to stay like that, and I think Federer is the only player Rafa doesn't mind being No 2 to, mutual respect. Great for the game.

It's ironic that their fans are so much at logger heads with each other, me included, but it makes it interesting. I'm sure that they find some of the things their fans say laughable.



There is only one Rafael Nadal
Vamos!

picking the rest of the tournament, starting now. Consider it a challenge to everyone else:

Federer in 4
Davydenko in 4
Djokovic in 3
Tsonga in 3
Roddick in 4
Cilic in 4
Isner in 5
Nadal in 3

Federer in 5
Djokovic in 5
Roddick in 5
Nadal in 5 - yes, all four QFs going to 5.

Djokovic in 4
Nadal in 4

Djokovic in 4

ricky -

"Isner in 5"? Not likely! Muzz in 3 straight-but-hard sets.

"Davydenko in 4" - if he does beat verdasco (who is possibly the hardest guy of ALL to beat right now), I reckon it'll take 5, but it could go either way, and that's taking nothing away from davydenko - had the draw been kinder they'd both be going further.

Djoker beating fed in 4? No, the other way about.

Final: Fed to take muzz or rafa in 5 .

Most of the rest of your predictions I'd pretty much agree with.

alex - I never concern myself with what is "LIKELY" to happen. I concern myself with what WILL happen!

Whew! I'm really looking forward to those quarter finals!!

Bold choice against Murray, but I admire your nerve in sticking with your "alias".

So Isner WILL beat muzz in 5. Wow. With predictions like that, ricky, I think you need to give yourself a little bit more room for maneouvre !

smr - likewise:) rafa-muzz has to be the pick of the bunch.

I have plenty of breathing room even if Isner loses to Murray. I already know the traps the other writers will fall into later in the tournament.

For me, my prediction will be:

Fed in 4
Davy in 4
Nole in 3
Tsonga in 3

Roddick in 4
Cilic in 5
Murray in 4
Rafa in 4

QF:
Davy in 4
Nole in 4
Cilic in 4
Rafa in 5

SF:
Davy in 4
Rafa in 4

Final: Don't know. Cant predict that one. Davy/Rafa can go either way. Hope for a Rafa win.

I think Davy will be too much for Verdasco to handle, I haven't seen a Verdasco of AO 09 form, so most likely Davy will beat him. Cilic to beat Delpo if Delpo's wrist is ginving him problem, unless Cilic plays like crap. Delpo without wrist problem will beat Cilic. Rafa over Murray if Rafa plays as aggressive as that Doha final first set. Nole over Tsonga as Tsonga is inconsistent.

Davy is rushing through his matches in order to conserve energy. If Davy can beat Verdasco in 3 or 4 sets, then he has chance to beat Fed, and then Nole. An aggressive Rafa can beat Murray, Cilic and even Davy. We shall see.

Sunday Matches of the Day - http://www.tennistalk.com/en/blog/Ricky_Dimon/20100123/Sunday_Matches_ of_the_Day_-_Expert_Picks

I'm not making any predictions because my wishes get in the way of reason, but what I would like to see is:

Verdasco over Davy and for Verdasco and Nadal to meet in the final and Nadal to win.


There is only one Rafael Nadal
Vamos!

Ricky,

your predictions havent been that good, really (sorry), have they?

In fact, you,vincent,i think kelli, said that Isner wouldnt win his previous match against mon fils - and that was a "given". So I think you are off task again here.

Federer brings his best to the slams. he still has a lot to prove and I am sticking with him.

Following carrie's repeated cheerleading - there is ONLY one Roger Federer. Long live the fed! It is so exciting though, isnt it? everything is so close at the top.

maxi, predictions are predictions afterall and I think our experts have been doing a fine job until now! anyway here is something intersting i found out.

Kubot...............264 minutes = 4h 24min = 1h 28min/match (Youzhny walkover, greatly shortened his time on court)

Hewitt...............274 minutes = 4h 34min = 1h 31min/match (Baghdatis retired, shortened his time on court)

Davy.................309 minutes = 5h 9min = 1h 43min/match

Verdasco..........317 minutes = 5h 17min = 1h 46min/match (Koubek retired, shortened his time on court)

Murray.............319 minutes = 5h 19min = 1h 46min/match

Tsonga.............360 minutes = 6h = 2h/match

Rogie...............371 minutes = 6h 11min = 2h 4min/match

Chokovic.........396 minutes = 6h 36min = 2h 12min/match

Gonzalez..........452 minutes = 7h 32min = 2h 31min/match

Roddick...........468 minutes = 7h 48min = 2h 36min/match

Nadal...............477 minutes = 7h 57min = 2h 39min/match

Isner................501 minutes = 8h 21min = 2h 47/match

Almagro...........516 minutes = 8h 36min = 2h 52min/match

Karlovic...........554 minutes = 9h 14min = 3h 5min/match

Cilic.................580 minutes = 9h 40min = 3h 13min/match

Del Potro.........591 minutes = 9h 51min = 3h 17min/match"

vamosrafa, poor delP and Cilic. They will add another 3+ hours to that tally today!

My predictions, after the unpredictable early rounds -

Roger in straights
Tough one - Davydenko in 5, maybe 2 TBs
Djokovic in straights, and I'm not sure he will be prepared for an in-form Tsonga after his easy draw so far
Tsonga in 4
Gonzalez in 4. Yep, I think Andy is saying goodbye here.
Cilic in 4. I'll go with the TT experts
Isner in 4. Yep, I think Andy is saying goodbye here too.
Rafa in 4. Dr. Ivo gets a set.

QF
Roger over Davy/Verdy in 4 sets
Nole over Tsonga in 4 or 5 sets (assuming Tsonga is not perfectly healthy)
Gonzalez over Cilic in 5 (too many hours on court for Cilic?)
Rafa over big_server2 in straights

SF
Nole over Roger in 4 (pretty please!)
Rafa over Gonzo in 3

F
Nole over Rafa in 4

vamosrafa, interesting stats - yes.
of course you entitled to your opinion, but when ricky says the following to alex :I never concern myself with what is "LIKELY" to happen. I concern myself with what WILL happen! and cheryl said this was going to be the big "upset". (Isner).
RickyDimon , 1/23/10 5:01 PM

then, regarding Isner - way off. (sorry vamos, but how can you argue this?).

maxi i agree on this murray-isner match,,cheryl and ricky messed up badly ! LOl.way off the target