2013 Australian Open

[Sir David Gray]

It's hard to believe it but the new tennis season has actually started already and the first Grand Slam of the season is only 72 hours away!

The draw has been made and it's a decent draw for Andy Murray. I wouldn't be concerned about him getting to the quarter finals but things will certainly begin to get tougher from there.

He will possibly face Juan Martin Del Potro in the last eight, then Roger Federer in the semis and if he gets to the final, we may be in for a repeat of last year's US Open final against Novak Djokovic.

James Ward and Jamie Baker are fighting it out in the qualifying event for the right to appear in the main draw and both are just two wins away from achieving that. Good luck to them both!

In the women's draw, Laura Robson and Heather Watson both have decent first round draws and Johanna Konta is only two matches away from qualifying for the main draw in the women's event.

Play begins at 12am on Monday (British time). The order of play for day one will be announced some time over the weekend.

[jodjam]

Strangely enough his first round tie looks the toughest of the potential matches on the way to the qf. Haas has given him a hard game before.

Federer has a tough draw. Nole has come out of it the best and should make another oz open final with relative ease

[Sir David Gray]

Strangely enough his first round tie looks the toughest of the potential matches on the way to the qf. Haas has given him a hard game before.

Federer has a tough draw. Nole has come out of it the best and should make another oz open final with relative ease

I think the quarter final draw will be;

Djokovic v Berdych
Ferrer v Almagro
Murray v Del Potro
Federer v Tsonga

I would say that Murray has the toughest potential match out of those four, in terms of playing against a former Grand Slam champion.

Federer does have a potentially tricky route to this stage as he could play Davydenko, Tomic and Raonic before he even gets to the last eight but he has a great record against all these players so I think he'll make it.

Personally I think that the top four seeds will all make it to the semis but there will be some cracking matches. Ferrer v Nishikori could be a cracker in the last 16.

Really looking forward to it, just a shame that most of it will be happening during the night.

[Sylar]

It's hard to believe it but the new tennis season has actually started already and the first Grand Slam of the season is only 72 hours away!

The draw has been made and it's a decent draw for Andy Murray. I wouldn't be concerned about him getting to the quarter finals but things will certainly begin to get tougher from there.

He will possibly face Juan Martin Del Potro in the last eight, then Roger Federer in the semis and if he gets to the final, we may be in for a repeat of last year's US Open final against Novak Djokovic.

James Ward and Jamie Baker are fighting it out in the qualifying event for the right to appear in the main draw and both are just two wins away from achieving that. Good luck to them both!

In the women's draw, Laura Robson and Heather Watson both have decent first round draws and Johanna Konta is only two matches away from qualifying for the main draw in the women's event.

Play begins at 12am on Monday (British time). The order of play for day one will be announced some time over the weekend.

Every year you start this thread with the same opening - you'd think you'd be used to the timing between when the seasons finish and kick off again :greengrin


It's hard to believe that the first Grand Slam of the 2012 season is almost upon us but the 2012AustralianOpen will begin on Monday from Melbourne.

It doesn't seem that long since the 2011 World Tour Finals were being played in London but all the attention turns to the other side of the world for the next two weeks.

The draw was made today and it has thrown up a potential semi final line up of;

Novak Djokovic vs Andy Murray
Rafael Nadal vs Roger Federer

[Sir David Gray]

Every year you start this thread with the same opening - you'd think you'd be used to the timing between when the seasons finish and kick off again :greengrin

I'll bear that in mind for 2014!

Just wait, the opening line for that is going to be immense!

I've got a whole year to think of something too! :greengrin

[Sir David Gray]

A big well done to Jamie Baker who has qualified for the main draw after coming through his three qualifying matches.

His reward is a first round draw against giantkiller Lukas Rosol, who people may remember was the man who defeated Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon last year. It will be a tough match for Baker who is ranked about 170 places below Rosol in the world rankings.

Play begins in just over 2 hours and on day one, half of the top 10 players in the world will be on court.

Defending champion Novak Djokovic will be on the Rod Laver Arena against Paul-Henri Mathieu at approximately 3am (British time).
Local hero Lleyton Hewitt, who is playing at his home Grand Slam for the 17th year in a row, takes on the 8th seed, Janko Tipsarevic in the first night match on Rod Laver Arena, which begins at 8am (British time).

There is some British interest on day one, as Heather Watson will be on about 4:30am (British time) against unseeded Romanian Alexandra Cadantu. That should be a good match for her as she's ranked more than 40 places above her opponent.

Last year's defeated women's finalist, Maria Sharapova, starts things off at midnight and the 2003 finalist Venus Williams is also in action at midnight.

Live coverage is on Eurosport throughout the two weeks and the two singles finals are being broadcast live on the BBC.

[Sir David Gray]

Novak Djokovic is safely through to round two after beating Paul Henri Mathieu in straight sets.

Heather Watson is also through after coming from behind to beat Alexandra Cadantu.

Lleyton Hewitt is currently 2 sets down to Janko Tipsarevic. It's 3-3 in the 3rd set just now.

There's good news for Andy Murray fans in the UK as he is up first against Robin Haase, meaning he will begin at midnight, which is not too bad!

[Sir David Gray]

Tipsarevic beats Hewitt 7-6 7-5 6-3. Will Hewitt be back in 2014 for his 18th consecutive Australian Open?

[jodjam]

Novak Djokovic is safely through to round two after beating Paul Henri Mathieu in straight sets.

Heather Watson is also through after coming from behind to beat Alexandra Cadantu.

Lleyton Hewitt is currently 2 sets down to Janko Tipsarevic. It's 3-3 in the 3rd set just now.

There's good news for Andy Murray fans in the UK as he is up first against Robin Haase, meaning he will begin at midnight, which is not too bad!

Also good news for Murray. Will do him no harm at all to be first up. I always feel first ones up have an advantage if there is any bad weather which can lead to backlogs.

Hopefully the tv schedules dictate Federer has the evening draws in Murrays half of the draw.

[Hibee87]

Any one know what channel I can find the match on? cant seem to find it any where edit - I ken its not on till 12 but cant see what chanel it wil be on, will go to bed if its not

[scoopyboy]

Any one know what channel I can find the match on? cant seem to find it any where edit - I ken its not on till 12 but cant see what chanel it wil be on, will go to bed if its not

Eurosport HD Sky Channel 410

[Hibee87]

Eurosport HD Sky Channel 410

Cheers mate, never thought to look on there. Hope its a quick win, im up at half 6 for work. :thumbsup:

[Sir David Gray]

Any one know what channel I can find the match on? cant seem to find it any where edit - I ken its not on till 12 but cant see what chanel it wil be on, will go to bed if its not

Eurosport 2, which is 411 on sky.

Just starting now.

[Sir David Gray]

Eurosport 2, which is 411 on sky.

Just starting now.

Just changed to Eurosport 1 now.

[Sir David Gray]

First set to Murray, 6-3.

Very solid start. :aok:

[Sir David Gray]

Totally in control now, 6-1 second set.

This is what a top player should be doing in the early rounds. :agree:

[Sir David Gray]

Murray wins 6-3 6-1 6-3 in just over an hour and a half.

Very solid display and he'll be delighted to get through without having to exert too much energy.

Quite disappointed in Haase though, expected a bit more from him.

[Sir David Gray]

He'll be playing Joao Sousa of Portugal in the second round.

I've never actually heard of him before so I don't expect much resistance there.

Jamie Baker and Laura Robson are playing their matches later today. Baker really shouldn't be beating Lukas Rosol but you never know. Robson should be looking to beat Melanie Oudin but it will be a tough match and she'll need to be at her best.

Good luck to them both.

[GhostofBolivar]

Robson pure battered that girl. Crushed her.

[DarrenSQH]

Great to see Andy through easily to round 2. Would be nice to see him go all the way to the later stages again.

[Sir David Gray]

Good win for Laura Robson earlier today against Melanie Oudin, in straight sets. She joins Heather Watson in round two.

Once again though, Andy Murray is the only remaining British male in round two of a Grand Slam after Jamie Baker lost in straight sets to Lukas Rosol. Baker did serve for the opening two sets but lost his nerve and lost 7-6 7-5 6-2.

Three seeds went out on day two. Thomaz Bellucci lost in straight sets to Blaz Kavcic, Alexandr Dolgopolov lost to Gael Monfils in four sets and Tommy Haas lost a five set classic against Jarkko Nieminen, 8-6 in the final set. A fourth seed, Florian Mayer, had a huge scare against the little known American Rhyne Williams but came back from two sets down to win in five sets.

Top seeds Roger Federer, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Juan Martin Del Potro all had straightforward victories.

A mention must go to Kimiko Date Krumm, as well though. She became the oldest woman to ever win a match at the Australian Open when she beat 12th seed Nadia Petrova 6-2 6-0. At the age of 42, she replaced Virginia Wade as the oldest winner of a match at the Australian Open. However she is still a few years away from the Grand Slam record as Martina Navratilova was 47 when she won a match at Wimbledon in 2004!

[Sir David Gray]

Heather Watson is into the third round after saving match points against Ksenia Pervak. She dropped the opening set 6-4 after some disappointing errors and then trailed 6-3 in the second set tie break and only one point from defeat. But she somehow won the second set and then comfortably took the decider 6-2.

Her next match will be a different story though as she faces the 4th seed Agnieszka Radwanska. She will need to be at her absolute best if she's going to get past her.

No major shocks again on day three as Novak Djokovic had another impressive result, this time against Ryan Harrison. There were also victories for Tomas Berdych and David Ferrer.

Tomorrow sees Andy Murray return, this time against Joao Sousa. He is second on the Hisense Arena which means that he will be on at around 1:30-2am in the UK. Can't see me staying up for that one. Whilst I don't believe the result will be in any doubt, Murray will want to be on and off as quickly as possible, if the forecasted temperatures are to be believed. It's supposed to be approaching 100 degrees in early afternoon tomorrow, which is when Murray will be playing and at those temperatures, he'll be wanting to conserve as much energy as possible.

Laura Robson is also in action against former Wimbledon champion, Petra Kvitova. She is the second night match on Rod Laver Arena, which should mean she is on at around 10am British time.

It will be a tough match for Robson but her run at the US Open last year, when she beat Kim Clijsters and Li Na, should give her the confidence and belief that she can go out and beat players of that calibre.

A mention for Maria Sharapova though. She became the first woman to win two matches in a row at a Grand Slam without dropping a single game since Wendy Turnbull in 1985.

Quite impressive although it maybe poses some questions about the standard of women's tennis as well.

[jodjam]

Easy win for Murray. Added bonus that his expected opponent Mayer was beaten by a Lithuanian qualifier called Romanov , whoops I mean berankis. Should be an easy route to the next round.

[DaveF]

A mention for Maria Sharapova though. She became the first woman to win two matches in a row at a Grand Slam without dropping a single game ....

My guess is her opponents just wanted to get off court ASAP due to noise pollution.

As nice looking as she is I cannot watch any of her games with the volume up.

[IWasThere2016]

My guess is her opponents just wanted to get off court ASAP due to noise pollution.

As nice looking as she is I cannot watch any of her games with the volume up.

I do the same with Girls Aloud.

[hibsbollah]

I dont follow tennis very closely normally but this is some performance by Laura Robson against the 201 Wimbledom champion. Just taken the second set 6-3, 1 set all.

[Sir David Gray]

Laura Robson is serving for the match against Petra Kvitova.

This would be a great victory!

Come on, Laura!

[Sir David Gray]

Terrible game by Robson and Kvitova breaks straight back at 6-6.

No tiebreaks in the final set at the Australian Open so this could be on for quite a while!

[Sir David Gray]

7-7 now.

It's a big advantage for Kvitova to be serving first in this final set, every time she holds serve it puts the pressure on Robson, although if she ever drops serve then it's a big chance for Robson to hold and win the match.

[Sir David Gray]

Now 9-9!

I need to leave for my work in about 20 minutes and I really want to see the end of this!

[Sir David Gray]

Robson breaks to go 10-9 up and will serve for the match again!

This match has been going for about 3 hours now!

[jodjam]

Not best tennis but its gripping stuff. Just needs to hold her serve. Mon Laura

[Sir David Gray]

Laura Robson beats Petra Kvitova 2-6 6-3 11-9 after 3 hours!

What a match, brilliant win for her!

Well done, Laura! :thumbsup:

[HUTCHYHIBBY]

Great effort by Laura, not the highest standard of game, but, great result all the same.

[Sir David Gray]

Not going well for Heather Watson at the moment. She's 6-3 3-0 down just now against Agnieszka Radwanska.

Could be a potential classic on Rod Laver Arena at 8am as Venus Williams plays Maria Sharapova. I think Sharapova will be the overwhelming favourite but Venus certainly has the experience to trouble her.

Should be a cracker.

[DaveF]

Not going well for Heather Watson at the moment. She's 6-3 3-0 down just now against Agnieszka Radwanska.

Could be a potential classic on Rod Laver Arena at 8am as Venus Williams plays Maria Sharapova. I think Sharapova will be the overwhelming favourite but Venus certainly has the experience to trouble her.

Should be a cracker.

Screechfest :rolleyes:

[lyonhibs]

Screechfest :rolleyes:

I assume the only possible way of watching that match would have been with the volume off and a bit of card covering over whichever part of the screen Venus was occupying.

Sharapova murdered her on-court right?

[DaveF]

I assume the only possible way of watching that match would have been with the volume off and a bit of card covering over whichever part of the screen Venus was occupying.

Sharapova murdered her on-court right?

Yep. 6-1, 6-3.

I believe she also out grunted her by 25 decibels :greengrin

[Sir David Gray]

Yep. 6-1, 6-3.

I believe she also out grunted her by 25 decibels :greengrin

I'm a bit surprised by the margin of that victory to be honest. I certainly expected Sharapova to win it as Venus isn't the player she was a few years ago and I think her health problems have really caught up with her, but I would have thought she would have won more than four games.

Another poor bit of scheduling from a British point of view as Andy Murray is due on court against Ricardas Berankis at around 3am tomorrow. I don't expect him to encounter too many issues in that match but it would be nice to actually see him play!

All the midnight matches seem to be women's matches and the good men's ties are all during the middle of the night. :boo hoo:

Laura Robson is on in the early hours as well against Sloane Stephens. Hers is the third match on show court 2, which should mean she's on at around 4am.

[jodjam]

First set to Murray. Del Potro who he could face in q/f is 2-1 in sets.

[jodjam]

2nd set to Murray 6-4. Berankis is some player. He's got Murray rattled but Murray hung in there.

Del Potro going to a 5th set

[jodjam]

Del Potro out. Murray serving for match for the second time.

[jodjam]

Murray through. The Lithuanian lad has a big future based on that display though

[Sir David Gray]

I didn't see any of Murray's match this morning as I had to be up quite early for work, although I gather it was far from perfect.

However it's another straight sets victory for him, going into the last 16 and he'll no longer have Del Potro to worry about in the quarter finals.

I cannot believe that he lost to Jeremy Chardy. I have seen that guy a couple of times at Wimbledon and he was hopeless and has never really done anything of any real note in his career.

Murray should now have a free route to the semis. He plays Gilles Simon next and he has won the last 9 matches between the pair and Simon's only victory came on clay (Murray's worst surface) before Murray's 20th birthday. I really don't expect any problems there, particularly over five sets.

He would then play either Jeremy Chardy or Andreas Seppi in the quarter finals and I'm sure he would have settled for that at the start of the tournament. He's not lost to Seppi since he was 19 years old and although Chardy beat him last year for the first time at the Cincinnati Masters, it was only a week or so after Murray's exploits at the Olympics.

I fully expect him to get to the semis where he'll probably face Roger Federer. He faces Milos Raonic next, who I think he will beat and then either Richard Gasquet or Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarter finals.

I can't see it not being a Murray-Federer semi final at the end of next week.

Disappointing for Laura Robson that she couldn't follow up her impressive victory over Petra Kvitova with a win over Sloane Stephens, it's a match she should have been looking to win so she'll be a bit disappointed with that. It's all experience for her I suppose.

[Boydyhfc]

Djokovic v Wawrinka

Its into a 5th set. Wawrinka broke the 1st game but Djokovic broke right back in the 2nd. Good stuff to watch from both players.

[Pretty Boy]

Murray and Federer will be loving this.

[Twiglet]

Murray and Federer will be loving this.


So will Berdych!

[Westie1875]

10-10 in the final set now, how long do we think this is gonna go for?

[Pretty Boy]

This is ridiculous.

Brilliant viewing. Djokovic wins it 12-10 on his 3rd match point after one of the best rallies in a long time. Unbelievable fitness from both players.

[Boydyhfc]

Djokovic goes through, wins 5th set 12-10. Some match that was!

[Bishop Hibee]

Fantastic game. For me, tennis is the greatest 1 v 1 sport in the world and that match showed why. Great coverage on Eurosport. Up early for Murray tomorrow.

[jodjam]

Should be good news for berdych but nole played a 5 hr semi last year and then done a 6 hr final.

Fancy Murray to take Simon quite easily tomorrow as he looked out on his feet after monfils match.

Think federer will beat raonic but it could be a long game and play into murrays hands.

[Sir David Gray]

Absolutely gutted that I was working today and had to leave it midway through the second set!

Wawrinka was totally unplayable for at least the first set and a half, Djokovic simply didn't know what to do.

If it had been anyone else (apart from Murray perhaps) who had won a match like that then I would say that they would be easy pickings for their next opponent but Djokovic is just something else. His fitness levels are simply unbelievable, he's up there as one of the best athletes in the world right now and he showed last year, when he beat Murray after 5 hours and then Nadal after almost 6 hours, in the semi and final that he is able to cope with long matches.

He now plays Tomas Berdych in the quarter finals on Tuesday, who he has a great record against and who I would fully expect him to beat. Berdych may take a set off him but I think Djokovic will come through that match. I actually think Djokovic could go on a very similar run to Andy Murray at last year's US Open when Murray was 6-3 5-1 down to Marin Cilic in the quarter finals and came back to win, not only the match but the whole tournament.

Andy Murray is going for his 9th consecutive Grand Slam quarter final appearance tomorrow when he faces Gilles Simon. The match is on at 6am and I cannot see anything other than a victory for Murray there.

Not sure if I'll be up for that one but I'll certainly try to watch the Federer-Raonic match which will start about 10am. I think Federer will win that one but it should be a good match.

[Hiber-nation]

Well done to the guy with the Hibs strip on supporting Murray :thumbsup:

[DarrenSQH]

Easy win for Murray today. He raced through two sets while I got ready for work.

[Sir David Gray]

Couldn't bring myself to get up at 6am this morning to watch Murray and in a way I'm quite glad I didn't as it doesn't seem like it was much of a contest.

I'm not really surprised given Simon's record against him and also the long match he had in the last round. I don't think Simon gave himself much hope of doing anything either.

Murray has the easiest draw out of anyone in the quarter finals against Jeremy Chardy. I cannot believe he's got this far! There really shouldn't be any question marks about this result.

I'm just watching the master taking the apprentice apart at the moment with Roger Federer against Milos Raonic. A lot of people are tipping Raonic to be the next big thing but on this showing, he's still got a long way to go before he can live with the best. Two fairly tight opening sets went the way of Federer, 6-4 7-5, and it looks like that has broken Raonic's resistance as Federer is currently 4-0 up in the third.

The winner of this one will play Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Wednesday.

[jodjam]

I see on your q/f predictions FH you got 7/8 right. Good going

[Sir David Gray]

I see on your q/f predictions FH you got 7/8 right. Good going

I know I've said it before on here but I really can't believe Jeremy Chardy knocked out Juan Martin Del Potro!

Probably the biggest surprise of the whole tournament.

Still, 7/8 isn't bad!

[jodjam]

I know I've said it before on here but I really can't believe Jeremy Chardy knocked out Juan Martin Del Potro!

Probably the biggest surprise of the whole tournament.

Still, 7/8 isn't bad!

Aye it's no bad :)

I reckon the top 4 seeds will make the semis.

[Sir David Gray]

Aye it's no bad :)

I reckon the top 4 seeds will make the semis.

Yep.

Murray should be a certainty against Chardy. I cannot see him having any problems at all.
I reckon Ferrer will have too much for Almagro over five sets.
Djokovic has a fantastic record against Berdych and if anyone can recover from a tough match like he had yesterday then it's Djokovic.
Federer also has a good record against Tsonga and in their only previous meeting at the Australian Open in 2010, Federer took him apart. Tsonga can be a dangerous opponent though and beat Federer at Wimbledon a couple of years ago after being two sets down. I believe Federer will win that one though.

I'm going for;

Djokovic v Ferrer
Federer v Murray

[HUTCHYHIBBY]

A lot of unforced errors this morning from Murray, If he gets to the last 4 he will need to up his game, although I suppose you could say he has yet to drop a set without playing anywhere near the top of his game.

[Hibby70]

I see Joe Tortolano (or someone claiming to be) asked him whether he was his favourite Hibs player (bbc q&a). Turns out it was Sauzee.

[Boydyhfc]

Yep.

Murray should be a certainty against Chardy. I cannot see him having any problems at all.
I reckon Ferrer will have too much for Almagro over five sets.
Djokovic has a fantastic record against Berdych and if anyone can recover from a tough match like he had yesterday then it's Djokovic.
Federer also has a good record against Tsonga and in their only previous meeting at the Australian Open in 2010, Federer took him apart. Tsonga can be a dangerous opponent though and beat Federer at Wimbledon a couple of years ago after being two sets down. I believe Federer will win that one though.

I'm going for;

Djokovic v Ferrer
Federer v Murray ?

Predicitions are looking good so far FH. Some comeback from Ferrer to win in 5 sets too.

[Sir David Gray]

Predicitions are looking good so far FH. Some comeback from Ferrer to win in 5 sets too.

My Ferrer prediction was a bit close for comfort, I didn't expect it to be that close to be honest! Almagro will be kicking himself that he couldn't see it through after serving for the match three times!

I'm not worried at all about Murray. I fully expect that to be a straights victory for him.

Tsonga does have the game to trouble Federer but it depends what Tsonga turns up. He got to the final of the Australian Open in 2008 but he can be very hot and cold and he can let things trouble him and affect his game. He's a really powerful man though and as I said in earlier post, he beat Federer over 5 sets at Wimbledon a couple of years ago.

I'm still sticking with Federer though.

[Sir David Gray]

Just a heads up for anyone who is maybe coming in from a night shift or who is perhaps off today that Andy Murray is third on the Rod Laver Arena, which should mean that he starts about 3:30am.

For those of us who start work at 9am, it's not ideal to say the least! :boo hoo:

Roger Federer v Jo-Wilfried Tsonga starts at 8:30am so I'll not see that either!

Victoria Azarenka's on just now against Svetlana Kuznetsova.

The noise levels are ridiculous.

[jodjam]

Couple of early breaks by Murray to go 3-0 up but it's time for work now :(

[DaveF]

Murray wins 6-4, 6-1, 6-2.

[Pretty Boy]

Federer and Tsonga into a 5th set.

Tsonga looking the stronger at the moment. Sure Murray will be getting happier the longer this goes.

[Pretty Boy]

Federer different class in the 5th and wins quite comfortably in the end.

Reckon Murray will more than fancy his chances though.

[Sir David Gray]

Hopefully that five setter has knackered Federer for Friday!

I think he'll recover without too many problems although I do think that Murray will win on Friday.

Not too sure that he'll win the final though against Djokovic, who I am assuming will beat Ferrer.

I believe there's a bit of snow forecast here for Friday so hopefully I'm snowed in and I can't get to work!

[HUTCHYHIBBY]

Li Na just pumped Sharapova in straight sets to reach the final.

I would imagine Azarenka will win by the same margin next.

[jodjam]

Li Na just pumped Sharapova in straight sets to reach the final.

I would imagine Azarenka will win by the same margin next.

Sharapova and pumped in the same sentence. That's today's "thought for the day " sorted

[hibs0666]

What a pathetic effort that was from Ferrer. Surprised he's not getting booed off the court.

[Pretty Boy]

What a pathetic effort that was from Ferrer. Surprised he's not getting booed off the court.

To be fair Djokovic was stunningly good to watch.

Don't think I've seen someone look that good since Federer in his heyday. What I would say though is if Ferrer is number 4 in.the world as of Monday it really shows there's a bit of a lack of depth to men's tennis. The top 3 plus a fit Nadal are streets ahead.

[Golden Bear]

Hopefully that five setter has knackered Federer for Friday!

I think he'll recover without too many problems although I do think that Murray will win on Friday.

Not too sure that he'll win the final though against Djokovic, who I am assuming will beat Ferrer.

I believe there's a bit of snow forecast here for Friday so hopefully I'm snowed in and I can't get to work!

When is the match scheduled to start ?

[HUTCHYHIBBY]

Sharapova and pumped in the same sentence. That's today's "thought for the day " sorted

I did hope it would lead to some "new balls please" type inuendo!

[HUTCHYHIBBY]

What a pathetic effort that was from Ferrer. Surprised he's not getting booed off the court.

What was it that he did wrong? As was mentioned on the BBC website Djokovic was at his imperious best, he is just much better than Ferrer IMHO.

[HUTCHYHIBBY]

When is the match scheduled to start ?

Programme starts at 0800 on Eurosport, tie scheduled to start at 0830. Not sure if its available on council tv.

[Sir David Gray]

When is the match scheduled to start ?

They'll be on court at approximately 8:30am but by the time they do the coin toss and warm up etc, the match is unlikely to start until about 8:45am.


Programme starts at 0800 on Eurosport, tie scheduled to start at 0830. Not sure if its available on council tv.

Tomorrow's match will also be live on BBC 2.

[Sir David Gray]

Looks pretty ominous for Andy Murray and Roger Federer after Novak Djokovic's demolition of David Ferrer today.

Ferrer was never likely to beat Djokovic as he doesn't have anywhere near the amount of power that is required to beat him but the manner of the defeat will have surprised most people.

He might not have managed to ever get to a Grand Slam final in his career yet but David Ferrer is a class player. He plays consistently well year after year and has been a top 5 or 6 player for the majority of the past five or six years.

For Djokovic to have beaten him with the loss of just five games is incredible.

I hope I'm wrong, if Murray wins tomorrow, but I just can't see past Djokovic for the title. I've said it ever since last Sunday when he came back from 1-6 2-5 down to win against Wawrinka and I'm sticking with that prediction.

[Sylar]

Looks pretty ominous for Andy Murray and Roger Federer after Novak Djokovic's demolition of David Ferrer today.

Ferrer was never likely to beat Djokovic as he doesn't have anywhere near the amount of power that is required to beat him but the manner of the defeat will have surprised most people.

He might not have managed to ever get to a Grand Slam final in his career yet but David Ferrer is a class player. He plays consistently well year after year and has been a top 5 or 6 player for the majority of the past five or six years.

For Djokovic to have beaten him with the loss of just five games is incredible.

I hope I'm wrong, if Murray wins tomorrow, but I just can't see past Djokovic for the title. I've said it ever since last Sunday when he came back from 1-6 2-5 down to win against Wawrinka and I'm sticking with that prediction.

I'm willing to bet you right now that the other three major finals this year will feature 2 out of the 3 remaining players in the Australian Open :agree:

[Sir David Gray]

I'm willing to bet you right now that the other three major finals this year will feature 2 out of the 3 remaining players in the Australian Open :agree:

I think you would get decent odds for that at the bookies right now.

It all depends on how quickly he gets back up to speed with things once he returns but given Rafael Nadal's record at the French Open, I wouldn't count him out just yet.

[Pretty Boy]

Murray breaks in the 3rd game of the 1st set.

Has had break points in both Federers service games so far.

Dominating the rallies at the moment but its early days and Federer always finds a way to step it up.

[blackpoolhibs]

I'm amazed at just how lean and strong Andy Murray has become, he even looks taller? :greengrin

[blackpoolhibs]

Andy is playing really well, a break up leading 4-3.

[Pretty Boy]

Murray playing to the Federer backhand and also nailing his own backhand when Federer comes to the net, both of which are working.

15 winners to 5 in Murray's favour.

[Sir David Gray]

Murray serving for the first set, 5-4.

[Sir David Gray]

First set goes to Murray, 6-4. :thumbsup:

Impressive so far.

[Pretty Boy]

Great first set from Murray.

What I love is that he is really making Federer win.every point, chasing down lost causes and making him play 1 or 2 more shots.

Keeps this up.and he will win.

[HUTCHYHIBBY]

Brilliant display of serving by Andy in set 1 there.

[Golden Bear]

I still think we're all set for a marathon match.

[Sir David Gray]

Second set tiebreak.

This is huge. Federer probably needs to win it if he's going to have any chance of winning the match.

Massive difference between a set all and being two sets up.

[Pretty Boy]

Second set tiebreak.

This is huge. Federer probably needs to win it if he's going to have any chance of winning the match.

Massive difference between a set all and being two sets up.

Get the feeling Federer has thrown everything at this set because he knows he needs it.

To lose it would be huge psychologically.

Mini break for Federer at the moment.

[Sir David Gray]

Second set Federer, 7-6.

Game on.

[Pretty Boy]

Second set Federer.

Threw the kitchen sink at Murray to win that one.

[Sir David Gray]

Murray will be kicking himself that he made such a mess of that smash.

Could that be the turning point?

[Pretty Boy]

Murray will be kicking himself that he made such a mess of that smash.

Could that be the turning point?

Was a strange one right enough.

Looked to me like it was an awkward height and he was caught in 2 minds over whether to jump for it or let it go over him.and run back. Ended up completely mistiming his jump.

[Pretty Boy]

Murray breaks.

4-2 3rd set.

[Sir David Gray]

Murray breaks to go 4-2 up in the third set. :thumbsup:

[Pretty Boy]

Federer looking a bit rattled here.

Mumbling to himself, moaning at line judges and the umpire and even letting the odd swear word out. Not like him at all.

[Sir David Gray]

Third set Murray, 6-3. :thumbsup:

[Pretty Boy]

Murray was absolutely sublime the last 15-20 minutes of that set.

[Sir David Gray]

Having to leave for work in next 15 minutes or so.

Gutted I won't see the end of this.

[HUTCHYHIBBY]

How bad a commentator is Andrew Castle? Sooo boring, he could send an insomniac to sleep!

[Pretty Boy]

How bad a commentator is Andrew Castle? Sooo boring, he could send an insomniac to sleep!

Switched over to EuroSport, much better.

Federer break up in the 4th.

[Pretty Boy]

Murray breaks back.

4-3 Federer, back on serve.

[matty_f]

Cracking tennis so far.

[Pretty Boy]

Murray breaks to love.

6-5 and serving for the match and a first victory over Federer in a grand slam match.

[Pretty Boy]

Loving Murray sneering at and taunting Federer.

Federer kept Murray waiting for an age to serve then passed a comment at the net after the first point and Murray just sneered then smirked at him.

[EH6 Hibby]

Murray breaks to love.

6-5 and serving for the match and a first victory over Federer in a grand slam match.

Hope he hurries up about it. I need to go out in 10 minutes.

[Pretty Boy]

Federer breaks.

Tie break.

[Pretty Boy]

Piss poor in the tie break from Murray.

5th set it is.

[Boydyhfc]

Fed wins 4th set. Down to a decider

[Pretty Boy]

And Murray breaks.

2-0. All he has to do is hold serve.

[legends of 73]

Keep the heid son:flag::flag:

[Pretty Boy]

Game, set and match Murray.

6-2 final set.

[Future17]

:flag::flag::flag::flag:

[jodjam]

Great win. Quick win against nole on Sunday. Collect the trophy then back to the hotel to watch the hibs spank the dons :)

[Beefster]

Three Grand Slam finals in a row (and winning the Olympic gold). Definitely no. 2 in the world, sans Nadal.

[DarrenSQH]

Think that puts away the idea for me of going to Aberdeen on Sunday. Would rather watch Andy win on tv and catch the game on tv. Than spend money when I'm skint to sit in the coldest ground in the world.

[Hiber-nation]

That was brilliant. Mind you watching Murray stresses me out as mch as watching Hibs!

What time is the final on?

[JimBHibees]

What a fantastic tennis player Murray is. He has really upped his game and is much more solid and consistent since Lendl has come on the scene. Was the better player for most of it and but for 2 poor tie breaks would have won in less than 5. Should be a cracker on Sunday and Djokovic will be fav but think Andy will give him a great match.

[HUTCHYHIBBY]

That was brilliant. Mind you watching Murray stresses me out as mch as watching Hibs!

What time is the final on?

0830 Sun morning, could be a bit Lionel after the LHSC Burns Night!

[Hainan Hibs]

Fantastic to watch, it's great to see how Murray has developed in the past year.

Djokovic will be favourite and I think he will win but with a good rest and if he plays at the top of his game Murray is in with a shot.

[Hiber-nation]

0830 Sun morning, could be a bit Lionel after the LHSC Burns Night!

Cheers...hangover hell for me too but have to do it :aok:

[Sir David Gray]

Delighted with that result. Murray is slowly but surely building up the consistency needed to be considered truly world class.

In 8 out of the last 9 Grand Slams, he's reached at least the semi finals and in the other one, he reached the quarter finals of the French Open, which is probably his weakest Grand Slam, so by anyone's standards that is very impressive.

He looks a different player now to the one that was playing even this time last year. At long last, he actually seems to believe that he belongs up there alongside Federer, Djokovic and Nadal. I don't think he really thought of himself to be in that bracket before and almost seemed a bit starstruck whenever he was playing them.

I think this result will be another barrier that has been overcome by Murray in that he has finally beaten Federer in a Grand Slam for the first time.

Now for Sunday's final against Novak Djokovic and he will face someone who is undoubtedly the best tennis player in the world, someone who has been in outstanding form for the past couple of years.

However, he knows that he can beat Djokovic in a Grand Slam final after his victory at the US Open last year. That will hopefully give him confidence for Sunday but it's going to be so tough. After coming so close to defeat last week against Stanislas Wawrinka, Djokovic has never really looked back after hammering Tomas Berdych and David Ferrer. His fitness levels are unbelievable and his shot making abilities are something else.

I feel that Murray needs to play quite a varied match on Sunday. Djokovic will be more than happy chasing balls down and going from side to side all day long. Murray's not too bad at that either, mind you, but Djokovic is unlikely to be beaten if the match gets played in that kind of fashion.

Not sure if it'll be quite as long as last year's Australian Open final, which lasted almost 6 hours, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was a five set classic going for about 5 hours.

All the best, Andy!

Get some rest tomorrow and put everything into this one last match! :aok:

[Sir David Gray]

Victoria Azarenka won her second Grand Slam after defending her Australian Open title today against Li Na.

Li Na won the opening set but Azarenka came back to win 4-6 6-4 6-3.

[lyonhibs]

4-4 in the 1st set. Murray making bloody hard work of holding his serve though!!

[Twiglet]

Murray wins the first set on the tie-break 7-2. Only been watching since 4-4 in the first but thought both players weren't serving that well (particularly Djoko). Hope it gets better...

[jodjam]

Mon Andy. Wee straight sets win so I can get to the footlights to watch footy :)

[Houchy]

I'm feeling sick just watching this pair running about like this. These guys must be the fittest athletes going.
I think, unfortunately, Andy's feet have finally cost him this title.

[Sir David Gray]

Djokovic has really upped his game since winning the second set tie break. He's just so tough to break down.

Only see one winner from here sadly as Djokovic breaks to go 2-1 up in the 4th set.

[Sir David Gray]

That, as they say, is that.

Double break for Djokovic and he goes 4-1 up.

Quite a sad ending to this match for Murray.

[Pretty Boy]

I blame the feather.

[Sir David Gray]

Djokovic wins 6-7 7-6 6-3 6-2 to become the first player to win 3 consecutive Australian Open titles since Roy Emerson in 1965.

Well played Djokovic. Totally deserved it considering how well he's played since the end of the second set. It's tough for Murray especially if he's not 100% physically.

It's been an awful weekend for sport so far, can Hibs salvage it?

[DarrenSQH]

I blame the feather.

Spot on. The luck just was on novaks side today.

[NOLA]

A match too far for murray beaten by the wannabe scot Jocky Veitch.

[Sylar]

Think Murray's harder pathway to the final showed in the end as he ran out of steam. Greatest of respect to the opposition Djokovic came up against on his path to retaining the trophy, but he wasn't particularly challenged.

Both guys played some outstanding tennis in the first two sets but Djokovic managed to find another gear in the third and fourth sets.

Murray can be proud of getting to yet another GS final though and I doubt it'll be his last this year. I fancy we might see a rematch of today at least another twice this season.

[scoopyboy]

Think Murray's harder pathway to the final showed in the end as he ran out of steam. Greatest of respect to the opposition Djokovic came up against on his path to retaining the trophy, but he wasn't particularly challenged.

Both guys played some outstanding tennis in the first two sets but Djokovic managed to find another gear in the third and fourth sets.

Murray can be proud of getting to yet another GS final though and I doubt it'll be his last this year. I fancy we might see a rematch of today at least another twice this season.

Disagree strongly against your first bit, everything fell into Andy's path. Up to the semi he only faced one seed (a wounded no 14 seed) and to face an unseeded player these days in a slam is vurtually unheard of.

Agree with the rest however.

[Sylar]

Disagree strongly against your first bit, everything fell into Andy's path. Up to the semi he only faced one seed (a wounded no 14 seed) and to face an unseeded player these days in a slam is vurtually unheard of.

Agree with the rest however.

The semi can hardly be discounted though, can it? :greengrin

My point (though vague) was specific to the semi-final contests, where Murray certainly had a more arduous task...it certainly appeared that Murray tired quicker today to me anyway!

[Sir David Gray]

Think Murray's harder pathway to the final showed in the end as he ran out of steam. Greatest of respect to the opposition Djokovic came up against on his path to retaining the trophy, but he wasn't particularly challenged.

Both guys played some outstanding tennis in the first two sets but Djokovic managed to find another gear in the third and fourth sets.

Murray can be proud of getting to yet another GS final though and I doubt it'll be his last this year. I fancy we might see a rematch of today at least another twice this season.

Can't really agree with that to be honest.

Up until he played Federer in the semis, Murray barely needed to get out of second gear in his first five matches. The fact that he went into the semis having not lost a single set in the entire tournament says it all.

Robin Haase, Joao Sousa, Ricardas Berankis, Gilles Simon and Jeremy Chardy were never going to be causing him any serious problems and it's a brilliant run of matches for someone like Murray to have in a Grand Slam.

Djokovic's run was, on paper, a lot more difficult. The match against Wawrinka speaks for itself and he should have lost that one and although he had convincing victories over Berdych and Ferrer, they are top quality opposition.

[Sylar]

Can't really agree with that to be honest.

Up until he played Federer in the semis, Murray barely needed to get out of second gear in his first five matches. The fact that he went into the semis having not lost a single set in the entire tournament says it all.

Robin Haase, Joao Sousa, Ricardas Berankis, Gilles Simon and Jeremy Chardy were never going to be causing him any serious problems and it's a brilliant run of matches for someone like Murray to have in a Grand Slam.

Djokovic's run was, on paper, a lot more difficult. The match against Wawrinka speaks for itself and he should have lost that one and although he had convincing victories over Berdych and Ferrer, they are top quality opposition.

My point was specific to the semi-finals but it's not exactly clear from my post.

I simply meant that the harder match in the semi against Federer appeared to take it's toll whereas Novak looked like he had more in the tank than Andy.

I don't think fitness was the overarching reason why Murray lost this morning though - Djokovic just played some stellar tennis :agree:

[Sir David Gray]

My point was specific to the semi-finals but it's not exactly clear from my post.

I simply meant that the harder match in the semi against Federer appeared to take it's toll whereas Novak looked like he had more in the tank than Andy.

I don't think fitness was the overarching reason why Murray lost this morning though - Djokovic just played some stellar tennis :agree:

I would agree with that.

Something that I disagree with is the fact that the Australian Open has the men's semis over two days and one player has an extra day's preparation for the final. In this instance, it was Djokovic who had the extra day's rest and I just think it's wrong. When there's a final to prepare for, both players should have the same amount of rest beforehand.

[scoopyboy]

The semi can hardly be discounted though, can it? :greengrin

My point (though vague) was specific to the semi-final contests, where Murray certainly had a more arduous task...it certainly appeared that Murray tired quicker today to me anyway!

The semi final I'll give you, a three setter and an extra days rest helped ND.

[MB62]

Was discussing in the pub at the weekend about the rules on players challenging line calls, my mate asked
'can a player challenge a call on his own shot being called in when it was OUT'?

e.g. Andy Murray hits his first serve which looks out but is not called out by the line judge. His opponent hits a winning return off the serve. Can Murray challenge whether his serve was actually in, hoping if the ball was really out he then he has 2nd serve?

[Sir David Gray]

Was discussing in the pub at the weekend about the rules on players challenging line calls, my mate asked
'can a player challenge a call on his own shot being called in when it was OUT'?

e.g. Andy Murray hits his first serve which looks out but is not called out by the line judge. His opponent hits a winning return off the serve. Can Murray challenge whether his serve was actually in, hoping if the ball was really out he then he has 2nd serve?

Yes a player can do that but only if they make absolutely no attempt to play a shot from the opponent's return. If they hit the ball then they lose their right to challenge the serve.

It is extremely rare, as you can imagine, but it has been done.

[MB62]

Yes a player can do that but only if they make absolutely no attempt to play a shot from the opponent's return. If they hit the ball then they lose their right to challenge the serve.

It is extremely rare, as you can imagine, but it has been done.

Thanks for that FH.
I thought that would be the case but nobody knew for sure so it was a good pub arguement :greengrin