Australian Open 2012 Recap

So the first Grand Slam of the new season is over and I have finally found a moment to get a recap together of the first serious tournament and a few thoughts I had from the event.

I was going to do this on Sunday evening, immediately after the tournament was concluded, but the six hour Final that I covered on the blog meant I was extremely tired and didn't really fancy getting back on the computer in the evening... Plus I met someone quite fantastic while having a drink after the tournament was concluded and didn't get home a lot later than I had planned!

Here I will present a few of my thoughts from the Australian Open and a recap of how the picks went:

Australian Open 2012 Thoughts
1) Was it really the greatest Men's Final ever?: Now I heard a few of the so-called 'experts' describe this as the greatest Final ever at Grand Slam level, but I tend to think that is the usual sensationalist way of reporting that we have seen creep into all of the sporting events around the globe.


The first set was not high on quality, while it was one way traffic for Novak Djokovic in sets two and three, all the way through to the middle of set four... It would not have been a surprise if Djokovic had won this in four sets when leading 4-3, 40-0* on Rafael Nadal's serve in that fourth set.


Granted Nadal raised his level from that moment on and there were some wonderful winners from that point on, but this was not a better level of tennis throughout than the Wimbledon Finals that were competed by Roger Federer and Nadal in 2008 and 2009.


This Final was truly gripping theatre, and the twists and turns in the final set and a half were exciting to watch, but it was not the greatest Final ever and I have a few matches that I rate higher in terms of overall quality throughout the five sets competed.


As we see with Lionel Messi, people are very quick to label the last thing they have seen as the 'greatest of all time', but this match, while excellent, doesn't deserve those plaudits.


2) Will anyone outside of the top 4 in the Men's game win a Grand Slam this season?: I find it hard to imagine that anyone will break the dominance of the top 4 Men in the World Rankings as anyone to do so will have to beat at least two of these players, and potentially three of the players, in a row in a best of five set match and I cannot see that happening at this moment in time.


There are some really dangerous players around like Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Tomas Berdych and Juan Martin Del Potro in the Men's game, as well as a soon to be returning Robin Soderling, but I think they all have too many mental hurdles to overcome, while the top 4 players are playing at a level higher than the rest of the Men in the draw.


At the moment, it is beginning to be tough to look beyond Novak Djokovic as the favourite to win every Grand Slam, while I still think Roger Federer is capable of winning one at either Wimbledon or the US Open.


I think Andy Murray also showed enough to suggest he is not to far away from winning his maiden Grand Slam title, but he is another player that could find it very tough beating two of the others in back to back matches in a best of five set... However, his ranking means he could potentially have to play none of the other top 4 until a Final if he gets a bit of fortune, and that is something that is unlikely to happen for someone outside of the top 4.


I do think the player most likely to break the dominance of the top 4 players to win a Grand Slam this season is likely to be the player that last won a Grand Slam outside of these players and that is Juan Martin Del Potro- I think the Argentinian is not too far from his best, but he still has some levels to find and I think he could be the biggest threat at the US Open and not before then.


3) This is a big couple of months for Bernard Tomic: I think Bernard Tomic has a big couple of months ahead as he is now going to be on a part of the tour where is game is not exactly suited for, as we get towards the clay court swing, and it will be interesting as to how the Australian youngster copes with a different type of pressure he will be facing.

Players will want to put him in his place after all the attention his run at the Australian Open generated for him, and it will be interesting to see how he copes in 'lesser' tournaments than his home Grand Slam.


He doesn't have too many points to defend in the next 3-4 months, and, if he plays how he can, he could be a seeded player by the time the next couple of Grand Slams come up later this year.


4) Roger Federer wants to be World Number 1 again, but breaking the Top 2 could be just as important: Now we heard from Roger Federer before the Australian Open, openly stating that he WANTS the World Number 1 position back and that can only be good news for his fans as he clearly feels he is still able to compete with the best players.


However, I think breaking the top 2 could be just as important for him if he wants to win a Grand Slam again, although he could still require a bit of luck on his side.


Now I am not saying he cannot beat Rafael Nadal full stop, but I would not fancy his chances too much on any surface other than perhaps at the US Open which play the fastest of the surfaces at Grand Slam level... Breaking the top 2 apart, and a bit of luck could see Federer in a very strong position.


I think Federer still matches up well against Djokovic, but he could benefit a lot by not having to play these two players back to back... By getting into the top 4, he could cross his fingers and hope Djokovic and Nadal are in the same half of the draw and that could open up his chances to win a 17th Grand Slam.


You would never in a million years here Federer speak like this, but I think there is plenty of benefit for him to get up the Rankings... It is no surprise to see the former World Number 1 put in an entry form for the indoor tournament in Rotterdam in the second week of February, a tournament he has not played in since 2005, as he looks to build his points.


5) The WTA Tour is in its best position for some time: It was great to see the Semi Final line up for the Women's draw as it was one of the strongest there has been in some time and we finally seem to have some real stars at the top of the WTA Rankings.


Victoria Azarenka, Petra Kvitova and Maria Sharapova all leap-frogged Caroline Wozniacki at the top of the Rankings, and I think all three players are bona fide Grand Slam potential winners for the rest of the season.


Add Kim Clijsters and Serena Williams to those and we have the possibility of some really good matches on the tour for the rest of the season.


I have never been the biggest fan of Wozniacki, but I think she may also benefit from not having the pressure of being World Number 1 and could potentially break her own Grand Slam duck, although I would favour plenty of players to beat her on their day as the Dane lacks some of the weapons needed to WIN matches and not just play a game where you hope your opponent makes errors.


Still, I have not been as excited as watching the WTA Tour for a few seasons now and I think it will be a positive year for the tour.


Australian Open Picks Recap
I can't say I have too much to complain about from my first foray into the tennis scene in 2012 as I managed to identify winners of both the Men's and Women's tournament in Melbourne, while the daily picks were also successful.


I haven't been involved in this weeks tournaments as I am not a fan of the week after a Grand Slam event and we also have Davis Cup ties next week, so a lot of the the top players on the ATP Tour have taken a little bit of time off.

A watching brief makes a lot of sense at this moment, but I will be back for Picks from the First Round of the Davis Cup which begins on Friday 10th February.

Daily Picks: + 15.76 (68 Units staked, + 23.18% yield)

Outright Picks: + 7.52 Units (9 Units staked, + 83.56% yield)




2012 SEASON: + 23.28 Units (77 Units staked, + 30.33% yield)


2011 SEASON: + 82.02 Units