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Australian Open 2009 reports and pics

5K views 48 replies 27 participants last post by  Experimentee 
#1 ·
I will be going on all qualifying days and the first 4 days of the main draw, and will post all reports and pics in this thread.

Thursday 16 January 2009

Today was the first day of women's qualifying. Thankfully the weather had cooled down a lot, so it wasn't too hot and not very windy. I saw the following matches.

Vania King(USA)[10] def. Jelena Pandzic(CRO) 6-7(4) 6-1 6-1

This was the first match I watched after I arrived. They were in a first set tiebreak, and Vania made a few too many errors to lose it. However after the first set Vania lifted her game and started to play really well. She kept all her balls deep and worked the point until she could finish it off at the net. Pandzic wasn't a bad player, she hits quite hard off both sides but Vania ended up being too consistent for her.

Stephanie Dubois(CAN)[11] def. Sophie Ferguson(AUS) 4-6 7-5 6-3

When I arrived I saw that Sophie was up 6-4 4-0 and decided to watch King vs Pandzic first. When I returned Steph had won the 2nd set 7-5, which did not really surprise me. Steph was really pumped up and was playing well in the 3rd, while Sophie looked like she'd had enough. It wasn't hard to predict what the final result would be.

Zi Yan(CHN)[8] def. Sally Peers(AUS)6-3 7-5

Yan did not play anywhere near her best and made far too many UEs. Peers was playing really well and hit many good shots. Peers was able to keep it close but Yan was always ahead and never really threatened. Still Peers gave a good account of herself, one of the better performances by an Aussie in qualifying.

Kimiko Date Krumm(JPN) def. Ksenia Pervak(RUS) 6-3 6-3

This was the first time I have seen Kimiko play. She does hit with a rather unorthodox style, but it is effective. She was controlling most of the points by hitting her groundstrokes aggressively and had many more winners and unforced errors than Pervak. Kimiko also came in to finish her points at the net often. Pervak's game did not really look that impressive, she doesn't have a lot of power and mainly hit groundstrokes down the middle of the court. Her serve was pretty crappy too. At 5-1 down in the 2nd set Pervak called the trainer, I'm not sure what her problem was or even if she had a problem. Kimiko was practicing serves while Pervak got her treatment. When they came back Kimiko had problems closing it out and missed a lot of chances, but eventually got there in the end. There were quite a lot of fans watching this match, after the match there was a huge crowd of mainly Japanese fans and media at the exit to Show Court 3, ready to mob Kimiko when she came out.

Eleni Daniilidou(GRE) def. Elena Bovina(RUS) 6-4 7-6(2)

This was an interesting battle between former top 20 players who are trying to return to form after injury. It was one of the better matches of the day, with many close games. It was great to watch the aggressive power play of Bovina against the variety and great defensive skills of Eleni. The match was close but Bovina just made too many unforced errors. There were some Eleni fans supporting her but nowhere near the level as when she was playing the main draw, mainly because there are hardly any spectators in qualifying.

Alexandra Stevenson(USA) def. Stephanie Foretz(FRA)[2] 7-6(5) 7-6(7)

Alex was down a break in the 2nd set but lifted her game and played really well to get it back. She was using her powerful forehand to dictate the points. She didn't look like she was moving very well but then even at her peak I don't remember her being the best mover. As usual she was rolling her eyes at herself every time she made unforced errors.

Arantxa Rus(NED) def. Shannon Golds(AUS) 6-3 6-1

This was an easy match for Rus even though I don't think Rus was playing her best. Golds was just nowhere near this level. Rus doesn't look like she has that much power but places her balls well. It seemed like she made a lot of UEs but still won easily.

Alexandra Panova(RUS) def. Tereza Hladikova(CZE)6-2 6-3

I only saw the start of the match but Hladikova was playing terribly and almost every point was her unforced error.

Neuza Silva(POR) def. Vesna Manasieva(RUS)[17] 6-4 6-7(7) 14-12

This match seemed to go on forever. I think two matches were completed on the next court in the same time these two completed one match. At about 6-5 in the 3rd set Manasieva had 0-40 and 3 match points on Silva's serve, but Silva saved them with great play. After that the match continued on for ages. Manasieva seemed to be the more aggressive player and the one who went for the lines the most, Silva was consistent and kept slicing her backhand back. Silva kept getting the break but then was always broken back straight away, until finally she held her serve to win 14-12. Silva was really pumped up when she got the win and ran straight to her team at the side before she went to the net to shake hands.

Ksenia Palkina(KGZ) def. Corinna Dentoni(ITA)7-5 6-4

This was an entertaining match to watch. Both have very solid baseline games and can generate pace to hit winners when they get a chance. Palkina had a thicker build than Dentoni and could hit quite hard off both sides. Dentoni was very emotional and showed every emotion on court. She complained about a lot of line calls and would let off a really long high pitched scream every time she was really disappointed in her shot. You could hear her screams from a few courts away. Palkina was very intense, she kept jumping up and down on the spot pumping her fist and urging herself on between points, Sharapova style.

Mervana Jugic-Salkic(BIH) def. Ivana Lisjak(CRO)1-6 6-4 6-1

I only saw the end of this match but from what I saw Lisjak the brainless ball basher was hitting every ball out and Mervana didn't really need to do much to win. Mervana had some very loud support from Bosnian fans with their flags and football shirts who would go crazy and make so much noise every time she got a point, even if it was UE from her opponent.

Catalina Castano(COL)[22]def. Petra Martic(CRO)3-6 6-4 6-4

This was a good match and both played well. Martic has very nice groundstrokes with impressive power from both sides, and also a decent serve. She looks very skinny. Castano certainly hits the ball quite flat for a claycourter. In the end there were just a few too many unforced errors from Martic.

Elena Baltacha(GBR)[19] def. Anastasija Sevastova(LAT) 6-3 6-4

I only saw about 3 games of this. Baltacha was serving very well. Sevastova has a solid baseline game but not really any big weapons.

Karolina Sprem(CRO) def. Anna Tatishvili(GEO) 6-2 6-3

Sprem was playing really well, and she easily hit the hardest out of any of the girls in qualifying. Tatishvili couldn't really do much and was overpowered. Tatishvili doesn't really look like she has any weapons and looked pretty bad against Sprem.

Katalin Marosi(HUN)def. Aiko Nakamura(JPN)[23] 7-6(5) 6-3

Aiko just made tons of unforced errors and definitely wasn't playing near her best. She had a chance to take the 2nd set at about 6-5 and was dominating the point but as usual refused to volley so she couldn't put the floating balls away and just let them bounce and hit straight back to her opponent. I really wish Aiko would learn to come in and finish the points properly. Anyway in the tiebreak Marosi was leading all the way and Marosi also got the early break in the 2nd set. Marosi was solid and just had to let Aiko make UEs.
 
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#5 ·
Friday 16 January 2009

Today it was pretty cold for summer, I think it was only about 21 degrees. There was a strong cold wind swirling around for most of the day, making it difficult for a lot of the players.

Alexandra Panova(RUS) def. Zi Yan(CHN)[8] 7-6(2) 2-6 9-7

This was the first women's match I saw after I arrived. They were in a first set tiebreak, in which Zi made tons of crap UEs and double faults and lost easily. I then left the match in disgust. I came back early in the 3rd set and Zi had lifted her game. She was playing aggressively and had cut down her UEs. She broke and led 4-2 in the 3rd set. However she was broken back and the match became a struggle. At about 5-4 Zi was serving for the match and had match point, but I think Panova hit a winner to save it. They both kept breaking each other and had some great flat hitting rallies, but Panova was slightly more consistent and eventually was the one to prevail.

Betina Jozami(ARG)[21] def. Ksenia Palkina(KGZ) 2-6 6-4 6-4

When I arrived at this match Palkina was leading a set and 3-1. However Jozami started to play well and managed to come back to take the 2nd set and get an early break in the 3rd. Palkina fought back to level at 4-4 in the 3rd, but then Jozami broke again and served it out to win 6-4. It was the first time I had seen Jozami and her game impressed me. She has a good serve and powerful groundstrokes. She was aggressive from the baseline and hit most of her groundstrokes to the sidelines. She dropshotted Palkina a lot and was successful with the dropshot about 9/10 times, as Palkina is pretty slow moving forwards. Jozami kept doing this and Palkina couldn't do anything about it. Jozami was getting really fired up and shouted really loudly to herself after good points.

Sesil Karatantcheva(BUL)[20] def. Madison Brengle(USA)1-6 7-5 6-2

This was the last match to finish today. I watched the scoreboard from the next court and came to watch when it was 6-1 5-3 to Brengle as I thought it would be over soon. I arrived in time to witness a colossal choke from Brengle, as she badly doublefaulted her service game away when serving for the match. After she lost her serve she hardly got a ball into play, and lost the next 9 games in a row, so the score was 6-1 5-7 0-5. In all these games Brengle lost by hitting atrocious shots and Sesil really didn't have to do much other than get the ball into play. It was one of the most pathetic chokes I have witnessed. Brengle was getting really annoyed and was constantly berating herself. There was a noisy group of Bulgarians who were singing and chanting in Bulgarian and went crazy every time Sesil won a point. Even when she won a really unimportant point they would go off as if she'd just won the match, it was quite annoying. At 5-0 down Brengle decided to go for broke and managed to win a couple of games but then Sesil held on to win the match. Sesil did not really impress me at all and she doesn't seem to be as good as she was a few years ago. Her serve is so bad and she doesn't seem to be as aggressive with her groundstrokes. I won't be surprised if she loses in the next round as she really should have been cleaned up by Brengle.

Vania King(USA)[10] def. Eleni Daniilidou(GRE) 6-7(5) 6-2 6-1

This was a high quality match. It was very close in the first set which Eleni won in a tiebreak. Both were playing excellent tennis. After the first set Vania maintained a high level while Eleni made a few more UEs. Vania really did well to keep the balls deep and move Eleni around until she had an opportunity to finish the point. Vania hit a lot of great winners and deserved to win.

Melanie Oudin(USA) def. Catalina Castano(COL)[22] 7-5 7-5

Oudin has a nice game, she has good solid groundstrokes with pace on them and a decent serve. There were many breaks in the match. Oudin was up 5-3 in the first set but got a bit tight and let it get back to 5-5, then managed to close it out 7-5. Early in the 2nd set no one could hold serve, but finally Oudin held for a 4-2 lead. When Oudin was up 5-3 she choked again, and it went back to 5-5, but then Oudin again won 7-5. Both players struggled with their serve in the wind, and Castano struggled to get her flat shots over the net.

Kimiko Date Krumm(JPN) def. Maret Ani(EST)[5] 6-4 4-6 6-0

Kimiko was making most of the play and dictating the points in this match. She was travelling comfortably until about 3-3 when Kimiko went off the boil and made a string of UEs to lose the set 6-4. In the 3rd set Kimiko regrouped and started playing well again, Ani could hardly get a ball in court and made many double faults. Ani called the trainer in the 3rd set to get treatment on her right arm. At 5-0 up Kimiko had trouble closing out the match, she kept choking her match points and needed so many chances before she finally took one match point with a drop volley winner. I think Kimiko will make the main draw but will have to stop her lapses and cut down on UEs as well as stop choking in order to have a chance to progress in the main draw.

Alberta Brianti(ITA) def. Michelle Larcher De Brito(POR)[14] 6-2 6-3

This was my first time watching Larcher de Brito. She did not start well. In her first 2 service games she made about 5 double faults and quickly went down 3-0. She is a bit of a brainless ball basher and just tries to hit every ball hard and close to the lines with a loud grunt. I did not once see Michelle attempt any other different shot, such as a dropshot, slice, lob, volley etc, all just topspin groundstrokes hard and towards the lines. As she's still young she doesn't even have a lot of power yet. Brianti played very smart, she sliced a lot and hit some excellent defensive shots. Brianti was actually in great form and will be hard to beat. Michelle has quite a temper and was throwing her racquet, hitting the balls in anger and shouting a lot. I suppose she can improve in the future and is still very good for a 15 year old but there are obvious deficiencies there.

Viktoriya Kutuzova(UKR) def. Alexandra Stevenson(USA) 6-3 6-2

Alex had break points early on but couldn't take them and it went downhill for Alex from there. She just made way too many unforced errors and Kutuzova just needed to maintain the rally and get the ball back into play. Alex had the trainer out in the 2nd set to treat her right shoulder, but it didn't seem to improve and she lost quite easily.

Kathrin Woerle(GER) def. Georgie Stoop(GBR)6-3 5-7 14-12

I didn't see much of this, only a few games from when Stoop was 5-1 up in the 2nd set. Stoop has a good forehand and a decent serve, Woerle was playing pretty well too.

Stefanie Voegele(SUI)[12] def. Silvia Soler Espinosa(ESP) 6-3 7-5

Voegele played well, she had nice consistent flat groundstrokes and was the more aggressive player. Soler Espinosa is a typical Spanish player with loopy groundstrokes and a very loud grunt on every ball.
 
#16 ·
Alberta Brianti(ITA) def. Michelle Larcher De Brito(POR)[14] 6-2 6-3

This was my first time watching Larcher de Brito. She did not start well. In her first 2 service games she made about 5 double faults and quickly went down 3-0. She is a bit of a brainless ball basher and just tries to hit every ball hard and close to the lines with a loud grunt. I did not once see Michelle attempt any other different shot, such as a dropshot, slice, lob, volley etc, all just topspin groundstrokes hard and towards the lines. As she's still young she doesn't even have a lot of power yet. Brianti played very smart, she sliced a lot and hit some excellent defensive shots. Brianti was actually in great form and will be hard to beat. Michelle has quite a temper and was throwing her racquet, hitting the balls in anger and shouting a lot. I suppose she can improve in the future and is still very good for a 15 year old but there are obvious deficiencies there.
Yup, this sounds like an exact description of what I saw of MLDB at Wimbledon in the qualies. Every ball hit as hard as she could, and even then the pace wasn't that great partly due to the unremitting heavy topspin, no variety, no thinking, and a very unengaging personality to boot. I wasn't at all impressed.
 
#10 ·
Wow, thank you soooo much for taking the time to write such great reports AND to download so many pics. :worship:
 
#19 ·
Saturday 17 January 2009 - Final round qualifying


Stephanie Dubois(CAN)[11] def. Urszula Radwanska(POL)[13] 6-4 6-4

I arrived to watch the latter stages of the first set and the start of the 2nd set. When I arrived it was 5-4 to Dubois who already had a break. She had the trainer out to receive treatment, I think on her ankle. When she came out to serve for the set she struggled a bit on serve and Radwanska definitely had chances at 0-30 but wasted her chances and Dubois held serve for the set. Steph then had the trainer again. Early in the 2nd set no one could hold their serve. Radwanska was playing really crap and missing a lot of shots, and she would yell at herself and carry on and get really upset every time she missed a shot.

Kimiko Date Krumm(JPN) def. Marija Mirkovic(AUS) 7-5 6-1

I was there for most of this match. This was the most highly attended match of the day. It was on Court 6 and the stands on both sides of the court were packed with people, it was as if it was a main draw match. Most of the crowd were there for Kimiko and she seemed to receive most of the support. Kimiko started really well and went up 3-0 very quickly. After that Mirkovic started to get into the match and won the next 2 games. Kimiko I think then was up 4-2 and made many UEs and Mirkovic was able to level it, then Kimiko broke and was serving for the match at 5-4 and after a very long game was broken for 5-5. All week Kimiko has been very nervous when closing out sets or matches and the first set here was no exception. She would play excellent tennis and then when she was in the lead she would make all sorts of simple errors. Anyway at 5-5 Kimiko regrouped to break and then hold to take the set 7-5. Mirkovic was not good enough to be able to capitalise on Kimiko's choking. The 2nd set was easy for Kimiko as Mirkovic seemed deflated from losing the first set and Kimiko closed out the match without too many problems. Overall Kimiko played a great 2nd set, in the 1st set she played well when the match was level but played poorly when she was up. Mirkovic played pretty well for her standard but framed a lot of balls and should have taken advantage of the period in the first set when Kimiko was choking and giving her loads of UEs.

Alberta Brianti(ITA) def. Vania King(USA)[10] 6-3 7-6(4)

All of the matches from this section of the draw were of great quality and this was no exception, being the last two standing from the toughest section. The match was very close and no one gave many free points away but Alberta was just a bit better than Vania in the end.

Viktoriya Kutuzova(UKR) def. Olga Puchkova(RUS) 7-5 7-5

These two had a lot of baseline rallies, Kutuzova was just a bit more consistent than Poutchkova when it counted. Poutchkova was making a lot of UEs like usual.

Karolina Sprem(CRO) def. Katalin Marosi(HUN)6-1 6-2

Sprem just played too well and overpowered Marosi, she just hit with so much pace and didn't make too many UEs, for her standard anyway. I am sure Sprem will be back to the top 50 if she keeps playing like this.

Melanie Oudin(USA) def. Lenka Wienerova(SVK)6-1 6-2

Oudin has been in good form and was hitting her big forehand well. Wienerova looks very skinny and didn't have any weapons to hurt Oudin.

Elena Baltacha(GBR)[19] def. Jelena Kostanic Tosic(CRO)[1] 6-1 6-3

I saw the last few games of this match. Kostanic looked to be playing very poorly and making way too many UEs. She couldn't handle Elena's balls which were staying low, and most of the time hit them out. Elena was really pumped up when she won, screaming out and pumping her fists.

Katie O'brien(GBR)def. Betina Jozami(ARG)[21] 6-0 7-6(2)

Watched most of the first set and Jozami was playing very poorly, making way too many UEs. Katie was so consistent as usual, and hardly made any errors. I left and came back to watch the end of the 2nd set, Jozami looked to have improved a little as she was hitting more balls into the court but it wasn't enough to overcome Katie who was just too good. Katie was so happy to win, she screamed with delight and after she shook hands she kept looking at her team with a look that said she could hardly believe it had happened. There were a few middle aged to old British men in the audience with passes, I think they were media, and after the match they were going on about how this would be a great year for British tennis lol.

Sesil Karatantcheva(BUL)[20] def. Varvara Lepchenko(USA)[6]6-4 6-0

I saw the last few games of this match. Lepchenko was just so crap, she wasn't even hitting with much power and most of her balls were in the bottom of the net. Sesil was pretty consistent but didn't really need to do too much. Apparently she was serving better than yesterday. Her loud Bulgarian fans were there again supporting her.
 
#25 ·
Great reports, thanks again :worship:
 
#28 ·
Really good reports Experimentee ! :D
I didn't find pics of Aiko Nakamura in your gallery
(but you said that you see a part of the match)
Maybe you have somme pics of her ? :rolleyes:
Thanks
 
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