Your Call, 1.17
Morning, all.
Well, the table is pretty much set for the first GS tournament of 2009. Although it hasn't had the heft of the US Open series or the European clay court season, the run of tournaments before the Australian Open has involved most of the challengers for singles titles, and (to me at least) it feels like the season is already under way.
On the WTA side, top seed Jelena Jankovic starts the season as last year's men's top seed did, 0-0 after illness. Her compatriot Ana Ivanovic has one tournament under her belt, coming up short to Amelie Mauresmo in the Brisbane QF.
Serena Williams has also yet to win a title in 2009, but the shy 27-year old American allowed herself to be drawn out on her chances going into the event:
"I would feel weird sitting here saying I'm not the best," said a relaxed and fit-looking Williams, who won the last Grand Slam, the U.S. Open, in September while briefly regaining the top ranking. "Even if I'm ranked 100 in the world, I would sit here and say I'm the best player.
"Nothing against Jankovic. She went out in the fall and worked hard and got the No. 1 ranking. I feel like I'm the best just because I'm not going to sit here and say anyone is better than me. I shouldn't be in tennis if I felt that way."
On the ATP side, each of the Big 4 have played in at least one warm up tournament. Defending champion Novak Djokovic has played two, in Brisbane and Sydney. Djokovic has picked up a new racquet for the season, somewhat to the bemusement of his fellow professionals.
Andy Murray continues to give the British press hope that a decades long major title drought is about to end. Should he meet Roger Federer in the Men's final, someone is sure to bring up this snippet from Murray's pre-tournament interview:
Q. Federer came in the other day and he said he didn't think you should be favorite for the tournament because you hadn't previously won a Grand Slam event. ****
ANDY MURRAY: Yeah.
Q. What's your reaction to that?
ANDY MURRAY: Well, I mean, I don't have a problem whether I'm a favorite or not. You know, I guess Roger would prefer to be favorite himself. That's absolutely fine.
Enjoy all tennis related activities. We'll be in Crisis Center mode for the next two weeks, with daily posting duties mostly handled by Rosangel, and lots of red meat from Pete. Oh, and if you have a chance to see a movie this weekend, Slumdog Millionaire is worth a few pennies.
-- Andrew Burton