Most of the matches televised today were routine drubbings. The matches that appeared to have drama weren't on the tube. All the day's title contenders won without incident.
Comeback of the Day
Radek Stepanek was cruising. He served for the match at 5-4 in the third set. But whether a choke, a back-up-against-the-wall wake-up call, or both, Vincent Spadea turned the match around and overcame the No. 30 seed 2-6, 2-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-3. Unfortunately, this revolution was not televised.
Vince was joined in the second round by Americans James Blake, Micheal Russell, who also needed five sets to advance, Sam Querrey, Amer Delic, and Venus Williams. Robert Kendrick, who lost to Delic, Rajeev Ram, John Isner, Vania King, Laura Gramling, and Meilen Tu weren't so lucky. But with nine American men and four women, five of whom are contenders for the title, moving into the second round, US tennis doesn't look too bad at the moment.
Upset Specials
When Top 10 players loses in the first round of a Slam it's a big upset. When that Top 10 player is Marion Bartoli, who's been called everything from a fluke to an imposter, it's considered an foregone conclusion.Sofia Arvidsson is a big woman with a big game, but she's been sidelined with injuries for much of her young career. She plays her best tennis on hardcourts while in many ways, Marion plays her worst. Not a good matchup in the early rounds of a Slam where the top players are most vulnerable. With strong serves and steady nerves, Sofia was able to rally to a 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-3 victory.
The day's other upsets include Sabine Lisicki over No. 16 seed Dinara Safina; qualifier Robin Haase over No. 17 seed Ivan Ljubicic; Ekaterina Makarova over No. 20 seed Agnes Szavay; Catalina Costano over No. 22 seed Lucie Safarova; and Spadea over Stepanek.
Daily Discovery
Feisty, fearless, fearsome, ferocious. Sorana Cirstea showed all of it in her straight set loss to Ana Ivanovic. And after bludgeoning her way to serving for the first set with backhands straight outta hell, Ivanovic had to hope for a crack in the Romanian's armor to avoid a three-set battle. Ana got her wish as the inexperienced 17-year-old playing her first Slam couldn't make a first serve and found herself on her back foot from the brute force of Ana's returns. If Sorana develops some mental toughness, and from the poise she exhibited in her Slam debut that's almost certain, she'll become a firecracker no one will want to play.
What Did You Say?
When asked about the surface change, Roger Federer said, "I think it's not good to change surfaces at the Grand Slams... They've changed the surface too many times in the last years here so they better keep this one for the next 50 years." Wonder if Tennis Australia feels the same.
The Last Picture Show
(All photos: AFP/Getty Images)
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