Day 8: Snoozefest

Tangerine was right. The Australian Open has returned to its mundaneness. In the only match that promised some drama, Lleyton Hewitt understandably had nothing left for Novak Djokovic, and despite leading a break in the first two sets, the Aussie's weaponless game couldn't hold up and he bowed out meekly to the No. 3 seed in straight sets. We'll never forget Superduper Saturday, but we'll have to wait till the quarterfinals before the volume increases again.

Flag Bearer



Congratulations to James Blake, the last American man standing, for making his first Slam quarterfinal outside of the States in his career. Here's hoping he calls Janko Tipsarevic and simply listens.

Gagging

Tomas Berdych, Nadia Petrova, and Maria Kirilenko showed once again why they never have and likely never will win anything of import.

Berdych couldn't convert three set points against Roger Federer, even though he had three shortballs on the forehand that he refused to hit into the court. Someone suggested that Tomas and Tamira Paszek should go party together. I said they would miss the party.

Nadia was up 5-4 in the second set agasint Russian killer Agnieszka Radwanska before a total collapse of the brain, losing the last 9 games of the match.

MariaK was up a 6-1, 3-1, 30-0 against Daniela Hantuchova before she started to double fault and hit balls out just because. And here I thought the fire in her eyes and the spunk in her wlak meant she might finally do something in women's tennis.

All of them need to find new jobs. It's an absolute disgrace for professionals who've been in the game as long as they have to continue such nonsense on the court.

Daily Discovery



Poland's Marta Domachowska played Venus Williams as though her life depending on it. The 22-year-old who was rising in the ranks a few years ago was sidetracked by personal crises. But the qualifier powered through 6 matches to get her moment in the sun against Venus in the round of 16 and she surely made the most of it.

Celebrity Sighting



Australian actress Nicole Kidman shares a laugh with her husband, singer Keith Urban, during the Hewitt match on Rod Laver Arena last night.