Players feel the heat even with Open roof closed
extended medical time-out – be it six minutes or six months – is looking surprisingly sluggish after early losses in the wake of his recent appendix operation. The ‘Comeback Kid’ may have a bridge too far to negotiate on this occasion.
No 1 seed Novak Djokovic, who has had bad luck in contracting viral attacks at vital stages of tournaments, yet more typically soldiers through – even if it means vomiting on court (as he did against Nadal in the last French Open final) – obviously has something seriously wrong and may battle to get out of the starting blocks.
US Open champion Marin Cilic has again been shot down through shoulder injury, depriving him of another chance to prove that he wasn’t a one-day wonder.
Local hero Bernard Tomic is proving the apple never falls far from the tree and has shot himself in the foot cavorting at night clubs – a la his head-butting father – which won’t be great for the Australian mind or his media backing.
Nick Kyrgios, the other Australian hopeful, is nursing a bad knee, while missile-serving Ukraine giant Alexandr Dolgopolov has scratched.
On the women’s side, defending Australian Open champion Li Na has exited the game; two-time champion Victoria Azarenka has crashed out of the world’s top 10 for the first time in almost a decade; and even rock-solid Serena Williams – or “Rena” as she now prefers calling herself – had to call for a cup of coffee mid-match in the first round at Perth to wake herself up from jet lag because she couldn’t focus on the ball …
I was afraid the great Roger Federer had also cooked his Christmas goose when he was forced to retire from the ATP World Tour Final with a bad back on the eve of the Davis Cup final against France – the crocked Swiss No 1 literally couldn’t move a muscle against Gael Monfils in the first rubber but made a brilliant recovery in his next singles match against Richard Gasquet to secure the trophy for Switzerland for the first time.
On a more positive New Year note, he hasn’t looked back since, winning not only his 1 000th career tour match but also the Brisbane Open. Federer was on the brink of regaining the No 1 ranking in 2014 and remains in attack mode, doing well to keep the much-improved Canadian Milos Raonic at bay in the final.
Swiss No 2 and defending Australian champion Stan Wawrinka had a disappointing 2014 in between a brilliant beginning, breaking through a mental barrier by beating Nadal and ending with a grand crescendo by winning the Davis Cup. But ‘Stanimal’ is going to have to win more big matches more often to keep pace with his record-breaking teammate.
Meanwhile, Raonic, who has long posed a threat with his bionic serve, has learned the meaning of consis- tency. His serving against Federer was flawless in Brisbane and he can thank his coach Ivan Ljubicic, a big ground-stroker, whose technical influence is now paying off for him. Raonic is serving like a machine, hitting his ground-strokes more powerfully and – taking a leaf out of Federer’s book – coming in to net behind them to penetrating effect.
In fact, the Canadian flag is currently flying as high as the French Tricolore, with Genie Bouchard (whom I lost interest in post-Wimbledon) and Raonic seeded seventh and eighth respectively in Melbourne.
Another good news story is the return of former US Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro, who after a 10-month absence due to wrist