Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro kept his Australian Open hopes alive by defeating a tenacious James Blake in a classic five-set marathon.The fourth seed won a gruelling final set 10-8 after earlier trailing by two sets to one. While the match will go down as one of the best of the tournament, Del Potro was lucky to escape.
Take nothing away from Blake. He's a fierce competitor and an intelligent player, but Del Potro is a better player right now and he was far from convincing today. It now has me doubting whether Del Potro is good enough to compete with the likes of Rafael Nadal, Andy Roddick and Andy Murray, who all cruised through their second round matches in straight sets.
While I still believe Del Potro has the potential to win the championship, his first two wins - a four setter and a five setter- certainly haven't done is fourth ranking any justice.
On the women's side of the draw, all of the top seeds advanced to the third round with ease, highlighted by Kim Clijsters. The U.S. champion was solid in her 6-3, 6-3 victory, but she knows that she can play at a higher standard. Watch out if Kim gets it right!
Justine Henin continued her dream comeback to tennis, defeating an Elena Dementieva in two long sets. Dementieva was unlucky to draw Henin, who is unseeded due to a lack of recent tournaments. The Russian is still yet to win a Grand Slam, but her record of 45 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments is an incredible effort and well worthy of some recognition.
No comments:
Post a Comment