Roger Federer of Switzerland serves in his third round match against Albert Montanes of Spain during day six of the 2010 Australian Open.Clive Brunskill
The middle Sunday of a Grand Slam tournament is always a convenient time to look at where things stand in the men's and women's events.
One of the regrettable, but unavoidable, things about an elimination draw is that the numbers dwindle down to a desperate few in terms of matches in the second week.
There were a total of 254 men's and women's matches to play when the event began on Monday the 18th, and by the end of today, Sunday the 24th, there will remain just 22 until the champions are crowned next weekend.
A quick look at the top half of the men's draw, not in action today, and things look promising for the round-of-16 matches on Monday - Federer v. Hewitt, Davydenko v. Verdasco, Djokovic v. Kubot ("Novak Djokovic 'come on down'") and Tsonga v. Almagro.
In the women's top half, it will be Serena v. Stosur, Zvonareva v. Azarenka, Wozniacki v. Li and Schiavone v. Venus.
Potentially, there are two neat quarter-finals there, with the up-and-coming Azarenka and Wozniacki playing Serena and Venus respectively, in a bid to spoil the No. 1 seed Serena v. the No. 6 Venus encounter in the semi-finals.
As for the men, if the results go according to the seedings, the quarter-finals on Wednesday could be Federer v. Davydenko and Djokovic v. Tsonga. It doesn't get much better than that. But Federer better be vigilant against Hewitt on Monday. He may have won the last 14 meetings with the Aussie dating back to 2003, and he may never have lost to him in a Grand Slam event, but that can sometimes be when the shock result occurs.
The feisty Hewitt will have a partisan crowd on his side. As well, his brief appearance in Saturday's third-round match against Marcos Baghdatis (the Cypriot retired with an arm problem trailing 6-0, 4-2) should give Hewitt all the physical reserves he needs for taking on Federer.
Davydenko will play Verdasco, riding a 12-match winning streak stretching back through a win in Qatar two weeks ago and his victory at the year-end ATP World Tour Finals in London last November.
The oft-forgotten Russian has been nowhere near Rod Laver Arena so far but realizes it could be in his near future. "I know if I reach the quarter-final, I play centre (court)," the laconic, droll Davydenko said. His opponent there would be Federer, or Hewitt.
All and all, it has been a good first week of the tournament, with the retirement of Baghdatis on Saturday night providing a bit of a downer from the theatrical point of view. It was also a blow to have Maria Sharapova and Kim Clijsters depart prematurely but the depth of the women's field has cushioned the blow. The Sunday night match between Justine Henin and her compatriot Yanina Wickmayer could have a dramatic effect on the dynamics of the rest of the tournament. Both have physical ails, Henin general fatigue and stiffness, and Wickmayer a tight back.
If Wickmayer wins, and she is a big-time ball-striker, it would reduce the proven quantities in the women's event to just Serena, Venus and Svetlana Kuznetsova.
NOTES: House prices in the Melbourne middle-class suburb of Burwood rose
$1652 (Aus) a day in the last three months of 2009, up to an average of $810,000. Nice to stay home, put the feet up, have a couple of Fosters or James Hoags, and watch the value of your four walls go through the roof.
Also, with Australia's export economy largely resource-based like Canada, it imports a lot of goods in return. Australia Day is coming up on Tuesday, January 26, and reader Brian Rockliff wrote in Saturday's Herald Sun newspaper: "CAN'T wait to celebrate Australia Day. I'll put on my Aussie jocks (underwear), thongs (flip flops) and cap, all made in China, and start up my Chinese-made barbecue. The only thing truly Aussie will be the lamb chops."