Tennis Chatter

A strong wind fanned the Rod Laver Arena on Day 3 of the Australian Open.

Last year’s finalist Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis, yes, the one who pushed eventual champion Roger Federer to four sets, the one with rowdy loyalists in every match, the one with infectious smile just exited in the second round of the Australian Open. The executioner? Twenty-year old unseeded Frenchman Gael Monfils.

Monfils has been touted as one of the young guns rising in men’s tennis. He is currently training at the Bollettieri Academy in Florida and it greatly seemed to pay off with his excellent display of athleticism. He is outrageously expressive (see right photo and memorize that expression because it will be replicated for years) and lanky! One is afraid for him to break each time he slides. He looks like … like a marionette!…only with brains. His footwork has improved and he seemed like Plastic Man with his endless arms retrieving those balls.

Eleventh seed Marcos Baghdatis on the other hand had little to smile about since he could not seem to solve the French puzzle in front of him. Monfils called a trainer for an injured foot before the fourth set after Baghdatis bagged the third. All that meant nothing because Monfils just came back firing with the same level of confidence shutting out The Bagh in the fourth set to claim the match 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 2-6 6-0 and the best moment of his tennis life.

The most awaited match so far is a possible fourth round meeting between the fourteenth seed, very confident, talented young gun Serbian Novak Djokovic and the Swiss maestro Roger Federer. That would be quite a study in contrast. Let’s hope Djokovic, who defeated Spaniard Feliciano Lopez, would not invoke the right to be injured the exact moment he is cornered. The Swiss, who easily disposed of Jonas Bjorkman, will be tested on this match so it is worth the wait.