A friend of mine expressed disenchantment with this years Aussie Open today. He said he felt it lacked a little something this year, a certain buzz or atmosphere. I can't say I agree with him.
He clearly didn't see the Baghdatis/Wawrinka match in which the crowd got so excited by the game and by Baghdatis smashing racket after racket that a few of them had to be removed. There's nothing like a late-night Aussie crowd filled with sunshine and booze to get the blood racing. Wawrinka came through that match eventually in five gruelling sets - yet another five-setter from the Open this year.
Yes, apart from Sam Stosur, there have been no massive shocks so far, but there have most definitely been minor shocks and fabulous matches. Tomic, everyone's 'dark horse' of the tournament, has been involved in some brilliant games - his five-setter against Dolgopolov, the 13th seed, which he won 4-6 7-6 7-6 2-6 6-3, was brilliant. I've never seen so many sliced shots in my life. Many people doubted Tomic's staying power in matches but he's proven his longevity with two going all the way and going his way.
Other seeds have dropped - Simon (13) beaten by compatriot Benneteau in five sets; Troicki (19) defeated by Kazakhstani's Kukushkin again in five sets; Roddick (15) retired against Hewitt after three sets (so much for my match of the tournament so far!); Kanepi (25) ousted by Russian Makarova; Cibulkova (17) beaten by little-known Hungarian Arn.
The big names are through. In the ladies Clijsters, the defending champion, is getting better and better and looking more comfortable as the competition goes on. Sharapova and Azarenka have barely lost a set between them on their paths to reach the final. Serena Williams and Kvitova look occasionally shaky but still very formidable and Agnieska Radwanska has been storming her way through the rounds like a woman possessed.
In the men's the big four are all safely through to the first weekend of the Open. Federer had a pretty tough encounter with Ivo Karlovic but squeezed out a 7-6 7-5 6-3 victory. Murray's progress has been smoother since his tough first round with a straight-forward win over Roger-Vasselin 6-1 6-4 6-4. Del Potro has been making steady progress and could cause an upset as we go further into the tournament. Ferrer and Tsonga have been quietly sliding through the rounds with little fuss or trouble.
I think there's a lot of drama to come. We're into the weekend now and round four. This is where the real business begins.
I'll keep you blogged...
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