28 Jan Fightback

Amazing comeback from Penne/Dulko from a set and 1-4 down to win, saving some match points on the way. Quite a meltdown from Azarenka in the final set, and to a lesser extent Kirilenko. Sometimes an extreme will to win can seem to work against a player.

Tomorrow's final looks very keenly priced and I'll probably just watch. After that, there's no more until the Fed Cup next weekend. Some interesting ties, especially Aus vs Italy, Stosur and Groth vs Penne and Schiavone.

27 Jan How many million viewers on Saturday?

With Li Na making the final it could be the most watched women's tennis match ever! The sheer scale of China is hard to grasp - mind boggling numbers - and it will be in a nice timeslot for their tv audience.

Li Na's PR people are certainly doing a good job on her image and post-match interviews and press conferences. I don't buy the line that they've got better as her English improved. She studied at Uni in the USA for 2 years and she's been on the tour for 12 years. More likely now that her profile has skyrocketed her management company decided to invest in a tame scriptwriter to give her some nice one-liners.

I managed to spaff away some large chunks of green on the Li Na and Fed matches by fiddling about. And I was never green on the Bepa match. Very impressive the way Clijsters has stepped up the gears as required - the wily Slam competitor.


My sleep patterns have been all over the shop for weeks now, but I was awake enough to play a few footie matches last night, so still ended the day in profit, thankfully!

26 Jan Wet dream final

Both favs in the singles won, though both had minor splutters along the way. I had thought Rads had a chance vs Clijsters but although she fought back a bit 2nd set Clijsters was just good enough. Not sure Clijsters deserves to be fav for the sf, and so short too.


We also have a marketing dream doubles final, with Azarenka/Kirilenko vs Pennetta/Dulko, four of the hottest babes on the tour. As predicted, my bigging up of Srebotnik proved to be fatal for her!

25 Jan Doubles r us

There's seldom markets or live streams for the doubles, but Melbourne has seen several. Now that the number of matches has dropped off it was worth having a look at them, and it paid off handsomely.

I've always been a fan of Srebotnik - fantastic hands. Seems injury has curtailed her singles career and she now concentrates on doubles. Probably put the curse on her now by suggesting her partnership is worth following! They have got a tough matchup tonight vs Azarenka/Kirilenko.

Had a big early green on Petkovic, but stupidly didn't cash it in. Couldn't pull the trigger at any time during the Woz - Fran match. Woz has this nasty habit of comebacks and Fran had question marks over her due to her very long match 2 days ago. But at the same time, Fran was playing so very well.

Also got suckered into a small lay of Fed dammit.


Sad to see news about Rezai having a family member suspended by the WTA "because of a serious safety matter affecting her health and well being". People criticising a player for significantly poor performance would do well to remember there may often be a lot more to it than meets the eye. Let's hope it all gets resolved satisfactorily.