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Brian Swartz · 08-13-2018, 08:51 PM

Australian Open

The first Slam of the year twas quite the shindig. On the first day, (29)Serge Cardone of France was the first seed to fall, in four to Russian Alexey Artamov. Spaniards Cortina and Abanades barely survived, each being pushed the distance. The worst day belonged to (15)Stanley Edleman, summarily dismissed in three sets by Sweden's Ali Soiberg. A couple more low seeds departed as usual in the second round, along with 8th-ranked Chinaglia, courtesy of Nintau Ariyuntanaka, the fast-rising Thai player.

And then in round of 32 things really started getting crazy. (10)Brian Meikeljohn found an early exit thanks to Castegali, while former Top-100 teenager Jorgen Henriksson had a very, very long day before marking his first significant upset on the senior tour. 11th-ranked Kenneth Brasher was the victim, 12-10 in the 5th of this epic match. Hughes and Chiba both needed a 5th as well to advance, and there were more relatively minor upsets.

The young Swede had another long day in the fourth round, but this time Seamus Hughes stopped him, in his second straight five-setter, 9-7 in the 5th. Those two wins will really stoke the young Irish player's fortunes. In a rematch of a recent encounter, John Hart met Sushant Chiba in the match of the day. I expected another close win for my guy, given that Hart was playing doubles as well and was therefore not in optimal form. I was wrong; 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-7(1), 7-6(8), 6-4 was the final as Chiba blew an excellent opportunity to finish this one off in that fourth-set tiebreak. After 56 combined aces and 380 points, it was clear that my warning not too long ago was correct; the Irish are coming.

The top four all made the quarterfinals, but none of the next four did. First up, Seamus Hughes had five-set match number three in a row, but this one eventually ended on the short end against none other than K. Kaspar. Hugo Cordova departed in three close ones against Sbai, John Hart pushed the 'other Kaspar' the distance as well but also lost, and Jacek Andrejova, the young Czech who was the lowest-ranked in the round at #23, lost a competitive if routine encounter to Dudwadkar.

So after all that, Top 4 still hanging around. And then a stunning 6-2, 6-4, 6-3 scoreline as Karl Kaspar was informed he can no longer be comfortable at the top in a beatdown by Sbai. Ritwik Dudwadkar started slow against Mateo Kaspar with a first-set breadstick, then pushed him to two tiebreaks but couldn't win either. Hamal Sbai, at age 28, then faced the former King in what was the first Slam final of his career … and Mateo's 38th. That may have played just a bit of a role in the 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(8) score that gave Kaspar the Elder his 31st Slam crown … and made him the oldest ever to win one at 32 years, 20 weeks. Hey look, it's another record. He lost only two sets … both to Hart. Just sayin'.

08-13-2018, 08:51 PM	#845
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	Australian Open The first Slam of the year twas quite the shindig. On the first day, (29)Serge Cardone of France was the first seed to fall, in four to Russian Alexey Artamov. Spaniards Cortina and Abanades barely survived, each being pushed the distance. The worst day belonged to (15)Stanley Edleman, summarily dismissed in three sets by Sweden's Ali Soiberg. A couple more low seeds departed as usual in the second round, along with 8th-ranked Chinaglia, courtesy of Nintau Ariyuntanaka, the fast-rising Thai player. And then in round of 32 things really started getting crazy. (10)Brian Meikeljohn found an early exit thanks to Castegali, while former Top-100 teenager Jorgen Henriksson had a very, very long day before marking his first significant upset on the senior tour. 11th-ranked Kenneth Brasher was the victim, 12-10 in the 5th of this epic match. Hughes and Chiba both needed a 5th as well to advance, and there were more relatively minor upsets. The young Swede had another long day in the fourth round, but this time Seamus Hughes stopped him, in his second straight five-setter, 9-7 in the 5th. Those two wins will really stoke the young Irish player's fortunes. In a rematch of a recent encounter, John Hart met Sushant Chiba in the match of the day. I expected another close win for my guy, given that Hart was playing doubles as well and was therefore not in optimal form. I was wrong; 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-7(1), 7-6(8), 6-4 was the final as Chiba blew an excellent opportunity to finish this one off in that fourth-set tiebreak. After 56 combined aces and 380 points, it was clear that my warning not too long ago was correct; the Irish are coming. The top four all made the quarterfinals, but none of the next four did. First up, Seamus Hughes had five-set match number three in a row, but this one eventually ended on the short end against none other than K. Kaspar. Hugo Cordova departed in three close ones against Sbai, John Hart pushed the 'other Kaspar' the distance as well but also lost, and Jacek Andrejova, the young Czech who was the lowest-ranked in the round at #23, lost a competitive if routine encounter to Dudwadkar. So after all that, Top 4 still hanging around. And then a stunning 6-2, 6-4, 6-3 scoreline as Karl Kaspar was informed he can no longer be comfortable at the top in a beatdown by Sbai. Ritwik Dudwadkar started slow against Mateo Kaspar with a first-set breadstick, then pushed him to two tiebreaks but couldn't win either. Hamal Sbai, at age 28, then faced the former King in what was the first Slam final of his career … and Mateo's 38th. That may have played just a bit of a role in the 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(8) score that gave Kaspar the Elder his 31st Slam crown … and made him the oldest ever to win one at 32 years, 20 weeks. Hey look, it's another record. He lost only two sets … both to Hart. Just sayin'. Last edited by Brian Swartz : 08-13-2018 at 08:51 PM.