[Brian Swartz]

Australian Open

The early rounds were not kind to a number of Anilophiles.

Tommy Fitzpatrick was a wild-card entry, bowing out to Dogic in three sets. He kept it close for the first one, but had little left for the rest of the match. (21)Clavet Moniotte and Willy Weigl matched up, Moniotte the expected winner in a routine three. (30)Algot Hakanson had an epic first-rounder, ultimately losing out 11-9 in the 5th to recent upset specialist Nintau Ariyanuntaka. And finally there was Sri Lanka standard-bearer (15) Sushant Chiba, rudely dismissed by American Gregory Gulley. 9-7 in the 5th there but the match was not really that close. Gulley came in as one of the highest-ranked spoilers in the draw, and ended up playing that role well.

All of that was in the first round. In the second, Joao Narcisco was unable to celebrate having made it past the initial hurdle for the second time in his career for long, running into Mathou who dropped him in a competitive four-set match; the Brazilian took the first set but couldn't keep up the pressure. Helmut Edlund did well to get that far also but became Moniotte's latest victim, while (7) Isa Solheim became the first one of the top players to fall. That was courtesy of a close three-set defeat to Mexico's Gullermo Valturri, another player in that top-spoilers category.

In the third, Hart lost a set for the first time - almost did in his previous match - but advanced past Gonzoles in four. Another tough out for the Argentine. Amrik Kasaravalli progressed smoothly to this point, and got his shot at Gulley. It ended precisely the same way as Chiba's ... the American takes it 9-7 in the 5th. And once again it shouldn't have been that close, though Amrik did better than Sushant did. Should have been basically an even match by my estimation. It was beyond annoying for me to watch both of them go out in this manner to the same freaking guy. de Jong knocked out (8) Calisto Aviles as high seeds continued to drop and the Spaniard continues to show he doesn't have the goods off clay. Argentina could also celebrate, as merely their fourth-best player Velilla stunned (3) Srba Dogic in a four-set match. So much for him continuing where he left off on hard courts. Moniotte finally met his end in a topsy-turvy five-setter against Lucas Perez, while (4) Ali Solberg bit the dust prematurely, going the distance against Balzer before faltering.

The fourth round began with half of the top eight players already history. Let the chaos reign! Only about a third of the third-round matches ended in straight sets - things were getting pretty rough out there. Gulley went down but hard, getting only a single game off of Hart. Emilien Mathou was knocked out arguably early in four sets against de Jong, while a real changing of the guard moment happened as (6) Barry Molyneaux was eliminated by Wentz, 6-4, 4-6, 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-4. L. Perez was taken down in straight sets, one tiebreak, by the better-known Perez ... who still hasn't lost a set. The rest were expected results, but Hughes got all he could handle against Mike Rhodes who took him the distance including three tiebreaks.

The second week arrived with five of the final eight coming in 10th or lower in the seedings. The power couple and Hughes were the exceptions rather than the rule. Tim de Jong was the second player to get a set off the world no. 1, but could do no better than that. Harald Wentz and Jung staged a true epic, eventually won by the Korean 7-6(1), 5-7, 4-6, 7-6(6), 12-10! We may well see more of those two standouts bashing up against each other in the future, and both definitely bettered themselves here. Ollie Haas gave Perez more a fight than anyone else, but still lost in straights, while the road ended here for (5)Seamus Hughes in a statement win by Mpakati, who stopped the Irish bridesmaid in a close four.

There was a titan against a surprise in both semifinals then. In the first match though, youth was served for sure as John Hart was stunned 6-3, 7-6(5), 7-5 by Jung. Not a shock that he lost, but in three sets it certainly was. Meanwhile Chisulo Mpakati waved good-bye in a trio of 6-3 sets against the seemingly unstoppable Perez. 14th-seeded Il-Sung Jung then took his shot at the defending AO champion. For the first time in his career, Jung seemed to be living up to his potential. And he gave it a real shot, rallying to force a 5th set after losing the first two ... but for the second year in a row Nicolas Perez claims an epic Australian crown after an 8-6 5th set. Only 7 of 27 on BPs, he should have had this one easier, four sets at most, much like the rest of the tournament. It almost slipped away ... but most importantly, it didn't. With the victory and Hart's SF loss, he creeps closer to the #1 but doesn't quite get there, while Jung and Mpakati both leap into the Top 10. Most of those who were already there didn't fare well. Hughes is up to a career-high #3 again, but well under a thousand points separates him from eighth position. I think this is the first time I've ever seen #3 with less than 5000 points.

I didn't mention my young players, because I had Chittoor/Guha practice this week. It was a close call - might have been able to qualify in doubles but it would have been tough, Chittoor would have gone directly to the first round and been a quick exit almost certainly, and there were just enough decent players to get a practice week in.