Un-Australianism

My wish (and prediction) has come true. It's a Tursunov vs. Guccione final. And I'm going.

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And I'm going for Tursunov.

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'Un-Australianism' is a very prevalent concept in Australia. It gets thrown round jokingly all the time - 'it's un-Australian not to eat Vegemite,' 'it's un-Australian not to like John Williamson,' 'it's un-Australian not to throw another shrimp on the barbie, mate.' It's certainly un-Australian not to follow the Australian cricket team - and it's probably un-Australian not to support other Australian teams and sportsmen as well.

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So, by that reckoning, I suppose I'm being un-Australian - but for me, tennis has nothing to do with nationality. It's all about personality.

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That isn't to deprecate Guccione's personality. He seems like a really nice guy. I've been gunning for him in all his matches this week - especially in his match against Lleyton Hewitt - and he's lovely. He's just a genuinely nice bloke. And I think that, as he plays more and more tennis on the ATP circuit, he has the potential to be a real force to be reckoned with. At the moment, his game is a bit one-sided - it relies very heavily on his massive first serve - but it's working for him. He's shown shades of brilliance as a serve-and-volley player - he knows how to use his wingspan at the net, though he could probably try and make himself a bit more intimidating! But, on the whole, I like the Gooch, and I think he has a great future ahead of him in tennis.

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But the thing is... he just ain't Dmitry.

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Dmitry Tursunov, if you ask me, is one of the great personalities of the modern game. On top of that, he's probably one of the best players people have never heard of. He's very underrated - and he's just so damn funny!

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It seems to happen every year at the Australian Open - the Australian public picks a player to adopt and cheer for. The most obvious example of this was a few years ago, when Marcos Baghdatis made his run to the Australian Open final. (Great win for him yesterday at Kooyong incidentally - though I'm not sure exactly what game Fernando Gonzalez thought he was playing, because it sure wasn't tennis.) All of Australia loved him! I cheered for him myself - until he got to the final, where my affections obviously lay with the amazing Roger F. But it got so out of hand that I think the premier of Victoria offered Baghdatis Australian citizenship at one point.

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If he plays well enough, I think Dmitry has the potential to be this year's Marcos. He already made a bit of a mark in Australia at Hopman Cup last year - the mixed doubles, oh, the mixed doubles! - and he's just such a funny guy. Who wouldn't love him?

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Though I am a bit torn, I have to say - because he's in the same half of the draw as Roger Federer. Dmitry's amazing run is only going to be permitted to last until he runs into my Number One. He can make it to the semi, but no further. But there's still a number of great victories he could have on the way! He's playing Xavier Malisse in the first round - which could be a tricky match up, but I have no doubt he can win - then either Querrey or the little Rochus in the second, with a potential Djokovic in the third. Oh, wouldn't I love Dmitry to take out Djokovic...

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But first thing's first. First, there's Guccione tonight.

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I will be there.

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Today's Results

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Medibank International (Sydney)

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Men's Draw

Dmitry Tursunov def. Fabrice Santoro, 6-3 7-6 (7-4)

Chris Guccione def. Radek Stepanek, 7-6 (7-5) 3-6 6-4

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Women's Draw

Justine Henin def. Svetlana Kuznetsova, 4-6 6-2 6-4

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AAMI Classic (Kooyong)

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Marcos Baghdatis def. Fernando Gonzalez, 6-2 7-5

Andy Murray def. Brydan Klein, 6-2 7-6 (7-4_

Nikolay Davydenko def. Ivan Ljubicic, 6-0 7-6 (7-1)

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Heineken Open (Auckland)

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Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Juan Monaco, 6-2 6-1

Juan Carlos Ferrero def. Julien Benneteau, 6-3 6-4

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Moorilla Hobart International ( Hobart)

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Eleni Daniilidou def. Vera Zvonareva, walkover