Surprise Party

Wow. WOW. I did not expect this coming - and neither, I think, did anyone ekse vaguely interested in the December Showdown for the AO Wildcard. Olivia Rogowska and Marinko Matosevic have won the wildcards, leaving their higher ranked and better known opponents to hope and pray for a discretionary one.

Let's start with Olivia. What a stellar effort. It would have had something of the fairy tale about it to see Dokic win, but can a spirited comeback like the one Rogowska pulled off be denied? She came back from a crushing in the first set and two match points down to win the second and then the third sets of this match. And she has served notice now - she will take on anyone.

I think Rogowska is best known for the time that she took on then-#1 Dinara Safina in the first round of the US Open and very nearly won. Although she's had some good results - like that one - she never seems to have really captured the imagination of the Australian public. For her sake, I hope she manages to go a few rounds at the Open, because as Casey Dellacqua and Jelena Dokic have shown us, there is no surer way to become a national darling than a win a couple of matches in Melbourne in January.

As for the defeated Dokic? She'll be okay. You'd get long odds if you bet she wouldn't get a discretionary wildcard. (Double neg for the win!)

Now. Dudes. Marinko Matosevic, how about you? Five set long haul and you came out on top, beating Peter Luczak (who is no slouch). This is a big, big win, and will see Matosevic going straight into the main draw. My hopes for him are pretty much identical to my hopes for Rogowska - win a match or two, raise your profile. Profile can almost be as important a weapon as a forehand sometimes - if you can get a crowd behind you, create a little fear in an opponent's mind... that can work wonders. Matosevic doesn't have that yet - but, as Luczak would surely know, he's well on his way to earning it.

The Jelena Smackdown

It does not take a stretch of the imagination to see that Jelena Dokic is looking dangerous.

Oh, I don't mean that she's going to make some fairy tale comeback and win the Australian Open or anything, but... well, we all remember 2009. You just never know what is possible with Jelena - she's out injured or sick or whatever so often that there is no real sense of what she can do. We just haven't seen it yet.

I don't think anyone was expecting Dokic to steamroll Molik the way she did - least of all Molik. I saw a little of this match on the livestream - not much, but enough to tell that Molik was looking seriously shellshocked. Dokic took her and smacked her down like the hand of God, and there was absolutely nothing Molik could do about it.

She'll face Olivia Rogowska, who overcame a vaguely injured seeming Sophie Ferguson, and you have to put your money on Dokic here. Sure, she might suffer a bit of a slump, but what we do know about Jelena is that she is determined like whoa. You'd have to wake up very early in the morning to out grit Ms Dokic.

Over in the dudes, Peter Luczak overcame Matt Ebden and Marinko Matosevic beat Adam Feeney, and now these two will final it up. I really like Luczak - he seems like a nice bloke - and I don't know very much about Matosevic... which is why, I think, I'm going for him. Luczak has an awesome shot at a wildcard. Matosevic could get swept under the rug pretty easily.

...Rest Day?

So... I think there was a rest day at the Showdown. Or I missed alllllllll the matches. It certainly wasn't the semis, anyway.

So more Showdown tomorrow, when I have more to say!

Hit Me With Your Best Shot

Wow! Suddenly it's the semis of the December Showdown! That happened with a speed I was not prepared for!

The blockbuster semi is, of course, Dokic vs Molik. It's a shame that they're not on opposite sides of the draw, or this could be a final, but sadly it hasn't played out that way. Nonetheless, this match should be an awesome one. I can't remember the last time these two girls played, and I think it's going to be very interesting to see which one comes out on top. I fully expect them both to get carded into the Open anyway, but that does not make this match any less interesting.

This is not to say, though, that whoever wins this match wins the wildcard. Both Dokic and Molik went three sets in their last matches, so clearly neither is in OMG DOMINATION mode right now... though those cylinders could fire up at any moment! Whichever one gets to the final will have their work cut out against Sophie Ferguson or Olivia Rogowska.

In the dudes, James Duckworth is out, which makes me sad, because he's a bit cool. He was knocked out by Marinko Matosevic, who will face Ball-conquering Adam Feeney. You'd like Matosevic to win this one - he is the second seed - but you never know. This said, Matosevic has been coming through the tournament quietly... I kind of really hope he gets the card here, actually, because he doesn't seem to have made the name for himself that some of the other players have. Peter Luczak and Matt Ebden will face off in the other semi. You can pretty much bet Luczak will get carded in, and Ebden will have a pretty good shot, but Matosevic seems to be under-the-radar man. This could be his best shot.

No More. Shut Up. Yes, You, Bernard.

Day 2 of the December Showdown, and the attention is all off court rather than on - focused on Bernard Tomic, who pulled out because of illness and now is reportedly practicing somewhere in Queensland, confident of getting one of Tennis Australia's wildcards into the main draw.

I'm a little torn here. Most of me wants to prove the little f^&*er wrong and yell DON'T GIVE HIM A WILDCARD, TENNIS AUSTRALIA! NO NO NO NO NO! But then the other part of me is like... don't give him any more attention. Do we really need another Bernard Tomic scandal? Card him in, shut him up, and for heaven's sake, don't put him on Rod Laver Arena at night when I could be watching a real player.

So let's not talk about him. Let's talk about actual tennis instead.

Dokic and Molik both came through, which is to be expected. So did Rogowska and Ferguson and the other minor challengers - except for Isabella Holland, who was put in her place by Monika Wejnert. I didn't see the match, but I've followed Wejnert for a few years now, and it would totally tickle me pink if she got the wildcard!

In the dudes, Luczak is through - of course - as are Ebden and Jones and Groth (husband of Jarka) - but in a bit of a surprise, John Millman went down to James Duckworth, who is a real up and comer, and in a MASSIVE surprise, Carsten Ball went down to Adam Feeney. The men's tournament is, I believe, knock out, which means Ball cannot get this wildcard. I would not be surprised if he got A wildcard - he's done his Davis Cup duty pretty well - but this is a bad loss for him. I don't know if there were any extenuating circumstances, but he must be pretty down on himself...

A Kind Of Magic

The December Showdown has begun! It seems a little strange to get so involved in what is just a playoff for one of the 128 spots on offer in the Australian Open draw... but then the showdown is wonderful fun.

The real question seems to be whether Jelena Dokic or Alicia Molik will be the one to get the wildcard. I think you can probably bet your bottom dollar that both would be carded in anyway - they are big names - so I certainly won't be unhappy if one of the many other girls in the draw pulls through. But Dokic and Molik did both have good wins yesterday and looking hot. That would be a bit of a drawcard final!

If I had to pick, I think I'd throw my cap into the Dokic corner, purely for emotional reasons. When she won the playoff a couple of years ago she went into the Open and won her way into the quarters - wasn't that a story? I don't expect we'll ever see the like of that again but it would be lovely to see the circumstances mirrored, so to speak. There might be a kind of magic in that.

Meanwhile, I'm a little surprised at the names in action in the men's draw. Peter Luczak? I suppose with his ranking he doesn't qualify for direct entry - which is an enormous shame, because he managed to get it up so high there for a while. And Marinko Matosevic and Carsten Ball as well... I suppose it's just indicative of the fact that there is only one player for whom entry is a guarantee that is Hewitt. Everyone has to throw their cards in. Everyone has to play. We've been so spoiled on the women's side with Stosur and Groth and whatnot that we forget this a bit.

Anyway, I wish I could say something about the actual tennis, but not having seen any of it, I can't. I will say this, however - fourteen year old Ashleigh Barty, I hope you play some awesome stuff out there. I always have a soft spot for the young 'uns!

Advent

Hola, my reader friends! As you know, December is a bit of a quiet month in the tennis world - but the December Showdown starts today, and our coverage of it will start tomorrow. Well, when I say 'coverage', I mean, 'me talking about matches I didn't actually see', but I'm sure we can make something out of that.

So yes. This is going to be a short one today, due to lack of content.

But a few quick words on the Hopman Cup - a few months ago, they had such a sweet line up, and now they're dropping like flies. First we lost Serena, who's been replaced by Bethanie Mattek-Sands; then Steve Darcis, who has been replaced by Ruben Bemelmans (he who played Lleyton pretty tight in Davis Cup); and now Gael Monfils has got all injured.

I heartily approve of his replacement, though. Nicolas Mahut and Kristina Mladenovic might not stand a great chance of taking the trophy, but any man who can play a 70-68 fifth set is all right by me. I wonder if Nico has a hair gel endorsement yet...

A Christmas Thought

There's an article on the Tennis Australia website about the December showdown and how important it has been for the juniors in Australian tennis to be out watching the playoff. It often seems like it is the juniors of Australia who are playing the playoff, but no - there are even more junior ones out there. Tomic and Rogowska aren't the only hope for the future of Australian tennis.

The article quotes from Scott Draper, former pro and now coach of a whole bunch of these juniors, and he had this to say, which I thought was really good:

"The challenge is in trying to give those kids a lightbulb moment. You can say something over and over again, but until it makes sense to them and makes them want to buy in, nothing's going to happen.

"You've got to be a passionate, self-motivated, hungry competitor; you've got to know how to affect your opponent and what you've got to do tactically to get the job done."

There's a lot to talk about in that quote, but on today, being Christmas, I just want to celebrate the fact that the wildcards are inspiring the kids - and it's working. Jason Kubler is, I believe, a perfect example of this, and I'm looking forward to seeing his Open performance.

Merry Christmas!

Nick and Casey Win Their Way In

We have our winners! After some epic matches at Melbourne Park, Casey Dellacqua and Nick Lindahl are through to the main draw at the Australian Open.

Casey Dellacqua was no surprise, really - but after she went down so hard in the first set to Olivia Rogowska, I thought she was in serious trouble. This is the second time in two days she's gone down and gone down bad in the first set - 2-6 against Peers, 1-6 against Rogowska - and it's something she might want to keep on an eye on. Nonetheless, she is through, and well-deserving - she hasn't lost a match all week and she's looking great. Jelena Dokic won this playoff last year and we all know how that turned out. Here's hoping Casey can do similarly well.

I was a bit disappointed in Bernard Tomic's performance - I really thought he had the cojones to beat Nick Lindahl - but I was equally impressed by Lindahl. This match went five sets, which is no mean feat in and of itself, and when you consider that Lindahl was two sets to one down at one point, that's pretty awesome. There was probably more on the line here for Lindahl than Tomic - Tomic will, I think, get carded in anyway, while I don't think Lindahl is enough of a name to have earned it, even though he was seeded above Tomic in this tournament.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but this will be Lindahl's first time in a Slam main draw...? I've never seen him there before, but I might have blinked and missed him. It'll be interesting to see how he performs on the big stage. He's obviously got a little somethin' somethin' going on upstairs, considering his match against the terribly talented Tomic today. So I don't think he's the type to break down under the pressure. I'll be in Melbourne for the first round of the Australian Open (and second and third!!!!) so I'm going to make a point to see some of his match, whosoe'er it may be against. I may have to reevaluate my opinion of him.

Now... there are a whole bunch of discretionary wildcards. Who will get them, I wonder...

Praising Peers

So I sooooooooo was not fair to Sally Peers. I thought she was going to get pulverised by Casey Dellacqua, but at the beginning of the match it was Peers doing the pulverising. When I checked in with the score, Peers was leading 5-0 in the first set. Against Dellacqua, that is something - even for top players.

Peers ended up winning the first set but fading badly in the second two - nevertheless, even with the fade, I am very impressed. I've never had extraordinarily amounts of cred for her before, but I've changed my mind on her now. I'll be keeping an eye on her, that's for sure.

Dellacqua is through, however, and she'll face Rogowska in the final. Rogowska is resurgent for sure after her slow start, but I still don't think she's going to come through Dellacqua. Good on Casey - it's been a hard road back for her, and I'm glad. And if Olivia wins too, good on her. We're going to have a strong wildcard contender in the ladies no matter who wins.

In the blokes, we're having Lindahl and Tomic facing off. (Side note - what happened to Colin Ebelthite, who won here last year? He wasn't even in the draw, as far as I saw). It's no secret that I'm pulling for Tomic here - I think he'll get carded in anyway, but it'd be good for him to really fight for it, really earn it, as it were. The matchplay will make him all tough and stuff and the feeling that he earned it will be really good, I think.

I'll be interested to see what Lindahl brings to the court. Every time I've seen him he's been spectacularly unimpressive, but he must be doing something right...

More of the December Daze

So I was wrong about Monika Wejnert pulling an upset - Olivia Rogowska defeated her in two close, but straight, sets. That said, Wejnert is going to be one to look out for, and I really hope that she gets wildcarded into a few events here and there throughout the Australian summer. By winning the 18s title she got a wildcard in here, so she's been prepared to play a lot of tennis lately. I'll be looking out for her.

I was right, however, about Jess Moore being able to pull an upset - even though she was the third seed and Alicia Molik was fourth, I don't think anyone seriously expected Molik to lose. I think Molik is a pretty safe bet to get carded into the Aussie Open anyway, so I doubt she's too worried, but this is a really good win for Jess Moore. I saw her play briefly at the Australian Open in 2008, where she made it to the second round by defeating Julie Ditty (I think), and she's seriously crafty. I'll be interested to see how she goes from here. She'll be playing Rogowska in her semi and that'll be a good match to watch.

You'd have to think that whoever wins will face Dellacqua - I can't see Sally Peers coming through her (though she had a very tidy win against Marija Mirkovic, while Dellacqua had a scare against Shannon Golds). It'll be interesting.

Over to the boys, and Tomic is through to the semis after a tidy win over Greg Jones, the third seed. I guess Jones couldn't keep up the winning streak he had going, which for him is a shame, but for my predictions, not so much. Tomic will face Kaden Hensel in his semi after Hensel beat Matt Reid. You'd be pretty foolish to pick against Tomic there, I think.

My dark horse, James Duckworth, went out against Nick Lindahl, but considering the scoreline was 6-0 2-0 retired, I think it's pretty safe to say that that wasn't exactly indicative of the overall level of his game. He's going to be pretty good in time - I'll be watching out for him. Lindahl will face John Millman in the semis, after Millman put out Tomic-beater Matt Ebden. I've never seen Millman play so I can't really make any comment, but I've never been especially impressed by Lindahl - why is the second seed here? Is he really ranked that high?

Marquee Matches in Melbourne

At any other time of the year, I'm sure I would find the wildcard playoff for the Australian Open terribly, terribly dull and hardly worth paying attention to. It is a mark of how bored I am that I find it as fascinating as I do.

But fascinating I do find it, and there are some pretty intriguing match ups in there. The marquee match on the women's side would obviously have to be Alicia Molik and Jess Moore - if anyone, barring Casey Dellacqua, is going to topple Molik, I think Moore has got a good shot. I'll be watching keenly to see how that one goes. Dellacqua should, I think, have a slightly easier time of it with Shannon Golds, even though Golds is seeded above Moore. But then I haven't seen Golds play that much, so I'm basing it on pretty much nothing.

Sally Peers and Marija Mirkovic will also face off, but the match I'm really keen to see is Olivia Rogowska and Monika Wejnert. Wejnert - whom, as we all know, I think is pretty awesome - managed to topple Jelena Dokic here last year, and won the nation under-18s title last week. And Rogowska, top-seeded though she is, hasn't exactly been playing great guns... so there is some serious upset potential there, mark my words.

Over on the blokes side, the marquee match is Bernard Tomic and Greg Jones, no question. I like Tomic to win this tournament, but Jones has been playing awesomely this week - he hasn't dropped a match yet. And he's seeded above Tomic, and... yeah. If anyone's going to be Tomic, Jones is a good shot.

There's a match of pro tour stars in Matthew Ebden and John Millman (Ebden was the guy that took a match off Tomic); Kaden Hensel will play Matt Reid and second seed Nick Lindahl will face off against surprise package James Duckworth. The more I see of this kid (Duckworth, that is) the more I like him. He's only seventeen but he's got game - he's kind of a miniature Murray, in some ways. But awesome, and not annoying, like the Muzz. I look forward to seeing a lot more of him in the future...

Liv Scrapes In

I don't know how Olivia Rogowska got through to the quarters of the December showdown playing the way she did - she lost two matches, for heavens' sakes! - but she did. The rules of roubd robin have always been completely inscrutable to me. But I'm glad she did - actually, let me qualify that. If she lifts her game, I'll be glad she did. I don't think I'd like it if someone got through to the Aussie Open by playing not so well.

But even though she's the top seed, Liv is definitely not the favourite here. Whether it's Molik or Dellacqua I don't know, but you have to think that one of those two will take the wildcard for the girls. They've got the weight of experience, if nothing else.

...but I do admit to a preference to Monika Wejnert. She'll face Rogowska tomorrow and I think she has a real chance at winning. I would love to see her surprise everyone and make it through to the main draw. She has serious game.

The other top seed, Brydan Klein, has been eliminated. How Rogowska got through losing two matches and Klein didn't with the same win/loss record... yeah, it doesn't really make sense to me either. I suppose it must be some kind of game countback. But he's out, even though he did manage to win his last match. Bernard Tomic is through, however, seemingly back on his game after a weird loss yesterday, and he'll take on Greg Jones. That will be, I think, a pretty interesting match...

And James Duckworth made the cut as well. I'll be watching his progress keenly - he could be a dark horse and surprise everyone!

It's a rest day at the December showdown tomorrow (probably appropriate, given as it was forty-something degrees there yesterday). What on earth am I going to write about?

Coming Clean on Klein

I think it's safe to say that Brydan Klein will not be winning the play-off wildcard from the December showdown - not only has he now been beaten by James Duckworth, Kaden Hensel (of whom I have never heard) owned him today. A lot of things will need to go his way if he wants to progress through...

Klein is a player that I think is a bit overhyped. He's very talented, yes, and he did win the AO juniors a couple of years back, but I think that was more of a fluke than anything else, to tell the truth. He's served on Davis Cup occasionally, but I've seen him play a couple of times now and I haven't really been impressed with what I saw... and that whole sledging incident didn't really endear him to me, either. So if Klein is one of the bright stars of the future of Australian tennis, I think we're in trouble.

Someone who is a bright star, Bernard Tomic, also got beaten, which surprised me, I confess. He went down to Matthew Ebden, who isn't a slouch, but he isn't a star, either. I hope Tomic progresses through to the next round, I really do... it would be a big shame to see him fizzle in this intranational playoff.

I am, however, on the James Duckworth bandwagon. That kid is great.

In the women, Olivia Rogowska looks out for the count as well - which is a shame. Dellacqua and Molik are still all a-g-go, though, as is my little favourite Monika Wejnert... I'm cheering for you, Monika!

Slamming Down in December

The annual December showdown has started again at Melbourne Park. Nominally, this is the playoff for wildcards for the Australian Open, but I personally like to think of it as 'the thing that keeps Jodi amused in December'. There's precious little else going on and it's always kind of cool to see the up and coming Australian kids...

...though not so up-and-coming in some cases, especially in the women's draw, where we have Alicia Molik and Casey Dellacqua vying for spots. Molik played to her seed today and made short work of Victoria's Jade Hopper, but Dellacqua - who is, somehow, unseeded... colour me WTFed - pulled an upset and beat the top seed, Olivia Rogowska. Now, I think very highly of Rogowska, but I wasn't exactly shocked. There is something serious whack with the seeding system for this tournament if former top 100 player Dellacqua is unseeded.

It'll be interesting to see who comes away with the wildcard out of the girls... I think it's round robin, so Olivia Rogowska is in there, and I'd seriously be keeping my eye on her. When you consider that Jelena Dokic won this playoff last year and then went on to win through to the quarters, this isn't a crapulent tournament by any means. If Molik and Dellacqua ever play, that is also going to be a hell of a battle. Sally Peers, Marija Mirkovic and Isabella Holland are all players to keep your eye on - same with Jess Moore - but the one I'm really looking out for is Monika Wejnert. That girl has game with a capital G.

The women provide more intrigue this year, I think, but the boys are pretty cool too - if Bernard Tomic doesn't win the wildcard, I'll be a bit surprised, but there's going to be some competition. He won his match easily today, but top seed Brydan Klein had no such luck - he lost to handy-dandy up-and-comer James Duckworth, who is definitely one to keep your eye on. Other players to watch include Greg Jones and Matthew Ebden - Tomic is only the fourth seed, wow. How did that happen? He's preceded by Klein, Nick Lindahl and Jones - but if he doesn't win, colour me shocked.