Mornin', Tribe. Are you all jacked up and ready to go? Bobby Chintapalli will bring her WTA expertise to bear tomorrow, in a post on first-round matches to watch in the women's draw. Today, I'll look at the men's draw (absent qualifiers) and try my best to, in the words of that once ubiquitous television commercial, "Be Like Mike." I'm talking Llodra, not Jordan. That is, I'm taking this tournament one match at a time, without looking beyond the next round until the present one is complete.
We all know that every Grand Slam is trip into the great unknown for every player. Nothing drives this point home more forcefully than a glance at the head-to-head records - or lack thereof. As of early this morning, the men's qualifiers hadn't been placed, yet fully 27 of the 64 matches that will make up the first round have no statistical background to draw upon. When the qualifying slots are filled in, that number is almost certain to rise, meaning that half or more of the men playing in the opening round have no previous history. Want to talk about adventure?
The match-up with the most history is James Blake vs. Arnaud Clement, but some of the potential intrigue is taken out of that by the fact that Blake owns the Frenchman with a penchant for funky shades, 7-0. Here are my top 10 first-round match-ups:
1. Roger Federer vs. Igor Andreev: This is a very demanding first round for the top seed and defending finalist; remember that debilitating five-setter Federer had with the Russian grinder in the round of 16 at the U.S. Open in 2008? This is a good surface for Andreev, and the most intriguing question for me is whether or not Roger still feels like rolling up his sleeves, pulling his cap down over his eyes, and doing whatever it takes to get the job done in a (potentially) long and draining match. Fed leads the H2H, 2-0.
2. Juan Monaco vs. Ernests Gulbis: Monaco won the first match these two played, on clay, and Gulbis won the second when Monaco had to retire at the Tokyo indoor of 2009. At least it enabled Gulbis to get two consecutive Ws behind his name, something he was unable to do with almost surreal consistency most of last year. Gulbis has been a huge disappointment, and Monaco ought to test him to the limit.
3. Novak Djokovic vs. Daniel Gimeno-Traver: There's magic in the Spanish name Gimeno; many of you will remember that elegant Andres G. won at Roland Garros in 1972. More importantly, Gimeno-Traver upended Djokovic the only other time they played (on clay in Barcelona), 6-3 in the fifth (2006). Say what you will about how much better Novak is now, a guy who's beaten you remains a threat until proven otherwise.. .
4. Mikhail Youzhny vs. Richard Gasquet: This is one of the best match-ups of round one. Youzhny leads the H2H by 2-1, with victories on clay and hard. And that includes a blow-out at the Australian Open of 2003. Ancient history, right? Gasquet is another of those guys who seems to have lost his way, which means he's in some ways back at Square One. This should be a scorcher.
5. Ryan Harrison vs. Janko Tipsarevic: This is a tricky assignment for Harrison, the young American who won a playoff at the USTA Player Development facility in Boca Raton, Fla., to earn his Australian Open wild card. Harrison says he has an all-court game and likes all surfaces; he might as well test himself against a crafty, consistent player sooner rather than later. I still wish Ryan would have gotten a less experienced player in round one.
6. Tomas Berdych vs. Robin Haase: You can't exactly call this a rivalry waiting to take wing, but these guys have played twice and each has won his match without dropping a set. Berdych crushed Haase on an indoor carpet in 2006, and Haase avenged himself in Canada, on hard, the following year.
7. Blake vs. Clement: The only time they played in Australia (it was in Sydney), Blake had to go to 6-4 in the third to win. But that was over four years ago, and just one of two matches they've played went to three sets. That 7-0 advantage is a nice cushion for Blake, a player who needs to show that the game isn't passing him by.
8. Michael Russell vs. Juan Martin del Potro: On paper, sure it's a mismatch. But let's remember that Russell beat Delpo in Adelaide on hard in 2008, and he has a way of making life difficult for higher-ranked players. In the only other match they played, in Basel in 2007, Delpo had a 5-2 lead in the first set when Russell quit due to injury. Let's see how fast Delpo can get out of the blocks.
9. Radek Stepanek vs. Ivo Karlovic: This rivals the Youzhny vs. Gasquet match as a potential barnburner. Stepanek has won every them these men have played, but two of them have gone the distance - and then some. In Milan a few years ago, Stepanek squeaked through in a third-set tiebreaker, and in a first-round Davis Cup match in 2009 the Worm wriggled through in a 16-14 in-the-fifth heartbreaker. Karlovic will be looking for payback, and he can exact it with that big serve, especially on a hot day.
10. John Isner vs. Wayne Odesnik: This is an all-American clash between guys who have squared off three times in the past, with Isner leading 2-1. Every one of those matches went the distance, sets-wise, and of the nine sets, five were settled in tiebreakers. That includes the one that earned Odesnik a three set win on clay in Houston last year. Who knew Isner could be so good (or Odesnik so lousy?) on clay? This is another of those matches that puts pressure on the favorite (Isner) because it's a more daunting mission than mere reputation or ranking numbers indicate.
Well, that's all I've got for you today. Enjoy the weekend, everyone. Bobby tomorrow, and then we're diving into the action in Melbourne.