碧云天，黄叶地，秋色连波

Got to read this

So close, yet...

I probably shouldn't feel sorry for Andy, for he has done what he can= =|||

Andy made his way into the semi-final of Australia Open(I would rather not say he defeated Novak), after the Serb pulled out from the game.
This will be the 4th time in his career that he's advanced into semi-final, that's also his best performance in Australia Open. 3 times He played in the semi-final(2003, 2005 and 2007), lost every time.

Though that's not the point, the point is, he will play Roger on the day after. This will be their first meeting/encounter since 2008 Miami. It's long rumored that Andy Roddick always brings out the best in Roger Federer, which has been called, the Law of Roddick. I am not entirely sure if this Law of Roddick exists or even works, but whoever came up with this must be a genious, considering the losing record Roddick has against the Great Swiss. It's easy to tell from the match stats, take 2007 AO, Roger literally smashed Andy in the semi-final.

Therefore, this upcoming match doesn't look remotely auspicious from Andy's perspective.

Andy defeated Robredo in straight sets, 7-5, 6-3, 6-3. Finally, I can set my heart at rest. I'd been worried he might be eliminated in the fourth round, in which he lost to a german guy last year, whose name I've completely forgotten= =|||

That was so killing me. He got a fairly easy draw, no heavy hitters in his section. He could've advanced into quarterfinal, or even headed into semifinal as he did in 2007.

Plus, Nalby lost to Lu in the second round. My interest in Australian Open was half destroyed, so was my confidence in Andy. Even though he's already been trough to the quarterfinal, just think whom he's gonna face in the next match, Djokovic. So, seriously, my ultimate expectation on Andy is the fouth round. I won't be too surprised if he lost to Djokovic, disappointed maybe, but not surprised.

It then came to me that, if it wasn't for Lu, the one whom Andy played today would've been Nalby= =||| What a shame= =|||

BTW, Roger survived through a long-lasting match full of twists and turns. I don't know what got into him in the first two sets, but he managed to find his feet afterwards, and turned defeat into victory.

I feel sorry for Berdych, he almost made the history until he completely collapsed in the fifth set. Anyway, both he and Roger gave the audience an exciting performance.

http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/news/match_reports/2009-01-21/200901211232532979500.html

It still hurts to read any news, 5 hours after Nalby was defeated.

But you know what's even worse than reading news about Nalby's humiliating lost? That is, NO news nor photos about the No. 10 seed's lost to Sorry-I-don't-know-his-name-and-I-don't-want-to.

I checked news&photos on australiaopen.com, found only one piece of photo and one article with the sports journalist taking pleasure in his lost.

Nalbandian, the former AO semi-finalist, FO semi-finalist, WO finalist, USO semi-finalist, TMC champion, Madrid&Paris Champion didn't even earn himself proper news and nice pictures. That's called Truth, relentless.

Andy once said in an interview, the thing about sports is no one really remembers yesterday. I guess, he is not qualified to say that, for he is not forgotten by the public&the media. 

He was assigned to play on Hisense Court, for Rod Laver Arena was saved for the two Aussies(BTW, that's brilliant) Though, Starsports chose the American over that two seedless players. And they did it, not because they prefer Andy, but because Andy is the crowd favorite. The audience love him, love to see him play. (AO is not just for Australians. What the AO organising committee did was abusing its power, at least that's what I think)

He hasn't been forgotten, that's for sure. David Nalbandian, however, is on the verge of being forgotten= =||| Who is David Nalbandian? Oh, come on, he hasn't yet won a Grand Slam Title, Who cares. Now, it's the era of the big four. Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Murray, they are the potential champions of AO, they are the center of attention&discussion, not some former overweight semi-finalist. Hey, Nalbandian is like 100-year old history.

So, really, who cares??????

I guess I do...

Seriously, I need to take myself away from this whole AO-mess. I put all my hopes in Nalby&Andy. By far, Nalby has failed me, and Andy tumbled into the second round today. I have no confidence in him, to be honest. So, when all else fails what else is left???

First of all, I hate Starsports.

After all, Nalbandian is the no. 10 seed, how come the No. who-knows seed Safin got the priority over Nalby???(Sorry, Safin, I didn't mean that= =|||) Is it because Safin has won 2 grand slam titles, while Nalby wins none???Is it because Safin is the crowd favorite, while Nalby is just some regular guy from Argentina??? Or is it because Safin is tall and handsome, while Nalby is plain-looking, and a bit overweight???

I hate Starsports. Never broadcasts any of his matches whatsoever. I get it, he is not the centre of attention. No one but Argentines cares about him. So what, that doesn't give you the right to ignore him like he doesn't exist. His first-round match is in progress, yet, all I can do is to check the scoreboard= =||| What the f...!!!

Second of all, Andy, you ROCK!!! Took the opening match in straight sets, 6-0, 6-2, 6-2, a very comfortable victory over the Sweden, polishing off the first set in just 28 minutes without dropping a game. Though Rehnquis found his feet in the second set, it's already too late. After one hour and 46 minutes, Andy won the match and cruised, as the media said, into the second round^^

I watched the 2-minute match highlights. It does look like a simply victory.

Third of all, Roger's match is upcoming next. 

The two commentators are gossiping right now, talking about how Roger'd been through a tough year, how No. 2 seed doesn't suit him, how they are not gonna be surprised if he rises again, and how he's chasing Sampras' record, blah blah blah= =|||

I almost feel sorry for Nadal. He has accomplished what he's been chasing for 3 years. And when he got there, he probably found himself in the situation that everybody has been talking about Roger, excited about Roger's performance on/off court, Roger's interviews, Roger's new hairdo, Roger's girlfriend, etc. You can tell how influential Roger is, from the way that media and fans are talking about Andy Murray who is considered to be the Australia Open favorite, simply because he outplayed Roger twice this year. He is not even a grand slam title holder. Though I have to say, if I am a gambler, I will bet on him too= =|||

Back to Nadal, I am not very into him. He is not my type. He is not half so handsome as Andy/Safin, nor half so elegant as Roger (Yes, I am a member of 外貌协会= =|||), but he is hardworking, modest, persistent and almost a bit shy.

BTW, Roger is struggling= =||| He finished the first set very well, has got himself into troubles ever since. Not a very auspicious start for the no. 2 seed, and it's only the first round= =||| 

Shaky!!!

Australia Open is only few days away.

I realized the draw wouldn't look very good for Andy&Roger's sake. It's highly likely the two would end up in the same half of the draw, considering their not-so-good rankings. But, I didn't expect this= =|||

http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/scores/draws/ms/r1s3.html

Plz check it out. And trust me it's not a virus link.

Can it get any worse?????

I thought, Andy and Roger are drawn together, meet in the semifinal(perhaps quarterfinal), or even worse, be eliminated before they have any chance to meet each other on court, could be the worst thing I can ever imagine. Then, there is this, worse than the worst.

For Nalbandian, one of my favorite athletes, Andy Roddick, Ferrero and Robredo are all in his section. It's not like I really care about either Ferrero or Robredo, I just don't wanna see David has this early encounter with Andy, because there is just no good way of making myself comfortable,  it's either a heartbroken me or an angry me. 

I was thinking, should I be glad that Ferrer and Wawrinka, both of who are David's biggest enemies, are not in his section, for if that was the case, David could've been eliminated long before he met Andy.

And, it gets more. Djokovic is in the same section too. So I guess, Nalby is the first one to get kicked out(probably in the first round, if he's lucky= =|||). Then no matter who wins, Djokovic will definitely beat the hell out of him. Let's say, even if Andy or Nalbandian got real lucky, managed to turn the tables and outplay Djokovic, either one will find himself facing Roger Federer in the semifinal. That's called yummy!!!

I checked the draw. Roger has as easy a draw as he could wish for, because most of(Maybe I should say, all) the heavy hitters are in the draw's upper sections, except for Djokovic. He is the only real threat to Roger. I wouldn't dare suggest who's gonna win, cuz there is this weird tradition about AO. No one could claim Australia Open Title for 3 consecutive years/more than 3 years in a row. Is Federer the only one who had ever won the second straight Australia Open? Did Sampras or some other guys ever do it? I don't know. All I know is that, it's not that easy to be always a winner in AO, compared with Wimbledon, USO and FO.

Besides, AO is not a believer of the authority. Being a tennis "god", one could easily(maybe not a proper word)win whatever-number straight Wimbledon, USO or FO championships/titles just as Federer, Sampras and Nadal have been doing. It's funny whoever this "god" is, he just can't defend his Australia Open title that easily.

So I guess, if this "Law of AO" really works, Djokovic wouldn't be the winner, finalist maybe, but not the champion. Plus, Australians love dark horses, and they've already seen more dard horses in the history of AO. If that works as the second "law of AO", we may, as well, witness another newly born star rising in 2009 Australia Open.

Excited???? No, I am not. For this is the way the "law" works, i.e., one finalist is a dark horse, and the other is a big star, that gives us the defending champion, or the former champions, Neither Andy nor David fits this pattern. I don't think they can make it. Not because the above-mentioned excuse I made up, but because I have no confidence in either player.

Nalby, I suspect, pays no attention to his tennis career, not as much as we fans do. Plus, he got choky when he was close to win. Andy, hardly nervous, however, tends to give up if he falls behind, not always, but for the most of time. Once things were not going as well as he expected, he got cranky and edgy, losing his head, cursing at the umpire and himself.

So, no, I am not excited about the upcoming sports event. Andy&David are not gonna win, and I am not happy about that.

I was busy checking the schedule, downloading a software by which I can watch the games.

I would have been staying in Melbourne. That could be my one and only chance to meet Andy, Roger and, if I am lucky enough, David, in person.

David is the only one I haven't met, I mean, I watched Roger and Andy playing in 2007. Roger outplayed Andy in a round-robin match, not the result I've been expecting, certainly, but still, I saw Andy and Roger. The best part of the whole I-met-Andy-And-Roger thing is that they looked as fabulous as I thought they were, even better, though I didn't have a close look at the two guys, not to mention autographies or photos.

Andy was nice. He made a promise to that crying little girl, though he couldn't keep it. That was so Andy-like. I didn't know what Roger would think about that. It is not uncommon that Andy sometimes do things which a professional tennis player shouldn't do on court, teasing a ballboy in Kooyong, throwing the racquet over the net, or even cursing at an umpire for a bad call. Well, at least Roger won't do that sort of stuff, not very often-_-|||

It is said that there is something about Andy's game that always brings out the best in Roger. I can't tell if that's just superstitious or psychological. But one thing is for sure, i.e., it is so true until 08 season when Roger was no longer invincible. Suddenly, he seemed human again, showing the world that he is actually capable of human feelings. It's surprising to know that he, the best tennis player the world's ever seen, has ups and downs just like the rest of us. The unbeatable "machine" has also, if you like, some vulnerable moments. That's when Andy took his opportunity and won the match for the first time in 6 or so years.

I am not gonna be self-deceived and pretend that Andy outplayed Roger at his best, cuz we all know that's not true. But I am happy for him. This would definitely do him good.

Back to the point, I am desperate to meet David Nalbandian, one of my favorite athletes. As I say, 2009 AO could be my best chance to do so, and I screwed it up= =|||

The point is, even though I may go back to Australia someday in the future. I doubt, he may have long retired by then= =|||

It just dawned on me that I tend to miss out on things that I value. Isn't that ironic????????????