US Open Preview

Reprinted from Tennis Australia’s Slice e-news

The 2010 season isn’t getting any easier for the band of Australian players gathered in New York.

With the draw carried out overnight, some tough hands were dealt to the Australian hopefuls. World No.6 Sam Stosur will begin her campaign against world No.39 Elena Vesnina, with the Russian winning the pair’s only meeting in New Haven last year.

The U.S. Open Trophy

Former US Open champ Lleyton Hewitt will face Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu with a possible date with world No.2 Roger Federer pencilled in for the third round.

Jarmila Groth can count herself extremely unlucky to have drawn No.16 Maria Sharapova, who holds a 1-0 head-to-head advantage over the Australian.

Peter Luczak’s horror run, however, seems to have ended – he will meet Sergiy Stakhovsky in the first round. Australian wildcard recipient Carsten Ball will have to wait a couple more days to find out which qualifier he will play.

Alicia Molik and Sophie Ferguson have both also drawn qualifiers, while Anastasia Rodionova faces Serbia’s Bojana Jovanovski. If Rodionova makes it to the second round, it’s likely that she will face compatriot Sam Stosur.

Still working their way through qualifying are Bernard Tomic, who upset the No.1 seed in the qualifying event, Turkey’s Marsel Ilhan. The current 5th ranked Aussie male, Marinko Matosevic and compatriot John Millman are pitted against each other in the second round, while Greg Jones faces Dusan Lojda for a spot in the third round.

In the women’s qualifying draw, Victorian Sally Peers faces Corinna Dentoni in the second round.

Embarrassing louts have no place at Brookie

I went to Brookie Oval last Saturday night to see the mighty Sea Eagles return to form and trounce the Storm. The Melbourne boys were hammered physically from the start and didn’t play at their best.

The relatively small crowd of around 12,500 really gave it to ‘the Mexicans’… Billy Slater in particular copped a rousing chorus of boos every time he touched the ball… which was all sort of in good fun. But at the end of the game after the Storm players had once again been bashed and bruised and put in for 80 minutes in yet another game that meant nothing to them in terms of points, they received a stream of personal abuse from a few so called Manly ‘fans’ that went way beyond the pale. It was downright embarrassing to stand anywhere near them.

I had taken a female friend and her footy mad 7 year old son for their first experience of a Sea Eagles game. They were having a great time, with young Liam ready to renounce the Dragons as his favoured team for 2011 and instead, cheer for the maroon and white. I’d taken them down to the fence so he could see the players close up as they left the field. That’s when these morons next to us let loose.

Eyes bulging, clenched fists waving madly above their heads, they hammered the Storm players verbally, abusing them one by one in foul language for ‘the premiership they stole’ from Manly. Give it up you clowns. Write to Brian Waldron and his cronies who systematically rorted the salary cap… but have the brains to realise that the players are just out there doing their job. We were privileged to watch talent of the caliber of Slater, Inglis, Cronk and Smith run on to Brookie and lucky that the Sea Eagles did a job on them. There was no need for these idiots to spew out their verbal violence at all, let alone in front of an impressionable 7 year old.

The Storm's Brett White had to be held back.

One of these ‘heroes’ had a red hot go at Brett White, who understandably reacted to the abusive names he was being called and charged forward to confront him. He had to be restrained by security while the gutless cat in the crowd continued to hurl abuse. Later this pathetic excuse for a Sea Eagles fan was overheard saying to another toothless mate in a sarcastic tone: “Gee I was scared when that pussy Brett White came at me.” I would have liked to have seen the result if White hadn’t been held back… but for Liam’s sake, I’m glad he was.

These guys are not footy fans or Manly fans… they’re embarrassing louts who bring their drunken pub and street behaviour into a suburban ground to which the NRL is trying to attract more mums and kids. The players they abused are Australian reps.

Show some respect… and stay away from Brookie you idiots… true Manly fans don’t want you there.

“Moving forward” … way too much!

Have you ever seen so many forward passes in rugby league… ever?!!

THAT forward pass

Since THAT gridiron effort from Parramatta way back when, every week we see lazy forward passes from dummy-half; desperate forward passes to the wings; ‘deliberate’ forward passes up the middle (sorry Sterlo)… it’s amazing.

But what’s more incredible is that with six sets of official eyes on each game, at least half of them are going undetected… while in the immortal words of Fatty Vautin, “thousands” of perfectly legitimate offloads are being pulled up and called forward. Julia Gillard would make a better ref.! Braith Anasta’s tip on in that great game against the Bulldogs last weekend… forward? How could that possibly be?! And that was just the worst of many similar decisions in Round 19. Let’s hope we move forward to a brave new world of correct decisions this weekend.

So who’s gonna win the comp.? Who knows? The likely Grand Finalists are still as clear as mud. Sure St. George has been the most consistent team this year… but they were last year too. And even though they now have ‘Puff the Magic Dragon’ back on board, I still remember them getting pummelled by Manly at Brookie Oval. The Sea Eagles toyed with the Dragons that night… of course their problem is they can’t seem to play for a full 80 minutes. Even against a hapless Sharks outfit last Saturday night, leading 36-0 at half-time, they ‘lost’ the second half 18 to 12. As much as it hurts to write, I really can’t see Manly winning a second title in three years.

The Panthers… looked like world beaters against Manly, but then got smashed by The Warriors at home and dropped a 22-0 lead against Parramatta. And despite Matt Eliott’s protests, they do rely on kicks to score, way too much. The Titans… gutsy as, but I’m just not sure they have the cattle to win enough big matches in a row at season’s end. The Rabittohs… even with Isaac Luke back on board, I’m not sure they have sufficient discipline to win the big one. Sam Burgess is absolutely brilliant – as good as any of the great POMs of yesteryear (think Mal Reilly, Kevin Ward, Phil Lowe, etc.) – but Sandow worries me.

The Eels… please. Yep, they can be brilliant if Hayne’s firing, but if he’s not, forget it. They just rely way too heavily on ‘the special one’ for me to put my hard earned on them. The Roosters… now here’s a team warming to the task. I haven’t really rated them until the last two rounds, but gee they looked good against the Bulldogs. Worth a saver. The Tigers… they can sure play and they’ll be a far stronger unit with Gareth Ellis back from injury… but how many close escapes can they have? Benji’s a genius, Farrah’s a terrific hooker and they have a really hard working pack of forwards and the likes of Chris Lawrence and Beau Ryan out wide who are super solid… but title holders? Don’t think so.

Two of the Broncos' exciting youngsters

So that leaves… The Broncos? Why not? Any team can with the 2010 premiership (well, except the Storm) and with Lockyer, Wallace and Thaiday guiding around a bunch of brilliant youngsters, I think the early money is safer on them than the other runners listed earlier. Hoffman… Te’o… Yow Yeh… Folau… exciting, every one of them. Of course, in this comp., anything could happen. Now that I’ve given them a rap, Brisbane’s likely to lose three on the trot. But if I was having a bet today, I think they just might be my tip.

Time to stop watching and start playing again

The French Open… tick. Wimbledon… tick. State of Origin series… tick. The World Cup… one match to go.

Thank God for Visine. The last month has seen me stumbling into work bleary-eyed and tired, my head filled with the resounding sounds of the smack of racquet on ball and vuvuselas blaring relentlessly in my mind. And while I enjoy the scenery, the Tour de France doesn’t captivate me in quite the same way as do the other major events that have filled our TV screens as autumn became an icy cold winter. And Australia playing cricket against Pakistan in England… hmmm.

So at last I can take a deep breath again and calmly turn my attention to the remaining 3 months of the NRL season. (After all, the US Open tennis isn’t ’til September!)

And I can return my attention to some of the things happening at Double Drummer – like our revamped Home Page that will debut by August 1… and new features like the ability for members to post their own activities and events and invite others to join in the fun; a new events calendar; weather watch; video of the week; new forum… all ways for members to be more interactive and to have more fun finding like minded active people online.

We can watch all the great sport we like… but in the end, it’s more fun playing!

Anyone for tennis? Got a spare 11 hours?!

Amazing! What a feat by John Isner and Nicolas Mahut… surely the longest tennis match that will ever be played, anywhere in the world. A 1st round match at Wimbledon that lasted for 11 hours and five minutes over three days! A last set that alone lasted for eight hours and 11 minutes – much longer for one set than the duration of any previous 5 set match!

John Isner after winning match point against Nicolas Mahut

For the record, Isner finally triumphed 6/4, 3/6, 6/7, 7/6, 70/68! And that was after Mahut had qualified for the tournament by winning three matches including a three set mini-marathon in his final qualifying match that went to 24/22 in the third! This guy will sleep for a month!

The pair played 980 points of high caliber grasscourt tennis over 183 games, sending down 215 aces between them. And after 11 hours, there was a difference of just two winners hit by these two gladiators… 246 by Isner to Mahut’s 244.  Incredible!

And so to tonight… can Lleyton continue his run by beating the inform Gael Monfils, coached by his former mentor Roger Rasheed? Let’s hope so. With both Federer and Nadal struggling in early round matches, this is shaping as a thrilling chase for the Men’s Title. Go Lleyton!

In the meantime, commiserations to The Socceroos who bravely bowed out of the World Cup despite beating Serbia 2-1 yesterday morning. They started the tournament playing terribly against germany, but improved out of sight in their next two matches and again had to put up with a farcical (if technically correct) refereeing decision. They should have beaten Ghana, which would have seen them progress to the next stage of The Cup… but they can be proud of their efforts once the German debacle was out of the way. Next time… new coach… new players… new hope.

So much sport, so little time

Apologies for the delay between posts… I was too shattered by Sam’s loss in that French Open Final to even consider writing for days. But as gutted as all sport-loving Aussies were,  how bad must poor Sam have felt?! There’s not always a next time at this level, but I still think Sam will snare a Slam before her career ends.

Then Manly lost consecutive matches… and then the World Cup started with THAT match against Germany… and then there was State of Origin II. Bloody Hell!

Thank God for ‘Little Lleyton’ and his magnificent win over Federer in the final of the Halle grasscourt tournament in Germany in the lead-up to Wimbledon. You just have to admire this guy’s ‘never say die’ perseverance… it’s been six years and 15 straight losses to the legend between drinks. But he keeps believing he can win… and this time he did. Sam should draw inspiration from this amazing battler.

With so much incredible sport on right now, the weekend holds promise of more glorious uncertainty. Can the Socceroos pull off a startling form reversal and knock off Ghana to breathe new life into their World Cup quest? Can Lleyton continue his great form at Wimbledon when it kicks off on Monday night? Will Nadal again challenge the might of Federer on the Champ’s beloved surface?

Only three things are certain… form in the NRL means nothing (what last start winner will lose by 50 points this round?)… the refs. will have another series of shockers… and News journalists will continue to embarrass themselves.

I continue to be stunned by their hypocrisy. One minute so pro-Blues – the next, sack the coach, the selectors and most of the players who “shamed themselves and their state” last Wednesday. Did anybody see our boys stop trying? Sure they panicked at times… made way too many errors – but they were just chewed up and spat out by what is a simply sensational Queensland team. The tide will turn in time and no doubt The Daily Phonygraph will take the credit. What a joke they’re now calling for the reinstatement of Gus Gould as NSW Coach after they’ve devoted pages of column inches to how bad he is for the game… they hate his guts!

Go Australia against Ghana… go Manly… and go Lleyton!

“Just one more win Sam”

How good has it been… and how great will it be if Sam Stosur fulfills what now surely seems to be her destiny? After three great wins (two of them nerve-wracking) at the business end of the 2010 French Open, Sam now stands within one match of Grand Slam glory.

Australia's next Grand Slam Champion

If she can overcome 17th seeded surprise packet Francesca Schiavone in tomorrow night’s final (our time), Sam will become the first female Australian to win a major since Evonne Goolagong Cawley triumphed at Wimbledon in 1980. She’s beaten two former World No. 1’s and the current No. 1 player in the game in her last three matches… and now has to face an opponent over whom she holds a 4-1 head to head win record. How can she lose?

Well… it is a Grand Slam Final (the first for both players)… and she is Sam Stosur. She tightened up against Henin after playing her best tennis all tournament to smash her 6-1 in the 2nd set and leading 3-2 with a break, serving for 4-2 and a seemingly easy win… but held her nerve to take out the Belgian comeback Queen. Then against Serena she was up 6-2, 5-3 and serving for the match… and 18 games later she was still serving for the match! But again, she came good when it counted and beat Williams when the World Number 1 was finally playing the best she had all match.

Even in last night’s semi, she coasted through the first set until she served at 5-1 – then threw in two double faults (two of those serves off the frame). But she won that game… before getting hammered in the first 2 games of the next set. The see saw mindset continued when she steadied the ship once more to reel off six straight games and complete a 6-1, 6-2 demolition of the Serb.

Please believe Sammy. You’ve got the game to beat anyone. Enjoy every moment of this great time in your life and come home a winner. All Australia is behind you and you would certainly be a worthy Champion. Allez Sam!

I read the News today… oh boy!

News journos. Wilson and Rothfield

Is it just me or are the News Limited sports ‘journalists’ worse than ever in their reporting of rugby league in the 2010 season?

Apart from the number of grammatical errors that occur in the Telegraph on a daily basis (don’t they have sub-editors any more?) I am so sick of them creating hype and then being the first ones to tear down the same people or story they’ve built up.

Jarryd Hayne either has the best publicist in the world (think Harry M Miller’s and Max Marxson’s love child) or a secret 3rd party deal with News… they’ve made him out to be God in fluorescent boots all season! Not a day goes by without his photo appearing in the Murdoch press. No one doubts his ability… and we know he played amazingly in Parra’s run to the G.F. last season… but that was LAST season. Seriously, apart from one long range try and some excellent passing on his opponents’ try line, he’s done sweet F.A. this year.

There’s none of that ‘spiders all over him’ untouchable aura he had last year. He runs 2 metres on kick returns and gets belted to a standstill every time. His defence has been suspect on a regular basis… I just don’t think he deserves all the hype that News smothers him with. Of course, when he made his pre-ANZAC test comments about payments to rep. players, they ‘balanced the ledger’ with some softly softly comments about loyalty to the green and gold… but he was completely forgiven by the barrow-pushing News spin doctors in no time.

They’ve completely glossed over his inept display in the first State of origin this week in which he was directly responsible for letting in two QLD tries and bombing a certain one for NSW… his reward from News? “Play him in his preferred position of fullback.” He was a full-time winger until half-way through last season for crying out loud… he should know how to play there. And he doesn’t have the defensive awareness to be our last line against the Cane Toads… even if he is more damaging in attack from the back. And listing him in the Top 50 origin players of all time? Phil Rothfield – you must be joking!

And of course, it was the News boys who so graphically wrote about this being “our year” at State of Origin … how we couldn’t possibly lose Game 1 to QLD on our own turf… it was all “revenge is ours” before the kick off… best team we’ve picked in ages, etc., etc. Then we lose by 4 points and they’re calling for mass sackings from the Coach on down. Whatever happened to unbiased, objective reporting?

Seriously, these guys are a joke.

6 Aussies through to French Open 2nd Round!

How cool is that! Led by our top male and female, Lleyton and Sam, the Aussies are using the hot weather and fast

Another victory for Sam Stosur

conditions in Paris this year to their advantage.

While Peter Luczak, Jelena Dokic and Alicia Molik all had tough Round 1 draws against seeded players (poor Lucz coming up against a rampaging Roger Federer first up), Sophie Ferguson, Carsten Ball, Anastasia Rodionova and Jarmila Groth all had great wins to join our top two in the 2nd Round.

That has to be our best start in a long while and even though it’s unlikely that anyone but Ms. Stosur will still be standing as the tournament enters its second week (Lleyton’s due to meet Nadal in the 3rd round), those results suggest a renewed confidence among the Aussies… and performances like that can only serve to motivate the next generation. Allez Aussie!

Meantime, as the rain tumbles down outside the Double Drummer office window, it’s GO THE BLUES in tonight’s 1st State of Origin Game in Sydney. We just have to win this series… right?

Tell us what you really really want…

The DD Team

The team at Double Drummer is always looking for new ways to improve the site and make it easier for our members to connect with playing partners, find relevant events, etc. … in short, to make your experience on the site more successful and the fun you have ‘out of site’ more enjoyable.

We’re currently updating the DD site and adding new features for your benefit… but simultaneously, we’ve received a request from a University of Technology student, William Eve, asking if he could conduct a short survey of DD members to help him complete his Communications degree in Media Studies.

Will is compiling a report on the online social networking environment and how it may continue to evolve in the future. As social networking continues to grow at a rapid pace, he wants to find out how Double Drummer members are using the site’s current features and discover any possible improvements that could be made to the present design for your benefit.

Given that the results of such a survey could directly benefit our members, we’re now asking you if you’d agree to a short phone interview with Will, in which you can provide anonymous, honest feedback about your experience with the DD site to date and how you’d like to see it improved.

Please e-mail anna@doubledrummer.com if you’re happy to help Will with his Uni. project.

The interview will take no longer than 5 minutes and will consist of general questions asking about your experience using Double Drummer and other social networking sites. All participants will remain completely anonymous in the report William will submit to his university. He will share only the end findings with Double Drummer.

Your involvement in this study would be much appreciated. It could potentially offer extremely useful knowledge to help us grow Double Drummer, enabling you to connect with more and more like-minded people through sport and other activities.

Thanks guys.