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The Australian Open: Day 8 Recap
by Nadya Vlassoff
If Day 7 at the Australian Open was the day for comebacks then Day 8 was the day of retirements. 3 of the matches ended when one of the players retired due to illness or injury. First up was Serena Williams who was facing her biggest challenge of the tournament so far in the 13th seed, Victoria Azarenka from Belarus. Fernando Gonzalez was facing the raging bull himself, Rafael Nadal who has yet to drop a set in the tournament so far. In the night match Jo-Wilfred Tsonga was looking to take on James Blake from the USA in a highly anticipated match that would decide if Tsonga really was worthy of all the hype surrounding him.
Serena Williams (2) vs. Victoria Azarenka (13)
 Serena Williams is no stranger to the spotlight and this match should not have been any different. However, Serena has not looked completely solid throughout the first week but like always, has continued to improve her game as the tournament progresses. With Azarenka coming out with all cylinders firing, Serena looked shaky as she could not get her defensive game going and was broken early. Azarenka did everything right and Williams had no answers. Azarenka retuned almost every ball, attacking the net and basically going for broke knowing that she had to take advantage early on if she was going to have a chance of beating the heavy favorite.
Then, in the second set, the illness that had been plaguing Azarenka all morning, began to appear. Azarenka, breathing heavily, struggled to stay standing and even Serena Williams who is know for showing little emotion towards her opponents appeared worried and strode over to see if Azarenka was alright. With Williams up 4-2 in the second set, the crowd waited with baited breathe to see if the young Azarenka could pull it together. Unfortunately, she could not continue and Azarenka, in tears, retired from the match. For Williams this was a gift and for Azarenka it was a heart-breaking conclusion to an impressive start to the year. She still has an incredibly bright future ahead of her and if she can stay healthy then all the top seeds, and not just Serena Williams, need to watch their backs with Azarenka ready to take their place in the top tier of women’s tennis.
Best:
The matchup of the day was between Spaniard Rafael Nadal and Chilean Fernando Gonzalez who was coming off a stellar win against Richard Gasquet but did not seem as energized. Nadal made quick work of his opponent in the first set as he broke Gonzalez and used his topspin forehand to generate errors. Nadal poured on the pressure in the second set as he capitalized on Gonzalez’s array of shots hit wide and long. After previously squandering an opportunity to break the Gonzalez serve earlier in the set, Nadal made sure to close it out and won the second set 6-2. Finally, in the third set, Gonzalez began to gain some momentum as he remained in the set by going up 3 games to love but failed to keep Nadal down as he began to make errors that allowed his opponent to reel off 5 consecutive games. Nadal came out to serve for the match, the boisterous crowd waiting to see if Gonzalez could pull off another miracle but against Nadal, the task was more than impossible as Nadal, in his trademark showmanship style, won the match. Nadal has yet to drop a set as he looks towards his quarterfinal matchup against Gilles Simon.
Andy Murray (4) vs. Fernando Verdasco (14)
This matchup could be considered the best of Fernando Verdasco’s career as he pulled off the first major upset in the men’s draw as he took out the 4th seeded Brit Andy Murray in 5 sets. Murray was coming into their matchup with confidence and hope for his first slam trophy of his career but it was Verdasco who put a screeching halt on those dreams. Using crosscourt angle shots and a much improved topspin shot, Verdasco outplayed the Scotsman that many had thought might win the tournament. Murray’s focus seemed to come in spurts as he was almost blown off the court by Verdasco’s heavy ground game and extended rallies. Winning the first and third set, Murray should have closed it out in the fourth but Verdasco refused to go down without a fight and broke Murray’s serve twice to take the set 6-3. That tenacity spurred him on going into the fifth and decisive set. With Murray struggled to hold serve he hit his backhand wide and from there Verdasco did not look back taking the final set 6-4 in a marathon match that had the fans on their feet hollering at the biggest upset of the day. Verdasco next faces Jo-Wilfred Tsonga who beat James Blake in straight sets.
Worst:
The worst part of Day 8 was not a match or a fight between fans on the grounds or a streaker violating Serena Williams’ innocent eyes but instead the disappointment of seeing 3 of the matches end due to retirement. Illness and injury are nothing to shy from and those who did retire made the right decision but it is hard to swallow as so many thoughts of “what could have been?” plague these players. Gael Monfils of France and Jie Zheng of China both retried in their fourth-round matchups with wrist injuries that left many fans disappointed but not as much as the players themselves. Zheng was coming into the fourth-round riding high on a wave of success and Monfils was looked to finally crack the men’s top ten. For both their dreams will have to be put on hold for a bit but there is no doubt they will continue to make waves in the tennis world as the year progresses.
Day 9 commences today as if week 1 was any indication we can be sure that there will be plenty more surprises in store for us.
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