Back into the Swing of Things

The Australian Open is in the process now, the first major Tennis tournament of the year. So far, I've only been able to catch 2 matches. The first, unfortunately was Andy Roddick's early exit as he lost a 5 set marathon to Phillip Kohlschreiber. I was a little shocked by it even though he was behind. I just thought he would make a comeback against the #29th seed. I guess that's what makes tennis exciting. The underdog always has a legitimate chance (unless he's facing Federer). Roddick has been slowly moving down in the rankings over the past year, but I don't feel he's playing worse. I think he's actually improved. I guess the other guys are just improving more quickly.

The second match was earlier today and it was another marathon... Lleyton Hewitt vs. Marcos Baghdatis. The match went 5 sets and lasted 4 hours and 45 minutes! Baghdatis won the first set, then Hewitt came back to win the next two. Based on momentum, it looked like the hometown player was going to wrap it up, but the 4th set went to a tiebreak that Baghdatis won.

5-set matches are often longer than extra inning baseball games. Players are running around the entire time with very little rest, like in basketball. But instead of 5-on-5, it's 1-on-1. That gives you an idea of how well-conditioned these guys are.

Related Links: Hewitt heads into final 16, Australian Open, Rod Laver Arena, Tennis.com