MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA — James Blake rode a roller coaster of emotions that accompanies a nail-biting finish in a big game.
Then he left the locker room to play his fourth-round match at the Australian Open.
Blake, a fan of the New York Giants, caught the whole game as his favorite NFL team qualified for the Super Bowl with a 23-20 overtime win over the Green Bay Packers in bitingly cold conditions that are a sharp contrast to the Down Under summer.
“Thank goodness the girls before me went three sets, otherwise I would’ve missed it and been wondering the whole match,” he said after beating Marin Cilic of Croatia to book his own big match — a Grand Slam quarterfinal against No. 1 Roger Federer.
When asked which made him happier, the Giants’ win or his furthest advance at Melbourne Park, Blake had to make a tough call.
“Let’s see. It’s been longer since the Giants made the finals, but selfishly I’ve got to say me making the quarterfinals,” the No. 12-ranked Blake said. “But I think it still would have been a good day if the Giants had lost and I had won. Either way, it’s even better.” Blake had company around the television as Lawrence Tynes kicked the winning field goal. Much to his annoyance, most were Packers fans.
“I don’t care if they’re all Packers fans in there. It was just a good day for the Giants,” he said. “I had a few people to text back home right away as soon as the kick went through.”
Djokovic beats Hewitt in 4th round
Even a wide-awake Lleyton Hewitt would not have made a difference.
Novak Djokovic ended Hewitt’s 12th attempt at capturing his national title with a 7-5, 6-3, 6-3 fourth-round Australian Open win Monday before a crowd that included pregnant Australian actress Nicole Kidman and her country singer husband, Keith Urban.
While the two A-listers often canoodled during breaks, Hewitt, forced to stay up all night Saturday to beat Marcos Baghdatis in five long sets, was in a different mood. And Djokovic’s sterling play didn’t help.
Trying to become the first Australian since Mark Edmondson in 1976 to win the Australian Open, an often surly Hewitt twice hit balls well into the bleachers, once nearly hitting the only section of flag-waving Serbians in the arena.
At other times, his meek “C’mons” were meant to boost him from 15-40 down, and only seemed to put off the inevitable. Even his “Fanatics” support group shrunk to about a dozen noisy members at the end.
“He was very tired and exhausted from the Baghdatis match a few night ago,” said Djokovic, who had to deal with a few hecklers during the match. “He’s had some tough matches, and I knew that.
In the second, Djokovic overcame an early service break and in the fifth game, hit a backhand passing shot when Hewitt dared take a step toward the net to break the Australian for a 4-2 lead.
Djokovic then held in a wild seventh game that featured four aces, two double faults, a code violation to the Serbian player for racket abuse and a lengthy rally that ended with Hewitt hitting an attempted drop volley into the net.
Two games later, another set was in the bag. Hewitt saved two match points in the third set before Djokovic clinched it and advanced to a quarterfinal against No. 5 David Ferrer.
Djokovic, who has not dropped a set here, is coming off a strong 2007 that saw him rise to No. 3 and advance to his first Grand Slam final, a loss to Roger Federer at the U.S. Open.
He first played the Australian Open in 1997. Hewitt, 26, had his best chance in 2005, when he lost to Marat Safin in the final.
When asked whether his dream of winning the Australian Open was beginning to fade, he sarcastically answered: “This year it has.” About the future, he would only say: “Who knows?”
Still pals
David Ferrer knew he was in for a rough time when his fourth-round opponent became clear — fellow Spaniard and close friend Juan Carlos Ferrero.
Despite twice seeking medical attention for his leg during a grueling win Monday over the former No. 1, Ferrer now faces what likely will be an even tougher match in his first Australian Open quarterfinal. Not only is Novak Djokovic ranked third, but he’s been on a hot streak here.
“I’m happy. It’s my first time in the quarterfinal. But now I play against Djokovic,” said fifth-seeded Ferrer, who was hot at the Masters Cup in November until he ran into Roger Federer in the final. “It’s a tough match.” Ferrer is 3-2 against Djokovic, but lost in straight sets the last time they met, in the U.S. Open semifinals.
Ferrer outlasted No. 22 Ferrero 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1.
“Now I am a little bit tired. I had problems in the fourth set because the match was very tough,” Ferrer said. “I will have one day to relax.” Ferrer and former French Open champion Ferrero practice regularly together and know each other’s style’s well, so a close match was inevitable.
“Always playing against David is difficult,” Ferrero said.
“He doesn’t do a lot of mistakes. Physically, he’s very complete.
You have to fight all the time.” Ferrero, who has only beaten Ferrer once in five matches, thought it would be no problem for his friend to recover in time to make a serious challenge to reach the semifinals.
“David is playing good tennis,” he said. “He will be fit again for sure.”
Another late night
Three days after the longest day at a Grand Slam tournament ended at 4:33 a.m. Sunday, Rod Laver Arena could host another late night.
Top-ranked Justine Henin and fifth-seeded Maria Sharapova, who played in one of the longest-ever women’s tour matches — 3 hours and 24 minutes — at the season-ending championships in Madrid, will precede the men’s quarterfinal between Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and No. 14 Mikhail Youzhny of Russia on Tuesday evening.
Organizers were criticized after the final match of Saturday’s night session between Lleyton Hewitt and Marcos Baghdatis didn’t start until 11:47 p.m. and lasted 4 hours, 45 minutes. The sun was coming up as the players and officials headed home.
Hewitt, who had worried about his ability to bounce back, lost his next match 7-5, 6-3, 6-3 to Novak Djokovic on Monday night.
One issue that came up during the late night was a suggestion that Venus Williams and Sania Mirza shift their match, which was scheduled to precede Hewitt-Baghdatis, to Vodafone Arena or postpone it a day. The women declined, and the original schedule went on.
Top-ranked Roger Federer, who carries a lot of clout these days, said he would have gone with the flow if he’d received such a request. Not that anyone was likely to ask him to make a move from the top show court.
“I’m not going after the ladies, I’m just saying I would be pretty relaxed and I would accept anything they would have done with me at that stage,” Federer said.
“Honestly, I think the players shouldn’t have too much of a say. We’re happy to be playing here. Is it bad to be on Vodafone? I don’t think so. Still a wonderful court.”
Lazy Roger
Roger Federer works hard in matches, on the practice court and at appearances for his sponsors. But what does the world’s top-ranked player do when he gets away from tennis? Not much.
“I haven’t been doing too much,” Federer said after his straight-sets victory over No. 13 Tomas Berdych. “I’ve been quite lazy actually. Hanging out with my friends, just taking it easy.” Part of the reason was the need to get over a stomach ailment that forced him to withdraw from the exhibition tournament at Kooyong that he has been using as a tuneup for the Australian Open.
