Australian Open Disappointments

Davydenko looked good coming in.

As with any big tournament, there were several players that failed to have results on their high standards.  Most noticeably of these, of course, was Nikolay Davydenko.  The quiet and attention-avoiding Russian came into the tournament with some hype--in Doha, he had dispatched Nadal with relative ease.  However, when he arrived at Melbourne Park, it looked as if all the momentum of the previous week had seeped away.  He was dispatched in the first round in four sets by the unconventional game of Florian Mayer.  So surprising was this upset that it has left all of us going back to the drawing board.

Another huge disappointment at this year's open was the always laid-back America, Sam Querrey.  Querrey has been criticized for being too lackadaisical in the past, and this time was no different.  The 18th-ranked player in the world hadn't been posting great results coming into the tournament and has been in something of a slump.  Nevertheless, it's still upsetting to see him lose first round to Lukasz Kubot of Poland, who should have been a relatively easy match-up for the big-serving American.

Roddick sliced his way to the round of 16.

Another American, Andy Roddick, never looked like a serious contender for the Aussie Open this year; he was always behind the baseline and his slice seemed to be his favored shot, even over his monstrous serve.  This took him through the Hajeks, the Kunitsyns, and even the Haases, but when he came up against his first seed, the in-form Wawrinka, Andy fell apart.  If Roddick wants to win a Grand Slam again, he'll have to change his strategy.  Maybe he will even have to revert to the style of play that won him his maiden U.S. Open title.  But this time around, it was just another mediocre Grand Slam exit.

Ernests Gulbis, the young Latvian who was throttling towards the cusp of the top ten as he reached the semifinals in Rome, has witnessed his career merge into one big choke.  He gives away matches, can't control his emotions, and possesses a completely unruly game.  Sadly, he has seemed to become a free round for people in Grand Slams.  This Australian Open fortnight, he was taken out in straight sets by Benjamin Becker, the big-serving but straightforward German. This adds to Ernests' dubious distinction of having lost in the first round of the last five majors in straight sets.  It's very sad to see talent such as his go to waste.  Hopefully he'll be able to pull himself out of the hole he's in now.  We hope he makes some key changes to his game so that he lives up to his magnificent potential.