AO 1.0 - Bagels, Threat Levels and a “Non-Loss” by Sam

Well, Day 1 of the first slam of 2013 was pretty quiet. Just like The Radwanska likes it, I suspect. For now, at least.

While the "Radwanska Threat Level" for this Australian Open currently rests at "Calm," there are signs that "Concern" could be right around the corner. More on that in a moment.

First, consider that today, for a bit, it was frighteningly easy to wonder whether The Radwanska had grown bored with the ease with which It's progenitor had swept through 2013's opening two weeks. With Aga Radwanska sporting a 9-0 mark, and 18-of-18 sets won on her season ledger, The Rad seemed to not be keeping up with It's threatening side of the deal in this "partnership" during A-Rad's 1st Round match against Bojana Bobusic today. The Pole found herself down a break multiple times in the 1st set, including as late in the going as at 4-5. But once The Rad -- and Agnieszka -- realized that both their "auras" might be at stake, it was no longer a contest. A-Rad won last three games of the set, then bageled the Aussie wild card in the 2nd to win 7-5/6-0 and claim her 10th consecutive melon... err, match, and 19th and 20th straight sets won.

But before The Rad's handiwork became a reality later in the day, the alter ego's most longstanding rival had kicked off the day's play at Rod Laver Arena against Olga Puchkova. At the start, things didn't exactly look promising, either, as Sharapova finally played her first match of the season after missing some time with a collarbone injury. She opened the match on serve and proceeded to double-fault on the second point, found herself down break point, was forced to play an uncharacteristic 27-shot rally, and failed on a replay challenge. But Sharapova held serve to go up 1-0, then simply outclassed her fellow Russian by sweeping the remaining eleven games, winning 6-0/6-0 in fifty-nine minutes, running her career mark against her countrywomen to 74-22.

Hey, who (or What) does Maria think she is -- The Radwanska???? Well, considering A-Rad double-bageled Dominika Cibulkova this past weekend, but did it in slightly OVER an hour, I'd say that It's attention has been gained.

Whether Maria will regret that fact is still to be determined. After all, Cibulkova opened her 1st Round match today against Ashleigh Barty and was quickly put on her heels by the 16-year old's surprising game. The young Aussie wild card won the opening set at 6-3. But Cibulkova righted herself, winning nine straight games, and twelve of thirteen, to close out the match against a player whose future looks very bright.

Of course, I believe "calm" might translate to "vulnerable" in Radwanska-ese.

After all, following a seemingly interminable wait for the first seed to fall on Monday as everyone's "favorite" evil alter ego simply refused to pull strings to make things happen Down Under, by the end of the day, one HAD been ejected. Fears of another Radwanska-managed grand slam proved to be well-founded when #32 Mona Barthel was sent packing by Ksenia Pervak in a nearly two-and-a-half hour contest, the very last women's day session match to be completed on Monday in Melbourne.

Hmmm, that CAN'T bode well, can it? It HAS to mean that The Rad is finally invested in this slam, right? Uh-oh. I guess it's time to move the Threat Level up a notch to "Concern."



=DAY 1 NOTES=
...while Sharapova had a nice Day 1 in Melbourne, apparent new BF Grigor Dimitrov didn't. He lost his 1st Round match to #32 Julien Benneteau, who was nudged up to the final men's seed when John Isner withdrew.

...in other matches of note, Venus Williams got off to a great start, winning 6-1/6-0 over Galina Voskoboeva on Hisense at the same time that Sharapova was running over Puchkova on Laver. One more win from each and they'll clash in the 3rd Round in the biggest match of the first week.

Oh, and Sam Stosur didn't lose. Really, consider her history in Australia, THAT should be the headline. Of course, the Aussie didn't have an easy time in not losing, avoiding a loss in a tough one against Chang Kai-Chen 7-6/6-3. Still, Stosur was the ONLY Aussie woman to advance to the 2nd Round on Day 1, as the rest went 0-5. Hmmm, I smell a "Nation of Poor Souls" award looming in their future.

...four qualifiers won on Day 1, including Chan Yung-Jan (def. Daniela Hantuchova), Maria Joao Koehler (def. fellow qualifier Karin Knapp), Vesna Dolonc and Valeria Savinykh. Just one wild card, the still-hot-as-a-firecracker Madison Keys, lived to play another day by winning her 1st Round match. The 17-year knocked off Aussie Casey Dellacqua on Monday after dropping serve while serving for the match, then facing down set points in the 2nd set before blowing the one-time AO star off the court in a 7-0 tie-break to finish off a 6-4/7-6 victory. Earlier in the day, ESPN2 commentators had essentially predicted Keys to win grand slams and be a future world #1... but, of course, that wasn't enough to convince the Powers That Be to show more than a few points from her match during the actual network coverage of Day 1.

Some things never change.

...a few Week 2 follow-ups: The "ITF Player of the Week" goes to Slovenia's Tadeja Majeric. The 22-year old won the $25K challenger in Innisbrook, Florida, defeating Croatian Ajla Tomljanovic in the final. It's Majeric's second straight ITF title, with her having also won a $25K in India in the final week of 2012. Elsewhere...

Reka-Luca Jani! Reka-Luca Jani! Reka-Luca Jani! Saying it thrice is three times as nice!

Yep, the Hungarian won a title this weekend -- one of those seemingly hundreds of $10K events held in Antalya. It's RLJ's first title since the 2011 season.

The "Junior Star" is American Christina Makarova. Makarova, 16, won the G1 Copa Gatorade event in Caracas, Venezuela, defeating Camila Giangreco Campiz (PAR) in the final.

...DAY 1 "LIKE":

-- all the yellow outfits on the courts in Melbourne, from Angelique Kerber on down. In what some call the "happy slam," they fit into the landscape quite well.

...DAY 1 "NOT SURE":

-- Venus' outfit. While it looked fine, every time I looked at it I couldn't help but think its faint, multi-colored scheme looked a bit like something an artist might use to wipe off his or her wet paintbrushes.

...and, finally, as always at the slams, Anabel Medina-Garrigues' time in the draw is limited. After AMG won the Hopman Cup for Spain with Fernando Verdasco in Week 1, there was some thought that she might pose a threat to #11 seed Marion Bartoli in the 1st Round in Melbourne. Well, not really. After being the "First Seed Out" at Flushing Meadows last August, the now-unseeded Spaniard wasn't railroaded by La Trufflette," but the energetic Frenchwoman did win in straight sets, 6-2/6-4.

Okay, here's where I'm obliged to once again note that AMG is STILL linked in history with Anna Smashnova as the only players to ever win double-digit WTA singles titles but never reach a slam Final 8. There, that's another Daily Backspin slam ritual checked off the list. By the way, this was AMG's 43rd career slam, and her 17th opening round loss. Medina-Garrigues, 30, now has a career slam match record of 43-43. She's 12-13 in Melbourne, where she's actually had two (in '02 and '09) of her three career-best slam Round of 16 results.

Oh, well... keep on fighting the good fight, AMG.




*RECENT AO "FIRST SEED OUT"*
2005 #16 Ai Sugiyama, JPN (lost to Sucha)
2006 #9 Elena Dementieva, RUS (lost to Schruff)
2007 #25 Anabel Medina-Garrigues, ESP (lost to Vesnina)
2008 #32 Julia Vakulenko, UKR (lost to Vesnina)
2009 #23 Agnes Szavay, HUN (lost to Voskoboeva)
2010 #14 Maria Sharapova, RUS (lost to Kirilenko)
2011 #28 Daniela Hantuchova, SVK (lost to Kulikova)
2012 #19 Flavia Pennetta, ITA (lost to Bratchikova)
2013 #32 Mona Barthel, GER (lost to Pervak)

*RECENT AO "FIRST VICTORY" HONORS*
2009 Patricia Mayr, AUS (def. Schruff)
2010 Dinara Safina, RUS (def. Rybarikova)
2011 Evgeniya Rodina, RUS (def. Rogowska)
2012 Victoria Azarenka, BLR (def. Watson)
2013 Maria Sharapova, RUS (def. Puchkova)




TOP QUALIFIER: #1q Lesia Tsurenko/UKR
TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r): xx
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): xx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q1: Cagla Buykakcay/TUR d. Tamarine Tanasugarn/THA 4-6/6-2/10-8
TOP EARLY RD. MATCH (1r-2r): xx
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): xx
TOP LATE RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.): xx
TOP LAVER NIGHT MATCH: xx
=============================
FIRST VICTORY: #2 Maria Sharapova/RUS (def. O.Puchkova/RUS)
FIRST SEED OUT: #32 Mona Barthel/GER (lost to K.Pervak/KAZ in 1st Rd.)
UPSET QUEENS: xx
REVELATION LADIES: xx
NATION OF POOR SOULS: xx
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: xx
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: xx
LAST AUSSIE STANDING: xx
Ms. OPPORTUNITY: xx
COMEBACK PLAYER: xx
CRASH & BURN: xx
ZOMBIE QUEEN: xx
LADY OF THE EVENING: xx
DOUBLES STAR: xx
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xx




All for Day 1. More tomorrow.