It’s quarterfinal day for the Men of the Aussie Wildcard Playoffs (that sounds like it should be one of those cheesy beefcake calendars). So today’s preview comes with BOLD CAPS-LOCKED PREDICTIONS, at no extra cost to you, the reading public. But first! Here’s the order of play for the day:
Now let’s take a closer look at each of the men’s quarterfinal matchups:
[1] Peter Luczak vs. [9] James Lemke – OK, people. I’ve been hedging my bets, prediction-wise, throughout my previous previews; so today I think I’ll really put it on the line. Therefore, I need to tell you (and you read it here first): JAMES LEMKE WILL BEAT PETER LUCZAK TODAY. So get your cutting and pasting fingers ready to throw those words back at me if I’m wrong. But I won’t be.
Here’s the evidence: to start with, if James Lemke reaches the final of these playoffs, then that final will be the 100th match he’s played this year. That’s right. You heard me (in your head, presumably). The 22-year-old born-and-raised Melburnian comes into this match with a sizzling 61/37 record on the year, a year that’s seen him rise 150 places in the ATP rankings to his current #318. Not even notorious workhorse/money-chaser Nikolay Davydenko has played that much in a year (70-29 in 2006 was his most impressive/crazy season, from a matches-played perspective). So it would be amazing were Lemke to reach the 100-match plateau. And frankly, Mr. Lemke seems headed for a date with that destiny. Sure, he had a slight hiccup in his 6-4 6-7(3) 6-2 victory, but the top-seeded Luczak didn’t look all that impressive in his 6-2 4-6 6-2 win over 16-year-old Luke Saville either. Therefore, I proclaim with great conviction: Lemke will not only win this match but the next one as well. You can’t argue with destiny, people. Or a crazy person on the internet.
[4] Matt Ebden vs. [8] Sam Groth – Matt’s the higher seed, but Sam’s the hotter hand. SAMUEL GROTH WILL BEAT MATT EBDEN TODAY. END OF INTERVIEW. I will, however (and also at no extra cost), throw out some evidence just to humour you: Groth and Ebden have played two times, and Groth has won two times. Do you know what this means?! That’s right: he’s won both their previous meetings. Good on ya! You’re smarter than I thought! Granted, these meetings were in 2007 and 2008, but Adam Feeney came into his match yesterday with the exact same head-to-head stats over Carsten Ball (2 wins in 2 old matches), and we all saw how that turned out. Grothy also has gone 31/5 at the end of this year, while Ebden went 36/24 for the entire year. So welcome to the semi-finals, Sam! Too bad you’ll be losing to Lemke, though. That’s a tough break. But you should get a discretionary WC from Tennis Australia anyway. Otherwise they’re complete and utter fools.
Sam Groth gets interviewed after his inevitable win
[7] Greg Jones vs. [2] Marinko Matosevic – oh what a loud, raucous and combustible contest this will be! Two of the most fiery and fun-to-watch competitors in all of Australian tennis – big players with big serves and groundstrokes who aren’t afraid to attack the net. Marinko leads their head-to-head 3-1, but two of his three wins over Greg have gone three sets, including their most recent meeting in Calabasas, which he won 5-7 7-5 6-1 in October. You can always count on one or two close sets when these two meet. The 25 year-old Matosevic has definitely had the better year, going 37/24 and breaking into the Top 150, while Jones went 38/31 and broke into the Top 200 for the first time. That said, Greg’s 6-1 6-4 demolition of the heretofore hot-hitting Sean Berman in the previous round bodes well for the 21 year-old Sydneysider. And Marinko did struggle a bit in his 6-4 7-6 (6) win over Michael Look. This is a tough one to call, and I don’t think I’m heading for any bold-faced CAPS LOCK prediction here. Let’s say that Marinko wins this one in three tight sets. But I reserve the right to be wrong.
Adam Feeney vs. James Duckworth – A battle between the men who took down third seed Carsten Ball and fifth seed John Millman, respectively. The two have met only one time previously, with Duckworth coming out on top 7-6 (5) 6-4 – a win made all the more impressive for the fact that it was two years ago, when Ducky was just 16 years old and Feeney was 23. Two years on, the Sydneysider’s just getting better and better. He came into the tournament with a hot hand, having had match points before going down to Sean Berman in the Optus 18′s final. In addition to being the top-ranked Aussie junior, Duckworth’s also gone 24/15 in first semi-full year on the pro tour, achieving an ATP ranking of 755. Feeney, meanwhile, has had an OK 22/19 year but he mostly tread tennistical water for the past two years, and is actually ranked 183 spots lower than when the two played their first match. All signs point to a BOLDED CAPS LOCK PREDICTION: DUCKWORTH WILL ADVANCE IN STRAIGHT SETS, and will play either Jones or Matosevic in the semis.
So what do YOU think? Tell me why I’m wrong (or even, gasp, right) in the comments below. And who are you supporting here? Who do you want to see in the semis and the finals? Who do you want to see win this damn thing?
Challenger Tennis 
nicely and boldly cap locked predictions… will be back to gloat later!
Oh come on – make some predictions your own self. Are you a DOER or a CRITIC? Eh? EH?!
(my boldness is brought to you through rudimentary html)
I predict very boldly that Lemke will, win or lose, remain a gazillion times cuter than the Luckysack and his preposterously baggy shorts.
Bold indeed!
Who do you want to win this here WC Playoff, if I may be so bold to ask?
ducky milked the mailman til he was dry? :???:
and damn that saville wasn´t a lucky luke.
go greggles! only one i kinda like from the final eight i think…
is that eleanor preston in the booth? i remember her from last year.
Ooh – a guest! Why yes, that is Eleanor. I wish they’d get back to her and away from this horrid Robbo-“replacement” Adrian guy, interviewing the ballkid wrangler. :roll:
what happened to robbo? fired due to indecent exposure?
hope the rumourmongering of some people doesn´t hurt burny´s WC chances. otoh tiley would be nuts to punish straya´s only diamond-in-the-rough due to some rumours, wouldn´t he?
I’m hearing a lot of things, such as: the Tomics are threatening Tiley that they’ll stop bein’ ‘Stralian if they’re not granted the WC. *continues rumourmongering*
And I asked where the heck Robbo’s gone off to, and they said he was everywhere and is multitasking. Which would sound evasive, except I hear his voice in the background constantly. I think he’s been promoted, but it’s a net loss for the viewers for sure.
I think if Tiley commented it is more than a rumour Bis… I am sure someone made it very clear they saw Burny practicing and made sure people knew.
GSM Luczak 6-3 7-6(5).
*braces for cutting and pasting word-throwers*
you are surely well on the way to becoming the Steve Tignor of the Challenged and Future world… well done!!!
Haha. Man, this prediction business is a rough game. I can see why you were so uncourageous earlier! :razz:
but why is “seen training” = proof he was fit to play the WC tourney?
i mean there´s a tendency to blow everything re burny out of proportion.
so his dad is a nutter. so he´s a bit of a diva. so what? last time i checked my tennis history such elements are rather frequent.
even here at challengertennis you read stuff like “hasn´t played since xyz… very suspicious blablabla” and at the same time re the milkman who hasn´t had anyone come near his teats since september(?) “hasn´t played but trained so fabulously hard, well done mate, he´ll do great yadda yadda”
anyway. not like we´ll ever be on the same side of the great burny chasm so why am i even bringing it up? ;)
But.. but… but… *has no comeback*
Wait, no – Mailman was making deliveries late into October. :???:
Still, I understand your general point.
well, i better hope burny shows in the next years that he is really way better than all the other strayans. otherwise i´d look silly (sillier) in the internet.
I think Burny has shown that he does not have the work ethic… I also think you owe something to the organization .. playing in Melbourne gives back to the fans too…. even if you lose in the first round you have to know that Tennis Australia will have your back. This to me is clearly a pissing contest and yet another display of entitlement. This incident on top of the completely bullshit “swine flu” incident at Wimby when he refused to practice with Hewitt speaks volumes about the disingenuous nature of father and son.
Having had the dubious pleasure of seeing Burny be a complete prick live, I have little patience for him… he is a nasty little shit.
*be a complete prick live, I have little patience for him… he is a nasty little shit.*
seems a familiar sentiment…
i adored hewitt at a time already when a majority of his fellow ozzies didn´t like anything about him but his success.
judging potential/talent by behaviour at this age… dicey imo. maybe lack of discipline will be burny´s downfall. maybe not.
i´d still rather bet on him breaking through than on any of those random ozzies playing this WC-playoff.
Ooh – the first intense debate at Challenger Tennis! *loves it*
You just love the evil ones, Bizzer. And I find that nothing but endearing. *sounds condescending but isn’t meant to be*
was a bit worried this was all too off-topic what with burny not even playing the play-off. wouldn´t want to clutter up your sleek threads.
also, i´m too critical of the stars of challengertennis, aren´t i?
*tries to be more often on his best behaviour in the future*
i shouldn´t be awake any longer.
“i shouldn´t be awake any longer.”
Well that’s a relief! :lol:
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: we need your dour cynicism re: new talent to provide balance to my boundless optimism. So don’t hold back! Or, just hold back a little bit. ;)
Looks like I’m about to go, 0 for 2 BOLD PREDICTION-wise. Look out James Duckworth! (and, to a lesser extent, Marinko Matosevic)
i can´t take another set of this dokic match. oh. MP ebden shown and that´s that for groth.
send greggles my regards, good night.