Australian Open '11: Point by Point Coverage

[falafaclese]

ORDER OF PLAY

Don't forget that there will be a "Rally for Relief" benefit event for the victims of the Australian floods tonight (10:00pm in the Eastern US). It looks like TTC will be carrying it, and you can also see it on espn3.com. ESPN3 will be showing matches on multiple courts once play starts for those who can get it. If you can't, check:

livescorehunter.com
atdhe.net
channelsurfing.net or
myp2p.eu

[roseha]

Thanks fala!

I signed up for ESPN3.com months ago after Time Warner finally got it but I'm just looking at it for the first time now. Looking forward to seeing tennis on it. The quality's quite good.

[falafaclese]

Yeah, as long as you have a decent connection, the quality's great. The good thing about the majors is that it's easy to find good quality feeds in multiple places. The thing I like about ESPN3, though, is that it makes it easy to switch back and forth between courts, and the player senses the quality of your connection, and if you have a lower quality connection it will automatically switch to a lower quality feed rather than doing a lot of freezing and buffering.

I'm looking forward to at least catching some of the Rally for Relief, but while I enjoyed the Hit for Haiti last year, I couldn't shake a feeling of nervousness about someone getting injured before the start of official play.

[GrandSlamGuru]

Oh good, TTC is indeed showing the Rally. This will be a nice appetizer before tomorrow's main course.

[breezybee]

Well I got home to see the last half hour or so. The stream on the official website was crystal clear. I believe it's being shown here tomorrow afternoon.

Sam looks amazing. Love her outfit.

[harry24]

Sam looks amazing. Love her outfit.

She sure did. OTOH, Kim and Caroline's pink outfits at the last tournament were dreadful, Kim's for the color that looked awful on her, and Caroline's for the unflattering silhouette. Hopefully they'll have better looks for the open.

Also Rafa, you know I adore you, but, bitch, please. (Rolls eyes)

Nadal hands Aussie favorite tag back to Federer

Shortly after being named the Australian Open favorite by Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal nominated Federer as the leading contender for the tournament.

"'For sure I'm feeling less favorite than him and not more favorite than [Novak] Djokovic, [Andy] Murray, [Robin] Soderling, these kind of players. That's what I think," said Nadal.

The Spaniard was suffering from flu last week in Doha and is trying to return to full fitness by the time the tournament begins next week.

"'I'm feeling better, I think not perfect yet," he said. "'After what I had in Doha, when I'm practising, I feel a little bit more tired than usual and am sweating more than ever [but] it's true that I'm better than few days ago. So that's very positive. I hope it's not going to be a problem for next Monday or Tuesday."

Nadal will be going for his fourth straight Grand Slam title but is trying to approach this major like any other. "Maybe I'm going to have this opportunity [once] in my career," he said. "'The pressure is like every Grand Slam, you want to play well in the important tournaments. And for me, have the fourth or not is something that is not in my mind."

[falafaclese]

Woz really looked horrible She's incredibly fit, and that dress makes her look like a barrel. She must have said something really bitchy about Stella McCartney at some point.

The Rally was fun. As fun as the team event at the beginning was, I actually liked the more competitive mixed doubles hit even better. Obviously they weren't going all out, but i still appreciate the athleticism and precision.

[omophagia]

I really have no excuse not to post here more often. Hopefully, submitting picks for the bracket pool for the first time in over a year will help to make that happen.

[breezybee]

Woz really looked horrible She's incredibly fit, and that dress makes her look like a barrel. She must have said something really bitchy about Stella McCartney at some point.

So then you aren't a fan of the waistband which basically sits under her armpits? Judy Murray posted this on twitter

I'm really not sure about wozzas skirt. Does my bum look big in this? Mmmm yes

[mooncreek]

That Caroline was modeling with Novak snapping photos during R4R only made it more obvious.

[Jer2002]

The first group was more fun It was a fun thing to raise money. Roger and Rafa are such sticks in the mud.

[falafaclese]

Jan 16, 2011 18:57:20 GMT breezybee said:

So then you aren't a fan of the waistband which basically sits under her armpits? Judy Murray posted this on twitter

It's not even just the height of the waste. That weird sort of paper-baggy detail around the waist adds volume in the worst possible place. That never looks good on anyone over 5. Stella McCartney is a talented designer, but when she gets into some of that bullshitty precious nonsense for grown women, she loses me.

[breezybee]

Stella McCartney is a talented designer, but when she gets into some of that bullshitty precious nonsense for grown women, she loses me.

Agreed. Sometimes I think she has a good general concept for the dress but loses it completely when she executes.

Speaking of dresses, I can't wait to see what Venus is wearing.

[tikigirl]

I'm here! (If anyone cares!) Life is busy, but I can't miss the AO.

The Stella McCartney dresses...meh. I think the main problem is that McCartney seems to be designing for a typical model figure -- like six feet tall and 110 lbs or something. Woz has a great figure, but she's not a stick.

[falafaclese]

Welcome back tiki!

Is anyone else having trouble getting on the ESPN website?