I guess the kids really missed playing tennis. A good number of matches went the full distance on Day 1 with, in my opinion, the WTA matches bringing the quality.
First off we saw big Sam Q once again crash out in the first round of a Slam. And once again we saw him crash and burn while playing tentative tennis. Kubot was on his last legs, running on fumes, and dragging around the court. And yet he was the one that stepped up and showed the guts and heart necessary to win a five setter at a Slam, 8-6 in the fifth. He even had enough energy to do a little jig after he won. It was a really disappointing performance from Sam.
But on the bright side I won't get confused when people talk about "Sam" on Twitter. So yay for me.
Then we had Gael playing crap tennis and getting thoroughly outplayed by Dutch youngin' Thiemo, until at 4-1 in the third set Thiemo sustained a groin injury that effectively took him out of the match. Granted, there was some brain crampage in there as well, but Gael was completely off-base after the match, essentially accusing Thiemo of being soft and how his strategy of "tanking" the fourth set to save energy for the fifth completely failed. Gael seemed awfully pleased with himself. Idiot.
Next up for the boys, Mardy Fish coming back from two sets down to save what was looking like an absolutely sorry morning for the Americans (Ryan Harrison lost in straights). Good win for Mardy, who has traded in his no-socks for actual socks. Either that or he has a ridiculous sock tan. Could be either, really, I wasn't watching in HD.
Other notable fivers for the boys: Ivo out to Dodig, Gil over Cuevas, Techno over Kamke, and Montanes over Dustin Brown.
As for the ladies, it was three-setters galore. Dani battled Kulikova for over three and a half hours, only to finally fall 9-7 in the third. The American women also got bit, with Bethanie blowing a 5-3 lead in the third to lose 7-5 to Rus, and Jamie Hampton imploding, gifting the decisive break to Elena Baltacha with three double faults to also go down 7-5. Of course, the top seed on the ladies side to fall was Aravane, who was broken for the match, 7-5.
I mean, that's not even scratching the surface. Justine and Sania, Wicky and Jarka, Domi, the list goes on and on.
And then there's Mono, who won 6-0, 6-0.
She hates tennis, obvs.
(Pics: Getty)
