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Day 5 already?
A-rod
http://www.fromsport.com/v-0/16/48/v-164951.html
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Tomic on a tear, to face NadalThursday, 20 January, 2011
By Matt Cronin
credit: australianopen.com/en_AU/news
There's no place like the show courts at the Australian Open for Bernard Tomic.
In yet another sterling display in Melbourne, the Aussie teenager stunned 31st seed Feliciano Lopez 7-6 (4), 7-6 (3), 6-3 in the second round.
It's the first time that the 18-year-old has reached the third round of the Australian Open, but not the first time he's been impressive on Melbourne's biggest stage. He reached the second as a 17-year-old and last year, he defeated Guillaume Rufin before taking eventual semifinalist Marin Cilic to five sets.
But no showing was more impressive than his brilliant win on Thursday, when he coolly dictated the terms of the match against the former Wimbledon quarterfinalist by mixing and matching his shots.
"That feeling when I won was unbelievable," he said. "It's the first time I've been in the third round. I've been playing some good tennis. I'm really happy with myself. I'm hitting the ball great, he said. "My confidence is up there, especially after two matches."
Tomic came into the contest with a No.199 ranking, but played well above that, keeping his one-handed backhand slice low and true, teeing off with slapping forehands and two-handed backhands after he had lulled Lopez to sleep, and winning every big point that was on his platter.
He gutted out two tiebreaks against a man with far more experience by keeping the imposing serve and volleyer pinned to the baseline and jumped on the Spaniard to get an early break in the third set and held on, not by blowing Lopez off the court with service speed, but by adeptly mixing up his forays.
While Tomic hasn't played a ton since Australian Open 2010, he did play a match in Brisbane at the start of this year (a loss to Florian Mayer) and then won three qualifying matches in Sydney before falling in the first round, which convinced officials that he was deserving of a wild card.
Their decision proved to be the correct one, as Tomic looked like amore mature player in knocking out the dangerous Frenchman Jeremy Chardy in the first round and then in dismantling the 29-year-old Lopez in the second round.
While Tomic has to grow into his tall frame, his improved conditioning certainly helps his movement and stroke production.
"I'm definitely physically much stronger and fitter," said Tomic, who finished with 31 winners and only committed 25 unforced errors against Lopez. "I remember last year when I played a first round, even against a qualifier, I wasn't feeling too good in the second round, feeling tired. But here when I played today, I was feeling fresh and energetic."
However, Tomic's prize for the victory may be a Pandora's box as he'll have the pleasure of facing nine-time Grand Slam champion and No.1 Rafael Nadal in the third round on Saturday.
Nadal is aware of who Tomic is and says he has the potential to be a very good player. He knows how it is to be an up and comer and the pressure that goes along with it and expects Tomic to push him.
"Well, is good, no? I think is nice to have a young Australian coming well and having very good talent and very good future. So I'm excited to go on court and to try my best tennis, and for sure to try to win. If I play against local heroes, like I played against Lleyton a few years ago, the crowd was fantastic all the time. For sure the support is always with them, but always with very good respect for me."
Nadal hasn't lost in a major since he retired against Andy Murray in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Australian Open and has been swarming his opponents. Tomic plays a different style than most players the Spaniard has faced, but he's going to have to play the match of his life to win it, as Nadal is 10 times the player than Lopez is from the backcourt and is also a more hardened competitor.
But Tomic is excited about the opportunity.
"I'm not going to go and win this match if I go out there and play not to lose," he said. "I've got to play, to win. I believe [I can]. He's the world No. 1. I'll just have a go."
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july 19 
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21 ม.ค. 54 08:27:20
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[ < Volimo Nole > ] AO2011 #8 : 3rd Round VS Troicki
come on Justine!!!!!!!!!!
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