Aussie Open Update

We've hit the one week checkpoint at the Australian Open, and with just one week left to play, a lot has unfolded. I guess we can start with the usual: Federer and Nadal are rolling, and Djokovic and Murray are looking very strong. As for the unusual: John Isner, the 6'9, 24-year-old American has really come out of his shell. Despite being ousted from the tournament by Andy Murray in the 4th round, the way he got their was very impressive. He defeated Gael Monfils, the crazy Frenchman, who happens to be the man, in 4 sets, 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5).

Also, we have a significant upset in the men's draw, as Juan Martin Del Potro, the 21-year-old Argentinean, man responsible for knocking out James Blake in an epic second round, 5 set match, and reigning U.S. Open champ, was defeated in the 4th by Marin Cilic of Chile, the 21-year-old 14th seed, by a score of 7-5, 4-6, 7-5, 5-7, 6-3. Many people have been predicting that this would be a breakout tournament for Cilic, and it has been thus far, as he will now clash with Andy Roddick in what should be an excellent quarterfinal match. Roddick, who has noticeably improved his fitness, played very good tennis the first week of this tournament, and is serving lights out, as usual. Another outstanding quarterfinal match will be Andy Murray facing off against Rafael Nadal, my pick to win it all. This field of men is perhaps the deepest we've seen in a very long time, as Murray, despite playing great tennis, has dipped to the #5 seed. Look for Nadal to leg that match out in 4 or 5 sets. The winner of Nadal-Murray will face off against the winner of Roddick-Cilic.

As for the women, some things never change. Serena and Venus are still doing work, and look like they will meet in the semi's. Also, the unseeded Justine Henin of Belgium, making her comeback just as Kim Clijsters, her fellow Belgian, did before her, has cruised into the quarters, knocking off 5th-seeded Elena Dementieva of Russia in the process. Henin will now play Nadia Petrova. Speaking of Petrova, she is the women responsible for obliterating Kim Clijsters 6-0, 6-1 in the 3rd round. She also then went on to defeat the 3rd seed, Svetlana Kuznetsova, so it's been a very impressive showing in Week 1 for Petrova and Henin. On one other note, 2nd-seeded Dinara Safina retired from her 4th round match when she was dpwn 5-4 in the 1st set, due to a back injury. That side of the draw is now wide open for the winner of Henin-Petrova to reach the finals, and likely face off against Serena or Venus. I'm sticking with my pick of Serena to win it all, but right now, picking anyone of those 4 women seems safe to me.

I'll be back to wrap up all the action next week, as the rest of the action has unfolded. For now, let's go Serena and Vamos Rafa.