Australian Open / Arsenal

The last few days have been just phenomenal at the Australian Open. Andy Roddick was upset by 29th seeded Phillipp Kohlschreiber of Germany in a marathon 5 setter. The match was absolutely sensational and some of the best tennis I have ever seen. The winner/unforced error spread was roughly +100 and each player had over 30 aces. Roddick lost after an absurd psychological meltdown in which he accused the head line judge of having a "second grade education" and being "a complete idiot."

World number 1 Roger Federer was tested today by Janko Tipsarevic, an unseeded player from Serbia-Montenegro. The match was a grueling 5 set match which Federer barely survived. Lleyton Hewitt, Australia's golden boy, also survived a difficult 5 setter, prevailing over Marcos Baghdatis. James Blake is the only American man left in the tournament, moving into the 4th round by defeating Sebastian Grosjean, the spirited Frenchman.

In the women's draw, Justine Henin, Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, and Jelena Jankovic earned the first four positions in the quarterfinals. Sharapova looks especially dominant, not dropping a set in the entire tournament.

Arsenal had a delightful match against Fulham, with Emmanuel Adebayor scoring twice and Tomas Rosicky scoring late for a 3-0 thrashing at Craven Cottage. Adebayor scored in the 19th minute on a high cross made from the baseline by Gael Clichy. Adebayor scored a second goal in the 37th minute on another header, this time off a ball played by Alexander Hleb. Arsenal went into the intermission with a comfortable lead and came out in the second half with a bounce in their step. The final goal of the match came on a superb pass from Eduardo to a streaking Rosicky who thundered home a volley just 9 minutes from the end of the match.

Unfortunately, both Chelsea and Manchester United both obtained 3 points in their respective matches and ManU was able to maintain its "lead" over Arsenal in the premiership (wins tiebreaker...) with 54 points. Arsenal can look forward to in a fairly mediocre opponent, Newcastle, on the 29th while ManU play a disciplined Portsmouth squad in their next match on the 30th. Go Gunners!

Blu3