Sorensen's Success

When? January 2010

Where? Melbourne

Who? Louk Sorensen

Can you guess what I'm excited about?

Round one of the Austrailian Grand Slam and Irishman Louk Sorensen won when he defeated Yen-Hsun Lu. Sorensen beat a player almost 200 places ahead of him in the ranking. All of us here at The Almost Daily Sports Blog are more than a tad excited.....Ireland had not produced a player that had won a match at a grand slam since the Californian-born Matt Doyle won through to the round of 32 at the 1985 Australian Open. We're positively bouncing we're so happy! Louk is only 25 (I'm feeling a tad bit insignifigant now but sure ah well...) and when his match was postponed on Monday due to the heavy and rotten rain he wasn't phased. Tuesday saw Louk on the least impressive court at the games, court 14, where the trams are louder than the crowds cheers. Oh dear.... Never mind Louk it's a court we'll all remember now thanks to your greatness. Sorensen broke thorugh in the first set with a firing forehand shot. After an hour and a half Lu levlled the game with a set a piece. But Sorensen wasn't to be beaten as he flew through the next two sets to claim a win that the Almost Daily Sports Blog team will be talking (and writing) about for years to come. Hell with it the whole of Ireland will be talking about this!

'It's the biggest achievement of my career so far,' said Sorensen, who grew up in Germany but whose parents live in Dublin.

Next on the cards is American tall man John Isner, he's 6ft 9ins, which frankly scares this 5ft sports girl. Not that I can be blamed, John Isner is a giant to me and even Louk Sorensen finds him a tad frightening.

"Isner is a big server. I have never played anyone that tall. He is huge."

Coachless Sorensen intends on watching YouTube clips of Isner to work out his serving styles and how best to play to his many strengths against the American Giant.

All of us here want to wish Louk the very best of Luck and we look forward to being able to continue to Blog about him ove the coming days!!

The King Of Clay Is Dethroned

An unseasonably warm day here in Ireland (yes, even for June) probably explains the almost complete silence from your team today but with 43 minutes remaining until the end of the warmest bank holiday weekend since the one before the last set of exams, I said I'd come along and blog about something that's a lot more genuine then Bruno's fall into the face of Eminem at the MTV Movie Awards, yet just as unexpected.

Yesterday at Roland Garros Rafael Nadal lost. He actually lost. To Robin Soderling, a man who's not very good on clay. It's been called the biggest upset in the history of the French Open and I for one won't disagree with that. Coming into this year's tournament, Soderling had a record of three wins from the eight games that he'd played in the year's second Grand Slam. Nadal had thirty-one wins. From 31 matches. The difference, nay, gulf in class between them cannot be overstated and that is why this was such a shock.

I thought the most poignant moment came after the match when a visibly shocked Nadal looked for a marker to sign the camera lens as he walked off the court, a tradition reserved for the winners of matches on the show courts in the French capital, a tradition Nadal would have taken part on every other occasion he played there.

Two points of note in the fall-out from this match. So, Rafa is human after all, and I think that Soderling may just be the one player he would wish not to lose to. The pair played a two-day, five-set epic in the third round at Wimbledon in 2007, a match that became remembered for the antics of the Swede who imitated Nadal's antics and failed to raise his hand in apology after he won a point on a shot that crept over the net chord.




To have lost to someone who angered him so would have rattled Rafa and it will be interesting to see how he bounces back going into the grass-court season.

The result also has implications for Roger Federer. The Swiss maestro barely squeeked by his opponent today, falling two sets behind Tommy Haas before coming back to win in five. He's now just three matches from winning the one Grand Slam that has eluded him throughout his career. Federer is not guaranteed the win - I for one feel that he'll do well to overcome Monfils, del Potro and the winner of Murray/Gonzalez. But if he is to do so, and remember Federer has reached the final in each of the last three years and thus is no slouch on clay, I would expect the media to tarnish the victory by reminding us that it was not he who beat Nadal. That would be a fair comment, and though Federer would have completed the sweep of Slams, the curse would still be on his back for at least one more year.

6:22 a.m. Thoughts From An Early Bird

Random Thoughts

Formula One is back. Coverage is fantastic, as I've already pointed out in my last post, but the racing is looking equally hot. There is a New World (Championship) Order and the biggest loser seems to be Lewis Hamilton. The much-beleaguered Team Formerly Known As Honda (Brawn GP) have started on a flyer, as have Williams and Toyota. The common link - a controversial and potentially illegal diffuser at the rear of the car. The cars have cleared scrutineering but an objection from the Red Bull team will be heard next month. I hope that the authorities see sense and ban the diffusers. For my reading, they controvene the spirit of the rules if not their letter. However, the last thing the sport needs is for a winner to lose a race win in a court one month after the event. I'm not sure if what I propose is possible, but Formula One is technical enough as it is and does not need help to exclude a casual fan. Let's hope the FIA agree.

***

We've had one week since Ireland won their first Grand Slam in 61 years. Sweet isn't the word. The ending gave a new definition to squeaky bum time but a win's a win and we would have taken it, and then some, two months ago. By and large, little has changed in the team under new coach Declan Kidney, yet everything has changed - nine of the fifteen men who started in Cardiff last Saturday were also in the starting lineup for Ireland's abject performance against Argentina in the 2007 World Cup. So what has changed? What X-Factor does Declan Kidney have that has led him to success wih Ireland now and previously with Munster? His self-effacing manner makes that difficult to figure out, but Kidney's strong backroom staff of Gaffney, Smal et al must have a lot to do with it. Kidney has surrounded himself with the best, and it has paid off. However, those who are hailing Kidney must remember the role Lady Luck played in this Grand Slam win - if Stephen Jones slots over his penalty at the end last Saturday, if England have a few more minutes left after they score their try at Croker or if Scotland's defence holds out like it oh-so-nearly did, we're discussing another 'what-might-have-been' season for Irish rugby. Thankfully, the oval ball bounced our way.

***

The rugby wasn't our only sporting success last Saturday. Bernard Dunne's fantastic win over Ricardo Cordoba got a lot of attention, but on any other weekend it would have been the biggest story in town. You may have noticed that I've been nudged to write about this topic - that would be my not so subtle better half who joined me in the magnificent O2 Arena last Saturday night. It was a truly amazing fight, but I do have some comments to make. I've rewatched a lot of the fight between a TV repeat and on RTE.ie - I was right about Jimmy. And the legitimacy of the WBA as a sanctioning body must be called into question when Dunne is not their only Super Bantamweight Champion of the World. But don't let that take away from last Saturday. Dunne done good.

Oh yeah, Marty Morrisey is a great warm-up guy. I kid you not.

Thanks Hellie.

***

March Madness has reached the Elite Eight stage. My bracket is ruined but Blake Griffin of Oklahoma has continued his regular season form. Last night's 30 points and 14 boards against Syracuse left the Orange feeling Blue. I just took 9-1 on them to go all the way and I was glad to do so. A kiss of death? Probably.

***

Part Three of Qualifying is on. Back to live timing. I won't leave it as long before I return next time.