Aussie Open

ESPN2 begins it's Aussie Open coverage @ 6:30 PM tonight. They have the Lleyton Hewitt vs James Blake match listed as being covered along with Venus Williams and Lindsay Davenport.
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I am so very disappointed in James Blake he lost his mind then lost the match. When the match began Blake was on fire. He played very aggressive controlled tennis to make his presence felt on the court. His attitude, tenacity and precision paid off as he won the first set very quickly. (For those who don't know, at the Majors, men play the best of five sets.) It was obvious Lleyton Hewitt and the Australian crowd (Hewitt's from Australia) were in a state of shock. Hewitt's never lost to Blake, Blake had just returned to the tour and didn't have much match play, Hewitt had bulked up some in the off season so he wouldn't be pushed around on the court so much yet Blake was in complete control of the match and there was little Hewitt could do about it.

In the second set, Blake continued his dominance over Hewitt and served for the set at 6-5. He wasn't able to hold his serve as he seemed to wilt under the pressure that Hewitt was now imposing on his game. Thus, the two players would have to play a tiebreaker to determine the winnner of the second set. Again, Blake was on fire. He was serving incredibly well in the tiebreaker and he was pushing Hewitt around again with his powerful forehand. After trading points, Blake set himself up with a set point on Hewitt's second serve, which Blake had been taking advantage of all match. Hewitt serves a weak second serve and Blake dumps the ball into the net. "Oh no! What are you thinking? Don't get tentative now," I thought. Hewitt got really pumped up after Blake let him off the hook and the momentum seem to swing at that moment. Blake became increasingly annoyed, he even tauted Hewitt after he'd won a point by imitating one Hewitt's trademark celebratory moves. Hewitt in turn took his game into higher gear and accurately countered every stroke Blake threw at him with something better. There were two points in particular that Blake could and should have won following the missed return of serve on his first set point. Those two points would have given him the second set. However, he stopped focusing on his tennis and started trying to show Hewitt up and his plan backfired. During the last point of the tiebreaker, Hewitt scrambled to return a couple of powerful strokes by Blake. When Hewitt got Blake out of position, he went for his kill shot ( I believe it was a angled cross court drop shot), Blake scrambled to get to the ball but he was a half step short so he lunged in desperation to hit the ball, fell on to the concrete and hurt his hand.

From that point on, Blake was never the same. He lost the third set 6-0 (read six love). He didn't win a single game. Talk about not showing any heart. Throughout the rest of the match you saw Blake squeezing his newly injured right hand as if to say, "I am hurting, I am in pain." Truth be told, his psyche was hurting a lot more than that damn hand.

Blake regrouped enough to put up some resistance during the fourth set. By then, however, the writing was on the wall. Blake's fire was extinquished by Hewitt: 6-4, 6-7, 0-6, 2-6. God what a great opportunity Blake let slip through his fingers.

Watching Blake crash and burn, I started to wonder, why are are we our own worst enemy? Is it fear of failure, or fear of success that drives us to sabotage our own progress?
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Before James Blake's match, ESPN2 covered Lindsay Davenport and Venus Williams' matches.

Lindsay lost the first set of her match but she regrouped and swatted that other chick off the court in the next two sets.

Venus started her match poorly by losing her serve. She was not moving her feet and was over hitting her forehand (a recurring problem for her). "It's going to be a long one," I thought. Thankfully, Venus wasn't having it. She gathered herself quickly and started playing solid tennis. She won 6-1, 6-3 but her opponent, Shuai Peng, played really well. She was able to get Venus on the run a lot. If Peng would have been more experienced, she probably would have caused Venus many more problems. Alas, I'll take the victory anyway it comes for my girl. I must say, Venus' focus on court still continues to impress.