Following Up the Big Win...
At the 2008 Australian Open, Casey Dellacqua, an Aussie, upset Amelie Mauresmo a couple days ago in three sets. German, Philipp Kohlschreiber, played the match of his life ripping 104 winners in his five set upset of Andy Roddick. Yet both players lost their next matches. Dellacqua fell to Serbian star, Jelena Jankovic, and Kohlschreiber lost a tight four set match to Finnish seed, Jarkko Nieminen. At every Grand Slam, there are players who pull a “big win” and then lose in the next
round. It is frustrating for both the seeded star, e.g. Andy Roddick, as well as for the up and coming player. Clearly, it’s easier to hit freely and “go for your shots” when there is nothing to lose against a top player. Conversely, after a big win there is more attention and expectations increase. Therefore, a player can feel a combination of pressure from the new expectations, as well as a slight letdown in focus after accomplishing the first objective and beating the seeded player. However, sometimes a player does come along and have a breakthrough tournament by beating several top players in a row and reaching the finals, e.g. David Nalbandian at Wimbledon and Marcos Baghdatis at the Asutralian Open. Who will be the break-out player this year?
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