Wet Wet Wet

Lots of rain today, so not much tennis at all. We got to see Kiwi qualifier G.D. Jones take on Nicolas Massu in their first round match. Jones served well to keep the first set close, but Massu eventually ran away with it 64 62. In his pre match interview Massu said that he wasn’t terribly happy with his 2007 results, but had trained hard over the off season and was looking forward to a successful 2008. The Chilean is always dangerous, and he came through qualifying so he’s got some momentum. Massu will face the winner of Jarkko Nieminen-Xavier Malisse in the second round.

This was all we got to see on centre court before the rain settled in, but while Massu-Jones was going on 7th seed Philip Kohlschreiber and Sergio Roitman both won their first round matches. I also saw a little bit of young Croat Marin Cilic vs qualifier Tomas Cakl. They only got a few games in before the rain hit but I liked what I saw from Cilic. He’s got a good look. That reminds me, Mario Ancic did pull out of his match against Juan Carlos Ferrero. Stomach virus. It’s a shame as the Croatian fans were out in force to cheer him on in their neat chequered shirts, but they got behind Cilic for the short time he was on court. Jesse Levine will take Ancic’s place in the draw and meet Ferrero tomorrow. I think Levine is a good replacement, he was one of the more interesting players in the qualifying draw. The 20-year-old was a sparring partner for Roger Federer last year, that’s a decent claim to fame.

So there are a gazillion matches scheduled for tomorrow, plenty to choose from on all the courts. Some players will have to play two matches in one day, so it will be interesting to see if that has a big impact on anyone’s games. But these Spaniards and South Americans are all very fit. The forecast says there may be a few showers, but hopefully the catch up will be achieved and I’ll have lots to report tomorrow night.

Nicolas Massu’s orange and white outfit is easier on the eyes than the orange and black Juan Ignacio Chela wore yesterday. Maybe we’ll see some more orange tomorrow.