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		<title><![CDATA[GrandSlamFantasyTennis.com Forum]]></title>
		<link>http://www.grandslamfantasytennis.com/forum/</link>
		<description><![CDATA[The most recent topics at GrandSlamFantasyTennis.com Forum.]]></description>
		<lastBuildDate>Sat, 04 Feb 2012 03:43:48 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[OZ Officiating]]></title>
			<link>http://www.grandslamfantasytennis.com/forum/topic/319/oz-officiating/new/posts/</link>
			<description><![CDATA[[b]Oz Thumbs Down: Officiating[/b]

by Pete Bodo

Last October, the Australian Sports Commission issued a public statement offering "Applications. . . for 2012 National Officiating Scholarships." The benefits were to include "frequent practical officiating. . .under the guidance of an experienced mentor," as well as "exposure to high-level officiating and related debriefings," and "attendance at seminars and conferences."

While it's nice (or a little creepy) to know that the Australian government is deeply vested in the critical field of sports officiating, and has brought all of its bureaucratic tools to bear on the effort (if anyone has any idea what "development pathways and initiatives developed and implemented by participating NSOs" means, please write!), it's also pretty clear that few, if any, of the linespersons at the Australian Open had availed themselves of those plum scholarships.

Or if they did, they may have spent less time practicing line calls than hobnobbing at seminars and "debriefings" (Why do I have a funny feeling that that's code for: Everyone meet in the hotel bar at six, woo-hoo!).

The officiating at the Australian Open was just awful.

Usually, officiating is one of those subjects wise pundits and commentators just leave alone. Nobody, but nobody, wants a tennis match to be about officiating, and certainly not errors or controversies. But at times it seemed like this entire tournament was about just that. One enduring image from the men's final is either player, Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic, casting imploring looks at chair umpire Pascal Maria, hoping for some sort of comfort.

To his credit, Maria appeared to understand that this can be a slippery slope; a chair umpire who feels obliged to vigorously assert his overrule privileges is just asking for trouble that can come in many forms, from accusations of favoritism toward one player to overplaying his hand and blowing a few calls.

Besides, that's ultimately why the Hawkeye electronic line-calling system is there—as a court of last resort. Do we really want to see a linesman overruled by the umpire, then witness Hawkeye overruling the overrule? That's just what happened in the John Isner v. David Nalbandian match—almost.

Kader Nouni, the chair umpire in that one, refused Nalbandian's request to have an overrule reviewed (it certainly looked like a bad overrule by the chair umpire in replay), because he didn't issue the challenge soon enough. It may have cost Nalbandian the match. 

But the officiating was error-strewn throughout the tournament, on occasions large and small, and you have to wonder why. My own feeling is that we may be feeling an unintended consequence of the shift to electronic line-calling by way of Hawkeye. I'm a fan of the system, but the little computerized overseer has taken us on a crazy, often counter-intuitive joyride. 

One of the first, surprising dividends of Hawkeye was the way it empowered the chair umpire, instead of greatly reducing his importance. If a chair umpire is less inclined to jump in and overrule because of the existence of Hawkeye, he's also become a much more active if informal mediator on court.

The first reaction of a player who thinks he got hooked now is often to look to the. . . chair umpire. He or she wants to know how the chair ump saw it, and even if there's no overrule (it's too late by then anyway), the player will read the umpire's reactions as either a signal to challenge or let the call go. In that sense, Hawkeye has brought the umpire further into the match in an unprecedented way.

But could it also be that Hawkeye is making line callers, well, lazy? A sleepy Aussie who missed the seminars could very easily decide it wouldn't hurt anything if he just relaxed a bit in his chair at two- sets-all. No worries, mate, we have an umpire there to overrule in the event I miss something, and then there's also the big boss, good old Hawkeye! 

Because of the utter lack of confidence in the officials, aided perhaps by the chair umpires' reluctance to become too involved, in the late stages of the tournament we came face to face a few times with the nightmare Hawkeye scenario—a player, having expended all his challenges in a fit of justifiable paranoia of poor calls, losing a huge match because he was unable to challenge an obviously erroneous call.

If nothing else, the lords of tennis ought to read linespersons the riot act, and review the job description with chair umpires—not all of whom are as capable as Maria. Down in Oz, though, perhaps they should let the conferences wait and start with mandatory eye examinations for all.]]></description>
			<author><![CDATA[dummy@example.com (SAWLEO)]]></author>
			<pubDate>Sat, 04 Feb 2012 03:43:48 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.grandslamfantasytennis.com/forum/topic/319/oz-officiating/new/posts/</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Australian Open 2012 Draw Analysis!]]></title>
			<link>http://www.grandslamfantasytennis.com/forum/topic/304/australian-open-2012-draw-analysis/new/posts/</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Now that the draws are out, what do you guys think are some interesting first-rounders or possible later round clashes?

I am DEVASTATED that Mardy Fish and Gilles Muller drew each other in the first round!  Two of my favorite guys!  No matter, Muller hasn't been playing well over the last few weeks and probably would have crashed out to just about anybody, but still.  I'll definitely be interested in seeing this match, though, if possible.

Dolgopolov vs. Tomic in Round 3 should be highly entertaining!

On the women's side, I really think Zheng Jie has the potential to go deep, except she's in Kvitova's quarter.  Kvitova has the kind of game that Zheng really just isn't built to beat.  I think Zheng is going to shock a lot of people when she upsets Marion Bartoli in Round 3.  You heard it here first.

Also, look for little-known Mandy Minella to give Sharapova all she can handle in round 2!  Possibility for biggest early-round upset here.

-Arvis]]></description>
			<author><![CDATA[dummy@example.com (backhandpass)]]></author>
			<pubDate>Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:43:29 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.grandslamfantasytennis.com/forum/topic/304/australian-open-2012-draw-analysis/new/posts/</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Australian Open 2012 Racket Bracket!]]></title>
			<link>http://www.grandslamfantasytennis.com/forum/topic/302/australian-open-2012-racket-bracket/new/posts/</link>
			<description><![CDATA[[url]http://www.tourneytopia.com/RacquetBracketAussieOpenATP/Arvis/Default.aspx[/url]

The AO itself is hosting a weird sort of "pick 'em" through their official site, but no bracket.

I thought with the success of the Obi Wan Cannoli at the US Open, we could try and do something similar for this tournament!

-Arvis]]></description>
			<author><![CDATA[dummy@example.com (backhandpass)]]></author>
			<pubDate>Sat, 28 Jan 2012 14:18:15 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.grandslamfantasytennis.com/forum/topic/302/australian-open-2012-racket-bracket/new/posts/</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[2012 champs]]></title>
			<link>http://www.grandslamfantasytennis.com/forum/topic/310/2012-champs/new/posts/</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Who do you think will win the 2012 grand slams
In Australia I'm going with djokovic
In Paris I'm going with rafa :o (gasp)
In Wimbledon I'm going with federer
And the us I'm gonna go with roger again

In the womens
Australia= azerenka
French= bartoli
Wimbledon= Serena 
NYC= wozniaki :o... What!!!!! I picked the number one in the world in the womens to win a tournament... Unacceptable.]]></description>
			<author><![CDATA[dummy@example.com (Dragan)]]></author>
			<pubDate>Sun, 22 Jan 2012 00:17:37 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.grandslamfantasytennis.com/forum/topic/310/2012-champs/new/posts/</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Yoda Cup alert!]]></title>
			<link>http://www.grandslamfantasytennis.com/forum/topic/315/yoda-cup-alert/new/posts/</link>
			<description><![CDATA[To my Yoda Cup rivals.
Don mentioned earlier that if someone doesn't have auto-pick(in the account options) set to NO,then he will be automaticaly expelled begining from the fourth round.
I just wanted to remind you all about this. :)]]></description>
			<author><![CDATA[dummy@example.com (backhandpass)]]></author>
			<pubDate>Sat, 21 Jan 2012 23:16:18 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.grandslamfantasytennis.com/forum/topic/315/yoda-cup-alert/new/posts/</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[tennis 2012]]></title>
			<link>http://www.grandslamfantasytennis.com/forum/topic/316/tennis-2012/new/posts/</link>
			<description><![CDATA[i think djokovic nadal murray are the best out of them all]]></description>
			<author><![CDATA[dummy@example.com (Adrian)]]></author>
			<pubDate>Sat, 21 Jan 2012 15:34:07 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.grandslamfantasytennis.com/forum/topic/316/tennis-2012/new/posts/</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[YODA CUP Winner & Finalist Picks]]></title>
			<link>http://www.grandslamfantasytennis.com/forum/topic/311/yoda-cup-winner-finalist-picks/new/posts/</link>
			<description><![CDATA[As you might expect, on the men's side the only finalists picked by any members of the Yoda Cup crew are the top 4.

6 of us have Djokovic to win
3 Murray
2 Rafa
1 Fed (Arvis, of course).  

8 votes each for Djokovic and Rafa in the final
4 votes each for Murray and Fed in the final. 

The women's side is a totally different story.  Our group of 12 picked 7 winners!
3 Kvitova
3 Azarenka
2 Serena 
1 Li, Clijsters, Radwanska and Stosur (sorry, Sophie).

We have 9 different finalists.
6 votes for Kvitova
5 for Azarenka
4 for Serena
3 for Li
2 for Kim
1 for Wozniacki, Radwanska, Sharapova and Stosur.

Once again, pretourney winner and finalist picks may well decide the Yoda Cup champion.  As someone who took Djokovic over Rafa and Kvitova over Azarenka, I didn't exactly stray from the pack, as it turns out.]]></description>
			<author><![CDATA[dummy@example.com (Adrian)]]></author>
			<pubDate>Sat, 21 Jan 2012 15:24:34 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.grandslamfantasytennis.com/forum/topic/311/yoda-cup-winner-finalist-picks/new/posts/</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Who's will will win 2012 open]]></title>
			<link>http://www.grandslamfantasytennis.com/forum/topic/288/whos-will-will-win-2012-open/new/posts/</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Who's going to win. Will Nole stay on top? Will rafa? Will Roger win one again finally? Or will someone else like mardy fish, Jo-willy, Murray (not) Fererr or a dark horse? Who do you think?]]></description>
			<author><![CDATA[dummy@example.com (Tono)]]></author>
			<pubDate>Tue, 17 Jan 2012 18:09:51 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.grandslamfantasytennis.com/forum/topic/288/whos-will-will-win-2012-open/new/posts/</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Can the new boys on the block cause an upset?]]></title>
			<link>http://www.grandslamfantasytennis.com/forum/topic/175/can-the-new-boys-on-the-block-cause-an-upset/new/posts/</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Does anyone think that the two surprise packets of the mens draw, Raonic and Dolgopolov can go any further in this years AO, Raonic has a huge serve and will get lots of free points but Ferrer is a rabbit with big wheels and will fight like a bull too.
Dolgopolov might have just played his final I think by beating Tsonga in five and Soderling has snuck through the draw largely unnoticed by most people, he might just be the dark horse this year who knows??]]></description>
			<author><![CDATA[dummy@example.com (Adrian)]]></author>
			<pubDate>Tue, 22 Feb 2011 01:34:04 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.grandslamfantasytennis.com/forum/topic/175/can-the-new-boys-on-the-block-cause-an-upset/new/posts/</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Name The 2011 Grand Slam winners!]]></title>
			<link>http://www.grandslamfantasytennis.com/forum/topic/170/name-the-2011-grand-slam-winners/new/posts/</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Ok everyone lets do a bit of crystal ball gazing and see if any of us can pick the winner of each of the grand Slams this year! Mens only, womens is way too hard :) I'll have a stab at both anyway :)
Mens:
Australian Open - Federer
French Open - Nadal
Wimbledon - Federer
US Open - Murray

Womens:
Australian - Clijsters
French - Stosur
Wimbledon - Venus Williams
US Open - Serena Williams (If serena is injured still) Wozniacki

Lets see your picks everyone!]]></description>
			<author><![CDATA[dummy@example.com (Don)]]></author>
			<pubDate>Wed, 09 Feb 2011 23:45:51 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.grandslamfantasytennis.com/forum/topic/170/name-the-2011-grand-slam-winners/new/posts/</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Seriously, Caroline?]]></title>
			<link>http://www.grandslamfantasytennis.com/forum/topic/178/seriously-caroline/new/posts/</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Serving for the match with an opponent spraying shots all over the place and you find a way to lose? Brutal.]]></description>
			<author><![CDATA[dummy@example.com (Adrian)]]></author>
			<pubDate>Sun, 30 Jan 2011 23:35:07 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.grandslamfantasytennis.com/forum/topic/178/seriously-caroline/new/posts/</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[I've got that feeling...]]></title>
			<link>http://www.grandslamfantasytennis.com/forum/topic/161/ive-got-that-feeling/new/posts/</link>
			<description><![CDATA[I've got that tingly feeling all over, which must mean a new grand slam is about to begin. 

Anyone got any measured predictions (or wild stabs in the dark) that they want to make? 

What do we all think of Juan Martin del Potro being back, is he a threat this year or is he going to spend much of 2011 recovering from last year's troubles?]]></description>
			<author><![CDATA[dummy@example.com (Adrian)]]></author>
			<pubDate>Thu, 27 Jan 2011 15:26:45 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.grandslamfantasytennis.com/forum/topic/161/ive-got-that-feeling/new/posts/</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[have you predicted an upset recently? brag about it here!]]></title>
			<link>http://www.grandslamfantasytennis.com/forum/topic/177/have-you-predicted-an-upset-recently-brag-about-it-here/new/posts/</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Totally called the petkovic upset over sharapova. Maria just seemed too shakey and it definitely showed against Andrea. felt good to call that one.]]></description>
			<author><![CDATA[dummy@example.com (Adrian)]]></author>
			<pubDate>Thu, 27 Jan 2011 15:24:31 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.grandslamfantasytennis.com/forum/topic/177/have-you-predicted-an-upset-recently-brag-about-it-here/new/posts/</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Is Roger saving energy or has he lost a little confidence?]]></title>
			<link>http://www.grandslamfantasytennis.com/forum/topic/172/is-roger-saving-energy-or-has-he-lost-a-little-confidence/new/posts/</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Is Roger usuing his experience and just doing enough to get through his matches at the moment or has he lost a little confidence from his 2nd round scare against Gilles Simon?
He has Robredo next which I would expect he will win but it will be interesting to see how he plays, maybe he is saving up for the quarters onwards, possibly Roddick then Djokovic then the final if he can keep winning.
I'm getting that feeling again that he is starting to mistime more shots than he would like?? Or is that just me being paranoid for the Fed?
I must admit Rafa looks strong at the moment but you don't win slams in the first week huh, barring injury he looks certain to make the semis at the very least though where i assume he will meet either Murray, Tsonga or Soderling.
Good to see the likes of Berdych, Verdasco, Baghdatis, Melzer and Ferrer playing well too, things are starting to heat up in the mens!!]]></description>
			<author><![CDATA[dummy@example.com (Adrian)]]></author>
			<pubDate>Thu, 27 Jan 2011 03:26:46 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.grandslamfantasytennis.com/forum/topic/172/is-roger-saving-energy-or-has-he-lost-a-little-confidence/new/posts/</guid>
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			<title><![CDATA[Pick Your Quarterfinalists!]]></title>
			<link>http://www.grandslamfantasytennis.com/forum/topic/176/pick-your-quarterfinalists/new/posts/</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Ok tennis fans lets try and see the future and pick the quarterfinalists for the 2011 Aussie Open :)
Here's my picks:

Men's - Nadal v Ferrer, Soderling v Murray, Verdasco v Djokovic, Roddick v Federer
Women's - Wozniacki v Kuznetsova, Sharapova v Azarenka, Radwanska v Clijsters, Kvitova v Zvonareva

I think Nadal, Ferrer, Soderling, Murray, Djokovic and Federer will all win, Berdych v Verdasco and Roddick v Wawrinka is tough to pick though.
The women's matches are tougher to pick and way more open for upsets I think.
What does everyone else think??]]></description>
			<author><![CDATA[dummy@example.com (Adrian)]]></author>
			<pubDate>Sun, 23 Jan 2011 03:59:08 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid>http://www.grandslamfantasytennis.com/forum/topic/176/pick-your-quarterfinalists/new/posts/</guid>
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