Seven's summer of tennis - Seven West Media
Seven's summer of tennis - Seven West Media
Seven's summer of tennis - Seven West Media
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COMMENTATOR<br />
JOHN<br />
FITZGERALD<br />
COMMENTATOR<br />
— BRISBANE INTERNATIONAL<br />
— AAMI KOOYONG CLASSIC<br />
— AUSTRALIAN OPEN<br />
As far as John Fitzgerald is concerned, world No.1 Roger<br />
Federer is still the man to beat for the 2010 Australian Open<br />
title.<br />
“It’s just too hard to pick against him,” he says. “He’s been a<br />
finalist in all four Slams in ‘09, winning two <strong>of</strong> them and he is<br />
still the best player in the world.<br />
“I’m picking Serena Williams to win the women’s. If she plays<br />
at her best, Serena is still the best female player in the world.<br />
Kim Clijsters could be a threat though.”<br />
John thinks local hopes for the tournament, led by world<br />
No.26 Lleyton Hewitt, are mixed. While Chris Guccione has<br />
an Achilles issue and may not be ready, he says Lleyton’s<br />
training “very hard” while Peter’s Luczak is probably “in the<br />
best form <strong>of</strong> his life” and Carsten Ball has also been playing<br />
his best <strong>tennis</strong>.<br />
John doesn’t think the lack <strong>of</strong> potential Australian champions<br />
makes the Open any less appealing to Aussie fans though.<br />
“We are certainly looking for the next Australian champion<br />
but in such a global sport, there is more competition than<br />
ever,” he says. “All <strong>of</strong> the great players <strong>of</strong> the world will be<br />
here. The appeal speaks for itself.”<br />
This will be John’s 14th year providing expert commentary for<br />
<strong>Seven</strong>’s <strong>summer</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>tennis</strong>.<br />
As a player, his greatest career highlights came during the 11<br />
years he represented Australia in the Davis Cup. During this<br />
time he well and truly made his mark on Australian <strong>tennis</strong><br />
and was an integral part <strong>of</strong> the team. He played three finals<br />
and played a major role in defeating Sweden in both the 1983<br />
and 1986 finals at Kooyong.<br />
John also held the No.1 ranking in Australia, represented his<br />
country in two Olympics (Seoul and Barcelona), won six ATP<br />
Tour singles titles, 30 ATP Tour doubles titles (including seven<br />
Grand Slam titles) and received the Order <strong>of</strong> Australia Medal<br />
in 1993 for services to <strong>tennis</strong>.<br />
In 2001, John became only the fourth Australian Davis Cup<br />
captain in the past 60 years. He’s so far taken the team to<br />
two finals.
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