Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
As I write this, Roger Federer and James Blake have lined-up an exciting quarter-final clash while local hope Lleyton Hewitt and Novak Djokovic are involved in a slug-fest which looks like going the full length.
David Ferrer is up two sets to one against Juan Carlos Ferrero in another interesting tussle while in the women's section Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska is the only surprise in the quarter-final line-up. That's the present scenario at the Australia Open and a lot may have changed by the time this comes out in print.
If the second week of the first Grand Slam of the year promises to feature the big guns, the first week certainly belonged to the underdogs. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was a sensation and Janko Tipsarevic a revelation in the men's section while Casey Dellacqua won the hearts among the women.
A lot of things passed my mind as I watched Dellacqua cut through the women's draw with surprising ease, Tsonga continued his upward march and Tipsarevic forced Federer into an early reality check. Their game on the court was as refreshing as their simple lifestyles off it. I took an instant liking for all three.
Tsonga hails from Le Mans and has a French mother and Congolese father, Tipsarevic is from Serbia and can be easily mistaken for an Oxford or Cambridge student who may have trespassed into Melbourne Park and Dellacqua, daughter of a car mechanic, spent most of her teens hanging out with her nanny in a Perth suburb.
They are not the quintessential tennis prodigies coming off the conveyer belt at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy. They have so far led ordinary lives, in ordinary suburbs and perhaps suffered as much heartache as any other normal teenagers. This is exactly what makes them connect with an ordinary fan more easily than an extraordinary player with extraordinary prowess.
Take Dellacqua, for instance. She is in stark contrast to the Williamses and Sharapovas. Where Venus and Serena play with diamond rings on their fingers and Sharapova in specially designed outfits, Dellacqua sports tops picked up at bargain bins.
"My favourite shop has always been Target," Dellacqua said after beating Patty Schnyder to begin a giant-killing run. "I like their tank tops and they're comfy to practise in. Usually you can get deals for, like, three for 30 bucks or something."
But one week of inspired tennis and two top scalps (Schnyder and Amelie Mauresmo) have changed all that. Target may have lost one of their regular customers, but Australian sport I suspect has gained a new sporting heroine. Perhaps, she's the new Sunshine Supergirl, just like Evonne Goolagong Cawley was in the 70s.
"I got, like, six pairs of shoes, like, a whole range of clothes, new socks, sweatbands, things you don't even think about, really," Dellacqua admitted as sponsors queued outside her hotel room.
"I got more stuff yesterday than I had in my original suitcase. I called Dad and I said, 'I'm going to have to get you to take a fair amount of this stuff back to Perth. I can't carry all this stuff. It was, like, a second Christmas."
Like Dellacqua, Tsonga has also had a great run at the Australian Open having captured two top-10 seeds. The 22-year-old may not yet float like a butterfly, but many top players are already feeling the sting of his forehand.
If Dellacqua has a close resemblance to Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Tsonga looks like an uncanny copy of a young Muhammad Ali for his breathtaking playing style and exuberant personality. He has already won many hearts both on and off the court.
Beating his best friend and compatriot Richard Gasquet 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (8-6), 6-3 in the fourth round, Tsonga is now in line to take on Mikhail Youzhny in the quarter-finals. If successful, Rafael Nadal will be his next opponent. But Tsonga for sure will be looking further ahead - perhaps to the Ali of tennis world - Roger Federer.
The third protagonist of this column Tipsarevic likes classic Russian literature and is presently not looking into the fine print of a Nike or an Adidas contract, but rereading for the third time Dostoevsky's Idiot.
Watching Tipsarevic was like looking at an old tape of Goran Ivanisevic with the mute button on. The 23-year-old Serbian was at his best while driving Federer up the wall in the third round five-setter. He led all the way in the extended fifth set before bowing to the Master.
Tipsarevic, like Dellacqua, may be out of the Australian Open, but not from the hearts of true tennis lovers.
