Australian Open 2020: It Has Officially Become A Free For All in the Women's Draw

The women's draw in this year's Australian Open is in such topsy-turvy state that if you do a head-to-head of the remaining players, it would be Sofia Kenin vs. Alison Riske in the upper half and Garbine Muguruza vs. Simona Halep in the lower half when it comes to the semifinals stage of the tournament.

Of course, you can throw those statistics out the window since Barty and Gauff would want those data to be revised, and they could!

So the best thing to do is just sit back and relax and let the remaining 16 women surprise you!

It has now officially become a free for all!

Tony's Movie Review: Jojo Rabbit Reconciles Innocence with the Cruelties of War

Jojo Rabbit is an all out satire on Adolf Hitler and Nazism but done in a lighthearted manner that you can actually bring your kid to watch it.

I think it was written and directed purposely for children as the main protagonist is a ten year old boy played endearingly Roman Griffin Davis.

In his young and innocent mind, he is excited over the prospect of being part of Hitler's Youth group and doing fun things like throwing grenades and hunting for Jews.

Comedy and Hitler and the extermination of the Jews has been done well several times, my favorite being Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds - maybe because Tarantino allowed us to have our revenge over the Nazi bastards - even if only in film.

Despite being a comedy, what is good about Jojo Rabbit is that it did not shy away from showing the cruelty and the harshness of life at that time - the eerie demeanor of the Gestapo - and the hanging of anti-Nazi sympathizers.

"Let everything happen to you

Beauty and terror

Just keep going

No feeling is final"

This short excerpt from a poem by Rainer Marie Rilke was shown in the end of the movie and in a way it encapsulates the whole World War II experience of Jojo Betzler, the boy in the movie.

Scarlett Johansson plays his Mom and is the moral center of the story. Taika Waititi, the director and screenwriter is from New Zealand so it's amazing that he tackles this sticky subject matter with fearlessness. He also plays Adolf really well, it's a pity he did not get any acting nominations.

There is even a hint of homosexuality in the role of Sam Rockwell as the boys' trainer. It is done subtly and played wonderfully by Sam! No wonder every director wants him! He can play anything!

It's good the movie has fans among the Academy members, as it was nominated for Best Picture. Comedy still has a place in a year of big, masculine dramas.

Australian Open 2020: I Hope Cori Gauff Does Not Become A Cautionary Tale

I wish Cori Gauff all the best, achieving so much at the tender age of 15.

But I am playing the devil's advocate here, because I have been a fan of this sport for more than two decades, and there are plenty of stories on the women's side of young female tennis prodigies come out of nowhere and winning the grand slams and then crashing and burning in the end!

I am worried that maybe it's her parents who are really pushing her because professional tennis offers big money - she may win this Australian Open, but would she be mature enough to handle the immense pressure that this newfound fame and fortune opens up to her?

Professional tennis is like the fashion world. The competition calendar is relentless and all year round.

The toll on the physical body and a player's mental state is enormous, not to mention the nonstop traveling!

You never get to sleep on the same bed for months! That instability would be tough on a teenager.

Top players today have to stay healthy, sane, and at tiptop form, otherwise, there's always another girl waiting for you to fail.

I was 15 once and I just wanted to be a teenager. I hope they also let Cori be a teenager first. It would be a pity if she wins, what, one, two, three, grand slams, then crashes out of the sport at the age of 18.

That would be such a tragedy for women's tennis!

Australian Open 2020: Gauff, Kenin, and Riske Take the American Mantle as the Veterans Crash Out

Today shows how deep the bench is in American women's tennis.

While their top draws like Serena Williams and Madison Keys tumbled out of the Australian Open today, three up-and-coming players stepped up to the plate!

Although Cori Gauff has gotten the most press coverage, on paper, Sofia Kenin, her compatriot has a better H2H but as with Cori Gauff, you can just throw that sheet of paper out the window as she has become the giant killer of this tournament.

Let's just see if she can handle the pressure after winning over the defending champion, Naomi Osaka.

No such pressure exists for Sofia Kenin, and if she plays her cards right, even if she meets Serena conqueror Qiang Wang, she still has a better H2H than Wang, making her the favorite now to reach the semifinal slot on her side of the draw.

I love Alison Riske and I am so happy for her that she has reached the fourth round here in Melbourne! Good news for her, she also has a winning H2H over Ashleigh Barty and possible QF opponent, Maria Sakkari, making her, the favorite to reach the SF slot on her side of the draw.

So a possible Riske-Gauff or Riske-Kenin may await in the semi's.

At least, that's what we can glean from the latest H2H statistics.

Australian Open 2020: Qiang Wang Gets Her Sweet Revenge

Usually, you'd have to wait till the finals of a grand slam before any player in the women's draw can defeat Serena Williams.

Bianca Andreescu did it in the US Open last year.

Qiang Wang though had other plans. I think her 61 60 loss to Serena in the US Open QFs last year gave her all the learning she could from that match to give Serena a 64 67(2) 75 loss when they met again here in Melbourne.

I was in the edge of my seat most of the time because Wang wasn't giving up. She was really pushing Serena who was really playing well too!

One great thing about Serena is that she never rolls down and plays dead, when she's in the backseat. She always fights back, so Qiang had to be fighting in all cylinders just to make sure she stays ahead.

It has been awhile since Chinese women have made a dent in women's singles tennis - Li Na, Zheng Jie and Peng Shuai have made inroads before.

Today's generation of Chinese players still have to make their presence felt. Zhang Shuai made a dent here in Melbourne a few years back.

I hope Qiang Wang opens the doors for them and goes deeper into the tournament, this time around.

With Naomi Osaka flying the flag for Asian women players, I look forward to seeing more Asians in the top 20 soon.

Australian Open 2020: Ons Jabeur Into Fourth Round with Win Over Wozniacki

Serena Williams and Caroline Wozniacki are the best of friends and I really thought they'd meet again in the 4th round here in Melbourne, in what would've been one of Caro's last few games, especially that she is retiring after this tournament.

Well, Ons Jabeur of Tunisia just gave Caro her pink slip a round earlier in a very tenacious manner.

I have never seen Ons play in a grand slam, but I am familiar with her since she tends to hang around in the first two rounds.

Now she goes deeper, fourth round in a grand slam, and I think, the only African and Arab woman left in the women's draw.

I really hope she goes deeper as she can inspire a whole generation of Arab and African girls to take to tennis.

There have been successful players before from their part of the world but they have been few and far between.

I hope Ons can continue to work hard and spread the sport in that part of the world.

Alex Gonzaga

Alex Gonzaga has two hits in My OPM Top 10 countdown.

2020 - Tipints (#2)

2019 - Chambe (#7)