The Tennis Thread - Part 5

[HKpowerup]

I just hope some of the up and coming talents can breakthrough and win me over. I remember when Agassi retired, i had a bit of a tennis crisis until i found Nadal and started rooting for him and that got me fully involved again lol. I think Thiem might be one of those guys for me, i just think he's so talented and on the brink of something big.

I don't see any of the current generation of youngsters challenging the big 3, in a way they're unlucky - Nadal, Federer and Djokovic are just that good. Even Djokovic, taking into account historical competition.

I haven't seen much of Zverev but his win over Novak in the ATP finals was a good one. The problem for the up and comers is that the big three know how to peak at the Slams, that in itself is a skill that needs to be mastered.

Djokovic is going to be very difficult for anyone to stop next year. Nadal's at risk of potentially being overtaken by Novak in the next 1-2 years (in terms of Slam count) if he can't pull out victories at non-French Open Slams.

 

[terry78]

So looks like Andy Murray is hanging it up.

 

[Bim]

Too bad for Andy. I hope he can at least make it to Wimbledon and say goodbye at home.

 

[Iceman]

Just heard about Murray retiring. He achieved a LOT for a U.K. tennis player.

 

[Iceman]

I don't see any of the current generation of youngsters challenging the big 3, in a way they're unlucky - Nadal, Federer and Djokovic are just that good. Even Djokovic, taking into account historical competition.

I haven't seen much of Zverev but his win over Novak in the ATP finals was a good one. The problem for the up and comers is that the big three know how to peak at the Slams, that in itself is a skill that needs to be mastered.

Djokovic is going to be very difficult for anyone to stop next year. Nadal's at risk of potentially being overtaken by Novak in the next 1-2 years (in terms of Slam count) if he can't pull out victories at non-French Open Slams.

The only thing looking likely to beat them is age itself.

 

[Iceman]

Andy Murray loses possible farewell match at Australian Open to Roberto Bautista Agut

Murray loses in a great match, but in the first round of the Australian Open. Shame that he couldn't go further if this is his really his last appearance.

 

[Iceman]

Simona Halep fights back to beat Kaia Kanepi at Australian Open

 

[Iceman]

Really thrilled to see Osaka win again. Anyone been watching the Australian Open?

 

[Breogan]

Really thrilled to see Osaka win again. Anyone been watching the Australian Open?

Yes, Serena's overshadowing US Open meltdown and tirade aside, it was no fluke, Osaka is great, and proves it again here.

At the men's , seeing Murray retire, and Federer fade has been rough. Yet none of these supposed up-comers have what it takes yet, #4 Zverev had his early racket smashing petulant fit of fail,

and hopeful Tsitsipas had nothing to bring against Nadal.
And so the two Titans are back on top:
Nadal v Djokovic
Although as its been, Djokovic has the edge again and takes it!
For Nadal all roads lead to Djokovic, and he can not pass* him.
(*insert epic Gandalf v Balrog fiery battle meme here (we know who represent who))
Congrats Djokovic (the wizard) emerges triumphant. LOL

Also really enjoyed the appearance of local boy Alex De Minaur, hope to see more of him.
and for the US Danielle Collins was a huge surprise.

 

[Iceman]

Yes, Serena's overshadowing US Open meltdown and tirade aside, it was no fluke, Osaka is great, and proves it again here.

At the men's , seeing Murray retire, and Federer fade has been rough. Yet none of these supposed up-comers have what it takes yet, #4 Zverev had his early racket smashing fit of fail, and hopeful Tsitsipas had nothing to bring against Nadal.
And so the two Titans are back on top:
Nadal v Djokovic
Although as its been, Djokovic has the edge again and takes it!
For Nadal all roads lead to Djokovic, and he can not pass* him.
(*insert epic Gandalf v Balrog fiery battle meme here (we know who represent who))
Congrats Djokovic (the white) emerges triumphant. LOL

Also really enjoyed the appearance of local boy Alex De Minaur, hope to see more of him.
and for the US Danielle Collins was a huge surprise.

I can’t believe how one-sided it was. With Djok’s age he could and probably would overtake both Nadal and Fed for career slams if he keeps up this form. As you say Fed has lost an edge while Murray has retired and we are still waiting for a young player to truly break through. That makes Nadal his main barrier to winning a huge collection of slams over the next few years.

And on Osaka I hope she turns into a long term competitor who can challenge for years. I’m also a big fan of Muguruza, but she’s so inconsistent.

 

[raisethe3]

Congrats Dojokovic. As much as I like for Nadal to win, Dojokovic is on another level. I mean Nadal was playing really well in the tournament, but D had another answer.

 

[Bim]

Congrats Dojokovic. As much as I like for Nadal to win, Dojokovic is on another level. I mean Nadal was playing really well in the tournament, but D had another answer.

I watched Nadal's press conference after the final, and found his insight very interesting. He was saying that he hadnt been challenged defensively throughout the tournament, that he was on the offensive in all of his previous matches, but that in the final, playing a Novak that was pushing him from the getco and putting him in a defensive position right away, he felt his defensive game just wasnt at the level it should have been, and that hopefully he can get that back as he plays more competitive matches. Makes sense considering he hadnt played competitive tennis since 2018. So hopefully this means we'll be able to get more competitive matches between Novak and Rafa as the year marches on.

Anyone else getting the sense that Roger might retire at the end of this year? He's announced he's playing clay season this year, including the French Open, something he hasnt done in a few years. Could he have one last run in mind before calling it quits?

I'm so happy that Osaka won. Love her tennis and her freshness. Hopefully she can continue to grow and stack up those grandslams!

 

[Iceman]

Congrats Dojokovic. As much as I like for Nadal to win, Dojokovic is on another level. I mean Nadal was playing really well in the tournament, but D had another answer.

I’m still shocked at exactly how well Djok played and how easily he wiped out his main rival.

 

[Iceman]

I watched Nadal's press conference after the final, and found his insight very interesting. He was saying that he hadnt been challenged defensively throughout the tournament, that he was on the offensive in all of his previous matches, but that in the final, playing a Novak that was pushing him from the getco and putting him in a defensive position right away, he felt his defensive game just wasnt at the level it should have been, and that hopefully he can get that back as he plays more competitive matches. Makes sense considering he hadnt played competitive tennis since 2018. So hopefully this means we'll be able to get more competitive matches between Novak and Rafa as the year marches on.

Anyone else getting the sense that Roger might retire at the end of this year? He's announced he's playing clay season this year, including the French Open, something he hasnt done in a few years. Could he have one last run in mind before calling it quits?

I'm so happy that Osaka won. Love her tennis and her freshness. Hopefully she can continue to grow and stack up those grandslams!

Going back to clay does give me that feeling too. I think he only wants to hang around while he can add grandslams to his record and after next year it’s going to be tough. This could be the home strait for him.

 

[Bim]

Going back to clay does give me that feeling too. I think he only wants to hang around while he can add grandslams to his record and after next year it’s going to be tough. This could be the home strait for him.

Yeah. And with Rafa and Novak fighting it out, i'm thinking Wimbledon might be Roger's best chance. I'm surprised he said he's playing clay, because it's the most grueling physically. But hey, let's see what happens. We're in for a great season it seems.

 

[Loden Greatstorm]

Novak just too good....

 

[Iceman]

Yeah. And with Rafa and Novak fighting it out, i'm thinking Wimbledon might be Roger's best chance. I'm surprised he said he's playing clay, because it's the most grueling physically. But hey, let's see what happens. We're in for a great season it seems.

Yep. Djok has totally set the standard, and outside of clay, people are going to have to raise their game to cope with him in this form. I would love for Fed to go out with a final Wimbledon victory.

 

[Iceman]

Congrats Dojokovic. As much as I like for Nadal to win, Dojokovic is on another level. I mean Nadal was playing really well in the tournament, but D had another answer.

I 've always supported Fed and Nadal over Djok and Murray (even though he's British), but Djok is totally deserving to be no.1 right now. And if he finishes no.1 all time for slams it will have been well earned.

 

[Another_Fool]

Really thrilled to see Osaka win again. Anyone been watching the Australian Open?

I watched the AO. The women's draw was much better than the men's this year. Love that Osaka won it all and what really impressed me was though Naomi wasn't as dominant as her US Open run she instead found ways to grind out a win multiple matches. I don't know if she stays number one for long since clay season is coming up but I'm still happy she can lay claim to being ranked this high.

 

[Iceman]

I watched the AO. The women's draw was much better than the men's this year. Love that Osaka won it all and what really impressed me was though Naomi wasn't as dominant as her US Open run she instead found ways to grind out a win multiple matches. I don't know if she stays number one for long since clay season is coming up but I'm still happy she can lay claim to being ranked this high.

This proves she can fight in the tighter matches, which is vital for players who want to win grandslams over many years.

 

[Bim]

I watched the AO. The women's draw was much better than the men's this year. Love that Osaka won it all and what really impressed me was though Naomi wasn't as dominant as her US Open run she instead found ways to grind out a win multiple matches. I don't know if she stays number one for long since clay season is coming up but I'm still happy she can lay claim to being ranked this high.

Totally agree. I saw her get frustrated at times in a couple of her matches, but i was glad to see her keep it together, fight and find a way through. She's young and still growing her game, but i'm excited to follow her career along in the coming years. I think she has so much potential.

 

[Iceman]

Hopefully she has a big future ahead.

 

[Sakuraba]

My wife and I, decide to watch tv as we fall asleep. This is something that we rarely do, in fact we only capitulated to putting a tv in the bedroom. She finds, in reasonably fair quality, the Federer-Djokovic semifinal match from the 2011 French Open. What a crazy time that was and a crazy tense, competitive match these gentlemen played on that afternoon. Let us time travel.

John McEnroe’s commentary takes me right back to that time and place. Djokovic was in the midst of having of the finest pro seasons on record and riding a 41 match win streak into this afternoon at Roland Garros. Djokovic, of course, had been reborn at the end of 2010 with Serbia’s Davis Cup win. Djokovic had always been the talented rubber-band man, but now he wasn’t breaking. Gone was the guy that would quit on his stool if a few games didn’t pan out. He was indestructible. Djokovic was dispatching the second tier players in unbothered fashion, but was also making his peers Federer, Nadal, and Murray look second rate. He was complete in the destructions of their games at this point in history, and the future appeared to be the Sergio Tacchini-clad Djokovic and him alone. I am reasonably confident that you can find several comments of mine on this board circa 2011, predicting that Djokovic would never lose to Nadal again.

On the other side of the net, venerable old Roger Federer. A guy that had been called the greatest of all-time long before he actually was the greatest of all time. In stark contrast to the Serbian steamroller Djokovic, Federer was a kind of man in crisis at this point. Federer had slumped before but not quite like this, having gone four Grand Slams without a win. In the slowed down, grinding game that was being played across the entire ATP Tour, Federer’s 90inch racquet and one-handed backhand were hot topics and seemed as antiquated as trousers on the court. He was a man out of time, both in his style of play and his career was literally running out of time. Never mind that while Federer was indeed the second best clay courter in world for the previous decade, he was hardly inspiring any of his fan base with his clay court results in the new decade.

And that is the tell of the tape for this heavyweight fight

 

[Sakuraba]

With my preamble out of the way, again I have to say that McEnroe and the NBC commentary team really get over how dominant Djokovic was. Maybe dominant is the wrong word. Djokovic was inevitable. The tv talkers definitely make the situation grave for Federer, even as the poor bloke strides onto the court before a point is played. Indeed they do stress how almost every point is critical and more important for Federer to win. Djokovic doesn’t need every point, doesn’t even need the first set. Djokovic is the plastic man, who can take a lot of punishment and keep going. He is the grindfather. It’s kind of amusing to see Federer discussed as old here, when he was merely 29. Little did the world realize that Federer was going to be leading the way to the new norm in tennis - old players that only get better. Yes, the new prime years for a tennis-baller was thirty something. The sport got older and the teenagers were squeezed out.

I guess that was a second preamble, anyway the match itself! Immediately you can see that this crowd is not just pro Federer but actively anti Djokovic. Federer isn’t going for big shots but is grinding too, some of his defensive retrievals rival Djokovic on this afternoon. Grinding is probable the wrong word. Federer is gliding and flying all over the court as these two punish each other. The rallies are standard length for surface except for one thing. Federer is serving brilliantly. Federer saves two set points and forces a first tie-breaker. McEnroe paints this event as the match for Federer. Federer cannot win without taking this first set. When Djokovic nets a backhand to hand that first set to Federer, the old Swiss and the crowd simultaneously erupt like joyous and determined volcanos. In fact the crowd erupts at all four of Djokovic’s unforced errors in the tiebreaker, which undoubtably gets inside the Serb’s head

But man, Federer was serving agains the best returner in the world, on clay, and was putting in the performance of a lifetime. I’ll be back with second set thoughts if we don’t fall asleep.

 

[Sakuraba]

Second set thoughts will be brief. Federer continues to serve peas at Djokovic. An interesting twist is that it is Djokovic, confronted by Federer’s wall of defensive shot-making, who is pressing to make bigger shots inside tighter windows. Federer is flying all over the place, maybe his best defensive performance ever. Each Djokovic error is cheered wildly by the French crowd. Federer wins the second set in cruise control at 6-3