Year Round The Tennis Thread

[FrostyMouse]

Re: The Tennis Thread- Australian Open( 14th - 27th Jan)

Right, so my picks for the AO title are Djokovic and Serena. I know that I'm not really going out on a limb there, but you can't pick Ferrer to be your AO Champion and expect to be right, no offense to Ferrer or anything. In terms of Serena, she's better than every other player out there when she comes to play, so yeah. Azarenka and Sharapova have been quite impressive so far in this AO, but those are the first few rounds against pitiful players. We'll see what Sharapova does when comes up against Venus in the blockbuster third round match.

 

[Josef]

Re: The Tennis Thread- Australian Open( 14th - 27th Jan)

What a match, will this be a boost to Djokovic? O_O

 

[goldb]

Re: The Tennis Thread- Australian Open( 14th - 27th Jan)

That sort of result can only be positive for him. He may be tired and not fully recover in time for his next match but he'll massive momentum now. Of selected results, only notable defeat is Ivanovic to Radawanska, and 5th seed Kerber to 19th seed Makarova but to be honest I dunno either of them

 

[Hardy]

Re: The Tennis Thread- Australian Open( 14th - 27th Jan)

We'll see what Sharapova does when comes up against Venus in the blockbuster third round match.

6-1 6-3

 

[Josef]

Re: The Tennis Thread- Australian Open( 14th - 27th Jan)

That sort of result can only be positive for him. He may be tired and not fully recover in time for his next match but he'll massive momentum now. Of selected results, only notable defeat is Ivanovic to Radawanska, and 5th seed Kerber to 19th seed Makarova but to be honest I dunno either of them

I was debating it with my friends, has Djokovic lost, it would appear that Federer was a clear win for this one, of course now Djokovic is on fire and this will bring more troubles for Federer.

The highlight of course is that maybe we can see Wawrinka reach new heights in his next tournaments and matches he may climb to the top 10, and cause some damage.

 

[goldb]

Re: The Tennis Thread- Australian Open( 14th - 27th Jan)

I was debating it with my friends, has Djokovic lost, it would appear that Federer was a clear win for this one, of course now Djokovic is on fire and this will bring more troubles for Federer.

The highlight of course is that maybe we can see Wawrinka reach new heights in his next tournaments and matches he may climb to the top 10, and cause some damage.

True. Also Federer didn't have it all easy in his way in his last match, though he won in straight sets. I'm also not ruling out Andy Murray at this stage. He is facing Giles Simon in the next round, but Simon had a near 5 hour match with Gael Monfils so he'll be tired; so hopefully Murray can capitalise on this and make short work of him.

That's what always worries me with players that perform like this and lose, some use it as a lesson to improve, others become dejected and lose their edge. I hope for him that it'll push him forward; for such a long time he's been under Federer's shadow in his nation's eyes, it'll be good for him to get out of it.

 

[FrostyMouse]

Re: The Tennis Thread- Australian Open( 14th - 27th Jan)

So, Serena aggravated her ankle injury in her doubles loss, and then against Sloane Stephens, Serena could barely move, although she won the first then. Then, she hurt her back and could barely serve or make shots and still nearly wins, but at the end, ESPN treated Sloane Stephens like she was a heroic winner. When Pam Shriver interviewed her after the match, Sloane Stephens acted as if she went out there and beat normal Serena, not hobbled Serena who couldn't serve and couldn't hit towards the corners.

I just want Azarenka to kill Sloane Stephens and then beat Sharapova.

 

[Hakuteiken]

Re: The Tennis Thread- Australian Open( 14th - 27th Jan)

Sloane Stephens was introduced back a year or a bit more ago as the new Serena Williams, I believe. It's not that really surprising for ESPN to give her more credit than perhaps she deserved. She is nowhere near that level, but still made a very impressive run to the semis so far.
I'm not writing her off, since the fans will probably be cheering for her against any other opponent since she's so young.

Nice to see a surprising name deep in the draw. Look at the men's lineup. Top seeds battling it out. If it's Sharapova vs Azarenka in the final in the women's draw as well, it'll be such a shame.

 

[Josef]

Re: The Tennis Thread- Australian Open( 14th - 27th Jan)

Damn, Ferrer vs Almagro and Federer vs Tsonga are really matches that could have gone either way. Nice to see Federer play a match where he was pushed to his limit at times, that means he can be ready for Murray and then probably Djokovic.

Well at least the women have one surprise indeed.

 

[goldb]

Re: The Tennis Thread- Australian Open( 14th - 27th Jan)

Gutted to see Serena fall, but after her doubles defeat yesterday I knew it'd be tough for her today. I think with her out, I'm rooting for Sharapova to win it all. For a very long time she had potential and seen as a rising star but she didn't really fullfill that, though lately she's come really close and only falling to Serena in major events.

Glad to see my main man Federer come through against Tsonga, who is not an easy player for Fed. This match would surely have taken a fair bit out of him, so we'll see how he recovers. On the other hand, Murray made some light work of his oponnent, so he's the fresher of the players making it to the next round.

 

[FrostyMouse]

Re: The Tennis Thread- Australian Open( 14th - 27th Jan)

My picks were Serena and Djokovic. Now that Serena's injury forced her out, I'm taking Azarenka and Djokovic.

---------- Post added at 11:30 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:38 PM ----------

Solid, solid win from Li Na there!

Mary-Joe goes, "Sloane Stephens has the game to beat Azarenka. It's whether she's mentally strong enough to get it done." Oh, come on, ESPN! You never act this way about Serena and now you're fawning all over Sloane? I'm disgusted.

Kill her, Azarenka, kill her!

---------- Post added January 24, 2013 at 01:40 AM ---------- Previous post was January 23, 2013 at 11:30 PM ----------

Azarenka won and after some gamesmanship in the second set up 5-4, she broke Sloane to win. Now, ESPN's decrying her for taking a timeout to calm down and relax. This is just crap.

 

[Hakuteiken]

Re: The Tennis Thread- Australian Open( 14th - 27th Jan)

Why do they need to praise Serena's game? Every time she faces another so called top opponent, she destroys them
Surprised to see in-form Sharapova getting crushed, hm..

 

[FrostyMouse]

Re: The Tennis Thread- Australian Open( 14th - 27th Jan)

Why do they need to praise Serena's game? Every time she faces another so called top opponent, she destroys them
Surprised to see in-form Sharapova getting crushed, hm..

It's that we always hear more about others than Serena, even though Serena is acknowledged to be the best player. Serena was disrespected by the media as a whole after her injury-plagued loss to Sloane.

Yeah, I had expected Sharapova to win like 6-2 6-3 and then lose in three tough sets to Azarenka in the Final.

 

[Hakuteiken]

Re: The Tennis Thread- Australian Open( 14th - 27th Jan)

It's that we always hear more about others than Serena, even though Serena is acknowledged to be the best player. Serena was disrespected by the media as a whole after her injury-plagued loss to Sloane.

Yeah, I had expected Sharapova to win like 6-2 6-3 and then lose in three tough sets to Azarenka in the Final.

Tennis media is on hunt for a new face. Williams sisters have been around for like 13 years from now, and no replacement arrived. Sharapova had the media support, but her tennis isn't at that level, Wozniacki was one of the worst #1 in recent times, the Serbs (Ivanovic & Jankovic) didn't become a new great duo (Henin & Clijsters) and hopes are on Azarenka or some other to dominate.
I bet the only reason they made such a fuss over that loss is the apparent lack of excitement factor. The organization needs more heroes for the public eye, and who is more suitable than a teenager? Like Oudin back a couple of years ago in US Open.

I have no idea why they brought down the aura of success from Sloane to keep the attention on Serena, though.

 

[FrostyMouse]

Re: The Tennis Thread- Australian Open( 14th - 27th Jan)

That is true, at least to some extent. Kvitova won one major, but then fell off the face of the map (she's still in the top 10 or 15 though). Safina probably produced the single worst performance we'll ever see in a Grand Slam Final and now she no longer plays tennis.

I thought that they acted as if Sloane's victory was over a 100% Serena and the injuries didn't matter. The way that some of the commentators waxed on about how Sloane was awesome was really distasteful. I would've had no problem if they talked about how Serena was suffering and her inability to move and serve really gave Sloane a chance, but they didn't word it like that.

 

[goldb]

Re: The Tennis Thread- Australian Open( 14th - 27th Jan)

Gosh, Djokovic absolutely crushed David Ferrer in straight sets to reach the final for the 3rd year running. Murray and Federer tomorrow is the semis to watch; I don't think the former has been tested much or at all over the course of this tournament, so playing Federer is his first and biggest test.

Li Na demolished Sharapova, I'm so disappointed, she was outplayed and Li was just all over her and very ruthless in her game. I hope she regroups and takes the positives of her tournament to the next one and not sulk around.

Azarenka doesn't look too good going into the final, Frosty. I'm tempted to go with Li for the win. The former had difficulties breathing in her semis, I hear? as well as other things too.

 

[FrostyMouse]

Re: The Tennis Thread- Australian Open( 14th - 27th Jan)

Gosh, Djokovic absolutely crushed David Ferrer in straight sets to reach the final for the 3rd year running. Murray and Federer tomorrow is the semis to watch; I don't think the former has been tested much or at all over the course of this tournament, so playing Federer is his first and biggest test.

Li Na demolished Sharapova, I'm so disappointed, she was outplayed and Li was just all over her and very ruthless in her game. I hope she regroups and takes the positives of her tournament to the next one and not sulk around.

Azarenka doesn't look too good going into the final, Frosty. I'm tempted to go with Li for the win. The former had difficulties breathing in her semis, I hear? as well as other things too.

Yeah, I watched it and it was a killing. I'll be curious to see who comes through the other SF. As you pointed out, Murray hasn't had to struggle much, whereas Federer was pushed against Tsonga.

I don't like Sharapova anyway, so I was happy. Li Na looks to be the favorite going into the final. Azarenka had an on-court panic attack and couldn't breathe.

 

[goldb]

Re: The Tennis Thread- Australian Open( 14th - 27th Jan)

For the second semis, who are you going with?

 

[Faust]

Re: The Tennis Thread- Australian Open( 14th - 27th Jan)

Awesome Djokovic is Awesome

I want him and Federer to face in the Finals!

 

[goldb]

Re: The Tennis Thread- Australian Open( 14th - 27th Jan)

So Murray advances to the final. The match going to 5 sets makes it look a lot tighter than it actually was. If you look at the results results for each sets, Federer was stubborn in taking the sets in tie breaks, which looked like it was the only way he could win those. And to be honest, Murray was slacking in moments in those sets, so let those go. Very good performance from Murray and I fancy his chances against Djoko, but he'll have to be more ruthless.