Year Round The Tennis Thread

[goldb]

His next match will certainly be interesting; will he carry on the momentum from this match or will he fall flat at the pressure of his previous win/ exhaustion? He's playing a 30th seed, Carreno-Busta.

@Brandish: A former colleague of mine usually spent this period in Australia and last year( or the previous) he watched Federer and I think a Serena match too. So jealous.

 

[Kaoz]

His next match will certainly be interesting; will he carry on the momentum from this match or will he fall flat at the pressure of his previous win/ exhaustion? He's playing a 30th seed, Carreno-Busta.

I kinda doubt he'll feel much pressure. Coming this far is already a better result than what he likely imagined before the tournament, everything beyond this is probably like a bonus for him. I'd be more worried about natural variance in his performance. If I recall, he said in the post-match interview that he was hitting really well, but he might just not be able to replicate that next round.

 

[goldb]

I kinda doubt he'll feel much pressure. Coming this far is already a better result than what he likely imagined before the tournament, everything beyond this is probably like a bonus for him. I'd be more worried about natural variance in his performance. If I recall, he said in the post-match interview that he was hitting really well, but he might just not be able to replicate that next round.

Let's hope he progressed at least beyond this next match.

Who are we all rooting for btw? I want Murray to win and bolster his confidence. Otherwise I don't want him to reach the final; 5 finals defeat is already too much.

 

[Kaoz]

Who are we all rooting for btw? I want Murray to win and bolster his confidence. Otherwise I don't want him to reach the final; 5 finals defeat is already too much.

For nostalgia's sake, I could go for a Federer vs Nadal final pretty much regardless of the overall winner. I wouldn't complain about Nishikori winning his first slam either though. That said, Murray is the clear favorite with Djokovic out of the running, not sure who from the bottom half of the draw could realistically beat him - I guess Wawrinka if he has one of his slam moments, but that's about it.

 

[Brandish μ]

I usually go for Federer; I like watching good tennis so whoever's really in form I will barrack for. I'm not a Murray fan at all but think he's a great player, and he's good to watch. If Fed or Rafa can't do it, I'll probably go for a maiden winner. Stan with his power is always dangerous.

In the womens, I watched Kerber (in rd 2 I think) and she played someone who made a ton of errors; and Kerber herself didn't play that well. Not sure how she's travelling but she was awesome last year. And Serena Williams of course when she's on, I'll be happy to see her on court.

I haven't been 100% behind any one player since Marat Safin in 05. Him and Goran were my favourite players growing up

A former colleague of mine usually spent this period in Australia and last year( or the previous) he watched Federer and I think a Serena match too. So jealous.

My sister usually goes, she was there for Novak vs Nadal for that long 5+ hours final. That was probably the peak of my long career of jealousy for not ever going to the open... she didn't go this year so I'm safe.

 

[goldb]

For nostalgia's sake, I could go for a Federer vs Nadal final pretty much regardless of the overall winner. I wouldn't complain about Nishikori winning his first slam either though. That said, Murray is the clear favorite with Djokovic out of the running, not sure who from the bottom half of the draw could realistically beat him - I guess Wawrinka if he has one of his slam moments, but that's about it.

I agree with all of that except for maybe Nishikori; I like him enough but I wouldn't say I'm a fan like I am with Murray or Federer. A Federer and Nadal match would be amazing; it'd bring back some semblance of one of the greatest rivalries in the sport.

I've always liked Stan, he was too long in Federer's shadow as a Swiss and lost to him so often it was terrible. But the ability and discipline is there, he just needs to stay consistent to get to that trophy.
Undoubtedly though Murray is clear favourite and it's his to lose, as this is when a lot of players get complacent so I hope he doesn't go down that road.

I usually go for Federer; I like watching good tennis so whoever's really in form I will barrack for. I'm not a Murray fan at all but think he's a great player, and he's good to watch. If Fed or Rafa can't do it, I'll probably go for a maiden winner. Stan with his power is always dangerous.

In the womens, I watched Kerber (in rd 2 I think) and she played someone who made a ton of errors; and Kerber herself didn't play that well. Not sure how she's travelling but she was awesome last year. And Serena Williams of course when she's on, I'll be happy to see her on court.

I haven't been 100% behind any one player since Marat Safin in 05. Him and Goran were my favourite players growing up



My sister usually goes, she was there for Novak vs Nadal for that long 5+ hours final. That was probably the peak of my long career of jealousy for not ever going to the open... she didn't go this year so I'm safe.

Ah I forgot about the women. I'd always root for Serena above any other female until she retires, I just want her to claw out a big enough Slams gap before bowing out; she's lost a few finals over the years where she really shouldn't have. That much is true about a lot of matches she loses.

Besides her, I'd like to see Wozniacki or Johanna Konta win as she's british and it'd be good for the country to not rest its hopes solely on Murray. Coincidentally they're facing each other, so that's gonna make my rooting a lot easier.

I'm not a fan of Kerber at all, that said I've seen very little of her matches over the years.

 

[Kaoz]

But the ability and discipline is there, he just needs to stay consistent to get to that trophy.

Well, the lack of consistency is the main reason Wawrinka's not closer to the top 2. He definitely has the skills with multiple slams under his belt, but then he too often goes and loses to players he should dispatch somewhat easily. But well, can't count him out of course. I misread the bracket yesterday for that matter, Wawrinka is actually in the same half as Murray and co. The highest ranked players left in the bottom half are Raonic, Monfils and Nadal, but not sure how much of a threat any of them are to a well-performing Murray (Raonic would definitely be a threat for Federer or Nishikori though).

Besides her, I'd like to see Wozniacki or Johanna Konta win as she's british and it'd be good for the country to not rest its hopes solely on Murray. Coincidentally they're facing each other, so that's gonna make my rooting a lot easier.

Seems to have been a good match, at least for the first set. In the second, Konta just walked over Wozniacki. Definitely had nice shots in there though with the angles on the backhand and the occasional mix-up. Cibulkova was upset too, so Konta might have a bit of an easier next round before potentially facing Williams.

 

[Brandish μ]

Well the scheduling of the matches ruined me watching Rafa. Saw the end of the 3rd, most of the 4th... but the coverage was stopped because of the news

Thiem was good in the first set thought he'd run away with it, especially with Paire's temper. But that guy kept surprising me and fighting back.

Williams beat Gibbs, well that's not a shock. I don't think I've seen Gibbs before, but she hasn't got anything dangerous to beat Williams... unlike say Safarova last game.

--- Double Post Merged, Jan 21, 2017, Original Post Date: Jan 21, 2017 ---

In the Cibulkova match, Makarova went for an injury break in the 3rd which pushed everything back a bit.

I doubt the night schedule is on time either, since it's 630pm right now and it's meant to start at 7pm (Rafa still playing).

 

[Kaoz]

Well the scheduling of the matches ruined me watching Rafa. Saw the end of the 3rd, most of the 4th... but the coverage was stopped because of the news

I feel like you didn't miss much. I only watched some of the 4th set, but the quality of the match wasn't great, so I quickly tuned out again. Both sides made lots of unnecessary errors - Zverev made a lot more in the end and deservedly lost. Nadal's probably going up against Monfils next which should be interesting.

Also, Istomin won his match which is nice. Probably won't go any farther though. He'll play either Dimitrov or Gasquet next and has already gone through two 5 setters now.

 

[goldb]

The next round of matches look very promising. Federer vs Nishikori/ Monflis vs Nadal could be high quality stuff from both sides and very much go either way. This could set up Federer vs Murray in the quarter finals and even Tsonga vs Wawrinka in the quarters too. Some really tough challenges coming up now; I like this end of the tournament.

Seems to have been a good match, at least for the first set. In the second, Konta just walked over Wozniacki. Definitely had nice shots in there though with the angles on the backhand and the occasional mix-up. Cibulkova was upset too, so Konta might have a bit of an easier next round before potentially facing Williams.

Just seen the highlights and it looks like the first set was as close as it got fir Wozniacki. I'm glad Konta is playing well and hope she can get past Makarova next; though that might be a tough test still. Also she's on the same half of the draw as Serena.

 

[Brandish μ]

Another shock exit with Murray. I saw bits, and thought Zverev was playing really well. Fed just beat Nishikori too.

 

[Kaoz]

Murray losing came out of left field, didn't get to see the match though. But I did watch Federer until about halfway through the 4th set. He had a really bad start with lots of UEs in the first four games (I think 10), but then made an impressive comeback and almost turned it around. Really got rolling in sets 2 and 3 then. In the fourth set, the fourth game was probably key. They had lots of deuces on Nishikori's serve and I imagine if Federer had gotten the break he would've carried it home, but the long back-and-forth might've negatively impacted his own service game right afterwards where Nishikori got the break. Luckily Federer got the early break in the final set though.

Now I'm not sure what to think of the quarterfinals. On the one hand, Zverev is a much easier opponent than Murray on paper, but on the other hand he did beat Murray... pretty convincingly as far as the score is concerned. And this tournament has already had its fair share of upsets, so it almost feels like anything goes at this point.

 

[Brandish μ]

Serena was too much for Konta. I caught pieces of the match, Serena was on song. Watching some of the Dimitrov match and he looks likely in 3. We'll see.

Raonic vs Nadal tonight should be a good one.

--- Double Post Merged, Jan 25, 2017, Original Post Date: Jan 25, 2017 ---

Rafa ahead now by 2 sets. 2nd set got a little tight especially with the injury timeout for Raonic. His serve went down a little but he still had opportunities, had 2 set points but not on serve.

 

[goldb]

This year has to be one of my favourite AOs in terms of upsets and (fun) surprises. I didn't expect Federer or Nadal to make it this year, Venus Williams neither but a mixture of other results and their good form has taken them all to the semis; which is great for our oldies.

I have quite nervous for the Serena vs Konta match. The latter had played really well leading up to it, I was worried she'd really push Serena and make her lose composure, leading to her usual huge number of errors. Luckily it was pretty straight forward besides maybe a period in the 2nd set.

I think Serena should get past Lucic-Baroni without too much of a problem, the biggest hindrance to my dream of another all Williams final is Vandeweghe vs Venus; the former has already taken out the likes Muguruza, Bouchard and Kerber, only dropping a single set while doing so. Her confidence coming into this match is bound to be very high, and rightly so. Is this gonna be a case of "one too many" for Venus?

As for the men, this is the first instance I can remember Federer facing Wawrinka and the latter was a higher seed(?). Not that it changes the threat of either men but Wawrinka should be quite confident coming from his previous win against Tsonga but he knows that Federer is Federer so anything less than his absolute A-game will lose him this semis.

I really don't know about Nadal vs Dimitrov; I've not seen many of the latter's matches, and all I do know that his game is similar to Federer's.

 

[Brandish μ]

I thought Venus might have lost. Vandeweghe was the better player early imo. But after the first set, Venus played better. Serena was dominant once again. All Williams final.

Listened to the first 2 sets on the radio for the Fed game. Thought he'd do it easier than a long 5 setter. Nadal and Dimitrov next now. Would love Fed vs Nadal... would make quite nostalgic finals for both mens and womens.

--- Double Post Merged, Jan 27, 2017, Original Post Date: Jan 26, 2017 ---

Man this match is tough. It's like a struggle for momentum. I might have to watch the replay in full since I only saw the first set and a half, listened to some on radio.

 

[Kaoz]

Amazing match from both players. I'll probably make a more elaborate post later, but this match had me on the edge of my seat throughout and Federer winning another slam is just an incredible.

 

[goldb]

What a match; not an exceptional one but a great battle between these two guys. I'm glad to see Federer come though this but for such a long while it didn't look to be the case; as he just couldn't get that final point to break Nadal's serve in the most of the 4th and 5th set.

 

[Brandish μ]

Yep great match. Fed pulled some comebacks throughout, especially in that 5th set after dropping the first game. The crowd was definitely on his side though and gave him inspiration. And he also played through injury.

Both were very classy as usual post-match. One of the reasons this is the best rivalry in sports during my lifetime.

 

[goldb]

The crowd was definitely on his side though and gave him inspiration. And he also played through injury.

That was even more evident after he broke back in the 5th set. It's great for Federer but I felt a bit sorry for Nadal because it felt he was abandoned a bit. It's always been the same throughout their career; Fed is always the more popular player.

I actually missed the injury part and only saw him coming back.

Ah also Serena got her #23 finally. Honestly I feel like she could quite easily have had 25 or more by now; she's lost some silly matches along her slam career. Hopefully she can break Court's #24 by the end of this year.

 

[Brandish μ]

That was even more evident after he broke back in the 5th set. It's great for Federer but I felt a bit sorry for Nadal because it felt he was abandoned a bit. It's always been the same throughout their career; Fed is always the more popular player.

Yep definitely happened that way, he won a streak of points just felt like the momentum swung too far from Nadal's reach at that point. Every court is a home one for Roger

I actually missed the injury part and only saw him coming back.

He had it as well in the semi. But he had it twice in the final IIRC, but yes definitely in the 5th.