OK, so I'll start the Aussie Open thread as it gets underway imminently (the first match on Laver in under an hours time, Osaka vs Bouzkova, looks potentially a good 'un). And I will be watching. Time to talk about it on OTF has somehow got extremely limited at the moment, though.
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Quite a win for Evans on day 1. He looked bereft of ideas for a while before turning it around. -
Very relieved to see you start a thread on this slam, Janik, even if you are hardly going to be able to post on it. It's part of the Correct Order of Things that a tennis slam must have a Janik-led thread on OTF. And actually, having checked, I was surprised to be reminded how relatively sparse the 2019 Aussie Open thread ("Muzza's last stand" or something like that) was.
Anyway, not a vintage slam for British tennis. Only 3 British men and 4 women in the main draw - of those, Edmund, Norrie, Konta and Boulter are all already out as R1 losers (though a very creditable scoreline for Boulter against someone of Svitolina's rank). Watson still to play R1, Evans and Dart through to R2. Dart faces Halep in R2, Evans' hypothetical R3 opponent is Djokovic.
I caught 15 minutes or so of tennis on Eurosport when popping home from work for a late lunch today - saw Anderson win his final set tie-break, which pleased me as he seems like a really nice guy.Comment
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Well, last year's Aussie Open thread was sparse as I noted above, but not this sparse! Sadly I'm unable to contribute any insight on the topic, but I can share the odd pains-takingly personally researched statto factoid. The exit of the remaining British players Evans, Watson and Dart in R2 (in Dart's case with a creditable scoreline against Halep, in Watson's case rather hopelessly against Mertens, who we can yet hope is heading for a Mertens-Bertens semi-final) means that we have another slam with no British player in R3 of either the men's or women's singles. How often does that happen? Well, since the Aussie 2008 (the last slam before Murray became a regular in the later rounds), this is the fourth time: the others since 2008 Aussie being the 2013 French, the 2018 US and the 2019 Aussie. So, er, this is the third time in the last six slams, a disappointing trend.Comment
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Might be able to grab a bit of Federer v Millman on Eurosport shortly. The Gauff story continues its positive trajectory.
Tsitsipas, perhaps the most promising of the mens' next gen, comes a cropper in his tough R3 tie against Raonic. I'm guessing Medvedev might now be favourite to be the first new men's slam singles winner since 2014.
By way of reminder, nobody currently under the age of 31 has ever won a men's slam singles title. The youngest two such champions are Cilic and Del Potro.
Federer has just levelled to 1 set apiece against Millman.Comment
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Coco Gauff wasn't a flash in the pan then. Could she win this?Comment
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Seems very unlikely but not totally impossible.
Just watched Federer struggle past Millman. Fed not up to his usual standard, lots of errors. He'd have lost heavily to one of the other top players on that form. But he was 8-4 down in the match tie-break and then won the final 6 points so he's clearly still got the drive!Comment
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Felt really sorry for Millman. In a tiebreak, to lose six points on the trot needing two to win must be about as close as it gets to being accused of choking in tennis, even if you are playing the GOAT.Comment
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4 contributors so far to this thread. 17 different posters posted on last year's Aussie Open thread, sparse as it was, and only a few of those just in honour of what might have been Murray's final career match (but happily wasn't of course). What the hell has happened to OTF's interest in tennis chat?
Anyway, caught a bit of Sandgren v Fognini this morning - some cracking points. Fognini went up slightly in my estimation when he dropped his racket to applaud one of his opponent's winners.
Federer has, in theory, a relatively soft route to the semis - his R4 match vs Fucsovics right now, then if he wins that (which seems far from certain, given how he struggled against Millman last round), a QF against Sandgren.
Djokovic will need to be on his best form for his QF against a resurgent Raonic.
Nice to see Barty win - hope she wins the tournament.
Perhaps not too bad a thing for Gauff that she lost in R4.Comment
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Raonic has now seen off Tsitsipas and Cilic without dropping a set. He's on fire.
I think Fucsovics could beat Federer later.Comment
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I am very interested, but have nothing of worth to say. Threads are for reading as well, otherwise you'd be wasting your time writing in them.Originally posted by Evariste Euler Gauss View Post
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The moment I start getting interested and excited by all the major tennis tournaments is inevitably just before the moment that (formerly) Murray and Halep fall. So I'm in a dilemma - start paying attention and then get disappointed or don't pay attention and give my favourite players a chance
Not that I'm superstitious you understandComment
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Federer started slow again but then loosened up and dismantled Fucsovics in sets 2, 3 and 4. Then he walked out for his on court interview and John McEnroe said to him that he came on like a house on fire. Considering the trouble that Australia has had recently it was perhaps not the best choice of words in McEnroe's interviewing career.Comment
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Roger Federer's quarter-final opponent's parents met at a tennis club, moved to Tennessee and named him Tennys. Do you think they wanted him to be a baseball player?Last edited by Rogin the Armchair fan; 26-01-2020, 12:43.Comment
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That reminds me of one of my favourite David O'Doherty one-liners: "Serena Williams' nickname should be Tennis-y Williams".Comment
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Doesn't he have the reputation of being a bit of a cunt?Originally posted by Rogin the Armchair fan View PostComment
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Roger? Not sure, Sue Barker seems to like himComment
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No Tennys. He's alt-right or something i seem to remember. Believes in pizzagate and all that stuff and follows Tommy RobinsonComment
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But at some point, Sandgren had begun engaging with more politically charged content, the volume of which seemed to increase during the 2016 presidential election. For Sandgren, that meant retweets of outlets such as Drudge Report and Infowars, and others about Sharia law and radical Islamic terrorism. He debated the former tennis player James Blake about racism and criticized former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick for his anthem protest. Sandgren also engaged with people spreading rumors about “Spirit Cooking,” a misinformation campaign that sought to paint Hillary Clinton as a Satan-worshiping occultist, and Pizzagate, a similarly baseless conspiracy theory hoax that Clinton was connected to a pizzeria child sex ring, writing, “It’s sickening and the collective evidence is too much to ignore.”Comment
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I've not seen much of it, but I did see some of the Nadal-Carrena Busta match the other day. Nadal was utterly imperious, admittedly against an opponent who looked defeated as soon as he walked on court.Comment
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Looks like a Djokovic v Nadal men's final, barring injury or illness.
Women's: Barty is #1 seed with a home crowd but that creates its own pressures. Halep the only other Top 6 seed left in (the rest fell by Round 3)Comment
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So, Nadal v Kyrgios tomorrow. Can anyone explain to me what the hell "salty" meant when used by K as a derogatory description of N? I genuinely have not the first idea, even roughly.Comment
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I hope Kyrgios takes Nadal down in a nasty affair. A bit of needle in tennis is entertaining.
The ladies event will be won by Muguruza in my opinion. She looks in the mood and when she is in the mood, she tends to win Grand Slam titles.Comment
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