2012 Australian Open Thread - (Unofficial in honor of KB)

#2
#2
I've been keeping an eye out for this thread. By the way, what happened to kb?

Until otherwise prove, Djokovic is still the player to beat in 2012, although I do look for him to hit the wall at some point this season. I do not expect that he can duplicate the success of 2011. That would be a lot to ask of anyone. My pick is Djokovic.

Breaking it down into the remainder of the Top 4 (Nadal, Federer, and Murray) versus the Field, I gotta stick with the winner coming from the this group assuming Djoker doesn't win.

I also think that someone unexpected will make a splash during the AO, but I am not sure who that person will be. Others have suggested the Del Potro or Berdych may make some noise, but I'll have to see it to believe it. Tsonga and Monfils? Some are picking Isner to have a strong slam.

Nothing ground breaking here because I just don't think the tennis royalty of the past 4-5 years is going to change during the AO.
 
#3
#3
I don't know how you can't pick Djoke right now. I think it's kind of bush league that Nadal came out and blasted Fed for not complaining about the crazy, way too busy tennis schedule. They are screwing the players over with it all, but if Fed doesn't want to complain, he doesn't have to.

The women's side is wide open once again.
 
#4
#4
volfanbill said:
I don't know how you can't pick Djoke right now. I think it's kind of bush league that Nadal came out and blasted Fed for not complaining about the crazy, way too busy tennis schedule. They are screwing the players over with it all, but if Fed doesn't want to complain, he doesn't have to.

The women's side is wide open once again.
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Why is it busch league? This is an issue that the vast majority of the players agree on. But nobody gives a rat's ass what Nikolay Davydenko or Giles Simon think (I'm just using them as random examples). So if there is a problem, and everyone agrees that there is a problem, the top guys need to be willing to speak up. It can't just be Nadal. Whether he likes it or not, if resolution of the issue is for the better of the players and thus better for the game itself, Fed has an obligation to complain. The top guys need to have a single voice.
 
#6
#6
DyronNix said:
I've been keeping an eye out for this thread. By the way, what happened to kb?

Until otherwise prove, Djokovic is still the player to beat in 2012, although I do look for him to hit the wall at some point this season. I do not expect that he can duplicate the success of 2011. That would be a lot to ask of anyone. My pick is Djokovic.

Breaking it down into the remainder of the Top 4 (Nadal, Federer, and Murray) versus the Field, I gotta stick with the winner coming from the this group assuming Djoker doesn't win.

I also think that someone unexpected will make a splash during the AO, but I am not sure who that person will be. Others have suggested the Del Potro or Berdych may make some noise, but I'll have to see it to believe it. Tsonga and Monfils? Some are picking Isner to have a strong slam.

Nothing ground breaking here because I just don't think the tennis royalty of the past 4-5 years is going to change during the AO.
Click to expand...

I'm still alive and kicking. I just haven't been around that much lately.

My pick is also Djokovic. I know, I know. KidB isn't picking Nadal. Stop the presses. Nadal is just too banged up right now*.

As far as somebody unexpected making a splash, I guess it would be how do you define "unexpected". I think there are six guys who are capable of winning this tournament:
1) Djokovic: this is obvious. He is at the top of his game and appears to be completely over his back issue.
2) Federer: had a great finish to the season by winning the Tour Championships event**, and might be able to carry that momentum into the Aussie and get yet another one. He is on the same side of the draw as Nadal, so he might have to beat both Nadal and Djoker in consecutive matches. But I'm not sure if I saw the draw playing out that cleanly this year.
3) Nadal: he is banged up, and so I don't love his chances, but you can never count him out.
4) Murray: at some point he is going to win one, rigth?
5) DelPo: if he DelPo is at top form, he might be the second best hard court player in the game, behind Djokovic. And he always has a puncher's chance to beat anyone because of unprecedented-aly hard forehand. No hyperbole in that last sentence. It is the hardest groundstroke in the history of the game.
6) Tsonga: he has really stepped up his game, and become more consistent, but I still wonder if he has the mental game to win 6 in a row (or is it 7?).

My two possible dark horse candidates:
-Bernard Tomic: I'm not sure if he's ready to win a big one yet, but this guy has game. And you never know when a guy with game will have a breakthrough tournament.
-Marcos Baghdatis: mostly just because I like Bags.

Other notable:
-Isner: I like Isner a lot. I've seen him play several times and he's got a lot of game and a lot of moxie with that serve. But I don't think he'll ever win a grand slam. His height places a ceiling on his game because he just can't move like the super-elites move (Fed, Nadal, Djoker...and Pete Sampras before them, among many others I could mention). Agility is just such a big deal in tennis, and he'll never have it.
-Monfils: this is guy hits the most beautiful strokes and is crazy athletic. The player he reminds me of the most is Marat Safin, who was also a taller guy who had beautiful strokes and overall crazy talent. Safin won a couple majors, but Safin also didn't play -- for lack of a better descriptor -- like a damn pussy. And Monfils plays like a damn pussy. Being a great defensive player is one thing (see: Nadal, Rafa), but absolutely refusing to ever take the initiative and try to attack your opponent is quite another. Monfils is infuriating.
-Berdych/Soderling: not buying either one.
-David Ferrer: I respect David Ferrer quite a bit. He has willed himself to becoming a top player. But he'll never win a major.





_______________________
*And it's his inability to get completely rid of physical ailments that exacerbate his frustration with the tour schedule and davis cup scheduling, and it is because of that frustration that he makes the remarks about Fed. But, as I mentioned in an above post, I think Fed should "take one for the team" even if he doesn't feel as strongly about the tour scheduling issue as others. He is still the face of the game, and if change is to be effected, it becomes a real uphill battle without the face of the game speaking on the issue.

**The one in London that is indoors where it is a round robin between the top 8 players. Y'all know what I'm talking about, I just forget the name and am too lazy to look it up this very second.
 
#7
#7
In only slightly related news: I bought Rafa's book on Amazon three days ago; it arrived Saturday; and sat down with it yesterday and almost knocked it out completely.

It is a pretty quick read and I really like the format of the book with one chapter being auto-biographical and then the next being biographical. Never seen anything done like that before. I also like how the main narrative of the book is the 2008 Wimbledon final, and he tells the rest of his story as tangents from his description of that match.

I still think "Open" is the best tennis book I've read. But Rafa's book is certainly worth reading. I still have less than a quarter of the book left to go; I had to make myself put it down because I had other stuff to do, but I definitely wanted to go ahead and finish it.

I also bought a book on Marcelo Rios. I haven't started it yet, but I will right after I finish Rafa's book, which will probably be tonight or tomorrow. I was a huge Rios fan. I think he had the prettiest game I've seen. It's a shame he never won a major. His career was cut way too short by injuries. A guy with his game should have at least gotten 2 or 3. I definitely think he is the best player ever to not get a major.

Here is a link to the Rios book: Amazon.com: Marcelo Rios: The Man We Barely Knew (9781461162414): Mr. Scoop Malinowski: Books
 
#9
#9
I don't see DelPo having a big run in the tourney. He struggled against Mannarino (whom I like) but shouldn't have had that much trouble. I have Roger and Jo Willie in the final in my bracket. Tsonga is playing pretty strong now, so I picked him to upset Djoke (probably a mistake :) )
 
#11
#11
On the women's side, I think it's between Kvitova, Clijsters and Williams. Maybe Azarenka, but probably one of the first three - most likely Kvitova. If I could write a note to Wozniaki, it would go something like this: "It's over. You are done. I will never have to hear you say 'Yeah, it feels really good to wake up in the morning knowing you are the number one player in the world' again."
 
#13
#13
orange+white=heaven said:
Lendl coaching Murray sure got a lot of pub last night.
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Yes it did. If nothing else, Andy will get very fit. When Lendl was on tour he had a standing invitation to any tour player to come stay at his house. The only condition, if you stay there you have to work as hard as Lendl when training.
 
#14
#14
MphsBlues said:
Yes it did. If nothing else, Andy will get very fit. When Lendl was on tour he had a standing invitation to any tour player to come stay at his house. The only condition, if you stay there you have to work as hard as Lendl when training.
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I always hated Lendl. Not sure why, just did.
 
#16
#16
Kvitova dismantling Dushevina - 27 minute first set after dropping the first two games to Dushevina. Pretty impressive, so far. Just a little nerves getting started.
 
#17
#17
These women are pathetic. Getting worse all the time. Lisicki loses a set to Voegele and, of course, takes a bathroom break. Now, in the final set, she drops serve and calls for a trainer. These girls need to start acting like they are worth equal pay in the sport, which they aren't.
 
#18
#18
MphsBlues said:
These women are pathetic. Getting worse all the time. Lisicki loses a set to Voegele and, of course, takes a bathroom break. Now, in the final set, she drops serve and calls for a trainer. These girls need to start acting like they are worth equal pay in the sport, which they aren't.
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I can't watch the female game anymore. I don't even pay attention to it. It's the worst it's ever been. And the men's game is arguably the best it's ever been, so I just focus on the fellas.

I'll wait until another certifiable hottie -- a la Kournikova -- comes around, and maybe then I'll start paying attention to the females.
 
#23
#23
Fish looks bad. Didn't have much chance to begin with, but this match against Falla is bad.
 
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