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

#76
#76
IBlvNTmWrk said:
I absolutely think Rafa has a chance. With all of his scrambling to get to shots, he has a way of getting in other players heads and forcing them to press more than they normally would.
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Plus, his shotmaking against Fed deserves mention. Rafa usually gets lauded for his great defensive ability (i.e. court coverage, endurance, tenacity, general scrambling), but he was really taking the offensive in much of that match and pulling several jesus-tap-dancing-christ-did-you-just-see-that shots out of his arse.

I really like to see Rafa play a more aggressive style, because he is actually really good at it. He's a great volleyer and he closes in on the net faster than anybody I've seen.* A win against Djoker will need to be sprinkled with a whole handful of aggressive, attacking play. He'll have to grind too, but I think we learned in 2011 that grinding alone is not enough to beat Djoker.

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*One of the best plays that Rafa makes is when he sees his opponent about to slice the ball, and he rushes the net and intercepts it for a volley put-away winner. He'll do it a couple times a match and I don't think I've ever seen him lose the point when does it.
 
#78
#78
kidbourbon said:
Plus, his shotmaking against Fed deserves mention. Rafa usually gets lauded for his great defensive ability (i.e. court coverage, endurance, tenacity, general scrambling), but he was really taking the offensive in much of that match and pulling several jesus-tap-dancing-christ-did-you-just-see-that shots out of his arse.

I really like to see Rafa play a more aggressive style, because he is actually really good at it. He's a great volleyer and he closes in on the net faster than anybody I've seen.* A win against Djoker will need to be sprinkled with a whole handful of aggressive, attacking play. He'll have to grind too, but I think we learned in 2011 that grinding alone is not enough to beat Djoker.

__________________________
*One of the best plays that Rafa makes is when he sees his opponent about to slice the ball, and he rushes the net and intercepts it for a volley put-away winner. He'll do it a couple times a match and I don't think I've ever seen him lose the point when does it.
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Absolutely. It's been proven match after match this Open that becoming agressive tilts the playing board. I've seen it work in about a dozen matches so far this tourney.
 
#79
#79
kidbourbon said:
Plus, his shotmaking against Fed deserves mention. Rafa usually gets lauded for his great defensive ability (i.e. court coverage, endurance, tenacity, general scrambling), but he was really taking the offensive in much of that match and pulling several jesus-tap-dancing-christ-did-you-just-see-that shots out of his arse.
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Said that at least twice during his match with Federer.
 
#80
#80
Oh, and I almost forgot, years ago when Rafa was still wearing his pjs out on court, Djokovich mocked him one time on court, acting as if he was pulling his drawers out of his crack. It was one of the things that made me decidedly dislike Djoke. I guarantee you Rafa hasn't forgotten it.
 
#81
#81
MphsBlues said:
Oh, and I almost forgot, years ago when Rafa was still wearing his pjs out on court, Djokovich mocked him one time on court, acting as if he was pulling his drawers out of his crack. It was one of the things that made me decidedly dislike Djoke. I guarantee you Rafa hasn't forgotten it.
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I'm sure he hasn't. Rafa will be extremely motivated tomorrow night. Couple that with (a) the fact that he is playing -- and moving -- really well, and (b) the fact that he gets an extra day's rest vis a vis (presumably) Djokovic, and I think he has a decent chance. But it's just that Djoker at his peak form has just been blowing my mind. I was watching him against Mahut and couldn't get over how good he was. I mean, does the guy have *any* weaknesses? If anybody can expose chinks in another player's armor, it is a guy like Rafa who is willing to sell out on every single point. Or maybe Murray 2.0 can step up his game tonight and actually make Djoker break a sweat. I'm sure Rafa and Uncle Toni will be watching intently.
 
#82
#82
kidbourbon said:
I'm sure he hasn't. Rafa will be extremely motivated tomorrow night. Couple that with (a) the fact that he is playing -- and moving -- really well, and (b) the fact that he gets an extra day's rest vis a vis (presumably) Djokovic, and I think he has a decent chance. But it's just that Djoker at his peak form has just been blowing my mind. I was watching him against Mahut and couldn't get over how good he was. I mean, does the guy have *any* weaknesses? If anybody can expose chinks in another player's armor, it is a guy like Rafa who is willing to sell out on every single point. Or maybe Murray 2.0 can step up his game tonight and actually make Djoker break a sweat. I'm sure Rafa and Uncle Toni will be watching intently.
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I didn't give Murray enough credit. Pushed Djokovich to the limit, but lost in the 5th. Murray is a great returner, Rafa is a great returner. Maybe Rafa will expose some other chinks in Djokovich's armor.
 
#83
#83
Murray taken out but I sense he leaves Melbourne with real confidence after this run. Lendl already paying dividends.

I like Uncle Toni's nephew's chances but Nole is still the favorite. Nole won't hand match to Nadal like Federer did. In other words, Nadal will have to take it from Nole and not just wait for him to self-destruct.

On a small rant, I have to say the camera work of ESPN has been maddening. What is up with all the slow motion replays of nothingness in between points? Even worse are the shots taken from within the crowd between patrons' heads during the service motion. Not sure what they're thinking.
 
#84
#84
My wife, a devoted tennis fan, says "Novak BETTER not win it. I'm so sick of him stopping after a good point, posing and bugging his eyes out LIKE HE'S THE 8th F'N WONDER OF THE WORLD.'
I just had to share that. She does have a point :)
 
#85
#85
Anyone catch the Battle of The Shrieks? I went a different route, instead of muting it I just didn't watch it.
 
#86
#86
I didn't watch. I didn't even know who was playing the final. Women's tennis is a complete joke at the moment (meaning for the past 20 years).

It'll take me a few weeks to reset my schedule after all these late nights of staying up or waking up to watch the AO.

I think i'm gonna try to get up and watch the final tonight. Not sure if I'll make it. I predict Rafa in 5. The law of averages says he has to break the streak at some point. But it wouldn't surprise me to see Nole wipe Rafa off the court either.

The only bad thing is the lull in men's tennis following tonight. Oh well, see you guys when the Unofficial French Open thread pops up down the road.
 
#87
#87
Azarenka cruised. Maria just never got it going. For all the talk of total domination, it was boring. Maria just brought maybe her C game at best.

This men's final is EPIC. Glad I woke up for the 2nd set on.
 
#89
#89
volfanbill said:
Azarenka cruised. Maria just never got it going. For all the talk of total domination, it was boring. Maria just brought maybe her C game at best.

This men's final is EPIC. Glad I woke up for the 2nd set on.
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One of the great matches. Wish I'd woke up sooner to catch more than the last half of the 5th.
 
#91
#91
the fact that they had to bring Rafa and Djoke chairs to sit in during the awards ceremony was probably the most telling of anything.
 
#93
#93
One of my most favorite sporting events to watch.
 
#95
#95
MphsBlues said:
It was. Reminiscent of the (was it '09?) Wimbledon final between Rafa and Roger. Epic match. Well, now to drudge through the dirtball season leading to the French (yawn).
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Could it be that Rafael Nadal has been involved in three of the top five matches EVER?

My vote for the best Rafa matches
1. '08 wimbledon against Fed
2. Yesterday's final.
3. '09 Aussie final against Fed
4. '04 Davis Cup vs. Roddick
5. '07 Wimby final vs. Fed (fed won in five)
 
#97
#97
I was waiting for Rafa to blow out his knee when he sat down in that chair. Little pre-AO humor there, folks. No extra charge.

The way Nadal charged out to start the match, I felt he was going to win in 4 sets. Then, midway through set 3 I thought Nole was going to cakewalk in 4. At the end of the 4th, I said there's no way Nadal is going to lose today. He will die first. Plus the way Novak's legs were buckling, I actually thought he might have to retire.

I think on the biggest points, some of the biggest shots were hit, not so much for winners, but just to answer and keep the ball in play.

Literally, no one knew how the match was going to swing until the last winner was hit by Djokovic.

I am hoping for a Nole/Nadal final at the French just because I want to see if Nole has what it takes there. We may very well be looking at a calendar Grand Slam.

Kid, you left out the 5 setter with Rafa and Verdasco at the '09 AO.
 
#98
#98
DyronNix said:
I was waiting for Rafa to blow out his knee when he sat down in that chair. Little pre-AO humor there, folks. No extra charge.

The way Nadal charged out to start the match, I felt he was going to win in 4 sets. Then, midway through set 3 I thought Nole was going to cakewalk in 4. At the end of the 4th, I said there's no way Nadal is going to lose today. He will die first. Plus the way Novak's legs were buckling, I actually thought he might have to retire.

I think on the biggest points, some of the biggest shots were hit, not so much for winners, but just to answer and keep the ball in play.

Literally, no one knew how the match was going to swing until the last winner was hit by Djokovic.

I am hoping for a Nole/Nadal final at the French just because I want to see if Nole has what it takes there. We may very well be looking at a calendar Grand Slam.

Kid, you left out the 5 setter with Rafa and Verdasco at the '09 AO.
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I like that joke at the top.

I did leave out the Verdasco match. Problem is, I never saw that match. It was supposed to be pretty epic, though.
 
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