Australian Open 2011

#1
beergood

beergood

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#1
Didnt see a thread, so figured I would start one for the soon to be sleep deprived tennis junkies. Watching Vedasco-Tips, and am reminded of the fact that beating Tips is similar to eating a porcupine. You can do it, but its going to hurt.
 
#2
#2
Usually watch, but I have to be up a lot earlier in the morning this year so I will have to catch replays or highlights.
 
#3
#3
beergood said:
Didnt see a thread, so figured I would start one for the soon to be sleep deprived tennis junkies. Watching Vedasco-Tips, and am reminded of the fact that beating Tips is similar to eating a porcupine. You can do it, but its going to hurt.
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I just realized that I hadn't started an Australian Open thread (I've been busy), and I logged on to do just that. Somebody had done it for me. Word.

I have correctly predicted Rafa to win the last three majors (to be fair, I pick Rafa to win every major), so I'm not gonna stop now. Rafa pulls out his 4th straight major. He wins it in an epic 5-setter against Federer not dissimilar to their 2009 matchup down under where Rafa famously made Federer cry in defeat.

Federer won't cry this time, but I do think he'll lose if he is in fact able to get to the final. The reason being is that he'll almost certainly be up against Rafa (who has the easier draw of the two), and his body will have taken much more of a pounding along the way (Djokovic is on Federer's side of the draw, and let me assure everyone that the Djoker will not simply roll over for Fed. Djokovic beat Federer in a similar situation in last year's US Open, but I think Federer is in better form right now and will prevail if he ends up matched up against the Djoker).

Rafa has a pretty nice looking draw. He'll work over Cilic or Isner in the 4th round, and then he'll work over any of Youzhny, Soderling, or spanish-whipping-boy Ferrer in the quarters. His toughest matchup in the semis would be Murray, who tends to give him a lot of trouble on hard courts, but I'm not even certain Murray will get that far. Don't get surprised if The Scot gets knocked out in the 4th round by Baghdatis, who I am hereby officially naming as my "sleeper" pick for the tournament.

And boom went the dynamite!
 
#4
#4
kidbourbon said:
I just realized that I hadn't started an Australian Open thread (I've been busy), and I logged on to do just that. Somebody had done it for me. Word.

I have correctly predicted Rafa to win the last three majors (to be fair, I pick Rafa to win every major), so I'm not gonna stop now. Rafa pulls out his 4th straight major. He wins it in an epic 5-setter against Federer not dissimilar to their 2009 matchup down under where Rafa famously made Federer cry in defeat.

Federer won't cry this time, but I do think he'll lose if he is in fact able to get to the final. The reason being is that he'll almost certainly be up against Rafa (who has the easier draw of the two), and his body will have taken much more of a pounding along the way (Djokovic is on Federer's side of the draw, and let me assure everyone that the Djoker will not simply roll over for Fed. Djokovic beat Federer in a similar situation in last year's US Open, but I think Federer is in better form right now and will prevail if he ends up matched up against the Djoker).

Rafa has a pretty nice looking draw. He'll work over Cilic or Isner in the 4th round, and then he'll work over any of Youzhny, Soderling, or spanish-whipping-boy Ferrer in the quarters. His toughest matchup in the semis would be Murray, who tends to give him a lot of trouble on hard courts, but I'm not even certain Murray will get that far. Don't get surprised if The Scot gets knocked out in the 4th round by Baghdatis, who I am hereby officially naming as my "sleeper" pick for the tournament.

And boom went the dynamite!
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I wouldn't bet any amount of money Rafa gets by Soderling or Murray. Both playing solid. But I wouldn't be surprised to see Rafa get to the fina and meet Fed *(if he gets there), yet again. It wouldn't surprise me if Rafa did come away with it against Fed, either. He seems to lack a bit of his previous luster.
 
#5
#5
Soderling has his work cut out for him against Dolgopolov next round. That kid is playing very well.
 
#6
#6
Coming into the AO, I thought Federer's form was superb and that he was mentally the toughest he has been in years. I attribute that to Annacone being a voice in his ear reminding him that he is Roger Federer and his opponents are not.

Nadal is the #1 player in the world hands down and, therefore, is always the favorite. Forget that junk about Nadal not being an all-surface player anymore. He can dominate on any surface. The better way to look at it is his opponents have some chance to beat him on hard courts or grass versus clay.

Murray is always a question mark. He typically looks invincible early in majors and then gets taken out in shocking defeat to a lesser player. He does look good early on and the collision between he and Rafa will be spectacular.

Djoker is playing well, but I think the potential matchup between he and Fed will not work out for him as in New York. If it happens, I see Fed dishing out some revenge.

Fed looked shaky against Simon in 3rd and 4th sets, even a little mentally shaky at times. Therefore, I have to give the slight edge to Nadal if they meet in the finals. Nadal knows how to get to Fed. Fed has shown a better game plan v. Nadal lately, but the question remains whether he can apply it over a best of 5 set final.

Some things never change though: After one week of AO coverage, I am already sick of hearing Brad Gilbert's mouth. I am already sick of the matches ESPN chooses to televise. And I have a sleep deficit for 2011 staying up late or getting up super early to try to watch some of these matches.
 
#7
#7
right now I have to say Nadal wouldn't just beat Fed in a finals match, he would probably smoke him. Nadal is playing lights out.

Sucks for Sharapova to face such a well rest Petkovic, but she just laid down. The marathon match between Schiavone and Kuznetsova was a blast to watch, hopefully some of y'all were up to see it. I don't see how Schiavone can rebound to have any chance against Wozniacki in the quarters and at this point I think Woz should dance through the semis, setting up what could be an epic match between her and Clijsters in the final.
 
#8
#8
DyronNix said:
Coming into the AO, I thought Federer's form was superb and that he was mentally the toughest he has been in years. I attribute that to Annacone being a voice in his ear reminding him that he is Roger Federer and his opponents are not.

Nadal is the #1 player in the world hands down and, therefore, is always the favorite. Forget that junk about Nadal not being an all-surface player anymore. He can dominate on any surface. The better way to look at it is his opponents have some chance to beat him on hard courts or grass versus clay.

Murray is always a question mark. He typically looks invincible early in majors and then gets taken out in shocking defeat to a lesser player. He does look good early on and the collision between he and Rafa will be spectacular.

Djoker is playing well, but I think the potential matchup between he and Fed will not work out for him as in New York. If it happens, I see Fed dishing out some revenge.

Fed looked shaky against Simon in 3rd and 4th sets, even a little mentally shaky at times. Therefore, I have to give the slight edge to Nadal if they meet in the finals. Nadal knows how to get to Fed. Fed has shown a better game plan v. Nadal lately, but the question remains whether he can apply it over a best of 5 set final.

Some things never change though: After one week of AO coverage, I am already sick of hearing Brad Gilbert's mouth. I am already sick of the matches ESPN chooses to televise. And I have a sleep deficit for 2011 staying up late or getting up super early to try to watch some of these matches.
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Murray is playing really really well right now. I should probably give him a little more credit. It's just that I went to the US Open last year and I saw him lose to Wawrinka (sp?) in the most pathetic (borderline unprofessional) showing that I've ever personally witness from a professional tennis player. He had no discernible gameplan. There was never any indication that he ever had anything approaching an idea of how he was going to win any particular poiint. My lasting vision of that match is of Murry hitting a ball in the bottom of the net and then whining like a little girl with his shoulders slumped as he walked back to the baseline to prepare himself to hit another ball into the bottom of the net. Rinse. Lather. Repeat. Game. Set. Match.

I think it may have scarred me for life on Murray.

He appears to be playing much much better now, and definitely with more of a purpose.
 
#9
#9
Roddick's groundstrokes have gone full blown female. He had an unbelievable forehand before he went to this low risk spinning piece of trash he bunts around now.
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#12
#12
I must be watching it on tape delay, he's tied in 2nd set 4-4
 
#13
#13
San Diego Vol said:
I must be watching it on tape delay, he's tied in 2nd set 4-4
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No, you're watching what I am, but Roddick's neutered game isn't remotely competitive. His career should have ended when he decided to spin balls and play defense. He is awful now. He was already one of the worst returners ever, now he's a poor returner with no ability to get ahead in a point.
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#14
#14
he just watched the last two go by to his right without moving
 
#17
#17
BigPapaVol said:
I just watched the ESPN2 coverage for lack of anything better.
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I would like to say Roddick is at least a shell of his former self, but he's not. The Roddick of today has no semblance to the Roddick that won the 2003 US Open and became #1. We are no closer to having a US male win a major than we were 3 years ago. With the Williams' sisters starting to age so badly, it might be a long time before an American wins a major on either side. My only hope is Isner. Fish doesn't have the physical game to do it and Querrey doesn't have the mental part.

edit: I also want to add that I repeat Nadal will cruise to victory and have the Rafa Slam as some are calling it. I have never seen a tennis player hold all four major titles at the same time. Never thought I would see it either.
 
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#18
#18
BigPapaVol said:
No, you're watching what I am, but Roddick's neutered game isn't remotely competitive. His career should have ended when he decided to spin balls and play defense. He is awful now. He was already one of the worst returners ever, now he's a poor returner with no ability to get ahead in a point.
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Roddick should consider retiring. He is done.
 
#19
#19
volfanbill said:
I would like to say Roddick is at least a shell of his former self, but he's not. The Roddick of today has no semblance to the Roddick that won the 2003 US Open and became #1. We are no closer to having a US male win a major than we were 3 years ago. With the Williams' sisters starting to age so badly, it might be a long time before an American wins a major on either side. My only hope is Isner. Fish doesn't have the physical game to do it and Querrey doesn't have the mental part.

edit: I also want to add that I repeat Nadal will cruise to victory and have the Rafa Slam as some are calling it. I have never seen a tennis player hold all four major titles at the same time. Never thought I would see it either.
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I like Isner. I think he's a good guy and I'll root for him to win a major...but he never will. He doesn't move well enough. Simple as that.
 
#20
#20
I actually went and played some tennis this evening (indoors...it's freezing outside) and everybody was raving about this Dolgopolov character that beat Soderling. Have any of yall seen this guy play yet? He's got Murray next.
 
#21
#21
kidbourbon said:
I like Isner. I think he's a good guy and I'll root for him to win a major...but he never will. He doesn't move well enough. Simple as that.
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I don't see him winning one either, but I view him as our best shot. And that's very sad.
 
#22
#22
Federer rolls into the semis in straight sets to face Djoke who won in straight sets as well, with the second set going into a tiebreak. Is Djoke back? What kind of crowd reaction will he get against Fed and can he finally handle the pressure of a big match? This semifinal match has the makings of something spectacular. If Djoke crumbles early (again), the Fed-Rafa match might be better than I predicted.

Caroline Wozniacki also made it to the semis, but got pushed to three sets.

Clijsters up tomorrow, but I don't think she'll be seriously tested. Rafa plays Ferrer, but I don't see that being problem.
 
#23
#23
volfanbill said:
Federer rolls into the semis in straight sets to face Djoke who won in straight sets as well, with the second set going into a tiebreak. Is Djoke back? What kind of crowd reaction will he get against Fed and can he finally handle the pressure of a big match? This semifinal match has the makings of something spectacular. If Djoke crumbles early (again), the Fed-Rafa match might be better than I predicted.

Caroline Wozniacki also made it to the semis, but got pushed to three sets.

Clijsters up tomorrow, but I don't think she'll be seriously tested. Rafa plays Ferrer, but I don't see that being problem.
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Djoke/Fed should be fantastic. The Djoker is playing REALLY good right now; maybe his best ever form.

Rafa should work over Ferrer without too much difficulty (If he has the flu, it sure didn't seem like it against Cilic. Cilic's a good player, too.). Things may get more interesting after that.

I wouldn't mind pushing Wozniacki to three sets. Okay, that was neither clever nor funny. I agree.
 
#24
#24
Rafa should retire from this match. He can't move at all. I think he's staying in the match out of respect for Ferrer, who is his friend. But, dude, you can't move. Call it a night.
 
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#25
#25
kidbourbon said:
Rafa should retire from this match. He can't move at all. I think he's staying in the match out of respect for Ferrer, who is his friend. But, dude, you can't move. Call it a night.
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I'm not a huge fan of Nadal, and I don't really have a good reason except I wanted the sport to be able to hold on to Federer's greatness a little longer (no homo), but I still wanted to see someone hold all four tennis majors at the same time. Oh well, I think the Ferrer-Murray match will be better than Djoke and Federer. Of course, I still expect Djoke to choke like he loves to.
 
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