cheekyboy Posted February 1, 2020 Posted February 1, 2020 (edited) Just watching the junior boys final between two French lads, both 17. Available to watch if you have the channel 9 app. Both boys have a good all court game and it has been quite a high standard so far. Interestingly, there were no Australian junior boys direct in to the main draw and the six in the draw were all there with wild cards. James McCabe from Sydney was the only one of those six Australian boys to win a round as well. Cheers Keith Edited February 1, 2020 by cheekyboy
metal beat Posted February 1, 2020 Posted February 1, 2020 (edited) The ladies final really epitomized where ladies tennis is at. Who can hold their nerves more. Murga went to jello in the 2nd and 3rd sets - errors, double faults including match point. Kenin got stronger as the match went on. Sophia Kenin, Congratulations!! 12 different female major winners in the last 13. Edited February 1, 2020 by metal beat 2
wolster Posted February 1, 2020 Author Posted February 1, 2020 Yep. Gotta give it to Kenin. She will a force to be reckoned with. 2
ThirdDrawerDown Posted February 1, 2020 Posted February 1, 2020 What an excellent final in the women's. Kenin, the younger of the two, proved to have the game and temperament of a champion. Victory well earned, and a very enjoyable game to watch. 2
stevoz Posted February 2, 2020 Posted February 2, 2020 On 30/01/2020 at 5:58 PM, metal beat said: Steve. The ladies always play their semi finals during the heat of the day. It would have been completely unfair to the second semi final to ask them to play during the day, while Ash plays at night. That would mean 2.5 days rest vs 1 day rest. Like it or not, the quality of the mens tennis is light years ahead of the ladies. I get your point (and agree the mens is far superior to the womens) but must say that if Ash had played in the evening, it would have been 1.5 days rest to 1 days rest.....both semi's were played on the same day. Why not both semi's at night, one on Rod Laver and the other on Melbourne arena.....but of course, Channel Nine would have something to say about that.
cheekyboy Posted February 2, 2020 Posted February 2, 2020 Well done Novak Djokovic and a great effort from Domonic Thiem to put on an outstanding final. An unbelievable record now for Novak with 8 Australian Opens and that count on Grand Slam singles now at 17.
wolster Posted February 2, 2020 Author Posted February 2, 2020 Yes, Keith. It was almost as if Djokovic fooled Thiem into thinking he could win. Personally I hope Thiem learns from this and thumps Djokovic the next time he plays him in a major. 2
metal beat Posted February 2, 2020 Posted February 2, 2020 7 hours ago, cheekyboy said: Well done Novak Djokovic and a great effort from Domonic Thiem to put on an outstanding final. An unbelievable record now for Novak with 8 Australian Opens and that count on Grand Slam singles now at 17. Keith, Joker has won 17 majors, not grand slams.
cheekyboy Posted February 2, 2020 Posted February 2, 2020 (edited) 2 hours ago, metal beat said: Keith, Joker has won 17 majors, not grand slams. When I used the term ‘grand slam singles’, I was referring to grand slam tournament wins of course, any of the Australian, French, Wimbledon or US titles There has only been two men in history who have won the ‘Grand Slam’, which is winning those four titles in one calendar year. Don Budge (US) won the Grand Slam in 1938 and remarkably, Rod Laver managed it twice, in 1962 as amateur and then again in 1969 as a professional player, after the game went open. When you think about it, for a player to win the Grand Slam 17 times, a total of 68 grand slam tournament wins, it is realistically, an impossible feat! Grand Slams Cheers Keith Edited February 2, 2020 by cheekyboy
ThirdDrawerDown Posted February 2, 2020 Posted February 2, 2020 For a couple of sets there we seemed to see the old Novak of mysterious ailments and the same guile that sees "wounded" nesting birds distract predators from the nest. I had hoped those days had gone since he sorted out his allergies and diet. Anyway he deserved the win. The errors crept into Thiem's game as the pressure ratcheted up. A very enjoyable final. 2
wolster Posted February 2, 2020 Author Posted February 2, 2020 2 hours ago, ThirdDrawerDown said: For a couple of sets there we seemed to see the old Novak of mysterious ailments and the same guile that sees "wounded" nesting birds distract predators from the nest. I had hoped those days had gone since he sorted out his allergies and diet. Anyway he deserved the win. The errors crept into Thiem's game as the pressure ratcheted up. A very enjoyable final. Yes, not surprising to see the old Novak tricks coming out when the match seemed to be swinging away from him. And then he gets miffed when the crowd are supporting Thiem. 2
evil c Posted February 2, 2020 Posted February 2, 2020 Well clearly the better player won, Jokovich was obviously rattled by the warning and the 2nd one was a joke after he fumbled his ball and was instantly given another on hitting zero. Thought it contributed to his losing rhythm with his game over the next set and a half. Then was rushing his service prep and took awhile to adjust. Don't get the dislike toward him, many including Roger employ the injury tactic when struggling. Was a great match anyway, Thiem was unlucky with a few points denying him glory. 2
blybo Posted February 3, 2020 Posted February 3, 2020 15 minutes ago, evil c said: Don't get the dislike toward him, many including Roger employ the injury tactic when struggling. Such a personal thing and hard to quantify, but for me at least it's not dislike, I just see his style and on court demeanour as very robotic and lacking personality. The dunny-brush hairstyle doesn't help either . I just don't warm to him perhaps because Roger is by comparison, such a graceful and creative talent. Off court Novak is really funny when he lets his guard down and some of his impersonations are hilarious, we just don't seem to see that side of him any more. Early on Djokovic had a habit of using medical time strategically. It was often authentic though as he did retire from quite a few matches, but that is quite some time ago. Roger only gets treatment when necessary and has NEVER retired mid match. 1
zippi Posted February 3, 2020 Posted February 3, 2020 (edited) Novak Nole Djokovic 8 AOs 17 Majors well done Djole!!!!! I personally harbor a distaste for equating the most wins with the best play, however looking back at Novaks achievements - it is quite something and it seems the biggest limiting factor for his future potential is his own commitment to touring (in the next 5 years tops - not much more). FedEx is already too old to be a serious contender for a major and will subject himself to more and more humiliation the longer he persists instead of bowing out in a timely fashion. Rafa has still a few Majors in him, although his type of go-for-broke-at-all-times style of play ages him more quickly than others. Thiem, Medvedev, Zverev, Tsitsipas, Schwartzman, Batista Agut, Rublev, Isner,...... are snapping at the heels and the days of Big Three are numbered for better or worse. 42 minutes ago, evil c said: Jokovich was obviously rattled by the warning and the 2nd one was a joke after he fumbled his ball and was instantly given another on hitting zero. Easy to ignore but that was an even less professional conduct than the TIME call against Raffa. Players fumble balls all the time and this "obsession" with time quickly starts to seem like an agenda. I think privately that umpire is ashamed of their conduct - but there it is nonetheless. And what agenda could it possibly be? Well if you cannot rattle a player with conventional means, a dubious time call will do the trick (likely to last an hour or more). Edited February 3, 2020 by zippi
evil c Posted February 3, 2020 Posted February 3, 2020 4 minutes ago, blybo said: Such a personal thing and hard to quantify, but for me at least it's not dislike, I just see his style and on court demeanour as very robotic and lacking personality. The dunny-brush hairstyle doesn't help either . I just don't warm to him perhaps because Roger is by comparison, such a graceful and creative talent. Off court Novak is really funny when he lets his guard down and some of his impersonations are hilarious, we just don't seem to see that side of him any more. Early on Djokovic had a habit of using medical time strategically. It was often authentic though as he did retire from quite a few matches, but that is quite some time ago. Roger only gets treatment when necessary and has NEVER retired mid match. Yes valid points, cursed by the charm of Roger diluting his own attributes. I think Jokovich has been more serious and focused on the court, and like Nadal puts himself in gladiatorial battle mode the last few years . Off the court, fantastic funny guy but less likable when playing. Still a very fair and humble competitor however. Except with umpires!,
metal beat Posted February 3, 2020 Posted February 3, 2020 (edited) Agree with everyone about Novak and his old feigning injury tricks when he is losing - then miraculously gets back to 100% when winning. That he makes it so obvious is one reason why fans tend to like the other player - Novak is a dik in this respect. I am surprised that nobody has spoken about Thiem and how he was clearly 5-6% down compared to previous matches on serve, movement and groundies - that was enough to sway it Novak's way. Thiem did not have the reserves in the tank to consistently up speed when he needed to, unlike the previous matches. He was only getting to 199km on his fastest serves when in previous matches he as close to 208-9km consistently. His average first speed was 5% off as well. He was clearly " cooked" but unlike Novak did not chuck a sook or make it so obvious he was struggling physically. Thiem is a gentlemen and deserves to win a couple of major's. BTW - anyone notice that Thiem does not put a 2nd ball into his pocket for the 2nd serve. He does a Chris Evert and has the ball person throw him the 2nd ball for every 2nd serve. Never seen a male tennis player do this before. Edited February 3, 2020 by metal beat 4
cheekyboy Posted February 3, 2020 Posted February 3, 2020 13 minutes ago, metal beat said: BTW - anyone notice that Thiem does not put a 2nd ball into his pocket for the 2nd serve. He does a Chris Evert and has the ball person throw him the 2nd ball for every 2nd serve. Never seen a male tennis player do this before. Yep, I've been trying think of any other male player that does that and I'm struggling to think of another beside Thiem. I remember back a long time ago, players including myself very early doors, would hold both balls in the hand on a first serve and probably the player that comes to mind the most for this was Newk. Certainly the likes of Laver, Rosewall, Gonzales and most of the players in that era, never pocketed the second ball, but double handed backhands in those days were rare. Cheers, Keith
blybo Posted February 3, 2020 Posted February 3, 2020 (edited) 42 minutes ago, evil c said: Jokovich are you deliberately incorrectly spelling the name? Edited February 3, 2020 by blybo
evil c Posted February 3, 2020 Posted February 3, 2020 6 minutes ago, blybo said: are you deliberately incorrectly spelling the name? D is silent and obviously invisible too! Sorry Sensei. 2
cheekyboy Posted February 3, 2020 Posted February 3, 2020 10 minutes ago, evil c said: D is silent and obviously invisible too! Sorry Sensei. While we're at it, Clive, there's no 'h' at the end of his surname either. 1
evil c Posted February 3, 2020 Posted February 3, 2020 7 minutes ago, cheekyboy said: While we're at it, Clive, there's no 'h' at the end of his surname either. We can both blame Courier for butchering the language and causing misspelling ! 1
cheekyboy Posted February 3, 2020 Posted February 3, 2020 (edited) 9 minutes ago, evil c said: We can both blame Courier for butchering the language and causing misspelling ! LOL.................yeah I gotta agree re Courier and John McEnroe and all the american commentators for that matter, refer to Novak as 'Jokervich'. Have you heard McEnroe pronounce Tsitsipas...............it sounds like SeeSeePass to me, but I'm not Greek, so maybe he's a lot closer than I think! Edited February 3, 2020 by cheekyboy 1
evil c Posted February 3, 2020 Posted February 3, 2020 7 minutes ago, cheekyboy said: LOL.................yeah I gotta agree re Courier and John McEnroe and all the american commentators for that matter, refer to Novak as 'Jokervich'. Have you heard McEnroe pronounce Tsitsipas...............it sounds like SeeSeePass to me, but I'm not Greek, so maybe he's a lot closer than I think! Sissypants?? Yeah lot of names ripe for mispronouncing, and that's just the Aussie contingent I'm referring to ! 1
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