2017 Australian Open

[jon abbey]

I understand we're not seeing prime-era Nadal, but Zverev just outhit him on almost every shot in their third set tiebreaker. He missed sometimes, but he had Nadal scrambling almost every point, and now he is up two sets to one. I believe Patrick McEnroe said he had the best current backhand in the game the other night, he sure was ripping some in that tiebreak.

 

[Apisith]

And he's out. Rafa survives in 5. Goes on to face Monfils, which should be fun as well.

 

[jon abbey]

Yeah, I fell asleep before it ended, but it seemed clear that Nadal realized he had gotten too passive by the end of the third set, and he got more aggressive after that and won going away.

 

[jon abbey]

Federer/Nishikori at 3 AM tonight, this time they gave him the first night slot.

 

[jon abbey]

The other Zverev brother just came back from 3-1 down to take the first set from Murray 7-5, quite the two days for that family, even if Murray wins in 4.

 

[jon abbey]

So, this Zverev (Mischa) beat Isner in the second round here 9-7 in the 5th, but is a 29 year old ranked #251. He just broke Murray for the 6th time in his 15 service games, up 3-2 and serving in the 3rd.

 

[jon abbey]

Zverev breaks yet again, up 5-2 in the 3rd now.

 

[jon abbey]

If Zverer can finish this, it really will open the draw for Federer, assuming he can get past Kei tonight. Murray would have been his next match, and of course Djokovic no longer looms as a potential finalist either...

 

[jon abbey]

And he breaks yet again to open the 4th, that is a crazy 8 of 17 for the match.

 

[jon abbey]

4-2 now, two holds away.

 

[jon abbey]

5-3, this is at least as stunning as the Djokovic loss if he finishes it.

 

[jon abbey]

Down goes Murray! Down goes Murray!

 

[BigMike]

It really would be something unbelievable and unexpected if we could somehow end up with a Federer vs Nadal final, but of course that is a long way to go

 

[BigMike]

Poor start for Federer. His serve is an absolute disaster

He has given up 7 break chances through 2 service games, finally being broken in both

And the backhand has been very loose

 

[jon abbey]

Fed went down 5-1 and has somehow tied it at 5-5.

 

[Apisith]

But still lost the breaker. He's hitting much crisper now.

 

[Apisith]

Nishikori staying strong.

 

[Apisith]

1-1 now. Strong second set from Fed.

 

[Apisith]

Fed hitting stride now. Up two breaks in the third.

 

[Apisith]

And takes the set 6-1.

 

[Apisith]

Loose set from Fed, really loose. We're off to a 5th.

 

[Apisith]

Fed breaks first in the 5th! Up 3-0 now.

 

[AMS25]

It really would be something unbelievable and unexpected if we could somehow end up with a Federer vs Nadal final, but of course that is a long way to go

Could be... I would get up at 3:00 am to watch that....

 

[Apisith]

That would bring back a lot of good memories, even for a Federer fan.

Everything he does is a bonus these days.

 

[BigMike]

Fell asleep after he blew open the 3rd set. Really amazed Roger was able to come back in the 5th after losing the 4th (I'm watching it now). Honestly I thought after coming back in the 1rst set and then blowing the tiebreaker I thought he would be done.

I think he'll beat Misha. I don't believe he can hold that level 2 straight matches, and there was a lot of hero worship in Misha voice when he spoke of the possibility.

that said, I don't get Nishikori. People talk about him breaking through, and I am not sure I see it, If he were born 5 years earlier, I think he would have struggled to make a semi in his career. Now maybe he will outlast the golden era of tennis and steal one, but this may have been his best chance. He is probably a lesser David Ferrer in my view.

 

[jon abbey]

I didn't notice until just now with everything going on, but Coco Vandeweghe demolished Kerber last night after the Fed/Kei match, 6-2, 6-3.

So we could have an all-Williams sister final* as well as a Fed/Nadal one, is this 2006?

*Actually I don't expect Venus to last much longer, she hasn't played anyone good yet and she doesn't look especially impressive, but it is obviously still possible.

 

[AMS25]

Re: Kerber, she really wilted out there. Guess being #1 seed (and ranked) isn't all it's cracked up to be.

 

[AMS25]

So we could have an all-Williams sister final* as well as a Fed/Nadal one, is this 2006?.

Still a possibility, as Serena moves on....

 

[jon abbey]

Istomin still looking awesome, outhitting Dimitrov badly so far, 6-2, 4-3 on serve in the second. Crazy that he had to win three qualifying matches just to make the main draw here...

 

[jon abbey]

Finally Dimitrov breaks through, he didn't have a break point until the end of the second set, and even then Istomin aced him on both chances. But Dimitrov won the 2nd set tiebreak pretty easily (7-2), and now has finally broken to start the third (up 2-0 now).

 

[jon abbey]

Finally Istomin hit a physical wall after all of those matches (including the qualfiers) and consecutive five setters before this, Dimitrov is up 2 sets to 1 and 2-0 in the 4th. If he wins, he plays #11 Goffin to get to the semis in a big career match for both of those guys.

 

[jon abbey]

Nadal rolling over Monfils early, up a set and a break.

 

[BigMike]

I get the feeling that Patrick McEnroe has about the same opinion of Monfils as I do.

Kid has all the raw talent, but is the same player he has been

And he manages to break Nadal and win the 3rd set despite a very uneven service game where his serve bailed out some very poor play

And now Monfils up a break late in the 4th set

And Monfills does what Monfills does, completely implodes and loses the last 4 games of the set/match.

What a waste

 

[Infield Infidel]

I know he's getting up there in age but let's give some credit to Nadal, he's 13-2 H2H against Monfils. He has a good record against most players but his game is fundamentally antiMonfils. When Nadal is on his lefty forehand kills unsure backhands, and he makes his opponent have to make shots and Monfils can only do that for brief stretches, which eventually breaks him (and better players) down mentally. Nadal is just going to hit heavy ball after heavy ball back into the court and you're fucked if you can't dial it down or use slices and other shots mix it up. Since Monfils's game lacks precision he's at his worst when he thinks he has to do more than he actually has to do. He's poor at dialing it up or down (especially down), and Nadal is not only one of the best ever at dialing it up/down, but also at getting his opponent to have dial it up/down. His physicality has obviously eroded some but his court sense hasn't.

Also, Monfils may look youthful, but at 29 he's not a kid, he's only a year younger than Nadal. He is what he is. Edit- actually Monfils is also 30.

 

[Infield Infidel]

After posting that, it blows my mind that Nadal is only 30. I remember him beating Roddick in the Davis Cup final in a soccer stadium in Spain, forgot he was only 17. Crowd was amazing. The announcers, i think it was Drysdale, was like "This Nadal guy might be good". He wasn't even ranked. I just looked it up and it was in 2004. He hadn't even played his first French Open yet (the first of what NINE that he won). God I'm getting old.

 

[BigMike]

I get it II, but Monfils is just one of those guys who gets under my skin, and by the sound of Patrick McEnroe last night he get's under Patrick's skin as well. .

It's funny because McEnroe was killing him in the middle of the third set, and Monfils took off. Then just after it got to 4-2 McEnroe mentioned for the first time I think he has a chance of winning this match, and looking at how dejected Nadal looks he thinks so as well. And then Monfils took the choke immediately on queue

 

[jon abbey]

Venus comes back in the second set tiebreak, down 3-1, she wins six straight points to close it out in stragiht sets and make the semis here for the first time since 2003 (!!).

 

[jon abbey]

Coco Vandeweghe up a set on Muguruza. If she wins, we are two Serena wins away from an all-American women's final (Serena on one side, Coco/Venus on the other).

 

[jon abbey]

Coco making Muguruza look like she's 12 years old right now, up 5-0 in the second and smoking winner after winner.

 

[Bob Montgomerys Helmet Hat]

Absolutely dominating

 

[jon abbey]

Wow, Coco has a massive ego, I kind of like it. She lost nine total games in four sets against Kerber and Muguruza, both Grand Slam winners last year. That is amazing.

 

[Bob Montgomerys Helmet Hat]

She's kind of a nut

 

[InstaFace]

Disagree, I find those extended fifth set matches dull as hell, especially when a huge server like Isner or Karlovic is involved. To each their own...

You're telling me Federer-Roddick in the Wimbledon Final didn't have you on the edge of your seat? I thought that was every bit as great as a legendary tiebreak, except it went on for an hour rather than 5 minutes.

Like any match context, a no-tiebreak 5th set can be well-played and contentious and entertaining, or it can be straightforward and boring. But at least it's more sports rather than less sports.

Can we at least agree that Doubles should be best-of-5 in all grand slams, not just at Wimbledon?

Wow, Coco has a massive ego, I kind of like it. She lost nine total games in four sets against Kerber and Muguruza, both Grand Slam winners last year. That is amazing.

Yeah, she damn near took out Maria Sharapova at Wimbledon 2015 QFs, absolutely took her to the wall. She's 25, kind of old to be hitting her professional stride, but she has really taken it to another level this year. And part of that has got to be her near-Serena-level cockiness (without the maturity / experience in the spotlight to know when and how to show it). Her facial-expression game is very strong, so always a favorite to watch.

And yeah, tonight I thought Mug was a little off her game at first, but after losing that 1st set serve (on Vandeweghe's eighth break point) the wheels totally came off - or, flip-side, Coco's confidence just grew and grew. Her vs Venus on thursday will be a must-see, two very contrasting styles. Likewise Nadal-Raonic.

 

[jon abbey]

You're telling me Federer-Roddick in the Wimbledon Final didn't have you on the edge of your seat? I thought that was every bit as great as a legendary tiebreak, except it went on for an hour rather than 5 minutes.

Yeah, a final is different, there's no need to play the next round so might as well keep playing.

Also the better the players involved, the more compelling the match is, and that one had tons of baggage, Roddick trying to break through against Fed, Fed already with 14 Grand Slam titles and a 18-2 career record against Roddick, Fed reclaiming the #1 ranking from Nadal with a win, two prior Wimbledon finals meetings, Roddick's probable last chance to ever break through at Wimbledon, etc.

But I'd say that one is the exception that proves the rule, most extended 5th sets are in earlier rounds and essentially eliminate both the winner and the loser from the tournament.

 

[Infield Infidel]

Wawrinka up 7-6, 6-4 over Tsonga. It's been a decent match but Stan better on the important points. He's serving very well.

 

[Infield Infidel]

I've been watching on Eurosport and Mats Wilander is ridiculously hard on these players. He's entertaining though.

 

[Apisith]

Wawrinka up a break in the third, this one looks done. He should be the prohibitive favourite right now because of his consistency.

 

[jon abbey]

Federer/Zverev starting now. Amazing stat that Zverev has 369 serve and volley points so far, Raonic is the second most with just 50.

 

[semsox]

Assuming Roger finishes this out, not sure I see him getting past Stan, which is unfortunate.

 

[Apisith]

On fast surfaces I still see Federer with the advantage. Federer doesn't really sit back and absorb shots from Wawrinka like others might do. He has such a good H2H record against him too, although the age and fitness might have an impact this deep into the tournament.

Pretty exciting for him to get to this stage. He continues to amaze.