I love how you can wake up and follow tennis, first thing in the morning.The Australian Open kicked off today, my favorite tournament of the year (ok, top two with the US Open).
This was a fun battle between two young sluggers, I think Sinner probably wins easily if he didn’t play 4 matches in the 3 previous days.Sinner/Shapavolov is still going, now in the 5th set
I don't quite understand why the tournament organizers didn't give Sinner a day to recover - don't they usually let players who reach the final of the previous week's tournament get a day (or two) off at the start of a Slam? At the end of the day, I suspect Sinner will ultimately be happier to have won a 500-level tournament and banked all of those ranking points relative to, say, losing a QF in the warm-up event and then reaching the R16 of the Australian Open itself, but today still has to feel like it was a kick in the teeth for him.This was a fun battle between two young sluggers, I think Sinner probably wins easily if he didn’t play 4 matches in the 3 previous days.
There were two tournaments though right? Meaning four different men played matches the day before the Open started. Point being I feel like it would be tough to schedule all four for day 2. I'm actually more surprised they scheduled him for the last night match, given recent trends in early rounds there meant he probably wouldn't get on at a normal hour (which he didn't). My guess is he would've much preferred a late afternoon/early evening start allowing him to get on a normal rest schedule.I don't quite understand why the tournament organizers didn't give Sinner a day to recover - don't they usually let players who reach the final of the previous week's tournament get a day (or two) off at the start of a Slam? At the end of the day, I suspect Sinner will ultimately be happier to have won a 500-level tournament and banked all of those ranking points relative to, say, losing a QF in the warm-up event and then reaching the R16 of the Australian Open itself, but today still has to feel like it was a kick in the teeth for him.
Half of the singles field doesn't play its first matches until day 2 - I think they could have managed it somehow. (I haven't checked, but I *guess* maybe one side of the draw began yesterday and the other side today, and they wanted to each half on schedule? That's the only excuse I can come up with, and even then I would have made an exception.) Mind you, Dan Evans - winner of the other men's event in Melbourne Park last week - looked pretty much out of form today from what I saw of his four-set loss to Cameron Norrie, and he had the extra day to recover.There were two tournaments though right? Meaning four different men played matches the day before the Open started. Point being I feel like it would be tough to schedule all four for day 2. I'm actually more surprised they scheduled him for the last night match, given recent trends in early rounds there meant he probably wouldn't get on at a normal hour (which he didn't). My guess is he would've much preferred a late afternoon/early evening start allowing him to get on a normal rest schedule.
Typically at the slams they do break up first couple days by half (the only regular exception is Roland Garros since they now break up the first round into 3 days). The other thing that is odd about this schedule was the lead in tournaments being played up to day before the Open started. From my time working around the tour usually the last warm up events' finals were played on Saturday.Half of the singles field doesn't play its first matches until day 2 - I think they could have managed it somehow. (I haven't checked, but I *guess* maybe one side of the draw began yesterday and the other side today, and they wanted to each half on schedule? That's the only excuse I can come up with, and even then I would have made an exception.) Mind you, Dan Evans - winner of the other men's event in Melbourne Park last week - looked pretty much out of form today from what I saw of his four-set loss to Cameron Norrie, and he had the extra day to recover.
Stan is pretty much washed - Novak was cruising through that match either way.Wow, Opelka had Fritz on the ropes, up 2 sets to 1 and 5-1 in the tiebreak before Fritz came back with six straight points to send it to a 5th.
The always dangerous Stan Wawrinka is out, falling just short of an 0-2 set comeback and losing in a 5th set tiebreak. He and Djokovic would have met in the round of 16, so that’s a break for Novak.
For me he is probably the single most likeable all-time great, ahead of Fed, Nadal, Sampras, basically anyone else. PLEASE no one step up and beat him.Stan is pretty much washed - Novak was cruising through that match either way.
Someone, anyone, PLEASE step up and beat him. He's the most thoroughly unlikeable all-time great I've ever had to watch.
This just absolutely blew my mind, and I think you're gonna find yourself on an island here. Care to explain how you could find Novak "Keep that slice of bread away from me" Djokovic is more likeable than FED?!?!For me he is probably the single most likeable all-time great, ahead of Fed, Nadal, Sampras, basically anyone else. PLEASE no one step up and beat him.
I'm not sure how you explain something like that, he just is and always has been by far my fave of the three and I have said that here every Grand Slam for at least a decade. I have always found Fed's style dull (too seemingly effortless maybe?) and I think it is one of the most amazing things in recent sports history that Novak seemed hopelessly stuck at 3rd behind two alltime greats for years, but somehow he kept pushing to the point where he has a genuine chance to end up with more GSs than both. He has definitely done some assholish things in recent years but somehow I don't really care.This just absolutely blew my mind, and I think you're gonna find yourself on an island here. Care to explain how you could find Novak "Keep that slice of bread away from me" Djokovic is more likeable than FED?!?!
Wawrinka had I think three match points in the match tiebreak at 9 - 6 and lost five straight points to lose the match at 11 - 9 in the tiebreak.The always dangerous Stan Wawrinka is out, falling just short of an 0-2 set comeback and losing in a 5th set tiebreak. He and Djokovic would have met in the round of 16, so that’s a break for Novak.
I concur on all accounts. I was in the stands when he pulled out in the QFs at Roland Garros against Nadal down two sets to love and he never won back my respect after that ("respect" being relative to guys like Fed and Nadal). As of the 2019 US Open, when he retired vs Stan down two sets to love, Djokovic had withdrawn from 13 tourneys overall & 6 slams. Fed has never retired from a match...and with regards to COVID, Kyrgios has slowly won be over with tweets like these (and being a giant Celtics fan).He's always been assholish. I mean, I was a Roddick stan, so he lost me forever when he talked shit in the post-match interview after beating him at the US Open (and got booed by the Ashe crowd and had to wear an FDNY hat when he won to try to win people over again). I hate his stupid post-match "I will now use my arms to push love around the whole stadium" celebration. I hate his god-awful haircut that's never changed his entire career. And I haven't even mentioned the COVID stuff. So, yeah, I have strong feelings on this. Fuck Djokovic forever.
By the way - Fed's style dull? Fed's style is poetry in motion. His movement is beautiful. And he invented the SABR out of nowhere! Come on!
Completely agree. His on court antics vs. his (more recent) off court persona/politics don't seem to add up...although it does seem like the latter is having a positive effect on the former last couple of years. If he can get off to a quick start against Thiem he's got a shot. Hopefully I'm awake whenever that one is aired here on the east coast, will be some incredible ball striking.Ironically no tennis player since Ilie Nastase has been more of a ‘tool’ than Krygios, but I like him too as he is endlessly entertaining.
I gotta ask, how do you feel about Medvedev?Eh, I like the assholish part of him for the most part, that's probably how I would be if I was a superstar athlete also.
Serena stole that setSerena with a slow start. Got lucky that Potapova couldn't win those set points.