2023 Tennis

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,713
Alcaraz just pulled out of the Australian Open with a leg injury, dammit.
 

jezza1918

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 19, 2005
2,607
South Dartmouth, MA
What a bummer of a way to start this years thread. To add some content I watched the Djokovic vs Shapovalov 2nd set this morning and I remain convinced Shapo will never have the mental fortitude to have sustained top 10 success on the ATP tour. Looking forward to some early morning tennis the next few weeks though!
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,713
Djokovic was probably going to win anyway, but this is looking like a cakewalk. Is he going to be hovering around -180 to win?
He plays Medvedev in the semis in Adelaide today, let's see how that goes before calling him a massive fave.
 

BigMike

Moderator
Moderator
SoSH Member
Sep 26, 2000
23,244
Given how unfair he was treated last year, I am sure Djoker is a man on a mission in this event. He was easily the best player in the world before, and probably would have won a minimum of 1 more Major championship, and good chance 2 had he been allowed to participate.

Could he lose? Sure, guys twist and ankle, tweak a knee, so anything is possible. But should he be an overwhelming favorite, yes he should. I would be a major upset for anyone in this field to beat him
 

jezza1918

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 19, 2005
2,607
South Dartmouth, MA
But if betting would you take the field djokovic? Crazy in a sport like tennis that I’d probably lean djokovic.

don’ bet on Osaka, she withdrew
 

BigMike

Moderator
Moderator
SoSH Member
Sep 26, 2000
23,244
But if betting would you take the field djokovic? Crazy in a sport like tennis that I’d probably lean djokovic.

don’ bet on Osaka, she withdrew
I would definitely bet Djokovic over the field. And of course there were probably at least 8-10 French opens where Nadal over the field was right bet. But this is on a neutral surface, so that makes it really amazing.

Congrats to Osaka. Hopefully this is able to finally allow her some peace I wouldn't be surprised if this represents basically the end of her tennis career.
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,713
Big first day, very tough matches for Gauff and Nadal, on ESPN at 7, whoo!!
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,713
Taylor Fritz was down 4-2 in the 1st and then only lost 3 points total in the next 4 games, 6-4 set.

Andy Murray with an early 4-1 lead on Berretini, that should be a fun one.
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,713
Murray playing great so far from what I've seen, up 6-3, 4-2.

I am guessing it has been a long time since two men with at least one Grand Slam final met in the first round, when one of those two was not Fed/Djok/Raf.
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,713
Murray with a tough hold to stay on serve in the third at 2-1, up two sets. I don't think he's been broken yet?
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,713
Stan played Andy in the 1st Round in the 2020 French Open. Easy one to miss since it was played in September.
Good call!

Berrettini finally breaks through and is about to go up 4-2, now we're having fun.
 

Mr. Wednesday

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jul 27, 2007
1,590
Eastern MA
They're in a tiebreak for the 4th. Berrettini is on set point #3. #2 was on his serve. Edit: And Berrettini breaks Murray on #3 to send it to a fifth set. Gotta think he's a favorite to win at this point as I don't trust Murray's fitness.
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,713
That tiebreaker was incredible, the 24 shot rally at 5-5 was so tense. Murray needed to win that, have to think Berrettini is the fave now as @Mr. Wednesday said.
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,713
2-2 in the 5th as they hit the 4 hour mark, Berrettini just double faulted for the first time all match, followed with a quick ace.
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,713
5-4 in the 5th, no breaks of Berrettini since the 2nd or Murray since the 3rd.
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,713
Cannot believe he missed that shot at match point, Patrick McEnroe called it a two foot putt. It wasn’t even close, very low on the net.
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,713
Career high 31 aces for Berrettini, especially impressive to do that against Murray.
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,713
They start the deciding 10 point tiebreaker 4:34 into the match.
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,713
Murray finds another gear and Berrettini tightens up, Murray 8-4.
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,713
Murray takes it 10-6, that’s an alltime classic first round match.
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,713
Anyone waking up now, Djokovic is in the second set although maybe just on ESPN+.
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,713
Got lucky and woke up in time to see most of the Djokovic match, he was a bit rusty at the start but absolutely dominated the third, barely losing a point.

Big match today is Gauff/Raducanu, first match of the night session, so after 3 AM EST.
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,713
27 year old American Mackenzie McDonald is giving Nadal all he can handle right now, up 6-4, 2-0.
 

Deathofthebambino

Drive Carefully
SoSH Member
Apr 12, 2005
41,946
He is gonna give it a go, but this set looks lost, so he'll have to battle the injury and win 3 straight. Uphill batte, and McDonald has been playing great.
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,713
Fell asleep for the rest of that, amazing result!

My wife woke (me) up for Coco/Radu, warming up now.
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,713
Coco wins a tough first set 6-3, Raducanu just 1-7 on break points. Raducanu is playing very well but couldn't finish the break in a few different games and Coco held on.
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,713
Raducanu fought hard in the second set, down 4-2 and she won three straight games and had two set points at 5-4. But she couldn’t finish it and Coco played a better breaker and took it 7-4. Fun match, I hope Raducanu can stay healthier.
 

Deathofthebambino

Drive Carefully
SoSH Member
Apr 12, 2005
41,946
Fell asleep for the rest of that, amazing result!

My wife woke (me) up for Coco/Radu, warming up now.
Yeah, I fell asleep midway through the 3rd set on the Nadal match.

Honestly, people will talk about the injury, but prior to that, McDonald was just blistering him. Nadal couldn't get going, especially on McDonald's first serve. If anything, the injury break hurt McDonald. He came back out clearly tight, and wasn't sure how to handle it. Crowd was nuts in favor of Nadal, rightfully so, but McDonald started missing his first serve, a couple double faults, and wasn't making Nadal move around (which given the injury was nearly impossible for Rafa). The kid deserved the win, IMO, with or without the injury.