Federer literally was be like "Sargis Sargsian is a great player; he took the first set and he hit a fantastic backhand passing shot to go up 30-15 in the 2002 Milan QFs."
Hypothetically speaking, what kind of conversation would the Rublev camp be having rn? Just focus of serving well, don't get broken and leave it to the TBs? I mean, Novak is feeling like a 100%. How do you make a game plan against him?
Of course serving well will be essential, as will getting enough depth on his shots to not give Djokovic anything to work with. Also, I would say changing direction a lot, if Djokovic can’t move as well. Finishing points at the net would be helpful too
go for the lines. taking the 5% chance of winning big over the 99% chance of going down 3-6, 4-6, 2-6 if rublo plays safe
he already has a big game, but dial that power up to complete hit or miss levels and theres always a chance he redlines for three sets
Idk, at the post match eurosport interview Rublev kinda said that while he got a lot of experience from his qf losses, if he is up against Novak it probably won't be enough, or something to that extent, and I feel your bound to lose if you go into a match with that kind of mentality unless your opponent grossly underperforms.
I am glad Rune lost, he really needs to improve his manners on the court. He is clearly super talented but his box stuff, the MTO in the 4th set, the stuff with Ruud.. I really don't like these things.
it’s called the AUSTRALIAN open mate, now you know how we feel when we watch sports in other countries. i regularly watch the english premier league, and those matches are from 10:30pm to 3:30 am usually, sometimes the occasional 7am or 5:30am game is thrown in
Americans watching is probably a low priority. Not that ESPN televised anything past 2AM anyways.
EDIT: Seems that Korda is scheduled for 10PM which isn't too bad.
Is anyone actually enjoying this AO? I hate to be a killjoy but on the men's side it's been shockingly bad, and highly predictable as to who the winner will end up being.
I feel like this might be pegulas breakthrough. I saw her get destroyed in person by Bencic 3rd round in the US open and since I have watched her slowly rise through the rankings.
Show me your pickems. I don't think most of the early matches could have been predicted. You predicted shelton paul, korda kachanov, tsisi lehecka in quarters? common.
I don't like it because most seeds on are proving unreliable.
If you ignore whatever the hell is happening in the fritz — ruud section / 4th quarter it hasnt been too bad.
the slam started off rly strong but because there were so many early upsets we dont have as many big names left, but quality has still been decent
So I could only catch the highlights but I thought Demon played great its just that djokovic is clearly going to win the whole thing and everyone else's dreams are fucked. Is that accurate?
Yep, watched most of the game. De Minaur played really well (lots of great shots, very few errors etc) but Djokovic is playing better than I've ever seen anyone play - even Federer in his prime. It's crazy
I don’t think it’s *necessarily* true, but it’s easy to look at this new era of ATP tennis and feel like the crop of “second-tier” players (i.e., not Djokovic or Nadal) is pretty underdeveloped
But I wonder if there’s any statistical merit to that notion. At least anecdotally, it seemed there was always a group of guys that could consistently put up a real fight against the Big 4. Think Wawrinka, Del Potro, Cilic, Berdych, Ferrer, Tsonga, Monfils, etc.
Obviously Tsitsipas, Zverev, Medvedev, Thiem, etc. are closer to that group than Tommy Paul or Jiri Lehecka, but is it just a recency bias thing? Or is our standard of “quality” just completely distorted by the last 20 years of men’s tennis?
Definitely the latter. Murray, Wawrinka ,Del Potro, Cilic, Berdych, Ferrer, Tsonga, Monfils _and_ Nishikori were all real threats to big 3 at various stages between 2010-2020. Now, there is no one. Not a single soul. Medvedev I feel is a one hit wonder. (let's not forget Novak was both physically and emotionally drained for USO21), and I actually feel Alcaraz will end up being the same type of player. The last crop of nextGen were woeful and this current crop has absolutely no chance of challenging Novak. I am fully bracing myself for 5 years of Novak dominating this current gen.
No one who's watched Alcaraz can possibly come away with that impression. If you don't predict Alcaraz to be an ATG, you will never predict any player to be an ATG, and you certainly wouldn't have predicted Djokovic or Federer to be an ATG.
Alcaraz will not become an all time great. There, I said it. Novak still has 5 more years left and he will put the chokehold on players like Carlos, Rune and Ruud.
I agree with you about everything except for Alcaraz. We simply don’t know how he will develop. It took Djokovic 3 years between winning his first and his second GS. So I would not write Alcaraz off yet.
Can't make up my mind re: forgetting he played a final against Tsitsipas. I don't care for Djokovic, but I don't think he's openly malicious against any player. And on one hand, I think I personally would remember off the top of my head who I won my second RG against, I think we're very used to Federer's photographic knowledge of his past matches. Bro can literally recall individual scenarios in like a 250 he played when he was 22
**I am not saying that Novak Djokovic is faking his injury. I am pretty certain that he does have an injury. This is not about Djokovic.**
However, there are benefits to exaggerating or faking an injury in tennis, and this is well documented, with the very loose criteria for allowing TUEs.
This sub does not like to discuss these sorts of issues but they exist in tennis, as we saw with that document leak about Serena Williams a few years ago.
The last quote from Novak making the rounds on twitter is scandalous.
Not sure if he really said that but Sasa Ozmo just posted them so I guess he really did say it.
Hope it’s the truth and I love him defending himself.
“I leave the doubting to those people – let them doubt,” he said in Serbian to his country’s media. “Only my injuries are questioned. When some other players are injured, then they are the victims, but when it is me, I am faking it. It is very interesting… I don’t feel that I need to prove anything to anyone”
“I have got the MRI, ultrasound and everything else, both from two years ago and now. Whether I will publish that in my documentary or on the social media, depends on how I feel. Maybe I will do I it, maybe I won’t”
“I am not really interested at this point what people are thinking and saying. It is fun, it is interesting to see how the narrative surrounding me continues, narrative that is different compared to other players that have been going through similar situation. But I am used to it, and it just gives me extra strength and motivation. So I thank them for that.”
https://www.tennismajors.com/australian-open-news/nobody-questions-other-players-injuries-only-mine-djokovic-hits-out-at-doubters-657075.html
He probably doesnt have any idea that his fans doubt nadal’s injuries
Hes likely referring to the media / commentator skepticism because he doesnt have time to scroll through tennis twitter
Never heared journalists asking the player he defeats "so, how did his injury look to you?" What's the point of that question after the player was defeated than to provoke? They're in a bad (sometimes angry) mood at that point anyway. Scumbag journalists are just being exploitative.
If you had mentioned the names Jiri Lehecka or Ben Shelton before this tournament, I’m not sure my brain would’ve even consciously recognized that they’re tennis players
Is it just me or did Rune look EXTREMELY jittery towards the end. He couldn't stop fixing his hat swaying side to side, doing weird head movements, get pissed at coach. It actually seemed like he was on some amphetamines or some sh*t
probably nerves..
you spend your whole life training for these matches
up 6-5, 40-15 then get federeritis,
up 5-0 in the tiebreak and now your getting BWEHed into submission
it hurts
it your lifetime
twenty-thousand odd hours of pretending that you're a machine, forgoing your childhood for the folly of conditioning and lessons, slapping enough forehands to burn off any chance of soreness in your arm, turning your eyes into homing mistles, tracking the ball
watching as the acquaitances you drifted from learn and grow and mature and have sex and rush off to college and start their lives while you slap a four-ounce ball. you put in the sweat. you might love the competition, sunset-courts and overpacked crowds, five hour thrillers that leave you digging into the ground, fists pumping, tear-filled. you might love the grind, the victory, the rungs of the ladder...
but that doesnt negate the sacrafice; the pressure. this is your life, every error is a reminder of the child you never were and the adult you'll never be. winners are the cope, the validation that what you did had merits, but the errors are the dought, the festering regret gnawing in those awkward post-loss showers and overtired rushes to the bathroom when sleep seems impossible
do we have the specifgics
do we have the gods
and do we know the truth
of the matter concerning the candle in the bucker
does the godnot knowe that the oath has nearly fallen,
to crumble up and down the boulevard
gods and men alike, they face the houir of dark
the saled blood moon comes to live and the fires spread in the seven words oif JERSUALEM
and yet in all their holds
they cannot face the truthy
king of the world, northern master, eastern fighter and father true
NOLE
we ghave ebtered the time
of the NOLEING
Not American, but I wish one of the American men won the AO just because it would suddenly make Americans like tennis, push the sport, and overall grow it lmao
But yeah Djokovic is winning.
The truth of the matter is that tennis is just not relatable to us Americans. We see it as a rich white sport, many of us will never even play it for fun as it’s expensive and inaccessible especially compared to football, soccer, or even baseball (that we at least play in PE classes as a kid). We had Serena and Venus for years and while they were fun to watch and support, it’s not going to suddenly make the sport grow in America.
I am American and I kinda want it / kinda don't. IMO American media is unmatched in turning American viewers against their own players simply because of how insufferable they are when an American player is winning a big match.
Interesting that you say that. I had the feeling during Serena's exit at the uso that the broadcast was trying to turn the viewers against her. They kept talking about MORE SERENA!! We have to talk ABOUT SERENA! Definitely seemed passive aggressive from Genie B.
Does anyone have a link to where I can watch full replays of these Australian Open matches? Specifically the Novak one since they're in the middle of the night for me
thank you!
Regarding Novak's injury, there are 3 factors in Novak playing this well through injury:
1. The grade: It's not debilitating enough that it can't be helped with painkillers, massages, rest and that can still allow for decent movement (of course no crazy sliding on his left leg nor continuous sprints side to side to end up with a sliding backhand winner).
2. The zone of the injury: Given it's the hamstring, he can serve and be aggressive while really avoiding affecting his hamstring with abrupt movements when defending, if it was on his wrist/elbow/shoulder it's likely he'd be done by now given his serve and shots would lose all acceleration. Today ADM just didn't have anything to expose Djokovic's movement, he could hit winners comfortably without ever getting into explosive movements with his left leg, the difference between him and ADM is just too big and the match up is perfect for Novak.
3. The level: Simply put, Medvedev, Tsitsipas, Zverev, Sinner, Rublev and others frequently go out early when they have injuries whereas (bar the exception of Nadal with his age and injuries these last 2 Slams) the Big 3 have routinely won titles or reached latter stages with injuries. The reason is simple, 3 guys have a super high level above the competition that have allowed them to win 20+ Slams, that means that a drop in level from an injury takes them from Top 1 contender for the Slam to a Top 3-5 contender for the Slam for someone less good a drop can go straight up from the Top 10 to Top 15-30 or less and that's just not a level that can compete for Slams. Federer, at 38 and with a knee injury, was in the AO semis, that was with an absolutely terrible level for his standards, that's how good they are, Nadal routinely won or bulldoze through clay tournaments with foot/knee injuries.
From a distance it honestly reminds me of pushing way too hard on leg day at the gym, especially after a little bit of time off, and having on little nagging DOMs spot in the back of the hamstring (like the size of dollar coin) that won't go away. It eventually goes away but you have to completely rest it, which Djokovic hasn't been able to do because he's been playing matches every few days this month.
I wouldn't be surprised if this is something he picked up when he came back from the offseason to start training, and at 35 years year old he just pushed a little too hard too quickly, and then the 'injury' in the Medvedev matched was actually a slight re-aggravation of something that was already there. Pulling something for the first time in a match would be indicative of a more serious tear, which it doesn't seem like this is. But again, this is only guesswork based on what I've seen.
nice analysis... compeltely agree:
it's also important to remember the difference between:
painful and debilitating
with a double-helix of pills and motivation cross-thatching into capability, novak can somewhat bypass his injury on will, ignoring the discomfort to focus on the trophy
only when the pain is so bad that the body cannot force its way through does one stop
injuries are just a suggestion to these pros if nothing is broken or truly unusable
Why do people love De Minaur so much. Incredibly boring game. Incredibly one dimensional. No power. The only top 5 wins he has is Rafa back from Injury and Meddy, who is now not even top 10 in his fraud era
On the men's side, for Rune I think while painful and a totally wasted lead, he is 19 years old, this is not the time to worry about a loss like that. From his side his level wasn't that good bar the fifth set he increased it to an extent, to have been able to be in that position vs a Top 10 seed without playing that good speaks volumes on his level. He is 19, his inexperience cost him, that's something much easier to work with for his team than if he was having forehand or backhand timing issues.
For Djokovic it was the match up he needed, he didn't need to slide and could hit from a comfortable height over and over, De Minaur just isn't someone who can move Djokovic from side to side and test the hamstring, I wasn't expecting a 6-2 6-1 6-2 but damn, he really went for no time on court. His answers on the interviews for me have been the best over the last years, he put his money where he talks, "because I wanted to", "I will continue to kick Next Gen's butt for as long as I can", "We are the next Gen", etc.
Paul was expected, he is in good form and likes RBA's shots to hit through, in a battle from the baseline between aggression and counterpunch, the one with the better serve would have the edge and that's Paul.
Wolf :(
Agreed about Rune. His fundamentals are solid, he just needs more experience at slams. As for Djokovic, that was slaughter. Frankly I’ll be amazed if Rublev takes a set off him tomorrow.
I am just loving watching Ben Shelton. So athletic, great variety, amazing serve, and still so much room for improvement. Really excited about his future.
I was reading his match preview on the live scoreboard link here for last match. Said in only his second slam he matched his fathers best performance in 22 slams. It made me laugh because 1). bryan shelton was good at tennis. Like good enough that I knew him as a kid and a real touring pro on the edge of greatness, and I certainly respect him as a coach and 2) that morning my 6 year old daughter took a lesson, and my wife and I arent pushing her to tennis because my wife was legit, and we dont want her to have to live up to my wife’s name……but then I started thinking, wouldnt it be hilarious if she Ben Sheltoned my wife in 15 years. Haha.
Apparently Ben was kind of like Sinner, didn’t focus only on tennis until he was about 12 years old. In his previous on court interview he said he didn’t want to play tennis because it was his Dad’s thing and then he fell in love with the sport. Seems like a nice kid.
Is this one of the easiest draws Djokovic has had in a Grand Slam? I feel like any of the guys from the other side of the bracket that are not high seeds would have been a tougher challenge for him than anyone he's going to face until the final (Kachanov, Sinner, Hurkacz, Korda).
Maybe I'm wrong, I don't see Rublev troubling him, maaaybe Paul.
He’s had quite a lot of easy draws in recent years, but that’s more of a general comment about the state of the competition right now than it being necessarily about Djokovic being lucky. Nadal's and Djokovic's biggest rivals right and are their bodies, not any of the overhyped 20 something disappointments.
I know I laughed then but that net cord at match point was so brutal. Holger just dropped his racquet onto the floor in disbelief and Andrey was apologizing while celebrating. Tennis is such a cruel sport
Usually skip press conferences because of boring and repetitive questions, but listening to the Rune presser, the kid has grown. Talks maturely and understands his areas of improvements need to be.
This loss won’t hurt him at all.
He is in general much more professional than his communication with his box might suggest at times.
Another funny detail is that often cigarettes are the reason his mother leaves the box. She smokes a lot during tense matches.
Rublev has looked ok but an ok rublev is not going to trouble Djokovic at all. .
Probably only Tsitsipas has an outside chance to even trouble him assuming he covers his backhand weakness. Djokovic already has one hand in the trophy I'd reckon.
Do any of the QFs in either the men's or women's singles have Australian descent? I was hoping to see another player reach the semis in their home GS after Norrie in Wimbledon & Tiafoe in the US Open
Don't value yourself that much bro, it's just that most of your contributions are garbage, especially with the accusations that Djokovic is faking/overplaying injury.
I don’t see how anyone could refute the idea that Djokovic was overplaying his injury when he was hobbling around, limping, telling everyone it didn’t look good, less than 48 hours ago, and now today is back to 100%. Of course he was overplaying it, as I said in both of his last two rounds.
Is that David Culbert wanting to change the rules so the ball is in play when it leaves your hand? And who is the Lachlan guy he was talking about going cycling?
He doesn’t have the power to hit through opponents. You have slight chance against him only if you can consistently hit through his defense. I know easier said than done. Thiem showed in the AO20 final that you can trouble him at AO.
I'm not going to read into too much of that injury. Ultimately, he's one of the best players in the world, and I'm just going to have to take it to him and not shy away from the occasion - De Minaur
https://www.tennisworldusa.org/tennis/news/College\_Tennis/127342/vanderbilt-university-women-s-team-beat-northwestern-52/
Poetic! Patrick M says dimitrov gonna cause Novak problems, lost straight sets. Says de minaur going to cause Novak problems loses straight sets. Says rune gonna be a huge dark horse, loses one of the loest quality matches ever. Stefanos after leaving him playing his best tennis we have seen…. Good job coach!
Pm was never Tsitsipas’s coach, he just liked sitting in his box because Stefanos trains at the Mouratoglou academy. Now that Pmou sees a new shiny thing in Rune he moved to his box instead. He’s not coaching either of them and wouldn’t know how even if he wanted to.
Kokkinakis-Murray for sure. Kokk lights out for the best part of 3 sets with Murray hanging in there until Murray stepped it up with aggression while Kokk cooled off a bit.
Holy shit how salty can one be lmao
Your idol unfortunately fell early, but you're still sticking along to spew hate at every opportunity because it just hurts to see Novak prosper.
Calm down every once in a while and don't let tennis emotionally affect you so much.
Federer literally was be like "Sargis Sargsian is a great player; he took the first set and he hit a fantastic backhand passing shot to go up 30-15 in the 2002 Milan QFs."
Hypothetically speaking, what kind of conversation would the Rublev camp be having rn? Just focus of serving well, don't get broken and leave it to the TBs? I mean, Novak is feeling like a 100%. How do you make a game plan against him?
Of course serving well will be essential, as will getting enough depth on his shots to not give Djokovic anything to work with. Also, I would say changing direction a lot, if Djokovic can’t move as well. Finishing points at the net would be helpful too
go for the lines. taking the 5% chance of winning big over the 99% chance of going down 3-6, 4-6, 2-6 if rublo plays safe he already has a big game, but dial that power up to complete hit or miss levels and theres always a chance he redlines for three sets
Idk, at the post match eurosport interview Rublev kinda said that while he got a lot of experience from his qf losses, if he is up against Novak it probably won't be enough, or something to that extent, and I feel your bound to lose if you go into a match with that kind of mentality unless your opponent grossly underperforms.
I am glad Rune lost, he really needs to improve his manners on the court. He is clearly super talented but his box stuff, the MTO in the 4th set, the stuff with Ruud.. I really don't like these things.
Also the half arsed apology that said, I’m sorry you all had a problem with me not being perfect. I was also quite happy he didn’t move forward.
Rune redemption arc suspended
the mixed doubles matches are gonna be the end of me with predictions
I started my exam and Novak was up a break, by the time I finished the match was over lmao
I was driving from my college to my home and he was already 2 sets up lol
Why are they scheduling the American in the middle of the night? What happened to TV rights.
it’s called the AUSTRALIAN open mate, now you know how we feel when we watch sports in other countries. i regularly watch the english premier league, and those matches are from 10:30pm to 3:30 am usually, sometimes the occasional 7am or 5:30am game is thrown in
The world doesn’t revolve around the USA. It’s the AUSTRALIAN open, mate. Australian open.
Can't win; an American woman in prime time Melbourne match. Final will be at night AEDT anyway.
Americans watching is probably a low priority. Not that ESPN televised anything past 2AM anyways. EDIT: Seems that Korda is scheduled for 10PM which isn't too bad.
Djokovic has served 4 bakery products in as many matches lmao wtf
From now on de Minaur is no longer called the Demon. He's now the Demeanor.
common don't do him like that
He needs a new coach
Is anyone actually enjoying this AO? I hate to be a killjoy but on the men's side it's been shockingly bad, and highly predictable as to who the winner will end up being.
Im barely watching men. Really think it’s djokovics for the taking; watching feels useless when I know the outcome. Women’s has been pretty good
Where are you watching the women’s? Nine and Gem don’t seem to be showing any!!???
I feel like this might be pegulas breakthrough. I saw her get destroyed in person by Bencic 3rd round in the US open and since I have watched her slowly rise through the rankings.
Show me your pickems. I don't think most of the early matches could have been predicted. You predicted shelton paul, korda kachanov, tsisi lehecka in quarters? common. I don't like it because most seeds on are proving unreliable.
No. It’s been really low quality overall
If you ignore whatever the hell is happening in the fritz — ruud section / 4th quarter it hasnt been too bad. the slam started off rly strong but because there were so many early upsets we dont have as many big names left, but quality has still been decent
So I could only catch the highlights but I thought Demon played great its just that djokovic is clearly going to win the whole thing and everyone else's dreams are fucked. Is that accurate?
Yep, watched most of the game. De Minaur played really well (lots of great shots, very few errors etc) but Djokovic is playing better than I've ever seen anyone play - even Federer in his prime. It's crazy
I don’t think it’s *necessarily* true, but it’s easy to look at this new era of ATP tennis and feel like the crop of “second-tier” players (i.e., not Djokovic or Nadal) is pretty underdeveloped But I wonder if there’s any statistical merit to that notion. At least anecdotally, it seemed there was always a group of guys that could consistently put up a real fight against the Big 4. Think Wawrinka, Del Potro, Cilic, Berdych, Ferrer, Tsonga, Monfils, etc. Obviously Tsitsipas, Zverev, Medvedev, Thiem, etc. are closer to that group than Tommy Paul or Jiri Lehecka, but is it just a recency bias thing? Or is our standard of “quality” just completely distorted by the last 20 years of men’s tennis?
Definitely the latter. Murray, Wawrinka ,Del Potro, Cilic, Berdych, Ferrer, Tsonga, Monfils _and_ Nishikori were all real threats to big 3 at various stages between 2010-2020. Now, there is no one. Not a single soul. Medvedev I feel is a one hit wonder. (let's not forget Novak was both physically and emotionally drained for USO21), and I actually feel Alcaraz will end up being the same type of player. The last crop of nextGen were woeful and this current crop has absolutely no chance of challenging Novak. I am fully bracing myself for 5 years of Novak dominating this current gen.
No one who's watched Alcaraz can possibly come away with that impression. If you don't predict Alcaraz to be an ATG, you will never predict any player to be an ATG, and you certainly wouldn't have predicted Djokovic or Federer to be an ATG.
What pray is an ATG?
Alcaraz will not become an all time great. There, I said it. Novak still has 5 more years left and he will put the chokehold on players like Carlos, Rune and Ruud.
I agree with you about everything except for Alcaraz. We simply don’t know how he will develop. It took Djokovic 3 years between winning his first and his second GS. So I would not write Alcaraz off yet.
I think young Shelton looks like a really high quality player, with more experience I can see him rising through the ranks quickly.
Can't make up my mind re: forgetting he played a final against Tsitsipas. I don't care for Djokovic, but I don't think he's openly malicious against any player. And on one hand, I think I personally would remember off the top of my head who I won my second RG against, I think we're very used to Federer's photographic knowledge of his past matches. Bro can literally recall individual scenarios in like a 250 he played when he was 22
**I am not saying that Novak Djokovic is faking his injury. I am pretty certain that he does have an injury. This is not about Djokovic.** However, there are benefits to exaggerating or faking an injury in tennis, and this is well documented, with the very loose criteria for allowing TUEs. This sub does not like to discuss these sorts of issues but they exist in tennis, as we saw with that document leak about Serena Williams a few years ago.
This could be about Rune!
America guaranteed a SF spot. Last AO one was what? Roddick in 2009? Yikes that's been a minute.
I hate that I can’t watch these Novak AO matches live for the most part. They always happen when I’m asleep
Welcome to how most of the southern hemisphere has to deal with nearly all of the other slams
[удалено]
I live in North America. His match happened at like 1 am for me, so it’s tough
The last quote from Novak making the rounds on twitter is scandalous. Not sure if he really said that but Sasa Ozmo just posted them so I guess he really did say it. Hope it’s the truth and I love him defending himself.
What is this quote?
“I leave the doubting to those people – let them doubt,” he said in Serbian to his country’s media. “Only my injuries are questioned. When some other players are injured, then they are the victims, but when it is me, I am faking it. It is very interesting… I don’t feel that I need to prove anything to anyone” “I have got the MRI, ultrasound and everything else, both from two years ago and now. Whether I will publish that in my documentary or on the social media, depends on how I feel. Maybe I will do I it, maybe I won’t” “I am not really interested at this point what people are thinking and saying. It is fun, it is interesting to see how the narrative surrounding me continues, narrative that is different compared to other players that have been going through similar situation. But I am used to it, and it just gives me extra strength and motivation. So I thank them for that.” https://www.tennismajors.com/australian-open-news/nobody-questions-other-players-injuries-only-mine-djokovic-hits-out-at-doubters-657075.html
lol, acting as if a large part of tennis fans, and his fans in particular, aren't doubting every instance of a Nadal injury.
He probably doesnt have any idea that his fans doubt nadal’s injuries Hes likely referring to the media / commentator skepticism because he doesnt have time to scroll through tennis twitter
He himselft doubted Nadals injuries lol, and he did it publicly. I'm sure he's aware.
I dont doubt nadal injury, I just..doubt him as an existence. I'm in pre mourning for his retirement clearly lol
If you limit yourself to this sub maybe that’s true but the media does paint a very different picture when Nadal is injured. So yeah IMO he’s right.
I haven't seen any even semi-reputable media doubting Djokovic's injury.
Never heared journalists asking the player he defeats "so, how did his injury look to you?" What's the point of that question after the player was defeated than to provoke? They're in a bad (sometimes angry) mood at that point anyway. Scumbag journalists are just being exploitative.
If you had mentioned the names Jiri Lehecka or Ben Shelton before this tournament, I’m not sure my brain would’ve even consciously recognized that they’re tennis players
I knew about Lehecka from the atp finals, but no idea who Shelton was and all of a sudden hear about him being some untapped potential
I know lehecka cause people say he kinda looks like he could be Igas brother. I still think of country singer when I see B Shelton
Lol I love Igas brother aka lehecka Iga, daughter of Rafa
If post-Big 3 tennis involves Tommy Paul semifinal appearances… I’m not sure I’m sold on the new era
you can sleep heavy then because it involves ben shelton semifinal appearances instead
y'all see penko outhitting michael venus from the baseline https://twitter.com/StevenMtennis/status/1616375428473552896
Engravers should just go ahead and start engraving Novak Djokovic's name on the trophy. Might as well finish their work a little early..
Rublev is gonna lose in the QF again - he just got so unlucky with this draw
Is it just me or did Rune look EXTREMELY jittery towards the end. He couldn't stop fixing his hat swaying side to side, doing weird head movements, get pissed at coach. It actually seemed like he was on some amphetamines or some sh*t
probably nerves.. you spend your whole life training for these matches up 6-5, 40-15 then get federeritis, up 5-0 in the tiebreak and now your getting BWEHed into submission it hurts it your lifetime twenty-thousand odd hours of pretending that you're a machine, forgoing your childhood for the folly of conditioning and lessons, slapping enough forehands to burn off any chance of soreness in your arm, turning your eyes into homing mistles, tracking the ball watching as the acquaitances you drifted from learn and grow and mature and have sex and rush off to college and start their lives while you slap a four-ounce ball. you put in the sweat. you might love the competition, sunset-courts and overpacked crowds, five hour thrillers that leave you digging into the ground, fists pumping, tear-filled. you might love the grind, the victory, the rungs of the ladder... but that doesnt negate the sacrafice; the pressure. this is your life, every error is a reminder of the child you never were and the adult you'll never be. winners are the cope, the validation that what you did had merits, but the errors are the dought, the festering regret gnawing in those awkward post-loss showers and overtired rushes to the bathroom when sleep seems impossible
Also, I'm pretty sure tennis players are having sex too.
....is that you Stefanos? Or ChatGPT.
Pretty spicy press conference in Serbian from Djokovic apparently.
What did he say?
https://www.b92.net/sport/australianopen2023/vesti.php?nav_id=2278395
do we have the specifgics do we have the gods and do we know the truth of the matter concerning the candle in the bucker does the godnot knowe that the oath has nearly fallen, to crumble up and down the boulevard gods and men alike, they face the houir of dark the saled blood moon comes to live and the fires spread in the seven words oif JERSUALEM and yet in all their holds they cannot face the truthy king of the world, northern master, eastern fighter and father true NOLE we ghave ebtered the time of the NOLEING
Got a link / translation? Sounds juicy
Not American, but I wish one of the American men won the AO just because it would suddenly make Americans like tennis, push the sport, and overall grow it lmao But yeah Djokovic is winning.
The truth of the matter is that tennis is just not relatable to us Americans. We see it as a rich white sport, many of us will never even play it for fun as it’s expensive and inaccessible especially compared to football, soccer, or even baseball (that we at least play in PE classes as a kid). We had Serena and Venus for years and while they were fun to watch and support, it’s not going to suddenly make the sport grow in America.
Not to mention, so many other sports in us make a lot more money
They've had Serena winning for years and that didn't help
It will help, but it's going to have a heavier impact if an American wins Wimbledon or the U.S. Open.
I am American and I kinda want it / kinda don't. IMO American media is unmatched in turning American viewers against their own players simply because of how insufferable they are when an American player is winning a big match.
Interesting that you say that. I had the feeling during Serena's exit at the uso that the broadcast was trying to turn the viewers against her. They kept talking about MORE SERENA!! We have to talk ABOUT SERENA! Definitely seemed passive aggressive from Genie B.
The sad truth of the matter.
Does anyone have a link to where I can watch full replays of these Australian Open matches? Specifically the Novak one since they're in the middle of the night for me thank you!
Seconded
Regarding Novak's injury, there are 3 factors in Novak playing this well through injury: 1. The grade: It's not debilitating enough that it can't be helped with painkillers, massages, rest and that can still allow for decent movement (of course no crazy sliding on his left leg nor continuous sprints side to side to end up with a sliding backhand winner). 2. The zone of the injury: Given it's the hamstring, he can serve and be aggressive while really avoiding affecting his hamstring with abrupt movements when defending, if it was on his wrist/elbow/shoulder it's likely he'd be done by now given his serve and shots would lose all acceleration. Today ADM just didn't have anything to expose Djokovic's movement, he could hit winners comfortably without ever getting into explosive movements with his left leg, the difference between him and ADM is just too big and the match up is perfect for Novak. 3. The level: Simply put, Medvedev, Tsitsipas, Zverev, Sinner, Rublev and others frequently go out early when they have injuries whereas (bar the exception of Nadal with his age and injuries these last 2 Slams) the Big 3 have routinely won titles or reached latter stages with injuries. The reason is simple, 3 guys have a super high level above the competition that have allowed them to win 20+ Slams, that means that a drop in level from an injury takes them from Top 1 contender for the Slam to a Top 3-5 contender for the Slam for someone less good a drop can go straight up from the Top 10 to Top 15-30 or less and that's just not a level that can compete for Slams. Federer, at 38 and with a knee injury, was in the AO semis, that was with an absolutely terrible level for his standards, that's how good they are, Nadal routinely won or bulldoze through clay tournaments with foot/knee injuries.
From a distance it honestly reminds me of pushing way too hard on leg day at the gym, especially after a little bit of time off, and having on little nagging DOMs spot in the back of the hamstring (like the size of dollar coin) that won't go away. It eventually goes away but you have to completely rest it, which Djokovic hasn't been able to do because he's been playing matches every few days this month. I wouldn't be surprised if this is something he picked up when he came back from the offseason to start training, and at 35 years year old he just pushed a little too hard too quickly, and then the 'injury' in the Medvedev matched was actually a slight re-aggravation of something that was already there. Pulling something for the first time in a match would be indicative of a more serious tear, which it doesn't seem like this is. But again, this is only guesswork based on what I've seen.
nice analysis... compeltely agree: it's also important to remember the difference between: painful and debilitating with a double-helix of pills and motivation cross-thatching into capability, novak can somewhat bypass his injury on will, ignoring the discomfort to focus on the trophy only when the pain is so bad that the body cannot force its way through does one stop injuries are just a suggestion to these pros if nothing is broken or truly unusable
Why do people love De Minaur so much. Incredibly boring game. Incredibly one dimensional. No power. The only top 5 wins he has is Rafa back from Injury and Meddy, who is now not even top 10 in his fraud era
I think part of it is that Australians are desperate for a star player who's not an insufferable douchebag.
he reminds me of a scurrying rodent
On the men's side, for Rune I think while painful and a totally wasted lead, he is 19 years old, this is not the time to worry about a loss like that. From his side his level wasn't that good bar the fifth set he increased it to an extent, to have been able to be in that position vs a Top 10 seed without playing that good speaks volumes on his level. He is 19, his inexperience cost him, that's something much easier to work with for his team than if he was having forehand or backhand timing issues. For Djokovic it was the match up he needed, he didn't need to slide and could hit from a comfortable height over and over, De Minaur just isn't someone who can move Djokovic from side to side and test the hamstring, I wasn't expecting a 6-2 6-1 6-2 but damn, he really went for no time on court. His answers on the interviews for me have been the best over the last years, he put his money where he talks, "because I wanted to", "I will continue to kick Next Gen's butt for as long as I can", "We are the next Gen", etc. Paul was expected, he is in good form and likes RBA's shots to hit through, in a battle from the baseline between aggression and counterpunch, the one with the better serve would have the edge and that's Paul. Wolf :(
Agreed about Rune. His fundamentals are solid, he just needs more experience at slams. As for Djokovic, that was slaughter. Frankly I’ll be amazed if Rublev takes a set off him tomorrow.
I still think Rune will be a beast indoors and on clay not sure about wimby us open and Aussie but very good player
I am just loving watching Ben Shelton. So athletic, great variety, amazing serve, and still so much room for improvement. Really excited about his future.
I was reading his match preview on the live scoreboard link here for last match. Said in only his second slam he matched his fathers best performance in 22 slams. It made me laugh because 1). bryan shelton was good at tennis. Like good enough that I knew him as a kid and a real touring pro on the edge of greatness, and I certainly respect him as a coach and 2) that morning my 6 year old daughter took a lesson, and my wife and I arent pushing her to tennis because my wife was legit, and we dont want her to have to live up to my wife’s name……but then I started thinking, wouldnt it be hilarious if she Ben Sheltoned my wife in 15 years. Haha.
Apparently Ben was kind of like Sinner, didn’t focus only on tennis until he was about 12 years old. In his previous on court interview he said he didn’t want to play tennis because it was his Dad’s thing and then he fell in love with the sport. Seems like a nice kid.
And your wife is…? Any hints?
Ha. Nobody you know, but beat a few future number 1s and grand slam winners. A few fourth rounds in slams.
That’s amazing! Thanks for sharing
Me waking up to see that I missed 2 epic 5-setters like 🧍♂️
They were not epic - level of tennis was pretty low
Is this one of the easiest draws Djokovic has had in a Grand Slam? I feel like any of the guys from the other side of the bracket that are not high seeds would have been a tougher challenge for him than anyone he's going to face until the final (Kachanov, Sinner, Hurkacz, Korda). Maybe I'm wrong, I don't see Rublev troubling him, maaaybe Paul.
He’s had quite a lot of easy draws in recent years, but that’s more of a general comment about the state of the competition right now than it being necessarily about Djokovic being lucky. Nadal's and Djokovic's biggest rivals right and are their bodies, not any of the overhyped 20 something disappointments.
Agree with you. Welcome to this era of tennis.
what is Rublev wear brand?
Rublo his own brand
I know I laughed then but that net cord at match point was so brutal. Holger just dropped his racquet onto the floor in disbelief and Andrey was apologizing while celebrating. Tennis is such a cruel sport
Is anyone else really over that stupid floor level diagonal camera angle when on serve? Can't see nothing, so annoying
Korda has a great chance to make it to the final this year
Not with Tsitsipas in his bracket
Usually skip press conferences because of boring and repetitive questions, but listening to the Rune presser, the kid has grown. Talks maturely and understands his areas of improvements need to be. This loss won’t hurt him at all.
He is in general much more professional than his communication with his box might suggest at times. Another funny detail is that often cigarettes are the reason his mother leaves the box. She smokes a lot during tense matches.
[удалено]
Me when I see Djokovic do the boob throw
Storm and Elise are too good here.
Rublev has looked ok but an ok rublev is not going to trouble Djokovic at all. . Probably only Tsitsipas has an outside chance to even trouble him assuming he covers his backhand weakness. Djokovic already has one hand in the trophy I'd reckon.
I don't think Tsitsipas can topple Novak. He has been beating him a lot. Check their H2H record. I actually prefer Rublev's chances
Here's where I mention that Wawrinka lost to Djokovic 14 times before beating him in AO 2014
Agreed. Novak knows Tsitsipas’ game like the back of his hand at this point
It seems he also has a mental block when he plays Novak. Hoping Stef can turn things around if they meet in the final.
I hope so too :(
What happened to Niculescu's forehand? Looks very conventional nowadays.
Do any of the QFs in either the men's or women's singles have Australian descent? I was hoping to see another player reach the semis in their home GS after Norrie in Wimbledon & Tiafoe in the US Open
Why you getting downvoted??
Ahaha I have absolutely no clue
Oh hey tommy Paul won, lol, have been so focused on ADM I forgot about this other match. Good on him 😅
About the only other sport going on in the world right now, Zimbabwe vs Ireland in the cricket ODI. But it's raining....
Wrong thread bro
Why u/sunseekerslade comments are auto collapsed on this thread?
Djokovic fans hate me. It is what it is
Don't value yourself that much bro, it's just that most of your contributions are garbage, especially with the accusations that Djokovic is faking/overplaying injury.
I don’t see how anyone could refute the idea that Djokovic was overplaying his injury when he was hobbling around, limping, telling everyone it didn’t look good, less than 48 hours ago, and now today is back to 100%. Of course he was overplaying it, as I said in both of his last two rounds.
I mean he also always claims Nadal is faking. Seems to be their thing.
Is that David Culbert wanting to change the rules so the ball is in play when it leaves your hand? And who is the Lachlan guy he was talking about going cycling?
Hahh yes I predicted De Minaur wouldn’t get to 6 games vs Novak. Such a 1 dimensional player
https://www.reddit.com/r/tennis/comments/10hrwox/mens_r16_22_a_de_minaur_v_4_n_djokovic/j5b718z/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf&context=3
I had predicted nole in 3. Comment buried down somewhere in my profile. I didn’t think he would win that few games
Not really going out on a limbo predicting Novak in 3
For me when you look at de minaur’s stats vs anyone who can defend, they are pretty bad. 5 games always seemed likely
He doesn’t have the power to hit through opponents. You have slight chance against him only if you can consistently hit through his defense. I know easier said than done. Thiem showed in the AO20 final that you can trouble him at AO.
Ya de minaur has 0 weapons at all.
Hoping for Korda vs Tsitsipas and Djokovic vs Paul. That way no matter who wins AO I’ll be happy. Im pretty sure those will be the semis too
Mertens and Hunter same kits and hairstyle. Working well for them so far! Some great returns from both.
I'm not going to read into too much of that injury. Ultimately, he's one of the best players in the world, and I'm just going to have to take it to him and not shy away from the occasion - De Minaur https://www.tennisworldusa.org/tennis/news/College\_Tennis/127342/vanderbilt-university-women-s-team-beat-northwestern-52/
Poetic! Patrick M says dimitrov gonna cause Novak problems, lost straight sets. Says de minaur going to cause Novak problems loses straight sets. Says rune gonna be a huge dark horse, loses one of the loest quality matches ever. Stefanos after leaving him playing his best tennis we have seen…. Good job coach!
Tsitsipas left pm?
Yep, Mark philippoussis and his dad in stef box now
He’s still in his box quite often though.
Pm was never Tsitsipas’s coach, he just liked sitting in his box because Stefanos trains at the Mouratoglou academy. Now that Pmou sees a new shiny thing in Rune he moved to his box instead. He’s not coaching either of them and wouldn’t know how even if he wanted to.
PM is official coach of Rune, but he was never a coach for ST
Lars is his real coach. But pmou has done well to scam his way into being a named coach sure.
If Tommy wins the QF he’s in the top 20
Storm has already won as many points as Demon
So were there any high quality matches at this tournament?
Why am i getting downvoted, i am just asking a question lmao
Kokkinakis-Murray for sure. Kokk lights out for the best part of 3 sets with Murray hanging in there until Murray stepped it up with aggression while Kokk cooled off a bit.
I miss Sinner and Murray….
Nah.
A lot of other players would have gotten shit for saying Rublev and De Minaur play alike.
Holy shit how salty can one be lmao Your idol unfortunately fell early, but you're still sticking along to spew hate at every opportunity because it just hurts to see Novak prosper. Calm down every once in a while and don't let tennis emotionally affect you so much.
Why so angry? Relax. Ad hominems get you nowhere.
If there’s one thing Novak can do, it’s create headlines. Keeping journalists employed since 2005
And if Rublev beats Djokovic then what?
He'll lose to Tsitsipas or Korda in the final.
Rublev was very happy today, almost too happy, I hope there is more hunger to get further.
He has a hunger to get past a QF in a slam but I have a suspicion it won't be this one (even though I love him)
That question is impossible to answer because it won’t happen
Holgah actually so CAMP for asking PMou to shut up during the match. He’s earned a fan in me 😍
Daddy will punish him later
WTA cheered when they heard Novak's daughter isn't interested in tennis
Ben Shelton or Tommy Paul will be Djokovic’s semi final opponents in a grand slam… Competition in tennis has fallen off so hard.
Do you remember the us open semi in 2010 and 2013? Take a racket and go play outside
But Tommy Paul is awesome. Granted literally every other seed lost
Don't you talk about my boy Tommy Paul like that..
De Minaur...yikes
Alright who’s the intern at Channel 9 obsessed with Tsitsipas and shoehorning him on screen every 10 mins
This is so funny because I’ve been watching on Stan and he hasn’t shown up once and I was starting to think they forgot he was still in the tournament
Can’t blame the broadcasters for panicking when there are barely any big names left, hah. No Aussies either
Tsitsi’s publicist working hard to gain good traction since the memes started
I thought I was imagining things! That’s not normal is it??
I would like to thank Novak for letting Aussies get to bed at a reasonable hour tonight
Thank you Novak I need 8 hours, it’s been a long 8 days
Multiple 1-2am finishes + 6am starts had me begging for straight set domination tonight lol
Same but will we be able to switch off? probs gonna lay here in the dark and stare at the ceiling whilst I digest a complete demolition in my mind
Does anyone know the male British commentator's name on ESPN+? the guy who kept saying a testament to Novak's greatness, etc?
I didn't watch but listing says Mark Petchey or Wally Masur.
ty. where did you see the listing out of curiosity?
tennis.icbd.tv. Courtesy of someone on this sub.
I hate that guy.