Australian Open Day 10-14 - Djokurray! And others! :P

First topic message reminder :

Well some of you hardcore mob will no doubt be up watching the first round matches and even up first thing if your boarding the Fed Express. I will be utilising the power of Sky+!

So we have Federer, Nadal, Murray, Berdych, Gulbis and Dimitov all in action on the men's side.

On the ladies we have Halep, Sharapova, Bouchard, Ivanovic, Kerber and young gun Bencic.

Should be an action packed day.

Haddie-nuff wrote:

naxroy wrote:will anderson be too much for nadal?

naxroy wrote:
sorry for federer. he is a great champion, would have liked him going further

Naxroy I hold my breath every time Rafa goes out on court... anyone at this stage could be too much for him
But it seems to be he is better playing the more established players than the unknowns..
Any further round is a bonus for me

I think Nadal will be extra determined to make it further now given Fed has already left, also Kevin Anderson got nothing other than serve to hurt Rafa.

I hope you are right and Rafa doesnt have another OFF day

Haddie-nuff wrote:

DirectView2 wrote:

Jahu wrote:Word on the digital street is that Fed gave way for Kyrgios to move forward, as Fed ain't feeling he can go all the way this AO

Fed no ways going to beat Kyrgious , Murray, Rafa and Nole to win the title, so wise decision to tank the match today, but all credits to Seppi for  taking the chances.

Can I ask if you watched that match in its entirity.. because I did. Every last shot of it. TANKED?? are you serious.? he was outplayed particularly in the first two sets..Fed never came on court until the third. Why would he attempt  to win the third set if he just wanted to quit.. or take the fourth to a tie break... ??? dear me any excuse is better than none

2nd time I've agreed with Haddie in as many days! This is kind of a crazy theory- Federer fought like hell even when not at his best.. cursing at himself in 4 different languages, "Come on" with every great shot.  The guy clearly wanted it but didn't have it.  Seppi played calm and poised and took it.   It shows how amazing Federer's crazy semifinals and quart streaks were as he faced many a good pro having a great day in early rounds and found ways to win-  this time whether it be age or luck- he didn't.

Kind of comical- Federer smiles and is gracious post match and in his presser, and people now say that means he didn't care... smh.  If he frowned, they would be screaming he is a bad sport...  you can't win sometimes no matter what you do.

The worst thing about this loss for his fans and tennis is we will now see Fed become more of a part time player.  He made it clear in nearly every interview this year that he was leaving his schedule open and would assess how much he wanted to play this year after the AO-  he said that if he was in contention for #1, then that would be incentive to keep the full schedule but otherwise he wanted to have some down time, practice more and play less tournies-- he even mentioned in one of his Swiss interviews this week- that we might see him only play half his usual tournies.

He'll prob skip IW and Miami and play a reduced clay schedule. It's all about Wimby now for him IMO

In Roger's defence I will say this. In the first two sets the sun was still high in the sky.  He looked visibly uncomfortable in that heat. You never see Roger perspire to a great degree but his shorts were soaking wet. He looked match weary.  However when the sun dropped down behind the court then the shadows appeared at both ends and he was able to get some respite from the sun. This of course produced other problems FOR BOTH PLAYERS sometimes they were serving out of the sun and into the shadow.  By this time Fed was visibly frustrated.  I would not say that Seppi played out of  this world but he put in a solid calm performance. He kept his head and battled on even though he should have won that second set at 6.4. Fed visibly got a new lease of life as the temps dropped and a slight breeze came up. But mentally I think he was shot. He never expected Seppi to keep up the pressure (and I have to say neither did I) But Seppi deserved his win. There was no outward sign of agitation, or irritation at one or two lucky shots Roger had at key points. Head down he battled on and good luck to him. It was a good win.

kingraf wrote:Gerry is from Durban. People from Durban speak slower, like they've had class A narcotics for breakfast

Very funny...

VTR wrote:I think today is the day that the hope was overtaken by the reality. People can look for signs and reasons that Federer is back to his best, but at his age its always going to be a tall order for him to win any more slams.

I am not writing him off completely, but he has won 1 slam in the last 5 years.

An amazing career and a threat on his day whatever happens  

Roger took great advantage of the fact that Andy and Rafa were barely at the races last year. It's a worry that at 32/33 he good do this, but Berdych and all the other pretenders to the throne, couldn't

Jahu wrote:Gerry so anti-Andy, seems like Andy robbed him of his gf

Chill man

Gerry's not keen on Lewis Hamilton either, so I don't know if he's 'anti-British' or merley 'anti-Britain'. He seems to have an issue with our outstanding young(ish) British talents. Probably because both have a ruthless streak, say what they think and are interested in one thing - how they can make themselves better

Quite interesting that Seppi felt the courts are playing faster than last year

I actually think Rafa made mention of the fact that the courts were playing fast.
Not sure that he meant as opposed to last year though.
Is it hotter there this year than last?? as I assume this would make some difference

Mats thinks same.

Swiss boy has embarrased us today.

No. Last year was hotter. Wasn't there five days on the bounce where the play was suspended due to extreme heat. None of that this year.

Jahu wrote:Mats thinks same.

Swiss boy has embarrased us today.

No he hasn't. He plays for himself not for anyone else's personal gratification.

Jahu wrote:Mats thinks same.

Swiss boy has embarrased us today.

Im sure Roger will be heartbroken. Wait by the phone he will doubtless telephone to apologise

On Rafa he will just be happy to still be in there after his scare in the last round. Each match he plays erodes away the rust and it can only benefit him in the long term. He may find Anderson a match too far though.

Yes CC my fear. However as I have said he seems to play better against the more established players, who he knows, then the unknowns. He has said he feels so much better and it was said that he played some superior tennis yesterday. Cant comment have not even seen any highlights. But for me, at least, every round he goes through is a bonus. I hold my breath. Would be nice to see him get into next week..

CaledonianCraig wrote:On Rafa he will just be happy to still be in there after his scare in the last round. Each match he plays erodes away the rust and it can only benefit him in the long term. He may find Anderson a match too far though.

You're backing my boy big Kev to finish off Nadal? Can't see it happening, as Nadal will run Big Kev off the court

Gerry SA wrote:

CaledonianCraig wrote:On Rafa he will just be happy to still be in there after his scare in the last round. Each match he plays erodes away the rust and it can only benefit him in the long term. He may find Anderson a match too far though.

You're backing my boy big Kev to finish off Nadal? Can't see it happening, as Nadal will run Big Kev off the court

So hope you are right GSA but the jury is still out for me on this one  

Sorry made a bit of a mess of that last post

I just feel that Anderson is a level up on players,Rafa has played so far and Rafa is not yet in tip top fitness.

Have you read this CC
Interesting insight

http://www.nadalnews.com/2015/01/23/ao-3rd-round-presser-transcript-2/

Whats this today, HN & CC flirting with eachother and becoming bigger Fed fans than me, and turning that flirt against me all day?

Bring it on lovers!!!

Ooooooooh the green eyed monster!

Lololololo

Interesting Hn. It should be very interesting to see how Rafa copes with Anderson.

CaledonianCraig wrote:I just feel that Anderson is a level up on players,Rafa has played so far and Rafa is not yet in tip top fitness.

Big Kev is a lot better than what Nadal's faced thus far, but Anderson's weakness is his backhand - which Nadal will probably pummel

Considering Rafa is still shaking off the rust (so to speak) then Anderson will never have a better chance of beating Rafa. He needs to stay competitive in each set as long as possible and feed off Rafa's mistakes at key moments. Normally, I would say this would be a routine win for Rafa but he is just back in the competitive game and still feeling his way to match fitness.

CaledonianCraig wrote:Considering Rafa is still shaking off the rust (so to speak) then Anderson will never have a better chance of beating Rafa. He needs to stay competitive in each set as long as possible and feed off Rafa's mistakes at key moments. Normally, I would say this would be a routine win for Rafa but he is just back in the competitive game and still feeling his way to match fitness.

I understand exactly what you are saying CC. I would have said after his first outing against Youhzny he was in with more chance of  progressing into next week. BUT after that last little episode, and Im not sure how much to read, or not, into that Im not so sure. Having not seen that match I can only judge on what others have said.
He seemed to be describing the problem as to do with the heat, exhaustion?? dehydration?? upset stomach?? or just plain out of sorts. Cant quite get to grips with it personally. We all know what you think you can do when you go back to work after a long illness and what actually happens when you get there are two different things. Is he still recovering? or was it just a bad day at the office. ?Hopefully, the latter but something tells me that I was right in my reservations about him playing this tournament. But it will soon be apparent. !!!

The thing is though what are his fitness levels? I mean how hard could he push himself in pre-season fitness training after his op? If he couldnt get up to a level he normally reaches then these conditions will find him out.

CaledonianCraig wrote:The thing is though what are his fitness levels? I mean how hard could he push himself in pre-season fitness training after his op? If he couldnt get up to a level he normally reaches then these conditions will find him out.

Absolutely.. I worry that he pushes himself beyond those limits. He has been known to CC. Why, but why, did he not wait and test his fitness on the red dirt. Each time they show a pic of Uncle T he looks like he is watching Rafa take the long walk down death row!!

But the thing is Rafa is a fierce competitor. He wants to compete and it helps him in crunch matches when fit but hinders him in times like these as he just wont quit.

What can I say ???? I cant dispute it. He is such a cussed Spaniard he does not know how to CC Seriously its in his make-up and mindset. I think Uncle T has a lot to answer for in this respect. He pushed that little boy so hard he does not know how to spell the word QUIT. I fear for him at times

CaledonianCraig wrote:Considering Rafa is still shaking off the rust (so to speak) then Anderson will never have a better chance of beating Rafa. He needs to stay competitive in each set as long as possible and feed off Rafa's mistakes at key moments. Normally, I would say this would be a routine win for Rafa but he is just back in the competitive game and still feeling his way to match fitness.

CC, I think that's a fair assessment wrt Anderson's chances v Rafa. But I would still be more than a little surprised if Rafa does not come through.

I flew into Melbourne last Tuesday and after spending most of yesterday in RLA, I was able to switch to a very noisy Show Court 2 early evening, to watch a good chunk of Anderson v Gasquet through to the finish. A very high quality match indeed, and first time for me seeing that Reeshard SHBH - which is undoubtedly a thing of sheer beauty when viewed at close quarters. All the (vocal) support was for Gasquet with a strong French contingent present. But Kev held firm, killed off hopes when they came with his regulation power serves and was justly proud of his solid performance.

Previously I watched give-us-a-twirl Eugenie take care of a spirited Caroline Garcia. Bouchard was not firing in the early stages of the match and Garcia was way better than I expected. But by the end of the match the respective seedlings looked about right, even though Bouchard never really hit her best.

Saw the entire match at RLA which ended Federer's 2015 campaign. Hard to know just why he was so off colour ; the U/E's just seemed to pile up one after the other, and at what seemed for long spells during the match a near-incredible rate. And then when Fed did become more aggressive, Seppi was coping extremely well with everything that was thrown at him. I was impressed with Seppi - but was also in no doubt that he played well above his normal level, otherwise he would be consistent top ten material. Indeed, it was perfectly possible that if you came to this match as a complete noob, you could be forgiven for thinking that Seppi was the seeded player and Federer the unseeded. Most of the Aussie crowd were in disbelief at the week one exit, but for me Seppi thoroughly deserved his win and I was more than happy to stand & applaud his efforts. There was an array of passing shots of which I never thought him capable ! All credit to the guy, even if he goes no further.

Some interesting line-ups ahead. The title itself (surely .... ??) is on the racquet of one of the Djokovic/Nadal/Murray triumvirate ; but I wonder just how deep the likes of Kyrgios and Tomic can go ....? Is a home-grown Champ a realistic possibility after so many dry years......

A rather disappointing and abrupt end to Federer's AO. I watched both Lu and Bolelli and to be honest, he looked like he was struggling so it was going to happen sooner rather than later. I felt he was not playing well enough. I think we are looking at a Nadal/Murray semi now. On the other side you cannot look past Djokovic unless an inspired opponent dumps him out.

As for Federer, 2014 could have given him the Wimbledon title which he was 2 games away from and he missed a golden opportunity to win the USO. As an 18th slam title is getting further away from him, getting dangerously close to him is Nadal!

As for Nadal, the more battles he comes through the more he will get back to his best. In his case it is a case of lack of match practice whereas for Federer, it is now physical. Sure, an evening match may have made a difference but both guys were in the heat so both would have had to put up with it.

Yikes, Radwanska dealing out yet more baked goods. She's susceptible to being overpowered against top opposition, but absolutely obliterates lower ranked players on a regular basis.

I wouldn't write Dimitrov off. That match with Murray is in the balance for me. Of late Dimi holds the upper hand in their matches but for me the key for Andy is to play aggressively. Too passive and he will take a pasting a la Wimbledon 2014 but if his aggression levels are good and serve functions well then Andy is favourite.

FedsFan - I agree with most, if not all, that you say.

Would just add that - having spent the last five days here in Melbourne (and all day yesterday at Melbourne Park itself) - that there have no heat-related issues whatever so far this first week of the tourney. I was sitting very close to courtside, and Federer looked in no way tired at any stage of yesterday's match (though of course I can't say for sure whether he was physically troubled in some other way ....but no signs at least...). He DID however look pretty flat and just couldn't seem to get any rhythm/momentum going. Seppi played very well as per my earlier post, and was able to maintain a solid level throughout the match ; whereas for Fed the U/E's seemed to come thick & fast, at a rate I haven't seen from him for quite some time.

I was also here for last year's AO, and the heat in the first week (four successive days of 40c+ as I recall) WAS then undoubtedly a factor for many players ; although interesting to note that Federer came in for criticism last year when he implied during one presser that players should not moan about the extreme heat, and should just deal with it .....)

In summary I think it's very likely that we shall see more of these (Seppi-like) defeats - ie losing to players who hitherto have given him little, or no, trouble in times past. One simply cannot on the one hand expect the inevitable decline that comes to all players with age, and on the other expect his pattern of results and Slam runs to mirror those of his prime.

Spot on lags.

Roger is well into his 30s now and court speed will inevitably wane which in turn affects court positioning for shots and your ability to be in the right position to hit the right shot. To expect Roger to recapture glories of old is fanciful and one for the nostalgics. I can still see him winning titles but I think slam wins are now off the menu.

CaledonianCraig wrote:Spot on lags.

Roger is well into his 30s now and court speed will inevitably wane which in turn affects court positioning for shots and your ability to be in the right position to hit the right shot. To expect Roger to recapture glories of old is fanciful and one for the nostalgics. I can still see him winning titles but I think slam wins are now off the menu.

In 2013, I would have (and did, virtually alone) argued that this was a load of tosh, due to the fact that the back injury was the primary factor. I believed he could potentially come back into the game if he made some big changes and got lucky, which he duly did and then gave it a very good go. I felt vindicated in saying that he could still win slams.

But with this loss, my hope fades - Federer will stay on 17. There were no mitigating circumstances, he has a simply superlative record at the AO, and his opponent - while very capable and playing a great match - wasn't the style of player that should be beating him at this stage. Coupled with the comments in interviews he's made this year, and I'm confident in saying that this is the end of the road for him at the slams. I'd say you're absolutely right this time, Craig.



Wonderful performance from Seppi though. That MP, wow.

Federer will be back, I wouldn't count a great champion like him out, and his best chance is at Wimbledon. Tennis has a way of surprising people.

Anyway 2 pieces of news:
-I'm not sure who watched the last game of Nadal vs Smyczek; but there was an amazing bit of sportsmanship by Smyczek- where he replayed a first serve because a guy called out as Nadal was hitting it. Given the circumstances, I thought it was particularly amazing.
So I sent the guy a private message on Facebook, I didn't expect he would even check the fb messages on his page; but not only did he do that but he also replied ! I told him I thought he was a great role model and has set a fantastic example, as well wowing the crowd with an amazing performance. He replied saying thank you and that he appreciated my kind words.

-My Nadal kit has arrived by post. Just the top, I didn't get the shorts as that was a step too far. When I first saw the top I didn't like it, but I've really changed my mind on this. Colour combination is nice.

IMBL I must disagree. Roger had an absolutely golden chance last year at Wimbledon. He was in form, had quick matches through to the latter stages and the draw opened up beautifully for him yet he still couldn't take that chance. He wont get a better chance than that and that was at his fabourite slam PLUS he was a year younger. Sorry but we have to be brutally honest here.

He faced a Djokovic in great form, that's always tough; and not really the draw opening up.
I'm not saying I'm confident he'll win another slam; but that I'm not confident either way because tennis has the habit of surprising people.

Djokovic is often painted as being not a grass court great by any means and Federer is seen as greatest on that surface. Up until that point the draw had opened up for him and he was as fresh as a daisy yet still couldn't win. I don't see any reason now as things stand to say Roger has another slam win in him. His slam record is deteriorating and to expect him to reverse that trend is not realistic in my opinion as he reaches into his mid 30s.

On the matter of the Smyczek sportsmanship in closing stages of the Nadal match : I heard a first-hand account of this whilst watching Seppi v Federer yesterday. A pleasant, chatty couple from the US sitting next to me at RLA told me that they had been present when the Smyczek incident happened. Some wally shouted out at a wholly inappropriate moment (albeit in support of Rafa, I believe) and Smyczek then offered the replay, as described above by IMBL. The gesture was extremely well received by the crowd, and of course was also the subject of much praise by Rafa himself. Rightly so.

Don't know why people in the crowd do such things. Some stupid pillock, supposedly in support of Federer, (think the shout of "I love you Roger" was the clue ........ ) did a similar thing during the Federer/Seppi match at the wrong time - which is what prompted my fellow spectators to relay their story to me. There were no repercussions on this occasion, but it just seems so childish on the part of someone who has paid good money to watch a match. There's always one, I guess .........

Just rechecking and perhaps 'opened up' is the wrong term for that draw. I would say it was a far less arduous route than he has had in previous Wimbledons but still couldnt take advantage.

I will say Wimbledon offers him his best chance definitely but first he has to get to the final (not easy in mid 30s) and then needs to hope for a surprise finalist in my opinion.

Sadly, there are moronic fans in every sport such as Woods fans in golf who yell 'in the hole' after every shot he would hit, in snooker the Ronnie brigade who feel the need to cheer when his opponent misses a shot or plays a foul shot and there are many more.

CaledonianCraig wrote:

.......................................................

I will say Wimbledon offers him his best chance definitely but first he has to get to the final (not easy in mid 30s) and then needs to hope for a surprise finalist in my opinion.

Indeed......getting to the Final once well into your thirties is a tough ask, and clearly doesn't get any easier as the years roll on.

Think I'm right in saying that in 2014 Federer was the oldest Wimbledon finalist over a spell lasting 44 years ( Ken Rosewall, 1970 ....?)

Who knows what might have happened if Djoko had not raised his game at the crucial stage of the fifth, just when Federer's level dropped somewhat But .... all water under the bridge of course now.......

2:1 on serve, but already a number of very nice backhands from Stan.

6:4 Stan first set. Well played. Quite surprised with how well Stan has been playing so far - I expected (and still expect) him to find the pressure of defending the title difficult to handle. But so far he has looked pretty good.

It Must Be Love wrote:He faced a Djokovic in great form, that's always tough; and not really the draw opening up.
I'm not saying I'm confident he'll win another slam; but that I'm not confident either way because tennis has the habit of surprising people.

Im glad you are not confident IMBL because there is one overriding factor that you appear to have lost sight of. Apart from Roger's age (lets face it every month makes a difference let alone another year), is that he has FOUR CHILDREN. Those children cannot, for obvious reasons, keep travelling the world with him. Were they,do you know in Oz,?? I would suggest not, bearing in mind the girls' age, and the little boys being so young... however even if they were dont you think as a father he wants to spend more time with them and Mirka as a family. Im not convinced that Roger has that much  left  to commit so much of himself to a sport that has now become so intense and still have enough left over to be the father Im sure he would want to be. If you read John McEnroe's autobiography you will know this was one of the prime reasons he retired.

I see Feli Lopez has gone 2 sets up on JJ. If he pulls that one out thats a good win for Feli.