2018 Aussie Open

[cezero]

of course i like fed's chances to win the whole BOW, but...

the korean kid dismantled nole

and cilic is one of those guys like safin who can go god mode any time and become nearly unbeatable

 

[gohusk]

Why can’t Nadal lose like most players do...in a regular fashion. Is losing in a normal manner that detrimental to his ego and psyche? He started having the phantom pain that plagues many top players when they are losing in the last ten minutes of match. I know by saying this I am further jinxing Fed to lose against Berdych. But these are valid questions that true Nad-lovers in this forum have the answers to.

This is only the second time he's ever retired from a GS event and the match was definitely still in question. I can see someone being annoyed with him because he is very expressive out there but he retired because he was hurt.

 

[bksballer89]

of course i like fed's chances to win the whole BOW, but...

the korean kid dismantled nole

and cilic is one of those guys like safin who can go god mode any time and become nearly unbeatable

To be fair, Nole wasn't 100% but still impressive

 

[bksballer89]

Woz choking a bit now. Had the match on her serve up 30-0 and 5-4 in the 2nd set.

Got broken and now we're going to a tiebreak

 

[cezero]

i think rafa is legitimately hurt.

however, he has a history of attributing non-withdrawal losses to injury. there were several years there where he or his uncle literally said the only reason he lost any match was because he was injured.

at any rate, i'm hoping he comes back strong at the french. his record of total RG's is unlikely to be broken in my lifetime, and i'd love to see him add on.

 

[bksballer89]

Called it a night at 5-2 in the first.

Looked like Halep-Kerber ended up as a hell of a match with Halep winning 9-7 in the 3rd.

 

[cezero]

i'd like to see wozniacki win since she has a little variety in her game

halep is a human backboard, and an even less interesting one than other human backboards like hewitt/nishikori

she works hard, though, so i'll be happy for her if she wins

 

[Old Lion]

Called it a night at 5-2 in the first.

Looked like Halep-Kerber ended up as a hell of a match with Halep winning 9-7 in the 3rd.

Dang, I fell asleep

 

[Hs0022]

Anyone watching Fed - Chung?

 

[nuraman00]

Watching on the DVR.

Halep vs. Kerber early in the 3rd set.

 

[bksballer89]

Anyone watching Fed - Chung?

Nah. Got to be up for work by 530. Hoping when I wake up it is still on so I catch a few games. Was disappointed this morning to see that Cilic/Edmund was completed so quickly

 

[nuraman00]

Watching Federer vs. Chung live.

Probably won't be here for the whole match.

Will catch up on comments later.

 

[nuraman00]

Federer elected to receive.

Unlike what the broadcasters are saying, I think he did it at last year's Wimbledon.

They said they can't remember when he did that before.

He broke right away.

He then struggled on his own service game, making 2/9 first serves.

But he still held.

He is up 2 - 1 now after 3 games, and up a break.

 

[Hs0022]

Chung retired second set. Fed led by 5-2 after winning the first

 

[Hs0022]

Probably just as well for Nole fans. Had he won against Chung and gone on to meet Fed in the semis he would have lost and added more weight to Fed’s accomplishments here. Will Colic-Fed be a good match? Or will it be one sided for Fed or will Colic be able to rediscover the beating he inflicted on Fed in 2014 SF at us open?

 

[cezero]

I'd give Cilic a 20% chance of winning.

He's very much like Safin or Del Potro, in that when they're 100% on, they can be pretty unbeatable, and overpower just about any opponent, including somebody as great as Fed.

Cilic is too unpredictable to go with higher odds than 20% for me, though.

 

[nuraman00]

Haven't started watching yet.

Predictions:

Women's Draw:

Halep's Quarter:

This is loaded.

Halep vs. Kvitova 3rd round: I'll take Kvitova in 2, but who knows.

Pliskova vs. Safarova 3rd round: Pliskova in 2.

Kvitova vs. Pliskova QF: Kvitova

Muguruza's Quarter:

Kerber vs. Muguruza 4th round: Muguruza has been the better player over the past year. But I think Kerber regains her form.

Kerber to the SF.

Svitolina's Quarter:

Venus has a tough first round match. Stephens has played well here before in 2014, so I'll pick her to get out of the QF.

Wozniacki's Quarter:

I think Wozniacki can make it out.

Kvitova vs. Kerber SF: Kvitova in 3.

Stephens vs. Wozniacki SF: Big match. Can Wozniacki make her move? I'll say yes, in 2.

Kvitova vs. Wozniacki Finals: Wozniacki has struggled more than she used to against big servers. I don't trust her yet.

Kvitova in 3.

My predictions have been bad for the past several years. But how about this one?

@Old Lion, I got Wozniacki as a Finalist right. And I had 2 of the 4 semi-finalists right (Kerber, Wozniacki).

Maybe I don't get the full back patter, but how about a few finger pats on the back?

 

[nuraman00]

Miami vs Brooklyn

Close game.

I assume you were rooting for the Nets? If so, you got a happy ending.

 

[nuraman00]

The mens side has had some high level play the last round. Grigor finally looked good. Just in time too as Kyrios has played well. Rafa looks like he slimmed down a bit and it is helping his movement. Roger is still Roger too.

I have not seen Nole yet though. Is he coming into form yet?

It was a waste for Krygios to beat Tsonga, if Krygios was just going to lose to Dmitrov in the next round.


I would have rather seen Tsonga go deeper and see if he could finally make another run.

 

[nuraman00]

Now, now, now. The French open was really cool before Nadal hit the scene, it was maybe a little bit less cool when Nadal the "clay court specialist" was mowing people down, and it became his boring house when he was in his prime making the tournament a lot less interesting. 10 years from now when there isn't a freak tennis talent that isn't the greatest ever 2 times over on the surface isn't playing it will be cool again.

Why didn't people think Wimbledon was boring when Sampras and Federer were winning easily?

For Nadal and the FO, I've thought the FO still had good matches, just not most Finals Nadal was involved in.

Most of the good matches were in earlier rounds, on the Mens side.

For Wimbledon and Sampras and Federer, I think you could almost say the same thing. Most of the time, they weren't in Finals where I thought they could really lose. Or if they lost the first set, they could still turn it around and make it seem like they weren't in danger anymore.

And when I say competitive Finals, I mean competitive for a full 4-5 sets. So no blowouts in the 4th set if it was a 4 set match.