Australian Open

[BSR]

2 minutes ago, E.T.Bass said:

Hunk Alert:

Zverev vs. Shapovalov, tonight 8pm Pacific Time 

I assume this match will be on the ESPN coverage.

 

I recall each of them have some fans here.  😁

Neither one of them does it for me, but I will be very interested in the outcome of this match.  Shapo, while inconsistent, has enough firepower to upset the Russian, er, German.  If Zverev wins the tournament, he will become the new #1 (same true for Medvedev).

[+ E.T.Bass]

7 hours ago, E.T.Bass said:

Hunk Alert:

Zverev vs. Shapovalov, tonight 8pm Pacific Time 

I assume this match will be on the ESPN coverage.

 

I recall each of them have some fans here.  😁

Straight sets!

[BSR]

2 hours ago, E.T.Bass said:

Straight sets!

Holy Toledo! Shapo pulls off the upset!  Zverev continues his record of underperforming at Slams.  Given how well he played in the World Tour Final, beating Novak at his (near) best then beating Medvedev soundly, I thought Zverev was a lock to get to the final.  He must be brutally disappointed.

I can't believe how the draw opened up for Nadal.  When the draw first came out, Rafa was facing a murderer's row:  Karatsev in R16, Zverev in the QF, Novak in the semi, and Medvedev in the final -- maybe the toughest draw I've ever seen.  With Novak deported and Karatsev & Zverev upset, Rafa's draw went from murderer's row to cupcake alley.

Medvedev's draw was cupcakey from the get-go.  It's gotta be a Rafa-Medvedev final.  If either one gets upset before the final, that'll be the biggest upset of the tournament.

[BuffaloKyle]

I of course like to follow Jessica Pegula, the daughter of Buffalo Bills & Sabres owners Terry & Kim Pegula. She is now in the QF's after upsetting the #5 seed in the round of 16 but has #1 seed Barty next.

[+ Charlie]

9 hours ago, BSR said:

Holy Toledo! Shapo pulls off the upset!  Zverev continues his record of underperforming at Slams.  Given how well he played in the World Tour Final, beating Novak at his (near) best then beating Medvedev soundly, I thought Zverev was a lock to get to the final.  He must be brutally disappointed.

I can't believe how the draw opened up for Nadal.  When the draw first came out, Rafa was facing a murderer's row:  Karatsev in R16, Zverev in the QF, Novak in the semi, and Medvedev in the final -- maybe the toughest draw I've ever seen.  With Novak deported and Karatsev & Zverev upset, Rafa's draw went from murderer's row to cupcake alley.

Medvedev's draw was cupcakey from the get-go.  It's gotta be a Rafa-Medvedev final.  If either one gets upset before the final, that'll be the biggest upset of the tournament.

I saw only a small part of the match (it was shown live mostly on ESPN+, which I don't have), but in what I saw, Zverev appeared somewhat disengaged.

[+ Charlie]

20 hours ago, BSR said:

Neither one of them does it for me, but I will be very interested in the outcome of this match.  Shapo, while inconsistent, has enough firepower to upset the Russian, er, German.  If Zverev wins the tournament, he will become the new #1 (same true for Medvedev).

Zverev is "Russian" mainly because his parents are, but Shapovalov could be considered Russian also, for the same reason.

[BSR]

1 hour ago, Charlie said:

Zverev is "Russian" mainly because his parents are, but Shapovalov could be considered Russian also, for the same reason.

I think of Zverev as Russian because I've seen video of him speaking Russian with his father and brother.  I think he spoke Russian, and only Russian, at home growing up.  I've seen a couple of clips of Shapo speaking Russian also, but he didn't seem as comfortable in the language.  Just my sense, I don't know a speck of Russian beyond da & nyet.

[+ Lucky]

54 minutes ago, BSR said:

I think of Zverev as Russian because I've seen video of him speaking Russian with his father and brother.  I think he spoke Russian, and only Russian, at home growing up.  I've seen a couple of clips of Shapo speaking Russian also, but he didn't seem as comfortable in the language.  Just my sense, I don't know a speck of Russian beyond da & nyet.

That sounds like my Greek: alpha, beta, delta, epsilon, omicron! Probably a fraternity name I forgot could come up too.

[+ WilliamM]

3 hours ago, Charlie said:

Zverev is "Russian" mainly because his parents are, but Shapovalov could be considered Russian also, for the same reason.

Shapo lived in Israel briefly until his parents and the family members moved in Canada. Did he ever live in Russia?

[+ Charlie]

1 hour ago, BSR said:

I think of Zverev as Russian because I've seen video of him speaking Russian with his father and brother.  I think he spoke Russian, and only Russian, at home growing up.  I've seen a couple of clips of Shapo speaking Russian also, but he didn't seem as comfortable in the language.  Just my sense, I don't know a speck of Russian beyond da & nyet.

Shapo is multi-national. His father is Russian, his mother Ukrainian, he was born in israel, and he lived in Canada from the time he was one year old. Although he is a Canadian citizen, he now lives in the Bahamas.

[+ Charlie]

Just now, WilliamM said:

Shapo lived in Israel briefly until his parents and the family members moved in Canada. Did he ever live in Russia?

No.

[BSR]

Wow, very interesting stat about Rafa.  Even without the 2 ATGs, Rafa still isn't the favorite here, imo.  Even though Rafa leads 3-1 in the H2H, my pick is Medvedev.

 

 

[+ WilliamM]

Denis'  anger at the preferences given to Rafa was fine, and seconded by Boris Becker.

 

But, it made his look like a poor sport because Rafa is beloved by many tennis fans.

[mike carey]

In the absence of cricket from our TV screens (the national short form competition is in the finals stage and there is a gap in the schedule, and the international series between the Australian and England Women's teams is in a break between fixtures) I fitted in some serious tennis time yesterday. Two men's five setters, the Barty Party rolling on and for lighter relief a men's doubles match.

Rafa went the distance against Denis Shapovalov, but coverage on the TV was interrupted at times when it dropped to be the third choice of the broadcaster which was only using two of its channels to cover the tennis. Great game but I wasn't glued to the set as I expected Rafa to win, and he duly did, although not as easily as I had expected.

Also not expected (at least by me) was the way Ash Barty blew Jessica Pagula out of the water. Will she face any serious opposition and if she does will she be ready for a tough match. I have to think that she will be ready and boy will it be awesome to watch. Now on to a semi with surprise opponent Madison Keys.

The main cause of the interruption to coverage of Nadal/Shapovalov was the Kyrgios and Kokkinakis doubles match which was thoroughly entertaining and a bit of a roller coaster ride, although not as much a roller coaster as was to come in the main evening match. The Special Ks won against Puetz and Venus in three sets and were suitably enthusiastic in their celebrations.

The unexpected highlight of the day was the evening match, which started at 9pm our time (2am PST/5am EST) and prevented me from going to bed until 1am (you do the maths). More than once I had decided that the match was done only to have yet another twist. The contrast between the third and fourth sets when Berrettini could get nothing right and Monfils nothing wrong, and the fifth where Berrettini steam-rolled his opponent was epic to watch. I make no comment on his cuteness or otherwise.

Two moments of grace from the last couple of days. In the doubles match Kyrgios hit a ball into the crowd and directly hit a young boy. Kyrgios grabbed a racquet from his bag, walked over and handed it to the lad. Cue TV interviews of a beaming little boy and his mother.Earler, after her match against Simone Halep, French player Alizé Cornet was interviewed on court for Channel 9 by Jelena Dokic. As Dokic wound up the interview, Cornet asked to say something and proceeded to offer an emotional tribute to Dokic' career (they had almost played in the 2009 AO). https://www.sportingnews.com/au/tennis/news/alize-cornet-shares-emotional-moment-with-jelena-dokic-following-australian-open-upset/nh00iqcuibov1n9subpr6e1ej

[BSR]

22 minutes ago, mike carey said:

Earler, after her match against Simone Halep, French player Alizé Cornet was interviewed on court for Channel 9 by Jelena Dokic. As Dokic wound up the interview, Cornet asked to say something and proceeded to offer an emotional tribute to Dokic' career (they had almost played in the 2009 AO).

I'm glad that Jelena Dokic has settled into her post-playing life as a commentator.  It sounds like she's happy. I hope so given what she went through.  Like too many players (because even one would be too many), Jelena suffered from an abusive tennis parent, father Damir in her case.  Damir Dokic got into altercations that caused him to get banned from the grounds several times and even arrested twice.  As if her father's erratic behavior weren't enough to deal with, she also alleges that he emotionally and physically abused her, once beating her so badly after a loss that she lost consciousness.

Tennis Australia had some issues with Jelena, serious enough that there was bad blood for years.  I don't know exactly what she did, nor am I excusing her of all wrongdoing.  But when a kid suffers years of physical and emotional beatings, don't be shocked if that same kid later shows some ugly behavior.  Jelena did apologize, and if she has a successful career as a commentator, then all must be well between Dokic and TA.

I had only heard of Alizé Cornet but never saw any of her matches (don't follow the women nearly as much as the men).  Nonetheless, I've become a fan over the course of this Australian Open.  First she spoke out in support of my fave Novak.  I've heard that a lot of players supported Novak but most didn't say anything to avoid controversy.  Props to Cornet for sticking her neck out.  Her friendship with Dokic, someone who struggled with serious trauma, makes me like Cornet even more.

[BSR]

Another astonishing stat about the unreal dominance of the Big 3 ...

 

 

[+ WilliamM]

4 hours ago, mike carey said:

In the absence of cricket from our TV screens (the national short form competition is in the finals stage and there is a gap in the schedule, and the international series between the Australian and England Women's teams is in a break between fixtures) I fitted in some serious tennis time yesterday. Two men's five setters, the Barty Party rolling on and for lighter relief a men's doubles match.

Rafa went the distance against Denis Shapovalov, but coverage on the TV was interrupted at times when it dropped to be the third choice of the broadcaster which was only using two of its channels to cover the tennis. Great game but I wasn't glued to the set as I expected Rafa to win, and he duly did, although not as easily as I had expected.

Also not expected (at least by me) was the way Ash Barty blew Jessica Pagula out of the water. Will she face any serious opposition and if she does will she be ready for a tough match. I have to think that she will be ready and boy will it be awesome to watch. Now on to a semi with surprise opponent Madison Keys.

The main cause of the interruption to coverage of Nadal/Shapovalov was the Kyrgios and Kokkinakis doubles match which was thoroughly entertaining and a bit of a roller coaster ride, although not as much a roller coaster as was to come in the main evening match. The Special Ks won against Puetz and Venus in three sets and were suitably enthusiastic in their celebrations.

The unexpected highlight of the day was the evening match, which started at 9pm our time (2am PST/5am EST) and prevented me from going to bed until 1am (you do the maths). More than once I had decided that the match was done only to have yet another twist. The contrast between the third and fourth sets when Berrettini could get nothing right and Monfils nothing wrong, and the fifth where Berrettini steam-rolled his opponent was epic to watch. I make no comment on his cuteness or otherwise.

Two moments of grace from the last couple of days. In the doubles match Kyrgios hit a ball into the crowd and directly hit a young boy. Kyrgios grabbed a racquet from his bag, walked over and handed it to the lad. Cue TV interviews of a beaming little boy and his mother.Earler, after her match against Simone Halep, French player Alizé Cornet was interviewed on court for Channel 9 by Jelena Dokic. As Dokic wound up the interview, Cornet asked to say something and proceeded to offer an emotional tribute to Dokic' career (they had almost played in the 2009 AO). https://www.sportingnews.com/au/tennis/news/alize-cornet-shares-emotional-moment-with-jelena-dokic-following-australian-open-upset/nh00iqcuibov1n9subpr6e1ej

I watched the special Ks - wonderful, a real treat.

[BSR]

Whatever beef a player has with another player, he never airs it out in public.  Or rather, almost never.  It sounds like the doubles match between the Aussie Ks (Kokkanokis & Novak's new BFF Kyrgios) turned into a circus atmosphere, much to the chagrin of opponent Michael Venus.  He holds nothing back in his assessment of Kyrgios ...

 

[+ WilliamM]

5 hours ago, BSR said:

Whatever beef a player has with another player, he never airs it out in public.  Or rather, almost never.  It sounds like the doubles match between the Aussie Ks (Kokkanokis & Novak's new BFF Kyrgios) turned into a circus atmosphere, much to the chagrin of opponent Michael Venus.  He holds nothing back in his assessment of Kyrgios ...

 

And early in his career, Novak did hilarious impressions of other players. At least the special Ks were smart enough to be vaccined and enjoy playing at the Australian Open

[+ Charlie]

I watched a lot of the doubles match, and the American commentators described the Aussies in the stands as behaving as though they thought they were at a soccer match. The umpire pretty much gave up on trying to control them, and their booing when Puetz and Venus were serving was really bad form. I don't blame Venus for letting loose on Kyrios, who was smirking throughout the match.

I was shocked to see Dokic--she was always a mere slip of a lass, and now she looks enormous.

It was sad to see Cornet and Pegula work so hard to get to the quarters, and then be thoroughly destroyed there. I have always been a fan of Kanepi, and was sorry to see her lose such a close match to Swiatek.

[+ WilliamM]

1 hour ago, Charlie said:

I watched a lot of the doubles match, and the American commentators described the Aussies in the stands as behaving as though they thought they were at a soccer match. The umpire pretty much gave up on trying to control them, and their booing when Puetz and Venus were serving was really bad form. I don't blame Venus for letting loose on Kyrios, who was smirking throughout the match.

I was shocked to see Dokic--she was always a mere slip of a lass, and now she looks enormous.

It was sad to see Cornet and Pegula work so hard to get to the quarters, and then be thoroughly destroyed there. I have always been a fan of Kanepi, and was sorry to see her lose such a close match to Swiatek.

Well Conners and John McEnroe occasionally acted as if they were at a soccer match. They took tennis is a much wider audience 

Edited January 26, 2022 by WilliamM

[BSR]

I saw on today's schedule that the quad men's singles final is on Rod Laver.  Kudos to Tennis Australia for showcasing wheelchair tennis.  Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this is the first time a wheelchair final has been put on the big stadium at a Slam.  Wheelchair tennis has become more popular over time.  Whereas years ago it looked like only friends & family of the 2 players were in the stands, now the matches attract a decent crowd.  I'm sure a far greater factor is that one of the finalists is Australian, the very charismatic Dylan Alcott.  I'm curious to see how many fans will be in the stands for this match.

PS: I just read that Alcott plans to retire after this Australian Open.  Golden Slam winner and Australian of the Year playing the last match of his career, no wonder TA put the final on Laver.

[+ WilliamM]

Good for Kokkinakis and the special ks

[+ Charlie]

Aussie! Aussie! Aussie! Oy! Oy! Oy! Barty into the final, and an all-Aussie men's doubles final. It feels like we're back in the 1960s.

Edited January 27, 2022 by Charlie

[mike carey]

On 1/27/2022 at 8:41 AM, Charlie said:

I watched a lot of the doubles match, and the American commentators described the Aussies in the stands as behaving as though they thought they were at a soccer match.

I think some of the reactions to them have been as over the top as they were, but that said I see the crowd behaviour as being that of a typical tennis crowd, just not one at normal tournament play. It was very much what you might see from a Davis Cup home crowd.

As you noted in your most recent post it's a throwback to a former era, but with Dylan Alcott [sadly losing] on Rod Laver Arena a harbinger of a new one when wheelchair tennis can receive top billing, and a big crowd. And lots of eager 'wheelie kids' in the crowd.