Australian Open

[+ WilliamM]

Well deserved wonderful performances from Australia tennis in women's final and men's doubles.

Honorable mention to Kokkinakis' sexy butt

[+ WilliamM]

Bravo, Rafael Nadal -  amazing comeback, words fail 

[+ Charlie]

Despite the messy start, the AO had a great finish. What more could fans ask for than the first Australian to win a singles title there in 44 years, 2 unseeded Australian men's teams to make the doubles final, and Rafa to make a brilliant run to the final and win a 5+ hours match to become the first man in tennis history to win 21 majors? The folks at Tennis Australia are probably breathing a sigh of relief.

[+ WilliamM]

Interesting, when Novak Djokovic is not involved, there are fewer post.

On a historic for Rafa Nadal.

[BSR]

6 hours ago, Charlie said:

Despite the messy start, the AO had a great finish. What more could fans ask for than the first Australian to win a singles title there in 44 years, 2 unseeded Australian men's teams to make the doubles final, and Rafa to make a brilliant run to the final and win a 5+ hours match to become the first man in tennis history to win 21 majors? The folks at Tennis Australia are probably breathing a sigh of relief.

I've read that Australian players feel a special kind of pressure at their home Slam.  There have been Aussies good enough to win other Slams during the 44-year drought (Rafter, Hewitt, Stosur), but they couldn't do it at home.  I don't know if Barty never really felt that pressure or if she did but managed to overcome it.

As much as fans & pundits talk about the Next Gen 3 -- Medvedev, Zverev, and Tsitsipas -- The Big 3 (at least 2 of 3) have won 6 of the last 8 Slams.  Coming back from down 2 sets to love doesn't happen often, but this is the 2nd time a Big 3 did it against a Next Gen 3 (Novak vs. Tsitsipas 2021 Roland Garros).  

To think, Rafa came into this Australian Open thinking it might be his last one.  Now after winning, and looking fresher & stronger in the 5th than his 10 years younger opponent, he wants to play for years and years to come.

I do have to wonder what Novak's next move will be.  It's gotta be killing him that Rafa jumped to the lead in the Slam race, especially at Novak's best Slam and Rafa's worst.  After 2 years of refusing surgery for an elbow problem, Novak finally caved and submitted to surgery.  Now that he's fallen behind Rafa and he knows he can't count on medical exemptions or prior infection, will Novak cave and submit to the jab?

[+ Charlie]

Although a member of the Next Gen 3 has made the finals in five of the last six slams, only Medvedev has actually won one of them. If Novak gets the jab, I wouldn't be surprised if he or Rafa ends up holding the trophy at Roland Garros.

[+ WilliamM]

10 hours ago, Charlie said:

Although a member of the Next Gen 3 has made the finals in five of the last six slams, only Medvedev has actually won one of them. If Novak gets the jab, I wouldn't be surprised if he or Rafa ends up holding the trophy at Roland Garros.

Medvedev has now played in the finals in four slams. Good for him.

As the novax, who cares anymore?

Djokovic is just a distraction

[BSR]

I'm so accustomed to the crowd cheering against my fave Novak that I forget that a hostile crowd does bother players.  In his postmatch presser, Medvedev expresses just how hurt he felt by the crowd cheering his double-faults and unforced errors.  I doubt Medvedev is going to skip Roland Garros or Wimbledon to play Moscow, if for no other reason than they're scheduled far apart on the ATP calendar.  But crowd hostility is something that Medvedev will have to learn to overcome.

 

Edited February 2, 2022 by BSR
Typo

[+ WilliamM]

1 hour ago, BSR said:

I'm so accustomed to the crowd cheering against my fave Novak that I forget that a hostile crowd does bother players.  In his postmarch presser, Medvedev expresses just how hurt he felt by the crowd cheering his double-faults and unforced errors.  I doubt Medvedev is going to skip Roland Garros or Wimbledon to play Moscow, if for no other reason than they're scheduled far apart on the ATP calendar.  But crowd hostility is something that Medvedev will have to learn to overcome.

 

Someone should remind Novak Djokovic that Sarajevo has many new cemeteries from the war with Belgrade. Re: Djokovic and the bombing of Belgrade by NATO.

I spent three weeks in Bosnia and Croatia in 2013

Edited January 31, 2022 by WilliamM

[BSR]

I know I should wait to hear it from the horse's mouth, but I can't help but get excited to hear that Novak is caving -- he will get vaccinated!  This should make the remaining 3 Slams of 2022 a heckuva lot more interesting.  Now let's see if he'll be allowed to play Australia in 2023.  I'm still not sure if he got slapped with a 3-year ban or not.

[mike carey]

6 hours ago, BSR said:

I know I should wait to hear it from the horse's mouth, but I can't help but get excited to hear that Novak is caving -- he will get vaccinated!  This should make the remaining 3 Slams of 2022 a heckuva lot more interesting.  Now let's see if he'll be allowed to play Australia in 2023.  I'm still not sure if he got slapped with a 3-year ban or not.

I had seen that reported on the ABC News Channel this morning, although they were careful to say it was hearsay reporting. I was thinking of posting about it here when the thread came up in my feed, but you had already done so.

The three year ban is automatic but the minister has discretion to waive it. I can't imagine that even this minister would not do so, and if it's a Labor minister it's almost certain that they would.

[BSR]

On 2/2/2022 at 9:25 PM, mike carey said:

I had seen that reported on the ABC News Channel this morning, although they were careful to say it was hearsay reporting. I was thinking of posting about it here when the thread came up in my feed, but you had already done so.

The three year ban is automatic but the minister has discretion to waive it. I can't imagine that even this minister would not do so, and if it's a Labor minister it's almost certain that they would.

I knew I should have waited to hear it from Novak himself.  No, Novak does not plan on getting vaccinated, even if that means missing out on playing the Slams.  He will almost certainly be locked out of the 3 remaining in 2022 and the AO next year.  Who knows if vaccination requirements will change after that.

 

[+ WilliamM]

Perhaps Novak Djokovic might spend  his time leaning  much more about science.

[+ Charlie]

I admire him for his willingness to pay the price for his beliefs, even though I don't agree with them. In other news, he is still ranked #1.

[+ WilliamM]

4 hours ago, Charlie said:

I admire him for his willingness to pay the price for his beliefs, even though I don't agree with them. In other news, he is still ranked #1.

What is there to admire about a very well known athlete who doesn't believe in science?

[+ Charlie]

20 hours ago, WilliamM said:

What is there to admire about a very well known athlete who doesn't believe in science?

Your don't admire someone who has the courage of his convictions, even when he knows that doing so will probably cost him something that he sincerely wants?

[+ WilliamM]

43 minutes ago, Charlie said:

Your don't admire someone who has the courage of his convictions, even when he knows that doing so will probably cost him something that he sincerely wants?

No.

[+ WilliamM]

Novak Djokovic is already quoted by  members of the anti vaccine movement, and this is just the beginning. He is only male tennis player in the top 100 who isn't vaccinated.

[+ Charlie]

2 hours ago, WilliamM said:

No.

Is it only people who don't believe in vaccination that you can't admire, or is it anyone who doesn't believe in whatever you consider to be "science" that you can't admire?

[+ WilliamM]

Charlie, I admire Novak as a wonderful tennis player, but as a person he has as much credibility as Robert Kennedy, Junior.

When Novak had covid19 twice, he was too careless.

Edited February 17, 2022 by WilliamM

[Guest]

On 2/16/2022 at 9:20 AM, Charlie said:

Your don't admire someone who has the courage of his convictions, even when he knows that doing so will probably cost him something that he sincerely wants?

Now, really. This man is not Mahtma Gandhi going on a hunger strike in protest against caste separation or being arrested for sedition by the British for making salt. Djokovic (unlike Gandhi) is a liar who lied on his immigration documents, potentially endangering the lives and health of others, due to his ignorance of science. Admiring someone for being a liar, an ignoramus, and an asshole? Who's next? Putin? It's one thing to have the courage of one's convictions if the convictions are for something honorable such as freedom or ending the suffering of others. It's quite another matter when your "convictions" are to spread disease, lies, and ignorance. 

Edited March 7, 2022 by Unicorn

[+ WilliamM]

5 minutes ago, Unicorn said:

Now, really. This man is not Mahtma Gandhi going on a hunger strike in protest against caste separation or being arrested for sedition by the British for making salt. Djokovic (unlike Gandhi) is a liar who lied on his immigration documents, potentially endangering the lives and health of others, due to his ignorance of science. Admiring someone for being a liar, an ignoramus, and an asshole? Who's next? Putin? It's one thing to have the courage of one's convictions if the convictions are for something honorable such as freedom or ending the suffering of others. It's quite another matter when your "convictions" are to spread disease, lies, and ignorance. 

Agree, Just hope Novak Djokovic is not a role model for young people who live in Serbia and Croatia.

Not sure about Bosnia though, after all Serbia  murdered many people who lived in Sarajevo. The city is full of cemeteries now.

[Guest]

6 minutes ago, WilliamM said:

Agree, Just hope Novak Djokovic is not a role model for young people who live in Serbia and Croatia.

Not sure about Bosnia though, after all Serbia  murdered many people who lived in Sarajevo. The city is full of cemeteries now.

Yes, you're right. A number of people look up to him. His antics have probably led to some people refusing immunization and perhaps some deaths.

[BSR]

1 hour ago, Unicorn said:

Now, really. This man is not Mahtma Gandhi going on a hunger strike in protest against caste separation or being arrested for sedition by the British for making salt. Djokovic (unlike Gandhi) is a liar who lied on his immigration documents, potentially endangering the lives and health of others, due to his ignorance of science. Admiring someone for being a liar, an ignoramus, and an asshole? Who's next? Putin? It's one thing to have the courage of one's convictions if the convictions are for something honorable such as freedom or ending the suffering of others. It's quite another matter when your "convictions" are to spread disease, lies, and ignorance. 

Hold the phone!  Yes, Novak stated incorrectly that he had not traveled to other countries during the 14 days prior to filling out the form, but to say he lied is too harsh.  Novak didn't fill out the form, his agent did.  Everyone on the planet knew that Novak had been training in Marbella because he posted pix on social media.  Don't ask me why his agent made such an obvious error, but she was anguished over it.

Is there any other lie you're referring to?

[BSR]

1 hour ago, Unicorn said:

Yes, you're right. A number of people look up to him. His antics have probably led to some people refusing immunization and perhaps some deaths.

I'm calling bullshit.  People make their own decisions about something as important as Covid vaccination.  Yes, someone who has decided against vaccination might cite Novak's anti-vaxx belief to buttress their own decision to avoid vaccination, but to claim that people decided against vaccination solely or even in large part because of Novak is a bridge way too far.

Novak was for a while in the grips of a nutjob guru Pepe Imaz, who believed in insanity like telekinesis.  I don't recall a telekinesis movement springing up because Novak embraced such nuttiness.  People make up their own minds.