Tennis League All Thread

[Daniel91]

At this time of the corona virus, the question is how tennis players will be able to continue playing tennis next season.
''Andy Murray thinks tennis players should "probably" be required to take a Covid-19 vaccine to be able to continue to play on the tour.''
Djokovic does not seem to think so because he gave the following statement in April: "he wouldn't want to be forced to take a vaccine to be able to travel".
How will this conflict be resolved and whether Djokovic would really be ready to give up tennis if vaccination became a condition for travel and participation in tennis tournaments?

Source: https://www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/55065195

[Kemarit]

....@Yogee - I do hope that an Aussie will win next year AO, Nick Kyrgios?  , I can't remember though who was the last time a Australian men won AO, closest to my mind is Lleyton Hewitt, not sure though, maybe he didn't win.

The last time I saw Nick play he was too emotional. He plays great when he's on fire but he's still inconsistent. COVID presents a good opportunity for him to win so we'll see. It happened to Thiem and he can be that guy too.

I also thought Lleyton was the last Aussie to win the AO but I was wrong when I looked up his stats. He reached the Finals once but lost to Marat. I didn't bother checking further.

Yeah, that's why I put a smiley on Nick because we all know that he has tantrums in and out of the court. And I think we have discussed him numerous times here as a complete waste of talent. He could have been great and probably the best Australian player in the last decade but he didn't reach his true potential.

So let's hope that he can carry the flag of the Australian next year.

Oh ok, my hunch is correct, although Hewitt is good during his prime unfortunately he didn't win the AO although I'm sure he had at least one Grand Slam maybe US or Wimbledon against one of the greats Pete Sampras.

[Yogee]

.....
Yeah, that's why I put a smiley on Nick because we all know that he has tantrums in and out of the court. And I think we have discussed him numerous times here as a complete waste of talent. He could have been great and probably the best Australian player in the last decade but he didn't reach his true potential.

So let's hope that he can carry the flag of the Australian next year.

Federer used to be a hot head before he started winning consistently. I'm not saying Nick is as talented as RFed or even Marat, who destroyed a lot of rackets during his time, but he still has time to fulfill his potential. The guys is only 25.

...How will this conflict be resolved and whether Djokovic would really be ready to give up tennis if vaccination became a condition for travel and participation in tennis tournaments?

I don't know about Andy but Djoker already played during the pandemic so I think he wouldn't mind playing next year even without the vaccine.

[btc_angela]

.....
Yeah, that's why I put a smiley on Nick because we all know that he has tantrums in and out of the court. And I think we have discussed him numerous times here as a complete waste of talent. He could have been great and probably the best Australian player in the last decade but he didn't reach his true potential.

So let's hope that he can carry the flag of the Australian next year.

Federer used to be a hot head before he started winning consistently. I'm not saying Nick is as talented as RFed or even Marat, who destroyed a lot of rackets during his time, but he still has time to fulfill his potential. The guys is only 25.

Hot headed inside the court because of missing a shot is different when you have problems with the other players as Rafa said,

“He lacks respect for the crowd, his opponent and towards himself.”

https://www.foxsports.com.au/tennis/australian-open/the-upset-super-salty-rafa-and-the-mimic-how-nick-kyrgios-v-rafael-nadal-became-tennis-biggest-feud/news-story/4aac6e61afc127f58e9a4ab368a2a23c

Or his outside antics, Tennis badboy Nick Kyrgios said he sleeps with fans as 'a weekly thing' whenever he's not in a relationship, or this statement, Kyrgios prefers basketball to tennis: "I don’t love the sport".

[Daniel91]

Speaking of Murray, his main goal next season is to win a medal at the Olympics.
How realistic is that given the competition and his health and level of play lately?

Source: https://www.bbc.com/sport/av/tennis/55065536

[Kemarit]

Speaking of Murray, his main goal next season is to win a medal at the Olympics.
How realistic is that given the competition and his health and level of play lately?

Source: https://www.bbc.com/sport/av/tennis/55065536

A prime Andy Murray won back to back golds in the Olympics, 2012 and 2016. But since then we have seen his performance going down, so I would say that it will be very difficult for him because other countries are going to send their best players to represent their country so it will be an uphill climb for him.

@Yogee - As much as we love Nick, but he is uncontrollable player that's why he didn't really reach the top wherein he could because he has all the tools. But instead he did a lot of things, nuisances and nonsense, that's why we said that he is a waste of talent.

[vella85]

Speaking of Murray, his main goal next season is to win a medal at the Olympics.
How realistic is that given the competition and his health and level of play lately?

Source: https://www.bbc.com/sport/av/tennis/55065536

A prime Andy Murray won back to back golds in the Olympics, 2012 and 2016. But since then we have seen his performance going down, so I would say that it will be very difficult for him because other countries are going to send their best players to represent their country so it will be an uphill climb for him.

@Yogee - As much as we love Nick, but he is uncontrollable player that's why he didn't really reach the top wherein he could because he has all the tools. But instead he did a lot of things, nuisances and nonsense, that's why we said that he is a waste of talent.

It will be interesting to see how many of the top players will actually play at the Olympics next year with the virus still not under control and will the top players risk it? But I do agree that it will be difficult for Murray to win a medal as his performance is still not up to the level it was in his prime and also the young talent coming through look very strong so I just can't see him winning a medal.

[Daniel91]

Speaking of Murray, his main goal next season is to win a medal at the Olympics.
How realistic is that given the competition and his health and level of play lately?

Source: https://www.bbc.com/sport/av/tennis/55065536

A prime Andy Murray won back to back golds in the Olympics, 2012 and 2016. But since then we have seen his performance going down, so I would say that it will be very difficult for him because other countries are going to send their best players to represent their country so it will be an uphill climb for him.

@Yogee - As much as we love Nick, but he is uncontrollable player that's why he didn't really reach the top wherein he could because he has all the tools. But instead he did a lot of things, nuisances and nonsense, that's why we said that he is a waste of talent.

It will be interesting to see how many of the top players will actually play at the Olympics next year with the virus still not under control and will the top players risk it? But I do agree that it will be difficult for Murray to win a medal as his performance is still not up to the level it was in his prime and also the young talent coming through look very strong so I just can't see him winning a medal.

What I'm almost certain of is that Djokovic will not miss the opportunity to perform at the Olympics and finally win the only trophy he doesn't have in his collection, an Olympic medal. 
Murray has a really minimal chance of winning the medal again and it's questionable whether he will be healthy and ready to perform at all.

[vella85]

So on Friday we were meant to get an update on whether the AO will go ahead on time or 2 weeks late but still there is nothing as tennis Australia and the Victorian government are yet to come to an agreement and there is a risk that the tournament might be cancelled which would be a shame. Its all to do with the 14 day quarantine and players being able to practice. I can understand why the Victorian government is being cautious as the state is just getting over the second wave but I think something can be done to get the AO played in Melbourne and just hope that it isn't cancelled.

[Rabi3]

So on Friday we were meant to get an update on whether the AO will go ahead on time or 2 weeks late but still there is nothing as tennis Australia and the Victorian government are yet to come to an agreement and there is a risk that the tournament might be cancelled which would be a shame. Its all to do with the 14 day quarantine and players being able to practice. I can understand why the Victorian government is being cautious as the state is just getting over the second wave but I think something can be done to get the AO played in Melbourne and just hope that it isn't cancelled.

let's just hope they're going to play on time, tennis is my favorite sport to bet on and the 2nd favorite sport to watch, they have to make a decision to keep players safe and or ready for the tournament, if it gets canceled is the worst that could happen, let's just cross our fingers and hope that won't happen.

[Kemarit]

Speaking of Murray, his main goal next season is to win a medal at the Olympics.
How realistic is that given the competition and his health and level of play lately?

Source: https://www.bbc.com/sport/av/tennis/55065536

A prime Andy Murray won back to back golds in the Olympics, 2012 and 2016. But since then we have seen his performance going down, so I would say that it will be very difficult for him because other countries are going to send their best players to represent their country so it will be an uphill climb for him.

@Yogee - As much as we love Nick, but he is uncontrollable player that's why he didn't really reach the top wherein he could because he has all the tools. But instead he did a lot of things, nuisances and nonsense, that's why we said that he is a waste of talent.

It will be interesting to see how many of the top players will actually play at the Olympics next year with the virus still not under control and will the top players risk it? But I do agree that it will be difficult for Murray to win a medal as his performance is still not up to the level it was in his prime and also the young talent coming through look very strong so I just can't see him winning a medal.

What I'm almost certain of is that Djokovic will not miss the opportunity to perform at the Olympics and finally win the only trophy he doesn't have in his collection, an Olympic medal.  
Murray has a really minimal chance of winning the medal again and it's questionable whether he will be healthy and ready to perform at all.

On the big 3 or big 4, only Nadal and Murray has won an Olympic gold medal, so far Federer won the silver, Djokovic having a bronze. So most likely Djokovic has the better chance among them to win his first Gold.

Federer, since he is on the twilight of his career, might push it next year or even Andy and Rafa. But we will have to wait till the Olympics is really scheduled for next year as we all know that it will be a nightmare for organizer to stage it with Covid-19 still around.

[vella85]

Well it looks like the AO will be going ahead but it will most likely be February 8th. The Victorian government has agreed for the tournament to go ahead and for players being allowed to practice while in quarantine which is great news for the players and us fans. There is no word on fans being able to attend as yet but I'm sure we get more details as the tournament gets closer to the start date.

[Kemarit]

Well it looks like the AO will be going ahead but it will most likely be February 8th. The Victorian government has agreed for the tournament to go ahead and for players being allowed to practice while in quarantine which is great news for the players and us fans. There is no word on fans being able to attend as yet but I'm sure we get more details as the tournament gets closer to the start date.

Thanks again for the update mate, doesn't matter if it will be push for just a week, what's important that it will happen this year and no more cancellations, specially that this is a Grand Slam tournament.

The next step is whether to allow fans, there should be a threshold, just like the previous tournaments wherein 1000 fans are allowed to watch. We still have 8 weeks so let's hope for the best.

[cryptofrka]

Well it looks like the AO will be going ahead but it will most likely be February 8th. The Victorian government has agreed for the tournament to go ahead and for players being allowed to practice while in quarantine which is great news for the players and us fans. There is no word on fans being able to attend as yet but I'm sure we get more details as the tournament gets closer to the start date.

That's really good, the other major tournaments will probably follow the same principles then.
It was important to see how the first one would react and I'm glad that the decision is to hold the tournament.

There's some talk that some fans will be allowed in the football Premier League soon, if that goes well tennis will probably follow the same principles.

[vella85]

Well it looks like the AO will be going ahead but it will most likely be February 8th. The Victorian government has agreed for the tournament to go ahead and for players being allowed to practice while in quarantine which is great news for the players and us fans. There is no word on fans being able to attend as yet but I'm sure we get more details as the tournament gets closer to the start date.

Thanks again for the update mate, doesn't matter if it will be push for just a week, what's important that it will happen this year and no more cancellations, specially that this is a Grand Slam tournament.

The next step is whether to allow fans, there should be a threshold, just like the previous tournaments wherein 1000 fans are allowed to watch. We still have 8 weeks so let's hope for the best.

You're welcome mate. The main concern still from the government is the players miss behaving like what we saw with Djokovic earlier this year but I'm sure the players know not to do these things but that is the main concern right now. The prize money will remain the same as this years AO however tennis Australia will be spending around $40 million on keeping the players and officials safe from the virus and also the community. There is still a lot more to come on whether fans will be able to attend the games. I think we'll get an idea on this when the Boxing Day test match is played as the Victorian government is allowing fans however where the game is being played its a huge stadium compared to the tennis stadiums.

[suzanne5223]

Well it looks like the AO will be going ahead but it will most likely be February 8th. The Victorian government has agreed for the tournament to go ahead and for players being allowed to practice while in quarantine which is great news for the players and us fans. There is no word on fans being able to attend as yet but I'm sure we get more details as the tournament gets closer to the start date.

Thanks again for the update mate, doesn't matter if it will be push for just a week, what's important that it will happen this year and no more cancellations, specially that this is a Grand Slam tournament.

The next step is whether to allow fans, there should be a threshold, just like the previous tournaments wherein 1000 fans are allowed to watch. We still have 8 weeks so let's hope for the best.

You're welcome mate. The main concern still from the government is the players miss behaving like what we saw with Djokovic earlier this year but I'm sure the players know not to do these things but that is the main concern right now. The prize money will remain the same as this years AO however tennis Australia will be spending around $40 million on keeping the players and officials safe from the virus and also the community. There is still a lot more to come on whether fans will be able to attend the games. I think we'll get an idea on this when the Boxing Day test match is played as the Victorian government is allowing fans however where the game is being played its a huge stadium compared to the tennis stadiums.

Kemarit the tournament been a Grand Slam is not important if the Victorian government can not make the contestants and fans health their number one priority. However, I believe the optimistic level of the pandemic vaccines was the reason why the Victorian government decided not to postpone the tournament and there is a chance that 1000 fans will be allowed to match the game just like we see in some other sports games.

[Kemarit]

Well it looks like the AO will be going ahead but it will most likely be February 8th. The Victorian government has agreed for the tournament to go ahead and for players being allowed to practice while in quarantine which is great news for the players and us fans. There is no word on fans being able to attend as yet but I'm sure we get more details as the tournament gets closer to the start date.

Thanks again for the update mate, doesn't matter if it will be push for just a week, what's important that it will happen this year and no more cancellations, specially that this is a Grand Slam tournament.

The next step is whether to allow fans, there should be a threshold, just like the previous tournaments wherein 1000 fans are allowed to watch. We still have 8 weeks so let's hope for the best.

You're welcome mate. The main concern still from the government is the players miss behaving like what we saw with Djokovic earlier this year but I'm sure the players know not to do these things but that is the main concern right now. The prize money will remain the same as this years AO however tennis Australia will be spending around $40 million on keeping the players and officials safe from the virus and also the community. There is still a lot more to come on whether fans will be able to attend the games. I think we'll get an idea on this when the Boxing Day test match is played as the Victorian government is allowing fans however where the game is being played its a huge stadium compared to the tennis stadiums.

Kemarit the tournament been a Grand Slam is not important if the Victorian government can not make the contestants and fans health their number one priority. However, I believe the optimistic level of the pandemic vaccines was the reason why the Victorian government decided not to postpone the tournament and there is a chance that 1000 fans will be allowed to match the game just like we see in some other sports games.

Of course that's why the Victorian government is trying everything at their disposal to make the tournament this year even though it will be push. There had been smaller tournaments that has proceeded before this, and I think they have learn some lessons on it on how this tournament can be manage by the ITF together with them.

In any case though regarding the break through on the pandemic vaccines, I have a feeling that they are still going to allow it with strict health protocols for the players and all the people involved in the tournament.

[suzanne5223]

Well it looks like the AO will be going ahead but it will most likely be February 8th. The Victorian government has agreed for the tournament to go ahead and for players being allowed to practice while in quarantine which is great news for the players and us fans. There is no word on fans being able to attend as yet but I'm sure we get more details as the tournament gets closer to the start date.

Thanks again for the update mate, doesn't matter if it will be push for just a week, what's important that it will happen this year and no more cancellations, specially that this is a Grand Slam tournament.

The next step is whether to allow fans, there should be a threshold, just like the previous tournaments wherein 1000 fans are allowed to watch. We still have 8 weeks so let's hope for the best.

You're welcome mate. The main concern still from the government is the players miss behaving like what we saw with Djokovic earlier this year but I'm sure the players know not to do these things but that is the main concern right now. The prize money will remain the same as this years AO however tennis Australia will be spending around $40 million on keeping the players and officials safe from the virus and also the community. There is still a lot more to come on whether fans will be able to attend the games. I think we'll get an idea on this when the Boxing Day test match is played as the Victorian government is allowing fans however where the game is being played its a huge stadium compared to the tennis stadiums.

Kemarit the tournament been a Grand Slam is not important if the Victorian government can not make the contestants and fans health their number one priority. However, I believe the optimistic level of the pandemic vaccines was the reason why the Victorian government decided not to postpone the tournament and there is a chance that 1000 fans will be allowed to match the game just like we see in some other sports games.

Of course that's why the Victorian government is trying everything at their disposal to make the tournament this year even though it will be push. There had been smaller tournaments that has proceeded before this, and I think they have learn some lessons on it on how this tournament can be manage by the ITF together with them.

In any case though regarding the break through on the pandemic vaccines, I have a feeling that they are still going to allow it with strict health protocols for the players and all the people involved in the tournament.

Gosh. The pandemic totally changed how we see the world and you're right, the Victorian government in charge of the grand slam still has to follow the health strict protocols until we defeat the pandemic.
Having said that, i cant wait till the tournament start and I hope Novak Djokovic is fully prepared.

[Kemarit]

^ Yes, he is the defending champion so I'm sure he will enter this tournament fully prepared to defend his crown again. This pandemic really change a lot of things in our lives, not just in tennis but the whole sporting world. The biggest sporting event in the world was cancelled this year due to the Covid-19, so that alone speaks about the impact.

But then again, we have cope up with it, and hopefully a vaccine could be developed. And I'm very optimistic that Australian Open will proceed next year.

[Dave1]

I'm just trying to play devil's advocate here,

What are the chances that the Victorian government decided not to allow the Australian Open this year?

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-04/australian-open-must-be-careful-about-pandering-to-tennis-stars/12947002