Tennis League All Thread

[absy]

De Minaur took a first career title, beating Andreas Seppi in the Sydney final. The Italian veteran was actually up a break in both sets, but those were somewhat of an aberration – they were his only breakpoints in the match. Ultimately this was De Minaur's to lose, with his hefty superiority on serve: 73% first serve vs 52%, and more potent with those he landed. From the baseline his movement and effort allowed him to to outlast Seppi, with the home crowd providing an extra edge when needed. "It's crazy that this actually happened," he said in the on-court interview. "I thought it wouldn't happen. Third time lucky, and you guys don't know how much it means to do it in front of all you guys, in front of my home." De Minaur 21w 33ue; Seppi 27w 41ue. De Minaur 7/5 7/6.

This was great to see this young talent win his first career title against a pretty good opponent in Seppi, it was never going to be an easy task for De Minaur but he outplayed Seppi on the day and deserved the win. I just hope that this hasn't taken a lot out of De Minaur just a couple of days before the Australian Open and that he had to play two matches on the same day. The organisers of the Sydney International got the scheduling wrong and something needs to be done next year.   

This is what Tennis needs right now , with Murray leaving and Fed , Nadal struggling we need to see new names and young talents winning tour level championships . More power to Alex He deserved it , the fact that he played two matches ( semis and finals) and won in straight sets is remarkable.

[Tavarez]

Nadal discussed his physical condition in his pre-tournament press conference: "Good. I feel good. If I did not feel good I would not be here, so I have good feelings in terms of the surgery that I had in the foot, I can say is almost done. And then, of course, after surgery and after months without competing and having troubles to practice, of course there is always issues when you come back, but there is nothing new for me. I had a couple of ones of this and just accept the challenges that the body presents and the tennis presents. Because it is another season coming back from a tough period of time, but with highest motivation to start another season and I'm very excited to be back in Melbourne."

[Tavarez]

De Minaur was unimpressed at his schedule - having played two matches on Saturday, he will be on court on Monday also: "What is more annoying is me having to play Monday at the Australian Open and not getting helped out as a fellow Aussie at your home slam. I think they are punishing Aussies for playing deep in their home tournaments and I think that's not what they should be doing ... They came out with the schedule before they even saw the halves or saw who was in the final in the weeks prior. I think that is pretty poor."

[Tavarez]

Cibulkova on losing early to Stosur in Sydney: "I took this tournament as a good start for the Australian acclimatization. The Australian Open is the priority. In the past, I have battled all the way to the final in Sydney and then lost in just the second round in Melbourne, while I have also lost early in Sydney and then played great in Melbourne. I have achieved my best Grand Slam result at the Australian Open (SF 2014) and and I always look forward to it. Last year I lost 2 & 2 to Kanepi, but I was sick that day and wanted to respect my opponent. I believe it will be different this year. I want to go to the court and show my best tennis." Cibulkova is 5-0 vs. R1 opponent Shuai Zhang.

[Kemarit]

De Minaur took a first career title, beating Andreas Seppi in the Sydney final. The Italian veteran was actually up a break in both sets, but those were somewhat of an aberration – they were his only breakpoints in the match. Ultimately this was De Minaur's to lose, with his hefty superiority on serve: 73% first serve vs 52%, and more potent with those he landed. From the baseline his movement and effort allowed him to to outlast Seppi, with the home crowd providing an extra edge when needed. "It's crazy that this actually happened," he said in the on-court interview. "I thought it wouldn't happen. Third time lucky, and you guys don't know how much it means to do it in front of all you guys, in front of my home." De Minaur 21w 33ue; Seppi 27w 41ue. De Minaur 7/5 7/6.

This was great to see this young talent win his first career title against a pretty good opponent in Seppi, it was never going to be an easy task for De Minaur but he outplayed Seppi on the day and deserved the win. I just hope that this hasn't taken a lot out of De Minaur just a couple of days before the Australian Open and that he had to play two matches on the same day. The organisers of the Sydney International got the scheduling wrong and something needs to be done next year.   

I knew you gonna say that.  . Well this might be the start of something big for this kid and for the Australian tennis in general. His young, I think his body can recover that fast although it might be mentally tough for him. I'm not aware of any mis-scheduling though, so the organizers screw everything and I hope that this is the last we're going to hear about that. So let's follow De Minaur career and just like I said, his developing and will improve in the next couple of years and hope to see him win a Grand Slam for Australian tennis.

[vella85]

De Minaur took a first career title, beating Andreas Seppi in the Sydney final. The Italian veteran was actually up a break in both sets, but those were somewhat of an aberration – they were his only breakpoints in the match. Ultimately this was De Minaur's to lose, with his hefty superiority on serve: 73% first serve vs 52%, and more potent with those he landed. From the baseline his movement and effort allowed him to to outlast Seppi, with the home crowd providing an extra edge when needed. "It's crazy that this actually happened," he said in the on-court interview. "I thought it wouldn't happen. Third time lucky, and you guys don't know how much it means to do it in front of all you guys, in front of my home." De Minaur 21w 33ue; Seppi 27w 41ue. De Minaur 7/5 7/6.

This was great to see this young talent win his first career title against a pretty good opponent in Seppi, it was never going to be an easy task for De Minaur but he outplayed Seppi on the day and deserved the win. I just hope that this hasn't taken a lot out of De Minaur just a couple of days before the Australian Open and that he had to play two matches on the same day. The organisers of the Sydney International got the scheduling wrong and something needs to be done next year.   

I knew you gonna say that.  . Well this might be the start of something big for this kid and for the Australian tennis in general. His young, I think his body can recover that fast although it might be mentally tough for him. I'm not aware of any mis-scheduling though, so the organizers screw everything and I hope that this is the last we're going to hear about that. So let's follow De Minaur career and just like I said, his developing and will improve in the next couple of years and hope to see him win a Grand Slam for Australian tennis.

I just think they need to schedule the tournaments a lot better in Australia. To be honest we could have the Australian Open pushed back a week and it will finish in early February, see the problem we have in Australia is that all the tennis is played at the start of the year/s and they need to push as many tournaments in as possible for each of the states. Australia does have some tennis through out the year with Davis Cup but now that it has changed we won't see this. So maybe they can push the AO back a week so it gives players more time to rest and not have all the tournaments just days apart from each other. 

[rdbase]

Just finished watching an Australian open match and it was 4 sets with John Isner and a really unknown player.
Reilly Opelka was trading with him shot for shot. I believe he ended up with 37 aces even if Isner is known for a high number in his matches, he ended up with 49.
What intrigued me was the top speed of his serves.
He was measured at 218kmph on of his one serves when I started watching in the middle of the second set.
Isner is known for his high speed serves too. They both had measured in at 225 and 227 respectively.
So does anyone believe Andy Murray will win his first match in the tournament even with the retirement from the sport is coming up? Or bow out just like John Isner(15) did on day one?
He plays right after the Tom Berdych match ends from what they showed of him warming up in the corridor with his trainer

[Kemarit]

I'm watching the live score on Murray vs Bautista and it seems that he went 2 sets down but recovered and won the next 2 sets. Just amazing though. But it looks like he is out of steam right now as the score is 5-1 in favor of Bautista. He is on the brink of losing this game, so there's no fairy-tale ending for Andy in Australian Open.

[fantasticromantic]

I'm watching the live score on Murray vs Bautista and it seems that he went 2 sets down but recovered and won the next 2 sets. Just amazing though. But it looks like he is out of steam right now as the score is 5-1 in favor of Bautista. He is on the brink of losing this game, so there's no fairy-tale ending for Andy in Australian Open.

At moments I thought he is faking his injury (not faking it but not affected so much), it really surprised me to see him moving so well corner to corner but in later stages of the match he was outlasted by Spaniard. Andy needs more fitness and he can be ready/competitive for Wimbledon.

[DeathAngel]

I'm watching the live score on Murray vs Bautista and it seems that he went 2 sets down but recovered and won the next 2 sets. Just amazing though. But it looks like he is out of steam right now as the score is 5-1 in favor of Bautista. He is on the brink of losing this game, so there's no fairy-tale ending for Andy in Australian Open.

At moments I thought he is faking his injury (not faking it but not affected so much), it really surprised me to see him moving so well corner to corner but in later stages of the match he was outlasted by Spaniard. Andy needs more fitness and he can be ready/competitive for Wimbledon.

Murray is definitely not faking it, he had a major hip operation & I don’t think he’ll ever return to the player he was.
It doesn’t matter though, he can be very proud of his career.

[Oilacris]

I'm watching the live score on Murray vs Bautista and it seems that he went 2 sets down but recovered and won the next 2 sets. Just amazing though. But it looks like he is out of steam right now as the score is 5-1 in favor of Bautista. He is on the brink of losing this game, so there's no fairy-tale ending for Andy in Australian Open.

At moments I thought he is faking his injury (not faking it but not affected so much), it really surprised me to see him moving so well corner to corner but in later stages of the match he was outlasted by Spaniard. Andy needs more fitness and he can be ready/competitive for Wimbledon.

Murray is definitely not faking it, he had a major hip operation & I don’t think he’ll ever return to the player he was.
It doesn’t matter though, he can be very proud of his career.

Once an athlete would have an operation specially major ones then its one of the factors that the previous performances wont really be similar to the present but I'm still amazed on how he managed
on earlier phase.

[vella85]

I'm watching the live score on Murray vs Bautista and it seems that he went 2 sets down but recovered and won the next 2 sets. Just amazing though. But it looks like he is out of steam right now as the score is 5-1 in favor of Bautista. He is on the brink of losing this game, so there's no fairy-tale ending for Andy in Australian Open.

This would have to be one of the greatest ever matches we will ever see at a Grand Slam and it wasn't even the final. The determination and fight that Murray showed in this match was the best I've seen. To come back from two sets down and tie it all up was simply amazing with the injury he has, he gave his all out there and had nothing left in the tank in the 5th set but he can leave the AO knowing that he gave his all in his last AO match. Now he can get ready for his farewell at Wimbledon.

[Kemarit]

I'm watching the live score on Murray vs Bautista and it seems that he went 2 sets down but recovered and won the next 2 sets. Just amazing though. But it looks like he is out of steam right now as the score is 5-1 in favor of Bautista. He is on the brink of losing this game, so there's no fairy-tale ending for Andy in Australian Open.

At moments I thought he is faking his injury (not faking it but not affected so much), it really surprised me to see him moving so well corner to corner but in later stages of the match he was outlasted by Spaniard. Andy needs more fitness and he can be ready/competitive for Wimbledon.

Most of the times, top level athletes can really tap on their pscyhe so really perform at high levels despite the injury they feel or have just like what Andy shows in this match. Down 0-2, but we immediately got his second win and that spirit to try to overcome the odds and he almost did. But obviously, in the fifth set, he can't no longer rise to the occasion as his body really give up and can't take the pain (or joy). He is just awesome though, so let's see him in Wimbledon for his farewell match.

[vella85]

I'm watching the live score on Murray vs Bautista and it seems that he went 2 sets down but recovered and won the next 2 sets. Just amazing though. But it looks like he is out of steam right now as the score is 5-1 in favor of Bautista. He is on the brink of losing this game, so there's no fairy-tale ending for Andy in Australian Open.

At moments I thought he is faking his injury (not faking it but not affected so much), it really surprised me to see him moving so well corner to corner but in later stages of the match he was outlasted by Spaniard. Andy needs more fitness and he can be ready/competitive for Wimbledon.

Most of the times, top level athletes can really tap on their pscyhe so really perform at high levels despite the injury they feel or have just like what Andy shows in this match. Down 0-2, but we immediately got his second win and that spirit to try to overcome the odds and he almost did. But obviously, in the fifth set, he can't no longer rise to the occasion as his body really give up and can't take the pain (or joy). He is just awesome though, so let's see him in Wimbledon for his farewell match.

Very true my friend, the same can be said for Nadal as we have seen him fight on many times when getting an injury during a match or going into a match with an injury.

Thiem had a tough 5 set match yesterday, he looked set to win it in 3 sets but Paire fought back in the third set and won. Thiem had to fight in this match and was lucky to win it. As we know he isn't all that good playing on hard courts which is something he needs to work on. I'm not sure if he will make it to the quarter finals this time. Djokovic had an easy win against Krueger in 3 sets and Raonic won his match against Kyrgios in straight sets. The serving in this match was amazing to watch with both players but Raonic was just too good for Kyrgios on the night. Mentally Kyrgios doesn't seem to be right as during the match you could see he wasn't focused which is something he still needs to work on if he is to be a top player, he will now drop in the rankings after losing in the first round which could see him miss out on the Masters tournament series.

[Kemarit]

I'm watching the live score on Murray vs Bautista and it seems that he went 2 sets down but recovered and won the next 2 sets. Just amazing though. But it looks like he is out of steam right now as the score is 5-1 in favor of Bautista. He is on the brink of losing this game, so there's no fairy-tale ending for Andy in Australian Open.

~ snip ~

~ snip ~

Very true my friend, the same can be said for Nadal as we have seen him fight on many times when getting an injury during a match or going into a match with an injury.

Thiem had a tough 5 set match yesterday, he looked set to win it in 3 sets but Paire fought back in the third set and won. Thiem had to fight in this match and was lucky to win it. As we know he isn't all that good playing on hard courts which is something he needs to work on. I'm not sure if he will make it to the quarter finals this time. Djokovic had an easy win against Krueger in 3 sets and Raonic won his match against Kyrgios in straight sets. The serving in this match was amazing to watch with both players but Raonic was just too good for Kyrgios on the night. Mentally Kyrgios doesn't seem to be right as during the match you could see he wasn't focused which is something he still needs to work on if he is to be a top player, he will now drop in the rankings after losing in the first round which could see him miss out on the Masters tournament series.

Sad day for Australian tennis then, it looks like four of them bowed out of the tournament this early. How about the Hewitt-Tomic fued though? I wasn't aware of it, until I read it somewhere. Is Australian tennis that bad when Hewitt took the helm? Or those young prospects doesn't like the way Hewitt handles them in Davis Cup?

[rdbase]

I'm watching the live score on Murray vs Bautista and it seems that he went 2 sets down but recovered and won the next 2 sets. Just amazing though. But it looks like he is out of steam right now as the score is 5-1 in favor of Bautista. He is on the brink of losing this game, so there's no fairy-tale ending for Andy in Australian Open.

~ snip ~

~ snip ~

Very true my friend, the same can be said for Nadal as we have seen him fight on many times when getting an injury during a match or going into a match with an injury.

Thiem had a tough 5 set match yesterday, he looked set to win it in 3 sets but Paire fought back in the third set and won. Thiem had to fight in this match and was lucky to win it. As we know he isn't all that good playing on hard courts which is something he needs to work on. I'm not sure if he will make it to the quarter finals this time. Djokovic had an easy win against Krueger in 3 sets and Raonic won his match against Kyrgios in straight sets. The serving in this match was amazing to watch with both players but Raonic was just too good for Kyrgios on the night. Mentally Kyrgios doesn't seem to be right as during the match you could see he wasn't focused which is something he still needs to work on if he is to be a top player, he will now drop in the rankings after losing in the first round which could see him miss out on the Masters tournament series.

Sad day for Australian tennis then, it looks like four of them bowed out of the tournament this early. How about the Hewitt-Tomic fued though? I wasn't aware of it, until I read it somewhere. Is Australian tennis that bad when Hewitt took the helm? Or those young prospects doesn't like the way Hewitt handles them in Davis Cup?

There was one Australian who won yesterday. Alex de Minaur beat Henri Laaksonen and is having a good run in the open so far.
But he is facing Nadal next which will be a good match since they are both doing so well in the open.

[vella85]

I'm watching the live score on Murray vs Bautista and it seems that he went 2 sets down but recovered and won the next 2 sets. Just amazing though. But it looks like he is out of steam right now as the score is 5-1 in favor of Bautista. He is on the brink of losing this game, so there's no fairy-tale ending for Andy in Australian Open.

~ snip ~

~ snip ~

Very true my friend, the same can be said for Nadal as we have seen him fight on many times when getting an injury during a match or going into a match with an injury.

Thiem had a tough 5 set match yesterday, he looked set to win it in 3 sets but Paire fought back in the third set and won. Thiem had to fight in this match and was lucky to win it. As we know he isn't all that good playing on hard courts which is something he needs to work on. I'm not sure if he will make it to the quarter finals this time. Djokovic had an easy win against Krueger in 3 sets and Raonic won his match against Kyrgios in straight sets. The serving in this match was amazing to watch with both players but Raonic was just too good for Kyrgios on the night. Mentally Kyrgios doesn't seem to be right as during the match you could see he wasn't focused which is something he still needs to work on if he is to be a top player, he will now drop in the rankings after losing in the first round which could see him miss out on the Masters tournament series.

Sad day for Australian tennis then, it looks like four of them bowed out of the tournament this early. How about the Hewitt-Tomic fued though? I wasn't aware of it, until I read it somewhere. Is Australian tennis that bad when Hewitt took the helm? Or those young prospects doesn't like the way Hewitt handles them in Davis Cup?

Yes on the Men's side of the draw, the Australians ain't doing so well but the Women are doing great. Australia still have two more on the Men's side that play today but they are both up against tough opponents. Bolt is up against Simonand and Popyrin is up against Thiem so I'm not expecting them to get through which will leave just Alex de Minaur left who had a tough 5 set match against Laaksonen. We all know what Tomic is like so I don't pay attention to what he says anymore, he is just upset because he lost in straight sets and needed to let out his frustration on someone and it was Hewitt.

All the big guns are through to the next round except for the shock loss that Anderson had against Tiafoe, apart from that all the top seeds have made it through so far. Today will be another interesting day with the Djokovic and Zverev playing.

[absy]

Wawrinka v Raonic , great match up.
Raonic serving great as usual . Who will you pick to be the winner? I would love to see Stan The Man win this one. Have been his fan always .

[Kemarit]

I'm watching the live score on Murray vs Bautista and it seems that he went 2 sets down but recovered and won the next 2 sets. Just amazing though. But it looks like he is out of steam right now as the score is 5-1 in favor of Bautista. He is on the brink of losing this game, so there's no fairy-tale ending for Andy in Australian Open.

~ snip ~

~ snip ~

~snip ~

Sad day for Australian tennis then, it looks like four of them bowed out of the tournament this early. How about the Hewitt-Tomic fued though? I wasn't aware of it, until I read it somewhere. Is Australian tennis that bad when Hewitt took the helm? Or those young prospects doesn't like the way Hewitt handles them in Davis Cup?

There was one Australian who won yesterday. Alex de Minaur beat Henri Laaksonen and is having a good run in the open so far.
But he is facing Nadal next which will be a good match since they are both doing so well in the open.

Yeah de Minaur is the only bright light for Australians on the men side. It's going to be a tough one for him, but let's see, for me Nadal is not yet 100% so it's going to be a test for him if he can outclass de Minaur. It would be upset though if Alex overpower Nadal.

@absy - it was a battle of tie-breaks, but Raonic eventually won the match. High level tennis for both of them sad to see Stan bow out in the 2nd round. But Raonic is unstoppable winning 6-7 (4) 7-6 (6) 7-6 (11) 7-6 (5). One of the best matches so far, Wawrinka has a lot of chance to win, even extended it to a 5th and deciding however, Raonic was awesome and take the win.

[fantasticromantic]

De Minaur stands zero chances against Nadal. Spaniard looked physically fully fit and I don't see how Minaur can threaten him. Australian youngster needed five sets to beat Laaksonen! Nadal has vast experience and will take win in 3 eventually 4 sets.