Australian Open Tennis

A month late and yeah you can kinda tell....currently watching at John Cain as Nick the K (who isn't seeded) battling a crook knee and a dangerous level of off-piss at the new net technology (three clear aces of his and one of the other bloke's called as nets) to stay level with Frenchman Hugo 'Hillman' Humbert (who is), a set all and with serve in the third. Meanwhile, over on that other court, Simona Halep is being given an almighty workout by local Alja Tom-something and is no certainty to get through to the other side.

Tsitsipas topples Nadal, from two sets down...

Will it be a walkover for the “injured” Djokovic now, or can one of the new generation deny him number 9?

Apparently* only the 3rd player ever to beat Nadal from 2-0 down.

Happily I put $50 on Joker when his fake injury saw his odds blow out to 6s.

If the qunt is going to win it I might as well get some cashola out of it.

Time to ban the trainer and injury time-outs, I think. If you’re injured then shake hands and default, if not get on with it. Can’t help but think Djokovic and Nadal’s overplayed injuries have won them a fair few titles over the years.

Djokovic should have had a year’s ban for staging his Covid Cup in Eastern Europe last summer, anyway.

Chalk up #9 for the Joker it seems....Daniil may be Daniil but Novak is still the Captain

Even when injured... if Nadal breaks down at the French (and they all go ahead) there’s a realistic chance of the Grand Slam for him this year.

With an asterix.

I miss Novak Nadia.

I have totally lost any interest in tennis.

I am not sure why? I used to watch a lot but now nada.

I used to watch a lot more but now tend to only watch finals of a Grand Slam. I find it one-dimensional with mainly robotic characters.

horace wrote:I have totally lost any interest in tennis.

I am not sure why? I used to watch a lot but now nada.

because it's a by-product to sell interest in the network's other shows, rather than being THE product.

And it’s been the same players at the top for 15 years, with every new generation flattering to deceive.

It’s less boring than the Sampras era (ace, ace, double fault, return into the net, ace, game...) but if anything has gone too far the other way with endless baseline slugging.

horace wrote:I have totally lost any interest in tennis.

I am not sure why? I used to watch a lot but now nada.

Maybe it's because the surfaces are all the same*, the rackets are massive, and all individualism has been removed from the sport.

* Wimbledon PARTLY excepted

lardbucket wrote:

horace wrote:I have totally lost any interest in tennis.

I am not sure why? I used to watch a lot but now nada.

Maybe it's because the surfaces are all the same*, the rackets are massive, and all individualism has been removed from the sport.

* Wimbledon PARTLY excepted

Correct.
Tennis has become just a couple of petulant,noisy baseliners with oversized racquets blasting away at each other. The serve & volley game has all but gone.

Yeah, while I wouldn’t want a return to the era I mentioned (though it did produce the odd clash-of-styles classic, such as Agassi v Ivanisevic), the serve-volley game of Becker, Edberg etc. was what I first watched and it’s a shame there’s virtually none of it about these days.

Anyway, in terms of the big three, I don’t think Federer will win another major (though would never totally write him off as long as he can still hold a racquet, especially at Wimbledon), I’d guess at another three (all at Roland Garros) for Nadal, and probably another 6-8 for Djokovic, as the dominant non-clay player for another three years or so. Which would put him just ahead when the dust settles on this interminable era...

Him and Nadal would have a lot less slams if they were penalised for every fake injury break and every ball bounce over twenty at the baseline. Farming cheating qunts.

That’s what I said before, ban injury breaks, make it a case of default or soldier on.

The thing is, they don’t need to resort to cheating/gamesmanship when they’re so much better than the rest. But the psychological weakness of the younger players is shown by the fact they inevitably crumble in the face of it.

Sadly, even Dud Novichok will overpower such effete opponents as Raja Fedora and Rough And Anal.

Looks like Chairman Dan is going to say "no jab no play" for the Australian Open next year.

That's going to test Novak's priorities.

Is he a fooking antivaxxer??

skully wrote:Is he a fooking antivaxxer??

Well, a sceptic at least, I think he’s in the “I’ve had the virus so don’t need the jab” camp. Certainly strongly against any form of compulsion.

So will Novax be coming to the Open in January?

who cares? he can just feck off if he won't have one

No-Vax gets his 10th Aussie Open title thanks to a “medical exemption”