2019 Australian Open...ATP 2000...Melbourne, Australia

[don_budge]

https://www.atptour.com/en/scores/cu...chtype=singles

It's a tourney! Roger Federer in the House that Rod Laver built. Harry Hopman too. Down Under they know their tennis...they have a huge tennis tradition. Harry Hopman was a big disciple of Bill Tilden. Hopman considered "Match Play and the Spin of the Ball" the tennis player's Bible. Needless to say I AGREE with him. So did my dear old tennis coach. The great Sherman Collins.

What about Roger? What are his chances? Let's see...Novak Djokovic at 5/4, Roger Federer at 26/5 and Rafael Nadal 9/1. I saw Alexander Zverev's odds but I won't dignify them except to say he has two chances...slim and none or a snowball's chance in hell. Forget about him. I'll take Stefanos Tsitsipas. That being said this may not be a tournament for the newbies yet. It's a man's job. Time to man up...boys.

I like Federer's draw. I hope that he does. With a bit of luck we can maybe project him out to the round of 16 where he will once again encounter young Stefanos Tsitsipas. But Stefanos has some serious navigation to do if he wants to get there to see Roger on the other side of the net. Not that Federer doesn't. He showed just how vulnerable he can be at the U. S. Open. One of the strangest Federer losses that I can remember. But that is way back in the rearview now. A distant memory for Roger. In fact he surely has put it clearly out of his mind. It's all positive thoughts now...mingled with the reality of the situation. Only he knows how his body feels and whether or not he is up to this for the long haul.

Fafa Nadal making a rare appearance once again. He has a new service motion...have you heard? Like bman I am skeptical. The Nadal camp might as well try to come up with some Tom Foolery to distract from his latest hiatus from the Tour. Never before in history has there been a top player of his magnitude to disappear and then reappear. To disappear then reappear. You cannot trust this guy any further than you can throw him.

Novak Djokovic in the driver's seat. He bowed out early to somebody in Qatar just so he could get some rest and some practice. He is borrowing a page out of Roger's book now as he picks and chooses a bit more discriminately. Is that a bad word yet...discriminately?

There's lots of subplots and early round action to come but still the old axiom applies...the match of the day is Roger Federer versus Anybody. Anybody just happens to be Denis Istomin who is a handful on any given day. He has had some pretty rough days against the Swiss Maestro however...0-6 in the Head to Head department. But he cannot be counted out either and I know one person who isn't counting him out. Roger looks at this guy in only one light...he is standing in the way.

[stroke]

Novak is a surprisingly strong favorite to me, but as Stotty once said, the oddsmakers are a savvy bunch.

[don_budge]

Day One...Round One (the bottom half of the draw). Roger Federer in the House that Laver built. Stefanos Tsitsipas and a host of others too. Anybodies anyone?

Novak is a surprisingly strong favorite to me, but as Stotty once said, the oddsmakers are a savvy bunch.

The draw is out. I am sure db will chime in here with his high level analysis of it, but 3 1st round matches really jump out to me, Raonic vs Kyrgios, Cilic vs Tomic, and Murray vs Bautista Agut. As we all know, this is what can happen when ratings tumble for players. Nick and Bernard may not be chuckling so much on this. Murray, whose ranking fell for completely different reasons than Nick and Bernard, probably will not be able to get past RBA. I can't see Nick dealing well with the frustration of playing the Raonic serve 3 out of 5 sets. Tomic, whose game I have always really liked, may actually have a chance, but we all know Cilic is so professional, and if Bernard is to get past him, he will really have to earn it. I would not want to bet on that. Oddsmakers have Raonic at about 55% chance of winning match, RBA at about 70%, and Cilic about 80%.

It looks like the bottom half of the draw gets the day one at the Australian Open. Interesting matches galore and some names that I cannot put a face too. Marin Cilic versus Bernard Tomic is at the very top of the bottom half and deserves some top billing for a couple of reasons. There are phases of the Tomic game that are of real interest but the problem is the results. They have been terribly inconsistent over the years...particularly so for a player out of the Australian School of Tennis. I suspect he must have been playing hooky when they were stressing keeping the nose to the grindstone. He tantalises with his talent but he disappoints with his attitude. He could conceivably upset Marin but don't bet on him. Unpredictable. It would be nice to see him step up and run out his career in a glory but if his past is any indication...well, you know, same old story.

Right below this match is Andrey Rublev and Mackenzie McDonald. Hmmm...nothing to see here? Somehow Andrey Rublev has my interest and his opponent has played some matches where it appears he isn't going away. They are both young and ranked in similar stratospheres. I saw Rublev play as a junior at the French Open and there was something about him that impressed me. It was the attitude. A young rebellious Russian like a character out of a Fyodor Dostoyevsky novel. The petulant look on his face could have him contemplating something as sinister as how to deal with killing an innocent women or how to steal a horde of rubles from a Russian nobleman. At any rate...he has a bit of charisma.

Andy Murray ironically is at the beginning of his farewell tour. Terrible break for Sir Andy and a terrible break for the tour. I think the thing that has kept the tour together as a marketable entity is the concept of the Big Four. Although I also think that they are overrated and in no way do I see Murray performing any better in any other era...on the contrary I think he would have been eaten alive in any other era. Well maybe not alive but his big guy golden retriever act behind the baseline would never have served him well in any other era other than the one he resides in. We can safely say that he had a great career in this era which I consider to be one of the shallowest in terms of depth ever. One dimensional too. But be that as it may he has another of his cookie cutter selfies playing against him in Roberto Bautista-Agut. Don't get too energised by the win over Novak Djokovic last week though. Two weeks ago. Novak looked like he went strategically soft to cop some extra rest and practice. Purely suspicion but we are well aware of the para normal powers of don_budge. MAGA...for example.

I cannot go past Tennys Sandgren without giving him a huge shoutout. When was the last time an American player has won a tour event? Ok...maybe it wasn't that long ago. Perhaps John Isner served his way to a title not so long ago. But Tennys gritted his way to a title in Aukland (?) by winning all of his matches in straight sets. Who did he beat? He beat five ATP tour players...that's who. Maybe this guy can carry some momentum forwards. It was a year ago that he sort of burst onto the scene at the Australian Open. He won four matches here last year before bowing out to the semifinalist quitter Hyeon Chung. A big five set win over Dominic Thiem got him a lot of attention. Almost as much as his name...Tennys.

Between positions 81 and 96 exist 16 names and only two are of any interest to me. Stefanos Tsitsipas and Roger Federer are projected to meet each other in the round of 16. That might be a match that would be getting up in the middle of the night to see. Strange how they are playing matches on the other side of the world when it is bedtime here in Sweden. But Tsitsipas must be on his toes. He doesn't have the experience to have the luxury to look that far ahead. He has to keep his head down and his eye on the ball. One point at at time. One match at a time. Federer on the other hand is running on moxie...and you know what moxie is don't you? It is force of character, determination or nerve. When you've got the moxie you need the clothes to match. The fine feathered Swiss is tailor decked out down to the underwear I suspect. Not a hair out of place...he even gets every single strand in place before he gets to serve or receive. What a guy...don't you just love him?

Alexander Zverev. Nothing to add. The number four seed has nowhere to go but fail. I can't see him living up to his seeding...by a long shot. Who knows...maybe this will be his time. He bagged the O2 Tour Championship amid some very suspicious match activity. I wonder of the bookies had anything to do with that? Moving on. Here we have a foursome bracket that is terribly intriguing but it will most likely fail to live up to any sort of plot that I can come up with. The "other" Swiss guy is in the midst of a comeback of sorts. He hasn't shown any kind of indication that he is ready for some big match play at this point but Stan Wawrinka rarely goes out of his way to excel unless it is Grand Slam Fever. He starts off his campaign with Ernests Gulbis. That is plural Ernest. How many are there? This could be a very, very interesting match. While Wawrinka hasn't really given us an indication that he is ready to show...Ernests has. Two rather strange if not effective service motions, Wawrinka's ultra-classic snazzy backhand and Gulbis' rather unique approach to the entire game. I wonder what time they play? Wouldn't you know it...it's an unlisted match. What?

Juxtaposed to Wawrinka and Gulbis is a match that is certain to go to a tie-break in every set. Nick "The Jerk" Kyrgios versus Milos Raonic. Nick likes to play it cool...too cool for school somebody said. Somebody stroke that is. Milos has been a bit spotty and if there was ever a place you would think that Kyrgios would like to shine you would think it would be at home...Down Under. But knowing "The Jerk" you can almost anticipate the opposite. A tank. A miserable performance. Just couldn't be bothered. But then again...why cop an attitude against the guy? Give him some slack. Come on Nick...let's see you against Wawrinka. That might be a doozy with your buddy Kokkinakis in the house. Kyrgios made some less that stellar socially unacceptable remarks about Wawrinka's girlfriend a while back. Why don't I forget such stuff? I don't know...I guess it just gets stuck in my craw.

I'm running out of gas here guys. How many hours have I been typing here? Barely fifteen minutes to tell the truth. Speed typer. Learned in the eighth grade and never forgot. I wished that I had learned to play the piano and to sing. Just imagine. Where was I? Oh yeah...running on fumes. Getting a little punchy. Alright...take a drink of water. Ahhhh...that's better. Where was I? Wait I already said that. Ok...Reilly Opelka versus John Isner. The tallest tennis match ever? We had the tallest ATP final ever two weeks ago with Kevin Anderson and Ivo "The Tower of Power" Karlovic. Who cares? But now it is time to get serious. Throat clearing. Kyle Edmund and Tomas Berdych. There exists a young lad on this forum who still wears his heart on his sleeve when it comes to "Doubting Tomas". He just so happens to have the same first name as Berdych's first round opponent. That is all I am going to say about this match. Seriously starting to tank.

I am going to just let it go. No sense in talking about Fafa Nadal at this point. I will say one thing about the new service motion. I pray...I pray that somehow the pre-serve routine got itself shit canned. If I never have to see that boring display of ridiculousness the rest of my life I will feel blessed. Somehow I feel it might just be too much to hope for.

Goodbye for now...it's time for a nap. After a set of squats, curls, toe raises on the stairs and crunches. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz...as somebody once said about somebodies writing here on the forum. Anybody remember that?

[bottle]

Day One...Round One (the bottom half of the draw). Roger Federer in the House that Laver built. Stefanos Tsitsipas and a host of others too. Anybodies anyone?

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz...as somebody once said about somebodies writing here on the forum. Anybody remember that?

I do remember saying or thinking that about somebody's writing here on the forum, can't remember my target, so it must have been true. Was it Nabrug? In any case Nabrug then put up the z's next to my novel THE PURSE MAKER'S CLASP by John Escher at Kindle Books, Amazon although he couldn't read well enough to have looked at it. Nice guy. A good example of manunkind (word by E.E. Cummings).

[don_budge]

Yawn...great start for Federer. Wham...Bam...Thank you M'am. Bing...Bang...Bye. He looked to be in excellent form. I watched him serve out the sets. He just rollercoastered Istoman.

A bad ending for Sir Andy Murray. It almost looked as if Roberto wanted to give him a bit more time on the stage. He had won the first two sets rather handily and Murray just looked to be struggling to cover the court. Certainly nothing resembling the Andy of old. When he finally managed to win the third set he opened his mouth so wide and for such a long time...it seemed like a full thirty seconds. It seemed a little odd for a first round match.

Stefanos Tsitsipas makes it through and faces Viktor Troiki next. He has to keep focused on not get caught up in the media nonsense. Just play tennis young man. Let the circus go on without you. It will still be there when it is over.

The tallest tennis match ever was decided in nothing but tie-breakers. Reilly Opelka took down "Long John" Isner 7-6, 7-6, 6-7, 7-6. Interesting tennis. I don't know...maybe it's me. It wasn't pretty. It was dopey. It would be tough to sit through...even tougher to pay to see it. Oh well...it is what it is. Big Time Tennis. Literally.

Kyle had a great moment today. Our Kyle...not Kyle Edmund. Kyle's boy Tomas Berdych looked pretty darned sharp and he was looking more aggressive to move forwards. He gave me the impression that the courts might be playing on the fast side. Particularly on the Stadium. I think he was on Rod Laver Arena. The quicker courts would play in favour of you know who. That's the reason why I mention it. Anyways...Berdych wins 6-3, 6-0, 7-5. Robin Hasse next and Berdych is 3-2 Head to Head with a straight set win over Robin in the 2010 Australian Open. Get this...Berdych is ranked #57 and Hasse #58. I guess "Doubting Tomas" is a slight favourite.

The rest of it...window dressing. It's all window dressing for that matter. Nadal? He wore sleeveless with what appeared to be lace trim on the sleeves. Last year it was pink shorts. Who is dressing this guy?

[stotty]

Amazing performance by Murray who has hardly played for 18 months. It was a bummer to get such a tough first round match with RBT playing so well of late. Roger's draws are so repeatedly easy in every slam he plays in you wonder if he's giving these tournament organisers a bung. Are they all on Roger's payroll? Well, just a thought.

The match I will be interested to see, if it comes about, will be Alex De Minaur versus Nadal. The ultimate grinder versus the up-and-coming ultimate grinder. It probably won't be pretty but it will be a battle of wills.

[stroke]

I watched the Tomic Cilic match and Raonic Kyrgios. Both were good matches but Cilic and Raonic just are so professional and played so solid, both looking like contenders to me. Bernard played about as well as he can, but he is just not able to produce the level of physicality as someone like Cilic, who is in top condition to compete late into the big tournaments. Nick was his usual drama queen self, at one point telling his box that "he is trying his balls off" but evidently in his world, he had a knee issue that was preventing things from going his way, even though he was trying his ball off. I was thinking, it is hard to imagine Cilic or Raonic screaming at their box they are "trying their balls off".

[stotty]

Nick was his usual drama queen self, at one point telling his box that "he is trying his balls off" but evidently in his world, he had a knee issue that was preventing things from going his way, even though he was trying his ball off. I was thinking, it is hard to imagine Cilic or Raonic screaming at their box they are "trying their balls off".

He shouldn't even have to murmur it let alone shout it across the stadium. Trying your balls off is part of the job and not negotiable if you're looking to win any tournament let alone a grand slam. I still can't warm to the kid.

[stroke]

He shouldn't even have to murmur it let alone shout it across the stadium. Trying your balls off is part of the job and not negotiable if you're looking to win any tournament let alone a grand slam. I still can't warm to the kid.

Not warming to the kid is putting him and his antics in the best possible light to me.

[bottle]

o tempora o mores. (Did I cross him? Probably.)

[bottle]

Big international etiquette school coming soon. Headquarters: T. Hotel Moscow. (T for Toby, Terence, Thomas, Telson?)

[don_budge]

He shouldn't even have to murmur it let alone shout it across the stadium. Trying your balls off is part of the job and not negotiable if you're looking to win any tournament let alone a grand slam. I still can't warm to the kid.

I watched the Tomic Cilic match and Raonic Kyrgios. Both were good matches but Cilic and Raonic just are so professional and played so solid, both looking like contenders to me. Bernard played about as well as he can, but he is just not able to produce the level of physicality as someone like Cilic, who is in top condition to compete late into the big tournaments. Nick was his usual drama queen self, at one point telling his box that "he is trying his balls off" but evidently in his world, he had a knee issue that was preventing things from going his way, even though he was trying his ball off. I was thinking, it is hard to imagine Cilic or Raonic screaming at their box they are "trying their balls off".

I say...that is a most unseemly thing to say in mixed company. I think if you are going to try and convince the public of your efforts "I'm trying my ass off" might be better or "I'm giving it everything I have" might be better yet. But it is all immaterial now. Another poor performance by Nick "The Jerk" Kyrgios and how quickly his presence here at the Australian Open will be forgotten. The real pity is that this is his home national event and one shouldn't have to say that you are giving it your best as Stotty allude to...it should go with the territory. Nick Kyrgios' "To Cool for School" act is wearing thin and even John McEnroe is coming down hard on him. Milos Raonic apparently didn't quite know what to make of the misbehaviour and just kept his nose to the grindstone to set up an interesting match with the "other" Swiss player, Stanislas Wawrinka.

I thought I remembered stroke wondering if the big serving game might be a little too much for the petulant one's fragile sense of what to compete for. I was thinking that a match like this could conceivably come down to all tie-breakers if both players were playing up to their respective abilities. But Nick chose the easy way out as usual. A first round loser takes home 60,000 dollars or so. A lot of Americans work an entire years to scrape together that much money. But he is an entitled spoiled child. He deserves his check...or so he thinks. He didn't earn it. It happens a lot with him. He might put more effort into a pickup game of basketball than he does his profession. Talent is a terrible thing to waste. He probably isn't a terribly high IQ guy.

There were many players out there in the first round top half of the draw that were trying "their asses" off. And their were many that were able to coast a little by the way of their superior talent. Take Dominic Thiem and Benoit Paire for instance. Dominic won the first two sets but Paire righted the ship and got right back into the match by reeling off sets three and four. The fifth was decided by a single break and 3-3 and Paire saved a number of match points before he succumbed. He gave it his best shot and he didn't have to even say it. It was self evident.

Novak Djokovic is master of his own domain as they played around with this phrase in a Jerry Seinfeld episode that I saw yesterday. But he has some hungry tennis players in his section of the draw that might just be up for giving their best to take the number one seed down. First off is Jo-Wilfried Tsonga who has been looking pretty strong and rather fit for a guy that has been absent from the tour for nearly a year. Then Denis "The Menace" Shapovalov may just be able to book a date with the winner of the Djokovic/Tsonga match. Two matches away from the round of sixteen is Daniil Medvedev who is a "Next Generation" potential star who has been playing really solid tennis all of last year. He had the most wins of any player on hard courts in 2018. I think. Correct me if I am wrong. All of these guys will be playing "their asses" off to get to the next round and then the next. I think you can take that to the bank.

The top half of the draw is not nearly as interesting because of one thing only. Roger Federer is in the bottom half. If Roger gets to the final...then the top half takes on a new importance. In don_budge's view of the world of tennis that is. Of course there is tons going on and things will shape up progressively with each round played. For instance some of the side shows are exhibiting signs of intrigue already. You've got Ivo "Too Tall" Karlovic playing "Little" Kei Nishikori in round two. Alexander "ATP Golden Child" Zverev versus Jeremy Chardy who would like nothing better than to knock the chip off of Zverev's shoulder should he get down in the doldrums if he falls behind. Remember when Hyeon Chang was a can't miss prospect after he got to the semifinals against Roger Federer last year only to retire after getting belted by everything Federer could land on him last year at the Aussie Open. He narrowly escaped after losing the first two sets in the first round. Rumor has it that he has developed a blister on his foot. He's being diagnosed as round to round. I shouldn't be too tough on him...but it did strike me strange that he would quit in the semifinals of a Grand Slam. In the Harry Hopman paradigm of coaching you must crawl to the finish line if you must. Just to shake the hand of your opponent after he put you out of your misery.

What about the women? Well as I understand it they are making equal money as the men for playing 60% potentially as much as the men. Not to mention the disparity in the quality. That is how feminism works. It isn't about doing equal work...it's about getting equal pay. While there are some players in the men's draw that I don't recognise...I don't recognise 90% of the women's players. One might argue that I don't know their names of faces because I don't follow women's tennis. And that is precisely my point.

Roger Federer, Stefanos Tsitsipas and the rest of the bottom half kick it off in the middle of the night here in Sweden. Federer should be able to send the qualifier he plays home packing early. Tsitsipas plays a rather experienced veteran in Viktor Troicki who may be a bit more reluctant to go home. It will be a great test for young Stefanos in some really key stages of his development as a player. The match to watch is always Roger Federer versus Anybody. He even makes Nick Kyrgios look like a million bucks. Federer lights up the whole side of the draw because of his presence and the possibilities of all of the "Anybodys" who have a shot at playing him. For instance should Federer get through the qualifier he is scheduled to play tomorrow in Daniel Evans then he plays the winner of "The Amazing" Mr. Monfils or Taylor Fritz. All of a sudden these guys are compelling players. Particularly Gael Monfils. I wonder what his form is like. It seems as if it has been a year since we have heard anything of him. Look at those first round scores against a pretty gritty player in Damir Dzumhur...6-0, 6-4, 6-0.

[bottle]

"Unseemly!" Well, fiddle-dee-dee.

[don_budge]

Federer Update...Roger Federer vs. Anybody

Roger Federer looking a bit out of whack at times managed his dysfunction with a flourish. I think that one of the keys to living a reasonably tolerable life is to manage one's dysfunction. Let's face it...we all have it. It's not like we try to put it on display but it's there and it rears its ugly head at some of the most inopportune moments. Nick Kyrgios is a case in point. He easily gets frustrated and it just comes bubbling to the surface in the form of excuses not to perform and that is how he acts it out. Federer on the other hand was not in fiddle form but he did the right thing. He didn't advertise that he wasn't feeling up to snuff...he simply put his head down and went to work. It was an excellent example how to beat somebody when you are not at your best. You find a way to win and he is so good he did it pulling away at the end. Such is the difference in the level of his talent and Anybody's.

In this case it was Daniel Evans from Great Britain. I have heard of some swirling controversy that seems to follow this guy but every time that I have seen him play I have liked him and appreciated a couple of things about him. Today...or was it yesterday in Australia...he really suited up and came to play. He took Roger to tie-breakers in the first two sets before Roger steamrolled him in the third. Rollercoastered him...playing frictionless tennis as he glides around the court as if he is on ice skates. Pure inertia. One more thing that makes Daniel Evans a great representative of the game from what I have seen...he wore all white in his match against Roger Federer. This is something that I really like. It speaks of tradition. It speaks of a salute to the old Australian tennis played under the tutelage of the great coach Harry Hopman. It speaks to my stated coaching paradigm that connects the dots from the 1920's to the present day. It speaks to a love of the game which is something that anyone reading these words surely understands.

Tennis is like a woman. She has been a bit fickle through the years. But her beauty is so irresistible...so unbelievably alluring. In all her forms there is something to long for. Like a distant memory of a lover I must have had. Perhaps it was only a dream. Such is the beauty...and love. At times the deception. You can be blinded by it and when it's over it is going to hurt...but deep inside you know it was worth it. After all...what the hell else is there to do?

[stotty]

Nadal sails through to meet Alex De Manaur. I am not giving Manaur much of a chance but he is as strong willed as anyone out there and will make a scrap of it I hope.

Roger defeated former cocaine addict Dan Evans who has never quite regained form since his 12 month ban. I didn't see the affair but judging by don_budge's observations Roger was not as efficient as usual. I was expecting a 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 job and was surprised to see a couple of tie-breaks in the eventual scoreline.

Novak has the toughest draw. From now on he has credible opponents all the way through. No bad thing...keeps him on his toes. I heard talk on the radio from a wishful presenter suggesting challenge rounds should be reinstated. He felt tennis has been so one sided over the last decade and that the top four should be put through to the quarters of a slam and the rest should fight for their places to meet them. It's a bit late in the day now but 8 years ago that might actually have been a valid suggestion.