2021 Australian Open...ATP 2000...Melbourne, Australia

[stroke]

Novak breaks to go 3-1 in the third. He hits a backhand down the line on the stretch to set up the break that required every sinew of core strength imaginable. You have to believe there's nothing wrong with the guy.

I do think he is genuinely psychosomatic though.

I think you are right. It is just the way he deals with pressure.

[stotty]

Novak comes through in 4 sets. Nothing wrong with the bloke in my view.

Followed the normal pattern when he plays Raonic. Raonic just cannot win any of the rallies, and to make things worse, Novak picks Raonic's serve better than anyone else. It's the same bottom line every time they play.

[stroke]

Novak comes through in 4 sets. Nothing wrong with the bloke in my view.

Followed the normal pattern when he plays Raonic. Raonic just cannot win any of the rallies, and to make things worse, Novak picks Raonic's serve better than anyone else. It's the same bottom line every time they play.

Like one of the announcers said, his 12th silver medal vs Novak.

[stroke]

All matches look very good today, all appear to be slugfest/war of attrition types:

Nadal vs Fognini
Tsitsipas vs Berrettini
Medvedev vs Macdonald
Rublev vs Ruud

Oddsmakers obviously have Medvedev the strongest favorite in these 4 matches, and Tsitsipas as least favored of the 4 favorites. Tsitsipas has his hands full no doubt. Both have top 6 forehands to me. In fact there are just a lot of top shelf forehands on display in these matches. That being said, Stef is still a strong favorite at an implied 78% chance of winning vs Berrettini.

[stotty]

I see Karatsev is still moving up on the inside lane...bit of a dark horse. He is certainly at this point in for his biggest ever pay check.

Me, I'm looking forward to Fognini versus Rafa. Their matches are nearly always a good and Fognini can soak up Rafa's spin so much better than most. It could be an interesting match.

I have to believe Stephanos must beat a guy like Berrettini and carry the baton as the best player in the tournament to watch. Medvedev has a dream match and should be off the court pretty darn quick if previous form is anything to go by.

Anyway, to borrow a corny line, tomorrow is another day. Anything can happen.

[stroke]

https://www.express.co.uk/sport/tennis/1397726/Novak-Djokovic-injury-Milos-Raonic-Alexander-Zverev-Australian-Open-tennis-news

[don_budge]

Foreplay After Thoughts: 2021 Australian Open...Melbourne Australia

It's nice to back. To tell you the truth there were times when I thought that perhaps I had written my last post. With Roger Federer no longer in the game, it seems as if the game has passed me by. I don't see anything that I recognise about the game that I fell in love with as a boy in 1968. Ironically the same year that tennis went open. To be honest though...this last mini hiatus was more due to a case of fraud...credit card fraud. My subscription ran out on tennisplayer.net at the same time I made a purchase for some golf clothes at an unbelievable price on line from a site on Facebook. Almost immediately I was alarmed as the entity charged my account twice. Attempting to empty my account apparently. Fortunately I had emptied it from an ATM machine the day before leaving only a hundred dollars for the dirty, rotten bastards. Anyways, I am still waiting for the new card to be delivered after canceling the old one. It's everywhere and it always has been. Grift and fraud. The other side of life. The low life side. Anyways...I'm back in the game.

Since Roger is not in the stadium this year, one has to take a step back and ask the question...what is redeeming about this situation? The answer to me is pretty clear. Not too much. The tennis is extremely boring and the drama is just plain amateurish. So I will take it from the top of the draw and work my way down. Normally in the modern era you can safely say that the first week of tennis is only foreplay before the tournament gets down to brass tacks in the second week. The depth is weak and getting weaker. The new players coming down the pipe are struggling to find their niche. The older are getting older and we all know what this means. Their act is getting tired. Wearing out. We've seen it so many times it becomes as boring as an old sitcom repeats. Unless of course it is the Jerry Seinfeld Show which never seems to get old. I think I've seen every episode going on four times in the last two years or so.

So from the top let's have a look. Starting off with Novak Djokovic at the beginning. Novak came out of the gate looking like the favourite. He brushed aside Jeremy Chardy like a little pesky flea bite. Djokovic looked so sharp he was a shoe in. His next round against Francis Tiafoe was not nearly as convincing thought. Novak came off the court to the interview with nothing but high praise for how great Tiafoe played when in reality it was just another day at the office. But somehow Djokovic was showing some cracks in his veneer. Or chinks in his armour. It was the next round that really raised some eyebrows though. His performance was sluggish and that morphed into an "injury" that miraculously seemed to disappear. Taylor Fritz didn't look to be anything other that the Fritz we have seen before but somehow again...here was Djokovic exclaiming the virtues of his opponent. Somehow tippy toeing around his dramatic performance over the mysterious injury. Never mind...we've seen this performance many times.

A con job? It's hard to tell. The drama is pretty convincing. Novak the Drama Queen. He gets an Academy Award. But it is certainly not the kind of performance that you want to see from the number one player in the game. Respect for the game goes down. The least educated observer has doubts about the integrity of things. Fake injuries? Fake news? Fake elections? Fake pandemic? Sound familiar? Tennis metaphoring life. Then back to business as usual. The same old routine against Milos Raonic. The big lug allows himself to get dragged into baseline rallies he doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of winning. By the way, the most interesting and compelling spectacle was when they emptied the stadium late in the Djokovic/Fritz match due to Australia locking down the entire nation for five days because they detected 13 cases of the "virus" at the airport.

Moving down...into Milos Raonic's portion of the draw. Nothing to see here. A waste of space. Now you see what the foreplay is all about. It's a story about nothing. Much like the Jerry Seinfeld Show but the difference being is it is unwatchable. Wawrinka, Sousa, Fucsovics, Colman's, Moutet, Millman, Coria, Raonic. Not a name there that could keep you awake for a match in the middle of the night in a brutally cold Sweden. Throw another log on the fire. Retreat under the covers. It isn't worth it. Sleep trumps the monotonous thumping of the ball. The announcers trying desperately to inject some life into dead sport. There are better boring movies on the boob tube. It doesn't cut it. Don't you love the matchup of Djokovic and Raonic thought? I saw it live once in Paris. I nearly fell asleep in person. Only the coffee prevented me from nodding off. That and the compelling conversation with the Russian woman sitting next to me. Putin, Obama and Sharapova among the delightful topics. Don't you love Russian women? When I moved from the States so many years ago I had a next door neighbour named Olga living next to me. Now, here in Sweden, there is another Russian woman living down the driveway on the dirt road named Olga. Good people by the way. So much for the fake Russian hoax.

The next section of the draw in this snooze fest of a post is made up of exciting players such as...Monfils, Ruusuvuori, Nishioka, Marinez, Bedene, Bublik, Stakhovsky and Lajovic. Not exactly household names and they lived up to their billing. Their non-billing. The most exciting note of this otherwise silent tree falling in the forest was Sidney Monfils weeping in his press conference wondering where the magic has gone. Oh boy...he's reached an epiphany here. It isn't getting any easier. That is certainly a tough rubicon to cross, Gael. Did I call you Sidney? He reminds me of a Sidney all of a sudden. Maybe it was the tear. The crocodile tears. He can't understand. Training so hard. In his head. But truthfully he doesn't know the meaning of the word and ironically he never did. All talent this Amazing Mr. Monfils. If it gets to the point where he will actually have to work for it, it will be too late. The fat Lady is singing. The truth is...if you don't know how to work for it from the get go, it will be hard to pull the rabbit out of the hat when you need it. The little white bunny wabbit. That's all I can come up with...for this pathetic section of the draw. It's getting harder and harder...without Roger Federer.

Moving down we come to Alexander Zverev's portion of the draw and it isn't pretty. Without even bothering to repeat the handful of names of which more than half I have never even heard of before...let me just say that Alexander is wearing a sleeveless ensemble this fortnight. It's not a good look Alexander. He looks rather pasty. Bleak even. The hair and lack of masculine attributes is a pretty sorry display. I wouldn't wear it. His team should tell him to go and put some clothes on. Next up Djokovic for the fashion faux pas. Zverev has been cruising and at the same time hurling his racquets about. He is a petulant one. Some of the girlfriends have accused him of hurling them about too. Who knows...or cares for that matter? More Drama Queen. It's not a good look.

So that was the top quarter. I have seen bits and pieces. Not a single match has held my interest. Not for more than a handful of points. This stuff is unwatchable. I can sort of see why Novak pulls his stunts as he does. Just trying to break up the monotony. Dreadfully boring. We could sure use Roger Federer in the house these days. The Living Proof. Other wise it is sort of dead in the water. Going forwards...I think that I will pick and choose. Going down the draw. Some highlights...more lowlights. It is too hard to cover it all. There really isn't much to say.

My credit union mailed my credit card last week. It should be interesting to see how long it takes. I have had some incredibly long waiting times for snail mail correspondences. Particularly with the IRS. Waiting on a refund for over a year and a half. What are they calling the COVID relief checks? Waiting...waiting...waiting. Patience is a virtue, you know. As in tennis. As in life. Metaphors galore.

[stotty]

Novak v Zverev

Dimitrov v Karartsev

Rublev v Medvedev

Stephanos v Rafa


The bottom half is looking a bit tougher than the top half from where I'm sitting. Stephanos v Rafa is the pick of the quarters for me. I am expecting Rafa to be a complete animal from here on in. He's getting within touching distance of his 21st slam and if he succeeds you wouldn't put it past him to be on 22 by the time to FO is over and done with. Overtaking Roger is the only thing in Rafa's mind right now. His problem is the AO has always been his least successful tournament.

The injury fiasco is mind games. Rafa enters the event injured so Novak pulls the same stunt too. This is stuff that goes on in local junior events so it seems strange that two GOATs are doing it. I am convinced there is nothing wrong with either man. Novak was moving amazing well against Milos...hitting full stretch forehands and backhands, often for winners.

I wonder how Karatsev will get on. He's in the quarters against possibly the most flaky of the last eight, Dimitrov.

Shame Berrettini denied us the chance to see a watchable match. Never mind. At least Stephanos gets a valuable rest. He will need it for his next encounter.

[don_budge]

Foreplay After Thoughts: 2021 Australian Open...Melbourne Australia (cont.)

It is fun to be back. I miss Roger Federer in the draw of course. It hardly seems like a tournament, let alone a Grand Slam. Even with the COVID-19 spectre hanging over everyone's head. A plague with a 99.8% survivability rate. Hard to fantom...really. Coincidentally synched with the very, very strange election in the USA. That isn't a political statement by the way. Just an innocent bystander observation. But the plague became a big story here at the 2021 Australian Open. I guess we are just supposed to get down on our knees and be thankful that the event was given the approval by whoever makes these types of decisions. Although I heard that some of the players were grousing about the restrictions. Limited training time. Cooped up in hotel rooms. What in the hell is this world coming to? Anybody for the good old days yet?

Moving on and down the draw I am going to have to summarise more succinctly. I don't have the stamina or the energy to keep on as I did in the first post. Unless somehow it gets more interesting. But look here...in the Grigor Dimitrov section of the draw. It is "Curious George" Kyrgios"...is it safe to say that this wunderkind in his own mind is a real bonafide character? It's safe to say that and more. How about...what an idiot! As compelling a character that this guy can be he is really wearing out his welcome on my watchability list of tennis players. That match against Ugo Humbert was really tough on the eyes. Nick plays his own stupid brand of tennis and then is surprised when it bites him in the ass? He blasts away at his service game...that is, unless he is throwing in the pathetic underhand serve, then he virtually tanks his opponents service game. He made a real spectacle of himself in that match and the worst part of it is, he made a real spectacle of the sport. I have referred to the modern game of tennis resembling "Big Time Wrestling" and it never was closer to the truth than in the Ugo match. Just tough to watch. Such a talented player who is just a waste of space. The antics are getting old. It's a bore Nick. Why not try to impress the tennis audience with how good a tennis player you can be than trying that old "too cool for school" act. It blows Nick. It is even making me sick. Me...the ultimate Rebel sympathiser. He's too much. Then he pulls the virtual same stunt against Dominic Thiem. Thiem for his part looked none too sharp in this match either. He prevailed but then meekly went down to Grigor Dimitrov in the next round pleading..."I am not a machine". Sounded vaguely similar to the Elephant Man screaming, "I am not an animal". A line Jerry Seinfeld brought back to life when pleading his case to a model girlfriend who thought she caught him picking his nose. "No pick...no pick", he claimed. He melted down screaming, "I am not an animal". Good for Grigor. He should prevail in such a strange section of the draw. Baby Fed moves on. At this point the closest thing we have of resembling Roger Federer who is MIA. Stefanos Tsitsipas is an entirely different story.

We can sum up this exercise in summary easily in the next section of the draw proceeding downwards in more ways than one. Denis "The Menace" Shapovalov. Remember when spelling Shapovalov the "a" and the "o" alternate. Denis is two "interesting" matchups. Did anyone give either the "match of the day" designation? First round...Jannik Sinner. Jannik is quiet and never makes a fuss. He is also extremely boring to watch. Denis in five in this case. Five long boring sets. I don't think Denis really has a clue in a lot of respects. Talented...yes. But clueless...also yes. He wears the cap backwards. This is a dead giveaway. He bounces the ball between his legs in his preserve routine...also clueless. Is that supposed to look...what? Sexy? Stupid? You tell me. To me...it is not a good look. Then he runs into the other Australian nitwit...Bernard Tomic. Clearly a bigger loser than Nick Kyrgios. The girlfriend is extremely obnoxious by the way. Boobs will only carry you so far if the rest is an empty vessel. Tattoos withstanding. It doesn't cut it. After all, at some point she has to meet the mother and what's a mother to think. Probably the same thing I was thinking only from the other side of the fence. Again...not a good look Bernard. But the thing about Bernard and Nick, they both don't give a damn how it looks. In fact, it is fairly obvious that they are out to offend the observing eye in every way possible. One of the witless announcers was sort of semi-praising Nick for adding some spice to the game ala John McEnroe or Ilie Nastase but he did have the sense to remember that both of these players actually won a lot of their tennis matches. A lame comparison really. More Australian pathos. Harry Hopman rolling over very sadly. Shapovalov came out on the short end of the stick against his younger Canadian wunderkind...Felix Auger-Aliassime. Another tough spell. But Felix does have a much better look than Shapovalov. I remember a thread discussing the "Shapo" (tired of spelling out this name) and his leaping backhand. Another "hot dog" move from "The Menace". See what I mean? This kid is all hot dog. Felix has his feet on the ground in more ways than one compared to "Shapo". A better look.

The big surprise of the tournament just so happened to be in this section of the draw. Aslan Karatsev. Never heard of him. Neither had Gianluca Mager, Egor Gerasimov, Diego Schwartzman or Auger-Aliassime. Actually, I'm pretty sure that they had. He is 27 years old. Somehow he finds himself in a quarter-final match in a Grand Slam against Baby Fed...Grigor Dimitrov. Grigor gave up the Baby Fed moniker a while back but I think I will resuscitate it for Roger's sake. For my sake. I miss the old guy. He was the last remaining link after all...to the game that I fell in love with back in 1968 as a young whippersnapper. Even though in my head I know...time marches on. Time stands for no man. Oh well...I got up this morning. A bit sore from my sets of ab exercises yesterday. I must be overdoing it somewhat. Just killing time.

[stroke]

Those bottom half of the draw matches were a little disappointing. Medvedev cruised, Fognini could not hit enough winners vs Nadal(not the 1st guy to have that issue), Ruud retires down 2 sets, and Berrettini does not even make the tee time, with an injury. As Stotty said, Rafa is going to up the intensity(if possible) as only he seems to be able to do. Stef lucky for him gets some extra rest. Stef gets it and he know what is coming vs Nadal. We will see. Certainly the match of the next round.

[stotty]

It's seemingly a 3 man event from here. Medvedev, Novak and Rafa. You'd think one of them will end up the winner and the odds are stacked against any of the others doing it.

[stroke]

I am picking Rafa at this point, which probably does not n
bode well for him.

[stroke]

Fabio was up 4-2 40 love on Nadal's serve 2nd set, and lost the game. That was pretty much it for Fabio. He does not have the mental strength to come back from that. We all know what Nadal would have done. Just try and win the next point.

[glacierguy]

Watching Serena Williams play tennis is like watching a bumble bee flying. It shouldn't be possible. But it is. If only that outfit was black and yellow.....

[don_budge]

Watching Serena Williams play tennis is like watching a bumble bee flying. It shouldn't be possible. But it is. If only that outfit was black and yellow.....

Interesting comment and a reasonable observation. Her physique seems to have changed, but I will resist. The tennis is less that stellar. Her "bumble bee" resemblance is certainly hindering her movement but Halep seems to be oblivious to this. Bad tennis. Terrible tennis. Which begs the question...why the equal pay? The world is upside down trying to redefine reality.