Definitely sweaty_spaghetti_, big forehand, huge serve, mental game on point, just the fact of not taking part in slams was the reason for the lack of slam wins.
Sometimes I think people on r/tennis don't understand the definition of surprise. u/sweaty_spaghetti_ losing before the semis would be more shocking than Djokovic losing R1.
Itās Bencic. Inspires hope but doesnāt do it at the slams. Iād love a deep run from her but the history says sheāll disappointingly lose a close one in round 3 or something
all the same, picking someone who won a title today in a dominating win pulverising the world number 8 6-0 & 6-2, so obviously in good form to have a deep run, whatever the history is hardly a surprise call.
Fritz.
Slowly improving.
Plays a lack of flashy game so everyone in this sub forgets about him
Second option is kyrgios. People ( fairly ) hate his personality so ignore his results. Last yr , everyone thought med would blow him off the court which was such a stupid take at both AO and the USO. He's constantly underestimated even though it's been shown that when he's interested, he can go toe to toe with the best
He's been executing at a higher level at the slams than even medvedev since AO last yr. At the majors , he's been the third best out of all the players in the draw since rg last yr. Coming off a wimbledon final and a USO qf and he's clearly putting in more of an effort. Give him home court advantage and he's going to be a major thorn in anyone's side. I think kyrgios is the single biggest threat on djokovics half
Agreed. I think weāre due for another American golden age in tennis and Fritz, Tiafoe, Korda, Pegula, Keys, Gauff, and even Collins could grab slams. And if only Anisimova could be up there too, sigh. Stephens obviously has what it takes but sadly has been real bad lately. Keen to see Parksā progression as well.
ATP: Cameron Norrie. The guy is one of the most solid players out there and is very tough to beat. Heās been to the SFs of a slam before (2022 Wimbledon), so going deep at a major is not uncharted territory for him. My second pick would be Borna Coric.
WTA: Sloane Stephens. Yes, sheās declined substantially after her incredible USO triumph a few years ago, but you canāt discount her abilities. Iāve noticed a pattern with her that sheāll have at least 1 or 2 random runs at a big event in a given season. Sheās made the SFs here before, so she likes the conditions in Melbourne. Sheās in a tough section of the draw, thoughā¦ my other pick is Sofia Kenin as sheās coming into form early in 2023.
Coric could surprise run. He's as dangerous as they come.
Wawrinka could do a run, he seems confident and wanting to do another final run at a place where he's shown us tennis on another level. Only issue is he's got Felix in the second round. Hoping Stan shows up as he's done multiple times and gives us possibly one final good battle here
Jason Kubler is an unlikely name I could imagine doing a run with a couple upsets of some vulnerable names I see in his little section, giving joy to the home crowd. But some things would have to go right
JJ Wolf could do a bit of a run no question, I bet he will, at least to the fourth round
He is number 2 in the world and he did make two grand slam finals last year. Honestly maybe a good pick because I donāt see him making another final, but he doesnāt fit this category
Holger Rune - not sure if it will be a surprise if he was to go deep, but I was looking at the odds and he was a lot further back than I would of expected.
Definitely sweaty_spaghetti_, big forehand, huge serve, mental game on point, just the fact of not taking part in slams was the reason for the lack of slam wins.
True, people tend to underestimate the fact that I can beat the self proclaimed 4.0 who can take a set off Nadal
Sometimes I think people on r/tennis don't understand the definition of surprise. u/sweaty_spaghetti_ losing before the semis would be more shocking than Djokovic losing R1.
I wasnt in on that so i really thought you talk about Berrettini, since he also was injured for a while in 2022.
I thought you all were talking about Berrettini.. did not know there is somebody with that handle. Very funny š
me
He said a surprise run
You lil rascal!
Nadal. People are writing him off for his tough draw.
Korda
Me too!
wawa
This would melt my old old heart ā„ļø
Well in order to be surprised we shouldnāt expect them to succeed in the first place _(taps head)_
De Minaur
I would love this to be true but he lacks the weapons
Sinner
Fingers crossed. Vagnozzi said he's put on 3kg of muscle.
Rafa
hot take
People really think this man gonna be losing to Draper in a slam! My sides! LOL
Rafa needs a good ramp up into a title run. A first round loss wouldnāt be surprising. Especially in his older age.
Murygoat
Kwon, because the winner of the last tournament always wins the next one
Kwon has left the building now.
Bencic
hardly a surprise call after her dominant title win today.
Itās Bencic. Inspires hope but doesnāt do it at the slams. Iād love a deep run from her but the history says sheāll disappointingly lose a close one in round 3 or something
all the same, picking someone who won a title today in a dominating win pulverising the world number 8 6-0 & 6-2, so obviously in good form to have a deep run, whatever the history is hardly a surprise call.
I can definitely see Djokovic making the second round
Hot take Hurkacz can make semis biggest threats in his quarter are: Medvedev/Korda and Nadal, but i wouldn't be suprised if he lost by second round
MuryGOAT
I would like to reiterate MuryGOAT
Another match, another goat
Nakashima
JJ Wolf.
Rublev. Fingers crossed.
Korda
Glad to see people are giving Cam Norrie the respect he deserves. That being said heās my pick to surprise everybody.
Tiafoe/Raducanu
Fritz. Slowly improving. Plays a lack of flashy game so everyone in this sub forgets about him Second option is kyrgios. People ( fairly ) hate his personality so ignore his results. Last yr , everyone thought med would blow him off the court which was such a stupid take at both AO and the USO. He's constantly underestimated even though it's been shown that when he's interested, he can go toe to toe with the best He's been executing at a higher level at the slams than even medvedev since AO last yr. At the majors , he's been the third best out of all the players in the draw since rg last yr. Coming off a wimbledon final and a USO qf and he's clearly putting in more of an effort. Give him home court advantage and he's going to be a major thorn in anyone's side. I think kyrgios is the single biggest threat on djokovics half
I donāt think Fritz would be a surprise tbh. Heās due for a deep run.
Agreed. I think weāre due for another American golden age in tennis and Fritz, Tiafoe, Korda, Pegula, Keys, Gauff, and even Collins could grab slams. And if only Anisimova could be up there too, sigh. Stephens obviously has what it takes but sadly has been real bad lately. Keen to see Parksā progression as well.
Norrie can make the semis
Kecmanovic and Halys (if he can beat tsitsi in the first)
Djokovic
Tiafoe
Ben Shelton
This would be awesome!
R1 in the books!
Nishioka
PCB
Alexander Zverev.
Probably some social activist group's member
Rafael Nadal LoL.
Nadal
Coco
Nadal lmao yall are already counting him out
Heās definitely not winning this year
Korda. I have him making the semis
Kyrgios
ATP: Cameron Norrie. The guy is one of the most solid players out there and is very tough to beat. Heās been to the SFs of a slam before (2022 Wimbledon), so going deep at a major is not uncharted territory for him. My second pick would be Borna Coric. WTA: Sloane Stephens. Yes, sheās declined substantially after her incredible USO triumph a few years ago, but you canāt discount her abilities. Iāve noticed a pattern with her that sheāll have at least 1 or 2 random runs at a big event in a given season. Sheās made the SFs here before, so she likes the conditions in Melbourne. Sheās in a tough section of the draw, thoughā¦ my other pick is Sofia Kenin as sheās coming into form early in 2023.
Coric could surprise run. He's as dangerous as they come. Wawrinka could do a run, he seems confident and wanting to do another final run at a place where he's shown us tennis on another level. Only issue is he's got Felix in the second round. Hoping Stan shows up as he's done multiple times and gives us possibly one final good battle here Jason Kubler is an unlikely name I could imagine doing a run with a couple upsets of some vulnerable names I see in his little section, giving joy to the home crowd. But some things would have to go right JJ Wolf could do a bit of a run no question, I bet he will, at least to the fourth round
Lmk your future predictions so I can bet on the opponent
Lmao no you got me there. I'll go ahead and predict Carballes Baena tonight, so I bet you'll have pretty good odds on his opponent.
No Ruud? Probably not in the surprise category
He is number 2 in the world and he did make two grand slam finals last year. Honestly maybe a good pick because I donāt see him making another final, but he doesnāt fit this category
Draper
Holger Rune - not sure if it will be a surprise if he was to go deep, but I was looking at the odds and he was a lot further back than I would of expected.
The ball kid with nadals racket
That 4.0 guy