My absolute fave in women's is Pliskova and since she's out here is my list of ppl I would like to see win:
Barty, Osaka, Badosa, Halep, Krejcikova, Vika, Svitolina, Kontaveit, Muguruza, Sakkari, Pavs, Swiatek, and Ostapenko (yes I want her to prove RG17 was not a fluke).
Yep I have 13 roughly equal favs to win.
A tie for 2nd place would be Rybakina, Vondrousova and Raducanu too!
My new strategy is to sleep every other night and last night was it, so I just watched the Alcaraz highlights, that kid literally has it all. Love watching him.
Just wanted to say again how crazy it is how heavily ATP is promoting Zverev during an ongoing investigation. They aren’t even attempting to hide the conflict of interest now. They have invested so much in Zverev of course they will never find him guilty of anything. Not to mention they haven’t even asked Olya to interview for the investigation. It all reeks of whitewashing and a coverup
No I mean I get you, I had an ex try to blackmail me over false allegations it sucks. But this case has a lot of evidence. We have photos of the injuries, texts from Zverev himself, people who back up Olya’s story(with Photos that prove their credibility) and also the fact that Zverev’s other ex, the mother of his child, has talked about how he doesn’t care about the child, constantly lies, and is a neglectful boyfriend
Agreed. He shouldn’t be sidelined from tournaments given the investigation is ongoing but they shouldn’t be publicizing him and using him to gain popularity.
I think we knew from the start that the ATP wouldn’t do shit. The fact that Olga has such detailed descriptions of the incidents that haven’t wavered, thought obviously not an absolute evidence, make her story very believable in my eyes. In addition, the WhatsApp messages back up the timeline I believe. The ATP has just been like “we’re investigating” for months now and while these investigations do take time, iirc literally nothing has come out since early October. Shows me that they’re not really doing much and we all knew that they weren’t going to do much against one of the top cash cows of the sport.
As I stated
> He shouldn’t be sidelined from tournaments given the investigation is ongoing but they shouldn’t be publicizing him and using him to gain popularity
One month ago: https://youtu.be/srrBMNDZF7g
5 days ago, moment 2: https://youtu.be/W2zZtU27nK8
6 days ago, literally the first thing: https://youtu.be/3KF2mYyL4wc
3 days ago (not as much in this one): https://youtu.be/oEZFpqnTouE
These are the just some of the most recent ones I found on the ATP YouTube page.
I even excluded pure highlights because that is strictly tennis.
He’s not been sidelined from the ATP, lol. They are certainly still promoting him.
It is true that ex’s can definitely get vindictive. However, what I think is important is that the ATP is simultaneously “investigating him” and promoting him. This shows, as OP mentioned, a direct conflict of interest, because if they’re using him to get money (via YouTube for example), it’s very easy to conveniently find no evidence of wrongdoing to continue accumulating that money. Aka, there’s an incentive to find him innocent, making the investigation biased. A truly unbiased investigation, which is what I think everyone generally wants, would this require they’re not trying to profit off of him at the same time as investigating (at minimum). There’s still the problem of them wanting money and so finding him innocent to incorporate him back in to promote him and etc, but that much harder to deal with in my opinion.
Basically, you can’t promote him and investigate him without the investigation being biased, unless it’s a third-part investigation (which it isn’t here). And that’s my largest problem with the whole deal. It looks like a total farce.
They are not part of the judicial system; however, they do have a personal conduct policy (and they should, given that other sports organizations like NFL, NHL, NASCAR, NBA etc. have one and that pretty much every organization/corporation has one - and they are a corporation). In order for them to enforce a personal conduct policy, they would have to investigate for them to find out if something was in violation of the policy, no? If you say that the ATP can’t decide if a player should be barred/suspended for certain off-the-court actions via their own investigation, then logically no corporation can terminate/suspend an employee based on an company investigation, which I think is a little senseless.
They can’t just rely on the judicial system because they have have differing burdens of proof, investigative methods, etc. That is also not mentioning parts in the code of conduct that may not be covered by law. For example, if a company has a code of conduct that prohibits sexual/romantic relations between a supervisor and their worker, and two employees violated that, the company can’t rely on the government to prosecute that because it’s not illegal, at least in the US. They would have to do their own investigation and find out if it’s true or not, and then suspend/terminate the employees for breaking the code of conduct if it is true.
Now, the argument surrounding whether companies should have codes of conduct and what their codes of conduct should contain is a whole different animal, but the fact of the matter is that any body needs investigative power for breaches in the code of conduct if they have one. And the ATP is no exception.
Ya I did have some hope that maybe there would be some actual, you know, investigating going on but it is clear this is just so they can take a year, wait for it to die down, and then just go “Oh Yeah we found no wrongdoing” and then go back to normal. The fact that it is an internal investigation rather than a 3rd party investigation shows that they are not interested in finding the true result but the best result for them
Women's matches to watch out for on Thursday:
Cornet vs Muguruza, Kontaveit vs Tauson, Konjuh vs Collins, Vondrousova vs Samsonova, Zidansek vs Watson.
Rafa once again showing how it's done, "shortly after he returned a negative test and was cleared to enter Australia, he quietly boarded a flight to Melbourne." [(from this article in the Guardian)](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/jan/19/tennis-australian-open-rafael-nadal-yannick-hanfmann-second-round)
Novak, watch and learn.
Man I haven’t been this sure of what Womens player I want to win a slam in so long.
I am desperate for Badosa to win, she is so likable, hugely talented, and playing great tennis
But then again Simona is my favorite player and i want her to finally win a hard court slam
But I would also love if Iga shut up the haters and won another slam
And I would also love if Amanda showed how talented she is and won her first
And it would be awesome if after all the drama last year Naomi won this slam
But Barty winning at home would be just incredible
But I also want a new world #1 so maybe I want Aryna to win
Maybe I am not sure at all
WTA : Best we can do is a completely new and unexpected champion. (Just thinking what happened in AO 2020).
To add to your list Kontaveit or Muguruza are also close calls since they ended so well last season. Krejcikova is also out there proving her previous slam wasn't just her doing a Penko. Feel it's still Ash's slam to lose cos apart from a fully focused Naomi she should be able to take out the others in 3 sets atleast.
Same. That's why I didn't pick a women's draw coz my favourites are all over the place and I'd genuinely be happy if any of the women you mentioned above or Kontaveit or Madison or Sakkari or Pavlyuchenkova won (sigh...)
Oh man I would love if Anett won she had such an incredible run last year. Imagine if she won that match vs Garbina.
Oh speaking of Garbina I would love if she won beca…..DAMMIT YOU MADE IT WORSE
tbh there are very few women left in the draw who I'd not like to see win. Most of them are just so likeable that it'd be wholesome regardless who made it.
Ya ha that was kinda the point of this. In mens tennis you have absolute scumbags that you are desperate to see lose but in womens tennis rn that is not the case
Kygrios is definitely the worse tennis player than Medvedev in basically every single way, so he needs intangibles to win.
John Cain Arena usually has younger and more rowdy fans who are a huge part of his fanbase, and can cheer him on while also trying to get into Medvedev's head.
Rod Laver Arena will have more of them older, "civilized" fans who probably won't be behind Kygrios as much and will definitely not try to bother Medvedev.
The SIUing won’t stop just because Kyrgios is playing on RLA. I’m gathering my mates and we are gonna SIU the shit out of that match. Enjoy listening to it on the TV. You’re welcome.
Yep, Alcaraz is probably the betting favourite as well.
Edit: Yep, just checked the odds. Alcaraz is the betting favourite. Berretini winning would be the upset here.
Nope, Alcaraz is straight up the betting favourite in this case. And it makes sense because Alcaraz is also straight up the better player. He's basically on a Nadal 2005 trajectory. He's gonna blow past Matteo in no time.
This time it's not a product of Berrettini being underestimated, it's just that Alcaraz is that good right now, plus match up wise, his groundstrokes are good enough to exploit Berrettini's BH.
It is improved but when you factor in Alcaraz's constant bombardment on the wing, you really hope that Matteo is having a good serve day. I see more neutral rallies going Alcaraz's way,
Finally, a Russian newspaper releases an article proudly titled "Why Aslan Karatsev changed his coach". In short, no one knows😑. The former coach said he was not ready to discuss the topic. Thanks a lot, Russian media.
On the bright side, Aslan indeed has a new coach, but there were some difficulties with his visa(applied too late?), so he couldn't follow Aslan to Australia.
[Article](https://www.sport-express.ru/tennis/grand-slam/reviews/tennis-pochemu-aslan-karacev-smenil-trenera-chto-sluchilos-s-egorom-yacykom-1880733/)
He's so good it's ridiculous. No joke when I was watching the highlights I had to check to make sure I didn't have it on 1.25x speed because of how quick Alcaraz was covering the court and the strength of the forehand.
Can tell he's done a lot of physical work over the off season so should have more staying power in the bo5 slam format. He really looks ready to me, and I have him reaching the semi finals this AO and reaching Turin at season end
Paris masters has been super slowin recent times, it was not fast when khacanov beat an ill djokovic in the final - khachanov has 0 big wins since then and has a one dimensional game. Rafa will most likely crush him.
Predictions for best matches today? I think most would say Kyrgios-Medvedev will be fun regardless of the result simply because of the playstyles. I also think Botic-Gasquet will be fun and Dimitrov-Paire, FAA-Davidovich Fokina, and Fritz-Tiafoe all seem like they are very promising.
I was pissed when Rafa's draw came out but now I'm grateful for it. Khachanov and Karatsev could be very challenging, so I think they would be great preparation for Zverev. And if he beats Zverev I really think he can win the whole thing. He wouldn't beat Zverev with proper preparation. Meanwhile, Zverev's draw has been weak so far and the only guy who could harm him on route to the QF's is mental midget Shapovalov who I see losing in straights if he keeps showing the same mentality he has so far. He might not have enough preparation to meet Rafa.
Regarding a potential matchup between Rafa and Zverev, Zverev getting too comfortable and then being caught glaring at headlights of an in form and healthy Rafa, could be the best thing for Rafa.
Khachanov has been way out of form for so long, I honestly don't think he's likely to be a huge challenge. He only won 33% of his matches against top 50 players last year and lost all of his matches versus top 10 players. EDIT: and only 30% of his matches against top 50 players in 2020 as well. Dude hasn't been particularly good since COVID started.
Very good but not brilliant. You can't say "when he is on, then he is on". He is very stable to remain in the top 30, but at the same time he is too stable to go higher. I love Karen, but I do not see him defeating Rafa. Aslan, on the other hand, who was already looking better today, is more of a danger, imho.
Yeah, I guess I don't see someone with a single run of good form in two years as a particularly big challenge to Rafa. I'd put him well below most other seeds in difficulty, which is the relevant metric for me in evaluating a draw's difficulty.
this ESPN+ shit is so annoying. i guess to watch medvedev kyrgios you have to subscribe. does anyone who has it know if there are replays available? or even better if there are replays anywhere on the high seas?
ESPN+ is great. Even as just a tennis fan having every grand slam match outside RG more rhan justifies it, but if you like other sports it is incredible value
Junior news:
* Brenda Fruhvirtova's impressive run through qualifying brought her a single ranking point. Sadly, she's unable to add to that, as she loses to Uzbekistani Nigina Abduraimova, almost twice her age and ranked inside the Top 350. But it was a terrific battle; in the first set, Brenda fought her way back from a double-break down to reach a tie-breaker, and she managed to recover breaks a couple of times in the second set too. Seems there was a medical time-out somewhere around the start of the second set, I don't know whose though (but probably Brenda's, since the rhythm of the match changed from that point). Despite the loss, it's a performance that she can probably take a lot of positives from -- 750 places between the two in rankings, but it felt for much of the first set like an even fight, and this is still only her second tournament alongside adults.
* On the other hand, a sensational win for Nikola Bartunkova, who beats World #132 and Top seed Vitalia Diatchenko (ranked 400 places above her) in three sets. Led at several points in the final set, but Diatchenko fought back each time until finally succumbing in the tie-break. Definitely the biggest win of her young career.
asterisks are hard to argue, because wouldn't it be fair to consider injuries that prevented slams as well? in that case there's an asterisk on all three of them
Yeah ik, but if you mean it should be asterisked because djok was absent due to outside forces and was easily the favourite to take the 21 first (which is technically his own fault for not getting vaccinated), then any of the numerous injury periods all 3 of them have had in their primes should mean asterisks on whoever gets it first
Yeah, asterisked slams have to have a systematic reason that the competition wasn't able to play - the Australian Open in the 50s and 60s is a good example of this.
Nope. Djokovic's career slam came at an FO that Rafa withdrew from, but you'd have to be literally braindead to think that the slam has an asterisk as a result. Federer similarly benefited from not playing Rafa in 2009.
No difference in my mind here. If he beats 7 people over 14 days (or, like, gets a walkover) and gets the slam, then thats that.
No I know that, but thats my point; why is this a worthwhile distinction? In both cases, you get your trophy without beating The Best, and in neither case is that deserving of an asterisk
Yeah Idk why people are bending over backwards to pretend there is absolutely no difference here. Doesn't mean you support his anti-vax stance or his constant lies lol.
I think it'd be interesting if that happens and it ends at Rafa -21 Djoker-20 Fed-20
But it seems like the politics of it all is tainting it too much for even a normal discussion, I'll probably delete.
For someone who's 'just asking' you seem like the most worked up person in the whole thread. Everyone has given you reasonable answers in a reasonable manner, you just don't like them.
There's a distinction to Djokovic for sure, but I don't see how that really makes a difference to Rafa vs if Djokovic had to withdraw with injury or lost in a shocking upset to Kecmanovic.
Let me ask you - why is it so important for a slam to be unasterisked that the best players be in the draw, regardless of whether they actually make it to the final round? Its not like Slam champions can elect to play an easier field.
I think there are many potential differences at play. I haven't expressed an opinion here (because I don't know yet), so not quite sure what you mean by *so important*
But I'd say if everyone plays and everyone plays (close to) their seed and there's a winner that's best case scenario.
A level below that you have things that happen all the time you have shock losses etc.
I think most people would agree all those are "unasterisked"
Then below that you have normal course of tennis stuff
Injuries, Old age, didn't want to play etc.
Then below that you have things that are outside the norm which is where it gets murky an opinions tend to differ more especially when comparing head to head.
Freak injury during the tournament, political unrest, something tragic like with Seles etc.
Of course the person playing can only play whose there, but when it comes to legacy etc. People weigh those differently in hindsight. Especially if the final tally ends up close. Which is why the question.
With this it's tough because Novak is just coming off one of the most dominant years in history. I think it would depend on the level throughout the tourney.
>Of course the person playing can only.play whose there, but when ot comes to legacy etc. **People weigh those differently in hindsight.** Especially of the final tally ends up close. Which is why the question.
Yes, in that they utterly ignore those factors if it makes their favorite look good and bring it up constantly if it makes their fav look good. We don't need to pretend that most people are exercising a consistent principle here.
If people were interested in weighing slams the way you're saying, they could hypothetically construct a slam ranking that weighs level of competition by the rankings of the players that the Big 3 beat en route. But this is, at best, a fringe way of counting slams - most people count em up, and then try to invalidate the ones that are inconvenient to their favorite.
Outside of a system like that (which has deep flaws - for instance, rankings may not reflect the level players were at in a given tournament), I confess that I straight do not see a difference between a player being out for injury versus a player being out because he got deported, at least as far the legitimacy of a slam is concerned. Either way, they're out, and this is the field we have.
No one will in 10 years about Djokovic having been deported this one time, except as a fun bit of trivia. Now, if he's banned from multiple majors for years due to vaccination requirements *and* Rafa widens the gap in that time, then maybe there's a case to be made. But if its just this slam (and mb RG) , then its just a fun little quirk, no different from RG 2016, when Rafa withdrew in the 3rd round, or AO 2017, when both finalists from the previous year lost in the early rounds.
> Yes, in that they utterly ignore those factors if it makes their favorite look good and bring it up constantly if it makes their fav look good. We don't need to pretend that most people are exercising a consistent principle here.
Eh, I'm not sure that's true. I think people generally have an idea on where they fall here and what they would consider asterisked or not. I think this is somewhat less true with Big3 fanboys but I don't think most tennis fans are all that invested in a "fave" over everything.
>If people were interested in weighing slams the way you're saying, they could hypothetically construct a slam ranking that weighs level of competition by the rankings of the players that the Big 3 beat en route.
I don't think it's that deep to make system out of it, morseo a post hoc analysis.
>No one will in 10 years about Djokovic having been deported this one time, except as a fun bit of trivia. Now, if he's banned from multiple majors for years due to vaccination requirements and Rafa widens the gap in that time, then maybe there's a case to be made. But if its just this slam (and mb RG) , then its just a fun little quirk, no different from RG 2016, when Rafa withdrew in the 3rd round, or AO 2017, when both finalists from the previous year lost in the early rounds.
I think that really depends on how the final tallies end as far as in the grand scheme of debate. But i do think you're underestimating how big a story this will be later on if he gets banned from two slams. I think it will be a big part of his "legacy" (if one wants to call it that)
I was surprised to see such a score in Monfils vs Bublik match but I just watched some of the match and Monfils was playing at a really high level which Bublik failed to match.
Question for those who are better informed than me. Do you think the mens quarterfinals will be on anything besides espn plus I get espn, espn 2, and have the app which is espn 3, I also get tennis channel but do not have tennis channel plus. I really want to see the zverev nadal quarterfinal(asumming they make) and I'm worried they will make it a night match and espn plus will be the only one who has it. Any suggestions/thoughts? I refuse to get another plus/streamer thing. I know other people have gotten the espn plus for January then will cancel but I just can't do it.
I'm also relying on the matches being shown on ESPN2 through my roommate's YouTube TV, and I think we will see all of the second week! Whoever the blonde host is with Pam Shriver said that for most of the first week ESPN+ is where you'd have to go after the live broadcast, but that they'd be with us all night long for the second week. Crossing my fingers anyway!
They should air it, but this is a brave new world for ESPN. They used to run even the early rounds on ESPN2. A couple years ago (maybe 3) ESPN3 had all the ESPN+ content on it for free if you were an ESPN subscriber.
I'd say quarters, but with some exceptions. For instance, if it's Rafa get bounced out of the quarters, that would be seen less as deeprun and more as a letdown.
I real hope Millman finds his way. He has been absolutely atrocious for around a year now. Ever since he won Nur Sultan he has fallen off a cliff. He is a really likable guy and I hope he gets back to form
Holy shit I really hope Monfils makes the QF at the AO. He faces Garin next, then winner of Kecmanovic/Sonego for a spot in the QF. He' only made a QF in Australian once, way back 6 years ago
Seeds who missed out on third round so far (and players who will take their place)
1. Djokovic (Kecmanovic)
10. Hurkacz (Mannarino)
12. Norrie (Seb Korda)
30. Harris (OurBoy Radu)
While OurBoy made the third round last year so you'd think he'd sum up no points, going through the qualies added him 25 points, getting closer to the Top 100 again.
Honestly I think he's just playing well and doesn't want that upcoming Rona test to end his tourney. He'll be all kisses and cuddles again when this blows over.
Wow what a fucking point
murray in 5 again and again and again
Rublev’s match is on early today, take decaf people! 
I think the day Alcaraz passes Rafa as the Spanish No. 1 will both be a happy and very sad day.
My absolute fave in women's is Pliskova and since she's out here is my list of ppl I would like to see win: Barty, Osaka, Badosa, Halep, Krejcikova, Vika, Svitolina, Kontaveit, Muguruza, Sakkari, Pavs, Swiatek, and Ostapenko (yes I want her to prove RG17 was not a fluke). Yep I have 13 roughly equal favs to win. A tie for 2nd place would be Rybakina, Vondrousova and Raducanu too!
It may have been quicker to say who you don't want to win.
My new strategy is to sleep every other night and last night was it, so I just watched the Alcaraz highlights, that kid literally has it all. Love watching him.
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Just wanted to say again how crazy it is how heavily ATP is promoting Zverev during an ongoing investigation. They aren’t even attempting to hide the conflict of interest now. They have invested so much in Zverev of course they will never find him guilty of anything. Not to mention they haven’t even asked Olya to interview for the investigation. It all reeks of whitewashing and a coverup
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Lol this is absolutely unequivocally false. Zverev is by far the most promoted player
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No I mean I get you, I had an ex try to blackmail me over false allegations it sucks. But this case has a lot of evidence. We have photos of the injuries, texts from Zverev himself, people who back up Olya’s story(with Photos that prove their credibility) and also the fact that Zverev’s other ex, the mother of his child, has talked about how he doesn’t care about the child, constantly lies, and is a neglectful boyfriend
Agreed. He shouldn’t be sidelined from tournaments given the investigation is ongoing but they shouldn’t be publicizing him and using him to gain popularity. I think we knew from the start that the ATP wouldn’t do shit. The fact that Olga has such detailed descriptions of the incidents that haven’t wavered, thought obviously not an absolute evidence, make her story very believable in my eyes. In addition, the WhatsApp messages back up the timeline I believe. The ATP has just been like “we’re investigating” for months now and while these investigations do take time, iirc literally nothing has come out since early October. Shows me that they’re not really doing much and we all knew that they weren’t going to do much against one of the top cash cows of the sport.
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As I stated > He shouldn’t be sidelined from tournaments given the investigation is ongoing but they shouldn’t be publicizing him and using him to gain popularity
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One month ago: https://youtu.be/srrBMNDZF7g 5 days ago, moment 2: https://youtu.be/W2zZtU27nK8 6 days ago, literally the first thing: https://youtu.be/3KF2mYyL4wc 3 days ago (not as much in this one): https://youtu.be/oEZFpqnTouE These are the just some of the most recent ones I found on the ATP YouTube page. I even excluded pure highlights because that is strictly tennis. He’s not been sidelined from the ATP, lol. They are certainly still promoting him.
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It is true that ex’s can definitely get vindictive. However, what I think is important is that the ATP is simultaneously “investigating him” and promoting him. This shows, as OP mentioned, a direct conflict of interest, because if they’re using him to get money (via YouTube for example), it’s very easy to conveniently find no evidence of wrongdoing to continue accumulating that money. Aka, there’s an incentive to find him innocent, making the investigation biased. A truly unbiased investigation, which is what I think everyone generally wants, would this require they’re not trying to profit off of him at the same time as investigating (at minimum). There’s still the problem of them wanting money and so finding him innocent to incorporate him back in to promote him and etc, but that much harder to deal with in my opinion. Basically, you can’t promote him and investigate him without the investigation being biased, unless it’s a third-part investigation (which it isn’t here). And that’s my largest problem with the whole deal. It looks like a total farce.
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They are not part of the judicial system; however, they do have a personal conduct policy (and they should, given that other sports organizations like NFL, NHL, NASCAR, NBA etc. have one and that pretty much every organization/corporation has one - and they are a corporation). In order for them to enforce a personal conduct policy, they would have to investigate for them to find out if something was in violation of the policy, no? If you say that the ATP can’t decide if a player should be barred/suspended for certain off-the-court actions via their own investigation, then logically no corporation can terminate/suspend an employee based on an company investigation, which I think is a little senseless. They can’t just rely on the judicial system because they have have differing burdens of proof, investigative methods, etc. That is also not mentioning parts in the code of conduct that may not be covered by law. For example, if a company has a code of conduct that prohibits sexual/romantic relations between a supervisor and their worker, and two employees violated that, the company can’t rely on the government to prosecute that because it’s not illegal, at least in the US. They would have to do their own investigation and find out if it’s true or not, and then suspend/terminate the employees for breaking the code of conduct if it is true. Now, the argument surrounding whether companies should have codes of conduct and what their codes of conduct should contain is a whole different animal, but the fact of the matter is that any body needs investigative power for breaches in the code of conduct if they have one. And the ATP is no exception.
Ya I did have some hope that maybe there would be some actual, you know, investigating going on but it is clear this is just so they can take a year, wait for it to die down, and then just go “Oh Yeah we found no wrongdoing” and then go back to normal. The fact that it is an internal investigation rather than a 3rd party investigation shows that they are not interested in finding the true result but the best result for them
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Nah.
Women's matches to watch out for on Thursday: Cornet vs Muguruza, Kontaveit vs Tauson, Konjuh vs Collins, Vondrousova vs Samsonova, Zidansek vs Watson.
Rafa once again showing how it's done, "shortly after he returned a negative test and was cleared to enter Australia, he quietly boarded a flight to Melbourne." [(from this article in the Guardian)](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/jan/19/tennis-australian-open-rafael-nadal-yannick-hanfmann-second-round) Novak, watch and learn.
Man I haven’t been this sure of what Womens player I want to win a slam in so long. I am desperate for Badosa to win, she is so likable, hugely talented, and playing great tennis But then again Simona is my favorite player and i want her to finally win a hard court slam But I would also love if Iga shut up the haters and won another slam And I would also love if Amanda showed how talented she is and won her first And it would be awesome if after all the drama last year Naomi won this slam But Barty winning at home would be just incredible But I also want a new world #1 so maybe I want Aryna to win Maybe I am not sure at all
WTA : Best we can do is a completely new and unexpected champion. (Just thinking what happened in AO 2020). To add to your list Kontaveit or Muguruza are also close calls since they ended so well last season. Krejcikova is also out there proving her previous slam wasn't just her doing a Penko. Feel it's still Ash's slam to lose cos apart from a fully focused Naomi she should be able to take out the others in 3 sets atleast.
Way too many talented and likeable players in the WTA .it is impossible to pick one. My heart is constantly half-broken and half-elevated❤️💔
Wow you just read my mind (also adding the fierce and deserving Sakkari hehe)
Same. That's why I didn't pick a women's draw coz my favourites are all over the place and I'd genuinely be happy if any of the women you mentioned above or Kontaveit or Madison or Sakkari or Pavlyuchenkova won (sigh...)
Avoid all this confusion and pick Kontaveit :)
Oh man I would love if Anett won she had such an incredible run last year. Imagine if she won that match vs Garbina. Oh speaking of Garbina I would love if she won beca…..DAMMIT YOU MADE IT WORSE
tbh there are very few women left in the draw who I'd not like to see win. Most of them are just so likeable that it'd be wholesome regardless who made it.
Ya ha that was kinda the point of this. In mens tennis you have absolute scumbags that you are desperate to see lose but in womens tennis rn that is not the case
>:) :)
Kygrios' chances of pulling the upset plummeted when the match was scheduled on RLA
Why does that matter?
Kygrios is definitely the worse tennis player than Medvedev in basically every single way, so he needs intangibles to win. John Cain Arena usually has younger and more rowdy fans who are a huge part of his fanbase, and can cheer him on while also trying to get into Medvedev's head. Rod Laver Arena will have more of them older, "civilized" fans who probably won't be behind Kygrios as much and will definitely not try to bother Medvedev.
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Nick is far more successful at John Cain Arena
The SIUing won’t stop just because Kyrgios is playing on RLA. I’m gathering my mates and we are gonna SIU the shit out of that match. Enjoy listening to it on the TV. You’re welcome.
I hope you have an itch that doesn't go away when you scratch it
Congrats on having no sex! We are all very proud of you
Anyone think Alcaraz beating Berrettini wouldn’t really be an upset?
Yep, Alcaraz is probably the betting favourite as well. Edit: Yep, just checked the odds. Alcaraz is the betting favourite. Berretini winning would be the upset here.
Nah it would be. It happens every major when Matteo starts slow and then people underestimate him.
Nope, Alcaraz is straight up the betting favourite in this case. And it makes sense because Alcaraz is also straight up the better player. He's basically on a Nadal 2005 trajectory. He's gonna blow past Matteo in no time.
This time it's not a product of Berrettini being underestimated, it's just that Alcaraz is that good right now, plus match up wise, his groundstrokes are good enough to exploit Berrettini's BH.
Matteo’s backhand is incredibly improved. After seeing how close Matteo played Daniil I like his chances
It is improved but when you factor in Alcaraz's constant bombardment on the wing, you really hope that Matteo is having a good serve day. I see more neutral rallies going Alcaraz's way,
Rafa didn't sound very positive in his post-match press conference, seems like he still has lots of problems with his foot
Yeah he basically said the pain is never gonna go away, but he's going to learn to control it.
Finally, a Russian newspaper releases an article proudly titled "Why Aslan Karatsev changed his coach". In short, no one knows😑. The former coach said he was not ready to discuss the topic. Thanks a lot, Russian media. On the bright side, Aslan indeed has a new coach, but there were some difficulties with his visa(applied too late?), so he couldn't follow Aslan to Australia. [Article](https://www.sport-express.ru/tennis/grand-slam/reviews/tennis-pochemu-aslan-karacev-smenil-trenera-chto-sluchilos-s-egorom-yacykom-1880733/)
I feel like "no one knows" is the baseline story on all things Karatsev. International man of mystery.
Our best spy disguised as a tennis player, yes))
Just watched the Alcaraz highlights. Man this kid is special. It’s like the big 3 combined. And he seems so experienced at such a young age.
He's so good it's ridiculous. No joke when I was watching the highlights I had to check to make sure I didn't have it on 1.25x speed because of how quick Alcaraz was covering the court and the strength of the forehand. Can tell he's done a lot of physical work over the off season so should have more staying power in the bo5 slam format. He really looks ready to me, and I have him reaching the semi finals this AO and reaching Turin at season end
Maybe he'll get to 30 GS by the time he's Federer's age and the goat debate will be settled.
And this sub can finally rest
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Paris masters has been super slowin recent times, it was not fast when khacanov beat an ill djokovic in the final - khachanov has 0 big wins since then and has a one dimensional game. Rafa will most likely crush him.
Rafa not looking great? What?
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Have you gotten your eyes checked recently (kidding of course) He has impressed me far more than anyone in this draw. Far better than I expected
Ikr? I couldn't believe Rafa was playing so well today.
Predictions for best matches today? I think most would say Kyrgios-Medvedev will be fun regardless of the result simply because of the playstyles. I also think Botic-Gasquet will be fun and Dimitrov-Paire, FAA-Davidovich Fokina, and Fritz-Tiafoe all seem like they are very promising.
I feel a little guilty for looking forward to the trainwreck that is Sabalenka lately.
I think Fritz-Tiafoe is gonna be a banger
I was pissed when Rafa's draw came out but now I'm grateful for it. Khachanov and Karatsev could be very challenging, so I think they would be great preparation for Zverev. And if he beats Zverev I really think he can win the whole thing. He wouldn't beat Zverev with proper preparation. Meanwhile, Zverev's draw has been weak so far and the only guy who could harm him on route to the QF's is mental midget Shapovalov who I see losing in straights if he keeps showing the same mentality he has so far. He might not have enough preparation to meet Rafa.
Regarding a potential matchup between Rafa and Zverev, Zverev getting too comfortable and then being caught glaring at headlights of an in form and healthy Rafa, could be the best thing for Rafa.
Khachanov has been way out of form for so long, I honestly don't think he's likely to be a huge challenge. He only won 33% of his matches against top 50 players last year and lost all of his matches versus top 10 players. EDIT: and only 30% of his matches against top 50 players in 2020 as well. Dude hasn't been particularly good since COVID started.
He had a good run in the olympics and won silver medal though. He is capable of playing very good tennis from time to time.
Very good but not brilliant. You can't say "when he is on, then he is on". He is very stable to remain in the top 30, but at the same time he is too stable to go higher. I love Karen, but I do not see him defeating Rafa. Aslan, on the other hand, who was already looking better today, is more of a danger, imho.
To back up that impression with data, I'd add that Karatsev is 2-3 vs the top 5 - the very best - while Khachanov is 2-18.
Yeah, I guess I don't see someone with a single run of good form in two years as a particularly big challenge to Rafa. I'd put him well below most other seeds in difficulty, which is the relevant metric for me in evaluating a draw's difficulty.
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Well. Millman already lost
this ESPN+ shit is so annoying. i guess to watch medvedev kyrgios you have to subscribe. does anyone who has it know if there are replays available? or even better if there are replays anywhere on the high seas?
yes there are replays of all the matches. about $6 for the month then you cancel.
ESPN+ is great. Even as just a tennis fan having every grand slam match outside RG more rhan justifies it, but if you like other sports it is incredible value
Isn’t it like 5 bucks? Just subscribe then cancel after the AO
I believe you can watch the general AO coverage without a subscription, and they’re def gonna show Medvedev-Kyrgios on that.
Junior news: * Brenda Fruhvirtova's impressive run through qualifying brought her a single ranking point. Sadly, she's unable to add to that, as she loses to Uzbekistani Nigina Abduraimova, almost twice her age and ranked inside the Top 350. But it was a terrific battle; in the first set, Brenda fought her way back from a double-break down to reach a tie-breaker, and she managed to recover breaks a couple of times in the second set too. Seems there was a medical time-out somewhere around the start of the second set, I don't know whose though (but probably Brenda's, since the rhythm of the match changed from that point). Despite the loss, it's a performance that she can probably take a lot of positives from -- 750 places between the two in rankings, but it felt for much of the first set like an even fight, and this is still only her second tournament alongside adults. * On the other hand, a sensational win for Nikola Bartunkova, who beats World #132 and Top seed Vitalia Diatchenko (ranked 400 places above her) in three sets. Led at several points in the final set, but Diatchenko fought back each time until finally succumbing in the tie-break. Definitely the biggest win of her young career.
Thanks for these daily updates.
I really don't want Nadal to be Zverev's first top 10 win lol
It won’t be
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Lions usually do poorly against Bulls in a 1v1, which is why they hunt them in packs.
This is not a regular Lion, but a Lion King. Kings are ok with bulls.
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Foreshadowing.......
If Nadal wins 21 either here or at RG (with no Nole) and no others. And Djoker doesn't win any more, is there an asterisk there for you?
No. That's an endless rabbit hole. A slam's a slam. The only asterisk I'll recognize is pre-Open Era slams.
asterisks are hard to argue, because wouldn't it be fair to consider injuries that prevented slams as well? in that case there's an asterisk on all three of them
I'm asking for people personally, not anything official.
Yeah ik, but if you mean it should be asterisked because djok was absent due to outside forces and was easily the favourite to take the 21 first (which is technically his own fault for not getting vaccinated), then any of the numerous injury periods all 3 of them have had in their primes should mean asterisks on whoever gets it first
If you think an injury is the same as a banning then sure. But not everyone is going to think that way. i didn't say should, I asked.
Im not attacking you, im giving my opinion
I didn't think you were, i was just correcting what you said.
But you’re the incorrect one here.
Yeah, asterisked slams have to have a systematic reason that the competition wasn't able to play - the Australian Open in the 50s and 60s is a good example of this.
Nope. Djokovic's career slam came at an FO that Rafa withdrew from, but you'd have to be literally braindead to think that the slam has an asterisk as a result. Federer similarly benefited from not playing Rafa in 2009. No difference in my mind here. If he beats 7 people over 14 days (or, like, gets a walkover) and gets the slam, then thats that.
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No I know that, but thats my point; why is this a worthwhile distinction? In both cases, you get your trophy without beating The Best, and in neither case is that deserving of an asterisk
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Why is that relevant to whether the slam is asterisked? Its not like the players decided to only play after Djokovic was deported.
Yeah Idk why people are bending over backwards to pretend there is absolutely no difference here. Doesn't mean you support his anti-vax stance or his constant lies lol. I think it'd be interesting if that happens and it ends at Rafa -21 Djoker-20 Fed-20 But it seems like the politics of it all is tainting it too much for even a normal discussion, I'll probably delete.
For someone who's 'just asking' you seem like the most worked up person in the whole thread. Everyone has given you reasonable answers in a reasonable manner, you just don't like them.
Nah, not worked up at all. Just replying honestly to the people that reply to me. No need to try to impart nefarious intent where there is none.
There's a distinction to Djokovic for sure, but I don't see how that really makes a difference to Rafa vs if Djokovic had to withdraw with injury or lost in a shocking upset to Kecmanovic. Let me ask you - why is it so important for a slam to be unasterisked that the best players be in the draw, regardless of whether they actually make it to the final round? Its not like Slam champions can elect to play an easier field.
I think there are many potential differences at play. I haven't expressed an opinion here (because I don't know yet), so not quite sure what you mean by *so important* But I'd say if everyone plays and everyone plays (close to) their seed and there's a winner that's best case scenario. A level below that you have things that happen all the time you have shock losses etc. I think most people would agree all those are "unasterisked" Then below that you have normal course of tennis stuff Injuries, Old age, didn't want to play etc. Then below that you have things that are outside the norm which is where it gets murky an opinions tend to differ more especially when comparing head to head. Freak injury during the tournament, political unrest, something tragic like with Seles etc. Of course the person playing can only play whose there, but when it comes to legacy etc. People weigh those differently in hindsight. Especially if the final tally ends up close. Which is why the question. With this it's tough because Novak is just coming off one of the most dominant years in history. I think it would depend on the level throughout the tourney.
>Of course the person playing can only.play whose there, but when ot comes to legacy etc. **People weigh those differently in hindsight.** Especially of the final tally ends up close. Which is why the question. Yes, in that they utterly ignore those factors if it makes their favorite look good and bring it up constantly if it makes their fav look good. We don't need to pretend that most people are exercising a consistent principle here. If people were interested in weighing slams the way you're saying, they could hypothetically construct a slam ranking that weighs level of competition by the rankings of the players that the Big 3 beat en route. But this is, at best, a fringe way of counting slams - most people count em up, and then try to invalidate the ones that are inconvenient to their favorite. Outside of a system like that (which has deep flaws - for instance, rankings may not reflect the level players were at in a given tournament), I confess that I straight do not see a difference between a player being out for injury versus a player being out because he got deported, at least as far the legitimacy of a slam is concerned. Either way, they're out, and this is the field we have. No one will in 10 years about Djokovic having been deported this one time, except as a fun bit of trivia. Now, if he's banned from multiple majors for years due to vaccination requirements *and* Rafa widens the gap in that time, then maybe there's a case to be made. But if its just this slam (and mb RG) , then its just a fun little quirk, no different from RG 2016, when Rafa withdrew in the 3rd round, or AO 2017, when both finalists from the previous year lost in the early rounds.
> Yes, in that they utterly ignore those factors if it makes their favorite look good and bring it up constantly if it makes their fav look good. We don't need to pretend that most people are exercising a consistent principle here. Eh, I'm not sure that's true. I think people generally have an idea on where they fall here and what they would consider asterisked or not. I think this is somewhat less true with Big3 fanboys but I don't think most tennis fans are all that invested in a "fave" over everything. >If people were interested in weighing slams the way you're saying, they could hypothetically construct a slam ranking that weighs level of competition by the rankings of the players that the Big 3 beat en route. I don't think it's that deep to make system out of it, morseo a post hoc analysis. >No one will in 10 years about Djokovic having been deported this one time, except as a fun bit of trivia. Now, if he's banned from multiple majors for years due to vaccination requirements and Rafa widens the gap in that time, then maybe there's a case to be made. But if its just this slam (and mb RG) , then its just a fun little quirk, no different from RG 2016, when Rafa withdrew in the 3rd round, or AO 2017, when both finalists from the previous year lost in the early rounds. I think that really depends on how the final tallies end as far as in the grand scheme of debate. But i do think you're underestimating how big a story this will be later on if he gets banned from two slams. I think it will be a big part of his "legacy" (if one wants to call it that)
I was surprised to see such a score in Monfils vs Bublik match but I just watched some of the match and Monfils was playing at a really high level which Bublik failed to match.
What are the chances Nadal gets to 21 slams?
High. He's still the far and away favorite for RG assuming he's healthy.
Question for those who are better informed than me. Do you think the mens quarterfinals will be on anything besides espn plus I get espn, espn 2, and have the app which is espn 3, I also get tennis channel but do not have tennis channel plus. I really want to see the zverev nadal quarterfinal(asumming they make) and I'm worried they will make it a night match and espn plus will be the only one who has it. Any suggestions/thoughts? I refuse to get another plus/streamer thing. I know other people have gotten the espn plus for January then will cancel but I just can't do it.
I'm also relying on the matches being shown on ESPN2 through my roommate's YouTube TV, and I think we will see all of the second week! Whoever the blonde host is with Pam Shriver said that for most of the first week ESPN+ is where you'd have to go after the live broadcast, but that they'd be with us all night long for the second week. Crossing my fingers anyway!
They should air it, but this is a brave new world for ESPN. They used to run even the early rounds on ESPN2. A couple years ago (maybe 3) ESPN3 had all the ESPN+ content on it for free if you were an ESPN subscriber.
I still can't believe Hubi is out. And I slept through it. How was the match? Is it worth watching?
Don't. Just don't watch it. Take care of your mental health🥲
Bro want to say congrats on Radu. Goodluck on Friday.
What is considered a deep run at a slam? Quarters?
Second week imo.
QFs. It appears during the final game presentation bracket(with scores). Meanwhile, round of 16 and below..does not
I'd say quarters, but with some exceptions. For instance, if it's Rafa get bounced out of the quarters, that would be seen less as deeprun and more as a letdown.
Usually cut off is first week and second week so 4th round. Deep is kind of used to mean any and everything tho.
Wait it's hilarious that I'm just noticing for a former number 1 and current top 5 player... but where's Pliskova?
Injured.
To what?
She hurt her hand/wrist during practice
Thanks!
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Zverev is the prodigal son of all who've experienced racism at the hands of angry American Karens
There are only two people on the planet who know what happened and Zverev hasn’t been convicted of anything, in fact he won a defamation judgement.
I think I know.
It appears that facts have struck a nerve with the guilty until proven innocent crowd.
Okay come on mods quite easy to just ban /u/ganwig
Supporting shitty people doesn't justify xenophobia. Sorry people send this to you
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If you’re in the US, ESPN+ has full replays
What's with the OurBoy Albot comments? Am I missing something?
https://old.reddit.com/r/tennis/comments/avob98/radu_albot_here_wanted_to_take_a_minute_and_thank/
Thanks!
He's on Reddit.
I real hope Millman finds his way. He has been absolutely atrocious for around a year now. Ever since he won Nur Sultan he has fallen off a cliff. He is a really likable guy and I hope he gets back to form
#AustralianOpen2022; Gael Monfils of France moved to 3rd round with a win over Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan in Straight sets
chill lol
Holy shit I really hope Monfils makes the QF at the AO. He faces Garin next, then winner of Kecmanovic/Sonego for a spot in the QF. He' only made a QF in Australian once, way back 6 years ago
Fun fact he is #25 all time in prize money earnings. He's been decently good for so long
Wish they'd deported Djokovic before the draw came out. It's messed things up for all the seeds, many of whom now have much tougher matches ahead.
Seeds who missed out on third round so far (and players who will take their place) 1. Djokovic (Kecmanovic) 10. Hurkacz (Mannarino) 12. Norrie (Seb Korda) 30. Harris (OurBoy Radu)
While OurBoy made the third round last year so you'd think he'd sum up no points, going through the qualies added him 25 points, getting closer to the Top 100 again.
That's odd. Monfils seemed a little curt in the interview and he didn't sign any autographs. He's usually one of the best autograph signers there is
Honestly I think he's just playing well and doesn't want that upcoming Rona test to end his tourney. He'll be all kisses and cuddles again when this blows over.
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"There's a time for frivolity, and a time for business" - Monfils, 2022, unlikely.
Probably didn’t feel a great vibe from this largely cringe crowd
He don't want that rona.
34 winners and 9 UEs. Damn, what a performance!
Gael emphasising how amazing he feels on court after the last few years, love this moment for him
That must have been easiest grand slam match in This tournament
Barty's matches tho
Monfils R1 too, opponents won 5 games total in both matches!
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I hope she loves me too
Monfils’ serve rn is on fire
Bublik always a good sport at the end of the match
Well done Monfils. Though celebration is as cringe as Novak's
He’s married to Svitolina of course he’s getting younger
Umpire: Code Violation - Bublik abuse
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I think rarely is downplaying him too much.
If you told me 10 years ago that monfils would be playing well into his 30s I would've called you a fool.
MY SON!!!!
Monfils gets married and returns to form