Since the 2017 season is over and the first Grand Slam of the 2018 year is just a month away... let's get this year started with a funny story from the federer family:
ROGER FEDERER was crowned Swiss Sportsman of the Year on Sunday night.
.....
The 36-year-old revealed his own children had taken a swipe at him before he received the award though.
"After dinner my kids asked me where I was going," he said.
"I told them there is this awards gala where I could win a prize,"
Who will win next year's Grand Slams.. who will hold the number 1 ranking and the end of 2018.. how will the Canadians fair... and will we see the stranglehold of the Big 3 (or 5) released or will they continue to dazzle us in the twilight of their careers??
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VAMOS !!!
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First off, I want to wish all the tennis nuts who frequent this thread "Happy Holidays" and all the best in 2018. As for the grand slams, I think this will be a very interesting year as we have two top guys (Joker and Andy) who haven't played in quite a while. Will there be considerable rust that they have to shake off or will they be like Fed and be rejuvenated and ready to compete right off the hop? My predictions for the Grand Slams are as follows:
Aussie Open - Joker
French Open - Rafa
Wimbledon - Milos
US Open - Sasha Zverev
Yes, Milos will finally break through and win his first major in 2018 at the All-England Club. Denis will win an ATP 500 event in 2018 and Felix will continue his strong play on the ATP Challenger tour and will crack the top 100 at some point in 2018.
In Davis Cup play, Canada will defeat Croatia in February as Milos and Denis will lead a strong Canadian team.
On the women's side, Genie will continue to tease us with occasional dynamic play against top 50 players mixed in with frustrating losses to players ranked outside the top 50 on the women's tour. On the positive side, I look forward to continued strong play from Bianca Andreescu and Francoise Abanda and here's hoping Gaby Dabrowski can add another grand slam this season in either women's doubles or mixed doubles.
Last edited by dash_pinched; 12-12-2017 at 11:17 AM.
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Below are the upcoming schedules for various Canadians...
MILOS RAONIC: The current world No. 24 plays Thiem at the Abu Dhabi exo and then possibly two more matches before moving on to Brisbane where he won in 2016 and was a semifinalist a year ago. He’s not signed up to play the week before the Aussie Open, where he has personal best Grand Slam record of 23-7.
DENIS SHAPOVALOV: The promising 18-year-old will play his third career Grand Slam at the 2018 Aussie Open after reaching the round-of-16 at the US Open in September. Leading into Melbourne the No. 51-ranked Shapovalov is playing ATP 250 tournaments in Brisbane and Auckland.
VASEK POSPISIL: The world No. 109 is teaming with Genie Bouchard at the Hopman Cup the first week of 2018 and their opening match-up is against Australia (Thanasi Kokkinakis and Daria Gavrilova) on Sunday December 31st.
Pospisil, 10 spots out of direct entry into the Aussie Open main draw, will be playing the qualifying in Melbourne.
FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME: The 17-year-old Montrealer, ranked No. 162, will play the Playford (Adelaide) Challenger and then the Aussie Open qualifying.
Peter Polansky has qualified for the ATP 250 event in Brisbane. Denis and Milos are also playing in Brisbane (Shapo will play Kyle Edmund in the 1st round while Milos has a bye to the 2nd round).
Peter Polansky has qualified for the ATP 250 event in Brisbane. Denis and Milos are also playing in Brisbane (Shapo will play Kyle Edmund in the 1st round while Milos has a bye to the 2nd round).
Polansky has drawn Aussie wildcard John Millman. Winner gets #1 Dmitrov.
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Watching the Oilers defend is like watching fire engines frantically rushing to the wrong fire
so great start to 2018 so far...Andy considering hip surgery, Nole's elbow still wonky, Rafa's knee not ready, K=NG out till March. aside from Roger is anyone over the age of 25 ready to play? at this rate, Pablo Carreņo is going to be #1 seed at Wimbledon by default.
Not to mention Shapo and Peter Polansky both losing their 1st round matches in Brisbane. Sounds like it was a heck of a match between Denis and Kyle Edmund.
so great start to 2018 so far...Andy considering hip surgery, Nole's elbow still wonky, Rafa's knee not ready, K=NG out till March. aside from Roger is anyone over the age of 25 ready to play? at this rate, Pablo Carreņo is going to be #1 seed at Wimbledon by default.
Dmitrov, Zverev and Thiem should contend this year. Nishikori has a Del Potro-like wrist injury, he also could be out awhile. Could the door open for the old guys who had been blocked by the big 4 so many years? Del Potro, Tsonga, Berdych.
I'd like to see Jack Sock get into contention as well.
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Watching the Oilers defend is like watching fire engines frantically rushing to the wrong fire
Milos loses in straight sets to wild card Australian Alex De Minaur 6-4 6-4. Not a total shock, he hasn't played any competitive tennis in the last four months. Hey, at least he was able to complete the match.
Brayden Schnur defeats Evan King of the States in straight sets 6-3 7-6(3) to earn a place in the Playford Challenger final. His opponent will be a Aussie qualifier.
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