2022 Tennis Thread

[Inglewood Jack]

I prefer players with natural aggression that learn to reign it in for when it's really needed, as opposed to passive players that have to force themselves to hit bigger.

Rafa keys to victory: get the ball back just one more time...and then one more time...and then one more

Shapo keys to victory: hope that Rafa feels sluggish after eating a couple too many Pop Tarts for breakfast. suggest that instead of tennis they have a rap freestyle battle instead

[dash_pinched]

Originally Posted by Hot_Flatus

It's amazing what playing slightly more sensible tennis does for both FAA and Shapo in big matches. It feels like a light has gone on with both of them early this year where they can start to navigate how to win matches without the urge to blow people off the court with huge strokes (and ultimately drove of unforced errors) and play a much more patient game.

Yeah, you said it HF. Shapo using a chip return to just get into the point versus the big swing which often times doesn't find the court is great to see. Also, the patience as you mentioned exhibited by both guys is greatly improved, Cilic was unbelievable in the opening set last night but Felix hung in there and stuck with his game plan and eventually Cilic's level dropped and Felix pounced. Even if both guys lose their next matches, things are certainly trending up as far as their overall tennis is concerned.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by dash_pinched

Big win over Sabalenka last night...

https://twitter.com/user/status/1485602320356605952

I'm confused, 9-7 in tie break and she didn't win?
What am I missing?

[dash_pinched]

Originally Posted by Inglewood Jack

I prefer players with natural aggression that learn to reign it in for when it's really needed, as opposed to passive players that have to force themselves to hit bigger.

Rafa keys to victory: get the ball back just one more time...and then one more time...and then one more

Shapo keys to victory: hope that Rafa feels sluggish after eating a couple too many Pop Tarts for breakfast. suggest that instead of tennis they have a rap freestyle battle instead

Rafa is happy the match is taking place in the afternoon in Melbourne as he believes the ball is bouncing higher for his shots in the heat of the day. I like the scheduling simply because I can catch up on some sleep lol

[dash_pinched]

Originally Posted by Winsor_Pilates

I'm confused, 9-7 in tie break and she didn't win?
What am I missing?

Usually tie-breaks are the first to 7 points (win by two). At the Aussie Open, if you're in the final deciding set (3 for women and 5 for men) and are tied at 6 games each, the 10 point super breaker is used.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Originally Posted by Hot_Flatus

It's amazing what playing slightly more sensible tennis does for both FAA and Shapo in big matches. It feels like a light has gone on with both of them early this year where they can start to navigate how to win matches without the urge to blow people off the court with huge strokes

Denis's match certainly seemed to indicate that he was going that way but I thought Felix was still going for a bit too much and was missing a lot of shots he didn't have to in set 2 (especially long, he was in a lot of cases unnecessarily hitting them 2-3 feet past the baseline). Once Cilic started messing up and giving a lot of looks at 2nd serve that didn't matter so much, but it's something to look out for because I thought Felix could have done better.

I think the reality of the situation they're both in now though is that they kind of have to go for a big game. Rafa is a pretty bad matchup for Denis, in that his return game just compounds Denis's biggest weakness. Denis should be trying to get as many of Rafa's serves back into play as possible rather than trying to hit big returns, but will need to play pretty aggressively on return once the point is underway. And he'll need his first serve percentage to be higher than it has been.

FAA... I dunno man, try to survive? It's Medvedev. Basically you have to wait for your opportunities and then pounce on them, because he can get a bit in his own head if stuff is going his opponent's way. But there's just not a lot to be done other than to keep your energy up to chase down balls, hit your shots and... just... pray. The problem is that FAA just took 11 break chances before he converted one, so converting on opportunities isn't a strength. If break points come up for him he has to make them count.

[Nadal Fan]

Not confident in today's match up. Shapo always gives Nadal trouble, he did have match points last year on clay against him, so expect a very close match, could go either way today.

[Nadal Fan]

This stat should give y'all some confidence today....

https://twitter.com/user/status/1485273863063752707

[dash_pinched]

Great pic. If you don't know, Dylan Alcott is the goat of wheelchair tennis.

https://twitter.com/user/status/1485552671772020738

[dash_pinched]

https://twitter.com/user/status/1485697787878686727

[dash_pinched]

I still like the story of how Shapo was staying at Felix's place during the Rogers Cup tourney in Montreal and Felix had a poster of Rafa on his wall in his bedroom. Shapo proceeded to rip the poster down from the wall and then beat Rafa in the tourney.

[dash_pinched]

This Keys - Krejcikova match has not been exactly sparkling to start. Another hot day in Melbourne and it seems to be affecting both players.

[dash_pinched]

The trainers are checking out Krejcikova (heart rate, blood pressure etc.) as she is certainly struggling with the conditions.

[dash_pinched]

Keys wins the opening set 6-3. We'll have to wait and see if Barbora continues as she is barely moving out there at the moment.

[dash_pinched]

Happy for Keys, but feel bad for Krejcikova as she was really affected by the heat. Shapo and Rafa are next.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Wow, Keys really burying Orlando - "I really wish I didn't live there and I lived somewhere nicer". Damn!

[dash_pinched]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

Wow, Keys really burying Orlando - "I really wish I didn't live there and I lived somewhere nicer". Damn!

lol - I didn't stick around for the interview. That's funny.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

LOL win predictor 72-28 for Nadal... Yeah, I'd actually say that's pretty much spot on.

[Nadal Fan]

Nice of the Flames to put that game away early so I can focus on this match

[dash_pinched]

Rafa is going to be tough to break if he keeps serving bombs.