AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2017

draws on friday

fed likely seeded 17th afaict o_o

Bencic playing serena first round

federer in the same quarter as murray and nishikori

pls dont let fed go out to berdych is all i ask

rafa v sasha zverev rd 3 possibly is nice

both kei and murray not making it easy on themselves

good to see jerzy back but cilic is peaking right now

WOW murray

sick topsin lob

serena/bencic match was p good quality for rd 1

Karlovic-Zeballos now over five hours. 20-19 in the 5th. Ivo just got to deuce from 40-0 though...

So Ivo won 22-20. I went looking for the AO thread from around the time of that Roddick-El Aynaoui 21-19 epic (14 years ago!), but it actually wasn't that interesting. Me giving the score every 15min, with exclamation marks.

The 2004 AO thread, now that was the one. William Swygart had to compile a glossary of all the nicknames Fred Nerk and I were using as we were driving Lex up the wall. Great days, Eddie.

happy to see stepanek get thru, and in < 2 hrs !

kerber just lobbing her 1st serve in his is bzarre; witthoeft is playing well, good dfense

yikes kerb w 2 double faults in a row in the tbreak

girl needs to get her head right

this set shd be entertaining tho i peeved it means fed wont be on til later now

great comeback from zverev the older to beat isner

hsieh is impressing v cibu

Istomin beat Djokovic! I only saw the last two games of the third set during which Djokovic had some quibbles with the referee on a couple of wrong calls from the linesmen (hawkeye proved him right). Anyway, wow!

Didn't see that coming.

Meanwhile, Heather Watson loses 10-8 in the third to Jennifer Brady after serving for a straight sets win and, later, failing to take any of the 14 break points she had in set 3, five of them match points. Oh Heather.

I always liked istomin but would've never thought he could win a match like this, esp best of 5...props

bottom half of the draw is wide open now (all of andy, kei, stan, fed are in the top half)

kind of sad that novak is now inarguably in his decline phase

I wonder if the pressure of chasing the French Open was giving him the focus he needed to be the terrifying monster player he had become and winning let off too much mental pressure?

playing relatively long rallies w/o a dominant aspect to his game (unless you count defense I suppose) means his margins are p narrow..ive always been amazed hes had as dominant a run as he has

it would still be surprising to me (barring injury) if he didn't win several tournaments this year, likely including a major

he did just beat murray in Dubai like a week ago

xp I think that theory could def explain losing to querrey @ wimb

That's absolutely what I think. Finally achieving that - and simultaneously the non-calendar year Grand Slam - he was bound to feel some relief and take his foot off the pedal somewhat, even subconsciously. That he's still struggling is because once you relax, it's harder to regain that insane level of focus. Or he hasn't rediscovered the hunger. Or, the post-Wimbledon personal problems. Some or all of those. I don't think he's done for good (he's got his health still, for one thing) but it's definitely a reminder that when a fall comes it can come very swiftly.

I also didn't read much into Doha, which would have been another signal of his decline had Verdasco possessed any mental strength at all. The final went Djokovic's way bc ultimately it's just a horrible match-up for Murray, who I feel has never worked out a workable strategy against a Djokovic not leaking errors.

xps to DJP

He'll probably stay #2 at least this year because the ATP is sooooooo weak and lacking in depth if/until the Kyrgios, Zverev types get it together. Thiem is shooting his career in the foot by overplaying.

I am in Melbourne!

I have tickets today and tomorrow. My sister and a friend of mine wanted to go and I had to choose - one wanted to go all out and a Laver night session, the other wanted to just get a cheaper ticket on say Margaret Court. I picked Court for today and Laver for Saturday night. Wish I'd done it the other way around. Not keen on watching Fed lose to Berdych probably maybe though so maybe I picked right?

really looking fwd to fed/nishikori now, tho prob will be 330am my time

watching the fed highlights against berdych just made my day.

^just saw those wow

gd lineup on laver today but seeing that rog match wouldve been aamazing

yeah Roger peaked but gosh, Berdych has not one ounce of fight in him - the match was effectively over when Federer broke for 5-2 in the first and Berdych was basically going through the motions after that

so happy to see Tennis Twitter go all the way in on Trump voter Isner today

Vandeweghe and Harrison we see you too

During the matches on MCA yesterday (my sister refers to it as "Biggie", for "Bigot" which I find amusing because I'm a small child), American fans were really weird, and bad at chanting. They really need to learn from the Australians and French who excel at it.

One dude in the audience yelled out to Sock: "Do it for Hillary!". Uh. (Not sure of Sock's persuasions but I've assumed many U.S. tennis players lean Republican). The same idiot also yelled it out while Venus was playing.

ALso yes I bore witness to the shitshow that was Kuznetsova/Jankovic. High quality for 1.5 sets and then... wow. It was not pretty. Kuznetsova peaked for 4 games then troughed for about 10.

Tsonga/Sock was a terrific hard-hitting spectacle. Sock lost the crowd by insulting a linesman and then oddly managed to win the set immediately. Venus's backhand was as good as I've ever seen it and such a thrill to see her in person.

I am seriously tossing up whether to take a gamble on Laver tickets tomorrow - day or night. Thinking night has a higher possibility of Roger/Kei.

also lol at the shade of putting Murray on Hisense. Kind of insulting really. Explained why my sister couldn't get a pass-out on Hisense after going to the bathroom.

Not entirely sure how to confirm but I think the food is substantially MORE overpriced than it was just two years ago and it was pretty bad then. I am extremely sunburnt.

Gavrilova then Gasquet/Dimitrov is really a piss-poor line-up for tonight on Laver but whatever I'll enjoy it anyway.

o yea they day matches on laver looked more compelling

i would leverage some assets to get in to see fed/kei prob

I can afford it - guess I might go myself if nobody I know wants to or feels they can!

by myself

wow @ jen brady into the 4th rd

also wow @ she'll play either sakkari or lucic baroni !

jen had TWO tour level wins before this tourney started

cibu/e-kat has turned into a battle

brady v lucic baroni 4th rd is very lol

very impressed by makarova to hold off cibu after being up a set and 4-0

Wow @ this Zverev-Murray match. Mischa 2 sets and a break up - net-rushing, serve and volleying like a champ.

Wow! Murray out!

Terrific match! Murray outplayed.

First time both men's top seeds out before QFs since RG'04.

hahahahahahahaha

so tragic for Murray but am here for an ATP era of chaos

NO RAONIC SLAM THOUGH

NO FEDAL NOSTALGIA EITHER

The way Nishikori fell apart in that 3rd set though :-(

Can't see N returning from this - epic 4th game

Holds, come on!

and breaks!

game away from a 5th

Wins 4th and now has kept that level up straight on the 5th

ugh

Lol how did I just know that Nishikori would mess this up somehow? Fell asleep when he was up 4-0 in the first set, can't believe that not only is this match still going, old man Fed is somehow winning.

:-(

Nishikori's career is a torment, embodied in that match :(

*looks at the draw* well, if Tsonga gets past Stan (and maybe its a big if idk)...its an opportunity

ugh fuck this now

MONFILS SLAM plz

Fucking Vandeweghe thrashing kerber :( :( hoping for a Williams sister final (i trust this kind of nostalgia is allowable?) At the moment concerned it will be Vandeweghe v Konta/Pliskova which, no

Vandeweghe was OK, but Kerber was woeful. How can a number one player be routinely serving the first serve in the 130s and 140s?

I had such a great day the other day - saw the last few sets of Istomin/Carreno Busta, Gavrilova/Bacsinsky (tho always horrid to be reminded of how dickish Australian crowds are in this situation - half AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE OI OI OI and a bunch of people making Russian jokes, just lay off cunto) then DImitrov destroying Wussquet. Finished at 2.30am!

How can a number one player be routinely serving the first serve in the 130s and 140s?

don't make me do it...

Lucic-Baroni through :D :D :D

Raonic's inside-out FH has to be the most tedious shot in tennis

PressedT by Vandeweghe's continued existence in this tournament, by 100% power players left in the women's draw and by Raonic in general

LUCIC though, such an amazing story

Bacsinszky/Gavrilova has been my fav match of the tournament, so much fun

I don't have Roddick levels of disgust for Raonic but when Bat-Agut missed break points at 4-4 in the third, I knew what was coming :/

Monfils not making much impression on Rafa so far either.

Mischa's net-charging leftie craft (where is his backswing?) vs Murray probably the best bits I've seen.

Once again, my cursory interest in the WTA means another huge story passes me by - Lucic-Baroni? As in the 1999 Wimb semifinalist? 16 years between tour titles! Kimiko Date only managed 13. I do vaguely remember the win over Bartoli at Wimbledon, the year before Bartoli was champ. But I'm still not sure I joined the dots with...last century.

Monfils pinches the 3rd set, serving out from 0/40. 6-1 Nadal in the 4th would be the likeliest outcome here, but maybe...

lmao Monfils just broke in the fourth with a dead net cord. playing really well though now

yes, Lucic as in the '90s teenage prodigy, Wimbledon '99 SFist and domestic abuse survivor who spent most of the '00s off the tour, financially unable to afford to travel. She's beaten a top 10 player at each Slam since her comeback - Halep at RG '15 and the USO '14 as well.

your QF line-ups, which don't make me very enthusiastic. no counterpunchers left in the women's draw :(

Coco Vandeweghe (USA) vs. (7) Garbine Muguruza (ESP)
(13) Venus Williams (USA) vs. (24) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS)
(5) Karolina Pliskova (CZE) vs. Mirjana Lucic-Baroni (CRO)
(9) Johanna Konta (GBR) vs. (2) Serena Williams (USA)

Mischa Zverev (GER) vs. (17) Roger Federer (SUI)
(4) Stan Wawrinka (SUI) vs. (12) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA)
(9) Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs. (3) Milos Raonic (CAN)
(11) David Goffin (BEL) vs. (15) Grigor Dimitrov (BUL)

I really need Muguruza to destroy Vandeweghe

im def a sucker for lefties w quirky games so may try to get up early tomorrow am for mischa/fed

I was able to see some of fed beat kei, kei had to work so hard to get that fourth set that I am not surprised the 5th wasn't v close

dimitrov knocking out gasquet had the us announcers speculating dimitrov could get into the top-5 in the rankings by year end...lol it was impressive but pump the brakes on that imo

I really need Muguruza to destroy Vandeweghe

― (The caption: “fine dining.”) (DJP), Monday, January 23, 2017 3:23 PM (forty-seven minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Seconded. So annoyed with Vinci and Parmentier for not doing it especially as Vandeweghe was gagging for her life vs the latter. In the Bouchard match it was very weird to see Eugenie be the more likeable player on court by far!

Did you see Tennis Twitter dragging the fuck out of Isner for his Trump support the other day Dan?

I'm really fascinated by how Mischa and Sascha Zverev have such completely different games. I know a decade separates them but there's just nothing in common about their strokes, styles, approaches, anything.

Did you see Tennis Twitter dragging the fuck out of Isner for his Trump support the other day Dan?

I missed that. IMO fuck that dude (my lingering tolerance of him has pretty much evaporated)

faster courts really are having a big impact aren't they. feels like a different tournament
no way Venus or Federer are looking this imperious on slow hardcourts, for example

man monfils was 57 winners 64 UEs and rafa was 21 and 27

vandeweghe bagelling garbi T_T

UGHHHHHHHHH

Fedal/Serenus finals was not the way I intended the world to go back to the mid-late '00s, but it's a start.

just for lex:

Roddick said he has been a Clijsters fan since they first met.

“I think we were 13 and at a world youth cup event in Japan,” Roddick said. “Try being more awkward than a 12- or 13-year-old at a dance with a bunch of teams from all around the world who may not speak your language and may not understand your culture and may not whatever.

“But there was this one girl who was going around and just being really friendly to everyone and went out there and started dancing by herself and just couldn’t have cared less. She was just going to let kindness rule, and then all the sudden, five minutes later, everyone was out there with her.”

That girl was Clijsters.

Lucic-Baroni takes the first set! At work unfortunately but thrilled by this scoreline.

took 3 sets but she's done it! Such a pleasing result

When Konya went up 3-1 in the second I said to myself "this is over, Serena is going to win the next 5 games in a row"

Then she did and I was like "lol, knew it"

I like Konya tho

Mirjanaaaaaaa

Stupid body started falling asleep halfway through the second set (at which point tbf I thought Pliskova would come back)

The theme of this year's SFs is "the '90s teenage prodigies who got me into tennis, now in their thirties"

It's really apt that Lucic plays Serena next because they're the same age and in 1997-98 they were spoken of in the same breath as the potential future greats of the tour, and then their careers diverged massively, and a good part of that is because one had a loving family who protected her from the pitfalls of being a teenage prodigy, and the other had an abusive father who beat her and when she fled had no institutional support and got treated like trash by her own management company

Classic Rafa. Raonic has six set points, Rafa saves the lot, takes the set on his first. Up 2-0.

Oh, and I see Raonic DF'd one of those SPs away.

watch Wawrinka play spoiler now

Wawrinka-Dimitrov final may be good. Fed-Nadal final could be spectacular (but I understand the oh-no-not-again feelings) but I don't think my nerves could stand it.

I'd be interested in watching Fed/Nadal just because it's been so long, it's the fawning nostalgia that will accompany it that I can't stand

Dimitrov has owned Wawrinka in recent years, weirdly. Not that I think Dimitrov is capable of rising to the occasion in his first Slam final. I mean, I give him 0.00001% chance against Nadal.

On the women's side the most important thing is that VENUS STOPS THIS NONSENSE. Either a double bagel, or a comeback saving a zillion match points that breaks Vandeweghe's career for good.

lex OTM, Vandeweghe must be destroyed

It is really hard as someone who by default wants to root for all of the players from his country to have ppl like Isner and Vandeweghe in the mix. Basically, the Williams sisters can never retire and I need the currently-rising young guns on the men's side to pull through and take over.

I've got no time for the awful nostalgia which is inevitable for a Fed/Nadal re-match - please Stan don't let us down.

xp the female US players other than Vandeweghe have all impressed me politically of late - Keys, Hampton, Min, several of the ITF-level players and especially Nicole Gibbs have made some pretty smart, on-point statements. I haven't seen anything like that from any of the men except retired James Blake, who has been extraordinarily patient with some of his compatriots lately.

On the subject of rising US men, you all heard about 19yo Taylor Fritz becoming a daddy six months after his sudden marriage last summer? Such sensible decisions being made there.

Watching even a little bit of the coverage on ESPN has been miserable: They've been doing their damnedest to try to make Vandeweghe in any way likable, and it is just immediately exhausting. She's also featured in a biometrics ad that has been airing incessantly on Tennis Channel during their coverage, so it has tried my patience to watch any of this event live. Completely with lex that I want Venus to win in a way that makes Vandeweghe reconsider her every choice moving forward.

I'm pulling decisively for a Federer v Dmitrov final, but would honestly be fine were Stan to win the title.

seems weird to root against two of the greatest players of all time meeting in a GS final when there are no other compelling competing storylines

the only reason I'm not emphatically rooting against a Fedal final is because I'm not really a fan of Wawrinka or Dimitrov (but I'd much rather see their games square off against each other in the final). If Monfils or Nishikori had only made it...

I was also rooting for Monfils and Nishikori

same

hard for me to recall/believe i saw lucic baroni lose in qualifiers just last august :o

o damn, that loss was to Sakkari !

nishikori is trending down imo, i had thought he could contend for a major this yr but i would back off that hard currently

espn tennis coverage is always bad; compared w how the cover the us open, this is a dream

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS

18 years after their first ever meeting on tour - here in R2 in 1998!

Thank goodness for Venus Williams.

Fed two sets up. Can't watch this - how it's going? Stats are not suggesting a great match (UEs>Winners, average serve %age) but that can be deceptive.

couldn't watch the match because of work, but I just caught the Venus/Coco highlights - lol/smdh @ Coco's sore loser handshake at the net afterwards. girl, bye.

xp Fed's looking in control under pressure rather than peaking particularly - his net-rushing is keeping Wawrinka off-balance and it feels like Wawrinka doesn't have time to set up as he'd like. Federer's errors haven't come at crucial times.

As I type that Federer gets broken thanks to a bunch of errors obv

Going down two sets loosened Stan up, he's hitting much more freely and making fewer errors now. Now up two breaks in the fourth and serving it out.

Nothing about my post is true any more

wow, Fed broken for the third time in a row. his timing and serve has completely deserted him.

Fed stops the rot with a break back. All about steadying the serve now.

like that.

I'm trying to calm myself with the notion that Fed has - against the odds - defended his 2016 points here, which is a good bedrock on which to build the year, keeps him in the top 20 through the spring probably, etc. This is the line that Fed would peddle after a defeat, most likely. All good, nice to be back, yada yada. But, damn, I really want him to get that 18th Slam.

Stan just PEAKED to break for 5-4. Three incredible winners in that game

wau Stan

My little live scores app runs Bet365 odds along the bottom (annoyingly). *Still* they have Fed favourite. I don't think so.

I really want Fed to win but at the same time... lol.

I didn't realise that Wawrinka has never beaten Fed on anything other than clay (Monte Carlo 2009 & 2014, Roland Garros 2015).

Huge hold for 2-1 for Fed

His 3-2 hold was huge too and it paid off, Wawrinka breaks himself with a DF

yoow @ that stan double

First AO final since 2010 for Fed

28th Slam final.

Imagine if Dimitrov of all people played spoiler now

a Dimitrov/Fed final would be fascinating in a Luke vs Darth Vader kinda way. but I have no faith in the kid against a motivated Rafa.

If Dimitrov beats Fed and Nadal back-to-back to win a Slam - well, he can dine out on that for the rest of his life. Never mind that they're past their peak.

Liked Fed's comment in the after-match interview about wanting to play a charity match with Nadal a few months back but all they could manage was mini-tennis with the kids.

Guess 2005 was a happier time for many of us...might as well travel back this w/e.

Dimi failing to take chances to level this... following the pattern of Rafa's QF vs Raonic so far.

I've just realised that BBC has *no* live TV coverage of this. Guess I'll be looking for dodgy streams this weekend.

this is the stream of choice atm: http://videostream.dn.ua/videopage/videoPage.php?g=OTcxOTY%E2%84%96f&c=en&i=eWl2bW9iZGlzaA%E2%84%96f%E2%84%96f

The four consecutive breaks, two ceded on DFs, with Dimitrov blowing four SPs were a pretty hilarious passage of play

Pinches the second set!

Thanks for the tip, Lex. Probably can't do that at work, mind.

I can't believe Dimitrov won that set after all that lmao

this kind of feels like a Fedal match already, right down to the part where Nadal just wore Dimitrov down with sheer will.

Only reading the blow-by-blow and, yeah, from 5-5 in the t-b, Dimi dominates two rallies and loses both.

tbh I've felt like more rallies have been about Nadal dominating and Dimitrov scrambling - his defence has been spectacular at times

i was only able to watch for ~15 minutes or so before having to come to work but dimitrov might have to sellout for more winners imo

This is a bit like 2009 - Nadal in epic slugfest vs Verdasco with Fed already safely in the final with 24 hours' to spare. But Nadal showed no sign of fatigue on the Sunday on that occasion - it was Fed who fell away.

Except Dimi is going to win the whole thing, right?

That was the most mentally strong set I have ever seen Dimitrov play

20min into set five and they're still in game two. :0

it's quite brilliant atm

How the hell did Dimitrov win that point?! Or that one!

As much as I hate the "live odds" thing, it was funny to see Dimi become slight favourite for the first time in the whole match at 3-4 15/40. Gone by deuce.

Fucking hell.

That net cord

Have we come so far for friggin' Nadal to win anyway.

Sigh

Receptionist had Eurosport on. Saw the last game. Aargh.

Outstanding match. The final won't be half as good or as competitive, I bet.

;_;

Annoyance tempered by slight relief as I had money on Nadal. Weird to say that was the most mentally strong match I've ever seen Dimitrov play when he lost in the end anyway but he surprised me many times during it.

So the TBT Slam gives us the first ever Slam with Serena/Venus AND Federer/Nadal finals...

not sure why it only just occurred to me once this ended that I should've gone down to watch the end in my gym or breakfast café

prob the 4 names the casual tennis fan or even just the casual sports follower knows best still standing

xp after Wimbledon 2008

60 Grand Slam titles between them. o_O

On the one hand, this is kind of a boring matchup for anyone who has been an avid follower for the past two decades and has already seen these matchups time and time again.

On the other hand, the fact that we're getting this again in a Slam final given the ages of everyone involved is mind-boggling.

Also, congrats to Mattek-Sands and Safarova.

[eyes emoji] and Mattek-Sands' dodgy attempt to get a TUE that she's refusing to talk about though

http://au.eurosport.com/tennis/australian-open/2017/roger-federer-banishes-doubts-over-his-form-with-classy-showing-on-and-off-the-court_sto6023867/story.shtml (scroll down)

haha I hadn't heard about that

as far as I can tell, she hooked up with a doctor with a very shady record on drugs and attempted - twice - to get an illegitimate TUE for a steroid that the ITF passed but WADA knocked back immediately

lol @ no comments for this

still a great achievement. how much longer can it go on?

I was on Twitter!

23 Slams won under four US presidents, amazing. Serena's the indisputable GOAT now. The Court record is meaningless and anyone bringing it up only does so to minimise Serena's achievement.

Sad for Venus because she's less likely to get a chance like this again - but she's proved she can still be a threat when her health and the court speed permit. I wonder where Serena's motivation goes from here? She's put so much into chasing these records but neither does she look ready to quit.

Girls' champ Marta Kostyuk is the first 14yo junior Slam winner since Laura Robson, Wimbledon 2008.

Their speeches were adorable. Venus is an international treasure. The Court "record" will be not a record for much longer.

Margaret Court's record 'meaningless'? Her opinions are abonimable, and her tennis was played in a different era but on the page the records are remarkable.

Anyway, its wonderful that Serena finally did it - I think everyone was in doubt for a total of about 10 mins about it.

Not exactly looking forward to tomorrow - it'll be weird seeing these two again. Pretty unique tho'. You'd think Nadal but because they are both coming back its a tough one to predict.

Court won a bazillion AO titles when barely anyone played the event

On paper you might discount 1960, 61 but did hardly anyone play in 62 where she also won the French and US open titles?

Also winning consistently throughout the decade and a calendar slam in 1970 with a doubles at the Aus and US open too - I mean its just mind-boggling.

On serve so far: Nadal seems a bit more dominant but no one taken to deuce yet.

#oneLastEffort come on Fed!

First great great rally from Fed - 2BPs

Gets it!!

Great BH for 2 SPs

Aces out!!

Nadal breaks at the first opportunity - might be in for the long haul

Nadal fully in control in the 2nd - a flurry of BPs

1-1 set all, as soon as Fed won the 1st set he also lost the 2nd.

one.more.shot - into the net for a BP rafa

LOL serve

as in 2nd serve ace!! now a GB for quite a hold.

GP

he saved all the 4 BPs against him with aces...wins it with a BH

amazing little half-volley FH winner from Fed - BP!!

awesome!

Fed's BH has been excellent tonight. That forehand has been so up and down, we've had Shiterer and Shankerer and Jesus-Fed all in one.

yeah, and a BH winner just now for 15-30

Good jesus stuff there - 2 BPs

saved, then another BP with a great FH, Nadal aces to save that

Fuck me - had to play like a god to get a game point then good serve to set up the winner: 3-1

Love service hold - pressure back on!

and breaks from 30-0 down. Amazing BH return winner. 5-1

One.more.set.

firing them off into the sun - on serve but if this carries on for much longer the greatest will be greater.

went to get milk and wtf happened

I should not have gone to get milk

miracle counterpunching - and fed applauds

one.more.set - for both of them

Brutal 1st game on both sides - Fed has one more BP to save

and broken :-(

what a response, 2xBP back

Saves 3 BPs and gets through

another BH for another BP chance - come on!!

fed ends with a bullet BH for the longest rally in the match

Nadal's resistance vs Fed's is such a great winding of the clock back. Nostalgia evaporates.

Another BP but will he take it?

missed the line - back on serve!!

rattling through the next game - lets believe once again

jesus @ that return on the 2nd serve - another 3 BPs saved!

jesus christ - 26 shot god rally - will this break rafa

no

never in doubt lmao

and then finally finally finally

to serve for the match

Hes like 58-42 on points this set. About time he got something to show.

Nadal is such an incredible big point player.

jesus FH for deuce

CP!!

wow at that challenge

back to the deuce

ace for another cp

lol challenge

its in! 18th slam title - the greatest of them all!

I was way too tense to look at this thread, much less post on it, for the duration of that match. Astonishing stuff.

Lol at Fed blocking his fanboy Goffin from the top ten

God Basil Zempilas is an inept TV host and an embarrassing MC

Missed most of the final set cause I was chasing a story but yay, old man Fed! Fabulous match.

Sorely needed this, and Serena's win, after the utterly dispiriting news of the past couple of days.

Yeah its lifted my spirits too.

AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2017 [Started by johnny crunch in January 2017, last updated twenty-one minutes ago by xyzzzz__] 142 new answers
What age do you intend to retire? [Started by Bob Six (bobbysix) in July 2006, last updated one hour ago by Dr Drudge (Bob Six)] 3 new answers

"I decide" -- Johan Cruyff

Match definitely came alive at the right time - not a lot of drama until the fifth set, each set decided by an early lead, but it delivered and then some once it was there.

First Slam champion to have won three five-setters en route since Gaston Gaudio, RG 2004. Illustrious company.

This match goes quite some way to pushing back against the Nadal h2h being the weak point in Federer's resumé - at this stage of their careers, to overcome that in 5 sets in a Slam final is a real statement. Fed's BH was a revelation, after 12 years he finally solved Nadal's topspin into that corner all day long by taking it ridic early all the time. His FH reminded me of Venus's yesterday, either an astounding winner or a terrible error, but obviously his ratio was a bit better...

couple of points to take away:

- wonder if the TBT Slam will be seen as a last hurrah or a return of the titans in six months' time? Could go either way
- wonder if tennis as a major sport might actually die when in five years time Raonic and Pliskova are contesting Slam finals while thousands of fans would rather pay top dollar to watch Federer vs Nadal legends' exhibitions

I doubt raonic will be at the top of the game in 5 years. The 22 and under group is going to obliterate that generation.

Federer backhand just vicious today. Every now and then he'd decide OK, now I'm putting rocket boosters on it, SEEYA. So glad I tuned in. Rafa looked properly upset, poor ol Rafa.

The baseline rallies were so intense - maximum effort, each guy punishing the ball - and then somehow Fed would see an angle, take his backhand early - done

I feel like Federer figured out that BH a while ago - he beat Nadal indoors at the WTFs twice playing like that (once three and love). Great vicious early ball sweeps off the high ball. I don't think he got much of a chance while he's been regularly outperforming Nadal in the late autumn of their careers (particularly the last 2.5 years) to test it out and improve that h2h.

So pleased. Fed seemed doomed at the very start of the third and after that horrible fourth.

Federer was able to hit the backhand like that because the court was fast. That's always what it's about with this matchup.

The interesting wrinkle to me is that instead of slicing the backhand in defensive positions he used moonballs and it was very effective

He also seemed to hit every return deep and right at Rafa's feet

I felt Rafa didn't change up his gameplan much in response - thought he was on to something at the start of the second set when he started coming to net and varying height/depth a lot, but he didn't really continue that

The 22 and under group is going to obliterate that generation.

― Matt Armstrong, Sunday, January 29, 2017 2:42 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I need them to start getting on w/it. But Thiem is killing his career by overplaying, I think Kyrgios will win Slams but he won't be a dominant figure, the first wave of 1996 kids have all turned out to be permanently injured (Kokkinakis, Chung) or not that good (Coric), and who knows what effect fatherhood will have on Fritz's career. Rublev is insanely talented but has such a poor attitude. Tiafoe's technique is sooooo ugly. Opelka will reprise Isner's career.

Zverev is the best hope to me but he'll turn 20 without having been to the second week of a Slam. Some of the teenagers look really promising - Ruud, Shapovalov, Auger-Aliassime - but they're a while off being on tour...

The WTA seems to be in much the same situation re: a paucity of young stars. Bencic and Bellis both seem injury-prone, sadly. Aiava looks good, as well as her fellow 2000 girls Andreescu, Yastremska and Pervushina.

Or maybe the new model of "underwhelming results until your mid-20s, bag 1-2 Slams" is really here to stay and what we've seen is the last of the truly dominant champions