2019 Australian Open - Men's Singles - Discussion Thread

Who will win AO?

  • Novak Djokovic

    Votes: 54 39.4%

  • Roger Federer

    Votes: 29 21.2%

  • Alexander Zverev

    Votes: 4 2.9%

  • Dominic Thiem

    Votes: 4 2.9%

  • Rafael Nadal

    Votes: 21 15.3%

  • Stan Wawrinka

    Votes: 4 2.9%

  • Andy Murray

    Votes: 8 5.8%

  • Kei Nishikori

    Votes: 2 1.5%

  • Karen Khachanov

    Votes: 3 2.2%

  • Other

    Votes: 8 5.8%
  • Total voters
    137
RF-18

RF-18

Talk Tennis Guru
Atennisone said:
I can't really figure out what you mean by more time?
Click to expand...

That he will have more time to implement his game and groundstrokes. What Federer does so well against Berdych is by taking away the time from him. He takes the ball So early and often right on the baseline.

Nadal stands a bit farther back and he doesn't take the ball as early as Fed, giving Berdych more time to position himself but also hit the ball. I think if anything that is what will work in Berdychs favour if you compare him when playing against Fed. Federer takes the racket out of his hands, while I think against Rafa Berdych will play on his terms much more.
 
Last edited:
A

AndyM

Legend
you guys really think that feds going to win this whole thing when it comes to playing players that are step up in class like the dollar joke that you really think the mighty fed 38 years old is going to beat them
 
icedevil0289

icedevil0289

G.O.A.T.
RF-18 said:
That he will have more time to implement his game and groundstrokes. What Federer does so well against Berdych is by taking away the time from him. He takes the ball So early and often right on the baseline.

Nadal stands a bit farther back and he doesn't take the ball as early as Fed, giving Berdych more time to position himself but also hit the ball. I think if anything that is what will work in Berdychs favour if you compare him when playing against Fed. Federer takes the racket out of his hands, while I think against Rafa Berdych will play on his terms much more.
Click to expand...

is berdych the favorite going in against diego, I assume. I know diego struggled today
 
RF-18

RF-18

Talk Tennis Guru
icedevil0289 said:
is berdych the favorite going in against diego, I assume. I know diego struggled today
Click to expand...

Definitely. I was switching between Diego and Basilashivilis matches yesterday and Diego didn't really impress. Solid mover and baseliner but the faster court is not good for him. Serve as we already know is pretty bad. Can't see him bother Berdych too much on these conditions. Berdych will blow him off the court.
 
V

Vamos Rafa Nadal

Guest
My all-time favorite will play my favorite next gen player Alex de Minaur. Oh well - I will be rooting for Nadal, who so far has played two flawless matches! Maybe Rafa can finally win his 2nd Australian Open? I so want him to be the first of the big 3 to win two each at the Grand Slams! :)
 
D

Deleted member 763691

Guest
McEenroe said this court is slower than the last 2 years, and it did look like Federer was struggling to hit winners vs Evans from the baseline (Federer hit plenty of winners, but mostly at the net).
Got to favor Rafael here, because even last year in faster conditions Rafael led Cilic 2 sets to 1 before injury, and i remember Cilic was hitting as hard as he could and Rafael was still getting balls back comfortably:)
 
V

Vamos Rafa Nadal

Guest
Where can I find the draw? I want to know who Djokovic would most likely have to play in each round, same for Federer.
 
D

Deleted member 763691

Guest
AndyM said:
Both fed and Nadal get a cupcake second-rounders while Joco has to play Tsonga seriously
Click to expand...
Djokovic retrieves better than anyone, and Tsonga is known for making huge amounts of unforced errors, so it looks like a beatdown in the making:)
 
clayqueen

clayqueen

Talk Tennis Guru
Heidi4tennis said:
actually i think Berdych is the only player in the top 100 with 0% chance of beating Rafael....
because Berdych lost 17 in a row to Rafael, and Rafael would have felt like an absolute fool when he lost to Berdych in 2015, you'll see Rafael win in straight sets if they meet again!
and do you realize Rafael lost in straight sets to Wawrinka on clay in 2015?
and do you realize Rafael lost in straight sets to Murray on clay in 2015?
and of course Djokovic at Roland Garros....
that tells you all you need to know about the 2015 version of Rafael:)
Click to expand...

Rafael Nadal a victim of his own great success
21 May, 2015

  • Greg GarberSenior Writer
Last year, Nadal's issues were largely physical. He had a pretty fair first half of the 2014 season, winning four tournaments, including his ninth at Roland Garros in appearances. Moreover, it was his 14th career Grand Slam singles title, tying him with Sampras and leaving him only three behind Federer. The effort, however, left him physically spent. After losing to Australian teenager Nick Kyrgios (ranked No. 144) in the fourth round at Wimbledon, he missed nearly three months with a right wrist injury. He played only three tournaments the rest of the year and lost three of seven matches, the last to a 17-year-old named Borna Coric.

This season, the consensus -- with confirmation from Rafa himself -- is that they've been mostly mental.

Nadal told reporters his performance was "a disaster" last month in Barcelona, after losing to Fabio Fognini in the third round for the second time this year. "My forehand has been my biggest virtue. But today my forehand was vulgar; it wasn't a forehand worthy of my ranking and career."

According to ESPN analyst Brad Gilbert, who also coached Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick and Murray, Nadal has lost his aura of invincibility.

"When you're playing from strength, guys are just hoping not to get killed, hoping to just be a factor," Gilbert said from his home in northern California. "He's said he's struggling mentally, which top athletes never do, and has had a tough time closing out matches. Fognini beats him a couple of times and all of a sudden guys aren't losing to him before they come out of the locker room. That's a big edge to lose."

Losing faith

Rafael Nadal is not hitting the ball with same the authority that led him to a host of records. Julian Finney/Getty Images
Nadal's somewhat unorthodox forehand, as mighty a shot as there is in tennis, is also the window into his soul. When it's working, it is the emphatic byproduct of his confidence.

"It's been a very negative week," Nadal continued. "I thought I would be able to find consistency, but it hasn't happened. Until I sort out the ups and downs I'm suffering this season, I will continue to be vulnerable."

And that was exactly how he looked last week in Rome, going out against Stan Wawrinka in a straight-sets quarterfinal.

http://www.espn.co.uk/tennis/french15/story/_/id/12913931/french-open-rafael-nadal-crisis-confidence
 
V

Vamos Rafa Nadal

Guest
alexio88 said:
if understanding correctly it looks like rafa has the easiest)
Click to expand...
Why do you think that? I hope you are right, just curious as to why you think it?

Who do you think would have the best chance against Federer and also Djokovic in their draws?
 
A

AndyM

Legend
Who was the poster last year who said bukit Federer and the Patriots both winning and the Patriots lost the Superbowl well I'm betting that neither fed nor the Patriots win it this year
 
Krish872007

Krish872007

Talk Tennis Guru
Vamos Rafa Nadal said:
Why do you think that? I hope you are right, just curious as to why you think it?

Who do you think would have the best chance against Federer and also Djokovic in their draws?
Click to expand...

My $0.02 - of all the people who "could" beat Fed in his half of the draw, Nadal himself obviously has the best chance. For Djokovic it's tougher to say, maybe Medvedev or Zverev assuming they make it that far.
 
D

Deleted member 763691

Guest
alexio88 said:
if understanding correctly it looks like rafa has the easiest)
Click to expand...
in 2017 Rafael played Dimitrov in the Australian Open semi-final, and it was the most physical match I've ever seen.
Rafael will have to play him this year in the QF, and Federer in the SF:)

Djokovic:
R128: Krueger
R64: Tsonga
R32: Shapovalov
R16: Medvedev
QF: Nishikori
SF: Zverev
F: Nadal/Federer

Nadal:
R128: Duckworth
R64: Ebden
R32: de Minaur
R16: Berdych/Schwartzman
QF: Dimitrov
SF: Federer
F: Djokovic/Zverev

Federer:
R128: Istomin
R64: Evans
R32: Fritz
R16: Tsitsipas/Basilashvili
QF: Khachanov/RBA/Cilic
SF: Nadal
F: Djokovic/Zverev
 
alexio

alexio

G.O.A.T.
Heidi4tennis said:
in 2017 Rafael played Dimitrov in the Australian Open semi-final, and it was the most physical match I've ever seen.
Rafael will have to play him this year in the QF, and Federer in the SF:)
Click to expand...
dimitrov this year is a pale shadow of dimitrov 2 years ago, and with fed it will have few troubles for rafa to go through the final))
 
alexio

alexio

G.O.A.T.
Vamos Rafa Nadal said:
Why do you think that? I hope you are right, just curious as to why you think it?

Who do you think would have the best chance against Federer and also Djokovic in their draws?
Click to expand...
don't see any big threats for djoko and nadal in their halfs..maybe only berdych but it's only with great kind of play like in 1st 2 rounds and plus having a bright head without mental demons..only then he can beat rafa)
 
D

Deleted member 763691

Guest
alexio88 said:
dimitrov this year is a pale shadow of dimitrov 2 years ago, and with fed it will have few troubles for rafa to go through the final))
Click to expand...
Dimitrov didn't even win a title in 2016, so its not like he was a contender for 2017 Australian Open:)
but i guess he was better, he was ranked 15th, whereas now he's ranked 21st.
 
D

Deleted member 763691

Guest
alexio88 said:
don't see any big threats for djoko and nadal in their halfs..maybe only berdych but it's only with great kind of play like in 1st 2 rounds and plus having a bright head without mental demons..only then he can beat rafa)
Click to expand...
but its hard to take Berdych seriously, he lost 17 in a row to Rafael:)
i mean the only reason why Berdych beat Rafael in 2015 is because everybody was beating Rafael back then - Fognini beat Rafael 3 times in 2015, and Rafael lost to Murray/Wawrinka/Djokovic in straight sets on clay.
and you'd think this year Rafael will be so excited to play his favorite bunny and restore order, that Berdych won't even win a set.
 
alexio

alexio

G.O.A.T.
Heidi4tennis said:
but its hard to take Berdych seriously, he lost 17 in a row to Rafael:)
i mean the only reason why Berdych beat Rafael in 2015 is because everybody was beating Rafael back then - Fognini beat Rafael 3 times in 2015, and Rafael lost to Murray/Wawrinka/Djokovic in straight sets on clay.
and you'd think this year Rafael will be so excited to play his favorite bunny and restore order, that Berdych won't even win a set.
Click to expand...
i think he has better chances in rafa half than others that's all i think
 
icedevil0289

icedevil0289

G.O.A.T.
Krish872007 said:
My $0.02 - of all the people who "could" beat Fed in his half of the draw, Nadal himself obviously has the best chance. For Djokovic it's tougher to say, maybe Medvedev or Zverev assuming they make it that far.
Click to expand...

obviously fed goes in as the favorite but do you think cilic could pose any problems for fed?
 
V

Vamos Rafa Nadal

Guest
Heidi4tennis said:
in 2017 Rafael played Dimitrov in the Australian Open semi-final, and it was the most physical match I've ever seen.
Rafael will have to play him this year in the QF, and Federer in the SF:)

Djokovic:
R128: Krueger
R64: Tsonga
R32: Shapovalov
R16: Medvedev
QF: Nishikori
SF: Zverev
F: Nadal/Federer

Nadal:
R128: Duckworth
R64: Ebden
R32: de Minaur
R16: Berdych/Schwartzman
QF: Dimitrov
SF: Federer
F: Djokovic/Zverev

Federer:
R128: Istomin
R64: Evans
R32: Fritz
R16: Tsitsipas/Basilashvili
QF: Khachanov/RBA/Cilic
SF: Nadal
F: Djokovic/Zverev
Click to expand...
I like all of the players that Djokovic would potentially play. imo Federer has the easiest of the draws of the three, but he isn't playing great this tournament so far. If there is going to be a big upset early I think it's Djokovic who could be ousted - Tsonga, Shapovalov, Medvedev, Nishikori and Zverev are all players who could do it. If Nadal doesn't get injured I think he will make it to the finals. Maybe it will be Nadal vs. Zverev?
 
A

AndyM

Legend
What are you guys think of Milos vs Wawa? is Wawa back to previous levels I'm not so sure I'm going to go with round inch in four sets
 
S

SeeingDusk

Hall of Fame
what's up with agut? does he just like giving his opponents a glimmer of hope from coming back from 0-2 sets down, only to take it away? god, agut loves to torture his opponents.
 
Freddy Cat

Freddy Cat

Professional
SeeingDusk said:
what's up with agut? does he just like giving his opponents a glimmer of hope from coming back from 0-2 sets down, only to take it away? god, agut loves to torture his opponents.
Click to expand...
He must get pretty damn frustrating to play at times -- especially when he goes into wall-mode. Same could be said for both of his opponents so far, though.
 
CiscoPC600

CiscoPC600

Hall of Fame
Man, I'm pumped for that Tsitsipas and Basilashvili match. Now that they shook off the cobwebs, I'm hoping to see each of them in peak form for a great match.

Hopefully it's on at a reasonable hour here in PST.
 
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