Tennis Fan States63
Hall of Fame
Michelsen had his opening but the door closed quickly with those two "just long" errors......Zverev looking like he'll move on without much drama.
2024 Australian Open (Men’s Singles)
- Thread starter Rattie
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- australian open
chjtennis
G.O.A.T.
Looks like Michelsen is getting a lesson. It's a big jump in level from where he's been. He seems to have tough time adjusting to the pace of top level tennis. This loss will serve as a great lesson for his progress. I think he has a bright future. Unlike Shelton, Fritz and some other young US players, I think he has more humble attitude and that should do him lots of good things.
Rattie
Legend
He is my fav player apart from Nadal. Nothing would please me more than seeing him win this tournament. I’m just saying he did not look in great form today. Hopefully he will be a lot better from now on.
Move
Hall of Fame
If Kecs comes to play he can round in form for the final stage
ibbi
G.O.A.T.
Medvedev hates playing Hubie. He's one of the worst matchups that he has. I wouldn't feel confident on that one. Though I also wouldn't overlook either Borges or Cazaux with the weeks they've had.
Zverev can always just suddenly turn it on, but you'd have to heavily favour the boy.
Sinner and Rublev have both looked very good (post R1 in Andrey's case) but Rublev has beaten better guys. Still have to heavily favour Jannik. Though neither of them has it that easy in the next round either.
Top quarter should end in under 2 hours. Not sure Stef will even win the Fritzipas match in the next round tbh.
ActualTennisPlayer
Semi-Pro
So prior to the tournament, some posters where complaining how djokovic had such an Easy draw and Alcaraz a tough one. Is that still the case?
Tommy Paul didn’t make it and Kecmanovic must be tired. I find Mannarino a more challenging match.
Zverev has higher potential than tsistipas, but Zverev looked terrible before today’s game and Tsitsipas has been better at AO in the past. I say it’s a wash.
Sinner is looking more dangerous than Medvedev.
Tommy Paul didn’t make it and Kecmanovic must be tired. I find Mannarino a more challenging match.
Zverev has higher potential than tsistipas, but Zverev looked terrible before today’s game and Tsitsipas has been better at AO in the past. I say it’s a wash.
Sinner is looking more dangerous than Medvedev.
chuckersthenut
Hall of Fame
Dimitrov out....no reason to watch this thing. I think I'll follow Andreeva
James P
G.O.A.T.
Post Third Round Update
Tennis Abstract Elo Predictions AO2024 (https://www.tennisabstract.com/current/2024AustralianOpenMenForecast.html):
Djokovic 33.8%
Sinner 29.4%
Medvedev 14.9%
Alcaraz 14.0%
Zverev 2.8%
Rublev 1.7%
Hurkacz 1.6%
De Minaur 0.6%
Fritz 0.6%
Tsitsipas 0.5%
Nobody else with even a 0.1% chance.
nolefam_2024
Talk Tennis Guru
Great
Anyone watching just for Dimitrov had to stop watching after Week 1. Dimitrov is never going to win a slam.
Medvedev will eat Borges alive. Cazaux has a much better chance of upsetting Hurkacz, he was impressive against Rune and Griekspoor.
Zardoz7/12
Hall of Fame
I'm very disappointed in Dimitrov's performance, his form since the US Open was of a top ten level and he won his first title since 2017, things looked promising.
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Zardoz7/12
Hall of Fame
Norrie's net game vs Ruud was extremely impressive, I've never seen Norrie play like that, yes he has unorthodox strokes but his net game was second to none.
TennisFan3
Talk Tennis Guru
And the match went to 5 sets in the final and Novak barely lost. It took a lot of luck for Alcaraz and Novak making stupid errors in set 2 for Alcaraz to win.
At AO, Novak is harder to beat than he is at Wimbledon.
Ray Mercer
Hall of Fame
That is just a brutal loss for Dimitrov and is pretty much the story of his career losing to a guy that nobody even knows.
TennisFan3
Talk Tennis Guru
Alcaraz has shown a lot of limitations in his game. He has been exposed on hardcourts and the novelty factor he had is gone. His R3 match IMO was disappointing and he would have easily been beaten by Novak and Sinner in this form and perhaps even by Medvedev.
Alcaraz is young and he can add to his game but at this time he won't win any more slams in the very near future. The first one he won was when Nadal was injured and Novak didn't play and the last one at Wimbledon was when Novak had lapses in set 2 and really got surprised by Alcaraz.
I would think Alcaraz's next slam won't come until late 2025. Perhaps not until 2026.
A
ALCARAZWON
Guest
I'm surprised so many supposed tennis fans don't realize that you only play as well as you need to in the 1st week of slams, and Carlos played well enough to win 61 61 because he knew his opponent was handing him an easy win.
Even Nadal had this issue and played his worst tennis in the 1st week of slams, so no matter how "driven" you are, you need your opponent to bring the best out of you.
Carlos is good enough to win about 3 slams this year, and Djokovic may have only won ONE slam last year if Carlos played the AO and didn't cramp in the 3rd Set of RG Final....
Even Nadal had this issue and played his worst tennis in the 1st week of slams, so no matter how "driven" you are, you need your opponent to bring the best out of you.
Carlos is good enough to win about 3 slams this year, and Djokovic may have only won ONE slam last year if Carlos played the AO and didn't cramp in the 3rd Set of RG Final....
TheSlicer
Professional
luck? barely lost? alright, first djokovic was lucky alcaraz gave him the first set as a present, djokovic got basically overplayed for most of the match, and the last set alcaraz just shutted the door on him with big plays, if you call that luck, well i dont know what else to tell you
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bluetrain4
G.O.A.T.
I'm glad FAA got over his slump and won a tournament at the end of last year. But, man, that Med match was ugly. I know Med is a particularly difficult for him as he's never beaten him and it's not a good match up, but at this level you'd like to think both players have a chance to win. I NEVER got the impression that FAA could win this match. That's why I rolled over and went to bed.
socallefty
G.O.A.T.
If you don’t come to net or hit many service winners, it is hard to finish enough points to win against Medvedev. He is a solid counterpuncher who will just wait for a player like FAA to make errors.
I’ll take any opportunity (no matter how remote!) to mention Roger Federer, and …. voila!... the Aussie open has thus far provided 2 of them. I refer to Ivan Llubicic (who was shown during the Gasquet / Alcaraz match and the Rune / Cazaux match ) & Severin Luthi, seen in Rune’s box. Sight of both chaps evoked wonderful memories of THE Maestro …
Turning to the actual proceedings, it seems the Tennis Gods are out for a frolic at the AO, and amusing themselves en-route to the business end of the tournament. I refer, for example, to:
Novak looks comfortable at the pinnacle, and it will take some effort to dislodge him from it. With his eye on yet more glory, I suspect he will up his level. Adrian is unlikely to cause ripples.
Daniil has had moments of loss of focus, but is through to round 4 via a straight sets win over Auger-Aliasimme. He is looking focused and keen to progress. I haven’t seen any of Nuno Borges’ matches, but anticipate that Daniil will prevail.
Carlos is finding form steadily, and is through to the 4th round having dropped only a set. He seems focused and settled, and I anticipate that he will up-the-ante in his further matches. He’ll need to do so against Miomir Kecmanovic, who has been overcoming challenges with considerable determination and fighting spirit.
Alex De Minaur has kept his momentum and seems quietly confident as he progresses. Will a more robust challenge be a stretch too far? Andrei Rublev has steadily gained momentum too, and is looking focused and up for the challenge. Which of these 2 will keep his head to prevail?
Stefanos Tsitsipas appears to have overcome his early wobbles and has been more solid in his last 2 matches. Taylor Fritz has prevailed thus far, but I anticipate Stephanos getting through, based on nothing in particular!
Both Cam Norrie and Alex Zverev have overcome challenging competition en-route to the 4th round and both prevailed. This promises to be a well contested match.
Sorry that the following are out: Korda – seems to lack the desire to exert himself beyond his comfort zone / Dimitrov – has had a good start to the season, hoping to see him play well again soon / Rune – his potential to break through remains hampered by lack of incisiveness when he most requires it. It is not if, but when, he will settle into his game and excel – looking forward to see him find form / Paul – it was heart breaking to see him so demoralized in the 5th set in the 3rd round. I hope he’s okay.
In the doubles, pleased to see the following still playing: Salisbury / Ram; Koolhoff / Mektic; Skupski / Gonzales; Glasspool / Rojer.
Turning to the actual proceedings, it seems the Tennis Gods are out for a frolic at the AO, and amusing themselves en-route to the business end of the tournament. I refer, for example, to:
- The Wild Card Arthur Cazaux, who has steadily consolidated his form thus far and reached the 4th round beating Dere/Rune/Griekspoor. AC has displayed an attacking game with a varied array of skills and admirable composure – quite superb. He’s up against Hubert Hurkacz next – can he dismantle the HH serve?
- Adrian Mannarino who at 35 outplayed the young, hard-hitting Ben Shelton to reach the 4th round. He’s up against Novak next, and unlikely to proceed further.
Novak looks comfortable at the pinnacle, and it will take some effort to dislodge him from it. With his eye on yet more glory, I suspect he will up his level. Adrian is unlikely to cause ripples.
Daniil has had moments of loss of focus, but is through to round 4 via a straight sets win over Auger-Aliasimme. He is looking focused and keen to progress. I haven’t seen any of Nuno Borges’ matches, but anticipate that Daniil will prevail.
Carlos is finding form steadily, and is through to the 4th round having dropped only a set. He seems focused and settled, and I anticipate that he will up-the-ante in his further matches. He’ll need to do so against Miomir Kecmanovic, who has been overcoming challenges with considerable determination and fighting spirit.
Alex De Minaur has kept his momentum and seems quietly confident as he progresses. Will a more robust challenge be a stretch too far? Andrei Rublev has steadily gained momentum too, and is looking focused and up for the challenge. Which of these 2 will keep his head to prevail?
Stefanos Tsitsipas appears to have overcome his early wobbles and has been more solid in his last 2 matches. Taylor Fritz has prevailed thus far, but I anticipate Stephanos getting through, based on nothing in particular!
Both Cam Norrie and Alex Zverev have overcome challenging competition en-route to the 4th round and both prevailed. This promises to be a well contested match.
Sorry that the following are out: Korda – seems to lack the desire to exert himself beyond his comfort zone / Dimitrov – has had a good start to the season, hoping to see him play well again soon / Rune – his potential to break through remains hampered by lack of incisiveness when he most requires it. It is not if, but when, he will settle into his game and excel – looking forward to see him find form / Paul – it was heart breaking to see him so demoralized in the 5th set in the 3rd round. I hope he’s okay.
In the doubles, pleased to see the following still playing: Salisbury / Ram; Koolhoff / Mektic; Skupski / Gonzales; Glasspool / Rojer.
Novak might have escaped the hands of the great american hope but now he faces someone that could spell even more danger, the Mandarino. If the french magician decides to use all of his rings then Djoker is in big danger here.
What is worse my people, the scorching weather of down under could tag team with the magician to take down the wolf in winter since they are playing during the age of the star.
What is worse my people, the scorching weather of down under could tag team with the magician to take down the wolf in winter since they are playing during the age of the star.
djokovic the conqueror
Professional
Mannarino is Djokovic's toughest yet. He will use all his tricks and unorthodox style of tennis to throw Djokovic off his rhythm. Djokovic will have to use his stamina advantage and tire out Mannarino.
All it's, but's and maybes. There is no evidence to show he would have won Aussie open last year and hardly Novak's fault that Carlos by his own admission cramped partly due to mental stress of facing Novak at RG semi final.
Carlos may very well winn at least 2 GS's this year and Novak may win one at best as even he cannot fight off age much longer.
However, let's just see what Carlos does here and at RG and can he handle pressure of defending his Wimbledon title.
mike danny
Bionic Poster
FAA will probably never beat Med.
Ray Mercer
Hall of Fame
Exactly this. An erratic baseliner like FAA is never going to beat Medvedev from the back of the court. You would think his coaches would tell him that he needs to slice, feed junk and approach the net. That’s common sense.
sortof
Semi-Pro
His old demons were catching up with him.
TheSlicer
Professional
You cant ask him to slice if you dont teach him to slice first, about net... He isnt gonna win any match aproaching the net with his actual volleying skills
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I'm sure that he will have a chance because Medvedev has periods of decline. FAA was unlucky that Medvedev's decline didn't come to their matches.
socallefty
G.O.A.T.
I don’t think he knows how to do these things well as he never tries them. Also he has an old dinosaur like Toni Nadal in his coaching camp who has said in interviews that he doesn’t believe in the need for analytics, stats etc. and therefore probably doesn’t want him to change tactics much from match to match. That’s part of why I think FAA has fallen in the rankings since he hired him as it is the opposite of the approach of most other young players who are using a full repertoire including net play and drop shots to end points. Even Nadal changes tactics much more after he fired Toni and went with Moya who I think has helped him rejuvenate his game and make it more offensive.
Vincent-C
Hall of Fame
Lack of game flexibility is a common problem with players w/ two-handers.
There's so much they don't typically learn.. transition game, decent slice,
decent volleying to start. And it's been long enough that their coaches
don't know that stuff well, either. Luckily, Sinner has Cahill.
There's so much they don't typically learn.. transition game, decent slice,
decent volleying to start. And it's been long enough that their coaches
don't know that stuff well, either. Luckily, Sinner has Cahill.
socallefty
G.O.A.T.
Mannarino and Djokovic haven’t played since 2018 and so it is hard to know how much to take into account the 4-0 H-H in favor of Novak where he has lost only one set. Mannarino doesn’t have the weapons to hurt Djokovic to finish points quickly but he might be the type to bother/bore Djokovic like Gilles Simon used to do making Djokovic generate his own pace all the time. The grinder that Djokovic used to be didn’t mind that, but now the older Djokovic with more of an urge to finish matches quickly might get more impatient. Djokovic has not been as precise this week and is making more unforced errors and losing many long rallies while doing better with shorter points. I think it might be a competitive match but maybe the tennis might not be exciting to watch. Are we ready for 80 unforced errors from Djokovic - he once won a match against Simon with 100 UFEs.
socallefty
G.O.A.T.
This sounds like a time capsule comment from circa 2015. The tour is different now and the current generation is much more willing to slice, come to net, dropshot etc. FAA is an exception.Lack of game flexibility is a common problem with players w/ two-handers.
There's so much they don't typically learn.. transition game, decent slice,
decent volleying to start. And it's been long enough that their coaches
don't know that stuff well, either. Luckily, Sinner has Cahill.
socallefty
G.O.A.T.
Does anyone know if Borges hits flatter or has a lot of RPM on his FH? Saw only a couple of games yesterday.
We can say a lot of things about Sinner, but he is not Sizzling Sinner, ever, even when he wins. How he is Italian is beyond me.
Winners or Errors
Legend
…Austrian
Looooool! The chap clearly leaves you cold! Thanks for the laugh.
It's interesting that you /some others consider that AM can trouble ND. And loooool! regarding the conspiracy theory of the weather being in cahoots with AM.
optic yellow
Legend
Novak made "stupid" errors because Alcaraz didn't wilt on the grass like Novak was accustomed to.
Vincent-C
Hall of Fame
Why?Since Holger crashed out, team Carlos is my default, will root for "Tiny" mightily.
Vincent-C
Hall of Fame
I think Tiny will roll Kec- not that that's the outcome I want for massively grunting hype-boy.
Vincent-C
Hall of Fame
..and we all know "conspiracy theories" are never, ever true. Dr. Pangloss would have it no other way:
> In April 2010 Floyd Landis sent an e-mail to a USA Cycling official, admitting that he and other former teammates, most notably Armstrong, were guilty of doping. The following month a U.S. federal grand jury investigation into doping allegations against Armstrong was initiated. That year Armstrong finished 23rd in what he had announced, prior to the race’s start, to be his final Tour de France. He retired for a second time in February 2011 and thereafter began competing in triathlons.. <
Tennis being the pure, lily-white sport that we all know it is, such malfeasance is
unimaginable in it.. though there's *way more money* in tennis than in cycling.
| Case opinions | |
|---|---|
| Case history | |
| Lance Armstrong doping case | |
Lance Armstrong | |
| Full case name | United States Anti-Doping Agency vs. Lance Armstrong |
| Decided | August 24, 2012 |
| Subsequent action(s) |
|
| Decision by | United States Anti-Doping Agency |
| Concurrence |
|
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Vincent-C
Hall of Fame
Alky should easily win this Major, then. There has never before been such an [unenhanced] talent!
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chjtennis
G.O.A.T.
I'm disappointed he lost, but at this stage, it might not be realistic to expect him to perform well for 7 matches. I hope he does at least once this year.
Georgepeppard007
Rookie
Thought he would have won a slam when he first came on the scene, as he hits the ball and moves like Federer.
I think the difference has been his serve. Federer won so many free points under pressure with his serve, while Dimitrov actually gives away free points on his serve under pressure.
Can't point to specifics, but the Dimitrov serve motion does not look as fluid as Federer. Probably why it breaks down under pressure.
Zardoz7/12
Hall of Fame
As a neutral it would be legendary if Mannarino straight setted Djokovic in the most nonchalant fashion, Adrian wins puts his hoodie back on, refuses to be interviewed and goes back to his hotel room. .
I think the Men's draw needs a real shock.
.I think the Men's draw needs a real shock.
Vincent-C
Hall of Fame
I would like for that to happen- and for Mannarino to go on to win this AO.As a neutral it would be legendary if Mannarino straight setted Djokovic in the most nonchalant fashion, Adrian wins puts his hoodie back on, refuses to be interviewed and goes back to his hotel room.
I think the Men's draw needs a real shock.
Djok in tough straights, is my call.
nolefam_2024
Talk Tennis Guru
You are thinking of Tom Hardy in Warriors maybe. Great movie.As a neutral it would be legendary if Mannarino straight setted Djokovic in the most nonchalant fashion, Adrian wins puts his hoodie back on, refuses to be interviewed and goes back to his hotel room.
I think the Men's draw needs a real shock.
But no such thing will happen in reality.
socallefty
G.O.A.T.
Two devices - three contests, which to watch?
49rs/Packers, Djokovic-Mannarino, Fritz-Tsitsipas
49rs/Packers, Djokovic-Mannarino, Fritz-Tsitsipas
Rafa.the.Magnificent
G.O.A.T.
Nervy first game from both Mannarino and Djokovic!! Think they’ll loosen up now.
