ATP250 Brisbane International 2024

Who wins?

  • Total voters
    35
  • Poll closed .
Rattie said:
Nice draw for Rafa, with Rune, Shelton and Korda in the other half, a qualifier to start and the bottom seed in his section. Hopefully he can get some matches under his belt (y)
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Yep. It will be good to see Rafa competing again, and winning some matches en route to the AO. If he can win the title, it would be fantastic, not just for the win, but for the look on the faces ( as it were) of the detractors! Loool!

On the basis that Karatsev is playing well, he'll be a potentially tough opponent in round 2.

I think Holger or Ben will most likely take the title, but won't complain if Grigor or Seb win it.
 
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The draw in the PDF format:

GCmEpE0WcAAoBdB
 
Nadal was moving WAY better in that Murray practice match than he ever moved at Rome 2020, so good chance he wins Brisbane.
Probably healed a lot of his niggling injuries during the past year, so will have a similar comeback to 2022, but actually he didn't move great in 2022 so may be better this year.
 
https://twitter.com/x/status/1741062033444082133

“Holger Rune says Rafa Nadal gave him the hardest practice he’s had in half a year: “It's funny, like after the practice I talked to my team. I thought he played unbelievable. We were hitting. He was hitting strong. He always used to hit strong. Then we started points & I thought he was moving very well, moving side to side extremely fast. I think the intensity he brings is incredible. I've been playing a very intense pre-season & a very intense end of the season last year. And that was probably the hardest practice I've had the last half year, I would say.” (via Brisbane Press)”

Good signs (y)
 
Baseline_Bungle said:
I know it's just a "meaningless" 250 prep event, but anyone who thinks this draw was actually DRAWN at random, and not manufactured for the Rodent down to the last name, is living in a world of pure delusion.
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Draw fixing has been going on for years. Rafa is making his return after a full year off, the last thing they want is him losing first round. He is the biggest name there, and the one that will get even more people to come and watch if that is possible. Tennis is a business, and its about making money....and Rafa is the biggest cash cow in the business now that Rog is no longer playing.
 
Hitman said:
Draw fixing has been going on for years. Rafa is making his return after a full year off, the last thing they want is him losing first round. He is the biggest name there, and the one that will get even more people to come and watch if that is possible. Tennis is a business, and its about making money....and Rafa is the biggest cash cow in the business now that Rog is no longer playing.
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I know I know, but this one just looks especially egregious...

Rune, Korda, Shelton, Safiullin, even the potentially sneaky up-and-comers like Shevchenko, Arnaldi and Van Asche... ALL the hot names are up top. I mean, obviously they had to put a few seeds in the bottom half, no way around it. But let's play a game: who would you prefer facing, right about now, on Australian hardcourt?

Rune or Dim?
Shelton or Humbert Humbert?
Korda or Etcheverry?

etc.
 
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neytron said:
Do people really think Rafa will win the title after a year away? Practices are one thing, matches are another.
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This is true. Can’t really read that much into practice matches. We will know more when his matches start soon. There is nothing like match play but if Rafa can even win a couple of matches here it will help him a lot for Australia and beyond.
 
Rattie said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1741062033444082133

“Holger Rune says Rafa Nadal gave him the hardest practice he’s had in half a year: “It's funny, like after the practice I talked to my team. I thought he played unbelievable. We were hitting. He was hitting strong. He always used to hit strong. Then we started points & I thought he was moving very well, moving side to side extremely fast. I think the intensity he brings is incredible. I've been playing a very intense pre-season & a very intense end of the season last year. And that was probably the hardest practice I've had the last half year, I would say.” (via Brisbane Press)”

Good signs (y)
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Nadal :D
 
clayqueen said:
Rafa will play Thiem in Round 1.
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Ouch, tough comeback match. If it's rigged, I wouldn't say it's in Rafa's favor. More like in the tournaments favor. :p

Even if Rafa goes out early, they will still have Thiem in the mix. Honestly, though Shelton and Korda have toughish first rounds, so that top heavy draw could see some upsets. Would love to see JJ Wolf take on Rune.
 
Aabye5 said:
Ouch, tough comeback match. If it's rigged, I wouldn't say it's in Rafa's favor. More like in the tournaments favor. :p

Even if Rafa goes out early, they will still have Thiem in the mix. Honestly, though Shelton and Korda have toughish first rounds, so that top heavy draw could see some upsets. Would love to see JJ Wolf take on Rune.
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Since when has Thiem been Box Office?
 
Thiem is going to be extra motivated to revive his career against Nadal. Here's hoping Rafa comes out on top.
 
Aussie Darcy said:
Was a staple in the top 10 and was the first male player born in the 90s to win a slam… he’ll forever be box office even if he’s not at his best. People always want to see a slam champion, especially when they’re so rare on the mens tour.
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He was absolutely shocking vs McCabe in the qualifying match I watched. Don’t expect much from him. He was 3 MPs down to a total mug.
 
Aabye5 said:
Ouch, tough comeback match. If it's rigged, I wouldn't say it's in Rafa's favor. More like in the tournaments favor. :p

Even if Rafa goes out early, they will still have Thiem in the mix. Honestly, though Shelton and Korda have toughish first rounds, so that top heavy draw could see some upsets. Would love to see JJ Wolf take on Rune.
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I am very curious about Hanfmann.

Korda vs Hanfmann - that will be interesting. Korda moves a lot better than Hanfmann on a hardcourt. Hanfmann has huge groundies, serve, good transition game, but his side to side movement on a hard court seems really slow. Put Hanfmann on a clay court, he has much better results. Either he is more comfortable on a clay court or a slower court. If the courts at Brisbane play slower, we might see a really close match.
 
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Kralingen said:
He was absolutely shocking vs McCabe in the qualifying match I watched. Don’t expect much from him. He was 3 MPs down to a total mug.
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I watched it, I don’t expect anything but people still will pay to see a former slam champion play. They’d rather see a terrible Thiem than an at his peak Michalsen or Altmaier.
 
BeatlesFan said:
Seriously doubt it. He barely won his practice set against Rafa and has looked lousy in practice, particularly at the net. I honestly think Rafa may win this! He still is going to intimidate the hell out of every young player.
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Can Nadal face the power game of Korda with smooth backhand.
 
What can we expect from the 664th in the world on his return to the courts after a year, practically of absence?
:cautious:
 
Really good start to the season. Some very good first round matches. Murray v (2)Dimitrov, (WC)Nadal vs (Q)Timmy (surprised the winner doesnt play Bublik), Shelton v Safuillin the giant killer. Really reminds you how there are no easy paychecks on the ATP outside of the top Maybe 2 or 3 players. Even then it's iffy.

And we also get to see the absolute unit Karatsev potentially thump a returning Nadal in the second round. Hope the Russian lion can take the title and have a strong run in Australia. There is not one reason he can't. Just needs to find his rythme and not deviate. Maybe avoid big servers like Shelton/Struff/Popy, or great returners. Tall ask. Maybe clobbered Nadal could be the start he needs. I'm hoping so. But I can see him crumbling at important junctions as is tradition.

Rune with new coach Becker. Seems a perfect fit now that I've had time to analyze it. Becker having a twitter fued with kyrgios strangely fits the character of Rune. Perhaps Becker can handle Holger's extracurriculars for him, allowing the young Dane to concentrate fully on his tennis. There is no reason the kid couldnt be top 4 this season. Something like Alcaraz, Djokovic, Sinner, Rune all competing for slams this year doesn't sound too preposterous.

Edit:
Had to add Bublik reference. And spelling.

Edit2
The lack of Tim van Rijthoven does bring a tear to my eye.
 
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