Does anyone think the men's final should be played during the day?

[Moose Malloy]

The Australian Open used to be a test for fitness in the extreme heat. I remember the brutal conditions in '93 when Courier edged Edberg. It was 130 degress on court. Since they now schedule both men's semis & the final at night, I think the tournament has become a little bit easier to win, from a physical standpoint.

Look at Fed schedule so far:
2 day matches, 5(!) night matches(if he makes the final)
I believe that is a new record(counting the Australian & US Open since they are the only slams with night sessions)
No player has ever played more than 4 night matches at any slam before(I think) and that only happened once before with Roddick at the US Open a few years ago.

Even when Connors made his magical run to '91 US Open SF, he only played 3matches at night(which was considered excessive at the time)
Fed was a huge favorite regardless, but he clearly is getting an assist from Australian Open schedulers(though, to be fair, without Nadal, Agassi, Safin, here & with Hewitt going out early, there aren't any big names that deserve to shown primetime)

 

[Max G.]

Interesting point...

 

[@wright]

I've noticed this too. You have to wonder how Kiefer has any shot, playing for nearly 5 hours in the burning sun during the day when Fed had a 3 hour match under the lights at night. It had to be much cooler.

 

[pistolpeege]

Anyone got a scheduled time for the final Sunday?

Thanks in advance

Pistol

 

[Moose Malloy]

Final will be shown live 3:30 am EST/12:30 PST Saturday night. They will repeat it Sunday 12pm/9am on the west, for those who don't want to stay up all night.

 

[pistolpeege]

Thanks Moose,

That'll be 8.30 am GMT then...

Pistol

 

[urban]

Spot on, Moose. I noticed the same, that it is unfair of the organizers to let one player battle under the sun all the time, and the other walk through at night matches. When Sampras won his last USO, the gave him a similar advantage. I am not a friend of outdoor and indoor playing at majors, too; and furthermore i find it not fair, that one player has 2 days rest before the final, and the other only one day. The should play the semifinals on one day.

 

[Marius_Hancu]

yes, too many night spots for Fed, unfair to others.

his one significant disadvantage is being placed in the half which plays a day later .... this leads to some advantage for Nalbandian/Baghdatis

also, when confronted with the absence by other stars (Agassi, Nadal, Safin; Rodick eliminated), the organizers tried to accomodate to their best the one remaining ...

 

[VGP]

Perhaps the tournament organizers wanted to optimize for better tennis (both players feeling more comfortable) coupled with better attendance and viewership (evening prime time).

Watching players suffer in the heat (i.e. Capriati-Hingis '02) isn't conducive to the best tennis.

Easier to win? Depends on how you look at it.

Who can withstand the conditions the best.....

Who can beat players that are playing their best under comfortable conditions.....

 

[Moose Malloy]

This 'close the roof because it's hot deal' only started after the Hingis/Capriati incident. It had gotten very hot many times in the past & all champions(even the not so fit ones, Sampras) had to tough through it.
I think they overreacted with this one match(which involved 2 women, I think the men are better conditioned to cope with the heat. It was just as hot during the Courier-Edberg final & that went 4 sets. They seemed ready to go 5 sets if necessary)

Don't you miss the drama that the heat adds to the Australian Open, VGP? That Courier-Edberg match was exciting partly due to the heat & seeing how they coped with it.

 

[urban]

Exactly, The heat was always a factor at the Australian. Laver beat Roche over 93 games in 1969, at tropical Brisbane, where the temperature rose to over 45 celsius. In those times, there were no roofs, there were even no tiebreaks, and the players weren't allowed to sit down, when changing *********s. Laver put salad blads under his hat. I recall Lendl, who put a towel under his cap, to protect his long neck. It gave him the outlook of a French legionaire. After one semifinal against Muster - i think at 1989/90 - in the brutal heat, Lendl walked out like a dead man, completely out on his feet.

 

[VGP]

Don't you miss the drama that the heat adds to the Australian Open, VGP? That Courier-Edberg match was exciting partly due to the heat & seeing how they coped with it.

Yeah, I suppose I do. Sampras faded in '95 against Agassi in the final. Even yesterday with Grojean-Kiefer. Those guys were spent in that last set. Grojean was fading until the racket incident. That lit a different kind of fire under him.

 

[@wright]

I remember watching the Kafelnikov/Enqvist final that was played during the day, because it was at least 3 hours earlier than they have been the past few years. Did they change the schedule in this time period?

 

[vkartikv]

If anything, he is at a disadvantage being scheduled to play the SF and final (should he reach it) on consecutive days while Nalbandian and Baghdatis are basking in the shade of a 2 day break....

I don't know how you guys feel about playing at night but I hate having artificial lights being directed at my eyes. Not to mention the bugs. But yes, it is cooler and less windy at night which is adv. Fed.

 

[Moose Malloy]

They only started playing night finals last year, awright.

I disagree vkartikv, Fed has played 3 night matches so far, Kiefer none, Nalbandian one, Baghaditis two. Nalbandian & Bagdahtis are at at a clear disadvantage regardless of the extra day. Playing in the heat is very energy sapping, if they go 4 or 5 sets in the final, those earlier matches will catch up with them.
And Fed isn't playing consecutive days, he has one day off before the final. Nalby/Marcos have two.

 

[vkartikv]

They only started playing night finals last year, awright.

I disagree vkartikv, Fed has played 3 night matches so far, Kiefer none, Nalbandian one, Baghaditis two. Nalbandian & Bagdahtis are at at a clear disadvantage regardless of the extra day. Playing in the heat is very energy sapping, if they go 4 or 5 sets in the final, those earlier matches will catch up with them.
And Fed isn't playing consecutive days, he has one day off before the final. Nalby/Marcos have two.

You are right about him having one day, I got confused with the time difference. The only reason he is being scheduled at night is he brings in the audience - but that is not his fault, is it? They need to rotate the schedules such that no one has a distinct advantage.

 

[ATXtennisaddict]

Who chooses whether the players play the night matches or not or under the roof or not?

Clearly not the players.

/thread

 

[Moose Malloy]

True. I guess no one in Australia really cares about Nalbandian. Nalbandian-Santoro & Kiefer-Grosjean should have been played at night to be fair to the players.

 

[The tennis guy]

Yeah, top players get favorable treatment in schedule which is so NEW! If we are talking about equality, how about let top players play on outside courts rather than big center court all the time. Ask professional players, they think playing on outside courts have more negative effects on them than playing under heat or lights.

 

[Moose Malloy]

I know this isn't new, but this schedule for Fed is unprecedented. Someone playing 5 out of their 7 matches at night has never happened at a slam before. And the heat is what makes this event so tough. But apparently not this year.

And Nalbandian is a "top player" but he didn't get any of the breaks that Fed did.

 

[The tennis guy]

I know this isn't new, but this schedule for Fed is unprecedented. Someone playing 5 out of their 7 matches at night has never happened at a slam before. And the heat is what makes this event so tough. But apparently not this year.

And Nalbandian is a "top player" but he didn't get any of the breaks that Fed did.

If US Open had final at night, someone would have played 5 matches at night because there are players played 4 at night already.

 

[vkartikv]

Yeah, top players get favorable treatment in schedule which is so NEW! If we are talking about equality, how about let top players play on outside courts rather than big center court all the time. Ask professional players, they think playing on outside courts have more negative effects on them than playing under heat or lights.

I don't agree with that completely. Take last years US Open for example - you had Ginepri play a couple of night matches and so did Blake. I think it depends on the tournament and who is the brains behind all the operation.

 

[The Pusher Terminator]

who cares when its helD....i RECORD EVERYTHING ANYWAY ON dvr....NO COMMERCIALS!!!

 

[@wright]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I remember the Fed/Safin final being at night - was it not?

 

[The tennis guy]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I remember the Fed/Safin final being at night - was it not?

Don't think so. Last year semi between them was at night.