So what have we learnt so far from the Australian Open?

[Crocodile]

Well as I post this we are almost at the end of the first week at the A.O. I would like to talk about the men’s singles

I would like to start by saying that one hot day doesn’t make a summer. What we have already witnesses so far could be just the happenings of this tournament.

On the other hand you could argue that it’s much more significant and there is much more to be learnt and with another week to go things could become much clearer.

I’ll go first and make a couple of points:

1. Since the retirement of Roger Federer and the limited opportunities that Novak Djokovic has been given plus the injuries to Rafa Nadal has opened up opportunities now to the younger players to break through and achieve success.

2. Tennis is an individual game that is unpredictable and one’s fortunes and adversities can happen at any time

3. There is a renaissance in Italian men’s tennis and the USA is also on the rise

4. The weather conditions at Australian Open have a sizeable influence on playing conditions. It’s probably been the coldest summer in Australia for years.

5. To make predictions on the fortunes of individual players is fraught with danger.

6. Jannick Sinner has a pretty good mind for a 21 year old in the professional world of tennis compared to others a lot older.

Now you may have a very different view and perhaps by the end of the tournament we all might all have a different perspective, but anyway what do you think, and try to be kind and positive to each other to the best of your ability. Cheers

 

[Tennfan123]

Limited opportunities he’s been given He’s had the same opps as everyone bruh.

 

[DSH]

A foreign country is not going to change its public and health policies for a handful of elite athletes; if the latter do not accept these protocols, then, they are not welcome.

 

[atatu]

The Netflix Curse is a real thing.

 

[Crocodile]

A foreign country is not going to change its public and health policies for a handful of elite athletes; if the latter do not accept these protocols, then, they are not welcome.

Limited opportunities he’s been given He’s had the same opps as everyone bruh.

I’m not talking about Vaccine mandates, I’m taking about the reality of the draw as it panned out in 2022.

 

[Deleted member 758560]

a real thing.

felix the cat won

 

[Jonesy]

felix the cat won

For now.

 

[atatu]

felix the cat won

He's the sole survivor at this point.

 

[DSH]

I’m not talking about Vaccine mandates, I’m taking about the reality of the draw as it panned out in 2022.

Unlike Wimbledon, the US Open did not prohibit all players from participating.

 

[Crocodile]

Djokovic faking injuries to be more greatness when he win with "injury"

Well if that’s what you want to focus on, well that’s your view and I’ll leave it at that. In truth I would not know how injured or not injured a player is. I’d imagine you would have to be pretty creative to put a heavy strapping on just to fake an injury. Would you do that if you were trying to move freely and win a championship, I would think not.

 

[3loudboys]

MurrayGOAT

 

[Crocodile]

Unlike Wimbledon, the US Open did not prohibit all players from participating.

Then that’s the reality of the situation that brings us to where the tour is right now.

 

[KTIP]

Well if that’s what you want to focus on, well that’s your view and I’ll leave it at that. In truth I would not know how injured or not injured a player is. I’d imagine you would have to be pretty creative to put a heavy strapping on just to fake an injury. Would you do that if you were trying to move freely and win a championship, I would think not.

I will believe in this injury only if he dont win AO

 

[Crocodile]

I will believe in this injury only if he dont win AO

I see. Others have won GS’s with injuries, no ? Better to be positive and give the benefit of the doubt and let’s see what the truth is. Time will tell.

 

[DSH]

I see. Others have won GS’s with injuries, no ?

Joker at the 2021 Australian Open won despite having an abdominal tear, or so he said.
What a warrior!

 

[Bartelby]

We've learnt that Craig Tiley makes a lot of excuses when he gets court speed, ball type and scheduling wrong. It's time for him to be removed.

 

[BeatlesFan]

Jannick Sinner has a pretty good mind for a 21 year old in the professional world of tennis compared to others a lot older.

You must have missed his massive chokes against Djokovic and Carlos at the USO last year. If he had a pretty good mind he would already have won a slam.

 

[Ray Mercer]

The sport is in shambles and the quality of player has declined heavily. Federer's retirement has taken a significant portion of interest out of the sport.

 

[Zardoz7/12]

The sport is in shambles and the quality of player has declined heavily. Federer's retirement has taken a significant portion of interest out of the sport.

It's been predicted on here that post Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, Men's tennis will enter the mother of all vacuum eras. It already is sans Federer.

 

[joshuayuan]

That it's not a good thing to complain about tennis balls, towel rack position, and fast court. It just makes you look bad, as if you can't handle such petty stuff. It's better to be humble and learn to adapt and improve on fast court and fast condition day by day and try your best.

 

[Crocodile]

Joker at the 2021 Australian Open won despite having an abdominal tear, or so he said.
What a warrior!

Yes but others have won GS’s while injured so move on.

 

[Crocodile]

It's been predicted on here that post Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, Men's tennis will enter the mother of all vacuum eras. It already is sans Federer.

This is more of what needs to be discussed.

 

[Crocodile]

We've learnt that Craig Tiley makes a lot of excuses when he gets court speed, ball type and scheduling wrong. It's time for him to be removed.

Bart, will be interesting to see whether the court speed quickens up if Melbourne gets some hot weather because it’s been quite cold down there. I understand they used the same balls in the other cities. Would like to compare Melbourne with Adelaide.

 

[Rosstour]

It's been predicted on here that post Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, Men's tennis will enter the mother of all vacuum eras. It already is sans Federer.

I think if they all retired at similar times, it would be different. But Federer was probably the most beloved and was certainly the best-known (and no, do not give me Instagram follower counts). So the guys that are left just don't grab the attention like Roger did.

So it's the worst of all worlds. The most recognizable one of the three, the guy who literally became tennis, is gone...but we can't move on to another era yet because Djok and Nadal are too busy hoovering up what's left.

Think of all the young, exciting prospects who had their careers stunted by Djokovic and Nadal in just the last 3 years. Kyrgios wins that Wimbledon against anyone else, Medvedev has two Slams now, and maybe Ben Shelton wins this AO instead of falling in 4 to Djoko...it's sad

 

[Rafa.the.Magnificent]

That we are truly entering an era in which slam championship chances may have LOTS of candidates. In fact, the future may involve plenty of guesswork. “Who will win” will no longer be easy to answer.

 

[mike danny]

I think if they all retired at similar times, it would be different. But Federer was probably the most beloved and was certainly the best-known (and no, do not give me Instagram follower counts). So the guys that are left just don't grab the attention like Roger did.

So it's the worst of all worlds. The most recognizable one of the three, the guy who literally became tennis, is gone...but we can't move on to another era yet because Djok and Nadal are too busy hoovering up what's left.

Think of all the young, exciting prospects who had their careers stunted by Djokovic and Nadal in just the last 3 years. Kyrgios wins that Wimbledon against anyone else, Medvedev has two Slams now, and maybe Ben Shelton wins this AO instead of falling in 4 to Djoko...it's sad

Not sad. Old Djokodal exposed the unprecedented weakness of an entire decade worth of players.

 

[toby55555]

That the 6 cans of AO balls I ordered before the tournament are likely not going to last more than a couple of sets each at best.

 

[Rosstour]

Not sad. Old Djokodal exposed the unprecedented weakness of an entire decade worth of players.

They're only weak when facing Djokovic and Nadal, though. Those guys are the GOATs. Of course they are gonna be better than a bunch of unseasoned talents.

 

[Federer and Del Potro]

They're only weak when facing Djokovic and Nadal, though.

They are? This tournament alone has shown the opposite is true.

 

[Federev]

Novak is even more a lock for #22.

 

[mike danny]

They're only weak when facing Djokovic and Nadal, though. Those guys are the GOATs. Of course they are gonna be better than a bunch of unseasoned talents.

Sure, but then how have we had guys like Murray, Stan, Delpo and Safin who've won slams against younger versions of the Big 3, a whooping 8 or 9, but an entire decade of players has barely managed 2 despite having a significant age advantage too, I might add?

 

[mike danny]

Novak is even more a lock for #22.

Not like Medvedev would have made a difference.

 

[tlsmikey]

We've also confirmed that Dunlop balls are absolute trash.

 

[Bartelby]

Melbourne has famously fluctuating weather, and the balls just seems to fluff up due perhaps to their specific interaction with the AO court.

Adelaide was supposedly fast and well-suited to Kokkinakis. Hot weather will quicken the court, but I suspect that it will not be a substantial difference.

Bart, will be interesting to see whether the court speed quickens up if Melbourne gets some hot weather because it’s been quite cold down there. I understand they used the same balls in the other cities. Would like to compare Melbourne with Adelaide.

 

[Crocodile]

Melbourne has famously fluctuating weather, and the balls just seems to fluff up due perhaps to their specific interaction with the AO court.

Adelaide was supposedly fast and well-suited to Kokkinakis. Hot weather will quicken the court, but I suspect that it will not be a substantial difference.

Bart did you get a chance to go to the Brisbane courts, not too far from the GC, I wonder how the warm and humid conditions interact with the balls. In Sydney it was not warm at all and rained heavily on the Friday and Saturday.

 

[ChaelAZ]

Everyone has injuries, or is getting injuries.

 

[DSH]

Novak is even more a lock for #22.

How is that possible if they say that he is injured?

 

[Chanwan]

I’m not talking about Vaccine mandates, I’m taking about the reality of the draw as it panned out in 2022.

What are you trying to say though? I am genuinely confused/baffled

 

[Crocodile]

What are you trying to say though? I am genuinely confused/baffled

I’m talking about the current and future direction of men’s tennis. Yes with all the mandates and restrictions and interruptions we have had in the last couple of years along with the passage of time, and with that the emergence of the newer generations of players, and the adoption of lighter frames and continuing development in string tech and application overall, plus the progress made in the development of the modern tennis athlete, the physical conditioning, the technical and tactical skills being taught, the rehabilitation of injured players and extension of career span, has given us the reality that has unfolded so far at Melbourne Park.
I’m not looking for a Novak fans v Rafa fans v Roger fans, I’m looking to discuss matters relating to how the game is situated right now and where it may evolve. As I stated on my original post, this tournament may have just been a one of abberation or we could be witnessing a period of transition and evolution.

 

[duaneeo]

They're only weak when facing Djokovic and Nadal, though.

 

[Crocodile]

If people look at all the threads on this sub forum it seems to focus on either reporting some misfortune that a player has committed, or one group of fans attacking another one and maybe many of you like this, but I don’t really enjoy it because it’s quite distorted and at best partially correct, a bit like the media these days in the way they try to manipulate the information to influence public opinion.
I would like to see more uplifting discussion about tennis and tennis players. Imagine if we all just had a game of tennis ourselves and now we are sitting in the clubhouse and having a friendly chat sharing ideas.
For example whoever shared the video of Nick hugging his girl friend obviously wasn’t trying to do anything positive for Nick but instead trying to make him look bad. Equally if we ignored Nick’s less than best behaviour he wouldn’t keep posting silly stuff on Twitter.
Let’s get better at what we do, that’s all I’m saying.

 

[BeatlesFan]

That it's not a good thing to complain about tennis balls, towel rack position, and fast court. It just makes you look bad, as if you can't handle such petty stuff. It's better to be humble and learn to adapt and improve on fast court and fast condition day by day and try your best.

Rafa's won 22 slams. He and Djokovic and Fed can complain about whatever they want. Winners dictate the rules in life and in sports.

 

[joshuayuan]

Rafa's won 22 slams. He and Djokovic and Fed can complain about whatever they want. Winners dictate the rules in life and in sports.

He lost.

 

[Federev]

How is that possible if they say that he is injured?

Wether his injury is real or not I don’t know.

I don’t accuse people of lying when I don’t really know they are lying.

I didn’t do it to Rafa and I’m doing it to Novak.

But if he was telling the truth about the abdominal tear or - not - if that didn’t make any difference, I don’t see how this will.