The field for a one-off exhibition in Adelaide on January 29

[ADuck]

Is AO gonna be this fast?

 

[ChrisRF]

Finally no awful sleeveless shirts.

And finally no tiebreak between these two. Nadal takes it 7-5.

 

[boulderchips]

That was a fun set to watch. Rafa seemed pretty aggressive. Thiem came up with some wild shots.

 

[aldeayeah]

Nadal takes 1st 7-5

Nadal	vs	Thiem
61%	1st serve %	70%
1	Aces	3
2	Double faults	3
9	Winners	11
11	Unforced errors	11
1/2	Break points won	0/2
8	Net points won	8
39	Total points won	34

 

[aldeayeah]

watching on eurosport

court seems fast

thiem returned one of nadal's serves from like Perth

on second look, they're swinging pretty wild so they're making it look faster than it is

 

[Yugram]

GO NADAL FINICH FLUKE

 

[ADuck]

Watching Nadal return serve is difficult

 

[Yugram]

Watching Nadal return serve is difficult

Like if Thiem is returning any better.

 

[Yugram]

FLUKEDAL

FINALLY

 

[ADuck]

Like if Thiem is returning any better.

It is actually, but I'll watch a little more to make sure

 

[aldeayeah]

the AO youtube channel is a bit ahead of my Eurosport stream,

 

[Yugram]

It is actually, but I'll watch a little more to make sure

Statistically he is much worse on the return in this match.

 

[Yugram]

Watching Nadal return serve is difficult

First return points won: Nadal 25% Fluke 21%

Second return points won: Nadal 32% Fluke 13%

You probably meant it’s difficult to watch Fluke return serve.

 

[aldeayeah]

Man they are rusty. Thiem moreso. Clearly has been hitting the buffet in Massu's absence.

 

[ADuck]

First return points won: Nadal 25% Fluke 21%

Second return points won: Nadal 32% Fluke 13%

You probably meant it’s difficult to watch Fluke return serve.

I meant the return of serve alone, not the points.

 

[Yugram]

I meant the return of serve alone, not the points.

Ros is pointless if you can’t win the point after it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[aldeayeah]

typical exho point to start the 3-3 thiem serve game, 0-15

 

[ADuck]

Ros is pointless if you can’t win the point after it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I don't disagree, but my main point is Nadal's return of serve is painful to watch right now

 

[Marius_Hancu]

free streaming at:
freestreams-live1 DOT com SLASH tennis-channel SLASH

 

[Yugram]

I don't disagree, but my main point is Nadal's return of serve is painful to watch right now

Djokovic barely returning Sinner’s serve: Omg goat boat will win AO easily

Nadal barely returning Thiem’s serve: Painful to watch

 

[ADuck]

Djokovic barely returning Sinner’s serve: Omg goat boat will win AO easily

Nadal barely returning Thiem’s serve: Painful to watch

Why are u like this man

 

[Yugram]

Why are u like this man

Same question.

 

[aldeayeah]

Rafa's been holding his laugh for a while, now he's openly laughing. Not sure at what, Thiem's sucking?

Thiem hits YUGE forehand right on the baseline, laughs too, then double faults. Story of this exo.

 

[Yugram]

Time to get ready for Kitzbuhel.

@ForehandCross

 

[weakera]

Considering Djokovic is booked for a QF loss to Medvedev, Thiem is Nadal's biggest threat at AO, so this match however fake is encouraging.

 

[Yugram]

Considering Djokovic is booked for a QF loss to Medvedev, Thiem is Nadal's biggest threat at AO, so this match however fake is encouraging.

Medvedev is 4th seed.

 

[clayqueen]

Yesssssss! Straight sets.

Vamos!

 

[weakera]

Medvedev is 4th seed.

Well whenever they match up, Djokovic will probably lose.

 

[aldeayeah]

Man, if the players who could train are like this, I'm not sure I want to see the guys who've been locked up for 2 weeks.

Nadal was OK, but Thiem really sucked ass.

 

[Tiki-Taka]

Not a breathtaking tennis display yet but with a longer break and the quarantine measures it's understandable. I imagine it will improve plenty by the time Australian Open arrives. Anyway it is so nice to see full crowds at last. Hopefully it won't take too long for the rest of us to get back to this state as well.

 

[Deleted member 770948]

Nadal won 7-5, 6-4.
Both players netted more shots than usual, but the velocity was good, and Nadal's forehand looks a lot more entertaining this year, looks like he's putting more body momentum into his forehand than usual.
There was only one game where it looked like an exhibition with playful shots, Thiem's service game midway through the 2nd set (but Thiem held).

 

[marc45]

Nadal won 7-5, 6-4.
Nadal's forehand looks a lot more entertaining this year, looks like he's putting more body momentum into his forehand than usual.

definitely cut down on the loop other than rally shots

 

[Red Rick]

It's 2021 and Thiem still can't return vs Rafa.

 

[Aussie Darcy]

Good match between #1 Barty and #2 Halep with Simona just getting the win.
Much needed court time for the 2 ladies.

That matchup in the AO final would be one of my top 5 picks!

 

[Meles]

Wow, Thiem and Nadal can barely return on this court. Terrible surface.

Or nothing like a few weeks of quarantine Halep lol later said she needed an oxygen machine. Meh. it wasn't so bad at the end. All the players this first day showed they had the potential to really do something in the next couple weeks. Barty had switched from all poly to natural gut and across strings for more power. Everyone looked reasonably good. Tim and dull usually work a lot on the court so they are probably the most impacted so the fact that the match was reasonably good is a positive sign for the Australian open. next week is another story with 25% of the field stumbling out of their rooms the day before the events lol

 

[TennisFan3]

Nadal won 7-5, 6-4.
Both players netted more shots than usual, but the velocity was good, and Nadal's forehand looks a lot more entertaining this year, looks like he's putting more body momentum into his forehand than usual.
There was only one game where it looked like an exhibition with playful shots, Thiem's service game midway through the 2nd set (but Thiem held).

Thank you for this report. Much appreciated.
This is good for those who could not watch the match.

 

[kevin qmto]

Is no one going to talk about how bizarrely bad the Serena Osaka match was? It was like they either both were hungover/drunk or both thought this whole thing was a gigantic joke and neither should try in the least.

 

[Yugram]

Is no one going to talk about how bizarrely bad the Serena Osaka match was? It was like they either both were hungover/drunk or both thought this whole thing was a gigantic joke and neither should try in the least.

Just a regular WTA match.

 

[socallefty]

Exhibition matches are worthless in terms of predicting future success as the players are not intense and just hit bigger like many of them do during practice. I don’t think exhibition matches ever say anything about a player’s form for the next week.

 

[MichaelNadal]

Serena looked FIT!

Yeah she did

 

[clayqueen]

Is no one going to talk about how bizarrely bad the Serena Osaka match was? It was like they either both were hungover/drunk or both thought this whole thing was a gigantic joke and neither should try in the least.

My take is: Naomi didn't want to beat Serena because she didn't want to cause a scene with Serena throwing her toys out of the pram, as mothers do, and Serena wanted to look as if she wasn't trying, in case she lost.

 

[yokied]

How do you have Thiem doing in 2021?

We got our money's worth. Nole looks in fine fettle to start 2021.

I don’t wanna make any really bold calls, certainly not beyond AO, so I’ll go with what seems safe based on what we know and what we saw movement-wise. Tim’s problem is mental and from those point constructions vs Nadal, it doesn’t look like he’s solved them. Same goes for Sinner, who just fed Noel perfect rhythm like a total moron.

I honestly don’t think there’s many smart enough to put Djokodal down. They’re just way smarter players than the Tszodieminnerer chasers, who are already damaged goods. Djokodal are experienced, very well coached moving targets with enough athleticism left to keep winning, and just about the most motivated too.

In a nutshell: Noel’s gonna kill ‘em all at the AO. Medagut are our only hopes. Djokodal look pretty fit, fast and strong so far, but we’ll see how they look halfway through the 1st set after 55 mins of 20+ ball rallies with Medagut.