Australian Open 2012: Discussion Thread

RosyLily

That umpire in the Nadal-Berdych match wasn't the greatest. Made mistakes when making a line call and managed to antagonise both players.

Can't believe he didn't spot Toni blatantly coaching Nadal from the box, motioning him to step in on the serve. Very obvious!

jcf

RosyLily wrote: »

That umpire in the Nadal-Berdych match wasn't the greatest. Made mistakes when making a line call and managed to antagonise both players.

Can't believe he didn't spot Toni blatantly coaching Nadal from the box, motioning him to step in on the serve. Very obvious!

I guess the umpire is used to working with players that aren't such cheats - as the vast vast majority aren't.

CountryJoe

Great stuff from Federer today. He has been on form all tournament. Cant wait for the semi final, it will hopefully be a cracker.
If Djokovic & Murray come through their quarter final matches as expected, thats going to be quite the semi final line up.

_Bella_

Good performance from both Nadal and Federer today. Berdych played very well and really should have gone two sets up, which would have made things very interesting. The semi final will definitely be a battle of the mind and based on their previous head to heads, one has to back Rafa.

Wozniacki is no longer number one which I think could help her in the long run. She will be able to work on improving her weapons without the constant pressure of defending her ranking points. I think Azaerenka will beat Clijsters as I don't think Clijsters has been playing that great so far.

It's hard to see past Kvitova and Sharapova victories which will make this years Aussie Open the most competitive semis in a long time on the women's side. I think Murray and Djokovic will also win relatively comfortably though I would love to see Nishikori be the first Japanese man to make it past the quarters!

RosyLily

_Bella_ wrote: »

Good performance from both Nadal and Federer today. Berdych played very well and really should have gone two sets up, which would have made things very interesting. The semi final will definitely be a battle of the mind and based on their previous head to heads, one has to back Rafa.

Wozniacki is no longer number one which I think could help her in the long run. She will be able to work on improving her weapons without the constant pressure of defending her ranking points. I think Azaerenka will beat Clijsters as I don't think Clijsters has been playing that great so far.

It's hard to see past Kvitova and Sharapova victories which will make this years Aussie Open the most competitive semis in a long time on the women's side. I think Murray and Djokovic will also win relatively comfortably though I would love to see Nishikori be the first Japanese man to make it past the quarters!

Totally agree with you! But you'd be worried that she'll take on more tournaments to gain ranking points. If I were her, I'd concentrate on improving my game and developing a weapon. I'd prefer to be No.5 in the world with a Grand Slam than No.1 with no GS.

Looking forward to the Djokovic-Ferrer match in the morning. I reckon Ferrer can give him a proper test...he's a really tough player.

MisterAnarchy

RosyLily wrote: »

Looking forward to the Djokovic-Ferrer match in the morning. I reckon Ferrer can give him a proper test...he's a really tough player.

Their head to head is 6-5 so it could be interesting.

walshb

Th big four are through, and for once I am glad it's Fed-Nadal; Novak-Andy.

I will back a Fed-Novak final.

Styles make matches. Novak seems to have Nadal's number. Fed has the style to beat Novak, and Nadal is tough for Fed.

StephenHendry

the dream semi line up, ill go with fed and andy with andy to come out on top and win his first slam. that whats the heart says but i think fed will win

_Bella_

The schedule for the semis is quite strange, 3 tomorrow and 1 on Friday?

Stevecw

Great semis in both mens and womens.

Hope Fed & Novak get to final with Fed winning it.

In womens once Azerenka doesn't win it out i'll be happy, hate everything about her!

Reckon Kvitova will win it out, and finally we'll have a world no 1 who deserves it.

RosyLily

Very intriguing SFs in both men and women's singles.

As long as Federer keeps Nadal outta his head and focuses on hitting the ball, I reckon he'll make the final. Hard to call the Djokovic-Murray match. It'll probably come down who manages their nerves and capitalises on their opponent's mistakes. Leaning towards Djokovic by a fraction.

Both women's SFs have the potential to be great.....or stink up Rod Laver Arena! Clijsters is looking really good, think she will beat Azarenka in 2 tight sets or 3. Hard to call Kvitova-Sharapova match. Both are playing well, but had problems in their last match. Sharapova has to keep her DFs down & Kvitova has to keep the unforced errors down. I'm gonna guess it'll be a Clijsters-Kvitova final.

AFAIK, both women's SFs will be on Eurosport from 2.30am in the morning. Coverage of Federer-Nadal will start at 7.45am.

Da Shins Kelly

Really hope Federer gets through. I'd love to see him pull it out of the bag for one more Grand Slam before he retires. Still the greatest player ever, for me.

walshb

I think Novak is a very warm favourite vs. Murray. Unless he has a bad day, and Muray a good day, Novak will win. Nadal a slight favourite. Nadal meets Novak, and to me Novak wins. Fed is the man to beat Novak.

Pighead

Nadal on top now after a shaky start. Fed was brilliant for the first eight or nine games but since then Nadal has gradually improved. Since Fed broke in the opening game of the second set it's been all Nadal. Stormed through teh second set 6-2 and is currently 2-1 up in the third. Roger's gonna have to change something quickly. I have to admit I had written Nadal off after he went a set and a break down. Silly silly me.

walshb

3-1 Nadal in the 3rd set tie break

walshb

As usual Federer's unforced errors cause him big points. 25 unforced errors to 11 in Nadal's favour for that third set. Set to Nadal 7-5 in the tie-break.

Pighead

Nadal takes control of the match and goes into a set ahead at 2-1. Somewhere in a corner of a darkened room 'jcf' is blowing a gasket.

jcf

Well done Nadal, once again you have managed to cheat your way to a final with your dirty mind games and cheating tactics ...

Scum bag


DISGRACE.
TO.
THE.
GAME.

strawberryb0y

jcf wrote: »

Well done Nadal, once again you have managed to cheat your way to a final with your dirty mind games and cheating tactics ...

Scum bag


DISGRACE.
TO.
THE.
GAME.

What age are you?

Pighead

jcf wrote: »

Well done Nadal, once again you have managed to cheat your way to a final with your dirty mind games and cheating tactics ...

Scum bag


DISGRACE.
TO.
THE.
GAME.

Nadal laughs at your petty post.

Pighead

strawberryb0y wrote: »

What age are you?

I'm guessing he's about 15. Have a feeling jcf stands for 'Junior Cert Fella'. Can't be anymore than that judging from his silly posts.

MisterAnarchy

Pighead wrote: »

Nadal on top now after a shaky start. Fed was brilliant for the first eight or nine games but since then Nadal has gradually improved. Since Fed broke in the opening game of the second set it's been all Nadal. Stormed through teh second set 6-2 and is currently 2-1 up in the third. Roger's gonna have to change something quickly.

Same old story as usual.
How many times have we seen this ?
Federer starts well,wins the first set ,then goes to pot early in the second set.
Mats Wilander was saying that Federer of 2012 would easily defeat Federer of 2007,not losing a set,I'm not so sure of that.
Today was Federer's acid test and he failed it,I dont think he will win another Grand Slam due to the mental strength of Nadal and Djokovic and the slowness of the courts nowadays.

jcf

jcf = Juan Carlos Ferrero ..



Nadal plays mind games, he lies about injury, he time wastes, he receives coaching from his coach on court.

He intimidates his opponent.

Pretty low player in my book - and I think I know Tennis I play at a USTA 5.0 level.

jcf

The joke http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/16715110.stm

Nadal, who injured his knee prior to the tournament, added: "Two Sundays ago I really couldn't imagine being in the final. It's a dream to be here."


HE DIDN'T INJURE HIS KNEE!!! HE IS A LIAR !!!!!


A dream to be here ? really Rafa ? - how so , since you are in perfect physical shape and have been lying about your so called "injuries" ....

MisterAnarchy

Has Annacone made any improvements to Federer's tactics or performance against Nadal ?
Federer played well in the first set, continuously pushing or top spinning BH to Nadal's BH side.
However as the match progressed, his tactics gradually disappeared and he started to play with instinct.
So it went back to the same old story.

RosyLily

jcf wrote: »

jcf = Juan Carlos Ferrero ..

JUAN CARLOS?? On our li' forum? Wow, holá senor. Bienvenida! Cómo estás?


In other news, I was quite surprised that Azarenka managed to beat Clijsters. Especially after losing the 2nd, I thought she might implode but she showed a great maturity to pull off the win. Well done. Kvitova had too many unforced errors against Sharapova. She also had more BPs (14 to Maria's 5) but only converted 3, whereas Maria converted all of hers. Not a lot between the players. For the final, Sharapova absolutely has to cut down her DFs and rush the net when the opportunity arises.

Not sure if I'm gonna watch the women's final. 8am in the morning listening to 2 screechers? Ouch!:eek:

Other men's SF on tomorrow morning. Murray vs. Djokovic with the Serb leading their H-2-H. Hope Murray can do himself justice and put up a decent fight...actually give Djokovic a test. Rafa is silently hoping for a Murray win!:P

BazBox

RosyLily wrote: »

JUAN CARLOS?? On our li' forum? Wow, holá senor. Bienvenida! Cómo estás?


In other news, I was quite surprised that Azarenka managed to beat Clijsters. Especially after losing the 2nd, I thought she might implode but she showed a great maturity to pull off the win. Well done. Kvitova had too many unforced errors against Sharapova. She also had more BPs (14 to Maria's 5) but only converted 3, whereas Maria converted all of hers. Not a lot between the players. For the final, Sharapova absolutely has to cut down her DFs and rush the net when the opportunity arises.

Not sure if I'm gonna watch the women's final. 8am in the morning listening to 2 screechers? Ouch!:eek:

Other men's SF on tomorrow morning. Murray vs. Djokovic with the Serb leading their H-2-H. Hope Murray can do himself justice and put up a decent fight...actually give Djokovic a test. Rafa is silently hoping for a Murray win!:P

Sounds great to me!!!!

Djokovic and Murray should be a great match, I would expect Djokovic to win and then go onto win the final, although I would prefer Nadal to win it cos he is a legend.

On a side note, and ye all probably already know this, but I was just looking at Wozniackis wikipedia and it says she never won a slam yet was world number 1 for ages, that's crazy and kind of bad for the womens game!

jcf

BazBox wrote: »

Sounds great to me!!!!

Djokovic and Murray should be a great match, I would expect Djokovic to win and then go onto win the final, although I would prefer Nadal to win it cos he is a cheat and a lowlife.

On a side note, and ye all probably already know this, but I was just looking at Wozniackis wikipedia and it says she never won a slam yet was world number 1 for ages, that's crazy and kind of bad for the womens game!

Fixed that for you.

RosyLily

Everyone's entitled to their own opinion jcf so stop changing their post to suit yourself!

walshb

How can someone have that kind of hate for another person?

Anyway, I really hope Murray doesn't somehow cause an upset, not because I dislike him, I would love to see him win a slam, but if he causes the upset, I see almost no chance for him vs. Nadal. At least with Novak, Nadal really is up against a man who has the beatings of him.