2020 In Between Grand Slam Thread

yerwanthere123 · 03-01-2020 1:52am #1

Third day of the new year and the thread hasn't been started yet :eek:

The WTA side start their year in Brisbane (Premier level), Shenzhen and Auckland (both International) as usual.

Most of the big names on the ATP side will be playing this brand new ATP Cup exho thing. Sounds like a load of sh*te but maybe it'll be good? It'll be played along side the usual 250 event in Qatar, whilst Brisbane is no more. Pune has been tossed aside to the first week of February after the Australian Open.

The Hopman Cup, meanwhile, is no more.

I hope it's a good season, last year's was my least favourite in almost a decade of following the sport.

2020 WTA Tour

2020 ATP Tour

mzungu · 04-01-2020 10:40pm

The ATP Cup makes for a handy tune up en route to the AO. Some decent games and as expected Serbia, France, Japan, Argentina, Croatia and Spain looking to be in good shape at the moment.

lostcat · 05-01-2020 2:11pm

I'm looking forward to seeing a few different winners of the ATP1000 tournaments this year as the 'big three' continue to wind down/ concentrate on polishing their slam count numbers.

Despite the raft of new contenders / rivalries, it's hard to look past Fedalovic to put on a proper show at the business end of things

Hector Savage · 08-01-2020 1:08pm

lostcat wrote: »

I'm looking forward to seeing a few different winners of the ATP1000 tournaments this year as the 'big three' continue to wind down/ concentrate on polishing their slam count numbers.

Despite the raft of new contenders / rivalries, it's hard to look past Fedalovic to put on a proper show at the business end of things

Wind down ?

Nadal is winning the AO , FO and most likely USO this year ... perhaps Wimbledon too...

edit - sorry, yeah more M1000 to the new losers on the tour, yeah the big "3" (1 really) will only be winning slams for the considerable future.

dominatinMC · 08-01-2020 1:28pm

Hector Savage wrote: »

Wind down ?

Nadal is winning the AO , FO and most likely USO this year ... perhaps Wimbledon too...

edit - sorry, yeah more M1000 to the new losers on the tour, yeah the big "3" (1 really) will only be winning slams for the considerable future.

Ah come on Hector, change the record for the new year!

Hector Savage · 08-01-2020 3:40pm

dominatinMC wrote: »

Ah come on Hector, change the record for the new year!

I'll change the record when Tennis changes the bloody record!!!

mzungu · 08-01-2020 10:48pm

Enjoying the ATP Cup!

Nadal and Djokovic look to be in decent form. Anderson dug deep to beat Paire, it was a good match.

yerwanthere123 · 09-01-2020 12:38am

mzungu wrote: »

Enjoying the ATP Cup!

Nadal and Djokovic look to be in decent form. Anderson dug deep to beat Paire, it was a good match.

The players are seemingly taking it very seriously. I must correct my original post as it's not an exho, points are being offered.

It's not going well for Zverev so far though, 0-3 in singles with losses to De Minaur, Shapovalov and Tsitsipas.

jr86 · 09-01-2020 9:49am

Is this the year we finally get a new mens slam winner?

I won't hold my breath tbh

Reckon Djokovic won't be losing the AO, Nadal should do the French, while I'd expect another Djokovic/Federer final in London

The best bet would be the US Open potentially

That said I could see one of the "next gen" winning the Olympics and Tour Finals again, and they should win a few masters

Hector Savage · 09-01-2020 9:58am

jr86 wrote: »

Is this the year we finally get a new mens slam winner?

....

No, not till at least 2024...

jr86 · 09-01-2020 10:10am

Do we really have to put up with this in every bloody thread?

whiterebel · 09-01-2020 11:58am

jr86 wrote: »

Do we really have to put up with this in every bloody thread?

Put them on ignore, it’s easier

Hector Savage · 09-01-2020 2:25pm

jr86 wrote: »

Do we really have to put up with this in every bloody thread?

I'm right though..

Hector Savage · 09-01-2020 2:48pm

BBC whispering about it last year ....

Yes she is talking about legal stuff, but still they have started to ask the questions, can't wait till he's 40 winning Rolland Garros hearing the media then...

yerwanthere123 · 09-01-2020 5:58pm

jr86 wrote: »

Do we really have to put up with this in every bloody thread?

Yes, surely this warrants some kind of moderator action at this stage. Were they not banned from their last account?

josip · 09-01-2020 6:20pm

I'm kind of looking forward to the schadenfreude

Hector Savage · 09-01-2020 10:14pm

yerwanthere123 wrote: »

Yes, surely this warrants some kind of moderator action at this stage. Were they not banned from their last account?

What other account ?
You wanna be careful what you accuse people of, I'd like to see some proof...

RosyLily · 09-01-2020 10:29pm

Mod Note

Let's start the year on a good note everyone. Please refrain from accussing others of being re-regs. You're all regulars here so you know the rules and everyone's quirks.

mzungu · 09-01-2020 11:55pm

yerwanthere123 wrote: »

The players are seemingly taking it very seriously. I must correct my original post as it's not an exho, points are being offered.

Aye, they are giving it socks.

yerwanthere123 wrote: »

It's not going well for Zverev so far though, 0-3 in singles with losses to De Minaur, Shapovalov and Tsitsipas.

Who knows what is up with him. He can never seem to hit any kind of consistent form.

yerwanthere123 · 10-01-2020 12:05am

Hector Savage wrote: »

What other account ?
You wanna be careful what you accuse people of, I'd like to see some proof...

:pac::pac::pac:

mzungu wrote: »

Aye, they are giving it socks.

Who knows what is up with him. He can never seem to hit any kind of consistent form.

There's some situation going on with a former coach trying to sue him I think, it's really affecting him. Think I posted about it last year but I'm sure it can be easily Googled.

There's flaws with him game too, I haven't watched him play recently but apparently the serve is gone totally awry. He was a real prospect but right now it's looking like Tsitsipas, Shapovalov and Auger-Aliassime are gonna pass him by.

Hector Savage · 10-01-2020 12:13am

How is Medvedev looking ?
would love him of all people to proove me good and wrong!!

dominatinMC · 10-01-2020 12:40am

Hector Savage wrote: »

How is Medvedev looking ?
would love him of all people to proove me good and wrong!!

Not at USO levels yet, but is certainly heading in that direction. He will be seeded 4th at the AO and would be my 3rd pick to win it (after Djoker and Nadal). Would love to see him do it.

Hector Savage · 10-01-2020 10:06am

dominatinMC wrote: »

Not at USO levels yet, but is certainly heading in that direction. He will be seeded 4th at the AO and would be my 3rd pick to win it (after Djoker and Nadal). Would love to see him do it.

Indeed, I do like Novak but would love to see a new lad win it ...

lostcat · 12-01-2020 11:39am

Boisterous Serb majority crowd here not fully to Nadals liking, Djokovic bet him round the place in that first set but his level had dropped here and there this week so it's not over yet.
Spain still favourites if Nadal perks up for the doubles, he is by far the best doubles player of either team.

Hector Savage · 12-01-2020 7:41pm

And thats that, now let's hope Djokovic can make it to the AO final, he is the only one that can beat Nadal.

My fear is that one of the new lads will do NAdal a massive favour by beating Nole...

dominatinMC · 12-01-2020 8:45pm

Hector Savage wrote: »

And thats that, now let's hope Djokovic can make it to the AO final, he is the only one that can beat Nadal.

My fear is that one of the new lads will do NAdal a massive favour by beating Nole...

I thought you were a big Nadal fan Hector?!

You're onto something there though, even though Djokovic beat Medvedev this week, I still think he is vulnerable against the next gen. Nadal, on the other hand, seems to have no issue with them but simply can't beat Djokovic on hard courts these days.

lostcat · 12-01-2020 10:02pm

Thought the tournament overall, from what I saw of it, was very decent, certainly much more interesting than a couple of meaningless warm up tournaments.

You don't often see Nadal get pissy but he had a right dig in his postmatch presser at the 'serbian' crowd for their somewhat partisan support. I guess its ok if its spaniards doing it at the davis cup :rolleyes:

josip · 12-01-2020 11:33pm

Australia is probably the only place the majority of the crowd would be shouting for Djokovic.
And even then as long as he wasn't playing Federer.

I thought the game where Djokovic came back from 0-40 down to hold his serve was great.
Especially the 2nd point he won.

Both he and Nadal were using every centimetre of the court, incredible to watch.

mzungu · 13-01-2020 12:21am

josip wrote: »

Australia is probably the only place the majority of the crowd would be shouting for Djokovic.
And even then as long as he wasn't playing Federer.

I thought the game where Djokovic came back from 0-40 down to hold his serve was great.
Especially the 2 point he won.

Both he and Nadal were using every centimetre of the court, incredible to watch.

Aye, the hitting from both was top notch. Would have liked it to go to a decider.

jr86 · 13-01-2020 12:48am

I just really don't know how Nadal is going to win the AO given Djokovic is completely in his head for years off clay, and Federer has a wonderful recent record against him

Like his last two US Open wins he will need results to go his way

dominatinMC · 13-01-2020 1:13am

jr86 wrote: »

I just really don't know how Nadal is going to win the AO given Djokovic is completely in his head for years off clay, and Federer has a wonderful recent record against him

Like his last two US Open wins he will need results to go his way

Agree, no way is Nadal is winning Oz if Djokovic is in the final, he simply has no answers to him on hard courts. I think he could take Federer, mainly because Federer is a lot more erratic and inconsistent these days in slams. Djokovic is the favourite by a country mile though, however, I still think Medvedev could upset him though if he is on his side of the draw. Draw will be very interesting later in the week

jr86 · 13-01-2020 9:45am

dominatinMC wrote: »

Agree, no way is Nadal is winning Oz if Djokovic is in the final, he simply has no answers to him on hard courts.

I mean the h2h has gone mental, I make it 7 years now since Nadal actually beat ND off clay?

dominatinMC · 13-01-2020 9:52am

jr86 wrote: »

I mean the h2h has gone mental, I make it 7 years now since Nadal actually beat ND off clay?

Yep, hasn't beaten him on HC since USO 2013, a year in which he managed to beat him 3 times in a row on HCs (Rogers Cup, Cincinnati, USO). The only caveat to that 7 years statistic is that they faced each other a lot on HCs during 2015 and 2016 which were, by-far, Nadals worst years on tour. Still not a good stat for Nadal, whichever way you look at it :pac:

Hector Savage · 13-01-2020 10:37am

On the plus side Nadal's odds have dipped to 5.5 ... I will be putting money on him ...

elmolesto · 13-01-2020 5:48pm

Djokovic is and has been the best player outside clay for a while. However I think, his game hasn’t evolved, whereas Nadal has improved a lot over the years outside clay. Especially since Moya came on board, I have seen way more first strike tennis from Nadal. Most of his serve stats from last year are career high. There is a lot of positive to take from the atp cup final, especially in the second set. He is getting closer to beat Djokovic on hard court in my opinion.
Djokovic is tremendous competitor and the toughest mentally, when it comes to crunch time but I wouldn’t write off Nadal, should he meet Djokovic in the AO final.

As for Federer, as usual he will have a good shot at both the AO and Wimbledon but I’m expecting to see Federer being consistently inconsistent.

I really like Medvedev, he has improved a lot last year, his athleticism and consistency are amazing but he has serious deficiency in the power department. Fast hard court don’t seem to suit his game very well, I expecting him at in second week of the AO but I don’t see him going all the way.

2020 should in my opinion be Thiem’s year, he is the most improved player of 2019 and should climb to number 3 by year end. He will have a good chance to win the USO or the French, his power on both wings his incredible and he has amazing defensive racket skills.

I’m expecting to see Wawrinka this year in the late stages of the gran slams but I don’t think he will one again.

Zverev 2019 problems are continuing to linger this year, I watched his first two matches of the atp cup, appalling second serves. 70 mph or so. First match 14 double faults against De Minaur, second match 10 double faults against Tsitsipas. You can’t win a match against the top guys playing like this. Like Medvedev, he also lacks power.

Tsitsipas is a bit of an enigma for me, I find him very inconsistent, probably a mental thing but he goes from very high to very low. His defeat against Wawrinka last year at the French lingered in his game for months. I also think he plays way too much doubles. He is great when he attacks but as soon as he is on the back foot, I find his defensive racket skills poor compare to the elite.

Shapovalov is an interesting player, like Thiem huge power on both wings. He should’ve beaten Djokovic at the atp cup had he not choked and start over hitting in the tie break. I can see him top 10 at the end of the year.

De Minaur hard court form should continue this year, he has quite a unique skill set, very quick around the court and a pretty big serve for a “small guy”.

I hope Rublev can stay injury free this year and finally show his talent.

Auger-Aliassime has been the biggest disappointment of 2019 for me. He didn’t have a good start this year, like Zverev huge problems with the serve.

Anyone following Jannik Sinner? I can see him to be top 20 by the end of the year. He is amazingly talented next gen player with a huge backhand, the best I have seen since Agassi.
His forehand is only ok at the moment but as soon as he puts some muscle on his skinny body, he will a top 5 player.

2020 is going to be exciting.

mzungu · 13-01-2020 10:55pm

elmolesto wrote: »

2020 should in my opinion be Thiem’s year, he is the most improved player of 2019 and should climb to number 3 by year end. He will have a good chance to win the USO or the French, his power on both wings his incredible and he has amazing defensive racket skills.

Nadal and the FO intrigues me. He is way ahead of everybody on clay, and it will be interesting to see for how long more he can dominate at that tournament. Thiem played a great FO last year but I reckon he would have been disappointed at eventually being steamrolled by Nadal. It was not the end to the tournament that his play over the previous two weeks deserved.

mzungu · 13-01-2020 11:03pm

A shame that neither Murray or Del Potro will play any part in the AO.

It seems to be a groin problem that is keeping Murray at bay, but he is staying off the tour until at least February as he wants to play Wimbledon this year. If that's the case he is right not to risk it by playing the AO.

Del Potro's knee is playing up. You have to wonder how much longer he will continue before eventually calling it a day.

Hector Savage · 14-01-2020 10:19am

a player had to retire from the AO qualifying from a coughing fit .... poor air quality, very worrying ...

dominatinMC · 14-01-2020 10:26am

Hector Savage wrote: »

a player had to retire from the AO qualifying from a coughing fit .... poor air quality, very worrying ...

Saw that on Twitter, a joke that it's going ahead in those conditions.

Hector Savage · 14-01-2020 11:01am

Maybe actually this will be the year for a young pair of lungs to take advantage!

elmolesto · 14-01-2020 4:40pm

mzungu wrote: »

Nadal and the FO intrigues me. He is way ahead of everybody on clay, and it will be interesting to see for how long more he can dominate at that tournament. Thiem played a great FO last year but I reckon he would have been disappointed at eventually being steamrolled by Nadal. It was not the end to the tournament that his play over the previous two weeks deserved.

Nadal is not the player he used to be on clay, he still has the edge on 99% of the players but he can no longer defend the way he used to, Thiem is now better in that department. Thiem has now beaten Nadal once every year on clay since 2016 but beating Nadal in the best of 5 in Roland Garros is the hardest thing to achieve in tennis or probably any sport.
Nadal is the king of clay, Thiem is the prince of clay but he will eventually be crowned.

josip · 30-01-2020 12:10am

So perhaps Nadal will end up like Serena?
If Thiem can beat him in Paris this year, then he will struggle to get past the 19 mark.
So yes, I'm going for the complete opposite of Hector.

Hector Savage · 03-02-2020 10:32am

josip wrote: »

So perhaps Nadal will end up like Serena?
If Thiem can beat him in Paris this year, then he will struggle to get past the 19 mark.
So yes, I'm going for the complete opposite of Hector.

I hope you're right.

But seriously, I think this is the year a new slam champion emerges.

Not in Paris - Nadal still too strong, and that's not me being me , thats a fact ...Nadal in RG is just ridicolous correct me if I'm wrong but he has won 91 and lost 2 there :eek::eek::eek:

Wimbledon ??? perhaps - but I think Federer could go all out and the final there could easily be a repeat of last year - with the opposite result.

US Open is where I think it will happen.... lets see!!!

walshb · 03-02-2020 2:52pm

Nadal will not win RG this year...

Nole has a very good shot at Wimbledon and U.S.

Fed wins nothing..

Hector Savage · 03-02-2020 2:55pm

walshb wrote: »

Nadal will not win RG this year...

Nole has a very good shot at Wimbledon and U.S.

Fed wins nothing..

So Theim for RG ?

walshb · 03-02-2020 4:33pm

Hector Savage wrote: »

So Theim for RG ?

Possibly. Nole, too.....

There are a few.....

I juss reckon that Nadal is cooked....

Not saying he'll be easy to beat, but I don't see two weeks of Ndal at RG this year...

mzungu · 03-02-2020 11:04pm

Regarding Nadal at RG, the clay court season should tell us a lot. But he sure did not look out for the count going on last season. Assuming he steers clear of injury, he will remain the favourite.

The best of chasing pack are closing in somewhat, though. Medvedev takes Nadal to five at last years US, while Thiem takes Djokovic to five at the AO.

This year is shaping up quite nicely.

lostcat · 04-02-2020 1:30am

walshb wrote: »

Possibly. Nole, too.....

There are a few.....

I juss reckon that Nadal is cooked....

Not saying he'll be easy to beat, but I don't see two weeks of Ndal at RG this year...

Djokovic would be my pick if Thiem/Nadal both end up on the other side of the draw. I think he would actually beat Nadal in a final if it came to it and I think he would beat Thiem in a final too ( i'm less sure about Thiems slam final temperament after last Sunday)

Hector Savage · 14-02-2020 2:46pm

Medvedev and Titssipatastas out of Rotterdam - top 2 seeds, no.3 seed Gael Monfils is doing well - he is the defending champion and just won an ATP 250 in Montpellier.

He is #9 in the world and most people would walk past him on the street and wouldn't know him - tennis is a very top heavy sport ..

yerwanthere123 · 15-02-2020 3:05pm

There's a docuseries currently being filmed on Naomi Osaka which is due for release on Netflix later this year, apparently she had a camera crew in tow at the Australian Open. I'd certainly be interested in watching, I think she's something of an enigmatic figure, but I question if this kind of a distraction is really something she needs.

Kim Clijsters will be back in Dubai next week, tough return match against Kiki Bertens. Very eager to see how she gets on, if she's in shape then I honestly wouldn't rule out her becoming a contender again.

Kerber and Zverev will be playing mixed together at the Olympics. Intrigued to see what kind of teams we could get pairing up for Tokyo, or how seriously the players will take it this year. Whatever happens let's hope it's not a slow court anyway.

Meanwhile in Rotterdam, Auger-Aliassime into the SF's, and back into the top 20 still aged just 19. I reckon when the mantle is finally passed from the current big 3 he'll be one of the ones taking the reigns.

15-02-2020 5:17pm

yerwanthere123 wrote: »

There's a docuseries currently being filmed on Naomi Osaka which is due for release on Netflix later this year, apparently she had a camera crew in tow at the Australian Open. I'd certainly be interested in watching, I think she's something of an enigmatic figure, but I question if this kind of a distraction is really something she needs.

Kim Clijsters will be back in Dubai next week, tough return match against Kiki Bertens. Very eager to see how she gets on, if she's in shape then I honestly wouldn't rule out her becoming a contender again.

Kerber and Zverev will be playing mixed together at the Olympics. Intrigued to see what kind of teams we could get pairing up for Tokyo, or how seriously the players will take it this year. Whatever happens let's hope it's not a slow court anyway.

Meanwhile in Rotterdam, Auger-Aliassime into the SF's, and back into the top 20 still aged just 19. I reckon when the mantle is finally passed from the current big 3 he'll be one of the ones taking the reigns.

meanwhile in the WTA it's the big 20 Lol.

2020 In Between Grand Slam Thread

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