Australian Open 2019

23-01-2019 11:06am

Lucas Pouille has been a real sleeper in this tournament. Had never won a match here before and had a losing start to 2019.

Dealing with raonic so well means that he must be playing decent.

He has never played djokivic who in form like this is a nightmare as one winner in a rally is not enough, you have to hit two as he'll get the first one back.

lostcat · 23-01-2019 11:24am

glasso wrote: »

Lucas Pouille has been a real sleeper in this tournament. Had never won a match here before and had a losing start to 2019.

Dealing with raonic so well means that he must be playing decent.

He has never played djokivic who in form like this is a nightmare as one winner in a rally is not enough, you have to hit two as he'll get the first one back.

Pouille has a very good all court game, and the young fellas in general are maturing nicely and aren't as afraid of the big boys as they generation before them are.

Djokovic isn't playing flawless tennis at the moment but he usually perks up around semifinal time so i expect that he will win in a tight 4 sets.

edit, ok just checked and Lucas Pouille is 24/25m so maybe not quite 'next gen'....

Floppybits · 23-01-2019 11:28am

Typical of Nishikori to pull out during a match.

23-01-2019 11:39am

Yes Pouille has been on the tour 6 years.

Had a run to top ten last year (literally number 10) but only very very briefly.

Not a guy you hear a lot of talk about - maybe he's a bit of a late bloomer.

Djokovic is not by any means flawless at the moment but he has that bit-between-the-teeth vibe about him. Very hard to beat when he's on it and fully engaged.

He's a gritty fcuker and on his best surface - Melbourne is his equivalent when healthy of what used to be Fed's Wimbledon or almost (but not quite that level of owning) what is fit Nadal's RG.

Rob2D · 23-01-2019 11:56am

Floppybits wrote: »

Typical of Nishikori to pull out during a match.

What is his problem???

That makes 21 times he has retired from competitive matches.

jr86 · 23-01-2019 12:06pm

glasso wrote: »

Yes Pouille has been on the tour 6 years.

Had a run to top ten last year (literally number 10) but only very very briefly.

Not a guy you hear a lot of talk about - maybe he's a bit of a late bloomer.

Djokovic is not by any means flawless at the moment but he has that bit-between-the-teeth vibe about him. Very hard to beat when he's on it and fully engaged.

He's a gritty fcuker and on his best surface - Melbourne is his equivalent when healthy of what used to be Fed's Wimbledon or almost (but not quite that level of owning) what is fit Nadal's RG.

Well Pouille has made 2 slam quarters before (beating Nadal on the way to one) so he hasn't exactly come from nowhere.

he's going well yes but I expect him to be comfortably beaten by Djokovic, and like Edmund and Chung I'd expect him to revert to type after this event (go on an odd good run but be inconsistent in the main)

lostcat · 23-01-2019 12:24pm

Floppybits wrote: »

Typical of Nishikori to pull out during a match.

Hes hard to work out, one one hand no one has a better record of winning slam matches from being two sets down than anyone, on the other hand he does get a lot of injuries and retires / pulls out of matches.

23-01-2019 1:44pm

jr86 wrote: »

Well Pouille has made 2 slam quarters before (beating Nadal on the way to one) so he hasn't exactly come from nowhere.

he's going well yes but I expect him to be comfortably beaten by Djokovic, and like Edmund and Chung I'd expect him to revert to type after this event (go on an odd good run but be inconsistent in the main)

well yes if he got to top 10 in the world as I said he's hardly unknown but I meant that in terms of Melbourne 2019 he has not even been talked about even though he has now ended up the semi.

I hope that he takes a set off Djokovic at least and makes a go of it.

jr86 · 23-01-2019 1:50pm

glasso wrote: »

well yes if he got to top 10 in the world as I said he's hardly unknown but I meant that in terms of Melbourne 2019 he has not even been talked about even though he has now ended up the semi.

I hope that he takes a set off Djokovic at least and makes a go of it.

I think there was always a strong possibility an outsider was coming through that side of the draw given Zverev's major struggles

The ATP is becoming very WTA like outside of Nadal and Djokovic who are uber consistent in every slam. Only a few years ago you'd steadily predict at least 6 out of the 8 QFists in advance and most likely at least 3 SFists

Nowadays outside of RN and ND it could be anyone. And plenty of 'flash in the pans' such as Edmund, Checcinato, Chung, etc.

23-01-2019 2:44pm

jr86 wrote: »

I think there was always a strong possibility an outsider was coming through that side of the draw given Zverev's major struggles

The ATP is becoming very WTA like outside of Nadal and Djokovic who are uber consistent in every slam. Only a few years ago you'd steadily predict at least 6 out of the 8 QFists in advance and most likely at least 3 SFists

Nowadays outside of RN and ND it could be anyone. And plenty of 'flash in the pans' such as Edmund, Checcinato, Chung, etc.

well the big 4 were called the big 4 for a reason now 1 of those is gone, 1 is getting too old and the other 2 are fit at the moment.

Then you had Wawrinka and Delpro who when fit would have been the other 2 I guess.

With the younger guys if some of them actually get consistent it will take a while for the ranking to stabilise so that they are seeded and hence advance in a predictable manner.

so I would argue that it's not like the WTA but in a flux / changeover period.

jr86 · 23-01-2019 2:53pm

glasso wrote: »

well the big 4 were called the big 4 for a reason now 1 of those is gone, 1 is getting too old and the other 2 are fit at the moment.

Then you had Wawrinka and Delpro who when fit would have been the other 2 I guess.

With the younger guys if some of them actually get consistent it will take a while for the ranking to stabilise so that they are seeded and hence advance in a predictable manner.

so I would argue that it's not like the WTA but in a flux / changeover period.

Well you also had perennial QFists like Tsonga, Ferrer and Berdych. There was a very solid top 10 or so only a couple of years ago, where it was a major shock to see anyone outside it go and make a semi.

Outside of Nadal and Djokovic now its just so fluid. If both get injured/lose form goodness knows what will happen. It wouldn't amaze me to see unseeded players starting to make finals or even win an odd slam, and then promptly disappear.

23-01-2019 3:13pm

jr86 wrote: »

Well you also had perennial QFists like Tsonga, Ferrer and Berdych. There was a very solid top 10 or so only a couple of years ago, where it was a major shock to see anyone outside it go and make a semi.

Outside of Nadal and Djokovic now its just so fluid. If both get injured/lose form goodness knows what will happen. It wouldn't amaze me to see unseeded players starting to make finals or even win an odd slam, and then promptly disappear.

yes it is fluid but I do think that within 2 to 3 years it will be much more consistent again. the big 4 is unlikely to happen again but surely a few of the new guys will emerge if they continue their game development and more importantly have the drive and mental side which is imo the real edge at the elite level.

of the really young guys Tsitsipas loooks to have it. Outside him hard to say - maybe Shapovalov. Tiafoe too possibly. De Minaur.... Chung still only 22. Medvedev. Coric

Zverev needs to get the mental edge benefit from working with Lendl. He's already no.4 and doing better than the rest of his age group.

Floppybits · 23-01-2019 3:21pm

lostcat wrote: »

Hes hard to work out, one one hand no one has a better record of winning slam matches from being two sets down than anyone, on the other hand he does get a lot of injuries and retires / pulls out of matches.

This is his problem "no one has a better record of winning slam matches from being two sets down than anyone". The fact that he expends a lot of energy winning matches in the early rounds means that he is a goosed when it really matters which is what happened today. I watched the first set this morning and said to myself he is not going to finish this match, you could see he was goosed.

When Djokovic was playing Medvedev, he was conserving energy in that match meanwhile Nishikori was slogging his guts out in another marathon match. This is what Djokovic, Nadal and Federer (until recently) have over the others is that they spend less time on court.

23-01-2019 3:35pm

Floppybits wrote: »

This is his problem "no one has a better record of winning slam matches from being two sets down than anyone". The fact that he expends a lot of energy winning matches in the early rounds means that he is a goosed when it really matters which is what happened today. I watched the first set this morning and said to myself he is not going to finish this match, you could see he was goosed.

When Djokovic was playing Medvedev, he was conserving energy in that match meanwhile Nishikori was slogging his guts out in another marathon match. This is what Djokovic, Nadal and Federer (until recently) have over the others is that they spend less time on court.

well he has an actual injury so not his fault that he got that.

but maybe he just isn't built body/stamina for a full 2-week GS run with matches over 5 sets - and isn't dominant / good enough to be able to breeze through the earlier rounds with easy games which as you said definitely is an advantage in terms of toll on the body.

Floppybits · 23-01-2019 3:53pm

glasso wrote: »

well he has an actual injury so not his fault that he got that.

but maybe he just isn't built body/stamina for a full 2-week GS run with matches over 5 sets - and isn't dominant / good enough to be able to breeze through the earlier rounds with easy games which as you said definitely is an advantage in terms of toll on the body.

His injury was brought on by him not being able to finish of matches. I just read that going into the match against Djokovic he has spent nearly 14 hours on court, he has played 3 Five set matched and 2 of which he had to come from 2 sets down to win.

Its unfortunate that he just not built for tennis.

23-01-2019 4:08pm

In terms of being built for tennis there was that thing about most of the players who have managed to be dominant over the last 30 years or so pretty much all being 6 foot 1 to 6 foot 2 and that being the ideal for a combination of power and mobility.

certainly does seem to have something in it. (obviously there are other factors like talent and mental strength)

a lot of the really tall guys can't get around the court fast enough, seem to get bad back problems as the years go on and the smaller guys just can't impose themselves enough consistently.

23-01-2019 4:28pm

interesting article about the pretty much year-long season and attrition in tennis. and how the Williams sisters and Fed have been able to last so long.

https://www.theringer.com/2019/1/21/18190905/andy-murray-australian-open-serena-williams-federer-nadal-djokovic

MisterAnarchy · 23-01-2019 5:11pm

SophieLockhart wrote: »

Well that's the most astonishing thing I've ever seen on a tennis court!!

Well Williams rolled her ankle at 5-1 and it obviously effected her ,she didn't win another point on her serve after that.
After the US Open debacle Serena didnt want to be making excuses but it was obvious she was injured .
You cant play any sport with a dodgy ankle.

The Golden Miller · 23-01-2019 9:52pm

lostcat wrote: »

Pouille has a very good all court game, and the young fellas in general are maturing nicely and aren't as afraid of the big boys as they generation before them are.

Djokovic isn't playing flawless tennis at the moment but he usually perks up around semifinal time so i expect that he will win in a tight 4 sets.

edit, ok just checked and Lucas Pouille is 24/25m so maybe not quite 'next gen'....

What does that mean?

yerwanthere123 · 24-01-2019 12:30am

Anyone got any preferences as to who'd they'd like to win? For me, it's:

1. Osaka
2. Kvitova (although extremely close between her and Naomi)
3. Pliskova
4. Collins

Don't think I've seen Collins actually play yet, apart from when she took that set off Halep at the US Open 2014 first round. Anyone remember that?

1. Pouille
2. Tsitsipas

(big gulf)

3. Djokovic

(even bigger gulf)

4. The Spanish fella

SophieLockhart · 24-01-2019 12:33am

MisterAnarchy wrote: »

Well Williams rolled her ankle at 5-1 and it obviously effected her ,she didn't win another point on her serve after that.
After the US Open debacle Serena didnt want to be making excuses but it was obvious she was injured .
You cant play any sport with a dodgy ankle.

I've never actually seen someone suffer an injury on match point, and leading by a wide margin. In combination with the footfault call (on an ace!) the odds must be astronomical.

As for the injury, any pain from the ankle seemed to be gone around 5-3. Didn't stop her getting 3 more match points at 5-4 anyway. It looked to be more of a mental thing at that stage, which we have seen before, with the loss to Vinci when going for the Grand Slam probably the worst.

24-01-2019 12:34am

Kvitova

Tsitsipas

Floppybits · 24-01-2019 7:20am

McEnroe commenting on Nishikori. Says he gives in mentally.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiJjLLF4YXgAhUHUBUIHXarCWgQzPwBegQIARAC&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxsports.com.au%2Ftennis%2Faustralian-open%2Fhe-gives-in-mentally-tennis-legend-john-mcenroe-slams-kei-nishikori-after-retirement%2Fnews-story%2F7f35578fa900d50826c61fd882e7d5d1&psig=AOvVaw22v1LCZQrP3XLvDBop-DQt&ust=1548396754371908

764dak · 24-01-2019 8:06am

Chivito550 wrote: »

Ladies and gentlemen, the human race has reached peak stupidity.

https://twitter.com/andyharris1994/status/1087296926138097667?s=21

splinter65 wrote: »

Chivito550 wrote: »

Ladies and gentlemen, the human race has reached peak stupidity.

https://twitter.com/andyharris1994/status/1087296926138097667?s=21

...and neither anchor challenged her!

This guy said she was talking about Serena vs Djokovic in terms of viewership:
https://mobile.twitter.com/buddyhol17/status/1087435096515170304

Floppybits · 24-01-2019 10:35am

Looks like it is going to be another 3 setter for Nadal.

josip · 24-01-2019 10:44am

I think Tsitsipas just woke up after you posted this

Played some very aggressive stuff to come back from 0-40 down on his service game.

Hector Savage · 24-01-2019 10:53am

Floppybits wrote: »

Looks like it is going to be another 3 setter for Nadal.

I don't think he'll drop a set the whole tournament tbh...

Can't believe bookies were so stupid to take bets at 8.5 ....

Chivito550 · 24-01-2019 11:12am

Hector Savage wrote: »

I don't think he'll drop a set the whole tournament tbh...

Can't believe bookies were so stupid to take bets at 8.5 ....

Ah now. He hasn’t beaten Djokovic away from clay in 5 and a half years. Saying Nadal will beat him in straight sets is a massive call. It will likely go to 5 sets with Djokovic a marginal favorite.

Hector Savage · 24-01-2019 11:13am

Chivito550 wrote: »

Ah now. He hasn’t beaten Djokovic away from clay in 5 and a half years. Saying Nadal will beat him in straight sets is a massive call. It will likely go to 5 sets with Djokovic a marginal favorite.

Nah, I would agree if Djokovic was in his best form but he's not.

Nadal is in the best HC form of his life here.

4 sets at best for Djokovic (losing I mean)

josip · 24-01-2019 11:23am

Hector Savage wrote: »

Nah, I would agree if Djokovic was in his best form but he's not.

Nadal is in the best HC form of his life here.

4 sets at best for Djokovic (losing I mean)

Agree, I know little about tennis but I've never seen Nadal play like this.
I would actually chose to watch him now rather than being turned off by the slugfests that he used to be involved in.

Australian Open 2019

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