2017 Australian Open Day 5: Friday, Jan 20 - Order of Play

[Shivashish Sarkar]

Amazing stats for Roger in the match:

39/41 (95%) first serve points won. Against Berdych? Are you kidding me?
20/23 (87%) net points won. Amazing again.

Berdych did not play a bad match. He landed 63% of his first serves in, hit 13 aces and finished with a winner/UE ratio of 1.857. He won 84% of his first serve points.

When Roger gets such a conversion rate (95% in this match) on his first serve points, he know he has really played his top notch game. Another stat indicating good things is, he hit 8 ground stroke winners from his BH. I don't remember when was the last time he did this to a good opponent within 3 sets. His forehand as well as backhand is firing too well at the moment. Hopefully, he will show this form against Nishikori and Murray.

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

I did not watch this match at all but the scoreline is beyond even the wildest dreams of a Fedfan like myself. I sincerely thought this was the end of the road for multiple reasons. Now Roger has enough energy in the tanks to maybe make the Kei match competitive.

Damn you Roger for giving me hope again !

 

[kskate2]

It was a nice gift for all the Fed doubters. :

Some people didn't even watch the match fearing they would see him fall to T-Berd.

 

[the AntiPusher]

It was a nice gift for all the Fed doubters. :

Some people didn't even watch the match fearing they would see him fall to T-Berd.

I wasn't a Fed doubter per se but I didn't like Roger's form against Rubin.. Today Roger whipped Berdych butt as he usually does..to be in the top ten..Berdych has got to have the worst h2h against the old big 4.. they have all just owned Tomas.

 

[Shivashish Sarkar]

Rafa vs Zverev should be interesting. Let's see if Zverev has got the brilliance yet.

 

[crystalfire]

just caught some fed highlights. his backhand was lit. and serving well as well. if he can keep that up i think he gets past nishikori easily. impressive performance

 

[Carol]

It was a nice gift for all the Fed doubters. :

Some people didn't even watch the match fearing they would see him fall to T-Berd.

I didn't have any doubt about that Roger's win :angel:

 

[El Dude]

Wow, great to see Roger cruise past Berdy. I think he's the favorite over Kei now, and Andy is definitely taking notice and won't take Roger lightly.

 

[El Dude]

Mischa Zverev reached his first 4R ever. I think he was the last player that Roger Federer double-bageled, at Halle in 2013.

 

[sid]

I called this in 3 sets for Roger,next match v Nishikori will be a lot harder & maybe 5 sets.

You´re a Berdych hater.

I am am I oh thanks for letting me know :ras:

 

[rafanoy1992]

Wow, great to see Roger cruise past Berdy. I think he's the favorite over Kei now, and Andy is definitely taking notice and won't take Roger lightly.

I don't think Andy will take Federer lightly ever

 

[Fiero425]

Wow, great to see Roger cruise past Berdy. I think he's the favorite over Kei now, and Andy is definitely taking notice and won't take Roger lightly.

I don't think Andy will take Federer lightly ever

I'm sure he doesn't want to be embarrassed by the old man like he did to him a couple years ago at Wimbledon! Not sure who I want to win that contest if they make it; Andy to continue his dominance as #1 or "ol' man river" to show how lame the competition on the tour has been for 10+ years! This has been the longest stretch for a "so called" BIG 4 that I can remember! They've been so dominant that 2 can drop out of the top 10 and still be considered part of the elite; TOO STRANGE! uzzled :nono :angel: :dodgy: :cover

 

[Busted]

Milos for me would beat Rafa v Zverev I think it's a closer match 50-50.

Raonic vs. Zverev would be a boring ace-fest. Zverev vs. Nadal today...can't stand Nadal but I may have to watch that because Zverev shows a lot of promise...and he's not a nutter like Kyrgios. Kid actually seems to understand his talent is a gift and wants to maximize what that talent while conducting himself like a gentleman.

 

[Busted]

It would be awesome if Monfils won.

More like a miracle. :laydownlaughing Talk about head cases...but..hey, Trump fooled enough Americans to get elected POTUS so obviously anything's possible.

 

[Busted]

I called this in 3 sets for Roger,next match v Nishikori will be a lot harder & maybe 5 sets.

I saw his post-match interview and he said something like maybe he played better because he's played the top guys a lot more an knows their games - and that he knew he'd have to step it up in the 3rd round when he saw the draw. Plus, he's been very candid about not expecting much this first tourney back, so this is a huge win for him. He sounded very realistic about his chances again Nishikori. For him it's a test of where he's at and what he'll need to do to prepare for the rest of the season.

To my mind, the next match is the real test for Roger because Nishikori is like a little annoying yippy terrier. I expect that match to be a harder test than Berdych, who only seems to have two gears - Reverse and Park.

 

[Carol]

I knew Roger went to beat Berdych but if Nishi is healthy (like once in awhile :s) the samurai will win

 

[Busted]

Wow, great to see Roger cruise past Berdy. I think he's the favorite over Kei now, and Andy is definitely taking notice and won't take Roger lightly.

I don't think Andy will take Federer lightly ever

No, Andy's not stupid. He'd never take Federer lightly - especially since he hasn't beaten Roger or broken Roger's serve since he lost to Roger in 4 sets at the 2014 Cinci Masters. At their level - at the time #2 and #3 in the world - 2 1/2 years is a damned long time to go without breaking a guy's serve. In their last 3 matches (2014 Tour finals, 2015 Wimbledon, 2015 Cinci) Andy has had 1 break point - ONE BREAK POINT. IF Roger makes it past Nishikori - he'll have to hope that fatigue catches up with Roger and he doesn't play his best but especially that he doesn't SERVE his best. Remember their 2015 Wimbledon semi? Roger served a crazy 76% first serves in and won 84% of the points.

All things being equal - 35 year-old Federer is still a nightmare for Andy Murray. Going into 2014 Murray led their H2H 10-9. Since 2014 Roger is 5-1 against Murray and their H2H is now 14-11. So...Andy's probably going to privately root for Kei to win or Roger to not play well if they play in the quarters.

 

[Busted]

Wow, great to see Roger cruise past Berdy. I think he's the favorite over Kei now, and Andy is definitely taking notice and won't take Roger lightly.

I don't think Andy will take Federer lightly ever

I'm sure he doesn't want to be embarrassed by the old man like he did to him a couple years ago at Wimbledon! Not sure who I want to win that contest if they make it; Andy to continue his dominance as #1 or "ol' man river" to show how lame the competition on the tour has been for 10+ years! This has been the longest stretch for a "so called" BIG 4 that I can remember! They've been so dominant that 2 can drop out of the top 10 and still be considered part of the elite; TOO STRANGE! uzzled :nono :angel: :dodgy: :cover

Why is it strange that Roger can drop out of the top 10 and "still be considered part of the elite?" In Roger's case it's not like he fell out of the top 10 because he was losing. He was injured and out for 6 months. If he'd played his regular schedule last year - he's still have been #2 or #3. If Roger's playing - Murray doesn't have the year he had...cuz...he hadn't been able to beat Roger in 2+ years.

Nadal? That one I'll give you because aside from having another injury - he was losing matches to average players, some of whom were ranked well outside the top 20 let alone the top 10 (Granollers, Coric, Pouille, Dzhumur, Cuevas, Versasco, Dimitrov, Troicki). His 2 wins were once again on clay...and one of them I side-eye because he was playing Headcase Monfils in the Monte Carlo final. He hasn't even had a half decent season since 2013. So yeah...I'll give you Nadal. He's in the "Big 4" on past accomplishments and reputation alone at this point. At least Roger's been in 3 Slam finals and other 5 semis and 1 QF since 2014. Nadal? He won the FO in 2014 and hasn't been past the QF at any Slam since then. 2 1/2 years is a long time to NOT even make a Slam semi and still be considered one of the "Big 4." If it was Roger all the talking heads will be telling him to give it up and retire.

 

[Carol]

I don't think Andy will take Federer lightly ever

I'm sure he doesn't want to be embarrassed by the old man like he did to him a couple years ago at Wimbledon! Not sure who I want to win that contest if they make it; Andy to continue his dominance as #1 or "ol' man river" to show how lame the competition on the tour has been for 10+ years! This has been the longest stretch for a "so called" BIG 4 that I can remember! They've been so dominant that 2 can drop out of the top 10 and still be considered part of the elite; TOO STRANGE! uzzled :nono :angel: :dodgy: :cover

Why is it strange that Roger can drop out of the top 10 and "still be considered part of the elite?" In Roger's case it's not like he fell out of the top 10 because he was losing. He was injured and out for 6 months. If he'd played his regular schedule last year - he's still have been #2 or #3. If Roger's playing - Murray doesn't have the year he had...cuz...he hadn't been able to beat Roger in 2+ years.

Nadal? That one I'll give you because aside from having another injury - he was losing matches to average players, some of whom were ranked well outside the top 20 let alone the top 10 (Granollers, Coric, Pouille, Dzhumur, Cuevas, Versasco, Dimitrov, Troicki). His 2 wins were once again on clay...and one of them I side-eye because he was playing Headcase Monfils in the Monte Carlo final. He hasn't even had a half decent season since 2013. So yeah...I'll give you Nadal. He's in the "Big 4" on past accomplishments and reputation alone at this point. At least Roger's been in 3 Slam finals and other 5 semis and 1 QF since 2014. Nadal? He won the FO in 2014 and hasn't been past the QF at any Slam since then. 2 1/2 years is a long time to NOT even make a Slam semi and still be considered one of the "Big 4." If it was Roger all the talking heads will be telling him to give it up and retire.

Ugh, and someone call me hater........:laydownlaughing

 

[lacatch]

Actually, Carol, Busted is making fact-based claims based on Nadal's performance since FO 2014. Other than the fact that you don't like what he is saying, can you dispute anything on a factual basis? People call you a hater, Carol, because you always seek to denigrate Roger and Novak and minimize their performance. For example, rather than praising Roger's vintage performance against Berdych, today you said that you always expected him to win against the head case, but that Nishikori will surely beat him. You rarely miss an opportunity to do so. I. and MANY MANY others on this board have urged you to praise Nadal without taking every opportunity to knock his competitors. Big difference.