2018 Australian Open, Melbourne - ATP GRAND SLAM

[Busted]

Like I said when we started talking about 2018, jury's out on Novak. He gets a pass for the first half of the year in my book. But those who thought he had chances here in AO?....

I would hang my head in shame...except...I did say IF his elbow was 100%...which it apparently isn't. Always leave yourself an out when predicting based on the unknown...

 

[Busted]

lul maybe scoop's prediction will come true and Dimitrov wins the whole thing

That'll be a sad day in tennis if that happens because he is mediocre at best. On the other hand...it's better than Nadal winning #17.

 

[El Dude]

It seems @mrzz went on a bender last night

 

[El Dude]

I predicted a Dimitrov-Federer final. If that is the case, Roger will win. If Grigor faces anyone else in the final, he'll win.

Of course he's got to get past Rafa first.

 

[Fiero425]

I predicted a Dimitrov-Federer final. If that is the case, Roger will win. If Grigor faces anyone else in the final, he'll win.

Of course he's got to get past Rafa first.

The tide really turned with the upsets in the bottom of the draw! Nadal had the easier path until this weekend; now it's all changed and he'll have to work with 2 higher seeds (Grigor & Marin) remaining while Roger should have a much easier time! Chung will have to come back to Earth sooner or later, but he might make Fed work for it; maybe take a set! :whistle:

 

[Denis]

I don't know about Chung being "a little short." Brad Gilbert was saying that he's taller than he looks - close to 6'3" - long torso, shorter legs. He's listed at the ATP site as 6'2". I think where he would get in trouble with Roger is - Roger's not going to want to play long rallies. He'll be looking to play shorter points and come forward. Djokovic really needs to get out of the grinding mindset. That's why his elbow is jacked up in the first place. Not every point needs to be 40 shot rally. Even if he's not coming forward he can be aggressive from the baseline and play shorter rallies. I've been saying this for 6 years now. Don't know why he won't listen to me. LOL!

The big 4 all all considerably taller with perhaps only Rafa coming closer to Chungs height. It will impact the serve as a weapon. If Schwartzman could add 15 cm the guy would dominate the tour like no other.

 

[Federberg]

The big 4 all all considerably taller with perhaps only Rafa coming closer to Chungs height. It will impact the serve as a weapon. If Schwartzman could add 15 cm the guy would dominate the tour like no other.

Of the big 4 I believe Roger is the shortest. It's marginal, but Rafa's taller than him I think

 

[Denis]

Of the big 4 I believe Roger is the shortest. It's marginal, but Rafa's taller than him I think

I just checked Chung is taller than Rafa and Fed. Wtf.

I stand corrected! The guy looks much shorter!

 

[Denis]

Rafa 6 1 185 cm
Fed ditto
Novak 62 188 cm
Chung ditto
Murray 63 191 cm

 

[Federberg]

Rafa 6 1 185 cm
Fed ditto
Novak 62 188 cm
Chung ditto
Murray 63 191 cm

I don't really trust the data the ATP puts out tbh. I've seen Federer and Nadal from fairly close. Unless Rafa's trainers have more lift, he looks to have half an inch to an inch over Roger

 

[10isfan]

Stan and Djoke shouldn’t have played AO. All they accomplished was aggravation of their injury. It will now take even longer to heal.

Fed didn’t look good in his last watch. If he doesn’t step up, he’ll lose to Berd.

Thoroughly enjoyed the Jung v Djoke match except having to witness Djoke playing with pain. That kid is mentally and physically tough. Very happy for him. The traditional bow to his parents post match was heart-warming.

 

[Denis]

Stan and Djoke shouldn’t have played AO. All they accomplished was aggravation of their injury. It will now take even longer to heal.

Fed didn’t look good in his last watch. If he doesn’t step up, he’ll lose to Berd.

Thoroughly enjoyed the Jung v Djoke match except having to witness Djoke playing with pain. That kid is mentally and physically tough. Very happy for him. The traditional bow to his parents post match was heart-warming.

Yeah Korean culture is pretty big on respecting your elders. I assume the country is going nuts over Chung right now too btw. They like their international stars and Chung is making a name for himself now.

 

[Busted]

I just checked Chung is taller than Rafa and Fed. Wtf.

I stand corrected! The guy looks much shorter!

That's what I was saying earlier - Brad Gilbert said he's close to 6'3" - just has a long torso and shorter legs.

 

[Busted]

Rafa 6 1 185 cm
Fed ditto
Novak 62 188 cm
Chung ditto
Murray 63 191 cm

I don't think the ATP has the right heights for Nadal, Murray and Djokovic. I'm pretty sure I read that Djokovic is closer to 6'3" and John McEnroe (and Brad Gilbert) keeps saying that Murray is "the best 6'4" mover the game has ever seen."

 

[Fiero425]

I don't think the ATP has the right heights for Nadal, Murray and Djokovic. I'm pretty sure I read that Djokovic is closer to 6'3" and John McEnroe (and Brad Gilbert) keeps saying that Murray is "the best 6'4" mover the game has ever seen."

Not anymore! Like Michael Chang, that idiot grinder will be replacing both hips before he turns 40! :whistle: :cuckoo:

 

[Denis]

Not anymore! Like Michael Chang, that idiot grinder will be replacing both hips before he turns 40! :whistle: :cuckoo:

lol fiero you can be a little dramatic

 

[Puppet Master]

Looks like bad tactics to me. Why'd he keep hitting the ball back to Chung? How much is he paying Craig O'Shaughnessy again? Guess he had O'Shaughnessy so busy looking up stats on Roger and Nadal he didn't get the stats on playing to Chung's backhand? LOL!

Did the kid really say he could play 2 more sets because he's younger than Djokovic? If so...that's some funny shite.

Not gonna lie here...it would sort of make my tennis year - already - if the kid took out Djokovic, Federer and Nadal to win the title. Something nobody else has been able to do.. It's a tall order though. If nothing else you'd think sooner or later the pressure and lack of experience would get to him.

Yeah, the dude actually said it. Funny guy. He usually has something funny to say in interviews, although I admit I haven't seen too many of them.

I wouldn't jump the gun with him taking out Fedal if I were you. He is the same height as Fedal, but his serve is godawful, at least for a guy his height. He produced 1 ace in what was quite possibly his best level yet.
That is horrific.
Nadal, and especially Federer, would eat him alive in return games.
Djokovic was struggling in his service games so much, he couldn't play freely in Chung's service games. And yet, he got broken 5 times.

Now regarding his baseline game, I just have to ask:
How the ¥uck?
His defense is insane, and there aren't many guys who can go toe to toe with him on the baseline. Coming to the net against him is suicide. Basically like young Rafa: he can find a pass no matter how far away he is and no matter how well you are covering the net.

It will be interesting to see if he achieves anything of note during the clay court season. In theory, his game should work better on clay, but I don't think it will.

 

[Denis]

^ yeah his serve is in need of improvement. Thats why I thought he was so short.

Also noteworthy he mentioned that he was ranked where he was because of several injuries over the years. Thats not a good sign.

 

[Horsa]

@Denis, I can offer you some possibilities to root for in case of Fedal final:

1) Nadal fires a shot in Federer's chest, old man dies. Nadal is disqualified, nobody wins the tournament.

2) Federer fires a shot in Nadal's chest, it bounces back and hits the umpire. Federer is disqualified. Nadal jumps the net and physically assaults Federer. Nadal is disqualified too. Nobody wins the tournament.

3) Federer is leading by two sets to love. Carol invades the court, throw some kisses to the wind in Nadal's direction, and empties a 9 mm in Federer's body. Just afterwards she asks Nadal to marry her, he refuses, she grabs a second pistol, shoots him the knee, ask again, he refuses, the process goes on and he finally is killed. Nobody wins the tournament.

4) Nadal is leading by two sets to love. Darth and Front invade the court and Nadal dies with 1324 stabs on chest, face, biceps, eyes and naughty bits. Old man Federer has a heart attack when they run in his direction to hug him. Nobody wins the tournament.

5) Nadal and Federer decide to share the trophy because they are besties. The ARMA (Australian Real Macho Association) beats both guys to death before the joint trophy ceremony. Nobody wins the tournament.

6) Federer had beaten Chung in the semis. Somebody tells Kim Jong Un Chung has North Korean grand parents, and that he planned to dedicate the trophy to the almighty DPRK. He nukes Melbourne in revenge. Nobody wins the tournament.

7) Federer had beaten Tennys in the semis. Somebody tells Trump Federer is a libtard who hates white America, and always plays well against white Americans, showing him videos of the Roddick matches. He sends the CIA to kill Federer. They kill Nadal by mistake, but the Russians finish the job, seizing the opportunity (go Rublev!). Nobody wins the tournament.

8) Aliens land on earth before the final. Jesus Christ returns. Elvis returns (argh). The sun turns into a bubble gum of astronomic proportions. Maradona walks on water. Laws of physics change and Carbon-12 becomes an unstable nucleus. The end of all times arrives, and, most importantly, nobody wins the tournament.

See? A lot of things to root for. You people just have too little faith.

I'm very sorry for interrupting your conversation but have you ever considered becoming a comedian? I think that's absolutely hilarious.

 

[El Dude]

I wonder when the last time a Slam QF had two unseeded players playing each other?