2019 Australian Open, Melbourne - ATP GRAND SLAM

DarthFed said:
Yep, this is a good example of how just being poor on return can make things dicey even if the rest of his game has been pretty good. The other worry is the mental side, neither of those sets should have reached a TB and the first one was really bad as you said.

This return game is too vulnerable even against Tsisipas. He has been winning matches on serve alone. The nerves will wobble sooner or later if simply can't break. Something about the his return games has to change and change fast. If he is anyway losing them, he should at least put some doubt in the server's mind.

atttomole · Jan 16, 2019

GameSetAndMath said:
What is this 1573 Arena? Anyone knows what it is about?

What happened to Hisense Arena? Is that now being called Melbourne Arena?

The 1573 Arena is what used to be called show court 2 and the Hisense Arena is now called the Melbourne Arena.

Moxie · Jan 16, 2019

Only saw the last set of Rafa's match but he looked really good. FH is fizzing.

atttomole · Jan 16, 2019

DarthFed said:
Just saw the end of the asshole's match today. He looked a lot better today than the first round unfortunately.

He didn't look that good to me. His opponent was just too limited, but whenever he played first strike tennis, he was giving Rafa some trouble. If he meets someone who is serving consistently well, I think he is out. Not sure if his serve has become more effective. However, it looks like his path to the semifinals is even easier now, with the exit of Anderson.

Fiero425 · Jan 16, 2019

atttomole said:
He didn't look that good to me. His opponent was just too limited, but whenever he played first strike tennis, he was giving Rafa some trouble. If he meets someone who is serving consistently well, I think he is out. Not sure if his serve has become more effective. However, it looks like his path to the semifinals is even easier now, with the exit of Anderson.

Evans was working Roger's nerves last night; playing that old style of big serving, chipping and charging! If not for a blister on his foot, I wonder what could have happened? McEnroe waxed nostalgically over that "slice" backhand! :whistle: :facepalm:

:cuckoo:

atttomole · Jan 16, 2019

Fiero425 said:
Evans was working Roger's nerves last night; playing that old style of big serving, chipping and charging! If not for a blister on his foot, I wonder what could have happened? McEnroe waxed nostalgically over that "slice" backhand! :whistle: :cuckoo:

Roger looked bad to me, especially on crucial points, but the statistics are saying otherwise. He seemed rattled by the outward confidence of the brawler. He looked shaky.

kskate2 · Jan 16, 2019

atttomole said:
The 1573 Arena is what used to be called show court 2 and the Hisense Arena is now called the Melbourne Arena.

@GameSetAndMath 1573 arena is named after some aged booze.

Horsa · Jan 16, 2019

kskate2 said:
@GameSetAndMath 1573 arena is named after some aged booze.

:0) I guess they had a ball there then.

DarthFed · Jan 16, 2019

kskate2 said:
@GameSetAndMath 1573 arena is named after some aged booze.

That'd be awesome!

kskate2 · Jan 16, 2019

DarthFed said:
That'd be awesome!

I heard them talking about it on TTC and I found this

DarthFed · Jan 16, 2019

atttomole said:
Roger looked bad to me, especially on crucial points, but the statistics are saying otherwise. He seemed rattled by the outward confidence of the brawler. He looked shaky.

I thought he looked good except for the crucial points, mostly on return where he had untimely misses off of serves that should have been handled. Evans to his credit also was aggressive in those moments but Roger did bad as well.

Chris Koziarz · Jan 16, 2019

GameSetAndMath said:
Meanwhile two time GS finalist and Mudabala conqueror of Bull, makes an exit by losing to Tiafoe (who was actually not in form recently), thus making Ralph's path clearer than before. All hopes hinge on D-Minor now. If D-Minor cannot stop Ralph, then he is sure to reach SF.

Bad news from me for yous, "Ralph-haters".
I watched most of d-minor's match. I didn't bother watching the last 3 games (went to sleep) because I conclude the guy is overrated. He does not have a good game plan, he makes silly mistakes on crucial points, especially after long rallies. Stand out was his blatant drop shot from a high ball at game point, that should have been an easy put away. Instead he chose a blatant shot that was penalised and as a consequence he lost the game. At this moment I turned off my TV, as I could not watch the guy anymore. His "fighting spirit" cannot make up for lack of basic thinking on the court which is why he's unable to win any serious best of 5 match. He may be able go get away against a Q, but against in form Rafa, he simply stands no chances. I think, he would be very lucky if he was able to sneak 1 early set for a loss in 4. But far more likely result will be 7-5 6-3 6-1 (or similar) Rafa. So, you should FF to SF (and pray that Roger lifts his game and is not eliminated) if you want to hold any hope of "Ralph be taken out".
You cannot accuse me of bias, because I live in SYD (d-minor's town!) and I should support my local guy but I realistically cannot. Certainly he can take on Rafa later in his career if he continue improving and mature, but he's completely unprepared for such opponent today.

herios · Jan 16, 2019

Chris Koziarz said:
Bad news from me for yous, "Ralph-haters".
I watched most of d-minor's match. I didn't bother watching the last 3 games (went to sleep) because I conclude the guy is overrated. He does not have a good game plan, he makes silly mistakes on crucial points, especially after long rallies. Stand out was his blatant drop shot from a high ball at game point, that should have been an easy put away. Instead he chose a blatant shot that was penalised and as a consequence he lost the game. At this moment I turned off my TV, as I could not watch the guy anymore. His "fighting spirit" cannot make up for lack of basic thinking on the court which is why he's unable to win any serious best of 5 match. He may be able go get away against a Q, but against in form Rafa, he simply stands no chances. I think, he would be very lucky if he was able to sneak 1 early set for a loss in 4. But far more likely result will be 7-5 6-3 6-1 (or similar) Rafa. So, you should FF to SF (and pray that Roger lifts his game and is not eliminated) if you want to hold any hope of "Ralph be taken out".
You cannot accuse me of bias, because I live in SYD (d-minor's town!) and I should support my local guy but I realistically cannot. Certainly he can take on Rafa later in his career if he continue improving and mature, but he's completely unprepared for such opponent today.

Nobody expects at this point from D-minor to be a threat to Nadal, unless they are living in a wishful thinking bubble.

DarthFed · Jan 16, 2019

I'm shocked the guy is top 100 with that body. He looks like 125 pounds soaking wet. Best hope is for him to make the jerk work hard with those supposed wobbly knees. Nothing I fear more than Ralph after an injury or minor operation...

Moxie · Jan 16, 2019

atttomole said:
He didn't look that good to me. His opponent was just too limited, but whenever he played first strike tennis, he was giving Rafa some trouble. If he meets someone who is serving consistently well, I think he is out. Not sure if his serve has become more effective. However, it looks like his path to the semifinals is even easier now, with the exit of Anderson.

Has more MPH's on the serve. Blame the opponent if you like, but I thought Rafa looked pretty darn good. Also of note, his girlfriend is in attendance, where she usually doesn't make the trip, esp. this early. Maybe a lucky charm to change his fortunes Down Under.

GameSetAndMath · Jan 16, 2019

Chris Koziarz said:
Bad news from me for yous, "Ralph-haters".
I watched most of d-minor's match. I didn't bother watching the last 3 games (went to sleep) because I conclude the guy is overrated. He does not have a good game plan, he makes silly mistakes on crucial points, especially after long rallies. Stand out was his blatant drop shot from a high ball at game point, that should have been an easy put away. Instead he chose a blatant shot that was penalised and as a consequence he lost the game. At this moment I turned off my TV, as I could not watch the guy anymore. His "fighting spirit" cannot make up for lack of basic thinking on the court which is why he's unable to win any serious best of 5 match. He may be able go get away against a Q, but against in form Rafa, he simply stands no chances. I think, he would be very lucky if he was able to sneak 1 early set for a loss in 4. But far more likely result will be 7-5 6-3 6-1 (or similar) Rafa. So, you should FF to SF (and pray that Roger lifts his game and is not eliminated) if you want to hold any hope of "Ralph be taken out".
You cannot accuse me of bias, because I live in SYD (d-minor's town!) and I should support my local guy but I realistically cannot. Certainly he can take on Rafa later in his career if he continue improving and mature, but he's completely unprepared for such opponent today.

I did not see the match. But, I am happy that he was forced to go to the distance and win (as opposed to winning in straight sets). He surely cannot win in straight sets (if at all he could manage to win) and so going to the distance and winning before would give him some mental confidence when he is down.

I would give D-minor better chances of beating Ralph than probably anyone else left standing in his quarter. That is not to say D-minor will win.

Moxie · Jan 16, 2019

GameSetAndMath said:
I did not see the match. But, I am happy that he was forced to go to the distance and win (as opposed to winning in straight sets). He surely cannot win in straight sets (if at all he could manage to win) and so going to the distance and winning before would give him some mental confidence when he is down.

I would give D-minor better chances of beating Ralph than probably anyone else left standing in his quarter. That is not to say D-minor will win.

It's a reasonable point that surviving a 5-setter gives confidence, and indicates he can dig in. I know you're looking for reasons to hope for the upset. At the same time, he's a pretty slight guy, as Darth noted, so he may not recover so well. But, hey, he's young. Personally, I see heavy weight v. lightweight and I'm not worried.

GameSetAndMath · Jan 16, 2019

Moxie said:
It's a reasonable point that surviving a 5-setter gives confidence, and indicates he can dig in. I know you're looking for reasons to hope for the upset. At the same time, he's a pretty slight guy, as Darth noted, so he may not recover so well. But, hey, he's young. Personally, I see heavy weight v. lightweight and I'm not worried.

For young chaps like him recovery won't be an issue. He would be at a disadvantage while facing Rafa not because of that, but because of pure difference in skill level.

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2019 Australian Open, Melbourne - ATP GRAND SLAM

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