Australian Open Day 8: Monday, Jan 20 - Order of Play

[brokenshoelace]

God time goes by quickly. Wilander is talking about the evolution of Federer and how he used to play Hewitt, Roddick and Nalbandian, then how he started playing Nadal. Feels like yesterday.

 

[Denis]

Rafa got broken 4 times today.

Well, he was never going to win the tournament without getting broken, so it had to happen at some point, but sure, it is a little surprising it happened 4 times against Kei. I thought the scoreline would be more like the Monfils match. Something like 6-2, 6-2, 6-1. Gotta admire Nishikori today, though. He didn't give it, even well into the third.

That scoreline was never going to happen. Rafa has only made one of those set scores once and that as at Roland Garros. And Nishikori's mentality is decent enough to keep him in the match.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Couple of backhands there that landed shorts giving Tsonga a chance to get on top and put the forehand away. I feel this Fed's main weakness in rallies at the moment. His backhand can lack pop at times, and it just sort of lands in the court with now depth or purpose.

 

[DarthFed]

Tsongas mindless ball bashing is keeping him in this. Hope Roger doesn't give him many 2nd serves because he will be looking to smash those.

 

[Denis]

I like this umpire Eva. She has the courage to give warning to top players. Nadal
has already got a coaching warning and time violation warning.

coaching warning ??? I missed that,

was it good old "uncle toni" cheat..err I mean talking behind his hand again ?..or sign language ?. :snigger

That was hilarious; she took his 1st serve from him! She mean't business! If Nadal were a little smarter, he'd realize, if he played a bit quicker, his oponent would wear down and he could get off the court before dinner! 3 hours 17 min to finally dispatch this kid in the longest straight set victory in history! :nono :lolz: :angel: :laydownlaughing

Yeah, appalling really. Nadal towelling off after an ace. Coaching. Deliberately delaying the game to get the mental edge over your opponent.

Maybe Nadal should consider playing on the WTA tour. At least they allow coaching over there.

Well, at least Kei made a good effort. I think we might see him move up the rankings a bit this year.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Rafa got broken 4 times today.

Well, he was never going to win the tournament without getting broken, so it had to happen at some point, but sure, it is a little surprising it happened 4 times against Kei. I thought the scoreline would be more like the Monfils match. Something like 6-2, 6-2, 6-1. Gotta admire Nishikori today, though. He didn't give it, even well into the third.

That scoreline was never going to happen. Rafa has only made one of those set scores once and that as at Roland Garros. And Nishikori's mentality is decent enough to keep him in the match.

Considering that Nadal has beaten far superior players with that scoreline, I'd say "never going to happen" is a touch strong. Nadal had never beaten Monfils with such a scoreline. Anyway, tennis is a game of inches, and Nadal is normally a dreadful match-up for Nishikori but he played like absolute garbage. A sharper performance would have probably lead to a 6-3 6-4 6-3 scoreline or something like that, and that's only if he played about 20% better. That's how tennis works.

 

[tented]

Deliberately delaying the game to get the mental edge over your opponent.

Tread VERY carefully.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Maybe Nadal should consider playing on the WTA tour. At least they allow coaching over there.

It's barely a fair fight against male players.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Tsongas mindless ball bashing is keeping him in this. Hope Roger doesn't give him many 2nd serves because he will be looking to smash those.

The only way Tsonga gets back in this is if Roger has a bad service game that inexplicably gives Tsonga the break, and Jo uses that momentum to start getting going. At this level from Roger, it should be straightforward though.

 

[Denis]

Deliberately delaying the game to get the mental edge over your opponent.

Tread VERY carefully.

:huh:

Oh, wait this is a Nadal tennis forum. Sorry!

 

[brokenshoelace]

Federer seems to have slightly backed off the aggression to me. Not making the points as short as he was earlier. More content to rally now.

 

[DarthFed]

Hopefully he doesn't get too tired running to the net, he's living up there.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Deliberately delaying the game to get the mental edge over your opponent.

Tread VERY carefully.

:huh:

Oh, wait this is a Nadal tennis forum. Sorry!

Irony is not exclusive to Nadal tennis forums. Please, stop playing that victim card every time. We get it, Novak fans are outnumbered here. It's sad. But then again, they're outnumbered everywhere (except Serbia).

 

[Denis]

Rafa got broken 4 times today.

Well, he was never going to win the tournament without getting broken, so it had to happen at some point, but sure, it is a little surprising it happened 4 times against Kei. I thought the scoreline would be more like the Monfils match. Something like 6-2, 6-2, 6-1. Gotta admire Nishikori today, though. He didn't give it, even well into the third.

That scoreline was never going to happen. Rafa has only made one of those set scores once and that as at Roland Garros. And Nishikori's mentality is decent enough to keep him in the match.

Considering that Nadal has beaten far superior players with that scoreline, I'd say "never going to happen" is a touch strong. Nadal had never beaten Monfils with such a scoreline. Anyway, tennis is a game of inches, and Nadal is normally a dreadful match-up for Nishikori but he played like absolute garbage. A sharper performance would have probably lead to a 6-3 6-4 6-3 scoreline or something like that, and that's only if he played about 20% better. That's how tennis works.

I agree with that. Although, Nishikori definetely deserves some credit too.

 

[tented]

Deliberately delaying the game to get the mental edge over your opponent.

Tread VERY carefully.

:huh:

Oh, wait this is a Nadal tennis forum. Sorry!

I'm going to assume you're joking ...

 

[brokenshoelace]

By the way Denis, tented was not threatening you. He was pointing out the irony of a Novak fan complaining about delays.

 

[Denis]

Deliberately delaying the game to get the mental edge over your opponent.

Tread VERY carefully.

:huh:

Oh, wait this is a Nadal tennis forum. Sorry!

Irony is not exclusive to Nadal tennis forums. Please, stop playing that victim card every time. We get it, Novak fans are outnumbered here. It's sad. But then again, they're outnumbered everywhere (except Serbia).

tented is a moderator here isn't he? No need to start threatening people here.

 

[DarthFed]

Federer seems to have slightly backed off the aggression to me. Not making the points as short as he was earlier. More content to rally now.

Tsonga is blasting everything, Roger is still being aggressive when he has the chance.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Tsonga made the error there but Fed should have been more aggressive on the return. He backed off.

 

[tented]

By the way Denis, tented was not threatening you. He was pointing out the irony of a Novak fan complaining about delays.

Exactly. I thought that was self-evident.