Members Login
Username 
 
Password 
    Remember Me  
Post Info TOPIC: Weeks 3 & 4 - Australian Open (men's)


Challenger level

Status: Offline
Posts: 2437
Date:
RE: Weeks 3 & 4 - Australian Open (men's)


Yes. The draw looks a lot better now than it did a week ago, with Roger out and Rafa showing signs of weakness (although that's something which might have been a one-off). I'd not be at all surprised if Andy made a fourth AO Final, albeit he would need to be almost back to his very best, and hope Rafa's "blip" was more than just a bad day at the office.

With regret, Novak looks a country mile ahead of everyone else at the moment, and I simply can't see Andy (or anyone else) providing him with a serious challenge over 5 sets. I admire Novak's play, his athleticism, his attention to detail, and his outstanding matchplay, but there's something more "magical" about Roger, Rafa and Andy at times. Perhaps it's the efficiency of Novak's style that makes things simply look easier with less need for the spectacular. When Andy won the Olympics (probably even more than when he won Wimbledon), I felt he was similarly "efficient" - balance of attack and going forward perfectly matched to the level of risk, serve working brilliantly, patterns of play perfected, gameplans calculated well and executed even better - at the Olympics I go as far as saying that nobody else had a chance against him, playing that way, and in that sense we saw relatively few magical moments. Andy just won with ease.

He has it within him therefore, but Novak's a class apart at the moment. A Final would be a huge achievement.....and as we saw with Stan last year, once you're in the Final....anything can happen, however much against the odds.



__________________


Tennis legend

Status: Online
Posts: 39451
Date:

Timingwise, Wickmayer vs Halep kicks off the RLA night session at 7 pm local, 8 am GMT, to be followed by Murray vs Dimitrov.

__________________


Admin:Moderator + Tennis Legend

Status: Offline
Posts: 12091
Date:

First set to Andy 6-4. When I managed to get to the computer he was 0-3 down!

__________________


Admin:Moderator + Tennis Legend

Status: Offline
Posts: 12091
Date:

Up a break. Level. Up a break. Level, Tiebreak. Lost it! One set all.

__________________


County player

Status: Offline
Posts: 828
Date:

Should have been two sets up. His insistence on the top spin lob cost him pivotal points in that set. He's covering his dodgy second serve reasonably well though. I still reckon he'll win; he's been the better player and has more answers than Dimitrov.

__________________


Tennis legend

Status: Offline
Posts: 17136
Date:

Good game. If Andy maintains a high first serve percentage then he should win as he looks more likely to break.

__________________


County player

Status: Offline
Posts: 828
Date:

Dimitorv backhand weakness showing now, evident in last two games.

__________________


Admin:Moderator + Tennis Legend

Status: Offline
Posts: 12091
Date:

Andy manages to hold for the set this time, 6-3

__________________


Tennis legend

Status: Online
Posts: 39451
Date:

See it home this set Andy, please. Kyrgios awaits.

__________________


Futures level

Status: Offline
Posts: 2067
Date:

Stressful viewing. Broken early in the 4th.

__________________

 



Challenger level

Status: Offline
Posts: 2478
Date:

Good work, Andy. Enjoyed that.
Had a test or two, but found all the answers with aplomb, without ever hitting top gears.
Onwards!

__________________


Tennis legend

Status: Online
Posts: 39451
Date:

Yes, Andy :)

Give us a twirl !

__________________


Futures level

Status: Offline
Posts: 2067
Date:

Great match. Loved seeing him so pumped up and, despite some periods of passive play, he was aggressive. Some crazy gets from both of them.

__________________

 



Tennis legend

Status: Online
Posts: 39451
Date:

16 Slam QFs in a row ( ignoring his missed French Open 2013 ) :)

Too right, I wasn't mentioning that ongoing record earlier.

__________________


Admin:Moderator + Tennis Legend

Status: Offline
Posts: 12091
Date:

Where did I put my stress pills?

 

What a fighter! And credit to Dimi, he has come on a lot recently. 



-- Edited by Madeline on Sunday 25th of January 2015 01:37:29 PM

__________________
«First  <  1 2 3 4 5 6 716  >  Last»  | Page of 16  sorted by
 
Quick Reply

Please log in to post quick replies.

Tweet this page Post to Digg Post to Del.icio.us


Create your own FREE Forum
Report Abuse
Powered by ActiveBoard