Weeks 3/4 - Australian Open - Melbourne, Australia - Hard

indiana · Tennis legend

Weeks 3/4 - Australian Open - Melbourne, Australia - Hard

RJA · Hall of fame

indiana wrote:
thejester wrote:
To an extent seperate matters the GB #2 ranking and #2 Davis Cup spot unless there was a very clear rankings distinction when then I imagine that it would begin to feed in as certainly at least a factor. Feel another forum vote coming regarding Davis Cup selection post the Aussie Open ( I assume both will be in the squad ).
Yeah I should have phrased it as NO. 2, as well as DC selection. I completely agree that unless the disparity in rankings is pretty big then it will be more about court speed, match-ups etc.
What pleases me most about the win against Thiem and against Cilic is that Dan has found a way to stop the big hitters dictating the play. He can out-nouse most players at his best so it's great to see him neutralising a big serve and finding a way to really disrupt the weapons of guys who are physically at a big advantage over him. Already excited to see if Evo can sustain this sort of form over the rest of the AO and beyond.

It's OK, I had more read it as you have clarified. I was just adding my own general tuppence worth.
Yes, Dan has certainly appeared to have issues against big hitters, his decisive defeat just under a year ago to Kyle probably having that factor as an element apart from their individual form on the day.
Two top 10 big hitters to extents fell way against him in the last two weeks. Didn't see either but I would rather think not much luck about that.

Beating Thiem was probably a boost for Dan's confidence but while he played well I don't think you can read too much into it. Once the match started to turn against him Thiem clearly wasn't all that willing to really dig deep and battle through a tough match in the week before a slam. I am not saying he tanked but he was hardly desperate to win the match either*. Beating Cilic in a Grand Slam match is of far greater significance.

*Compare it to Thiem's opening Australian Open match against Struff where he also struggled for a long time and was on the brink of going two sets down but fought desperately hard to get himself back in the match and eventually won it in four sets.

indiana · Tennis legend

Yes, as I say I didn't see the matches. And to be sure there are generally a great amount more kudos to be had by competing strongly with and indeed beating top players when they are fit and focussing in a Slam.

And I guess, in particular, the week before a Slam can be a bit of a strange one.

-- Edited by indiana on Wednesday 18th of January 2017 04:29:26 PM

greeny12 · Lower Club Player

kundalini wrote:
Surreal post-match interview about Dan's kit. Apparently he went to the store and just bought some kit for himself as Nike sponsorship deal ended in December

www.ausopen.com/en_AU/news/interviews/2017-01-18/dan_evans_180117.html

You too can have your 'official' Dan Evans Aussie Open kit:

http://www.uniqlo.com/uk/store/goods/190240

biggrin

Born2WinTennis · Club Coach

That interview is hilarious about the kit.

Here is what looks like Dan's manager on the look out, via linkedin for a clothing sponsor!

www.linkedin.com/hp/update/6225683579708407809

Mervatron2 · Challenger qualifying

Awesome stuff from Dan. Second top 10 win in as many weeks.

Decent draw for Kyle too if he wants to progress.

JonH · All-time great

Nice praise from Andy to Dan

www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/38661264

RJA · Hall of fame

The bookies have Kyle as slight favourite ( 8/11 with bet365) and while I think that is about right I think the longer it goes the less he is favoured. A long match in the heat of the day will suit PCB far better than Kyle.

RJA · Hall of fame

JonH wrote:
Nice praise from Andy to Dan

www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/38661264

I have long thought that Andy has been really smart in how he has gone about encouraging Dan over the last few years. He is kept his distance, recognising that Dan's journey is his own and would not be aided by constant interference and attention. Instead there is just the occasional tweet here and the mention in an interview there combining generous praise (where appropriate) with reminders that maximising his potential requires ongoing commitment of the very highest level. The underlying message is always the same, you can have a good career if you want it bad enough, but its all down to you.

Compare that to the clumsy attempts by Lleyton Hewitt and others in Australia to try push Tomic and Kyrgios in the right direction. They have continually been counter productive, attracted detrimental media coverage and pushed the two people they are supposedly trying to help further down the path to alienation.

indiana · Tennis legend

RJA wrote:
The bookies have Kyle as slight favourite ( 8/11 with bet365) and while I think that is about right I think the longer it goes the less he is favoured. A long match in the heat of the day will suit PCB far better than Kyle.

Kyle reported no cramp issues in Tuesday's heat and reported that he could have gone another set if need be.

So we should be fine if it just goes 4 sets ...

indiana · Tennis legend

JonH wrote:
Nice praise from Andy to Dan

www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/38661264

So much of the time away from the tennis court Andy strikes just the right tone and comes out with the right words on fellow tennis players and tennis matters generally.

It is great that over time he has become so much more comfortable with the media and we hear more of him speaking authoritively and selflessly.

cecil · Social player

What was the beef between Evo and Tomic' dad????

Was this before or after the USO '13?

indiana · Tennis legend

cecil wrote:
What was the beef between Evo and Tomic' dad????

Was this before or after the USO '13?

Before. At Miami in 2012 Tomic's Dad apparently told Dan that he wasn't good enough to practice with Bernard ( who wasn't there at the time and Dan knew from way back ). Got impression many folk could well imagine that coming from Mr Tomic.

17 months later ...

PS: I checked details, having had it in mind that it was at Wimbledon, but I would have been thinking of Wimbledon 2009 when 16 yo Tomic's agent advised that Lleyton Hewitt was not good enough to practice with him !!!

-- Edited by indiana on Wednesday 18th of January 2017 09:32:31 PM

kundalini · Specialist Reporter + Intermediate Club Player

cecil wrote:
What was the beef between Evo and Tomic' dad????

Was this before or after the USO '13?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/23894200

RJA · Hall of fame

indiana wrote:
RJA wrote:
The bookies have Kyle as slight favourite ( 8/11 with bet365) and while I think that is about right I think the longer it goes the less he is favoured. A long match in the heat of the day will suit PCB far better than Kyle.
Kyle reported no cramp issues in Tuesday's heat and reported that he could have gone another set if need be.
So we should be fine if it just goes 4 sets ...

Don't get me wrong. Kyle has improved his fitness and he may well be able to play 4 or 5 sets but I still think that a long drawn out match will suit PCB.