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

Michael D · All-time great

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

RJA · Hall of fame

Well that was all rather satisfactory wasn't it?

Didn't just beat the world number 7 but clearly out played him for much of the match.

stevemcqueen · Futures qualifying

If I remember correctly, Dan beat Tomic at this US open when he came thru qulaifying and beat Kei N (pepper?!) in 2013.

Smudge226 · Strong Club Player

So proud, respect Dan. That was brilliant...
Not a great start and first set but after that Cilic struggled to deal with the Evo slice backhand on his backhand and eventually his power ebbed and the mistakes kept coming for Cilic, 69 unforced errors for Cilic. Evo said to the Eurosport reporter at court side that he struggled with the shade in the evening sun in the first set but once under lights later he was fine. Sounds like the shade from some trees, dappled shade if you like, proved difficult to judge the ball and early Cilic power in the match. Dan's variety of shot today was magnificent, he seems to be improving all the while and that extra confidence and we must not forget, fitness is really bringing him on. When Dan forced Cilic to change direction a few times today it proved effective as well today. Magnificent performance, he is starting to look like he belongs and top 32, probably yes...

vohor · Grand Slam Champion

Bob in Spain wrote:
Wow. That was truly sensational from Dan. What a performance.

That's 2 of the top 10 beaten so far this year. Only 8 more to go.

biggrin

Yep, he's in the zone at the moment; brilliant stuff from Evo today biggrin

Jimmy09 · Intermediate Club Player

What a great opportunity to make the forth round of a slam for the first time! What a great effort from Evo backing up the performances in Sydney! Couldn't be happier for him!

vohor · Grand Slam Champion

Live rankings have Evo at #49 :D

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Michael D wrote:
The Knight wrote:
Topemp wrote:

I suspect that playing at night on the coolest day suited Dan as it took some of the heat off the Cilic ball, but what a result, and what an occasion if it is Tomic in the third.

I dunno, those kind of heavier conditions often favour the bigger hitter who can generate their own pace, so not necessarily more favourable to Dan than Cilic
Dan himself has just said in his post-match interview that he found the first set with the shadows being thrown by the setting sun and Cilici's hard hitting difficult, but once the sun was down he could see and play better (presumably then being able to neutralise Cilic's harder hitting more easily, which by sets 3 and 4 he was doing perfectly).

Yes, that was interesting. It's so good when the players actually tell us what was going on !

The end of the second set was so key. Cilic had three break points, and missed one 'easy' winner by a fraction. Dan played great, very 'clutch', and the third set was then pretty one-sided. Really good to see Dan come good on a big stage, he does love them.

Bob in Spain · Tennis legend

If I am not mistaken, Dan will be very close to becoming GB Nº2 in a couple of weeks. Kyle has 158 points coming off by 6th Feb and has so far covered 45 of them. Dan, on the other hand, has 95 points to come off in the same period and has now covered 90 of those. So that is a net gain of 108 points. That would be just enough to overtake Kyle at the moment.

Clearly Kyle has a chance to redress the balance by beating Carreño Busta, but on this form, you would have to give Dan a great chance of winning his next match as well.

With Davis Cup commitments, and I am sure both will travel to Canada, I don't see either of them playing again before that, after their Aussie Open adventure is concluded. So GB Nº 2 spot will be decided by the Aussie Open results.

Basically though, it is just so exciting to see the GB Nºs 2&3 fighting it out inside the Top 50 and with both players on the way up, long may it continue.

JonH · All-time great

Andy cruising 2 sets up and a break already...

indiana · Tennis legend

Bob in Spain wrote:
If I am not mistaken, Dan will be very close to becoming GB Nº2 in a couple of weeks. Kyle has 158 points coming off by 6th Feb and has so far covered 45 of them. Dan, on the other hand, has 95 points to come off in the same period and has now covered 90 of those. So that is a net gain of 108 points. That would be just enough to overtake Kyle at the moment.

Clearly Kyle has a chance to redress the balance by beating Carreño Busta, but on this form, you would have to give Dan a great chance of winning his next match as well.

With Davis Cup commitments, and I am sure both will travel to Canada, I don't see either of them playing again before that, after their Aussie Open adventure is concluded. So GB Nº 2 spot will be decided by the Aussie Open results.

Basically though, it is just so exciting to see the GB Nºs 2&3 fighting it out inside the Top 50 and with both players on the way up, long may it continue.

I agree all, except that Kyle has non counters of 12 and 10, totalling 22, he can chuck into the pot whilst Dan has none.

So if neither were to win another ranking match by the end of Davis Cup week, the existing 103 gap would drop by a net 86 leaving Kyle still 17 ahead.

But anyway we want more, more for both

RJA · Hall of fame

Bob in Spain wrote:
If I am not mistaken, Dan will be very close to becoming GB Nº2 in a couple of weeks. Kyle has 158 points coming off by 6th Feb and has so far covered 45 of them. Dan, on the other hand, has 95 points to come off in the same period and has now covered 90 of those. So that is a net gain of 108 points. That would be just enough to overtake Kyle at the moment.

Clearly Kyle has a chance to redress the balance by beating Carreño Busta, but on this form, you would have to give Dan a great chance of winning his next match as well.

With Davis Cup commitments, and I am sure both will travel to Canada, I don't see either of them playing again before that, after their Aussie Open adventure is concluded. So GB Nº 2 spot will be decided by the Aussie Open results.

Basically though, it is just so exciting to see the GB Nºs 2&3 fighting it out inside the Top 50 and with both players on the way up, long may it continue.

Evo is also playing a very heavy schedule through February. After the Davis Cup he has entered Montpellier, Memphis, Delray Beach and Dubai. In contrast Kyle is having a couple of weeks off after the Davis Cup then playing Delray Beach and Acapulco.

Obviously these schedules make sense for the two players. Evo should be looking to rack up big points in the first three months of the year as the clay season is unlikely to be kind to him and should really be used for some time off before the grass season. Kyle doesn't want to overplay now as he should be aiming to be in top condition for the clay season.

Bob in Spain · Tennis legend

indiana wrote:
Bob in Spain wrote:
If I am not mistaken, Dan will be very close to becoming GB Nº2 in a couple of weeks. Kyle has 158 points coming off by 6th Feb and has so far covered 45 of them. Dan, on the other hand, has 95 points to come off in the same period and has now covered 90 of those. So that is a net gain of 108 points. That would be just enough to overtake Kyle at the moment.

Clearly Kyle has a chance to redress the balance by beating Carreño Busta, but on this form, you would have to give Dan a great chance of winning his next match as well.

With Davis Cup commitments, and I am sure both will travel to Canada, I don't see either of them playing again before that, after their Aussie Open adventure is concluded. So GB Nº 2 spot will be decided by the Aussie Open results.

Basically though, it is just so exciting to see the GB Nºs 2&3 fighting it out inside the Top 50 and with both players on the way up, long may it continue.

I agree all, except that Kyle has non counters of 12 and 10, totalling 22, he can chuck into the pot whilst Dan has none.
So if neither were to win another ranking match by the end of Davis Cup week, the existing 103 gap would drop by a net 86 leaving Kyle still 17 ahead.
But anyway we want more, more for both

I was never any good at maths disbelief

Smudge226 · Strong Club Player

Just watching Tomic against Burgos. Looks like he'll have too much for Burgos in the end. Tomic is a different type of challenge but the pressure will be on him to perform. He is not so agressive and often chooses to find placement rather than power everything through, sometimes a little passive but then thumps it occasionally and looks technically very good. His two handedback looks better than Cilic so Evo might not find as many mistakes in Tomic's game.

Bob in Spain · Tennis legend

I wonder if Tomic's dad will let him play - or will playing Evo be beneath him wink