Tennis: Australian Open - Who opens the new season with a bang (2 Viewers)

[Dr. Octopus]

I was out at a Sports Bar having dinner and a few beers - if I wasn’t there for college football I probably wouldn’t have watched the match. It was so amazing and the bar was going crazy for the American, Coco.
Both women were amazing and the match was so much fun to watch.

 

[Penguin]

What was Coco on the ML, had to be +250'ish

 

[Chaos34]

What was Coco on the ML, had to be +250'ish

just +110 on my site. she already had a winning record (3-2) vs Sabalenka, including the two most recent matches

 

[Penguin]

What was Coco on the ML, had to be +250'ish

just +110 on my site. she already had a winning record (3-2) vs Sabalenka, including the two most recent matches

Hmm, surprised by that

 

[Long Ball Larry]

Medevedev had his chance but Novak looks like he will win another major

 

[Long Ball Larry]

Death, taxes, joker winning a tiebreak

 

[BroncoFreak_2K3]

Medevedev had his chance but Novak looks like he will win another major

That second set was huge. Once Medvedev lost that it was just a matter of time.

 

[Master of Past and Present]

In four sets Med and Alcaraz covered a little over 16,000 feet each. Today Med and Novak went about 18,000 each in three sets and near 10,000 each in the second set. In contrast the three set women's match was under 9,000 each

 

[Dinsy Ejotuz]

Novak's going to put the record out of reach for a long long time.

 

[Harry Frogfish]

He's the best. And I don't like him much, but whatever. Biases aside, and I think he has plenty of "haters", you really can't argue it at this point. If anything, there's an argument he could've/should've bagged a couple more, if it wasn't for covid and a ball hitting a linesman. I mean, he definitely wins one or two more if not for that stuff. And Margaret Court? God bless her soul but there's no comparison there, either. How many women in the world were playing competitive tennis at that time?

And look who he's had to face during his tenure. Literally, the best who have ever played. Federer. Nadal. This has been far from an easy road/window.

This isn't a team sport, where you actually can make an argument for some player being the best but just didn't get as many "rings" and so forth.

 

[BroncoFreak_2K3]

24

 

[Capella]

Seems like he’s going to get to 30. No signs of slowing down and really only Alcaraz can beat him.

 

[falguy]

https://youtu.be/xFTgpIiTyF4?t=5

 

[El Floppo]

Now I wish I had watched Meds post match interview...

"I wanna ask Novak... what are you still doing here??"

 

[3C's]

Now I wish I had watched Meds post match interview...

"I wanna ask Novak... what are you still doing here??"

And also mentioned that it was his anniversary and Novak later replied "if I'd known it was your anniversary..."

 

[3C's]

also, I see now why his wife wasn't overly impressed...their anniversary is tomorrow.

 

[Dr. No]

Djokovic is just absurd. 3 majors, 4 finals. That's Tom Brady level motivation to keep putting up more at this point. And i wouldn't be surprised if he won 2-4 of the next 8 majors before father time eventually took him out.

 

[Zigg]

Outside of Novak and Alcaraz, do you see any current player winning 3 slams moving forward? The only players I see with a chance are Med and Sinner.

 

[Terminalxylem]

Outside of Novak and Alcaraz, do you see any current player winning 3 slams moving forward? The only players I see with a chance are Med and Sinner.

Zverev?

 

[Zigg]

Outside of Novak and Alcaraz, do you see any current player winning 3 slams moving forward? The only players I see with a chance are Med and Sinner.

Zverev?

I think I wrote in here after watching him play Nadal as a teen that I thought he’d win a ton of slams. He’s mediocre in 5 sets. That’s the thing for me, these guys can beat anyone in a 3 setter, but they’re all mentally broken before a 5 set match starts against Novak, and already against Alcaraz. IMO, the only one strong enough mentally is Medvedev, but I don’t think he’s as talented as Zverev or Tsitsipas.

 

[Major]

Djokovic is just absurd. 3 majors, 4 finals. That's Tom Brady level motivation to keep putting up more at this point. And i wouldn't be surprised if he won 2-4 of the next 8 majors before father time eventually took him out.

Time to hang up the phone on the other GOAT contenders

 

[Terminalxylem]

Outside of Novak and Alcaraz, do you see any current player winning 3 slams moving forward? The only players I see with a chance are Med and Sinner.

Zverev?

I think I wrote in here after watching him play Nadal as a teen that I thought he’d win a ton of slams. He’s mediocre in 5 sets. That’s the thing for me, these guys can beat anyone in a 3 setter, but they’re all mentally broken before a 5 set match starts against Novak, and already against Alcaraz. IMO, the only one strong enough mentally is Medvedev, but I don’t think he’s as talented as Zverev or Tsitsipas.

I agree in 5 setters, it’s nearly impossible to beat Novak. Alcaraz TBD. But what percentage of big matches go to 5? I think Medvedev, Sinner, Zverev +/- Tsitsipas (think he’s the least mentally strong of the group) can occasionally play well enough to beat the “big two” in shorter matches.

Djokovic has to slow at some point, and injuries can occur to anyone. All those guys are young and talented enough to win a slam or 3 before their careers wind down.

 

[Dr. No]

Djokovic is just absurd. 3 majors, 4 finals. That's Tom Brady level motivation to keep putting up more at this point. And i wouldn't be surprised if he won 2-4 of the next 8 majors before father time eventually took him out.

Time to hang up the phone on the other GOAT contenders

For sure. There's no debate. At this point the only question in my mind with nole's consistency is "when was his absolute peak? 11? 16? Now?

I still wish it was possible to see absolute peak Federer like 05-07 play peak joker and see the outcomes.

It's wild to me that Roger spent a large portion of his career actively as people calling him the goat yet played long enough that by the end it was in doubt and immediately after retirement it's non existent. Normally you get a decade or so to enjoy it post career

 

[El Floppo]

Djokovic is just absurd. 3 majors, 4 finals. That's Tom Brady level motivation to keep putting up more at this point. And i wouldn't be surprised if he won 2-4 of the next 8 majors before father time eventually took him out.

Time to hang up the phone on the other GOAT contenders

For sure. There's no debate. At this point the only question in my mind with nole's consistency is "when was his absolute peak? 11? 16? Now?

I still wish it was possible to see absolute peak Federer like 05-07 play peak joker and see the outcomes.

It's wild to me that Roger spent a large portion of his career actively as people calling him the goat yet played long enough that by the end it was in doubt and immediately after retirement it's non existent. Normally you get a decade or so to enjoy it post career

re: goat... I'm not tennis savvy enough to gauge- but I'm usually drawn to people who are aggressors, dictating the match and who can punch people out with their attack while holding onto points with their defense.

joker strikes me (limited viewing) as more of an amazing all-arounder who can just stay in points (obviously has more than that) and keep the score on his side with astonishing regularity. it's incredible how many finals he gets to- can't afford a single slip-up for that. and yet when I watch him, there's not a lot in his game that compels me in a way like watching Alcaraz does. again, my sample size is small compared to his overall career... am I off-base? does he have a killer part of his game that you could point and say, THAT'S why he's the GOAT.

what kind of player was Federer in that regard? I feel like I saw him dismantle people- on offense and defense, and usually the aggressor. but honestly, no idea if that was a hallmark of his game.

 

[Long Ball Larry]

Djokovic is just absurd. 3 majors, 4 finals. That's Tom Brady level motivation to keep putting up more at this point. And i wouldn't be surprised if he won 2-4 of the next 8 majors before father time eventually took him out.

Time to hang up the phone on the other GOAT contenders

For sure. There's no debate. At this point the only question in my mind with nole's consistency is "when was his absolute peak? 11? 16? Now?

I still wish it was possible to see absolute peak Federer like 05-07 play peak joker and see the outcomes.

It's wild to me that Roger spent a large portion of his career actively as people calling him the goat yet played long enough that by the end it was in doubt and immediately after retirement it's non existent. Normally you get a decade or so to enjoy it post career

re: goat... I'm not tennis savvy enough to gauge- but I'm usually drawn to people who are aggressors, dictating the match and who can punch people out with their attack while holding onto points with their defense.

joker strikes me (limited viewing) as more of an amazing all-arounder who can just stay in points (obviously has more than that) and keep the score on his side with astonishing regularity. it's incredible how many finals he gets to- can't afford a single slip-up for that. and yet when I watch him, there's not a lot in his game that compels me in a way like watching Alcaraz does. again, my sample size is small compared to his overall career... am I off-base? does he have a killer part of his game that you could point and say, THAT'S why he's the GOAT.

what kind of player was Federer in that regard? I feel like I saw him dismantle people- on offense and defense, and usually the aggressor. but honestly, no idea if that was a hallmark of his game.

Going down this path, I suppose it might get into a little bit of a Jordan vs Lebron style debate. Novak was more well rounded and could probably provide more value in any era and on any surface, but if you want someone who is just a killer than maybe Fed is the guy.

But the argument is not perfect because Novak has shown much more grit in big situations than someone like Lebron (and I’m by no means a Lebron hater and would probably take him as number 1 all time) and Federer had more continual dominance and requirement of defending that status than Jordan (largely due to the nature of the sports)

I also think Novak’s adaptability and mental makeup and creativity as well as just shotmaking ability should get a little more credit than just an amazing “all-arounder”. Federer might be what you would draw up in a lab and train as a tennis player like Arnold in twins or Drago in Rocky, but tennis can as a solo sport against one other person is an interesting combination of personal mettle, ability to dictate and equally important ability to react when things don’t go quite as planned. Over the past few years, I feel like Novak has put that combination of skills on display at such a high level that I would be fairly close to giving him GOAT status.

But others are certainly more knowledgeable than me about tennis history in general and I am just riffing so take it for what it’s worth…

 

[El Floppo]

fwiw... I'm not looking for a right/wrong. the little I've watched tennis- especially the last couple years watching floppinha- I've realized I like a certain style of play that leans into dictating points as the aggressor more than staying in points as the most consistent player.

that's my preference... and I was really just looking to learn more about the relative styles of these greats.

I'm a soccer guy- and the last decade it's been all Messi vs Ronaldo... like tennis, the soccer world has been spoiled with 2x arguably top 5 GOATs playing at the same time and often on the same field. I'm a Messi guy, because **** Ronaldo.

 

[Master of Past and Present]

Djokovic is just absurd. 3 majors, 4 finals. That's Tom Brady level motivation to keep putting up more at this point. And i wouldn't be surprised if he won 2-4 of the next 8 majors before father time eventually took him out.

Time to hang up the phone on the other GOAT contenders

For sure. There's no debate. At this point the only question in my mind with nole's consistency is "when was his absolute peak? 11? 16? Now?

I still wish it was possible to see absolute peak Federer like 05-07 play peak joker and see the outcomes.

It's wild to me that Roger spent a large portion of his career actively as people calling him the goat yet played long enough that by the end it was in doubt and immediately after retirement it's non existent. Normally you get a decade or so to enjoy it post career

re: goat... I'm not tennis savvy enough to gauge- but I'm usually drawn to people who are aggressors, dictating the match and who can punch people out with their attack while holding onto points with their defense.

joker strikes me (limited viewing) as more of an amazing all-arounder who can just stay in points (obviously has more than that) and keep the score on his side with astonishing regularity. it's incredible how many finals he gets to- can't afford a single slip-up for that. and yet when I watch him, there's not a lot in his game that compels me in a way like watching Alcaraz does. again, my sample size is small compared to his overall career... am I off-base? does he have a killer part of his game that you could point and say, THAT'S why he's the GOAT.

what kind of player was Federer in that regard? I feel like I saw him dismantle people- on offense and defense, and usually the aggressor. but honestly, no idea if that was a hallmark of his game.

Going down this path, I suppose it might get into a little bit of a Jordan vs Lebron style debate. Novak was more well rounded and could probably provide more value in any era and on any surface, but if you want someone who is just a killer than maybe Fed is the guy.

If you want a killer than that's Djokovic over Federer and I'm not sure it's close. 5 set decisions Federer was 33-23 (58.9%) and Djokovic 38-11 (77.6). Federer lost 24 matches where he had match point. Djokovic in contrast had 3 and none of which were in the majors. Federer had 6 in majors and Djokovic gave him 3 of those himself.

Djokovic is the biggest killer out of the big three. I get why it doesn't look like it as one of the previous posts says for an opinion. Federer had all the beauty and a sick serve, Nadal has the crazy spin rate where his balls just drop in or hook around into the lines. Djokovic's biggest calling card when you watch him physically is what, his flexibility that is a big reason he can get balls back and back in a decent enough position not to be passed on the next shot? But what do you point at during a match that says Djokovic is a killer? It's tough because it's his mentality but that's not always something you can see. Basketball has game winners or big shots down the stretch, baseball the late inning hits, and football the game winning drives that are pretty obvious to show who seems to have the killer instinct. Harder in tennis which is why I think those two stats help show what makes him different. He has more 5th set wins but less than half the losses. He basically never loses a match if he gets his foot on the neck. As great as Federer is he was able to withstand multiple match points in each of the three times he came back from the brink, two of those vs the Federer serve. And he did it when the crowds were going crazy cheering Federer to a win. Tennis crowds can be pretty fickle often switching sides to see more tennis. Might cheer someone but once that person gets close to winning they can easily switch wanting to see another game/set. That's not the case facing Federer. Federer is the guy that was playing a home game every time he stepped on the court and Djokovic is the guy who just does not care and seems to feed off ripping their hearts out when they cross him. Not that he doesn't want to be loved but if he steps out there and the crowd cheers for the other guy he's going to rip his head off and ask the crowd if they are entertained.

 

[Dr. No]

This bothers me to say because by FAR Federer is my favorite of the big 3. BUT if my life depended on it.. Nadal in a clay match is by far my #1 pick.. but beyond that in any random match across any surface it was to be Djoker. I can't pinpoint anything I particularly like about his game.. other than he has very few weaknesses, is extremely well conditioned, and mentally stays sharp in almost every situation (the only few that I can't put my finger on is how he completely melted in the 2021 US Open final with the calendar slam on the line... or the losses to Wawrinka in the finals).

But i can't say I derive any enjoyment from watching him play. With Federer he definitely had a style and grace that made tennis cool... even Nadal had a signature style. Djoker just hits and wins.

 

[dino259]

Pretty good interview with Djokovic on 60 minutes tonight.

 

[fantasy stud]

This bothers me to say because by FAR Federer is my favorite of the big 3. BUT if my life depended on it.. Nadal in a clay match is by far my #1 pick.. but beyond that in any random match across any surface it was to be Djoker. I can't pinpoint anything I particularly like about his game.. other than he has very few weaknesses, is extremely well conditioned, and mentally stays sharp in almost every situation (the only few that I can't put my finger on is how he completely melted in the 2021 US Open final with the calendar slam on the line... or the losses to Wawrinka in the finals).

But i can't say I derive any enjoyment from watching him play. With Federer he definitely had a style and grace that made tennis cool... even Nadal had a signature style. Djoker just hits and wins.

I hate Novak, but respect him obviously. I'm a big Nadal fan . The one thing Novak has over these guys now is longevity.

 

[Master of Past and Present]

Djokovic doesn't have longevity yet. Federer won his last major at 36 years and 5 months old. He skipped the French and would play 7 straight majors after that until he missed 3 and then played his last 2. Djokovic when he won the US Open was 36 years and 3 months so Federer essentially has 2 years of longevity on him if you stop after the 7 straight.

 

[Zigg]

I’m enjoying the McEnroe/Kyrgios commentary. Awesome hearing two jerks telling Tiafoe to be a bigger jerk.

 

[Moe.]

I liked Sinner’s chances, but this is wow

 

[CGRdrJoe]

I liked Sinner’s chances, but this is wow

seriously this is bonkers, over 3 sets is not looking good

 

[Chaos34]

welp, so much for getting some sleep.

 

[Master of Past and Present]

Everyone is due an off day, this has looked to be about ten off days all coming at once for Djokovic. Wouldn't be a shock if this was his worst match returning as a pro through three sets.

But he got a set, will it be a fake comeback or does he turn the corner now.

Thank goodness for DVR because I am definitely not trying to stay up for this

 

[TripItUp]

Feels like this is Sinner's day

 

[Capella]

Shocked at Joker’s match. He doesn’t get rolled like that often.

Sinner a huge favorite over Medvedev. Little surprising to me.

 

[Terminalxylem]

Great final. I feel bad for Med, but you could see he was running on fumes after his quick start.

Hopefully we're seeing a changing of the guard, with a new set of players competing for the slams. Actually wish there were more parity, but hard to imagine a "Big Two" of Alcaraz and Sinner, plus a couple more Djoker wins +/- Nadal in the French. All the other guys will fight for scraps.

 

[El Floppo]

The tennis people I talk to at my daughters tournaments have been saying Sinner is the next superstar for the last couple years (I think you guys have been saying the same thing)... I still havent seen him play!