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Post by mooncreek on Jan 10, 2011 15:57:58 GMT
Re: Petkovic - she's probably the only up-and-comer (meaning young and outside the top 20) that I actually seek out. She has a fun personality - see her celebrations after victories, for starters - and there isn't much of that on ladies' tour.
So I see Delpo won a nice long match today. This is very very good news, although the hope is that he's at least in decent shape for his next match.
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Post by acre on Jan 11, 2011 2:01:13 GMT
The oddsmakers (not the seeding committe) have made Fed and Rafa co-#1's for the Oz open. Can't say I buy it. For all my love and admiration for Roger, for my entire conviction that he is the greatest player of all time, etc, etc .... Rafa is the greatest player at this time, period, the end.
All things change, noone remains on top forever. Rog was always going to have a sucessor, the "next great thing", and based primarily on talent and partly on age, that was always goind to be Rafa, right? Takes nothing away from either of them. We're just lucky that "the next" is fully worthy of being spoken of alongside Roger. Hell, he may surpass him, but time will have to tell.
Good for DelPo, it will definitely be more fun if he comes back to full strength, and go all you little known-outside-of-tennis-circles (but highly accomplished) women,, let's see you all mix it up, male and female alike.
And my personal plug for Davy: he got himself back up to the mid-20's, now I want to see him solidly in the top 10 where he belongs. Competition is getting very fierce up there, but I think he can handle it.
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Post by harry24 on Jan 11, 2011 2:11:09 GMT
Acre, all I can say is I totally agree with the entirety of your post.
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Post by breezybee on Jan 11, 2011 3:40:47 GMT
I wish I had been able to see the Delpo/Lopez match. It sounds like it was really exciting. Watching Fat Dave in Aukland right now. He's playing Joan Crawford...I mean Fognini. Close match so far
Who will win the Australian Open? No idea. I don't see Rafa as an overwhelming favourite. He's his most vulnerable on hard courts. I think he's got a good shot though as does Federer, Soderling, Djokovic, Murray - it wouldn't surprise me to see one of them win. Espcially Soderling, after watching him play in Brisbane.
The women's side is up in the air too. A lot of the women's seeds have been dropping early in the warm up tournaments. Wozniacki lost today (technically tomorrow in Australia).
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lt
Semi Finals
Posts: 3,223
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Post by lt on Jan 11, 2011 16:15:52 GMT
I agree that Rafa is the undisputed top seed going into the Aussie Open but the oddmakers don't want to lose money so they need Roger to have the shortest odds. They should have done one of those Rafa 3-2, Roger 7-5 type dealies instead of naming them both as the top. They'd flip the script going into the French if Roger was the top seed and Rafa was healthy and playing so I don't think it's a slight to Rafa to say that Roger has just as good of a chance to win in Australia. Speaking of odds, go Packers because that would help me *ahem* pay for some tennis tickets.
I want Davydenko in the Top 10 again as well. He's a breathe of something different at the top.
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Post by falafaclese on Jan 11, 2011 17:03:06 GMT
I agree that Rafa is the at the top right now, but maybe the oddsmakers are concerned about the fever he had last week? I expect him to be fine, but you never know when a fever could develop into something more lasting. Don't quote me, but my money might be on Soderling this time.
The women are in real disarray right now. Woz, Vera, and Stosur are all out of Sydney, Sharapova lost in the second round last week, and and Venus didn't play well in Hong Kong. Also Schiavone is injured, and Jankovic got knocked out in the first round this week. It's looking like there will be a Belgian Aussie Open champ this year.
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lt
Semi Finals
Posts: 3,223
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Post by lt on Jan 11, 2011 17:22:42 GMT
Holy crap. I hope all the players were out of Brisbane before this happened.. How scary. |
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Post by oopssorry on Jan 12, 2011 0:46:06 GMT
Was just coming to post that, lt. Toowoomba (?) had some crazy indie videos showing up: www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYUpkPTcqPYSo - Roger won, eh? I've been so tuned out and then saw a nod on some online news site. Hooray! Trying to gear up for the AO - which I guess means get as much sleep as I can right now.  Happy new year to everyone! Hope the holidays were great.... |
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Post by falafaclese on Jan 12, 2011 16:14:05 GMT
I watched an entertaining match from Kooyong between Monfils and Verdasco yesterday. Monfils was chasing down absolutely everything, and hitting some interesting (and at times unnecessarily flashy) shots. Verdasco, as you'd expect, was hitting from corner to corner, and more than once walked back to the baseline with a smile after losing a point, because Monfils' retrieving was just ridiculous (in a good way). Verdasco showed some good consistency, and hit some nice shots himself. The match felt as close as the scoreline seems, although I think Monfils needs to work on getting his serve back to where it was at the end of last year when he was consistently serving well, and even confidently serving himself out of trouble.
I'm hoping I can catch a glimpse of the semifinal between Bojana Jovanovski and Na Li. In addition to loving Na Li, I've been intrigued Jovanovski ever since last fall when she beat Jankovic in Beijing. She hasn't dropped a set this week, and beat Kanepi, Rezai, and Pennetta.
I found this Sveta presser interesting:
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lt
Semi Finals
Posts: 3,223
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Post by lt on Jan 12, 2011 18:13:26 GMT
For the folks keeping an eye on Davydenko, like acre and me, watch this video. He is such a joy. And if you aren't keeping an eye on Kolya, watch at least the beginning because he makes some really funny faces. |
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Post by harry24 on Jan 12, 2011 19:12:23 GMT
Thank you so much for posting that video, lt. This really is the Golden Age for our sport, methinks, at least on the men's side. It's incredible how many appealing personalities there are, coupled with mind-blowing ability.
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Post by breezybee on Jan 12, 2011 20:01:55 GMT
I can't watch the video until I get home for work but does it include the bit with Davydenko and his wife in their apartment and his parents are there? His father is lounging on the sofa in a tennis outfit and is a perfect older version of Davydenko. His parents are the most adorable tennis parents I've seen to date. I don't know where I saw that video.
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Post by falafaclese on Jan 12, 2011 21:04:58 GMT
Davydenko always seems so mellow and fun when he's interviewed, which is the polar opposite of his stone-faced, sometimes dour on-court vibe.
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Post by breezybee on Jan 12, 2011 21:43:19 GMT
Doesn't he though. I saw him with his wife quite a bit at both Roger's cups I was at and they are adorable together. They hold hands everywhere they go. She's always watching when he practices and they laugh a lot.
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lt
Semi Finals
Posts: 3,223
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Post by lt on Jan 12, 2011 22:47:12 GMT
This is a different one! He's talking about coming back from his injury and trying to get back to the YEC. He talks about his recovery as a holiday and how he spent the whole time sitting on his couch watching TV. He's a man after my own heart. However, I would have gained 30 pounds with that regime and he's still a tiny little thing. There is a good hubby/wife hug in there though. And lots of smiling.
eta: Oh! and there is family--his brother is his coach. Spitting image of Kolya, but with hair.
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