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Post by falafaclese on Jan 8, 2012 20:17:15 GMT
Here's a pretty good highlight video:
I didn't get to see all of it, because i fell asleep (because of my own exhaustion, not because of the play I was seeing), so I didn't witness the negativity, but there was some really good play, and Monfils was less wacky than usual. When he serves well like that, it serves two purposes: first, the obvious, it gets him points; but also, it cuts down on the opportunities for him to get loony and unecessarily acrobatic.
I watched a lot of Raonic's match too, and it was entertaining. Also, I like seeing him win, so it was enjoyable on all counts.
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Post by mooncreek on Jan 8, 2012 20:36:15 GMT
No, you're right harry24 - the shoulder injury was before London.
The Nadal/Monfils match did play out that way. Gael played amazingly - Rafa was up 3-0 in the second set and I believe that's when that first serve streak started. Rafa looked - well, kind of the way he did against Murray in Tokyo. That's the more troubling part if you're a Rafa fan.
But as usually the case with Gael, that guy wasn't really around for the final. There were court issues to begin the match (think about the mist at USO but only one side of the court was wet) that gave Gael the early lead. But he got defensive and Tsonga showed why he's the one to worry about at the Australian Open.
I believe Lendl was in town only for Murray's last two matches, but Andy would have won anyway because he excels against guys who mix it up like he does. Tomic was toe-to-toe with Murray for about 6 games before things started to go wrong for Bernard and then swirl down the drain. Bernard could not read Andy's serve at all, which explains the 13 aces. The final was a formality - Dolgopolov got injured the round before and it was quite obvious movement was hindered.
Every so often, you get a Kaia Kanepi sighting as there was this week as she slashed through the field. That's dangerous for any top player at the Australian Open - thank heavens she will be seeded.
Zheng Jie! Welcome back. You figure there's going to be a strong Asian feel to the Australian Open anyway (it the major that can most take advantage of Li Na's and Kei Nishikori's successes) but I'm so happy she's healthy again to enjoy some of the riches.
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Post by acre on Jan 8, 2012 20:53:04 GMT
I'm thinking Tsonga-Monfils must have been a fun match to see. Both such g-eat shot make-s, wild at times, but uber talented! Wish I'd taped it, but my Dad went into the ED on F-i, and will be in the hospital likely until Tues, so I had my mind on othe- things. Nothing c-itical, but the man is 94, has some low-level long standing ca-diac issues, and kept falling. He feels fine, just ask him - "Why am I even in he-e, I feel fine, I'm fine!" Mostly now he's just bo-ed, but that's the way it is in the hospital. Eithe- you'-e mise-able/in agony, o- you'-e bo-ed out of you- mind.
Anyway, back to tennis: the numbe- of playe-s with inju-ies does seem unusually high, doesn't it? And too many of the top level, both men and women. Could be a dicey Oz open. And with my unwave-ing Fed focus, the man is 30 and this is the 2nd] time he's eve- withd-awn f-om a match! I know luck plays a big pa-t in that, but still, it's astonishing. Se-ena's was just bad luck, not like an inju-y/illness o- ongoing condition, just a nasty inju-y.
So gee, I'm gonna make a wild guess that Djok will once again be the champ. Going out on a limb, I am. He seems to be healthy, and he is absolutely the best playe- in the wo-ld now, so ...
The women, I have no idea. Depends so much on health issues, cause it's not just Se-ena and Kim, a whole list of othe- top women have inju-ies.
And oh yeah, I saw that Venus has gone vegan, maybe even to a raw food diet. That'll be a big change fo- he-, and I have no idea if it will help, but it can't hurt, and it's wo-th a shot. Look at the diffe-ence in Djok when he eliminated gluten - which is a known, legit condition, not quite the same, and also combined I think with him matu-ing. He was always damn good, now he's almost untouchable. The #1 reason I've neve- been able to completely hate on him - my god he plays fantastic tennis.
ETA: didn't see mooncreek's post when I w-ote this. Yeah, that is the obvious p-oblem with Monfils, any given day he can be fabulous o- awful. If he had the mentality and stability of a Fed o- Nadal, I think he'd have mo-e than one Slam to his name. Not definitely, but likely. It's not his game, his ability - it's his head.
And sadly, but not su-p-isingly, I think Nadal is showing some signs of bu-nout. I hope he can get that wo-ked out, cause he is a Great One, and the game is bette- with him in it.
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Post by harry24 on Jan 9, 2012 1:47:37 GMT
Thanks for the highlight vid, falafaclese. Any idea what language they were speaking? It sounded like a mix of romance with middle eastern, so I was speculating Turkish, Romanian?
It seemed as though Rafa was having the old trouble with his shots landing a bit short in the court. It was hard to see in a highlight vid like this how Rafa's mien was.
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Post by falafaclese on Jan 9, 2012 10:22:17 GMT
Could it be Portugese? You're right, it sounded kind of Spanish, but then not.
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lt
Semi Finals
Posts: 3,223
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Post by lt on Jan 9, 2012 15:59:30 GMT
Hee, I talk in my sleep in another language and that's what we've always come up with--it's a romance language that sounds a bit like spanish but it isn't, must be portugese.
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Post by harry24 on Jan 9, 2012 19:03:23 GMT
That reminds me of my lame little joke about music: if it sounds like Mozart but isn't quite as good --- it must be Haydn. [/classical musician].
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Post by falafaclese on Jan 12, 2012 5:40:42 GMT
Excellent match going on between Na Li and Petra Kvitova right now. Na just fought back from a break down to take it to a third set.
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Post by mooncreek on Jan 12, 2012 16:58:29 GMT
I saw pieces of the Li/Kvitova match as well. I was thinking back to their French Open match last year and how this felt like no time had passed since that tournament. None of Li's post-French Open slide... but also, like that match, the nerves kicked in for Kvitova. She was soooo close to the finish line - it was on serve, Petra up 5-4 in the second set - but Li kept her head in the game and let her strategy work. Probably better for Petra to not be #1 at the Australian Open - Caroline being a semifinalist has all the pressure to hold her ranking.
It's just nice to see Li start 2012 so well.
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Post by falafaclese on Jan 13, 2012 0:16:22 GMT
The draws are out.Na really does seem like she's got her wits and her game about her. That was a very nice comeback fir her, especially considering how Kvitova has bee playing. It would have been easy to lose focus and let it slip away in the second set. I didn't see Radwanska/Azarenka, but I have liked how both of them are playing this year. Even though Agi lost, she has been very impressive. I haven't see Vika play yet this year. I totally agree.
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Post by mooncreek on Jan 13, 2012 4:07:45 GMT
Players who have a chance at being #1 after the Australian Open: Wozniacki, Kvitova, Azarenka, Sharapova, Stosur, Radwanska. This could get wild.
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Post by harry24 on Jan 13, 2012 7:33:19 GMT
Me three! She's really cool. Is her husband still her coach? I'd love to see her win Oz.
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Post by mooncreek on Jan 13, 2012 16:01:52 GMT
Me three! She's really cool. Is her husband still her coach? I'd love to see her win Oz. Yes, he is back in the position. |
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Post by tikigirl on Jan 14, 2012 2:12:39 GMT
So oops and I had our I-don't-know-what-annual Chicago Union Station meeting, and it was a blast as always. We raised a toast to our forum, and we'll meet again this summer -- hoping some of you can join us sometime!
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Post by oopssorry on Jan 16, 2012 5:29:02 GMT
Yes! Yes (we did, we do).... Crossroads of the country, y'all!  |
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