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Post by acre on Jan 18, 2014 14:13:46 GMT
Damn it's hard to believe the whole 1st week is done! The Oz timetable just doesn't work for me, I can only see live matches in the evening or maybe the endings 1st thing in the am. I had cancelled my cable a while back because I just didn't watch it(I'm not being all intellectual/superior, I'll spend all damn day on the pc), and I had it added back this week but I don't know if I should have bothered. I do care about the tennis and I check the results all the time, but it's a sport, a competition, and I'm just not motivated to wade my way through 9+ hours of tape looking for the matches I want when I already know who won anyway. I like a good classic match and sometimes will watch even when I know the outcome, but not as a steady diet.
And more woe:Tsonga vs Fed = sadness. You all know me well enough to know which outcome will make me less sad, but it also has lots of potential for exciting tennis so at least that's good.
Heh harry yeah those Canadians are just known for perfect heat adaptation. Why it's only been tens of thousands (millions?) of generations in the arctic. Pshaw, that's nothing!
But to be more upbeat, it does seem most of the top players are in good shape and playing well so that sets us up for a high quality week 2.
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Post by roseha on Jan 18, 2014 20:53:36 GMT
To join Harry in the shallow end--I think Stefan looks fabulous for a guy who turns 48 tomorrow!
Yes I still remember his birthday. Once a fangirl always a fangirl...I would love to hear his talks with Roger.
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Post by falafaclese on Jan 19, 2014 0:47:45 GMT
Wow. That's troubling. I was listening to the radio when someone was commenting on the situation during that heatwave, and his comment could be paraphrased as "they should suck it up, it's just tennis." The guy was trying to be funny, but it sounded so dumb, and clearly he knows nothing about tennis, how much running they do, and the impact of being out there alone with nobody to lean on. Especially when you're trying to play on the surface of a frying pan (as Vika described it). I'm glad it cooled down as abruptly as it heated up.
Rafa/La Monf was disappointing, but it was interesting to see Monfils so serious and almost angry at times during the match. I hope he can channel it into some focus rather than frustration. To be fair, while the match as a whole was disappointing, there were a lot of really great points throughout.
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Post by acre on Jan 19, 2014 4:14:03 GMT
I expect Stefan will always look fabulous. Those genes just don't quit.
Damn, I will fall out if Ivanovic beats Serena! Which she is in the process of as I type, though it is just one break. And not that Ana's not a quality player, she is ... but this is basically supposed to be a ceremonial coronation for Serena, if you look at any press. Well, that's what they always say, and no she doesn't win them all even though she is clearly a big cut above the field, #1 with a bullet. Nobody wins them all. But damn. Though we shall see, it's not over yet.
ETA: And hot damn indeed, Serena out in the 4th round! Wow. It's wide open now, I couldn't even begin to predict who will win. A couple obvious candidates, but no idea who.
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Post by mooncreek on Jan 19, 2014 18:17:19 GMT
It felt like 2008 out there with Ana. Even though it was clear Serena wasn't right physically, the most impressive part was Ana keeping her composure at the end of the match - as Serena was losing hers after the chair called the time violation. Combine that with the Stosur win the round before and I do believe we may have a (unrecognizably) confident player.
Roger has to beat Tsonga and (likely) Murray back to back to even have a chance at staying the #1 Swiss player. Roger has been #1 in his country since 2001!
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Post by skyz on Jan 20, 2014 3:03:36 GMT
I'm so petty. When Serena lost, all I could think about was don't let Maria win, and now she's lost too. I'd love for Li Na to win it. And I have to say that Serena's coach/boyfriend Patrick runs his mouth too much sometimes. He let it slip that Serena's back was pretty bad before she even made it to press, so then she had to answer questions about it when she normally tries to downplay her injuries.
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lt
Semi Finals
Posts: 3,223
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Post by lt on Jan 20, 2014 4:11:06 GMT
The ESPN commentators were going off on him and his idiocy.
I thought that was planned by Serena and her team--she doesn't want to use it as an excuse but she wants the info out there so they have someone in her team let it slip, they've done that before (so have a lot of other players).
Max and Mikhail were on a show court today and they were early in the day so I got to watch them make it into the quarters. I have no clue if this is a match up for this tournament only (they've played before--but years ago) or if they're going to make a go of it this season. Maybe how they do this week will decide it.
I truly wish I could wake up to watch Roger and Jo but I'm going to have to wake up and find out what happened. Not going to stay awake for Andy later either. Oh well.
Was watching a bit of Djoker last night and I'm liking his hair now. I've come around on him as a player a lot over the past year or so but I still wasn't finding him all that attractive. I'm now changing my mind about that as well. I'm so fickle.
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Post by falafaclese on Jan 20, 2014 4:45:37 GMT
Ana's composure was impressive, and Serena's back definitely played a role, but she could have easily won that match if Ana hadn't been so strong with her service returns.
Ana looks great, but I'm picking Li Na to make it to the final in that half of the draw. She has really looked commanding, and she has been playing some pretty legit serve and volley play to boot.
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Post by skyz on Jan 21, 2014 0:54:39 GMT
Tsonga can be such a disappointment. I want him to break through but mentally he's not that strong. Glad that Roger seemed to make an easy match of it, and came to the net some 34 times out of 47. I didn't get a chance to see it, but progress, I hope.
I can't recall watching any Murray vs Nadal matches. Were the matches good when they played each other?
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Post by mooncreek on Jan 21, 2014 5:14:47 GMT
I can't recall watching any Murray vs Nadal matches. Were the matches good when they played each other? If both sides are relatively healthy, there tend to be some amazing rallies even if Rafa usually ends up the victor. The fact that this would be the first time Lendl could lend his two cents already makes it intriguing, though Andy did beat Rafa in their last hard court meeting (third set bagel!). Frankly, it's just been waaaay too long. Definitely take that over the sad predictability that Federer-Nadal has become. |
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Post by breezybee on Jan 21, 2014 12:59:10 GMT
Well I'm doing my happy dance. Bouchard in to the semi-finals and Djokovic out! Now if only Bouchard would stop wearing that horrific outfit to play in.
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Post by falafaclese on Jan 21, 2014 14:29:52 GMT
More surprising than the fact that Stan won that match is the fact that Djokovic seemed to blink on those last two points and lost them with what appeared to be unforced errors. It has been a while since I've seen Djoker not at least be in the points when it counted. I didn't see a lot of the match, but it seems like Stan earned every bit of this, I think. At the very least he has definitely added a new level of confidence to his game in the past year. Good for him!
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lt
Semi Finals
Posts: 3,223
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Post by lt on Jan 21, 2014 15:01:15 GMT
breezy, I was thinking of you when Bouchard made it in. Go Canada!
I prefer Djoker over Stan but good for Stan. I saw only parts of the fifth set but Stan was playing really well. I prefer Stan over Berdych so we'll see how that goes. Does Dimitrov have any shot at all against Nadal (please, please, please)? Don't know what I'm going to do tomorrow morning. I don't see myself waking up to watch the entire Roger/Andy match but I guess I'll set my alarm an hour early and watch the end.
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Post by mooncreek on Jan 21, 2014 17:27:11 GMT
Now if only Bouchard would stop wearing that horrific outfit to play in. Doesn't help that the skirt looked so much better on Madison Keys. Yay Stan. |
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Post by boringmember on Jan 21, 2014 17:30:22 GMT
I'm so happy for Stan! I wasn't sure how it would go when he lost the 4th set but he stayed in it and good for him. I'd love to see Li Na and Stan as the winners.
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