Tennis - Australian Open 2018 (champion, strength, women, player)
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Delpo was an absolute beast on that 2009 USO run, but doesn't do that well down here, for whatever reason.
In the meantime, an absolute blockbuster tomorrow night with Kyrgios vs Dimitrov.
Saw both of them live at the Sydney Fast 4's earlier in the month, they are very entertaining to watch live.
Picking NK to win it though.
Nadal should routine the short Argentine Diego Schwartzman, who is solid and compact, but no match for Nadal.
Cilic should win, but no guarantee against PCB, and the other match is pretty open between Seppi and Brit Kyle Edmund.
If Dimitrov plays like he did at last year's AO, I'd expect Dimitrov to beat Kyrgios, but I haven't seen Dimitrov's matches this year, and he's supposedly not in great from based on the scores.
But if its a motivational issue, I'm sure Dimitrov will play better vs Kyrgios.
Kyrgios played really well in the Tsonga match, and that level should be good enough to either beat Dimitrov or come close.
Nadal-Kyrgios would be great for the Australian Open, but Nadal-Dimitrov was the highest quality match of last year's AO so that's fine too.
I'm not sure what will happen with Cilic-PCB, only met once and it was a strange match, Cilic 60 76 at Swiss Indoors 2016.
Great match between Dimitrov and Kyrgios, Dimitrov taking the money.
Looking forward to today's matches.
Djoker playing against a young guy who has modelled his game on himself, and has nothing to lose, so that will be interesting up against a "mini me".
Fed should win routinely against a virtual unknown of an opponent.
Fog-Berdych looking a good contest, but Berdych should have too much firepower.
Thiem plays another unheralded player, the appropriately named Tennys Sandgren from the USA.
Dimitrov certainly upped his level. I was surprised Cilic pulled it out against PCB. Nadal has two tough potential matches ahead of him. I like his chances against anyone if he makes the final having to beat Cilic and probably Dimitrov.
I'm interested in Djokovic/Chung too. Lots of people seem to like Chung. Normally I'd greatly favor Djokovic taking out players that are very similar to him, because mostly they can't do what he does better than him, but I am still not sure about Djokovic's fitness. I think if Chung can grind him out, he may have a chance.
Djokovic destroyed Chung at 2016ao, 63 62 64, but they both have changed a lot since then so no guide I guess.
2017 Shanghai: Nadal def. Cilic 75 76(3)
2017 Acapulco: Nadal def. Cilic 61 62
Both those meetings were outdoor hardcourt, and Cilic is even worse at the AO, so looks impossible for Cilic.
Whereas Dimitrov should take a set from Nadal, all logic suggests, even if Dimitrov doesn't play as well as last year's AO semi.
But Schwartzman led the ATP in breaks of serve in 2017, and he's probably the only guy on the ATP with better court coverage than Nadal (today), so just because Schwartzman took a set it doesn't mean Dimitrov will (but probably will).
And Schwartzman served 12 aces, which he doesn't usually do (but obviously Dimitrov will serve more aces), so it was the perfect storm.
Nadal probably hit more balls in the 63 67 63 63 win than anyone hit at this AO, because the rallies were so long.
Good job from Chung. I thought Djokovic would punish his serve more, but it looks like Djokovic just wasn't really match-ready and he mentioned his elbow was hurting too. We will have to see how Djokovic progresses from here. Hard to give him much chance at Roland Garros, but maybe the elbow will get in match shape by then.
Sandgren beating Thiem surprised me. Now to wait for Nadal/Cilic.
Dimitrov certainly upped his level. I was surprised Cilic pulled it out against PCB. Nadal has two tough potential matches ahead of him. I like his chances against anyone if he makes the final having to beat Cilic and probably Dimitrov.
I'm interested in Djokovic/Chung too. Lots of people seem to like Chung. Normally I'd greatly favor Djokovic taking out players that are very similar to him, because mostly they can't do what he does better than him, but I am still not sure about Djokovic's fitness. I think if Chung can grind him out, he may have a chance.
Good Call Truffle.
Regarding Chung. This kid has been a good player (vs his peers) for a very long time. (so he didn't come out of no where). My son is (also) Korean (& a good tennis player) so I've kept up with Chung's career. When my son was 10, Chung was 12 & he won the Orange Bowl that year. (& has been a top 10 player in his age group every year).
Well done to Chung, he has tried to copy Djoker in his game, but has his own unique style as well and was definitely the better player last night.
There is now talk Novak is considering surgery on his elbow now, which if needed he should have done 6 months ago. (similar to Murray hoping his hip would heal without surgery). This would put him out of action for another 6 months.
Tonight's QF matches looking very interesting. Cilic on fire, but has a poor record against Nadal.
Dimitrov learning how to win ugly this tournament, up against Kyle Edmund who is flying the British flag with Murray out.
The womens are down to the final 8 now too, and fairly open there.
Regarding Chung. This kid has been a good player (vs his peers) for a very long time. (so he didn't come out of no where). My son is (also) Korean (& a good tennis player) so I've kept up with Chung's career. When my son was 10, Chung was 12 & he won the Orange Bowl that year. (& has been a top 10 player in his age group every year).
Cool videos! yeah, I'm not very good at tracking the young guns until I have watched them at a major, so Chung is definitely on my radar now.
Even though I am not a fan of Djokovic, I have watched him so many times in his career that it turns out I am often better at predicting his results than even Federer and Nadal. Lol. It helps Djokovic has been a very consistent player for most of his career. I could tell he was struggling, and Chung took advantage. Chung could have folded in the moment but did not. Impressive.
I tend to support Asian players as I support the popularity of tennis spreading all over the world. Nishikori and Chung doing well will help that. On the women's side you had Li Na and now Hsieh Su-wei from Taiwan, who played a good match vs Kerber.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Derek41
There is now talk Novak is considering surgery on his elbow now, which if needed he should have done 6 months ago. (similar to Murray hoping his hip would heal without surgery). This would put him out of action for another 6 months.
Tonight's QF matches looking very interesting. Cilic on fire, but has a poor record against Nadal.
Dimitrov learning how to win ugly this tournament, up against Kyle Edmund who is flying the British flag with Murray out.
The womens are down to the final 8 now too, and fairly open there.
Oddly enough, this is a better time for Djokovic to go out for 6 months if he needs to. I don't think he'd have much of a chance during the clay season or at the French Open. I think he was not ready for the Aussie but since it's his best tournament he thought he'd see how it went. Hopefully the elbow isn't worse than before.
Cilic can beat anyone on a good day, but he lacks mental fortitude aside from when he won the US Open in 2014. He was apparently injured versus Federer in Wimbledon.. Assuming that's true, I felt like he could have beaten him if not for that since his form that tournament was good. He did play a tight match vs PCB to come out on top. But every time I feel Cilic has turned a corner, he hasn't. So I cannot predict him. If Nadal comes out like he did in the rounds before the Schwartzman match then he has a very good chance. He struggled with the humidity versus Schwartzman, which won't happen by virtue of this one being a night match. He will still have to be top-notch, however.
Unless Dimitrov decides to suck again like before he played Kyrgios, he should win.
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