Australian Open - 2019

I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you OP

You Jinxed two of my favorite players.

I hope you stuck in an island alone with that obnoxious Melo where you have to pay respect[a lot of respect ] to him

Is DjoDjo out of rehab yet ?

The DL OP picture jinx hasn't worked in the last couple of majors if I recall.

I was never a fan of Murray's game or on-court attitude but I like him off-court and I hate when a top player leaves the sport due to health reasons. I was saying a couple years ago that I hope the younger generations can start winning slams before the big 3/4/5 all get too old and injured to compete. It would look as if they're only winning due to the exits of the generation before them. Unfortunately the ATP middle generation of Nishikori/Raoninc/Dimitrov etc hasn't been able to do much. In fact Dimitrov proved in 2017 he only won Cincinnati and the WTF because he didn't have to worry about the dominant players being there as they were mostly injured.

so I hope Murray can last until WImbledon but it's looking doubtful

I'd love to be the meat in the middle of that Sasha & Domicakes sandwich.

Andy ‘Cry Baby’ Murray

That would be Stan ‘Cry Baby’ Wawrinka...

Sure, Mirka, whatever you say.

notable qualifiers:

Men: Kokkinakis, former top 15 Troicki, trashy Daniel Evans, 2 up-and-comers: Eubanks and Kecmanovic

Women: Andreescu,

Why trashy, R9?

ugh well everyone, alt-righter Sandgren is now a title winner. He swept Norrie in Auckland just now

Sofia Kenin easily beats Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 6-3, 6-0 to win a first career WTA title in Hobart.

It's been a great week for the US.

Sandgren up to a new career high #41 on Monday

Norrie up to #68.

Petra Kvitova's current titles:

St Petersburg Premier

Doha Premier 5

Prague International

Madrid Premier Mandatory

Birmingham Premier

Sydney Premier

No tennis player holds more

BUT BUT BUT

Kvitova's current slam results: R1 R3 R1 R3

Anyone gay of all these guys?

Picks -

Men: Federer. I think he'll be recharged with the time off. Obviously, Djokovic is the heavy favorite, but my gut tells me he's not going to do it. Just a feeling based on the fact that everyone seems to be picking him despite the fact that he's lost his last three events. I actually have Medvedev upsetting Djokovic in the 4R (crazy, I know), and Nishikori reaching the final on the top half. I almost picked Zverev, but the recent injury and Slam record spooked me. On the bottom half, I have Federer beating Tsitsipas (4R), Khachanov (QF), and Nadal (SF). Actually, I'd be surprised if Nadal got that far, but going match by match, I couldn't find who would beat him. Maybe De Minaur, but I wasn't feeling it when I filled out my picks.

Women: Serena. I'm not 100% sure she's in her best form. But she looked ok in Perth, and the women are topsy-turvy enough that she could play her way into it. I don't see Halep threatening her in the 4R, though I'd give Pliskova an outside shot in the QF. And I suppose Osaka could beat her again (that would be the SF), but I picked Svitolina to come through that quarter. Osaka's form just hasn't been great this year. On the bottom half, I have Sabalenka taking out Kerber in the SF, to reach her first major final. (Although I nearly picked Bertens over Kerber in the QF.) Both Kvitova and Barty are lurking in Sabalenka's quarter, so that will be difficult, but I suspect that Sydney final might have taken a little out of them.

just 5 hours away!

at least on paper the Rod Laver matches all appear to be blowouts. Unless Nadal and Sharapova are still injured

lmao we're going to get our taste of tennis hell! Isner will play baby Isner aka Opelka. Just cut to the tiebreak in each set.

YES! YES!YES!. It will be broadcasted on my basic cable channel. No premium subscription required.

It's starting.

Thanks for the notice... I always miss these things.

In less than an hour on ESPN2 in the US.

^^ What time zone, Boo ?

7:00 pm Eastern.

^^ Merci!

Domicakes

whoa 11 different women could end up being #1 at the end of this tournament. I have a feeling it won't be Halep or Wozniacki

This site has livestreams for all matches but I'm not sure if it's geoblocked

lmao Chrissie right off the bat with the shade. "I wouldn't be surprised if Sharapova retired this year. She hasn't gotten her game back since the suspension"

Chirissie be Mean Gurl . . . "I think Serena has amnesia."

[quote] She hasn't gotten her game back since the suspension"

Vacation.

just as expected, lucky Sharapova draws 1 of the most non-threatening first round opponents possible. First time seeing this Harriet Dart and she's not impressive at all. NO SERVE, just a backhand

Duckworth team.

Please analyze the upcoming Sloane vs. Townhouse match.

Dart

looks like H. Dart is getting double bageled by old slag Masha

Kiki M. is also on her way to make an early exit again

[quote] looks like H. Dart is getting double bageled by old slag Masha

I know how H. Dart feels.

[quote]Duckworth team

you think he has a chance against Nadal?

bye Kiki

[quote] you think he has a chance against Nadal?

Almost none, but I'm still on his team.

Anderson team

No Mannarino sauce for me.

I'll take Mannarino's sauce

Dart was pathetic. Did IMG pay her to lose to their Queen?

Rafa's outfit is hideous.

Dart is coached by JMG?

Sloane looking disinterested. Townhouse looking hungry.

R44, IMG is Maria's agency.

Is Jan Michael Gambill openly gay? This guy is clearly his partner.

Julia Goerges is the first seed out. She served for the match but ended up losing to Danielle Collins

Yes, R47.

Boulter continues her decent Hopman Cup form and def. Makarova in the tournament main draw's first final set tiebreak (remember the score is who gets to 10 points first, must win by 2 points)

Sabalenka and Garcia win easily.

Vekic demolished Mladenovic

Verdasco, Tiafoe and DL fave Cuevas all winners

James Duckworth is hawt, hawt, hawt. Ripped muscly body in that sweaty shirt, jesus. He broke Rafa! But still has no shot.

Basilashvili is wearing black today.

Tipsarevic seems to have stopped doing that HIDEOUS grunt he used to do.

Sloane def. Townsend 6-4 6-2

How will Townhouse ever deal with the disappointment of this loss?

[quote]How will Townhouse ever deal with the disappointment of this loss?

she's hitting the buffet with Mirka

R52 Ohh you were talking about that. And I was wondering Why Nikola wore a Black shirt under the hot sun

R57 yeah linking to a picture instead of a Twitter status works better

Reilly Opelka is currently two sets up on Isner

Ostapenko is the definition of a one slam wonder. Very one note game.

[quote]Ostapenko is the definition of a one slam wonder. Very one note game.

I look forward to her induction in the Hall of Fame.

Tsitsipas was bulging nicely earlier.

De Minaur is cute. Great legs on that boy.

yes! Nice work Opelka. Good riddance Isner

ISNER OUT

I'm watching De Minaur's match. Why did some analysts think he has a chance against Nadal if they meet in the 3rd Rd? I'm not impressed.

Monfils is in a medical timeout, lying on his back apparently getting a massage for a groin injury.

I watched the De Minaur match. His opponent had a very visual outline of his dick. Nice.

Wackos.

Kyle Edmund is being slaughtered by Berdych.

I'm so glad Isner is out.

R51 A bit of a road gut thing happening, weird chest, and that face. Nope! But to each his own I guess.

R69 If anyone can find a way to complicate it it's Berdych. I hope not, though.

*roid -- damn autocorrect

I agree with R51. Ducksworth was looking damn good under that sweaty shirt.

What is Berdych wearing? Hideous.

Looks like Thompson stole Johnson's pornstache with even more unsightly results.

Oh! Maybe Berdych won't screw this up. Will serve for the match.

Berdych wins. Now he's essentially the 13 seed -- about where he'd normally be anyway. Good for him.

The Hydrogen outfit is hideous even Feliciano Lopez looks godawful in it.

I missed Berdych match. How was it? Was Edmund playing very bad or Berdy was on fire?

Is it too early to say Sandgren is on his way out?

Can AVU deafeat Pushmiacki?

OMG Andy Muraay and RBA playing. I hope RBA doesn't go soft on Murray

The last time Tomas Berdych failed to reach the second round of the Australian Open, Kyle Edmund was 10-year-old.

This Murray crowd are horrible. Shrieking with glee at RBA's double faults etc. The commentary is also kind of nauseating. "He NEVER played for money, he ALWAYS played for love of the sport, love of the COMPETITION!!!" like all this just because he was sulking in his pre tournament press conference? Calm down.

The Strycova / Putintseva match was predictably entertaining, not just the handshake. They both kind of flopped around in the tiebreak but up until then there were some great rallies between these two fiesty (but talented!) psychos.

Misery out. :-(

Congrats, RBA.

[quote]This Murray crowd are horrible. Shrieking with glee at RBA's double faults etc. The commentary is also kind of nauseating. "He NEVER played for money, he ALWAYS played for love of the sport, love of the COMPETITION!!!" like all this just because he was sulking in his pre tournament press conference? Calm down.

Just imagine the crowds (ugh) and commentators (double ugh) when Federer calls it quits. If there's a God in this world, Federer will announce his retirement after he plays his last match, like Sampras did.

Murray is saying he is not retiring at all and may come back next year

Rope-a-dope!

What R89?

While everyone was watching Murray, Multiple homeowner Tomic unloaded on Hewitt in a small interview room. Just in case you thought Australian tennis needed to be messier.

Bernard Tomic unloads on Lleyton Hewitt as Davis Cup captain. "No one likes him. I thought he was retired he is playing all these matches, doubles". Accused Hewitt of conflict of interest as captain in pushing up players he manages

Tomic needs to get his skank attitude banned for a season.

Nice to see Monfils, McDonald, Tiafoe, and Tsitsipas through to the second round. Nice to see Isner and Sandgren not...

Titsy

I'd like to see Osaka win another slam. To me, she's the most exciting player in women's tennis right now.

No more Sandgren is worth a “Titsy”.

I want a gay player to win

Nadal has a chance.

Well R97 that doesn’t really narrow it down for the ladies.

Saw the Poots-Strycova handshake gif here and thought Poots lost.. Then checked the overnight scores a bit later and she was actually the winner. Those two lol

LOL.

She is Sock's girlfriend

R101 *Was

Dark Monday for the British players, Murray, Edmund, Cameron Norrie, Watson lost. Boutler was the only British winner

^ and Dart got double bagelled by Meldonia. They're all pretty hopeless at the moment, and I don't see anyone good coming up the rankings. Boulter might be able to stay top 50 for a while if she keeps improving, and Norrie showed great stuff in Fed Cup, but outside of that the current crop is pretty useless.

Murray had really bad luck with the draw. RBA is in great form lately

[R103] Excuse me, Dan 'Sniff' Evans got through in straight sets.

Excuse me, R106, but did Evans just come out of a bathroom break before he played that shot? Asking for a friend.

[quote]Dark Monday for the British players, Murray, Edmund, Cameron Norrie, Watson lost

Brexit means Brexit!

R106: When you lose a point like that you know you are done because your rival is in one of those days everything works just fine

Wow the Greek fans were so boisterous during Tsitsipas' first round match.

From the way he answered the question about them in the press conference he seemed grateful but a little embarrassed. After his match they showed up for Sakkari's 3rd set (against Ostapenko) and i've gotta say the difference was like night and day, before they came and after. Obviously there are a tonne of Greeks in Melbourne (the most outside of Greece) but it was next level. You can tell they're all soccer hooligans lol.

Tsitsipas looks like one of those dirty, thieving gypsies! I know; I'm Greek.

^ like that's a bad thing?

Stefanos will look way better with a nice hair cut

Nole

Kei's a mess so far.

He’s a small Kei in a very large pond.

Why the fuck is Serena wearing a raincoat during warmup?

wow Edmund and Sandgren are going to drop a huge amount of points. Sandgren's title points from last week will only help him a little bit

R118 To be as irritating as she can possibly be...naturally!

Six 2nd serves for Maria. Great job!

Majchrzak's busting out all over in those white shorts...

Chris Evert is such a butt licker for Serena....

silly Serena's outfit

R123 Nauseating

I’m watching Fognini right now and that bitch has a straight up gut now.

^^^^^^^

Just like Serena's outfit

ugh we got the #NextGen screamer now. After having seen his name for a few years, this is my first time seeing Munar play. He has a scream/grunt as loud as a Nadal or Ferrer and he looks a bit like Carla Suarez Navarro

Yeah what's up with Fognini's belly? And Munar has topped Granollers for the worst grunt on the ATP.

[quote]and he looks a bit like Carla Suarez Navarro

Hola!

Oh well, Isner and Sandgren can go back home and help their idol Trump make America great again. Not sure who the American tennis media is going to spooge over now that those 2 dolts are out.

R131 unfortunately Ryan Harrison had an easy win today over Vesely

It makes me wonder if Serena has any friends. A real friend would tell her how horrific she looks in that get up...

[quote] he looks a bit like Carla Suarez Navarro

And their child was a masculine child.

Terrible conditions today. Lots of players cramping in the terrible heat.

Tatiana Maria is such a loser, Petkovic is a drama queen, broke down, r135.

[quote] unfortunately Ryan Harrison had an easy win today over Vesely

Is he another deplorable? If so, WTF is the deal with US male players??

He very much is, R137. He had a quasi-racist altercation with Tiafoe on court last year as well.

R137 every fucking thread someone asks this question. YES

R138 with Donald Young not Tiafoe

Didn't know that. Yikes.

Herbert def. another deplorable, Querrey in 4 sets

Good to see Herbert through and Sousa's see-through shorts. A couple of non-Trumpster Americans I'm rooting for are Tiafoe and McDonald.

[quote] with Donald Young not Tiafoe

Thanks for the correction.

Sasha is so dreamy

Can any of you speculate why so many male American players are right/far right? It can’t just be a coincidence can it?

Harrison, Isner and Sandgren are white southern males. That explains it all.

Poor education.

"No one likes him [[Hewiit]] anymore."

Would it be ageist of me to suggest that most DLers are rooting for Bill Tilden?

[qupte] Would it be ageist of me to suggest that most DLers are rooting for Bill Tilden?

That ass. You should’ve seen it in person.

lol Tomic is a real bitch

Sock's ass is out.

Bouchard wins setting up a 2nd round match against Serena. Bouchard has been playing well for her standards lately so that could be a tough match

Serena looked great today though

Pencil is at the ready.

R154 Epic match

R136 Yeah, I love how Serena gets the loser German while Vika gets the competent, fighter German. They're in a tiebreak now.

R145 It's not Sascha anymore. It's Alexander. Didn't you get the memo?

Vika down 5-3 in the breaker and I'm guessing here comes a DF.

Nope. 5-4. The set is on Siegemund's racquet.

Set point Vika!

Siegemund doubled for the 4th time to hand Azarenka set point and she takes it!! Shocked she was able to make it through an entire set without doubling.

Has anyone watched Jim Courier/Sasha 's on-court post-match interview? Yeah, that's what happens when two men keep themselves in closet especially one who is closet for almost three decades.

Thirst was real.

Siegemund is really only a threat on clay

Apparently not because she was two points from the set in the tiebreak and most of the games have been tough. Though she may be fading now.

I thought Bedene played well that first set, was looking like a real match until he lost momentum in the 2nd. Alexander is lovely (think I have a twink problem!), I love how he chews his gold necklace.

Also, the free to air telecast I'm watching in Melbourne is surprisingly good. Although I had to turn off Kokkinakis v. Daniel because Thanasi's scowl irritates me so. I'd love to serve a ball right into his ungrateful little old man looking face.

Interesting that you're irritated by the Kokkinakis scowl yet Zverev's brand of arrogant petulance bothers you not at all. I've yet to see Thanasi scream obscenities at umpires, routinely smash his rackets, dismiss the press with an eye roll, or upon winning a match yell "this is my fucking court!"

Sousa and Pella came very close to making love at the net when Sousa won.

[quote]wow Edmund and Sandgren are going to drop a huge amount of points. Sandgren's title points from last week will only help him a little bit

Sandgren's title points help him quite a bit; he earned 250 for the title, and dropped (net) 350 for losing in the 1R. He was ranked No. 63 going into last week, and likely will be in the mid-70s coming out of Australia.

Regarding the Harrison-Young dustup last year: I know it's popular to hate on Harrison, but there was absolutely no proof of what Young was claiming. The ATP investigated, and the chair, linespeople, and ball kids - who were on court with the players - all said they heard nothing. Nothing was heard on the videotape either.

The Kokk is out with an injury

Kokk played hard but he blew his wad in the first set and that was all he could do.

yeah he really can't last all night

Azarenka looked woeful at the end of that match. She shouldn't be losing to Siegemund on a hardcourt

R173 How the fuck did she blow the 2nd set? It should have been 7-6, 6-2. So many deuce games and Vika lost a large majority of them (usually after having the lead). Christ! She just can't get a break.

I think Vika’s change in diet has really hurt her.

Stop parroting what Chris Evert or Pam are saying. Her diet has nothing to do with it. Azarenka should have won that match. She just keeps running into these bitches that defy tour norms and fight their ass off against her. Plus her clean hitting really seems to elevate other players' games.

What normally happens is what's going on in MC arena with Venus and Buzarnescu. Burz had the set and break lead and is choking it away. Not for Azarenka! From 4-2 up in the 2nd she lost almost every deuce game...and there were a lot. When does that EVER happen with a lower ranked player against a former no.1? And Azarenka had the lead in many of them-- even a couple 0-40 or 40-0. Sad.

R176 it's been and up and down match. Venus was ahead in the first set but blew it too.

Sorry, R176, but I’m in Australia right now so I can’t hear what Evert and Pammie are saying. I’m making my own observations. Vika is clearly faltering when she’s under pressure now more than has since early in her career. I would bet money she’s lost power on her strokes compared to the days when she went toe to toe with Serena when Serena was at her best. She’s used to hitting women off the court and she can’t now. She should come forward more.

Yeah, but Burz blew it when it really mattered and then tanked the rest of the match. Siegemund blew the 1st set tiebreak and was down over and over and over, but kept fighting back. It was almost unbelievable. Usually when a player loses a tight tiebreak they just go away in the next set. You know it's true.

Looking at the stats, coming forward may have been the problem. Her net numbers were abysmal : 10/23.

Tomic is such a whiny little bitch.

And he looks more like old John Carradine every day...

attention guys. help/Kanopi match is going to start. And if you are not interested in her then another good match is going to start between Milos and Nick

What happened to Gulbis? He retired against Wawrinka after having won the first set.

Hopefully he’s not badly injured.

it was a back injury. Bye Gulbis! Fucking bigoted spoiled brat

Wawrinka got lucky though. He was getting his ass kicked

Kyrgios is so frustrating! He has the skill to be top 10 if only he would put some heart into his game. Man can Raonic serve.

8 (!) consecutive games for Bacsinszky vs #10 Kasatkina.

From 0-3 to 6-3, 2-0.

DashKa having a terrible start of the season

Jack will comeback to the Challenger circuito next week, in Newport Beach.

He was top8 12 months ago.

Garbiñe Muguruza vs. Johanna Konta next

Garbiñe played very well today

Timea Bacsinszky wins the last 12 games to beat #10 Daria Kasatkina 6-3, 6-0 and reach the 2nd round.

Kasatkina is the first top 10 eliminated in the Women's draw.

Poor Thanasi...

R168,, You meant this ?

or this?

or this?

Domi looks so gay in this photo

2008 final is a 2019 2nd round

Novak Djokovic vs. Jo Wilfried Tsonga

R186, He will drop to around #70s in the rankings. Would need to play qualies in most of the M1000 and ATP500 events atm.

Wow, r168, you’re not far off. Two more minutes and they would have been at it on court.

And wowza to Sousa’s see-through shorts!

R198 thanks for posting this video!

I guess Pella does not sweat as much as Sousa does? they are wearing the same outfit...

Paire is playing against Thiem. Paire's about to lose, I'd bet, but Paire looks handsome--stunning, in fact.

Wish he could maintain his temper and skills consistently. Time's running out for him.

Kiki is also there. She seems bored. She looks tired of bearding duty

Paire is beautiful. He often shows flashes of brilliance but has that lack of professionalism a lot of the French players seem to have.

Thiem 's ball dropped It proved very beneficial for him

Oh dear, came home from work and didn't expect to have any matches still going... only to realise from this thread that Domi has managed to let himself be dragged into a five-setter with Paire.

Is Kiki still there?

Yep she is. And Domi gets it done in slightly less than 4 hours.

R169: That incident was suspicious. They hate each other and in think Young took advantage of Harrison awful fame.

And i don't understand what Tomic is saying. I hated Hewitt, but he at least was a profesional something nobody can say about Tomic.

Muguruza had a nice day at work, but the moment she face a player who fights she is going to lose.

Zverev at least started the way he should. Short matches will benefit him in the moment of truth

Would you consider Muguruza journeywoman?

R208 not at the moment. But if her play doesn't get better she might turn into one. Kerber was one but improved drastically.

Why is Venus wearing 15 pounds of hair in the heat down there?

Thiem & Paire hug

Thiem team...although I'm Paire team as well.

R209: Not now, not never. She is a two GS champion and former number one. Irregular yes, journeywoman, no

[quote] Thiem team.

Same here.

R21, Thiem posted same photo on his Instagram with the caption Amazing Grand Slam battle against a great guy and great player ! @benpaire

You can go from a journey man/woman and change that. Once you win slams and are highly ranked you're level can go down but the definition of a journey person, to me anyway, is someone who is along for the journey. Someone who doesn't ever make a real play for big titles.

To be fair to Tomic (not that I really want to), if you watch Kyrgios' press conference where he keeps getting asked about the Davis Cup drama, his answers clearly indicate that there IS some sort of issue with Hewitt. Obviously something isn't being said, and Nick didn't reveal specifics (mostly just saying things were 'fine' but the way he said it and the look on his face were a clear giveaway). Is it just bias toward De Minaur? The overuse of Tennis Australia's resources and money for personal gain? Hmmm.

Even Sam Stosur seemed to indicate that there was clearly some sort of problem but she wasn't involved at all in it and didn't really know about it. Someone do some digging!

Also Granny Vee really should have closed out that first set, but her play from 5-3 down in the second was pretty miraculous. She was 30/38 at the net overall (with most of the misses coming in the first set), basically she hit a purple patch and was being hyper aggressive, coming forward, putting the pressure on, and going for broke on her serves. Who knows if she can keep it up against Cornut and then Halep/Kenin and then Serena (another draw from hell for her), but there were flashes of her 2017 form.

Kaia Kanepi had her chances against Help but sadly couldn't get the job done. She had a blister issue at the worst possible time too. Was up 40-0 in her service game, called the trainer, and as the blisters got worse she proceeded to get broken and lost all other games in the match that she had previously been dominating. Another stroke of luck for Halep in an early round at the AO after the Lauren Davis toenail incident last year.

R217 Kokkinakis' comments seemed similar to Kyrgios, indicating that there is some issue but not really wanting to come out and say it. Kokkinakis of course didn't receive a WC to AO, somewhat surprisingly; he had to go through qualies (and then was forced to retire in 1st round due to a shoulder injury).

R219 Yes, I forgot to mention Kok's comments as well. I got the sense that he and Kyrgios didn't want to spill the beans because they didn't want to piss off Tennis Australia, rather than just them fearing retribution from Hewitt (they've both criticised plenty of players before). There's probably some sort of corruption going on for them to be too scared to snitch. Tomic doesn't really get any support from them any more so he has the least to lose, but even his comments were pretty vague ("I thought he was supposed to be retired", etc.). There's a piece of the puzzle missing.

By the way, during the Kokkinakis match one of the commentators (female) suggested that he was offered a WC but chose to go through qualies instead. I don't know how true that is (and she didn't offer any outright statement or proof), but he did keep saying how proud he was to have come through qualies and what a good feeling it gave him, in his press conference. Though he also said he'd been nursing that injury since Brisbane, so I can't imagine why he'd push through qualies instead of accepting the WC and healing up. Maybe that's part of the issue as well.

R216: No, a journeyman/woman is someone who is on the circuit but whose aspirations are very limited and nobody expect them to win a big tournament. Sometimes luck and a good week can make them reach the same level (Gaudio winning RG, Johannson winning Australia) but they don't last on the top and they never get near to repeat it.

Venus was not a contender for GS for years, Kvitova plays well two weeks per year, but they are not journeywoman because everybody knows they have the potential to remember how good they are and win a big title when nobody expects them. With Muguruza is the same.

I could accept that for someone like Bouchard who was a top player for a little while and never won a GS, but not for someone like Muguruza

R216: I started writing no, but the truth is more or less we agree

[quote] Sometimes luck and a good week can make them reach the same level (Gaudio winning RG, Johannson winning Australia)

I look foward to seeing them inducted into the hall of fame.

a journeyman/woman is someone who was never a top player. If you crack the top 30 you're not a journeyman/woman. Obviously Muguruza is not a journeywoman and never will be even if she never wins a big title again.

Who are the two players in OP's pic?

With the first round completed, here are the seeds who were upset. Not bad really. Only 1 top 10 player for each tour. 2 top 20 ATP 1 top 20 WTA

ATP: #9 Isner, #13 Edmund, #17 Cecchinato, #31 Johnson

WTA: #10 Kasatkina, #14 Goerges, #22 Ostapenko, #25 Buzarnescu, #26 Cibulkova, #32 Strycova

R225: Thiem and Sascha Zverev (two DL faves)

Alexander Zverev

R228: I will call him Alexander when he win his first GS. Till then he is Sascha

And, it's really Zverev and Thiem in that order from left to right. I suppose if someone doesn't know who they are, he wouldn't know which is which either based on R227's correct response.

R230: You are right.

He must be new here, because Thiem's ass is a fan favourite, and people love/hate Zverev and his bromance with Marcelo Melo

To be fair i had no idea who Melo was till i started to read this threads

Why is Melo not playing Australian Open?

R233 he joined the Bolsonaro administration and retired from tennis.

[quote]Having earned a spot in the Australian Open main draw after qualifying last week, Kokkinakis said if he had been awarded a wildcard, things might have gone differently during his first round match. “It’s the first time I’ve qualified for a grand slam,” he told reporters. “I think it’s really hard to do. I was really proud of that, but also, maybe, if I’d got straight in, then I would have had a bit more time to rest and recover and be 100% for my first round match. “I just have to make sure that in the future I don’t have to rely on a wildcard or anything like that. I have to get my ranking up. "Have a good year this year hopefully and I won’t need any of that.”

Poor Azarenka. What an asshole to bring up the non-incident at the '13 Aus. She isn't a cheat like certain other players.

Speaking of which...fuck whoever wrote this: 'Was Serena singled out in the US Open final?' I'm not reading it or linking to it. Here's the answer. Yes, she singled herself out, yet again, by ranting and creating a distraction in an attempt to unhinge her opponent and intimidate the linespeople. I thought this had already been discussed ad nauseam? Pure clickbait.

Yeah but she acted terribly in 2013. No tears for her.

What happened in 2013? The TL-DR version.

Does Popsicle look fat in this picture?

She was choking away the SF match. When Stephens serves to stay in it, Azarrenka calls a MTO which she admits later was not because she was injured in any way.

Kokkinakis is talented and he's had a lot of injuries but I don't feel bad that he didn't get a WC. Clearly he was good enough to qualify. He needs to get fitter though

Is Ash Barty related to Billy Barty? She kind of looks like him but a little bit taller.

Nole.

Dan Evans looks like a cashier at the Dollar General.

McDonald looks like a twink at a gay bar fresh to New York City from Iowa.

Li'l Diego wins in five!

Are you Tiafoe team or Anderson team?

R240 You're full of shit. She hurt her knee in the 3rd or 4th game of the set and that was also part of the injury timeout. If a player is trying to close out a match , has tweaked something, and is having a breathing issue they'd be stupid not to have it checked out before making the final push for the straight set win. The "choking" comment was prompted by the interviewer and Azarenka said it jokingly. She was not choking. Besides, she had nearly broken Sloane every game of the match, so it was highly likely that's how Azarenka would close it out (since returning is her biggest strength). Get a clue.

How far does Roger make it in this tournament?

R248 heavy breathing issues due to her choking yes!

Anisimova (aka the new Kournikova) is about to take out Tsurenko.

[quote] Anisimova (aka the new Kournikova) is about to take out Tsurenko.

I loved her father's Foundation books!

R250 FO. She was having a rib issue/cramp that was causing pain when twisting and expanding her rib cage. I've had it happen a couple times -- it does not feel good. And no I wasn't choking at the time and neither was Azarenka.

If she was going to actually choke she would've done it in the much more pressure-filled final.

Not a fan of Murray, but sorry about news of his retirement from tennis.

Really, R245? McDonald looks to me more like where he's actually from (Berkeley, well-behaved, intelligent) than the sort of corn-fed Iowa look that Jack Sock or Isner (bland, brain-dead, Trumpsterish) embody.

Basilashvili wins in 5.

A more important question is, did he wear the see-through white shorts today?

Is it “Tee-AH-Foe” or “Tee-uh-FOE”?

R258 Tee-Ah-Foe. You can go to ATP's official site and click on his profile page. For most of the players in the top 100 you can hear them pronounce their own names.

Fritz is cute.

Tiafoe wins. Anderson out.

yay Frances! Team Tiafoe here! He was down 4-6 0-3 against Anderson but came back to win. He even was down 15-40 while trying to serve out the match but played 4 straight clutch points. He gave a nice bicep flex after.

After a horrible Hopman Cup showing he's redeemed himself. Anderson is a huge win for him

I'm typically on Anderson team, but I like Tiafoe as well and am happy he won.

Anderson the loser. I am excited about him.

More free pass to Nadal up to semis.

Can Berdy defeat him in the 4rth round? Anyway, Berdy first have to defeat little Diego

Who has the bigger and/or better butt: Tiafoe or Sock? Compare and contrast.

well Tiafoe has a nice ass and a fit body to match. Sock is just fat period with no muscle definition. So Tiafoe is leagues hotter

This split screen nonsense on ESPN2 is pissing me off.

I can't believe that this qualifier is giving Roger so much trouble.

He is playing under hot sun . Which he does rarely . Please have some considertin about gramps 's age

It's amazing how much the old man struggles when he's not given his usual special treatment. Like Wimbledon last year when they take him off Centre Court and he ends up losing to Anderson. He isn't used to playing day matches. It's not nearly as hot as it was in the earlier sessions (Sloane Stephens' wig was frying).

maybe someone promised Evans a line of coke if he played well today?

On the changeovers, was Evans on hands and knees trying to snort the lines on the court?

Taylor Fritz has the personality of a dial tone.

wow Nadal's draw has fallen apart. I wonder if the #NextGen in that section can challenge him at all

McDonald is playing double with DL fave Sandgren

First time into #AusOpen third round

RBA will lose this match because he played passive when he was up.

I thought Rafa was injured?

Looks like Nadal skates to the later rounds if not actually win the title. Next Gen won't stop him here.

I hope he at least stops De Minaur. He deserved to lose tonight with that terrible attitude and basic pusher game. He got VERY lucky that the young Swiss qualifier was exhausted by the 5th set and threw in one loose game to get broken. The media and local broadcaster who had already been hyping the De Minaur / Nadal faceoff (after they'd only won a single round) almost had egg on their faces.

I'm also really sick of his Hewitt-esque mugging towards the camera and audience, all those arrogant facial expressions.

I have to say I’ve liked De Minaur but Hewitt has always annoyed me. Seeing Hewitt as his coach kind of annoys.

Putintseva gave Bencic a better handshake than to the umpire

I see London, I see France, I see Pouille's underpants!

Nadal does look like he has a clear path to the semis. De Minaur didn't impress me early on, so no surprise he almost lost. Nadal will likely straight set him.

your ad

[quote]your ad

???

lmao Putintseva is a nut

As much as Putin needs a major attitude check, I have to admit she's kind of fun to watch. When she's playing well she's a real fighter on the court, and like Barbie Strycova her caricaturish, larger-than-life, ridiculous persona is more funny than annoying. I remember when she imitated Jo Konta's robotic ball-bouncing motion on court last year, there's a gif somewhere and it is HILARIOUS. After her loss today there were photos of her giving the middle finger to the crowd. She's also a surprisingly beautiful girl when she's not scowling and thrusting during a match lol.

She is one of the most unsportsmanlike players I've seen. Always acting like a brat when she loses.

This tournament the only players she played were Strycova and Bencic who also have that brat thing going on (especially Bencic who is still a bit of a petulant teenager at heart). So funny that all 3 of them landed in the same corner of the draw.

Putintseva's middle finger

Poohey

first half of round 2 seed casualties:

ATP: #5 Anderson, #30 Monfils

WTA: #9 Bertens, #20 Kontaveit, #24 Tsurenko, #29 Vekic

R280: De Miñaur seems to suffer the Zverev syndrome, he is nice off court and annoying on court, but being trained by one of the biggest douches ever on court should explain that. He had very little chances against Nadal, you need big weapons and a solid serve to defeat Rafa and Alex lacks both. He is a consistent player but in my opinion his career is destined to be a low rent copycat of David Ferrer's career (that if he is lucky).

Putintseva is such a bitch

Cuntintseva

De Minotaur

I can’t stand Sharapova.....

I don't know who to root against more, Sharapova or Wozniacki.

Whereas I didn’t mind it with Monica Seles, Sharapova’s shrieking makes her impossible to watch.

[quote]I can’t stand Sharapova.....

poor Maria's boyfriend keeps her up all night

Wozniacki doesn't bother me until she starts talking. Her Kermit the Frog voice drives me crazy.

Sharapova vs Wozniacki will be scheduled to play in a parking lot in Queens.

Tomic is a gutless arsehole. Lleyton Hewitt was a gutsy terrier of a player who had none of Tomic’s advantages of height and weight but ten times his balls.

[quote] but ten times his balls.

How did the ball boys and girls handle all of them?

this will be the firs time Sharapova and Wozniacki have played since Sharapova's ban and Wozniacki's critical comments towards Sharapova...

Vacation, R304. Vacation.

Titsy

Nole

Stans hotness is underrated

Totally agree, R308. Despite the pockmarked face, he has a great ass and body.

Wawrinka team

Stan team

Did Stan frost the tips of his hair?

No, R311, that’s just acne medication that got into his hair.

a few games ago Raonic was majorly majorly bulging. He's hung like a horse.

I enjoy watching Stan play. Love that one-handed backhand.

[quote] He's hung like a horse.

With a pig face.

true, R314

Would you say the Australian Open is DL’s own major? Threads about it seem to get a lot of traction and posters seem to have a passion about it. It’s almost like it’s an intimate Major we connect with. Why do you think that is if true?

Two great men's matches on right now. Stan is cracking the BH. Kei is in deep trouble; should have been done hours ago.

I've never seen a player who willingly gets into SO many unnecessary 5 setters the way Kei does... I mean he is always going to struggle against Karlovic's serve at his height, but this happened in the prior round too. I like him but he needs to sort that out if he's going to play a few more years.

The amount of times he's completely delayed the court schedule too is so annoying. I've gotta go to work later on and thanks to him the Venus match that was supposed to start half an hour ago (estimated) will be a few hours later (the Naomi Osaka match is between them). Oh Kei.

Also, John Millman is doing the commentary on Kei/Karlovic and he does an excellent job. He also seems like one of the nicest guys on the tour (by far). He pings to me, it's probably the voice and that strut he does around the court. Although his rather beautiful girlfriend does sit in his box constantly.

Kei is definitely a big crowd favorite there.

lol well Kei has done himself in like always. He'll probably come up lame in the next round after this long ass match

cannot believe Kei is going to dig this out. Totally agree with you R318, this is unnecessary! Karlovic must be CRUSHED.

Millman is hot. World class legs.

KArlovic the loser. I am excited about him

Milos would look better without the bandana thing. Only Rafa and some of the Latin players can pull that off.

[quote] some of the Latin players can pull that off

DelPo? Any others? Why do you think it's the Latin players who pull it off?

Close the roof already!

R325 just personal opinion. Raonic looks dorky with it.

Chung is struggling. I want to calm his fans on DL. PHH will find a way to lose the match

Good match. I’m definitely on Stan team though.

There should be a public flogging of whoever designed the Nike gear for this slam. Hideous! Only Katie Boulter didn't look vomitous.

the rain delay has helped Chung

Cornet got seriously screwed in that 8th game -- the serve wasn't even partially out and the call had no impact on V's play. How do they always get that wrong? It ended up costing Cornet the game and set.

Too bad the sisters opponents weren't flip-flopped tonight because Cornet would've given Serena hell.

Happy for PHH, but wish Chung would finally find some form again... He has now dropped to 50 in live rankings, with the loss of his semi-final points from last year.

Sad that Wawrinka is out. He's one of my favourites.

Svitolina - Monfils is the new tennis couple?

Screw it, Domi-Kiki

Domi is on the verge of going out in R2...

Granny Venus played much better without that hideous visor.

Domicakes Thiem retired. Is the OP pic curse working?

Monfils/WTA player doesn't typically last very long. Domi-Kiki to retain power couple designation in long-term.

[quote] Monfils/WTA player doesn't typically last very long.

Neither does WTA player/WTA player. All they do is fornicate!

Gilles Simon's bulge looks huge!

Sad for Stanimal (I find Raonic so boring). Granny Vee and Halep BOTH have draws from hell this Australian Open. They just put themselves through the ringer to face each other, and the winner's reward is probably a drubbing from Serena.

Camila Giorgi also looked terrifying today. I would NOT wanna face her. Some great shotmakers got through to the R3 as well: Bacsinszky, Sevastova, and Hsieh Su Wei.

CSN is trailing to some barely 16-year-old girl

R242, Carlo is probably distracted by the young poon.

I’d love for Granny to best Serena, but I doubt she has it in her any longer. The only reason I’d want Serena to win the tournament is to get closer to beating Margaret Court’s major record so Court becomes more of a batty footnote, a shadow of a great career.

He is missing ricardo

Are you by any chance the poster called Aussie Darcy on the tennis-warehouse forum?

no

Nike has the worst design for women as usual. Serena looks quite good, moving much better than in USO.

I'm going to miss Domi's magnificent tuchus

Thanks for nothing OP. And if you a little bit of fairness left in you then would put Rafa's ass in next OP pic

CSN lost to a 16-year-old girl

Anybody watching Zverev v. Chardy? I'm enjoying it.

R352, WHO IS THE GUY IN FUKK WHITE T SHIRT IN SASHA; BOX? HE IS SITTING NEXT TO IVAN

Yes good match overall, shame Chardy has lost his serve after breaking Zverev. Zverev seems a bit more solid and emotionally stable but still a lot of potential to tanking because something annoys him - 2 DF in a row show how easily distracted he can get.

Is that you Bill Taylor R353? I do not know who the fellow in the white shirt is.

It's his secret boyfriend ...that is the answer you wanted, right?

I'm not great at tennis lingo R354 but I agree, and will add that I've liked the challenges at the net. The umpire tonight seems a nice guy too. Off topic - I'd find it annoying wearing as many necklaces as Sasha whilst playing.

Fourth set here we go!

R353, do mean Arturs Kazijevs? I am not entirely sure he's sitting next to Ivan but he is wearing white.

This Hewitt/Tomic row gets even weirder. Hewitt's said Tomic has physically threatened him and tried to blackmail him.

Chardy has the talent to loose crucial points in the most stupid way

Sasha Zverev collapse is complete

Djokovic broken at love here While serving for second set . He is better than this

Konta-Muguruza moved to court 3, so they can start 30/40 minutes earlier than on MCA.

Still the latest match to ever start at the AusOpen

Chardy's collapse is complete

It's been at least a decade since Venus has even tried to beat Serena. Even Helen Keller could see the lack of effort.

Konta - Muguruza not being moved to Court 3 as it's covered in too much bird shit.

Straya drama heating up nicely

R351: Yastremska is 18 not 16

Zverev showed why he didn't win a GS, he always find a way to screw up thing when everything is in his favour. At least this time he continued to fight and won the match. But he needs to win fast if he really wants to have a chance against the big three (specially when noone of them are really that scary right now)

Didn't Yastremska used to play left field for the Red Sox?

R371: I'm not american so i didn't understood a thing.

Yastremska was a top junior player (and U16 and U14), Ukraine had a very good team with her and Zavatska

Konta v Mugurutha going to a third set.

Muguruza is in bad form, on a tight match she will lose

[quote] chance against the big three

The days of the Big Four, which were all alive and kicking until recently, are now over. It was great while it lasted.

R375 - Er Judy he still has the first round of Wimbledon to lose.

I was wrong, Muguruza was able to win on a tight match, maybe there's some hope for her after all

Hewitt has alkie face.

You’re just noticing that now, R378?

Here are all the seeds who fell in the first 2 rounds. The WTA lost more seeds but the ATP lost more higher ranked seeds.

ATP: #5 Anderson, #7 Thiem, #9 Isner, #13 Edmund, #17 Cecchinato, #24 Chung, #29 Simon, #30 Monfils, #31 Johnson, #32 Kohlschreiber

WTA: #9 Bertens, #10 Kasatkina, #14 Goerges, #20 Kontaveit, #22 Ostapenko, #23 Suarez Navarro, #24 Tsurenko, #25 Buzarnescu, #26 Cibulkova, #29 Vekic, #32 Strycova

R364 One of the powers that be in tennis must have it out for Mugu because she gets the absolute worst scheduling. They fucked her at Wimby too -- as the defending champ!

R344 I hope Granny Vee doesn't have to play her cheat sister at all. I hope Yastremska pulls an Osaka and beats the hell out of her first. She certainly hits hard enough. Hopefully it's all 1st and 3rd set against CSN. Not 2nd set.

R337 Yeah, apparently tossing the visor did the trick. Ha! Poor effort from Cornet though. Venus looked like she was going to collapse at the end of set 2. Cornet should have been ready to defend and extend every rally in the set 3. Should've been junk balling her and moving her on every point. I thought it was going to be 6-1 or 6-2 Cornet.

File this under karma: Lleyton Hewitt, as Australian Davis Cup captain, trying to manage hotheads Tomic, Kyrgios, and Kokkinakis.

R383 I'd love to know the details of Tomic trying to blackmail Hewitt.

To be fair it hasn't been 10 years since Vee beat Serena... she got her in straights at Indian Wells just last year (although I admit it looked quite reluctant lol). How sweet it would be to see her beat the world #1, steamroll Serena, and win the whole title, surprising everyone. She's certainly looked every bit as solid as little sis so far this year.

But I would be concerned about Yastremska, she's a bit of a freak. Saw her play in Luxembourg last year and she was pretty incredible. Not just for her age, either. It's no surprise she beat CSN (who is also injured I think? Will probably miss the next few months and is considering surgery). Sometimes these girls fold like a cheap tent when they face the Serena serve, but the game is there. Hopefully her mentality is too.

That Konta / Muguruza match was surprisingly great. They've both been so trash for the last year or so, but really brought it even with the late start. Both with positive W/UE ratios and excellent serving (only two breaks of serve in the entire match).

Zverev as per usual looking vulnerable at the slams. This isn't going to be his breakthrough fortnight... and a shame Thiem fought so hard to beat Paire (a dynamic and interesting player + nice guy) only to roll over and retire to the young Aussie anyway.

Zverev is the Jelena Jankovic of the ATP Tour. The talent and the game are there, when he's on, but, when the chips are down (i.e. the grandest of occasions), he is not at the level of Top 3, mentally and, possibly, physically. Can you see him outlasting Nadal or Djokovic in a 5-setter, assuming both are playing reasonably close to their best, in a semifinal or the final of a Slam? Maybe he proves me wrong, but it won't happen here.

I'd be very surprised if Zverev broke through this year in the Slams, maybe even ever. I agree with R386 that I can't see him outlasting Nadal, Djokovic, or even Federer in 5 sets. These young guys can beat the top players in 2 out of 3, but not 5 setters. Not yet, anyway. Zverev going 5 after being up 2-0 in sets is a BAD sign for him. I expect him to be gone by the Round of 16.

[quote] I'd be very surprised if Zverev broke through this year in the Slams, maybe even ever.

Always a bridesmaid never a hall of famer.

Zverev only needs to be lucky, he needs one of the big three having a bad day and maybe he will be able to believe that he can defeat them.

In tennis things change quite fast, Djokovic went very fast from being secondary to protagonist but the truth is Zverev has all against him right now, because he clearly has the game but not the mental strength.

He needs to win easily the next matches if he wants to have a chance, and frankly it seems that he is going to tank again when he faces someone better than Chardy. The worst thing is the more time to takes to get into the final stages of a GS, the more pressure he will feel. And it could be even worse if someone of the next gen is able to do it before him

R384 Instead of something juicy, apparently the blackmail was in the style of "if you don't give me wildcards, I won't play Davis Cup". Hewitt didn't specify what the threats were.

Tomic is a psycho. I wouldn't be surprised if actual threats against Hewitt's family were uttered.

R390: That's not a threat, that's making Hewitt job easier.

Maybe there's still hope for Kyrgios, but Tomic will never be the player some predicted he'll be

I know we all hate Tomic (myself included) but I don't know why people are assuming Hewitt is in the right here? Especially with the comments Kyrgios and Kokkinakis made in their press conferences. It's not like Hewitt is known as the nicest, most level-headed guy himself. And usually in these cases it's the one with the power that is in control of these situations and related wrongdoings.

Halep receiving some illegal coaching from the stands, just like her idol Justine Henin.

No, R379, but it's reached a new level now that Hewitt's entering middle age. The combination of sun exposure and way too many beers has taken a sad toll on his face, much like it has with Pat Cash and Boris Becker. They could be the spoiled anti-skin care poster children.

R394 did the umpire call her on it or let it slide?

R394 Halep who doesn't have a coach?

R393 And Ebden too said there were problems with Hewitt. Can't dismiss Ebden as easily the way you can with Tomic and Kyrgios, so his words have largely been ignored. Btw personally, I don't hate Tomic, don't particularly like him but I cut him some slack as his issues are largely a result of growing up with an abusive father.

R394 Not up on the illegal coaching gestures lingo, what is he telling Halep to do?

Halep got Help.

Halep doesn't have a coach at the moment as Cahill has taken some time off. Who is supposed to have been illegally coaching her?

She got away with it. Which is interesting after the whole Serena debacle. Halep also did it several times during the match, even from her mother in the stands giving her signals. It doesn't matter if it's your 'official' coach or not, especially if you are the one communicating with them (not defending Serena's lunatic outburst but remember she never gestured TO Patrick).

Halep should have received a fine and several point penalties (which would have changed the match as she was down a break in the 3rd anyway). From the Grand Slam rule book:

"Players shall not receive coaching during a match (including the warm-up). Communications of any kind, audible or visible, between a player and a coach may be construed as coaching.

[... section continues about coaches being abusive/loud/obscene etc, it was long and irrelevant so I cut it out.....]

Violation of this Section shall subject a player to a fine up to $20,000 for each violation. In addition, if such violation occurs during a match (including the warm- up), the player shall be penalised in accordance with the Point Penalty Schedule hereinafter set forth. In circumstances that are flagrant and particularly injurious to the success of a tournament, or are singularly egregious, the Referee may order the Coach to be removed from the site of a match or the precincts of the tournament site and upon his failure to comply with such order may declare an immediate default of such player."

R400 Her mother. And a man who was in her box

[quote] even from her mother in the stands giving her signal

Her mother gave her the “call me” sign. You see Halep never calls and never writes.

Sloane needs to do something about that tired old ratty weave.

The AO is exciting to DL because we have been in a tennis desert for months!

Who honestly cares about the coaching? It's happening in every match if you watch closely enough. The difference is that Halep, had she been caught, wouldn't have whined, lied about it, and verbally attacked the umpire for 30 minutes.

R396 He probably just missed it. Halep's team was smarter about it than Moron-oglou.

R405 Halep was making gestures with her coach. Serena did not make gestures that was just her coach. Big difference.

R405 Are you the Serena obsessor who can't stop bringing her up? Jesus it's like beating a dead horse. Literally nobody here is supporting her dumb outburst, or defending her abysmal behaviour. Almost a quarter of these tennis threads are solely people still making fun of her for it (as they should). Just making the point that there is clear active communication between Halep and her box, unlike in the US Open case.

Whether coaching is happening regularly or not, it's currently against the GS rules and should have resulted in hefty fines and multiple point penalties last night. The world #1 player blatantly cheated, broke the rules, and got away with it when she should have been penalised. You may not care but i'm sure her opponent does.

there are a number of good matches (at least on paper) today. Can't wait

R408 Hefty fines and multiple point penalties? Really? If she had been warned and not stopped or had freaked out about it, then yes. Otherwise, no. Halep can talk and gesture to her box all day long if she wants. The problem is only when they do something back. If the umpire didn't see it, he didn't see I guess. Sorry, I don't know what else to tell you except that your beef is with the umpire.

Also, her opponent was probably getting signals as well. MOST OF THEM DO. I think the whole coaching-from-the-stands issue is so overblown anyway. You still have to execute.

R394 I'm almost certain he's telling her that they'll go to the beach (wave hand gesture) tomorrow if she wins.

Not an Aussie and I was never a big fan of Hewitt but I would take his side in this fight, just looking at the facts. Kyrgios and Tomic are hardly spring chickens in the world of tennis, who've been hyped and expected to be stars but they never delivered, at least not as much as they were capable of, instead being content with shit stirring and running off their mouths. Ebden is also a tour veteran at this stage and a perennial journeyman. They are hardly the kind of people that Tennis Australia should be investing in and certainly not the basis for a successful future DC team. They had their chances and blew them.

Tsitsipas and Basilashvili are battling on Margaret Court Arena, and tiny little Schwartzman just took the first set against Berdych, but The Tennis Channel is covering the snooze fest of Barty v. Sakkari. WTF?!

I hope Barty is healthy for her next round against Wozniacki/Sharapova. They said she had some stomach issue even though she played well today.

Tsitsipas vs. Basilashvili is fun to watch.

Berdych will be a very dangerous "floater" in this half of the draw. I can't believe how well he's playing coming off such a long absence from the tour.

Berdych won the third set. He is 2 set to one up. He is a break up in the fourth set. But I can assure you guys that he will choke and screw this match up

[quote] I can't believe how well he's playing coming off such a long absence from the tour.

How long was he gone?

Thanks, Nostradamus at R416.

Basically, since last year's AO. I think he played a few events after that but lost very early (back injury.)

Thank God . I am so glad he won. Well I am glad that I proved to be wrong, R418

Thanks, R419.

I like Titsy. But I like Niko Basil more. Still ok that Titsy won . Niko was not playing consistent in first two rounds after playeing great tennis post US open last year

Tomas Berdych reaches the #ausopen 4th round for an 11th time in his career = Only 3 men have reached more 4th rounds in Melbourne than Berdych: Federer, Djokovic, Nadal

Fritz isn't athletic enough to challenge old man Federer.

Sablenk just afford to take Anisimova lightly. Anisimova is extremly danerous. I was shocked the way she detroyed Tesia Tsurenko

Lil Diego 😢

Sabalenka has the game to win this whole thing but I doubt she can keep it together mentally.

Grandpa Roger looks old but he's still moving so well for his advanced age.

I bet 40 hits Federer REALLY hard.

40 is new 30

40 Peeps, Mirka?

Who do you all think will get in the finals from the bottom half of the womens draw?

Bottom half is as wide open as Devin Franco hole . I think Kerber is little bit favorite to reach final through this half . Still it is everybodys gane .

But as long as it not Caroline Pushniacki, I am fine

I'll take Pushniacki over Meldoniumova.

Hopefully someone like Osaka makes the final and not that old bitch Serena!

Young Grigor

Looks like it's going to be bye, bye Sabalenka.

Could Alphabet make a deep run? Usually she always chokes in matches. But currently shes cruising.

Who’s this kid crushing Sabalenka?

R439 Anna Kournikova and Safin's love child who was raised by another family.

Anisimova is a real talent. She doesn't seem bothered by Sabalenka's power and hits hard herself. For 17 that's impressive. Keys is the only player left in the tournament who hits harder.

Surprised no one has mentioned how Hewitt was let slide when he made an obvious racist effort against the black linesman In the match against Blake just because Blake always the neutered acted as though he didn't believe it when we all saw what he did and said. He made that remark and was let slide. That would never happen in today's climate. Hewitt was always an asshole.

What did "Kournikova" take before the match to play that well? I bet Sabalenka wanted to snap her in half.

Can't believe Mary Jo thought she plays like Seles and didn't mention the obvious Kournikova comparison. Everything about her game screams Kournikova (except she hits harder) WTH!?

Sabalenka is so yesterday.

That little girl strikes a very nice ball and has great technique which for a kis is as good as I've seen for someone that young since Capriati.

Kid*

Wozniacki is someone who Sharapova DESPERATELY does not want to lose to especially given her comments on the ban lol c'mon Caroline beat her ass

Caroline is a boring player. The most exciting thing about her is that she is for whatever reason Serena's BFF.

R442, Google Translate is not your friend, so I'm just going to link this video to illustrate Hewitt's Trump-level of lying assholery and recreation of alternative reality.

Someone needs to fix Maria's sideboob issue.

Someone should post that interview on his Twitter and never let him forget it. James Blake definitely let him slide. Fuck him too.

That's a bit harsh on Blake, who's very Gandhi-esque.

Souza and Tiafoe are the most profuse sweaters since Rafter.

Sousa*

The women's matches have been really great so far today: Stephens-Martic, Woz-Maria, Anisimova-Sabalenka.

Sharapova prevails.

R450 she's always had it.

Sharapova was solid today and it was Wozniacki who faltered on serve and forehand. I hope Barty takes her out next round

Stephens has been too passive at the AO so far. She can hit big but so far this tournament she's' been defending too much. Martic gifted her crucial points today. Sloane's form will need to pick up if she wants to get past Pavlyuchenkova

Wozniacki will drop to #9 at best after the #AusOpen. Her top 10 status isn't safe and dependent on other results

Tom Woodbridge destroying Bernie Tomic on Eurosport.

Mats Wilander helping.

Anisimova is indeed the real deal. Long, beautiful strokes, a solid serve, and she played fearlessly against the hottest player right now in the WTA. She made a fan out of me after today’s win.

Tiafoe comes of age. Best match of the tournament so far.

Tiafoe def. Seppi in 5 sets to reach his first rd16 at a slam!

Wozniacki can only win tournaments when other people struggle, or Serena is out on maternity leave. She's an ain't-shit player. Nothing special.

R462 As if everyone didn't already know that

Rafa is so bronzed right now and the hair looks fuller than usual too.

De Minaur looks like his mom dropped him off at the tourney site in the family mini-van.

R464 What? He looked super bald in his last match. Is he wearing a wig?

Spray-on hair?

He looks bald when sweaty.

His butt is huge too. Shouldn't have forgotten that important point!

(Mary/Xisca/Maria/Francesca - the beard - has also arrived).

Not that huge, R468...

Came on this thread to ask what happened to Rafa's plugs. Glad to see I'm not the only one who wondered. Did they fall out somewhere or was he wearing a rug or some product to hide it?

Yes, this is the most interesting thing in this match.

disappointed by how 1-sided the match is.

Ho hum, so here are some good-looking matches slated for Saturday in Oz:

Shapovalov-Djokovic

Osaka-Hsieh

Sousa-Nishikori

Popyrin-Pouille

Goffin-Medvedev

Herbert-Raonic

Carreno Busta-Fognini

Muguruza-Bacsinszky

I thought Nadal was injured. Nice juicing during injury time , Nadal.

Lot of TUEs isn't it?

Really hope Barty knocks that cheating bitch out of the next round.

Through 18 days of 2019, Roberto Bautista Agut has beaten Stan Wawrinka, Novak Djokovic, Tomas Berdych, Andy Murray and Karen Khachanov, and defeated Australian John Millman in a five-setter in Melbourne

Verdasco is trending worlld wide for his stupidity

I want the cheaters gone too. Barty needs to eliminate Maria (piss her off with that low slice girl!!), and Venus needs to smack the shit out of Simona 'coached-from-the-stands', 'extremely injured' Halep. At the moment nobody looks more dangerous than Anisimova but it remains to be seen whether she can keep tat form up match to match. I've actually been watching her since Indian Wells and her performance today was way better than anything she's done before. If she can keep it up she'll be scary. Although Su Wei did fuck her up in a WTA tournament final last year with her funky game!! And she's still in the draw.

RBA has truly been impressive this year. I still can't think of him taking the title, but he could be good for a SF run or something. And if he keeps this form up he can be very dangerous on clay. He also LOOKS so much stronger. Really big and veiny. There was a photo of him with Errani in the off season, I wonder if she gave him any of her mother's tortellini....

As soon as Fiasco wasted those match points and lost the set you knew Cilic's experience would push him ahead. Such a waste of a lead from the Spaniard.

Go Maria!

I'm thinking the Joisey Girl is going to thump Kvitova next.

The story of Verdasco's entire career...

#AusOpen⁠ ⁠ R16 Men’s Bottom Half

Marin Cilic vs Roberto Bautista

Roger Federer vs Stefanos Tsitsipas

Grigor Dimitrov vs Frances Tiafoe

Rafael Nadal vs Tomas Berdych

[quote] Serena is out on maternity leave

What’s this about maternity leave? She’s pregnant?

[quote] Rafael Nadal vs Tomas Berdych

Berdych team

I knew De Miñaur didn't have the weapons to defeat Rafa but it's incredibly that the youngsters are totally unable to give him a fight. Come on, this is not even near the best version of Rafa.

Anisimova is what the wta needs, new blood, talented, not screaming, not a brainless ballbasher. She is even beautiful so they better pray for her continue to progress

R483 didn’t Berdych bitchslapped Nadal the last time they played in AO?

[quote]What’s this about maternity leave? She’s pregnant?

I was referring to last year when ain't-shit Wozniacki was allowed to win the AO but only because Serena was out.

So when Serena retires and younger players are winning slams will you say they only did it cause she retired. Stfu. Tennis will soon move on without her there.

[quote]didn’t Berdych bitchslap Nadal the last time they played in AO?

yeah, in the 2015 QF (6-2 6-0 7-6). Berdych had lost their 17 previous encounters

R487 = younger, lesser player hoping that Serena will retire soon

Nadal and Berdych have been less than friends since this little incident...

Does Titsy have any chance against Gramps?

R491 I think he does. The crowd will be on Titsy's side and he's shown he's not afraid of the top players.

I know there's a massive Greek-Australian community that will be out for Titsy, but never underestimate the Federloons. They are legion, and they are global. Unfortunately.

Help or Venus?

Hmmmm. Help has a better chance of beating Serena, but I also want Granny to have a chance at a final major.

@torn

So what happened with Verdasco? How many match points did he blow? Stupid mistakes or choking?

Grigor's hair is back, thank goodness. I can see why he experimented with shaving it but he really had such a weird balding pattern that it was distracting. And it made ME feel old.

R496 Iirc he blew 2 match points, one on his own serve (doublefaulted it away, that had to hurt...).

lol oh Verdasco. I can't believe it's the 10 year anniversary of his epic SF choke against Nadal too.

I hope Berdych takes out Nadal. Berdych will obviously need to serve well, but he has the type of game that can bother Nadal. If he can get that first set, it might make Nadal tighten up a bit. If he doesn't take out Nadal, I see Nadal getting through to the semis. If he meets Federer in the semis, I'm not sure how to call that one. Nadal looks good, but Federer looked good last night, too.

Nadal can't be in good form, but the more deep he gets in the draw more difficult it would be beat him.

Berdych never was a real rival to Nadal (not even in juniors, Rafa defeated him even on Nike U14 masters). He has the game to cause damage but in terms of mentality he is ligh years behind Rafa.

The good thing for him is that he has zero pressure, he has absolutely nothing to lose and he is playing really well

Berdych's problem has been his inconsistency, mental frailty and while his movement is decent, not amazing. Nadal usually beats him because he can get back that 1 extra shot so Berdych will make an error or it will be out of reach.

I have an itch.

I have an itch that just won’t quit.

What’s my itch?

What’s my itch, bitch?

Yo.

Anisimova may have been born in New Jersey, but she is no Joisey girl, R479. She speaks like the polished, cool child of Russian parents with the same controlled blondness that Sharapova and Kournikova mastered to earn millions as a tennis star(let).

R504 is something wrong with that? Jersey girls cant be composed?

Anisimova is not as pretty as Kournikova but she has more game. If she keeps playing like this she'll be winning big titles and have lots of sponsor deals

She does seem to have mastered Sharapova's cadences, cool, slightly dismissive answers, and cold demeanor. And her hobby is going to the beach. That's unfortunate.

r505, lighten up. Of course, girls from New Jersey can be composed. Meryl certainly is. My response to the joke that she was a "Joisey" girl. I'm just throwing out there that she is MORE than just a Jersey girl. Children of many immigrants are driven to succeed. It's why their parents emigrate. Sharapova and Kournikova showed the way a new generation of blond, lanky ball-sluggers who know that their look and talk are the key to endorsements and riches.

But if you want to think she's a "Joisey" girl or Americanize her as just a Jersey girl, carry on. Olga and Konstantin Anisimov will tell you differently.

And so does her Russian surname. Like a good Russian, she feminized it. Anisimova, daughter of Anisimov. You think "Joisey" girls do that? That's a laugh.

Anisimova has said she wants her name pronounced in the American way rather than the Russian way, so she's pretty Americanised already.

R506: To be fair Kournikova had a lot of potential (and a beautiful game) when she was a teen but she was blinded by the flashlights and then became miss double fault

Just like Sharapova, R509, just like both of them Russianized their names, most likely because the Americanized pronunciation of the feminized Russian name sounds more "American" to clueless Americans. Try that with Anisimov. It screams Russian.

Anisimova has done nothing to deny that she's a Russian-American or American with Russian heritage. Not sure why it's such a problem to acknowledge it.

Thanks for that link, R409. I meant no offense by use of "Joisey."

She's a very polished speaker, and her game against Sabalenko was ferocious. Her assuredness between points reminds me a little bit of Graf and before her, Andrea Jaeger.

I tuned into the match thinking I'd see Sabalenka whalloping on her, a player I hadn't seen yet, but was reading the accolades. I saw it for myself, and I'm a solid fan already. Sad though to not see Tursinov though--smoking hot always, bun or not.

major contrast of styles coming up...Osaka vs. Hsieh

R474 / R477 Quit the crazy ranting about the "cheats" getting knocked out. Especially when the Queen of the Cheats is so conspicuously absent from your rant.

This pusher is doing well against Osaka.

Zhang is impressing in her match with Svitolina.

Hseih plays like an annoying little gnat. I admire how odd she is but she would be so annoying to play against.

The thing with Hsieh's game is that she cannot maintain that level of accuracy while retrieving forever. The problem is that Osaka is letting her build a huge lead while waiting for that momentum to end.

Hsieh gave Kerber fits in this tournament last year, She's fun to watch but can imagine how frustrating she would be to play against.

If Zhang and Hsieh knock out Svitolina and Osaka at practically the same time, the internet is going to go into meltdown.

R520 It would bust that section of the draw wide open.

Osaka has leveled it. Amazing comeback. Win this set, FFS.

Hsieh has such a weak serve. It's gotten so slow.

Her arms are like toothpicks.

Did that last serve on break point even register on the radar gun?

Hsieh's first serves are in the 60s. Ouch

Hsieh!

Bless you.

R526 Ouch, indeed! How does she generate such power?!

You can't get into long rallies with Hsieh. She will likely win.

Svitolina taking it to 3. Will she keep her slam hopes alive or yet again bow out early.

This win will make Osaka stronger.

I thought she was out.

How the fuck did Svitolina win the YEC? She plays like the best player at a local tennis club.

That's 99% of the WTA tour for you in a nutshell. A complete lack of consistency and mental conditioning.

Svitolina just doesn't hit the ball hard enough to win a major. And has a weak serve.

Svitolina can be brilliant. She's got something wrong with her shoulder today by the look of it.

Hsieh is like Radwanska but she has even less power and has a 2 handed forehand. Both very clever and fast but get hit off the court if their opponents are consistent enough.

Zhang has played pretty well so far

ugh Svitolina comes back from double break 0-3 to win 7-5 in the third

I'm taking a break from the tennis. It's boring watching Serena beat up on a teenager!

Yastremska isn't putting on a very good show atm. Though neither is Serena either. It's slightly embarrassing to watch.

Medvedev def. Goffin comfortably

[quote] Medvedev def. Goffin comfortably

Gnome team.

The commentators are going crazy over Serena like usual. She is playing well and can definitely win this tournament. However, she is yet to be challenged or to play someone who can take it to her. Makes her look REALLY good.

EAT!

R543, I guess domestic life really is agreeing with Fognini.

Thank you, ESPN, for Sousa's pretty much naked medical timeout.

R545 pics? Vid?

Sousa 1

Sousa 2

Sousa 3

Sousa 4

Sousa 1

Is he being fisted?

Wow! I don't think Yastremska could play worse if she tried. 29% 1st serve in set 1. That's atrocious. Because of that she can't seem to hit a groundstroke either.

Sousa is handsome but he's too thin to be sexy. Most of the male players are too thin

I'm happy to disagree, R554.

Link to ass pic please.

Serena has had an incredibly easy draw!

Serena consoling her opponent at the end was touching.

R557 As usual.

That match point pretty much summed up the match -- except that Yastremka hit one of her best serves. Polar opposite of how she played against CSN.

Serena is the definite favorite for the title now.

R560 Hopefully she has to go through Halep, Muguruza, Osaka, and Kerber to get it. But I doubt it.

For you, R556...

lmao Brad Gilbert is fat-shaming Fognini

hr's right though. Fabio got fatter over the off-season

What did Gilbert say?

Thanks, R562.

R561 she will probably at least play two of them.

Serena just said she thought the girl played well in an interview. It was nice she told that girl that but if she really believes that she full of shit.

OMG Serena had a baby! Did anyone know this? Why did everyone keep it a secret????

R564, he said Fog was "out of shape" and that his outfit was unflattering.

What are you guys talking about? Fabio looks great to us.

Gilbert also said Fognini probably was eating a lot of pasta

He spent the off season like he normally does in Miami as his coach and trainer are based there. The outfit definitely isn't very flattering.

R571, Flavia knows that if she makes him fat he'll never leave . . .

Shopbottom team (although I don't think he has a chance against "Nole").

For a male player isnt Novak kind of a pusher? An elite pusher but one nonetheless.

I don't think you win 14 Grand Slams against quality opponents like Fed and Nadal while being a pusher.

R575, no, he's just not engaged yet.

Shopbottom's legs are quite hairy.

Just watched the Hsieh Osaka match... what a choke from Su Wei up 4-2 and 40-0!

I like Naomi but I wanted Hsieh and her funky game to go through. Watching her torture the basic baseline players in the top 10 with all that slice, spin, variety, and surprisingly deep hitting into the corners is so entertaining to me. The definition of 'float like a butterfly, sting like a bee'. Loved her matches with Angie at the AO last year, and with Simona at Wimbledon. Maybe she'll have a better run at the French Open.

Nole now had a 5/3 ADVANTAGE!

I think you'd be hard pressed to find a single player in men's Top 10 who could be qualified as a "pusher". The way men's game evolved in the past 15 years, first with Nadal and then Djokovic and Murray, is that you have to play great defence as well as be aggressive when needed. Even Federer had to adjust his game in order to keep up with Nadal and Djokovic. His baseline game is much better now than it was, say, in 2005-2006, simply because it has to be if he wants to win slams.

when facing a big hitter or shotmaker, Nadal, Djokovic and Murray do often revert to pushing. They are not the most powerful on tour but they are among the best movers. They can be aggressive when there's an opening of course. For example when they beat shotmaker Federer, they usually cause Federer to leak loads of errors

I wish Nole would stare me down, relentlessly pursue me, as if I were a tennis ball!

A good example of a pusher was Roddick, whenever he was not serving. Most of his shots in those games served no other purpose but to extend the point and if the opponent starts making tons of UEs, great; if not, he would serve his 3-4 aces in the next game and wait for the tiebreak.

R582 summed it perfectly for Nole. Nadal, Misery

Novak is one of the best returners in the game, with some of the best groundstrokes ever, so not sure how he can be considered a pusher.

Novak, Nadal and Murray as mentioned above are the best movers on tour and are best at adapting and game planning. You never hear idiotic talk like "I'm just going to play my game" from any of them which is what you hear all the time on the WTA and from the brainless ball bashers on both tours.

Yes, R578 is right, Shapo's blonde, furry legs are glistening in the sun. Unfortunately he's making a ton of unforced errors.

We need some chest pics of Shapo. Is he hairy up there?

He is soooo hot!

Keys sweeps Mertens. Mertens will lose a lot of points as she got to the SF last year and this is only rd32

Let's

Raonic def. Herbert in 3 competitive sets

end.

this

thread

I'm sick

of looking

at these

two

blonde dolts

hotties

Hey OP do your job and put Nadal pic on next OP