Medvedev has a better mentality when he is behind now but his tennis has deserted him in the last 12 months. If he could combine this new mentality with the level he was producing up to Australia last year there is a few more Slams in there.
Ok he may be better from behind, but now he’s choking once he gets back level or ahead
See the first and third sets today, or when he served for the match against both Djokovic and Tsitsipas at the atp finals
Certainly he's capable of winning more slams but I do think in addition to his level dropping opponents have to some degree figured out how to play him and pretty much every time he faces someone who A) can hang with him in the backhand crosscourt rallies and B) has the ability to attack the forecourt, he is struggling.
Predictions for today:
Rublev d. Evans in 4
Rune d. Humbert in 3
Wolf d. Mmoh in 4
Brooksby d. Paul in 4
ADM d. Bonzi in 3
Popyrin d. Shelton in 5
Djokovic d. Dimitrov in 3
RBA d. Murray in 4
Vekic d. Parrizas-Diaz in 2
Pliskova d. Gracheva in 3
Bencic d. Giorgi in 2
Zhang d. Volynets in 3
Fruhvirtova d. Vondrousova in 3
Sabalenka d. Mertens in 2
Garcia d. Siegemund in 2
Alexandra d. Linette in 3
Not feeling too many upsets or close matches today
I like these picks, out of interest the bookies agree with every pick there except two - Paul is favourite against Brooksby and Vondrousova is favourite against Fruhvirtova.
If I had to suggest another upset it would be Evans to beat Rubles. Every time they play it's a dogfight, Rublo seems a bit off his best and conditions should suit Evo perfectly.
I love and hate this AO. So much parity but I do wish that some of the younger stars could find some level of consistency. The sport needs good young stars but it is frustrating to see so many crumble in the biggest moments. It's nice to see new Slam winners but I don't want a one off Slam winner who gets the victory then proceeds to just be another guy/girl on the tour afterwards. Respectable, probably top 20ish quality, but never really reaching those heights again. It's why I'm so big on Iga, I feel like I can trust her more than a lot of the other young stars. Her mental gives me faith that she's not solely there to collect a check or just wants the fame. She puts off the vibe of wanting **it** and wanting to be great and to win. Gauff seems like she's coming and I truly do hope so, for Iga's sake. She needs a rival and it would be great for the sport to have two young women like that around for the next decade.
I've given up on the men lol. It belongs to Nadal and Djokovic as long as they're around. I don't trust anyone on the men's side at all lol. It's not even about talent, it's mental fortitude in combination with consistency.
I think Alcaraz and Rune are both showing great signs at an incredibly young age. I agree with you on the rest. There is no one else who you can trust to always be in the quarters. I guess Sinner but until he goes further it's not clear.
Alcaraz has that youthful self-belief but has wobbled a little since the US win, very interested to see how he does when he’s back and we see that second album syndrome thing or not. Rune was probably helped by going under the radar except at the French last year until he won Paris, and still others are talked about more in slams.
There’s definitely an element of being figured out, but I do feel like we’re giving some of the newer gen too much credit. Korda played spectacularly at times last night, but his first serve still isn’t great and he whiffed some important points, against a player who can take advantage of that he would have lost. Tsitsipas, to his credit, has gotten there, Korda and other might too
Upset picks:
Linette d Alexandrova (the other Pole)
Bonzi d De Minaur
Gracheva d Pliskova
Parrizaz-Diaz d Vekic (more of an upset by reputation than ranking)
I'll go ridiculously overboard:
Evans to redline and defeat Rublev, Dimitrov to put enough pressure for Djokovic's hamstring to collapse, is Fruhvirtova d. Vondrousova an upset? And I'll agree with Linette winning.
Linda and Marketa are four spots away in official ranking...I thought about adding Giorgi but maybe she's had enough of Australia and wants to get back to her fashion and movies.
Can anyone explain how the "Netflix curse" wouldn't be a thing? You can only have one men's and one women's winner. The odds that it's not any one of 6 men and 4 women are way higher than the odds it's one of them. I don't understand how it's a "curse" at all lol. If they all got out in the first round sure, but statistically speaking, 95%+ of them would be out at some point every tournament...
Not to mention the fact that idt any of them are previous grand slam winners to begin with (I could be wrong on this), lowering the odds even more.
It’s mostly a meme. But 3/10 of them getting injured right as the AO was getting started is a statistically significant number, and most of the others were top 10 players who lost by round 2 in upsets. I guarantee almost everyone had them going past round 3, except for Kokkinakis.
Sakkari losing round 3 is less surprising, but her performance was poor even for her normal standards.
Since everyone is talking about the Netflix curse, I hope you'll appreciate [my latest effort](https://www.reddit.com/r/tennis/comments/10gz8gs/comment/j55mw8n/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) lmao
First let's agree the idea of the Netflix curse is just a bit of fun, of course there isn't really a curse and to suggest there is would be insane.
That being said: man how about this Netflix curse eh?
Reasons for doing it are really understandable considering earnings etc. Also a big PR exercise to boost the sport as well as individual media presence hopefully leading to better sponsorship contracts etc but Nadal, Alcaraz, Iga Murray, Novak said no..arguably they are letting their tennis do most of the talking and maybe Emma didn't need it..
Dunno maybe being on the show added some unnecessary mental hindrance
(Edit: reasons for agreeing to do the show)
Let's be honest. Besides Beretini, FAA(maybe) and Ruud, no one was GS contender material. It's not a Netflix curse, it's just they choose to feature okayish players.
No one was really expecting them to win. The curse is that 3/10 of them were injured right before the AO and the rest were mostly top 10 players or (recently top 10) who couldn’t get past round 2, round 3 for Sakkari.
But no one making it deep in a grandslam? Who could have predicted that? Only 1 guy through to the second week from 10 featured 'promising' players...that's a shame.
Yeah absolutely. In grand slams all but one player loses in two weeks. In a normal week, everyone is a loser but one player. This is just showing how hard it is to be consistent in tennis. I think the ATP is reaching a parity that the WTA has had for the past half decade (where people call it inconsistent).
There's heavy competition for the title of "Worst Tennis Journalist in the English Language" but let me put in a good word for the *New York Times*'s Matthew Futterman. On Tiafoe, Futterman inexplicably belched—
> [And there is his evolution into the de facto alpha dog of American tennis even if several players are ranked higher and have lasted longer or even won major tournaments.](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/19/sports/tennis/frances-tiafoe-australian-open.html)
This is exactly analogous to arguing that Roger Federer is obviously the greatest tennis player of all time even though Nole and Nadal are indisputably his statistically superiors.
He’s not arguing that Tiafoe is the best American player though, just that he’s taken the main stage. And that’s mostly because he’s a great guy, makes the game interesting without being a piece of shit like Kyrgios, and has made some deep slam runs. He’s also talkative to the press, so we get to learn more about him than some of the other players.
https://twitter.com/josemorgado/status/1616417334637334528?s=46&t=SD389KRT8o7eLY9OUQunnA
He’s going to continue a disappointed father version of Daniil Medvedev’s villain arc 😍
Dimitrov is going to give us one more vintage Grigor grand slam: straight set wins over Novak, de Minuar, and Rune. Of course, with his first slam final firmly in his sights, he then loses 6-3 4-6 7-5 6-7(10) 6-7(14) to Brooksby in the semifinals. Post match interview he only says "I had to give my fans one last ride."
Bye Sakkari . Did she do any tennis practice in the off season or just lift heavy things while jumping really high ? She’s a top 20 player in any other era . She almost lost to an 18 yr old college freshman now she actually loses to a player ranked in the 80’s . At this point with 1 title her whole career and turning 28 this year I can’t see how a whole new team would hurt .
A couple years ago I would make time to watch Sakkari's matches, I thought she was a total badass and a lot of fun to watch. These days I don't bother. It's just too difficult to get invested when the story ends the same way every time.
Her consistency is fantastic but she just doesn't seem able to reach the highest levels that quite a few players ranked lower than her have achieved.
You could say you didn't watch neither of these matches. Zhu definitely did not play like someone ranked in the 80s and neither did the 18yr old freshman.
I did watch both matches - Sakkari given her actual tennis skill set is not a top 10 player - she has exactky 1 career title - she can and does lose to anyone at anytime
Good think rankings don't work based on your shitty opinions.
Sakkari is a top 10 player because her success on the tour indicates that she is a top 10 player...because that's how rankings work. The minute other players out perform her consistently then the rankings will reward them by giving them that top 10 placement....until that happens your "opinions" on Maria's game are just that....opinions.
She lost to a player who has never made it to a 3rd round of a slam and routinely doesn't qualify.
So maybe just the former. Just imho, but something with image over substance thing makes me think of Kokk and his single earring, soz 🙃
Sakkarri's problems are all mental.
No amount of practice will fix that, she needs a therapist or something to get her head in the right space.
I love her but it's becoming harder and harder to watch her matches, I'm just glad I was working today so I missed it.
It’s mostly shot selection. She continues to hit the ball right to her opponent, sort of like Sloane Stephens. She needs to do a better job anticipating where her opponent will be. I really enjoy watching Sakkari play, even though she doesn’t make the best decisions at times.
penko never misses with her outfits....
tennis ball collar on her dk1 zip up jacket
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1JfgEBBVo4&ab\_channel=AustralianOpenTV
Considering the theme of this Slam is upsets, Rybakina $4.80 against Swiatek (who is still vulnerable on hard court) and the Netflix curse nonsense asides, Lehecka at $4.30 is a real show and provide decent values..
Fruhvirtova is the other. Like Lehecka, boasts very good temperament and can go far. Potentially a future top 3 player.
Exciting next couple days and second week coming up!
One thing i cant get over is that every half court put away opportunity she had Maria hit it straight to Zhu, literally every time, absolute critical moments in the match and she found Zhu instead of the open court every time. Thats not bad luck, if you cant finish off gimme points you got no hope.
I feel bad saying this, but it does need to be said - Sakkari is just not top 10 material…yet. Only reason she’s even there is because she plays so many tournaments each year & lots of lower level tournaments getting points that way.
She’s obviously not a bad player, but she lacks any sort of weapon & on top of that, she’s truly one of the worst tacticians I’ve ever seen on either side of the game. I’ve never seen a player lack any sort of plan B, or any sort of understanding of their opponent to figure things out. When she wins it’s usually because she’s just more athletic than her opponent - I can’t recall a single match where she had to pivot and try out different tactics to win a match. Not once. That’s mostly on her, but her coaches must be awful too unless she’s just refusing to listen to them.
On top of all of this, she’s mentally fragile due to blowing matches so often. Idk what the path is moving forward but she’s stuck in the same cycle currently
I like Sakkari but I still agree with you. It blows my mind that the few times I have seen her switch her play up it's because of her coaches, she literally cannot figure it out on her own. You shouldn't be in the top 10 if you can't figure out what to without turning to your coach every time. Also the Netflix show was an eye opener for me, she lost and was still like "I deserve a win" like no, that's not how tennis works 😂
Edit: fine I went hard with the narcissist comment but if you watch the way they edited it she lost a usual match, and I'm glad she didn't beat herself up, but she immediately went "I'm ready and deserve a major win" when she had just lost and is clearly not ready
Imagine calling Sakkari a narcissist....
Sakkari has probably the least self confidence in the WTA. She is whatever the exact opposite of a narcissist is.
Like, if Sakkari was a narcissist she would have won multiple slams, masters....her issue is that she truly feels like she isn't good enough to win these things.
> Only reason she’s even there is because she plays so many tournaments each year & lots of lower level tournaments getting points that way.
This is simply false. Look at the tournaments Maria played last year. She only played 2 250s....literally every other tournament was a 500, Masters or Slam......
Why are you typing something when you are 100% wrong in what you are saying? She made 2 Masters Finals last year and the WTA Semi Finals.
Actually Maria has historically performed better in tournaments with more ranking points than 250s.
Yep. In the same boat as Ruud. No substance whatsoever at this stage, all hype. And the results proves this.
But they are still obviously young enough so it’s not the end of the world. Assets are there to build upon and just get better.
Yeah, I would not put her in the same bucket as Ruud.
Ruud surprises himself at where he is often, as well as his dad evidently. Attitude is different. He might be bland next to Rafa, but there isn't so much a part where he feels entitled to win
I think Ruud is a million times better than Sakkari but I do understand your point. I hate Brooksby but he played incredibly well and was a brutal R2 opponent. Zhu is….not
where does this wrong Ruud narrative come from? yes he only won ATP 250 tournaments so far, but he was last year alone in Miami Masters Final, in French Open Final, in US Open Final, in ATP Finals Final.. impressive
Nah we've come to expect that Maria will lose in the most heart breaking manner possible at every tournament.
Whether its to a woman I've never even heard of, while up a set and a break in a final or the classic Semifinal chokejob.
I knew Zhu was going to take this.
Something about Sakkari coming on in that outfit was meant to intimidate etc and I just couldn't buy it, compared to this little unassuming woman who's has never made it through to a 3rd ever.
Aw look at how much it means to Zhu. Pure passion. She Craved the win more. It’s like a Disney plus movie. She played an “amazon” but Zhu was on her prime. It’s like a scene out of a mubi.
A top class player wouldnt let Zhu or Trevisan get near them, the reality is Maria opens the door for these players with her epic brain snaps.
Azarenka the big winner here as shes now back in the quarter finals.
Frivolous question but is Sakkari really allowed to play in a sports bra? Nothing against it but I thought they would be more strict with clothes etiquette.
What makes you think it's a sports bra? Why is it not just a crop top?
Also she's not the first player to wear that kind of top...I've seen lots of players wear that over the years so I don't really understand where this comment is coming from.
Can you read? I said specifically there is nothing wrong with it. The rules of tennis are very specific about players' attires, I was just wondering if this was specified in the rules. I really don't get why everyone started screaming at me
Good thing Maria is not just muscles then. What % of Tennis players reach the top 10 let alone world no 3?
Enough with this "all muscles" narrative when you clearly haven't watched Sakkari play enough. Because you are just sounding stupid.
Thought Zhu was fading in the 2nd set. However, she found a second wind early in the 3rd set and battled to progress into her first Grand Slam round of 16.
Wtf is happening to Garcia?...
What an amazing shot by China's Zhang !
Rublev takes the 1st set vs Evans. Cool !!
Hey mods, why does my flair keep disappearing? I'm on mobile, but it sticks for a little while and then goes away.
Wanted to make a Ostapenko can win this bait but just saw her draw 😭😭😭😭 insane lmao
east coaster here trying to process all the overnight losses 😭. surprised and happy FAA is still with us
Medvedev has a better mentality when he is behind now but his tennis has deserted him in the last 12 months. If he could combine this new mentality with the level he was producing up to Australia last year there is a few more Slams in there.
Ok he may be better from behind, but now he’s choking once he gets back level or ahead See the first and third sets today, or when he served for the match against both Djokovic and Tsitsipas at the atp finals
Certainly he's capable of winning more slams but I do think in addition to his level dropping opponents have to some degree figured out how to play him and pretty much every time he faces someone who A) can hang with him in the backhand crosscourt rallies and B) has the ability to attack the forecourt, he is struggling.
Also Stef's tan line because of his head band looks so bad...
Predictions for today: Rublev d. Evans in 4 Rune d. Humbert in 3 Wolf d. Mmoh in 4 Brooksby d. Paul in 4 ADM d. Bonzi in 3 Popyrin d. Shelton in 5 Djokovic d. Dimitrov in 3 RBA d. Murray in 4 Vekic d. Parrizas-Diaz in 2 Pliskova d. Gracheva in 3 Bencic d. Giorgi in 2 Zhang d. Volynets in 3 Fruhvirtova d. Vondrousova in 3 Sabalenka d. Mertens in 2 Garcia d. Siegemund in 2 Alexandra d. Linette in 3 Not feeling too many upsets or close matches today
I would make this exact list. Although some of the names I don't know.
I like these picks, out of interest the bookies agree with every pick there except two - Paul is favourite against Brooksby and Vondrousova is favourite against Fruhvirtova. If I had to suggest another upset it would be Evans to beat Rubles. Every time they play it's a dogfight, Rublo seems a bit off his best and conditions should suit Evo perfectly.
FAA isn’t today it’s a fourth round match ;)
Oop I misread the schedule
I love and hate this AO. So much parity but I do wish that some of the younger stars could find some level of consistency. The sport needs good young stars but it is frustrating to see so many crumble in the biggest moments. It's nice to see new Slam winners but I don't want a one off Slam winner who gets the victory then proceeds to just be another guy/girl on the tour afterwards. Respectable, probably top 20ish quality, but never really reaching those heights again. It's why I'm so big on Iga, I feel like I can trust her more than a lot of the other young stars. Her mental gives me faith that she's not solely there to collect a check or just wants the fame. She puts off the vibe of wanting **it** and wanting to be great and to win. Gauff seems like she's coming and I truly do hope so, for Iga's sake. She needs a rival and it would be great for the sport to have two young women like that around for the next decade. I've given up on the men lol. It belongs to Nadal and Djokovic as long as they're around. I don't trust anyone on the men's side at all lol. It's not even about talent, it's mental fortitude in combination with consistency.
I think Alcaraz and Rune are both showing great signs at an incredibly young age. I agree with you on the rest. There is no one else who you can trust to always be in the quarters. I guess Sinner but until he goes further it's not clear.
Alcaraz has that youthful self-belief but has wobbled a little since the US win, very interested to see how he does when he’s back and we see that second album syndrome thing or not. Rune was probably helped by going under the radar except at the French last year until he won Paris, and still others are talked about more in slams.
It seems like Andrey will be Russia's no.1 for a long time... Want to see him winning a a masters title in the future to back it up at least.
Khachahov is climbing back and may get ahead of Rublev (or Andrey may drop past him)
I don't think Medvedev will win a grand slam again. His game has been dissected and anyone with some variety and offense can take him out.
And he is not playing as well. He has been figured out but also is not producing the level he was. It's a bad combination at the moment.
There’s definitely an element of being figured out, but I do feel like we’re giving some of the newer gen too much credit. Korda played spectacularly at times last night, but his first serve still isn’t great and he whiffed some important points, against a player who can take advantage of that he would have lost. Tsitsipas, to his credit, has gotten there, Korda and other might too
He was so good around the period of Us win and AO final too. Weird how form just disappears
I kind of dislike that daily discussion thread is basically a match thread resulting in no actual discussions.
Every post disappears immediately deep down the thread so yeah there is no room for discussion during grand slams. Maybe two separate threads.
Tbf, it's usually a lot more discussion like outside of slams.
Upset picks: Linette d Alexandrova (the other Pole) Bonzi d De Minaur Gracheva d Pliskova Parrizaz-Diaz d Vekic (more of an upset by reputation than ranking)
I'll go ridiculously overboard: Evans to redline and defeat Rublev, Dimitrov to put enough pressure for Djokovic's hamstring to collapse, is Fruhvirtova d. Vondrousova an upset? And I'll agree with Linette winning.
Linda and Marketa are four spots away in official ranking...I thought about adding Giorgi but maybe she's had enough of Australia and wants to get back to her fashion and movies.
The Iga to Krejcikova section of the women’s draw is carrying this slam
I'd include Vika
Why do Djokovic/Dimitrov and Murray/RBA have to play at the same time :(
I wish alcaraz played here :( . Definitely would have added to this field. I definitely think he would have gone deep if healthy
Can anyone explain how the "Netflix curse" wouldn't be a thing? You can only have one men's and one women's winner. The odds that it's not any one of 6 men and 4 women are way higher than the odds it's one of them. I don't understand how it's a "curse" at all lol. If they all got out in the first round sure, but statistically speaking, 95%+ of them would be out at some point every tournament... Not to mention the fact that idt any of them are previous grand slam winners to begin with (I could be wrong on this), lowering the odds even more.
It’s mainly a joke, but also because of how early they went out, they were upsets
It’s mostly a meme. But 3/10 of them getting injured right as the AO was getting started is a statistically significant number, and most of the others were top 10 players who lost by round 2 in upsets. I guarantee almost everyone had them going past round 3, except for Kokkinakis. Sakkari losing round 3 is less surprising, but her performance was poor even for her normal standards.
[удалено]
Since everyone is talking about the Netflix curse, I hope you'll appreciate [my latest effort](https://www.reddit.com/r/tennis/comments/10gz8gs/comment/j55mw8n/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) lmao
First let's agree the idea of the Netflix curse is just a bit of fun, of course there isn't really a curse and to suggest there is would be insane. That being said: man how about this Netflix curse eh?
Ken Hotate: there are 2 things I know about white people, they love matchbox 20, and they are terrified of curses.
Reasons for doing it are really understandable considering earnings etc. Also a big PR exercise to boost the sport as well as individual media presence hopefully leading to better sponsorship contracts etc but Nadal, Alcaraz, Iga Murray, Novak said no..arguably they are letting their tennis do most of the talking and maybe Emma didn't need it.. Dunno maybe being on the show added some unnecessary mental hindrance (Edit: reasons for agreeing to do the show)
Let's be honest. Besides Beretini, FAA(maybe) and Ruud, no one was GS contender material. It's not a Netflix curse, it's just they choose to feature okayish players.
No one was really expecting them to win. The curse is that 3/10 of them were injured right before the AO and the rest were mostly top 10 players or (recently top 10) who couldn’t get past round 2, round 3 for Sakkari.
But no one making it deep in a grandslam? Who could have predicted that? Only 1 guy through to the second week from 10 featured 'promising' players...that's a shame.
Yeah absolutely. In grand slams all but one player loses in two weeks. In a normal week, everyone is a loser but one player. This is just showing how hard it is to be consistent in tennis. I think the ATP is reaching a parity that the WTA has had for the past half decade (where people call it inconsistent).
Add Ons to the list
There's heavy competition for the title of "Worst Tennis Journalist in the English Language" but let me put in a good word for the *New York Times*'s Matthew Futterman. On Tiafoe, Futterman inexplicably belched— > [And there is his evolution into the de facto alpha dog of American tennis even if several players are ranked higher and have lasted longer or even won major tournaments.](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/19/sports/tennis/frances-tiafoe-australian-open.html) This is exactly analogous to arguing that Roger Federer is obviously the greatest tennis player of all time even though Nole and Nadal are indisputably his statistically superiors.
He’s not arguing that Tiafoe is the best American player though, just that he’s taken the main stage. And that’s mostly because he’s a great guy, makes the game interesting without being a piece of shit like Kyrgios, and has made some deep slam runs. He’s also talkative to the press, so we get to learn more about him than some of the other players.
It's only USO '22, right?
Is he not referring specifically to American tennis here?...plus journos wrote about impact, context and personality not just figures
https://twitter.com/josemorgado/status/1616417334637334528?s=46&t=SD389KRT8o7eLY9OUQunnA He’s going to continue a disappointed father version of Daniil Medvedev’s villain arc 😍
No Netflix curse. It’s just Maria being Maria
I kind of assumed Sakkari was so cursed she built up an immunity to the Netflix curse
I know Dimitrov has a bad record against Djokovic, but he’s looked very good in these first couple rounds. I just want a good match.
Dimitrov has to channel his prime Fed match to beat Djokovic tbh. I think he’s saving it until grass this year.
Dimitrov is going to give us one more vintage Grigor grand slam: straight set wins over Novak, de Minuar, and Rune. Of course, with his first slam final firmly in his sights, he then loses 6-3 4-6 7-5 6-7(10) 6-7(14) to Brooksby in the semifinals. Post match interview he only says "I had to give my fans one last ride."
Top half plays 4R on Sunday and the bottom half plays on Monday? Or both on Sunday?
The former
Bye Sakkari . Did she do any tennis practice in the off season or just lift heavy things while jumping really high ? She’s a top 20 player in any other era . She almost lost to an 18 yr old college freshman now she actually loses to a player ranked in the 80’s . At this point with 1 title her whole career and turning 28 this year I can’t see how a whole new team would hurt .
A couple years ago I would make time to watch Sakkari's matches, I thought she was a total badass and a lot of fun to watch. These days I don't bother. It's just too difficult to get invested when the story ends the same way every time. Her consistency is fantastic but she just doesn't seem able to reach the highest levels that quite a few players ranked lower than her have achieved.
You could say you didn't watch neither of these matches. Zhu definitely did not play like someone ranked in the 80s and neither did the 18yr old freshman.
I did watch both matches - Sakkari given her actual tennis skill set is not a top 10 player - she has exactky 1 career title - she can and does lose to anyone at anytime
Good think rankings don't work based on your shitty opinions. Sakkari is a top 10 player because her success on the tour indicates that she is a top 10 player...because that's how rankings work. The minute other players out perform her consistently then the rankings will reward them by giving them that top 10 placement....until that happens your "opinions" on Maria's game are just that....opinions.
Yes sir !! You put me in my place - I really needed that - thanks ! Lol
She lost to a player who has never made it to a 3rd round of a slam and routinely doesn't qualify. So maybe just the former. Just imho, but something with image over substance thing makes me think of Kokk and his single earring, soz 🙃
Sakkarri's problems are all mental. No amount of practice will fix that, she needs a therapist or something to get her head in the right space. I love her but it's becoming harder and harder to watch her matches, I'm just glad I was working today so I missed it.
It’s mostly shot selection. She continues to hit the ball right to her opponent, sort of like Sloane Stephens. She needs to do a better job anticipating where her opponent will be. I really enjoy watching Sakkari play, even though she doesn’t make the best decisions at times.
It's mental because her technique is lacking in areas. If the technique was solid, there would be no lack of confidence
netflix curse: *update*
penko never misses with her outfits.... tennis ball collar on her dk1 zip up jacket https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1JfgEBBVo4&ab\_channel=AustralianOpenTV
She’s playing well. I think she beats coco
I want that jacket
Needs more frills
Considering the theme of this Slam is upsets, Rybakina $4.80 against Swiatek (who is still vulnerable on hard court) and the Netflix curse nonsense asides, Lehecka at $4.30 is a real show and provide decent values.. Fruhvirtova is the other. Like Lehecka, boasts very good temperament and can go far. Potentially a future top 3 player. Exciting next couple days and second week coming up!
Fruhvirtova isn't considered the favourite against Vondrousova?
What a day of tennis
What a few days of tennis. It's been great.
One thing i cant get over is that every half court put away opportunity she had Maria hit it straight to Zhu, literally every time, absolute critical moments in the match and she found Zhu instead of the open court every time. Thats not bad luck, if you cant finish off gimme points you got no hope.
This AO is WILD and it’s only the first week!
I feel bad saying this, but it does need to be said - Sakkari is just not top 10 material…yet. Only reason she’s even there is because she plays so many tournaments each year & lots of lower level tournaments getting points that way. She’s obviously not a bad player, but she lacks any sort of weapon & on top of that, she’s truly one of the worst tacticians I’ve ever seen on either side of the game. I’ve never seen a player lack any sort of plan B, or any sort of understanding of their opponent to figure things out. When she wins it’s usually because she’s just more athletic than her opponent - I can’t recall a single match where she had to pivot and try out different tactics to win a match. Not once. That’s mostly on her, but her coaches must be awful too unless she’s just refusing to listen to them. On top of all of this, she’s mentally fragile due to blowing matches so often. Idk what the path is moving forward but she’s stuck in the same cycle currently
She's cooked so many high stake matches too, it's unbelievable.
I like Sakkari but I still agree with you. It blows my mind that the few times I have seen her switch her play up it's because of her coaches, she literally cannot figure it out on her own. You shouldn't be in the top 10 if you can't figure out what to without turning to your coach every time. Also the Netflix show was an eye opener for me, she lost and was still like "I deserve a win" like no, that's not how tennis works 😂 Edit: fine I went hard with the narcissist comment but if you watch the way they edited it she lost a usual match, and I'm glad she didn't beat herself up, but she immediately went "I'm ready and deserve a major win" when she had just lost and is clearly not ready
She’s well known to be one of the sweetest girls
Imagine calling Sakkari a narcissist.... Sakkari has probably the least self confidence in the WTA. She is whatever the exact opposite of a narcissist is. Like, if Sakkari was a narcissist she would have won multiple slams, masters....her issue is that she truly feels like she isn't good enough to win these things.
>"I deserve a win" like no, that's not how tennis works you narcissist 😂 Folks do be needing to stay away from Netflix 100%
> Only reason she’s even there is because she plays so many tournaments each year & lots of lower level tournaments getting points that way. This is simply false. Look at the tournaments Maria played last year. She only played 2 250s....literally every other tournament was a 500, Masters or Slam...... Why are you typing something when you are 100% wrong in what you are saying? She made 2 Masters Finals last year and the WTA Semi Finals. Actually Maria has historically performed better in tournaments with more ranking points than 250s.
Yep. In the same boat as Ruud. No substance whatsoever at this stage, all hype. And the results proves this. But they are still obviously young enough so it’s not the end of the world. Assets are there to build upon and just get better.
Ruud is way better than Maria. Casper has potential - Sakkari doesn't.
Yeah, I would not put her in the same bucket as Ruud. Ruud surprises himself at where he is often, as well as his dad evidently. Attitude is different. He might be bland next to Rafa, but there isn't so much a part where he feels entitled to win
I think Ruud is a million times better than Sakkari but I do understand your point. I hate Brooksby but he played incredibly well and was a brutal R2 opponent. Zhu is….not
where does this wrong Ruud narrative come from? yes he only won ATP 250 tournaments so far, but he was last year alone in Miami Masters Final, in French Open Final, in US Open Final, in ATP Finals Final.. impressive
Nice of channel 9 to not show the interview.
After Murray's disaster of an interview.. good choice.
Still would've liked to have seen it. Stan here I come.
These 4th round matches on the top draw of the women's is pretty damn good.
Congrats and happy new year Zhu! Wish you even more success in the coming year! 🎆🎊🎉🥳
What a way to start Chinese New Year! Many auspicious wishes! 🧧🧧🧧🧧🧧
i could honestly see Lechecka upsetting FAA too hes been playing good so far
He was so impressive today, I think he has a very good chance too. Not like FAA has been looked unbeatable either
Sakkari is one of the most overhyped players without a doubt An absolute mental midget Not to mention seems like a sore loser
[Sakkari is one of the most gracious players on the tour.](https://twitter.com/Wankstablook/status/1611513706562867200)
This video gave me PTSD.
Lacking grace
[Sakkari is one of the most gracious players on the tour.](https://twitter.com/Wankstablook/status/1611513706562867200)
PR thread lol but we 👀 saw that match
And what did you see in the match? That was a perfectly fine handshake after a tough loss.
Salty handshake and awful expression
How was her handshake salty?
To be fair, WTA is notoriously bitchy in most cases. But this was not even trying lol
She literally shook her hand and said "good match"..... What do you want her to do?
I don't personally want her to do anything. What she chooses to do is her responsibility 😉
That was a very sweet interview from Zhu, she's done China proud.
not just China, everyone loves a good underdog win
True, although Sakkari fans might not be too happy.
Nah we've come to expect that Maria will lose in the most heart breaking manner possible at every tournament. Whether its to a woman I've never even heard of, while up a set and a break in a final or the classic Semifinal chokejob.
FAA watching this result: ‘My time has come’ 😂😂😂😭
aw :’)
I knew Zhu was going to take this. Something about Sakkari coming on in that outfit was meant to intimidate etc and I just couldn't buy it, compared to this little unassuming woman who's has never made it through to a 3rd ever.
Tough loss for Maria but at least she gave a fight. Congratulations to Zhu, totally deserved.
She's got the dumbest tennis IQ of any player on the tour.
Salty that Maria is out but congrats to Zhu, she defended brilliantly in the end
Yep, yep Lehecka getting Felix good next round. This whole tournament is cursed
Chinese New Year Eve. It's almost like fate.
Aw look at how much it means to Zhu. Pure passion. She Craved the win more. It’s like a Disney plus movie. She played an “amazon” but Zhu was on her prime. It’s like a scene out of a mubi.
Sakkari off to retire for 4 days
incoming villain edit for Zhu on Break point season 2
Omg I love her
Happy Year of the Rabbit everyone!
Great performance from Zhu, love her grunt!
Zhu's doing a Zhang!
Very sweet interview.
Netflix must be regretting that they didn't partner with Zhu Lin and Seb Korda instead.
Not sure they want to dig too deeply into Korda
Then they'd be out injured as well.
Being a Maria fan is brutal man. Her own worst enemy
This interview 😂😂
Aww Zhu is sweet. Awaiting her villain arc in the next series of Break Point.
Aw, Zhu is so happy :)
Watch Zhu hit 50 UE's in her next match just because
Salty Maria fans found. Dont cry please
A top class player wouldnt let Zhu or Trevisan get near them, the reality is Maria opens the door for these players with her epic brain snaps. Azarenka the big winner here as shes now back in the quarter finals.
Trevisan is pretty good lol. Zhu played good. If you're top 150, you have a chance, a great chance at everyone
Trevisan is basically Cerundolo of WTA. She was 0-13 against Top 50 on hard before Sakkari happened. So yeah, on hard she is not good at all.
Well deserved loss. I swear, Maria has a pile of rocks in her head.
Frivolous question but is Sakkari really allowed to play in a sports bra? Nothing against it but I thought they would be more strict with clothes etiquette.
What makes you think it's a sports bra? Why is it not just a crop top? Also she's not the first player to wear that kind of top...I've seen lots of players wear that over the years so I don't really understand where this comment is coming from.
There is NOTHING wrong with what she wore. Her body, her choice. Leave women and their clothing choices alone.
Can you read? I said specifically there is nothing wrong with it. The rules of tennis are very specific about players' attires, I was just wondering if this was specified in the rules. I really don't get why everyone started screaming at me
This is why I watch her play
I guess Venus losing to Zhu 2 weeks ago wasn’t such a bad loss.
That win meant a lot to Zhu. Well played. Now she faces Vika. Should be fun.
Felix should get a trophy, bonus points and money for being the sole survivor of the Netflix curse
Azarenka will wipe the floor with Zhu in the next round
You never know. We shall see what happens on Sunday
She would have wiped the floor with moron Sakkari too.
Your last 10 comments have all been bashing Maria, it must be terrible someone living in your head rent free like that
Miserable little person they are
Hope so.
Sakkari just seemed so accepting of that defeat, clearly ran out of ideas and accepted her fate. She needs some better coaches.
Tennis is mental, also. You need some IQ and sensitivity in this kind of chess. Not just muscles.
Good thing Maria is not just muscles then. What % of Tennis players reach the top 10 let alone world no 3? Enough with this "all muscles" narrative when you clearly haven't watched Sakkari play enough. Because you are just sounding stupid.
Lol someone has an exposed nerve
Ah well. Can't help but be happy for Zhu she looks so happy
And then there was one
FML
FAA last man standing
So in Auckland Venus beat Volynets and served for the match against Zhu.... she's coming for R3 Wimbledon
Felix last man standing. Very good position to make the QF at the moment but Lehecka will be a test
Felix is not getting past Tsisipas.
Are we really gonna act like he’s some sort of unbeatable entity? He’s just as much of a head case as Felix
Not recently. This whole generation is pretty mentally weak, but Tsitsipas is largely doing better, save Rublev at ATP finals
Sakkari about to retire again
FAA being the last survivor of the Netflix curse is honestly perfect for how this tournament has gone
Felix next 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽
Zhu crying into her sweatband is a vibe.
What’s the point of having so much muscle Maria, when you lose to someone with a flabby stomach?
Same reason young ppl can get destroyed by people in their late 60s in a game. Its half in the brain.
Her box is so adorable 🥹
Thought Zhu was fading in the 2nd set. However, she found a second wind early in the 3rd set and battled to progress into her first Grand Slam round of 16.
Wow this Netflix curse is legit! Only Felix left. He's either next or he wins it all, I say.
Netflix curse claims another. Only FAA left.
Netflix now praying FAA wins it all 😂
Wow wow wow
happy for zhu though she played great
So Felix is confirmed best Netflix player
Zhu Win!
Chad Zhu
Go ahead and update the Netflix curse meme - Tiafoe and Maria :(
What an ace, what an ace
You can be the main character in a Netflix show, but you’ll never be the default main character in life
The entire future of Netflix rests on the shoulders of one Felix OJ Aliassime.