I am excited for the Men's Singles final but I am also looking forward to WTA's now that Elena has a chance to win another slam. Also, seeing Vika having another deep run at a slam made me happy although this time I am obviously rooting for Lena.
I'm hoping for Rybakina vs Sabalenka. I want Rybakina to either win her 2nd or Sabalenka finally win her first. Preferably Rybakina wins it all though.
The women’s final is definitely going to be good. Ideally Saba would take the second slot, but the first slot is guaranteed to be a former slam winner. Ryba or Vika winning would be fantastic.
True… but it’s still a weakness compared to his forehand. Lehecka played 50/50 to each side in the first set but 20/80 in the second set and the second set was much stronger.
I thought it was more than that. I swear the commentators said it was 85% going into this match, and Stef saved 8 more and wasn’t broken. I guess the commentators were mistaken.
I thought it was more than that. I swear the commentators said it was 85% going into this match, and Stef saved 8 more and wasn’t broken. I guess the commentators were mistaken.
EDIT: I just looked at the stats on the AO app and looks like Stef has been broken 6 times, not 7. Which would make it 88%.
On fast hardcourts peak Azarenka easily wins. Slower hardcourts it’s closer but still would go with Azarenka.
Iga did amazing even on hard but her biggest competition was double faulting Sabalenka, Kontaveit, Sakkari, Pegula, and Jabeur and had losses to worse players.
just fyi, the discord link on these posts and on the sidebar links to the wrong discord (also that channel is dead) not the r/tennis discord. you need to the post the whole thing together without space i think. i only found the actual r/tennis discord by googling old post from july 2022.
I really hope Pegula does well this season, but couldn't help but feel happy for Azarenka. She used to be such a top top player 10 years ago, during a really competitive era of tennis.
It's awesome seeing her having deep runs at this stage of her career and today's win was really impressive. Rybakina seems the one to beat and it will be very hard for her, but never count out a multiple slam champion and former No. 1
I heard in the Tennis Podcast that it was 4-0 before 2018, when Aryna was not really established. I really like both but can't see how Vekic can beat her to be honest
Couldn't disagree more; top players (Djokovic, Rublev, Sabs, Rybakina), next tier (Khachanov, Pliskova), vets (Paul, Linette) and future star (Shelton).
Agreed. She may sneak one out, but I think the mere fact that she is a favorite or a legit contender is a massive overachievement for her. She has done amazing with what she has. I am not sure she is the “best” in the world at any part of her physical game.
Sample size is too small in my opinion. She’s only been a top player for about three years. Her three QF losses last year came from Iga (twice) and Barty - all who went on to win that tournament.
It’s not like she choked against random unseeded players on a miracle run. I guess she should’ve beat Azarenka, but she is in amazing form this year.
want vika and novak to win for the nostalgia
[https://twitter.com/tennisywilliams/status/1617881182871654405](https://twitter.com/tennisywilliams/status/1617881182871654405)
I think the last time we saw same man and woman pairing win 10 years apart was 2017 AO (Fed and Serena also both won 2007).
Look I know it’s Novak etc.
But this match is a nervy one. If his hamstring plays up then Rublev is more than good enough to take it long and possibly wear it out.
I will go Novak in 4 very nervy sets from both
So I think tonight's singles matches will be more competitive especially Linette/Pliskova and Shelton/Paul. Nevertheless, here's some promising doubles:
Sanders/Mertens vs. Ruse/Kostyuk: unseeded Gabi and Marta have been playing great and obviously Elise/Storm are a brand new team.
Mirza/Bopanna vs. Skupski/Krawczyk: last GS for Sania before retirement and awesome picking an Indian partner but they're heavy underdogs.
Krecjikova/Siniakova vs. Schuurs/Krawczyk: four of the best in the biz and the match is on Court 3...now that's a scheduling error!
It’s that nuansced part of the game where if the tennis marketing world had banded together for the past 30 years, they could have never made pickleball a thing.
Lmao you regularly have such puzzling takes on this sub that I’ve actually somehow memorized your username, I don’t think tsitsipas is wanted by the Feds of a country he’s fleed from
Djokovic will play at the US Open only after 2024 and only if the republican party wins the 2024 election. The democrats won't walk back on their stance when it comes to covid.
God I hate that clown. Such a joke. He is more interested in being a celebrity than helping this city that was absolutely decimated by covid. His solution to everything is “more untrained cops”
You don't have profound insight stating Novak is the favourite and having all these analyses of how no one else has a chance against him. We all know how great Nole is.
But if you are only going to use 'logic' what's the point of watching and discussing then? I hope to get surprised with a new revelation or someone stepping up a level and often it doesn't happen until it happens.
> But if you are only going to use 'logic' what's the point of watching and discussing then?
For me I care about the history, but beyond that the thing I'm hoping for the most is just great tennis. I'm hoping Shelton has the makings of being someone special and the rest I hope is competitive.
People also forget that although Djokovic is generally brutal and spectacular in finals he has also thrown in a few limp performances. I expect he'll win the title here but Tsitsipas would be no more an outsider in the final than Wawrinka was at RG 15 for example. And yes Stan played incredibly that match but Djokovic was nowhere near his best.
It’s not fair to Wawrinka to say Djokovic wasn’t at his best in RG 15. Maybe USO 16, but do you remember what Novak did the rest of the 2015 season? He was playing at a pretty high level in RG 15, winning first set and actually having a sizable lead in 4th set. But Wawrinka’s level was completely out of this world that day
Djoko was hitting a lot of slow balls right through the middle in that final. Sometimes he just gets too passive on clay. Against a guy like Wawrinka he can just attack every shot if you don't pressure him.
Djoko had 28 winners and 47 errors.
Djokovic was immense in 2015 as a whole and I agree Stan was amazing in that match, but I also firmly stand by the claim Djokovic was a bit flat and nowhere near his best in that final, which I've always attributed to it being his chance of clinching the calendar slam. I certainly agree Djokovic wasn't at his best for the US '16 either but on that occasion he was certainly with blisters.
People are also terrible with statistics. Like, let's say you give Tsitsi a 20% chance of winning. That's not a lot, but it's still pretty good. 20%s happen all the time. Roll a die and need a 6? I know the math isn't perfected but we're not rolling D5s here lol.
I'm just saying, there's a reason we still play the matches.
Correct. My close friend's brother once had an operation and was told he had a 90% chance of surviving. When I heard I said something like ''well, 90% is good'' and my friend responded "yeah, 10% chance he dies". Really stayed with me.
Brutal. I hope your friend's brother made it through okay.
These kinds of things are important though. I tell my students: "if I told you there was a 99% chance of you making it to class without dying in a car accident; I'd lose like three of you per year".
Improbabilities may be unlikely, but given a large enough sample size they are bound to happen. All data has noise after all.
As long as no injuries flare up he's golden. He's been in the zone a while. I want to see Rublev handle himself but who knows. He's going to have to go for broke and see what happens.
Some boring matches we saw yesterday. Hope we don't get a repeat. Really disappointed in Pegula.
Djokovic is now one win away from tying Agassi's record for the men's longest winstreak at the AO with 26 wins, which he achieved in 2004 before losing to Safin in the SFs.
He also tied his old record for the second longest men's winstreak at the AO with 25 wins, which he achieved in 2014 after which he proceeded to lose to Wawrinka in the QFs.
Jim Courier after Stefanos goes on a ramble;
"Mr. Tsitsipas, what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this Arena is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no applause, and may God have mercy on your soul."
Djokovic playing mind games pretending to have forgotten his RG 2021 final. Do people seriously think he genuinely forgot?
He knows Stef is the likely finalist and every little helps. If the hamstring is an issue (I also think that's part of the mind game, but let's park that) then even more necessary.
I honestly think he forgot. People with Djokovic's mindset don't think about their success, they always look forward to the next thing - which is both a blessing and a curse.
People tend to forget he’s not a deity. Brain fades happen from time to time and happens to the best of us. Not everything in life is a conspiracy theory.
It's a low stakes conspiracy theory, I accept that. I just think tennis players have really good memories when it comes to tennis and he wouldn't have forgotten that. Even his response when told it wasn't like "oh shit yeah lol" it was like "yeah yeah whatever".
Maybe I'm way off base.
He's 10-2 against Tsitsipas, and most certainly the absolute favorite to beat him in a hardcourt majors final. Why would he need to play mind games and pretend injured? Ludicrous.
Because tennis is fine margins that are extrapolated. Every little helps, why not?
He isn't pretending to be injured. But he's allowed the media to big it up, and suddenly pull it away from them. Injuries are funny things but from how bad he was saying it was to yesterday? That's pretty bloody rare.
My view is that the injury was never that bad to start with, a small grade 1 strain. He almost never gets media talking so much about his injuries but he did this time - for a reason.
I honestly think there's nothing wrong with what Stef said. It's a smart tactic to force Khachanov and Djokovic (or whoever reaches the final on his side of the draw) to quit or throw their matches for the benefit of underprivileged communities
A lot aren’t compared to other parts of the world but you can’t say no one is under privileged, there is plenty of people doing it rough even In Australia especially with rising inflation at the moment and rent prices skyrocketing while wages stay the same. There is lots of people in Australia they are refugees from war torn areas and also the Indigenous people here who are under privileged due to 150 years of colonilisation. There is state schools in Australia but even then families have to buy stationery, uniforms, make sure they are healthy physically / mentally enough to learn at school etc.
If Djokovic and Tsitsipas make the final I think we're in for a great match and wouldn't be as one sided as everyone thinks here. Djokovic looked ridiculously dominant against De Minaur but Alex just doesn't have what it takes to make Novak move and test his hamstring. He won the match standing on the same spot lol.
With how aggressive Stefanos is playing for sure he would make Novak move. They had very well fought matches last year with Novak at 100%, which I don't think he is right now. It might not be enough at the AO though.
A nice sentiment, but very very odd.
Australia's GDP is like 5 or 6 times that of Greece, and Australia spends more as a percentage of that GDP on education...like, we'll take your school Stef, but how about helping some of your fellow Greeks?
Edit: Of course, it is also possible he was just some combination of rambling, panicked, and pandering
you’re taking a statement he made while he was high as fuck on adrenaline and analysing it as if it was said by a prime minister or something. he’s a tennis player who’s barely experienced adulthood outside of tennis
move on 💀
He read somewhere that it's the "education state" got this great PR idea and when it came to announcing it he completely rambled and made it sound like he is addressing some school shortage
Point taken sure, but that's a) not what he said, and b) that money can still do so much more good somewhere else, like not in an OECD nation that already has free, quality education.
Not even that, he specifically named Victoria and Victoria also remains the number one State/Territory in terms of growth and GSP whereas a State like Queensland ranks 4th in the country. The lockdowns didn't really affect us in the long term at all.
We are still financially strong and extremely stable as a State.
Maybe school means academy. Or maybe more funding for the indigenous community that is currently underfunded? Who knows. We know he’s socially awkward as it is and in the heat of the moment he just blabbed on. Heart’s in the right place though. Needs a PR person tbh
Mikael Ymer qualified for the main draw in this week's Belgian Challenger tournament by winning his second qualifying match.
He can be drawn against his elder brother, Elias, in the first round.
Interesting also in that Mikael fairly stubbornly avoided challengers for years, when most players ranked around him were mostly playing challengers he relentlessly entered ATP qualies. Always respected that.
Worth noting also that the only reason Mikael would have had to qualify is because he entered the tournament late, he's still ranked <70
I think Tsitsipas has a hard time formulating his thoughts or differentiating when a PR answer is acceptable or a more personal one is required. For example, he knows he will get asked about Australia quite a lot. It's fine to keep saying he likes the country, the people, the weather etc. Nobody expects to hear anything different so the Margot Robbie comment comes off as tasteless, despite being completely innocent.
Why give him the benefit of the doubt when he's shown in the past that he's not exactly this really nice, kind person? People forgotten "bullshit Russian" that quickly, huh?
It's the most famous example, that's used as a meme. There are plenty of other times he's lashed out (albeit probably fairly, his dad is very annoying) or whatever else.
He's shown time and time again that he's a bit of a twat, yet gets away with it because... why?
It runs in the family. I know from a trusted source that his younger sister who also plays tennis is not well behaved on court either.
I don't think he gets away with it though. People criticize his behaviour and comments heavily, even here in Greece. But there are people who are into this type of quirky, awkward personality, same with those who justify Medvedev's tantrums
Also, for those saying they think tennis will be just fine post big 3 retirement,... you still think so?
Maybe if Alcaraz is knocking about but I swear this AO is showing exactly how "meh" it could be. I know Djokovic is still there and almost certainly will win but ignoring him it's been so "meh".
Most overrated? You have to smoking something, lol.
People have been rating the little 3 so highly for years and years and only Med managed a slam win. Tsitsipas and Zverev ain't winning shit.
Alcaraz, rather quickly, already has one slam win.
Already looks great on clay, hard and grass.
Already looks like a complete player.
Overrated? Come on, dude. Is he gonna win 30 slams? Nah, probably not. But he is the next big thing in tennis without a doubt.
Looks like a complete player? He's 19 bro, lmao. I'm not sure I can call the Big 3 with all certaintly **complete** players. This is what I mean when I say overrated, lmao...
Federer with his backhand, Nadal with being injury prone and Djokovic with the smashes...
They are as complete as it gets, I agree. But they're just as closest to complete as one can be, not complete.
Feels like we're just talking semantics, now. "Complete" means there's nothing obvious lacking.
Alcaraz hits great on both sides, his serve is a bit meh but it's not terrible, he has great movement, great touch, good at the net.
Berrettini isn't complete, his BH is woeful. Medvedev isn't complete, he only has a baseline game. As two examples.
He's 19. Michael Chang was doing much more when he was younger, even winning a major at 17, yet he didn't turn out to be near close to the debate of the greats.
Stop overrating young players who are yet to really prove themselces.
You're a hard one to impress, eh?
It's just sports, let people enjoy themselves and hype players if the want, it's not like it's the stock market and they're investing their money in them lol. Do you expect people to not hype the youngest number one ever?
When Rune beat him in Stockholm his runner up speech was 5 times longer than Holger’s winner speech. Seemed Stef includes a great deal of stuff he would have liked to say as the winner.
It's a lovely gesture. But when he spoke about building schools here, the scene with the moderator in Billy Madison came to mind where he called it one of the most idiotic things he's heard.
Again, appreciate the thought though.
I know I was mostly kidding. I will always hate Konta for swapping allegiance to UK even though she was born in Australia and lived here until she was 15! She swapped allegiance at 22 lol. So glad she never won a slam.
It's free PR + Money. Pretty sure Tsisi's contracts are costly as well, I mean he is not a random club player. Golfe and Tennis have some niche following
Tsitsipas is a player with a bright future and seems to have the desire to raise his public profile. They got to find some players to market once the Big 3 all retire.
He's just a narcissist, like a lot of tennis players, who wants to be liked. He's also quite dim witted, again, like a lot of tennis players.
He's lucky he can hit a ball well and looks good, for his sake.
"He is dim witted" said Arteam wetly in between the smacking sounds of loud Cheeto chewing. He wiped the orange dust on his Chemical Romance t-shirt. His breathing was a little laboured from lack of physical exercise. "Like a lot of tennis players" he added in between mouthfuls.
Sure sweetie, said his mother, resigned to his tirades. Meanwhile she pulled Tsitsipas's profile on Instagram. This tall, millionaire athlete that lives in Monaco. She liked his golden locks.
The lip-smacking subsided a bit as Arteam unpaused his internet game. "He's lucky he can hit a ball" he added with a snort as he grabbed the mouse with his greasy fingers.
"Yes sweetie" replied his mom, still scrolling stefanosTsitsipas98
I miss Alcaraz.
Think this AO would be 10x more interesting if he played. Right now there's just too much of a gap between the top and the rest. It's dull.
Would take millions but maybe a public sports school in a poorer suburb of Vic would make some sense. Otherwise an adrenaline fueled ridiculous promise from Tstisi but good on him lol
Stef’s gonna win the Australian Open and donate the prize money to building a school in Victoria, the Margot Robbie Honorary Academy for underprivileged children.
I can't help but feel Stef has an extra
spring in his step this time - will be proper motivated to not lose 10 times in a row vs Novak as well.
But then again, that backhand matchup is so bad like, idk
Yep, I've mentioned it a few times in this thread but merits one more - zero top 10 wins in 3.5 years. Really incredibly bad for a player who could well be top 10 himself soon.
Damn, just caught up with the interview but I initially thought he meant building some sort of tennis academy or something, but he really means ‘school’ as in ‘school’ and education.
Tennis academy I would understand, but in terms of education, schooling has never been more accessible.
What a perfect end to this match
Even the commentators are bored, they’re talking about the camera shots of the city and how it hasn’t shown much
These errors....
How is it possible Djokovic has played all night matches which favors his game..?
The people who shipped the big money for the TV rights want him playing at that time - blame the time zone over there.
I am excited for the Men's Singles final but I am also looking forward to WTA's now that Elena has a chance to win another slam. Also, seeing Vika having another deep run at a slam made me happy although this time I am obviously rooting for Lena.
I'm hoping for Rybakina vs Sabalenka. I want Rybakina to either win her 2nd or Sabalenka finally win her first. Preferably Rybakina wins it all though.
The women’s final is definitely going to be good. Ideally Saba would take the second slot, but the first slot is guaranteed to be a former slam winner. Ryba or Vika winning would be fantastic.
Local Tennis Player Pledges College Tuition to 3rd Graders
People gave Sinner shit for not attacking Tsitsipas' backhand but in those first 2 sets Stef's backhand looked really good. He even hit BHDTL.
True… but it’s still a weakness compared to his forehand. Lehecka played 50/50 to each side in the first set but 20/80 in the second set and the second set was much stronger.
Can someone post that Tsitsi saved 42 out of 49 break points in this tournament , its like 85%
that wont fly against Djoko. Djoko would eat him alive with those type of chances
I thought it was more than that. I swear the commentators said it was 85% going into this match, and Stef saved 8 more and wasn’t broken. I guess the commentators were mistaken.
I thought it was more than that. I swear the commentators said it was 85% going into this match, and Stef saved 8 more and wasn’t broken. I guess the commentators were mistaken. EDIT: I just looked at the stats on the AO app and looks like Stef has been broken 6 times, not 7. Which would make it 88%.
Well you just did……so thanks. Seriously tho that stat is pretty outrageous
Based on last night’s match, am I delusional to think that the best version of azarenka circa 2012/2013 would beat 2022 Iga on hc?
On fast hardcourts peak Azarenka easily wins. Slower hardcourts it’s closer but still would go with Azarenka. Iga did amazing even on hard but her biggest competition was double faulting Sabalenka, Kontaveit, Sakkari, Pegula, and Jabeur and had losses to worse players.
Yes Women's tennis has gotten significantly stronger in general. Azarenka's current version would likely smoke her 2012 version.
That’s just really incorrect. Azarenka is noticeably slower and her shots have less pace compared to when she was number 1.
Either you weren't watching tennis then or you've understood something really wrong
Lol what 🤣🤣. So, would Rybakina in 2022 Wimbledon beat 2012 Wimbledon Serena by that logic?
just fyi, the discord link on these posts and on the sidebar links to the wrong discord (also that channel is dead) not the r/tennis discord. you need to the post the whole thing together without space i think. i only found the actual r/tennis discord by googling old post from july 2022.
I really hope Pegula does well this season, but couldn't help but feel happy for Azarenka. She used to be such a top top player 10 years ago, during a really competitive era of tennis. It's awesome seeing her having deep runs at this stage of her career and today's win was really impressive. Rybakina seems the one to beat and it will be very hard for her, but never count out a multiple slam champion and former No. 1
interesting stat, Sabalenka is 1:5 h2h against Vekic -400 odds against her regardless.. You think Saba gets it done?
I heard in the Tennis Podcast that it was 4-0 before 2018, when Aryna was not really established. I really like both but can't see how Vekic can beat her to be honest
Great reply thank you
Can anybody explain the reason why women hit with less topspin?
They don't hit as hard so can afford to hit the ball more flat without sending it flying out.
Thanks for the reply! It clears out a lot of my doubts
This feels like the lowest quality Aussie Open in years, both sides of the draw 😭😭
Couldn't disagree more; top players (Djokovic, Rublev, Sabs, Rybakina), next tier (Khachanov, Pliskova), vets (Paul, Linette) and future star (Shelton).
Karen vs Shelton final will be grand loloololol jk
For real. Not much going on for either side sadly
I just can’t see Pegula being anything more than one of those good players that great players beat en route to slam finals and victories.
Agreed. She may sneak one out, but I think the mere fact that she is a favorite or a legit contender is a massive overachievement for her. She has done amazing with what she has. I am not sure she is the “best” in the world at any part of her physical game.
Last night she was in terrible form. I can see her winning if she was more consistent. She played badly though and made a lot of errors.
Sample size is too small in my opinion. She’s only been a top player for about three years. Her three QF losses last year came from Iga (twice) and Barty - all who went on to win that tournament. It’s not like she choked against random unseeded players on a miracle run. I guess she should’ve beat Azarenka, but she is in amazing form this year.
want vika and novak to win for the nostalgia [https://twitter.com/tennisywilliams/status/1617881182871654405](https://twitter.com/tennisywilliams/status/1617881182871654405) I think the last time we saw same man and woman pairing win 10 years apart was 2017 AO (Fed and Serena also both won 2007).
Look I know it’s Novak etc. But this match is a nervy one. If his hamstring plays up then Rublev is more than good enough to take it long and possibly wear it out. I will go Novak in 4 very nervy sets from both
What happened to Pegula? 💔
So I think tonight's singles matches will be more competitive especially Linette/Pliskova and Shelton/Paul. Nevertheless, here's some promising doubles: Sanders/Mertens vs. Ruse/Kostyuk: unseeded Gabi and Marta have been playing great and obviously Elise/Storm are a brand new team. Mirza/Bopanna vs. Skupski/Krawczyk: last GS for Sania before retirement and awesome picking an Indian partner but they're heavy underdogs. Krecjikova/Siniakova vs. Schuurs/Krawczyk: four of the best in the biz and the match is on Court 3...now that's a scheduling error!
why did Mertens drop Sabalenka? they were really good together
> promising doubles my brain does not accept that term.
It’s that nuansced part of the game where if the tennis marketing world had banded together for the past 30 years, they could have never made pickleball a thing.
> nuansced oof
Torn between wanting Andrey to win but also wanting Novak to make the final to prevent Andrew Tatesipas from winning AO
Lmao you regularly have such puzzling takes on this sub that I’ve actually somehow memorized your username, I don’t think tsitsipas is wanted by the Feds of a country he’s fleed from
But he is a misogynist who tweets tate talking points
I guess I missed the moment when Tsitsipas started trafficking people.
Did you miss the misogyny too?
What are the chances that Novak plays at the US open?
We're one bad variant away from those chances being 0% but at the moment I'd say he's at 75% or so.
Djokovic will play at the US Open only after 2024 and only if the republican party wins the 2024 election. The democrats won't walk back on their stance when it comes to covid.
The New York mayor Eric Adams doesn’t give a shit and would fly in with Novak for the press
God I hate that clown. Such a joke. He is more interested in being a celebrity than helping this city that was absolutely decimated by covid. His solution to everything is “more untrained cops”
100%
You don't have profound insight stating Novak is the favourite and having all these analyses of how no one else has a chance against him. We all know how great Nole is. But if you are only going to use 'logic' what's the point of watching and discussing then? I hope to get surprised with a new revelation or someone stepping up a level and often it doesn't happen until it happens.
> But if you are only going to use 'logic' what's the point of watching and discussing then? For me I care about the history, but beyond that the thing I'm hoping for the most is just great tennis. I'm hoping Shelton has the makings of being someone special and the rest I hope is competitive.
People also forget that although Djokovic is generally brutal and spectacular in finals he has also thrown in a few limp performances. I expect he'll win the title here but Tsitsipas would be no more an outsider in the final than Wawrinka was at RG 15 for example. And yes Stan played incredibly that match but Djokovic was nowhere near his best.
It’s not fair to Wawrinka to say Djokovic wasn’t at his best in RG 15. Maybe USO 16, but do you remember what Novak did the rest of the 2015 season? He was playing at a pretty high level in RG 15, winning first set and actually having a sizable lead in 4th set. But Wawrinka’s level was completely out of this world that day
Djoko was hitting a lot of slow balls right through the middle in that final. Sometimes he just gets too passive on clay. Against a guy like Wawrinka he can just attack every shot if you don't pressure him. Djoko had 28 winners and 47 errors.
Djokovic was immense in 2015 as a whole and I agree Stan was amazing in that match, but I also firmly stand by the claim Djokovic was a bit flat and nowhere near his best in that final, which I've always attributed to it being his chance of clinching the calendar slam. I certainly agree Djokovic wasn't at his best for the US '16 either but on that occasion he was certainly with blisters.
People are also terrible with statistics. Like, let's say you give Tsitsi a 20% chance of winning. That's not a lot, but it's still pretty good. 20%s happen all the time. Roll a die and need a 6? I know the math isn't perfected but we're not rolling D5s here lol. I'm just saying, there's a reason we still play the matches.
Correct. My close friend's brother once had an operation and was told he had a 90% chance of surviving. When I heard I said something like ''well, 90% is good'' and my friend responded "yeah, 10% chance he dies". Really stayed with me.
Brutal. I hope your friend's brother made it through okay. These kinds of things are important though. I tell my students: "if I told you there was a 99% chance of you making it to class without dying in a car accident; I'd lose like three of you per year". Improbabilities may be unlikely, but given a large enough sample size they are bound to happen. All data has noise after all.
I don’t subscribe to the no one can beat Novak camp. But I must admit that looking at those left I don’t think any of them can.
As long as no injuries flare up he's golden. He's been in the zone a while. I want to see Rublev handle himself but who knows. He's going to have to go for broke and see what happens. Some boring matches we saw yesterday. Hope we don't get a repeat. Really disappointed in Pegula.
Thinking of building a school in Santa Barbara too,
How did Pegula lose????
Stef wants to build a school *in Victoria?????*
Let me bring you my education for free.
Yt ignorance personified
Lololol
I got downvoted when I laughed at everyone calling pegdollar the favourite 😂
Pegula could buy your entire family if she wanted to. Why you dissing? 🤡😂
You appear to get downvoted no matter what you say.....
Because they are toxic
So was Britney
Djokovic is now one win away from tying Agassi's record for the men's longest winstreak at the AO with 26 wins, which he achieved in 2004 before losing to Safin in the SFs. He also tied his old record for the second longest men's winstreak at the AO with 25 wins, which he achieved in 2014 after which he proceeded to lose to Wawrinka in the QFs.
Purest of himbo energy there. Oh Steftsipas you lure me in.
Jim Courier after Stefanos goes on a ramble; "Mr. Tsitsipas, what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this Arena is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no applause, and may God have mercy on your soul."
Djokovic playing mind games pretending to have forgotten his RG 2021 final. Do people seriously think he genuinely forgot? He knows Stef is the likely finalist and every little helps. If the hamstring is an issue (I also think that's part of the mind game, but let's park that) then even more necessary.
I honestly think he forgot. People with Djokovic's mindset don't think about their success, they always look forward to the next thing - which is both a blessing and a curse.
Lool everything Nole does is a conspiracy, but Nadal walks with a limp and it's the only reason he loses. Foh
People tend to forget he’s not a deity. Brain fades happen from time to time and happens to the best of us. Not everything in life is a conspiracy theory.
It's a low stakes conspiracy theory, I accept that. I just think tennis players have really good memories when it comes to tennis and he wouldn't have forgotten that. Even his response when told it wasn't like "oh shit yeah lol" it was like "yeah yeah whatever". Maybe I'm way off base.
He's 10-2 against Tsitsipas, and most certainly the absolute favorite to beat him in a hardcourt majors final. Why would he need to play mind games and pretend injured? Ludicrous.
Because tennis is fine margins that are extrapolated. Every little helps, why not? He isn't pretending to be injured. But he's allowed the media to big it up, and suddenly pull it away from them. Injuries are funny things but from how bad he was saying it was to yesterday? That's pretty bloody rare. My view is that the injury was never that bad to start with, a small grade 1 strain. He almost never gets media talking so much about his injuries but he did this time - for a reason.
Did you even watch his matches? The guy couldn't move at times, let alone slide. This sounds delusional at best.
Did you watch him play yesterday?
Yes. He stated in his post match interview that his leg, during that match, was no trouble whatsoever. What confuses you exactly?
I honestly think there's nothing wrong with what Stef said. It's a smart tactic to force Khachanov and Djokovic (or whoever reaches the final on his side of the draw) to quit or throw their matches for the benefit of underprivileged communities
Sure, except Victorian communities aren't underprivileged
A lot aren’t compared to other parts of the world but you can’t say no one is under privileged, there is plenty of people doing it rough even In Australia especially with rising inflation at the moment and rent prices skyrocketing while wages stay the same. There is lots of people in Australia they are refugees from war torn areas and also the Indigenous people here who are under privileged due to 150 years of colonilisation. There is state schools in Australia but even then families have to buy stationery, uniforms, make sure they are healthy physically / mentally enough to learn at school etc.
If Djokovic and Tsitsipas make the final I think we're in for a great match and wouldn't be as one sided as everyone thinks here. Djokovic looked ridiculously dominant against De Minaur but Alex just doesn't have what it takes to make Novak move and test his hamstring. He won the match standing on the same spot lol. With how aggressive Stefanos is playing for sure he would make Novak move. They had very well fought matches last year with Novak at 100%, which I don't think he is right now. It might not be enough at the AO though.
Its a good thing he gets knocked out of wimbledon and the US quickly cos you could imagine the absolute nonsense he would come up with there lol.
Australia needs to get Stef honorary citizenship like Brazil did for Lewis Hamilton.
A nice sentiment, but very very odd. Australia's GDP is like 5 or 6 times that of Greece, and Australia spends more as a percentage of that GDP on education...like, we'll take your school Stef, but how about helping some of your fellow Greeks? Edit: Of course, it is also possible he was just some combination of rambling, panicked, and pandering
A school with zpecial scholarships for...greeks?
you’re taking a statement he made while he was high as fuck on adrenaline and analysing it as if it was said by a prime minister or something. he’s a tennis player who’s barely experienced adulthood outside of tennis move on 💀
He read somewhere that it's the "education state" got this great PR idea and when it came to announcing it he completely rambled and made it sound like he is addressing some school shortage
Would make sense though if the plan is to provide education for the less privileged in the Greek community of Australia
Point taken sure, but that's a) not what he said, and b) that money can still do so much more good somewhere else, like not in an OECD nation that already has free, quality education.
Not even that, he specifically named Victoria and Victoria also remains the number one State/Territory in terms of growth and GSP whereas a State like Queensland ranks 4th in the country. The lockdowns didn't really affect us in the long term at all. We are still financially strong and extremely stable as a State.
I will personally come and open a school in Canberra.
Omg. When dogs look like their owners
See also Murray’s dogs
Maybe school means academy. Or maybe more funding for the indigenous community that is currently underfunded? Who knows. We know he’s socially awkward as it is and in the heat of the moment he just blabbed on. Heart’s in the right place though. Needs a PR person tbh
Do you really think Stef put that much thought into it though?
Thoroughly, unlikely haha
The Australian government is rich enough to do all that. I don’t believe in charity in the West. Because it’s letting governments off the hook
100%
Yeah that’s very true, good point. Hopefully they ask him about it post and we get a better understanding
"The Stefano's Tsitsipas Centre For Kids Who Can't Read Good and Want To Learn To Do Other Stuff Good Too" I knew he was Derek Zoolander
DeRELiCT
I said the exact same thing on the GQ spread post yesterday! I don't mind Stef most of the time but he's away with the fairies.
Lmao
Tsitsipas is a real kook but eh that's why I like him. He's just living on a different planet to everyone else.
People take him too seriously trying to hate him more. I love how cringe he is.
Same planet as Jaden Smith.
Planet Zoolander
Planet Tsitsipas. It orbits the star Batshit
Mikael Ymer qualified for the main draw in this week's Belgian Challenger tournament by winning his second qualifying match. He can be drawn against his elder brother, Elias, in the first round.
Interesting also in that Mikael fairly stubbornly avoided challengers for years, when most players ranked around him were mostly playing challengers he relentlessly entered ATP qualies. Always respected that. Worth noting also that the only reason Mikael would have had to qualify is because he entered the tournament late, he's still ranked <70
Yes, he'll be the favourite to take the title. Ymer is definitely a top 40 player on indoor hardcourt.
Would definitely make sense to build a school in a less developed country where there is a dire need. But whatever floats his boat.
I think Tsitsipas has a hard time formulating his thoughts or differentiating when a PR answer is acceptable or a more personal one is required. For example, he knows he will get asked about Australia quite a lot. It's fine to keep saying he likes the country, the people, the weather etc. Nobody expects to hear anything different so the Margot Robbie comment comes off as tasteless, despite being completely innocent.
Why give him the benefit of the doubt when he's shown in the past that he's not exactly this really nice, kind person? People forgotten "bullshit Russian" that quickly, huh?
Quickly? It's been nearly 5 years since that incident. It's fine if you want to pick on him but you could have chosen a more recent example
It's the most famous example, that's used as a meme. There are plenty of other times he's lashed out (albeit probably fairly, his dad is very annoying) or whatever else. He's shown time and time again that he's a bit of a twat, yet gets away with it because... why?
It runs in the family. I know from a trusted source that his younger sister who also plays tennis is not well behaved on court either. I don't think he gets away with it though. People criticize his behaviour and comments heavily, even here in Greece. But there are people who are into this type of quirky, awkward personality, same with those who justify Medvedev's tantrums
Looks like my predictions were… quite wrong
You'll fit right in here.
Lol
Also, for those saying they think tennis will be just fine post big 3 retirement,... you still think so? Maybe if Alcaraz is knocking about but I swear this AO is showing exactly how "meh" it could be. I know Djokovic is still there and almost certainly will win but ignoring him it's been so "meh".
Alcaraz most overrated player of all time. And that is not to say that he isn't good, he's great. But the credit you people give him is ludicrous.
Most overrated? You have to smoking something, lol. People have been rating the little 3 so highly for years and years and only Med managed a slam win. Tsitsipas and Zverev ain't winning shit. Alcaraz, rather quickly, already has one slam win. Already looks great on clay, hard and grass. Already looks like a complete player. Overrated? Come on, dude. Is he gonna win 30 slams? Nah, probably not. But he is the next big thing in tennis without a doubt.
Looks like a complete player? He's 19 bro, lmao. I'm not sure I can call the Big 3 with all certaintly **complete** players. This is what I mean when I say overrated, lmao...
If you don't think the big 3 are complete players then I don't know what we're doing talking about tennis.
Federer with his backhand, Nadal with being injury prone and Djokovic with the smashes... They are as complete as it gets, I agree. But they're just as closest to complete as one can be, not complete.
Feels like we're just talking semantics, now. "Complete" means there's nothing obvious lacking. Alcaraz hits great on both sides, his serve is a bit meh but it's not terrible, he has great movement, great touch, good at the net. Berrettini isn't complete, his BH is woeful. Medvedev isn't complete, he only has a baseline game. As two examples.
He's 19. Michael Chang was doing much more when he was younger, even winning a major at 17, yet he didn't turn out to be near close to the debate of the greats. Stop overrating young players who are yet to really prove themselces.
You're a hard one to impress, eh? It's just sports, let people enjoy themselves and hype players if the want, it's not like it's the stock market and they're investing their money in them lol. Do you expect people to not hype the youngest number one ever?
Dan Andrews’ social media team surely name drops Stef in one of their next FB posts lol
I’m sitting here shellshocked from that post match interview
Imagine the shit he’ll say if he wins it
Rooting against him just to avoid that shitstorm
When Rune beat him in Stockholm his runner up speech was 5 times longer than Holger’s winner speech. Seemed Stef includes a great deal of stuff he would have liked to say as the winner.
It's a lovely gesture. But when he spoke about building schools here, the scene with the moderator in Billy Madison came to mind where he called it one of the most idiotic things he's heard. Again, appreciate the thought though.
He is really, really dumb.
Why Azarenka wears sunglasses on her interviews?
Timely reminder that Stef wasn't the first profoundly cringy tennis player and he won't be the last
Ha it’s making me lol. Rockstar. She looks whack
Wearing sunglasses at night is certainly a choice.
Haha I second that. She is massive PSG too I mean it looks like it because she is always wearing their shirt during practice
Stefanos: Please build a school here. Then move here. Get citizenship. Then please play for us we need someone so bad
Don't you have an even more cringey (in a bad way) Greek already?
Half of Melbourne is Greek so we have a lot. But none that are going to win a slam haha
I think that you know the one that is being referred to in this case!
He nearly did as a teen they looked into coming over.
The local Greeks would turn on him if he did that.
I know I was mostly kidding. I will always hate Konta for swapping allegiance to UK even though she was born in Australia and lived here until she was 15! She swapped allegiance at 22 lol. So glad she never won a slam.
100% advertisers gonna cash on Margot and Tsisi, can't wait for the couple's ad
Margot Robbie gonna be the Shakira to Tsitsipas’ Nadal 💀
Unlikely anyone who could afford Robbie would care about Tsitsipas imo
It's free PR + Money. Pretty sure Tsisi's contracts are costly as well, I mean he is not a random club player. Golfe and Tennis have some niche following
Tsitsipas is a player with a bright future and seems to have the desire to raise his public profile. They got to find some players to market once the Big 3 all retire.
Stefanos you're weird but cute.
I think he's a kind sweet person at heart and I wish that he wins the title but just tries too hard to be liked and it is cringe
He's just a narcissist, like a lot of tennis players, who wants to be liked. He's also quite dim witted, again, like a lot of tennis players. He's lucky he can hit a ball well and looks good, for his sake.
"He is dim witted" said Arteam wetly in between the smacking sounds of loud Cheeto chewing. He wiped the orange dust on his Chemical Romance t-shirt. His breathing was a little laboured from lack of physical exercise. "Like a lot of tennis players" he added in between mouthfuls. Sure sweetie, said his mother, resigned to his tirades. Meanwhile she pulled Tsitsipas's profile on Instagram. This tall, millionaire athlete that lives in Monaco. She liked his golden locks. The lip-smacking subsided a bit as Arteam unpaused his internet game. "He's lucky he can hit a ball" he added with a snort as he grabbed the mouse with his greasy fingers. "Yes sweetie" replied his mom, still scrolling stefanosTsitsipas98
Hahahaha. Honestly, this is actually brilliant and you've given me a good chuckle today. Thanks for that.
[удалено]
I think you're taking it a bit too literally rather than it's common, informal usage.
I miss Alcaraz. Think this AO would be 10x more interesting if he played. Right now there's just too much of a gap between the top and the rest. It's dull.
Yes, I would have loved Alcaraz here - he would've taken the Greek to school (maybe even the one that he said he'd build!)
Would take millions but maybe a public sports school in a poorer suburb of Vic would make some sense. Otherwise an adrenaline fueled ridiculous promise from Tstisi but good on him lol
Stef’s gonna win the Australian Open and donate the prize money to building a school in Victoria, the Margot Robbie Honorary Academy for underprivileged children.
This is how I see everyone's chances of winning the title: Djokovic: 80% Tsitsipas: 15% Rublev: 4% Khachanov: 0.5% Paul: 0.3% Shelton: 0.2%
I can't help but feel Stef has an extra spring in his step this time - will be proper motivated to not lose 10 times in a row vs Novak as well. But then again, that backhand matchup is so bad like, idk
You’re underselling Novak and overselling Paul lol
Shelton: so you’re saying there’s a chance?
Karen's record against top 10 is abhorrent. Maybe his back hand is solid enough to cause som damage tho
Yep, I've mentioned it a few times in this thread but merits one more - zero top 10 wins in 3.5 years. Really incredibly bad for a player who could well be top 10 himself soon.
Damn, just caught up with the interview but I initially thought he meant building some sort of tennis academy or something, but he really means ‘school’ as in ‘school’ and education. Tennis academy I would understand, but in terms of education, schooling has never been more accessible.
Time to start a rumor that Djokovic has pledged to use his prize money to bulldoze a school in Victoria.
And build a crystal pyramid for communicating with aliens in its place.
Jeff Kennett's been there, done that
Those sunnies look ridiculous.