Who will win Australian Open?

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[MR.]MIRCWAR
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Re: Who will win Australian Open?

Did anyone catch Fed-Tsonga? Wow! I don't think I've seen Fed play that good (and naturally unhindered) in a long long time. So lights out shot making, and that lob Cool

Murray-Federer is gonna be good. Didn't have time to catch Nadal's match but sounds like Kei pushed him.

Johnin*ELITE'Z*
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Re: Who will win Australian Open?
[MR.]MIRCWAR wrote:

Did anyone catch Fed-Tsonga? Wow! I don't think I've seen Fed play that good (and naturally unhindered) in a long long time. So lights out shot making, and that lob Cool

Murray-Federer is gonna be good. Didn't have time to catch Nadal's match but sounds like Kei pushed him.

Impressive indeed Happy A tennis lesson from the books. All-round top level display. I liked his movement, his footwork was very good, it almost seemed like he was floathing on the court Big grin Poor Jo, couldn't do anything really, it was out of his reach. Had a good moment in the final set, winning his serve after going 0-40 down, caught abit the momentum, even got a break chance next game, but that was all he could to against this FedEx, not his fault Happy

I hope Roger will pwn Murray's ass so we can enjoy another classic in the semis. Rafa vs the Federer from today... breathtaking just thinking about it !!!

"...War brings death... and wounds and pain to both sides... there's nothing harder to accept than the deaths of those you love... so you believe... they could never die... especially those who haven't known war... you try to find meaning in death... but... there's only pain... and hatred... that you don't know what to do with...dying like trash... neverending hatred... pain that never heals... that.. is war..." N.

[MR.]MIRCWAR
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Re: Who will win Australian Open?

Anyone watching Wawa-Djok? Turning into another epic.

[MR.]MIRCWAR
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Re: Who will win Australian Open?

Fuck me he won Big grin What a hero. Now if Dimitrov can put out Nadal we got ourselves some excitement!

Johnin*ELITE'Z*
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Re: Who will win Australian Open?

One of the 'WOW' matches this year Big grin Stan the Man Big grin Amazing. Bit lucky at the end with that epic fail last 2 shots by Djokovic, but well deserved, excellent performance by Stan. He was the only guy in Novak's bottom half who can pose a threat on route to his final Happy

Dimitrov? Wins against the Nadal? What now, are you afraid FedEx might get humiliated by Rafa in the semis? Big grin

My prediction for the final : Rafa vs Berdych. Semis - awesome match between Rafa and Roger, and victory in 4 sets for Berdych, even though I would like Stan to reach the final Happy

"...War brings death... and wounds and pain to both sides... there's nothing harder to accept than the deaths of those you love... so you believe... they could never die... especially those who haven't known war... you try to find meaning in death... but... there's only pain... and hatred... that you don't know what to do with...dying like trash... neverending hatred... pain that never heals... that.. is war..." N.

[MR.]MIRCWAR
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Re: Who will win Australian Open?
Johnin*ELITE'Z* wrote:


Dimitrov? Wins against the Nadal? What now, are you afraid FedEx might get humiliated by Rafa in the semis? Big grin

My prediction for the final : Rafa vs Berdych. Semis - awesome match between Rafa and Roger, and victory in 4 sets for Berdych, even though I would like Stan to reach the final Happy

Laughing There is that too of course. Dimitrov being the "young" Federer also adds some spice to it. The draw has opened up quite a bit now don't you think? And Berdych is long due a slam win but I dunno, if you would put a gun to my head I'd bet against him. Anyway, fun result for tennis this. Excessive physique and grinding doesn't always trump talented shot making and risk taking. Hopefully they keep experimenting with faster courts.

Johnin*ELITE'Z*
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Re: Who will win Australian Open?
[MR.]MIRCWAR wrote:

Laughing There is that too of course. Dimitrov being the "young" Federer also adds some spice to it. The draw has opened up quite a bit now don't you think? And Berdych is long due a slam win but I dunno, if you would put a gun to my head I'd bet against him. Anyway, fun result for tennis this. Excessive physique and grinding doesn't always trump talented shot making and risk taking. Hopefully they keep experimenting with faster courts.

Personally, I expect a hard match for Rafa. I've watched several Dimitrov matches so far. He sure has talent. This is hard court, after the change of the surface(arguably the fastest so far, which Nadal didn't like at all, remember his first interview after round 1), so big servers have advantage, especially on a good serving day. Dimitrov forehand is really deadly when working. On the other hand, Rafa's experience in big matches, especially near the end of Slams could prove to be decisive. Well, I hope it will be:) . His serve is quite good this year on AO too, similar to NY's level. We might get another epic 5 setter, who knows.

The last 1/4 final, between Roger and Andy.. I expect Roger to win. He made changes in his team, obviously, it turns out to be positive. After watching his match vs Tsonga, I have no doubt that his magic is present in this year's AO. Definitely! And as you said in one of the previous posts, Andy has just returned from his back surgery, even though he seems comfortable on the court, so that might not have an effect on the match summary at all.

All in all - anything's possible. We can only assume and predict, based on what we've seen so far, but as a tennis fan, you know that in many cases all the facts and predictions vanish in the moment of the match, and it all comes down to momentary inspiration and confidence boosts. Proofs for that are last year matches at Wimbledon, where Rafa and Roger got their asses kicked by complete outsiders Happy

"...War brings death... and wounds and pain to both sides... there's nothing harder to accept than the deaths of those you love... so you believe... they could never die... especially those who haven't known war... you try to find meaning in death... but... there's only pain... and hatred... that you don't know what to do with...dying like trash... neverending hatred... pain that never heals... that.. is war..." N.

[MR.]MIRCWAR
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Re: Who will win Australian Open?

Good post. With this loss Djokovic's streak of 28 consecutive wins comes to an end. Also him gunning for Federer's record 23 straight semi final appearances (ending at 15). Next up, Federer's 36 consecutive quarter-finals I guess. Those two might well be the two most impressive records in tennis. Djokovic also lost his chance at a record breaking (?) 5 AO titles.

Johnin*ELITE'Z*
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Re: Who will win Australian Open?

Watched the games Mirc? Happy

My predictions came true Big grin Rafa was put up against hell of a fight from Dimitrov. Great serve, his forehand was working most of the time. Tenacious lad. He even had 3 set points for 2-1 set lead, but scrambled them. Well, if you ask me, that is consequence of being inexperienced in matches like this, unlike Rafa. Was also too rushy at moments, too anxious, which caused him to miss several other good opportunities. On the other hand, I had the impression that Rafa was feeling far from comfortable on the court today. Wasn't as calm as usual, was struggling at moments with his forehand. He missed more than 10 forehand passing shots that he would usually never miss. Still, at the end, after that scrambled opportunity in the 3rd set tie-break by Dimitrov, it was all destined to go one way, the way it went at the end. Big fighting match by two tenacious players. After the match, Rafa said that has had problems with blisters on his left hand(he had a treatment during the match), and that it caused him problems most during his serving. I find that valid, considering his high amount of double faults(even had 3 in a same game), and serving double-fault in a break point for Dimitrov while Nadal was break up in the 3rd set. However, he said that all the rest was fine, and that Dimitrov put up one hell of a fight, having bright future ahead of him and that he reminds him of Federer, regarding to his game-style, moving and shot-making Happy The highlight of the match - I think it was in 3rd set tie-break - lob by Rafa followed by return-between the legs-lob by Dimitrov, and after several other shots, the point went in Nadal's favor.

The second 1/4 final. As expected Happy Luckily, Roger kept his level from the previous matches, even increased it abit if you ask me. Some awesome shot-making, great forehands down the line, excellent footwork(which I think is the main pointer for his comfort on the pitch and his improved gameplay and confidence). Andy was good, his movement was fine, his shots were fine, but Roger was too much for him today. The main difference today was the defending serves I believe. Fed was going after every point on Andy's serve, very aggressive returning from him, unlike Andy, who didn't seem comfortable returning. However, it means that Roger was serving much better than Andy, so credit goes to him. Highlights of the match - Roger scrambling match points in 3rd set, though Andy played really well and showed some nerves during that moments, credit to him, well deserved 3rd set. The second highlight - 2nd game of the 4th set, on Murray's serve. If i'm not mistaken, the game's duration was around 19 minutes with more than 10 deuces. That was a real pleasure to watch, really. It went to Andy's favor at the end, but Roger put some real pressure on Andy's next 2 serving games, and eventually broke him, while comfortably serving his own games to love like a boss.

So, ladies and gentlemen - Rafa vs Roger, another episode of arguably the greatest rivalry in history of tennis ! Can't wait ! I'd prefer Rafa to win of course, but I'm good with Roger winning, as long as they put on some spectacle for us, tennis fans Big grin

Oh, and one more thing. I've debating with a friend the other day, about Novak's matches this year. The thing I mentioned about his schedule, having much much easier draw than the rest of the favorites... maybe it appeared to be two-bladed sword. As much as it has positives, in terms of not needing to get tired alot, winning comfortable and as fast as possible in straight sets, it also has negatives, as it was I believe the main reason between Novak's first 4 appearances and his 1/4 final vs Wawrinka. Not needing to play versus high-profile opponents, probably means that you can't really bring up and maintain high level of your game throughout the whole time. Yes, we're talking about high professionals, true, but even they are human beings. Winning easy vs 4 players in a row, dominating the matches and presenting imperious performance, might give you a false boost and lose touch. So after 12 sets of domination, you face a way better opponent than the previous four, and all of a sudden, those shots from the previous 12 sets aren't working, so you might get confused abit, start to feel uncomfortable. I don't know, really, that was just a debate. I wouldn't like to take credit from Stan, no way. The man played fantastic tennis, and he is well deserved in the semis. We were just trying to discuss and analyze the possible factors that had effects on the summary of the match at the end, that's all Happy

"...War brings death... and wounds and pain to both sides... there's nothing harder to accept than the deaths of those you love... so you believe... they could never die... especially those who haven't known war... you try to find meaning in death... but... there's only pain... and hatred... that you don't know what to do with...dying like trash... neverending hatred... pain that never heals... that.. is war..." N.

[MR.]MIRCWAR
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Re: Who will win Australian Open?

I like the votes that trickled in after Djokovic lost Happy

Semi finals:

Federer-Nadal
Wawrinka-Berdych