Tennis: Australian Open 2025

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

Very very very excited for the schedule tonight, I'll have the college title game on TV while the AO matches up on my PC.

Gauff in 3
Saba in 2

Paul in 5
Carlos in an epic 5 setter

 

[kihei]

Badosa with a huge win over Gauff. It was the usual problem for Coco. She couldn't keep her forehands in court, allowing Badosa way too many free points. Looks like we are headed for a Sabalenka/Swiatek showdown.

 

[kihei]

Very very very excited for the schedule tonight, I'll have the college title game on TV while the AO matches up on my PC.

Gauff in 3
Saba in 2

Paul in 5
Carlos in an epic 5 setter

College title game is a yawner. I would have pedicted Gauff in two.

Sabalenka in straight sets

Zverev in 4 sets (but I hope you are right)
Carlos in 4 sets

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

College title game is a yawner. I would have pedicted Gauff in two.

Sabalenka in straight sets

Zverev in 4 sets (but I hope you are right)
Carlos in 4 sets

Ya, I'm about to order some takeout before this TP/Sasha match starts. This college game sucks.

Coco needs to work on her serve very badly, it fails her a ton at these big tournaments. Happy for Badosa, she's been working her way back since the bad back injury and has done well since Washington of last year

 

[kihei]

Not much news either from Jannik or anywhere else about just what his health issue was yesterday. At one point, when his right hand was shaking uncontrollably and he later claimed he had problems moving to his left, I was actually worried that he might be having a stroke. However, the medics let him continue, and presumably he is good to go in the quarterfinals. I would still like to know what the doctors concluded about what happened. There was nothing ordinary about that incident.

 

[SlafySZN]

Not much news either from Jannik or anywhere else about just what his health issue was yesterday. At one point, when his right hand was shaking uncontrollably and he later claimed he had problems moving to his left, I was actually worried that he might be having a stroke. However, the medics let him continue, and presumably he is good to go in the quarterfinals. I would still like to know what the doctors concluded about what happened. There was nothing ordinary about that incident.

Didn’t something similar happened to Djokovic last year? I remember his hands shaking, can’t remember exactly when or which tournament.

 

[kihei]

Just woke up so I don't know how it happened, but Pavlyuchenkova is up a break in the third set 1-love,

Well, that didn't last long. Sabalenka broke right back. But still...what is going on here?

From the stats, it appears that both women have played quite well despite the lopsided set scores, but now neither can hold serve in the third set, 2-2.

Sabalenka regains her form while Pavlyuchenkova plays tired tennis. Crisis averted for Aryna, 6-3.

 

[kihei]

Fitness could be the difference here. Novak has to pressure Carlos with his serve and keep points short while Carlos has to put balls in play and extend points.

Great start for Nole, 2-love. Carlos breaks right back, and, oow, I don't know if this is going to be close.

 

[kihei]

Carlos looks like he has added maybe three to five pounds of muscle in the off-season and his fitness level seems off the charts. As well, his backhand has more bite than last season. He looks bigger, intimidating as hell out there, hardly resembling the young teenager we first knew.

 

[kihei]

Last couple of matches Nole has looked ornery intense. Today so far, he is calmly intense, and playing very well.

He needs this first set more than Carlos, though.

...and there's the break for Carlos. This match already had an air of inevitability about it, and the break merely underlies the point. To make matters worse, Nole might have twisted his ankle slightly. He's taking an injury time out.

Carlos looks very loose, in a good way. Like he is having fun out there.

He closes this set with four straight unreturnable serves. No limp from Novak.

 

[kihei]

A little letdown from Carlos? With some beautiful outright return winners, Nole breaks again right at the start of the set for 2-love.

Carlos' down-the-line plus ones have been absolutely lethal tonight, 3-1 Nole.

And, as in the first set, Carlos wastes no time breaking right back. 3-2.

Nole turns on the power, forces a nine-minute game on Alcaraz's serve, but Carlos eventually holds, 3-all. Maybe Nole's last stand? The pain killer for the ankle should be wearing off soon.

Last stand, my ass. Nole takes the set with a immaculate return game, 6-4. You would think after all these years I would know better than to ever write off this guy. But, obviously not.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

Perc'd up Novak is gonna be dangerous lmao

A little letdown from Carlos? With some beautiful outright return winners, Nole breaks again right at the start of the set for 2-love.

Carlos getting that first set will be big because Novak will have a massive push here once those pain meds start to work.

Think we're in for a classic 5 setter

 

[kihei]

3-2 on serve in the third set with Nole seemingly the more dominant player. Lateral mobility seems very close to normal. Carlos may be getting a little frustrated by Novak's continued stellar play and power.

Nole keeps the pressure on and breaks again. Carlos has not had an easy service game since closing out the first set. He is in danger of getting grinded down at the moment....Carlos breaks right back. Man, we got a barn burner going here.

Nole breaks again! And serves it out. Carlos smiles ruefully. Amazing performance by Djokovic these last two sets, just awesome.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

That set point was f***ing insane, that's why he's the GOAT

 

[kihei]

Carlos is once again down 2-love at the start of a set. Slow set starts have been the rule for him all night.

Carlos had a break point but Nole is dominating the pressure points, just not missing. Those points usually end with a weak stroke from Carlos, a sign of the kind of pressure that Nole seems immune to, 3-1

Carlos extends Nole on serve again but can't break him, ultimately can't handle his serve.

Good lord, Carlos holds a 33 stroke point not to be broken. 4-3. Amazing.

Again, Carlos does everything but break but Djokovic continues to hold on the the break, 5-3.

One final attempt for Carlos to extend the match, 5-4 Nole.

Nole wins. Wow.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

All credit to Novak for turning this match after the first set but AWFUL level from Alcaraz since then

 

[John Price]

Novak wins 3 sets to 1.

 

[kihei]

Can't wait to get out Novak Djokovic's onsite reaction to this match.

Ultimately, like at the Olympics, Carlos had no consistent answer to Nole's serve, and he seemed flummoxed by Novak's power and maddening consistency. I'd have to say, too, that in the end Carlos just didn't handle the pressure all that well. In the end, he was the one who seemed intimidated.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

Looks like we're headed for Sinner/Novak for the title, I don't trust Zverev mentally to stick with Novak in 5 setter. Sinner's draw is a joke and he should cruise between ADM tonight + Sonego/Shelton winner

 

[kihei]

Murray was a very calm presence, just perfect for Djokovic, even-keel and quietly reassuring.

 

[CupofOil]

An absolutely terrible loss for Alcaraz. I get that Djokovic is who he is but an old hobbled Djokovic dispatched of a prime Alcaraz in fairly convincing fashion.
Can you imagine Alcaraz against prime Big 3? It doesn't seem remotely close. I don't even know if he's prime Murray tier tbh.

I can't help but to think that this is a a bit of a hit to his legacy tbh. Perhaps an overstatement in the heat of the moment but he's just not very good on hard courts and if he's being discussed as an all time great, this is a bit of a stain on his legacy tbh. He's only 21 so obviously this is just the beginning but I'm seeing regressions in his game that are alarming.

And Djokovic? What more can you say about him? He's the best ever, that's pretty much the size of it.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

An absolutely terrible loss for Alcaraz. I get that Djokovic is who he is but an old hobbled Djokovic dispatched of a prime Alcaraz in fairly convincing fashion.
Can you imagine Alcaraz against prime Big 3? It doesn't seem remotely close. I don't even know if he's prime Murray tier tbh.

I can't help but to think that this is a a bit of a hit to his legacy tbh. Perhaps an overstatement in the heat of the moment but he's just not very good on hard courts and if he's being discussed as an all time great, this is a bit of a stain on his legacy tbh. He's only 21 so obviously this is just the beginning but I'm seeing regressions in his game that are alarming.

And Djokovic? What more can you say about him? He's the best ever, that's pretty much the size of it.

Murray has the 2 Olympic golds on Alcaraz but GS's he's already tied with him, I don't think Alcaraz wins the gold in LA since it's on hard court I think Sinner wins that if he plays which he should since he skipped this past year's Olympics in Paris. Alcaraz is in a weird state right now, he's great but there's obvious hiccups in his game in big matches. A lot of it has to do with him never playing the safe point in big moments. I saw someone say that Sinner would win this type of match and I don't disagree, Alcaraz's a fun/flashy watch but he needs to reel it in a bit and understand when to play certain points.

 

[CupofOil]

Murray has the 2 Olympic golds on Alcaraz but GS's he's already tied with him, I don't think Alcaraz wins the gold in LA since it's on hard court I think Sinner wins that if he plays which he should since he skipped this past year's Olympics in Paris. Alcaraz is in a weird state right now, he's great but there's obvious hiccups in his game in big matches. A lot of it has to do with him never playing the safe point in big moments. I saw someone say that Sinner would win this type of match and I don't disagree, Alcaraz's a fun/flashy watch but he needs to reel it in a bit and understand when to play certain points.

Murray played in one of the toughest eras of all time so I think the slam count is a little skewed as a result. I can't see Alcaraz being able to navigate a prime Big 3 to 4 slams by age 21.

In any event, he has major holes in his game. The serve is an unreliable weapon, his ground game is highly erratic and I question his Tennis IQ. He's a magical player who is an elite shot maker and an elite mover but he lacks some of the basics in his game/gamesmanship that the true greatest players had. His talent and physicality is up there with the best of all time but his mental awareness seems to be lacking and I'm not sure that'll ever be corrected.

This was just a very disappointing effort from him, he seemed way too passive as if he was in awe of Djokovic and I don't seem to recall younger Carlos being that way. He seemed more fearless before, now he seems hesitant and unsure.
Not to take away from Djokovic who can still turn it up to a high level but Alcaraz shouldn't be losing this match in his now prime.

 

[kihei]

Murray has the 2 Olympic golds on Alcaraz but GS's he's already tied with him, I don't think Alcaraz wins the gold in LA since it's on hard court I think Sinner wins that if he plays which he should since he skipped this past year's Olympics in Paris. Alcaraz is in a weird state right now, he's great but there's obvious hiccups in his game in big matches. A lot of it has to do with him never playing the safe point in big moments. I saw someone say that Sinner would win this type of match and I don't disagree, Alcaraz's a fun/flashy watch but he needs to reel it in a bit and understand when to play certain points.

The only part of this with which I disagree is that I do think in the last three sets Carlos played some very timid shots from the baseline. He stopped going down the line which won him big points in the first set, and he was the one to bale out of backhand exchanges, usually with a weak shot to the centre of the court. And as the match progressed, Nole was consistently hitting the ball a lot harder than Alcaraz who seldom even considered going to the net. I don't know if it was the pressure or he was intimidated or what but he wasn't playing with much confidence after the first set. After a certain point, he really didn't answer the bell.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

The only part of this with which I disagree is that I do think in the last three sets Carlos played some very timid shots from the baseline. He stopped going down the line which won him big points in the first set, and he was the one to bale out of backhand exchanges, usually with a weak shot to the centre of the court. And as the match progressed, Nole was consistently hitting the ball a lot harder than Alcaraz who seldom even considered going to the net. I don't know if it was the pressure or he was intimidated or what but he wasn't playing with much confidence after the first set. After a certain point, he really didn't answer the bell.

Ya, in that specific instance, he should've prolonged the rallies since Novak was hampered with an injury mid match but for some reason he was trying to end the points quickly for some odd reason. I think his tennis IQ + coaching let him down big time in certain spots. The one point where Novak fell down and Carlos missed an easy winner was the whole story of that match.

Murray played in one of the toughest eras of all time so I think the slam count is a little skewed as a result. I can't see Alcaraz being able to navigate a prime Big 3 to 4 slams by age 21.

In any event, he has major holes in his game. The serve is an unreliable weapon, his ground game is highly erratic and I question his Tennis IQ. He's a magical player who is an elite shot maker and an elite mover but he lacks some of the basics in his game/gamesmanship that the true greatest players had. His talent and physicality is up there with the best of all time but his mental awareness seems to be lacking and I'm not sure that'll ever be corrected.

This was just a very disappointing effort from him, he seemed way too passive as if he was in awe of Djokovic and I don't seem to recall younger Carlos being that way. He seemed more fearless before, now he seems hesitant and unsure.
Not to take away from Djokovic who can still turn it up to a high level but Alcaraz shouldn't be losing this match in his now prime.

He needs to start new with his coaching imo, Murray ran laps around JCF today.

Agreed on the serve, it's a lot like Coco in the women's game. You can't consistently win when your serve is that bad. 95% of the tour you can but when it comes to play actual top talent, you're asking to get smoked consistently.