2008 Aussie Open

steve101 · Post #61 » by **steve101** » Sat Jan 26, 2008 4:23 am

Ivanovic had her chance up 5-4 and love 30 but tried the dreaded drop shot and it was downhill from there. No doubt though Maria just was ahead of the competition in this tourney.

cmaff051 · Post #62 » by **cmaff051** » Sat Jan 26, 2008 4:24 am

Maria was just perfect today, and dominant throughout the whole tournament. That's all that you can say, really.

Post #63 » by **Doctor MJ** » Sat Jan 26, 2008 5:43 am

steve101 wrote:Novak hasn't lost a set this tourney and should be able to care of Tsonga in the finals.

You sound so confident. I don't have a problem with anyone picking Djokovic, but to me Tsonga is the great unknown. The only thing negative said about him after getting slaughtered by him is that he didn't believe Tsonga could possibly be this good all the time. To me it really doesn't matter who Tsonga's playing right now, I wouldn't feel comfortable dismissing his chance no matter what.

Holmes · Post #64 » by **Holmes** » Sat Jan 26, 2008 5:51 am

Good match. Sharapova is really on her own level at the moment.

Yuri, Maria and Ana set a record for most fist pumps in one match.

Windmill · Post #65 » by **Windmill** » Sun Jan 27, 2008 3:56 am

^ Lol. At least Maria has toned down on her fist pumps and confined them to only points where she has had to work hard for. I remember when she first came out, she used to fist pump after every friggin point she won, be it an unforced error or a winner.

Djokovic should win this Open easy if he keeps his head straight. I just hope he doesn't get all cocky and start thinking he is better than Roger. I hate his guts.

Hopefully Federer redeems himself by claiming the French Open. He looked kinda disinterested throughout the tournament. I think for all these years he wasn't challenged as much (except for clay) and felt that he could probably coast through this tournament as well. Hopefully this loss wakes him up and renews his fire and motivation.

Unknowingly Djokovic might have woken up a sleeping monster (or at least I hope so).

Post #66 » by **Doctor MJ** » Sun Jan 27, 2008 4:26 am

Again what is with this dismissal of Tsonga? I'd love to hear a detailed analysis on this. It just seems to me like no one's seen enough of him to know what his capabilities are, but we know he made Nadal, the strongest guy on the tour, look like a little boy. Would seem to me like that would at least make people uncertain.

Windmill · Post #67 » by **Windmill** » Sun Jan 27, 2008 7:12 am

You're right, he is an unknown commodity so I guess my prediction is only based on gut feeling and seeing what Djokovic has done in this tournament.

The one thing that Djokovic might have had over Tsonga so far is the quality of opponents. More specifically, the last 3 opponents:

Djokovic faced Hewitt, Ferrer and Federer whereas Tsonga faced Gasquet, Youzhny and Nadal. Beating two opponents that have been/are ranked at #1 with one on pace to surpass Sampras in the all-time Grand-Slam wins column, and the other playing in front of his home crowd, and coming away dominant on both occasions speaks volumes. I don't know if his level of play will drop off or not after these last 3 matches.

That being said, I love what Tsonga has done and wish him all the very best in the finals because I sincerely hate Djokovic.

GQStylin · Post #68 » by **GQStylin** » Sun Jan 27, 2008 11:59 am

Well Tsonga put up a good fight and nothing to be ashamed of, but it seemed like he ran out of gas abit after the 1st set win.

Wish he could have sustained his play as he looked in control, but alas he couldn't and Novak took over from there. Too many unforced errors by Tsonga. The shots he was hitting against Nadal, he couldn't execute against Nole. All those lovely volleys kept missing.

Oh well, congrats to Novak I guess. :cry:

GQStylin · Post #69 » by **GQStylin** » Sun Jan 27, 2008 12:09 pm

Also to add, Novak kinda annoys me now with his arrogance. It seems like alot of those Serb players are like that. Tipsarovic was making gestures during his match with Federer and Djokovic seems to love to glare alot and the fists to the chest like he's the man, which in this case he was.

Also Novak with the gamesmanship yet again with the ball bouncing and with the medical timeout. Oh well, props to Tsonga for making it so far. And man the Aussie crowd was going crazy for him and were backing him all the way. Especially when he hit that amazing shot to win the 1st set, the crowded simply went insane! That was great to see.

Overall the 2008 AO was a GREAT tounament. So many story lines, so much drama. The fall of Federer and Nadal and the rise of Tsonga and Novak. The great play of Sharapova and the dismissing of Williams and Henin. And who could forget the amazing tennis last weekend?

Maresmo losing to the Aussie, Federer almost bowing out, Blake coming back from 2 sets down to win in 5 and that epic match of Hewitt/Baggy till 4:30am Aussie time.

steve101 · Post #70 » by **steve101** » Sun Jan 27, 2008 6:35 pm

Those last 2 points by Tsonga to end the 1st set were amazing I must say. It just seems that he ran out of gas in the 3rd set. Credit Novak though cause he had his serve going after he dropped the 1st set. I don't think he got broken once after that. The crowd was definitely on Tsonga side this match. Looked to effect Novak and even his family. I thought Tsonga had a great chance after Novak took the injury timeout to get back momentum but again had trouble breaking Novak's serve. No doubt a great Open this year though. Like someone else said though I think Federer is going to erupt the rest of this year/

-MetA4- · Post #71 » by **-MetA4-** » Sun Jan 27, 2008 9:47 pm

GQStylin wrote:Also to add, Novak kinda annoys me now with his arrogance. It seems like alot of those Serb players are like that. Tipsarovic was making gestures during his match with Federer and Djokovic seems to love to glare alot and the fists to the chest like he's the man, which in this case he was.

Its a Serbian thing.

federer · Post #72 » by **federer** » Sun Jan 27, 2008 11:55 pm

Well it looks like we've found our anti-Federer. The guy is like a more abrasive, arrogant, but also more skilled and charismatic young Lleyton Hewitt. He has the me against the world mentality and it certainly worked well for him in this tourney. The guy was unbelievably solid mentally and his abilities certainly were the reason. Federer is going to have to step up his game big time, but it kind of seems to me like Fed's worn down and needs to bounce back much better and Novak looks very hungry, I guess we'll see.

federer · Post #73 » by **federer** » Sun Jan 27, 2008 11:57 pm

Plus you've got Nadal, the favourite for the French and other up and coming guys.

Post #74 » by **BlackMamba** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 2:09 am

that's why i don't like djokovic, his arrogance.

he has the i want to beat you and shove it in your face winning mentality.

and federer on the other hand (and other tennis players) have the i want to beat you sportsmanship winning mentality.

i hope they meet again and federer smashes him.

Post #75 » by **Rich Rane** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 4:54 am

BlackMamba wrote:and federer on the other hand (and other tennis players) have the i want to beat you sportsmanship winning mentality.

The post-match press conference denies that. Federer completely blamed the loss on himself and didn't even compliment Djokovic once. I think both are arrogant. Federer just knows he's one of the best though so he can't come off as an a-hole with the amount of wins he gets a year along with the spotlight he attracts.

Post #76 » by **Rich Rane** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 4:57 am

Doctor MJ wrote:Again what is with this dismissal of Tsonga? I'd love to hear a detailed analysis on this. It just seems to me like no one's seen enough of him to know what his capabilities are, but we know he made Nadal, the strongest guy on the tour, look like a little boy. Would seem to me like that would at least make people uncertain.

I guess in this day and age of tennis, if you beat someone like Federer in straight sets, you're likely going to have more fan-favor.

Post #77 » by **BlackMamba** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 7:38 pm

well, i didn't watch djokovic-federer but people say he lost because he didn't play as good as he could, so...

Post #78 » by **Rich Rane** » Tue Jan 29, 2008 12:08 am

BlackMamba wrote:well, i didn't watch djokovic-federer but people say he lost because he didn't play as good as he could, so...

I'd say it contributed in losing in straight sets, but not the ultimate reason why he lost.

c_unit7 · Post #79 » by **c_unit7** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 6:19 am

BlackMamba wrote:that's why i don't like djokovic, his arrogance.

he has the i want to beat you and shove it in your face winning mentality.

and federer on the other hand (and other tennis players) have the i want to beat you sportsmanship winning mentality.

i hope they meet again and federer smashes him.

I used to dislike him too because he seems very arrogant, but I remember there was an article where he talked about opponents losing to Federer because they were scared. Basically they would walk onto the court thinking, "Wow, Federer is so great, so perfect, there is NO way I can beat him." I think Novak said that he believes that he can beat Federer, and always talks up his chances to stay confident. I know this seems very arrogant of him, but I believe hes thinking the right way. How can you beat Federer if you dont believe in yourself? i think Nadal is like that too, hes very confident and doesn't give up easily, the only difference is that he doesn't speak his mind like Novak does. Federer is amazing, no doubt about that, but I think it helps him that a lot of players are scared to play him. It would be great to see more players play with more confidence, like Novak does. At least the matches will be more interesting and intense.

-MetA4- · Post #80 » by **-MetA4-** » Thu Jan 31, 2008 1:29 pm

Rich Rane wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

The post-match press conference denies that. Federer completely blamed the loss on himself and didn't even compliment Djokovic once. I think both are arrogant. Federer just knows he's one of the best though so he can't come off as an a-hole with the amount of wins he gets a year along with the spotlight he attracts.

Federer used to be a huge a-hole during his earlier years and I find it ridiculous when someone states that 20 year old Djokovic is arrogant and Federer is this great display of sportmanship, when in reality Federer was just as arrogant and used to have tantrums on the court in his earlier years. Federer became this great sportsman after he became a dominant player and no one was able to challenge him.