Tennis 2023

[selectivememory]

Penko-Garcia final please 🤞

[selectivememory]

Azarenka rolling back the years. Either her or Rybakina against (hopefully) Sabalenka should be a good final.

[druss]

I know that I absolutely should dislike Djokovic more than Nadal but I don't which makes me want him to end up with more grand slam titles. Feels weird supporting such an arsehole but he's better to watch than the time wasting arse scratcher.

[selectivememory]

Been kind of an underwhelming tournament all round, the Andy Murray stuff aside. Hoping the last few matches in the women's draw will be good, but I've completely checked out of the men's side now. I guess Khachanov seems like a nice enough bloke, will root for him over the rest of them. But I can't remember Djokovic having an easier path to a major title.

[selectivememory]

Should be a good women's final between two super aggressive, big-hitting players. I give Rybakina a slight edge, as she's got the experience of winning a big one already, but Sabalenka is finally beginning to look like she's developed the mental game to match her talent. This semifinal was exactly the sort of match she'd have squandered a year or so ago.

[rjd2]

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/tennis/time-please-longer-points-longer-rallies-as-open-becomes-a-slugfest-20230125-p5cf86.html

Not surprising but still worrying.

Aussie courts used to be faster than this, but like nearly every event these days it's getting slower and slower.

From a purely financial POV these type of courts were justified when it was the old guard contesting epic matches, but I dunno if these slugfests with the newer generation is the way to go.

I look forward to Ruud v Sinner Wimbledon final immensely.

[bgmnts]

70-shot rally

You fucking what?

[rjd2]

You fucking what?

That's it their in all its "Glory". Khach' won in 4 sets in the end.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsEarBK6ojY

[bgmnts]

Fair play that was an impressively dull rally mind!

[selectivememory]

It's interesting about the courts, but also interesting that if they are getting slower, we've still ended up with a women's final between arguably the two most aggressive elite players out there at the moment. Not expecting many rallies over 10 shots in that match, let alone 70.

[selectivememory]

This has been a good final. Think Sabalenka has the better tennis, but Rybakina has the composure in the tight moments. Very hard to call this final set.

[selectivememory]

Sabalenka gonna serve for it. Hard to believe this is the same player who was hitting 20+ double faults per match this time last year. Improved her mental game so much.

[selectivememory]

Double faults match point up 😬

[selectivememory]

Takes it on the fourth one. Shades of Murray getting over the line against Djokovic at Wimbledon. Great final. First major title of many for her I reckon.

[selectivememory]

Well, that was all very boring and predictable. The men's tournament really peaked with Murray-Kokkinakis in the second round.

Djokovic's victory speech was absolutely dripping with barely-disguised rage towards the people he imagines have wronged him. So passive-aggressive. What a fucking pillock.

[selectivememory]

Muzza makes the final in Doha this week, saving multiple match points in two of his matches. Nice win over Zverev as well during the run. Plays Felix or Meddy for the title, which I do feel will probably be one step too far. But very encouraging signs from him this year, following on from Melbourne.

Also Swiatek and Krejcikova play in the Dubai final tomorrow, and they've had some really fun matches in the past. And worth mentioning that Babs is the only player to have beaten Iga in a tour-level final since she became this dominant version of herself, so could be another good one.

[Poobum]

Wow, Krejcikova was ruthless.

[selectivememory]

Feel like the WTA has a solid tier one of players now, with Swiatek, Krejcikova, Sabalenka and Rybakina all playing well this year. Babs obviously likes that match-up with Iga. Twice she's beaten her in finals recently.

[selectivememory]

Good win for Norriecore on the clay in Rio, over Alcaraz (who was a bit injured but still put up a good fight) in the final. As a 500 level event, I believe it's his biggest title since he won Indian Wells.

[shoulders]

Yep that stood out this morning, quite a result for him.

[selectivememory]

Emma playing some superb stuff this week. Makes the fourth round at Indian Wells, beating two top 20 players along the way. Very good win over Haddad Maia just now. If she can stay healthy it could get quite interesting this year with her. Plays the winner of Swiatek and Andreescu next though.

Also Stan finding a bit of form in his old age and putting that obnoxious twat Rune in his place, you love to see it.

[selectivememory]

Medvedev making the Indian Wells final after spending the last two weeks bitching about the courts feels kind of on brand for him. Seems to be on a bit of a roll again, which is nice to see.

[selectivememory]

Cor, Alcaraz absolutely spanked Medvedev last night. Beginning to think the window of opportunity is rapidly closing for the likes of Daniil, Tsitaipas, Zverev, Rublev, Berrettini, and Ruud etc. Alcaraz has as high a level of tennis as I think I've ever seen. Don't know if he's going to dominate like the big three, but he's definitely going to win a lot in the next few years. Still, his match-up with Sinner looks like it has some potential, but it remains to be seen how good Sinner will be overall against the rest of the field.

Nice to see Rybakina win a second big title after Wimbledon. Her ranking finally starting to reflect how good she actually is (though she should be top 3 really, but feels like a matter of time until she is).

[Deanjam]

I can definitely see Alcaraz having a Federer-esque period of dominance, particularly if time catches up with Djokovic soon. The fact that you can see elements of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic's style in his game is pretty scary.

[selectivememory]

The fact that you can see elements of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic's style in his game is pretty scary.

There was a spectacular point the other day against Sinner, and I saw someone on Twitter compare him to all three at various stages of the rally (aggressive hitting from the back of the court like Nadal and Djok, before coming into the net like Federer). The best part though is that he finishes it off by scampering back to hit a Murray-esque lob onto the line.

[Deanjam]

He'll only achieve true Murray when he stops beating opponents in two easy sets.

[selectivememory]

Heh, yeah, I think he got that out of his system during his US Open run last year. Lots of matches that shouldn't have gone as long as they did. He does look more likely to be the type that just bulldozes his way through the early rounds of the draw, like Iga currently does on the women's side.

[selectivememory]

Andreescu getting some kind of horrific injury right as she seems to be coming into some form again for the first time in ages, what a fucking bummer...

[selectivememory]

Sinner and Alcaraz just played one of the most insane points I've ever seen. They're the best match-up in men's tennis at the moment.

Edit: I mean come on

[lankyguy95]

Extraordinary point