Love, Balls and Courting: Tennis V

Aaron MB Fan said:
Shapovalov beats Zverev in 3 sets to set up a QF against Rafa!! Wow I honestly didn’t think Shapo could pull off the upset, but he finally played to his potential and showed maturity to come through!! ?
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It helped that Zverev looked like he didn't want to be there, and was really not hitting his forehand well. Zverev's forehand is vulnerable at the best of times, but today it just frequently let him down.
 
Orm Irian said:
Ash Barty's through to the quarter-finals and Dylan Alcott to the semis. Very nice. :)
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And I don’t know if anyone else saw but Mark Philippoussis and Pat Rafter won their legends match yesterday :swoon: Does anyone remember when they used to play doubles in the 90’s before they met in the US Open final and kind of fell out? (Well Mark did anyway) ;)
 
miffy said:
And I don’t know if anyone else saw but Mark Philippoussis and Pat Rafter won their legends match yesterday :swoon: Does anyone remember when they used to play doubles in the 90’s before they met in the US Open final and kind of fell out? (Well Mark did anyway) ;)
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Did they show it on Channel 9? Only saw a gif of their thanks to the crowd. Used to be a HUGE Rafter fan when he played. Not so much Mark, but saw he was still pretty :smokin:

Why did they fall out?
 
Desperado said:
Did they show it on Channel 9? Only saw a gif of their thanks to the crowd. Used to be a HUGE Rafter fan when he played. Not so much Mark, but saw he was still pretty :smokin:

Why did they fall out?
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Oh I didn’t see the match sadly, just saw that they won.

Well let me think…. I think David Cup coach Tony Roche sat in Rafter’s player’s box in the US Open final and Mark and his daddy kicked off about him not remaining neutral. So that was round one. Then I remember Rafter getting mad years later because Mark kept pulling out of Davis Cup and putting more pressure on Rafter. It was all a shame as they used to get on so well, but it’s lovely that they are playing together now :cheer2:
 
Thanks for the summary @miffy - I remember MP has as an entitled... young man, but I will acknowledge growth when I see it. ? Couldn’t find the legends doubles schedule, I hope it wasn’t just this one match.

Cressy, sole holder of the serve and volley legacy vs Medvedev should be interesting tonight.
 
Felix and Sinner are two of my favorite young men tennis stars, and I'm happy they're both playing well.

I love this Australian Open (even if I am sleeping through most of it). It's a whole different tournament not dreading Djokovic!
 
Desperado said:
Thanks for the summary @miffy - I remember MP has as an entitled... young man, but I will acknowledge growth when I see it. ? Couldn’t find the legends doubles schedule, I hope it wasn’t just this one match.
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I think I jinxed it. :wall: They’ve split up again and they are playing against each other tomorrow :lol:
 
I actually like all 8 of the men in the QF! :eek: This is a first! I guess I will be happy whoever wins….

…as long as it is Rafa :2faced:
 
I got to watch Rafter play a doubles match again as a legend (streaming, don’t ask how ?) and I see it as a slightly belated birthday present. ? I think the AO just has 4 legends players and are rotating them for more matches?

Then saw that Shapovalov has not turned the spoiled brat corner and is still his worst enemy taking Nadal to a 5-set loss (sigh).

I see a Nadal-Medvedev final with a Medvedev win.
 
Shapovalov’s comments were very bratty…I’m glad Rafa and Roger are sticking around to model good sportsmanship to the next generation.

I felt really sorry for Pegula. She looked so mad at herself and said after the match that Barty made her feel powerless and was just so much better than anyone else that she didn’t know how to play her. Said it was like playing a guy.

I really hope Barty wins. It’s been 44 years since an Australian woman won the Australian Open and it would be nice if she could break the drought!
 
*Jen* said:
I felt really sorry for Pegula. She looked so mad at herself and said after the match that Barty made her feel powerless and was just so much better than anyone else that she didn’t know how to play her. Said it was like playing a guy.
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That must feel horrible for her, but it's also a testament to how good Barty's game is that she can pin a strong opponent down like that. Fingers crossed for her going into the semis, and Dylan Alcott (Australian of the Year!) into the finals!
 
Yep, Barty plays very strategically and with a variety of different styles of shot. Women’s tennis has been dominated for a long time by women who can hit the ball very very hard (like Williams). Barty can’t hit as hard, and she’s quite little…but she can confuse the heck out of her opponents. Strategy over strength in her case.

I’m sure her opponents will catch up as they study her game and train accordingly but right now she makes winning look completely effortless and that must be very disheartening for someone like Jess who is actually playing very well!
 
I’m rooting for Barty, because I think Australians deserve something big to celebrate. Good luck to her and Alcott too :)
 
Desperado said:
I’ve been expecting Medvedev to win it all, but so proud of Félix Auger-Aliassime today. After a brutal loss in the ATP Cup against him looks like he turned a corner mentally, much respect. More great things to come.
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Still a long ways to go for FAA. Though not as long as Shapo who bombed spectacularly and really let Nadal’s mindgames get to him.
 
Desperado said:
I’ve been expecting Medvedev to win it all, but so proud of Félix Auger-Aliassime today. After a brutal loss in the ATP Cup against him looks like he turned a corner mentally, much respect. More great things to come.
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That was a PHENOMENAL match. I had to go to bed so missed the end (4 hours and 42 minutes later) but I was rooting for him. He came very close a couple of times and really made Medvedev work hard. He started to fatigue towards the end of the third but to do so well against such a great player - I think there are big things in store for him.
 
*Jen* said:
That was a PHENOMENAL match. I had to go to bed so missed the end (4 hours and 42 minutes later) but I was rooting for him. He came very close a couple of times and really made Medvedev work hard. He started to fatigue towards the end of the third but to do so well against such a great player - I think there are big things in store for him.
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Yes!! Important to remember he is still only 21. Medvedev himself will be 26 in a couple of weeks. 5 years ago Medvedev won the first Grand Slam match of his career. So Felix has plenty of time. And already he is one of the best singles players in Canadian history ...
 
eusebius said:
Yes!! Important to remember he is still only 21. Medvedev himself will be 26 in a couple of weeks. 5 years ago Medvedev won the first Grand Slam match of his career. So Felix has plenty of time. And already he is one of the best singles players in Canadian history ...
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A commentator said that skill wise, there’s not a huge difference in the top 10 players. What separates them is experience and stamina, and I think that’s right. Medvedev is one of the fittest on the tour and he deserved to win, but only because he didn’t fatigue like Felix. He was outplayed in the first half of the match and I think with experience and time, Felix will build up that stamina and also get better at the mental game.

Alcarez gave me the same vibe - a big talent, but yet to reach his peak.

It’s exciting - a big change of guard happening!
 
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Desperado said:
I got to watch Rafter play a doubles match again as a legend (streaming, don’t ask how ?) and I see it as a slightly belated birthday present. ? I think the AO just has 4 legends players and are rotating them for more matches?
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They had them playing a mixed doubles match today. I think it’s just Pat and Mark with whoever they can find. 2 of the people they’ve used aren’t even retired from the main tour yet :lol:
 
miffy said:
They had them playing a mixed doubles match today. I think it’s just Pat and Mark with whoever they can find. 2 of the people they’ve used aren’t even retired from the main tour yet :lol:
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I loved that match with Rennae Stubbs (frozen shoulder) and Cara Black (in super shape) and both Rafter and Philippousis said it had been their favourite match as the women really came to play. Rafter even forced himself to serve at 204km/h ? Wonder if he can lift his arm today. :D

Matteo and Daniil will be fun tonight but I’ll only be able to watch the first set.
 
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