*Official* Tennis Thread

[Simon]

the umpire explaining the challenge system, "If it goes 12 all in the final set it gets reset to 2" i can really see this match going that far...

 

[Johnners]

Interesting fact; Robredo has only even taken 1 set off Federer. An early evening for the Rog i guess

 

[Simon]

Interesting fact; Robredo has only even taken 1 set off Federer. An early evening for the Rog i guess

i dont think this is a foregone conclusion, robredo is a much improved player. I'm guessing they havent played since he was ranked in the mid 20's which wasnt all that long ago. a great decision to challenge that on break point too...

 

[Johnners]

Robredo putting up a good fight this set, and Federer making some very unusual errors.... six into the stands before

 

[Jono]

Robredo's playing well, I like him, I don't think he's necessarily as good as his ranking is (as many have said, commentators and Simon ) but he's old school in the way he dresses and plays, its awesome.

Anyway I need Federer to take this 3rd set and win in straight sets to have my multi of Vaidisova + Serena + Bryan Brothers + Roddick in 3 sets + Federer in 3 sets to come off. He gave me a scare in the 2nd set, but he should do it you'd think.

 

[Jono]

Yep well done Roger, a cool $50 for me.

They were all easily done except Serena, but she pulled through.

 

[Johnners]

Was a straight sets win for Rog, and considering how many un-Federer like errors he made, it really shows you how good he really is. Expecting Roddick to push, and hopefully beat him though.

 

[vic_orthdox]

Jono placing too much importance on last year's Australian Open in calling Henin-Hardenne (sp) mentally fragile?

 

[Jono]

They've never met at the Australian Open, never knew that. Should be good, but tomorrow is going to be killer.

Davydenko vs. Haas which could go either way, and there is no way I'm going to down Gonzalez against Nadal, that could be a cracker. Nadal very rarely goes through easily as well, he likes grinding out his matches.

 

[Jono]

Jono placing too much importance on last year's Australian Open in calling Henin-Hardenne (sp) mentally fragile?

I'm actually referring to clutch points, not her quitting in the final if that's what you're referring to?

But looking back I think I was a bit harsh on her, however I stand by my original point, if you can get on top of Clijsters, Hardenne or Mauresmo they often don't come back and you don't get that aura that they are not out of it until that final point is played. With Serena, is doesn't matter how crap she is playing and how off her timing is and how slow she's moving (compared to her 2002 days of the Serena Slam when she was unstoppable), she's never out of the match.

 

[Simon]

They've never met at the Australian Open, never knew that. Should be good, but tomorrow is going to be killer.

Davydenko vs. Haas which could go either way, and there is no way I'm going to down Gonzalez against Nadal, that could be a cracker. Nadal very rarely goes through easily as well, he likes grinding out his matches.

both mens matches today are potential crackers, but with players like Haas and Gonzalez theres a chance both could produce stinkers and lose in three...

 

[Johnners]

Nadal, Haas, Hingis & Sharapova to be today's winners i reckon

 

[Jono]

Nadal, Haas, Hingis & Sharapova to be today's winners i reckon

Clijsters is playing the best tennis of her career, so Hingis is going to have to lift her game I reckon. But then again you never know with Clijsters in semi-finals, but I'd back her.

If anyone is interested, Nadal is paying pretty well at over 1.40, and Haas is paying a nice 2.60. I got a multi going with them, along with Clijsters and Sharapova who are clear favourites.

 

[Johnners]

Clijsters is playing the best tennis of her career, so Hingis is going to have to lift her game I reckon. But then again you never know with Clijsters in semi-finals, but I'd back her.

If anyone is interested, Nadal is paying pretty well at over 1.40, and Haas is paying a nice 2.60. I got a multi going with them, along with Clijsters and Sharapova who are clear favourites.

Yeah Hingis will have to lift her game no doubt, but like you said, you never know with Clijsters once she gets into the qaurters, and tbh i expect it to be one of those days, plus Hingis is a champ

 

[Jono]

Hingis paying 4.50, definitely a value bet.

Hingis is a tennis champ, but not sure if she's exactly the nicest person off the court, well she wasn't in her prime that's for sure.

 

[Anil]

Hardenne has never beaten the Williams sisters on anything but clay. She has a 5-3 record against Serena, and a 7-1 record against Venus, she's not really in their league on anything but clay, let's be honest.

Its all well and good saying "Yeah all they do is hit the ball hard", but they win the clutch points, they don't choke like a Clijsters in a semi-final when the match is there to be won. When they are match point down or two breaks down in the 3rd set, you can never guarantee that you'll beat them, particularly Serna. See Clijsters vs Serena SF 2003 Aus Open, Sharapova vs. Serena SF 2005 Aus Open, and countless matches this tournament Serena has been in. That's totally different than Hardenne dominating against an Ivanovic or Kuznetsova or *insert female power player here*.

Mental toughness, I don't see it in Hardenne, Mauresmo and definitely not Clijsters. That being said I reckon Clijsters could take the Australian Open out this year, with many gun players out already and Serena Williams still not completely at her best.

i didn't say they weren't good players...i said i hated their style of play...there is a big difference....they just whack the tennis ball like they want to smash it to bits, obviously they are exceptional players, otherwise they won't win tournaments and slams and they are good at coming back from the dead in tight matches....i was not even arguing about that....henin-hardenne used to struggle against most power players initially, it took a while for her to adjust and then start playing well against them...by then the sisters had more or less stopped playing regularly....i don't think that intimidation factor is there anymore against them for her and she will compete much better against them if she meets them...and she is not so mentally fragile anymore, in fact she has proved to be quite a feisty player over the past 2-3 years.....

 

[Jono]

Sharapova simply cannot finish off matches, its ridiculous. Mind you her opponent has been gutsy today, never gave up, but its irritating when you want to watch Clijsters vs. Hingis and this keeps dragging on.

 

[Dark Hunter]

Hingis showing a lot of class in that first set. Clijsters was leading 40-15 on her serve, to take a 3-0 lead, and Hingis just completely over-ran her and took the first 6-3.

 

[Johnners]

Sharapova simply cannot finish off matches, its ridiculous. Mind you her opponent has been gutsy today, never gave up, but its irritating when you want to watch Clijsters vs. Hingis and this keeps dragging on.

Agreed.... what was her father given a Warning for?? i heard about it, but haven't heard why?

Hingis loving Clijsters' unforced errors here. Hope she wins tbh

 

[Matteh]

Cijsters eventually gets round to winning the 2nd set.

Should be an interesting finale.