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#Post#: 17358--------------------------------------------------
2015 Australian Open (Jan 19-Feb 1) History at stake! (Draw in P
ost #1)
By: masterclass Date: October 21, 2014, 6:20 am
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[img]
HTML http://img.bleacherreport.net/img/images/photos/002/694/570/hi-res-460656969-an-australian-open-tennis-ball-rests-on-the-court-of_crop_exact.jpg?w=600&h=600&q=99[/img]
For the first time in history, a major tennis tournament will
have 3 stadiums that each have a retractable roof!
History will be also be set at this tournament if either Rafael
Nadal, Novak Djokovic, or Roger Federer win the title.
Nadal will have his second career Grand Slam if he wins, a
record for such an event entirely in the Open Era.
Djokovic and Federer, will have an Open Era record 5th title if
one of them wins.
Or perhaps someone else will spoil the history party... :)
A lot is at stake, who will take it?
HTML http://i.imgur.com/GUjYKA8.png
Respectfully,
masterclass
#Post#: 17365--------------------------------------------------
Re: 2015 Australian Open (Jan 19-Feb 1) History at stake!
By: Emma Date: October 21, 2014, 7:09 pm
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wow - that's like really early. Anyway, given Andy's past as far
as AO is concerned and if Andy gets his ranking in proper place
then I feel he has a very good outside chance to do well here.
Maybe the dark horse?
#Post#: 17376--------------------------------------------------
Re: 2015 Australian Open (Jan 19-Feb 1) History at stake!
By: masterclass Date: October 22, 2014, 9:28 am
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Yes, I also think it will be a big help for Andy to be in the
top 8 seeds at least.
Murray's winter training preparation will be key. It seems this
year he has opted for exhibitions in Abu Dhabi (Mubadala WTC)and
Perth (Hopman Cup) instead of Tour events Brisbane or Doha..
What remains to be seen is if he can raise his level back to top
5, much less consistent top 10, after his back surgery last
year.
We just don't know. Many never get back to their best after
back surgery. Let's hope that's not the case with Andy.
He must improve that second serve. It has been woeful. When his
1st service pct. goes away, good players are killing it, much
less the top players. Don't know if the back is hindering him
there or not. But I think he might be better off mostly using
his 1st serve delivery and cutting the speed a bit for safety.
Some people are expecting Cilic, Wawrinka, and Raonic to do
well, but who knows? Tsonga has been on a general downslide,
despite his Toronto win, maybe he can be a factor again. But
other young players like Goffin, Kyrgios, Thiem, etc. might
start to rise as well. I think and hope it will be an
interesting 2015.
Hmm, the time countdown app isn't working (Empty rectangle on
top of image). Have to see what's wrong with it.
Respectfully,
masterclass
#Post#: 17398--------------------------------------------------
Re: 2015 Australian Open (Jan 19-Feb 1) History at stake!
By: Emma Date: October 22, 2014, 9:38 pm
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I believe Andy wants to avoid any expectation (or the opposite)
going into AO so he opted out of Brisbane/Doha. A few practice
matches is probably enough. He used to do that prior to his Slam
wins. He wants to make sure by the end of this year that he's
ranked within top 8 - that's why he's playing back to back
tournaments. WTF feels more like a smokescreen.
Anyway, 2015 is definitely a key year for Andy. If he doesn't do
well then he may as well be done and will probably remain as a
top 10 or 20 player at best, but I think he'll be keen on
proving his naysayers wrong and will probably storm back to top
4 - where he left things off. AO would be a great indication of
things. This year, especially right now, he's spending time and
putting in extra effort to build the momentum. And I am sure
he's building it for a good reason.
His 2nd serve is his weakest link, there's no doubt about that.
Even today, I think he won about 6 points out of 20 (30%) and
that's pretty poor. Melzer himself played pretty poor so it
doesn't look too bad on Andy but against others, it is the
deciding factor for his win or loss. His 1st serve has been
pretty consistent since Shenzen so that's something he doesn't
need to worry about too much right now. I have no idea what
Mauresmo (and Andy) has in plan for the 2nd serve. I am sure
something could be done about it.
As to others, Wawrinka will probably collapse early due to
expectation and perhaps same goes for Cilic but I will bank on
Cilic more at this point. I don't think he got completely
carried away by his US Open win. Raonic will be lethal or so I
get the feeling. Whoever draws him will be a handful. He's
something of a worry for us Andy fans. You didn't mention either
Dimitrov or Nishikori - Nishikori in particular I believe will
be the most dangerous. He'll be my 3rd favourite after Andy and
Nole.
Yes, it will be interesting to see how things pan out for Thiem
(I like him very much), Goffin and Kyrgios - Especially Kyrgios
given the venue. I feel 2015 will be more interesting than 2014.
#Post#: 17406--------------------------------------------------
Re: 2015 Australian Open (Jan 19-Feb 1) History at stake!
By: Clay Death Date: October 23, 2014, 11:51 am
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wow. general masterclass rules the world of tennis for his
amazing proactive thinking.
there is indeed so much history at stake at the next slam. I can
hardly wait to watch it all unfold.
this is going to be an awesome thread. we will start firing up
some pictures for this thread.
Melbourne centre court is beautiful beyond belief.
#Post#: 17416--------------------------------------------------
Re: 2015 Australian Open (Jan 19-Feb 1) History at stake!
By: masterclass Date: October 25, 2014, 5:08 am
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Well General Hercules, it helps to have a great plan for
Australia. If you decide to play winter exhibitions and goof
off, and you are a player that depends on supreme fitness, you
are asking for trouble. Everyone is looking to be in form and
fit that early in the year.
Now finally, finally, Rafa is out for the year. Not sure why he
wasted time in Shanghai and Basel after being diagnosed with
appendicitis. If he had it taken care of right away, there's an
excellent chance he would have been ready for at least the World
Tour Finals, which he deserved to be in considering the first
half of the year. But he didn't, who knows why? Maybe because of
a contract obligation with Basel? Seems that if he had
appendicitis, he could have broken that contract. He can't need
the money that badly. Only they know why they did what they
did. ::)
Anyway, Borna Coric played very well, and did Rafa a favor and
knocked him out in Basel. Now Rafa can get the damn appendectomy
surgery finally and start preparing for Australia. But he's
guaranteed himself #3 ranking going into Australia, for all that
it matters. Nole and Roger will be #1 and #2 or the reverse
depending on Paris, World Tour Finals, and maybe Davis Cup
Finals. It might be interesting to see what they do over the
winter. Play in this new league I guess. If it's only a few
days then I guess it doesn't matter as long as they don't hurt
themselves. But once they take their holidays, they will get
down to training. Federer is scheduled for Brisbane like last
year. I think No1e will probably just play those exhibitions at
the start of the year like in Abu Dhabi. Nadal might try to
defend Doha if he can be ready. Let's see if he trains on his
indoor hard court, or on clay. Murray will probably be in Miami
training then he has Abu Dhabi and Hopman Cup.
I'm not ready to predict anything yet. I'll wait till the draw
and see everything that went on over the winter and prep
matches. :)
Respectfully,
masterclass
#Post#: 17424--------------------------------------------------
Re: 2015 Australian Open (Jan 19-Feb 1) History at stake!
By: thetruth Date: October 26, 2014, 2:39 am
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[quote author=masterclass link=topic=822.msg17416#msg17416
date=1414231687]
Well General Hercules, it helps to have a great plan for
Australia. If you decide to play winter exhibitions and goof
off, and you are a player that depends on supreme fitness, you
are asking for trouble. Everyone is looking to be in form and
fit that early in the year.
Now finally, finally, Rafa is out for the year. Not sure why he
wasted time in Shanghai and Basel after being diagnosed with
appendicitis. If he had it taken care of right away, there's an
excellent chance he would have been ready for at least the World
Tour Finals, which he deserved to be in considering the first
half of the year. But he didn't, who knows why? Maybe because of
a contract obligation with Basel? Seems that if he had
appendicitis, he could have broken that contract. He can't need
the money that badly. Only they know why they did what they
did. ::)
Anyway, Borna Coric played very well, and did Rafa a favor and
knocked him out in Basel. Now Rafa can get the damn appendectomy
surgery finally and start preparing for Australia. But he's
guaranteed himself #3 ranking going into Australia, for all that
it matters. Nole and Roger will be #1 and #2 or the reverse
depending on Paris, World Tour Finals, and maybe Davis Cup
Finals. It might be interesting to see what they do over the
winter. Play in this new league I guess. If it's only a few
days then I guess it doesn't matter as long as they don't hurt
themselves. But once they take their holidays, they will get
down to training. Federer is scheduled for Brisbane like last
year. I think No1e will probably just play those exhibitions at
the start of the year like in Abu Dhabi. Nadal might try to
defend Doha if he can be ready. Let's see if he trains on his
indoor hard court, or on clay. Murray will probably be in Miami
training then he has Abu Dhabi and Hopman Cup.
I'm not ready to predict anything yet. I'll wait till the draw
and see everything that went on over the winter and prep
matches. :)
Respectfully,
masterclass
[/quote]
I think it was probably the pressure of having reneged last
year. It would have looked bad if he did it two years in a row.
Did they pay him for last year? Maybe he felt he had to show up.
The good thing is that he didn't go all out, so in the end,
all's well.
Hm, there is a ton of history waiting to unfold at the Oz, 2015.
Since Rafa will be #3 I wonder who he'll get in the projected
semifinals. I just hope he's fit and ready to go.
It's hard to say what's going to happen with Andy. He is getting
some consistency, as far as winning, but still seems to be
missing something. Novak hasn't played that much recently and
seems to have his hands full with all the personal blessings in
his life, and Rafa, well, we'll have to see how he recovers.
Federer seems to be playing the best he's played in years.
Of the dark horses, I see Nishikori and Cilic as the best bets.
I don't know about Dmitrov. Something about his game or
mentality just isn't right at this juncture.
#Post#: 18021--------------------------------------------------
Re: 2015 Australian Open (Jan 19-Feb 1) History at stake!
By: Clay Death Date: January 10, 2015, 4:23 pm
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Ok who else is fired up?
2015 is officially under way with this slam.
I think you have to make roger, nole, and Andy the favorites for
the title.
#Post#: 18040--------------------------------------------------
Re: 2015 Australian Open (Jan 19-Feb 1) History at stake!
By: Clay Death Date: January 16, 2015, 9:01 am
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lets get the show on the road.
time to get fired up.
#Post#: 18043--------------------------------------------------
Re: 2015 Australian Open (Jan 19-Feb 1) History at stake! (Draw
in Post #1)
By: masterclass Date: January 16, 2015, 11:02 am
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Yes, finally, here we are! Main draw is in first post!
Prep winners: Brisbane - Roger Federer, Chennai - Stan
Wawrinka, Doha - David Ferrer,
Tomorrow's Auckland Final is qualifier Vesely vs. Mannarino and
Sydney final is qualifier Troicki vs. qualifier Kukushkin (first
time in the history of the ATP 2 qualifiers meet in the final).
Clay Warrior has won only 7 matches post last year's Roland
Garros, 4 past Wimbledon in 13 matches played in over 7 months.
He is in severe need of match play.
Rafa really needs to get off the hard courts and on the clay as
soon as possible - "Clay is the wellspring from which he flows."
Respectfully,
masterclass
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