***2024 Tennis Thread***

carvers4math

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I thought this was going to be about our Duel in the Dessert. Is there a new thread for our new tennis season somewhere?
 

Letterkenny

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Pumped for this. The Aussie Open always sneaks up on me. Watching them battle it out in the blazing heat of Melbourne while we have sub zero temperatures in Iowa is going to be fun.
 
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BigJCy

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As we reach the 4th round just 1 American male left (Fritz) & 2 women (Gauff & Anisimova).
 

4cy16

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I just finished season 2 of Brake Point on Netflix. It is really well done and interesting to see what a fragile life they lead with worries about injury in insecurities in their game. Tiafoe really seems to want it but not happening in Australia this year.
 

jctisu

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I just finished season 2 of Brake Point on Netflix. It is really well done and interesting to see what a fragile life they lead with worries about injury in insecurities in their game. Tiafoe really seems to want it but not happening in Australia this year.
Professional tennis and golf are absolutely if you aren’t one of the elite players. You aren’t guaranteed a paycheck unless you win. And you need resources to stay at that high level, which costs money. I love the series because you get a look into how it goes for those not named Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, etc.

If you want to really know how brutal it is, go look at Fritz’s own coach Michael Russell and his career when he played. That’s for the love of the game.
 
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legi

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Professional tennis and golf are absolutely if you aren’t one of the elite players. You aren’t guaranteed a paycheck unless you win. And you need resources to stay at that high level, which costs money. I love the series because you get a peak into how it goes for those not named Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, etc.

If you want to really know how brutal it is, go look at Fritz’s own coach Michael Russell and his career when he played. That’s for the love of the game.
And that’s exactly what Novak and PTPA are fighting for if I understand it correctly. To provide financial support for the top 100 or 200 players that are barely getting by so they can focus more on tennis instead of the finances.
 
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jctisu

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And that’s exactly what Novak and PTPA is fighting for if I understand it correctly. To provide financial support for the top 100 or 200 players that are barely getting by so they can focus more on tennis instead of the finances.
Bingo! The top players for the past decade have really come around to see that players outside the top 75 really need to have a better system, which will only grow the game more and improve the quality of depth in these tournaments. The travel costs alone for some of these players compared to what they make in winnings is crazy.
 
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BigJCy

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Djokovic & Sinner move on to the Semi-Finals on Mens side.

Gauff & Sabalenka on the Womens side. Their semi-final match-up is probably for the Championship.
 

carvers4math

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Watched some of Gauff. Did not look great against a not great opponent. Seemed like poor footwork to me at times but announcers were blabbing about lots of other things. May just be she didn’t have to try too hard. Should have put it away in two sets.
 

jctisu

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Gotta hand it to Zverev. He’s been rough in the mentally tough department, and I thought he was toast when he locked up and dropped the 4th. But that hold at 4 all in the fourth was some guts.

Not the biggest fan of his, but after the injury at Roland Garros it’s cool to see him come back and ironically that injury is likely what has sharpened his mental game.
 

Letterkenny

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Gotta hand it to Zverev. He’s been rough in the mentally tough department, and I thought he was toast when he locked up and dropped the 4th. But that hold at 4 all in the fourth was some guts.

Not the biggest fan of his, but after the injury at Roland Garros it’s cool to see him come back and ironically that injury is likely what has sharpened his mental game.
His serving in that match was insane. I don't know what he ended up at, but through the 3rd set he was around 85% first serve percentage. He only missed 5 first serves the first two sets. It's almost impossible to win if your opponent is serving like that.
 
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jctisu

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His serving in that match was insane. I don't know what he ended up at, but through the 3rd set he was around 85% first serve percentage. He only missed 5 first serves the first two sets. It's almost impossible to win if your opponent is serving like that.
Absolutely good call out. He played just a fantastic match. Now he gets his arch nemesis in Medvedev. If you all watched Breal Point on Netflix there is no love lost there. Not that they hate each other because that’s not the case. But how Daniil plays the game and pushes the boundaries in the sportsmanship department is polar opposite of Zverev. Just hope one of them can be standing to give Djokovic a match in the final.

Would love to see Sinner break through, but I will believe it when I see it on this stage. And he will at some point, but not against Novak on this court.
 

Letterkenny

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Absolutely good call out. He played just a fantastic match. Now he gets his arch nemesis in Medvedev. If you all watched Breal Point on Netflix there is no love lost there. Not that they hate each other because that’s not the case. But how Daniil plays the game and pushes the boundaries in the sportsmanship department is polar opposite of Zverev. Just hope one of them can be standing to give Djokovic a match in the final.

Would love to see Sinner break through, but I will believe it when I see it on this stage. And he will at some point, but not against Novak on this court.
I think Sinner is the best bet to beat Djokovic. Medvedev and Zverev will both be gassed by the final, whoever makes it.
 

legi

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I think Sinner is the best bet to beat Djokovic. Medvedev and Zverev will both be gassed by the final, whoever makes it.
Medvedev has proven he can beat Novak in a grand slam final so I would give Novak only a slight advantage if he can get past Sinner.
 

jctisu

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Medvedev has proven he can beat Novak in a grand slam final so I would give Novak only a slight advantage if he can get past Sinner.
I think on this court, I don’t think anyone beats Novak. It was Alcaraz or nothing because he has the tools and mentality to take down Novak on his biggest stages by winning at Wimbledon last year.

Now of course at some point someone will beat Novak in Melbourne because everyone eventually loses it.
 
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