Tennis!

[gunnar hendershow]

Murray would've likely had his true apex as a player right when the injuries really took their toll. But he had a great career, ended the British drought at Wimbledon, and is much-loved by fans.

And most importantly he is a huge supporter and advocate for women and women's sports.

[Adam]

Murray's great. All four of them are great in their own way - Federer though just tops the lot and I am quite sad actually that he's retiring, even if it is just because of time.

[Bobfoc]

Alcaraz will miss the Australian Open through injury. It looks as though Raducanu might too.

[Bobfoc]

Naomi Osaka has pulled out of the Australian Open. She has a good reason, given that she's pregnant.

[Bobfoc]

The Australian Open has started, with Murray beating Berrettini in a very close match over five sets. Raducanu plays Gauff in the second round in what will be a major indicator of where she is in her development.

[Szumi]

That's an amazing win for Murray. Berrettini has had some bad luck with injuries and COVID last year, but he's a phenomenal player. Have to sadly wonder what that's match will have done to him for his second round match.

I definitely think Coco handles Raducanu. They're going in opposite trajectories it feels like as injuries, and especially this complete failure to settle on a coach, has really hurt her game. Really hope this year she can settle down, work things out, and have a solid, consistent year.

[JasonM]

Andy Murray has probably become the most formidable bogey player on the tour in past years, he's an absolute monster for anybody to face in early rounds, and whilst he's been able to work up his stock again after his terrible injuries in years past, he always struggles to get into the second week of any major tournament due to his body not being able to handle it.

But watching him in early matches like these, he's still a bonafide top 10 player that can beat near enough anybody that isn't named Alcaraz, Nadal or Djokovic. Just wish that he could really get a deep run in a major tournament to give him a title he deserves, maybe not a Slam but a 500/1000 would be so sweet to see him be able to get.

On the Dutch front, sadly Hartono got knocked out in the first round but full props to her for getting into the main draw as a 200+ ranked player on the WTA tour... Meanwhile Van der Zandschulp and Griekspoor won their first round matches, but they will have to face each other in the second round which should be an interesting cagey duel because they've trained together so much in their careers. On the one hand a shame we'll have only one player in the 3rd round, but with how tough these tournaments are, having one guaranteed third round player beats possibly having none.

 

[Szumi]

Wow. Rafa out in straight sets

[The Lusophone]

1 hour ago, Szumi - A Polack said:

Wow. Rafa out in straight sets

He seems to have picked up an injury. He joins 4 others of the 32 seeded players in going out already, along with Nick Kyrgios who withdrew before the tournament started.

6 seeded women have gone out, 15th seed and former World Number 2 Petra Kvitová being the highest ranked. US-born Spanish 11th seed Paula Badosa also withdrew before the Open started.

[Szumi]

Ons Jabeur is the latest big name to get eliminated now. Lost the final set 6-1 as well. Ruud is out as well now. 

In two rounds, a lot of top 15 players have gone out already. Nadal, Ruud, Fritz, Zverev, Berrettini on the men's side. Jabeur, Kasatkina, Collins, Kvitova, and Kudermetova on the women's. Novak won his match, but is having issues with his hamstring already. 

Definitely shaping up to be a great tournament I think!

[JasonM]

Here's hoping Griekspoor can beat Tsitsipas, but I am not holding my breath

[Bobfoc]

Murray just came from two sets down to beat Kokkinakis in a match that took 5 hours and 45 minutes. He'll be absolutely knackered for the next match, but it's incredible how fit he still is after all his body has been through.

[Baddar]

I mean starting a potential 5 set match at 10pm is bonkers anyway.

[Bobfoc]

I think it's only a matter of time before they emulate the doubles matches and make the fifth set a super tiebreak straight away. Apart from the physical strain the players have to endure, these long matches are a nightmare for scheduling purposes.

The tennis calendar is also far too packed. Obviously, it's financially motivated, so it's not likely to change, but the players have to compete in so many tournaments with such little time to recover. It's surely no coincidence that we see more surprise results at the US Open than at the other Grand Slams because the top players are exhausted by that stage of the season.

[JasonM]

Honestly, the best of 5 format is one of the things I least like about watching Grand Slam's. Sure, it tends to create some of the most gripping matches like Federer/Nadal Wimbledon 08, but they also make for some excruciatingly long matches, and even foregone conclusions mean those matches last another 45-60 minutes beyond its expiration date.

I prefer best of 3, I find the WTA Slams to be much easier to watch somewhat casually where I can sit down and watch a full match from start to finish. Best of 5's just become a huge investment, and especially on a slam like the AO where the time zone is hell for me, I can't watch any of the matches.

[Bobfoc]

I like that there's something to differentiate Grand Slam matches from those on the regular tour, but it's a bit of a pain for the whole tournament. Maybe they could just introduce five-set matches at, say, the quarter-final stages.

[JasonM]

4 minutes ago, Bobfoc said:

I like that there's something to differentiate Grand Slam matches from those on the regular tour, but it's a bit of a pain for the whole tournament. Maybe they could just introduce five-set matches at, say, the quarter-final stages.

I mean, fwiw, there's also the fact it's a 128 player tournament draw without even accounting the qualifiers. That's already one of the things that sets it apart from even the masters which save for Wells/Miami are 56 players.

It's a monster two week tournament where (as we're seeing right now) big upsets can happen.

And I don't feel the WTA slam or the doubles feel any less 'major' despite being 3 set affairs, the tournament itself has that kind of aura where you are near certain you're going to get big upsets and big matchups.

But I can see both sides, from a competition standpoint there's definitely merit in having the Grand Slams be 5 set behemoths, but from a spectator's standpoint it feels like a drag more often than not.

[Szumi]

I love tennis, but make everything best of 3 sets. I don't want to watch 5+ hour matches.

[Chris2K]

I like 5 set games, it gives us matches like Murray's, but there's also the equal pay debate as playing a maximum 5 sets for the same money as playing a maximum of 3 sets has never seemed right to me. Turn everything into 3 sets and that goes away.

Murray though... the man is incredible. He's held together by metal and hope yet his determination is endless. He deserves so much more respect than he'll get from people who just look at his major victories.

[gunnar hendershow]

I like 5 sets and think that it really helps separate the best. But I like the suggestion that it should maybe be a second-week thing only.