The 3rd Official 2009 Australian Open Thread

[Warsaw]

Re: The 2nd Official 2009 Australian Open Thread

Bloody fantastic night at Tennis. Verdasco the 3rd best player in the world as far as I'm concerned.

 

[mdc]

Re: The 2nd Official 2009 Australian Open Thread

I know it gets said a lot about Nadal...but the mental toughness both those guys showed today was unreal.

Verdasco was 16/20 on break-points, which is phenomenal considering how aggressive he was playing.

Nadal managed to win a match despite conceding 93 winners!

An unreal match all-round.

 

[XFactor1979]

Re: The 2nd Official 2009 Australian Open Thread

verdasco had nadal too

it was the game at 4 all in the fifth verdasco had nadal at 0-30

and verdasco had a play at two of nadal's serves in the next two points

two unforced errors got it back to 30-30 but still it looked like verdasco had him

nadal was very lucky to get out of that, it looked like verdasco's self doubt that had plagued his career beforehand had crept into him at that crucial moment, in he couldnt actually believe he was going to beat the world number 1 in a semi final.

had verdasco played the rest of that nadal game like he did in the fourth set tiebreak he might very well had taken it out instead of 'playing it safe'

 

[Souup]

Re: The 2nd Official 2009 Australian Open Thread

verdasco had nadal too

it was the game at 4 all in the fifth verdasco had nadal at 0-30

and verdasco had a play at two of nadal's serves in the next two points

two unforced errors got it back to 30-30 but still it looked like verdasco had him

nadal was very lucky to get out of that, it looked like verdasco's self doubt that had plagued his career beforehand had crept into him at that crucial moment, in he couldnt actually believe he was going to beat the world number 1 in a semi final.

had verdasco played the rest of that nadal game like he did in the fourth set tiebreak he might very well had taken it out instead of 'playing it safe'

Wait, what?

 

[Rabbit of Caerbannog]

Re: The 2nd Official 2009 Australian Open Thread

Amazing match, pity about the ending (and the winner). Verdasco deserved this one, he had the guts to absolutely go for it and not wait for errors.

 

[JuddyBuddy]

Re: The 2nd Official 2009 Australian Open Thread

The final tally was 193-192 points in favour of Nadal. Dont get any closer than that.

 

[crowsarethebest]

Re: The 2nd Official 2009 Australian Open Thread

verdasco had nadal too

it was the game at 4 all in the fifth verdasco had nadal at 0-30

and verdasco had a play at two of nadal's serves in the next two points

two unforced errors got it back to 30-30 but still it looked like verdasco had him

nadal was very lucky to get out of that, it looked like verdasco's self doubt that had plagued his career beforehand had crept into him at that crucial moment, in he couldnt actually believe he was going to beat the world number 1 in a semi final.

had verdasco played the rest of that nadal game like he did in the fourth set tiebreak he might very well had taken it out instead of 'playing it safe'

You reckon? Dude, his tiebreak he played was flawless tennis, if he played like that every day, every match, every point he'd smack everyone love and love. It is impossible to produce the tennis he produced and last it over 5 sets. It's not possible. If people could do that day in day out tennis would be the most predictable and boring sport ever. Verdasco wasn't playing safe, he played the best tennis of his life in that tiebreak and probably the best tennis he'll ever play.

 

[XFactor1979]

Re: The 2nd Official 2009 Australian Open Thread

Wait, what?

the game in the fifth set at 4-all

did you fail to notice what a crucial game that was in the overall scheme of things?

granted i missed a lot of the first 4 sets because i was seeing us succumb in the cricket

still just seeing that part of the match, the game at 4-all was pivotal in the end

 

[red+black]

Re: The 2nd Official 2009 Australian Open Thread

The final tally was 193-192 points in favour of Nadal. Dont get any closer than that.

I'm guessing 193-193 would be closer

 

[JuddyBuddy]

Re: The 2nd Official 2009 Australian Open Thread

I'm guessing 193-193 would be closer

Touche. But considering Rafa was the eventual winner I think it was about right.

 

[Total Power]

Re: The 2nd Official 2009 Australian Open Thread

lol where are the ****ers who said rafa can only play on clay? i said it long ago and i will still say it again, no one can match rafa consistently on any surface (other than clay) other than federer. Having said that, i dont know how much he has got left in his tank for the final.Id say federer is pretty much the firm favourite.

 

[T-Pain]

great contest and great entertainment - well done verdasco but to be honest he owed us a show given he did take out tsonga, who is guaranteed entertainment every time he takes the court.

fed to win it now.

 

[Power King]

Re: The 2nd Official 2009 Australian Open Thread

This is better than the best pr0n ever made. I can't believe what I'm seeing.

+1.

I actually didn't tape this matchg, but did tape the other semi last night...

 

[RobbyRoy]

Re: The 2nd Official 2009 Australian Open Thread

That was far and away the best game of tennis I've ever seen. Awesome performance by Nadal, but like most others here I don't think it'll serve him well against Federer, despite how little he was struggling after the match. Verdasco's had a fantastic last few months, and I hope he can continue his rise up the rankings. Time for bed.

 

[ashley12]

Great game of tennis that...

 

[gaelictiogar]

Marvellous match prevented from being an all time great only because the players are identiciks of each other. Two bulls lashing away at each other. Truly great contests have contrast. Borg V McEnroe had the baseliner V the instinctive genius. Federer V Nadal has the matador V the Bu...Brains V brawn.

This match was superb but lacked that contrast.

 

[mdc]

Marvellous match prevented from being an all time great only because the players are identiciks of each other. Two bulls lashing away at each other. Truly great contests have contrast. Borg V McEnroe had the baseliner V the instinctive genius. Federer V Nadal has the matador V the Bu...Brains V brawn.

This match was superb but lacked that contrast.

Hardly.

They might both be lefty clay-courters in style, but one was blasting all match, and the other was chasing all match.

 

[Astro_]

up there with the Fed vs Safin semi final a few years back

 

[gaelictiogar]

Hardly.

They might both be lefty clay-courters in style, but one was blasting all match, and the other was chasing all match.

You take my point about contrast though...one may have done more chasing but that was the way the match went rather than any contrast in style between them

 

[mdc]

You take my point about contrast though...one may have done more chasing but that was the way the match went rather than any contrast in style between them

I understand your point, but I just don't think they're that similar. Sure, it wasn't Agassi-Rafter, but meh.

Also, it's worth bearing in mind that a fair few of those points would not have been possible if they weren't both clay-courters - running around every forehand, then recovering, etc...

 

[randyzany]

I understand your point, but I just don't think they're that similar. Sure, it wasn't Agassi-Rafter, but meh.

Also, it's worth bearing in mind that a fair few of those points would not have been possible if they weren't both clay-courters - running around every forehand, then recovering, etc...

Completely agree with this. Verdasco is a pure showman, he aims to please with all those fantastic cold winners he goes for all the time. As a tennis fan, I can't ask for anything more than that, spectators are getting their money's worth every time he steps on a court.

Nadal on the other hand bores me to tears with his risk minimizing safe approach to tennis. His long grinding heavy top spin rallies where he slowly but surely wears down his opponents and incredible defense are not something that I can genuinely say I enjoy all that much.

 

[-VC-]

Channel 7 are replaying the last hour of the match from 5-6 this evening. I assume that would be Eastern time because I just heard it on SEN from the Channel 7 GM, or something similarly important. Not sure what other markets are doing, but the main reason for the replay is the widespread blackouts in Melbourne last night. Hopefully all states get it, because it's well worth a second watch. I actually fell asleep for the start of the fifth set and missed about 20 mins, so this is perfect for me.

 

[red+black]

lol, England's great hope Laura Robson got smashed in the girl's final 3 and 1.

Guess they'll have to keep waiting for someone, anyone to shine.

 

[pepsi]

Serena vs Dinara tonight. Who do we want and think will win?

I want Safina to win, but all the stats point to Serena. A lot of comfortable wins that Serena has over Dinara in previous meetings, most on hard court. The only win for Safina was on clay in a tight 3 setter. Serena has also played in 12 grand slam finals and lost 3 times, twice to Venus and once to Sharapova. It would be great to have a new grand slam champion, but I am not sure if it going to happen tonight.

 

[Spudregus_87]

Safina in three. 6-3 in the 3rd.
Thats the result I'm hoping for.....

What will happen though:
Serena will win 6-2, 7-5