The Tennis Thread - Australian Open

[sharks195]

hey guys i just want to know if anyone is watching the australian open, and your opinions of who will win.

i think the mens will be marcos baghdatis (cyp)

i think the womens is too close to call.

 

[peachey]

yeah i have an interest in tennis - womens of course, plus watch abit of men

mens - federer or nadal or roddick
womens - molik or mueresmo ( sharapova looked shot in her match 2day, she is sick)

 

[HrvatskaDomovino]

Mens- Roger Federer, Mario Ancic or Marat Safin. I thought Ivan Ljubicic was going to do well but it seems like he is a serial choker at the grand slams when he lost in the 1st round against Mardy Fish yesterday, i couldn't believe it. As for Lleyton Hewitt the man has fight but not enough talent to get close to beating any of the leading contenders for the title.

Womens- Maria Sharapova, Jelena Jankovic, Kim Clijsters and Serena Williams are the leading contenders for the title.

Did anyone see the riot at the Australian Open between my fellow Croats and the Serbs. I thought it was quite funny how the media blew it out of proportion.

 

[sharks195]

i saw it and there was just too much emphasis put on by the media.

i'm hoping baghdatis plays blake in the final but my tip is for baghdatis to win in 5 sets, blake is a power house and can take down nadal. federer is overconfident and he was too confident in the final last year and baghdatis made him pay for it in the first set, but federer is just boring to watch.

players to watch:
tommy haas, he won't go down without a fight.
james blake, watch his power in every shot, he always digs deep.
sebastian grosjean, should have a good run.
marcos baghdatis, he is a talented youngster, sometimes loses focus.
david nalbandian, big fight in round one and he should make the semis.

 

[peachey]

jus cause the fed is express is light years ahead of everyone else doesnt mean he is over confident, he is being coached by an aussie i think

well seen as the someone has nominated the men to watch, heres what i think about the womens part of the aus open

women to watch:
mueresmo - looking to back up from last years win
sharapova - the blonde bomb who can let out a grunt is looking to bounce back from last years failure
clijsters - looking to continue dominating womens tennis
williams sisters - dont expect much there past there prime
molik - australias best hope,looking to repeat her 2005 efforts of making the semi's and get back to top ten
hingis - could be her last aus open, world no. 7, will put up a fight
ivanovic - young, still learning, will make the finals
stosur - another aussie hopefull, looking to repeat last years quater or semi finals effort

 

[HrvatskaDomovino]

Tommy Haas_he has a heap of talent but has serious mental problems.
Sebastian Grosjean_is past his heyday
Nalbandian_too conservative, he will never win until he decides to be more aggressive
Baghdatis_doesn't handle players who change up the pace and that have variety
Blake_i agree he is a darkhorse but an unknown quantity
As for your assertion that Federer is boring, i think what you mean is that he is boring because he wins all the time. I think he is mentally suspect when he is seriously challenged.
A player i really like is Andy Murray, i then think if he plays consistently he will be a surprise packet

 

[HrvatskaDomovino]

jus cause the fed is express is light years ahead of everyone else doesnt mean he is over confident, he is being coached by an aussie i think

well seen as the someone has nominated the men to watch, heres what i think about the womens part of the aus open

women to watch:
mueresmo - looking to back up from last years win
sharapova - the blonde bomb who can let out a grunt is looking to bounce back from last years failure
clysters - looking to continue dominating womens tennis
williams sisters - dont expect much there past there prime
molik - australias best hope,looking to repeat her 2005 efforts of making the semi's and get back to top ten
hingis - could be her last aus open, world no. 7, will put up a fight
ivanovic - young, still learning, will make the finals
stosur - another aussie hopefull, looking to repeat last years quater or semi finals effort

Mauresmo_ she plays a mens-style game and she should do well
Stosur_ great serve but doesn't have the talent to match at the back of the court
Sharapova_should win the title
Serena Williams_if she plays to her best she would be the favourite
Hingis_plays like a little girl against grown up women, no chance!
Ivanovic_ will be distracted by the wolf whistling and won't progress far
Clijsters_yeah whatever
Molik_Too early in her comeback for her to do well
I think a person you didn't mention Jelena Jankovic is a real chance, solid all court game and great defence but she complains to much and her fans are tossers for booing all the time and are uneducated, serious disadvantage

 

[peachey]

I think a person you didn't mention Jelena Jankovic is a real chance, solid all court game and great defence but she complains to much and her fans are tossers for booing all the time and are uneducated, serious disadvantage

never heard of her. i may be a bit biased about molik as im a big fan of her,

coming up 2night on court, my one : molik vs yang i think, then after hewitt the nob vs someone

 

[sharks195]

Tommy Haas_he has a heap of talent but has serious mental problems.
Sebastian Grosjean_is past his heyday
Nalbandian_too conservative, he will never win until he decides to be more aggressive
Baghdatis_doesn't handle players who change up the pace and that have variety
Blake_i agree he is a darkhorse but an unknown quantity
As for your assertion that Federer is boring, i think what you mean is that he is boring because he wins all the time. I think he is mentally suspect when he is seriously challenged.
A player i really like is Andy Murray, i then think if he plays consistently he will be a surprise packet

i actually like the way andy murray has been playing lately, he is a chance as well, but i think the other guys would be the main guys to take down the top 2 seeded players. have to agree with you on all those points that you listed above, i think nalbandian will make the quarter finals and drop out, i hope baghdatis wins,but he has a tough draw ahead of him, as you said haas has quality and skill, he has brain explosions too and they stop him moving forward, but put up a fight last year against federer and was really the only one who looked like he could finish federer off. sebastian grosjean was great but i think he has to put in a bit more and he will be up there again, although he will not get to the quarter finals this year. james blake is really the only player that has the power to put pressure on federer and nadal to take the aus open, but having said that there is also roddick, murray and gasquet to contend with. there are a lot of players that are in form and i can really see semi finalists as follows:
roger federer
vs
marcos baghdatis

james blake
vs
rapheal nadal

the winner of those will really depend on the day.

 

[sharks195]

then after hewitt the nob vs someone

Lleyton Hewitt
vs
Michael Russell (USA)

michael russell is one of the players that had to go through the qualifing finals, don't know much else about him, but apparently he is alright. personally i don't like hewitt, he is too much of a show off and he is an attention seeking snob.

 

[peachey]

alicia molik beat yang 2 sets to one,stosur also won her match in 2 sets, currently hewitt is struggling against the american michael russell

 

[sharks195]

andy murray beat alberto martin in straight sets, 6-0,6-0,6-1. spectacular performance from murray!

 

[peachey]

stosur also won her match in 2 sets, currently hewitt is struggling against the american michael russell

 

[sharkiesfreak]

damm u guys its roddick for sure he blew away federer at sydney and is unstobbable i think....

Women definately sharapova dang

 

[Jenni]

I normally get into Tennis (and the Cricket), but I'm on holidays and my daughters have gone away for 2 weeks , so I haven't really turned the tv on.

My picks - Roger Federer and Amelie Mauresmo.

 

[HrvatskaDomovino]

personally i don't like hewitt, he is too much of a show off and he is an attention seeking snob.

Hehe, Sharks195, I think Lleyton is the biggest loser that I can ever remember. It's always about him and he will almost do anything to win a tennis match. That includes being a racist (US Open against Blake called the lines person a black monkey), arguing with the umpire, always shouting c'mon to the point of insanity (all of his opponets seem to get upset), and just generally being a wanker. The last straw being Roger Rasheed quiting as his coach. I never seen such a player who is hated so much. I would never ever go for him! He should look up to Rafter he was the ultimate gentleman. Sorry, I just needed to get all of this out of my system.

 

[Megashark]

Men's I think will come down to Federer or Safin, anyone could win the women's but hopefully it will be Hingis - she doesn't play with the power of the other leading women, but makes up for it with her speed between the ears, she is the smartest player out there by a mile and also she is gorgeous so that is reason enough for me to go with her!

 

[peachey]

i also reckon but forgot to post yesterday was the real one to watch and thats Andy Roddick, beat the fed express at kuyong classic and can do it again

 

[sharks195]

Hehe, Sharks195, I think Lleyton is the biggest loser that I can ever remember. It's always about him and he will almost do anything to win a tennis match. That includes being a racist (US Open against Blake called the lines person a black monkey), arguing with the umpire, always shouting c'mon to the point of insanity (all of his opponets seem to get upset), and just generally being a wanker. The last straw being Roger Rasheed quiting as his coach. I never seen such a player who is hated so much. I would never ever go for him! He should look up to Rafter he was the ultimate gentleman. Sorry, I just needed to get all of this out of my system.

i was going for that other guy and was celebrating after the 2nd set, but then hewitt had to have his little comeback.
i don't think i hate any sportsman as much as i hate hewitt!!! i don't think that there is a much hated player than him in the world!!!!!!!

hope he gets smashed in the 2nd round, he doesn't deserve to be there.



on to other stuff:

6 seeded players have been eliminated from the australian open after losing their matches in the first round. most of those players were seeded in the 20's, the highest ranked player to be eliminated was ivan lubicic (seeded 4th).

just goes to show that there is a lot of talent in the tournament,extending past the seeded players.

 

[Megashark]

i don't think i hate any sportsman as much as i hate hewitt!!!

Hey 195, it's not like he plays for St George or anything!!!