2008 Tennis Season Thread

[Young Drachma]

Just watching the Australian Open right now. Serena Williams lost the first set and is down 2-3 in the second set. She's clearly not fit. Venus looked all right enough to win and get into the Quarters, but Serena just playing sluggo out there hoping to abuse Jankovic into submission but she doesn't seem to be going.

But I just turned it on.

She just tied the 2nd second set at 3 all.

They're showing her warming up earlier today and she just doesn't seem to be having a good day and that happens. But she just doesn't look like her footwork is there and she's not playing that great, but it'll remain to be seen whether she can pull it out.

[Joe]

I'm getting tired of these announcers making excuses for Serena, it happens every time she doesn't do well. Kind of similar to what made me not like Tiger Woods.

[Joe]

well Serena loses in straight sets and they say "This is the biggest news yet to come out of Melbourne "... give me a break

[Young Drachma]

Well..the difference between those two is stark though. When Tiger fails, it's not a lack of preparation. We just always expect him to win. With the Williams sisters, they're perpetually under-prepared and despite all of their talent...it's only fun to watch them when they've turned it on and decide they want to win.

I'm glad that Jankovic decided to take it from her, because if you leave it there long enough, Serena will pound her way into winning it. But she showed nothing out there today.

[Young Drachma]

well Serena loses in straight sets and they say "This is the biggest news yet to come out of Melbourne "... give me a break

Agreed, it was the quarterfinals. We pretty much expected her to either win the tournament or get blown out of the water.

[Brian Swartz]

Jankovic is not exactly a pushover, either -- the higher seed wins in straight sets not exactly surprising.

[wade moore]

I love tennis - but the severe time swings for the majors always throws me off. Hopefully I can catch some of the Australian this weekend.

[Butter_of_69]

Serena definitely looked barely interested last night.

[Young Drachma]

Jankovic is playing hurt in the semi against Sharapova. Maria doesn't look excellent, but she's being effective and efficient in her victory. It'll be interesting to see the next semi-final, because those two players are upstarts and could theoretically test her. Though admittedly, not giving up a set in the tournament and only 24 games...she's being dominant.

Should be interesting.

[dawgfan]

I watched Sharapova vs. Henin earlier this week, and it was amazing how good Sharapova can be when she's on her game. She dismantled Henin, the #1 player in the world, seemingly with ease.

[Young Drachma]

Did anyone catch the French kid Tsonga dismantle Rafael Nadal? I haven't seen highlights, but it sounds like he was otherworldly. I'm looking forward to seeing him in the final, as I've never watched him before.

[RendeR]

Oh my, maria.....Tall leggy blondes have never been a real turn on for me, but Maria...dear god, its like a visual aphrodesiac....She's a lust trigger for me.

[Young Drachma]

I just saw the highlights from that Tsonga v. Nadal match. Tsonga really did blast him. He looks like the real deal, wow. He's got a really great blend of power and finesse in his strokes. He just dismantled Raffa. Give him credit for making it to the semis in a hard court Grand Slam though.

[Young Drachma]

I'm staying up to watch the Australian men's final, should be interesting to see whether it's an epic, if Tsonga gets blown out of the water or does the demolition job on Djokovic that he did on Nadal a few days ago. Should be a real interesting match between two young up and comers...the later of which is #3 in the world and needs a match to say "hey, I'm here. Notice me."

Should be fun.

[Young Drachma]

Man, Tsonga hits really big, but he's not really placing it well in the early going. If he wins tonight, he'll be 9th in the world, if he loses, he'll be 18th. I think that his opponent has the advantage of being battled tested a little and having already beaten Federer.

So far, they both look up for this and rightfully so. Djokovic looks really amped up and looks really complete and this is Tsonga's first career ATP final period...so he's up against some long odds.

I think so far that Djokovic looks a lot better so far which doesn't surprise me, though Tsonga seems to have the crowd on his side.

[Young Drachma]

2-2 in the first set. But man...fans are really enjoying the energy of having two guys who are not Federer and Nadal and I tell ya..these two are legit. This is a really great final and we're not even out of the first set yet.

[Young Drachma]

Tsonga wins the first set 6-4. He's lithe and given that Djokovic hadn't given up a set for the whole tournament until now and is 2-1 in the 2nd set. He's fun to watch, he's 6'2" and is strong..but really athletic and just seems to hit all of the right angles in this thing so far.

I think Djokovic really needs to find a way to string together points if he's gonna stay in this thing. Because right now, it looks like Tsonga has really found his voice and is just going to pound on him the same way he did Nadal the other night.

And I can't say I'm surprised. The momentum he has and the way he's playing...just sorta signals that it's his time. But who knows, it's tennis and anything can happen.

[Young Drachma]

Djokovic has recovered and is up 4-3 in the 2nd set. I think that he's using his experience now to get himself back in this thing and Tsonga has sputtered when he should've pulled away. It'll be huge for Djokovic if he can go ahead and win this set, because he might take the wind out of Tsonga's sails to some degree.

On paper, no one looks amazingly better and so, it looks like a 5-setter to me just because of that. But if Tsonga wants it, better to go up two sets to none..than to let the more experienced, but younger guy. (Djokovic is 20, Tsonga is 22..but was beset by injuries in recent years)

[Young Drachma]

Tsonga is down two sets to 1. He's lost his chops and so...unless he can string together a few games to get some momentum and let the crowd power him to a 4th set win, he's probably done. But...that being said, he's playing his heart out and he's leaving it all out there and you love to see it.

My impression is that he'll be back and that this just a breakout tourney for him, rather than some sort of one-hit wonder type of deal. He's an impressive player and I think his surge right now has surprised even his biggest supporters.

Top 20 in the world is never shabby, nor is beating your career earnings in just one tournament.

Not that I count him out, it's just it looks like he's run out of gas and Djokovic is a really good player, who is battled tested and brings a lot to the table as it is...and has been in this situation before, which helps with nerves and being able to pin your ears back and just grind out a victory.

[wade moore]

*sigh*.. see, this is what kills me about tennis majors..

[Brian Swartz]

*sigh*.. see, this is what kills me about tennis majors..

??? I'm afraid I don't follow ...

As far as Tsonga, he had a great tournament but I wouldn't jump on the bandwagon just yet. Fernando Gonzalez had a fabulous run last year at the Australian, and hasn't done much since -- I don't see this as substantively different. Consistency is just as important for a tennis player as how well they can play at their best, and he does have a significant history of injuries. There's a lot more to prove before we put him in the class of top players.

Real story from this tournament is that for the first time in years the men's #1 is up for grabs: Federer, Djokovic, or Nadal could have it by year's end.

[wade moore]

??? I'm afraid I don't follow ...

As far as Tsonga, he had a great tournament but I wouldn't jump on the bandwagon just yet. Fernando Gonzalez had a fabulous run last year at the Australian, and hasn't done much since -- I don't see this as substantively different. Consistency is just as important for a tennis player as how well they can play at their best, and he does have a significant history of injuries. There's a lot more to prove before we put him in the class of top players.

Real story from this tournament is that for the first time in years the men's #1 is up for grabs: Federer, Djokovic, or Nadal could have it by year's end.

I was referring to my earlier post - the fact that this match happened while I was fast asleep.

[Brian Swartz]

Ahh, yeah that is annoying about the Australian, but for most of us that isn't a problem with the other three.

[Joe]

with the semifinals and finals in Australia it's a little bit of a problem, but everything else had some coverage in prime time, same as the other slams. It's just that in the US most people can just catch the morning session instead of the evening session.

[Young Drachma]

Djokovic was the favorite and after getting over his nerves, showed his mettle and proved why he deserved it. After beating Federer, he was battle tested and it was going to take a really special match from Tsonga to win. But he didn't give up easily and I think that, so long as he works more on his fitness and can find ways to create his own shot, rather than playing flat for long stretches of a match, he'll be back in this position again someday soon.

I did doze off during the last set, so...I echo the whole "grr...Australian Open" thing. But...I'm glad I stayed up to catch part of it, because the match started off really awesome and the two up and comers put on a great show.

[Joe]

Tsonga will be #18 when the new rankings come out. Nice jump.

[Young Drachma]

??? I'm afraid I don't follow ...

As far as Tsonga, he had a great tournament but I wouldn't jump on the bandwagon just yet. Fernando Gonzalez had a fabulous run last year at the Australian, and hasn't done much since -- I don't see this as substantively different. Consistency is just as important for a tennis player as how well they can play at their best, and he does have a significant history of injuries. There's a lot more to prove before we put him in the class of top players.

Real story from this tournament is that for the first time in years the men's #1 is up for grabs: Federer, Djokovic, or Nadal could have it by year's end.

Fernando Gonzalez made it to the final last year and no, he didn't do anything in the other grand slams really, but he did make it to the final of another tournament and is still ranked Top 10 in the world. I wouldn't exactly call that "bad". I mean, if it was three years ago and hadn't been heard from and had fallen into the Top 50 or lower, then I'd say he was a bust. But while he'll fall from the Top 10 after this week...he's still in the Top 20.

And Tsonga was ranked in the 300s over a year ago, was playing circuit events a year ago, so his rise was even more impressive and he was up against long odds in that tournament. But Tsonga plays some impressive tennis. Yes, he's a little older by tennis standards to be getting jumpstarted (22) and he's fought injuries.

But...the fact that the entire French brain trust flew in to Aussie for the final, shows that his newfound stardom them should help get more endorsements, more money in the coffers to afford better coaches and he can work on other aspects of his game.

He didn't play like a flash in the pan player last night or against Nadal either. So, I just don't think he'll disappear completely from the scene. I wonder how well he plays on clay. I can't imagine it's well suited for his game, just given the sort of power he hits with, but...I'll be intrigued to see how he does the rest of the year, but I wouldn't go dismissing him as "oh, just another one of those upstarts."

His tennis is for real and I don't think he's going back to where he came from, but will keep working to get back to this moment sooner rather than later.

But I guess only time will tell.

[Brian Swartz]

I didn't mean to imply that Gonzalez is a bust, merely that one great run(IMO he looked every bit as good last year as Tsonga did this year, and whatever else you can say about him, he has an enormous forehand, the biggest on the tour) doesn't in any way mean Tsonga has what it takes to be a consistent threat. I'm sure he'll stay in the Top 20-30 based on what he showed. Whether or not he can be in the Top 10 consistently and pose any kind of consistent threat to the new triumvirate -- well, that's a whole other ball of wax, particuarly given the injury issue. \

[Young Drachma]

I didn't mean to imply that Gonzalez is a bust, merely that one great run(IMO he looked every bit as good last year as Tsonga did this year, and whatever else you can say about him, he has an enormous forehand, the biggest on the tour) doesn't in any way mean Tsonga has what it takes to be a consistent threat. I'm sure he'll stay in the Top 20-30 based on what he showed. Whether or not he can be in the Top 10 consistently and pose any kind of consistent threat to the new triumvirate -- well, that's a whole other ball of wax, particuarly given the injury issue. \

Oh okay, gotcha.