Arena Federer/Nadal/Djokovic Era - Now 1/3rd Over

rafa just lost to thiem in two tiebreaks at the tour finals. nadal saved 4 match points but thiem got him on the fifth. it was an entertaining match.

 

Thiem/Djokovic semifinal also a decent match. Thiem came back from 0-4 down in the final tiebreaker to win it. Some great shots throughout from both of them.

 

Naomi Osaka named AP female player of the year.

 

Federer is still trying to recover from a knee injury and will skip the Aus Open.
The man will be 40 in August, I wonder if he has a plan to retire or if he is determined to keep going until he physically can not.

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/55478002 - 2021 Indian Wells tournament postponed due to the virus. Organizers are hoping it can take place later in the year.

 

smart decision

 

Thiem-Kyrgios match was a show trial.

Amazing show for the fans. A full five-set trial for the players.

 

not a huge kyrgios fan, but shame he couldn't win it in front of the home crowd.

 

I'm a big Thiem fan, but I love watching Kyrgious put on a show. He does his thing.

 

The absence of the crowd really changes the energy of the game.

Not sure if I would prefer they add canned atmosphere like in the Premier league though.

 

Watching it, we were saying that they should let in just one guy and give him a microphone to go "wooo! Yeeeeah!" etc.

 

Nadal just a little bit closer to becoming the undisputed GOAT, but the competition is tough. Djokovic injury is a big question mark, and some serious challengers are off to a good start. After Thiem survived a five-setter with Kyrgios, Medvedev survived his mid-match slump to win a five-setter last night. Thiem to take on Dimitrov, Djokovic playing Raonic if he can play at all.

 

Having apparently just arrived on earth directly from Narnia, Aslan Karatsev landed in the Australian Open semifinal. He will now have earned the majority of his entire career earnings in a single match.

 

There will be humans in the stands at the tennis tomorrow, though not tonight. They will probably be masked up.

 

oof, really want to stay up for this nadal/tsitsipas quarter but i do have to work tomorrow. we'll see how it goes.

 

eight years after this thread was started rafa still doing his thing. absolutely unbelievable, this man. worth staying up for.

 

In hindsight, it's almost shocking that Rafa has an Australian Open title to his credit.

 

yeah, great win for tsitsipas. didn't have a 5 setter in me unfortunately.

 

Rafa getting broken at love at 5-5 in the fifth set happened so fast, and then it was over. Really the unforced errors at the third set tiebreaker and that late fifth set lapse...but Tsitsipas has to earn it. Still, I'm betting on the Narnian to take the title.

 

I think Osaka mops the court with her. She looks ready to go on a serious run of dominance the next few years. That all said? I am still pulling for Serena so she can hopefully win one more major before it's over with.

 

That's about what happened in the epic Rafa-Djokovic seminal at Roland Garros in 2013. It was close all the way, and then suddenly it was over.

 

Osaka vs Serena.
Good fight.

And yeah, this should have been the Final.