Australian Open 2012 Tennis

PLF

Legend
2 August 2004
No one else watching this then? I'm following it closer than ever before this year.

First round match between Tsonga vs. Istomin was a classic guys! Watch it if you can! The 3rd and 4th set in particular was amazing and Tsonga was diving all over the place lol. He looks super fit and is my fav underdog to take home the prize.
 
Didn't know you like tennis Sina. I guess we are "sportaholics" (not sure if this word exists :P)

I'm looking forward to the Aussie Open too. My fav player is that mighty Swiss Rolex albeit I'm not sure if he will be capable to win this one. Man, Federer is all about elegance and style in a court but he's ageing. So all odds are on Nole. Djokovic had an outstanding season last year and he's expected to be that great this season as well. Nevertheless he is a Benfica fan (well, maybe not :() so I'll root for him as soon as Fedex goes out.

As for the ladies, I'm with Ivanovic. She's a damn freaking hot and cutie baby nice player (should I say "she used to be a good player"? coz it seems she has quitted the sport to spend more time in those crappy fashion events).
 
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I used to be a reasonably good tennis player myself but rarely watch it...Now and then there is a player who excites me and then i watch it.

I miss Justine Henin...IMO she was one of the most skilled players i've ever seen...in an era where it's all about power, she could win with skill (and power). No wonder John Mc Enroe was a big fan of her...oh and by the way, tennis never overcame Mc Enroe and Borg...those were the days.

Another player i really liked: Miroslav Mecir.. and of course Gabriëla Sabatina, but i'm not sure that was only about tennis...
 
Yes Andre, I'm definitely a sportaholic! NBA, NHL, NFL, Tennis and even some College basketball/Football (American) I follow and bet on. You can call me a disciplined gambler :P (For me it plays role of stock market and more like a mutual fund as I actually make 10-15% return on my investments) but an addicted Sports Lover! :LOL:

But of course my passion for real footy (Soccer and not American) is on a whole other level!

Anyway, I'm pretty big on tennis too these days. I love it and follow this tournament very closely and even have a bet on few of the dark horses not because I think they will win but because I think if they do (which is a small chance but a chance nonetheless), they'll make me some GOOD money! :D

Tsonga and maybe just maybe Del Potro are the only two I can see pulling off an upset.

Djoker is definitely the favourite and for me Federer who just got through to 3rd round without even playing in 2nd round as his opponent the German Beck pulled out due to injury is right behind him in my opinion. I give less chance to Nadal and Murray and think Tsonga has as good a chance as those two. But for me, it's more between Fed and Djoko. Nadal has looked very good in his first 2 round matches though albeit against weak opposition but he looks very fit and ready to go.

p.s. Looks like there's a couple Portuguese players too! Or at least one that I recall reading about! Previously I didn't know any but I guess they're decent enough if they've made it to this tourney.

On women's side, I think Clijsters (last year's champ) will take it or Kvitova or my personal fav, the Chinese Li Na. The Belarussian girl's in it too actually. Those are the favourites. Don't really see Sharapova, or Anna Ivanovic or Jelena Jankovic (the 3 old guards along with Serena Williams) have much of a chance. There's a new era in women's game. That teenage American, Christina McHale is the next big thing in women's in my opinion.

And yes I had a big crush on Anna Ivanovic too and thought she's so cute! :P

NEVER had a thing for Sharapova though. Too aggressive and competitive for my liking. Not feminine enough or cute enough imo, not my type. Jelena Jankovic has a nice body imo but her face kinda ruins it lol. And she isn't the player she was before either.
and of course Gabriëla Sabatina, but i'm not sure that was only about tennis...

:D
 
No one else watching this then? I'm following it closer than ever before this year.

First round match between Tsonga vs. Istomin was a classic guys! Watch it if you can! The 3rd and 4th set in particular was amazing and Tsonga was diving all over the place lol. He looks super fit and is my fav underdog to take home the prize.
Of course i look few games the morning, Tsonga vs Istomin, Jo need work on the first serve if want go far in this tournament.

As for the ladies, I'm with Ivanovic. She's a damn freaking hot and cutie baby
Yeah, a real doll ! i like Tzvetana Pironkova too, very pretty.
 
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Tsonga looked VERY fit and more mobile than usual though. Sometimes he looks a bit heavy but not in this tournament. I liked what I saw against Istomin and Istomin played very well as well and made a name for himself.

Of all the Frenchies, I have a lot of faith in Tsonga but don't see Simon, Monfils, Gasquet and co. going far. The French Mohamed Ali lookalike lol has a good chance though in my opinion!
 
And Monfils is out!!

This guy is so inconsistent and erratic! On his day, he can beat anyone in the world! And on another, he can lose to anyone. That's why I only put $5 on him as dark horse but $35 on Tsonga. The latter is much more reliable and focused.

Both very athletic but for me Tsonga >>> Monfils

Gasquet has been impressive in this tourney. He'll now face Spain's #2 in David Ferrer. I'm looking forward to that.

p.s. Anyone see Hewitt's performance against Raonic!? Past vs. Future and Past won! He's now beaten both Roddick and Raonic crushing North America's hopes lol. Ranked something like #180, Hewitt has come back from the dead. Of course now he'll face Djokovic where I expect him to be beaten quite easily straight sets. But already been a good tournament for him.

Marion Bartoli (Another Frenchie - The psychotic one as I like to call her lol) also out to Chinese opponent! Bitch cost me money as I had her in a parlay bet along with Ivanovic, Sharapova and Gasquet and they all won but her! :(
 
Yeah I saw that!

Can't believe f'n Tsonga went out to Nishikori!!

I had money on him to win the tourney and what a huge disappointment!

All Frenchies out now! Monfils out by Khazakh who lost easily to Murray as well.

Gasquet last French beaten yesterday by World #5 DAvid Ferrer who will now face Djokovic.

I didn't expect much out of Monfils or anyone of them but did from Tsonga! But he lost first 2 sets and since then, it was always gonna be an uphill battle! Even though he came back, he lost 5th set and is out!
 
The French are there only for make the show, not for win, that why the audiance love too see Tsonga, Monfils, Llodra etc... like before whit the magician Santoro.
 
Yeah well that's SAD!

I really expected big things from Tsonga (and only him out of French) this year. Of course it's still early and only first slam of the year, maybe he can and will go on to have a great 2012! Disappointing start though. That's for sure. :(

And Ferrer easily took care of Gasquet who probably has most awesome back-hand!
 
Shame on me! Haven't watch a single game so far! Damn NBA, NHL and NFL! Because of you I'm missing the Aussie Open!

So, Roger is out. :( Once again that Spaniard boy beat him in a semifinal. As I said in my first post here, I'm expecting Novak to win this GS.

PS: Our Portuguese players are finally making it to the big stage. Rui Machado and Frederico Gil, who made the 3rd round of AO, are top100 players. Gil targets a top50 this year. Besides, there some good prospects out there in the ladies tour such as Maria João Kohler or Michelle Larcher de Brito, mostly know as the "grunter" surpassing in decibels the likes of Maria Sharapova Victoria Azarenka and the Williams sisters. :P
 
Hahaha that's funny.

That Maria Joao Kohler girl, half-German?

I didn't know about Gil until this tournament. Looks like he could be someone we may hear more about in next couple years if he achieves his target.

As for Aussie open, it's been good. Nothing great but good and I've enjoyed some of the matches. Yeah Fed was playing FANTASTIC right until he met Nadal. Where as Rafa actually somewhat struggled against Berdych and could've even been in trouble had the Czech been more clinical.

Fed was playing as well as I've ever seen him play, back to his best supposedly, great form, undefeated in like 19 matches or something, been awesome last 6 months and then BOOM!! Last night he meets his arch-rival and Nadal was just a MACHINE! His sheer determination combined with awesome athleticism and some unconventional unforced errors by the Greatest ever meant Rafa takes his lead over Federer to 18-9!

I think because of the great Head-to-Head record, Rafa had the mental edge over Fed and that was such a big factor that even the man more in form and looking better in previous rounds and arguably more fit, lost!

His problem? Well, he's likely to face Djoko in finals and if he has a mental edge over Fed because of H2H record, well Novak CERTAINLY has that edge over Rafa thanks to 2011! :D

Novak loves seeing the name NADAL in the final. No opponent he'd prefer more. He would've had much trickier time against Fed I think but if he can avoid an upset against Murray in about an hour's time, I think this is once again Djoker's tourney as well (His 3rd Aussie Open) and he will retain his title. I've put $100 on it since yesterday even. :)

I just hope his hamstrings don't bother him so he's forced to retire through injury or something silly like that. I don't mind if he's beat, but I hope I don't lose money due to some bullshit injury which can happen often in tennis matches.
 
What a match! Best game I've watched this season (:LOL: actually that was my first game!). Some great great moments of tennis portrait by 2 of the best players in the World. Murray came close but he have eventually failed in the fifth set. He had an exceptionally chance to edge Nole in the last games of the 5th with two breakpoints although Novak was able to turn the match into his own. Intense!

Hahaha that's funny.

That Maria Joao Kohler girl, half-German?

I didn't know about Gil until this tournament. Looks like he could be someone we may hear more about in next couple years if he achieves his target.

As for Aussie open, it's been good. Nothing great but good and I've enjoyed some of the matches. Yeah Fed was playing FANTASTIC right until he met Nadal. Where as Rafa actually somewhat struggled against Berdych and could've even been in trouble had the Czech been more clinical.

Fed was playing as well as I've ever seen him play, back to his best supposedly, great form, undefeated in like 19 matches or something, been awesome last 6 months and then BOOM!! Last night he meets his arch-rival and Nadal was just a MACHINE! His sheer determination combined with awesome athleticism and some unconventional unforced errors by the Greatest ever meant Rafa takes his lead over Federer to 18-9!

I think because of the great Head-to-Head record, Rafa had the mental edge over Fed and that was such a big factor that even the man more in form and looking better in previous rounds and arguably more fit, lost!

His problem? Well, he's likely to face Djoko in finals and if he has a mental edge over Fed because of H2H record, well Novak CERTAINLY has that edge over Rafa thanks to 2011! :D

Novak loves seeing the name NADAL in the final. No opponent he'd prefer more. He would've had much trickier time against Fed I think but if he can avoid an upset against Murray in about an hour's time, I think this is once again Djoker's tourney as well (His 3rd Aussie Open) and he will retain his title. I've put $100 on it since yesterday even. :)

I just hope his hamstrings don't bother him so he's forced to retire through injury or something silly like that. I don't mind if he's beat, but I hope I don't lose money due to some bullshit injury which can happen often in tennis matches.

Absolutely agree with everything you said Sina. You're way better than those so called expert at Eurosport Portugal, whose were more concerned with the beauty of Jelena Ristić and Kim Sears. :D

btw, it's a risky bet my friend, you may lose 100 bucks on Sunday. Nole is the favourite but Nadal is a tough tough opponent. Besides, the Spaniard will have more 24h to rest than Novak.

I found very interesting as well the fact that you mentioned the "mental edge" factor. This one will play an important role next Sunday. Rafa has a better record than Djokovic career overall. However, in 2011, the Spaniard lost 6 finals (six!!!) against the Serbian player.

I really hope Nole wins the Aussie Open. And you too!

PS: Yes, that Koehler girl, the half-german. Do you know her? She is very young.
 
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Djokovic looks like he's about to die. Vamos Nadal! :P

P.S. Meh, obviously the Serbian was faking. The beast is winning.
 
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Wow! What a miss by Djokovic! And what a comeback by Nadal!!

Too unlucky for Nadal. Nole is doing Cristiano Ronaldo right now. :LOL: Epic match and epic win.
 
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No comeback. Novak Djokovic wins the Australian Open in one of the best games I ever witnessed. Fantastic match from both of them.
 
This was as high level as you can see. Both are legends but Nole always finds a way.
 
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