Tennis: All Purpose Tennis Thread XIV

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kihei

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Weird thing. Nole passed up near countless opportunities to go down the line to an open forehand court as he kept attacking Thiem's backhound despite not having a great deal of luck with the tactic. Utterly mystifying example of the tennis equivalent of idee fixe,
 
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MsMeow

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I only saw the first few games of this match and it looked like it might be a doozie. Finally we're starting to see some of the young guys break through here and there.
 

kihei

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Nadal, just a little more consistent, takes the first set. In the second set, Medvedev rushes out to a 4-1 lead loses the next four games decisively and then breaks Rafa serving for the match. Danill then wins the insuing breaker after almost blowing a 4-1 lead in that.

3rd set: Daniil plays very conservatively--I didn't think it would work--but he ground Rafa down just enough to take a tense set and the match. Next Gen finally rule.
 
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kihei

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Put a bet on Thiem, only because the underdog odds are so tempting, but given Medvedev's many ways of making life miserable for an opponent, I can see why he's a slight favourite, too. Another coin flip in my book.
 
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kihei

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Feels like a heavyweight championship fight. Will Thiem get seduced into playing Medvedev's lethal patterns? Will Medvedev move Thiem around sufficiently to temper his power strokes? Can't wait to see.
 

kihei

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In the fifth game, Daniil goes up 40-love on serve and then relaxes a little too much and Thiem takes five straight points for the only break of the seet, 6-4. Still very close. It is odd to watch the counterpuncher seemingly control most of the points.

3-all in the second set as Thiem keeps finding answers to all the gnarly little challenges that Medvedev throws his way....on serve for the second game in a row, Daniil is hanging on by the skin of his teeth, 4-3.....in a drastic difference from early in the match, Dominic is winning most of the long rallies now....for a guy who can be so fiery , Daniil sure exudes calm most of the time.....it goes to the inevitable breaker and, surprise, Medvedev wins it easily.

Of course, we are going to a third set. How else could this weekend end?
 
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kihei

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Third set: On his sixth break point opportunity of the set, Daniil finally breaks for 3-2. The level of play has been at times absolutely insane. Just a complete delight to watch....Medvedev serving for the championship at 5-4....and Daniill serves it out.

What an incredible win. Great creative, thinking play from both players. Along the way, Medvedev beat the top three players in the world to get his championship.
 
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MsMeow

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What a fantastic match by both players. Great ending to a very odd year.
 

kihei

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Having rewatched the Medvedev matches over a couple of times, I thought I would note some interesting comparisons in wins over Nole, Rafa and Dominik

In the two key weekend matches, curiously similar set scores, kind of symmetrical, but they tell a tale, too.

Medvedev over Nadal, 3-6, 7-6, 6-3
Medvedev over Thiem, 4-6, 7-6, 6-4.

In both those matches, the losers each lost a terribly unlucky opportunity to break Daniil. Rafa was a victim of a horrible shank by Medvedev that led to the greatest topspin lob ever and Thiem had a mere simple tap at the net that he unaccountably pushed wide.

Before the crucial breaks in the third set of each match, Nadal and Thiem both had five and three points respectively to hold serve and didn't before patient Daniil finally broke them. In all the matches, Medvedev was the epitome of clutch, breaking Rafa when he was serving for the match and keeping the pressure constantly on Thiem's serve in the deciding set.

Three times on key break points against Rafa and Thiem, Medvedev sneaked to the net to put away an unexpected volley.

But where Daniil was most artful was in how he forced his opponents to throw away their game plan (Nole and Rafa) or reach exhaustion trying to continue to execute it (Thiem). Nole, not looking that fit to begin with, gave up early at 3-2 in the first set of a 3 and 3 loss; Rafa went "no mas" late at around 4-3 in the third set. I don't mean they tanked or quit. I mean they just got mentally and physically tired of playing Medvedev's maddeningly patient, marvelously constructed game. At each of those points in the respective matches, Nole and Rafa began to go for lines more aggressively, began to serve and volley, began to shorten points; in brief, trying to desperately conserve energy....and each just went further downhill in the process. Thiem is more subtle; he doesn't change his game much, but he does look like his goose is cooked (watch all three of the victims' body language in the final sets and compare them to Daniil). When Medvedev finally breaks Thiem for the key turning point in the third set at 3-2, Thiem has served 29 points in the set compared to only ten for Medvedev. Dominic is game but he is gassed.

Daniil's superpower is to wear his opponent down to the point that they mentally give up the ghost or nearly collapse in the process.
 

Tuggy

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Sounds like the Aussie Open is going to be delayed by a bit.

Challengers next week are the last tournaments on the schedule for 2020.

Really wonder what the 2021 schedule (at least to start) is going to look like. I've seen some different reports for what's going to happen in January in Australia.
 

Tuggy

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2021 ATP calendar was suppose to be released, looks like this is what we got so far. IW canceled (could be moved to the fall). AO delayed. We'll see where things are after March Covid wise...I'm sure they are hoping the regular schedule can take over after that.

 

kihei

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Tennis Canada picks Raonic and Fernandez as Players of the Year. Shapo makes the top ten, ends at #12 and Milos gets the nod? Politics?
 
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MsMeow

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Tennis Canada picks Raonic and Fernandez as Players of the Year. Shapo makes the top ten, ends at #12 and Milos gets the nod? Politics?

I agree, I would have put Shapo in and maybe even Vasek.
 

Hadoop

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Federer officially out of the 2021 Australian Open, as the clock on his unmatched career inexorably marches on towards midnight :(.
 

discostu

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Federer officially out of the 2021 Australian Open, as the clock on his unmatched career inexorably marches on towards midnight :(.

If 2022 is when things go back to normal and full fan attendance for all tournaments, I can see Federer using that year as his farewell tour. It would drive ticket sales and bring the sport back to pre pandemic levels (or more) really quickly as people scramble to get their last chance to see the legend.
 
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