Tennis: Australian Open 2018

[Plural]

And now Cilic crumbling.

 

[kihei]

This is the old warrior trying to tough one more championship out basically on a wing and a prayer.

 

[rangerssharks414]

Roger will serve for #20!

 

[Plural]

This is the old warrior trying to tough one more championship out basically on a wing and a prayer.

Well he's still the 2nd seed so it's not like he's against odds here.

And now 1-5, UNBELIEVEABLE.

 

[Tuggy]

Well that should do it.

 

[rangerssharks414]

The G.O.A.T. gets another.

 

[CanadianFlyer88]

Remarkable that a year ago I was just so happy that he was in another GS final. On January 1, 2017 I never would have believed that he'd win three of the next five majors.

GOAT.

 

[rangerssharks414]

Remarkable that a year ago I was just so happy that he was in another GS final. On January 1, 2017 I never would have believed that he'd win three of the next five majors.

GOAT.

And he didn’t even play in the French.

 

[CanadianFlyer88]

And he didn’t even play in the French.

I don't think he wins Wimby if he plays the French last year.

 

[kihei]

Hey, my first tennis racket was an "Ashley Cooper." Had a little red kangaroo right on the neck. Good racket.

 

[rangerssharks414]

I don't think he wins Wimby if he plays the French last year.

Maybe. We’ll never know. I wonder if he’ll ever play the French again.

 

[kihei]

Maybe. We’ll never know. I wonder if he’ll ever play the French again.

Wouldn't think so.

 

[Plural]

Roger really feeling the love. Awesome.

 

[rangerssharks414]

Wouldn't think so.

Yeah, I don’t think so either.

 

[Soliloquy of a Dogge]

Well that got interesting after the 1st set. Roger sure knows how to take the years off of my life.

#20 for the magnificent Roger Federer! What an incredible achievement and what an unbelievable renaissance in the twilight of his career. Another to add to the list of the so many thrills and indelible moments over the course of his career. He is something else.

 

[Plural]

If we look back at his career, how does the quality of competition Federer has faced stack up against other all-time greats? I'm not well versed enough to judge but my gut tells me Rogers career is not only the greatest it's also against very high competition.

 

[kihei]

If we look back at his career, how does the quality of competition Federer has faced stack up against other all-time greats? I'm not well versed enough to judge but my gut tells me Rogers career is not only the greatest it's also against very high competition.

Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Murray, Wawrinka---with a lot of lesser lights from this generation like Berdych and Tsonga still hanging around the top twenty despite all the young players who have come up in the meantime. Generations don't get more golden than this one.

 

[The Moose]

Federer competition was top notch. If there was no Nadal, Federer would have 6 more GS titles. If there was no Federer, probably now we talk about Nadal as GOAT.

 

[MsMeow]

Marin Cilic speaks out on Australian Open roof controversy after Roger Federer loss | Metro News

"The Croat got off to a woeful start in a 2-6 7-6 3-6 6-4 1-6 loss to the Swiss – who won his 20th Grand Slam title in the process – and complained that the change in conditions disrupted his game. Tournament organisers made the strange decision to play the match under the roof, a move that was criticised by former British No. 1 Greg Rusedski."

I am not sure why they closed the roof but this excuse by Cilic is laughable.

 

[Cruor]

Hats off to Roger, defending a slam in your mid 30's has to be up there in sporting achievements. What a fantastic athlete and sportsman.

Not the best tennis match, but certainly dramatic enough. Roger played well in the first & third, Cilic in the tiebreak and especially fourth set when he started to dominate. Roger was probably a bit lucky at the start of the fifth but seems to always compose himself when it matters.

As for the roof 'controversy' I'm not sure Cilic is using it as an excuse, it probably did throw him off in the first set but since the same conditions applied for both I find it difficult to find any fault here (the wet bulb-temp did exceed the limits set, right?). He also had the opportunity to warm up under a closed roof. From his presser:

Q. Did you have an option to practice inside? He obviously chose that.
MARIN CILIC: Yeah, I did. But for me, I played during all tournament on the same court, practiced on the same court, so warmed up there. That was it.

 

[Panteras]

As a Nadal fan, Roger is the GOAT I mean cmon what a class act what an achievement at 36 he is like wine. It’s crazy what he’s doing. Congrats Roger!

 

[Novak Djokovic]

Yeah, congrats to Roger. Definitely the GOAT, even if I'm not a huge fan. What he has done at this age is incredible.

 

[Ivan13]

Marin Cilic speaks out on Australian Open roof controversy after Roger Federer loss | Metro News

"The Croat got off to a woeful start in a 2-6 7-6 3-6 6-4 1-6 loss to the Swiss – who won his 20th Grand Slam title in the process – and complained that the change in conditions disrupted his game. Tournament organisers made the strange decision to play the match under the roof, a move that was criticised by former British No. 1 Greg Rusedski."

I am not sure why they closed the roof but this excuse by Cilic is laughable.

It's not an excuse. What is laughable is that one player knew about this and the other didn't. It wouldn't change the outcome, but it paints a bad picture about the organizers.

 

[Hadoop]

Grand Slam #20 at age 36, wow it's incredible what Federer is doing at a time when tennis has never been more physical. The next generation will have theirs eventually and then the one after that, but Roger is the GOAT now and probably will be for many generations to come.

Here are the highlights for those of you who like me did not watch the match live.

 

[Hadoop]

Regarding the 'roof controversy', I suspect it did play a part in the first 3 sets especially the opening frame, but the 5th set was not close and by then both were used to the conditions. I think a bigger factor was the fact that Roger had more in reserve due to a pretty easy draw and not being at all physically challenged in any of his prior matches.