Tennis: Australian Open 2020

discostu

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If Djokovic wins, he reclaims world #1.
If Thiem wins, he'll move to #3 in the world, a new career high.

When talking of the passing of the torch and the newer generation of players, I know the focus is on when we'll see them winning majors, but, looking at Thiem's ranking points, I'm wondering if we'll see him get to a number 2 ranking.

I think it's been at least a decade since anyone other than the big 4 have reached that level. Plenty have got to 3, but I think top 2 has always been elusive.

There's probably an lot of points to defend, but the gap between him and the top is a lot closer to others that have gotten this high.
 
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Tuggy

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When talking of the passing of the torch and the newer generation of players, I know the focus is on when we'll see them winning majors, but, looking at Thiem's ranking points, I'm wondering if we'll see him get to a number 2 ranking.

I think it's been at least a decade since anyone other than the big 4 have reached that level. Plenty have got to 3, but I think top 2 has always been elusive.

There's probably an lot of points to defend, but the gap between him and the top is a lot closer to others that have gotten this high.

I think you're right. I don't think there is an active player outside of the big 4 who has been #1/#2.

Thiem does have IW (1000 points) to defend, so I'm not sure when that time will come for him to challenge the top 2.

As for #1, looking at this List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players - Wikipedia , seems Roddick was the last outside of the big 4 on February 1, 2004. :laugh:
 

discostu

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I think you're right. I don't think there is an active player outside of the big 4 who has been #1/#2.

Thiem does have IW (1000 points) to defend, so I'm not sure when that time will come for him to challenge the top 2.

As for #1, looking at this List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players - Wikipedia , seems Roddick was the last outside of the big 4 on February 1, 2004. :laugh:

That's such a crazy stat about the #1. The number 2 is probably almost as long, as it wasn't long after Federer's rise where Nadal claimed that #2 and the two of them were locked in place for the longest time.

If Medvedev had a better AO, he could have stood a shot. His points were mainly in the second half of 2019, so he could have made a charge up the rankings here.
 

MXD

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I started wondering if Garbine Muguruza would be the weakest WTA player with 3 GS Singles Titles (Open Era) and... Frankly, I can't think of anyone. Other candidates would be Virginia Wade, Angelique Kerber, Lindsay Davenport, Hana Mandlikova (who actually has 4, but I'm not quite sure what to do with her first AO title) and Jennifer Capriati.
 

kihei

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I think I have this right. If Thiem wins tomorrow, he will also be the first male player born in the 1990s to win a Grand Slam tournament. A fact that in 2020 is beyond mind-boggling.
 

kihei

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Got to go with the head and pick Garbine tonight on the basis of experience alone. But if she stumbles, it could get interesting.
 

kihei

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Muguruza mostly dominates the first set except for the first six points and a nervous totally self-inficted service break late in the set. But she came back in the next service game and closed out the set nicely. Kenin can't come close to matching her power, nor has she found an effective way to blunt it. Still, in true Kenin fashion, she somehow managed to hang around that set.
 

kihei

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2nd set: So just like that Kenin comes right back and takes the second set 6-2 in what seemed like ten minutes. Garbine more wobbly that set and it cost her..
 

kihei

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3rd set: The key turning poibt was what Flipp was talking about above. That gave Kenin the game for 3-2 and Garbine never won another game as her nerves took over to the point she was serving multiple double faults per game.

Such a great win for a young woman entering her first final. Grit would seem to be her major weapon.
 

Pavel Buchnevich

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I didn't think Keinn would be good enough to ever win a slam, but the way the woman's tour works these days, there's so little consistency, and anyone in the top 30 whose at their best for a few weeks can win.
 

MXD

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I didn't think Keinn would be good enough to ever win a slam, but the way the woman's tour works these days, there's so little consistency, and anyone in the top 30 whose at their best for a few weeks can win.

Her game is still developping.
For the record, at the same age, Justine Henin hadn't won a single GS.

Speaking of Kenin, ... she feels like a female-version of Lleyton Hewitt to me, for all the good and the wrong reasons.
 

Pavel Buchnevich

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Her game is still developping.
For the record, at the same age, Justine Henin hadn't won a single GS.

Speaking of Kenin, ... she feels like a female-version of Lleyton Hewitt to me, for all the good and the wrong reasons.

Yes, and I agree. She proved me wrong, but the games of all tennis players her age are still developing, and I didn't think she would be talented enough to win a slam. Good for her to prove me wrong. I'm not complaining. I almost always root for the Americans in the Women's and Men's games, with a few exceptions. I preferred her to win towards the end of the tournament.
 
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CanadianFlyer88

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Her game is still developping.
For the record, at the same age, Justine Henin hadn't won a single GS.

Speaking of Kenin, ... she feels like a female-version of Lleyton Hewitt to me, for all the good and the wrong reasons.
Good comparison. I disliked Hewitt in his younger years; I have a similar dislike of Kenin.

Gutsy win for Kenin, though. Wasn't an easy road, for sure.

I was pulling for Muguruza. She has all the tools to be a long term dominant force, but she lacks focus. For long stretches of matches, she just checks out. When she's on, she's my favourite female player to watch these days. When she's off....
 

kihei

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Kenin's intensity is not of the attractive variety, closer to psycho-killer than mere tenacious tennis player. I couldn't believe how she was beating herself up after winning points as though she was disgusted with herself for not performing the way she thought she should. Likely such over-the-top intensity is not healthy long term, but in the short term it makes her a daunting competitor.
 

kihei

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I think Thiem winning this thing is not that much of a stretch the way that he has played this past fortnight. But if Nole is going to challenge Roger and Rafa for GOAT status, he can't throw away any GS finals. That he is one win away from GS title #17 should be all the motivation he needs.
 
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BMOK33

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Yes, and I agree. She proved me wrong, but the games of all tennis players her age are still developing, and I didn't think she would be talented enough to win a slam. Good for her to prove me wrong. I'm not complaining. I almost always root for the Americans in the Women's and Men's games, with a few exceptions. I preferred her to win towards the end of the tournament.

I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the only hard court grand slam she wins. I think she is more suited for Wimbledon or the French to be honest. I think one simple way to sum up for example how much more trouble Halep would have given Kenin. Kenin couldn’t solidly return any first serve Mug got in. Halep returned most of them with ease.
 
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kihei

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I think Kenin can beat Halep. She might be able to overpower her or wear her down. Very unlikely she beats Muguruza
Quick change of tune, no?. You didn't think Kenin could likely beat Barty either. Maybe you are underrating Kenin and her particular skill set.
 

BMOK33

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Quick change of tune, no?. You didn't think Kenin could likely beat Barty either. Maybe you are underrating Kenin and her particular skill set.

Barty I actually felt the best of the bunch because Barty is sort of Jekyl and Hyde from match to match or day to day. Strangely enough I didn’t feel Barty played that badly against her. She just was bad at the wrong times. I feel Kenin is more suited for clay or grass because it seems more often we see the smart/mentally tough players win those because they can use the surface against their opponent by changing their style. Kenin seems to be really good at adjusting to the opponent.
 

kihei

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Barty I actually felt the best of the bunch because Barty is sort of Jekyl and Hyde from match to match or day to day. Strangely enough I didn’t feel Barty played that badly against her. She just was bad at the wrong times. I feel Kenin is more suited for clay or grass because it seems more often we see the smart/mentally tough players win those because they can use the surface against their opponent by changing their style. Kenin seems to be really good at adjusting to the opponent.
I agree with you on grass, for sure. I think right now she is a better hard court player than clay court player, though, which the last two years' stats supports (62-28 on hard courts; 8-11 on clay, though she was better in earlier years). She is really great at adjusting to her opponents, definitely a major strength. When Garbine dropped off a little at the start of the second set, Kenin started running her unmercifully from side to side, just found a way to win against an opponent who had played a very impressive first set. I hope Andreescu gets healthy and stays that way because that could be a very interesting rivalry, and I think Bianca has the game to give Sofia trouble.
 

MsMeow

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Not staying up tonight but will record the match. Really hoping Thiem wins. We need some new blood on the men's side, desperately.
 

kihei

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Not staying up tonight but will record the match. Really hoping Thiem wins. We need some new blood on the men's side, desperately.
I'm totally on Australian time by now, getting up the last four days at between 2 and 3 pm. So no sweat for me tonight, and I'm happy with whomever wins cuz I like both players.
 

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