Talk About Tennis 2.0

skatingfan wrote: ↑Sun Jan 29, 2023 10:54 am Tsitsipas got the break to start the 3rd - Djokovic left the court and started with a double fault upon return - but gave back the break in the very next game.

Tsitispas has had chances. But only a few.. just no margin for error or nerves today vs Novak.

Although 2 of the sets went to tiebreaks, you NEVER got the sense that this match was out of Djokovic's control.
Not even for a minute.

That's what champions do. Sometimes they totally dominate by the score, and sometimes they don't. But they are always in control of the match. It's as if they honestly feel, during every single second of the match, that they are in the driver's seat, and that, no matter what happens, they will retain control and win; that losing is simply not within the realm of possibilities.

Waiting to see if anyone says Djokovic was robbed last year!

The gold '22' on the jacket that Djokovic put on right after the match is arrogant, obnoxious, and ostentatious.
It would be bad enough if he wore it at the next tournament... but to have it designed and ready to wear after this match is just plain egotistical and conceited.

I don't like it when sports teams put on the 'Champions' t-shirts and hats right after the championship winning game - but it's even worse when an individual does it.

Did people say that about Federer when he got to 15 and wore the jacket after he defeated Roddick at Wimbledon?

patrick wrote: ↑Sun Jan 29, 2023 1:32 pm Did people say that about Federer when he got to 15 and wore the jacket after he defeated Roddick at Wimbledon?

^ I did.
It's arrogant, obnoxious, and tasteless no matter who does it.

Others objected to Federer's jacket, as well. Including Wertheim. Here are a couple of articles about it...
In the first article, the author puts the blame on Nike. As much as I despise the Nike company for their many manipulations, as well as their reliance on poor people, poor working conditions, and poor pay, the sponsors in these cases are only partially to blame. The players wearing the gaudy garments are more to blame, as, even if the idea did come from a sponsor, the player could have said 'No'.

Roger Federer and That Jacket...

And Wertheim's take on it below...

Ridiculous Attire Doesn't Fit Federer...

.

Indeed on the players saying no

ashkor87 wrote: ↑Sun Jan 29, 2023 9:56 am

texasniteowl wrote: ↑Sun Jan 29, 2023 8:15 am Well, who is still awake? I am for now. Whether I make it all the way through the match, who knows. Depends on how quickly Djokovic wins. I meant to take a nap but...didn't happen.

For some of us, it is the middle of the day! On a Sunday too..the Australian open is great for us.

Wimbledon and French Open were always my favorites to watch as they'd start right when my work day was starting for that reason

patrick wrote: ↑Sun Jan 29, 2023 1:32 pm Did people say that about Federer when he got to 15 and wore the jacket after he defeated Roddick at Wimbledon?

I did too! But I was a bitter Roddick fan so not sure if it counts

Kyrgios approves of the jacket.
Hey, it is Lacoste, and Lacoste is a second tier company. Very fine products and a great history, but they need all the publicity they can.
And, when you have the GOAT signed up for peanuts (compared to what he could command), you have to make the most.
I say: Roger's jacket was ugly, so is this one. Would never buy one.

ashkor87 wrote: ↑Sun Jan 29, 2023 12:00 pm Waiting to see if anyone says Djokovic was robbed last year!

umm, no.

I don't know how he was able to pull this off with his devastating injury. Amazing how someone who just last year was paralyzed from the neck down, lost his entire family in the Russian invasion of Ukraine only to have them remarkably reappear at the AO to support the Invasion of Ukraine and miss their only son's highly unlikely run to the final. Just truly amazing a country just 1 square km larger than the Vatican City could produce such an odds beater.

Owendonovan wrote: ↑Sun Jan 29, 2023 5:44 pm I don't know how he was able to pull this off with his devastating injury. Amazing how someone who just last year was paralyzed from the neck down, lost his entire family in the Russian invasion of Ukraine only to have them remarkably reappear at the AO to support the Invasion of Ukraine and miss their only son's highly unlikely run to the final. Just truly amazing a country just 1 square km larger than the Vatican City could produce such an odds beater.

And THIS, is the post of the tournament!
Nothing more can be said about the AO 2023!

The thing I will miss most about the end of the Djokovic era, whenever it happens, is the decline in return of serves.

I know I'm in the huge minority here, but his matches are more entertaining to me than anyone else's because he gets so many serves back in play. It's mystifying that after the success Djokovic and Murray had (and Federer with a different style before he got old), the return of serve appears to be an afterthought for the top players, including Alcaraz, where it is his one true weakness.

The only younger player with a world-class return of serve is Zverev. Tsitiipas's inability to get good serves back in play at all or with any depth killed him in the final.