Australian Open

[stroke]

Yes, excellent from Korda and very entertaining. Medvedev finally made to pay for that deep return position, particularly in the deuce court - serve wide, volley cross court, cover the line and knock off second volley into vacant court. Korda made it look easy, but he was executing that first volley very well indeed.

He sure was. That to me is what gives him more upside than Fritz. I would say Fritz and Korda are very equal groundstrokes and serve wise, but Korda is clearly way more handy net play, and Korda has better hands for drop shots.

[glacierguy]

Yes, excellent from Korda and very entertaining. Medvedev finally made to pay for that deep return position, particularly in the deuce court - serve wide, volley cross court, cover the line and knock off second volley into vacant court. Korda made it look easy, but he was executing that first volley very well indeed.

[stroke]

Seb just very impressive. He has catapulted to the number 4 favorite as of now behind Novak, Rune, and Tsitsipas.

[stroke]

Seb really took it to Med in the 2nd set, really pushing him around, particularly on his forehand, which is so much bigger than Med's. Korda's all court game has Med panicking at times out there.

[stroke]

Seb Korda takes 1st set over Med, really entertaining set, both really dug in. Seb's technique on just about everything is top shelf. Khachanov takes out Tiafoe in 4th set tiebreaker.

[stroke]

Marathon Murray is a solid underdog vs the pro's pro RBA. RBA implied probability of 76% winning. Hop along Novak is a stronger favorite vs the easy on the eye game of Grigor. The favorites to win the tournament now in order are Novak, Medvedev, Rune, Tsitsipas, Sinner, FAA.

[stroke]

I have always liked Novak, but I liked him even more with his refusal to get vaccinated. Norrie really lost his way in the last 2 sets of his loss. It was hard to watch, I have never seen him play so badly. He tried to compete, but just completely lost his form out there. Novak's odds to win the tournament have trended up a bit. The oddsmakers are certainly factoring in this Novak leg problem. He was going into the tournament about 50% implied probability of winning it. He has dropped to 40%. One more observation, I like Tiafoe but his outfit looks ridiculous.

[don_budge]

Incredible from Murray. Two sets down, 2-5 in third. The end of that third set was unbelievably tense. Kokkinakis slightly bottled one of his service games and gave Murray a look-in. From there it was nip and tuck, both playing great stuff with Murray just nicking the tie break on a dreadful high volley miss from Kokkinakis. After that, Kokkinakis's forehand lost some of its earlier penetration and Murray started getting the upper hand, approaching the net often after driving deep to K's backhand corner. Murray looked more likely to win, but I just kept thinking it wouldn't be physically possible for him to win another 5-setter so close after his last 5-setter, and on a metal hip! And yet he did. Absolutely incredible.

Utterly amazing. Andy Murray is showing some kind of heart and courage. Justifying his Knighthood at this late hour in his career. The next match will be a tremendous ask for an exhausted Murray as he faces one of the premier meat grinders in the game for the last several years...Roberto Bautista-Agut.

My wife was telling me how the crowd was abusing the Russian Andrey Rublev on the court and making it up close and personal. Typical herd mentality. A stadium a clueless uninformed morons. I was just thinking how the tennis crowds are starting to behave like they were in a Roman coliseum. Utterly mad with their own anger and frustration. Like the two minute hate in George Orwell's "1984". I wouldn't be caught dead in any crowd these days. The massive collective IQ is at an altime low. So much for evolution. Dependence on electronic gizmos makes this mass hysteria possible. It was Edward Bernays wet dream. The danger me being in a crowd like that is the temptation to set things right. I can imagine a scenario with me confronting the masses and the ensuing inevitable conclusion. Best that I remain here in the woods. The voice in the wilderness.

This tournament is Djokovic's to be had. He has one very important question to answer...not taking anything away for Grigor Dimitrov. Holger Rune may just be waiting in the quarters. Just a little heads up on the possible psychological warfare buildup to this match. Novak lost to young Holger in a fairly big match not so long ago and this might just work to his advantage. More worrisome is the leg. But this might just be his ability to "joke 'em" and the bandage might just come off when the time is right. If he gets by Dimitrov and Rune...it's off to the races. And vindication. Redemption. He might just put a dagger in the heart of the "pandemic of the unvaccinated".

[glacierguy]

Incredible from Murray. Two sets down, 2-5 in third. The end of that third set was unbelievably tense. Kokkinakis slightly bottled one of his service games and gave Murray a look-in. From there it was nip and tuck, both playing great stuff with Murray just nicking the tie break on a dreadful high volley miss from Kokkinakis. After that, Kokkinakis's forehand lost some of its earlier penetration and Murray started getting the upper hand, approaching the net often after driving deep to K's backhand corner. Murray looked more likely to win, but I just kept thinking it wouldn't be physically possible for him to win another 5-setter so close after his last 5-setter, and on a metal hip! And yet he did. Absolutely incredible.

[stroke]

Has to be the greatest comeback of Murray's career. Came back from 2 sets down at won in a 5 hour 45 minute marathon. Brutal loss for Kokkinakis.

[stroke]

Kokkinakis really bullying Murray with his forehand, easily the biggest shot on the court.

[stroke]

Novak and qualifier Couacaud are now at 1 set all, as Couacaud win 2nd set in tiebreaker. Oddmakers did have Novak at about 87% implied probability of winning match. He is now at 72% or so. Novak may be having a leg issue, or he may be rope-a-doping.

[stroke]

Rune certainly is not sneaking up on anyone. Oddsmakers have him number 3 favorite to win the tournament behind Novak and Medvedev.

[don_budge]

Fritz goes out to Popyrin in 5 sets, very high quality match. Fritz had 67 winners, 40 errors. Problem for him was Popyrin had 74 winner, 44 errors. One doesn't see many matches with those kind of numbers.

I know you like Taylor Fritz and all that, but he clearly is not ready to compete for the biggest prize in tennis...a Grand Slam title. He might prove me wrong. But three out of five is a different story and he doesn't have that kind of stamina at this point. He has made some headway recently, but even I saw that Popyrin was going to be problematic for him before the match was under way.

Caspar Ruud has hit a point too, in his development. He was coming on like gang busters there for a while and he has sort of slammed into a wall as opposed to slamming down a Grand Slam title. Injuries...players adjusting to him all play a role. It is tough to rise above the rest of the crew. They all are hungry and anxious to take down the latest and the greatest in the hopes they will replace them. It is a tough road to hoe. Players are created with limits. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Somehow that chink in the armor has a way of surfacing when all of the expectations and hopes come to fruition. We see this a lot in these guys. Stefanos Tsitsipas comes to mind. He might break through at some point but it will be due to attrition as much as it will be about his development. He has some very noticable weak links...as opposed to the gold standard. Roger Federer.

Speaking of which...technically this tournament is not a tournament in the don_budge school of thought. Fake tennis. What a shame it comes down to this. Without Roger this boat is floundering. The talent pool is an obvious tell. The latest and greatest all get pulled down to earth very rapidly after their rapid ascent to the top of the game. Keep an eye on Rune. Case in point. He has yet to reach his culmination point. Still eating his way up the food chain. The jury is still out. Carlos what's his name...I've forgotten it for the moment. Alcaraz...there it came to me. He is another one. Flame on...flame off.

It is all foreplay from this point on. There is only one question for me and that is Novak Djokovic. This question isn't even about tennis so much as it is about the fascist nature of society and how tennis metaphors life. The COVID experience derailed life as we know it. At least for most of the world. Sweden's approach was a bit more "laissez-faire" compared to most of the world. I have never worn a mask for instance...let alone getting some unknown concoction injected into me. Novak had the same sort of sentiment about the jabs. Where are the clinical trial evidence that always preceed a new medicine being approved for public consumption. It is surprising to me that more people do not question what the "experts" want to compel you to do. I always was suspicioius of "herd mentality". So prevalent in the modern human existence. I guess George Orwell must have some rather intuitive inkling about what was going to transpire. Aldous Huxley as well. The electronic gizmos make it all possible now. Everyone tied into the same "frequency". Phones...computers...implants soon to come. Just think of the possibilities.

So the 2023 Australian Open is all about Novak as Don Quixote. Fighting against the dreaded windmills with his appearance a year after he was banned from the country for not complying with the AUTHORITIES. He refused to bend and the chorus of boos was deafening. He may just come out the hero here. While never being a big fan of Djokovic, I root for his revenge here. Afterall...isn't his motto "Joke 'em if they can't take a fuck".

[stroke]

Fritz goes out to Popyrin in 5 sets, very high quality match. Fritz had 67 winners, 40 errors. Problem for him was Popyrin had 74 winner, 44 errors. One doesn't see many matches with those kind of numbers.