Australian Open

[jimlosaltos]

Pay should be reflect the level of entertainment to some extent. Nothing worse than a final where everyone knows who's going to win. Have you used DeepSeek yet?

I've gotten that question elsewhere but didn't remotely expect it here!

Not yet. I'm reaching saturation point on GenAi tools. I let my Midjourney sub lapse, even though it seems like the best for image generation, since it is the largest time sink. Simply keeping up with OpenAi, Gemini, Firefly would be a full-time job. And I haven't even tried video on Soros! I'm so far behind I'll have to pull an all nigher or five. Not

[stotty]

One of those "never in doubt" matches.

Zverev came in playing in top form, but couldn't make a dent against Sinner's serve ( Sinner won 84% on 1sts, 63% on 2nds, didn't face a single break point) while Zverev, rated the second best server by the ATP itself, say his winner percent on behind his first serve fall roughly 13% from 79% to 69%

Compared to the exciting women's final, the men's final was a yawner.

As for the match, Bill Simmons at Inside Tennis has this take on the women's final vs the men's final:

Last night at dinner my friend asked me the eternal tennis question, “Why, if women only play best-of-three sets matches, do they get equal prize money?” This weekend’s two Australian Open singles finals showed why.

Both featured dominant, hard-hitting players who were No. 1. Both Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka had won the two hard court majors in 2024 – the Australian and the US Opens.

Both were facing seasoned veterans in their late 20s who’d gained acclaim and lifted many trophies but had fallen short in their efforts to win a Slam.

But there was a difference.

Eight years after Madison Keys laid an egg in the 2017 US Open final, she scored a thrilling victory that touched the hearts of millions who appreciated her inspiring journey. Maddy’s magical moment was both an instant classic and one of the more heart-warming triumphs in recent tennis history.

Sinner’s win – not so much.

Tonight, fireworks celebrating Australia Day lit the skies of south Melbourne. But there were no fireworks in Rod Laver Arena.

A fleet, lanky, soft-spoken Italian who rules from the center of tennis courts and skillfully bounds out of corners was again letting his extraordinary racket do the talking.

Pay should be reflect the level of entertainment to some extent. Nothing worse than a final where everyone knows who's going to win. Have you used DeepSeek yet?

[jimlosaltos]

I didn't see the final but will watch it on catch-up. No surprises with the winner, though. Sinner was a very safe bet. You just couldn't see Zverev pulling out a win given Sinner's form over the last 12 months. He really is a player who turns up with consistently good form 365 days a year.

One of those "never in doubt" matches.

Zverev came in playing in top form, but couldn't make a dent against Sinner's serve ( Sinner won 84% on 1sts, 63% on 2nds, didn't face a single break point) while Zverev, rated the second best server by the ATP itself, say his winner percent on behind his first serve fall roughly 13% from 79% to 69%

Compared to the exciting women's final, the men's final was a yawner.

As for the match, Bill Simmons at Inside Tennis has this take on the women's final vs the men's final:

Last night at dinner my friend asked me the eternal tennis question, “Why, if women only play best-of-three sets matches, do they get equal prize money?” This weekend’s two Australian Open singles finals showed why.

Both featured dominant, hard-hitting players who were No. 1. Both Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka had won the two hard court majors in 2024 – the Australian and the US Opens.

Both were facing seasoned veterans in their late 20s who’d gained acclaim and lifted many trophies but had fallen short in their efforts to win a Slam.

But there was a difference.

Eight years after Madison Keys laid an egg in the 2017 US Open final, she scored a thrilling victory that touched the hearts of millions who appreciated her inspiring journey. Maddy’s magical moment was both an instant classic and one of the more heart-warming triumphs in recent tennis history.

Sinner’s win – not so much.

Tonight, fireworks celebrating Australia Day lit the skies of south Melbourne. But there were no fireworks in Rod Laver Arena.

A fleet, lanky, soft-spoken Italian who rules from the center of tennis courts and skillfully bounds out of corners was again letting his extraordinary racket do the talking.

[stroke]

Sinner's court disposition reminds me of Fed, but he is probably even more in control of his emotions than even Fed. He is something.

[stotty]

I didn't see the final but will watch it on catch-up. No surprises with the winner, though. Sinner was a very safe bet. You just couldn't see Zverev pulling out a win given Sinner's form over the last 12 months. He really is a player who turns up with consistently good form 365 days a year.

[stroke]

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DFScLTmhXjE/?igsh=MWowOG44dHgxeDFqMw==

[stroke]

Sinner is really squeezing him out there, Zverev is getting pushed back, and is down 2 sets to 0. Sinner is 1/8 in breakpoints, Zverev has had no breakpoints.

[stotty]

No doubt Sinner goes in as heavy favourite to win the final but at least Zverev has, thus far, a winning record over the Italian. The only problem is that Sinner has improved a great deal since they last met and has the developed the aura and confidence of a champion. He's arrived at big time tennis and thoroughly knows it. Zverev will need to play out of his skin one feels.

A thought did occur to me that if the World Anti-Doping Agency's appeal were successful, could Sinner be stripped of any titles he has won dating back from the time he tested positive, or will they just give him an extended ban and leave it at that? Just a thought.

[neilchok]

I can't warm to Shelton either.

From my experience there are two types of tennis parents; those who stay in the background (like Tim Henman's parents) and those who are in your face and full on. In both scenarios one of the parents nearly always driven and obsessive, while the other parent, curiously, often isn't. I guess one of the has to have their feet on the ground. I coached one child whose father owned a company and sat on the board. He spent so much time obsessively going to every tournament to watch his son play that it affected the company's performance, so the board decided to take action and fired him. Now, I am not sure how a guy gets fired from a company he actually owned, but it did happen, and it was all down to him being an obsessive parent.

The maddest case I have come across is that of a french parent who drugged his daughter's opponents, only one day it went horribly wrong. I dug out an article out on the debacle here.

Yeah I agree. On coachlife.com. They were interviewing Michael Joyce. And he talked about coaching Jessica Pegula. Who is probably the most likable billionaire kid you could meet. They said the father who is a billionaire and who owns the Buffalo Bills, would come like every couple months and just drop in to see how she was doing. They really cared for Jessica and actually moved to Florida so she could get the best coaching. And it was funny, because they were so rich, they had like 7 people on their staff! But the parents seemed to be relaxed. And I think Jessica seems to have grown up, and she seems so likable. She actually is the god mother for Michael Joyce!

But yeah maybe Ben's dad is not that bad. And I get it Ben Shelton is insanely talented and is an absolutely massive human being, and to know that you can out power the top pros in the game is probably an extremely intoxicating feeling. But I think he could just tone it down a bit. It was also my complaint about Agassi, Monfils, and Grigor in their early years. I feel now when they are older, they are so much more likable to watch and still entertaining. I think Monfils is probably one of the most athletic players of all time, but I never get the feeling he thinks he is better than people. I think Andre with all the work he is done outside the court, and how cool and deferent to Steffi he is, is great.

I feel if Ben just didn't do all those comments, the points between him and Sonego speak for themselves. It was why I loved watching Dominic Thiem so much!!! And even Casper Ruud a little bit. They are both very likable and they play huge, entertaining games.

[jimlosaltos]

Zverev has played quite deep in the match segments I've gotten to see. Do you think he can do that vs Sinner?

Just watched the semi with Djokovic, the one set of it. Zverev was frequently going to toe-to-toe on big ground strokes with Djokovic but often from the shadow behind the logo. He was making it work quite well.

[jimlosaltos]

I can't warm to Shelton either.

From my experience there are two types of tennis parents; those who stay in the background (like Tim Henman's parents) and those who are in your face and full on. In both scenarios one of the parents nearly always driven and obsessive, while the other parent, curiously, often isn't. I guess one of the has to have their feet on the ground. I coached one child whose father owned a company and sat on the board. He spent so much time obsessively going to every tournament to watch his son play that it affected the company's performance, so the board decided to take action and fired him. Now, I am not sure how a guy gets fired from a company he actually owned, but it did happen, and it was all down to him being an obsessive parent.

The maddest case I have come across is that of a french parent who drugged his daughter's opponents, only one day it went horribly wrong. I dug out an article out on the debacle here.

What a horrible story.

As for Shelton, I can understand why he would rub some (many?) the wrong way. To play devils advocate, tennis is a game and is supposed to be fun. Yeah, Ben's a bit like a young colt prancing all over to the point of annoyment. He'll mellow with time. Not every player and match needs to be like the baton death march. Much better that than abusing and throwing rackets and balls at judges IMHO.

As for his tennis parent, his father Bryan, the (former?) coach at George Tech's excellent program seems anything but dominating. He doesn't talk to Ben much during matches and when he does gently suggests things that Ben often ignores. I remember an early scene at US Open where Bryan appeared to say something like get your serve in, so Ben promptly went for a 140 MPH second and missed. Bryan didn't yell, or even look mad he just shook his head with a wry grin.

[stotty]

I was going to bring up Ben Shelton. I am American, but I can't stand that guy. Every shot when you see him practice and when he plays, he is constantly congratulating himself, and you really feel he thinks he is like a god or something. (Watch clips of him at Indian wells practice courts). The way he kept smiling and pointing to his biceps, when he would hit winners from the baseline against Sonego. (mind you they were pretty impressive forehands, a lot of them were from behind the baseline). He just kept essentially looking at the crowd, and basically saying "how great am I". And he would look to his dad, and his dad who would just smile. It is so nauseating to watch his dad just smile, and just fawn all over his son, almost agreeing with the greatness of his son. It also is sooo extremely disrespectful to Sonego, who had a great tournament and seems like a nice person. Also Fonseca hits way bigger forehands, and he is way younger, and he never seems so arrogant.

I have noticed there are two types of tennis parents. The one's that will sit for hours and talk your ear off how good their kid is, and relieve every amazing moment he/she has had since the last time you have seen them. Then there are the other parents that are so normal and never brag or anything. I am friends with a tennis dad, and would hit with his younger daughter in practice matches. Then later on I remember I saw his older daughter in a highlight winning the junior US open! I never had any clue how good his older daughter was, and the dad never mentioned it once the entire time I was with him over a span of months! I feel Ben's dad would be of the first type.

I can't warm to Shelton either.

From my experience there are two types of tennis parents; those who stay in the background (like Tim Henman's parents) and those who are in your face and full on. In both scenarios one of the parents nearly always driven and obsessive, while the other parent, curiously, often isn't. I guess one of the has to have their feet on the ground. I coached one child whose father owned a company and sat on the board. He spent so much time obsessively going to every tournament to watch his son play that it affected the company's performance, so the board decided to take action and fired him. Now, I am not sure how a guy gets fired from a company he actually owned, but it did happen, and it was all down to him being an obsessive parent.

The maddest case I have come across is that of a french parent who drugged his daughter's opponents, only one day it went horribly wrong. I dug out an article out on the debacle here.

[stotty]

Zverev has played quite deep in the match segments I've gotten to see. Do you think he can do that vs Sinner?

I would have thought it unlikely. You would think he would try to serve well and play tighter to the baseline and take the game to Sinner. You can't rally with Sinner, you'll end up getting either run off or knocked off the court. Sinner is another Novak who hits the ball harder. He's awfully good. Zverez's only hope is to be nerveless and really take it to Sinner.

You have to feel sorry for the also-rans like Zverez. Novak is soon about to exit only to be replaced by Sinner.

[jimlosaltos]

I like this comparison of Iga's and Arnya's games from someone that has played both:

Paula Badosa, who lost the semifinal to Sabalenka, and has beaten both Aryna and Iga, was asked what the difference is between playing the new world number one and Iga Swiatek the prior #1:

“You have to maybe take more risks against them. That’s what I found when I played against both of them. But I think maybe the difference, what makes them different, is that with Iga, when I played against her, I felt she destroyed me physically. She’s, like, so intense all the time, all the time very, very intense. “It was like for me, of course, it’s a tennis match, but it was like a physical battle. I found, like, her legs are insane. She’s so fast.
.
"With Aryna, it’s more like winners everywhere. Sometimes you’re like, I don’t know, I’m just walking around the court because I feel like she’s playing a PlayStation. Today she was like that.
.

“So sometimes I’m like, What’s happening? I don’t even have time to think. It’s completely different games, but at the same time you just have to bring the best out of you if you want to win them.”

[jimlosaltos]

All true.

I always find there is a price to be paid for having a humungous serve, and that's a player is lesser in the ground shot department because of it. Zverev might be the rare exception but then his weaker second serve has always ensured the requirement to develop excellent grounds strokes.

The difference in the rallies will come down to forehands where Sinner is somewhat superior. Zverev serving lights out won't be enough and the chances of him winning on Sunday are mightily slim in my view.

Shame Novak didn't get there as it would have been interesting had he been fully fit. For the first time after the match, Novak hinted at retirement.

Zverev has played quite deep in the match segments I've gotten to see. Do you think he can do that vs Sinner?