Australian Open

[stroke]

https://ausopen.com/articles/features/mens-draw-nadal-v-draper-gets-ao-underway-bang

[stroke]

Odds to win AO:
Novak, nearly even money at -110
Medvedev, +600
Nick and Tsitsipas, +1600
Nadal +1700
FAA and Sinner, +2000
Fritz +2300
Ruud +3300
Berrettini +4000
Korda and Zverev +5000

[stotty]

The draw: https://tennisconnected.com/home/wp-...ns-Singles.pdf

[stroke]

Nadal has a brutal 1st round match up vs Draper, and he will be hitting his favorite hook forehand into Draper's very good lefty forehand. Murray vs Berrettini 1st round also.

[jimlosaltos]

Odds to win AO:
Novak, nearly even money at -110
Medvedev, +600
Nick and Tsitsipas, +1600
Nadal +1700
FAA and Sinner, +2000
Fritz +2300
Ruud +3300
Berrettini +4000
Korda and Zverev +5000

Were those odds after or before the draw?

I see that Novak's three main contenders are all on the opposite site of the draw.

I usually sneer when people claim draws are rigged, but given Craig Tilley's behavior toward Djokovic, I'm getting lured to the conspiracy-theory dark side.

[stroke]

The odds are before the draw, but I have never seen any significant change post a draw.

[jimlosaltos]

The odds are before the draw, but I have never seen any significant change post a draw.

Thanks.

While I'm at it, here are the WTA betting numbers (It's like the challengers just below Iga have vaporized in the last year):

filedata/fetch?id=99375&d=1673655640&type=thumb

[stroke]

https://open.substack.com/pub/hughclarke/p/australian-open-preview?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android

Quite the write up on all the 1st round matches.

[glacierguy]

Nadal whining about what a long way it is to get his towel, and asking for the ball kids to bring him his towel. Umpire: "No".

[stroke]

Nadal whining about what a long way it is to get his towel, and asking for the ball kids to bring him his towel. Umpire: "No".

I for one certainly hope the day of the towel boys is done forever. Stan and Musetti out in 1st round. Tsitsipas looked good and playing with belief. I think I like Fritz after Novak to win this thing.

[don_budge]

Andy Murray...in the shades of a "The Big Four" last hurrah takes out the 13th seed, Mateo Berrettini, in five sets. The fifth set is an ultimate test for an athlete and Sir Andy is running on a replaced hip and an uphill battle against Father Time. This was really a nice testimony to a player that has never been a favorite of mine in any way, shape or form. But that took some real guts. I didn't watch much of it but I saw just a few points in the fifth and he was tottering. I don't know how he did it, but he got it across the finish line. On the other hand...Berrettini sort of reinforced the stereotypical Italian in that they don't possess the heart to be great champions. Too much sacrifice in the wine, women and song categories. He's big guy who has chosen to grind it out from the baseline and he doesn't have the legs for it, nevermind the heart. The difference between the legs of these two players were in stark contrast...the spindly Italian and the tree trunks of the Brit.

Lots of first round drama. Who's got the time? I'm waiting for the real theatre...Novak Djokovic. In the wake of his ban last year he is seeking revenge on the COVID fascists. He had the audacity to refuse to take a vaccination that had zero clinical trials published. God speed to him. He took on the tsunami of a wall of modern morality. He was never a favorite of mine either but now I see him a champion of a much larger battle. The battle for the soul of man. It is now a battlefield being played out in virtual morality.

[stroke]

I like Berrettini, but he is certainly not physically built for the battle of attrition. Nor is his backhand for that matter. I think the game has passed by the runaround to hit a forehand style(done to excess), and Berrettini certainly falls into that category to me, particularly not good for his size and lack of quickness(compared to the top tier movers). His backhand is always going to be a weakness in his game. Tsitsipas seems to have the same issue for a 1 hander, but he is built for the battle of attrition if necessary, and his movement is top tier. I like how players like Novak and Fritz just play their backhand, much more efficient.

[stroke]

And Nick is out. It will be hard to watch this tournament now that he is out. He brings so much entertainment to a tournament.

[jeffreycounts]

And Nick is out. It will be hard to watch this tournament now that he is out. He brings so much entertainment to a tournament.

Not only entertainment, but he was a legit threat to win the tournament.

[don_budge]

I for one certainly hope the day of the towel boys is done forever.

Amen to that. COVID was a blessing in that respect.

Not only entertainment, but he was a legit threat to win the tournament.

Was he? Nick is a mixed bag to such an extent he is a rarity. A rare event statiscally speaking. Never has there been a bigger underachiever. His revenge on life is being a loser. The reality is...the only revenge in life is success. He is a mixed bag that comes with so much baggage it always drags him down into a puddle of excuses and perceived injustice. He is a metaphor for life in the tennis cosmos. Always blaming everything except himself. Refusing to take the ultimate responsibility in the game and in life. In this way he is an abomination to the game and not the credit many of the classic Aussies were under the tutelage of Harry Hopman.

He was never more entertaining that when he played Roger Federer. It seemed only Roger could command his respect for himself where he made the effort. The only time he really showed what he was capable of producing. Even the Laver Cup match he played against "The Living Proof" was at a superb level. An exhibition that he raised above his demons to showcase what he is capable of. He is a terrible shame. Such a waste of talent and space. I pity him. When it is all said and done and when he gets older he will understand what he threw away. He will ask himself why? It was the demons.