Re: The Official Tennis Thread
After watching the players form in Brisbane, Perth, Doha, Sydney and so on, who do you think will win the 2013 Australian Open.
Mens: Djokovic (maybe Fed - haven't seen him play as he's going in cold)
Womens: Serena Williams (blasted everyone at Brisbane)
Any upsets or breakthroughs by rising stars?
I think Dimitrov and Tomic considering their performances recently.
Discuss.
Mens:
Well, Novak reigns supreme at AO. It's like his best slam AND the slow hardcourt surface suits his game perfectly. If he does win this year, he'll be the first man in the Open Era to win 3 consecutive AOs.
Nadal is out so that's good for the rest of the Big 4.
Murray won his first slam at USO2012 already so he'll have some momentum going into AO especially since it's also hardcourt. Though, he has YET to beat Federer in a slam despite having a lead on Fed in the H2H. He definitely can overcome Djokovic as seen by the USO12 final but tbh, I still give Novak the edge when it comes to the slower courts of AO.
Federer is really questionable. Will he be in his supreme WIMBLEDON 2012 form? Or will he be upsetted by a Berdych/Del Potro in the Quarter Finals? (lost to Delpo in their two most recent meetings in Basel and WTF.... and those two were BOTH on Fed's FAVOURITE surface indoor hardcourt. Got upsetted by Berdych in USO 2012 Quarters)
But, I predict Federer will AT LEAST make it to the Semi-finals. But AO surface favours Djokovic more than Federer so yeah.. chances of winning are slim for him.
BUT, I guess one can never count out ROGER FEDERER, the Greatest Of All Time in tennis. He proved the critics wrong by winning Wimbledon 2012 so he can defs win another slam despite his age.
However, I'm rooting for Federer! The top 4 seeds would be:
1. Novak
2. Roger
3. Murray
4. David Ferrer
Traditionally, I think the AO puts 2 & 3 on the same side of the draw and 1 & 4 on the other. This is DEFS BAD for Roger... considering his physical limits nowadays due to age. (remember how he got crushed by Murray in the olympics final when he had that uber long semifinals with Delpo?). I don't think Roger will want to go through BOTH MURRAY AND NOVAK... (assuming he gets to the semis).
The best draw for Roger would be seeing his pigeons on the road to the finals. Maybe Tipsarevic or Youzhny in the Quarter Finals THEN meeting Ferrer in the Semis (he's undefeated in the H2H against Ferrer). Then let Murray and Djokovic have their 5 hours grind fest in the other semis, killing themselves in the process. Then Fed blasts the survivor of those 2 guys to win his 18th slam? Hooray!
Womens:
Honestly, I cannot see anyone win the AO outside of:
Serena, Sharapova or Azarenka. Funny thing is, Serena CRUSHES both Sharapova & Azarenka in the H2Hs. (Azarenka only recording 1 WIN EVER against Serena)
Serena is heavy favourite but she is always vulnerable to upsets. WTA players are much more vulnerable (especially the women at the top) to upsets than men.
Rising stars?
Yeah defs Baby Fed (Dimitrov), Tomic, Raonic, Jerzy Janowicz (got to the final of Paris Masters last year ON HIS FIRST MASTERS entry.. defeating a few seeded players including Murray) and Nishikori.
Those 5 youngsters have potential.
I'm defs going for Jerzy Janowicz and Baby Fed (Dimitrov).
Dark Horses:
Defs Del Potro. He's starting to regain his USO2009 form. He's a slam winner so he knows how to win one again if possible. He has the tools to match ANYONE on hardcourt. He can even blast Federer off the court if he's playing well. The difference between Delpo and Berdych is that Delpo CAN beat 2 of the Big 4 back to back. He did it when he won USO2009 (beat Nadal and Fed back to back in the same tournament). Berdych can't..... When Berdych upsetted Fed in Wimbledon 2010 and USO 2012, he lost to Nadal and Murray respectively in the next round. Basically, Berdych is a choker/mental midget despite his potential to blast people like Federer off the court.... and Berych = Djokovic's pigeon anyways.
Another one would be Tsonga. He has Rasheed as his coach now and I expect great things from the guy. He's like 27 or so years old now.... So time is against him.... With his talent/weapons, HE SHOULD BE ABLE to get at LEAST 1 SLAM by the end of his career.... so he better do it fast before he hits the 30s. He upsetted Djokovic in AO2010 and upsetted Federer in Wimbledon 2011, he can compete with the best when he's on fire.
I don't think a Rosol v Nadal kind of upset will happen because the AO = slow courts so a guy can't just on fire and start going for broke, hoping for the best. It's not Wimbledon where you can just smack the ball without fear of error because while Wimbledon rewards attacking tennis, AO mainly rewards defensive tennis more so nowadays. Like Novak, a defender, always get the better of Roger, an attacker, at the AO while Fed gets the better of Novak at Wimbledon (as seen by Wimby 2012 semis). Sustained grinding prowess is required and its more of a physical game towards the end.