Closing Time - Sinner Winner

Yes,  my time at the Australian Open is done for another year.  As to whether I enjoyed the experience or not.  This is not an easy answer,  but I will say this you aren't interested in the same girls at 18 as you are when you are 40.

The last match I managed to see was Tommy Paul vs.  Davidovich Fokina : There isn't too much report on this one.   In the first set Paul had wrongfooted Fokina whose leg didn't move the rest of the body.  Paul was playing very well and using the fast conditions.  Foki was struggling with his movement,  could not push off with the leg and not moving at all to the forehand side.   Foki played it out,  but could have easily retired.  Paul through to the quarter finals for the loss of 3 games.

The Good

The Italians are having a great run at tennis.   Sure Jannik Sinner gets most of the attention,  but there are other players who have been doing well.  Lorenzo Sonego made the quarter finals,  this is something that not even Sonego thought would be likely.   He hit one of the best shots of all time.   His match against the Brazilian teen sensation Joao Foneseca where he silenced a hostile crowd.

Davidovich Fokina who won 2 5 set matches in a row coming back from 2 sets down,  involving one of the most bizarre incidents of time.  Foki got rid of his old coach last year,  then the ranking plummeted into the 60s.   Now he has a new team and can see some good signs for the year.

Hady Habib became the first Lebanese player to win a singles match in the main draw.   He came through qualies as well.   Habib learned to play the game in Beirut,  then moved back to the US to improve his tennis.  The local Lebanese community came out in force and gave the matches some atmosphere.

Catching up with old friends Lance,  Owen,  Brauman,  Peta,   Michael,  Mirza, Hobart Hurricanes man,  John, Andres and meeting some good people.

The Bad

The Australian Open has ceased being a tennis tournament as we know it.   Now,  it's an event where people go to be seen and don't give a shit about the tennis.   Sure,  there was always a small element of those types,  but now it's actually rampant to the point where the fan experience is negative.

Just cause you can doesn't mean you should.  For example the tournament has sold way too many ground passes,  sure on Bogan Saturday it's a zoo where it's overcrowded.   That was just one day,  whereas now that is a common experience as the courts are not large enough for the people that are there.

Crowd fight

You know it's way too many people when people are lining up to Daniel Altmaier and Comesana at Court 15,  this was just not German or Argentine fans.   As a non profit organisation TA are making all their money in January to cover for the rest of year.   It's a lucrative gig,  if you can get it.

There has been a lot of discussion around the Aussie Open crowds.  As someone who has gone to a lot of punk and metal shows,   plus don't mind a bit of wrestling.   Yes,  the crowds are definitely a lot louder, for the most part trying to get themselves over by being obnoxious and unfunny.   Cheer as much as you like,  but shut up when they are about to serve.

Then there was the booing of players.   The fact that the price of the ground pass has become very expensive and it's not the great value it once was.   Before I would recommend people to come to the event.   I definitely would not recommend it now,  but hey record crowds.

The Bizarre

One thing about this tournament that I will never forget is the moment where I witnessed a match being moved due to excessive crowd noise.   For further reading about the match see the link below.

Davidovich Fokina match moved

The one thing that needs to be clarified is that the French fans were not going out of their way to disrupt Davidovich Fokina and Auger-Aliassime.   They were just casualties of the chants and feet stamping on the temporary stands where the sound reverberated onto their court.

It was my latest finish of the event and ego made me stay that late  but thankfully Foki win.

Sinner Winner

Sinner didn't even need to play well tonight,  just good enough when it counted.  Zverev in his own words was not good enough and that statement could be easily said about this years edition of the Australian Open for different reasons.

Here We Go Again

Sorry for the lack of a blog yesterday,  but it takes longer to recover these days and I wish it was from partying,  so there'll be two for the price of one.

Davidovich Fokina vs. Menšík

Both players defeated seeded players in the last round.   Fokina who took out Auger-Aliassime in 5 sets whereas Menšík defeated Norwegian Casper Ruud.  Foki had a poor 2024,  but has made changes and looking to bounce back.  Menšík last year had qualified for the event and is now finding his way on tour.

Menšík was serving from the tree in the first 2 sets,  hitting big bombs and placing the ball well.  Foki came out a bit flat,  lacking energy, could not get into the Menšík service games at all and was struggling to get into the match.  The young Czech took the first 2 sets comfortably.

Foki is one of the more unpredictable players on tour.  There are days when he fights very hard and others not so much.  The challenge so far with Foki is to get the balance right between flair and when to defend,  limiting the bad days,  so far that has been difficult.

In the 3rd set Foki started to serve a little better and Menšík could not keep up that outstanding serving levels.  The first 2 sets went fairly quickly as there weren't many extended rallies.   Foki had decided to change up the return position,  which helped him make more returns as it forced Menšík to look at different options.  Foki was finally able to break serve and tried to work the crowd up.  Then they traded breaks which lead to the tiebreaker.

This was a memorable breaker,  not so much for the standard which was better than before.  Foki saved 2 match points and one in particular, Menšík shanked a forehand return and hit a let cord that went over.  Thankfully Foki saved it and took the 3rd set.

Both players came back from a kit change. Menšík is starting to feel the pinch, he called the trainer. The conditions have changed as it was warm with the sun out,  the balls were flying.  As the shadows came over the court,  slowing it down Foki was making more returns allowing the rallies to be extended where Menšík was being exposed physically.  With a combination of shotmaking and solid net play he was able to take the 4th set, levelling at 2 set all.

Foki was riding the momentum train and raced to a 4-0 lead,  luckily for him he had an insurance break as he had lost serve. At 4-2 Foki was able to break and then served it out to take his second 5 set win a row from 2 set down.   First time he ever made the 4th round here and did not remember saving he matchies.   Good for the game.

Other stuff

One thing about the crowds here,  they are a lot worse behaved before.  This does not come from someone who wants it to be a church,  but there are times to shut up.  Had a few drunk bogans next to me who were very annoying.   One lady apologised,  I said there is only so much you can housetrain them.   Sure it maybe the Kyrgios effect,  but at the same time TA love talking about the record crowds and nothing will change.

Altmaier vs.  Monfils :  Monfils is one cool hombre,  some people are just cool without trying.  I mean 38 years young,  won a title last week,  got the family with him.  Not too sure how long he has left on tour,  his matches are always full.

Altmaier served for the 1st set at 5-4 and sadly played a very poor game to get broken.  Monfils looked a bit gassed and wasn't really serving hard and going for it unless necessary.  Altmaier needed to win that first set for sure,  but he was unable do that or put enough pressure to expose a tired Monfils who will play Fritz next up. Altmaier,  I can see the potential for improvement,  but definitely needs to improve serve and more aggressive on the forehand,  as the single hand backhand is world class.

Etcheverry vs.  Giron :   Tennis is a brutal sport,   some days you play well and lose,  others you play shit and win.   There wasn't much between the players,  but Etcheverry will still be kicking himself for losing this one.

Giron has huge quads and is a calfzilla was moving the ball around with timing,  whereas Etcheverry was pure grunt using the off forehand to pin Giron in the corner.  That was pretty much the match for the 4 sets which were split.  Etcheverry managed to lose twice at 6-5 when serving to stay in the set,  unable to hold his nerve and serve.

Giron towards the end of the fourth required a medical timeout as there were issues with his back and could hardly move on serve.   Etcheverry jumped to an early break in the 5th had points for the double break,  but unable to do so.  Giron struggling with movement was like that turd that won't flush away.  Etcheverry forgets how to play tennis and Giron steals a win.

Coach Horacio de la Pena is very animated during the coaching and at the end was shattered by the defeat.

If Foki wins his next match in 5 sets he will equal his coach Felix Mantilla's record of winning 3 5 set matches in a row.   As those great philosophers once said history never repeats.  I tell myself before I go to sleep.

How Bizarre

Today was meant to be an easy day,  then that is like saying you're going to pub for one drink and normally it ends up scaling walls at 9am the next morning.

The rain had put a dent in the plans of seeing Ugo Humbert against Habib as matches got moved which lead to a clash.  So,  there was only one match for me but it will be memorable.

As anyone who reads this quirky blog knows I am a fan of Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and yes that's the match that will be discussed today.   As for Foki,  I might do a piece on him at a later date.

Davidovich Fokina vs. Auger-Aliassime

Foki had a very interesting 2024 it was a success off the court in getting engaged but on the court it was not.  He stop working with his childhood coach and second father Jorge Aguirre,  he felt they went as far as they could.  Briefly started working with Fernando Verdasco,  but now is working with David Sanchez and Felix Mantilla hopefully they can harness the raw talent and minimise the lapses.

FAA on the other hand is definitely a case of too much too young in some ways.   There was a lot of hype around him as a young lad,  then winning Challenger events while going through puberty will do that. Has he lived up to expectations,  that depends on the perspective.  FAA is a very intelligent, fair and well spoken individual,  he maybe too calm on the court.  Started off 0-8 in finals but now has a much better record.

As for the title how bizarre and how it fits into this match.  Davidovich Fokina vs. Auger-Aliassime match has suspended due to excessive French crowd noise on the adjacent court in the match between Fearnley and Cazaux.   The French fans were so loud that it was interrupting both players with chants,  as they were trying to serve,  as sound travels.  I mean the tous enamble chant is fun and all,  but it was so loud.  They were even cheering for Felix as well.

Supervisor got called to the court and play was suspended until Court 7 was free and they got moved to that court.

Now we got that out of the way.  They played once before at the AO where FAA beat Foki in 4 tie break sers.  There wasn't much between them in the first 2 sets where FAA was looking for one-two combo the serve and dominate with the forehand.  Whereas Foki was fighting and scrapping,  his attitude was excellent today.   FAA took the first 2 sets in tiebreakers, the main difference was Foki missed a couple of serves and FAA took advantage to get the mini breaks being strong enough to close it out.

Both took a break to change their kit. The interesting thing for me was how Foki's attitude was going to be.  Last year here he was listless,  but thankfully he showed resilience and was starting to read FAA's serve better and was able to extend the rallies.   He broke in the 3rd set and was able to take that set.  Foki break early in the 4th as FAA had a bit of a lapse in concentration,  while continuing a good level of play with minimal errors working some good angles to work the bigger opponent around the court.

There was some very interesting officiating as well both FAA and Foki got a warning for slow play.  The Foki first one was unfair,  as the crowd were not stopping as he was ready to serve.  The umpire didn't stop the clock,  but the second he got a point penalty for delay of game as he was not ready to the pace of the server.  Foki blew up and Andreas "I look like parking inspector"  Egli was a busy man and bore the brunt of the frustrations.

Into the 5th set, the fifth game was the turning point as the Foki service game for ages,  at least 10 minutes.   FAA had numerous break points,  but was unable to break serve and this gave Foki confidence to eventually serve out the match while letting out all the emotion of an important win

Having a match suspended because of another crowd is definitely bizarre.

Other stuff    

Alex Vukic managed to upset Seb Korda over 5 sets.

Mensik beat Casper Ruud in 4 sets,  that's not a surprise as the young lad is a big talent.   He,  Machac and Lehecka all won today,  which was a great day for the Czech Republic.

Going to be running on fumes tomorrow,  but the grind must continue.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

You Want It All and You Can't Have It

Today was a long day and for the most part a good one,  as they say in the classics you can't have everything.  It was definitely a lot easier to get in,  but still too warm thankfully there was shade and the mist fans working well.   Now down to business.

Cerundolo vs.  Bublik

Definite contrast in styles with Cerundolo using the serve to open up the court and blast heavy forehands whereas Bublik you never know what to get,  it's all dependant on his mood.

The match started normally,  both were holding serve comfortably.   Then the turning point,  yes it was that early in this one.  Cerundolo serving at *4-5 0-30,  Bublik had an easy high backhand floater and missed it,  does not break for the game.  Then the next service game Bublik gets broken by serving 4 double faults,  though Cerundolo doesn't close it out and it gets to the tiebreaker.

Bublik is still attempting to serve 200 km/h second serves and for the most part keeps netting them,  loses the 1st set.  As per usual with Bublik matches there is running commentary in Russian and English.  He ends up telling one of the support staff to "shut up and don't fucking talking to me for the rest of the match".

After losing the 1st set,  it really wasn't much of a match.   Cerundolo was being very solid from the baseline.  Bublik was being temperamental,  a few good moments but for the most part serving poorly and an attitude to match.

Altmaier vs.  Comesana

This goes back to my point about overcrowding.  This match was on court 15 which is right at the back of the complex and the court was so full.  The fact that the coaches couldn't sit in their usual seats and had to have chairs provided sitting in the sun across the court.

The crowd had some German and Argentine fans who created some good atmosphere,  but found out later it was seat stacking as there was a women's doubles featuring an Aussie afterwards.

Altmaier who has a brilliant single handed backhand started the match very well breaking Comesana early.   The Argentinian based German was solid in the 1st set moving the ball around well and waiting to use the backhand to finish off points and took the 1st set easily.

Comesana who is 178cm which is short by modern tennis standards has an excellent serve cracking it over 200km/h consistently and started to serve better.  Once that started happening,  he was able to start dominating the rallies ,  his level rose a little bit and Altmaier dropped and levelled at 1st set all.  There is minimal difference between their rankings and it showed,  this was an example of a close match due to good play.

The 3rd set Altmaier had to fight harder to hold serve and working for longer rallies.  Comesana was hitting the big serves and waiting for short balls on the forehand to dominate the points.  Got to 3rd set breaker and Atlmaier starts to take a few more risks coming to the net which started to work and took the buster.

Comesana is fighting hard, sticking to his patterns of play and Altmaier gets broken from 30-0 up and the German doesn't have a chance to break and going the distance.  Altmaier got the early break,  now whether it was a tactical and maybe a bit physical,  he is moving forward to make volleys after strong groundstrokes.  In this set he was being successful,  mentally very strong on serve and managed to serve out the match comfortably for his first win in Melbourne.

Shapovalov vs.  Bautista Agut

This match was the perfect example of tennis about match ups and a contrast of styles.  Shapovalov the left handed shotmaker who is a lot of sizzle and not much steak whereas Bautista Agut is the very steady baseliner with predictable patterns of play.

Shapo when he is on can create a lot of highlight reels,  but when he is off might as well play baseball.  He started off poorly,  winner,  a few errors and Bautista was being his solid self taking the 1st set.

Bautigol got the early break in the 2nd,  but Shapo raised his level, made less errors he was taking chances and was able to turn the match around.  Bautigol, doesn' t have the greatest variation and this is the problem with this match up for him.  Shapo loves rhythm and he gets that from Bautista Agut.

Shapo has improved his level,  there was the odd temperamental moment.  Bautigol is trying to dig it,  move to the net a bit more but he's not sticking the volleys and Shapo is making most of his passing shots to take the 3rd set.

The 4th set both players are playing at a very good level.   Bautigol sticking to his regular patterns of play side to side,   Shapo using his big serve to open the court up and belt winners.  They end up in the 4th set breaker and it was just nervous tennis all round,  as the level dropped.   The first 6 points were against the serve.  Bautigol was more solid as per norm he had 5 set points and worst of all there was at 6-5 that he served a double fault.  That can't be legislated and Shapo was able to take the match in 4.

Problems that Bautista Agut has in this match up is that he loves going to cross court and also as he is a flat hitter that goes into Shapo's strengths.  There wasn't enough attempts to change the directions or balls down the middle preventing Shapo using the angles,  got to mix it up to attempt to keep him off balance.  If it's too good, then so be it.

Tennis,  some days you play well and not win,  other days you play shit and win.  Ultimately,  got to take your opportunities but that's the same in life.

Other Stuff

One of the great things about an international event like this is hearing all the different languages it creates a good buzz.

The Argentinian,   Brazilian and Colombian fans creating the noise.   After the Etcheverry and Diaz Acosta wins,  the Argentine fans started the Argentina Es un Sentimiento No Puedo Parar chant.

Lorenzo Sonego what a way to break serve.

Pack It Up, Pack It In, Let Me Begin

Today was the first day of the main draw that I was on the premises.   Sorry,  Sunday starts don't count as they are just a money grab and the results are normally forgotten about.  This edition,  they had matches that were meant for today,  rescheduled for tomorrow,  but can't control the weather.

Onto the positives,  it took 20 minutes to get in as there were a huge amount of people but to be fair and the line moved fairly quickly got into the complex.  As for the other aspects more on those later.

Mensik vs.  Bashashvili

A match between the old and new.   Last year at 18 years old Menšík had qualified for the Open defeating the overrated Shapovalov before losing in 5 sets to the big Pole Hurkacz. Menšík is a big talent to anyone with functioning eyesight can see that,  but he's still raw.

Bashashvili,  well he had some issues in the past and as a player the difference between his best and worst is large.  He had qualified for the main draw,  that's the thing about tennis the game does move quickly and it's easy to be left behind.

Hard to say much about this match.   There was a lot of big hitting,  not too much science,  both players weren't playing well at the same time.  In the end it was Menšík who had the bigger game,   served well at times and played the bigger points better.

Menšík

Yes,  it went to 4 sets,  but there was never in any danger that Menšík was going to lose. It's one of those where the player is happy just to get the win and improve on the next performance.

Daniel vs. Schoolkate

If I wasn't too enthused about the previous match,  then this one was worse.  Daniel has lost confidence and started the season poorly.  Schoolkate is the local Aussie wildcard who has definitely not skipped on gym sessions.

The first 2 sets were close mainly because they were serving  well and not too much action on the return games.   The 3rd set Daniel had a lapse of concentration and Schoolkate kept up this level with the support of the crowd definitely helped taking a 2 sets to 1 lead.

The 4th set started the same as the first and second,  both were holding serve comfortably.  Schoolkate got the break in the 4th and closed it out.  The reward is a lesson against Jannik Sinner.

Daniel,  the serve lacked pop and the shots as well.   When he was playing well both the serve and forehand were heavy using each to open up the court to keep the opponent on the move.   The lack of confidence is clear and the first place it shows in the movement.  Daniel looked very heavy legged and it shows, as he is not in position to hit the good shots.   

Davidovich Fokina vs.  Shang

Unlike the other two matches this was very entertaining but sadly too brief.   Foki has had an interesting career trajectory and not in the right direction.   Last year he sacked his long time coach,  then hired Fernando Verdasco which was a spectacular failure.   Now he is working with David Sanchez and Felix Mantilla hopefully he gets back on track,  but that is up to him.

This match was on the pub court aka Court 6.  As the previous match had a Chinese player,  Shang was definitely the crowd favourite which was mostly Chinese,  who were lively.  Foki dropped his first service game which was mostly dumb errors.   

Shang was using his lefty angles and forehand to dominate the play.  Foki was in the mood to fight and start hitting the ball better in the extended rallies,  yes there were a few boneheaded plays but not as many as usual. Foki was hitting some very clean forehands and willing to move to the net to finish the point.   The 12th game was very hard fought with lots of deuces and break points,  Foki managed to take and get it to the buster.

Both players were playing well with the shotmaking.   Foki from both sides whereas Sheng was using the forehand to open the court up.   Foki was moving very well and only had a couple of slips which is unusual for him.   He managed to take the first set TB.

The second set started the same way with Foki losing his first service game,  but was able to break back straight away.  Not long afterwards Shang started to grab his leg,  at the change of ends the physio was checking him out.   Foki played it smart,  stretching and testing Shang's movement.    At 5-2 in the 2nd Shang pulled the pin,  just hope he's ok and now Foki is through to the 2nd round.

Other stuff

In the last few years there has been a been a big increase in French fans at the Open.  I like the atmosphere that they brink and yes they sing La Marselliase,  but to be fair it's one of the great anthems.  They managed to get Cavaux to over the line over Sebastian Baez.  If we are being honest as good as Baez is on the clay, he really is the Teemu Diego Schwartzman and he's the seed you want to draw.

Chris O'Connell lost a tough 5 setter to Tommy Paul.   He is one of the good guys on the tennis tour and disappointed he couldn't win it.  I mean he lost his coach Marinko Matosevic to Jordan Thompson,  it was O'Connell who recommended Marinko to coach Jordy.   It helped both players to achieve their best performances,  but now Marinko is focused on Jordy,  then he is the higher ranked player.

As for the pack it up, pack it in it fits the scene at Melbourne Park.  Tennis Australia will crow about the record crowd numbers,  but what's the point of this when it is an awful fan experience for the most part.  There are just way too many people and the court seating needs to be expanded.   Then again TA are packing in the money,  so this is something that will not change.

Welcome To The Jungle We Got Fun and Games

 Yes,  it's that time of the year where the tennis circus comes to town and this blog actually some action.

Was debating whether I was going to do one this year.  A combination of tiredness,  the corporatisation of the event and a case of Idontgiveafuckitis definitely happened,  but we all have our battles to deal with.

Before we get into the tennis action of today.  Probably the most notable things from  the past 2 days were the Nard Dogg aka Bernard Tomic who lost easily in the 1st round.  B'Nard was never the quickest around the court and the funky forehand,  but he was moving in quicksand.  As for Tomic it's admirable,  that he is still trying,  but in the case of those great philosophers a case of too much too young for him.    The other was Cruz Hewitt getting a wildcard,  well the case for nepotism is legit,  but at least he will learn a lot from this experience, there were so many people.   They must have thought that Lleyton was playing.

Dellien vs.  Kasnikowski

Dellien the Bolivian hope who is very much a clay court specialist who is coached by the great man Andres "Gringo" Schneiter who is also working with Federico Coria.   Schneiter is a well respected coach and has had success with various players and that will come into significance later.

First set Dellien played one poor game, a double fault,  2 cheap errors and lost an early break.  Kasnikowski was serving well and holding comfortably and took the 1st set without too many issues.  Gringo is a very passionate coach and you want to play for someone like that and no bullshit either. 

Dellien was able to able to extend the rallies and once they went over 13 shots, he was winning a lot of them more so in forcing the Pole into error as Dellien does not have a massive weapon.   In the 2nd set Bolivian was able to create break point chances but Kasnikowski was able to save them with a decent serves and the odd passive return.

Towards the end of the 2nd set Dellien decided to vary his returning position and was able to create doubt in the Polish player who was missing more first serves.  Dellien finally breaks to take the 2nd set and was working with the Pole around the court with his forehand.

At the end of the second set both took a toilet break,   it was funny as Dellien took his 2-3 minutes later and came back before the Pole.  It was ludicrous how much time Kasnikowski took,   he must have had a shower and the search party ready.   Once the play resumed,   Dellien kept his focus, saved some break points and Kasnikowski was struggling physically and the Bolivian comfortably took out the 3rd set.

Garin vs.  Djere

Two former top 30 players who have been injured and struggling to relive their glory days.   It was a very interesting atmosphere and lot of up and down play,  sometimes there are just  bad match ups,  then there are moments where the luck favours you.

Djere was serving for the match in the 3rd set but was unable to close it out.  Garin holds serve and Djere serving to stay in the match.   At deuce,  Garin gets a dead net cord to get to match point and the breaks for the match.

Garin got out of jail here,  he was also holding his quad during the match.   He plays Dellien for a place in the main draw.  It's interesting cause Garin beat Hugo's brother in the first round an in addition when Garin was at his peak his coach was Gringo Schneiter,  that just adds some  extra spice to the match.

Landaluce vs.  Trotter

Trotter had beaten the combative Daniel Evans in the first round.   Trotter represents Japan and yes he has a Japanese mother.   Has an aggressive game and always looking forward to come to the net,  also he is a member of the single hand backhand club.

Landaluce,  if you weren't aware of him you'd think it was a Spanish Denis Istomin lookalike.  I mean the blond fro,  the headband and the sunglasses,    The young Spanish lad has trained at the Rafael Nadal academy as well.

The key difference in this match was Landaluce was more stable from the baseline,  used his serve and forehand very well,   Trotter while trying to push forward had made some errors at the big moments and Landaluce took it out in straight sets.

After the match the coach of Landaluce starting singing Happy Birthday and the crowd joined on the serenade.   Making his first main draw would be an excellent birthday present.

Other stuff

They have added another bar by Court 16.   There is some very silly art as well,  it looks like a bit Yellow Submarine artwork,  though without the Blue Meanies.   It's not really a tournament these days,  but it's more an event where most of the people don't know the difference between forehand and forehead.

Final round of qualies tomorrow and that's always fun.