Australian Open 2013: Match Thread 2

[User 774433]

First topic message reminder :

Australian Open 2013:

Information: The Australian Open is a major tennis tournament held annually over the last fortnight of January in Melbourne, Australia. First held in 1905, the tournament is chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events of the year – the other three being the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open. It features men's and women's singles; men's, women's, and mixed doubles and junior's championships; as well as wheelchair, legends and exhibition events. Since 1988 the tournament has been played on hard courts at Melbourne Park.
The Australian Open typically has very high attendance, second only to the US Open. It was also the first Grand Slam tournament to feature indoor play during wet weather or extreme heat with its two primary courts, Rod Laver Arena and Hisense Arena, equipped with retractable roofs.

Day by Day Match Reports: http://www.sportpulse.net/category/tennis

v2 Preview: https://www.606v2.com/t39437-australian-open-2013-the-contenders#1785084

Dates: January 14 - January 27

Draw: http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/scores/draws/ms/index.html

Schedule: http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/scores/schedule/index.html

AO Rankings Points Tracker: https://www.606v2.com/t39351-points-tracker-ao-2013


Ready? Play.

Amritia3ee

[CAS]

Well played Murray, love his lack of celebration as well

[CaledonianCraig]

Well played Andy and Roger. An excellent match that and Murray's new mental toughness was displayed today to win in four hours Third slam final on the bounce for Murray he really is stepping up to the plate now.

[Guest]

Thank the lord he made it over the line!

Well done Murray

Now get in that ice bath!!!

[Danny_1982]

Well done Murray. Could have done it in 4 but Roger is not the greatest ever for nothing. Great fight from a great champion.

Novak obviously big favourite after that, but Murray has a good chance if he recovers well.

[lydian]

Great performance from Andy, he served really well and moved well too. Much more aggressive than before. Federer did mighty well but his game seems to lack a bit of bite now against Murray and Djokovic, he needs more power on the slower court set-ups.

Djokovic will love seeing Murray playing 4 hrs with a days less recovery too!

[VTR]

Well played to both players. Murray deserved to win but Federer hung in there despite not playing particularly well showing why he is arguably the best player ever.

Djokovic favourite for the final but would have been regardless of who won this even if it had been straight sets to one player.

[Guest]

Well played Murray.



Novak must be strong favourite now but Andy's young so he should recover reasonably well.

[Mad for Chelsea]

Murray's best performance in a slam? very very impressive how he held it together after somewhat letting the fourth set slip away, and the aggressive mindset throughout was wonderful to watch, not often Federer is outplayed like that from the baseline.

Federer a great fight from a great champion, but Murray was just too good in the end.

[Guest]

MUZZ! Finally gets the slam man in his territory, really great mentally, could ahve won it in 3 but didn't let him get him down and did it fairly easy in the last set

[CAS]

Federer hit so few Aces, think I am right in saying he hit like 11 Aces over 10 sets?

[CAS]

and I'm curious as to why Murray was able to hit more winners? Slow court yes but its slow for both

[Chydremion]

Something Fed fans always boast of is the winners hit as display of talent/aggression and here Murray has hit more winners than Federer.

Chronic back injury hampered Roger's serve (only 5 aces!), groundstrokes and movement. Not too difficult to see.

[CaledonianCraig]

and I'm curious as to why Murray was able to hit more winners? Slow court yes but its slow for both

Exactly. Kind of dispels the myth of him being a grinder/moonballer.

[User 774433]

and I'm curious as to why Murray was able to hit more winners? Slow court yes but its slow for both

Murray out-played his opponent, he was fantastic.

[Guest]

Gerry?

[Chydremion]

Poor match from Murray. Should have beat a Federer in this form (walking corpse-form) in 3 or 4 sets. He really made a meal out of it.

[Mad for Chelsea]

Poor match from Murray. Should have beat a Federer in this form (walking corpse-form) in 3 or 4 sets. He really made a meal out of it.

wow...

[luciusmann]

Well done to Murray, I thought he would win and he did it. As I've said previously, neither player would have won this match easily and the 5 sets demonstrate that. It was telling that Fed couldn't consolidate any of his breaks and won both of his sets on tie breakers which says to be that Fed would have found it hard to win.

I'm looking forward to the Djokovic vs Murray and naturally I'll be supporting Murray whole heartedly! I am bit saddened by Federer's loss but he didn't lose meekly, it took 5 sets for Murray to win so this so good if Fed faces Murray at Wimbledon (or even the USO).

I said Murray couldn't continue to lose in slams to Fed and he's now ended it. Now for the final (after a brief rest)......!

[User 774433]

Murray was superb.
He really played out of his boxers today.

[lydian]

Like I say Federer plays with too old equipment now. Interestingly Wilson made a new larger racquet for Federer but he rejected it before probably really trying to settle with it. Having rejected it, Dimitrov gave it a go and now its his standard racquet..giving him more easy power than the Federer 90sq.in racquet he used before. I feel Federer missed an opportunity to change.
His racquet set up means he has to hit every shot perfectly and even a guy of his talent can't do that all the time in long rally's and matches. Plus, when he drops the RPM just a little the huge swingweight of the racquet is such that he sails the ball long far too often. Suspect it's too late to change now but he can't IMO meet the new power challenge of Djokovic and Murray any longer with that old tech...it's amazing he's done as well as he has with it but no other player uses anywhere near a similar racquet set up now.

[Duty281]

Well done Murray. He'll take Novak in 4!

[Guest]

Like I say Federer plays with too old equipment now. Interestingly Wilson made a new larger racquet for Federer but he rejected it before probably really trying to settle with it. Having rejected it, Dimitrov gave it a go and now its his standard racquet..giving him more easy power than the Federer 90sq.in racquet he used before. I feel Federer missed an opportunity to change.
His racquet set up means he has to hit every shot perfectly and even a guy of his talent can't do that all the time in long rally's and matches. Plus, when he drops the RPM just a little the huge swingweight of the racquet is such that he sails the ball long far too often. Suspect it's too late to change now but he can't IMO meet the new power challenge of Djokovic and Murray any longer with that old tech...it's amazing he's done as well as he has with it but no other player uses anywhere near a similar racquet set up now.

Depending how long he wants to go on for would suggest whether he would favour a racquet change. I agree a change is needed, but that if he really wants to prolong his career. I think even a 98sq racquet like the Yonnex ones would make all the difference.

[luciusmann]

Poor match from Murray. Should have beat a Federer in this form (walking corpse-form) in 3 or 4 sets. He really made a meal out of it.

A win is a win. Beating Federer is no easily thing and despite Murray being tired, I think Murray actually stands a much better chance of beating Djokovic than Federer did. Murray can push Djokovic @ the Aussie Open (5 set epic last year), Federer doesn't (he's usually lost in str8 sets). Federer didn't play badly, except in the 5th set. The way he lost the 3rd set, rather tamely changed things, Fed could have won this match, but being 2-1 down is not a position to come back and win from.

[Chydremion]

I agree with all you said, but still, Murray made a meal out of it.

[Josiah Maiestas]

Well done Murray. He'll take Novak in 4!

Novak will be more consistent from the baseline leaving Murray in a ditch.

[JuliusHMarx]

The problem with changing your racket is when, in the course of your career, do you do it?
It's not a decision to be taken lightly and it's certain to take time to get used to it, after playing with a different one your whole career. That could, in the case of Fed, cost you a Grand Slam or two. So do you do it while you're still winning slams? When you're still getting to semis/finals?
There's just never been a time when he could sacrifice 6, maybe 9 months.

[laverfan]

Murray.

Federer. Well played, but not enough to beat Murray.

Looking forward to a long final on Sunday.

[Guest]

LF will you do the honours on V2 G.O.A.T?

[Josiah Maiestas]

Looking forward to a long final on Sunday.

I have to watch some paint dry on Sunday and then I will read The Guardian and relax in the jacuzzi.

[JuliusHMarx]

LF will you do the honours on V2 G.O.A.T?

Who is this 'Rod Laver' chap in the poll?

[Guest]

LF will you do the honours on V2 G.O.A.T?

Who is this 'Rod Laver' chap in the poll?

A myth

Spaghetti Hans seems to be identified as the voice of tennis on 606V2

[laverfan]

LF will you do the honours on V2 G.O.A.T?

Absolutely, LK. BTW, very happy for Murray.

Federer has his work cut out for the rest of the season. Especially to defend his Wimbledon.

@Lydian... you recall Sampras unwilling to change his racquet setup in the later years as McEnroe. . I would love to hear the Luthi-Annacone-Federer conversation analysing this match.

[JuliusHMarx]

LF will you do the honours on V2 G.O.A.T?

Who is this 'Rod Laver' chap in the poll?

A myth

Spaghetti Hans seems to be identified as the voice of tennis on 606V2

He likes writing I guess. The rest of us can't be bothered.

[monty junior]

What a match, Federer showed a champions heart to get it to 5 sets but really Murray was the better player in every way. The transformation in his forehand is incredible, he shows he is a true Scot for making it as hard as possible but has that champions mentality that he can still get it done

[Guest]

LF will you do the honours on V2 G.O.A.T?

Absolutely, LK. BTW, very happy for Murray.

Federer has his work cut out for the rest of the season. Especially to defend his Wimbledon.

@Lydian... you recall Sampras unwilling to change his racquet setup in the later years as McEnroe. . I would love to hear the Luthi-Annacone-Federer conversation analysing this match.

Sampras changed on the seniors tour to a Babolat

Maybe Roger will wait untilt then

[lydian]

Agree LK, and Stan plays really well on SHBH with his Yonex, Nalbandian could also time balls sweetly with his...and wasn't Hingis Yonex too? Seems other Swiss plays choose Yonex! With the ball hit so hard now you need a bigger sweet spot to cut down errors...he probably needs to reduce string tension too, as most of the others have done.

Tomic uses same as Stan ... http://www.yonexusa.com/displaygroupnewsdetail.cfm?productid=905

[Silver]

That was a great match to watch. Definitely not a classic, but some high quality tennis on display at various points, I thought Murray in particular was excellent. I was supporting Federer, but in the end I'm very glad that Murray won, for several reasons. Firstly, he was by far the better player overall and probably deserved to win in fewer than five sets - Fed was on the rack for a lot of that, and I'm still not quite sure how he prolonged it as long as he did. And secondly because not winning from that position would've hurt Murray badly, given how well he played in the match.

As it happens, both come out of this match well, I feel. Murray played some of his best tennis throughout the match, and was only kept out there by the quality of his opponent. He's proved that he can beat Fed in the big matches, and I was very impressed by his stamina. His baseline play was simply exceptional; even when Fed was hitting with both depth and power, Murray was keeping it in court and forcing him to play. Very impressive! He'll win multiple majors if he can sustain this level in his prime years.

And Fed comes out of it well because he's shown that he can still cut it at the highest level, even when he's not playing his best. I take nothing away from Murray's stellar performance - and at times he just didn't allow Fed to play well - but Fed served very poorly overall and was dominated at the back of the court, yet he still managed to hang in there against a player of considerable talent who's at his peak. In my opinion, this was one of the finest battling performances of his career, even though he lost. He looked tired and exasperated at times, but he hung in there and dug very deep to take it to 5. Anyone who writes him off in 2013 is a fool, the guy is a true champion.

That's how I saw it. Thanks to both for an entertaining match! The only downside was the commentary on the BBC, really. But above all, congratulations to Andy Murray and all of his supporters here on 606, your man was immense!

[Guest]

Indeed lydian. The power Stan was generating from that Yonnex was ridiculous. I hope maybe when they serve DC duty that Stan might let Roger have a rip on the Yonnex.

I believe both Tomic and Hewitt use it. I think Wozniacki does too. I think Hingis was a Yonnex don't know if she switched to a Wilson.

[banbrotam]

Great reaction by Andy after the almost equally great comeback from Fed in the 4th

We got indications at the two Wimbledons that a classic match was not far away and here we got it

Anyone, who now doesn't believe that Andy's tennis skills are right up there with some of the best we've seen - is simply a fool or HE

[Dave.]

Well done Murray! He could have won that in three, but Fed showed his class with the two smash and grab jobs in sets 2 and 4. The Murray of old would have folded, not now though, great comeback in sets 3 and 5.

In many ways, winning in 5, the way he did, is more impressive than a straight sets win. Great job Murray!

Now Murray - beat Nole!!!

[lydian]

I think if he continues to be outgunned he has to either retire or change equipment. Ok he may lose a little bit of touch but he would gain elsewhere, and the new racquets are good for touch anyway...Murray doesn't struggle with his Head racquet much!
The switch Tsonga has made in 2013 to the more powerful Babolat AeroPro Drive has shown its benefits already. Federer may have just missed his chance over the past few weeks to make the change and had time to practice with it.

[Guest]

The Babolat helped Jo actually gain more height on his shots, even the flatter shots. Despite his FH looking like it lacks a little pop than it used, it helped his BH become more consistent, though if it is attacked it can break down, though I feel it has more resiliance.

Not just the racquet though but the strings. He is a natural gut man and can't see him moving to Babolat or Head due to the success of the synthetic strings. Maybe Wilson can work on something new. The only other contenders really are Yonnex or barring that Prince.

[break_in_the_fifth]

Really disappointed by the result. I guess I want Murray to win now as he's the best of the other 3.

[Mad for Chelsea]

That was a great match to watch. Definitely not a classic, but some high quality tennis on display at various points, I thought Murray in particular was excellent. I was supporting Federer, but in the end I'm very glad that Murray won, for several reasons. Firstly, he was by far the better player overall and probably deserved to win in fewer than five sets - Fed was on the rack for a lot of that, and I'm still not quite sure how he prolonged it as long as he did. And secondly because not winning from that position would've hurt Murray badly, given how well he played in the match.

As it happens, both come out of this match well, I feel. Murray played some of his best tennis throughout the match, and was only kept out there by the quality of his opponent. He's proved that he can beat Fed in the big matches, and I was very impressed by his stamina. His baseline play was simply exceptional; even when Fed was hitting with both depth and power, Murray was keeping it in court and forcing him to play. Very impressive! He'll win multiple majors if he can sustain this level in his prime years.

And Fed comes out of it well because he's shown that he can still cut it at the highest level, even when he's not playing his best. I take nothing away from Murray's stellar performance - and at times he just didn't allow Fed to play well - but Fed served very poorly overall and was dominated at the back of the court, yet he still managed to hang in there against a player of considerable talent who's at his peak. In my opinion, this was one of the finest battling performances of his career, even though he lost. He looked tired and exasperated at times, but he hung in there and dug very deep to take it to 5. Anyone who writes him off in 2013 is a fool, the guy is a true champion.

That's how I saw it. Thanks to both for an entertaining match! The only downside was the commentary on the BBC, really. But above all, congratulations to Andy Murray and all of his supporters here on 606, your man was immense!

cheers silver

watched it on eurosport myself, not exactly insightful commentary there either...

[carrieg4]

That was a great match to watch. Definitely not a classic, but some high quality tennis on display at various points, I thought Murray in particular was excellent. I was supporting Federer, but in the end I'm very glad that Murray won, for several reasons. Firstly, he was by far the better player overall and probably deserved to win in fewer than five sets - Fed was on the rack for a lot of that, and I'm still not quite sure how he prolonged it as long as he did. And secondly because not winning from that position would've hurt Murray badly, given how well he played in the match.

As it happens, both come out of this match well, I feel. Murray played some of his best tennis throughout the match, and was only kept out there by the quality of his opponent. He's proved that he can beat Fed in the big matches, and I was very impressed by his stamina. His baseline play was simply exceptional; even when Fed was hitting with both depth and power, Murray was keeping it in court and forcing him to play. Very impressive! He'll win multiple majors if he can sustain this level in his prime years.

And Fed comes out of it well because he's shown that he can still cut it at the highest level, even when he's not playing his best. I take nothing away from Murray's stellar performance - and at times he just didn't allow Fed to play well - but Fed served very poorly overall and was dominated at the back of the court, yet he still managed to hang in there against a player of considerable talent who's at his peak. In my opinion, this was one of the finest battling performances of his career, even though he lost. He looked tired and exasperated at times, but he hung in there and dug very deep to take it to 5. Anyone who writes him off in 2013 is a fool, the guy is a true champion.

That's how I saw it. Thanks to both for an entertaining match! The only downside was the commentary on the BBC, really. But above all, congratulations to Andy Murray and all of his supporters here on 606, your man was immense!

[Spaghetti-Hans]

I think if he continues to be outgunned he has to either retire or change equipment. Ok he may lose a little bit of touch but he would gain elsewhere, and the new racquets are good for touch anyway...Murray doesn't struggle with his Head racquet much!
The switch Tsonga has made in 2013 to the more powerful Babolat AeroPro Drive has shown its benefits already. Federer may have just missed his chance over the past few weeks to make the change and had time to practice with it.

Lydian,

Some of your analysis is of a reasonably high standard - albeit not 'Main Event Standard' of course. But, with time and training, you may be able to reach that level.

As such, we would like to graciously offer you the potentially life-changing opportunity to interview for a role as an analyst in TME's Tennis Division.

As we're sure you're already aware, TME has gone global and we're always looking to supplement our human resources in order to cope with the increasing organizational strain and to add value to our brand. TME operations are worldwide and generate huge revenues - make no mistake, 'The Main Event Lads presented by Spaghetti Hans' are a financial juggernaut. As such, you'll find that the salary for a TME analyst is almost certainly far greater than what you currently earn.

If you are interested, we can conduct the interview on 606v2. The interview will be of a standard Q&A format and will begin at 7pm on Monday the 28th of January. Good luck with your interview preparations.

[Guest]

I can only say you are a poor man's Emancipator.

[lydian]

[JuliusHMarx]

...to cope with the increasing organizational strain...

Might I suggest adding more fibre to your diet?

[Spaghetti-Hans]

Great reaction by Andy after the almost equally great comeback from Fed in the 4th

We got indications at the two Wimbledons that a classic match was not far away and here we got it

Anyone, who now doesn't believe that Andy's tennis skills are right up there with some of the best we've seen - is simply a fool or HE

Our King, Roger Federer, places no limits on his benevolence. Once again, he allowed the Single Slam Scot, Andy Murray, to notch a career-defining W against him.

Federer held an emergency video conference with the TME Board of Directors at 06:00 GMT today. It was decided in this conference that Federer's inevitable victory would have permanently derailed Murray's career and destroyed his drawing power. As such, Murray was to be allowed a moral-boosting win that would elevate him and increase his chances of becoming the biggest active draw when Federer calls it a day - although Federer will, of course, remain by far and away the biggest star in tennis - past, present and future.

Beating Murray today would have been too easy. It wasn't a classic match by any stretch of the imagination and Federer and Murray have only played once at Wimbledon - not twice - unless you mean that Federer gave Murray two beatdowns worth, en route to his 7th Wimbledon Championship, in that historic Final of 2012.

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