2021 AUSTRALIAN OPEN

how did bautista agut lose a set at love (and the match) to radu albot whoa

Evans emulates Sinner as R1 loser after winning warm-up event. Ash Barty lost only ten points!

hsieh takes out bibi 3&2

Venus wins one game vs Errani :/ Halep survives Tomljanovic serving for the match. Wawrinka comes from two sets down vs Fucsovics only to blow 6-1 and 8-4 leads in the 5th-set t/b.

Meanwhile, Nick K has saved two m-ps and is close to victory in the 5th vs Humbert.

Seems like Djoko-Tiafoe was a decent contest? 3.5 hours. Uncharitably, I hope this means Novak is off-form and vulnerable, rather than Tiafoe finally playing to his potential.

feli lopez, in his 75th consecutive major played in, comes back to beat sonego in 5 sets from 0-2 down (on a 90F degree day in melbourne btw)

Wins over top 10 players
Year	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	Total
Wins	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1

Karatsev?

otm

So this Karatsev guy has had a pretty amazing run! Feel sorry for Dimitrov as he was clearly outplaying him until his back injury kicked in. Still, first GS debutant in the open era to reach the semi finals.
Also, go Serena!

see if he can beat novak now

serena/naomi is a dream semi -- will fans be allowed back by then?

Djokovic-Karatsev semifinal

• Djokovic bidding for his 18th Grand Slam title
• Karatsev has played 18 Grand Slam sets in his career

— Bastien Fachan (@BastienFachan) February 16, 2021

Back from Thursday? Zverev flaking out from leading positions vs Novak, what’s new? Disappointing.

I don’t really have much hope for the #NextGen but... Tsitsipas is now in a fifth set vs Nadal after being down two sets

hoping against hope. he does have the physical advantage of that bye in the previous round.

Tsitsipas about to serve for it!! I can’t watch...

took three match points but he did it! Beautiful - only the second man in history to beat Nadal from two sets down

very tense, weird winner, but he did it!

wonder if Rafa felt old for the first time in his life as he walked into the tunnel

he def looked uncharacteristically nervous and tentative in that last game

Medvedev leading 6-4 6-2, Tsitsipas finally managed a break (back) in the third set, currently at 3-4. Looking at the stats, Medvedev's serving has been fantastic

I suppose I’d rather have Medvedev vs Djoko but man, is Stefanos ever going to get past a slam semi?

Not this time..

Awesome stuff from Naomi Osaka, now 4-0 in Grand Slam finals and 12-0 in Slam quarterfinals, semifinals and finals. Really brings new meaning to the phrase “go big or go home”.

Good for Osaka! Is there a more purely likable player right now? Both as a person and player, she’s fun to watch and easy to root for. And 4 titles already, she’s legit.

otm

She's won 4 of the last 6 hardcourt slams.

Can’t stand these Novak matches... he’s been middling the entire tournament including in this match and here’s yet another opponent giving him way too many gifts. No way should the score be looking like this rn

Medvedev letting the occasion get to him. he’s unable to play at peak level, conceded the first set to easily, and seems to have given up already. Djokovic just took the second set 6-2.

I thought both played really well in the first set with Novak getting a little bit lucky at the end - and for a minute it looked like Medvedev could’ve turned it around when he broke to start the second set. But then the errors crept in...

don’t think it was luck. Djokovic played very aggressively at 6-5 up in Medvedev’s service game, as he would, and Medvedev seemed weirdly unprepared, just as he seemed mentally unprepared for adapting his game after not winning the first set. thinking Djokovic can’t believe his luck rn, peak Medvedev would scare the shit out of him.

meh

Djoko winning it on an overhead smash is such a troll move lol