2013 Australian Open

[FootballDad]

i saw another american who was black/mixed at the australian open: madison keys :usa:

she's more beautiful than the williams

Any sentence with "beautiful" and "Williams" in it is an oxymoron. As for Keys, I wouldn't say that she is "more beautiful" than the Williams' sisters, but I would instead classify it as "less ugly" than the Williams..............

 

[Liverlips]

I don't follow much tennis but I know the USTA spends lots of money on "inner city" tennis camps.

Sad to hear that the best U.S. female players are seemingly black. But glad the Russians and other whites will be there to defeat them.

 

[FootballDad]

I don't follow much tennis but I know the USTA spends lots of money on "inner city" tennis camps.

Sad to hear that the best U.S. female players are seemingly black. But glad the Russians and other whites will be there to defeat them.

Yes, middle-class white folks must "train themselves". Sure, tennis is not expensive, unless you want to become world-class, then it's very pricey to hire pros to train you. The USTA pays for tennis pros to cater to the "less fortunate" ie: minorities.

 

[darthvader]

Besides Christina Mchale it seems the future of American tennis is quite dark. I don't know if that has to do with the demographics in this country or if there is a push for this so called diversity. Then again if I go around and visit the majority of the tennis academies in this country I am sure the majority of the players are still white. Sloane stephens is talented. That is clearly evident. Whether or not she will break into the top 5 remains to be seen. I wouldn't be surprised if she did. Serena did not serve at her usual best. That serve is her biggest weapon. Serena can be pushed around and when that happens she will make errors lots of them. I am rooting for azarenka to win her second straight. As for the men's side I am undecided because Federer, djokovic, and murray are playing extremely well and seem at the top of their game. However on the hard court djokovic is brutal and can wear you down.

 

[Don Wassall]

Federer defeated Tsonga in a tough five set match. Tsonga lost 15 pounds since last season, something he should have done a long time ago if he was truly serious about his craft. He's a very good player but he's also 27 now so he may never win a Grand Slam title with Djokovic, Murray and Nadal all younger than him, or one or two at most.

 

[FootballDad]

Considering all of the talk in this thread of Serena being a linebacker, and Sloane Stevens being a young linebacker protege, I really got a kick out of this story about her dad being a football player, an RB that looks like a linebacker:

 

[Matra2]

Federer defeated Tsonga in a tough five set match. Tsonga lost 15 pounds since last season, something he should have done a long time ago if he was truly serious about his craft.

It's been refreshing to hear even the ESPN crew express annoyance, and even some contempt at times, with the Super Athlete Gael Monfils in this tournament and for that matter the last time he was at the US Open (2011). Both Patrick McEnroe and Brad Gilbert seem to have given up on Monfils due to his on-court antics. They and other commentators have criticised Monfils for his mindless ball bashing, expending energy at the wrong times, poor tactics, "lack of discipline" (exact phrase used by a commentator, possibly Darren Cahill) and especially for his "show man" routine. Tsonga might not have been as serious as he should've been in the past but compared to Monfils he's Federer-like in his dedication to the sport.

 

[Quiet Speed]

Ugh, Na Li is on fire, she takes the first set in convincing fashion (6-2).

 

[Matra2]

If Stephens beats Azarenka (who, let's face it, is known for choking) that would mean no white player in a Grand Slam singles final. Leaving aside the Williams sisters I'd be surprised if there's ever been an all non-white GS final.

 

[foobar75]

Azarenka did come close to choking away that 2nd set, but managed to pull herself together and get the win. After wasting 5 match points and a clear momentum shift taking place, she took a couple of medical timeouts and then finished things off on the next game.

The BSPN crew were very unhappy with those timeouts, as Pam Shriver and Brad Gilbert were nearly reduced to tears and and you could see how agitated they were.

On the men's side, I'm expecting Djokovic to win his semi in 4 sets at the most. The Federer-Murray match-up should be a good one, although given the ease of Murray's draw vs the 5-setter Federer needed against Tsonga, you have to favor the Scottsman in this one.

 

[darthvader]

Although azarenka blew those match points I knew she was going to win. Unfortunately a huge tennis fan like me has to deal with another dark face in the coming years. The williams sisters were aggavating enough now here comes another one with sloane stephens among others. I'm telling you a beautiful sport is slowly taking a turn towards well let's just say not so pretty. It's a shame that sharapova had her clock cleaned by li na who seems to have elevated her game with her new coach carlos rodriguez who was Justine Henin's coach. Sharapova it seems is over aggressive at the most crucial points. She has some of the most cleanest strking but I think tends to go for shots that are unnecessary. I think she just needs to more defensive instead of trying to create her own shots. But Li Na like I said seems to have really stepped up her game another notch and won't be surprised if she won. As for the men's side, Djokovic is simply brutal on that hard court. In a way I have to feel for David Ferrer because he will forever be stuck in that 4th or 5th seed and he knows it. He does play hard but he just doesn't have what it takes to overcome Federer, djokovic, murray, and nadal (assuming he is fully recovered from that knee surgery). Then again djokovic easily could have lost to warinka and by all counts should have because he was on the ropes that whole match. I am expecting a classic match between federer and murray that may rival last year's semifinal between murray and djokovic.

 

[Liverlips]

Are there any good white American women coming up?

Other than the Williams Brothers and the new great black hope, are there any other black women near the top10?

 

[Matra2]

Other than the Williams Brothers and the new great black hope, are there any other black women near the top10?

No. Sloane Stephens is #25 though she may make it to the Top 10 some time this year. The next black (mixed race actually) would be Heather Watson of the UK at #50.

 

[darthvader]

The match between federer and murray turned out to be a classic as I expected. Murray is finally reaching his full potential as predicted. It will be interesting to see how long he can still play at a high level especially considering nadal may never fully recover from that knee surgery. It 's interesting that up until a year ago around this time the discussion was always about the usual suspects (federer, nadal, and djokovic). Since nadal went down to injury murray has broken the monopoly on the big three. The men's final will be hard to predict. It may break last year's record for length of time. There will be some long rallies because they are two best defensive players on the tour. They run down shots and make you play that extra point. They are also the best returners on serve. The women's final will also be hard to predict. Mentally though Li na seems tougher now and like I said earlier seems to play at another level with her new coach Carlos Rodriguez like murray with Ivan Lendl. Of course I am hoping for azarenka.

Grass favors the faster man
clay favors the fitter man
hard deco turf favors the stronger man

 

[Don Wassall]

A couple of years ago it seemed like Djokovic would only win the occasional Grand Slam title, but he raised his game and became the best in the world. Murray seems to be following the same path; it appeared like he would always be a Grand Slam bridesmaid behind the Big Three, but his game looks to have no weaknesses now. In fact his style is a lot like Djokovic's now and hopefully it'll be a great finals match to watch.

Federer was a half-step slow against Murray the entire match, and he lacks the firepower of Murray, Djokovic, and Nadal when Rafa is healthy. His best chance now at a Slam title is on a slow court, but Nadal rules the French Open when he's not injured. I expect Federer to take over Murray's role as clear-cut fourth as Murray replaces Roger in the Big Three. Roger is still a great player and a joy to watch, but he's 31 and Murray, Djokovic and Nadal are all in their peak years.

 

[GWTJ]

I have a feeling that Murray has been bulking up recently. Perhaps not just with weights. I watched the whole match against Federer and Andy not only looked more strapping than he did at last year's Aussie Open but he was blistering the ball past Federer in a way I have not seen before. His game has changed a lot and it was sad to see Federer, with all his great shotmaking ability, be unable to handle the heat Murray was hitting at him.

 

[Matra2]

I just saw a replay of the end of the women's final won by Azarenka against Li Na of China. What a classless bunch of DWFs there in Melbourne! They booed Azarenka and barely clapped when she won. I am glad I didn't see the presentation ceremony. I thought Aussies would know better than to slobber over a Chinese. Shame on Melbourne.

 

[foobar75]

I just saw a replay of the end of the women's final won by Azarenka against Li Na of China. What a classless bunch of DWFs there in Melbourne! They booed Azarenka and barely clapped when she won. I am glad I didn't see the presentation ceremony. I thought Aussies would know better than to slobber over a Chinese. Shame on Melbourne.

I'm glad Azarenka won and stuck it to everyone who turned against her over the past 2 days. Knowing full well the DWF mentality and how the Western media operates, I was still surprised at the vitriol and criticism directed at her. All she did was perhaps take advantage of the rules a little, she did not cheat or break any rules, and yet, she became public enemy #1 while everyone could not stop talking about how nice and wonderful Li Na is.

Stupid white people, brainwashed beyond any hope since childhood to hate and root against themselves, the only group of people on earth with no racial awareness (sorry for the rant, I just can't stand it when see crap like this). The preceeding statement obviously does not apply to anyone on this forum, or the small minority of Whites who are perfectly aware of what's going on in the world today.

 

[Don Wassall]

That was the most hostile crowd I've ever heard at a big match. They didn't just cheer wildly for Li Na, there were catcalls and boos for Victoria to go along with the very muted applause. I had thought that it was mostly ESPN that had its panties in a dither after Azarenka committed the "sin" of calling a medical timeout while their darling Sloane Stephens was coming on in the second set, and then quickly finishing her off when play resumed. Nothing she did was against the rules, but ESPN went into full demonization mode, which was replicated by the Australian media. Azarenka had to be in shock the way she was treated, first by the media weenies and then by the crowd. Great for her to show the fortitude and mental toughness to overcome having less than her A game in the first set to pull the match out.

Another observation from this tournament: After important matches, the winner is interviewed on court by Australian TV personalities. The only male one I've seen is American Jim Courier, who is invariably wearing a suit. The rest have been unfeminine looking women wearing very casual and unattractive clothes. The female chair umpire for the finals match last night was a quite obese looking bruiser. From what I've read, feminism is at least as advanced in its toxicity in Australia as in the U.S. and Canada. Nothing I've seen at this tournament indicates otherwise.

 

[Don Wassall]

Novak Djokovic is a supremely conditioned beast. Murray is also in tremendous shape and hung in there on even terms for two sets before Novak systematically wore him down. Both are extremely quick and defend so well that it's very hard to hit winners against them. The level of play was outstanding by both. But Djokovic is at the height of his powers now, he seems even better than he was during his incredible run two years ago and has a very good shot to win Wimbledon and the U.S. Open this year.

Djokovic, Murray, Nadal and Federer are all great athletes, comparable to any in other sports. This is a golden era for men's tennis and I hope it continues for a while.

 

[Don Wassall]

Don, this is probably my first post in the tennis forums and it might be my last. Anyway, remember around 1999 (or so) when the media was going bat-$hit crazy, because it was revealed some tall, butt-ugly mulatto girl was the illegitimate daughter of Julius Irving (Dr.J) and some skanky, never-married mudshark writer that covered the Philadelphia 76'ers during the 1980's?

ESPN and others predicted she would be a huge star in tennis, but in just a matter of a few years she totally disappeared in tennis and lost the money she had, spending it on frivolous things. I'm sure there have been so many other great black hopes in tennis (male and female) since then.

I remember her, Truthteller. We had a thread started here in the Tennis forum some years ago listing all the supposed up and coming black stars. None of them amounted to anything, especially Donald Young, who was the most touted of the bunch.

There was a black girl here in Vegas that got a lot of hype a few years ago and subsequently turned pro. Her last name is Muhammed (sp?), can't think of her first name right now. She hasn't come close to being even a low-level journeyman type yet and likely never will.

What DWFs don't comprehend, because the tightly controlled corporate media will never tell them, is that a lot of black athletes are at their best around the age of 18, and it's all downhill from there.

 

[Quiet Speed]

Don, this is probably my first post in the tennis forums and it might be my last. Anyway, remember around 1999 (or so) when the media was going bat-$hit crazy, because it was revealed some tall, butt-ugly mulatto girl was the illegitimate daughter of Julius Irving (Dr.J) and some skanky, never-married mudshark writer that covered the Philadelphia 76'ers during the 1980's?

ESPN and others predicted she would be a huge star in tennis, but in just a matter of a few years she totally disappeared in tennis and lost the money she had, spending it on frivolous things. I'm sure there have been so many other great black hopes in tennis (male and female) since then.

That was Alexandra Stevenson. I forget the details, I can remember her mother charging racism at some tournament or maybe it was on the tour as a whole.


I really don’t follow junior tennis. But I used to check the US boys and girls rankings on occasion. For a while (years), black girls were ranked at the top or very high in the rankings. They haven’t been making a splash in the pros until Sloane Stephens, which may or may not last.

 

[foobar75]

Novak Djokovic is a supremely conditioned beast. Murray is also in tremendous shape and hung in there on even terms for two sets before Novak systematically wore him down. Both are extremely quick and defend so well that it's very hard to hit winners against them. The level of play was outstanding by both. But Djokovic is at the height of his powers now, he seems even better than he was during his incredible run two years ago and has a very good shot to win Wimbledon and the U.S. Open this year.

Djokovic, Murray, Nadal and Federer are all great athletes, comparable to any in other sports. This is a golden era for men's tennis and I hope it continues for a while.

Djokovic is now 2-3 GSs away from moving into all-time great territory. Assuming he stays healthy, it's entirely possible that he'll move into the lower double digits (10-12) by the time he's done.

I feel that Federer may have one more GS win left in him, possibly at Wimbledon, but aside from that it'll be very difficult for him to get past the semis against one of the other big 3. It's still very impressive that he can contend for major wins even at 31, and with 3 other great players (and many other good ones in the 2nd tier) all in their primes. Federer's best days are behind him, but he's had a remarkably consistent run of excellence for 10 years and counting.

 

[darthvader]

Assuming Nadal does not fully recover from his knee surgery, djokovic should remain the number one seed for the next 2-3 years. Maybe even beyond that. Djokovic should easily have 10-11 slams. Murray maybe another one or two but I don't see him winning beyond 5 slams. Federer definitely has one or two more slams winning but most likely in wimbledon. Patrick Mcenroe said something in yesterday's final about how he doesn't any young player right now coming up that impresses him to the point where they can challenge djokovic, murray. or federer. I don't know if he was referring to the american players but he was making a point about the physical nature of the sport and how you have to be in tip top condition.