2020 Australian Open

Don Wassall said:
Hey White Lightning, your memory of Connors is different than mine. ;) He and McEnroe were both punks, though McEnroe was more of one. I rooted for Connors too, but he could be a real a-hole. Connors had many blow-ups like this one:

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Oh my. My memory from a kid isn't as good as I thought? I take back what I said. Nothing worse than a grown man or woman being a cry baby and a sore loser. People need to show some class.
 
On the Women's side the United States still has a ranked player in the tournament not named "Coco". In fact, Coco is unranked. And who is she playing next? Sofia Kennin, fellow American and ranked 15th in the world and seeded 17th in the tourney. Wonder why an unranked U.S. woman gets all the attention and this top 15 World ranked player doesn't? I'll give you three guesses and the first two don't count. Here you go:

https://ausopen.com/players/united-states-america/sofia-kenin#!videos
 
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I'll jump in on the Memory Lane theme.

Federer is by far my all time favorite player. The power, beauty and grace of his game is unparalleled. And great character.

Other favorites include Agassi ( will never forget his first major win at Wimbledon which shocked the experts and excited the screaming girls). The speedy Hewitt who the media hated implying he was racist after an "incident" in a match against James Blake. It only made me like him more ha. Also liked Swedes Wilander and Edberg although I barely remember specific moments regarding them. Edberg was a terrific athlete and I recall more of him yet I can't conjure up one Wilander match. I watched and rooted for him but have just forgotten his matches.

My favorite Swede was Borg though but for the most part only four matches readily come to mind. His epic Wimbledon match against McEnroe in 19080 is still the greatest ever match in my book. Then Borg lost to Mac the following year. I was devastated and remember both of those matches. Those same years Borg lost to McEnroe in the US Open which also was tough to take. Borg quit soon after his 1981 US Open loss. Tennis wasn't on TV as much back then so I recall only a few selective matches. Borg's comeback was a disaster.

I root for Djokovic most all the time but something about him on a personal level doesn't jibe with me. I like mama's boy Andy Murray better.

When Becker first exploded on the seen I didn't like him but I grew to respect him at least. I remember his diving plays at Wimbledon most. He played tennis like George Kittle plays football. Like an animal.

Players who I have never liked or ever rooted for despite the fact they are/were super great players include Nadal, McEnroe and Sampras.

Didn't like the robotic and boring Lendl either except when he beat Jonny Mac. Jimmy Connors ( another mama's boy) was another great and is underappreciated today but he was tough to warm to but I liked his game and of course rooted for him against McEnroe too.

Female players I never rooted for and couldn't stand include the Williams sisters and Navratilova.

That said I was never a big Chris Evert fan. My favorite player from the 80's was the super athletic Hana Mandlikova who ended up winning four majors but had the talent to win more than that.

I have an observation about Coco but will need to get back to it later today.
 
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Before I make an observation about Coco and believe it or not two silver linings I want to get a few things out of the way.

Coco is a favorite of the Black Supremacy Crowd (BSC) because she checks off all the boxes and then some. Extremely young, highly athletic with supreme speed and very gifted with enormous potential ( God help us if she wins a Grand Slam this year) the BSC can't believe their dumb luck.

As we have discussed Coco is just another great black hope that is now routinely wheeled out by the media (ESPN and FSN etc.) every week or month it seems where the symbolic theme of the Next Coming relentlessly pounds the public. We see it in the NBA with Zion who by the way is already fat, injury prone and he is what 20 years old? Count me out of that sweepstakes. And QB Lamar Jackson who they have kind of shifted towards this thing known as the "black QB" which includes Pat Mahomes. Never mind that Jackson and Mahomes are not similar in the least. Jackson is a fast twitch athlete. Mahomes is shaped like a pear and while a heady runner is on the slow side and no he is not as athletic as Aaron Rodgers was at the same age.

But now that the media has jumped for joy with the influx of black QBs their last frontier is for a young black male tennis star to emerge and that has proven to be a sore point for the BCS.

About Coco who plays fellow American and ranked Sofia Kenin later tonight on ESPN2.

Something hit me the other day when I was posting about CiCi Bellis. Bellis by the way forced a third set late last night in a tiebreaker but the poor thing must have run out of gas as she got goose egged in the final set. I didn't see the match. Nevertheless a fine showing for a player left for dead after all of her injury woes. Cute, quick and with ultra sexy legs of course I will be rooting for her going forward. Ha.

Anyway when CiCi won her US Open match at 15 in 2014 with some hype but nowhere near what Coco has gotten, she was a scrawny little girl and looked like a 15 year old out there. It felt "correct."

Contrast her young physique with Coco's. Gauff doesn't look anything like a 15 year old out there. She is already 5'10" and probably still growing. She has enormously long legs and arms and if one didn't know any better at first glance one would assume she was 23 years old.

This might reflect the idea that blacks physically mature faster than whites which gives them an advantage in sports like basketball and football where players are spotted early on in high school as top prospects.

Coco's rise is similar to the Williams sisters except she is even younger. Sadly though I think the media is worse today than even back then because after the Williams sisters started dominating there was some push back and articles would appear lamenting the lack of challengers. Not sure that would be the case here?

But two things to keep in mind. First when a great black athlete emerges it becomes all the more sweeter when a white athlete takes them down. Even though it looked like the Williams sisters were on their way to winning every major it turned out they did meet resistance. Maria beat Serena in the famous 2004 Wimbledon match at the age of 17! And Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters made damn sure Venus and Serena weren't going to be the only big prize winners. Granted, especially Serena, was a dominant figure for "too long" the point is both Venus and Serena still had to eat the humiliation of losing big matches through the years. So even if Coco becomes the top player I would expect at least at times some white chicks knocking her down to size and how sweet that will taste? Very tasty!

The other silver lining is my speculation on her body as she ages. One look at her chunky parents leads me to believe Coco will put on weight and in the not too distant future if that were to happen it would hinder her tremendous speed to a degree. She is a big young gal and being pretty good at this I project this big raw boned athlete will not remain slim and trim.

Of course Coco did knock out Venus and Osaka and Madison Keys also lost so the "crew" has thinned out.

One word about that Federer tie breaker win. Unlike at Wimbledon where the tie breaking rule change screwed him here they changed the tie breaker to 10 from 7 which allowed ole Roger to come back from an 8-4 deficit and win.The big difference is the Wimbledon tie change likely prevented Roger from winning Wimbledon last year against Djokovic. This recent tie breaker was an early round match.
 
A new name has emerged here. With Caroline Wozniacki hanging it up a new "polish" gal is on to the round of 16. Just 18 Iga Swiatek is getting a lot of attention. Nice athlete.

I have mixed feelings towards Caroline. She was too often a soft number one ( in the ranking) who relied on retrieving but had little offensive put away talent. She didn't come through with majors until late in her career her epic match at the Australian against Halep. She also was too much of a subservient to her close friend Serena. I think this was a deliberate ploy from the canny Serena realizing she was a major rival. Caroline was a likeable sort but her teeth came out when she went all cut throat against Maria Sharapova and like so many other girls on tour hated Maria because of jealousy. It didn't sit well with me. She said some nasty things about Maria.

So a mixed bag for me. In general I rooted for her more times than not. She was a cult hero in New Haven a tournament I frequently attended. It has since gone belly up sad to say. I do agree with the good sports genes mentioned above as she married ex NBA player David Lee and Caroline was a great all around athlete who also ran marathons. Maybe one day we will see the "Lee" kid face off against the "Ertz" kid.
 
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Two Americans playing before an almost all White crowd in Australia......but the crowd is loudly behind the black girl Coco........why? Fortunately, Kenin destroys Coco in the third set 6-0!
 
Kenin over Coco in three! She smoked her in the third set 6-0! What a wonderful thing! I will post some highlights when they become available!
 
I’m about to claim Djokovic as the GOAT. He will win this tournament and he’s a few years younger than Federer and Nadal.
 
northwinds said:
Two Americans playing before an almost all White crowd in Australia......but the crowd is loudly behind the black girl Coco........why? Fortunately, Kenin destroys Coco in the third set 6-0!
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Exactly, Northwinds. I was somewhere where I could watch but not hear. The tv was on but was on mute so I'm glad I couldn't hear as I am disgusted by brainwashed Whites who won't get behind their own with all things being equal, so to speak. Kenin is a great little player!
 
 
Let’s note: Sofia Kenin is a Russian. An American White girl would have crumbled under the racial pressure.
 
I was most impressed with Kenin's composure and resolve. I hit the sack before the third set but you could see Coco flagging after losing the second set but one never knows, players turn things around quickly but obviously that wasn't the case here as Coco melted down.

Even after losing the first set after leading it most of the way, Kenin played tough on every point and never handed anything to Coco and never once did she demonstrate the usual jitters players develop when playing the "15 year old." Kenin looked like she treated the match like every other one and went on with her business. She beat down the kid not so much with overwhelming physical gifts but by being mentally sturdy and persistent. Playing tough tactical tennis with precise ground shots that had a purpose. A lesson that tennis is as much a mental exercise as a physical one.

The odd thing about Coco is she doesn't look anything like a 15 year old. Just glancing at Kenin and Coco one would figure Kenin was the 15 year old and Coco the older opponent. Coco is bigger than her opponents, hits harder and moves faster so it never feels like one is playing some little youngster. In fact Coco's serves at times approached 120 MPH ( man like speeds) which is a bad omen for the future. Shades of Serena and her ability through the years of winning easy points. Coco has all the tools to win multiple majors sad to announce.

Be that as it may she will turn 16 by the French Open and I don't anticipate her playing especially well there on clay. She will likely be more formidable at Wimbledon which rewards top tier athleticism. The longer the Coco victory party is delayed the better. Love to see her struggle to bag her first major. And the media will struggle right along with her. Ha. Who knows she may not win a major until she is 17 or older. Remember Maria beat Serena at Wimbledon and she was just 17 in one of the greatest moments in sports history in my humble opinion.

Federer won early this morning and Djokovic advanced as well last night so the old guard keeps churning along.

In the scheme of things the Australian Open is the least prestigious of all the majors. Wimbledon is obviously the top of the mountain followed by the US Open and then the French Open. This is based on their historical importance. Wimbledon is my favorite by far followed by the US Open but I prefer the Australian to the French because I am not a big fan of clay court tennis.
 
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Glad to see the hyped up black player lose - just watching the highlights at the gym this morning - BSPN seemed to be doing their best to really push the blacks in tennis angle - the amount of hype black athletes get especially in white dominated sports is repulsive.
 
A near-miraculous comeback win for Roger Federer against unseeded American Tennys Sandgren, a big strong dude I'd never heard of before, 6-3 2-6 2-6 7-6 6-3. Sandgren is just the 100th ranked player in the world, but Federer was playing with a bad groin after the first set that noticeably slowed down both his serve and foot speed. After decisively losing the second and third sets, it looked to be over, but Federer just barely won his service games in the fourth set while Sandgren breezed through his with a booming serve, leading to a tie break that Federer won. Sandgren had seven match points in the fourth set and the subsequent tiebreaker but couldn't finish Federer off. Talk about a will to win! That's when I went to sleep, as much as I wanted to watch the fifth set.

Just an amazing, gutty performance by a hobbled great warrior playing essentially with one hand tied behind his back. It was noted while they were playing that Federer has never once in his career retired early during a match. I bet a lot of players would have retired if they were playing with the kind of pain Federer endured. I admire him even more now.

Roger plays Novak next in one of the semifinals.
 
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Roger has a will to win like very few in the world. Saving seven match points! Wow. He is not 100 percent at all. Add that injury to his age and the fact that he plays Djokovic next seems to spell the end for this tournament for him. Great champion though. I'd say prime against prime of any player he is the GOAT. He's been amazing for literally decades.
 
Long live the King Roger Federer. For those who doubted, he is the greatest mens tennis player ever. Epic match yesterday. People need to go back and rewatch this historic tennis match!

I will never count him out. Hope they can get Fed a strong cort. shot to help numb the pain in his groin. Just two more guys to beat for another Grand Slam. It's still possible. :)
 
The semifinals are in place. Problem is tonight the women's semis start at 10:00 and then starting Thursday every match will take place at 3:30 AM.

At this juncture I am a full grown Halep groupie ( completely smitten) so no need to guess who I am rooting for to win it all. Always nervous about her prospects but she wiped out her last opponent 6-1 6-1 and played a match similar to the butt kicking she gave Serena at Wimbledon last year. She will be playing two time hard thumping GS champ Muguruza whose legs alone are likely higher than Simona's height.

On the other ledger is American Kenin who showed resolute poise against Coco. This go around that might not be enough because Barty, my pick for women's player of the year last year ( sort of by default), has looked unbothered here and she will have the hometown crowd behind her. The athletic Barty is calmly playing like a champion here which is making me nervous because it would be nice to see Kenin make the big jump.

See above the miraculous feats of Federer but good grief he faces a huge road block in Djokovic. They have had some battles but Novak has stifled ole Roger of late although I thought Fed had a great opportunity at Wimbledon but he blew it. But that was on grass Roger's best surface. The Australian hard courts are kind of slow.

Nadal surprisingly got knocked off by Thiem this morning and for a while it looked like Nadal ( my men's player of the player of the year in 2019) would steal the fourth set storming from behind but this go around Thiem kept his cool. Look for Nadal at the French to maybe tie Roger with 20 grand slams. Not slotted into the new wave, Thiem is 26, but he has been on the verge and has played very solid tennis thus far. He will be playing one of the youngsters in tall Zverev who the media has been touting for several years now but has flopped in the majors. Here is his chance now but I am disappointed that my favorite youngster Tsitsipas has tanked in the worst way of late.

Immensely talented and intelligent Tsitsipas needs to change things up and real quick. His mental breakdowns have been alarming and he seems to be thrashing about in his own nightmare. Perhaps a new steely minded coach is in order? Still young enough to recover I still have high hopes for the Greek but he has been a train wreck of late and his major performances have been huge let downs. The media is rooting for him for a number of reasons and if he ever does climb the mount the chicks will be all in. Time will tell.
 
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#14 seed Sofia Kenin knocks off #1 seed Ash Barty in straight sets to advance to the finals. She was down two set points in both sets but rallied to prevail.

Sweet to see given the media's obsession with the black and mulatto female U.S. players. Kenin is American but is Russian born, she seems to have the Russian mental toughness that so many White American athletes lack. But time will tell on that front, as the women's tour has been wildly unpredictable for quite a while now with players rising and falling all the time. A good example -- I was thinking earlier today about the pretty blonde French-Canadian girl who looked like a superstar in the making just two or three years ago but who has now seemingly disappeared. Can't even recall her name right now. . .
 
I just saw that Sofia Kenin is into the FINAL on the Women's side! I can't believe it, and let's just see if the media will celebrate one of our American players on the Women's bracket accomplishing what she is doing! Unfortunately, she doesn't pass the MSM eye-test but she sure does for me! :)
 
Don, you beat me to by a few seconds!
 
Short highlights of Kenin's win:

 
Don Wassall said:
#14 seed Sofia Kenin knocks off #1 seed Ash Barty in straight sets to advance to the finals. She was down two set points in both sets but rallied to prevail.

Sweet to see given the media's obsession with the black and mulatto female U.S. players. Kenin is American but is Russian born, she seems to have the Russian mental toughness that so many White American athletes lack. But time will tell on that front, as the women's tour has been wildly unpredictable for quite a while now with players rising and falling all the time. A good example -- I was thinking earlier today about the pretty blonde French-Canadian girl who looked like a superstar in the making just two or three years ago but who has now seemingly disappeared. Can't even recall her name right now. . .
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Eugenie Bouchard, who has fallen off the planet, I have never seen anybody fall like this who didn't have major injuries or drug/personal life issues. And as far as I know she hasn't had these problems.

I was mildly shocked that Barty lost as her shots are powerful and fast and has fantastic footwork, but on key points Kenin was match tough and won them, if ever there was a need for best pf 5 sets in the women's game it would in a match like this.

PS, Barty is partly aboriginal so this would have become a political statement if she made the final and the media would have lectured the viewers on the history of aboriginal people in Australia. If I wanted politics in sports I would watch the never ending NBA broadcasts about St. Kobe.....
 
The only match I watched was Kenin beating Barty. She kept her cool once again ( see above posts) as Barty made a lot of unforced errors. But I am extremely disappointed Halep got beat by the stork like Muguruza in two tight straight sets. Once again a big hitter knocked Halep on her heels.

I fear Kenin has the look of a runner up as Muguruza, who I don't much like, seems to have regained her form after a couple of years in the wilderness. But Kenin has shown perseverance so you never know. As mentioned above the women's field is in flux with no one taking command. Is Kenin as tall as Muguruza's legs? By a hair? Ha.

Federer apparently had a huge lead in the first set but it didn't matter. Djokovic won in three sets anyway and won the tie breaker in the first set. He kills Roger in tiebreakers.

Thiem played a rugged match against Nadal so perhaps if he comes through in the semis he could put up a fight against Novak.

white is right said:
Eugenie Bouchard, who has fallen off the planet, I have never seen anybody fall like this who didn't have major injuries or drug/personal life issues. And as far as I know she hasn't had these problems.


I was mildly shocked that Barty lost as her shots are powerful and fast and has fantastic footwork, but on key points Kenin was match tough and won them, if ever there was a need for best pf 5 sets in the women's game it would in a match like this.

PS, Barty is partly aboriginal so this would have become a political statement if she made the final and the media would have lectured the viewers on the history of aboriginal people in Australia. If I wanted politics in sports I would watch the never ending NBA broadcasts about St. Kobe.....
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The Barty aboriginal story came to light I believe only after she won the French Open last year. Her parents look white and so does Barty. I will defer to someone here on this subject. Her father's side partially comes from aboriginal mountain people and I haven't a clue if they are considered white or non white? I lean towards vaguely non white but I am no expert on this subject.



Bouchard rose quickly in 2013 and 2014 and was ranked 5th and seen as big time up and comer. But she dissolved quickly. Then suffered a very bad locker room concussion at the US Open in 2015 just as she was finding her form again getting ready to play in the 4th round. She filed a law suit and it knocked her for a loop.

Bouchard has a great sexy body and added glamour. She also came from a wealthy family so people wondered about her desire. The same things have been whispered about male players Gulbis and Bernard Tomic who also come from wealth.
 
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