2021 In Between Grand Slam Thread

Didn't say Nadal would beat Djokovic, I said in my opinion he'd have posed a bigger threat than the others, if you read my post again I said I'd expect Djokovic to beat Nadal. I also expect Djokovic to beat Zverev, Tsitsipas or Medvedev if he meets any of them at the USO. Anything other than Djokovic winning will be a surprise.

This isn't 'just' a hard court tournament however, this is Djokovics worst slam, one he has found a way to lose in many times.

Nadal has won this more times than Djokovic and a fit Nadal would have proven tough. However, its likely that the only person who will beat Djokovic here is himself, he didn't look great in his last couple of matches, maybe the pressure of the grand slam / 21 will get to him.

I think Djokovic will be at his most vulnerable in the first couple of rounds as he tends to play himself into slams, so if he gets an awkward opponent or someone plays out of their skin in the first few rounds he could be in trouble, plus he's likely to be slightly rusty after his layoff, but, once he gets to the second week he becomes a different animal, he steps up through the gears and tends not to give his opponents much opportunities to take advantage of, it'll take an outstanding performance from Zverev or Medvedev to beat him, one that I'm not sure they're capable of. They'd have a much better chance of beating him if they met him in the early rounds of the tournament, but, unfortunately for them it's likely to be in the final or semi finals they'll meet him when he's in the zone and almost impossible to beat. Of course anything can happen in sport it's why we watch it, but, in all likelihood Djokovic will complete the calendar slam and reach 21.

Sandgren has just gone and done a Djoko.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEh1_CaRlQw&t=70s

https://www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/58569560

Looks like the State of Victoria (seat of the Austrailian Open) is going to mandate players of next years tournament be fully vaccinated. there are a good few players who aren't and have voiced objection to being vaccinated, including at least Djokovic, Medvedev, Tsitsipas on the mens side. Will be interesting to see if they bite the bullet, or even if the tournament is moved to somewhere more amenable to their concerns...

Heather Watson has lost her first round match at Indian wells to Sloane Stephens in three sets after winning the first set. The third set she lost 6-1.

Kim clisters lost in three sets which I’m surprised at because she lost the first set in less than half an hour last night but seems she won the second set handy enough but lost the decider by the same score she won the second set.

The US open woman's finalists from this year both play their first matches tonight at 2am and 4am Irish time with Emma Raducanu up first and leylah Fernandez up second.

Looks like domestic bliss has been restored at Château Murray:

https://www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/58824365

considering she stumbled her way through the prime video coverage of the US open she’s hardly in a position to call people out. Daniela hantuchova was the star of that coverage imo as she came across as a very nice and warm person.

sasnovich is 1-2 in the first set after a Raducanu hold to love in the first game.

So Emma Raducanu is 3-2 up in second set but down by one set.

And that’s it Emma Raducanu goes out in straight sets.

Not surprising Raducanu lost, since winning the USO, her life has been completely turned upside down, in huge demand by the media and seems to not have turned down any invitation to non tennis events in that time, hard to see where she even fit time in for tennis practice.

Very hard to know how Raducanu will do in the future, her high ranking is really based on 1 tournament, so, slightly misleading, she's now also expected to beat players that 2 months ago she'd have been a big underdog against. It'll be interesting to see how her career turns out.