Australian Open 2022

So Medved proves that he has not a small bit of that Djokovic-type resilience in him

Some seriously clutch moments there in a number of games

FAA ahead on all match stats pretty much but tennis is about the big points.

Could be a good one vs Tsitsipas in the semis, even if Medved is comfortably ahead in the h2h

Some disgraceful deliberate shouting / screaming on Medvedev's 2nd Serve throughout the match, particularly on big points.

Asked how he came back by Courier, Medved says

I said to myself "What would Novak do?"

😂😂😂

High-level trolling by Medved

Love it

Savage reactions and side-to-side coverage on a big point

If Nadal somehow wins here (I don't believe that he will as either of Tsitsipas or Medvedev would beat him I think if he makes the final) I do think that it would be a definite Asterix moment (not that that would matter a crap to some kid googling in 20 years time) as Nadal was never ever beating Djokovic here.

He has only managed to win 1 set out of the last 20 sets they played against each other on hard courts - not a hope of beating him over 5 sets in a place where Nadal won the title once, 13 years ago and where he got the worst GS final rinsing of his career from the man in 2019 in a little over 2 hours.

Wow Tsits was imperious yesterday. Completely blew Sinner away and Sinner wasn't playing badly. Tsits was taking the ball so early. Can he reproduce that form though? Converting 100% of break points and not facing even one yourself is unreal.

The "changes" were obviously a reference to your ill-fated Roddick comparison.

It's also just a fact that the consistently top players in male tennis start to produce at an early age - before 20 or 21 in most cases.

Shapovalov will be bucking the trend severely if he goes on to be a top player in that regard.

You talk about the fact that he's 22 (he's actually nearly 23, in April) but he has been playing tennis from the age of 5 - so he's had over 17 years to "improve".

Even when players are very young they are playing matches and honing their match tennis and mental game. Not a few players as juniors are dominant but then find out that they are not near the top mentally when they get to the ATP.

He's in his 6th professional season on the ATP. He has 1 ATP 250 title to his name.

He got to one Wimbledon SF but go back and look at the draw he had also. It was very kind with no players who have any showing on grass really and no consistent ATP performers (Murray in early stages of coming back from injury again and in poor form).

He lost in straight sets to Djokovic. Shapovalov was competitive in the sets but equally Djokovic was able to, as a matter of course, take the big points when neede, as he has done again and again. As Shapovalov has shown no consistent ability in doing.

He has been in development for nearly 18 years.

That's why the real potential in tennis players in all areas game and mental resilience is shown at what people might consider a "young" age.

Pretty much the only serious example of a real late developer in recent times was Stan Wawrinka but he was a complete rarity.

More common to have all the "talents" like Dimitrov (similar SF and QF as Shapovalov at same age), Kyrgios, Gulbis etc who had more natural talent than Shapovalov and never achieved that much for different reasons

So it's going to be bucking the trend if he goes on to be a Wawrinka especially when you have good young players there and some better and younger ones on the way up (Alcaraz who is not near his ceiling yet as not long on tour, Sinner who was a skier for 4 years before going back to tennis) etc.

Especially for a guy who actually fancies himself as a rapper and is recording and releasing rap singles as well as being in tennis!

Shapovalov has displayed poor mental focus over his career so far in big matches on the big points (like against a compromised Nadal who himself said that he expected to lose going into the 5th set) and that's not something that can be learned very well, at all.

But it won't be the case that nobodies and one-hit wonders who in relative terms disappear after regularly will be winning the ATP slams

Going back to the very start of the Open era that has never regularly happened over a period in the ATP

You had the odd rare case of an established former player coming back where he had a big surface advantage like in 2001 Wimbledon before the new and more durable grass blend took effect where Ivanisevic was able to win (he had been to 3 finals and 2 semi-finals there before). But the days of just a big server going through Wimbledon to win are long gone.

There were a few once-off winners on clay at RG or in but they were recognised clay players and most had a good clay career overall

Johansson in the 2002 AO was a bit random

The "big 3" are already gone a while as the "big 3" (since the end of 2019) but the players getting to the quarter-finals and semi-finals are recognised players and the higher-ranked seeds and that will continue to be case largely with consistency and with actual consistent rivalries in place

The biggest downfall of the WTA since 2010 on has been the lack of rivalries and the standard just slipped from there. Rivalries amongst consistent top players go a long way to maintain a standard and pass at least some of the standard on to the up-and-comers

Once you have a core of at maybe 6 players who can play pretty consistently well the tour is maintained with rivalries in place

Player ranked in the Top 10 (and most probably the Top 6) will be those winning the slams, not one-hit wonders

(with decent ones coming up and existing others trying to fight in)

e.g. Medvedev - Tsitsipas,

Alcaraz coming into the top level over the next year or so to create more rivalries

Thiem maybe if he manages to get back

Zverev will be a consistent quarter and semi-finalist even if he might never win

Berrettini is looking like a solid Top 10 player who is not going to fade off anytime soon

Sinner

Djokovic will be around at some slams at least for the next few years. As will Nadal

FAA if he can manage to develop the "killer instinct"