Aussie Open

@mariner4life said in Aussie Open:

it's probably really hard for the marketing department, but as a sporting event it would be good to see the men go like the women, where you just never know who is going to win the thing

I disagree. The women's game is too volatile. I would consider myself to be relatively connected to tennis, in the sense that I pay attention to all the Australian Open and the later rounds of the other majors. And yet I looked at the top 10 female seeds in this year's Oz Open and I reckon I recognised two of the names.

There's people I have no recollection of ever seeing before who are ranked 4, 5 and 6 in the world! That can't be a good thing for attracting viewers.

@barbarian said in Aussie Open:

@mariner4life said in Aussie Open:

it's probably really hard for the marketing department, but as a sporting event it would be good to see the men go like the women, where you just never know who is going to win the thing

I disagree. The women's game is too volatile. I would consider myself to be relatively connected to tennis, in the sense that I pay attention to all the Australian Open and the later rounds of the other majors. And yet I looked at the top 10 female seeds in this year's Oz Open and I reckon I recognised two of the names.

There's people I have no recollection of ever seeing before who are ranked 4, 5 and 6 in the world! That can't be a good thing for attracting viewers.

i didn't say attracting viewers, i said as a sporting competition

Rather than 100+ guys entering a tournament hoping to avoid 3 guys long enough to be the 4th semi finalist

@barbarian said in Aussie Open:

But more than that, these blokes are all pretty bland.

To me I think this is the key.

Even though the standings have been dominated by 3 guys for seemingly a decade - if you go back 10 years or so there were really entertaining players outside of the big 3.

Andy Murray obviously was right there but also guys like Ferrer, Verdasco, Wawrinka, Baghdatis, Tsonga, Nalbandian etc.

They were entertaining to watch.

Monfils at 35 years old playing on Rod Laver tonight is one guy who stands out as different and is still around but he's obviously not going to be around long.

we need more lunatic Russians like Safin

@kiwimurph said in Aussie Open:

@barbarian said in Aussie Open:

But more than that, these blokes are all pretty bland.

To me I think this is the key.

Even though the standings have been dominated by 3 guys for seemingly a decade - if you go back 10 years or so there were really entertaining players outside of the big 3.

Andy Murray obviously was right there but also guys like Ferrer, Verdasco, Wawrinka, Baghdatis, Tsonga, Nalbandian etc.

They were entertaining to watch.

Monfils at 35 years old playing on Rod Laver tonight is one guy who stands out as different and is still around but he's obviously not going to be around long.

Monfils looks pretty fit and arguably is playing at or near his peak!
Interesting that people think tennis is pretty bland, I've loved the quality and/but was pretty shocked how Kyrgios spoke to the ref, I'd have penalized him for that.

@mariner4life said in Aussie Open:

we need more lunatic Russians like Safin

Just a few more rounds and Medvedev will accuse the entire country of being backwards-facing halfwits. That, or we could have the makings of a classic Criminal Minds at the Open episode.

@nostrildamus said in Aussie Open:

@mariner4life said in Aussie Open:

we need more lunatic Russians like Safin

Just a few more rounds and Medvedev will accuse the entire country of being backwards-facing halfwits. That, or we could have the makings of a classic Criminal Minds at the Open episode.

Medvedev is so robotic, so it was nice to see him lose his shit against the French American Cressy last night

@mariner4life said in Aussie Open:

we need more lunatic Russians like Safin

most likely to invade an adjacent state during the tourney?

@nzzp said in Aussie Open:

@mariner4life said in Aussie Open:

we need more lunatic Russians like Safin

most likely to invade an adjacent state during the tourney?

Annexe the disabled locker room....

@barbarian said in Aussie Open:

But more than that, these blokes are all pretty bland.

This is the same sport that had Federer dominate for a decade?

@antipodean said in Aussie Open:

@barbarian said in Aussie Open:

But more than that, these blokes are all pretty bland.

This is the same sport that had Federer dominate for a decade?

Would never call Federer's style on the court bland though.

Kiwi Michael Venus is up against Kyrgios and Kokkinakis in front of a rowdy crowd right now.

i could put up with being bland

@antipodean said in Aussie Open:

@barbarian said in Aussie Open:

But more than that, these blokes are all pretty bland.

This is the same sport that had Federer dominate for a decade?

He is from Switzerland. 500 years of peace and they didn't even invent cuckoo clocks, apparently.

@nostrildamus said in Aussie Open:

500 years of peace >

Switzerland didn't even exist as a country until created by Napoleon.

Apart from three civil wars, the French annexation and establishment of the Helvetic Republic, the subsequent rebellions and the Battles of Wintherthur and Zurich. After which Switzerland existed as a client state of France.

The Congress of Vienna recognised Switzerland as a sovereign state and guaranteed its neutrality.

Subsequently Switzerland were an active participant in the 7th coalition in 1815

There was also a brief Civil War around the 1830's.

So a couple of hundred years of peace as long as you ignore airspace incursions by both sides in WW2 which included the Swiss shooting down American bombers and US taking out Swiss fighters, plus the (mistaken) bombing of several Swiss towns including Zurich and Basel.

The Swiss also sent troops to Afghanistan the first time they had served overseas since 1815.

My brothers in-laws were Swiss. I was regaled with stories about how Hitler did not dare invade and how Switzerland could stop a Soviet army in its tracks so I made it my job to learn a few facts.

@barbarian said in Aussie Open:

@mariner4life said in Aussie Open:

it's probably really hard for the marketing department, but as a sporting event it would be good to see the men go like the women, where you just never know who is going to win the thing

I disagree. The women's game is too volatile. I would consider myself to be relatively connected to tennis, in the sense that I pay attention to all the Australian Open and the later rounds of the other majors. And yet I looked at the top 10 female seeds in this year's Oz Open and I reckon I recognised two of the names.

There's people I have no recollection of ever seeing before who are ranked 4, 5 and 6 in the world! That can't be a good thing for attracting viewers.

Yeah totally agree with that. The winners (often Russian-Americans) seem to just disappear or fade rather than kick on. It's weird. Ash Barty seems like an absolutely wonderful person and competitor, but I kind of feel like her success is more due to others being wildly inconsistent rather than her being the dominant player around. I hope I'm wrong, but I see her more as a Hewett rather than a Sampras or Federer.

I also think the men's game is suffering from a severe lack of new blood or at least guys that can take the next step to superstar. The fact that a gnarled senior citizen like Nadal is a strong chance is absolutely ridiculous. Guys like Zverev and Thiem should be swamping the old guard but it just isn't happening yet.

@dogmeat said in Aussie Open:

@nostrildamus said in Aussie Open:

500 years of peace >

Switzerland didn't even exist as a country until created by Napoleon.

Apart from three civil wars, the French annexation and establishment of the Helvetic Republic, the subsequent rebellions and the Battles of Wintherthur and Zurich. After which Switzerland existed as a client state of France.

The Congress of Vienna recognised Switzerland as a sovereign state and guaranteed its neutrality.

Subsequently Switzerland were an active participant in the 7th coalition in 1815

There was also a brief Civil War around the 1830's.

So a couple of hundred years of peace as long as you ignore airspace incursions by both sides in WW2 which included the Swiss shooting down American bombers and US taking out Swiss fighters, plus the (mistaken) bombing of several Swiss towns including Zurich and Basel.

The Swiss also sent troops to Afghanistan the first time they had served overseas since 1815.

My brothers in-laws were Swiss. I was regaled with stories about how Hitler did not dare invade and how Switzerland could stop a Soviet army in its tracks so I made it my job to learn a few facts.

To clarify, I am riffing on a famous Orson Welles line.

Venus calls a spade a spade. He is a talent. But Nick Kyrgios is a knob. They were encouraging the mob and it crossed the line of what is acceptable at a tennis match. It was more like Bay 13 at the G. If the umpire had any balls (she didn't) she would have threatened to kick everyone out of the stadium

@canefan said in Aussie Open:

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Venus calls a spade a spade. He is a talent. But Nick Kyrgios is a knob

At least it makes tennis, aka windscreen wiper, interesting

@machpants said in Aussie Open:

@canefan said in Aussie Open:

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Venus calls a spade a spade. He is a talent. But Nick Kyrgios is a knob

At least it makes tennis, aka windscreen wiper, interesting

See my edited comments above. It was entertaining. Then it got way out of hand

@canefan said in Aussie Open:

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Venus calls a spade a spade. He is a talent. But Nick Kyrgios is a knob. They were encouraging the mob and it crossed the line of what is acceptable at a tennis match. It was more like Bay 13 at the G. If the umpire had any balls (she didn't) she would have threatened to kick everyone out of the stadium

At one point said Knob deliberately smashed a ball into the crowd and hit a kid in the stomach. Is that much different to what Djokovic was kicked out of the US Open for doing a couple of years ago?

I went to the Aus Open a couple of years ago and the incredible skill and talent on display was more than enough to entertain me and I suspect anyone else who was there. If you want a clown show go to a farking circus.