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.

@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.

@rancid-schnitzel 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. 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.

I didn't mind them supporting the home town team. But he whipped them up to a frenzy. Venus said they were shouting obscenities about him and his family during the changes of ends. The umpire and referee are right there and did nothing. Weak

@canefan said in Aussie Open:

@rancid-schnitzel 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. 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.

I didn't mind them supporting the home town team. But he whipped them up to a frenzy. Venus said they were shouting obscenities about him and his family during the changes of ends. The umpire and referee are right there and did nothing. Weak

I don't mind the parochialism either. It's perfectly normal. But yeah it didn't need to degenerate like that.

My issue is with the umpire.

She had no control whatsoever.

It's like a real life Happy Gilmore situation.

This Felix dude from Canada is bloody good. Maybe he's the one to finally see off the geriatrics.

@rancid-schnitzel said in Aussie Open:

This Felix dude from Canada is bloody good. Maybe he's the one to finally see off the geriatrics.

He's only 21. Gone deep at Wimbledon and the US Open last year. Medvedev is just hanging on

@canefan said in Aussie Open:

@rancid-schnitzel 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. 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.

I didn't mind them supporting the home town team. But he whipped them up to a frenzy. Venus said they were shouting obscenities about him and his family during the changes of ends. The umpire and referee are right there and did nothing. Weak

Oh boo fucking hoo. Shouting obscenities about him, the horror! Would never take place at, say, an Eden Park Bledisloe...

Not that I'm condoning it necessarily, but it's part of sport. Better than playing in front of an empty stadium in round 2 of the Bumfuck Open.

I love the special K show. The crowd is a zoo and yeah they whip them up. Fantastic. Should be more of it. Since when did we decide tennis had to be played in complete silence?

They are setting out to entertain, in a sport that is supposed to be entertaining. I'd be fine with it if it was a pair of Brits at Wimbledon, or yanks at the US Open too. Or at the Davis Cup (as it used to be played anyway). Tennis needs more heaving, hostile home crowds, not less.

@barbarian said in Aussie Open:

@canefan said in Aussie Open:

@rancid-schnitzel 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. 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.

I didn't mind them supporting the home town team. But he whipped them up to a frenzy. Venus said they were shouting obscenities about him and his family during the changes of ends. The umpire and referee are right there and did nothing. Weak

Oh boo fucking hoo. Shouting obscenities about him, the horror! Would never take place at, say, an Eden Park Bledisloe...

Not that I'm condoning it necessarily, but it's part of sport. Better than playing in front of an empty stadium in round 2 of the Bumfuck Open.

I love the special K show. The crowd is a zoo and yeah they whip them up. Fantastic. Should be more of it. Since when did we decide tennis had to be played in complete silence?

They are setting out to entertain, in a sport that is supposed to be entertaining. I'd be fine with it if it was a pair of Brits at Wimbledon, or yanks at the US Open too. Or at the Davis Cup (as it used to be played anyway). Tennis needs more heaving, hostile home crowds, not less.

No. this sport is the domain of the educated, who alone can appreciate the skill and majesty of a small ball being hit back and forth. The difficulty of such motor skills demands the utmost concentration hence the socially mandated requirement for silence from observers and participants alike. The once great sport of cricket, reserved for the upper classes because peasants couldn't afford five days off work, has been ruined.

It comes as no surprise that Australians are at the forefront of ruining this idle past time too, ably led by the great socialist Dictator Dan.

No one should enjoy themselves beyond the occasional tittering between sips of champagne and parochialism is the purview of the unworldly.

@barbarian Kyrgios might have been reading Jimmy Connors' book.

Jimmy liked a zoo.

But, Nick needs to be a bit careful, because fans in other countries will likely be taking notes and he doesn't have home court advantage for long in a season.

Quade Cooper found out that you've got to have a pretty thick skin to deal with fans relentlessly getting stuck into you.

Connors did.

His book is a good read - the Duke of Kent story on page 223-226 below is pretty funny.

@barbarian said in Aussie Open:

@canefan said in Aussie Open:

@rancid-schnitzel 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. 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.

I didn't mind them supporting the home town team. But he whipped them up to a frenzy. Venus said they were shouting obscenities about him and his family during the changes of ends. The umpire and referee are right there and did nothing. Weak

Oh boo fucking hoo. Shouting obscenities about him, the horror! Would never take place at, say, an Eden Park Bledisloe...

Not that I'm condoning it necessarily, but it's part of sport. Better than playing in front of an empty stadium in round 2 of the Bumfuck Open.

I love the special K show. The crowd is a zoo and yeah they whip them up. Fantastic. Should be more of it. Since when did we decide tennis had to be played in complete silence?

They are setting out to entertain, in a sport that is supposed to be entertaining. I'd be fine with it if it was a pair of Brits at Wimbledon, or yanks at the US Open too. Or at the Davis Cup (as it used to be played anyway). Tennis needs more heaving, hostile home crowds, not less.

That's just it. It's not EP or the MCG. They aren't expected to play in silence, and if you spend any time watching the Open you know this is true. But the sport has limits and they overstepped those. The umpire was too weak to maintain some semblance of control

@canefan said in Aussie Open:

@barbarian said in Aussie Open:

@canefan said in Aussie Open:

@rancid-schnitzel 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. 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.

I didn't mind them supporting the home town team. But he whipped them up to a frenzy. Venus said they were shouting obscenities about him and his family during the changes of ends. The umpire and referee are right there and did nothing. Weak

Oh boo fucking hoo. Shouting obscenities about him, the horror! Would never take place at, say, an Eden Park Bledisloe...

Not that I'm condoning it necessarily, but it's part of sport. Better than playing in front of an empty stadium in round 2 of the Bumfuck Open.

I love the special K show. The crowd is a zoo and yeah they whip them up. Fantastic. Should be more of it. Since when did we decide tennis had to be played in complete silence?

They are setting out to entertain, in a sport that is supposed to be entertaining. I'd be fine with it if it was a pair of Brits at Wimbledon, or yanks at the US Open too. Or at the Davis Cup (as it used to be played anyway). Tennis needs more heaving, hostile home crowds, not less.

That's just it. It's not EP or the MCG. They aren't expected to play in silence, and if you spend any time watching the Open you know this is true. But the sport has limits and they overstepped those. The umpire was too weak to maintain some semblance of control

Yeah, while I agree that tennis is a bit of a joke when it comes to acceptability of crowd actions and probably needs to let things get more animated I also think K&K are pushing things to the extreme.
It can be good that someone is going OTT. It helps define the 'right' level and show what is too much.
At the moment they have been given rope to put their dickheadedness on full display and other competitors have been given no support against it.

@canefan said in Aussie Open:

@barbarian said in Aussie Open:

@canefan said in Aussie Open:

@rancid-schnitzel 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. 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.

I didn't mind them supporting the home town team. But he whipped them up to a frenzy. Venus said they were shouting obscenities about him and his family during the changes of ends. The umpire and referee are right there and did nothing. Weak

Oh boo fucking hoo. Shouting obscenities about him, the horror! Would never take place at, say, an Eden Park Bledisloe...

Not that I'm condoning it necessarily, but it's part of sport. Better than playing in front of an empty stadium in round 2 of the Bumfuck Open.

I love the special K show. The crowd is a zoo and yeah they whip them up. Fantastic. Should be more of it. Since when did we decide tennis had to be played in complete silence?

They are setting out to entertain, in a sport that is supposed to be entertaining. I'd be fine with it if it was a pair of Brits at Wimbledon, or yanks at the US Open too. Or at the Davis Cup (as it used to be played anyway). Tennis needs more heaving, hostile home crowds, not less.

That's just it. It's not EP or the MCG. They aren't expected to play in silence, and if you spend any time watching the Open you know this is true. But the sport has limits and they overstepped those. The umpire was too weak to maintain some semblance of control

How did they overstep the limits? By hyping the crowd up? Because really that's all they did, the occasional gesture to the stands when they won a point.

The worst that I saw was a bit of commotion before a serve, which happened regardless of who was serving. It didn't seem to impact on the players at all, so what's the harm?

The crowd today shouldn't be as rowdy as it's set for Rod Laver which requires specific tickets to attend (i.e. not with a ground pass).

@kiwimurph said in Aussie Open:

The crowd today shouldn't be as rowdy as it's set for Rod Laver which requires specific tickets to attend (i.e. not with a ground pass).

I believe they are throwing the gates open to RLA for that game, and hopefully for Dylan Alcott in the Quad final as well.