First round
Djokovic over Chung in 3, Dodig over Halys in 4
Kudla over Krajinovic in 5, Gabashvili over Seppi in 4
Karlovic over Delbonis in 4, Vesely over Olivo in 4
Donskoy over Cervantes in 3, Simon over Pospisil in 4
Tsonga over Baghdatis in 3, Marchenko over Jasika in 3
Herbert over Andujar in 4, Paire over Rubin in 3
Garcia-Lopez over Mathieu in 4, Brands over Estrella Burgos in 3
Wu over Krajicek in 4, Nishikori over Kohlschreiber in 5
Federer over Basilashvili in 3, Dolgopolov over Berankis in 4
Trungelliti over Kovalik in 4, Dimitrov over Lorenzi in 3
Thiem over Mayer in 4, Almagro over Benneteau in 3
Edmund over Dzumhur in 4, Goffin over Stakhovsky in 3
Cilic over De Bakker in 3, Coric over Ramos-Vinolas in 4
Querrey over Lajovic in 4, Bautista Agut over Klizan in 3
Kyrgios over Carreno Busta in 3, Nishioka over Cuevas in 4
Haase over Basic in 4, Berdych over Bhambri in 3
Nadal over Verdasco in 3, Becker over Sela in 5
Harrison over Kuznetsov in 4, Chardy over Gulbis in 3
Monfils over Sugita in 4, Mahut over Cecchinato in 4
Fratangelo over Robert in 4, Anderson over Ram in 3
Raonic over Pouille in 3, Robredo over Jaziri in 4
Smyczek over Gimeno-Traver in 4, Troicki over Munoz De La Nava in 3
Sock over Fritz in 3, Rosol over Daniel in 4
Stepanek over Ito in 3, Wawrinka over Tursunov in 3
Ferrer over Gojowyczk in 3, Hewitt over Duckworth in 5
Bellucci over Thompson in 4, Bedene over Johnson in 4
Lopez over Evans in 4, Pella over Darcis in 5
Ebden over Granollers in 5, Isner over Janowicz in 3
Tomic over Istomin in 3, Bolelli over Baker in 4
Schwartzman over Millman in 5, Muller over Fognini in 4
Sousa over Kukushkin in 4, Young over Giraldo in 4
Groth over Mannarino in 5, Murray over Zverev in 3
Second round
Djokovic over Dodig in 3
Gabashvili over Kudla in 4
Karlovic over Vesely in 4
Simon over Dosnkoy in 3
Tsonga over Marchenko in 4
Paire over Herbert in 4
Garcia-Lopez over Brands in 4
Nishikori over Wu in 3
Federer over Dolgopolov in 3
Dimitrov over Trungelliti in 3
Thiem over Almagro in 3
Goffin over Edmund in 3
Cilic over Coric in 5
Bautista Agut over Querrey in 3
Kyrgios over Nishioka in 3
Berdych over Haase in 3
Nadal over Becker in 3
Chardy over Harrison in 3
Mahut over Monfils in 4
Anderson over Fratangelo in 3
Raonic over Robredo in 3
Troicki over Smyczek in 4
Sock over Rosol in 3
Wawrinka over Stepanek in 3
Ferrer over Hewitt in 3
Bedene over Bellucci in 4
Lopez over Pella in 4
Isner over Ebden in 3
Tomic over Bolelli in 3
Muller over Schwartzman in 4
Sousa over Young in 5
Murray over Groth in 3
Third round
Djokovic over Gabashvili in 3
Simon over Karlovic in 4
Tsonga over Paire in 4
Nishikori over Garcia-Lopez in 3
Federer over Dimitrov in 4
Goffin over Thiem in 5
Cilic over Bautista Agut in 4
Kyrgios over Berdych in 4
Nadal over Chardy in 4
Anderson over Mahut in 3
Raonic over Troicki in 4
Wawrinka over Sock in 4
Ferrer over Bedene in 3
Isner over Lopez in 4
Tomic over Muller in 5
Murray over Sousa in 3
Fourth round
Djokovic over Simon in 3
Tsonga over Nishikori in 5
Federer over Gofin in 4
Kyrgios over Cilic in 4
Nadal over Anderson in 4
Wawrinka over Raonic in 4
Isner over Ferrer in 4
Murray over Tomic in 3
Quarterfinals
Djokovic over Tsonga in 3
Federer over Kyrgios in 4
Nadal over Wawrinka in 4
Murray over Isner in 3
Semifinals
Djokovic over Federer in 4
Murray over Nadal in 4
Final
Djokovic over Murray in 4
[polldaddy poll=9273265]
[polldaddy poll=9273267]
[polldaddy poll=9273270]
[polldaddy poll=9273271]
[polldaddy poll=9272815]
who ya got?
This is all assuming Murray doesn’t withdraw from tourney.
QF:
Djokovic over Tsonga
Kyrgios over Fed
This is cheating… but Raonic over Nadal…. or Nadal over Wawrinka
Murray over Isner
SF:
Djokovic over Kyrgios
Murray over Raonic… or Nadal over Murray
Winner:
Djokovic
4th round:
Nole over Ivo
Special Kei over Jo
Fed over Thiem
Kyrgios oer Cilic
Rafa over Anderson
Stan over Milos
Ferru over Isner
Muzz over Tank Engine
QF:
Nole over Kei
Fed over Kyrgios
Stan over Rafa
Murray over Ferru
SF:
Nole over Fed
Stan over Murray
F:
Nole over Stan
I dunno if I’m gonna put all picks here. If I do I’m gonna do first round in one comment second round in another and so on.
Yes, Benny. Hurry-up and get your first round picks here so I can copy your picks to my bracket. I’m terrible at 1st rounds!!
I’ll start with 4th round. Ladies tee đ
Nole d Simon in 3
Kei d Jo in 5
Fed d Goffin in 4
Nick d Marin in 4
Rafa d Anderson in 3
Stan d Milos in 5
Ferru d Isner in 3
Andy d Tomic in 3
QF
Nole d Kei in 3
Nick d Fed in 5
Rafa d Stan in 4
Andy d Ferru in 3 or 4
SF
Nole d Nick in 3
Rafa d Andy in not at all sure about it…Still like Andy’s draw better than Rafa’s going this deep.
Continuing to waffle ‘cos not sure if Baby Andy is a good enough reason not to pick Andy to the final. It’s Kim’s first baby – which is more likely to be late than early. Andy may not be under as much pressure as people anticipate.
Picking Nole for winner.
Why do people think Andy is such a problem for Rafa? Andy has to play his heart out to beat an all firing Rafa. Everyone knows that Rafa was well below par last year when he lost to all comers including Murray but in their last 3 matches including Madrid last year, Rafa beat Andy hands down twice, at the FO (63 62 61) and the WTF (64 61). See wiki
Wiki:
2014 French Open Semi-Final[edit]
They met at the semi-finals of the 2014 French Open, the same stage as three years previously. The outcome was the same as then with Nadal winning in straight sets 6-3, 6-2, 6-1.[19] This match, however, was as comfortable for Nadal as the scoreline suggested, with Murray only winning 10 points off the Nadal serve. Nadal quickly asserted control and won the opening three games, going on to take the set in 34 minutes. Murray had spent over four hours longer than Nadal on court in the previous rounds and his tiredness showed as he made a lot more errors than is usual for him. By contrast, Nadal was at his best and won the next two sets as quickly as the first, securing the victory in only 100 minutes.
2015 Madrid Open Final
This was their first match at a final since Rakutan Japan Open 2011, and the first time they met at a final on clay. Nadal was aiming to extend his Masters record 27 titles, while Murray was looking for his first title in a Masters 1000 event on clay and the first in any surface since his win at Miami in 2013. Murray broke early in both sets and never surrendered his service in the match. That led to Murray take early control of each set and eventually win the match in straight sets 6-3, 6-2 in just 89 minutes. With the win Murray won his second clay title of his career in consecutives weeks (Munich) and became just the 4th player to beat Nadal in a clay final,[20] furthermore, he became just the sixth player to win 10 or more ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles, joining Nadal (27), Novak Djokovic (23), Roger Federer (23), Andre Agassi (17) and Pete Sampras (11).[21]
nadline, thanks.
It’s not that I think Andy is “such a problem” for Rafa. Simply, 1) like Andy’s draw better and, 2) I’m tempted to take him to the final because not sure impending baby Andy will impact AO performance.
But have put Rafa in the final – no more waffling. One of my mistakes picking is interminable second guessing!
I like all your picks, but Isner over Murray in the QF, because Kim will go into labor! LOL! that’s my scenario and i’m sticking with it!
1st round differences
Nadal over Verdasco in 4-have you seen how buff Verdasco is?
Sock over Fritz in 4-Sock may still be dealing with flu and trying to recover
Mannarino over Groth in 5-just a hunch Groth may try to do too much at home
Rafa could lose a set to Verdasco. It’s possible, depending on how sharp Rafa is in his first match. He usually likes to start slow, but won’t have that luxury against Verdasco. His ranking has gone down quite a bit, but the guy can still play.
Rafole final
vamosrafa,
You went right to the final!
I guess you are feeling good about Rafa’s chances. It’s nice to hear from you.
I am not making any predictions at this time. I have some ideas about who will do what, but I want to see at least the first round matches to get a sense of where the players are at right now.
yes! I have enough faith in rafa… I think he will take some falls but will keep finding the answers to reach the final. He would be a heavy underdog against Nole of course.
Can nole lose before the final? Nothing’s impossible but this seems highly unlikely. It is not as big as certainty as was Rafa reaching RG finals/winning them in his good years but perhaps the most probable thing in tennis right now. Federer cannot beat him here and I don’t think Karlovic can do it over 5 sets.
It is a pity Stan is not in his half. I was really hoping!!
Rafa can lose to Stan or Murray but I think he will do well enough to bea them both. As far as stan reaching the final, I don’t think so. I think he will not be consistent enough to beat Rafa and Muzz back to back.
BEL18VE. If anyone can do it, it’s Roger.
Benny G, although the AO courts have been speeded up over the last 2-3 years, they still do not provide favorable enough conditions for him to play well enough to beat Djokovic. he beat djokovic indoors but when the real Djokovic turned up in the finals,it was a different story even indoors. And remember, fed has lost to him TWICE in STRAIGHT SETS at AO!
Fed winning against nole would be an absolute shocker. He hardly has a better chance here at AO than rafa does
It is true that match up wise, fed has the best chance against Nole on hard courts and grass … fed even beat him on clay in 2011 when he looked unbeatable and he eas extremely unlucky to lose that USO SF. How I so wish fed had won that match so that rafa would have won the final lol
vamosrafa,
I like your take on how it could play out. I think you make a good point about Stan not being able to take out Rafa, Murray and then Novak. I think that’s a tall order for him. I know that in the closing months of last year, he wasn’t at his best. So I want to see how he looks in the first two matches.
I guess you think that Rafa got a really good draw, as I did. It’s really the best that could happen, especially since he is #5. I think it’s quite doable.
I think Verdasco is a tough first round opponent. But Rafa knows his game and there are no surprises. It’s always different in a slam when it’s Bof5.
I guess the idea is to hope that somehow Novak falters and gets knocked out before the final, but I just don’t see it happening. Fed is not going to beat Novak in the semis here. Karlovic can’t do it in a Bof5 match. He’s too one-dimensional. It was pointed out earlier that Karlovic has beaten Novak, but, wait for it, not in a slam!
I am taking it one match at a time and trying not to look too far ahead. I know Rafa will do the same!
‘ It was pointed out earlier that Karlovic has beaten Novak, but, wait for it, not in a slam!’..
haha, like your writing style đ
and I totally agree with you. The ideas is to hope that SOMEHOW Novak falters and goes out. We know the chances are very slim but there is no harm in hoping…haha.
I think rafa will bear verdasco in 3 sets. It could go to 4 max but I think it will be 3.
Regarding stan, I think he can win one one big match here but three in a row? no… He has proven in the past that he can raise his level for AO so I am expecting a very tough QF for rafa if both men reach there.
vamosrafa,
You may be right about Rafa beating Verdasco in 3 sets. I have been going back and forth about that one. It could turn out to be easy or if Rafa is not sharp then maybe he loses a set. I just don’t know what to expect in this first match.
I do agree that if Stan and Rafa meet in the quarterfinals, it will be a tough one. Stan has shown that he can hang with the big boys at the AO!
Yep, I was hoping for Stan to fall in Novak’s half so he can have the chance of stopping Novak from reaching the final. Too bad, it didnt turn out that way. Novak will most likely reach the final again and I think right now Rafa can’t beat him.
lucky,
I agree that if Stan was in Novak’s half then there would have been a chance of stopping him. But I can’t see anyone his his draw having a shot at stopping him here. I also do not think that Rafa can beat him yet.
My picks are here. http://www.tourneytopia.com/RacquetBracketAussieOpenATP/aussieopenatp/pool/entrypicks.aspx?entryid=523705&confirmed=true I can’t give up on fed just yet. Nole has to lose some time right? I picked fed to take their semifinal. Also went risky with other stuff like Hewitt and pospy making round four. Still gonna put my picks on here too. Probably later tonight.
Never mind you can only click the link and see the draw after tournament starts but I’m gonna post picks here anyways. I went a little bold. Had to man. That’s how I roll lol.
First round:
Nole def. Chung in 3
Dodig def. Halys in 4
Kudla over Krajinovic in 4
Gabashvili over Seppi in 4
Karlovic over Delbonis in 4
Olivo over Vesely in 5
Donskoy over Cervantes in 4
Pospisil over Simon in 4
Tsonga over Baghdatis in 3
Marchenko over Jasika in 4
Herbert over Andujar in 4
Paire over Rubin in 3
Garcia-Lopez over Mathieu in 4
Brands over Estrella Burgos in 3
Krajicek over Wu in 4
Nishikori over Kohlschreiber in 5
Federer over Basilashvili in 3
Dolgopolov over Berankis in 4
Kovalik over Trungelliti in 5
Dimitrov over Lorenzi in 3
Have to go to my tournament match right now I’ll finish them later tonight. I’ll pick up from where I left off.
Alright back to round one predictions and I’ll post other rounds in separate comments.
Thiem over Mayer in 3
Almagro over Benneteau in 4
Edmund over Dzumhur in 5
Goffin over Stakhovsky in 4
Cilic over De Bakker in 3
Coric over Ramos-Vinolas in 3
Querrey over Lajovic in 4
Bautista Agut over Klizan in 3
Kyrgios over Carreno Busta in 3
Nishioka over Cuevas in 4
Haase over Basic in 4
Berdych over Bhambri in 3
Nadal over Verdasco in 3
Becker over Sela in 5
Harrison over Kuznetsov in 4
Chardy over Gulbis in 3
Monfils over Sugita in 3
Mahut over Cecchinato in 3
Robert over Fratangelo in 4
Anderson over Ram in 4
Raonic over Pouille in 3
Robredo over Jaziri in 4
Smyczek over Gimeno-Traver in 3
Troicki over Munoz de la Nava in 3
Sock over Fritz in 4
Daniel over Rosol in 4
Stepanek over Ito in 3
Wawrinka over Tursunov in 3
Ferrer over Gojowyczk in 4
Hewitt over Duckworth in 5
Thompson over Bellucci in 5
Bedene over Johnson in 4
Lopez over Evans in 4
Darcis over Pella in 4
Granollers over Ebden in 4
Isner over Janowicz in 4
Tomic over Istomin in 3
Bolelli over Baker in 4
Millman over Schwartzman in 4
Muller over Fognini in 4
Kukushkin over Sousa in 3
Young over Giraldo in 4
Groth over Mannarino in 4
Murray over Zverev in 3
those are very good 1st round picks benny!! you think muller beats foggy?? not sure about that one…but you never know with foggy who will turn up….
you don’t think that simon might beat popsy?? i think i would take simon…
I think Simon will beat Pospy.
I took Simon to beat Pospy. Hope I’m wrong.
Djoker over Dodig in 3
Gabashvili over Kudla in 4
Karlovic over Olivo in 3
Pospisil over Donskoy in 4
Tsonga over Marchenko in 3
Paire over Herbert in 4
Garcia-Lopez over Brands in 4
Nishikori over Krajicek in 4
Roger over Dolgo in 3
Dimitrov over Kovalik in 3
Thiem over Almagro in 4
Goffin over Edmund in 4
Cilic over Coric in 4
Bautista Agut over Querrey in 3
Kyrgios over Nishioka in 3
Berdych over Haase in 3
Rafa over Becker in 3
Harrison over Chardy in 5
Monfils over Mahut in 4
Anderson over Robert in 3
Raonic over Robredo in 3
Troicki over Smyczek in 4
Sock over Daniel in 3
Stanimal over Stepanek in 3
Hewitt over Ferrer in 5
Bedene over Thompson in 3
Lopez over Darcis in 3
Isner over Granollers in 3
Tomic over Bolelli in 4
Muller over Millman in 4
Kukushkin over Young in 4
Murray over Groth in 4
The picks above are my second round picks. These are my third round picks:
Djoker over Gabashvili in 3
Pospisil over Karlovic in 5
Tsonga over Paire in 3
Nishikori over Garcia-Lopez in 3
Fed over Dimitrov in 4
Thiem over Goffin in 5
Bautista Agut over Cilic in 4
Kyrgios over Berdych in 3
Rafa over Harrison in 3
Monfils over Anderson in 4
Raonic over Troicki in 3
Stan over Sock in 4
Hewitt over Bedene in 4
Lopez over Isner in 4
Tomic over Muller in 5
Muzza over Kukushkin in 3
Kinda have gut feeling about RBA but now I’m thinking Marin but I’m not going back lol I just don’t do that in case I go back and end up second guessing myself so that I get it wrong. If I had Marin through though I might have him beating NK unlike I think RBA will.
Fourth round picks:
Nole over Pospy in 3
Tsonga over Kei in 4
Fed over Thiem in 3
Kyrgios over RBA in 4
Rafa over La Monf in 3
Stan the Man over Milos in 4
Feli over Rusty in 5
Murray over Tomic in 4
And lastly the final rounds:
QF-
Nole over Jo-Willy in 4 (I see a good tourney for Jo Willy so I think he tests Novak but ultimately loses)
RF over NK in 4 (if it goes five NK could take it but I see a similar scenario to Nick’s QF against Murray but he takes a set this time)
Stanimal over Rafa in 4 (could go either way but I like Stan down under more than Rafa down under)
Murray over Lopez in 4 (the matchup favors Murray here)
SF-
Roger over Novak in 4 (Nole’s gotta lose some time and Roger has the game to do it plus Roger is my guy man I gotta go with the Maestro to score a victory)
Stan over Murray in 3 (if Murray hasn’t left because of his upcoming baby by now I still see Stan in good enough form to blitz past the Brit)
Final:
Roger over Stanislas in 4. This is the final I want and I don’t think it’s out of the question. If Roger isn’t super tired heading into Novak he could surprise and Stan is definitely capable of pulling off a run at AO as well. I see Fed getting a tough four set win over a Stan who will most likely play well early but will be deflated and accept that his good friend will take an 18th GS title. Like I said I like to go bold and also as u know I’m biased towards fed and even Stan although I’m more confident in a final run for Stan because of no Nole on his side. Honestly I can’t wait for the tournament. Everyone get your popcorn ready for what should be an awesome first slam of the year. Woohoo!!!! #OzOpen
good to hear your picks benny! i take my hat off to you for being bold and backing your man but i promise i will eat it if fed beats nole in 4 (unless nole is injured…)!!!
kudos to you though for getting your picks out in the open and putting yourself on the line..!
er..why is this awaiting moderation??
Thanks Amy. Haha I just can’t give up on Roger yet. He was 3-3 on hard courts against fed last year but yes they were faster courts so I realize this is a bold pick. Have you put your full picks yet? Or first round at least?
I mean 3-3 on hard courts against Nole.
no benny will put up some picks later…need to have a think first!! you are braver than me and i sense that imminent humiliation awaits me!
the thing with fed is that he is much more dangerous over BO3 – i am not that surprised if he beats nole in BO3 but slams are a whole different ball game. also this is nole’s best surface and isn’t great for fed.
also the problem for fed might be that he has an off day and has to go 5 sets with someone..he generally plays poorly when he’s had to play a long match….however great you are age is a factor over BO5
amy,
I haven’t made my picks yet either. I don’t know if I am going to do it. I think we have until a specific time to do it. But I am not brave either.
nny, do you know when the deadline is??
The link below gives the bracket deadline for picks.
http://www.tourneytopia.com/RacquetBracketAussieOpenATP/TheGrandstand2016
Chapeau to Benny putting all picks down well in advance!
Wishful thinking.
Fedal will lose early and Nole or Stan will win.
Stan?
What do u mean by early?
First week
amy,
ratcliff told me on another topic thread. You are in a different time zone than me. I have until dinner time today. But you are, what, six hours ahead of me on east coast time here in the states?
The links were posted by Ricky and ratcliff on the other thread. Ricky did set one up on tenngrand. I think if you are going to do it, then you better do it very soon.
Nny, amy, and anyone else…
If you are on the east coast the bracket deadline is 7pm – that’s 11:00 am Monday in Melbourne when first round matches start, ( my time 5pm – pacific coast 4pm).
Forgot the link. At times I’m confused lately. Need to back up what I say đ
http://www.tourneytopia.com/RacquetBracketAussieOpenATP/TheGrandstand2016
ratcliff,
Many thanks for putting up the link again and advising us about deadlines. Amy is abroad in England, I believe. They are about five or six hours ahead of us.
No problem. Horrendous time difference when tennis is in Asia and Australia!!
Actually prefer when tennis is in Europe over US.
ratcliff,
Yes, I agree!
Well, I actually did it! Now I will get see just how wrong I was!
Thanks again for the info and all your help!
Let’s get this party started!
Come on Broncos. Why do they have a major during the NFL playoffs? Least intetesting major definitely.
no. but yes to Go Broncos.
No least interesting is French except last year because Rafa actually lost lol.
Australian Open is the best.
the most interesting? who knows. that is on a year to year basis.
Wimbledon is best followed by U.S. Open
negativr
Ajde
Stakhovsky got a jump on Goffin in a hurry. First to sergiy. Would be cool to see an upset kick off the tournament. I like the throwback game of Stakhovsky but I also like Goffins game as well. Also Krajicek serving for set against Wu. He’s playing well and seeming to take good opportunity here.
Good to see Nishikori start off well against Kohlschreiber. Goffin has turned things around.
fun while it lasted for Staks