Who will be the ATP’s 2020 version of the 2019 Daniil Medvedev?
Well, there’s a good chance it’s no one. Medvedev’s 2019 season was the stuff of legend, the likes of which had rarely been seen in tennis. That’s not to say he was the best player on tour or even one of the three best, but his rise to prominence was nothing short of shocking. The Russian, who turned 23 years old last February, climbed from No. 16 in the world to as high as No. 4 (finished the season No. 5) thanks mostly to his memorable streak of six consecutive final appearances. That stretch featured two Masters 1000 titles and a five-set U.S. Open final loss to Rafael Nadal.
So, yeah, what happened happened and it probably isn’t going to happen again.
But…it could. As we have seen throughout the past few seasons, the under-23 talent on tour is alive and well. Let’s take a look at some of the 2020 Daniil Medvedev 2.0 candidates.
Denis Shapovalov – Shapovalov is probably the likeliest candidate to assume that distinction, but he may not be considered “the next Medvedev” because his rise to a possible top-five spot would be less surprising. At 20 years old, the Canadian is already up to 13th in the rankings. Red hot since hiring Mikhail Youzhny as coach last summer, Shapovalov would be wise to adopt the victory salute as his new celebration and shelve his rap game.
Andrey Rublev – Rublev set himself up for huge success in 2020 with a resurgent 2019 campaign that put him in the running for Comeback Player of the Year. The 22-year-old Russian soared from as low as No. 115 in the world in late February all the way to 23rd. Now he is up to 18th following last week’s season-opening title in Doha. Don’t quit your day job, Andrey, because this tennis thing is probably going to work out!
Alex de Minaur – De Minaur may not possess the biggest weapons on tour, but neither does Medvedev. The 20-year-old is one of the fastest players around and his fighting spirit invokes memories of mentor Lleyton Hewitt. De Minaur is already up to No. 21 in the world and began this season in stellar form at the ATP Cup. The Demon could soon be dancing his way into the top 10.
Felix Auger-Aliassime – Even though Auger-Aliassime has been around for a while, he is still only 19 years old. In other words, the Canadian may be a year–or more–away from a Medvedev-like explosion into prominence. Auger-Aliassime was the toast of the tennis town during the first half of last season, but he is now mired in a massive slump. Whatever the case, the Canadians are coming sooner rather than later.
Hubert Hurkacz – Mr. Nice Guy is starting to get nasty on the court. Hurkacz broke onto the scene last season by winning 25 matches at the ATP level (had previously won eight in his career), including his first title in Winston-Salem. That propelled him to No. 37 in the world and now he is up to 34th (and seeded for the Australian Open) following a 3-0 performance at the ATP Cup. The 22-year-old Pole beat Diego Schwartzman, Borna Coric, and Dominic Thiem.
Frances Tiafoe – Medvedev put it all together at 23 years old and that may be when Tiafoe does the same. In other words: not now. The American is only 21, and his surprising run to the 2019 Australian Open quarterfinals seems to be an aberration opposed to the rule. Since then it has mostly been a massive struggle for Tiafoe, who is toiling away at 49th in the rankings after peaking as high as No. 29. Hey, speaking of Tiafoe and Medvedev….
Alexander Bublik – Like Medvedev, the 55th-ranked Bublik is liable to do something crazy whenever he takes the court. But it usually involves his actual tennis, whereas Medvedev is prone to engage in some kind of extracurricular activity that makes headlines. Both have been known to bludgeon second serves as hard as they possibly can. Bublik will likely lead the tour in underarm serves this season and will probably finish second to Benoit Paire in drop-shots. More (or maybe less?) importantly, the 22-year-old Kazakh’s talent is arguably top-10 material.
Jannik Sinner – Sinner is probably a few years away from making Medvedev-type noise. After all, he’s even younger than Felix! Then again, perhaps no more than 13 months ago people thought he was a few years away from even breaking into the top 100. The 18-year-old Italian was ranked 770th in December of 2018; now he’s 79th. Sinner’s rapid rise this past season was highlighted by a title at the NextGen ATP Finals. This guy would probably be awesome at just about any sport, but we’re lucky he chose tennis!
who’s your favorite out these?
I know it is not much of a dark horse pick but Shapovalov looks like a guaranteed year end top 8 to me.
A lot of great young talent…all 5 are fun to watch on the courts. I like Rublev a lot, and Bublik has lots of talent,,,can he stay focused?
My fave is The Demon, but I don’t think he’ll make a Medvedev-type run. Shapo is maybe the most likely – he’s good now and is still improving. Tiafoe least likely imo but I’m probably prejudiced since he’s American. I keep hearing about the great young American talents – and they keep falling flat on their faces.
that was like 2 years ago. Nobody talks about the young Americans now.
You just talked about Tiafoe! Actually Tennis Channel and Tennis.com do talk about them still – sometimes. We get Coco Gauff up the ying-yang! Even I kinda think she may be the Real Deal but I just wish they’d stop the constant hype and let the kid grow up some without having to cope with all the media pressure.
Hoping all of them will have a great career but the most likely to have a good career are like everyone in this list except for Tiafoe and bublik (who is inconsistent)… but they both have the talent to surprise all of us. anyway, my faves here are shapo, sinner, hurkacz, bublik and FAA so I hope they will be great. Don’t mind the others too.
Shapo and Rublev are my picks…I don’t think they’re going to have the kind of season Med had, but I think they’re going to have the best seasons.
Meds year was good but not even unusual in the history of tennis.
True. But, really, my answer to Ricky’s question is “probably nobody”.
his three-month stretch was, at least
Like Delpo’s 2008 and the following year, Delpo won a slam at the USO and reached the final of WTF. Delpo also had beaten Rafa and Fed to win his slam.
Let’s see whether Medvedev can do like what Delpo did in 2009.
Its certainly unusual in the last few years when the competition has been so fierce.
Alex De Minaur does not have a good start to the season. He withdrew from the Australian Open due to abdominal injury:
https://www.foxsportsasia.com/tennis/australian-open/1220592/star-player-alex-de-minaur-withdraws-aus-open-2020-abdominal-injury/
Alex De Minaur has a four-centimetre, Grade 2 tear:
https://twitter.com/TennisAustralia/status/1217676554840395776
Djoko fed in same half
Rafa can have kyrgios or kachanov in fourth round n thiem in qf
Novak Schwartzman in 4th n tsitsipas /agut in qf
Fed has berretini in qf and shapo/dimi in fourth .feds draw till qf is a breeze
The full AO draw:
https://twitter.com/_NahueRdz/status/1217720384985935872
Difficult draw for Nadal, much easier for Djoko. Fed’s looks good too. But Novak got the easiest I think. Unless Schartzman and Tsitsi disagree.
Schwartzman n tsitsi won’t be easy …they can extend the matches a lot
Don’t agree, Djoko has exactly those tough ones that could trouble him before the SF – Schwartzman and Tsitsipas.
Rafa’s looks ok to me, only Kyrgios may be a worry but Kyrgios has to get past Khachanov first. I doubt Thiem or Monfils are great on the fast HCs. Medvedev maybe a tough one but that’s at the SF.
Fed’s looks the easiest imo, unless Dimi is on fire again like at the USO last year, but Dimi has Shapo first. Shapo may be good against Dimi but not against Fed imo, so this time round Fed may reach the SF and if Tsitsipas beats Djoko (a possibility), then we may have a rematch of Fed vs Tsitsipas again.
A Fed vs Djoko SF may be mouthwatering as on fast HC, if Fed could play like in 2018, he may have a chance for revenge against Djoko.
I don’t personally think any of the big 3 got a particularly hard/easy draw this time around, it seems more even that some of the slams from the last 1-2 years:
Rafa probably would rather face Med than Fed. He may not want Kyrgios, but let’s face it, most of the time Kyrgios loses in an earlier round anyway (Simon?). I agree that Thiem isn’t so suited to faster HC’s (possible Anderson will even get through). Nobody else to seriously worry about.
Djoko a little unlucky to get both Fed and Tsitsipas, however Fed has not beaten him in a slam for *ages* (2012?) and Tsitsi’s form lately hasn’t been quite as impressive. Agut is also a pain on HC, but Djoko can’t play both him and Tsitsi, so it’s not a big issue. Dan Evans may not be the easiest person in the 2nd round (nor Struff in R1), but Djoko is capable for these harder early rounds.
Fed got the Djoko side, that’s tough luck and 100% he’d rather have Rafa, but too bad & he has to get all the way to the semi’s first anyhow. Early on Hurkacz could cause problems, he’s coming along nicely. Otherwise even Millman, the man who knocked him out at the USO. Personally I wouldn’t read that much into that loss. Shapo/Dimitrov is a problem, plus maybe another big hitter talent in Berretini (or Coric, who has beaten him before). Not sure where Querrey is at these days, but it’s his kinda surface.
Really sorry to hear that.
Djokovic. Not sure if he’s gonna win any slam in 2020, but he is a very talented young man. Expecting him to challenge Fedal.
Any updates from players on speed of the courts..mainly rla and Margaret court ?
Huh, hate seeing Kyrgios in Rafa’s half! That guy simply hates Rafa cause Rafa is everything that Nick is not! The rude brat Kyrgios gets extra motivated but also extra rude when facing Rafa! I know Rafa dislikes seeing him anywhere near but if Rafa can mentally outlast the annoying Kyrgios, and does not get distracted by Nick’s tricks, he will be able to deal with just about anyone in the field and will fly all the way to the finals…
Vamos Champ!
Rafa’s major problems at the AO will be humidity and smoke, and, of course, possible injury. If NK does reach the 4th round I don’t think there’ll be much left of him. An endurance runner he is not – and will he really want to face Rafa at that point?
If Medvedev reaches the semis he WILL be a problem for his opponent.
I think Nole ended up getting the toughest draw with Evans (playing well) ,Schwartzman, RBA/Tsits then Fed in his path. Fed has it relatively easy, would pick Berettini any day in QF relative to RBA/Tsits. Nadal seems fine till SF as long he can overcome Kyrgios.
Med is the worst semis opponent for Rafa, especially with 1 less day.
Med vs Djok would have been great semis with edge to Med on a 5 set match. not gonna happen though.
atul1985 AT 10:24 AM,
There were two options: Med or Fed in Rafa’s half. Do you really think that Med is a better player than Fed?!
Fair point.
My thought it that Med will be there, but Fed will probably not even make it that far!
Agree with Augusta. Fed is still a more difficult match-up for Rafa in a SF. I mean Med is good, but it will be hard to replicate his USO run, and even then this is AO and Fed is pretty good on this surface. Wouldn’t be surprised if he loses to Hurcakz or wins the whole thing. Fed is a mystery to me at AO 2020 as he was in 2017.
Seriously fed up to see NK in Rafa’s quarter again. That makes 2 of the last 3 slams! I remember at wimby Rafa saying that NK was the player no one wanted to play in the first few rounds.
😬😬
NK might bomb out before the fourth round if he wasn’t scheduled to meet Rafa but will almost certainly make it through now..
Yuk!! I really dislike NK which doesn’t help matters..
Comeon Amy. NK will hardly trouble Rafa. he didnt at Wimbly
Yes he did atul! Why would Rafa say he is the player he least wanted to play early if he didn’t think he was a threat!?
amy AT 11:13 AM,
Because NK is extremely unpleasant person.
Yeah, I think Rafa finds Kyrgios’ behaviour rather annoying.
I feel Rafa doesn’t like anything or anyone to distract him as he really needs his full concentration, which may be why he was irritated with the Serbian fans during the ATP Cup final, just like he was fedup about the Argentine fans during DC final in Spain in 2011.
I mean those fans were disrespectful to him when they made noises when he was serving.
In fact, he doesn’t like any disturbances whether to him or to his opponents, he just wants to carry on with the match as soon as possible.
Rafa will beat Kyrgios if they meet.
He’s a dangerous player esp at home.That’s why you don’t want him to meet Rafa. Excuses about Rafa being distracted during his ATP Cup loss.He was fedup (lol), was he?
Yes he was! Did you watch the matches or not??
I watched all his matches, Rafa was irritated with the Serbian crowd, who made a hell of a noise throughout the match and while he was about to serve; Rafa even complained to the umpire about the noise!
Excuses? Yeah, when he was physically fatigued having to travel five hours from Perth to Sydney and with only one day to get used to the Sydney court surface! Imagine it’s Djoko having to do that and lost to Rafa, the anti Rafa brigade would say that he lost to Rafa because of fatigue!
I said Rafa will beat Kyrgios when they meet, simple as that; there’s no fear of meeting Kyrgios when Rafa could handle him on grass, Rafa’s worst surface.
I never like seeing Kyrgios in Rafa’s draw. He dislikes Rafa and is motivated to come out play decent tennis to try and beat him. I agree about Rafa not liking distractions during matches and playing Kyrgios is just one giant distraction.
I remember when he went right at Rafa and hit him with a shot at Wimby last year. Rafa would like to do without the histrionics. But I think Rafa will win if they meet.
Hi amy!
Hope you had a great holiday and a New Year! Good to see you here!
😘
Hi nny!!
Lovely to see you darling!😁
Hope you are well?
I should be around for the AO so we can catch up.
I still haven’t forgotten NK spitting at Rafa at wimby..yuk!! I really detest him!
Talk soon!!😘
amy,
Ooh, I forgot about a Nik spitting at Rafa! No way do I want to see Rafa have to play that jerk! I hope we can have some great tennis discussions. The weather could be the biggest problem. The air quality seems to be terrible.
😀
Roof closed wont be an issue for Rafa fans then .
What issue, when Rafa almost single handedly sent the Spanish DC team into the final and won it, in Madrid last year under the roof!
Big Al, give it a rest; it’s 2020 now and you still couldn’t let go and still talk about the roof! Rafa playing like the way he played at DC last year was > his Wimbledon 2018 SF under the roof; that showed Rafa’s great improvement from 2018 to 2019 (if not he won’t finished 2019 as no.1)!
Its not me who keeps on about the Wimby 2018 roof thing! never thought roof was much of a factor in a match but it seems to be for Rafa and his fans.Its likely to be closed down underthats why I mention it.
Rafa had played under closed roof conditions at the AO so it’s not like he’s having any problems with that! Come on, you’re the only one now that mention the roof!
PS I don’t even want to mention how different the glass roof at Wimbledon is compared to the others.
Put it this way:I’ll not be using the weather,roof,lack of recovery time ,injury etc etc as excuses .You win or lose,within the rules,that’s it.
Well, I hope you do that too when they affected Djoko or Fed, esp when they lose to Rafa!
You didn’t hear that from me when Fed lost Wimby or to Nadal at RG.
You are Big Al, because it’s 2020 now and in your posts, you keep mentioning about the roof! Check, who talked about the roof here, it’s you who brought out the roof, not anyone else!
Let it go, don’t try to irritate the Rafa fans! And I can assure you, it’s not only the Rafa fans who give ‘excuses’ or reasons why Rafa lost; the Djoko and Fed fans do the same for their faves too. Go check the pro Fed or pro Djoko fan sites, they do the same for their fave players; it’s just that this website here is full of Rafa fans, more than fans of other players, hence you can see all the discussions about how Rafa played, what went wrong etc and etc.
Yeah,but it’s not a Rafa fan site,so I’m perfectly entitled to give a different opinion.
On the roof issue,it’s only a few days ago Rafa fans were still talking about the Wimby semifinal.
That’s because theres no unfavourable conditions against Fed! Did he need to travel five hours to the next destination and given only one day to get used to a different time zone and court surface? No.
Fed often was given favourable timing or schedules, favourable courts (even over Djoko or Rafa) despite him not in TOP two. There’s nothing unfavourable against him, so there’s no reasons his fans could complain about.
What about the fact that he’s such a natural player, with the minimum of physical effort, and can play in any conditions that nothings unfavourable to him as you say?
re: that he’s given any preferential treatment than say Rafa ,you know better than me .
Big Al, nobody on this thread talked about the roof but you’ve to bring it up to irritate Rafa’s fans. I really don’t know what’s your intention tbh.
lucky,
His intention is to get under the skin of Rafa fans by bringing up this nonsense. It’s total bs that Rafa fans are the only ones who ever make excuses. That is just absurd. Being sarcastic by saying that Rafa fans don’t complain about the good because of the terrible air quality, is just a way to be petty.
Its a pity fans cant be more objective at times. I just try to point out where they havent been, and I know its very hard when your player loses whatever the reason.I’m not a blinkered Fed fan , and this isnt a Rafa fan site (yet)
NY, I never said rafa fans were the only ones who ever made excuses, nor was I being sarcastic about the roof problem which could work for or against Rafa but also many other players like Kvitova (of whom Im a huge fan btw). You’ve a tendency to be petty and rude in these discussions.
Lucky AT 10.07,now THAT is pure bs. You’re always saying Rafa is better in the wind than most players,eg Fed, who couldnt cope with the wind at RG semi , note Im not using that as an excuse , he would have lost anyway on clay but the match would have been closer with out the wind.
What pure BS?? Don’t you remember Wimbledon 2017, when Fed was given Centre court at Wimbledon, and Djoko had to wait for Rafa to finish his match at Court 1 before playing his? That had resulted in Djoko’s match was being postponed to the next day as Rafa’s was a long match. At that time Djoko was seeded above both Fed and Rafa, yet Fed had the advantage of playing first and at CC.
Your FO example of Fedal, come on! Fed was going to lose to Rafa at the FO, wind or no wind, so do you need any excuse?
Rafa has improved his game, esp his serve, hence he’s able to do well on indoor quick HC at altitude in Madrid during the DC last year. So, whether it’s indoors or outdoors, Rafa shouldn’t have a problem, granted his serving wasn’t up to par at the ATP Cup, unlike at the DC, so he tend to serve more second serves hence he wasn’t having much advantage during his service game against Djoko’s ROS.
Djoko served like a Karlovic, esp when indoors, that had helped his service games tremendously, hence his serve wasn’t broken at all in the ATP cup final.
I dont remember that about Wimby 2017 but it must have been early on as Djoko and Rafa both never made it too far. But why wouldnt Fed be on centre at that stage? Its a pathetic argument , nothing unusual about Fed being on centre. Ill give you he was a tad lucky to play an injured Cilic in teh final, but he won that year so stop the sour grapes.
‘Djoko served like a Karlovic, esp when indoors, that had helped his service games tremendously, hence his serve wasn’t broken at all in the ATP cup final’.
Well done for a brilliant service display from Djoko.
Big Al,
If you think I am petty and rude, then don’t bother responding. I call it as I see it. If you don’t like it, that’s your problem.
And what natural player? He didn’t use physical efforts? Oh so that’s why when he was extended on the slower surfaces, he would tend to lose, esp to his two great rivals?
Come on, he’s helped by his serve, but against Djoko, even on grass, his serve still couldn’t win him his match. Djoko had beaten him at Wimbledon in all the three finals that they played, because Djoko not only had a good serve but also good ROS, and so Fed’s serve wasn’t enough to counter Djoko’s serve plus returns.
Against Rafa on clay, his serve couldn’t help him and so he has to engage in rallies with Rafa and Fed often comes out short.
Oh, I’ll correct myself, ‘so he uses minimum physical efforts?’,in the first paragraph of my post at 8.24 pm.
Yes, natural talent translates to all eras and surfaces, and doesn’t rely on modern things such as improved technology or training. The faster the surface I think its more instinctive, ie more natural.
Oh, so you mean Rafa travelling five hours to the next destination and was given only one day to get used to the time zone, weather and court conditions, wasn’t at his disadvantage, when his next opponent Goffin was already playing there for the whole week and had two days rest before their match? Now that’s really BS on your part!
Imagine Fed had to do that, his fans would complain and protest till no end! And I’m sure too that Fed would lose his match to Goffin (well Fed did lose to Goffin at WTF 2017, so Goffin when playing well had the ability to beat the big three. Furthermore, Fed need not travel for five hours before playing against Goffin there at the WTF! ).
Absolute bs to explain a loss to Goffin and then to try and compare that with Federer somehow. Its you who’s imagining this.
Big Al, you’re the one who BS here, not recognising the circumstances and Goffin’s abilities!
You’re losing the argument here, for all can see that the Spanish team was at a distinct disadvantage, to not recognise that and argued your way out as if there’s no difference, now that’s BS!
Arbitrary or not, Goffin has the ability to beat Fed, so when he’s given favourable advantages, I don’t see why he can’t, simple as that!
You talk about Fed’s instinctive play, but to me he’s helped by his great serve, and on slower courts, his serve couldn’t help him much against his two main rivals, and that goes to show, he’s lacking in some area, whilst Djoko otoh, could win on any courts – quick or slow, indoors or outdoors, clay, grass, HCs. His problem is still Rafa on clay, whilst he’s not having any problems with Fed on any surface.
Rafa is great on clay but I do acknowledge he’s not in the same league with the other two on HCs and grass.
I never brought Nadals loss to Goffin into this discussion , you did !
Fed doesn’t have a double handed backhand , so he’s not as good on slower surfaces when baseline rallying a lot.
But sounds like we at least agree Djoko is the better all round player of the three, for now .
Also, it’s not just the Rafa fans who mentioned this, both Medvedev and Rafa talked about the disadvantage of given very short turn around time having to travel from Perth to Sydney. Both were physically fatigued, with Russia having to battle Argentina the night before they travelled to Perth the following day, and after a day’s rest, had to play against Serbia in the day session of the QF.
Spain played the day matches in the last group matches before flying to Sydney the next day, but they had only a day to get used to the conditions there before playing Belgium in the evening QF session; and Belgium was well rested having finished their group matches in Sydney two days before the QF.
Well big Al, bringing in Goffin’s match was to show you the distinct disadvantage Spain had vs Belgium, and then there’s Australia and finally Serbia, which both had the advantage of playing in Brisbane and arriving at Sydney well before Spain and Russia. To not recognise that and to assume that they play under the same conditions all along is simply not being able to see the truth.
I’ve been saying that Djoko may be the ultimate ‘goat’ at the end of his career, he’s now better than Fed as he’s 3-1 vs Fed on Fed’s favourite surface ie grass, equal H2H vs Fed on clay but has more clay Masters than Fed and has beaten Rafa more times than Fed does/did on clay. He’s only one HC slam and one WTF behind Fed now, with a slight edge in the H2H on HCs, and has beaten Fed more often than Fed beats him at a slam and has more HC masters too.
Big Al, Stan also has a SHBH but how come he could rally all day against the Djoko on clay and on the HCs to beat Djoko? Fed’s SHBH is his own weakness, nothing to do with the court surface; even on the quick HCs he still could be beaten by Djoko, as in Dubai, Basel and Cincy.
Because Stan is a lot stronger than Fed , obviously can be aggressive from further back than Fed who needs to be moving forward against Nole . Fed cant beat Naole from back there as he has effectively more court to cover.
Who’s talking about the Wimbledon final in 2017??
We are talking about the favourable conditions Fed always had esp at Wimbledon. Don’t try to divert the attention. Early round? Well that’s at least R4, and Djoko and Fed were due to meet in the SF should they both get there, but Fed, ranked or seeded lower than Djoko, got to play all his matches at CC and Djoko had to play at Court 1 for most of his matches, was that fair?
And Djoko and Rafa both commented that the Wimbledon organisers weren’t fair to them, giving CC to both Fed and Murray for all their matches. When the players themselves felt it, I don’t know why Fed fans could think that it’s nothing wrong giving Fed the favor all the time!
Big Al @9.24
So, in this era of baseliners, Fed’s so called ‘natural talent’ (according to you) is not enough for him to dominate!
And, what’s not natural about Djoko’s (and Rafa’s) talent?? Given that Rafa didn’t even attend a proper tennis academy to be taught the traditional strokes or ways to play tennis, but went under Toni Nadal who taught him more about endurance and mental focus more than proper groundstrokes, I think Rafa did and does pretty OK!
As for Djoko, we can see he’s great on all surfaces and may surpass Fed one day, and he may be the ultimate goat having to beat two fellow ATG and goat material to get there. His reflexes when returning serves is unbelievable, and there’s nothing not natural about that talent!
I never said Rafas or Noles wasn’t natural, but that on faster surfaces it was more apparent.And Fed is better on those surfaces.Didnt you also say something about Fed not being disadvantaged by any conditions?
I think Fed is the GOAT just by the way he plays his classic game, which would have been great in any era, debatable if Nole or anyone else could have done that.Thats why McEnroe doesn’t like Fed, he played similar.
Its childish the way you keep trying to out argue every opinion I give.
Anyway, on to the AO, and its well past my bedtime.Night night
Excuse me Big Al, you’re just trying to be funny. Fed was given all the favourable conditions and that’s what I meant. I didn’t say he played well in any conditions so please don’t twist my words.
If he’s that great like the way you portrayed him to be in any era, he would’ve dominated over Djoko and Rafa, fact is he didn’t and couldn’t! Enough said.
Anyway, you’re the one who always want to pick up an argument, provoke the Rafa fans by keep bringing up the roof issue. I don’t see why you need to do that TBH, the reason I can think of is that you’re out here to irritate the Rafa fans.
The roof won’t be an issue this time because it will be closed for health reasons.It was contentious at Wimby because it wasn’t needed,and apparently favour ured one player.Thats my point. It’s the Rafa fans who complained at length about this.I felt it was unfair to blame the loss on it.I actually agreed that the roof shouldn’t have been closed just because it was dark,they need floodlights.
I don’t deliberately come on here to irritate,but it’s irritating to see so many pro-Rafa comments and noone is allowed to question them even in a balanced way.
That’s my last word on the roof issue.
Air quality is terrible. Pity the poor folk who have to play qualies.
If Rafa does have to play NK he’ll beat him. Rafa just gets angry when he’s got to play the jerk in an early round because NK can play so far above his ranking and plays his best when he hasn’t had to focus on winning previous rounds. 4th round is reasonable but the only time NK has ever gotten that far in a slam was his first slam at Wimbly. He beat Rafa, who couldn’t figure out his big serve, then lost big-time to Raonic in the quarter, getting broken several times. I had to laugh. Who gets broken by Raonic for heaven’s sake?
I knew then that NK was a very talented LOSER. In Oz he’s usually out by the 2nd round. Said himself he only gets motivated when he’s got a team (aka sycophants) to cheer him on. Or one of the big three he can try to pick off in an early round.
Not true about his Slam record. Check his AO record .I don’t like him either , though.
Not gonna waste my time on checking NK slam record. But if you want tell me when/where he got past the quarters.
You said he never got past 4th round previously.
? I had just mentioned NK losing badly to Raonic in the QUARTERS at Wimbly when he was 17.
I meant to say that saying Rafa fans don’t complain about the ROOF, not the good!
Don’t take the bait!
Kyrgios playing at higher level than he’s been at the largely in the last 12 months. Took down Tsitsipas in one of the matches of ATP Cup, and only got outplayed by a red hot RBA. And just yesterday simply outplayed dimitrov at kooyong! Rafa hasn’t been demonstrating his highest level so far this year either, uncharacteristically dropping sets to players who normally wouldn’t dream to against him. Add the factor of Australia, NK’s home nation where he’s been particularly motivated in recent times due to the tragedy that is the bushfires.. I smell an upset brewing
Yeah and he still lost to RBA! So much for being motivated!
RBA played an unbelievable match, he would have beaten Rafa on the day given the way he was playing. Nothing to do with motivation
Huh? The way Kyrgios was playing that day? He played like crap! Can’t believe people thought Kyrgios was playing well that day.
Credit to RBA of course, for that’s the right way to play against Kyrgios but still! RBA made Kyrgios played like crap! I even think that De Minaur was playing better tennis in the SF against Rafa, at least for the first two sets, compared to Kyrgios vs RBA.
In a BO5, it’s even harder for Kyrgios to concentrate throughout the match.
What RBA did is to extend the rallies against Kyrgios and Kyrgios would make mistakes; this was precisely how Rafa wound play against Kyrgios.
And what make you think that should Rafa meet Kyrgios, he won’t play inspired tennis to beat Kyrgios? Rafa would also be motivated to beat Kyrgios. A motivated Rafa > a motivated Kyrgios imo, esp at a slam.
PS. Kyrgios struggled to beat Tsitsipas, all the sets went to TBs if I’m not wrong. Tsitsipas not playing well at ATP cup, lost to Shapo in straight sets I think.
Honestly…i am not worried IF Rafa were to meet with Nicky…Insyaallah Rafa will win against him…Imo Kyrgios is not a problem for Rafa at AO…the problem lies in the semi & final..but yeah…let’s wait in the 2nd week to reeaalllyyyyy thinking bout it!hehe..
And yeah there’s a possibility too that Nicky will get his backside kicked by Khachanov in rd 3…
Vamos Rafa!!
Yes Mira, I think Rafa’s main worry is Djoko, and I think if Rafa reaches the final, not even Fed would beat him, because I assume Fed has to go through Djoko, and if he beats Djoko, he would be physically fried, so Rafa would have the physical advantage in the final.
Rafa may have to beat Medvedev in the SF, but Rafa somehow matches up well with Medvedev, as long as he stays aggressive and plays like the first two sets at the USO last year. I know Rafa was ‘horrible’ against Medvedev at WTF last year but Rafa was just back from some injury (that he had to pull out of Paris Masters).
If Rafa reaches the final and no Djoko in the final, imo Rafa will win. If Djoko is there, then Djoko wins ( my opinion again).
Lucky….i totally agree with u!..If Fed reach the semis,(i think he will)…he will play like crazy against Novak & if he take it to 5 sets(i believe he is very capable of doing it)…then there is the hope of Rafa beating Novak in the final too..
But of coz if rafa could avoid going to 4 or 5 sets against Meddy….more the better..somehow i feel that Rafa once again will come out on top if they both meet in the semis…Vamos Rafa!!
@luckystar,
I definitely believe Rafa will be motivated to play (as he admirably always is), I just don’t think he’s been in his top form in recent weeks. Perhaps it’ll change at the Open, but so far he hasn’t demonstrated his best tennis in 2020 yet. Regardless, should the NK-Rafa matchup happen it’ll be fantastic for watching.
Regarding Tsitsipas, “not playing well at ATP cup”, shapovalov was playing some of his best tennis at the tournament. His following match he went toe to toe with Djokovic, so I wouldn’t call two tiebreaks loss against one of the in-form players of the tournament a poor performance. Tsitsipas also handily beat zverev (who admittedly played terribly throughout the tournament, but still a top name)
there is no circumstance under which RBA would ever beat Rafa
or Federer, for that matter
the only top player RBA matches up well against is Djoker
Rafa had played almost 4.5 hrs of tennis not even 24 hrs before the match, I think on the day RBA playing 100% would have had a chance against a super fatigued Rafa.
But generally speaking I agree (stats don’t lie). I stand by my prediction that NK will take down Rafa though. Hopefully both players get there in the first place bc when they play there’s usually some high quality tennis on display which no one can complain about
Lucky ..fed djoko will happen on thursday a good 2 days before the final..both will recover in 2 days..it’s rafa who will have an issue as his semi will be on friday and will have less recovery time
Come on Sanju, Fed is old and a war against Djoko, you think he could recover so soon? Look what their Wimbledon final last year did to both of them? Granted, it’s now the beginning of a season so physically they may be in better condition (than last year Wimbledon), still, they’re not 22 and 28 yo, they’re 32 and 38.
Yes, if Rafa plays his grinding style against Medvedev, then he’s looking for troubles; but, I think Rafa will learn a lesson from their USO encounter and will not want to go into grinding war with Medvedev. Also, Medvedev is no Djoko or Fed, so Rafa won’t be intimidated by him.
Who knows if all four players will even reach the semis? Very premature speculations.
I get nervous when there are discussions snout the semifinal and final before the tournament has even started.
Anything can happen in a slam. There are usually a few big upsets. I just feel superstitious, even though I know there is the normal tendency to look ahead. A lot of tennis to be played and conditions are not going to be good.
Nny i completely agree! I always take things round by round in the same way rafa does. Looking ahead always seems to me to be inviting hubris, but again, like rafa, I am very superstitious..!
PS I hope PK returns to the site for AO! It was really nice meeting him last year so I hope he joins in the convo soon!
amy,
Yes, I try to take it one match at a time. I am extremely superstitious. Talking about Rafa’s chances in the final against whoever, makes me superstitious!
I wonder how much the air quality is going to be a factor.
Me 😂👍 hopefully 🤣😂🤗❤
Don’t be superstitious, Rafa will do well this year.
He played really well in the ATP Cup.
Watched a very good and interesting match between FAA and Rublev today (Adelaide semi). FAA lost narrowly but he looked good and seems to have fixed his df issues. I think Rublev’s going to be a bit tired going into the AO (he won Doha and is going to win Adelaide imo), but he’s definitely one of the young’uns who can do well. Tons of offense, but does he have defense? We’ll see.
Given that someone of Medvedev’s ability only comes around once a decade I’d say no one will be 2020’s version of Medvedev.
Ugo Humbert might be the biggest improver this year but there’s no way he’s going to replicate Medvedev’s breakout season.
Auger Alliasime might have some big moments this year but doubt he could maintain a streak for several masters in a row or beat the top guys.
To even suggest these other players are capable of replicating what Medvedev has done already is probably not giving Medvedev the respect he deserves.
I agree, that someone of Meddy’s caliber is hard to come by; imo he together with Tsitsipas and Shapo will be the big three of the future. Well I don’t know about Sasha, maybe he could make it a big four of the future.
Thiem is a few years older, he may win a few slams before he retires, he’s more a Stan than the big three imo, too bad he’s born a few years early and hence has the original Big Three blocking his way for most of his career.
FAA and Sasha may be a Delpo kind of player but if they’re healthy and fit, will win more slams than Delpo.
I’m kind of an FAA convert. He had some issues with his serve and maybe nerves against the big guns but he looked terrific in that semi and Rublev is not chopped liver. FAA is only 19 – I really think he just may be the best of the lot as he’s been hyped to be.
Sorry Medvedev is clearly overrated. He had a great six months and all of a sudden he’s the best thing since sliced bread. He’s a good player. Imho, Kyrgios is more talented than him. It’s just that Kyrgios is a headcase and a blubbering buffoon. He’s also very inconsistent. Thiem has produced greater results overall than Medvedev and Thiem has beaten all the top three players on some of their best surface except grass. He seems to be horrid on grass but not more horrid than Medvedev. Medvedev have produced relatively ok results on clay by beating djokovic and that’s it. He’s rubbish on grass, mediocre on clay (regardless of beating Djoko plus Djoko was rubbish in that match) and great on hardcourts.
So luckystar let’s stop with the hyperbole, he ain’t all that. Infact I have not seen any of the next gen that’s an all surface player. They seem to excell in some and are rubbish in others especially grass (eg Medvedev and Thiem).
Kyrgios is the most talented out of all of them but is inconsistent and very childish. Thiem is a better player than Medvedev and more dangerous to the big three on any surface except grass and Tsitsipas come to think of it has also beaten the big three so he’s more impressive.
Medvedev seems to be a problem for djokovic relatively and has yet to beat Rafa no matter how close he came (3-0 to Rafa). Plus Federer beats him EASILY in straight sets everytime except once where he managed to take a set off Federer. His record against fed is 3-0 just like Rafa except fed handles him better than Rafa.
In conclusion, Out of the big three he has only beaten djokovic, never beaten fed or Rafa while Thiem, Kyrgios and Tsitsipas have all beaten the big three. Let that sink in
Nah, we are not talking about talent alone but the overall package, so Kyrgios is out of the question.
I didn’t say Medvedev is the most talented, but overall he comes with the best package, like a Djoko. Medvedev can play well on any surface, he’s gaining momentum by the second half of last year after the short grass season so give him time. He said it himself, that he’s not the type who’s young and promising catching everyone’s attention, but one who has to take time to work hard on every part of his game before becoming prominent.
He models his game after Djoko, so now he has become hard to beat. Fed hasn’t met him since he shot to prominence and reaching top five, I foresee a tough one for Fed should they meet again.
Rafa didn’t have it easy against Medvedev after their first meeting, so I would expect that to continue.
Happy,
I have my reservations about Medvedev. He certainly made his presence known in the latter half of last year. No question about that. I guess his dismal performance at the WTF could be chalked up to fatigue and it all catching up to him. I tend to be initially skeptical about the so-called next big thing in tennis. Only time will tell who has the stuff to make it long term in this sport.
What I will say about a Medvedev at this time, is that he reminds me of Novak. Specifically the way he just keeps getting shots back in play. He can be tenacious from the baseline and that is so much like Novak.
Kyrgios is not in the discussion as far as I am concerned. He is such a headcase, not motivated, temperamental and unpredictable. Talent alone is never enough. There are too many examples of guys who were brilliantly talented, but never reached their potential.
I think Thiem deserves more credit than he is getting here. He has done the best at RG. He most likely would have won there if not for Rafa. Sascha is a question mark because of his inconsistency and tendency to have mental lapses. Tsitsipas seems to have the most complete game. However, I hope that his outbursts do not continue. Not a good thing.
I am looking forward to seeing how these young guns do this year.
Don’t know about FAA, but I’m not convinced so far.
I feel Shapo has more potential, he only needs to control his aggression, gets his precision right, and he’ll be hard to beat. His net approach is very good, much better than FAA’s. I also don’t see FAA (also Shapo) having good ROS.
I think Medvedev is the most scarily good one if he continues to be full of self belief and confidence. He’s crafty, having good court craft and good tennis brain, and is willing to take risk when he needs to. He’s quick and fit, and can go the distance with anyone, that’s the scary part. To me he’s the taller and younger version of Djoko, has a better serve but not as good ROS. Of course I don’t expect him to win as much as Djoko does, for at 23 now, he still has to contend with the big three plus his own peers.
I like Tsitsipas the most despite him not behaving well lately, throwing tantrums on court. He has the all round game, good from the baseline and also at the net, has the best of both Fed and Rafa, playing an aggressive but thinking game; his weakness is his ROS imo and also his inconsistency. He can play well on any surface imo.
NNY at 4.56 am, that’s fine. You’re from the same town as a certain player who was a hell of a lot worse when he got defaulted from the AO one year.Ive just been watching the video, amazing how slow tennis was in those early nineties days.
Has it been decided the roof will stay closed all throughout and this will be an indoor tournament ?
No!According to Brad G. there is no hot weather forecast for the first week and apparently the cool weather means the wind will come from a different direction meaning there should be no smoke. That is what they are hoping! Judy Murray posted a video of a severe hailstorm in Melbourne so God knows what will be next…
Yeah, amy. After reading articles about how humidity,air temp, wind and rain alter, for better or worse, air quality and trying to pick my brackets this morning, it’s really is hard to know. Fingers crossed the conditions don’t make heavy smog out of the filthy air.
I love Jannik Sinner. He woulda been my ski boyfriend for sure back in the day.
Can’t guess who would be the Meddy of 2020. Maybe Ugo Humbert?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlIilZ3Q9u4
Good to see you here rc!😀
I have been off site and back for AO so it’s good to see you here too although your wonderful frog gravatar with its grumpy expression is how I feel!
Who are your picks?
PS I don’t get the skiing reference?? Also know nothing about Sinner..
Well then, It must be strange for you to read some comments from me like that! LOL…..
I was a junior ski racer just like Jannik Sinner, once upon a time. And watching that video of him, a kid, racing reminded me of that time in my life. haha that;s all. The lucky kid grew up in the Italian Tirol region, Sinner did. I have been there as an adult. It’s impressive and so is he. I watched the Milano next gen final las fall. Sinner absolutely crushed Alex Demon — my favorite of all next gener’s. Poor Alex Demon injured himself recently and has to skip AO.
Rambling….later amy. Have a hard time even getting my body out of bed lately — So much is wrong in the world. yeah that frog represents me, absolutely.
My picks are not as creative or exciting as Ricky’s.
Basically a Rafa vs Nole final
And an Osaka vs PLiskova final
But I could change the WTA picks entirely. Idk who to pick. Should be picking Serena – best of 3. sheesh, she should be able to beat all of them by now with one arm tied behind her back.
Yeah I sympathise rc! Have been feeling grim myself recently. Hard not to be with the world as it is. I thought you might be working for Bernie’s campaign as he has been going up in the polls and that you would be happy because of that?
Dunno about picks but Pliskova seems to often disappoint in slams. Am in state of mortal terror Rafa will lose to NK! Think Nole will win the whole thing again most likely…
Big Al,
I was born and grew up in New York, but have not lived there for decades, I lived in L.A. and moved to Florida five years ago. But my heart will always be in New York. I am trying to remember who defaulted at the AO in the 90’s.
The truth is that it’s just hard to see one’s favorite player lose in a slam when you think they should have won. I gave my thoughts about the issue of the closed roof in the semifinal at Wimbledon with Rafa and Novak. I was hoping that Rafa could win one more Wimbledon. After the years of early exits and injuries, it would have been great to see him do it. I just hated to see such a close match played with the roof on the next day when it was bright and sunny.
I don’t intend to be petty in my comments. I know that it can be a challenge for fans of players not named Rafa on this site! 😀 But I do understand how tough it can be for any of us to watch our fave lose a hard fought battle. I watched an encore presentation of the Wimbledon final with Fed and Novak last year on the tennis channel. I am not even a fan of either of them, but it was still hard to see Fed have two match points and be on the verge of getting this win, only to not get it done. It was exhausting. I totally get why Fed fans were gutted. Seeing it again brought it all back.
You get to have your opinion, as you said. But I may not always agree with it. I will try to do so with consideration and respect. It really was not personal. 😉
Classy response nny!
Agree. Very nice to read those words from Nny. It’s a good sign, maybe there is hope.
Appreciate that response, NNY. Im sure you can guess who the defaulted player is, he’s the undisputed GOAT of tantrums 😉
And yes, its good to be able to have disagreements and stay respectful.
One moment that stands out is the way the Rafa fans congratulated the Fed fans on here when he beat him at Wimby last year.That took real class .
Hope yet, as RC says!
Ive just entered my brackets and am quite excited with some of the risky picks .Ive got Pliskova beating Serena in the final to win that Slam at last.
In the mens I have Djoko beating Med in the final .
Where do you guys enter your brackets? It would be cool to have a ‘bracket challenge’ of Tenngrand site people.
tennisdrawchallenge.com .We’re the Jalep_Wildguess group.
rc and amy,
Thanks! See? There is hope in the world! At least on this forum!
I am very stressed out by what is happening politically right now. The 2020 election will be the most important of our lives. I don’t like seeing my government heading towards neo-fascism. These are tough times,