Topic: Tennis League All Thread - page 47. (Read 201904 times)

Djokovic is a machine, physically and mentally on top of his game, he is definitely the one to
beat and its going to be difficult over 5 sets in the Grand Slams.
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Yes, but every machine has it's expiration date. Newer model will be released and the old one will be scrapped. I mean he is 36 years old and he is approaching the end of his career. Yes, he is fit and using that ultra-healthy diet and stuff but you can't trick time. I really think that 2024 will become the beginning of the end for Nole.
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I have to agree that even he is machine but now reaching out to his expiry and now it's time for him to give up and try to have some other role because things are taking changes quickly, but one thing is surely now we are going to miss few things from this era like we will have no players like Djokovic, Nadal and Federer they were one of the best and done many historic things which are going to stay for the long time new era players not have enough consistency and professional approach like them which keep them at this level for long time.

Most of the new generation players are going to have inconsistency and lack of quality as well which will bring ATP just like we have WTA with many winners in every year without any long term good quality player able to stay with his consistency and quality.

But you are talking as if someone here claimed that Djokovic doesn't age. Everyone is aware that he is not getting any younger and that he will one day have to retire like everyone else. But that is not the point of our discussion. The point is that he is the GOAT already and it doesn't matter whether someone likes him or not. He is actually not my favorite player. But I have to admit that he is the most impressive player across all surfaces whereas without a doubt Nadal is the king of clay. But it's craziness to see that Djokovic is healthy on such a high level. He isn't suffering from serious stuff like Nadal is. I am just wondering whether this will go on for maybe two or three more years? If this is once again going to be a remarkable season for him, he could be tearing down the 30 GS titles wall. That would be nuts.

Yes, but every machine has it's expiration date. Newer model will be released and the old one will be scrapped. I mean he is 36 years old and he is approaching the end of his career. Yes, he is fit and using that ultra-healthy diet and stuff but you can't trick time. I really think that 2024 will become the beginning of the end for Nole.

Looking down through the team sheets for the United Cup its interesting to see the absence
of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz for teams Italy and Spain.

Ive been reading Sinner wont make an appearance until the middle of January for the Kooyong
Classic in Australia.

I wonder how these tournaments really feel about top players appearing at their event
and knowing that they are not going to get 100% from the top players...although there is
decent prize money.


Djokovic is a machine, physically and mentally on top of his game, he is definitely the one to
beat and its going to be difficult over 5 sets in the Grand Slams.

Medvedev isn't really serious competition for Djokovic. When I say serious competition I mean a player who can consistently beat Djokovic. Of course it is possible for Medvedev to win a game against Djokovic, but over the course of a year I doubt that if they were to meet five times that Medvedev could ever win the majority of the games against him. Djokovic is in top condition physically and mentally and in contrast to Medvedev, Djokovic never gives up on games. Medvedev sometimes gets mentally derailed and plays as if he hated the sport.

Yeah, I checked the roster and another comeback is expected: Angelique Kerber will be playing for team Germany alongside with Alex Zverev.

Apart from Kerber there are lots of big names participating:

Iga Swiatek, Hubert Hurkacz, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Maria Sakkari, Jessica Pegula, Taylor Fritz, Alex de Minaur, Caroline Garcia, Marketa Vondrousova, Casper Ruud

...and of course, Novak Djokovic!

Here are the groups:

Group A (Perth): Spain, Poland, Brazil
Group B (Sydney): Canada, Chile, Greece
Group C (Perth): Great Britain, USA, Australia
Group D (Sydney): Italy, Germany, France
Group E (Perth): Czech Republic, China, Serbia
Group F (Sydney): Netherlands, Norway, Croatia

You are certainly right about that. Neither of them pushed themselves to the limit. But it is always good to watch when the two of them test each other. There is always a bit of psychology involved.


This tournament starts in about 6 hours and the first match will be between Davidovich Fokina and Seyboth Wild.

Nice to see these two playing each other but its really only a pre-season training session
I doubt they were giving it all at the risk of picking up an injury at this stage. I doubt if
Djokovic would be put out by that, he will be focussing on Grand Slams I would say.


That sounds like she is easing back into it and not putting too much pressure on herself
early on in the season.

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There is another competition running ATM - The United Cup, its happening in Australia.

Yeah, Naomi is always a pleasure to watch. It's incredible that she has already won 4 GS titles early in her career! If not for her mental health issues, she could have won many more Grand Slams I'm sure of it.  But she is still young (she's 26) and she can still win at least some 5-6 titles if lucky.

Look what she herself has to say:

Djokovic and Alcaraz have just played against each other at the Riyadh Season Tennis Cup in Saudi Arabia. The match went over 3 sets with 6:4 each and Alcaraz won narrowly in the end. The two have now played against each other a total of 6 times and both has won 3 times.

I was trying to see if there was any announcement as regards the order of play
and there doesnt seem to be anything of a draw made at this stage. Qualifying is
on 2 days already!

Nadal will be as ready as he can be but will not be "match fit" if he can manage to get
some wins under his belt and build his fitness and stay uninjured it will be great to see.


One of my favourite female players, its massive to see that Naomi will be back
playing and will be playing in Brisbane. If she can get her mentality together she
can definitely do great things.

Well, Medvedev on fast hard court surface (like US Open) can be a menace for Nole. Hard courts are relatively slow in Australia but let's not underestimate the Russian. Last year he started really well by winning several titles in a row.

Meanwhile, we can expect another impressive return in WTA: Naomi Osaka will be back after giving birth to her child. Japanese star will be playing for the first time since 2021.

Ok yes, you are right, here it is: "Nadal Announces He Will Return In Brisbane"

I am sure he has done everything possible to be fit enough to endure an entire tournament. Because this is what I am most afraid of, he wins his games but has to quit because of again another injury.

Djokovic is now smelling the opportunity as there is only Alcaraz who can stop him from time to time, but other than that there is hardly anyone with a realistic chance to beat Djokovic. If he stays in shape, who knows how many Grand Slam titles he can still add.

I have only found reports from the month of October. There it is reported that Rafael Nadal will not play at the United Cup in Australia. But I have not found anything more recent.
In any case, the tennis world is looking forward to see him playing again. And everyone hopes that he can play for a long time.

I didn't check the draw and/or order of play but I've heard that Nadal is going to play on December 31st! I wasn't able to find the draw online so it's not clear yet whom he is going to play in R1 but it's clear that it won't be Matteo Berrettini. The Italian has withdrawn from Brisbane International due to foot injury.

I think his first tournament will be the ATP tournament in Brisbane end December- beginning January. It will be good to have him back on the tenniscourts, but I don't think he will get back to his old level. He is already 37 years and we saw the same with Federer when he tried to come back from his injury. Would be great if he could win another grandslam but will be very difficult.

Everyone is probably looking forward to the comeback of the year 2024 when Rafael Nadal steps onto the Australien Open court. I was trying to find out which tournament he will play in preparation of the Australian Open. Does anyone know what his first games will be? I think people around the world will watch those games with a little bit of skepticism, hoping that he doesn't have to give up or something. That fear that he has to step back during the tournament even when he wins his games until the quarterfinals or something is also there. But it would be great to see a fully healthy Nadal in 2024 and have him compete with Djokovic like in good old times.

Sure, for such stars like Medvedev and Rublev a prize of $272,305/4 is peanuts but for Andreeva for example it's a great chance to take on the biggest WTA/ATP stars and a very nice experience. So, she's definitely a winner here.

Merry Christmas to you too serveria.com!

Yea I did see that this tournament was on, its more of an exhibition event though, its an
independent tournament and probably a bit more light hearted than a full blown ATP/WTA
event. They are certainly not doing it for the monetary reward either...

Been following a dramatic final of the World Tennis League today. Team Eagles defeated team Kites after Sofia Kenin surprisingly beat Aryna Sabalenka 6:4. Kenin showed probably her best tennis this year. The drama for Kites didn't end there - Paula Badosa and Sabalenka lost their doubles match against Mirra Andreeva/Kenin duo after leading 5:2 and Andreeva's second serve had been called out. Eagles challenged the call and it turned out the serve was in. Eagle girls proceeded by winning 5 games in a row and winning the match 7:5. In the final match of the day Rublev lost against Grigor Dimitrov but the writing was on the wall - team Eagles (Medvedev, Rublev, Kenin, Andreeva) won the title! 

Merry Christmas to all the tennis fans!