'24 Aus Open Day 5 Order of Play & Discussion

[martini4me]

Yep, some amazing saves by Blinkova on that point.

I haven't looked for a highlight video, but Ruud chased down a drop shot late in the match that had me shouting "No, you did not just do that!" at the TV at about 12:30 this morning.

As for the time:

Swiatek-Collins was 3 hours (and I heard there was a rain delay)
Alcaraz-Sonego was 3 1/2

and they've pushed the start for the day session on the main court to noon, so less flexibility.

And then Rybakina-Blinkova was almost three hours (the final tiebreak was about half an hour).

They keep saying it's the longest tie-break in major history. Am I mis-remembering that there was a 24-22 a few years back? Or was that actual games, before they switched to the fifth-set tie-breaker.

[martini4me]

The Australian Open posted the entire tie-break on Youtube. If you have a free half-hour (and how could you not have a half hour for this), enjoy.

[jazzyg]

Wow. I chose the right night to DVR the tennis and not check the results in the morning before watching. One incredible match after the other. The Struff-Kecmanovic and Ruud-Purcell breakers were high quality. The Rybakina-Blinkova breaker was not high quality but was about as high drama as I've ever seen with a few sparkling points mixed in.

I had Rybakina winning the tournament. This opens up the draw for Ostapenko, who will always be inconsistent but is winning the close matches now that she was losing for years. First, she has to beat Azarenka for the first time in her career (0-3 record, but two were very close, including Brisbane two weeks ago), which should happen. Then if she gets past her fourth-round match (nothing is guaranteed with her), she could take her perfect record against Swiatek into the quarterfinal. The second quarter has been decimated, so I would like her chances against anyone in the semis.

To become a contender again, the first thing Ostapenko had to do was get in better shape, and she has done that. Now it is up to her head.

[jazzyg]

I'm a Sloane Stephens skeptic, but that stat they gave after she beat Kasatkina was one of the most impressive and surprising ones I've heard in a long time. Kasatkina had won 42 consecutive matches when she took the first set. Stephens, whose toughness has been non-existent for years, broke that streak.

I'm not sure what to make of it, but if her fragility and fitness do not get in the way, Stephens should make the quarters at least. The only player who can beat her without any help in her quarter is Zheng.

[meganfernandez]

Wow. I chose the right night to DVR the tennis and not check the results in the morning before watching. One incredible match after the other. The Struff-Kecmanovic and Ruud-Purcell breakers were high quality. The Rybakina-Blinkova breaker was not high quality but was about as high drama as I've ever seen with a few sparkling points mixed in.

I had Rybakina winning the tournament. This opens up the draw for Ostapenko, who will always be inconsistent but is winning the close matches now that she was losing for years. First, she has to beat Azarenka for the first time in her career (0-3 record, but two were very close, including Brisbane two weeks ago), which should happen. Then if she gets past her fourth-round match (nothing is guaranteed with her), she could take her perfect record against Swiatek into the quarterfinal. The second quarter has been decimated, so I would like her chances against anyone in the semis.

To become a contender again, the first thing Ostapenko had to do was get in better shape, and she has done that. Now it is up to her head.

You think Ostapenko in better shape? Maybe somewhat. IT doesn't seem to hold her back, but I thikn it does. Pretty much everyone is a bretter player when the are in their best shape.

She said something interesting about these close matches after her win. She said in recent years she wasn't putting enough pressure on her opponents in the big moments. She laughed and said that is sounds funny, but she wasn't aggressive ENOUGH in key moments. And she changed that. I thought that was good insight.

I'd love to see her play Iga again.

[meganfernandez]

Yep, some amazing saves by Blinkova on that point.

I haven't looked for a highlight video, but Ruud chased down a drop shot late in the match that had me shouting "No, you did not just do that!" at the TV at about 12:30 this morning.

As for the time:

Swiatek-Collins was 3 hours (and I heard there was a rain delay)
Alcaraz-Sonego was 3 1/2

and they've pushed the start for the day session on the main court to noon, so less flexibility.

And then Rybakina-Blinkova was almost three hours (the final tiebreak was about half an hour).

They keep saying it's the longest tie-break in major history. Am I mis-remembering that there was a 24-22 a few years back? Or was that actual games, before they switched to the fifth-set tie-breaker.

The 24-22 score - you might be thinking of the Anderson-Isner fifth set at 2018 Wimbledon, which was 26-24. Before the super tiebtreak.

[jazzyg]

To become a contender again, the first thing Ostapenko had to do was get in better shape, and she has done that. Now it is up to her head.

You think Ostapenko in better shape? Maybe somewhat. IT doesn't seem to hold her back, but I thikn it does. Pretty much everyone is a bretter player when the are in their best shape.

She said something interesting about these close matches after her win. She said in recent years she wasn't putting enough pressure on her opponents in the big moments. She laughed and said that is sounds funny, but she wasn't aggressive ENOUGH in key moments. And she changed that. I thought that was good insight.

I'd love to see her play Iga again.

Nominally in better shape. The commentators mentioned it in the tourney she just won, and she looked to be moving a little better to me.

[mick1303]

Yep, some amazing saves by Blinkova on that point.

I haven't looked for a highlight video, but Ruud chased down a drop shot late in the match that had me shouting "No, you did not just do that!" at the TV at about 12:30 this morning.

As for the time:

Swiatek-Collins was 3 hours (and I heard there was a rain delay)
Alcaraz-Sonego was 3 1/2

and they've pushed the start for the day session on the main court to noon, so less flexibility.

And then Rybakina-Blinkova was almost three hours (the final tiebreak was about half an hour).

They keep saying it's the longest tie-break in major history. Am I mis-remembering that there was a 24-22 a few years back? Or was that actual games, before they switched to the fifth-set tie-breaker.

The 24-22 score - you might be thinking of the Anderson-Isner fifth set at 2018 Wimbledon, which was 26-24. Before the super tiebtreak.

Opelka-Isner once played 24-22 TB. But it was not in a slam.

[ti-amie]

Meanwhile, Medvedev and Ruusuvuori are still playing with set 5 about to start.

I woke up and saw men's tennis playing on the tablet and wondered since when did ESPN broadcast replays on the same stream as live tennis...To say I was floored that that was a live match is an understatement.

[ptmcmahon]

I tried and couldn't find it on my TV this am.

As bad as those matches are for the players... they're often the only ones I get to see (before I record last round or two that is.)

[ti-amie]

I don't know how many got to see Iga vs Danielle. That match will keep Collins up at night.

She did everything right: controlled the pace so that Iga couldn't go on one of her sprints, made Iga move in ways she didn't want to, and was fearless...until she went up 4-1 in the third. I know she suffers from rheumatoid arthritis but the problem didn't appear to be physical. She literally stopped doing what she had been doing and was playing just to win two more games not playing the person across the net until the match was over if that makes sense. One of her stats - I'm sorry I forget which one - dropped by 8 points. And once she went into that mental haze all Iga had to do was keep the ball in play and let Danielle make errors.

I see that she announced she's retiring at the end of the season and I wonder if that is just her trying to come to terms with her snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

[atlpam]

Meanwhile, Medvedev and Ruusuvuori are still playing with set 5 about to start.

It's so ridiculous. No sport should be contested at 3, 4 am. Staff, volunteers and some media all have to stay, too. It's inhumane, not just silly.

Ruusuvuori didn't so much as lose as finally fell asleep. 6-0 fifth set.

How did this even happen? There were only 4 matches on Rod Laver today. Did Rybanika-Blinkova go on late?

The night session got started late as the day session matches didn’t complete until after the night session was supposed to start plus any required break to clear the court for the night ticket holders to enter. Rybakina match was just under 3 hours, so that would result in about 11:30 start for the last match.

[ti-amie]

There are two players I keep saying I need to be sold on - Sinner and Rybakina. Sinner is determined to make me seem like a malcontent. I saw a bit of Rybakina's match - just a bit before I fell asleep - and as someone said upthread her lack of foot speed was exposed and her repetitive patterns did her no favors either.

Still, she almost won.

[Oploskoffie]

I see that she announced she's retiring at the end of the season and I wonder if that is just her trying to come to terms with her snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

If the post-match interview that is on the WTA website is anything to go by, to me anyway, it reads like this was a decision that had been made previously. She, too, wants to do other things, with starting a family apparently pretty high on her list of goals for life after tennis. Still, with an ever increasing amount of players returning after having a child or children, if she does retire this year, who knows. We may see her on court again.

[Fastbackss]

I put iga - Collins on at the start of the 2nd set.

The first thing I noticed was Danielle swearing up and down in the general direction of her box. It was amazing, I laughed, and she then served out the game.

The second thing was the unfortunate bloomers that had been mentioned here. Brutal