Hopefully, the Djokovic injury is less serious than it seems.

If Djokovic is indeed out then realistically Nadal would have to beat Medvedev and Thiem back to back, which sounds like a tall order. Thiem almost had him at the 2018 US Open and nearly beat Novak in the Australian final last year.

Starting with Hsieh-Osaka tomorrow, which could be the most interesting match of the tournament so far for me, after which we've got Dimitrov-Karatsev.

 

Also absolutely insane what Karatsev has done to reach this point, three tour wins in his entire career before the Australian and now four wins in a slam.

 

Overall though, I think this may now be Medvedev's title to lose. Really looking forward to seeing a match with Nadal, if indeed it comes to pass.

Naomi Osaka wins again.    

And Djokovic     

On 2/20/2021 at 8:09 PM, jkjk said:

Naomi Osaka wins again.    

 

Osaka, Barty, Halep, Kenin, Muguruza and Serena are going to be the clearest threats at most tournaments, I'd say, closely followed by Swiatek who perhaps still needs consistency off the clay. Then, form and fitness permitting, Sabalenka, Brady and Andreescu too. That's a pretty exciting top ten.

On 2/21/2021 at 11:02 PM, jkjk said:

And Djokovic     

 

The younger guys still can't seem to figure out how to win a slam against Djokovic or Nadal.

 

I heard it said once that the big three hunt as a pack, in that winning a slam would require another player to play and beat two of the three. One is difficult, two is near impossible. Should be interesting to see if that dynamic returns when Federer does.

On 2/26/2021 at 4:42 PM, Michael* said:

Osaka, Barty, Halep, Kenin, Muguruza and Serena are going to be the clearest threats at most tournaments, I'd say, closely followed by Swiatek who perhaps still needs consistency off the clay. Then, form and fitness permitting, Sabalenka, Brady and Andreescu too. That's a pretty exciting top ten.

 

The women's field is deep. There are a few names that could be added to that list which are not contenders every week but could win any time.

On 2/27/2021 at 12:56 AM, jkjk said:

The women's field is deep. There are a few names that could be added to that list which are not contenders every week but could win any time.

 

It's interesting that some of the names I'd usually associate with high rankings and being a threat at any given time suddenly feel less relevant. Not to say they're in decline, but Svitolina, Pliskova, Konta, Garcia and maybe even Bertens have seemingly gone from being the best of the rest to just "the rest".

 

Then again, a lot of the most notable exits we've seen recently were at least somewhat quarantine-related, so it would probably be wrong to read too much into unexpected outcomes.

On 2/26/2021 at 4:42 PM, Michael* said:

I'd say, closely followed by Swiatek who perhaps still needs consistency off the clay.

 

She won this weekend to prove you right.

And Roger is back  

18 hours ago, Stormbringer said:

And Roger is back  

 

It'll be fascinating to see how high a level he can reach, hopefully he'll be competing with Nadal and Djokovic again. The younger guys have struggled to consistently deliver at slam level, maybe just maybe Federer still can.

45 minutes ago, Michael* said:

 

It'll be fascinating to see how high a level he can reach, hopefully he'll be competing with Nadal and Djokovic again. The younger guys have struggled to consistently deliver at slam level, maybe just maybe Federer still can.

 

Hopefully he'll be up there again.

And even though it was rather evident yesterday that he had been away from competition for over a year, there were still glimpses of his usual genius.

To state the obvious, Roger's 2021 is all about Wimbledon.

I've been lucky enough to witness a few high-level sporting events in person (football, tennis and cycling mostly), but honestly the only time I've been really and truly blown away was watching Federer play.

 

He might well be at the stage where talking about another slam feels a bit fanciful, but I think he'll be competitive. Even if he comes back for a year and resembles his former self, I'll put that down as a big win.

27 minutes ago, Michael* said:

I've been lucky enough to witness a few high-level sporting events in person (football, tennis and cycling mostly), but honestly the only time I've been really and truly blown away was watching Federer play.

When and where was that, if you dont mind me asking?

6 hours ago, elfstone said:

When and where was that, if you dont mind me asking?

 

Not at all. I saw him play Kei Nishikori at the London ATP tour finals in 2015 (I've never been to Wimbledon which I guess is the ultimate). It wasn't Federer at his absolute peak and the match was one that he might easily have lost but honestly, some of the points were just dazzling to see at close quarters.

Nadal, Djokovic and Federer in the same half of the draw at Roland Garros, which is a rarity in itself, but it's also a chance for either Thiem to get another shot or for a new face to make a debut appearance in a slam final.

On 5/27/2021 at 8:08 PM, Michael* said:

either Thiem to get another shot or for a new face to make a debut appearance in a slam final.

 

Option #2 it is, then.