Wednesday, January 18, 2017

Australian Open Day 3: Seppi just shows his South Tyrolean sexiness

Seppi vs. Kyrgios

Ah! Revenge is a wonderful thing. The South Tyrolean Sex Machine who has had a longer layoff than usual managed to come back from 2 sets down which is always good for the sport. Seppi normally needs a few matches to get the engine into full gear, then it looks marriage and the long layoff is working for him.

First set he was just blown away by the extra firepower from Kyrgios. The second set Seppi starts making more balls into court and getting more into the match but the fiery Aussie still has the advantage.

Keeping the momentum at an even keel isn’t normally the case with Kyrgios, he has moments where the high level is very high and the low level well it’s not pretty. Seppi just kept competing hard and was able to start making inroads into the match, taking the 3rd set.


Seppi

The 4th set well it happened. Kyrgios is competing better in the 5th but Seppi is being his usual solid self though having a crack when the chances arose. He served for the match once and played a poor game to lose it. He didn’t get down on himself he was able to break at 9-8, then served out the match like a maestro.


Jaziri vs. Bublik

This was a very winnable match for both guys but the craftier play won easily. It wasn’t a great performance but he managed to play well enough to get it done.

Bublik is a big talent, did well to qualify win a round but he wasn’t in the mood for it today. He’s young, raw and with the right people around him will develop into an excellent player. He was suffering from dropshotitis big time, just playing too many of them and way too early.


Jaziri

Jaziri was moving the ball around well whereas Bublik was going for either huge shots, drop shots before he earned the right to hit them though his backhand lobs were brilliant in this match.

Bublik had started slowly in all of his matches so far. He had plenty of chances in the 2nd set where he constantly broke Jaziri’s serve but was unable to hold onto his own delivery. Rule 1 in tennis it’s not a break of serve unless you hold.

In the 3rd set Bublik was inconsistent and Jaziri’s greater experience saw him through to the 3rd round.

Sela vs. Lacko

Sela had an excellent start buoyed on by the Israeli fans while Lacko looked stoned missing balls for fun. The first set flew by easily but Lacko who is very languid in his movements started to make more balls into court and was able to change the momentum of the match.

Lacko takes the 2nd set and Sela is making a lot of errors he starts to look gassed as he is out of position hitting the ball late. Lacko is timing the ball nicely putting the ball into difficult spots where Sela is struggling.


Lacko

The 3rd set was more of the same and in the 4th there was a small window of opportunity for Sela not even the Israeli fans were able to inspire him this time. Lacko ran out a comfortable winner in the end.

Troicki vs. Lorenzi

Unsurprisingly this was a grindfest and Lorenzi had full sound effects going. Not necessarily the most interesting match on paper but it was entertaining in its own way.

The difference in this match up is that Troicki has slightly more firepower than Lorenzi though the Italian has more variety. He will come to the net, throw in some slices, hit some groundstrokes flat, throw in the odd moonball as well.

We had another Troicki meltdown but he was massively robbed here, thankfully he got over the line.


Troicki Meltdown


Even though this went 5 sets as much as I wanted Lorenzi to win this match, there was the feeling that Troicki was always going to get the W and he was able to do so. It’s funny watching Troicki trying to hit touch shots, for every one he makes he misses about 15 though in the 3rd set breaker he pulled off a great volley at the feet. He makes his customary 3rd round appearance in a Slam.

We had another Troicki meltdown but he was massively robbed here, thankfully he got over the line.


Darcis vs. Schwartzmann

Darcis was sold but Schwartzmann wasn’t at the races today. That’s the easiest way to describe it, that’s the thing about tennis you only need to be better than your opponent on the day. You don’t get extra points for winning in style.

Seppi is very much a contrast to Kyrgios not just in game but in demeanour.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Another great article Nils very information. Its good to hear about the other half the draw we wouldnt usually know or hear about. J Monster

Martine said...

Great read as always! Thanks so much.
And Seppi winning always is a bonus :)

Hope you are having a great time!

Marti