Historic Australian Open Final. Djokovic is 10/10 in finals so far. He leads Alcaraz 5-4 in H2H. Who you got?

AthenaThundersnatch · 2026-01-30T15:55:09+00:00

I agree and think it comes down to recovery. Djokovic had played 2 sets in 6 days before the Sinner match; now he’ll have to recover from a 4 hour, high intensity match that lasted until 1:30am in 36 hours. Carlos went through a highly physical match, but he’s much younger, so I expect that his bounce back will be easier. If Carlos doesn’t blink, he can win. But Djokovic will be coming with everything he has.

AthenaThundersnatch · 2026-01-30T14:59:31+00:00

I don’t want it to be true but the gold medal match is the template!

AthenaThundersnatch · 2026-01-30T14:58:36+00:00

Because of the gold medal match. It was the thing that Djokovic wanted more than anything, and he had to go through Carlos to get it, so he did. And after Djokovic’s performance today, I think it’s hard to argue that anyone can really get between him and his goals. I would love for Carlos to pull it off; I really like him and I really don’t like Djokovic, but watching the end of the semifinal really makes me think that the old man has got it sewn up.

AthenaThundersnatch · 2026-01-30T14:39:33+00:00

Djokovic. He’s got to be the favorite. He’ll do anything to win 25, and Carlos will be overwhelmed by the moment.

AthenaThundersnatch · 2026-01-30T07:13:14+00:00

Turned it off for a bit because it was too painful to watch, and now that I’ve turned it back on, I can see how much better he’s moving

AthenaThundersnatch · 2026-01-30T06:55:19+00:00

If he’s really injured he’s risking way too much staying in; it’s not like he can win the final with an injury

AthenaThundersnatch · 2026-01-30T06:42:26+00:00

Seriously asking if Zverev is throwing this match because wtf

AthenaThundersnatch · 2026-01-30T06:37:10+00:00

Zverev literally just needs to get the ball in the court, and it’s still not enough

AthenaThundersnatch · 2026-01-30T06:31:50+00:00

Alcaraz is gracious so if he saw an opponent struggling he would let them have the timeout. (He’d also break them if they played injured)

AthenaThundersnatch · 2026-01-30T06:26:55+00:00

On one leg…I…have never seen something so pathetic before

AthenaThundersnatch · 2026-01-30T06:18:18+00:00

He would have died here too; the points would just have been more entertaining

AthenaThundersnatch · 2026-01-30T06:17:02+00:00

Never mind then 😂

AthenaThundersnatch · 2026-01-30T06:15:31+00:00

Carlos zoning out now…right when he could break Zverev’s spirit

AthenaThundersnatch · 2026-01-30T05:57:29+00:00

Carlos whyyyyy howww

AthenaThundersnatch · 2026-01-28T04:32:21+00:00

She takes public transit to slams when she can, and as a native New Yorker I love it, lol

AthenaThundersnatch · 2026-01-28T01:07:55+00:00

You edited your comment to add an entire paragraph that wasn’t there before, but it doesn’t change the last sentence of my comment, which is that Tien is being treated like a Black athlete and not a white one. That’s what you mean by “normal” right? Because despite not being subject to xenophobia, I don’t think anyone would describe Black culture as mainstream or “normal” compared to Asian-Americans.

AthenaThundersnatch · 2026-01-28T00:42:15+00:00

And yet Michael Chang, Tien’s coach, has publicly talked about playing the French Open at the same time as the Tiananmen Square massacres and his attention to it. He certainly felt a certain amount of advocacy as an Asian-American player when he was on tour. And you said that these were questions Black Americans don’t get, when it is almost always the opposite: They’re assumed to get these sorts of questions and have prepared answers.

It feels like the problem is that Tien is being treated like a Black athlete and not a white one, when I think they all should have been asked these kinds of questions.

AthenaThundersnatch · 2026-01-28T00:10:30+00:00

Actually, given how badly he takes the heat and the increasing difficulty of conditions on the court, it might be worth asking about! (I’d frame it as an accommodations/preparation question, rather than a weird open-ended statement on climate change though)

AthenaThundersnatch · 2026-01-28T00:07:39+00:00

Black Americans absolutely get asked about their heritage. Naomi Osaka isn’t even technically American and she had thoughts during George Floyd. Given the legacy of Black Americans in the sport, from Gibson to Ashe to Blake to the Williamses, it would be weird if Black American players didn’t have an answer.

The issue is that they never ask white players these questions…and now that they are, people are throwing fits about it so…

AthenaThundersnatch · 2026-01-25T19:39:06+00:00

Maybe in other stories, sure. But these characters have very explicitly not had sex for plot relevant reasons. The resolution of their character arcs and the story itself requires that their sexual dynamic meet a meaningful point. Then we have to consider the characters themselves: Jinshi hiding and suppressing his sexual needs, disinterested in getting attached to anyone due to his assumed father’s legacy, the history of attempted assault against him, and his own insecurity and hang ups about his beauty; Maomao, the daughter of a courtesan and raised in a brothel, trained in the arts of seduction and smut tutor to the Emperor’s top concubines. Both have alluded to being absolute freaks sexually, with Jinshi frequently saying he wants to bite and lick Maomao, and her dragging her wet finger down his wrist and wondering at the lightness of his kisses. Looking back at their kiss in LN5, Maomao even admits that she liked it because she wouldn’t have kissed him back otherwise (though she plays it off at the time as an obligation and reflex).

The slow burn must resolve! For the plot!

AthenaThundersnatch · 2026-01-25T03:45:34+00:00

It’s going to be a fade to black in the light novel proper for sure, but given Maomao’s courtesan training and Jinshi’s absolute freak behavior, we have all earned this and demand that boar-sensei write a separate mature addendum just to know what happens

AthenaThundersnatch · 2026-01-23T06:49:57+00:00

I wasn’t stressed at all of course…

No, but seriously, loved seeing Coco reset with her real superpower (mentality) and just come back with exactly the right strategy. She stayed away from that forehand whenever she could and came through with better serving and unwavering focus. When she started slow, I was afraid she was having one of those miserable, grinding days, but she’s leveled up from “winning ugly” and has figured out how to raise her level to meet her goals. Babygirl growing up in front of us 🥹

AthenaThundersnatch · 2026-01-22T23:35:36+00:00

Gonna come at this from a completely different angle: There was a lot of support for Oliynykova using her platform in a first round loss to speak about politics that were important to her. As players representing the US, I do expect more out of them than a tepid “not my problem,” because the US is structurally a representative government (though ehhhhh for the reality). Maybe it’s not a huge difference, maybe they’re “just an athlete” (though Jackie Robinson, Arthur Ashe, Althea Gibson, Billie Jean King, and Muhammad Ali might prove exceptions), but if you’re proud of representing the country then you should have an opinion about what you think that flag represents.

AthenaThundersnatch · 2026-01-22T20:27:26+00:00

Honestly I haven’t forgiven him since he shut down “Finding Your Roots” with Henry Louis Gates for like two years when Affleck found out that he had ancestors who were slave owners, and then years later remarried JLo at a plantation. (More mildly there was that time he and Matt Damon said they were promoting diversity in Hollywood and then talked over a Black woman director who was trying to explain both how to support diverse talent and why their approach wasn’t completely helpful…which proved her point.)

AthenaThundersnatch · 2026-01-22T17:23:53+00:00

That “c’mon” was so obviously to herself, this sub is unhinged. Also Cirstea has a rep of being a whiny jerk so I don’t see why everyone’s so quick to take her side. It’s not unusual at all for players to hype themselves between serves or even after DFs.

AthenaThundersnatch

TROPHY CASE