He’s never recovered from a bout with mononucleosis. Maybe it’s Epstein-Barr if it’s lasted this long. Anyway he had to take a break because of mono, and his symptoms have never abated long enough for him to come back full-time. He’ll have a few days or week where he can practice and then he’ll have a setback. He says he still wants to come back, but he seems to accept that it might not happen. It’s too bad.
Wow, that sucks big time. 
This Djokovic-Wawrinka match is quite good.
epic, Wawrinka is giving it everything. You’d still shade it for Djokovic, especially seeing as fitness will tell but still, great stuff.
It’s only five hours. It’s all good, nbd.
Djokovic - Wawrinka was probably one of the 20 greatest matches in the Open era. 4 sets of brilliant scintillating tennis and a last set of amazing drama and guts and still great play. An absolute clinic of defense (Djokovic) and an incredible showcase of a powerful attacking one-handed backhand (Wawrinka). Definitely worth staying up til 7 AM for!
Agreed. I nearly wept for Stan after that final passing shot.
Li Na upsets Radwanska and will play Sharapova in the first semifinal. The Azarenka-Kuznetsova quarterfinal looks like it’s going to be a good one. It took them about half an hour to play the first four games. They just got back on serve with Kuznetsova up 4-3.
Serena hurt her right ankle again and Sloane Stephens is really making a game of it (as she should). I like both so I’m torn, but I do hope Serena wins.
I hope Sloane beats Azarenka, but unfortunately it looks like this opens things up for Sharapova. Serena’s ankle injury was devastating, but she had a shot. Great match by Sloane.
I can’t help but to think Chris Evert is super happy every time Serena loses. She kept going on about how this is a “hurtful loss” for Serena. I’d like to think that if I was that good at anything, anytime I lost would hurt. So Serena lost to an American younger than her for the First time in her career? Game recognize game. She might be pissed that she lost to a kid who Idolizes her, but I doubt she’s hurt by this. If anything, she’ll probably crush it at Wimbledon again if healthy.
So now I’m all in for Sloane and Murray I guess.
What’s with Djokovic and long Australian Open matches.
It may be that, unlike mere mortals, when he experiences a drop in form he still has the innate ability to slug it out and make it hard for his opponent until such time as the magic re-appears. Then when it does he has the fitness to capitalise on it.
It also helps that mentally he has been there many times before against the very, very best and so that will give him confidence that the comeback is always possible.
Very easy for Murray by the way. If Federer gets through we are on for yet more epics I expect.
I thought they had official confirmation that it was a back spasm that took her out of her game in the middle of the 2nd set.
I thought Sloane played a great match UNTIL Serena got injured. Then she lost her focus. I mean, it was obvious that Serena was just going through the motions and Stephens could not stop making unforced errors. She came very close to losing against an injured opponent. I know she’s young, but she can’t let things like this rattle her, or every opponent she faces is going to take an injury timeout.
And, once again, can I say how much I HATE injury timeouts? It’s unfair that a player can just stop a match in its tracks to go get a massage.
Getting treatment for a problem caused by a lack of match fitness might be unfair, but treatment for an injury isn’t. It’s too bad an injury hampered Serena’s play, but it’s a great opportunity for Stephens, who was going to have her coming-out party at one major or another and probably this year. You do have to think we’re headed for a Sharapova-Azarenka final, though.
And on the men’s side, the top four seeds made the semifinals. Surprise! Almagro had a chance to beat Ferrer the other day and make a breakthrough, but he couldn’t finish the deal and wound up blowing a two-set lead.
I’ll gladly admit I might be wrong about this Sharapova thing. She is one of the very few players male or female that I don’t like. She’s down a set and a break to Li Na at the moment. Edit: Li Na is about to serve for the match.
Sloane Stephens is quickly becoming the Jessica Fletcher of tennis.
Consider how Sharapova blew through everyone in the first five rounds, I don’t think anyone saw that coming. I’m always glad to see Na win. On the other hand Azarenka is getting slammed for calling a long, off-court timeout because of nerves (or if you’re feeling generous, a panic attack) right before Stephens was going to serve to level the second set. I wonder if the timeout rules are going to get reviewed. It sounded like she admitted she called timeout because she was just tense, and that’s not what that system is for.
Djokovic crushed Ferrer, so he’s back in the finals. Federer vs. Murray in the other semifinal tonight.
Azerenka proves again that she uses gamesmanship and dare I say cheat? They really should review the injury time outs.