Watching Tennis From The 2018 Australian Open From My TV In New York

Rafael Nadal of Spain reacts during his fourth round match against Diego Schwartzman of Argentina at the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 21 January 2018. EPA-EFE/DEAN LEWINS

 

 

By Lloyd Emanuel

 

I sunk my teeth into the AO really for the 1st time last night. What with the extreme time difference here in NY, plus my teaching schedule, I didn’t get a chance to watch too much of the tennis, so, while following all the results (on 10sBalls_com of course), I didn’t get much of a feel yet for the tournament.

 

That all changed as I found myself in front of the TV for a lion’s share of the round of 16 match between the world’s #1 Rafa Nadal and the the 24th seed, the diminutive Argentine Diego Schwartzman.

 

Last summer, I hired as one of my assistant pros, a young Argentine playing D1 ( Division 1) tennis for a small school (College) in Georgia. He is 5’7” and his inspiration as a kid was David Nalbandian, and his current hero is the 5’7” Schwartzman.

 

So I followed Schwartzman through his terrific summer, including his run to the U.S. Open quarters.

 

In Sunday’s battle with the world’s #1, Schwartzman battled toe-to-toe with Rafa, taking his first set ever in the 2nd set, breaking back 3 times after being broken, before capturing the tiebreaker. He was a beast off the ground, trading body blows with Rafa, only occasionally being let down by a dodgy forehand. Time and again, he dictated the points, something very few players can do with Rafa. With his great speed, he made Rafa miss for going for too much, often leaving the lefty frustrated and concerned.

 

But as Rafa always does, he chops down the tree and gets the job done. The speedy Schwartzman showed his fatigue in the 4th set, and without much power in his 1st serve, Rafa claimed 2 breaks and the match 63, 67, 63, 63 in 3 hours 51 minutes of heavyweight tennis.

 

Tennis On T.V. •

On another note, watching ESPN’s coverage of the match was very frustrating, as they went to split screen time and again, even at crucial times in the match, to show important points in the Martic-Mertens women’s match and in the Edmund-Seppi men’s match. No less important, but far less dramatic that watching the world’s #1 in a death struggle, the split screen made it impossible to enjoy either of the 2 minuscule matches ESPN deemed so crucial to the broadcast.

Diego Schwartzman of Argentina reacts during his fourth round match against Rafael Nadal of Spain at the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 21 January 2018. EPA-EFE/MARK CRISTINO

 

Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates after winning his fourth round match against Diego Schwartzman of Argentina at the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 21 January 2018. EPA-EFE/DEAN LEWINS

 

Rafael Nadal (R) of Spain is congratulated by Diego Schwartzman (L) of Argentina after winning their fourth round match at the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 21 January 2018. EPA-EFE/DEAN LEWINS

 

Rafael Nadal (R) of Spain is congratulated by Diego Schwartzman (L) of Argentina after winning their fourth round match at the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 21 January 2018. EPA-EFE/DEAN LEWINS

 

Rafael Nadal (L) of Spain hugs Diego Schwartzman (R) of Argentina after winning their fourth round match at the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 21 January 2018. EPA-EFE/MAST IRHAM