Tennis

[shoothoops]

Coco Gauff and Jessie Pegula were the first two players to qualify for back to back singles and doubles in the Tour Finals since Martina Hingis and Anna Kournikova 23 years ago.

Jessie Pegula became the 4th American to get 3 wins over World Number 1 players in a season. (Serena, Davenport, Capriati)

Jessie Pegula has won 100 matches and counting in 2023 across singles, doubles, mixed.

Pegula and Gauff are the first American singles players in 15 years to each win at least 8 times in a season against World top 10 players.

Gauff is the first American teenager to win over matches in a year in 24 years.

First time in 21 years, 2 Americans will face off in the WTA Finals. (Serena v Capriati)

Weekend Singles Semifinals of the WTA Finals:

Jessie Pegula vs Coco Gauff.

Sabalenka v Swiatek.

Eliminated: Jabeur, Rybakina, Sakkari, Vondrousova

[MU82]

From The Athletic:

Lest anyone still doubted his place atop tennis' Mount Rushmore, Novak Djokovic capped another dominant season by solidifying his claim as the sport's GOAT.

Making history: Djokovic, 36, destroyed Carlos Alcaraz (6-3, 6-2) and Jannik Sinner (6-3, 6-3) over the weekend in Italy to win his seventh ATP Finals title, breaking a tie with Roger Federer for the most all-time. He'd already become the oldest winner ever last year at 35; now he's just showing off.

The big picture: Those were just some of the records Djokovic broke or extended this year as he went 55-6 and won seven titles, his most since 2016.

24 Grand Slams: He won three Grand Slams — and finished runner-up in the fourth — to reach 24 in his career, passing Rafael Nadal (22) and Serena Williams (23) for the most in the Open Era (since 1968).

400 weeks: He passed Steffi Graf (377 weeks) for the most weeks as the world's No. 1 player, having already eclipsed Federer's men's record of 310. When today's rankings come out, he'll be No. 1 for the 400th week in his career.

8 seasons: He's now the year-end No. 1 player for the eighth time, extending his men's record (Pete Sampras, 6) and tying Graf for the most ever.

Age is just a number (for him): Athletes aren't supposed to keep dominating like this at his age. Need proof? He's one of just two players in the top 20 over 30 years old (No. 14 Grigor Dimitrov is 32), and the average age of Nos. 2-10 is just 24.

Looking ahead: Sunday's victory was the 98th title of Djokovic's career, putting him two shy of joining Jimmy Connors (109) and Federer (103) as the only men in the 100-win club. Seems to be a safe bet that by this time next year, at 37, he may be ready to pass Federer once again.

[shoothoops]

From The Athletic:

Lest anyone still doubted his place atop tennis' Mount Rushmore, Novak Djokovic capped another dominant season by solidifying his claim as the sport's GOAT.

Making history: Djokovic, 36, destroyed Carlos Alcaraz (6-3, 6-2) and Jannik Sinner (6-3, 6-3) over the weekend in Italy to win his seventh ATP Finals title, breaking a tie with Roger Federer for the most all-time. He'd already become the oldest winner ever last year at 35; now he's just showing off.

The big picture: Those were just some of the records Djokovic broke or extended this year as he went 55-6 and won seven titles, his most since 2016.

24 Grand Slams: He won three Grand Slams — and finished runner-up in the fourth — to reach 24 in his career, passing Rafael Nadal (22) and Serena Williams (23) for the most in the Open Era (since 1968).

400 weeks: He passed Steffi Graf (377 weeks) for the most weeks as the world's No. 1 player, having already eclipsed Federer's men's record of 310. When today's rankings come out, he'll be No. 1 for the 400th week in his career.

8 seasons: He's now the year-end No. 1 player for the eighth time, extending his men's record (Pete Sampras, 6) and tying Graf for the most ever.

Age is just a number (for him): Athletes aren't supposed to keep dominating like this at his age. Need proof? He's one of just two players in the top 20 over 30 years old (No. 14 Grigor Dimitrov is 32), and the average age of Nos. 2-10 is just 24.

Looking ahead: Sunday's victory was the 98th title of Djokovic's career, putting him two shy of joining Jimmy Connors (109) and Federer (103) as the only men in the 100-win club. Seems to be a safe bet that by this time next year, at 37, he may be ready to pass Federer once again.

That has to have been written by someone that doesn’t follow tennis. He buried the lede about the ATP Finals.

Sinner defeated Djokovic in the round robin. Sinner had already qualified for the semifinals. And if he lost his final round robin match, Djokovic would have been eliminated. Sinner didn’t tank the match. He won that match in 3 sets allowing Djokovic to get into the semifinals.

Also, comparing different genders in different eras is a pretty big give away.

[MU82]

The overall point was about Djokovic's historic greatness, which you know. You're just being obtuse.

The fact is Djokovic DID handily beat both Alcaraz in the semis and Sinner in the final of that event, just as the article stated. If you really think the lead should have been about Sinner's round-robin win rather than about the No. 1 player in the world (and maybe in history) winning the championship match to hit numerous career milestones ... wow.

I know he's no Juan Martin del Potro, but Djokovic has still had a pretty decent career.

[shoothoops]

The overall point was about Djokovic's historic greatness, which you know. You're just being obtuse.

The fact is Djokovic DID handily beat both Alcaraz in the semis and Sinner in the final of that event, just as the article stated. If you really think the lead should have been about Sinner's round-robin win rather than about the No. 1 player in the world (and maybe in history) winning the championship match to hit numerous career milestones ... wow.

I know he's no Juan Martin del Potro, but Djokovic has still had a pretty decent career.

No I’m not being obtuse.

I am being current. The ATP Finals were this past week. And one of its biggest stories is Djokovic lost to Sinner. And he would not have advanced to the semis if Sinner had lost his 3rd pool play match.

I think not referencing that Djokovic needed help from someone else to reach the semis tells me all I need to know. That’s more relevant this week than comparing him with Graf etc….

No one is questioning Djokovic’ success this past week or at any other time.

I mentioned that the person who wrote or compiled this doesn’t follow tennis. You took it personally because you copied and pasted it. It’s probably one of those generic The Athletic recap things like you did some other time if I remember correctly.

And yes, trying to compare a Men’s tennis players accomplishments with a Women’s player from a different era, suggests that person doesn’t follow tennis.

[lawdog77]

No I’m not being obtuse.

I am being current. The ATP Finals were this past week. And one of its biggest stories is Djokovic lost to Sinner. And he would not have advanced to the semis if Sinner had lost his 3rd pool play match.

I think not referencing that Djokovic needed help from someone else to reach the semis tells me all I need to know. That’s more relevant this week than comparing him with Graf etc….

No one is questioning Djokovic’ success this past week or at any other time.

I mentioned that the person who wrote or compiled this doesn’t follow tennis. You took it personally because you copied and pasted it. It’s probably one of those generic The Athletic recap things like you did some other time if I remember correctly.

And yes, trying to compare a Men’s tennis players accomplishments with a Women’s player from a different era, suggests that person doesn’t follow tennis.

Looking at author:

https://www.nytimes.com/by/matthew-futterman

Looks like he follows tennis

[shoothoops]

Looking at author:

https://www.nytimes.com/by/matthew-futterman

Looks like he follows tennis

Futterman. He should know better. But can’t say I’m shocked. He’s doing a piece celebrating Djokovic vs covering the event. And that’s fine but not including how he got there and instead including comparisons to Women’s players of different eras isn’t good writing.

I don’t care in any way about the players involved in the piece.

No one is saying that it wasn’t a great accomplishment for Djokovic this past week.

The two most recent NY Times Tennis writers both recently left this year. Christopher Clarey and Ben Rothenberg.

[MU82]

No I’m not being obtuse.

I am being current. The ATP Finals were this past week. And one of its biggest stories is Djokovic lost to Sinner. And he would not have advanced to the semis if Sinner had lost his 3rd pool play match.

I think not referencing that Djokovic needed help from someone else to reach the semis tells me all I need to know. That’s more relevant this week than comparing him with Graf etc….

No one is questioning Djokovic’ success this past week or at any other time.

I mentioned that the person who wrote or compiled this doesn’t follow tennis. You took it personally because you copied and pasted it. It’s probably one of those generic The Athletic recap things like you did some other time if I remember correctly.

And yes, trying to compare a Men’s tennis players accomplishments with a Women’s player from a different era, suggests that person doesn’t follow tennis.

And after Sinner beat Djokovic, there were many, many, many articles about it. As there should have been. But then Djokovic beat Sinner for the title, and what is obvious to everybody but you is that the lead is Djokovic.

I mean, the Cowboys lose to the Chiefs on the last Sunday of the season. And then, a month later, the Chiefs beat the Cowboys in the Super Bowl.

Every reporter in the world - except one - writes about the Chiefs winning the title. That other one - you - writes about the Cowboys having won the game a month earlier. And then calls all the other writers stoopid for missing the lead that only you were clever enough to get. Perfect.

[shoothoops]

And after Sinner beat Djokovic, there were many, many, many articles about it. As there should have been. But then Djokovic beat Sinner for the title, and what is obvious to everybody but you is that the lead is Djokovic.

I mean, the Cowboys lose to the Chiefs on the last Sunday of the season. And then, a month later, the Chiefs beat the Cowboys in the Super Bowl.

Every reporter in the world - except one - writes about the Chiefs winning the title. That other one - you - writes about the Cowboys having won the game a month earlier. And then calls all the other writers stoopid for missing the lead that only you were clever enough to get. Perfect.

I can only go by what you posted here. You didn’t post many other articles, just this one.

That’s a lot of words to say the only reason he made the semifinals is because he needed someone else to win/lose. It seemed odd to mention the other player in the piece but not mention that because it was a big part of the story of this past week’s tourney. Do you have the link to the piece where this particular writer mentions it? The other player had the option to have Djokovic eliminated from the event if he chose to do so. No story of the event is bigger than that.

And comparing Men’s players to Women’s players of other eras is at best, badly misplaced.

The piece wasn’t a good piece because of the reasons mentioned. That doesn’t have anything to do with Djokovic whom you seem to be desperately defending for no apparent reason.

It’s okay to appreciate the tennis of Djokovic while also referencing what I referenced about this piece. It wasn’t well written. Happy to move on.

[MU82]

Cool.

[lawdog77]

Cool.

Yep. Just cannot believe that the article didn't mention that in the 2nd set, game 4, Djoker had a double fault. This guy must not follow tennis.

[shoothoops]

Yep. Just cannot believe that the article didn't mention that in the 2nd set, game 4, Djoker had a double fault. This guy must not follow tennis.

Sure, comparing someone else letting him advance in the tourney is exactly the same as a double fault in an individual game.

They of course are not the same.

Comparing a current Men’s tennis player statistically with a past era Women’s player is not the same.

Thanks for illustrating the point.

[MU82]

Yep. Just cannot believe that the article didn't mention that in the 2nd set, game 4, Djoker had a double fault. This guy must not follow tennis.

Yep. I post a general piece about Djokovic's great career; I didn't present it as the most complete article on the ATP tournament, just a little snapshot into what Djokovic has accomplished. And our resident expert on tennis, journalism, law, baseball, travel, restaurants and pretty much everything else makes it ... well ... whatever he made it about. Whatcha gonna do?

[shoothoops]

Yep. I post a general piece about Djokovic's great career; I didn't present it as the most complete article on the ATP tournament, just a little snapshot into what Djokovic has accomplished. And our resident expert on tennis, journalism, law, baseball, travel, restaurants and pretty much everything else makes it ... well ... whatever he made it about. Whatcha gonna do?

You keep giving yourself away.

You first gave yourself away in your previous post randomly referencing Juan Martin del Potro. It seemed strange in the conversation until I looked it up and you are apparently holding a grudge from almost two years ago about a conversation I never would have remembered having.

And here you let out all of your pent up frustration and show that your actual problem is with me. Restaurants, lol.

You cut and pasted an article that referenced this week’s ATP Finals. Only the author left out the biggest story of that event. And he went on to compare Men’s and Women’s tennis players etc…

Instead of recognizing the flaws in the piece and moving on from it, you got your feelings hurt because a) you posted the article and you took it personally. It wasn’t personal. And b) The fragility of hero worship/scapegoating goats. We can’t have someone point out the other parts of the event because that’s (strangely) perceived as a threat to the greatness of Djokovic the player.

This of course isn’t tennis specific. I think you’d be more comfortable in a fictitious goats thread, or hero worship scapegoating thread.

[MU82]

Cool.

[shoothoops]

Italy won the 2023 Davis Cup, in front of 9,000 in Malaga, Spain. They had wins over The Netherlands, Serbia, and Australia.

Sinner defeated Djokovic in singles for the 2nd time in 10 days. And after an additional doubles victory(w/Sonego), Sinner became the first player since Jo Wifried Tsonga to defeat Djokovic twice in the same day.

It’s the first Davis Cup win for Italy since 1976. They are the 10th different winner in the past ten years. (If you missed Davis Cup, college tennis offers similar compelling drama weekly.)

How excited were they in Italy about the win? Here is the reaction at the AC Milan game:

https://x.com/tennistv/status/1729620058073145359?s=46&t=TsCCkuE48YmnkWfoKqc_Ng

…………..
More smoke coming from the 4 Grand Slams who, along with Saudi Arabia $$$, will buy the 9 Masters 1000 events and add a 10th in Saudi Arabia. They would make a Super Tour of those events. The WTA and ATP would have the rights to the 500 events and year end finals. And gambling will be even more embraced.
………….
Naomi Osaka will begin her 2024 comeback in Brisbane, who is putting together a nice field.
…………

[shoothoops]

First Singles Titles of the Year:

WTA Brisbane: Rybakina over Sabalenka.

WTA Auckland: Gauff over Svitolina.

ATP Brisbane: Dimitrov over Rune.

ATP Hong Kong: Rublev over Ruusuvuori.
…………………………………….
United Cup Winner: Germany over Poland.
(18 countries/teams)

[shoothoops]

There’s a job opening with the ATP for Business Development Partnership Manager. What’s noteworthy about the job is that its location is Saudi Arabia.
…………………
New ATP/WTA rules collaboration about choosing a universal tennis ball and match times. No matches are to start after 11:30pm. No more than 5 matches per day per court. Night sessions to not start later than 7:30pm.

The fact that these are combined tour changes suggests a tour merger is getting a little bit closer.

[shoothoops]

Indian Wells, California 2024:

Announced $19 million prize money, and an additional $1 million for first two rounds of qualifying singles. (These are players that fail to gain main draw entry and lose in Q1 or Q2.

March 14th will be an all day Women’s and Men’s Quarterfinal Day.

Expanded two week event.

[Plaque Lives Matter!]

Im in San Diego for a tournament im playing in around then. Should see if my schedule allows me to slip away for half a day. Jusssssttttttt a bit far from there.

[shoothoops]

Im in San Diego for a tournament im playing in around then. Should see if my schedule allows me to slip away for half a day. Jusssssttttttt a bit far from there.

WTA San Diego Open is February 24th-March 3rd 2024.
(They play at Barnes Tennis Center in Pont Loma)

WTA San Diego is immediately before Indian Wells. (120 miles away)

Indian Wells is March 3-17.

[shoothoops]

3rd straight Adelaide doubles title for Taylor Townsend (Chicago/Atlanta) with 3 different partners.

Also at Adelaide, Salisbury and Ram won their 15th doubles title together.

Speaking of college tennis players, 62 former college tennis players will be playing doubles at the Australian Open.

And, Emma Navarro (UVA) won her first WTA singles title at Hobart.

[shoothoops]

Per Reem Abulleil, a reputable Egyptian sports journalist, Rafa Nadal has been hired by the Saudi Tennis Federation as an ambassador. He will also establish a Rafa Nadal Tennis Academy in Saudi Arabia and work to growth the sport among Saudi youth.

[shoothoops]

Sad and bad news for Max Mirnyi. He is recuperating in Florida from surgery to remove a malignant brain tumor.

The 6’5 Belarusian was a former World top 20 singles player. And he was a former World number 1 doubles player and one of the best doubles players in recent memory.

6 slam doubles titles. Has made the finals at all four slams.

2 Tour Finals Doubles Titles.

4 slam mixed doubles titles.

1 Olympic Gold Medal mixed doubles title.

Max is just 46 years old.

[shoothoops]

Jennifer Brady is undergoing another knee procedure, and she will be out of action for a long while. She does plan on returning to the tour.

The good news for Westwood, Brady is re-enrolling in classes at UCLA where she played in college. And she will be an assistant coach for the Women’s tennis team under long time Head Coach, Stella Sampras Webster.