Kolek planning to go pro
Going to be interesting when they kick the fans out in 30 minutes lol
Rafa looks spent. Making easy mistakes. Third set was incredible, took a lot out of him.And Djokovic making all the shots.
I'm wondering how many GS titles Seles would have won? I didn't realize she snagged 8 by the age of 19. I saw Chris Evert interview her and was beyond impressed with her honestly about all of the suffering she endured. All I know and remember is she was a ball machine with great pop on her groundies and incredibly tough mentally. It's terrible what happened to her and she may very well have dominated for a decade after the stabbing incident.
It was terrible, obviously. We’ll never know how great her career might have been.
Past players didn’t count/prioritize winning the four major titles over everything else. The money wasn’t as big at slams. Sponsor money wasn’t as big either. Winning slams and counting slams wasn’t as much of a thing until the modern era. Players played week to week, just to make $. Over-scheduling, more injury, less advances in injury prevention and recovery.In the past there were far greater discrepancies in playing surfaces. The surfaces of the modern era are much more uniform. In particular grass and hard courts are much slower. Novak Djokovic for example is well known for his past allergy and digestive issues. He struggled a lot in certain weather environments. He went Gluten Free long before it was a thing and made several changes that changed his career. Otherwise no chance he wins as much.Many players skipped Australia until the mid to later 1980’s and after. The French was also skipped by some others.Today’s money allows players to control schedule, skip events, rest, recover. Focus today is on fewer big event money and prestige of winning slams. When players get injured today often they are less career threatening than in the past. And recovery is much faster and better.Winning tourneys total, and being number 1 meant as much as winning slams. Players that retired super young. Injuries. Skipping events. Technology advances allow for more physical and power playing. It’s a different style. Players that retired young to have families. Money for coaching. Advances in training, science, nutrition. Money and advances in sports psychology. Money to sponsor young players without $ means.Money to rent houses at slams and events and stay in better surroundings with a team of people than the past and many others. Money for travel. Improvements in travel.Comparing eras is silly season. McEnroe skipped 19 majors in a 15 year period. Borg won 6 of the 8 French Opens he entered and then retired at 25. Evert missed the French Open 6 times and Australia 14 times. Jimmy Connors missed over 20 Australian Opens and about 10 French Opens. Lots and lots of examples here.Djokovic has missed exactly one major in his career. One of all four majors combined since 2006. Federer went almost 18 years before missing his first grand slam tourney. Nadal has only missed a few more than the other two. It’s silly season when people compare different eras. Or say all time this or that. There’s no question Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic are the best players of their overlapping eras. And that’s great. Good for them. Good for tennis. But that’s as far as it goes. There will be future best of era players and best of era play as well. There are some fun stats, but they are to be kept in some perspective. Djokovic is the first player to win all four majors twice. He is also the first player since Jim Courier in 1992 to win the first two majors of a year. It doesn’t happen often because it’s difficult. He is trying to go for all four plus the Olympics) The sport will always be bigger than any one player. Who isn’t excited for Chris Eubanks’ big Challenger Title win in Orlando today? Or Frances Tiafoe’s grass court title today in Nottingham? Big wins for both today.
I didn't exactly compare the eras. I simply asked how many titles could have Seles won had her career not been tragically changed forever. And btw in tennis, boxing, golf, gymnastics, and all individual sports people always make comparisons.